DEFINING A LAYOUT OF TEXT LINES OF CJK AND NON-CJK CHARACTERS

A method is described for creating a scheme for dividing a text line of Chinese, Japanese or Korean (CJK) characters into character cells prior to applying classifiers and recognizing individual characters. Gaps between characters are found as a window is moved down the length of a text line. A histogram is built based on distances from the start of the window to a respective gap as the window is moved. The window is moved to the end of each gap after each gap is found and distances measured. This is repeated until the window reaches the end of the text line. A linear division graph (LDG) is constructed according to the detected gaps. Penalties for certain distances are applied. An optimum path is one with a minimal penalty sum and can be used as a scheme for dividing a text line into character cells.