Abstract: In order to define the contour of an ellipse, it is necessary to determine five unknown parameters in the general equation representative of centered conics. When directly applying Hough transformation method to the above equation, since a five-dimensional space is required, it is practically impossible to detect an ellipse because a long processing time and a great amount of memory capacity are inevitably required. To overcome these problems, the geometric properties of an ellipse are determined separately on three parameter sub-spaces obtained on the basis of edge vector field: two-dimensional center histogram and two-dimensional (H, B) histogram, one-dimensional C histogram. A peak value on the center histogram represents a group of ellipse having the same center locations; a peak value on the (H, B) histogram represents a group of concentric ellipse having the same eccentricity and axis slope; a peak value on the C histogram defines a single ellipse.

Abstract: A light-transmissive device, illustratively a glass plate, is disposed adjacent to a plurality of light-emissive pixel locations, illustratively the pixel locations of a cathode ray tube (CRT). The glass plate entraps light originating from the CRT at least when an object, such as a document, is placed on one of the surfaces of the light-transmissive device, the amount of light that is entrapped being a function of the reflectivity characteristics of the document. The pixel locations are successively energized and a light detection signal indicative of the level of the entrapped light is generated by photodetection circuitry disposed adjacent to the edge of the glass plate. A pixel signal is stored for each energized pixel location, that signal being a function of the level of the light detection signal during the time that that pixel location was energized. The ensemble of stored pixel signals can then, for example, be displayed.

Abstract: There has been proposed in prior art an identification device which identifies the denomination of a bank bill from the numerical figures thereon; however, it is of a simple type which recognizes the numerical figures by the variation of the light level reflected from the portion of a note having such numerical figures printed thereon by means of a sensor to thereby identify the denomination thereof. The device is detrimental in that a note is erroneously identified due to stains on the note. It is not quite practically usable as it is necessary to convey a note with one of the edges thereof placed under a strict control so that the numerical portion thereof should be surely passed through the sensoring position. According to this invention, one-dimensional image sensors are provided over the numerical portion on both sides of a note, signals output from the image sensors in time serial are encoded and characteristic signals for the numerical figures on the note are formed.

Abstract: A method for converting an image from a bit map to a run end or run length representation includes the steps of: storing said image as a bit map representation; initializing all variables to be used in the conversion process; converting by table lookup, each run of continuous color to a run representation, storing, in a run representation buffer, as a count value, each run representation; repeating the steps of converting and storing for each run of continuous color to the end of the image.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the outer diameters, ovality and eccentricity of the finish of a container is disclosed. The invention can be practiced in either a one-camera or a two-camera embodiment. The one-camera embodiment comprises means for illuminating the finish with a collimated beam of light to produce a transmitted beam containing a shadow of the finish and means for focusing the transmitted beam containing the shadow of the finish to produce the image thereof. The apparatus further comprises a line-scan camera for periodically scanning sequential segments of the image from one periphery to the other periphery as the container rotates for providing a plurality of pixel signals for each scan, and a data circuit responsive to the magnitudes of the pixel signals in each of the scans for counting the number of signals in the peripheries of the image to provide a left periphery count and a right periphery count for each scan.

Abstract: A handwritten character recognition device comprises a feature point circuit for recognizing a character with using three feature points for a continuous stroke connecting a first stroke and second strokes. For recognition, both stroke information and stroke connection information between adjacent strokes are read-in per stroke. Therefore, the character can be recognized with a relative position correlation between the stroke number and the stroke shape. Even if the stroke number may be irregularly changed, the inputted character can be recognized without a necessity of storing information for the irregularly changed strokes.

Abstract: Apparatus for processing applied signals indicative of an image scene in order to provide output signals representative of objects in the scene whose sizes are within a predetermined size range. Combinations of median and anti-median filters are employed in serial and parallel configurations to produce the desired size filtering. The basic system comprises first filter means for providing first output signals indicative of objects whose sizes are within a first preselected size range. Second filter means are employed which provide second output signals indicative of objects whose sizes are within a second preselected size range. At least one of the two preselected size ranges contain object sizes within the predetermined size range. Circuit means are provided for coupling the output signals from the two filters in a manner which generates output signals indicative of objects whose sizes are within the predetermined range.

Abstract: An image reading device for a facsimile apparatus or the like compensates outputs of a line image sensor by shading while reading out a document. When a reference signal representative of a particular pixel is derived from a contaminated portion of a reference or white image, a reference signal representative of a pixel which immediately precedes that particular pixel is substituted for the latter. This promotes accurate shading which is free from the influence of contamination.

Abstract: A method for converting an image from a run representation to a bit map, includes the steps of: storing a plurality of run representations of an image in a buffer; initializing a line of data; converting, by table lookup, each run representation, in said line, to a picture element representation, storing said picture element representation of said line; repeating the steps of initializing, converting and storing for remaining run representations until said image has been converted to a bit map representation.

Abstract: A character recognition method involves the inputting of a character attached to an article as an image signal, forming the input image signal into an image pattern, and matching the image pattern with a standard pattern. The character to be recognized is prepared by superimposing on an ordinary character a plurality of marks in a pattern characterizing that character. A letter recognition apparatus discriminates the character by extracting only the characterizing marks from the image signal through image processing and by matching the information concerning the arrangement of the characteristic marks extracted and standard information relating to standard image patterns which is stored in advance.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the pitch of a character of an aligned group of character images on the surface of a paper where the group contains several characters which touch or merge with each other. Blocks of separable letters are extracted from the aligned group of characters and the size and location of each is detected and stored. Based upon this information a permissible range for a one-letter block width is ascertained and the most frequently occurring letter block width in that permissible range is determined. Based on the most frequently occurring letter block width, an effective range or interval for determining letter pitch is ascertained and numerical method are employed to estimate the letter pitch.

Abstract: An information processing mechanism having a combined printing and reading head wherein the reading head is maintained as close as possible to the printing head by providing means for deflecting light entering the reading head so that the organization of the reading head may be arranged with a reading window thereof through which light enters the reading head arranged adjacent the printing head between a printing needle guide member and a magnet carrier of the printing head, the magnet carrier having a wider dimension than the printing needle guide member.

Abstract: A manual image scanning system is operative to read image data of figures or letters depicted on a sheet of paper based on manual operation to input them to a personal computer for data processing. The manual image scanning system comprises a data tablet or a digitizer in which magnetostriction pulses propagate, the data tablet being adapted so that a sheet of paper on which a figure is drawn is placed thereon, and a compact manual image scanner adapted to be manually movably placed on the data tablet, the manual image scanner having a first function to recognize the figure drawn on the paper to produce data indicative of image of the figure, and a second function to sense a position of the scanner to produce data indicative of the position of the scanner.

Abstract: Two-dimensional images of a three-dimensional body photographed by two video cameras are parallactically compensated prior performing the detection of the corresponding point necessary to recognize the body. Namely, the parallax between both cameras for the object distance measured by a range finder is calculated by a parallax calculator, and one image is electrically shifted by an image shifting circuit by only the number of pixels in accordance with the parallax value, thereby performing the parallax compensation of the images. In a calculation processing unit, the correlation values for the corresponding points between both images are calculated, and the distance images of the body are produced on the basis of these correlation values.

Abstract: A method of data compression which allows an enlarged font of complex characters to be produced by scaling from data representing a stored font of complex characters is disclosed. The scaling procedure involves the insertion of horizontal and vertical lines into the stored font to effect vertical and horizontal expansion, respectively, of the stored font. These lines are inserted so as to preserve the basic shape of the characters according to the following procedure. First, the dot matrix of each character is partitioned into sections, each containing a very pronounced and recognizable portion of the character. Then a decision is made in which sections to insert lines so that enlargement is attained without distorting the basic overall shape of the character. Next, a decision is made where in the sections the lines are to be inserted. Finally, a decision is made as to what the inserted lines are to look like.

Abstract: Four fingers of a hand of an individual person, i.e. the index finger, the middle finger, the medical finger and the little finger are placed on a transparent measuring table in juxtaposition. A guide member is also placed on the table to restrict the position of the hand and light is irradiated onto the table. The intensity of the light passed through the transparent measuring table is scanned by a television camera and so on at every light receiving point to convert it an electrical signal. Thus obtained electric signals are processed to calculate the differential data of the finger lengths thereby detecting an individual person.

Abstract: A method of automatically recognizing objects in a digital image. The pixel coordinates of the boundary of the objects are identified and stored as data. A series of Fourier coefficients describing the boundary of the object are calculated and used to generate a set of descriptors. The descriptors are stored and compared with similarly generated descriptors of other objects to determine correspondence therebetween.

Abstract: In an image area measuring apparatus wherein an image bearing surface of a lithographic printing plate is divided into a plurality of zones and photographed with a television camera to produce analog image signals which are converted into digital signals to obtain a measured value, the image area of each zone is calculated based on the measured value and a quantity of printing ink is determined according to the image area, there is provided a method of processing an image signal including the steps of preparing a first conversion table for 100% dot ratio, and a second conversion table for other percentage of dot ratios, determining the quantity of printing ink from the first conversion table at the time of printing an image having 100% dot ratio, and determining the quantity of the ink from the second conversion table at the time of printing an image having a dot ratio other than 100%.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatically correcting image distortions by inter-image processing, which is arranged to obtain, prior to performing the inter-image processing of two two-dimensional digital images, a displacement vector between these two images, and to thereby obtain, based on this displacement vector, a corrected image of one of these two images, and to provide this corrected image for performing the inter-image processing between it and the other image.

Abstract: A method of improving segmentation of target information in video signal developed by target tracking apparatus, when the average video levels of the target and of its background surround tend to be alike.