JP2012198852A - Recording medium processor, control method thereof and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a recognition rate when recognizing magnetic ink characters.SOLUTION: A check reading device 1 comprises: a check conveying mechanism 30; a magnetic head 54; and a controller 71. The check reading device 1 analyzes signal waveform data obtained by magnetically reading magnetic ink characters recorded on a check 4 to be conveyed by means of a magnetic head 54 and detects a first peak P1 that exceeds a value of a start level L1 in the signal waveform data. Further, the check reading device 1 determines a character segment starting position D1 of one magnetic ink character based on a position of the first peak P1 and performs segmentation of character waveform data. Furthermore, in a case where a waveform value exceeds the value of the start level L1 between a first position D3 spaced apart from the position of the first peak P1 by a predetermined interval S7 and an end position D2 in segmented character waveform data, the check reading device 1 detects a second position in which the waveform value first exceeds the value of the start level L1 from the first position D3 toward the end position D2 and changes the waveform value from the second position to the end position D2 to the null.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium processing apparatus, a control method for the recording medium processing apparatus, and a program.

A recording medium processing device (check device reader) that includes a magnetic head for reading magnetic ink characters recorded on a recording medium such as a check, and that reads magnetic ink characters on a recording medium conveyed on a conveyance path and recognizes the magnetic ink characters ) Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In such a recording medium processing apparatus, the first peak is detected from the signal waveform data obtained by reading the magnetic ink character, and the character waveform data is detected within a range corresponding to one magnetic ink character based on the position of the first peak. Cut out. Then, magnetic ink character recognition is performed by comparing the waveform of the extracted character waveform data with the reference waveform of the character type defined by the standard, and the character type of the magnetic ink character is determined.

JP 2004-206362 A

  By the way, among the recording media distributed in the market, there are some media whose character spacing is narrower than the lower limit of the standard due to variations in printing of magnetic ink characters. When the character waveform data is cut out from the signal waveform data obtained by reading such magnetic ink characters having a narrow character interval, the first character waveform data of the next magnetic ink character is added to the character waveform data of one magnetic ink character. There is a case where a peak enters. In such a case, if the waveform of the character waveform data is compared with the reference waveform as it is, the amount of difference between the two becomes large, and there is a problem that the recognition rate is reduced in magnetic ink character recognition.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  Application Example 1 A recording medium processing apparatus according to this application example includes a conveyance unit that conveys a recording medium, a reading unit that magnetically reads magnetic ink characters recorded on the recording medium, the conveyance unit, and the reading unit A control unit that controls the recording unit, the control unit controlling the transport unit to transport the recording medium, and reading the magnetic ink characters of the transported recording medium by the reading unit. The signal waveform data is analyzed, a first peak that is determined to be the first peak exceeding a predetermined value in the signal waveform data is detected, and character extraction of one magnetic ink character is performed based on the position of the first peak A start position is determined, and character waveform data is cut out in a range corresponding to the one magnetic ink character from the signal waveform data. In the extracted character waveform data, When the waveform value exceeds the predetermined value between the first position that is separated from the peak position by a predetermined interval and the terminal position that is the terminal of the character waveform data, the terminal from the first position to the terminal A second position where a waveform value first exceeds the predetermined value toward the position is detected, and the waveform value from the second position to the end position is replaced with zero.

  According to this configuration, in the character waveform data cut out in a range corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the first position and the end position separated by a predetermined interval from the first peak determined to be the first peak. If the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is in between, the waveform value from the second position to the end position where the waveform value first exceeds the predetermined value after the first position is replaced with zero Is done. For this reason, even when the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the waveform of that portion can be removed from the character waveform data and compared with the reference waveform. it can. Thereby, the recognition rate in magnetic ink character recognition can be improved even when the character spacing is narrower than the lower limit of the standard due to variations in printing of magnetic ink characters.

  Application Example 2 In the recording medium processing apparatus according to the application example, the control unit sets a waveform value between the second position and the first position to zero in the character waveform data. When exceeding, it is preferable that the waveform value up to the first position in the portion where the waveform value continuously exceeds zero from the second position is replaced with zero.

  According to this configuration, in the clipped character waveform data, when the first peak of the next magnetic ink character exists on the end position side of the first position, not only from the second position to the end position, The value of the waveform between the second position and the first position is also replaced with zero. As a result, even if the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the reference waveform is removed by removing the head portion including the first peak of the next magnetic ink character. Therefore, the recognition rate in magnetic ink character recognition can be further improved.

  Application Example 3 In the recording medium processing apparatus according to the application example, the control unit extracts character waveform data from the signal waveform data in a range corresponding to a magnetic ink character next to the one magnetic ink character. It is preferable that the detection of the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is started from a position corresponding to the second position in the signal waveform data.

  According to this configuration, when the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data cut out corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the character corresponding to the next magnetic ink character from the signal waveform data When the waveform data is cut out, peak detection is started from a position before the first peak of the next magnetic ink character. As a result, even when the character spacing of the magnetic ink characters is narrower than the lower limit of the standard, the character extraction start position can be determined by detecting without skipping the first peak of the next magnetic ink character. The recognition rate can be improved.

  Application Example 4 A control method of a recording medium processing apparatus according to this application example includes a transport unit that transports the recording medium and a reading unit that magnetically reads magnetic ink characters recorded on the recording medium. A control method for a recording medium processing apparatus, wherein the recording medium is transported by the transport unit, and signal waveform data obtained by reading the magnetic ink characters of the transported recording medium by the reading unit is analyzed, A first peak that is determined to be the first peak exceeding a predetermined value in the signal waveform data is detected, a character cutout start position of one magnetic ink character is determined based on the position of the first peak, and the signal Character waveform data is cut out from the waveform data in a range corresponding to the one magnetic ink character, and in the cut out character waveform data, the position of the first peak is determined. When the waveform value exceeds the predetermined value between the first position that is separated by a predetermined interval and the terminal position that is the end of the character waveform data, the first position is moved toward the terminal position. A second position where the waveform value first exceeds the predetermined value is detected, and the waveform value from the second position to the end position is replaced with zero.

  According to this method, in the character waveform data cut out in a range corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the first position and the end position that are separated from the first peak determined to be the first peak by a predetermined interval. If the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is in between, the waveform value from the second position to the end position where the waveform value first exceeds the predetermined value after the first position is replaced with zero Is done. For this reason, even when the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the waveform of that portion can be removed from the character waveform data and compared with the reference waveform. it can. Thereby, the recognition rate in magnetic ink character recognition can be improved even when the character spacing is narrower than the lower limit of the standard due to variations in printing of magnetic ink characters.

  Application Example 5 A program according to this application example includes each unit of a recording medium processing apparatus including a conveyance unit that conveys a recording medium and a reading unit that magnetically reads magnetic ink characters recorded on the recording medium. Is obtained by reading the magnetic ink characters of the recording medium being conveyed by the reading unit, the control unit being caused to convey the recording medium by the conveying unit. Analyzing the signal waveform data, detecting the first peak determined to be the first peak exceeding a predetermined value in the signal waveform data, and starting character cutout of one magnetic ink character based on the position of the first peak A position is determined, character waveform data is cut out from the signal waveform data in a range corresponding to the one magnetic ink character, and the extracted character waveform data is cut out. The waveform value exceeds the predetermined value between a first position that is separated from the position of the first peak by a predetermined interval and an end position that is the end of the character waveform data. Means for detecting a second position where the waveform value first exceeds the predetermined value from the position 1 to the end position, and replacing the waveform value from the second position to the end position with zero It is made to function as.

  According to this configuration, in the character waveform data cut out in a range corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the first position and the end position separated by a predetermined interval from the first peak determined to be the first peak. If the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is in between, the waveform value from the second position to the end position where the waveform value first exceeds the predetermined value after the first position is replaced with zero Is done. For this reason, even when the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the waveform of that portion can be removed from the character waveform data and compared with the reference waveform. it can. Thereby, the recognition rate in magnetic ink character recognition can be improved even when the character spacing is narrower than the lower limit of the standard due to variations in printing of magnetic ink characters.

1 is an external perspective view of a check reading apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a check reading apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of a check reading apparatus. (A) is a schematic diagram on the surface side of a check, and (B) is a diagram showing an example of a magnetic ink character string. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a character recognition part. It is a figure which shows an example of detection signal waveform data. It is a figure which shows an example of character waveform data. It is a figure explaining a difference amount. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the character waveform data into which the waveform of the head part of the next magnetic ink character entered. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a character recognition part. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the character recognition part at the time of execution of an optical recognition process.

  Hereinafter, a recording medium processing apparatus, a control method for the recording medium processing apparatus, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing referred to, in order to show the configuration in an easy-to-understand manner, the dimensional ratio, angle, and the like of each component may be different.

(First embodiment)
<Recording medium processing apparatus>
A recording medium processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. The recording medium processing apparatus according to this embodiment includes a check reading apparatus 1 and a host computer 70.

First, a schematic configuration of the check reading apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a check reading apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.
The check reading device 1 reads a magnetic ink character (MICR character) recorded on the check 4, reads images on both sides of the check 4, and endorses the check 4 with respect to the check 4 that is a sheet-like recording medium. It is an apparatus that performs processing such as recording of a predetermined image.

The check reading device 1 includes a main body case 2 and a lid case 3 placed on the upper side of the main body case 2, and each component is incorporated therein.
The cover case 3 is formed with a conveyance path 5 of a check 4 consisting of a narrow vertical groove having a U shape when viewed from above, and one end of the conveyance path 5 is a check consisting of a wide vertical groove. The other end of the conveyance path 5 branches right and left and is connected to a first check discharge portion 7 and a second check discharge portion 8 each having a wide vertical groove.

On the surface 4a of the check 4, a money amount, a payer, a number, a signature, and the like are written on the background on which a predetermined pattern is formed, and the lower end portion thereof has a long side direction as shown in FIG. An extended magnetic ink character string 4A is recorded. The magnetic ink character string 4A is formed by arranging a plurality of magnetic ink characters in the horizontal direction.
In addition, an endorsement column is formed on the back surface 4 b of the check 4. A predetermined image related to the endorsement is recorded in the endorsement column by a recording device 56 described later.

  The check 4 is aligned in the vertical direction so that the upper end 4e is positioned upward and the lower end 4f is positioned downward, and the front and back are aligned so that the surface 4a faces the outside of the U-shaped conveyance path 5 ( In the state shown in FIG. 1, it is inserted into the check supply unit 6. The check 4 inserted into the check supply unit 6 is sent out to the transport path 5 with the rear end 4d as the first.

  As the check 4 sent out from the check supply unit 6 is conveyed along the conveyance path 5, the front image that is the image of the front surface 4a and the back image that is the image of the back surface 4b are read, and further, the check 4 is transferred to the front surface 4a. The recorded magnetic ink character string 4A is magnetically read. The check 4 for which the magnetic ink character string 4 </ b> A has been successfully read is discharged to the first check discharge unit 7 after a predetermined image related to the endorsement is recorded.

  On the other hand, the check 4 that has failed to be read is discharged to the second check discharge unit 8 without recording a predetermined image related to the endorsement. The check 4 discharged to the second check discharge unit 8 is subjected to processing such as investigation of the cause of reading failure and re-reading.

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the check reading device 1.
The check supply unit 6 is provided with a check delivery mechanism 10 for sending the check 4 to the transport path 5. The check delivery mechanism 10 includes a delivery roller 11, a delivery roller 12, a retard roller 13 pressed against the delivery roller 12, a delivery motor 14, and a check pressing hopper 15.

  When the feeding motor 14 is driven, the check 4 placed in the check supply unit 6 is pressed against the feeding roller 11 by the hopper 15, and in this state, the feeding roller 11 and the feeding roller 12 rotate synchronously.

  The check 4 is fed between the feed roller 12 and the retard roller 13 by the feed roller 11. The retard roller 13 is given a predetermined rotational load, and only one check 4 that is in direct contact with the delivery roller 12 is separated from the other checks 4 and delivered to the transport path 5.

  The conveyance path 5 has a U shape as described above, and is connected to the linear upstream conveyance path portion 21 connected to the check supply unit 6, the first check discharge unit 7, and the second check discharge unit 8. In addition, a downstream conveyance path portion 23 extending in a slightly bent state and a curved conveyance path portion 22 that connects the downstream conveyance path portion 22 are provided.

  A check conveyance mechanism 30 that conveys the check 4 sent from the check supply unit 6 to the conveyance path 5 along the conveyance path 5 is pressed by the first conveyance roller 31 to the sixth conveyance roller 36 and the rotation. The first pressing roller 41 to the sixth pressing roller 46 and a transport motor 37 for rotationally driving the first transport roller 31 to the sixth transport roller 36 are provided. The 1st conveyance roller 31-the 6th conveyance roller 36 rotate in synchronization. For example, a stepping motor is used as the transport motor 37. For this reason, the conveyance amount of the check 4 can be known from the number of steps for driving the stepping motor.

  The first conveyance roller 31 to the third conveyance roller 33 are respectively disposed at the upstream end of the upstream conveyance path portion 21, the middle position thereof, and the boundary position with the curved conveyance path portion 22. The fourth transport roller 34 is disposed at a downstream position in the curved transport path portion 22. The fifth transport roller 35 and the sixth transport roller 36 are respectively disposed at the middle position and the downstream end in the downstream transport path portion 23.

  Between the first transport roller 31 and the second transport roller 32 in the upstream transport path portion 21, the magnet 51 for magnetizing the magnetic ink characters, the front contact image sensor 52, and the back contact image from the upstream side. A sensor 53 is arranged. The front-side contact image sensor 52 faces the front surface 4a of the check 4 transported on the transport path 5, and reads a front surface image that is an image of the front surface 4a. The back side contact image sensor 53 faces the back side 4b of the check 4 conveyed on the conveyance path 5, and reads a back side image that is an image of the back side 4b.

Further, a magnetic head 54 as a reading unit for reading magnetic ink characters is disposed between the second transport roller 32 and the third transport roller 33, and the check 4 is pressed against the magnetic head 54. The pressing roller 55 faces each other.
Between the fifth transport roller 35 and the sixth transport roller 36 in the downstream transport path portion 23, a recording device 56 for recording a predetermined image related to the endorsement is disposed. The recording device 56 includes a print head, a stamp, and the like that can record a predetermined image in an appropriate direction at an appropriate position on the back surface 4b of the check 4 conveyed on the conveyance path 5.

  Various sensors for check conveyance control are arranged in the conveyance path 5. A paper length detector 61 for detecting the length of the check 4 to be sent out is disposed at a position on the front side of the magnet 51. Between the back side contact image sensor 53 and the second transport roller 32, a double feed detector 62 for detecting that the check 4 is transported in an overlapping state is disposed. A jam detector 63 is disposed at a position on the front side of the fourth transport roller 34. When the check 4 is continuously detected by the jam detector 63 over a predetermined time, the transport path 5 is detected. It can be seen that the check 4 is jammed.

  A print detector 64 for detecting the presence or absence of the check 4 endorsed by the recording device 56 is disposed at a position on the front side of the fifth transport roller 35. Furthermore, it is discharged into these positions on the downstream side of the sixth transport roller 36, that is, the position of the branch path 9 that branches from the transport path 5 to the first check discharge section 7 and the second check discharge section 8. A discharge detector 65 for detecting the check 4 is arranged.

  A switching plate 66 that is switched by a drive motor 67 (see FIG. 3) is disposed in the branch path 9. The switching plate 66 is a member for selectively switching the downstream end of the transport path 5 with respect to the first check discharge unit 7 and the second check discharge unit 8 and guiding the check 4 to the selected discharge unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the check reading apparatus 1.
The control unit 71 centrally controls each part of the check reading device 1 under the control of the host-side control unit 73 of the host computer 70 described later, and controls the CPU, ROM, RAM, and other peripheral circuits. I have.

  The control unit 71 drives the delivery motor 14 and the conveyance motor 37 under the control of the host-side control unit 73 to feed the checks 4 (see FIG. 1) one by one to the conveyance path 5, and the sent checks 4 is transported along the transport path 5. The conveyance control of the check 4 by the control unit 71 is based on detection signals from the paper length detector 61, the double feed detector 62, the jam detector 63, the print detector 64 and the discharge detector 65 arranged in the conveyance path 5. Based on.

As the check 4 is transported, the front-side contact image sensor 52 and the back-side contact image sensor 53 respectively read the image on the front surface and the back surface of the check 4 transported on the transport path 5, and read the read images. The image data shown is output to the control unit 71. The control unit 71 outputs these image data to the host side control unit 73.
Further, the magnetic head 54 detects an electromotive force generated by a change in the magnetic field formed by the passing magnetic ink character string 4A (see FIG. 1) under the control of the control unit 71, and the signal processing circuit 74 as a detection signal. Output to.

The signal processing circuit 74 includes an amplifier, a noise removal filter circuit, an A / D converter, and the like, amplifies the detection signal input from the magnetic head 54, shapes the waveform, and outputs the amplified signal to the control unit 71 as data. To do. The control unit 71 transmits data indicating the detection signal input from the signal processing circuit 74 to the host side control unit 73.
The operation unit 75 includes various switches such as a power switch and operation switches formed on the main body case 2 (see FIG. 1), detects user operations on these switches, and outputs them to the control unit 71.

A host computer 70 is connected to the check reading device 1 via a communication cable 72.
The host computer 70 includes a host-side control unit 73 that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and other peripheral circuits. The host-side control unit 73 includes a character recognition unit 80 described later.

The host-side control unit 73 includes a display 76 that can display various types of information, an operation unit 77 to which input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse are connected, and a storage unit that stores various types of rewritable data such as an EEPROM and a hard disk. 78 is connected.
The storage unit 78 stores the front image of the check 4 input from the check reading device 1, data indicating the back image, and data indicating the detection signal.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 71 of the check reading device 1 controls each part of the check reading device 1 under the control of the host side control unit 73 of the host computer 70. Specifically, the host-side control unit 73 executes a program stored in the ROM by the CPU to generate control data for controlling the control unit 71, and uses the generated control data for the check reading device 1. By outputting to the control unit 71, each part of the check reading device 1 is controlled. That is, in this embodiment, the host computer 70 and the check reading device 1 cooperate to function as a recording medium processing device that executes various processes on the check 4 as a recording medium.

<Character recognition part>
Next, the character recognition unit 80 included in the host-side control unit 73 will be described.
The character recognition unit 80 performs character recognition for each of the magnetic ink characters constituting the magnetic ink character string 4A. The magnetic ink character is a character magnetically printed on the check 4 in accordance with a predetermined font (for example, E-13B font), and one magnetic ink character has a plurality of predetermined character types. Corresponds to any one character type. The recognition of the magnetic ink character is to determine the character type of each magnetic ink character for each of the read magnetic ink characters or to detect that the character type of the magnetic ink character cannot be determined.

  In the E-13B font, the shapes of magnetic ink characters are “0” to “9”, transit symbol (TRANSIT SYMBOL), amount symbol (AMOUNT SYMBOL), on-as symbol (ON-US SYMBOL), and Shapes corresponding to 14 character types of dash symbols (DASH SYMBOL) are prepared.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of the surface 4a side of the check 4, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of a magnetic ink character string 4A.
As shown in FIG. 4A, a magnetic ink character string 4A indicating check information is printed on the lower end portion of the check 4 on the surface 4a side. Reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A by the magnetic head 54 is executed by measuring the magnetic flux from the rear end 4d side of the check 4 toward the front end 4g side.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the magnetic ink character string 4A is composed of a plurality of magnetic ink characters formed side by side at substantially equal intervals in the horizontal direction. Each magnetic ink character is printed so that the character interval W1 which is the distance from the right end of one magnetic ink character to the right end of the next magnetic ink character is equal. The character spacing W1 is defined as, for example, 0.125 ± 0.010 inch according to the printing standard. However, in a recording medium such as a check 4 distributed in the market, due to variations in printing of magnetic ink characters, etc., a magnetic interval such as a character interval “W2” of the character type “2” shown in FIG. One magnetic ink character or a plurality of magnetic ink characters in the ink character string 4A has a character interval narrower than the lower limit value of the printing standard. The width of the magnetic ink character line is defined as, for example, 0.0065 ± 0.0015 inch by the printing standard.

  Each magnetic ink character of the magnetic ink character string 4A may be printed on the check 4 by offset printing or printed by laser printing. The magnetic ink characters printed by offset printing and the magnetic ink characters printed by laser printing have different shapes. In this embodiment, as described later, The recognition of magnetic ink characters is executed.

  In the present embodiment, if the character type of the magnetic ink character can be determined for all the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A, it is determined that the magnetic ink character string 4A has been successfully read. If one of the characters cannot determine the character type of the magnetic ink character, it is determined that the reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A has failed.

  As described above, under the control of the host-side control unit 73, the control unit 71 conveys the check 4 to the first check discharge unit 7 for the check 4 for which the magnetic ink character string 4A has been successfully read. For the check 4 for which reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A has failed, the check 4 is conveyed to the second check discharge unit 8 after executing a predetermined process.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character recognition unit 80. The flowchart of FIG. 5 shows the operation of the character recognition unit 80 when executing recognition of a magnetic ink character string 4A recorded on a check 4 for a certain check 4. The magnetic ink character string 4A recorded on the check 4 is read by the magnetic head 54, and the signal processing circuit 74 performs various processing such as amplification processing, filtering processing, and waveform shaping processing. Thus, data indicating the detection signal (hereinafter referred to as “detection signal waveform data”) is generated, and the detection signal waveform data is output to the host-side control unit 73 by the control unit 71.

  Further, the front-side contact image sensor 52 reads an image of the surface of the check 4 and outputs it as image data from the control unit 71 to the host-side control unit 73. The function of the character recognition unit 80 is realized by the cooperation of hardware and software, such as the CPU of the host-side control unit 73 executing a program stored in the ROM.

<Cutting out magnetic ink characters>
As shown in FIG. 5, first, the host-side control unit 73 determines a character for one magnetic ink character from among the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4 </ b> A from the detection signal waveform data input from the control unit 71. Is cut out (step SA1). Character segmentation refers to generating character waveform data indicating the waveform of a magnetic ink character for one magnetic ink character included in the magnetic ink character string 4A based on the detection signal waveform data. is there.

  The process of step SA1 is executed as follows, for example. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the contents of the detection signal waveform data (part), and FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the contents of the character waveform data generated by the processing in step SA1. It is.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the magnetic ink character string 4 </ b> A recorded on the check 4 is read by the magnetic head 54 while the check 4 is being conveyed in the conveyance path 5. The magnetic ink character string 4A of the check 4 being conveyed is read at a predetermined sampling period from the rear end 4d side to the front end 4g side, thereby reading the magnetic ink character string 4A. In the following description, the interval of the minimum unit of the sampling period is referred to as 1 sampling unit, and 7 sampling units are referred to as 1 mesh. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that 1 mesh = 0.013 inch.

  In FIG. 6, the X-axis (horizontal axis) defines the passage of time (elapse of the sampling cycle) (indicating that one sampling unit has sequentially passed from the origin toward the right of the X-axis), and the Y-axis ( The vertical axis) defines the relative value of the amount of change in magnetic charge with time. In FIG. 6, in the magnetic ink character string 4A, how the relative value of the change amount of the magnetic charge changes every predetermined sampling period from the rear end 4d side of the check 4 to the front end 4g side. The value in the Y-axis direction rises and falls according to the amount of change in magnetic charge of each magnetic ink character included in the magnetic ink character string 4A, and the amount of change in magnetic charge is positive or negative. Depending on whether the value is positive or negative in the Y-axis direction.

  As shown in the example of FIG. 7, the range S0 occupied by the waveform corresponding to one magnetic ink character in the X-axis direction of the detection signal waveform data is defined as a predetermined number of sampling units, and conforms to this rule. In addition, various conveyance controls are executed, and the length of one sampling unit is defined. Further, the waveform corresponding to one magnetic ink character is defined such that the first peak P1, which is the first peak, is located at a predetermined interval S1 from the character cutout start position. In the present embodiment, the range S0 occupied by the waveform is, for example, 70 sampling units (10 mesh), and the predetermined interval S1 is, for example, 11 sampling units.

  Based on this, in step SA1, the character recognition unit 80 analyzes the detection signal waveform data, and toward the end position side of the waveform (to the right of the X axis) of each peak of the waveform exceeding the value of the start level L1. The first peak P1 that appears first is detected as the first peak.

  Here, the peak is a portion corresponding to the maximum value and the minimum value in the detection signal waveform data, and these peaks are defined to appear in a predetermined cycle in the X-axis direction. The value on the X axis corresponding to each peak is called the peak position.

  The start level L1 is a value indicating a predetermined height of the detection signal in the Y-axis direction, and is appropriately set to be a threshold value for detecting a peak. The start level L1 is set, for example, by dividing the amplitude of the detection signal waveform data into 256 steps in the Y-axis direction, with 128 steps being zero (0) on the Y-axis, and a value corresponding to the 10th step on the plus side. ing.

Then, the character recognition unit 80 determines a character cutout start position for each magnetic ink character included in the magnetic ink character string 4A based on the detected position of the first peak P1. Then, the waveform indicated by the detection signal waveform data is cut out from the determined character cutting start position in 70 sampling units (10 mesh) corresponding to the range S0 occupied by the waveform of one magnetic ink character.
At that time, as shown in the example of FIG. 7, the character recognition unit 80 cuts out the character so that the position of the first peak P1 in the cut-out waveform is the 11th sampling unit with a predetermined interval S1 on the X-axis. The start position is determined and the waveform of the detection signal waveform data is cut out.

  By cutting out characters in step SA1, for one magnetic ink character included in the magnetic ink character string 4A, character waveform data as shown in FIG. 7 is generated from detection signal waveform data of the magnetic ink character. Hereinafter, one magnetic ink character cut out in step SA1 is referred to as a “processing target character”.

  The character cut-out in step SA1 is performed for each magnetic ink character included in the magnetic ink character string 4A from the magnetic ink character arranged on the rear end 4d side of the check 4 to the magnetic ink character arranged on the front end 4g side. Steps SA21 and the subsequent steps are executed for each magnetic ink character cut out in order. In order to obtain a good recognition rate in the subsequent magnetic ink character recognition processing, it is important to accurately cut out characters in step SA1.

  Next, in step SA21, the character recognition unit 80 includes the head portion of the next magnetic ink character, that is, the portion including the first peak of the next magnetic ink character in the generated character waveform data of the processing target character. Detects whether waveform data has entered. If it is determined that the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data of the character to be processed, the head portion including the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is displayed as the character of the processing target character. Performs removal from character waveform data.

  The processing in step SA21 is performed even when the waveform of the head portion of the next magnetic ink character enters the character waveform data of the cut processing target character because the character interval in the magnetic ink character string 4A is narrower than the lower limit value of the standard. This process is performed to obtain a good recognition rate in the magnetic ink character recognition process. Details of the processing in step SA21 will be described later.

Next, in the character waveform data of the generated character to be processed, the character recognition unit 80 has the same amplitude level in the Y-axis direction of the waveform indicated by each data as the amplitude level in the Y-axis direction of the reference waveform data for pattern matching. The data is normalized so as to satisfy (step SA2).
The reference waveform data for pattern matching is data indicating an ideal waveform of a detection signal when a magnetic ink character corresponding to one of the 14 character types described above is read by the magnetic head 54. This is data corresponding to template data provided in pattern matching processing in so-called magnetic ink character recognition.

<Magnetic ink character recognition processing>
The predetermined processing after step SA3 is processing related to so-called magnetic ink character recognition, which is sequentially executed on the magnetic ink characters (processing target characters) cut out in step SA1, and thereby the magnetic ink character string 4A. Is executed once for each of the magnetic ink characters included in the.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the four recognition phases of the first recognition phase (step SA3) to the fourth recognition phase (step SA11) are included after step SA3. These four recognition phases are phases in which magnetic ink character recognition of the character to be processed is performed by different methods, and the character type of the character to be processed is determined or it is detected that it cannot be determined.

  If the character type of the character to be processed is confirmed in any of the first to third recognition phases, the next magnetic ink character of the character to be processed is processed without executing the next phase. After selecting the target character, magnetic ink character recognition is executed for the new processing target character.

The process after step SA3 will be described in order.
In the first recognition phase (step SA3), the character recognition unit 80 detects a difference amount between each of the character waveform data of the character to be processed and each of the reference waveform data corresponding to the 14 character types.

  The detection of the difference between the character waveform data of the character to be processed and the reference waveform data will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the difference amount detected in step SA3 for the character waveform data shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the waveform indicated by the character waveform data is indicated by a thin line, and the waveform indicated by the reference waveform data is indicated by a thick line.

  The difference amount is the size of the area indicated by hatching in FIG. 8, and more specifically, in the Y-axis direction of the waveform indicated by the character waveform data in each sampling unit defined on the X-axis. This is the sum of absolute values of the difference between the value and the value (waveform value) in the Y-axis direction of the waveform indicated by the reference waveform data. The smaller the difference between the waveform indicated by one character waveform data and the waveform indicated by one reference waveform data, the smaller the waveform indicated by the one character waveform data and the waveform indicated by the one reference waveform data. And the character type of the magnetic ink character corresponding to the one character waveform data is highly likely to be the character type corresponding to the one reference waveform data.

  The detection of the difference amount of the waveform data in the first recognition phase is performed, for example, when the waveform indicated by the character waveform data of the character to be processed is simply compared with the waveform of the reference waveform data corresponding to the type of character to be compared, This is performed when the waveform indicated by the character waveform data of the character and the waveform of the reference waveform data corresponding to the character type to be compared are slid by a predetermined distance within a predetermined range and compared.

Based on the detection result of the difference amount, the character recognition unit 80 sets the character type corresponding to the reference waveform data having the smallest difference amount as the first candidate, and then the character type corresponding to the reference waveform data having the smallest difference amount. Is the second candidate.
Then, the character recognizing unit 80 compares the difference amount between the reference waveform data corresponding to the character types determined as the first candidate and the second candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed with a predetermined threshold value. As a result, the amount of difference between the reference waveform data corresponding to the first candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed is equal to or less than the threshold, and the reference waveform data corresponding to the second candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed are When the difference amount exceeds the threshold value, the character type set as the first candidate is determined as the character type of the processing target character. If the difference from the first candidate exceeds the threshold, the first recognition phase is terminated without determining the character type of the processing target character.

  On the other hand, the reference waveform data corresponding to the character type determined as the second candidate and the difference amount between the reference waveform data corresponding to the character type determined as the first candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed is equal to or smaller than the threshold. If the difference between the character waveform data of the character to be processed and the character waveform data to be processed is equal to or smaller than the threshold, the character recognition unit 80 does not determine the character type of the character to be processed.

  Here, the above threshold value is such that only the amount of difference between the character waveform data of the character to be processed and the reference waveform data corresponding to the correct character type of the character to be processed is equal to or less than the threshold, and The amount of difference from the reference waveform data corresponding to the character type is appropriately set so as to exceed the threshold value. By setting the threshold value in this manner, if the check 4 is conveyed normally and the magnetic head character string 4A is normally read by the magnetic head 54, the number of character types related to the difference amount that is equal to or less than the threshold value is limited to one.

  On the other hand, when there are a plurality of character types related to the difference amount that are less than or equal to the threshold, the situation appears due to a reading error by the magnetic head 54, a conveyance error of the check 4, or some other cause. there is a possibility. Therefore, if the character type of the character to be processed is determined in such a situation, there is a risk of erroneous recognition.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the shape of the magnetic ink character printed by offset printing is different from the shape of the magnetic ink character printed by laser printing. Two types of data, reference waveform data for offset printing and reference waveform data for laser printing, are prepared corresponding to one character type. In the first recognition phase, various processes are executed using the reference waveform data for offset printing out of the two types of reference waveform data. In the third recognition phase (step SA9), various processes are executed using the reference waveform data for laser printing.

After execution of the first recognition phase (step SA3), the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the character type of the processing target character has been confirmed in the first recognition phase (step SA4).
If the character type of the character to be processed can be confirmed (step SA4: YES), the character recognition unit 80 proceeds to step SA5 without performing the second recognition phase.

  In step SA5, it is determined whether or not all magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A are characters to be processed. In other words, for all the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A, the characters for step SA1. Is cut out, and it is determined whether or not processing relating to character recognition has been executed.

When all the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A are not the processing target characters (step SA5: NO), the character recognition unit 80 returns the processing procedure to step SA1 for the next magnetic ink character. The first peak P1 is detected and characters are cut out. At this time, the character recognizing unit 80 detects the first peak P1 of the next magnetic ink character at a position spaced by a predetermined interval from the character cutout start position of the magnetic ink character cut out earlier, for example, a position spaced by 69 sampling units. Start with
On the other hand, when all the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A are characters to be processed (step SA5: YES), the processing procedure proceeds to step SA6.

  If it is determined in step SA4 that the character type of the processing target character cannot be determined in the first recognition phase (step SA4: NO), the character recognition unit 80 executes the second recognition phase (step SA7).

  In the second recognition phase (step SA7), the expansion or contraction of the magnetic ink character is detected based on the character spacing of the processing target character in the detection signal waveform data, and the detected character type is reflected by reflecting the detected expansion or contraction. For example, the waveform of the reference waveform data corresponding to is corrected by expanding and contracting to both sides or one side of the character interval. Then, a difference amount between each of the corrected reference waveform data (corrected waveform data) and the waveform of the character waveform data corresponding to the character to be processed is detected.

  Here, due to the magnetic ink characters being printed out of the center value of the printing standard, the magnetic ink characters are contracted in the horizontal direction (direction corresponding to the X axis) or in the expanded state. May be printed. In this case, the waveform of the character waveform data generated based on the detection signal waveform data may extend or contract in the X-axis direction. In addition, depending on the state of conveyance of the check 4, the waveform of the character waveform data may extend or contract in the X-axis direction. Based on this, by sliding the waveform of the reference waveform data within a predetermined range from a predetermined position, the amount of difference from the waveform of the character waveform data of the character to be processed is detected. Thus, the difference amount can be appropriately calculated.

  In the second recognition phase, the character recognition unit 80 sets the character type corresponding to the corrected waveform data having the smallest detected difference amount as the first candidate, and then the character type corresponding to the corrected waveform data having the smallest difference amount. Is the second candidate. Then, a difference amount between the corrected waveform data corresponding to the character types determined as the first candidate and the second candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed is compared with a predetermined threshold, and the reference waveform data corresponding to the first candidate When the amount of difference between the character waveform data of the character to be processed is equal to or less than the threshold and the amount of difference between the reference waveform data corresponding to the second candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed exceeds the threshold, The determined character type is determined as the character type of the processing target character.

  Further, the reference waveform data corresponding to the character type determined as the second candidate and the difference amount between the reference waveform data corresponding to the character type determined as the first candidate and the character waveform data of the character to be processed is equal to or less than a threshold value. Even if the difference between the character waveform data of the character to be processed and the character to be processed is equal to or less than the threshold, if the difference is greater than or equal to the difference between the first candidate and a predetermined coefficient, the first candidate The selected character type is determined as the character type of the processing target character. In other cases, the character type of the character to be processed is not fixed.

  In the second recognition phase, as described above, the first candidate and the second candidate character type are selected after reflecting the expansion and contraction of the waveform of the character waveform data. Therefore, it can be said that the first candidate and the second candidate selected in the second recognition phase have the highest reliability compared to the first candidate and the second candidate selected in the other recognition phases in the present embodiment.

After execution of the second recognition phase (step SA7), the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the character type of the character to be processed has been confirmed in the second recognition phase (step SA8). (SA8: YES), the process proceeds to step SA5, and if it cannot be determined (step SA8: NO), the third recognition phase is executed (step SA9).
In the third recognition phase (step SA9), the reference waveform data for laser printing is used, and various processes similar to those in the first recognition phase are executed.

  After execution of the third recognition phase, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the character type of the processing target character has been confirmed in the third recognition phase (step SA10), and if it can be confirmed (step SA10: YES). Then, the process procedure proceeds to step SA5, and if it cannot be determined (step SA10: NO), the fourth recognition phase is executed (step SA11).

  In the fourth recognition phase (step SA11), not all sampling units but the peak position of the reference waveform data and the waveform of the reference waveform data in the sampling unit before and after that are compared with the waveform of the character waveform data of the character to be processed. To do. As a result, in the waveform of the character waveform data of the character to be processed, the influence is removed when there is any disturbance, and when partial expansion, shrinkage, or deviation occurs, these are reflected and processed appropriately. Perform character recognition of the target character.

  In the fourth recognition phase, the character type of the processing target character is not finalized, and the character type of the processing target character is determined only when a predetermined condition described later is satisfied. Based on this, the determination of the character type of the character to be processed in the fourth recognition phase is expressed as “provisional determination” and is distinguished from the determination of the character type in the other recognition phases.

After the end of the fourth recognition phase, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the character type of the character to be processed has been provisionally determined in the fourth recognition phase (step SA12).
If the character type of the processing target character cannot be temporarily determined in the fourth recognition phase (step SA12: NO), in other words, the character type of the processing target character is determined in any of the first recognition phase to the fourth recognition phase. If not, the character recognition unit 80 determines that the character type of the character to be processed cannot be determined by magnetic ink character recognition (step SA13), and the process proceeds to step SA5.

  When the character type of the processing target character can be provisionally confirmed in the fourth recognition phase (step SA12: YES), the character recognition unit 80 determines the character type provisionally confirmed in the fourth recognition phase and the first candidate in the second recognition phase. It is determined whether or not the character type determined and the character type determined as the second candidate match (step SA14).

If they do not match (step SA14: NO), the character recognition unit 80 determines that the character type of the character to be processed cannot be determined by magnetic ink character recognition (step SA13), and moves the processing procedure to step SA5.
On the other hand, if they match (step SA14: YES), the character recognition unit 80 determines the character temporarily determined in the fourth recognition phase as the character type of the processing target character (step SA15), and the processing procedure proceeds to step SA5. To do.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the character type temporarily determined as the character type of the processing target character in the fourth recognition phase is the character type that is the first candidate in the second recognition phase and the second candidate. Only when it matches one of the character types, the temporarily determined character type is determined as the character type of the processing target character. This is due to the following reason.
That is, in the second recognition phase, magnetic ink characters are recognized using a difference amount between the waveform of the character waveform data of the character to be processed and the waveform of the reference waveform data in all sampling units. On the other hand, in the fourth recognition phase, magnetic ink characters are recognized using a comparison value obtained by comparing the waveform of the reference waveform data and the waveform of the character waveform data in a specific sampling unit.

Therefore, the strength of the correlation in the degree of approximation between the waveform of the reference waveform data and the waveform of the character waveform data in the fourth recognition phase using this comparison value is higher than that in the second recognition phase using the difference amount between the waveforms. Inferior. If the character type is determined based only on the result of recognition in the fourth recognition phase, there is a possibility of erroneous recognition.
Therefore, the character type temporarily determined in the fourth recognition phase matches either the character type related to the first candidate or the second candidate selected in the second recognition phase with higher reliability than the other recognition phases. Only in this case, the temporarily determined character type is determined as the character type of the character to be processed, thereby suppressing erroneous recognition.

  As described above, in this embodiment, in any of the recognition phases from the first recognition phase to the fourth recognition phase, the waveform of the character waveform data of the character to be processed is compared with the waveform of the reference waveform data. The magnetic ink characters are recognized based on the difference amount and the comparison value. Therefore, if the waveform of the head portion of the next magnetic ink character enters the character waveform data of the character to be processed cut out in step SA1 due to a narrow character interval in the magnetic ink character string 4A, etc. A difference amount or a comparison value between the waveform of the character waveform data and the waveform of the reference waveform data becomes large. Therefore, if the magnetic ink character recognition process is executed in this state, the recognition rate is remarkably lowered.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the waveform of the head portion of the next magnetic ink character enters the character waveform data of the character to be processed, step SA1 is performed so that the magnetic ink character recognition processing can be performed while suppressing the influence. After that, the process of step SA21 is executed. First, the concept of processing in step SA21 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of character waveform data in which the waveform of the head portion of the next magnetic ink character has entered. Specifically, FIG. 9 shows an example of character waveform data corresponding to the character type “0” in the E-13B font. In FIG. 9 and the following description, in order to identify the first peak of the character to be processed and the first peak of the next magnetic ink character, the first peak of the character to be processed is referred to as a first peak P1. The first peak of the magnetic ink character is referred to as a first peak P3.

  In FIG. 9, the character waveform data of the character to be processed is cut out with a width (70 sampling units, that is, 10 meshes) of the range S0 occupied by the waveform from the character cutting start position D1. The character waveform data of the character to be processed is, as shown by a thick solid line in FIG. 9, on the positive side of the Y axis, the first peak P1 located at the 11th sampling unit at a predetermined interval S1 from the character cutout start position D1. And a second peak P2 positioned at a sampling interval of a predetermined interval S2 on the end position D2 side of the character waveform data from the first peak P1. Note that the interval (S0-S1) from the position of the first peak P1 of the character to be processed to the end position D2 of the character waveform data is 59 sampling units.

  In the character type “0” and the on-as symbol of the E-13B font, the interval S2 between the position of the first peak P1 and the position of the second peak P2 is larger than the other character types, and the line of the magnetic ink character Is the center value of the printing standard, for example, 42 sampling units (6 mesh).

  Here, due to variations in the line width of the magnetic ink character, disturbance of the conveyance pitch of the check 4 by the check conveyance mechanism 30 when the magnetic ink character string 4A is read by the magnetic head 54, the first peak P1 Consider a case where the distance between the position and the position of the second peak P2 has increased. In FIG. 9, the position of the second peak P2 when the interval from the position of the first peak P1 is the largest is indicated by a thick broken line.

  Considering the combination when the width of the rightmost line of one magnetic ink character is the upper limit (center value + 0.0015 inch) and the lower limit (center value−0.0015 inch) of the printing standard, The distance between the position of the first peak P1 and the position of the second peak P2 increases by a maximum of 0.0015 inch × 2 = 0.030 inch compared to the case where the line width is the center value of the printing standard. As described above, since 1 mesh is 0.013 inch, 0.0030 inch corresponds to about 0.23 mesh.

  Further, as an influence due to the disturbance of the conveyance pitch of the check 4 by the check conveyance mechanism 30, it is assumed that the interval between the position of the first peak P1 and the position of the second peak P2 is increased by about 0.5 mesh, for example. When this is added to the above, the interval between the position of the first peak P1 and the position of the second peak P2 becomes about 0.73 mesh. If a margin is further added and the distance between the position of the first peak P1 and the position of the second peak P2 is larger by 1 mesh at the maximum than the above 6 mesh, the position of the first peak P1 is When the position of the second peak P2 is farthest, the distance S3 between them is 7 mesh. Therefore, if a peak exists at a position that exceeds 7 meshes (49 sampling units) from the position of the first peak P1, the peak is not the peak of the character to be processed.

  On the other hand, since the character spacing is narrower than the lower limit value of the printing standard as in the example of the character type “2” shown in FIG. 4B, the next magnetic ink is included in the character waveform data of the cut processing target character. Consider the case where the beginning of a character has entered.

  In FIG. 9, the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character when the character spacing is the center value of the printing standard (0.125 ± 0.010 inch) is shown by a thin solid line. The first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character when the character spacing is the lower limit of the printing standard is indicated by a thin broken line, and the next when the character spacing is narrow within the range of twice the tolerance to the lower limit of the printing standard. The first peak P3 of the magnetic ink character is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  When the character interval is the center value of the printing standard, the interval S6 from the position of the first peak P1 of the character to be processed to the position of the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character indicated by a thin solid line is the same as the character interval. It becomes 0.125 inch. This corresponds to 9.615 mesh (about 67.3 sampling units).

  When the character interval is the lower limit value of the printing standard, the interval S5 from the position of the first peak P1 of the character to be processed to the position of the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character indicated by a thin broken line is 0.115 inch. Become. This corresponds to 8.846 mesh (about 61.9 sampling units), which is wider than the interval (59 sampling units) from the position of the first peak P1 of the character to be processed to the end position D2 of the character waveform data. Therefore, it can be said that the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character does not enter the character waveform data of the character to be processed even if the character spacing is reduced to the lower limit value of the printing standard.

  Next, when the character spacing is narrow in the range of twice the tolerance on the lower limit side of the printing standard, the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character indicated by a two-dot chain line from the position of the first peak P1 of the character to be processed The distance S4 to the position is 0.105 inch. This corresponds to 8.076 mesh (about 56.5 sampling units), which is narrower than the interval (59 sampling units) from the position of the first peak P1 of the character to be processed to the end position D2 of the character waveform data. In this case, since the head portion including the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character enters the character waveform data of the character to be processed, if the magnetic ink character recognition processing is executed with the character waveform data as it is, the recognition rate Will be significantly reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the head portion including the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character from the character waveform data of the character to be processed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the second peak P2 that is separated from the position of the first peak P1 by the interval S3, and the position of the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character that is separated from the position of the first peak P1 by the interval S4. In the meantime, a first position D3 corresponding to both threshold values is set. The first position D3 is a position away from the position of the first peak P1 by a predetermined interval S7, and the predetermined interval S7 is, for example, 54 sampling units (about 7.714 mesh). That is, the first position D3 is set to a position separated by 65 sampling units (about 9.286 mesh) from the character cutout start position D1.

  If there is a peak exceeding the value of the start level L1 after the first position D3, the character recognition unit 80 determines that the leading portion including the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character has entered. Then, a process of removing the head portion including the first peak P3 from the character waveform data is performed. Note that the interval S7 between the position of the first peak P1 and the first position D3 is not limited to 54 sampling units, and may be caused by variations in character intervals, line widths, and conveyance pitches of magnetic ink characters. It is set accordingly.

  Next, the processing content in step SA21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character recognition unit 80 in step SA21. In step SA21, the character recognition unit 80 first sets the first position D3 as a detection position for detecting the first peak P3 that is the first peak of the next magnetic ink character (step SB1).

Next, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the waveform value of the character waveform data exceeds the value of the start level L1 at the detection position set in step SB1 (step SB2).
When the value of the waveform of the character waveform data does not exceed the value of the start level L1 (step SB2: NO), the character recognition unit 80 is one sampling unit after the detection position set in step SB1 (to the right of the X axis). The shifted position is set as the next detection position (step SB3).

  Next, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the next detection position shifted after one sampling unit in step SB3 is within the end position D2 (left side of the X axis) of the character waveform data (step SB4). . More specifically, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether the next detection position is 59 sampling units away from the position of the first peak P1, that is, within a position 70 sampling units away from the character extraction start position D1. Determine whether or not.

If the next detection position is beyond the end position D2 of the character waveform data (step SB4: NO), the character recognition unit 80 ends the process of step SA21 and shifts the processing procedure to step SA2. .
On the other hand, when the next detection position is within the end position D2 of the character waveform data (step SB4: YES), the character recognition unit 80 returns the processing procedure to step SB2.

  Next, when the value of the waveform of the character waveform data at the detection position exceeds the value of the start level L1 (step SB2: YES), the character recognition unit 80 starts the first peak of the next magnetic ink character after the detection position. It is determined that the leading part including P3 is inserted. At this time, a detection position where the waveform value first exceeds the value of the start level L1 from the first position D3 toward the end position D2 is set as the second position. The character recognition unit 80 detects the second position and replaces the waveform value from the second position to the end position D2 in the character waveform data with zero (0) (step SB5). As a result, among the head portion including the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character entering the character waveform data of the character to be processed, the waveform value ends from the second position where the value first exceeds the value of the start level L1. A portion up to the position D2 is removed.

  Next, the character recognizing unit 80 sets the position shifted by one sampling unit from the detection position in step SB5 (leftward on the X axis) as the next detection position (step SB6). Then, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the detection position set in step SB6 is after the first position D3, that is, a position that is 54 sampling units away from the position of the first peak P1 (character extraction start position D1). It is determined whether or not it is after 65 sampling units) (step SB7).

When the detection position set in step SB6 is before the first position D3 (step SB7: NO), the character recognition unit 80 ends the process of step SA21 and shifts the processing procedure to step SA2.
On the other hand, when the detection position set in step SB6 is after the first position D3 (step SB7: YES), the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the waveform value at the detection position exceeds zero (0). Determination is made (step SB8).

If the value of the waveform at the detection position is equal to or less than zero (0) (step SB8: NO), the character recognition unit 80 ends the process of step SA21 and shifts the processing procedure to step SA2.
On the other hand, when the waveform value at the detection position exceeds zero (0) (step SB8: YES), the character recognition unit 80 assumes that the data at the detection position is a part of the head portion of the next magnetic ink character. Determination is made and the value of the detected position in the character waveform data is replaced with zero (0) (step SB9). Then, the character recognition unit 80 returns the processing procedure to Step SB6.

  By repeating the processes from step SB6 to step SB9, the first position from the second position in the head portion including the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character that has entered the character waveform data of the character to be processed. A part between D3 and the part is removed.

  In this way, the character spacing of the character to be processed includes the first portion including the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character because the character spacing is narrower to the lower limit of twice the tolerance of the printing standard. In this case, the head portion can be removed from the character waveform data of the character to be processed. As a result, even if the waveform of the beginning of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data of the character to be processed, magnetic ink character recognition processing can be performed while suppressing the influence, so the recognition rate in magnetic ink character recognition can be increased. Can be improved. Note that even if the character waveform data of the character to be processed includes a leading portion that does not include the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character, the leading portion can be similarly removed from the character waveform data of the character to be processed. .

  Next, returning to FIG. 5, when it is determined in step SA5 that all the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A have been processed (step SA5: YES), the character recognition unit 80 The number of magnetic ink characters included in the ink character string 4A is detected (step SA6).

  Next, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the character type has been determined for all the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A (step SA16).

  When the character type is determined for all the magnetic ink characters (step SA16: YES), the host-side control unit 73 assumes that the magnetic ink character string 4A has been successfully read, and that the magnetic ink character string 4A has been successfully read. The process to be performed is performed (step SA17). The processing to be performed when the reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A is successful includes, for example, storing the information indicated by the magnetic ink character string 4A in the storage unit 78, and causing the control unit 71 to control the recording device 56, A predetermined image related to the endorsement is recorded on the back surface of the check 4, and the first check discharge unit 7 discharges the check 4.

  On the other hand, when at least one of the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A has not been determined (step SA16: NO), the character recognition unit 80 has not determined the character type. An optical recognition process (step SA18) for performing optical character recognition on the magnetic ink character is executed.

  Next, the character recognition unit 80 determines whether or not the character type has been determined for all the magnetic ink characters whose character type has not been determined by the optical recognition process (step SA19), and for all the magnetic ink characters. If the character type is determined (step SA19: YES), processing to be performed when the magnetic ink character string 4A is successfully read is performed (step SA17).

On the other hand, if there is at least one magnetic ink character whose character type has not been determined (step SA19: NO), the host-side control unit 73 performs processing to be performed when reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A fails. (Step SA20).
As a process to be performed when reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A fails, the host-side control unit 73 controls the control unit 71 to perform the second check discharge unit without printing an image related to the endorsement. The process of conveying the check 4 to 8 is performed. The check 4 discharged to the second check discharge unit 8 is subjected to processing such as investigation of the cause of reading failure and re-reading.

<Optical recognition processing>
Next, the operation of the optical recognition process of the character recognition unit 80 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character recognition unit 80 when the optical recognition process in step SA18 is executed.
In the optical recognition process, first, the character recognition unit 80 is included in the magnetic ink character string 4A based on data indicating the image of the surface of the check 4 generated based on the reading result of the front-side contact image sensor 52. Optical character recognition of magnetic ink characters is executed (step SK1).

  In step SK1, for example, the character recognition unit 80 specifies the range of data corresponding to the image of the magnetic ink character string 4A in the image data indicating the surface of the check 4, and uses the magnetic ink character for the specified range of data. The image data is cut out every time.

  Next, the character recognition unit 80 tentatively determines each character type of the magnetic ink character by comparing the bitmap pattern corresponding to each of the 14 character types with the image data of the cut out magnetic ink character. . Note that the character type determined in step SK1 is not final character type determination, and is therefore expressed as “provisional determination”.

  Next, the character recognition unit 80 detects the number of magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A based on the result of optical character recognition in step SK1 (step SK2).

  Next, the character recognition unit 80 matches the number of characters detected in step SA6 in FIG. 5, that is, the number of characters detected based on the detection signal waveform data read by the magnetic head 54, and the number of characters detected in step SK2. It is determined whether or not to perform (step SK3).

If the number of characters does not match (step SK3: NO), the character recognition unit 80 determines that reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A has failed (step SK4), and ends the optical recognition process. This is due to the following reason.
That is, the processing after step SK5 is processing for trying to determine the character type for magnetic ink characters whose character type has not been determined using the result of the optical character recognition processing in step SK1, and the number of characters is different. If it is, at least one of the magnetic reading and the optical reading may have failed. Therefore, certainty cannot be ensured for the correspondence between each magnetic ink character cut out based on the detection signal waveform data by magnetic ink character recognition and each magnetic ink character cut out by optical character recognition, and the optical in step SK1. This is because the character type cannot be determined using the result of the character recognition process.

  If the number of characters matches (step SK3: YES), the character recognition unit 80 processes one magnetic ink character from the magnetic ink characters determined in step SA13 in FIG. (Step SK5).

The processes after step SK5 are sequentially performed for each magnetic ink character whose character type cannot be determined by magnetic ink character recognition. Hereinafter, the magnetic ink character specified in step SK5 is referred to as a “processing target character”.
Next, the character recognition unit 80 acquires the character type temporarily determined in step SK1 for the processing target character (step SK6).

Next, the character recognition unit 80 determines the character type temporarily determined in step SK1, the character type determined as the first candidate in the above-described second recognition phase, and the character type determined as the second candidate for the processing target character. It is determined whether or not any of the above matches (step SK7).
If they match (step SK7: YES), the character recognizing unit 80 determines the temporarily determined character as the character type of the processing target character (step SK8), and shifts the processing procedure to step SK9.
On the other hand, if they do not match (step SK7: NO), the character recognition unit 80 determines that the character type of the processing target character cannot be determined even by character recognition using optical character recognition (step SK10), and the processing procedure is stepped. Move to SK9.

  In step SK9, the character recognizing unit 80 determines whether or not all the magnetic ink characters determined that the character type cannot be determined in step SA13 in FIG. 5 have been processed. If not all magnetic ink characters are characters to be processed (step SK9: NO), the character recognition unit 80 returns the processing procedure to step SK5.

  On the other hand, when all the magnetic ink characters have been processed (step SK9: YES), the character recognition unit 80 determines whether there is even one magnetic ink character whose character type cannot be determined, that is, in step SK10. Then, it is determined whether or not there is even one magnetic ink character determined that the character type cannot be determined (step SK11).

If there is no character type that cannot be determined (step SK11: NO), the character recognition unit 80 determines that the magnetic ink character string 4A has been successfully read (step SK12), and ends the optical recognition process. To do.
On the other hand, if there is even one character type that cannot be determined (step SK11: YES), the character recognition unit 80 determines that reading of the magnetic ink character string 4A has failed (step SK4), and optical recognition is performed. The process ends.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the character type of the processing target character is provisionally determined in the optical character recognition process in step SK1, and the character type that has been provisionally confirmed is the character type that is the first candidate in the second recognition phase. And only when it matches with one of the character types made into the 2nd candidate, the said character type decided temporarily is decided as a character type of a character for processing. This is due to the following reason.
That is, in the optical character recognition process in step SK1, the character type of the magnetic ink character is provisionally determined by optical character recognition based on the image data indicating the surface of the check 4. Here, as described above, a sign or dirt written on the surface of the check 4 with a pen or the like may cause erroneous recognition of the magnetic ink character string 4A. Based on this, for the magnetic ink characters for which the character type cannot be determined by magnetic processing, the character type is not simply determined by optical character recognition. In the present embodiment, the character type temporarily determined by optical character recognition is the character type related to the first candidate that has the highest probability of being the correct character type in the second recognition phase, and the probability that it is the correct character type. Only when it matches one of the character types related to the second candidate that is the second highest, the temporarily determined character type is determined as the character type of the processing target character. As a result, erroneous recognition is effectively suppressed.

  As described above, according to the recording medium processing apparatus, the control method for the recording medium processing apparatus, and the program according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  In the character waveform data cut out in a range corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the first magnetic ink character of the next magnetic ink character is located between the first position D3 and the end position D2, which are separated from the character cut-out start position D1 by a predetermined interval S7. When one peak P3 enters, the waveform value from the second position where the waveform value first exceeds the value of the start level L1 to the end position D2 after the first position D3 is replaced with zero.

Further, in the extracted character waveform data, when the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character is present on the end position D2 side from the first position D3, only the waveform from the second position to the end position D2 is present. Instead, the value of the waveform between the second position and the first position D3 is also replaced with zero.
For this reason, even when the first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data corresponding to one magnetic ink character, the waveform of that portion is removed from the character waveform data and compared with the reference waveform. Can do. Thereby, the recognition rate in magnetic ink character recognition can be improved even when the character spacing is as narrow as twice the tolerance on the lower limit side of the printing standard due to variations in printing of magnetic ink characters.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a recording medium processing apparatus, a control method for the recording medium processing apparatus, and a program according to the second embodiment will be described.

  The recording medium processing apparatus, the recording medium processing apparatus control method, and the program according to the second embodiment are the same as the recording medium processing apparatus, the recording medium processing apparatus control method, and the program according to the first embodiment. When it is determined in step SA21 that the peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data of the character to be processed, the peak detection start position of the next magnetic ink character is changed. However, other configurations are almost the same. Therefore, here, the drawings of the first embodiment will be used, and differences from the first embodiment will be described.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the character recognition unit 80 cuts out one magnetic ink character at step SA1, executes the processes after step SA21, and then at step SA5, all the magnetic ink characters are processed. If not, the processing procedure is returned to step SA1 to cut out the next magnetic ink character. At this time, in the first embodiment, the character recognition unit 80 leaves a predetermined interval (for example, 69 sampling units) from the character cutout start position of the magnetic ink character cut out first, regardless of the detection processing content in step SA21. Detection of the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is started from this position.

  However, if the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is included in the character waveform data of the character to be processed previously cut out, in the first embodiment, the processing procedure is returned to step SA1 to return to the next magnetic ink. When the character is cut out, there is a possibility that the detection of the peak may be started by skipping the first peak of the next magnetic ink character. Then, the next magnetic ink character is not cut out correctly.

  In contrast, in the second embodiment, it is determined that the first peak P3, which is the first peak of the next magnetic ink character, is included in the character waveform data of the character to be processed previously cut out in step SA21. If it has been performed (step SB2: YES), the character recognition unit 80 corresponds to the second position detected in step SB2 for the peak detection start position of the next magnetic ink character after the processing after step SA21 is executed. Change to position. That is, when the character recognition unit 80 returns the processing procedure to step SA1 to cut out the next magnetic ink character, the character recognition unit 80 cuts out the next magnetic ink character that has entered the character waveform data of the magnetic ink character cut out earlier in step SA21. The peak detection of the next magnetic ink character is started from a position before the position of the first peak P3.

  For this reason, in the second embodiment, there is a first peak P3 of the next magnetic ink character before a position spaced by a predetermined interval (69 sampling units) from the character cutout start position of the magnetic ink character cut out first. Even in this case, the peak of the next magnetic ink character is detected without skipping the first peak P3. As a result, even when the character spacing of the magnetic ink characters is narrow to the lower limit of the printing standard to twice the tolerance, the character cut-out start position of the magnetic ink characters can be accurately determined. The recognition rate can be improved.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied within the scope of the present invention. A modification will be described below. In addition, about the structure same as embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is used and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Modification)
For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the character type of the magnetic ink character cannot be recognized by the magnetic ink character recognition, the optical character is detected if the number of characters detected by the magnetic ink character recognition matches the number of characters detected by the optical character recognition. Although it is the structure which performs recognition, it is not limited to such a structure.
For each of the magnetic ink characters included in the magnetic ink character string 4A, the character type is determined by magnetic ink character recognition and the character type is determined by optical character recognition, and the character is determined by magnetic ink character recognition and optical character recognition. When the types match, the final character type of the magnetic ink character may be determined. In this way, the certainty of magnetic ink character recognition can be further increased.

  In the above-described embodiment, the host computer 70 includes the character recognition unit 80 and recognizes magnetic ink characters. However, the check reader 1 has the function of the character recognition unit 80. In addition, the check reading device 1 may be configured to execute various processes related to the recognition of the magnetic ink characters alone. In this case, the check reading device 1 functions as a recording medium processing device.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Check reading apparatus (recording medium processing apparatus), 4 ... Check (recording medium), 4A ... Magnetic ink character string, 30 ... Check conveyance mechanism (conveyance part), 54 ... Magnetic head (reading part), 70 ... Host computer (Recording medium processing device) 71... Control unit 73.

Claims (5)

A transport unit for transporting the recording medium;
A reading unit that magnetically reads magnetic ink characters recorded on the recording medium;
A controller that controls the transport unit and the reading unit;
The controller is
Controlling the transport unit to transport the recording medium,
The signal waveform data obtained by reading the magnetic ink characters of the recording medium being conveyed by the reading unit is analyzed, and the first peak determined to be the first peak exceeding a predetermined value in the signal waveform data is detected. A character cutout start position of one magnetic ink character is determined based on the position of the first peak, and character waveform data is cut out in a range corresponding to the one magnetic ink character from the signal waveform data;
In the extracted character waveform data, the waveform value between the first position that is separated from the position of the first peak by a predetermined interval and the end position that is the end of the character waveform data is the predetermined value. When the second position exceeds the predetermined value, the waveform value from the second position to the end position is detected first. A recording medium processing apparatus characterized by replacing zero with zero. The controller is
In the character waveform data, when the value of the waveform exceeds zero between the second position and the first position, the portion of the portion where the waveform value exceeds zero continuously from the second position. The recording medium processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the value of the waveform up to the first position is replaced with zero. The controller is
When character waveform data is cut out from the signal waveform data in a range corresponding to the next magnetic ink character of the one magnetic ink character, the first peak of the next magnetic ink character is detected in the signal waveform data. The recording medium processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium processing apparatus starts from a position corresponding to the second position. A control method for a recording medium processing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium; and a reading unit that magnetically reads magnetic ink characters recorded on the recording medium,
The recording medium is transported by the transport unit, and the signal waveform data obtained by reading the magnetic ink characters of the transported recording medium by the reading unit is analyzed, and the first in the signal waveform data that exceeds a predetermined value A first peak determined to be a peak is detected, a character cut-out start position of one magnetic ink character is determined based on the position of the first peak, and the one magnetic ink character is supported from the signal waveform data Cut out the character waveform data within the range
In the extracted character waveform data, the waveform value between the first position that is separated from the position of the first peak by a predetermined interval and the end position that is the end of the character waveform data is the predetermined value. When the second position exceeds the predetermined value, the waveform value from the second position to the end position is detected first. A method for controlling a recording medium processing apparatus, wherein: is replaced with zero. A program that is executed by a control unit that controls each unit of a recording medium processing apparatus that includes a conveyance unit that conveys a recording medium, and a reading unit that magnetically reads magnetic ink characters recorded on the recording medium. ,
The control unit
The recording medium is transported by the transport unit, and the signal waveform data obtained by reading the magnetic ink characters of the transported recording medium by the reading unit is analyzed, and the first in the signal waveform data that exceeds a predetermined value A first peak determined to be a peak is detected, a character cut-out start position of one magnetic ink character is determined based on the position of the first peak, and the one magnetic ink character is supported from the signal waveform data Cut out the character waveform data within the range
In the extracted character waveform data, the waveform value between the first position that is separated from the position of the first peak by a predetermined interval and the end position that is the end of the character waveform data is the predetermined value. When the second position exceeds the predetermined value, the waveform value from the second position to the end position is detected first. A program characterized by functioning as a means for replacing zero with zero.

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