Patent EP0448956A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0448956A2
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Target recognition using quantization indexes
Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corp
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Filing: 1991-02-21
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-02-21
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for detecting the presence of a target in an n-dimensional array of digital data samples comprises: 1) a reading module, which reads the samples from the data array in overlapping groups; 2) a quantizing module, coupled to the reading module, which quantizes each of the overlapping groups of data samples and which generates an index that identifies the quantized group; and 3) a comparing module, coupled to the quantizing module, which compares indexes from the quantizing module to multiple reference indexes, each of which represents a quantized group of data samples that identify a distinctive feature of the target.
Inventors
- 👤 Roger William Call
- 👤 Robert Vaughn Jones
- 👤 Dennis Carl Pulsipher
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 15:15
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/02; G01S7/41; G01S7/411; G01S7/412; G01S7/48; G01S7/4802; G06; G06F; G06F18/00; G06F18/20; G06F18/23
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
139 words
Apparatus for detecting the presence of a target in an n-dimensional array of data samples, where each data sample has a first set of values and n is a positive integer; said apparatus comprising: a reading means, for reading said data samples from said array in overlapping groups; a quantizing means, coupled to said reading means, for quantizing each of said overlapping groups of data samples such that all of the data samples in any one particular group are restricted to a second set of values which is smaller than said first set and which are represented by an index; and, a comparing means, coupled to said quantizing means, for comparing said indexes from said quantizing means to multiple reference indexes, each of which represents a quantized group of data samples that identify a distinctive feature of said target.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
54 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said comparing means compares indexes of quantized groups of data samples in a predetermined order until a match to one of said reference indexes occurs, and thereafter said comparing means compares indexes of quantized groups of data samples from a window around the index which caused said match.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 which further includes a metric means for evaluating a metric based on any indexes within said window which match said reference indexes and for signaling the detection of said target if said evaluated metric meets a threshold criteria.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus according to claim 3 which further includes an index storage means, coupled between said quantizing means and said comparing means, for receiving and storing a plurality of indexes from said quantizing means; and an index retrieving means for reading indexes from said index storage means and sending them to said comparing means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said reading means, quantizing means, and comparing means are serially intercoupled and operate sequentially one after the other for each group of data samples that is read from said array.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said comparing means compares indexes of quantized groups of data samples in a predetermined order until a match to one of said reference indexes occurs; and thereafter said reading means reads data samples from a window around the data sample group whose index caused said match.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
Apparatus according to claim 6 which further includes a correlation means for spatially correlating data samples within said window to templates of said target and for signaling the detection of said target if said correlation meets a threshold criteria.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus according to claim 7 which further includes an index storage means, coupled between said quantizing means and said comparing means, for receiving and storing a plurality of indexes from said quantizing means; and an index retrieving means for reading indexes from said index storage means and sending them to said comparing means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said reading means, quantizing means, and comparing means are serially intercoupled and operate sequentially one after the other for each group of data samples that is read from said array.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
51 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a first one of said reference indexes represents a quantized group of data samples from a certain distinctive feature of said target, and a second one of said reference indexes represents a quantized group of data samples from a different distinctive feature of said target.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
51 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a first one of said reference indexes represents a quantized group of data samples from a certain distinctive feature of said target, and a second one of said reference indexes represents a quantized group of data samples from the same feature with a different orientation.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each overlapping group of data samples is from two to twenty samples in all of said n-dimensions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said data samples in said array are selected from the group consisting of optical samples, infrared samples, radar samples, x-ray samples, and sound samples.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
96 words
Apparatus for detecting the presence of a target in an array of data samples; said apparatus comprising: a memory means having stored therein a plurality of indexes, each of which represents a quantized group of data samples from said array; an index retrieving means, coupled to said memory means, for reading said indexes in a predetermined order; and, a comparing means, coupled to said memory means, for signaling whether or not said indexes from memory means match a reference index which represents a quantized group of data samples that identify a distinctive feature of said target.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said data samples in said array are selected from the group consisting of optical samples, infrared samples, radar samples, x-ray samples, and sound samples.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
85 words
A method of detecting the presence of a target in an n-dimensional array of data samples where n is a positive integer; said method including the steps of: reading said data samples from said array in groups; quantizing each group of data samples that is read and identifying each quantized group with an index; and, comparing said indexes that are obtained by said quantizing step to a reference index which represents a quantized group of data samples that identify a distinctive feature of said target.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method according to claim 16 wherein said comparing step is performed on multiple reference indexes, each of which represents a quantized group of data samples for a different distinctive feature of said target.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method according to claim 16 wherein said comparing step is performed on a class of several reference indexes, with each index of said class representing a quantized group of data from a single distinctive feature of said target but with a different orientation.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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