Method and apparatus for segmenting an image using a combination of image segmentation techniques
First Claim
1. A method for segmenting an image, the image comprising pixels and being represented by image data, the method comprising steps of:
- obtaining image data;
inputting the image data into a first image segmentation module;
generating first segmentation data by the first image segmentation module, the first image segmentation data representing at least one first characteristic of the image data;
inputting the image data into a second image segmentation module;
generating second image segmentation data by the second image segmentation module, the second image segmentation data representing at least one second characteristic of the image data; and
, integrating the first image segmentation data with the second image segmentation data to obtain modified image data.
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Abstract
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for segmenting an image using a combination of image segmentation techniques. More particularly, the invention is directed to an improved image segmentation technique for use in an image processing system that performs at least two distinct image segmentation processes on an image and combines the results to obtain a combined multi-layer representation of the image that can be suitably processed. In a specific example, a block based segmentation technique is performed on an image to generate a MRC (mixed raster content) representation—having foreground, background and selector layers. A pixel based segmentation technique is also performed on the image to generate rendering hints. The MRC representation and the rendering hints are then combined to obtain a four (4) layer representation of the image. The four layer representation is subsequently processed as required by the image processing system, e.g. compressed and stored.
125 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for segmenting an image, the image comprising pixels and being represented by image data, the method comprising steps of:
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obtaining image data;
inputting the image data into a first image segmentation module;
generating first segmentation data by the first image segmentation module, the first image segmentation data representing at least one first characteristic of the image data;
inputting the image data into a second image segmentation module;
generating second image segmentation data by the second image segmentation module, the second image segmentation data representing at least one second characteristic of the image data; and
,integrating the first image segmentation data with the second image segmentation data to obtain modified image data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17)
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9. A system for segmenting an image, the image comprising pixels and being represented by image data, the system comprising:
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means for obtaining image data;
means for generating first segmentation data, the first image segmentation data representing at least one first characteristic of the image data;
means for generating second image segmentation data, the second image segmentation data representing at least one second characteristic of the image data; and
,means for integrating the first image segmentation data with the second image segmentation data to obtain modified image data. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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18. An image rendering system adapted for segmenting an image, the image comprising pixels and being represented by image data, the system comprising:
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a scanner operative to obtain image data;
a bitmap generator operative to generate a bitmap corresponding to the image data;
a first image segmentation module operative to generate first image segmentation data, the first image segmentation data representing at least one first characteristic of the image data;
a second image segmentation module operative to generate second image segmentation data, the second image segmentation data representing at least one second characteristic of the image data;
a combining module operative to combine the first image segmentation data with the second image segmentation data to obtain modified image data;
a compression module operative to compress the modified image data;
a storage module operative to store the compressed image data;
a decompression module operative to decompress the stored image data; and
,a print engine operative to render the image based on the decompressed data. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification