Patent Document ID: 4821336
Application ID: 07016662
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of compiling serial pixel data reduced by scanning consecutive rows of an image, the method comprising the steps of: (a) encoding the serial pixel data to produce runlength data including a plurality of slices each including a plurality of consecutive connected pixels; (b) forming a first open list including a plurality of slices of a first row of the image; (c) determining if a first portion of a first slice in the first open list overlaps a first portion of a second slice from a second row of the image; (d) if the first portion of the first slice overlaps the first portion of the second slice and it a second portion of the first slice does not overlap a portion of another slice, attaching the second slice to a growing column of the first open list by attaching the second slice to the first slice; (e) if the first portion of the first slice overlaps the first portion of the second slice, and it the second portion of the first slice overlaps a portion of another slice, creating another column of the first open list and putting the second slice in that column, wherein each slice has a left end coordinate and a right end coordinate and wherein each object corresponds to an open list and the image includes at least one object, the object having the property that it includes a plurality of dark connected pixels which are surrounded entirely by transparent pixels, wherein step (c) includes determining if the left coordinate of the first slice is less than the left coordinate of the second slice; and (f) if the left coordinate of the first slice is less than the left coordinate of the second slice, determining it the right coordinate of the first slice is less than the left coordinate of the second slice, and it is, determining that the first slice does not overlap the second slice.