JP2010092141A - Image processing system, image reader, image processor, and image processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of editing operations and to attain efficient editing work in such a case as post-editing text portions included in an input image. <P>SOLUTION: The image reader 1 included in an image processing system discriminates text regions in an input image from a background region containing non-text objects, generates outline data by applying an outline conversion to text images contained in the text regions and grouping the text images character by character, and generates an editable data file DF by combining the outline data with the background data. The server computer 3 stores the data file DF and in response to a request from a client computer 4 the server computer 3 transmits the data file DF to the client computer 4. At that time, the server computer 3 reads the data file DF and changes a grouping of outline data included in the data file DF to a specified grouping. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for converting a character image included in an input image into electronically reusable data.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, information has been digitized, and a technique for storing or transmitting a document in which texts, diagrams, photographs, and the like are mixed as electronic information instead of paper has become widespread. In recent years, an information processing apparatus called a multifunction peripheral or an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) can also read a color original and generate a color image. However, for example, when an A4 size color original is read at 300 dpi, the data capacity of the color image is about 25 MB, and there is a situation in which the amount of data is too large to reuse this color image electronically. For this reason, it is common to compress a color image obtained by reading a color document. However, when uniform compression processing is performed on the entire color image, for example, the data amount is sufficiently small. If the compression process is performed, the characters included in the document become unreadable. Conversely, if the compression process is performed to such a degree that the characters can be read, the data amount cannot be made sufficiently small.

  For this reason, conventionally, it has been proposed to determine a character area and a background area included in an input image obtained by reading a document, and to perform different processes for the character area and the background area. For example, by converting the foreground image included in the input image into vector data, storing the vector data in the first layer, and storing the background image of the input image in the second layer, electronic data composed of a plurality of layers A technique for generating the signal is known (for example, Patent Document 1). According to this technology, since the character image included in the input image is converted into the vector data that is outlined, the legibility of the character is not lost, and the characters and sentences included in the electronic data are electronically reused. Will be able to.

  Conventionally, an image reading apparatus such as a scanner can also create a file called an outline PDF when reading a document and creating a PDF (Portable Document Format) file. The outline PDF function performs outline conversion (vector data conversion) on the character area of the input image read from the document, and combines the converted outline data (vector data) with the background area of the input image. To create a PDF file. In this outline PDF, processing in units of characters included in the character area is performed when performing outline conversion.

  On the other hand, conventionally, a document management program that can be executed by a computer is known. This document management program is software for managing a document file such as a PDF file. For example, the document management program can be executed by a computer to perform an editing operation on the document file. For this reason, if image data obtained by reading a document with a scanner or the like is input to a computer and a document management program is started on the computer, the arrangement of characters included in the input image can be changed.

JP 2007-272601 A

  However, in the conventional technique, characters included in the character area of the input image are outline-converted in character units, so that a data file such as a PDF file input from the scanner is edited by a computer, for example, included in the character area. When changing the arrangement of characters in units of lines or paragraphs, the user performs an operation of changing the arrangement of characters one by one, or an operation of changing the arrangement after performing an operation of selecting a plurality of characters in advance. There is a need to do. For this reason, there has been a problem that editing operations are time-consuming and efficient editing cannot be performed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned conventional problems, and improves the operability when editing characters and the like included in an input image using a computer or the like to perform editing operations. An image processing system, an image reading device, an image processing device, and an image processing program that can be efficiently performed are provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an image processing system, comprising: a region determining unit that determines a character region included in an input image and a background region other than the character region; and the region determining unit. The outline conversion means for performing outline conversion of the character image included in the character area determined in step (b) and generating outline data grouped in character units, and background data from the background image consisting of the background area determined by the area determination means Background data generating means for generating; file generating means for generating an editable data file by integrating the outline data generated by the outline converting means and the background data generated by the background data generating means; Storage means for storing the data file generated by the file generation means; and the storage Instructing means for instructing a change in the grouping of the outline data included in the data file stored in the stage, and the instructing means for reading out the data file from the storage means and grouping the outline data included in the data file And a file output means for outputting a data file including outline data whose grouping has been changed by the grouping change means.

  According to such a configuration, when the image processing system outputs a data file, the grouping of outline data in character units is changed to grouping in other units. Therefore, the data file output from the image processing system is used. When performing the editing operation, it is not necessary to perform the editing operation in character units.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first aspect, the image processing system further includes a file input unit that inputs an edited data file for the data file output by the file output unit, and the grouping change unit includes: The outline data grouping included in the edited data file input to the file input means is returned to the character grouping, and then stored in the storage means.

  According to such a configuration, the edited data file in the image processing system is managed in a state in which the outline data is returned to the character unit grouping, which is convenient when a plurality of users share and use the data file. Improves.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first or second aspect, the character for determining the character structure included in the character area determined by the area determining means and generating character structure determination information And further comprising a structure determining means, wherein the file generating means generates the data file by integrating the outline data, the background data, and the character structure determining information generated by the character structure determining means, and the grouping. The changing unit is characterized in that the grouping of the outline data is changed from grouping in character units to grouping in another unit based on the character structure discrimination information.

  According to such a configuration, when the grouping changing unit changes the grouping of the outline data, the grouping changing unit can change the grouping based on the character structure determination information, so that the grouping can be changed efficiently.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the third aspect, the character structure determining means determines characters included in the character area in units of characters, and in units of lines, paragraphs or pages. The character structure discrimination information includes information on lines, paragraphs or pages.

  According to such a configuration, the grouping changing unit can efficiently change the grouping of the outline data in units of lines, paragraphs or pages.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus, comprising: an image reading unit that reads an original to generate an input image; a character area included in the input image input to the image input unit; Discriminated by the area discriminating means for discriminating the background area, the character structure discriminating means for discriminating the character structure included in the character area discriminated by the area discriminating means and generating the character structure discriminating information, and the area discriminating means The outline conversion unit that performs outline conversion of the character image included in the set character region and generates outline data grouped in units of characters, and generates background data from the background image formed by the background region determined by the region determination unit Background data generating means, the outline data generated by the outline converting means, and the background data generating means And generated the background data, is characterized by and a file generation means for generating data files editable by integrating the generated character structure identification information in the character structure determination unit.

  According to such a configuration, by referring to the character structure discrimination information included in the data file, the outline data grouping can be changed from the character unit to another unit when the data file is used.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus that stores an editable data file in which outline data grouped in character units and background data are integrated, and stored in the storage unit. Instructing means for instructing a change in grouping of the outline data included in the data file, and reading out the data file from the storage means, and instructing the grouping of the outline data included in the data file from the instructing means And a file output unit for outputting a data file including outline data whose grouping has been changed by the grouping change unit.

  According to such a configuration, when the image processing apparatus outputs the data file, the grouping of the outline data in character units is changed to another unit grouping. Therefore, the data file output from the image processing apparatus is used. When performing the editing operation, it is not necessary to perform the editing operation in character units.

  The invention according to claim 7 is an image processing program, wherein the computer is determined by an area determination means for determining a character area included in an input image and a background area other than the character area, and the area determination means. Character structure discriminating means for discriminating the character structure contained in the character area and generating character structure discriminating information, outline conversion of character images contained in the character area discriminated by the area discriminating means, and grouping in character units Outline conversion means for generating outline data, background data generation means for generating background data from a background image made up of the background area determined by the area determination means, the outline data generated by the outline conversion means, and the background data The background data generated by the generation means and the character structure determination means It is characterized in that is shaped structure determination information and the file generating means for generating data files editable integrates functions as.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing program comprising: a predetermined storage unit storing an editable data file in which outline data grouped in character units and background data are integrated; Means for reading out the data file; instruction means for instructing a change in the grouping of the outline data included in the data file; and grouping for changing the grouping of the outline data included in the data file based on an instruction from the instruction means. It is characterized by functioning as a change means and a file output means for outputting a data file including outline data whose grouping has been changed by the grouping change means.

  According to the present invention, when a data file that integrates outline data grouped in character units and background data is used, grouping in character units of outline data is changed to grouping in another unit. When performing an editing operation using this data file, it is not necessary to perform the editing operation in character units. Therefore, the operability when editing a character portion included in the input image is improved, and the editing operation can be performed efficiently.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member which is mutually common in each drawing, and the overlapping description about them is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system according to the present embodiment. This image processing system has a configuration in which an image reading apparatus 1, a server computer 3, and a client computer 4 are connected to each other via a network 2 so that they can communicate with each other. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of each unit in the image processing system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading apparatus 1 is configured as an information processing device called, for example, a multifunction peripheral or MFP (Multi Function Peripheral), and has a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, a FAX function, and a printer function. It has. The image reading apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 10 that reads an original and generates an input image. An automatic original conveying apparatus 10 a that conveys a plurality of originals one by one is provided above the image reading unit 10. Is provided. The image reading unit 10 performs a document reading operation in synchronization with the document conveying operation by the automatic document conveying device 10a so that a plurality of documents set on the automatic document conveying device 10a can be automatically read one by one. It has become. However, the automatic document feeder 10a is not particularly essential. An operation panel 14 that can be operated by a user is provided on the front side of the image reading apparatus 1. For example, when a start button or the like provided on the operation panel 14 is pressed, an original reading operation is performed in the image reading apparatus 1. Is started. In addition, a paper feeding unit 15 and an image forming unit 16 are provided in the lower part of the image reading apparatus 1. When a copy function, a printer function, or the like is used, the paper feeding unit 15 is connected to the image forming unit 16. Each sheet is supplied one by one, and the image forming unit 16 forms an image on the sheet and outputs the image. In the example shown in the figure, the image reading apparatus 1 is an information processing machine having a plurality of functions. However, the image reading apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is a scanner that reads at least a document and generates an input image. Any device having a function may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading apparatus 1 includes an input image processing unit 11 that processes an input image generated by the image reading unit 10 reading a document, a CPU 12, a storage unit 13 such as a memory or a hard disk, and an operation. The panel 14, the paper feeding unit 15, the image forming unit 16, the communication control unit 17, and the network interface 18 are connected to a data bus 19. The input image processing unit 11 is a processing unit that determines a character region and a background region included in the input image and performs outline conversion on the characters included in the character region. The CPU 12 is a processing unit that outputs the input image read by the image reading unit 10 as a predetermined data file. For example, the CPU 12 performs appropriate compression processing on the data in the character area and the background area, as in the outline PDF. A data file in which the character area and the background area are integrated is generated and output to the server computer 3. In this case, the data file is sent to the network 2 via the network interface 18 and sent to the server computer 3. The communication control unit 17 is a communication control unit for the image reading apparatus 1 to transmit and receive FAX data using the telephone line 9.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the server computer 3 includes a CPU 30, a memory 31, a storage unit 32 such as a hard disk, and a network interface 33, which are connected to a data bus 34. The storage unit 32 is a storage unit that accumulates and stores data files generated by the image reading apparatus 1 reading a document. That is, when the CPU 30 receives the data file output from the image reading apparatus 1 via the network interface 33, the CPU 30 stores and saves the data file in the storage unit 32. A server image processing program is installed in the server computer 3 in advance. The CPU 30 executes the image processing program to manage a plurality of data files stored in the storage unit 32, and when there is a data file transmission request from the client computer 4 via the network 2. The data file designated from the storage unit 32 is read out, and after-mentioned processing such as grouping change is performed as necessary, the data file is output to the client computer 4. The server image processing program is installed in the server computer 3 using a recording medium 3a such as a CD-ROM as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the client computer 4 includes a CPU 40, a memory 41, a display unit 42 such as a liquid crystal display device or a CRT, an operation input unit 43 such as a keyboard or a mouse, and a network interface 44. These are connected to the data bus 45. That is, the client computer 4 is configured by a general personal computer (PC). The client computer 4 is preinstalled with a client image processing program. When the CPU 40 of the client computer 4 executes the image processing program, the data file to be edited is acquired from the server computer 3 and displayed, and an editing operation on the image from the user is accepted and the editing process is performed. Is configured to run. The client image processing program is installed in the client computer 4 using a recording medium 4a such as a CD-ROM as shown in FIG.

  In the above configuration, for example, when the user desires to convert the character portion included in the document into data that can be electronically reused (re-edited), after the document is set in the image reading apparatus 1, the operation panel 14 is selected from a plurality of selectable data file formats, for example, “Outline PDF” or the like, and an instruction to start reading a document is issued, the image reading apparatus 1 performs processing as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure and a functional configuration when the image reading apparatus 1 reads a document and generates a data file in a format in which a character part can be reused. As shown in FIG. 3, when the image reading apparatus 1 generates a data file for reading a document and outputting it to the server computer 3, the image reading unit 10, the input image processing unit 11, and the CPU 12 described above are included. Function. When the image reading unit 10 reads an original and generates an input image D1, the image reading unit 10 outputs the input image D1 to the input image processing unit 11. The input image D1 is raster data.

  When the input image processing unit 11 inputs the input image D1 from the image reading unit 10, the input image processing unit 11 causes the preprocessing unit 51, the region determination unit 52, and the outline conversion unit 55 to function sequentially. The preprocessing unit 51 performs preprocessing so that the region determination processing by the region determination unit 52 can be appropriately performed, and is configured to perform processing such as resolution conversion and background removal, for example. . Resolution conversion is a process of converting the resolution of the entire input image, and this process is performed as necessary. The background removal is a process for clarifying the difference between the background and the background. For example, a dot having a predetermined density value or less is regarded as the background part and the density value is set to “0”. When these preprocessing is performed in the preprocessing unit 51, the area determination unit 52 functions next.

  The area determination unit 52 determines a character area included in the input image D2 that has been preprocessed and a background area other than the character area. The area discriminating unit 52 includes a character area discriminating unit 53 that discriminates a character area, and the character area discriminating unit 53 discriminates a character area included in the input image D2 subjected to the background removal. A known method can be adopted as a method for determining the character area. For example, the character area discriminating unit 53 converts the RGB data of the input image D2 into lightness data to generate a black and white gray image, and performs labeling for extracting an object while scanning the gray image in a predetermined direction. Process. Through this labeling process, all characters and photos included in the input image D2 are extracted as objects. Then, the character region determination unit 53 extracts all objects that can be regarded as characters by comparing the size, density, arrangement, and the like of all the extracted objects with a predetermined condition. In this process, each character is extracted as one object. Then, the character area determining unit 53 determines an area where a plurality of objects regarded as characters are present as one character area. A region other than the portion that the character region determination unit 53 has determined as a character region is determined as a background region.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of processing by the area determination unit 52. As shown in FIG. 4, when the pre-processed input image D2 includes character portions M3, M4, and M5 in which a plurality of characters are collected in addition to the photograph M1 and FIG. By performing the area determination processing, a character area image DA composed of character areas and a background area image DB composed of background areas other than the character areas are generated. In the character area image DA, the photograph M1 and FIG. M2 included in the background area image DB are removed, and in the background area image DB, character portions M3, M4, and M5 included in the character area image DA are removed.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the character region determination unit 53 in the region determination unit 52 also functions as a character structure determination unit 54. The character structure determination unit 54 is configured to determine characters included in the character area in units of characters, and to determine characters in units of lines, paragraphs, and pages. For example, by extracting all objects that can be regarded as characters by the character area determination unit 53, all characters included in the character area are determined in units of characters. The character structure discriminating unit 54 determines whether the sentence is vertical writing or horizontal writing by evaluating an interval between adjacent characters and the like, and determines in units of lines, paragraphs, and pages constituting the sentence. Determine the arrangement structure of characters.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of processing by the character structure determination unit 54. The character structure determination unit 54 targets, for example, each object (character) included in the character area image DA extracted by the character region determination unit 53, and an object having the same size as the object to be processed is in the proximity. It is determined that the lines constituting the sentence are arranged. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 5, it is determined that each of the lines L1 to L17 in the character area image DA constitutes one line, and the characters included in each line are specified. In addition, the character structure determination unit 54, for example, when another line composed of objects of the same size is arranged close to each other in a direction orthogonal to one line, one paragraph is composed of the plurality of lines. Judge that Therefore, in the case of FIG. 5, it is determined that each of the paragraphs J1 and J2 in the character area image DA constitutes one paragraph, and the characters and lines included in each paragraph are specified. Further, the character structure determination unit 54 determines that all the characters included in the input image D2 constitute one page, for example. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 5, it is determined that the page P1 in the character area image DA constitutes one page, and the characters, lines, and paragraphs included in the page are specified. The character structure discriminating unit 54 generates information about characters in the character unit, line unit, paragraph unit, and page unit discriminated as described above as the character structure discriminating information DC.

  When the region determination processing is performed as described above, the character region determination unit 53 outputs the character region image DA to the outline conversion unit 55 and outputs the background region image DB to the CPU 12. Further, the character structure determination information DC relating to the characters included in the character unit, line unit, paragraph unit and page unit determined by the character structure determination unit 54 is also output to the CPU 12. In the input image processing unit 11, the outline conversion unit 55 functions next.

  The outline conversion unit 55 is a processing unit that performs outline conversion of characters included in the character area image DA in character units. The vertex detection unit 56, the straight line approximation processing unit 57, the curve approximation processing unit 58, and the data generation unit 59 The outline data (vector data) grouped for each character is generated by performing these functions sequentially. The vertex detection unit 56 is a processing unit that extracts vertices such as corners and edges of characters by scanning the character area image DA in a predetermined direction and extracting density change points. The straight line approximation processing unit 57 is a processing unit that performs straight line approximation while specifying what can be linearly approximated between two vertices such as corners and edges of characters extracted by the vertex detection unit 56. For this linear approximation, a known method may be employed. The curve approximation processing unit 58 is a processing unit that performs curve approximation so that two vertices that have not been linearly approximated by the linear approximation processing unit 57 are smoothly connected by a curve. For this curve approximation, a known method may be adopted, for example, Bezier approximation. The data generation unit 59 generates outline data grouped for each character based on the results of the straight line approximation processing unit 57 and the curve approximation processing unit 58.

  6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating an example of outline data generated by the outline conversion unit 55. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of characters included in the character area image DA. FIG. 7 illustrates the characters in FIG. The outline data generated from is shown. In the example of the drawing, for convenience of explanation, a case where outline data can be generated by linear approximation is shown. As shown in FIG. 6, the character area image DA includes an “L” character M8 and an “I” character M9. The character area image DA is displayed in the X and Y directions from the document edge. When scanning in two directions, a plurality of vertices A, B, C, D, E, and F are extracted from the character M8. A plurality of vertices G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, and R are extracted from the character M9. Note that the XY coordinates of each vertex are as shown in FIG. When each character included in the character area image DA is converted into data by the outline conversion unit 55, as shown in FIG. 7, the character M8 and the character M9 are represented by outline data for each character. The outline data of each of the characters M8 and M9 includes the data indicating the magnification and accuracy, and the data indicating the coordinate value of the reference point, and then the coordinates of the vertices connected by a straight line from the reference point coordinate in order. is described. According to such outline data, each of the characters M8 and M9 can be reproduced smoothly. Here, the lowercase letter q shown in FIG. 7 indicates the starting point of grouping, and the uppercase letter Q indicates the end point of grouping. Therefore, the outline data generated by the outline conversion unit 55 is data in which the characters M8 and M9 are grouped together.

  Returning to FIG. 3, when outline data grouped for each character is generated as described above, the outline conversion unit 55 outputs the outline data to the CPU 12.

  Next, the CPU 12 will be described. When generating a data file DF to be output to the server computer 3, the CPU 12 functions as a resolution reduction unit 61, a lossy compression unit 62, a lossless compression unit 63, and a file generation unit 64. The reduced resolution converting unit 61 is a processing unit that receives the background region image DB output from the input image processing unit 11 and converts the resolution of the background region image DB to a predetermined resolution to generate low-resolution background data. . Here, by reducing the resolution of the background area image DB, the data amount of the background data can be reduced. However, the resolution reduction unit 61 is not particularly essential, and if the resolution reduction unit 61 is not provided, the background area image DB becomes the background data as it is. The background data is supplied to the irreversible compression unit 62, and the irreversible compression unit 62 performs irreversible compression such as JPEG compression. That is, in this embodiment, priority is given to reducing the amount of data rather than maintaining the image quality of the background data. Therefore, low resolution processing and irreversible high compression processing are applied to the background data. Applied. The compressed background data is output to the file generator 64.

  On the other hand, the reversible compression unit 63 is a processing unit that performs data compression by inputting outline data grouped for each character output from the input image processing unit 11. Here, since it is necessary to reproduce the outline data later, a reversible compression process such as FLATE compression is performed. The compressed data is output to the file generation unit 64.

  The file generation unit 64 outputs the compressed background data output from the lossy compression unit 62, the compressed outline data output from the lossless compression unit 63, and the character structure determination unit 54 of the input image processing unit 11. The editable data file DF is generated by integrating the character structure discrimination information DC. For example, the data file DF includes entity data to be browsed and edited and additional information such as header information and comment information. The entity data further includes first layer entity data and second layer entity data. Has a hierarchical structure. The outline data is stored in the first layer entity data, and the background data is stored in the second layer entity data. The character structure determination information DC is stored in additional information such as header information and comment information. The data file DF generated in this way is output from the image reading apparatus 1 to the server computer 3. Then, the server computer 3 stores the data file DF output from the image reading device 1 in the storage unit 32.

  Next, processing when the data file DF output from the image reading apparatus 1 as described above is reused by the server computer 3 and the client computer 4 will be described. The server computer 3 and the client computer 4 function as image processing devices for viewing and editing images based on the data file DF generated by the image reading device 1 reading a document by executing the respective image processing programs.

  FIG. 8 shows each processing unit that functions when the CPU 30 of the server computer 3 executes the image processing program for the server and each processing unit that functions when the CPU 40 of the client computer 4 executes the image processing program for the client. FIG. The CPU 30 of the server computer 3 functions as an input / output processing unit 71, a file management unit 72, and a grouping change unit 74. The input / output processing unit 71 is a processing unit that performs transmission / reception of the data file DF via the network 2. The file management unit 72 is a processing unit that reads the data file DF stored in the storage unit 32 and stores the data file DF input by the input / output processing unit 71 via the network 2 in the storage unit 32. . The file management unit 72 also functions as a grouping instruction unit 73. The grouping instruction unit 73 is an instruction unit that instructs the grouping change unit 74 to change the grouping when the file transmission request from the client computer 4 includes designation of grouping. The grouping change unit 74 is a processing unit that changes the grouping of the outline data included in the data file DF based on the change in the grouping from the grouping instruction unit 73.

  On the other hand, the CPU 40 of the client computer 4 functions as a file specification unit 81, a grouping specification unit 82, a transmission request processing unit 83, a file editing processing unit 84 and a storage processing unit 85. The file designation unit 81 is a processing unit that designates a file to be browsed / edited. When the file specifying unit 81 functions, the server computer 3 is accessed via the network 2 and the list information of the plurality of data files DF stored in the storage unit 32 of the server computer 3 is acquired. Then, by displaying the list information on the display unit 42, the user can select one file to be browsed / edited from the list information. When the user designates one file to be viewed / edited, the file designation unit 81 temporarily stores the designated file name in the memory 41.

  The grouping designation unit 82 is a processing unit that designates grouping of outline data when the data file DF is acquired from the server computer 3. For example, when an image processing program for a client is started in the client computer 3, an initial screen 42a as shown in FIG. When the initial screen 42 a is displayed, when the user operates the operation input unit 43 to move the pointer image 90 to the menu bar 91 and selects and operates the “setting” item included in the menu bar 91, A pull-down menu 92 is displayed. When a further “grouping” item is selected from the pull-down menu 92, another list menu 93 is displayed. The list menu 93 displays a list of groupings that can be selected by the user. When the user selects a desired grouping from the list, the grouping designation unit 82 designates the grouping selected by the user. In the example shown in the figure, the “group by row” grouping is selected. When the user does not perform the grouping designation operation as described above, the grouping of outline data when acquiring the data file DF from the server computer 3 remains at the “character unit” which is the default setting.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the transmission request processing unit 83 is a processing unit that requests the server computer 3 to transmit the data file DF. The transmission request processing unit 83 reads the file name stored in the memory 41 by the file specifying unit 81, specifies the file name of the data file DF, and when grouping is specified by the grouping specifying unit 82, A transmission request command including information regarding the designated grouping is generated and transmitted to the server computer 3.

  In the server computer 3, when the input / output processing unit 71 receives the transmission request command, the file management unit 72 functions to analyze the transmission request command. Then, the data file DF stored in the storage unit 32 is specified from the file name included in the transmission request command. When the transmission request command includes information related to grouping, the grouping instruction unit 73 functions to identify the grouping designated from the client computer 4 and instruct the grouping change unit 74 to change the grouping. . As a result, the grouping change unit 74 functions and changes the grouping of outline data included in the data file DF read from the storage unit 32 based on an instruction from the grouping instruction unit 73. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the designation from the client computer 4 is “line unit” grouping, the grouping change unit 74 converts the outline data included in the data file DF from “character unit” grouping. Change to "line unit" grouping.

  Here, specific processing by the grouping changing unit 74 will be described. As described above, the data file DF includes character structure determination information DC as additional information. The grouping change unit 74 changes the grouping based on the character structure determination information DC. That is, since the character structure determination information DC includes information on characters in character units, line units, paragraph units, and page units, for example, when it is instructed to change the grouping to “line units”, The grouping change unit 74 refers to the character structure determination information DC to determine which line each character of the outline data belongs to, and changes the grouping of the outline data from “character unit” to “line unit”. . That is, the outline data included in the data file DF in the state stored in the storage unit 32 is grouped in units of characters as shown in FIG. 7, and the starting point of grouping at the beginning and end of the outline data of each character. And a description (lowercase q and uppercase Q) indicating the end point. Therefore, the grouping changing unit 74 sets the position of the description (lowercase q and uppercase Q) indicating the start point and end point of the grouping to the grouping instructed by the grouping instruction unit 73 based on the character structure determination information DC. Change the grouping by changing. For example, when the two characters M8 and M9 shown in FIG. 7 are changed to one grouping, the grouping change unit 74 changes the description of the outline data from the description shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. By rewriting to a simple description, it is changed to one grouping including two characters M8 and M9. The same applies when the grouping is changed to other units such as a paragraph unit or a page unit, and a description indicating the start and end points of the grouping attached to the beginning and end of the outline data of each character (lower case q and upper case Q) ) By changing the position.

  When the grouping change unit 74 completes the grouping change of the outline data based on the instruction from the grouping instruction unit 73, the grouping change unit 74 outputs the data file DF reflecting the grouping change to the file management unit 72. The file management unit 72 outputs the data file DF reflecting the grouping change to the input / output processing unit 71, and the input / output processing unit 71 transmits the data file DF to the client computer 4.

  When the client computer 4 receives the data file DF whose grouping has been changed from the server computer 3, the client computer 4 reads the outline data and the background data included in the substance data of the data file DF, and generates an image obtained by combining them. It is displayed on the display unit 42. As a result, the user can browse the contents of the data file DF, and can edit the displayed image by operating the operation input unit 43. In the CPU 40, the file editing processing unit 84 functions to accept an editing operation by the user. At this time, when the user wants to move a plurality of characters, for example, in units of lines, the grouping change process described above forms a group of characters for each line, so the user selects one line. To move all the characters in the line at once. That is, if the user wants to perform an editing operation in units of lines, the character part of the image in which the characters displayed on the display unit 42 and the background are synthesized by designating the grouping in units of lines in advance. When editing a file, editing operations can be performed in “row units”. If the user wants to perform editing operations in paragraph units, it is possible to perform editing operations in “paragraph units” by specifying “paragraph unit” grouping in advance, and to perform editing operations in page units. In this case, the editing operation in the “page unit” can be performed by specifying the “page unit” grouping in advance. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to perform an operation of moving one character at a time as in the prior art or an operation of selecting a plurality of characters in advance, so that editing can be performed efficiently. Become.

  When the user finishes the editing operation and saves the edited contents in the server computer 3, the save processing unit 85 functions in the CPU 40. The storage processing unit 85 rewrites the contents edited by the user by reflecting them in the data file DF. The rewritten data file DF is transmitted to the server computer 3.

  When the input / output processing unit 71 of the server computer 3 receives the updated data file DF after editing, it outputs it to the file management unit 72. The file management unit 72 causes the grouping instruction unit 73 to function when the edited data file DF is input. Then, the grouping instructing unit 73 instructs to return the grouping of the outline data included in the data file DF to “character unit”. As a result, the grouping changing unit 74 returns the grouping of the outline data included in the edited data file DF to the character grouping. Then, the file management unit 72 overwrites and saves the edited data file DF including the outline data changed to the character unit grouping by the grouping changing unit 74 in the storage unit 32, so that the edited data file DF is stored. The In this way, the data file DF managed by the server computer 3 has the grouping of outline data unified in character units, so that a plurality of users can access the data file DF via the network 2 and re-create the data file DF. When used, grouping in units of characters can be set as a default setting common to a plurality of users, so that complicated management is not necessary for file management, and efficient management can be performed.

  As described above, in the image processing system according to the present embodiment, the image reading apparatus 1 determines the character region included in the input image and the background region other than the character region, and outlines the character image included in the character region. Performs conversion to generate outline data grouped in character units. Also, background data is generated from a background image composed of background areas. Then, the outline data grouped in character units and the background data are integrated to generate and output an editable data file DF. The data file DF includes character structure determination information DC generated by determining the character structure included in the character area. On the other hand, the server computer 3 is configured to store the data file DF generated by the image reading device 1 in the storage unit 32, and performs grouping of outline data included in the data file DF stored in the storage unit 32. The data file DF including the outline data in which the grouping is changed is output after being changed. Therefore, when using the data file DF output from the server computer 3, not only outline data grouped in character units but also outline data grouped in various units such as line units and paragraph units. Therefore, outline data grouped in units suitable for the user's editing operation can be acquired. Therefore, the editing operation by the user is easy and simple, and the editing operation can be performed efficiently.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the thing of the content mentioned above. That is, various modifications can be applied to the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the grouping is changed in units of characters, lines, paragraphs, and pages has been described as an example. However, there are various other types of grouping changes. For example, when the character structure determination unit 54 of the region determination unit 52 determines the vertical writing portion and the horizontal writing portion of the character and includes the information in the character structure determination information DC, the grouping is changed. Can be grouped by distinguishing the vertical writing portion and the horizontal writing portion. Further, the character structure discriminating unit 54 discriminates the color, size, type (type of hiragana, katakana, kanji, numbers, etc.), font type, etc. of the character and includes the information in the character structure discrimination information DC. Thus, when changing the grouping, the grouping can be performed for each of the same character color, the same character size, the same character type, or the same font type. In addition, when characters are included in a figure, graph, table, etc., the characters included in the figure, graph, table, etc. can also be grouped by identifying those characters. In this way, if grouping can be performed in various ways, the user can select an appropriate grouping according to the usage when using the data file DF, and at the time of editing operation The operability is further improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the server computer 3 functions as an image processing apparatus that changes the grouping of outline data is exemplified. However, the grouping of outline data does not necessarily need to be changed by the server computer 3, and the client computer 4 You may go in. In particular, in the present invention, the image processing apparatus may be configured by a single computer in which the functions of the server computer 3 and the client computer 4 described above are integrated.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the grouping is changed based on the character structure determination information DC included in the data file DF when the grouping of the outline data is changed in the server computer 3 is exemplified. However, even when the character structure determination information DC is not included in the data file DF, the server computer 3 obtains information necessary for changing the grouping by performing the same process as the character structure determination unit 54 described above. Can do. Therefore, when changing the grouping of outline data in the server computer 3, the grouping may be changed by performing the same process as the character structure determination unit 54 of the image reading unit 1 described above. However, in this case, since the processing time required for changing the grouping becomes longer, it is more preferable to change the grouping based on the character structure determination information DC included in the data file DF as in the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the area determination unit 52, the outline conversion unit 55, the resolution reduction unit 61, the lossy compression unit 62, the lossless compression unit 63, and the file are compared with the image reading apparatus 1. Although the case where the generation unit 64 is provided has been illustrated, these functions may be realized by another computer connected to the network 2 instead of the image reading device 1. In this case, the image processing functioning as the area determination unit 52, outline conversion unit 55, resolution reduction unit 61, lossy compression unit 62, lossless compression unit 63, and file generation unit 64 as shown in FIG. A program is installed in advance, and the computer 3 executes the image processing program, thereby performing the same processing as described above to generate the data file DF from the input image.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of each part in an image processing system. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure and a functional configuration when a document is read and a data file in a format in which a character part can be reused is generated in the image reading apparatus. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the process by an area | region discrimination | determination part. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the process by a character structure discrimination | determination part. It is a figure which shows an example of the character contained in a character area image. It is a figure which shows an example of the outline data produced | generated from the character shown in FIG. 6 by the outline conversion part. It is a block diagram which shows each processing part which functions when CPU of a server computer functions by executing the image processing program for servers, and each processing part which functions when CPU of a client computer executes the image processing program for clients. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on a display part in a client computer. It is a figure which shows an example at the time of changing the grouping of the outline data of FIG. 7 by the grouping change part.

Explanation of symbols

1 image reading device 2 network 3 server computer (image processing device)
4 Client computer (image processing device)
10 Image reading unit (image reading means)
32 storage unit (storage means)
52 area discriminating section (area discriminating means, background data generating means)
54 Character structure determination unit (character structure determination means)
55 Outline converter (outline converter)
61 Low resolution section (background data generation means)
64 File generator (file generator)
71 Input / output processing unit (file output means)
73 Grouping instruction section (grouping instruction means)
74 Grouping change section (grouping change means)
DA Character area image DB Background area image (background data)
DC character structure identification information DF data file

Claims (8)

An area determination means for determining a character area included in the input image and a background area other than the character area;
Outline conversion means for performing outline conversion of character images included in the character area determined by the area determination means, and generating outline data grouped in character units;
Background data generating means for generating background data from a background image consisting of the background area determined by the area determining means;
File generating means for generating an editable data file by integrating the outline data generated by the outline converting means and the background data generated by the background data generating means;
Storage means for storing the data file generated by the file generation means;
Instruction means for instructing a change in grouping of the outline data included in the data file stored in the storage means;
Grouping change means for reading the data file from the storage means and changing the grouping of the outline data included in the data file based on an instruction from the instruction means;
File output means for outputting a data file including outline data whose grouping has been changed by the grouping change means;
An image processing system comprising: A file input means for inputting an edited data file for the data file output by the file output means;
2. The grouping change unit returns the grouping of the outline data included in the edited data file input to the file input unit to character grouping, and then stores the grouped data in the storage unit. The image processing system described. Character structure determination means for generating character structure determination information by determining a character structure included in the character area determined by the area determination means,
The file generation unit generates the data file by integrating the outline data, the background data, and the character structure determination information generated by the character structure determination unit,
The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the grouping changing unit changes the grouping of the outline data from grouping in character units to grouping in another unit based on the character structure determination information.   The character structure determining means determines characters included in the character area in units of characters and in units of lines, paragraphs or pages, and the character structure determination information includes information on lines, paragraphs or pages. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein: Image reading means for reading an original and generating an input image;
Area determination means for determining a character area included in the input image input to the image input means and a background area other than the character area;
Character structure determination means for determining character structure included in the character area determined by the area determination means and generating character structure determination information;
Outline conversion means for performing outline conversion of character images included in the character area determined by the area determination means, and generating outline data grouped in character units;
Background data generating means for generating background data from a background image consisting of the background area determined by the area determining means;
A data file that can be edited by integrating the outline data generated by the outline conversion unit, the background data generated by the background data generation unit, and the character structure determination information generated by the character structure determination unit File generation means for generating
An image reading apparatus comprising: Storage means for storing an editable data file in which outline data grouped in character units and background data are integrated;
Instruction means for instructing a change in grouping of the outline data included in the data file stored in the storage means;
Grouping change means for reading the data file from the storage means and changing the grouping of the outline data included in the data file based on an instruction from the instruction means;
File output means for outputting a data file including outline data whose grouping has been changed by the grouping change means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: Computer
Area discriminating means for discriminating a character area included in the input image and a background area other than the character area;
Character structure determination means for determining character structure included in the character area determined by the area determination means and generating character structure determination information;
Outline conversion means for performing outline conversion of a character image included in the character area determined by the area determination means, and generating outline data grouped in character units;
Background data generating means for generating background data from a background image consisting of the background area determined by the area determining means;
A data file that can be edited by integrating the outline data generated by the outline conversion unit, the background data generated by the background data generation unit, and the character structure determination information generated by the character structure determination unit File generation means for generating
An image processing program that functions as an image processing program. Computer
Means for reading out the data file from a predetermined storage means storing an editable data file in which outline data grouped in character units and background data are integrated;
An instruction means for instructing a change in grouping of the outline data included in the data file;
Grouping change means for changing the grouping of the outline data included in the data file based on an instruction from the instruction means;
A file output means for outputting a data file including outline data whose grouping has been changed by the grouping change means;
An image processing program that functions as an image processing program.

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