The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 08, 2009
Filed:
Jun. 30, 2003
Christopher R. Uhlik, Danville, CA (US);
Joseph K. O'sullivan, San Francisco, CA (US);
Marc Levoy, Stanford, CA (US);
Christopher R. Uhlik, Danville, CA (US);
Joseph K. O'Sullivan, San Francisco, CA (US);
Marc Levoy, Stanford, CA (US);
Google Inc., Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for acquiring and using three-dimensional imaging data to improve the process of scanning bound documents are disclosed. The system includes a camera for capturing an image of documents such as books, and a second camera for gathering data regarding the first camera's field of view. Signal processing logic analyzes the data gathered by the second camera and uses it to determine whether the imaging camera's view was obstructed. If it is determined that the imaging camera's view was obstructed, then remedial action can be taken, such as removing the obstruction, recapturing the image, and/or flagging the image for further processing. The second camera may include a laser range finder, a scanning laser range finder, an ultrasonic range finder, a device that utilizes auto-focus range finding technology, a binocular camera array, and/or a trinocular camera array.