Dynamic Lighting Adjustment for Colored Mail Image Contrast
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mail-sorting systems face difficulties in accurately processing delivery items with colored paper or ink other than blue or black, as their image-lift systems are optimized for white paper with blue or black ink, leading to poor performance during holidays with increased use of colored items.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system that uses a color scanner to determine the color characteristics of delivery items, adjusting the spectral characteristics of lighting to enhance image contrast, and employing high-resolution grayscale scanners to capture improved images for OCR processing, thereby improving the ability to read address information from non-traditional surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the image-lift system is optimized for white paper with blue or black ink, then the reading accuracy for standard mailpieces is improved, but the performance deteriorates when processing colored delivery items or items with non-blue/non-black ink
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system is made dynamically adjustable by allowing the spectral characteristics to be changed based on the detected color properties of the delivery item. The system first captures an initial image to determine color characteristics, then adjusts the lighting spectrum accordingly to optimize contrast for the specific item being processed, enabling both high precision for standard items and adaptability for colored items
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the spectral parameters of the illumination source to match the optical properties of the delivery item. By adjusting the lighting spectrum based on the detected color characteristics of the item (such as colored paper or non-blue/black ink), the system optimizes the contrast between the text and background for accurate OCR reading
2Ease of operation
If fixed spectral characteristics lighting is used, then the system complexity is reduced and operation is simplified, but the measurement precision deteriorates for non-standard colored items
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-adjustment by automatically detecting the color characteristics of each delivery item and autonomously modifying its own lighting spectral parameters. This eliminates the need for manual intervention or complex operator decisions, maintaining ease of operation while achieving high measurement precision for diverse item types through automated adaptation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the ability of mail-sorting devices to accurately read and process address information from delivery items with non-standard colors, ensuring efficient sorting and delivery, even during peak periods with increased use of colored items.
Implementation Method 1
a color scanner to determine the color characteristics of delivery items
Implementation Method 2
adjusting the spectral characteristics of lighting to enhance image contrast
Implementation Method 3
high-resolution grayscale scanners to capture improved images
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for lifting an enhanced image of a delivery item using a first low-resolution color scanner to lift a first image of the delivery item, analyzing the first image with a processor to determine a color of the delivery item, using the color information to adjust the spectrum of an illuminating device, lifting a second image of the delivery item illuminated with the adjusted spectrum, and lifting a second image of the delivery item using a high-resolution grayscale scanner, the second image having enhanced contrast.