Patent FR-1452642-A (FR)
IPC: G06V30/144
Filed: 1965-06-04
Granted: 1966-09-16
Abstract: 1,072,530. Automatic character reading. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. May 26, 1965 [June 4, 1964], No. 22346/65. Heading G4R. [Also in Division G1] The beam of a C.R.T. scanner is controlled to follow the border of a character or the like by repeatedly moving the beam across the border by changing its direction of movement by a right angle each time it crosses the border so that the beam moves back towards the border. The spot of C.R.T. (10, Fig. 1, not shown) is projected on to the paper (15) and reflected or transmitted light is received by a photomultiplier (25). The deflection circuits (50, 100) are controlled by deflection selection logic unit (200) and format control (400). The unit (200) is controlled by the photo-cell signal and signals from the eight-position direction ring (250) and from timing control (300). The direction ring (250), which is controlled by logic unit (350), is an eight-position latch ring each having a direction east, south-east, south, southwest and so on. When the east latch is set for example the beam may move either in the northeast direction or south-east. If the pattern border is being followed in a clockwise direction the beam will move north-east when in black and south-east when in white. The reverse is true for counterclockwise movement. The format control (400) may be a set of switches selectively operable to initiate a search routine, for example, a series, of strokes from west to east to cut the western boundary of the pattern Fig. 5 (not shown). Once the character has been found the border following routine begins. The different directions of movement are derived from four current sources for east, west, south, north. The sources for east and west are connected to feed currents into a capacitor store controlling the horizontal deflection. When the east source is activated the beam charge changes in one direction and when the west source is activated it changes in the opposite direction. The north and south sources are similarly connected. If the desired direction of movement is north-east both the north and the east current sources are activated. The necessary control signals are generated in unit (200) which consists of an array of AND gates, four for each of the eight directions latches. Each gate has three inputs, one of which is from the corresponding direction latch, the second from circuits generating signals indicating that the scanning spot is on black or white and the third is from circuits indicating the direction of movement round the character. The white and black signals are integrated and applied to a threshold device which responds when the scanning spot has spent too long in white or black. The result of such an indication is to return the spot to the last change of direction point and advance the direction ring according as to whether the scanner is following in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. When the search scan cuts the character (a, Fig. 6, not shown) the presence of a black signal changes the direction from east to north. As soon as the signal returns to white the scan changes back to east. Since there is no black within the specified distance the white threshold circuit responds and returns the scan approximately to the point where the last change of direction took place and advances the direction ring from northeast to east. The next three strokes are southeast, north-east and south-east (c). The white threshold is again reached and the beam is returned (d) and the direction ring advanced to south-east so that the sloping border is followed by alternate south and east movements. The beam follows round the border of the character as illustrated in Fig. 5. Having completed the loop round a character the scanning spot starts from point (19) to search for the next character.