Patent ID: 7116443

Claim:
A method for classifying a pixel between neutral and color classes for use in color image processing, comprising the following steps: a) receiving an input image represented in a first color space; b) converting the input image to a second color space wherein one coordinate of the second color space represents lightness, the second color space being an L*a*b* color space; c) selecting a pixel in the second color space representation of the input image to be classified; d) computing second color space feature vectors associated with the selected pixel including, d 1 ) selecting a pixel window associated with the selected pixel, d 2 ) computing a first feature vector (V 1 ) based on the selected pixel, computed using the equation: V 1 =L*(x,y)/255, wherein (x,y) are coordinates for the selected pixel within the selected pixel window, d 3 ) computing a second feature vector (V 2 ) based on the selected pixel window, and d 4 ) computing a third feature vector (V 3 ) based on the selected pixel window; and e) classifying the selected pixel between neutral and color classes based on the values computed for the second color space feature vectors.