JP3684050B2 - Image processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus for automatically determining the direction of a document image and processing image data of the document image.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a copying machine, there is a mode in which four originals are reduced and copied onto one copy sheet as called 4-in-1. In this case, the orientation of the first original image of the plurality of originals is determined, and the three originals following the original are also determined to have the same orientation, and the direction of the copy output is determined.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described method, there are cases where originals having different directions are mixed, or when a double-sided copy of the original is used at the same time, a copy desired by the user cannot be obtained. Therefore, in order to deal with such a case, each original document is read by an optical reading device such as a scanner, and the character of the read original information (image data) is recognized, whereby the document direction in each original document is determined. The above-described copying process can be performed by determining and performing image processing according to the direction.
[0004]
However, the method of determining the direction of the original by reading the original image by an optical reading device such as a scanner for each original and recognizing the characters of the read original information (image data) as described above takes a lot of time. There was a problem that it took.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example. The orientations of the first and second originals are determined. If the orientations of the first and second originals are the same, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus that reduce the time required for image processing by presuming that the orientation of the original image is the same and omitting the original orientation determination processing.
[0006]
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the number of originals to be printed on a single sheet, such as 4-in-1 copy, for example, the first and second originals every four sheets. The orientation of the image is determined, and when the orientations of the two original images are the same, the determination of the orientation of the subsequent third and fourth original images is omitted to shorten the time required for image processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a document processing method and apparatus.
[0007]
Further, according to the present invention, when there are documents having the same orientation in succession among a plurality of documents, it is determined that the orientation of the subsequent document is the same, and the document orientation determination process for the subsequent document is omitted. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing method and apparatus that shortens the time required for image processing.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the image processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
An image input means for inputting image data of an original image;
Direction discriminating means for discriminating the orientation of the document image input by the image input means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the orientations of the first and second document images determined by the direction determining means are the same;
In response to the output of the determination means, input by the image input means In order to record a plurality of document images on one recording medium Edit image data Do Image editing means;
Image recording means for recording image data obtained by the image editing means,
When the determination unit determines that the first and second document images have the same orientation, the image editing unit edits the image data on the assumption that the subsequent document images have the same orientation. Features.
In order to achieve the above object, the image processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
An image input means for inputting image data of an original image;
Direction discriminating means for discriminating the orientation of the document image input by the image input means;
Determination means for determining whether or not a plurality of document images determined by the direction determination means are continuously the same;
In response to the output of the determination means, input by the image input means In order to record a plurality of document images on one recording medium Edit image data Do Image editing means;
Image recording means for recording image data obtained by the image editing means,
The image editing means edits the image data assuming that the orientations of the subsequent document images are the same when the determination means determines that the orientations of the plurality of document images are continuously the same. To do.
[0009]
In order to achieve the above object, the image processing method of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
An input process for inputting image data of an original image;
A direction discriminating step for discriminating the orientation of the document image input in the input step;
A determination step of determining whether the orientations of the first and second document images determined in the direction determination step are the same;
According to the determination result in the determination step, input in the input step In order to record a plurality of document images on one recording medium Edit image data Do An image editing process,
In the image editing step, if it is determined in the determination step that the orientations of the first and second document images are the same, the image data is edited assuming that the orientations of the subsequent document images are also the same. Features.
In order to achieve the above object, the image processing method of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
An image processing method for editing image data of a series of document images composed of a plurality of document images,
A direction discriminating step for discriminating the orientation of the original image included in the series of original images;
Whether the first document image and the second document image in the series of document images determined in the direction determination step are in the same direction is determined in the direction determination step after the third document image. A determination step of determining before determining the orientation of the original image;
The series of document images according to the document image direction determination result in the direction determination step. To record on a single recording medium An image editing process for editing image data,
In the image editing step, when it is determined in the determination step that the orientations of the first and second original images in the series of original images are the same, the series of originals in the direction determination step The image data of the series of document images is edited in accordance with the orientations of the first and second document images without determining the orientation of the third and subsequent document images, and the determination step includes When it is determined that the orientations of the first and second document images in the series of document images are not the same, the orientation determination process determines the orientation of the third and subsequent document images in the series of document images. After the determination, the image data of the series of document images is edited.
In order to achieve the above object, the image processing method of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
An image input process for inputting image data of an original image;
A direction discriminating step for discriminating the orientation of the document image input in the image input step;
A determination step of determining whether or not the orientation of the document image determined in the direction determination step is the same continuously.
According to the determination result of the determination step, it was input in the image input step In order to record a plurality of document images on one recording medium image data The Edit Do Image editing process,
An image recording step of recording image data obtained in the image editing step,
In the image editing step, if it is determined in the determination step that the orientations of a plurality of document images are continuously the same, the image data is edited assuming that the orientations of subsequent document images are also the same. To do.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present embodiment.
[0012]
In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes an original platen glass, on which originals fed from an automatic document feeder (ADF) 142 are sequentially placed at predetermined positions. Reference numeral 102 denotes an original illumination lamp having, for example, a halogen lamp, and exposes an original placed on the original table glass 101. Scanning mirrors 103, 104, and 105 are accommodated in an optical scanning unit (not shown), and guide reflected light from the original to the CCD unit 106 while reciprocating in the left-right direction in FIG. The CCD unit 106 includes an imaging lens 107 that forms an image of reflected light from a document on an image sensor 108 such as a CCD, a CCD driver 109 that drives the image sensor 108, and the like. The image signal output from the image sensor 108 is converted into, for example, 8-bit digital data and then input to the controller 139.
[0013]
Reference numeral 110 denotes a photosensitive drum, which is discharged by a pre-exposure lamp 112 in preparation for image formation. A primary charger 113 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 110. Reference numeral 117 denotes an exposure unit, which is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser, and exposes the photosensitive drum 110 based on image data processed by a controller 139 that performs image processing and overall control of the apparatus, and electrostatics corresponding to the image data. A latent image is formed. Reference numeral 118 denotes a developing device that contains a black developer (toner). A pre-transfer charger 119 applies a high voltage before transferring the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 110 onto a sheet. Reference numerals 120, 122, and 124 denote paper feeding units, and the transfer paper is fed into the apparatus by the rotational driving of the paper feeding rollers 121, 123, and 125. The timing of writing with the image formed in 110 is taken and the paper is fed again. Reference numeral 127 denotes a transfer charger, which transfers the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 110 onto a transfer sheet to be fed. Reference numeral 128 denotes a separation charger that separates the transfer sheet on which the transfer operation has been completed from the photosensitive drum 110. Note that the toner that remains on the photosensitive drum 110 without being transferred is collected by the cleaner 111.
[0014]
A conveyance belt 129 conveys the transfer sheet after the transfer process to the position of the fixing device 130, and fixes the image by heat, for example. 131 is a flapper that controls the transfer path of the transfer sheet after the fixing process to one of the arrangement directions of the staple sorter 132 and the intermediate tray 137. The sheets discharged to the staple sorter 132 are sorted into bins, and the staple unit 141 performs stapling according to instructions from the controller 139. Reference numerals 133 to 136 denote feeding rollers, which feed the transfer paper once the fixing process is completed to the intermediate tray 137 by being reversed (multiple) or non-reversed (both sides). Reference numeral 138 denotes a refeed roller, which again conveys the transfer paper placed on the intermediate tray 137 to the position of the registration roller 126. The controller 139 includes a microcomputer, an image processing unit, and the like, which will be described later, and performs the above-described image forming operation in accordance with instructions from the operation panel 140.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the controller 139 of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0016]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU that controls the entire image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, and sequentially reads and executes control programs from a read-only memory 203 (ROM) that stores control procedures (control programs) of the apparatus main body. To do. The address bus and data bus of the CPU 201 are connected to each unit via a path driver and an address decoder circuit 202. Reference numeral 204 denotes a random access memory (RAM) which is a main storage device used for storing input data, a working storage area, and the like. Reference numeral 205 denotes an I / O interface port, and an operator inputs a key to drive an operation panel 140 that displays the state of the apparatus using liquid crystal and LEDs, and a paper feed system, a transport system, and an optical system. Motors 207, clutches 208, solenoids 209, and paper detection sensors 210 for detecting the conveyed paper are connected to each load.
[0017]
The developing device 118 is provided with a toner remaining amount detection sensor 211 for detecting the amount of toner in the developing device, and its output signal is input to the I / O port 205. Reference numeral 215 denotes a high voltage control unit which controls the voltage value (high voltage) to the primary charger 113, the developing device 118, the pre-transfer charger 119, the transfer charger 127, and the separation charger 128 according to the instruction of the CPU 201. ing.
[0018]
An image processing unit 206 receives an image signal output from the CCD unit 106 and performs image processing described later to generate image data for printing. The laser unit 117 is driven according to the image data thus generated. In this way, the laser light output from the laser unit 117 irradiates and exposes the photosensitive drum 110, and the light emission state is detected by the beam detection sensor 213 which is a light receiving sensor in the non-image region, and the output signal is I / Input to O port 205.
[0019]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing unit 206 of the controller 139 in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0020]
The image signal converted into an electrical signal output from the CCD 108 is first subjected to correction of variation between pixels by the shading circuit 301, and then subjected to data thinning processing at the time of reduction copying in the scaling circuit 302, and at the time of enlargement copying. Data interpolation is performed. Next, in the edge enhancement circuit 303, for example, the edge of the image is enhanced by performing second order differentiation in a 5 × 5 window. Since this image data is luminance data, the γ conversion circuit 304 performs data conversion by table search in order to finally convert it into density data for output to the semiconductor laser. The image data thus converted into density data by the gamma conversion circuit 304 is input to the binarization processing circuit 305. Here, for example, multi-value data is converted into binary data by an ED (error diffusion) method. The image data thus converted into binary data is input to the synthesis circuit 307, and the input image data and the image data of the image memory 310 constituted by, for example, a DRAM are selectively or logically ORed. Is output. The read / write control for the image memory 310 is performed by the memory control unit 309, and when the image is rotated, the read address of the image data in the image memory 310 is controlled. The image data output from the synthesizing circuit 307 is input to the PWM circuit 308 for conversion to a signal of the emission intensity of the semiconductor laser, and a signal having a pulse width according to the image density is output to the exposure unit 117. Also, the image data output from the scaling circuit 302 is input to the document direction determination unit 306, and a document direction determination process described later is executed.
[0021]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9, the operation of the document orientation determination unit of the present embodiment will be described.
[0022]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the document orientation determination unit 306.
[0023]
In FIG. 4, the image data output from the shading circuit 301 is input to the CPU / memory unit 401, where the image data is temporarily stored and various controls are performed. The CPU / memory unit 401 is bus-connected to the CPU 201 of the controller 139 via a dual port RAM (not shown), for example, and data is transmitted / received between them. Of course, this data communication may be serial communication.
[0024]
The character recognition / direction discriminating unit 402 pays attention to the fact that the direction of the document most accurately represents the direction of the document, so that several types of character regions in the document are represented by 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, 270. Character recognition is performed from each direction of °, and the character recognition accuracy in each direction (character recognition confidence: distance to character feature distribution) is obtained, and this is determined as the document direction. To do. The area separation unit 403 performs rectangular processing for character parts, graphic parts, natural image parts, table parts, etc. from the document image data as preprocessing for performing character recognition / direction judgment processing by the character recognition / direction judgment part 402. A process of adding an attribute (such as a character part) of each area is performed by separating the areas. The storage unit 404 includes, for example, a hard disk or a magneto-optical disk, and is used for storing various data processing results (image data, region separation results, character recognition results, etc.). The I / F unit 405 is an interface unit that operates according to interface specifications such as SCSI and RS232C, and controls data transmission with the computer 406. The computer 406 obtains information through the I / F unit 405 and acquires and uses data stored in the storage unit 404.
[0025]
Next, an outline of automatic document direction discrimination / correction and character recognition processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0026]
In step S2, the image data (multi-valued image) input in step S1 is separated into rectangular regions by attributes such as a character portion, a graphic portion, a natural image portion, and a front portion by the region separation unit 403. Here, the area information surrounded by the rectangle is actually created.
[0027]
In step S3, the rectangle information of the character area is extracted from each attribute. Here, the character amount range includes a text part, a title part, characters in a table, a caption part of a figure, and the like.
[0028]
For example, in the case of the document shown in FIGS. 6A and 6C, the rectangle information of the character area as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6D is extracted. Then, using several blocks among these, the characters included therein are recognized at a rotation angle of 0 °. In step S5, the character is rotated by 90 °. In step S6, it is checked whether character recognition is performed for each of the four rotation directions of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °. Steps S4 to S6 are repeated until character recognition in one rotation direction is completed.
[0029]
When the character recognition results in these four directions are thus obtained, the process proceeds to step S7, and the direction of the character is determined based on the confidence level at each rotation angle as shown in FIG. In this way, the process proceeds to step S8, where the direction of the character string is determined according to the rotation angle finally recognized, and the corresponding region separation information and character recognition information are obtained.
[0030]
One method in the image rotation processing in step S5 is a method in which region separation processing is performed again on all rotation image agility data, and the other is a method in which address conversion is applied to the region separation result. In this region separation processing, since the image is generally assumed to be in the positive direction, the results of the region separation processing performed at the initial stage and the region separation processing performed on the rotated image data are often different. Therefore, it is desirable to take the former method.
[0031]
The processing result is transmitted to the computer 406 via the I / F unit 405 and used in a filing application program of the computer 406 or the like. The image is transmitted to the CPU 201 of the controller 139 for each image.
[0032]
Next, a method for document orientation determination using character recognition processing will be described.
[0033]
[Area separation processing]
Black pixels in the document image data are detected, and a rectangular frame of black pixel blocks is created by contour tracking or labeling. Next, character areas (titles, text, captions, etc.), graphic areas, natural image areas, table areas, etc., based on criteria such as the black pixel density in the rectangle, the presence or absence of adjacent rectangular blocks, and the aspect ratio of the rectangle Is determined. Based on the determination result, the rectangular area of the character frame area is determined.
[0034]
[Character recognition processing]
One method of character recognition processing includes feature vector extraction and comparison methods. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, it is assumed that a character area including the characters “book” is determined. As a first step, a character segmenting process is performed for this character area (see FIG. 7B). This is obtained if a black pixel continuity state is detected in the process of cutting out one character rectangle.
[0035]
As a second stage, one character is cut into m × n (for example, 64 × 64) pixel blocks (see FIG. 7C). Then, the distribution direction of black pixels is extracted from the window using a 3 × 3 pixel window (direction vector information: see FIG. 7D).
[0036]
FIG. 7D shows an example of part of the direction vector information. The above 3 × 3 pixel window is shifted to obtain several tens of direction vector information. This vector information becomes a character feature. This vector information (feature vector) is compared with the contents of the character recognition dictionary stored in advance, and characters are extracted in order from the character having the feature closest to the feature vector. In this case, the first candidate, the second candidate,... The proximity of the feature to the feature vector is a numerical value indicating the proximity of the character, that is, the confidence level (accuracy and likelihood) of character recognition.
[0037]
[Character direction discrimination processing]
In this way, the degree of confidence in character recognition is obtained. The character direction determination process based on the degree of confidence will be described using the case of the character string “name of the present invention” shown in FIG.
[0038]
FIG. 8A shows a character string in the forward direction, and FIG. 8B shows a character string obtained by rotating the character string by 270 °. Here, focusing on the character “book”, when determining the character direction, as shown in FIG. 8C, four directions of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 ° for one character “book”. Let's do character recognition. For each of these rotation angles, it is only necessary to change the reading method of the character rectangular area, and it is not particularly necessary to rotate the document.
[0039]
The character recognition results at each rotation angle are different from each other as shown in FIG. FIG. 8C shows a temporary character recognition result and confidence for explanation, and this is not always true.
[0040]
In FIG. 8C, when character recognition is performed from the positive direction (0 °), it is correctly recognized as “book” and the confidence level is a high value of “0.90”. When character recognition is performed from a direction rotated by 90 °, it is erroneously recognized as “town”, and the degree of confidence decreases to “0.40”. The reason why erroneous recognition occurs in this way and the degree of confidence decreases is because character recognition is performed based on the feature vector when viewed from the rotated direction. Similarly, when character recognition is performed from directions rotated by 180 ° and 270 °, erroneous recognition occurs and the confidence level also decreases. Note that the difference in the degree of confidence for each direction of character recognition becomes more noticeable as the character becomes more complex.
[0041]
In the result of FIG. 8C, since the degree of confidence is highest in the case of the forward direction, it is determined that there is a high possibility that the document is directed in the forward direction. In order to improve the accuracy of character direction discrimination, character recognition is performed from four directions in the same manner for a plurality of characters in the same block. Further, when the character direction is determined by only one block, the character direction may be erroneously determined for a special character string. Therefore, similar character recognition is performed for a plurality of blocks. Then, for each block, the average value of the confidence level in each of the four directions of each recognition target character in the block is obtained, and the average value for the average value of the confidence level in each block in the four directions is obtained. The direction with the highest value is recognized as the character direction (document direction).
[0042]
In this way, a character (document) can be obtained by acknowledging the character direction with the confidence of multiple characters in the same block, and further with the confidence of multiple characters in the same block, without identifying the character direction with the confidence of only one character. It becomes possible to determine the direction with high accuracy. However, even if the character direction is determined based on the confidence level of only one character, or the character direction is determined based on the confidence level of a plurality of characters in the same block, the character direction can be determined with higher accuracy than before.
[0043]
Next, when the determination result of the character direction (document direction) is a direction other than the positive direction, the original image is rotated so that the character direction becomes the positive direction. This rotation can be easily performed by a known technique using the CPU / memory 401 of FIG. 4, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0044]
Through the processing as described above, the original image data shown in FIG. 9A, the region separation data shown in FIG. 9B, and the character recognition information shown in FIG. 9C can be obtained. These pieces of information are sent to the CPU 201 of the controller 139 as described above, and are used for various image processing and various controls.
[0045]
Here, as shown in FIG. 9B, the data format of the area separation data is composed of “header” indicating that the data is area separation data, and identifiers “rect1” to “rect4” of the separated areas. Information of each area (block) distinguished by the identifier includes a block number “order”, a block attribute (character portion, graphic portion, etc.) “att”, upper left coordinate values “x1” and “y1”, Block width “w”, block height “h”, vertical or horizontal writing “direction”, ID of the block “selfID”, ID of parent block including the block “upperID”, It is composed of a parent block attribute “upperAtt” and a spare area “reserve”.
[0046]
Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, the character recognition information has “header” indicating that it is character recognition information. For example, character recognition information “OCR1” relating to a single character such as “book”. , And “blk header” corresponding to “rect1” and the like indicating a block including the character.
[0047]
Each character recognition information such as “OCR1” is “type” indicating whether it is a character or a blank, and the first to fifth candidate characters “character 1” in accordance with the above-described confidence level of character recognition. “Character 5”, the character cutout positions “x1” and “y1”, the character width “w”, the character height “h”, and the spare area “reserve” are configured.
[0048]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0049]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a 4-in-1 copying process (4 originals are reduced and copied onto one sheet) in the copying machine according to the present embodiment. An example of copying by this 4-in-1 processing is shown in FIGS.
[0050]
First, in step S11, flags A, B, C, and D set corresponding to the document orientation discrimination result are cleared to “0”. In step S12, it is determined whether or not the copy key on the operation panel 140 is turned on. If so, the process proceeds to step S13, and the number of documents set in the automatic document feeder 142 is counted. In step S14, it is determined whether the copy mode is 4-in-1 or not. When 4-in-1 is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S15, and a copy process corresponding to the instructed process is executed.
[0051]
On the other hand, when the 4-in-1 copy process is instructed, the process proceeds to step S16, where the originals set on the automatic original feeder 142 are sequentially sent onto the original glass 101, and the images are read, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The orientation of the original image is determined according to the above processing. According to the document direction determined in step S16, for example, if the direction is “0 °”, the process proceeds from step S17 to step S18, and the flag A is set to “1”. If the direction is “90 °”, the process proceeds from step S19 to step S20, and the flag B is set to “1”. If the direction is “180 °”, the process proceeds from step S21 to step S22, and the flag C is set to “1”. If the direction is “270 °”, the process proceeds from step S23 to step S24, and the flag D is set to “1”. Set to "".
[0052]
When one of the flags A to D is set in this way, the process proceeds to step S25, where it is determined whether or not the original whose orientation has been determined is the first original, and if it is the first, the process returns to step S16. Reads the second original, determines the document orientation, and sets a flag corresponding to the second original in any of steps S17 to S24 according to the determination result. When the orientation of the second document image is determined in this way, the process proceeds to step S26 to check whether the orientation of the first document and the second document is the same. If so, the process proceeds to step S27. If so, go to Step S34.
[0053]
When the orientations of the first and second documents are the same, in step S27, the orientation of the subsequent document is changed to the first (second) document by analogy that the orientation of the subsequent document is the same. Determine in the same direction. In step S28, it is determined whether the original is the final original. If it is the final document, the process proceeds to step S34, and the four or less documents that have been read are reduced, and image data to be printed is created according to the instructed layout and document orientation. In step S35, printing (copying) is performed in accordance with the image data, and the process ends.
[0054]
On the other hand, if it is not the final document in step S28, the process proceeds to step S29 to check whether or not the 4nth sheet (initially n = 1). Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S30, the next document image is read, and the process proceeds to step S28. The orientation of the document read in step S28 is not determined, and the document orientation determined in step S27 is processed.
[0055]
In step S29, if the document is the 4nth document, the process proceeds to step S31, and image data to be printed is created in accordance with the instructed layout and document orientation, as in step S34 described above. In step S32, printing (copying) is performed in accordance with the image data. The image printed at this time is obtained by reducing four original images on one sheet. At this time, the value of the counter n is incremented by one. In step S33, it is checked whether the copy process has been completed by reading up to the final document. If it is the final document, the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step S28, and thereafter, the orientation of the document is determined. Instead, 4-in-1 reduced copy is performed.
[0056]
If it is determined in step S26 that the first document and the second document are not in the same orientation, the process proceeds to step S36 (FIG. 11) to determine whether the document is the final document. If so, the process proceeds to steps S43 and S44. The same copy process as in steps S34 and S35 described above is performed.
[0057]
If it is determined in step S36 that the document is not the final document, the process proceeds to step S37, and it is checked whether it is the 4nth document. Then, the flag corresponding to the orientation of the document is set to ON. When the 4nth sheet is reached in step S37, the process proceeds to step S40, and image processing such as image reduction and layout is performed based on the determined orientation of each document. When the print data is created in this way, the process proceeds to step S41 to execute a copy process (counter n = n + 1). Then, the process proceeds to step S42 to check whether or not the copy process up to the final original (m-th sheet) is completed. If so, the process ends. If not, the process proceeds to step S16, and in steps S16 to S24 described above. The orientation of the original is determined. In this case (when the orientations of the first document and the second document are different), the document orientation (document orientation) determination process is repeated until the final document copy process is completed.
[0058]
As described above, according to the first embodiment, when there are a plurality of documents, it is checked whether or not the first document and the second document are in the same direction. The orientation of the original is presumed to be the same, and the orientation of the subsequent original is determined. Thereby, the time required for the document orientation determination process can be shortened.
[0059]
[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, in the first embodiment, the orientation of all subsequent documents is determined by only the first and second documents of the entire document. In the case of copying, the orientation of the first document and the second document is judged every four pages, and if they are the same, the orientation of the subsequent two documents is judged to be the same. The process of determining the orientation of the third and fourth originals of the original is omitted. For example, in the case of N-in 1 as well, the orientations of the first and second documents are determined. If the orientations of these two documents are the same, the subsequent (N-2) sheets The document orientation determination process can be omitted.
[0060]
12 and 13 are flowcharts showing the processing of the second embodiment.
[0061]
The processing in steps S51 to S57 in FIG. 12 corresponds to the processing in steps S11 to S24 in FIG. 10 described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted here. In step S58, in the case of 4-in-1 copying, it is checked whether or not it is the first document in a set of four sheets. If so, the process returns to step S56 to execute the above-described processing. If it is not the first document, the process proceeds to step S59, and it is checked whether or not the orientations of the first and second documents in the four-sheet document are the same. If they are the same, the process proceeds to step S60. The third and fourth originals are estimated to have the same orientation, and the orientation of the original is determined to be the same as that of the first original. In step S61, it is checked whether the document is a final document. If it is a layer, the process proceeds to step S67, and the copy process is executed in the same manner as in steps S34 to S35 described above.
[0062]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S61 that the document is not the final document, the process proceeds to step S62, and whether or not the document is the 4nth (initially n = 1) document is checked. . When the 4nth original is thus obtained in step S62, the process proceeds to step S64, and necessary image processing is performed based on the original orientation determined in step S60 and the original image information for the four sheets, and then the process proceeds to step S65. Create an image and execute the copy process. At this time, the value of the counter n is incremented by one. Then, the process proceeds to step S66, where it is checked whether or not it is the final document. If not, the process proceeds to step S56, and the above-described document orientation determination process and flag setting process are performed.
[0063]
On the other hand, if the orientations of the first and second originals in the four-sheet original are not the same in step S59, the process proceeds to step S69 (FIG. 13) to check whether the original is the final original. If it is the final document, the process proceeds to step S67 and the above-described processing is executed. If it is determined in step S69 that the document is not the final document, the process proceeds to step S70 to check whether the document is the 4nth document. If not, the process proceeds to step S71 to perform document orientation determination processing and flag setting. If it is the 4nth original, the process proceeds to step S64, and the above-described image reduction and processing according to the original orientation are performed.
[0064]
As described above, according to the second embodiment, for example, when performing 4-in-1 copy processing, it is checked whether the orientation of the first document is the same as the orientation of the second document. Copy processing is executed on the assumption that the subsequent third and fourth originals have the same orientation.
[0065]
In FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, it is determined in step S62 and step S70 whether or not it is N.times.n, and in steps S64 and S67, N-in-1 copy processing is performed, so that N-in-1 copy. It can also be applied to processing.
[0066]
Further, in step S26 of FIG. 10 or FIG. 12, attention is paid to the orientations of the first and second originals. For example, if the originals in the same direction are continuous, the orientation of the subsequent originals may be estimated. it can.
[0067]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or a device (for example, a copier, a facsimile device, etc.) including a single device. You may apply to.
[0068]
Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. This can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.
[0069]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0070]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0071]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.
[0072]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0073]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, for example, when four originals are read and reduced and copied on a single copy sheet (4-in-1 copy), a mixture of originals with different directions and double-sided copying are used together. Can be copied with high accuracy and the copying time can be shortened.
[0074]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the orientations of the first and second originals are determined. If the orientations of the first and second originals are the same, There is an effect that it is possible to reduce the time required for image processing by presuming that the orientations are the same and omitting the original orientation determination processing.
[0075]
Further, according to the present invention, when a plurality of originals are reduced and printed on one sheet, for example, 4 in 1 copy, the first and second originals are provided every four sheets. If the orientations of the images are determined and the orientations of the two original images are the same, the determination of the orientation of the subsequent third and fourth original images can be omitted, and the time required for image processing can be reduced. effective.
[0076]
Further, according to the present invention, when there are documents having the same orientation in succession among a plurality of documents, it is determined that the orientation of the subsequent document is also the same, and the document orientation determination process for the subsequent document is performed. Omitted, the time required for image processing can be shortened.
[0077]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit of a controller of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.
4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a document orientation determination unit in FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing automatic document orientation discrimination and character recognition processing in the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a region separation state in automatic document orientation determination according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a process of character recognition processing;
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining automatic document (character) direction determination processing according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data format of region separation and character recognition information.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing in an N-in-1 copy (4-in-1) mode in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing in N-in-1 copy (4-in-1) mode in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing in an N-in-1 copy (4-in-1) mode in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing in an N-in-1 copy (4-in-1) mode in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a copy example of 4-in-1;

Claims (12)

An image input means for inputting image data of an original image;
Direction discriminating means for discriminating the orientation of the document image input by the image input means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the orientations of the first and second document images determined by the direction determining means are the same;
Image editing means for editing the image data so as to record a plurality of document images input by the image input means on a single recording medium in response to an output of the determination means;
Image recording means for recording image data obtained by the image editing means,
When the determination unit determines that the first and second document images have the same orientation, the image editing unit edits the image data on the assumption that the subsequent document images have the same orientation. A featured image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image input unit photoelectrically reads and inputs a document image.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image editing unit edits the image data so as to record a plurality of document images in a designated layout on a single recording medium. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines whether the orientation of the first and second document images is the same for each of the plurality of document images.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction determination unit recognizes a character of the document image and determines a direction of the document image according to a likelihood of the recognized character. An image input means for inputting image data of an original image;
Direction discriminating means for discriminating the orientation of the document image input by the image input means;
Determination means for determining whether or not a plurality of document images determined by the direction determination means are continuously the same;
Image editing means for editing the image data so as to record a plurality of document images input by the image input means on a single recording medium in response to an output of the determination means;
Image recording means for recording image data obtained by the image editing means,
The image editing means edits the image data assuming that the orientations of the subsequent document images are the same when the determination means determines that the orientations of the plurality of document images are continuously the same. An image processing apparatus. An input process for inputting image data of an original image;
A direction discriminating step for discriminating the orientation of the document image input in the input step;
A determination step of determining whether the orientations of the first and second document images determined in the direction determination step are the same;
An image editing step of editing the image data so as to record a plurality of document images input in the input step on a single recording medium according to a determination result in the determination step;
In the image editing step, if it is determined in the determination step that the orientations of the first and second document images are the same, the image data is edited assuming that the orientations of the subsequent document images are also the same. A featured image processing method. An image processing method for editing image data of a series of document images composed of a plurality of document images,
A direction discriminating step for discriminating the orientation of the original image included in the series of original images;
Whether the first document image and the second document image in the series of document images determined in the direction determination step are in the same direction is determined in the direction determination step after the third document image. A determination step of determining before determining the orientation of the original image;
An image editing step of editing image data so as to record the series of document images on a single recording medium in accordance with the result of document image direction determination in the direction determination step,
In the image editing step, when it is determined in the determination step that the orientations of the first and second original images in the series of original images are the same, the series of originals in the direction determination step The image data of the series of document images is edited in accordance with the orientations of the first and second document images without determining the orientation of the third and subsequent document images, and the determination step includes When it is determined that the orientations of the first and second document images in the series of document images are not the same, the orientation determination process determines the orientation of the third and subsequent document images in the series of document images. An image processing method comprising: editing image data of the series of document images after determination.   9. The image processing method according to claim 7, wherein in the image editing step, the image data is edited so that a plurality of document images are recorded in a designated layout on one recording medium. The image processing method according to claim 9, wherein in the determination step, it is determined whether the orientations of the first and second document images are the same for each of the plurality of document images.   8. The image processing method according to claim 7, wherein in the direction determination step, characters of the document image are recognized, and the orientation of the document image is determined according to the likelihood of the recognized characters. An image input process for inputting image data of an original image;
A direction discriminating step for discriminating the orientation of the document image input in the image input step;
A determination step of determining whether or not the orientation of the document image determined in the direction determination step is the same continuously.
An image editing step of editing the image data so as to record a plurality of document images input in the image input step on a single recording medium in accordance with a determination result of the determination step;
An image recording step of recording image data obtained in the image editing step,
In the image editing step, if it is determined in the determination step that the orientations of a plurality of document images are continuously the same, the image data is edited assuming that the orientations of subsequent document images are also the same. Image processing method.

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