Sony patents video text reader that only works when text stays on screen
Sony describes a system that watches video by checking every few frames to find areas that look like text. It only starts reading the words if the text stays large enough for several frames in a row, saving processing power.
In the filing’s own words
A system and method for obtaining a plurality of image frames from video content during presentation, the plurality of image frames comprising every n th frame of the content where n is an integer greater than one, identifying, in an obtained image frame, one or more regions in which text may appear, and selectively performing an OCR process in the one or more bounding areas in which the threshold size is exceeded for at least a predetermined number of consecutive frames, and to output recognised text.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A system for performing an optical character recognition, OCR, process, the system comprising: a frame obtaining unit configured to obtain a plurality of image frames from video content during presentation, the plurality of image frames comprising every n th frame of the content where n is an integer greater than one; a region identification unit configured to identify, in an obtained image frame, one or more regions in which text may appear; a region modification unit configured to apply one or more color ranges to the identified regions such that colors outside of the color ranges are set to a default value, wherein the color ranges are defined based upon expected text colors; a text presence identification unit configured to identify the presence of text within the identified regions, and to identify the size of one or more bounding areas which each correspond with a respective identified text presence; a bounding area evaluation unit configured to determine whether any of the one or more bounding areas exceeds a threshold size, wherein if it is determined that none of the bounding areas exceeds the threshold size then processing continues with the region identification unit identifying one or more regions in the next obtained image frame; a monitoring unit configured to cause, if it is determined that at least one bounding area exceeds a threshold size, the frame obtaining unit to instead obtain a plurality of consecutive frames of content, and to monitor a number of consecutive frames in which the bounding area exceeds the threshold size; and an OCR unit configured to perform an OCR process in the one or more bounding areas in which the threshold size is exceeded for at least a predetermined number of consecutive frames, and to output recognised text.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
- Official title
- TEXT RECOGNITION SYSTEM AND METHOD
- Publication number
- US20260279086A1
- Application number
- 19565243
- Filed
- Mar 12, 2026
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G06V 30/1448 Physics & computingG06V 20/62 Physics & computingG06V 30/18105 Physics & computingG06V 30/1914 Physics & computingMore from Sony in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.