JP2002366770A - Transmission of image data in automatic contract system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress transmission time of an image even when re-photographing of a document is requested in an automatic contract system. SOLUTION: In contract processing in the automatic contract system where an automatic contract machine and an operator terminal are connected via a communication line, a rough image obtained by reducing a data quantity without minding the deterioration of an image quality within a range in which the set situation of the document required for a contract and the presence/no presence of an omission can be confirmed and a precise image having an image quality by which the contents of the document can be sufficiently confirmed are used together. An operator receives the rough image from an automatic contract machine and confirms the propriety of the set situation, etc., of the document. When deciding it to be proper, the precise image is received and the content is confirmed. Thus, the number of the transmission times of the precise image and thus a transmission time can be suppressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic contract system for making a contract using an automatic contract machine and a contract processing device connected by a communication line, and more particularly to transmission of image data in the automatic contract system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, automatic contract systems have become widespread in the consumer finance industry and the like. This automatic contract system is composed of an automatic contract machine and a contract processing device connected by a communication line such as a public telephone line. A user normally performs a contract operation according to automatic guidance on an automatic contract machine installed in an unmanned store. This operation includes photographing a contract document and a document for identification. The photographed image data is transmitted to a contract processing device operated by an operator of a financial institution via a communication line. The operator of the financial institution performs processing such as entry of the contract document and confirmation of the content of the identity verification document based on the transmitted image data.

In recent years, for the purpose of preventing forgery, the definition of image data has been increasing. As a result, the amount of image data increases, so that transmission of image data to the contract processing device also requires a long time. Given this trend,
As a technique for reducing the waiting time of a customer at the time of contract, for example, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-254949 has been proposed. This is a technique for transmitting image data of an application form and transmitting image data of an identification card during the confirmation work.

[0004]

However, since the operation of the automatic contract machine is performed by the customer himself, it is often necessary to re-acquire image data such as documents. For example, there is a case where a document is improperly set, and a necessary portion deviates from image data. Further, there is a case where the entry of the document is omitted and the image data needs to be acquired again after the entry. In the conventional automatic contract system, the processing when the image is re-photographed is not sufficiently considered, and it takes a long time to re-transmit the image. As a result, the contract processing required a long time.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to suppress an extremely long transmission time of an image even in a case where re-imaging of a document is requested in an automatic contract system. .

[0006]

In order to solve at least a part of the above problems, according to the present invention, a contract processing device for performing processing required for concluding a contract is connected via a communication line, and the contract is executed. In an automatic contract machine that transmits necessary information to the contract processing device, regarding a predetermined document required for a contract,
Two types of image data having different data sizes are used. The size of the second image data is larger than the size of the first image data.

In the present invention, two types of image data having different sizes are transmitted to the contract processing device at the following timings. First, before transmitting the second image data, the first image data is transmitted. afterwards,
When the automatic contract machine receives a predetermined instruction from the contract processing device, the automatic contract machine transmits the second image data. That is, the image data having a small size is transmitted first, and then the image data having a large size is transmitted in response to an instruction from the contract processing device.

According to the present invention, the first small-sized first
Is transmitted, the contract processing device side can determine the suitability of the image data based on the first image data. When it is determined that the image data is in a state suitable for the processing required for the contract, when the contract processing device sends an instruction to the automatic contract machine, the second image data having a large size is transmitted. The contract processing device can perform a check operation required for the contract based on the second image data having a large size.

As described above, according to the present invention, large-size image data is transmitted based on confirmation by small-size image data. Therefore, the number of times large-size image data is transmitted, and the time required for transmission Can be suppressed.

In the present invention, the first data size can be set arbitrarily. For example, the first data size can be set with priority given to the transmission speed via the communication line within a range in which the description state of the document can be confirmed. The range in which the description status can be confirmed can be set as appropriate according to the type of the document and the confirmation work. For example, if it is checked whether or not there is a portion that protrudes from the image data, a very small data size may be used. In order to check whether or not there is any omission in the document, it is necessary to secure a size enough to check whether or not characters have been entered.

In the present invention, image data having different sizes can be obtained in various modes. For example, the first image data can be data obtained by compressing original image data having a predetermined data size for a predetermined document. For the compression, a known method such as JPEG can be applied. Further, the data size can be adjusted by the compression ratio. At this time, the second image data is the original image data itself or data obtained by compressing the original image data at a compression rate lower than that of the first image data, that is, a compression rate that reduces the amount of data reduction relative to the original data. Can be.

The image data having different sizes may be obtained by changing the resolution. That is, the second image data may be higher resolution data than the first image data. The first image data is the second image data.
May be generated by thinning out the image data, or may be obtained separately from the second image data.

In the present invention, the second image data may be acquired after receiving an instruction from the contract processing device, but it is desirable to acquire the second image data in synchronization with the acquisition of the first image data. In this case, the acquired second image data is held by the automatic contract machine until a transmission instruction is received. By acquiring the second image data and the first image data in synchronization, it is possible to ensure the sameness between the two, so that it is possible to improve the accuracy of the confirmation operation using the first image data. . If the acquisition times of the first and second image data are shifted, the installation position of the document may shift during that time, but if the acquisition times of both are synchronized, this possibility is reduced. This is because it can be suppressed.

According to the present invention, there is provided a retransmission instructing unit for urging the user of the automatic contract machine to retransmit a predetermined document in response to an instruction from the contract processing device after transmitting the first image data. It is desirable. When there is an instruction to retransmit, the first and second image data are again
Regardless of whether it has already been acquired, it is acquired again.

This makes it possible to use a small-sized first image data to prepare in a short period of time to obtain an image suitable for contract processing. Examples of the case where retransmission is required include a case where the installation state of the document is determined to be inappropriate, such as a case where the document protrudes from the image data, and a case where it is determined that there is omission in the document. The instruction for retransmission can use voice, display, or the like. It is desirable that instructions for retransmission should be presented together with the action to be taken by the user, such as a change in the installation state of the document, or a suggestion of omission.

The present invention can be configured as a contract processing device in addition to the configuration as the automatic contract machine described above. Further, an automatic contract machine and a contract processing device may be configured as an automatic contract system connected by a communication line. The present invention can also be configured in a contract method using these devices or systems, a contract support method, or the like. A computer program that realizes the functions of these devices and systems by a computer and a recording medium that records the program may be used.

The storage media described above include a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card,
Various computer-readable media such as a ROM cartridge, a punched card, a printed matter on which a code such as a barcode is printed, an internal storage device of the computer (memory such as RAM and ROM), and an external storage device can be used.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following sections. A. System configuration: B. Contract processing: C. Modification:

A. System Configuration: FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an automatic contract system as an embodiment. An example will be described in which the system is configured as a system for concluding a loan contract between a financial institution and a customer. The automatic contract system according to the embodiment includes an automatic contract machine 10 connected via a network NE.
And an operator terminal 50. The network NE can be configured using various communication lines such as a public communication line and a dedicated line.

The operator terminal 50 is a device operated by the operator of the financial institution, and functions as a contract processing device for acquiring information necessary for a contract from the automatic contract machine 10 and executing a contract process. In this embodiment, the network N
It was constructed by installing software necessary for contract processing on a general-purpose personal computer having a function of connecting to E.

FIG. 1 also shows a schematic configuration of the automatic contract machine 10 together with a block diagram. The automatic contract machine 10 is a device in which a customer himself performs an operation for concluding a contract. Automatic contract machine 10
Is provided with a touch panel 13 and a speaker 14 for guiding the operating procedure to the customer. The touch panel 13 displays an operation procedure and also functions as an input unit for inputting customer information required for a contract.

Information from the customer is acquired by the document camera 16 and the person camera 11 in addition to the touch panel 13. The document camera 16 is a mechanism that illuminates an identity verification document such as a driver's license and a contract document with a document lamp and optically captures an image thereof. A so-called scanner may be used instead of the camera. People camera 11
Is a camera for photographing the face image of the customer. This image is used to determine the authenticity of the photograph attached to the driver's license or the like.

Customer information input by the touch panel 13, document images taken by the document camera 16, and the person camera 1
The person image captured in step 1 is stored in the storage device 18.
These pieces of information are transmitted to the operator terminal 50 via the communication control unit 17 as appropriate. The communication control unit 17 also has a function of inputting an instruction from the operator terminal 50 via the network NE.

Document issuing mechanism 15 and card issuing section 12
Issues contract documents and contract cards.

The operation of the automatic contract machine 10 is controlled by the control unit 20. The control unit 20 includes a CPU, RA
It is configured as a microcomputer having M and ROM, and executes various processes required for a contract in accordance with a preset computer program.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functional blocks of the automatic contract machine 10. Only the part related to the transfer of the image data acquired by the document camera 16 is shown. In the present embodiment, each functional block is constructed by software in the control unit 20, but may be constructed by hardware.

The instruction input unit 21 has a function of inputting an instruction from the operator terminal 50 via the communication control unit 17. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, two types of image data exchanged between the automatic contract machine 10 and the operator terminal 50 are used: coarse image data and fine image data. For this reason, instructions regarding the transfer of image data include:
The instruction includes an instruction to transmit a compressed image, an instruction to retransmit an image, an instruction to transmit a fine image, and the like.

The image transmission control section 22 controls input and transmission of an image according to an instruction from the instruction input section 21.
When input of an image is required, the image input unit 23 is activated, and when transmission of the image is required, the transmission unit 26 is activated.

The image input unit 23 inputs an image using the document camera 16. The input original image is held in the storage device 18 by the original image holding unit 24 as a fine image. The input image is transferred to the compression unit 25 in parallel with the input image. The compression unit 25 performs JPEG compression of the image data to generate coarse image data. The compression ratio of JPEG compression is set from the following viewpoint.

The rough image data is an image used for preliminary confirmation that the document is correctly set on the document camera 16 and that there is no omission in the document during the contract process. From this viewpoint, in the present embodiment, a reduction in image quality is allowed, and the data amount is reduced at a high compression rate. A specific compression ratio can be arbitrarily set in consideration of the resolution of the document camera 16, the communication speed of the network NE, and the like. In the present embodiment, the compression ratio that minimizes the data amount is selected within a range in which the setting status of the document and the presence or absence of entry omission can be checked. The compression of image data is performed by JPE
Not limited to G, various methods can be applied.

The transmitting unit 26 responds to the input instruction
Controls transmission of image data. When transmission of the coarse image is instructed, the coarse image data generated by the compression unit 25 is transmitted. When transmission of the fine image is instructed, the fine image managed by the original image holding unit 24 is transmitted. Send data.
The fine image data is an image used for confirming the content of the document in the course of the contract processing. Network N
Based on the speed of E, the characters written on the document, the attached photos, and the like are generated at a resolution that can be sufficiently confirmed. In this embodiment, the original image photographed by the image input unit 23 is used as it is as a fine image. However, image data may be compressed as long as the image quality necessary for confirming the content can be ensured. .

B. Contract processing: FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the contract processing using the automatic contract system. Processing executed by the automatic contract machine 10 is on the left side, and the operator terminal 50 is on the right side.
Showed the processing to be performed.

The contract process is started when a customer visits the automatic contract machine 10. The automatic contract machine 10 uses the touch panel 13 and the speaker 14 to guide the operation procedure of the apparatus and the method of filling in various contract documents, and to input customer information from the touch panel 13 (step S1).
0). Next, the automatic contract machine 10 guides the document camera 16 to set the contract document and the identification document, inputs an image in response thereto, and stores the input image in the storage device 18 (step S12). ).

Next, the input image is compressed (step S14), and the obtained coarse image is transmitted to the operator terminal (step S16).

On the other hand, the operator terminal receives this coarse image (step S30) and displays it on the display (step S32). As described above, the coarse image has such an image quality that the setting status of the document in the document camera 16 and the presence or absence of the entry can be understood. The operator can confirm the suitability of the document set and the presence or absence of omission of the document set based on the coarse image displayed on the image. The operator transmits the next processing instruction to the automatic contract machine 10 based on the confirmation result (step S34). The instruction includes an instruction to transmit a fine image and an instruction to retransmit. The former is an instruction issued when it is determined that a document set or the like is suitable, and is an instruction for transmitting a fine image in order to confirm the contents of the document. When this instruction is issued, the operator terminal 50
Waits for a fine image to be received. The latter is an instruction issued when it is determined that the document set or the like is inappropriate, and is an instruction for retransmitting the coarse image after re-setting the document set or the like. When this instruction is issued, the operator terminal 50 waits for the reception of the coarse image again.

The automatic contract machine 10 receives an instruction from the operator terminal 50 (step S18), and performs the following processing according to the instruction. If retransmission is instructed (step S20), the processing of steps S12 to S16 is executed again, and the coarse image data is retransmitted. At this time,
Correction of the set position of the document, whether there is omission of the document, etc.
It is desirable to indicate what action the customer should take.

When an instruction to transmit a fine image is received from the operator terminal 50 (step S20), the automatic contract machine 10 transmits a fine image (step S22).
In the present embodiment, the entire image input by the document camera 16 is transmitted. However, it is also possible to cut out and transmit only a portion necessary for confirming the content. Operator terminal 5
0 receives the fine image (step S38) and displays it on the display (step S40). As described above, since the fine image has an image quality that allows the items described in the document to be sufficiently determined, the operator can confirm the content of the contract document based on this image.

In parallel with the transmission of the fine image, contract work is executed between the operator terminal 50 and the automatic contract machine 10 (steps S24 and S42). The contract work includes explanation of notes in a contract, registration of customer information based on customer information, confirmation of customer credit information, examination of contractable contents, and the like. When the contract is established by the above processing, the automatic contract machine 10 issues a contract card to the customer (step S26), and completes the contract processing.

According to the automatic contract system of the present embodiment described above, it is possible to confirm the setting status and the entry status of a document by using a rough image having a small data amount. A fine image having a large data amount is transmitted only when it is determined that a set of documents or the like is appropriate by these confirmations. Therefore, even when the image needs to be re-input, the number of transmissions of the fine image requiring a long time for communication can be suppressed, and the communication time during the contract process can be suppressed. As a result, the customer's waiting time can be suppressed, and smooth contract processing can be realized.

C. Modification: FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an image transmission method as a modification. Various modifications of the automatic contract system according to the present embodiment are conceivable depending on the generation method and generation timing of two types of image data, that is, coarse image data and fine image data. In the drawing, three modified examples of cases A to C are illustrated.

Case A is a transmission method corresponding to the embodiment. At the time of contract processing, a fine image is photographed, and a coarse image is generated by compressing the fine image. That is, the fine image and the coarse image are generated in synchronization. The confirmation work at the beginning of the contract processing is performed by transmitting the rough image to the operator terminal 50, and during this time, the fine image is held in the automatic contract machine 10. Thereafter, when a transmission instruction of the fine image is issued from the operator terminal 50, the held fine image is transmitted.

According to the case A, there is an advantage that the identity between the coarse image and the fine image is ensured. In other words, if the state of the document is confirmed with the coarse image, it is possible to avoid a possibility that a fine image whose state of the document is inappropriate is input contrary to the result of the confirmation. In the embodiment, the coarse image is generated by compressing the fine image. However, the coarse image may be generated by reducing the resolution of the fine image by thinning processing.

Case B is a method in which a coarse image and a fine image are individually photographed. The confirmation work at the beginning of the contract processing is performed using the rough image. In case B, the document camera 16 captures a coarse image and transmits the captured image to the operator terminal 50. The coarse image is obtained, for example, by shooting in a low-resolution mode. The compression mode of the captured image may be switched to a coarse mode. After capturing the coarse image, the high-resolution image is captured by switching the shooting mode of the document camera 16 to a high-resolution mode of resolution or compression. The photographing of the fine image is performed in parallel with the transmission and confirmation of the coarse image. After the photographing, the photographed image is held in the automatic contract machine 10 and transmitted to the operator terminal 50 in response to the instruction to transmit the fine image. When the retransmission of the rough image is instructed, the shooting of the rough image and the shooting of the fine image are repeatedly executed.

According to the case B, since the coarse image and the fine image can be obtained only by switching the mode of the document camera 16, there is an advantage that the processing of the automatic contract machine 10 is relatively simplified. In addition, when an input device such as a scanner whose image input speed is affected by the resolution or the like is used, a fine image can be acquired in parallel with the transmission of the coarse image, so that the waiting time of the customer is reduced. There is an advantage that can be suppressed.

Case C is a method in which a fine image is transmitted after receiving an instruction to transmit it. At the beginning of the contract processing,
Only the capturing and transmission of the coarse image are executed. After an instruction to transmit a fine image is issued, shooting and transmission of the fine image are performed. The coarse image and the fine image can be obtained by switching the photographing mode of the document camera 16 as in the case B.

In case C, since the acquisition and transmission of the coarse image can be performed quickly, there is an advantage that the time required for retransmitting the coarse image can be suppressed. As in the case B, this is effective when an input device whose image input speed is affected by the resolution or the like is used.

The cases A to C exemplified above can be appropriately combined and applied. For example, these may be switched according to the number of times a request for retransmitting a coarse image is made. As an example, at the beginning of contract processing,
When the processing is performed in case A and a request for retransmitting the coarse image is made, the processing contents may be switched to case B or case C.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that various configurations can be adopted without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the above-described control processing may be realized by software or hardware.

[0049]

According to the present invention, transmission of large-size image data is performed based on confirmation with small-size image data, so that the number of times of transmission of large-size image data and, consequently, the time required for transmission are reduced. Can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an automatic contract system as an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functional blocks of the automatic contract machine 10.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a contract process using an automatic contract system.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an image transmission method as a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Automatic contract machine 11 ... Person camera 12 ... Card issuing part 13 ... Touch panel 14 ... Speaker 15 ... Document issuing mechanism 16 ... Document camera 17 ... Communication control part 18 ... Storage device 20 ... Control part 21 ... Instruction input part 22 ... Image Transmission control unit 23 ... Image input unit 24 ... Original image holding unit 25 ... Compression unit 26 ... Transmission unit 50 ... Operator terminal

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An automatic contract machine connected via a communication line to a contract processing device for performing processing necessary for concluding a contract and transmitting information necessary for the contract to the contract processing device, A first obtaining unit that obtains first image data having a first data size for a predetermined document required for, and a second data size larger than the first data size for the predetermined document A second acquisition unit for acquiring second image data; and a first acquisition unit for acquiring the first image data before transmitting the second image data.
A first transmitting unit for transmitting the image data to the contract processing device; and a transmitting unit for transmitting the second image data when a predetermined instruction is input from the contract processing device after transmitting the first image data. An automatic contract machine having two transmission units. 2. The automatic contract machine according to claim 1, wherein the first data size is set with priority given to a transmission speed via the communication line within a range in which a description state of the document can be confirmed. Automatic contract machine that is the data size. 3. The automatic contract machine according to claim 1, wherein the first image data is data obtained by compressing original image data having a predetermined data size for the predetermined document, and Wherein the image data is the original image data itself or data obtained by compressing the original image data at a lower compression ratio than the first image data. 4. The automatic contract machine according to claim 1, wherein the second image data has higher resolution than the first image data. 5. The automatic contract machine according to claim 1, wherein the second acquisition unit acquires the second image data in synchronization with the acquisition of the first image data in the first acquisition unit. An automatic contract machine that holds the second image data until transmission by the second transmission unit is performed. 6. The automatic contract machine according to claim 1, wherein, after transmitting the first image data, a user of the automatic contract machine responds to an instruction from the contract processing device.
A retransmission instruction unit for prompting retransmission of the predetermined document, wherein the first acquisition unit and the second acquisition unit respond to the retransmission instruction regardless of whether the image data has been acquired. An automatic contract machine for acquiring the image data. 7. A contract processing apparatus connected via a communication line to an automatic contract machine for transmitting information required for a contract and for performing processing required for concluding a contract, wherein the automatic contract machine transmits the contract A first input unit for inputting first image data having a first data size with respect to a predetermined document required for the first step; a display unit for displaying an image based on the first image data; A transmission instructing unit for instructing transmission of second image data having a second data size larger than the first data size for the predetermined document; and transmitting the second image data from the automatic contract machine. And a second input unit for inputting a password. 8. A contract support method for supporting a contract by using an automatic contract machine connected by a communication line and a contract processing device, wherein the automatic contract machine sends a predetermined processing required for the contract to the contract processing device. Transmitting, for the document, first image data having a first data size; displaying an image based on the first image data in the contract processing device; Instructing transmission of second image data having a second data size larger than the first data size with respect to the predetermined document; Transmitting the second image data to the contract processing device. 9. An automatic contract system comprising: an automatic contract machine for taking in a predetermined document image for personal identification of a customer who desires a contract; and a contract processing device communicating with and responding to the automatic contract machine via a communication line. The contract machine includes: an acquisition unit that captures the document image at a predetermined image quality required for the contract to generate image data; and a degree that can determine whether or not there is a description described in the document and a set position of the document. A first transmission unit that compresses the image data amount and transmits the compressed data to the contract processing device to a range that satisfies at least one of the levels that can determine whether the data is correct or incorrect; A second transmission of transmitting the image data acquired by the acquisition unit to the contract processing device after confirmation of the presence or absence of the description or the set position is performed. Automatic contract system and a part. 10. The automatic contract system according to claim 9, wherein the contract processing device instructs the automatic contract machine to reacquire the document image after the confirmation using the compressed data. An automatic contract system, wherein the acquiring unit of the automatic contract machine reacquires the document image in accordance with the instruction.