Business form handling method and system for carrying out the same6885769Abstract A business form handling system includes an image reading device for reading a business form and a terminal apparatus installed at the window for discriminatively deciding whether a read image corresponds to a first species of business form by referencing form species identifying definition information stored previously in a file. When the read image corresponds to the first species of business form, the terminal apparatus cuts an image from a field corresponding to a format inherent to the first species of business form to thereby recognize contents of statement from the cut image and executes processing in accordance with result of the recognition. Unless the read image corresponds to the first species of business form, the terminal apparatus decides discriminatively whether the read image corresponds to a second species of business form by referencing the form species identifying definition information. When the correspondence is found, the terminal apparatus cuts an image from a field corresponding to a format inherent to the second species of business form to thereby recognize contents of statement from the cut image. Claims 1. A business form processing method of reading a business form to recognize contents of statement thereof, comprising the steps of: Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION At this juncture, it should be mentioned that when the formats of the business forms belonging to a same species can further be subdivided or classified in dependence on the ID numbers or the like, the subdivision or classification can be given in terms of the subordinate attributes. It should further be added that with the phrase "matching processing", it is intended to mean the pattern matching processing of the image (barcode pattern image, MICR-oriented character pattern image) in the case where the barcodes and/or the MICR-oriented characters printed on the draft/check are to be recognized. On the other hand, for recognition of the business form on which code information composed of a numeral string of plural digits is printed, the matching processing is performed on a character-by-character basis or on a string-by-string basis. The barcode recognition processing submodule 223 is designed to recognize the recognition-subjected barcode set forth or printed on the processing-subjected business form. When the business form of the species on which the recognition-subjected barcode exists is discriminatively identified, the barcode recognition processing submodule 223 is activated by the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which has made the identification mentioned above. The word verification processing submodule 224 is designed to recognize the processing-subjected word (e.g. bank name, company name, address, customer's name, etc.) set forth on the processing-subjected business form. When a give business form of the species on which the recognition-subjected word exists is discriminatively identified, the word verification processing submodule 224 is activated by the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which has made the identification. The seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 is designed to match for verification the processing-subjected seal impression stamped on the processing-subjected business form with the seal impression data registered in the seal impression database 9. When the business form of the species on which the recognition-subjected seal impression exists is discriminatively identified, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 is activated by the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which has made the identification. The image processing submodule 226 is designed to perform the processing of cutting the image such as that of the seal impression or the like which is to be subjected to confirmation of an operator or to be saved as a record for a transaction history on the processing-subjected business form. When the business form of the species on which a cut-subjected image such as mentioned above exists is discriminatively identified, the image processing submodule 226 is activated by the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which has made the identification. The line segment detection processing submodule 227 is so designed as to detect features of line segments such as those of a table, ruled lines and/or the like printed on the business form. When a given business form is discriminatively identified as the business form of the species which carries the line segments such as those of the table, ruled lines and/or the like, the line segment detection processing submodule 227 is activated by the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which has made the identification, whereby the detected features of the line segments are matched or collated with the business-form layout information registered previously in the business-form format definition information file 7 by the line segment detection processing submodule 227 for thereby making decision as to which of the business-form layouts the business form now of concern bears correspondence to. The word dictionary file 6 stores a word dictionary to be referenced by the word verification processing submodule 224 upon word matching for the verification. The business-form format definition information file 7 is so arranged as to store or register previously therein the information concerning the cut fields of the images for identifying the species of the plural-sheets business form and the subordinate attributes thereof as well as the information concerning recognition-subjected fields such as of characters, seal impression and the like on the business forms of various species, and thus there are registered in the business-form format definition information file 7 the form species identifying definition information of the business forms to be handled and the format definition information as the subordinate attributes corresponding to the plural species of the business forms, respectively. As to the contents of the registration, description will be made later on in conjunction with the processings for identifying the business forms on a species-by-species basis. On the other hand, the screen display definition file 8 is designed to register screen image definition information for displaying formats of confirmation-dedicated screen images, a manipulation guide (e.g. prompting) screen image, etc., upon displaying the contents of the read business forms on the display unit 5. Now, description will first be made of represent-ative examples of the business forms which can be processed by the business form handling system and an exemplary display of results of the recognition processing. FIGS. 3A and 3B are views for illustrating an example of a business form having a format established or prescribed by a given bank (hereinafter this type of business form will be referred to as the prescribed-type business form for convenience of the description) and an exemplary display of the results of recognition processing. As can be seen in FIG. 3A, the prescribed-type business form denoted generally by numeral 300 is printed with a form ID (identifier) 301 and check boxes 302 and 303 for identifying transaction species or transaction mode. In the case of this illustrative prescribed-type business form, the form ID 301 is represented by "001" while the check boxes 302 and 303 are affixed to "01 payment from ordinary deposit account" and "02 payment from checking account". In the case of this business form 300, a check mark "✓" is entered in the check box 302 by a customer for the withdrawal from the ordinary deposit account. Further, a withdrawn amount "¥30,000" and an account number "1401257" are entered by handwriting within underlying oblong fields, respectively. Further, within a bottom oblong field labeled "NAME", the name of the customer " xx" is entered by handwriting. Parenthetically, it should be added that in the case of the prescribed-type business form 300 illustrated in FIG. 3A, an entry field "branch ID number" to be entered by handwriting is provided, even though it is omitted from illustration for avoiding complexity. When the prescribed-type business form 300 mentioned above is read, a confirmation-dedicated screen image 310 representing the result of the recognition is generated on the display unit 5, as is illustrated in FIG. 3B. As can be seen in this figure, the confirmation-dedicated screen image 310 is composed of a cut image 311 of the handwritten form ID number "123" and the relevant result 312 of the character recognition, a cut image 313 of the handwritten account number "1401257" and the relevant result 314 of the character recognition, a cut image 315 of the handwritten transaction amount "30000" and the relevant result 316 of the character recognition, a cut image 317 of handwritten customer's name " xx" and the relevant result 318 of the character recognition, a cut image of the seal impression 319 stamped on the prescribed-type business form 300, and a seal impression image 320 registered in the seal impression database 9. FIGS. 4A and 4B are views for illustrating an example of the promissory note and an exemplary display of the recognition result, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 4A, the promissory note denoted generally by 400 is printed with a statutorily prescribed MICR-oriented character string (magnetically printed character string) 401 intrinsic to the promissory note at a predetermined position. Accordingly, it is discriminatively determined through a pattern matching with an MICR-oriented character pattern image whether or not the MICR-oriented characters 401 of predetermined font pattern are printed on the business form at the predetermined position. When it is decided that the promissory note now of concern is that of a regular format, recognition of required information and corresponding image cutting operation are performed, whereby a confirmation-dedicated screen image 410 such as illustrated in FIG. 4B is displayed on the display unit 5. Parenthetically, the promissory note 400 illustrated in FIG. 4A has a field in which characters representing the "branch ID number" indicating the place of payment (branch office of the given bank) are printed. However, this field is omitted from illustration in FIG. 4A in order to evade complexity. The confirmation-dedicated screen image 410 illustrated in FIG. 4B is composed of a cut image 411 of the printed characters "123" of the branch ID number of the bank indicating the place of payment and the relevant result 412 of the character recognition, a cut image 415 of the transaction amount "¥30,000" impressed with a check writer and the relevant result 416 of character recognition, a cut image 417 of handwritten drawer's name " xx" and the relevant result 418 of the character recognition, a cut image of the drawer's seal impression 419 stamped on the promissory note 400, a seal impression image 420 registered in the seal impression database 9 and a reduced image 421 of the promissory note 400 as a whole. Cutting of the reduced image 421 is performed because of necessity of retaining the reduced image as the auxiliary image data for coping with processing errors and/or as an evidence (exhibit) for dealing with question raised by the customer. FIGS. 5A and 5B are views for illustrating an example of a tax payment slip for municipal/prefectural citizen tax on which barcode(s) is printed and the result of recognition thereof, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 5A, the municipal/prefectural citizen tax payment slip may assume such a format in which the name of a given local government and a payment destination account number are printed in the form of barcodes at predetermined positions prescribed by the local government. For convenience of the description which follows, the business form of this species is referred to as the barcode-affixed business form 500. According to the teaching of the present invention incarnated in the instant embodiment, the image of a field determined by the barcode-affixed form species identifying definition information is cut for deciding through a pattern matching whether or not the barcode(s) is set forth. When it is detected that the area or field mentioned above contains the barcode(s) printed, the business form now of concern is decided or identified as the barcode-affixed business form, and then a branch ID number or the like of a payment-destined financial institution is recognized or determined on the basis of the content of the barcode (i.e., result of barcode decoding). Subsequently, processings for cutting the images of required information such as the name, the amount and the like as well as character recognition processings are carried out. The result of these processings is displayed on the display unit 5 as a confirmation-dedicated screen image 510, as is illustrated in FIG. 5B. More specifically, referring to FIG. 5B, the confirmation-dedicated screen image 510 contains the confirmation result 511 of the "branch ID number" of the payment-destined bank branch, a cut image 512 of transaction amount "¥30,000" printed or entered by handwriting together with a relevant character recognition result 513 thereof, and a cut image 514 of the taxpayer's name " xx" printed or entered by handwriting together with a relevant recognition result 515 thereof. FIGS. 6A and 6B are views for illustrating an example of a business form for paying a charge or fee in which a symbol code of an electric power company or the like is set forth in the form of a numeric code of plural digits and an exemplary display of the result of recognition thereof, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 6A, an MT-type business form 600 for fee payment issued by an electric power company "xx Electric Power Co." may assume such a format in which the symbol code(s) or the like inherent to the electric power company is printed at a predetermined position(s) which is designated by the company in the form of a numeric code(s) 601 having a plurality of digits. For convenience of the description which follows, the business form of this format will be referred to as the MT-type business form. According to the teaching of the present invention incarnated in the instant embodiment, in such MT-type business form 600, the image of a field defined by the definition information for identifying the MT-type business form is cut for thereby deciding through a character recognition processing whether or not the numeric code of plural digit code is set forth in the field. When the field in which the plural-digit numeric code(s) 601 is printed is detected, the business form now of concern is decided or identified as the MT-type business form and then the symbol code, etc. of the electric power company or the like claiming the fee is recognized or determined on the basis of the content of the numeric code(s). Subsequently, processing for cutting the images of required information as well as the character recognition processing is carried out. The result of these processings is displayed in a confirmation-dedicated screen image 610, as is illustrated in FIG. 6B. More specifically, referring to FIG. 6B, the confirmation-dedicated screen image 610 contains the confirmation result 611 of the "branch ID number" of a payment-destined bank branch, a cut image 612 of transaction amount "¥30,000" printed or entered by handwriting together with a relevant character recognition result 613, and a cut image 614 of a payer's name " xx" entered by handwriting together with a relevant recognition result 615. Incidentally, with the phrase "MT-type business form" mentioned above, it is contemplated to mean the business form used in the mail transfer MT service (also referred to as the MT service or postal money order service). Further, the phrase "mail transfer MT service" means such service that a message concerning the contents of ordinary payment for postal money order by transfer (i.e., OCR-oriented character data written previously on an MT-service-dedicated payment slip by a subscriber) is delivered to the subscriber in the form of a magnetic tape or a floppy disk recording the message, instead of sending by mail an image output payment disposal slip. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views for illustrating an example of a business form for tax payment in which a symbol code which represents a local government or the like is set forth in the form of a numeric code having a plurality of digits and an example of the display of recognition result of the business form, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 7A, the business form 700 dedicated for payment of the income tax as issued by a local government such as "Tokyo-City Government" may assume such a format in which a symbol code(s) or the like inherent to the local government is printed at a predetermined position designated by the local government in the form of an OCR-oriented character string 701 having plural digits. For convenience of the description which follows, the business form of this type will be referred to as the OCR-oriented business form 700. The OCR-oriented business form 700 is also processed through similar processings as those for the MT-type business form 600 described hereinbefore by referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B. More specifically, in the OCR-oriented business form 700, an image at a position determined by the definition information for identifying the OCR-oriented business form is cut, for thereby deciding through a character recognition processing whether or not the plural-digit OCR-oriented character string is found in the cut image. When the plural-digit OCR-oriented character string 701 is detected, the business form now of concern is decided or identified as the OCR-oriented business form, and then the symbol code or the like of the payment-destined local government is recognized or determined on the basis of the content of the numeric code (recognition result of the numerical value). Subsequently, processing for cutting the images of required fields as well as character recognition processing is carried out. The results of these processings are displayed on the display unit 5 as a confirmation-dedicated screen image 710, as is illustrated in FIG. 7B. More specifically, referring to FIG. 7B, the confirmation-dedicated screen image 710 contains the recognition result 711 of a "branch ID number" of a payment-destined bank, a cut image 712 of transaction amount "¥30,000" printed or entered by handwriting together with a relevant character recognition result 713, and a cut image 714 of the taxpayer's name " xx" printed or entered by handwriting together with a relevant recognition result 715. FIG. 8 is a flow chart for illustrating a procedure for identifying discriminatively the species of the business forms having aforementioned various formats, respectively, and read by the image reading device 1, recognizing or determining the subordinate attributes on the basis of the ID numbers or the like, and recognizing the contents set forth on the business forms. Describing in general, in the business form handling system now under consideration, an identifying procedure is established for discriminatively identifying or determining to which of plural species the processing-subjected business form belongs in accordance with a predetermined sequence to thereby execute identification of the species of the business form of concern. In each of individual business form identifying processings, an image in a field designated by the form species identifying definition information registered previously in the business-form format definition information file 7 is cut from a read image of the business form read by the image reading device 1, whereon recognition of the cut image (e.g. character recognition or recognition of image pattern such as barcode or the like) is effected, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the species of the business form. When it is determined discriminatively that the business form of concern is of the relevant species, an image in the field set previously as the subject for recognition by the format definition information of the business form of the relevant species is cut without executing other succeeding identifying procedure, which is then followed by the execution of the processing for recognizing the subordinate attributes and then the processing for recognizing the contents as stated or set forth on the business form. Now, description will be made in detail. When the business form handling system is activated, an initial screen image 900 such as illustrated in FIG. 9 is generated on the display unit 5 in a step 801. Thus, the operator can place a processing-subjected business form on the pedestal of the image reading device 1 and click an image input start button 901 appearing in the initial screen image 900 with the aid of the mouse 4 to thereby input an image input command. Alternatively, an image input start command may be inputted through manipulation of the keyboard 3. When the inputting of the image input start command is recognized by the form recognition macro 23 of the window terminal apparatus 2 in a step 802, a read start signal is sent to the image reading device 1 through the medium of the input control unit 21, whereby the business form image read operation is started by the image reading device 1. The image reading device 1 transfers the read image data of the business form to the form recognition macro 23 by way of the input control unit 21. The form recognition macro 23 is so designed as to identify the species of the processing-subjected business forms on the basis of the read image data as transferred in a predetermined sequence. In this conjunction, it is presumed, only by way of example, that the business forms undergo the identifying processing in the order of the prescribed-type business form (FIG. 3), barcode-affixed business form (FIG. 5), MT-type business form (FIG. 6), MICR-oriented business form such as the check/draft (FIG. 4), processing-subjected business form issued by a local government (FIG. 7) and then a business form other than those mentioned above which has a layout registered previously in the business-form format definition information file 7. The last mentioned business form will be referred to as the layout-prescribed business form. To say in another way, the form recognition macro 23 activates the macro program for identifying the prescribed-type business form, the macro program for identifying the barcode-affixed business form, the macro program for identifying the MT-type business form, the macro program for identifying the check/draft, the macro program for identifying the OCR-oriented business form issued by the local governments and the macro program for identifying the layout-prescribed business form, respectively, in this sequence. The reason why the bank-prescribed-type business form is assigned with the highest preference or priority can be explained by the fact that the number of the bank-prescribed-type business forms to be handled is expected to be greatest among the business forms mentioned above. However, it goes without saying that the sequence in which the various business forms mentioned above are to be handled can be altered by changing the order or sequence in which the macro programs of the form recognition macro 23 which bear correspondence or relevance to the species of the individual single-sheet business forms, respectively, are activated. Further, it should be added that when the number of the species of the business forms to be handled increases, this can be coped with by additionally setting up a macro program for the added business-form species without need for modifying the structure of the character/business-form recognition module 22. Now turning back to FIG. 8, the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which corresponds to the prescribed-type business form affixed with the ID (identifier) is activated, whereon the character recognition processing submodule 221, the business-form identification processing submodule 222, the word verification processing submodule 224, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 and the image processing submodule 226 of the character/business-form recognition module 22, respectively, are activated, to thereby make decision as to whether the business form of concern is the prescribed-type business form or not (step 803). When it is decided that the business form of concern is the prescribed-type business form printed with the business form ID, images in the fields designated previously by the business-form format definition information corresponding to the ID-affixed prescribed-type business form are cut, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the characters (e.g. those of the account number, the customer's name, the transaction amount and the like real data), whereon an image such as the seal impression image which is previously designated by the business-form format definition information is cut (step 804). The results of the above-mentioned processings (i.e., information of the recognized characters, the cut image and the species of the business form) are transferred to the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. By contrast, when it is decided that the business form of concern is not the prescribed-type business form, then the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which corresponds to the barcode-affixed business form is activated, whereon the character recognition processing submodule 221, the business-form identification processing submodule 222, the barcode recognition processing submodule 223, the word verification processing submodule 224, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 and the image processing submodule 226 of the character/business-form recognition module 22 are activated, to thereby make decision as to whether the business form of concern is the barcode-affixed business form or not (step 805). When it is decided that the business form of concern is the barcode-affixed business form printed with the barcode(s), images in the areas or fields designated previously by the business-form format definition information corresponding to the barcode-affixed business form is cut, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the characters of the images as cut (e.g. the customer's name, the transaction amount and the like), whereon images (handwritten characters, printed characters or the like) in the fields which are previously designated by the business-form format definition information are cut (step 806). The results of the above-mentioned processings (i.e., information of the recognized characters and the cut images and the information about the species of the business form) are transferred to the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. On the other hand, when it is decided that the business form of concern is not the barcode-affixed business form, then the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which corresponds to the MT-type business form is activated, whereon the character recognition processing submodule 221, the business-form identification processing submodule 222, the word verification processing submodule 224, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 and the image processing submodule 226 of the character/business-form recognition module 22 are activated, to thereby make decision on the basis of the numeric code strings as to whether the business form of concern is the MT-type business form or not (step 807). When it is decided that the business form now of concern is the MT-type business form, images in the fields designated previously by the business-form format definition information corresponding to the MT-type business form is cut, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the characters (e.g. the customer's name, the transaction amount and the like real data), whereon images (handwritten characters, printed characters and the like) in the fields which are previously designated by the business-form format definition information is cut (step 808). The results of the above-mentioned processings (i.e., information of the recognized characters and the cut image and the information about the species of the business form) are transferred to the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. On the other hand, when it is decided that the business form of concern is not the MT-type business form, then the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 makes decision on the basis of presence or absence of the MICR-oriented characters as to whether or not the business form of concern is a check or a draft (a promissory note, a draft bill of exchange) in a step 809. When it is decided that the business form of concern is a draft or a check, images in the fields designated previously by the business-form format definition information corresponding to the MICR-oriented characters printed on the draft/check are cut, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the characters (e.g. branch ID number of the payment-destined bank, the customer's name, the transaction amount and the like), whereon images in the field which is previously designated by the business-form format definition information concerning the seal impression images or the like is cut to thereby generate a reduced image of the draft/check as a whole (step 810). The results of the above-mentioned processings (i.e., information concerning the recognized characters and the cut image and the information about the species of the business form and the reduced image of the draft/check) are transferred to the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. Furthermore, when it is decided that the business form of concern is neither the draft nor the check, then the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which corresponds to the OCR-oriented business form for the payment of the local tax is activated, whereon the character recognition processing submodule 221, the business-form identification processing submodule 222, the word verification processing submodule 224, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 and the image processing submodule 226 of the character/business-form recognition module 22 are activated, to thereby make decision on the basis of the character recognition processing of the OCR-oriented characters of plural digits as to whether the business form of concern is the OCR-oriented business form or not (step 811). When it is decided that the business form of concern is the OCR-oriented business form, images in the fields designated previously by the business-form format definition-information corresponding to the OCR-oriented characters printed on the OCR-oriented business form are cut, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the characters of the cut images (e.g. the customer's name, the transaction amount and the like), whereon images (handwritten characters, printed characters or the like) of the fields which are previously designated by the business-form format definition information are cut (step 812). The results of the above-mentioned processings (i.e., information about the recognized characters, the cut image and the species of the business form) are transferred to the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. However, when the business form of concern is of the species which does not correspond to any one of those mentioned above, a message to this effect is displayed on the screen of the display unit 5 while prompting the operator to input a command for executing the recognition processing for the business form of the other species than those mentioned above (step 813). When the operator inputs the affirmation response, then decision is made as to whether or not the business form of concern has a layout corresponding to the layout-prescribed business form 1000 registered previously in the business-form format definition information file 7. To this end, the macro program of the form recognition macro 23 which corresponds to the layout-prescribed business form is activated, whereon the character recognition processing submodule 221, the business-form identification processing submodule 222, the word verification processing submodule 224, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225, the image processing submodule 226 and a line segment detection processing submodule 227 of the character/business-form recognition module 22 are activated, to thereby make decision as to whether the business form of concern is the layout-prescribed business form or not (step 814). In succession, images in the fields designated previously by the business-form format definition information corresponding to the layout-prescribed business form is cut, which is then followed by the processing for recognizing the characters of the cut images (e.g. the customer's name, the transaction amount and the like real data), whereon images (handwritten characters, printed characters or the like) of the fields which are previously designated by the business-form format definition information are cut (step 815). The results of the above-mentioned processings (i.e., the information about the recognized characters, the cut image and the species of the business form) are transferred to the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. In the case where the business form of concern is of the species which does not coincide with any one of those mentioned above, the business form of concern is not accepted but rejected as the business form which is not the recognition-subjected business form (step 816). FIG. 11 is a view for illustrating in detail the processing procedure for identifying or deciding discriminatively whether or not a processing-subjected business form is the prescribed-type business form typified by the form 300 shown exemplarily in FIG. 3. In this processing procedure, images of the print fields for the form ID (identifier) 301 and the check boxes 302 and 303 on the prescribed-type business form are cut by referencing the form species identifying definition information 1103. Subsequently, it is checked whether or not the characters and the symbols "□" marked with "✓" exist in the field of the form ID 301 and the check boxes 302 and 303 of the prescribed-type business form concerned. In this conjunction, it should be mentioned that the form ID 301, the check boxes 302 and 303, and the character strings such as "ordinary deposit payment" are printed on the prescribed-type business form 300 at designated positions or fields, respectively, and thus the coordinate data indicating the print fields of the form ID 301, the check boxes 302 and 303 and the character string "ordinary deposit payment" or the like are, respectively, registered in the business-form format definition information file 7 as the form species identifying definition information 1103 corresponding or relevant to the prescribed-type business forms. Such being the circumstances, processings described below are executed. When it is found at this stage that the processing-subjected business form is, for instance, the prescribed-type business form 300 illustrated in FIG. 3, there can be obtained the results of recognition for the branch ID number 312 the account ID number 314, the account number 314′, the transaction amount 315 and the customer's name 318 (step 1108). At the same time, image of the seal impression 319 is cut by activating the image processing submodule 226, whereby corresponding data of the seal impression can be obtained. More specifically, when data of the account number 314 and the customer's name 318 are obtained, the seal-impression verification processing submodule 225 acquires from the seal impression database 9 the image data of the customer's seal impression 320 specified by the account number 314 and the customer's name 318 through the seal-impression search/retrieve processing module 25 in response to the command from the business form recognition macro program relevant to the prescribed-type business form 300, whereon the pattern matching processing of the seal impression image 319 cut from the prescribed-type business form 300 with the image data of the registered seal impression image 320 is executed, whereby a message as to whether the seal impression image coincides with the registered one or a message indicating a degree of similarity determined arithmetically is displayed on the screen of the display unit 5. The business form ID and the contents of the check boxes obtained in the S1104 are stored in a prescribed-type business form/transaction correspondence table 8171 of the forms-relevant jobs processing module 817. More specifically, upon reception of the business-form ID and the content of the check box acquired in the S1104, the forms-relevant jobs processing module 817 stores in the prescribed-type business form/transaction correspondence table (TBL) 8171 a transaction code "00•11•11" representing "job/mode/title" corresponding to the business-form ID ("001" in the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 3) and the content of the check box ("ordinary deposit payment" in the case of the example mentioned above) (step 8172), to thereby establish the transaction code (step 8174). Further, a field data table 8173 corresponding to the transaction code "00•11•11" is generated, and then the payment amount "30000" and the account number "140257" which are field data read from the processing-subjected prescribed-type business form 300 are stored in the field data table 8173 while establishing correspondence to the field identifying numbers in an effort for facilitating a postprocessing for establishing correspondences with items for confirmation in the confirmation-dedicated screen image. Once the transaction code for the payment, money reception or the like has been established, the confirmation-dedicated screen image data for "ordinary deposit payment" is searched and retrieved from the screen display definition file 8 by using as the transaction index the ordinary deposit payment which is the title of the transaction as established, whereon the confirmation-dedicated screen image 410 such as illustrated in FIG. 4B is displayed. In that case, the recognized characters such as the payment amount, the account number and the like stored in the field data table 8173 are displayed, respectively, at designated or predetermined positions in the confirmation-dedicated screen image 410. At the same time, the cut images of the handwritten character strings such as the customer's name on which the recognized characters are based are displayed while establishing correspondences among the cut images. In this conjunction, the recognized character data stored in the field data table 8173 is supplied to the processing "formal check B" 8175. Incidentally, the processing "formal check B" 8175 is so designed as to perform, for example, a formality check corresponding to the contents of the transaction. FIG. 12 is a view for illustrating in detail a processing procedure for identifying or deciding discriminatively whether or not a processing-subjected business form is a barcode-affixed business form such as the form 500 illustrated exemplarily in FIG. 5. In this processing procedure, it is first checked by using the form species identifying definition information 1203 for the barcode form identification whether or not a barcode 501 exists in the barcode print field of the barcode-affixed business form 500 illustrated in FIG. 5. In this conjunction, it is noted that the position of the barcode 501 printed on the barcode-affixed business form 500 may differ from one to another barcode form, because the barcode-affixed business formes themselves are issued or prescribed by individual enterprises and/or the local governments, respectively. Such being the circumstances, the coordinate data indicating the print fields are registered as the form species identifying definition information 1203 for every type of the barcode-affixed business form issued by the enterprises and/or the local governments, respectively. Thus, in this case, the processings described below are carried out. Subsequently, processing for recognizing the barcode data printed in the barcode field is executed (step 1205), to thereby acquire the enterprise code stated from the start position "1" of the barcode and the transaction mode expressed in barcode or the code of transaction title (step 1205). In succession, the business-form format definition information 1206 for the barcode-affixed business form 500 which corresponds to the enterprise code as recognized is acquired, whereon information concerning the start position of the account number and that of the amount claimed (or billed) set forth in the barcode expression on the barcode-affixed business form having the format which corresponds to the enterprise code is acquired on the basis of the business-form format definition information 1206, to thereby acquire the information of the account number and the amount claimed (or billed) each composed of plural digits and starting from the respective start position. In addition, the characters, images and the like to be recognized in the barcode-affixed business form 500 corresponding to the recognized enterprise code are cut, whereon procedure proceeds to the processing for recognizing the field data. When it is found at this stage that the barcode-affixed business form now concerned is the barcode-affixed business form 500 illustrated in FIG. 5, then it can be determined that the amount claimed or billed is "30,000" and that the account number is "xx". Once the transaction code has been established, the forms-relevant jobs processing module 817 searches and retrieves the confirmation-dedicated screen image data for "municipal/prefectural citizen tax payment" illustrated in FIG. 5A from the screen display definition file 8 by using the public utility charge transaction index corresponding to the established transaction code "00•11•11", whereon the confirmation-dedicated screen image 510 such as illustrated in FIG. 5B is displayed. In that case, the recognized characters such as the payment amount, the account number and the like stored in the barcode data table 8176 are also displayed, respectively, at designated or predetermined positions on the confirmation-dedicated screen image 510. At the same time, the cut images of the written character string on the basis of which the character recognition was performed is displayed while indicating correspondence to the recognized character string. In this conjunction, it should be added that the barcode data stored in the barcode data table (TBL) 8176 is made be available for the processing "formal check B" 8177, which is designed, by way of example, for performing formality check corresponding to the content of the transaction. In connection with the detection of the barcode, a method described below may equally be adopted. In general, the barcode has features mentioned below. By taking advantage of the features mentioned above, the fields in which barcodes are printed can be detected from the read image. More specifically, the barcode detecting method can be carried out by executing the undermentioned processings sequentially by resorting to a candidate screening method. The processings mentioned above can be carried out by the barcode recognition processing submodule 223 to identify or decide that the business form now of concern is the barcode-affixed form. With the barcode detection method described above, there is no necessity of indicating the field where the barcode exists by using the coordinate data, whereby a storage capacity demanded by the business-form format definition file can be reduced correspondingly, to an advantage. FIG. 13 is a view for illustrating in detail a processing procedure for identifying or deciding discriminatively whether a processing-subjected business form is an MT-type business form such as the form 600 illustrated exemplarily in FIG. 6. In the instant processing procedure, it is first checked by using the MT-type form species identifying definition information 1303 whether or not an MT-type business form code represented by a numeral string of plural digits exists in an MT-type form code (numeric code) print field 601 of the MT-type business form 600 illustrated in FIG. 6. In this conjunction, it is noted that the printed position of the form code 601 on the MT-type business form 600 is invariable throughout all the MT-type business forms, because the MT-type business formes themselves are issued or prescribed by The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in Japan. Accordingly, the coordinate data indicating the print field(s) can be registered as the form species identifying definition information 1303 corresponding to the MT-type business form. Now, in the case of the instant processing procedure, processings described below are carried out. Furthermore, the MT code data table 8182 corresponding to the transaction mode code "00•11•11" is generated, whereon the other data recognized from the position(s) or field(s) designated by the business-form format definition information 1306 are stored in the MT code data table 8182 together with the information about the data name, the start position and the digit number. In conjunction with the detection of the MT code, a method described below can equally be adopted. The processings mentioned above can be carried out by the character recognition processing submodule 221 for identifying or deciding that the business form now of concern is the MT-type business form. FIG. 14 is a view for illustrating in detail a processing procedure for identifying or deciding discriminatively whether or not a processing-subjected business form is a promissory note (one sort of the drafts) 400 such as illustrated exemplarily in FIG. 4. In the instant processing procedure, it is first checked by using the promissory-note form species identifying definition information 1403 whether or not an MICR-oriented character string 401 represented by a numeral string of plural digits exists in an MICR-oriented character print field of the promissory note 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 and additionally whether the size of the promissory note is proper one. In this conjunction, it is noted that the printed position of the MICR-oriented characters 401 on the promissory note 400 is same throughout all the promissory notes in accordance with the inter-bank universal standards. Besides, the form size is prescribed to be uniform. Accordingly, the coordinate data indicating the print field(s) for the MICR-oriented characters 401 can be registered as form species identifying definition information 1403 for the promissory notes. Thus, in the case of the instant processing procedure, processings described below are carried out. Detection of the MICR-oriented characters 401 is performed in the manner described below. The processings described above are carried out by the character recognition processing submodule 221 to thereby determine that the business form now of concern is the promissory note (step 1404). Further, image of the field designated by the business-form format definition information concerning the "species of the draft", e.g. image of the field in which the transaction mode code "11•22•33" is set forth is cut to be stored in a draft/check/correspondence table 8191, and then a draft/check data table 8192 corresponding to the transaction mode code "11•22•33" is prepared, whereon the data such as those of the characters and/or the images recognized from the fields designated by the business-form format definition information 1406 as well as data names thereof are stored in the draft/check data table 8192. The draft/check data obtained in this manner are transferred to the forms-relevant jobs processing module 817, which responds thereto by retrieving the promissory note confirming screen data illustrated in FIG. 4 from the screen display definition file 8, to thereby display a confirmation-dedicated screen image 410 such as illustrated in FIG. 4B, wherein the recognized characters and the seal impression are displayed at designated positions on the confirmation-dedicated screen image 410. Additionally, a reduced image of the draft as a whole is also displayed. The draft/check data stored in the draft/check data table 8192 can be made available for the processing "formal check B" 8193, which is designed for performing, for example, formality check corresponding to the content of the transaction. Finally, in the case of the layout-prescribed business form illustrated exemplarily in FIG. 10, (1) information of the line segments found in the business form (e.g. start and end point coordinates of the line segments, sorts of the line segments, etc.), and (2) features of the character strings of a header (e.g. "payment slip" and the like) are previously stored in the business-form format definition information file 7 as the business-form format definition information of image data type. Subsequently, the image data type format definition information for the recognition-subjected business form is fetched from the business-form format definition information file 7, whereon the business-form format definition information undergoes matching processing with the information concerning the coordinates of the line segments, those of the read image of the header field and the features of the character strings as found in the business form, whereby the business form of the layout having highest similarity is discriminatively determined as the layout-prescribed species business form. Many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the foregoing detailed description and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the system which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and combinations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not intended to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described. By way of example, the form size check processing has been described in conjunction with the draft/check. However, this processing can be executed for the business forms of the other species. Further, in the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it has been presumed that only predetermined portion(s) of the read information is displayed. However, all the information may be displayed with the portions of importance being displayed by changing color or brightness appropriately. Furthermore, although it has been described that the image reading device is so arranged as to read the image of a business form disposed on the pedestal, the present invention is never restricted to such structure of the image reading device. It goes without saying that various types image reading devices inclusive of a form insertion type machine such as facsimile equipment may be employed as well. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. As is apparent from the foregoing description, the present invention has provided a business form handling method and a system for carrying out the same in which an identifying procedure is established for identifying species of a processing-subjected business form among plural species of business form in accordance with a predetermined sequence, identification of species of the business forms is executed in accordance with the identifying procedure, subordinate attributes of the identified business form is then identified, an image of a field defined by format definition information inherent to the result of the identification is cut, and then a recognition processing is performed for recognizing the contents of the business form from the cut image. Thus, according to the teachings of the present invention, identification of the species of large variety of business forms can be realized easily within a significantly reduced time. On the other hand, the user or operator is required merely to place the processing-subjected business form on the pedestal of the image reading device for identifying the species of the business form. Then, the portion(s) of the business form which requires confirmation by the operator is displayed on a display unit. Thus, manipulations involved in the business form identifying processing can be extremely simplified and facilitated with efficiency of attendant work being remarkably improved and enhanced. Besides, in combination with the reduction of time involved in the identification processing, the services or tasks at the window or the like business in the financial institutions and others where the business forms are handled can be performed very speedily, to great comfortableness for the customers. Thus, by installing the business form processing system according to the invention at a service counter or window or the like place in financial institutions, retail stores or shops and the like which handle a large variety of the form species, operation efficiency of the apparatus or system designed for carrying out the succeeding forms-relevant jobs processings with the information read by the business form processing system can be enhanced significantly, to another advantage. As will now be understood, according to the teachings of the invention, the identification of the business forms of various species can be realized easily within a short time. Besides, for the business form having the subordinate attributes, the contents of statement(s) of that business form can also be recognized by referencing the inherent format information.
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