JP3028849B2 - Mail address automatic reading sorting machine and mail address automatic reading method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an automatic mail address reading and sorting machine which reads information written on paper sheets, recognizes an address, and sorts the mail. The present invention relates to a mail address automatic reading method.

(Prior Art) A mail address automatic reading / sorting machine is used to read and sort characters such as alphanumeric characters and kanji written on mail.

The mail address automatic reading / sorting machine includes a take-out section for taking out mail pieces one by one, a cut-out section for cutting out mail information, a transport path for carrying mail pieces, a photoelectric conversion section for converting an optical signal into an electric signal, There is a sorting box for sorting mail.

The mails are classified into two types: a mailing group in which mail collected from a post or the like is classified according to a postal code for each delivery station, and a mailing group in which mails are classified for delivery within the local office. The postal code automatic reading sorting machine is used for automation of the sending classification,
It has been introduced since 1968. However, since it is necessary to read characters in the delivery section, an automatic address reading section machine has not been put into practical use until recently. But recently,
With the advancement of technology, the automatic address reading sorter was put into practical use,
The address reading section and the sending section divided for each delivery station can be independently performed by switching a switch.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in the actual postal service, the postal matter collected from the post and the like includes both the postal matter of the own station and the postal matter of other stations. , And then perform the delivery section. That is, the postal matter of the own office is subjected to the automatic reading sorting machine twice. In this case, there is a problem in performing the postal service efficiently. Further, even if the mail is handled to be sent to another station, the mail of the own station may be mixed therein.

Therefore, the present invention provides a mail address automatic reading sorting machine and a mail address automatic reading method capable of continuously reading the address and performing the delivery section even if the mail is at its own station, even if the mail is sorted out. The purpose is to provide.

[Constitution of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) A mail address automatic reading method of the present invention is a method of supplying and sorting a mail item in which a zip code and an address are described as address information, A first step of reading an image of the postal matter and generating an image signal; a second step of recognizing a postal code from the image signal generated in the first step; and a second step of recognizing the postal code. A third step of determining whether the obtained postal code matches a postal code in a predetermined area; and, in the third step, determining that the postal code matches a postal code in a predetermined area. And a fourth step of recognizing the address of the postal matter up to the block according to the postal code if the judgment is made.

Further, a mail address automatic reading / sorting machine according to the present invention supplies and sorts a mail in which a zip code and an address are described as address information, reads an image of the mail, and outputs an image signal. Photoelectric conversion means for generating, a first recognition means for recognizing a postal code from the image signal generated by the photoelectric conversion means, and the postal code recognized by the first recognition means in a predetermined area Determining means for determining whether or not the postal code matches a postal code; and when the determining means determines that the postal code matches a postal code in a predetermined area, the postal matter is determined in accordance with the postal code. Second recognition means for recognizing the address up to the block.

Further, the mail address automatic reading / sorting machine according to the present invention supplies and sorts a mail in which a zip code and an address are described as address information, reads an image of the mail, and outputs an image signal. Photoelectric conversion means for generating, first recognizing means for recognizing a postal code from the image signal generated by the photoelectric conversion means, and postal code recognized by the first recognizing means in a postal service area Determining means for determining whether or not the postal code matches the postal code; and when the determining means determines that the postal code matches the postal code in the area in charge, the address of the postal matter is changed according to the postal code. Second recognition means for recognizing up to the block, and classification means for classifying the postal matter based on a recognition result of the second recognition means;
have.

(Operation) The mail address automatic reading / sorting machine according to the present invention can recognize the address and recognize the address to perform the delivery sorting even in the sending sorting mode, when the mail is recognized.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a mail address automatic reading sorter of one embodiment. The mail address automatic reading / sorting machine 1 includes a take-out section 2 for taking out mail pieces one by one, a cut-out section 4 for cutting out information on mail pieces, a transport path 6 for carrying mail pieces, and converting an optical signal into an electric signal. A photoelectric conversion unit 8 and a sorting box 10 for sorting mail items are provided.

And the sorting box 10 in which the sorted mail is stored,
As an example, as shown in FIG.
12 and a delivery section accumulation area 14.

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart for reading characters and the like of the mail address automatic reading sorting machine 1 of this embodiment. The mail address automatic reading sorting machine 1 has a sending sorting mode in which mail collected from a post or the like is sorted for each delivery office by a postal code, and a delivery sorting mode in which mail is sorted for delivery in the own office. The delivery sorting mode is the same as the conventional sorting method. Therefore, the sending division mode will be described.

First, in STP1, for example, an image described on a postal matter as shown in FIG. 3A is converted into an electric signal by a photoelectric conversion unit and output as an image signal. The whole mail is imaged at a resolution of about 8 lines / mm. The photoelectric conversion unit is a well-known device that outputs a signal for detecting a label or a scanner that detects a cellophane window on a mail. Then, the signal is sent to the destination area detection unit. In STP2, when there is a window, this destination area detection unit analyzes a window signal and can detect a destination area at high speed. Further, the destination area detection unit performs edge enhancement as preprocessing to make an image necessary for analysis. And the third
(B) Binarization into a binary image as shown in the figure. Then, the compressed image is divided into a mesh shape and the frequency of the binary image is multi-valued to generate a compressed image. In addition, the direction and length and width of the postal matter are determined from the detected size using the fee stamp surface and the postal code frame, which are image features, to determine the format. Then, the address area is detected from the format determination. In STP3, after detecting the address area, the image is processed to extract the projection pattern in the address line direction, and the address line is detected from the address line area. Then, a density histogram is obtained for each address line, and 2
Determine the valuation threshold. This information is sent to the character detection cutout unit. In STP4, the character detection cutout unit determines a threshold from the maximum value of the projection pattern, and performs character detection cutout. In addition, character detection cutout from the postal code candidate area is performed by an ordinary method. In STP5, after character detection and extraction, characters are identified by the composite similarity method. From the character identification result, it is determined whether the first candidate is appropriate as a postal code. If it is a postal code, it is determined whether or not it matches the postal code of its own station. If the postal code is not the postal code of the own station, the postal code is output. If the postal code is the postal code of the own station, address recognition is performed. ST
In P6, in the address recognition, first, a town name and a large name are identified. Then, in the next block identification, the block identification is performed using both the composite similarity method and the contour structure matching method.

Of course, in the delivery sorting mode, it is needless to say that the address recognition can be conventionally performed by the mail reading name sorting machine of the present invention.

When sorting mails using the automatic mailing address sorting machine according to the present invention, efficient work can be performed by inserting a sorting shelf and separating the sorting area from the delivery sorting area.

In the above-mentioned method, even if the postal code of the own station is recognized as the first place in the character identification processing even in the sending section mode, the address can be recognized and the delivery section of the own station can be performed. Therefore, when sorting mail, it is not necessary to use an automatic mail address reading / sorting machine twice, so that postal services can be performed efficiently.

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, the mail address automatic reading sorting machine of the present invention can automatically perform the delivery sorting in the delivery sorting mode and of course in the sending sorting mode, so that the machine can be used efficiently. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a sorting flowchart of a mail address automatic reading sorting machine according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an automatic mail address reading sorting machine of an embodiment. Is a plan view showing an image of a postal matter, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view showing the state of the sorting box of the sorting machine for automatically reading names to mails according to the embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic mail address reading / sorting machine, 2 ... Extraction part, 4 ... Cutout part, 6 ... Transport path, 8 ... Photoelectric conversion part,
10 …… Segment box.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mail address automatic reading method for supplying and sorting mail having a zip code and an address as address information, comprising: a first step of reading an image of the mail and generating an image signal;
And a second step of recognizing a postal code from the image signal generated in the first step; and the postal code recognized in the second step matches a postal code in a predetermined area. A third step of determining whether or not the postal code matches a postal code in a predetermined area in the third step. And a fourth step of recognizing the address to the block. 2. An automatic postal mail address reading and sorting machine for supplying and sorting a postal matter in which a postal code and an address are described as address information. A photoelectric conversion means for reading an image of the postal matter and generating an image signal. First recognition means for recognizing a postal code from the image signal generated by the photoelectric conversion means; and the postal code recognized by the first recognition means matches a postal code in a predetermined area. Determining means for determining whether or not the postal code matches a postal code in a predetermined area, and recognizing the address of the postal matter up to the block according to the postal code. And a second recognizing means, which comprises: a mail address automatic reading / sorting machine; 3. A photoelectric conversion means for reading an image of a postal matter and generating an image signal in an automatic mailing address reading and sorting machine which supplies and sorts a postal matter having a postal code and an address as address information. And first recognition means for recognizing a postal code from the image signal generated by the photoelectric conversion means; and whether the postal code recognized by the first recognition means matches a postal code in a service area. Determining means for determining whether or not the postal code coincides with a postal code in the area in charge; and recognizing the address of the postal matter to the block according to the postal code. 2. A mail address automatic reading / sorting machine, comprising: a second recognition means; and a classification means for classifying the mail based on a recognition result of the second recognition means.