JPH10187885A - Character recognizer and storage medium storing character recognition processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the recognition accuracy of the characters following the symbols concerning a zip code and a telephone number by recognizing the characters in response to the types of decided symbols in regard to a prescribed character area following the character area including the same symbols as those included in the symbol information showing the postal code and the telephone number. SOLUTION: A symbol type decision part 103 has the symbol information including the symbols showing that the prescribed character strings following the next stage are equal to a zip code and a telephone number and inputs the image data which are segmented to a character area of a single character unit. Then the part 103 compares the characters included in the segmented character area with the symbols included in the symbol information to detect the character information including the same symbols as those included in the symbol information and decides the types of symbols included in the character area. When a character area including the same symbols as those included in the symbol information is detected, a character recognition processing part 105 recognizes the characters in response to the types of symbols decided at the part 103 in regard to a prescribed character area following the detected character area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character recognition device and a storage medium storing the character recognition processing, and more particularly, to detecting a symbol such as a postal code symbol described in a document and detecting the detected symbol. The present invention relates to a character recognition device that improves the character recognition accuracy by performing a character recognition process according to the type of a symbol on a character subsequent to the symbol, and a storage medium that stores the character recognition process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an optical character recognition apparatus, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
There is Japanese Patent Publication No. 81464 entitled "Optical Character Reader".

This optical character reading device is an optical character reading device for optically reading characters printed on a business card, and a normal business card always includes symbols or characters relating to a postal code and a telephone number which are always printed. A recognition dictionary for determining the orientation of the character in four directions, up, down, left and right, and collating a character cut out in character units with a symbol or a character in the recognition dictionary to print the business card printing direction. And print characters are read. According to this optical character reading device, when reading printed characters of a business card optically, it is possible to particularly speed up the printing direction determination process and the character reading process.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-81464, "optical character reading device", symbols related to postal codes and telephone numbers are used only for determining the printing direction of business cards. In spite of performing a process of recognizing that it is a symbol related to a postal code and a telephone number, there is a problem that the information of the symbol is not fully utilized.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to improve the character recognition accuracy of a character string following a symbol by utilizing the information of the symbols related to the postal code and the telephone number to the utmost. The purpose is to:

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character recognition apparatus for inputting image data obtained by optically reading an image of a document such as a mail, a business card, a form, and the like. In a character recognition apparatus that cuts out a character area in units of one character from the input image data and performs a character recognition process, a symbol for indicating that a predetermined character string following the post-stage is a postal code and a telephone number is used. By having at least the symbol information included and inputting the image data cut out in the character area in units of one character, by comparing the characters included in the character area with the symbols included in the symbol information, A symbol type determining unit that detects a character area including the same symbol as the symbol included in the symbol information and determines the type of the symbol included in the character area; and When a character area including the same symbol as the symbol included in the report is detected, a character recognition process according to the type of the symbol determined by the symbol type determination unit is performed on a predetermined character area following the character area. And a character recognition processing unit to be executed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the character recognition apparatus according to the first aspect, the character recognition processing unit is determined by the symbol type determination unit from a plurality of character recognition dictionaries prepared in advance. The character recognition dictionary corresponding to the type of the selected symbol is selected, and the character recognition process is executed for the predetermined character region using the selected character recognition dictionary.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the character recognition apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the character recognition processing means includes a symbol type judging means in which the type of the symbol is three digits or five digits. If it is determined that the symbol is a postal code, a character recognition process for a three-digit or five-digit postal code is executed for the predetermined character area, and the symbol type determination unit determines that the symbol type is seven digits. If it is determined that the symbol indicates a postal code, a character recognition process for a 7-digit postal code is executed for the predetermined character area.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the character recognition apparatus according to the third aspect, when the character recognition processing means performs the character recognition processing for the 3-digit or 5-digit postal code, It is determined whether or not the character after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the 3-digit or 5-digit postal code is a numeral to determine whether or not there is an error in extracting the character area. It is determined whether or not the character string after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the digit or the 5-digit postal code is the 3-digit or 5-digit postal code, and whether the type of the symbol is correctly determined. When performing the character recognition process for the seven-digit postal code, it is determined whether the character after the character recognition process following the symbol indicating the seven-digit postal code is a number, In addition to determining whether there is no error in extracting the character area, It is determined whether or not the character string after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the digit postal code is the seven-digit postal code and whether there is no error in the type of the symbol. is there.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the character recognition apparatus of the first to fourth aspects, the symbol type determining means detects a character area including a symbol indicating a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code. In the case, further, based on the character indicating the address after the character recognition processing by the character recognition processing means,
It is provided with bar code generation means for generating seven-digit postal code data, and generating and outputting a bar code corresponding to the generated seven-digit postal code data.

Furthermore, a storage medium storing the character recognition processing according to claim 6 stores a program for executing the character recognition processing according to claim 1 on a computer, and is readable by the computer. It is.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a character recognition apparatus according to the present invention and a storage medium storing the character recognition processing.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a character recognition apparatus according to the present embodiment. The character recognition device shown in FIG. 1 optically reads an image of a document such as a mail, a business card, a form, and the like, and inputs the image data obtained by the reading through an image data input unit 101 and an image data input unit 101. A character extracting unit 102 that performs an extracting process of extracting a character area in units of one character from image data, and symbol information including at least symbols for indicating that a predetermined character string that follows is a postal code and a telephone number By inputting the image data cut out in the character area in units of one character by the character extracting unit 102 and comparing the characters included in the character area with the symbols included in the symbol information, A symbol type determination unit 103 that detects a character region including the same symbol as the symbol included in the information and determines the type of the symbol included in the character region
(Corresponding to the symbol type determining means in claim 1), and when the symbol type determining unit 103 detects a character area including the same symbol as the symbol included in the symbol information, a predetermined area following the character area is detected. A process switching unit 104 for executing a character recognition process according to the type of the symbol determined by the symbol type determination unit 103 for the character region, and executing the character recognition process for each character region in accordance with an instruction from the process switching unit 104 Character recognition processing unit 105 (corresponding to the character recognition processing unit according to claim 1), and a character data string indicating an address after character recognition by the character recognition processing unit 105 in accordance with an instruction from the processing switching unit 104 The bar code generation processing unit 106 generates the seven-digit postal code data based on the bar code generation unit, and generates and outputs a bar code corresponding to the generated seven-digit postal code data. A bar code printing unit 107 (corresponding to a bar code generation unit according to claim 5) for executing a printing process of the bar code generated by the bar code generation processing unit 106, and a character recognition processing unit. Memory 1 for storing a character data string after character recognition at 105 and a barcode generated by barcode generation processing unit 106
08, an operation unit 109 for specifying an operation mode of the apparatus, displaying an operation state, and the like, and a main control unit 110 for controlling the above-described units.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the character recognition processing unit 105 in the character recognition apparatus shown in FIG. The character recognition processing unit 105 shown in FIG. 2 has a plurality of dictionaries A, B, C,... Such as a dictionary in which postal codes are registered and a dictionary in which telephone numbers are registered. A character recognition unit 201 that selects one of the dictionaries in accordance with the instruction, and executes a character recognition process for each character region;
A character recognition determination unit 202 that determines whether the character recognition result of the character recognition unit 201 is correct according to an instruction from the process switching unit 104.

The character recognition device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be realized not only by a character recognition device but also by a system centered on a computer having a scanner or the like.

Next, the operation of the character recognition device of the present embodiment will be described by taking an example of reading a business card. FIG.
It is a figure showing an example of a business card used for explaining operation of a character recognition device of this embodiment.

The image data input unit 101 optically reads the image of the business card 301 shown in FIG. 3, and outputs the image data of the business card 301 obtained by the reading to the character extracting unit 102.

The character extracting unit 102 receives image data, executes a character extracting process of extracting a character area in units of one character from the input image data, and outputs the character region to the symbol type determining unit 103.

The symbol type judging section 103 includes the character extracting section 10
By inputting the image data cut out in the character area in units of one character in step 2 and comparing the character included in the character area with the symbol included in the symbol information, the same as the symbol included in the symbol information is obtained. The character area including the symbol is detected, the type of the symbol included in the character area is determined, and the determination result is output to the process switching unit 104.

The symbol information included in the symbol type determination unit 103 includes a symbol indicating that the predetermined character string following the subsequent stage is a postal code, a telephone number, or the like. This symbol is a symbol indicating a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code (302 in FIG. 3), a symbol indicating a 7-digit postal code (not shown), or the like. However, the symbols referred to here are "TEL" (303 in FIG. 3), "telephone", and "FA" indicating a telephone number or a fax number.
It is assumed that a character string such as X "(304 in FIG. 3) is also included.

Here, the symbol type determination unit 103 detects the postal code symbol 302, the telephone number symbol 303, and the fax number symbol 304 shown in FIG. 3, and outputs the type information and the position information of the symbol to the processing switching unit 104. I do.

The processing switching unit 104 is a symbol type determining unit 10
The character information and the position information of the symbol are input from 3 and the character recognition process corresponding to the type of the symbol is executed for the character area subsequent to the detected symbol.

The character recognition device according to the present embodiment has a plurality of operation modes as character recognition processing according to the type of symbol. This operation mode can be set in advance by the user from the operation unit 109, and the processing switching unit 104 performs processing based on the user's specification to the character recognition processing unit 105, the barcode generation processing unit 106, and the barcode printing unit 107. Let it run. Hereinafter, the character recognition processing will be described assuming that the character recognition device of the present embodiment has three operation modes.

(1) First Operation Mode In the first operation mode, the dictionary used by the character recognition unit 201 for character recognition is selectively used according to the type of symbol. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the postal code symbol 302 is described in full-width characters, the postal code following it is described in half-width characters, and the postal code is described in contact with the numbers. In many cases, mistakes are likely to occur in cutting out characters in the postal code portion. Therefore, the first
In the operation mode of (1), character recognition processing is performed on a character area following the detected symbol in consideration of such a cutout error.

For example, if the symbol type determination unit 103 determines that the business card 30
When the postal code symbol 302 in the postal code 1 is detected, the character recognizing unit 201 refers to a dictionary in which the postal code is registered, and performs a character recognition process for a character area following the postal code symbol.

Further, the symbol type determination unit 103 determines that the business card 301
Telephone number symbol 303 (fax number symbol 304)
Is detected, the character recognition unit 201 refers to the dictionary in which the telephone number is registered, and performs the character recognition processing of the character area following the telephone number symbol 303 (fax number symbol 304).

The symbols indicating the telephone numbers include, in addition to the telephone number symbols 303, symbols indicating toll-free numbers whose telephone numbers start with 0120. Therefore, as the dictionary in which the telephone numbers are registered, it is possible to use a knowledge dictionary in which rules such as what telephone numbers are used are described according to types of symbols indicating telephone numbers such as general telephone numbers and toll-free numbers. .

The character recognition unit 201 executes the character recognition processing as described above, and stores the character data string after the character recognition processing in, for example, the memory 108.

It goes without saying that normal character recognition processing is executed for character areas other than the character areas following the postal code symbol 302, telephone number symbol 303, fax number symbol 304, and the like. Further, for example, when performing the character recognition process with reference to a dictionary in which a postal code is registered, the character recognition process may be performed using a dictionary used when performing a normal character recognition process. good.

As described above, by properly using the dictionary for character recognition processing according to the type of the symbol, the information possessed by the symbol can be utilized to the utmost, and the accuracy of character recognition can be improved.

(2) Second Mode In the second mode, the character recognition processing unit 105 executes a process of determining whether or not the character recognition processing result of the character string following the symbol is correct according to the type of the symbol. In this mode, the character recognition accuracy is improved. In the following description, a zip code is described as an example, but the same concept can be applied to a telephone code and a fax code. Further, for convenience of description, in the following description, "-" included in 5-digit and 7-digit postal codes is not considered.

First, a description will be given of a process when the symbol type determination unit 103 detects a 3-digit or 5-digit zip code 302. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process for a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code symbol in the character recognition device of the present embodiment. Although not shown in FIG. 4, it goes without saying that normal character recognition processing is performed on characters other than those following the post code symbol.

The character recognizing unit 201 inputs the image data that has been subjected to the cut-out processing for each character, and executes the character recognition processing (S401).

The character recognition judging section 202 includes a character recognition section 20.
The result of the character recognition processing performed in step 1 is input, and it is determined whether the character following the three- or five-digit postal code is a numeral (S402).

If the result of the determination in step S402 is that the character following the postal code is a number, the character recognition determining unit 202 further determines whether the character string following the postal code is a three- or five-digit number. (S4)
10). If the result of determination is that it is a three- or five-digit number, the processing for the three- or five-digit postal code is terminated.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S410 is not a three- or five-digit number, it is likely that there is an error in the determination of the symbol. Execute the processing of

If the result of the determination in step S402 is that the character following the postal code is not a number (in the case of kanji, hiragana, etc.), the character recognition determination unit 202
Sends the character after the postal code to the character extracting unit 102, and the character extracting unit 102
Forcible cutout processing is performed for equal division (S403).

As shown in FIG. 3, the postal code symbol 302 is described in full-width characters, the postal code following it is described in half-width characters, and the postal code is described by contacting numbers. In many cases, mistakes occur in cutting out the characters in the postal code portion. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the character after the postal code is a numeral, and if the character is not a numeral (Kanji, Hiragana, etc.), it is determined that there is a mistake in the character extraction of the postal code portion, Performs character segmentation of the character area after the postal code symbol.

Subsequently, the character recognizing unit 201 inputs the image data divided into three by the character extracting unit 102 and executes a character recognizing process (S404).

The character recognition judging section 202 is composed of the character recognizing section 20
The result of the character recognition processing performed in step 1 is input, and it is determined whether or not the character following the 3-digit or 5-digit postal code is a numeral (S405).

If the result of the determination in step S405 is that the character following the zip code is a number, the character recognition determination unit 202 further determines whether the character string following the zip code is a three-digit number. A determination is made (S411). If the result of the determination is that it is a three-digit number, the process for the three- or five-digit postal code is terminated.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S411 is not a three-digit number, it is considered that there is an error in the determination of the symbol, so the process proceeds to step S409, and processing for a seven-digit postal code symbol described later is performed. Run.

If the result of the determination in step S405 is that the character following the postal code is not a number, the character recognition determination unit 202 sends the character following the postal code to the character cutout unit 102, and The output unit 102 executes a forced cutout process for dividing the area including the character into five equal parts (S406).

Subsequently, the character recognizing unit 201 inputs the image data divided into five equal parts by the character extracting unit 102, and executes a character recognizing process (S407).

The character recognition judging section 202 includes a character recognizing section 20.
The result of the character recognition processing performed in step 1 is input, and it is determined whether the character following the three- or five-digit postal code is a numeral (S408).

If the result of the determination in step S408 is that the character following the postal code is a number, the character recognition determination unit 202 further determines whether the character string following the postal code is a five-digit number. A determination is made (S412). If the result of the determination is that it is a five-digit number, the processing for the three- or five-digit postal code is terminated.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S 412 is not a five-digit number, it is considered that there is an error in the determination of the symbol, so the flow proceeds to step S 409,
The process for a seven-digit postal code symbol described later is executed.

If the character after the postal code is not a numeral as a result of the determination in step S408, it is considered that there is a mistake in extracting the character, and therefore, step S4 is performed.
In step 09, a process for a 7-digit zip code described later is executed.

Next, a description will be given of a process performed when the symbol type determination unit 103 detects a seven-digit postal code symbol. FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing processing for a 7-digit postal code symbol in the character recognition device of the present embodiment. FIG.
Although not shown in the drawings, it goes without saying that normal character recognition processing is executed for characters other than those following the post code symbol.

The character recognizing unit 201 inputs the image data that has been subjected to the clipping process for each character, and executes the character recognizing process (S501).

The character recognition judging section 202 includes a character recognizing section 20.
The result of the character recognition processing performed in step 1 is input, and it is determined whether or not the character following the seven-digit postal code is a numeral (S502).

As a result of the determination in step S502, if the character following the postal code is a numeral, the character recognition determining unit 202 further determines whether the character string following the postal code is a seven-digit number. A determination is made (S507). If the result of the determination is that it is a seven-digit number, the processing for the seven-digit postal code is terminated.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S507 is that the code is not a seven-digit number, it is likely that there is an error in the determination of the symbol. Execute the processing of

If the character following the postal code is not a numeral as a result of the determination in step S502, the character recognition determining unit 202 sends the character following the postal code to the character extracting unit 102, and The output unit 102 executes a forced cutout process for dividing the area including the character into seven equal parts (S503).

Subsequently, the character recognizing unit 201 inputs the image data divided into seven equal parts by the character extracting unit 102, and executes a character recognizing process (S504).

The character recognition judging section 202 is composed of the character recognizing section 20.
The result of the character recognition processing performed in step 1 is input, and it is determined whether the character following the seven-digit postal code is a number (S505).

If the result of the determination in step S505 is that the character following the zip code is a number, the character recognition determination unit 202 further determines whether the character string following the zip code is a seven-digit number. A determination is made (S507). If the result of the determination is that it is a seven-digit number, the processing for the seven-digit postal code is terminated.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S507 is not a seven-digit number, it is considered that there is an error in the determination of the symbol, so the process proceeds to step S506, and the above-mentioned three- or five-digit postal code symbol is used. Execute the processing of

If the character after the postal code is not a numeral as a result of the determination in step S505, it is considered that there is a mistake in extracting the character, and therefore, in step S5.
Proceeding to step 06, the above-described process for the 3-digit or 5-digit postal code is executed.

In the processing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a character recognition process is first performed using the character region cut out by the character cutout unit 102, and then the character recognition determination unit 20 is executed.
Although the determination process is performed in step 2, the character recognition process may be started after a process of dividing the character area after the postal code symbol into three, five, or seven parts in advance.

If the character recognition determination unit 202 does not obtain a correct determination result even after performing both of the processes shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, which is correct, the character recognition determination unit 202 evaluates which is correct, and finds an error in the character recognition processing result. The possibility may be displayed on a display (not shown) or the like. Further, for example, as a result of performing a character recognition process for a three-digit or five-digit postal code, if a correct determination result cannot be obtained, as shown in FIG. Is performed (step S409), but the present invention is not limited to this. The processing may be terminated and the determination result may be displayed, or another processing may be performed. You may decide.

In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, when executing the forcible cutout processing, one character area is divided into three, five, or seven equal parts. A projection histogram may be created perpendicularly to the row direction of the region, and cut out at the valley.

Further, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, when it is determined whether or not the character string after the postal code is a number having the number of digits corresponding to the type of the postal code, all the character strings are numerical. Although the determination is made based on the presence of a character, the size may be determined based on the size of the character rectangle instead.

As described above, a symbol is detected, the type of the detected symbol is determined, and it is determined whether or not the character string following the symbol after the character recognition processing is a character string corresponding to the type of the symbol. As a result, the accuracy of character recognition can be improved.

(3) Third Mode When the postal code is converted to a seven-digit code, the postal code is printed as a bar code on the mail to improve the efficiency of postal services. Therefore, in the third mode, after character recognition processing, barcode data is generated according to the character recognition result, and barcode printing is performed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a barcode printing process in the character recognition device of this embodiment. First, as described in the first and second modes described above, the symbol type determination unit 103 detects the postal code, and determines whether the detected postal code is a three- or five-digit postal code. It is determined whether the code is a seven-digit postal code (S601).

As a result of the determination in step S601, 3
If the postal code symbol is a five-digit or five-digit postal code symbol, the character recognition processing unit 105 performs a character recognition process for a three-digit or five-digit postal code symbol based on the processing described in the first and second modes described above. Is executed (S602).

Then, in response to the instruction from the processing switching unit 104, the character recognition processing unit 105 sends the character recognition result to the barcode generation processing unit 106. Barcode generation processing unit 106
Includes a first table (not shown) in which an address is associated with seven-digit zip code data, and a second table (not shown) in which a seven-digit zip code is associated with the barcode data. have. The barcode generation processing unit 106 receives the character recognition result, performs a matching process with the address in the first table, and generates seven-digit postal code data (S).
603).

Subsequently, the barcode generation processing unit 106
The generated 7-digit postal code data and 7 in the second table
The barcode data is generated by executing a matching process with the postal code of the digit (S604).

Thereafter, the barcode generation processing unit 106
The generated barcode data is passed to the barcode printing unit 107, and the barcode printing unit 107 executes barcode printing (S605). For example, when the object to be read is a postal matter, printing can be performed directly on the postal matter.
When the reading target is a business card or the like, for example, a barcode seal may be output. Further, the barcode data generated by the barcode generation processing unit 106 may be stored in the memory 108, read out when necessary, and printed.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S601 is that the code is a seven-digit postal code, the character recognition processing unit 1
In step S606, a character recognition process for a seven-digit zip code is executed based on the processes described in the first and second modes (S606).

Then, in response to the instruction from the process switching unit 104, the character recognition processing unit 105 sends the character recognition result to the bar code generation processing unit 106. Barcode generation processing unit 106
Inputs the character recognition result, executes a matching process with the seven-digit postal code in the second table, and generates barcode data (S604).

Thereafter, the barcode generation processing unit 106
The generated barcode data is passed to the barcode printing unit 107, and the barcode printing unit 107 executes barcode printing (S605).

As described above, by detecting a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code symbol or a 7-digit postal code symbol and executing a barcode generation process according to the type of the postal code symbol, the barcode can be easily converted. Can be generated and printed.

As described above, according to the character recognition device of the present embodiment, a symbol described in a document is detected, the type of the symbol is determined, and based on the determined type of the symbol, Since the character recognition processing of the character following the symbol is executed, the information of the symbol can be used to the maximum and the accuracy of character recognition can be improved.

In the present embodiment described above, a postal code symbol, a telephone number, and a facsimile number are taken as examples of symbols, but the E-mail symbol 305 shown in FIG. Later, the arrival of an alphabet or a number can be used for character recognition processing. At that time, it is also possible to use the at mark 306 in the E-mail address.

Further, the above-mentioned character recognition processing is programmed, and the character recognition processing program is stored in a floppy disk,
It can be provided by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM and a DVD.

[0078]

As described above, according to the character recognition device of the present invention (claim 1), the predetermined character string following the subsequent stage includes at least a symbol indicating that it is a postal code and a telephone number. By inputting image data that has symbol information and is cut out into a character area in units of one character and comparing the characters included in the character area with the symbols included in the symbol information, Symbol type determining means for detecting a character area including the same symbol as the detected symbol, and determining the type of the symbol included in the character area; and the same symbol as the symbol included in the symbol information. Character recognition processing means for executing a character recognition process according to the type of the symbol determined by the symbol type determination means for a predetermined character area following the character area when a character area including the character area is detected. With a sign Distribution to be able to take full advantage, it is possible to improve the character recognition accuracy.

Further, the character recognition device of the present invention (Claim 2)
According to the character recognition device of the first aspect, the character recognition processing means converts a character recognition dictionary corresponding to the symbol type determined by the symbol type determination means from a plurality of character recognition dictionaries prepared in advance. Since the character recognition process is performed for a predetermined character area using the selected and selected character recognition dictionary, the information possessed by the symbols can be used to the utmost, and the character recognition accuracy can be improved. .

Further, the character recognition device of the present invention (claim 3)
According to the character recognition device of the first or second aspect, when the character recognition processing unit determines that the type of the symbol is a symbol indicating a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code by the symbol type determination unit, The character recognition process for a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code is executed for a predetermined character area, and when the symbol type determination unit determines that the symbol type is a symbol indicating a 7-digit postal code, the predetermined Since the character recognition process for a seven-digit postal code is executed for the character region of, the information of the symbol can be utilized to the utmost, and the accuracy of character recognition can be improved.

Further, the character recognition device of the present invention (claim 4)
According to the character recognition device of the third aspect, when the character recognition processing means performs a character recognition process for a three-digit or five-digit postal code, the character recognition processing means converts the symbol to a three- or five-digit postal code. It is determined whether the character after the subsequent character recognition process is a numeral to determine whether there is an error in the extraction of the character area, and a character recognition process following a symbol indicating a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code. It is determined whether or not the subsequent character string is a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code to determine whether there is an error in the determination of the symbol type, and a character recognition process for a 7-digit postal code is performed. At this time, it is determined whether or not the character after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the seven-digit postal code is a numeral to determine whether or not there is an error in extracting the character area. Whether the character string after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the number is a 7-digit postal code To determine whether there is no error in the determination of the type of symbols to determine the, it is possible to maximize the information possessed by the symbol, it is possible to improve the character recognition accuracy.

The character recognition device of the present invention (claim 5)
According to the character recognition device according to claims 1 to 4,
When the symbol type determination means detects a character area including a symbol indicating a three- or five-digit postal code, the character type determination means further determines a seven-digit character based on the character indicating the address after the character recognition processing by the character recognition processing means. A bar code generation process that generates barcodes corresponding to the generated seven-digit postal code data and generates and outputs a barcode corresponding to the generated seven-digit postal code data. can do.

Further, according to the storage medium storing the character recognition processing of the present invention (claim 6), a program for executing the character recognition processing according to any one of claims 1 to 5 on a computer is stored and read by the computer. Because possible
By causing the computer to read and execute this program, it is possible to execute character recognition processing that improves character recognition accuracy by making the most of the information possessed by the symbols.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a character recognition device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a character recognition processing unit in the character recognition device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a business card used to explain the operation of the character recognition device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process for a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code symbol in the character recognition device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing for a seven-digit postal code in the character recognition device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a barcode printing process in the character recognition device of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 Image data input unit 102 Character extraction unit 103 Symbol type determination unit 104 Processing switching unit 105 Character recognition processing unit 106 Barcode generation processing unit 107 Barcode printing unit 108 Memory 109 Operation unit 110 Main control unit 201 Character recognition unit 202 Character Recognition determination unit 301 Business card 302 Postal code symbol 303 Telephone number symbol 304 Fax number symbol 305 E-mail symbol 306 At mark

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shinobu Yamamoto 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Yukio Uchiyama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Inside the company Ricoh

Claims (6)

[Claims] An image data obtained by optically reading an image of a document such as a postal matter, a business card, a form, etc. is input,
In a character recognition device that cuts out a character area in units of one character from the input image data and executes a character recognition process, at least a symbol indicating that a predetermined character string following the post-stage is a postal code and a telephone number is included. By inputting the image data cut out to the character area in units of one character having the symbol information including, and comparing the characters included in the character area with the symbols included in the symbol information, A symbol type determination unit that detects a character region including the same symbol as the symbol included in the symbol information and determines a type of the symbol included in the character region; and the symbol type determination unit includes the symbol type determination unit in the symbol information. When a character area including the same symbol as the detected symbol is detected, character recognition corresponding to the type of the symbol determined by the symbol type determining means is performed for a predetermined character area following the character area. Character recognition apparatus characterized by comprising: a character recognition processing means for executing the management, the. 2. The character recognition processing means selects a character recognition dictionary corresponding to the type of the symbol determined by the symbol type determining means from a plurality of character recognition dictionaries prepared in advance, and selects the selected character. 2. The character recognition device according to claim 1, wherein a character recognition process is performed on the predetermined character region using a recognition dictionary. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the character recognition processing means determines that the type of the symbol is a symbol indicating a three-digit or five-digit postal code by the symbol type determination means. When performing character recognition processing for a digit or five-digit postal code, and the symbol type determination means determines that the type of the symbol is a symbol indicating a seven-digit postal code,
3. The character recognition device according to claim 1, wherein a character recognition process for a seven-digit postal code is executed for the predetermined character area. 4. When the character recognition processing means performs the character recognition processing for the three-digit or five-digit postal code,
It is determined whether or not the character after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the digit or the five-digit postal code is a numeral to determine whether or not there is an error in cutting out the character area.
It is determined whether or not the character string after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the digit or the 5-digit postal code is the 3-digit or 5-digit postal code, and whether the type of the symbol is correctly determined. When performing the character recognition process for the seven-digit postal code, it is determined whether the character after the character recognition process following the symbol indicating the seven-digit postal code is a number, It is determined whether there is no error in the extraction of the character area and whether the character string after the character recognition processing following the symbol indicating the seven-digit postal code is the seven-digit postal code. 4. The character recognition device according to claim 3, wherein it is determined whether or not there is an error in determining the type of the symbol. 5. When the symbol type judging means detects a character area including a symbol indicating a 3-digit or 5-digit postal code, the symbol type judging means further indicates an address after the character recognition processing by the character recognition processing means. 7. A bar code generating means for generating seven-digit postal code data based on characters, and generating and outputting a bar code corresponding to the generated seven-digit postal code data. 4. The character recognition device according to 4. 6. A storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to execute the character recognition processing according to claim 1 and is readable by the computer.