JPH01112387A - Character reading system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a simple and compact system as a whole by providing a character recognizing means for selecting character pattern information outputted from an optical scanning means or picture pattern information outputted from a facsimile means and recognizing the character. CONSTITUTION:In an OCR (optical character reader)/FAX (facsimile equipment) composite system, a selecting means 17 for selecting one of the character pattern information outputted from the optical scanning means of the OCR or the picture pattern information outputted from the FAX is provided. The selecting means 17 selects by a control means 16 controlled based on an external instruction or the previously decided FAX and a selection and instruction to one optical scanning means. The character pattern information or the picture pattern information selected by the selecting means 17 is character recognized by the character recognizing means 12. Thereby, the character recognition processing to picture information from the FAX can be executed without the use of the host computer of a large scale, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a character reading system used in an OCR/FAX complex system.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a facsimile machine (FAX) converts image information such as characters or figures recorded on a form into an image signal and transmits it to a receiving side, and also receives an image signal transmitted from the sending side. This is a device that reproduces the original image information.

By the way, the above-mentioned FAX and optical character reading device (
A complex system in which OCR) is functionally combined has been developed. This complex system is a system that can perform character recognition processing using OCR on character information in image information transmitted from a remote location by FAX, and output the recognition result (character code) to a host computer or the like. Also, like normal OCR, characters recorded on a form can be OC
This system has the function of scanning with an R scanner and performing character recognition processing.

In this complex system, a host computer intervenes between the FAX system and the OCR system, and the transfer of information between each system is controlled by the host computer. Specifically, the image information transmitted from the sending FAX is received by the receiving FAX and then transferred to the host computer. The host computer is the receiving side
When character recognition processing is instructed for image information received by AX, the image information is transferred to the character recognition processing section of OCR. As a result, character recognition processing is executed on the image information transmitted by FAX.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) As mentioned above, in the conventional OCR/FAX complex system,
A host computer is interposed between each system, and FAX
Character nfl processing is performed on the image information transmitted in . For this reason, the processing load on the host computer becomes large, resulting in a situation where efficiency with respect to other processing decreases. Furthermore, when the host 1-computer is involved, there is a problem that the entire system becomes larger and more complex.

An object of the present invention is to provide a character reading system that can significantly reduce processing f'l 111 for a host computer in an OCR/FAX complex system, and that can simplify and downsize the entire system. be.

C Structure of the invention] (Means and effects for solving the problems) The present invention
In the R/FAX complex system, there is a selector means for selecting either character pattern information outputted from an optical scanning means of OCR or image pattern information outputted from FAX. The selector means performs a selection operation based on an external instruction or a predetermined selection instruction for one of the FAX and optical scanning means. The character pattern information or image pattern information selected by the selector means is subjected to character recognition processing by the character recognition means.

With such a configuration, it is possible to perform character recognition processing on image information from a FAX without intervening a large-scale host computer or the like.

(Example III) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system of the same embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the system of the same embodiment is a facsimile machine (FAX) to.

It is a complex system consisting of a FAX system having a computer interface 11 such as a GP-131, and an OCR system having a character Q WJ unit 12 and an OCR scanner 13.
The R scanner 13 is an optical scanning device, and has a circuit that photoelectrically converts image information obtained by scanning a form and outputs character pattern information (digitized @) as a photoelectric conversion pattern.

The character recognition unit 12 includes a sheet buffer 14, a recognition circuit 15, and a control circuit 16. Sheet buffer 14 is O
This buffer memory stores, for example, one sheet of character pattern information output from the CR scanner 13 or image pattern information output from the FAX 10. The recognition circuit 15 is a circuit that reads pattern information for one character from the sheet buffer 14 and performs character recognition processing. The control circuit 1G is a circuit that controls the operation of the character recognition section 12,
And the operation of the selector 17 is controlled t111.

The selector 17 receives character pattern information output from the OCR scanner 13 through an interface 18 on the OCR system side or F A through the interface 11.
This circuit selects one of the image pattern information output from the X 10 and outputs it to the character recognition section 12. Roughly speaking, this system has an input/output system consisting of a keyboard for inputting various instructions from the outside and a display device for displaying recognition results, etc. A station 19 is provided.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. First, when an operator inputs an OCR mode instruction from the input/output device 19, the control circuit 1G switches the selector 17 to the OCR scanner 1.
Control is performed to select the character pattern information output from 3. The OCR scanner 13 scans, for example, a form 20 as shown in FIG.

Here, reference marks 21. An ID code 22 and line mark 23 are recorded. The reference mark 21 is a mark that serves as a reference when performing various processes (correction of expansion/contraction, position, skew, etc.) on the image information recorded on the form 20. 10 code 22 is a code for indicating the type of form, and is a code for determining format control information necessary for character recognition processing. The line mark 23 is a mark for specifying a character line.

The OCR scanner 13 scans the form 20 and outputs character pattern information for one sheet. The selector 11 selects the character pattern information transferred from the interface 18 and outputs it to the character recognition section 12. In the character recognition section 12, character pattern information for one sheet output from the selector 17 is stored in the sheet buffer 14. The recognition circuit 15 reads pattern information for one character (for example, 1234ABCD) from the sheet buffer 14 and performs character recognition processing. Character recognition processing is performed based on format control information determined by the ID code 22 as described above. The recognition circuit 15 outputs the recognition result to the control circuit 16. The control circuit 16 outputs the recognition result (character code) to a host computer (not shown), and in the case of rejection, outputs the result to the input/output device 19. This rejection result is displayed on the screen of the display device of the input/output device 19.

Next, when the operator inputs a FAX mode instruction from the input/output device @19, the control circuit 16 selects the selector 17.
control so that the image pattern information output from the FAX 10 is selected. The FAX 10 receives image information transmitted from the sending FAX through the communication line 24, and transmits the image pattern information to the interface 11.
It is output to the selector 17 through.

Here, the image information to be transmitted is the image information (including the reference mark 21, etc.) recorded on the form 20 as shown in FIG.

The selector 11 prohibits the transfer of character pattern information from the OCR scanner 13 under the control of the control circuit 16, and
Character recognition unit 12 selects image pattern information from IO
Output to. In the character recognition section 12, image pattern information for one sheet outputted from the selector 17 is stored in the sheet buffer 14, as in the OCR mode. The recognition circuit 15 receives pattern information for one character (for example, Irohani ABCD) from among the image pattern information from the seat buff door 14.
> is read and character recognition processing is performed. The recognition circuit 15 outputs the recognition result to the control circuit 16. The control circuit 16 outputs the recognition result (character code) to a host computer (not shown), and outputs the result to the input/output device 19 in the case of rejection (for example, a figure). This rejection result is displayed on the screen of the display device of the input/output device 19.

In this way, by instructing OCR mode or FAX mode through the input/output device 19, normal OCR
Either the character recognition process depending on the mode or the character recognition process for the image information received by the FAX 10 can be selectively executed. In this case, OCR can be performed without the intervention of a large-scale system such as a host computer.
Character recognition processing can be performed in either mode or FAX mode. Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the processing load on the host computer for mode switching processing of character recognition processing as described above, and to prevent a situation in which the efficiency of processing other than that is reduced. Further, the control circuit 16 and the selector 17 do not require a very complicated and large-scale configuration.

In the above embodiment, the switching process between OCR mode and FAX mode is performed by input/output S! It was executed based on instructions from @19, but it is not limited to this.

That is, a method may be adopted in which normally, for example, character recognition processing is executed in OCR mode, and when character recognition processing in FAX mode is required, character recognition processing is executed preferentially over OCR mode.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, in an OCR/FAX complex system, a simple and small-scale configuration significantly reduces the processing burden on the host computer for mode switching processing of character recognition processing. To! ! This makes it possible to prevent a situation where the efficiency of other processes is reduced. Therefore, the entire system can be simplified and downsized, and a complex system with extremely high processing efficiency can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The block diagram and FIG. 2 are diagrams showing an example of a form used in the system of the same embodiment. 10...Facsimile machine (AX>, 12...Character recognition unit, 13...OCR scanner, 14...Sheet buffer 1.15...Recognition circuit, 16...Control circuit, 17...・Selector, 19...Input/output device. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue No. 10 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] a facsimile means for transmitting and receiving image information recorded on a form; an optical scanning means for outputting character pattern information obtained by optically scanning the image information recorded on the form; and an output from the optical scanning means. a selector means for selecting either character pattern information outputted from the facsimile means or image pattern information outputted from the facsimile means; and based on an external instruction or a predetermined selection instruction for one of the facsimile means and the optical scanning means. and a character recognition means for performing character recognition processing on the character pattern information or the image pattern information selected by the selector means. system.