# US 10,482,354 B2 · Creation device, computer program product, recognition system, and creation method

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- Number: US 10,482,354 B2
- Document ID: US10482354B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/710,982
- Filed: 2017-09-21
- Published: 2018-09-13
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2017-03-08
- Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba; Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation
- Applicants: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba; Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation
- Inventors: Tomohisa Suzuki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10482354B2

## CPC

- G06V 30/1983: {Syntactic or structural pattern recognition, e.g. symbolic string recognition}
- G06F 18/2193: {based on specific statistical tests}
- G06F 18/2415: based on parametric or probabilistic models, e.g. based on likelihood ratio or false acceptance rate versus a false rejection rate
- G06V 30/19173: {Classification techniques}
- H04N 1/00331: {with an apparatus performing optical character recognition (character recognition G06V30/10)}
- H04N 1/32133: {on the same paper sheet, e.g. a facsimile page header}
- G06V 30/10: Character recognition
- G06V 30/248: {involving plural approaches, e.g. verification by template match; Resolving confusion among similar patterns, e.g. "O" versus "Q" (G06V30/242 takes precedence)}
- H04N 2201/0082: Image hardcopy reproducer (H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence)
- H04N 2201/3226: of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
- H04N 2201/323: for tracing or tracking, e.g. forensic tracing of unauthorized copies
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

According to an embodiment, a creation device creates a code table including a plurality of code words. A recognition device identifies a code word represented by a code image based on a result of character recognition of the code image formed on an object, the code table, and a confusion matrix preliminarily created. The confusion matrix represents probabilities that characters are recognized when the recognition device performs character recognition on an image. The creation device includes a change unit, an evaluation value calculation unit, and a control unit. The change unit changes the code table. The evaluation value calculation unit calculates an evaluation value of the changed code table using the confusion matrix. The control unit causes the change of the code table and the calculation of the evaluation value to be repeated such that the evaluation value becomes small.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A creation device that creates a code table including a plurality of code words, the code table being used by an image forming device and a recognition device,
the image forming device forming a code image representing a code word selected from the code table on an object,
the recognition device identifying the code word represented by the code image based on a result of character recognition of the code image formed on the object, the code table, and a confusion matrix preliminarily created, and
the confusion matrix representing probabilities that characters represented by an image are recognized as the respective characters, when the image forming device forms, on the object, the image representing the characters, and the image recognition device performs character recognition on the image, the creation device comprising:
a hardware processor configured to:
change the code table;
calculate, using the confusion matrix, an evaluation value representing a possibility that the code word included in the changed code table is wrongly recognized; and
cause the change of the code table and the calculation of the evaluation value to be repeated such that the evaluation value becomes small, and output the code table at a stage where a predetermined condition is satisfied.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The device according to claim 1, wherein
the hardware processor outputs the code table having the smallest evaluation value at the stage where the predetermined condition is satisfied.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The device according to claim 1, wherein
the hardware processor calculates, as the evaluation value, a value of a sum of individual evaluation values of the respective code words included in the code table, and
each of the individual evaluation values is an approximate value of a probability that the recognition device identifies a code word different from a corresponding code word.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The device according to claim 3, wherein
the hardware processor calculates the evaluation value by expression (1):
E≡Σj=1mE(j) (1)
where E is the evaluation value, j is an integer from one to m, and is a number designating the code word included in the code table, m is the number of code words included in the code table, and E(j) is the individual evaluation value of the jth code word included in the code table.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The device according to claim 4, wherein
the recognition device calculates a logarithmic likelihood of each of the code words included in the code table using expression (2) in relation to the recognition result, and identifies the code word having the smallest calculated logarithmic likelihood as the code word represented in the code image:
D(j)≡−ln C(a(j,1),r(1))−ln C(a(j,2),r(2))− . . . −ln C(a(j,n),r(n)) (2)
where D(j) is the logarithmic likelihood of the jth code word included in the code table in relation to the recognition result, a(j,x) is a number that designates the xth character in the jth code word included in the code table, x being an integer from one to n, r(x) is a number that designates the xth character in the recognition result, C(a,r) represents a probability that the ath character formed on a surface of the object and represented by a first image is recognized as the rth character, the probability being included in the confusion matrix.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The device according to claim 5, wherein
the hardware processor calculates the individual evaluation value by expression (3):
E(j)≡Σh=1,h≠jmE(j,h) (3)
where h is an integer from one to m, and is the number designating the code word included in the code table, E(j,h) represents an approximate value of a possibility that the logarithmic likelihood of the jth code word in relation to the recognition result is larger than the logarithmic likelihood of the hth code word in relation to the recognition result when the image forming device forms the code image representing the jth code word on the object and the recognition device performs the character recognition on the code image.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The device according to claim 1, wherein
the hardware processor changes a part of the code table,
the hardware processor confirms the change of the code table when the evaluation value of the changed code table is smaller than the evaluation value of the code table before the change, and further changes the changed code table, and
the hardware processor cancels the change of the code table when the evaluation value of the changed code table is not smaller than the evaluation value of the code table before the change, and changes the code table again.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The device according to claim 7, wherein
the hardware processor outputs the code table when a reduction of the evaluation value stops.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The device according to claim 1, wherein
the hardware processor manages a code table set including a plurality of code tables generation by generation,
the hardware processor creates the code table set in a next generation from the code table set in a present generation using a genetic algorithm, and
the hardware processor outputs the code table having the evaluation value satisfying a reference condition out of the code tables included in the code table set in a generation satisfying a predetermined condition.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable recoding medium including a plurality of computer executable commands for searching for data, wherein the commands, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to function as the creation device according to claim 1.

### Claim 11

A creation device that creates a code table including a plurality of code words, the code table being used by an image forming device and a recognition device,
the image forming device forming a code image representing a code word selected from the code table on an object,
the recognition device identifying the code word represented by the code image based on a result of character recognition of the code image formed on the object, the code table, and a confusion matrix preliminarily created,
the confusion matrix representing probabilities that characters represented by an image are recognized as the respective characters, when the image forming device forms, on the object, the image representing the characters, and the image recognition device performs character recognition on the image, and
the creation device comprising a hardware processor configured to:
change the code table;
calculate, using the confusion matrix, a difference evaluation value representing a difference between a first evaluation value and a second evaluation value, the first evaluation value representing a possibility that the code word included in the changed code table is wrongly recognized, the second evaluation value representing a possibility that the code word included in the code table before the change is wrongly recognized; and
cause the change of the code table and the calculation of the difference evaluation value to be repeated such that the difference evaluation value is smaller than zero, and output the code table at a stage where a predetermined condition is satisfied.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The device according to claim 11, wherein
the hardware processor changes a part of the code table, and
the hardware processor confirms the change of the code table when the difference evaluation value is smaller than zero, and further changes the changed code table, and
the hardware processor cancels the change of the code table when the difference evaluation value is not smaller than zero, and changes the code table again.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The device according to claim 12, wherein
the hardware processor outputs the code table when a reduction of the evaluation value stops.

### Claim 14

A recognition system comprising:
an image forming device configured to form a code image on an object, the code image representing a code word selected from a code table including a plurality of code words;
a recognition device configured to identify the code word represented by the code image based on a result of character recognition of the code image formed on the object, the code table, and a confusion matrix preliminarily created; and
a creation device configured to create the code table that is used by the image forming device and the recognition device, wherein
the confusion matrix represents respective probabilities that characters represented by an image are recognized as the respective characters, when the image forming device forms, on the object, the image representing the characters, and the image recognition device performs character recognition on the image, and
the creation device includes a hardware processor configured to:
change the code table;
calculate, using the confusion matrix, an evaluation value representing a possibility that the code word included in the changed code table is wrongly recognized; and
cause the change of the code table and the calculation of the evaluation value to be repeated such that the evaluation value becomes small, and output the code table at a stage where a predetermined condition is satisfied.

### Claim 15

A creation method that is implemented by a creation device creating a code table including a plurality of code words, the code table being used by an image forming device and a recognition device,
the image forming device forming a code image representing a code word selected from the code table on an object,
the recognition device identifying the code word represented by the code image on the basis of a result of character recognition of the code image formed on the object, the code table, and a confusion matrix preliminarily created,
the confusion matrix representing probabilities that characters represented by an image are recognized as the respective characters, when the image forming device forms, on the object, the image representing the characters, and the image recognition device performs character recognition on the image, the creation method comprising:
by the creation device,
changing the code table;
calculating, using a confusion matrix, an evaluation value representing a possibility that the code word included in the changed code table is wrongly recognized; and
causing the change of the code table and the calculation of the evaluation value to be repeated such that the evaluation value becomes small, and outputting the code table at a stage where a predetermined condition is satisfied.