JP2984033B2 - Image retrieval apparatus and image retrieval method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image search device and an image search method for searching for desired image information according to index information.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in this type of apparatus, a reading unit for inputting an image by registering image information, for example, by photoelectrically changing the image, and a part of the image information read from the reading unit are stored as a search index of the image information. A storage unit to manage,
The information processing apparatus comprises a control unit for searching and displaying the image information registered in the storage medium on the display means while collating the search information input with the information search index.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, when a part of the image information is used as a search index of the image information, for example, when a search index is generated by automatically recognizing a character written in a part of the image information, a desired character is recognized by character recognition. If the recognized characters do not match, the search information input by the searcher and the search index managed by the recording unit become inconsistent, and image information already registered in the storage medium cannot be searched and displayed. As a result, there is a serious problem that the search processing is significantly inhibited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and changes search information in order from search information change data having a high priority, and restricts the change to a level specified by an operator. In addition to the operator being able to limit the degree of images output as search results, the index is replaced with search information in accordance with the results of image search and updated and registered. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image search device and an image search method that can improve the speed of detecting an index that matches search information in a subsequent search process.

Furthermore, in consideration of erroneous recognition when an index is created from an image, by performing collation with the index while changing the search information, the accuracy of the image search is improved, and according to the result, the index error is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image search device and an image search method that can improve the subsequent search speed by being corrected in a search process.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a character string obtained as a result of recognizing an image is used as an index of the image, and is compared with search information input by an operator, so that an image corresponding to an index matching the search information is obtained. A search information change data storage unit that stores search information change data having a priority; and the input search information according to the search information change data stored in the search information change data storage unit. Search information changing means for sequentially changing the search information in descending order of priority; control means for controlling the search information change means to limit the change level of the search information according to a search information change level designated by an operator; Indexes that match the search information changed by the search information changing means under the restrictions of the control means The image, and output means for outputting the retrieval result is an index corresponding to the image information outputted by said output means having an update registration means for replacing the input search information.

In a second invention according to the present invention, the search information change level is the number of times search information is changed.

In a third aspect according to the present invention, the search information changing means changes an indefinite character in a part of the search information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the search information change data stored in the search information change data storage means is data created based on an erroneous recognition frequency in character recognition processing of an image.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the replacement of the index by the update registration means is selectively performed when an index change instruction is given by an operator.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information is obtained by illuminating a character string obtained as a result of recognizing an image as an index of the image with search information input by an operator. In the image search method for searching for, the input search information is sequentially changed in descending order of priority according to search information change data having priority stored in advance, and the search information change level designated by the operator is changed. In response to the search information, a level at which the search information is changed is limited, an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information changed in the restriction is output as a search result, and an index corresponding to the output image information is output. Is replaced with the input search information.

In a seventh aspect according to the present invention, the search information change level is the number of times search information is changed.

In an eighth invention according to the present invention, the change of the search information is a change of a part of the search information to an indefinite character.

In a ninth aspect according to the present invention, the search information change data is data created based on an erroneous recognition frequency in character recognition processing of an image.

In a tenth aspect according to the present invention, the index replacement is selectively performed when an index change instruction is given by an operator.

[Action]

In the first and sixth inventions, an image corresponding to an index matching the search information is obtained by collating a character string obtained as a result of recognizing an image as an index of the image with search information input by an operator. At the time of search, input search information is sequentially changed in descending order of priority according to search information change data having priority stored in advance, and search is performed according to a search information change level designated by an operator. Limiting the change level of information, outputting an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information changed within this limit as a search result, and adding an index corresponding to the output image information to the input search information. replace.

In the second and seventh inventions, the search information change level is the number of times search information is changed.

In the third and eighth inventions, the search information is changed by changing a part of the search information to an indefinite character.

In the fourth and ninth inventions, the search information change data is data created based on an erroneous recognition frequency in character recognition processing of an image.

In the fifth and tenth inventions, index replacement is selectively performed when an index change instruction is given by an operator.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an image retrieval apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a control unit including a CPU, which stores ROs for storing procedures shown in flowcharts to be described later.
Equipped with M etc. to control each device comprehensively. In addition, a hardware functioning as a search index specifying unit and a search unit is provided.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a reading unit which optically reads a document image and writes and stores photoelectrically converted image information in an image memory 3. 4
Is a recognition unit, and the reading unit 2 analyzes pattern information described on a part of the document, for example, characters, figures, and the like, and registers it in the index information storage unit of the recording unit 6 as index information of the read image recognized. A display unit 5 displays the read image. Reference numeral 7 denotes a keyboard for inputting search information and the like. The recording unit 6 is constituted by a predetermined storage medium, and includes an index information storage unit, a misrecognition data unit 6a for preliminarily storing misrecognition frequency data of a pattern misrecognized by the recognition unit, and the like.

Hereinafter, the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

By using the character string obtained as a result of recognizing an image as an index of the image configured as described above and collating it with search information input by an operator, an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information is searched for. In the image search device (which executes steps (1) to (3) of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 described later), search information change data storage means for storing search information change data having priority (shown in FIG. 3) A misrecognition data section 6a) and search information changing means (shown in FIG. 4) for sequentially changing the input search information in order of priority according to the search information change data stored in the search information change data storage means. Means for executing step (7) of the flowchart)
Control means for controlling the change level of the search information by the search information changing means in accordance with the search information change level specified by the operator (means for executing step (6) of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4) ) And output means for outputting, as a search result, an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information changed by the search information changing means under the restrictions of the control means (step (8) in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4). Means to do))
Therefore, it is possible to execute the image search in consideration of the misrecognition of the index in the restriction according to the change level desired by the user.

 Hereinafter, the index information creation processing will be described.

To create index information of an image to be registered, the reading unit 2 starts reading in response to a reading start signal from the control unit 1, and the image read at the same time is binarized and transferred to the image memory 3. Then, a signal is sent to the control unit 1 at the end of the transfer. Upon receiving the transfer end signal, the control unit 1
A recognition start signal is sent to the recognition unit 4. Upon receiving the recognition start signal, the recognizing unit 4 recognizes a preset index area of the image memory 3 and transfers the result to the control unit 1. The control unit 1 that has received the recognition result records the image in the image memory 3 in the recording unit 6 and records the recognition result as index data.

Next, the data configuration of the recognition data section provided in the recording section 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a result of a data sampling process for creating an erroneously recognized data portion 6a constructed in the recording portion 6 shown in FIG. For example, only results for characters (numbers) are shown. In the following description, it is assumed that only numerals are used as index information for convenience.

As can be understood from this figure, when the reading unit 2 reads, for example, each of the numbers “0” to “9” 100 times, for example, the recognition result of the recognizing unit 4 is a sampling result as shown in FIG. The result is obtained. Utilizing this result, an erroneous recognition data section 6a in which characters are arranged in the order of misrecognition as shown in FIG. 3 is created and registered in the recording section 6 shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the image search processing in the image search apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image search processing procedure in the image search device according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (12) indicate each step.

First, an operator inputs search data from the keyboard 7 (1). Next, the control unit 1 sets the first index registered in the index information storage unit constructed in the recording unit 6 as the index INDEX to be compared (2). Next, it is determined whether or not the search data entered by the operator set in the index INDEX matches (3). If NO, it is determined whether the index set in the index INDEX is the last index registered. Judge (4), if NO, index IN
Change DEX to the next registered index (5), and return to step (3).

On the other hand, in the case of YES in the determination of step (4), it is determined whether or not the search data has been changed to a partly indefinite character by the number of times designated in advance from the keyboard 7 or the like ("3" in this embodiment). A determination is made (6). If YES, the process is terminated. If NO, the search data is changed three times to a partly undefined character in the order of misrecognition, for example, three times (7), and the process returns to step (2).

On the other hand, if the determination in step (3) is YES, the registered image that matches the search data is displayed on the display unit 5 (8).

Next, the operator checks on the display unit 5 whether or not the index information in the image and the search data input from the keyboard 7 are the same, and determines whether or not to continue the search processing (9). Return to (4), N
If O, the control unit 1 determines whether the current search data is the same as the search data first input by the operator (10), and if YES, ends the processing.

On the other hand, if the determination in step (10) is NO, it is determined whether or not an index change instruction is issued from the operator (11). If NO, the process is terminated. Update registration for rewriting the search data at the time of input is executed (12), and the process is terminated.

As a result, for example, when a correct index is created without erroneous recognition at the time of creating an index, the process ends with steps (1) to (3) and steps (8) to (10).

On the other hand, if there is an erroneous recognition at the time of index creation and erroneous index data is created in the recording unit 6, the index INDEX and the search data input by the operator do not match in the determination of step (3), and After the comparison with the index, the process proceeds to step (6). Then, in this step (6), the search data is changed to a partly indefinite character by a set number (the set number is designated by the keyboard 7 by the operator before the start of the search process. Is specified)
Is determined, for example, the search data is changed three times to characters indefinitely recognized in the order of characters that are likely to be misrecognized. If the operator still cannot obtain the desired image,
The process ends without performing any further change search.

On the other hand, if the number of changes has not reached the set number of times in step (6), the search data is changed in the order in which it is easy to erroneously recognize the change to partially undefined characters, that is, the misidentified data portion shown in FIG.
Referring to 6a, the input search data is, for example, “3210”
In the case of, first, the frequently occurring "0" (position A in the figure) is set as an indefinite character "?", And "321?"
It is sequentially determined whether or not three places of "3", "2" and "1" match the search data, and if they match, an image is displayed in step (8).

Next, the operator determines on the display unit 5 whether or not the index information in the image matches the search data entered by the operator. If not, the operator continues the search and continues the collation processing with the remaining index data. If the control unit 1 determines that the variation of the search data does not reach the set number of times in the determination of step (6), the second search data change is performed. Is the character "1" at position B shown in the figure an undefined character? It is sequentially determined whether or not they match the search data, and if they match, the image is displayed in step (8). The same applies to the positions C and D in FIG.

In this way, after searching for a matching index in the search data including the indefinite character and displaying the image, if the operator confirms that the index information in the image is the same as the search data entered by the user, control is performed. Part 1
Determines that the search data has been changed and returns to step (1
In step 1), the index information that has been partially misrecognized is rewritten to the search data first instructed and input by the operator, and for subsequent searches, the desired registered image is searched and displayed using the search data at the time of input. Let it.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, search information is
Since the search information change data having the highest priority is changed in order, and the change is limited to a level specified by the operator, not only the operator can limit the degree of the image output as the search result, but also the image search. The index is replaced with search information according to the result of and updated and registered, so that the accuracy of the index is improved each time a search is repeated, and it is possible to speed up the detection of an index that matches the search information in subsequent search processing Become.

In addition, in consideration of erroneous recognition at the time of creating an index from an image, the search information is changed and the index is illuminated, so that the accuracy of the image search is improved. Since the correction is made in the search processing step, the subsequent search speed can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an image retrieval apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a result of a data sampling process for creating a recognition data section to be constructed in a recording section shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the configuration of a misidentification data section constructed in the recording section shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an example of an image search processing procedure in the image search apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. In the figure, 1 is a control unit, 2 is a reading unit, 3 is an image memory, 4
Denotes a recognition unit, 5 denotes a display unit, 6 denotes a recording unit, and 7 denotes a keyboard.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G06F 17/30

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] An image retrieval apparatus for retrieving an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information by collating a character string obtained as a result of recognizing the image as an index of the image with search information input by an operator. A search information change data storage means for storing search information change data having a priority; and said input search information having a higher priority according to the search information change data stored in said search information change data storage means. Search information changing means for sequentially changing the order, and according to the search information change level designated by the operator,
Control means for controlling the search information change means to limit the change level of the search information, and an image corresponding to the index that matches the search information changed by the search information change means in the restriction by the control means, An image search apparatus comprising: an output unit that outputs a search result; and an update registration unit that replaces an index corresponding to image information output by the output unit with the input search information. 2. The image search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search information change level is a number of times the search information is changed. 3. The image search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search information changing means changes a part of the search information into indefinite characters. 4. The image according to claim 1, wherein the search information change data stored in the search information change data storage means is data created based on an erroneous recognition frequency in a character recognition process of the image. Search device. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the replacement of the index by the update registration means is selectively performed when an instruction to change the index is made by an operator.
An image search device according to claim 1. 6. An image search for retrieving an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information by illuminating a character string obtained as a result of recognizing the image as an index of the image with search information input by an operator. In the method, the input search information is sequentially changed in descending order of priority according to search information change data having a priority stored in advance, and the search information is changed according to a search information change level designated by an operator. Limiting the level at which search information is changed, outputting an image corresponding to an index that matches the search information changed within the limit as a search result, and inputting the index corresponding to the output image information to the input. An image search method characterized by replacing with search information. 7. The image search method according to claim 6, wherein the search information change level is a number of times the search information is changed. 8. The image search method according to claim 6, wherein the change of the search information is a change of a part of the search information to indefinite characters. 9. The image search method according to claim 6, wherein the search information change data is data created based on an erroneous recognition frequency in an image character recognition process. 10. The image search method according to claim 6, wherein said index replacement is selectively performed when an index change instruction is given by an operator.