JPH06195501A - Optical character reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of character reading operation by reducing the burden on an operator. CONSTITUTION:The weight of documents 7 on a hopper 8 is measured by a weight sensor 10. A paper thickness sensor 12 measures paper thickness per document. An outward shape sensor 13 measures the area of the documents 7. A quantity arithmetic means 14 finds weight per unit area from the paper thickness per document and calculates weight per document from said found value and the area of the documents 7. Further, the quantity arithmetic means 14 calculates the number of documents 7 on the hopper 8 from the weight of the documents 7 on the hopper 8 and the weight per document. A process state display control means 15 displays the process advance state of the character reading operation on the basis of the number of the documents 7 on the hopper 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical character reader for optically reading characters on a form, and more particularly to displaying a processing state of a character reading operation on the form.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an optical character reader, a form is optically read, the character recognition result is displayed on a screen, an operator confirms / corrects the character recognition result, and the work result is mastered. A series of data entry operations such as registering in a file or sending to a host device are performed. In such data entry work, when performing a large amount of data entry work collectively, by setting the forms collectively at the paper feed position in the scanner unit of the optical character reading device, the processing work is performed. Can be carried out continuously. At this time, the number of processed forms is counted, and the number of processes is displayed on the display screen used by the data entry worker so that the worker can know how many data entry works have been completed. ing.

[0003]

As described above, in order to carry out the data entry work in a batch, the worker first sets a certain amount of the form on the optical character reader, and performs the work. To start. Then, the worker performs data entry work such as reading of the form and confirmation / correction.
Do this for each form.

Therefore, for a worker who performs a repetitive work such as this data entry work, it is necessary to know the remaining number of documents, for example, "how many hours are required to complete this work" and "the remaining amount. It is possible to set a standard such as "when is the amount of work, when will it end?"

However, in the above-mentioned conventional optical character reading device, in order for the worker to know the number of such forms, the worker counts the number of forms in advance before setting the form on the optical character reading device. Then, the operator subtracts the processed number from the counted number to calculate the unprocessed number. During the processing, the data entry work is interrupted and the number of forms remaining at the paper feed position is counted. As described above, the work different from the original data entry work is required, which increases the burden on the worker and hinders labor saving of the data entry work and improvement of the work efficiency.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical character reader which can reduce the burden on the worker and improve the efficiency of data entry work. To aim.

[0007]

An optical character reading apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a hopper for installing a form at a paper feeding position, and a plurality of forms are set in this hopper, and these hoppers are set. In an optical character reading device for carrying out character reading work by conveying the above-mentioned forms one by one, a weight sensor for measuring the weight of all the forms set on the hopper,
A contour sensor for measuring the area of the form, and 1 of the form.
The weight per unit area is calculated from the paper thickness sensor that measures the paper thickness per sheet and the paper thickness of the form by the paper thickness sensor, and the weight per unit area and the area of the form by the outline sensor are calculated. Based on the above, the weight per sheet of the form is calculated, and based on the weight per sheet and the weight of all the forms by the weight sensor, the number of all the forms set on the hopper is calculated. It is characterized by comprising a number-of-sheets calculating means and processing state display control means for displaying a processing progress state of the character reading work based on the number of all the forms calculated by the number-of-sheets calculating means.

The optical character reading apparatus of the second invention is provided with a hopper for setting a form at the paper feeding position, sets the form on this hopper, and conveys the form on these hoppers one by one to read the character. In the optical character reader to work,
A laminated thickness sensor that measures the thickness of all the forms set on the hopper, a paper thickness sensor that measures the paper thickness per sheet of the form, a measurement result of the laminated thickness sensor, and the paper thickness sensor Number calculation means for calculating the number of forms set on the hopper based on the measurement result, and a processing status display for displaying the processing progress of the character reading work based on the number of forms calculated by the number calculation means. And a control means.

The optical character reader of the third invention is provided with a hopper for setting a form at the paper feeding position, sets a plurality of forms in this hopper, and conveys the forms on these hoppers one by one. In an optical character reading device for performing character reading work by using a weight sensor that measures the weight of all the forms set on the hopper, and based on the form weight on the hopper at a plurality of times measured by the weight sensor. And a processing state display control means for displaying a processing progress state of the character reading work.

The optical character reader of the fourth invention is provided with a hopper for installing a form at the paper feeding position, sets the form on this hopper, and conveys the forms on these hoppers one by one to read the characters. In the optical character reader to work,
A stack thickness sensor that measures the thickness of all the forms set on the hopper, and a processing progress state of the character reading work based on the form thickness on the hopper at a plurality of times measured by the stack thickness sensor is displayed. And a processing state display control means for performing the processing.

[0011]

In the optical character reader of the first aspect of the present invention, the weight of the form on the hopper is measured by the weight sensor. The paper thickness per sheet is measured by the paper thickness sensor, and the area of the document is measured by the outer shape sensor. First, the sheet number calculating means calculates the form 1 measured by the paper thickness sensor.
The weight per unit area is calculated from the paper thickness per sheet, and the weight per sheet is calculated from this value and the area of the sheet measured by the outer shape sensor. Then, the number of forms on the hopper is calculated from the weight of the forms on the hopper measured by the weight sensor and the weight per one form. The processing state display control means causes the display to display the processing progress state of the character reading work such as the form processing completion rate based on the number of the forms on the hopper calculated by the number calculation device.

In the optical character reader of the second invention, the stack thickness of the form on the hopper is measured by the stack thickness sensor. On the other hand, the paper thickness per one sheet is measured by the paper thickness sensor. The sheet number calculating means calculates the number of sheets on the hopper based on the sheet stack thickness measured by the sheet thickness sensor and the sheet thickness per sheet sheet measured by the sheet thickness sensor. The processing state display control means causes the display to display the processing progress state of the character reading work such as the form processing completion rate based on the number of forms on the hopper calculated by the number calculation means.

In the optical character reader of the third invention, the weight of the form on the hopper is measured by the weight sensor. The processing state calculation means sets the weight of the form at the time when the worker first sets it on the hopper to the total processed form value, and thereafter, as the character reading work progresses, the form weight on the hopper is sequentially measured, The unprocessed form values are set, and the processing progress status of the character reading work such as the form processing completion rate is displayed on the display from these values.

In the optical character reader of the fourth aspect of the invention, the stack thickness of the form on the hopper is measured by the stack thickness sensor. The processing state calculation means uses the stack thickness of the form when the worker first sets it on the hopper as the total processed form value, and then the thickness of the form on the hopper that is sequentially measured as the character reading work progresses. This is set as an unprocessed form value, and the processing progress status of the character reading work such as the form processing completion rate is displayed on the display from these values.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an optical character reading apparatus of the present invention. Prior to explaining this embodiment, a system configuration of data entry work will be explained.

FIG. 2 shows the system configuration of the data entry task. The system shown in the figure includes a system control unit 1, a display 2, a keyboard 3, a file device 4, a character recognition control unit 5, and a scanner unit 6. System control unit 1
Is for performing various controls as an optical character reading device. For example, data for data entry is stored in the file device 4, data is transmitted to a host device (not shown), display control of the display 2, Communication with the character recognition control unit 5 and the like are performed. The display 2 is a display device including a CRT or the like for displaying the recognition result of the form and the processing state, and constitutes an output device to the worker. The keyboard 3 is an input device for an operator to input various data and the like.

The file device 4 is a storage device such as a magnetic disk device for storing data such as the character recognition result of the form 7. The character recognition control unit 5 includes a scanner unit 6
It is a device for performing character recognition from the image data of the form 7 read in step 1 and transmitting the recognition result to the system controller 1. The scanner unit 6 reads the forms 7 one by one, acquires the image data thereof, and then the character recognition control unit 5
It is a device for sending to.

In such a system, first, the form 7 is set on the scanner section 6, and the image data is read by the scanner section 6. Then, the image data is character-recognized by the character recognition control unit 5, and the character recognition result and the correction image data are transferred to the system control unit 1. The system control unit 1 displays the recognition result and the correction image data on the display 2, and the operator uses the correction image to correct the character recognition result if there is a recognition error or the like according to the display. By pressing the confirmation key or the like (not shown) of the keyboard 3, the system control unit 1 displays the processing result in the file device 4
The data is stored in the storage device, or data is transmitted to the host device.

Further, the system control unit 1 counts the number of processed forms 7 transferred from the character recognition control unit 5, and the display 2 displays the character recognition result and the correction image data at present. It is designed to display whether the first sheet is being processed. In this embodiment, the form processing completion rate is displayed on the display 2 together with the number of processed forms. The structure for this display will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 8 denotes a hopper, on which the form 7 is placed. A weight sensor 10 is installed below the hopper 8 via a spring 9. The weight sensor 10 is composed of a pressure sensor or the like, detects the weight of the form 7 on the hopper 8, and sends the weight data to a sheet number calculating means 14 described later.

The uppermost sheet of the form 7 is sandwiched and conveyed by a pair of feed rollers 11a and 11b, and the distance between the feed rollers 11a and 11b is measured by a paper thickness sensor 12. It has become so. That is, the paper thickness sensor 12 is configured to measure the paper thickness of one sheet of the form 7 by measuring the interval when the form 7 is sandwiched between the feed roller 11a and the feed roller 11b. . Further, the paper thickness sensor 12 is composed of a converter that converts mechanical displacement of the feed rollers 11a and 11b into electrical displacement such as resistance value, positive capacitance or inductance.

Further, the hopper 8 is provided with an outer shape sensor 13 of the form 7 including a light emitting element and a photo sensor. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the outer shape sensor 13. Figure 3
Is a view of the hopper 8 as seen from above, and the photo sensor 1
A plurality of grids 3a are provided, and a light emitting element (not shown) is arranged above the hopper 8 corresponding to the photo sensor 13a. Then, the outputs of these photosensors 13a are sent as the outer shape data of the form 7. Further, the above configuration is provided in the scanner unit 6 shown in FIG.

The outputs of the weight sensor 10, the paper thickness sensor 12 and the outer shape sensor 13 are input to the sheet number calculating means 14. This number calculation means 14
It is composed of a dedicated processor provided in the scanner unit 6 or a processor of the system control unit 1, and the weight sensor 10 measures the weight of the form 7 on the hopper 8 and the paper thickness sensor 12 measures the thickness of 71 forms. As a result, it has a function of calculating the number of all the forms 7 on the hopper 8 from the outer shape measurement result of the form 7 by the outer shape sensor 13.

The output of the number calculation means 14 is input to the processing state display control means 15. This processing state display control means 15 is similar to the number-of-sheets calculation means 14,
Based on the number of documents 7 calculated by the number calculator 14 and the number of completed data entry operations, which is composed of a dedicated processor provided in the scanner section 6 or a processor of the system control section 1, It has a function of controlling to display the processing state of the character reading work on the display 2. In this embodiment, as the processing status display of the character reading work, the form processing completion rate is displayed in a pie chart as described later.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. First, the worker is going to process the form 7
Is set at the paper feeding position on the hopper 8. As a result, the weight sensor 10 measures the weight of all the set forms 7 and sends the measurement result to the sheet number calculating means 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the outer shape sensor 13, the light from the light emitting element is blocked by the photo sensor 13a corresponding to the outer shape of the form 7. The area of the form 7 can be detected by measuring how many horizontal photosensors 13a are in the presence of paper. That is, from the outer shape sensor 13,
Data on how many horizontal photosensors 13a are present is sent to the sheet number calculating means 14.

Further, the paper thickness of the form 7 is detected by the paper thickness sensor 12 when the first sheet is set at the paper feed operation position by the feed rollers 11a and 11b (when it is nipped by the feed rollers 11a and 11b). It Then, the paper thickness data detected by the paper thickness sensor 12 is sent to the sheet number calculating means 14. The number calculation means 14 inputs the measurement results of these sensors and calculates the number of the forms 7 on the hopper 8.

First, in the case of paper, the standard weight of how many Kg of paper is predetermined depending on the thickness of the paper, so how many Kg of paper the form 7 is calculated from the measurement result of the paper thickness sensor 12. . That is, by this, the weight per unit area of the form 7 is calculated. Next, from the outer shape sensor 13, the area of the form 7 is calculated from the data on how many photosensors 13a are present in the vertical and horizontal directions. When the area of the form 7 is calculated, the weight per one form is calculated based on the reference value of how much Kg paper the form 7 is. Then, by calculating the ratio of the calculated weight per sheet of the form 7 and the weight of the form 7 on the hopper 8 measured by the weight sensor 10, the number of the forms 7 on the hopper 8 is calculated.

The processing state display control means 15 sets the total number of processed sheets as the number of processed sheets from the number calculating means 14, and sequentially counts the number of completed data entry operations.
The ratio between the number of processed sheets and the number of processed sheets is displayed on the display 2 as a pie chart. FIG. 4 shows the display screen. That is, the display screen shows the correction screen image of the form 7 and the form processing completion rate. This form processing completion rate indicates the ratio of the number of processed sheets to the number of sheets calculated by the sheet number calculating means 14 as 100%.

In the first embodiment, the processing state display control means 15 calculates the form processing completion rate as a ratio of the processed number of sheets to the total number of sheets on the hopper 8. The number of sheets of the form 7 on the hopper 8 may be sequentially calculated, and the result of this calculation may be set as the unprocessed number, which is represented by the ratio of the unprocessed number to the total number of forms. In the first embodiment described above, the outer shape sensor 13 is composed of the light emitting element and the photo sensor 13a. However, another structure may be used as long as the area of the form 7 can be measured. Further, the weight sensor 10 and the paper thickness sensor 12 are not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment.

Next, a second embodiment will be described in which the number of forms 7 on the hopper 8 is calculated from the thickness of all forms 7. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram thereof. In this second embodiment,
As a sensor for calculating the number of forms 7 on the hopper 8,
A paper thickness sensor 12 similar to that of the first embodiment and a stack thickness sensor 16 for detecting the thickness of all the forms on the hopper 8 are provided.

The laminated thickness sensor 16 comprises a stepping motor 17 and an encoder 18. The stepping motor 17 is a motor for driving the encoder 18, and rotates according to the number of pulses supplied.
Also, the encoder 18 is configured such that a plurality of slots are formed at equal intervals on the outer peripheral portion of a disk-shaped rotary plate, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element are positioned with the outer peripheral portion sandwiched therebetween.
Further, one end of the encoder 18 is attached to the hopper 8, and the other end of a rod 19 which is vertically movable is attached. Therefore, the amount of vertical movement of the hopper 8 can be detected as a change in the electric signal of the encoder 18. A guide 20 is provided on the hopper 8 and is in contact with the upper surface of the form 7.

Then, the sheet number calculating means 21 detects the total sheet thickness on the hopper 8 by the stack thickness sensor 16 and the paper thickness sensor 12
It has a function of calculating the total number of forms on the hopper 8 based on the paper thickness per one form according to. Further, since the other respective configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. First, the worker is going to process the form 7
Is set at the paper feeding position on the hopper 8. Then, the stepping motor 17 rotates, the encoder 18 is driven, and the rotation further drives the hopper 8 upward through the rod 19. When the hopper 8 is driven upward and the uppermost surface of the set form 7 contacts the guide 20, the stepping motor 17 loses step and the rotation of the encoder 18 is stopped. Therefore, the encoder 18 outputs a pulse proportional to the amount of movement of the hopper 8, and this pulse is input to the number calculation means 21.

The number-of-sheets calculating means 21 includes a laminated thickness sensor 16
The initial setting position, that is, the distance between the position of the hopper 8 before setting the form 7 and the guide 20 is stored in advance, and the number of pulses from the encoder 18 from this position until the form 7 contacts the guide 20 is measured. By doing, hopper 8
The thickness of all the above-mentioned forms 7 is calculated. On the other hand, the paper thickness sensor 12 outputs paper thickness data for one form to the number calculating unit 21. The number calculation means 21 calculates the number of all the forms 7 on the hopper 8 by taking the ratio of the total thickness of the forms on the hopper 8 to the paper thickness per one form.

The processing state display control means 15 sets the total number of processed sheets to the total number of processed sheets from the number calculating means 21, and sequentially counts the number of completed data entry operations.
As shown in FIG. 4, the ratio between the number of processed sheets and the number of processed sheets is displayed in a pie chart on the display 2. In the second embodiment, the laminated thickness sensor 16 is composed of the stepping motor 17, the encoder 18, etc., but the invention is not limited to this, and the laminated form thickness on the hopper 8 can be measured. Other configurations may be used as long as they are present.

Next, a third embodiment will be described in which the progress of processing of the character reading work is displayed based on the change in the weight of the form 7 on the hopper 8 measured by the weight sensor 10. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram thereof. The apparatus shown in the figure is configured such that the output of the weight sensor 10 is input to the processing state calculation means 22, and the processing state calculation means 22 calculates the processing progress state of the character reading work. The processing state calculation means 22 is provided in the scanner unit 6 or the system control unit 1 shown in FIG. 2 and has a function of calculating the form processing completion rate based on the weight value from the weight sensor 10 and displaying it on the display 2. Have The other configurations are the same as those of the first
Since it is similar to the embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, the operation will be described. First,
When the worker sets the form 7 to be processed at the paper feeding position on the hopper 8, the weight sensor 10 measures the weight of all the set forms 7 as in the first embodiment. Then, this measurement result is input to the processing state calculation means 22, and the processing state calculation means 22 stores this measurement result as the entire form processing value.

Thereafter, the character reading operation proceeds, and the weight value of the form 7 at that time is input from the weight sensor 10 to the processing state calculating means 22. As a result, the processing state calculation means 22 takes the weight of the form 7 at this point as the unprocessed form weight value and takes a ratio with the initial total form processing value, and uses this as the form processing completion rate and the pie chart in FIG. To be displayed.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to display the form processing completion rate with a slight increase in the configuration as compared with the related art.

Next, a description will be given of a fourth embodiment in which the processing progress of the character reading work is displayed based on the change in the form thickness on the hopper 8 measured by the laminated thickness sensor 16. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram thereof. The apparatus shown in the figure is configured such that the output of the laminated thickness sensor 16 is input to the processing state calculation means 23, and the processing state calculation means 23 calculates the processing progress state of the character reading work. The processing state calculating means 23 has the same function as that of the processing state calculating means 22 of the third embodiment, except that the processing state calculating means 23 performs calculation based on the measurement result of the laminated thickness sensor 16. Since the other respective configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, the operation will be described. First,
When the worker sets the form 7 to be processed at the paper feeding position on the hopper 8, the laminated thickness sensor 16 measures the thickness of all the set forms 7 as in the second embodiment. . Then, this measurement result is input to the processing state calculation means 23, and the processing state calculation means 23 stores this measurement result as the entire form processing value.

Thereafter, the character reading work proceeds, and the value of the laminated thickness of the form 7 at that time is input from the laminated thickness sensor 16 to the processing state calculating means 23. As a result, the processing state calculation means 23 takes the stack thickness of the form 7 at this point as an unprocessed form stack thickness and takes a ratio with the initial total form processing value,
This is displayed as the form processing completion rate as shown in the pie chart in FIG.

Thus, also in the fourth embodiment,
The configuration of the paper thickness sensor 12 and the like is unnecessary, and the form processing completion rate can be displayed with a slight increase in the configuration compared with the conventional configuration.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the form processing completion rate is displayed as a pie chart as the display of the processing progress state of the character reading work. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to this. For example, a display method may be used in which the form value on the first hopper 8 is displayed as the total processed value and the processed value is displayed at the same time.

[0045]

As described above, according to the optical character reader of the first aspect of the present invention, the weight of the form on the hopper is measured, and the paper thickness and area per one form are measured. Then, the weight per one sheet is calculated from this paper thickness and area, and the total number of sheets is calculated from this calculated value and the weight of the sheets on the hopper. Since the processing progress state of the character reading work is displayed based on this, the burden on the operator can be reduced and the efficiency of the character reading work can be improved.

According to the optical character reader of the second invention, the thickness of the form on the hopper is measured, and the form on the hopper is determined based on the total form thickness and the paper thickness per form. Since the number of sheets is calculated and the processing progress state of the character reading work is displayed based on the calculated number of sheets, the same effect as the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained, and the number of sheets can be easily calculated. There is.

Further, according to the optical character reader of the third invention, the character reading work is carried out based on the change of the weight of the form on the hopper, and in the fourth invention, the change of the laminated thickness of the form on the hopper. Since the processing progress status of is displayed,
In addition to the effects of the first invention, there is an effect that the processing progress status can be displayed with a slight increase in the configuration.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of an optical character reading device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a data entry operation to which the optical character reading device of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an outer shape sensor in the first embodiment of the optical character reading device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a processing progress state in the optical character reading device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the optical character reading device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the optical character reading device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment of the optical character reading device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 display 7 form 8 hopper 10 weight sensor 12 paper thickness sensor 13 outer shape sensor 14, 21 number calculation means 15 processing state display control means 16 laminated thickness sensor 22, 23 processing state calculation means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical character which comprises a hopper for setting a form at a paper feeding position, sets a plurality of forms in the hopper, and conveys the forms on the hopper one by one to perform a character reading operation. In the reading device, a weight sensor that measures the weight of all the forms set on the hopper, an outer shape sensor that measures the area of the form, and a paper thickness sensor that measures the paper thickness per sheet of the form, While calculating the weight per unit area from the paper thickness of the form by the paper thickness sensor, the weight per unit area,
The weight per sheet of the sheet is calculated based on the area of the sheet by the outer shape sensor, and the weight is set on the hopper based on the weight of the sheet and the weight of all the sheets by the weight sensor. And a processing state display control means for displaying a processing progress state of the character reading work based on the number of all documents calculated by the number calculation device. Optical character reading device. 2. An optical character reading device comprising a hopper for setting a form at a paper feeding position, setting the form on the hopper, and conveying the forms on the hopper one by one to perform a character reading operation. A stack thickness sensor for measuring the thickness of all the forms set on the hopper, a paper thickness sensor for measuring the paper thickness per sheet of the form, a measurement result of the stack thickness sensor, and the paper thickness A sheet number calculating means for calculating the number of sheets set on the hopper based on the measurement result of the sensor, and a processing state for displaying a processing progress state of the character reading work based on the number of sheets calculated by the sheet number calculating means. An optical character reading device comprising display control means. 3. An optical character which comprises a hopper for setting a form at a paper feeding position, sets a plurality of forms in the hopper, and conveys the forms on the hopper one by one to perform a character reading operation. In the reading device, a weight sensor for measuring the weight of all the forms set on the hopper, and a processing progress state of the character reading work based on the form weight on the hopper at a plurality of times measured by the weight sensor are displayed. An optical character reading device comprising: a processing state display control unit for performing the processing. 4. An optical character reading apparatus comprising a hopper for installing a form at a paper feeding position, setting the form on the hopper, and transporting the forms on the hopper one by one to perform a character reading operation. A stacking thickness sensor for measuring the thickness of all the forms set on the hopper, and a process progress state of the character reading work based on the form thickness on the hopper at a plurality of times measured by the stacking thickness sensor. An optical character reader comprising: a processing state display control means for displaying.