Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Other

Stephen Edward Ecob

Scott Bradley

Michael Jan Lawther

Ian James Oliver

Timothy Merrick Long

Alexander Vincent Danilo

Dmitri Katchalov

Eric Lap Min Cheung

Alvin Wai Leong Yeap

Kapil Batra

James Swayn

Michael Chun Tao Chan

Benjamin Michael Lever

Christopher James Cormie

A system for detecting and reporting the separation of two entities including where the entities are people or items. In some implementations, the system performs separation checking triggered by movement conditions, or by checking of the state of an entity upon separation, and additionally adapts checking methods according to a condition.

Conditional separation alert system

A reporting system includes a mobile computing device that wirelessly communicates with one or more sensors to track the use of a protective product. Reports are provided on the mobile computing device to remind and motivate a user of the protective product to use it at times most beneficial for receiving the intended protection from it.

Protective product reporting system

A method () of decoding a QR code having two initially detected finder patterns () is provided. The method forms () a pattern matching template () based on characteristics of the detected finder patterns and determines () at least one candidate region () about the detected finder patterns. The candidate region is typically based at least on the relative positions of the detected finder patterns. The method detects () a previously undetected third finder pattern of the QR code in the at least one candidate region by correlating content of the candidate region with the pattern matching template. With the identified third finder pattern and each of the two initially detected finder patterns, decoding () the QR code can then be performed. Also disclosed is a method of detecting a two-dimensional code comprising known target features and coded data in an image. The target features comprise a continuous black region, enclosed entirely by a continuous white region, enclosed entirely by a continuous black region. The method performs line-by-line connected component analysis () of the image to determine candidate features of interest. The line-by-line connected component analysis aggregates metrics corresponding to candidate features of interest. The method evaluates () the aggregated metrics to determine how similar each candidate feature of interest is to the target feature and forms () a candidate region of interest from multiple candidate features of interest. Typically the target features include the copyright symbol &#xa9; and the registered trade mark symbol &#xae;.

Code detection and decoding system

Disclosed herein is a method for identifying a constellation of alignment marks within an arrangement of computer readable marks in an image (), the arrangement of computer readable marks () including alignment marks (-) and data carrying marks (-). The alignment marks (-) define a reference grid within the arrangement of computer readable marks and the data carrying marks (-) are modulated with respect to the reference grid to encode data. The method selects at least two marks () from the arrangement of computer readable marks and determines a rotation center with reference to the selected marks (). The method then determines rotated positions for the selected marks by rotating each of the selected marks by a predetermined angle about the rotation center. For each rotated position, a mark having a position that is less than a predetermined threshold from the rotated position is located from the arrangement of marks and then the selected marks and the located marks are identified as the constellation of alignment marks.

Constellation detection

A method of rendering a scan line of a graphic object image in a scan line renderer for spans of pixels laying between consecutive x-ordered edges intersecting the scan line includes maintaining a set of depths present in the rendering of the scan line, with the set being maintained in depth order. For each span, the set contains at least those depths that are active in the span, and the set is subject to removal of at least one depth at a subsequent span on the scan line where the corresponding depth is no longer active.

Method for tracking depths in a scanline based raster image processor

Disclosed is an imaging engine system () generally intended for the reproduction of graphical object images using apparatus having limited computing resources, such as so-called 'thin clients'. Numerous developments of traditional image processing and rendering enable high quality image generation. One such development takes advantage of temporal coherence between one frame in an animation sequence and the succeeding frame. In particular, there will often be some edges () of graphical objects that remain 'static' across several contiguous frames. One example of this includes those edges used to draw image background detail. Another development performs antialiasing during scan line rendering of a graphic object image where sub-pixel resolution coverage bit-masks (A-buffers-) are generated for a limited number of scan lines at a time. Preferably the A-buffers are generated for only one pixel at a time. Another development relates to rendering a scan line of a graphic object image in a scan line renderer for a span of pixels lying between two x-order consecutive edges intersecting the scan line. For the span of pixels, this development maintains a subset of depths present in the rendering, the subset being those depths that are present on the span and being maintained in depth order () and subject to removal of depths where the corresponding depth is no longer active. In another development a compositing stack (-) of image layers to be rendered in a raster scan fashion is simplified. Rendering is operable over a run of two or more pixels within which a relationship between graphical objects contributing to the layers does not change. The layers are first divided into groups (), with each group being separated by a layer having variable transparency (). For a top one of the groups, layers having constant color in the run are reduced to a single equivalent color () having an associated accumulated contribution. Many other developments are disclosed.

Optimising compositing calculations for a run of pixels

Compositing with a sub-pixel mask in graphic object rendering

A method () for generating a device driver in an information processing apparatus () for a device connected thereto, such as a printer (), is disclosed. The method () obtains a Printer Characterization File (PCF) which contains a characterization of the device () or a group of devices. The device driver is then generated by using the PCF to configure a Device Model Independent Printer Driver (DMIPD) stored with an application on an unchangeable memory, such as a CD-ROM.

Peripheral driver forward compatibility

Disclosed is an imaging engine system () generally intended for the reproduction of graphical object images using apparatus having limited computing resources, such as so-called 'thin clients'. Numerous developments of traditional image processing and rendering enable high quality image generation. One such development takes advantage of temporal coherence between one frame in an animation sequence and the succeeding frame. In particular, there will often be some edges () of graphical objects that remain 'static' across several contiguous frames. One example of this includes those edges used to draw image background detail. Another development performs antialiasing during scan line rendering of a graphic object image where sub-pixel resolution coverage bit-masks (A-buffers) are generated for a limited number of scan lines at a time. Preferably the A-buffers are generated for only one pixel at a time. Another development relates to rendering a scan line of a graphic object image in a scan line renderer for a span of pixels lying between two x-order consecutive edges intersecting the scan line. For the span of pixels, this development maintains a subset of depths present in the rendering, the subset being those depths that are present on the span and being maintained in depth order () and subject to removal of depths where the corresponding depth is no longer active. In another development a compositing stack () of image layers to be rendered in a raster scan fashion is simplified. Rendering is operable over a run of two or more pixels within which a relationship between graphical objects contributing to the layers does not change. The layers are first divided into groups (), with each group being separated by a layer having variable transparency (). For a top one of the groups, layers having constant colour in the run are reduced to a single equivalent colour () having an associated accumulated contribution. Many other developments are disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Chatswood West, Australia

Stephen Edward Ecob