Abstract: A multilevel image into which a color or a back-and-white image is converted is input, and a slightly indistinct binary image generating unit generates a slightly indistinct binary image that includes a slightly indistinct line pattern and does not include background noise. Additionally, a shape-preserved binary image generating unit generates a binary image that preserves the shape of a line pattern and includes background noise. These images are ANDed for each pixel, so that a binary image that preserves the shape of the line pattern and does not include the background noise is generated.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for extracting the specified objects has a background image extract unit for extracting a background; a first average background extract unit which extracts an image that includes a plurality of stationary and moving objects each having a speed not higher than a predetermined first speed and also the background; a second average background extract unit which extracts an image that includes the stationary and moving objects each having a speed not higher than a predetermined second speed and also the background; a first difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a difference between an output from the background image extract unit and an output from the first average background extract unit as a first speed image; a second difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a difference value between two outputs from the first and second average background extract units as a second speed image; and a third difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a

Abstract: A word recognizing apparatus extracts the feature amount from a given image, and dynamically composes the feature amount of a candidate word to be recognized which is registered in a word list, using feature amounts of characters registered in an individual character dictionary. Then, the apparatus collates the composed feature amount of the word with the feature amount extracted from the image, calculates the degree of similarity between the two feature amounts, and outputs a recognition result.

Abstract: A key word is first and automatically extracted from a character string group to be recognized, and entered. Then, a character is recognized by segmenting an individual character from a character string image to be recognized, and a character string corresponding to the extracted/entered key word id extracted. Then, a word area delimited by a key word is extracted from the character string image, and a word is recognized. Furthermore, a word recognition result is verified, and a final character string recognition result is output.

Abstract: A pattern extraction apparatus computes the convexity/concavity of an input pattern, regards a pattern having large convexity/concavity as a character, and regards a pattern having small convexity/concavity as a ruled line.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for extracting the specified objects has a background image extract unit for extracting a background; a first average background extract unit which extracts an image that includes a plurality of stationary and moving objects each having a speed not higher than a predetermined first speed and also the background; a second average background extract unit which extracts an image that includes the stationary and moving objects each having a speed not higher than a predetermined second speed and also the background; a first difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a difference between an output from the background image extract unit and an output from the first average background extract unit as a first speed image; a second difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a difference value between two outputs from the first and second average background extract units as a second speed image; and a third difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a

Abstract: A pattern recognizing apparatus, having an environment recognizer that extracts a predetermined feature from an input image and a pattern recognizer that performs a pattern recognizing process after altering the process based on the feature extracted by the environment recognizer.

Abstract: A three-dimensional curved-surface model can be estimated by using both two-dimensional outlines obtained from a piece of image photographed from the top and a restriction that the paper is rectangular. Then, only the three-dimensional distortion in the image can be corrected based on the obtained three-dimensional curved-surface model.

Abstract: A management information extraction apparatus learns the structure of the ruled lines of a document and the position of user-specified management information such as a title, etc. during a form learning process, and stores them in a layout dictionary. During the operation, the structure of the ruled lines extracted from an image of an input document is matched with that of the document in the layout dictionary. Then, position information in the layout dictionary is referred to, and the management information is extracted from the input document.

Abstract: A management information extraction apparatus learns the structure of the ruled lines of a document and the position of user-specified management information such as a title, etc. during a form learning process, and stores them in a layout dictionary. During the operation, the structure of the ruled lines extracted from an image of an input document is matched with that of the document in the layout dictionary. Then, position information in the layout dictionary is referred to, and the management information is extracted from the input document.

Abstract: A rather expanded binary image and a rather blurry binary image are generated from a multiple-valued image. A ruled line candidate area is extracted from the rather expanded binary image, and the extracted ruled line candidate area is verified using the rather blurry binary image.

Abstract: For a plurality of handwritten characters extracted from an input image, a character category for each character is first determined by a character recognition process. Second, according to a clustering process, similarity levels of character-forms among extracted characters are determined, and based on the determination result, the character category determination result from the first character recognition process is modified.

Abstract: An environment recognizing unit extracts the first through N-th states from an input image and calls data corresponding to the first through N-th states from the first through N-th pattern recognizing units to perform a recognizing unit.

Abstract: A management information extraction apparatus learns the structure of ruled lines of a document and the position of user-specified management information such as a title, etc. during a form learning process, and stores them in a layout dictionary. During the operation, the structure of the ruled lines extracted from an image of an input document is matched with that of the document in the layout dictionary. Then, position information in the layout dictionary is referred to, and the management information is extracted from the input document.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for extracting the specified objects has a background image extract unit for extracting a background; a first average background extract unit which extracts an image that includes a plurality of stationary and moving objects each having a speed not higher than a predetermined first speed and also the background; a second average background extract unit which extracts an image that includes the stationary and moving objects each having a speed not higher than a predetermined second speed and also the background; a first difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a difference between an output from the background image extract unit and an output from the first average background extract unit as a first speed image; a second difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a difference value between two outputs from the first and second average background extract units as a second speed image; and a third difference-calculation processing unit which calculates a

Abstract: An environment recognizing unit extracts the first through N-th states from an input image and calls data corresponding to the first through N-th states from the first through N-th pattern recognizing units to perform a recognizing unit.

Abstract: The connected element extraction device stores a binary image signal as binary image data; calculates a rectangle circumscribing a connected element; determines whether the rectangle overlaps with others and stores the label and coordinates of an overlapping rectangle; generates a label image of the overlapping rectangle; based on the label image, divides the overlapping rectangle as a parent rectangle into child rectangles and repeatedly subdivides the child-rectangle into final child rectangles which respectively have a single label; and outputs information comprising the binary image data, and the coordinates of the non-overlapping rectangle, parent-rectangle and final child-rectangles.

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: A title extracting apparatus scans black pixels in a document image and extracts rectangular regions that circumscribe connected regions of the black pixels as character rectangles. In addition, the title extracting apparatus unifies a plurality of character rectangles that adjoin and extracts rectangular regions that circumscribe the character rectangles as character string rectangles. Thereafter, the title extracting apparatus calculates points with the likelihood of being a title corresponding to attributes such as an underline attribute, a frame attribute, and a ruled line attribute of each character string rectangle, the positions of the character string rectangles in the document image, and the mutual position relation and extracts a character string rectangle with the highest points as a title rectangle. In the case of a tabulated document, the title extracting apparatus can extract a title rectangle from the inside of the table.

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.