Abstract: An image encoding device capable of maintaining high efficiency to encode data and also reducing erroneous substitution of an input pattern through encoding, includes an input pattern extractor (305) extracting an input pattern from image data, a representative pattern extractor (311) comparing extracted input patterns for each constituent portion of the input patterns to extract a single representative pattern from similar input patterns, a representative pattern image compressor (318) compressing an image of a representative pattern, and an input pattern information compressor (317) compressing a position of a coordinate of an input pattern.

Abstract: A line-direction deciding device that can decide the direction of lines in an image having a complicated layout of characters as well as line directions other than vertical and horizontal line directions. The present invention provides a line-direction deciding device that extracts character elements (image components) from an image, examines in which direction the character elements are most densely distributed and decides by majority the direction of lines of characters within a processable area as well as an image inclination correcting device that corrects an image for inclination according to a processing result made by the line-direction deciding device provided with image-inclination detecting means.

Abstract: An electronic book display control device capable of solving the problem of a conventional page turning method of an electronic book device that pages are turned in accordance with a value predetermined by a speed controller and hence it is difficult to turn pages flexibly in accordance with the contents of the book and the characteristics of the user. The control device is provided with a CPU (1) which controls the whole device, an image data storage unit (2) in which the contents of the book are stored as image data, an image data control unit (3) which receives the image data and performs the required control, a display preparation image data memory unit (4) in which image data of the page being displayed and the page to be displayed next are stored, and a display unit (5) on which information concerning the image data and information concerning the operation of the electronic book are displayed.

Abstract: A video coding device capable of adaptively processing input video data according to property of the data and realizing effective progressive transmission of the coded data even if image components are different in size and/or different in the number of subbands. The above-mentioned object can be realized by the provision of a transferring-order deciding and ranging portion that can prepare an integrated component unit by forming combinations of subband-based frequency-coefficients of respective components Y, U and V and can change the number of respective elements of respective components Y, U and V.

Abstract: A line-direction deciding device that can decide the direction of lines in an image having a complicated layout of characters as well as line directions other than vertical and horizontal line directions. The present invention provides a line-direction deciding device that extracts character elements (image components) from an image, examines in which direction the character elements are most densely distributed and decides by majority the direction of lines of characters within a processable area as well as an image inclination correcting device that corrects an image for inclination according to a processing result made by the line-direction deciding device provided with image-inclination detecting means.

Abstract: A video coding device capable of adaptively processing input video data according to property of the data and realizing effective progressive transmission of the coded data even if image components arc different in size and/or different in the number of subbands. The above-mentioned object can be realized by the provision of a transferring-order deciding and ranging portion (104) that can prepare an integrated component unit by forming combinations of subband-based frequency-coefficients of respective components Y, U and V and can change the number of respective elements of respective components Y, U and V.

Abstract: It is possible to clearly extract objects such as characters and line figures by eliminating the effect of shading from an input image containing self-shaded objects and/or vaguely contoured objects together with distinctly contoured object and thereby to extract all objects clearly and completely. A sample point setting portion sets sample points, a sample point shade calculating portion determines an optical density of shading at each sample point according to an optical density distribution of pixels in a reference block including the sample point at the center thereof. A shade calculating portion determines shade densities at the other points than the sample points and generates shade image, a shade removing portion generates a shade-removed image by removing the shading effect from the input image by using the shade image. A quantizing portion binarizes the shade-removed image and an image output portion outputs the obtained binary image.

Abstract: A method determines coordinates of a circumscribed rectangular frame for enclosing each character based on image data of character images in a recognition area. First of all, specified image data of a predetermined data unit in a transverse direction including at least one bit of black pixel are determined by scanning the image data. Thereafter, top and bottom coordinates of a circumscribed rectangular frame are determined respectively by searching respective image data located at the top and bottom positions among plural image data including at least one bit of black pixel located on the upper and lower sides of the specified image data, wherein respective bits of black pixel of plural image data are substantially continuously connected in a longitudinal direction, and then, leftmost and rightmost coordinates of the circumscribed rectangular frame are determined based on histogram data composed of either logical products or logical sums of respective bits in the transverse direction.