Image recognizing apparatus

• US 6,333,997 B1
• Filed: 06/08/1999
• Issued: 12/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hashiya, Kazuyo, Kuratomi, Osamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Boudreau, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mariam, Daniel G.
• Application Number:
  US09/327,374
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 382/106, 382/112, 382/141, 382/145, 382/147, 382/149, 382/151, 382/181, 382/190, 382/199, 382/201, 382/209, 382/218, 382/289, 382/291, 382/103, 382/135, 382/137 , 382/187, 382/286, 382/287, 382/294-295, 348/129, 348/169, 358/406, 358/405, 358/504
• US Class Current: 382/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/24 Aligning, centring, orientation detection or correction of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00326 with a data reading, recognizing or recording apparatus, e.g. with a bar-code apparatus arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus G11B31/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/12 using the sheet-feed movement or the medium-advance or the drum-rotation movement as the slow scanning component, e.g. arrangements for the main-scanningsheet-feed movement by translatory movement of a flat picture-bearing surface H04N1/1008; main-scanning using oscillating or rotating mirrors H04N1/113; using multi-element arrays H04N1/19
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/193 using electrically scanned linear arrays , e.g. linear CCD arrays

Abstract

A parameter input section inputs, as parameters, the luminance difference between a to-be-recognized object P and its background, conveyance conditions, etc. An endpoint detecting section uses the parameters to detect a plurality of border points between the object P and the background, without being influenced by external noise or a stain on the object P. A length detecting section detects vertical and horizontal lengths of the object P, and an entire-object position determining section determines the position of the entire object P using the lengths detected by the section. A recognizing section compares an image input by an image input section, with reference image data stored in a reference image data memory, thereby recognizing the object P.

Claims

1. An image recognizing apparatus comprising:

image input means for inputting an image of a to-be-recognized object;

endpoint detecting means for detecting, on the basis of the image input by the image input means, a plurality of pairs of endpoints which indicate border points between the to-be-recognized object and a background thereof, the pairs of endpoints existing on vertical and horizontal lines that pass through the to-be-recognized object;

length detecting means for detecting vertical and horizontal lengths of the to-be-recognized object on th e basis of endpoint information supplied from the endpoint detecting means;

comparing means for comparing length information supplied from the length detecting means with values falling within a range depending on an ideal length x and a skew range θ

for determining endpoint pair information;

position determining means for determining a position of an entire portion of the to-be-recognized object on the basis of the endpoint pair information supplied from the comparing means; and

recognizing means for comparing the image input by the image input means with a reference image on the basis of the position determined by the position determining means, thereby recognizing the image input by the image input means.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising parameter input means for inputting conveyance conditions and information relating to the to-be-recognized object.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the endpoint detecting means includes:

luminance difference detecting means for detecting a luminance difference between a target pixel and a pixel next to the target pixel;

means for determining whether the luminance difference detected by the luminance difference detecting means is greater than a predetermined luminance difference input by the parameter input means;

means for judging that the luminance of the target pixel is a background luminance if the detected luminance difference is greater than the predetermined luminance difference; and

means for determining that the pixel next to the target pixel is an endpoint if a luminance difference between the background luminance and a luminance of each of pixels ranging from the pixel next to the target pixel to an n-th pixel is greater than the predetermined luminance wherein n is a predetermined number.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the length detecting means includes selecting means for selecting endpoint pair information from the endpoint pair information detected by the endpoint detecting means, on the basis of the conveyance conditions and the information relating to the to-be-recognized object input by the parameter input means.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the length detecting means further includes means for determining that a maximum distance included in distances of the endpoints selected by the selecting means is a length of the to-be-recognized object.

6. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the length detecting means includes selecting means for selecting endpoint pair information from the endpoint pair information detected by the endpoint detecting means, on the basis of a skew state of the to-be-recognized object and an ideal length input by the parameter input means.

7. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the length detecting means includes means for determining that an average value of distances ranging from a maximum distance to an n-th distance included in distances of the endpoints selected by the selecting means is a length of the to-be-recognized object wherein n is a predetermined number.

8. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position determining means includes:

means for obtaining a line approximate to each of sides of the to-be-recognized object, using endpoint pair information supplied from the comparing means; and

corner judging means for judging, as corner coordinate of the to-be-recognized object, coordinates of each intersection between approximate lines obtained by the means for obtaining a line.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the position determining means further includes extracting means for extracting a partial area of the to-be-recognized object on the basis of the corner coordinates judged by the corner judging means;

and

the recognizing means includes means for comparing the partial area extracted by the extracting means, with a corresponding area in the reference image, thereby recognizing the image input by the image input means.

10. An image recognizing apparatus comprising:

image input means for inputting an image of a to-be-recognized object;

endpoint detecting means for detecting, on the basis of the image input by the image input means, a plurality of pairs of endpoints which indicate border points between the to-be-recognized object and a background thereof, the pairs of endpoints existing on vertical and horizontal lines that pass through the to-be-recognized object;

length detecting means for detecting vertical and horizontal lengths of the to-be-recognized object on the basis of endpoint information supplied from the endpoint detecting means;

comparing means for comparing length information supplied from the length detecting means with values falling within a range depending on an ideal length x and a skew range θ

for determining endpoint pair information;

determining means for determining whether or not a position of the to-be-recognized object can be detected, on the basis of the endpoint pair information supplied from the comparing means; and

accumulating means for accumulating endpoint pair information concerning the to-be-recognized object if the determining means determines that the position of the to-be-recognized object cannot be detected;

display means for displaying a determination result of the determining means if the result indicates that the position of the to-be-recognized object cannot be detected;

abnormal portion estimating means for estimating an abnormal portion of the image recognizing apparatus on the basis of the endpoint information accumulated by the accumulating means;

position determining means for determining the position of the to-be-recognized object if the determining means determines that the position of the to-be-recognized object can be detected; and

recognizing means for comparing the image input by the image input means with a reference image on the basis of the position determined by the position determining means, thereby recognizing the image input by the image input means.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the determining means has means for judging that the position of the entire to-be-recognized object can be detected, if there are two or more pairs of endpoints in each of vertical and horizontal directions.

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the display means has means for displaying, if there are continuous cases where the to-be-recognized object cannot be detected, the number of the continuous cases and the number of total cases where the to-be-recognized object cannot be detected.

13. An image recognizing apparatus comprising:

image input means for inputting an image of a to-be-recognized object;

parameter input means for inputting, as parameters, information and conveyance conditions concerning the to-be-recognized object;

endpoint detecting means for detecting, on the basis of the image input by the image input means, a plurality of pairs of endpoints which indicate border points between the to-be-recognized object and a background thereof, the pairs of endpoints existing on vertical and horizontal lines that pass through the to-be-recognized object;

detection information storage means for storing endpoint pair information supplied from the endpoint detecting means;

conveyance state judging means for judging a conveyance state of the to-be-recognized object on the basis of the information stored in the detection information storing means;

parameter updating means for updating parameters input by the parameter input means on the basis of a judging result of the conveyance state judging means;

length detecting means for detecting vertical and horizontal lengths of the to-be-recognized object on the basis of endpoint information supplied from the endpoint detecting means;

comparing means for comparing length information supplied from the length detecting means with values falling within a range depending on an ideal length x and a skew range θ

for determining endpoint pair information;

position determining means for determining a position of the to-be-recognized object on the basis of the endpoint pair information supplied from the length detecting means; and

recognizing means for comparing the image input by the image input means with a reference image on the basis of the position determined by the position determining means, thereby recognizing the image input by the image input means.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the conveyance state judging means has means for judging a degree of skew of the to-be-recognized object.

15. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the conveyance state judging means has means for judging a degree of slide of the to-be-recognized object.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

operation mode parameter input means for designating one of an operation mode for image recognition and an operation mode for parameter change; and

operation mode switching means for supplying one of the length detecting means and the detection information storing means with the endpoint pair information output from the endpoint detecting means, on the basis of an operation mode parameter output from the operation mode parameter input means.