JP6825491B2 - Image processing equipment and image forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing device and an image forming device for processing a manuscript image including a text area composed of a character string and an image area consisting of a photograph or a graphic, and particularly relates to a technique for correcting an inclination of the image area.

In this type of image forming apparatus, the original is read by the image reading unit, image data indicating the original image is generated, and the original is stored in the image memory. In addition, the image data in the image memory may be used to create a re-editable document in a format used by document software, spreadsheet software, and presentation software. In this case, the image data is subjected to layout analysis processing to determine the text area, image area, etc. in the original image, and the area is clipped and pasted on the document for each area. At the time of this pasting, in order to eliminate the influence of the inclination of the original original image, the inclination of the image area is detected, the inclination of the image area is corrected, and then the image area is pasted.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of originals placed on a platen are read, edges of each original are detected, and each original is clipped based on the edges of each original to make the inclinations of these originals uniform. There is.

JP-A-2002-010059

However, there are various types of manuscript images, and the size and number of text areas, image areas, etc. in the manuscript image vary. For this reason, when the size of the image area is large, the free space of the image memory that can be used for correcting the inclination of the image area is insufficient, which may lead to a decrease in performance. In addition, when the number of image areas is large, it is necessary to repeatedly correct the inclination of the image areas, which causes a decrease in performance.

In Patent Document 1, although the inclination of each manuscript is aligned, the inclination of the image area included in the manuscript is not corrected, and there is a description of such a problem caused by insufficient free space of the image memory. Absent.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to efficiently correct the inclination according to the free space of the image memory that can be used for correcting the inclination of the image area. ..

The image processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention performs layout analysis processing on an image memory for storing image data indicating an original image and the image data in the image memory, and a plurality of image areas in the original image. determines a layout analysis section for detecting an inclination of the plurality of image areas, a first used capacity of the image memory used for the tilt correction process is one first image area of the plurality of image areas And the free space of the image memory, and when the first used capacity is larger than the free space, the first image area is cut out from the original image and the first image area is divided. The first image area is divided into a plurality of divided areas so that the second used capacity of the image memory used for the tilt correction process of the divided area obtained in 1 is equal to or less than the free capacity, and each divided area is divided into a plurality of divided areas. using the free space, the divided region subjected to inclination correction processing, also the case first use capacity is less than the free space, the other of the at least the first image area and the plurality of image areas obtains a rectangular area capable of performing tilt correction by using the include and the free space which is one second image area cut out the rectangular region from the original image, using the free space, the rectangular It includes a tilt correction unit that performs tilt correction processing on the rectangular region without dividing the region, and a composite unit that synthesizes the divided regions to which the tilt correction processing has been performed to reproduce the first image region. It is a thing.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes the above-mentioned image processing apparatus according to the present invention, an image reading unit that reads an original image and generates image data indicating the original image, and the image processing apparatus. It is provided with a layout analysis unit, an inclination correction unit, and an image forming unit for printing the original image processed by the compositing unit on recording paper.

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently correct the inclination according to the free space of the image memory that can be used for correcting the inclination of the image area.

It is sectional drawing which shows the image forming apparatus to which one Embodiment of the image processing apparatus of this invention was applied. It is a block diagram which shows the main internal structure of the image forming apparatus to which one Embodiment of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure for determining the image area and the text area in the original image, correcting the inclination of the image area, and generating the document corresponding to the original image. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure following FIG. 3A. FIGS. (A) to (D) are diagrams illustrating a procedure for dividing an image area into a plurality of divided areas and performing tilt correction processing on the divided areas for each divided area. (A) to (D) are diagrams illustrating a procedure for performing tilt correction processing on an image region and a rectangular region including at least one other image region. (A) is a diagram showing a document to which each image area whose inclination has been corrected is pasted, and (B) is a diagram showing a document to which each image area and each text area are pasted.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus to which one embodiment of the image processing apparatus of the present invention is applied. The image forming apparatus 10 is an MFP (multifunction device) having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 11 and an image forming unit 12.

The image reading unit 11 has a scanner that optically reads the original image, and converts the analog signal output from the image sensor of the scanner into a digital signal to generate image data indicating the original image.

The image forming unit 12 prints an image indicated by the image data generated by the image reading unit 11 or the image data received from the outside on the recording paper, and is used to print the image forming unit 3M for magenta and the image forming for cyan. It includes a unit 3C, an image forming unit 3Y for yellow, and an image forming unit 3Bk for black. In each of the image forming units 3M, 3C, 3Y, and 3Bk, the surface of the photoconductor drum 4 is uniformly charged, the surface of the photoconductor drum 4 is exposed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 4. Is formed, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 4 is developed into a toner image, and the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 4 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. As a result, a color toner image (image) is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. The toner image of this color is secondarily transferred to the recording paper P conveyed from the paper feed unit 7 through the transfer path 8 in the nip area N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the secondary transfer roller 6.

After that, the recording paper P is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 15, the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression bonding, and the recording paper P is further discharged to the discharge tray 17 through the discharge roller pair 16.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a main internal configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 to which one embodiment of the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 31, a display unit 32, an operation unit 34, a touch panel 35, a storage unit 38, an image memory 39, an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, and the like. .. These components are capable of transmitting and receiving data or signals through the bus to each other.

The display unit 32 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Mode) display, and the like.

The operation unit 34 includes, for example, an arrow key for moving the focus in the GUI displayed on the display unit 32, a decision key for performing a confirmation operation on the GUI, a start key, and the like.

A touch panel 35 is superimposed on the screen of the display unit 32. The touch panel 35 is a touch panel of a so-called resistive film method or a capacitance method, and detects contact (touch) of a user's finger or the like with respect to the touch panel 35 together with the contact position with respect to a GUI or the like on the screen of the display unit 32. Enter the user's instructions.

The storage unit 38 is composed of a large-capacity SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like, and stores various data and programs.

The image memory 39 includes an input image memory 39A, an intermediate image memory 39B, and an output image memory 39C. The input image memory 39A temporarily stores image data indicating the original image read by the image reading unit 11 and image data received from the outside. Further, the intermediate image memory 39B is used as a work area of the image processing unit 44 in the control unit 31. The output image memory 39C stores the image data processed by the image processing unit 44. Here, the input image memory 39A, the intermediate image memory 39B, and the output image memory 39C are shown individually, but a single memory is also used as the input image memory 39A, the intermediate image memory 39B, and the output image memory 39C. It may be configured.

The control unit 31 is composed of a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU, ASIC, or the like. The control unit 31 includes a main control unit 41, a display control unit 42, and an image processing unit 44, and a program in which these components are stored in the ROM or the storage unit 38 is described in the processor. It works by being executed, or each consists of a hard circuit. Further, the layout analysis unit 45, the inclination correction unit 46, and the composition unit 47 in the image processing unit 44 correspond to the “layout analysis unit”, the “tilt correction unit”, and the “composite unit” within the scope of the claims.

The main control unit 41 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 10. The display control unit 42 controls the display unit 32 to display the GUI or various kinds of information on the display unit 32.

The image processing unit 44 performs various image processing on the image data in the image memory 39.

In the image forming apparatus 10 having such a configuration, for example, when the user operates the operation unit 34 and the touch panel 35 to select a copy function and instruct the execution of a job using this copy function, the main control unit 41 moves. The image reading unit 11 reads the original image, the image data indicating the original image is temporarily stored in the input image memory 39A, the image data is input to the image forming unit 12, and the original image is input from the image forming unit 12. Is printed on the chart paper. Similarly, for the facsimile communication function, the printer function, and the scanner function, image data indicating an image is temporarily stored in the input image memory 39A, the image data is input to the image forming unit 12, and the image is formed by the image forming unit 12. Can be printed on recording paper.

Further, when the user operates the operation unit 34 and the touch panel 35 to instruct to generate a document corresponding to the manuscript image (for example, a document for a word processor, a spreadsheet software, or a presentation software; the same applies hereinafter), The image processing unit 44 uses the intermediate image memory 39B to process image data indicating the original image in the input image memory 39A, and generates a document in the output image memory 39C. The generation of this document is performed by the layout analysis unit 45, the inclination correction unit 46, and the composition unit 47 in the image processing unit 44.

The layout analysis unit 45 performs a well-known layout analysis process on the image data in the input image memory 39A, determines an image area, a text area, and the like in the original image, and detects the inclination of the image area. The image area consists of photographs and figures, and the text area consists of character strings.

The tilt correction unit 46 obtains the free space of the intermediate image memory 39B, divides a large-sized image area into a plurality of divided areas, and uses the free space for each divided area to perform tilt correction processing on the divided areas. Also, a rectangular area including a small-sized image area and at least one other image area is cut out, and the free space is used to perform tilt correction processing on the rectangular area or to correct the tilt of a single image area. ..

The compositing unit 47 synthesizes each of the divided regions whose inclination has been corrected, and reproduces the image region.

Further, the image processing unit 44 characterizes each character image included in the text area by, for example, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing, and recognizes the characters. Then, the image processing unit 44 edits the image area, the text area composed of the characterized characters, and the like to generate a document in the output image memory 39C.

Next, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B show the processing procedure for determining the image area and the text area in such a manuscript image, correcting the inclination of the image area, and generating the document corresponding to the manuscript image. It will be explained with reference to.

The user sets the document in the image reading unit 11 and operates the operation unit 34 to instruct the reading of the document and the generation of the document (S101). The main control unit 41 activates the image reading unit 11 in response to an instruction to read the document. The image reading unit 11 reads the original and generates image data indicating the original image. This image data is stored in the input image memory 39A (S102).

Further, the main control unit 41 starts the processing by the image processing unit 44 in response to the instruction for generating the document in S101. In the image processing unit 44, the layout analysis unit 45 first performs a known layout analysis process on the image data in the input image memory 39A to determine an image area and a text area in the original image (S103). At this time, if a plurality of image areas or text areas are included in the original image, the layout analysis unit 45 determines that all of them are image areas or text areas. Then, since the original image may be tilted, the layout analysis unit 45 detects the tilt angle of the original image as the tilt angle of the image region by a known technique (S104).

Subsequently, the tilt correction unit 46 obtains the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B at this time (S105). For example, when generating a document corresponding to a manuscript image, since the intermediate image memory 39B is used for various processes on the image data, the rest of the intermediate image memory 39B for areas other than those used for these processes. The capacity is calculated as the free space EY.

Further, the tilt correction unit 46 obtains the used capacity NY of the intermediate image memory 39B required for the tilt correction process for correcting the tilt of the image area determined by the layout analysis unit 45 (S106). For example, at least a capacity equal to or larger than the capacity of the intermediate image memory 39B occupied by the image area subject to the tilt correction process (hereinafter referred to as the image area to be corrected) is defined as the used capacity NY.

Then, the tilt correction unit 46 compares the free capacity EY and the used capacity NY, and determines whether the used capacity NY is larger than the free capacity EY (S107) and whether the used capacity NY is equal to the free capacity EY (S107). S108) is determined. In S108, when the tilt correction unit 46 has a used capacity NY = free capacity EY, or (free capacity EY-specified amount α) <used capacity NY ≤ free capacity EY, the used capacity NY is free. It may be determined that it is equal to the capacity EY.

For example, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the used capacity NY is larger than the free capacity EY (S107 “Yes”), the image area to be corrected is cut out from the original image, and the image area to be corrected is divided into a plurality of divided areas. The divided area is divided into two parts, and the divided area is subjected to the inclination correction process by using the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B for each divided area (S109). Then, the compositing unit 47 synthesizes each of the divided regions whose inclinations have been corrected (S110), and stores the combined image region to be corrected as a part of the document in the output image memory 39C (S111). .. As a result, the combined image area to be corrected is clipped as a part of the document.

4 (A) to 4 (D) conceptually show the processing in each of S109 to S111. Here, as shown in FIG. 4A, the original image MG is tilted, and in order to perform the tilt correction process for correcting the tilt of the image area GS1 in the original image MG, the capacity NY of the intermediate image memory 39B is used. When the used capacity NY is larger than the free capacity EY of the intermediate image memory 39B, the tilt correction unit 46 divides the image area GS1 into a plurality of divided areas BS as shown in FIG. 4 (B). To divide.

At this time, the inclination correction unit 46 divides the image area GS1 so that the capacity of the intermediate image memory 39B required for the inclination correction process for correcting the inclination of the division area BS is equal to or less than the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B. The image area GS1 is obtained and divided by the number of divisions.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the inclination correction unit 46 uses the free space of the intermediate image memory 39B for each division area BS to set the inclination angle of the division area (equal to the inclination angle of the image area GS1). The division region BS is rotated so that it becomes 0, and the inclination of the division region BS is corrected. After that, the compositing unit 47 synthesizes each divided region BS whose inclination is corrected as shown in FIG. 4D, and outputs the image region GS1 whose inclination is corrected as a part of the document DK. Remember in.

Further, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the used capacity NY is equal to the free capacity EY (S108 “Yes”), the tilt correction unit 46 cuts out the image area to be corrected from the original image, and uses the free capacity EY of the intermediate image memory 39B. Without dividing the image area to be corrected, the image area is subjected to the tilt correction process (S112), and the tilt-corrected image area is stored in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document (S113). As a result, the tilt-corrected image area is clipped as part of the document.

Further, the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the used capacity NY is not larger than the free capacity EY (S107 “No”), and determines that the used capacity NY is not equal to the free capacity EY (S108 “No”). Since the used capacity NY is smaller than the free capacity EY (S114), the presence or absence of at least one other image area excluding the image area to be corrected is determined (S115), and it is determined that there is no other image area. (S115 “None”), the image area to be corrected was cut out from the original image, and the image area to be corrected was subjected to tilt correction processing (S112) using the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B to correct the tilt. The image area is stored in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document (S113). As a result, the tilt-corrected image area is clipped as part of the document.

Further, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that there is at least one other image area other than the image area to be corrected (S115 “Yes”), the tilt correction process is performed using the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B. The size of the rectangular area in the original image that can be corrected is obtained (S116), and it is determined whether or not the image area to be corrected and at least one other image area are included in the rectangular area of the size in the original image (S117). ).

Then, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the image area to be corrected and at least one other image area are not included in the rectangular area (S117 “No”), the image area to be corrected is cut out from the original image, and an intermediate image is obtained. The free space EY of the memory 39B is used to perform tilt correction processing on the image area to be corrected (S112), and the tilt-corrected image area is stored in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document (S113).

Further, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the image region to be corrected and at least one other image region are included in the rectangular region (S117 “Yes”), the tilt correction unit 46 obtains the first time T1 required for the tilt correction processing of the rectangular region. At the same time, the second time T2, which is the total time required when the tilt correction processing is individually applied to the image area to be corrected and at least one other image area included in the rectangular area, is obtained (S118). It is determined whether or not the first time T1 is equal to or less than the second time T2 (S119).

Then, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the first time T1 is longer than the second time T2 (S119 “No”), the tilt correction unit 46 clips the image area to be corrected from the original image, and the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B. Is used to perform tilt correction processing on the image area to be corrected (S112). Then, the tilt correction unit 46 stores the tilt-corrected image area in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document (S113). As a result, the tilt-corrected image area is clipped as part of the document.

Further, when the tilt correction unit 46 determines that the first time T1 is equal to or less than the second time T2 (S119 "Yes"), the rectangular area is cut out from the original image, and the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B is used. An inclination correction process is performed on the rectangular area (S120), and the image area to be corrected and at least one other image area in the rectangular area are stored in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document (S121). This causes the tilt-corrected rectangular area to be clipped as part of the document.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the tilt correction unit 46 extends the image to be corrected to the rectangular region RS capable of performing the tilt correction processing using the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B. The region GS2 and the three other image regions GS3 to 5 can be included, and the first time T1 required for the tilt correction processing of the rectangular region RS is the image region GS2 and the three other image regions to be corrected. When the second time T2 or less required when the inclination correction processing is individually applied to the GSs 3 to 5, the rectangular area RS is cut out from the original image MG, and the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B is used. As shown in FIG. 5C, the rectangular region RS is rotated so that the tilt angle of the image region GS2 to be corrected becomes 0, and the image region GS2 to be corrected and the three other image regions GS3 to 5 are rotated. The inclination is corrected, and as shown in FIG. 5D, the corrected image area GS2 and the three other image areas GS3 to 5 to be corrected are stored in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document DK. ..

After that, the tilt correction unit 46 determines whether or not all of the image regions determined by the layout analysis unit 45 have been subjected to the tilt correction processing, that is, the presence or absence of the image region that has not been subjected to the tilt correction processing. (S122) If there is an image area that has not undergone the tilt correction process (S122 “Yes”), the process from S104 is repeated. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, all the image areas GS1 to GS6 are arranged in the document DK.

Further, if there is no image region that has not been subjected to the tilt correction process (S122 “None”), the tilt correction unit 46 ends the tilt correction process. Then, the image processing unit 44 characterizes each character image included in the text area and recognizes the characters for each text area determined by the layout analysis unit 45. The tilt correction unit 46 also performs necessary tilt correction processing on each of the text areas, as in the case of the image area. Then, the image processing unit 44 stores each text area composed of the characterized characters in the output image memory 39C as a part of the document (S123). As a result, each text area TS is arranged in the document DK as shown in FIG. 6 (B). As a result, the process of clipping the image area and the text area of the original image as a part of the document is completed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the used capacity NY of the intermediate image memory 39B required for the tilt correction processing of the image area is larger than the free space EY of the intermediate image memory 39B, the image area is divided into a plurality of divided areas. , For each divided area, the free space EY is used to perform the tilt correction processing on the divided area, and when the used capacity NY required for the tilt correction processing of the image area is smaller than the free space EY, the free space EY is used. Since the image area and at least one other image area are included in the rectangular area to which the tilt correction processing can be performed and the tilt correction processing is performed on this rectangular area, the image area can be set according to the free space EY. Tilt correction can be performed efficiently.

In the above embodiment, the layout analysis unit 45 detects the inclination of the original image and sets the inclination of the original image as the inclination of the image area. However, the inclination of the image area may be detected by another method. ..

Further, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus of the above embodiment, and the present invention can be applied to a copier, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, and the like.

Further, the configuration and processing of the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the configuration and processing.

10 Image forming device 11 Image reading unit 12 Image forming unit 31 Control unit 32 Display unit 34 Operation unit 35 Touch panel 38 Storage unit 39 Image memory 39A Input image memory 39B Intermediate image memory 39C Output image memory 41 Main control unit 42 Display control unit 44 Image processing unit 45 Layout analysis unit 46 Tilt correction unit 47 Composite unit

Claims (4)

An image memory that stores image data indicating the original image and
A layout analysis unit that performs layout analysis processing on the image data in the image memory, determines a plurality of image areas in the original image, and detects the inclination of the plurality of image areas.
The first used capacity of the image memory used for the tilt correction processing of the first image area, which is one of the plurality of image areas, is compared with the free capacity of the image memory, and the first used capacity is determined. When it is larger than the free space, the first image area is cut out from the original image, and the first image area is divided to obtain a second use of the image memory used for tilt correction processing of the divided area. The first image area is divided into a plurality of divided areas so that the capacity is equal to or less than the free capacity, and the divided areas are subjected to tilt correction processing by using the free capacity for each divided area. When the first used capacity is smaller than the free space, at least the first image area and the second image area which is another one of the plurality of image areas are included, and the free space is used for tilt correction. A tilt correction unit that obtains a rectangular area that can be processed, cuts out the rectangular area from the original image, and uses the free space to perform tilt correction processing on the rectangular area without dividing the rectangular area. ,
An image processing apparatus including a compositing unit that synthesizes each of the divided regions subjected to the tilt correction processing and reproduces the first image region. The tilt correction unit obtains a rectangular region that includes at least the first image region and the second image region and can perform tilt correction processing using the free space, and obtains the rectangular region from the original image. When the first time required for cutting out and performing the tilt correction processing of the rectangular region is at least the second time required to individually perform the tilt correction processing on the first image region and the second image region, Using the free space, the rectangular area is subjected to the tilt correction process without dividing the rectangular area, and when the first time is longer than the second time, at least the free space is used. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first image region and the second image region are individually subjected to tilt correction processing. A claim that the tilt correction unit performs tilt correction processing on the first image area using the free capacity without dividing the first image area when the first used capacity is equal to the free capacity. 1 or the image processing apparatus according to claim 2. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
An image reader that reads the original image and generates image data indicating the original image,
An image forming apparatus including a layout analysis unit, an inclination correction unit, and an image forming unit for printing the original image processed by the compositing unit on recording paper.