JP2012080220A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of composing plural pieces of image data with ease and without mistakes.SOLUTION: A page selection part 404 selects a page to identify a position of composing composite image data selected from image data stored in a data storage part 401, in image-to-be-processed data selected from image data stored in the data storage part 401. An image-to-be-processed recognition part 405 recognizes the end portion of the page just before the composing position designated via the page selection part 404 or a leading portion of the page just after the composing position, in the image-to-be-processed data. A determination part 406 determines whether the end portion or the leading portion recognized by the image-to-be-processed recognition part 405 satisfies a previously designated condition. When the designated condition is not satisfied, a notification part 407 issues an alarm. When the designated condition is satisfied, an image composition part 408 composes the composite image data at the composing position of the image-to-be-processed data and generates plural pages of image data.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that synthesizes a plurality of image data including page division information and generates a plurality of pages of image data.

  In recent years, MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) having functions such as scanners, facsimiles, printers, and copiers have been used in offices and the like. A multifunction machine is often used in a situation where it is connected to an information processing terminal such as a personal computer through a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Then, it functions as an image forming device that prints image data input from the information processing terminal on paper, functions as an image reading device that acquires image data used in the information processing terminal, and searches document image data. It functions as a document management device that accumulates as possible.

  Some of such multifunction peripherals have an editing function for image data stored in the apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This editing function includes a process of combining other image data with one image data. Specifically, it is processing such as inserting other image data into a designated portion (for example, between specific pages) of image data including page division information. This function is used, for example, when a drawing or other document data is inserted at a predetermined position of image data composed of a plurality of pages of documents.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, an arbitrary area of each image data constituting each page is extracted, a document management specific character described in the extraction area is recognized, and page replacement processing is performed according to the recognized specific character. . With this configuration, document management such as page alignment is realized without the need to sort the documents in advance and without the need for a special mark sheet or the like.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-225304

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when using the function, there are many setting items that the user must designate, such as an area for recognizing a specific character on each page. When there are many items to be set by the user, an operation error or re-operation is likely to occur.

  Further, as described above, the multi-function peripheral is often used in an environment connected via a network, and image data is input not only from image reading (scanning) but also from an information processing terminal. Therefore, it is preferable that editing processing is possible not only for image data accumulated in the apparatus by image reading but also for image data (print job) input for printing from the information processing terminal. If the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to a print job, the information processing terminal needs to write predetermined specific characters in the character recognition area of each page, and the work becomes complicated. Further, since the specific character is a character described for editing in the multifunction peripheral, it is not particularly useful when referring directly to electronic data. Therefore, when distributing the image data as electronic data, unless the specific character is deleted, the image data including the specific character that is not particularly useful is distributed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus that can easily and definitely combine a plurality of image data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means. First, the present invention is premised on an image processing device that generates a plurality of pages of image data by combining a plurality of pieces of image data including page division information. The image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a data storage unit, a processed data selection unit, a combined data selection unit, a page selection unit, a processed image recognition unit, a determination unit, a notification unit, and an image combining unit. The data storage unit stores image data including page classification information. The processing data selection unit selects processing image data from the image data stored in the data storage unit. The composite data selection unit selects composite image data to be combined with the processed image data from the image data stored in the data storage unit. The page selection unit selects a page for specifying a position where the synthesized image data is synthesized in the processed image data. The processed image recognition unit recognizes, in the processed image data, the end of the page immediately before the combination position designated through the page selection unit, or the beginning of the page immediately after the combination position. The determination unit determines whether the tail part or the head part recognized by the processing target image recognition part satisfies a predetermined condition. When the determination unit determines that the specified condition is not satisfied, the notification unit issues an alarm. When the determination unit determines that the specified condition is satisfied, the image composition unit synthesizes the composite image data at the composition position of the processed image data, and generates a plurality of pages of image data.

  In this image processing apparatus, a warning is given when the last part of the immediately preceding page or the beginning part of the immediately following page at the synthesis position of the processed image data does not satisfy the specified condition. That is, if there is a possibility that it is inappropriate as the insertion position of other image data, such as when the last part of the previous page is in the middle of a sentence, or when the first part of the next page is in the middle of a sentence, The user can be notified. As a result, the user can easily and definitely synthesize a plurality of image data.

  The image processing apparatus may further include a composite image recognition unit that recognizes a head portion of the first page or a tail portion of the last page in the composite image data. In this case, the determination unit determines whether the combination of the tail part recognized by the processing image recognition unit and the head part recognized by the composite image recognition unit satisfies a predetermined condition, or the processing image recognition unit recognizes It is determined whether or not the combination of the head part and the tail part recognized by the composite image recognition part satisfies a predetermined condition.

  The image processing apparatus may be configured to include only the composite image recognition unit instead of the processed image recognition unit. In this case, the determination unit determines whether the head or tail recognized by the composite image recognition unit satisfies a predesignated condition. The processed image data and the composite image data may be a print job, for example.

  According to the present invention, a user can easily and definitely synthesize a plurality of image data into one image data. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of operation mistakes and re-operations, and increase productivity.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an operation panel of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an image composition procedure performed by the multifunction machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the to-be-processed data selection screen which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays. The figure which shows an example of the synthetic | combination data selection screen which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays The figure which shows an example of the synthetic | combination position designation | designated screen which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays The figure which shows an example of the warning screen which the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention displays.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction machine.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. A document table 103 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the document table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. The platen cover 102 includes a document conveying device 110, a document tray 111, and a paper discharge tray 112.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided below the document table 103. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document and generates digital data (image data) of the image. The document can be placed on the document table 103. A scanning optical system 121 is disposed below the document table 103. The scanning optical system 121 includes a first carriage 122, a second carriage 123, and a condenser lens 124. The first carriage 122 is provided with a linear light source 131 and a mirror 132, and the second carriage 123 is provided with mirrors 133 and 134. The light source 131 illuminates the document. The mirrors 132, 133, and 134 guide reflected light from the document to the condenser lens 124, and the condenser lens 124 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 125. In the scanning optical system 121, the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 135. By moving the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 in the sub-scanning direction 135, the image of the document placed on the document table 103 can be read by the image sensor 125.

  Further, the document can be placed on the document tray 111. The document conveying device 110 sends out the documents set on the document tray 111 by the pickup roller 113 one by one to the conveying path 116. There is an image reading position P on the conveyance path 116. The conveyance roller 114 conveys the document to the image reading position P. When reading an image of a document set on the document tray 111, the image reading unit 120 temporarily fixes the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 according to the image reading position P. When the document passes the image reading position P, the light source 131 illuminates the document. The light from the light source 131 is reflected by the document that passes through the document table 103 and passes the document reading position P, and is guided to the image sensor 125 by the mirrors 132, 133, and 134 and the condenser lens 124. The document that has passed the image reading position P is discharged to the discharge tray 112 by the discharge roller 115.

  The image sensor 125 generates image data of a document corresponding to, for example, each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) from the light image incident on the light receiving surface. The generated image data can be printed on paper in the image forming unit 140. It can also be transmitted to other devices via the network 162 via the network adapter 161 or the like.

  The image forming unit 140 prints image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 or image data received from another device such as the information processing terminal 171 connected to the network 162 via the network adapter 161 on a sheet. The image forming unit 140 includes a photosensitive drum 141. The photosensitive drum 141 rotates in one direction at a constant speed. Around the photosensitive drum 141, a charger 142, an exposure unit 143, a developing unit 144, and an intermediate transfer belt 145 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The charger 142 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 141. The exposure device 143 irradiates the surface of the uniformly charged photoconductor drum 141 with light according to the image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 141. The developing device 144 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 141. The intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 141 onto a sheet. When the image data is a color image, the intermediate transfer belt 145 transfers each color toner image onto the same sheet. The RGB color image is converted into C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) format image data, and the image data of each color is input to the exposure unit 143.

  The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit between the intermediate transfer belt 145 and the transfer roller 146. Various sizes of paper can be placed or stored in the manual feed tray 151 and the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154. The image forming unit 140 selects a sheet specified by the user or a sheet corresponding to the automatically detected document size, and pulls out the selected sheet from the manual feed tray 151 and the cassettes 152, 153, and 154 by the feeding roller 155. The pulled-out paper is sent to the transfer unit by the conveyance roller 156 and the registration roller 157. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 148 by the conveyance belt 147. The fixing device 148 has a fixing roller 158 and a pressure roller 159 with a built-in heater, and fixes the toner image on the sheet by heat and pressing force. The image forming unit 140 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 148 to the discharge tray 149.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of an operation panel included in the multifunction peripheral. The user can use the operation panel 200 to give the MFP 100 a start of copying and other instructions, and to confirm the status and settings of the MFP 100. On the operation panel 200, a display 201 with a touch panel and operation keys 203 are arranged. The display 201 includes a display surface including a liquid crystal display that displays operation buttons, messages, and the like, and a sensor that detects a pressed position on the display surface. The detection method of a press position is not specifically limited. Any method such as a resistance film method, a capacitance method, a surface acoustic wave method, and an electromagnetic wave method can be employed. The user can input through the display 201 using his / her finger or the touch pen 202.

  The display 201 displays an operation screen having a button display unit 204, a message display unit 205, and a status display unit 206. A plurality of tabs 208 are prepared in the button display unit 204, and operation buttons corresponding to the tab category are arranged on each tab. The “easy setting” tab has operation buttons used for basic setting. In the example of FIG. 2, operation buttons for setting paper size, copy magnification, density, printing surface, page aggregation, and post-processing are arranged. For example, when the user performs an operation of pressing the “density” button 207, a pop-up screen having selection buttons such as “light”, “normal”, and “dark” for selecting the density is displayed over the operation button. The density is set by the user's selection (pressing). In the example of FIG. 2, in addition to the “easy setting” tab, a “document / paper / finish” tab, a “color / image quality” tab, a “layout / edit” tab, and an “application / others” tab are also provided. The user can switch to the display of these tabs by performing an operation of selecting the tab button 208. While one tab is selected, other tabs and their elements are hidden on the operation screen.

  The message display unit 205 displays a message notifying the user of settings such as whether copying is possible and the number of copies. The status display unit 206 displays device status information as necessary. In this display, detection results of various sensors included in the multifunction peripheral 100 are reflected. The device status information means a message that notifies the user of a warning that prompts the user to respond to an abnormality although the device is in an operable state. For example, the fact that the remaining amount of paper is low, the document platen 103 is dirty, and the facsimile document is stored in the memory when the facsimile memory reception is set is included. Further, the device status information may include out-of-paper, conveyance jam, and the like.

  The operation keys 203 include a main power key 209, a numeric keypad 210, a start key 211, a clear key 212, and the like. For example, the main power key 209 is used to switch the main power supply of the multifunction peripheral 100 on and off. The numeric keypad 210 can be used for specifying the number of copies and setting the copy magnification. When the user makes these settings, the multi-function device 100 displays a message such as “Can be copied (with settings)” on the message display unit 205 to notify the user that the settings have been made. The start key 211 is used for a start instruction for copying or image printing. The user operates the clear key 212 when canceling the setting made by the user. Since whether or not the machine accepts the setting by the user can be determined by the above-described message, the clear key 212 may be operated if the setting becomes unnecessary.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 302, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 303, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 304, an original transport device 110, and an image reading unit 120. A driver 305 corresponding to each drive unit in the image forming unit 140 is connected via an internal bus 306. The ROM 303, the HDD 304, and the like store programs, and the CPU 301 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with the instructions of the control program. For example, the CPU 301 uses the RAM 302 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 305. The HDD 304 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 and image data received from other devices through the network adapter 161.

  An operation panel 200 and various sensors 307 are also connected to the internal bus 306. The operation panel 200 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 301. The display 201 displays the above-described operation screen according to a control signal from the CPU 301. The sensor 307 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table 103, a temperature sensor for the fixing device 148, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document. The CPU 301 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 303 to realize each of the following means (functional blocks) and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the MFP according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment includes a data storage unit 401, a processed data selection unit 402, a composite data selection unit 403, a page selection unit 404, a processed image recognition unit 405, a determination unit 406, A notification unit 407 and an image composition unit 408 are provided.

  The data storage unit 401 stores image data including page classification information. The page classification information is information of pages belonging to one image data, and it can be identified from the information whether it is composed of a single page or a plurality of pages. In addition, when the image data is composed of a plurality of pages, the page classification information includes information indicating the position of the page break. In the present invention, the image data is described in a predetermined page description language (PDL) as well as image data that has been subjected to predetermined encoding such as BMP, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and PDF. Includes print jobs. In this embodiment, the image data generated by the image reading unit 120 is held in the data storage unit 401 as data that has been subjected to predetermined encoding, and is input from the information processing terminal to the multifunction peripheral 100 via the network adapter 161. The print job is held in the data storage unit 401 as data described in a predetermined page description language. Note that the print job may be held in the data storage unit 401 in a state of image data converted into a predetermined format in the multifunction peripheral 100 for printing by the image forming unit 140. The data storage unit 401 is realized as a storage area of the HDD 304 or the RAM 302.

  The processed data selection unit 402 selects processed image data from the image data stored in the data storage unit 401. Further, the composite data selection unit 403 selects composite image data from the image data stored in the data storage unit 401. The image data to be processed is image data to be subjected to image processing, and is a target on which the composite image data selected by the composite data selection unit 403 is combined. In this embodiment, the processed data selection unit 402 displays a list of image data stored in the data storage unit 401 on the display 201, and the image data selected by the user from the list is processed image data. select. Similarly, the composite data selection unit 403 displays a list of image data stored in the data storage unit 401 on the display 201, and selects image data selected by the user from the list as composite image data.

  The page selection unit 404 selects a page for specifying a position where the synthesized image data is synthesized in the selected processed image data. In the present embodiment, the page selection unit 404 displays a page designation screen for designating a position at which composite image data is to be inserted in the processed image data on the display 201, and performs synthesis according to the page designated by the user on the instruction screen. A composite position for inserting image data is determined. Although not particularly limited, here, the position immediately after the page specified by the user is specified as the combining position of the combined image data.

  The processed image recognition unit 405 recognizes, in the selected processed image data, the end portion of the page immediately before the combination position designated through the page selection unit 404 or the head portion of the page immediately after the combination position. Get information. Here, the end portion means the end portion of the character data of the page, and includes the final character and the final symbol (a symbol indicating a line feed, a page break, etc.). Similarly, the head part means the head part of the character data of the page, and includes the head character and the head symbol (symbol indicating space, indentation, etc.). Note that the tail and head can be recognized by analyzing the page description language when the image data is a print job. When the image data is encoded image data, it can be recognized by analyzing the character arrangement (vertical writing, horizontal writing) by OCR (Optical Character Recognition). In any case, the processed image recognition unit 405 acquires the character code of the character portion at the end or the top. The number of characters (number of symbols) to be recognized may be the first or last character, but in this embodiment, as will be described later, the recognized characters may be displayed to the user. A multi-character code is acquired so that it can be done.

  The determination unit 406 determines whether the tail or head recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 satisfies a predetermined condition. Based on the determination, the determination unit 406 determines whether there is a high possibility that the insertion position of the composite image data is incorrect. The specified conditions will be described in detail below. When the determination unit 406 determines that the specified condition is not satisfied, the notification unit 407 issues an alarm. If the determination unit 406 determines that the specified condition is satisfied, the image combining unit 408 combines the combined image data with the combining position of the processed image data to generate a plurality of pages of image data. In addition, the notification method can employ | adopt the arbitrary methods which a user can recognize, such as a display and an audio | voice. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the notification unit 406 displays a message (warning display) on the display 201.

  Further, the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a composite image recognition unit 409. The composite image recognition unit 409 recognizes the top part of the first page or the last part of the last page in the composite image data and acquires the information. In the above determination, the determination unit 406 determines whether or not the combination of the tail part recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 and the head part recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 satisfies a predetermined condition. Alternatively, it is determined whether the combination of the head part recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 and the tail part recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 satisfies a predetermined condition. Note that the head and tail recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 are the same as the head and tail recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405, and the recognition method is the same as that of the processed image recognition unit 405. .

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image composition procedure performed by the multifunction peripheral 100. The procedure starts, for example, when the user inputs an instruction to execute “image composition” through the operation panel 200.

  When the user inputs an “image composition” instruction, first, the processed data selection unit 402 refers to the image data held in the data storage unit 401 and displays a list of the image data on the display 201.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing data selection screen displayed on the display 201 by the processing data selection unit 402 at this time. In this example, the processed data selection screen 601 displays a list of image data stored in the data storage unit 401 and confirms the user selection in the list display column 602 and the list display column 602 for accepting selection by the user. A “decision” button 603 is selected when the selection is made, and a “cancel” button 604 is used to cancel the selection and end the procedure. This figure shows a state in which the user has selected “print job A” in the list display field 602. In the example of FIG. 6, the display range of the list can be moved up and down by a scroll bar provided at the right end of the list display field 602. In this example, all the image data stored in the data storage unit 401 is displayed. However, a filter for selecting display / non-display for each file type is provided, or in a designated directory. Alternatively, only the image data may be displayed. A “preview” button 605 is a button for causing the display 201 to display a preview of the image data selected in the list display field 602. By using the “preview” button 605, the user can confirm the contents of the image data.

  When the user selects the “OK” button 603, the processed data selection unit 402 selects the image data selected in the list display field 602 as processed image data (step S501). Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the processed data selection unit 402 is configured to read and hold the selected image data from the data storage unit 401. At this time, the processed data selection unit 402 notifies the composite data selection unit 403 that the processed image data has been selected. Upon receiving the notification, the composite data selection unit 403 refers to the image data held in the data storage unit 401 and displays a list of the image data on the display 201.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a composite data selection screen displayed on the display 201 by the processed data selection unit 402 at this time. In this example, the composite data selection screen 701 displays a list of image data stored in the data storage unit 401 as well as a list display field 702 for accepting selection by the user, similar to the data selection screen 601 to be processed. A “decision” button 703 that is selected when the user's selection is confirmed in the list display field 702, a “cancel” button 704 that is used to cancel the selection and return to the processed data selection screen 601, and the list display field 702 Is provided with a “preview” button 705 for displaying a preview of the image data selected in FIG. This figure shows a state in which the user has selected “print job B” in the list display field 702. In this example, “print job A”, which is image data to be processed, is not selectable in the list display field 702.

  When the user selects the “OK” button 703, the composite data selection unit 403 selects the image data selected in the list display field 702 as composite image data (step S502). Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the composite data selection unit 403 is configured to read and hold the selected image data from the data storage unit 401. At this time, the composite data selection unit 403 notifies the page selection unit 404 that composite image data has been selected. Upon receiving the notification, the page selection unit 404 displays a page designation screen on the display 201 for designating the position where the composite image data is to be inserted in the processed image data.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a page designation screen displayed on the display 201 by the page selection unit 404 at this time. In this example, the page designation screen 801 includes a “designated page selection” button 802, a “designated page selection” button 802, a “decision” button 803 that is selected when the user's selection is finalized, and the selection is canceled to synthesize data A “cancel” button 804 used to return to the selection screen 701 and a “preview” button 805 for displaying a preview of the image data held by the data selection unit 402 to be processed are provided. The “designated page selection” button 802 displays selectable page numbers as a pull-down menu, and the user can select an arbitrary page from the pull-down menu. In this embodiment, the page selection unit 404 acquires the page number information of the processed image data selected by the processed data selection unit 402 from the processed data selection unit 402, and can be selected according to the page number information. Is displayed. This figure shows a state in which the user has selected “4 pages” with the “specified page selection” button 802.

  When the user selects the “OK” button 803, the page selection unit 403 designates immediately after the designated page selected by the “designated page selection” button 802 as the composition position of the composite image data (step S503). At this time, the page selection unit 404 notifies the processed image recognition unit 405 and the composite image recognition unit 409 that the combination position has been determined.

  The processed image recognition unit 405 that has received the notification, in the processed image data held in the processed data selection unit 402, immediately before the combination position specified through the page selection unit 404 (in this embodiment, the specified page). ) Is recognized. When the recognition is completed, the processed image recognition unit 405 inputs the information of the tail part to the determination unit 406.

  In addition, the composite image recognition unit 409 that has received the notification recognizes the top portion of the top page in the composite image data held in the composite data selection unit 403. When the recognition is completed, the composite image recognition unit 409 inputs information on the head part to the determination unit 406.

  The determination unit 406 that has acquired the information about the last part of the page immediately before the synthesis position in the processed image data and the information about the top part of the first page in the synthesized image data, and the synthesized image recognition unit 409 It is determined whether or not the combination with the head part recognized by satisfies the condition specified in advance (step S504).

  In the present embodiment, as the specifying condition, a condition that “the end part recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is the end of the sentence and the beginning part recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 is the beginning of the sentence” is determined in advance. 406 is designated. “End of sentence” means, for example, that the character code acquired by the processed image recognition unit 405 (or the last character code in the configuration of acquiring a plurality of character codes) is a punctuation mark, a line feed symbol, a paragraph break symbol, etc. This means that the character code is placed at the end of the sentence. The phrase “beginning of sentence” means, for example, that the character code acquired by the composite image recognition unit 409 (the first character code in the configuration of acquiring a plurality of character codes) is a section symbol, a space, or an indentation. This means that the character code is placed at the beginning of a sentence such as a symbol. In the present embodiment, the designation condition is set in the determination unit 406 when the user inputs a character code (character, symbol) as illustrated through the operation panel 200.

  When it is determined that the specified condition is not satisfied (in this example, the end portion recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is not the end of the sentence, or the start portion recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 is not the beginning of the sentence), the determination unit 406 Notifies the notification unit 407 to that effect. Receiving the notification, the notification unit 407 issues an alarm (No in steps S504 and S505).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warning message displayed on the display 201 by the notification unit 407 at this time. This example is a warning message displayed when the end part recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is not the end of the sentence. The message screen 901 includes a message of “previous page end consistency error” which is a warning content, and when processing is performed by ignoring the warning, the processed image data end of text display column 902, the composite image data head end display column 903 “Combine execution” button 904 selected for “composition”, “Combination position reset” button 905 used for returning to the page designation screen 801 without executing composition, “Cancel” button 906 selected for canceling processing Is provided. Although not particularly limited, in this example, the end portion recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is displayed in the processed image data sentence end display column 902 and the combined image data head display column 903 displays the combined image in order to help the user's judgment. The head part recognized by the recognition unit 409 is displayed. In FIG. 9, the first character (six characters) recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 is “space”, but the last character (six characters) recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is in the sentence. It is shown that it is a character used for (not a character placed at the end of a sentence). Note that the notification unit 407 can acquire data to be displayed in the processed image data sentence end display column 902 and the composite image data sentence start display column 903 from the determination unit 406.

  In this state, when the user selects the “composite execution” button 904, the notification unit 407 notifies the determination unit 406 to that effect. Upon receiving the notification, the determination unit 406 instructs the image composition unit 408 to execute image composition processing. Upon receiving the instruction, the image composition unit 408 obtains the image data to be processed, the composite image data, and the composite position information from the process data selection unit 402, the composite data selection unit 403, and the page selection unit 404, respectively. Image data obtained by combining the combined image data at the data combining position is generated (steps S506 Yes, S507).

  In addition, when the user selects the “reset composite position” button 905 on the message screen 901, the notification unit 407 notifies the page selection unit 404 through the determination unit 406. Upon receiving the notification, the page selection unit 404 displays a page designation screen 801 on the display 201 (step S506 No, S508 Yes, S503).

  Further, when the user selects the “CANCEL” button 906 on the message screen 901, the procedure ends as it is (No in steps S506 and S508).

  On the other hand, in the determination by the determination unit 406, when the determination unit 406 determines that the specified condition is satisfied, the determination unit 406 instructs the image composition unit 408 to execute the image composition process. Upon receiving the instruction, the image composition unit 408 generates image data obtained by compositing the composite image data at the composition position of the processed image data as described above (Yes in steps S504 and S507).

  The image data generated as described above is printed by the image forming unit 140. Further, it may be stored in the HDD 304 or transmitted to an external device via the network adapter 161. If there are a plurality of composite positions and composite images in one piece of processed image data, the processing from step S502 may be repeated on the same processed image data. Also, the image composition unit 408 confirms the presence or absence of a page number for the processed image data. If the page number is assigned, the image composition unit 408 deletes the page number and adds a new page number to the corresponding position on each page after composition. It is also possible to employ a configuration in which page numbers are automatically assigned.

  As described above, in the MFP 100, it is determined whether the combination of the last part of the page immediately before the synthesis position of the processed image data and the top part of the synthesized image data satisfies the specified condition, and the specified condition is satisfied. If not, a warning will be given. In other words, if there is a possibility that it is not appropriate as the insertion position of other image data (eg, there is doubt about consistency), such as the end of the page immediately before the combining position is not the end of the sentence, or the beginning of the combined image data is not the beginning of the sentence. This can be notified to the user. As a result, the user can easily and definitely synthesize a plurality of image data.

  In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the determination unit 406 determines whether or not the specified condition is satisfied for the combination of the last part of the page immediately before the synthesis position of the processed image data and the top part of the composite image data. However, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the determination unit 406 determines the combination of the head of the page immediately after the synthesis position of the processed image data (next page of the designated page) and the tail of the last page of the composite image data. It may be configured to determine whether or not a specified condition is satisfied. In this case, the processed image recognition unit 405 recognizes the head portion of the page immediately after the combining position in the processed image data, and the combined image recognition unit 409 recognizes the end portion of the last page in the combined image data. In addition, the determination unit 406 has a condition that “a head part recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is a sentence head and a tail part recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 is a sentence end” as a designation condition. It is specified. Even with this configuration, the same effects as described above can be obtained. Note that the determination unit 406 includes a combination of the last part of the page immediately before the synthesis position of the processing image data and the top part of the composite image data, and the top part of the page immediately after the synthesis position of the processing image data and the last page of the composite image data. Of course, it may be configured to determine whether or not the specified condition is satisfied for each of the combinations with the tail part of each.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the image data to be processed and the composite image data are text image data. However, it is assumed that the image data to be processed is text image data and the composite image data is image data of only a drawing. In such a case, the determination unit 406 may determine whether only the end portion of the page immediately before the combination position in the processed image data or the top portion of the page immediately after the combination position satisfies the specified condition. The effects described above can be obtained. That is, the processed image recognizing unit 405 recognizes the last part of the page immediately before the synthesis position in the processed image data, and the determination unit 406 as the designation condition indicates that “the last part recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is the end of the sentence. Is specified. Alternatively, the processed image recognition unit 405 recognizes the head portion of the page immediately after the synthesis position in the processed image data, and the determination unit 406 receives a specification condition that “the head portion recognized by the processed image recognition unit 405 is the head of the sentence. This is a configuration in which the condition “Yes” is specified. With such a configuration, at least when the synthesis position is in the middle of a sentence and there is a possibility that it is not appropriate as the insertion position of other image data, this can be notified to the user. Note that the determination unit 406 determines whether or not the specified condition is satisfied for both the last page immediately before the synthesis position of the processed image data and the first page immediately after the synthesis position of the processed image data. Of course there may be.

  When one or both of the processed image data and the combined image data is image data including graphics and text, the processed image recognition unit 405 and the combined image recognition unit 409 use a known image processing technique. Identifies the text area and graphic area in the image data of a predetermined page (the page immediately before the processing image data combining position, the page immediately after the processing image data combining position, the first page of the combined image data, and the last page of the combined image data) The configuration may be such that the head or tail of the text area is recognized.

  By the way, in the above description, the example in which the composite image data is inserted at the composite position specified in the processed image data has been described. However, the composite position is specified as a single page or a plurality of continuous pages, and the composite image is specified at the composite position. The present invention may be applied to so-called page replacement for synthesizing data. In this case, the determination unit 406 can be configured to determine whether only the top part of the first page of the composite image data or the last part of the last page of the composite image data satisfies the specified condition. That is, the composite image recognizing unit 409 recognizes the top part of the top page in the composite image data, and the determination unit 406 receives “the top part recognized by the composite image recognizing unit 409 is selected by the page designating unit 404 as a designation condition. This is a configuration in which the condition “matches the top of the first page in the page” is designated. Alternatively, the composite image recognition unit 409 recognizes the end portion of the last page in the composite image data, and the determination unit 406 receives “the end portion recognized by the composite image recognition unit 409 has been selected by the page specification unit 404 as a designation condition. In this configuration, the condition “matches the end of the last page in the page” is designated. With such a configuration, the consistency of page replacement can be confirmed based on the text before and after replacement. It should be noted that the determination unit 406 may be configured to determine whether or not the specified condition is satisfied for both the first page head portion of the composite image data and the last page end portion of the composite image data. is there.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the user can easily and definitely synthesize a plurality of image data into one image data. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of operation mistakes and re-operations, and increase productivity.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, although the above embodiment has been described based on an operation through the operation panel of the multifunction device, an operation on the multifunction device may be performed via an information processing terminal that is communicably connected to the multifunction device. In this case, the function of the display 201 of the operation panel 200 in the above-described embodiment is provided by display means such as a display and input means such as a keyboard provided in the information processing terminal.

  Further, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the order of the steps can be appropriately changed within a range where the equivalent action is achieved. For example, the order of the processing image data selection step and the composite image data selection step may be reversed.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multifunction peripheral. However, the present invention is not limited to a digital multifunction peripheral, and can be applied to an arbitrary image processing apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of image data can be easily and definitely combined, which is useful as an image processing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 MFP 401 Data storage part 402 Processed data selection part 403 Composite data selection part 404 Page selection part 405 Processed image recognition part 406 Judgment part 407 Notification part 408 Image composition part 409 Composite image recognition part

Claims (4)

An image processing apparatus that synthesizes a plurality of image data including page division information and generates a plurality of pages of image data,
A data storage unit for storing image data including page division information;
A processed data selection unit that selects processed image data from the image data stored in the data storage unit;
A combined data selection unit that selects combined image data to be combined with the processed image data from the image data stored in the data storage unit;
In the processed image data, a page selection unit that selects a page for specifying a position to synthesize the synthesized image data;
In the processed image data, a processed image recognition unit for recognizing the tail part of the page immediately before the synthesis position designated through the page selection unit or the head part of the page immediately after the synthesis position;
A determination unit that determines whether or not a tail part or a head part recognized by the processed image recognition unit satisfies a predetermined condition;
When the determination unit determines that the specified condition is not satisfied, a notification unit that issues an alarm;
An image composition unit that synthesizes the composite image data at the composition position of the processed image data and generates a plurality of pages of image data when the determination unit determines that the specified condition is satisfied;
An image processing apparatus comprising: In the composite image data, further comprising a composite image recognition unit for recognizing a head part of the first page or a tail part of the last page,
The determination unit determines whether a combination of a tail part recognized by the processed image recognition unit and a head part recognized by the composite image recognition unit satisfies a predetermined condition, or the processing image recognition unit recognizes The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a determination is made as to whether or not a combination of the head part and the tail part recognized by the composite image recognition part satisfies a predesignated condition. In place of the processed image recognition unit, the composite image data includes a composite image recognition unit for recognizing a head part of the first page or a tail part of the last page,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not a head portion or a tail portion recognized by the composite image recognition unit satisfies a predesignated condition.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processed image data and the composite image data are print jobs.

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