Dynamically reconfigurable signal processing circuit, pattern recognition apparatus, and image processing apparatus

• US 7,088,860 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Issued: 08/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsugu, Masakazu, Nomura, Osamu, Mori, Katsuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Desire, Gregory
• Application Number:
  US10/105,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20020181799A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,596 Days
• Field of Search: 348/222.1, 348/571, 382/145, 382/181, 382/247, 382/190, 382/210
• US Class Current: 382/181
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/049 Temporal neural networks, e.g. delay elements, oscillating neurons or pulsed inputs
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/063 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/454 Integrating the filters into a hierarchical structure, e.g. convolutional neural networks [CNN]
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/94 Hardware or software architectures specially adapted for image or video understanding
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships

Abstract

A plurality of signal processing functions are achieved with the same arithmetic processing circuit by controlling wiring arrangements or signal modulation in accordance with a predetermined arrangement control signal that is output based on circuit arrangement information read from a circuit arrangement information storage unit. Hierarchical parallel processing is realized with small-scale circuit configuration. Further, detection of a predetermined feature and integration of the detection results can be efficiently performed.

Claims

1. A signal processing circuit comprising:

an arithmetic processing circuit;

circuit arrangement information storage means for storing circuit arrangement information; and

circuit arrangement control means for outputting a predetermined arrangement control signal to said arithmetic processing circuit on the basis of the circuit arrangement information read out from said circuit arrangement information storage means,

wherein said arithmetic processing circuit comprises

a plurality of switch block means each including a plurality of switch elements and a plurality of signal lines,

analog processing block means for executing predetermined signal modulation for an input signal, and

a signal line for connecting said switch block means or said analog processing block means, and

said circuit arrangement control means controls an ON/OFF pattern of operations of the plurality of switch elements or a signal modulation amount at said analog processing block means, thereby reconfiguring said arithmetic processing circuit to execute a plurality of different signal processing functions.

2. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein

said analog processing block means comprises a plurality of first and second type analog processing block means which are connected to said plurality of switch block means by predetermined signal lines,

said first type analog processing block means applies predetermined modulation to a signal from said second type analog processing block means, and

said second type analog processing block means outputs a predetermined signal by integrating signals from said plurality of first type analog processing block means.

3. The circuit according to claim 2, wherein

said first type analog processing block means has input signal modulating means, and

said second type analog processing block means executes weighted time integration of the input signal.

4. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said arithmetic processing circuit further comprises logic processing block means connected to said plurality of switch block means and said analog processing block means by predetermined signal lines.

5. The circuit according to claim 4, wherein said logic processing block means has at least one AND circuit for a plurality of input signals.

6. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said switch block means receives signals from said plurality of analog processing block means through a predetermined signal line.

7. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said analog processing block means has input signal modulation means and a branch circuit for an output signal.

8. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said analog processing block means executes, for an input signal, predetermined weighted addition processing or weighted integration processing at different timings.

9. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said analog processing block means has a plurality of input signal modulation circuits capable of setting different modulation factors.

10. The circuit according to claim 9, wherein said input signal modulation circuit delays a pulse signal or modulates a phase or a width of the pulse signal.

11. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said switch block means outputs a signal input from one of the plurality of signal lines to at least one of the remaining signal lines.

12. The circuit according to claim 11, wherein said switch block means is formed by arranging a plurality of signal lines in a single direction.

13. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein

said circuit further comprises storage means for holding intermediate output data from said arithmetic processing circuit, and

said circuit arrangement control means outputs the predetermined arrangement control signal to said arithmetic processing circuit on the basis of the circuit arrangement information read out from said circuit arrangement information storage means and the intermediate output data held by said storage means.

14. A pattern recognition apparatus having the circuit of claim 1, comprising:

input means for inputting pattern data,

wherein said arithmetic processing circuit comprises output means for detecting, for part or whole of the input pattern, a plurality of predetermined feature categories at a plurality of predetermined positions and outputting a predetermined recognition result.

15. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein said circuit arrangement control means receives an arithmetic result from said arithmetic processing circuit and changes the connection at a timing based on the arithmetic result.

16. A signal processing circuit comprising:

an arithmetic processing circuit;

circuit arrangement information storage means for storing circuit arrangement information; and

circuit arrangement control means for outputting a predetermined arrangement control signal to said arithmetic processing circuit on the basis of the circuit arrangement information read out from said circuit arrangement information storage means,

wherein said arithmetic processing circuit executes a plurality of different signal processing functions by reconfiguring a circuit on the basis of the predetermined arrangement control signal,

said arithmetic processing circuit comprises a plurality of arithmetic processing blocks, each of said arithmetic processing blocks comprises an adaptive processing block capable of changing a processing function including signal modulation for the input signal on the basis of a control signal contained in the arrangement control signal, and a plurality of switch blocks arranged between signal lines for connecting said adaptive processing block and another arithmetic processing block to connect/disconnect the signal lines on the basis of the control signal contained in the arrangement control signal, and

said arithmetic processing circuit realizes the different signal processing functions by controlling said switch blocks and said adaptive processing blocks in accordance with the arrangement control signal from said arrangement control means.

17. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein in said adaptive processing block, a signal modulation amount for the input signal is set in accordance with an arithmetic processing block as an output destination.

18. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said arrangement control means outputs the arrangement control signal in synchronism with a predetermined clock signal.

19. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said arithmetic processing circuit comprises signal regeneration means for regenerating some or all input signals.

20. The circuit according to claim 19, wherein

the input signal is a pulse signal sequence, and

said adaptive processing block executes time integration with predetermined weights for the pulse signals regenerated by said regeneration means.

21. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said switch block receives signals processed by said plurality of arithmetic processing blocks through the signal lines.

22. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said adaptive processing block executes, for an input signal, predetermined weighted addition processing or weighted integration processing at different timings.

23. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said adaptive processing block has a plurality of input signal modulation circuits capable of setting different modulation factors.

24. The circuit according to claim 23, wherein said input signal modulation circuit delays a pulse signal or modulates a phase or a width of the pulse signal.

25. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said switch block includes a plurality of switch elements for independently disconnecting/connecting the plurality of signal lines, each of said switch elements operating in accordance with a control signal.

26. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said switch block is arranged for a plurality of signal lines that run in a single direction.

27. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said arithmetic processing block has a hexagonal shape and has six switch blocks corresponding to sides and one adaptive processing block.

28. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein at least one of said switch blocks in one arithmetic processing block is shared as a switch block in another arithmetic processing block.

29. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein

said circuit further comprises holding means for holding output data from said plurality of arithmetic processing blocks as intermediate data, and

said arrangement control means generates the circuit arrangement control signal on the basis of the circuit arrangement information and the intermediate data held by said holding means to set the processing function of said arithmetic processing circuit and provides the intermediate data to said arithmetic processing circuit as an input signal.

30. The circuit according to claim 16, wherein said arrangement control means controls said switch blocks and said adaptive processing block by the arrangement control signal at a timing based on arithmetic results from said plurality of arithmetic processing blocks.

31. The circuit according to claim 30, further comprising signal separation means for making correspondence between an arithmetic result and an adaptive processing block that has executed arithmetic processing on a path of a signal line for inputting the arithmetic result from said arithmetic processing block to said arrangement control means.

32. The circuit according to claim 30, wherein said arrangement control means outputs the arrangement control signal at a timing after an elapse of a predetermined time from when a sum value of the arithmetic results from said adaptive processing block, which are input to said arrangement control means, exceeds a predetermined value.

33. The circuit according to claim 32, wherein the predetermined time is not less than a time when some or all adaptive processing blocks belonging to a single layer end arithmetic processing.

34. The circuit according to claim 32, wherein the predetermined time is not less than a difference in input signal arrival time at some or all adaptive processing blocks belonging to a single layer.

35. The circuit according to claim 30, wherein said arithmetic processing circuit further comprises a signal regeneration circuit for an output signal from said arithmetic processing block.

36. A pattern recognition apparatus comprising:

time-division data input means for time serially inputting pattern data having a predetermined size as part of input data a plurality of number of times;

position information input means for inputting position information of the pattern data on the input data;

feature detection means, having a processing circuit, for detecting predetermined medium or higher order features related to a predetermined category from the pattern data;

time serial integration processing means for time serially integrating outputs from said feature detection means on the basis of the position information and the feature category to generate feature detection map information; and

determination means for outputting position information of the higher order feature in the input data and the category information on the basis of an output from said time serial integration processing means,

wherein said processing circuit comprises;

an arithmetic processing circuit;

circuit arrangement information storage means for storing circuit arrangement information; and

circuit arrangement control means for outputting a predetermined arrangement control signal to said arithmetic processing circuit on the basis of the circuit arrangement information read out from said circuit arrangement information storage means, and

said arithmetic processing circuit executes a plurality of different signal processing functions by reconfiguring a circuit on the basis of the predetermined arrangement control signal.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said detection means or said time serial integration processing means further comprises storage means for holding a processing result.

38. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said time division data input means scans and inputs data in a block region having a predetermined size from the input data.