Device and methods for fabricating a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object

• US 9,456,137 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2014
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Meditory Corporation
• Original Assignee: Meditory Corporation
• Inventors: Brunner, Alexander, Smith, Sidney Trey, Long, Randall Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson, II, James M
• Application Number:
  US14/464,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20140354769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20221 Image fusion; Image merging
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/222 Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00

Abstract

A device for acquiring two-dimensional images of a three-dimensional object including a housing having a receptacle for receiving the object. The receptacle has a floor and an interior sidewall. The sidewall has at least one sight window and a plurality of lights for illuminating the object. A rotatable turntable is positioned on the floor of the receptacle, and the object is positioned on the turntable. At least one camera having an iris is located within the housing and positioned so that the iris can obtain images of the object through the sight window, allowing the camera to obtain still images of the object as the object is rotated on the turntable. There is also provided methods for stitching the still images of the three-dimensional object into a two-dimensional image to facilitate optical character recognition and further data processing.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring a two-dimensional image file of a three-dimensional object including the steps of:

(a) providing a camera for obtaining images of the object;

(b) rotating the object;

(c) obtaining a plurality of image stripes of the object by the camera as the object rotates, the image stripes comprising a plurality of pixel columns;

(d) calculating the width of the object by determining the location of a left edge and a right edge of the object by analyzing pixels in a horizontal row of pixels across the image,

the left edge being located by designating a first pixel known to be to the left of the object as a subject pixel, and designating a plurality of pixels positioned to the left of the subject pixel as reference pixels, comparing at least one pixel property of the subject pixel with the pixel property of the reference pixels, determining that the left edge of the image is not located at the subject pixel when the subject pixel and the reference pixel have the same pixel property, determining that the left edge of the image does begin at the subject pixel when the subject pixel and the reference pixels do not have the same pixel property, and when the subject pixel is determined as not being the left edge of the image, a second pixel to the right of the first pixel is then designated as the subject pixel, and the process of comparing the pixel property between the reference pixels and the subject pixel is repeated, wherein the process of comparing the pixel property and the subsequent redesignation of the subject pixel is repeated until the left edge of the image is located,

the right edge being located by designating a first pixel known to be to the right of the object as a subject pixel, and designating a plurality of pixels positioned to the right of the subject pixel as reference pixels, comparing at least one pixel property of the subject pixel with the pixel property of the reference pixels, determining that the right edge of the image is not located at the subject pixel when the subject pixel and the reference pixel have the same pixel property, determining that the right edge of the image does begin at the subject pixel when the subject pixel and the reference pixels do not have the same pixel property, and when the subject pixel is determined as not being the right edge of the image, a second pixel to the left of the first pixel is then designated as the subject pixel, and the process of comparing the pixel property between the reference pixels and the subject pixel is repeated, wherein the process of comparing the pixel property and the subsequent redesignation of the subject pixel is repeated until the right edge of the image is located;

(e) arranging the image stripes in an array;

(f) applying a digital fingerprint to the pixel columns, the digital fingerprint including at least one of the following items of information;

(i) the quantity of black pixels in the respective pixel column;

(ii) the quantity of white pixels in the respective pixel column;

or

(iii) the quantity of pixels that are neither black nor white in the respective pixel column;

(g) comparing the digital fingerprints of the pixel columns in adjacent image stripes to identify redundant pixel columns; and

(h) compiling the images stripes, without the redundant pixel columns, into the two-dimensional image file.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the width of the image stripes is determined based upon the width of the object.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the width of each of the image stripes is about 4 to about 20 pixels wide.

4. The method of claim 1 including, after the step of arranging the image stripes in an array, the step of deleting any duplicate image stripes.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the width of the image stripes is determined based upon the width of the object.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the reference pixels include at least 10 pixels.

7. A method of acquiring, comparing, and verifying the text in a first two-dimensional image with a second two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object comprising:

(a) providing a camera for obtaining images of the object;

(b) rotating the object;

(c) obtaining a first plurality of images of the object while the object is at various rotational positions, each of the images in the first plurality of images being about 4 to 20 pixels wide, and obtaining a second plurality of images of the object while the object is at various rotational positions, each of the images in the second plurality of images having a width of about 100 pixels or more;

(d) stitching together the first plurality of images to form the first two-dimensional image including text;

(e) abutting at least 2 of the images from the second plurality of images next to each other to form a second two-dimensional image including text, whereby the second two dimensional image consists of images of the object at various rotational positions and the images from the second plurality of images are wide enough that text can be read within the image, and the images are abutted next to each other to display an unaltered rendering of the object; and

(f) comparing and verifying the text in the first two-dimensional image with the text in the second two-dimensional image.