JP2012034051A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to easily search a portion where a keyword is described in an image of a page containing a keyword in a document.SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus includes: display format receiving means of a keyword in a printed matter; keyword receiving means; acquisition means for acquiring image data in a document; extraction means for extracting a character string on an acquired image data; search means for searching a keyword from the extracted character string; storage means for storing, when a page is hit after the search, by associating page information of a searched page with arrangement position information on a image data of a keyword; replacement means for replacing an image area containing the keyword in the image data acquired by using the stored arrangement position information with image data in a display format received by the display format receiving means; and printing means for printing the image data of the document in which the display format is replaced by the replacement means and the stored page information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for displaying page information including a keyword from a document and easily searching for desired information.

  When creating materials such as conference materials, customer proposal materials, lecture materials, and homework reports to be submitted to schools, research is often conducted based on specific keywords.

  For example, when creating a survey report for a certain product, the name of the product is input to a search engine on the Internet and the like is searched. Similarly, when searching from information of electronic data (for example, a product catalog), a part in which the wording that the user is searching for is searched using the keyword search of the application.

  However, when searching for information from paper materials such as meeting minutes, product manuals, magazines, newspapers, handwritten notes, etc., there is no convenient search function, and each page is turned manually one by one. You need to search for information. This work takes a lot of time and effort and is very inefficient in terms of information retrieval.

  It is very difficult to extract only the target information from the enormous amount of information, and there is a risk that the information may be missed and missed.

  Furthermore, in order to utilize the found information, it may be necessary to extract the relevant part by printing or the like. If this operation is carried out manually, it will naturally take a considerable amount of time, and there is a risk that an extraction leakage will occur.

  In order to prevent such a problem, it is necessary to be able to easily find out where the target information is in the document and to make it easy to understand.

  The invention described in Patent Document 1 retrieves documents including keywords from documents stored in an HDD or the like, reduces them, and prints a list of documents.

JP 07-085239

  However, in the system of Patent Document 1, when there are a large number of keywords that one wants to know in one document, what part of which page the keyword is described in, and what text is described in the vicinity of the keyword It is difficult to judge whether it is done in a short time.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and enables a user to easily find a portion where a keyword is described in a page image including the keyword from a document. With the goal.

  It is another object of the present invention to make it easy to determine whether the information is desired by the user by displaying a character string including a keyword.

  The present invention is an image processing apparatus for printing a printed material for assisting a user in searching for a place where a predetermined keyword is described in a document, and a display format receiving unit that receives a display format of the keyword in the printed material A keyword accepting unit that accepts designation of the keyword, an obtaining unit that obtains image data of the document, an extracting unit that extracts a character string described on the image data obtained by the obtaining unit, and the extraction A search means for searching for a keyword received by the keyword receiving means from a character string extracted by the means; and, as a result of the search by the search means, if a search hit is found, the search hit page information, and the keyword on the image data Storage means for storing the arrangement position information in association with each other, and storing by the storage means A replacement unit that replaces the image area including the keyword in the image data of the document acquired by the acquisition unit with the display format image data received by the display format reception unit, using the arranged position information; The image processing apparatus includes a printing unit that prints the image data of the document whose display format is replaced by the replacing unit and the stored page information.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible for a user to easily find a portion where a keyword is described in an image of a page including the keyword from a document.

  As another effect, by displaying a character string including a keyword, it is possible to easily determine whether the information is desired by the user.

It is a system configuration diagram. It is a hardware block diagram of an image processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a registration process of an output format. It is a figure which shows the initial stage menu screen displayed on an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the keyword search / print menu screen displayed on an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the highlight display format selection screen (color machine, monochrome machine) displayed on an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the keyword extraction selection screen before and behind a keyword displayed on an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the output format selection screen displayed on an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the search result display screen displayed on an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a search setting table. It is a figure which shows an example of a search result table. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the output process of printed matter. It is a figure which shows the example of printed matter.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an information processing system according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the MFP 101, the servers 102 and 103, the client PCs 104-1 and 104-2 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “client PC 104”), and the like are configured. The LAN 105 is a network for connecting the above-described devices so that they can communicate with each other.

  The multi-function peripheral 101 is a device that functions as an image processing device of the present invention. The multi-function device 101 is a storage device that is created by the client PC 104 and registered in a print data management server (not shown) or created by using a scan function. Electronic image data stored in the printer, printing function for printing FAX data received from an external FAX machine, FAX transmission function, copy function, transmission function for transmitting scanned data to a predetermined directory of the client PC 104, etc. ing.

  The servers 102 and 103 store electronic image data and the like created using the scan function.

  The client PC 104 receives the print instruction from the user, creates print data, and stores the print data in the multifunction machine 101 in order to store the print data in a print data management server (not shown). Accordingly, a function for transmitting the print data and a function for storing the electronic image data sent from the multifunction machine 101 in a designated folder are provided.

  The above is an example of the system configuration of the information processing system of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the MFP 101 in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 216 denotes a controller unit which is connected to a scanner 214 functioning as an image input device and a printer unit 212 functioning as an image output device, while being connected to a LAN (for example, the LAN 105 shown in FIG. 1) or a public line (WAN). ) (For example, PSTN or ISDN) to input / output electronic image data and device information.

  In the controller unit 216, 201 is a CPU, which is a processor for controlling the entire system. A RAM 202 is a system work memory for the CPU 201 to operate, and is also a program memory for recording a program and an image memory for temporarily recording image data.

  A ROM 203 stores a system boot program and various control programs. A hard disk drive (HDD) 204 stores various programs for controlling the system, image data, and the like.

  An operation unit interface (operation unit I / F) 207 is an interface unit with the operation unit 208. Further, the operation unit I / F 207 serves to transmit the key information (for example, pressing of the start button) input from the operation unit 208 to the CPU 201.

  A network interface (network I / F) 205 is connected to a network such as the LAN 105 and inputs / outputs data. A modem 206 is connected to the public line and inputs / outputs data such as FAX transmission / reception.

  An external interface (external I / F) 218 is an I / F unit that accepts external inputs such as USB, IEEE 1394, printer port, and RS-232C. In this embodiment, it is necessary for user authentication. A card reader 219 for reading a non-contact IC card (storage medium) is connected to the external I / F unit 218. The CPU 201 can control reading of information from the IC card by the card reader 219 via the external I / F 218, and can acquire information read from the IC card. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 209.

  An image bus interface (image bus I / F) 220 is a bus bridge that connects the system bus 209 and an image bus 215 that transfers image data at high speed, and converts the data structure. The image bus 215 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE1394. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 215.

  A raster image processor (RIP) 210 expands vector data such as a PDL code into a bitmap image. A printer interface (printer I / F) 211 connects the printer unit 212 and the controller unit 216, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. A scanner interface (scanner I / F) 213 connects the scanner 214 and the controller unit 216, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  An image processing unit 217 corrects, processes, and edits input image data, and performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. In addition to this, the image processing unit 217 performs rotation of image data and compression / decompression processing such as JPEG for binary image data and JBIG, MMR, MH for binary image data. The image processing unit 217 drives the scanner unit 214 to perform image processing on the image data that has been read, converts the image data into a format that can be output to a file (for example, a PDF format file), and cooperates with the CPU 201. An image data file can be transmitted to an external device such as the client PC 104 via the network I / F 205.

  The scanner 214 illuminates an image on paper as a document (document) and scans it with a CCD line sensor, thereby converting it into an electrical signal as raster image data. The original paper is set on the tray of the original feeder, and when the apparatus user gives a reading start instruction from the operation unit 208, the CPU 301 gives an instruction to the scanner 214, and the feeder feeds the original paper one by one to read the original image. I do.

  The printer 212 is a part that converts raster image data into an image on paper. The method is an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt, and ink is ejected from a micro nozzle array to directly image an image on the paper. There are inkjet methods for printing, but any method may be used. Activation of the printing operation is started by an instruction from the CPU 201. The printer 212 has a plurality of paper feed stages so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected, and has a paper cassette corresponding thereto.

  The operation unit 208 includes an LCD display unit, and a touch panel sheet is pasted on the LCD. The operation unit 208 displays an operation screen of the system, and when a displayed key is pressed, the position information is displayed on the operation unit I / F 207. To the CPU 201. The operation unit 208 includes, for example, a start key, a stop key, a numeric keypad, an ID key, a reset key, and the like as various operation keys.

  Here, the start key of the operation unit 208 is used when starting a document image reading operation. At the center of the start key, there are two color LEDs, green and red, which indicate whether or not the start key can be used. Further, the stop key of the operation unit 208 serves to stop the operation in operation. The ID key of the operation unit 208 is used when a user ID of a user is input and when a log-in user logs off. The reset key is used when initializing settings from the operation unit.

  The card reader 219 reads information stored in the non-contact IC card under the control of the CPU 201 and notifies the CPU 201 of the read information via the external I / F 218.

  With the above-described configuration, the multi-function peripheral 101 transmits electronic image data created by reading a document with the scanner 214 to the LAN 105, and print data received via the LAN 105 is printed out by the printer 212. be able to.

  Further, electronic image data created by reading a document with the scanner 214 can be faxed to the public line by the modem 206, and fax data received by fax from the public line can be output by the printer 212.

The above is an explanation of an example of the hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral 101 of FIG. The hardware configuration of the multi-function peripheral 101 is described as having the configuration shown in FIG. 2, but is not necessarily limited to having the configuration shown in FIG. If the configuration is executable, the configuration of the multifunction machine 101 may be modified as appropriate.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of output format registration processing. This process is executed in the image processing apparatus (multifunction machine 101).

  In 301, the image processing apparatus activates a setting function. For example, the menu shown in FIG. 4 is activated when the user presses the power ON button or when ID card authentication is performed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the menu screen 401. “Copy” 402, “Send”, “Box” 403, and “Keyword Search / Print” 404 buttons are displayed on the display screen. The user can select by pressing the touch panel. “Copy” 402, “Send”, and “Box” 403 are conventional functions.

  In the following description of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the “keyword search / print” 404 button has been pressed by the user.

  In 302, the image processing apparatus displays a keyword search / print menu screen 501 and accepts a search keyword input from the user. Specifically, it is a keyword that can be acquired when the user presses the input button 502 by entering it in the search keyword input field. Note that the image processing apparatus stores the search keyword in the search setting table 1001 (FIG. 10).

  In 303, when the highlight display format is selected by pressing the highlight display format 503 button, the image processing apparatus determines whether it is a color machine (304). Note that this processing is not performed when the highlight display format 503 button is not pressed.

  In the case of a color machine, the image processing apparatus displays a highlight display format selection screen (color machine) 601 shown in FIG. 6 (305), and in the case of a monochrome machine, the highlight display format selection screen (monochrome machine) shown in FIG. 608 is displayed (306).

  The user can select any format.

  In the case of a color machine, the highlight color can be selected from “red, blue, green, yellow” 602. In addition, it is possible to select from color character inversion 603, italic bold 604, and bold 605. As a result, the visibility of the keyword is increased and the keyword can be easily found.

  When the input is completed, the user presses an OK606 button. When canceling, the cancel 607 button is pushed.

  Note that the image processing apparatus stores the input settings in the search setting table 1001 (FIG. 10).

  In the case of a monochrome machine, color output is not possible, so there are fewer selection items than a color machine. The image processing apparatus stores the input settings as in the color machine in the search setting table 1001 (FIG. 10).

  In 307, when the text extraction display setting 504 button is pressed, the image processing apparatus displays the keyword pre- and post-text extraction selection screen 701 shown in FIG. If the text extraction display setting 504 button is not pressed, this process is not performed.

  The user can make any selection.

  When text extraction 702 before a keyword is performed, the number of characters to be extracted is input. When text extraction 703 after a keyword is performed, the number of characters to be extracted is input. As a result, the character strings before and after the keyword can be extracted, so that the contents can be easily understood.

  When the input is completed, the user presses an OK 703 button. When canceling, the cancel 704 button is pushed.

  Note that the image processing apparatus stores the input settings in the search setting table 1001 (FIG. 10).

  In 308, when the output format 505 is pressed, the image processing apparatus displays an output format selection screen 801 shown in FIG. Note that this process is not performed when the output format 505 is not pressed.

  The user can make any selection.

  “List” can be selected (802), and “1 in 1”, “2 in 1”, and “4 in 1” can also be selected (803). In addition, it is possible to select whether or not to display text (804). Further, it is possible to select either single-sided output or double-sided output (805). As a result, output in the output format desired by the user is possible. In particular, the setting of “list”, “n in 1” and the setting of double-sided printing lead to useless printing. In addition, when the text is displayed, the contents of the characters can be read, so that the contents can be easily grasped.

  When the input is completed, the user presses an OK806 button. When canceling, the cancel 807 button is pushed.

  Note that the image processing apparatus stores the input settings in the search setting table 1001 (FIG. 10).

  FIG. 10 is a search setting table. This table may be prepared in any unit for each user or each image processing apparatus. It can also be set for each of a plurality of keywords. Each is managed by a unique number (1002).

  Items include a keyword 1003, a highlight 1004, a character extraction (front) 1005, the number of characters 1006, a character extraction (back) 1007, a number of characters 1008, an output 1009, and a printing surface 1010. Items that are not set are “-”.

  The flow of output format registration processing has been described above.

  Next, the flow of output processing for printed matter will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of output processing of printed matter. This process is executed in the image processing apparatus (multifunction machine 101).

  Note that the printed matter to be output here is for allowing the user to easily find the portion where the keyword is described in the image of the page including the keyword in the scanned document.

  This process is executed after the registration process of FIG. 3 is performed.

  In 1201, the image processing apparatus determines whether to perform a new search. If yes, go to 1202, if no, go to 1204. Specifically, the determination is made based on whether the user has pressed the scan start button 506 on the document table of the image processing apparatus via the operation screen shown in FIG. When a document that has already been scanned is targeted, the user makes a selection from the scanned image. This selection is performed from an operation screen (not shown).

  In 1202, the image processing apparatus scans a target document and acquires image data. The image data may be in any format such as PDF format or JPEG format.

  In 1203, the image processing apparatus generates text data from the acquired image data. Specifically, text data is generated by performing OCR processing on image data.

  In 1204, the image processing apparatus performs a keyword search for the text data.

  In 1205, the image processing apparatus determines whether the corresponding keyword exists in the text data. If yes, go to 1206; if no, go to 1214.

  In 1206, the image processing apparatus stores a position where the corresponding character string is arranged on the scanned image data. Specifically, the position is stored using character attribute information (font size, font type, etc.) and coordinate information.

  In 1207, the image processing apparatus creates an image of the highlight character string. The highlight character string reflects the setting of the highlight 1004 in the search setting table (bold, italic bold, etc.). Also, character attribute information (font size, font type, etc.) of the image data is used. Since the character string that has been searched for may have different character attribute information depending on the page, an image corresponding to the character attribute information is created.

  In 1208, the image processing apparatus registers the scanned image data, the character string that has been searched for, and the image of the highlight character string in association with each other in the data table. Here, when images of a plurality of highlight character strings are created, each of the highlight character string images is stored in association with information for specifying the position of the character string on which page. Keep it. In addition, the character string that has been searched for is registered in the search result table shown in FIG. 11 as an arbitrary N-byte character string including the keyword as a search result. No. 1102 indicates a unique number, the character string 1103 is a character string of N bytes including the keyword, and the page No. 1104 is a page number indicating the page number of the image data. .

  In 1209, the image processing apparatus displays the search result on the operation panel. A specific example is shown at 901 in FIG. In this example, the number is 0, but when it hits, the number of hits is displayed. Further, it may be displayed as 906 in FIG. 9 using a search result table. In this example, No 907 of the search result table is displayed as No 907, the character string 1103 of the search result table is displayed as the character string 909, and the page No. 1104 of the search result table is displayed as the page 910. Further, the keyword 908 displays a keyword that has been searched for.

  In 1210, the image processing apparatus determines whether to output as a list. If yes, go to 1211; if no, go to 1212. Whether to output as a list is determined by a user operation instruction. This operation instruction is specified on an operation screen (not shown).

  In 1211, the image processing apparatus outputs a list. For example, the list shown at 906 in FIG. 9 is printed on paper.

  In 1212, the image processing apparatus overwrites the search character string image with the highlight character string image (the character image generated in 1207). That is, the search keyword portion (location or area) in the scanned image data is replaced with the highlight character string image. By performing this process, the user can easily find out where the search keyword exists in the scan image.

  In 1213, the image processing apparatus outputs in a designated format. The designation format is a designation format of the search setting table 1001 for the keyword. Specifically, the character extraction (front) 1005, the number of characters (front) 1006, the character extraction (back) 1007, the number of characters (back) 1008, the output 1009, and the printing surface 1010 are designated formats.

  An output example will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the case of “1 in 1”, the image data generated in 1212 in one page, the character string including the search keyword, and the number of pages of the hit character string are displayed. In the case of “2 in 1”, two pages of image data and various information corresponding to the image data are displayed in one page. Similarly, in the case of “4 in 1”, four pages of image data and various information corresponding thereto are displayed in one page. The layout may be arbitrarily determined depending on the size. In the present embodiment, “1 in 1” and “2 in 1” display the corresponding character strings below the image data, but in the case of “4 in 1”, they are grouped on the left side of the image. Although displayed, it is not limited to these. It is only necessary for the user to be able to confirm image data and information (character string, page information) including the search keyword.

  In this manner, by highlighting the image data of the page where the search keyword is hit, it is possible to visually confirm at which position of the search keyword the page exists. Moreover, since the contents can be easily grasped by displaying the character string including the search keyword together, it is a material for determining whether the information is really necessary for the user.

  The flow of the printed matter output process has been described above.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible for a user to easily find a portion where a keyword is described in an image of a page including the keyword from a document.

  As another effect, by displaying a character string including a keyword, it is possible to easily determine whether the information is desired by the user.

  The present invention can be implemented as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like, and can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices. You may apply to the apparatus which consists of one apparatus. In other words, the MFP 101 may be configured to include various functions included in the authentication server 102 and the charge management server 103, or the authentication server 102 and the charge management server 103 may be realized by a single server device.

  Note that the present invention includes a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely from a system or apparatus. The present invention also includes a case where the system or the computer of the apparatus is achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. In addition, there are magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R), and the like.

  As another program supply method, a browser on a client computer is used to connect to an Internet home page. The computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the downloaded key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by the processing.

  Further, the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical idea or the main features thereof.

101 MFP 102 Server 103 Servers 104-1 and 104-2 Client PC
105 LAN

Claims (5)

An image processing apparatus for printing a printed material for assisting a user in finding a place where a predetermined keyword is described from a document,
Display format receiving means for receiving a display format of the keyword in the printed matter;
Keyword accepting means for accepting designation of the keyword;
Obtaining means for obtaining image data of the document;
Extraction means for extracting a character string described on the image data acquired by the acquisition means;
Search means for searching for a keyword received by the keyword receiving means from the character string extracted by the extracting means;
As a result of the search by the search means, when a search hit occurs, storage means for storing the search hit page information and the arrangement position information of the keyword on the image data in association with each other;
Using the arrangement position information stored by the storage unit, the image area including the keyword in the image data of the document acquired by the acquisition unit is replaced with image data of the display format received by the display format reception unit. A replacement means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: printing means for printing image data of the document whose display format has been replaced by the replacement means and the stored page information. The storage means further stores a character string including the keyword when a search hit is made as a result of the search by the search means from the character string extracted by the extraction means,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit prints the character string in association with the image data. An image processing method in an image processing apparatus for printing a printed matter for assisting a user in searching for a place where a predetermined keyword is described from a document,
A display format receiving step for receiving a display format of the keyword in the printed matter;
A keyword accepting step for accepting designation of the keyword;
An acquisition step of acquiring image data of the document;
An extraction step of extracting a character string described on the image data acquired by the acquisition step;
A search step for searching for the keyword received by the keyword reception step from the character string extracted by the extraction step;
As a result of the search in the search step, when a search hit occurs, a storage step of storing in the storage means the page information hit by the search and the arrangement position information of the keyword on the image data in association with each other;
Using the arrangement position information stored in the storage means by the storage step, an image area including the keyword in the image data of the document acquired by the acquisition step is displayed in the display format received by the display format reception step. A replacement step to replace with data;
An image processing method, comprising: a printing step of printing the image data of the document whose display format has been replaced by the replacing step and the stored page information. A program that can be executed in an image processing apparatus that prints a printed matter to assist a user in searching for a place where a predetermined keyword is described from a document,
Display format receiving means for receiving a display format of the keyword in the printed matter;
Keyword accepting means for accepting designation of the keyword;
Obtaining means for obtaining image data of the document;
Extraction means for extracting a character string described on the image data acquired by the acquisition means;
Search means for searching for a keyword received by the keyword receiving means from the character string extracted by the extracting means;
As a result of the search by the search means, when a search hit occurs, storage means for storing the search hit page information and the arrangement position information of the keyword on the image data in association with each other;
Using the arrangement position information stored by the storage unit, the image area including the keyword in the image data of the document acquired by the acquisition unit is replaced with image data of the display format received by the display format reception unit. Replacement means,
A program that causes the image processing apparatus to function as a printing unit that prints the image data of the document whose display format has been replaced by the replacement unit and the stored page information.   A recording medium storing the program according to claim 4 in a computer-readable manner.

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