Color Determination via Image Retrieval and Frequency Analysis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing color determination systems struggle to accurately map natural language color names to their corresponding color representations in standard color spaces, as color names vary by time, field, and personal usage, leading to a demand for determining the correspondence between character strings indicating colors and the actual colors.

Innovation Solution

A color determination device and system that receives a character string, retrieves images related to the string, represents colors with reduced accuracy to account for similarity, and determines the color indicated by the string based on frequency and distribution in the images, using techniques like image retrieval and color space segmentation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If color names are standardized according to conventional systems (RGB, CYMK, HSV), then color reproducibility is improved, but the system cannot accommodate variations in natural language color names used by different people in different contexts

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecolor reproducibilityVSAvoidaccommodation of natural language color name variations
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an image-based intermediary system that bridges natural language color names and standard color representations. Instead of directly mapping color names to color values, the system uses images containing the colored objects as an intermediary, allowing flexible interpretation of color names while maintaining accurate color reproduction through the image-based degree acquisition process

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the degree of color representation accuracy based on the specific color name and context. By acquiring degrees at which colors appear in images and representing them with predetermined accuracy, the system adapts its parameter precision to match the variability inherent in natural language color descriptions while maintaining reproducibility

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If high accuracy color representation is used, then color precision is improved, but information processing complexity and data requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecolor precisionVSAvoidinformation processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses partial action by acquiring degrees for only the necessary color components at the predetermined accuracy level required for each specific application. Rather than processing all possible color information at maximum precision, the system determines the appropriate degree of accuracy needed and processes only that level, reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining sufficient precision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP2741254B1Color determination device, color determination system, color determination method, information recording medium, and program
Publication Date: 2018.07.04 RAKUTEN GROUP INC
  • EP2741254B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2741254B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2741254B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3B

AI summary

In a color determination device (101) that determines a correspondence relationship between a character string indicating a color and the color indicated by the character string, a character string receiver (102) receives input of a character string; an image retriever (103) retrieves for an image relating to the received character string and obtains a plurality of images as a result of the image retrieval; a degree acquirer (104) represents, with a predetermined accuracy, colors appearing in the plurality of respective images and acquires degrees at which the colors represented with the predetermined accuracy appear in the plurality of images; and a color determiner (105) determines a color indicated by the received character string from the colors represented with the predetermined accuracy on the basis of the acquired degrees.