Abstract: The present invention is a character recognition apparatus, which comprises a background discriminating section, a non-character line discriminating section, a first non-character line removed image creating section that creates a first non-character line removed image, which is an original image from which the non-character line is removed, a first character area discriminating section, an enlarged image creating section, a second non-character line removed image creating section, an interference judgment section that judges whether or not the character and the non-character line interfere with each other in the original image, a character image restoring section that restores the character image, a second character area discriminating section, and a character recognizing section that digitizes the character area recognized by the second character area discriminating section and recognizes the character, thereby characters written on a color form are recognized at a high accuracy.

Abstract: A picture displaying apparatus comprises a storing unit storing a plurality of pictures, a displaying unit displaying the picture, an aimed region designating unit designating a partial region on the picture as an aimed region, an image cutting-out unit cutting-out the aimed region from each of the pictures as an aimed region picture, and a display controlling unit displaying the aimed region picture on the displaying unit. The display controlling unit comprises a superposed picture forming unit superposing a plurality of the aimed region pictures to form a superposed picture, and a visual effect controlling unit displaying each of the aimed region pictures forming the superposed picture at a predetermined transparency on the displaying unit. Even when a specific picture is retrieved in a large amount of pictures in the same or almost the same form, visual retrieval is possible readily and certainly without decreasing the retrieval efficiency.

Abstract: A support salt for a cell comprising a compound represented by the following formula (I) or (II): (NPA12)3??(I) A13P?N—P(?O)A12??(II) (in the formulae (I) and (II), A1 is independently NRLi or F, and at least one of A1s is NRLi, and R is a monovalent substituent) has an effect of suppressing combustion, and a non-aqueous electrolyte cell and a polymer cell using such a support salt considerably reduce the risk of ignition-fire and are high in the safety.

Abstract: In a positive electrode of a non-aqueous electrolyte battery, at least one alkaline earth metal oxide selected from the group consisting of magnesium oxide, calcium oxide and barium oxide is dispersed between particles of an active substance for positive electrode, whereby a discharge capacity or recharge-discharge capacity of the non-aqueous electrolyte battery just after the preparation and after the storing at high temperature is improved.

Abstract: In a non-aqueous electrolyte primary cell comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a non-aqueous electrolyte containing a support salt, a phosphazene derivative and/or an isomer of a phosphazene derivative is included in the non-aqueous electrolyte, whereby the safety of the non-aqueous electrolyte primary cell is improved while maintaining cell characteristics thereof.

Abstract: In a lithium primary cell comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode and an electrolyte containing an aprotic organic solvent and a support salt, the discharge capacity and energy density of the cell are improved and the service life is prolonged by applying a paste body containing an active substance for positive electrode and a phosphazene derivative and/or an isomer of a phosphazene derivative to the positive electrode.

Abstract: In a positive electrode of a non-aqueous electrolyte battery, at least one metal oxide selected from the group consisting of titanium dioxide, alumina, zinc oxide, chromium oxide, lithium oxide, nickel oxide, copper oxide and iron oxide is dispersed between particles of an active substance for the positive electrode, whereby a discharge capacity or a discharge-recharge capacity of the non-aqueous electrolyte battery is improved.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to improve the compression ratio of a color image and to clearly display the outlines of characters and the like. A hue cluster classifying/unifying unit reduces the number of hue values of each pixel in a color image, based on a hue histogram, allocates the number-reduced hue value to each pixel and classifies pixels with the same hue value into one cluster. Furthermore, the unit unifies clusters whose hue values are below a predetermined value. The unit also traces the outline of a cluster whose size is below a reference value and determines that a cluster that has a lot of change points belongs to a character area. An encoding unit determines the characteristic of each cluster, based on both an area determined by an area determining unit and whether the cluster belongs to a ruled line area or a character area, and encodes pixels in each cluster by a coding method suitable for the characteristic of the cluster.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a feature emphasis unit for extracting first image frequency information from image data for each first unit area, a boundary provisional determination unit for defining a value obtained by adding a predetermined weight to the first image frequency information as representative feature information, and provisionally determining as a boundary a first unit area whose variance from the representative feature information of the adjacent area is at or higher than a predetermined level, and a boundary determination unit for extracting the second image frequency information for each second unit area smaller than the first unit area in the range of a provisionally determined position and the vicinity, and generating boundary information using as the boundary a second unit area whose value based on the variance from the second image frequency information of the adjacent area is at or higher than a predetermined level.

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: A data medium handling apparatus and a data medium handling method suitable for use for handling of documents, for example, in a financial organ. The data medium handling apparatus (30) for recognizing, based on an image (19) read from a data medium on which information is described in an arbitrary format, the information, is constructed such that it comprises means (2) for extracting characteristics unique to the data medium including the format from the read image data (19) and specifying, from the characteristics, a position at which information to be recognized is present, and image recognition means (3) for recognizing the image (19) at the position specified by the is preceding means (2) to discriminate the information, so that the data medium handling apparatus (30) can handle documents having various formats such as private slips.

Abstract: Disclosed are a method of and an apparatus for extracting a dotted line from an binary image of a document, and a storage medium thereof. The isolated points are extracted from the binary image. The isolated points configuring a candidate of the dotted line are extracted based on a positional relationship between the extracted isolated points. A validity of the isolated points configuring the candidate of the dotted line is checked. The dotted line from a positional relationship between groups of the extracted isolated points of the candidate of the dotted line. The dotted line can be thereby precisely extracted even if some isolated points are lost due to an. under-density of the image etc.

Abstract: Characters of data on a document are recognized by automatically determining the definitions of characters of the data from the arrangement of character strings of the data. Character strings on the document are extracted by reading the document, and headers and data on the document are distinguished from each other by determining the positional relationship between the character strings. Character attributes of the data are determined by recognizing characters of the character strings of the headers using a header recognition dictionary. Characters of the character strings of the data are recognized according to the determined character attributes of the data. Since character attributes of the data are determined from recognized characters of the headers after the headers and the data are distinguished from each other from the layout on the document, it is possible to enter automatically the character attributes of the data.

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 medium handling apparatus and a data medium handling method suitable for use for handling of documents, for example, in a financial organ. The data medium handling apparatus (30) for recognizing, based on an image (19) read from a data medium on which information is described in an arbitrary format, the information, is constructed such that it comprises means (2) for extracting characteristics unique to the data medium including the format from the read image data (19) and specifying, from the characteristics, a position at which information to be recognized is present, and image recognition means (3) for recognizing the image (19) at the position specified by the preceding means (2) to discriminate the information, so that the data medium handling apparatus (30) can handle documents having various formats such as private slips.

Abstract: A soil reinforcing resin net including hole portions arranged in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the resin net, each of which is formed by a pair of opposed ribs and a pair of opposed bars, wherein projecting portions are fixed on bar portions; a method of producing the soil reinforcing resin net; and a drawn product of a polyethylene based resin suitably used as the soil reinforcing resin net, which is obtained by drawing a polyethylene based resin composed of a linear ethylene main chain having 0.3 or more of saturated hydrocarbon groups branched thereto in one molecule.

Abstract: A character recognition apparatus, in which a type of each of accounts, a type of each of marks, and characteristic data indicating a string of characters recognized when any of the marks is written in each account are previously registered for each group of the types of accounts in correlation to each other in an account-type database; a mark is estimated according to a result of verification between the account-type database and a result of ordinary character recognition according to a character recognizing program; and a type of account having the estimated mark is determined as a selected account name according to a result of recognizing characters in accounts other than the account having the mark.