Character recognition system employing character size determination apparatus for controlling size of scanning raster

Claim 1

IN A CHARACTER RECOGNITION SYSTEM, MEANS FOR PROVIDING AN INDICATION OF THE SIZE OF A SCANNED CHARACTER RELATIVE TO THE SIZE OF THE AREA SCANNED COMPRISING MEANS FOR SCANNING AN AREA WHICH INCLUDES A CHARACTER TO BE RECOGNIZED, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SCANNING MEANS FOR GENERATING TIME-SPACED SIGNALS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CHARACTER SCANNED, A MULTISTAGE SHIFT REGISTER, MEANS FOR SETTING SAID SHIFT REGISTER TO REPRESENT SAID TIME-SPACED SIGNALS, MEANS FOR REPEATEDLY SHIFTING THE DATA STORED IN SAID SHIFT REGISTER STAGE BY STAGE, A PLURALITY OF SENSING CIRCUITS CONNECTED TO SAID SHIFT REGISTER, EACH SENSING CIRCUIT BEING ADAPTED TO SENSE THE STATE OF A SELECTED PLURALITY OF STAGES OF SAID SHIFT REGISTER, COINCIDENCE CIRCUIT MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE OUTPUTS OF SAID PLURALITY OF SENSING CIRCUITS, AND MEANS, RESPONSIVE TO THE OUTPUTS OF SAID COINCIDENCE CIRCUIT MEANS, FOR CONTROLLING THE SIZE OF THE AREA SCANNED BY SAID MEANS FOR SCANNING.