JP4192792B2 - Document processing apparatus and document output program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus and program, and more particularly to document processing using a duplicate document image and a corresponding original document image.

  As a means for obtaining a copy of a document (document) represented on a medium such as paper, a copying machine or a multifunction peripheral is used. However, when a copy of a document is created with these devices, the characteristics of the copied document differ from those of the original document due to the characteristics of the document reading device and the document output device, and the image quality generally deteriorates. . Therefore, there is a problem that the readability of the document is gradually lowered while the copying is repeated.

As a technique for solving this problem, for example, in the technique disclosed in the following publication, when a copy is made by a copying machine, an image of an original document is synthesized with an image (code image) for specifying the original document. Printed out as a duplicate document. When the duplicate document printed out is copied again, the original document is identified from the added code image, and the stored original document image is output, so that the original document can be reproduced even if it is repeated. It is possible to obtain a copy that maintains the same image quality.
JP-A-6-189090

  In some cases, a duplicate document may be modified by handwriting or deletion. For example, an idea that has been conceived by looking at the contents of the duplicate document is added, or if the duplicate document is a request for approval, an approval mark or signature is added. In addition, unnecessary portions of the duplicate document may be deleted with correction liquid, paper tape, or the like.

  However, in the above background art, since the original document is output instead of recopying the duplicate document, there is a problem that the user cannot know the change information as described above.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is document processing capable of notifying a user of information representing a change when a change such as addition or deletion is added to a duplicate document. It is to provide an apparatus and a document output program.

In order to solve the above problems, a document processing apparatus according to the present invention obtains a copy document image acquiring means for acquiring the copy document image representing a copied document, the original document image representing an original document corresponding to the copy document An original document image acquisition unit, and based on the original document image and the duplicate document image, a different part image generation unit that generates a different part image representing all or a part of the difference between the duplicate document and the original document When, characterized in that it comprises a and a document output means for outputting a document based on the different part images.

Here, the document output means may include means for outputting a document based on a composite image of the difference portion image and the original document image. Further, it may include means for outputting the difference portion image itself. The document output means may output the document in any manner such as print output, display output, audio output, and transmission output.

Further, the copy document leave to represent the information on the original document, the original document image obtaining means, based on the information on the original document represented in the copy document, so as to obtain the original document image It may be.

In this case, the information on the original document, and information indicating the storage location of the original document image, the original document image acquiring means, the original document image stored in the storage location represented by the information on the original document You may make it acquire. The original document image may be stored in storage means connected to the document processing apparatus via a network. Moreover, information on the original document, the original document image may be information for generating or restoring in the document processing apparatus.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the different part image generation unit generates the different part image by performing image processing including difference image generation processing on the original document image and the duplicate document image. Also good. The difference image generation process is an image process including a process of calculating a difference between color information associated with corresponding pixels of both images, for example.

Further, based on the original document image, and the original document output means for outputting the original document, the output of the original document by the original document output means, or selectively performed to selectively output the output of the document by the document output means And a means.

In addition, the image processing device further includes a determination unit that determines an addition location and a deletion location in the difference location image, and the document output unit is configured to determine the addition location in the document based on the difference location image and the You may make it output a deletion location by a different output form. The output form is, for example, color, background, box, underline, or the like.

Further, when synthesizing the original document image, it may further include a color information determination means for determining based on the color information of the different part images the original document image color information.

Further, the program according to the present invention, copy document image acquiring means for acquiring the copy document image representing a copied document, the original document image acquiring means for acquiring the original document image representing an original document corresponding to the copy document, the original document The difference with respect to the document output means, the difference image generation means for generating a different place image representing all or part of the difference between the duplicate document and the original document based on the image and the duplicate document image, and the document output means is a program for causing a computer to function as a document output instruction means for instructing the output of the document based on the location image. This program may be stored in an information storage medium readable by a computer.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, this system includes a document processing apparatus 10 and a document management server 14. The document processing apparatus 10 reads a document printed on a medium such as paper, and acquires a document reading unit such as a scanner that generates an image (document image) representing the document, and an image generated by the document reading unit. A computer that executes various types of image processing; and a document output unit that prints out a document image output by the computer on a medium such as paper. The document processing apparatus 10 may be configured as, for example, a copier or a multi-function machine having a function (for example, a print function) other than the copy function.

  On the other hand, the document management server 14 includes, for example, a known server computer system or network data storage, and generates data representing an image representing a document (original document) as an original of various documents (original document). Storage means for storing original document image data).

  Both the document processing apparatus 10 and the document management server 14 are connected by data communication to a data communication network 12 such as a LAN (local area network). The document processing apparatus 10 can receive original document image data specified by the data by transmitting data specifying the original document data to the document management server 14.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the document processing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the document processing apparatus 10 includes a document reading unit 16, a control unit 18, a data communication unit 20, a user interface unit 22, and a document output unit 24.

  The document reading unit 16 includes an image reading device such as a scanner, and generates image data representing a document from a medium such as paper on which a document such as a duplicate document is represented. This image data (document image) is supplied to the control unit 18.

  The control unit 18 is configured mainly with a computer, and the computer executes various programs. The control unit 18 controls each unit of the apparatus by executing these programs.

  The data communication unit 20 is configured to include a data communication device such as a network interface card connected to the data communication network 12, and data is transmitted to other devices such as the document management server 14 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 18. Or receive data from those devices.

  The user interface unit 22 includes an input device such as a button or a touch panel, and a display device such as a liquid crystal display device, and a menu image representing an operation menu of the document processing device 10 according to a command from the control unit 18. (See FIG. 6) or the like, or the contents of the input to the input device by the user are supplied to the control unit 18. In the present embodiment, the user interface unit 22 is provided with a touch panel, which is used by the user to instruct the form of document output when the document processing apparatus 10 operates in the manual mode.

  The document output unit 24 includes a document forming apparatus that prints a document on a medium such as paper. The document output unit 24 receives image data supplied from the control unit 18 and outputs an image represented by the image data to a medium such as paper. It is something to print. The document formation by the document forming apparatus may be any method. The document output may be other than printing, for example, display output by a display device, audio output by an audio device, or transmission output by a transmission device.

  In the control unit 18, an output image generation unit 26, a different part image generation unit 28, and an original document acquisition unit 30 are realized particularly by executing an image processing program. The original document acquisition unit 30 includes an information extraction unit 32.

  The information extraction unit 32 acquires the document image generated by the document reading unit 16, cuts out a code image (two-dimensional image) from the image, and further locates the original document from the code image (document management in the data communication network 12). Code data representing the address of the server 14 and the path and file name of the original document are decrypted. The original document acquisition unit 30 acquires the image data stored in the place represented by the code data via the data communication unit 20. In this specification, a document read by the document reading unit 16 is referred to as a duplicate document, and a document from which image data is acquired from the document management server 14 based on a code image represented in the duplicate document is referred to as an original document.

  Based on the original document image acquired by the original document acquisition unit 30 and the duplicate document image acquired from the document reading unit 16, the different part image generation unit 28 is configured to detect all or different parts of the copied document and the original document. A difference image representing a part is generated. The difference part image represents all or part of one or both of a part added to the duplicate document by the user and a part deleted from the duplicate document.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an original document acquired by the original document acquisition unit 30. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a duplicate document generated based on the original document image. In the present embodiment, when a duplicate document representing the contents of the original document is generated, a code image 34 is added to a part of the duplicate document. That is, the copy document is different from the original document in that a code image 34 is added to a part of the duplicate document. This code image is an image configured such that code data representing the location of the original document used when generating the duplicate document can be restored. A known technique may be used for generating a code image, extracting a code image from a duplicate document, and restoring code data from the code image.

  The difference portion image generation unit 28 acquires from the document reading unit 16 an image (duplicate document image) representing the duplicate document shown in FIG. On the other hand, the information extraction unit 32 included in the original document acquisition unit 30 extracts a code image from the document image and generates code data from the code image. Then, the original document acquisition unit 30 acquires the data specified by the code data, and supplies the original document image represented by the data to the different location image generation unit 28.

  The difference portion image generation unit 28 generates a difference portion image based on the original document image acquired from the original document acquisition unit 30 and the duplicate document image acquired from the document reading unit 16.

  Specifically, the code image portion is deleted from the duplicate document image, and the duplicate document image from which the code image portion is deleted and the original document image are aligned. Then, a difference image between the two images is generated in the aligned state (difference image generation processing). That is, in each image, color information is associated with each pixel constituting the image, and in this process, a difference in color information associated with the corresponding pixel is calculated, and the difference is associated with the original pixel. A difference image is generated. Alternatively, a code image may be added to a predetermined position of the original document image, and a difference image between the original document image to which the code image has been added and the duplicate document image may be generated. These difference images themselves may be used as the difference portion images. In addition, an image obtained by performing various image processes such as a noise removal process and a color change process on the difference image may be used as a different part image. Furthermore, according to the difference image, based on the sign of the data (color information difference) associated with each pixel, it is a place where an additional writing or the like is added to the duplicate document, or deletion or deletion is performed. It is possible to determine whether it is For example, when subtracting the color information related to the original document image from the color information related to the duplicate document image from which the code image portion has been deleted in a state where both images are aligned, the position of the pixel associated with the negative value is deleted. It is determined that Further, it is determined that the position of the pixel associated with the positive value is the added location. Conversely, when subtracting the color information related to the duplicate document image from which the code image portion has been deleted from the color information related to the original document image in a state where both images are aligned, the position of the pixel associated with the positive value is It is determined that the place has been deleted. Further, it is determined that the position of the pixel associated with the negative value is the added location. Therefore, an image obtained by extracting only the additional portion from the difference image in accordance with the above determination may be used as the different portion image. Further, an image obtained by extracting only the deleted part may be used as a different part image.

  Here, the difference part image generation unit 28 extracts only the additional part from the difference image to obtain a difference part image, and adds the difference part image and the code image to the original document image. In this way, it is possible to generate and output an image in which the information originally represented in the original document, the information added to the duplicate document, and the code image are represented.

  In this case, if there is no information added to the duplicate document, a document representing the same content as the original document is output except that a code image is newly added. If the original document acquisition unit 30 cannot acquire the original document image because the code image cannot be extracted from the duplicate document or the original document cannot be acquired from the location specified by the code image, the document reading unit 16 The document image acquired from the above is supplied to the document output unit 24 as it is. Further, according to the user setting, the difference portion image itself may be supplied to the document output unit 24 and printed out on a medium such as paper.

  The document processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment operates in an automatic mode or a manual mode. In the automatic mode, if an original document image corresponding to an input duplicate document image can be acquired, a difference part image is generated. And the code image and the original document image are combined and output. If the original document image cannot be acquired, the input duplicate document image is output as it is. On the other hand, in the manual mode, the type (output mode) of the output document is selected according to a menu screen (FIG. 6) described later.

  FIG. 5 shows the processing of the document processing apparatus 10 for the original document shown in FIG. 3 (a document showing ABC characters) and the duplicate document shown in FIG. 4 (a document showing ABC characters and code images). It is a figure explaining an aspect. In FIG. 9A, when the original document image can be acquired from the code image represented in the copied document without being added or deleted, the input document (left side in the figure) and the output document (in the figure) On the right). The input document is a document set in the document reading unit 16, and the output document is a document output from the document output unit 24. In this case, an image in which a code image is added to the original document image is output.

  FIG. 6B shows an input document (left side in the figure) when an original document image can be acquired from a code image represented by addition (letter D) and deletion (letter A) to a duplicate document. And the output document (right side in the figure). In the output document in this case, the characters “ABC” are printed based on the original document image, and the characters “D” are printed based on the difference portion image. At this time, the character “D” can be changed (added) by adding a box, making a different color, adding a background, or adding an underline. It is desirable to change the output mode. Further, when different colors are used, it is desirable to determine the color information of the changed portion based on the color information already used in the output document so that, for example, the color is determined to be conspicuous in the output document.

  Similarly, the letter “A” can be changed (deleted) by adding a box, making a different color, adding a background, or adding an underline. The output mode may be different. Further, as described above, it is determined by the code of the different location image whether the location is a location added to the duplicate document (character D) or a location deleted from the duplicate document (character A). Therefore, the output (printing here) mode may be different between the added part and the deleted part.

  FIG. 6C shows an input document (left side in the figure) and an output document (right side in the figure) when the original document corresponding to the duplicate document cannot be acquired. In this case, the input document is output as it is.

  In FIG. 4D, the user instructs the output of the different portion image itself, and is added (character D) and deleted (character A) to the duplicate document, and the original document from the code image shown there. An input document (left side in the figure) and an output document (right side in the figure) in a case where an image can be acquired are shown. In the output document in this case, only the added “D” character and the deleted “A” character are printed. In this case, as described above, it is determined by the code of the different portion image whether the portion is a portion added to the duplicate document (character D) or a portion deleted from the duplicate document (character A). Therefore, it is desirable to change the output (printing here) mode between the added portion and the deleted portion.

  The user interface unit 22 displays the menu screen shown in FIG. In the menu screen, a normal copy button 36, an original print button 38, an original copy button 40, and a differential copy button 42 are shown. The normal copy button 36 is a button for outputting the document image acquired from the document reading unit 16 as it is by the document output unit 24. When the normal copy button 36 is selected and the code image can be extracted from the document image, the code image may be deleted and added again.

  When the original print button 38 is selected, a code image is extracted from the document image acquired from the document reading unit 16, and the original document image is acquired based on the code data generated from the code image. The document output unit 24 outputs the original document image with a code image added thereto.

  When the original copy button 40 is selected, the code image is extracted from the document image acquired from the document reading unit 16, and the original document image is acquired based on the code data generated from the code image. Then, a code image is added to the original document image, and an image representing an additional portion such as additional writing is added among the different portion images, and the image is output.

  When the difference copy button 42 is selected, the difference portion image is output by the document output unit 24. It should be noted that as shown in FIG. 7 (a), it is possible to output only the added part of the different part image, or delete the different part image as shown in FIG. 7 (b). Only the portion where the deletion such as the above has been performed may be output.

  Here, the operation of the document processing apparatus 10 in the automatic mode will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the document processing apparatus 10 in the automatic mode. As shown in the figure, in the automatic mode, the document reading unit 16 reads a duplicate document image from a medium such as paper set therein, and the control unit 18 acquires the image (S101). Next, the information extraction unit 32 extracts a code image from the duplicate document image acquired from the document reading unit 16 (S102). At this time, if the extraction of the code image fails (S103), the image acquired from the document reading unit 16 is directly passed to the document output unit 24, and the image is printed on a medium such as paper and output (S111).

  On the other hand, if the code image is successfully extracted (S103), the code data is decoded from the code image (S104). At this time, if the decoding of the code data fails (S105), the image acquired from the document reading unit 16 is directly passed to the document output unit 24, and the image is printed on a medium such as paper and output (S111).

  If the decoding of the code data is successful (S105), the original document image whose location is specified by the code data is acquired from the document management server 14 (S106). At this time, if acquisition of the original document image fails due to troubles such as the data communication network 12 or the document management server 14 (S107), the image acquired from the document reading unit 16 is directly passed to the document output unit 24, and the image is displayed. Printing on a medium such as paper and outputting (S111).

  On the other hand, if acquisition of the original document image is successful (S107), the original document image (image data) is rasterized (imaged) (S108), and the original document image and the duplicate document image are collated (S109). That is, after aligning both images, a difference between the two images is generated. And an output image is produced | generated based on the difference location image obtained in this way (S110). Here, the original document image combined with the different portion image is output by the document output unit 24. However, the document output unit 24 may output all or a part of the different portion image.

  According to the document processing apparatus 10 described above, when a change such as addition or deletion is added to the duplicate document, the change information can be displayed on the output document to notify the user.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the information of the original document is not limited to the code image, but may be combined with all or part of the background of the duplicate document. The code image may be a two-dimensional code or a one-dimensional code such as a barcode.

  Further, the information of the duplicate document is not limited to information indicating the location of the duplicate document image data, and may be information capable of decoding the duplicate document image itself. Furthermore, the duplicate document image may be stored in the document processing apparatus 10 itself as well as stored in the document management server 14.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of a document processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of an original document. It is a figure which shows an example of a replication document. It is a figure which shows the example of a process with respect to a replication document. It is a figure which shows an example of the menu image displayed on the user interface part of a document processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a process with respect to a replication document. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a document processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Document processing apparatus, 12 Data communication network, 14 Document management server, 16 Document reading part, 18 Control part, 20 Data communication part, 22 User interface part, 24 Document output part, 26 Output image generation part, 28 Difference part image generation 30, original document acquisition unit, 32 information extraction unit, 34 code image, 36 normal copy button, 38 original print button, 40 original copy button, 42 differential copy button.

Claims (7)

A duplicate document image obtaining unit for obtaining a duplicate document image representing the duplicate document;
An original document image acquisition means for acquiring an original document image based on information on the original document represented in the duplicate document;
By performing image processing including differential image generation processing on the original document image and the duplicate document image , a different portion image that represents all or part of the difference between the duplicate document and the original document is generated. Difference image generation means;
Document output means for outputting a document based on a composite image of the difference image and the original document image ;
Color information determining means for determining color information of the different portion image based on color information of the original document image when combining the different portion image and the original document image;
A document processing apparatus comprising: The document processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The information relating to the original document is information representing a storage location of the original document image,
The document processing apparatus, wherein the original document image acquisition unit acquires the original document image stored in a storage location represented by information on the original document. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The document processing apparatus, wherein the original document image is stored in a storage unit connected to the document processing apparatus via a network. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
An original document output means for outputting the original document based on the original document image;
Selective output means for selectively performing output of the original document by the original document output means or output of the document by the document output means;
A document processing apparatus further comprising: The document processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
A judgment means for judging an addition place and a deletion place in the difference place image;
The document processing device outputs the added portion and the deleted portion in the document based on the different portion image in different output forms based on the determination result by the determining portion. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1,
When the original document image acquisition unit cannot acquire the original document image,
The document output means outputs the duplicate document image instead of the document based on a composite image of the difference image and the original document image.
A document processing apparatus characterized by that. A duplicate document image obtaining means for obtaining a duplicate document image representing the duplicate document;
An original document image acquisition means for acquiring an original document image based on information about the original document represented in the duplicate document;
By performing image processing including differential image generation processing on the original document image and the duplicate document image , a different portion image that represents all or part of the difference between the duplicate document and the original document is generated. Difference image generation means,
A document output instruction means for instructing the document output means to output a document based on a composite image of the difference image and the original document image ; and
A program for causing a computer to function as color information determination means for determining color information of the difference portion image based on color information of the original document image when the difference portion image and the original document image are synthesized .

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