Hisao Ogata

Measurement of Propagation Velocities of the Normal Zone in a 1 mφ×1 m Superconducting Solenoid Magnet

Propagation velocities of the normal zone in a 1 m×1 m superconducting solenoid magnet were unambiguously measured as a function of the magnet excitation current by inducing quenches with a heater. The magnet was built to study the feasibility of constructing thin, large solenoid magnets and it has a single layer aluminum-stabilized NbTi/Cu superconductor of 269 turns. The ratio of Al:NbTi:Cu of the conductor is 24:1:1. The design current of the conductor is 4.5 kA at 1.5 Tesla. Measured velocities are 30, 65, and 90 m/s in the direction of the conductor at 2020, 3030, and 3540 A, respectively. Thermal distributions inside the coil after quenches were quite uniform and no local overheating was observed.

A method for street number matching in Japanese address recognition

A method for street number matching in Japanese address recognition is presented. This method uses the knowledge about the number expression formats, which is represented by the expression patterns of street numbers. The expression patterns are composed of character class symbols which represent numerals and delimiter characters. By matching the expression patterns against the character candidates in the lattice which is the result of character recognition, the class symbol lattice is generated. In the class symbol lattice, the numeral and delimiter character candidates are replaced by the corresponding class symbol. An experiment using 6,136 expression patterns showed that 93% of street numbers on the test mail-pieces were correctly recognized.

Form-type identification for banking applications and its implementation issues

This paper presents a new type ATM called image-ATM and an image workflow system developed for banking applications. The system including the image-ATM captures the paper forms brought by the clients at the very front-end, identifies the type of forms, and recognizes the data on the form automatically. The image-ATM can accept over 400 different kinds of forms. The system is presently in operation at some of the Japanese major banks. They could reduce considerable human workforce for their branch offices by introducing the image workflow system and by centralizing the back-office work at a few operation centers. Technically, form recognition, especially form type identification, was one of the keys for this success. This paper discusses a method for form type identification and its technical issues.

Cooling and Excitation Tests of a Thin 1 mφ×1 m Superconducting Solenoid Magnet

Cooling and excitation tests of a thin 1 m×1 m superconducting solenoid magnet were performed. Quench properties were measured after inducing quenches with a heater. The magnet has a single layer aluminum-stabilized NbTi/Cu superconductor of 269 turns and the forced flow cooling method of two-phase helium was used. The design excitation current of the magnet is 4.5 kA to give a uniform field of 1.5 T with the iron yoke. The magnet was excited up to 6 kA without any unforced quench in the second test in which the iron yoke was absent.

Detection of a Hand Holding a Cellular Phone Using Multiple Image Features

Detection of a hand holding a cellular phone was developed to recognize whether someone is using a cellular phone while operating an automated teller machine (ATM). The purpose is to prevent money transfer fraud. Since a victim is told a bogus reason to transfer money and how to operate the machine through a cellular phone, detecting a working cellular phone is necessary. However, cellular phone detection was not realistic due to variable colors and shapes. We assumed that a users hand beside the face was holding a cellular phone and decided to detect it. The proposed method utilizes color, shape, and motion. Color and motion were used to compare the input to the face. Shape was used to compare the input to the standard hand pattern. The experimental result was a detection rate of 90.0% and a false detection rate of 3.2%, where 7,324 and 20,708 images were used respectively.