Abstract: A method of tracking a moving object in a scene, for example the face of a person in videophone applications, comprises forming an initial template of the face, extracting a mask outlining the face, dividing the template into a plurality (for example sixteen) sub-templates, searching the next frame to find a match with the template, searching the next frame to find a match with each of the sub-templates, determining the displacements of each of the sub-templates with respect to the template, using the displacements to determine affine transform coefficients and performing an affine transform to produce an updated template and updated mask.

Abstract: A lathe cutting simulation method comprises the steps of preparing workpiece shading drawing data from workpiece shape data, displaying the shape of the workpiece by using the drawing data, computing the positions of the workpiece and tools on the basis of the input workpiece and tools information and updating workpiece shape data, updating the drawing data on the basis of the updated shape data, and displaying the entire workpiece based upon the updated drawing data.

Abstract: An automatic signature printing process for an electronic printing system having a source of signature sheets, a programmer to program the system to print jobs including signatures; an input scanner for scanning and converting the documents to electronic images; and a controller to re-order the electronic images to print two electronic images separated by a gutter on each side of the signature sheets, the controller determining from the number of originals and the number of electronic images on each signature the total number of signatures to be printed.

Abstract: A point pattern matching method and system for use in an object recognizing system for deciding pair combinations between a first group of n points x.sub.j (n: integer of 2 or more) (j: integer between 1 and n) in a K-dimensional space (K: integer of 2 or more) and a second group of n second points x.sub.i (i: integer between 1 and n) in the same space as the K-dimensional space. A total of n.sup.2 of neurons are provided one for each one of point pair combinations between the first group of points and the second group of points, and, when an output of each of the neurons has a value of substantially "1", it is determined that the point pair combination associated with the neuron is matched, whereas, when the output of the neuron has a value of substantially "0", it is determined that the point pair combination associated with the neuron is not matched.

Abstract: A character recognition apparatus uses a magnetic head to read magnetic printed coded characters from a passing cheque 10. A head 24 using a circuit including a delay line 58 drives a controller 76 which, should a character not instantly be recognized by matching against templates, first varies the presumed speed by plus or minus 10% to see if a match can be found, then suppresses each detected edge in the character, in turn, to determine whether or not a match can be found. Each edge is used to create subsequent timing windows wherein a subsequent edge may be detected. The use of timing windows suppresses erroneous edge detection.

Abstract: A facility is provided which determines the optimum phase of a sample clock signal that is used to acquire a copy of an image containing text. In particular, the phase of the sample signal is set to an initial value and is thereafter incremented by a predetermined amount of time following the acquistion of each of a predetermined number of copies of the image, in which each such copy is defined by respective pixel values. Upon acquiring a current copy of the image, a histogram is formed from ones of the pixel values and is stored in memory in place of a priorly stored histogram if the latest histogram contains more pixel values indicative of text than the priorly stored histogram. The phase of the sample clock signal is then adjusted to the phase associated with the histogram that is stored in memory following the last of such acquisitions.

Abstract: The present invention includes an open-ended set of cover sheet forms that may be readily interpreted by the fax server system. In this system a first standardized cover sheet is designed to accept hand printed characters. This first cover sheet is then transmitted to a special fax server as part of this invention to create an alternative, fully detached cover sheet for automatic transmission to its specific recipient. Labor is minimized by allowing the sender to hand print a minimal amount of highly constrained telephone numbers, or the initials of the recipient onto a draft cover sheet when a mailing list has been previously stored in the memory associated with the special fax server.

Abstract: Gray level pixel values in an image, each pixel value represented by c levels are quantized by applying a threshold level to each pixel value in the image to produce a pixel value having d levels, and applying a weighted portion of the value of the difference (the "error") between the pixel value and the thresholded value to a predetermined set of neighboring pixels; for each neighboring pixel in the predetermined set to which the error term is to be applied, comparing the value of the neighboring pixel to each possible legal output value, and if any pixel value the predetermined set of neighboring pixels is equal to one of the legal output values, then the error term is not applied to that term, and is applied to remaining non-legal values. If all the neighboring pixels have legal values, a decision is made based on a look-ahead neighborhood (a set of pixels used to determine the fractional error allocation) as to whether the error term is discarded or preserved.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for binarizing a variable density image wherein brightness of the variable density image is changed by 1/n (where n is an integer of 2 or above), and an expansion processing is carried out on the brightness changed image to generate an expanded image. A smoothing processing is performed on the expanded image to generate a smoothed image and a differential image is generated by taking a difference between the smoothed image and the variable density image. The differential image is binarized by comparing the differential image to a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A device for detecting positioning marks for cutting a ceramic laminated body having a plurality of inner electrodes formed therein and having a plurality of positioning marks for cutting so formed on its outer side surfaces as to have a predetermined positional relationship with the inner electrodes, which comprises a device for detecting image information obtained from the outer side surfaces of the ceramic laminated body, a binary-coding device for binary-coding the image information detected by the detecting device based on a color density, an image memory for storing the image information binary-coded by the binary-coding device, a characteristic extractor for extracting signal regions having a color density not less than a predetermined color density from the image information stored in the image memory, removing regions having an area not more than a predetermined area and regions having a length in the lateral direction not less than a predetermined length out of the signal regions extracted, and sele

Abstract: An image plane (IP) is divided into a plurality of strip regions (R.sub.1 -R.sub.11). Inputted are image data of image elements to be integrated on the image plane, i.e., images of characters, diagrams and pictures. The strip regions are serially selected and it is determined what image elements are included in the selected strip region. When the selected region includes characters and/or diagrams only, these image elements are integrated in a high resolution and in 1 bit for each pixel. When the selected region includes pictures only, on the other hand, the images of pictures are integrated in a low resolution and in 8 bits for each pixel. Further, if the region includes all the types of the image elements, the integration of the image elements are conducted at a high resolution and in 8 bits for each pixel.

Abstract: There is disclosed a facsimile apparatus comprising a transmitter for transmitting an image signal to another facsimile apparatus through a communication line and a receiver for receiving an image signal from another facsimile apparatus through the communication line. In the facsimile apparatus, a detector detects completion of the transmission operation by the transmitter and completion of the reception operation by the receiver, and a counter counts a preset time, which is started when the detector detects the completion of the transmission operation by the transmitter or completion of the reception operation by the receiver. Further, a controller controls the transmitter and the receiver so as to prohibit the receiver from performing the reception operation while the counter counts the predetermined time, and to permit the transmitter to perform the transmission operation.

Abstract: A computer system and a method for a mail sorting operation in which the computer system determines the location of the ZIP code within a digital image of an address block from a piece of mail. An interstroke distance is calculated for the image and the strokes of the image are thinned to enhance vertical separation between the lines of the address block. A medial axis for each line is determined and the medial axis is superimposed upon the digital image. A bleeding operation is conducted on the digital image from the medial axis at which data bits that do not connect to the medial axis are notated as punctuation and interlinear connected strokes are then divided between the two lines. The last line which is determined to be large enough to contain a ZIP code based on bounding box size is then selected. Alternate splits of words are formed and the best split is selected in which the last formed group is detected to be the ZIP code.

Abstract: A method for correcting image information deteriorated by flare generated in an image reading unit having a light source for irradiating a document, a scanning system optically scanning the document irradiated by the light source and outputting the image information, and a reference image having a predetermined density distribution is provided. The method includes the following steps of: optically scanning the reference image irradiated by the light source, the scanning system outputting reference image information corresponding to the reference image; generating a function denoting a response with respect to the deterioration of the image information caused by the flare based on the reference image information obtained by the scanning system; optically scanning the document irradiated by the light source by the scanning system; and performing a deconvolution operation in which the image information obtained by the scanning system and the above function are used.

Abstract: An image reader for reading an image of a document by an image sensor and for outputting image data after processing obtained image data includes an arrangement for binarizing image data read by the image sensor through comparison of the image data with a threshold. A system is provided for entering the threshold value from an exterior source and for giving the threshold value to the binarizing arrangement. Also, a control device is provided for controlling that system.

Abstract: An image signal processing apparatus has an address generator that generates addresses for successive words of a digital input signal representing an input image to be manipulated. A computation circuit monitors the addresses for successive word sets which each comprise first and second words relatively horizontally spaced in the input image and a third word aligned vertically with the second word, and computes from each set both horizontal and vertical local scaling factors representing the extent of compression in the horizontal and vertical directions of a corresponding local area of the manipulated image. A bandwidth controller is responsive to the successive scaling factors to vary the horizontal and vertical bandwidths of a digital filter which two-dimensionally filters the input image, thereby to minimize aliasing that would be caused by the manipulation of the local areas.

Abstract: A method of generating a representation of a subsidiary colored image initially contained within a color content of pixels of the image comprises defining a control data array. This control data array (9) defines, for at least those pixels in the image corresponding to the region containing the subsidiary image, the proportion of the image pixel color which is due to the subsidiary image. The average color in regions of the image different from the subsidiary image region is then determined. The inverse of the control data array is multiplied by the determined average color to generate a background image (13) which is subtracted (14) from the corresponding region of the original image so as to generate the representation of the subsidiary image.

Abstract: An image data processing apparatus for managing a plurality of document images comprising a scanner for reading in document images as electric image data, a volatile memory for temporarily registering the image data, a non-volatile memory device, such as an optical disk, for storing the image data, a character recognition device for recognizing a character put in a predetermined area of the image data scanned by the scanner, and then creating coded data corresponding to the character. It is determined whether or not the actual current page number of a current document, which is recognized by the character recognition device, is sequential with the previous page number of a document image read in immediately before the current document image. The storage of each document image in the non-volatile memory device is controlled by a determination result.

Abstract: A gas-filled discharge tube for voltage control particularly for the series gap of the ignition system of an automotive spark-ignition engine. The gas-filled discharge tube is capable of operating stably at a sufficiently high discharge inception voltage, requires a sufficiently low discharge sustaining voltage and is capable of accurately controlling the ignition timing of the automotive spark-ignition engine regardless of the variation of the output voltage of the ignition coil of the ignition system. The gas-filled discharge tube is provided with discharge electrodes meeting requirements that the opposite surfaces of the discharge electrodes are substantially flat, the discharge electrodes have no sharp edge, and the product of the diameter of the discharge electrodes and the distance between the discharge electrode is 20 mm.sup.2 or below. The gas-filled discharge tube is filled with a mixed gas having a composition of 50% by volume or below in nitrogen content and 50% or above in argon content.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of correcting an image signal, which is suitable for use in reading an image by an image sensor having a black reference pixel and effective pixels.