Image processing device

Abstract

To make it possible to easily obtain multiple pieces of image data divided into respective sections such as chapters or paragraphs without taking the time and effort to specify division positions.SOLUTION: An image reading unit 11 inputs image data indicating an original image. A control unit 10 identifies a character size for each line of character strings in multiple lines included in the original image indicated by the image data, extracts, from the character strings in the multiple lines, a group of lines corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold based on the identified character size, and generates multiple pieces of image data respectively indicating a plurality of divided images obtained by dividing the original image, by dividing the image at a position immediately before the extracted group of lines. A communication unit 22 outputs the multiple pieces of generated image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing device, and more particularly to a technique for dividing image data. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known techniques for dividing image data according to predetermined conditions. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for dividing image data generated by reading a stack of multiple documents stacked with interleaving sheets at the position of blank pages. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for dividing image data generated by reading a document of multiple pages according to a predetermined number of pages. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for reading images of a document of multiple pages, generating and outputting image data for each page read. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Pat. No. 1,048,459 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 8,115,950 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Pat. No. 1,047,7040 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When dividing image data generated by scanning a document including multiple lines of character strings into sections such as chapters or paragraphs, the user must check the document image indicated by the image data and specify the division positions, which is time-consuming. The techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 can divide image data into predetermined units, but cannot solve the above problem.

[0005] The present invention has been developed in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to make it possible to easily obtain multiple image data that are divided into sections such as chapters or paragraphs, without the need to take the time to specify the division positions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An image processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an input unit that inputs image data, a control unit that identifies a character size for each line of a multi-line character string included in an image represented by the image data, extracts from the multi-line character string a group of lines that corresponds to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined size based on the identified character size, and divides the image at a position just before the extracted group of lines, thereby generating a plurality of image data each indicating a plurality of divided images obtained by dividing the image, and an output unit that outputs the plurality of image data. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, image data showing an image including multiple lines of character strings is divided at a position immediately before a group of lines corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined size. Therefore, a user can easily obtain multiple image data divided into sections such as chapters or paragraphs without taking the time to specify the division position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view showing the structure of the image forming apparatus. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus; [Figure 3A] 13 is a flowchart showing an image division process. [Figure 3B] 13 is a flowchart showing an image division process. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an original image. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a result of specifying a character size. [Figure 6]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a division position. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a divided image. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a document image. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a result of specifying a character size. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a division position. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a divided image. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a result of specifying a character size. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a division position. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a result of specifying a character size. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a division position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An image forming apparatus as an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a front cross-sectional view showing the structure of image forming apparatus 1. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of image forming apparatus 1. With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, image forming apparatus 1 is a color multifunction machine equipped with multiple functions such as a copy function, a transmission function, a printer function, and a facsimile function.

[0010] The housing of the image forming apparatus 1 contains a plurality of devices for realizing various functions of the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the housing of the image forming apparatus 1 contains an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, a fixing unit 13, a paper feeding unit 14, and the like.

[0011] The image reading unit 11 is an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) including an original transport unit 6 that transports an original placed on an original table, and a scanner that optically reads an original transported by the original transport unit 6 or an original placed on a platen glass 7. The image reading unit 11 reads an image of the original by illuminating the original with a light irradiation unit and receiving reflected light with a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor, thereby generating image data. The image reading unit 11 is an example of an input unit in the claims.

[0012] The image forming unit 12 includes a photoconductor drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, and a transfer device. The image forming unit 12 forms an image composed of a toner image on the recording paper P conveyed along the conveying path T by the conveying unit 17 based on the image data generated by the image reading unit 11 or the image data input via the communication unit 22.

[0013] The fixing unit 13 heats and pressurizes the recording paper P on which the toner image has been formed by the image forming unit 12, thereby fixing the toner image to the recording paper P. The recording paper P on which the toner image has been fixed by the fixing unit 13 is discharged to the discharge tray 8.

[0014] The paper feed unit 14 includes a manual feed tray and multiple paper feed cassettes. The paper feed unit 14 uses a pickup roller to pull out recording paper P stored in one of the multiple paper feed cassettes or recording paper placed on the manual feed tray one sheet at a time and feeds the paper to the transport path T.

[0015] The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100. The control unit 100 includes a processor, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), etc. The processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The control unit 100 functions as a control unit 10 by the processor executing a control program stored in the ROM or HDD 18.

[0016] The control unit 10 is responsible for the overall control of the image forming apparatus 1. More specifically, the control unit 10 controls the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 and communication with external devices connected via a network. Note that the control unit 10 may be configured by a logic circuit, regardless of the operation based on the control program.

[0017] The control unit 100 is electrically connected to the document transport unit 6, the image reading unit 11, the image forming unit 12, the fixing unit 13, the paper feeding unit 14, the display unit 15, the operation unit 16, the transport unit 17, the HDD 18, the image processing unit 19, the image memory 20, the facsimile communication unit 21, and the communication unit 22, etc.

[0018] The display unit 15 is a display device configured with a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display, etc. The display unit 15 displays various screens for each process that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1.

[0019] The operation unit 16 includes a plurality of hard keys such as a start key 16A for instructing the start of execution of each process. The operation unit 16 also includes a touch panel 16B arranged over the display area of ​​the display unit 15. User instructions are input to the operation unit 16.

[0020] The transport unit 17 includes a transport roller pair 17A, a discharge roller pair 17B, etc., and a transport motor connected to the transport roller pair 17A and the discharge roller pair 17B, etc. The control unit 10 drives the transport motor to rotate the transport roller pair 17A and the discharge roller pair 17B, etc., thereby transporting the recording paper P fed by the paper feed unit 14 along the transport path T toward the image forming unit 12 and the discharge tray 8.

[0021] The HDD 18 is a large-capacity storage device for storing various data such as image data generated by the image reading unit 11. The HDD 18 stores various control programs for implementing the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The HDD 18 stores, as one of the various control programs described above, a division program for executing an image division process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] The HDD 18 also stores an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) program for executing a general OCR process as one of the various control programs described above. The control unit 10 operates according to the OCR program to recognize characters included in the image represented by the image data.

[0023] The image processing unit 19 performs image processing as necessary on the image data generated by the image reading unit 11. The image memory 20 includes an area for temporarily storing the image data generated by the image reading unit 11. The facsimile communication unit 21 connects to a public line and transmits and receives image data via the public line.

[0024] The communication unit 22 includes a communication module such as a LAN (Local Area Network) board. The control unit 10 performs data communication with an external device such as the information processing device 2 connected via a network via the communication unit 22. The communication unit 22 is an example of an output unit in the claims.

[0025] Each part of the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a power source, and each part of the image forming apparatus 1 operates when power is supplied from the power source.

[0026] The control unit 10 operates in accordance with the above-mentioned division program to identify the character size for each line of a multi-line character string contained in the original image represented by the image data, extracts a group of lines from the multi-line character string corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined size based on the identified character size, and performs an image division process to generate a plurality of image data each representing a plurality of divided images obtained by dividing the image by dividing the image at a position immediately before the extracted group of lines.

[0027] [Operation] 3A and 3B, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 when performing the image division process will be described below. In the following description, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 1 is in a powered-on state.

[0028] The user inputs a selection instruction for the transmission function by touching touch panel 16B. When control unit 10 receives the selection instruction via touch panel 16B, it causes display unit 15 to display a transmission screen for making various settings related to the transmission process. The user checks the transmission screen and operates touch panel 16B to input a destination (e.g., an email address) for the image data and input an instruction to execute image division processing.

[0029] It is assumed that the user further places a plurality of documents on the document table of document transport section 6 and presses start key 16A. When start key 16A is pressed, in accordance with a document reading execution instruction input based on the pressing of start key 16A, control section 10 causes document transport section 6 to transport documents one by one and image reading section 11 to sequentially read the plurality of documents to generate image data. Image reading section 11 inputs the generated image data to control unit 100.

[0030] When the control unit 10 receives the input of image data, it determines whether or not an instruction to execute image division processing has been received via the touch panel 16B. When the control unit 10 determines that an instruction to execute image division processing has not been received, it causes the communication unit 22 to transmit the image data input by the image reading unit 11 to a destination (e.g., an email address) of the image data received via the touch panel 16B based on the above operation by the user.

[0031] When the control unit 10 determines that an instruction to execute the image division process has been received, the control unit 10 starts executing the image division process shown in Figures 3A and 3B. In the image division process, the control unit 10 first executes OCR processing on the image data input by the image reading unit 11, and recognizes a character string of multiple lines from a group of characters obtained by the OCR processing and included in the document image indicated by the image data (step S11).

[0032] After the process of step S11, the control unit 10 assigns a line number to each line of the recognized multi-line character string (step S12). After the process of step S12, the control unit 10 identifies the character size for each line of the multi-line character string to which the line numbers have been assigned (step S13). In step S13, if the character string in the line to be identified contains characters of different sizes, the control unit 10 identifies the most common character size in the character string as the character size of the character string.

[0033] After the process of step S13, the control unit 10 extracts a group of lines corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold from the character string of multiple lines based on the identified character size in order to identify a dividing position (step S14). After the process of step S14, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is a group of two lines between which a character string of lines having a character size smaller than the threshold is sandwiched, the number of lines being equal to or smaller than the predetermined number of lines (step S15). In this case, the control unit 10 sets the predetermined number of lines to a default value of "3".

[0034] If the control unit 10 determines in step S15 that there are two groups of lines that are equal to or smaller than a predetermined number of lines (three lines in this case) and have a character string with a character size smaller than the threshold value between them (YES in step S15), the control unit 10 deletes the succeeding group of lines from the group of lines extracted to identify the dividing position (step S16). As a result, at least one group of lines is generated from the document image represented by the image data.

[0035] After the process of step S16, the control unit 10 judges whether or not the first line group (the first line group among at least one line group generated from the document image; hereinafter, referred to as the "first line group") includes the first line character string (step S17). On the other hand, when the control unit 10 judges that the above-mentioned two-line group does not exist (NO in step S15), the control unit 10 executes the process of step S17 without executing the process of step S16.

[0036] When the control unit 10 determines that the first group of lines does not include the character string of the first line (NO in step S17), it corrects the first group of lines by including the character string from the first line to the line immediately preceding the first group of lines (step S18).On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the first group of lines includes the character string of the first line (YES in step S17), it executes the process of step S19 described below without executing the process of step S18.

[0037] After the process of step S18, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the divided image generated by dividing the document image at the dividing position (i.e., the position immediately before the group of lines generated from the document image) contains a character string of a predetermined number of lines or more (step S19). Here, it is assumed that the control unit 10 sets the predetermined number of lines to a default of "30".

[0038] When the control unit 10 determines that the divided images do not contain a character string of a predetermined number of lines (30 lines in this case) or more (NO in step S19), it divides the document image at the division position (i.e., the position immediately before the group of lines) and generates a plurality of image data representing each of the plurality of divided images (step S20). Note that the divided images may or may not include the line numbers assigned in step S12.

[0039] After the process of step S20, the control unit 10 generates, as a title, a character string included in the group of lines that was determined as the division position for each of the multiple image data (step S21). Note that in step S21, if the character string included in the group of lines that was determined as the division position exceeds a predetermined number of characters (e.g., 225 characters), the control unit 10 extracts the first character through the 225th character of the character string included in the group of lines, and generates the extracted character string as a title.

[0040] After the process of step S21, the control unit 10 causes the communication unit 22 to transmit the multiple image data with the generated title to the destination (e.g., email address) of the image data received via the touch panel 16B (step S22). After the process of step S22, the control unit 10 ends the image division process.

[0041] On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the divided image contains a character string of a predetermined number of lines (in this case, 30 lines) or more (YES in step S19), it causes the display unit 15 to display an error message such as "Cannot divide document image" (step S23). After the process of step S23, the control unit 10 ends the image division process.

[0042] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 when performing the image division process will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples shown in FIGS.

[0043] (1) If the above two lines exist For example, when the input image data indicates the document image 40 shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 10 in step S11 recognizes the character strings from the 1st line to the 41st line included in the document image 40. In step S12, the control unit 10 assigns line numbers from 1st to 41st to the recognized character strings from the 1st to 41st lines as shown in Fig. 4.

[0044] In step S13, for the character strings from line 1 to line 41 to which line numbers have been assigned, the control unit 10 specifies the character size of the character strings from line 6, line 8 to line 23, and line 27 to line 41 as "10," and specifies the character size of the character strings from line 1 to line 5, line 7, and line 24 to line 26 as "18." As a result, the control unit 10 obtains the character size specification result 50 shown in FIG.

[0045] Here, it is assumed that the control unit 10 has preset "18" as the threshold value to be used in step S14 in accordance with an instruction from the user received via the operation unit 16. In this case, the control unit 10 extracts, based on the identification result 50 in step S14, from the character string from the 1st line to the 41st line included in the document image 40, a group 51A consisting of consecutive lines from the 1st line to the 5th line, a group 51B consisting of only the 7th line, and a group 51C consisting of consecutive lines from the 24th line to the 26th line, as groups of lines corresponding to a character size of "18" or more.

[0046] As shown in the identification result 50, the groupings 51A and 51B sandwich a single line of character string 52A having a character size of "10", and the groupings 51B and 51C sandwich a 16 line of character string 52B having a character size of "10". Therefore, in step S15, the control unit 10 determines that there exists a group of two lines having a character string of a line having a character size less than the threshold value and having a predetermined number of lines (three lines in this case) or less between them (YES in step S15).

[0047] In step S16, the control unit 10 deletes the succeeding line group 51B of the two line groups 51A and 51B from the line groups 51A, 51B, and 51C extracted to identify the division position. As a result, the control unit 10 generates the two line groups 51A and 51C from the document image 40, as shown in FIG.

[0048] 6, since the first group of lines 51A includes the character string of the first line, the control unit 10 determines that the first group of lines includes the character string of the first line (YES in step S17). In addition, the number of lines from the first line, which is the first line of group 51A, to the 23rd line, which is the line immediately before group 51C, is "23," and the number of lines from the 24th line, which is the first line of group 51C, to the 41st line, which is the last line, is "18."

[0049] Therefore, the control unit 10 determines that the divided image does not include a character string of a predetermined number of lines (30 lines in this case) or more (NO in step S19). In step S20, the control unit 10 divides the original image 40 immediately before the first line, which is the first line of the group 51A, and immediately before the 24th line, which is the first line of the group 51C, to generate image data indicated by each of the divided images 70A and 70B shown in FIG.

[0050] In step S21, the control unit 10 generates, for the image data representing divided image 70A, a title that is the character string contained in group 51A, "The Effects of a Supported Employment Program on Psychosocial Indicators for Persons with Severe Mental Illness William MK Trochim Cornell University." The control unit 10 generates, for the image data representing divided image 70B, a title that is the character string contained in group 51C, "The Effects of a Supported Employment Program on Psychosocial Indicators for Persons with Severe Mental Illness."

[0051] In step S22, the control unit 10 causes the image data indicated by each of the divided images 70A and 70B to be sent, with the generated title, to a destination (eg, an email address) of the image data received via the touch panel 16B.

[0052] (2) If the above two lines do not exist For example, when the input image data indicates the document image 80 shown in Fig. 8, in step S11, the control unit 10 recognizes the character strings from the 1st line to the 27th line included in the document image 80. In step S12, the control unit 10 assigns line numbers from the 1st to the 27th to the recognized character strings from the 1st to the 27th lines.

[0053] In step S13, the control unit 10 specifies the character size of the character strings from the 1st line to the 27th line to which line numbers have been assigned as "11" for the character strings from the 15th line to the 18th line and the 27th line, specifies the character size of the character strings from the 2nd line to the 8th line, the 11th line to the 14th line, and the 20th line to the 26th line as "12", specifies the character size of the character string on the 1st line as "16", and specifies the character size of the character strings from the 9th line to the 10th line and the 19th line as "17". As a result, the control unit 10 obtains the character size specification result 90 shown in FIG. 9.

[0054] Here, it is assumed that the control unit 10 has preset "16" as the threshold value to be used in step S14 in accordance with an instruction from the user received via the operation unit 16. In this case, the control unit 10 extracts, based on the identification result 90 in step S14, from the character string from the 1st line to the 27th line included in the document image 80, a group 91A consisting of only the 1st line, a group 91B consisting of consecutive lines from the 9th line to the 10th line, and a group 91C consisting of only the 19th line, as group of lines corresponding to a character size of "16" or more.

[0055] As shown in the identification result 90, the group 91A and the group 91B sandwich a seven-line character string 92A having a character size of "12", and the group 91B and the group 91C sandwich a four-line character string 92B having a character size of "12" and a four-line character string 92C having a character size of "11". Therefore, in step S15, the control unit 10 determines that there is no group of the above two lines (NO in step S15), and executes the process of step S17 without executing the process of step S16. As a result, the control unit 10 generates three-line groups 91A, 91B, and 91C from the document image 80 as shown in FIG.

[0056] In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the first group of lines 91A includes the character string of the first line, so that the control unit 10 determines that the first group of lines includes the character string of the first line (YES in step S17).

[0057] In addition, the number of lines from the first line, which is the first line of group 91A, to the eighth line, which is the line immediately preceding group 91B, is "8," the number of lines from the ninth line, which is the first line of group 91B, to the 18th line, which is the line immediately preceding group 91C, is "10," and the number of lines from the 19th line, which is the first line of group 91C, to the 27th line, which is the last line, is "9," so the control unit 10 determines that the divided image does not contain a character string of more than the predetermined number of lines (NO in step S19).

[0058] In step S20, the control unit 10 divides the original image 80 just before the first line, which is the first line of group 91A, just before the ninth line, which is the first line of group 91B, and just before the 19th line, which is the first line of group 91C, thereby generating image data shown by each of the divided images 110A, 110B, and 110C shown in FIG. 11.

[0059] In step S21, the control unit 10 generates, for the image data representing divided image 110A, a title that is a character string contained in the group 91A, "EXTRACTING TEXT FROM FILES USING OCR." For the image data representing divided image 110B, the control unit 10 generates, for the title, a character string contained in the group 91B, "START EXTRACTING TEXT FROM FILES AFTER PROCESSING COMPLETES." For the image data representing divided image 110C, the control unit 10 generates, for the title, a character string contained in the group 91C, "EXTRACT TEXT FROM FILES IN YOUR CASE."

[0060] In step S22, the control unit 10 causes the image data indicated by each of the divided images 110A, 110B, and 110C to be sent, with the generated title, to a destination (eg, an email address) of the image data received via the touch panel 16B.

[0061] (3) If the first group of lines does not contain the first line string For example, in step S11, the control unit 10 recognizes a character string from the 1st line to the 30th line included in the document image (not shown). In step S12, the control unit 10 assigns line numbers from 1st to 30th to the recognized character strings from the 1st to the 30th lines.

[0062] In step S13, the control unit 10 specifies the character size of the character strings from the 1st line to the 30th line to which line numbers have been assigned, from the 4th line to the 10th line, from the 12th line to the 20th line, and from the 23rd line to the 30th line as "12", specifies the character size of the character string on the 1st line as "13", specifies the character size of the character strings on the 3rd line, the 11th line, and the 22nd line as "16", and specifies the character size of the character strings on the 2nd line and the 21st line as "20". As a result, the control unit 10 obtains the character size specification result 120 shown in FIG.

[0063] Here, it is assumed that the control unit 10 has preset "20" as the threshold value to be used in step S14 in accordance with an instruction from the user received via the operation unit 16. In this case, the control unit 10 extracts, based on the identification result 120 in step S14, from the character string from the 1st line to the 30th line contained in the document image, a group 121A consisting of only the 2nd line and a group 121B consisting of only the 21st line as group of lines corresponding to a character size of "20" or more.

[0064] Furthermore, as shown in identification result 120, group 121A and group 121B sandwich a character string of 18 lines with a character size of less than "16." Therefore, in step S15, control unit 10 determines that the group of two lines does not exist (NO in step S15), and executes the process of step S17 without executing the process of step S16.

[0065] In this case, as shown in Fig. 12, the first group of lines 121A does not include the character string of the first line, so the control unit 10 determines that the first group of lines does not include the character string of the first line (NO in step S17). In step S18, the control unit 10 corrects the first group of lines 121A by making the first group of lines 121A include the character string from the character string of the first line to the line immediately before the group of lines 121A (i.e., only the character string of the first line). As a result, the control unit 10 generates two groups of lines 121A and 121B from the document image as shown in Fig. 13.

[0066] Furthermore, the number of lines from the first line, which is the first line of group 121A, to the 20th line, which is the line immediately preceding group 121B, is "20," and the number of lines from the 21st line, which is the first line of group 121B, to the 30th line, which is the last line, is "10," so the control unit 10 determines that the divided image does not contain a character string of more than a predetermined number of lines (in this case, three lines) (NO in step S19).

[0067] In step S20, the control unit 10 divides the original image immediately before the first line, which is the first line of the collection 121A, and immediately before the 21st line, which is the first line of the collection 121B, thereby generating image data representing each of the two divided images.

[0068] In step S21, control unit 10 generates a character string included in group 121A as a title for image data representing the first divided image. Control unit 10 generates a character string included in group 121B as a title for image data representing the second divided image. In step S22, control unit 10 causes image data representing each of the two divided images to be sent to a destination (e.g., an email address) of the image data received via touch panel 16B with the generated title.

[0069] (4) When a segmented image contains a character string with more than a predetermined number of lines For example, in step S11, the control unit 10 recognizes a character string from the 1st line to the 42nd line included in the document image (not shown). In step S12, the control unit 10 assigns line numbers from 1st to 42nd to the recognized character strings from the 1st to the 42nd lines.

[0070] In step S13, the control unit 10 specifies the character size of the character strings from the 26th line, the 28th line to the 35th line, and the 37th line to the 42nd line, to which line numbers have been assigned, as "10," and specifies the character size of the character strings from the 1st line to the 25th line, the 27th line, and the 36th line, to "18." As a result, the control unit 10 obtains the character size specification result 140 shown in FIG.

[0071] Here, it is assumed that the control unit 10 has preset "18" as the threshold value to be used in step S14 in accordance with an instruction from the user received via the operation unit 16. In this case, the control unit 10 extracts, based on the identification result 140 in step S14, from the character string from the 1st line to the 42nd line included in the document image, a group 141A consisting of consecutive lines from the 1st line to the 25th line, a group 141B consisting of only the 27th line, and a group 141C consisting of only the 36th line, as groups of lines corresponding to a character size of "18" or more.

[0072] As shown in the identification result 140, the group 141A and the group 141B sandwich a single line of character string 142A having a character size of "10", and the group 141B and the group 141C sandwich a character string 142B having eight lines of character size of "10". Therefore, in step S15, the control unit 10 determines that the above-mentioned group of two lines exists (YES in step S15).

[0073] In step S16, the control unit 10 deletes the succeeding line group 141B of the two line groups 141A and 141B from the line groups 141A, 141B, and 141C extracted to identify the division position. As a result, the control unit 10 generates the two line groups 141A and 141C from the document image.

[0074] 14, since the first group of lines 141A includes the character string of the first line, control unit 10 determines that the first group of lines includes the character string of the first line (YES in step S17). In addition, the number of lines from the first line, which is the first line of group 141A, to the 35th line immediately before group 141C is "35," and the number of lines from the 36th line, which is the first line of group 141C, to the 42nd line, which is the last line, is "7."

[0075] Therefore, the control unit 10 determines that the divided image includes a character string of a predetermined number of lines or more (YES in step S19). In step S23, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 15 to display an error message.

[0076] According to the above embodiment, the control unit 10 identifies the character size for each line of a multi-line character string included in the original image represented by the image data, extracts from the multi-line character string a group of lines corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold based on the identified character size, and divides the original image at a position just before the extracted group of lines, thereby generating a plurality of image data each indicating a plurality of divided images obtained by dividing the original image.

[0077] In this way, image data showing an image including multiple lines of text is divided at a position immediately before a group of lines corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value. Therefore, a user can easily obtain multiple image data divided into sections such as chapters or paragraphs without taking the time to specify the division position.

[0078] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, when there are two groups of lines among the extracted groups of lines that contain a character string of a predetermined number of lines or less between them, the control unit 10 divides the image at a position immediately before the preceding group of lines of the two groups of lines, and does not divide the image at a position immediately before the succeeding group of lines.

[0079] In this way, if the subsequent group of lines of the two groups of lines is unlikely to be a section heading or the like, the document image is not divided by the position immediately before the subsequent group of lines, so the user can more reliably obtain a plurality of image data that are accurately divided into sections such as chapters or paragraphs.

[0080] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, when the first group of lines among the extracted group of lines does not include the first character string of a multi-line string, the control unit 10 makes the first group of lines include the character string from the first character string to the line immediately before the first group of lines.

[0081] This allows, for example, when a prologue or the like is provided before the first section, the prologue or the like to be included in the image data showing the first section, thus further improving user convenience.

[0082] According to the embodiment, the control unit 10 does not divide the document image when the divided image contains a character string of a predetermined number of lines or more. This makes it possible to limit the size of the multiple image data to a certain size, further improving user convenience.

[0083] (First Modification) In the above embodiment, when the control unit 10 determines that the divided image includes a character string of a predetermined number of lines or more, the control unit 10 causes the display unit 15 to display an error message, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. In a first modification of the above embodiment, instead of the process of step S23 described above, the control unit 10 redetermines the division position and divides the image data according to the redetermined division position.

[0084] For example, as shown in (4) above, the control unit 10 acquires line groups 141A, 141C to identify the division position, and when it determines that the divided image contains a character string of more than a predetermined number of lines (YES in step S19), it redetermines the division position based on the extracted line groups 141A, 141B, 141C extracted in step S14 so that the divided image contains fewer than the predetermined number of lines.

[0085] Here, the number of lines from the first line, which is the first line of group 141A, to the 26th line, which is the line immediately preceding group 141B, is "26," the number of lines from the 27th line, which is the first line of group 141B, to the 35th line, which is the line immediately preceding group 141C, is "9," and the number of lines from the 36th line, which is the first line of group 141C, to the 42nd line, which is the last line, is "7."

[0086] Therefore, the control unit 10 generates redetermined line groups 141A and 141B as shown in Fig. 15 by, for example, deleting line group 141C from extracted line groups 141A, 141B, and 141C. As a result, the number of lines from the first line, which is the first line of group 141A, to the 26th line, which is the line immediately before group 141B, is "26," and the number of lines from the 27th line, which is the first line of group 141B, to the 42nd line, which is the last line, is "16."

[0087] In this way, in the first modification, when the divided image contains a character string of a predetermined number or more, the control unit 10 adjusts the dividing position of the image data based on the grouping of the extracted lines so that the divided image contains fewer lines of character strings than the predetermined number. Therefore, the user can obtain multiple image data with well-balanced sizes, which further improves user convenience.

[0088] (Other variations) In the above embodiment, the control unit 10 extracts a group of lines corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold from a multi-line character string, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the control unit 10 may extract a group of lines corresponding to the maximum character size in the multi-line character string from the multi-line character string.

[0089] Furthermore, when generating a group of multiple lines as described above, if characters of different sizes are mixed in one line, the control unit 10 may set the character size of the line to a character size that occupies a predetermined ratio (e.g., 80%). That is, when specifying the character size for each line of a character string of multiple lines included in the image represented by the image data, if characters of different sizes are mixed in the line to be specified, the control unit 10 specifies the character size that occupies the predetermined ratio as the character size of the line to be specified. This makes it possible to accurately determine the character size of the line even if characters of different sizes are mixed in one line, and to accurately create a group of lines.

[0090] In the above embodiment, the image reading unit 11 functions as an input unit for inputting image data, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the communication unit 22 may function as an input unit for inputting image data transmitted from an external device.

[0091] In the above embodiment, the communication unit 22 functions as an output unit for outputting a plurality of image data each showing a plurality of divided images, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the image forming unit 12 may function as an output unit. In this case, the image forming unit 12 outputs a plurality of image data by forming each of the plurality of divided images on the recording paper P.

[0092] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, a color multifunction machine is used as the image forming apparatus 1, but this is merely an example, and other image forming apparatuses such as a monochrome multifunction machine, a copy machine, or a facsimile machine may be used.

[0093] The configuration and processing of the embodiment described above using FIGS. 1 to 15 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and it is not intended that the present invention be limited to these configurations and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 1. Image forming device 10 Control section 11 Image reading unit 22 Communications Department

Claims

1. an input unit for inputting image data; a control unit that identifies a character size for each line of a multiple line character string included in an image represented by the image data, extracts a group of lines from the multiple lines of the character string corresponding to a character size equal to or larger than a predetermined size based on the identified character size, and divides the image at a position immediately before the extracted group of lines, thereby generating a plurality of image data representing a plurality of divided images obtained by dividing the image; and an output unit that outputs the plurality of image data.

2. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when there are two groups of lines among the extracted groups of lines that contain a character string of a predetermined number of lines or less between them, the control unit divides the image at a position immediately before the preceding group of lines of the two groups of lines, and does not divide the image at a position immediately before the succeeding group of lines.

3. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when a first group of lines among the extracted group of lines does not include a first line of the multiple lines of character strings, the control unit makes the first group of lines include a string of characters from the first line to the line immediately before the first group of lines.

4. The image processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit does not divide the image when the divided image includes a character string having a predetermined number of lines or more.

5. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when the divided image includes a character string of more than a predetermined number of lines, the control unit adjusts a dividing position of the image data based on the extracted grouping of lines so that the divided image includes only a character string of fewer than a predetermined number of lines.

6. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit determines the character size for each line of a character string contained in an image represented by the image data, if characters of different character sizes are mixed in the line to be determined, the control unit determines a character size that occupies a predetermined proportion as the character size of the line to be determined.

Images