JP3211488B2 - Document processing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus having a function of automatically changing the design of a document to a higher-quality design and outputting the same in response to a simple instruction from a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, DTP (Desk Top Pu) has been developed.
With the spread of document creators such as a blushing and a word processor, documents can be easily created even in general offices. In particular, recently, the number of sophisticated functions that allow a wide range of selection of various parameters such as the page layout of the document, the font of the characters, and the size of the document has increased, and if the creator with knowledge and experience takes time, it can be created It is becoming possible to create high-quality documents reflecting intentions. However, for general users, it is necessary to memorize very complicated operations in order to make full use of a sophisticated document creator, and to set any parameter values that can be selected in a wide range in the first place. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether a high-quality document that matches the purpose of creation can be created, and as a result, only a poor-looking, unreadable document that cannot be said to be a high-quality document can be created.

On the other hand, as one solution, a technology has been proposed in which a document creator is provided with a support function for creating a good-looking high-quality document according to the intention and use of the creator. (It is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 03-258013 “Document Creation Support Device” and Japanese Patent Application No. 03-269601 “Document Style Design Support Device”). However, this technology is intended for electronic documents, and is created by a document creator or the like that is not widely used at present and is widely used at present, and is printed on paper once, and It could not be used for documents that were lost or documents that were originally written on paper by hand.

On the other hand, there is a copying machine as a device corresponding to a function of reading a paper document, processing the document, and outputting the processed document. The basic function of a copying machine is to output a document in which a manuscript is faithfully reproduced. However, with the spread of digital copying machines, for example, the processing of documents such as the copying machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 223275/1990. Some of them have functions. However, these technologies
As with the high-performance document creator described above, the user must give detailed instructions on the part to be processed and how to process it. As a result, it is difficult for general users to understand which part should be processed and how to produce a high-quality document that matches the intended purpose. It wasn't very helpful in making it dignified.
In particular, with the spread of color copiers in recent years, there have been many opportunities to convert the color of such documents and add color to black-and-white documents, but such coloring operations are extremely complicated and troublesome. In addition to this work, it has been extremely difficult for ordinary users who have little knowledge of the color scheme and design sense to make the output document high-quality.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-109874 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 3-109874 have disclosed a technique which can easily realize coloration and appearance improvement of a document even for a general user who has little knowledge of color arrangement and design sense in a digital copying machine or the like. Kaisho 6
There is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 0-261271. However, in each case, the elements to be colored and edited are limited, and the output pattern is uniform, which reflects the intention of the user to create and processes and outputs a high-quality document in terms of design. It was not enough to realize the function.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is very simple for a user to specify an editing target area, use the user for, or obtain a finished image. It is an object of the present invention to provide a document processing apparatus which automatically changes the design of an input document only by receiving a simple instruction, processes the input document into a document having a design according to the instruction, and outputs the processed document.

[0007]

The document processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a document image holding means for storing a document image (111 in FIG. 1, 2211 in FIG. 22, 2711 in FIG. 27).
And target area designating means (12 in FIG. 1, 222 in FIG. 22, and 272 in FIG. 27) for designating an area to be edited in the document image stored in the document image holding means. Target area extracting means for extracting the specified edit target area from the document image (13 in FIG. 1,
223 in FIG. 22, 273 in FIG. 27), design instruction means (14 in FIG. 1, 224 in FIG. 22, and 274 in FIG. 27) for designating a desired document design with respect to the output document. Design parameter determining means (15 in FIG. 1, 225 in FIG. 22, and 27 in FIG.
5) and output image generation means (16 in FIG. 1) for processing the document image of the edit target area extracted by the target area extraction means based on the parameter value determined by the design parameter determination means to generate an output image. , 22 in FIG.
6, 276 in FIG. 27). When the user designates the editing target area by the target area designating means, the target area extracting means extracts a region of the document image corresponding to the instruction. Further, the user gives a simple instruction such as a desired use or a finished image by the design instruction means. In response, the design parameter of the area designated as the object to be edited is determined by the design parameter determining means 15. The output image generating means 16 generates a predetermined output image by processing the document image according to the determined parameter value.

The area to be edited is specified by the target area designating means, and an identifier (area number) for identifying the area and information indicating the position of the designated point are sent to the target area extracting means. In a specific aspect, the target area designating means includes:
An editing pad, an editing instruction pen, and a message display panel (FIGS. 6 to 8) are provided. The editing pad includes a portion for placing the original document of the document image stored in the document image holding means and a portion for detecting the point indicated by the editing instruction pen. The message display panel guides the user on how to specify the target area. When the user presses the corresponding position of the original document placed on the editing pad with the editing instruction pen according to the message displayed on the message display panel, the target area indicating means detects the pressed position, and determines the position. And output a signal representing the signal.

Further, in a specific mode, the message display panel edits a layout image (71 in FIG. 7) prepared in advance for each type of object to be edited (for example, “bar graph” or “pie graph” in FIG. 5). A target area to be pointed with the pointing pen is highlighted and displayed (72 in FIG. 7), and an identifier for the area (73 in FIG. 7) is displayed. As a result, the user can easily understand the target area to be pointed by the editing instruction pen, and can instruct the corresponding point without fail.

[0010] In addition, target area designating means (27 in FIG. 27)
2) In another specific mode, input means (271 in FIG. 27) for inputting a document document of the document image having at least one marking indicating a target area, and detecting the marking to detect the target area Marking recognition means (2721 in FIG. 27) for generating instruction information is provided. According to this, it is not necessary to provide hardware such as an indicating pen and an editing pad, and the configuration of the target area indicating means is simplified, the operation of the instruction by the user is facilitated, and a quick instruction can be performed.

[0011] The target area extracting means converts the closed area including each of the specified points into a document based on the specified point detected by the editing pad in the target area specifying means or the specified point detected by the detecting means and its corresponding identifier. It is extracted from the document image held in the image holding means (FIGS. 12 to 15), and is set as an edit target area.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the design instruction means displays design instruction items such as a type of an edit target and a finished image of a document, and selects a desired item from the items. An operation panel (FIG. 11) is provided.

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, the design parameter determining means is a table means (15 in FIG. 1) capable of indexing parameter values relating to the document design according to the instruction content of the design instruction means.
1, FIG. 16). In a more specific mode, the table means includes a first table indicating a correspondence between a design instruction and each corresponding table number, and a correspondence between an identifier of an area and a color parameter determining a color scheme of an area having the identifier. A second table as shown.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the design parameter determining means includes: a knowledge database (2252 in FIG. 22) storing knowledge information on document design;
Inference processing means (2251 in FIG. 22) for executing inference processing using document design information stored in the knowledge database based on an instruction from the design instruction means. According to this, more appropriate design parameters can be set.

As described above, according to the present invention, the design of an input document is automatically changed only by receiving a very simple instruction from the user, such as an instruction of an area to be edited, a use desired by the user, or a finished image. Then, it can be processed into a document having a design according to the instruction and output.

[0016]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine. As shown in FIG. 1, the document processing apparatus receives a document image as a digital image and stores the document image in a document image input module 111.
And a target area designating module 12 for designating a region to be edited with respect to the document image, and extracting a target region from the document image held in the input image memory 111 in accordance with an instruction from the target region designating module 12 A target area extraction module 13, a design instruction input module 14 for instructing a document type to be edited, a finished image desired by a user, and the like, and an object corresponding to the content specified by the design instruction input module 14. A design parameter determination module 15 for determining a design parameter value of an area, and an output for generating an output image by processing the area image extracted by the target area extraction module 12 according to the design parameter value determined by the design parameter determination module 15 Image generation module 16 , The output image generation module 16
And a printout module 17 for visualizing the document image generated by the printer on paper.

The original image input module 11 is an image scanner mechanism itself, and irradiates an elongated area in the main scanning direction with a light source while shifting a reading unit including a light source and an image sensor in a sub-scanning direction, and reflects reflected light by a lens. The light is condensed, converted into an electric signal by a CCD image sensor or the like, and converted into a binary digital image in the input image memory 111.
Take in. Of course, the intensity of the reflected light may be input as a multi-valued image through an AD converter and binarized by digital image processing.

The target area instruction by the target area instruction module 12 is realized by an editing pad 121 and an editing instruction pen 122 attached to the device. In addition, a model having a layout structure prepared in advance for each type of editing target, for example, a bar graph, a pie chart, or the like, is displayed on a message display panel shared with the design instruction input module 14, and the layout of the model is displayed. That have the same meaning on the layout (bar element N described later)
o. 1,... Background element) are highlighted and displayed, and the identifier (area number) for the area is displayed to guide the user to the target area to be designated by the editing instruction pen. In accordance with the guidance, the user arranges the document to be edited on the editing pad 122, and instructs the editing target location by pressing the editing instruction pen 121 or the like. At this time, the instruction is performed in parallel with a design instruction in a design instruction input module 14 described later. The designated area is sent to the target area extracting module 13 as an electric signal indicating the coordinate value from the reference point and the designated order.

The target area extracting module 13 extracts an image area to be edited from a document image sent from the document image input module 11 in accordance with an instruction from the target area specifying module 12, and generates an output image together with an identification number. Deliver to module 16. This is described in, for example,
This can be realized by an existing technology as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 275 (pages 58 to 60). It goes without saying that pre-processing such as inclination correction and noise removal may be performed before performing this processing.

The design instruction input module 14 is realized by a touch input type display which also serves as a selection button arranged on an operation panel of the device and a display unit for displaying a message explaining an operation procedure. When the button is pressed, data corresponding to the designation is transferred to the design parameter determination module 15. In the example shown in FIG. 2, there is a button "edit" as a design instruction selection, and when this button is pressed, an edit instruction is started. When the edit button is pressed, a message explaining the operation procedure is displayed, and according to the instruction, the selection of an item and the instruction of the area in the target area instruction module 12 are executed. In addition, a button for selecting an output paper size, which is not shown in FIG. 2 and is provided in a normal copying machine, is also provided. When an appropriate selection is made, a corresponding signal is sent to the design parameter determination module 15.

The design parameter determination module 15 determines the design parameter data of the target area from the parameter table registered in advance according to the specification input by the user, and transfers the data to the image generation module 16. The parameter table is classified according to the type of the image to be edited, the content of the design instruction, and the like.
ly Memory). If the amount is large, it may be realized by a magnetic disk device or the like. Data held in these parameter tables is, for example, 199
Quantitative data obtained by methods such as subjective evaluation as described in the 42nd IPSJ Annual Conference Proceedings 7Q-7 "Evaluation Scale for Document Expression Quality" and "Fuji Xerox, Presentation & Documentation, Fuji Xerox, 1989 "and" Fuji Xerox D Promotion Group, Core Design Production Division, Business Document Production Techniques-II Colorization, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 1992 " It is determined based on various kinds of knowledge necessary for deciding the design of a document, such as qualitative or quantitative data, or data expressing the rules determined by company rules.

Specifically, for example, the following is an example of knowledge for determining a color arrangement pattern relating to a finished image of a bar graph. (1) The most orthodox color for business documents is blue. (2) The most orthodox and safe color scheme in the bar graph is a color scheme in which the bar components are distinguished by the density difference due to the bluish color. (3) In the bar graph, if the number of bar components is up to about 3, it is possible to distinguish by density difference, but if more than 3, it is better to distinguish by hue difference. (4) When coloring the bar elements, a certain density is required. For example, in normal offset printing, a density equivalent to 15% of a cyan halftone dot using standard ink (for example, Dainippon Ink Process G) is required. (5) If a low-density and low-saturation color is applied to the background portion of the bar graph, the bar element becomes more prominent. ……………

Further, for example, the following is an example of knowledge for determining a color arrangement pattern relating to a finished image of a pie chart. (1) The most orthodox color for business documents is blue. (2) The most orthodox and safe color scheme in the pie chart is a color scheme in which fan components are distinguished at the same density by a hue difference. At this time, the hue difference is generally at equal intervals as much as possible. (3) The density that gives a standard and orthodox impression when coloring the fan element is, for example, 40 to 40 dots using a standard ink (for example, Dai Nippon Ink Process G) in normal offset printing. 60% equivalent,
Going thinner gives a soft, feminine impression. ............

As a result of applying the above-described knowledge, for example, in the case of a bar graph, "the bar element is a color scheme that is distinguished by a density difference in a bluish hue, and adjacent bar elements are provided with a lightness difference sufficient to be distinguished. In order to make the bar element that is the main information stand out and to make it easier to read, the background part is given a color that is more inconspicuous than the bar element. ”, And the values shown in FIG. 16 are determined. In the case of a pie chart, "the fan element in the pie chart is color-coded with different hues having a density of about 25% in cyan halftone dots in order to give a soft impression. The values shown in FIG. 17 have been determined as expressing the intention such as "Equal intervals."

The output image generation module 16 receives design parameter data for the target image area from the design parameter determination module 15, receives data indicating each target image area from the target area extraction module 13, and inputs the data from the document input module 11. Receive the image. Then, the design parameter determination module 15
In accordance with the parameters received from, each editing target image area is processed, an output image is generated on the output image memory 171, and a document image having a designated design image is finally generated.

In the printout module 17, the output image on the output image memory 171 is transferred onto paper using a laser beam printing technique and discharged. Naturally, it may be realized by using a marking technique such as thermal transfer of plain paper in addition to the laser beam, or may be realized by using only one color or full color.

Next, the operation will be described using an actual document example. FIG. 3 shows an example of a bar graph document as an example of the document, and FIG. 4 shows an example of a pie graph. A flowchart of the processing is shown in FIG. Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the coordinate system is defined as a direction toward the right of the page as an x coordinate, and a direction toward the top of the page as a y direction. First, the user
Is placed on the editing pad, and "edit" is pressed on the operation panel display as shown in FIG. 2 to instruct the start of editing.

Then, on the message display & design instruction panel constituted by the touch input type display, the editing type options as shown in FIG. 6 are displayed.
When, for example, “coloring” is selected from among these, options for the target document are further displayed. From here, for example, when adding a color to the bar portion of the bar graph in FIG. 3 to make it easier to see, select “bar graph” as the target image, and when coloring the fan-shaped portion of the pie graph in FIG. Is
"Pie chart" is selected (step S52).

When the selection is completed, the user instructs the image area (step S53). That is,
In the case of the bar graph, a message as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the same display, and a method of specifying an area in the target area specifying module 12 will be described. According to the message, the user first sets the areas a to e of the manuscript (FIG. 3) set on the editing pad as area number 1 (area No. 1),
Each point is designated by pointing to one point in the area with the editing instruction pen, and when the instruction is completed, "end instruction" is pressed. Then, a display as shown in FIG. 8 appears on the message display & design instruction panel section, and the instructions from f to j in FIG. Next, when the selection of the bar element is completed, a display as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and the background portion of the graph is similarly selected and instructed. In this way, when all the selection instructions are completed according to the message, the "setting end" is pressed to end the area instruction. The area designated in this way is sent to the target area extraction module 13 as a number indicating the designated area number and the coordinate value of each designated point as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when a pie chart is selected as a coloring target from the "message display & design instruction panel" of the design instruction input module 14 shown in FIG. 6, the same as the case of the bar graph shown in FIGS. Then, the region of each fan element of the target pie chart is designated. The area designated in this way is sent to the target area extraction module 13 as a number indicating the designated area number and the coordinate value of each designated point.

When the area designation is completed, a display as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the message display & design instruction panel to select a finished image. Here, it is assumed that "orthodox" is selected as the finished image in the example of the bar graph, and "soft" is selected in the example of the pie graph. (Step S54). In accordance with this instruction, the determination result in the design parameter determination module 15 changes even in the same target area. When the selection is completed, "end setting" is instructed.

The design instruction thus selected is sent to the design parameter determination module 15 in the form of FIG. 12 in the example of the bar graph and in the form of FIG. 13 in the example of the pie graph.

When the design instruction and the instruction of the target area are completed as described above, the user transfers the original document to the image input module 11 and presses the operation start button. Then, the image input module 11 starts operating the image, and stores the image of the original document in the input image memory 111 constituted by the image memory (step S5).
5).

The target area extraction module 13 extracts a corresponding image area from the images sent from the input image memory 111 based on the instruction from the target area instruction module 12 (step S56). In the case of the bar graph example, a closed region including each designated point is extracted based on the region number and the designated point coordinates shown in FIG. As a result, FIG.
1 are respectively extracted. This image area is sent to the output image generation module 16 together with the area number. Also in the case of the pie chart, similarly to the case of the bar graph, a sector-shaped closed region including the designated point coordinates is extracted for each region number.

In the design parameter determination module 15, instruction information including the type, constituent element, finished image, etc. of the target image from the design instruction input module 14 (FIG. 1)
2 (in the case of a bar graph) or FIG. 13 (in the case of a pie graph)), the procedure shown in FIG. 14 (in the case of a bar graph) or FIG.
Alternatively, a corresponding coloration pattern (design parameter table number) as shown in FIG. 17 is determined (step S57).

The design parameter table includes an area number corresponding to the area number sent from the target area extraction module 13 and a value indicating the amount of each recording color for each area number. The design parameters determined in this way are sent to the output image generation module 16.

The output image generation module 16 associates the area number of the design parameter table with the area number extracted by the target area extraction module 13 and assigns each area to the edit target area as instructed in the design parameter table. On the other hand, an output image is generated (step S5).
8). For an image area that is not to be edited, a normal process for faithfully reproducing the original is performed to generate an output image.

The output image thus generated is
It is sent to the printout module 17 and recorded and displayed on paper or the like as a colored image on the bar element portion and the background portion of the graph according to a normal full-color image output process.

According to this embodiment, if a simple operation of designating the edit target area by the target area designating module 12 and designating the finished image of the document or the type of the document by the design instruction input module 14 is performed, Since the area is processed according to the color scheme of the design determined by the design parameter determination module 15 and an output image is generated, the user does not need to have knowledge of the document design, and looks good in accordance with his own intention and use. A document with a good color scheme can be easily created.

In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which an element of a graph document, which is a document composed of graphic elements, is specified as an edit target area. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and generally, a document It goes without saying that any type of element of the image can be designated as the edit target area. For example, in a document including character blocks such as a dissertation or a report, a character block to which an identifier such as a title, an author, or a body is assigned may be specified by the target area designating module. Further, in the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the color scheme of the designated editing target area is determined as a design parameter. However, not only the color scheme but also other layout elements, for example, design parameters involving changes in area size, arrangement, and the like. It is needless to say that the configuration may be made such that is determined. As an example, a case where the layout is changed will be described later with reference to a third embodiment.

(Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment, as a design parameter determination module, for example, IF-THEN is used instead of referring to a table as in the first embodiment.
It uses a knowledge base written in the form of rules and an inference engine that performs forward and backward inference using the knowledge base. That is, as shown in FIG. 22, the design parameter determination module 225 includes a knowledge database 2252 that holds the instruction items from the design instruction input module 224 and the knowledge defining the design parameters and their mutual relations, and the design instruction input module 224. An inference mechanism (inference engine) 2251 that determines some design parameter by performing some inference such as forward inference or backward inference while referring to the knowledge database 2252 based on the instruction signal from the target area and the information from the target area instruction module 222. You.

An example of the operation procedure of the inference mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. The design parameter determination module 225 includes:
As shown in FIG. 23, when an instruction to start inference is received, the knowledge database 2252 is first activated by the operation of the inference engine.
, All rules written in IF-THEN format are taken out and set as rules (step S23).
1). Next, based on the data sent from the design instruction input module 224 and the target area instruction module 222, all the rules where the conditions written in the IF condition section are all true are found, and these are set as Trues (step S233). Next, only one rule is selected from the rules, and the execution content of the rule written in the THEN execution unit is executed (step S233). The selection and execution of these rules are repeated until Trues becomes empty (determined in step S234) or an inference stop instruction is issued by the THEN execution unit (determined in step S232). As a result, the design parameter determination module 225 determines a design parameter that matches the design instruction.

The knowledge database 2252 stores the IF-TH
It stores the relationship between the information indicating the use of the document and the finished image and the design parameters such as the color scheme of each target area as data by some knowledge expression method such as the EN rule format or the frame format. It consists of. Knowledge database 22
The content of the knowledge stored in 52 is, for example, “If the number of bar components in the bar graph is 3 or less and the finished image is an orthodox document, the color of the bar element 1 (Cyan amount, Ma
Genta amount, Yellow amount, Black amount) is (7
0, 35, 0, 0) [%], and the colors (Cyan amount, Magenta amount, Yellow amount, B)
Lack amount) is 30% for Cyan amount, Mage
The amount of nta is reduced by 15%. 24 is described in a format as shown in FIG. 24, and the content of the knowledge itself is, for example, in the 1991 42nd Information Processing Society of Japan National Convention Proceedings 7Q-7 “Evaluation Scale for Document Expression Quality”. Quantitative data obtained by methods such as subjective evaluation as described and “Fuji Xerox,“ Presentation & Documentation ”
Fuji Xerox, 1989, "Fuji Xerox D Promotion Group, Core Design Production Division," Business Document Production Technique II Colorization, "Nihon Keizai Shimbun,
Such information is qualitative or quantitative data as described in "1992" or the like, or data expressing each rule according to in-house rules. For the method of expressing knowledge in a general knowledge database and the configuration of an inference engine,
For example, it is described in detail in "F. Haze-Loss et al., Translated by AUEO," Expert System ", Sangyo Tosho, 1985." Other components are the same as in the first embodiment.

The operation will be specifically described based on the apparatus example of FIG. 22 and the document example of FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the design parameter determination module 225 refers to the knowledge database 2252 based on the instruction signal from the design instruction input module 224 and the information from the target area instruction module 222 to infer the optimum value for each individual design element. And decide.

For example, the design instruction input module 22
4 to "Coloring target: bar graph""finish image:
It is assumed that the selection information “orthodox” is provided to the design parameter determination module 225, and “the number of bar elements: 3” determined from the result of the region specification of the target region specification module 222 is provided to the design parameter determination module 225. .

Design parameter determination module 225
Then, a rule as shown in FIG. 24 is executed from an operation procedure as shown in FIG. This rule states, "Number of bar elements:
3) This rule is selected when the IF condition part is true based on information such as “finish image: orthodox”.
In that sense, the orthodox color scheme as a bar graph is Cyan amount, Magenta amount, Yellow
w amount, Black amount respectively (70, 35, 0, 0)
If [%] is the basic color and the number of bar elements is 3 or less, the color arrangement is similar in color (same hue color) with a difference in density, and the difference between adjacent colors is Cyan 30 [%] and Magenta 15
[%] A certain thing is preferable.

On the other hand, when the "number of bar elements" is 4 instead of 3, the rule shown in FIG. 25 is executed instead of FIG. In that sense, the orthodox color scheme as a bar graph is Cyan amount, Magenta amount, Yel amount
Low amount and Black amount respectively (70, 35, 0,
0) If the number of bar elements is 4 or more with [%] as the basic color, it is preferable to use a color scheme with the same density and a different hue (hue). In addition, the rules as shown in FIG. 26 are executed one after another, the values of other design elements are determined, and the inference ends when all necessary design parameters are determined.

The values of the design parameters thus obtained are sent to the output image generation module 226, where the first
The processing is performed in the same manner as in the embodiment. According to the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain a document image of higher coloring and design suitable for each document.

(Third Embodiment) In the embodiment described above, an example in which the target area is designated by the edit pad and the edit instruction pen as the target area instruction module has been described. It is not limited to. As another indication method, here, three color marker pens of red, blue and green are used, and purple is added to it.
An embodiment in which a color marker pen is used will be described. Of course, the present invention is not limited to these three or four colors.

As shown in FIG. 27, in the document processing apparatus according to the third embodiment, a document image with markings for designating a target area is input as a digital image, and the input document memory 2711 holds a document image with markings. A module 271, a marker recognizing unit 2721 for recognizing area indication information such as a color, a shape, and a position of a marking in the target area indication image, and are stored in the input image memory 2711 according to the recognized target area indication information. Target area extraction module 273 for extracting a target area from a document image
A design instruction input module 274 for designating a document type to be edited, a finished image desired by the user, and the like, and a design parameter value of the target area in accordance with the content designated by the design instruction input module 274. Design parameter determination module 275 to be determined and its design parameter determination module 27
5, an output image generation module 276 that processes the target area image in accordance with the design parameter value determined in Step 5 to generate an output image, and the output image generation module 27.
6 has a printout module 277 for visualizing the document image generated on paper. The combination of the document image input module with marking 271 and the marking recognizing unit 2721 functions as the target area instruction module 272 when the target area instruction original marked with the marker pen is input. The first embodiment is different from the third embodiment in the specific configuration of the target area instruction module and the design instruction input module. Therefore, the operation will be described below focusing on the difference. FIG. 30 is a flowchart of the operation.

In the case of pointing with a marker pen, if coloring is selected as the type of editing, a method of pointing an area with a marker is displayed. FIG. 28 shows an example of the display. Of course, instead of such a display, a configuration in which the information is described in an operation manual or the like in advance and is not displayed in the panel may be employed. However, in this embodiment, the display is performed for easy understanding. The user marks a desired area using a marker pen according to the display (step S302).

FIG. 29 shows an example in which a coloring target area is indicated by a marker pen on the same bar graph as in the first embodiment. In this example, the title is colored instead of omitting the coloring of the background portion of the graph in a slightly different place from the first embodiment. In the case of an instruction with an editing pen or the like in the first embodiment, the target area number is also selected and input. However, in the present embodiment with a marker pen, this is also omitted, and the shape and color of the marking are used. The target area number is automatically allocated by distinguishing and recognizing them by the marking recognition unit 271. In this embodiment, it is assumed that orthodox is selected as a finished image.

After the area indication by the marker pen is completed on the document in this manner (YES in step S301)
), A finished image is selected on the operation panel as in the case of the editing pen instruction (step S303), the document is moved to the image input module 271, and the operation start button is pressed. The selection of the finished image may be made at any time before the start button is pressed.

Then, the image input module 271 starts scanning the image and stores the image of the document in the input image memory 2711 (step S304).

The image of the marked document stored in the document image memory 2711 is stored in the marking recognition unit 27.
21 recognizes the color and shape of the marking. Based on the recognition result, the target area extraction module 273 extracts the target image area, attaches an area number corresponding to the color, and sends it to the output image generation module 276 (step). S
305). Regarding these color and shape recognition techniques and target area extraction techniques based thereon, see, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 03-109.
182 can be used.

That is, the marking recognizing unit 2721 expresses the pixel data for each pixel in the input image memory with the density data V, the hue data H, and the saturation data C, and determines a color which is predetermined as a marking color. And the color of the marking is detected based on whether or not they match. As a result of the detection, 1 is written in the case of matching, and 0 is written in the plane memory prepared for each color of the marking otherwise. Next, for each plane memory, that is, for each marking color, it is checked whether the marking shape is a dot or a circle (closed loop).

The target area extraction module 273 obtains the pattern information of each marking obtained by the marking recognition section 2721 by the color detection and held in the plane memory and the result of determining whether the shape of the pattern is a dot or a circle. , The closed area including the dots of the marking in the image in the input image memory and the character area included in the area of the marking circle are sent to the output image generating module 276 together with the area numbers corresponding to the colors.

The design parameter determination module 275
Now, the information from the design instruction input module 274,
That is, a table in which the editing type, the finished image, and the color arrangement pattern are associated with each other is indexed by using the information that the designated editing type is "coloring" and the finished image is "orthodox" as a key, and is shown in FIG. The corresponding coloration pattern a (design parameter table No.) is determined (step S306). As shown in FIG. 31, each design parameter table includes an area number assigned corresponding to the color and shape of the marker pen,
It is composed of a value representing the amount of each recording color for each area number.

The values held in the table are the same as those in the first embodiment.
In the same manner as in the above, it is determined by knowledge based on quantitative data and qualitative data obtained by subjective evaluation experiments and the like. Specifically, the following items are given as an example of knowledge for determining a color arrangement pattern. (1) The most orthodox and safest general color separation method in which an object is not specified is to use colors of the same density and different hues. (2) In color classification using colors of the same density but different hues, the hue differences are preferably equally spaced. (3) For a general area where an object is not specified, a lighter color is preferable. For example, 40 to 60% of a halftone dot in a standard ink (for example, Dainippon Ink Process G) in normal offset printing is used. It is of a degree, and if it goes thinner it gives a soft and feminine impression. (4) For a general line in which an object is not specified, a darker color is preferable. For example, 80 to 100% of a cyan halftone dot using standard ink (for example, Dainippon Ink Process G) in normal offset printing. It is comparable, and if it goes thinner than this, it gives a stylish impression, but the readability deteriorates. ………………

As a result of applying the knowledge as shown in the above (1) to (4), ... "Orthodox coloration when it is not known what kind of object comes, the area is colored with lighter colors and lines. The color shown in FIG. 31 has been determined to express the intention of "coloring is performed using darker colors and colors having the same density and different hues."

The design parameters determined in this way are sent to the output image generation module 276. The output image generation module 276 uses the region number as a key for the target region extracted by the target region extraction module 273 to index the determined design parameter table of FIG.
The Magenta amount, the Yellow amount, and the Black amount are sequentially determined, and an output image is generated (step S30).
7). For an image area that is not to be edited, a normal process for faithfully reproducing the original is performed to generate an output image.

The output image thus generated is:
The image is sent to the printout module 277, and is recorded and displayed on a paper or the like as a colored image in accordance with a normal full-color image output process.

The operation has been described above in the case where "coloring" is selected as the editing type. Next, the operation in the case where "layout conversion" is selected as the editing type will be described.

FIG. 32 shows an example of a document. The actual design instruction will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 33, when "layout conversion" is selected as the type of editing from the "message display & design instruction panel", options of the target document are further displayed. From here, FIG.
Select "Report body" which is an example of 2. Then,
A message as shown in FIG. 34 is displayed on the same display, and how to specify an area in the target area specifying module 272 will be described. According to the message, the user proceeds to FIG.
And color the corresponding document element with a marker pen.

After the area indication by the marker pen is completed in this way, the finished image is selected on the design instruction panel in the same manner as in the case of the editing pen instruction, and the marked document is moved to the image input module 271 to start the operation. I press the button. The selection of the finished image may be made at any time before the start button is pressed.

Then, the original image input module 27
Numeral 1 starts scanning of an image and stores the image of the original in the input image memory 2711.

The target area extraction module 273 extracts the target image together with the color of the corresponding marker pen from the color of the marking by the marker pen. This is basically the same as the operation when “coloring” is selected as the type of editing described above. However, in this example, only the circle is used as the marking shape. Then, it is extracted as a rectangular area circumscribing the characters and other elements in the circle. The image area thus extracted is sent to the output image generation module 276 together with the color of the marker pen.

Design parameter determination module 275
Then, the corresponding design parameter table is determined based on the information from the design instruction input module 274, that is, in this case, the specified “layout change” and “fresh”. The design parameter table is shown in FIG.
As shown in the example, the target area extracting module 273 includes area numbers allocated in correspondence to the colors of the marker pens, and values indicating design parameter amounts for each area number. Here, the values held in the table are determined by knowledge based on quantitative data and qualitative data obtained by subjective evaluation experiments and the like as in the first embodiment. Specifically, as a result of applying the knowledge for layout determination as shown in the following (1) (2) ..., the report "provides a fresh feeling after having standard readability as a report. The value shown in FIG. 36 is determined as expressing the intention such as "I encourage reading." (1) In the report, from the viewpoint of readability, the font size is 14 point bold title, affiliation / author name 1
0 points, subheading 13 points bold, text 10
Points are standard. (2) When it is desired to give a fresh image to a document, the left and right margins should be at least 1/3 of the paper width. ............

The design parameters determined in this way are sent to the output image generation module 276. A flowchart of the process in the output image generation module 276 is as shown in FIG. That is, first, the elements corresponding to the element numbers are extracted from the area extraction result in the order of the elements of the design parameter table determined by the design parameter determination module 275 (steps S372 and S373). In this example, the element number 1 is “Title” at the beginning of the design parameter table.
Therefore, the area data of element number 1 is extracted from the area extraction result. A corresponding partial image is cut out from the input image based on the area data (step S374). The area image generation process is called using the element number, the design parameter corresponding to the element number in the design parameter table, and the partial image corresponding to the element on the input image as parameters (step S375). As a result of this processing, an output image of the element according to the design parameters is obtained. The obtained image is placed at the position on the output image specified by the design parameter (“Title” of element number 1).
Is 100 mm from the left edge of the page and 3 mm from the top edge of the page.
TOP-CENTER, that is, the center point of the rectangular area is located at a position of 5 mm (step S37).
6). Finally, the element number and the position and size of the arranged rectangular area are stored (step S377). Then, it is determined whether there is an element that has not been laid out in the table (step S371). If there is an element that has not been laid out yet, the parameter of the next element in the layout parameter table is extracted (step S371).
372). In the case of this example, the same processing is repeated for “author” of element number 2 which is the next element of the table.
When the arrangement of all the elements in the table is completed, the output image generation processing ends.

In the case of “title” of element number 1, the arrangement reference is specified by the absolute position of “page”.
In the case of "author", it is a relative designation. To determine this, the position of the rectangular area of the already placed element is needed. This is why the position of the rectangular area is stored when the arrangement is completed.

In the area image generation processing called for each element of the design parameter table, the processing to be called is changed depending on the type of the area. Specifically, in the case of a ruled line, a process of generating an elongated image that is simply a straight line without using the input image, filling the image, and returning the image is performed. In the case of a character, a character image generation process is called.

The character image generating process sequentially calls three processes of a character filling process, an area enlarging / reducing process, and a character modifying process. In the character filling process, an image cut out for each character is rearranged so as to fit within a certain width. This may be performed by using a known technique, for example, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-122773.

In the print-out module 17, the output image in the output image memory 171 is transferred onto paper using a laser beam printing technique and discharged, as in the first embodiment. FIG. 38 shows an example of an output document whose layout has been changed.

[0074]

As has been described in detail above, according to the present invention, a user can provide his / her own information only by giving simple instructions based on an existing document without having knowledge of document design. It is possible to easily create a good-looking, high-quality design document that meets the purpose and purpose of the user. That is, according to the present invention, if the user designates a target area by the target area designating means and designates a desired use or a finished image by the design designating means, the design parameter is decided by the design parameter decision means accordingly. Since the output image generating means generates a predetermined output image by processing the document image with respect to the specified target area, the output image is changed to a document having a desired high-quality design without knowledge of the document design. be able to.

Further, in a mode in which the target area designating means is constituted by inputting a document having a marking for area designation on the original and recognizing the marking to obtain the instruction information, the instruction operation by the user is not performed. It is easy and gives quick instructions.

According to an aspect of the present invention, document design knowledge information is prepared as a knowledge database, and design parameters are determined by inference processing. Document design can be determined.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a design instruction input module.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example (bar graph) of an input document;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example (pie chart) of an input document;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a design instruction input example (1).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a message display example (1) for designating a target area;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a message display example (2) for designating a target area;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a message display example (3) for indicating a target area;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a target area instruction result

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a design instruction input example (2).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of design instruction determination (in the case of a bar graph).

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of design instruction determination (in the case of a pie chart).

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for determining design parameters (in the case of a bar graph).

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for determining design parameters (for a pie chart);

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of design parameter contents (in the case of a bar graph).

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of design parameter contents (in the case of a pie chart);

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a target region extraction result (region number 1).

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a target region extraction result (region number 2).

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a target region extraction result (region number 3).

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a target region extraction result (region number 4).

FIG. 22 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of the inference processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of knowledge in a knowledge database.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of knowledge in a knowledge database.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of knowledge in a knowledge database.

FIG. 27 is a configuration diagram showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an input example of a design instruction panel.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of a document in which an input document is marked for area indication.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a process in the third embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a design parameter (in the case of coloring);

FIG. 32 shows an example of an input document (report).

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of input display of a target instruction on a message display & design instruction panel.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an input display example of a finish image instruction on the message display & design instruction panel.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an example of an original document in which a region is designated by performing marking with colors;

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of determined design parameters.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of processing in an output image generation module.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing an example of a document whose layout has been changed in accordance with a design instruction;

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 221: Original image input module, 111, 22
11: input image memory, 12, 222: target area instruction module, 13, 223: target area extraction module, 1
4,224 ... design instruction input module, 15,22
5 Design parameter determination module 141 Design parameter table 2251 Inference mechanism 225
2 ... Knowledge database, 16,226 ... Output image generation module, 17,227 ... Printout module,
171, 271 ... Output image memory.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06T 1/00 G06T 11/60-17/50 H04N 1/38-1/393

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A document image holding means for storing a document image, a target area designating means for designating an area to be edited in the document image stored in the document image holding means, and a document area designated by the target area designating means. Target area extracting means for extracting the edited target area from the document image, design designating means for designating a desired document design with respect to the output document, and parameter values relating to the document design of the target area in accordance with the design designating means. A design parameter determining means for determining; and an output image generating means for processing a document image of the edit target area extracted by the target area extracting means based on the parameter value determined by the design parameter determining means to generate an output image. A document processing apparatus comprising: 2. An editing pad having a portion for placing an original document of a document image stored in the document image holding device and a portion for detecting a point indicated by an editing instruction pen, and 2. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: the editing instruction pen for indicating a desired point of the original document on the editing pad; and a message display panel for guiding how to specify a target area. 3. The object area designating means has a layout image prepared in advance for each type of editing target, and the message display panel displays the layout image corresponding to the type of editing target with an editing instruction pen. 3. The document processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a target area to be instructed is highlighted and displayed, and an identifier for the area is displayed. 4. The target area designating means includes: input means for inputting a document document of a document image having at least one marking indicating a target area; and marking for detecting the marking and generating target area designating information. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recognition unit. 5. The target area extracting means extracts a closed area including each of the designated points from the document image held by the document image holding means based on the designated points in the target area designating means and an identifier corresponding thereto. 5. The document processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the document processing apparatus sets the area to be edited. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the design instructing means includes an operation panel for displaying design instruction items such as a type of an edit target and a finished image of the document and selecting a desired item from the items. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 7. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said design parameter determining means includes table means capable of indexing parameter values relating to said document design in accordance with the instruction content of said design instruction means. apparatus. 8. The design parameter determining means executes an inference process using a knowledge database storing knowledge information on document design and document design information stored in the knowledge database based on an instruction of the design instructing means. 2. The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an inference processing unit that performs inference processing.