JPH06103397A - Optical mark card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The purpose of the optical mark card reader is to make it easy for mark writers to see. A reading sensor unit 10 for reading both underprinting and marks of a card 9 as an image, a binarizing unit 17 for binarizing photoelectric conversion output of the reading sensor unit 10, and binarized read data. And a mark recognizing means 19 for judging presence / absence of mark entry depending on whether or not the read data is added by a mark to the base print in the mark column.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical mark card reader. Optical mark card reader (OM
R) used the difference in color wavelength when reading the card to remove the underlying print, read only the mark, and judge the presence or absence of the mark. For this reason, the card has restrictions on the background printing and the color and density of the mark, which makes it difficult for the mark writer to see.

Therefore, there is a demand for the development of an optical mark card reader capable of using a card that is easy to read for mark writers.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical mark card reader illuminates a card and determines the presence or absence of a mark based on the amount of decrease in the amount of reflected light from a mark column with respect to the amount of reflected light of a non-printed portion of the card. Generally, a card is subjected to underprinting to indicate the position of the mark field and meaning, and the mark writer makes a mark using this underprinting as a guide.

In the optical mark card reader, it is necessary to distinguish the written mark from the underprint and read only the mark. That is, the underprinting should not be read as a mark. Conventional optical mark card readers use the wavelength of color to distinguish between mark and background printing.When using near-infrared wavelength for reading, red is used for background printing and black is used for marks. ing. Such a color that has a small decrease in the amount of reflected light at the reading wavelength and is difficult to read is called a dropout color, and a color that has a large decrease in the amount of reflected light and is easy to read is called a lead color.

When the mark and the underprint are distinguished by the wavelength of the color, the dropout color and the lead color suitable for the wavelength are limited, and the underprint color and the usable marker are limited. Further, even in the dropout color, the reduction of the reflected light amount is not zero, and if the background printing density is increased, it may be read as a mark, so the printing density is also limited.

[0006]

In such a conventional optical mark card reader, the card is difficult for the mark writer to read because there are restrictions on the background printing and the color and density of the mark. The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and it is possible to determine whether or not a mark is entered by checking whether or not the image of the read data is added by a mark to the base printing. , The purpose of the card is to make it easy for mark writers to see.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. According to the present invention, the reading sensor unit 1 that reads both the base print and the mark of the card 9 as an image
0, a binarization unit 17 that binarizes the photoelectric conversion output of the reading sensor unit 10, a memory 18 that stores the binarized read data, and the read data for background printing in the mark column. On the other hand, a mark recognizing means 19 for judging whether or not a mark has been entered is provided according to whether or not the mark is added.

[0008]

According to the present invention having such a structure, the mark and the underprint are distinguished not by the wavelength of the color but by the change of the read image depending on the presence or absence of the mark. The read image when the mark is not entered in the mark field is only the base printing, and the read image when the mark is entered is the base print with the mark added (combined).

Therefore, the presence / absence of the mark entry is determined by whether or not the read image has the addition by the mark for the base printing. For this reason, the lead color and the mark color are both lead colors that are easy to read at the reading wavelength. For example, black can be used for both of them, and the density of the base printing can be increased.

As described above, the restrictions on the base printing and the color and density of the mark are reduced, and as a result, the card can be easily read by the mark writer.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2 to 6 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a plan view of the optical mark card reader, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the optical mark card reader.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a carrying motor of the optical mark card reader 2, and the carrying motor 1
Drives the conveying rollers 3 and 4 to rotate. Conveyor rollers 3, 4
The card 9 is conveyed to the reading sensor unit 10 by the rotational driving of the. Note that reference numerals 5, 6, 7, and 8 are conveyance rollers that hold the card 9. The reading sensor unit 10 includes a light emitting unit 11 and a light receiving unit 12, and the light emitting unit 11 and the light receiving unit 12 are composed of a large number of sensors 13 and 14. That is, the reading sensor unit 10 irradiates the passing card 9 with light, photoelectrically converts the reflected light from the card 9, and outputs a read image.

Next, the card will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, a mark entry field 15 is provided from the first line to the third line, and from the first digit to the tenth digit, and the mark entry field 15 is composed of a frame and base printing of numbers. Reference numeral 16 indicates a mark entered in the mark entry field 15. Both the underprinting color and the mark 16 color use lead colors that are easy to read at the reading wavelength.
Both should be read positively. For example, black can be used, and the density of the background printing can be increased.

The read image when the mark 16 is not entered in the mark entry field 15 is only the underprint, and the read image when the mark 16 is entered is the underprint with the mark 16 added. Next, the read control circuit will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a binarization unit, and the binarization unit 17 receives the photoelectric conversion output from the reading sensor unit 10 and compares it with the photoelectric conversion output from the card non-printing unit to perform binarization, that is, reading. Presence / absence determination is performed.

Reference numeral 18 is a memory, and the memory 18 has 2
The read data binarized by the binarization unit 17 is stored. Reference numeral 19 is a mark recognition unit as mark recognition means, and the mark recognition unit 19 includes a memory 20, a cutout unit 21,
It is composed of a comparison unit 22 and a mark determination unit 23.

The memory 20 stores background print data for each card 9 to be read in advance. The cutout unit 21 cuts out only the part of the mark entry field 15 of the row and digit to be recognized of the read data stored in the memory 18. The comparison unit 22 compares the read data cut out by the cutout unit 21 with the base print data stored in advance in the memory 20.

The mark determination unit 23 determines whether or not the mark 16 is written, depending on whether or not the read data is added to the base print data by the mark 16. The following method can be considered for the determination. (1) The pattern of the base print data prepared in advance and the pattern of the cut-out read data are mask-matched, and if the degree of mismatch is high, it is determined that the mark 16 is present.

This method is a kind of OCR recognition method for specific characters because the background printing of the mark entry field 15 to be judged is known in advance. (2) The area data (the number of dots) of the base print data prepared in advance is compared with the area data (the number of dots) of the read data cut out, and if the number of dots is increased, it is determined that the mark 16 is present.

The conventional example is considered to be the same as the case in which the base print is removed at the time of reading and the base print data is set to "0" in this embodiment. Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. First, as a specific example, a frame and the number 2 with an X mark are read marks.

This reading mark is read by the reading sensor unit 1.
0 is read, and its photoelectric conversion output is binarization unit 17
Are binarized and stored in the memory 18 as read data. The read data in the memory 18 is cut out by the cutout unit 21 and compared with the background print data including the frame and the numeral 2 in the comparison unit 22. The mark determination unit 23 determines whether the mark 16 is added to the base printing. In this case, since the mark 16 is added, it is determined that the mark 16 is present.

On the other hand, in the conventional example, the frame and the background of the numeral 2 are not read, but the mark 16 of X mark is read, and it is determined that the mark 16 is present depending on the presence or absence of the read data. Next, a mark that does not have the mark 16 by only the frame and the base printing of the numeral 3 is set as a read mark.

This reading mark is read by the reading sensor unit 10, and the photoelectric conversion output thereof is binarized.
Are binarized and stored in the memory 18 as read data. The read data is cut out by the cutout unit 21 and compared with the base print data including the frame and the numeral 3 by the comparison unit 22. The mark determination unit 23 determines whether there is addition by the mark 16 to the base print data. In this case, since there is no addition and both are the same, there is no mark 16.

On the other hand, in the conventional example, the frame and the background printing of the numeral 3 are not read, and it is determined whether or not there is data. Since there is no data, it is determined that there is no mark 16.
In this way, the base print and the mark 16 are positively read at the time of reading, and the presence or absence of the mark 16 is determined based on the difference in the read image depending on the presence or absence of the mark 16. Less restrictions. The result is a card that is easy for the mark writer to see.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the presence / absence of mark entry is determined by whether or not the read image has the addition by the mark with respect to the underlying print, and therefore the background of the card is not printed. There are less restrictions on the color and density of printing and marks. As a result, it is possible to make the card easy for the mark writer to see.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a card

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a reading control system.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a determination method

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Conveyance motor 2: Optical mark card reader 3-8: Conveying roller 9: Card 10: Reading sensor section 11: Light emitting section 12: Light receiving section 13, 14: Sensor 15: Mark entry field 16: Mark 17: 2 values Conversion unit 18, 20: Memory 19: Mark recognition unit (mark recognition means) 21: Cutout unit 22: Comparison unit 23: Mark determination unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reading sensor unit (1) for reading both a base print and a mark of a card (9) as an image.
0), a binarization unit (17) for binarizing the photoelectric conversion output of the reading sensor unit (10), a memory (18) for storing the binarized read data, and the read data. An optical mark card reader characterized by comprising mark recognition means (19) for judging presence / absence of mark entry depending on whether or not the mark is added to the base print in the mark column.