Patent ID: 8103104

Claim:
A method to identify text-like pixels from an image, the method comprising: classifying a plurality of individual pixels within a mask within the image as either edge or non-edge, wherein a pixel (i,j) is located at the center of the mask; determining whether the pixel (i,j) is an edge pixel or a non-edge pixel; determining pixels in the mask having connectivity with the pixel (i,j); for each pixel in the mask determined to have connectivity with the pixel (i,j), determining whether the pixel is an edge pixel or a non-edge pixel; and performing, by a computer, edge-bounded averaging to determine line segments, wherein the edge-bounded averaging comprises one of in response to determining that pixel (i,j) is an edge pixel, identifying all pixels in the mask that are edge pixels and that have connectivity with the pixel (i,j) from the determining of whether each pixel having connectivity is an edge pixel or a non-edge pixel, and determining an average value of only all the identified edge pixels in the mask having connectivity with the pixel (i,j), or in response to determining that pixel (i,j) is a non-edge pixel, identifying all pixels in the mask that are non-edge pixels and that have connectivity with the pixel (i,j) from the determining of whether each pixel having connectivity is an edge pixel or a non-edge pixel, and determining an average value of only all the identified non-edge pixels in the mask having connectivity with the pixel (i,j).