JP3352581B2 - Device for determining facsimile transmission data and device for processing facsimile transmission data - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile transmission data discriminating apparatus for determining whether image data received via a facsimile apparatus is fixed-form image data according to a predetermined format. Also, the present invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile transmission data processing device that reads characters from image data received via a facsimile device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a character recognition device that extracts and recognizes character image data from image data received via a facsimile machine. Such a character recognition device reads a character from image data such as a transfer request form transmitted from a branch office to an information processing center at a financial institution or the like, and automatically inputs a transfer destination, a transfer amount, and the like. Used in systems and the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of such a transfer processing system. Reference numeral 1 denotes a branch office of a financial institution, reference numeral 2 denotes a facsimile apparatus for transmitting image data of a transfer request form, and reference numeral 3 denotes a facsimile apparatus. A communication line 4 is an information processing center (hereinafter simply referred to as a center) in which information processing devices are centrally arranged, and 25 is a facsimile control unit (FCU) that receives image data.
it). The center 4 includes a large-capacity storage device 6a such as a fixed disk device and an optical disk, and a file server 6 that records character data, image data, and the like.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition Unit: OCR) comprising a character recognition unit (CRU) server that controls the character recognition device 8 and performs character recognition processing of image data.
cognition) control device 7 and the like are provided, and these are connected by a LAN (Local Area Network) 9. The LAN 9 further includes a correction workstation 10 for correcting the character recognition result, a verification workstation 11 for verifying the character recognition result, and a host computer 20 for performing processing such as payment processing and slip processing based on the character recognition result. Have.

[0004] The transfer request form used by financial institutions includes F
There are papers dedicated to character recognition that can be received by the CU 25 and recognize characters by the character recognition device 8 (regular transfer request form) and papers other than those for character recognition (atypical transfer request form). Since the atypical transfer request form cannot be received and character-recognized by the FCU 25, this transfer processing system uses the above-mentioned FCU 25 as a processing system for the atypical transfer request form.
The facsimile apparatus 15 to which a telephone number different from the telephone number allocated to the facsimile apparatus 15 is assigned, and the operator designates a transfer destination, a transfer amount, and the like based on the image data of the transfer request received by the facsimile apparatus 15. An input workstation 16 for inputting is provided. In the branch 1, when the transfer request form to be transmitted is a fixed form, the image data is
When the transfer request form to be transmitted to the CU 25 and transmitted is irregular, the image data is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 15.

[0005] When transmitting a standard transfer request form, the operator of the sales office 1 transmits the image data of the standard transfer request form to F
Send to the CU 25 telephone number. The transmitted image data of the standard transfer request form is received by the FCU 25 of the center 4 via the communication line 3, as indicated by reference numeral S1 in FIG. The FCU 25 supplies the received transfer request form image data to the file server 6, as indicated by reference numeral S2.

[0006] The file server 6 compresses and encodes the supplied image data of the transfer request form and stores it in the storage device 6a.
And supplies the recorded image data to the OCR control device 7. The OCR control device 7, as shown by the symbol S3,
The image data of each character in the image data of the transfer request form from the file server 6 is extracted, and the extracted image data is supplied to the character recognition device 8. The character recognition device 8 recognizes the characters in the supplied image data. Then, the recognition result is supplied to the OCR control device 7. The OCR control device 7 stores the recognition result from the character recognition device 8 and the image data of the character corresponding to the recognition result on a fixed disk or the like, and converts the image data corresponding to the recognition result into a correction work as shown by reference numeral S4. The power supply is supplied to the station 10 and the verification workstation 11.

The correction workstation 10 and the verification workstation 11 display the supplied recognition result and the corresponding image data on a display screen, and when the operator corrects and verifies the transfer, the transfer destination, the transfer amount, and the like. Is supplied to the host computer 20. The host computer 20 performs a transfer process or the like based on the recognition result supplied from the verification workstation 11.

[0008] When transmitting an irregular transfer request, the operator of the sales office 1 transmits the image data of the irregular transfer request to the telephone number of the facsimile machine 15.
The image data of the transmitted atypical transfer request form is denoted by the symbol S
As shown in FIG. 6, the data is received by the facsimile device 15 of the center 4 via the communication line 3. Facsimile machine 15
Outputs an image based on the received image data. The operator determines the transfer destination, the transfer amount, and the like by looking at the image of the output transfer request form, and operates the input workstation 16 to input. The input transfer destination and transfer amount are supplied to the host computer 20, and the host computer 20 performs transfer processing based on the supplied transfer destination and transfer amount.

[0009]

In the transfer processing system described above, when the image data of the transfer request form is transmitted from the business point 1 to the center 4, the standard telephone number and the non-standard telephone number are mistaken. If the image data of the standard transfer request form is transmitted to the non-standard form telephone number, the image data of the standard transfer request form is received by the facsimile machine 15 and printed on paper. In such a case, it is necessary to instruct the business office to retransmit to the correct telephone number again, which is troublesome, and it takes time until the reception of the image data to be retransmitted to the correct telephone number ends. There's a problem. Alternatively, although the image output by the facsimile device 15 can be recognized as a character, the operator operates the input workstation 16 to transfer the transfer destination,
Even when the transfer amount or the like is input, there is a problem that the operation is troublesome and it takes time until correct information is input.

Conversely, if the image data of the non-standardized transfer request form is transmitted to a fixed-form telephone number, the non-standardized image data that cannot be recognized by the characters is transmitted to the FCU 25, the file server 6, and the OCR control device 7. Is supplied to the character recognition device 8 via the When an error is detected in character recognition of the image data in the character recognition device 8,
The atypical image data is transferred to the facsimile device 15, a printing device (not shown), or the like as image data incapable of character recognition. When atypical image data is output by these devices, the operator reads the transfer destination, the transfer amount, and the like from the output image, and operates the input terminal 16 to input. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time and effort until correct information is input, as compared with the case where a correct telephone number is transmitted from the beginning.

[0011] In addition, if the mistake of the telephone number occurs frequently as described above, there is a problem that the operation efficiency of the transfer processing system is remarkably reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has a facsimile transmission data discriminating apparatus and a facsimile transmission data processing method capable of shortening the time until accurate information is input. It is intended to provide a device.

[0013]

According to the present invention, there is provided a facsimile transmission data discriminating apparatus for optically converting a facsimile-transmitted image data in which characters are entered in a predetermined frame of a predetermined fixed form sheet. A file for determining whether the image data is the first image data obtained by reading or the other data.
In discriminating apparatus Kushimiri transmission data, the threshold for storing a receiving means for receiving image data transmitted, the maximum code set threshold based on the length when compressed encoded first image data A storage unit and an encoding system for unifying the encoding system of the image data with the received image data
The code length when compressed encoding, when shorter than the threshold, the image data transmitted is determined to be the first image data, and otherwise is the data other than the first image data Data determination means for determining

When the image size of the first image data is one of a plurality of image sizes set in advance, the threshold value storage means corresponds to the first image data of each image size. Each of the threshold values is stored, the data determination means detects the image size of the image data received by the reception means, and the image data received based on the threshold value corresponding to the image size substantially matching the detected image size. A determination may be made.

When the image data transmitted by facsimile has been compression-encoded by the first compression-encoding method or the second compression-encoding method, the threshold value storage means stores the first image data. Is the maximum code length when compression encoding is performed by the second compression encoding method, and when the determination unit determines that the received image data is compression encoded by the first compression encoding method, The received image data is converted into image data compressed and encoded by the second compression encoding method, and is compared with a threshold to determine the image data.
When the received image data is compression-encoded by the second compression-encoding method, the received image data may be compared with a threshold to determine the image data.

When a plurality of image data are transmitted continuously, the receiving means sequentially receives the plurality of image data transmitted continuously, and the image data determining means determines the received image data. May be sequentially performed.

Further, a facsimile transmission data processing apparatus according to the present invention performs character recognition by receiving data determined as first image data by the above-described facsimile transmission data determining apparatus according to the present invention and performing character recognition. Means.

The image processing apparatus may further include image output means for receiving data determined to be data other than the first image data and outputting an image, and further comprising data determined to be data other than the first image data. May be configured to include a storage unit for receiving and storing the image data, and may be configured to add an identification code for identifying the image data to the image data received by the image output unit and output the image.

Further, an instruction input means for inputting an instruction for character recognition of the image data corresponding to the identification code added to the output image data, and an instruction input in response to the instruction input by the instruction input means. The image data corresponding to the identified identification code may be read out from the storage means and supplied to the character recognition means, and a re-recognition control means for instructing the character recognition may be provided.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A facsimile transmission data determination apparatus and a facsimile transmission data processing apparatus according to the present invention are used when, for example, a financial institution or the like requests a processing such as a transfer from an office to an information processing center. The present invention can be used in a transfer processing system that reads characters from image data such as a transfer request sent by a facsimile apparatus and automatically inputs a transfer destination, a transfer amount, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the transfer processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention . This figure 1
The transfer processing system shown in FIG. 2 performs transfer processing based on characters in image data of a transfer request form transmitted by facsimile from the business office 1 such as a financial institution to the information processing center 4 in the same manner as the transfer processing system shown in FIG. It is. In FIG. 1, the same or corresponding elements as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The transfer processing system shown in FIG. 1 has an FCU 5 instead of the FCU 25 described above. In the transfer processing system shown in FIG. 2, the image data of the standard transfer request form is transmitted to the FCU 25, and the image data of the irregular transfer request form is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 15. In the transfer processing system shown, fixed-form and non-fixed-form transfer request image data are both transmitted to the FCU 5. This transfer processing system has an optical reading device 12 for inputting image data such as a transfer request form in addition to the configuration of the transfer processing system shown in FIG.
An OCR entry client 12 comprising a workstation provided with a printer a, and a print server 13 comprising a workstation provided with a printer device 13a for printing data such as image data and characters.

The transfer request form used in such a transfer processing system includes a sheet for character recognition capable of character recognition (fixed form transfer request form) and a sheet for character recognition other than character recognition. A transfer request form). As shown in FIG. 4, the standard transfer request form is thin enough that the transfer frame is not read by the reading unit of the facsimile apparatus 2 because the input frame 31 indicating the position where the transfer requester writes the character, the character explaining the writing method, and the like are not read. Printed in density. The entry frame 31 or the like does not necessarily have to have a low density, and may be a color that is difficult to read by the reading unit, for example, a color different from the wavelength of the light source or a color with low sensitivity of the light receiving unit.

The entry frame 31 is a date entry frame 31a indicating the position where the date is to be entered, and the financial institution entry frame 3 indicating the location where the transfer destination financial institution name, branch name, account number, and transfer amount are to be entered.
1b, branch name entry box 31c, account number entry box 31d, transfer amount entry box 31e, last name (pseudonym), first name (pseudonym), last name (kanji), address and phone number of the recipient Frame 31f, first name entry frame 31g, first and last name entry frame 3
1h, address and other entry boxes 31i, last name (pseudonym) of the transfer requester,
Last name box 31p, first name box 31q, first name box 31r, first name box 31s, phone number box 31s, address box 31t indicating the position where the first name (pseudonym), last name (kanji), telephone number, and address are to be written
Etc.

Date entry frame 31a, financial institution entry frame 31
b, a branch name box 31c, an account number box 31d, a transfer amount box 31e, a last name box 31f, 31p, a first box 31g, 31q, a telephone number box 31s, etc. It is displayed for each character.

A correction mark (correction display) 32 for correcting the horizontality and the verticality of the image data is provided at three places on the upper left, upper right, and lower right of the standard transfer request form, and a density which can be read by the reading unit. Or printed in color. This figure 4
Shows an example of a standard transfer request form. In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, several standard transfer request forms having different configurations are defined. A sheet ID 33 for identifying the type of the standard transfer request can be read by the reading unit near the correction mark 32 at the upper right of each of the standard transfer requests to identify these standard transfer requests. Printed in density or color. FIG. 4 shows sheet ID 3
Reference numeral 3 denotes a standard transfer sheet 401.

Also, in the standard transfer request form, a store number entry frame for the operator of the store 1 to enter or stamp the store number of the store, the serial number of the facsimile machine 2, the fee, the seal, the date stamp, and the like. 34a, a serial number entry frame 34b, a fee entry frame 34c, a seal stamp frame 34d, a date stamp 34e, and the like are printed.

When using such a standard transfer request form, the account number of the transfer destination, the transfer amount, the recipient and the first and last names of the transfer requester are entered in the above-mentioned entry frame 31, and the store number entry frame 34a is entered. , A store number, a serial number, etc. are entered in the serial number entry frame 34b.

When the standard transfer request form in which characters are entered in the entry frame 31 or the like is read by the reading unit of the facsimile apparatus 2, the entry frame 31 or the like has a light density or a color that is difficult to read by the reading unit. Fill in the box 31
And the like, the reading output becomes weak, and the threshold value for binarizing the reading output is appropriately set, so that the entry frame 3
Only characters written in the entry frame 31 can be read without reading 1 or the like.

FIG. 5 shows image data obtained when characters are written in the standard transfer request form shown in FIG. 4 and read by the facsimile machine 2. In the figure, L
1 is the length of the image, and W1 is the width of the image. Width W1
Is the length of the short side of A4 or B4 size when a normal facsimile machine is used. Also, 35a to 35
i, 35p-35t and 36a-36e are the respective entry boxes 31a-31i, 31p-31t and entry box 3
4a to 34e are image data of characters written in
Reference numeral 37 denotes image data of the above-described correction mark, and reference numeral 38 denotes image data of the above-described sheet ID 33.

Such image data is stored in the correction mark 32
After correcting the horizontality and verticality of the image data according to the image data 37, the above-described entry frames 31a to 31i, 31p
By cutting out (extracting) the image data according to the positions of .about.31t and the entry frames 34a to 34e, image data to be subjected to character recognition can be easily extracted. In this case, the date entry frame 31a and the financial institution entry frame 31 described above are used.
b, image data entered in the branch name entry box 31c, account number entry box 31d, transfer amount entry box 31e, last name entry box 31f, 31p, first name entry box 31g, 31q, telephone number entry box 31s, etc. It is cut out.

Further, another fixed form paper, for example, sheet ID3
A standard transfer request form in which 3 is 421 can transfer money to a plurality of payees at the same time, and can describe account numbers, transfer amounts, and the like of the plurality of payees. . FIG. 6 shows image data obtained by reading such a standard transfer request form by the facsimile apparatus 2. L2 is the length of the image, and the length L2 is longer than the length L1 of the image shown in FIG. W2 is the width of the image data. As described above, there are several types of image lengths depending on the type of paper even for the same standard transfer request form.

On the other hand, the atypical transfer request form is printed in a dark color in which the reading frame of the facsimile apparatus 2 can be read by the reading section of the facsimile apparatus 2 or in a color which is easy to read by the reading section. Therefore, when the transfer destination account number, the transfer amount, and the like are written in such an atypical transfer request form and read by the facsimile apparatus 2, the input frame, the explanatory characters, and the like are read together with the written characters. Would. FIG.
Indicates image data of the atypical transfer request form read in this manner. The portions corresponding to the image data shown in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the figure, L3 and W3 indicate the length and width of this image, respectively.

Since the non-standard-size transfer request form does not have the correction mark 32 for correcting the horizontality and the verticality as in the above-mentioned fixed-type transfer request form, the inclination at the time of insertion of the sheet or the poor running of the sheet. It is not easy to correct the inclination of the image data when the image data is inclined due to the above. Further, in such an atypical transfer request form, the position of the character to be entered in each entry frame is not shown, so the position of the image data of the character is not determined. With such image data, it is not possible to extract the image data of the characters in the entry frame simply by cutting out the image data according to the coordinates, as in the case of a standard transfer request form, and to extract the image data for character recognition. Can not do it. Therefore, the image data of the atypical transfer request form cannot be recognized as characters and must be output as an image, and the operator needs to input the transfer destination, the transfer amount, and the like.

For this reason, in this transfer processing system, the facsimile machine 15 that receives the image data of the atypical transfer request form, and the operator, based on the image data of the transfer request form received by the facsimile apparatus 15, An input workstation 16 for inputting a transfer amount or the like is provided.

Hereinafter, the operation of the transfer processing system configured as described above will be described.

In this transfer processing system, the FCU 5, the file server 6, the OCR controller 7, and the workstations 10, 11, 12, 13, 1
6. The host computers 20 operate independently of each other and perform processing for each step of character recognition. As described above, the load of character recognition can be distributed by executing the processing of each step in a distributed manner by a plurality of devices. First, an operator or a transfer person of the branch 1 writes a transfer destination in a fixed or non-fixed transfer request form,
The transfer amount and the like are entered, and the image data of the transfer request form is transmitted to the telephone number of the FCU 5 of the center 4 by the facsimile device 2. The image data of the transmitted transfer request form is received by the FCU 5 of the center 4 via the communication line 3, as indicated by reference numeral S11 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the image data of the standard transfer request form is only the image data of characters and entry marks. When compression encoding is performed, the size (code length) of image data is reduced. On the other hand, the image data of the atypical transfer request form includes, as shown in FIG. Because of the small number, even if the image data of the standard transfer request form does not become smaller in size even when compression encoding is performed with low redundancy.

For this reason, the FCU 5 compresses and encodes the received image data, and determines whether or not the received image data is image data of a standard transfer request form based on the size of the compressed and encoded image data. . At this time, when a plurality of image data are continuously transmitted from the facsimile device 2, the FCU 5 sequentially performs compression encoding on the received plurality of image data to make a determination. In this transfer processing system,
Since each device operates independently as described above, F
The image data for which the determination by the CU 5 has been completed is sequentially supplied to an apparatus for performing the next processing as described below.

The FCU 5 supplies the received image data to the facsimile machine 15 as shown at S17 if the received image data is that of a non-standardized transfer request, and the received image data is If it is a request document, the received image data is supplied to the file server 6 as shown by reference numeral S12.

The file server 6 records the supplied image data of the standard transfer request form on a storage device 6 a such as a fixed disk, and supplies the recorded image data to the OCR control device 7. The OCR control device 7 extracts the image data of each character in the image data from the file server 6 and divides and supplies the extracted image data to the character recognition devices 8a to 8c, as indicated by reference numeral S13.

Each of the character recognition devices 8a to 8c recognizes a character in the supplied image data, and supplies a recognition result to the OCR control device 7. The OCR control device 7 includes a character recognition device 8
The recognition results from a to 8c and image data of characters corresponding to the recognition results are stored on a fixed disk or the like,
The recognition result and the corresponding image data are supplied to the correction workstation 10 as shown in FIG.

The correction workstation 10 displays the supplied recognition result and the corresponding image data on a display screen, and receives correction information for correcting the recognition result from an operator via a keyboard or the like. The recognition result is corrected according to the supplied correction information. The correction workstation supplies the recognition result corrected in this way to the file server 6.

As indicated by reference numeral S15, the file server 6 uses the corrected recognition result when the recognition result is corrected by the correction workstation 10, and the OCR control device when the recognition result is not corrected. 7 is supplied to the verification workstation 11 together with the corresponding image data.

The verification workstation 11 displays the image data corresponding to the supplied recognition result on the display screen, and when the verification is performed by the operator, the transfer destination, the transfer amount, etc., as indicated by reference numeral S16. Is supplied to the host computer 20. The host computer 20 performs a transfer process and the like based on the recognition result such as the transfer destination and the transfer amount supplied from the verification workstation 11.

On the other hand, if the image data received by the FCU 5 is that of an irregular transfer request form, the received image data is supplied to the facsimile machine 15 as indicated by the above-mentioned symbol S17. The facsimile machine 15 outputs an image of an irregular transfer request form based on the received image data. The operator determines the transfer destination, the transfer amount, and the like by looking at the output image of the transfer request form, and operates the input workstation 16 to input as shown by reference numeral S18. The input workstation 16 supplies the input transfer destination and the transfer amount to the host computer 20 as shown by reference numeral S19, and the host computer 20 transfers the transfer destination based on the supplied transfer destination account number, transfer amount, and the like. Processing is performed.

Here, the operation of the FCU 5 for determining whether or not the received image data is image data of a standard transfer request form will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 9, the FCU 5 includes a processor 100 for executing a control program and the like, a memory 101 for storing the control program and image data and the like,
Communication control unit 102 that controls transmission and reception of data to and from
And an image converter 103 for converting the format of the received image data (from the facsimile 2), and a line controller 1 for controlling a response to a call, reception of image data, and the like.
04, a disk control unit 105 for storing received image data and the like, and four facsimile line control units 106a for receiving image data in response to a call from a facsimile apparatus arriving under the control of the line control unit 104 , 1
06b, 106c, and 106d. These facsimile line controllers 106a to 106d are connected to the communication line 3 by four lines, respectively, so that facsimile transmission and reception can be performed independently. Since up to eight facsimile line controllers can be connected to this FCU 5, this FCU 5 has a maximum of 3
Facsimile transmission and reception for two lines can be performed simultaneously. Facsimile machine 15 described above
Is connected via a communication line 3 to, for example, a facsimile line controller 106d.

The line control unit 104 controls the facsimile machine 2
When the image data is received, the image data is supplied to the image conversion unit 103. Facsimile machine 2
Of the facsimile machine 2, the coding method is not constant depending on the operation mode and the MR (Modi
fied Read) method, MH (Modified Haffman) method, M
It is compression-encoded by any one of three methods of MR (Modified Modified Read). For example, in a G3 facsimile apparatus, image data is encoded by an MR method or an MH method, and in a G4 facsimile apparatus, image data is encoded by an MMR method.

The image conversion unit 103 includes a line control unit 104
If the image data supplied from is compressed and encoded by the MR method or the MH method, the supplied image data is converted into the MMR method image data, and the supplied image data is unified into the MMR method image data. I do. By unifying the encoding method of the received image data as described above, it is possible to reduce an error when comparing the code length of the image data with the threshold value, thereby reducing a determination error.

The processor 100 proceeds to step S in FIG.
At 51, it is monitored whether or not the reception of the image data has been completed. If it is detected at this step S51 that the reception of the image data has been completed, the process proceeds to step S52, at which the fixed / non-fixed type determination table is read. To step S53. FIG. 11 shows the configuration of such a fixed / unfixed determination table. This fixed-form / unfixed-form determination table calculates the length of each image (FAX image data length: the number of pixels in the vertical direction of image data divided by the resolution) and image data for all types of standard transfer request forms. This figure shows the relationship between the maximum code length (standard paper image size MAX) when compression-encoding by the above-mentioned MMR method. As described above, since the width of an image transmitted / received by the facsimile apparatus is either the length of the short side of the A4 or B4 size, this fixed / unfixed determination table indicates that the image width is A4 and B4. TA and TB are set for the case of the short side length, respectively.

The fixed-form / non-fixed-form determination table TA shows the image lengths LA0, LA1, LA2, LA for each of the fixed-size transfer request forms whose image width is the length of the short side of the A4 size.
,..., LAn, and the maximum code length a, b, c, d,. Similarly, the fixed / non-fixed type determination table TB has an image width B4
Image lengths LB0, LB1, LB2, LB3,... For each of the standard transfer request forms that are the lengths of the short sides of the size
.., LBm and the maximum code length a, b,
,..., Z.

In step S53, the processor 10
0 indicates the length and width of the received image data. If the width of the image data is the length of the short side of the A4 size, the standard / non-standard reference table TA is referred to. If the length of the short side is a fixed / unfixed reference table T
B, the FA that matches the length of the detected image data.
The maximum code length corresponding to the X image data length is obtained and set as a threshold value. At this time, if the FAX image data length matching the length of the received image data is not found in the fixed / non-standard reference table, the processor 100 determines that the length of the received image data is shorter than the length of the received image data. The maximum code length corresponding to the FAX image data length closest to the length is set as a threshold value.

As described above, the fixed / unfixed judgment table T
By using A and TB to set a threshold value for the image size of each standard transfer request form, it is possible to improve the reliability of the determination of the received image data.

Then, the processor 100 compares the code length of the image data converted into the compression code of the MMR method with the threshold value as described above. As described above, since the image data of the standard transfer request form is composed of only characters and entry marks, the redundancy is high, and the code length is reduced by compression coding in the MMR method. Since the image data includes an entry frame, explanatory characters, and the like in addition to the characters, the redundancy is low, and the code length is not as small as that of the image data of a standard transfer request form even when compression encoding is performed. Therefore, if the image data compression-encoded by the MMR method is a fixed transfer request form, the code length of the image data is smaller than the threshold, and if the image data is a non-fixed transfer request form, the code length of the image data is smaller. Is greater than the threshold.

The processor 100 determines in this step S53
If the code length of the image data converted into the MMR format is larger than the threshold value, it is determined that the received image data is of an irregular transfer request form, and the process proceeds to step S54, where the line control unit 104 and the facsimile Line controller 1
The image data converted into the MMR format is supplied to the facsimile device 15 via the interface 06d. This step S54 corresponds to the process indicated by reference numeral S17 in FIG. The image data supplied to the facsimile device 15 is output as described above, and is read and input by the operator.

On the other hand, when the code length of the image data converted into the MMR format is smaller than the threshold value, the processor 10
0, it is determined that the received image data is of a standard transfer request form, the process proceeds to step S55, and the communication control unit 10
2, the image data converted into the MMR format is supplied to the file server 6. This step S55 corresponds to the process indicated by reference numeral S12 in FIG. The image data supplied to the file server 6 is stored in the OCR
It is supplied to the control device 7 and is recognized by the character recognition devices 8a to 8c.

In this transfer processing system, it is possible to determine whether or not the image data received by the FCU 5 is image data of a standard transfer request form, and to perform processing suitable for the received image data based on the determination result. it can. Therefore, when transmitting the image data of the transfer request form from the business office, it is sufficient to transmit the image data of the fixed form or the non-fixed form to the same telephone number, and separate telephones for the fixed form and the non-fixed form image data. There is no possibility that a telephone number is mistakenly transmitted by mistake as in the case of transmitting to a number. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an increase in communication cost due to erroneous transmission. In addition, since erroneous transmission can be prevented, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the operation efficiency of the system due to retransmission of image data or the like.

In this transfer processing system, the FCU
In step 5, the received image data is determined to be fixed or irregular, and the processing is distributed based on the result of the determination. Therefore, character recognition of the irregular image data can be prevented. Therefore, the processing is not delayed as in the case where the atypical image data in which the character is erroneously recognized is output again to the facsimile apparatus and the input processing is performed.

In the above configuration, the FCU 5 and the facsimile apparatus 15 are connected via the communication line 3. However, if the FCU 5 and the facsimile apparatus 15 can be connected, the FCU 5 does not need to be a public line. By using a line, installation and operation costs can be reduced.

The transfer processing system according to the second embodiment to which the present invention is applied is the same as the first transfer system shown in FIGS.
It has the same configuration as the transfer processing system of the embodiment.

In the transfer processing system according to the first embodiment, the image data determined by the processor 100 shown in FIG. 9 to be non-standard in step S53 of FIG. 10 is supplied to the facsimile machine 15 in step 54. However, in the transfer processing system according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the image data determined to be non-standard in step S53 is subjected to the FCU in step S61.
5 is stored in the disk device 105a. Then, an identification code (fixed reception number) for identifying the image data is added to the image data and supplied to the facsimile machine 15, and the process proceeds to step S54.
In step S54, based on the supplied image data, the facsimile device 15 places an identification code (standard reception number) for identifying image data corresponding to this image at the lower left of the output image as shown in FIG. An image to which 39 has been added is output. Although FIG. 13 shows the case of fixed image data, an image having a fixed reception number 39 added to the lower left is similarly output for the case of non-fixed image data.

The operator operates the input workstation 16 while looking at the output image of the standard transfer request form and inputs a transfer destination, a transfer amount, and the like. If the request is for a transfer request, the user designates a standard reception number and instructs character recognition of image data corresponding to the specified standard reception number. When the character recognition is instructed, the input workstation 16 supplies the fixed reception number to the processor 100 of the FCU 5 and instructs reading of the corresponding image data.

When the standard receiving number is designated from the input workstation 16 in step S62, the processor 100 stores the image data corresponding to the standard receiving number designated in step S63 in the disk device 105.
a, and the process proceeds to step S55.
The image data read in 5 is supplied to the file server 6 via the communication control unit 102.

As a result, the image data for which reading has been instructed by the fixed reception number is supplied to the file server 6 and character-recognized in the same manner as the image data determined to be fixed in step S53.

When the quality of the communication line 3 is extremely poor,
Many errors may occur during the transmission of image data, and the received image data may include many noise components.
When the image data of the standard transfer request form received in such a state is converted into the MMR method, the code length may be larger than the above-mentioned threshold value and may be erroneously recognized as non-standard image data. Conceivable.

In the second embodiment, as described above, the image data determined to be non-standard is stored in the disk device 105a before being supplied to the facsimile device 15, and the image data is stored in the image data. Since the identification code for identification is added and output, when it is necessary to confirm the output image and recognize the character, the image data corresponding to the identification code can be read and the character can be recognized.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the input workstation 16 is provided, and the transfer destination, the transfer amount, and the like are input from the input workstation 16 based on the image output by the facsimile machine 15. Without a separate input workstation 16
Modify or for verification for workstations to 10, 11
May be used to input a transfer destination, a transfer amount, or the like, or an input terminal including a personal computer or the like may be used.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the transfer processing system for transmitting a fixed or irregular transfer request form from the sales office to the information processing center by facsimile has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, the present invention is also applicable to a case where a transfer request form is transmitted from a customer by facsimile or a case where a character is read from image data of an order slip and the like and a part number, a quantity, etc. are input in an order processing system used in a product distribution center or the like. Can be.

[0070]

According to the apparatus for discriminating facsimile transmission data according to the present invention, the code length when the received image data is compression-encoded is determined by optically determining the character in a predetermined frame on a predetermined frame. Unify the encoding method of the image data for the first image data obtained by the sequential reading
If the image data is shorter than a threshold set based on the maximum code length when the data is compressed and encoded by the encoding method, it is determined that the transmitted image data is the first image data. Since it is determined that the received image data is data other than the image data, it is possible to reliably determine whether the received image data is the first image data based on the characteristics of the first image data.

When the image size of the first image data is one of a plurality of image sizes set in advance, the threshold value storage means corresponds to the first image data of each image size. The threshold value is stored, and the data determination unit detects the image size of the image data received by the reception unit, and determines the received image data based on a threshold value corresponding to the image size substantially matching the detected image size. Is performed, it is possible to determine whether or not the received image data is the first image data based on a threshold value suitable for the image size, so that the reliability of the determination of the received image data is further improved. be able to.

When the image data transmitted by facsimile has been compression-encoded by the first compression-encoding method or the second compression-encoding method, the threshold value storage means stores the first image data. The maximum code length at the time of compression encoding by the second compression encoding method is set as a threshold value,
When the received image data is compression-encoded by the first compression-encoding method, the received image data is converted into image data that has been compression-encoded by the second compression-encoding method and compared with a threshold value. Then, when the received image data is compression-encoded by the second compression-encoding method, the received image data is compared with a threshold value to determine the image data. Even if the received image data is compressed and encoded by a compression encoding method different from the compression encoding method of the image data used when setting the threshold value, the compression encoding of the received image data is performed. Since the method can be converted, it is possible to reduce an error when comparing the code length when the received image data is compression-encoded with a threshold value, thereby preventing erroneous determination.

When a plurality of image data are continuously transmitted, the receiving means sequentially receives the plurality of continuously transmitted image data, and the image data determining means determines the received image data. Is performed sequentially, it is possible to reliably determine each image data even when a plurality of image data are continuously transmitted.

Further, the facsimile transmission data processing apparatus according to the present invention may receive the data determined as the first image data by the above-described facsimile transmission data determination apparatus according to the present invention and perform character recognition. Therefore, even when erroneous image data is transmitted, the first image data can be reliably detected and character recognition can be performed. In addition, by providing image output means for receiving data determined as data other than the first image data and outputting the image, image data requiring different processing from the first image data can be transmitted to the same line. , It is possible to determine each image data and perform a process suitable for each image data. Therefore, unlike the case where separate lines are used for receiving each image data, there is no possibility that erroneous transmission of the image data will cause a decrease in the operation efficiency, so that the operation efficiency can be improved.

Further, a storage means for receiving and storing data determined to be data other than the first image data is provided, and the image output means recognizes the image data in the received image data image. With a configuration in which an image is output after adding an identification code, data determined to be data other than the first image data output as an image can be read out again and used.

Further, according to an instruction input means for inputting an instruction for character recognition of the image data corresponding to the identification code added to the image output image data, and an instruction input by the instruction input means, Image data corresponding to the specified identification code is read from the storage means, supplied to the character recognition means, and provided with a re-recognition control means for instructing character recognition. Even if the image data is erroneously determined to be other image data, character recognition of the image data corresponding to the identification code can be performed by designating the identification code in the output image. For this reason, it is not necessary to retransmit or re-input the image data, thereby improving the operation efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transfer processing system according to a first embodiment to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional transfer processing system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of image data in a conventional transfer processing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a standard transfer request form used in the transfer processing system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing image data transmitted based on the standard transfer request form.

FIG. 6 is another example of the standard transfer request form.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an irregular transfer request form used in the transfer processing system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of image data in the transfer processing system.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an FCU constituting the transfer processing system.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of determining received image data in the FCU.

FIG. 11 is a fixed / unfixed determination table showing the image size of each fixed transfer request form and the maximum code length when the corresponding fixed image data is compression-encoded, which is referred to in the determination operation. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of determining received image data and an operation of restoring irregular image data in the FCU.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of image data output by a facsimile apparatus in a transfer processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 15 facsimile machine, 5 FCU, 6 file server, 7 OCR control device, 8 character recognition device, 9
LAN, 10 correction workstation, 11 verification workstation, 16 input workstation

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-221502 (JP, A) JP-A-4-287179 (JP, A) JP-A-5-266247 (JP, A) JP-A-59-111578 (JP) , A) JP-A-63-14567 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06K 9/00-9/82 H04N 1/41

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] An image data transmitted by facsimile is first image data obtained by optically reading data in which characters are entered in a predetermined frame of a predetermined fixed form paper, or other data. Facsimile sending
In the determination device transmit data, the threshold for storing a receiving means for receiving image data transmitted, the maximum code set threshold based on the length when compressed encoding said first image data A storage unit, and stores the received image data into an image data encoding method.
When the code length when compression-encoded by the unified encoding method is shorter than the threshold value, it is determined that the transmitted image data is the first image data. A facsimile transmission data discriminating apparatus, comprising: data judging means for judging data other than the first image data. 2. The image size of the first image data is one of a plurality of preset image sizes, and the threshold value storage means stores the first image data of each of the image sizes.
The data determining means detects the image size of the image data received by the receiving means, and corresponds to an image size substantially matching the detected image size. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the received image data is performed based on a threshold value. 3. The image data transmitted by the facsimile has been compression-encoded by a first compression-encoding method or a second compression-encoding method. Second image data
The maximum code length at the time of compression-encoding by the compression-encoding method is used as a threshold value, and when the received image data is compression-encoded by the first compression-encoding method, The image data is converted into image data that has been compression-encoded by the second compression-encoding method, the image data is determined by comparing the image data with the threshold value, and the received image data is compressed by the second compression-encoding method. 3. The facsimile transmission data according to claim 1, wherein, when encoded, the received image data is compared with the threshold to determine the image data. 4. Discriminator. 4. When a plurality of image data are successively transmitted, said receiving means sequentially receives a plurality of image data transmitted continuously, and said image data discriminating means comprises: The facsimile transmission data determination apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination is sequentially performed. 5. A character recognition means for receiving data determined as the first image data by the determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and performing character recognition. Facsimile transmission data processing device. 6. The facsimile transmission data processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising image output means for receiving data determined as data other than said first image data and outputting an image. . 7. A storage means for receiving and storing data determined to be data other than the first image data; and receiving data determined to be data other than the first image data; 6. The facsimile transmission data processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising image output means for adding an identification code for identifying data and outputting an image. 8. An instruction inputting means for inputting an instruction for character recognition of image data corresponding to the identification code added to the image data output from the image, and responding to the instruction input by the instruction inputting means. 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: a re-recognition control unit that reads out image data corresponding to the specified identification code from the storage unit, supplies the read-out image data to the character recognition unit, and instructs character recognition. Processing unit for facsimile transmission data.