METHOD FOR REGISTERING IMAGE DATA

A method for storing information defining a configuration in an image scans an image, and distinguishes a background density level from a density level of the configuration. For scan lines, start pixels are identified as the first of a contiguous group of pixels having the configuration density encountered in the direction of a scan, and end pixels are identified as the last of a contiguous group of pixels having the configuration density. Chain codes are generated linking start and end pixels among differing scan lines, and start and end pixels are also indexed. Chain codes and indexes are stored as image representations.