Patent ID: 7929762

Claim:
A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for finding edgeless areas in a digital image, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to: select from a digital image an unexamined pixel from said digital image P 1 not already in an edgeless area; using a start rule luminance tolerance, if the range of luminance values of the major neighbors of the selected pixel is less than said start rule tolerance, calculate the average luminance of p 1 with its immediate neighbors and begin an edgeless area with P 1 run a first inclusion rule to attempt expansion of said edgeless area if possible; repeat the preceding steps until there are no more unexamined pixels not in an edgeless area; using a first inclusion rule tolerance IR 1 _T 1 , and a second first inclusion rule tolerance IR 1 _T 2 include the major neighbors of P 1 within an edgeless area containing P 1 for which the difference between the actual luminance of said the major neighbor of P 1 and the AvLum and P 1 is less than IR 1 _T 1 ; for any major neighbors of P 1 which do not satisfy the preceding criterion, examine the local variation in luminance surrounding P 1 ; calculating a strength value for each major neighbor of P; and if said variation is greater than said IR 1 _T 2 , including within said edgeless area containing P 1 said major neighbors for which said local variation is greater than IR 1 _T 2 ; repeat the foregoing steps of said first inclusion rule for each pixel added to said edgeless area by operation of said first inclusion rule; produce a table of pixels within said digital image which are within at least one edgeless area.