Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that enables creation of handwritten fonts even without using OCR technology.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus is configured to: print recording paper on which a character input form CF1 is formed including character entry fields F1 to F20 for entering handwritten characters and samples SP1 to SP20 which are instruction information for instructing a user on characters to be entered in the character entry fields; extract an image entered in the character entry field from document image data obtained by reading a handwritten font creation sheet ST1, as a document, on which handwritten characters are entered using a document reading unit, based on arrangement location information and character information recorded in a two-dimensional code CD included in the document image data; and store the image data representing the extracted image in a storage unit as font data of the handwritten font in association with a character code of a character to be entered in the character entry field in which the image was entered.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for creating handwritten fonts. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 describes a method of reading a handwritten document with a scanner, recognizing characters from the image data obtained by the reading using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, and creating a handwritten font. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-252430 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The invention described in the above Patent Document 1 requires OCR technology to create handwritten fonts. In addition, when using OCR technology, if the handwritten characters on the document are not clear, the accuracy of character recognition decreases, which may lead to results that are different from the user's intention.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to make it possible to create handwritten fonts without using OCR technology. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An image forming device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a creation unit that creates a character input form having a character entry field for entering handwritten characters and instruction information for instructing a user what characters to enter in the character entry field; an image forming unit that forms an image on recording paper; a control unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image of the character input form on the recording paper; a document reading unit that reads a document; and a storage unit that extracts an image entered in the character entry field from a document image obtained by reading a handwritten font creation sheet formed by image-forming the character input form on the recording paper, on which handwritten characters have been entered, based on predetermined location information indicating the location of the character entry field and character information indicating the characters to be entered in the character entry field, and stores the extracted image as font data of a handwritten font in association with the character code of the character to be entered in the character entry field in which the image was entered. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, since the characters to be entered in the character entry field are predetermined, there is no need to recognize which characters are handwritten in the character entry field. Therefore, OCR technology is not required to create a handwritten font. Therefore, it is possible to create a handwritten font without using OCR technology. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Diagram 5] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Figure 6]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a handwritten font creation sheet. [Figure 7] 13A to 13D are diagrams showing an example of a handwritten font creation sheet. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a handwritten font creation sheet on which handwritten characters are entered. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Figure 10] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by a control unit in the image forming apparatus. [Figure 11] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Figure 12] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a second handwritten font creation sheet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] The image forming device 1 is a multifunction device that combines multiple functions, such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function, and is configured to include a document feeding unit 6, a document reading unit 5, an image forming unit 12, a paper feeding unit 14, and an operation unit 47.

[0011] The document feeder 6 is configured to be openable and closable by a hinge or the like (not shown) on the upper surface of the document reading unit 5, and functions as a document pressing cover when reading a document placed on a platen glass (not shown). The document feeder 6 is also called an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), and includes a document placement tray 61 on which documents are placed, and a document discharge tray 62 provided below the document placement tray 61. The document feeder 6 supplies documents placed on the document placement tray 61 to the document reading unit 5 one by one, and discharges the documents to the document discharge tray 62.

[0012] A description will be given of a case where a document reading operation is performed by the image forming apparatus 1. The document reading unit 5 optically reads an image of a document supplied to the document reading unit 5 by the document feeding unit 6 or a document placed on the platen glass, and generates image data. The image data generated by the document reading unit 5 is stored in an image memory or the like (not shown).

[0013] A description will be given of an image forming operation performed by the image forming apparatus 1. Based on image data generated by a document reading operation or image data received from a computer serving as an external device (e.g., a personal computer) connected via a network, the image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on a recording paper serving as a recording medium fed from a paper feed unit 14.

[0014] The recording paper on which the toner image has been formed by the image forming unit 12 is subjected to a fixing process in a fixing unit 13 (FIG. 2) described later, and the recording paper after the fixing process is discharged onto a discharge tray 151. The paper supply unit 14 includes a plurality of paper supply cassettes 141.

[0015] The operation unit 47 receives instructions, such as an instruction to execute an image forming operation, from an operator regarding various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 47 includes a display unit 473 that displays operation guides and the like for the operator. The operation unit 47 also receives input of instructions from the user via a touch panel included in the display unit 473, based on the user's operation (touch operation) on an operation screen displayed on the display unit 473 or the user's operation on physical keys.

[0016] The display unit 473 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like. The display unit 473 is equipped with a touch panel. When the operator touches a button or key displayed on the screen, the touch panel receives an instruction associated with the touched position.

[0017] 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic diagram of a main internal configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an original feeding section 6, an original reading section 5, an image forming section 12, a fixing section 13, a paper feeding section 14, an operation section 47, a network interface section 91, and a storage section 8. The image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a connector 7 to which an external storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory can be connected and from which data can be read.

[0018] The fixing unit 13 heats and pressurizes the recording paper on which the toner image has been formed by the image forming unit 12, thereby fixing the toner image to the recording paper. The recording paper that has undergone the fixing process is discharged onto the discharge tray 151 (Figure 1).

[0019] The network interface unit 91 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from an external device (for example, a personal computer) within a local area or on the Internet.

[0020] The storage unit 8 is a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various control programs and the like.

[0021] The control unit 10 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 10 includes a control unit 100, a creation unit 101, a storage unit 102, and a change unit 103.

[0022] The control unit 10 functions as a control unit 100, a creation unit 101, a storage unit 102, and a change unit 103 by the operation of the processor in accordance with the control program stored in the storage unit 8. However, the control unit 100 and the like can also be configured by hardware circuits, regardless of the operation in accordance with the control program by the control unit 10. The same applies to each embodiment below unless otherwise stated.

[0023] The control unit 100 is responsible for controlling the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 is connected to the document feeding unit 6, the document reading unit 5, the image forming unit 12, the fixing unit 13, the paper feeding unit 14, the operation unit 47, the network interface unit 91, the storage unit 8, and the external storage medium 7, and performs drive control of each of these units.

[0024] For example, the control unit 100 executes various processes necessary for image formation by the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 acquires document image data obtained by reading by the document reading unit 5, and acquires document data indicating a document to be printed that is transmitted from an external device such as a personal computer via the network interface unit 91. The control unit 100 also acquires document data indicating a document to be printed that is stored in an external storage medium 7 attached to the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 also controls the display of the display unit 473.

[0025] Next, the screen display control when registering a handwritten font will be described. The control unit 100 causes the display unit 473 to display an operation screen SC1 as shown in FIG. 3 as a "home screen". The operation screen SC1 has operation keys K1 to K8, which are soft keys. For example, the character string "register handwritten font" is written on the operation key K8.

[0026] The control unit 100 performs control based on instructions received by the operation unit 47. For example, when the operation unit 47 receives an instruction for the operation key K8 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 performs display control of the display unit 473 in accordance with the instruction, and transitions the screen displayed on the display unit 473 from the "home screen" to an operation screen SC2 for creating and registering a handwritten font, as shown in FIG.

[0027] On the operation screen SC2 shown in FIG. 4, an operation key K11 labeled "Create new handwritten font" and an operation key K12 labeled "Register new handwritten font" are arranged.

[0028] When the operation unit 47 receives an instruction via the touch panel to the operation key K11 marked "Create new handwritten font" on the operation screen SC2, the control unit 100 displays on the display unit 473 an operation screen SC3 for setting conditions for creating a handwritten font, as shown in an example in Figure 5 (A).

[0029] The operation screen SC3 displays a text box TX1 for receiving input of the name of a new handwritten font to be created by the user, an operation key K13 marked "Change" for receiving input for changing the basic font, an operation key K14 marked "Change" for receiving input for changing the character code, and an operation key K15 marked "Print".

[0030] When the operation unit 47 accepts the selection of the text box TX1 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 displays a soft keyboard (not shown) on the display unit 473, and the operation unit 47 accepts character input from the user based on the user's operation of the soft keyboard. Fig. 5(B) shows a state in which "My handwriting 1" is input by the user via the operation unit 47 as the name of the handwriting font, and the control unit 100 displays the input content in the text box TX1.

[0031] The base font will be described later, but when a new handwritten font is registered, for example, a font called "Arial" is set as the default. In addition to "Arial," multiple fonts such as "Helvetica" are prepared as candidates for the base font, and each time the operation unit 47 receives an instruction on the operation key K13, the control unit 100 switches the base font in sequence.

[0032] The character code is used to set the number of registered characters for the handwritten font, and is set to "ASCII" as the default. In addition to "ASCII," there are multiple character code candidates, such as "JIS X 0201," and each time the operation unit 47 receives an instruction from the operation key K14, the control unit 100 switches the character code in sequence.

[0033] For example, when the operation unit 47 receives an instruction to set the character code to "ASCII" based on the user's operation of the operation key K14, "ASCII" is used as the character code for registering the handwritten font. Therefore, the number of registered characters of the handwritten font is 94 characters in total, including 26 uppercase alphabet characters, 26 lowercase alphabet characters, 10 digits "0" to "9", and 32 special characters such as "!". On the other hand, when the character code is set to "JIS X 0201", "JIS X 0201" is used as the character code for registering the handwritten font. In this case, kana characters are added to the alphabet, digits, and special characters in the above-mentioned "ASCII" case, so the number of registered characters of the handwritten font is a predetermined number of characters that is greater than 94.

[0034] Next, a character input form used for entering handwritten characters will be described.

[0035] When the operation unit 47 receives an instruction to operate the operation key K15 marked "Print" on the operation screen SC3 via the touch panel, the creation unit 101 creates image data constituting a character input form CF1 for entering handwritten characters, as shown in Fig. 6, which will be described later. Then, the control unit 100 causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image of the character input form CF1 on a recording sheet. The recording sheet on which the image of the character input form CF1 has been formed becomes the handwritten font creation sheet ST1.

[0036] For example, when the base font is set to "Arial", the character code is set to "ASCII", and the operation screen SC3 shown in the example of Figure 5 (B) is displayed on the display unit 473, if the operation unit 47 accepts an instruction on the operation key K15, the creation unit 101 acquires text information indicating "My handwriting 1", for which input into the text box TX1 is being accepted, as the name of the handwritten font, acquires "Arial" as base font information, and further acquires "ASCII" as character code information.

[0037] The creation unit 101 sets the number of registered characters of the handwritten font based on the acquired character code information. When the character code is "ASCII", the creation unit 101 sets the number of registered characters of the handwritten font to 94 characters as described above, and creates five character input forms CF1 to CF5 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "character input forms CF") as shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7(A) to (D) to allow the user to input 94 handwritten characters.

[0038] Thereafter, the control unit 100 causes the image forming unit 12 to form images of the character input forms CF1 to CF5 on separate recording sheets. The recording sheets become handwriting font creation sheets ST1 to ST5 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "handwriting font creation sheets ST").

[0039] Here, the handwriting font creation sheet ST1 (character input form CF1) shown in FIG. 6 is for entering 20 alphabetical capital letters "A" through "T."

[0040] In addition, the handwriting font creation sheets ST2 to ST5 (character input fonts CF2 to CF5) shown in Figures 7(A) to (D) are respectively for entering 20 letters, namely, uppercase letters "U" to "Z" and lowercase letters "a" to "n", for entering 20 letters, namely, lowercase letters "o" to "z" and numbers "0" to "7", for entering 20 characters, such as numbers "8" and "9" and the special character "!", and for entering 14 characters, such as the special character "=".

[0041] 6, character input form CF1 has character entry fields F1 to F20 for entering handwritten characters and instruction information (samples SP1 to SP20) for instructing the user on the characters to be entered in the character entry fields F1 to F20. The character entry fields F1 to F20 are arranged in 5 rows and 4 columns in character input form CF1.

[0042] The character input form CF1 has sample SP1 to SP20 as the instruction information outside the character entry fields F1 to F20, respectively. For example, outside the character entry field F1, "A" is placed as a sample SP1 of the character to be entered in the character entry field F1. Note that, in addition to the sample, a character code or the like may be used as the instruction information. For example, if the character to be entered in the character entry field F1 is "A," the character code "0x41" is used as the instruction information. Hereinafter, the character entry fields F1 to F20 and sample SP1 to SP20 are also simply referred to as "character entry fields F" and "sample SP."

[0043] The creation unit 101 creates a character input form CF having, as the character input form CF, placement location information indicating the placement location of each character entry field F in the character input form CF, character information indicating the character to be entered in each character entry field F, and further a two-dimensional code CD in which text information "My handwriting 1" indicating the name of a handwriting font, basic font information "Arial", and character code information "ASCII" are recorded. For example, a QR code (registered trademark) or a barcode is used as the two-dimensional code CD.

[0044] The creation unit 101 also places "My handwriting 1" indicating the name N1 of the handwritten font and "Arial" indicating the name N2 of the base font in the character input form CF. Furthermore, the creation unit 101 places hook marks M1 to M3 for position detection in three of the four corners of the character input form CF (the upper right corner, the lower left corner, and the lower right corner in FIG. 6). The hook marks M1 to M3 for position detection are marks that serve as references for identifying the placement location of the character entry field F.

[0045] Next, an example of a procedure for reading the handwritten font creation sheet ST and registering a handwritten font will be described. First, the user handwrites the characters to be entered in the character entry field F formed on the handwritten font creation sheet ST (recording paper on which a character input form CF is image-formed) while referring to the sample SP. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a handwritten font creation sheet on which handwritten characters have been entered.

[0046] After entering handwritten characters in the handwriting font creation sheet ST, the user operates the operation key K12 marked with "Register new handwritten font" on the operation screen SC2 shown in Fig. 4. When the operation unit 47 accepts an instruction to the operation key K12 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 473 to display an operation screen SC4 for registering a handwritten font, as shown in Fig. 9.

[0047] The operation screen SC4 displays a guide message G1 urging the user to place the handwritten font creation sheet ST with handwritten characters filled in it on the scanner (such as the document placement tray 61), stating, "Please place the handwritten font creation sheet ST with handwritten characters filled in it on the scanner," along with an operation key K16 marked "Execute."

[0048] The user stacks the handwriting font creation sheets ST1 to ST5 on which handwritten characters have been written, places them on the document placement tray 61, and then operates the operation key K16. When the operation unit 47 receives an instruction to operate the operation key K16 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 controls the operation of the document feed unit 6 and the document reading unit 5, and causes the document reading unit 5 to read the image of each of the handwriting font creation sheets ST1 to ST5.

[0049] The storage unit 102 extracts an image entered in the character entry field F from the original image obtained by reading the handwritten font creation sheet ST on which handwritten characters are entered using the original reading unit 5 as the original, based on the placement location information and character information recorded in the two-dimensional code CD contained in the original image, extracts an image portion indicating the handwritten characters from the extracted image using known techniques such as edge detection, and stores the extracted handwritten character image portion as font data of the handwritten font, corresponding to the character code of the character to be entered in the character entry field F in which the handwritten character image portion was entered.

[0050] Next, an example of a handwritten font registration process by the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 10. Note that this process will be described taking as an example a case where the handwritten font creation sheets ST1 to ST5 on which handwritten characters are written are bundled and placed on the document placement tray 61, and a document reading instruction is input to the operation unit 474 by a user operation on the operation key K16 marked "Execute" in the operation screen SC4 shown in Fig. 9.

[0051] When the operation unit 47 receives the document reading instruction, the control unit 100 controls the operation of the document feeding unit 6 and the document reading unit 5 to read the image of the document (handwritten font creation sheets ST1 to ST5) placed on the document loading tray 61, and acquires the document image (S1).

[0052] The storage unit 102 analyzes the two-dimensional code CD indicated by the document image obtained by reading with the document reading unit 5, and obtains the information recorded in the two-dimensional code (location information indicating the location of the character entry field F, character information indicating the character to be entered in the character entry field F, text information indicating the name of the handwritten font, basic font information, and character code information) (S2).

[0053] Next, the storage unit 102 detects one character entry field F based on the placement location information using the hook marks M1 to M3 arranged in the document image indicating the character input font CF as a reference (S4), and identifies the character to be entered in the detected character entry field F based on the character information (S5).

[0054] The storage unit 102 determines whether the detected character entry field F is blank or not based on the document image data (S6), and if it determines that the character entry field F is not blank (NO in S6), it extracts the handwritten character image portion entered in the character entry field F based on the document image data (S7). For example, the storage unit 102 determines that the character entry field F is not blank when the detected character entry field F contains an image made up of pixel values ​​other than pixel values ​​indicating white.

[0055] The storage unit 102 stores the extracted handwritten character image portion as font data of the handwritten font in association with the character code of the character identified in S5 (S8). For example, when the storage unit 102 extracts an image portion showing the handwritten character "A" entered in the character entry field F1 in the character input form CF1, the storage unit 102 creates a file with the file name "My handwriting 1" for the extracted image portion and stores the extracted image portion in association with the character code "0x41" in the file. The character code "0x41" is the character code for the capital letter "A" in the alphabet.

[0056] When saving the image portion in the file, the saving unit 102 performs existing image processing on the image portion and saves it in the file in a bitmap font or an outline font.

[0057] On the other hand, if the storage unit 102 determines that the detected character entry field F is blank (YES in S6), it retrieves character data of the basic font "Arial" corresponding to the character identified in S5 from the pre-registered memory unit 8 based on the basic font information (S9), and stores the retrieved character data as font data of a handwritten font in the file in association with the character code of the character identified in S5 (S10).

[0058] Next, the storage unit 102 determines whether or not saving of the font data of the handwritten font for all images (including blanks) entered in the character entry field F has been completed (S11). In other words, the storage unit 102 determines whether or not saving of the handwritten font for all 94 characters has been completed.

[0059] When the storage unit 102 determines that the handwritten font has been saved (YES in S11), the process ends. On the other hand, when the storage unit 102 determines that the handwritten font has not been saved (NO in S11), the process returns to S4.

[0060] Next, an example of a procedure for using a registered handwritten font will be described. In this case, the user operates the operation key K5 marked "USB D memory" on the operation screen SC1 serving as the "home screen" shown in Fig. 3. When the operation unit 47 receives an instruction on the operation key K5 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 transitions the screen displayed on the display unit 473 from the "home screen" to an operation screen SC5 for printing a document (document data) stored in the USB memory (external storage medium 7), as shown in Fig. 11(A).

[0061] An operation key K17 labeled "Handwritten Font" is displayed on the operation screen SC5, and each time the operation unit 47 receives an instruction on the operation key K17, the control unit 100 switches the handwritten font function between disabled and enabled. The handwritten font function is a function that changes the font of characters included in a document to be printed by using font data stored in the storage unit 102. Fig. 11(B) shows a state in which the handwritten font function is enabled.

[0062] When the handwritten font function is disabled and the operation screen SC5 is in the display state as shown in Figure 11 (A), when the operation unit 47 receives an instruction for the operation key K17 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 switches the setting of the handwritten font function from disabled to enabled, and displays on the display unit 473 an operation screen SC6 for setting conditions for using the handwritten font, as shown in an example in Figure 12 (A).

[0063] The operation screen SC6 displays a list box LX1 for the user to select a handwritten font to be used, radio buttons R1 to R3, and an operation key K18 labeled "Save Setting." The radio button R1 is a button for receiving an instruction to change all characters included in the document to be printed to a handwritten font.

[0064] Radio button R2 is a button for accepting an instruction to change only the characters on a specified page, among the characters included in the document to be printed, to a handwritten font. Below radio button R2, list boxes LX2 and LX3 are displayed for accepting the specification of the start page and the end page.

[0065] Radio button R3 is a button for receiving an instruction to change only the characters of the specified font among the characters included in the document to be printed to a handwritten font. Below radio button R3, list box LX4 for receiving font designation is displayed. Instructions and settings input by the user by operating each of these boxes and buttons, such as the handwritten font corresponding to the name selected by operating list box LX1, and the start page and end page input by operating list boxes LX2 and LX3, are applied to image formation of the document to be printed using the handwritten font.

[0066] 12B shows the state displayed by the control unit 100 when an instruction is input to change the characters on pages 4 to 8 of the document to be printed to a handwritten font with the name "My handwriting 1." In this manner, when various settings and instructions have been input, and the operation unit 47 receives an instruction for the operation key K18 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 registers the contents and instructions set via the operation screen SC6 in the storage unit 8 as usage conditions.

[0067] Thereafter, when operation unit 47 receives an instruction from the user to select a document to be printed, and further receives an instruction to execute image formation corresponding to the unillustrated physical key marked "START", change unit 103 changes the font of characters included in the selected document to be printed using the font data stored in storage unit 102 in accordance with the set conditions. That is, change unit 103 replaces the font of characters included in the selected document to be printed with a font indicated by the font data stored in storage unit 102 in accordance with the set conditions. Control unit 100 causes image forming unit 12 to form an image on recording paper of the document data of the document to be printed after the font has been changed by change unit 103.

[0068] In addition, documents that can be changed to handwritten fonts are not limited to document data stored in the external storage medium 7, but may be, for example, document data stored in the image forming device 1, or document data transmitted from an external device such as a personal computer.

[0069] When characters contained in document data sent from an external device such as a personal computer are to be changed to a handwritten font, when the control unit 100 receives the document data via the network interface unit 91, it causes the display unit 473 to display an operation screen SC6 such as that shown in FIG. 12, which enables the user to set the above-mentioned conditions for using the handwritten font, and in accordance with the set conditions, replaces the font of the characters contained in the document to be printed with the font indicated by the font data stored in the storage unit 102. The control unit 100 then causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image on recording paper of the document data of the document to be printed after the font has been changed by the change unit 103.

[0070] According to the above embodiment, the character to be entered in the character entry field F is determined in advance, so there is no need to recognize which character is handwritten and entered in the character entry field F. Therefore, OCR technology is not required to create a handwritten font. Therefore, it is possible to create a handwritten font without using OCR technology.

[0071] In addition, the created handwritten font can be saved and registered in the image forming device 1, and the font of characters included in the document to be printed can be changed to a handwritten font selected from the registered handwritten fonts.

[0072] To create a handwritten font, the user is asked to enter characters in the character entry field F in the handwritten font creation sheet ST. However, if the entered characters are unclear, there is a risk that a character shape different from the character corresponding to the above-mentioned instruction information, such as sample SP1, i.e., a character shape different from the character shape intended by the user, will be registered as the handwritten font.

[0073] Therefore, as another embodiment, if the written characters are unclear, the handwritten font can be re-registered. An example of the procedure for re-registering the handwritten font will be described below.

[0074] When the storage unit 102 determines that the image entered in the character entry field F is unclear based on the document image data obtained by reading the handwritten font creation sheet ST with handwritten characters entered as the document by the document reading unit 5, the storage unit 102 identifies the character to be entered in the character entry field where the image entered is unclear based on the character information recorded in the two-dimensional code CD. For example, when the storage unit 102 determines that the image entered in the character entry field F11 in the handwritten font creation sheet ST1 is unclear, the storage unit 102 identifies the character "K" to be entered in the character entry field F11.

[0075] Indicators for determining whether the image entered in the character entry field F is unclear include when the image is too light (indicator 1), when the image entered in the character entry field F extends beyond the character entry field F (indicator 2), and when the image entered in the character entry field F cannot be recognized as the character that should be entered in that character entry field F (indicator 3).

[0076] <Indicator 1> The storage unit 102 converts image data indicating the image entered in the character entry field F into density data, and if the density indicated by the density data is below a predetermined threshold, it determines that the image entered in the character entry field F is light.

[0077] <Indicator 2> Based on the original image data obtained by reading the handwritten font creation sheet ST as the original by the original reading unit 5, the storage unit 102 checks for the presence of an image entered in the character entry field F along the rectangular frame that forms the character entry field F, and if the image is present within the rectangular frame (i.e., if the image overlaps the rectangular frame), it determines that the image protrudes from the character entry field F.

[0078] <Indicator 3> The storage unit 102 uses OCR technology to determine whether the image entered in the character entry field F can be recognized as the character to be entered in the character entry field F. That is, in this other embodiment, when indicator 3 is adopted, OCR technology is used.

[0079] If the storage unit 102 detects a character entry field F in which the image written therein is unclear, the control unit 100 displays on the display unit 473 an operation screen SC7 for re-registering the handwritten font, as shown in an example in FIG. 13.

[0080] The operation screen SC7 displays a guide message G2 stating "Three characters are unclear. Please re-register.", informing the user that there are three unclear characters and encouraging the user to re-register the handwritten font, and also displays an operation key K19 labeled "Print."

[0081] The user operates the operation key K19 marked "Print" on the operation screen SC7. When the operation unit 47 accepts an instruction to the operation key K19 via the touch panel, the creation unit 101 creates a second character input form CF_A for entering handwritten characters, as shown in FIG. 14. Then, the control unit 100 causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image of the second character input form CF_A on a recording sheet. The recording sheet on which the image of the second character input form CF_A has been formed becomes the second handwritten font creation sheet ST_A.

[0082] The second character input form CF_A shown in FIG. 14 has character entry fields F101 to F103 for entering unclear characters, and instruction information (samples SP101 to SP103) for instructing the user which characters to enter in the character entry fields F101 to F103.

[0083] Samples SP101 to SP103 display "A," "K," and "M," respectively. Therefore, creation unit 101 creates a second character input form CF_A that has only character entry fields F1, F11, and F13 that storage unit 102 has determined to be unclear among the character entry fields in handwriting font creation sheet ST1.

[0084] The creation unit 101 also creates a two-dimensional code CD_A in which location information indicating the location of each of the character entry fields F101 to F103 in the character input form CF_A and character information indicating the characters to be entered in each of the character entry fields F101 to F103 are recorded, and further in which text information "My handwriting 1" indicating the name of the handwriting font, basic font information "Arial", and character code information "ASCII" are recorded, and places the created two-dimensional code CD_A in the upper left corner of the character input form CF_A, and places hook marks M1 to M3 for position detection in the remaining three corners (the upper right corner, the lower left corner, and the lower right corner in Figure 14).

[0085] Thereafter, the user handwrites the characters to be entered in the character entry fields F101 to F103 formed on the second handwritten font creation sheet ST_A (recording paper on which the second character input font CF_A is image-formed) while referring to the samples SP101 to SP103.

[0086] After entering handwritten characters in the second handwritten font creation sheet ST_A, the user operates the operation key K12 marked "Register new handwritten font" on the operation screen SC2 shown in Fig. 4. When the operation unit 47 accepts an instruction to the operation key K12 via the touch panel, the control unit 100 displays an operation screen SC4 for registering a handwritten font on the display unit 473, as shown in Fig. 9. The procedure thereafter is the same as the above-mentioned procedure for registering a handwritten font.

[0087] In addition, in the above embodiment, when there is a blank (unfilled) character entry field F, storage unit 102 stores character data of a predetermined basic font corresponding to the character to be entered in that character entry field F as font data in association with the character code of that character. However, as a further alternative embodiment, storage unit 102 may also blur the blank portion, and creation unit 101 may create a second character input form CF_A having only the character entry fields blurred by storage unit 102, thereby making it easier for the user to re-register the handwritten font.

[0088] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In addition, in the above embodiment, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiment using Figures 1 to 14 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 1. Image forming device 5 Document reading section 12 Image forming section 47 Control section 100 Control section 101 Creation Department 102 Preservation Department 103 Changes

Claims

1. a creating unit that creates a character input form having a character entry field for entering handwritten characters and instruction information for instructing a user on characters to be entered in the character entry field; an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording paper; a control unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image of the character input form on a recording sheet; a document reading unit that reads a document; and a storage unit which extracts an image entered in a character entry field from an original image obtained by reading a handwritten font creation sheet, which is an image of the character input form formed on the recording paper and on which handwritten characters are entered, based on predetermined location information indicating the location of the character entry field and character information indicating the character to be entered in the character entry field, and stores the extracted image as font data of a handwritten font in correspondence with the character code of the character to be entered in the character entry field in which the image was entered, from the original image obtained by reading the original image obtained by the original reading unit.

2. the creation unit creates a character input form further having a two-dimensional code in which location information indicating a location of the character entry field and character information indicating a character to be entered in the character entry field are recorded; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit analyzes the placement location information and the character information recorded in the two-dimensional code contained in the document image obtained by reading the document reading unit, and uses the information as the predetermined placement location information and the character information.

3. An image forming apparatus as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein when the storage unit determines that the character entry field is blank based on the original image, the storage unit stores character data of a predetermined basic font corresponding to the character to be entered in the blank character entry field based on the character information as the font data, and associates it with the character code of the character.

4. Furthermore, when the storage unit determines that the image entered in the character entry field is unclear based on the document image, the storage unit identifies characters to be entered in the character entry field where the image entered is unclear based on the character information, the creation unit creates a second character input form having the character entry field for entering the character identified by the storage unit and the instruction information for instructing a user on the character to be entered in the character entry field; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit causes the image forming unit to form an image of the second character input form created by the creation unit on the recording paper.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a change unit that changes the font of characters included in a document to be printed by using the font data stored in the storage unit.

Images