Patent Document ID: 20140002723
Application ID: 13534757
Patent Status: 0

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 security document from a first position to obtain a first set of raw pixel data; illuminating the object placed on in or adjacent to an image capture device and capturing an image of the object from a second position to obtain a second set of raw pixel data, where each pixel in the second set of raw pixel data corresponds to a pixel in the first set of raw pixel data representing a point on the object; 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 pixel image data respectively, where each pixel in the second set of image calibration pixel data corresponds to a pixel in the first set of image calibration pixel data, and each pixel in the first and second sets of image calibration pixel data corresponds to a pixel in each of the first and second sets of raw pixel data respectively; for the first pixel in the first set of image pixel data: i) processing the first set of image pixel data to detect whether the pixel represents an edge feature; ii) if an edge feature is detected using the first pixel as an output pixel; iii) if an edge feature is not detected, processing the second set of image pixel data to detect whether the corresponding pixel represents an edge feature, and if an edge feature is detected using said corresponding pixel as an output pixel; iii) if neither the first pixel nor the corresponding pixel represents an edge feature, determining whether the first pixel or the corresponding pixel are within a region bounded by an edge, and if so using the one of the first pixel or the corresponding pixel with the lowest pixel intensity as the output pixel; iv) if neither the first pixel nor the corresponding pixel are within a region bounded by an edge, determining the one of the corresponding pixel in the first set of image calibration pixel data and the corresponding pixel in the second set of image calibration pixel data having the highest pixel intensity, and selecting the corresponding pixel in either the first set of image pixel data or the second set of image pixel data as the output pixel; and repeating steps i) to iv) for each pixel in the first set of image pixel data and forming a set of final pixel data from the resulting output pixels.