Patent ID: 7085432

Claim:
A method for identifying edges of an object in an image by analyzing an accumulator array produced via a Hough transformation of the image, the array including a plurality of cells arranged in rows associated with an angle (θ) and columns associated with a distance (ρ), said method comprising the steps of: stepping through the cells in a first row of the array inward from opposite ends of the first row to identify a first cell in the first row associated with a first potential edge line of the object; stepping inward from the end of the first row opposite the end from which the first cell was identified to identify a second cell in the first row associated with a second potential edge line of the object opposite the first edge; stepping through the cells in a second row of the array shifted ninety degrees from said first row to identify a third cell in the second row associated with a third potential edge line of the object; and stepping inward from the end of the second row opposite the end from which the third cell was identified to identify a fourth cell in the array associated with a fourth potential edge line in the image.