Abstract: The disclosure herein describes an apparatus and a method of analysis of line patterns such as fingerprints, ideograms, or the like, which comprises the steps of superimposing a centrosymmetric reference pattern of lines over the line pattern to be analyzed to form an interferometric pattern of the moire type, positioning the reference pattern on a characteristic element of the line pattern to be analyzed, and enlarging it until the lines of the reference pattern fill the space between adjacent lines closest to the characteristic element to thereby translate the superimposed line patterns into a field pattern of different optical densities.

Abstract: A method for compressing data of two-value picture image such as an original character pattern for a phototype setting by an electronic computer, wherein an original picture image is divided into a plurality of divisional picture images by division lines and then intersections between the division lines and outlines of a character area of each divisional picture image are detected to determine start and end points, and wherein, while the outlines of the character area of each divisional picture image are traced from the start points to the end points, characteristic points are selected, and then the outlines of the character areas of the adjacent divisional picture images are connected at the start and the end points.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for compressing data which is derived by tracing the contour line of a character pattern or a symbol. Normally such a contour line consists of at least one closed-loop line having straight portions and curved portions. A multiplicity of sampling points are selected along the contour line for the purpose of representing the contour line with these sampling points and those sampling points located along a straight or lightly curved portion of the contour line are disregarded and those located along a curved portion of the contour line are retained because the former have relatively less influence on the representation of the original character or symbol pattern than the latter.

Abstract: The disclosed apparatus operates upon binary signals corresponding to a scanned image. The binary images are stored in a matrix as concentric windows of interconnected rows and columns. The binary signals contained in the rows and columns are summed and logically compared against the sums of binary signals in adjacent windows and if the sums and logical combinations do not exceed preselected amounts it is assumed that the binary signals within a particular window are spurious, and means are provided for cleaning these signals from the window. Incrementing the binary images that are stored in the matrix permit the total scanned image to be analyzed.

Abstract: A device for binarizing an image consisting of grey values by means of a dynamically adjusted black/white discrimination threshold comprises:a. a generator (74) for determining a discrimination threshold each time for a first local sub-set of pixels;b. an edge detector (90) for determining a local edge between darker and lighter pixels from a second local sub-set of pixels, associated with a first local sub-set of pixels, in order to form an accept signal, and otherwise a reject signal; andc. a discriminator (64) for presenting, on the basis of a grey value and the relevant discrimination threshold, alternatively a black or a white signal.

Abstract: Video image data received from an optical document reading system is processed by a dynamic field cut technique which utilizes the scan line as its elemental unit of data in controlling the concurrent extraction and processing of the individual fields. The field cut technique of the present invention has a chain of control instructions with a series of pointers being utilized to control the sequential processing of the control instructions and permit bypassing the control instructions for fields for which processing has been completed. By this arrangement, the number of operations necessary to separately act on a plurality of independently defined fields is reduced.

Abstract: The invention provides a character recognition apparatus having an original feature extracting section for extracting as an original feature a feature deliberately neglected in the processes of pre-process conversion and recognition feature extraction. The original feature extracted by the original feature extracting section is used for final recognition of a set of characters, thus preventing erroneous character recognition.