Scanning system for location and classification of patterns

Claim 2

A pattern recognition system having means for scanning a field, said field having a plurality of classes of patterns therein, said classes of patterns being of different color densities and sizes, said means for scanning traversing said field in a first direction in a fast scan and in a second direction in a slow scan, means responsive to said scanning means for generating a signal corresponding to the colors of said field at the positions scanned, detection means responsive to said signal for detecting when said means for scanning has reached the location of a pattern from one of said classes of patterns, said detection means including threshold means responsive to said signal for indicating when said signal represents a predetermined color density and, size discrimination means for determining whether a pattern is a predetermined size, said detection means detecting patterns from only one of said classes of patterns in accordance with the color, threshold density and size of said pattern, said scanning means traversing said second direction at a first speed until said detection means responsive to said signal detects said pattern from one of said classes of patterns, and control means responsive to said detection for backing up said scanning means in said second direction and causing said scanning means to traverse said pattern at a second speed slower than said first speed so that said pattern recognition system is required to examine for discrimination among the patterns only patterns of said one of said classes.

Claim 3

The system of claim 1 wherein said scanning in said second direction is controlled by a digital counter when said scanning means traverses at a first speed and said scanning means being controlled in said second direction by a ramp generator for traversing said second direction at said second speed.

Claim 4

A pattern recognition system having pattern recognition means for scanning a field, said field having a plurality of classes of patterns therein, said means for scanning traversing said field in a first direction in a fast scan and in a second direction in a slow scan, the length of said scan in said first direction being greater than the length of any pattern in said field, means responsive to said scanning means for generating a signal corresponding to the colors of said field at the positions scanned, serial storage means for receiving a binary quantization of the signal generated by said scanning means when said scanning means is moving in said slow scan direction at a first speed, detection means responsive to said serial storage means for detecting when said means for scanning has reached the location of a pattern from one of said classes of patterns, said scanning means traversing said second direction at a first speed until said detection means detects said pattern from one of said classes of patterns, and control means responsive to said detection for backing up said scanning means in said second direction and causing said scanning means to traverse said pattern at a second speed slower than said first speed, said system further including window control means responsive to said detection means to enable said storage means to receive the binary quantization of only a portion of said signal corresponding to the area of said field immediately surrounding and including said pattern.

Claim 5

A pattern recognition system having pattern recognition means for scanning a field, said field having a plurality of classes of patterns therein, said means for scanning traversing said field in a first direction in a fast scan and in a second direction in a slow scan, the length of said scan in said first direction being greater than the length of any pattern in said field, means responsive to said scanning means for generating a signal corresponding to the colors of said field at the positions scanned, serial storage means for receiving a binary quantization of the signal generated by said scanning means when said scanning means is moving in said slow scan direction at a first speed, detection means responsive to said serial storage means for detecting when said means for scanning has reached the location of a pattern from one of said classes of patterns, said scanning means traversing said second direction at a first speed until said detection means detects said pattern from one of said classes of patterns, and control means responsive to said detection for backing up said scanning means in said second direction and causing said scanning means to traverse said pattern at a second speed slower than said first speed, said system further including window control means responsive to said detection means to enable said storage means to receive the binary quantization of only a portion of said signal corresponding to the area of said field immediately surrounding and including said pattern.

Claim 6

The system of claim 3 and further including inhibiting means, said means for inhibiting including means for defining a plurality of areas of said scan along the length of said fast scan direction, and means responsive to said detection means for storing the area in which said pattern is detected, said means for inhibiting being connected to said detection means for inhibition further detection in the same area for a predetermined length in said slow scan direction and in said fast scan direction.

Claim 7

The system of claim 4 wherein said means for inhibiting further includes means for inhibiting detection in the adjacent areas on both sides of said area in which said pattern is detected.

Claim 8

The system of claim 5 and further including a serial storage register having a plurality of bits to represent each of said defined areas, means for recirculating said bits in said storage register once for each complete fast scan sweep when said scanning means is moving in said second direction at said first speed, means responsive to said storage register to enable said storage register to maintain a record of the specific area in which a cell has been detected and keep track of the number of times that said bits have completely recirculated through said register.

Claim 9

The system of claim 6 wherein said means responsive to said storage register further includes means for changing the bits which represent each area, said bits corresponding to a count of the number of times said bits have completely recirculated through said storage register, said bits being incremented by a count of one for each recirculation of said bits in said register.

Claim 10

The system of claim 3 wherein a fast scan counter is provided which is stepped at a predetermined rate in order to define the location along the fast scan direction that the sacnning means has traversed, and recycle means being connected to said fast scan counter for recycling said fast scan counter at a first count when said scanning means is moving in said slow scan direction at a first speed and recycling said fast scan counter at a second predetermined count when said scanning means is moving in said slow scan direction at said second speed.

Claim 11

The system of claim 8 wherein said storage means accepts said portion of said quantized signal during the period in said fast scan counter between said first and said second predetermined counts.

Claim 12

The system of claim 3 and further including means for sampling said signal at a predetermined rate when said beam is moving in said slow scan direction at a first speed and sampling said signal at a greater rate of speed when said scanning means moves in said slow scan direction at said second speed.

Claim 13

A white blood cell classification system for detecting and classifying white blood cells in a peripheral blood smear, said system including means for scanning fields in the blood smear, said means for scanning having a search mode to find white cells in said smear and a rescan mode for classification of said white cells, means responsive to said scanning means for generating signals corresponding to the colors of said field at the positions scanned, said means responsive including filtering means for dividing the signals corresponding to the color into a plurality of the spectral bands, color processing means responsive to said signals for reducing information in said signals relating to red cells and providing a signal representative of the relative darkness of said area scanned and quantizing means responsive to said color processing means for generating a quantized signal, said quantizing means having a threshold level which is noRmally exceeded only by the nucleus of a white cell or a platelet, and detection means responsive to said quantized signal during said search mode of said means for scanning, said detection means including a mask which will normally be enabled by the nucleus of all the white cells, but which will not be enabled by a platelet or foreign material in the blood smear, said scanning means being responsive to said detection means, said scanning means being caused to switch to its rescan mode to rescan the area of said smear where a pattern is located which causes said mask to be enabled so that only said white cells are rescanned for classification.

Claim 14

A white blood cell classification system for detecting and classifying white blood cells in a peripheral blood smear, said system including means for scanning fields in the blood smear, said means for scanning having a search mode to find white cells in said smear and a rescan mode for classification of said white cells, means responsive to said scanning means for generating signals corresponding to the colors of said field at the positions scanned, said means responsive including filtering means for dividing the signals corresponding to the color into a plurality of the spectral bands, color processing means responsive to said signals for reducing information in said signals relating to red cells and providing a signal representative of the relative darkness of said area scanned and quantizing means responsive to said color processing means for generating a quantized signal, said quantizing means having a threshold level which is noRmally exceeded only by the nucleus of a white cell or a platelet, and detection means responsive to said quantized signal during said search mode of said means for scanning, said detection means including a mask which will normally be enabled by the nucleus of all the white cells, but which will not be enabled by a platelet or foreign material in the blood smear, said scanning means being responsive to said detection means, said scanning means being caused to switch to its rescan mode to rescan the area of said smear where a pattern is located which causes said mask to be enabled so that only said white cells are rescanned for classification.

Claim 15

The system of claim 11 wherein said mask, in order to be enabled, requires a quantized signal representative of an area approximately one micron wide and two microns long.

Claim 16

The system of claim 11 wherein said mask is enabled by a quantized signal representative of a Y shaped area.