Item recognition method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A method for recognising an individual item at an identification station from a variety of known products for purposes of entry into an inventory and/or register system, said method comprising the steps of;
- providing a viewplate at said identification station;
illuminating said viewplate from the backside to provide a backlit image viewable from the front side of the viewplate;
providing a digital image capturing means positioned relative to the viewplate to capture said backlit image;
capturing and storing a reference image of said viewplate;
supporting the item to be identified adjacent the viewplate;
viewing said item with said digital image capturing means to capture said backlit image;
providing a digitised image signal representing said captured image;
processing said digitised image signal by subtraction of a representation of said stored reference image to remove viewplate artifact, to provide a background-compensated image signal;
image-analysing said background-compensated image signal to generate at least one image descriptor characterising features of size and/or shape of the item to be identified;
providing a computerised product database for storage of data sets representing image descriptors characterising features of size and/or shape for all of said variety of known products;
comparing said at least one item image descriptor with the data stored on said computerised product database to identify data sets with the highest correlation;
displaying a recognition result, being a visual representation of at least one product corresponding to the data sets with the highest correlation; and
providing means for selective verification whereby an operator can confirm the recognition result for entry into the inventory and/or register system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is provided for recognizing an individual item at an identification station from a variety of known products for purposes of entry into an inventory and/or register system. A backlit viewplate is used and a digital image capturing device captures and stores a reference image of the viewplate. A backlit image of the item to be identified adjacent the viewplate is then captured and converted into a digitized image signal representing the captured image. The digitized image signal is processed by subtraction of a representation of said stored reference image to remove viewplate artifact, to provide a background-compensated image signal. The background-compensated image signal is analyzed to generate image descriptors characterizing features of size and/or shape of the item, and the descriptors are compared with the data stored on a computerized product database to identify data sets with the highest correlation. Visual representations of products corresponding to the data sets with the highest correlation are displayed; and an operator confirms the recognition result for entry into the inventory and/or register system.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for recognising an individual item at an identification station from a variety of known products for purposes of entry into an inventory and/or register system, said method comprising the steps of;
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providing a viewplate at said identification station;
illuminating said viewplate from the backside to provide a backlit image viewable from the front side of the viewplate;
providing a digital image capturing means positioned relative to the viewplate to capture said backlit image;
capturing and storing a reference image of said viewplate;
supporting the item to be identified adjacent the viewplate;
viewing said item with said digital image capturing means to capture said backlit image;
providing a digitised image signal representing said captured image;
processing said digitised image signal by subtraction of a representation of said stored reference image to remove viewplate artifact, to provide a background-compensated image signal;
image-analysing said background-compensated image signal to generate at least one image descriptor characterising features of size and/or shape of the item to be identified;
providing a computerised product database for storage of data sets representing image descriptors characterising features of size and/or shape for all of said variety of known products;
comparing said at least one item image descriptor with the data stored on said computerised product database to identify data sets with the highest correlation;
displaying a recognition result, being a visual representation of at least one product corresponding to the data sets with the highest correlation; and
providing means for selective verification whereby an operator can confirm the recognition result for entry into the inventory and/or register system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
width;
length;
area;
occupation ratio;
circularity;
perimeter;
eccentricity;
hole number;
hole size;
boundary feature;
radial diameters signature;
minimum radial diameters;
maximum radial diameters;
mean of radial diameters;
standard deviation of radial diameters;
radial radii signature;
minimum radial radii;
maximum radial radii;
mean of radial radii;
standard deviation of radial radii;
first Hu moment;
second Hu moment;
third Hu moment;
fourth Hu moment;
fifth Hu moment;
sixth Hu moment; and
seventh Hu moment.
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10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said comparison step involves a pattern recognition algorithm.
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11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the pattern recognition algorithm involves a K-Nearest Neighbour technique.
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12. A method according to claim 1, wherein said recognition result is a candidate list of a number of said products with the data sets having the highest ranking correlation.
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13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the visual representation includes an image of a product or products stored on said computerised product database.
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14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the display step includes the display on a touchscreen for product selection by the operator.
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15. A method according to claim 1, wherein said capturing and storing of the reference image is repeated at intervals.
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16. An item recognition apparatus for recognising an individual item from a variety of known products for purposes of entry into an inventory and/or register system, said apparatus comprising:
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an identification station having;
a viewplate with backside illumination to provide a backlit image viewable from the frontside of the viewplate;
a digital image capture means arranged to view said backlit image;
a display screen for viewing by an operator; and
an entry means for the operator to selectively make entries into the inventory and/or register system;
computer storage and processing means having;
a first memory store containing data representing a reference image of said viewplate;
a second memory store containing a product database of data sets representing image descriptors characterising features of size and/or shape for all of said variety of known products; and
digitised image processing and analysing means for processing and analysing a digitised image captured by said digital image capture means, including;
means for using the data in said first memory store to subtract the representation of said reference image;
means for generating at least one image descriptor characterising features of size and/or shape of the item to be identified; and
means for comparing said at least one image descriptor with said stored data in said second memory store to identify stored data sets with the highest correlation and to produce a recognition result;
and means for communicating said recognition result to said display screen. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification