Patent · US Expired

Neighborhood-based merging of image data

US5022085A · kind A · utility

66Cited by
14References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMay 29, 1990
Grant dateJun 4, 1991
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 29, 2010

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T5/20
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An imagery data mechanism for controllably merging separate, digitally formatted and arbitrarily shaped images eliminates overlap-edge artifacts by gradually blending a paste image (40) along its border (44) with a base image (30), regardless of the shape of the paste image. The mechanism employs a `feathering` window (50) containing a plurality of neighboring pixel locations over which the pixel values of the paste image are controllably modified to achieve a tapered blending of the two images. Whether the data value for any pixel within the display is to be modified from a given database value will depend upon whether or not that pixel location is both within the paste image and a prescribed distance to the border (44) of the paste image. If the pixel location is not even part of the image, it is effectively masked, so that not only does no feathering take place, but neither the base image nor the paste image contributes to its data value.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.