Method and system for scanning images in a photo kiosk
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for determining the orientation of an image of a picture within a scanned image, comprising the steps of:
- locating in the scanned image a contour of the image of the picture;
determining a plurality of bounding boxes confining the contour of the image of the picture;
selecting one of the plurality of bounding boxes that is substantially aligned with the contour of the image of the picture; and
calculating an angle of rotation of the picture based on the selected bounding box.
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Abstract
A method and system for determining the orientation of an image of a picture within a scanned image, including the steps of locating in the scanned image the contour of the image of the picture, determining a plurality of bounding boxes confining the contour of the image of the picture, selecting one of the plurality of bounding boxes that is substantially aligned with the contour of the image of the picture, and calculating an angle of rotation of the picture based on the selected bounding box.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for determining the orientation of an image of a picture within a scanned image, comprising the steps of:
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locating in the scanned image a contour of the image of the picture;
determining a plurality of bounding boxes confining the contour of the image of the picture;
selecting one of the plurality of bounding boxes that is substantially aligned with the contour of the image of the picture; and
calculating an angle of rotation of the picture based on the selected bounding box. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
providing a reference box; and
rotating the reference box about its center through multiple angles of rotation.
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11. The method of claim 10 wherein said providing step comprises:
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finding a region that bounds the contour of the image of the picture; and
generating a box that encloses within it a circle, the circle being large enough to enclose the region.
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12. The method of claim 11 wherein the center of the circle is coincident with the center of the reference box.
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13. The method of claim 11 wherein the center of the reference box is coincident with the centroid of the image of the picture.
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14. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting step includes:
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determining for each of the bounding boxes an average distance between the bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture; and
choosing a bounding box for which the average distance between the chosen bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture is small as compared to the respective average distances between others of the plurality of bounding boxes and the contour of the image of the picture.
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15. The method of claim 14 wherein said choosing step includes choosing a bounding box for which the average distance between the bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture is smallest among the respective average distances between the plurality of bounding boxes and the contour of the image of the picture.
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16. A method for operating a scanner, comprising:
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detecting that a user has placed a plurality of pictures in arbitrary orientations on a scanner bed of the scanner;
scanning the plurality of pictures to generate a scanned image containing a plurality of images of the pictures; and
automatically determining an orientation of at least one of the images of the pictures relative to the scanner bed using the scanned image;
applying edge detection to the scanned image to locate edges of the plurality of images of the pictures, and identifying bounding areas of pixel locations for each image of a picture from among the plurality of images of pictures, each bounding area surrounding one image of a picture from among the plurality of images of pictures, such that identifying bounding areas includes, initializing a plurality of expandable groups of pixel locations;
expanding each of the expandable groups of pixel locations until none of the pixel locations on its boundary are situated at edges. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
determining a separation between two expandable groups of pixel locations; and
coalescing the two expandable groups of pixel locations when their separation is smaller than a prescribed threshold.
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23. A method for operating a scanner, comprising:
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detecting that a user has placed a plurality of pictures in arbitrary orientations on a scanner bed of the scanner;
scanning the plurality of pictures to generate a scanned image containing a plurality of images of the pictures;
automatically determining an orientation of at least one of the images of the pictures relative to the scanner bed using the scanned image;
applying edge detection to the scanned image to locate edges of the plurality of images of the pictures, and identifying bounding areas of pixel locations for each image of a picture from among the plurality of images of pictures, each bounding area surrounding one image of a picture from among the plurality of images of pictures, wherein said automatically determining the orientation comprises, for each image of a picture from among the plurality of images of pictures, the steps of;
detecting a contour of the image of the picture;
determining a plurality of bounding boxes enclosing the contour of the image of the picture;
selecting one of the plurality of bounding boxes that is substantially aligned with the contour of the image of the picture; and
calculating an angle of rotation of the picture based on the selected bounding box. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
providing a reference box; and
rotating the reference box about its center through multiple angles of rotation.
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27. The method of claim 26 wherein said providing step comprises:
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finding a region that bounds the contour of the image of the picture; and
generating a reference box that encloses within it a circle, the circle being large enough to enclose the region.
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28. The method of claim 27 wherein the center of the circle is coincident with the center of the center of the reference box.
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29. The method of claim 27 wherein the center of the box is coincident with the centroid of the picture.
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30. The method of claim 23 wherein said selecting step includes:
- determining for each of the bounding boxes, an average distance between the bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture; and
choosing a bounding box for which the average distance between the chosen bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture is small as compared to the respective average distances between others of the plurality of bounding boxes and the contour of the image of the picture.
- determining for each of the bounding boxes, an average distance between the bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture; and
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31. The method of claim 30 wherein said choosing step includes choosing a bounding box for which the average distance between the chosen bounding box and the contour of the image of the picture is smallest among the respective average distances between the bounding boxes and the contour of the image of the picture.
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32. A system for determining the orientation of an image of a picture within a scanned image, comprising:
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an image processor locating in the scanned image a contour of the image of the picture;
a box generator determining a plurality of bounding boxes confining the contour of the image of the picture;
a box processor selecting one of the plurality of bounding boxes that is significantly aligned with the contour of the image of the picture; and
an angle processor calculating an angle of rotation of the picture based on the selected bounding box.
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Specification