CA2369773A1 - Method and apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2369773A1
CA2369773A1 CA002369773A CA2369773A CA2369773A1 CA 2369773 A1 CA2369773 A1 CA 2369773A1 CA 002369773 A CA002369773 A CA 002369773A CA 2369773 A CA2369773 A CA 2369773A CA 2369773 A1 CA2369773 A1 CA 2369773A1
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Canada
Prior art keywords
postcode
street
video
coded
case
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Granted
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CA002369773A
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French (fr)
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CA2369773C (en
Inventor
Walter Rosenbaum
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Siemens AG
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Siemens Dematic AG
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Publication of CA2369773A1 publication Critical patent/CA2369773A1/en
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Publication of CA2369773C publication Critical patent/CA2369773C/en
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    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06VIMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
    • G06V30/00Character recognition; Recognising digital ink; Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition
    • G06V30/10Character recognition
    • G06V30/12Detection or correction of errors, e.g. by rescanning the pattern
    • G06V30/127Detection or correction of errors, e.g. by rescanning the pattern with the intervention of an operator
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06VIMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
    • G06V30/00Character recognition; Recognising digital ink; Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition
    • G06V30/10Character recognition
    • G06V30/26Techniques for post-processing, e.g. correcting the recognition result
    • G06V30/262Techniques for post-processing, e.g. correcting the recognition result using context analysis, e.g. lexical, syntactic or semantic context
    • G06V30/274Syntactic or semantic context, e.g. balancing
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06VIMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
    • G06V30/00Character recognition; Recognising digital ink; Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition
    • G06V30/10Character recognition

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computational Linguistics (AREA)
  • Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Character Discrimination (AREA)
  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)

Abstract

Method and apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes which identify the addresses up to part of a larger street or a few small streets, in the case of non-unambiguous read results of the OCR unit. If the street read by the OCR unit does not correspond to the street(s) or street region derived from the video-coded postcode, the following steps are carried out:

- inputting of one or two extraction codes which identify the distribution point, - repeated video coding of the postcode by a different operator than in the case of the first postcode video coding if, in the case of the comparison of the extraction code(s) with the postcode video-coded first, these do not match one another, -~comparison of the two video-coded postcodes, and if they correspond, the postcode situated on the dispatch is classified as incorrect.

Claims (8)

1. A method for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes which identify the addresses up to part of a larger street or a few small streets, in which the images of the dispatch surfaces having the addresses are recorded, stored and fed to an OCR unit (130) for the reading of addresses (300) and generation of corresponding address codes, and in which, in the case of a non-unambiguous read result of the OCR unit (130), the relevant image with the address is fed to at least one video coding station (200) for the video coding of the postcode (310), the following steps being carried out if the street read by the OCR unit (130) does not correspond to the street(s) or street region derived from the video-coded postcode:

- communication of the relevant image to one or two video coding stations for the inputting of a respective extraction code (330, 350) which identifies the distribution point, - comparison of the extraction code(s)/AKS codes) with the street(s) or street region (340, 360) derived from the postcode in the OCR unit (130), acceptance of the postcode if these match one another in the case of a code comparison, the second AKS coding (350) being effected only if no accepted postcode is determined by means of the first AKS coding (330), - communication of the relevant image to a video coding station for the repeated video coding (370) of the postcode by a different operator than in the case of the first postcode video coding (310) if, in the case of the comparison of the AKS code(s) with the postcode video-coded first, these do not match one another, - comparison of the two video-coded postcodes (380), and if they correspond the postcode situated on the dispatch is classified as incorrect, and if they do not correspond:

- comparison of the AKS code(s) with the street(s) or street region (420, 430) derived from the postcode video-coded far the second time in the OCR unit until the codes match one another in the case of a code comparison and thus acceptance of the postcode video-coded for the second time, and if the codes do not match one another, the postcode situated on the dispatch is classified as an incorrect postcode.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, having the following steps in the case of postcodes classified as incorrect:

- performance of additional reading processes in the OCR unit (130) with that part of the postcode which identifies the streets/street part and is shortened by one position and with the AKS codes (390) and, in the case of non-unambiguous read results:

- performance of further reading processes in the OCR
unit (130) with that part of the postcode which identifies the streets/street part and is additionally shortened by a further position and with the AKS codes (400), the additional position-shortening and the reading processes being performed until the read result is unambiguous or only a few candidates remain, the correct one of which is selected by means of selection coding.
3. The method as claimed in claims 1 and 2, the following steps being carried out if the street read by the OCR unit (130) does not correspond to the street(s) or street region derived from the video-coded postcode:

- communication of the relevant image to a video coding station for the inputting of an extraction code (330) which identifies the distribution point, - comparison in the OCR unit (130) of whether the street(s) or street regions derived from the video-coded first postcode corresponds (340) to the extraction code data, the video-coded postcode being accepted in the case of correspondence and, in the case of non-correspondence:

- communication of the relevant image to a video coding station for the repeated inputting of an extraction code which identifies the distribution point by another operator (350), - comparison in the OCR unit (130) of whether the street(s) or street region derived from the video-coded first postcode corresponds (360) to the extraction code data, the video-coded first postcode being accepted in the case of correspondence and, in the case of non-correspondence:

- communication of the relevant image to a video coding station for the repeated video coding of the postcode (370) by a different operator than in the case of the first postcode video coding (310) and comparison of the two coding results of the video-coded postcodes, and, if they correspond, the following steps are effected:

- performance of additional reading processes in the OCR unit with that part of the video-coded postcode which identifies the streets/street part and is shortened by one position and with the extraction codes (390) and, in the case of non-unambiguous read results, performance of further reading processes in the OCR
unit with that part of the postcode which identifies the streets/street part and is additionally shortened by a further position and with the extraction codes (400), these processes being continued until the read result is unambiguous or only a few candidates remain, the correct one of which is selected by means of selection coding, and, if the two video-coded postcodes do not correspond, the following steps being performed:

- comparison in the OCR unit of whether the street(s) or street region derived from the postcode video-coded first corresponds (420) to the first extraction code data, the video-coded postcode being accepted in the case of correspondence and, in the case of non-correspondence:

- comparison in the OCR unit of whether the street(s) or street region derived from the subsequently video-coded postcode corresponds (430) to the second extraction code data, the video-coded second postcode being accepted in the case of correspondence and, in the case of non-correspondence:

- performance of additional reading processes in the OCR unit (130) with that part of the postcode which identifies the street(s) or street part, was video-coded first and is shortened by one position and with the extraction codes and, in the case of non-unambiguous read results, performance of further reading processes with that part of the postcode which identifies the street(s) or street part, was video-coded first and is additionally shortened by a further position and with the extraction codes until the read result is unambiguous or only a few candidates remain, the correct one of which is selected by means of selection coding, and if the address cannot be determined unambiguously:

- performance of these additional reading processes in the OCR unit (130) with the second, subsequently video-coded postcode and the extraction codes until unambiguous address determination (450).
4. The method as claimed in claims 2 and 3, in which the respective video-coded part of the postcode which identifies the streets/street part is first shortened by the least significant position and if no unambiguous result is then obtained upon repeated reading in the OCR unit (130), it is additionally shortened by the next less-significant position, etc.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the postcode relates only to the part of a large street, in which case, during the validation of the video-coded postcode with the read result of the OCR unit (130), comparison is additionally effected as to whether the house number specified in the read/partly read address is situated within the house number range determined from the postcode.
6. The method as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, in which the first two letters of the street name and the house number are input as the AKS code.
7. An apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes which identify the addresses up to part of a larger street or a few small streets, having an automatic address reading system which has the following elements:

- an apparatus for obtaining images of dispatches (120), - an OCR unit (130) for the automatic evaluation of the images of the dispatch surfaces, said images having the address information, - video coding stations (200) for the video coding of the images of the dispatch surfaces, said images containing the address information, -~a controller (170) for controlling the sequence in the OCR unit (130), the video coding stations, and also the data exchange, which is designed in such a way that - after addresses have not been able to be read unambiguously in a first reading attempt (310) in the OCR unit (130), firstly the corresponding images of the dispatch surfaces with these addresses are transmitted to the video coding stations (200) for the video coding of the postcodes, the following steps being carried out if the street read by the OCR unit (130) dues not correspond to the street(s) or street region derived from the video-coded postcode:

- communication of the relevant image to one or two video coding stations for the inputting of a respective extraction code (330, 350) which identifies the distribution point, - comparison of the extraction code(s) /AKS code(s) with the street(s) or street region (340, 360) derived from the postcode in the OCR unit (130), acceptance of the postcode if these match one another in the case of a code comparison, the second AKS coding (350) being effected only if no accepted postcode is determined by means of the first AKS coding (330), - communication of the relevant image to a video coding station for the repeated video coding (370) of the postcode by a different operator than in the case of the first postcode video coding (310) if, in the case of the comparison of the AKS code(s) with the postcode video-coded first, these do not match one another, - comparison of the two video-coded postcodes (380), and if they correspond the postcode situated on the dispatch is classified as incorrect, and if they do not correspond:

- comparison of the AKS code(s) with the street(s) or street region (420, 430) derived from the postcode video-coded for the second time in the OCR unit until the codes match one another in the case of a code comparison and thus acceptance of the postcode video-coded for the second time, and if the codes do not match one another, the postcode situated on the dispatch is classified as an incorrect postcode.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, the controller (170) being designed in such a way that the following steps are additionally carried out in the case of postcodes which are recognized as incorrect:

- performance of additional reading processes in the OCR unit (130) with that part of the postcode which identifies the streets/street part and is shortened by one position and with the AKS codes and, in the case of non-unambiguous read results:

- performance of further reading processes in the OCR
unit (130) with that part of the postcode which identifies the streets/street part and is additionally shortened by a further position and with the AKS codes, the position-shortening and the reading processes being performed until the read result is unambiguous or only a few candidates remain, the correct one of which is selected by means of selection coding.
CA2369773A 2001-02-02 2002-01-31 Method and apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes Expired - Fee Related CA2369773C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE10104655A DE10104655A1 (en) 2001-02-02 2001-02-02 Method and device for reading postal addresses with postal codes
DE10104655.3 2001-02-02

Publications (2)

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CA2369773A1 true CA2369773A1 (en) 2002-08-02
CA2369773C CA2369773C (en) 2010-03-23

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CA2369773A Expired - Fee Related CA2369773C (en) 2001-02-02 2002-01-31 Method and apparatus for reading dispatch addresses with postcodes

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EP (1) EP1229484B1 (en)
CA (1) CA2369773C (en)
DE (2) DE10104655A1 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109214381A (en) * 2017-07-03 2019-01-15 发那科株式会社 Numerical control program conversion equipment

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004022253A1 (en) 2002-09-03 2004-03-18 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method and device for reading the addresses of mailings

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19624977A1 (en) * 1996-06-22 1998-01-02 Siemens Ag Process for processing mail

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109214381A (en) * 2017-07-03 2019-01-15 发那科株式会社 Numerical control program conversion equipment

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE10104655A1 (en) 2002-08-29
EP1229484B1 (en) 2008-07-30
DE50212552D1 (en) 2008-09-11
EP1229484A1 (en) 2002-08-07
CA2369773C (en) 2010-03-23

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