Abstract: An apparatus for identifying an individual includes a reader for reading the input image of a finger of the individual and outputting an image signal corresponding to the image of the finger, an adder for adding the image signal output from the reader in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the finger and outputting an addition signal, and a memory such as an IC card for storing a previously registered addition signal output from the adder. A first signal obtained by decimation of the addition signal from the adder and a second signal obtained by the decimation of the addition signal stored in the IC card are roughly position aligned. After the rough position alignment, two addition signals, in which one is the addition signal before obtaining the first signal and the other is the addition signal before obtaining the second signal, are accurately position aligned. The two addition signals are then compared to decide whether the finger image corresponds to an authorized person.

Abstract: An image data compression apparatus, in that a component characteristic value of an AC component in a block obtained by dividing digital tonal image data is compared with a predetermined threshold value so that a frequency of an AC component at the highest frequency side having the component characteristic value over the threshold value is determined as a boundary value, and in that the AC component exceeding the boundary value is not handled as a substantial transform coefficient. When the transform coefficients in a high-frequency side in the block is cut according to an image content of the block a lower limit of a frequency to be cut is determined, so that a frequency lower than the lower limit determined may not be cut.

Abstract: This arrangement comprises at least a processing block (2) provided with mean value calculating members for calculating for each picture element different mean background values (16, 18, 20), a contrast measuring member (22) for producing a deviation value between the mean values and the luminance L(i, j) of the picture element to be processed, a comparator (30) for producing the indication of the contrasting object by comparing the different deviation values to at least one predetermined threshold value and a background value assigning member (55) for assigning a background value for each picture element on the basis of said mean values.

Abstract: A photoelectron image projection apparatus has a device for detecting an image of a pattern of a mask within a predetermined projection region of the mask. An image signal describing the detected image is compared with a reference image signal which is known from the pattern of the mask, and a defect in the projection pattern is detected when the two compared image signals differ.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for identifying a valid symbol or a string of valid symbols from a sequence of handwritten strokes. A method includes the steps of (a) generating in response to one or more handritten strokes a plurality of stroke labels each having an associated score; (b) processing the plurality of stroke labels in accordance with a beam search-like technique to identify those stroke labels indicative of a valid symbol or portion of a valid symbol; and (c) associating together identified stroke labels to determine an identity of a valid symbol or a string of valid symbols therefrom. An aspect of the invention is that each of the constraint validation filters is switchably coupled into a serial filter chain. The switches function to either couple a filter input to a stroke label or decouple the input and provide a path around the filter block. An application writer has available a plurality of constraint filters.

Abstract: A character reader device of the present invention is capable of reading as read data characters written in a portion corresponding to a given read field on a manuscript, detecting a reject character in the read data, generating a pattern image corresponding to the reject character, displaying the read data, the reject character and the pattern image, computing the position of a display area for the read data, deciding whether or not the computed display area is overlapped with the display area for the pattern image shifting the pattern image to the area which is the outside of the display area for the read data if overlapped and displaying it on the latter area.

Abstract: A method for orienting a dual mouse optical scanner on an orthogonal grid pattern comprising the steps of (a) placing a dual mouse scanner on a grid pattern at a small angle to the vertical lines of the grid pattern and commencing motion detection with the two mice, (b) setting the coordinate position of each mouse at (0,0), (c) rotating the scanner in a predetermined manner while measuring the vertical distance on the grid pattern between the two mice for each new position of the scanner, (d) determining an average scanner position amongst all scanner positions having the same maximum vertical grid distance between the mice, and (e) establishing the coordinate position of one mouse at the average scanner position as the origin of a coordinate system in the memory of a computer in communication with the scanner and the vertical line closest to the origin and the coordinate position of the other mouse as the vertical axis of the coordinate system.