JPH04290185A - Vertical/lateral writing discriminating method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] This invention performs character recognition of characters written vertically or horizontally over several lines to express certain information. The present invention relates to a vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method for determining whether the text is Japanese or horizontal.

0002

[Background Art] Conventional vertical/horizontal writing discrimination involves character recognition of character data read by OCR, etc., by pattern matching, etc., and the recognized character string is stored in a database, such as "Tokyo", etc. , “×××× Company”, “×
This is done by checking whether there is any information that matches the character string by comparing it with information (idioms) that have a certain meaning, such as "×University", "Baseball", and "Computer".

[0003] In other words, if a vertically written document is determined to be horizontally written, even if individual characters themselves can be recognized, each string of characters does not form a certain amount of information, and it is difficult to classify that information. Since this makes it impossible to use it for database creation, etc., vertical and horizontal writing will be determined.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional vertical/horizontal writing discrimination, the character string after character recognition is compared with information that has a certain meaning stored in a database, that is, an idiom. There is a problem that the verification process takes time and the overall data processing speed becomes slow.

[0005] Furthermore, if you want to increase the matching rate in the matching process or if you do not know what kind of information is written in the document, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the database, so the processing speed will increase. The problem is that it becomes slower and the memory capacity for the database increases.

[0006]The present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and provides a method for distinguishing between vertical and horizontal writing, which speeds up the processing speed by not performing database comparison when distinguishing between vertical and horizontal writing after character recognition. The purpose is to provide

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention performs character recognition of characters written vertically or horizontally over several lines to express certain information, and the recognized character strings are In the vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method for determining whether the character is written vertically or horizontally so that it represents the above-mentioned certain information, the above-mentioned character is read from a certain direction, either horizontally or vertically, and character recognition is performed based on the read data. At the same time, if character recognition is not possible, the read data is rotated 90 degrees and the above character recognition is performed again.If character recognition is possible, the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions is calculated based on the above read data. , is characterized in that it compares the size of a constant ratio of character spacing in both directions, and also compares the size of character spacing in both directions, and determines whether it is vertical or horizontal writing based on the comparison results.

[0008]

[Operation] In the above configuration, characters are first read from a fixed direction in the horizontal or vertical direction, character recognition is performed, and if character recognition is possible, the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions is calculated based on the read data. In addition to comparing the constant ratio of the character spacing in both directions, we also compared the size of the character spacing in both directions, and based on the above comparison results, we determined whether it was vertical or horizontal writing, so the character spacing during character recognition It is possible to distinguish between vertical and horizontal writing, eliminating the need for comparison with a database.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a simplified explanatory diagram of a business card data reading/classifying device that employs the vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method according to the present invention.

In this figure, a business card 1 is transferred to a business card conveying device 2.
The cards are automatically sent one by one, and characters such as kanji and numbers such as "company name,""name,""department/sectionname," and "telephone number" printed on the sent business card 1 are read on the reader. 3. The characters read by the reading section 3 are RS
The read data is input as read data to a personal computer main body 5, which is a data processing device, via a cable 4 such as 232C, where characters are recognized and whether vertical or horizontal writing is determined by the method according to the present invention. The results are output from the CRT 6 or printer 7.

[0012] The configurations of this character reading/classifying device and the conveyance device themselves are conventionally known, and character recognition uses conventional techniques such as pattern matching. Further, the vertical writing/horizontal writing discrimination method according to the present invention is performed by program processing by a CPU (not shown) built into the personal computer main body 5 and a memory (not shown) such as ROM or RAM.

[0013] Next, the character reading system configured as described above
An embodiment of the vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method according to the present invention, which is implemented in a classification device, will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the reading section 3 is scanned in the horizontal direction to read the characters printed on the business card 1 (ST10).
, perform character recognition using methods such as pattern matching (
ST20).

[0015] If recognition is not possible (ST30 “No”)
), the read character data, that is, the read data, is rotated 90 degrees clockwise (ST40), then recognized again (ST10), and it is determined whether or not it can be recognized (ST30).
), and in the case of recognition addition (ST30 “No”),
The process of rotating the read data by 90 degrees, character recognition, and recognition judgment (ST40, 10, 30) is repeated at least three times until the read data has rotated once. Read data 90
The method of rotating by degrees is well known. For example, in the case of pattern matching read data, that is, binary matrix-like read data, there is a method of converting each "row" element into a corresponding "column". It will be done.

[0016] If it can be recognized (ST30 “Yes”)
, Next, in order to distinguish between vertical and horizontal writing, first calculate the character spacing between each character in the vertical and horizontal directions, and then determine the size of the constant ratio of character spacing in both directions, that is, which direction the ratio is. It is determined whether the two values are larger or approximately the same (ST50). This character spacing is calculated based on, for example, the character cutout spacing during character reading.

If it is determined that the proportion of constant character spacing in the horizontal direction is greater than the proportion of constant character spacing in the vertical direction (ST50 "horizontal>vertical"), horizontal writing is determined (ST60) If it is determined that the proportion of constant character spacing in the vertical direction is greater than the proportion of constant character spacing in the horizontal direction (ST50 "horizontal <vertical"), it is determined that the writing is vertical (ST70), and If it is determined that the ratio of constant character spacing in the horizontal direction and the ratio of constant character spacing in the vertical direction are the same (ST50 "horizontal=vertical"), the process moves to the next determination step. The distinction here is that, like on business cards, the characters that make up the phrases such as "company name,""name," or "department/section name" change in size for each phrase, or if the letters at the beginning of the line are broken. This is an effective determination when the position of the page is misaligned or there is a large misalignment of paragraphs.

In the next step, the vertical character spacing is compared with the horizontal character spacing (ST80), and if it is determined that the vertical character spacing is larger than the horizontal character spacing (ST80). "Horizontal <Vertical"), it is determined that the writing is horizontal (ST90), while if it is determined that the character spacing in the horizontal direction is larger than the character spacing in the vertical direction (ST80 "Horizontal >Vertical")
, it is determined that the writing is vertical (ST100). The determination here is
In normal documents, the line spacing is larger than the character spacing; in other words, in vertically written documents, the horizontal character spacing is larger.
This focuses on the fact that horizontal writing has large vertical character spacing.

The above is a description of the character reading/classifying device and the vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method according to the present invention implemented in this device.
The vertical and horizontal writing determination when using a business card with vertical writing or horizontal writing as shown in FIG. 2 will be explained based on FIG.

First, in the case of a horizontally written business card as shown in FIG. 3(a), character recognition is possible when read horizontally, so in FIG.
Proceed to T50. Then, in ST50, it is determined whether the proportion of constant character spacing is greater, the vertical character spacing or the horizontal character spacing, and as is clear from FIG. 3(a), The constant rate of character spacing is
Since it is larger than the constant ratio of vertical character spacing (S
T50 “Horizontal > Vertical”), it is determined that the writing is horizontal (ST
60).

On the other hand, in the case of a vertically written business card as shown in FIG. 3(b), since characters cannot be recognized when read horizontally, ST10, ST20, ST30,
The process proceeds to ST40, and in ST40, the read data is reversed 90 degrees clockwise as described above.

[0022] Then, if the characters are recognized again (ST20)
, it can be determined that it is recognizable (ST30 "Yes"),
Proceeding to ST50, it is determined whether the proportion of constant character spacing between the vertical character spacing and the horizontal character spacing is greater. In this case, as is clear from Figure 3(b), the proportion of constant character spacing in the vertical direction is greater than the proportion of constant character spacing in the horizontal direction;
ST50 “Horizontal < Vertical”), it is determined that the writing is vertical (S
T70).

Furthermore, in the case of a vertically written business card as shown in FIG. 3(c), it can be recognized even when read horizontally, so in FIG.
Proceed to 50. Then, in ST50, it is determined whether the proportion of constant character spacing is greater, the vertical character spacing or the horizontal character spacing.As is clear from FIG. 3(c), Since the character spacing in the direction and the character spacing in the horizontal direction are almost constant (ST50 "vertical=horizontal"), the process moves to the next determination step, ST80. This ST
80, the character spacing in the vertical direction and the character spacing in the horizontal direction are compared, and in this case, as is clear from FIG. 3(c), the character spacing in the horizontal direction is larger than the character spacing in the vertical direction. Therefore, (ST80 "horizontal>vertical"), it is determined that the text is written vertically (ST100).

Therefore, in the method of this embodiment, since vertical and horizontal writing are determined by focusing on the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions, the character strings after character recognition are stored in the database. Collation processing such as matching certain information or phrases is eliminated, speeding up the discrimination between vertical and horizontal writing, speeding up the overall data processing speed, and reducing the memory capacity of the database used for the collation process. be done.

[0025] In this embodiment, the magnitude of the constant ratio of the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions is compared, and only when the ratios are determined to be equal, the magnitude of the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions is changed. However, in the present invention, the size of the constant ratio of the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions,
Simultaneously increase and decrease the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions,
Based on the results, vertical writing and horizontal writing may be determined as in the above embodiment. Further, in this embodiment, a business card has been described, but the present invention is not limited to a business card, and of course, a document in which a general document is written may be used.

[0026]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in this invention, since the discrimination between vertical and horizontal writing is made by focusing on the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions, character strings after character recognition are stored in a database. This eliminates the need for matching processes such as comparing stored character strings with phrases stored in the database, which speeds up the discrimination between vertical and horizontal writing, speeds up data processing overall, and improves the matching process. The memory capacity for the database is reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a simplified explanatory diagram showing a business card data reading/classifying device that employs a vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a vertical writing/horizontal writing discrimination method according to the present invention.

FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) are explanatory diagrams each showing a state of vertical writing or horizontal writing on a business card.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Business card 2 Business card conveyance device 3 Reading section 4 Cable 5　　PC body 6 CRT 7 Printer

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: Character recognition is performed for characters written vertically or horizontally over several lines to represent certain information, and the character string after recognition is written vertically or horizontally so as to represent the certain information. In the vertical/horizontal writing discrimination method, the above-mentioned characters are read from a certain direction, either horizontally or vertically, character recognition is performed based on the read data, and if character recognition is not possible, the read data is The characters are rotated once and the character recognition is performed again. If the characters can be recognized, the character spacing in the vertical and horizontal directions is calculated based on the read data.
Vertical/horizontal writing discrimination characterized by comparing the size of a constant ratio of character spacing in both directions, comparing the size of character spacing in both directions, and determining vertical writing/horizontal writing based on the above comparison results. Method.