JPH11272677A - Processor and method for document image processing and record medium where document image processing program is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the memory capacity needed to save a document image and to speedily and efficiently retrieve and display the document image. SOLUTION: When the document image is inputted from an image input part 101, a pixel discrimination part 102 and an image separation part 103 extracts features of pixels and separate the image into plural images by categories according to the features of the pixels. Then the respective separate images are shaped through an image shaping part 104 according to respective characteristics and an image storing part 105 registers the respective separate images in an image storage part 106 as image information regarding the document image. Consequently, the memory capacity needed to save the document image is reduced as compared with a system which saves one source image as it is. Further, an image display part 108 displays only the images separated by the categories according to the features of the pixels at the time of retrieval and display, so that the retrieval and display can be performed fast.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document image processing apparatus used in a document filing system or a document management system for storing, searching, and displaying document images, a document image processing method used in the same, and a document image processing method. The present invention relates to a recording medium on which a document image processing program is recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a document image filing system, a document as a document is fetched as image data, and the image data is stored for each sheet. Further, in this type of filing system, image data stored in a storage device such as a hard disk device is called, searched, and displayed for each image. Therefore, it takes time to call one piece of image data, which is very inefficient.

[0003] In order to solve such a problem, an image obtained by reducing the image data of a document (referred to as a thumbnail image) is stored separately from the original image, and these are displayed in a list. It is commonly used for searching.

[0004]

As described above, conventionally, a thumbnail image is prepared separately from an original image, and the thumbnail image is displayed in a list and used for a search. However, since the thumbnail image is a reduced image and is a reduced image of the entire original image, the content of each document on the display screen becomes very small,
There is a problem that it is difficult to search for a desired file.

Also, the original image contains various types of information such as a text portion such as a sentence, a modified portion such as shading, and a photograph portion, and these are collectively displayed as thumbnails. Takes time, and
There is a problem that the amount of data stored in a hard disk device or the like also increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to reduce a memory capacity required for storing a document image, and to search and display a document image at high speed and efficiently. It is an object of the present invention to provide a document image processing apparatus, a document image processing method, and a recording medium that stores a document image processing program.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems (1) Claim 1 of the present invention
Document image processing device according to the image input means for inputting a document image, and extracts the characteristics of the pixel from the document image input by the image input means,
Image separating means for separating the document image into a plurality of images for each category based on the characteristics of the extracted pixels, and shaping the plurality of separated images obtained by the image separating means according to the characteristics of each image And an image storage means for storing each separated image shaped by the image shaping means as image information relating to the document image.

According to this configuration, the input document image is separated into a plurality of images for each category according to the characteristics of the pixels in the input document image, and these separated images are shaped according to the characteristics of each image. Will be saved. In this way, the input image is separated, the separated image is shaped and stored, so that the memory capacity required for storing the document image is reduced as compared with the method of storing one original image as it is. Can be reduced.

(2) A document image processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is an image input means for inputting a document image, and extracts pixel characteristics from the document image input by the image input means, and extracts the pixel feature. Image separating means for separating the document image into a plurality of images for each category based on the characteristics of the obtained pixels, and an image for shaping the plurality of separated images obtained by the image separating means according to the characteristics of each image A shaping means, an image storage means for storing the separated images shaped by the image shaping means as image information relating to the document image, and a display target designated from among the separated images stored in the image storage means. Image display means for extracting and displaying the separated image.

According to such a configuration, the input document image is separated into a plurality of images for each category according to the characteristics of the pixels therein, and these separated images are shaped and stored according to the characteristics of the images, respectively. Is done. Then, when a separated image to be displayed is specified, the specified separated image is extracted and displayed on the screen. Therefore, when searching and displaying document images,
Searching and displaying can be performed at high speed by displaying only images separated for each category by using the characteristics of the pixels.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display order setting means for setting a display order of each of the separated images, wherein the image display means sets the image storage means in accordance with the display order set by the display order setting means. Is sequentially extracted and displayed from each of the separated images stored in.

According to such a configuration, the corresponding separated images are sequentially extracted from the separated images in accordance with a preset display order, and are displayed on the same screen. Therefore, if the setting is made so that the images that are important as the contents of the document are displayed sequentially, even if a large number of document images are registered, the user can quickly find the document image desired by the user.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a list display setting means for setting a type of a separated image to be displayed in a list.
The image display means, for each of a plurality of document images stored in the image storage means, sequentially sorts the corresponding separated image from among the separated images based on the type of the separated image set by the list display setting means. It is characterized by extracting, reducing, and displaying a list.

According to such a configuration, for each of a plurality of document images, the corresponding separated image is sequentially extracted from the separated images, reduced, and displayed in a list on the same screen. Therefore, high-speed display is possible by limiting the types of the separated images to be displayed and displaying the list, and the content can be grasped even if the size is small, so that a desired image can be easily found. it can.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment for separating and storing a document image into a plurality of images will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The present apparatus is realized by a computer which reads a program recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk and the operation of which is controlled by the program.

This apparatus is an image filing system having a function of separating and storing a document image into a plurality of images. As shown in FIG. 1, an image input unit 101, a pixel identification unit 102, and an image separation unit 103 , Image shaping unit 10
4, an image storage processing unit 105, an image storage unit 106, an image search unit 107, and an image display unit 108.

The image input unit 101 is a device for converting a document as a document into image data and inputting it using an input device such as a scanner or a digital camera. The document information converted into image data by the image input unit 101 is sent to the pixel identification unit 102 and the image separation unit 103.

The pixel identification unit 102 identifies the characteristics of each pixel by using the value of each pixel of the image data, and classifies the pixels into several categories. In this case, the pixel can be identified by simultaneously evaluating not only the value of the pixel but also the values of the pixels around the pixel.

The image separation unit 103 is configured to output the image input unit 1 based on the category identified by the pixel identification unit 102.
01 is separated into a plurality of images. This will be described later with reference to FIG.

The image shaping unit 104 shapes each of the images separated by the image separating unit 103 according to the characteristics of each image by using an averaging or noise removing method.
In this case, not all of the images separated by the image separation unit 103 are necessarily formed, and the shaping can be performed only on necessary images.

The image storage processing unit 105 includes the image shaping unit 10
Then, a process for storing each separated image after the shaping process in step 4 in the image storage unit 106 as image information relating to the document image is performed. In this case, data can be compressed and stored according to the characteristics of the image.

The image storage unit 106 is a device for storing document images separated into a plurality of images for each category, and generally uses a disk medium such as a hard disk device or a portable floppy disk device. .

The image search unit 107 searches for a document image stored in the image storage unit 106 according to information specified by a user such as a keyword or a file name.
Perform the calling process.

The image display unit 108 stores the document image called by the image search unit 107 in the image storage unit 10.
6, and is displayed on a display. For example, a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) is used.

Next, identification and separation processing of a document image will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of document image identification and separation processing performed by the image identification unit 102 and the image separation unit 103.

First, for each pixel of the document image input from the image input unit 101 (step A11),
In the pixel identification unit 102, density information and color information of the pixel,
Alternatively, the feature of the pixel is extracted from information on the pixels around the pixel (step A12). This feature may be one or more. For example, the density value of the target pixel,
It is assumed that the feature value of the density value difference between the adjacent pixels is measured.

Next, the input image is classified into several categories by using the measured feature amounts (step A1).
3). For example, a method of classifying the pixel into a category C1 of a pixel whose density value is larger than a preset threshold value and a category C2 of a pixel having a low density value can be adopted.

Finally, the document image is separated into a plurality of images by the image separation unit 103 based on the classified category (step A14). For example, each pixel of the document image separated into the categories C1 and C2 is divided into a separated image P1 formed by the pixels classified into the category C1 and a separated image P2 formed by the pixels classified into the category C2. Can be

As described above, one document image can be separated into a plurality of separated images. In addition,
In the method of identifying pixels based on the characteristics of each pixel, a method using the density value and the change of the target pixel and its neighboring pixels, or a feature such as color has been described as an example. , A region (a range in which the pixels are connected to each other) is extracted by the pixel, and an attribute is given to each region, so that one document image can be separated for each region. FIG. 3 shows a process using this method.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing for separating a document image in units of areas. First, similarly to the method shown in FIG. 2, for each pixel of the image input from the image input unit 101, the pixel discriminating unit 102 outputs density information or color information of the pixel or a pixel around the pixel. The feature of the pixel is extracted from the information of step (step B1).
1) Then, the input image is classified into several categories using the measured feature amounts (step B1).
2).

Next, a range in which pixels are connected to each other for each of the classified categories is extracted as one region (step B13). In this case, a plurality of regions extracted from the same category at the same time and having a small distance can be connected as one region, and the regions can be integrated.

With respect to the region thus extracted,
Measure features such as the size of the area and the distance to other areas,
The attribute of the area is extracted (step B14). Based on the result extracted for each area, each pixel of the input document image can be separated as a plurality of separated images (step B15).

By using the area information as described above, for example, when a document image as shown in FIG. 4 is input, a character text portion 11 such as a title, a sentence, and a line drawing is shaded. It is possible to classify the area of the input image into the modified part 12 having the modification described above and the photograph part 13 to which the photograph is pasted, and as a result, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C. Such three types of separated images can be obtained.

Each of these separated images has a regional characteristic. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, FIG. 5 (a) is a text / line drawing portion, which is a portion where the density value is large and the size of the region is relatively small, or a portion which is linearly continuous. FIG. 6B is a hatched portion, which is a portion waving above and below the density value of a neighboring pixel, and a portion having a relatively large area size. FIG. 3C shows a photograph portion, in which a portion having an intermediate density value is continuous in a relatively large range, and is connected to a portion having a high density value to extract one region. be able to.

Next, the shaping process of the separated image performed by the image shaping unit 104 will be described. After separating the input images, the image shaping section 104 performs image shaping processing on these separated images. In this case, a shaping method utilizing characteristics of the image can be selectively used.

For example, a separated image including pixels corresponding to characters and line drawings printed with black ink can be converted by binarization processing. This can reduce the size of this image,
Characters and line drawings on an image can be easily viewed. In addition, in the background portion, the shaping process can be performed in similar image units using color information or the like in this image. For example, if there is a hole in the extracted area, the hole is filled, or the entire average density value, or
The average color can be calculated, and the pixel value in the area can be replaced with the density and color. Thus, the capacity of the background image can be reduced.

Further, for example, the modified portion 12 shown in FIG.
For the separated image including, processing for filling the hole described above,
In addition to the shaping process for averaging the densities, it is possible to perform a noise removal process such as deleting a small area component. Thereby, a shaping result as shown in FIG. 6 can be obtained.

As described above, the input document image is separated into a plurality of images by using the characteristics of each pixel and its neighboring pixels, and these separated images are respectively shaped and stored in the image storage unit 106. deep. This makes it possible to reduce the memory capacity required for storing the document image, as compared with the conventional method of storing one original image as it is.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is characterized in that a document image separated and stored into a plurality of images is displayed.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
This apparatus is an image filing system having a function of separating a plurality of images and sequentially calling and displaying the stored document images. As shown in FIG. 7, an image input unit 101, a pixel identification unit 102, Separation unit 103, image shaping unit 104, image storage processing unit 105, image storage unit 10
6, an image search unit 107, an image display unit 108, a display order setting unit 109, and a list display setting unit 110.

The image input unit 101, the image identification unit 102, the image separation unit 103, the image shaping unit 104, the image storage processing unit 105, the image storage unit 106, and the image search unit 107
Is as described with reference to FIG. Therefore, here, the image display unit 108 and the display order setting unit 1
09, the list display setting unit 110 will be described.

The display order setting unit 109 includes the image separation unit 10
3 displays the document image separated by the image display unit 1
08 to set the order of display. The image display unit 108 displays the document image called by the image search unit 107 when displaying the document image.
A process of reading the separated image of the document image from the image storage unit 106 in accordance with the display order set in step 9 and displaying it on the display is performed.

The list display setting section 110 sets the type of a separated image to be displayed when a plurality of document images stored in the image storage section 106 are displayed as a list. In this case, the image display unit 108 performs a process of sequentially reading the separated images of each document image from the image storage unit 106 according to the type of the separated image set by the list display setting unit 110, reducing the size, and displaying a list on the display. Do.

This list display processing will be described later with reference to FIG. 10. First, processing for displaying a plurality of separated images separated from a document image in a preset display order will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of an image display process for displaying a plurality of separated images separated from a document image in a predetermined display order. First, the image display unit reads the display order of the document images from the display order setting unit 109 (step C).
11). As the setting of the display order, it is possible to perform the setting unified in the system by using the characteristics of the separated image.
The characteristics of the separated image are “color character image”, “character image”,
These are "line drawing image", "CG image", "photo image", "modification image", "background image", and here, it is assumed that the display order is set in this order in advance.

The image storage processing unit 105 applies a plurality of separated images obtained from one document image to
The separated images are stored in the image storage unit 106 with names that can be easily understood. For example, if the name of the document image is “sample”, “color character image”, “character image”, “line drawing image”, “CG image”,
“Photo image”, “modification image”, and “background image” are respectively “sample_c”, “sample_t”, “s
"sample_l", "sample_g", "sample
le_p "," sample_m "," sample_m "
b ”.

Here, when an instruction to call a document image is issued, the image search unit 107 sets the display order N of the separated images to be displayed to 1 (step C12), and sets the value of N according to a preset display order. Is read, all the separated images stored in the image storage unit 106 are read.

The display of each separated image at this time is performed as follows. That is, first, the image search unit 107 generates a file name of the separated image corresponding to the display order N, and reads the separated image (step C14). For example, for a document named "test",
When the display order is 1, a file name “test_c” is generated, and the image is read. If the file of the corresponding separated image exists in the image storage unit 106 and the reading is completed (Yes in step C15), the separated image is displayed on the display by the image display unit 108 (step C16). .

At this time, if an image having a higher display order is already displayed, the separated image is displayed so as to be superimposed on the display so that the previous display content is not erased.
If the corresponding separated image file does not exist in the image storage unit 106 and reading fails (step C15).
Yes), the display of the separated image is skipped, the display order N is incremented, and the process proceeds to a process of displaying the next separated image (step C17).

As described above, a plurality of separated images corresponding to the designated document image are sequentially displayed in a predetermined order. For example, in the case of the document image shown in FIG. 4, three types of separated images, “character image”, “modification image”, and “photo image”, as shown in FIGS. The image is stored in the image storage unit 106. Therefore, when the above-described display order is set, first, the separated image as the “character image” is read and displayed in the window on the display. As a result, an image including only characters as shown in FIG. 9A can be obtained as the first screen, and it is possible to quickly grasp the contents of the document or a part of the contents.

Next, the separated image as a "photo image" is read and displayed in the same window in an overlapping manner.
The display result is as shown in FIG. Finally, the separated image as the "modified image" is read and displayed in the same window in an overlapping manner. At this time, the image is displayed as shown in FIG.

As described above, at the time of retrieving and displaying document images, the images separated for each category are sequentially displayed according to the predetermined display order according to the characteristics of the pixels. It is possible to do. In this case, if a setting is made so that images that are important as the contents of the document are displayed in order, even if a large number of document images are registered, a document image desired by the user can be quickly found out of them.

In the above description, all the separated images are sequentially displayed. However, it is also possible to display only the separated images of the type specified by the user on the display as display targets.

If the separated images having specific characteristics are not set in the display order, the types of images to be displayed can be limited. Therefore, an efficient search can be performed by hiding, for example, an image unnecessary for the search such as a decoration portion or a background portion.

In a case where a plurality of filed document images are reduced and displayed in a list,
The type of the image to be displayed among the plurality of images stored separately is "character image" or "character image".
And "line drawing image"
The list display can be performed at high speed, and the list display can be realized so that the contents can be grasped even if the size is small. In the following, a process for displaying a list will be described.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of an image display process for reducing a plurality of filed document images and displaying them in a list. First, when the list is displayed, the type of the separation pixel to be displayed is set in the list display setting unit 110 (step D1).
1). This means that, as described above, the type (plurality) of separated pixels to be displayed, such as “character image” or “character image” and “line drawing image”, is designated and registered in the system. .

Here, when a document image list display is instructed, the image search unit 107 sets the image name of the registered separated image (step D13), and reads the separated image from the image storage unit 106. (Step D14).

Then, the image display unit 108 reduces the separated image read from the image storage unit 106 to a predetermined size (step D15), and displays it on the display (step D16). When a plurality of types of separated images are designated, the separated images are developed and superimposed one by one and reduced. Also, where the reduced image is to be arranged follows a preset list screen format. In the format of the list screen, the number of images that can be displayed on one screen and the arrangement thereof are defined.

As described above, for all the document images (all the registered files) stored in the image storage unit 106, the set separated images are sequentially reduced for each of the document images and displayed in a list. The image is developed at a predetermined position on the screen (step D12). In this case, if there are a large number of document images and the separated images obtained by reducing them are not fit on one screen, the remaining separated images are displayed on the next screen.

As described above, the type of the separated image to be displayed is limited to “character image” or “character image” and “line drawing image” among the plurality of images stored separately. By displaying the list, high-speed display is possible, and since the information is limited, the content can be grasped even if it is small, and a desired image can be easily found.

The method described in each of the above-described embodiments is, for example, a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM,
It is also possible to write the data on a recording medium such as a DVD or a semiconductor memory and apply it to various devices, or to transmit it via a communication medium and apply it to various devices. A computer that realizes the present apparatus reads the program recorded on the recording medium, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation of the program.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The document image is separated into a plurality of images for each category by using the characteristics of the pixels in it, and these separated images are shaped and saved, so that one original image can be saved as it is. The memory capacity required for storing the document image can be reduced as compared with the conventional method.

When searching and displaying a document image, a part of a plurality of separated images is displayed, or images that are important as the contents of a document are sequentially displayed, so that searching and displaying can be performed at high speed. Can be done.

Also, by displaying the list with the types of separated images to be displayed limited, high-speed display is possible.
In addition, the content can be grasped even if it is small, and a desired image can be easily found.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of image separation processing in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of image separation processing in units of areas in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a document image according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a separated image of a document image according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of shaping a separated image of a document image according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document image processing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of image display processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a display example of a document image in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of list display processing according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Image input device 102 ... Pixel identification part 103 ... Image separation part 104 ... Image shaping part 105 ... Image storage processing part 106 ... Image storage part 107 ... Image search part 108 ... Image display part 109 ... Display order setting part 110 ... List Display setting section 11: Character text section 12: Modification section 13: Photo section

Claims (8)

[Claims] An image input means for inputting a document image, and a feature of a pixel is extracted from the document image input by the image input means, and the document image is classified for each category based on the extracted feature of the pixel. Image separating means for separating the plurality of images into a plurality of images; image shaping means for shaping the plurality of separated images obtained by the image separating means according to the characteristics of each image; and each of the separated images shaped by the image shaping means And an image storage unit for storing the image information as image information relating to the document image. 2. An image input means for inputting a document image, extracting pixel characteristics from the document image input by the image input means, and dividing the document image for each category based on the extracted pixel characteristics. Image separating means for separating the plurality of images into a plurality of images; image shaping means for shaping the plurality of separated images obtained by the image separating means according to the characteristics of each image; and each of the separated images shaped by the image shaping means And image display means for extracting and displaying a separated image specified as a display target from among the separated images stored in the image storage means. A document image processing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. A display order setting means for setting a display order of each separated image, wherein the image display means stores each of the image data stored in the image storage means in accordance with the display order set by the display order setting means. 3. The document image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the corresponding separated images are sequentially extracted from the separated images and displayed. 4. A list display setting means for setting a type of a separated image to be displayed in a list, wherein the image display means sets the type of the separated image based on the type of the separated image set by the list display setting means. 3. The document image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein for each of the plurality of document images stored in the image storage means, a corresponding separated image is sequentially extracted from the separated images, reduced, and displayed in a list. 5. Extracting pixel characteristics from an input document image, separating the document image into a plurality of images for each category based on the extracted pixel characteristics, and dividing these separated images into images of each image. A document image processing method, comprising: performing a shaping process according to a characteristic; and registering each of the shaped separated images as image information on the document image in a storage device. 6. Extracting pixel characteristics from an input document image, separating the document image into a plurality of images for each category based on the extracted pixel characteristics, and separating these separated images from each image. After performing the shaping process according to the characteristics, each of the shaped separated images is registered in the storage device as image information regarding the document image, and designated as a display target from among the separated images registered in the image storage device. A document image processing method, wherein a separated image is extracted and displayed. 7. A recording medium storing a document image processing program for processing a document image, wherein pixel features are extracted from the input document image,
A procedure for separating the document image into a plurality of images for each category based on the characteristics of the extracted pixels; a procedure for shaping these separated images according to the characteristics of each image; A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure of registering an image as image information relating to the document image in a storage device. 8. A recording medium recording a document image processing program for processing a document image, wherein a pixel feature is extracted from an input document image,
A procedure for separating the document image into a plurality of images for each category based on the characteristics of the extracted pixels; a procedure for shaping these separated images in accordance with the characteristics of each image; A procedure for causing a computer to register an image in a storage device as image information relating to the document image, and a procedure for extracting and displaying a separated image designated as a display target from among the separated images registered in the image storage device A computer-readable recording medium on which a program to be executed is recorded.