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Character recognition system and method multi-bit curve vector processing

  • US 4,177,448 A
  • Filed: 06/26/1978
  • Issued: 12/04/1979
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/26/1978
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In an automatic character recognition system for identifying an unknown character wherein said unknown character is one of a class of a plurality of known characters, a scanning and training structure including:

  • means for storing a binary indicia a plurality of separate segments of character shapes, said separate segments being conformable to segments included within the shapes of said characters within said plurality of known characters, said binary encoded separate segments being referred to as canonic shapes and each being identified in said storage means by a binary encoded shape index number,means for processing and manifesting a first known character from said character class in a digital matrix format of stored binary indicia,means connected to said processing and manifesting means for digitally scanning said stored first known character indicia using a first set of selected scan parameters, said selected scan parameters designating a specific start position, scan length, scan binary indicia transition and direction for said scanning function, said digital scanning function producing a first binary encoded path vector in the form of a multi-bit binary word including the starting coordinates of said scan and a plurality of further binary coordinates of said known character along the selected length of said scan,means connected to said digital scanning and encoding means and to said binary indicia storing means for performing the complex inner product function of said binary encoded path vector and each of said stored canonic shapes to produce a plurality of complex numbers encoded in binary form, one for each complex inner product performed with each canonic shape, each of said binary encoded complex inner product numbers including a magnitude value representative of the similarity between said binary encoded path vector and each of said canonic shapes, and an angle value representative of the angular offset of the encoded path vector relative to each of said canonic shapes,means connected to said complex inner product function means for determining the magnitude of each of said encoded complex inner product number and selecting the largest magnitude number and recording the shape index of the canonic shape which produced said largest magnitude complex inner product number,means connected to said magnitude determining means for encoding at least said recorded shape index and said angle value within an N bit vector,at least a first storage plane means including a separate storage column for each of different one of said characters in said class of a plurality of characters and 2N storage rows for each different one of possible N bit vectors,and means connected to said N bit vector encoding means and said first storage plane means of entering a first storage indicia into said at least first storage plane means at a discrete storage location corresponding to the column associated with said first known character and to the row associated with said encoded N bit vector associated with said recorded shape index and angle value.

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