JPH08123799A - Automatic mail address information layout method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To automate the layout of a mail address by automatically detecting the line feed position of address information such as a solid-written address or a bar code. CONSTITUTION: The line feed position of an address or a bar code in an address book is automatically detected by the use of a list 15 for urban and rural prefectures, cities, town names, etc., a rule list 16 for town/street number notation or the like. Consequently the layout of an address can be automated at the time of writing a mail address by a word processor, a personal computer, or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention automatically lays out a solid address as a piece of address information for postal items, etc. and a bar code corresponding to the address so as not to overflow a designated area. The present invention relates to an automatic layout method that automatically determines the line feed positions of addresses and barcodes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for determining the line feed position of a solid address, the address character string until the line feed is stored in advance in another list as an address edit table, and the line feed position is determined by referring to this list. The method described in Kaihei 5-301081 "Postal Address Address Section Editing Method" is proposed.

[0003]

The conventional method for determining the line feed position described above has a drawback that the processing time increases as the address edit table becomes larger because it is necessary to sequentially refer to the address edit table. Further, there is a drawback that the storage area also increases as the address editing table becomes larger. In addition, there is a drawback in that flexible automatic layout cannot be performed because line breaks cannot be made at positions other than the line break positions described in the address edit table.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, a new address information list in which items such as prefecture names, city / ward county names, town / village names, etc. are stored is prepared, and this list is referred By doing so, the item such as the prefecture name of the solid address is detected, and the line feed position is set in any of the items. Further, the barcode is regarded as being similar to address information such as an address composed of n characters, and is automatically laid out using the same algorithm as the automatic layout of addresses.

[0005]

[Operation] By the above means, the conventional address edit table is not required and the line feed can be made at any position of each item of the address.
Flexible layout can be performed according to the size of the layout area. Since this method recognizes the address item, it is possible to freely change the notation of the chome and address.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows postal information such as a postal code, an address, a name, and a bar code in which the address is coded, and address information such as a header of a FAX or an address of a courier, which is out of a designated layout area. The device for automatic layout is shown so as not to exist.

In FIG. 1, an input unit 11a is a device such as a keyboard, a mouse, an image scanner and a character recognition device, and is a device for inputting address information. Address information is stored in the address book 14. In the input control unit 11b, the request signal from the user and the address information are the zip code, address, name,
It is a device that controls which one of the bar codes corresponds. The central control unit 13 is a device for laying out the address information, and the laid out address information passes through the display control unit 10b and is displayed on the display unit 10a. The laid out address information passes through the print control unit 12b and is printed by the print unit 12a.

Since the address, which is the address information stored in the address book 14, has a large number of characters, it often goes beyond the layout area. Therefore, the address information list 15 is used to determine a line feed position that does not extend beyond the layout area.

In order to automatically lay out addresses, it is necessary to know how many characters can be arranged within the area of a layout area designated in advance. For example,
3 in the layout area 130, the character font frame 13
It is possible to lay out a total of 36 characters in which 1 is 9 horizontal × 4 vertical. Although the character font frame is square here, it is generally a rectangle with an uneven width. Even in this case,
The layout is performed after checking how many characters the vertical and horizontal characters can fit in the layout area of the character font frame. Even when the font size differs depending on the type of the address information item, the layout is performed after determining in advance how many characters are to be included in each item.

In the example of FIG. 13, when the address exceeds 9 characters, for example, when 9 characters are laid out in the horizontal direction from the upper left character font frame 132, a line feed is temporarily performed at that position and the lower character font frame is displayed. It is necessary to start the layout from 133. However, if the address is forcibly broken at the 9th character, the visibility of the address may deteriorate. For this reason, the address may be mistakenly read, and the mail may be misdelivered. Therefore, it is necessary to forcibly prevent line breaks in the middle of meaningful items such as prefectures and municipalities.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the address book 14. Address book 2
It is assumed that 0 is stored in the storage medium in a table (list) format as shown in FIG. In the address item 21, as an example,
The solid address is stored. A solid address is an address written without any blanks in the middle. Here, only a solid address is shown as an example, but it may be an address with some spaces. The other information 22 stores a postal code, name, bar code, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the address information list 15. Since a solid address has a large number of characters, it is necessary to lay out the address by dividing it into 2 to 3 when printing it on an address label or postcard of a normal mail. To determine the line feed position, the address information list shown in FIG. 3 may be referred to. The prefecture list 31 stores all the names of prefectures. City list 32
Stores all the names of municipalities. The town and village list 33 stores a list of all town and village names. The chome / address notation rule list 34 stores all examples of address notations after chome as rules.

From each of the lists 31 to 34, a pointer 35 to a subordinate item of the address is set. All of the arrows in the figure mean this pointer, and in FIG. 3, the pointers to the subordinate items are shown as an example only for the address "Kokubunji-shi, Higashikoigakubo, Tokyo". . In the address information list, for example, as a subordinate item of Tokyo, all the cities and districts under Tokyo can be referenced by a pointer, and it is not necessary to wastefully refer to the cities and districts for other prefectures. As you can see, the pointer is stretched.
The same applies to the pointer from the municipality list to the town list.

In the notation rule list 34 of chome / address, for example, as another notation of “○ chome ΔΔ address □□”,
-△△-□□ "," ○ Chome △△-□□ "," ○-△
All the possibilities such as “△ address □□” and “○ No △△ No □□” are stored as rules. Where ○, △△,
□□ is a Chinese or arithmetic number, and at this position,
The rule is that any number can be entered.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a flow for determining the line feed position of a solid address. The solid address 41 is a character string obtained from the address book 20. With reference to the address information list 42, the line breakable positions 43a to 43 are set for the delimiter positions of the items such as prefectures, municipalities, towns and villages of the solid address.
detected as e. Here, assuming that the maximum position of line feed is 13 as a layout limitation, the solid writing address 41 must be divided so as not to exceed 13 characters. An example after the division is the address 44. In this example, it is shown that the line breakable position 43c having the maximum numerical value 11 of 13 or less is selected from the line breakable positions 43a to 43e, and the line is broken at this position so that the layout can be performed without protruding.

In the above example, an example of a solid address is shown. However, even if the address is a non-solid address with a blank character in the middle, the blank character is treated as one candidate for the line breakable position. Good.

FIGS. 5 to 9 show that according to the present invention, the line feed position of the address can be freely selected without depending on the layout limitation and without extending the area.

FIG. 5 shows a line breakable position 43a shown in FIG.
It shows a case where the line breakable position 43b is selected from among ~ 43e. In this case, it is the end of the line break possible position,
From 19 which is the value of the line breakable position 43e, 43d, 43
When the value of the line breakable position is subtracted in the order of c, 43b, 43a, the line breakable position 43b immediately before the line break maximum position value of 13 is set as the actual line break position. .

When there is a margin in the layout area, FIG.
By inserting a blank symbol in each of the line breakable positions 43a to 43e as shown in, the visibility can be improved. In this example, only a line feed symbol is inserted immediately after "Toukoigakubo".

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the layout area has no margin. In this example, even if the character string “address” is omitted in particular, there is a low possibility that the mail will be misdelivered. By using the chome / address rule list according to the present invention, the part corresponding to the “address” can be omitted.

The conversion shown in FIG. 8 can be performed by using the chome / address rule list. Figure 8 shows "1-chome 28
In this example, "address 0" is automatically replaced with "1-280". The details will be described with reference to FIG.

When the layout area is very restricted, "Tokyo" is omitted as shown in FIG. Even if such an omission is made, it is unlikely to be misdelivered due to another type of address information such as a postal code.

FIG. 10 shows a list of chome / address rules in the address information list 101 and a similar character list 102.
It shows a method of compressing and displaying the chome and the following. "Chome" is converted to a hyphen symbol "-", and "Address" is abbreviated. Here, the problem is that the kanji number "1" and the hyphen symbol "-" are very similar and may cause misdelivery. Therefore, replace the Chinese numerals with arithmetic numerals. In this example, the Chinese numeral "1" is automatically converted into the arithmetic numeral "1". The compression notation 103 is completed by the above method.

Some examples of similar characters in the similar character list 102 are shown below. In addition to the above-mentioned kanji number "1" and hyphen symbol "-", in the case of horizontal writing, the kanji number "1" and long-sound symbol "-", the arithmetic number "1" and katakana "no", the arithmetic number " 1 ”and a vertical bar symbol“ | ”. In the case of vertical writing as well, there are similar characters, such as the arithmetic number "1" and katakana "No", and the arithmetic number "1" and vertical bar symbol "|". When there are such similar characters, basically, use the Chinese numerals for vertical writing and the arithmetic numerals for horizontal writing.

The simplest method of referring to the address item and the address information list 15 is to determine whether all the characters match. For example, it is a method of finding three characters corresponding to "Tokyo" from the character string of the address item. As a simpler method, for example, there is a method of finding "Tokyo ○", "East ○ Miya", and "○ Kyoto". "○" can be any character. By this method, it is possible to identify "Tokyo" even if some characters of the address listed in the address book are incorrect. For address items given by character recognition or character string input by the user, some characters may have been erroneously entered in the address book due to character recognition errors or incorrect keystrokes. Such a method is effective.

As a high-level method of referring to the address item and the address information list 15, the line-breakable position is detected by using the address-address item matching method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-125288 "Word Matching Method". There is a way. In this method, since the name of the town and village is referred to in the reverse direction from the city / ward / ward to the prefecture, it is easy to identify the address and the matching can be performed at high speed.

When the address information is added to the address book, the line breakable positions are checked in advance by the method described above, and another list item as shown in FIG. 11 is set as a line breakable position corresponding to each address in the address book. By storing, the high-speed layout becomes possible in the actual layout.

When printing a large number of mail addresses at one time,
When confirming whether or not the automatic layout is functioning well on the screen, it is desirable to arrange as many layout results 201 on the screen 202 as possible on the screen as shown in FIG. With this method, it is possible to check all at once, making it easier to find mistakes in automatic layout.
In this case, it is convenient to be able to move to the edit screen displaying only one layout result by clicking the layout area in which the mistake is found with the mouse.
If necessary, the layout result may be reduced and more layout results may be displayed.

As described above, the method of automatically laying out a blank address in a mailing label etc. by setting a line feed position in correspondence with the level (prefecture / city / ward / town / town / town) of the address is described in detail. . As described above, the method of the present invention is premised on the use of an information device that stores address information in advance. However, word processors and personal computers are currently becoming popular in general households and are expected to be widely used. It

By using such a popularized information device, it is possible to increase the information about the delivery of mail and increase the efficiency of the mail system without increasing the burden on the user. We propose one such method.

In the present postal system, the postal code is composed of 3 digits in the main city and district, and 5 digits at the maximum. This was established several decades ago, and it cannot be said that this is an appropriate classification in the present day when a large amount of mail items such as direct mail are generated. Especially in areas where a large amount of mail is generated (mostly in metropolitan areas), it will be more efficient if the number of digits in the postal code is further increased and the categories are subdivided. Furthermore, although it seems to be used for some parcels, it is possible to use a barcode. Bar codes are highly effective because they can hold a large amount of information in a narrower area.

The postal code is numbered over the details of the address by increasing the number of digits. The numbering at that time will be set in association with the town name and street address.
As a result, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the postal code and the address to the town name / street, and it becomes possible to convert the postal code to the address and vice versa.

Further, it is advisable to code an address including a town name / address and a room number such as an apartment / apartment as a bar code and convert it into a bar code. Since the barcode is a horizontally long figure, if it is regarded as n character strings, it can be automatically laid out as one of the items of address information of n characters by the method described above similar to the layout of addresses. Become.

[0035] Conversion between such address and postal code,
Also, the conversion between the address and the barcode will be described below. First, in order to convert postal code and address to each other,
For example, the zip code / address mutual conversion table shown in FIG. 14 may be used. As the postal code, an example is shown in which a 7-digit numerical value that can represent the chome and street address is assigned. FIG. 14 shows a postal code 140 and an address 141 corresponding to the postal code one-to-one.
Indicates that they are associated with each other by the association 142.

FIG. 15 illustrates an expression on an actual computer. It is assumed that the first 3 digits of the zip code are set to the address up to the town name and the last 4 digits are set to correspond to the chome and street address.
In this case, a pointer 153 is provided from the postal code address list 151 to the town name address list 152, and the address up to the town name can be obtained by inputting the postal code. As for the addresses after the address, the last 4 digits of the postal code correspond directly, so the address can be obtained from the new 7-digit postal code. In order to obtain the postal code from the address, a reverse pointer may be provided from the town name address list 152 to the new postal code address list 151. More than,
It is a method to convert postal code and address to each other. Similarly, when converting an address and a barcode, a pointer from the address to the barcode may be set.

As in the method described above, the zip code,
The postal system could be improved by making it possible to convert addresses and barcodes to each other. It is obvious that such a conversion can be easily realized by the word processor or the personal computer with the configuration as described above. Of course, it is possible to automatically lay out the address information to which the barcode is added. The automatic layout method of the barcode will be described below.

When automatically laying out a barcode, it is necessary to search for an empty area (blank line) for laying out the barcode. Since the bar code 121 has a laterally elongated shape, as shown in FIG. Therefore, as one method, as shown in FIG. 16, it is conceivable to make a line break so as not to overflow.

As an example, a method shown in FIG. 17 in which an empty line for laying out a bar code is searched in advance in order to automatically lay out a bar code at a higher level can be considered. From line 171, line 172, line 1
73, the line 174 is searched, and since the line 174 is a blank line in which no character is entered, the bar code is laid out on the line 174. In the case of automatic layout, normally, the zip code and address are assigned in order from the first line 171, and the last line is often left over. Therefore, from the last line, line 174. A blank line can be efficiently found by searching toward the first line 171.

If there is no blank line, layout is automatically performed as one item of address information. In other words, insert as an item of n characters at the same level as the address, etc. between the address and name,
Automatic layout. If there are no blank lines and there is not enough free space to lay out the barcode, the barcode may be divided into two and laid out. in this case,
As shown in FIG. 18, the first half control code 181 and the second half control code 182 may be assigned to explicitly indicate that the barcode is divided.

When the above-described two divisions of the barcode are still used and the free space is still insufficient, it is sufficient to lay out a short-length barcode which omits the apartment name and the apartment name. If there is still not enough free space,
Furthermore, the town name and street name are also omitted. By doing so, the final delivery destination cannot be identified from the bar code, but up to the middle delivery destination can be used for automatic sorting on the post office side. Since the final delivery destination can be specified by the address, it does not cause misdelivery.

When changing the notation of the postal address information such as the address and the bar code described above, a message 194 for prompting the user and a message for selecting whether or not to accept the change. It would be nice to have a box 190. As an example, FIG. 19 is shown. Either the option 191 or the option 192 is selected by the mouse pointer 193. However, it is advisable to create a mechanism for limiting the appearance of the message box 190 for users who find such messages and selections troublesome. For example, if the address box is automatically laid out, the message box is not displayed, and if the barcode is divided into two, the message box is displayed.

It takes a great deal of effort for the user to newly register an address in the address book. Therefore, in order to simplify the new registration of the address, the sender reduces the barcode of the sender and prints it together with the address in the address entry field of the sender. The recipient who receives the reduced barcode captures the image with an image scanner and enlarges it when replying. In this case, it is convenient to use the image of the sender's address itself. The barcode is reduced so that the post office does not mistake it for the recipient's barcode. This is because, if the bar code is reduced to a certain size or smaller according to the bar code standard, the post office cannot read the bar code.

When using the above address image, if the image is a vertically written address, the address image is cut out for each character, and each character is rotated by 90 degrees. It can be used for. The same applies to barcodes.

As a detailed regulation of the bar code, a numerical value and an alphabet are used as basic units. The basic unit is composed of about three vertical bars, and since each vertical bar has a different length, it is possible to express numerical values and alphabets by combining them. By having a list that associates this basic unit with numerical values and alphabets, the system functions can be made convenient.

Since the bar code can be read into the computer with a higher recognition rate than the character recognition, if a part of the text to be sent to the other party is bar coded in the communication column of the mail, it can be read into the other party's computer. Will be available at. In order to realize this function, all that is necessary is to have a list that associates the above-mentioned basic units of barcodes with numerical values and alphabets.

It is convenient to have a function of displaying the meaning of the bar code sent by the user when the bar code is specified by the user. This feature also needs to have the list above.

If the basic unit of the bar code is registered as an external character,
Even a printing device such as a dot printer that cannot directly print a barcode image can print the barcode. In this case as well, it is necessary to have the above list.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, by using the address information list, it is possible to automate the mail address information, particularly the layout of the address and its bar code. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration for implementing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of an address book.

FIG. 3 is an example of an address information list.

FIG. 4 shows an example of detecting a line-breakable position and an example (part 1) of actually determining a line-break.

FIG. 5 is an example (No. 2) of actually determining a line break.

FIG. 6 is an example (3) of actually determining a line break.

FIG. 7 is an example (No. 4) of actually determining a line break.

FIG. 8 is an example (No. 5) of actually determining a line break.

FIG. 9 is an example (No. 6) of actually determining a line break.

FIG. 10 is an example of a compressed notation of chome / address by using a similar character list.

FIG. 11 is an example of a list in which line breakable positions are registered in correspondence with an address book.

FIG. 12 is an example in which a barcode extends beyond the layout area.

FIG. 13 is an example of a diagram in which the layout area is considered to be composed of character font frames.

FIG. 14 is an example showing a one-to-one correspondence between postal codes and addresses.

FIG. 15 is an example of a diagram in which the first half of a postal code and the first half of an address correspond one-to-one.

FIG. 16 is an example in which a barcode is laid out correctly.

FIG. 17 is an example in which the layout area is considered to be composed of rows.

FIG. 18 is an example in which a barcode is divided into two and laid out.

FIG. 19 is an example of a message box for the system to call the user's attention and check whether or not to accept the change when the address information is changed.

FIG. 20 is a display example of a screen for checking a large number of layout results at once.

[Explanation of symbols]

10b ... Display control unit, 10a ... Display unit, 11a
・ ・ ・ Input unit, 11b ・ ・ ・ Input control unit, 12b ・ ・ ・
Printing control unit, 12a ... Printing unit, 15 ... Address information list, 13 ... Central control unit, 14 ... Address book, 1
30 ... Layout area, 131 ... Character font frame, 132 ... Upper left character font frame, 133 ...
Lower character font frame, 20 ... Address book, 21 ...
Address items, 22 ... Other information, 15 ... Address information list, 31 ... Prefecture list, 32 ... City list, 33 ... Town list, 34 ... Street / address Notation rule list, 35 ... Pointer, 41 ...
Solid address, 42 ... Address information list, 43a-4
3e ... Line breakable position, 44 ... Example after division is address, 101 ... Address information list, 102 ... Similar character list, 103 ... Compressed notation, 201 ... Layout result, 140 ... New postal code, 151 ... New postal new postal code address list, 152 ... Town name address list, 153 ... Pointer, 141 ... Address corresponding one-to-one with number, 121 ... Bar code, 171-
174 ... Line, 181 ... First half control code, 182
... Latter half control code, 194 ... Message, 19
3 ... Mouse pointer, 191 ... Choice, 192
... Choices, 190 ... Message box.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Hiroshi Shinjo 1-280 Higashi Koikeku, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Metropolitan Research Center, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Masafumi Koga 1-280 Higashi Koikeku, Kokubunji, Tokyo Hitachi Ltd. Central Research Center

Claims (22)

[Claims] Claims: 1. Address information storage means for storing address information such as the postal code, address, name, and address-coded bar code of the sender and recipient of mail, and a layout display means for displaying the layout of addresses. , In the automatic layout method of postal address information having an address printing means for printing the laid out address, when the layout is automatically edited so that the address does not run out of the layout area, the prefecture name, the city name , By referring to the address information list in which the names of towns and villages are stored, the prefecture name of the address,
Address items such as city / ward name, town / village name, etc. are detected, line-breakable positions are detected between the address items, and line-break positions are selected from the line-breakable positions so as not to extend the layout area. A mail address information automatic layout method characterized by laying out. 2. The line breakable position according to claim 1 is stored in advance as another list, and the process of referring to the address information list according to claim 1 is performed only once. Automatic layout method for mailing address information described in. 3. Mail address information according to claim 1, wherein items such as prefectures, municipalities, towns and villages are made easier to see by inserting a blank symbol in the line breakable position according to claim 1. Automatic layout method. 4. The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein optional information such as a prefecture name is automatically omitted when there is not enough space in the layout area. 5. A mail address according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing notation rules such as an address chome and an address, and detecting the items such as a chome and an address using the notation rules. Information automatic layout method. 6. The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 5, wherein when the layout area is insufficient, the chome and the address are simply written. 7. The automatic mailing address information layout method according to claim 5, further comprising: a list of similar characters of numbers and symbols, and converting the Chinese numerals and arithmetical numbers when the similar characters are present. . 8. The automatic mail address information layout method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of layout results are displayed on the same screen when checking the automatic mail address information layout result. 9. A zip code, an address and a bar by having a zip code / address mutual conversion list for converting a zip code and an address mutually and an address / bar code mutual conversion list for converting an address and a bar code mutually. The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein the codes can be mutually converted. 10. The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein the size of the bar code is regarded as one of the address information items of n characters, and the layout is automatically performed in the same manner as an address. 11. The postal address information automatic according to claim 1, wherein when searching for an empty area for displaying a bar code in the layout area, the empty area is searched line by line in the layout area. Layout method. 12. A free area for displaying a barcode is searched from the layout area for each row of the layout area, the empty area is searched from the last line to the first line. The automatic mail address information layout method according to claim 11. 13. When there is not enough space in the layout area,
The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein the barcode is divided into two and automatically laid out. 14. The automatic layout is performed by using up to the middle of the barcode when there is not enough space in the automatic layout area even if the barcode is divided into two.
Automatic layout method for mailing address information described in. 15. The mail address information automatic layout method according to any one of claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, and 14, wherein a message for prompting a user when a change is made to the address information, A mail address information automatic layout method characterized in that it is possible to select whether or not to accept the change. 16. In order to add a new address item given by character recognition or user's character string input, when referring to the address information list of claim 1, there is a character that does not match the list. However, the postal address information automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein the line breakable position can be determined when the number of the characters is small. 17. A barcode reduction method for enabling a recipient who receives a reduced and printed barcode to enlarge the original barcode and use it when replying to the sender. And a bar code enlargement method, wherein the mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 1. 18. The automatic mailing address information layout method according to claim 1, further comprising a list of bar code minimum units and a correspondence list of the minimum units and addresses. 19. The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 18, having a function of converting an arbitrary character string into a bar code. 20. A character image of a sender's address printed in the vertical direction is cut out into images for each character, each of which is rotated by 90 degrees, and processed into a character image of a horizontal address for use in returning to the sender. The mail address information automatic layout method according to claim 1, wherein the mail address information automatic layout method is provided. 21. The automatic mailing address information layout method according to claim 18, wherein the meaning of the bar code is displayed in response to a user's request by using the two types of lists according to claim 18. . 22. The minimum unit of the barcode according to claim 18 is registered as an external character so that the image of the barcode can be printed even by a printing means that cannot directly print the image. Automatic layout method for mailing address information described in.