JPH1057899A - Address reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive large capacity memory in an external device and lower the cost by setting recognition devices provided with the external device having a first dictionary in which address codes in compliance with low-order hierarchy addresses in the addresses are stored and a second dictionary in which storage addresses in the first dictionary are stored. SOLUTION: Mails taken out of a take-out section 4 are transferred to an address reading device 31 by a main carrying line. The address reading device 31 is constituted of a plurality of recognition devices 51 (51a, 51b,...) and a block recognition section (low-order hierarchy address recognition section) 52 as an external device connected with the above-said recognition devices 51 in common. The division specifying results in compliance with the address information of mails are output by the recognition device 51, and the block recognition section 52 is provided with the function of comparing block pointers with the recognition character lines as the cities and towns supplied by the recognition devices 51 with the recording content based on the block pointers (addresses) and returning seven-digit zip codes and address codes in compliance with the conforming blocks to the recognition devices 51.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an address reading device for reading an address of a postal matter, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a sorting apparatus has been put to practical use which reads an address of a mail using an address reading device and sorts the mail based on the read address. In such an address reading device, address recognition is performed by a recognition device using an address dictionary.

Heretofore, the recognition device in the address reading device in one sorting device only needs to recognize the address of one station where the sorting device is installed, and the required capacity of the address dictionary is limited. ing. For this reason, it is sufficiently possible to have an address dictionary in the recognition device, and the cost is commensurate.

Conventionally, the address range to be processed by the address reading device in one sorting device was limited. However, with the reform of the postal code system, the address reading device in one sorting device will be read in the future. The address range to be processed by the device becomes larger. In some cases, it is required to cover the whole of Japan. Further, in order to improve the processing speed of the reading device in one sorting device, there has been proposed a device that prepares a plurality of recognition devices and simultaneously recognizes addresses of different mails.

In such an address reading device using a plurality of recognition devices, no problem occurs when the address dictionary is small, but when the address dictionary becomes large, a large-capacity address dictionary is stored in each of the recognition devices. Therefore, there is a problem that the size of the address dictionary that can be possessed by each recognition device is limited, and the readable address range is limited. Further, there is a problem that the cost of the address dictionary memory of each recognition device is increased.

[0006]

As described above, in an address reading device using a plurality of recognition devices, no problem occurs when the address dictionary is small, but when the address dictionary becomes large, each of the addresses becomes large. Since the recognition device has a large-capacity address dictionary, the size of the address dictionary that can be held by each recognition device is restricted, and the readable address range is limited.
Moreover, it eliminates the disadvantage that the cost of the address dictionary memory of each recognition device is increased. In the case of using a plurality of recognition devices, there is no need to mount a large-capacity memory in the recognition device, and the cost is low. A large-capacity large-capacity memory can be provided in an external device, and by sharing the external device with a plurality of recognition devices, a large-capacity external address memory can be shared to reduce costs. It is an object of the present invention to provide an address reading device which can be a capacity memory and has only to increase the capacity in accordance with the address reading range and has no limitation on the reading range due to the limitation of the memory capacity.

[0007]

An address reading apparatus according to the present invention reads an address described on a postal matter, wherein an address code corresponding to a lower hierarchical address in the address is stored. A recognizing device comprising: an external device having a dictionary; and a second dictionary connected to the external device and storing a storage address of the lower-level address corresponding to the upper-level address in the address in the first dictionary. A first recognition unit for recognizing each character in the address described on the mail, and using the character recognized by the first recognition unit, A second recognizing means for recognizing an upper-level address in the address described above, and a second-level address of the lower-level address from the second dictionary corresponding to the recognition result of the second recognizing means. Read memory address And first output means for outputting a transfer data string consisting of the storage address and a character string recognized by the first recognition means after the upper hierarchical address. The external device is a first output device of the recognition device. By comparing the stored contents of the first dictionary corresponding to the storage address in the transfer data string output by the output means with the character string in the transfer data string, the address code corresponding to the lower hierarchical address is converted to the first address. And a second output means for reading out the read address code as a read result.

An address reading apparatus according to the present invention recognizes an upper layer address in address information based on read data of an image on a mail, and is connected to the recognition apparatus and corresponds to a lower layer address in the address. An external device having a lower-level address dictionary storing an address code, wherein the recognition device recognizes each character of an address including an upper-level address and a lower-level address from the image data; An upper-level address dictionary in which addresses of a lower-level address dictionary are stored corresponding to the upper-level addresses; and a character in the lower-level address dictionary corresponding to the upper-level address matched by the character recognized by the recognition means. First reading means for reading from the dictionary, the address of the lower-level address dictionary read by the first reading means, and the upper-level address A first transmission means for transmitting a character string recognized by the first recognition means to an external device, wherein the external device stores an address code for each of the lower hierarchy addresses in a lower-level address dictionary Second reading means for reading the address code of the lower hierarchical address corresponding to the address and the character string of the lower hierarchical address dictionary from the recognition device from the lower hierarchical address dictionary, and the address read by the second reading means. Second transmitting means for transmitting the code to the recognition device.

An address reading device according to the present invention stores a recognition device for recognizing an address in address information based on read data of an image on a mail, and an address code connected to the recognition device and corresponding to a block in the address. A recognition device for recognizing each character of an address consisting of a town name and a town block from the image data, and an address of the town block dictionary corresponding to the town name. The first reading means for reading the address of the block dictionary corresponding to the matching town name from the town name dictionary, based on the characters recognized by the recognition means,
A first transmitting means for transmitting to the external device the address of the block dictionary read by the reading means and the character string recognized by the first recognizing means after the street name, the external device comprising: And a second reading means for reading the address code of the corresponding block from the block dictionary based on the address and the character string of the block dictionary from the recognition device. And a second transmitting means for transmitting the address code read by the above to the recognition device.

An address reading apparatus according to the present invention, which reads an address described on a postal matter, has one external dictionary having an address code corresponding to a lower hierarchical address in the address. A plurality of recognition devices connected to the external device and having a second dictionary in which storage addresses in the first dictionary of lower-level addresses corresponding to upper-level addresses in the addresses are stored. A first recognizing means for recognizing each character in the address described on the mail by each of the recognizing devices; and using the character recognized by the first recognizing means, A second recognizing means for recognizing an upper-level address in the address described above, and a second-level address of the lower-level address from the second dictionary corresponding to the recognition result of the second recognizing means. Memory address And a first output means for outputting a transfer data string consisting of the storage address and a character string recognized by the first recognition means after the upper hierarchical address. By comparing the storage contents of the first dictionary corresponding to the storage address in the transfer data string output by the first output means with the character string in the transfer data string, the address code corresponding to the lower hierarchical address is converted into the address code. And a second output means for reading out the read address code as a read result to the recognition device which has output the transfer data string.

An address reading apparatus according to the present invention comprises a plurality of recognizing devices for recognizing an upper hierarchical address in address information based on read data of an image on a mail, and a lower hierarchical address in the address connected to these recognizing devices. One external device having a lower-level address dictionary storing an address code corresponding to the address code, wherein each of the recognizing devices converts each character of an address composed of an upper-level address and a lower-level address from the image data. Recognition means for recognizing, the upper-level address dictionary in which the address of the lower-level address dictionary is stored corresponding to the upper-level address, the character recognized by the recognition means,
First reading means for reading, from the upper-level address dictionary, an address of the lower-level address dictionary corresponding to the matching upper-level address; an address of the lower-level address dictionary read by the first reading means; The first of
A first transmitting means for transmitting a character string recognized by the recognizing means to an external device, wherein the external device comprises: a lower-level address dictionary storing an address code for each lower-level address; Second reading means for reading out the address code of the lower hierarchical address corresponding to the address and the character string of the lower hierarchical address dictionary from the lower hierarchical address dictionary, and the address code read by the second reading means to the lower hierarchical address dictionary. And a second transmitting means for transmitting the address and the character string of the address dictionary to the recognition device which has transmitted the address dictionary.

An address reading apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of recognizing devices for recognizing addresses in address information based on read data of an image on a postal matter, and an address connected to these recognizing devices and corresponding to a block in the address. A recognition device for recognizing each character of an address consisting of a town name and a town block from the image data, wherein the recognition device corresponds to one of the external devices having a block dictionary storing codes. And a first name reading means for reading the address of the street name dictionary corresponding to the matching town name from the town name dictionary based on the characters recognized by the recognition means. A first transmitting means for transmitting to the external device the address of the block dictionary read by the above and the character string recognized by the first recognizing means after the street name, A second reading means for reading, from the block dictionary, a block dictionary in which the address code of each block is stored, and an address code of the block corresponding to the address and the character string of the block dictionary from the recognition device. And a second transmitting means for transmitting the address code read by the second reading means to the recognition device which has transmitted the address and the character string of the block dictionary.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a mail sorting apparatus 1 incorporating an address reading device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a control circuit of the mail sorting apparatus 1 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mail sorting apparatus 1 comprises:
Address information (section information) as address information such as a zip code or a destination address is written on the first side, or a plurality of mails as printed paper sheets are printed so that the first side faces in the same direction. There is provided a supply unit 2 that accommodates the mails in a standing position with their rear ends aligned and sequentially supplies these mails to a predetermined take-out position. A take-out section 4 for taking out the postal matter supplied by the supply section 2 one by one along the main transport path 3 is located at the post-exit position of the postal matter.
Are arranged. The mail stored in the supply unit 2 is arranged in such a manner that the postal code is located at an upper position when the mail is supplied to the extraction position, and the first surface faces the extraction unit 4.

The mails input via the supply unit 2 include:
As shown in FIG. 3, character information (postal code, address, address, etc.) corresponding to the destination information is described on the first surface. The mail taken out by the take-out section 4 is conveyed through the main conveyance path 3 having a conveyance belt running at a constant speed. On the main transport path 3, a foreign matter / hardness detecting unit 5 is provided for detecting foreign matter in the mail when the mail contains foreign matter and also detecting the hardness of the mail itself. On the transport path branched off from the main transport path 3 on the downstream side of the foreign matter / hardness detecting unit 5,
An exclusion / accumulation unit 5a is provided for eliminating a postal matter that is determined to be impossible to machine by the detection of the foreign matter / hardness detection unit 5.

Main transport path 3 on the downstream side of foreign matter / hardness detector 5
Above, an address reading device 31 is provided which reads the destination information based on the address image of the postal matter and designates the sorting destination of the postal matter in the sorting and stacking section 14, that is, the sorting pocket 15.

At the end of the main transport path 3 on the downstream side of the address reading device 31, a sorting / stacking unit 14 (sorting means) for sorting and stacking mail items into predetermined sorting pockets (sorting destinations) is connected. I have. The sorting destination refers to the position of the sorting pocket where mail is sorted and collected.

The section stacking section 14 has a plurality of section pockets 15 divided into a plurality of steps and a plurality of rows.
For example, 200 division pockets 15 in 8 rows and 25 rows,
... Above each section pocket 15, a section gate (not shown) is provided, respectively.
By selectively switching these sorting gates, the mail is sorted into predetermined sorting pockets 15. This division is instructed by the control unit 30 described later.

In FIG. 1, pocket numbers are serially assigned to the respective division pockets 15 in order from the top in the leftmost column. For example, each division pocket 15 in the first row, ...
For the division pocket No. 1 to 8, and the division pocket No. is assigned to each of the division pockets 15 in the second row.
Nos. 9 to 16 are assigned, and pocket numbers are assigned to the third and subsequent rows.

In FIG. 1, near the end of the main transport path 3 toward the sorting / stacking section 14, each stage path section 1 of the sorting / stacking section 14 is located.
A plurality of switching gates 18 corresponding to the main transport path 3 are provided by selectively switching each of the switching gates 18.
Are selectively connected to any one of a plurality of stages through each stage path unit 16.

Further, on the left front side of the mail sorting apparatus 1 in the figure, an operation panel 25 on which various input operations are performed by a staff member is provided, and on the right side of the mail sorting apparatus 1 in the figure, the operation of the mail sorting apparatus 1 is performed. A control unit 30 for controlling the sorting operation is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the address reading device 31 includes a plurality of (for example, 16) recognition devices 51a,
., And a block recognition unit (lower-layer address recognition unit) 52 as an external device commonly connected to these recognition devices 51a, 51b,.

The recognizing device 51a (51b,...) Outputs section designation data corresponding to the address information of the mail as a recognition result. As shown in FIG. It comprises a section 62, a character recognition section 63, a town address recognition section (upper layer address recognition section) 64, and an answer editing section 65.

The image input unit 61 is used to read an image (address image) of the first side of the mail having address information recorded thereon.
The surface is optically scanned, and the read image is supplied to the character detection section 62.

The character checking section 62 detects a line in which address information is described from the image data supplied from the image input section 61, and detects and cuts out characters on the line one by one. Each character pattern is normalized and supplied to the character recognition unit 63.

The character recognizing section 63 recognizes a character pattern of each character supplied from the character checking section 62 by a matching method with a reference pattern for alphabets, numbers, and kanji in the dictionary 63a. The recognition result is supplied to the town address recognition unit 64.

The town area address recognizing unit 64 recognizes the postal code with respect to the recognized character supplied from the character recognizing unit 63, and uses the address read out from the address dictionary 64a in correspondence with the recognized postal code to make the town area address. Town name and address as address (Yanagimachi 1 ~
No. 70, Nisshincho 1-4 chome, Akebonocho 1-70, etc.), and is supplied from the block pointer stored in correspondence with the recognized street address and the character recognition unit 63 after the street address. A transfer data string including a recognition character string to be transmitted to the block recognition unit 52, and a seven-digit address recognition result returned from the block recognition unit 52 in response to the transmission of the transfer data string. Is supplied to the answer editing unit 65.

As shown in FIG. 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the transfer data string is a character pointer that has not been collated with the block pointer and the address dictionary after Yanagimachi (7, 0, number, ground, ○, turf, willow, town,
Factory, factory).

The street address dictionary 64a is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a block pointer (an address of a block dictionary 52a to be described later) is stored in correspondence with a town name (town area character string), a street, and an address (a block range corresponding to each town area character string). It is composed of a town area table column. For example, for a town name "Yanagimachi" and an address "1 to 70", a block pointer "0"
000h "is stored.

The answer editing unit 65 sends the segment designation data (designating the segment pocket 15) determined by the 7-digit postal code and the destination code as the address recognition result from the town area address recognizing unit 64 to the control unit 30. Is output to the sorting / accumulating unit 14 via the.

The block recognizing section 52 includes the recognizing device 51.
a (51b,...), a block pointer as a transfer data string supplied from the block address recognition unit 64, a recognized character string after the block, and recorded contents based on the block pointer (address) of the block dictionary 52a. Then, the 7-digit postal code and the destination code corresponding to the matching block are returned to the street address recognition section 64 of the recognition device 51a (51b,...) To which the transfer data string has been supplied. .

As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the block dictionary 52a stores a 7-digit postal code and a destination code corresponding to block numbers such as 1-chome, 2-chome and 70, and large names. For example, the address “0000h” stores the address “0”, the postal code “210-0000”, and the destination code “0000”. The address “0001h” stores the address “1” and the postal code “210”. −0001 ”and the destination code“ 0001 ”are stored.
h ", the address is" No. 70 ", the large name is" Shibayanagimachi factory ", the postal code is" 210-0022 ", and the destination code is" 0000 ".
Is stored.

Therefore, upon receiving the transfer data string supplied from the town address recognition section 64 of the recognition device 51a (51b,...), The block recognition section 52 immediately checks the block dictionary 52a against the transfer data string. Start processing. In this example, the comparison range of the block dictionary 52a can be known from the transfer data string by the block table pointer of Yanagimachi. In this collation range, the identification character strings after Yanagimachi (7, 0, number,
(Ground, o, turf, willow, town, engineering, place). In this example, address 70 is first collated from the character string at address 70. In this example, since there are a plurality of tables at address 70, the table is compared with the Toshiba Yanagimachi factory, which is the next character string.
022 and the destination code 0000.

Next, the mail sorting operation of the mail sorting apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, when the supply is started, the mail supplied to the take-out position by the supply unit 2 is taken out one by one onto the main transport path 3 by the take-out unit 4 (step 1). The extracted postal matter is judged by the foreign matter / hardness detecting unit 5 as to whether or not mechanical processing is possible (step 2). Then, the paper is rejected by the rejection stacking unit 5a via the rejection conveyance path 3b (step 3), and then transferred to the rejected mail hand processing area (not shown) (step 4).

On the other hand, the postal matter determined by the foreign matter / hardness detector 5 to be mechanically processable is conveyed as it is via the main conveyance path 3 and supplied to the address reading device 31 (step). 5).

The mail supplied to the address reading device 31 is
For example, the first surface is optically scanned by the image input unit 61 of the recognition device 51a to read the address image (step 6). Then, the address image read by the image input unit 61 is supplied to the character checking and cutting unit 62.

The character checking section 62 detects a line in which address information is described from the image data supplied from the image input section 61, detects and cuts out characters of the line one by one, and extracts a character pattern of one character at a time. Are normalized and supplied to the character recognition unit 63 (step 7).

The character recognizing unit 63 recognizes the character pattern of each character supplied from the character checking unit 62 by a matching method with a reference pattern for alphabets, numbers, and kanji in the dictionary 63a. The result is supplied to the street address recognition unit 64 (step 8).

The town address recognition unit 64 recognizes the postal code for the recognized character supplied from the character recognition unit 63, and uses the address read out from the address dictionary 64a in correspondence with the recognized postal code. Town name and address as address (Yanagimachi 1 ~
No. 70, Nisshincho 1-4 chome, Akebonocho 1-70, etc.), and is supplied from the block pointer stored in correspondence with the recognized street address and the character recognition unit 63 after the street address. The transfer data string including the recognized character string is transmitted to the block recognition unit 52 (step 9).

The block recognition section 52 is provided with the recognition device 51a.
(51b,...), A block pointer as a transfer data string, a recognized character string after the town area, and a block dictionary 52a.
Is compared with the recorded contents based on the block pointer (address), and the recognition device 51a to which the transfer data string is supplied with the 7-digit postal code and the destination code corresponding to the matching block.
Is returned to the street address recognition unit 64 (step 10). The town address recognition unit 64 responds to the transmission of the transfer data string by returning a 7-digit mail as the address recognition result returned from the block recognition unit 52. Enter the number and the destination code, and edit
(Step 11).

The answer editing unit 65 receives the 7-digit postal code and the destination code as the address recognition result from the street address recognizing unit 64, and specifies the partition specifying data (designates the partition pocket 15). Is output to the sorting / accumulating unit 14 via the step (step 12).

Further, the other recognizing devices 51b,... Also output the sorting designation data corresponding to the address information of other mails to the sorting and accumulating section 14 via the control section 30 as a recognition result. Thereby, the sorting / stacking unit 14 determines whether or not the transport path 3 is based on the sorting designation data from the answer editing unit 65 of the recognition devices 51a,.
Is sorted into predetermined sorting pockets 15 (step 13).

As described above, there is no need to mount a large-capacity memory in the recognition devices 51a,..., And the block dictionary 52a as an inexpensive large-capacity memory can be provided in the block recognition unit 52 as an external device. it can.

Since the amount of data transferred between the devices is small, the block dictionary 52a of the block recognition section 52 is stored in each recognition device 51.
a, ... can be shared. In addition, by sharing the block recognition unit 52 with a plurality of recognition devices 51a,.
The cost can be suppressed by sharing the block dictionary 52a as a large-capacity external address memory.

The external memory (block dictionary 52a) can be an inexpensive large-capacity memory, and the capacity can be increased according to the address reading range, and the reading range is not limited by the limitation of the memory capacity.

[0046]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in a case where a plurality of recognition devices are used, it is not necessary to mount a large-capacity memory in the recognition device, and an inexpensive large-capacity memory can be externally connected. The external device can be held by the device, and the external device can be shared by a plurality of recognition devices, so that a large-capacity external address memory can be shared and cost can be suppressed, and the external memory can be an inexpensive large-capacity memory. The capacity can be increased according to the address reading range, and the limitation on the reading range due to the limitation on the memory capacity can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a mail sorting apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mail sorting apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a view showing mails input to the mail sorting apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a transfer data sequence.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a storage example of a town address dictionary and a block dictionary.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an address reading device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a sorting operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mail sorting device 2 ... Supply part 3 ... Main conveyance path 4 ... Extraction part 14 ... Sorting and stacking part 15 ... Sorting pocket 30 ... Control part 31 ... Address reading device 51a ... Recognition device 52 ... Block recognition part 52a ... Block dictionary 64: Town area address recognition unit 64a: Address dictionary

Claims (6)

[Claims] An address reading device for reading an address described on a postal matter, comprising: an external device having a first dictionary in which an address code corresponding to a lower hierarchical address in the address is stored; And a second dictionary in which a storage address of the lower-level address corresponding to the upper-level address in the address is stored in the first dictionary. A first recognizing means for recognizing each character in the address described on the mail, and a character recognized by the first recognizing means; A second recognizing means for recognizing an upper hierarchical address of the first address, and reading a storage address of the lower hierarchical address in the first dictionary from the second dictionary in accordance with a recognition result of the second recognizing means. Address and above A first output unit for outputting a transfer data string composed of a character string recognized by the first recognition unit after the hierarchical address, wherein the external device is output by the first output unit of the recognition device. Reading the address code corresponding to the lower hierarchical address from the first dictionary by comparing the storage content of the first dictionary corresponding to the storage address in the transferred data string with the character string in the transferred data string; Address reading device, comprising second output means for outputting the read address code as a read result. 2. A recognizing device for recognizing an upper-layer address in address information based on read data of an image on a postal matter, and an address code connected to the recognizing device and corresponding to a lower-layer address in the address are stored. An address reading device including an external device having a lower-level address dictionary, wherein the recognition device recognizes each character of an address including an upper-level address and a lower-level address from the image data; An upper-level address dictionary in which addresses of the lower-level address dictionary are stored in correspondence with the addresses; First reading means for reading, an address of the lower-level address dictionary read by the first reading means, and A first transmitting means for transmitting the character string recognized by the first recognizing means to an external device, wherein the external device comprises: a lower-level address dictionary storing an address code for each lower-level address; Second reading means for reading, from the lower-level address dictionary, an address code of the lower-level address corresponding to the address and the character string of the lower-level address dictionary from the recognition device; and an address read by the second reading means. 2. An address reading device, comprising: a second transmission unit that transmits a code to the recognition device. 3. A recognition device for recognizing an address in address information from read data of an image on a postal matter, and a block dictionary connected to the recognition device and storing an address code corresponding to the block in the address. An address reading device comprising: an external device having an address reading device, wherein the recognizing device recognizes each character of an address consisting of a town name and a block from the image data, and stores a block dictionary address corresponding to the town name. First reading means for reading the address of the block dictionary corresponding to the matching town name from the street name dictionary based on the characters recognized by the recognition means; and the block dictionary read by the first reading means. And a character string recognized by the first recognition means after the street name and a character string recognized by the first recognition means to an external device, the external device comprising: A city block dictionary address code each are stored, the second to read the address code city blocks from city block dictionary corresponding with the address and string Quadro dictionary from the recognition device
And an address reading device for transmitting the address code read by the second reading device to the recognition device. 4. An address reading device for reading an address described on a postal matter, comprising: an external device having a first dictionary in which an address code corresponding to a lower hierarchical address in the address is stored; A plurality of recognition devices connected to an external device and having a second dictionary in which storage addresses of the lower hierarchy addresses corresponding to the upper hierarchy addresses in the addresses in the first dictionary are stored; A first recognizing device for recognizing each character in an address described on the postal matter; and a character recognizing device using the character recognized by the first recognizing means. Second recognition means for recognizing an upper-level address in the set address, and a storage address of the lower-level address from the second dictionary in the first dictionary corresponding to the recognition result of the second recognition means. And read this First output means for outputting a transfer data string consisting of an address and a character string recognized by the first recognition means after the upper-level address, wherein the external device comprises: a first output of the recognition device. By comparing the storage contents of the first dictionary corresponding to the storage address in the transfer data string output by the means with the character strings in the transfer data string, the address code corresponding to the lower hierarchical address is converted to the first dictionary. And a second output means for reading out the read address code as a read result to the recognition device which has output the transfer data string. 5. A plurality of recognizing devices for recognizing an upper-layer address in address information based on read data of an image on a postal matter, and an address code connected to these recognizing devices and corresponding to a lower-layer address in the address. An address reading device comprising one external device having a stored lower-level address dictionary, wherein each of the recognition devices recognizes each character of an address including an upper-level address and a lower-level address from the image data. Means, an upper-level address dictionary in which the address of the lower-level address dictionary is stored corresponding to the upper-level address, and a lower-level address dictionary address corresponding to the upper-level address matched by the character recognized by the recognition means. First reading means for reading from the upper-level address dictionary; addresses of the lower-level address dictionary read by the first reading means; A first transmitting unit for transmitting a character string recognized by the first recognizing unit after the hierarchical address to an external device, wherein the external device stores the address code for each of the lower hierarchical addresses. A hierarchical address dictionary; second reading means for reading the address code of the lower hierarchical address corresponding to the address and the character string of the lower hierarchical address dictionary from the recognition device from the lower hierarchical address dictionary; And a second transmitting means for transmitting the address code read by the above to the recognizing device which has transmitted the address and the character string of the lower hierarchy address dictionary. 6. A plurality of recognizing devices for recognizing addresses in address information based on read data of an image on a postal matter, and an address code connected to the recognizing devices and corresponding to a block in the address are stored. An address reading device including one external device having a block dictionary, wherein each of the recognition devices recognizes each character of an address including a town name and a block from the image data, and a block corresponding to the town name. A town name dictionary storing an address of the dictionary, first reading means for reading an address of a block dictionary corresponding to a matching town name from the town name dictionary based on characters recognized by the recognition means; A first transmitting unit for transmitting the read address of the block dictionary and a character string recognized by the first recognizing unit after the street name to an external device; A second device that reads, from the block dictionary, a block dictionary in which the block address code for each block is stored, and a block address code corresponding to the block dictionary address and the character string from the recognition device.
And a second transmitting means for transmitting the address code read by the second reading means to the recognition device which has transmitted the address and the character string of the block dictionary. Address reading device.