Abstract: To relax the graphical constraints on the precision of the handwriting that is required for accurate computerized interpretation of handwritten text, the text that is to be interpreted is written in accordance with this invention using symbols that are exceptionally well separated from each other graphically. These symbols preferably define an orthographic alphabet to reduce the time and effort that is required to learn to write text with them at an acceptably high rate. Furthermore, to accommodate "eyes-free" writing of text and the writing of text in spatially constrained text entry fields, the symbols advantageously are defined by unistrokes (as used herein, a "unistroke" is a single, unbroken stroke).

Abstract: In a color CCD (charge-coupled device) imaging device where chromatic filter components are formed on sensor units functioning as pixels, respectively, and small condenser lenses are provided on the respective chromatic filter components, it is so constructed that areas of the small condenser lenses are varied, depending upon film thickness of the respective chromatic filter components. Then, the sensitivity increasing rates for the respective pixels of the color CCD imaging device are uniformed.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to control the lens iris and shutter speed such that automatic light quantity adjustment is made of an object the image of which is to be picked up without being influenced by the ambient quantity of light. Another object of the present invention is to control the shutter speed of an image pickup camera to pick up the image of a target object during the rotation of a rotational stand without allowing the image to flow asynchronously. An image pickup camera 1 comprises a vertical position detector 12 and a horizontal position detector 13 for detecting the rotational position of the camera 1. Data 21 on control over the quantity of light for the detected positional information 20 is beforehand stored in a correction data storage 14. Correction data 21 for the position information 20 is delivered to the camera 1.

Abstract: In a computer based approach to looking up characters in an ideographic alphabet, a user specifies characters by dragging individual character radicals from a radical palette to a canvas. A database is searched for characters that match character radicals dragged to the canvas and a selection window is produced that contain a resulting list of matching characters. The search may be limited by specified qualifying parameters, such as the total number of strokes in the character. When a desired character is chosen from a selection window, a unique character code is generated that may be output for various applications.

Abstract: A photosensor formed on an insulating substrate has a transparent top gate electrode arranged on the upper side of a semiconductor layer for photoelectric conversion and a bottom gate electrode arranged on the lower side of the semiconductor layer. If light is applied from the top gate electrode side in a state in which a bottom gate voltage V.sub.BG =+20 V is applied to the bottom gate electrode and a top gate voltage V.sub.TG =-20 V is applied to the top gate electrode, electron-hole pairs are generated in the semiconductor layer and only the holes are held in the semiconductor layer by the effect of the top gate voltage V.sub.TG =-20 V. Therefore, an n-channel is formed in the semiconductor layer and a drain current I.sub.DS flows. It was confirmed that the drain current I.sub.DS will not flow even if illumination light is applied when the bottom gate voltage V.sub.BG is set at 0 V. Therefore, the selection or non-selection state of the photosensor can be controlled by the bottom gate voltage V.sub.TG.

Abstract: A solid state image sensor is provided having a vertical charge transfer unit, a horizontal charge transfer unit, a photoelectric conversion unit including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a matrix manner, each photoelectric conversion element having a photodiode and switching MOS transistors to output a signal accumulated in the photodiode, and a charge accumulation controller for controlling a charge accumulated by each photodiode in logarithmical proportion to the quantity of light incident on each corresponding photoelectric conversion element corresponding to one pixel. The charge accumulation controller includes a photochromic color filter layer made of a photochromic material. Alternatively, the charge accumulation controller includes a photochromic layer which is formed over an existing color filter layer at a light receiving window area.

Abstract: An apparatus for pattern processing includes a display control unit for controlling display by a CRT, a keyboard, a CPU, a RAM, and the like, the CPU being adapted to control the apparatus and incorporating a segment-information extracting unit and a boundary-position-information setting unit, wherein the segment-information extracting unit extracts segments respectively parallel with an x-axis and a y-axis of the coordinate system from a plurality of segments constituting the outline, on the basis of at least two sets of coordinates indicating a position of each of the segments, while the boundary-position-information setting unit determines a horizontal boundary position of the outline on the basis of the respective sets of coordinates indicating the position of the segment parallel with the x-axis of the coordinate system, and determines a vertical boundary position of the outline on the basis of the respective sets of coordinates indicating the position of the segment parallel with the y-axis of the coord

Abstract: An optical character recognition system which can extract information from documents into machine readable form for selected inclusion into a data base uses human classification through the use of translucent ink pens of colors which correlate to field designations. The ink pens, commonly known as highlighters, are used to mark the selected text. An optical scanner reads the marked document and converts it to electronic data which is stored into data base fields according to the color marked regions.

Abstract: A digital electric still camera is provided having a CCD image sensor and a memory card for recording digital image data of picture frames photographed by the CCD image sensor. The image data is compressed before being recorded, and the data compression rate is selectable by operating a picture mode button. The selected data compression rate is recorded along with the image data during photographing. When reproducing a picture frame on a monitor TV, the data compression rate is read together with the image data, so that the image data is expanded in correspondence to the data compression rate, and the data compression rate is displayed on a display device, such as a LCD panel provided on the digital electric still camera, in association with the serial number of the picture frame.

Abstract: In an arrangement of light-sensitive or X-ray sensitive sensors (S.sub.1,1, . . . , S.sub.2048,2048) arranged in a matrix in rows and columns, which sensors produce charge states in dependence upon the amount of incident radiation and each have an electrical switch, for each sensor row a switching line (33.sub.1, . . . , 33.sub.2048) via which the switches (3) can be activated so that the charge states of the sensors of the activated sensor row are read or reset simultaneously via associated read lines (8, 9, 10), there is provided a reset device (30a, 30b) for resetting the charge states of previously read sensor rows, which device activates at least one of the previously read sensor rows, which activates another of the previously read sensor rows after a predetermined number of clock pulses of a reset clock signal (T.sub.32), and which deactivates each activated sensor row a predetermined number of clock pulses after its activation.

Abstract: A reading apparatus serving as an input means for simultaneously reading printed image information from both the front and back of a document, converting the read information into digital data, and storing the digital data on a data recording medium, such as an optical disk, comprises document carrier mechanisms, a front reading sensor, a back reading sensor, a front size determining sensor, a back size determining sensor, a document size comparator, and a reading control circuit. These components are incorporated in the reading apparatus. The document carrier mechanisms carry documents inserted through a slot through the apparatus and eject them through an outlet. The front data reading sensor and back data reading sensor read printed images from the front and back of a document. The front size determining sensor and back size determining sensor are located upstream of the front data reader in the document carrier path, and detect the sizes of the front and back of a document.

Abstract: An image input apparatus includes a picture-taking optical system, a facial imaging device, a transparent parallel flat plate member arranged in an optical path of the optical system approximately in parallel with a picture-taking surface of the imaging device, a tilting member to tilt the transparent member with respect to the imaging device so that the image formed on the imaging device is moved, a memory to store each image moved when the transparent member is tilted, and an image synthesizer to synthesize an image of high resolution from the image stored in the memory. Three points not aligned on a straight line are selected from the transparent member, and one point is used as a support point and other two points are used as operation points so that the tilting member is operated through these support and operation points.

Abstract: An adaptive thresholding filter generates multiple threshold values for use in thresholding the multi-bit pixels of a gray-scale input image. Each threshold value is based on a current white reference value and a current black reference value. The current white reference value is selected based on a comparison of the current image pixel to a white reference comparator value generated by applying a white reference aging function to a prior white reference value. The current black reference value is selected analogously using a black reference comparator value and a black reference aging function.

Abstract: In a passive identification apparatus for identifying a predetermined individual member of a television viewing audience in a monitored viewing area, a video image of a monitored viewing area is captured. A template matching score is provided for an object in the video image. A Eigenface recognition score is provided for an object in the video image. These scores may be provided by comparing objects in the video image to reference files. The template matching score and the Eigenface recognition score are fused to form a composite identification record from which a viewer may be identified. Body shape matching, viewer tracking, viewer sensing, and/or historical data may be used to assist in viewer identification. The reference files may be updated as recognition scores decline.

Abstract: A method, and apparatus for executing the method, for processing digitized image data representative of a page. The method includes the steps of (a) processing the image data on a scanline by scanline basis to partition the image data into a plurality of rows and columns of N.times.M arrays (14a) of image pixels. The step of partitioning includes the steps of, for each row of an N.times.M array of image pixels, (b) detecting occurrences, if any, along any scanline of an image pixel having a foreground value; for a non-zero number of detected occurrences within one N.times.M array of image pixels, (c) incrementing a corresponding array row count and a corresponding array column count; and (d) for at least one detected occurrence, adjusting the boundary of a bounding box so as to enclose the at least one detected occurrence and substantially all previously detected occurrences.

Abstract: A clamping circuit for applying clamping to a signal having a plurality of components includes a frequency divider which frequency-divides a main clock signal of the clamping circuit by an even number when the plurality of components of the signal are odd in number and another frequency divider which frequency-divides the main clock signal of the clamping circuit by an odd number when the plurality of components of the signal are even in number. Manual adjustment of an optical black correction is provided which permits verification of an accurate optical black correction by monitoring color difference vectors on a vector scope.

Abstract: A character recognition system based on a neural network determines activation patterns in an input layer and output layer, increases weights of synapses in a middle layer so that neurons activate with more than a certain rate among those corresponding to neurons in the input layer and the output layer and repeats the same process for each neuron in the middle layer. The input layer and output layer possess a plurality of neurons which activate and output certain data according to a specific result and the middle layer is between the input layer and output layer. The middle layer also possesses a plurality of neurons which are connected to each neuron in the input layer and output layer.

Abstract: This invention relates to an electronic still camera for imaging a desired object through an imaging device, and provides a continuous-shot means with large-capacity recording. When image data RAW retrieved through predetermined imaging means is data processed to record the image on a recording medium, a high buffer memory with high speed is provided which stores image data RAW temporarily.

Abstract: An automatic focus circuit for use with a video camera comprises an analog to digital converter which converts an analog luminance signal provided from an image signal processing circuit into a digital luminance signal, a microcomputer for controlling the automatic focus unit using an integrated luminance value which is integrated in an integrating circuit, and an area dividing circuit for horizontally and vertically dividing a screen of a video camera monitor. The automatic focus operation is easily performed by using the integrated digital luminance value as stored in a memory circuit. Accordingly, the automatic focus circuit simplifies the constitution and accuracy of the automatic focus.

Abstract: For determining class mean and covariance in class so as to make distribution parameters of pixels express statistical properties of the object, and for clustering the image stably at high speed, the apparatus has: (a) frame memory storing image composed of coded pixels, (b) reading device for reading out values of pixels randomly about horizontal and vertical positions from the frame memory, and generating a sample vector containing coupling of read out pixels values and corresponding horizontal and vertical position data, (c) memory for holding a plurality of sets of covariance matrix and mean vector of sample vector as class data, (d) likelihood calculating circuit calculating likelihood of sample vector to plural sets of class data as the distance between sample classes which is sum of a distance obtained by normalizing difference of sample vector and mean vector by covariance matrix, and a magnitude of covariance matrix, (e) maximum likelihood class selecting device selecting set minimizing distance betw