JP2010011455A - Image-forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for obtaining a precise image area identification result even in a copy original of a plurality of generations, and for obtaining a high-function electronic file. <P>SOLUTION: An image-forming device has: a document image input means for inputting a document image to generate an input document image, namely image data; an image area information input means for inputting image area information created for each image area of the document image; an image formation means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded; and a watermarked document image composite means for compositing the input document and watermark images to form a watermarked document image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique capable of obtaining a highly accurate image area identification result even for a plurality of generations of copy originals and obtaining a highly functional electronic file.

  Conventional printers, MFPs, image forming apparatuses (hereinafter abbreviated as “copiers”), and the like perform image area identification that identifies the type of image when reproducing original image data read by scanning a document. Based on the image area identification result, image processing suitable for various image types (such as filtering of original image data) is executed, and then output to the printing apparatus.

  Here, the reason for determining the image type in each area of the document image is that, for example, even on the same document, it is necessary to perform different filter processes for the character area and the graphic area. As a method for separating a document image into a plurality of regions and identifying the type of image for each region, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

  On the other hand, with the spread of networks such as e-mail and Web services, the frequency of sending and distributing electronic files via the network is increasing. At this time, if the electronic file is distributed in the output file format of word processing software or presentation software, it is easily falsified. As a simple method for preventing such falsification, an image once printed out is scanned in, converted into an image file such as JPEG / TIFF / PDF, and distributed. However, there are disadvantages such as that it is difficult to reuse the search if the image file remains, and the file capacity is large.

Therefore, in order to reuse the search or the like, for example, a character area is extracted from the input image using the image identification process proposed in Patent Document 1, and keyword search is performed by performing OCR processing on the extracted character area. Can create a file that can.
In addition, in order to reduce the file capacity, the input image is divided into character areas and natural image areas, and the image data is compressed by a method suitable for each of the character areas and natural image areas, thereby achieving high-compression and high-quality images. A method for realizing reproduction has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  As described above, by dividing the input image into the character image area and the natural image image area by using the image identification process, it is possible to realize reuse of search and the like, high compression of the file capacity, and the like. However, generally there is no perfect identification technique, and there is a possibility that misidentification always occurs.

  In particular, it is well known that a copy original that has been copied for many generations by a copying machine is deteriorated in image quality as compared with an original original. For this reason, the image area identification result for the generation copy image obtained by reading such a copy document has a lower identification accuracy than the image area identification result for the original document.

  This applies not only to the copy original by the copying machine but also to the output original by the printer. That is, when a printed image is scanned and input to create a highly functional electronic file, there is a possibility that erroneous identification may occur in the image identification process.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can obtain a highly accurate image area identification result even for a plurality of generations of copy originals, and can obtain a highly functional electronic file. The purpose is to provide technology.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention inputs document image input means for generating an input document image as image data by inputting a document image, and image area information created for each image area of the document image. Image area information input means, watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded, and watermarked document image composition for synthesizing the input document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image An image forming apparatus.

  The present invention also provides a document data input means for inputting document data, a document image forming means for forming a document image which is image data from the document data, and an image area created for each image area in the document data. Image area information input means for inputting information, watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded, and a watermarked document for synthesizing the document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image An image forming apparatus having image composition means.

  According to the present invention, a highly accurate image area identification result can be obtained even for a copy document of a plurality of generations, and a highly functional electronic file can be obtained.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the content of the input document image and image area information. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a conventional image forming method. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus corresponding to an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the image processing performed by an image processing means. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the image processing apparatus corresponding to the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. 9 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing input document data and output document image data when the document image forming unit is RIP. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment. The figure which shows the image area information obtained by the image identification means of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the specific extraction method and extraction information in case an image area information extraction means is mounted in RIP. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment. The figure explaining the function of an image area information edit means. The figure which shows an example of edit of image area information. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a sixth embodiment. The figure explaining the function of an image area information edit means. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a seventh embodiment. The figure explaining the function of an image area information edit means. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. The figure which shows the content of the input document image and image area information. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image forming method using a conventional technique. The figure which shows the image area information extracted from the watermark image embedded in the input document image. The figure which shows the image area information obtained by the image identification means. The figure explaining the structure and operation | movement of an apparatus which obtains a high quality generation copy. The figure which shows the image processing example performed by an image processing means. The figure explaining the structure and operation | movement of an apparatus which obtains a highly compressed electronic file. The block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the operation example of the image area information synthetic | combination means at the time of using the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment as OCR pre-processing. The figure which shows the operation example of the image area information synthetic | combination means at the time of using the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment for high compression file preparation. The figure which shows the operation example of the image area information synthetic | combination means at the time of using the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment for the identification signal production | generation for copiers. The block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of image area information obtained by the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus of 4th Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the image area information obtained by the image processing apparatus of 4th Embodiment.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.
Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The image forming apparatus includes document image input means 101, image area information input means 102, watermark image formation means 103, and watermark document composition means 104.

  In operation 201, the document image input unit 101 inputs a document image. Here, the document image input unit 101 is, for example, a scanner mounted on an MFP or a copier, and the input document image is a paper document. In operation 202, the image area information input unit 102 inputs image area information created in advance based on the input document image.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the input document image and image area information. A document image 301 in FIG. 3A includes image areas of a title 302, a body 303, and a natural image 304. In order to extract the image area information from the document image 301, for example, as shown in the document image 305 of FIG. 3B, each image area (306, 307, 308) is viewed with the mouse while the user is viewing the screen. Is enclosed in a rectangle and each attribute is specified from the keyboard.

As described above, the image area information 309 shown in FIG. 3C is created from the rectangular coordinate position and attribute of each image area designated by the user and input to the image area information input means 102. The image area information includes attributes (title / text / natural image) and coordinate positions (310, 311 and 312).
In this embodiment, the coordinate position and the title / text / natural image attributes are input as image area information. For example, in the case of an image area of character attributes, the character color, character code, and natural image are input. Information such as landscape images / person images can also be input as image area information.

  In operation 203, the watermark image forming unit 103 forms a watermark image in which the image area information extracted by the image area information input unit 102 is embedded. Further, in operation 204, the watermark document synthesizing unit 104 synthesizes the document image output from the document image input unit 101 and the watermark image output from the watermark image forming unit 103 to form an image in which watermark information is embedded. To do.

  Various methods have already been disclosed for the formation of watermark images and images with embedded watermark information. For example, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-101762, information is embedded in a document by embedding black pixels in a predetermined method in the background of the document.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an image forming method using the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-101762.
The document image 401 is output from the document image input unit 101, the image area information output from the image area information input unit 102 is converted into a watermark image 402 by the watermark image forming unit 103, and the document image 401 and the watermark image 402 are converted into a watermark document. A document 403 in which watermark information is embedded is obtained by combining by the combining means 104.

Next, a method for obtaining a high-quality generation copy from a document in which watermark information obtained using the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is embedded will be described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus corresponding to the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

The document image input unit 501 inputs a document image in which the above-described image area information output on paper is embedded as a watermark image. Here, the document image input means 501 is an MFP or a scanner of a copying machine. Next, the watermark information extraction unit 502 extracts the embedded image area information. As a technique for extracting watermark information used here, for example, the technique described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-101762 can be used.
Subsequently, the image processing unit 503 performs image processing suitable for each image area on the document image output from the document image input unit 501 using the extracted image area information.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of image processing performed by the image processing unit 503. Examples of image processing include filter processing and gradation processing. For example, for natural images, blur filter processing is applied to crush halftone dots in the input image to prevent moire due to interference with halftone dots during image output, and character edges are emphasized for character images. Apply an edge enhancement filter to. Also, in gradation processing, natural images are subjected to gradation processing with a low number of lines to emphasize gradation rather than resolution, and character images are subjected to gradations with a high number of lines to emphasize resolution. Apply processing.

  Finally, the image output unit 504 outputs an image that has been subjected to image processing. As a means for outputting an image, there is a printing unit of an MFP or a copying machine.

  As described above, an accurate image area identification result can be used by obtaining image area information from information embedded as a watermark instead of identifying an image area for a deteriorated copy image. Further, by inputting again the image area information obtained from the watermark into the image area information input means 102 shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate image area identification result regardless of how many generations are copied.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the image processing apparatus corresponding to the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment. In this image processing apparatus, a highly compressed electronic file is obtained from a document in which watermark information is embedded.

  The document image input unit 701 inputs a document image in which the above-described image area information output on paper is embedded as a watermark image. Next, the watermark information extracting unit 702 extracts the embedded image area information. Subsequently, the image dividing unit 703 divides the document image output from the document image input unit 701 into a character image and a natural image using the extracted image area information.

  High-quality and high-compression can be achieved by compressing the divided character images and natural images using methods suitable for each. For example, as the first compression unit 704 for compressing a character image, MMR compression that can handle only a binary image but does not deteriorate (reversible) is used. Further, as the second compression unit 705 for compressing the natural image, JPEG compression suitable for a gradation image is used although the high frequency component of the image is lost. Finally, the image combining unit 706 combines the compressed character image and the compressed natural image.

  As described above, it is possible to obtain a high-quality and highly-compressed image file by performing image processing using the embedded image area information without identifying an image area of a copy image that has deteriorated.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a schematic operation of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.
The configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The image forming apparatus includes document data input means 801, document image formation means 802, image area information input means 803, watermark image formation means 804, and watermark document composition means 805.

  In operation 901, the document data input unit 901 inputs document data. The document data input here is an application file on the PC, GDI output from the application, PDL (page description language) output from the printer driver, and the like.

  In operation 902, the document image forming unit 802 forms image data such as GDI, PDL, and raster data from the input document data. The document image forming unit 802 is an application on a PC, a printer driver, a RIP (raster image processor), or the like.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing input document data and output document image data when the document image forming unit 802 is RIP. The input document data is mainly PDL created by the printer driver, and the document data 1001 in FIG. 10A is a specific example. The document data 1001 includes character image area data 1002 and 1003 and natural image area data 1004.

  A document image forming unit 802 which is a RIP outputs a raster image as document image data. A specific example is a raster image 1005 shown in FIG. Character image data 1006 and 1007 in the raster image 1005 are character document images formed from the character image area data 1002 and 1003 of the input PDL, respectively, and display of font names, font sizes, and characters described in the PDL. A bitmap image is formed according to information such as position, character color, character string size, and character string data (character code).

  The natural image data 1008 in the raster image 1005 is a document image of a natural image formed from the natural image data 1004 of the input PDL, and the size, position, color information, bit number, compression method, and image data of the image. A bitmap image is formed according to information such as (bitmap data). Usually, the raster image formed in this way is output to paper via a print engine.

  The image area information input unit 803, the watermark image forming unit 804, and the watermark document synthesizing unit 805 shown in FIG. 8 perform the same processing as the units corresponding to the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, in operation 903, the image area information input unit 803 inputs image area information created by the user based on the document data. In operation 904, the watermark image forming unit 804 inputs the watermark image in which the image area information is embedded. Form. In operation 905, the watermark document composition unit 805 forms a composite image in which watermark information is embedded.

  If the image processing apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7 is used, a high-quality image and high-quality / high-compression can be obtained regardless of how many generations of document images printed by the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment are copied. An electronic file can be obtained.

[Third embodiment]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes document image input means 1101, image identification means 1102, watermark image formation means 1103, and watermark document composition means 1104.

  The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes an image identification unit 1102. That is, in the third embodiment, the image area information is not created by the user, but the image area information is extracted by automatically identifying the image area of the input document image. Is different.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating image area information obtained by the image identification unit 1102 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12A shows an input document image 1201. FIG. 12B is image area information 1205 obtained by the image identification unit 1102. As a means for identifying an image area such as a character image or a natural image from the document image 1201, there is a known technique. As the image identification means 1102, for example, a technique proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-39430 is used. be able to.

  In the third embodiment, an image is synthesized using the result of image identification processing performed on an original document (document image) whose image quality has not deteriorated. Therefore, it is possible to always use a highly accurate image area identification result. This makes it possible to obtain a highly accurate image area identification result regardless of how many generations are copied. Also, it is possible to obtain an electronic file with high image quality and high compression.

[Fourth embodiment]
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.
The image forming apparatus includes document data input means 1301, document image formation means 1302, image area information extraction means 1303, watermark image formation means 1304, and watermark document composition means 1305.

  The fourth embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that an image area information extracting unit 1303 is provided. That is, in the fourth embodiment, the image area information is not created by the user, but the image area information is extracted by automatically identifying the image area of the input document data. Is different.

The image area information extraction unit 1303 extracts specific image area information from the input document data. The image area information extraction unit 1303 is realized in an application, a printer driver, or a RIP.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a specific extraction method and extraction information when the image area information extraction unit 1303 is implemented in the RIP. FIG. 14A shows the input document data 1401. The document data 1401 is PDL. The document data 1401 includes a character string 1402, a character string 1403, a character string of three lines of a character string 1404, and a natural image 1405.

An image area extraction unit 1303 extracts attributes, coordinates, character colors, and the like of the image area from the PDL. FIG. 14B shows the extracted image area information 1406.
Specifically, the image area extraction unit 1303 extracts the image area information 1407 of the first image area from the character string data 1402 in the document data 1401 and specifies the attribute of the first image area as a character. . The image area extraction unit 1303 determines that the set of the lower left coordinates (x1, y1) and the upper right coordinates (x2, y2) of the first image area is (20, 70) from the position information and the character string size information of the character string data 1402. )-(80, 90). Further, the image area extraction unit 1303 extracts the character color of the first image area from the character color information in the character string data 1402.

Similar processing is repeated for the character strings 1403 and 1404 and the natural image 1405 to generate image area information 1406.
Note that the image area information extracted in the present embodiment includes image area attributes, coordinates, and character colors. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information described in the document data and the information are processed. Any information obtained by adding can be extracted.

  In the fourth embodiment, accurate image area information is extracted using document data. Accordingly, erroneous identification due to the use of the image identification processing can be avoided. As a result, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate image area identification result regardless of how many generations are copied. Also, it is possible to obtain an electronic file with high image quality and high compression.

[Fifth embodiment]
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes a document image input unit 1501, an image identification unit 1502, an image area information editing unit 1503, a watermark image forming unit 1504, and a watermark document synthesizing unit 1505.

  The fifth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that an image area information editing unit 1503 is provided. When highly functional electronic data is obtained from an image formed by incorporating image area information, not only character image / photographic image information but also more detailed information may be required. For example, if a character area can be identified and an attribute “title” can be identified, advanced processing such as performing OCR processing on the title area and assigning a file name based on the result is possible.

However, in order to obtain such detailed information, the image identification means 1502 requires a very advanced technique. For this reason, detailed information may not be output or erroneous identification may occur.
In addition, there is a limit to the amount of information that can be embedded using a watermark or the like. Therefore, for example, if information is embedded in the order extracted by the image area information extraction unit 1303 (FIG. 13) without assigning priorities, there is a possibility that important image area information notably representing the document cannot be embedded. There is.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the function of the image area information editing unit 1503. FIG. 16A shows the input document image 1601. FIG. 16B shows the image area information 1606 output by the image identification unit 1502. FIG. 16 (3) shows image area information 1618 that has been edited with necessary information added by the user, rewritten with other information, or given priority. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the image area information 1606 is described in order of priority.

  The image area information 1606 output by the image identification unit 1502 is described in the order in which the document is simply scanned in the order of top → bottom and left → right. First, an example of image area information addition will be described. In general, when image areas overlap in image identification processing, erroneous identification is likely to occur. Therefore, it is assumed that the character “MFP” in the natural image 1605 in the document image 1601 cannot be extracted due to omission of extraction due to misidentification. In this case, the user edits the image area information 1618 and adds the attribute information 1625 and the position information 1626 to the character string “MFP” as the fifth image area.

  Next, an example of image area information deletion will be shown. When reusing an image formed by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, if there is already a rule that the character is black unless there is a description of the character color, the information “black character” is unnecessary. Therefore, the character color information (1609, 1615) of the first image area and the third image area of the image area information 1606 is deleted from the image area information 1618.

  Next, an example of information rewriting is shown. In the image area information 1606, the attribute of any character image area is simply extracted as “character”. On the other hand, the image area information 1618 after editing is further classified into “title” and “text” (1619, 1621, 1623).

  Finally, an example of rewriting priority is shown. In the present embodiment, the character image area is prioritized over the natural image area, and the priority of the character color information is the lowest. As a result, in the image area information 1618, the priority order of the natural image image area information 1627 and 1628 is low, and the character color 1629 of the second image area has the lowest priority order.

  The image area information editing unit 1503 selects information in the order of predetermined priority, and the watermark image forming unit 1504 creates a watermark image in which information up to the limit information amount is embedded. For example, when only four pieces of image area information can be embedded, attribute information (1619) of the first image area, position information (1620), attribute information of the second image area (1621), position information (1622). ) To create a watermark image in which only four pieces of image area information are embedded.

  The image area information editing unit 1503 edits image area information by exchanging information with the user via, for example, a control panel. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of editing image area information. When the user designates one of the areas (1702, 1703, 1704) in the document image 1701 and inputs to edit the attribute, a pull-down menu 1705 is displayed. Therefore, when the user selects a title, text, character, natural image, or the like from this pull-down menu, the selected information is reflected in the image area information 1618.

  In the fifth embodiment, since the priority of important image area information is increased, it is possible to use highly accurate image area information. This makes it possible to obtain a highly accurate image area identification result regardless of how many generations are copied. Also, it is possible to obtain an electronic file with high image quality and high compression.

[Sixth embodiment]
FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the sixth embodiment.
The image forming apparatus includes document data input means 1801, document image forming means 1802, image area information extracting means 1803, image area information editing means 1804, watermark image forming means 1805, and watermark document composition means 1806.

  The sixth embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that an image area information editing unit 1804 is provided.

In many cases, the input document data includes only data for forming an image. For this reason, when trying to obtain highly functional electronic data later, other information may be required.
Further, when embedding image area information using a watermark or the like, there is a limit to the amount of information that can be embedded. Therefore, for example, if image area information is embedded in the order extracted by the image area information extraction unit 1803 without assigning priorities, there is a possibility that important image area information notably representing the document cannot be embedded. .

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the function of the image area information editing unit 1804. FIG. 19 (1) shows the input document data 1901. FIG. 19 (2) shows the image area information 1906 output by the image area information extraction unit 1803. FIG. 19 (3) shows image area information 1918 that has been edited with necessary information added by the user, rewritten with other information, or given priority. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the image area information 1906 is described in order of priority.

The image area information editing unit 1804 according to the sixth embodiment operates in the same manner as the image area information editing unit 1503 according to the fifth embodiment. Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.
In the sixth embodiment, since the priority of important image area information is increased, it is possible to use highly accurate image area information. This makes it possible to obtain a highly accurate image area identification result regardless of how many generations are copied. Also, it is possible to obtain an electronic file with high image quality and high compression.

[Seventh embodiment]
FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the seventh embodiment.
The image forming apparatus includes a document data input unit 2001, a document image forming unit 2002, an image area information extracting unit 2003, an image area information editing unit 2004, a watermark image forming unit 2005, and a watermark document synthesizing unit 2006.

  The functions of the image area information editing unit 2004 (1804) are different between the seventh embodiment and the sixth embodiment. The image area information editing unit 1804 according to the sixth embodiment performs editing based on the priority directly designated by the user, whereas the image area information editing unit 2004 according to the seventh embodiment is determined in advance. Edit based on the priority automatically specified according to the rules.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the function of the image area information editing unit 2004. FIG. 21 (1) shows the input document data 2101. FIG. 21 (2) shows the image area information 2106 output by the image area information extraction unit 2003. FIG. 21 (3) shows the image area information 2118 edited based on the priority order automatically designated in accordance with a predetermined rule.

Next, the operation of the image area information editing unit 2004 will be described.
The image area information editing unit 2004 prioritizes the image area information according to a predetermined rule, for example, in the order in which erroneous identification is likely to occur when the image area is identified.
In general, when there are overlapping objects, it is very difficult to identify the image area. In the example of the document data 2101 in FIG. 21A, it is difficult to identify the image area between the image area 2102 and the image area 2105. Therefore, the priority of overlapping image area information is increased.

  According to the image area information 2106 in FIG. 21 (2), the coordinate values of the lower left coordinates (x1, y1) and the upper right coordinates (x2, y2) of each image area are known. Therefore, if the following conditions are satisfied by examining the coordinates of the regions A and B, it is determined that there is an overlap in the regions A and B, and the priority is increased.

Condition: (yA1 <yB1 <yA2 or yA1 <yB2 <yA2) and
(XA1 <xB1 <xA2 or xA1 <xB2 <xA2)
However, the set of the lower left coordinate-upper right coordinate of the region A is (xA1, yA1)-(xA2, yA2),
A set of the lower left coordinate and the upper right coordinate of the region B is defined as (xB1, yB1)-(xB2, yB2).

  In addition, it is difficult to identify an image area even in a character area having a small font size. Therefore, when the font size is extracted as the image area information, the priority is increased when the font size is smaller than a certain threshold value. As shown in the image area information 2106 in FIG. 21 (2), even when the font size is not directly described in the image area information, for example, the image area attribute is a character, and the width / height of the image area If any of them is smaller than the threshold value, that is, if the relationship of the image area coordinates is satisfied by the following equation, it is determined as a lower-case area and the priority is raised.

x2-x1 <th or y2-y1 <th
Note that th represents a certain threshold value.

  Further, here, the case of changing the priority order has been described with a specific example. However, the seventh embodiment is not limited to only changing the priority order. Similar to the third embodiment, the image area information conforms to the rules such as replacing the attribute of a character image area having a size larger than a certain threshold value with a logo or deleting the attribute information of a natural image having a size smaller than a certain threshold value. Editing such as assigning, replacing, and deleting is possible.

  The watermark image forming unit 2005 selects information in the order of priority determined by the image area information editing unit 2004 and creates a watermark image in which information up to the limit information amount is embedded.

  In the seventh embodiment, since the priority of important image area information is increased, it is possible to use highly accurate image area information. This makes it possible to obtain a highly accurate image area identification result regardless of how many generations are copied. Also, it is possible to obtain an electronic file with high image quality and high compression.

  According to each embodiment described above, it is possible to obtain a high-quality copy output as compared with the conventional method when copy output or print output is copied again. Alternatively, a highly functional electronic file can be obtained when a print output and a copy output are scanned and converted into an electronic file.

  Next, an image processing apparatus that extracts watermark information from an image formed by the above-described image forming apparatus will be described.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a schematic operation of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the image processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The image processing apparatus includes a document image input unit 2201, a watermark information extraction unit 2202, and an image identification unit 2203.

  In operation 2301, the document image input unit 2201 inputs a document image. Here, the document image input means 2201 is a scanner or the like mounted on an MFP or a copying machine. The input document image is obtained by outputting, on paper or the like, a document image obtained by combining image area information as a watermark image using an image forming apparatus.

An example of the above-described image forming apparatus that synthesizes image area information as a watermark image will be briefly described below.
FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus includes a document image input unit 2401, an image area information input unit 2402, a watermark image formation unit 2403, and a watermark document composition unit 2404.

  The document image input unit 2401 inputs a document image. Here, the document image input unit 2401 is, for example, a scanner mounted on an MFP or a copier, and the input document image is a paper document. The image area information input unit 2402 inputs image area information created in advance based on the input document image.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the contents of the input document image and image area information. A document image 2501 in FIG. 25A includes an image area of a title 2502, a body 2503, and a natural image 2504. In order to extract image area information from the document image 2501, for example, as shown in the document image 2505 in FIG. 25 (2), each image area (2506, 2507, 2508) is viewed with the mouse while the user looks at the screen. Is enclosed in a rectangle and each attribute is specified from the keyboard.

Thus, image area information 2509 shown in FIG. 25 (3) is created from the rectangular coordinate position and attribute of each image area designated by the user and input to the image area information input means 2402. The image area information includes attributes (title / text / natural image) and coordinate positions (2510, 2511, 2512).
In this embodiment, the coordinate position and the title / text / natural image attributes are input as the image area information. For example, if the image area has a character attribute, the character color or character code is used. Information such as images / person images can also be input as image area information.

  The watermark image forming unit 2403 forms a watermark image in which the image area information extracted by the image area information input unit 2402 is embedded. Further, the watermark document synthesizing unit 2404 synthesizes the document image output from the document image input unit 2401 and the watermark image output from the watermark image forming unit 2403 to form an image in which watermark information is embedded.

  Various methods have already been disclosed for the formation of watermark images and images with embedded watermark information. For example, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-101762, information is embedded in a document by embedding black pixels in a predetermined method in the background of the document.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an image forming method using the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-101762.
For the document image 2601 output from the document image input means 2401, the image area information output from the image area information input means 2402 is converted into a watermark image 2602 by the watermark image forming means 2403, and the document image 2601 and the watermark image 2602 are converted. A document 2603 in which watermark information is embedded is obtained by synthesizing by the watermark document synthesizing unit 2404.

  Returning to FIG. 23, in operation 2302, the watermark information extraction unit 2202 (FIG. 22) extracts image area information embedded as a watermark image from the input document image. As a technique for extracting watermark information, for example, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-101762 can be used.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram showing image area information extracted from a watermark image embedded in an input document image. FIG. 27A shows the input document image 2701. This document image 2701 is formed by inputting the document image 2501 of FIG. 25 (1) to the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 24 and synthesizing the watermark image in which the image area information 2509 of FIG. 25 (3) is embedded. To do.

  Image area information embedded in the document image extracted by the watermark information extraction unit 2202 is image area information 2705 in FIG. This image area information 2705 is the image area information 2509 of FIG. 25 (3) embedded by the image forming apparatus, and can be extracted as it is.

  If Yes in operation 2303, that is, if image area information is embedded in the input document image with a watermark image, the image area information 2705 extracted by the watermark information extraction unit 2202 is used in operation 2304 in the present embodiment. The output of the image processing apparatus.

  On the other hand, if No in operation 2303, that is, if the watermark information extraction unit 202 cannot extract the image area information because the watermark image is not embedded in the input document image, the image identification unit 2203 in operation 2305. Thus, the image area of the input document image is identified, and the image area information is used as the output of the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment. As the image identification means, for example, the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-87562 is used.

  FIG. 28 is a diagram showing image area information obtained by the image identification unit 2203. FIG. 28 (1) shows an input document image 2801. The image identifying means 2203 identifies the character area / natural image area in the input image, and outputs the attribute / coordinate position of each area as image area information 2805 shown in FIG.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain image area information with the same accuracy as the conventional image with respect to an image in which the watermark image is not embedded, and the image area information is already embedded with the watermark image. It is possible to obtain image area information for a document image without performing image identification. Therefore, highly accurate identification information can be obtained.

Next, as a method for using the image area information obtained by using the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, the configuration and operation of an apparatus for obtaining a high-quality generation copy will be described with reference to FIG.
A document image in which image area information is embedded as a watermark image is output to paper using the image forming apparatus described above. A document image input unit 2901 inputs a document image output on paper. Here, the document image input means 2901 is an MFP or a scanner of a copying machine.

  Next, the embedded image area information is extracted using the image processing apparatus 2902 of the first embodiment. Subsequently, the image processing unit 2903 performs image processing suitable for each image area on the input document image using the extracted image area information.

  FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example of image processing performed by the image processing unit 2903. Examples of image processing include filter processing and gradation processing. For example, a natural image is subjected to a blur filter process for crushing halftone dots of an input image in order to prevent moire due to interference with the halftone dots during image output. An edge enhancement filter is applied to the character image to enhance the edge of the character. Also, in gradation processing, natural images are subjected to gradation processing with a low number of lines to emphasize gradation rather than resolution, and character images are subjected to gradations with a high number of lines to emphasize resolution. Apply processing.

  After the image processing by the image processing unit 2903, the image output unit 2904 outputs an image. As the image output means 2904, there is a print section of an MFP or a copier.

  As described above, an accurate image area identification result can be used by obtaining image area information from information embedded as a watermark instead of identifying an image area for a deteriorated copy image. Further, the image area information obtained from the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment is input again to the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Can be obtained.

Furthermore, as another method of using the image area information obtained by using the image processing apparatus of the first embodiment, the configuration and operation of an apparatus for obtaining a highly compressed electronic file will be described with reference to FIG.
The document image input unit 3101 inputs a document image in which image area information is embedded, and the image processing apparatus 3102 according to the first embodiment extracts the image area information in which the image area information is embedded. Next, the image dividing unit 3103 divides the input document image into a character image and a natural image using the extracted image area information.

  High-quality and high-compression can be achieved by compressing the divided character images and natural images using methods suitable for each. For example, the first compression means 3104 for compressing a character image uses MMR compression that can handle only a binary image but does not deteriorate (reversible). Further, the second compression unit 3105 for compressing the natural image uses JPEG compression suitable for an image having gradation, although the high frequency component of the image is lost.

  Finally, an image combining unit 3106 combines the compressed character image and the compressed natural image.

  As described above, if the embedded image area information is used without performing image area identification, high-accuracy image area information can be obtained, so that an image file with high image quality and high compression can be obtained.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 32 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The image processing apparatus includes document image input means 3201, watermark information extraction means 3202, image identification means 3203, and image area information synthesis means 3204.

The image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that image identification is performed regardless of the presence / absence of watermark information of an input document image and that image area information synthesizing means 3204 is provided. .
In general, the amount of information that can be embedded in a watermark image is limited, and all necessary image area information may not be embedded in the watermark image. Therefore, the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment performs image identification regardless of the presence or absence of the watermark image, and uses the first image area information obtained from the watermark image and the second image area information generated by the image identification. The image area information synthesizing means 3204 synthesizes and outputs.

The optimum combining method by the image area information combining unit 3204 differs depending on the purpose of using the image processing apparatus of the second embodiment.
For example, in the case where the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is used as pre-processing for OCR processing for full-text search, it is a problem that omission of character area extraction occurs rather than overextraction of character areas. The degree of is thought to be large. Therefore, the image area information synthesizing unit 3204 operates to output all the areas included in the first image area information and the second image area information.

  In addition, when the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is used to create a highly compressed electronic file, since the binarization process is performed on the character area, the natural image is erroneously identified as the “character area”. As a result, the influence of the image quality defect becomes larger than the character extraction omission. Therefore, the image area information combining unit 3204 operates so as to discard area information with low reliability.

  Further, when the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is used for generating a copier identification signal giving priority to a character image, first, switching between character image processing and natural image image processing is performed for each region. There is a need. For this reason, overlapping of areas is not permitted, and the degree of image quality defects is greater when a character area is mistaken for a natural image area than when a natural image area is mistaken for a character image. Accordingly, the image area information synthesizing unit 3204 operates so as to give priority to the character attribute area when the areas are overlapped and the attributes are different.

  FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of the image area information combining unit 3204 when the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is used as the OCR preprocessing. FIG. 33A shows an input document image 3301. FIG. 33 (2) shows the first image area information 3305 extracted from the watermark image. FIG. 33 (3) shows the second image area information 3308 generated by the image identification means 3303. FIG. 33 (4) shows third image area information 3311 generated by combining the first image area information 3305 and the second image area information 3308.

  In the example shown in FIG. 33, the image area information combining unit 3204 simply combines the first image area information 3305 and the second image area information 3308. That is, the first area 3306 and the second area 3307 in the first image area information 3305 become the first area 3312 and the second area 3313 in the third image area information 3311, and the second area 3308 in the second image area information 3308. The first area 3309 and the second area 3310 are a third area 3314 and a fourth area 3315 of the third image area information 3311.

  FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of the image area information combining unit 3204 when the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is used for creating a highly compressed file. FIG. 34 (1) shows an input document image 3401. FIG. 34 (2) shows the first image area information 3405 extracted from the watermark image. FIG. 34 (3) shows the second image area information 3408 generated by the image identification means 3203. FIG. 34 (4) shows third image area information 3411 generated by combining the first image area information 3405 and the second image area information 3408.

  In the example shown in FIG. 34, when there is an overlap in the coordinate position between the area in the first image area information 3405 and the area in the second image area information 3408, the area in the first image area information 3405 is adopted. In addition, the area in the second image area information 3408 is discarded. For example, there is an overlap between the first area 3406 in the first image area information 3405 and the first area 3409 in the second image area information 3408. Accordingly, the third image area information 3411 synthesized by discarding the first area 3409 in the second image area information 3408 is output.

Note that the presence or absence of overlap between the two regions, region A and region B, is determined by whether or not the following formula is satisfied, for example.
(YA1 <yB1 <yA2 or yA1 <yB2 <yA2) and
(XA1 <xB1 <xA2 or xA1 <xB2 <xA2)
However, a set of the lower left coordinate and the upper right coordinate of the area A is (xA1, yA1)-(xA2, yA2), and a set of the lower left coordinate and the upper right coordinate of the area B is (xB1, yB1)-(xB2, yB2).

  FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of the image area information combining unit 3204 when the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is used for generating a copier identification signal. FIG. 35 (1) shows an input document image 3501. FIG. 35 (2) shows the first image area information 3505 extracted from the watermark image. FIG. 35 (3) shows the second image area information 3508 generated by the image identification means 3203. FIG. 35 (4) shows third image area information 3511 generated by combining the first image area information 3505 and the second image area information 3508.

  In the example shown in FIG. 35, the first area 3506 (character string “TITLE”) in the first image area information 3505 and the first area 3509 (character string “TITLE”) in the second image area information 3508 are used. There are overlapping coordinate positions. Therefore, the area 3509 in the second image area information 3508 whose attribute is “character” is adopted, and the area 3506 in the first image area information 3505 whose attribute is “natural image” is discarded. That is, the second area 3507 in the first image area information 3505 and the first area 3509 and the second area 3510 in the second image area information 3508 are adopted and output as the third image area information 3511.

  Although three examples have been described as the operation of the image area information combining unit 3204, the present invention is not limited to this example. Other operation examples are also conceivable, such as adopting only the areas existing in both the first image area information and the second image area information in order to obtain more accurate image area information.

  Further, the order of describing the areas in the third image area information is simple as describing the areas in the second image area information after the areas in the first image area information. However, when the output of the image processing apparatus of the second embodiment is used as a copier identification signal, copier image processing can be performed only in the forward direction of sub-scanning. Therefore, it is necessary to rearrange the areas in the third image area information in the sub-scanning forward direction. For example, in the example of the third image area information 3511 in FIG. 35 (4), if the top is the head of the sub-scan, the second area, the third area, and the first area are rearranged in this order.

  According to the second embodiment described above, as in the first embodiment, image area information with the same accuracy as in the past can be obtained for an image in which a watermark image is not embedded. For document images in which image area information is embedded with a watermark image, the image area information that is lacking in the image area information in the watermark image is supplemented with the image area information generated by the image identification means, thereby enabling high-precision identification. Information can be obtained.

[Third embodiment]
FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. The image processing apparatus includes a document image input unit 3601, a watermark information extraction unit 3602, an image identification unit 3603, and an image area information synthesis unit 3604.

  The image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the image identification unit 3603 performs image identification only on an area not described in the first image area information extracted from the watermark information. It is different from the form.

  FIG. 37 is a diagram illustrating an example of image area information obtained by the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 37A shows an input document image 3701. FIG. 37 (2) shows the first image area information 3705 extracted from the watermark image. FIG. 37 (3) shows the second image area information 3708 generated by the image identification means 3603. FIG. 37 (4) shows third image area information 3710 generated by combining the first image area information 3705 and the second image area information 3708.

  The first image area information 3705, which is the result of the extraction by the watermark information extracting means 3602, is extracted with a character area “TITLE” as the first area 3706 and a natural image in which the MFP is photographed as the second area 3707. Yes. However, the watermark information extraction unit 3602 does not extract the character string “ABC” in the input document image 3701.

  The image identification unit 3603 executes identification processing on a portion other than the regions represented by the first region 3706 and the second region 3707 in the first image region information 3705. Then, second image area information 3708 including the character string “ABC” as the first area 3709 is generated. The image area information combining unit 3604 combines the obtained first image area information 3705 and second image area information 3708 to generate third image area information 3710.

  According to the third embodiment described above, as in the second embodiment, image area information with the same accuracy as the conventional technique can be obtained for an image in which a watermark image is not embedded. For document images in which image area information is embedded with a watermark image, the image area information that is lacking in the image area information in the watermark image is supplemented with the image area information generated by the image identification means, thereby enabling high-precision identification. Information can be obtained. Furthermore, since only a portion where there is no area in the image area information obtained from the watermark image is identified, it is possible to perform processing at a higher speed than in the second embodiment.

[Fourth embodiment]
FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The image processing apparatus includes document image input means 3801, watermark information extraction means 3802, image identification means 3803, and image area information synthesis means 3804.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the image identification unit 3803 performs identification processing only on a region existing in the first image area information extracted from the watermark information, and the first image area information is insufficient. The third embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the supplemented information is supplemented.

  FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating an example of image area information obtained by the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 39 (1) shows an input document image 3901. FIG. 39 (2) shows the first image area information 3905 extracted from the watermark image. FIG. 39 (3) shows the second image area information 3909 generated by the image identification means 3803. FIG. 39 (4) shows third image area information 3912 generated by combining the first image area information 3905 and the second image area information 3909.

  The first image area information 3905, which is the result of extraction by the watermark information extraction means 3802, includes three areas, a first area 3906, a second area 3907, and a third area 3908. Information representing the areas is as follows. Coordinate positions and attribute information “character” / “natural image” exist. For example, when character color information is required for the image area information output from the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the image identification unit 3803 includes a first area 3906 and a second area that are character areas in the first image area 3905. Identification processing is performed only on the area 3907, and second image area information 3909 including character color information is generated.

As a method for extracting the character color, for example, the following processing is performed.
1: The character area is grayscaled. It may be obtained simply by (R + G + B) / 3 or by luminance conversion.
2: Convert to black and white by binarization. As the binarization threshold, an appropriate fixed threshold may be used, or an adaptive value calculated from the histogram of the Grayscale image may be used.
3: Count the number of white pixels and black pixels in the binary image. Let the pixel of the color with few numbers be a character pixel.

  4: An average value of RGB values of pixels determined to be character pixels in the original image is obtained. This average value is used as the character color.

  The image area information combining unit 3804 combines the obtained first image area information 3905 and second image area information 3909 to generate third image area information 3912.

  Note that, in the fourth embodiment, the process of performing image identification only on the area existing in the first image area information has been described. However, for example, in combination with the technique described in the third embodiment, only the character color identification is performed for the area existing in the first image area information, and the area not existing in the first image area information is attached. For example, if the coordinate position / attribute / attribute of the region is a character, a process of identifying the character color is also conceivable.

  According to the fourth embodiment described above, as in the third embodiment, image area information with the same accuracy as the conventional technique can be obtained for an image in which a watermark image is not embedded. For document images in which image area information is embedded with a watermark image, the image area information that is lacking in the image area information in the watermark image is supplemented with the image area information generated by the image identification means, thereby enabling high-precision identification. Information can be obtained.

  In the image processing apparatuses according to the first to fourth embodiments, an image including a watermark image formed by the image forming apparatus in FIG. 24 is input. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and the first to seventh An image formed by the image forming apparatus of the embodiment may be used.

  The image processing apparatuses according to the first to fourth embodiments described above can be expressed as follows.

[Appendix 1] (Extract image area information from watermark)
A document image input means for inputting a document image;
Watermark information extracting means for extracting image area information from a watermark image embedded in the input document image;
An image processing apparatus comprising:

[Appendix 2] (Extract image area information from watermark)
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
Image area information extracted from the watermark image embedded in the input document image is:
A reference position of the coordinates (lower left reference, upper left reference etc.) and a unit of length (cm, inch, etc.) are embedded.

[Appendix 3] (If there is no watermark, an identification process is performed)
A document image input means for inputting a document image;
When image area information is embedded as a watermark image in the input document image, watermark information extracting means for extracting image area information from the embedded watermark image;
Image identifying means for identifying an image area of the input document image when a watermark image is not embedded in the input document image;
An image processing apparatus comprising:

[Appendix 4] (Combining watermark information and identification result)
A document image input means for inputting a document image;
Watermark information extraction means for extracting first image area information from the embedded watermark image when image area information is embedded as a watermark image in the input document image;
Image identifying means for identifying the image area of the input document image and generating second image area information;
Image area information combining means for combining the first image area information and the second image area information to generate third image area information;
An image processing apparatus comprising:

[Appendix 5] (Image areas are not identified for areas extracted from watermark images)
A document image input means for inputting a document image;
Watermark information extraction means for extracting first image area information from the embedded watermark image when image area information is embedded as a watermark image in the input document image;
Image identifying means for identifying an image area at a position not included in any area in the first image area information of the input document image and generating second image area information;
Image area information combining means for combining the first image area information and the second image area information to generate third image area information;
An image processing apparatus comprising:

[Appendix 6] (Region extracted from watermark generates only information that is not in the watermark (character color, etc.) by identification processing)
A document image input means for inputting a document image;
Watermark information extraction means for extracting first image area information from the embedded watermark image when image area information is embedded as a watermark image in the input document image;
Image identifying means for performing image identification on an area in the first image area information and generating second image area information which is a type of information not included in the first image area information;
Image area information combining means for combining the first image area information and the second image area information to generate third image area information;
An image processing apparatus comprising:

[Appendix 7] (Combination method is changed depending on how to use the proposed image processing device (copy or highly compressed file))
In the image processing device according to claim 4, claim 5, or claim 6,
The image area information synthesis means changes the synthesis method according to the usage method of the image processing apparatus (copy identification / high compression file identification / OCR preprocessing).

[Appendix 8] (Allows duplicate output of watermark information and identification results)
In the image processing device according to claim 4, claim 5, or claim 6,
The image area information synthesizing unit includes all the area information included in the first image area information and the second image area information in the third image area information.

[Appendix 9] (Watermark information is emphasized. If there is an overlap with the image area identification result, the identification result is discarded)
In the image processing device according to claim 4, claim 5, or claim 6,
When there is an overlap in the coordinate position of the area in the first image area information and the area in the second image area information, the image area information combining unit adopts the area of the first image area information for the area. The area of the second image area information is discarded.

[Appendix 10] (Area attribute (whether it is a character or not) is emphasized. If there is an overlap, only the priority attribute area remains)
In the image processing device according to claim 4, claim 5, or claim 6,
The image area information synthesizing means determines the importance according to the attribute of the area in advance, the coordinate positions of the area in the first image area information and the area in the second image area information overlap, and each If the attributes are different, the image area information of the first image area information and the second image area information having attribute information with lower priority is discarded for the area.

[Appendix 11] (When combining image area information, the order of the areas can be freely changed)
In the image processing device according to claim 4, claim 5, or claim 6,
The image area information combining means can freely replace the description order of the area information in the third image area information obtained by combining the first image area information and the second image area information.

[Supplementary Note 12] (Only the area where the watermark information and the image area identification result match is output)
In the image processing device according to claim 4, claim 5, or claim 6,
The image area information synthesizing unit examines the coordinate positions of the area in the first image area information and the area in the second image area information, and adopts only the matched area as the third image area information.

  The present invention relates to a technique for obtaining an accurate image area identification result from a document image in which image area information is embedded. When this technology is used, generational copying using an accurate image area identification result for many generations becomes possible. In addition, it is possible to create an electronic file with higher image quality and higher functionality.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage.
Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

  The present invention manufactures and uses an image forming apparatus and an image processing apparatus that can obtain a highly accurate image area identification result even for a plurality of generations of copy originals and can obtain a highly functional electronic file. Can be used in industry.

        DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Document image input means, 102 ... Image area information input means, 103 ... Image formation means, 104 ... Document composition means, 501 ... Document image input means, 502 ... Information extraction means, 503 ... Image processing means, 504 ... Image output Means 701 ... Document image input means 702 ... Information extraction means 703 ... Image division means 704 ... First compression means 705 ... Second compression means 706 ... Image combination means 801 ... Document data input means, 802 ... Document image forming means, 803 ... Image area information inputting means, 804 ... Image forming means, 805 ... Document composition means, 1101 ... Document image input means, 1102 ... Image identification means, 1103 ... Image formation means, 1104 ... Document composition Means 1301 ... Document data input means 1302 ... Document image forming means 1303 ... Image area information extracting means 1304 ... Image forming means 13 5 ... Document composition means, 1501 ... Document image input means, 1502 ... Image identification means, 1503 ... Image area information editing means, 1504 ... Image formation means, 1505 ... Document composition means, 1801 ... Document data input means, 1802 ... Document image Forming means, 1803... Image area information extracting means, 1804... Image area information editing means, 1805... Image forming means, 1806.

JP 2005-39430 A JP 2002-77633 A

Claims (10)

A document image input means for inputting a document image and generating an input document image as image data;
Image area information input means for inputting image area information created for each image area of the document image;
Watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a watermarked document image synthesizing unit that combines the input document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image. Document data input means for inputting document data;
Document image forming means for forming a document image which is image data from the document data;
Image area information input means for inputting image area information created for each image area in the document data;
Watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a watermarked document image synthesizing unit that combines the document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image. A document image input means for inputting a document image and generating an input document image as image data;
Image area identifying means for identifying each image area in the input document image and generating image area information;
Watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a watermarked document image synthesizing unit that combines the input document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image. Document data input means for inputting document data;
Document image forming means for forming a document image which is image data from the document data;
Image area information extracting means for extracting image area information for each image area in the document data;
Watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the image area information is embedded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a watermarked document image synthesizing unit that combines the document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image. A document image input means for inputting a document image and generating an input document image as image data;
Image area identifying means for identifying each image area in the input document image and generating image area information;
Image area information editing means for editing the image area information according to a predetermined rule;
Watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the edited image area information is embedded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a watermarked document image synthesizing unit that combines the input document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image. Document data input means for inputting document data;
Document image forming means for forming a document image which is image data from the document data;
Image area information extracting means for extracting image area information for each image area in the document data;
Image area information editing means for editing the extracted image area information according to a predetermined rule;
Watermark image forming means for forming a watermark image in which the edited image area information is embedded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a watermarked document image synthesizing unit that combines the document image and the watermark image to form a watermarked document image.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image area information editing unit adds new image area information.   7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image area information editing unit removes at least one image area information.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image area information editing unit replaces at least one image area information with new image area information.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image area information editing unit prioritizes the image area information.

Images