JP2008310531A - Business form identification method, business form identification program and optical character reading system using the business form identification method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical character reading system identifying business forms at high speed. <P>SOLUTION: This optical character reading system stores size information of the plurality of business forms, arrangement pattern information of a ruled line, and character information of a title in a memory 25, reads image information of the plurality of business forms, and identifies the kinds of the business forms. The optical character reading system arbitrarily selects and performs: size identification processing for comparing a size 27 of a read image and the size information of the memory 25 to identify the kind of the business form; pattern identification processing for comparing a ruled line arrangement pattern of the read image and the arrangement pattern information of the memory 25 to identify the kind of the business form; and character string identification processing for comparing a character string included in the read image information and character string information of the memory 25 to identify the kind of the business form. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a form identification method and a form identification program capable of easily identifying a plurality of types of forms, and easily identifies a form to be read using the form identification method and program. The present invention relates to an optical character reading system for reading characters.

  In general, an optical character reading system optically reads characters on paper (hereinafter referred to as a form). For example, in a financial institution such as a bank, for example, a withdrawal slip, a deposit slip, a transfer slip, a public slip It is used for the business of reading the characters of various forms with different paper sizes and character entry positions and entering them into computers.

  The optical character reading system used in this financial institution is supplied with a wide variety of forms as described above, and reads characters from a character string description area provided at a predetermined position on the form. Before reading the character, it is necessary to identify the type of the form and read the character from the character string description area corresponding to the identified form type.

The following patent document is cited as a document that describes a technique for automatically identifying the form type. In this patent document, an ID (identification information) indicating the form type is described in advance at a fixed position of the form. A technique for identifying a form type by reading this ID is described.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-152856

  However, the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document requires that IDs are assigned in advance to a large number of various forms, and the IDs must be printed at fixed positions of all the forms. There was a problem of being complicated.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a form identification method and a form identification program capable of identifying a form type at high speed without providing identification information for identifying the form type in advance in the form, and to efficiently use the form identification method and program. It is to provide an optical character reading system capable of reading characters.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention stores optical size information, ruled line arrangement pattern information, and title character information of a plurality of types of forms, reads a form image, and identifies the form type by a computer. In the character reading system, the computer stores the size identification process for identifying the type of the form by comparing the size of the read image with the stored size information, and the ruled line arrangement pattern of the read image. Pattern identification processing for identifying the type of form in comparison with the ruled line arrangement pattern information, and character string identification processing for identifying the type of form by comparing the character string included in the read image with the stored title character string information The first feature is that these are arbitrarily selected.

  According to the present invention, in the optical character reading system, the computer identifies a ruled line arrangement pattern after limiting the type of form based on the type of form identified by the size identification or by the ruled line pattern identification. A second feature is that after limiting the type of the generated form, the type of form is identified from the limited form type by the character string identification.

  Furthermore, the present invention stores a plurality of types of form size information, ruled line arrangement pattern information, and title character information, reads a form image, and identifies the form type by a computer. A method for identifying the type of a form by comparing the size of the read image with the stored size information and a ruled line arrangement in which the ruled line arrangement pattern of the read image is stored in the computer. A pattern identification function for identifying the form type by comparing with the pattern information, and a character string identification function for identifying the form type by comparing the character string included in the read image with the stored title character string information. The third feature is that it is arbitrarily selected and executed.

  According to the present invention, in the form identifying method, after the computer limits the form type based on the form type whose size is identified by the size identifying function, or the ruled line layout pattern is identified by the pattern identifying function. A fourth feature is that after limiting the type of the generated form, a function for identifying the type of the form from the limited form type by the character string identification function is executed.

  Furthermore, the present invention stores a plurality of types of form size information, ruled line arrangement pattern information and title character information, reads a form image, and identifies the form type by a computer. A size identification function for identifying the type of form by comparing the size of the read image with the stored size information, and the ruled line arrangement of the read image stored in the computer. A pattern identification function for identifying the form type by comparing with the pattern information, and a character string identification function for identifying the form type by comparing the character string included in the read image with the stored title character string information. The fifth feature is that it is arbitrarily selected and executed.

  According to the present invention, in the form identification program, a ruled line arrangement pattern is identified by the computer after the form type is limited based on the type of form whose size is identified by the size identification function or by the pattern identification function. A sixth feature is that, after limiting the type of the generated form, a function for identifying the type of the form from the limited form type by the character string identification function is executed.

  According to the form identification method and the form identification program of the present invention, a plurality of form types can be selected in advance by arbitrarily selecting the size identification process, the pattern identification process, and the character string identification process. A form type can be identified at high speed without providing identification information for identifying the type. An optical character reading system that efficiently reads characters using this method is also proposed.

  According to the form identifying method and form identifying program of the present invention, after limiting the type of form by the size identification or the pattern identification, the type of form is identified from the limited form type using character string identification. Thus, the form type can be recognized at high speed. An optical character reading system that reads characters efficiently and at high speed using this method is also proposed.

  Hereinafter, an optical character reading system to which a form identifying method according to the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a form to be identified according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing an optical character reading system according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is an operation flow diagram of the optical character reading system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the correction screen according to the present embodiment, FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the correction screen according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the correction screen according to the present embodiment.

  First, the characteristics according to the form type that is the object of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an identification object 11 that is an identification object according to the present embodiment, and a form that is the object of the present embodiment is the same size as a size identification object form 12 composed of forms A and B having different sizes. The forms of the forms C and D have different form types, the arrangement positions of the ruled lines are different, and the types of forms of the forms E and F of the same size (for example, the withdrawal slip, the receipt slip, It is roughly divided into the character string identification target forms 14 having the same title character string, such as transfer slips, utility bill transfer slips, etc., with different paper sizes and character entry positions depending on the purpose for which the slip was created. Is done.

  The above-described size identification target form 12 has a characteristic that, when the form type is identified by using the size as a factor, the processing becomes high speed due to simple processing, but forms having different contents with the same size cannot be identified. The ruled line layout pattern identification target form 13 is characterized by the fact that although it is possible to identify the position and size of the ruled line frame in the form as a factor, it is difficult to identify similar forms that differ only in part of the form. Although the column identification target form 14 can identify a predetermined title character string printed in advance as a factor, it has a characteristic that the processing speed is slow because it requires a character reading process.

  The optical character reading system to which the form identifying method and program according to the present embodiment are applied can identify the form type at high speed even for the above-mentioned various types of forms. As shown in FIG. The mixed input form 21 is read by the scanner device 22, the read image information (image data), identification data for identifying the form to be described later, and the like are stored, and the form identification is performed based on the image information of the form. The computer 23 includes a computer 23 that performs character recognition. The computer 23 includes the read image information 26 and size-specific form type information corresponding to the size information of the image information 26 (for example, B5 size is form A, and A4 size is Size identification data 27 storing forms B, C, D, E, and F), and layout pattern separate books corresponding to ruled line layout pattern information described in the form Arrangement pattern identification data 28 storing type information (for example, arrangement pattern 1 is form A, arrangement pattern 2 is form B, etc.), and character type-specific form type information (for example, “general” In accordance with a series of programs including a memory 25 storing character string identification data 29 in which a character string of “transfer request form” is a form C, a “member application form” is a form D, and the form identification program according to the present embodiment. The CPU 24 controls the process of identifying the form type using the various data stored in the memory 25, and other keyboards and displays (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the optical character reading system will be described with reference to FIG. Whether or not to identify the size / arrangement pattern / character string in step 32/36/38, which will be described later, is set according to the characteristics of a plurality of forms to be read by the operator (each of the forms shown in FIG. 1). (Characteristics of the form) is visually confirmed, and is arbitrarily set according to which characteristic number of forms is large / small.

  The optical character reading system according to the present embodiment uses factors of size, ruled line arrangement pattern, and character string for form identification. First, the CPU 24 of the computer 23 performs various forms shown in FIG. Is read by the scanner device 22 to acquire image information for each read form, and whether the size of the image information (vertical / horizontal dimensions / number of dots, etc.) is identified. If it is determined that the size is to be identified in step 32, the size identification data 27 indicates the size of the image (information) according to the vertical and horizontal dimension (inch or mm) value, the number of dots (pixel number) value, or the like. Step 33 for recognizing by comparing with the size information and whether the form can be specified based on the recognized size (for example, identification Step 34 for reading the character data when the form identification is successful when it is determined that it can be specified, and there are a plurality of different types of forms of the same size in step 34, When it is determined that the form type cannot be specified, step 35 is performed to narrow down the identified same-type form type.

  Next, the optical character reading system determines whether or not it is set to identify the ruled line arrangement pattern of the form when it is determined that the size identification is not performed following the step 35 or in the step 32; When it is determined in step 36 that an arrangement pattern is identified, the arrangement pattern identification such as the position and size of the ruled line frame included in the image information is compared with the arrangement pattern information of the arrangement pattern identification data 28. Step 37, and whether or not the form can be specified by the step 37 (for example, specify when the identified arrangement pattern is a seed), and when it is determined that the form can be specified, the character identification is determined as successful. Step 34 to be read and when it is determined in Step 34 that it cannot be specified, the identified same Performing the step 35 to narrow down to the form species of the arrangement pattern.

  Further, when it is determined in the step 36 that the arrangement pattern is not identified in the step 35 or the step 36, the system determines whether or not the character string of the form is set, and in the step 39 When it is determined that the character string is to be identified, the step 39 recognizes the character string information in the image information and identifies the character string information by comparing with the character string information of the character string identification data 29; When it is determined that character string identification is not performed, it is determined whether or not the form is specified. When it is determined that the form is specified, data is read according to the specified form type and when it is determined that the form cannot be specified. Step 34 to shift to the identification failure correction screen described later is sequentially performed. Each of these steps is executed by a plurality of computer processing functions of the form identification program.

  As described above, the present embodiment uses the limited form type narrowed down in the step 35 for narrowing down in the step 34 for specifying the next form, and specifies the form within the narrowed down range when specifying the form. Is determined. In other words, the optical character reading system according to the present embodiment is limited to the type of the form whose size is identified by the size identification, or the type of the form whose ruled line arrangement pattern is identified by the pattern identification. Then, the form type is identified from the limited form type using the character string identification.

  As described above, the optical character reading system adopting the form identifying method and the form identifying program according to the present embodiment selects the form type according to the three kinds of identification conditions of the character string described as the size of the image read from the form and the ruled line arrangement pattern. Since identification is performed while narrowing down, it is possible to identify the form type at high speed without providing identification information for identifying the form type in advance in the form. The arrangement pattern is not limited to the ruled line arrangement, and any arrangement pattern may be used as long as the arrangement of symbols, marks, logos, and the like determined in advance on the form is different.

  Next, processing by the operator using the identification failure correction screen when it is determined that the form type cannot be specified will be described with reference to FIG. These screens are displayed on a display connected to a computer and operated by a keyboard, a mouse, etc. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an identification failure correction screen based on the form size, and FIG. 5 is an arrangement of form ruled lines. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an identification failure correction screen based on a pattern, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an identification failure correction screen based on a character string.

  First, the size identification failure correction screen 41 shown in FIG. 4 displays image information of the form read by the operator, in the case of this example, image information of a small square “transfer request application” on the upper right side of the screen, An example in which “Form 1” is selected from the ID format in the lower left of the screen with a mouse or the like, and an image in the “Form 1” format is displayed on the “Transfer Request Application” image with the upper left corner as a base point. As is apparent from this figure, the operator can easily recognize that the document sizes are different, and the operator can identify (select) the document by size by displaying the ID format documents one after another. Can be easily performed.

  Next, in the arrangement pattern identification failure correction screen 42 shown in FIG. 5, the operator displays the image information of the “transfer request application”, selects “form 3” from the ID format at the lower left of the screen with the mouse, etc. An example in which an image in the format of “form 3” is displayed with the upper left corner as the base point on the image of the “transfer request application form” is shown. Although the form size is the same as is apparent from this figure, The operator can easily recognize that the size and position of the ruled line are different.

  Further, the character string identification failure correction screen 43 shown in FIG. 6 displays (input) image information of the “transfer request application form” displayed by the operator, recognizes characters included in the image information, and stores a plurality of characters in advance. The recognized character string corresponding to the character string (keyword) set for each form is displayed. In this example, the recognized character for the keyword “transfer request application” is “transfer request”. "?" ("?" Indicates an unrecognizable character), and it is found that the form could not be identified due to the inability to recognize the character, and the operator inputs the "transfer request application form" using a keyboard, etc. The form can be identified.

  In this way, the form identification method according to the present embodiment displays the image information of the form that the computer could not identify on the screen, and displays the result of identifying the form by overlaying this image information or displaying the character recognition result. It can be corrected.

  As described above, according to the form identifying method, form identifying program, and optical character reading system of the present invention, the size identifying process, the pattern identifying process, and the character string identifying process for identifying the type of the form are arbitrarily selected and performed. As a result, a plurality of forms can be identified at high speed.

The figure which shows the example of a form used as the identification object by this invention. The figure which shows the optical character reading system by one Embodiment of this invention. The operation | movement flowchart of the optical character reading system by this invention. The figure for demonstrating the size identification failure correction screen by this embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the arrangement pattern identification failure correction screen by this embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the character string identification failure correction screen by this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  11: Identification object, 12: Size identification object form, 13: Arrangement pattern identification object form, 14: Character string identification object form, 21: Input form, 22: Scanner device, 23: Computer, 24: CPU, 25: Memory , 26: image information, 27: size identification data, 28: arrangement pattern identification data, 29: character string identification data, 41: size identification failure correction screen, 42: arrangement pattern identification failure correction screen, 43: character string identification failure correction screen.

Claims (6)

An optical character reading system that stores size information of multiple types of forms, ruled line arrangement pattern information, and title character information, reads an image of the form, and identifies the type of the form by a computer,
The computer is
A size identification process for comparing the size of the read image with the stored size information to identify the type of form,
A pattern identification process for identifying the type of form by comparing the ruled line arrangement pattern of the read image with the stored ruled line arrangement pattern information;
An optical character reading system that arbitrarily selects and performs a character string identification process for comparing a character string included in the read image with the stored title character string information to identify the type of form.   After the computer limits the type of the form based on the type of the form whose size is identified by the size identification, or after limiting the type of the form whose ruled line arrangement pattern is identified by the ruled line pattern identification, the limitation The optical character reading system according to claim 1, wherein the type of form is identified by the character string identification from the type of form that has been made. A form identification method for an optical character reading system that stores size information of multiple types of forms, ruled line arrangement pattern information, and title character information, reads an image of the form, and identifies the type of the form by a computer,
In the computer,
A size identification function for comparing the size of the read image with the stored size information to identify the type of form,
A pattern identification function for comparing the ruled line arrangement pattern of the read image with the stored ruled line arrangement pattern information to identify the type of form;
A form identification method for arbitrarily selecting and executing a character string identification function for comparing a character string included in the read image with the stored title character string information to identify the type of form.   After the computer has limited the type of form based on the type of form whose size has been identified by the size identification function, or after limiting the type of form in which the arrangement pattern of ruled lines has been identified by the pattern identification function, The form identifying method according to claim 3, wherein a function for identifying a form type by the character string identifying function is executed from the limited form type. A form identification program of an optical character reading system that stores size information, ruled line arrangement pattern information, and title character information of a plurality of forms, reads a form image, and identifies the form type by a computer,
In the computer,
A size identification function for comparing the size of the read image with the stored size information to identify the type of form,
A pattern identification function for comparing the ruled line arrangement pattern of the read image with the stored ruled line arrangement pattern information to identify the type of form;
A form identification program for arbitrarily selecting and executing a character string identification function for comparing a character string included in the read image with the stored title character string information to identify a form type.   After limiting the type of form based on the type of form whose size has been identified by the size identifying function to the computer, or after limiting the type of form in which the ruled line arrangement pattern has been identified by the pattern identifying function, 6. The form identification program according to claim 5, wherein a function for identifying a form type is executed from the limited form type by the character string identification function.

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