JP5223284B2 - Information retrieval apparatus, method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information search apparatus, method, and program for searching for information on a network.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an information retrieval apparatus for retrieving a document, a character string as a keyword is input as a keyword with a character code to a registered document already registered using a PC, and the stored digital data and reference And the method of acquiring information was known.

  For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of schedule information managed separately from the search target document is acquired, the acquired plurality of schedule information is displayed, and one of the displayed plurality of schedule information is selected. When one piece of schedule information is selected, a character string to be used as a keyword is extracted from the selected schedule information, and a digital document in the search target document is searched using the extracted character string as a keyword.

JP 2000-231568 A

  The technique of Patent Document 1 is to search and display related documents when any one of a plurality of schedule information is selected. However, the general information that actually exists in the real world has much more information on print media such as newspaper magazines before being digitized than digital-based information. The technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is impossible to search for information related to pre-digitization information that exists in a large amount in the real world.

  If a digital document is retrieved and acquired, it is also desired to reuse the acquired digital document.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to acquire non-digital information and automatically search and acquire digital information stored on a network, and the acquired digital information. Information retrieval apparatus, information retrieval method, and program for causing a computer to execute the method.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an information search apparatus according to the present invention includes a first screen that displays input information input by an input unit, and a second screen that displays search designation or search results. and can display, the display input device capable of inputting operation by the user from the first screen or the second screen, the input information, based on the attribute information constituting the input information, character area A region dividing unit that divides the image region into a plurality of regions, an extraction unit that extracts a search key for each divided region from the input information, and displays the divided regions on the first screen, 1 and the display input control unit of the image region by specifying a character area for said image area by moving while contacting a finger into a plurality of regions so as to pass through receiving an input to move to the second screen of the screen A search unit for searching for search target information via a network based on the search key included in the information of the area moved to the second screen, and the display input control unit is configured to search the search The target information is displayed in parallel with the image area .

  The present invention is also an information search method and program executed by the information search apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the input information is divided into a plurality of areas based on the attributes of the information, the search key is extracted from the input information in units of divided areas, and the divided areas are displayed on the first screen. Display, specify the area of the first screen, accept input to move to the second screen, and search target information via the network based on the search key included in the information of the area moved to the second screen By searching and displaying the searched search target information, the search target information related to the manuscript can be automatically searched from the input information and the search result can be displayed. The search target information displayed as a result can be reused.

  Exemplary embodiments of an information search apparatus, method, and program according to the present invention will be described below in detail along with Embodiments 1 to 10 and Modifications 1 to 3.

(1. Embodiment 1)
The document search apparatus according to the first embodiment is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, automatically reads out character information from a scanned document, extracts keywords, searches other database apparatuses on the network using the keywords, and relates to them. Acquire and display document information. As described above, the image forming apparatus in which the document search apparatus is incorporated simply scans a document, and can easily retrieve information related to the contents described in the document from a database on the network without requiring a complicated keyboard operation. Can be acquired. Hereinafter, a document search apparatus will be described as a configuration incorporated in the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus including a document search apparatus according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus includes a scanner 1, an image processing unit 2, an image output unit 3, and a document search device 10. The image forming apparatus is connected to the database apparatus 5 via the network 4.

  The document search apparatus 10 includes an area dividing unit 11, a keyword extraction unit 12, a search unit 13, a display control unit 14, an operation display unit 15, and an input / output unit 16. The document image information read by the scanner 1 is subjected to processing specific to image processing such as digital conversion and gamma conversion by the image processing unit 2 of the image forming apparatus, and is input / output unit as image information such as a bitmap image, for example. 16 is received by the document search device 10. The operation display unit 15 includes a monitor 15b that displays information and an operation unit 15a that receives various settings.

  The area dividing unit 11 divides the document information read by the scanner 1 and received by the input / output unit 16 into a character area and an area other than the character information. The area dividing unit 11 analyzes input information and extracts document constituent elements that are constituent elements of the document information. A document constituent element is an element that constitutes a document by occupying a certain area such as a paragraph, a photographic image, a chart, or a heading of a read original.

  The area dividing unit 11 analyzes the attribute of the document component and acquires a divided area for each attribute. That is, it is divided into character information division regions, chart information division regions, image information division regions such as photographs, and other division regions.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the area dividing unit 11. The area dividing unit 11 includes an area identifying unit 11a and an attribute analyzing unit 11b. The area identifying unit 11a identifies each area of the scanned document data. The area identifying unit 11a identifies the scanned information for each area of information in the document. In general, an area is formed for each paragraph in the case of character attributes, and for each photographic image and chart image in the case of photographic image and chart image attributes. Thus, the area formed as information is identified and divided.

  The area identifying unit 11a identifies the area of the document data by detecting changes in the density of the document data, detection of the edge part, detection of the halftone area, and the like. For example, the region identifying unit 11a identifies a character region by detecting that a portion determined to be a character by detecting a density difference is in a continuous state. In addition, it is possible to detect that a halftone pixel is continuous and identify it as a region of a photographic image. Further, it is possible to identify the region of the chart image by detecting that the difference between the edge portion and the shading is significant. For other cases, it is determined that the combination is a combination of characters, photographs, and charts, or other combinations, and region identification processing is performed. Since these are well-known techniques, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The attribute analysis unit 11b analyzes which attribute information is character, photographic image, halftone image, chart image, or other image information of the region identified by the region identifying unit 11a. As a result, the area to be identified is subjected to attribute analysis for each area, so that the area is divided for each attribute. Elements divided into regions for each attribute become document constituent elements.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the attribute analysis unit 11b. The attribute analysis unit 11b includes a layout analysis unit 11b1 and a character recognition unit 11b2. The layout analysis unit 11b1 performs a process of analyzing the layout structure in the document on the document component extracted by the region identification unit 11a. The layout analysis performed by the layout analysis unit 11b1 analyzes the layout of each divided region by applying detection information such as edge detection, halftone detection, and pixel position detection to a known algorithm.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the character recognition unit 11b2. The character recognition unit 11b2 includes a character cutout unit 11b21, a spline vector conversion unit 11b22, and an optical reading (OCR) unit 11b23.

  The character recognizing unit 11b2 performs character recognition processing on the document constituent element analyzed as having the character attribute by the attribute analyzing unit 11b to convert the character element into a format that can be machine-processed.

  The character cutout unit 11b21 cuts out a character by detecting shading. By having the character cutout unit 11b21, it is possible to cut out characters accurately and perform character analysis.

  The spline vector conversion unit 11b22 performs a spline shaping process on the extracted character. Character display can be made smoother by the spline vector converter 11b22.

  The OCR unit 11b23 performs character recognition processing by optically reading characters read as an image and subjected to spline shaping processing. The OCR unit 11b23 extracts a character image as text information through character recognition processing.

  Since the character recognition unit 11b2 converts the character element into a format that can be machine-processed, the keyword extraction processing performed by the keyword extraction unit can be made accurate and quick. Here, the character recognition process can be performed by applying a known algorithm.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the operation display unit 15 includes an operation unit 15 a that receives an operation input by an operator, and a monitor 15 b that displays input information and search result information.

  The display control unit 14 causes the monitor 15b to display the divided areas divided by the area dividing unit 11 according to the information attributes. Further, the region dividing unit 11 can be configured to determine the attribute of the divided region by setting input about the attribute received by the operator received by the operation unit 15a of the operation display unit 15. For example, it is determined by the operator's own determination from the screen on which the operator is displayed that the character image analyzed and displayed by the area dividing unit 11 is actually a photographic image, and the operator is a photographic image. When the input is performed, the area dividing unit 11 receives the input of the attribute that is the photographic image and sets the photographic image.

  When a correction input is received from the operation display unit 15 for an error in character reading or the like based on the operator's judgment, the character recognition unit 11b2 sets the received correction character information. As a result, the attribute of the document component, which is the divided area, can be changed by an operator input, and a character reading error can be corrected.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the keyword extraction unit 12. The keyword extraction unit 12 includes a keyword dictionary 12a. The keyword dictionary 12a stores specific character information as a keyword in a memory.

  The keyword extraction unit 12 divides the character string in the character area into character strings for each morpheme by morphological analysis. Then, the keyword extraction unit 12 compares the character string for each morpheme with the keyword stored in the keyword dictionary 12a, and determines whether or not they match. If they match, the keyword extraction unit 12 extracts the matched character string as a keyword candidate. In addition, the keyword extraction unit 12 can further determine and determine keywords by using an algorithm in which conditions such as the layout obtained by layout analysis and the appearance frequency are added to the keyword candidates extracted by the keyword dictionary 12a.

  The search unit 13 transmits the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction unit 12 and search command information based on the keyword to the database device 5 on the Web connected to the network 4 via the input / output unit 16.

  When the database device 5 on the network 4 receives the keyword information and the search command information, the database device 5 executes the search based on the keyword, and the search result information obtained by executing the search in the HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format in the network 4 Is transmitted to the document search apparatus 10 via. The document search apparatus 10 receives information on search results transmitted from the database apparatus 5 via the network 4 via the input / output unit 16.

  The display control unit 14 receives the search result information from the database device 5 as an HTML file and displays it on the monitor 15b. Here, the display control unit 14 causes the search result information to be displayed on the monitor 15b by the Web browser viewer. As a result, the operator can view the search result in the browser format on the monitor 15b of the operation display unit 15 like a search on the Web using a normal PC (personal computer).

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the operation display unit 15. In the operation display unit 15, the operation unit 15a accepts an operation from the operator by a push button, contact input, a numeric keypad method, or the like. The monitor 15b displays an image read by the scanner, various setting items, and a search result. The monitor 15b also accepts manual contact inputs such as contact settings and drag and drop operations.

  Here, the monitor 15b displays different screens in parallel on the left and right. The screen 610 on the left side of the entire display screen 601 displays a document image read by the scanner. The screen 630 on the right side displays search result information received from the database device 5.

  Here, the screen 610 on the left side divides the information read by the area dividing unit 11 with the scanner 1 into areas based on attributes, and the display control unit 14 displays the information on the monitor 15b. For example, the divided areas 611 and 612 are image areas based on photographs. The divided area 613 is an area based on character information.

  The keyword extraction unit 12 extracts a keyword from character information in the information divided by the region division unit 11, and the search unit 13 causes the database apparatus 5 on the Web to perform a search based on the keyword. It is shown that the keywords “forest”, “paper”, “pulp”, and “material” are extracted in the divided area of the character information on the screen 610.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example in which input information and search result information are displayed on a monitor. A screen 710 on the left side is a screen read by the scanner 1. The information read by the area dividing unit 11 is divided into areas according to the attributes. Here, a region such as a photographic image 711 and a character image 712 is divided according to the attribute and displayed.

  Here, the display control unit 14 displays the frame by drawing a frame around the divided area. The display control unit 14 may display the area itself by blinking or displaying it with a shadow instead of the display indicated by the frame. In any display form, it is desirable to display in a manner that emphasizes that it is a divided area.

  In addition, it is desirable that the display control unit 14 displays the surroundings of the keyword with a frame, blinks, or displays a shadow with respect to the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction unit 12. This is because the extracted keyword is displayed in an emphasized manner and is easily visible by the operator.

  Here, the document search device 10 may be configured such that the search unit 13 starts the search operation simultaneously with reading by the scanner 1. And it can also be set as the structure which does not display the read image. This is because the document to be read is at hand and what is important is often the acquired search result information, so that the display is simple and easy to see.

  Now, the screen 730 on the right side displays information on the retrieved results. However, when the information is first read by the scanner, the search result information is not acquired in this portion, so it is not displayed, but only a search screen is displayed.

  As an operation input for starting a search, a specific character area, for example, an area 712, is dragged and dropped to the search screen on the right side by a contact input by an operator's fingertip or the like, and is dragged by this drag and drop operation. It can be set as the structure which starts a search based on the keyword in a division area.

  In addition, when a plurality of character areas, for example, areas 712 and 713 are selected and dragged and dropped on the search screen 730 in the selected state, a search operation is performed based on keywords extracted from the selected area in the same manner. Can be configured to start. This is because the selection of divided areas and keyword extraction can be executed by successive operations, and the work efficiency is increased.

  Here, the operation display unit 15 accepts selection designation as a search designation and cancellation of the selected designation for the divided region displayed on the monitor. It is desirable for the display control unit 14 to display the area that the operation display unit 15 has received the selection in a mode different from that before selection. This is because a more narrow and accurate search function can be executed by performing a keyword search from the selected divided region by specifying the divided region by the selection from the operator.

  In this case, it is desirable that the operation display unit 15 accepts an operation by a contact input such as a human finger or a stylus pen and an input by a mouse. This is because an operation method closer to human daily operation is possible.

  When a specific divided area is not designated, the keyword extraction unit 12 is configured to extract a keyword from all the read information. As a result, when no divided area is specified, related information can be automatically searched and acquired from the entire read area.

  On the screen 730, the search unit 13 receives information searched by the database device 5 on the Web based on the keyword, and the display control unit 14 displays the information in a browser format.

(Document Search Procedure According to Embodiment 1)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a document search procedure according to the first embodiment. The input / output unit 16 detects whether or not the read information from the scanner 1 has been received (step S101), and if it is detected (Yes in step S101), the input / output unit 16 converts the detected read information into an area dividing unit. 11 to send.

  The area dividing unit 11 performs area identification processing on read information such as a bitmap image from the scanner 1 (step S102). Then, the area dividing unit 11 analyzes the attribute of the information constituting the area for the identified area. That is, it is analyzed that the region is composed of characters, photographs, charts, and other various combinations, and the attribute of the information of the divided region is analyzed (step S103).

  Here, in particular, the area dividing unit 11 specifies a divided area based on character information (step S104). This is to extract keywords.

  The display control unit 14 determines whether the input information is set to be displayed on the monitor or not to be displayed (step S105). When the setting is such that the input information is not displayed on the monitor (No in step S105), the display control unit 14 does not display the input information on the monitor, and the keyword extraction unit 12 extracts keywords from all the read information ( Step S109).

  On the other hand, when the display control unit 14 determines that the input information is set to be displayed on the monitor (Yes in step S105), the display control unit 14 displays the input information on the monitor (step S106). For example, the screen 710 on the left side of the screen 701 in FIG.

  The operation display unit 15 detects whether or not the designation of the divided area has been accepted (step S107). When the designation input from the operator is not accepted (No in step S107), the operation display unit 15 detects the keyword from all the read information. (Step S109).

  When the operation display unit 15 receives designation of a divided region (Yes in step S107), the keyword extraction unit 12 extracts a keyword from the designated divided region. The designated divided area may be dragged and dropped to the right search screen with the operator's finger or the like to start the search operation (step S108).

  The search unit 13 performs a search on the Web based on the extracted keyword. That is, the search unit 13 transmits the extracted keyword and search command information based on the keyword to the database apparatus 5 on the Web, and causes the database apparatus 5 that receives the keyword to execute a search based on the keyword. The database device 5 transmits the search result information to the document search device 10 via the network 4 (step S110).

  When the input / output unit 16 receives a search result from the Web (Yes in step S111), the display control unit 14 displays the search result information on the monitor 15b, for example, a screen 730 of FIG. A screen is displayed (step S112).

  In this way, the document search apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment performs region segmentation, character information analysis, keyword extraction, Web search, and search result display for document information read by a scanner. It can be executed by one application.

  Here, the image read by the scanner and the searched information are displayed in parallel on the display screen of the operation display unit 15 to automatically search on the Web based on the original document image and this document. The observed results can be compared with each other.

  Here, when the search unit 13 newly searches, the display control unit 14 desirably updates and displays a new search result. This is for the convenience of the user.

  In addition, an image read by the scanner may not be displayed. When it is desired to read only the search result, the display on the monitor 15b can be simplified, and only the search result can be displayed to make the display simple.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus in which the document search apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment is incorporated simply scans a document, and easily obtains information related to the contents described in the document without requiring a complicated keyboard operation. Since it can be acquired from abundant database devices on the network, information related to the document content can be acquired from the network device in the form of an electronic medium by a simple operation.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, based on the attributes of the information constituting the input information, it is divided into a plurality of areas, the search key is extracted from the input information in units of divided areas, and the divided areas are A search key that is displayed on the left screen (first screen), receives an input to move to the search screen (second screen) by designating the area of the screen, and is included in the information of the area moved to the search screen The search target document is searched via the network based on the search result, and the searched document is displayed on the search screen. Therefore, the search target document related to the manuscript is automatically searched from the input information, and the search result Can be displayed, which is convenient for the user and allows the search target document displayed as the search result to be reused.

(Information input method)
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another apparatus for inputting information to the document search apparatus. The input / output unit 16 may be connected to a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera 1a that acquires imaging information of a subject. The area dividing unit 11 receives image information captured by the CCD camera 1a and divides the area, and can search related information from the network based on keywords extracted from the image information.

  The input / output unit 16 can be connected to a handwriting input tablet 1b that accepts handwritten information as characters. The area dividing unit 11 divides the information input by handwriting from the handwriting input tablet 1b into areas, and searches the network for related information based on keywords extracted from the information recognized by executing the OCR function. it can. In addition, it is possible to accept a character input from the handwriting input tablet 1b and set a keyword, or to modify character information.

  The input / output unit 16 also has a card reader / writer 1c for reading and writing a storage medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a CF (Compact Flash) card, and an SD (Secure Digital) memory card. Can be connected. The area dividing unit 11 can input information stored in these recording media and divide the area, and search related information from the network based on keywords extracted from the read information.

  The information input method has been described above, but the same applies to output. That is, the search result information obtained by searching by the search unit 13 can be written to a storage medium such as a CD, DVD, CF card, and SD card as the storage means by a card reader / writer.

  Further, the input / output unit 16 can also input information via the network 4, search, and transmit the search result from the input / output unit 16 via the network 4. Further, the search result can be output as an image on a recording sheet or the like via the image output unit 3.

(About keyword search)
Here, as for the keyword stored in the keyword dictionary 12a, it is desirable to count the number of accesses every time it is accessed and store the keyword and the number-of-accesses information in association with each other. Thus, keywords can be extracted more quickly by arranging them in order of access frequency.

  In addition, the keyword dictionary 12a desirably stores each keyword classified for each field. This is because faster search is possible.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the keyword extraction unit 12 registers character string information satisfying a predetermined number of times and a predetermined grammatical condition in the keyword dictionary 12a every time the keyword extraction process is executed. This is because the keyword newly appears or the appearance frequency changes with time or with the type of document information to be searched.

  In addition, it is desirable that the keyword extraction unit 12 extracts, as keywords, characters whose appearance frequency exceeds a predetermined threshold value from the character information of the divided areas. This is because character information having a low appearance frequency is generally not a keyword.

  Further, the operation display unit 15 can be configured to accept a setting input of the number of keywords to be extracted. This is because, by adjusting the number of keywords, it becomes possible to perform a narrow search and vice versa.

  In addition, when the number of words in the character area is smaller than the set number of keywords, the keyword extraction unit 12 desirably extracts the words appearing as characters as keywords. This is because, for example, when a keyword search is performed on a manuscript with many photographs and diagrams, there may be only a short heading. In such a case, an appropriate keyword search can be performed by selecting all detected characters as keywords.

(Application to image forming device)
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus including the document search apparatus according to the first embodiment. Since the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus is a known technique, only a brief description will be given below.

  Here, the image forming apparatus is a digital copying machine. The digital copying machine 100 includes a main body 110, a mass recording paper supply apparatus (hereinafter referred to as LCT) 111, and a finisher 112 that performs sorting, punching, stapling, and the like, and an automatic original supply apparatus for placing and reading an original on the main body 110. (Hereinafter referred to as ADF) 113, and an operation unit 114 for performing a reading mode, setting of a copying magnification, setting of a paper feed stage, setting of post-processing by the finisher 112, display to an operator, and the like. The operation unit 114 can also serve as the operation display unit 15.

  A paper feed unit 115 is provided below the main body 110, and a paper discharge unit 117 is provided in the finisher 112. The inside of the digital copying machine 100 incorporates well-known mechanisms and control devices of the digital copying machine such as an exposure optical system, a paper feeding / conveying system, a developing system, a fixing system, and a paper discharging system, thereby realizing operation as a copying machine. doing.

  By placing a document on the ADF 113 and pressing a copy start key on the operation unit 114, the document is supplied onto a contact glass (not shown) under the ADF 113, and the document is illuminated with an illumination system and imaging optics (not shown). Read by system. In a normal image forming operation, the image data read as it is is subjected to various corrections and processing, and then a beam is irradiated by a laser diode in a writing system based on the image data to electrostatically apply to a photoreceptor (not shown). A latent image is formed.

  In the digital copying machine 100 provided with the document search device according to the first embodiment, the area dividing unit 11, the keyword extracting unit 12, the search unit 13, and the display control unit 14 respectively apply to the image information read by the above operation. The search function information is displayed on the monitor 15b by executing the function already described.

  Thereafter, through a so-called electrophotographic process, a copy image is formed on the recording paper fed from the paper feed unit 115 or 116 as instructed by the operation unit 114, or the obtained search information is printed, and the finisher 112 After post-processing such as sorting, punching, and stapling, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit 117.

(2. Embodiment 2)
FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus 20 according to the second embodiment. The document search device 20 according to the second embodiment further includes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) access unit 27, extracts URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information from the search information acquired by the search unit 13, and accesses the extracted URL. To download the information published at the URL. The display control unit 24 causes the monitor 15b to display the information downloaded from the URL by the URL access unit 27 on the browser.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing download information obtained by clicking the URL on the search result screen. Most of the information obtained from the Web by the extracted keyword includes URL information. The search result information is displayed on the screen 1210 on the right side of the monitor 15b. For example, when the URL 1211 displayed here is double-clicked by contact input, the monitor 15b accepts this operation input. The URL access unit 27 accesses the URL received via the input / output unit 16, downloads the information uploaded to the URL, and displays it on the screen 1220 on the left side.

  Similarly, when the URL is displayed outside the text of the search information displayed on the screen 1210, the information uploaded to the URL is downloaded and displayed by double-clicking.

  As described above, the URL access unit 27 can acquire more detailed search information by acquiring the information disclosed in the URL via the network 4 based on the URL information appearing in the search result. .

(3. Embodiment 3)
FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus according to the third embodiment. In the document search apparatus according to the third embodiment, the operation unit 35a of the operation display unit 35 receives designation of a combination of a plurality of keywords to be displayed, and the search unit 33 generates command information to be searched according to the received keyword combination. Then, it is transmitted to the database device 5 in association with the keyword. As a result, the search range can be set according to the operator's needs, such as expanding or narrowing the search range, or narrowing down within the expanded range, and search results according to this setting can be acquired. .

  Here, the operation unit 35a accepts designation of and search and or search for a plurality of displayed keywords. It also accepts designation of a combination of and search and or search. The search unit 33 generates such a search range specification as search command information, thereby enabling a more precise search operation.

  Alternatively, the operation unit 35a accepts designation of a plurality of divided areas and accepts designation of a combination of accepted divided areas. For example, the character area 712 and the character area 713 in FIG. 7 are combined with each other, and the search unit 33 performs a search for keywords extracted in common in both areas. For the or search, search processing is performed for keywords included in either of the two areas. In this way, the search can be executed by combining the keywords extracted in the region by the combination of the region unit, so that the keyword can be narrowed down or the search range can be expanded in a more flexible and narrower range. Search can be performed.

  Even if the search unit 33 sets a combination of divided areas in this way, it is possible by describing a combination search command as search command information for a keyword extracted from the divided area. However, since the operator's setting operation is to select and specify only the divided areas, it is not necessary to set the keywords themselves in combination, so this setting method is highly convenient.

  Here, the operation display unit 35 may be configured to accept a key phrase selection input. This is because the key phrase itself may be an important keyword, and if such a selection input can be accepted, a more accurate search is possible. Then, the search unit 13 performs a search using the accepted key phrase. As an implementation technique of the key phrase search, for example, it is possible to perform an and search by fixing the order of a plurality of keywords.

  Here, when a designation for a character area in the vicinity of the image displayed on the monitor 15b is accepted, a keyword in the text area for which the designation is accepted is extracted, and the extracted keyword is associated with the image and assigned to this keyword. Search based on. By such a search method, it is possible to perform a search based on keywords extracted in association with images.

  For example, in FIG. 7, by moving a plurality of divided areas with a finger so as to pass through the photographic image area 711, a character divided area relating to the photographic image 711 is designated, and dragged and dragged to the search screen 730 on the right side. By performing a drop operation, it is possible to extract a keyword from the designated divided area and perform a search.

  As a search result screen, in this case, the image 711 is displayed on the search result screen on the right side, and the information obtained by searching in relation to the photo image is displayed in a parallel manner. It can be clearly displayed that the information is the search result information related to H.711.

(4. Embodiment 4)
FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus 40 according to the fourth embodiment. The fourth embodiment includes an identity determination unit 47 that determines whether the image information read by the scanner matches the search result information received from the database device 5. When the identity control unit 47 determines that the image read by the scanner matches the received search information, the display control unit 44 displays the matched search result on the monitor 15b in a manner different from other search results. To display.

  The identity determination unit 47 compares a predetermined number of character strings in the read image with a character string in the HTML format to be acquired. Since this comparison compares character code matches, it is easy to determine content matches. That is, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a match by comparing a predetermined character string before and after the keyword with respect to information acquired by keyword search.

  With this configuration, for example, when a newspaper article read by the scanner 1 is searched on the Web and the corresponding article can be acquired in the form of electronic data, the fact that the electronic data is available can be displayed. When the electronic data having the same content can be acquired by reading in, a message to that effect is displayed, so that it becomes a highly convenient document search apparatus that can substantially convert analog information into digital information.

(Modification 1)
Here, as a first modification of the fourth embodiment, it is determined whether or not the document image including the keyword received by the database device 5 matches the search result information. When replying, the display control unit 44 does not include the identity determination unit 47, and displays information indicating that they match together with the search result information.

  Here, the search unit 13 transmits a predetermined character string before and after the keyword together with the keyword. In the database device 5, it is determined whether or not the information obtained by the keyword search is matched by comparing a predetermined character string before and after the received keyword with the information obtained by the keyword search. Can do. When they match, information to that effect is returned along with the search result.

  With this configuration, for example, when a newspaper article read by the scanner 1 is searched on the Web and the corresponding article can be acquired in the form of electronic data, the fact that the electronic data is available can be displayed. The electronic information having the same content as the content read in step 1 can be acquired from the Web. At this time, the document search apparatus can be configured such that the identity determination unit 47 is not required.

(5. Embodiment 5)
In the document search apparatus according to the fifth embodiment, the display control unit displays a plurality of keywords on the display unit in the form of a toolbar with a toggle button (widget), and the operation unit 15a selects a keyword from the displayed toggle buttons. Accept. And the search part 13 performs a search function based on the keyword corresponding to the accepted toggle button. FIG. 14 is referred to for a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. Here, the toggle button is a screen component for designating a keyword.

  FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram of an example in which extracted keywords are displayed with a toggle button in the document search apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. The display control unit 44 displays on the monitor 15b a screen 1510 on which information read on the left side is divided and displayed. On the reading screen 1510, the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting unit 12 is displayed in a manner of being stored in the toolbar 1520 with a toggle button. Then, the search unit 13 searches, for example, a keyword designated by contact input from the keywords 1521 to 1524 displayed in the toolbar 1520 on the monitor 15b, and the display control unit 44 displays the search result. The search result screen 1530 on the right side is displayed.

  Here, a keyword toggle button displayed on the tool bar 1520 can be configured to select a plurality of keyword toggle buttons and specify an AND search or an OR search.

  In addition, a new keyword can be input by the user, and a new toggle button for designating the input keyword can be added to the toolbar 1520 and displayed. In this case, the keyword can be input arbitrarily. When the handwriting input tablet 1b that accepts handwritten information as characters is connected and used as the input / output unit 16, the handwritten drawing keyword input by the user from the handwriting input tablet 1b is recognized as a new keyword. It may be used.

  For example, on an arbitrary screen, the user performs a handwriting input instruction by designating a predetermined button. As a result, the display control unit 44 displays the keyword handwriting input screen shown in FIG. 15B on the monitor 15b. And a user draws the character which he wants to add as a keyword to the handwriting input field of this screen by handwriting from the handwriting input tablet 1b. And the character recognition part which performs character recognition with respect to the image input by handwriting is provided, a character recognition part recognizes the image input by handwriting, and outputs a keyword. The characters output as keywords are displayed in the character recognition result on the keyword handwriting input screen. If the character recognition result is correct, the user designates an OK button. As a result, a toggle button of a keyword that is input by handwriting and recognized by a character is added to the toolbar 1530.

  On the other hand, if the character recognition result is incorrect, the user designates a cancel button. As a result, the keyword handwriting input screen is deleted. For this reason, it is necessary to instruct handwriting input again.

(Modification 2)
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of an example in which the document search apparatus according to the second modification displays a search result as a toggle button. In the document search device according to the second modification, the display control unit 44 displays the displayed search result information on the monitor 15b in the form of a toggle button. By clicking the toggle button, the search information represented by the toggle button can be displayed on the entire screen (not shown).

  A screen 1610 on the right side is searched result information. Toggle buttons 1621 to 1624 displayed on the left screen 1620 are toggle buttons corresponding to the respective search information displayed on the search result screen 1610. Further, for example, when a toggle button 1621 is clicked, an article of the corresponding search result XX newspaper is fully expanded and displayed in the lower part of the left screen toggle button (not shown).

  With the document search device according to the second modification, a list of search results can be displayed in an easy-to-read manner by using a toggle button. In addition, a specific toggle button can be selected to display details of the original search information corresponding to the toggle button. In this case, the read document image or the list display of the toggle button may be minimized so that it can be hidden from the display of the monitor 15b in a form that is not directly visible from the screen.

  Here, in particular, the display control unit 44 displays URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information among the information searched by the search unit using a toggle button. Then, by clicking the URL information expressed by the toggle button, the URL can be accessed to download the information.

  Here, the display control unit 44 can be configured to express toggle buttons only for the search information that is dropped on the left screen by a drag-and-drop operation. In this way, by displaying only the information that the operator has determined to be necessary, the display can be simplified.

(6. Embodiment 6)
FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. In the document search device 60 according to the sixth embodiment, the input / output unit 66 transmits the URL information among the information searched by the search unit 13 to an information processing device connected via another network, for example, a personal computer (PC) 6. To do. The PC 6 connected via the network can automatically receive URL information among the search result information, and can share information on the network.

  In the document search apparatus according to the fifth embodiment, the display control unit 44 has already explained the example of displaying the URL information among the information searched by the search unit 13 with the toggle button. The URL information expressed by the toggle button can be transmitted to the PC 6. As a result, the PC 6 connected via the network can share the URL information retrieved and acquired on the network. The URL information expressed by the toggle button may be transmitted by an operation input from the operation unit 15a, or may be automatically transmitted when entering the toolbar.

  The document search device 60 according to the sixth embodiment further includes a holding unit 67 that holds the acquired search result information, and the input / output unit 66 transmits the search result information held in the holding unit 67 to the PC 6. . With this configuration, the PC 6 connected via the network can automatically receive the search result information and can share information on the network.

  It is desirable that the PC 6 displays a toggle button to be received and shared, information corresponding to the toggle button, or search result information on the monitor screen of the PC 6 in a toolbar format. In addition, it is desirable that the displayed insert button is inserted into an open application by a drag and drop operation. This is because the retrieved information can be shared and freely used between information devices connected via a network.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of displaying result information searched by the document search apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. Here, the display control unit 64 displays each of the search result information as toggle button information and displays it in a form that fits in the content bar. A screen 1810 displays search results. The toggle button bar 1820 is a content bar that is displayed in a form that accommodates toggle buttons 1821 to 1824 representing the searched information.

  Here, the input / output unit 66 transmits the toggle buttons 1821 to 1824 accommodated in the search information toggle button bar 1820 and the search information corresponding to each to the other PCs 6. The PC 6 connected via the network can automatically receive the toggle button indicating the search result information and the corresponding search information, and can display and share the search information in common on the network.

  The PC 6 that receives the toggle button information displays the received toggle button in the toolbar format shown in FIG. This is because the degree of freedom to use information that is searched and shared increases.

(7. Embodiment 7)
FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. The document search apparatus 70 according to the seventh embodiment further includes an editing unit 77 that receives an editing operation from the operation display unit 15 and performs an editing process on the search result displayed on the monitor 15b, and the display control unit 74 includes The screen subjected to the editing process by the editing unit 77 is displayed on the monitor 15b. In addition, the editing unit 77 includes an e-mail generation unit 78 that generates the edited content as e-mail information.

  The input / output unit 76 outputs the editing result information edited by the editing unit 77 and displayed on the display control unit 74. Thus, editing can be performed while displaying the edited result, and the edited result can be used for other purposes. The e-mail generation unit 78 generates the edit screen received by the editing unit 77 as an e-mail, and the input / output unit 76 transmits the generated e-mail.

  FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram for displaying an electronic mail generated by editing a search result in the document search apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. Here, the screen 2010 on the left displays search results. Of these, the image 2011 is dragged and dropped onto the attached file field on the e-mail editing screen, and the character area 2012 is dragged and dropped onto the character editing screen. By this operation, the e-mail generation unit 78 generates an e-mail file having the character information 2021 on the e-mail editing screen 2020 and attached with the image information 2022.

  Here, the e-mail file may have any format such as an XML file, an HTML file, or a text file. The image information can be transmitted in the form of an attached file attached to the e-mail body. The e-mail generation unit 78 can also generate an e-mail by MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) conversion of the content of the displayed e-mail editing screen.

  As described above, the document search apparatus according to the seventh embodiment is read by the scanner 1 by a single application, automatically extracts keywords, searches on the Web, displays the search results, and is edited by the operator. The added content can be transmitted as an electronic mail with high convenience.

(8. Embodiment 8)
FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus according to the eighth embodiment. The document search apparatus according to the eighth embodiment further includes an image feature amount extraction unit 87 that extracts a feature amount of the image information from the image region divided by the region division unit 11, and the search unit 83 extracts the extracted feature. The amount information and the search command information are transmitted to the database device 85 via the network, and the display control unit 84 displays the image information searched by the database device 85 based on the feature amount information and the search command information as a search result on the monitor 15b. Let

  The image feature amount calculation unit 87 performs, for example, a feature amount calculated from an image pattern, a feature amount calculated from a color, and the image information of a divided region analyzed as image information by the region dividing unit 11; The feature amount calculated from the contrast is acquired. Or the feature-value extracted from the character information relevant to an image is acquired.

  These image feature amounts acquired by the image feature amount calculation unit 87 are vector values serving as search keys for the image. The search unit 83 transmits the vector value acquired for the image information as feature amount information of the image from the input / output unit 86 to the database device 85 via the network 4.

  As the image search function, the database device 85 selects, for example, image information that has the shortest distance set in this vector space from image information that holds the vector value of the received image feature quantity. The image information is transmitted to the document search device 80. Since such an image search technique is well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a screen that displays image information searched by the document search device 80 according to the eighth embodiment. The area dividing unit 11 analyzes the photographic images 2211 and 2212 as divided areas based on the image information from the screen 2210 on the left side on which information read by the scanner 1 is displayed, and the search unit 83 is an image feature amount of the photographic images 2211 and 2212. Is calculated. The calculated image feature amount is a vector value.

  The image having the shortest distance from the image feature amount vector to be searched is selected by the image search function of the database device 85 and transmitted as search image information. The screen 2220 on the right side displayed on the monitor 15b is displayed by the display control unit 84 after receiving information transmitted from the database device 85 through image search.

  With this configuration, the image feature amount is automatically acquired from the original image read by the scanner, the image is searched on the network based on the feature amount of the image information, the searched image information is downloaded, and the image is displayed. can do. That is, according to the document search apparatus according to the eighth embodiment, it is possible to acquire related image information from the network only by reading an image.

  In this case, it is desirable that the display control unit 84 displays the image information input by the scanner and the image information acquired by the search of the search unit 83 on the monitor 15b in a manner in which they are arranged in parallel as already described. This is because the image search is performed by a large amount of uncertain elements such as feature amounts compared to the character search, so that the convenience of making the resulting image information visible in parallel is high. .

(Modification 3)
The document search apparatus according to the modified example 3 includes a plurality of search methods, and acquires and displays result information searched by the plurality of search methods. Here, the function and operation of each unit that executes a plurality of search methods will be described with reference to FIG. 21 described above.

  The search unit 83 searches the document information using the extracted keyword, and searches the image information using the image feature amount acquired by the image feature amount calculation unit 87. Further, the search unit 83 generates search command information that limits the range of document information to be searched when the database device 85 searches for document information.

  Here, the limited range is, for example, limiting the search target of character information to a range of newspaper articles, weekly journals, or information published on the general Web. The database device 85 receives the command information that limits the search target, and searches the document information within the limited search range. The image is searched by the image search method already described in the eighth embodiment.

  FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of an example in which a result of retrieval by the document retrieval device according to the third modification is displayed. The image read by the scanner is divided into regions on the left side and displayed in the same way as the examples described so far. Here, this screen is dragged and dropped by the operator onto the search screen 2320 on the right side.

  When the operator drags to the Web search screen 2321, information on the Web is searched and displayed when acquired. When dragged to the news search screen 2322, news article information is searched and displayed when acquired. When dragged to the image search screen 2323, the image information is searched and displayed when acquired. Since the display of each search result information is as described above, the illustration is omitted.

  Here, the operation unit display unit 15 accepts an operation of dragging and dropping the selected region to the displayed plurality of search methods, and the search unit 83 supports the plurality of search methods displayed on the monitor 15b. The search is started with a search method corresponding to the drag and drop operation to the area to be performed.

  Here, the search result based on the character information and the search result based on the image information can be displayed in parallel. As a result, the same search theme can be used for different attributes such as text and images by displaying the search results in parallel with the same content but with different attributes such as document information and image information. Can be displayed in contrast.

(9. Embodiment 9)
The document search apparatus according to the ninth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it is implemented as a personal computer (PC). In the case of a PC, for example, a printer driver is installed in the PC, information to be printed is displayed on the monitor screen, and settings are input to the divided areas displayed on the monitor screen, or settings are input using a mouse and a pointer. The keyword of the designated divided region is extracted, and a search is performed on the network using this keyword, and the obtained search result information is displayed.

  FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram of a PC according to the ninth embodiment. The PC 90 includes an input / output unit 96 that also serves as an input / output interface, a keyboard 95a1, a mouse 95a2, a monitor 95b, an HDD 7, and an image output 3. The image output unit 3 performs image output processing, has an interface function, and can connect various output devices. Here, as an example, it is assumed that a printer 6 ′ is connected to the image output 3. The same reference numerals in the figure have the same configurations as before. Hereinafter, the configuration of different codes will be mainly described.

  The PC 90 includes an area division unit 91, a keyword detection unit 92, a search unit 93, and a display control unit 94. The document search function executed by each of these units is executed by a CPU (not shown) of the PC that reads a document search program from the HDD 7 and develops it on a RAM (not shown).

  Here, the input / output unit 96 inputs data described in PDL (Page Description Language). In the PDL language, data is described by being classified into image data such as text, charts, and bitmaps. Therefore, the area dividing unit 91 can acquire attribute information of data such as text and images by reading the description in the PDL language in each area. Then, the area dividing unit 91 can divide into areas for each attribute by reading the attribute of the read information and the area for each attribute.

For example, as an example of PDL data:
72 72 moveto
/ Times-Bolditalic 24 selectfont
(Taro Yamada)
show
showpage
When the data is received, the display control unit 94 selects the Times bold italic font 24 from the position (72, 72) by the PDL language and reads that the display “Taro Yamada” is displayed. .

Or
newpath
144 72 moveto
144 432 lineto
stroke
showpage
When the data is received, the display control unit 94 reads that this character string is displayed by drawing a straight line from the position (144, 72) to the position (144, 432) using the PDL language.

  Therefore, when the area division function is executed by the PC, it is not necessary to execute the character recognition function by analyzing the attributes of each area from the image information as in the previous embodiments. When applied to a PC, by reading information described in the PDL language, area division for each attribute can be executed much more easily than in the previous embodiments.

  In this way, the display control unit 94 divides the data in the PDL language into regions for each reading attribute, and displays the divided data on the monitor 95b. With respect to the divided areas displayed on the monitor 95b, the operator can select and set the area and input a command via an input such as contact input from the keyboard 95a1, the mouse 95a2, or the monitor 95b.

  The keyword detection unit 92 detects the keyword, and the search unit 93 transmits the keyword and the search command to the database device 5 which is a database server via the network 4 to search, receives the search result, and receives the search result. The operation to be displayed on the monitor 95b is the same as that described in the first embodiment. The aspect in which the input information read in the PDL language and the information after the search are displayed in parallel are the same as those already described in the embodiment.

  When the search result information is displayed on the monitor 95b, when the image output unit 3 receives a print output command from the keyboard 95a1 or the like from the operator, the image output unit 3 performs an output process by the printer 6 'by the driver program, and the search information is displayed. Print out the displayed form. Alternatively, as described above, the electronic mail can be edited from the search result information while viewing the screen, and the edited electronic mail can be transmitted.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart for explaining a document search procedure according to the ninth embodiment. The area dividing unit 91 receives information in the PDL language and reads information attributes and areas in accordance with the description in the PDL language (step S201). Then, the area dividing unit 91 divides the information into areas according to the attributes based on the attributes and areas read in the PDL language (step S202). Since the subsequent procedure is the same as step S104 in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, when the PC according to the ninth embodiment receives the data in the PDL language, the PC reads the description in the PDL language, reads the attribute for each area, divides the area for each attribute, extracts the keyword from the character information, and searches. To do. Therefore, when information described in the PDL language is input, information related to the contents described in the manuscript can be easily obtained from a database device that exists abundantly on the network without requiring a complicated keyboard operation. Therefore, it is possible to provide a PC that can acquire information related to document contents in the form of an electronic medium by a simple operation.

  However, the information is not limited to information in the PDL language, and other forms of information, for example, information in a form that allows the application to read the attributes of the information and the description of the area, can be easily used by using this application. The area can be divided according to the attribute.

(10. Embodiment 10)
The cellular phone according to the tenth embodiment is a cellular phone having a CCD camera and a monitor for displaying information. The keyword is extracted from the image information photographed by the CCD camera and searched for information on the network. Received information is displayed on the monitor.

  FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone according to the tenth embodiment. The cellular phone 150 includes a CCD camera 151, an image processing unit 152, an area dividing unit 161, a keyword extracting unit 162, a search unit 163, a display control unit 164, a monitor 165 b, an operation unit 165 a, an input / output unit 166, and an antenna 153. .

  The captured image information captured by the CCD camera 151 is subjected to processing specific to image processing, such as digital conversion and gamma conversion, by the image processing unit 152, for example, as image information such as a bitmap image, via the input / output unit 166. It is received by the area dividing unit 161.

  The operation of the region dividing unit 161 to divide the received image information into characters and information other than characters is the same as the operation of dividing the region from the image by the imaging device, as described above, and further the keyword extracting unit 162. The same applies to the operation of extracting the keyword, the operation of the search unit 163 to search based on the keyword, and the operation of the display control unit 164 to receive the search result information and display it on the monitor 165b. Therefore, the description is omitted here.

  Here, since it is a mobile phone, the input / output unit 166 sends and receives information on the network via the antenna 153. The input / output unit 166 outputs audio information via an earphone, acquires audio information via a speaker, and receives, for example, CELP (Code Excited Linear Prediction) audio on a communication line via an antenna 153. Communicate by conversion.

  The mobile phone according to the tenth embodiment is convenient in that it can be photographed by the CCD camera 151 with this configuration, extract a keyword from the photographed image, search on the network 4, and display the search result on the monitor 165b. Will be expensive.

  Alternatively, the search unit 163 includes an image feature amount calculation function, and searches for the captured image by the database device 5 on the network, receives the searched image information, and displays the searched image. You can also.

(Hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus incorporating a document search device)
FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus including the document search apparatus according to the first embodiment. This image forming apparatus is configured as a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having multiple functions such as a fax machine and a scanner. As shown in the figure, this MFP has a configuration in which a controller 1210 and an engine unit 1260 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 1210 is a controller that controls inputs from the FCUI / F 1230 and the operation unit 1220 such as control of the entire MFP, image display control, various controls, image processing control, and document search control. The engine unit 1260 is an image processing engine or the like that can be connected to the PCI bus, and includes, for example, an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion for acquired image data.

  The controller 1210 includes a CPU 1211, a North Bridge (NB) 1213, a system memory (MEM-P) 1212, a South Bridge (SB) 1214, a local memory (MEM-C) 1217, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 1216 and a hard disk drive 1218, and the North Bridge 1213 and the ASIC 1216 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 1215. The MEM-P 1212 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1212 a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1212 b.

  The CPU 1211 performs overall control of the MFP, has a chip set including the NB 1213, the MEM-P 1212, and the SB 1214, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 1213 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 1211 to the MEM-P 1212, the SB 1214, and the AGP bus 1215, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 1212, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 1212 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, and the like, and includes a ROM 1212a and a RAM 1212b. The ROM 1212a is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 1212b is a writable and readable memory used as a memory for developing programs and data, an image drawing memory during image processing, and the like.

  The SB 1214 is a bridge for connecting the NB 1213 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 1214 is connected to the NB 1213 via a PCI bus, and an FCUI / F 1230 is also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 1216 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for multimedia information processing having hardware elements for multimedia information processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP bus 1215, the PCI bus, the HDD 1218, and the MEM-C 1217, respectively. .

  The ASIC 1216 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 1216, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 1217, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform rotation of image data by hardware logic or the like. A universal serial bus (USB) 1240 and an IEEE (the Institute of Electrical Engineers) 1394 interface 1250 are connected via a PCI bus between the access controller and the engine unit 1260.

  The MEM-C 1217 is a local memory used as a transmission image buffer and a code buffer, and the HDD 1218 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

  The AGP bus 1215 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed to speed up graphics processing. The AGP bus 1215 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 1212 with high throughput.

  The operation unit (touch panel) 1220 connected to the ASIC 1216 receives an operation input from the operator and transmits the operation input information received by the ASIC 1216.

  The document search program executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  A document search program executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment is a computer in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). The information may be provided by being recorded on a recording medium that can be read by the user.

  Further, the document search program executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. The image display program and the image forming program executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The document search program executed by the MFP according to the embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (region division unit 11, keyword extraction unit 12, search unit 13, display control unit 14, and the like). As the hardware, a CPU (processor) reads out and executes a document search program from the ROM, and the above-described units are loaded on the main storage device. The region dividing unit 11, the keyword extracting unit 12, the searching unit 13, and display control are performed. The unit 14 and the like are generated on the main storage device.

(Hardware configuration of PC that executes document search function)
FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a personal computer (PC) according to the ninth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 28, the PC according to the ninth embodiment includes a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2301, a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2302 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2303, and an HDD. (Hard Disk Drive), an external storage device 2304 such as a CD (Compact Disk) drive device, a display device 2305 such as a monitor, an input device 2306 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a communication I / F 2307, and a bus connecting them 2308, and has a hardware configuration using a normal computer.

  The document search program executed on the PC according to the ninth embodiment is an installable or executable file, and is a computer such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Recorded on a readable recording medium.

  Further, the document search program executed on the PC according to the ninth embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The document search program executed on the PC according to the ninth embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Further, the document search program according to the embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The document search program executed on the PC according to the ninth embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (region dividing unit 11, keyword extracting unit 12, search unit 13, display control unit 14 and the like). As the hardware of the CPU, a CPU (processor) reads out and executes an information extraction program from the storage medium, whereby the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device, and an area dividing unit 11, a keyword extracting unit 12, a searching unit 13, and A display control unit 14 and the like are generated on the main storage device.

  As described above, the present invention has been described as the image forming apparatus, the PC, and the mobile phone as the embodiment. However, the described embodiment or modification is an example for description, and the present invention is described here. It is not limited to the specific example.

  As described above, the information search apparatus, method, and program according to the present invention are useful for document search technology, and are particularly suitable for technology for acquiring digital information from non-digital information.

1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus including a document search apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an area dividing unit 11. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the attribute analysis part 11b. It is a functional block diagram of the character recognition part 11b2. 3 is a functional block diagram of a keyword extraction unit 12. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an operation display unit 15. It is a schematic diagram of an example which displayed input information and search result information on the monitor. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a document search procedure according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other apparatus which inputs information into a document search apparatus. 6 is a diagram illustrating an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus including the document search device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the document search apparatus 20 by Embodiment 2. FIG. It is the schematic diagram which displayed download information obtained by clicking URL of a search result screen. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a document search device according to Embodiment 3. It is a functional block diagram of the document search device 40 by Embodiment 4. In the document search apparatus by Embodiment 5, it is a schematic diagram of an example which displayed the extracted keyword with the toggle button. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a keyword handwriting input screen. It is a schematic diagram of an example in which the document search device according to the modification 2 displays a search result with a toggle button. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a document search device according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of displaying result information searched by the document search device according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of a document search device according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram for displaying an electronic mail generated by editing a search result in the document search device according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of a document search device according to an eighth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a screen that displays image information searched by the document search device 80 according to the eighth embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of an example which displays the result searched by the document search device by the modification 3. FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of a PC according to a ninth embodiment. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a document search procedure according to the ninth embodiment. FIG. 38 is a functional block diagram of a mobile phone according to a tenth embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus including a document search apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a personal computer (PC) according to a ninth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner 2 Image processing part 3 Image output part 4 Network 5 Database apparatus 10 Document search apparatus 11 Area division part 12 Keyword extraction part 13 Search part 14 Display control part 15 Operation display part 15a Operation part 15b Monitor

Claims (16)

A first screen for displaying input information input by the input unit and a second screen for displaying search designation or search results can be displayed, and an input operation by a user from the first screen or the second screen can be performed. Possible display input devices,
An area dividing unit that divides the input information into a plurality of areas of a character area and an image area based on attributes of information constituting the input information;
An extraction unit for extracting a search key for each divided region from the input information;
The divided area is displayed on the first screen, and the character area related to the image area is specified by moving the plurality of areas while touching a plurality of areas so as to pass through the image area of the first screen. A display input control unit for receiving an input to move to the second screen;
A search unit for searching for search target information via a network based on the search key included in the information of the area moved to the second screen,
The information search device, wherein the display input control unit displays the searched information to be searched in parallel with the image area . Before SL extraction unit as the search key from the text information divided the character regions, and extracts the keyword,
The information search device according to claim 1, wherein the search unit searches the search target information via a network based on the keyword included in the information of the area moved to the second screen. .   The information search apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display input control unit further displays instruction information that is a screen component for designating the extracted keyword on the first screen.   The search unit searches the search target information via a network based on the keyword specified by the instruction information when the instruction information is instructed by a user from the first screen. The information search device according to claim 3. When a plurality of the keywords are extracted, the display input control unit displays a plurality of instruction information that is a screen component for designating each of the extracted plurality of keywords on the first screen,
The search unit, when instructed by the user from the first screen, a plurality of the instruction information, via an or search or a search using a plurality of the keywords specified by the plurality of instruction information via the network The information search apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the search target information is searched.   The information according to claim 3, wherein the display input control unit further receives an input of a new keyword by a user and displays the received new keyword on the first screen as the instruction information. Search device. A character recognition unit for recognizing characters of the image;
The display input control unit accepts input of the new keyword by handwritten drawing by a user,
The information search apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the character recognition unit performs character recognition on the image by the handwritten drawing and outputs the image as the keyword. Before SL extraction unit as the search key from the image information of the divided the image area, it extracts the feature value of the image,
The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search unit searches the search target information via a network based on the feature amount of the image information of the area moved to the second screen. . The display input control unit further accepts selection and deselection of the area displayed on the first screen, and the display input is performed in a manner different from that before selection. Display on the device,
The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts the search key from information on the region for which selection has been accepted. The search unit is capable of searching by a plurality of search methods,
The display input unit displays the plurality of search methods on the display input device,
The display input control unit further accepts an input for moving the selected region to the displayed plurality of search methods,
The search unit, the information retrieval apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that searching for the search target information in the search method specified by the mobile.   The display input control unit receives an input for designating the area of the first screen and moving to the second screen by a touch input during the movement from the designation of the area to the second screen. The information search device according to claim 1.   2. The information according to claim 1, wherein the display input control unit accepts an input to move to the second screen by designating the area of the first screen by a drag-and-drop operation input by a pointing device. Search device.   The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input information is image information read by an image reading apparatus that scans a document and reads an image as the input unit.   The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input information is image information captured by an imaging apparatus that captures an image as the input unit. An information search method executed by an information search device,
The information search device is capable of displaying a first screen that displays input information input by an input unit and a second screen that displays search designation or search results, from the first screen or the second screen. Equipped with a display input device that can be input by the user,
A region dividing step in which the region dividing unit divides the input information into a plurality of regions of a character region and an image region based on attributes of information constituting the input information;
An extracting unit that extracts a search key in units of divided areas from the input information; and
The display input control unit displays the divided areas on the first screen, and moves characters while touching a plurality of areas so as to pass through the image areas of the first screen. A display input control step of accepting an input to move to the second screen by designating an area ;
A search step for searching for search target information via a network based on the search key included in the information of the area moved to the second screen ;
A display step the display input control unit, which the search target information search and display by parallel to the image area,
An information search method characterized by including : A program for causing a computer to execute,
The computer can display a first screen that displays input information input by the input unit and a second screen that displays search designation or search results, and a user from the first screen or the second screen. Equipped with a display input device that can be input by
A region dividing step of dividing the input information into a plurality of regions of a character region and an image region based on attributes of information constituting the input information;
An extraction unit for extracting a search key for each divided region from the input information;
The divided area is displayed on the first screen, and the character area related to the image area is specified by moving the plurality of areas while touching a plurality of areas so as to pass through the image area of the first screen. A display input control step for accepting an input to move to the second screen;
A search step of searching for search target information via a network based on the search key included in the information of the area moved to the second screen;
A display step of displaying the searched information to be searched in parallel with the image area;
Program for causing the computer to perform the.

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