초록 ▼

A method of generating an image incorporating a microstructure includes the steps of obtaining an original image, generating a microstructure, and rendering a region or the whole said original image with said microstructure. The operation of generating the microstructure includes an automatic synthe

A method of generating an image incorporating a microstructure includes the steps of obtaining an original image, generating a microstructure, and rendering a region or the whole said original image with said microstructure. The operation of generating the microstructure includes an automatic synthesis of microstructure elements from original microstructure shapes.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. Method of generating an image incorporating a microstructure, comprising: obtaining an original image; automatically generating a dither matrix from original microstructure shapes; and rendering said original image with said dither matrix; where automatically generating dithe

What is claimed is: 1. Method of generating an image incorporating a microstructure, comprising: obtaining an original image; automatically generating a dither matrix from original microstructure shapes; and rendering said original image with said dither matrix; where automatically generating dither matrix from original microstructure shapes comprises the application of mathematical morphology operations selected from the set of erosion and dilation operations to said microstructure shape and where the microstructure comprises a visual motif selected from the set of typographic character, text, graphical element, symbol, logo, and ornament. 2. Method according to claim 1 wherein the microstructure comprises a low frequency microstructure with low frequency microstructure elements generated from the original microstructure shapes, and a high frequency microstructure with high frequency microstructure elements, whereby the low frequency microstructure elements are larger than the high frequency microstructure elements. 3. Method according to claim 1 wherein the mathematical morphology operations comprise a shape thinning operation for operating on a bitmap shape foreground and an operation selected from a the set of alternated dilation and dual bitmap thinning for operating on a bitmap shape background. 4. Method according to claim 1 wherein rendering the original image with said dither matrix yields a bilevel image whose rendered microstructure elements vary in thickness according to original image intensity, said rendered microstructure elements being visible at both high and low intensities. 5. Method according to claim 1 wherein the visibility of the microstructure is tuned by a mask whose values represent relative weights of the original image halftoned with conventional methods and the original image synthesized with the microstructure. 6. Method according to claim 1 further comprising applying a parametrized geometric transformation to warp the microstructure incorporated in the image. 7. Method according to claim 6 wherein a plurality of image instances are successively generated by modifying parameters of the parametrized geometric transformation, said set of image instances forming a displayable image animation. 8. Method according to claim 7 wherein said parameters are modified smoothly as a function of time to yield a smoothly evolving animated microstructure. 9. Method according to claim 1 wherein the rendering said original image with said dither matrix comprises a multicolor dithering operation. 10. Method according to claim 1 further comprising applying a multi-valued mask expressing weights of original image colors and weights of a plurality of selected basic colors for generating said image incorporating said microstructure. 11. Method according to claim 1 wherein the microstructure comprises information personal to a user of said image incorporating said microstructure. 12. Method according to claim 1 wherein the microstructure comprises information identifying and specific to a particular event or transaction, such as date, venue, seating, destination, time. 13. Method according to claim 1 wherein the microstructure comprises alphanumerical characters at a size which allows reading them at a normal document reading distance. 14. Method according to claim 1, said method further comprising an operation of equilibration of said dithered image, said operation of equilibration comprising the steps of a) applying a dot gain simulation; b) applying a human visual system filtering; and c) performing a comparison between intensities of said original image and intensities of the resulting dot gain simulated and filtered dithered image. 15. Method according to claim 14 wherein said comparison yields a deltamap which is dithered by a high frequency dither array, the resulting dithered deltamap being in a further step composed with said dithered image. 16. Method according to claim 1 wherein a mask whose shape expresses a visual message specifies the part of the microstructure that is to be printed with special inks that enable, under certain observation conditions, the mask shape to remain hidden within the image and under other observation conditions, the mask shape to be clearly revealed. 17. Method according to claim 16 wherein parts of the image specified by the mask are printed with a special ink selected from a group of metallic and iridescent inks, whereby the mask shape is hidden at a certain observation angle and is visible at a different observation angle. 18. Method according to claim 16 wherein parts of the image specified by the mask are printed with a special ink invisible in daylight and visible in light at selected frequencies, such as ultraviolet light. 19. Method according to claim 1 further comprising defining colors to be used for rendering the target image; defining parameters of a parametrized transformation; traversing a target image positions (x,y) pixel by pixel and row by row, determining corresponding positions in the original image (x',y') and, according to the parametrized transformation, corresponding positions in the microstructure (x",y"); obtaining from the original image positions (x',y') the color Cr to be reproduced and from the microstructure positions (x",y") rendering information; rendering the target image by making use of the rendering information. 20. Method of generating a security document comprising producing an image incorporating a microstructure according to a method set forth in claim 1, wherein the original image rendered with the microstructure comprises information relevant to the purpose of the document and intended to be protected against counterfeiting. 21. Method of generating a security document for printing or display, comprising the steps of: selecting or retrieving an original image; selecting or retrieving information specific to a person, an event or transaction to which said security document relates; generating a microstructure comprising readable microstructure elements providing information on said person, event or transaction; rendering said original image with said microstructure using the method according to claim 1. 22. Method according to claim 1, wherein said original image rendered with said microstructure is printed or displayed on a support selected from the group comprising paper, plastics, polymers, product packages, optical disks, and optical devices, said optical devices comprising holograms, kinegrams and diffractive elements. 23. Method according to claim 21 wherein the security document is a commercial instrument bearing value or relating to a commercial transaction. 24. Method according to claim 21 wherein the security document is an certificate, title or deed. 25. Method according to claim 21 wherein the security document comprises information identifying a person or entity. 26. Method according to claim 21, wherein the image incorporating a microstructure is generated in a server system, said server system preparing and packaging a displayable file for printing said security document on a standard printer or for display on an electronic screen, such as a screen of a portable electronic device. 27. Method according to claim 26, wherein said security document is printed on said standard printer at a customer site remote from said server system and accessible to said server system via a communications network such as the internet. 28. Method according to claim 21 wherein some or all information included in the original image is retrieved from one or more databases via a global communications network such as the internet. 29. Method according to claim 21 wherein the original image comprises a portrait of a bearer selected from a customer database on the basis of information identifying said bearer. 30. An image incorporating a microstructure generated by a method according to claim 1 wherein the microstructure elements comprise information specific to a particular event, transaction, or person. 31. A security document comprising an image according to claim 30. 32. A computing system for synthesizing a security document, comprising: an interface operable for receiving a request for synthesizing the security document, a preparation software module operable for preparing data files according to document related information received with the request, where the preparation of data files comprises the generation of an original document image, the generation of microstructure shapes and the generation of transformation parameters, and a production software module operable for producing the security document, where producing the security document comprises an automatic synthesis of a dither matrix by applying mathematical morphology operators selected from the set of erosion and dilation operators to said microstructure shapes and further comprises rendering said a security document with said dither matrix, and where said microstructure shares comprises a visual motif selected from the set of typographic character, text, graphical element, symbol, logo, and ornament.