Omron Tateisi Electronics Co.

Kazuo Mikami

Tsukasa Yamashita

Mitsutaka Katoh

Seisuke Hinoda

Masahiro Nishimura

Noriyuki Tsukiyama

Taro Watanabe

Hideshi Ishihara

Mikihiko Shimura

Masanobu Koide

Fumihiko Satoh

A visual recognition device receives video signals representing an object to be recognized from a video camera, converts the video signals to a two-valued input pattern, and compares the input pattern with a standard pattern to recognize the object. The recognition device includes an auxiliary computing unit which carries out a predetermined auxiliary computation during a horizontal scan period of the video camera, in accordance with the state of the input pattern; a main computation unit for carrying out, during a vertical return scan blanking period of the video camera, a main computation based on computation results of the auxiliary computation unit; and a recognition unit for recognizing the input pattern with respect to the standard pattern based on computation results of the main computation unit with respect to the patterns.

Image recognition device

An optical waveguide path and an optical branch path branching from the waveguide path are formed in an optical material which is variable in refractive index with the variation of temperature. A heat generator is provided in the vicinity of the branching portion of the waveguide path. The heat of the generator produces in the optical material a temperature gradient in a direction parallel with a plane including the waveguide path and the branch path. The temperature gradient gives the optical material a temperature gradient, by which a light beam propagating through the waveguide path is deflected for switching.

Optical thermooptic switch device

An optical deflector comprises a photo-conductive material having a temperature optical effect and formed with a propagation path for light which propagates in a predetermined direction, a heating and cooling member disposed on the surface of the light propagation path of the photo-conductive material and which effect heat generation operation for heating the photo-conductive material and endothermic operation for cooling the same to produce the distribution of refractive index corresponding to the temperature distribution formed by each operation, in the light propagation path, and a drive DC source to have the heating and cooling member effect the heat generation operation and endothermic operation.

Optical deflector

A method of making an optical waveguide. First ultraviolet light is radiated upon the surface of a transparent piece of photopolymerization material of a type whose refractive index is changed by the impact of ultraviolet light thereon, so that a refractive index profile in the depthwise direction of the piece of photopolymerization material is formed. Next ultraviolet light is radiated upon the surface of the transparent piece of photopolymerization material in a pattern of a lengthwise extending stripe whose intensity is least in its central portion and becomes greater towards its edge portions, so that a refractive index profile in the widthwise direction of the piece of photopolymerization material is formed. Finally an optical waveguide is structured from the thus irradiated piece of photopolymerization material. Optionally, these profiles may be parabolic profiles. Optionally, also, the structuring of the final optical waveguide may be done by laminating together two similar such pieces of photopolymerization material, thus treated, with their sides which were exposed to ultraviolet radiation in contact with one another.

Optical waveguide and method of making the same

An optical coupling device is prepared with use of an optical medium containing a monomer which is polymerizable when irradiated with light to give a polymer having a higher refractive index than the monomer. The two elements to be coupled optically are at least partly embedded in the optical medium, and an optical coupling path partly interconnecting the two elements is formed by the photopolymerization of the monomer which is accelerated by light propagating from at least one of the elements toward the other element. Thus the photopolymerization of the monomer forms in the portion of the optical coupling path a polymer which has a higher refractive index than the surrounding portion and which therefore provides an optical waveguide of the step index type.

Optical coupling device and method of producing same

A process for preparing discrimination criteria for color identification comprises reading values representing a plurality of color components delivered from a color sensor for each of a plurality of given reference colors, calculating relative values of the color components, calculating relative values of the color components, calculating the deviation of the relative value of each color component from a specified value, extracting pairs of deviations each having a discrimination distance of at least specified times relative to any other reference color, determining a discrimination criterion between the extracted pair of deviation, and repeating the extracting and determining steps by calculating deviations of higher order with use of the deviations until discrimination criteria are determined for all the given reference colors.

Process for preparing discrimination criteria for a identifying colors

At least one set of light emitting element, converting an electric signal into an optical signal, and light receiving element, converting an optical signal into an electric signal, is integrated into one chip of semiconductor device.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Kazuo Mikami