JP2010057058A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus, image processing method and program for highly accurately recognizing, from an image including encoded code information, the code information in a short period of time. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus 300 includes: a graphic engine 314 for creating print data of an electronic document to which one or more encoded code images are added, and creating plotting data from the electronic document; and a creation section 330 for an image with an index code, for reading a code image from the plotting data, decoding the code image, acquiring from a decoding result a coding type of the code image, range information and rotating angle to create code arrangement information, encoding the code arrangement information into an index code image to create the index code image, and compositing the index code image to the plotting data to create an image with an index code. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing technique, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program for recognizing code information from an image including encoded code information with high accuracy and in a short time.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image data processed by an image processing apparatus is also known that includes code information for characterizing images, such as image usage restrictions, searches, and the like. These code information can be described in an appropriate area such as header information of an image file, and code information such as a barcode and a two-dimensional barcode is provided at a location that does not affect image recognition on the output image. Can also be output. When a printed material including code information is read by a scanner or the like, the image processing device decodes the code information to generate control data to be used by the image processing device, and reproduces, edits, and transfers images of the printed material. Various processing (hereinafter referred to as image processing in the present invention) that uses an image of a printed matter is controlled on the processing device.

  For this reason, if the process of extracting the code information from the printed material is not efficiently performed, it takes time to acquire the code information, and the processing efficiency up to the subsequent process executed using the code information is lowered. In addition, even if code information is added to the printed matter, if the recognition accuracy is not sufficient, there arises a problem that the image processing apparatus on the reading side cannot effectively control the image processing using the code information.

So far, techniques for adding various types of code information to images have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-121535 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-173646 (Patent Document 2), No. 2004-303223 (Patent Document 3). In Patent Document 1, an encoded code image is combined with a processing target document, and a position designation code image obtained by encoding combined position information indicating a combining position of the information code image on the processing target document is set at a predetermined position of the processing target document. An image processing apparatus to be combined is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a code type determination method for selecting an input image in units of rectangular blocks, determining whether the block satisfies a predetermined requirement, and determining the type of code in the block. . Further, Patent Document 3 divides a digitized document including a rectangular pattern in which information is stored two-dimensionally into a plurality of small areas, and performs pattern reading on the divided areas to thereby execute a plurality of areas. Discloses an image recognition apparatus that simultaneously outputs a plurality of information read out from.
JP 2006-111535 A JP 2005-173646 A JP 2004-303223 A

  In Patent Document 1, in order to search for a predetermined information code image, the same position designation code is arranged at a plurality of predetermined positions. Also disclosed is a technique for searching for a predetermined information code image using different position designation codes arranged at a plurality of positions. In Patent Document 1, only the position of the predetermined information code image is specified, and the case where a plurality of code information exists cannot be dealt with. In addition, when a plurality of position designation codes are read, a range of code images having a two-dimensional spread cannot be obtained with only the position designation codes, and the entire area in which the designated code images may exist There is also a problem that exhaustive processing must be performed until the code information given by the code image gives EOF after being read out in a trial-and-error manner. That is, the position designation code is used for designating the position of the code image embedded in the image data. However, if the code image is recorded in a format that provides code information with further decoding processing, the code information can be provided with sufficient accuracy even when there is a reading angle or misalignment of the printed matter only by specifying the position. There was also a problem that sometimes it was not possible. Furthermore, the technique described in Patent Document 1 cannot cope with a case where a general code exists in the electronic document as content in advance, and cannot be applied to an electronic document created by a general-purpose electronic document creation application. was there.

  Moreover, in patent document 2 and patent document 3, an image is divided | segmented and a code kind and code information are acquired using the information acquired from the divided | segmented area | region. Although the methods described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 enable determination of code type and acquisition of code information by decoding processing, encoding type and decoding processing must be performed after the entire print image is processed. The point that cannot be recognized and the code information is recognized in that it must be executed by extracting dots in a trial-and-error manner while identifying the dots that provide the code information from the image dots constituting the target image. However, the area identification of the code image and the speed from the start of recognition of the code image to the completion of decoding are not sufficient.

  In addition, when code information is recorded, the size of the code information may vary depending on the relationship with the image data so as not to deteriorate the recognizability of the image data. In such a case, the conventional technology discloses the point of specifying the position of the code information, but does not disclose what range the code information is spread in the image data, and is highly accurate and high speed. In order to execute this decoding process, it is necessary to designate a spatial area occupied by the code information in the image data.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. In the present invention, the image processing apparatus compares the coding type, range information, and rotation angle of the code image included in the image data with the code image. Create code placement information to be registered as The code arrangement information is created as a code arrangement information list so as to cope with a case where a plurality of code images are included in the image data. The code arrangement information list is encoded into an index code image using a coding type set by the image processing apparatus. The encoded index code image is added to the attached data associated with the drawing command for drawing the drawing data image, and the index code image, position, size, etc. are added to the drawing data, and the index code image is combined. Generated. The image with the index code is set as print data using a page description language, and is printed through an image forming engine driven using a printer control language.

  The printed material is read using an image reading device such as a scanner, and is used to control image processing by an image processing device that controls image processing using control information generated by decoding a code image. . The image processing apparatus decodes an index code from an image with an index code, and creates code arrangement information as a decoding result when the decoding is successful. The generated code arrangement information is used for generating general code information to be used for control by the image processing apparatus. The general code information is sent to an application program installed in the image processing apparatus, and the application program controls the subsequent processing.

  The image processing apparatus of the present invention can be implemented as a form for generating an image with an index code. In addition, the image processing apparatus of the present invention decodes an index code image from an image with an index code, and controls image processing by decoding general code information that provides application control data and the like using the decoding result. It can also be implemented as a processing device.

  Further, the image processing apparatus can be implemented as an image processing apparatus that outputs the above-described image with an index code as a printed matter, simultaneously decodes the image with the index code, and controls image processing using general code information. it can.

  Further, the above-described image processing apparatus can be mounted as a copying machine, a multifunction copying machine, or a personal computer.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides an image processing method and program executed by the above-described image processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, an image processing apparatus and an image processing device capable of adding an image with an index code that enables decoding of encoded code information with high accuracy and high speed to be output to an electronic document. Methods and programs can be provided. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an image with an index code, decode general code information including control data with high accuracy and high speed, and provide it for control of subsequent image processing. A processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program can be provided.

  Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated with embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned later. FIG. 1 shows hardware functional blocks of an embodiment of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus is implemented as a personal computer 100. The personal computer 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 102 and a solid-state storage element 104 such as a ROM / RAM that stores various control programs and various data, and provides data for the CPU 102 to execute an application. In addition, it provides an execution space for applications. The personal computer 100 further includes an HDD 106, which stores various application programs executed by the CPU 102 and various data.

  The personal computer 100 also includes a communication unit 108 that controls data communication with an external device. The communication unit 108 is not particularly limited, and can be configured as a communication unit for serial / parallel communication via a bus line such as USB, SCSI, and IEEE 1294, for example. The communication unit 108 may have a network communication function referred to as a network interface card (NIC). When the communication unit 108 has a network communication function, the image processing apparatus can communicate with an external device via the Internet or a local area network (LAN) via Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like.

  Further, the personal computer 100 is appropriately connected to a display device 112 constituted by a liquid crystal display device, a CRT, etc., and an input device 114 such as a mouse and a keyboard, using an appropriate connection method such as wireless or wireless. A command is sent to the CPU 102 via a simple interface. Further, the personal computer 100 displays an application execution result by the CPU 102 to the user. The personal computer 100 further includes an external drive device 110 such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or MO, and exchanges data with a recording medium 116 such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or MO. The hardware functional blocks described above of the personal computer 100 communicate with each other via the system bus and the I / O bus 118, and provide the personal computer 100 with the functions of the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment.

  The personal computer 100 can also be mounted with a printer driver for causing an external printer to perform printing and a TWAIN driver for driving a scanner device such as a flatbed scanner. The personal computer 100 activates a printer driver or a TWAIN driver in response to a driver call from an application, and executes processing such as execution of printing using an external printer or capturing of image data.

  FIG. 2 shows hardware functional blocks of the copying machine 200 when the image processing apparatus of this embodiment is mounted as the copying machine 200 according to another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine 200 includes a controller unit 210 and an engine unit 240. The controller unit 210 and the engine unit 240 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus, and the engine unit 240 is activated in response to the processing of the controller unit 210. The controller 210 controls processing of the copying machine 200 and controls drawing, communication, and user input. For this reason, the controller 210 includes a CPU 212, accesses the storage unit 218 and the ASIC 224 made of ROM / RAM via the bus bridges 214 and 216, and receives I / O input and the like.

  The ASIC 224 is configured as an application specific integrated circuit for controlling the external output of the processing result of the copier 200, receives a user input from the operation panel 230 for inputting to the controller unit 210, and sends a command to the CPU 212. And also manages input / output control with the MEM-C 220, the HDD drive 222, and the like configured by NVRAM or the like.

The ASIC 224 executes, for example, compression processing on digital data acquired by a scanner engine, which will be described later, to generate facsimile transmission data, and controls a facsimile control unit (FCU) 232 that controls facsimile transmission / reception to control ITU- Fax communication according to standards such as G3 or G4 according to the T recommendation is executed. A process of expanding the incoming facsimile data into image data is performed, and a process of transmitting the expanded image data to the engine unit 240 is executed.
The ASIC 224 can transmit data to an external device via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 234, an IEEE 1334 bus 236, or the like. The engine unit 240 includes a printer engine and a scanner engine that can be connected to a PCI bus.

  The printer engine includes a printing unit (not shown) such as a black-and-white printer or a color printer that includes a photosensitive drum and ink nozzles but uses an image forming process. The engine unit 240 is configured to include an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion for expressing image data in area gradation, and converts RGB digital images of, for example, 8 bits each into CMYK systems. Are converted into an area gradation image and output is possible. Further, the scanner can be configured as a line scanner having a CCD or the like, and reads a printed matter placed on a platen and converts it into digital data to generate RGB 8-bit depth image data, and thereafter using an ASIC 224 or the like. Processing is possible. In addition, the CPU 212 has a clocking function and clocks the current date and time, and the functions of the copier 200 shown in FIG. 2 are implemented in more detail as a configuration described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-177990. be able to.

  FIG. 3 shows software function blocks of the image processing apparatus 300 of this embodiment. The image processing apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 3 is implemented as a personal computer as described above. The image processing apparatus 300 includes a printed material output function unit 310 that externally outputs data created by an application, and an index code-added image acquisition unit 350 that reads the printed material with a scanner and processes the data with the application.

  Hereinafter, the functions of the printed matter output function unit 310 and the index code-added image acquisition unit 350 of the image processing apparatus 300 will be described separately. Note that only one of the print output function unit 310 and the index code-added image acquisition unit 350 may be mounted in a specific mounting type of the image processing apparatus 300. The printed product output function unit 310 includes an application 312, a graphic engine 314, a printer driver 316, and a spooler 318. The application 312 is a general-purpose application such as word processing software, spreadsheet software, or graphic software that is used to create information to be printed by a copier or printer, such as document data.

The graphic engine 314 is a module that provides the application 312 with a drawing function interface that absorbs differences between devices such as a copying machine, a printer, and a display. In response to a function call from the application 312, the graphic engine 314 converts the document data into data in an application-independent format, such as an EMF (Enhanced Meta File) format, and outputs the generated data to the printer driver 316. Module, OS (Operating
System). For example, in the Windows (registered trademark) environment, GDI (Graphics Device Interface) provides the function of the graphic engine 314. In the UNIX (registered trademark) and LINUX (registered trademark) environments, the X-window system and the DEVMODE structure provide the functions of the graphics engine 314. Hereinafter, the data generated by the graphics engine 314 is referred to as drawing data.

  In this embodiment, the printer driver 316 functions as a print data creation unit, and the drawing data output by the graphic engine 314 can be processed by the copier or printer to be output by the printer driver 316, for example, PDL ( Page Description Language), hereinafter referred to as “print data”. ). The process for creating the print data from the drawing data uses the same process as the conventional one. However, the printer driver 316 in the present embodiment passes the drawing data to the index code-added image creating unit 330 that functions as an index code-added image creating unit during the process of converting the drawing data into print data, and adds the drawing data to the drawing data. An index code indicating an area in the drawing data of the code information is generated. Thereafter, the index code-added image creation unit 330 adds the index code to the original drawing data and returns it to the printer driver 316, and executes processing for converting the drawing data with the index code into print data.

  The spooler 318 is a module that functions as a cue unit that stores print jobs and enables print data to be printed out in the order of print commands. The spooler 318 receives print data from the printer driver 316 and sends the print data to the image forming engine 320 in the order in which the print data is received. Note that the image forming engine 320 is referred to as a generic term for functional units that provide an image forming function such as a copying machine and a printer.

  For the purpose of clarifying the function description, the printer driver 316 and the index code-added image creation unit 330 will be described as different functional modules. However, the index code-added image creation unit 330 is implemented as a function module of the printer driver 316. You can also

  Hereinafter, processing of the index code-added image creation unit 330 will be described. The index code-added image creation unit 330 receives the drawing data, and for the code information that the user commands to add to the drawing data, the encoding type, the range information indicating the area range in the drawing data, and the rotation angle of the image This is a module that encodes element information such as to generate an index code image and generates drawing data to which the index code image is added.

  The image generation unit with index code 330 includes a code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 and a decoder 334. The code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 receives the drawing data, analyzes the code information included in the drawing data, acquires the area information, code type information, and the like indicated by the code information in the drawing data, and generates a code arrangement information list Function as code arrangement information acquisition means. In addition, the decoder 334 interprets the drawing data acquired by the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332, returns a decoding result to the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332, and can determine whether or not code information is included in the drawing data. I am letting you. Furthermore, the index code-added image creation unit 330 includes an index code creation unit 336, an encoder 338, and an image composition processing unit 340.

  The index code creation unit 336 receives the code placement information list created by the code placement information acquisition unit 332, passes it to the encoder 338, receives the encoded code placement information list, and the index code image in the set code type Function as index code creating means for generating The encoder 338 encodes a designated character string, byte array, or the like into a one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional code image. Examples of the one-dimensional barcode include Code 39, EAN-8, EAN-13, NW-7, and Code128. Examples of the two-dimensional code include QR, DataMatrix, PDF417, and the like. The decoder 334 decodes the original character string or byte array from the above-described one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional code image. The decoder 334 and encoder 338 can be implemented using known techniques. The image composition unit 340 functions as an image composition unit that adds index code image data to the drawing data and generates an image with an index code.

  The index code-added image created by the image composition unit 340 is converted into PDL by the printer driver 316, added with a printer control language such as PJL (Printer Job Language), and the print data is transferred to the spooler 318. Is done. The spooler 318 sends the mark string data to the image forming engine 320 via a bus such as IEEE 1294, USB, Ethernet (registered trademark), or a network. The image forming engine 320, which can be implemented as a copier, a printer, or the like, executes a printing process on the print data including the sent index code-added image using a printer control language. When the image is printed, when the image is enlarged or reduced, the image composition unit 340 corrects the print position of the index code image corresponding to the enlargement / reduction ratio.

  The image processing apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 also includes an image acquisition unit 350 with an index code. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the image processing apparatus 300 activates the TWAIN driver 354 and acquires image data from the scanner 356. The acquired image data is sent to an application 352 that executes image processing. The application 352 can be implemented as an application module that enables image processing such as OCR software. The application 352 sends the received index code-added image to the index code-added image reading unit 360 functioning as an index code-added image reading unit. The index code-added image reading unit 360 further includes an index code reading unit 364, a general code information reading unit 366, and a decoder 362.

  The read image data is input to an index code reading unit 364 that functions as index code reading means and a general code information reading unit 366 that provides general code information that functions as control information obtained by decoding the code information. The index code reading unit 364 is a module that receives the scanned image with the index code and decodes the code arrangement information list. The general code information reading unit 366 receives the image data and the code arrangement information list, and generates a general code information list that specifies the position, encoding type, decoded byte string information, and the like of the general code included in the image data. . The decoder 362 is a module that decodes an original character string or byte array from a one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional code image, and has the same function as the decoder 334. The general code information functions as control information for controlling processing executed by the application 352 regarding the read image of the image processing apparatus 300. Based on the control information, the image processing apparatus 300 performs image editing, duplication output, and image transfer. Etc. are executed.

  When the image processing apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 3 includes the index code-added image creation unit 330 and the index code-added image reading unit 360 at the same time, the decoder 334, the decoder 362, and the encoder 338 are functionally integrated as a codec. And can be shared. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the application 312 and the application 352 can be implemented as an output module and a reading module, respectively, such as the same document management application, document creation application, and image processing application.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of processing executed by the index code-added image creation unit 330 shown in FIG. The process in FIG. 4 starts from step S400, and drawing data is received in step S401. In step S402, the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 analyzes the drawing data and extracts the image data portion. The configuration of the drawing data analyzed in step S402 will be described in detail later. In step S403, it is determined whether there is unprocessed image data in the drawing data. If there is no unprocessed image data (no), the process branches to step S407, a code arrangement list is returned, and the process ends in step S408.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that there is unprocessed image data (yes), the process branches to step S404, the image data is passed to the decoder 334, and a decoding result is generated. Thereafter, in step S405, it is determined whether or not the decoding is successful. If the decoding is unsuccessful (no), the process is branched to step S403, and the presence or absence of an unprocessed image is determined. If decoding is successful in step S405 (yes), newly detected code information is added to the code arrangement information list in step S406, and the code arrangement information list is updated. Even if the default code information is unsuccessful, the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 determines whether the decoding is successful or unsuccessful by rotating the processed image area every 90 °, for example. The process of generating the value of the rotation angle is also executed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S403, and the process for the remaining image data is repeated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the data structure of the drawing data 500, the accompanying data 510, and the code arrangement information list 520 used in the processing of FIG. The drawing data 500 shown in FIG. 5 controls drawing with a drawing command 1 and accompanying data 1 corresponding to the drawing command 1 as a pair. Similarly, the drawing data 500 includes a drawing command 2, a drawing command 3, and the like, and is configured by registering associated data 2 and 3 corresponding to each of them. The drawing command is configured as a structure in which position information is registered for image types such as characters, images, and vectors specified by the DEVMODE structure.

  The accompanying data 510 indicates an embodiment showing the data structure of the accompanying data. In the data structure 510, for example, a character string, a position, a size, and a color information correspond to a drawing command that describes a character string, a drawing command that describes an image, and a drawing command that describes a vector. It is registered as accompanying data 512, 514, 516. The code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 causes the printer driver 316 to temporarily buffer the drawing data 500, pass the drawing data 500 to the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332, and execute a decoding process by the decoder 334, so that the code included in the drawing data Get information.

  The acquired code information is registered as arrangement information in the code arrangement information list 520 as records 522 to 530 in which code types, range information, and rotation angles are associated with each other. If the decoding result by the decoder fails, the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 attempts to rotate the drawing data for each appropriate angle and rotate the image for each set angle to perform the decoding process. . In the code arrangement information list 520, the rotation angle of the code information when the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 succeeds in decoding the code information is registered in units of “degrees”. If the arrangement of code information created by the personal computer 300 is defined in advance, the rotation angle (deg) field is not necessary.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the code range information includes, for example, the (x _l , y _l ) coordinates of the upper left corner of the code image and the (x _r , y _r ) of the lower right corner when the upper left corner of the drawing data is the origin. ) Each coordinate value is registered using an appropriate unit, for example, a value expressed in mm (millimeter). However, in this embodiment, Cartesian coordinates at the four corners of the code image can be used as range information, and the unit can be expressed using inches instead of millimeters. Also, the rotation angle of the code can be expressed in deg, and other units and expressions can be used. Further, the registration data of the code arrangement information is not limited to the embodiment of FIG. 5, and it is not necessary to register unnecessary element information when unnecessary among the data types registered as the registration field, If there is more information to be added, an element information field can be added. As element information that can be added, for example, information related to the code size, for example, a general code described later such as the one-dimensional barcode, the thinnest bar width of the stack type two-dimensional code, the cell size of the matrix type two-dimensional code, etc. Additional information that supports decoding processing during reading processing can be given.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a process in which the index code creation unit 336 creates an index code. The index code creation process starts from step S600, and the code arrangement information list 520 is received in step S601. In step S602, index code creation data is created from the code arrangement information list 520. The index code creation data means data obtained by converting a character string, a numerical value, and the like included in a record registered in the code arrangement information list 520 into a byte array. In step S603, the index code creation data is passed to the encoder 338 to create an index code image. The code type of the index code image is not limited, but it is preferable to use a two-dimensional code rather than a one-dimensional bar code in terms of reducing the size of the index code image. When the encoding of the index code image is completed, the index code creation unit 336 passes the index code image created in step S604 to the image composition unit 340 and ends the process.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing executed by the image composition unit 340. The processing in FIG. 7 starts from step S700. In step S701, drawing data is read from the buffer memory, and an index code image buffered by the image composition unit 340 is read. In step S702, information such as the position and size of the index code image is added using the drawing data as accompanying data corresponding to the image data. In step S703, the image with index code for which image synthesis has been completed is returned to the printer driver 316, buffered, and the process is terminated in step S704.

  The printer driver 316 converts the received drawing data into PDL, adds a printer control language code, and then passes it to the spooler 318. The spooler 318 communicates with the image forming engine 320 to transfer an image with an index code to the image forming engine 320. The image forming engine 320 prints the received print data using the printer control language, thereby completing the printing of the index code-added image.

  FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of an electronic document 800 created by the image processing apparatus 300 of this embodiment. The electronic document 800 shown in FIG. 8 includes a plurality of image data 802 to 824. When the image processing apparatus 300 receives a print command for the electronic document 800 that gives the printed matter shown in FIG. 8, the graphic engine 314 converts the electronic document including the code information into drawing data. The drawing data is then passed to the printer driver 316. The printer driver 316 passes the drawing data to the index code-added image creation unit 332.

  The image creation unit 316 with index code, the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 extracts the image data 802 to 824 from the drawing data. The extracted image data is acquired by extracting the accompanying information of the drawing command shown in FIG. Since the image data 802 to 824 are respectively delivered to the decoder 334 and decoding is attempted, the image data 802 to 824 can be reliably decoded when the image data is a code image. In the electronic document 800 of FIG. 8, the image data 802 (Code 39), 810 (PDF 417), 816 (Code 128), 820 (QR), and 824 (DataMatrix) will be described as being successful. The decoding result is added to the code arrangement information list 520, and the generated code arrangement information list 520 is passed to the index code-added image creation unit 336.

  The index code-added image creation unit 336 passes the code information list 520 to the index code creation unit 336 and generates index code creation data from the code information list 520 as a byte string. The created index code creation data is passed to the encoder 338 to create an index code image. The created index code image is transferred to the image composition processing unit 340, and the image, position, size, and other information are described as an image of the attached data corresponding to the drawing command that defines the attached data as an image. Complete the synthesis. The created index code-added image is transferred to the printer driver 316 and used as print data, which is transferred to the image forming engine 320 via the spooler 318 to create a printed matter.

  FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a printed matter 900 output from the image forming engine 320 through the processing described in FIG. The printed material 900 forms an image corresponding to the electronic document 800 on a designated printing paper. Further, the index code image 910 created by the image processing apparatus 300 is synthesized. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the synthesized index code image 910 affects the document / image recognition at the upper left of the printed material. It is shown that it has been added to no area. In other embodiments, four index code images can be formed on the left, right, top, and bottom of the printed material 900. When the left and right and upper and lower four positions are created, it is possible to efficiently obtain the index code image regardless of the reading direction when the printed material is read by the scanner. Also, when forming a plurality of index code images, the contents of the code information may be changed, and the contents of the code information may be changed with each other so that all the code information is given when the entire index code image is acquired. it can.

  FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the index code reading unit 360 when the image processing apparatus of this embodiment executes reading of an image with an index coat. The index code-added image reading process starts from step S1000. In step S1001, image data acquired by a scanner or the like is received. In step S1002, a region in the image is cut out for the purpose of index code extraction. In step S1003, it is determined whether or not there is an unprocessed area. If there is no unprocessed area (no), the process branches to step S1010, an error notification of decoding failure is returned, the process is returned to the application, and the process is performed. Exit.

  On the other hand, if there is an unprocessed area in step S1003 (yes), the area cut out in step S1004 is transferred to the index code reading unit 364, and in step S1005, the decoder 362 is called to execute a decoding attempt. Note that the decoding trial of step S1005 is performed while correcting the angle even if decoding of the extracted region fails. If the decoding attempt does not succeed as a result (no), the process returns to step S1003 to determine other areas. If decoding is successful in step S1005 (yes), the process branches to step S1006, and a code arrangement information list is acquired from the decoding result. In step S1007, the rotation angle of the decoded index code is acquired, the reading angle of image reading is acquired, the reading angle and the decoded code arrangement information list 520 are returned to the general code information reading unit 366 described later, and step S1009. To end the process.

  FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of processing executed by the general code information reading unit 366 that has acquired the reading angle and the decoded code arrangement information list 520. The process of the general code information reading unit 366 shown in FIG. 11 starts from step S1100, receives image data in step S1101, and determines in step S1102 whether an image orientation and a code arrangement information list have been received. If it is determined in step S1102 that the image orientation and code arrangement information list has not been received (no), the entire area of the image data is searched and general code information is acquired. The code information list is returned, and the process ends in step S1112.

  If it is determined in step S1102 that the image orientation and code arrangement information list have been received (yes), in step S1104, rotation conversion is performed so that the image data matches the image orientation. In step S1105, an unprocessed image is processed. Determine if there is code placement information. In the image orientation matching process, the entire image data can be rotated in accordance with the orientation of the image, and then the image data area extraction process can be performed. You may make it correct | amend according to direction. When correcting the direction of the cutout region, it is not necessary to process the entire image data, so that the processing speed is improved. If it is determined that there is no unprocessed code arrangement information (no), the process branches to step S1111 to return the general code information list to the application, and the process ends in step S1112.

  If it is determined in step S1105 that there is unprocessed code arrangement information (yes), an area of image data is extracted based on the code arrangement information in step S1106, and an image of the area extracted in step S1107 is code arrangement information. The result is passed to the decoder specified by, and the decoding result is created. In step S1108, it is determined whether or not the decoding is successful. If the decoding is not successful (no), the process returns to step S1105 and the process is repeated. If the decoding is successful in step S1108 (yes), the process branches to step S1109, and the general code information list is updated. Thereafter, the process returns to step S1105 to determine whether or not there is an unprocessed area, and the process is repeated until there is no unprocessed code arrangement information.

  FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the general code information list 1200 generated by the general code information reading unit 366. In the general code information list 1200, list records 1202 to 1210 are formed for each code. In the record, information for characterizing the code is registered, and each column stores information corresponding to the code information. Giving. As the element information constituting the general code information, a code type, decode data, code position information, code rotation angle, and the like can be registered. The code type, code position information, and code rotation angle are information having the same functions as the encoding type, range information, and rotation angle of the code arrangement information list 520.

  In the decoded data, a byte array such as a character string obtained by the decoding process in step S1107 in FIG. 11 is stored. The element information that can be registered in the general code information list 1200 is not limited to the information shown in FIG. 12, and the element information can be appropriately reduced or added. For example, as the element information that can be added, other information obtained by decoding processing, such as information on an error correction level or a specific industrial standard (Industrial Standard), may be added.

  With reference to FIG. 13, an embodiment of processing until the application 352 acquires an image using the scanner 356 and generates the general code information list 1200 from the acquired image data will be described. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the image shown in FIG. 9 is read by the scanner 356.

  The application 352 that has placed the image shown in FIG. 9 on the scanner 356 and received a read command calls the TWAIN driver 354 to execute the reading process of the image 900, and obtains the scan image 1300 shown in FIG. The application 352 passes the scanned image 1300 data to the index code-added image reading unit 360. Thereafter, the image reader with index code 360 passes the scanned image to the index code reader 364.

  When the scanned image 1300 is passed to the index code-added image reading unit 360, the index code reading unit 364 includes four corner regions 1302, 1306, which are defined as regions where the index code image may exist in the scanned image 1300. Cut out 1314 and 1316. The cut out areas 1302 to 1316 are transferred to the decoder 362, and a decoding result is generated. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, a code image is formed in the area 1306. As for the area 1306, the code image is rotated in the index code decoding trial process. In the illustrated embodiment, it is assumed that decoding succeeds when the code image is rotated clockwise by a rotation angle of 270 °. explain.

  As a result of decoding, the code arrangement information list 520 shown in FIG. 5 is acquired by the application 352, and the reading direction of the scanned image 1300 is 270 ° clockwise from the direction information of the decoded index code image and the position of the area 1306. It is determined that it has been rotated. As a result of this determination, the application 352 passes the acquired code arrangement information list 520 and the orientation information of the scanned image 1300 to the index code-added image reading unit 360.

  Next, the index code-added image reading unit 360 passes the scan image 1300, the code arrangement information list 520, and the scan image orientation information to the general code information reading unit 366. The general code information reading unit 366 cuts out the areas 1304, 1308, 1312, 1318, and 1320 using the code arrangement information list 520 and the orientation information of the scanned image 1300. Then, each of the cut out areas 1304, 1308, 1312, 1318, and 1320 is transferred to the decoder 362, and decoding is performed. As a result, the images included in the clipped areas 1304, 1308, 1312, 1318, and 1320 are displayed on each code image while using the encoding methods Code39, PDF417, Code128, QR, and DataMatrix registered in the code arrangement information list 520. Each encoding method is decoded without causing trial and error.

  In addition, the general code information list 1200 shown in FIG. 12 can be created with high accuracy and high speed from the decoding result according to this embodiment. Thereafter, the general code information list 1200 is passed to the index code-added image reading unit 360. The index code-added image reading unit 360 returns the acquired general code information list 1200 to the application 352, and enables subsequent processing using the general code information.

  In the above example, the application 352 of the image processing apparatus 300 has been described as acquiring image data via the TWAIN driver 354. However, in other embodiments, other sequences can be used as long as image data can be acquired. For example, image data read by the image forming engine 320 mounted as a copying machine is converted into a file, and the image file is stored in an arbitrary storage area on the network. The application 352 can access the stored image file, download the image file using a file transfer protocol such as FTP or HTTP, and provide the image file to the decoding process described above.

  As described above, in this embodiment, an electronic document including code information having a plurality of various encoding methods embedded at an arbitrary position, size, and rotation angle together with a photograph, a chart, and the like can be obtained with high accuracy and in a short time. Highly efficient code recognition. In addition, an index code is assigned to one of the four corners during the printing process, and the four corner areas are taken as the index code detection area during the reading process, so that the code can be reliably recognized regardless of the orientation of the paper document during scanning. Can be made. Furthermore, the present embodiment is not limited to a specific document creation application, and can be applied to an electronic document created by a general-purpose electronic document creation application.

  Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the image processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The image processing apparatus 1400 of the second embodiment has the same configuration as the image processing apparatus of the first embodiment as a functional block. However, it differs from the image processing apparatus of the first embodiment in that each functional block is separately mounted on a personal computer 1410 mounted as an image processing apparatus and a copying machine 1430.

  An image processing apparatus 1400 shown in FIG. 14 is implemented as a personal computer 1410 and a copier 1430 to which the personal computer 1410 is connected as a network printer or the like. The index code-added image creating unit 1450 is mounted as a functional module of the copying machine 1430, and the personal computer 1410 exclusively executes processing for embedding code information. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, an existing printer driver 1416 is used, and the functional module of the copier 1430 creates an image with an index code according to the present embodiment.

  Note that the index code-added image creating unit 1450 shown in FIG. 14 provides the same functions as described in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the code arrangement information acquisition unit 1452 and the image composition processing unit 1456 analyze print data created in a format such as PDL including commands of the printer control language instead of drawing data, Since the same processing as in the first embodiment is executed, further detailed description is omitted. In the second embodiment, creation of an image with an index code can be provided as a function of a copying machine.

  FIG. 15 shows an image processing apparatus 1500 according to the third embodiment. In the image processing apparatus 1500 according to the third embodiment, the index code-added image reading unit 1510 includes a functional module similar to that of the first embodiment. However, the third embodiment is different in that the index code is read using the image data from the scanner 1530 and the general code information list generation process is executed in the reading processing sequence. The image processing apparatus 1500 in FIG. 15 will be described in detail. The image processing apparatus 1500 controls the scanner 1530 and the scanner, converts the image into raster data, and receives various processing requests from the outside. And an application for executing the process. The read image data is input to an index code reading unit 1512 that functions as an index code reading unit and a general code information reading unit 1514 that provides general code information that functions as control information obtained by decoding the code information. The index code reading unit 1512 is a module that receives the scanned image with the index code and decodes the code arrangement information list. The general code information reading unit 1514 receives the image data and the code arrangement information list, and generates a general code information list that specifies the position, encoding type, decoded byte string information, and the like of the general code included in the image data. . The decoder 1516 is a module that decodes an original character string or byte array from a one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional code image, and has the same function as the decoder 334. The general code information functions as control information for controlling processing executed by the application 1520 regarding the read image of the image processing device 1500. Based on the control information, the image processing device 300 performs image editing, duplication output, and image transfer. Etc. are executed.

  In the fourth embodiment of the image processing apparatus, the image processing apparatus executes processing for arranging an index code in a plurality of image data on an image with an index code. In the fourth embodiment, index code images are arranged in a plurality of designated areas, for example, four corners, of drawing data designated by the image processing apparatus 300. All the index code images arranged at the four corners can encode the same information (arrangement information of all general codes). By using the above-described index code, the general code information list can be acquired from the remaining index codes even when some of the index codes cannot be read during the index code reading process, and the code recognition accuracy can be improved.

  Further, instead of encoding the same information (all general code arrangement information) in all index codes, the general code arrangement information can be distributed and encoded in each index code. By disposing the general code information in each index code, the image size per index code can be kept small, and the influence on the layout and appearance of the document can be reduced.

  The fifth embodiment of the image processing apparatus will be described below. In the fifth embodiment of the image processing apparatus, the functional module configuration is implemented in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, the processes of the index code creation unit 336 and the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 are different. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the process of the index code creation unit 336 in the fifth embodiment of the image processing apparatus. Unlike the processing of FIG. 6, in the processing of FIG. 16, before passing the index code creation data to the encoder, header data is added to the index code creation data in step S1603.

  The header data can be configured as, for example, 24-bit fixed-length data, and is used as identification data for easily identifying the index code from a general code in the processing of the index code reading unit described later. . In the fifth embodiment, even when there are a plurality of pieces of code information in the image data, the index code can be identified directly by eliminating the decoding process, and the position where the index code image is added is not determined in advance. In both cases, it is possible to embed it in an appropriate location according to the characteristics of the image data.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart of processing executed by the code arrangement information acquisition unit 332 in the fifth embodiment of the image processing apparatus. In FIG. 10, before executing the process of acquiring the code arrangement information list from the decoding result in step S1006, it is determined in step S1706 whether the decoded data is index code data. In the embodiment to be described, it is compared whether or not the first 3 bytes (24 bits) of fixed-length data of the decoded data match the value indicating the index code. If it is determined in step S1706 that the decoded data is index code data (yes), a code arrangement information list is acquired in step S1707, image orientation information is acquired in step S1708, and information acquired in step S1710 is acquired. Is returned to the application, and the process is terminated in step S1711.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1706 that the decoded data is not index code data (general code data) (no), the process returns to step S1703 to determine whether there is an unprocessed area. The process is repeated until there are no unprocessed areas.
By using the processing shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, even when a general code is included in the index code detection area, the general code is not considered to be processed as an index code, thereby preventing malfunction and detection. Efficiency can be increased.

  In the fifth embodiment, the fixed length data as identification data for distinguishing the index code from the general code is described as being added to the head of the index code creation data. In still another embodiment, for example, fixed-length data can be added to the end of the index code creation data. In another embodiment, a hash value can be calculated from index code creation data using a known one-way function such as SHA-1 or MD-5, and the hash value can be used as identification data.

  The image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment can similarly implement the first embodiment, but the processing in the code arrangement information list and index code reading unit 364 and the general code information reading unit 366 is different. FIG. 18 shows a code arrangement information list 1800 used by the image processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. It should be noted that the code arrangement information list shown in FIG. 18 is added with a record for storing information on the position and rotation angle of the index code itself as compared with the code arrangement information list 520 in FIG.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the process of the index code reading unit 364 in the sixth embodiment. The processing shown in FIG. 10 is the same as the processing shown in FIG. 10 except that the position / rotation angle of the decoded index code is returned to the general code information reading unit 366 instead of the image orientation information in step S1907. Processing is executed in the same manner. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the process of the index code reading unit 364 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. 20 is different from the processing in FIG. 11 in that it receives not the image orientation information but the position / rotation angle of the decoded index code in step S2002 and uses it for the subsequent processing. .

  Further, step S2004 is different in that position correction of image data is executed. The other processing steps are the same as the processing in FIG. In the position correction process of step S2004, the index code reading unit 364 compares the position / rotation angle of the index code described in the code information list 1800 with the position / rotation angle of the actually decoded index code, A process of rotating and translating the image data so that the position and the rotation angle coincide with each other is executed.

  In the sixth embodiment, even when a paper document is shifted to some extent during scanning, it is possible to correct the deviation of the scanned image, and to appropriately cut out the area of the general code information, thereby improving the code recognition accuracy. be able to. In the sixth embodiment, the image data position correction process is performed in step S2004, and then the image data area extraction process is performed in step S2006. However, in still another embodiment, instead of performing position correction processing for the entire image, position correction may be performed for the cutout region in step S2006. In other embodiments to be described, it is not necessary to perform rotation and translation processing on the entire image data, so that the processing speed can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, processing executed by the image processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The image processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment has a configuration in which the fourth embodiment and the sixth embodiment are combined, and processing contents in the general code information reading unit 364 are different. FIG. 22 shows a flowchart for processing of the index code reading unit 364 shown in FIG. 21. FIG. The processing in FIG. 20 is not image data rotation processing, but image data skew correction processing is executed in step S2104. The skew correction is realized by calculating a difference between a position described in the code information list 1800 in each index code arranged at the four corners and a position actually decoded, and performing a skew correction process.

  Therefore, the embodiment of FIG. 21 uses the index codes arranged at the four corners as timing marks for skew correction. The seventh embodiment can correct the deviation and distortion of the scanned image even when the printed material is read with a certain amount of deviation during scanning, or even when the printed material is distorted when conveyed by a conveying device such as a sorter. By appropriately cutting out the area, the code recognition accuracy can be further improved as compared with the fourth embodiment.

  FIG. 22 shows an implementation 2200 of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 22, the image processing apparatus mounting form 2200 can be mounted as a personal computer 2202 or a multi-function copying machine 2206. When the image processing apparatus is implemented as a personal computer 2202, the personal computer 2202 implements a function for implementing the image processing method of the present embodiment as a printer driver. In addition, the personal computer 2202 includes an image reading unit 360 with an index code as, for example, a document management application or a document creation application.

  The personal computer 2202 adds code information for controlling subsequent image processing to an electronic document created using a document management application or the like. The document management application converts the control information into a code image using an appropriate encoding method. The personal computer 2202 creates code arrangement information and an index code image from the code image, adds them to the electronic document, and generates an image with the index code as print data.

  The print data is transferred to a multi-function copier 2206 configured as, for example, a local printer or a network printer, and is output as a printed material 2208. The printed material 2208 is transferred to the personal computer 2202 as an image with an index code by a flat bed type scanner 2204 connected to the personal computer 2202. The personal computer 2202 analyzes the image with the index code, acquires general code information including control information, and controls subsequent image processing on the read printed matter.

  When the image processing apparatus according to this embodiment is mounted as a copying machine, each functional module of the image processing apparatus is mounted as an application or middleware of the copying machine. The multi-function copier 2206 creates a code image from control information for controlling image processing for an electronic document, adds the code image to the electronic document, and uses a process such as an electrophotographic method or an ink jet recording method to print a printed matter 2208 is created. The created printed material 2208 is distributed to the user. A user who receives the distribution of the printed material 2208 causes the multi-function copying machine 2206 to read the printed material 2208 in order to perform image processing including image formation, image editing, and image transfer on the printed material 2208. The multi-function copier 2206 analyzes the image with the index code, acquires control information as general code information, and controls subsequent image processing in the multi-function copier 2206.

  The above functions of the present embodiment can be realized by a device executable program written in a legacy programming language or an object-oriented programming language such as C, C ++, Java (registered trademark), etc. It can be stored and distributed in a device-readable recording medium such as ROM, MO, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and can be transmitted via a network in a format that other devices can.

  Although the present embodiment has been described so far, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be conceived by those skilled in the art. It can be changed, and any aspect is within the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

The figure which showed the hardware functional block of embodiment of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating hardware functional blocks of a copier 200 when the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is mounted as a copier 200 according to another embodiment. The figure which showed the software functional block of the image processing apparatus 300 of this embodiment. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of processing executed by the index code-added image creation unit 330 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a data structure 500 of drawing data, a data structure 510 of accompanying data, and a data structure 520 of a code arrangement information list used in the processing of FIG. 4. The flowchart about embodiment of the process which the index code preparation part 336 produces an index code. The flowchart of the process which the image synthetic | combination part 340 performs. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic document 800 created by the image processing apparatus 300 of the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a printed matter 900 output from the image forming engine 320 through the processing described in FIG. 8. The flowchart of the process which the index code reading part 360 performs when the image processing apparatus of this embodiment performs reading of the image with an index coat. The figure which showed embodiment of the process which the general code information reading part 366 which acquired the read angle | corner and the decoded code arrangement | positioning information list 520 performs. The figure which showed embodiment of the general code information list | wrist 1200 which the general code information reading part 366 produces | generates. Explanatory drawing of a process until the application 352 acquires an image using the scanner 356, and produces | generates the general code information list 1200 from the acquired image data. Explanatory drawing about 2nd Embodiment of an image processing apparatus. The figure which showed the image processing apparatus 1500 of 3rd Embodiment. The flowchart of the process of the index code preparation part 336 in 5th Embodiment of an image processing apparatus. 10 is a flowchart of processing executed by an index code acquisition unit 332 in the fifth embodiment of the image processing apparatus. The figure which showed embodiment of the code | cord | chord arrangement | positioning information list | wrist 1800 which the image processing apparatus of 6th Embodiment uses. 10 is a flowchart of processing of an index code reading unit 364 according to the sixth embodiment. The flowchart of the process of the index code reading part 364 in the 6th Embodiment of this invention. 10 is a flowchart of processing executed by an image processing apparatus according to a seventh embodiment. The figure which showed the mounting form 2200 of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Personal computer, 102 ... CPU, 104 ... ROM / RAM, 106 ... HDD, 108 ... Communication part, 110 ... Drive apparatus, 112 ... Display apparatus, 114 ... Input device, 116 ... Recording medium, 118 ... System bus | I / O bus, 200 ... copier, 210 ... controller, 240 ... engine unit, 300 ... image processing device, 310 ... printed matter output function unit, 350 ... image acquisition unit with index code, 312, 352 ... application, 314 ... graphic engine 316 ... Printer driver, 318 ... Spooler, 320 ... Image forming engine, 354 ... TWAIN driver, 360 ... Image reading unit with index code, 362 ... Decoder, 364 ... Index code reading unit, 366 ... General code information reading unit

Claims (19)

An image processing apparatus for creating print data of an electronic document to which one or more encoded code images are added,
Drawing data creating means for creating drawing data from the electronic document;
Reading the code image from the drawing data, decoding the code image, obtaining range information that is information on a range where the code image is arranged at least from the decoding result, creating code arrangement information, An index code-attached image creating means for creating an index code image by encoding code arrangement information into an index code image, creating an index code image, and combining the index code image with the drawing data;
An image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 further includes:
Print data creation means for receiving the drawing data and passing it to the index code image creation means, receiving the image with the index code and creating print data;
Queue means for outputting the print data created by the print data creation means in order of receipt to create a printed matter;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The index code-added image creation means includes code arrangement information acquisition means, index code creation means, and image composition means,
The code arrangement information acquisition means receives the drawing data, decodes the image of the drawing data by a decoder, creates the code arrangement information for registering the range information as a pair with the coding information,
The index code creating means receives the code arrangement information, creates an index code image by an encoder,
The image composition means adds the index code image to data attached to a drawing command for drawing an image of the drawing data, creates an image with an index code to which the index code image is added, and prints The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus transfers the data to a data creation unit. The code arrangement information further includes a coding type and a rotation angle of the code image,
The code arrangement information acquisition unit receives the drawing data, decodes the image of the drawing data by a decoder, and registers the coding type, the range information, and the rotation angle of the code image as a pair with the coding information. Creating the code arrangement information;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.   5. The code arrangement information according to claim 1, wherein the code arrangement information is a code arrangement information list in which the coding type, the range information, and the rotation angle corresponding to a plurality of the code images are registered in association with each other. Image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the index code image is arranged in a single or a plurality for the drawing data.   The single index code image includes all code arrangement information of the code image included in the electronic document, and when a plurality of the index code images are arranged, the index code image includes all of the code images. The code arrangement information is distributed so as to include the code arrangement information or to provide the code arrangement information of all of the code images when a plurality of the index code images are combined. Image processing apparatus. Image processing for controlling image processing by extracting the code image from a printed matter including one or more code images and an index code image that specifies at least range information that is information regarding a range in which the code image is arranged A device,
Scanner means for reading the printed matter and generating an image with an index code;
Application means for receiving the image with the index code created by the scanner means and executing image processing using the code image acquired from the image with the index code;
The image with index code is received from the application means, the index code is read, the read index code is decoded, and when the decoding is successful, the code image included in the index code-added image using the decoding result An image processing apparatus comprising: an index code-added image reading unit that decodes and acquires general code information and returns the information to the application unit. The index code image further includes a coding type of the code image and a rotation angle,
The image reading unit with an index code includes an index code reading unit and a general code information reading unit,
The index code reading unit receives the index code-added image, identifies an index code from the index code-added image by a decoder, and registers the coding information, the range information, and the rotation angle as a pair with the coding information. Decoding the code arrangement information
The general code information reading unit receives the code arrangement information as the decoding result of the index code reading unit, decodes the code image included in the index code-added image, acquires general code information, and sends it to the application unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, which is returned.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the code arrangement information is a code arrangement information list that registers the coding type, the range information, and the rotation angle corresponding to a plurality of the code images in association with each other.   The index code image is arranged singly or in plurality with respect to the drawing data, and the single index code image includes all code arrangement information of the code image included in the image with index code, and a plurality of the index codes. When a code image is arranged, the index code image includes all code arrangement information of the code image, or when a plurality of the index code images are combined, all the code arrangement information of the code image The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, comprising the code arrangement information distributed so as to provide An image processing apparatus for creating print data of an electronic document to which one or more encoded code images are added,
Drawing data creating means for creating drawing data from the electronic document;
The code image is read from the drawing data, the code image is decoded, and at least the range information that is information about the range where the code image is arranged is obtained from the decoding result to create code arrangement information, An index code-added image creating means for creating an index code image by encoding code arrangement information into an index code image, creating an index code image, and synthesizing the index code image with the drawing data;
Application means for receiving an image with an index code generated by reading the printed matter and executing image processing using the code image acquired from the image with an index code;
The image with the index code is received from the application means, the index code is read, the read index code is decoded, and when the decoding is successful, the code image included in the index code-added image using the decoding result An image processing apparatus comprising: an index code-added image reading unit that decodes and acquires general code information and returns the information to the application unit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the code arrangement information is a code arrangement information list that registers the coding type, the range information, and the rotation angle corresponding to a plurality of code images in association with each other.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the image processing apparatus is a copying machine or a personal computer. An image processing method executed by an image processing apparatus to create print data of an electronic document to which one or more encoded code images are added, the image processing apparatus comprising:
Creating drawing data from the electronic document;
Reading the code image from the drawing data and decoding the code image;
Obtaining range information, which is information relating to a range where at least the code image is arranged, from the decoding result, and creating code arrangement information;
An image processing method, comprising: encoding the code arrangement information into an index code image to create an index code image, and synthesizing the index code image with the drawing data to create an image with an index code. The image processing apparatus executes and controls the image processing by extracting the code image from a printed matter including one or more code images and an index code image that specifies the coding type, range information, and rotation angle of the code image. An image processing method for
Reading the printed matter to generate an image with an index code;
Receiving the image with the index code created by the scanner means;
Receiving the image with the index code, reading the index code, and decoding the read index code;
Decoding the code image included in the image with the index code using the code arrangement information which is a decoding result when the decoding is successful, obtaining general code information and executing image processing; and Image processing method.   An apparatus-executable program for realizing the functional means according to any one of claims 1 to 7 on an image processing apparatus.   An apparatus-executable program for realizing the functional means according to any one of claims 8 to 11 on an image processing apparatus.   An apparatus-executable program for realizing the functional means according to claim 12 on an image processing apparatus.

Images