Patent Document ID: 8743426
Application ID: 13534757
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An image enhancement method for an image capture device; the method comprising: illuminating an object placed on, in, or adjacent to an image capture device and capturing an image of the object from a first position to obtain a first set of raw pixel data that includes a plurality of first set raw pixel datum; illuminating the object placed on, in, or adjacent to the image capture device and capturing an image of the object from a second position to obtain a second set of raw pixel data that includes a plurality of second set raw pixel datum; wherein a single area of the object is represented by a first set raw pixel datum and a corresponding second set raw pixel datum; calibrating each of the first and second sets of raw pixel data using a first set of image calibration pixel data to create a first set of image pixel data and using a second set of image calibration pixel data to create a second set of image pixel data respectively, wherein each pixel datum in the second set of image calibration pixel data corresponds to a pixel datum in the first set of image calibration pixel data, and wherein each first set image calibration pixel datum corresponds to a first set raw pixel datum, and each second set image calibration pixel datum corresponds to a second set raw pixel datum; for a pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data: i) detecting whether the pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data represents an edge feature; ii) if the pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data represents an edge feature, using the pixel datum as an output pixel; iii) if the pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data does not represent an edge feature, processing the corresponding pixel datum in the second set of image pixel data to determine if it represents an edge feature, and if it represents an edge feature, using said corresponding pixel datum in the second set of image pixel data as an output pixel; iii) if neither the pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data nor the corresponding pixel datum in the second set of image pixel data represents an edge feature, determining whether the first pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data or the corresponding pixel datum in the second set of image pixel data are within a region bound by an edge, and, if so, using the one of the pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data or the corresponding pixel datum in the second set of image pixel data with the lowest pixel intensity as the output pixel; iv) if neither the pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data nor the corresponding pixel datum in the second set of image pixel data are within a region bound by an edge, then determining the corresponding pixel in the first and second sets of image calibration pixel data having the highest pixel intensity, and using as the output pixel the corresponding pixel in the image pixel data that corresponds to this calibration pixel; and repeating steps i) to iv) for each pixel datum in the first set of image pixel data and forming a set of final pixel data from the resulting output pixels.