Color sensing system and method for sensing, displaying and comparing colors across selectable lighting conditions
First Claim
1. A color sensing system comprising:
- a color sensing device further comprisinga housing having an external perimeter and a face,a controlled light source residing within the housing and offset from the face to define an interior within the perimeter of the housing, the face configured to engage a target surface about the perimeter of the housing wherein ambient light is substantially restricted from entering the interior, anda color sensor arranged to receive light radiated by the controlled light source and reflected from the target surface when the face of the color sensing device engages the target surface, the sensor further effective to generate output signals representative of a color of the target surface;
a computing device having a display unit and a processor configured togenerate a user interface via the display unit enabling a user to select one or more of a plurality of available lighting conditions for the color sensing device, and to select one or more of a plurality of colors stored in a database, andgenerate, on the display unit of the computing device, a first image comprising the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device, at least a second image comprising the selected one or more colors alongside the first image, and data corresponding to a difference between the first image and the at least second image according to one or more color models,wherein the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device and the selected one or more colors are displayed in accordance with the one or more selected lighting conditions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A modular device includes base and color sensing portions. The color sensing portion has a face, a controlled light source offset from the face to define an interior, the face configured to engage a target surface about a perimeter of the device housing wherein ambient light is restricted from entering the interior. A color sensor receives light reflected from the target surface and generates output signals representative of a surface color. The base portion communicates with the color sensor and a user device having a hosted program which generates a user interface enabling users to provide control input for the color sensor. The program further receives the output signals from the color sensing device and displays a first image of the detected color, and displays a second image of a user-selected color beside the first image. Color data values are further displayed corresponding to the difference between displayed colors.
92 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A color sensing system comprising:
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a color sensing device further comprising a housing having an external perimeter and a face, a controlled light source residing within the housing and offset from the face to define an interior within the perimeter of the housing, the face configured to engage a target surface about the perimeter of the housing wherein ambient light is substantially restricted from entering the interior, and a color sensor arranged to receive light radiated by the controlled light source and reflected from the target surface when the face of the color sensing device engages the target surface, the sensor further effective to generate output signals representative of a color of the target surface; a computing device having a display unit and a processor configured to generate a user interface via the display unit enabling a user to select one or more of a plurality of available lighting conditions for the color sensing device, and to select one or more of a plurality of colors stored in a database, and generate, on the display unit of the computing device, a first image comprising the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device, at least a second image comprising the selected one or more colors alongside the first image, and data corresponding to a difference between the first image and the at least second image according to one or more color models, wherein the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device and the selected one or more colors are displayed in accordance with the one or more selected lighting conditions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of color sensing implemented using a color sensing device comprising
positioning a color sensing device to engage a target surface, said color sensing device comprising a color sensor and a light source in an interior thereof, wherein ambient light is substantially restricted from entering the interior of the color sensing device; -
generating a user interface enabling a user to select one or more of a plurality of available lighting conditions for the color sensing device, and to select one or more of a plurality of colors stored in a database; receiving light radiated by the controlled light source and reflected from the target surface and further generating output signals representative of a color of the target surface; and generating, on a display unit, a first image comprising the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device, at least a second image comprising the selected one or more colors alongside the first image, and data corresponding to a difference between the first image and the at least second image according to one or more color models, wherein the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device and the one or more selected colors are displayed in accordance with the one or more selected lighting conditions. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of color sensing implemented using a color sensing device comprising
positioning a color sensing device to engage a target surface, said color sensing device comprising a color sensor and a controlled light source in an interior thereof, wherein ambient light is substantially restricted from entering the interior of the color sensing device; -
generating a user interface enabling a user to select from a plurality of available lighting conditions for the color sensing device, and to select one or more of a plurality of colors stored in a database; receiving light radiated by the controlled light source and reflected from the target surface and further generating output signals representative of a color of the target surface, wherein the output signals from the color sensing device are converted to tristimulus values representative of a stored color using a priori estimation with respect to a matrix of device-specific calibration values and further based upon a sensed ambient temperature; and generating, on a display unit, a first image comprising the color represented by the output signals from the color sensing device, at least a second image comprising the selected one or more colors alongside the first image, and data corresponding to a difference between the first image and the at least second image according to one or more color models. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification