Patent Publication Number: US-2019180129-A1

Title: Magnetic-ink-character recognizing device and computer program

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-236283, filed in Dec. 8, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to a magnetic-ink-character recognizing device and a computer program. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A magnetic-ink-character recognizing device such as a MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader) that reads, using a magnetic head, magnetic ink characters printed on paper is known. For example, a magnetic-ink-character recognizing device of a paper conveyance type performs reading with a magnetic head while conveying paper on which magnetic ink characters are printed and recognizes the magnetic ink characters on the basis of a magnetism detection signal output from the magnetic head. 
     The magnetism detection signal is represented by waveform data of two dimensions including a time axis and a voltage axis. Recognition of characters is performed by comparing the magnetism detection signal with waveform data (template data) standardized by ISO1004 or the like. There has been proposed a technique for preparing template data of characters for each of types of the characters obtained by changing character widths of the characters, thicknesses of lines, and the like and comparing the template and a magnetism detection waveform to recognize the characters of the template data having similarities equal to or larger than a threshold as read characters. 
     Incidentally, the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device explained above is configured to convey the paper at predetermined speed. However, the conveying speed sometimes fluctuates because of various reasons. For example, if a conveying roller for paper conveyance is formed of rubber or the like, the diameter of the conveying roller changes with temperature. The conveying speed sometimes fluctuates according to the change in the diameter of the conveying roller. If the conveying speed fluctuates, since deviation occurs in the length in a time axis direction of the magnetism detection signal read by the magnetic head, it is likely that the characters cannot be recognized using the standardized template. In the related art explained above, a recognition rate of the characters having the changed character widths and the changed thicknesses of the lines can be improved. However, it is likely that the magnetism detection signal having the changed length in the time axis direction cannot be recognized. 
     Related art is described in, for example, JP-A-2011-54029. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a magnetic-ink-character recognizing device according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating an example of paper according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a magnetism detection signal of the paper according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating an example of hardware components included in the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a data configuration of template data according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example of functional components included in the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device; and 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating an example of character recognition processing performed by the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An object is to provide a magnetic-ink-character recognizing device and a computer program capable of improving a character recognition rate. 
     A magnetic-ink-character recognizing device in an embodiment includes a magnetic head, a conveying section, an acquiring section, a segmenting section, a first calculating section, a second calculating section, and a recognizing section. The conveying section conveys, relatively to the magnetic head, a medium on which magnetic ink characters are printed. The acquiring section acquires a magnetism detection signal read by the magnetic head. The segmenting section segments waveform data of the magnetic ink characters from the magnetism detection signal. The first calculating section compares, on the basis of a storing section having stored therein reference waveform data of characters, the waveform data segmented by the segmenting section and the reference waveform data and calculates similarities of both the data, respectively. The second calculating section compares the waveform data segmented by the segmenting section and extended waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding length in a time axis direction of the reference waveform data according to fluctuation in a conveyance amount of the medium and calculates similarities of both the data, respectively. The recognizing section recognizes, on the basis of the similarities calculated by the first calculating section and the second calculating section, the magnetic ink characters of the waveform data segmented by the segmenting section. 
     A magnetic-ink-character recognizing device and a computer program according to an embodiment are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  includes a paper conveying path  11 , a conveying roller  12 , a magnetic head  13 , and a paper presser  14 . 
     The paper conveying path  11  is a conveying path for conveying paper PA, which is a medium. The paper PA is a medium (a paper sheet) such as a check or a promissory note. Magnetic ink characters MC (see  FIG. 2 ) are printed on the surface of the paper PA. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating an example of the paper PA. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , information such as a check number is printed on the surface of the paper PA as the magnetic ink characters MC. Such magnetic ink characters MC are printed in a font conforming to a standard such as E-13B or CMC-7. The paper PA is inserted into the paper conveying path  11  from the left end side illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the conveying roller  12  conveys the paper PA, which is inserted from the right end side of the paper conveying path  11 , to the left end side of the paper conveying path  11 . The magnetic head  13  is a magnetism detecting device that reads a change in magnetism (a magnetic field). The magnetic head  13  reads magnetism from the paper PA (the magnetic ink characters MC) conveyed on the paper conveying path  11 . The paper presser  14  is disposed to be opposed to the magnetic head  13 . During a reading operation, the paper presser  14  presses the paper PA in a head direction with a certain fixed pressure. The paper PA conveyed on the paper conveying path  11  passes through a gap between the magnetic head  13  and the paper presser  14 . 
     In the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the paper PA is inserted from the right end side of the paper conveying path  11  such that the magnetic ink characters MC are opposed to the magnetic head  13 . The inserted paper PA is conveyed to the left end side of the paper conveying path  11  by the conveying roller  12 . The magnetic head  13  reads the magnetic ink characters MC in this conveying process and outputs a result of the reading as a magnetism detection signal. 
     If the magnetic ink characters MC are read by the magnetic head  13 , a magnetism detection signal illustrated in  FIG. 3  is obtained.  FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of the magnetism detection signal. In  FIG. 3 , the horizontal axis is a time axis representing an elapse of time and the vertical axis represents a voltage value corresponding to the magnitude of magnetism. In this way, the magnetism detection signal is represented by waveform data of two dimensions including the time axis and the voltage axis. The magnetism detection signal represents characteristics (shapes) of the magnetic ink characters MC. The magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  compares a waveform of the magnetism detection signal and a waveform of template data explained below to perform recognition of the magnetic ink characters MC. 
     The configuration related to the conveyance of the paper PA is not limited to the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 1 . For example, the paper conveying path  11  is formed in linear shape in  FIG. 1 . However, the paper conveying path  11  may be formed as a curve. A magnet for magnetization may be provided on an upstream side or the like of the magnetic head  13  to magnetize the magnetic ink characters MC prior to the reading by the magnetic head  13 . In  FIG. 1 , the magnetic head  13  is set in a fixed position and the paper PA is conveyed (moved) with respect to the magnetic head  13 . However, the paper PA may be set in a fixed position and the magnetic head  13  may be conveyed (moved) with respect to the paper PA. 
     Hardware components of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  are explained with reference to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating an example of hardware components included in the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  includes computer components such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit)  21 , a ROM (Read Only Memory)  22 , and a RAM (Random Access Memory)  23  together with the magnetic head  13  explained with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     The CPU  21  executes a computer program stored in the ROM to collectively control the operation of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . The CPU  21  executes computer programs stored in the ROM  22  to realize functional sections explained below. 
     The ROM  22  stores various computer programs executable by the CPU  21  and various kinds of setting information according to the operation of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . The RAM  23  temporarily stores data and computer programs when the CPU  21  executes the various computer programs. 
     The magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  includes a storing section  24 , a display section  25 , and an operation section  26 . The storing section  24  is a read-writable nonvolatile memory such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. The storing section  24  stores the various computer programs executable by the CPU  21  and the various kinds of setting information related to the operation of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . 
     In order to recognize the magnetic ink characters MC read by the magnetic head  13 , the storing section  24  stores template data of characters used for comparison with a magnetism detection signal. The template data is an example of the storing section. The template data is a data table that associates, for each of characters set as targets of recognition, waveform data serving as a reference (reference waveform data) and extended waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding the length in the time axis direction of the reference waveform data. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a data configuration of the template data. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , template data D 1  stores, for each of types of characters, reference waveform data and extended waveform data in association with each other. The reference waveform data is waveform data of characters standardized by ISO1004 or the like and is waveform data obtained when the magnetic ink characters MC are read at predetermined speed. 
     The extended waveform data is waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding the waveform of the reference waveform data in the time axis direction according to fluctuation in conveying speed (a conveyance amount) of the paper PA. The template data D 1  stores a plurality of kinds of extended waveform data for each of the characters. For example, in extended waveform data of a character “0”, extended waveform data on the left is waveform data obtained by compressing the waveform of the reference waveform data in the time axis direction. Extended waveform data on the right is waveform data obtained by expanding the waveform of the reference waveform data in the time axis direction. 
     The number of extended waveform data stored in association with the characters is not particularly limited. Any number of extended waveform data can be stored. For example, the extended waveform data may be prepared for each of fluctuation patterns of conveying speed assumed from the configuration of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . 
     The extended waveform data may be extended waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding the entire waveform of the reference waveform data in the time axis direction or may be waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding a part of the waveform of the reference waveform data in the time axis direction. For example, the extended waveform data of the character “0” is waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding a part (a range of A 1  in  FIG. 5 ) of the waveform of the reference waveform data in the time axis direction. 
     A pitch of the compression or expansion in the time axis direction is desirably set according to the configuration of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . For example, if the conveying roller  12  related to the conveyance of the paper PA is formed of an elastic body such as rubber, the pitch of the compression or expansion may be set on the basis of a change amount of a roller diameter due to temperature. For example, if a stepping motor is used as a conveying motor related to the conveyance of the paper PA, the pitch of the compression or expansion may be set on the basis of conditions such as an excitation method of the stepping motor, a conveyance pitch, a character width per character, and the number of times of reading per character. 
     Incidentally, in some cases, like characters “2” and “5” or the like illustrated in  FIG. 5 , waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding reference waveform data of one character is similar to a waveform of reference waveform data of the other character. For example, in the case of the character “2” and the character “5”, if reference waveform data of the character “2” is expanded in the time axis direction, similarity to reference waveform data of the character “5” increases. If the reference waveform data of the character “5” is compressed in the time axis direction, similarity to the reference waveform data of the character “2” increases. Concerning such characters having similarities in the shapes of the waveforms (hereinafter, similar characters), if deformation in the time axis direction is carelessly performed, misreading is likely to increase. 
     Therefore, concerning the similar characters, in order to reduce occurrence of misreading, it is desirable to deform the reference waveform data of the similar characters in a deforming direction in which the similarities decrease. For example, concerning the character “2”, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , waveform data obtained by deforming the reference waveform data in a deforming direction in which the similarity to the character “5” decreases, that is, waveform data obtained by compressing the reference waveform data in the time axis direction is prepared. Concerning the character “5”, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , waveform data obtained by deforming the reference waveform data in a deforming direction in which the similarity to the character “2” decreases, that is, waveform data obtained by expanding the reference waveform data in the time axis direction is prepared. In this way, concerning the similar characters, occurrence of misreading of the similar characters can be reduced by setting, as the extended waveform data, waveform data obtained by deforming the reference waveform data in the deforming direction in which the similarity decreases. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 4 , the display section  25  is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display section  25  displays various kinds of information under the control by the CPU  21 . The operation section  26  is an input device such as an operation switch. The operation section  26  receives user operation via an operation switch and outputs input operation content to the CPU  21 . 
     The magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  includes a paper conveying mechanism  27 , which is an example of the conveying section. The paper conveying mechanism  27  includes, together with the paper conveying path  11  and the conveying roller  12 , a conveying motor for rotating the conveying roller  12 . The paper conveying mechanism  27  conveys, under the control by the CPU  21 , the paper PA inserted into the paper conveying path  11  on the paper conveying path  11 . 
     Functional components of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  are explained with reference to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example of functional components included in the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  includes, as functional sections, a conveyance control section  31 , a reading processing section  32 , a recognition processing section  33 , and an output processing section  34 . The functional sections may be software components realized by cooperation of the CPU  21  and computer programs or may be hardware components realized by a dedicated processor. 
     The conveyance control section  31  controls the paper conveying mechanism  27  to control the conveyance of the paper PA on the paper conveying path  11 . Specifically, if the paper PA is inserted from the right end side of the paper conveying path  11  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the conveyance control section  31  causes the paper conveying mechanism.  27  to convey the paper PA toward the left end side of the paper conveying path  11 . 
     The reading processing section  32  is an example of the reading section. The reading processing section  32  cooperates with the magnetic head  13  to read the magnetic ink characters MC printed on the paper PA. Specifically, while the paper PA is conveyed according to the control by the conveyance control section  31 , the reading processing section  32  operates the magnetic head  13  to acquire a magnetism detection signal output from the magnetic head  13 . 
     The recognition processing section  33  is an example of the segmenting section, the first calculating section, the second calculating section, and the recognizing section. The recognition processing section  33  executes, on the basis of the magnetism detection signal acquired by the reading processing section  32  and the template data stored in the storing section  24 , recognition processing for recognizing the magnetic ink characters MC printed on the paper PA. 
     Specifically, the recognition processing section  33  segments waveform data of a character portion of the magnetic ink characters MC from the magnetism detection signal. A method of segmenting a character is not particularly limited. A publicly-known technique can be used. For example, the recognition processing section  33  detects a peak position of a waveform (a voltage value) from the magnetism detection signal, calculates a start position of a character on the basis of the peak position, and segments a waveform in a predetermined signal range as waveform data for one character. The peak position can be detected on the basis of a predetermined threshold. The signal range related to the segmentation of the character is desirably excessively secured before and after an original signal range for one character on the basis of a predicted fluctuation amount of conveying speed. 
     After segmenting waveform data of characters, the recognition processing section  33  compares the waveform data and the template data stored in the storing section  24  and performs character recognition on the basis of similarities of the waveform data and the template data. Specifically, the recognition processing section  33  compares the segmented waveform data and the reference waveform data and the extended waveform data included in the template data to calculate similarities of both the data, respectively. The recognition processing section  33  determines whether maximum similarity among the calculated similarities exceeds a predetermined threshold. If determining that the maximum similarity exceeds the predetermined threshold, the recognition processing section  33  recognizes a character of the reference waveform data or the extended waveform data corresponding to the maximum similarity as a character of the segmented waveform data. The recognition processing section  33  executes the recognition processing for each of the segmented waveform data to recognize the magnetic ink characters MC printed on the paper PA. 
     The recognition processing section  33  may perform the comparison with the template stepwise. For example, the recognition processing section  33  compares the segmented waveform data with the reference waveform data of the characters first and selects characters having higher similarities of the waveform data. Subsequently, the recognition processing section  33  compares the segmented waveform data with the extended waveform data of the selected characters and calculates similarities of the selected characters. The recognition processing section  33  recognizes a character of the reference waveform data or the extended waveform data having a maximum value of the similarity out of the calculated similarities. The characters having higher similarities may be absolutely determined using a threshold or the like or may be relatively determined by comparing the similarities of the characters. A character to be selected is not limited to one character and may be a plurality of characters. 
     The output processing section  34  outputs a result of the recognition of the magnetic ink characters MC by the recognition processing section  33  to the display section  25 . An output destination of the recognition result is not limited to the display section  25 . For example, the output processing section  34  may output the recognition result of the recognition processing section  33  to the storing section  24  (store the recognition result in the storing section  24 ). The output processing section  34  may output (transmit) the recognition result of the recognition processing section  33  to an external device via a not-illustrated communication device. 
     The operation of the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  is explained below with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 7 .  FIG. 7  is a flowchart illustrating an example of the character recognition processing performed by the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1 . 
     First, if the paper PA is inserted from the right end side of the paper conveying path  11  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the conveyance control section  31  conveys the paper PA to the left end side (step S 11 ). The reading processing section  32  starts reading processing by the magnetic head  13  according to the conveyance of the paper PA and acquires a magnetism detection signal (step S 12 ). The acquired magnetism detection signal is stored in a storage medium such as the RAM  23 . 
     Subsequently, the recognition processing section  33  segments characters (waveform data) from the magnetism detection signal (step S 13 ). Subsequently, the recognition processing section  33  compares the segmented waveform data of the characters and each of the template data (the reference waveform data and the extended waveform data) stored in the storing section  24  and calculates similarities of both the data, respectively (step S 14 ). 
     Subsequently, the recognition processing section  33  determines whether a value of maximum similarity among the similarities calculated in S 14  exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S 15 ). If determining that the value is equal to or smaller than the threshold (No in step S 15 ), the recognition processing section  33  shifts to step S 17 . On the other hand, if determining that the value exceeds the threshold (Yes in step S 15 ), the recognition processing section  33  recognizes a character of the reference waveform data or the extended waveform data having the maximum similarity (step S 16 ) and shifts to step S 17 . 
     Subsequently, the recognition processing section  33  determines whether all the characters are processed. If unprocessed characters are present (No in step S 17 ), the recognition processing section  33  returns to step S 13  and performs segmentation of the next character. If all the characters are processed (Yes in step S 17 ), the output processing section  34  outputs the recognized characters (a character string) (step S 18 ) and ends this processing. 
     As explained above, the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  performs the character recognition by comparing the waveform data of the characters segmented from the magnetism detection signal with the reference waveform data of the characters and the extended waveform data obtained by compressing or expanding the length in the time axis direction of the reference waveform data. Consequently, even if fluctuation occurs in conveying speed (a conveyance amount) of the paper PA, the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  can perform the character recognition using extended waveform data corresponding to the fluctuation. Therefore, it is possible to improve a character recognition rate. 
     The embodiment is explained above. However, the embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The new embodiment can be implemented in other various forms. Various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be performed without departing from the spirit of the invention. The embodiment and modifications of the embodiment are included in the scope and the gist of the invention and included in the inventions described in claims and the scope of equivalents of the inventions. 
     For example, in the embodiment, the extended waveform data of the characters is stored in the template data D 1 . However, the extended waveform data may be dynamically generated from the reference waveform data of the characters. In this case, the recognition processing section  33  functions as a generating section and generates the extended waveform data from the reference waveform data of the characters stored as the template data D 1 . The recognition processing section  33  executes the character recognition using the reference waveform data of the template data D 1  and the extended waveform data generated from the reference waveform data. 
     The computer programs executed by the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  in the embodiment may be provided while being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD (Compact Disc), a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an SD memory card, or a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory) as a file of an installable form or an executable form. 
     The computer programs executed by the magnetic-ink-character recognizing device  1  in the embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded through the network.