JP2018005622A - Portable type electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable type electronic device that can reduce wrong recognition of recognition processing arising from picture-taking operation of operators.SOLUTION: A handy scanner 100 according to the present invention comprises: an imaging unit 10 that takes pictures of character strings targeted for reading; a computation processing unit 20 that executes computation processing for recognizing the character string from images taken by the imaging unit 10; and a display unit 50 that notifies a computation processing result of the computation processing unit 20. The computation processing unit 20 is configured to: extract a character string area 13 where the character string exists in the image taken by the imaging unit 10; determine whether the character string area is present in a reading effective area 12 pre-set to an imaging area of the imaging unit 10; when the character string area 13 is not present within the reading effective area 12, further determine a protrusion direction of the character string area 13 with respect to the reading effective area 12; and notify the determination result by the display unit 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device having a character recognition function for recognizing a character string from a captured image.

  For example, a portable electronic device having an imaging function and a character recognition function for recognizing a character string from a captured image, such as a handy scanner type character recognition device, is known. While such portable electronic devices have the advantage of being able to easily read printed characters, they are read with their positions aligned so that the character string to be read falls within the effective area of the imaging function. Since it is necessary to perform the operation, the recognition accuracy of the character is lowered due to the inappropriate positioning operation by the operator, and there is a possibility that erroneous recognition of the character occurs.

  As an example of the prior art of such a portable electronic device, information generated in the character recognition process, such as information on the possibility of erroneous recognition and information on factors affecting the final character reading result, for example, A handy terminal or a pattern recognition device having a function of notifying the user is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-153159 JP2015-210542A

  In a portable electronic device having a character recognition function, for example, the following situation can be assumed as a situation in which erroneous recognition due to an imaging operation of an operator occurs. For example, if a part of the character string you are trying to read is outside the effective reading range, each character in the character string may not be recognized correctly, and an incomplete character string with some characters missing may be recognized. It may be recognized as a result. In addition, for example, if the distance between the character string to be read and the imaging unit of the portable electronic device is too close or too far, the character recognition accuracy decreases, and each character of the character string may not be recognized correctly. is there. Furthermore, even when the imaging unit of the portable electronic device is tilted to the left or right at a certain angle or more with respect to the character string to be read, the character recognition accuracy is lowered, and each character of the character string may not be recognized correctly. There is sex.

  However, each of the above prior arts only informs the operator of information generated in the process of character recognition processing, and the operator can know the possibility of erroneous recognition in the read character string. Since it is difficult for the operator to recognize how to correct the imaging operation, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce misrecognition caused by the imaging operation of the operator.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide a portable electronic device capable of reducing erroneous recognition of character recognition processing caused by an imaging operation of an operator. .

<First Aspect of the Present Invention>
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging device that captures a character string to be read, an arithmetic processing device that performs arithmetic processing for recognizing a character string from an image captured by the imaging device, and the arithmetic processing device. A notification device for notifying a result of the arithmetic processing, wherein the arithmetic processing device extracts a character string region where a character string exists in an image captured by the imaging device, and the character string region is an imaging range of the imaging device. If the character string area is not in the effective reading area, the direction of the character string area protruding from the effective reading area is further determined. This is a portable electronic device that notifies the determination result by the notification device.

  If the extracted character string area is not within the effective reading area, that is, if the extracted character string area protrudes from the effective reading area, erroneous recognition may occur in the character recognition processing of the character string area. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the extracted character string area is within the effective reading area, and further, the protruding direction of the character string area with respect to the effective reading area is determined, and the determination result is notified by the notification device to notify the operator. Thus, it is possible to prompt the operator to perform an appropriate imaging operation. That is, the operator can know whether or not the imaging operation is appropriate from the determination result notified by the notification device, and can specifically understand how the imaging operation needs to be corrected. it can. Thereby, it is possible to reduce misrecognition of the character recognition process caused by the imaging operation of the operator.

  As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a portable electronic device that can reduce misrecognition of character recognition processing caused by an operator's imaging operation.

<Second Aspect of the Present Invention>
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention described above, the arithmetic processing unit is configured such that the size of the character string area is set on the condition that the character string area is within the effective reading area. It is a portable electronic device which determines whether it is in the preset effective size range, and notifies the determination result by the notification device.

  Even if the extracted character string area is within the effective reading area, but the size of the extracted character string area is not within the effective size range, that is, the extracted character string area is too large or too small The character recognition accuracy is lowered, and there is a possibility that erroneous recognition occurs in the character recognition processing of the character string area. According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the extracted character string area is within the effective reading area, it is further determined whether or not the size of the extracted character string area is within the effective size range. By notifying the determination result by the notification device and notifying the operator, it is possible to prompt the operator to perform a more appropriate imaging operation.

<Third Aspect of the Present Invention>
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention described above, when the size of the character string area is not within the effective size range, the arithmetic processing device further includes the size of the character string area. Is a portable electronic device that determines whether or not is larger than the effective size range and notifies the determination result by the notification device.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the size of the character string region is not within the effective size range, it is further determined whether the size of the character string region is larger or smaller than the effective size range, and notified by the notification device. Thus, the operator can more specifically understand how the imaging operation needs to be corrected.

<Fourth aspect of the present invention>
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention described above, the arithmetic processing unit is configured on the condition that the character string area is in the reading effective area. In the portable electronic device, it is determined whether or not the inclination of the character string area is within a preset effective inclination range, and the determination result is notified by the notification device.

  Even when the extracted character string area is within the effective reading area, if the inclination of the extracted character string area is not within the effective inclination range, that is, if the inclination of the extracted character string area is too large, The recognition accuracy of the character is lowered, and there is a possibility that erroneous recognition occurs in the character recognition process of the character string area. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the extracted character string area is within the effective reading area, it is further determined whether or not the inclination of the extracted character string area is within the effective inclination range. By notifying the determination result by the notification device and notifying the operator, it is possible to prompt the operator to perform a more appropriate imaging operation.

<Fifth aspect of the present invention>
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention described above, the arithmetic processing unit further includes the inclination of the character string area when the inclination of the character string area is not within the effective inclination range. It is a portable electronic device that determines a direction and notifies the determination result by the notification device.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the inclination of the character string area is not within the effective inclination range, the operator further determines the inclination direction of the character string area and notifies the notification by the notification device. Specifically, it is possible to understand how the imaging operation needs to be corrected.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the portable electronic device which can reduce the misrecognition of the character recognition process resulting from an operator's imaging operation can be provided.

Block diagram of the handy scanner. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and a reading effective area | region illustratively. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and a reading effective area | region illustratively. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and a reading effective area | region illustratively. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and a reading effective area | region illustratively. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and an effective size range as an example. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and an effective size range as an example. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and an effective inclination range exemplarily. The top view which illustrated the relationship between a character string area | region and an effective inclination range exemplarily. The top view of a display screen in case a character string area | region is not in a reading effective area | region. The top view of a display screen in case the size of a character string area | region is not in the effective size range. The top view of a display screen in case the inclination of a character string area | region is not in the effective inclination range. The top view of the display screen which displays the character string recognized from the character string area | region. The flowchart which illustrated the operation | movement flow of the handy scanner. The flowchart which illustrated the operation | movement flow of the handy scanner. The flowchart which illustrated the operation | movement flow of the handy scanner. The flowchart which illustrated the operation | movement flow of the handy scanner.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In addition, this invention is not specifically limited to the Example demonstrated below, It cannot be overemphasized that a various deformation | transformation is possible within the range of the invention described in the claim.

<Configuration of Handy Scanner 100>
A configuration of a handy scanner 100 as an example of a “portable electronic device” according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the handy scanner 100.
The handy scanner 100 includes an imaging unit 10, an arithmetic processing unit 20, an external input / output unit 30, an operation switch unit 40, a display unit 50, a device control unit 60, and a display control unit 70.

  The imaging unit 10 as an “imaging device” is, for example, a digital camera or the like using an optical sensor such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and is a target to be read by optically scanning a slip or the like on which printed characters are printed. The character string that becomes is imaged. The arithmetic processing unit 20 as an “arithmetic processing device” is, for example, a known microcomputer arithmetic device, and executes arithmetic processing for recognizing a character string from an image captured by the imaging unit 10. The external input / output unit 30 includes an interface circuit for inputting / outputting data and the like with an external device (not shown). The operation switch unit 40 includes, for example, a numeric keypad, a push button, and the like, and an operator can perform an imaging trigger operation using the imaging unit 10 and various settings necessary for the handy scanner 100 (for example, font and number of digits of characters to be read). Provided to do.

  The display unit 50 as the “notification device” is a visual display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, for example, and displays the calculation processing result of the calculation processing unit 20 such as a character string recognized by the character recognition processing. The “notification device” of the present invention may use, for example, an LED indicator. In addition, the “notification device” of the present invention is not particularly limited to the visual display device, and may be a device that uses a buzzer sound or a vibration function, for example, or a combination of these with a visual display device. It is good also as a structure. The device control unit 60 controls devices and circuits (the imaging unit 10, the external input / output unit 30, the operation switch unit 40, and the display unit 50) mounted on the handy scanner 100. The display control unit 70 is an application that executes display control of the display unit 50, for example.

  The arithmetic processing unit 20 includes a binarization conversion unit 21, a character string region extraction unit 22, a character string region determination unit 23, a character string region detail determination unit 24, a character string height determination unit 25, and a character string height detail determination unit. 26, a character string inclination determination unit 27, a character string inclination detail determination unit 28, and a character recognition unit 29.

  The binarization conversion unit 21 binarizes the image captured by the imaging unit 10 and converts it into binary image data. The character string region extraction unit 22 performs labeling processing in at least four directions, preferably eight directions, on the binary image data binarized by the binarization conversion unit 21, and characters in the binary image data after the labeling processing are processed. Extract the character string area where the column exists.

  The character string region determination unit 23 determines whether or not the character string region extracted by the character string region extraction unit 22 is within a reading effective region set in advance in the imaging range of the imaging unit 10. The shape, position, and size of the effective reading area may be stored as, for example, fixed data in a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the arithmetic processing unit 20, or the operator operates the operation switch unit 40. It may be set arbitrarily or may be set from the outside via the external input / output unit 30.

  When the character string area extracted by the character string area extraction unit 22 is not within the reading effective area, the character string area detail determination unit 24 further determines the protruding direction of the character string area with respect to the reading effective area.

  The character string height determination unit 25 determines whether or not the size of the character string region is within a preset effective size range on the condition that the character string region extracted by the character string region extraction unit 22 is in the reading effective region. judge. The effective size range of the character string area may be stored in, for example, a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the arithmetic processing unit 20 as fixed data, or may be arbitrarily set by the operator operating the operation switch unit 40. It may be settable or may be settable externally via the external input / output unit 30.

  The character string height detail determination unit 26 further determines that the size of the character string region is valid when the size of the character string region extracted by the character string region extraction unit 22 (for example, the height of the character string region) is not within the effective size range. Determine whether it is larger or smaller than the size range.

  The character string inclination determination unit 27 determines whether or not the inclination of the character string area is within a preset effective inclination range on the condition that the character string area extracted by the character string area extraction unit 22 is in the reading effective area. To do. The effective inclination range of the character string area may be stored in, for example, a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the arithmetic processing unit 20 as fixed data, or may be arbitrarily set by the operator operating the operation switch unit 40. It may be settable or may be settable externally via the external input / output unit 30.

  When the inclination of the character string area extracted by the character string area extraction unit 22 is not within the effective inclination range, the character string inclination detail determination unit 28 further determines the inclination direction of the character string area.

<Determination of character string area>
Details of the determination of the character string area will be described with reference to FIGS.
Of the determination based on the effective reading area, the determination based on the effective size range, and the determination based on the effective inclination range described below, the determination based on the effective size range and the determination based on the effective inclination range are optional items. The present invention can be implemented only by the determination based on the effective reading area, and the function and effect of the present invention can be obtained even in such an embodiment. In addition, the present invention can be implemented in an embodiment in which only one of determination based on the effective size range and determination based on the effective inclination range is performed after the determination based on the effective reading area, and the effects of the present invention are obtained. Further, when both the determination based on the effective size range and the determination based on the effective inclination range are performed after the determination based on the effective reading area, whichever may be performed first, in any case, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

1. Determination Based on Effective Reading Area FIGS. 2 to 5 are plan views illustrating the relationship between the character string area 13 of the captured image 11 and the effective reading area 12 as an example.

  When the character string area 13 extracted from the captured image 11 is not within the effective reading area 12, that is, when the extracted character string area 13 protrudes from the effective reading area 12, the character recognition process for the character string area 13 is performed. Misrecognition may occur. Therefore, it is preferable to determine whether or not the character string area 13 is in the reading effective area 12 before executing the character recognition process of the character string area 13. If the character string area 13 is not in the reading effective area 12, it is preferable not to execute the character recognition process for the character string area 13. As a result, the accuracy of the character recognition process can be improved, and the operator's work efficiency can be improved by eliminating the useless character recognition process.

  The effective reading area 12 is, for example, a rectangular area. Whether or not the character string area 13 is in the reading effective area 12 is, in other words, whether or not the character string area 13 is not protruding from the reading effective area 12. The character string area determination unit 23 determines whether the character string area 13 is in the reading effective area 12 by checking whether the character string area 13 is not in contact with the vertical and horizontal ends of the reading effective area 12, for example. judge. Then, the character string area detail determination unit 24 specifies the direction in which the character string area 13 is in contact with the end of the reading effective area 12 when the character string area 13 is not in the reading effective area 12, thereby The protruding direction of the character string area 13 with respect to the area 12 is determined.

  For example, when the character string area 13 is in contact with the left end of the effective reading area 12, the character string area detail determining unit 24 protrudes leftward from the effective reading area 12. (FIG. 2). In this case, for example, the character string area 13 can enter the effective reading area 12 by shifting the imaging position to the left by the operator.

  For example, when the character string area 13 is in contact with the left and right ends of the effective reading area 12, the character string area detail determination unit 24 protrudes in the left and right directions with respect to the effective reading area 12. (FIG. 3). In this case, for example, the operator corrects the imaging position backward (in a direction away from the imaging target) so that the character string area 13 can enter the effective reading area 12.

  For example, when the character string area 13 is in contact with the upper end of the effective reading area 12, the character string area detail determination unit 24 protrudes upward from the effective reading area 12. (FIG. 4). In this case, for example, the operator can shift the imaging position upward so that the character string area 13 enters the reading effective area 12.

  For example, when the character string area 13 is in contact with the lower end of the reading effective area 12, the character string area detail determination unit 24 protrudes downward from the reading effective area 12. (FIG. 5). In this case, for example, the operator can shift the imaging position downward so that the character string area 13 falls within the effective reading area 12.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating an example of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 when the character string area 13 is not in the reading effective area 12.

  When the character string area 13 extends beyond the effective reading area 12, the character “reading error” is displayed on the reading status display section 511 of the display screen 51 as the determination result. At the same time, the protruding direction of the character string area 13 with respect to the effective reading area 12 is displayed on the display screen 51. More specifically, for example, when the character string area 13 is in contact with the left and right ends of the effective reading area 12 (FIG. 3), the “left end, right end” is displayed on the reading range overdisplay section 513 of the display screen 51. Is displayed.

  It is determined whether or not the character string area 13 extracted in this way is within the reading effective area 12, and the determination result is displayed on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 to notify the operator, thereby performing an appropriate imaging operation. Can be prompted to the operator. That is, the operator can know whether or not the imaging operation is appropriate from the determination result displayed on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50, and understand how the imaging operation needs to be corrected. be able to. Thereby, it is possible to reduce misrecognition of the character recognition process caused by the imaging operation of the operator. Further, when the character string area 13 is not in the effective reading area 12, the operator further determines the protruding direction of the character string area 13 with respect to the effective reading area 12 and displays it on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50. More specifically, it can be understood how the imaging operation needs to be corrected.

2. Determination Based on Effective Size Range FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan views exemplarily showing the relationship between the character string region 13 of the captured image 11 and the effective size range.

  Even when the character string area 13 extracted from the captured image 11 is within the effective reading area 12, the size of the extracted character string area 13 is not within the effective size range, that is, the extracted character string area 13 is If it is too large or too small, the character recognition accuracy is lowered, and there is a possibility that erroneous recognition will occur in the character recognition process of the character string region 13. Therefore, it is preferable to determine whether or not the size of the character string area 13 is within the effective size range before executing the character recognition process for the character string area 13. If the size of the character string area 13 is not within the effective size range, it is preferable not to execute the character recognition process for the character string area 13. As a result, the accuracy of the character recognition process can be further improved, and the operator's work efficiency can be further improved by eliminating the useless character recognition process.

  The effective size range of the character string region 13 is set as, for example, an effective range of the height (length in the vertical direction) of the character string region 13. The height of the character string area 13 is determined by, for example, specifying the coordinates of the outermost peripheral pixels of the character string area 13 and using the average height of the character string area 13. The effective range of the height of the character string area 13 is set by, for example, an upper limit value and a lower limit value of the height of the character string area 13. More specifically, for example, the lower limit value of the height of the character string area 13 is set to 15 dots and the upper limit value of the height of the character string area 13 is set to 50 dots, which are set to the effective range of the height of the character string area 13 (effective Size range).

  For example, when the height of the character string region 13 is 10 dots, the character string height determination unit 25 is smaller than the lower limit value 15 dots of the height of the character string region 13, so that the size of the character string region 13 is the effective size. It is determined that it is not within the range (FIG. 6). Then, the character string height detail determination unit 26 determines that the size of the character string region 13 is smaller than the effective size range (FIG. 6). In this case, for example, when the operator shifts the imaging position forward (in the direction approaching the imaging target), the size of the character string region 13 can fall within the effective size range.

  For example, when the height of the character string region 13 is 60 dots, the character string height determination unit 25 is larger than the upper limit value 50 dots of the height of the character string region 13, and therefore the size of the character string region 13 is effective. It is determined that it is not within the size range (FIG. 7). Then, the character string height detail determination unit 26 determines that the size of the character string region 13 is larger than the effective size range (FIG. 7). In this case, for example, the operator can shift the imaging position backward (in a direction away from the imaging target) so that the size of the character string region 13 falls within the effective size range.

  FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating an example of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 when the size of the character string region 13 is not within the effective size range.

  If the size of the character string area 13 is not within the effective size range, the character “reading error” is displayed on the reading status display section 511 of the display screen 51 as the determination result. At the same time, whether the size of the character string area 13 is larger or smaller than the effective size range is displayed on the display screen 51. More specifically, for example, when the size of the character string region 13 is smaller than the effective size range (FIG. 6), the “long distance” character is displayed on the reading distance over display portion 514 of the display screen 51.

  It is determined whether or not the size of the character string area 13 extracted in this way is within the effective size range, and the determination result is displayed on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 to notify the operator, thereby making it more appropriate. An operator can be prompted to perform an imaging operation. Further, when the size of the character string region 13 is not within the effective size range, it is further determined whether the size of the character string region 13 is larger or smaller than the effective size range and displayed on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50. More specifically, the operator can understand how the imaging operation needs to be corrected.

3. Determination by Effective Tilt Range FIGS. 8 and 9 are plan views exemplarily showing the relationship between the character string region 13 of the captured image 11 and the effective tilt range.

  Even when the character string area 13 extracted from the captured image 11 is within the effective reading area 12, if the inclination of the extracted character string area 13 is not within the effective inclination range, that is, the extracted character string area 13 If the inclination is too large, the character recognition accuracy is lowered, and there is a possibility that erroneous recognition occurs in the character recognition processing of the character string region 13. Therefore, it is preferable to determine whether or not the inclination of the character string area 13 is within the effective inclination range before executing the character recognition process for the character string area 13. If the inclination of the character string area 13 is not within the effective inclination range, it is preferable not to execute the character recognition process for the character string area 13. As a result, the accuracy of the character recognition process can be further improved, and the operator's work efficiency can be further improved by eliminating the useless character recognition process.

  The inclination angle of the character string region 13 is determined by, for example, specifying the center point of each character in the character string region 13, determining the center line of the character string region 13 from the center point of each character, The angle of the center line of the character string area 13 with respect to the center line is set. The effective inclination range of the character string area 13 is, for example, the range of the inclination angle of the character string area 13 in the left-right rotation direction (the upper limit value of the inclination angle in the right rotation direction and the upper limit value of the inclination angle in the left rotation direction of the character string area 13). ). More specifically, for example, the upper limit value of the tilt angle in the left rotation direction of the character string region 13 is set to −10 degrees, and the upper limit value of the tilt angle in the right rotation direction is set to +10 degrees. The tilt range.

  For example, when the character string region 13 is inclined at an angle of +20 degrees, the character string inclination determination unit 27 is larger than the upper limit value +10 degrees of the inclination angle in the clockwise rotation direction. It determines with the inclination of the character string area | region 13 not being an effective inclination range (FIG. 8). And the character string inclination detailed determination part 28 determines with the inclination direction being a right rotation direction (FIG. 8). In this case, for example, when the operator corrects the imaging angle in the right rotation direction, the inclination of the character string region 13 can fall within the effective inclination range.

  Further, the character string inclination determination unit 27, for example, when the character string area 13 is inclined at an angle of −20 degrees, the inclination of the character string area 13 is larger than the upper limit value −10 degrees of the inclination angle in the left rotation direction. Therefore, it is determined that the inclination of the character string area 13 is not within the effective inclination range (FIG. 9). And the character string inclination detailed determination part 28 determines with the inclination direction being a left rotation direction (FIG. 9). In this case, for example, when the operator corrects the imaging angle in the left rotation direction, the inclination of the character string region 13 can fall within the effective inclination range.

  FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating an example of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 when the inclination of the character string region 13 is not within the effective inclination range.

  When the inclination of the character string area 13 is not within the effective inclination range, the character “reading error” is displayed on the reading status display section 511 of the display screen 51 as the determination result. At the same time, the inclination direction of the character string area 13 is displayed on the display screen 51. More specifically, for example, when the inclination of the character string area 13 is inclined to the left rotation direction from the effective inclination range (FIG. 9), the character “Rotate left” is displayed on the reading inclination overdisplay portion 515 of the display screen 51. Is displayed.

  It is determined whether or not the inclination of the character string area 13 extracted in this way is within the effective inclination range, and the determination result is displayed on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 to notify the operator. An operator can be prompted to perform an imaging operation. In addition, when the inclination of the character string area 13 is not within the effective inclination range, the operator further determines the inclination direction of the character string area 13 and displays it on the display screen 51 of the display unit 50, so that the operator can be more specific. Can understand how the imaging operation needs to be corrected.

<Operation Flow of Handy Scanner 100>
An example of the operation flow of the handy scanner 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17 are flowcharts illustrating an example of an operation flow of the handy scanner 100.

  First, a slip or the like on which a character string to be read is printed is captured by the imaging unit 10, and the captured image is acquired (step S1). Subsequently, the binarization conversion unit 21 binarizes the acquired image and converts it into binary image data (step S2). Subsequently, the character string region extraction unit 22 performs, for example, eight-direction labeling processing on the binarized binary image data (step S3), and a character string in which a character string exists from the binary image data after the labeling processing. The region 13 is extracted (step S4).

  Subsequently, a process for determining the effective reading area 12 is executed (step S5), and it is determined whether or not the extracted character string area 13 is in the effective reading area 12 (step S6). More specifically, the character string area determination unit 23 determines whether or not the character string area 13 is in contact with the vertical and horizontal ends of the effective reading area 12 as described above.

  If the character string area 13 is not in the effective reading area 12 (No in step S6), it is subsequently determined whether or not the number of retries (rereading count) has reached a specified number (step S7). If the number of retries has not reached the specified number (No in step S7), the number of retries is incremented, and the process returns to step S1.

  If the number of retries has reached the specified number (Yes in step S7), detailed determination of the reading effective area 12 is executed (step S8). More specifically, the character string area detail determination unit 24 specifies the direction in which the character string area 13 is in contact with the end of the reading effective area 12 as described above, thereby determining the character string area 13 with respect to the reading effective area 12. Determine the direction of protrusion. Then, the determination result is stored in the memory (step S9).

  Subsequently, a determination result output process is executed (step S10). More specifically, for example, the read data is 0 byte (NULL) data, and the read status is read failure (read error). Then, as a result of the detailed determination of the reading effective area 12, reading data and reading status information are passed to the device control unit 60. The device control unit 60 passes these pieces of information to the display control unit 70. The display control unit 70 performs display control of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 based on these pieces of information (FIG. 10).

  On the other hand, if the character string area 13 is within the effective reading area 12 (Yes in step S6), then the size of the character string area 13 is determined (step S11), and the size of the extracted character string area 13 is determined. Is within the effective size range (step S12). More specifically, in the character string height determination unit 25, as described above, the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the height of the character string region 13 are set as the effective size range, and the height of the character string region 13 is set to the effective size range. It is determined whether it is within.

  If the size of the character string area 13 is not within the effective size range (No in step S12), it is then determined whether or not the number of retries (reread count) has reached a specified number (step S13). If the number of retries has not reached the specified number (No in step S13), the number of retries is incremented, and then the process returns to step S1.

  If the number of retries has reached the specified number (Yes in step S13), detailed determination of the size of the character string area 13 is executed (step S14). More specifically, the character string height detail determination unit 26 determines whether the height of the character string region 13 is larger than the upper limit value or smaller than the lower limit value as described above. Then, the determination result is stored in the memory (step S15).

  Subsequently, a determination result output process is executed (step S16). More specifically, for example, the read data is 0 byte (NULL) data, and the read status is read failure (read error). As a result of the detailed determination of the size of the character string area 13, read data and read status information are passed to the device controller 60. The device control unit 60 passes these pieces of information to the display control unit 70. The display control unit 70 performs display control of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 based on these pieces of information (FIG. 11).

  On the other hand, if the size of the character string area 13 is within the effective size range (Yes in step S12), then the inclination of the character string area 13 is determined (step S17), and the extracted character string area 13 It is determined whether the inclination is within the effective inclination range (step S18). More specifically, the character string inclination determination unit 27 sets the upper limit value of the inclination angle in the right rotation direction and the upper limit value of the inclination angle in the left rotation direction of the character string area 13 as the effective inclination range as described above, and It is determined whether the inclination angle of the row region 13 is within the effective inclination range.

  If the inclination of the character string area 13 is not within the effective inclination range (No in step S18), it is then determined whether or not the number of retries (rereading number) has reached a specified number (step S19). If the number of retries has not reached the specified number (No in step S19), the number of retries is incremented, and then the process returns to step S1.

  If the number of retries has reached the specified number (Yes in step S19), detailed determination of the inclination of the character string area 13 is executed (step S20). More specifically, in the character string inclination detailed determination unit 28, as described above, whether the inclination angle of the character string area 13 exceeds the upper limit value of the inclination angle in the right rotation direction, or the upper limit of the inclination angle in the left rotation direction. It is determined by specifying whether the value is exceeded (that is, whether the inclination angle of the character string area 13 is a positive angle or a negative angle). Then, the determination result is stored in the memory (step S21).

  Subsequently, a determination result output process is executed (step S22). More specifically, for example, the read data is 0 byte (NULL) data, and the read status is read failure (read error). Then, as a result of the detailed determination of the inclination of the character string area 13, read data and read status information are passed to the device control unit 60. The device control unit 60 passes these pieces of information to the display control unit 70. The display control unit 70 performs display control of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 based on these pieces of information (FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, when the inclination of the character string area 13 is within the effective inclination range (Yes in step S18), the character recognition process of the character string area 13 is subsequently executed in the character recognition unit 29 (step S23), and the character recognition is performed. It is determined whether or not has succeeded (step S24). For example, when character recognition fails because the character string printed on a slip is unclear, or when character recognition processing is stopped by a read operation end command or timeout command by the operator's operation, etc. If the character recognition is not successful in (No in step S24), the process returns to step S1.

  In this case, for example, the read data is 0 byte (NULL) data, and the read status is read failure (read error). As a result of the detailed determination of the reading effective area 12, the result of the detailed determination of the size of the character string area 13, and the result of the detailed determination of the inclination of the character string area 13 are all reset to the initial values. These pieces of information are passed to the device control unit 60. The device control unit 60 passes these pieces of information to the display control unit 70. The display control unit 70 performs display control of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 based on these pieces of information.

  If the character recognition is successful in the character recognition process (Yes in step S24), the result of the character recognition process is stored in the memory (step S25). Subsequently, an output process of the result of the character recognition process is executed (step S26). More specifically, for example, the recognized character string is set as read data, and the read status is set as successful reading. As a result of the detailed determination of the reading effective area 12, the result of the detailed determination of the size of the character string area 13, and the result of the detailed determination of the inclination of the character string area 13 are all reset to the initial values. These pieces of information are passed to the device control unit 60. The device control unit 60 passes these pieces of information to the display control unit 70. The display control unit 70 performs display control of the display screen 51 of the display unit 50 based on these pieces of information.

FIG. 13 is a plan view illustrating an example of a display screen 51 that displays a character string recognized from the character string region 13.
When the character recognition is successful in the character recognition process, the character “reading success” is displayed on the reading status display unit 511 of the display screen 51 and the character recognized by the reading result display unit 512 of the display screen 51 is displayed. A column is displayed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Imaging part 20 Arithmetic processing part 30 External input / output part 40 Operation switch part 50 Display part 60 Device control part 70 Display control part 100 Handy scanner

Claims (5)

An imaging device for imaging a character string to be read;
An arithmetic processing device that executes arithmetic processing for recognizing a character string from an image captured by the imaging device;
An informing device for informing the arithmetic processing result of the arithmetic processing device,
The arithmetic processing unit extracts a character string region where a character string exists in an image captured by the imaging device, and whether the character string region is within a reading effective region set in advance in an imaging range of the imaging device. If the character string area is not in the reading effective area, the protruding direction of the character string area with respect to the reading effective area is further determined, and the determination result is notified by the notification device. Type electronic equipment.   The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines whether the size of the character string area is within a preset effective size range on the condition that the character string area is in the reading effective area. A portable electronic device that determines whether or not and notifies the determination result by the notification device.   3. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein, when the size of the character string region is not within the effective size range, the arithmetic processing device further determines whether the size of the character string region is larger than the effective size range. A portable electronic device that determines whether the information is small and notifies the determination result by the notification device.   The portable electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the arithmetic processing device has an inclination of the character string area in advance on condition that the character string area is within the effective reading area. A portable electronic device that determines whether or not it is within a set effective inclination range and notifies the determination result by the notification device.   5. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein when the inclination of the character string area is not within the effective inclination range, the arithmetic processing device further determines an inclination direction of the character string area, and a determination result thereof A portable electronic device that notifies the information by the notification device.

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