Abstract: A data compressor with a plurality of serially connected shift registers compressing digital signals received from a data lift for transfer to a storage device which operates at a slower rate than the data lift generates digital signals. The data compressor eliminates from the data stream one of the frequently generated digital signals or a closely related group thereof and substitutes an address of the next digital signal which is not of the group being eliminated. Further, the data compressor eliminates trains of redundant signals which are longer than a certain minimum number of signals and substitutes a count which represents the number of redundant signals within each train therefor. The data compressor also inerts control markers into the data stream to identify the redundancy counts and the addresses which have been inserted therein.

Abstract: A character presence detector providing a decision on character presence at the data rate, that is the rate at which the character presence detector receives binary data bits. The binary data bits correspond to the output of a self-scanning photocell array and each data bit corresponds to the output of one of the cells of the array. The binary data bits comprise a binary stream which contains information representing characters on a written medium. The stream of binary data bits which is divided into scans corresponding to scans of the photocell array, is received by a memory within the character presence detector. Each binary bit has a unique position within its particular scan. The memory provides as outputs the data bits corresponding to a certain position within each of the scans within the memory simultaneously. Each position within the scans is sequentially selected as the output of the memory.

Abstract: Alignment mechanism for processing documents having a plurality of rotating rollers extending upward from the floor of a horizontal tray which is provided with a longitudinal edge. The axes of the rollers are positioned at approximately 75.degree. angle with respect to the longitudinal edge. A plurality of balls are located above the rollers with one or more balls associated with each roller. The documents pass between the rollers and the balls for moving the documents toward the longitudinal edge and simultaneously toward a read station located adjacent an end of the longitudinal edge. Two pairs of rollers, and upper and lower baffles cooperate to vertically align documents of different thicknesses with respect to the read station.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for reading randomly oriented characters having a laser producing a narrow beam of coherent light which is focused by a telescope onto indicia located on a written medium. The focus beam of light is directed by a scanner located intermediate the telescope and the indicia. The scanner directs the beam of light across an area in a known sequence. The light reflected from the written medium having the indicia thereon is received by a photomultiplier detector. The processor which receives the output of the photomultiplier detector determines the observed orientation of the indicia, and the angle between the observed orientation of the indicia and a desired orientation of the indicia. The processor then generates a signal which causes a beam rotating means located between the scanner and the indicia to be rotated to a position so that the indicia are now scanned in the known sequence having the desired orientation with respect to indicia.

Abstract: An ink temperature control apparatus having an enclosed heat conducting structure with ink circulating therein is provided in a ink jet printer. The temperature control apparatus includes a heating element attached to the structure and thermally engaged with the ink contained within the ink structure. A temperature sensing device is also located on the structure and is thermally engaged with the ink contained within the structure. A control system is provided to respond to the temperature sensing device and actuate the heating element in response to the temperature information communicated by the temperature sensing device. The ink is maintained at a certain predetermined temperature by the control system. Ink under pressure enters the structure from a sump after being pressurized by a pump. Subsequent to leaving the structure, the heated ink proceeds to a nozzle of the ink jet printer.

Abstract: Magnetic ink characters on a document 1A are sensed by a single gap magnetic reading head which employs a segmented linear array having adjoining magnetic sensing elements. Each sensing element is a C-shaped laminated core with the reading head comprising an array of contiguously aligned cores where the core gaps are on an axis perpendicular to a document travel path. A pickoff coil encircles the vertical member of one arm of each laminated core and pickoff coils for juxtapositioned sensing elements are staggered on either side of the core gap so that no two coils are immediately adjacent. A chrome over copper plate about the core gaps is employed to improve the read head wear life and narrow the side-view angle of the sensing elements. The resolution and signal to noise ratio of the sensing element responses thereby is improved.

Abstract: A character feature detection system is provided for reliably reading non-touching hand printed and multi-font machine printed alphanumeric characters. An information field is scanned by a sensor array, and the sensor responses are digitized to form a binary character image. The image is thinned in one-cell layers as the image boundary and loops internal to the image are traced from boundary point to boundary point. A transition from one boundary point to another is defined by one of eight equally divergent vectors which are indicative of the local slope of a boundary between connected points. The sequence of vectors and their x-ray locations are recorded, and boundary slopes are indicated by a running average of four vectors representative of cell to cell transitions. Character features are detected from the sequence of boundary slopes to form a feature set including circumference counts, maximum and minimum image boundary limits, inflection points and loops.

Abstract: A method and system for automatic optical character recognition wherein a continuous flow of image data is processed at a high scan rate. A two dimensional array of self scanning photo sensors is disposed to read characters located on a writing medium. Analog outputs of the cells of the photo sensor array are converted to a continuous flow of binary signals representing character segments or the absence thereof. Feature codes are generated in a ROM to produce a multi-bit feature code characterizing unique relationships between character segments. For each row and column scanned, a representative feature code is produced with a sequence of such codes representing a complete scan of the array. The features codes are received by a decision network as they are generated by the ROM. The decision network is provided with a multiplicity of nodes, each node being accessible to every other node by a one state change to produce a representative output character code.

Abstract: A method and system for automatic optical character recognition wherein a continuous flow of image data is processed at a scan rate high compared to the relative movement of the information-containing field across a sensor array. A two-dimensional array of photosensors is self-scanned to provide a continuous flow of binary character segment and void zone representations which are decoded by reference to a ROM to produce multi-bit feature codes characterizing unique relationships between line segments. For each row or column scanned, a representative feature code is produced with a sequence of such codes representing a complete scan of the sensor array. Successive sequences of feature codes are applied to a decision network having a multiplicity of nodes where each node is accessible to every other node by one state change to produce a representative output character code.

Abstract: Disclosed is a control circuit used to conserve power in a portable optical recognition system. When the system is not being used or between actual scans of the reading electronics, power is supplied only to those circuits required to control power to the system and to permit sequence reading of items. An infrared signal is emitted from the reading device and when a document or other item to be read is scanned the infrared signal is reflected back into the scan unit and is detected, thereby sensing that a document is being read and turning the system on.

Abstract: A modulator for the generation of uniform liquid drops over a wide bandwidth of drop rates is provided. The concave and convex surfaces of a hemispherical piezoelectric crystal are electroded, and the transducer formed thereby is seated within and bonded to the wall of a concave well in the face of a solid epoxy crystal backing. A ring gasket is placed contiguous to the ring shaped edge of the transducer, and a nozzle plate is placed in sealed relation with the ring gasket to form a liquid chamber between the plate and the transducer. The physical dimensions of the component parts of the modulator are made smaller than the half wavelength of the shortest standing acoustical wave that can be established at the highest of the operable drop frequency rates in a structure of the same material as the part in question.

Abstract: Disclosed is a tubular structure for rotationally interconnecting two bodies both mechanically and electrically. The tubular member is firmly attached to one member and extends through the other member. Electrical wires extend through the tubular member and out each end and through a central opening in the tube.

Abstract: A magnetic ink character reading system is provided in which multi-element read heads are positioned in a spaced apart and staggered arrangement. Data signals occurring in the analog responses of the read heads are detected, and converted to discrete logic level signals under the control of a dynamically adjustable threshold. The logic level signals of each read head are sampled in response to independent data sample signals which are phase locked to the data rate of the respective read head. NRZ (non-return-to-zero) data signals formed thereby are synchronized to a common fixed frequency, and serialized faithfully to represent the characters appearing on documents passing the read heads.

Abstract: A reliable optical character recognition system substantially insensitive to variations in character stroke size is provided for reading numeric and special characters printed on a document surface in plural fonts of unknown order. More particularly, a character is scanned and its image stored in a two-dimensional mosaic without requiring precise positioning therein, amplitude correlation for video signal quantization, or normalization of character stroke sizes. The image mosaic is scanned by a row-column analyzer to detect primary features of the image including the number of character segments in the rows and columns, the segment length and rightmost segment coordinate for those rows containing only a single segment, and the segment length for those columns having a single segment. Feature decision logic analyzes the primary features to form a set of secondary features based upon the occurrence and order of the primary features.