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US 2003/0118249 A1Published application
Method, system and software for correcting image defects
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorAlbert D. Edgar
Life of this patent
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AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorAlbert D. Edgar
Estimating the term…
A method, system and software are disclosed for correcting defects formed in a physical medium of an original image. Multiple scans of the original image are recorded, where the multiple scans have different properties. For example, the angle of the light incident to the physical medium or the properties of the light may be changed between scans of original image. The multiple scans can be used to generate a reference image from which defect corrections are made. Alternatively, a reference image can be generated directly from the original image. The multiple scans can also be used to determine the degree of defectiveness and/or an estimate of the signal strength of each portion of the original image. A decision is made on whether or not an image portion having one or more defects should be corrected, where the decision can be based on an evaluation of the potential benefit compared to the potential damage caused by correction of an image portion. In one embodiment, the potential benefit is proportional to the degree of defectiveness, while the potential damage is proportional to the image information that may be removed by correction. If the decision is made to correct an image portion, a variety of methods may be implemented to correct the image portion, such as cloning information from non-defective image portions surrounding the defective image portion. The present invention finds particular use in image capturing systems, such as flatbed scanners, photocopiers, facsimile machines, and the like.
A method comprising:
A system comprising:
The system as in claim 22, wherein the instructions to evaluate include instructions to determine a ratio of the benefit to the damage.
The system as in claim 23, wherein the instructions to evaluate include instructions to compare the ratio with a threshold.
The system as in claim 24, wherein the threshold is determined according to the formula:
The system as in claim 25, wherein the scaling_factor is 1.4.
The system as in claim 30, wherein said program of instructions further includes instructions to:
The system as in claim 33, wherein:
The system as in claim 37, wherein the non-defective portions of the image used for cloning are chosen dependent on the direction of the defective portions.
A computer readable medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions, said program of instructions including instructions to:
The computer readable medium as in claim 43, wherein the instructions to evaluate include instructions to determine a ratio of the benefit to the damage.
The computer readable medium as in claim 44, wherein the instructions to evaluate include instructions to compare the ratio with a threshold.
The computer readable medium as in claim 45, wherein the threshold is determined according to the formula
The computer readable medium as in claim 51, wherein said program of instructions further includes instructions to:
The computer readable medium as in claim 58, wherein the non-defective portions of the image used for cloning are chosen dependent on the direction of the defective portions.
The computer readable medium as in claim 60, wherein the non-defective portions of the image used for cloning are chosen to be one fundamental wavelength away from the defective portions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.