JP5306406B2 - Form processing system and form processing method - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a form processing system and a form processing method.

  Traditionally, financial institutions use the transfer request forms handled by each branch to manage and sort public charges such as electricity charges, water charges, telephone charges, and taxes, and transfer requests from the head office and each branch at the calculation center. The collected notices are collected, the written items of each form are read by the form processing system, the forms are sorted for each payee, and the transfer amounts are totaled.

  In this form processing system, the operator can confirm the form image and form of the form that could not be classified in the pocket because the form type could not be identified by the first (first pass) reading (identification was rejected). In general, the rejected form bundle is read again (second pass) and classified into pockets according to the form type set by the operator.

  Here, as a method for associating each form scanned in the second pass with the form type set by the operator, a serial number is printed as an identifier in the first pass as a character or barcode, and this identifier and By associating operator settings, the identifier is read in the second pass with an optical character reader (OCR: Optical Character Reader) or a barcode reader, and the operator settings are retrieved to automatically identify and sort forms. There is a way to do it.

  There is also a method of printing with a transparent ink that can be read with a special light source such as ultraviolet rays when printing the identifier.

JP 2004-145383 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a form processing system and a form processing method that can identify the type of form that has been determined to be unidentifiable once without printing the identifier on the form. And

  The form processing system according to the present embodiment includes a form data input unit that inputs image data of a form, an identifier assignment unit that assigns an identifier to image data, and a form type identification unit that identifies a form type based on image data. A date stamp information extraction unit that extracts date stamp information from image data, a first storage unit that stores an identifier and date stamp information in association with each other, and a form whose type cannot be identified by the form type identification unit A second storage unit that stores the type of the generated form and the identifier assigned to the form in association with each other, and a date stamp from the re-input image data for the form whose type cannot be identified by the form type identification unit. A form re-identification unit that extracts information and identifies the type of the form with reference to the first storage unit and the second storage unit based on the extracted date stamp information.

1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a form processing system according to an embodiment The block diagram which shows the function structure of the form processing system of embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of form recognition processing in the form processing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a form input to the form processing system according to the embodiment. The image figure of the date stamp information of the form processing system of embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of the date stamp information table which concerns on embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of the setting information table which concerns on embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of form recognition processing in the form processing system according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the form processing system according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a form processing system 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The form processing system 1 includes a scanner 200 that takes in each form from a hopper 100 loaded with a large number of forms collected from each sales office of a financial institution, and reads image data to create image data. The sort pockets 400a, 400b, and 400c are determined for each type of server PC 300 that performs determination of the type of the form read by the scanner 200 and character recognition of the form, and for each type that the server PC 300 has determined for each form for which character recognition processing has been completed. , 400d...

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the form processing system 1 of the present embodiment. The form processing system 1 includes a form data input unit 2 that is a scanner 100, a form processing server 3 that is a server PC 300, and a setting terminal 4. A form identification that identifies an input form and discharges it into a pocket 15 for each type. Process. The form that cannot be identified by the form processing system 1 is set by the operator and is input to the form processing system 1 again. The form processing system 1 in the present embodiment performs a form re-identification process for discharging a re-input form to the pocket 15 for each form type based on the set type.

  The form data input unit 2 is, for example, a scanner, acquires image data of the form (hereinafter referred to as form data) by scanning the form, and transmits it to the form processing server 3.

  The form processing server 3 includes a management number assigning unit 5, a form identifying unit 6, a character recognizing unit 9, an information storage unit 10, and a form sorting unit 19. These are realized by the processing of the server PC 300 shown in FIG.

  The management number assigning unit 5 issues a management number for each form data input from the form data input unit 2. The management number is, for example, the order in which the forms are input, and is an identifier of the form data.

  The form identification unit 6 includes a date stamp information extraction unit 7 and a management number search unit 8 and identifies the type of form data input from the form data input unit 2. The form identification unit 6 reads and identifies a unique ID or barcode for each type of form, for example. Alternatively, it reads the format of the form such as the position of the ruled line of the form, pre-printing, and the position of the character string of the title, and refers to the format for each type of form registered in the form identification information DB 11 of the information storage unit 10 in advance. To identify. Further, the form identifying unit 6 extracts re-identification information from the form when the form type cannot be identified. The re-identification information is information referred to in the re-identification process for re-identifying the form that could not be identified. The re-identification information extraction process and the form re-identification process will be described later.

  The date stamp information extraction unit 7 extracts date stamp information that is information related to the date stamp from the form data. The management number search unit 8 specifies a management number that is an identifier of the form data based on the date stamp information extracted by the date stamp information extraction unit 7. The character recognition unit 9 performs character recognition of the form.

  The form sorting unit 19 has a function of controlling the sorter 400 so that the identified form enters the designated pocket 15 based on an instruction from the form identifying unit 6. The form for which the form identifying unit 6 can identify the type is discharged by the form sorting unit 19 into the designated pocket 15 according to the type. Forms that cannot be identified by the form identification unit 6 are discharged by the sorter 400 into a reject pocket (not shown).

The information storage unit 10 includes a form identification information database (DB) 11 and a form re-identification information DB 12 and stores information for identifying form data input to the form processing server 3.
The form identification information DB 11 registers form identification information for identifying the type of form in advance. The form re-identification information DB 12 stores re-identification information that is referred to when re-identifying a form that could not be identified.

  The setting terminal 4 is a personal computer, for example. The operator determines the type of the form that cannot be identified by the form identifying unit 6 and inputs the determined type using the setting terminal 4.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 3, the form identification process of the form processing system 1 in the case where the payment of the national health insurance by the transfer request form is processed in the financial institution and sorted for each municipality will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the form identification process according to the present embodiment.

  First, the form data input unit 2 scans a target form, acquires form data, and inputs it to the form processing server 3 (step S10). An example of the input form is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a payment form for national health insurance premiums as shown is input. The date stamp 16 is stamped on the form in advance.

  When form data is input to the form processing server 3, the management number giving unit 5 issues a management number that is an identifier for identifying the form (step S11).

  Subsequently, the form identification unit 6 identifies the type of form input based on the form identification information in the form identification information DB 11 (step S12). In this embodiment, the format of the form acquired from the input form is compared with the format of each form type registered in the form identification information DB 11 to identify the type of the input form.

  If the form identification unit 6 can identify the input form (Yes in step S13), the character recognition unit 9 performs character recognition of the form data (step S14). The form sorting unit 19 discharges the target form into the designated pocket 15 of the sorter 400 based on the identified type (step S15), and ends the form identification process.

  When the form identification unit 6 cannot identify the input form (No in step S13), it extracts the re-identification information of the form from the form data. Specifically, first, the date stamp extraction unit 7 of the form identification unit 6 extracts date stamp information from the date stamp 16 of the form data (step S16).

  FIG. 5 shows an image diagram of the date stamp information of the form. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, as date stamp information, the date stamp center coordinates (x, y), the date stamp angle (θ), and the date as a reference with the upper left corner of the receipt date stamp frame. To extract. For example, the date stamp information of the date stamp 16 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is the center coordinates (40 mm, 45 mm), the date stamp angle of 15 degrees, and the date is “20.12.12”.

  Note that the center coordinates and angle of the date stamp can be extracted using, for example, circle detection or parallel line detection from the image. The date can be extracted using a general character recognition method after correcting the angle. In addition to the information described above, the date stamp information may include a result of character recognition of the bank name as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example. Alternatively, although not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the branch name and the person in charge name included in the date stamp may be recognized as characters and the result may be used as date stamp information.

  When the date stamp information is extracted, the date stamp information extraction unit 7 registers the date stamp information of the extraction result in the date stamp information table 13 of the form re-identification information DB 12 together with the management number of the target form data (step S17). FIG. 6 shows an example of the data structure 17 of the date stamp information table 13. As shown in FIG. 6, the date stamp information table 13 stores a management number 17a, an x coordinate 17b of the center of the date stamp, a y coordinate 17c of the center of the date stamp, an angle (θ) 17d, and a date 17e.

  The form sorting unit 19 causes the sorter 400 to discharge the form from which the date stamp information has been extracted into the reject pocket for each form type (step S18), and ends the form identifying process.

  Here, the form identification unit 6 cannot identify the form type, and the form discharged to the reject pocket of the sorter 400 is confirmed one by one by the operator, and the form type is set. Specifically, the form data and the management number of the rejected form are displayed on the setting terminal 4. The operator confirms the displayed form data and identifies the type of form. The operator inputs the specified form type to the form processing server 3 using the setting terminal 4. The form processing server 3 registers the input management number and form type as setting information in the setting information table 14 of the form re-identification information DB 12. FIG. 7 shows an example of the data structure 18 of the setting information table 14. As shown in FIG. 7, the setting information table 14 stores a management number 18a and a form type 18b. This setting information and the date stamp information described above are used as re-identification information.

  The form for which the operator has set the form type performs form re-identification processing. The form re-identification process will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the form re-identification process according to this embodiment.

  First, the form data input unit 2 scans the target form, acquires form data, and inputs it to the form processing server 3 (step S20). Subsequently, the date stamp information extraction unit 7 extracts date stamp information from the input form data (step S21).

  Based on the date stamp information of the extraction result, the management number search unit 8 searches the date stamp information table 13 of the form re-identification information DB 12 and extracts the management number of date stamp information whose center coordinates, angle, and date match or are similar. (Step S22). Whether the date stamp information is similar is determined based on whether the date is the same as the center coordinate and the angle is close, for example. If there are a plurality of similar date stamp information, the management number of the date stamp information having the closest angle to the center coordinate is extracted.

  As a result of the search, if the management number can be extracted (Yes in step S23), the form identification unit 6 searches the setting information table 14 based on this management number, and finds the form included in the setting information with the matching management number. The type is assumed to be the type of the target form data, and the form is identified (step S24).

  The character recognition unit 9 performs character recognition of the identified form (step S25). The form sorting unit 19 causes the sorter 400 to discharge the form into the designated pocket 15 based on the identified type (step S26), and ends the form re-identification process.

  When the management number cannot be specified (No in step S23), the form sorting unit 19 causes the sorter 400 to discharge the target form into the reject pocket (step S27). Then, the form re-identification process ends. In this case, the form discharged into the reject pocket is manually entered into the designated pocket 15 of the sorter 400 for each type of form by inputting the description content of the form from the setting terminal 4 by the operator. Alternatively, these forms may be manually sorted into the designated pocket 15 of the sorter 400 for each form type after the form is recognized by the character recognition device.

  As described above, the form processing system 1 according to the present embodiment makes it possible to associate a form that has been determined to be unidentifiable with the type of form entered by the operator without printing the identifier on the form.

  Therefore, when the form processing system 1 prints the identifier, the printed character or barcode contaminates the paper surface of the form, or the printed character or barcode overlaps with the printing of the form, so that the form cannot be read. there is no problem.

  In addition, the form processing system 1 has an identifier printed with a transparent ink that can be read by a special light source such as ultraviolet rays, and the fluorescent brightener contained in the form paper emits light due to the ultraviolet rays. It also solves the problem that it cannot be recognized because the contrast is lowered.

  Therefore, the form processing system 1 can make the form identification process more efficient. In addition, the identification accuracy of the form identification process can be improved.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the center coordinates, the angle, and the date are used as the date stamp information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the color of a date stamp may be used. In the above-described embodiment, the origin of the center coordinates is the upper left corner of the receipt date frame, but it may be the upper left corner of the form.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Form processing system, 2 ... Form data input part, 3 ... Form processing server, 4 ... Setting terminal, 5 ... Management number provision part, 6 ... Form identification part, 7 ... Date stamp information extraction part, 8 ... Management number search 9, character recognition unit 10, information storage unit 19, form sorting unit

Claims (3)

A form data input part for inputting form image data;
An identifier giving unit for giving an identifier to the image data;
A form type identifying unit for identifying the type of the form based on the image data;
A date stamp information extraction unit for extracting date stamp information from the image data;
A first storage unit that stores the identifier and the date stamp information in association with each other;
A second storage unit for storing the form type input for the form whose type could not be identified by the form type identifying unit and the identifier assigned to the form;
For a form whose type could not be identified by the form type identifying unit, date stamp information is extracted from the re-input image data, and the first storage unit and the second storage are extracted based on the extracted date stamp information. A form re-identification part that refers to the part and identifies the type of the form,
Form processing system with   The form processing system according to claim 1, wherein the date stamp information is a center coordinate, an angle, and a date of the date stamp. A step of inputting image data of the form;
A step of assigning an identifier of the previous form;
Identifying the form type based on the image data;
Extracting date stamp information from the image data;
Storing the identifier and the date stamp information in association with each other in a first storage unit;
Storing in the second storage unit the form type inputted for the form whose type could not be identified by the form type identifying unit in association with the identifier assigned to the form;
For a form whose type could not be identified by the form type identifying unit, date stamp information is extracted from the re-input image data, and the first storage unit and the second storage are extracted based on the extracted date stamp information. Identifying the type of the form with reference to the part;
A form processing method comprising:

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