Image editing system for taking a background and inserting part of an image therein

Claim 3

The system of claim 1, additionally comprising means for combining the object with a second digital image.

Claim 4

The system of claim 2, wherein the combining means includes means for averaging the hue of the edge and the hue of the second digital image so as to generate an averaged hue, wherein the averaged hue replaces the edge and thereby produces a blended object.

Claim 5

The system of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the blended object has a first gamma and at least portion of the second digital image has a second gamma, and additionally comprising means for setting one of: the first gamma and the second gamma, to equal the other gamma.

Claim 6

The system of claim 1, wherein each hue is characterized by a numeric value.

Claim 7

The system of claim 5, wherein the background includes a plurality of two-dimensional boxes, each box having a plurality of dots therein, the processor having an image of the background stored in memory, wherein the means for locating the edge compares the hue of pixel in the first digital image with the hue of a corresponding pixel of a background image stored in the memory, the predetermined hue for each comparison thus being the hue of the corresponding pixel in the background image.

Claim 8

The system of claim 5, wherein the means for locating the edge determines the difference between the numeric value of one pixel and the numeric value of a contiguous pixel, and compares the difference to a predetermined difference, the predetermined hue for each comparison thus being the hue of the adjacent pixel.

Claim 9

The system of claim 1, wherein the means for removing the background from the first digital image sets all background pixels to a preselected transparent value.

Claim 10

The system of claim 1, additionally comprising a video camera connected to the processor, the camera generating a signal which is stored as the first digital image.

Claim 11

The system of claim 7, additionally comprising a video monitor connected to the processor for displaying the first digital image.

Claim 12

A gamma correlator, comprising: means for measuring a gamma of each pixel of an object in a first image and for measuring the gamma of each pixel of a background in a second image; means for shifting the gamma of at least one selected pixel of the object or at least one selected pixel of one of a plurality of stored backgrounds to substantially equal the gamma of the other; and means for shifting a first gamma of a selected object and a second gamma of a selected background to a third gamma of a lighting environment distinguishable from lighting conditions of the selected object and the selected background.

Claim 13

A gamma correlator, comprising: means for measuring a gamma of each pixel of an object in a first image and for measuring the gamma of each pixel of a background in a second image; means for shifting the gamma of at least one selected pixel of the object or at least one selected pixel of one of a plurality of stored backgrounds to substantially equal the gamma of the other; and means for shifting a first gamma of a selected object and a second gamma of a selected background to a third gamma of a lighting environment distinguishable from lighting conditions of the selected object and the selected background.

Claim 14

An image combiner, comprising: a processor for receiving a signal representative of a first digital image, the signal including an object component representative of an object, the object being bordered by an edge having a first hue, the signal also including a background component representative of a background having a second hue, wherein the processor includes means for separating the background from the object by determining the location of the edge of the object and then removing all portions of the first digital image which are outside the edge from all the portions of the first digital image which are inside the edge; and means for combining a portion of the first digital image with a second digital image, wherein said portion of the first digital image is alternatively (i) reoriented or (ii) reoriented and repositioned onto the second digital image.

Claim 15

An image combiner, comprising: a processor for receiving a signal representative of a first digital image, the signal including an object component representative of an object, the object being bordered by an edge having a first hue, the signal also including a background component representative of a background having a second hue, wherein the processor includes means for separating the background from the object by determining the location of the edge of the object and then removing all portions of the first digital image which are outside the edge from all the portions of the first digital image which are inside the edge; and means for combining a portion of the first digital image with a second digital image, wherein said portion of the first digital image is alternatively (i) reoriented or (ii) reoriented and repositioned onto the second digital image.

Claim 16

The image combiner of claim 12, further comprising a video camera for generating the signal, the processor being electrically connected to the video camera for receiving the signal therefrom.

Claim 17

The image combiner of claim 13, further comprising a video monitor electrically connected to the processor for displaying the image of the object.

Claim 18

The image combiner of claim 12, wherein the first digital image has a periphery, and the processor further comprises: means for determining the difference between the hue of a portion of the periphery and a predetermined hue; means for comparing the difference to a predetermined difference; wherein when the difference exceeds the predetermined difference, the processor identifies the location of the portion of the periphery as the location of a portion of the object, and then compares the hue of other portions of the periphery with the predetermined hue; and wherein when the difference is less than the predetermined difference, the processor compares the hue of inwardly succeeding portions, relative to the periphery, of the first digital image with the predetermined hue until the difference between a portion and the predetermined hue exceeds the predetermined difference; until the entire edge of the object has been identified.

Claim 19

The image combiner of claim 15, wherein the background includes a plurality of two-dimensional boxes, each box having a plurality of dots therein, the processor having an image of the background stored in memory, the stored image corresponding to the first digital image, wherein the processor compares the hue of at least some of the first video image with the hue of the corresponding portions of the image of the background stored in memory to determine the location of the edge of the object.

Claim 20

The image combiner of claim 15, wherein the processor receives a second digital signal representative of a preselected background, and the processor overlays the object onto the preselected background.

Claim 21

The image combiner of claim 17, wherein the preselected background has at least one hue, and the processor averages the hue of the object and the hue of the preselected background to generate an averaged signal representative of an averaged hue, the processor changing the hue of the edge of the object to equal the averaged hue, to thereby produce a blended object.

Claim 22

The image combiner of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of the blended object has a first gamma and at least a portion of the preselected background has a second gamma, and the processor sets one of the first gamma and the second gamma to equal the other gamma.

Claim 23

The image combiner of claim 15, wherein the digital signal comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel having a hue and each hue having a corresponding numeric value, and the background is a continuous hue, wherein the processor determines the location of the edge of the object by determining the difference between the numeric value of one pixel and the numeric value of an adjacent pixel, and comparing the difference to the predetermined difference.

Claim 24

The image combiner of claim 20, wherein the processor removes the background component from the object component by setting all background pixels to a preselected transparent value.

Claim 25

The image combiner of claim 15, wherein the background has a single continuous hue, and the predetermined hue is the hue of the background.

Claim 28

The method of claim 23 including a second digital image having a third hue, the method further comprising the steps of: overlaying the object from the first digital image on the second digital image; and averaging the hue of the object and the second digital image along the edge of the object, thereby producing a blended object in the second digital image.

Claim 29

The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of setting one of: the first hue in at least a portion of the blended object and the third hue in the second digital image, to equal the other hue.

Claim 34

The system of claim 27, wherein the background includes a plurality of two-dimensional boxes, each box having a plurality of dots therein, the processor having an image of the background stored in memory, wherein the means for locating the edge compares the hue of a pixel in the first digital image with the hue of a corresponding pixel of a background image stored in the memory, the predetermined hue for each comparison thus being the hue of the corresponding pixel in the background image.

Claim 35

The system of claim 27, wherein a portion of the object is selectively combined with the second digital image in real-time by an operator, wherein said portion of the object is alternatively (i) reoriented or (ii) reoriented and repositioned onto the second digital image.

Claim 36

The system of claim 27, wherein at least a portion of the blended object has a first gamma and at least a portion of the second digital image has a second gamma, and additionally comprising means for setting one of the first gamma and the second gamma to equal the other gamma.

Claim 37

An image combiner, comprising: a processor for receiving a signal representative of a first digital image, the signal including an object component representative of an object, the object being bordered by an edge having a first hue, the signal also including a background component representative of a background having a second hue, wherein the processor includes means for separating the background from the object by determining the location of the edge of the object and then removing all portions of the first digital image which are outside the edge from all the portions of the first digital image which are inside the edge, wherein the first digital image has a periphery, and the processor further comprises: means for determining the difference between the hue of a portion of the periphery and a predetermined hue; means for comparing the difference to a predetermined difference; wherein when the difference exceeds the predetermined difference, the processor identifies the location of the portion of the periphery as the location of a portion of the object, and then compares the hue of other portions of the periphery with the predetermined hue; wherein when the difference is less than the predetermined difference, the processor compares the hue of inwardly succeeding portions, relative to the periphery, of the first digital image with the predetermined hue until the difference between a portion of the first digital image and the predetermined hue exceeds the predetermined difference; and wherein the background includes a plurality of two-dimensional boxes, each box having a plurality of dots therein, the processor having an image of the background stored in memory, the stored image corresponding to the first digital image, wherein the processor compares the hue of at least some of the first video image with the hue of the corresponding portions of the image of the background stored in memory to determine the location of the edge of the object, thereby mapping the entire edge of the object.

Claim 38

An image combiner, comprising: a processor for receiving a signal representative of a first digital image, the signal including an object component representative of an object, the object being bordered by an edge having a first hue, the signal also including a background component representative of a background having a second hue, wherein the processor includes means for separating the background from the object by determining the location of the edge of the object and then removing all portions of the first digital image which are outside the edge from all the portions of the first digital image which are inside the edge, wherein the first digital image has a periphery, and the processor further comprises: means for determining the difference between the hue of a portion of the periphery and a predetermined hue; means for comparing the difference to a predetermined difference; wherein when the difference exceeds the predetermined difference, the processor identifies the location of the portion of the periphery as the location of a portion of the object, and then compares the hue of other portions of the periphery with the predetermined hue; wherein when the difference is less than the predetermined difference, the processor compares the hue of inwardly succeeding portions, relative to the periphery, of the first digital image with the predetermined hue until the difference between a portion of the first digital image and the predetermined hue exceeds the predetermined difference; and wherein the background includes a plurality of two-dimensional boxes, each box having a plurality of dots therein, the processor having an image of the background stored in memory, the stored image corresponding to the first digital image, wherein the processor compares the hue of at least some of the first video image with the hue of the corresponding portions of the image of the background stored in memory to determine the location of the edge of the object, thereby mapping the entire edge of the object.

Claim 39

The image combiner of claim 31, wherein the preselected background has at least one hue, and the processor averages the hue of the object and the hue of the preselected background to generate an averaged signal representative of an averaged hue, the processor changing the hue of the edge of the object to equal the averaged hue, to thereby produce a blended object.

Claim 40

The image combiner of claim 32, wherein at least a portion of the blended object has a first gamma and at least a portion of the preselected background has a second gamma, and the processor sets one of the first gamma and the second gamma to equal the other gamma.

Claim 43

The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of setting one of the first hue in at least a portion of the blended object and the third hue in the second digital image to equal the other hue.