Booklet Image Rearrangement System for Bound Document Digitization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image reading systems require users to physically separate bound booklets, either by removing staples or cutting them, to read images in page order, which is cumbersome and inefficient, especially when returning to the original bound format.
Innovation Solution
An image reading system that performs double-sided reading of booklets with cover sheets and main text, determining cover sheet and main text image data, and rearranging it to generate a file where cover sheets are at the front and end, and main text is in between, allowing for page order arrangement without physical separation of the booklet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the booklet is read in a bound state, then the user effort and time required for separation is reduced, but the image reading system cannot directly process the booklet in page order without physical separation
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital copy (image data) of the booklet pages and stores it in a storage unit. By reading the booklet in its bound state and creating image data copies, the system eliminates the need for physical separation while maintaining the ability to process pages in any desired order through software-based manipulation of the copied image data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of physically separating booklet pages (removing staples, cutting) with an automated optical-mechanical reading system that captures images of pages in their bound state. The image reading apparatus uses a platen glass and imaging unit to substitute manual separation operations with automated digital capture and processing.
2Ease of operation
If the booklet is physically separated to read images in page order, then the image reading can be performed, but the operation becomes cumbersome and the original booklet structure is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital copy of the booklet content through image capture, allowing users to manipulate and reorder pages in the digital domain without physically handling or damaging the original booklet. The image data serves as a replica that can be freely processed while the original remains intact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces image data as an intermediary between the bound booklet and the user. Instead of directly manipulating physical pages, users interact with digital image representations, which mediate the reading process and eliminate the need for physical separation operations that would damage the booklet.
3Productivity
If the image reading system reads pages in reading order, then the reading process is simple, but the pages are not arranged in the correct booklet page order (front, middle, back)
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a page order determination unit that analyzes the structure of the bound booklet and determines the correct logical page order. This feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically identify and arrange pages in their proper sequence (front cover, odd pages, even pages, back cover) based on the physical binding structure, rather than simply processing them in reading order.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of the booklet structure to determine page order before final image processing and output. The page order determination unit预先 identifies the correct arrangement of pages based on the bound state, allowing the system to prepare the proper sequence in advance and then efficiently process images according to this predetermined order.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an image reading system that divides, with respect to image data obtained by performing a double sided reading in a state where a booklet is opened, cover sheet image data into two parts corresponding to a pair of cover sheets to arrange the two parts at a front and an end, respectively, and arranges main text image data between the front and the end, and then generates an image file from each of the arranged image data.