Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Ministry of International Trade & Industry

Kiyohiko Kobayashi

Yutaka Hayashi

Akira Sakurai

Iwao Hamaguchi

Gen Sato

A character recognition system includes a scanner for scanning a character to be processed to produce a character data, which is processed in a predetermined manner to extract a character feature, preferably contour information of the character. Preferably, a plurality of predetermined directionality codes each associated with a unique pixel arrangement pattern are prepared and they are assigned to the contour depending on the local pixel arrangement condition. The contour information defined by such directionality codes is further processed to define a histogram or feature vector of the directionality codes which is compared with a first group of reference characters without inclination and a second group of reference characters with inclination. When a predetermined condition is met, then the mode of operation is switched such that an unknown character is compared with only one of the first and second groups of reference characters.

Character recognition method and system capable of recognizing slant

A device for masking video data for character recognition, pattern recognition and other applications is disclosed. Pixel data stored in an image memory are two-dimensionally accessed by an X direction counter and a Y direction counter. At each time of access, pixel data read out are serially shifted by a first shift register which comprises flip-flops. Outputs of the first shift register are shifted by second shift registers which also comprise flip-flops, in synchronism with the first one of memory read signals.

Image data masking device

An insulation film of improved properties and an interface of similarly improved properties between the insulation film and a semiconductor are produced by heating silicon, a silicon compound or a silicon dioxide film in an atmosphere formed by incorporating a carbon fluorine gas into an oxidative gas.

Growing community of inventors

Yamato, Japan

Kiyohiko Kobayashi