JPH09185695A - Image recognition system, document processing device, computer and camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately recognize the image of an object through a simple operation by displaying a frame on a screen to prescribe an image recognition range, adjusting the distance between a camera and the object via a user so as to satisfactorily show the object image within the frame, and fetching the image out of the frame to process it. SOLUTION: An image recognition part 122 of a control part 12 includes an image fetch means 122a which fetches the image data out of a display frame, etc. When an address bar code printed on a postcard, for example, is recognized in an image, a user sets an address bar code display frame by means of a keyboard 3 and a mouse 4 and then photographs the address bar code via a video camera 2 by moving the camera close to and away from the postcard. Then the user instructs to fetch the image of the printed address bar code when this bar code is totally and satisfactorily shown within the display frame so as not to include the images other than that of the bar code. Under such conditions, the image of the address bar code is shown within the display frame as a still picture.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recognition system for recognizing an image captured by a camera, a document processing device such as a word processor equipped with this image recognition system, a computer equipped with this image recognition system, and this image recognition system. It relates to a camera that supplies images to the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dedicated OCR (optical character reading device), a bar code reader, a business card reading device or the like has been used for image recognition of characters, barcodes, business cards and the like. On the other hand, recently, a word processor and a personal computer having a function of capturing an image captured by a camera such as a video camera or a digital camera and processing the image have been developed, and it is necessary to capture a subject with the camera and include it in the image. If the information can be image-recognized, it is not necessary to equip a dedicated reading device according to the type of subject, as described above.

[0003]

However, in the image of the camera, necessary information, that is, the size occupied by the object to be image-recognized changes depending on the distance between the camera and the object, so that the object can be accurately recognized. Is difficult. At this time, it is conceivable to keep the distance between the camera and the subject constant and fix the image to be recognized to a certain size. However, in order to keep the distance between the camera and the subject constant, the camera should be kept at a certain distance. A special equipment such as a camera stand for fixing the position and a member for supporting a subject at a certain distance from the camera stand is required, resulting in an increase in the cost of the apparatus. Further, if the high-performance camera having the continuous zoom function is used, the above-mentioned problem can be avoided, but the cost of the apparatus increases.

Further, in the case of image recognition of a strip-shaped bar code, if all the bar codes are included in the image captured by the camera, a wide range other than the bar code is captured, so the bar code in the image must be specified. It is difficult to accurately recognize the image.

Further, in the case of recognizing an image using a manual focus camera, the subject must be focused each time the image is taken unless the distance between the camera and the subject is constant. At this time, if it is attempted to keep the distance between the camera and the subject constant in order to save the effort of focusing, the cost of the apparatus increases as in the above case.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. Before capturing an image, a range for image recognition is designated, a frame defining this range is displayed on the screen, The user adjusts the distance between the camera and the subject so that the image of the object to be image-recognized is displayed within the frame, and the image within the frame is captured and image-processed, so that the target can be easily operated. This is an image recognition system with good operability that allows accurate image recognition, and allows easy adjustment of the distance between the camera and the subject without the need for special equipment. An object of the present invention is to provide a document processing device equipped with an image recognition system and a computer equipped with this image recognition system.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing a means for changing the range to be image-recognized, the object to be image-recognized can be a strip-shaped strip like a bar code or a square like a business card. Another object of the present invention is to provide a highly versatile image recognition system capable of accurately recognizing an image, a document processing apparatus including the image recognition system, and a computer including the image recognition system.

Further, according to the present invention, a focus adjustment unit of a manual focus camera displays a focus position at which an object to be recognized is focused at a distance at which the image to be recognized is displayed in an area to be recognized. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a camera with good operability, which does not require focus adjustment each time shooting is performed by indicating by clicking or the like.

[0009]

An image recognition system according to a first aspect of the present invention is an image recognition system in which an image of an object including an image recognition target is subjected to image processing to recognize the target.
Means for designating a predetermined range on the screen for image recognition, means for displaying a frame defining the designated predetermined range on the screen, camera, means for displaying an image captured by the camera on the screen, and the frame. Means to capture the image displayed inside,
And a means for image-processing the captured image.

In the image recognition system of the second invention, in the image recognition system for image-recognizing an image of a subject including an image-recognition target imaged by a camera, the image is recognized on the screen. Means for designating a predetermined range, means for displaying a frame defining the designated predetermined range on the screen, means for inputting an image captured by the camera, means for displaying the image on the screen, and within the frame It is characterized in that it is provided with a unit for capturing the displayed image and a unit for performing image processing on the captured image.

In the image recognition system of the first and second inventions, when the user specifies a predetermined range on the screen as a range for image recognition, a frame defining the specified predetermined range is displayed on the screen, and the user recognizes the image. Adjust the distance between the camera and the subject so that the target image of
The image recognition system captures an image in a frame, performs image processing, and recognizes an object to be image-recognized. Therefore, the image of the object can be accurately recognized by a simple operation, and the distance between the camera and the subject can be easily adjusted to a distance at which accurate image recognition can be performed without providing dedicated equipment.

An image recognition system of a third invention is characterized by including means for changing the predetermined range of the first or second invention. Therefore, even if the object to be image-recognized is a strip-shaped strip such as a bar code or a square such as a business card, the image can be accurately recognized.

The image recognition system of the fourth invention is characterized in that the object of the image recognition of the first or second invention is a bar code.

The image recognition system of the fifth invention is characterized in that the object of the image recognition of the first or second invention is a business card.

A document processing apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention comprises first to fifth aspects.
The image recognition system according to any one of the inventions is provided.

A computer according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes first to fifth aspects.
The image recognition system according to any one of the inventions is provided.

A camera according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is a manual focus adjustment type camera, wherein a focus adjustment unit for moving a focus position is a subject whose image recognition target image is displayed within the frame without excess or deficiency. It is characterized in that a focus position at which an object of image recognition is focused at a distance is shown. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the focus each time photographing is performed.

[0018]

1 is a schematic view of the appearance of a word processor equipped with an image recognition system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram thereof, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of its screen display. In the figure, 1 is a word processor main body, and a video input terminal V for inputting an image from the video camera 2,
A display 11 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying an image captured by the video camera 2 is provided. A display frame of an image to be image-processed is preset on the display 11 according to the type of the image recognition target included in the input image. In this example, as an object of recognition, an elongated strip-shaped address bar code or a square business card including 7-digit postal code data and address data is taken as an example, and each image of the bar code and the business card can be displayed without excess or deficiency. Shape and size display frame 11a (see FIG. 1) and display frame 11b (see FIG. 3)
And are preset.

The word processor main unit 1 also includes a keyboard 3 and a mouse 4 as data input means and a display frame 11a.
The video camera 2 is connected as a specification means of 11b.
Image input from, type of recognition target (address bar code,
Business card), image processing and recognition in the display frame 11a or 11b, change of the size of the display frame, editing of the address book DB14 described later, postcard address printing, and various data necessary for executing the command To be done. The user inputs the type of recognition target (“address bar code” or “business card”) and displays it
11a or 11b can be set, or the display frame can be arbitrarily set according to the shape of the recognition target.

The word processor body 1 is a display
A frame buffer 18 for buffering 11 screens of image data is provided.
The image display controller 121 controls the display of various images such as images from the video camera 2 that are buffered in the display 11. Furthermore, the image display control unit 12
Reference numeral 1 denotes a display frame setting means 121a for displaying the size of the display frame on the display 11 in accordance with the instruction content input from the keyboard 3 and the mouse 4 in a preset size or an instructed size. Including.

The control unit 12 also performs image processing on the image displayed in the display frame 11a, and the bar code table 1 to be described later.
7. Based on the recognition result of the image recognition unit 122 and the image recognition unit 122 that recognizes the object (address) by referring to the zip code dictionary 13, or according to the instruction content input from the keyboard 3 or the mouse 4. The address book database (D
B) Refer to the data of the address book DB 14 and the bar code table 17 according to the instruction contents input from the address book DB editing unit 123, the keyboard 3 and the mouse 4 for creating / editing 14 to print the postcard address, etc. A print control unit 124 for controlling is provided.

Further, the image recognition unit 122 displays the display frames 11a and 11b in the display 11 among the image data buffered in the frame buffer 18 in accordance with the instruction of the image acquisition from the keyboard 3 and the mouse 4. An image capturing means 122a for capturing the image data in the display frames 11a and 11b based on the address, and an image capturing means 12
The image processing unit 122b performs image processing such as feature extraction of image data captured by 2a.

The word processor body 1 includes a zip code dictionary 13 in which a 7-digit zip code and an address notation corresponding to the zip code are registered, and an address in which the name, zip code, and address notation are registered. Recording DB14 (see Figure 5),
A bar code table 17 in which a bar code and numerical data are associated with each other is provided. Further, the word processor main body 1 has a printer 16 built therein, and includes a print buffer 15 for temporarily buffering print data from the printer 16.

The video camera 2 as an image capturing means may be a manual focus camera whose enlarged view is shown in FIG. In the camera of the present invention, the focus adjustment unit 21 displays the address bar code on the display frame 11a without excess or deficiency. The focus position (for the address bar code) 21a at which the address bar code is in focus at the distance between the camera and the subject. Is clearly stated. Focus position 21
The means for indicating a may be a position display or a click may be provided.

When an image of an address bar code printed on a postcard is image-recognized by the word processor equipped with the image recognition system of the present invention having the above-described structure, the user uses the keyboard 3 and the mouse 4 to recognize the address bar code. After setting the display frame 11a, postcard 5 with video camera 2
When the distance between the address bar code printed on the postcard is displayed in the display frame 11a and the image other than the address bar code is displayed without excess or deficiency while shooting near or far away from When you instruct to import an image, the image of the address barcode at the time of the instruction is displayed in the display frame 11a.
Is displayed as a still image inside. At this time, when the manual focus camera of the present invention is used as the image capturing means, the focus adjusting unit 21 is adjusted to the focus position for the address barcode.

When the user gives an instruction to recognize the image in the display frame 11a, the word processor instructed to recognize the image processes the image in the display frame 11a, and the resulting address barcode is used as the postal code data. And the address data, refer to the bar code table 17 to convert into numerical data, and then refer to the postal code dictionary 13 to convert the postal code data into address notation to recognize the address bar code. ,
The recognition result 11c is displayed on the display 11.

Further, a procedure for creating an address book DB by a word processor having a bar code reading function including the image recognition system of the present invention will be described with reference to the conceptual view of the address book DB of FIG. 5 and the flowchart of FIG. . When the address barcode printed on a postcard, a business card, or the like is input (S1) by scanning the barcode with the camera or reading the barcode with the barcode reader in the image recognition system of the present invention, the address barcode is changed to 7 The digit postal code data and the other address data, that is, the address data are analyzed (S2).

Further, referring to the zip code dictionary 13, the zip code data is converted into the address notation, and the zip code data, the address notation data, and the address data are corresponded to the name read or input by the character. It is attached and registered in the address book DB 14 (S3) (see FIG. 5 (a)). At this time, it is possible to edit the database by inputting from the keyboard 3 and the mouse 4 to correct the registered address notation "2-5-5" into "2-5-5" ( S
4) (see FIG. 5 (b)).

A procedure for printing an address on a postcard using the data of the address book DB created by the above-described procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the print result diagram of FIG. The destination data including the name, zip code, and address of the recipient and sender of the postcard designated by the user with the keyboard, mouse, etc. is retrieved from the address book DB 14 (S
11). Based on the destination data retrieved from the address book DB14,
Recipient print data (bar code, postal code, address,
A name) is created (S12) and developed in the print buffer 15 corresponding to the print position (S13).

To create the bar code, specifically, the address data in the address list DB 14 is decomposed into "administrative district + large letters" or "administrative district + town area" and other address data. For example,
In the case of "180, Anpachi-cho, Anpachi-gun, Gifu Prefecture", it is decomposed into "Apachi-cho, Anpachi-gun, Gifu Prefecture" which corresponds to "administrative district + large letters" and "180-address" other than that. Next, refer to the postal code dictionary 18 for "Apachi-cho, Anpachi-gun, Gifu Prefecture" and refer to the 7-digit postal code "50
30155 ”, while the number“ 180 ”is converted to the number“ 180
”Is extracted. These numeral data are combined, the numeral is converted into a barcode by referring to the barcode table 17, and a check code is added.

Next, based on the destination data retrieved from the address book DB 14, printing data (bar code / postal code / address / name) of the sender is created in the same manner as described above (S1).
4) The data is expanded in the print buffer 15 corresponding to the print position (S15). When the printer 16 performs print processing (postcard printing) based on the data expanded in the print buffer 15,
A print result as shown in FIG. 8 is obtained.

[0032]

As described above, the image recognition system of the present invention, the document processing apparatus equipped with this image recognition system, and the computer equipped with this image recognition system determine the range to be image-recognized before capturing an image. The frame that specifies this range is displayed on the screen, and the user adjusts the distance between the camera and the subject so that the target image to be image-recognized is displayed within the frame. Since it captures the image and processes it, you can accurately recognize the object with a simple operation,
In addition, it is possible to easily adjust the distance between the camera and the subject to a distance that allows accurate image recognition without providing dedicated equipment, and it is possible to achieve an excellent effect that the operability is good and the cost is low.

Further, the image recognition system of the present invention, the document processing apparatus equipped with this image recognition system, and the computer equipped with this image recognition system have means for changing the range for image recognition. Even if the target is an elongated strip like a bar code or a square like a business card, the image can be accurately recognized and the versatility is high.

Further, in the camera of the present invention, the focus adjusting section of the manual focus camera is provided with a focus position at which the object to be recognized is in focus in the area where the image to be recognized is displayed in the area to be image-recognized. Since it is indicated by displaying, clicking, etc., it is not necessary to adjust the focus each time photographing is performed, and the excellent effect of good operability is achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an external appearance of a word processor including an image recognition system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a word processor including the image recognition system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a display frame by a word processor provided with the image recognition system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a focus adjustment unit of the camera of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an address book database created by a word processor equipped with the image recognition system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a procedure for creating an address book database by a word processor having a barcode reading function including the image recognition system of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an address printing procedure using an address book database.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example of a postcard on which an address is printed by the procedure shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 word processor main body 11 display 11a display frame (for address barcode) 11b display frame (for business card) 12 control unit 121 image display control unit 121a display frame setting unit 122 image recognition unit 122a image capturing unit 122b image processing unit 17 bar code table 18 Frame buffer 2 Video camera 21 Focus adjustment part 21a Focus position (for address bar code) 3 Keyboard 4 Mouse 5 Subject (postcard) V Video input terminal

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. In an image recognition system for image-recognizing an image of a subject including an image recognition target, the means for designating a predetermined range on a screen for image recognition, and the designated predetermined range. Means for displaying on the screen a frame defining the above, a means for displaying the image captured by the camera on the screen, a means for capturing the image displayed in the frame, and a means for processing the captured image. An image recognition system comprising: 2. In an image recognition system for image-recognizing an image of an object including an object for image recognition, which is imaged by a camera, and means for designating a predetermined range on a screen for image recognition. A means for displaying a frame defining a specified predetermined range on the screen, a means for inputting an image captured by the camera, a means for displaying the image on the screen,
An image recognition system comprising: a unit for capturing an image displayed in the frame; and a unit for image-processing the captured image. 3. The image recognition system according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing the predetermined range. 4. The image recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the object of image recognition is a bar code. 5. The image recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the object of image recognition is a business card. 6. A document processing apparatus provided with the image recognition system according to claim 1. 7. A computer provided with the image recognition system according to claim 1. 8. A manual focus adjustment type camera, wherein a focus adjustment unit for moving a focus position is used for image recognition at a distance from a subject in which an image to be image-recognized is displayed in the frame without excess or deficiency. A camera characterized in that a focus position at which an object is in focus is shown.