Method and apparatus for analyzing facial configurations and components

• US 5,659,625 A
• Filed: 05/23/1994
• Issued: 08/19/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stephen R. Marquardt
• Original Assignee: Stephen R. Marquardt
• Inventors: Marquardt, Stephen R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bella, Matthew C.
• Application Number:
  US08/247,614
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 382/2, 382/19, 382/21, 382/25, 382/41, 382/118, 382/195, 382/197, 382/203, 382/276, 382/254, 364/413.13, 364/413.19, 364/413.22, 364/413.28, 395/120, 395/121, 395/124, 395/135
• US Class Current: 382/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/168 Feature extraction; Face representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships

Abstract

There is disclosed herein: (1) overlay systems which define a face, in frontal and lateral views, which are comprised of mathematically inter-related pentagons and parts of those pentagons and which establish a reference system to analyze human faces for surgical, cosmetic, and identification purposes; and (2) a method of applying the overlay systems to human faces or facial images to analyze the form and proportion of faces and components of those faces (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) for surgical, cosmetic, and identification purposes.

Claims

1. A method for recording and analyzing an image of a human face comprising

aligning the face relative to an image-recording device,

recording an image of the face,

comparing the major anthropometric points on the image of the face with an overlay system comprised of a plurality of line segments and points that form the features of an aesthetically ideal human face, the overlay system having been created by selecting portions from a plurality of regular pentagons and radials thereof to form the features of the aesthetically ideal human face.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the size of each the plurality of regular pentagons is related by the Φ

proportion.

3. A method for creating a system to analyze the human face comprising:

creating a series of regular pentagons whose relative sizes are related by the Φ

proportion,

selecting line segments from at least one pentagon complex comprised of the regular pentagons and a plurality of radials thereof

combining the selected line segments to form the features of an ideal human face, and

comparing said features of the ideal human face with the actual features of the subject'"'"'s face to evaluate the subject'"'"'s facial components.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the features of the ideal human face are fixed in a transparency.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the feature of the ideal human face represent a profile view of a face in repose.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the features of the ideal human face represent a profile view of a face in repose.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the features of the ideal human face represent a frontal view of a smiling face.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein the features of the ideal human face represent a profile view of a smiling face.

9. A method to correct variations from a desired appearance of the human face comprising:

fixing the position of a subject'"'"'s face,

establishing major anthropometric points on the subject'"'"'s face,

applying an overlay system to the subject'"'"'s image and aligning the overlay system with the facial image so that said major anthropometric points coincide,

wherein said overlay system is comprised of a plurality of line segments selected from a series of regular pentagons of at least two different sizes and wherein the size of at least two of said regular pentagons of different sizes is related by the Φ

proportion.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the position of the subject'"'"'s face is a frontal view.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the position of the subject'"'"'s face is a profile view.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the overlay system is comprised of an outline of ideal facial features in a smiling face.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the overlay system is comprised of an outline of ideal facial features in a face in repose.

14. An overlay system comprising

an outline of an ideal human face wherein said outline is comprised of line segments selected from a first complex of regular pentagons and line segments selected from a second complex of regular pentagons wherein the size of the pentagons in the second complex is related to the size of the pentagons in the first complex by the Φ

proportion, and

means for applying said outling to the image of a subject'"'"'s face for analyzing the subject'"'"'s facial components.

15. The overlay system of claim 14 wherein said ideal human face is a frontal view.

16. The overlay system of claim 14 wherein said ideal human face is a profile view.

17. The overlay system of claim 14 wherein said ideal human face is a face in repose.

18. The overlay system of claim 14 wherein said ideal human face is a smiling face.

19. A method to construct a two-dimensional geometric form to describe the form of the human face comprising

providing a first pentagon complex comprised of a pair of regular pentagons of equal size having equal sides and equal internal angles and where said regular pentagons are superimposed in an inverted relationship with a common center,

creating radials comprised of lines drawn from each vertex of each of said regular pentagons to each other vertex of each of said regular pentagons,

forming at least a second pentagon complex wherein the size of said first and second pentagon complexes are related by the Φ

proportion,

and wherein said first and second pentagon complexes share at least one common radial or intersect of said radials,

selecting portions of said radials and intersects of said radials to create said two-dimensional geometric form which is comprised of major anthropometric points of the human face, and

applying said two-dimensional geometric overlay system to the image of a subject'"'"'s face for analyzing the subject'"'"'s facial components.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of analyzing the face of a human by comparison with said two-dimensional geometric form.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of altering the appearance of the human face to more closely coincide with said two dimensional geometric form.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said alteration is surgical.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein said alteration is achieved by the application of cosmetics.

24. A two-dimensional geometric overlay system to describe the form of an ideal human face comprising

a first pentagon complex comprised of a pair of regular pentagons of equal size having equal sides and equal internal angles and where said regular pentagons are superimposed in an inverted relationship with a common center,

radials comprised of lines drawn from each vertex of each of said regular pentagons to each other vertex of each of said regular pentagons,

at least a second pentagon complex wherein the size of said first and second pentagon complexes are related by the Φ

proportion,

and wherein said first and second pentagon complexes share at least one common radial or intersect of said radials,

portions of said radials and intersects of said radials create said two-dimensional geometric overlay system which is comprised of major anthropometric points of the ideal human face, and

means for applying said overlay system to the image of a subject'"'"'s face for analyzing the subject'"'"'s facial components.

25. The overlay system of claim 24 wherein said ideal human face is a frontal view.

26. The overlay system of claim 24 wherein said ideal human face is a profile view.

27. The overlay system of claim 24 wherein said ideal human face is a face in repose.

28. The overlay system of claim 24 wherein said ideal human face is a smiling face.