Segment Display Reading System with Multi-Stage Pixel Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reading systems for segment displays, such as seven-segment or sixteen-segment displays, face challenges in accurately and reliably interpreting characters due to noise, distortion, and variability in segment display characteristics, which affects the reliability of character recognition.
Innovation Solution
A reading system comprising a processing device with components like an acceptor, pre-processor, extractor, line thinner, reader, and calculator that performs multiple processing stages, including binarization, expansion and contraction of pixels, line thinning, and score calculation based on determination regions and match ratios, to enhance the accuracy and reliability of character recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple processing stages are implemented to improve character recognition accuracy, then reading reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reading system divides character recognition into multiple independent processing stages: binarization, expansion/contraction, line thinning, determination region analysis, and score calculation. Each stage processes specific aspects of the character image separately, allowing the system to handle complex recognition tasks through modular, manageable components that can be independently optimized and maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary processing actions before final character identification: binarization converts images to binary format in advance, expansion and contraction operations pre-process pixel distributions, and line thinning prepares character outlines. These preliminary actions simplify subsequent recognition steps and improve overall system reliability by ensuring data is properly prepared before critical decision-making occurs.
2Measurement precision
If noise and distortion are reduced through multiple processing stages, then reading accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies periodic processing operations in a fixed sequence: binarization, then expansion, contraction, line thinning, determination region analysis, and score calculation. This periodic structure allows the system to efficiently process images through standardized routines that can be optimized and cached, reducing processing time while maintaining high accuracy through consistent application of each processing stage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial processing on different regions of the character image simultaneously by dividing the image into multiple determination regions. Each region is processed independently for specific features, allowing parallel computation that reduces overall processing time while maintaining high accuracy through comprehensive coverage of the entire character image.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment, a reading system includes a reader and a calculator. The reader reads, from a character image, a character that is displayed by a segment display. The calculator performs one of first, second, third, or fourth processing. In the first processing, the calculator calculates a first score based on a state of pixels of the character. In the second processing, the calculator calculates a second score based on a match ratio between the pixels and the extracted pixels. In the third processing, the calculator calculates a third score based on a ratio of a length of the character image in first and second direction. In the fourth processing, the calculator calculates a fourth score based on a comparison result between the detected result and preset patterns. The calculator calculates a certainty of the reading by using one of the first, second, third, or fourth score.