Image analysis – Applications – Mail processing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-18
2001-12-04
Johns, Andrew W. (Department: 2621)
Image analysis
Applications
Mail processing
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327373
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mail address reading apparatus and a mail sorting apparatus for reading a zip code, an address, and an addressee name written on the surface of a piece of mail, and determining a destination based on the read results.
In a field of processing mail, a great deal of mail collected everyday must be processed in a limited time. Therefore, mail services have been mechanized to lighten the loads on post-office clerks.
For example, zip codes on pieces of mail are read by an optical character reader (OCR). The pieces of mail are sorted by a dispatching sorter into sections corresponding to delivery post offices based on the read results. Further, the addresses on the mail are read and the pieces of mail are sorted into a plurality of delivery sections by a delivery sorter.
Recent delivery sorters can read detailed information, such as lot numbers, house numbers, room numbers of apartment houses, and names of addressees. Further, dispatching sorters can specify the towns of addresses by reading the zip codes. A delivery sorter reads a street or avenue number, a house number and a building name of the address by character recognition. Further, it reads the name of the addressee also by character recognition.
When the zip code and the address are printed by a printer or the like, characters can be read by an OCR relatively accurately. However, in general, an OCR cannot easily recognize handwritten characters. In particular, handwritten Chinese and Arabic numerals are difficult to recognize. For example,
FIG. 2
, columns (a) and (b) show handwritten Arabic numerals “2” and “3”, which are difficult to distinguish even by human eyes. Similarly, the numerals in the columns (c) and (d) are intended to be Arabic numerals “4” and “9”, but they are very similar and hardly distinguished.
If the above-mentioned handwritten numerals are used in a zip code, a very highly-developed character recognition process must be used to recognize them. In this case, a considerable time is required for the recognition and there is no guarantee that the result of the recognition is correct. Further, if a street or avenue number and a house number are handwritten, the same problem may arise.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mail address reading apparatus and a mail sorting apparatus which can read an address accurately and quickly, even if a character portion including a zip code, a street or avenue number and a house number is difficult to recognize.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a mail address reading apparatus comprising: first reading means for reading a zip code recorded on a mail item; second reading means for reading an addressee name recorded on the mail item; third reading means for reading a destination address including a town name and a street number recorded on the mail item with reference to information on the addressee name read by the second reading means; and control means for determining a destination based on the zip code, the addressee name and the destination address read by the first to third reading means.
Further, according to the present invention, there is also provided a mail sorting apparatus comprising:
first reading means for reading an address image of a mail item; destination detecting means for detecting a destination from the address image read by the first reading means; and sorting means for sorting the mail item based on the destination detected by the detecting means,
the destination detecting means including: second reading means for reading a zip code recorded on the mail item; third reading means for reading an addressee name recorded on the mail item; fourth reading means for reading a destination address including a town name and a street number recorded on the mail item with reference to information on the addressee name read by the third reading means; and control means for determining a destination based on the zip code, the addressee name and the destination address read by the second to fourth reading means.
With the above structure, when a candidate for a zip code written in or out of frames is obtained, an addressee name is subsequently read from an addressee name line. When a single probable solution of the destination is obtained, the solution is determined to be the destination of the mail item.
When no candidate for a zip code written in or out of frames is obtained by the normal recognizing operation, more detailed recognition is not performed, but a destination line, which appears to indicate the addressee name, is detected. When it is confirmed that the last character of the line is an honorific character, the line including the character is determined to be an addressee name line and the name of the addressee is read.
When a single probable solution of the destination is not obtained by the combination of the addressee name and the zip code, another destination line is determined on the basis of the first-determined destination line and an address is read. Thus, it is possible to provide a mail address reading apparatus and a mail sorting apparatus, which can reliably read the address, even if a character portion, such as a zip code, a street number, etc. is difficult to recognize.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.
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Johns Andrew W.
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Nakhjavan Shervin
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
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