Abstract: A television set with videotext and/or teletext decoders having character generators which are synchronized by the deflection generators of the television set and in which audio will be forwarded only when an authorized television signal is being received and in that a memory in the decoder will be accessible to display a recognizable image even when the television transmitter is turned off.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for partially decoding an encoded widescreen, extended definition television signal into a signal that is compatible with existing consumer video cassette recorders (VCRs) and video monitors. The encoded signal is compatible with existing television standards to produce a video image having a conventional 4:3 aspect ratio. Signals representing side panel information, to be appended onto either side of the 4:3 center panel, are encoded in the signal and are not visible in the image produced by a conventional receiver. The disclosed system includes decoding circuitry which recovers the side panel signals, appends them to the center panel signal and changes the time correspondence of the total signal so that it represents an image having a 5:3 aspect ratio. Luminance and chrominance components of the decoded video signal are provided as output signals of the decoder and to input ports of a conventional video cassette recorder (VCR) such as an S-VHS or ED-Beta machine.

Abstract: An image signal processor which includes a local image register for receiving local image area data of m rows.times.n columns pixels, and a expansion use register of m row.times.1 column pixels coupled to the output of the local image register. Thereby, expansion of local image area, and parallel processing can be readily conducted.

Abstract: An integrated circuit for improved burst gate pulse separation for use in a digital video system that receives a positive composite video signal wherein horizontal, vertical and composite synchronizing signals and a burst gate pulse signal are respectively separated therefrom.

Abstract: To speed the transmission of video images via transmission lines which can be of relatively low grade (e.g., voice-grade telephone transmission lines), each video image is encoded as a plurality of pixels, and the bits for each pixel are transmitted in order of significance (i.e., the most significant bits for all pixels are sent first, then the next most significant bits for all pixels are sent, and so on). At the receiver the image is displayed as it is received, and transmission is terminated as soon as the observer of the display has sufficient information about the image. Although many other applications are possible, the illustrative embodiment is a remote railroad freight car identification system.

Abstract: A video image storage device comprises a signal input means capable of analog-to-digital conversion of input video signals including various types of scanning lines such as different numbers of scanning lines, a frame memory means capable of memorizing image signals and signal output means. The video image storage device further comprises an input signal generating means, an output signal generating means and a frame memory control means. The input signal generating means comprises a N multiplying circuit capable of N multiplying horizontal synchronizing pulses. The number of N in a dividing circuit can be arbitarily determined by the relation between effective image period and blanking period, and thus the video image storage device can store input video signals having different scanning line numbers which depend upon the types of diagnostic modalities.

Abstract: A circuit for extracting phase averaged horizontal timing with high noise immunity and for rapidly acquiring a video signal from a composite synchronizing signal generates an output signal at the horizontal sync rate, the output signal having leading edges occurring at the leading edges of the horizontal sync pulses of the composite synchronizing signal. The rate of the output signal is phase averaged by comparing the respective leading edges of the output signal and the composite synchronizing signal within a window centered about the leading edges of the output signal. Difference in the phases of the respective leading edges result in an error signal which is used to adjust the rate of the output signal to obtain coincidence of the respective leading edges. The occurrence of the leading edges of the composite synchronizing signal within the window is used to lock the circuit.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein a system for expanding a compressed image stored in memory as one and two dimensional huffman codes into an image comprised of pixel data corresponding the orginal colors and positons of pixels in the original, uncompressed image. The system is comprised of a four stage, data driven pipeline where each stage works in parallel with the other stages. The first stage contends for read cycles to access the codes, stores the codes so accessed and converts the words of code bits so accessed into individual codes for application to the second stage. The second stage converts the incoming codes into their corresponding run lengths by looking each code up in a look up table. The table stores data which is either the run length itself for one dimensional codes or is data from which the run length may be calculated by reference to the previous raster line. The third stage converts the run lengths into strings of pixel data of the proper length and pixel color.

Abstract: To adjust frequency characteristics (e.g. peak frequency or emphasizing frequency range) of a contour compensating circuit (i.e. edge emphasizer) for correcting scanning beam aperture distortion of a video camera, for instance, the contour compensating circuit comprises a first delay line for delaying a first signal Sa into a second signal Sb; a second delay line for delaying the second singal Sb into a third signal Sc; and a matrix mixer for mixing three signals Sa, Sb and Sc at a matrix mixture ratio of (.alpha.-1):-.alpha.:1 and outputting the mixed signal Sd=Sc-.alpha.Sb+(.alpha.-1 Sa as a contour compensating signal. The above mixture ratio is controllled on the basis of an automatic gain control detection voltage derived from the AGC circuit for the video camera.

Abstract: A teletext system with multiple page teletext memory includes a page up and a page down function. Upon direct access of a page of teletext data, appropriate flags are set in the sector memory and the preceding page of data and the four successive pages of data are also acquired and stored. Corresponding page numbers are placed in the page request register and in response to a page up or page down command, a display register is incremented or decremented, respectively, to display the next page of data. The high page and low page information is recalculated by the CCU and the teletext system acquires a new page of teletext data to replace a page that is being discarded. Should a page request be made via the up/down page commands for a page that has not been completely acquired, the system reverts to a direct access mode of operation and the cycle is repeated.

Abstract: A mode discriminator for detecting a specific mode of horizontal synchronizing frequency applied to a display monitor includes first and second monostable multivibrators coupled to a vertical synchronizing signal associated with the horizontal synchronizing frequency. The discriminator detects the polarity of the vertical synchronizing signal to detemine whether the horizontal synchronizing frequency is of a first mode or a second mode in which the frequencies are different. Since the discriminator detects the polarity of vertical synchronizing signals and does not depend on the time difference between pulse widths of a horizontal synchronizing signal, reliability and performance are enhanced.

Abstract: An interrupt circuit monitors a television audio demodulator or an external video input circuit and interrupts the video signal to CRT and the audio signal to television speaker(s) whenever a lost signal condition is detected. In the preferred embodiment, a lost signal condition is detected by monitoring the voltage level of the signal from the audio demodulator or the external video input circuit and generating a detect signal whenever the voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold. When a television signal is lost, both the audio demodulator signal and the external video signal constitute a noise signal that has a voltage amplitude that is greater than the normal operating range of either of these two signals. In the preferred embodiment, when a detect signal is produced, both the video signal to the CRT and the audio signal to the television speaker(s) are interrupted and alternate video and audio signals are provided to the CRT and speaker(s) by a microprocessor.

Abstract: A pattern recognition system, particularly a handprint character recognition system in which electrical binary black/white "image" of one or more handprinted characters is formed and a plurality of centers of recognition (CORs) within said binary black/white images are selected as reference points for measuring the characteristic enclave of the black/white image immediately surrounding the CORs. A library of templates of said measurements around the CORs for a plurality of known exemplary character images is stored in a memory for comparison with corresponding measurements made around the CORs of images whose class is unknown to produce "template scores" proportional to the similarity of the enclaves of the known image to the enclaves measured by templates.

Abstract: An imaging device has a sensor unit body which moves over the region to be scanned in a prescribed direction, a plurality of linear imaging sensors each having a plurality of picture elements and each being mounted on the sensor unit body in a fashion so as not to generate gaps between any of the loci of motion along which the plurality of picture elements move, and a control unit connected to the linear imaging sensors so as to output the detected image signals whereby the images that are in region to be scanned are picked up.

Abstract: A video camera device in which camera head and signal processing circuit are provided separately and connected to each other by cable. Camera head includes CCD, drive pulse generator for generating a drive pulse of CCD, and first VCO for generating a clock pulse. Drive pulse generator frequency divides the clock pulse signal from first VCO to produce the drive pulse. Signal processing circuit includes signal processor for processing, e.g., clamping and sampling/holding a signal from CCD, timing generator for generating a timing signal of the signal processor, and a second VCO for generating a clock pulse. Timing generator frequency divides the clock pulse signal from second VCO to generate the timing signal. The output of first VCO is supplied from camera held through cable to signal processing circuit, and to phase comparator. The output of second VCO is also supplied to phase comparator.

Abstract: A class of filters for use in connection with the sub-band coding of a video signal is disclosed. The filters are of short length, symmetric and have coefficients in the form of an integer divided by a power of two. The filters may be implemented with a minimum of circuitry and permit exact reconstruction of a sub-band coded video signal.

Abstract: A picture image signal compensation device for devices such as image scanner, facsimile and etc. comprises a whiteboard provided before manuscript in which an average value of white level signals of said whiteboard with unusually low values eliminated in obtaining the average value or an average value of white level signals of said whiteboard with an average value by the plural scannings is used as a standard datum for each of picture elements for picture image signal compensation.

Abstract: A synchronizing signal generating circuit is incorporated in a digital image storing device. When a plurality of video signals composed of different numbers of scanning lines and issued from television cameras of different types of various diagnostic apparatus are converted from analog to digital signals and stored per frame in an image memory in the digital image storing apparatus, sampling pulses for an A/D converter which are synchronous with the horizontal synchronizing signals of the video signals and field discriminating signals relative to odd-numbered fields and even-numbered fields, among composite synchronizing signals, are generated by using an N-multiplier including an equalizing pulse remover controlled by an F/V converter and a field discriminating circuit with a field discriminating time constant being automatically controlled by the F/V converter.

Abstract: According to the present invention, the number of elements of a signal processing circuit or the like can be drastically reduced by conducting a time-multiplex processing. In a transversal filter having a coefficient of symmetry of 16 taps, for example, the prior art requires about 58,000 transistors. In case four signal processing cores (i.e., SPC) having a function of four taps are used, the number of transistors required can be reduced to about 34,000 by a duplexing process. In case two SPCs having a function of eight taps are used, the number can be reduced to about 19,000 by a quadplexing process. In case, moreover, one SPC having a function of sixteen taps is used, the number can be reduced to about 13,000 by an octaplexing process. Here, the reason why the number of elements is not halved even if the number of the SPCs is halved is that the number of elements to be used in control circuits, memories and so on increases.

Abstract: A band limited composite video television signal has summed with it, at a reduced amplitude, a frequency modulated audio carrier signal at a higher frequency. The sum signal is sampled and digitized at a sampling frequency which is at least twice the audio carrier frequency and is more than three times the frequency of a color subcarrier in the composite video signal, and is not related thereto. The sampling frequency is derived from a transmission network, whereby stuffing of the digitized signal for transmission is eliminated, and multiplexing of several digitized signals is facilitated. At a decoder, the digital signal is converted back into an analog signal and the audio carrier signal amplitude boosted using filtering. Picture quality of a reproduced television signal is enhanced in that quantizing noise in the video signal becomes uncorrelated from line to line and frame to frame, due to dithering effects by the audio carrier signal.