JPS62137661A - Electronic filing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an operator's work by omitting confirmation with a display device and keyboard operation by registering tilting data added to the blank part of an original by printing or handwriting automatically together with picture image information. CONSTITUTION:Tilting data are added in the blank part of an original 21 by printing or handwriting. When the original 21 is inserted to a scanner 12, tilting data are read by an OCR 16, and registered in the optical disk of a filing device 13. When a switch S1 is energized by the tip of the original 21, the OCR 16 is de-energized. When the original 21 advances further, and a switch S2 is energized, an image sensor 17 is energized, and picture image information is read, and registered in the optical disk of the filing device 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic filing device for electronically filing image information such as characters or figures.

[Prior Art] With the remarkable increase in the amount of information in companies and offices, in recent years, devices that file information electronically instead of paper-based information files, such as electronic file devices that use optical disks as recording media, have attracted attention. has been done. As shown in FIG. 2, a typical example of this device is shown in FIG. A scanner 2 that converts the image signal into an electrical signal using an image sensor such as (i-load coupling element), an optical disk drive 3 that can write the image signal output from the scanner 2 onto a recording medium such as an optical disk or a magneto-optical disk, and read it from the recording medium. A display device 4 that visualizes and displays the image signal output from the scanner 2 or optical disk drive 3, a printer 5 that creates a hard copy based on the image signal, and a keyboard 6 that is connected to the controller 1 and gives commands to the system. including.

Conventionally, in such a system, when desired image information is registered, the image information to be registered is first inputted using the scanner 2, and the information is temporarily registered on a buffer memory built in the controller 1. Next, while checking the information on the display device 4, search information such as the title of the information (hereinafter referred to as titling data) is entered into the controller via the keyboard 6 or a floppy disk (not shown), and then the book is written on the optical disk. register.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional apparatus as described above, inputted image information must be displayed each time and keyboard operations must be performed, making the operator's work complicated. .

To solve this problem, a system called bulk registration has been developed. Such a system first performs the task of creating the titling data all at once, then scans the desired image information, and continuously writes the information directly onto the optical disc while checking the information on the display device. , multiple filings can be done faster than in the previous system, and work efficiency is improved to some extent. However, even in such a system, keyboard operations for confirming information on the display device and inputting titling data are required tasks, and the complexity for the operator has not been improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems with the conventional devices described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic file device that reduces the work process for an operator and is easy to operate.

[Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the file device according to the present invention has an OCR (optical character recognition device) in addition to the image reading device in the conventional device.
In addition to the image information to be registered, title data is added to the margins of the manuscript by printing or handwriting, and this is captured by the recognition device and is incorporated into the controller or connected to it. It consists of means for registering on a magnetic disk. In some cases, the information may also be registered on the optical disk for maintenance purposes.

Adding the titling data to the margin is done by adding characters,
This is done in a form that humans can visually confirm, such as graphics (including I!Ki ink), barcodes, bunch codes, etc., and the pattern recognition device is not limited to OCR, but is capable of detecting and recognizing the data. In a broad sense, it includes systems that can be used. Furthermore, "joining" is not limited to directly printing or inscribing the blank space, but also includes pasting a label or the like on which a code is printed in advance.

[Function] By this means, the titling data is automatically registered along with the image information to be registered by scanning the original, and the conventional confirmation using a display device and keyboard operation can be omitted, and the operator's time is reduced. Work can be reduced.

[Example 1 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an electronic file device according to the present invention.

Reference numeral 11 in the figure is a controller for system control;
It is equipped with an internal memory such as RAM and ROM, an external memory such as a magnetic disk, a central processing unit (CPU), and several interfaces for connection with various devices described later. A scanner 12 is connected to the controller 11 via the interface as an image input unit, and a scanner 12 is roughly classified as an OCR as a pattern recognition device.
(optical character recognition device) 16 and C as both image reading means.
Image sensor 17 consisting of OD (charge coupled device) etc.
including. The OCR 16 and the image sensor 17 may have a known configuration.

For example, Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of 0CR16.
The character information on the document 21 is converted into an electrical signal by the photoelectric conversion means 22 according to the density of the character information. This electric signal is amplified by an amplifier 23, and then a quantum converter (A
/D conversion] 24 into a digital signal, and then stored in the image memory 25. The character cutting means 26 cuts out a character pattern for each character from the image memory 25,
Next, the deformation correction means 27 removes noise from this character pattern. The character recognition means 28 extracts character pattern features cut out from the memory 25, compares them with two dictionaries, determines a category name, and outputs it.

On the other hand, the image sensor 17 optically scans the image information to be registered and separates it into pixels to form a continuous electrical image signal.

Such an image signal from the scanner 12 is sent via the controller 11 to a file device 13 such as an optical disk drive device. The file device 13 has a removably attached storage medium such as an optical disk or a magneto-optical disk, and writes image information read by the scanner 12 to the storage medium (referred to as registration) and reads it in response to a request.

As an output section from the controller 11, the display device 1 is sent to the controller via each interface.
4 and a printer 15 are connected. The display device 14 is a CRT (cathode ray tube) display device,
It is selected from a liquid crystal display device, a display device using electrophotography, etc., and displays image information optically read by the scanner 12, image information read from an optical disk, system control information, etc. Also, printer 1
5 reproduces image information converted into an electrical signal onto a recording material such as an electrophotographic photoreceptor, and prints it onto a final support such as paper, as typified by a laser beam printer, for example.

In addition to the above-described configuration, the present invention optically reads additional data printed or handwritten in the margins of the document when reading the image information of the document using the scanner 12, and registers this as titling data. .

As shown in FIG. 4, image information consisting of text or graphics is usually written in the center of the document, with margins formed around it on all four sides. In this example, additional data is written by hand in the leading edge of the document, that is, in the margin on the side where scanning by the scanner 12 starts.

As this additional data writing section, a width a from the leading edge of the document is set in advance. On the other hand, the input section of the OCR 16 and the input section of the image sensor 17 are sequentially arranged along the scanning direction within the scanner. Also, for detecting the leading edge of the document, 0
○ CR deenergization switch S1 at distance a rear of CR16,
A switch S2 for energizing the image sensor is arranged a distance a behind the image sensor 17, and a reset switch R8 for detecting document ejection is provided at the scanner ejecting section. switch S1
, S2, and R8, known switches such as optical switches, proximity switches, and microswitches can be used.

Now, a document moving type scanner will be explained.

When the original 21 is fed from the scanner's insertion slot, the OCR 16 sequentially reads additional data on the original and registers this as titling data on the magnetic disk built in the controller and/or the optical disk of the file device 13. When the leading edge of the document energizes switch S1, 0CR
16 is deenergized and the input into the controller is switched from titling data to image information input. When the document advances further and the leading edge of the document activates the switch S2, that is, when the image information portion on the document reaches the image sensor 17, the image sensor is activated, starts reading the image information, and reads the image information onto the optical disc. register. Switch R8 detects passage of the document and resets switches S1 and S2.

Instead of the switch group in the above example, the OCR 16 and the energization/de-energization of the image sensor 17 can be sequentially controlled. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an OCR and an image sensor are placed at a distance C, a switch S is placed in front of the OCR at a distance C, and after a document energizes the switch S,
After a time corresponding to distance 11[b+a, 0CR16 is de-energized, then, after a time corresponding to distance b+c+a, image sensor 17 is energized, and then, after a predetermined time, the OCR and image sensor are reset. do.

Furthermore, instead of the switch, an end mark indicating the end of the additional data is registered in advance, and when the OCR detects this end mark, it recognizes the end of the input of the additional data, that is, the titling data, and sends the image to the controller. The user may be instructed to switch to information input.

In addition, in the above, ○CR16, image sensor 17 "
The terms "energizing" and "deenergizing" do not only mean electrically turning on and off these means and the controller, but also broadly include mode switching of titling data input and image information input within the controller, such as If the controller is in the image information input mode even though the OCR and the controller are electrically connected, or if the input from the OCR is disabled, it means that rOcR is deactivated. .

In the above example, we explained a document scanning type scanner.
Similar effects can be obtained for optical systems and engineering, OCR, and image sensor scanning type scanners.

In addition, in the above example, additional data is written in the leading edge margin of the document, but it is also possible to write the additional data in the trailing edge or side edge margin of the document, or in a predetermined area on the back of the document. Forms an additional data writing section and performs OCR
may be placed on the back side of the document to perform the above character recognition.

[Effects] According to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, it is possible to omit confirmation of both image information using a display trick and inputting titling data using a keyboard, which were previously unavoidable, thereby improving the operator's work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electronic file Si& according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view thereof, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of OCR, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are operations of the electronic file device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle. 11... Controller, 12... Scanner, 13
... File means, 16... Pattern recognition means, 17... Image sensor-0 Fig. 1 14 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A reading means for optically scanning a document having image information to be registered, reading the image information and converting it into an electrical signal, a file means for registering the image signal output from the reading means, and a margin portion of the document. a pattern recognition means for detecting and recognizing additional data added by printing or handwriting to the image information; and means for registering an output signal from the pattern recognition means as titling data of the image information. An electronic file device featuring: