JPH07239902A - Optical character reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the efficient correction processing and to make the reader small in size. CONSTITUTION:The optical character reader 10A has a reader main body 11, an image detection section 16 detecting an image of a slip P, a recognition section recognizing characters on the form P based on the detected image of the form, a display section 13 displaying the result of recognition, and a confirmation window 12 provided to the reader main body 11 so as to recognize visually the characters on the form P supplied in the reader main body 11 from the outside of the reader main body 11. Since the result of recognition displayed on the detection section 13 and the form P itself seen through the confirmation window 12 are collated, it is not required to extract the form P from the reader main body 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical character reader, and more particularly, to an efficient correction process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional optical character reader is shown in FIG.
2 will be described.

The device 1 shown in FIG.
After the paper P is supplied into the main body of the apparatus by the paper supply belt 3, the form P is conveyed to the reading position 5a by the conveyance rollers 4, and after the image of the form P is detected by the image detection unit 5, the form P is detected by a recognition unit (not shown). The characters written above are recognized, a serial number and the like are printed by the printing unit 6, and are discharged to the discharging unit 7.

However, since the recognition result may include rejected characters (characters that are likely to be erroneously read), correction processing is required.

In the correction process, the form P to be corrected is searched for from a large number of forms P discharged to the discharge unit 7 by relying on the printed serial number, and the correct characters are obtained by collating the form P with the recognition result. The reading process is performed again by inputting from the keyboard or directly correcting the form P.

[0006]

As described above, the conventional example device 1 has a problem that it takes time to find the form P to be corrected in the correction process, and the correction process takes a long time. The apparatus 1 is inconvenient in performing the correction process because the discharge unit 7 is provided on the opposite side of the paper feed table 2 that is the supply side of the form P.

Further, in the conventional apparatus 1, the paper feed tray 2, the image detecting section 5, the printing section 6 and the discharging section 7 are linearly arranged, and the maximum distance between the image detecting section 5 and the printing section 6 is provided. There is also a problem that the size of the apparatus becomes large because it is necessary to make the form length L or more.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical character reading apparatus which aims at improving the efficiency of the correction process and downsizing the apparatus. .

[0009]

An optical character reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an apparatus main body, image detecting means for detecting an image of a form supplied in the apparatus main body, and an image of the detected form. Recognition means for recognizing the characters on the form based on the above, display means for displaying the recognition result of the characters by the recognizing means, and visually recognizing the characters on the form supplied to the device body from outside the device body. And a window provided in the main body of the apparatus so as to enable it.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical character reading apparatus, wherein the form supplied to the apparatus main body is conveyed to the inside of the apparatus main body, and after the character recognition by the recognizing means is completed, the form is transferred to the form. And a control means for controlling the moving means so as to convey the moving means to the window.

An optical character reading apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention supplies the sheet feeding / discharging table on which the sheet is placed, the sheet placed on the sheet feeding / discharging table into the apparatus main body, and The feeding / discharging means for discharging the form from the inside of the apparatus main body onto the feeding / discharging table, and the above-mentioned feeding / discharging so as to discharge the form to the above-mentioned feeding / discharging table after the necessary processing is completed for the form supplied in the apparatus main body And a control means for controlling the discharging means.

An optical character reader according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus main body, image detecting means for detecting an image of a form supplied to the apparatus main body, and the form supplied to the apparatus main body. A transport means for transporting inside, a recognition means for recognizing characters on the form based on the detected image of the form, and a character for outputting a reject character for a character that is likely to be misread, and this recognition means. Display means for displaying the recognition result of characters, a window provided in the device body for visually recognizing the characters on the form supplied in the device body from the outside of the device body, and the recognition of characters by the recognition means At least an image of a character corresponding to the reject character is displayed on the display unit based on the result, and a character on the form corresponding to the reject character is displayed. It is characterized in that a control means for controlling the conveying means so as to transport to the center of the window.

An optical character reader according to a fifth aspect of the present invention supplies an apparatus main body, a sheet feeding / discharging table on which a document is placed, and a sheet placed on the sheet feeding / discharging table into the apparatus main body. At the same time, a feeding / discharging means for discharging the form from the inside of the apparatus body onto the feeding / discharging table, an image detecting means for detecting an image of the form supplied by the supplying / discharging means, and a form supplied in the apparatus body. And a recognition means for recognizing the characters on the form based on the image of the detected form and outputting a reject character for a character that is likely to be misread. Display means for displaying the recognition result of the character by the recognition means, a window provided in the device body so that the characters on the form supplied in the device body can be visually recognized from outside the device body, and the reject It has an input means for inputting correct character data for a character and a control means for controlling the conveying means and the feeding / discharging means so as to discharge the form to a window or a feeding / discharging table according to the recognition result. It is a thing.

[0014]

According to the optical character reader of claim 1,
Since the recognition result displayed on the display means can be collated with the form seen through the window, it is not necessary to take out the form from the main body of the device for collation.

According to the optical character reader of the second aspect, even if the form is larger than the window, the form can be seen through the window by moving the form, and the form can be recognized regardless of the size of the form. It is possible to collate with the result.

According to the optical character reading device of the third aspect, the sheet feeding / discharging table serves as both the sheet feeding table and the sheet discharging table, so that the apparatus can be downsized.

According to the optical character reading device of the fourth aspect, as in the first aspect, the recognition result displayed on the display means can be collated with the form viewed from the window. It is not necessary to take out the form from the main body of the device, and collation can be performed for each reject character.

According to the optical character reading device of the fifth aspect, the device can be downsized, and when the characters on the form are printed characters, the form is corrected after being corrected by the input means. When the characters can be ejected on the form and the characters on the form are handwritten characters, the form can be ejected onto the feeding / discharging table and the form can be directly corrected, and then the form can be read again.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of the optical character reader of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device 10A of the present embodiment has a device body 11 having a substantially rectangular shape.
On the front side of 1, a sheet feeding / discharging table 11a on which the form P can be placed in an upright state, a standing form receiving surface 11b, and a form receiving surface 1
1b is provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to 1b.
And a confirmation window 12 made of a transparent plate or the like for visually recognizing the characters on the form P from the outside of the apparatus main body 11, and the recognition result, a menu, etc. are displayed on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 11. A display unit 13 for the above is provided, and an input unit 40 such as a keyboard for correcting the recognition result and selecting a menu is connected to the apparatus main body 11. In addition, 11c in the figure is a maintenance window of the printing unit 15 described later.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the apparatus main body 11. The confirmation window 12 is simply shown in FIG.

In the apparatus 10A of the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the form P is supplied to the inside of the apparatus main body 11, and at the same time, the feeding / discharging section 20 for discharging the form P from the apparatus main body 11 and the inside of the apparatus main body 11 are provided. A conveyance unit 30 that conveys the form P in the supply direction A or the discharge direction B along the conveyance path 31 formed on the conveyance path 31 and the presence or absence of the form P that is provided on the supply / discharge plate 21 and that detects the presence or absence of the form P on the supply / discharge table 11a. The detector 14a and the rear end 31 of the transport path 31
A form leading edge detector 14b arranged near a and detecting the leading end Pa of the form P, and a printing unit 15 arranged on the feeding / discharging unit 20 side of the transport path 31 for printing a serial number or the like on the form P.
The image detection unit 16 is provided near the reading position 31b in the middle of the transport path 31 and detects a form image.

The image detecting unit 16 includes a light source 16a for irradiating the form P with light, and a photoelectric conversion element (CCD) 16b for receiving the reflected light from the form P and converting it into an electric signal to detect the form image. It is equipped with.

The supply / discharge unit 20 includes the supply / discharge plate 21 and a supply / discharge plate drive motor 22 for driving the supply / discharge plate 21, which will be described later.
And a feeding / discharging belt 23 that supplies the form P from the feeding / discharging table 11a to the conveying path 31 side and discharges the form P from the conveying path 31 to the feeding / discharging table 11a side, and a belt described later that drives the feeding / discharging belt 23. And a drive motor 24.

The transport section 30 is provided on each side of the transport path 31, and guide plates 32 (32a to 32d) for guiding the form P along the transport path 31, and each section of the transport path 31. The transport rollers 33 (33a to 33c), tension rollers 34 (34a to 34d) that are constantly pressed against the supply / discharge belt 23 and the transport roller 33 by springs (not shown), and stepping motors that drive the transport rollers 33 will be described later. And a conveyance motor 35.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of this embodiment.

The apparatus 10A of this embodiment has a control section 19 for controlling each section of the apparatus 10A.
The display unit 13, the form presence / absence detector 14a, the form leading edge detector 14b, the printing unit 15, the image detecting unit 16, the feeding / discharging plate drive motor 22, the belt drive motor 24, and the conveyance motor 35.
In addition to connecting the input section 40, the image detection section 16
The recognition unit 17 for recognizing the characters on the form P based on the form image detected by and the recognition result storage unit 18 for storing the recognition result by the recognition unit 17 are connected.

The recognition section 17 performs character recognition processing based on the form image detected by the photoelectric conversion element 16b of the image detection section 16, and stores the recognition result in the recognition result storage section 18. Further, the recognition unit 17 outputs a character that is likely to be misread as a result of the character recognition process, as a reject character.

After the character recognition processing by the recognition unit 17 is completed, the control unit 19 displays at least an image of a character corresponding to the reject character on the display unit 13 based on the recognition result, and also corresponds to the reject character. The conveyance unit 30 is controlled so that the characters on the form P are conveyed to the center of the confirmation window 12. In the position control of the form P in this case, the size information of the form P is preset, and the position information of the character on the form P corresponding to the reject character is also recognized by the recognition unit 1.
7 is input to the control unit 19, and the control unit 19 realizes by pulse-controlling the carry motor 35 based on the position of the leading edge Pa of the form detected by the image detection unit 16 based on these information.

Next, the operation of the apparatus 10A of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9 and according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the apparatus 10A of the present embodiment, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a form P, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of recognition results, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are a plurality of reject characters. It is a figure for explaining operation in a case.

First, the operator places, for example, one form P on which characters are written on the paper supply / discharge table 11a as shown in FIG. 5, and operates the input unit 40 to instruct the supply operation (S).
1). When the form P is placed on the feeding / discharging table 11a, the form presence / absence detector 14a transmits a detection signal indicating that the form is present to the control unit 19.

When the supply operation is instructed, the control section 19
Upon receipt of the detection signal from the form presence / absence detector 14a, it is confirmed that the form P is set on the feeding / discharging table 11a, and the form P is supplied (S2). That is, the control unit 1
9 controls the supply / discharge plate drive motor 22 of the supply / discharge unit 20,
The feeding / discharging plate 21 is moved to the form receiving surface 11b side to press the form P, and the belt driving motor 24 of the feeding / discharging unit 20 is controlled to rotate the feeding / discharging belt 23 in the normal direction (clockwise in FIG. 2). , The form P is supplied to the transport path 31 side. Feed and discharge plate 2
By the pressing operation of No. 1, the form P is pressed against the supply / discharge belt 23, and the form P is conveyed by the frictional force with the supply / discharge belt 23.
1 side, feeding and discharging belt 23 and tension roller 34
When it reaches the position between a and the sheet a, the form P becomes the tension roller 34a.
Is pressed against the feeding / discharging belt 23, and is further sent to the transport path 31 side. In order to interlock with this, the control unit 19
The conveyance roller 35 is controlled by controlling the conveyance motor 35 of the conveyance unit 30.
3 is rotated in the normal direction (clockwise in FIG. 2), and the form P is conveyed in the supply direction A. The form P includes the transport rollers 33a to 33a.
It is nipped between c and the tension rollers 34b to 34d and conveyed in the supply direction A.

On the other hand, the form P is transferred from the feeding / discharging table 11a to the conveying path 3
When supplied to the first side, the form presence / absence detector 14a transmits a detection signal indicating no form to the control unit 19. The control unit 19
As shown in FIG. 4, when the detection signal indicating the absence of the form is received from the form presence / absence detector 14a, the sheet feeding / discharging plate drive motor 22 is controlled so that the sheet feeding / discharging plate 21 in contact with the form receiving surface 11b is received. Separate the form P from the surface 11b by more than the thickness of one form P
Is prepared for discharging (S3). As a result, the form receiving surface 1
A space for discharging the form P is secured between the 1b and the supply / discharge plate 21.

The form P is further conveyed in the supply direction A, and as shown in FIG. 4, the leading edge Pa of the form P is the leading edge detector 1 of the form.
When reaching 4b, the leading edge detector 14b detects it and transmits the detection signal to the control unit 19. Control unit 19
Controls the conveyance motor 35 based on the detection signal from the leading edge detector 14b to stop the conveyance of the form P.

On the other hand, when the form P is conveyed in the supply direction A from the feeding / discharging table 11a, passes the vicinity of the printing unit 15 and further passes the reading position 31a, the form detecting unit 16 detects the form image ( S4). That is, the reading position 31 where the light source 16a of the image detection unit 16 emits light.
When the form P passes through a, the photoelectric conversion element 16b receives the reflected light from the form P, converts it into an electric signal, and outputs it as a form image to the recognition unit 17.

The recognition unit 17 performs character recognition processing based on the form image detected by the photoelectric conversion element 16b of the image detection unit 16, and stores the recognition result in the recognition result storage unit 18 (S5).

The control unit 19 fetches the recognition result from the recognition result storage unit 18, determines whether the recognition result includes a reject character (S6), and if the reject character is not included, the form P is included. Is discharged (S7). That is, the control unit 19 controls the conveyance motor 35 of the conveyance unit 30 to reverse the conveyance roller 33 (rotate left in FIG. 4) to convey the form P in the ejection direction B, and at the same time, the feeding / ejection unit 2
The belt drive motor 24 of 0
In reverse (rotate left in FIG. 4).

When the form P passes near the printing unit 15, the control unit 19 controls the printing unit 15 to print a serial number or the like on the form P (S8).

The form P is fed from the feeding path 31 to the feeding / feeding table 11 by the reverse movement of the feeding roller 33 and the reverse feeding / feeding belt 23.
It is discharged to the a side (S9).

If the reject character is included in step S6, the control unit 19 displays the recognition result as shown in the display example of FIG. 6 on the display unit 13 (S10). That is, as shown in the figure, an image 13a of the entire form P is displayed in the lower right part of the screen, and the image 1a has a mark 1 indicating the position of the reject character.
3b is displayed, an image 13c of a field including a reject character is displayed in the upper part of the screen, the image "C" of the reject character is displayed in black and white in the image 13c, and the image of the reject character "is displayed in the lower left of the screen. Only "C" or the characters before and after it are enlarged and displayed. When there are a plurality of reject characters, the priority of the reject characters to be enlarged and displayed may be determined such that the upper field is prioritized and the left character of the field is prioritized.

Next, the form P is moved to the confirmation window 12 (S11). From the confirmation window 12, the entire form P shown in FIG. 5 can be seen. If the form P is larger than the confirmation window 12 and there are a plurality of characters “A” and “B” corresponding to reject characters on the form P as shown in FIG.
As shown in, even if the conveyance unit 30 is controlled so that the character on the form P corresponding to the reject character is moved to the center of the confirmation window 12 in synchronization with the image of the reject character enlarged on the display unit 13. Good.

The operator collates the recognition result displayed on the display unit 13 with the actual form P seen from the confirmation window 12,
Correction processing is performed (S12). In this correction process, the correct character is input from the input unit 40.

After the correction process is completed, the operator enters the input section 40.
When the key indicating the end of the correction process is pressed by operating, the control unit 19 performs the printing and the form discharge shown in steps S8 and S9.

When the characters on the form P are handwritten, the form P is discharged to the feeding / discharging table 11a,
It is also possible to take out the form P from the feeding / discharging table 11a, directly modify the form P, and perform the reading process again.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of this embodiment.

In the embodiment apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 1, one sheet P is placed on the feeding / discharging table 11a in an upright state, and the sheet feeding / discharging table 11a serves as a feeding table and a discharging table. Although the reading process was performed for each sheet, the apparatus 10B of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 places a large number of forms P on the supply table 50 in a horizontal state and
Is discharged to a discharge section 53 provided on the rear end side of the conveyance path 52 in the apparatus main body 51, and a confirmation window 54 is provided in the preceding stage of the discharge section 53 so that a large number of forms P can be continuously processed. Is.

According to the device 10B of this embodiment, the miniaturization of the device cannot be expected as compared with the device 10A shown in FIG.
As in the apparatus 10A of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the efficiency of the correction process can be improved. Further, since the conveyance path 51 is slightly raised near the confirmation window 54, the form P can be easily seen through the confirmation window 54.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various modifications can be made without changing the gist of the invention.
For example, the confirmation window may have a structure in which the back surface of the form P is only supported by a support member or the like without providing a rectangular through hole as in the present embodiment.

[0050]

According to the present invention described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the recognition result displayed on the display means can be collated with the form seen through the window without taking out the form for collation from the main body of the apparatus. It is possible to improve efficiency.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to collate with the recognition result regardless of the size of the form, so that the window can be made smaller and the device can be made smaller, and the size of the certain range can be achieved. It is possible to improve the efficiency of the correction process for the form.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the supply / discharge table serves both as a supply table and a discharge table for the form, it is not necessary to provide a discharge section separately from the supply / discharge table, and the apparatus can be downsized. Can be achieved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the recognition result displayed on the display means can be collated with the form seen through the window without taking out the form for collation from the main body of the device, and the reject character unit can be used. Since the collation can be performed with, it is possible to save the trouble of searching for a reject character and perform an efficient correction process.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the sheet feeding / discharging table serves both as the sheet feeding table and the sheet discharging table, the apparatus can be downsized and the correction processing according to the type of characters on the sheet can be performed. Therefore, the correction process becomes efficient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical character reading device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the internal structure of the apparatus body of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a form.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a recognition result.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an operation when there are a plurality of reject characters.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation when there are a plurality of reject characters.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation when there are a plurality of reject characters.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a conventional optical character reading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10A, 10B Optical character reading device 11 Device body 11a Feeding / discharging stand 12,54 Confirmation window 13 Display unit 16 Image detecting unit 19 Control unit 20 Feeding / discharging unit 30 Conveying unit 40 Input unit P form

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus main body, image detection means for detecting an image of a form supplied in the apparatus main body, and recognition means for recognizing characters on the form based on the detected image of the form, Display means for displaying the recognition result of the characters by the recognition means; and a window provided in the device body so that the characters on the form supplied in the device body can be visually recognized from outside the device body. Characteristic optical character reader. 2. A transporting means for transporting the form supplied in the apparatus body in the apparatus body, and controlling the transporting means to transport the form to the window after the character recognition by the recognizing means is completed. The optical character reading device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A feeding / discharging table for placing the form, a form placed on the feeding / discharging table to be supplied into the apparatus main body, and a form from the apparatus main body to the feeding / discharging table. And a control means for controlling the feeding / discharging means so as to discharge the sheet to the sheet feeding / discharging table after necessary processing is completed for the sheet fed into the apparatus main body. The optical character reader according to claim 1, characterized by comprising. 4. An apparatus main body, image detection means for detecting an image of a form supplied in the apparatus main body, and conveyance means for conveying the form supplied in the apparatus main body in the apparatus main body. A recognition means for recognizing the characters on the form based on the image of the form and outputting a reject character for a character that is likely to be misread; and a display means for displaying the recognition result of the character by the recognition means. A window provided in the device body so that the characters on the form supplied to the device body can be visually recognized from outside the device body, and at least the reject character is supported based on the recognition result of the character by the recognition means. Before displaying the image of the character to be displayed on the display means and carrying the character on the form corresponding to the reject character to the center of the window. An optical character reading device comprising: a control unit that controls the transfer unit. 5. An apparatus main body, a sheet feeding / discharging table for mounting a sheet, a sheet placed on the sheet feeding / discharging table is supplied into the apparatus main body, and the sheet is transferred from the inside of the apparatus main body. A feeding / discharging means for discharging onto the feeding / discharging table, an image detecting means for detecting an image of the form supplied by the supplying / discharging means, and a conveying means for conveying the form supplied in the apparatus body in the apparatus body. , Recognizes the characters on the form based on the detected form image, and displays the recognition result of the characters by the recognition unit that outputs as reject characters for the characters that are likely to be misread. Display means, a window provided in the device body for visually recognizing the characters on the form supplied in the device body from the outside of the device body, and inputting correct character data for the reject character. Input means for, optical character reading apparatus characterized by having a control means for controlling the conveying means and supply and discharge means to discharge the document to a window or the supply and exhaust block, an in accordance with the recognition result.