JPH01220962A - Picture processor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus that optically reads an image of a document.

[Prior Art] Normally, when reading a document image using a handy scanner or the like, it is common to read the document while moving it in a vertical direction with respect to the document, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, if the width of the document is larger than the readable width of the handy scanner in the main scanning direction, the above-mentioned operation is input in several steps.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, when attempting to input an image several times, it is desirable to input an image of a line that does not overlap with the line that was input immediately before, but is adjacent to it.

However, it is impossible to achieve the above-mentioned ideal reading by operating a handy scanner;
Even when operated by an experienced person, overlapping areas often occur or the reading lines are not parallel, resulting in an unnatural image being input.

The present invention has been made in view of such prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading method that makes it possible to improve the operability of image input.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve this problem, the present invention includes the configuration shown below.

That is, in an image processing device that reads a document image, there is a document table having a size larger than or equal to the document to be read and on which a mark whose position can be recognized is drawn, and a range including the mark on the document table. The apparatus includes a reading means for reading a document, and a recognition means for recognizing the reading direction of the reading means from the mark in the read image.

[Function] In the configuration of the present invention, the reading device reads the original placed on the document placing table in a range including the mark on the document placing table, the reading direction of the reading device is recognized from the mark, and the Royal Image It is an attempt to obtain.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Description of Configuration (FIG. 1)> FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an image processing apparatus in an embodiment.

In the figure, 1 is a CPU that controls the entire device, and the ROMZ
Program stored in (flow chart in Figure 7)
It operates according to the following. 3 is RAM, CP
It consists of a work area used by the UI during processing, and an image buffer area 3a in which image data read from the handy scanner 4 is temporarily stored. Reference numeral 5 denotes a CRT for displaying images, which corresponds one-to-one with the image data developed in the VRAM 6. 7 is a keyboard for inputting various commands and instructions. Reference numeral 8 denotes an image processing circuit that executes processing such as rotation and enlargement on the image manually inputted from the handy scanner 4, the details of which will be described later. Further, 9 is a hard disk device that stores and holds various image files, document files, and the like.

Explanation of the Outline of Processing (FIGS. 2 to 6) In the image processing apparatus of the embodiment described above, when reading an original image, the original is first set on the original placing table as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, lines are placed at regular intervals vertically and horizontally on the document table 10 in the embodiment, and the width of the lines gradually becomes thicker in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the original 11 is fixed perpendicularly (horizontally) to the horizontal or vertical line of the original placing table 10. Although the explanation is confusing, the memory capacity of VRAM 6 is the same as that of original platen 10.
It is assumed that all image data can be stored when the entire image is read by the handy scanner 4.

Now, after receiving an instruction to read the image from the keyboard, the fourth
As shown in the figure, a case will be described below in which an image is read by scanning twice in an oblique direction with respect to the original platen 10. In addition, the manual power of the handy scanner 4 (') 1) fJ The start and end of the handheld scanner 4 shall be determined based on whether or not a button (not shown) provided on the handy scanner 4 itself is pressed.
The start of scanning and the fact that scanning has not been performed for a certain period of time may be detected.

FIG. 5(a) shows how the image data read in the first scan is developed into the image buffer area 3a, and before the second scan (reading), image processing is performed in the embodiment. Circuit 8 performs the following processing.

First, we look at the peripheral part of the image developed in the image buffer area 3a, and detect the vertical and horizontal ruled lines on the document table 10.Next, we determine the reading direction (angle) of the image based on the thickness and intersection of the ruled lines. ) and the position on document placement No. 10 are detected. After obtaining these data, the data related to these ruled lines is erased, and the remaining image data is reversely rotated according to the detected angle to obtain an erect image. This state is shown in FIG. 5(b).
Thereafter, this image data is transferred to the VRAM 6 and displayed in accordance with the detected position information.

Now, the operator looks at this display screen, performs a second scan, and performs the same process. Therefore, the area read in an overlapping manner by the first and second scans is rewritten by the subsequent scan (in this case, the second scan). Therefore,
Finally, it becomes possible to obtain the image shown in FIG. In addition, even if the images obtained in the first and second scans are far apart (you can confirm that they are different on the display screen), by scanning between them in the third scan, It becomes possible to obtain a complete image. In other words, each scan does not necessarily have to be parallel; if the scans are done appropriately, corresponding images will be obtained, so the operator does not have to be very careful when operating the handy scanner 4. A vertical image will be obtained. If the thickness of all the vertical and horizontal ruled lines on the document table 10 is different, it is possible to determine whether the ruled lines in the image stored in the image buffer area 3a are vertical ruled lines or horizontal ruled lines, and their orientation. and position can be recognized. Therefore, regardless of the scanning direction of the handy scanner 4, the image buffer area 3a
Since the orientation of the data expanded can be determined, operability is dramatically improved.

Explanation of Processing Procedure (FIG. 7)> If the processing contents of this embodiment are summarized from the above-mentioned processing contents, the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 will be obtained. The processing procedure will be explained step by step below.

First, in step S1, all contents of the image buffer area 3a are cleared to "0", and in step S2, the process waits until image reading is started. If an instruction to start image reading is given, the process advances to step S3, and the image from the handy scanner 4 is stored in the image buffer area 3a. After the storage process by one scan is completed, the process moves to the next step S4, where the position and direction of the image is recognized from the ruled line information of the document table in the input image obtained, and the process proceeds to step S4.
In step 5, rotation processing is executed to obtain an erect image. After this processing, in step S6, the data of the obtained erect image is transferred to the VRAM 6 and displayed in accordance with the recognized position information. In the next step S7, it is determined whether the entire document has been manually processed, for example, whether a key indicating the end of manual processing has been pressed. The above-described process is then repeated until the document reading is completed.

Note that the above-mentioned processing is effective when an image including the original platen 10 is input, so if only the original image is input,
That is, if it is determined that there is no ruled line data in the image buffer area 3a, a message may be displayed to urge the operator to do so again.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when inputting a document using a handy scanner, it is necessary to be aware of the direction and whether or not the images of each manual scan overlap when inputting the document manually multiple times. Since input can be made without any trouble, operability is greatly improved. Moreover, each scan allows the non-input area to be visually recognized.

Further, the information drawn on the document mounting table in the embodiment is not limited to the above-described embodiment, since it is sufficient to understand the image input direction and the position of the input image with respect to the document mounting table.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a royal image without being conscious of the reading direction of the document.

Furthermore, even if a document image is read one part at a time, the positions of the individual images are known, so it is possible to easily combine them to obtain an erect image.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block configuration diagram of the image processing apparatus in the embodiment. Figure 2 is a top view of the document mounting table in the embodiment. Figure 3 is a state in which a document is set on the manuscript mounting table in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of document reading scanning, Figure 5 (a)
is a diagram for explaining the state of the image developed in the image buffer area, and FIG. 5(b) is a diagram for explaining the state of the image in FIG. 5(a) after removing the borders and rotating it. ,
Figure 6 is a diagram showing a display example of an image obtained with a handy scanner, Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the embodiment, and Figure 8 is a diagram showing how a document image is read with a general handy scanner. be. In the figure, 1...CPU, 2...ROM, 3...RA
M, 3a...Image buffer area, 4...Handy scanner, 5-CRT, 6-VRAM, 7--Keyboard, 8--Image processing circuit, 9--Hard disk drive , 10... document mounting table, 11... document. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Yasunori Otsuka (and 1 other person) Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 10 Right button Figure 4 Figure 5 (a) Figure 5 (b) Figure 6 ,

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an image processing device that reads a document image, a document table whose size is larger than or equal to the document to be read and has a position-recognizable mark drawn thereon, and an area including the mark on the document table; An image comprising: a reading means for reading the original; and a recognition means for recognizing the reading direction of the reading means from the mark in the read image, and obtaining an erect image of the read original image according to the recognized direction. Processing equipment. (2) A second recognition means is provided for recognizing the position of the image obtained by the reading means on the document mounting table, and the image read by energizing the reading means multiple times is read according to the recognition means and the second recognition means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus performs compositing.