JP2001006024A - Automatic transaction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute printing without damaging the description contents of an optional format slip by printing a reception seal or the like in a null area which is detected from the slip. SOLUTION: Since a description position becomes the optional one in the format of a check which is read by a slip reading printing part, a processing part discriminates character areas 500-510 where characters and signs are described on image data 401 and encloses them by a square. Then the null areas 520-525 which are not superimposed with the areas 500-510 are located and enclosed by the square. Image data of the previously stored reception seal are superimposed on the read null areas 520-525, the area where they are not superimposed is judged and the area is decided to be a reception sealing area candidate. In this example, the null areas 524 and 525 are fully large so that they are made to be the sealing area candidates. The null area 524 is decided to be the printing area of the reception seal as the final sealing area by logic that the areas which are at the right end of a left and right direction and at the low end of a vertical direction, has priority.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic transaction apparatus for handling forms such as bills and checks and forms such as utility bills, and more particularly to a process for printing a reception stamp or a receipt stamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-220024 has been disclosed.
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, the content of the form is read by an optical sensor, the predetermined format of the form is recognized from the identification code described in the form, and the form is read based on the format corresponding to the identification code. There is known a method of determining a print position and an area of a mark indicating "."

[0003]

By the way, in an automatic transaction device (or an automatic cash transaction device) used in a financial institution such as a bank, an automatic transaction using a form such as a bill, a check, and a utility bill is made possible. It is desired to do.

[0004] When an automatic transaction device enables automatic transactions using a form such as a check, a reception stamp is printed upon receipt, and a receipt stamp is printed on a utility bill, clearly indicating that the reception has been processed. There is a need to.

Therefore, it is conceivable to use the technology disclosed in the above publication. However, in checks and promissory notes, the description format is basically arbitrary. For this reason, if the stamping position of the reception stamp is fixed, overwriting and printing may be performed at the position of important written content, and in such a case, the written content cannot be confirmed. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic transaction apparatus capable of printing a reception stamp or a receipt stamp on a form in an arbitrary format without losing the contents of the form.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention detects a blank area of a form inserted from a form insertion slot and prints a reception stamp or a receipt stamp in the detected blank area. It is characterized by doing so.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an automatic transaction apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 1 is an external configuration view showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which a card insertion slot 2, a statement slip output slot 3, a passbook insertion slot 4, a form insertion slot 5, a bill input / output slot 6, a coin insertion slot is provided on the operation side of a customer. Output port 7,
An operation / display unit 8 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the automatic transaction apparatus of FIG. 1, and a main control unit 1 for controlling the entire apparatus.
01 and a display unit 10 for guiding or guiding customer operations
2, an input unit 103 for performing a customer operation on the device,
A cash handling unit 104 that controls the insertion and removal of bills and coins from the bill input / output port 6 and the coin input / output port 7, and a print output unit 105 that manages printing of a statement or a receipt output from the statement output port 3. And a card reading unit 106 for reading information such as a personal identification number and an account number of a customer recorded on a magnetic card or an IC card inserted from the card insertion slot 2.
And a passbook printing unit 107 for reading the account number of the passbook inserted from the passbook insertion slot 4 and printing and recording the transaction contents.
A staff operation unit 108 for receiving guidance or guidance to the staff, displaying the status of the device, and input from the staff, and a line control unit 110 for communicating transaction data and the like with a higher-level center device (for example, a host computer). , Storing transaction history, application programs executed by the main control unit 101, screen data necessary for screen display, dictionary data and format data necessary for recognizing bills and checks, image data of reception stamps and receipt stamps, and the like. The storage unit 111 includes a main power supply unit 112 that supplies power for operation to each unit of the apparatus, a timer unit 115 that manages the current date and time, and further includes a bill (promised bill, bill of exchange) inserted from the form insertion slot 5, A form reading and printing unit 113 that reads the contents of a form such as a check and prints a reception stamp (or receipt), and the form reading and printing unit 11 Or recognize letters or the like which is described in the form from the image data read by the document, the storage unit 11
1 is provided with an image processing unit 114 for performing processing such as reducing or dividing the image data of the reception seal stored in the reception stamp 1.

Here, the input unit 103 has a structure in which a touch panel is arranged on the surface of the display screen of the display unit 102, and when the customer presses a position corresponding to a button on the screen, the input unit 103 is pressed. It recognizes that the position button has been operated, and proceeds with the processing according to the recognition result. The display unit 102 and the input unit 103 constitute the operation / display unit 8 in FIG.

The components other than the form reading / printing unit 113 and the image processing unit 114 have already been realized in the prior art, and the outline of the function or operation is as follows.

In a state of waiting for a customer, the main control unit 101 displays a “Welcome” screen on the display unit 102. In this state, when the customer operates, for example, a “withdraw” button on the “welcome” screen, the main control unit 101 recognizes that the transaction type is “cash withdrawal”, and then “ Please insert a card "screen.

On the "insert card" screen, if the customer presses the "cancel" button to cancel the "cash transaction" and inserts a customer-specific magnetic card or IC card into the card slot 2, , Main control unit 10
1 then makes a transition to a "Please input password" screen (not shown). This "Please enter your PIN"
On the screen, when the customer presses the “numerical value” button and inputs the password, the main control unit 101 checks whether the password is correct by comparing the password read from the magnetic card or the IC card. If it is correct, the screen is changed to the "Enter amount" screen for inputting the amount of the transaction. At this time, if the password is incorrect,
Prompt for re-entry, press the "correction" button, press the "number" button to enter the correct PIN, and if the correct PIN is not entered even after repeating the predetermined number of times, "Please remove the card" Change to the screen, and then change to the "Retry" screen, and start over from the initial screen. When the “cancel” button is pressed, the screen is changed to the initial screen, that is, the “welcome” screen.

When the correct password is input, the screen is changed to the "input amount" screen, and the customer inputs a desired withdrawal amount. Then, when the input operation of the money amount is performed correctly, the host computer is inquired about the balance. If there is a response of "payable" from the host computer, the cash handling unit 104 is controlled,
Pay out the amount requested by the customer.

The main control unit 101 displays a “processing in progress, please wait” screen on the display unit 102 until a response indicating that payment is possible is returned from the host computer.
When the payout control is completed and the bills or coins are discharged to the bill input / output port 6 or the coin input / output port 7, the screen is changed to a "Please take cash" screen. After that, the screen is changed to the "Please take out the card" screen, and finally, the screen is changed to the "Thank you" screen, and a series of controls related to cash withdrawal requested by the customer is ended. Then, the history of the current transaction is stored in the storage unit 111.

On the other hand, when the “deposit” button on the “Welcome” screen is operated by the customer, the main control unit 101 makes a transition to a “Please insert a card or passbook” screen. On this "Please insert a card or passbook" screen, the customer does not cancel the "cash transaction" by pressing the "cancel" button, but does not
When the C card is inserted into the card insertion slot 2, the main control unit 101 makes a transition to a denomination selection screen. On the denomination selection screen, a denomination selection button for selecting a banknote only, a banknote and a coin, a coin only, a check only, a bill only, a bill and a check denomination is displayed. Then, when the customer presses the denomination selection button of, for example, "only bills", the main control unit 101 opens the shutter of the bill input / output port 6 and waits for bills to be inserted by the customer. In this state, when a bill is inserted, the shutter of the bill input / output port 6 is closed, and the cash handling unit 104 counts the amount of the inserted bill. When the counting is completed, the counted amount is displayed on the display unit 10.
2 and ask the customer to confirm that the amount is correct. When the customer presses the "confirm" button, the inserted bill is stored, and the passbook printing unit 107 prints the deposit amount in the customer's passbook, or prints the deposit amount in the statement form and outputs it. Then, when the printing is completed, the screen is changed to a “please take a passbook” screen or a “please take a statement slip” screen. After that, the screen is changed to the “Please take out the card” screen, and finally, the screen is changed to the “Thank you” screen, and a series of controls related to deposit of cash are ended. Then, the history of the current transaction is stored in the storage unit 111.

According to the present invention, transactions such as bills and checks, utility bills, and the like can be performed by the same operation as depositing cash. Hereinafter, operations of the form reading / printing unit 113 and the image processing unit 114 will be described.

First, when "bill / check transaction" is selected by the customer on the transaction selection screen of the display unit 102, the form reading / printing unit 113 causes the form (here, a check to be set) to be set in the form insertion slot 5. ) And transported along the transport path, transported to the position of the MICR character reading sensor (not shown), check the magnetic quantity of the magnetically recorded characters printed on the check, and determine whether the check is legitimate. Determine. If the magnetic amount of the magnetically recorded character is not within the range of the preset threshold, the character is returned from the insertion slot 5 as a defective form. If it is within the range of the threshold value, it is transported to the position of an image sensor (not shown), the content written on the check is read as image data by the image sensor, and stored in the storage unit 111 as image data.

Next, based on the read image data,
Recognize characters such as the amount of money, withdrawal date, withdrawer, and MICR characters written on the check. Then, the recognition result is stored in the storage unit 111. In this case, if necessary, the image of the inscriber's seal and the image of the entire check are stored in association with the character recognition result.

Note that the amount indicated on the check, the withdrawal date,
As a method of recognizing a character such as a drawer or a MICR character, (1) prepare format definition information defining an area of a description content for each form such as a check or a bill, and use the format definition information to recognize a recognition target area. (2) Scan the image data read from the form in a predetermined direction, scan the image data read from the form in a predetermined direction, and write a character stamp area, a seal area, and a revenue stamp. There is a method of extracting a description area candidate and a MICR character description area candidate, and recognizing the description contents in these area candidates using a character recognition dictionary or a MICR character recognition dictionary. Either method may be used.

Next, in order for the customer to confirm the recognition result, the data of the recognition result stored in the storage unit 111 is displayed on the display unit 102 together with the reduced image data read from the form.

On the other hand, if the customer inputs a confirmation operation and necessary information from the input unit 103, the transaction is confirmed. That is, the customer is asked to confirm the displayed contents, and if the contents are correct, the user presses the "confirmation" key, and if there is an error, the user presses the "cancel" or "correction" key. At this time,
The image reading operation of the form is performed again, or a correction item is manually input from the input unit 3. After the transaction is confirmed, the form reading / printing unit 113 is driven, the recognized amount is printed with magnetic ink, and a reception mark is printed and stored in the stacker.

Next, a process of printing a reception stamp (or receipt stamp), which is a main part of the present invention, will be described.

Assuming that the form read by the form reading and printing unit 113 is the check 30 shown in FIG. 3, the writing position is arbitrary in the format of the check 30 shown in FIG. As described above, the character areas 500 to 510 on which characters and symbols are described on the image data 401 of the form are discriminated and surrounded by a rectangle.

Next, the image processing unit 114 converts the character areas 500 to 510 on the form image data 401.
Search for empty areas 520 to 525 that do not overlap with and surround them with a rectangle. Here, the empty area refers to an area in which characters or symbols are not described.

Next, the image processing unit 114 stores the image data 53 of the reception mark stored in the storage unit 111 in advance.
Read 0. FIG. 5 shows an example of the image data 530 of the reception stamp.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the image data 530 of the reception mark is superimposed on the empty areas 520 to 525.
At this time, an area where the free areas 520 to 525 and the image data 530 of the reception stamp do not overlap is determined, and the area is determined as a stamp area candidate for reception stamp printing.

In the example of FIG. 5, the empty areas 520, 52
1, 522 and 523 are image data 530 of the reception seal
If the size in the vertical direction is smaller and printing is performed as it is, the reception mark will be out of the frame, so it is excluded from the stamp area candidates. However, since the empty areas 524 and 525 are sufficiently large, they are set as seal area candidates.

Next, since there are a plurality of stamping area candidates which can be printed, any one of them will be adopted. In this case, the rightmost one in the rightmost area in the left-right direction is given priority. In the vertical direction, the final stamping area is determined by a logic that gives priority to the lowermost part inside the lowermost area. In the case of the check shown in FIG.
4, 525 can be received and printed. In the left and right directions, the priority is the same on the rightmost side, but in the vertical direction, the empty area 524 is on the lower side.
Is determined as the print area of the reception seal.

Although the printing position of the reception mark is determined by prioritizing the upper, lower, left, and right sides, it is also possible to provide detailed conditions such as comparison based on the size of an empty area and restriction of the area.

As described above, the form image data 40
By printing the reception mark on the check 40 at the same position as the reception printing empty area extracted in step 1, it is possible to print the reception mark on the optimal empty area even in the check 40 of any format.

In this case, the other free areas 520-5
23 and 525, as shown in FIG.
Is printed with the name of the bank / branch, and the free area 522 with the device number of the automated teller machine 1, whereby the detailed information of the transaction can be printed in the free area of the form, and the effective use of the free area is achieved. be able to.

When the image data 530 of the reception mark does not fit in the internal area in the empty areas 520 to 525, an area having the least part outside the frame, for example, an area having the smallest overlapping area, etc., is printed. It will be a seal area candidate. For example, in the case of a form (check) 402 as shown in FIG. 6, when the candidate area of the reception seal is the empty area 524, the image data of the pre-registered reception seal protrudes vertically in FIG. In this way, the shape is slightly flattened by reducing the vertical dimension so as to fit in the vertical empty area, and printing is performed. In this case, the dimensions in the horizontal direction are not changed.

Similarly, when there is an overlap in the horizontal direction, the image is reduced in the horizontal direction. When there is overlap in the vertical / horizontal direction, the reduction is performed in each of the vertical / horizontal directions, or the other is reduced at the same reduction ratio as that in the direction in which the vertical / horizontal overlap is the largest. Thus, reduced printing without changing the vertical / horizontal ratio of the image data 530 can be performed.

In the above description, the format of a check is described as an example. However, it is also possible to print and accept a promissory note or a public money form. When a character string such as "receipt" is described in advance in a form such as a public money form, the area adjacent to the "receipt" character string is determined as an empty area, so that the reception mark can be easily printed. Areas can be extracted. Also, not only the reception seal,
It can be applied in exactly the same way when printing a receipt.

Further, by printing the reception stamp on the form with image data instead of stamping with a stamp, it is possible to use a special reception stamp depending on the transaction type such as a public money form, a check, a promissory note, and the like. Further, it becomes easy to combine various types of information, for example, serial numbers and date information with the image data and print them. Date information is automatic transaction device 1
From the timer unit 115 of the
Can also be taken in from the center device via.

In addition, when a check or promissory note has an expiration date, the post-processing is performed manually, for example, when the received form is about to expire or when there is a form that has been received but needs urgent confirmation. For forms that require
By characterizing the reception mark in a form such as printing with a conspicuous mark or fluorescent color, sorting work in post-processing can be facilitated.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the form has an arbitrary description format and a dedicated seal area is not determined, an appropriate empty area is detected, and a reception seal or A receipt stamp can be printed.
There is an effect that the content of the form is not spoiled by sealing the empty area.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic transaction apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the automatic transaction apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of a check as an example of a form.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an empty area in the check of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a process for determining an imprint area in the check in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a check with a small empty area.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a process for determining a stamp area in the check in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic transaction apparatus, 5 ... Report insertion opening, 101 ... Main control part, 102 ... Display part, 103 ... Input part, 104 ... Cash handling part, 105 ... Print output part, 106 ... Card reading part, 1
07: bankbook printing unit, 108: staff operation unit, 113: form reading and printing unit, 114: image processing unit, 401: check image data, 530: reception stamp image data,
520 to 525: Empty area.

Claims (2)

[Claims] An automatic transaction apparatus for recognizing the contents of a form such as a bill or a check and performing processing in accordance with the recognition result, detecting means for detecting a blank area of the form inserted from a form insertion slot, An automatic transaction device comprising a printing means for printing a reception stamp or a receipt stamp in a blank area. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing the size or shape of the reception stamp or the receipt in accordance with the relationship between the size of the detected blank area and the size of the stamp.
Automatic transaction device as described.