JPH04323786A - Serial number checking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the accidents which are caused by the misunderstanding of an inspector by giving previously the control characters to a work and checking the continuity of these characters through a character recognizing device. CONSTITUTION:A main stopper 14 works right before the address window Ew of an envelope E is moved to a place right under a TV camera 4 and stops there after the indexing operation (index) of the chain which transfers the envelope E. Thus the envelope E is stopped at a prescribed position. Then the window Ew set at a position right under the camera 4 is pressed by a transparent plate member 19. Thus the window Ew adheres close to an address form so that the contents of this form are easily read. Under such conditions, the printed part of the serial numbers read through the window Ew is read by the camera 4 and recognized by a character recognizing device 20. If a fact that the serial numbers are not continuous, is detected, an alarm device is driven to produce an alarm tone or to turn on an alarm lamp.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serial number inspection device for inspecting whether the address and enclosed contents of a document sent by direct mail or the like are correct.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, direct mail has been used in many places. Most of this direct mail is just advertisements, and there are no serious consequences even if you send it to the wrong address, but if it is about money or property, for example,
For items that are privately confidential, the contents of the envelope and the addressee must exactly match. For this reason, companies that ship documents with such content manually check whether the content and destination match with each other before shipping.

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, with such manual methods, there is a limit to the number of cases that can be processed in an era where it is difficult to secure personnel as in recent years, and there is also a possibility that errors may occur due to misunderstandings. Yes, it is not the preferred method.

[0004] To automate this process, an image recognition device is used to recognize the address on the envelope and the address written on the document to be enclosed inside, and after confirming that they match, the document is enclosed by an automatic machine. Although it is possible to do so, the problem is that it would be too large-scale and uneconomical.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a transport means for sequentially transporting works to which characters to be managed are attached and stopping the works at a predetermined position for a predetermined period; a stopper means for preventing overrun of the workpiece that occurs when the transfer means is stopped; a pressing means for flattening the workpiece surface by suppressing the movement of the workpiece and unevenness of the workpiece during transfer and when the transfer means is stopped; a reading means for reading the control characters written on the work while the workpiece is stopped; a continuity detection means for detecting the continuity of the control characters read from the workpieces that are sequentially transferred; and a continuity detection means for determining the detected continuity and detecting discontinuity. and a determination processing means that outputs an abnormal signal when the abnormality occurs.

[0006]

[Operation] Workpieces to which characters to be managed are attached are accurately transferred one by one to the recognition position, the workpiece surface positioned at the recognition position is pressed flat to read the management characters from the workpiece, and the management characters are Confirm that the items inside are correctly sealed by checking the continuity of the container.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Documents containing addresses for direct mail, or items such as address sheets paired with documents, are usually automatically printed out sequentially using a printer or the like. Therefore, if the documents are placed in an envelope or the like in the order in which they were printed out, it can be assumed that there is no mistake in the address and contents. Since this filling process is also done mechanically, it is normally done without any mistakes, but it can occasionally go wrong due to slight timing discrepancies.

[0008] However, following the printing on address paper, the document is printed out to that destination, and when all the printing to a certain destination is completed, it is printed out to the next destination. If you take measures to confirm continuity, you will be able to see that the destination and content match perfectly even without checking the content.

[0009] Therefore, if you print out a consecutive number for each recipient on the part of the address sheet that can be seen from the address display window, and check this number from the address display window when the insertion is completed, you can see the consecutive numbers of the insertion results. This means that sex can be ensured. The same effect can also be obtained by checking the continuity of the control characters on the label of an envelope with a windowless label attached, ensuring that the enclosed item matches the addressee and confirms the quantity. be able to.

The present invention has been made based on this idea, and the details of the apparatus of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. These figures are printed out using a printing device not shown,
The work enclosing the printed results, that is, the address window envelope E (Fig. 1), is placed on the base 1 from the left side of the base 1 as shown by the arrow in Fig. 3, and is transported. ing.

[0011] At this time, consecutive management characters are added and printed out for each envelope E in a portion of the enclosed address sheet that can be read from the address window portion Ew (FIG. 2) of the envelope. This control character consists of consecutive numbers,
Any alphabet can be used.

The base 1 is provided with a slit or groove 2 (Fig. 3) in the longitudinal direction, and a pusher pin 3 (Fig. 3) are provided at predetermined intervals, and the chain is fed in the longitudinal direction (the direction in which the envelope E travels). Therefore, the envelope E moves on the base 1 by being pushed by the pusher pin 3.

4 (FIG. 1) is a television camera, in which an X-Y table 6 for fine movement is placed on a table 5 for coarse movement of the camera, which is provided on the base 1 in parallel to the traveling direction of the envelope E. It is attached to a built-in sliding shaft 7 and can be moved up and down along the sliding shaft 7. Further, the sliding shaft 7 is provided with a pair of illuminators 8 for illuminating the field of view of the television camera 4, and an illumination mechanism 9 configured to be rotatable around the sliding shaft 7 is attached to the sliding shaft 7 so as to be able to move up and down. The illumination mechanism 9 is fixed at an arbitrary position on the sliding shaft 7 by tightening with a knob 10.

When the envelope E reaches the bottom of the television camera 4, it is attached to an arm 11 extending from the side of the base 1 onto the transfer path of the envelope E with a knob 12 so as to be adjustable parallel to the direction of work progress. The main stopper 14 provided on the stopper holding member 13 is designed to pop out from above (the figure shows the state in which it has popped out). This main stopper 14 is composed of, for example, a mini-plunger type electromagnetic solenoid. This main stopper 14 operates immediately before the indexing operation (indexing) of the chain transporting the envelope E is completed and the address window Ew of the envelope E is transported to directly below the TV camera 4 and stops. stop at the specified position.

In addition, the stopper holding member 13 is provided with a preliminary stopper 22 (FIG. 2) in front of the main stopper 14, which prevents an overrun due to the inertia of the envelope E that would occur in the event of an emergency stop of the apparatus due to a failure during transportation, etc. This prevents misreading by the television camera 4. Then, a photosensor 15 provided just before the main stopper 14 detects that the envelope E is positioned at a predetermined position, and the reading operation is started by an output signal from this photosensor 15.

Further, a spring attachment member 16 (FIG. 2), which is stretched over the table 5 at right angles to the traveling direction of the envelope E, has a
One end of a pair of band-shaped leaf springs 17 and 18 (FIGS. 2 and 3) extending from the mounting member 16 to above the base 1 is fixed, respectively. A transparent plate-like member 19 made of glass, plastic, or a composite material of glass and plastic is provided so as to be able to slide freely in the direction of travel of the envelope E and span the leaf springs 17 and 18. .

The address window Ew of the envelope E positioned directly below the television camera 4 is pressed by the transparent plate-like member 19 to bring the address window Ew into close contact with the address paper, making it easier to read the contents. This address window Ew is illuminated by an illuminator 8 that is turned on by a lighting power source (not shown), so that the address part can be easily read.

In this state, the serial number printed portion that can be read from the address window Ew of the envelope E is read by the camera 4 and recognized by the character recognition device 20. When character recognition is completed and it is determined that the characters are consecutive numbers, main stopper 1
4 retracts upward and begins the next cycle of operation. When the subsequent envelope En reaches the lower side of the TV camera 4, the main stopper 14 pops out again, stopping the transport of the envelope En, and the number of the envelope is recognized.

In this way, the numbers printed on the address window Ew of the envelopes E are recognized one after another, and the character recognition device checks the continuity of the numbers. When it is detected that the numbers are not consecutive, an alarm device (not shown) is activated to emit an alarm sound or a warning light is turned on, and furthermore, a predetermined location of the envelope E is placed to indicate that it is a defective envelope. A well-known marking machine 21 (FIG. 3) is used to clearly indicate the defective envelope, and the transfer of the defective envelope is stopped.

[0020] In this case, there is a possibility that the enclosed documents and address are incorrect, so the inspector inspects the front and back of the envelope being inspected to determine whether it is normal or not. If so, the device can be restarted by re-sealing it correctly.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of this operation. When you start up this device, the first step is step 100.
At this step, it is determined whether or not the initial value of the reading number is to be set. The character recognition device 20 is configured to set an initial value before starting the operation, and since it is initially determined that the initial value has been set, the initial value manually set in step 101 is displayed on a counter (not shown). is stored in

This initial value is counted up every cycle and is held as a predicted value. When the initial value setting is completed and the start button is pressed in step 102, transport of the envelope E is started. Thereafter, the process waits until it is determined that it is the reading timing in step 103, and when the address window Ew is positioned directly below the television camera 4 and there is a detection signal from the photosensor 15, it is determined that it is the reading timing, and step A character reading operation is performed as shown at 104.

At step 105, the read characters are compared with a preset initial value to determine a serial number, and at step 106, it is determined whether or not they are serial numbers.

[0024] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which sequential number determination is performed based on set initial values, but the invention is not limited to this, and sequential number determination can also be performed without setting initial values. In this case, there is nothing to compare at the beginning, so
The serial number determination process is limited to setting the number on the counter,
The determination process is configured so that no determination is made.

When these processes are completed, the flow returns to step 100, and the determination in step 100 is made again. Since there is no need to set an initial value this time, the comparison value count-up process shown in step 107 is performed, and step 10
When the reading timing comes in step 3, step 1
04 character reading operation is performed. and step 105
In step 107, compare the comparison value set in step 107 with the result of importing the envelope number, and use the result in step 1.
06 to determine whether or not the consecutive numbers are correct.

At this time, if it is determined that the numbers are not consecutive, an NG signal is issued in step 106 to drive the above-mentioned alarm device, defective stamping machine 21, etc., but if it is determined that the numbers are consecutive, the process returns to step 100. Start the same operation again.

[0027]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention assigns characters to be managed to a work, and checks the continuity of the management characters using a character recognition device, so that the destination and the content can be matched. Since a match can be detected, it is possible to prevent accidents caused by mistakes made by inspectors as in the past.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

[Fig. 1] Front view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Left side view of Figure 1

[Figure 3] Plan view of Figure 1

[Figure 4] Flowchart showing the operation of this device

[Explanation of symbols]

E Envelope Ew address window 1 Base 2 Slit 3 Pusher pin 4 Television camera 6 X-Y table 7 Sliding shaft 9. Lighting mechanism 14 Main stopper 15 Photo sensor 17/18 Leaf spring 19 Transparent plate member 20 Character recognition device 21 Stamping machine 22 Spare stopper

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport means for sequentially transporting works to which characters to be managed are attached and stopping the works at a predetermined position for a predetermined period; and a stopper means for preventing the work from overrunning when the transport means is stopped. , a pressing means for flattening the surface of the workpiece by suppressing the movement of the workpiece and irregularities of the workpiece during transport and when it is stopped; and a reading means for reading management characters written on the workpiece while the transporting means is stopped; The present invention is characterized by comprising a continuity detection means for detecting the continuity of control characters read from sequentially transferred workpieces, and a determination processing means for determining the detected continuity and outputting an abnormal signal in the case of discontinuity. Serial number inspection device. 2. The serial number inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is an envelope in which the document is enclosed so that management characters added to the address portion of the document can be read through the address window. 3. The serial number inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is an envelope in which a document is enclosed and management characters are added to the surface. 4. In claim 1, the reading means includes a fine adjustment X-Y table for adjusting the setup of the transfer means;
A moving table that moves to any position according to the position of the control character in the workpiece transfer direction, a sliding shaft that moves vertically according to the size of the management character, and a sliding shaft that is attached to the sliding shaft. 1. A serial number inspection device comprising: a television camera; and an illumination mechanism attached to the sliding shaft for illuminating a workpiece from any direction.