Character segmentation using an associative memory for optical character recognition

摘要

Character segmentation apparatus for an optical character recognition system for segmenting individual character images in an image of a document having many characters prior to performing character identification, including a movable kernel for capturing a sub-image framed within a window having an area corresponding to an area occupied by an individual character, the window being movable in the document image in pixel-by-pixel steps to capture a sub-image for each step of the window, an associative memory for responding to the captured sub-image by producing a corresponding one of a set of images of known characters with which the associative memory has been trained, and a sensor responsive to the behavior of the associative memory for determining whether the sub-image is the image of an individual character or a non-character.