Method and device for extracting principal image subjects

Patent 6529630 Issued on March 4, 2003. Estimated Expiration Date:

March 2, 2019. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Apparatus and method for detecting a face in a video image
Patent #: 5715325
Issued on: 02/03/1998
Inventor: Bang, et al.

Face recognition apparatus, method, system and computer readable medium thereof Patent #: 6108437
Issued on: 08/22/2000
Inventor: Lin

Inventor

Kinjo, Naoto

Application

No. 260516 filed on 03/02/1999

US Classes:

382/190, Feature extraction382/118, Using a facial characteristic382/195, Local or regional features382/203Shape and form analysis

Examiners

Primary: Lee, Thomas C.

Foreign Patent References

8-184925 JP. 07/13/1996
10-200671 JP. 07/13/1998

International Class

G06K 009/66

Foreign Application Priority Data

1998-03-02 JP

Abstract

The method for extracting a principal image subject performs a plurality of subject extractions having different characteristics, synthesizes extracted subjects and extracts the principal image subject from a result of a synthesis if it satisfies a specified criterion of judgment, but if it does not satisfy, further performs an auxiliary image subject extraction having a different characteristic and extracts the principal image subject using the result of the synthesis and a result of extraction by the auxiliary image subject extraction. The device for extracting a principal image subject has a cascated extracting units at least one of which comprises a plurality of extracting subunits processed in parallel and a condition evaluating section for evaluating conditions the subject extractions based on results in the respective subunits. The method and device can be used with photoprinters, both digital and analog alike, and yet principal image subjects can be extracted in high precision and with satisfactory efficiency in response to diverse states of images and principal subjects.