JP3126407B2 - Apparatus for registering an image in a storage medium - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image registration apparatus for recording an original image on a recording medium such as an optical disk, and more particularly to a method for inputting index information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image information has been stored on a microfilm, a magnetic / magneto-optical disk, or the like in order to reduce a storage space for a large amount of documents and the like.

By the way, from the viewpoint of information management, it is necessary to input an index corresponding to each information in order to enable easy access (search) to the stored information at a later date. I spent a lot of time indexing.

Therefore, as a means for solving this problem, there is known a method in which code information to be used as an index is provided on a document, and the code information is read by a scanner and the document is photographed at the same time.

[0005] The scanner used is a bar code scanner for reading bar codes, and an MIC for reading magnetic characters.
R or OCR for reading general characters.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a simple example of an apparatus employing such a conventional method.

In this apparatus, an original 100 having a bar code attached as index information is transferred to a roller 10.
The document is conveyed one by one toward a paper ejection tray 108 by a conveying means including a belt 102, 102, 103 and a belt 104, the index information is read by a barcode scanner 105, and an image of the document 100 reaching a photographing unit 106 is taken by a camera. Photographed at 107 and recorded on a microfilm.

Here, the read index information is transferred to the computer.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 28 (a) and 28 (b), the frame number of each image frame 110 of the microfilm 109 and the read index information correspond to each document as index data so as to be stored in a computer memory. By using the index data recorded in the memory, it is possible to easily and reliably search for a target image frame in the microfilm at a later date.

[0010] Such an example is disclosed in US Patent No. 4,283,621.

On the other hand, as an electronic file device, a device which uses a CCD as an image reading element in a photographing section and employs an optical disk as a recording device has recently attracted attention.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a simple example of an apparatus using an optical disk.

In this apparatus, a bar code 111 attached to a document 110 as index information is read by a pen-type scanner 112. The read barcode data is displayed on the display terminal 115 with a keyboard. If reading is not possible, manual input is performed from the display terminal 115.

Next, an image is read by the image scanner 113. The read image data is stored in the memory 114 and the display terminal 11 with a keyboard.
5 is displayed. On this display screen, index information read by the scanner 112 or manually input is also displayed.

When the operator confirms the display contents and presses a "confirmation key", predetermined image processing (for example, edge enhancement or data compression) is performed on the image data stored in the memory 114. The image data and index data are recorded on the optical disk 117 by the circuit 116.

As another configuration, the image data is stored on the optical disk 117 and the index data is stored on the other recording medium 11.
8 (for example, floppy disk).

By using the index data, a target image can be easily and reliably retrieved from the optical disk at a later date.

In the prior art described above, since the overall processing speed depends on the speed of paper handling including the reading of the bar code scanner, even if the speed of image scanning of the document original is increased, the processing speed is increased. It has limited capacity and is not suitable for mass processing.

In the case where a document document can be continuously conveyed, if a code reading error occurs, the system is interrupted and recovery (re-input) by the operator is required. For this reason, in the prior art, there is a disadvantage that the operator must always be in close contact with the device.

Further, the method of determining the data by reading the bar code by the scanner is as follows: (1) The bar code is scanned two or more times, and the data is determined when they match. (2) The barcode is scanned three or more times and determined when two consecutive matches occur. (3) The barcode is scanned three or more times and determined by majority logic. And so on to improve reliability.

On the other hand, in many high-speed scanners, data is determined by one scan, so that the reliability of read data or the correct reading rate is low.

As described above, in the conventional scanner,
In high-speed processing, reliability is insufficient, and there is a problem that the processing speed must be reduced in order to obtain sufficient reliability.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image registration apparatus which can register a document image efficiently and further can efficiently create an index file.

[0024]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to an image registration apparatus for recording an image of a document with index information read by an image reading apparatus on a recording medium. Means for recording an image of a document to which index information is added and an image indicating the position of the index information on a recording medium, means for reading the image of the document and an image indicating the position of the index information recorded on the recording medium, First detecting means for detecting the position information of the index information based on the image indicating the position of the index information, and a document read by the reading means based on the position information detected by the first detecting means Second detecting means for detecting index information from the image, and index information detected by the second detecting means. And it has a means for creating an index file indicating the relationship between the recording addresses of the recorded original image on a recording medium.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for recording an image of a document to which index information is read by an image reading apparatus on a recording medium, wherein the image reading means reads an image indicating a position where the index information is provided, and The position information of the information is detected, and the image reading means records the detected position information on the recording medium in association with the subsequently read image of the document, and reads the document image and the position information recorded on the recording medium. Detecting index information from the read document image based on the read position information, and creating an index file indicating a relationship between the detected index information and a recording address of the document image recorded on the recording medium. It is.

Further, according to the present invention, in an image registration apparatus for reading an image of a document having index information provided on a front surface and an image indicating the position of the index information on a back surface and recording the image on a recording medium, Reading means for reading an image, means for recording the front and back images of the document read by the reading means on a recording medium, means for reading the front and back images of the document recorded on the recording medium, and reading by the reading means First detecting means for detecting a position to which index information has been added from the image of the back side of the read original, and reading by the reading means based on the position to which index information has been detected by the first detecting means. Second detecting means for detecting index information from an image on the front surface of the scanned original, and an index detected by the second detecting means. And it has a means for creating an index file indicating the relationship between the information and the recording address of the surface image of the original document recorded on the recording medium.

[0027]

According to the present invention, an original image can be efficiently registered in a recording medium and an index file can be efficiently created with the above configuration.

[0028]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image recording system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The basic configuration includes a photographing section A for recording a document on a microfilm and a reading section B for reading a code from the microfilm.

Referring to FIG. 1, a document P has code information 1
(For example, a barcode).

The photographing section A has a sheet feeding section 2 on which the original P is stacked.
Is provided. In the position adjacent to the paper feed unit 2,
A transport unit that transports the document P on the paper feed unit 2 to the photographing unit 5 one by one from below is provided. This transport means comprises a belt 4 applied to rollers 3a and 3b and a roller 3c which comes into contact with roller 3a (reverse rotation).

A photographing camera 6 as recording means for photographing the original P in the photographing section 5 on the film 7 is provided on the transport means. On the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport means, there is provided a paper discharge stacker 8 for placing the photographed document P.

The photographed / developed microfilm is indicated by F in the figure. The original P
Are recorded, and a mark 11 called a blip for specifying an image position is recorded. Of course,
The code information 1 is also recorded as a part of the reduced image 12.

The microfilm that has been photographed / developed is shown in FIG.
The cartridge is loaded as shown by. Then, the microfilm loaded in the cartridge is transferred to the medium conversion unit B.
Attached to.

The medium conversion section B comprises film transport means, film image reading means, code decoding means, and image recording means.

The microfilm transport means includes a roller for feeding out the microfilm 9, a glass pressure plate (both not shown), a take-up reel 13 for winding the film, and the like.

The microfilm image reading means includes a light source 14 for irradiating the microfilm 9, a condenser lens (not shown), a projection lens 15, an image reading element 16,
It comprises a signal processing circuit 21, a bit map memory 22, and the like.

The code decoding means includes a data extraction circuit 23,
The image recording means comprises an image data compression circuit 25, a disk control circuit 26, a disk 27
Consists of

The microcomputer 28 controls the entire system.

The circuits 21 to 28 except for the disk 27 are connected to a bus line 29.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the microfilm scanner section in the medium conversion section B in a three-dimensional manner.

In the medium conversion section B, the microfilm 9 is transferred until the blip mark 11 is detected by the sensor 17 and the count is sequentially counted to obtain a count corresponding to the desired image 10.

When the count number corresponding to the desired image 10 is obtained, the microfilm 9 is stopped. Until the upper end of the image 10 is subsequently projected on the image reading element 16, the rotary reflecting mirror 30 rotates about the rotation axis L (shown by a broken line). Subsequently, the reflecting mirror 30 rotates in the reverse direction to scan the image 10.

The image signal of the scanned image 10 is amplified by an amplifier 18 and then converted from an analog signal to a digital signal by an A / D converter 19.
0, image processing such as edge enhancement is performed.
Sent to This process is substantially synchronized with the rotational angular velocity of the rotary reflecting mirror 30.

In this embodiment, one rotating mirror 30 is used.
Performs the sub-scanning of the image 10, but there are also many methods of combining two mirrors, and the present invention is not limited by using other methods.

Next, the output signal of the image reading element 16 is stored in the bit map memory 22. This signal is also sent to the data extraction circuit 23 at the same time.

When the extraction circuit 23 detects a signal like a bar code from the digital signal of one line, it sends the signal from that point to the rear end of the line to the bar code decoder 24 to analyze the signal. Here, the bar-code-like signal means a white run, a black run, and a white run in which the first white run is three times or more the black run. When this condition is met, one character is decoded in accordance with a predetermined rule using the black run as a reference for the length. If the decoding is successful, the decoding is continued. If the decoding is unsuccessful, the above-described barcode-like signal is detected again and decoding is repeated up to the end of the line. This process is repeated for each line, and if the same data is detected a predetermined number of times, it is held as read data. When the reading of one frame of the micro image is completed, the data is read line by line from the bit map memory 22 and data is compressed by the compression circuit 25 in accordance with a predetermined rule, and the compressed data is recorded on the disk 27. Further, before and after this, data held in the decoder 24 is also recorded on the disk 27 as index data.

For example, when the narrow bar is a standard bar code of 0.3 mm, the frequency of the narrow bar (1 mm ÷ 0.
(3 mm), if the frequency is doubled in consideration of the image deterioration due to the microfilm, then 1 mm ÷ 0.3 mm × 2 = 6.67 pel.

By adding the well-known sampling theorem to this, the bar code can be read reliably at a sampling frequency twice as high as 6.67 pel.

Therefore, in this example, 16 pel / mm
It can be seen that if an image sensor having a considerable resolution is used, it is possible to sufficiently read out the code information from the image of the microfilm.

FIG. 3 shows the above image registration process.

First, a cartridge number for identifying a cartridge is input (step 1), and 1 is set to a frame number counter for identifying a frame of the microfilm (step 2). Next, a frame having the value of the frame number counter is searched and stopped at the reading position (step 3).
While turning on the lamp 14 and rotating the mirror 30, the frame image is read line by line, stored in the bitmap memory 22, and sent to the extraction circuit 23 (step 4). The extraction circuit 23 determines whether or not there is a barcode pattern in the data of one line (step 5). If there is a barcode pattern, the subsequent data is sent to the decoder 24 for analysis (step 5). Step 6). Then, the reading is repeated until the images of all the lines of the frame image are read (step 7). When the image reading of all the lines is completed, the image stored in the bitmap memory 22 is read line by line, compressed by the compression circuit 25 (step 8), and stored on the optical disk 27 via the disk control unit 26 (step 9). ). And the decoder 2
Data indicating the relationship between the index information analyzed in step 4 and the frame number is stored in the disk 27 as an index file. When the registration of the image of one frame is completed, it is determined whether there is a next frame by a blip mark or the like (step 10). If there is the next frame, the frame number counter is incremented by 1 (step 11). Search, reading, etc. of the frame are repeated.

In this embodiment, the code added to the document is described as a bar code. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Even when the code is represented by characters, it is almost the same. Applicable. However, when recognizing a character, it is difficult to extract the character from the document. Therefore, a place where the character is recorded is determined in advance, and the extraction circuit sends the data at the place to a decoder (OCR). Become.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the microfilm transport direction and the barcode arrangement direction.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which a document is conveyed to the photographing unit 5 by the belt 4, wherein an arrow X indicates a conveying direction, and FIG. 4A is an example of a slip in the first embodiment. FIG. 4B shows an example of an A4 size document.

In the state as shown in FIG. 4B, the bar code cannot be read because the direction in which the bar codes are arranged is perpendicular to the scan direction.

Thus, in the second embodiment, such inconvenience is solved.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an image recording system according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a microfilm scanner section in the second embodiment in a three-dimensional manner.

Since the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, only the differences will be described.

As described above, when the bar code and the document conveyance direction are at right angles, a film as shown by F in FIG. 3 is produced.

If this film is read as it is,
Since the scanning direction and the barcode arrangement direction are at right angles and decoding becomes impossible, in the second embodiment, after reading and image processing of one document's image data and storage in the bitmap memory 22a are performed, Rotate the image data on the bitmap memory.

The rotation formula of the image data is as follows: Y = cosA.y-sinA.x X = sinA.y + cosA.x In particular, when rotated by 90 degrees, Y = -x and X = y.

The rotationally scanned image signal is stored in the bit map memory 22b. From here, the data is sent to the decoder 24 line by line and signal analysis is performed. At the same time, it is sent to the compression circuit 25.

The subsequent steps are the same as in the first embodiment.

Here, whether the signal before the vertical / horizontal conversion is converted into the image data or the signal after the conversion is converted into the image data is determined as follows.
It is desirable to determine the direction based on the direction in which the original can be observed at the normal position.

In the second embodiment, decoding is performed without performing rotation scanning, and if index data is obtained, the same processing as that of the first embodiment is performed on the contents of the bitmap memory 22a to obtain index data. If there is no bar code, processing is performed as in the second embodiment. If data is still not obtained, it is possible to perform processing without a barcode. By doing so, it becomes possible to process a document in which a slip / document is mixed.

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the image information and the code data are recorded on the same recording medium, but it is also effective to use these on different media. For example, when a large amount of image data is recorded, a plurality of disks are required. Therefore, it is desirable to record the code data as index data on a medium different from the image data in order to see the whole.

As described above, a large number of documents / slips are photographed at high speed on a microfilm, and then converted from the microfilm to a medium such as an optical disk.
High-speed shooting / unmanned conversion and significant rationalization can be realized.

Further, it is possible to construct a document management system which is close to an ideal, such as a microfilm for data storage and an optical disk for data utilization. It is also effective when only an index file is created without conversion to an optical disk or the like.

In the above embodiment, the document original is first photographed on the microfilm and then stored on the optical disk. The method of directly storing the document original on the optical disk will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an image recording system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

The basic configuration of the present system comprises a scanner section A ₁ for electronically reading a document and a data processing / control section B ₁ .

The scanner section A ₁ is provided with a sheet feeding section 2 for stacking originals P to which code information 1 (for example, a bar code) is added. At a position adjacent to the paper feed unit 2, a transport unit that transports the documents P on the paper feed unit 2 to the document reading unit 45 one by one from below is provided.

In this embodiment, since the one-dimensional CCD sensor 47 is used, it is arranged at right angles to the traveling direction of the transport belt 4. For this reason, in FIG. 7, the image reading unit 45 is shown as a dot.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the traveling direction X of the belt 4 and the arrangement of the CCD sensor 47.

The image information for one line of the document P is formed on the CCD sensor 47 by the lens 46.

The conveying means includes a belt 4 wrapped around the rollers 3a and 3b, and a roller 3 contacting (reversely rotating) the roller 3a.
c. On the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport means,
A paper discharge stacker 8 for placing the read original P is provided.

The read original is illuminated by an illumination lamp 48,
An image of one line is formed on the CCD sensor 47 via the optical lens 46.

[0079] The signals read by the CCD sensor 47 is a signal processing circuit 50 in the A / D conversion, processing of edge emphasis or the like is performed, a digital image signal processed by the processing circuit 50 via the control circuit 51 of the scanner unit A ₁ Bus line 5 at
2 is transmitted.

The data processing / control unit B ₁ is also connected to the bus line 52.
Is connected to The control circuit 51 also controls the transport belt 4.

The data processing / control unit B ₁ performs a data thinning process on the digital image signal based on a predetermined rule, and displays a thinned image, and a display device 56.
A bit map memory 53 for temporarily storing the digital image signal, and storing the data in a predetermined method (for example, M
H, MR, etc.), a compression / decompression circuit 57 for compressing or decompressing data, an optical disk 58 for storing compressed image data, and a floppy disk 59, each of which is connected to a bus line 52.

Further, a data extraction circuit 54 for extracting a signal like a bar code from one line of image data and a data decoder 55 for analyzing the bar code are connected to the bus line 52.

The bus line 52, the bit map memory 53, the data extraction circuit 54 and the data decoder 55
Between switches SW1 which are switched by mode selection,
SW2 and SW3 are provided.

The main control of the entire system is performed by the microprocessor 60.

When the first mode, that is, the optical disk recording mode instruction is issued from the keyboard by the operator, the MPU
Reference numeral 60 indicates SW1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = OFF, and the bitmap memory is connected to the bus line 52. The switches SW1, SW2, and SW3 need not be physical switches but may be logical switches.

The original image read in such a configuration is
Once the data is stored in the bitmap memory 53 and the reading of one document is completed, the data is compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 57 and the compressed data is recorded on the optical disk 58. During this time, the digital image signal is subjected to a predetermined thinning (for example, a ratio of one pixel to two pixels), and the display device with keyboard 5
6 displays an image.

When the operator instructs the second mode, that is, the index file creation mode, from the keyboard, the MPU 60 switches SW1 = OFF, SW2 = ON, S
W3 = ON, data extraction unit 54 and data decoder 5
5 is connected to the bus line 52.

In this mode, the image data recorded on the optical disk 58 is read out, decompressed by the compression / decompression circuit 57, and stored in the bit map memory 53.
Thereafter, the data is transferred to the data extraction circuit 54. When the data extraction circuit 54 detects a signal like a bar code signal from the digital signals, the signal from that point to the rear end of one line is sent to the bar code decoder 55, where the signal is analyzed.

Here, the barcode-like signal is as described in the first embodiment. Such processing is repeated for each line, and if the same data is detected a predetermined number of times, it is held as read data.

When the data transfer for one frame is completed,
The data held in the decoder 55 is also recorded on the disk 58 as index data.

The index file may be recorded on an optical disk on which images are recorded for centralized management, or may be recorded on another medium (for example, a floppy disk 59).

Since the amount of index data is much smaller than that of image data, a single index data can manage a plurality of image disks.

The control of the entire system is performed by the control circuit 60. A microcomputer is usually used for the control circuit 60.

The second mode may be automatically executed after the end of the first mode, irrespective of the instruction of the operator.

Next, the above image registration processing is shown in FIG.

First, when the first mode is instructed by the operator from a keyboard or the like (step 21), the switch SW1 is turned on and the switches SW2 and SW3 are turned off (step 22). Next, whether the document is present in the paper feed section 2 of the scanner unit A ₁ is determined by a sensor (not shown) (Step 2
3) If there is an original, the conveying means is operated to convey one sheet from below, and the original image is read by the CCD sensor 47 (step 24) and stored in the bit map memory 53 (step 25). Then, the image data is read line by line from the bit map memory 53, compressed by the data compression circuit 57, and recorded on the optical disk 58 (step 2).
6). When one page of recording is completed, the next original is determined whether there in the paper feed section 2 of the scanner unit A ₁ (step 27), and ends the otherwise if processing, the processing from step 24 if repeat.

When the second mode is instructed by the operator (step 28), the switch SW1 is turned off and the switches SW2 and SW3 are turned on (step 29). Next, image data for which an index file has not been created is read from the optical disk, decompressed by a data compression circuit, and stored in the bitmap memory 53 (step 3).
0). Then, the image data is read line by line from the bitmap memory 53 and sent to the data extraction unit 54 (step 31). The data extraction unit 54 determines whether or not a barcode pattern exists in the data of one line (step 32).
Then, the data is sent to 5 and analyzed (step 33). Then, the processing is repeated until the data extraction is completed for the image data of all lines (step 34). If the analysis of the same barcode pattern continues for several lines, the process may proceed to the next step 35. In step 35, an index file indicating the correspondence between the recording address of the image read from the optical disk and the index data obtained from the analyzed barcode is recorded on the optical disk 58 (step 35), and the image data for which the index file has not been created is recorded. Repeat the process until there is no more. If the barcode pattern cannot be detected,
That fact may be displayed on the CRT 56 to prompt the input of the index data from the keyboard. This is the same in other embodiments.

As described above, if there is no next original in step 27, the process may proceed to step 29.

As described above, after a large number of document originals are read and recorded on a recording medium, the recorded image is read out, index information is extracted, and an index file is automatically created. Unattended conversion and significant rationalization can be realized.

Furthermore, since the index information is not recognized by directly scanning the original, but is recognized from the signal subjected to digital image processing, accurate recognition becomes possible.
In addition, an inexpensive system can be realized without requiring special optional devices.

In the above-described embodiment, the data of each line is scanned to detect the bar code pattern. However, this method requires a long time to detect the bar code pattern of a large number of documents. There is. Therefore, a method of instructing a position of a barcode in advance will be described below.

In the fourth embodiment, the configuration shown in FIG. 7 can be applied. In this embodiment, an image of a partition paper on which an information method indicating a barcode position is described is registered in the optical disk 58 or the floppy disk 59, and a partition paper image is selected when an index file is created.

FIG. 10 shows a display on the CRT when registering and selecting a partition sheet.

Next, registration of a partition sheet, recording of a document, and automatic creation of an index file in the above configuration will be described below.

First, in order to register a partition sheet, the operator gives an instruction of the partition sheet registration mode from the keyboard, and sets the apparatus to the partition sheet registration mode. When the apparatus enters the partition paper registration mode, the registered paper pattern is displayed on the CRT 56 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 10 (a), ~ indicates an already registered pattern. In this state, the operator selects a position from the keyboard, sets the partition paper of FIG. When the control is performed, the control unit 51 conveys the partition paper, photoelectrically reads the image of the partition paper by the CCD 47, and outputs binary image data to the bus 58.
U60 compresses the binary image data by the data compression / decompression 57 and records it on the magneto-optical disk 58 as a registered image of the partition paper. Then, the binary image data is thinned out by predetermined thinning and written to an address corresponding to the bit map memory. As a result, the image of the partition paper is registered and displayed as shown in FIG.

Next, when the originals shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B (hereinafter, originals a and b) are recorded on the optical disk 58, the operator issues a partition paper selection mode instruction from the keyboard to set the apparatus in the partition paper selection mode. Set. When the MPU 60 enters the partition paper selection mode, the MPU 60 reads the previously registered partition paper from the magneto-optical disk 58, performs predetermined thinning-out, and writes it on the bit map memory 53 in a reduced size. As a result, the image is displayed as shown in FIG. Here, when recording the document a on the optical disk 58, the operator selects a pattern of the partition paper indicating the barcode position of the document by inputting from the keyboard. Thereafter, an instruction for the image registration mode is issued from the keyboard, the apparatus is set to the image registration mode, the document a is set in the paper feed unit 2, and the image is read. The control unit 51 drives a motor (not shown) to convey the document a, reads the document image by the CCD 47, and sends it to the bus 52 as binary image data. The MPU 60 stores the binary image data in the bitmap memory 53, compresses the binary image data line by line by the data compression circuit 17, and adds the selected partition paper image data (compressed) to the magneto-optical disk 18. Record. When the operator continues to register a document having a barcode at the same position as the document a, the operator may set a new document on the sheet feeding unit 2 and perform image registration. Also,
When subsequently registering a document having a different barcode position such as document b, an instruction of a partition paper selection mode is issued from the keyboard, and the apparatus is set to the partition paper selection mode.
The image registration may be performed after selecting a new partition paper.

Next, a process for creating an index file by obtaining index information from an image registered on the optical disk 58 in the above procedure will be described. The operator gives an instruction of the index file creation mode from the keyboard, and sets the apparatus to the index file creation mode. The MPU 60 reads, from the magneto-optical disk 58, a document image for which an index file has not been created and to which an image of a partition sheet has been added. Then, the image of the partition paper and the image of the original are separated, and the original image is decompressed by the data compression circuit 57 and written into the bitmap memory 53. Then, while the image of the partition paper is decompressed by the data compression circuit 57, Are detected as barcode existence position information. The image on the bitmap memory 53 corresponding to the detected address is transferred to the data extraction unit 54. The data extracting unit 54 extracts a barcode pattern and transfers the extracted pattern to the decoder 55. The decoder 55 decodes the barcode pattern transferred from the data extracting unit 54, converts the barcode pattern into index information, and transmits the index information to the MPU 60. Upon receiving the index information, the MPU 60 registers the index information and the recording address of the document image in the index file. The MPU 60 repeats this operation for recorded images for which an index has not been registered, automatically creates an index file, and returns to an initial state when there are no more unregistered images.

Next, the above image registration processing will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the operator instructs some mode from the keyboard,
This is determined (steps 41, 50, 58). When the partition paper registration mode is instructed, the image of the partition paper pattern is read from the optical disk 58 and displayed on the CRT (step 42). Then, when the registration position of a new partition sheet is designated by the operator (step 43), it is determined whether or not the partition sheet is set in the feeding unit 2 (step 44). Then, one sheet of partition paper is fed, the image is read (step 45), and stored in the bit map memory 53 (step 46). Then, the partition paper image is read out one line at a time from the bitmap memory 53, compressed by the data compression circuit 57 (step 47), and the partition paper image is registered in the optical disk 58 (step 48). Then, the registered partition paper image is displayed at the registration position designated by the operator (step 4).
9) If the next partition paper exists, the processing from step 43 is repeated.

When the partition paper selection mode is instructed,
The partition image is read from the optical disk 58, stored in the bitmap memory 53, and displayed on the CRT (step 51). Then, when one of the partition paper images is selected by the operator (step 52), it is determined whether or not there is an instruction of the image registration mode from the operator (step 53). When the image registration mode is instructed, it is determined whether or not a document is set on the paper feeding unit 2 (step 54).
If the original is set, the original is fed one sheet and the image is read (step 55).
3 (step 56). Then, the document image and the partition paper image are each compressed, and the partition image is added to the document image and registered on the optical disk 58 (step 5).
7) If there is a next original, the processing from step 55 is repeated.

When the index file creation mode is instructed, an image for which an index file has not been created is read from the optical disk based on the management data of the optical disk (step 60), decompressed by the data compression circuit 57 and stored in the bitmap memory 53. (Step 61).
Then, the address of the black area of the partition paper image added to the document image is detected (step 62), and the document image in the bitmap memory corresponding to the detected address is transferred to the data extraction unit 54 (step 63). Since the transferred image data should include a barcode, the data extraction unit 54 extracts a barcode pattern and analyzes the barcode extracted by the decoder 55 (step 64). Then, the analyzed index information and the storage address of the document image are registered in the optical disc in correspondence with each other (step 65). The partition paper image added to the original image may be deleted. If there are still images for which an index file has not been created, the processing from step 60 is repeated.

In the image registration mode described above, the compressed image of the original is added with the compressed image of the partition paper,
8, when the image of the partition paper is read in the partition paper registration mode, the address of the black portion of the partition paper is detected and stored as information indicating the position where the barcode exists. Register the barcode position information on the optical disc in association with the storage address of the original image,
In the index file creation mode, an original image may be extracted based on the compressed image of the original and the position information of the barcode, and transferred to the data extracting unit 54.

In the above embodiment, in order to confirm whether the partition selected by the operator and the position of the index information on the document match correctly, the image read from the document in the image registration mode is bit-encoded. When the image is stored in the map memory 53 and displayed on the CRT 56, only the image in the bit map memory 53 at the position designated by the partition paper is inverted or blinked according to an instruction from the keyboard. Good.

In the above embodiment, one document is printed on one document.
When there are only one barcode but a plurality of barcodes exist on one document, a partition paper having a plurality of black areas indicating the barcode positions as shown in FIG. Just register. In addition, in a case where combining a plurality of already registered partition papers results in the same as a new partition paper, in the partition paper input mode, the operator selects a plurality of partition papers to be combined and performs combining. By specifying the registration destination, a new partition paper can be created. That is, when registering the partition paper of FIG. 14, in the state of FIG. 10, the operator first sets the partition paper synthesis mode by input from the keyboard, and then selects as the synthesis source partition paper, and Choose as. As a result, the registration state of the partition paper is as shown in FIG. 15, and the partition paper can be used similarly as a partition paper. Further, the registration of the partition paper can be deleted or the display position of the partition paper can be changed by an input from the keyboard.

In the above embodiment, the pattern of the partition paper is registered in the optical disk in advance in the partition input mode, and the desired partition paper is selected from the optical disk in the partition paper selection mode. An embodiment in which registration is not performed on an optical disc will be described with reference to FIGS.

More specifically, when registering a document image on the optical disk, the operator first sets the partition paper input mode (step 71), and sets the barcode of the document (FIG. 17A) to be registered. A partition sheet (FIG. 16A) having a black image at the same position as the position is set in the feeding unit 2 (step 22). When the partition paper is set in the feeding section 2, the partition paper is fed, and while reading the image of the partition paper,
The position of the black area described on the partition paper is detected and stored in the memory in the control unit 60 (step 73). Next, when the document input mode is set (step 74), it is determined whether or not a document has been set in the paper feed unit 2 (step 7).
5) When the document is set, one document is fed, the image is read, and stored in the bitmap memory 53 (step 76). Then, the image data is read line by line from the bit map memory 53, compressed by the data compression circuit 57, and recorded on the optical disk 58 (step 78). At this time, the position information of the barcode stored in the partition input mode is recorded on the optical disk 58 in correspondence with the recording address of the image data. Then, in the case of continuously registering a document to which a barcode is added at the same position, the processing from step 75 is repeated. Next, when registering the original shown in FIG. 17B having a different barcode position, the partition paper input mode is set again, the partition paper shown in FIG. 16B is set, and the position of the black area is detected. . After that, when the original input mode is set and the original shown in FIG. 17B is set, the same processing as described above is performed, and the newly stored barcode position information is registered on the optical disk 58 in association with the recording address of the image data. I do.

Next, when the index file creation mode is set (step 80), image data for which an index file has not been created is read from the optical disk (step 81), decompressed by the data compression circuit 57, and stored in the bitmap memory 53 (step 81). Step 82). Then, the position information of the barcode recorded on the optical disk is read, the image data in the bitmap memory is extracted based on the position information, and transferred to the data extracting unit 54 (step 83). Hereinafter, similarly to the embodiment of FIG. 13, an index file is created and recorded on the optical disc.

In the above embodiment, one document is
Since two barcodes were provided, the barcode position information was recorded on the magneto-optical disk for each document.
When one document is composed of a plurality of documents, the barcode position information of only the first document is recorded on the optical disc, and only the first document is expanded in the index file creation mode. And create an index file.

In the above embodiment, the registration of the original image and the creation of the index file were performed in the same apparatus using the magneto-optical disk as the recording medium.
As in the embodiment, a microfilm may be used as the recording medium. In this case, a device for recording on the microfilm and a device for optically reading the microfilm to create an index file are separately provided, and the recording device for recording on the microfilm is provided with a partition paper input mode. It may be provided. In other words, in this configuration, the captured image of the partition paper is provided with a blip mark for the partition paper so that it can be distinguished from the original. Then, a microfilm in which a partition sheet and a document are mixed is created, and the created microfilm is read by an index file creating device, and a barcode is decoded to create an index file. At this time, if the captured image to be processed is a partition paper, the position information of the barcode indicated by the partition paper is read, and is used as a position where the barcode of the subsequent captured image exists, thereby automatically storing the index file. Can be created.

Even when a plurality of bar codes are assigned to one document, a plurality of bar code position information can be recorded on the optical disk at the time of document image registration by designating a plurality of locations with a partition sheet. The index file may be automatically created by decoding a plurality of locations in the index file creation mode.

Next, a description will be given of a sixth embodiment in which a mark indicating the position of a bar code is added to a document without using a partition sheet.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. A ₂ is an image reading unit, B ₂ is an image registration unit. Image reading section A ₂ of the present embodiment is configured such that the front and back surfaces of the image of the original is read. 61a is a CCD for reading the front side of the document, 61b is a CCD for reading the back side of the document
It is. A synthesizing circuit 62 synthesizes analog image data from the CCDs 61a and 61b into one signal, and is constituted by an analog switch. A control unit 51 converts analog image data into digital image data and performs image processing for improving image quality, similarly to the above-described embodiment. A transport unit 63 separates and transports the original. Although the image registration section B ₂ is substantially the same as the embodiment described above, whether to output in a lump image data of the image data and the back surface, separate front and back image management circuit 64 for selecting whether to output the additional Have been.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view showing the structure of the image reading section. Reference numeral 227 denotes a paper feeding unit for loading originals, 225 a and 2
Reference numeral 25b denotes a pair of separation rollers for separating the originals stacked on the paper feeding unit 227 one by one from below, and 220a to 220d.
Is a transport roller, 222a and 222b are transport guides for transporting the document, 221a and 221b are reading glasses provided at the document reading position, 223a and 223b are reflection mirrors, 224a and 224b are imaging lenses, 228a and 22
Reference numeral 8b denotes an exposure lamp for irradiating the front and back surfaces of the document.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, a bar code is provided on the front surface of the document, and a mark (black image) indicating the position of the bar code is provided on the back surface of the document. This black image is provided at the position just opposite the bar code on the front and back of the document. This mark may be a black frame in addition to the black image, as in the above-described embodiment.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
2 will be described.

First, it is determined whether the operator has set the document input mode or the index file creation mode (steps 91 and 97). If the document input mode has been designated, it is determined whether or not a document has been set in the paper feeding unit 227 (step 92). If a document is set, the separation roller pair 225a and 225b and the transport rollers 220a to 220d are operated to transport one document. Then, the images on the front side and the back side of the original are read by the CCDs 61a and 61b, respectively (step 9).
3). Then, as shown in FIG. 23, the image data of the front surface and the image data of the back surface are combined line by line and binarized, and then compressed by the data compression circuit 57 (step 94).
Subsequently, the data is recorded on the optical disk 58 (step 95).
As shown in FIG. 23, the front side image data is output earlier than the back side image data, so the front side image data is delayed. Then, recording is performed on the optical disk until the originals stacked on the paper feeding unit 227 are exhausted (step 9).
6).

When the index file creation mode is designated, image data for which an index file has not been created is read from the optical disk (step 98), decompressed by the data compression circuit 57, and further, the front and back image management circuit 6
5, the image data on the back side is extracted and stored in the bitmap memory 53 (step 99). Then, the position of the mark of the black image is detected from the image data stored in the bitmap memory 53, converted into barcode position information on the front side of the document, and stored in the memory in the MPU 60 (step 100). Next, the same image data is read from the optical disk again, decompressed, and the image data on the front surface is extracted by the front and back image management circuit 65 and stored in the bitmap memory 53 (step 101). If the bitmap memory has a capacity of two screens, the front and back image management circuit 65 is unnecessary. Then, based on the stored barcode position information, the image data is extracted from the bitmap memory 53 and transferred to the data extraction unit 54 (step 102). The data extraction unit 54 extracts a barcode pattern from the transferred image data, analyzes the barcode with the decoder 55, and obtains index information (step 103). Then, an index file in which the obtained index information is associated with the recording address of the image data is recorded on the optical disc (step 104). These processes are repeated until there is no more image data for which an index file has not been created (step 1).
05).

When a rewritable optical disk is used as the recording medium, only the image data on the front side of the document may be recorded again after the index file is created. This can be done by recording only the output of the CCD 61a on the optical disk.

Many forms such as slips are used as the manuscripts provided with the barcode as described above, and it is only necessary to print a mark indicating the barcode position on the back of these manuscripts.

[0129] Also, while reading the back side image of the document by the image reading unit A _2, to detect the position of the mark may be stored on the optical disk in correspondence with the surface image data mark position information. In this case, in the index file creation mode, extraction may be performed from the surface image data based on the recorded mark position information.

In addition to using a barcode as the index information, the decoder 55 may recognize a character by an OCR function. As such an original, carbon copy paper can be used as it is.

Next, an embodiment using a microfilm instead of an optical disk will be described.

FIG. 24 shows a microfill (duo film) in which a top frame image and a back frame image of a document are recorded. 71a and 72a are images of the front side of the original,
Reference numeral 2b denotes an image on the back surface, and reference numeral 70 denotes a blip mark indicating the position of the frame image.

FIG. 25 shows a microfilm reading section. 73 is a microfilm, 74 is a feed reel around which the microfilm 73 is wound, 75 is a take-up reel for winding the microfilm 73, 76 is a feed roller for keeping the microfilm 73 horizontal at the reading position, 7
Reference numeral 7 denotes a pressure plate for preventing film shake, and reference numeral 78 denotes a CCD for reading an image on a microfilm. CCD7
By moving 8 in the direction of the arrow, the images on the front and back sides of the document stored in the microfilm can be read. Then, the image data on the back side is stored in the bitmap memory, the position of the mark is detected, the image on the front side is stored in the bitmap memory, and the image data is transferred to the data extracting unit based on the mark position information. Then, an index file may be created and recorded on the floppy disk 59 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. Or,
What is necessary is just to record the read image data of the surface and the index file on the optical disk.

The mark provided on the back side of the document may be the same as the position of the bar code provided on the front side as shown in FIG.

[0135]

As described above, according to the present invention, the process of registering a document image on a recording medium and the process of creating an index file are made independent, so that image registration and creation of an index file can be performed efficiently. Can do
Since information indicating the position of the index information added to the document can be obtained, the index file can be created more efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an image recording system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the microfilm scanner unit in the first embodiment three-dimensionally.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an image registration process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between a microfilm transport direction and a barcode arrangement direction.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an image recording system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a microfilm scanner unit in the second embodiment in a three-dimensional manner.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing an image recording system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows the traveling direction of the conveyor belt and C in the third embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the CD sensors.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an image registration process according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a display example of a partition sheet.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a partition sheet.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an original to which a barcode is added.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an image registration process according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a partition sheet.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a display example of a partition sheet.

FIG. 16 is a view showing a partition sheet.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a document to which a barcode is added.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an image registration process according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image reading unit.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a front side and a back side of a document.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an image registration process according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a combined state of image data on the front side and image data on the back side of a document.

FIG. 24 illustrates a microfilm.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a microfilm reading unit.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating the front and back surfaces of a document.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional image registration device.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a microfilm and a diagram illustrating a configuration of an index file.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional image registration device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Barcode A ₁ Image reading unit B ₁ Image registration unit 53 Bitmap memory 54 Data extraction unit 55 Decoder 58 Optical disk 60 MPU

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-129779 (JP, A) JP-A-62-14263 (JP, A) JP-A-60-114967 (JP, A) JP-A-60-1985 43776 (JP, A) JP-A-55-121572 (JP, A) JP-A-62-219167 (JP, A) JP-A-2-73468 (JP, A) JP-A-2-20397 (JP, A) Patent flat 2-14368 (JP, a) JP Akira 63-220381 (JP, a) United States Patent 5237156 (US, a) United States Patent 5393962 (US, a) (58 ) investigated the field (Int.Cl. ⁷ G06F 17/30 170 G06F 17/30 210

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An image registration device for recording, on a recording medium, an image of a document to which index information has been read by an image reading device, the image registration device indicating an image of the document to which the index information has been added and a position of the index information. Means for recording an image on a recording medium, means for reading an image of a document recorded on the recording medium and an image indicating the position of the index information, and position information of the index information based on the image indicating the position of the index information Detecting means for detecting index information from the original image read by the reading means based on the position information detected by the first detecting means.
An image registration apparatus, comprising: a detecting unit; and a unit that creates an index file indicating a relationship between the index information detected by the second detecting unit and a recording address of a document image recorded on the recording medium. 2. A method for recording, on a recording medium, an image of a document provided with index information read by an image reading apparatus, wherein the image reading means reads an image indicating a position where the index information is provided, and reads the position of the index information. The information is detected, and the detected position information is recorded on the recording medium in correspondence with the image of the document which has been successively read by the image reading means, and the document image and the position information recorded on the recording medium are read and read. Detecting index information based on the read position information from the original image, and creating an index file indicating a relationship between the detected index information and a recording address of the original image recorded on the recording medium. How to register images. 3. An image registration apparatus that reads an image of a document having index information attached to a front surface and an image indicating the position of the index information on a back surface and records the image on the front and back of the document in a recording medium. Reading means, means for recording the front and back images of the document read by the reading means on a recording medium, means for reading the front and back images of the document recorded on the recording medium, and the document read by the reading means First detecting means for detecting a position to which index information is added from an image on the back surface of
A second detecting unit for detecting index information from an image on the front surface of the document read by the reading unit based on the position to which the index information is detected by the detecting unit; Means for creating an index file indicating the relationship between the detected index information and the recording address of the front surface image of the document recorded on the recording medium.