System for distributing and controlling color reproduction at multiple sites

• US 9,404,802 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2015
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RAH Color Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: RAH Color Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Holub, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Geisel, Kara E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Prieto, Violetta
• Application Number:
  US14/702,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20150233763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/002 for measuring two or more coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/283 computer-interfaced
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/2866 Markers; Calibrating of scan
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0218 using optical fibers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0224 using polarising or depolarising elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0262 Constructional arrangements for removing stray light
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/1838 Holographic gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/28 Investigating the spectrum using colour filters G01J3/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/2823 Imaging spectrometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/46 Measurement of colour; Colour measuring devices, e.g. colorimeters measuring colour temperature G01J5/60
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/462 Computing operations in or between colour spaces; Colour management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/463 Colour matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/465 taking into account the colour perception of the eye; using tristimulus detection
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/505 measuring the colour produced by lighting fixtures other than screens, monitors, displays or CRTs
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/51 using colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/524 Calibration of colorimeters
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70058 Mask illumination systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/005 Retouching; Inpainting; Scratch removal detecting, correction, reducing or removing defects, e.g. non-responsive pixels of solid state image sensors H04N25/68, scratch removal for cinematographic films scanned by electronic image sensor H04N5/253
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 : by the use of histogram techniques applied in cameras using an electronic image sensor H04N23/80, HH04N 23/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 : Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0276 : for the purpose of adaptation to the characteristics of a display device, i.e. gamma correction
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/043 : Preventing or counteracting the effects of ageing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0606 : Manual adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 : for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/066 : for control of contrast
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 : for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0693 : Calibration of display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/08 : Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 : characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6055 : using test pattern analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6058 : Reduction of colour to a range of reproducible colours, e.g. to ink- reproducible colour gamut
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/02 : for colour television signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/643 : Hue control means, e.g. flesh tone control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/646 : for image enhancement, e.g. vertical detail restoration, cross-colour elimination, contour correction, chrominance trapping filters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/69 : for modifying the colour signals by gamma correction controlling camera response for colour signals H04N23/83

Abstract

In a color imaging system, multiple rendering devices are provided at different nodes along a network. Each rendering device has a color measurement instrument for calibrating the color presented by the rendering device. A rendering device may be a printer in which the measuring of color samples on a sheet rendered by the printer is provided by a sensor coupled to a transport mechanism which moves the sensor and sheet relative to each other, where the sensor provides light from the sample to a spectrograph. A rendering device may also be a display having a member supporting a color measuring instrument for receiving light from an area of the screen. The color measuring instruments provide for non-contact measurements of color samples rendered on a display or a sheet, and are self-calibrating by the use of calibration references.

Claims

1. A digital image processing system comprising:

a camera comprising a two-dimensional array of sensing elements that captures two-dimensional images of scenes in a plurality of channels to provide digital image data representative of said two-dimensional images, wherein at least one of said scenes comprise one or more objects that are in motion with respect to said camera;

at least one video display adapted to render said two-dimensional images in color and to display a user interface enabling control of said system and expression of preferences for image processing, wherein said user interface provides graphical representations of functions that are moveable upon said video display by a user and initiate execution of programs to perform said functions when selected by a user;

a sensor that enables measurement of at least the level of ambient light, wherein said sensor is distinct from said camera and integrable with said system;

one or more processors that execute one or more programs for controlling said camera and said sensor, for utilizing said measurement of at least the level of ambient light in the control of rendering on said at least one video display, for storing said digital image data in a file, and for converting said digital image data in said plurality of channels into values for rendering on one or more rendering devices comprising said at least one video display; and

an interface to an external computer system enabling transfer of at least said file, said file having a header and fields of data comprising information related to processing of said digital image data.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein said sensor represents a first sensor, and said system further comprises a second sensor that detects infrared light.

3. The system according to claim 2 wherein information from said second sensor is utilized in processing of said two-dimensional image.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein said interface comprises a Universal Serial Bus interface and a network interface in which said network interface enables at least partly wireless communication employing one or more network protocols.

5. The system according to claim 4 wherein said digital image processing system is represented in interface software of said external computer system by a data structure, said data structure embodies a classification according to a plurality of capabilities provided by said digital image processing system to said external computer system and said classification comprises objects corresponding to said capabilities in which said objects are associated with procedures for realizing said capabilities by data transformation.

6. The system according to claim 1 wherein one of said one or more programs corrects for spatial non-uniformity of response of said sensing elements of said camera.

7. The system according to claim 6 wherein said two-dimensional images captured by said camera are representative of different-sized areas within a scene, and said system further comprises a program that renders in focus said digital image data representative of said two-dimensional images.

8. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a program executed by one of said one or more processors that transforms said two-dimensional images into calibrated RGB coordinates for storage in said file.

9. The system according to claim 8 further comprising one or more programs for controlling tone reproduction and saturation of colors rendered upon said at least one video display.

10. The system according to claim 8 wherein said converting of said digital image data into said values for rendering on said at least one video display increases saturation of one or more colors beyond that representable in said calibrated RGB coordinates.

11. The system according to claim 1 wherein said sensor enables measurement of scene illumination present at or about the time of image capture by said camera.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein said sensor operates in one or more color channels and said sensor is calibrated to provide measurements in device independent units.

13. The system according to claim 11 wherein said sensor further comprises an array of elements and a grating dispersing spectral components of light across said elements, in which output of said array of elements provides a spectral distribution of said light enabling improved control of the color appearance represented by said digital image data when rendered on said one or more rendering devices.

14. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a program executed by one of said one or more processors that transforms said two-dimensional images into calibrated RGB coordinates for storage in said file with compensation for differences between at least the illuminant of image capture and the illuminant represented by said calibrated RGB coordinates.

15. A method of digital image processing comprising:

displaying, with the aid of a processor, menus on a color video display, said menus comprising elements stored in memory that provide graphical representations of functions that are moveable upon said video display by a user and initiate execution of programs to perform said functions when selected by a user;

capturing images of scenes in a plurality of channels with a camera having a two-dimensional array of sensing elements, wherein at least one of said scenes comprise one or more objects that are in motion with respect to said camera;

recording responses of a sensor that provides a measurement of at least a level of ambient light,

wherein said sensor is distinct from said camera and integrable with said system;

converting outputs from sensing elements of said camera into digital image data representative of one or more two-dimensional images;

storing said digital image data in a file, said file comprising a header and fields of data providing information that enables interpretation of said digital image data by an external computer system that receives said file through an interface;

rendering, on said color video display, a representation of at least one of said one or more two-dimensional images based upon said digital image data; and

adjusting rendering upon said color video display responsive to said measurement of said at least the level of ambient light.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of detecting infrared light and utilizing information related to said infrared light in processing at least one of said captured images.

17. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of communicating said file produced in said storing step to said external computer system via said interface using one of Universal Serial Bus and one or more network protocols.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein said method operates in a digital image processing system, and said external computer system maintains a data structure in which said digital image processing system is multiply represented in accordance with multiple capabilities provided by said digital image processing system and said data structure embodies a classification according to said multiple capabilities and one or more characteristics of said digital image processing system, said classification comprising objects corresponding to said capabilities, in which said objects are associated with procedures for realizing said capabilities by data transformation.

19. The method according to claim 15 wherein said converting step further comprises the step of correcting said digital image data representative of said one or more two-dimensional images at least for spatial non-uniformity of response of said sensing elements of said camera.

20. The method according to claim 19 wherein said capturing step captures images representing different-sized areas within a scene by said camera, and said rendering step provides said different sized areas in focus when said digital image data representative of said scene is rendered on said color video display.

21. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of measuring scene illumination present at or about the time of image capture by said camera with the aid of said sensor.

22. The method according to claim 21 wherein said sensor of said recording step operates in one or more color channels and is calibrated to provide measurements in device-independent units.

23. The method according to claim 21 wherein said sensor of said recording step comprises an array of elements and a grating dispersing spectral components of light upon said array of elements of said sensor, and said calculating step further comprises the step of computing a spectral distribution of said light using output of said array of elements of said sensor, enabling improved control of the color appearance represented by said digital image data when rendered.

24. The method according to claim 15 wherein said storing step stores said digital image data in said file in calibrated RGB coordinates.

25. The method according to claim 24 further comprising the step of executing one or more programs for controlling tone reproduction and saturation of colors rendered upon said video display.

26. The method according to claim 24 wherein said rendering step further comprises the step of increasing saturation of at one or more colors of said digital image for display on said color video display beyond that representable in said calibrated RGB coordinates.

27. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of transforming said one or more two-dimensional images into calibrated RGB coordinates for storage in said file with compensation for differences between at least the illuminant of image capture and the illuminant represented by said calibrated RGB coordinates.