METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PATTERN PROCESSING

• US 20100067795A1
• Filed: 05/22/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eberhard Falk
• Original Assignee: Eberhard Falk
• Inventors: FALK, Eberhard
• Granted Patent: US 8,463,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/28 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. by averaging or distorting; Generating dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition

Abstract

An apparatus for pattern processing exhibits a discretizing device for discretizing an input pattern, a device for generating a number n of discrete variants of the quantized input pattern in accordance with established rules, a number n of input stages (50) for generating, for each input-pattern variant, an assigned output symbol from a set of symbols, and a selection unit (60) for selecting a symbol by way of selected symbol relating to the input pattern from the n generated output symbols in accordance with an established selection rule. The apparatus according to the invention and the corresponding process according to the invention enable a faster, more precise and more flexible recognition of patterns, in which connection it may be a question of spatial image patterns, temporally variable signal patterns and other input patterns

Claims

1. Process for pattern processing, exhibiting the following steps:

a) discretizing of an input pattern,

b) generation of a number n of discrete variants of the discretized input pattern in accordance with established rules,

c) input of each of the n discrete input-pattern variants into a memory element and, in each memory element, mapping of the entered input-pattern variant to a respectively assigned output symbol from a finite set of discrete symbols in accordance with an associative assignment rule, and

d) selection of one of the symbols by way of selected symbol relating to the input pattern from the n generated output symbols in accordance with an established selection rule, wherein the associative assignment rule in step c) is learned by feedback of the selected symbol as a reference symbol at a symbol input (set) of the memory element.

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein the input pattern is a spatially variable input image.

3. Process according to claim 2, wherein the discrete variants of the discretized input pattern in process step b) are generated in each instance by image-processing operations such as, for example, displacements, rotations, scalings and/or threshold-value operations on the input pattern.

4. Process according to claim 1, wherein the input pattern is a temporally variable input signal.

5. Process according to claim 1, wherein the set of the finite set of discrete symbols in process step c) includes a symbol with the meaning “

indeterminate”

.

6. Process according to claim 1, wherein the established selection rule in process step d) includes a majority decision.

7. Process according to claim 6, wherein in the case of the majority decision a simple majority of the symbols suffices for determining the selected symbol.

8. Process according to claim 6, wherein in the case of the majority decision a number of other assigned symbols (votes against) are registered.

9. Process according to claim 1, wherein the number n of generated discrete variants of the quantized input pattern is amended dynamically.

10. Process according to claim 1, wherein the coding of the input symbols is amended during the process sequence.

11. Process according to claim 1, wherein the pattern processing is executed as a multi-stage process, wherein selected symbols of a first process stage serve as input patterns of a second process stage.

12. Process according to claim, 11, wherein the generation of a number n of discrete variants of the discretized input pattern in process step b) of the second process stage is effected by mixing output symbols of the first stage.

20. Computer program, which, when it runs on a computer system, executes the process according to claim 1.

21. Data medium, on which a computer program according to claim 20 is stored.

13. Apparatus for pattern processing, exhibiting:

a discretizing device for discretizing an input pattern

a device for generating a number n of discrete variants of the quantized input pattern in accordance with established rules,

a number n of memory elements which have been set up to map each of the n discrete input-pattern variants onto a respectively assigned output symbol from a finite set of discrete symbols in accordance with an associative assignment rule, and

a selection unit for selecting one of the symbols by way of selected symbol relating to the input pattern from the n generated output symbols in accordance with an established selection rule,

wherein memory elements and selection unit are connected to one another in such a way that the associative assignment rule which is used in the respective memory elements is learned by feedback of the selected symbol as a reference symbol at a symbol input (set) of the memory element.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the memory elements take the form of associative memories.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the memory elements each exhibit a pattern input, a reference-symbol input, an update-activation input and a symbol output.

16. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the selection unit exhibits a number n of symbol inputs, a symbol output, an output for outputting a signal (majority) that specifies a number of the selected symbol and an output for outputting a signal (veto) that specifies a number of other input symbols.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the selection unit additionally exhibits a reference-symbol input and an update-activation input.

18. Apparatus according to claim 13, which takes the form of a multi-stage pattern-processing apparatus, wherein selected symbols of a first processing stage serve as input patterns of a second processing stage.

19. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein mixers are provided for mixing output symbols of the first stage.