CHARACTER SEPARATING AND EXTRACTING SYSTEM

PURPOSE:To extract an area, where an individual character exists, from a character string where characters are written closely by defining the area, which is surrounded with a prescribed window and the shortest route, as the area of existence of one character and separating and extracting this area successively. CONSTITUTION:In respect to pictures 111, 112, and 113 which are cut from the character string by a rectangle 12 larger than the circumscribed rectangle of the character string by the length corresponding to one picture element in both directions, the window 13 which is vertical the direction of the character string and has a length equal to the width of the rectangle 12 and has a width corresponding to one picture element is scanned from one end of the rectangular area. The position where a black picture element 14 appears first in the window 13 is detected, and a search area of the shortest route between picture elements S and E which exist in both ends of the window in this position is limited in the scanning direction from the position of the window 13 to find the shortest route. As the result, the area surrounded with the window 13 and the shortest route is defined as the area of existence of one character, and this area is separated and extracted successively, and thus the area where the individual character exists is extracted.