JP6398779B2 - Image file generation device, image reading device, and control program for image file generation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image file generation device, an image reading device including the image file generation device, and a control program for the image file generation device.

  Conventionally, in this type of image file generation apparatus, an image file is generated using image data obtained by reading a reading target such as a document with a sensor such as a CCD. Note that the image data may include an information image such as a barcode or a QR code (registered trademark). In this case, for example, if image data including an information image is printed on a medium as described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to read information added to the information image by scanning the printed information image. It becomes.

JP 2006-27145 A

  However, in the above-described method, there is a problem that it takes troublesome operations such as printing of the information image and scanning of the printed information image in order to read the information added to the information image.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to facilitate access to information added to an information image when the information image is included in a reading target such as a document. An object of the present invention is to provide an image file generation device that generates an image file, an image reading device, and a control program for the image file generation device.

  An image file generation apparatus that solves the above-described problem is provided when an image of an information image to which predetermined information is added is included in image data of a basic image obtained by scanning a reading target. An image extraction unit for extracting data from image data of the basic image, an information acquisition unit for acquiring the predetermined information added to the information image from image data of the information image extracted by the image extraction unit, An image file generation unit that generates one or a plurality of image files including image data of a basic image and the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition unit.

  An image reading apparatus that solves the above problem includes an image acquisition unit that acquires image data of a basic image by scanning a reading target, and an image file that uses the image data of the basic image acquired by the image acquisition unit. And an image file generating device configured as described above.

  Also, an image file generation apparatus control program that solves the above-described problem is an image data of an information image in which predetermined information is added to image data of a basic image obtained by scanning an image file generation apparatus. Is included, image extraction processing for extracting image data of the information image from the image data of the basic image, and predetermined information added to the information image from the image data of the information image extracted by the image extraction processing And an image file generation process for generating one or a plurality of image files including image data of the basic image and the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition process.

  According to the above configuration, since the image file including the predetermined information added to the information image is generated, the predetermined image added to the information image without newly performing a scanning operation or the like on the generated image file. Can be read. That is, it is possible to generate an image file that allows easy access to information added to the information image.

  In the image file generation device, the image file generation unit generates image data of the information image extracted by the image extraction unit, and adds the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition unit to the generated image data. It is preferable that the image file is generated using image data of an information image embedded so as to be readable and embedded with the predetermined information.

According to the above configuration, the information added to the information image can be handled together with the image data of the information image.
In the image file generation device, the image file generation unit converts image data of the information image displaying the predetermined information on the condition that the information added to the information image is a hyperlink or a comment. It is preferable to generate the image file using image data superimposed on the image data.

  According to the above configuration, such an image file is generated only when the information added to the information image is suitable for generating an image file based on the superimposition of the image data. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of the image file accompanying the superimposition of the image data from being performed more frequently than necessary.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a scanner device. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of image file generation processing executed by the scanner device of the embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows an example of reading object. (A), (b) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the content of the information acquired from an information image (barcode). The schematic diagram which shows an example of the data content of the image file produced | generated using the information image which embedded the information of the hyperlink. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the data content of the image file produced | generated using the information image which embedded the information of the comment. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the data content of the link destination by a hyperlink.

Hereinafter, a configuration of a scanner device which is an example of an image reading device will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the scanner device 10 includes an image reading unit 13 that reads an image from a document 12 placed as a reading target on a reading surface 11 </ b> B of a glass plate 11 </ b> A constituting the document table 11. The image reading unit 13 is mounted on the carriage 14 and is movable along the reading surface 11B of the glass plate 11A based on driving of an electric motor 15 serving as a driving source.

  Specifically, the carriage 14 is disposed at a position opposite to the original 12 with respect to the glass plate 11 </ b> A, and is provided so as to be movable in the sub-scanning direction Y. The carriage 14 is connected to a timing belt 18 wound around a drive pulley 16 connected to a drive shaft of the electric motor 15 and a driven pulley 17 provided at the same height with respect to the drive pulley 16. Has been. Therefore, the carriage 14 can reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction Y as the electric motor 15 is driven and the timing belt 18 rotates forward or backward.

  Further, inside the carriage 14, a white light source 20 that irradiates light on the document 12 placed on the reading surface 11 </ b> B of the glass plate 11 </ b> A, a condensing lens 21 that collects light reflected from the document 12, and a collecting lens. An image sensor 22 is provided as an example of an image acquisition unit that receives light collected by the optical lens 21 and reads an image. A pair of white light sources 20 are provided, and light emitted from each of the white light sources 20 enters the original 12 at an angle of, for example, 45 degrees. Further, the image sensor 22 is disposed on the optical path of the reflected light reflected perpendicularly from the document 12 with the light receiving surface thereof being perpendicular to the reflected light. The condenser lens 21 has a function of collecting the light reflected from the document 12 and forming an image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 22. Note that the image sensor 22 of the present embodiment is a line sensor that extends long in the main scanning direction X orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction Y, and is arranged in a range over the entire region in the main scanning direction X of the reading surface 11B of the glass plate 11A. Has been. The image sensor 22 reads the entire image of the document 12 by moving in the sub-scanning direction Y together with the carriage 14 while reading the line-shaped region of the document 12 extending in the main scanning direction X.

  The scanner device 10 also includes a control unit 30 that controls the entire device. The control unit 30 executes predetermined processing such as white balance processing and gamma correction on the AFE 31 (analog front end) that converts the pixel signal output from the image sensor 22 into a digital signal, and the digital signal input from the AFE 31. And an image processing unit 32 for generating an image file.

  The image processing unit 32 extracts the outer edge of the information image from the image data of the basic image by performing a labeling process or a pattern recognition process on the image data of the basic image composed of the entire pixel signals of the document 12 input from the AFE 31. An image extracting unit 33 is provided. The image extraction unit 33 generates a pixel signal of an area surrounded by the outer edge of the extracted information image as image data of the information image. This information image means an image to which various kinds of information are added, such as a barcode or a QR code. Note that various types of information that can be added to an information image include a hyperlink that represents a network address of a document or an image, a comment that represents information on a character string in the document or the like.

  The image processing unit 32 performs image analysis processing on the image data of the information image extracted by the image extraction unit 33, thereby decoding and acquiring various types of information added to the information image. have. Then, the image processing unit 32 generates one or a plurality of image files through the image file generation unit 35 by combining the image data of the basic image and the information image and the various types of information acquired by the information acquisition unit 34. Note that the above-described image processing by the image processing unit 32 is performed based on control from the main controller 36 included in the control unit 30.

  The main controller 36 includes a CPU 37 (central processing unit), a control program 38 executed when the image processing unit 32 generates an image file, an image file 39 generated by the image processing unit 32 using the control program 38, and the like. A nonvolatile memory 40 for storing data and a RAM 41 for temporarily storing data, calculation results, and the like are provided.

  An I / F 43 (interface) that can be connected to an external device such as a PC 42 (personal computer) is connected to the main controller 36. Various signals such as an image reading instruction are input from the PC 42 via the I / F 43 to the main controller 36. The main controller 36 outputs an irradiation signal to the white light source 20, a drive signal to the electric motor 15, an image file data signal to the I / F 43, and the like.

  Next, as an example of the operation of the scanner device 10 according to the present embodiment, the generation process of the image file 39 that the control unit 30 reads and executes the control program 38 stored in the nonvolatile memory 40 of the main controller 36 will be described. A typical processing procedure will be described. The control unit 30 executes the processing shown in FIG. 2 on condition that an image reading instruction is input from the external device such as the PC 42 to the main controller 36 through the I / F 43.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, in step S10, the control unit 30 generates a scan image to be read as a basic image. In this case, the control unit 30 transmits a drive signal from the main controller 36 to the electric motor 15. The control unit 30 generates a basic image by inputting the pixel signal to be read output from the image sensor 22 to the image processing unit 32 through the AFE 31 while the carriage 14 is reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction Y. To do.

  Subsequently, in step S11, the image processing unit 32 performs image recognition processing on the entire basic image through labeling processing or pattern recognition processing on the image data of the basic image generated in the previous step S10.

  In step S12, the image processing unit 32 extracts image data of the information image from the image data of the basic image through the image extraction unit 33 as image extraction processing. As shown in the example of FIG. 3, when the delivery target is a home delivery slip 51 with a barcode 50, the barcode 50 as an example of the information image is generated from the image data of the basic image representing the whole home delivery slip 51. Image data is extracted.

  Subsequently, in step S13, the image processing unit 32 determines whether or not the image data of the information image can be extracted from the image data of the basic image. When the image processing unit 32 can extract the image data of the information image from the image data of the basic image (step S13 = YES), that is, when the information image is included in the basic image, the process proceeds to step S14. To do.

  In step S14, the image processing unit 32 generates the image data of the information image extracted in the previous step S12 as image data independent of the image data of the basic image. Further, as the information acquisition process, the image processing unit 32 performs an image analysis process on the image data of the generated information image through the information acquisition unit 34, and decodes and acquires information added to the information image.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4A, information on a hyperlink HL representing a predetermined network address is added to a barcode 50 which is an example of an information image, and information on the hyperlink HL is obtained by decoding the barcode 50. To be acquired. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, the information on the comment C representing a predetermined character string is added to the barcode 50 as an example of the information image. To be acquired.

  In step S15, the image processing unit 32 determines whether the information added to the information image is a hyperlink as in the example illustrated in FIG. When the information added to the information image is a hyperlink (step S15 = YES), the image processing unit 32 proceeds to step S16. In step S <b> 16, the image processing unit 32 generates an image representing information on the added hyperlink. This image is an image having the same number of pixels as the image data of the information image.

  On the other hand, when the information added to the information image is not a hyperlink (step S15 = NO), the image processing unit 32 moves the process to step S17. In step S17, the image processing unit 32 determines whether the information added to the information image is a comment as in the example illustrated in FIG. When the information added to the information image is a comment (step S17 = YES), the image processing unit 32 proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the image processing unit 32 generates an image representing the information of the added comment. This image is an image having the same number of pixels as the image data of the information image. On the other hand, when the information added to the information image is not a comment (step S17 = NO), the image processing unit 32 does not correspond to either the hyperlink or the comment. Sometimes, even if information is added to the information image, the process proceeds to step S19 without generating an image representing the information.

  In step S19, the image processing unit 32 determines whether or not all information images extracted in the previous step S12 have been analyzed. Then, when not analyzing all the information images (step S19 = NO), the image processing unit 32 changes the information image to be analyzed (step S20), and returns the processing to step S14. Steps S14 to S20 are repeated until the information image is analyzed. On the other hand, when all the information images have been analyzed (step S19 = YES), the image processing unit 32 proceeds to step S21.

  In step S21, the image processing unit 32 determines whether an image representing a hyperlink or a comment has been generated in step S16 or step S18. And when the image showing a hyperlink or a comment is produced | generated (step S21 = YES), the process transfers to step S22.

  Thereafter, in step S22, the image processing unit 32 generates an image file indicating image data obtained by superimposing an image representing a hyperlink or a comment on the basic image as an image file generation process through the image file generation unit 35. The image data generation process shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when an image representing a hyperlink or a comment has not been generated (step S21 = NO), the process proceeds to step S23. The image processing unit 32 is the same when the image data of the information image cannot be extracted from the image data of the basic image in the previous step S13 (step S13 = NO), that is, when the information image is not included in the basic image. Then, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the image processing unit 32 generates an image file indicating the image data of the basic image through the image file generation unit 35, and then ends the image data generation processing shown in FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, the portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 5 shows the image data of the information image 52A in which the information of the hyperlink HL is displayed so as to be readable. In the image data of the information image 52A, the bar code itself is hidden by overlapping the network address information represented by the hyperlink HL on the bar code. Then, as in the example shown in the figure, an image file is generated using image data obtained by superimposing the image data of the information image 52A on which the hyperlink HL is displayed on the position of the original information image in the image data of the basic image. Is done. If the image file generated in this way is used, for example, the network address of the web page of the package inquiry system shown in FIG. 7 can be displayed as a hyperlink HL so as to be readable. In this case, once the home delivery slip 51 is scanned, it is possible to access such a network address without performing a scanning operation of only the barcode 50 attached to the home delivery slip 51.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the portion surrounded by a broken line in the drawing shows the image data of the information image 52 </ b> B in which the information of the comment C is displayed in a readable manner. The image data of the information image 52B is displayed with the barcode itself hidden by overlapping the character string information represented by the comment C on the barcode. Then, as in the example shown in the figure, an image file is generated using image data in which the image data of the information image 52B on which the comment C is displayed is superimposed on the position of the original information image in the basic image. By using the image file generated in this way, the character string information of the slip number of the home delivery slip can be obtained from the basic image of the home delivery slip without performing the scanning operation of only the barcode 50 attached to the home delivery slip 51. It can be read out as data independent of image data. If the character string information of the slip number is used, for example, in the package inquiry system shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to automatically input the slip number input field A.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) An image file including information added to an information image is generated. Therefore, the information added to the information image can be read without newly performing a scanning operation or the like on the generated image file. That is, it is possible to generate an image file that allows easy access to information added to the information image.

  (2) Image data of an information image is extracted from image data of a basic image, information added to the information image is embedded in the extracted image data of the information image, and image data of the information image in which the information is embedded is embedded To generate an image file. Therefore, information added to the information image can be handled together with the image data of the information image.

  (3) On the condition that the information added to the information image is a hyperlink or a comment, an image file is generated using the image data obtained by superimposing the image data of the information image displaying the information on the image data of the basic image. doing. That is, such an image file is generated only when the information added to the information image is suitable for generating an image file based on the superimposition of the image data. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of the image file accompanying the superimposition of the image data from being performed more frequently than necessary.

In addition, the said embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms.
-In above-mentioned embodiment, even if the information added to the information image is information other than the hyperlink or the comment, the association according to the type of the information may be performed on the information image. Moreover, it does not respond | correspond to one of a hyperlink and a comment, You may link only when it is a hyperlink, or you may link only when it is a comment.

  In the above embodiment, the image file to be generated does not indicate image data in which an image representing information such as a hyperlink or a comment is superimposed on the basic image, but an information image associated with information such as a hyperlink or a comment. It may indicate image data superimposed on the basic image. In this case, the image data is a basic image at first glance, but when a selection is made by clicking the information image with a mouse, information such as hyperlinks and comments is read and the hyperlink destination is called. And comments can be displayed.

In the above embodiment, when an information image is included in the basic image, an image file using information added to the information image may be uniformly generated.
In the above embodiment, even if an image file is generated using image data in which an image representing information added to an information image is written in a position adjacent to the original information image in the image data of the basic image Good.

  In the above embodiment, an image file may be generated using image data in which an information image displaying added information is superimposed at a position different from the original information image in the basic image image data. .

  In the above embodiment, when an information image is included in the basic image, the image data including the information added to the information image is used without generating the image data of the information image as independent image data. An image file may be generated.

  In the above embodiment, the image reading apparatus is not limited to a scanning-dedicated scanner apparatus, and may be a multifunction machine or a camera equipped with functions other than scanning. For example, the printing apparatus may be configured to print out an image based on the generated image data. In addition, a FAX function may be provided, and the generated image data may be output by FAX transmission.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Scanner apparatus as an example of an image reading apparatus, 12 ... Document as an example of reading object, 22 ... Image sensor as an example of image reading part, 30 ... Control unit as an example of image file generation apparatus, 33 ... Image Extraction unit 34 ... Information acquisition unit 35 ... Image file generation unit 38 ... Control program 39 39 Image file 52A, 52B ... Information image C ... Comment as an example of predetermined information HL ... Predetermined information An example hyperlink.

Claims (5)

When the image data of the basic image obtained by scanning the reading target includes the image data of the information image to which the predetermined information is added, the image data of the information image is extracted from the image data of the basic image. An image extraction unit;
An information acquisition unit for acquiring the predetermined information added to the information image from the image data of the information image extracted by the image extraction unit;
And an image file generation unit for generating one or more image files including the image data obtained by superimposing the image representing the predetermined information by the information acquiring unit and the basic alphabet image is acquired,
The image file generation unit generates the image file so that an image representing the predetermined information is displayed . The image file generation device according to claim 1, wherein the image file generation unit generates the image file so that the information image is hidden and displayed by an image representing the predetermined information . The image file generation device according to claim 1 , wherein the image file generation unit generates the image file so that an image representing the predetermined information and the information image are displayed together . An image acquisition unit that acquires image data of a basic image by scanning a reading target;
An image reading device comprising: the image file generation device according to claim 1, wherein the image file is generated using image data of the basic image acquired by the image acquisition unit. In the image file generator,
When the image data of the basic image obtained by scanning the reading target includes the image data of the information image to which the predetermined information is added, the image data of the information image is extracted from the image data of the basic image. Image extraction processing,
An information acquisition process for acquiring predetermined information added to the information image from the image data of the information image extracted by the image extraction process;
To execute an image file generation processing for generating one or more image files including the image data obtained by superimposing the image representing the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition process and the basic alphabet image,
In the image file generation process, a control program for an image file generation apparatus that generates the image file so that an image representing the predetermined information is displayed .

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