Patent ID: 7356179

Claim:
A method of operating on a coloured digitised image in a computer to derive therefrom the image in abstract computer representation, comprising the steps of: (a) creating a digital image in a plurality of colours, with each colour representing an assigned set of features of the image; (b) storing in the computer for each possible feature (i) one or more characteristic signatures of its graphical representation, (ii) its associated abstract computer representation, and (iii) the associated set to which the feature belongs; (c) segmenting the digitised image from step (a) into its respective colours; (d) selecting one feature of one of the segmented colours of step (c) and comparing the selected feature with each feature of each of the sets stored in the computer at step (b); (e) identifying a match for the feature selected in step (d), and assigning to the set of stored features containing the matched feature the associated segmented colour; (f) comparing each feature of the matched segmented colour of the digitised image with all the stored features of the associated segmented colour color and identifying matches therebetween, thereby to derive for each feature in digitised graphic representation a respective matched feature in computer representation; and (g) repeating steps (d), (e) and (f) for other segmented colours, thereby to assign each colour to a respective one of the sets of features stored in the computer in computer representation and to match features of the digitised image with respective ones of the features stored in the computer.