JP4665522B2 - Image data processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image data processing apparatus that processes image data of a document input by being read by an image reading apparatus such as a scanner, and more particularly, input image data such as a document consisting of a plurality of pages having the same form. On the other hand, the present invention relates to an image data processing apparatus capable of efficiently creating a database by separating a common image and a non-common image.

JP 2002-27228 A JP-A-9-106450

  In recent years, many documents handled in corporate offices and public offices have scanned document data created and saved with a personal computer, etc., as well as hard documents printed or copied on paper, etc. with scanners etc. Document data and the like have been exchanged as digitized image data, and hard documents have been digitized into a database.

  At that time, for example, there are many cases in which, for example, paper documents of several tens of pages are read by a scanner, converted into image data, stored, and transferred. The file size becomes excessive and consumes a large capacity of the hard disk as a storage device.

  In addition, when printing out image data of several tens of pages or when transferring a file of image data, the amount of image data becomes excessive, and the image data is printed. It has a problem that it takes a long time to read and transfer, or causes a network congestion.

  As techniques that can solve such problems, for example, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-27228 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-106450 have already been proposed.

  The technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-27228 is configured to remove a common portion and output when printing out.

  Further, the technique disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-106450 is configured so as to be common ground data if the ground color in the image data has a common density between pages. .

  However, in the case of the techniques disclosed in these publications, a common part of an image composed of a plurality of pages cannot be stored, and a common pattern or character cannot be recognized and managed as a common part across a plurality of pages. It had the problem that.

  In order to digitize a hard document that spans multiple pages as described above into a database, the data is written in the digitized format by already digitizing the format of the hard document, so the written data Based on the database.

  In addition, when the hard document covering a plurality of pages is digitized and converted into a database as described above, if the format is not digitized, the user cuts out the input data into a rectangular shape and cuts it into the rectangular shape. It is necessary to automatically recognize the received data by OCR and create a database.

  However, the conventional technique has the following problems. That is, the former case has a problem that a hard document whose format has not been digitized in advance cannot be made into a database. In the former case, in the case of a hard document whose format is not digitized, it is necessary to digitize the format of the hard document in advance, which has a problem that the burden on the user is heavy.

  In the latter case, it is necessary to cut out the data input by the user into a rectangular shape, automatically recognize the data cut out in the rectangular shape by OCR or the like, and create a database, which increases the man-hours for the user. Have the problem of

  Furthermore, in the latter case, if the hard document to be databased is an image that includes not only character data but also graphics and frames, it is necessary to cut out the characters and graphics individually. Has the problem of becoming very complicated.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and its object is a hard document that has not been formatted in advance, including figures and frames. An object of the present invention is to provide an image data processing apparatus that can be easily made into a database without imposing an excessive burden on the user even if it is an image.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention described in claim 1 is an image data processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on input image data consisting of a plurality of pages.
Image identifying means for identifying a common image common to each page and a different non-common image for each page based on the input image data consisting of a plurality of pages;
Of the common image and non-common image identified by the image identification means, a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the main scanning direction of the common image, or in the sub-scanning direction of the common image. Attribute adding means for adding attribute information to the non-common image so as to be subordinate to the common image , depending on whether a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along
Database creation means for creating a database of input image data over a plurality of pages by sequentially arranging subordinate non-common images under the common image to which the same attribute is added by the attribute addition means. Is an image data processing device characterized by the above.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2, the attribute adding means describes a non-common image corresponding to the common image along the main scanning direction of the common image, or the sub-scanning direction of the common image. The order in which the attribute information is added to the common image identified by the image identification unit is determined along the main scanning direction of the common image according to whether a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along When a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described, priority is given to the sub-scanning direction, or a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the sub-scanning direction of the common image. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether to give priority to the main scanning direction can be selected.

Further, in the invention described in claim 3, the attribute adding unit includes a non-common image corresponding to the common image along the main scanning direction of the common image, or a sub-scanning direction of the common image. The attribute information to be added to the non-common image identified by the image identification unit is scanned with respect to the common image according to whether a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the main image. When a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the direction, priority is given to the main scanning direction, or a non-common image corresponding to the common image is aligned along the sub-scanning direction of the common image. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is described, it is possible to select whether to give priority to the sub-scanning direction .

  According to the present invention, even a hard document or the like that has not been formatted in advance and is an image including a figure, a frame, etc., can easily be made into a database without imposing an excessive burden on the user. It is possible to provide an image data processing apparatus capable of processing the image data.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows an image processing system to which the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing system 1 includes, for example, a scanner 2 as an image reading device, a color multifunction device 3 as an image output device, a server 4 as a database, and a personal computer as an image creation device. 5 and a network 6 including a LAN, a telephone line, and the like for connecting the scanner 2, the color multifunction peripheral 3, the server 4, the personal computer 5 and the like so as to communicate with each other. In the figure, reference numeral 7 denotes a communication modem that connects the scanner 2 and the network 6 so that they can communicate with each other.

  When the scanner 2 digitizes an image of the document 8 or the like composed of a plurality of pages, the scanner 2 sequentially reads the image of the document 8 composed of the plurality of pages and outputs image data obtained by digitizing the image information of the document 8. Is. The image data of the document 8 read by the scanner 2 is sent to, for example, the color multifunction device 3 via the network 6, and a predetermined image is processed by the image data processing device provided inside the color multifunction device 3. After the processing is performed, it is printed out or desired processing is performed by an image data processing apparatus. The image data processing apparatus is installed in the personal computer 5 as image data processing software in addition to being built in the color multifunction peripheral 3, so that the personal computer 5 itself functions as an image data processing apparatus. It may be configured.

  Further, the color multifunction machine 3 is provided with a scanner 9 as an image reading device itself, and copies an image of a document read by the scanner 9, is sent from a personal computer 5, or is sent from a server 4. It functions as a fax machine that prints based on the read image data or transmits / receives image data via a telephone line.

  Further, the server 4 stores the image data of the digitized document 8 as it is, or is read by the scanners 2 and 9 and subjected to predetermined image processing by the image data processing device, and the data stored in the database. Is stored and retained.

  FIG. 3 shows a color multifunction machine as an image output apparatus to which the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a main body of the color multifunction peripheral, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 11 that automatically conveys the document 8 in a state where the documents 8 are separated one by one is disposed above the color multifunction peripheral. A scanner 9 is provided as an image reading device including an image input device (IIT) 12 that reads an image of the document 8 conveyed by the automatic document conveying device 11. The scanner 2 is configured in the same manner as the scanner 9. The image input device 12 illuminates the document 8 placed on the platen glass 15 with the light source 16, and reflects the reflected light image from the document 8 from the full-rate mirror 17, the half-rate mirrors 18 and 19, and the imaging lens 20. The image reading element 21 composed of a CCD or the like is scanned and exposed through the reduction optical system, and the color material reflected light image of the document 8 is formed at a predetermined dot density (for example, 16 dots / mm) by the image reading element 21. It is supposed to read.

  The reflected light image of the document 8 read by the image input device 12 is, for example, the image processing device 13 (as the reflectance data of three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) (each 8 bits). In this image processing device 13, the image data of the document 8 is subjected to shading correction, position shift correction, brightness / color space conversion, gamma correction, frame deletion, color / movement, as necessary. Predetermined image processing is performed as will be described later, including processing such as editing. The image processing apparatus 13 also performs predetermined image processing on image data sent from the personal computer 5 or the like. The image processing apparatus 13 incorporates the image data processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The image data that has been subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing device 13 is also processed by the image processing device 13 in the same manner as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) (each 8 bits). ), And as described below, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K. The ROS (Raster Output Scanner) 24 that is common to the ROS 24 and the ROS 24 as the image exposure apparatus performs image exposure with the laser beam LB in accordance with gradation data of a predetermined color. Of course, not only a color image but also a monochrome image may be formed.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, an image forming unit A is disposed inside the color multifunction peripheral 3, and the image forming unit A includes yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan ( C) Four image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K of black (K) are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction at a constant interval.

  These four image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K are all configured in the same manner, and are roughly divided into a photosensitive drum 25 as an image carrier that is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed, and the photosensitive drum. A charging roll 26 for primary charging that uniformly charges the surface of 25 and an ROS 24 as an image exposure device that exposes an image corresponding to a predetermined color on the surface of the photosensitive drum 25 to form an electrostatic latent image. And a developing device 27 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 25 with toner of a predetermined color, and a cleaning device 28 that cleans the surface of the photosensitive drum 25. These photosensitive drums 25 and image forming members arranged in the periphery are integrally unitized, and are configured to be individually replaceable from the color MFP main body 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ROS 24 is configured in common to the four image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K, and modulates four semiconductor lasers (not shown) according to gradation data of each color, Laser light beams LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, and LB-K are emitted from these semiconductor lasers according to gradation data. Of course, the ROS 24 may be individually configured for each of a plurality of image forming units. The laser beams LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, and LB-K emitted from the semiconductor laser are irradiated to the polygon mirror 29 through an f-θ lens (not shown), and are deflected and scanned by the polygon mirror 29. The The laser beams LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, and LB-K deflected and scanned by the polygon mirror 29 are used as exposure points on the photosensitive drum 25 through an imaging lens (not shown) and a plurality of mirrors. Then, scanning exposure is performed obliquely from below.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ROS 24 scans and exposes an image on the photosensitive drum 25 from below, so that the ROS 24 includes four image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K located above. There is a risk that toner or the like may fall from the developing device 27 and be contaminated. Therefore, the periphery of the ROS 24 is sealed by a rectangular parallelepiped frame 30, and four laser beams LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, and LB-K are placed on the upper portion of the frame 30. Transparent glass windows 31Y, 31M, 31C, and 31K as shield members are provided for exposure on the photosensitive drums 25 of the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K.

  From the image data processing device 13, the ROS 24 is provided in common for the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K for each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). The image data of each color is sequentially output, and the laser beams LB-Y, LB-M, LB-C, and LB-K emitted from the ROS 24 according to the image data scan the surface of the corresponding photosensitive drum 25. Exposure is performed to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive drum 25 are respectively yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) by developing units 27Y, 27M, 27C, and 27K. Developed as a toner image.

  The yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images sequentially formed on the photosensitive drums 25 of the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K are as follows. On the intermediate transfer belt 35 of the transfer unit 32 disposed over the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K, the images are transferred in multiple by the four primary transfer rolls 36Y, 36M, 36C, and 36K. These primary transfer rolls 36Y, 36M, 36C, and 36K are disposed on the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 35 corresponding to the photosensitive drum 25 of each of the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K. In this embodiment, the primary transfer rolls 36Y, 36M, 36C, and 36K have a volume resistance adjusted to 10 5 to 10 8 Ωcm. The primary transfer rolls 36Y, 36M, 36C, and 36K are connected to a transfer bias power source (not shown), and a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to a predetermined toner polarity (positive polarity in the present embodiment) is predetermined. It is applied at the timing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate transfer belt 35 is wound around the drive roll 37, the tension roll 34, and the backup roll 38 with a constant tension, and has excellent constant speed (not shown). A drive roll 37 that is rotated by a dedicated drive motor is circulated at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow. The intermediate transfer belt 35 is made of, for example, a belt material (rubber or resin) that does not cause charge-up.

  The yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 35 in multiple layers are pressed against the backup roll 38 as shown in FIG. The secondary transfer roll 39 performs secondary transfer onto the paper 40 as a sheet material, and the paper 40 on which the toner images of these colors are transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 41 positioned above. The secondary transfer roll 39 is in pressure contact with the side of the backup roll 38 and is configured to secondary-transfer toner images of each color onto a sheet 40 conveyed upward from below.

  The paper 40 is a sheet of a predetermined size from any of the paper feed trays 41, 42, 43, 44 arranged in a plurality of stages at the lower part of the color MFP main body 10, and is fed by a feed roll 45, a retard roll 46, etc. In a state where they are separated one by one, the paper is fed through a paper conveyance path 48 provided with a conveyance roll 47. The paper 40 fed from any of the paper feed trays 41, 42, 43, 44 is temporarily stopped by the registration roll 49 and is synchronized with the image on the intermediate transfer belt 35 by the registration roll 49. The sheet is fed again to the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer belt 35.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the paper 40 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred is subjected to a fixing process with heat and pressure by a fixing device 50, and then the image forming surface is faced down by a conveying roll 51. An upper portion of the apparatus main body 10 is discharged by a discharge roll 54 provided at an outlet of the first paper transport path 53 via a first paper transport path 53 for discharging to a face down tray 52 as a single discharge tray. It is discharged onto a face-down tray 52 provided in.

  Further, when the sheet 40 on which the image is formed as described above is discharged with the image forming surface facing up, as shown in FIG. 3, the image forming surface is faced up as a second discharge tray. A discharge roller 57 provided at the outlet of the second paper transport path 56 through the second paper transport path 56 for discharging to the tray 55 causes a side portion (left side surface in the figure) of the apparatus main body 1. The paper is discharged onto a face-up tray 55 provided on the surface.

  In the above-described color multifunction device 3, when full-color double-sided copying is performed, the recording paper 40 with the image fixed on one side is directly placed on the face-down tray 52 by the discharge roll 54 as shown in FIG. Without discharging, the transfer direction is switched by a switching gate (not shown), the discharge roll 54 is temporarily stopped and then reversely rotated, and the discharge roll 54 transfers the sheet to the double-sided paper transfer path 58. Then, the recording paper 40 is conveyed again to the registration roll 49 in a state where the recording paper 40 is turned upside down by the conveyance roller 59 provided along the conveyance path 58. After the image is transferred / fixed on the back surface of the recording paper 40, the image is transferred to either the face-down tray 52 or the face-up tray 55 via the first paper transport path 53 or the second paper transport path 56. Discharged.

  In FIG. 3, reference numerals 60Y, 60M, 60C, and 60K denote toner cartridges that supply toner of a predetermined color to the developing devices 27 of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Respectively.

  FIG. 4 shows each image forming unit of the color MFP 3.

  The four image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are all configured in the same manner as shown in FIG. 4, and these four image forming units 23Y. , 23M, 23C, and 23K, as described above, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner images are sequentially formed at predetermined timings. As described above, the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K for the respective colors are each provided with the photosensitive drum 25, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 25 is uniformly formed by the charging roll 26 for primary charging. Charged. Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 25 is scanned and exposed to an image forming laser beam LB emitted from the ROS 24 according to image data, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to each color is formed. The laser beam LB scanned and exposed on the photosensitive drum 25 is set so as to be exposed from an obliquely lower side slightly to the right side from just below the photosensitive drum 25. The electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive drum 25 are respectively yellow, magenta, cyan, and black by the developing rolls 27a of the developing units 27 of the image forming units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K. The visible toner images are developed with the toners of the toner, and these visible toner images are sequentially transferred in multiple onto the intermediate transfer belt 35 by the charging of the primary transfer roll 36.

  Residual toner, paper dust, and the like are removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 25 after the toner image transfer process is completed by the cleaning device 28 to prepare for the next image forming process. The cleaning device 28 includes a cleaning blade 28a, and the cleaning blade 28a removes residual toner, paper dust, and the like on the photosensitive drum 25. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, residual toner, paper dust, and the like are removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 35 after the toner image transfer process is completed, so as to prepare for the next image forming process. The cleaning device 61 includes a cleaning brush 62 and a cleaning blade 63, and residual toner and paper dust on the intermediate transfer belt 35 are removed by the cleaning brush 62 and the blade 63.

  FIG. 5 shows a scanner 2 as an image reading apparatus arranged independently.

  The scanner 2 is configured in the same manner as the scanner 9 of the color multifunction machine 3 described above, but the scanner 2 includes an image processing device 13.

  By the way, the image data processing apparatus according to the first embodiment is based on the input image data including a plurality of pages in the image data processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the image data including the plurality of pages. The image identification means for identifying a common image common to each page and a non-common image different for each page, and the common image and the non-common image identified by the image identification means are cut out in a rectangular shape, Attribute addition means for adding attribute information to the rectangular area is provided.

  In this embodiment, the attribute adding unit is configured to separate the common image and the non-common image identified by the image identifying unit into a text part and an image part by a T / I separating unit. The part remains configured as image information, and the text part is subjected to character recognition processing, and attribute information is added to each rectangular area based on the character information recognized by the character recognition processing.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the attribute adding unit adds attribute information to the non-common image among the common image and the non-common image identified by the image identification unit so as to be subordinate to the common image attribute. Is configured to do.

  In this embodiment, the attribute adding unit can select whether the priority of adding the attribute information to the common image identified by the image identifying unit is the main scanning direction priority or the sub scanning direction priority. It is configured.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the attribute adding unit selects whether the attribute information to be added to the non-common image identified by the image identifying unit is the main scanning direction priority or the sub scanning direction priority with respect to the common image. It is configured to be able to.

  Further, in this embodiment, the image identifying means includes a common image recognition means for recognizing a common image common to each page based on the inputted image data including a plurality of pages, and each inputted page. A common image extraction unit that extracts the common image recognized by the common image recognition unit from the image data of the image, and removes the common image extracted by the common image extraction unit from the input image data of each page, A common image removing unit that obtains a different non-common image for each page.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the image data processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment is mounted inside the color multifunction peripheral 3 as an image output apparatus in a state of being incorporated as a part of the image processing apparatus 13. ing. The image data processing apparatus 100 is configured by installing image data processing software in the personal computer 5 or the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the image data processing apparatus 100 may be configured to be mounted inside the scanner 2 as an image reading apparatus in a state of being incorporated as a part of the image processing apparatus 13. good.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image data processing apparatus 100 is roughly divided into image data input from scanners 2 and 9 as image reading apparatuses, and an image for performing predetermined image processing on the input image data. The image processing unit 110 is a processing unit, and the memory unit 120 stores input image data, image data subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing unit 110, and the like. The image processing unit 110 includes a common image recognition unit 111, a common image extraction unit 112, a common image removal unit 113, a T / I separation unit 114, a rectangular cutout unit 115, an OCR unit 116, an attribute, An addition unit 117 and a file generation unit 118 are provided. Further, the memory unit 120 includes a first memory 121, a second memory 122, and a third memory 123. The database creating unit 119 is provided on the personal computer 5 side, for example.

  A plurality of pages of image data input from the image reading devices 2 and 9 are temporarily stored in the input image storage unit 124 of the first memory 121 via the common image recognition unit 111. The common image recognition unit 111 is a common image common to each page based on a plurality of pages of image data input from the image reading devices 2 and 9 and temporarily stored in the input image storage unit 124 of the first memory 121. It is for recognizing. The common image recognition unit 111 is configured to recognize the common image common to each page by comparing the image data of each page, such as the image data of the first page and the image data of the second page. ing.

  As the document 8 covering a plurality of pages read by the image reading devices 2 and 9, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is used in a test sheet used in a school, a prep school, a learning cram school, a company office, a government office, etc. For example, a standard document. However, the document is not limited to these documents, and may be other types of documents. As shown in FIG. 6, the test document 8 includes a graphic 801 such as a mark or an illustration indicating the company or the like that created the test paper, and a character image indicating the title of a document such as a term test or subject. 802, question sentences 804 and 805 including characters indicating the problem number such as “name” characters 803, “question 1”, “question 2”, “question 3”. 806, numbers “807”, “808”, “809” indicating the score of each question such as “question 1”, “question 2”, “question 3”, etc., and a rectangular shape surrounding the “name” column and the question sentence column A linear frame image 810 for displaying a frame is described in advance by printing or printing. In addition, in the test sheet document 8, the person who has taken the test has written “name” 811, numbers 812 and mathematical expressions 813 as answers, or figures 815 such as sentences 814 and bar graphs as answers. Yes.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a registration marker 816 for alignment formed in a predetermined shape such as a rectangular shape or a cross shape is printed on the test paper document 8 at a predetermined position such as the upper left corner. Or printed in advance.

  Then, the common image recognition unit 111 detects a recognition marker 816 for alignment added to the input image data of each page, and based on the detection result of the recognition marker 816, the input of each input page. The position of the image data is adjusted. Therefore, even when there is a shift for each page in the figure 801, the character image 802, etc. printed on the document 8 of each page, the image of each page input based on the position of the recognition marker 816 is used. By adjusting the data position, an image common to each page can be recognized without error.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the common image recognizing unit 111 can detect, for example, a character image from the recognition marker 816 even when there is an overall positional shift in the image data obtained by reading the image of each page. The width W in the x direction and the height H in the y direction of the rectangle circumscribing the character image 803 are obtained on the basis of the distances Dx and Dy in the x direction and the y direction up to 803, etc., and the position of the image data on each page Configured to adjust. Then, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the common image recognition unit 111 recognizes the common image of the image data of the first page and the second page among the input image data of each page, and recognizes the recognition. A common image of the result and the third page of image data is recognized, and thereafter, the recognition result up to the previous page and the common image of the current page of image data are similarly recognized.

  At this time, the common image recognition unit 111 is configured to recognize the common image by performing bit expansion processing on the input image data of each page. That is, when the image of each page is a frame-shaped image 810 as shown in FIG. 6, if the image data of the first page and the image data of the second page are shifted by about 1 bit, the frame There is a possibility that the image 810 having a shape cannot be recognized as a common image.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, particularly in the case of an image with a small number of bits such as a frame-shaped image 806 as shown in FIG. It is configured to recognize a common image after performing bit expansion processing for increasing the number of bits by about several bits.

  The common image extraction unit 112 is configured to extract a common image common to each page recognized by the common image recognition unit 111 from the input image data of each page. The common image extracted by the common image extraction unit 112 is stored in the common image storage unit 125 of the first memory 121.

  Further, the common image removal unit 113 performs a process of removing the common image extracted by the common image extraction unit 112 from the input image data of each page, and is different for each page of image data. An image is required. The non-common image obtained by the common image removal unit 113 is stored in the non-common image storage unit 126 of the second memory 122.

  The T / I separation unit 114 separates the input image data of each page into a text (Text) portion made up of character images and the like and an image (Image) portion made up of images such as figures. Is. Information of the text part and the image part of the image data of each page separated by the T / I separation unit 114 is individually stored in the third memory 123 as a T / I separation result 127 so as to be appropriately readable. It has become.

  The rectangular cutout unit 115 converts the image of the text part and the image of the image part separated by the T / I separation unit 114 from the common image and the non-common image of each page into at least one rectangular part. It is configured to cut out. As shown in FIG. 8, the rectangular cutout unit 115 cuts out a rectangular image by converting an image image or text image from a common image and a non-common image of input image data, for example, a user interface of a color multifunction peripheral. This is done by designating the upper left corner 841 and the lower right corner 842 diagonally with a touch panel, a mouse or the like provided at 130. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the rectangular image cutout by the rectangular cutout unit 115 may be automatically performed with a predetermined distance or more around the image image or text image.

  In the OCR unit 116, image data separated as a text part by the T / I separation unit 114 among the images cut out in a rectangular shape by the cutout unit 115 is character-recognized and converted into a character code.

  In the attribute adding unit 117, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, in the state where the common image and the non-common image identified by the image identification unit are cut out in a rectangular shape, as shown in FIG. 821 to 825, rectangular areas 831, 832,... The attribute adding unit 117 separates the common image and the non-common image identified by the image identifying unit into a text portion and an image portion by the T / I separation unit 114, and the image portion stores image information. The text portion is subjected to OCR processing, and attribute information is added to each of the rectangular regions 821 to 825 and the rectangular regions 831 and 832 based on the character information recognized by the OCR processing 116. Has been.

  Further, the attribute adding unit 117 is configured to add attribute information to the non-common image among the common image and the non-common image identified by the image identification unit so as to be subordinate to the attribute information of the common image. ing. For example, “name” 831 as a non-common image entered in the field of “name” 823 as a common image is added with attribute information at a lower level (child) of the common image 3.

  At that time, the attribute adding unit 117 is configured to be able to select whether the priority of adding the attribute information to the common image identified by the image identifying means is priority in the main scanning direction or priority in the sub scanning direction. . For example, when priority is given to the sub-scanning direction, the attribute adding unit 117 adds attribute information along the sub-scanning direction (vertical direction in the figure) as shown in FIG. Yes. Now, if the letter “end of semester test mathematics” is at the top, the common image of the “end of semester test mathematics” is the common 1, and the character recognition result of the common image is “ "Is added as identification information. Next, when the common image of the picture 801 is common 2, and the common image is an image, the characters “picture” are added as identification information. Hereinafter, similarly, the common image of “name” is common 3, and the character of “name”, which is the character recognition result of the common image, is added as identification information.

  In addition to the character recognition result of the common image, the identification information can be arbitrarily changed by the user from the user interface 5, the personal computer 5, or the like.

  Further, the attribute adding unit 117 can select attribute information to be added to the non-common image identified by the image identifying unit, whether the main scanning direction priority or the sub-scanning direction priority is given to the common image. It is configured. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, when a non-common image is described in the main scanning direction of the common image, for example, priority on the main scanning direction is selected. In addition, when a non-common image is described in the sub-scanning direction of the common image, for example, priority is given to the sub-scanning direction.

  Further, in the file generation unit 118, based on the image data of the common image and the non-common image among the input image data, the image data of the common image and the non-common image are separately digitized to generate a PDF file or a postscript. Such file data is generated.

  Further, the database creating unit 119 is configured to create a database of the document 8 that covers a plurality of read pages based on the file data generated by the file generating unit 119. That is, as shown in FIG. 16, the database creating unit 119 recognizes the attribute of the common image portion as “parent” and sets the attribute of the non-common image portion corresponding to the common image portion having the same attribute as “child”. As a result of the recognition, for each “parent” data that is an attribute of the common image portion, an operation of sequentially collecting “child” data that is an attribute of the non-common image portion is performed. The database creating unit 119 is provided on the personal computer 5 side, for example.

  In the case of the above specific example, if the data of the “parent” that is the attribute of the common image portion is “name” by the database creation unit 119, an individual corresponding to “child” is added to the “parent” data. Data such as “Fuji Zero child”, “○ × Δ □”,. If the data made into a database by the database creating unit 119 is displayed as a chart such as Excel, it becomes as shown in FIG.

  In the above configuration, the image data processing apparatus according to this embodiment is a hard document that has not been formatted in advance as described below, and is an image that includes figures, frames, and the like. However, it is possible to easily create a database without imposing an excessive burden on the user.

  That is, in the image processing system 1 to which the image data processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment is applied, as shown in FIG. 2, an image such as a document 8 over a plurality of pages is obtained by a scanner 2 or a scanner 9 as an image reading apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, image data such as a document 8 that is read and read by the scanners 2 and 9 is input to a color multifunction peripheral 3 as an image output device to which an image data processing device 100 is attached. Is done. In addition, as the document 8 covering a plurality of pages read by the scanners 2 and 9, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is used in a test paper used in a school or a cram school, a company office, a public office, or the like. For example, a standard document.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image data processing apparatus 100 receives image data of a document 8 over a plurality of pages read by scanners 2 and 9 as image reading apparatuses, and the input image data is common. The image recognition unit 111 recognizes a common image common to each page based on the input image data including a plurality of pages. As the image data of the document 8 recognized by the common image recognition unit 111, for example, binarized image data is used. However, it is also possible to use multi-valued image data. In the case of a color image, a portion having image data regardless of color may be regarded as an image.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when image data 800 consisting of a plurality of pages of the test sheet 8 on which the name and answer of the semester test are written is input, the common image recognition unit 111 receives the image data 800 as shown in FIG. The image data 800 of each page is compared in bit units, such as the image data of the first page and the image data of the second page, and the common images 821 and 822 are recognized as shown in FIG. The common image recognized by the common image recognition unit 111 is temporarily stored in the common image storage unit 125 of the first memory 121. Next, the common image of the image data of the first page and the image data of the second page stored in the common image storage unit 125 is compared with the image data of the third page by the common image recognition unit 111, and the common image Is recognized and temporarily stored in the common image storage unit 125 of the first memory 121.

  As described above, the common image recognition unit 111 recognizes the common image of the image data of the first page and the second page among the input image data of each page, and as shown in FIG. And the common image of the image data of the second page are identified. Next, in the above-mentioned common image recognition unit 111, the result identified as the common image of the image data of the first page and the second page and the common image of the image data of the third page are recognized. Among the image data of each page, the common image of the image data of the nth page and the (n + 1) th page is identified, the common result of the identification result and the image data of the (n + 2) th page is identified. A common image of the identification result and the image data of the current page is identified. As a result, the common image recognition unit 111 identifies a common image common to the images of each page, and the common image is stored in the common image storage unit 125 of the first memory 121.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the common image extraction unit 112 extracts a common image 831 based on the recognition result of the common image, which is a result of comparing the image data of each page by the common image recognition unit 111. The The common image 831 extracted by the common image extraction unit 112 is stored in the common image storage unit 125 of the first memory 121.

  Next, in the common image removal unit 113, as shown in FIG. 8, the common image extraction unit 112 extracts the common image from the image data of each page stored in the input image storage unit 124 of the first memory 121. The common image 831 stored in the storage unit 125 is removed, and a different non-common image 832 is obtained for each page. These non-common images 832 are stored in the non-common image storage unit 126 of the second memory 122.

  Thereafter, the common image 831 stored in the common image storage unit 125 of the first memory 121 and the non-common image 832 stored in the non-common image storage unit 126 of the second memory 122 are as shown in FIG. Further, the text part and the image part are separated by the T / I separator 114. In the above common image, as shown in FIG. 8, a character image 802 indicating the title of a document for the end of semester test, a “name” character 803 written in the column of “name”, “question 1”, “question” 2 ”..., Etc., a text portion including question sentences 804 and 805 including characters indicating a problem number, a figure 801 such as a mark indicating the company or subject that created the test sheet, a“ name ”field, An image part composed of a linear frame image 806 that displays a rectangular frame surrounding the question sentence column is separated, and the separation result of the text part and the image part is T / I separated in the third memory 123. Stored as a result.

  In the non-common image 832, as shown in FIG. 8, a “name” 807 of the person who took the test, a number 808 as an answer, or a text part consisting of a sentence 809 as an answer, and a graphic such as a bar graph The image part composed of 810 is separated, and the separation result of the text part and the image part is stored in the third memory 123 as the T / I separation result.

  Next, the common image 831 and the non-common image 832 separated into the text part and the image part by the T / I separation unit 114 are rectangular cutout frames 841 by the rectangular cutout unit 115, and are shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 14, it is cut out for each image data of the text part and the image part.

  In the user interface such as the color multifunction peripheral 3 that instructs the processing operation of the image data processing apparatus 100, it is selected whether to generate a rectangular image or a character code by the OCR unit 116. Can be done.

  Then, each image data of the text portion cut out in a rectangular shape by the rectangular cutout unit 115 is recognized by the OCR unit 116 and converted into a character code, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 15, a corresponding attribute is added by an attribute adding unit 117 to each image data cut out in a rectangular shape by the rectangular cutout unit 115 and character-recognized by the OCR unit 116. In the attribute addition unit 117, for example, the common image 1 attribute is added to the graphic image of “picture” as the common image 1 in order from the top in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the common image. Next, the attribute of “common 2: semester test math” is added to the character image “semester semester test math” as the common image 2. Similarly, for the character image “name” as the common image 3, the attribute “common 3: name” is “common 4” for the character image “question 1: 1 + 1 =” as the common image 4. The attribute of “Question 1” is added to the character image of “5” as the common image 5 and the attribute of “Common 5: Question 1” is added thereto.

  Here, the same attribute “Question 1” is added to the character image “Question 1: 1 + 1 =” of the common image 4 and the character image “5” of the common image 5 in the sub-scanning. This is because it is set so that the same attribute is added to the images arranged in the main scanning direction and having the same position in the direction, and “question 1: 1 + 1 =” of the common image 4 is set. Of course, different character attributes may be added to the character image “5” and the character image “5” of the common image 5.

  In the illustrated example, the attribute “parent” is added to all the common images, and “parent” is assigned to the images arranged side by side in the main scanning direction with respect to the common image. ”As a“ child ”attribute is added.

"
Next, in the file generation unit 118, data such as the recognized character code, character size, character position, and the like of the text image, and the content and position of the image of the image image are input to the input image data. As shown in FIG. 18, the data is filed, and the first header of the common part and the data of the image 1 as the first common part, and then the second header of the common part and the second header Text 1 data that is the common part ..., the first header of the non-common part of the first page and the data that is the first non-common part, then the second header of the non-common part and the 2 Data that is the second non-common part: the first header of the non-common part on the second page and the data that is the first non-common part, then the second header of the non-common part and the second In the non-common part That so that the data ..., the file is generated. Of course, this file may be of any type, such as a PDF file or a Postscript file.

  Finally, in the database creation unit 119, based on the file generated by the file generation unit 118, as shown in FIG. 16, corresponding to the attribute as “parent” which is a common image, as “child” A database is created by sequentially arranging non-common images having the above relationship. If the data stored in the database 119 is displayed in a chart such as Excel, as shown in FIG. 17, each “parent” is displayed in a state where the attributes as “parent” which are common images are arranged side by side. Data having an attribute as a “child” with respect to an attribute as “” is displayed in a vertically arranged state.

  As described above, in the image data processing apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiment, even if the document is a hard document or the like that has not been formatted in advance and includes an image including a figure and a frame, A database can be created automatically by identifying common images and arranging them with corresponding attributes, and can easily be created without imposing an excessive burden on the user. It has become.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the database creating unit 119 is provided on the personal computer 5 side has been described. However, the database creating unit 119 may be configured to be provided on the image data processing apparatus 100 side.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an image processing system to which the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a color multifunction machine as an image output apparatus to which the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an image forming unit of a color multifunction peripheral as an image output apparatus to which the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an image reading apparatus to which the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an answer sheet processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing an image processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing data processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a chart showing a database processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a chart showing data processed by the image data processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  2, 9: Image reading device, 100: Image data processing device, 111: Common image recognition unit, 112: Common image extraction unit, 113: Common image removal unit, 114: T / I separation unit, 115: Rectangular clipping unit 116: OCR unit, 117: attribute addition unit, 118: file generation unit, 119: database creation unit.

Claims (3)

In an image data processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on input image data consisting of a plurality of pages,
Image identifying means for identifying a common image common to each page and a different non-common image for each page based on the input image data consisting of a plurality of pages;
Of the common image and non-common image identified by the image identification means, a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the main scanning direction of the common image, or in the sub-scanning direction of the common image. Attribute adding means for adding attribute information to the non-common image so as to be subordinate to the common image , depending on whether a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along
Database creation means for creating a database of input image data over a plurality of pages by sequentially arranging subordinate non-common images under the common image to which the same attribute is added by the attribute addition means. An image data processing device. The attribute adding means describes a non-common image corresponding to the common image along the main scanning direction of the common image, or a non-common image corresponding to the common image along the sub-scanning direction of the common image. The non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the main scanning direction of the common image in the order of adding the attribute information to the common image identified by the image identifying unit. Select whether to give priority to the sub-scanning direction, or to give priority to the main scanning direction when a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the sub-scanning direction of the common image. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data processing apparatus is capable of processing. The attribute adding means describes a non-common image corresponding to the common image along the main scanning direction of the common image, or a non-common image corresponding to the common image along the sub-scanning direction of the common image. Depending on whether or not the attribute information to be added to the non-common image identified by the image identification means is non-common corresponding to the common image along the main scanning direction of the common image with respect to the common image. Priority is given to the main scanning direction when an image is described, or priority is given to the sub scanning direction when a non-common image corresponding to the common image is described along the sub scanning direction of the common image. image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is possible to choose.

Images