JP2014241154A - Mark detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect a mark on a document, such as a mark-sensing sheet, at a lower cost with high accuracy.SOLUTION: A mark detecting device includes: a determination unit 79 which determines whether the number of mark discrimination results obtained by a discrimination unit 74 coincides with a prescribed number or not, on read image data in a predetermined area on a document (SS6); and a display unit 73 which displays information that the number of mark discrimination results is other than the prescribed number (SS7) when the determination unit 79 determines that the number of mark discrimination results does not coincide with the prescribed number (NO in SS6). When an instruction receiving unit 76 receives a performance change instruction for changing document read performance of a document read unit 5 from a user (YES in SS8), a change unit 80 changes the document read performance of the document read unit 5 (SS9) according to the read performance indicated by the performance change instruction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mark detection device, and more particularly to a technique for detecting whether or not a mark is described on a document based on read data obtained by reading the document with the mark detection device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an OMR (Optical Mark Reading) apparatus is known as an apparatus for reading a mark written on a special document such as a mark sheet. This OMR apparatus detects whether or not there is a mark on the original document based on the reflected light irradiating the surface of the original document. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for shortening the reading time when reading a mark sheet by setting an appropriate resolution or the like according to the mark sheet when the mark sheet is read by an image forming apparatus.

JP 2002-354212 A

  In order to detect the presence or absence of a mark (marked or not) described in a document such as a mark sheet, the OMR device is necessary. Since the purchase of the OMR device causes a cost burden, it is desirable to reduce the cost burden. Further, when a mark sheet is read by an image forming apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is desired to further improve the mark reading accuracy.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to detect a mark on an original such as a mark sheet with high accuracy at a cost reduced as compared with the prior art.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a reading unit that reads an image on a document,
Each portion of the image indicated by the read data read by the reading unit is compared with a predetermined standard pattern by OCR processing, and is matched with the corresponding standard pattern. A conversion unit that converts the character into
If a plurality of character shapes similar to a solid black image rectangular image or approximate thereto previously stored as the reference characters, the character converted by the conversion unit, the a the reference character a predetermined In addition, when it is determined that the image portion to be determined on the document is a mark, and the character converted by the conversion unit is not the reference character, the image to be determined on the document A mark discriminating unit for discriminating that the part is not a mark,
For the read image data in a predetermined area on the document, it is determined whether or not the number of mark determination results as to whether or not the mark is obtained by the mark determination unit is a predetermined number. A determination unit;
A notification unit for notifying the user that the number of the mark determination results is other than the specified number when the determination unit determines that the number of the mark determination results is not the specified number;
An instruction receiving unit that receives from the user an ability change instruction to change the reading ability of the document by the reading unit after the notification by the notification unit;
The mark detection apparatus includes: a change unit that changes the reading ability of the document by the reading unit in accordance with the reading capability indicated by the capability change instruction when the instruction changing unit receives the capability changing instruction.

  According to this invention, the conversion unit converts the read data read by the reading unit into a character by OCR processing, and the determination unit is configured to convert the character on the document when the converted character is the reference character. It is determined that the image portion to be determined is a mark, and if it is not the reference character, it is determined that the image portion to be determined on the document is not a mark. Therefore, it is possible to determine the presence / absence of a mark on a document such as a mark sheet using a reading device such as an image forming apparatus capable of OCR processing without purchasing a special device for performing OMR processing.

  In addition, since character conversion is once performed by OCR processing, and it is determined whether or not the mark is based on the converted character, it is more than the case of detecting whether or not the mark is directly from the shape of the image indicated by the read data. Mark detection accuracy can be improved. When determining whether or not the mark is directly from the shape of the image indicated by the scanned data, simply scan the document as a stain or the like, or delete part of the image that needs to be scanned. However, in the present invention, since it is determined whether or not the mark is based on the character after the character conversion by the OCR conversion, the reading ability of the reading unit is determined. A decrease in the mark detection accuracy based on this is suppressed.

  As a result, the mark can be accurately detected using an image forming apparatus or the like that is generally provided in a workplace environment such as a company or an office, and it is not necessary to purchase an OMR apparatus. The mark can be detected at a cost.

  Furthermore, when the determination unit does not determine the number of marks as expected (the above-mentioned predetermined number), the user can input the ability change instruction to the instruction receiving unit, so that the assumed number of marks can be obtained. Since the reading capability of the reading unit can be changed until it is detected, it is possible to eliminate the problem of mark detection based on the accuracy of image reading by the reading unit.

The invention according to claim 2 is the mark detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the number of mark determination results as to whether or not the mark is the specified number. Judgment is made for each predetermined area,
In the case where the determination unit determines that the number of the mark determination results is not the specified number, the notification unit is configured such that the area subjected to the determination and the number of the mark determination results are other than the specified number. It is notified that it is.

  According to the present invention, when the determination unit determines that the number of mark determination results is not a specified number, the notification unit determines that the number of mark determination results and the area that is the object of the determination are the specified number. Therefore, the user can grasp in which area the mark cannot be detected for each mark written on the document.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the mark detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the changing unit reads the document by the reading unit after changing the reading ability of the document by the reading unit. When the determination unit determines that the number of mark determination results is greater than the specified number for the read data obtained, if the number of mark determination results is greater than the specified number up to this point, When the reading capability of the reading unit is changed with the same content as the content changed by the changing unit, and the determination unit determines that the number of mark determination results is smaller than the specified number, by this time, When the number of mark discrimination results is smaller than the specified number, the reading capability of the reading unit is changed with the same content as the content changed by the changing unit.

  According to this invention, after the changing unit determines that the number of mark determination results is other than the specified number by the determining unit, the mark detection is performed according to the content of the ability change instruction by the user performed up to this point. Since the reading ability of the reading unit is changed by learning the change contents that are expected to improve the accuracy, the mark detection accuracy is improved even if the user does not give the ability change instruction specifying the specific contents. It is possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mark detection apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the reading unit includes a light source unit that irradiates the original with light, and the irradiation unit. A light receiving unit that receives the reflected light of the irradiated original and converts it into electronic data as the read data;
The changing unit changes the light irradiation capability of the light source unit as the reading capability of the original by the reading unit.

  According to the present invention, since the reading ability of the original by the reading section is changed by changing the light irradiation ability of the light source section by the changing section based on the ability change instruction from the user, the image of the image read from the original by the reading section is changed. The amount of data (for example, the number of pixels indicating the image on the original in the read data) can be increased or decreased accurately.

The invention according to claim 5 is the mark detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reading ability storage stores the reading ability of the reading unit changed by the changing unit. And
An instruction receiving unit that receives from the user a mark detection instruction for executing the conversion process by the conversion unit and the determination process by the determination unit;
When the mark detection instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit with respect to the read data, the reading unit uses the changed reading capability stored in the reading capability storage unit, When the mark detection instruction is not received by the instruction receiving unit, the original image is read using the default reading capability preset in the reading unit.

  According to the present invention, only when the conversion process by the conversion unit and the determination process by the determination unit are executed, a normal document that does not perform mark detection using the reading ability of the reading unit changed for mark detection by the user is used. In the case of reading, it is possible to use the appropriate reading ability for each reading by using the default reading ability of the reading unit that has not been changed for mark detection by the user.

The invention according to claim 6 is the mark detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display unit;
A display control unit that causes the display unit to display a character converted by the conversion unit and a mark determination result of mark detection by the determination unit for the converted character;
When a character setting instruction indicating whether or not the character displayed on the display unit is the reference character is received from the user by the instruction receiving unit, the displayed character is displayed according to the character setting instruction. Is set to the reference character, or is excluded from the reference character, and a setting unit that performs either
The changing unit changes the direction so as to increase the reading ability of the reading unit when the displayed character is set as the reference character by the setting unit, and the displayed character is changed by the setting unit. When the character is excluded from the reference character, the reading unit is changed so as to decrease the reading ability.

  When the converted character is changed to the reference character by the user, the image that should be read as the mark is not converted to the character corresponding to the mark by the conversion unit due to the lack of the amount of image data constituting the image. It is assumed that there is a situation that can only be read with images. In addition, when the converted character is excluded from the reference character by the user, an image that should not be read as a mark is read as an image having a shape corresponding to the mark due to an excessive amount of image data constituting the read image. Therefore, it is considered that the character conversion is not performed as expected by the conversion unit. In the present invention, the changing unit learns the change contents that are assumed to improve the mark detection accuracy in accordance with the operation contents indicating whether or not the displayed character is set as the reference character. Therefore, the accuracy of subsequent mark detection can be improved without inputting a capability change instruction in which specific contents are specified by the user to the instruction receiving unit. .

  The invention according to claim 7 is the mark detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the reference character excludes a character that approximates a white square image. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect a mark on an original such as a mark sheet at a cost reduced as compared with the prior art.

It is sectional drawing which shows the mechanical structure of the multifunctional machine as an image reading apparatus which makes a part of mark detection apparatus. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating a main internal configuration of a multifunction peripheral. It is a flowchart which shows 1st Embodiment of the mark detection process by a mark detection apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document surface. It is a figure which shows the example of the image of the mark printed on the original, and the image of the mark entered in the said mark. It is a figure showing an example of a regulation field on a manuscript. It is a figure which shows the example of total data. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen of a display part. (A) is a figure which shows the example of the character group converted by the conversion part virtually, (B) is a figure which shows the example of numerical formula, (C) is a figure which shows the example of a total value string. It is a flowchart which shows 2nd Embodiment of the mark detection process by a mark detection apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows 3rd Embodiment of the mark detection process by a mark detection apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process which updates a reference | standard character. It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen of a display part.

  Hereinafter, an image reading apparatus and a computer as a mark detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

A mark detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a partial configuration of an image reading apparatus and a partial configuration of a computer. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a mechanical configuration of a multifunction machine as an image reading apparatus that forms part of the mark detection apparatus. The multifunction device 1 has a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The multifunction machine 1 includes an apparatus body 2 . The apparatus main body 2 includes a main body section 20, a manual feed tray 4, a document reading section (reading section) 5 disposed on the upper portion of the apparatus body 2, and a document feeding section disposed above the document reading section 5. (Reading unit, but not essential as a reading unit) 6.

  An operation unit 47 is provided at the front part of the multifunction machine 1. The operation unit 47 includes a start key 471, a numeric keypad 472, a display unit 473, a reset key 474, a stop key 475, and the like.

  The display unit 473 is a liquid crystal display including, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like that displays operation guide information and the like related to each of the functions provided in the multi-function device 1, and performs various settings necessary for using the functions. A touch panel function is provided to allow the user to input.

  The start key 471 is a key for the user to input a print execution instruction. The numeric keypad 472 is a key for inputting a numerical value such as the number of copies to be printed. The reset key 474 is a key for resetting the setting content set on the display unit 473. The stop key 475 is a key for stopping the printing operation being executed.

  The document reading unit 5 includes a scanner unit 51 including a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and an image irradiation lamp, a document table 52 formed of a transparent member such as glass, and a document reading slit 53. The scanner unit 51 is configured to be movable by a driving unit (not shown). When reading a document placed on the document table 52, the scanner unit 51 is moved along the document surface at a position facing the document table 52, and scans the document surface to acquire the image data of the document. It outputs to the main control part 100 mentioned later. When reading the document fed by the document feeding unit 6, the scanner unit 51 is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 53, and is synchronized with the document feeding operation by the document feeding unit 6. Then, the original conveyed by the conveying operation is read through the original reading slit 53, and image data of the read original is output to the main control unit 100.

  The document feeding unit 6 includes a document placing table 61 on which a document is placed, a document discharge unit 62 from which an image-read document is discharged, and a document transport mechanism 63. The document transport mechanism 63 includes a paper feed roller, a transport roller, and a paper reversing mechanism (not shown). The document transport mechanism 63 drives the paper feed roller and the transport roller to feed the documents placed on the document placing table 61 one by one and transport them to a position facing the document reading slit 53, via the document reading slit 53. After being made readable by the scanner unit 51, the document is discharged to the document discharge unit 62. Further, the document transport mechanism 63 causes the paper reversing mechanism to reverse the document and to transport it again to a position facing the document reading slit 53, so that images on both sides of the document are scanned via the document reading slit 53. 51 can be read.

  Further, the document feeding unit 6 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body 2 so that the front side thereof can move upward. By moving the front side of the document feeder 6 upward to open the upper surface of the document table 52, the user can place a read document, for example, a book in a spread state, on the upper surface of the document table 52. ing.

  The apparatus main body 2 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 461 that store recording papers (an example of a recording medium) having different sizes, and paper feeds that feed the recording papers one by one from the paper feed cassette 461 and convey them to the image forming unit 40. A roller 462 and an image forming unit 40 that forms and outputs an image on a recording sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 461 are provided.

The image forming unit 40 includes an image forming mechanism 12 and a fixing unit 45. The image forming mechanism 12 performs an image forming operation for forming a toner image on the recording sheet P fed sheet cassette 461, from 及 beauty manual feed tray 4. The image forming mechanism 12 includes an intermediate transfer belt 125 and image forming units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12B for magenta, cyan, yellow, and black that are disposed adjacent to the intermediate transfer belt 125. And a driving roller 125 a that causes the intermediate transfer belt 125 to travel unsupported, and a secondary transfer roller 41.

  Each of the image forming units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12B includes a photosensitive drum 121, a developing device 122, a toner cartridge (not shown), a charging device 123, an exposure device 124, and a primary transfer roller 126, respectively. And a drum cleaning device 127.

  The main control unit 100 drives and controls the image forming units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12B for each color at the time of executing a print job or the like, and magenta, cyan, yellow, and black toner on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 125. The images are transferred so as to overlap each other, and a color toner image is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 125 (intermediate transfer (primary transfer)).

  The secondary transfer roller 41 transfers the color toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 125 onto the recording paper P conveyed from the paper conveyance unit 411. The toner image is fixed on the recording paper P to which the toner image is transferred by the fixing unit 45.

  The paper transport unit 411 includes a paper transport path L1, a paper reverse transport path L2, and transport rollers 463, 464, and 465. By driving the transport rollers 463 and 464 provided in the paper transport path L, the toner image is transferred. The stack tray 71 conveys the fixed recording paper to the discharge tray 48.

  When the image forming unit 40 forms an image on both sides of the recording paper and outputs the image, the paper transport unit 441 transfers the recording paper on which the image is formed on one side in the image forming unit 40 to the discharge tray 48 side. Then, the recording sheet is switched back by reversing the conveying roller 463 and sent to the sheet reverse feeding path L <b> 2 to be conveyed again to the upstream area of the image forming unit 40. As a result, the image forming unit 40 forms an image on the other side of the recording sheet.

  Next, the configuration of the multifunction machine 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of the multifunction machine 1.

  The multifunction machine 1 includes a control unit 10. The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM, a ROM, a dedicated hardware circuit, and the like, and controls the overall operation of the multifunction machine 1.

  The control unit 10 is connected to the document reading unit 5, the image processing unit 31, the image forming unit 40, the operation unit 47, the facsimile communication unit 92, the HDD (hard disk drive) 81, and the network interface unit 91.

  The control unit 10 includes a main control unit 100, a network control unit 101, a conversion unit 102, an area storage unit 107, and a reading capability storage unit 108.

  The main control unit 100 governs overall operation control of the multifunction machine 1 described above. The main control unit 100 controls driving and processing of each mechanism unit necessary for executing operation control for each function of the scanner function, the copy function, and the printer function.

  The network control unit 101 is in charge of control for performing network communication with an external device such as the client computer 7 through the LAN or the Internet. For example, the network control unit 101 transmits, from the network interface unit 91, data composed of character groups after conversion converted by the conversion unit 102 described later.

  The conversion unit 102 compares each portion of the image indicated by the read data read by the document reading unit 5 with which of a plurality of predetermined standard patterns and corresponds to the determined standard pattern. Convert the attached character by OCR processing. For example, the conversion unit 102 stores a plurality of patterns indicating the images associated with the characters, symbols, and the like as the standard patterns in advance as images indicating characters such as characters and symbols. The conversion unit 102 uses the standard pattern as a template, collates each part of the image indicated by the read data read by the document reading unit 5 with whether or not the template matches the standard pattern, and compares the standard pattern. By examining the correlation corresponding to the pixel data level for each part, an image part that is the same as or close to the template is detected from the read data (pattern matching). The conversion unit 102 converts the image portion that is the same as or close to the template detected in this way into a character associated with the template.

  The area storage unit 107 stores a mark sheet area indicating an area on the document on which the conversion process by the conversion unit 102 and the determination process by the determination unit 74 are performed. For example, when the user causes the document reading unit 5 to read a sample document as a sheet on which the mark is written, the display control unit 75 displays the read image on the display unit 473. When the user designates two points on the display screen of the display unit 473 that shows the image of the document, a rectangular region whose diagonal is a straight line formed by the two points is operated as the mark sheet region by the touch panel function provided in the display unit 473. The input mark sheet region is stored in the region storage unit 107.

  The reading capability storage unit 108 includes a memory or the like, and stores the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 changed by the changing unit 80. For example, the reading capability (for example, the reading capability changed immediately before) of the document reading unit 5 that has been changed in the past by the changing unit 80 of the client computer 7, the network interface unit 91 and the network control unit 101, Obtained from the network control unit 70 and stored in the reading capability storage unit 108. Acquisition and storage of the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 may be performed immediately after the reading unit 5 has been changed by the changing unit 80, or a mark detection instruction (described later) is input to the operation unit 47 by the user. You may go when you are done.

  The scanner unit 51 of the document reading unit 5 includes an image irradiation lamp 511 and a CCD sensor 512. The scanner unit 51 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 511 and receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 512, thereby reading the image from the document.

  The image processing unit 31 performs image processing on the image data of the image read by the document reading unit 5 as necessary. For example, the image processing unit 31 performs predetermined image processing in order to improve the quality after the image read by the document reading unit 5 is formed by the image forming unit 40. The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 311 and an image processing unit 312. The correction unit 311 includes an output voltage of the charging device 123 as image output process data of the image forming unit 40, an exposure light amount of the exposure device 124, a developing bias voltage of the developing device 122, a transfer bias of the primary transfer roller 126, and a secondary transfer roller. 41, such as a transfer bias, is adjusted. For example, the image processing unit 312 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and gamma correction on the image data read by the document reading unit 5, or compression or expansion processing, and expansion or reduction processing of the image data Various processing processes such as are performed. The image data processed by the image processing unit 31 is stored in the image memory 35 or output to the image forming unit 40 or the facsimile communication unit 92.

  The image memory 35 stores image data read by the document reading unit 5.

  The paper transport unit 411 includes the paper feed cassette 461, the paper feed roller 462, the transport rollers 463, 464, 465, and the like shown in FIG. 1, and records the recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette 461 into the image forming unit 40. And is conveyed to the discharge tray 48.

  As described above, the image forming unit 40 includes the image forming units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12B, the intermediate transfer belt 125 stretched around the driving roller 125a, the secondary transfer roller 41, and the like. The image data to be formed by the image forming unit 40 includes image data read by the document reading unit 5, image data transmitted from the client computer 7 in the local area via the LAN and network interface unit 91, and the like. Image data transmitted from the.

  The operation unit 47 includes a display unit 473 and the like, and accepts an instruction from the user about the multifunction device 1 by the touch panel function by the display unit 473 and each operation key group described above.

  The facsimile communication unit 92 includes an unillustrated encoding / decoding unit, modulation / demodulation unit, and NCU (Network Control Unit), and performs facsimile transmission using a public telephone network. For example, the facsimile communication unit 92 transmits image data of a document read by the document reading unit 5 to a facsimile device or the like via a telephone line, or receives image data transmitted from the facsimile device or the like.

  An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 81 stores image data read by the document reading unit 5 and various data such as an output format set in the image data. The image data stored in the HDD 81 is used in the multifunction machine 1 and various programs employed therein.

  The network interface unit 91 includes a communication module such as a LAN board, and transmits / receives various data to / from the client computer 7 and the like via the LAN 5 connected to the network interface unit 91. For example, the network interface unit 91 transmits data including character groups converted by the conversion unit 102 to the client computer 7 via the network interface unit 91 and the LAN 5.

  The client computer 7 includes a network control unit 70, a main control unit 72, a display unit 73, a determination unit 74, a display control unit 75, an instruction receiving unit 76, a setting unit 77, and a totaling unit 78. A unit 79 and a changing unit 80 are provided. The client computer 7 is an embodiment of a computer that forms part of the mark detection device.

  The network control unit 70 controls data communication through the network. The main control unit 72 controls overall operation of the client computer 7.

For example, among the characters converted by the conversion unit 102, the determination unit 74 has a shape similar to a black-colored square image or an image similar thereto.

Are stored in advance as reference characters.

  The determination unit 74 determines whether or not the character converted by the conversion unit 102 of the multifunction device 1 is a predetermined reference character. If the character is the reference character, the original reading of the multifunction device 1 is performed. It is determined that the image portion corresponding to the character in the read data read by the unit 5 is a mark, and if the character is not a reference character, it corresponds to the character in the read data read by the document reading unit 5 Then, it is determined that the image portion thus determined is not a mark. The mark determination by the determination unit 74 is performed for each character after the conversion, and the mark determination result exists for each character after the conversion. The mark refers to a mark that is entered by handwriting or the like of a person by painting with a writing instrument at a designated position indicated by printing on a document. For example, when all or part of a document is a so-called mark sheet, a mark or the like written by a person with a writing instrument at a predetermined position on the mark sheet is the mark.

  The determination unit 79 determines in advance the number of mark determination results indicating whether or not the mark is obtained by the determination unit 74 for the read image data in a predetermined prescribed area on the document to be read by the document reading unit 5. It is determined whether the specified number is satisfied. The determination unit 79 stores, as the specified region, each region obtained by dividing the mark sheet region stored in the region storage unit 107 into, for example, a plurality of mark sheet regions. For example, the network control unit 70 receives the mark sheet region transmitted from the multifunction device 1 side, and the main control unit 72 causes the display unit 73 to display an image indicating the mark sheet region. When the user operates the mouse pointer or the like as the operation unit 701 and designates two points on the display screen of the display unit 73 indicating the image of the mark sheet region, the straight line formed by the two points is set as a diagonal line. A rectangular area is input to the operation unit 47 as the specified area, and the determination section 79 stores the input specified area. The determination unit 79 determines, for each specified area designated by the user, whether the number of mark determination results in each specified area is a specified number. In addition, the predetermined number is determined by the user operating a mouse pointer or the like as the operation unit 701 to input a numerical value as the predetermined number, and the determination unit 79 stores the input numerical value as the predetermined number. . Note that the entire mark sheet area stored in the area storage unit 107 can be set as the specified area by the above operation.

  When the instruction accepting unit 76 accepts a capability change instruction, the changing unit 80 changes the document reading capability of the reading unit according to the reading capability indicated by the capability changing instruction.

  If the display control unit 75 determines that the number of mark determination results performed by the determination unit 79 is not a predetermined number, the display control unit 75 determines that the number of mark determination results is other than the predetermined number. The display unit 73 is controlled to display a message indicating that it is.

  The display control unit 75 performs control for causing the display unit 73 to display the character converted by the conversion unit 102 and the determination result of mark detection by the determination unit 74 for the converted character.

The instruction receiving unit 76 displays a message indicating that the number of determination results by the determination unit 74 is other than the specified number on the display unit 73 under display control by the display control unit 75, and then performs the document reading unit 5. A capability change instruction for changing the document reading capability is received from the user. The ability change instruction is input by the operation of the operation unit (keyboard, mouse pointer, etc. provided in the client computer 7) 701 by the user, and the input ability change instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit 76.

  Further, the instruction receiving unit 76 receives a character setting instruction or the like indicating whether or not the character displayed on the display unit 73 under the display control by the display control unit 75 is the reference character. The character setting instruction is input by the operation of the operation unit 701 by the user, and the input character setting instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit 76.

  In accordance with the contents indicated by the character setting instruction received by the instruction receiving unit 76, the setting unit 77 either sets the character displayed on the display unit 73 as a reference character or excludes the character from the reference character. I do. That is, when the character setting instruction received by the instruction receiving unit 76 indicates that the character displayed on the display unit 73 is the reference character, the setting unit 77 sets the character as the reference character, When the character setting instruction received by the instruction receiving unit 76 indicates that the character displayed on the display unit 73 is to be excluded from the reference character, a setting for excluding the character from the reference character is performed.

  The totaling unit 78 totals the determination results as to whether or not each portion of the image indicated by the read data read by the document reading unit 5 is the mark determined by the determination unit 74.

  It should be noted that the above-described units may be provided only when necessary in each embodiment of a mark detection process and a reference character update process described later.

  Next, a first embodiment of mark detection processing by the mark detection apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of mark detection processing by the mark detection apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the document surface. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image of a mark p printed on an original m and an image of a mark written in the mark p. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the prescribed area on the document m. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of total data. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display screen of the display unit 73. 9A is a diagram virtually illustrating an example of a character group converted by the conversion unit, FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of a mathematical expression, and FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating an example of a total value string.

  A mark detection instruction for executing a mark detection process for detecting an image indicating a predetermined mark shape from an image indicated by read data read by the document reading portion 5 by an operation of the operation portion 47 by the user is provided on the operation portion. When input is made to 47 (YES in S1), the main control unit 100 causes the document reading unit 5 to read the image of the document placed on the document placement table 61 or the document table 52 (S2). However, the mark detection instruction is input to the client computer 7 by the operation of the operation unit 701 of the client computer 7 by the user, and the network control unit 70 outputs the mark detection instruction to the multifunction device 1 side. The network control unit 101 may receive the mark detection instruction, and the main control unit 100 may cause the document reading unit 5 to read the document. When a document image reading instruction is input to the operation unit 47 without a mark detection instruction from the user, the main control unit 100 causes the document reading unit 5 to perform a normal image reading process (a series of operations performed during a copying operation and a scanning operation). Image reading operation).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a square mark p is printed on the original m to be read, and the position where the writer should write the mark is indicated by the mark p. . When the writer writes a mark with a writing tool or the like in an area surrounded by the mark p on the original m, the mark is written on the original m. When the document reading unit 5 reads the document in which the mark is thus written, the image of the mark p and the image of the mark written in the mark p are read as read data.

  Subsequently, the conversion unit 102 performs character conversion by the above-described OCR process for each part of the image indicated by the read data read by the document reading unit 5 (S3). As described above, the conversion unit 102 converts each part of the image indicated by the read data obtained by reading the document by the document reading unit 5 into a character by the above-described OCR process using the standard pattern as a template. Process. Here, since the image indicated by the read data includes the image of the mark p and the image of the mark written in the mark p, the conversion unit 102 uses the image of the mark p and the image of the mark as characters. Convert.

Here, the mark mk, which is a black-colored rectangular image in which all the inside of the rectangular shape indicating the mark p is filled or an image similar thereto, has a shape shown in FIG. For this reason, the mark mk is similar in shape to a black-colored square image or an image similar thereto by the OCR processing of the conversion unit 102.

Etc. are converted into characters.

On the other hand, the mark is not entered by the writer, and the white square mark p has the shape shown in FIG. For this reason, the mark p has a shape similar to a white square image or an image approximated by the OCR processing of the conversion unit 102.

Etc. are converted into characters.

  It should be noted that the character is not specified for an image portion that cannot be converted by the conversion unit 102 in the above-described OCR processing (when there is no conversion candidate character corresponding to the image portion). For this part, the conversion result by the conversion unit 102 is not output.

  Thereafter, the network control unit 101 transmits data composed of the converted character group converted by the conversion unit 102 in S3 from the network interface unit 91 to a computer for performing aggregation described later, such as the client computer 7. (S4).

  In the client computer 7, when the network control unit 70 receives data including the converted character group via the network interface unit (not shown) (SS1), the determination unit 74 determines that the converted character is the above-described character. If the character is the reference character (YES in SS2), the image corresponding to the character in the read data read by the document reading unit 5 is determined. It is determined that the portion is the mark mk entered by the writer (SS3). If the converted character is not a reference character (NO in SS2), the determination unit 74 fills in an image portion corresponding to the character in the image indicated by the read data read by the document reading unit 5. It is determined that the mark mk is not entered by the person (SS5).

  That is, the conversion by the conversion unit 102 is simply to perform OCR processing on the read image data of the original. In the determination unit 74, the character converted by the OCR processing is entered as described above. It is determined whether the image indicating the mark mk is a converted character or whether the image indicating the white square mark p is a converted character.

For example, as the reference character, the shape resembles a black-colored square image indicating the written mark mk or an image similar thereto,

Are selected in advance, and the plurality of selected characters are stored in the determination unit 74 in advance as reference characters. In addition, the image indicating the white square mark p without the mark being written or an image similar thereto is approximated to the white square image by the conversion unit 102.

Therefore, it is desirable to store at least those characters excluding these characters as reference characters.

  Thereby, when a certain image described on the original is read by the original reading unit 5 and converted into any character by the conversion unit 102, the determination unit 74 determines that the converted character is the first character. By determining that the read image is the mark mk when it corresponds to the character, it can be accurately identified that the mark mk exists on the document.

  As described above, when the character conversion and determination are completed for all portions of the image indicated by the read data of the document read by the document reading unit 5 (if there are a plurality of documents), the determination unit 79 is completed. However, for each document read by the document reading unit 5, whether or not the number of mark determination results performed by the determination unit 74 in the specified region in the image indicated by the read data is the predetermined specified number. Is determined (SS6).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, questions 1 to 5 are printed on the original m, and five marks p are printed for each question. When the mark mk is filled in, the determination unit 79 stores the prescribed areas fa1 to fa5 set as described above by the user as shown in FIG. 6 as the prescribed area. “5” is stored as the specified number.

  The determination unit 79 indicates information indicating whether or not the mark mk is indicated by each determination result for each document determined by the determination unit 74 and information indicating the position of the mark mk or the mark p corresponding to each determination result ( Obtained by processing based on detection of a timing mark image, which will be described later), and the number of discrimination results existing at the position of each prescribed area in the image indicated by the read data of the original read by the original reading unit 5 is calculated. . Then, the determination unit 79 determines whether the calculated number of determination results is the specified number for each specified area.

  Here, when the determination unit 79 determines that the number of determination results is the specified number for all the specified areas fa1 to fa5 (YES in SS6), the result obtained by the character conversion and determination is the result. Aggregated by the aggregating unit 78 (SS10).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when five marks p are printed on the original m for each question, and the mark mk is written by one of the five marks p by the writer, The totaling unit 78 includes information indicating whether each of the originals determined by the determining unit 74 is a mark mk, and information indicating the position of the mark mk or the mark p corresponding to each determination result. Is used to calculate the number of marks mk written on each of the first to fifth marks p for each of the questions (Q1, Q2, Q3,... Total data as shown in FIG. 7 is created.

  When performing such totalization, the totaling unit 78 indicates whether or not the mark mk is indicated by each determination result for each document determined by the determination unit 74 and the mark mk corresponding to each determination result. Marks marked on each of the first to fifth marks p for each question (Q1, Q2, Q3,... In FIG. 4) using information indicating the position of the mark p. The number of mk is calculated and the aggregate data shown in FIG. 6 is created. For example, it is assumed that an unillustrated timing mark is printed with black ink or the like in the vicinity of each question (Q1, Q2, Q3,... In FIG. 4) on a document as a mark sheet. In this case, the conversion unit 102 detects the image of the timing mark from the image indicated by the read data for each document when character-converting each portion of the image indicated by the read data for each document, and detects the detected timing. Based on the mark, the position information of the mark mk or the mark p is acquired for each question. The timing mark is detected by the conversion unit 102, for example, in the same manner as the pattern matching described above.

  Based on the detection processing of the timing mark image, the counting unit 78 uses the question (Q1, Q1 in FIG. 4) as information indicating the position of the mark p printed on the document. Q2, Q3,...) And information indicating the number of the mark p in each question are acquired and stored, and the counting unit 78 stores information indicating the position of the mark p. Based on the above, the above aggregation is performed.

  On the other hand, when the determination unit 79 determines that the number of mark determination results is not the specified number in any one of the specified regions fa1 to fa5 (NO in SS6), the display control unit 75, for example, On the display screen shown in FIG. 8, a message indicating that the number of mark discrimination results is other than the specified number is displayed on the display unit 73 (SS7). FIG. 8 shows an example in which the number of mark discrimination results is not sufficient for the prescribed areas fa1 and fa3, and the number of mark discrimination results is only four.

  After this display, an instruction to increase the amount of light when the document reading unit 5 reads the document by operating the operation unit 701 by the user (for example, pressing the “Increase document reading light amount” button B10 in FIG. 8 with a mouse pointer or the like). Is input to the operation unit 701 as an instruction to change the capability of the document reading unit 5 and the instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit 76 (YES in SS8), the changing unit 80 follows the reading capability indicated by the capability changing instruction. Then, the document reading capability of the document reading unit 5 is changed (SS9). Here, the changing unit 80 increases the amount of light when the document reading unit 5 reads the document by a predetermined amount. Note that the information on the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 changed by the changing unit 80 is transmitted to the multifunction device 1 by the network control unit 70 of the client computer 7, and the network interface unit 91 and the network control unit 101 of the multifunction device 1 The information on the reading ability is received and stored in the reading ability storage unit 108. Acquisition and storage of the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 may be performed immediately after the changing unit 80 changes the reading ability of the document reading unit 5, or the changing unit 80 stores the reading ability. It may be performed when a mark detection instruction is input to the operation unit 47 of the multifunction machine 1 by the user.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which the number of mark discrimination results is not enough for the prescribed areas fa1 and fa3. For example, the number of mark discrimination results for the prescribed areas fa1 and fa3 exceeds the prescribed number. In this case (NO in SS6), for example, when the user operates the operation unit 701 (for example, presses the “decrease document reading light amount” button B11 in FIG. 8 with a mouse pointer or the like), the document reading unit 5 reads the document. An instruction to reduce the amount of light at the time can be input to the operation unit 701 as an instruction to change the ability of the document reading unit 5. When the instruction is accepted by the instruction accepting unit 76 (YES in SS8), the changing unit 80 reduces the light amount when the original reading unit 5 reads the original by a predetermined amount (SS9).

  After the change of the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 in SS9 or when the capability change instruction is not input from the user in SS8 (NO in SS8), the above-described counting process is performed. Note that the aggregation process of SS10 is performed before the process of SS6, and the processes of SS6 to SS9 may be performed after the aggregation process of SS10.

  According to the mark detection process performed by the multi-function device 1, an image forming apparatus or the like capable of OCR processing can be used on a document such as a mark sheet without purchasing a special device capable of OMR processing. Mark detection is possible. As a result, the mark can be detected with high accuracy using an image forming apparatus or the like that is generally provided in a workplace environment such as a company or an office, and it is not necessary to purchase an OMR apparatus. The mark can be detected at a low cost.

  In addition, since character conversion is once performed by OCR processing, and it is determined whether or not the mark is based on the converted character, it is more than the case of detecting whether or not the mark is directly from the shape of the image indicated by the read data. Mark detection accuracy can be improved. When determining whether or not the mark is directly from the shape of the image indicated by the scanned data, simply scan the document as a stain or the like, or delete part of the image that needs to be scanned. However, in the present invention, since it is determined whether or not the mark is based on the character after the character conversion by the OCR conversion, the reading ability of the reading unit is determined. A decrease in the mark detection accuracy based on this is suppressed.

  Furthermore, when the determination unit does not determine the number of marks as expected (the predetermined number specified above), the user inputs an ability change instruction from the operation unit 701 to the instruction reception unit 76, thereby assuming Since the reading capability of the reading unit can be changed until the number of marks is detected, it is possible to eliminate the problem of mark detection based on the accuracy of image reading by the reading unit.

  Further, based on the excess or deficiency of the mark discrimination result notified for each of the prescribed areas by the display unit 73, the user grasps in which area the mark cannot be detected for each mark described in the document. It becomes possible to do.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a plurality of specified areas are specified in the area of the document surface by the user has been described. However, an instruction to set the entire area of the document surface by the above-described operation by the user as the specified area or the user The determination unit 79 may determine whether or not the number of mark determination results in the entire area on the document surface is a predetermined number, assuming that the predetermined area is not set by the instruction for specifying the predetermined area. . In this case, as the specified constant, the total number of marks p printed on the surface of the document m is used in the above example.

In the above, the determination unit 74 has a shape similar to a black-colored square image indicating the written mark mk or an image similar thereto as a reference character.

If the character converted by the conversion unit 102 is the reference character, a portion corresponding to the character in the image indicated by the read data read by the document reading unit 5 is marked. It is determined that mk, but instead of this, the determination unit 74 approximates a white square-shaped image.

A character that does not correspond to the character group selected and stored in advance may be used as the reference character and used to determine whether or not it is the mark.

In this case, as the total, the following can be used in addition to the above. For example, when the network control unit 70 receives the character group indicated by the data converted by the conversion unit 102, the determination unit 74 classifies the data indicating the character group for each question and arranges the data for each document data. (FIG. 9A). The discriminating unit 74 and the totaling unit 78 calculate the total value sequence shown in FIG. In this case, the discriminating unit 74 approximates the white square image with respect to the first to fifth marks p included in the question, for example, for each question of each document as the above formula. To

And so on, sequentially detecting whether or not the character is an attention character that does not correspond to the character group, etc., detecting the number p of the mark p in which the attention character is detected, and determining the information on the detected number Is used. An example of the mathematical formula is shown in FIG. The totaling unit 78 classifies the determination result by the determination unit 74 indicating the number of the mark p from which the character of interest is detected, for each question, and generates a total value string arranged for each data of each document. It is created (FIG. 9C).

  Next, a second embodiment of mark detection processing by the mark detection apparatus will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of mark detection processing by the mark detection apparatus. Note that the description of the same processing as that of the first embodiment described above will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the number of mark discrimination results obtained by the discrimination unit 74 is determined by the determination unit 79 in the specified area in the image indicated by the read data for each document read by the document reading unit 5. It is determined whether or not the number is a predetermined number (SS14). If it is determined that the number is not the predetermined number (NO in SS14), the changing unit 80 determines in SS14. It is determined whether or not the reading capability change instruction used for changing the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 has been in the past for the content indicated by the mark determination result indicated by the unit 74 (SS15).

  When the changing unit 80 determines that there is a reading capability change instruction input by the user with respect to the mark determination result shown in SS14 (YES in SS15), the changing unit 80 uses the determination unit 79 to perform mark determination in SS14. If it is determined that the number of results is larger than the specified number, the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 is changed with the same content as the past changes when the number of mark discrimination results is larger than the specified number. When the determination unit 79 determines in SS14 that the number of mark discrimination results is smaller than the specified number, the original document has the same contents as the changes made in the past when the number of mark discrimination results is smaller than the specified number. The reading capability of the reading unit 5 is changed (SS20). That is, when the number of mark discrimination results is larger than the specified number, the changing unit 80 has the same content as the content changed by the changing unit 80 when the number of mark discrimination results is larger than the specified number up to this point. When the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 is changed and the number of mark discrimination results is smaller than the specified number, the change unit 80 changes the number of mark discrimination results up to this point. The reading capability of the document reading unit 5 is changed with the same content as the received content.

  For example, in the past, the changing unit 80 indicates that the user has reduced the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 when the determination unit 79 determines in SS14 that the number of mark determination results is larger than the prescribed number. When the reading capability of the document reading unit 5, for example, the light amount of the image irradiation lamp 511 is reduced according to the capability change instruction, the light amount of the image irradiation lamp 511 is reduced in the same manner. In addition, the change unit 80 reads in the past to indicate that the user increases the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 when the determination unit 79 determines in SS14 that the number of mark determination results is smaller than the prescribed number. When the reading capability of the document reading unit 5, for example, the light amount of the image irradiation lamp 511 is improved in accordance with the capability change instruction, the light amount of the image irradiation lamp 511 is improved in the same manner. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the summing process of SS19.

  In SS15, if the changing unit 80 determines that there is no reading capability change instruction used for the mark determination result shown in SS14 (NO in SS15), as in the first embodiment, The reading ability changing process of the document reading unit 5 shown in SS16 to SS18 is performed.

  According to the second embodiment, after the change unit 80 determines that the number of determination results is other than the specified number by the determination unit 79, the change unit 80 responds to the content of the ability change instruction by the user performed up to this point. Therefore, it is necessary to learn the changes that are expected to improve the mark detection accuracy and change the reading ability of the reading unit. Therefore, even if the user does not issue a capability change instruction specifying specific contents, mark detection is possible. The accuracy can be improved.

  Next, a third embodiment of mark detection processing by the mark detection apparatus will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a third embodiment of mark detection processing by the mark detection apparatus. Note that the description of the same processing as in the first or second embodiment described above will be omitted. In particular, since the processing by the client computer 7 is the same, detailed illustration is omitted.

  In the third embodiment, it is assumed that the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 has been changed by the changing unit 80 in the past, and the changed reading capability is stored in the reading capability storage unit 108.

  In the third embodiment, when a mark detection instruction is input from the user to the operation unit 47 and the mark reception instruction is received by the instruction reception unit 76 (YES in S31), the main control unit 100 reads the reading capability storage unit. The reading capability of the document reading unit 5 stored in 108 is set in the document reading unit 5 (S32), and the document reading unit 5 is caused to read the document with the reading capability (S33).

  Further, the network control unit 101 stores that the reading capability of the document reading unit 5 has been changed by the changing unit 80 in the past, and when the mark receiving instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit 76 (S31). YES), the network control unit 101 obtains the changed reading capability stored in the changing unit 80 of the client computer 7 from the network control unit 70 via the network interface unit 91 and stores it in the reading capability storage unit 108. Then, the main control unit 100 may set the reading capability stored in the reading capability storage unit 108 in the document reading unit 5 (S32), and cause the document reading unit 5 to read the document (S33).

  On the other hand, when a document image reading instruction is input from the user to the operation unit 47 without a mark detection instruction and the document image reading instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit 76 (NO in S31), the main control unit 100 causes the document to be read. A default reading capability stored in a memory (not shown) or the like is set as a reading capability used when the normal image reading process is performed by the reading unit 5 (S37), and the normal image reading process is performed (S38). ).

  According to the third embodiment, it is possible to use different reading capacities suitable for each reading depending on whether mark detection processing is performed or normal image reading processing is performed.

  Next, a process for updating the reference character will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process for updating the reference character. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display screen example of the display unit 73. The process of updating the reference character is performed in place of the reading ability change process of the document reading unit 5 shown in SS6 to SS9 in the first embodiment of the mark detection process described above or together with the reading ability change process.

  When the user operates the operation unit 701 of the client computer 7 and an instruction to display the determination result of the mark detection by the determination unit 74 is input to the operation unit 701 (YES in SS41), the display control unit 75 As shown in FIG. 4, the discrimination result discriminated by the discriminating unit 74 at this time, that is, the memory included in the discriminating unit 74 is stored with each character to be discriminated and the mark detection discrimination result for each character. And the like are displayed on the display unit 73 (S42).

  At the time of this display, it is displayed on the display unit 73 by the operation of the operation unit 701 by the user (for example, after designating a desired character in FIG. When an instruction to set each character as a reference character is input to the operation unit 701 (“setting instruction” in SS43), the setting unit 77 applies the character group stored as the reference character by the determination unit 74 to the character group. Setting to add a character is performed (SS44).

  After the processing of SS44, the changing unit 80 increases the reading capability of the document reading unit 5, for example, the light amount of the image irradiation lamp 511 by a predetermined amount (SS45). That is, when the character displayed on the display unit 73 is set as the reference character, the changing unit 80 changes the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 in a direction to increase by a predetermined value.

  On the other hand, after the user designates a desired character in FIG. 13 by operating the mouse pointer or the like, each character displayed on the display unit 73 is moved from the reference character by pressing the “exclude from reference character” button B2 or the like. When an instruction to exclude is input to the operation unit 701 (“exclusion instruction” in SS43), the setting unit 77 deletes the character from the character group stored as a reference character by the determination unit 74 (SS46).

  After the processing of SS46, the changing unit 80 reduces the reading capability of the document reading unit 5, for example, the light amount of the image irradiation lamp 511 by a predetermined amount (SS47). That is, when the character displayed on the display unit 73 is excluded from the reference character, the changing unit 80 changes the reading ability of the document reading unit 5 in a direction to decrease by a predetermined value.

  When the converted character is changed to a reference character by the user as in SS14, an image that should be read as a mark is not sufficient in the amount of image data constituting the image (for example, the pixel value of each pixel is By tilting in a direction closer to the value indicating white, the number of pixels indicating the image to indicate the mark is reduced, etc.), so that the conversion unit 102 can read only an image that cannot be converted into a character corresponding to the mark. It is assumed that nothing has happened. In addition, when the converted character is excluded from the reference character by the user as in SS16, the amount of image data constituting the read image is excessive (for example, the pixel value of each pixel is a value indicating black). The image that should not be read as a mark is read as an image having a shape corresponding to the mark due to an increase in the number of pixels indicating the image that should indicate the mark. It is considered that the character conversion as expected is not performed depending on 102. In the update process of the reference character, it is assumed that the changing unit 80 improves the mark detection accuracy according to the operation content indicating whether or not the displayed character is the reference character performed by the user. Since it is the same as learning the change contents and changing the reading ability of the document reading unit 5, the subsequent mark detection can be performed without the user inputting a capability change instruction designating specific contents into the instruction receiving unit. The accuracy can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the mark detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is described as including a partial configuration of the multifunction machine 1 as an image reading apparatus and a partial configuration of the client computer 7. However, the mark detection apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as the image reading apparatus, an apparatus capable of reading an image on a document such as a scanner apparatus may be used instead of the multifunction machine 1. In the above embodiment, the mark detection apparatus includes a partial configuration of the multi-function device 1 and a partial configuration of the client computer 7. The mark detection device may be configured only by the image forming apparatus such as the multifunction machine 1.

  Note that the configurations and processes shown in the above embodiments using FIGS. 1 to 13 are only one embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the configurations and processes.

1 MFP 10 Control Unit 100 Main Control Unit 101 Network Control Unit 102 Conversion Unit 107 Area Storage Unit 108 Reading Capacity Storage Unit 5 Document Reading Unit 51 Scanner Unit 511 Image Irradiation Lamp 512 CCD Sensor 7 Client Computer 70 Network Control Unit 71 Stack Tray 72 main control unit 73 display unit 74 determination unit 75 display control unit 76 instruction reception unit 77 setting unit 78 counting unit 79 determination unit 701 operation unit 80 change unit

Claims (7)

A reading unit for reading an image on a document;
Each portion of the image indicated by the read data read by the reading unit is compared with a predetermined standard pattern by OCR processing, and is matched with the corresponding standard pattern. A conversion unit that converts the character into
If a plurality of character shapes similar to a solid black image rectangular image or approximate thereto previously stored as the reference characters, the character converted by the conversion unit, the a the reference character a predetermined In addition, when it is determined that the image portion to be determined on the document is a mark, and the character converted by the conversion unit is not the reference character, the image to be determined on the document A mark discriminating unit for discriminating that the part is not a mark,
For the read image data in a predetermined area on the document, it is determined whether or not the number of mark determination results as to whether or not the mark is obtained by the mark determination unit is a predetermined number. A determination unit;
A notification unit for notifying the user that the number of the mark determination results is other than the specified number when the determination unit determines that the number of the mark determination results is not the specified number;
An instruction receiving unit that receives from the user an ability change instruction to change the reading ability of the document by the reading unit after the notification by the notification unit;
A mark detection apparatus comprising: a change unit that changes a reading ability of a document by the reading unit according to a reading capability indicated by the capability change instruction when the instruction changing unit receives the capability changing instruction. The determination unit determines, for each predetermined region, whether or not the number of mark determination results as to whether or not the mark is the specified number,
In the case where the determination unit determines that the number of the mark determination results is not the specified number, the notification unit is configured such that the area subjected to the determination and the number of the mark determination results are other than the specified number. The mark detection apparatus according to claim 1, which notifies that   When the changing unit determines that the number of the mark determination results is larger than the specified number by the determination unit for the read data read by the reading unit after changing the reading ability of the document by the reading unit Changes the reading ability of the reading unit with the same content changed by the changing unit when the number of the mark determination results is larger than the specified number up to this point, and the determination unit When it is determined that the number of results is smaller than the specified number, the reading is performed with the same content as the content changed by the changing unit when the number of mark determination results is smaller than the specified number up to this point. The mark detection device according to claim 1, wherein the reading ability of the unit is changed. The reading unit includes a light source unit that irradiates the document with light, and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light of the document irradiated by the irradiating unit and converts the reflected light into electronic data as the read data.
4. The mark detection device according to claim 1, wherein the change unit changes a light irradiation capability of the light source unit as a document reading capability of the reading unit. 5. A reading capability storage unit that stores the reading capability of the reading unit changed by the changing unit;
An instruction receiving unit that receives from the user a mark detection instruction for executing the conversion process by the conversion unit and the determination process by the determination unit;
When the mark detection instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit with respect to the read data, the reading unit uses the changed reading capability stored in the reading capability storage unit, 5. The document image is read using the default reading ability preset in the reading unit when the mark detection instruction is not received by the instruction receiving unit. 6. The mark detection device according to claim. A display unit;
A display control unit that causes the display unit to display a character converted by the conversion unit and a mark determination result of mark detection by the determination unit for the converted character;
When a character setting instruction indicating whether or not the character displayed on the display unit is the reference character is received from the user by the instruction receiving unit, the displayed character is displayed according to the character setting instruction. Is set to the reference character, or is excluded from the reference character, and a setting unit that performs either
The changing unit changes the direction so as to increase the reading ability of the reading unit when the displayed character is set as the reference character by the setting unit, and the displayed character is changed by the setting unit. The mark detection device according to claim 1, wherein when the character is excluded from the reference character, the mark detection device is changed in a direction to lower the reading ability of the reading unit.   The mark detection device according to claim 1, wherein the reference character excludes a character that approximates a white square image.

Images