Automatic engraving method and apparatus
US5329381A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 20, 1992 |
| Grant date | Jul 12, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 20, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/32561
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An automatic engraving system scans an image such as a photograph, samples and resizes the image to provide a masterized gray scale data base of the image. The image is then logarithmically corrected and noise is removed from the image using the Outlier noise reduction method. The Outlier noise reduced image is then smoothed and edge detection methods are used to provide an output that represents the initial image filtered smoothed and edge detected. The edge detection image is then converted to a bilevel image using thresholding. The bilevel image is then converted to a vector form and speckle noise removed. The speckle noise removed image is then converted to a vector engraving file which is sent to an engraving machine. The engraving process then can batch create one or more than one image or multiple numbers of a single image. The output can be printed rather than engraved to produce the artistic effect of traditional engraving on paper.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.