Apparatus and method for recognizing code

• US 6,981,644 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2002
• Issued: 01/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ColorZip Media, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ColorZip Media, Inc.
• Inventors: Cheong, Cheol Ho, Han, Tack Don, Lee, Nam Kyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RIZKALLAH, KIMBERLY NGUYEN
• Application Number:
  US10/492,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20050001033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 23546201-46249
• US Class Current: 235/462.04
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking

Abstract

An apparatus and method for recognizing a code from a code image that is expressed physically or electronically and extracting data represented in the code image is provided. The method includes the steps of receiving a raw image in which a code image is contained, detecting a background image included in the raw image, extracting a code image region in which a background image is excluded, recognizing the shape and type of the code image and the color or shade represented in each of cells, converting the color or shade recognized from each of the cells into a corresponding character, number, or symbol and generating code data. The code image in which predetermined data are represented as colors or shades are received, and original colors or shades can be precisely discriminated regardless of an environment in which the code image is recognized.

Claims

1. An apparatus for recognizing a code, the apparatus comprising:

an image-acquiring portion for acquiring a raw image in which a code image is contained;

a color-converting portion for correcting colors or shades recognized in the raw image, using an environmental variable which is set to discriminate colors or shades of the raw image in consideration of an environment in which the raw image is input, converting the corrected colors or shades into a plurality of standard colors or standard shades used to generate the code image, and generating a standard image represented by the standard colors or standard shades;

a binary-coding converting portion for dividing the colors or shades of the raw image into two colors according to a predetermined reference value and generating a binary-coded image;

an image-processing portion for extracting an area excluding a code image area from the binary-coded image, setting a color of the area corresponding to the extracted area in the standard image as a background color, thereby discriminating the code image area from other areas, extracting a plurality of cells included in the code image area, and recognizing the standard color or standard shade represented in each of the cells; and

a code-converting portion for extracting a corresponding character, number, or symbol from the color or shade recognized in each of the cells of the code image according to a relationship between a character, number, or symbol and a corresponding color or shade and generating code data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined reference value of the binary-coding converting portion is set to the averaged value of values for R, G, and B of a red green blue (RGB) color mode, or a minimum value or maximum value among them, a value for V of a hue saturation value (HSV) color mode, a value for I of a hue saturation intensity (HSI) color mode, or a value for K of a cyan magenta yellow black (CMYK) color mode.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image-processing portion sets colors of pixels positioned at an edge of the binary-coded image as a background color, and sets colors of pixels connected to the pixels set by the background color as the background color, thereby discriminating the code image area from other areas.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image-processing portion receives an image in which the code image area and the other areas are divided into one another by the background color, divides the image into a plurality of blocks, detects a region having a color or shade that is not the background color, from each of the blocks, selects a block having the largest region among the plurality of blocks, detects a center point of the code image area contained in the block, and searches the entire image on the basis of the center point, thereby detecting the region having a color or shade that is not the background color as the code image area.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the code-converting portion recognizes a color or shade having the greatest distribution among the colors or shades of pixels belonging to each cell, as the color or shade of a corresponding cell.

6. An apparatus for recognizing a code, the apparatus comprising:

an image-acquiring portion for acquiring a raw image in which a code image is contained;

a binary-coding converting portion for dividing the colors or shades of the raw image into two colors according to a predetermined reference value and generating a binary-coded image;

an image-processing portion for extracting an area excluding a code image area from the binary-coded image, setting a color of the area corresponding to the extracted area in the standard image as a background color, thereby discriminating the code image area from other areas, extracting a plurality of cells included in the code image area, and recognizing the standard color or standard shade represented in each of the cells;

a color-converting portion for correcting colors or shades recognized with respect to each of the cells included in the code image area, using an environmental variable which is set to discriminate colors or shades of the raw image in consideration of an environment in which the raw image is input, and converting the corrected colors or shades into a plurality of standard colors or standard shades used to generate the code image; and

a code-converting portion for extracting a corresponding character, number, or symbol from the color or shade recognized in each of the cells of the code image according to a relationship between the character, number, or symbol and the corresponding color or shade and generating code data.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the image-processing portion sets colors of pixels positioned at an edge of the binary-coded image as a background color, and sets colors of pixels connected to the pixels set by the background color as the background color, thereby discriminating the code image area from other areas.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the image-processing portion receives an image in which the code image area and the other areas are divided into one another by the background color, divides the image into a plurality of blocks, detects a region having a color or shade that is not the background color, from each of the blocks, selects a block having the largest region among the blocks, detects a center point of the code image area contained in the block, and searches the entire image on the basis of the center point, thereby detecting the region having a color or shade that is not the background color as the code image area.

9. A method for recognizing a code, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a raw image in which a code image is contained;

correcting colors or shades recognized from the raw image, using an environmental variable which is set to discriminate colors or shades of the raw image in consideration of an environment in which the raw image is input;

converting the corrected colors or shades into a plurality of standard colors or standard shades used to generate the code image, and generating a standard image represented by the standard colors or standard shades;

dividing the colors or shades of the raw image into two colors according to a predetermined reference value and generating a binary-coded image;

extracting an area excluding a code image area from the binary-coded image, and setting a color of the area corresponding to the extracted area in the standard images as a background color, thereby discriminating the code image area from other areas;

extracting a plurality of cells included in the code image area, and recognizing the standard color or standard shade represented in each of the cells; and

extracting a corresponding character, number, or symbol from the color or shade recognized in each of the cells of the code image according to a relationship between the character, number, or symbol and the corresponding color or shade and generating code data.

10. A computer readable media for implementing the method of claim 9.

11. A method for recognizing a code, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a raw image in which a code image is contained;

dividing the colors or shades of the raw image into two colors according to a predetermined reference value and generating a binary-coded image;

extracting an area excluding a code image area from the binary-coded image, and setting a color of the area corresponding to the extracted area in the standard image as a background color, thereby discriminating the code image area from other areas;

extracting a plurality of cells included in the code image portion, and recognizing the standard color or standard shade represented in each of the cells;

correcting colors or shades recognized from the raw image with respect to each of the cells included in the code image area, using an environmental variable which is set to discriminate colors or shades of the raw image in consideration of an environment in which the raw image is input;

converting the corrected colors or shades into a plurality of standard colors or standard shades used to generate the code image; and

extracting a corresponding character, number, or symbol from the color or shade recognized in each of the cells of the code image according to a relationship between the character, number, or symbol and the corresponding color or shade and generating code data.

12. A computer readable media for implementing the method of claim 11.

13. An apparatus for recognizing a code, the apparatus comprising:

an image-acquiring portion for acquiring a raw image in which a code image is contained;

an image-processing portion for extracting the code image from the raw image and recognizing colors or shades represented in a plurality of cells included in the code image, setting an environmental variable in consideration of an environment at a time where the raw image is acquired, and correcting the colors or shades recognized in the raw image using the environmental variable;

a code-setting portion in which a relationship between a character, number, or symbol and a corresponding color or shade is set; and

a code-converting portion for extracting the corresponding character, number, or symbol from the color or shade represented in each of the cells of the code image according to the relationship set in the code-setting portion and generating code data.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the image-processing portion extracts a code image region, in which a background image portion is excluded, from the raw image, discriminates the shape and type of the code image, and discriminates cells included in the code image region on this basis.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the image-processing portion converts the raw image into a binary-coded image on the basis of the environmental variables, which are set according to the degree of brightness in a state where the raw image is input, extracts the background image area from the binary-coded image, sets a color of the area corresponding to the extracted area in the raw image as a background color, thereby discriminating a code image area from other areas and extracts the code image region from the raw image.