JP3431539B2 - Automatic transaction equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic transaction apparatus for handling forms such as bills and checks and forms such as utility bills, and more particularly to printing processing of receipt stamps or receipt stamps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-220024 has been proposed.
As described in the official gazette, the content of the form is read by the optical sensor, the predetermined format of the form is recognized from the identification code written on the form, and it has been read based on the format corresponding to the identification code. There is known a method of determining the printing position and the area of the mark indicating the.

[0003]

By the way, in an automatic transaction device (or an automated teller machine) used in a financial institution such as a bank, it is possible to perform automatic transactions using a bill such as a bill, a check, and a utility bill. Is desired.

When automatic transactions are made possible by means of a form such as a check by an automatic transaction device, a reception stamp is printed when the transaction is accepted, and a receipt stamp is printed on the utility bill delivery sheet to clearly indicate that the transaction has been completed. There is a need to.

Therefore, it is possible to use the technique disclosed in the above publication. However, for checks and promissory notes, the description format is basically arbitrary. For this reason, if the stamp position of the reception stamp is fixed, it may be overwritten at the position of the important description content, and in such a case the problem that the description content cannot be confirmed occurs. .

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic transaction apparatus capable of printing a receipt stamp or a receipt stamp on a form of any format without damaging the contents of the description.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a detecting means for detecting an empty area which does not overlap a character area of a form inserted from a form insertion port, and a plurality of detecting means for detecting the empty area. The empty area where the image data of the reception stamp or the receipt does not overlap is discriminated from the empty area of, and one is selected from the determined non-overlapping empty areas.
Discriminating means for identifying a vacant area and the discriminating means for identifying
A printing means for printing a reception stamp or a receipt stamp on the one empty area is provided. Further, the present invention reads a form inserted from the form insertion port, detects a vacant area in which no character string or symbol is described from the read image data, and a means which is stored in advance from the detected vacant area. The present invention is characterized by comprising printing means for detecting a vacant area that can be pressed without the protruding receipt mark or receipt mark, and if there are a plurality of vacant areas, specify the print area by priority and print the receipt mark or receipt mark.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an automatic transaction device 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a card insertion slot 2, a statement slip output slot 3, a passbook insertion slot 4, a form insertion slot 5, a bill input / output slot 6, and a coin slot are provided on the operation side of the customer. Output port 7,
An operation / display unit 8 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the automatic transaction apparatus of FIG. 1, and a main control section 1 for controlling the entire apparatus.
01 and a display unit 10 for guiding or guiding customer operations
2, an input unit 103 for performing customer operations on the device,
A cash handling unit 104 that controls the input and output of banknotes and coins from the bill input / output port 6 and the coin input / output port 7, and a print output unit 105 that manages the printing of the statement slip or receipt output from the statement slip output port 3. And a card reading unit 106 for reading information such as a customer's personal identification number and account number recorded on a magnetic card or an IC card inserted from the card insertion slot 2.
And a passbook printing unit 107 for reading the account number of the passbook inserted from the passbook insertion slot 4 and printing and recording the transaction content.
And a staff operation unit 108 that guides or guides the staff, displays the status of the apparatus, receives input from the staff, and a line control unit 110 that communicates transaction data and the like between the host center apparatus (for example, host computer). , Transaction history, application programs executed by the main control unit 101, screen data necessary for screen display, dictionary data and format data necessary for recognition of bills and checks, image data of receipt stamp and receipt stamp, etc. A storage unit 111, a main power supply unit 112 that supplies operating power to each unit of the apparatus, and a timer unit 115 that manages the current date and time, and further, a bill (promissory note, bill of exchange) inserted from the form insertion slot 5, A form reading / printing unit 113 for reading the description content of a form such as a check and printing a reception stamp (or a receipt stamp), and this form reading / printing unit 11 Or recognize letters or the like which is described in the form from the image data read by the document, the storage unit 11
The image processing unit 114 performs processing such as reduction or division of the image data of the reception stamp stored in FIG.

Here, the input unit 103 has a structure in which a touch panel is arranged on the surface of the display screen of the display unit 102, and is pressed by the customer pressing a position corresponding to a button on the screen. The position button is recognized as being operated, and the process is advanced according to the recognition result. The display unit 102 and the input unit 103 constitute the operation / display unit 8 in FIG.

The constituent elements other than the form reading / printing section 113 and the image processing section 114 have been already realized in the past, but the outline of the function or operation is as follows.

In the customer waiting state, the main control unit 101 causes the display unit 102 to display a "Welcome" screen. In this state, when the customer operates, for example, the “withdrawal” button on the “Welcome” screen, the main control unit 101 recognizes that the transaction type is “withdrawal of cash”, and then Please insert the card ”screen.

If the customer does not cancel the "cash transaction" by pressing the "cancel" button on the "insert card" screen, but inserts a customer-specific magnetic card or IC card into the card insertion slot 2 , Main controller 10
Then, 1 shifts to the "Please input your PIN" screen (not shown). This "Enter your PIN"
When the customer presses the “numerical value” button on the screen and inputs the personal identification number, the main control unit 101 checks whether the personal identification number is correct by comparing the personal identification numbers read from the magnetic card or the IC card. , If it is correct, transition to the "Enter amount" screen for inputting the transaction amount. At this time, if the PIN is incorrect,
Prompt for re-entry, press the "Correction" button and then press the "Numeric" button to enter the correct PIN, and if the correct PIN is not entered even after repeating the specified number of times, "Please take the card" Transition to the screen, then transition to the "Please try again" screen, and restart the operation from the initial screen. When the "Cancel" button is pressed, the screen is changed to the initial screen, that is, the "Welcome" screen.

When the correct personal identification number is entered, the "Enter amount" screen is displayed and the customer is asked to enter the desired withdrawal amount. Then, when the amount input operation is correctly performed, the host computer is inquired about the balance. If there is a “payable” response from the host computer, the cash handling unit 104 is controlled,
Pay the amount requested by the customer.

The main control unit 101 displays a "Processing, please wait" screen on the display unit 102 until a response indicating that payment is possible is returned from the host computer.
When the payout control is completed and the bills or coins are discharged to the bill input / output port 6 or the coin input / output port 7, the screen is changed to the “take cash” screen. After that, the screen is changed to the "Please take the card" screen, and finally to the "Thank you" screen, and the series of control relating to the cash withdrawal requested by the customer is ended. Then, the history of the current transaction is stored in the storage unit 111.

On the other hand, when the "deposit" button on the "Welcome" screen is operated by the customer, the main control section 101 shifts to the "Please insert card or passbook" screen. In this "Please insert card or passbook" screen, the customer does not cancel the "cash transaction" by pressing the "Cancel" button.
When the C card is inserted into the card insertion slot 2, the main control unit 101 then transitions to the denomination selection screen. On this denomination selection screen, denomination selection buttons for selecting only banknotes, banknotes and coins, coins only, checks only, bills only, bills and checks are displayed. Then, when the customer presses the denomination selection button of "only banknote", the main control unit 101 opens the shutter of the banknote input / output port 6 and waits for the customer to insert the banknote. In this state, if a bill is inserted, the shutter of the bill input / output port 6 is closed, and then the amount of the inserted bill is counted by the cash handling unit 104. Then, when the counting is completed, the counted amount is displayed on the display unit 10.
Display on 2 and ask the customer to confirm whether the amount is correct. When the customer presses the "confirm" button, the inserted banknote is stored, and the passbook printing unit 107 prints the deposit amount on the customer's passbook or prints the deposit amount on the statement slip for output. Then, when the printing is completed, the screen is changed to the "take passbook" screen or the "take statement slip" screen. After this, the screen is changed to the "Please take the card" screen, and finally to the "Thank you" screen, and the series of controls related to depositing cash is completed. Then, the history of the current transaction is stored in the storage unit 111.

In the present invention, a transaction such as a bill, a check, and a utility bill delivery sheet can be performed by the same operation as depositing cash. The operations of the form reading / printing unit 113 and the image processing unit 114 will be described below.

First, when the customer selects "bills / check transaction" on the transaction selection screen of the display unit 102, the form reading / printing unit 113 causes the form set in the form insertion slot 5 (here, a check is used). ) Is inhaled and conveyed along the conveyance path to the position of the MICR character reading sensor (not shown), and the magnetic amount of the magnetic recording characters printed on the check is checked to see if it is a legitimate check. Determine. If the magnetic amount of the magnetically recorded characters is not within the preset threshold value range, the defective form is returned from the insertion slot 5. If it is within the range of the threshold value, it is conveyed to the position of an image sensor (not shown), and the content written on the check is read as image data by the image sensor and stored in the storage unit 111 as image data.

Next, based on the read image data,
Recognize the amount of money, the date of issue, the issuer, MICR characters, etc., written on the check. Then, the recognition result is stored in the storage unit 111. In this case, the image of the stamper's seal and the image of the entire check are stored in association with the character recognition result, if necessary.

The amount stated on the check, the date of issue,
As a method of recognizing a character such as a drawer and MICR characters, (1) prepare format definition information defining an area of description content for each form such as a check or a bill, and use this format definition information to recognize an area to be recognized. Image is cut out, and character recognition and MICR character recognition are performed from the cut-out image, (2) Image data read from a form is scanned in a predetermined direction, and character writing area candidates, seal imprinting area candidates, and revenue stamps are printed. There is a method of extracting the description area candidates and the MICR character description area candidates and recognizing the description contents in these area candidates by the character recognition dictionary or the MICR character recognition dictionary. Either method may be used.

Next, in order to make the customer confirm the recognition result, the display unit 102 displays the recognition result data stored in the storage unit 111 together with the reduced image data read from the form.

On the other hand, when the customer inputs a confirmation operation and necessary information from the input unit 103, the transaction is confirmed. That is, the customer is asked to confirm the displayed contents, and if the contents are correct, the "confirm" key is pressed, and if there is an error, the "cancel" or "correct" key is pressed. At this time,
Perform the image reading operation of the form again or have the input section 3 input the correction item by manual input. After confirming the transaction, the form reading / printing unit 113 is driven, the recognized amount is printed with magnetic ink, a reception stamp is printed, and the stacker is stored.

Next, the printing process of the reception stamp (or receipt stamp), which is the main part of the present invention, will be described.

If the form format read by the form reading / printing unit 113 is the check 30 shown in FIG. 3, the description position is arbitrary in the format of the check 30 shown, so the image processing unit 114 is shown in FIG. As described above, the character areas 500 to 510 in which characters and symbols are described on the image data 401 of the form are discriminated and surrounded by a rectangle.

Next, the image processing unit 114 causes the character image areas 500 to 510 on the form image data 401.
Unoccupied areas 520 to 525 that do not overlap with are searched and surrounded by a rectangle. Here, the empty area refers to an area in which no characters or symbols are described.

Next, the image processing unit 114 causes the image data 53 of the reception stamp stored in the storage unit 111 in advance.
Read 0. An example of the image data 530 of this reception stamp is shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the image data 530 of the reception stamp is overlaid on the empty areas 520 to 525.
At this time, an area in which the vacant areas 520 to 525 and the image data 530 of the reception stamp do not overlap is determined, and the area is determined as a stamp area candidate for printing the reception stamp.

In the example of FIG. 5, empty areas 520, 52
1, 522 and 523 are image data 530 of the reception stamp
The size in the vertical direction is smaller, and if printed as it is, the reception stamp will be outside the frame, so it is excluded from the stamp area candidates. However, since the empty areas 524 and 525 are sufficiently large, they are used as the imprint area candidates.

Next, since there are a plurality of printable imprinting area candidates, either one will be adopted. In that case, the rightmost inside of the rightmost area in the left-right direction is prioritized. , In the vertical direction, the final imprint area is determined by a logic that gives priority to the innermost bottom side of the innermost area. In the case of the check of FIG. 4, an empty area 52
4 and 525 are printable on the reception stamp, and the priority is the same on the rightmost side in both the left and right directions, but the empty area 524 is on the lower side in the up and down direction.
Is determined as the print area for the reception stamp.

Although the print position of the reception mark is determined by prioritizing the top, bottom, left, and right, detailed conditions such as comparison by the size of the empty area and restriction of the area can be provided.

As described above, the form image data 40
By printing the reception stamp on the check 40 at the same position as the reception printing empty area extracted in step 1, it is possible to print the reception stamp on the optimum empty area even for the check 40 of any format.

In this case, other empty areas 520-5
23 and 525, as shown in FIG.
By printing the bank name / branch name on the empty area and the device number of the automatic transaction device 1 on the empty area 522, detailed information of the transaction can be printed in the empty area of the form, and the empty area is effectively used. be able to.

In addition, when the image data 530 of the reception stamp does not fit in the internal area in the vacant areas 520 to 525, the reception stamp is printed in the area having the least protruding portion outside the frame, for example, the area having the smallest overlapping area. It is a candidate for the imprint area. For example, in a form (check) 402 as shown in FIG. 6, when the stamped area candidate of the reception stamp is an empty area 524, and the image data of the reception stamp registered in advance protrudes in the vertical direction, it is shown in FIG. By reducing the size in the vertical direction so as to fit in the empty area in the vertical direction, the shape is made slightly flat and printing is performed. In this case, the lateral dimension is unchanged.

Similarly, when there is an overlap in the horizontal direction, the size is reduced in the horizontal direction. Also, if there is overlap in the vertical / horizontal direction, reduce it in each of the vertical / horizontal directions, or reduce the other at the same reduction ratio in the direction with the largest overlap in the vertical / horizontal direction. It is possible to perform reduced printing without changing the vertical / horizontal ratio of the image data 530.

In the above description, the check format has been described as an example, but acceptance printing and the like are also possible with a promissory note or a public money form. If a character string such as "receipt stamp" is described in advance on a public money form, etc., the receipt stamp can be printed easily by determining the area adjacent to the "receipt stamp" character string as an empty area. Areas can be extracted. Also, not limited to the reception stamp,
It can be applied in exactly the same way when printing a receipt.

By printing the receipt stamp on the form not by stamping, but by using image data, it is possible to use a dedicated receipt stamp depending on the type of transaction such as public money slip, check, promissory note, and the like. Further, it becomes easy to combine various information, for example, serial number and date information, with the image data and print it. Date information is automatic transaction device 1
Of the line control unit 110
It can also be taken in from the center device via.

Checks, promissory notes, etc. have an expiration date, but when the received form is about to expire, or when there is a form that has been received but requires urgent confirmation, etc., post-processing is performed manually. For forms that require
By characterizing the reception mark in a form such as printing with a conspicuous mark or fluorescent color, the sorting work in the post-processing can be facilitated.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if a form has an arbitrary description format and a dedicated stamp area is not determined, an appropriate empty area is detected and a reception stamp or A receipt stamp can be printed.
Since the seal is applied to the vacant area, there is an effect that the description content of the form is not damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an automatic transaction device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the automatic transaction device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing description contents of a check, which is an example of a form.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an empty area in the check of FIG.

5 is an illustration of a process for determining a stamp area for the check of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a check having a small empty area.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a process for determining a stamp area for the check of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic transaction device, 5 ... Form insertion slot, 101 ... Main control part, 102 ... Display part, 103 ... Input part, 104 ... Cash handling part, 105 ... Print output part, 106 ... Card reading part, 1
07 ... passbook printing section, 108 ... clerk operation section, 113 ... form reading and printing section, 114 ... image processing section, 401 ... check image data, 530 ... reception stamp image data,
520-525 ... Empty area.

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic transaction device that recognizes form contents such as bills and checks, and performs processing according to the recognition result, detects a free area that does not overlap the character area of the form inserted from the form insertion slot. Means and a plurality of the empty areas detected by the detecting means to determine an empty area where the image data of the reception stamp or the receipt does not overlap, and one from the determined empty areas that does not overlap.
The automatic transaction device, comprising: a discriminating unit that identifies a vacant area and a printing unit that prints a reception stamp or a receipt stamp on the one vacant area identified by the discriminating unit. The automatic transaction apparatus of claim 2 according to claim 1, wherein said discrimination means, an automatic teller machine, wherein the identifying the one vacant area in accordance with priorities. 3. The automatic transaction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the priority order is given to the area on the right side in the left-right direction and the area on the bottom side in the vertical direction. 4. The automatic transaction device according to claim 1, wherein the size or shape of the reception stamp or the receipt stamp is changed according to the relationship between the size of the empty area for stamping the reception stamp or the receipt stamp and the stamp size. An automatic transaction device comprising means. 5. An automatic transaction device which recognizes the contents of a bill, a check, or the like and performs processing according to the recognition result, reads the form inserted from the form insertion slot, and reads a character string from the read image data. Alternatively, a means for detecting an empty area without a symbol is detected, and an empty area that can be pressed without protruding a previously stored receipt or receipt stamp from the detected empty area is detected. An automatic transaction device comprising a printing means for specifying a print area and printing a receipt stamp or a receipt stamp. 6. In all detected free areas,
If the pre-stored receipt or the size of the receipt exceeds the empty area, the empty area with the smallest amount of protrusion is used as the receipt stamp or the print area of the receipt stamp, and the receipt stamp or receipt stamp is placed within the print area. 6. The automatic transaction apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for changing the print size of.