JPS5935466B2 - Character reading method and device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is applied to an optical character reader that reads forms in which characters of different types or fonts coexist on the same line.

Optical character readers that read characters of different types or fonts, specifically optical and academic character readers that read katakana and numbers, may fail to read if the type or font of the characters to be read is not known in advance. Or misreading occurs.

In other words, ``ノ'' (katakana no) and ``1'' (number 1)
Also, in the case of characters that are difficult to distinguish, such as ``ku'' (katakana no ku) and ``7'' (the number 7), there are many cases where the characters cannot be read or are misread. Conventionally, in order to avoid this, the number of fonts within a unit to be read (hereinafter referred to as a block) has been limited to one type. In this case, the address [3-4, Chiyoda-ku, Kyoto] must be entered as shown in Figure 1.
Here, 1, 2, 3, and 4 are blocks that are read as kana characters, and 5, 6, 7, and 8 are blocks that are read as numeric characters. In such a method, a new block is required each time a number appears in the address, so it is necessary to prepare a large number of blocks on the form, which is uneconomical. It is also not aesthetically pleasing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for reading character strings containing characters of different types or fonts. A feature of the present invention is that when recording characters on a sheet of paper such as a form, a specific symbol is recorded at least between characters of different types or fonts, and the specific symbol is detected when reading. The purpose is to determine the discrimination mode for characters read after a specific symbol.

Examples of the present invention will be specifically described below.

FIG. 2 shows an example of data read by the optical character reader according to the embodiment of the present invention. The "≠" symbol indicates that the following characters to be read are English characters. The "\" symbol indicates that the following characters are numbers. "*]
The symbol shall indicate that the characters that follow are in katakana. FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the optical character reader.
The scanner 10 is a device that optically scans a character pattern to be read on a form and converts it into an electrical signal.
, number discrimination section 13, katakana discrimination section 14, symbol discrimination section 1
Sent to 5.

The alphabetic character discrimination section 12 discriminates the character pattern sent through the signal line 11 and sends the answer to the signal line 16. In response, output on signal 16 are English characters and unreadable codes. The numeric discriminator 13 discriminates the character pattern sent from the signal line 11 and sends the answer to the signal line 17. In response, output on signal 17 is a number and an unreadable code. Katakana discrimination part 1
4 discriminates the character pattern sent from the signal line 11 and sends it to the signal line 18. What is output to the signal line 18 in response are katakana and an unreadable code. The symbol discriminator 15 discriminates the character pattern sent from the signal line 11, and when a "◆" symbol is discriminated, a "Φ" code is output to the signal line 19 until a "¥" or "*" symbol is discriminated. In addition, if the “¥” symbol is determined, “≠” or “*”
It is assumed that the "\" code is output to the signal line 19 until the ``\'' code is determined. Further, when the "*" symbol is determined, the "*" code is outputted to the signal line 19 until "hiro" or "Y" is determined. Signals on signal lines 16, 17, 18 and 19 are input to the selector 20. When the "≠" code is input from the signal line 19, the signal on the signal line 16 is output to the signal line 21. When the "Y" code is input from the signal line 19, the signal on the signal line 17 is output to the signal line 21. When the "*" code is input from the signal line 19, the signal on the signal line 18 is output to the signal line 21.

Further, when the signal on the signal line 19 changes from, for example, the "≠" code to the "complete" code, a space code is output to the signal line 21. Next, the operation of this device will be explained.

When the first character pattern "≠" in FIG. 2 scanned by the scanner 10 is output to the signal line 11, the symbol discriminator 15 determines this pattern as a "≠" symbol and outputs it to the signal line 19.
The selector 20 outputs a space code to the signal line 21 because the signal on the signal line 19 has changed to the [≠] code. At this time, the alphabetic character discriminator 12, numeric discriminator 13, and katakana discriminator 14 output unreadable codes or respective discrimination codes, but these are ignored. Next, the scanner 10 outputs the "A" pattern to the signal line 11. At this time, the English character discrimination unit 12
determines this and outputs the [A] code to the signal line 16.
Furthermore, since the symbol discriminator 15 cannot distinguish the pattern of the signal line 11 from a symbol, it continues to output the "≠" code to the signal line 19. Therefore, the selector 20 selects "A" of the signal line 16.
The code is output to the signal line 21, and the signals on the signal lines 17 and 18 are ignored. In this way, the third character "B" and the fourth character "C" are also output to the signal line 21. 5th character [¥
” symbol pattern is output to the signal line 11, the symbol discrimination unit 15 determines this as a “¥” symbol and outputs the “¥” code to the signal line 19. The selector 20 outputs a space code to the signal line 21 because the signal on the signal line 19 has changed from the "≠" code to the "\" code. When the pattern of the sixth character "1" is output to the signal line 11, the numeric discriminator 13
is determined to be “1” and outputs a “1” code to the signal line 17. At this time, since the signal 19 is the "\" code, the selector 20 outputs the "1" code to the signal line 21. Similarly, codes for the seventh, eighth, and ninth characters "2", "0", and "0" are output to the signal line 21. The 10th character [*] is signal line 1
1, the symbol discriminator 15 outputs the "*" code. Selector 20 outputs a space code. 1st
The characters 1, 12, and 13, “A,” “I,” and “U” are distinguished by the katakana discriminator 18 and their codes are sent to the signal line 18.
is output to . The selector 20 outputs the signal 19 to the signal line 21 since it is a ``V'' code. In this way, the data in Figure 2 is (space) ABC (space) 1200 (space)
It will be output as "Iuichi".

In this way, even if characters of different types coexist in the same block, they can be read without increasing the possibility of unreadability or misreading.

Furthermore, it is clear that the same method as described above can be applied even when characters of different fonts are mixed.

Although it has been assumed above that the scanner 10 inputs characters from the left, this is not an essential assumption for the present invention. It is also clear that it can be applied to cases where the number of other character types, such as hiragana, increases by adding symbols. FIG. 4 shows another example of application of the present invention. In FIG. 4, unlike the example in FIG. 2, only numerical data is sandwiched between "<" and ">". In this case, the present invention can be implemented by changing the symbol discriminator 15 in FIG. 3 as follows. In other words, “￥
Use the ``ku'' symbol instead of the ``'' symbol. Also, the ">" symbol is used instead of the "Φ" symbol. Further, the symbol discriminator 15 is configured so that a ">" code is output to the signal line 19 prior to reading the block. By making these changes, even if katakana and numbers are mixed in the same block, it is possible to reduce unreadability and misreading, and as is clear from comparing Figures 1 and 4, it is possible to reduce the number of data entry fields. It can be made significantly smaller.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an example of filling in a conventional form, Fig. 2 is an example of filling in a form of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is another example of filling in a form of the present invention. shows. 10...Scanner, 12...Alphabet discrimination unit, 13...Numeric discrimination unit, 14...Katakana discrimination unit, 15... Symbol discrimination section, 20...
···selector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for reading a character string recorded on a sheet of paper such as a form, in which characters of different types or fonts are mixed, wherein when recording characters on a sheet of paper, at least characters of different types or fonts are read. A character reading method characterized in that a specific symbol is recorded between the characters, and a discrimination mode for characters to be read after the specific symbol is determined by detecting the specific symbol during reading. 2. The character reading method according to claim 1, wherein after detecting the specific symbol during reading, character discrimination is performed in a mode designated by the specific symbol. 3. When there are two types of characters or fonts to be used, a discrimination mode corresponding to the type or font of the character to be read first is set in advance during reading, and the discrimination mode is switched each time the specific symbol is detected. A character reading method according to claim 1, characterized in that: 4 A device that reads a character string in which a specific symbol is inserted between at least characters of different types or fonts on a sheet of paper such as a form, and distinguishes between the characters, which is a scanning means for reading characters on a sheet of paper. , a discriminating means having a discriminating mode corresponding to the type or font of the character, and when a specific symbol is detected from the character pattern read by the scanning means, the discriminating mode of the discriminating means is set to a mode specified by the specific symbol. A character reading device comprising a selection means for selecting. 5. The character reading device according to claim 4, wherein when there are two types of characters or two fonts, the discrimination mode is selected using at least one specific symbol.