Methods and apparatuses to determine the state of elements
US6714670B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 19, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 30, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 19, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T7/0004
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A methods and apparatuses are disclosed for determining the state of elements in an image. The elements can be arranged in any regular pattern, such as a matrix of LCD display elements. The state of the elements is determined by extracting a characteristic of the elements, such as intensity, and processing the characteristic to provide comparison criteria, such as a difference value. The comparison criteria are then used to determine the state of the element alone or in combination with other comparisons, such as average intensity comparisons. Several comparisons and variations thereof are disclosed, as well as the preferred ordering and configuration of comparisons for LCD displays. Also disclosed is an embodiment where a model of the elements is generated and used to inspect the elements. Also disclosed is a method to normalize the intensity of any image, which in a preferred embodiment normalizes the intensity of the image of the LCD elements before evaluation, where normalizing the intensity of the image optimally makes the grey values of an element of one color the same throughout the image.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.