Image analysis – Pattern recognition
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-03
2001-06-26
Johns, Andrew W. (Department: 2721)
Image analysis
Pattern recognition
Reexamination Certificate
active
06252984
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a character recognition device, such as an electrophotographic apparatus, for recognizing a character image that has been picked up.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 80791/1987 (Tokukaishou 62-80791) has disclosed a method for recognizing a character image that has been picked up, wherein: image information, such as a character image that has been inputted, is set as a reference pattern, the storage size of a dictionary pattern is set based on the size of the reference pattern, and the image information is recognized based on the dictionary pattern.
Moreover, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 74729/1994 (Tokukaihei 6-74729) has disclosed a method wherein: the distance between a character to be recognized and a camera is calculated, a zooming operation of the camera is carried out based on the calculated distance so as to allow the character to be recognized to have a predetermined size so that the character image to be recognized is inputted.
However, the problem with the character recognition device using the conventional methods is that in the case when a character image, which has been temporarily stored, is recognized later, if the character image once stored can not be recognized, the image pick-up operation (reading operation) has to be repeatedly carried out until the character image has been recognized.
For this reason, for example, in the case when a character image, which has been picked up by using a portable-type electronic camera serving as a character recognition device and has been stored therein, is later subject to a character-image recognition at a site different from the site where it was picked up, if the stored character image can not be recognized, the user has to return to the site where it was picked up and re-pick up the same character image.
Furthermore, at the time when a character image is picked up, neither of the character recognition devices using the above-mentioned conventional methods makes a judgment as to whether or not the character image can be recognized. For this reason, even in the case when the character image that has been picked up is recognized at that site, if the character image that has been picked up includes any character that can not be recognized, the picking-up operation (the reading operation) of the character image has to be again carried out upon completion of the recognizing operation.
Another problem with the above-mentioned conventional techniques is that the enlarging operation is applied to even recognizable character images unnecessarily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The first objective of the present invention is to provide a character recognition device which preliminarily allows confirmation as to whether or not characters in a character image that has been picked up are recognizable prior to a recognizing operation for the characters in the character image that has been picked up.
In order to achieve the first objective, the character recognition device, which is a character recognition device for recognizing characters in a character image that has been obtained by a CCD by using a recognizing section, is provided with: a character cut-out section for cutting out a character from the character image that has been obtained by the CCD; a character-size storing section for storing at least one character size among character sizes required for recognition each of which is set for each of character types that can be recognized by the recognizing section; a size-judging section for comparing the size of the character that has been cut out by the character cut-out section with at least one of character sizes that have been stored in the character-size storing section; and a display section for informing information corresponding to results obtained by comparing the size of the character that has been cut out by the character cutout section with at least one of character sizes that have been stored in the character-size storing section by using the size-judging section.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, the size of the cut-out character is compared with at least one of the character sizes required for recognition, and by informing the information corresponding to the results, it becomes possible to confirm whether or not the character that has been picked up and cut out is recognizable prior to the recognizing operation so as to provide a guidance for the recognition.
Moreover, the second objective of the present invention is to provide a character recognition device which, if the size of a character image is not recognizable, informs the user of the fact.
In order to achieve the second objective, the character recognition device of the present invention, which is a character recognition device having the above-mentioned arrangement, is designed so that the size-judging section makes a judgment as to whether or not the size of the cut-out character is a recognizable size based upon the results of comparison between the size of the character that has been cut out by the character cut-out section and at least one of character sizes that have been stored in the character-size storing section, and so that if the size-judging section makes a judgment that the size of the cut-out character is less than the recognizable size, the display section informs the user of the fact that it is not recognizable.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, if the cut-out character is judged as being unrecognizable based upon its size, the user is informed of the fact so that the user can easily confirm whether or not characters in the character image that has been read are recognizable.
The third objective of the present invention is to provide a character recognition device which informs the user of what type of character a character to be cut out should be so as to become recognizable.
In order to achieve the third objective, the character recognition device of the present invention, which is a character recognition device having the above-mentioned arrangement, is designed so that the size-judging section makes a judgment as to what type of character a character to be cut out should be so as to become recognizable based upon the results of comparison between the size of the character that has been cut out by the character cut-out section and a plurality of character sizes that have been stored in the character-size storing section, and so that the display section informs the user of the character type that has been judged by the size-judging section as being recognizable.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, since the user becomes aware of what type of character a character to be cut out should be so as to become recognizable, the user can easily confirm whether or not a character to be recognized is recognizable or not.
The fourth objective of the present invention is to provide a character recognition device which extracts a character having a recognizable size that is set depending on character types from a character image that has been picked up so as to inform this character.
In order to achieve the fourth objective, the character recognition device of the present invention, which is a character recognition device having the above-mentioned arrangement, is designed so that the size-judging section selects a character having a recognizable size that is set depending on character types based upon the results of comparison between the size of the character that has been cut out by the character cut-out section and at least one of character sizes that have been stored in the character-size storing section, and so that the display section informs the user of the character selected by the size-judging section, as well as information indicating the recognizable size.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, since the character that has been extracted by the size-judging section is informed together with the information indicating the recognizable size, the user can easily confirm whether or not a character to be se
Haneda Isamu
Isoe Toshio
Azarian Seyed
Johns Andrew W.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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