Abstract: An authentication apparatus performs identity authentication by comparing and matching image information of a palm captured by a sensor unit with a preliminarily registered template. A surface information correcting unit corrects concavity/convexity of a palm surface for surface information that allows the concavity/convexity thereof to be evaluated. The surface information is extracted by a surface information extraction unit from the image information obtained by capturing the palm. When the surface information is not corrected by the surface information correcting unit or not used for authentication by an authentication unit even after correction, the authentication apparatus newly obtains image information of the palm. Correction by the surface information correcting unit reduces opportunities for the authentication apparatus to perform notification to guide the palm to a proper posture.

Abstract: In a verification object specifying apparatus that specifies a verification object for biometric authentication, a biometric information acquisition unit acquires biometric information from a biometric information source part. An abnormality detection unit detects an abnormal portion in the biometric information source part based on the biometric information. A verification object specifying unit determines whether biometric information located in the abnormal portion is to be included in a verification object, and specifies biometric information to be used as the verification object based on the determination result. The verification object specifying apparatus causes a registration unit to register the biometric information as registration information when serving as a registration apparatus, and causes a verification unit to verify the biometric information against registration information when serving as a verification apparatus.

Abstract: One system to which the present invention is applied obtains the digitized form image of a form, recognizes a character string existing in the obtained form image, extracts a headline wording being a predetermined character string from the recognized character strings, determines a table structure existing in the form image, on the basis of the extracted headline wording and the arrangement of headline wordings in the form image and specifies a correspondence relationship between a headline wording and a character string other than the headline wording that is recognized, using the determination result.

Abstract: An authentication apparatus performs identity authentication by comparing and matching image information of a palm captured by a sensor unit with a preliminarily registered template. A surface information correcting unit corrects concavity/convexity of a palm surface for surface information that allows the concavity/convexity thereof to be evaluated. The surface information is extracted by a surface information extraction unit from the image information obtained by capturing the palm. When the surface information is not corrected by the surface information correcting unit or not used for authentication by an authentication unit even after correction, the authentication apparatus newly obtains image information of the palm. Correction by the surface information correcting unit reduces opportunities for the authentication apparatus to perform notification to guide the palm to a proper posture.

Abstract: An objective is to eliminate dotted lines in a character box in image data to increase the character recognition rate. There are some cases in which a dotted line candidate cannot be extracted due to many overlapping parts of dotted lines and characters or due to a blurry part in a dotted line. In such cases, the position of a dotted line candidate is estimated referring to features such as the interval, length, width, etc. of a dotted line candidate in the same character box (or in a character box for another relevant item), and image data of the estimated position and image data of a previously extracted dotted line (or a reference dotted line) are compared to determine whether or not they are an identical dotted line.

Abstract: The present invention firstly roughly classifies an analysis range specified by the operator in the color image data of a form into background, a character frame and a character, precisely specifies a character frame on the basis of the classification result, eliminates the character from the color image data from which the background is eliminated and recognizes the remaining character.

Abstract: An objective is to eliminate dotted lines in a character box in image data to increase the character recognition rate. There are some cases in which a dotted line candidate cannot be extracted due to many overlapping parts of dotted lines and characters or due to a blurry part in a dotted line. In such cases, the position of a dotted line candidate is estimated referring to features such as the interval, length, width, etc. of a dotted line candidate in the same character box (or in a character box for another relevant item), and image data of the estimated position and image data of a previously extracted dotted line (or a reference dotted line) are compared to determine whether or not they are an identical dotted line.

Abstract: A method for identifying payment forms accurately identifies types of forms without adding special form identification data. A payment form discrimination method for discriminating payment forms which state a payee account number and a payment amount includes a step of acquiring an image of the form, a step of making a search for the payee account number in the image in accordance with an account number searching rule, and a step of discriminating the type of form based on the searched payee account number. Types of forms can be identified accurately and fast without adding special form identification data, because the form identification is performed using easily searchable account numbers.

Abstract: One system to which the present invention is applied obtains the digitized form image of a form, recognizes a character string existing in the obtained form image, extracts a headline wording being a predetermined character string from the recognized character strings, determines a table structure existing in the form image, on the basis of the extracted headline wording and the arrangement of headline wordings in the form image and specifies a correspondence relationship between a headline wording and a character string other than the headline wording that is recognized, using the determination result.

Abstract: The present invention firstly roughly classifies an analysis range specified by the operator in the color image data of a form into background, a character frame and a character, precisely specifies a character frame on the basis of the classification result, eliminates the character from the color image data from which the background is eliminated and recognizes the remaining character.

Abstract: Collation can be carried out at a high speed without reducing the accuracy thereof, whereby processing of identifying documents is accurately performed at a high speed. To this end, characteristic data of a predetermined pattern is registered in advance. Characteristic data in a first area greater than an area of the predetermined pattern registered in advance in an image to be identified is compared and collated with characteristic data of the predetermined pattern. A second area smaller than the first area is cut out from the first area based on the result of comparison, so that characteristic data of an image in the second area is compared and collated with the characteristic data of the predetermined pattern, thus making it possible to identify the predetermined pattern contained in the image based on the result of comparison.

Abstract: A data sheet identification device of the invention includes: a character/graphics extracting section, an identical shape deciding section, a graphics collating section, an identification code/data sheet ID identifying section for collating characters that have been decided to have the same shape with an identification code/data sheet ID database in which a plurality of characters showing features of a plurality of data sheets respectively have been registered, and an identifying section for uniquely identifying the data sheet based on a result of the collation by the graphics collating section and a result of the collation by the identification code/data sheet ID identifying section.

Abstract: An image collating apparatus and an image collating method, in which a document larger than an image reader can be collated using a preregistered image even in the case where the document is read by the image reader, are disclosed. The image of the document read by the image reader is collated sequentially with the document images of different sizes preregistered in a data base. The document size is determined from the document image input from the image reader. In the case where the document size is smaller than the preregistered image size, the preregistered image is retrieved in accordance with the document size, so that the document features are extracted and matched between the read document image and the registered image set in size to each other, thereby collating the read image with the preregistered image.

Abstract: A method for identifying payment forms accurately identifies types of forms without adding special form identification data. A payment form discrimination method for discriminating payment forms which state a payee account number (50) and a payment amount (51) includes a step of acquiring an image of the form, a step of making a search for the payee account number in the image in accordance with an account number searching rule, and a step of discriminating the type of form based on the searched payee account number. Types of forms can be identified accurately and fast without adding special form identification data, because the form identification is performed using easily searchable account numbers.

Abstract: Disclosed is a format recognition method, apparatus and its storage medium for automatically recognizing the format of a form, whereby the format is automatically determined by examining the arrangement of the smallest rectangles. According to the present invention, the smallest rectangles are extracted from a form, and the positional relationship of these rectangles is obtained. The attribute of the smallest rectangle is determined from the positional relationship. In accordance with the attribute, the smallest rectangles are sorted into a headline portion and a data portion, and a character string in the data portion is recognized.

Abstract: Collation can be carried out at a high speed without reducing the accuracy thereof, whereby processing of identifying documents is accurately performed at a high speed. To this end, characteristic data of a predetermined pattern is registered in advance. Characteristic data in a first area greater than an area of the predetermined pattern registered in advance in an image to be identified is compared and collated with characteristic data of the predetermined pattern. A second area smaller than the first area is cut out from the first area based on the result of comparison, so that characteristic data of an image in the second area is compared and collated with the characteristic data of the predetermined pattern, thus making it possible to identify the predetermined pattern contained in the image based on the result of comparison.

Abstract: An image collating apparatus and an image collating method, in which a document larger than an image reader can be collated using a preregistered image even in the case where the document is read by the image reader, are disclosed. The image of the document read by the image reader is collated sequentially with the document images of different sizes preregistered in a data base. The document size is determined from the document image input from the image reader. In the case where the document size is smaller than the preregistered image size, the preregistered image is retrieved in accordance with the document size, so that the document features are extracted and matched between the read document image and the registered image set in size to each other, thereby collating the read image with the preregistered image.

Abstract: A character box extracting unit extracts a line forming a character box. Then, the character box intersection calculating unit calculates the intersection of the character box with a character pattern. An intersection corresponding unit associates intersections with each other based on the directional property of character lines, distance between the character lines, etc. An in-box character extracting unit extracts a virtual image according to the association information between the intersections. A character size evaluating unit obtains from an optional character string an average character size of a character including the virtual image, and extracts a true character pattern by removing a redundant virtual image based on the average character size.

Abstract: In an image extraction system, an extracting part for extracting wide lines, an extracting part for extracting narrow lines and a frame detector detect a frame from a pattern which is extracted by a connected pattern extracting part. An attribute adder adds attributes of a character (graphic and symbol inclusive), frame, and a contact pattern of the character and frame to a partial pattern, and a separating part separates the frame from the contact pattern. An intersection calculator calculates intersections of the character and frame, and the calculated intersections are associated by an intersection associating part. An interpolator obtains a character region within the frame and interpolates this region based on the associated intersections. A connection confirming part confirms a connection of the pattern with respect to the extracted character pattern, and patterns confirmed of their connection are integrated in a connected pattern integrating part to thereby extract the character.

Abstract: An image extraction system includes a connected pattern extracting part for extracting partial patterns respectively having connected pixels from an image which is formed by a block frame having a table format and including one-character frames or a free format frame, characters, graphics or symbols, a one-character frame extracting part for extracting one-character frames from the image based on the partial patterns extracted by the connected pattern extracting part, a straight line extracting part for extracting straight lines from the partial patterns which are extracted by the connected pattern extracting part and is eliminated of the one-character frames by the one-character frame extracting part, a frame detecting part for detecting straight lines forming the frame from the straight lines extracted by the straight line extracting part, and a frame separating part for separating the straight lines detected by the frame detecting part from the partial patterns so as to extract the characters, graphics or