JP2003211095A - Sorting system and sorting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting system and a sorting method which reduce the load on an operator of VCD 30 without extending a separate offline OCR device. <P>SOLUTION: In this sorting system and sorting method, an offline OCR part 19a is mounted on VCS I/F 19 and, when it is unnecessary that the VCS I/F 19 performs picture transfer of sheet paper, or the like, to accumulation distributors 20, the VCS I/F 19 is allowed to operate as the offline OCR. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is based on, for example, a process of reading an image on a paper sheet such as a postcard or a letter of mail such as a postal letter, recognizing information indicating a sorting destination, and based on the information indicating the recognized sorting destination. The present invention relates to a sorting system and a sorting method having a sorting machine that sorts paper sheets by a hand and a coding system in which an operator inputs information indicating a sorting destination of a paper for which the sorting destination cannot be recognized by this sorting machine. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sorting system has a sorting machine that sorts sheets based on information (sorting information) indicating a sorting destination that is recognized from an image of a sheet, and the sorting information can be recognized by the sorting machine. And a coding system for manually inputting the information indicating the sorting destination of the missing paper sheets. The sorting machine reads an image on a sheet and performs recognition processing of information indicating a sorting destination (sorting information) by online OCR, and sorts the sheet based on the recognition result. Therefore, in the online OCR, the sorting information is recognized at a predetermined time based on the transportation time of the paper sheets. In addition, the online OCR
When the sorting information cannot be recognized within the predetermined time, the image of the paper sheet is sent to the video coding system (coding system). The video coding system has a storage / distribution device that temporarily stores images of paper sheets whose classification information cannot be recognized by the online OCR and distributes the images to a plurality of video coding discs. In this video coding system, the image stored in the storage / distribution device is distributed to the video coding discs, and the operator performs the keystroke input processing of the classification information on each video coding disc.

Further, recently, there is one in which an offline OCR is connected to the above-mentioned storage / distribution device to distribute an image from the above-mentioned storage / distribution device to a video coding disk and an offline OCR. Since such an offline OCR can take more processing time than the recognition processing in the online OCR, the recognition rate is higher than that in the online OCR. For this reason, recently, for the purpose of reducing the burden on the operator, a sorting system in which an offline OCR is installed in parallel with the video coding disc has been proposed.

However, if the offline OCR is installed in parallel with the video coding disc in the paper sheet sorting system as in the conventional proposal, the cost of the entire system becomes high, and a place for installing the offline OCR. There is a problem that is required. In particular,
In a paper sheet sorting system in which the amount of paper sheets to be sorted is small, the cost of the entire system is high and the installation space of the entire system is large, which is a major problem when installing the offline OCR in the sorting system. Has become.

[0005]

As described above, according to the present invention, if the offline OCR is installed, it requires a large-scale addition of hardware, which increases the cost of the entire system and requires a large installation place. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a partitioning system and a partitioning method that can solve the above-mentioned problems and improve the efficiency of processing by offline OCR, reduce the cost of the entire system, and realize space saving.

[0006]

A sorting system according to the present invention is a system having a sorting machine for sorting paper sheets, and a storage device for storing images of paper sheets that cannot be sorted by this sorting machine. The sorting machine includes a reading unit that reads an image on a sheet, a recognizing unit that recognizes the sorting information written on the sheet from the image read by the reading unit within a predetermined time, and the recognizing unit. Sorting means for sorting the paper sheets based on the recognized sorting information; a first operation mode for transferring an image of the paper sheets for which the sorting information cannot be recognized by the recognizing means to the storage device; And an interface unit having a second operation mode in which the image of the paper sheets accumulated in the apparatus is recognized by a recognition method different from the recognition unit.

The sorting method of the present invention comprises a reading means for reading an image on a paper sheet, and a recognition means for recognizing the sorting information written on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading means within a predetermined time. A sorting machine having sorting means for sorting the paper sheets based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition means; and a storage device for storing images of the paper sheets that cannot be sorted by the sorting machine. In the method used for the sorting system, a first setting step of setting an interface connecting the sorting machine and the storage device to a first operation mode for transferring an image of a paper sheet to the storage device; When the interface is set to the first operation mode by the first setting step, the paper that has not been recognized by the recognition unit by the recognition means by the interface is selected. A transfer step of transferring an image to the storage device, and a second operation mode in which the interface performs a recognition process on an image of a paper sheet stored in the storage device by a recognition method different from the recognition means. A second setting step of setting, and when the interface is set to the second operation mode by the second setting step, the images of the paper sheets accumulated in the accumulating device by the interface are displayed. And a recognition step of performing recognition processing by a recognition method different from the recognition means.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this sorting system recognizes information (character information) indicating a sorting destination of a paper sheet and sorts it, and a reading sorting machine body (sorting machine) 1 is sorted by the reading sorting machine body 1. It is composed of a video coding system (hereinafter referred to as VCS) 2 in which an operator inputs information indicating a division destination of a paper sheet that cannot be recognized first based on an image of the paper sheet.

First, the reading sorting machine body 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the reading sorting machine body 1 has a transport sorting unit body 1a having an operation panel 3 on the front surface. The operation panel 3 is composed of a liquid crystal display device having a built-in touch panel, etc., and is used by an operator (person in charge) to specify a processing mode, a processing start, and to display an operating state of a sorting machine. A plurality of paper sheets P having numbers or characters as information indicating the sorting destination written or printed on the first surface are arranged in the transport sorting unit body 1a so that the first surfaces face the same direction. A supply unit 11 is provided that stores the sheets P in a standing position and supplies these paper sheets P sequentially to a predetermined take-out position. The supply unit 11 is provided with a take-out unit (not shown) for taking out the paper sheets P one by one along the main transport path 12 at predetermined intervals.

The paper sheets P supplied to the supply unit 11 have a machine code in advance on a large sorting destination in addition to the one on which the characters corresponding to the information indicating the sorting destination are written on the first surface. In-office bar code determined in the sorting machine corresponding to the determined customer code or the sorting destination of the paper sheet P,
Alternatively, there is one in which an ID code or the like given to the paper sheet P whose recognition of the classification information is impossible by the recognition unit 18 described later is described. Each of these codes is attached to the first surface of the paper sheet P as bar coded information.

The paper sheets P supplied to the above-mentioned supply section 11
Are taken out at a constant interval and are conveyed at a constant conveyance interval (pitch) by the main conveyance path 12 which conveys at a constant speed.
The paper sheet P conveyed on the main conveyance path 12 is excluded when the foreign matter cannot be mechanically processed, and only the mechanically processable paper sheet P is conveyed.

A scanner unit (reading unit) 13, an ID code reading unit 14, a bar code printer unit 15, and a sorting unit (sorting unit) 16 are provided on the main transport path 12. The scanner unit 13 reads a surface of the main transport path 12 on which information indicating the sorting destination of the paper sheet is described, and recognizes the read image to the information indicating the sorting destination (recognition unit) 18. It is something to send. The ID code reading unit 14 reads the ID code or the machine code when the ID code or the machine code is attached to the first surface of the paper sheet conveyed on the main conveyance path 12. .

The bar code printer section 15 prints an ID code or a machine code on the first surface of the paper sheet as required. When the recognition unit 18 can recognize the classification information, the classification information is converted into a bar code and a machine code is printed on the paper sheet. When the recognition unit 18 cannot recognize the classification information, the ID is displayed. The code is printed.

On the downstream side of the bar code printer section 15 in the paper sheet conveying direction, there is provided a sorting section 16 for sorting the paper sheets P transported on the main transport path 12 according to the sorting destination. Has been. The partition section 16 is composed of a plurality of partition pockets that are partitioned into a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows.
Each pocket is set corresponding to each division destination,
Based on the sorting information or the machine code, the paper sheets are sequentially accumulated in the pockets corresponding to the sorting information. Further, in the sorting unit 16, VCS exclusion pockets (VCS reject sorting box) in which paper sheets whose sorting destinations cannot be recognized are accumulated
Is provided. For the sheets accumulated in the VCS exclusion pocket, the information indicating the sorting destination by the operator is VC.
After being input in S2, it is supplied again to the supply unit 11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, each section of the reading sorting machine body 1 is controlled by a control section 17. The control unit 17 includes an operation panel 3, a supply unit 11,
The scanner unit 13, the ID code reading unit 14, the barcode printer unit 15, the sorting unit 16, the recognition unit 18, the VCS interface 19 and the like are connected.

The recognition unit 18 is supplied with an image obtained by optically reading from the scanner unit 13 the first surface on which the classification information of paper sheets is described. The recognition unit 18 recognizes the classification information of the paper sheet from the supplied image of the paper sheet. The recognition unit 18 cuts out characters serving as the classification information from the read image and performs character recognition, and compares the classification information with a character dictionary and an address dictionary (not shown) to recognize the classification information. In addition, this recognition unit 18
Is an online OCR that performs recognition processing within a time in which sheets conveyed in the sorting machine body 1 can be sorted. Therefore, in the recognition processing in the recognition unit 18, since the processing time is severely restricted, a recognition method generated by an algorithm that obtains a recognition result within a predetermined time is adopted. Whether or not the recognition by the recognition unit 18 is possible is returned to the control unit 17. Further, when the recognition unit 18 cannot recognize the information indicating the sorting destination, the recognition unit 18 determines the size of the paper sheet, the size of the character, the direction of the character, as the information accompanying the read image.
Notation direction of information indicating classification destination, character type, recognition depth, VC
OCR information (incidental information) such as information indicating a location where S processing is required is generated.

Further, a VCS interface (VCSI / F) 19 is connected to the recognition section 18. This V
The CSI / F 19 has the same configuration as a personal computer (PC). As will be described later, the VCSI / F 19 has an image transmission function (image transmission mode) for transmitting an image of paper sheets, incidental information, etc. to the storage / distribution device 20.
And an off-line OCR processing function (off-line OCR mode) of performing off-line OCR processing on an image of a paper sheet by the off-line OCR unit 19a.

In the image transfer mode, the VCSI /
F19 controls the transmission of the read image of the paper sheet that cannot be recognized by the recognition unit 18 and the incidental information for the paper sheet to the storage and distribution device 20 in the VCS 2 as processing data in a predetermined format. In addition, the above-mentioned offline O
In the CR mode, the VCSI / F 19 performs OCR processing on the image of the paper sheets accumulated in the accumulation and distribution device 20 by the offline OCR unit 19a by an algorithm different from that of the recognition unit 18.

In the recognition processing in the off-line OCR unit 19a, restrictions on processing time are relaxed as compared with the recognition processing in the recognition unit 18. Therefore, the above-mentioned offline OCR
The recognition process in the unit 19a is performed by a recognition method that is generated by an algorithm that performs a highly accurate recognition process that takes more processing time than the recognition process in the recognition unit 18.

Further, when an ID code is given to the paper sheet P conveyed on the main conveyance path 12, the control unit 17 uses the ID code to sort the corresponding destination from a database (not shown). Is controlled and the paper sheets are controlled based on the sorting destination.

Next, the VCS 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the VCS 2 is a storage / distribution device (storage device) 2
0 and a plurality of video coding terminals (coding devices) (hereinafter, referred to as VCD) 30. The storage / distribution device 20 temporarily stores processing data including a read image of the paper sheet P that cannot be recognized by the reading sorting machine body 1 and incidental information of the recognition result. Above VC
D30 displays an image of the paper sheet P distributed from the storage / distribution device 20, and an operator inputs information indicating a sorting destination based on the displayed image.

The storage / distribution device 20 includes a memory controller 2
1, a mass storage device 22, an image memory 23, a video distribution control unit 24, a timing control unit 25, an image recognition reprocessing unit 26, and an input / output control unit 27. The memory control unit 21 receives the processing data C transmitted from the reading / sorting machine body 1 and including the unrecognized image of the paper sheet P and the incidental information for the image, and performs image compression, data fusion, and the like. Is stored in the image memory 23.

The large-capacity storage device 22 is composed of a hard disk drive (HDD) or the like, and stores the image of the sheet and the supplementary information received from the sorter 1 under the control of the memory controller 21. This mass storage device 2
The processed data stored in 2 is read onto the image memory 23 in response to a transmission request from the memory control unit 21.

The video distribution control unit 24 is connected to the timing control unit 25 and the image recognition reprocessing unit 26. The video distribution control unit 24 processes data C based on the contents of a distribution request table (not shown) created according to the distribution request transmitted from each VCD 30.
The VCD 30 of the transmission destination (distribution destination) is determined. In other words, the video distribution control unit 24 can determine the VCD 30 that can be coded (keystroke input of the division destination) according to the distribution request table, wait for the input of the processing data C, and control the memory control unit 21 to control each VC.
The processing data C is transmitted to D30.

Further, the coding information input by each VCD 30, ... Is received by the input / output control unit 27.
The input / output control unit 27 transmits the coding information received from each VCD 30, ... To the control unit 17 of the reading sorting machine body 1 via the timing control unit 25. VCD30 above
Is a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a display unit 33, an input unit 34.
And so on. The control unit 31 controls the entire VCD 30. Further, the control unit 31 controls the storage / distribution device 2
It has a function of receiving the processing data C corresponding to the paper sheet P from 0 and transmitting the input result (coding information) by the input unit 34 to the input / output control unit 27. The storage unit 32 stores the processing data C of the paper sheet P supplied from the storage / distribution device 20. In this storage unit 32,
It is possible to store a plurality of processing data C such as an image which is currently (previously) being coded or an image which is next coded. The display unit 33 displays the image of the paper sheet P supplied from the storage / distribution device 20. The input unit 34 is composed of a keyboard or the like, and the operator inputs information indicating the division destination based on the image displayed on the display unit 33.

Next, a configuration example of the sorting system will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the sorting system.
As shown in FIG. 2, the storage / distribution device 20 is connected to each VCD 30 via a network such as a LAN, and also to the VCSI / F 19 in the sorting machine body 1. The image storage / distribution device 20 is configured to distribute an image to each logged-in device. By logging in to the image storage / distribution device 20, each VCD 30 distributes an image from the image storage / distribution device 20.

The VCSI / F 19 is a VCSI / F.
VCSI / F1 such as 19 operation mode switching control
9, a control unit 41 that controls the entire unit, a storage unit 42, an offline OCR unit 19a that performs an advanced OCR process using an algorithm different from that of the recognition unit 18, and the storage / distribution device 2
It has an image transfer control unit 43 and the like for controlling image transfer to 0. The VCSI / F 19 is switched between the image transmission function (image transfer mode) and the offline OCR function (offline OCR mode) according to the processing mode given from the sorting machine body 1 by the control unit 41.

That is, when the VCSI / F 19 operates with the image transmission function, the control unit 41 transfers the image of the paper sheet from the sorter main body 1 to the storage / distribution device 20 by the image transfer control unit 43. When the VCSI / F 19 operates with the offline OCR function, the control unit 41 controls each VC
Similar to D30, by logging in to the storage / distribution device 20, images of paper sheets are distributed from the storage / distribution device 20.

An image of a paper sheet for which the sorting information cannot be recognized by the sorting machine body 1 is transmitted to the storage / distribution device 20 by the VCSI / F 19 in the image transfer mode. The storage / distribution device 20 stores the image received via the VCSI / F 19 in the mass storage device 22 or the image memory 23. Further, the storage / distribution device 20 is provided with a VCSI / F of each VCD 30 and an offline OCR mode.
The accumulated images are distributed according to the login from 19.

Next, the operation of the sorting system configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the VCSI / F 19 in the partition system. First, when the operator designates a processing mode (division mode) as various operation settings on the operation panel 3, the control unit 17 starts an operation based on the division mode input by the operator. At this time, the control unit 17 transmits information indicating the classification mode to the VCSI / F 19.

When the VCSI / F control unit 41 receives the division mode transmitted from the control unit 17 (step S1), the VCSI / F1 is based on the received division mode.
It is determined whether 9 is set to the image transfer mode or the offline OCR mode (step S2). That is, the control unit 41 determines whether the processing mode in which the image is transferred to the storage and distribution device 20 or the processing mode in which the image is not transferred is based on the sorting mode.

The division mode is designated by the operator on the operation panel 3, and the V
It is possible to set whether or not to perform processing by CS2. For example, when OCR (recognition processing by the recognition unit 18) and VCS are turned on as the sorting modes, images of paper sheets that cannot be recognized by the recognition unit 18 of the sorting machine body 1 are accumulated in the accumulation and distribution device 20. . In this case, since the processing mode is to transfer the image from the sorting machine body 1 to the storage / distribution device 20,
The control unit 41 determines that the VCSI / F 19 is the image transfer mode.

Further, OCR and VCS are used as the division modes.
When is turned off, the recognition unit 18 of the sorting machine body 1 does not perform the recognition process on the image of the paper sheet, and the image is not stored in the storage / distribution device 20. In this case, since the processing mode does not transfer the image to the storage / distribution device 20,
The control unit 41 determines that the VCSI / F 19 is in the offline OCR mode.

When the offline OCR mode is determined by the determination in step S2, the control unit 41
The VCSI / F 19 is set to the offline OCR mode (step S3). The control unit 41 uses the VCSI / F1
When the operation mode 9 is the offline OCR mode, the storage / distribution device 20 is logged on (step S4). When the user logs on to the storage / distribution device 20, the control unit 41 causes the offline OCR unit 19a to perform a recognition process of the classification information on the image distributed from the storage / distribution device 20 (step S5). At this time, the storage / distribution device 20 logged on to the VCSI / F 19 uses the offline OCR mode VCSI / F as one of the distribution destinations of the stored images.
The image is distributed to 19.

During operation in the above-mentioned offline OCR mode,
The control unit 41 constantly monitors whether or not the sorting mode is changed (step S6). As a result, if there is no change in the partition mode, the control unit 41 continues the operation of the VCSI / F 19 in the offline OCR mode. When the partition mode is changed, the control unit 41 returns to step S2 and determines the operation mode of the VCSI / F 19 based on the partition mode.

If it is determined in the step S2 that the offline OCR mode is set, the control unit 4
1 sets the VCSI / F 19 in the image transfer mode (step S8). At this time, if the VCSI / F 19 is logged on to the storage / distribution apparatus 20 in the offline OCR mode, the control unit 41 logs off the VCSI / F 19 from the storage / distribution apparatus 20 (step S7).
The image transfer mode is set (step S8).

When the operation mode of the VCSI / F 19 is set to the image transfer mode, the control unit 41 causes the image transfer control unit 43 to sequentially transfer the images of the paper sheets from the sorting machine body 1 to the storage and distribution device 20. Transfer processing is performed (step S9). At this time, in the storage / distribution device 20, the VCSI /
Images of paper sheets sequentially transmitted from F19 are accumulated. When the VCS I / F 19 is operating in the image transfer mode and the VCS is on in the partition mode, the image storage / distribution device 20 distributes the images stored in each VCD 30 that logs on. Has become.

During operation in the image transfer mode, the control unit 4
1 always monitors whether or not the classification mode has been changed (step S10). As a result, if there is no change in the partition mode, the control unit 41 continues the operation of the VCSI / F 19 in the image transfer mode. Further, when there is a change in the partition mode, the control unit 41 returns to step S2 and determines the operation mode of the VCSI / F 19 based on the partition mode.

As described above, when the VCSI / F is equipped with the offline OCR function and the VCSI / F does not need to transfer the image, that is, it operates as an interface for transferring the image from the sorting machine body to the VCS. When there is no need to do so, the above VCSI / F is operated as an off-line OCR. This makes it possible to reduce the burden on the VCD operator without separately adding an offline OCR device.

Since the VCSI / F is provided with an operation mode for performing processing other than image transfer and the operation mode of the VCSI / F is changed according to the partition mode, the VCSI / F is changed.
/ F can be used effectively.

[0041]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a partitioning system and a partitioning method which can improve the efficiency of processing by offline OCR, reduce the cost of the entire system, and realize space saving. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a sorting system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the sorting system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Sorting machine main body, 13 ... Scanner unit (reading means), 16
... partitioning unit (sorting unit), 17 ... control unit, 18 ... recognition unit (recognition unit), 19 ... VCSI / F (interface unit), 19a ... offline OCR unit, 20 ... storage / distribution device, 30 ... coding terminal (coding) apparatus),
41 ... Control unit (determination unit, setting unit), 42 ... Storage unit,
43 ... Image transfer control unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sorting system having a sorting machine for sorting paper sheets and a storage device for storing images of paper sheets that could not be sorted by the sorting machine, wherein the sorting machine Reading means for reading the image of, the recognition means for recognizing the sorting information described on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading means within a predetermined time, and the paper sheet based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition means. Sorting means for sorting the sheets, a first operation mode for transferring an image of a paper sheet, for which the sorting information cannot be recognized by the recognizing means, to the storage device,
An interface unit having a second operation mode in which images of paper sheets accumulated in the accumulating device are recognized by a recognition method different from that of the recognition unit, and a sorting system. 2. The recognizing means is an online recognizing process for performing recognizing processing within a processing time in which sheets can be classified, and the second operation mode of the interface means is processed more than the recognizing means. The classification system according to claim 1, wherein the classification system is offline recognition processing that performs recognition processing with an algorithm in which time constraints are relaxed. 3. A sorting system having a sorting machine for sorting paper sheets and a storage device for storing images of paper sheets that could not be sorted by the sorting machine, wherein the sorting machine Reading means for reading the image of, the recognition means for recognizing the sorting information described on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading means within a predetermined time, and the paper sheet based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition means. A classifying unit for classifying the class, a first operation mode for transferring an image of a paper sheet for which the classifying information cannot be recognized by the recognizing unit to the accumulating unit,
Interface means having a second operation mode for recognizing the image of the paper sheet accumulated in the accumulating means by a recognition method different from that of the recognizing means, and transferring the image of the paper sheet to the accumulating device. The interface means is set to the first operation mode,
A sorting system comprising: setting means for setting the interface means to the second operation mode when the image of the paper sheet is not transferred to the storage device. 4. A sorting system having a sorting machine for sorting paper sheets, and a storage device for storing images of paper sheets that could not be sorted by the sorting machine, wherein the sorting machine Reading means for reading the image of the sheet, recognition means for recognizing the sorting information described on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading means within a predetermined time, and the paper sheet based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition means. A classifying unit for classifying the class, a first operation mode for transferring an image of a paper sheet for which the classifying information cannot be recognized by the recognizing unit to the accumulating unit,
Interface means having a second operation mode in which images of paper sheets stored in the storage device are recognized by a recognition method different from that of the recognition means, and operation means for designating a processing mode of the sorting machine. Determination means for determining whether or not the processing mode designated by the operating means transfers the image of the sheet to the storage device, and the determination means for transferring the image of the sheet to the storage device. If it is determined that the processing mode is to perform the processing, the interface unit is set to the first operation mode, and if it is determined that the processing mode does not transfer the image of the paper sheet to the storage device, the interface is determined. Setting means for setting the means to the second operation mode. 5. A reading unit for reading an image on a paper sheet,
A recognition unit that recognizes the sorting information described on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading unit within a predetermined time, and a sorting unit that sorts the paper sheet based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition unit. A sorting machine that has, and a storage device that stores images of paper sheets that could not be sorted by this sorting machine,
A sorting method used in a sorting system having a first setting step of setting an interface connecting the sorting machine and the storage device to a first operation mode for transferring an image of a paper sheet to the storage device. And when the interface is set to the first operation mode by the first setting step, the image of the paper sheet which cannot be recognized by the recognition unit by the recognition means by the interface is transferred to the storage device. A transfer step of transferring, and a second setting for setting the interface to a second operation mode for performing recognition processing on images of paper sheets accumulated in the accumulation device by a recognition method different from the recognition means. And, if the interface is set to the second operation mode by this second setting step, A recognition step of performing a recognition process on an image of a paper sheet accumulated in the accumulation device by a recognition method different from that of the recognition means. 6. A reading unit for reading an image on a paper sheet,
A recognition unit that recognizes the sorting information described on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading unit within a predetermined time, and a sorting unit that sorts the paper sheet based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition unit. A sorting machine that has, and a storage device that stores images of paper sheets that could not be sorted by this sorting machine,
In the sorting method used in the sorting system having, when storing an image of a paper sheet for which sorting information cannot be recognized by the recognizing unit in the storage device, an interface connecting the sorting machine and the storage device is provided. A first setting step of setting a first operation mode in which an image of a sheet is transferred to a storage device, and the interface is set in the first operation mode by the first setting step, A transfer step of transferring an image of a paper sheet, which cannot be recognized by the recognition means by the interface, to the storage device; and a recognition process of an image stored in the storage device by a recognition method different from that of the recognition means. In this case, the interface performs a recognition process on an image stored in the storage device by a recognition method different from the recognition means. A second setting step of setting the working mode, and when the interface is set to the second operation mode by the second setting step, the sheets stored in the storage device by the interface are And a recognition step of performing a recognition process on the image by a recognition method different from the recognition means. 7. A reading unit for reading an image on a paper sheet,
A recognition unit that recognizes the sorting information described on the paper sheet from the image read by the reading unit within a predetermined time, and a sorting unit that sorts the paper sheet based on the sorting information recognized by the recognition unit. A sorting machine that has, and a storage device that stores images of paper sheets that could not be sorted by this sorting machine,
In a sorting method used in a sorting system having a method, an operation step of designating a processing mode of the sorting machine, and an image transfer of paper sheets to the storage device based on the processing mode designated by the operating step are performed. If it is determined in the determination step of determining whether or not it is a processing mode in which the image of the sheet is transferred from the sorting machine to the storage device by the determination step, the sorting machine and the storage device are connected. An interface for transferring images of paper sheets to the storage device
A first setting step of setting the operation mode to the operation mode, and a sheet that cannot be recognized by the recognition means by the interface when the interface is set to the first operation mode by the first setting step. A transfer step of transferring an image of a class to the storage device; and, if it is determined in the determination step that the processing mode does not transfer the image of the paper sheet from the sorting machine to the storage device, the interface is stored. A second setting step of setting a second operation mode in which recognition processing is performed on an image accumulated in the device by a recognition method different from the recognition means, and the interface causes the second setting step to be performed by the second setting step. When the operation mode of No. 2 is set, the image of paper sheets accumulated in the accumulating device by the interface is defined as the recognizing means. Partitioning method characterized by having a recognition step of performing recognition processing by the recognition method comprising.