Burroughs, Inc.

Chauchang Su

Paul R Hoffman

David E Lundquist

Benjamin T Sung

Nitin M Sevak

Steven A Eichhardt

Character recognition apparatus and a method for identifying machine-printed and hand-printed characters. A character is optically scanned and converted to a rectangular matrix representation containing black and white points. The matrixed character is pre-processed by a non-iterative line-thinning technique so as to reduce the stroke width to no more than two points along the center line of the matrixed character. Isolated black points formed in the process of thinning the strokes are removed. Any gaps in the center-line of the matrixed character are filled and the edges of all long strokes are smoothed. The thinned character matrix is divided into a plurality of regions. One of a set of predetermined stroke features of the character matrix is extracted by scanning subregions of the character matrix such that the center position of the scanned subregions will have occupied all elements of the character matrix after one complete scan. A particular stroke feature is identified by an analysis of the arrangement of black and white points detected in each subregion. The feature extracted will be assigned to the region containing the center position of the particular subregion which was scanned. The features extracted in each of the regions are used to identify the character. In one embodiment, the sequence of stroke features detected for regions of the character matrix is compared with a table of stroke sequences corresponding to previously identified characters. The matrix is assigned to the character whose stroke sequences most closely match that of the matrixed character. Alternatively, a weighted value may be assigned to each of the possible stroke features in each region for every possible character, based on the relative importance of that feature to the character in that region, as determined by analysis of previously identified samples of the particular hand-printed or machine-printed characters. The matrixed character is identified by summing the weighted values of the detected features assigned to each region to produce a score for each character matrix. The matrix is then assigned to the character yielding the highest score.

Pre-processing and feature extraction system for character recognition

A stored logic Boolean function generator having a control word storage coupled to a control block for selectively configuring the control block into logic circuits for simulating either a logical AND circuit or a logical OR circuit for operating on binary signals. At least two external addressable binary signal stores are coupled to the control block. The two external addressable stores alternately and oppositely serve as source and destination storage devices for binary signals which are operated upon by the control block. One of the addressable stores serves as a source of binary signals which are supplied to the control block and operated upon by the logical circuit simulated therein. The results of the logical manipulation are stored in the other of the externally addressable stores which thus serves as a destination storage device. The control block is reconfigured according to the next successive control word stored in the control word storage and the flow of binary data through the control block is reversed such that the former destination store serves as the source of binary signals to the control block and the former source store serves as the destination for the control block. The binary data is continually circulated through the control block until the sequence of logical operations stored in the control word storage has been completed and the predetermined logical function performed.

Method and apparatus for multi-function, stored logic Boolean function

A generator for producing droplets of liquid by subjecting a confined body of such liquid to varying pressures at a given frequency and causing such liquid to issue from a discharge orifice first as a continuous stream and thereafter to break up into a succession of separate droplets. A particular use of the generator is to produce a controlled stream of ink droplets for the purpose of forming printed characters on documents. It accomplishes this object by making use of acoustic and ultransonic vibrations in a body of ink contained in a cavity of tapering dimensions having an ink intake passage and a discharge orifice, and causing periodic variations (or varicosities) in the hydraulic pressure at the discharge orifice which in turn causes the issuing stream of ink to break up into uniformly spaced apart fine droplets of ink. The droplet forming generator includes a resonant vibrating system composed of tapered front and rear horns having their wider ends in surface contact with the opposite sides of a crystal transducer sandwiched therebetween. The ink at the wider end of the cavity receives the pressure oscillations from the front horn and such pressures are concentrated by the shape of the cavity into the immediate region of its discharge orifice. The entire acoustic droplet generator is designed to locate the standing waves of pressure where they are most effective in the operation of the resonant system. Consequently, the generator can use liquids of higher viscosity at greater pressures and at higher frequencies of droplet formation than heretofore achieved. The advantages of thicker viscosity inks and higher pressures enables the attainment of better print quality and greater printing rates.

Liquid jet droplet generator

High speed electrostatic document handling apparatus wherein an electrostatic charge is deposited on an item-document such as a check and wherein the charge is caused to interact with an electrical field through which the item is obliged to move effective to selectively divert the item into a desired receiving pocket or bin and/or stack the item in the pocket or bin in the original selection order.

Electrostatic document handling apparatus

Document transport apparatus in a document reader sorter is provided with a vacuum assisted friction feeder for picking documents one at a time from a document hopper and for advancing the documents at high speed along a document transport guideway to the control of a transport burst roller, the picking of the documents from the hopper by an apertured friction feed belt being assisted and facilitated by a low pressure vacuum directed upon a linearly disposed section thereof adjacent the hopper, and the high speed advancement of the documents into and along the document guideway to the control of the transport burst roller being assisted and facilitated by a high pressure vacuum directed upon a curvilinear section of the apertured belt cooperably disposed relative to the apertured circumference of a drive pulley, said high pressure vacuum being effective to lock the picked documents and particularly the leading edges thereof to the feed belt for an accelerated feeding thereof, said accelerated feeding of the documents into the document transport guideway in combination with the accelerated transmission of the documents therein by the transport burst roller resulting in maximized document throughput for the document reader sorter.

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West Bloomfield Township, MI, United States of America

Chauchang Su