JP2008005219A - Document image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for reducing a quantity of data per one item, which is necessary for managing the image of a document. <P>SOLUTION: The document image processing system is provided with: a document image acquisition terminal 2 for acquiring difference image data by removing the form image of a document from the image data of the document of a customer read by a scanner 3, and for extracting a region where the customer has entered characters; and an image display terminal 30 for restoring and displaying the image data by compositing the difference image data and the form image. The document image acquisition terminal 2 is provided with: a means for acquiring divided image data and coordinate data from the difference image data; and configured to transmit the divided image data and the coordinate data to the image display terminal 30. The image display terminal 30 is provided with a means for overlapping the received divided image data on the form image based on the coordinate data, and for restoring the image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a form image processing system that extracts, as image data, an area that a customer has entered in a form in a transaction at a financial institution such as a bank, and manages the extracted image data.

A conventional form image processing system obtains a form that has been filled in by a customer and stamped by a customer at an image acquisition terminal as image data, and a ruled line portion that forms a frame for an entry column originally printed on the form from the image data. By removing a form form such as a character portion, image data of an area filled and stamped by a customer is extracted, and the extracted image data is transmitted to an image display terminal. Then, the form entered by the customer is restored by combining the image data with the form form at the image display terminal, and is displayed to a staff member who confirms the contents of the form.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-96297 (paragraphs 0014-0015, FIG. 1)

In recent years, due to the elimination of barriers to financial institutions such as banks, insurance, securities, non-life insurance, consumer finance, etc., which are called financial big bangs, the number of business forms handled by each financial institution has increased, and the number of forms handled in business has increased. In addition, with the colorization of documents in the “e-document law”, the colorization of forms themselves handled by financial institutions is being promoted.
However, in the above-described prior art, the form is removed from the form that has been filled in by the customer, and the image data obtained by extracting the part filled in by the customer or the stamped part is handled. Since the amount of data per extracted image data is increasing, the number of image data to be stored in the form information database for storing the image data is decreased, and further, the transfer load of the image data is increased. There is a problem that it takes time to transfer image data, and further, data communication in other business is delayed due to a bottleneck.

  An object of the present invention is to provide means for solving the above problems.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention eliminates the form image of the form from the image data of the customer's form read by the scanner and obtains the difference image data obtained by extracting the area in which the customer has entered characters. A form image processing system comprising: a terminal; and an image display terminal that combines the difference image data and the form image to restore and display image data, wherein the form image acquisition terminal Means for acquiring divided image data divided every time and coordinate data indicating where the divided image data was located in the image data, and the acquired divided image data and coordinate data are stored in the image display terminal. The image display terminal superimposes the received divided image data on the form image of the form based on the coordinate data, and restores the image data. Characterized in that it has a means.

  Thus, according to the present invention, since the image data of the form entered by the customer is divided image data and coordinate data, an effect that the data amount per form can be reduced is obtained.

  Embodiments of a form image processing system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a form image processing system according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a form image processing system.
A form image acquisition terminal 2 is installed at a financial institution store window connected to the scanner 3 and extracts the difference between the form read by the scanner 3 and the print form of the image data form. It is a terminal that realizes a function of compressing and storing the processed image data.

The form image acquisition terminal 2 includes a display operation unit 5, a control unit 6, a storage unit 7, a communication unit 8, an image acquisition unit 10, a form identification unit 11, a difference extraction unit 12, an image division unit 13, an image compression unit 14, and the like. Consists of.
The display operation unit 5 includes a display unit such as an LCD or a CRT, and an operation unit such as a keyboard or a mouse. The display operation unit 5 inputs according to the contents displayed on the display unit, and instructs the scanner 3 to take in image data. Used to do.

The control unit 6 has a function of controlling each unit of the form image acquisition terminal 2 based on a control program stored in the storage unit 7 to perform processing such as acquisition of form image data. Communicates with the scanner 3 via the communication unit 8 to exchange necessary information.
The image acquisition unit 10 is realized by the control unit 6 and an image acquisition program stored in the storage unit 7, and has a function of acquiring image data of a form captured by the scanner 3 from the scanner 3.

The form identification unit 11 is realized by a control unit 6 and a program for identifying a form stored in the storage unit 7, and forms form identification printed on the form from the image data of the form acquired by the image acquisition unit 10 Based on the transaction type name described in the form as information, it has a function of identifying which form (form type) is used for which transaction.
This transaction type name is described in a predetermined area, and the form identification unit 11 determines various transactions based on the area corresponding to the transaction type name in the image data when specifying which transaction the form is used for. Matching is performed with an image of the predetermined area of the form, and it is determined that matching that exceeds a certain standard is the same form type.

The difference extraction unit 12 is realized by the control unit 6 and a difference extraction program stored in the storage unit 7 and corresponds to a form form originally printed on a form from the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 10. It has the function of extracting the area filled and stamped by the customer as difference image data by removing the part.
The image dividing unit 13 is realized by the control unit 6 and a program for image division stored in the storage unit 7, and the difference image extracted by the difference extracting unit 12 by image processing such as labeling processing and circumscribed rectangle detection processing. By cutting out the data for each character, it has a function of outputting as divided image data and obtaining coordinate data indicating where each divided image data is in the difference image data.

The coordinate data at this time is a coordinate based on the upper left in the area of the difference image data.
Here, when the difference image data is divided, the character area in which the characters in the difference image data are written is opened at a predetermined interval from the adjacent character, and is divided at a portion opened at a predetermined interval. I am doing so.

For this reason, if the character spacing is wide, the characters can be divided into individual characters. However, when the characters are close to each other, the characters are divided into a plurality of characters.
Note that the stamp area where the seal stamp is stamped is divided from the difference image data with the stamp area as one.
The image compression unit 14 is realized by the control unit 6 and a program for image data compression processing stored in the storage unit 7, and has a function of compressing the divided image data output from the image division unit 13.

A form information database 20 is a medium such as a hard disk or an external storage medium, and includes a form identification information storage area 21, a form image storage area 22, and a divided image storage area 23 for storing the above-described form characteristics. Etc.
The form identification information storage area 21 is a storage area for storing the form characteristics for each form type in association with the type ID set for each type. In this embodiment, the transaction type is stored in the form. It is assumed to be described, and form type information in which an image indicating a transaction type and a type ID indicating the form type are combined is stored.

The form image storage area 22 is a storage area for storing a plurality of form forms, and the form form is associated with the above-described type ID.
The divided image storage area 23 is a storage area for storing the divided image data compressed by the image compression unit 14 of the above-described form image acquisition terminal 2, the respective coordinate data, the form ID, and the like.
The form information database 20 is searched for the form identification information storage area 21, the form image storage area 22, and the divided image storage area 23 to acquire necessary information and transmit it to the above-described form image acquisition terminal 2. It shall have a program.

Reference numeral 30 denotes an image display terminal, which is installed at a counter of a financial institution store, and is a terminal that realizes a function of displaying image data of a form that is filled in and stamped by a customer by an operation of a store attendant.
The image display terminal 30 includes a display operation unit 31, a browsing control unit 32, a browsing storage unit 33, a browsing communication unit 34, an image composition unit 37, an image compression unit 38, and the like.

The display operation unit 31 is configured by a display unit such as an LCD or CRT, or an operation unit such as a keyboard or a mouse, and displays an image of a form that a customer has entered and stamped on the display unit.
The browsing control unit 32 has a function of controlling each unit of the image display terminal 30 based on a control program stored in the browsing storage unit 33 and performing image data acquisition processing of a form, and the like. Communicates with the form image acquisition terminal 2 via the browsing communication unit 34 to exchange necessary information.

The browsing storage unit 33 stores a control program for control executed by the browsing control unit 32, and also has a form image storage area 35 and a divided image similar to the above-described form image storage area 22 and the divided image storage area 23. The storage area 36 is secured and the processing result by the browsing control unit 32 is stored.
The image compositing unit 37 is realized by an image compositing program stored in the browsing control unit 32 and the browsing storage unit 33, and combines the form form and the divided image data to restore the image data of the customer form. It has a function.

The image compression unit 38 is realized by an image compression program stored in the browsing control unit 32 and the browsing storage unit 33, and has a function of compressing differential image data in the same manner as the image compression unit 14 described above.
The operation of the above-described configuration will be described in accordance with steps indicated by S using the flowchart showing the procedure for image division of the form image processing system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of image data processing in the first embodiment. (A) is image data, (b) is a form, (c) is difference image data, and (d) is image data. A state in which the character area and the stamp area of the difference image data are extracted, (e) shows the image data of the restored form.
S1, a financial institution staff sets a form in which the customer's name, account number, transaction amount, and the like are written in the scanner 3, and inputs the image data instructing instruction by the display operation unit 5 of the form image acquisition terminal 2 I do. The image acquisition unit 10 receives the input of the capture instruction, and transmits a form reading instruction to the scanner 3 by the communication unit 8.

Here, it is necessary to input the account number of the customer described in the form for the input for the fetch instruction, and the account number input here is stored in the storage unit 7.
The scanner 3 receives the form reading instruction, reads the image data shown in FIG. 3A from the set form, and transmits the image data to the form image acquisition terminal 2.
S <b> 2, the control unit 6 of the form image acquisition terminal 2 stores the image data received from the scanner 3 in the storage unit 7, and transmits a form feature transmission instruction to the form information database 20 through the communication unit 8.

Upon receiving the form feature transmission instruction, the form information database 20 reads all the form type information stored in the form identification information storage area 21 and transmits the form type information to the form image acquisition terminal 2.
S <b> 3, the form identifying unit 11 reads the image data stored in the storage unit 7 and matches the region indicating the transaction type name from the image data indicating the transaction type of the form type information received from the form information database 20. The form type is identified from the corresponding form type information.

S4, the control unit 6 stores the type ID of the corresponding form type information in the storage unit 7 and transmits a form image transmission instruction with the type ID to the form information database 20 by the communication unit 8.
The form information database 20 searches the form image storage area 22 based on the type ID of the received form image transmission instruction, reads the corresponding form shown in FIG. 3B, and reads the form form as a form image acquisition terminal. 2 to send.

S5, the difference extraction unit 12 reads out the image data stored in the storage unit 7, and performs alignment by superimposing a portion corresponding to the form form of the image data and the form form received from the form information database 20. .
Then, by subtracting the luminance component of the form form from the luminance component of the image data subjected to the alignment, differential image data obtained by removing the form form from the image data as shown in FIG. 3C is extracted.

Note that the control unit 6 stores the movement distance of the parallel movement until the form form overlaps the image data at the time of alignment in the storage unit 7 as offset coordinates.
S6, the image dividing unit 13 acquires the divided image data obtained by dividing the above-described difference image data for each character as shown in FIG. 3D and the respective coordinate data. Then, the image compression unit 14 performs compression processing on the divided image data.

Note that the coordinate data corresponding to the divided image data is handled by a combination of coordinates of two diagonal points such as one point at the upper left and one point at the lower right of the frame surrounding the character in FIG. And
S 7, the control unit 6 reads the account number stored in the storage unit 7, generates an identification number with date information added to the account number, and the divided image data acquired by the image dividing unit 13 The communication unit 8 transmits the stored image notification with the coordinate data and the type ID and offset coordinates stored in the storage unit 7 to the form information database 20.

The form information database 20 stores the received stored image notification identification number, divided image data, coordinate data, type ID, and offset coordinates in the divided image storage area 23. FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of the divided image storage area.
As shown in FIG. 4, when storing in the divided image storage area 23, the form information database 20 stores the type ID, offset coordinates, divided image data, and coordinate data in association with the identification number, and in addition to these, divided image data. The number and the number for distinguishing each divided image data are also stored.

Next, using the flowchart showing the operation of restoring the image data shown in FIG. 5, the form information database is operated in accordance with the step indicated by S for the operation of the form image acquisition terminal 2 and the step indicated by SA for the operation of the image display terminal 30. The operation until the divided image data stored in 20 is restored to the image data of the form entered by the customer as the basis and displayed will be described.
SA1, the browsing control unit 32 of the image display terminal 30, when the clerk inputs the account number by the operation for browsing the image with the operation unit of the display operation unit 31, the form with the account number input by the browsing communication unit 34 A list acquisition notification is transmitted to the form image acquisition terminal 2.

S10, the control unit 6 of the form image acquisition terminal 2 executes a communication process for acquiring a form list with the form information database 20 based on the account number of the received form list acquisition notification.
That is, the control unit 6 transmits the received account number to the form information database 20 via the communication unit 8.

The form information database 20 searches the divided image storage area 23 based on the received account number, extracts all the identification numbers including the account number, and transmits them to the form image acquisition terminal 2.
In S <b> 11, the control unit 6 transfers the received identification number to the image display terminal 30 by the communication unit 8.

SA2, the browsing control unit 32 displays an identification number selection screen on which an identification number list in which the received identification numbers are arranged and a word prompting selection of an identification number corresponding to the image to be displayed are arranged on the display operation unit 31.
When SA3, the clerk performs an input to determine the identification number from the identification number selection screen on the operation unit of the display operation unit 31, the browsing control unit 32 recognizes the input identification number and displays the identification number as the browsing communication unit. 34 to the form image acquisition terminal 2.

In addition, the browsing control unit 32 stores the identification number in the browsing storage unit 33.
In S12, the control unit 6 transmits the received identification number to the form information database 20 by the communication unit 8, so that the divided image storage area 23 is searched from the form information database 20 based on the identification number. A data notification to which image data, coordinate data, type ID, and offset coordinates are attached is received.

In step S <b> 13, the control unit 6 transfers the received data notification to the image display terminal 30 through the communication unit 8.
SA4, the browsing control unit 32 receives the divided image data and coordinate data, the type ID, the offset coordinates, and the identification information stored in the browsing storage unit 33 in the received data notification in the divided image storage area 36 of the browsing storage unit 33. Store it, search the form image storage area 35 of the browsing storage unit 33 based on the type ID, and read out the corresponding form form.

SA5, the browsing control unit 31 reads the divided image data, the coordinate data, and the offset coordinates stored in the browsing storage unit 33, and the image combining unit 37 combines the divided image data on the form form according to the coordinate data, and the customer fills in the data. Restore the image data of the completed form.
That is, the viewing control unit 32 determines the position of the form according to the offset coordinates, and then decompresses the divided image data that has been subjected to compression processing as shown in step S6 above, and then uses the divided image data as coordinate data. According to the above, the image data of the form is restored by superimposing it on the form form.

SA6, the browsing control unit 32 displays the image data restored by the display operation unit 31.
As described above, in the present invention, the difference image data is extracted from the image data of the form entered by the customer, and the extracted image data is further divided for each character to obtain divided image data. Since the amount of data per form made can be reduced, a larger number of pieces of data can be stored by storing the divided image data than by storing the difference image data as it is in the form information database.

In addition, the amount of data can be reduced by using divided image data, so when transmitting divided image data from the form image acquisition terminal to the image display terminal, the transmission time is shortened, and other operations due to bottlenecks are delayed. Can be prevented.
In the first embodiment, the form image acquisition terminal and the form information database are separately configured. However, the same effect as described above can be obtained by incorporating the form image acquisition terminal into the form information database. be able to.

Further, the form image acquisition terminal and the image display terminal have been described as being configured separately, but the same effect as described above can be obtained by combining these as one terminal.
In general, there are various types of scanners such as a flatbed type, a sheet feed type, a lot type, and a stand type. However, the scanner of the first embodiment can be applied to any type.

A digital camera or the like may be used instead of the scanner.
In the first embodiment, the transaction type name is used as the form form identification information. However, the type of transaction used for the form is specified by reading the form type ID and the characteristics of the ruled line. It may be.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a form image processing system according to a first embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the image division of a form image processing system Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the image data processing of Example 1. Data structure example of divided image storage area Flow chart showing operation of restoration to image data

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Form image processing system 2 Form image acquisition terminal 3 Scanner 5, 31 Display operation part 6 Control part 7 Storage part 8 Communication part 10 Image acquisition part 11 Form identification part 12 Difference extraction part 13 Image division part 14, 38 Image compression part 20 Form information database 21 Form identification information storage area 22, 35 Form image storage area 23, 36 Divided image storage area 30 Image display terminal 32 View control unit 33 View storage unit 34 View communication unit 37 Image composition unit

Claims (4)

A form image acquisition terminal that acquires the difference image data obtained by removing the form image of the form from the image data of the customer form read by the scanner and extracting the area in which the customer has entered characters, and the difference image data and the form image. A form image processing system comprising an image display terminal that combines and restores and displays image data,
The form image acquisition terminal has means for acquiring divided image data obtained by dividing the difference image data for each character and coordinate data indicating where the divided image data is located in the image data. Transmitting the divided image data and coordinate data to the image display terminal,
The image display terminal includes means for superimposing the received divided image data on a form image of a form based on the coordinate data and restoring the image data. In claim 1,
The image display terminal has storage means for storing form images of a plurality of forms, and is based on the information indicating the type of form sent together with the divided image data and coordinate data from the form image acquisition terminal. A form image processing system, wherein a form image corresponding to the type is read from a storage unit, and the divided image data is superimposed on the form image to restore the form image data. In claim 1 or claim 2,
The form image processing system, wherein the form image acquisition terminal compresses the divided image data and transmits the compressed image data to the image display terminal. In claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3,
The form image processing system, wherein the image display terminal has storage means for storing divided image data and coordinate data received from the form image acquisition terminal.