JP2018026641A - Image reading apparatus, image forming apparatus, and image cutting control program - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to appropriately cut out each of a plurality of documents placed on a document placement table. An image reading apparatus includes a document placement table, an image data generation unit, and an image cutout unit. The image cutout unit cuts out one document image area from a plurality of document images included in the image data, and fills the document image area by arranging a complementary image in the cut out document image area. . The image cutout unit cuts out an area of the original image from the image data after being filled when the filled image data includes the original image data. And the process of filling the area of the original image by arranging the complementary image in the cut out area of the original image are repeated until the original image is not included in the filled image data. [Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image cutting control program, and more particularly to a technique for reading a plurality of documents placed on a document placing table.

  An image reading apparatus capable of reading a plurality of documents placed on a document placement table is known. In the image reading apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, image data obtained by reading a document is divided into rectangular regions for each document image, and processing (cropping) for cutting out the document image is performed for each of the divided regions. Thus, a plurality of document images are acquired.

JP 2005-57603 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, when only one original image is included in each divided rectangular area, the original image can be appropriately cut out. If another document image is included in the area, the document image may be erroneously detected, and the document image cannot be appropriately cut out.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it is possible to appropriately cut out each of a plurality of documents placed on a document placement table.

  An image reading apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a document placing table on which a document is placed, and a plurality of documents placed on the document placing table by reading a predetermined reading range of the document placing table. An image data generation unit that generates image data including a plurality of original images, and an image cutout that acquires a plurality of cut-out image data indicating each of the plurality of original images by cutting out a partial area of the image data And (i) analyzing the image data generated by the image data generation unit, and one original image among the plurality of original images included in the image data. And extracting the specified one original image area from the image data, thereby obtaining cut image data indicating the one original image, and (ii) the extracted original image Territory (Iii) Analyzing the filled image data to determine whether or not the filled image data includes a document image (Iv) When a document image is included in the painted image data, a region indicating the document image is cut out from the painted image data. Processing for obtaining image data, and processing for filling the region of the original image by arranging the complementary image in the region of the cut out original image, and the original image is not included in the image data after being filled This is an image reading apparatus that repeats until.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes the image reading apparatus described above and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording sheet based on image data generated by the image reading apparatus. Device.

  An image cutting control program according to another aspect of the present invention shows a plurality of document images by cutting out a partial region of image data including document images of a plurality of documents. It functions as an image cutout unit that acquires a plurality of cutout image data, and further, the image cutout unit (i) analyzes the image data, and among the plurality of document images included in the image data A region of one document image is specified, and a region of the specified one document image is cut out from the image data, thereby obtaining cut-out image data indicating the one document image, and (ii) the cut-out The supplementary image is arranged in the region of the original document image so that the region of the original image is filled. (Iii) The image data after the filling is analyzed and the image data after the filling is analyzed. (Iv) if the original image data is included in the painted image data, the area of the original image is cut out from the painted image data. After the process of obtaining cutout image data indicating one original image and the process of filling the area of the original image by placing the complementary image in the area of the cutout original image This image cut-out control program causes a computer to repeat until no original image is included in the image data.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately cut out each of a plurality of documents placed on a document placement table.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an image forming apparatus including an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side sectional view showing a structure of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a top view showing an image reading unit of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram schematically illustrating a main internal configuration of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations performed by the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows typically operation | movement by the image reading apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically operation | movement by the image reading apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an order in which pixel positions constituting a document image area are searched by the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. (A) and (B) are diagrams schematically showing a process of filling a region of a document image by the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus, and an image cutting control program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus including an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction device having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile communication function, a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is generally configured by an apparatus main body 80 and an image reading apparatus 10 disposed above the apparatus main body 80.

  A paper feed unit, an image forming unit, and the like (not shown) are accommodated in a housing 81 that constitutes an outline of the apparatus main body 80. The image forming unit forms an image on the recording paper conveyed from the paper feeding unit based on the image data generated by the image reading device 10. The recording paper on which the image has been formed is discharged to the discharge tray 82 after the fixing process.

  An operation unit 91 and a display unit 92 are disposed on the front surface of the casing 81 of the apparatus main body 80. The display unit 92 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic EL (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display. The operation unit 91 is a plurality of operation keys that accept operations from the user on the screen displayed on the display unit 92.

  An image forming instruction, an image reading instruction, or the like is input to the image forming apparatus 1 or the image reading apparatus 10 by a user operation using the operation unit 91 or the like. The input instruction is received by the receiving unit 105 described later.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the structure of the image reading apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The image reading apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 30 (image data generation unit) and a document conveying unit 20 disposed above the image reading unit 30.

  The document conveying unit 20 feeds a bundle of documents placed on the document placing unit 21 one by one by a driving mechanism 23 including a paper feed roller and a conveyance roller, and conveys the bundle to a position facing the document reading slit 36. After enabling reading by the image reading unit 30 through the document reading slit 36, the document is discharged to the document discharge unit 22.

  FIG. 3 is a top view showing the image reading unit 30. In the image reading unit 30, a contact glass 37 is fitted into an opening provided in the main body frame 38. A document to be read is placed on the upper surface of the contact glass 37, and the contact glass 37 serves as a document placing table. In the example shown in FIG. 3, three documents S 1 to S 3 are placed on the contact glass 37.

  Returning to FIG. 2, a reading unit 40 is provided on the lower surface side of the contact glass 37 in the main body frame 38 so as to be movable in the sub-scanning direction (the arrow Y direction in the figure). The reading unit 40 is reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction by a reading unit driving unit (not shown) including a motor, a gear, and the like, and reads a document placed on the contact glass 37.

  The reading unit 40 stores image data indicating the read document in an image memory 41 (see FIG. 4) described later in a reversible compression image format such as a RAW (Raw image format) format or PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the main internal configuration of the image reading apparatus 10. The image reading apparatus 10 includes a document conveying unit 20, an image reading unit 30, an image memory 41, a storage unit 42, an operation unit 91, a display unit 92, and a control unit 100. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The image memory 41 is a memory that temporarily stores image data generated by the image reading unit 30 reading a document. The storage unit 42 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The storage unit 42 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 and the image reading apparatus 10.

  The control unit 100 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The control unit 100 executes an operation control unit 101, an image cutout unit 102, an inclination correction when a control program such as an image cutout control program stored in the memory or the storage unit 42 is executed by the processor. Functions as the unit 103, the display control unit 104, and the reception unit 105. In addition, each said structure of the control unit 100 may be each comprised by the hard circuit irrespective of the operation | movement based on the above-mentioned control program.

  The operation control unit 101 controls overall operation of the image reading apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 1. In particular, the operation control unit 101 has a function of controlling an image reading operation by the image reading unit 30 by controlling a driving operation by a reading unit driving unit that moves the reading unit 40 in the sub-scanning direction.

  The image cutout unit 102 includes a cutout unit 1021 and an image complementing unit 1022, and shows each of a plurality of document images by cutting out a partial area of image data generated by the image reading unit 30 reading the document. It has a function to acquire a plurality of cut image data. Details of processing performed by the clipping unit 1021 and the image complementing unit 1022 will be described later.

  The inclination correction unit 103 detects the inclination of the cut-out image data cut out by the image cut-out unit 102 and performs a rotation process on the cut-out image data, thereby correcting the inclination of the cut-out image data horizontally. It has the function to do.

  The display control unit 104 has a function of controlling a display operation such as a screen by the display unit 92.

  The accepting unit 105 has a function of accepting an image reading instruction, an image forming instruction, and the like in response to a user operation using the operation unit 91 or the like.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations performed by the image reading apparatus 10. 6 and 7 are diagrams schematically showing the operation of the image reading apparatus 10. Hereinafter, the operation of the image reading apparatus 10 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 as needed, with reference mainly to FIG.

  When the accepting unit 106 accepts an image reading instruction indicating that an image should be read using the cropping function (YES in step S10), the image reading unit 30 is controlled by the operation control unit 101 and the image reading unit 30 in FIG. As shown in the first row, the document placed on the contact glass 37 is read (step S11), and image data representing the document is generated as shown in the second row of FIG. 6 (step S12). At this time, the image reading unit 30 performs reading from a predetermined readable range, for example, from one end to the other end of the contact glass 37. The image data generated by the process of step S12 is stored in the image memory 41.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, three documents S1 to S3 are placed on the contact glass 37 as shown in the first row. As a result, as shown in the second row, the image reading unit 30 generates image data D1 including images indicating the three originals S1 to S3.

  After the process of step S12, the cutout unit 1021 of the image cutout unit 102 analyzes the image data and specifies one document image area among the plurality of document images included in the image data (step S13). .

  Specifically, the cutout unit 1021 detects the edge position in the image data by performing Hough transform on the image data generated in the process of step S12. When the rectangular area is surrounded by a plurality of edge lines composed of the detected plurality of edge positions, the cutout unit 1021 identifies the rectangular area as the area of the one original image. When a plurality of rectangular areas surrounded by a plurality of edge lines are detected, the cutout unit 1021 identifies the largest area among the plurality of rectangular areas as the area of the one original image.

  After the process in step S13, the cutout unit 1021 of the image cutout unit 102 cuts out one document image area specified in the process in step S13, thereby obtaining cutout image data indicating one document image ( Step S14). In the example shown in FIG. 6, as shown in the third row, cut-out image data d1 indicating the image of the document S1 is cut out from the image data D1.

  After the process of step S14, the image complementing unit 1022 of the image cutout unit 102 fills the area of the original image by arranging the complementary image in the area of the original image cut out in the process of step S14 (step S15). When the area of the document image is filled, the image complementing unit 1022 deletes the image data stored in the image memory 41 and newly stores the filled image data in the image memory 41.

  The image complementing unit 1022 generates a complementary image by determining a pixel value based on the pixel values of surrounding pixels for each pixel constituting the clipped original image region, and cuts out the generated complementary image. A complementary image is arranged in the area of the original document image.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the image complementing unit 1022 divides the image data D1 into a plurality of regions, for example, regions composed of one pixel. Then, the image complementing unit 1022 searches for the pixel positions constituting the region of the filled document image in a predetermined order for each of the plurality of divided regions. In the example shown in FIG. 8, as indicated by the arrows in the figure, the image complementing unit 1022 searches for pixel positions that constitute the area of the document image that is painted in order from the upper left area.

  FIG. 9A is a diagram schematically showing a process for determining the pixel value of a complementary image for painting a pixel for each pixel constituting the region of the filled document image. In FIG. 9A, e1 to e5 indicate pixels that constitute the image data D1, and the pixels e2 and e3 are pixels that constitute the area of the filled document image. Further, a to e shown in the figure indicate pixel values of the pixels e1 to e5. When determining the pixel value of the complementary image to be painted on the pixel e2, the pixel value of the complementary image is determined based on the pixel values of the pixels e1 and e4 that are pixels located around the pixel e2. Specifically, the average value ((c + d) / 2) of the pixel value c of the pixel e1 and the pixel value d of the pixel e4 is determined as the pixel value a ′ of the complementary image to be filled.

  Further, when determining the pixel value of the complementary image to be painted on the pixel e3, the pixel value of the complementary image is determined based on the pixel values of the pixels e2 and e5 that are pixels located around the pixel e2. At this time, the pixel value a ′ of the complementary image is used as the pixel value of the pixel e2 instead of “a” which is the pixel value before the complement. That is, the average value ((a ′ + e) / 2) of the pixel value a ′ of the complementary image of the pixel e2 and the pixel value e of the pixel e5 is determined as the pixel value b ′ of the complementary image to be filled.

  FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of the image data after the clipping process and the image data after the area of the original image of the image data after the clipping process is filled. In the figure, D5 indicates the image data after the clipping process, and D6 indicates the image data after the original image area of the image data D5 after the clipping process is filled. The numbers shown in the figure indicate pixel values. By performing the above-described filling process on each pixel constituting the clipped document image area (the area surrounded by the bold line in the figure), as shown in FIG. 9B, the clipped document image area Are filled with a complementary image composed of pixel values close to the pixel values of the pixels located in the vicinity thereof. By painting the area of the document image cut out as described above, the painted area is not detected as an edge position in the process of specifying the document image area to be performed later. Is not detected as.

  Here, the image data generated by the image reading unit 30 may have pixel values around the document image that are not completely white due to the influence of the shadow of the document. In such a case, when the area of the document image cut out simply by using a white image is filled instead of filling out the area of the document image cut out as described above, the filled area becomes the original document image to be performed later. May be detected as an edge position in the process of specifying the area, and may be erroneously detected as a document image area. In this regard, according to the image reading apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the filled area is not erroneously detected as the area of the document image.

  Returning to FIG. 5, after the process of step S <b> 15, the cutout unit 1021 of the image cutout unit 102 analyzes the image data that has been filled in the process of step S <b> 15, and converts the original image data into the filled image data. It is determined whether or not an image is included (step S16).

  When the document image is included in the image data after being filled (YES in step S16), the cutout unit 1021 of the image cutout unit 102 cuts out the area of the document image from the image data after being filled, Cut-out image data indicating one document image is acquired (step S17). Then, the image complementing unit 1022 of the image cutout unit 102 fills the region of the document image by arranging the complementary image in the region of the document image cut out (step S18). The processes in step S17 and step S18 are repeated until the original image is not included in the painted image data. If the original image is not included in the painted image data (NO in step S16), The operation control unit 101 outputs the cut image data acquired by the above processing. As an output method for outputting the cut-out image data, there are a method for outputting all the cut-out image data by e-mail transmission to an external PC (Personal Computer), and a method for forming an image on a recording sheet by an image forming unit. is there. In this case, the operation control unit 101 that controls mail transmission and the image forming unit that forms an image serve as output means.

  Note that, in the above-described processing in steps S16 to S18, when a new document image area is filled, the image complementing unit 1022 deletes the filled image data stored in the image memory 41. The newly generated painted image data is stored in the memory.

  As described above, in the image reading apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the image reading unit 30 cuts out original images one by one from the image data obtained by reading the original and cuts out the original image. The area is filled with a complementary image. Then, the process of cutting out the original image one by one with respect to the filled image data and the process of filling out the area of the cut out original image using the complementary image are repeated until no original image is detected. ing. By performing the processing as described above, all the document images included in the image data obtained by reading the document can be cut out. In addition, the original image is cut out one by one, the region of the cut out original image is filled with the complementary image, and the next original is cut out using the image data after the filling. Therefore, the possibility of erroneously detecting the document image is low.

  In the image reading apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the image cutting unit 102 erases the image data generated by the image reading unit 30 from the image memory 41 when the area of the document image is filled. At the same time, the image data after painting is stored in the image memory 41, and when the area of the original image is newly painted, the image data after painting stored in the image memory 41 is erased. At the same time, the newly generated image data after painting is stored in the image memory 41. By performing such processing, it is possible to suppress the capacity of the image memory 41 consumed in the above-described image cutting processing.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, in the process of specifying the document image area from the image data described in the above embodiment, the cutting unit 1021 of the image cutting unit 102 performs the process of specifying the document image area. An area of the document image may be specified by performing a process of reducing the image data and analyzing the reduced image data. Since the reduced image data is analyzed to specify the document image area, the time required to specify the document image area can be shortened. Further, it is possible to reduce calculation resources such as a processor and a memory required for specifying a document image area.

  In the above-described embodiment, a complementary image is generated by determining pixel values based on the pixel values of the pixels located in the periphery of each pixel constituting the region of the document image cut out by the image cutout unit 102. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this case.

  The image cutout unit 102 identifies the pixel having the largest number among the pixels constituting the image data generated by reading the document by the image reading unit 30, and generates an image composed of the identified pixel as a complementary image. May be.

  When the number of documents placed on the contact glass 37 is small or the size of the document is small, the area on which the document is not placed is larger than the area on the contact glass 37 where the document is placed. . In such a case, a complementary image can be generated by the above processing. The above processing requires a smaller amount of calculation than the processing shown in the above embodiment, and can generate a complementary image at a higher speed.

  Further, in the process of step S16 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, when a plurality of document images are included in the painted image data, the image cutout unit 102 performs the following process to cut out the next document to be cut out. An image may be specified.

  That is, the image cutout unit 102 reads the document image cut out immediately before (a document image cut out in the process of step S14 or the process of step S17) and each of the plurality of document images included in the painted image data. The similarity is calculated. For example, the image cutout unit 102 calculates the degree of similarity by comparing the pixel value of each pixel constituting the cut-out document image with the pixel value of each pixel constituting each of the plurality of document images. The image cutout unit 102 may calculate the similarity by detecting edges included in the document image and comparing the ratio of the detected edges in the document image. Then, the image cutout unit 102 cuts out the area of the document image having the highest calculated similarity from the image data after being painted.

  In addition, a control program such as the image cutout control program described in the above embodiment is recorded on a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium, such as a hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or semiconductor memory. It may be a thing. In this case, a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium that records the control program is an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Image reading apparatus 30 Image reading part 41 Image memory 100 Control unit 101 Operation control part 102 Image extraction part 103 Tilt correction part 104 Display control part 105 Reception part 1021 Extraction part 1022 Image complement part

Claims (7)

An original table on which an original is placed;
An image data generation unit that reads a predetermined reading range of the document table and generates image data including document images of a plurality of documents placed on the document table;
An image cutout unit that obtains a plurality of cutout image data indicating each of the plurality of document images by cutting out a partial area of the image data;
The image cutout part is
(I) Analyzing the image data generated by the image data generation unit to identify one document image area among the plurality of document images included in the image data, and to identify the document data from the image data By cutting out the area of the one original image, cut-out image data indicating the one original image is obtained,
(Ii) disposing a complementary image in the clipped document image region to fill the document image region;
(Iii) Analyzing the filled image data to determine whether or not a document image is included in the painted image data;
(Iv) When a document image is included in the painted image data, a clipped image data indicating one document image is obtained by cutting out the region of the document image from the painted image data. And repeating the process of filling the area of the original image by arranging the complementary image in the area of the cut out original image until the original image is not included in the image data after being filled Reader.   The image cut-out unit generates the complementary image by determining a pixel value based on a pixel value of a pixel located in the periphery of each pixel constituting a region of the cut-out document image. The image reading apparatus according to 1.   The image cutout unit identifies a pixel having the largest number among pixels constituting the image data generated by the image data generation unit, and generates an image including the specified pixel as the complementary image. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1.   When a plurality of document images are included in the filled image data, the image cutout unit calculates a similarity between each of the plurality of document images and the clipped document image, and the highest similarity is obtained. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an area of a document image is cut out from the painted image data.   The image cutout unit stores the image data generated by the image data generation unit in a memory as a work area, and erases the image data from the memory when the area of the document image is filled. The image data after the filling is stored in the memory, and when the area of the original image is newly filled, the image data after the filling stored in the memory is erased. 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the newly generated image data after being painted is stored in the memory. 6. An image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording sheet based on image data generated by the image reading apparatus. By causing a computer to cut out a partial area of image data including document images of a plurality of documents, the computer functions as an image cutting unit that acquires a plurality of clipped image data indicating each of the plurality of document images,
Furthermore, the image cutout part is
(I) Analyzing the image data to identify a region of one document image among the plurality of document images included in the image data, and to identify a region of the one document image identified from the image data By cutting out, the cut image data indicating the one original image is obtained,
(Ii) disposing a complementary image in the clipped document image region to fill the document image region;
(Iii) Analyzing the filled image data to determine whether or not a document image is included in the painted image data;
(Iv) When a document image is included in the painted image data, a clipped image data indicating one document image is obtained by cutting out the region of the document image from the painted image data. And the process of filling the area of the original image by arranging the complementary image in the area of the cut out original image is repeated until the original image is not included in the image data after the filling. An image cropping control program that makes a computer function.