U.S. patent application number 17/701932 was filed with the patent office on 2022-07-07 for image processing method and image processing apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA. The applicant listed for this patent is TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA. Invention is credited to Masatoshi SHINOHARA.
Application Number | 20220215589 17/701932 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-07-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220215589 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SHINOHARA; Masatoshi |
July 7, 2022 |
IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS
Abstract
According to one embodiment, an image processing method causes a
computer to function as an image processing apparatus including an
acquisition unit and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires
image data. The control unit performs a control process of
detecting a character string of each color included in the image
data and associating the character string with the color using the
character string of the color.
Inventors: |
SHINOHARA; Masatoshi;
(Mishima Shizuoka, JP) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI
KAISHA
Tokyo
JP
|
Appl. No.: |
17/701932 |
Filed: |
March 23, 2022 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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16576679 |
Sep 19, 2019 |
11328448 |
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17701932 |
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International
Class: |
G06T 7/90 20060101
G06T007/90; G06F 16/16 20060101 G06F016/16; G06F 9/54 20060101
G06F009/54; G06T 1/00 20060101 G06T001/00; G06V 10/22 20060101
G06V010/22; G06V 10/70 20060101 G06V010/70; G06V 30/40 20060101
G06V030/40 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 25, 2019 |
JP |
2019-056523 |
Claims
1-14. (canceled)
15. An image processing method implemented by an image processing
apparatus including a controller that processes image data acquired
by the image processing apparatus, the method comprising:
detecting, by the controller, a first color region for a first
color in the image data; detecting, by the controller, a first
character string in the image data, the first character string
being of the first color; determining, by the controller, a first
process using a table, the first process associated with the first
color; and performing, by the controller, the first process.
16. The image processing method of claim 15, wherein the first
process comprises storing as content, designating a file name, or
designating a folder name.
17. The image processing method of claim 16, further comprising:
detecting, by the controller, a second color region for a second
color in the image data; detecting, by the controller, a second
character string in the image data, the second character string
being of the second color; determining, by the controller, a second
process using the table, the second process associated with the
second color; and performing, by the controller, the second
process.
18. The image processing method of claim 17, wherein: the first
process comprises storing as content; and the second process
comprises designating a file name or designating a folder name.
19. The image processing method of claim 15, wherein detecting the
first character string in the image data comprises analyzing the
first color region.
20. The image processing method of claim 15, wherein detecting the
first color region comprises: dividing, by the controller, the
image data into a plurality of tiles, the tiles including a first
tile and a second tile adjacent to the first tile; determining, by
the controller, a first average value of color information in the
first tile; determining, by the controller, a second average value
of color information in the second tile; comparing, by the
controller, the first average value to the second average value to
determine a difference; comparing, by the controller, the
difference to a range; and detecting, by the controller, the first
color region as including the second tile when the difference is
within the range.
21. The image processing method of claim 15, wherein detecting the
first color region comprises: dividing, by the controller, the
image data into a plurality of tiles, the tiles including a first
tile and a second tile adjacent to the first tile; determining, by
the controller, a first average value of color information in the
first tile; determining, by the controller, a second average value
of color information in the second tile; determining, by the
controller, a sample value associated with the first color;
comparing, by the controller, the first average value to the sample
value to determine a first difference; comparing, by the
controller, the second average value to the sample value to
determine a second difference; comparing, by the controller, the
first difference to a range; comparing, by the controller, the
second difference to the range; and detecting, by the controller,
the first color region as including the first tile and the second
tile when the first difference is within the range and the second
difference is within the range.
22. The method of claim 15, further comprising: creating, by the
controller, a file having a file name; determining, by the
controller, that a second color is included in the image data;
detecting, by the controller, a second character string in the
image data, the second character string being of the second color;
and setting, by the controller, the file name as the second
character string.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining, by the
controller, that a third color is included in the image data;
detecting, by the controller, a third character string in the image
data, the third character string being of the third color;
determining, by the controller, identification information based
upon the third character string; appending, by the controller, the
third character string with the identification information to form
an appended character string; and outputting, by the controller,
the appended character string.
24. The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining, by the
controller, that a third color is included in the image data;
detecting, by the controller, a third character string in the image
data, the third character string being of the third color;
determining, by the controller, an output destination based upon
the third character string; and outputting, by the controller, the
third character string to the output destination.
25. An image processing apparatus configured to acquire image data,
comprising: a controller configured to: detect a first color region
for a first color in the image data; detect a first character
string in the image data, the first character string being of the
first color; determine a first process using a table, the first
process associated with the first color; and perform the first
process.
26. The image processing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the first
process comprises storing as content, designating a file name, or
designating a folder name.
27. The image processing apparatus of claim 26, wherein the
controller is further configured to: detect a second color region
for a second color in the image data; detect a second character
string in the image data, the second character string being of the
second color; determine a second process using the table, the
second process associated with the second color; and perform the
second process.
28. The image processing apparatus of claim 27, wherein: the first
process comprises storing as content; and the second process
comprises designating a file name or designating a folder name.
29. The image processing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the
controller is further configured to detect the first character
string in the image data by analyzing the first color region.
30. The image processing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the
controller is configured to detect the first color region by:
dividing the image data into a plurality of tiles, the tiles
including a first tile and a second tile adjacent to the first
tile; determining a first average value of color information in the
first tile; determining a second average value of color information
in the second tile; comparing the first average value to the second
average value to determine a difference; comparing the difference
to a range; and detecting the first color region as including the
second tile when the difference is within the range.
31. The image processing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the
controller is configured to detect the first color region by:
dividing the image data into a plurality of tiles, the tiles
including a first tile and a second tile adjacent to the first
tile; determining a first average value of color information in the
first tile; determining a second average value of color information
in the second tile; determining a sample value associated with the
first color; comparing the first average value to the sample value
to determine a first difference; comparing the second average value
to the sample value to determine a second difference; comparing the
first difference to a range; comparing the second difference to the
range; and detecting the first color region as including the first
tile and the second tile when the first difference is within the
range and the second difference is within the range.
32. The image processing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the
controller is further configured to: create a file having a file
name; determine that a second color is included in the image data;
detect a second character string in the image data based upon the
second color; and set the file name as the second character
string.
33. The image processing apparatus of claim 32, wherein the
controller is further configured to: determine that a third color
is included in the image data; detect a third character string in
the image data based on the third color; determine identification
information based upon the third character string; and append the
third character string with the identification information to form
an appended character string.
34. The image processing apparatus of claim 32, wherein the
controller is further configured to: determine that a third color
is included in the image data; detect a third character string in
the image data based on the third color; determine an output
destination based upon the third character string; and output the
third character string to the output destination.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-056523, filed
Mar. 25, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
FIELD
[0002] Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image
processing method and an image processing apparatus.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Some image processing systems perform an optical character
recognition (OCR) process on the entire region or a designated
region of image data to acquire a character string. The character
string acquired through the OCR process may be further subjected to
an operation such as copying or storing. However, after the OCR
process, it is necessary to perform an operation on the acquired
character string. This operation adds complexity to image
processing and is undesirable.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware
configuration example of an image processing apparatus according to
an embodiment;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a
functional configuration example of the image processing apparatus
according to a first embodiment;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document
image;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a first example of
parameters;
[0008] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of the image
processing apparatus;
[0009] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second example of
parameters;
[0010] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data output
by the image processing apparatus; and
[0011] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of an image
processing system according to a second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Embodiments generally relate to an image processing method
and an image processing apparatus which reduce the complexity of an
operation on a character string acquired through an OCR
process.
[0013] In general, according to one embodiment, an image processing
method causes a computer to function as an image processing
apparatus including an acquisition unit and a control unit. The
acquisition unit acquires image data. The control unit performs a
control process of detecting a character string of each color
included in the image data and associating the character string
with the color using the character string of the color.
[0014] Hereinafter, an image processing method and an image
processing apparatus according to an embodiment will be described
with reference to the drawings.
[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus
configuration example of an image processing system including an
image processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The
image processing system illustrated in FIG. 1 includes the image
processing apparatus 100, an image forming apparatus 200, and an
information processing apparatus 300. The image processing
apparatus 100 is connected to the image forming apparatus 200 via a
communication cable. The image forming apparatus 200 is, for
example, a multi-functional peripheral. The image forming apparatus
200 includes an image reading unit 201. The image reading unit 201
optically reads a target document image to generate image data with
color information. The image reading unit 201 is configured using
an image sensor, such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. The image
reading unit 201 outputs the generated image data to the image
processing apparatus 100.
[0016] The image processing apparatus 100 acquires the image data
output by the image reading unit 201. The image processing
apparatus 100 performs a control process of detecting a character
string of each color included in the image data and associating the
character string for each color using the character string of the
color. The image data includes color information. The image data
also includes an image of the character string. In other words, the
image data is, for example, image data of a document image in which
the character string is described. The image data may be image data
of a screen of a whiteboard. The image data may be image data
generated through imaging in an imaging apparatus.
[0017] The image processing apparatus 100 is a computer that
includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a communication
module 102, and an interface 103. The image processing apparatus
100 further includes a random access memory (RAM) 104, a read-only
memory (ROM) 105, a hard disk drive (HDD) 106, and the like. The
communication module 102 may perform wireless communication or
wired communication with each of the image forming apparatus 200
and the information processing apparatus 300. The RAM 104 stores an
image processing program 107 and a parameter table 108.
First Embodiment
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a
functional configuration example of the image processing apparatus
100 according to a first embodiment.
[0019] The CPU 101 (see FIG. 1) reads the image processing program
107 (see FIG. 1) stored in the ROM 104 or the like and executes the
image processing program. Thus, the image processing apparatus 100
realizes each function of an acquisition unit 110, a region
determination unit 111, a character recognition unit 112, and a
control processing unit 113. Some of the functions 110 to 113 may
be realized by an electronic circuit in the image processing
apparatus 100.
[0020] The acquisition unit 110 acquires image data of a document
image. The region determination unit 111 detects a color region of
each color from the image data. The color region indicates a range
in which a character string is described with a similar color to
that of the image data. In other words, the color region indicates
a region including a unity of the character string with the similar
color in the image data. The color region may be a range in which
the character string is decorated with the similar color in the
image data. For example, the decoration is realized by drawing a
line to overlap the character string or surrounding the character
string with a highlighter, a marker, or the like. In the
embodiment, the similar color includes a range of the color
considered to be a given color. In addition, the similar color
includes a range of the color specified with the name of a color
such as "red" or "blue."
[0021] The character recognition unit 112 detects a character
string (text data) included in each color region through an OCR
process with regard to the each color region detected by the region
determination unit 111. Specifically, the character recognition
unit 112 recognizes characters in each color region and specifies
which character each character is. The character recognition unit
112 detects a character string including a specific character. The
character string may include only one character. The character may
include a numerical value, a mathematical formula, a sign, or the
like.
[0022] The control processing unit 113 acquires a control process
associated with each color with reference to the parameter table
108. The control processing unit 113 performs the control process
associated with each color using the character string recognized in
the color region of the color. An example of the parameter table
108 will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document
image 10 according to the embodiment. The image processing
apparatus 100 performs a process using image data of the document
image 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 as an input. The document image 10
illustrated in FIG. 3 includes character strings and diagrams, such
as graphs. The character strings included in the document image 10
include, for example, a document name, a date, a division name, and
sentences.
[0024] Specifically, in the document image 10 illustrated in FIG.
3, each unity of the character string is described with a different
color. For example, in a color region 11a of the document image 10,
a document name "ABC document" is described with red. In a color
region 11b, a date "YYYY/MM/DD" is described with black and a line
is drawn on the date with a yellow highlighting marker. In a color
region 11c, a division name "DDD business division" is described
with blue. In color regions 11d and 11f, each document is described
with black. In color regions 11e and 11g, each document is
described with black and the document is surrounded by a green
marker. For example, in the color regions 11e and 11g, documents
are surrounded by ellipses, rectangles, or the like.
[0025] In this way, the document image 10 in FIG. 3 includes images
of the character strings with a plurality of colors. The document
image 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes the character strings with
five colors. The number of colors of the character strings included
in the document image 10 is not limited to this example. The
document image 10 in the embodiment may include images of character
strings with two or more colors.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the parameter
table 108 according to the embodiment. The parameter table 108 has
a correspondent relation between colors and control processes.
[0027] In the parameter table 108 illustrated in FIG. 4, a control
process "STORED AS CONTENT OF FILE 1" is associated with color
"black." A control process "DESIGNATED AS FILE NAME OF FILE 1" is
associated with color "red." A control process "DESIGNATED AS
FOLDER NAME" is associated with color "blue." A control process
"STORED AS CONTENT OF FILE 2" is associated with color "green." A
control process "DESIGNATED AS FILE NAME OF FILE 2" is associated
with color "yellow."
[0028] That is, in the parameter table 108 illustrated in FIG. 4,
File 1 that stores a character string of a color region of black is
designated so that the character string of the color region of red
is generated as a file name. Further, File 2 that stores a
character string of the color region of green is designated so that
the character string of the color region of yellow is generated as
a file name. Files 1 and 2 are designated so as to be generated
under a folder with a folder name of the character string of the
color region of blue.
[0029] In the embodiment, the parameter table 108 is stored in
advance in the image processing apparatus 100 as will be
exemplified, but an exemplary embodiment is not limited to this
example. The parameter table 108 may be input to the image
processing apparatus 100 along with the image data. The parameter
table 108 may be different for each piece of image data or may be
used in common between a plurality of pieces of image data.
Information of the parameter table 108 may be input by a user in
the control process.
[0030] In the parameter table 108 illustrated in FIG. 3, content of
the control process is associated with each color, but an exemplary
embodiment is not limited to this example. In the parameter table
108, the content of the control processes may be associated with
only some of the plurality of colors.
[0031] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of the image
processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The
acquisition unit 110 of the image processing apparatus 100 acquires
image data (ACT11). Specifically, the acquisition unit 110 acquires
the image data output by the image reading unit 201 via the
communication module 102. The acquisition unit 110 may acquire the
image data stored in a storage device such as the HDD 106.
[0032] The region determination unit 111 extracts a color region of
each color in the image data acquired by the acquisition unit 110
(ACT12). The region determination unit 111 extracts a range in
which a character string is described with the same color in the
image data as a color region. The region determination unit 111
extracts a range in which a character string is decorated with the
same color in the image data as a color region. For each color, the
region determination unit 111 detects the color region in which the
character string is described with the color from the image
data.
[0033] In the example of the document image in FIG. 3, the region
determination unit 111 respectively detects the color regions 11a
to 11g from the image data of the document image 10. Hereinafter,
when not being distinguished, the color regions 11a to 11g are
referred to as the color regions 11. Specifically, the region
determination unit 111 extracts each color region 11 as follows,
for example. The region determination unit 111 divides the image
data into tiles with a predetermined size and acquires an average
value of the color information of each tile. The tile includes a
plurality of adjacent pixels. The color information is, for
example, red-green-blue (RGB) values. The region determination unit
111 compares the average value for each tile to the average value
of adjacent tiles to determine differences (e.g., difference
values, etc.) between the average value of the tile and the average
value of each adjacent tile. The region determination unit 111 then
compares the differences to a predetermined range. When a
difference is within the predetermined range, the adjacent tile
associated with the difference is termed a "detected tile." The
region determination unit 111 detects a region including the
plurality of detected tiles as the color region 11. The region
determination unit 111 detects the color of the detected color
region 11 based on the image data.
[0034] The region determination unit 111 may detect each color
region 11 in accordance with another method. Similarly, the region
determination unit 111 divides the image data into tiles with a
predetermined size and acquires an average value of the color
information of each tile. The region determination unit 111
maintains a sample value of the color information of each color
(for example, black, red, blue, green, and yellow) in advance. The
region determination unit 111 detects a plurality of adjacent tiles
in which a difference between the average value and a sample value
of the color information of each color is within a predetermined
range. The region determination unit 111 detects a region including
the plurality of detected tiles as the color region 11.
[0035] The region determination unit 111 may detect the color
region 11 surrounded by a marker or the like as follows. The region
determination unit 111 acquires the color information of each pixel
while scanning each pixel of the image data in sequence from the
top left end. The region determination unit 111 determines that
pixels of similar color information continue when the difference in
the color information of the pixels of the before and after in a
scanning sequence is within the predetermined range. In this case,
the region determination unit 111 determines whether the pixels in
the periphery of the pixels of the similar color information that
continue have the similar color information. The region
determination unit 111 detects a pixel group demarcating a
rectangle, an ellipse, or the like with the similar color
information based on the positions of the peripheral pixels with
the similar color information. The region determination unit 111
detects the color region 11 based on the detected pixel group.
[0036] A method of detecting the color region 11 is not limited to
the above-described example. The region determination unit 111 can
detect each color region 11 in the image data in accordance with
any of various generally known technologies of image
processing.
[0037] The character recognition unit 112 performs the OCR process
on each color region 11 detected by the region determination unit
111. Thus, the character recognition unit 112 detects the character
string included in each color region 11 as text data (ACT13). In
the example of the document image in FIG. 3, the character
recognition unit 112 detects the character strings included in the
color regions 11a to 11g of the image data. Specifically, the
character recognition unit 112 performs the OCR process of the
color region 11a to detect the character string "ABC document." The
character recognition unit 112 similarly detects character strings
in other color regions. Thus, the character string of each color in
the image data is detected. As described above, the character
string of each color includes a character string described with a
predetermined color and a character string decorated with a
predetermined color.
[0038] In the process flow of FIG. 5, the character recognition
process (ACT13) performed after the process of detecting the color
regions 11 (ACT12) will be exemplified. However, an exemplary
embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, by
performing the process of detecting the color region 11 (ACT12)
after the character recognition process (ACT13), the character
string of each color may be detected from the image data.
[0039] In this case, for example, the character recognition unit
112 performs the OCR process on the entire image data to detect the
character strings. The region determination unit 111 acquires each
character string and the color information of the peripheral pixels
of the character string based on the image data. The region
determination unit 111 detects the character string of the similar
color information among the continuous character strings.
Alternatively, the region determination unit 111 detects the
character string surrounded with the similar color information
among the continuous character strings. Thus, the character string
of each color included in the image data can be detected.
[0040] The control processing unit 113 performs the control process
associated with each color using the character string of the color
with reference to the parameter table 108 (ACT14). Specifically,
the control processing unit 113 acquires content of the control
process associated with each color with reference to the parameter
table 108. The control processing unit 113 acquires the character
string of each color detected by the character recognition unit
112. The control processing unit 113 performs the control process
associated with the color of the acquired character string using
the character string.
[0041] Here, an example of a process (ACT14) of the control
processing unit 113 will be described with reference to the
document image 10 in FIG. 3 and the parameter table 108 in FIG.
4.
[0042] As described above, in the document image 10 in FIG. 3, the
document name "ABC document" is described with red in the color
region 11a. In the color region 11c, the division name "DDD
business division" is described with blue. In color regions 11d and
11f, the documents are described with black. The control processing
unit 113 acquires content of the control process associated with
colors "red," "blue," and "black" with reference to the parameter
table 108. As described above, the control process "STORED AS
CONTENT OF FILE 1" is associated with color "black." The control
process "DESIGNATED AS FILE NAME OF FILE 1" is associated with
color "red." The control process "DESIGNATED AS FOLDER NAME" is
associated with color "blue."
[0043] Accordingly, the control processing unit 113 generates a
file that stores (e.g., is populated with, etc.) the documents of
the color regions 11d and 11f. The control processing unit 113 sets
the file name of the generated file in the character string "ABC
document." The control processing unit 113 stores the generated
file under the folder of the folder name "DDD business division."
The folder "DDD business division" may be an existing folder or a
newly generated folder.
[0044] In the embodiment, the name of the folder (the DDD business
division) designated as the folder name is exemplified, as
described above, but an exemplary embodiment is not limited to this
example. A full path name indicating the name and the hierarchy of
the folder may be designated as the folder name.
[0045] Similarly, in the color region 11c, a line is drawn on the
date "YYYY/MM/DD" with the yellow highlighting marker and the
documents of the color regions 11e and 11g are surrounded with a
green marker. The control processing unit 113 generates the file
that stores the character strings of the color regions 11e and 11g
and sets the file name of the generated file in the character
string "YYYY/MM/DD." The control processing unit 113 stores the
generated file under the folder "DDD business division."
[0046] In this way, in the embodiment, the control process of using
the character string as the file name is associated with the first
color and the control process of storing the character string in
the file is associated with the second color. In the image
processing apparatus 100, the user who generates the file that
stores the character string of the second color and has the
character string of the first color as the file name generates, for
example, the document image 10 in which a desired character string
is described or decorated with a predetermined color as the file
name or the folder name. For example, the user may write the
character string with the predetermined color on the printed
document image 10. The user may decorate the character string of
the printed document image 10 with the predetermined color. Thus,
the image processing apparatus 100 can generate the file that has
the desired name and stores the character string included in the
image data.
[0047] The document image 10 may include a handwritten character
string and decoration. For example, when a discussion is performed
based on the document image 10, information is written with a red
or blue pen on the document image 10 in some cases. For example,
the user writes the character string desired to be designated as
the file name with a red pen or the like on the document image 10.
The user surrounds the character string within the document image
10 desired to be stored as another file with a green marker or the
like. Thus, the image processing apparatus 100 can generate a file
that has a file name designated with red and has a document
described in advance in the document image 10 as content. The image
processing apparatus 100 can store a character string described
with green in the document image 10 in another file.
[0048] As described above, the image data may be image data of a
printed image of a whiteboard. Character strings are written with
markers of a plurality of colors on the whiteboard. For example,
important information is written with a red marker. In this case,
for example, the image processing apparatus 100 can efficiently
utilize the important information by associating a predetermined
control process with the red character string.
Modification Example 1
[0049] Another example of the control process will be described in
Modification Example 1.
[0050] Modification Example 1 may be used in combination of the
first embodiment.
[0051] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parameter
table 108-1 according to Modification Example 1. As described in
FIG. 4, the parameter table 108-1 has a correspondent relation
between colors and content of control processes. In the parameter
table 108-1 illustrated in FIG. 6, a process of associating
predetermined identification information with a character string
corresponds for each color. Specifically, association with
identification information "ID01" corresponds to color "black."
Association with identification information "ID02" corresponds to
color "red" and association with identification information "ID03"
corresponds to color "blue." The control processing unit 113
outputs the identification information in accordance with the color
in association with a character string acquired through the OCR
process. Accordingly, the control processing unit 113 associates
the identification information "ID01" with the documents of the
color regions 11d and 11f and associates the identification
information "ID02" with the character string "ABC document." The
control processing unit 113 associates the identification
information "ID03" with the character string "DDD business
division."
[0052] In Modification Example 1, the control processing unit 113
outputs each character string associated with the identification
information to the same file, as an example.
[0053] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an output
file according to Modification Example 1. In an output file 20
illustrated in FIG. 7, the identification information "ID01" is
given in the beginning of the documents of the color regions 11d
and 11f. Similarly, the identification information "ID02" is given
in the beginning of the character string "ABC document" and the
identification information "ID03" is given in the beginning of the
character string "DDD business division."
[0054] In this way, the identification information is given to the
character string. Thus, for example, the user can identify a type
of each character string based on the identification information
with reference to the output file 20. Another application can read
the output file 20 and register the character strings in a database
based on the identification information. For example, the other
application registers each character string of the output file 20
as data in items in accordance with the identification information
of the database.
[0055] The identification information is not limited to the example
illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, the identification information
may be a tag of a markup language. In this case, for example,
information given in the beginning of the character string and
identification information including information given to the end
of the character string are designated. Thus, the control
processing unit 113 can generate a file in which a predetermined
tag is given to each character string after the OCR process.
[0056] In this way, in Modification Example 1, a control process of
adding predetermined identification information to a character
string to output the predetermined identification information is
associated with third color. The image processing apparatus 100
detects the character string with the third color in the image data
and adds (e.g., appends, etc.) predetermined identification
information to the character string to output the predetermined
identification information. That is, the image processing apparatus
100 adds the predetermined identification information to a
character string with a color associated with the predetermined
identification information to output the predetermined
identification information. For example, the user generates the
document image 10 in which the character string associated with
desired identification information is described or decorated in
accordance with the color corresponding to the identification
information. Thus, the image processing apparatus 100 can give the
predetermined identification information in accordance with the
color to the character string based on the image data of the
document image 10.
Modification Example 2
[0057] Another example of the control process will be described in
Modification Example 2.
[0058] Modification Example 2 may be used in combination of one or
both of the first embodiment and Modification Example 1.
[0059] Although not illustrated, in Modification Example 2, output
of a character string to a predetermined output destination is
associated for each color as content of the control process in the
parameter table 108. The output destination is, for example,
another application operating on the image processing apparatus
100. The output destination may be a process, a thread, or the like
operating on the image processing apparatus 100. The output
destination may be an existing file.
[0060] In the parameter table 108, for example, output of an
application to a process A is associated with color "black." Output
of a process B of an application is associated with color
"red."
[0061] Accordingly, the control processing unit 113 outputs the
documents of the color regions 11d and 11f to the process A of the
application. The control processing unit 113 outputs the character
string "ABC document" to the process B of the application. For
example, the control processing unit 113 outputs the character
string to a process of an output destination through communication
between the processes.
[0062] In this way, in Modification Example 2, the control process
of outputting the character string to the predetermined output
destination is associated with the third color. The image
processing apparatus 100 detects the character string with the
third color in the image data and outputs the character string to
the predetermined output destination. That is, the image processing
apparatus 100 outputs the character string of the color associated
with the output to the predetermined output destination to the
predetermined output destination. For example, the user generates
the document image 10 in which a character string desired to be
output to a desired output destination is described or decorated in
accordance with the color corresponding to the output destination.
Thus, the image processing apparatus 100 can output the character
string to a corresponding output destination, based on the image
data of the document image 10.
[0063] In this way, the image processing apparatus 100 according to
the first embodiment includes the acquisition unit 110 that
acquires the image data and the control units (111 to 113). The
control units detects the character string of each color included
in the image data and performs the control process associated with
the color using the character string of the color.
[0064] Thus, the control process for the character string acquired
through the OCR process in the image data of the document image 10
can be designated in advance. In other words, the control process
for the character string acquired through the OCR process can be
designated in accordance with a color. The image processing
apparatus 100 can perform the control process associated with the
color using the character string of each color based on the color
of the character string included in the image data. Accordingly,
the user can perform the process in accordance with the color
without performing an operation after the OCR process by including
the character string of a predetermined color in the document image
10. Thus, it is possible to reduce complexity of an operation on
the character string acquired through the OCR process.
[0065] The image processing apparatus 100 can cause the control
process after the OCR process to be different for each color
corresponding to the character string. Thus, any control process
can be designated for each color. By generating the parameter table
108 for each piece of image data, it is possible to cause the
control process to be different in accordance with the image
data.
[0066] In the embodiment, the image processing apparatus 100 is
separate from the image forming apparatus 200, as exemplified
above, but the image processing apparatus 100 may be included in
the image forming apparatus 200 in other embodiments. In this case,
after a process of reading the document image 10 is performed by
the image reading unit 201, a process of the image processing
apparatus 100 according to the embodiment is performed. That is,
after the document image is read, the control process corresponding
to the color of a character string can be performed using the
character string included in the image data. Thus, it is possible
to reduce complexity of an operation on the character string of the
image data.
Second Embodiment
[0067] The image processing apparatus 100 according to a second
embodiment performs a control process in cooperation with another
apparatus. A configuration example of an image processing system
according to the second embodiment is similar to that of the first
embodiment (see FIG. 1). A functional configuration of the image
processing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment is also
similar to that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2). Process
content of the control processing unit 113 according to the second
embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment.
Hereinafter, process content of the control processing unit 113
according to the second embodiment will be described with reference
to a process flow.
[0068] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of an image
processing system according to the embodiment. The information
processing apparatus 300 according to the embodiment activates a
cooperation program (not illustrated) that performs a process in
cooperation with the image processing program 107. The cooperation
program is, for example, a program that collects and manages data
and classifies or analyzes the data. The cooperation program
stores, for example, various kinds of data in a database (not
illustrated).
[0069] The user logs in the image forming apparatus 200 (ACT21).
Specifically, the image forming apparatus 200 displays a screen for
receiving an input of an identification (ID) and a password. When
the user inputs the ID and the password, the image forming
apparatus 200 performs an authentication process. When the
authentication succeeds, the image forming apparatus 200 performs
an instruction to activate the image processing program 107 of the
image processing apparatus 100.
[0070] The image processing program 107 of the image processing
apparatus 100 performs an activation process (ACT22). The image
forming apparatus 200 notifies the activated image processing
program 107 of the input ID and password. The image processing
program 107 notifies the information processing apparatus 300 of
the ID and password notified by the image forming apparatus 200.
The cooperation program operating in the information processing
apparatus 300 performs an authentication process based on the ID
and the password notified by the image processing apparatus 100
(ACT23). When the authentication succeeds, the cooperation program
notifies the image forming apparatus 200 of information indicating
success of the authentication. When receiving the notification, the
image forming apparatus 200 instructs the image reading unit 201 to
read the document image 10. The image reading unit 201 reads the
document image 10 and generates image data (ACT24). The image
reading unit 201 transmits the generated image data to the image
processing apparatus 100.
[0071] The image processing apparatus 100 acquires the image data
transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 (ACT25). The
processes of ACT25 and ACT26 are similar to the processes of ACT12
and ACT13 described in FIG. 5. The control processing unit 113
performs the control process associated with the color using the
character string of the color with reference to the parameter table
108 (ACT28).
[0072] In the embodiment, an application programming interface
(API) called as content of the control process corresponds to the
parameter table 108 for each color. The API is an API of the
cooperation program. The image processing program 107 can use each
function of the cooperation program, data to be managed, or the
like by calling the API of the cooperation program. The API of the
cooperation program is, for example, a command to register data,
update data, or acquire data. Specifically, for example, a first
API is a command to input data to an item X managed by the
cooperation program. A second API is a command to input data to an
item Y managed by the cooperation program. In the parameter table
108, for example, calling of the first API is associated with color
"black." Calling of the second API is associated with color
"green." When the control processing unit 113 calls the API
associated with the color of the character string using the
character string, the cooperation program performs a process of
inputting the character string (ACT29). In the example of the
document image 10 described in FIG. 3, the control processing unit
113 calls the first API using the character strings of the color
regions 11d and 11f. The control processing unit 113 calls the
second API using the character strings of the color regions 11e and
11g. Thus, the character strings of the color regions 11d and 11f
are input to the item X of the data of the cooperation program and
the character strings of the color regions 11e and 11g are input to
the item Y.
[0073] In this way, for example, the user generates the document
image 10 in which a character string desired to be input to each
item of the cooperation program is described with a color
corresponding to the item. Thus, the image processing apparatus 100
can input a character string after the OCR process as data of each
item managed by the cooperation program.
[0074] As described above, when a discussion is performed using the
document image 10, the user writes information with a red or blue
pen on the document image 10 in some cases. The image processing
apparatus 100 acquires the image data of the document image 10
written by the user. Thus, the image processing apparatus 100 can
efficiently input the character string written with red or blue by
the user to a predetermined item of the data of the cooperation
program.
[0075] The API is not limited to the above-described content. The
API may be, for example, a command to transmit an electronic mail.
The API may be a command to output a character string to a
predetermined process or thread of the cooperation program. In this
case, the control processing unit 113 can output the character
string described with a predetermined color to the process of the
cooperation program associated with the color.
[0076] As described above, in the second embodiment, a control
process of calling a predetermined API using a character string is
associated with a fourth color. The image processing apparatus 100
includes the acquisition unit 110 that acquires the image data and
the control units (111 to 113). The control unit detects the
character string of each color included in the image data and calls
a predetermined API using the character string of the fourth color.
That is, the image processing apparatus 100 performs the API
associated with a predetermined color using the character string
with the predetermined color.
[0077] Thus, the image processing apparatus 100 can perform the API
associated with the color using the character string of each color
based on the color of the character string included in the image
data. The user generates the document image 10 in which the
character string used in calling of the desired API is described or
decorated with the color corresponding to the desired API. Thus,
the image processing apparatus 100 can generate a desired API using
a desired character string without performing an operation after
the OCR process based on the image data of the document image 10.
Thus, it is possible to reduce complexity of an operation on the
character string acquired through the OCR process.
[0078] The second embodiment may be used in combination of the
first embodiment and Modification Examples 1 and 2. By using the
embodiments in combination, it is possible to realize the control
process using each character string of the image data more
appropriately.
[0079] While certain embodiments have been described, these
embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not
intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the
novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of
other forms: furthermore various omissions, substitutions and
changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made
without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The
accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover
such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and
spirit of the present disclosure.
* * * * *