JP2011010227A - Information embedding device, input detector, information embedding method, input detection method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing technique for allowing an input detecting device to detect input omission without registering an image of a ledger sheet to be printed in a database.SOLUTION: A ledger sheet generating application 110 generates an original ledger sheet image. An embedded information generating part 124 generates a dot image by using the original ledger sheet image and input position information. A superposed image generating part 125 superposes the dot image on the original ledger sheet image and generates a superposed image. A printing processing part 126 performs printing processing of the superposed image. A printer 14 prints the superposed image after printing processing on a printing medium. A scanner 131 reads the image written on the printing medium. An information extracting part 162 extracts the original ledger sheet image and the input position information from the image. An input detector 164 determines whether input fields are filled or not by comparing the read image and the original ledger sheet image by using the input position information. A detected image generating part 165 generates an image in response to the result of determination of the input detector 164.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information embedding device, an input detection device, an information embedding method, an input detection method, a program, and a storage medium.

  Although online applications and applications are increasing due to the spread of the Internet, paper applications and applications are still widely used in reception work. This is largely due to considerations for those who cannot operate computer terminals and the culture of Japanese seals. In addition, considering the costs involved in system development and operation, as well as the measures to be taken in the event of a power outage or system failure, there are many cases where the paper is settled on an inexpensive paper medium. Now, because people who are not familiar with writing often fill out these forms such as application documents and application documents, mistakes and omissions are apt to occur. Although we have taken measures such as placing large input fields that must be filled in the form, making the colors and borders more prominent, putting examples of writing, etc., mistakes and omissions inevitably occur End up. For this reason, the task of visually inspecting whether there are omissions is very burdensome. In particular, when a new employee is assigned or the layout of the form is changed, there is a risk that the business efficiency is remarkably lowered, an error is missed, and the system is greatly affected. For example, in the business flow of accepting documents at the branch office and registering the data at the head office, if there is a deficiency in the input check at the branch office and an omission is found at the head office, the document will be sent back to the branch office for entry, It will be sent again to the head office. In this case, there is a problem that a large time loss occurs and the deadline is passed in the estimation and contract work.

  In recent years, a technology has been developed that scans the contents of a form as an image, performs OCR on the image, automatically extracts bibliographic information, and automatically creates input field attribute information. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2). Therefore, in such a technique, as a method of checking the input fields that must be filled in, the bar code or character string pasted on the scanned image is read to extract the form number, and the extracted form number is used as a key. There is a method of searching a database, acquiring position information of an input field of a form, and checking whether something is input in an area corresponding to position information of a scanned image. Further, there is a method of recognizing ruled lines on a form and searching for a form image registered in a database instead of using a barcode or OCR processing. Thus, an input detection device has been developed as a technique for mechanically detecting an input leakage.

  However, in the technique of searching a database, all databases must be connected to the input detection device, and there is a possibility that images of all revised forms must be held. Another problem is that it takes a long time to search. Also, in cases such as insurance contracts where customer information or recommended plans are to be printed in advance, it is difficult to register images of all forms to be printed in the database.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an information embedding device for enabling detection of an input omission without registering an image of a form to be printed in a database in the input detection device, and input detection An object is to provide an apparatus, an information embedding method, an input detection method, a program, and a storage medium.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an information embedding device, an image acquisition unit that acquires an image including at least one input field, and the image acquisition unit that acquires the image. Image processing means for performing image processing for reducing the amount of information on an image, input position information acquisition means for acquiring input position information representing the position of the input field included in the image, and the image processing means Using the image that has undergone image processing and the input position information, a converted image generating unit that generates a converted image, and the converted image generated by the converted image generating unit with respect to the image acquired by the image acquiring unit And a superimposed image generating means for generating a superimposed image on which is superimposed.

  In addition, the present invention is an input detection device, wherein a detection image acquisition unit that acquires a first image including at least one input field, and a superimposed image superimposed on the first image acquired by the detection image acquisition unit Image extraction means for extracting the input second position image and input position information representing the position of the input field included in the first image, the first image extracted by the image extraction means, and the detected image acquisition means. Using the acquired second image, a comparison is made at the position of the input field represented by the input position information acquired by the image extraction means, and the presence or absence of input in the input field in the first image is detected. Input presence / absence detecting means.

  In addition, the present invention is executed by an information embedding device including an image acquisition unit, an image processing unit, an input position information acquisition unit, a converted image generation unit, a converted image generation unit, and a superimposed image generation unit. An information embedding method, in which the image acquisition means acquires an image including at least one input field, and the image processing means performs information on the image acquired by the image acquisition means. An image processing step for performing image processing for reducing the amount; an input position information acquiring step for acquiring input position information representing a position of the input field included in the image; Means for generating a converted image using the image processed by the image processing means and the input position information; and the superimposed image Generating means to the image by the image acquisition unit has acquired, characterized in that it comprises a superimposed image generating step of the converted image generating means for generating a superimposed image obtained by superimposing the converted image generated is.

  The present invention is also an input detection method executed by an input detection apparatus including a detection image acquisition unit, an image extraction unit, and an input presence / absence detection unit, wherein the detection image acquisition unit includes at least one input field. A detection image acquisition step of acquiring a first image including a second image superimposed as a converted image on the first image acquired by the detection image acquisition unit, and the image extraction unit included in the first image An image extraction step for extracting input position information representing the position of the input field, the input presence / absence detecting means, the first image extracted by the image extracting means, and the second image acquired by the detected image acquiring means. A comparison is made at the position of the input field represented by the input position information acquired by the image extraction means, and Characterized in that it comprises an input presence detection step of detecting the presence or absence of an input in the input field.

  Moreover, this invention is a program for making a computer perform said method.

  Further, the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium storing the above program.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to detect an input omission without registering an image of a form to be printed in a database in an input detection device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a PC 100 corresponding to an information embedding device and a configuration of a PC 150 corresponding to an input detection device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an original form image. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a superimposed image in which dot images are superimposed on the original form image shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a transition until a superimposed image is generated. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a form image read by the scanner 131. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by removing the dot image from the form image illustrated in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a printing image printed on a printing medium. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of information embedding processing performed by the PC 100. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of input detection processing performed by the PC 150. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of input detection processing according to a modification. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of input detection processing according to a modification.

  Exemplary embodiments of an information embedding device, an input detection device, an information embedding method, an input detection method, a program, and a storage medium according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a PC 100 corresponding to the information embedding device according to the present embodiment and a configuration of a PC 150 corresponding to an input detection device. First, the configuration of the PC 100 will be described. The PC 100 includes a storage unit 101, an operation input receiving unit 102, a display control unit 103, and a control unit 104. An input device such as a keyboard 11 and a mouse 12, a monitor 13, and a printer 14 are connected to the PC 100. An operation from the user is input to the input device. The monitor 13 is a liquid crystal display, a CRT display (Cathode Ray Tube) or the like, and displays information. The printer 14 prints an image on a print medium such as paper. The storage unit 101 stores various data such as images and various programs. The storage unit 101 also stores form information for generating a form and input position information indicating the position of each input field in the form. The form information represents, for example, a form number for identifying a form, a form name, a form layout, a name of each input field, and a position of each input field. Each input field is defined by a rectangular area in the form. For this reason, the position of each input field is, for example, the coordinate value of four points in the rectangular area or the coordinate value of one point in the rectangular area when all or part of the surface of the form is a two-dimensional coordinate. Expressed by height and width. In the present embodiment, the input position information represents the position of the input field represented in this way, and the input field name, the combination of each input field, and the condition that requires input (referred to as input-required condition) The input position information further represents. The required input conditions will be described later. Such input position information is described in a simple language such as XML (Extensible Markup Language), and is stored in the storage unit 101 in association with the form number. The control unit 104 is configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and controls the entire apparatus by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 101. Examples of functions realized by the control unit 104 executing various programs include a form generation application 110 and a printer driver 120, as shown in FIG. The operation input receiving unit 102 receives an operation input from the form creator via the input device. The display control unit 103 controls the display of information on the monitor 13 under the control of the control unit 104.

  The form generation application 110 uses the form information stored in the storage unit 101 to generate a form original image (referred to as an original form image), and displays the generated original form image on the monitor 13 via the display control unit 103. Let FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an original form image. In the figure, “address”, “household”, “birth date”, “necessary person”, “relationship”, “name”, “remark”, “number corresponding to reprint” and “ "Billing reason" is an input field. Of these, the “address”, “household”, “date of birth”, “remark”, “number of mails corresponding to reprint”, and “reason for billing” are mandatory. If "Nana" is entered, then the following "Relationship" and "Name" must be entered. Thus, the combination of the input field in which the input is essential and the input field when the input becomes essential is represented by the input position information as the above-mentioned input essential condition. When the form creator operates the keyboard 11 or the mouse 12 and inputs corrections such as addition or change of information while checking the original image displayed on the monitor 13, the form generation application 110 The input (operation input) of the operation is received via the operation input receiving unit 102, and the original image is updated by appropriately modifying the original image according to the operation input. The input here is not an input to the input field, but an input for correcting the original form of the form itself. There is no need to input such correction. The form generation application 110 passes the generated or updated original form image and input position information on the form to the printer driver 120. The input field position information is temporarily stored in the storage unit 101, and then transferred to the printer driver 120 when the printer driver 120 reads it from the storage unit 101.

  The image acquisition unit 121 acquires the original form image passed from the form generation application 110. The compression unit 122 performs a compression process using Zip or the like on the original form image acquired by the image acquisition unit 121 and compresses the original form image. As a result, the information amount of the original form image is reduced. The input position acquisition unit 123 acquires the input position information by reading the input position information from the storage unit 101. The embedding information generation unit 124 generates a dot image using the original form image compressed by the compression unit 122 and the input position information acquired by the input position acquisition unit 123. That is, the embedding information generation unit 124 generates a dot image (converted image) as information for embedding the compressed original form image and input position information in the original form image acquired by the image acquisition unit 121. Note that the method by which the embedding information generation unit 124 generates the dot image using the compressed original form image and the input position information is not particularly limited, and is, for example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-5935. Good. The superimposed image generation unit 125 superimposes the original form image acquired by the image acquisition unit 121 and the dot image generated by the embedding information generation unit 124 to generate a superimposed image. As a result, the compressed original image and the input position information are embedded as dot images in the original image acquired by the image acquisition unit 121.

  The print processing unit 126 performs a printing process such as converting the superimposed image generated by the superimposed image generation unit 125 into an image (referred to as a printing image) expressed in a printer language, and passes the printing image to the printer 14. The printer 14 prints the print image passed from the print processing unit 126 on a print medium. As a result, for example, the image shown in FIG. 3 is printed. In the image shown in the figure, a dot image is superimposed on the original form image shown in FIG. A print medium on which such an image is printed is called a form. This form can be copied by a copier or MFP (multifunction machine).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a transition until a superimposed image is generated. The original form image shown in (a) of the figure is generated by the form generation application 110, and this and the input position information shown in (b) of the figure are used, and shown in (c) of the figure. A dot image to be generated is generated by the embedding information generation unit 124, and this and the original form image shown in (a) of the figure are superimposed by the superimposed image generation unit 125, and the superimposed image shown in (d) of the figure Is generated. A print medium on which the superimposed image is printed becomes a form. A form user inputs each entry field of such a form, and the PC 150 detects an input omission.

  Next, the configuration of the PC 150 will be described. The PC 150 includes a storage unit 151, an operation input reception unit 152, a display control unit 154, and a control unit 155. The PC 150 is connected to a scanner 131, input devices such as a keyboard 132 and a mouse 133, a monitor 135, and a printer 134. The input device, the monitor 135, and the printer 134 are substantially the same as the input device, the monitor 13, and the printer 14 connected to the PC 100, and thus description thereof is omitted. The storage unit 151, the operation input reception unit 152, and the display control unit 154 are also substantially the same as the storage unit 101, the operation input reception unit 102, and the display control unit 103 of the PC 100, and thus description thereof is omitted. The scanner 131 reads an image (referred to as a “form image”) represented on a form set on a document placement table (not shown), and passes this to the control unit 155. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a form image read by the scanner 131. In the form image shown in the figure, input is made in the input fields for address, householder, stamp, and billing reason. The control unit 155 is configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and controls the entire apparatus by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 151. As functions of the functions realized by the control unit 155 executing various programs, as shown in FIG. 1, a printer driver 153, a detected image acquisition unit 161, an information extraction unit 162, and a comparison image generation unit 163, an input detection unit 164, a detection image generation unit 165, a print processing unit 166, and a display processing unit 167.

  The detected image acquisition unit 161 acquires a form image read from the form by the scanner 131 and stores the form image in the storage unit 151. The information extraction unit 162 acquires the form image stored in the storage unit 151, analyzes the dot image superimposed on the form image, and is compressed as information embedded in the form image by the dot image. Image and input position information are extracted. Note that a method by which the information extraction unit 162 extracts information by analyzing the dot image is not particularly limited, and may be a method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-5935. The comparison image generation unit 163 expands the image extracted by the information extraction unit 162. Thereby, the original form image is restored, and the information amount of the original form image is restored. As a result, for example, an original form image as shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Further, the comparison image generation unit 163 performs isolated point removal processing on the form image (see, for example, FIG. 5) stored in the storage unit 151, and removes the dot image superimposed on the form image. . As a result, for example, an image as shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. The image shown in the figure is obtained by removing the dot image from the form image illustrated in FIG.

  The input detection unit 164 includes an information extraction unit 162 in the original form image (see, for example, FIG. 2) expanded by the comparative image generation unit 163 and the form image (see, for example, FIG. 6) from which the comparative image generation unit 163 has removed the dot image. Each of the images in the input field whose position is represented by the input position information is compared in accordance with the input requirement condition represented by the input position information extracted by. Specifically, since the rectangular area in which the input field is defined can be determined based on the input position information, the input detection unit 164 requires input in each of the former image and the latter image. It is determined whether the images in the rectangular area of the field match. When there are a plurality of input fields, the input detection unit 164 makes such a determination for each input field. When the former image matches the latter image, that is, when there is no change, the input detection unit 164 determines that no input is made in the input field, that is, an input omission, and the former image. If the image and the latter image do not match, it is determined that an input has been made in the input field. As described above, the input detection unit 164 detects input leakage.

  The detected image generation unit 165 superimposes the dot image on the rectangular area of the input field that the input detection unit 164 has determined that no input has been made in the form image from which the comparison image generation unit 163 has removed the dot image. To generate a superimposed image. The dot image in this case is not for embedding information, but for identifying an input field that has not been input, and for making it visible to the user. Such a superimposed image is determination result information capable of identifying at least one of the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 as input and the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 as not input.

  The print processing unit 166 performs an operation input instructing printing by the user via the input device that is the keyboard 132 or the mouse 133, and when the operation input reception unit 152 receives the operation input, the detection image generation unit 165 generates the operation input. The superposed image is transferred to the printer driver 153, and printing of the superposed image is instructed. The printer driver 153 performs print processing such as converting the superimposed image received from the print processing unit 166 into an image (print image) expressed in the printer language, and passes the print image to the printer 134. The printer 134 prints the print image passed from the printer driver 153 on a print medium. As a result, for example, the image shown in FIG. 7 is printed. In the image shown in the figure, a rectangular dot image is superimposed on an input field such as the date of birth and the number of mails of the householder who has an input omission in the form image shown in FIG. . Thereby, the user can easily visually recognize the input field where the input leakage has occurred.

  Next, the procedure of information embedding processing performed by the PC 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The PC 100 uses the function of the form generation application 110 to pass the original form image generated by using the form information and appropriately updated to the printer driver 120 (step S1). Next, the PC 100 acquires the original slip image passed in step S1 by the function of the image acquisition unit 121 of the printer driver 120 (step S2). Then, the PC 100 compresses the original form image acquired in step S <b> 2 by the function of the compression unit 122. Further, the PC 100 acquires the input position information passed in step S1 by the function of the input position acquisition unit 123 (step S4). Next, the PC 100 uses the function of the embedding information generation unit 124 to use a dot image as information to be embedded in the original image using the original image compressed in step S3 and the input position information acquired in step S4. Is generated (step S5). Then, the PC 100 uses the function of the superimposed image generation unit 125 to superimpose the original form image compressed in step S3 and the dot image converted in step S5 to generate a superimposed image (step S6). Next, the PC 100 performs print processing using the superimposed image generated in step S6 by the function of the print processing unit 126, and the printer 14 prints the superimposed image on a print medium (step S7).

  Next, the procedure of input detection processing performed by the PC 150 using the print medium (form) on which the superimposed image generated by the PC 100 as described above is printed will be described with reference to FIG. When the form user fills in (inputs) the form, sets the form on the document table, and performs an operation input for instructing reading of an image using the keyboard 132 or the input device of the mouse 133, the operation input receiving unit 152 With this function, the operation input is received, and the scanner 131 reads an image (form image) represented by the form set on the document placing table and passes it to the control unit 155. The form image read here is shown in FIG. 5, for example. Then, the PC 150 acquires the form image passed from the scanner 131 by the function of the detected image acquisition unit 161 of the control unit 155, and stores it in the storage unit 151 (step S11). Next, the PC 150 acquires the form image acquired in step S11 and stored in the storage unit 151 by the function of the information extraction unit 162, analyzes the dot image superimposed on the form image, and uses the dot image as a result. As the information embedded in the form image, the compressed original form image and input position information are extracted (step S12). Then, the PC 150 expands the original form image extracted in step S12 by the function of the comparison image generation unit 163 (step S13). This original form image is shown in FIG. 2, for example. Further, the PC 150 performs isolated point removal processing on the form image (see, for example, FIG. 5) stored in the storage unit 151, and removes the dot image superimposed on the form image. This image is shown in FIG. 6, for example. Next, the PC 150 is represented by the input position information extracted in step S12 in the original form image expanded in step S13 and the form image from which the dot image has been removed in step S13 by the function of the input detection unit 164. In accordance with the input requirement conditions, the images in the rectangular area of the input field whose position is represented by the input position information are respectively compared to determine whether there is an input in each input field for which input is essential (step S14).

  For example, in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, each input of “address”, “household owner”, “date of birth”, “remark”, “number corresponding to reprint”, and “request reason” For the field, the PC 150 compares the images in the rectangular area of each input field. In addition, the PC 150 compares the images in the rectangular area of each input field for each “necessary” input field, and if these do not match, the PC 150 has input to the “necessary one”. is there. In this case, the PC 150 further compares the images in the rectangular area of each input field for each of the “continuation pattern” and “name” input fields to determine whether or not there is an input. If the images in the rectangular area of each input field match for each “necessary one” input field, this means that the “necessary one” has not been input. In this case, the PC 150 does not determine whether or not there is an input for each of the “continuation pattern” and “name” input fields.

  Thereafter, the PC 150 superimposes the dot image on the rectangular area of the input field determined in step S14 that no input is made in the form image from which the dot image has been removed in step S13 by the function of the detected image generation unit 165. Then, a superimposed image is generated (step S15). When the form user performs an operation input for instructing the printing of the superimposed image via the input device that is the keyboard 132 or the mouse 133, the PC 150 receives the operation input by the function of the operation input receiving unit 152 ( In step S16: YES), the print driver 153 functions through the print processing unit 166 to perform print processing using the superimposed image generated in step S15, and the superimposed image (print image) after the print processing is printed on the printer 134. Prints on the print medium (step S17). As a result, for example, the image shown in FIG. 7 is printed.

  As described above, when printing the image of the original form of the form, the image and the input position information are embedded in the image and printed. Then, what the user inputs to the printed form is read as an image by the scanner, the embedded image and the input position information are extracted, and the image read by the scanner and the embedded image are used according to the input position information. The input field with no change is judged as an input omission. According to such a configuration, it is possible to detect an input omission even in a stand-alone environment without requiring a database on the device side that reads the image of the form. Therefore, even if the types of forms to be printed, such as insurance contracts, are different, it is possible to suppress the enlargement of the system for detecting an input omission.

  Further, by performing image processing on the input field portion where the input omission has occurred and printing the image of the form, the form user can easily see the input field in which the input omission has occurred.

  In addition, since the input position information represents the condition that the input is essential in addition to the position of the input field, it is possible to determine whether or not there is an input only to the input field that requires the input. For this reason, input leakage can be detected more effectively.

[Modification]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined. Further, various modifications as exemplified below are possible.

<Modification 1>
In the embodiment described above, various programs executed on the PC 100 may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. The various programs are recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) in a file in an installable or executable format. May be configured to be provided. The same applies to the PC 150.

<Modification 2>
In the above-described embodiment, the PC 100 is exemplified as the information embedding device, and the keyboard 11, the mouse 12, the monitor 13, and the printer 14 are connected to the PC 100. However, the information embedding device is not limited to this. The PC 100, the keyboard 11, the mouse 12, the monitor 13, and the printer 14 may be integrated into a single multifunction printer (MFP).

  The PC 150 is exemplified as the input detection device, and the scanner 131, the keyboard 132, the mouse 133, the printer 134, and the monitor 135 are connected to the PC 150. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the input detection device includes the PC 150, the scanner 131, The keyboard 132, the mouse 133, the printer 134, and the monitor 135 may be integrated into a single multifunction printer (MFP).

<Modification 3>
In the above-described embodiment, the form generation application 110 of the PC 100 may be dedicated software for generating a form, or may be software for creating a document such as Microsoft (registered trademark) Word or Excel. good.

<Modification 4>
In the above-described embodiment, print processing is performed on the superimposed image generated by the detection image generation unit 165 of the PC 150, and the superimposed image (printing image) after the printing processing is printed on the print medium. However, the display processing unit 167 may cause the monitor 135 to display the superimposed image generated by the detection image generation unit 165. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the input detection process according to this modification. Steps S11 to S15 are the same as in the above-described embodiment. After step S <b> 15, when the form user performs an operation input for instructing display of the form image via the input device such as the keyboard 132 or the mouse 133, the PC 150 uses the function of the operation input reception unit 152 to perform the operation input. Is received (step S20: YES), and the superimposed image generated in step S15 is displayed on the monitor 135 via the display control unit 154 by the function of the display processing unit 167 (step S21).

  According to such a configuration, the form user can easily visually recognize the input field where the input omission has occurred on the monitor 135 without printing the superimposed image on the print medium.

  If a sufficient display area for displaying the superimposed image on the monitor 135 cannot be secured on the monitor 135, the name of the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 that no input has been made is displayed on the monitor 135. Also good. That is, the name of the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 as not being input may be used as the determination result information. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the input detection process according to this modification. Steps S11 to S15 are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and steps S20 to S21 are the same as the modification described with reference to FIG. After step S20, the PC 150 determines whether the monitor 135 has a display area sufficient to display the superimposed image generated in step S15 on the monitor 135 by the function of the display processing unit 167 (step S30). For example, the PC 150 detects whether or not the monitor 135 has a display area larger than the size of the superimposed image via the display control unit 154. If there is a display area sufficient to display the superimposed image on the monitor 135, the process proceeds to step S21. If there is not enough display area to display the superimposed image on the monitor 135, the PC 150 uses the input position information extracted in step S11 by the function of the display processing unit 167, and if the input has not been performed, in step S14. The name of the determined input field is acquired, and the name is displayed on the monitor 135 via the display control unit 154 (step S31).

  As described above, using the input position information, the name of the input field in which the input omission is detected is acquired and displayed on the monitor 135. The user can easily see it.

<Modification 5>
In the above-described embodiment, the detection image generation unit 165 of the PC 150 has a dot in the rectangular area of the input field that the input detection unit 164 has determined that the comparison image generation unit 163 has not input the form image from which the dot image has been removed. Although image processing for superimposing an image is performed, the present invention is not limited to this, and image processing for superimposing a color image may be performed. That is, the detected image generation unit 165 may color the rectangular area of the input field that the input detection unit 164 has determined that no input has been made. Note that the image processing performed on the rectangular area of the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 as not being input is not limited to the above as long as the input field can be identified.

  In addition, the detected image generation unit 165 does not input the rectangular area of the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 as not being input, but the input field rectangle determined by the input detection unit 164 as being input. You may make it perform the image process which makes the said input field identifiable with respect to an area | region. Even with such a configuration, the form user can easily see the input field where the input leakage has occurred.

<Modification 6>
In the above-described embodiment, as the image processing for reducing the amount of information, the compression unit 122 of the PC 100 compresses the original form image acquired by the image acquisition unit 121. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the resolution of the original form image is not limited thereto. The resolution may be converted so that is smaller than the original resolution. In addition, the PC 100 may perform color reduction processing and gradation conversion.

  In the above-described embodiment, the comparison image generation unit 163 of the PC 150 expands the image extracted by the information extraction unit 162. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the PC 150 may perform image processing for restoring the information amount on the image extracted by the information extraction unit 162 in accordance with image processing for reducing the information amount performed by the PC 100. good.

<Modification 7>
In the above-described embodiment, the detection image generation unit 165 of the PC 150 applies to the rectangular area of the input field determined by the input detection unit 164 that no input has been made in the form image from which the comparison image generation unit 163 has removed the dot image. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the dot image may be superimposed on the rectangular area of the input field in the form image before the comparison image generating unit 163 removes the dot image. .

11 Keyboard 12 Mouse 13 Monitor 14 Printer 101 Storage Unit 102 Operation Input Accepting Unit 103 Display Control Unit 104 Control Unit 110 Form Generation Application 120 Printer Driver 121 Image Acquisition Unit 122 Compression Unit 123 Input Position Acquisition Unit 124 Embedded Information Generation Unit 125 Superimposition Image generation unit 126 Print processing unit 131 Scanner 132 Keyboard 133 Mouse 134 Printer 135 Monitor 151 Storage unit 152 Operation input reception unit 153 Printer driver 154 Display control unit 155 Control unit 161 Detected image acquisition unit 162 Information extraction unit 163 Comparison image generation unit 164 Input detection unit 165 Detected image generation unit 166 Print processing unit 167 Display processing unit

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-044256 JP 2005-011260 A

Claims (17)

Image acquisition means for acquiring an image including at least one input field;
Image processing means for performing image processing for reducing the amount of information on the image acquired by the image acquisition means;
Input position information acquisition means for acquiring input position information representing the position of the input field included in the image;
A converted image generating means for generating a converted image using the image processed by the image processing means and the input position information;
An information embedding apparatus comprising: a superimposed image generating unit that generates a superimposed image in which the converted image generated by the converted image generating unit is superimposed on the image acquired by the image acquiring unit. The input field is defined as a rectangular area;
The information embedding according to claim 1, wherein the input position information represents a position of the rectangular area, a name of the input field, a combination of the input fields, and a condition that requires input. apparatus. The information embedding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit that prints the superimposed image generated by the superimposed image generation unit on a print medium. Detected image acquisition means for acquiring a first image including at least one input field;
An image extracting means for extracting a second image superimposed as a converted image on the first image acquired by the detected image acquiring means and input position information indicating the position of the input field included in the first image;
The position of the input field represented by the input position information acquired by the image extracting means using the first image extracted by the image extracting means and the second image acquired by the detected image acquiring means And an input presence / absence detecting means for detecting presence / absence of input in the input field in the first image. The input detection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the detection image acquisition unit acquires the first image by reading the first image from a print medium on which the first image is printed. The input field is defined as a rectangular area;
The input position information represents the position of the rectangular area,
The input presence / absence detecting means compares the images in the rectangular area, the positions of which are represented by the input position information in each of the first image and the second image, and they match. The input field defined as the rectangular area is determined not to be input, and if they do not match, it is determined that the input field is input, 6. The input detection device according to claim 4, wherein presence / absence of input in the input field is detected. The input position information further represents a combination of each input field and a condition that requires input,
The input presence / absence detecting means determines the presence / absence of input in the second input field according to the presence / absence of input in the first input field according to the condition represented by the input position information, The input detection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein presence / absence of input in the input field in the first image is detected. Image processing that makes it possible to identify at least one of the rectangular area determined by the input presence / absence determination means that has been input in the first image and the rectangular area determined by the input presence / absence determination means that no input has been made. The input detection apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising image processing means for performing the first image. The image processing means applies to at least one of the rectangular area determined by the input presence / absence determination means that an input has been made in the first image and the rectangular area determined by the input presence / absence determination means that no input has been made. The input detection apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image processing is performed by superimposing a dot image or a color image on the first image. The input detection apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a printing unit that prints the first image on which the image processing unit has performed the image processing on a print medium. The display means displays judgment result information capable of identifying at least one of the rectangular area judged by the input presence / absence judging means that the input has been made and the rectangular area judged by the input presence / absence detecting means that the input has not been made. The input detection device according to claim 4, further comprising display processing means. Image processing for reducing the amount of information is performed on the second image,
The input detection apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an image processing unit that performs image processing for restoring the amount of information with respect to the second image. A removal unit for removing the converted image from the first image;
The input presence / absence detection means is acquired by the image extraction means in each of the first image from which the removal means has removed the converted image and the second image to which the image processing means has performed the image processing. The input detection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein presence / absence of input in the input field in the first image is detected by comparing images at the position of the input field represented by the input position information. An information embedding method executed by an information embedding device including an image acquisition unit, an image processing unit, an input position information acquisition unit, a converted image generation unit, a converted image generation unit, and a superimposed image generation unit. And
An image acquiring step in which the image acquiring means acquires an image including at least one input field;
An image processing step in which the image processing means performs image processing for reducing the amount of information with respect to the image acquired by the image acquisition means;
An input position information acquisition step in which the input position information acquisition means acquires input position information representing the position of the input field included in the image;
The converted image generation means generates a converted image using the image processed by the image processing means and the input position information; and
The superimposed image generating means includes a superimposed image generating step of generating a superimposed image in which the converted image generated by the converted image generating means is superimposed on the image acquired by the image acquiring means. How to embed information. An input detection method that is executed by an input detection device that includes a detection image acquisition unit, an image extraction unit, and an input presence / absence detection unit,
A detection image acquisition step in which the detection image acquisition means acquires a first image including at least one input field;
The image extraction unit extracts a second image superimposed as a converted image on the first image acquired by the detection image acquisition unit and input position information indicating the position of the input field included in the first image. An image extraction step;
The input presence / absence detecting means uses the first image extracted by the image extracting means and the second image acquired by the detected image acquiring means to represent the input position information acquired by the image extracting means. And an input presence / absence detection step of performing a comparison at the position of the input field to detect presence / absence of input in the input field in the first image.   The program for making a computer perform the method of Claim 14 or 15.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 16.

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