JPH0537680A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep the quality of a received picture and to prevent adoption of erroneous recognition result by a facsimile OCR by using a mark read means to read and evaluates a reception state evaluation mark when a prescribed image data is received through a signal transmission line. CONSTITUTION:When a receiver side facsimile equipment 10 receives an image data, a mark read means 13 reads a mark. Then a state discrimination means 14 evaluates the mark to discriminate whether or not the data is normally received. When it is discriminated that the data is normally received, a character recognition means 15 recognizes the character and the result of recognition is sent to a host device by a recognition result transmission means 19. When it is discriminated that the reception state is not normal, the recognition by the recognition means 15 is stopped, a return control means 16 returns the data to the sender or the operator enters manually the data by sing a key entry means 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine capable of evaluating the quality of image data received via a facsimile line or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, facsimile machines have been widely used for exchanging documents between offices of a company and for various businesses and homes. Normally, in a facsimile, the contents of a document or the like are optically read by the sender, converted into image data, and sent to the receiver. On the receiving side, the image data is printed on paper to create a received document. However, the received document is intended to be read by the human eye and cannot be used as it is in a computer or other information processing device. Therefore, a combination of a facsimile device and a character recognition device has come to be used. In such a device, after receiving the image data, the characters in the image are read and encoded. That is, the image data is finally converted into a character code and is taken into a computer or the like. In this way, using a facsimile machine,
Predetermined data can be input to a computer connected to a facsimile machine on the receiving side to perform a certain process.

[0003]

By the way, when a document is optically read and converted into image data in a facsimile machine on the transmission side, it depends on conditions such as the brightness of an image sensor or illumination for illuminating the document. , The contrast of the obtained data varies. Therefore, when the image data is reproduced by the facsimile apparatus on the receiving side, the image quality of the image data varies. FIG. 2 shows a facsimile reception state explanatory diagram when such a variation occurs. FIG. 2A shows an image in a normal reception state, in which an uppercase alphabetic ABCD is drawn in the image 1. When such a character is entered in the character frame 2, the character recognition device recognizes each character and converts it into a character code.

FIG. 2 (b) shows an image in a noise-containing reception state. Here, in addition to the characters ABCD, strip-shaped stripes 3 are mixed as noise on the image 1. See also FIG.
In (c), an image in the blurring occurrence reception state is shown. In the case of the figure, the three characters ABD are clearly represented in the image 1, but the character C is hardly recognizable due to blurring. In the case of FIG. 2B, when the stripe 3 overlaps any character, the character cannot be recognized. In this way, if a facsimile is received even though the reception condition is extremely bad, and all of it is automatically read by the character recognition device and converted into data for input to the computer, incorrect data will be displayed on the computer. Or unreliable data will be input. In a system in which data is input from the transmission side using a facsimile device, the reception state cannot be evaluated at the transmission side, and therefore erroneous data may be directly input to the computer.

It should be noted that, as described above, not only the structure in which the character recognition device is incorporated in the facsimile device but also a general facsimile device is very difficult to read when the quality of the printed image is poor. Or, the information may be misrepresented. The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above points. It is possible to evaluate the image data received on the receiving side, notify the operator, and prohibit the reading operation of the character recognition means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile machine that can be used.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, The present invention relates to a facsimile machine including mark reading means for reading a reception state evaluation mark at a predetermined position on the image paper. According to a second aspect of the present invention, a receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, a memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and a receiving state at a predetermined position on the image. Mark reading means for reading the evaluation mark, status determination means for evaluating the reading result of the mark reading means to judge the reception status of the receiving means, and the status determination means for the normal reading result of the mark reading means. The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus comprising a character recognition means for reading a character at another predetermined position on the image only when it is determined that According to a third aspect of the present invention, receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and receiving at a predetermined position on the image. The mark reading means for reading the status evaluation mark, the status judging means for evaluating the reading result of the mark reading means to judge the receiving status of the receiving means, and the reading result of the mark reading means by the status judging means. The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus including return control means for returning the received image data to a transmitting side when it is determined to be abnormal. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and receiving at a predetermined position on the image. The mark reading means for reading the status evaluation mark, the status judging means for evaluating the reading result of the mark reading means to judge the receiving status of the receiving means, and the reading result of the mark reading means by the status judging means. When it is determined that there is an abnormality, a print output unit for printing the received image data as it is, and a key input unit for manually inputting information about a character at a predetermined position on the image are provided. Fax machine.

[0007]

When the receiving means 11 receives the image data via the signal transmission path 6, the image data is stored in the image memory 12. There is a reception status evaluation mark on the image,
The mark reading means 13 reads this, and the state determination means 1
4 ratings. The result of the mark reading is evaluated based on a certain standard to determine the reception state. If the reception state is bad, the recognition by the character recognition means 15 is stopped and the character is returned to the transmission side by the return control means 16 or manually input by the operator by the key input means 18. This makes it possible to maintain the quality of the received image and prevent erroneous recognition results from being adopted.

[0008]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention. In the illustrated apparatus, a facsimile machine 10 on the receiving side is connected to a facsimile machine 5 on the transmitting side via a signal transmission line 6. The receiving side facsimile apparatus 10 includes a receiving unit 11, an image memory 12, a mark reading unit 13, a state determining unit 14, and a character recognizing unit 1.
5, a return control unit 16, a print output unit 17, a key input unit 18, and a recognition result transmission unit 19. The sending side facsimile device 5 in the figure may be a general facsimile device that is widely and generally used. Also,
The signal transmission path 6 is composed of a normal telephone line provided for facsimile transmission or a communication line such as a local area network. The receiving means 11 comprises a receiving section of a general facsimile machine, and the image memory 12 comprises a semiconductor memory capable of storing at least one screen. Here, in carrying out the present invention, the reception state evaluation mark is described in a part of the document transmitted by the transmission side facsimile device 5. This is via the signal transmission line 6,
It is received by the receiving side facsimile device 10.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the reception state evaluation mark.
In the figure, in the upper corner portion of the received image 1, there is a barcode-like reception state evaluation mark 8. Then, a character frame 7 is provided near the center of the image 1, and the character “012345” is described therein. In the apparatus of the present invention, before recognizing the characters described in the character frame 7, it is first evaluated whether or not the reception state evaluation mark 8 is correctly received. The mark reading means 13 and the state judging means 14 shown in FIG. 1 are circuits for making the judgment.

FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are explanatory views of such a mark reading operation. First, FIG. 4 shows the reception state evaluation mark 8 at the time of normal reception. Here, the mark reading means 13 shown in FIG. 1 first scans the image in the X direction indicated by the dashed-dotted line arrow in the drawing, and this scanning is performed in the Y direction.
The mark is read by periodically repeating the movement in the direction. That is, the operation of scanning in the X direction by a certain distance, shifting in the Y direction by a distance of one unit, and further scanning in the X direction is repeated. Therefore, as shown in the drawing,
The operation is such that the marks 18 regularly arranged in the Y direction at regular intervals are cut while being cut into lines in the X direction while the marks 18 are read. By such an operation, as will be described later, the number of marks 18 forming the reception state evaluation mark 8 is recognized. For example, if the number is 100, then 1
If 00 marks can be accurately read by the mark reading means 13, it can be judged that the reception state is good.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a mark reading operation when a large amount of noise is mixed. As shown in FIG. 5, when the number of marks is read in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 4, the number of marks along the Y direction of the mark 18 is counted to count the number of marks. Big noise 1
When 9 covers the two marks 18 so as to straddle them, the two marks are recognized as one mark. Therefore, the number of marks recognized by the mark reading means becomes smaller than the actual number of marks. This makes it possible to determine that the reception state is poor.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a mark reading operation when a blur occurs. In this example, one mark disappears as the most extreme state of fading. Therefore, when such a reception state evaluation mark is read by the mark reading means 13, the number of marks is recognized to be small. That is, also in this case, it is determined that the reception state is bad.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation when a small noise having a relatively narrow width is present between the marks. In this case, for example, as shown in the example of the figure, after recognizing the break of the regular mark 18, the small noise 17 is recognized, and then the break of the mark is recognized again, and then the regular mark 18 is recognized. The operation such as doing will be performed. by this,
The mark reading means 13 will detect a larger number of marks than the actual number of marks. Even in such a case, it can be recognized that the reception state is poor. In order to perform the above evaluation, it is preferable that each mark 18 constituting the reception state evaluation mark 8 is selected to have a size of about 3 to 4 times the resolution of the facsimile apparatus. Therefore, for example, the width in the Y direction and the distance between the marks are selected to be 0.5 mm or more. The length of each mark 18 in the X direction is selected to be about 5 mm. The pattern density is 0.5 PCS (print
Contrast signal).

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram in which the essential parts of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention are further embodied. It should be noted that this drawing mainly embodies the circuit configuration centering on the mark reading means 13 and the state judging means 14 of FIG. This device is equipped with an image memory 12 and two address counters 22 and 23. Image memory 12
Is a memory for storing the received image data 21. The address counter 22 is a circuit that generates an X-direction address signal to access the image memory 12. The address counter 23 is a circuit that generates an address in the Y direction and accesses the image memory 12. By these operations of the address counters 22 and 23, it is possible to read the reception state evaluation mark regularly in the predetermined range in the X direction and the Y direction as described above with reference to FIG.

The image data 21 thus read
Are connected so as to be input to the black dot counter 25.
Then, the outputs of the reference value register 26 and the black spot counter 25 are input to the mark recognition comparator 27, and the output of the mark recognition comparator 27 is input to the 1-line shift latch 31 which delays the signal by 1 line. Also,
The output of the mark recognition comparator 27, the output of the 1-line shift latch 31 and the change point detection comparator 32
Wired to enter. The part from the black point counter 25 to the change point detection comparator 32 corresponds to the mark reading means 13. Next, the output of the change point detection comparator 32 is input to the black mark counter 33, and the output of this black mark counter 33 and the black mark number register 34
Are connected so that both outputs are input to the determination comparator 35. The black mark counter 33, the black mark number register 34, and the judging comparator 35 correspond to the state judging means 14.

The circuit configured as described above operates as follows. FIG. 9 shows a time chart showing the contents of the output signal of the circuit of FIG. The circuit operation will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 8. First, in the procedure described above,
When the reception state evaluation mark is read from the image memory 12 in the X direction, the number of black dots proportional to the length of the scanning line is recognized at the position where the scanning line in the X direction and the mark overlap. The black spot counter 25 counts the black spots. In the reference value register 26, the number of black dots corresponding to the length of the overlapping portion of the scanning line and the mark in the X direction or the number of black dots slightly smaller than that is set in advance.
The black dot counter 25 in the mark recognition comparator 27
Is compared with the output of.

FIG. 9A shows the output of the reference value register 26, and FIG. 9B shows the output of the black spot counter 25.
The output of the black spot counter 25 increases in sequence while counting black spots, and is cleared to zero when the operation in the X direction is completed once in t seconds. Therefore, the output of the sawtooth shape is obtained as shown in the figure. The mark recognition comparator 27
These signals are compared, and a high-level signal is output only when the output of the black spot counter 25 is larger than the output of the reference value register 26. This signal is shown in FIG. 9 (c).

The output of the mark recognition comparator 27 is directly input to the change point detection comparator 32 and also to the 1-line shift latch 31. The 1-line shift latch 31 is a circuit that operates so as to delay the output of the mark recognition comparator 27 by exactly one operation time t seconds in the X direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9D, the output of the 1-line shift latch 31 is shifted by t seconds from the output shown in FIG. 9C and output. This is input to the change point detection comparator 32.

This change point detection comparator 32 is shown in FIG.
The detection operation is performed at the timing shown in (e) of
That is, the two input signals are compared at timings T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 ... Here, at the timings T1 and T2, 2 of the change point detection comparator 32 is used.
The two input signals are equal to each other, and therefore the output of the change point detection comparator 32 is at a low level. However, at the timing T3, the scan line just scans the blank area between the marks, and therefore the output of the mark recognition comparator 27. Becomes a low level, whereby the inputs of the change point detection comparator 32 do not match and the output signal thereof changes to a high level.

Such a change point similarly occurs when a white background portion is scanned and then a portion intersecting the black background mark is scanned. This is the timing T4 portion of FIG. Therefore, also in this portion, the change point detection comparator 32
Output becomes high level. After that timing T5, T
At 6, the output is the same as at timings T1 and T2. As a result, a signal as shown in FIG. 9F is input to the black mark counter 33. This signal is a signal containing pulses that are twice as many as the number of reception state evaluation marks.

The black mark counter 33 counts such pulses, and the output of the black mark number register 34 is compared with the judgment comparator 35. In the black mark number register 34, data corresponding to, for example, twice the number of black marks constituting the reception state evaluation mark is set in advance. As a result, the judgment comparator 35 can judge whether or not the number of marks finally read is correct, and can obtain a constant judgment output.

In this embodiment, the reception state is determined to be bad unless the preset number of black marks and the number of actually read marks match. However, if the output of the judgment comparator 35 is within a certain range, it can be judged that the receiving condition is good. It can be ignored as it does not affect. In order to perform such an operation, a well-known window comparator may be used as the determination comparator 35.

When the state determination means 14 shown in FIG. 1 determines the mark reading result based on the above-described processing, if the determination is that the reception state is good, character recognition is performed. The means 15 starts recognition of the characters written on the paper. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reception condition is bad and there is a high possibility that an error will occur in character recognition, the operation of the character recognition means 15 is prohibited. In such a case, the fact is notified to the operator, and the operator takes measures such as requesting the transmission side to perform facsimile transmission again. If the recognition error is such that the operator can visually recognize and distinguish it, the operator may manually operate the terminal device of the computer to correct the data.

The third invention of the present invention is realized by the return control means 16 shown in FIG. That is, this return control means 16
Transfers the part or all of the image data stored in the image memory 12 toward the transmitting side facsimile device 5 via the signal transmission path 6 when the state determination means 14 prohibits the operation of the character recognition means 15. To do. In this case, if all image data including at least the reception state evaluation mark is returned, the same evaluation as that of the reception side facsimile device 10 can be performed in the transmission side facsimile device 5. Thereby, for example, when the mechanism for image reading in the sending side facsimile device 5 is defective, it can be adjusted and then a normal image can be sent again to the receiving side facsimile device 10.
If the signal transmission path 6 is in a bad state, the same procedure is repeated after the signal transmission path 6 is recovered, and a normal image is displayed on the receiving side facsimile apparatus 10.
You can send it to. As described above, in the third aspect of the invention, the image data received is returned to the transmitting side, whereby the adjustment can be promoted and the image quality of the entire system can be kept constant.

Next, in the third aspect of the present invention, when the state determination means 14 prohibits the operation of the character recognition means 15, the result is notified to the print output means 17. The print output means 17 is composed of a printer or the like, and when it receives a notification to that effect from the state determination means 14, it uses the image data stored in the image memory 12 to print on the printing paper as it is. The operator reads the printed contents, and if the characters can be recognized by the naked eye, inputs the result using the key input means 18. The key input means 18 is composed of a keyboard or the like used in a normal information processing apparatus. The output of the character recognition means 15 and the output of the key input means 18 of the receiving side facsimile device 10 are both input to the recognition result transmission means 19. The recognition result transmitting means 19 is composed of a communication control circuit or the like for transmitting the recognition result to a host device (not shown).

As a result, even in a receiving state in which the character recognition means 15 cannot easily recognize the character, the recognition result is normally transmitted to the upper device as long as the recognition is possible with the naked eye by the operator's verification. If the recognition is impossible even with the naked eye, for example, the return control means 16 described above may be operated to request the transmitting side facsimile apparatus 5 to retransmit. Further, even if the recognition is possible, the return control means 16 may be used for optimally adjusting the state of the transmission side.

FIG. 10 shows a general operational flowchart of the apparatus of the present invention. For example, when the receiving side facsimile apparatus 10 is configured as shown in FIG. 1, various operations as shown in the figure are executed depending on the data receiving state. First, in step S1, when the receiving side facsimile device 10 receives image data,
In 2, the mark reading means 13 reads the mark. Then, the state determination means 14 performs step S3.
In step S4, it is determined whether or not the reception is normal. If it is determined that the character is normally received, the process proceeds to step S5, and the character recognition means 15 recognizes the character. Then, the recognition result is transmitted to the higher-level device by the recognition result transmitting means 19 (step S6).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the reception is not normal, it is determined in step S7 whether or not a retransmission request should be made. This judgment is made by the operator who verifies the data. When the operator determines that the resend request is unnecessary, the image is printed using the print output means 17 in step S8. Then, in step S9, the operator reads the contents with the naked eye, and in step S10, the read result is input using the key input means 18. This result is input to the recognition result transmitting means 19, and then the recognition result is transmitted in step S6. In step S7,
When it is determined that the retransmission request should be issued, step S11
Then, the return control means 16 causes the sending side facsimile apparatus 5 to operate.
The received image data is returned to. Although the processing of this flowchart is completed by this, the sending side facsimile apparatus 5 makes necessary adjustments based on the image data returned as described above, and again sends the image data to the receiving side facsimile apparatus 10. It will be sent.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The present invention can also be applied to an ordinary facsimile apparatus that does not have a character recognition means. In that case, the determination result of the state determination means 14 is displayed by a lamp or the like, and the reception state can be immediately confirmed without inspecting the sheet actually received in detail. Therefore, when a large number of documents are received by the facsimile apparatus, it is possible to display how many pages the reception status is bad. As a result, there is also an advantage that it is possible to quickly determine the page for which the sender should be requested to retransmit. The configurations and operations of the mark reading unit 13 and the state determining unit 14 may be replaced with other various circuits having the same function.

[0030]

In the facsimile apparatus of the present invention described above, when the predetermined image data is received through the signal transmission path, the mark reading means reads and evaluates the reception state evaluation mark, so that a constant reference is obtained. The reception status can be automatically determined according to. This promptly notifies the operator of the reception status, and in a facsimile machine equipped with the character recognition means, when the reception status is poor, the character recognition operation is prohibited, and a resend request is sent to the transmission side.
It is possible to prevent the operator from manually inputting incorrect and unreliable data into the computer. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden of the operator on the reception status of the facsimile reception data and to improve the work efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a general facsimile reception state, (a)
Is a normal reception state explanatory diagram, (b) is a noise-containing reception state explanatory diagram, and (c) is a blurring occurrence reception state explanatory diagram.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a reception state evaluation mark used in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a mark reading operation during normal reception.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a mark reading operation when large noise is mixed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a mark reading operation when a blur occurs.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a mark reading operation when a small noise is mixed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a main part of the device of the present invention.

9 is a time chart of output signals of the circuit of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a general operational flowchart of the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Sending side facsimile machine 6 signal transmission path 10 Receiving side facsimile machine 11 Receiving means 12 image memory 13 Mark reading means 14 State determination means 15 Character recognition means 16 Return control means 17 Print output means 18 key input means 19 Recognition result transmission means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and a reception state evaluation mark at a predetermined position on the image. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a mark reading unit for reading the mark; and a state determining unit for evaluating a reading result of the mark reading unit to determine a receiving state of the receiving unit. 2. A receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and a reception state evaluation mark at a predetermined position on the image. A mark reading means for reading the mark, a state judging means for evaluating the reading result of the mark reading means to judge the receiving state of the receiving means, and the state judging means for judging that the reading result of the mark reading means is normal. A facsimile apparatus comprising a character recognition means for reading a character at another predetermined position on the image only when the character is read. 3. A receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and a reception state evaluation mark at a predetermined position on the image. A mark reading means for reading the mark, a state judging means for evaluating the reading result of the mark reading means to judge the receiving state of the receiving means, and the state judging means for judging that the reading result of the mark reading means is abnormal. And a return control means for returning the received image data to the transmitting side. 4. A receiving means for receiving predetermined image data via a signal transmission path, an image memory for temporarily storing the image data received by the receiving means, and a reception state evaluation mark at a predetermined position on the image. A mark reading means for reading the mark, a state judging means for evaluating the reading result of the mark reading means to judge the receiving state of the receiving means, and the state judging means for judging that the reading result of the mark reading means is abnormal. And a key input unit for manually inputting information about a character at a predetermined position on the image when the received image data is printed. .