Patent ID: 6671403
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
A pattern recognition apparatus comprising:a memory for storing n-th order functions corresponding to each of a plurality of different character-recognition processing operations, each n-th order function being defined by a predetermined relation between a recognition score and a corresponding accuracy for a respective character-recognition processing operation, each n-th order function for converting a recognition score to an accuracy, wherein the recognition score represents similarity amounts between an input pattern and a standard pattern corresponding to each candidate obtained by the respective character-recognition processing operations, wherein a common scale of indices is used for the accuracies obtained from recognition results of the plurality of different character-recognition processing operations; recognition means for performing the plurality of different character-recognition processing operations for an input pattern, and acquiring, for each of the plurality of different character-recognition processing operations, a plurality of recognition candidates and recognition scores corresponding to the recognition candidates, the recognition scores representing similarity amounts between the input pattern and a standard pattern corresponding to each recognition candidate; conversion means for converting the recognition score of each candidate obtained by the respective character-recognition processing operations into an accuracy using the n-th order functions corresponding to the respective character-recognition processing operations; combining means for combining the recognition candidates obtained by each of the different character-recognition processing operations, and sorting the combined recognition candidates on the basis of the corresponding accuracies; and outputting means for outputting the sorted recognition candidates.