Abstract: The number of scans of a printing head is controlled so that printing is completed by a smaller number of scans than the predetermined number of scans on printing regions by the first and last scans upon printing on the printing medium by the printing head. In a facsimile apparatus having the printing apparatus, additional information generated by an internal character generator of the facsimile apparatus is transferred to be printed in the first or last scan of the printing head upon outputting the received image data, so that printing is completed by a smaller number of scans than the predetermined number of scans.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for still image compression, video compression and automatic target recognition are disclosed. The method of still image compression uses isomorphic singular manifold projection whereby surfaces of objects having singular manifold representations are represented by best match canonical polynomials to arrive at a model representation. The model representation is compared with the original representation to arrive at a difference. If the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, the difference data are saved and compressed using standard lossy compression. The coefficients from the best match polynomial together with the difference data, if any, are then compressed using lossless compression. The method of motion estimation for enhanced video compression sends I frames on an "as-needed" basis, based on comparing the error between segments of a current frame and a predicted frame.

Abstract: There is disclosed an image extraction method for extracting, from a subject image that records both the background and the object to be extracted, image data of the object using a mask. An initial mask used for extracting the subject region is generated on the basis of difference data between the subject image and the background image that records the background alone, the region of the initial mask is grown on the basis of the similarity between the features of a first region and its neighboring second region in the subject image corresponding to the initial mask, and the image data of the object is extracted from the first image on the basis of the grown mask region.

Abstract: In an image retrieval system, a database with a large number of images is searched to find one or more images meeting the specification of a user. This specification is given in the form of a query image. The system determines the similarity between the query image and a particular image from the database by comparing the color histograms of the two images. The histograms are treated as statistical distributions and the similarity is determined on the basis of an information theoretic measure of the distributions. In a first embodiment, the similarity is determined using the Kullback informational divergence of the two histograms. In a second embodiment, the similarity is based on the entropy of the distribution of similarity coefficients of the two histograms is used.

Abstract: A handwritten character recognition method including the steps of acquiring coordinate information and writing pressure information relating to a handwritten character string as three-dimensional time series information, correcting the handwritten character string data through use of a warping function in order to minimize the overall degree of difference among a plurality of sets of handwritten character string data, and comparing the thus-corrected character string data with registered handwritten character string data by dynamic programming matching so as to obtain the overall degree of difference between the handwritten character string data and the corrected handwritten character string data.

Abstract: An image compression scheme uses a reversible transform, such as the Discrete Hartley Transform, to efficiently compress and expand image data for storage and retrieval of images in a digital format. The image data is divided into one or more image sets, each image set representing a rectangular array of pixel data from the image. Each image set is transformed using a reversible transform, such as the Hartley transform, into a set of coefficients which are then quantized and encoded using an entropy coder. The resultant coded data sets for each of the compressed image sets are then stored for subsequent expansion. Expansion of the stored data back into the image is essentially the reverse of the compression scheme.

Abstract: A decoder for converting packet data into raster data is provided. The packet data includes data about a picture-compressed video signal and data about a picture format including a picture rate. The decoder comprising a first processing means, second processing means and a storage means. The first processing means converts the packet data into intermediate data such that picture compression is eliminated from the picture-compressed video signal and outputs the intermediate data. The second processing means receives the intermediate data from the first processing means and processes the intermediate data to output raster data for one frame at a frame frequency. The storage means stores the intermediate data for processing the intermediate data in the second processing means. The second processing means writes the intermediate data into the storage means at a frequency related to the picture rate and reads the raster data for one frame from the storage means at the frequency equal to the frame frequency.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an outline font. The purpose lies in supplying a transforming and rendering method in the shape where the important form of the shape, such as the thickness of the stroke, will be maintained from the basic shape, and at the same time the whole size of the shape can be fitted into a given bounding box. The present invention supplies the transformation method of a handwriting font including searching for the medial axis of a given element, obtaining contact points by using maximal inscribed circles with the medial axis and points of the medial axis as a center, and applying the information about the medial axis points and the contact points in case of a transformation of the element in the transformation method of handwriting where a given element can be optionally transformed in sizes in order to achieve the purpose. The present invention enables the transformation of the shape.

Abstract: A compression/decompression engine is disclosed for reducing memory requirements of a decode system by storing decoded video data in compressed form. The compression engine comprises parsing chrominance UV data into separate chrominance U data and chrominance V data, and transform logic implementing a Hadamard transformation of multiple bytes of decoded video data in parallel into frequency domain signals. Compression logic is coupled to the transform logic and performs, preferably, a 2:1 transformation of the frequency domain signals to produce compressed video signals for storage in memory. The transform logic and compression logic transform and compress multiple bytes of decoded video data in parallel within a single clock cycle of the decode system. Upon retrieval from memory, the compressed data is returned to original format by the decompression engine, which employs the same transform logic as used by the compression engine.

Abstract: A bi-level image is pre-processed by dividing the image into rectangular blocks, and rearranging the dots in each rectangular block into a pattern determined by the density of black dots in the block. The resulting rearranged image is suitable for further processing such as resolution conversion or compressive encoding.

Abstract: The system and method for evaluating the amount of marker identifying precipitate in a cellular specimen on a microscope slide is disclosed. The automated microscope system performs a low magnification and high magnification scan of a cellular specimen to identify and confirm candidate objects of interest which correspond to cells containing a marker identifying precipitate. A regularly shaped area centered about a centroid computed for a candidate object of interest is used to define the pixels to be processed. A color ratio is computed for each pixel and those color ratios indicative of being dominated by the color corresponding to the marker identified precipitate are summed and normalized. The normalized color ratio is compared to at least one predetermined threshold to assign a grade to the candidate objects of interest. The grades for a predetermined number of candidate objects of interest are summed to form an aggregate score and the aggregate score is compared to a threshold.

Abstract: In an image composing apparatus, a desired image, which is selected from first digital images having been stored previously, and a desired image, which is selected from second digital images having been newly acquired, are combined with each other, and a digital composed image of a desired design is thereby obtained. The apparatus comprises several pieces of design defining information for specifying a size of the digital composed image, the desired first digital image, a position on a coordinate system associated with the digital composed image, at which position the desired first digital image is to be located, the desired second digital image, and a position on the coordinate system, at which position the desired second digital image is to be located. A specifying device specifies a single piece of design defining information from several pieces of design defining information.

Abstract: The invention corrects correspondence error among multiple images taken at different focal distances with non-telecentric optical systems, and is particularly useful in focal gradient analysis range imaging systems.

Abstract: The invention relates to adjusting contrast in television pictures and other natural picture sequences. In the method according to the invention, the pictures of the picture sequence are gathered into histograms which are processed in certain fashion in order to improve contrast in the pictures, whereafter there are formed mapping functions on the basis of the processed histograms, and the pixel values of the pictures in the picture sequence are then altered on the basis of said mapping functions. The histograms are processed so that from each class where the magnitude of values surpasses a given, predetermined limit, there are cut off all values surpassing said limit, which are then redistributed in the histogram, to classes nearest to the class under observation.

Abstract: A color image data compression coding apparatus of the present invention includes a signal processing section for processing RGB (Red, Green and Blue) color image data input from an imaging device to thereby output YC (luminance and chrominance) image data consisting of luminance data and chrominance data. When a monochrome mode is set by a system controller, the signal processing section fixes the values of chrominance data to zero. The luminance data and fixed chrominance data are written to a frame memory and then sequentially read out of the memory in blocks component by component. A compression coding section codes the image data red out of the memory by use of a JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Expert Group) system. As for the coded data of the chrominance data, Huffman codes are assigned only to DC components and EOB codes.

Abstract: A three-dimensional video signal is generated by an objective lens, a stereo lens optical system, such as a stereo doublet lens for example, one or more image-to-signal converters, and a multiplexer. A three-dimensional monitor or two head mounted monitors may be used to render (e.g., display) the three dimensional video signal.

Abstract: A digitized topology data compression and decompression method provides the digitized topology data of a collection of segments connected to each other via nodes. The method forms at least one composite line representing a chain of connected segments, which reduces an overall number of lines needed to represent the collection of segments and where each composite line has two end points at known coordinates, resulting in compression of the topology data. The method further represents each composite line by its respective end point coordinates. Next, the method enrolls each composite line into one of at least two sets of composite lines for minimizing a number of intersections between each of the composite lines within each of the sets of composite lines. Finally, the method reconstructs the nodes at a decompression time by calculating coordinates of intersecting composite lines belonging to different sets of composite lines.

Abstract: A character extraction apparatus is provided for extracting character data for each character from a text image which is represented by first pixels corresponding to character images and second pixels corresponding to background images. The character extraction apparatus comprises a character row detecting means for detecting character rows from the text image and obtaining position data of each character row; a pixel array extracting means for extracting arrays of continuous first pixels in an area specified by the character row position data and computing position data of each of the arrays of continuous first pixels; a character array linking means for linking the arrays of continuous first pixels in the area based on the position data of the arrays of continuous first pixels; and a character extracting means for recognizing each set of arrays of continuous first pixels linked by the character array linking means as a character and outputting character data.

Abstract: A ruled line deleting method which accurately deletes a ruled line existing adjacent to a border of an area for filling characters in an image obtained from a ruled form without increasing a probability of occurrence of an erroneous deletion of a character. A scanning area is defined on the image of the ruled form based on each border of the character area. Black runs are extracted from the scanning area, each of the black runs having a length greater than a predetermined length. The black pixels corresponding to the extracted black runs are changed to white pixels in the image of the ruled form.

Abstract: An image forming system, wherein a second digital copying machine stores image data temporarily on behalf of a first digital copying machine at its request and returns the stored image data upon receipt of a return request. When the second digital copying machine has not received any return request from the first digital copying machine within a predetermined period, the second digital copying machine erases the stored image data to utilize its own memory efficiently.