Patent · US Expired

Image boundary detection for a scanned image

US5995661A · kind A · utility

8Cited by
14References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateOct 8, 1997
Grant dateNov 30, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 8, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T2207/30176
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A bounding box is generated for a scanned image. A vertical edge of the scanned image is detected. A horizontal edge of the scanned image is also detected. The vertical edge is used as a rightmost edge of the bounding box. The horizontal edge is used as a bottom edge of the bounding box. The vertical edge is detected by, for each scan row, detecting when a first pixel in a substep of pixels of the scan row has a grey value which differs from a grey value of a pixel immediately to the right of the first pixel by at least a first predetermined constant. When such a first pixel is found, any edge from a previous row which is continued by the first pixel is detected. A longest edge in any row continued by the first pixel a length of the longest edge is stored. Also stored is an indication of a rightmost pixel of any edge continued by the first pixel. When the length of the longest edge continued by the first pixel exceeds a second predetermined constant, an x-coordinate of the rightmost pixel of any edge continued by the first pixel is stored as a current rightmost edge.

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