Electronic personalized imaging production system including means for combining foreground images with background images

• US 6,507,361 B1
• Filed: 06/23/2000
• Issued: 01/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pamela Barber
• Original Assignee: Pamela Barber
• Inventors: Barber, Pamela
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Ngoc-Yen, VU, NGOC YEN T
• Application Number:
  US09/602,932
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.5262, H04/N.5225, 345/113, 345/114, 348/61, 348/207, 348/211, 348/213, 348/222, 348/373, 348/375, 348/584, 348/586, 348/589, 348/598, 348/599, 348/625, 382/254, 382/256, 382/266-269, 396/2, 396/3
• US Class Current: 348/207.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00286 with studio circuitry, devices or equipment, e.g. television cameras television studio circuitry, devices or equipment per se H04N5/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00289 in a video photo booth or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3872 Repositioning or masking

Abstract

An apparatus and method for electronically printing a person'"'"'s image onto a substrate having a predetermined site-specific background includes a compact, portable housing, and a camera that is movably mounted in the housing. An electronic printer and a microprocessor are also mounted in the housing and are electronically connected to the camera. In one embodiment, the microprocessor is a printer control board which receives an image of the camera'"'"'s field of view and suppresses regions of the image that are substantially outside of the person'"'"'s body image. The printer control board then causes the printer to print only the person'"'"'s image onto a preselected blank area of the substrate. The remaining region of the substrate is preprinted with a site specific background. In an alternate embodiment, the microprocessor is a personal computer, and the personal computer electronically removes the person'"'"'s image from the image of the background surrounding, electronically superimposes the person'"'"'s image onto a site specific background stored in the is computer'"'"'s memory, and causes the printer to print the composite image onto a blank substrate.

Claims

1. An apparatus for electronically forming on a substrate a combined image of a subject and a background, comprising:

a housing having an opening;

a camera mounted in the housing and having a field of view directed toward said opening and directable toward a subject outside the housing, the camera producing electronic camera signals representing an image within said field of view, said image comprising a plurality of pixels;

an image suppression circuit mounted in the housing and connected to the camera to receive said electronic camera signals, the image suppression circuit comprising software means for comparing adjacent pixels of said image, and producing electronic printer signals representing a resulting image in which areas having adjacent pixels of like color bordering said subject are suppressed;

a printer mounted in said housing, the printer receiving said electronic printer signals and printing said resulting image upon said substrate; and

a base support having a central region and a vertical, elongate post projecting upwardly from the central region of said base support, the vertical post having an upper end and the portable housing being mounted on the upper end of said vertical post at a location spaced above said base support, and the portable housing being of larger cross-sectional dimensions than said post.

2. An apparatus for electronically forming on a substrate a combined image of a subject and a background, comprising:

a housing having an opening;

a white backdrop positioned outside said housing in front of said opening;

a camera in said housing having a field of view directed toward said opening and directable toward said white backdrop, with said subject positioned between said camera and said white backdrop, said camera producing electronic camera signals representing an image within said field of view, said image comprising a plurality of pixels;

an image suppression circuit in said housing receiving said electronic camera signals and producing electronic printer signals representing a resulting image in which areas bordering said subject are encoded as white pixels in said electronic printer signals; and

a printer receiving said electronic printer signals and printing said resulting image upon said substrate, said printer responding to a white pixel in said electronic printer signals by not printing anything on said substrate at a location of said pixel.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the housing is a portable, stand-alone unit and is not associated with a booth completely enclosing the housing and backdrop.

4. The apparatus recited in claim 2, wherein said image suppression circuit comprises a microprocessor.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the microprocessor comprises a printer control board.

6. The apparatus recited in claim 2, wherein said printer prints said resulting image upon a pre-printed substrate bearing a predetermined background image, and said printer prints said resulting image upon an area of said substrate not bearing said predetermined background image.

7. The apparatus recited in claim 6, wherein said substrate comprises a postcard.

8. The apparatus recited in claim 6, wherein said substrate comprises a sticker.

9. The apparatus recited in claim 2, wherein:

said image suppression circuit comprises a memory storing electronic background signals representing a plurality of predetermined background images selectable by a user; and

said printer prints upon said substrate both said resulting image and a predetermined background image selected by said user.

10. The apparatus recited in claim 9, wherein said substrate comprises a postcard.

11. The apparatus recited in claim 9, wherein said substrate comprises a sticker.

12. A method for electronically forming on a substrate a combined image of a subject and a background, comprising the steps of:

orienting a camera to direct a field of view of said camera toward said subject positioned between said camera and a white backdrop,

said camera producing electronic camera signals representing an image within said field of view, said image comprising a plurality of pixels;

receiving said electronic camera signals;

producing electronic printer signals representing a resulting image in which areas bordering said subject are encoded as white pixels in said electronic printer signals; and

printing said resulting image upon said substrate in response to said electronic printer signals, and not printing anything on said substrate at a location of a white pixel.

13. The method recited in claim 12, wherein a microprocessor performs said step of producing electronic printer signals.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a printer control board alone performs said step of producing electronic printer signals.

15. The method recited in claim 12, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a pre-printed substrate bearing a predetermined background image, wherein said resulting image is printed upon an area of said substrate not bearing said predetermined background image.

16. The method recited in claim 15, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a postcard.

17. The method recited in claim 15, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a sticker.

18. The method recited in claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

storing in a memory electronic background signals representing a plurality of predetermined background images selectable by a user;

said user selecting one of said predetermined background images; and

wherein said printing step comprises printing upon said substrate both said resulting image and said selected one of said predetermined background images.

19. The method recited in claim 18, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a postcard.

20. The method recited in claim 18, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a sticker.

21. An apparatus for electronically forming on a substrate a combined image of a subject and a background, comprising:

a portable housing having an opening;

a camera mounted in the housing and having a field of view directed toward said opening and directable toward a subject outside the housing, the camera producing electronic camera signals representing an image within said field of view, said image comprising a plurality of pixels;

an image suppression circuit mounted in the housing and connected to the camera to receive said electronic camera signals, the image suppression circuit comparing adjacent pixels of said image, and producing electronic printer signals representing a resulting image in which areas having adjacent pixels of like color bordering said subject are suppressed; and

a printer mounted in said housing, the printer receiving said electronic printer signals and printing said resulting image upon said substrate; and

the housing being a portable, stand-alone unit which is not associated with a booth completely enclosing the housing and subject.

22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21, wherein the subject may be positioned in front of any selected background surface.

23. The apparatus recited in claim 21, wherein said image suppression circuit comprises a microprocessor.

24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the microprocessor comprises a printer control board for electronically suppressing portions of the field of view of the camera outside a predetermined portion of the field of view corresponding to the subject.

25. The apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the microprocessor comprises a personal computer.

26. The apparatus recited in claim 21, wherein:

said image suppression circuit comprises a memory storing electronic background signals representing a plurality of predetermined background images selectable by a user; and

said printer prints upon said substrate both said resulting image and a predetermined background image selected by said user.

27. The apparatus recited in claim 26, wherein said substrate comprises a postcard.

28. The apparatus recited in claim 26, wherein said substrate comprises a sticker.

29. An apparatus for electronically forming on a substrate a combined image of a subject and a background, comprising:

a housing having an opening;

a camera mounted in the housing and having a field of view directed toward said opening and directable toward a subject outside the housing, the camera producing electronic camera signals representing an image within said field of view, said image comprising a plurality of pixels;

an image suppression circuit mounted in the housing and connected to the camera to receive said electronic camera signals, the image suppression circuit comprising software means for comparing adjacent pixels of said image, and producing electronic printer signals representing a resulting image in which areas having adjacent pixels of like color bordering said subject are suppressed;

a printer mounted in said housing, the printer receiving said electronic printer signals and printing said resulting image upon said substrate; and

the image suppression circuit comprising an EPROM housed with the printer and electrically connected to the printer, the EPROM being programmed to cause the printer to scan only a preselected portion of the field of view of the camera corresponding to the subject and to print only the scanned portion upon said substrate.

30. The apparatus recited in claim 29, wherein said printer prints said image upon a pre-printed substrate bearing a predetermined background image, and said printer prints said image upon an area of said substrate not bearing said predetermined background image.

31. The apparatus recited in claim 30, wherein said substrate comprises a postcard.

32. The apparatus recited in claim 30, wherein said substrate comprises a sticker.

33. A method for electronically forming on a substrate a combined image of a subject and a background, comprising the steps of:

orienting a camera to direct a field of view of said camera toward said subject and background;

said camera producing electronic camera signals representing a single image within said field of view, said image comprising a plurality of pixels;

receiving said electronic camera signals;

using software means only to compare adjacent pixels of said single image and to produce electronic printer signals representing a resulting image in which areas in said single image having adjacent pixels of like color bordering said subject are suppressed; and

printing said resulting image upon said substrate in response to said electronic printer signals;

wherein said steps of receiving said electronic camera signals, comparing adjacent pixels of said image, and producing electronic printer signals are all carried out by a printer control board programmed to electronically suppress portions of the image which do not coincide with the subject.

34. The method recited in claim 33, wherein a microprocessor performs said step of producing electronic printer signals.

35. The method recited in claim 33, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate bearing a predetermined background image, wherein said resulting image is printed upon an area of said substrate not bearing said predetermined background image.

36. The method recited in claim 35, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a postcard.

37. The method recited in claim 35, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a sticker.

38. The method recited in claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

storing in a memory electronic background signals representing a plurality of predetermined background images selectable by a user; and

said user selecting one of said predetermined background images;

wherein said printing step comprises printing upon said substrate both said resulting image and said selected one of said predetermined background images.

39. The method recited in claim 38, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a postcard.

40. The method recited in claim 38, wherein said printing step comprises printing said resulting image upon a substrate comprising a sticker.