JPH01321586A - Character recognizing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the recognizing speed of the characters written on the paper sheets by deciding the type of the using paper sheets from the writing position information of the character having the highest degree of recognition among those characters that are detected and segmented based on the writing position information on the characters stored in a memory. CONSTITUTION:A memory 11 stores plural pieces of writing position information of the characters written on the paper sheets for each type of the paper sheets. Based on these position information, the characters written on the paper sheets are detected and segmented and then collated with a standard character pattern of a dictionary 19 via a recognizing part 17. A deciding part 9 decide the specific type of the writing position information on the character having the highest degree of recognition among those characters that are detected and segmented. Thus the type of the using paper sheets is decided. In such a way, the characters written on the paper sheets can be quickly recognized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention provides a system for reading and recognizing characters written on conveyed paper sheets, for example, bills. In particular, the present invention relates to a character recognition device for determining the type of paper sheets being conveyed.

(Prior Art) The character recognition device described above is used in various fields. Among various fields, for example, the above character recognition 11 is applied to a bill processing unit that handles bills of an automatic transaction device of a bank. Conventionally, in the automatic transaction apparatus described above, a customer presses a touch key for a bill transaction operation on a CRT display section and inserts a bill through a bill insertion slot. The customer inputs a code indicating the type of bill inserted, such as a telephone bill or an electricity bill, using a numeric keypad provided on the CRT display section. When the code is entered, the bill is conveyed to the bill processing unit connected to the bill insertion slot, light is emitted from the light emitting element provided in the bill processing unit, and the reflected light from the bill is received. The image signal is converted into an image signal by the element and transmitted to the identification section. When the image signal is transmitted, the identification unit compares the code indicating the type of bill entered by the customer with the code indicating each type of bill stored in memory, and sends the inserted bill over the phone. It is determined that it is a charge. After the determination, the identification unit detects and cuts out the so-called character area where the characters written on the telephone bill, such as the customer's code number, are written. After the detection and cutting, the identification unit compares the standard character pattern stored in the computer with the character area written on the detected and cut out bill, and recognizes the written characters. After the above recognition operation is performed on the characters written on the bill, a receipt is issued.

In this way, in the past, each time a customer inserted a bill through the bill insertion slot, the customer had to insert a code indicating the type of bill, which made the customer feel inconvenienced by the operation. .

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Conventionally, each time a bill is inserted from the bill insertion slot, a code indicating the type of bill is entered from the touch key on the CR7 display, so the code is stored in bill 1. This caused a delay in processing time until characters, etc., were recognized. Additionally, each time a customer inserts an invoice, they enter a code indicating the type of invoice, so there is a risk of entering the wrong code due to unfamiliarity with the operation, which may reduce the accuracy of character recognition (B). there were.

This invention was made in view of the above, and its purpose is to provide a character recognition device that speeds up the processing speed for recognizing characters written on paper sheets and improves the accuracy of character recognition. It is about providing.

[Structure of the invention].

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a memory that stores a plurality of positional information of characters written on paper sheets for each type of paper sheet, and A recognition means for detecting and cutting out characters written on paper sheets based on a plurality of pieces of writing position information stored in a memory and recognizing the detected and cut out characters, and a detection cutting out which has the highest degree of recognition by this recognition means. The object of the present invention is to include a determining means for determining the type of paper sheet by determining what type of written position information is used.

(Function) In the character recognition device having the above configuration, various paper sheets stored in the memory, for example, the written position information of the characters written on the bill, such as the x, Detect and cut out the written characters. The type of paper sheet is determined by determining the type of writing position information of the character with the highest degree of recognition among the characters detected and cut out using the writing position information of the various characters mentioned above. Can quickly recognize characters written on leaves.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the character recognition device of the present invention.

The character recognition device has a structure including a scanning section 1, an image data buffer 3, and a control section 5.

The scanning unit 1 is equipped with a light emitting element and a light receiving element, such as a COD image sensor, and irradiates light from the light emitting element onto a bill 2 inserted through a bill insertion slot 37, which will be described later, so that light is reflected from the bill 2. The reflected light is converted into an image signal by a light receiving element.

Further, the scanning unit 1 performs a so-called binarization process of converting the image signal into a black signal indicating the area of the bill 2 or a white signal indicating the outside of the area of the bill.

The image data buffer 3 stores, at a predetermined address, a black signal or a white signal indicating the area within the image 2 that has been binarized by the scanning section 1.

The control unit 5 controls the detection of the insertion of the bill 2, the detection and extraction of characters, the determination of the detected and extracted characters, and the like.

Further, the character recognition device includes an identification section 7 (recognition means) and a determination section 9 (determination means).

The identification unit 7 includes a storage unit 11 (memory), a character detection cutting unit 1
3, it has a storage section 15, a recognition section 17, and a dictionary 19.

The storage unit 11 specifies the x and y coordinates of the written position (character written position information) of a customer code, etc., which is a unique number indicating a customer, written on various bills 2 such as telephone charges or electricity bills, for example. It is stored in the address. That is,
The storage unit 11 stores telephone bill format data A shown in FIG. 2(a) and electricity bill format data B shown in FIG. 2(b) at predetermined addresses.

In the same figure, the format data A of the telephone bill is such that the first character of the first line of the customer code is written with a character height of y2, and the second character is written in Xl and V+ from the edge of the bill. It is written at an interval of x2 from the first character. Similarly, the third and subsequent characters are sequentially written at intervals of x2 from the second character. The length of the character string written in the first line is x9. Also, the height of the character on the second line is y3,
The character spacing is ×3, and the length of the character string in the second line is ×9, similar to the first line. On the other hand, in the format data B of the telephone bill, the first character of the first line of the customer code is written at X4, V4 from the edge of the bill, the height of the character is y5, and the character spacing is x5. 1 with the second character written
The length of the character string in the row is xllll. Similarly to the first line, in the second line, the height of the characters is Va, the spacing between the characters is x6, and the length of the character string in the second line is XI.

The character detection cutting unit 13 extracts xy of format data A and format data B stored in the storage unit 11.
Based on the coordinates, a so-called character area indicated by the black signal of the image signal stored in the image data buffer 3 is detected and cut out. First, the character detection cutting unit 13 converts the format data A stored in the storage unit 11 into black signal coordinates X+, V of the image signal stored in the image data buffer 3.
From 1, a character area of character height y2 is detected and cut out by character interval x 2. After detecting and cutting out the length of the character string for the first character, XΩ, the character detection and cutting unit 13 detects and cuts out the second and subsequent characters, and further detects and cuts out the length x m of the character string in the second line.

After detecting and cutting out the format data A, the character detection and cutting section 13 detects the character area from the xy coordinates of the black signal of the image signal stored in the image data buffer 3 from the format data B stored in the storage section 11. Perform detection extraction.

The storage unit 15 stores character frames such as customer codes written on the bill 2 detected and extracted from the format data A and the format data B by the character detection and extraction unit 13 at a predetermined address.

The recognition unit 17 scans the character frames stored in the storage unit 15 to identify the customer written on the bill 2.
9 is compared with the standard character pattern stored in 9. This comparison is performed by the character detection and cutout section 13 on the character frames detected and cut out using the format data A and format data B stored in the storage section 11.

The recognition unit 17 stores the recognition degree of the character frame based on comparison with the standard character patterns in the dictionary 19 in the storage unit 21 of the determination unit 9.

The dictionary 19 stores standard character patterns such as numbers defined in the JIS standard at predetermined addresses.

The determining unit 9 has a storage unit 21 and a determining circuit 23, and determines the inserted bill 2 based on the degree of matching of the character frames recognized by the identifying unit 7.

The storage unit 21 stores formats 1 to data A by the recognition unit 17.
and a counter a, for example, which indicates the degree of matching of the detected cutout character frame of the format data B.

It is equipped with b. This counter is set to 1 by the recognition unit 17.
It is counted every time the character frame is compared.

The determination circuit 23 reads out the values of counters a and b stored in the storage unit 21, and determines that the largest counter among the counters is the bill @2 scanned by the scanning unit 1, for example, the telephone bill 2. . After the determination, the determination circuit 23 outputs to the control unit 5 that it is the telephone charge bill 2, so that the control unit 5 outputs the fact that it is the telephone charge bill 2 to the main control unit 43, which will be described later. .

Next, the case where the character recognition device of the present invention is applied to the automatic transaction device 24 will be explained using FIGS. 3 and 4.

A character-shaped operation section 27 is formed on the entire surface of the casing 25 of the automatic transaction device 24. A banknote insertion slot 29 is provided on the horizontal surface of the operation section 27, and a large number of banknotes to be sorted and transferred can be inserted at once. Further, a door 31 that can be closed is provided in the banknote insertion slot 29.

Further, a CRT display section 33 having a built-in touch sensor and the like is provided on the horizontal surface of the operation section 27. This CRT display unit 33 displays operating procedures and other information on the CRT screen in the form of illustrations, characters, or sentences.
While guiding the customer, by pressing the display area corresponding to the PIN number, amount, account number, approval, confirmation, or cancellation of the transaction, etc., a touch sensor (not shown) detects this and sends the response to the main control unit 43. Output a signal.

Further, on the vertical surface of the operation unit 27, a card insertion slot 35 for inserting a magnetic card as a transaction medium in which a password and account information are stored, and a bill insertion slot 37 for inserting a bill 3. , a coin insertion slot 39 for inserting coins, and a coin change receiving slot 4 for receiving coin change.
1 are provided respectively.

Next, the internal configuration of the automatic transaction device 24 will be explained.

The main control section 43 has a built-in microcomputer, etc., and executes overall control operations. The magnetic card reading section 45 reads account information such as an account number from the magnetic stripe section of the magnetic card. The bill processing unit 47 is equipped with the character recognition device of the present invention. That is, claim 1
51! When a bill is inserted from the bill insertion slot 37 by the customer, the management unit 47 uses the character detection and cutting section 13 to scan the bill into the format data stored in the storage section 11 using the format data B. A character frame is detected and cut out from the character area of the image signal of the calligraphy. The bill processing unit 47 uses the determination circuit 23 to determine that the detected cutout character frame is, for example, a telephone bill, and outputs the determined character frame to the main control section 43 . The deposit/withdrawal unit 49 accepts the banknotes inserted into the banknote insertion slot 29 described above, and returns banknotes of a specified amount to the banknote insertion slot 29. The coin deposit/withdrawal unit 51 accepts coins inserted into the coin input slot 39 and dispenses coins of a designated amount to the coin change receipt slot 41. The customer service unit 53 has the above-mentioned CR.
It has a built-in T display section 33.

The voice guidance unit 55 has a built-in speaker and the like, and provides voice guidance to the customer. The internal monitor 57 is
The transaction status of the automatic transaction device 24 is displayed on the monitor. The floppy disk 59 is a data file in which information on financial institutions necessary for preemptive transactions, such as bank names, branch names, etc., is stored in alphabetical order. Further, the main control section 43 is connected to the host computer via the transmission control section 61. The power supply section 63 supplies predetermined power to each circuit section. Furthermore, the main control section 43 controls the communication control section 63 and the relay device 6.
5 to a remote monitor 67 provided outside the automatic transaction device 24.

Next, the operation of this actual IJ color example will be explained using the processing flowchart of FIG.

First, after turning on the power to the automatic transaction device 24 and starting a transaction, the customer stands at the operation unit 27 of the automatic transaction device 24 and inserts, for example, a telephone bill 2 through the bill insertion slot 37. When the bill 2 is conveyed to the bill processing unit 47 from the bill 2 Rikishi Aogyuken insertion slot 37, the control unit 5 reads the format data A and B of the bill from the storage unit 11 and outputs it to the character detection and cutting unit 13. (steps 100 to 110)
).

On the other hand, when the bill is conveyed from the bill insertion slot 37 to the bill processing unit 47, the scanning unit 1 scans the bill and reads image information. The scanning unit 1 converts the read image information fF1 into an image signal and stores it at a predetermined address in the image data buffer 3 (steps 120 to 130).

Of the format data A and B inputted from the storage unit 11, the character detection and cutting unit 13 first detects and cuts out a character frame from the character area stored in the image data buffer 3 using format data A. Also,
The character detection and cutting section 13 detects and extracts a character frame from the character area stored in the image data buffer 3 based on the format data B. After character detection and extraction using data A and B to Format 1, the character detection and extraction unit 13
stores the character frame at a predetermined address in the storage unit 15 (
Steps 140-150).

When the character frame is stored in the storage unit 15, the recognition unit 17 stores the character frame detected and cut out based on the format data A in the dictionary 1.
9 is compared with the standard character pattern stored at a predetermined address. If they match, the counter a stored in the storage unit 21 is incremented.

When the verification using the format data A is completed, the recognition unit 1
7 scans the character frame detected and cut out based on the format data B and compares it with the standard character pattern in the dictionary 19. If the comparison matches the standard character pattern, the counter b in the storage section 21 is counted up (step 16).
0-17o).

When the verification by the recognition unit 17 is completed, the determination circuit 23 reads out the counters a and b stored in the storage unit 21, and if the counter 1 value of the counter a is larger, the determination circuit 23 reads out the counters a and b stored in the storage unit 21.
The bill 2 inserted is determined to be the telephone bill 2 and output to the control unit 5.

On the other hand, if the counter value of counter b is large, the determination circuit 23 proceeds to step 210 (steps 180 to 200).
.

Proceeding to step 210, the determination circuit 23 determines that the inserted bill 2 is the electricity bill 2 if all the characters detected and cut out based on the format data B can be recognized. The determination circuit 23 outputs the determined result to the control section 5. On the other hand, if the counter value of counter b is small, it is determined that the characters detected and cut out using format data B cannot be recognized, and the process proceeds to step 240 (step 210).
~230).

When the process proceeds to step 240, the main control unit 43 determines that the inserted bill is not the bill 2 used for personal withdrawal transactions, and returns the bill 2 inserted from the bill insertion slot 37 to the customer (
Steps 240-250).

After determining the type of bill 2, the main control unit 43 determines the type of bill 2.
The customer number and billing amount recognized from the CRT display section 33
to be displayed. The customer inserts the displayed bill amount into the bill insertion slot 2.
9 and the coin insertion slot 39, the main control unit 43 displays the insufficient amount if the inserted amount is insufficient and prompts the customer to insert the amount, and if the inserted amount is not insufficient, the main control section 43 A receipt is issued from the bill insertion slot 37.

On the other hand, if there is change, the main control unit 43 pays the change to the bill insertion slot 29 and the coin receiving slot 41, and the customer receives the change (steps 260 to 300).

Thereby, since the type of bill 2 is read by the determination unit 9, operations such as inputting a code indicating the type of bill 2 by the customer can be simplified.

This embodiment is applicable not only to automatic transaction devices but also to various devices that recognize characters on bills 3 and the like.

Further, in this embodiment, many types of paper sheets such as bills can be determined without increasing the format data.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, characters are detected and extracted based on written position information of characters stored in the memory, and the character with the highest degree of recognition among the detected and extracted characters is written. Since the type of paper sheet is determined from the position information, the processing speed for recognizing characters written on the paper sheet can be increased, and the accuracy of character recognition can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the character recognition device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example for billing, and FIG.
4 is a block diagram showing the control of the automatic transaction device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention. 7...Identification section 9...Judgment section 11.15.21...Storage section 13...Character detection and extraction section 17...Recognition section 19...Dictionary 23...Judgment circuit 47. ...Bill processing unit A, B...Format data Agent Patent attorney Nori Chika Kensuke Agent/patent attorney Yamashita - Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A memory that stores a plurality of writing position information of characters written on paper sheets for each type of paper sheet, and a plurality of writing position information stored in this memory are used to store a plurality of writing position information of characters written on paper sheets. A recognition means for detecting and cutting out the characters described in the class, and recognizing the detected and cut out characters, and determining which type of written position information used for the detection cutting out which has the highest degree of recognition by this recognition means. A character recognition device comprising: determination means for determining the type of paper sheet by determining the type of paper sheet.