JP2018019203A - Image processing processor and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate, when generating an output image from a plurality of originals of different kinds, the output image which has images of the plurality of originals arranged in a layout corresponding to a combination of those originals.SOLUTION: A layout determination part 438 has information on a combination of originals (ID card etc.) needed for a procedure, sizes of those originals, and a layout for copying images of those originals together. An image processing part 430 extracts the images of the respective originals from images that a reader 120 reads by using an outline extraction part 434 etc. A layout determination part 438 finds a layout corresponding to a combination of sizes of extracted images of the respective originals, generates and sends an output image having the images of the respective originals arrayed in the layout to an image formation part 220, which is made to print the image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a program.

  There is an image forming apparatus having a function of forming one image from a plurality of surfaces (for example, the front and back surfaces of a license) of a document of a specific size such as a license, a passport, and a business card.

  For example, an apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a document type designation unit that designates a document type, a document surface switching instruction unit that instructs switching between two document surfaces according to the document type, and the designated document. And image processing means for performing image processing specified in advance by the document type and the document surface when reading the document surface.

JP 2009-100102 A

  There is a need to copy specific pages of a plurality of types of originals combined into one page. For example, it may be required to submit a copy of a personal ID card and a specific page of a passport arranged in a specific layout on a single sheet for the procedure. If the purpose is different, the combination of submitted manuscripts and the arrangement (layout) of those manuscripts in the submitted copy are also different. In the method of reading images on each side of one type of document designated by the user and copying them on one page, it is not possible to generate an output image in which images of a plurality of types of documents are arranged in a layout corresponding to the combination.

  It is an object of the present invention to generate an output image in which images of originals are arranged in a layout corresponding to a combination of the plurality of originals when the output images are generated from a plurality of different types of originals. .

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reading unit that generates a document image for each of the plurality of documents by reading a plurality of documents arranged in the reading area, and a plurality of document images generated by the reading unit. The image processing apparatus includes an output image generation unit that generates an output image in which the document images are arranged according to a layout corresponding to a combination of sizes.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the output image generation unit includes, as the layout, a combination of sizes of a plurality of document images generated by the reading unit and a positional relationship of the plurality of document images in the reading region. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a layout corresponding to the set is used.

  In the invention according to claim 3, when there are a plurality of layouts corresponding to combinations of sizes of a plurality of document images generated by the reading unit, the output image generation unit presents the plurality of layouts and is selected from the user. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output image is generated using a layout selected by the user.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided: means for extracting a document image for each of a plurality of documents from a read image acquired from a reading device that has read a plurality of documents arranged in a reading area; This is a program for functioning as output image generation means for generating an output image in which these document images are arranged according to a layout corresponding to a combination of sizes of a plurality of document images.

  According to the first or fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to generate an output image in which images of originals are arranged in a layout corresponding to a combination of originals specified from the sizes of individual original images.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when there are a plurality of layouts corresponding to a combination of sizes of a plurality of document images, the layout to be used can be specified based on the positional relationship of the documents placed in the reading area.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when there are a plurality of layouts corresponding to combinations of sizes of a plurality of document images, the layout desired by the user can be designated.

It is a figure for demonstrating the page structure of a Chinese family register. It is a figure which shows typically the presentation document which copied and produced | generated the specific page group of the ID card and the family register on one sheet. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the size of each surface of a Chinese ID card, a family register, and a passport. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning operation | work for producing | generating the copy of the manuscript submitted for a certain procedure, and the layout of those manuscripts. It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of a layout determination table. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning operation | work for producing | generating the copy of the manuscript submitted for another procedure, and the layout of these manuscripts. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning operation | work for producing | generating the copy of the original document submitted for another procedure, and the layout of those original documents. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning operation | work for producing | generating the copy of the original document submitted for another procedure, and the layout of those original documents. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning operation | work for producing | generating the copy of the original document submitted for another procedure, and the layout of those original documents. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning operation | work for producing | generating the copy of the original document submitted for another procedure, and the layout of those original documents. It is a figure which shows an example of the process sequence of embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the further detailed procedure of the scanning process among the processing procedures of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically UI screen provided in order to make a user select what to use from the some layout with the same combination of the size of a corresponding original image.

  In the following, in order to explain the functions of the apparatus of the present embodiment in an easy-to-understand manner, an explanation will be given using an example of documents submitted in procedures such as Chinese administration.

  In China, each individual has an ID (identification) card, and when carrying out procedures at a public office, etc., there are many opportunities to copy and submit both the front and back of the ID card. In addition, what needs to be submitted at the time of the procedure is not necessarily an ID card, and there are cases where it is necessary to submit a copy of a family register or passport. Passports are issued on an individual basis, whereas family register is issued on a family basis rather than an individual basis. The family register is a booklet that consists of multiple pages, as illustrated in Fig. 1. A page that contains information on the landlord in a single book and a page that contains information on each member of the family. Has been. As shown in the figure, the family register is opened up and down, and the basic information of the owner and each other member is listed on the lower page, and there are changes to the basic information on the upper page next to each lower page. be written. In some cases, it is required to submit a copy of the two-page spread, but in most cases it is necessary to submit a page of basic information for the owner and each member located in the lower half.

  Some procedures require you to submit copies of multiple types of documents, such as an ID card, family register or passport. For example, in a certain procedure, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the front and back sides of the individual ID card of the submitter, the owner page of the family register of the family to which the individual belongs, and the personal page of the submitter are combined into one page. You may be required to submit a copy.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an image forming apparatus having a function of sequentially scanning pages that need to be submitted for one type of document designated by a user, arranging the scan results of those pages into one page, and printing them out. However, this function combines the images of the pages of one type of document into one sheet, and it is not possible to arrange a group of pages extracted from a plurality of types of documents.

  On the other hand, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment provides a function of collecting a group of pages extracted from a plurality of types of documents into one page (or a plurality of pages) and generating a copy for submission. This function is hereinafter referred to as “ID card copy / auto mode”. An example of an image forming apparatus having the “ID card copy / auto mode” function will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus in FIG. 3 is an apparatus configured as a multifunction machine having a scan function, a print function, and a copy function, and includes an image reading unit 100, an image forming unit 200, a UI (user interface) unit 300, and a system control unit. 400 is included.

  The image reading unit 100 is a unit that optically scans a document to generate image data, and includes a document feeding device 110 and a reading device 120. The document feeder 110 is a device that supplies the placed documents one by one to the reading device 120. This document supply control is performed by the document feed control unit 112. The reading device 120 optically reads an image on the surface of the document sent by the document feeding device 110 and generates image data indicating the reading result. This reading control is performed by the reading control unit 122. The image reading unit 100 also has a function of reading one or more documents placed on a platen (not shown) and generating image data including the one or more documents.

  The image forming unit 200 forms an image represented by image data on a medium such as paper (hereinafter simply referred to as paper). The image forming unit 200 includes an image forming control unit 210, an image forming unit 220, a paper storage unit 230, and a paper transport unit 240. The image formation control unit 210 is a control mechanism that controls the image formation unit 200. The image forming unit 220 forms (for example, prints) image data on paper. The paper storage unit 230 is a storage device such as a paper tray that stores a large number of papers. The paper transport unit 240 transports the paper stored in the paper storage unit 230 to the image forming unit 220, and transports the paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 220 to a discharge unit (not shown).

  The UI unit 300 is a mechanism for accepting a user's operation on the image forming apparatus. For example, the UI unit 300 is displayed with a display device that displays a screen having an input field for the state of the image forming apparatus and the operation to the user. An input device that receives user input on a screen or the like is provided. The UI unit 300 may include a touch panel in which a display device and an input device are integrated, a numeric keypad as an input device, a hardware button, and the like. The UI control unit 310 controls display of a screen on the display device, reception of user input on the screen, and the like.

  The system control unit 400 controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus as a system. The system control unit 400 includes a central control unit 410, a storage unit 420, and an image processing unit 430. The central control unit 410 is a device responsible for overall control of the system control unit 400, and includes a processor that executes a program for the control. The storage unit 420 is a storage device that stores a program for control performed by the central control unit 410 and data used for the control, and includes, for example, a RAM (random access memory). The storage unit 420 may further include secondary storage such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The image processing unit 430 performs various types of image processing on the image read by the image reading unit 100 and the image formed by the image forming unit 200.

  The image processing unit 430 includes a contour recognition unit 432, a contour extraction unit 434, an image correction unit 436, and a layout determination unit 438 as functional modules responsible for image processing for the “ID card copy / auto mode” function of the present embodiment. Including. The contour recognition unit 432 recognizes the contour (generally a rectangle) of each document image included in the image data by performing processing such as edge detection on the image data output from the image reading unit 100. The contour extraction unit 434 extracts a pixel group indicating the contour of each recognized document image. The image correction unit 436 obtains the inclination of each original image from the extracted pixel group information of each original image, and corrects the inclination of each original image from the obtained inclination information. In other words, the original image is rotated so that the vertical and horizontal sides of the rectangular outline of the original image are substantially parallel to the X axis and the Y axis of the image data, respectively. The layout determination unit 438 determines a layout for combining a plurality of document images included in a plurality of reading results of the image reading unit 100 into one to a plurality of pages of output images. In this layout determination, it is determined to which pre-registered original combination the combination of the sizes of the original images corresponds, and a layout corresponding to the determined original combination is obtained. The image processing unit 430 generates an output image in which the document image group whose inclination is corrected by the image correcting unit 436 is arranged according to the layout determined by the layout determining unit 438, passes the output image to the image forming unit 200, and forms a sheet. To print. The layout determination performed by the layout determination unit 438 and an output image formed according to the layout determination will be described in more detail later.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the certificate size handled by the “ID card copy / auto mode” function of the image forming apparatus. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus (particularly the layout determination unit 438) has size information of three types of certificates such as an ID card, a family register, and a passport. The family register and passport, which are in booklet form, have information on the size of two pages (“entire surface”) and the size of one page (“half surface”). For example, assume that the size of each certificate is as follows.
ID card: 54mm X 86mm Top position: Long side family register (half face): 108mm X 148mm Top position: Long side side register (full face): 216mm X 148mm Top position: Short side passport (half face): 135mm X 90mm Top position : Short side passport (entire surface): 135mm X 180mm Top position: Long side

  For example, in an administrative procedure, two specific pages (“half 1” and “half 2”) of the front and back sides of the ID card and the family register are printed on A4 size vertically long paper 1 as shown in the layout A on the right side of FIG. Suppose you are required to copy and submit to a page. In this layout A, the front and back images of the ID card are arranged side by side on the upper side of the A4 portrait paper, and below that, a specific “half face 1” (for example, the owner page) and “half face 2” ( For example, the personal page of the submitter is arranged vertically in order.

  The front and back sides of the ID card cannot be scanned at the same time, and “half face 1” and “half face 2” of the family register table are separate pages and cannot be scanned simultaneously. Therefore, to generate a copy according to the layout A, it is necessary to scan at least twice. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the first face of the ID card and the “half face 1” of the family register table are placed on the platen and scanned at the first time, and the second face of the ID card and the family register table are scanned at the second time. Scan “half face 2”. The image processing unit 430 holds the images of the respective scan results, and prints out the original images by applying them to which layout according to what size of the original image is included in the images. To decide.

  The figure entitled [First Scan] shown in FIG. 5 is a state in which the surface 600 of the ID card and the “half face 1” 610 which is a specific page of the family register are placed side by side on the platen 500 of the image reading unit 100. Is shown. A mark 510 indicates the position of the origin O of the platen 500. When the entire area of the platen 500 is read by this [first scan], a scanned image is obtained in which the front surface 600 of the ID card and the “half surface 1” 610 which is a specific page of the family register are arranged in the illustrated positional relationship. The same is true for the figure entitled [Second Scan] shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the entire area of the platen 500 is used as a reading area in the scanning process. However, the area where document placement is permitted is limited to a predetermined area such as an A4 landscape area, and the scanning reading area is within that area. It may be limited.

  In the example of FIG. 5, one ID card size image and one image of the size of the family register table (one page of the family register booklet) are detected from the first scan result, and from the second scan result. Similarly, images of ID card size and family register table half size are detected one by one. When such a combination of document sizes is detected, the layout determination unit 438 determines that the layout to be applied to the currently read document image group is the layout A, and notifies the image processing unit 430 of this layout. The image processing unit 430 generates an output image by arranging the document image group in the layout, and causes the image forming unit 200 to print the output image.

  The outline of the “ID card copy / auto mode” function of the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment is described above by taking as an example the case of creating a copy for submission including two specific pages of the front and back surfaces of the ID card and the family register. explained.

  In order to provide such a function, the layout determination unit 438 of the image forming apparatus uses a layout determination table illustrated in FIG.

  In the layout determination table of FIG. 6, a combination of the sizes of the document images included in the image of the area read in the first and second scans and layout identification information corresponding to the combination are registered. The layout identification information is linked to the corresponding layout information. The layout information includes information on the type of each original image included in the layout and the arrangement position of each type of original image (for example, the coordinates of the vertex closest to the origin). The column of “type of submitted document” indicates what procedure of the government office is the copy result (ie, submitted document) obtained by collecting the original images read in the first and second scans of the entry. As described above, the layout determination table includes, for each procedure, information on the combination of the types of manuscripts to be submitted for the procedure (a specific surface such as an ID card or a family register) as size combination information. , Layout information for the combination is included.

  The first entry “for procedure 1” in the table of FIG. 6 defines a layout corresponding to a combination of document images in the first and second scan images illustrated in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the second entry “for procedure 2” reads a specific half face (half face 1) of the family register table and the surface of the ID card by the first scan, It is defined that when another specific half surface (half surface 2) is read, these original images are arranged in layout B and printed out. Procedure 2 is a different procedure from Procedure 1, and the combination of half of the family register that is read in the first and second scans is the combination of half of the family register that is read in the two scans of Procedure 1 (Figure 5). Different.

  The copy for Procedure 1 (see FIG. 5) and the copy for Procedure 2 (see FIG. 7) are both common in that they include two ID card-sized images and two half-sized images of the family register. It is. Accordingly, the combination of the sizes of the read document images cannot be distinguished from each other. Therefore, the position of each document on the platen (that is, the position relationship between the images of each document in the image scanned over the entire platen) is distinguished from each other. That is, for the procedure 1, the former is placed closer to the origin of the platen 500 than the latter on the half of the ID card and the family register, whereas the procedure register is the opposite, and the family register is more It is arranged at a position closer to the origin than the ID card. When the user creates a copy for the procedure 1, the ID card surface and the page (half surface) to be arranged on the upper side in the layout A of the family register are positioned closer to the origin O than the ID card. Are arranged on the platen 500 side by side so that the first scan is performed. When the first scan is over, turn the ID card over and place the page to be placed below layout A in the family register on the right side of the ID card (the side farther from the origin card than the ID card). Scan. When creating a copy for procedure 2, the half of the family register to be submitted for procedure 2 is placed on the left side closer to the origin O than the ID card, and scanning is performed. When the layout determination unit 438 detects one ID card size and one half size image of the family register from the first and second scan images, respectively, the ID card size image is more than the family register table half size image. If it is close to the origin, it is determined that the layout A is used in this processing.

  In the layout determination table (FIG. 7), the sizes of the original images read in the first and second scans are arranged in order from the origin O of the platen 500. For example, in the entry for Procedure 1, the ID card size and the family register half size are shown in order from the top as the document image size in each scan. This is because the ID card size document image is the half of the family register table. This indicates that the position is closer to the origin O than the size original image.

  In the layout determination table (FIG. 7), as shown in FIG. 8, the entry for the procedure 3 includes the original image included in the two scan results on the two front and back surfaces of the ID card and a specific spread on the entire face of the family register. This is for a combination (however, the ID card is arranged closer to the origin O than the family register). In this case, the layout C is used in which the front and back images of the ID card are arranged on the left and right above the A4 vertically long paper, and the entire spread image of the family register is arranged below the images. (A) The scan of the front side of the ID card and a specific spread of the family register arranged on the right side farther from the origin O than this is read in the first scan, and the second time only scans the back side of the ID card. (B) The same layout C for procedure 3 is applied even in a scan order in which the front surface of the ID card is read in the first scan and the back of the ID card and the family register arranged on the right side are read in the second scan. .

  The entry for procedure 4 in the layout determination table is the same as procedure 3, but the two sides of the ID card front and back and the specific spread of the family register (but different from the spread submitted in procedure 3) are scanned twice. It is about the case of reading. However, in order to distinguish from the procedure 3, in the first scan, a specific spread of the family register is arranged closer to the origin O than the surface of the ID card. The layout D applied in this case is such that an image of the entire face of the family register is arranged on the upper side of the A4 vertically long sheet, and the front and back surfaces of the ID card are arranged on the left and right sides below.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the entry for the procedure 5 in the layout determination table is to read a specific spread entire face and a specific half face of the family register by two scans, the former on the upper side of the A4 portrait sheet, and the latter A copy (layout E) arranged on the lower side is generated. If there is no other procedure for submitting a copy of one full-page spread and one half-page of the family register, the specific half-page is scanned in the first scan, contrary to the example in FIG. Even when read in the second scan, it may be determined that the layout E is applied. In addition, there are other procedures for submitting a copy that combines one full face and one half face of the family register, and the layout of the whole family face and half face in the procedure is opposite to layout E in FIG. 10 (half face up, If the entire surface is below (referred to as layout E2), it may be selected whether to use layout E (FIG. 10) or E2 depending on which of the entire surface or half surface is scanned first. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the entry for the procedure 6 in the layout determination table reads the front and back surfaces of three ID cards in two scans, arranges the front and back surfaces of the same ID card side by side, It shows that a copy of the layout F arranged in order of three is generated. The order of arrangement of the three ID cards in the layout E from the top of the ID card in the raster scanning order in which the platen starts from the origin O and proceeds to the right and reaches the right end and goes down one step and then proceeds from the left end to the right again. It shall be according to the order of arrangement. The arrangement order of the images of each ID card along the raster scanning path is also an example of the positional relationship between the ID cards. In the illustrated example, the ID card A closest to the origin is at the top, the ID card B is in the middle, and the ID card C is at the bottom. Here, it is determined that the ID card images having the closest coordinates in the first and second scan results are the front and back surfaces of the same ID card. For example, in the example of FIG. 11, among the images of each ID card in the second scan image, the back of the ID card A is closest to the coordinates of the image on the front surface of the ID card A in the first scan image. These two images are determined to be the front and back surfaces of the same ID card. A user often arranges three ID cards on the platen 500 and performs a first scan, and then performs an operation of turning over each ID card at almost the same position for the second scan. Therefore, such a matching method may be used. In the illustrated example, layout F is an example in which the front and back of three ID cards are combined into one page, but the number of ID cards to which layout F corresponds is not limited to three. The layout F is also applied when N ID card-sized images (N is an integer of 1 or more) are read in each of the first scan and the second scan. In this case, N card images scanned the first time are arranged on the left side of the page (same as in the case of three images), and a page image in which N card images scanned the second time are arranged on the right side of the page is displayed. Generated.

  The layout determination method by the layout determination unit 438 has been described above with reference to specific examples. Next, an example of the processing procedure of “ID card copy / auto mode” by the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 12, this procedure is started when the user selects the use of “ID card copy / auto mode” on the menu screen displayed on the UI unit 300 of the image forming apparatus (S10). . After this selection, the user places on the platen of the image reading unit 100 a document (ID card or the like) to be read in the first scan in order to create a submitted copy for the intended procedure (S12). This arrangement is performed according to the rules defined in the layout determination table (FIG. 7). For example, if it is a trader who makes a procedural submission copy for a customer, such a rule is stored, so that such an arrangement is easy.

  When the user finishes placing the document on the platen, the user presses the start button of the UI unit 300 (S14). When the user presses the start button, the image reading unit 100 executes the first scanning process (S16). This scanning process is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  That is, the image reading unit 100 scans the entire surface of the platen (S40), and passes the scanned image obtained by this scanning to the image processing unit 430. The image processing unit 430 cuts out an image of each document from the scanned image by the contour recognition unit 432 and the contour extraction unit 434 (S42). Then, it is determined whether the number of document images cut out is 0 or 1 or more (S44). If the number of clipped document images is one or more, the image correction unit 436 performs a known tilt correction process on each document image (S46). Then, the image processing unit 430 obtains the coordinates of the reference point of each original document whose inclination has been corrected (for example, the coordinate of the vertex closest to the origin O among the rectangular outlines of the corrected original image) and the size thereof. The image data of the image, the coordinates of the reference point, and the size information are recorded as information of the original scanned this time (S48). In addition, the image processing unit 430 determines the order of each document image whose inclination has been corrected, and records it as the order information of the document image scanned this time (S50). This order is, for example, the order of encountering each original image (tilt corrected) when the scanned image is examined from the origin O in the raster scan order (or the order close to the origin O).

  Returning to the description of FIG. 12, if the first scan process ends abnormally, the image forming apparatus displays a screen to the effect that a scan error has occurred (S18), ends the process, and displays a menu screen. Wait for instructions from the user.

  When the first scanning process is normally completed, the user replaces the document group on the platen for the second scanning (S20). For example, the ID card is turned over, and the family register is opened on the platen by opening the page to be read the second time. After the document replacement operation is completed, the user presses the start button (S22). Accordingly, the image reading unit 100 scans the entire platen (S24: second scan process). This second scanning process will also be described later with reference to FIG. If this scanning process ends abnormally, the image forming apparatus displays a screen to the effect that a scanning error has occurred (S26), ends the process, displays a menu screen, and waits for an instruction from the user.

  When the second scanning process ends normally, the layout determination unit 438 searches the layout determination table (FIG. 7) for a layout corresponding to the combination of the document image sizes read in the first time and the second time (S28). That is, for each of the first and second scans, the size and order of each original image recorded in S48 and S50 are acquired, and a combination of the sizes and order for the first and second scans is obtained. Then, an entry that matches the combination is searched from the layout determination table, and if the corresponding entry is found, the layout information of the entry is acquired.

  The image processing unit 430 determines whether or not a corresponding entry is found in S28 (S30). If no corresponding entry is found, an error message indicating that there is no layout corresponding to the combination of scanned documents is displayed on the display screen of the UI unit 300 (S32). Instead of making an error when the corresponding entry is not found, a page image in which the scanned document image group is arranged according to a predetermined rule (for example, arranged in the order of the read images) is generated and printed. Also good.

  If a corresponding entry is found in S30, the image processing unit 430 generates output image data by arranging the skew corrected document images stored in S48 of each scanning process according to the layout in the entry. (S34). Then, the output image data is supplied to the image forming unit 200 and printed on paper (S36).

  In the above example, when there are a plurality of procedures having the same combination of types (corresponding to sizes) of manuscript images to be submitted, the layout determination unit 438 determines which positional relationship between the manuscript images (for example, which of the ID card and the family register table half is Which procedure is used for the layout is determined based on whether it is close to the platen origin. On the other hand, as another example, the user may select which layout to use. In this example, when there are a plurality of layouts corresponding to a combination of document image sizes obtained in the first and second scans in the layout determination table, the layout determination unit 438 notifies the UI unit 300 of the plurality of layouts. Then, a UI screen 700 (see FIG. 14) showing the plurality of layouts as options is displayed. On the left side of the UI screen 700 illustrated in FIG. 14, two layouts corresponding to combinations of two ID card sizes and two family register half size sizes, that is, layouts for procedure 1 and procedure 2 are displayed. Is displayed, and the user designates which one to use by inputting a touch operation or a layout number.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The information processing mechanism (for example, the system control unit 400) of the image forming apparatus exemplified above is realized by causing a computer to execute a program representing the above-described function of the information processing mechanism. Here, the computer includes, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU, a memory (primary storage) such as a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an SSD (solid state drive), an HDD as hardware. (Hard disk drive) and other controllers that control fixed storage devices, various I / O (input / output) interfaces, network interfaces that perform control for connection to a network such as a local area network, etc. via, for example, a bus Connected to each other. A program in which the processing contents of these functions are described is stored in a fixed storage device such as a flash memory via a network or the like, and is installed in a computer. The program stored in the fixed storage device is read into the RAM and executed by a microprocessor such as a CPU, thereby realizing the functional module group exemplified above. Further, a part (for example, a part responsible for image processing such as contour extraction) or all of the system control unit 400 may be mounted by a hardware circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image reading unit, 110 Document feeding apparatus, 112 Document feeding control part, 120 Reading apparatus, 122 Reading control part, 200 Image formation unit, 210 Image formation control part, 220 Image formation part, 230 Paper storage part, 240 Paper conveyance part , 300 UI unit, 310 UI control unit, 400 system control unit, 410 central control unit, 420 storage unit, 430 image processing unit, 430 image processing unit, 432 contour recognition unit, 434 contour extraction unit, 436 image correction unit, 438 Layout determination unit.

Claims (4)

Reading means for generating a document image for each of the plurality of documents by reading a plurality of documents arranged in a reading area;
Output image generation means for generating an output image in which the original images are arranged according to a layout corresponding to a combination of sizes of the plurality of original images generated by the reading means;
An image processing apparatus.   The output image generation means is a layout corresponding to a combination of a combination of sizes of a plurality of document images generated by the reading means and a positional relationship of the plurality of document images in the reading area. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is used.   When there are a plurality of layouts corresponding to combinations of sizes of a plurality of document images generated by the reading unit, the output image generation unit presents the plurality of layouts, receives a selection from the user, and selects the user The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output image is generated using a layout. Computer
Means for extracting a document image for each of the plurality of documents from a read image acquired from a reading device that has read a plurality of documents arranged in a reading area;
Output image generation means for generating an output image in which the original images are arranged according to a layout corresponding to a combination of sizes of the plurality of extracted original images;
Program to function as.