JP2008198029A - Article reading apparatus, article specifying method, and reading article distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

An article reading apparatus, an article specifying method, and a reading article distribution system for distributing an identified article by reading a paper surface on which an identifier is printed can be specified.
A read image read from a scanner unit is acquired (S1), and a two-dimensional code included therein is searched (S2). By transmitting the discovered two-dimensional code, the content server is requested for an image of the entire page (S7). The received image is enlarged or reduced to the size of the paper image by matching the size of the two-dimensional code included in the received (S8) paper image and the read two-dimensional code (S9). Using the received page information as a clue, an article included in the read image is cut out, a score from the area and center of each article is calculated, and a target article to be extracted from the read image is determined (S12).
[Selection] Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to an article reading device, an article specifying method, and a read article distribution system.

  Conventionally, by embedding identifiers such as barcodes and two-dimensional codes in printed matter such as newspapers and magazines, and reading these identifiers with a scanner or camera, detailed information prepared on the network and updated information can be obtained. There is something that has been. There is also a need to download the detailed information and update information obtained in this way to a portable terminal for browsing.

When reading such an identifier, if it is read in the barcode mode of a camera attached to a barcode reader or a mobile phone, it can be read close to the target identifier, so the identifier for the target article can be read. Is relatively easy. However, when a large number of identifiers exist in a narrow area, it may not be clear which identifier has been read. In order to deal with such a case, a two-dimensional code reader capable of reading a two-dimensional code at a specific position when the two-dimensional codes are dense has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-268122 A

  However, the above-described conventional technique uses a two-dimensional code reader, and when an identifier arranged on a paper surface such as a newspaper is read using a flatbed scanner, a plurality of identifiers are read, and the target one is obtained. It may be difficult to identify, but it is not applicable in such cases.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem. An article reading apparatus, an article identification method, and a read article that distributes an identified article by reading a sheet of paper on which an identifier is printed. An object is to provide a distribution system.

  In order to achieve the above object, an article reading apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is included in a reading unit that reads a paper surface on which an identifier and an article are printed, and a read image read by the reading unit. Based on the identifier specified by the identifier specifying means, the identifier specified by the identifier specifying means, the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the article arranged in the page, and the article Included in the read image based on the page information acquisition means for acquiring the page information including at least the page area information that is the area occupied on the page, the read image, and the page information acquired by the page information acquisition means. There is provided a target article specifying means for specifying, as a target article, an article to be transmitted to a display terminal that displays content from among existing articles.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the article reading device specifies an article included in the read image based on the read image and the page information. An article area calculating means for calculating an area occupied in the read image of each specific article specified by the article specifying means, and the target article specifying means is calculated by the article area calculating means A specific article having a wider article area in the read image is specified as the target article.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the article reading device specifies an article included in the read image based on the read image and the page information. Identification means, article area calculation means for calculating the area occupied in the read image of each specific article specified by the article specification means, and area information in the page of each specific article acquired by the page information acquisition means And a reading ratio calculating means for calculating the ratio of the read image portion of each specific article to the articles in the paper based on the article area in the read image calculated by the article area calculating means, and the target article The specifying means specifies a specific article having a higher ratio calculated by the reading ratio calculating means as the target article.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the article reading device specifies an article included in the read image based on the read image and the page information. A means for calculating the proximity of each specific article specified by the article specifying means from the center of the read image, and the target article specifying means is calculated by the proximity calculating means. A specific article having a closer proximity is identified as the target article.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the target article specifying unit specifies a plurality of the target articles. Features.

  The article specifying method according to claim 6 of the present invention includes a reading step of reading a paper surface on which an identifier and an article are printed, and an identifier for specifying the identifier included in the read image read in the reading step. Based on the identifier specified in the specifying step and the identifier specifying step, the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the articles arranged in the page, and the area occupied by the article on the page Based on the page information acquisition step for acquiring page information including at least page area information, the read image, and the page information acquired by the page information acquisition unit, from among articles included in the read image, This is an article specifying method that includes a target article specifying step of specifying an article to be transmitted to a display terminal that displays content as a target article.

  The read article distribution system according to claim 7 of the present invention is an article reading device that reads a paper surface on which an identifier and an article are printed, and an article reading device that is connected to the article reading device and read by the article reading device. A read article distribution system comprising a display terminal for receiving content from a reading device and displaying the content, wherein the article reading device is included in reading means for reading the paper surface and a read image read by the reading means. Based on the identifier specified by the identifier specifying means, the identifier specified by the identifier specifying means, the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the article arranged in the page, and the article Acquired by the page information acquisition means for acquiring the page information including at least area information on the page, the read image, and the page information acquisition means. Content of the target article specified by the target article specifying means for specifying an article for transmitting content to the display terminal from the articles included in the read image based on the surface information Content acquisition means, and content transmission means for transmitting the target article content acquired by the content acquisition means to the display terminal, wherein the display terminal displays the content from the article reading device. It is characterized by comprising receiving means for receiving the target article content to be transmitted and display control means for displaying the target article content received by the receiving means on the display means.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the seventh aspect of the invention, a content server is connected to the article reading device, and the content server is an image of the page. Information on the page, information on the position of the article arranged in the page, and page information storage means for storing page information including at least the area information the article occupies on the page, and content storing the content as the content of the article Storage means, paper information providing means for providing paper information stored in the paper information storage means in response to a request from the article reading device, and storage in the content storage means in response to a request from the article reading device Content providing means for providing the read content, and the article reading device is requested by the page information acquisition means to the content server. The Rukoto acquires the paper information, the content obtaining unit, and obtains the target article content by requesting the content server.

  In the article reading apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reading unit reads the paper surface on which the identifier and the article are printed, and the identifier specifying unit specifies the identifier included in the read image read by the reading unit. Based on the identifier, the page information acquisition unit acquires the page information. The page information includes the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the articles arranged in the page, and the area information on the page that is the area that the article occupies on the page. By matching the image, the target article specifying means specifies the article to be transmitted to the display terminal that displays the content from the read image as the target article. Therefore, if the page containing the identifier is read, information on the entire page can be obtained even if the identifier does not directly access the information related to the specific article, and the article contained therein is specified. Therefore, as in the case of clipping by clipping an article, the article can be identified and the content of the identified article can be transmitted to the display terminal. Even if there are multiple articles in the scanned image, or even if only a part of the article is included in the scanned image, the target article can be identified by using position information and area information on the page. Thus, it is possible to obtain the desired content without the user's trouble.

  Further, in the article reading apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, which article is included in the read image by the article specifying means based on the read image and the page information. The article area calculating means calculates the area occupied in the read image of each article specified (article area in the read image). Then, the target article specifying means sets a specific article having a wider article area in the read image as a target article. Since an article that occupies a large part in the read image is expected to be the target article, according to such a method, it is possible to obtain the content about the article desired by the user.

  Further, in the article reading apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, which article is included in the read image by the article specifying means based on the read image and the page information. The article area calculating means calculates the area occupied in the read image of each article specified (article area in the read image). Then, the reading ratio calculation means calculates the ratio of the read image portion of each specific article to the articles on the paper. Then, the target article specifying unit sets a specific article having a higher ratio calculated by the reading ratio calculating unit as a target article. In each article included in the page, it is highly likely that an article with a high percentage included in the scanned image is an article that the user is paying attention to. Content about a desired article can be obtained.

  Further, in the article reading apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, which article is included in the read image by the article specifying means based on the read image and the page information. And the proximity calculation means calculates the proximity from the center of the read image of each specified article. Then, the target article specifying means sets the specific article closer to the proximity calculated by the proximity calculating means as the target article. Since the user is more likely to place the desired article in the center when placing the paper on the screen of the reading device, according to such a method, the content about the desired article of the user is obtained. Can be made.

  Further, in the article reading apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any of claims 2 to 4, the target article specifying means specifies a plurality of target articles. If a plurality of articles are specified and presented, the user can select a desired article from among them, or can download all the specified articles.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the article specifying method according to the present invention reads the paper on which the identifier and the article are printed in the reading step, and specifies the identifier included in the read image read in the identifier specifying step. Based on the identifier, the page information is acquired in the page information acquisition step. The page information includes the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the articles arranged in the page, and the area information on the page that is the area that the article occupies on the page. By matching the images, in the target article specifying step, an article to be transmitted to the display terminal that displays the content from the read image is specified as the target article. Therefore, if the page containing the identifier is read, information on the entire page can be obtained even if the identifier does not directly access the information related to the specific article, and the article contained therein is specified. Therefore, as in the case of clipping by clipping an article, the article can be identified and the content of the identified article can be transmitted to the display terminal. Even if there are multiple articles in the scanned image, or even if only a part of the article is included in the scanned image, the target article can be identified by using position information and area information on the page. Thus, it is possible to obtain the desired content without the user's trouble.

  A read article distribution system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes an article reading device and a display terminal. In the article reading apparatus, the reading unit reads the paper surface on which the identifier and the article are printed, and the identifier specifying unit specifies the identifier included in the read image read by the reading unit. Based on the identifier, the page information acquisition unit acquires the page information. The page information includes the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the articles arranged in the page, and the area information on the page that is the area that the article occupies on the page. By matching the image, the target article specifying means specifies the article to be transmitted to the display terminal that displays the content from the read image as the target article. Further, the content acquisition unit acquires the content of the target article, and the content transmission unit transmits the content of the target article to the display terminal. The display terminal receives the target article content and displays it on the display means. Therefore, if the page containing the identifier is read, information on the entire page can be obtained even if the identifier does not directly access the information related to the specific article, and the article contained therein is specified. Therefore, as in the case of clipping by clipping an article, the article can be identified and the content of the identified article can be transmitted to the display terminal. Even if a plurality of articles are included in the read image or only a part of the article is included in the read image, the target article can be specified by using the position information and the area information in the paper. Since the content of the identified article is transmitted to the display terminal, the user who has read the paper can save the trouble and obtain the desired content on the display terminal.

  Further, in the read article distribution system according to claim 8 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 7, a content server having a page information storage means and a content storage means is connected to the article reading device. In response to a request from the article reading device, page information and content are provided. Therefore, even if the page information and content are not stored in the article reading device, it can be requested and obtained from the content server each time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an overview of the read article distribution system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the relationship between devices constituting the read article distribution system 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the read article distribution system 4 includes a content server 3 and a multifunction device 2 that can be connected to the Internet 5, and a display terminal 1 that can be connected to the multifunction device 2. The multifunction machine 2 and the content server 3 are connected via the Internet 5. The display terminal 1 is a portable terminal including the display unit 15, and displays content including characters and images on the display unit 15. The multifunction device 2 has a function as a reading device that reads a printed matter with a scanner and a function as a communication device connected to the Internet 5. The content server 3 manages a paper image of a printed material and content that is the content of an article in the paper.

  In the present embodiment, a user reads a paper magazine such as a newspaper or a magazine (hereinafter simply referred to as “paper surface”) with the scanner of the multifunction device 2, and the multifunction device 2 uses the identifier and the article itself included in the read article. Based on this, the content server 3 is inquired and an article desired by the user is specified. Then, the content of the identified article is downloaded from the content server 3, transmitted to the display terminal 1, and the content is viewed on the display terminal 1.

  Next, the multifunction device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the multifunction device 2, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the RAM 22 of the multifunction device 2. The multifunction device 2 is a device having functions of a printing device, a communication device, a telephone, a facsimile, a scanner, and a copier. In order to implement the present invention, in addition to a scanner function as a reading device for reading a printed material and a function as a communication device, a function for connecting the display terminal 1 is a minimum necessary function. The multifunction device 2 is provided with a CPU 20 that controls the multifunction device 2. The CPU 20 temporarily stores a ROM 21 that stores a print program, a reading program, a communication program, and the like for operating the multifunction device 2 and various data. RAM 22 for storing the data, EEPROM 23 for storing a multifunction machine ID for identifying the multifunction machine 2, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 25 as a display screen, operation keys 26 for accepting input by the user, and other functions. A USB controller 27 for connecting to a device is connected via a bus. Here, the display terminal 1 is connected to the multifunction device 2 via the USB controller 27.

  Further, the multifunction machine 2 is provided with a LAN controller 29 for connecting to the Internet 5 and connected to the CPU 20. A modem 41 is provided and connected to the CPU 20. The modem 41 is connected to a line control unit 42 for connecting to the public line 4, and the line control unit 42 is connected to a handset 43 for inputting and outputting audio.

  Further, the multifunction device 2 includes a recording unit 28 that performs printing, and is connected to the CPU 20. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the multifunction device 2 performs ink jet printing. Therefore, the recording unit 28 is provided with a head driving unit for driving a piezoelectric actuator provided in each channel of the inkjet head, a roller driving unit for driving a conveyance roller for conveying the printing paper, and the like. . The multifunction device 2 is provided with a flatbed type scanner unit 24 on which an image or document is placed and read by an image sensor. Due to the function of the scanner unit 24, the multifunction machine 2 functions as an article reading apparatus of the present invention.

  Next, each storage area provided in the RAM 22 will be described with reference to FIG. The RAM 22 of the multifunction machine 2 is provided with at least an acquired sheet information storage area 221, a read image storage area 222, a two-dimensional code storage area 223, and a target article storage area 224. In the acquired paper surface information storage area 221, information on a paper surface including an image (read image) read by the scanner unit 24, that is, a paper image, an article area for each article image, and an article position are acquired from the content server 3. Remembered. In the read image storage area 222, a read image read by the scanner unit 24 is stored. The two-dimensional code storage area 223 stores a two-dimensional code detected from the read image. The target article storage area 224 stores an article that is specified from a read article by a determination process described later and is to be transmitted to the display terminal 1.

  Next, the display terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical configuration of the display terminal 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the display terminal 1 is provided with a CPU 10 that controls the display terminal 1. The CPU 10 temporarily stores a ROM 11 that stores a program for operating the display terminal 1 and various data. RAM 12 for storing automatically, EEPROM 13 storing a user ID or the like for identifying a user using display terminal 1, display controller 14 for controlling display unit 15, and input by the user An operation key 16, a USB controller 17 for connecting to another device, and a memory card controller 18 for connecting a memory card 19 are connected via a bus. The memory card 19 is provided with a content information storage area 191 for storing content display data.

  Next, the content server 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical configuration of the content server 3, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the hard disk device 33.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the content server 3 includes a CPU 30 that controls the content server 3. The CPU 30 includes a ROM 31 that stores an OS and the like, a RAM 32 that temporarily stores various data, and various types of data. A hard disk device (HDD) 33 that stores information, a keyboard 36 that accepts user input, a mouse 37, a display 35 that outputs images, a CD-ROM drive 38 for reading a CD-ROM 6, and the Internet 5 A LAN controller 39 for connection is connected via a bus.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the HDD 33 is provided with a paper surface corresponding information storage area 331, a paper surface information storage area 332, a content storage area 333, and the like. The HDD 33 is also provided with various storage areas not shown. The paper surface correspondence information storage area 331 stores the correspondence between paper surface information and content. In the page information storage area, at least information about the page image of the printed matter is stored for each article in the page. In the content storage area 333, content corresponding to articles stored in the page information storage area 332 is stored. The page information storage area 332 corresponds to the page information storage unit of the present invention, and the content storage area 333 corresponds to the content storage unit of the present invention.

  Next, the configuration of the paper surface will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the paper surface image 100. The paper surface in the present embodiment is a printed matter such as a newspaper / magazine, and includes one or a plurality of articles and a two-dimensional code that is an identifier corresponding to the article. In this case, the two-dimensional code is associated with the article, but the position in the paper image may be specified. As will be described later, since the two-dimensional code needs to be included in the read image, the two-dimensional code is printed at an interval that allows one or more two-dimensional codes to be entered no matter how the user reads the paper. It is desirable. The entire image on the page is stored in the content server 3. This is the paper image 100. In the example of FIG. 7, the page image 100 includes four articles 101 to 102 and two-dimensional codes 111 to 114 that are identifiers arranged in each article. The entire printed paper surface is larger than the surface of the scanner unit 24 of the multifunction machine 2, and an image read by the scanner unit 24 is a part of the paper image 100, for example, a read image 120.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a reading image discrimination process in the multifunction machine 2 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the determination process of the multifunction device 2. As shown in FIG. 8, when the discrimination process is started, first, the scanner unit 24 is made to read the paper surface, and a read image 120 as an output result is acquired (S1). Next, a two-dimensional code in the read image 120 is searched (S2). In the present embodiment, a QR code (registered trademark) is assumed as a two-dimensional code. Here, the QR code in the read image is sequentially recognized by a known method.

  Next, as a result of the search process in S2, it is determined whether or not a two-dimensional code is included (found) in the read image 120 (S3). If a two-dimensional code is included (S3: YES), the found two-dimensional code is stored in the two-dimensional code storage area 223 of the RAM 22 (S4). Next, it is determined whether an unsearched area still remains in the read image 120 (S5). If an unsearched area still remains (S5: YES), the process returns to S2 and a two-dimensional code is searched for the remaining area.

  If no unsearched area remains (S5: NO), next, whether or not one or more two-dimensional codes have been read in the processing so far, that is, the two-dimensional code stored in the two-dimensional code storage area 223 It is determined whether there is a code (S6). If the two-dimensional code has not been read (S6: NO), the page containing the read image 120 and the article contained therein cannot be specified, so the process ends after displaying an error message or the like. . In such a case, the user can move the paper surface to read the paper surface so as to include the two-dimensional code, and execute the discrimination process again.

  If the two-dimensional code has been read (S6: YES), next, the read two-dimensional code is transmitted to the content server 3, and a paper image including the two-dimensional code is requested (S7). Then, the content server 3 retrieves the paper image 100 using the received two-dimensional code as a key, extracts it, and transmits it (described later), and therefore receives this paper image 100 (S8).

  Next, the read image 120 is enlarged or reduced so that the read two-dimensional code has the same size as the two-dimensional code in the paper image 100 (S9). The size of the two-dimensional code in the paper image 100 may be calculated from the received paper image 100 or the size may be received from the content server 3. Also, the size of the reference two-dimensional code may be stored in advance in the multifunction machine 2 so that the same size is always used.

  Next, the two-dimensional code of the paper image 100 and the read image 120 is aligned (S10). Then, an article included in the read image 120 is cut out from the paper image 100 (S11). For example, in the case of the paper image 100 and the read image 120 as shown in FIG. 7, there are four articles 101, 102, 103, and 104 included in the read image 120. Among these, the user selects a target article whose content is to be transmitted to the display terminal 1. For this sorting process, each article is cut out here.

  Next, a target article determination process is performed to determine whether the extracted article is a target article (S12), and the entire determination process ends. The target article determination process executed here has six embodiments, and will be described later in order with reference to FIGS. When the discrimination process is executed in this manner, a target article to be transmitted to the display terminal 1 is selected as the article content selected by the user from the page, and the target article content transmission process to be described later is performed when the display terminal 1 is connected. Thus, the content is transmitted to the display terminal 1.

  The CPU 20 of the multifunction machine 2 that searches for a two-dimensional code in S2 of FIG. 8 corresponds to the identifier specifying means of the present invention. The CPU 20 that receives the paper image from the content server in S7 and S8 corresponds to the paper information acquisition unit of the present invention. Further, the CPU 20 that executes the target article determination process in S12 corresponds to the target article specifying means of the present invention. In addition, the CPU 20 that performs article cutting in S11 corresponds to the article specifying means of the present invention.

  Here, processing on the content server 3 side when content is requested in S7 of FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the paper image transmission process of the content server 3. First, a paper image transmission request is received from the multifunction machine 2 (S81). Next, the two-dimensional code is received from the MFP 2 as it is (S82). Then, a paper surface image corresponding to the received two-dimensional code is searched in the paper surface correspondence information storage area 331 (S83). Next, the paper image discovered as a result of the search is extracted from the paper information storage area 332, and the paper image 100 is transmitted to the multifunction machine 2 (S84). Note that the CPU 30 of the content server 3 that transmits the page image in S84 corresponds to the page information providing means of the present invention.

  Next, a first embodiment of the target article determination process executed in S12 of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the paper image 100 in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of target article determination processing according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, an article in which the area of the portion included in the read image is maximum is selected as the target article. In the present embodiment, description will be made along an example in which a read image 125 obtained by reading the paper surface as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, first, a list (read article list) of article information (article position and article area) cut out in S11 of FIG. 8 is acquired (S20). Next, the “area ratio” used in the subsequent processing is initialized to “0” (S21). Next, the first element of the list (read article) is set as a processing target (S26). Here, this article to be processed is referred to as a “read article image”. Next, the area of the read article image is calculated (S27). Since the area calculation method is common to each embodiment, it will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

  Next, the entire area of the read image 125 is acquired (S31). The area of the read image 125 can be acquired from the read area of the scanner unit 24. Next, the article area ratio is calculated (S33). The article area ratio is calculated by dividing the area of the read article image calculated in S27 by the area of the entire read image acquired in S31.

  Next, it is determined whether the article area ratio calculated in S33 is larger than the maximum area ratio (S35). Since the maximum area ratio is initialized to “0” in S21, the article area ratio becomes larger than the maximum area ratio in the first process (S35: YES). Therefore, the value of the article area ratio is substituted for the maximum area ratio (S36). If the article area ratio is less than or equal to the maximum area ratio (S35: NO), the process proceeds directly to S44.

  Next, it is determined whether or not an undetermined element remains in the acquired read article list (S44). If there are still remaining elements (S44: YES), the process returns to S26 and the same process is executed for the next element. When the determination process is completed for all elements (S44: NO), the article having the maximum area ratio is set as the target article (S45). Then, the process returns to the determination process of FIG.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 10, four articles 102, 103, 104, and 105 are acquired as a read article list (S20). The area is calculated in order from the article 102 (S27), and the ratio is calculated (S33). Since the maximum area ratio is in the case of the article 103, the article 103 is the target article.

  In the above processing, the CPU 20 that calculates the area of the read article image in S27 corresponds to the article area calculation means of the present invention.

  Next, a second embodiment of the target article determination process will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment performs the same process as the first embodiment, but instead of selecting only one target article, the article area ratio is listed for all articles, and a plurality of them are set as target articles. To do. All of the plurality of target articles may be content download targets, or the user may select one or two from among them.

  As shown in FIG. 12, first, a list (read article list) of article information (article position and article area) cut out in S11 of FIG. 8 is acquired (S20). Next, the “article area ratio list” is initialized (S22). Next, the first element of the list (read article) is set as a “read article image” as a processing target (S26). Next, the area of the read article image is calculated (S27). Since the area calculation method is common to each embodiment, it will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

  Next, the entire area of the read image 125 is acquired (S31). The area of the read image 125 can be acquired from the read area of the scanner unit 24. Next, the article area ratio is calculated (S33). The article area ratio is calculated by dividing the area of the read article image calculated in S27 by the area of the entire read image acquired in S31.

  Next, the article area ratio value calculated in S33 is added to the article area ratio list (S37). Next, it is determined whether or not an undetermined element remains in the acquired read article list (S44). If there are still remaining elements (S44: YES), the process returns to S26 and the same process is executed for the next element. When the determination process is completed for all elements (S44: NO), the article area ratio list is sorted in descending order of ratio (S46). Then, the top three items in the list are set as target articles (S47). Then, the process returns to the determination process of FIG.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 10, four articles 102, 103, 104, and 105 are acquired as a read article list (S20). The area is calculated in order from the article 102 (S27), and the ratio is calculated (S33). Since the article area ratio is in the order of article 103, article 105, article 104, and article 102, three articles 103, article 105, and article 104 are targeted articles.

  Next, a third embodiment of the target article determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the paper image 100 in the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of target article discrimination processing according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, an article having the largest ratio in the read image among the articles is selected as the target article.

  As shown in FIG. 13, first, a list (read article list) of article information (article position and article area) cut out in S11 of FIG. 8 is acquired (S20). Next, the “maximum article ratio” used in the subsequent processing is initialized to “0” (S21). Next, the first element of the list (read article) is set as a “read article image” as a processing target (S26). Next, the area of the read article image is calculated (S27). Since the area calculation method is common to each embodiment, it will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

  Next, the entire area of the article (paper article) corresponding to the read article image is acquired from the acquired paper information stored in the acquired paper information storage area 221 of the RAM 22 (S32). Next, the article area ratio is calculated (S34). The article area ratio is calculated by dividing the area of the read article image calculated in S27 by the image area of the paper article acquired in S32.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the article area ratio calculated in S34 is larger than the maximum article ratio (S38). Since the maximum article ratio is initialized to “0” in S21, the article area ratio becomes larger than the maximum article ratio in the first process (S38: YES). Therefore, the value of the article area ratio is substituted for the maximum article ratio (S39). If the article area ratio is less than or equal to the maximum article ratio (S38: NO), the process proceeds directly to S44.

  Next, it is determined whether or not an undetermined element remains in the acquired read article list (S44). If there are still remaining elements (S44: YES), the process returns to S26 and the same process is executed for the next element. When the determination process is completed for all elements (S44: NO), the article with the maximum article ratio is set as the target article (S45). Then, the process returns to the determination process of FIG.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 13, four articles, article 102, article 103, article 104, and article 105 are acquired as a read article list (S20). The area is calculated in order from the article 102 (S27), and the ratio is calculated (S34). The maximum article ratio is when the article 105 includes the entire article in the read image (ratio = 100%), so the article 105 is the target article.

  In the above processing, the CPU 20 that calculates the article area ratio in S34 corresponds to the reading ratio calculation means of the present invention.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the target article determination process will be described with reference to FIG. The fourth embodiment performs the same process as the third embodiment, but instead of selecting only one target article, the article area ratio is listed for all articles, and a plurality of them are set as target articles. To do. All of the plurality of target articles may be content download targets, or the user may select one or two from among them. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of target article determination processing according to the fourth embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 15, first, a list (read article list) of article information (article position and article area) cut out in S11 of FIG. 8 is acquired (S20). Next, the “article area ratio list” is initialized (S22). Next, the first element of the list (read article) is set as a “read article image” as a processing target (S26). Next, the area of the read article image is calculated (S27). Since the area calculation method is common to each embodiment, it will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

  Next, the entire area of the article (paper article) corresponding to the read article image is acquired from the acquired paper information stored in the acquired paper information storage area 221 of the RAM 22 (S32). Next, the article area ratio is calculated (S34). The article area ratio is calculated by dividing the area of the read article image calculated in S27 by the image area of the paper article acquired in S32.

  Next, the value of the article area ratio calculated in S34 is added to the article area ratio list (S37). Next, it is determined whether or not an undetermined element remains in the acquired read article list (S44). If there are still remaining elements (S44: YES), the process returns to S26 and the same process is executed for the next element. When the determination process is completed for all elements (S44: NO), the article area ratio list is sorted in descending order of ratio (S46). Then, the top three items in the list are set as target articles (S47). Then, the process returns to the determination process of FIG.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 13, four articles, article 102, article 103, article 104, and article 105 are acquired as a read article list (S20). The area is calculated in order from the article 102 (S27), and the ratio is calculated (S34). Since the article area ratio is in the order of article 105, article 103, article 104, and article 102, three articles 105, article 103, and article 104 are targeted articles.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the target article determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. In the fifth embodiment, weighting is performed by the distance from the center of the read image, and the target article is determined by weighting the size of each article in the read image. By doing so, it is possible to quantify the proximity from the center of the read image and target a closer article. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the paper surface image 100 in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of target article determination processing according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, in the paper image 100 in the fifth embodiment, a score is set according to the distance from the center of the read image 125. The portion closest to the center is a region 131 having a score of “1.0”. The area 132 around the score is “0.6”. The farthest part is a region 133 having a score of “0.2”.

  As shown in FIG. 17, first, a list (read article list) of information (article position and article area) of the articles cut out in S11 of FIG. 8 is acquired (S20). For example, in the example of FIG. 16, four articles 101, 102, 103, and 104 are acquired as a read article list. Next, the “maximum score” used in later processing is initialized to “0” (S24). Next, the first element of the list (read article) is set as a “read article image” as a processing target (S26).

  Next, the area of the portion of the read article image existing in the region 131 having the score “1.0” is calculated (S28). For example, in the case of the article 101, since there is no article in the area 131 having the score “1.0”, the area is “0”. Next, the area of the portion of the read article image existing in the region 132 having the score “0.6” is calculated (S29). Further, the area of the portion of the read article image existing in the region 133 having the score “0.2” is calculated (S30).

  Next, an article score is calculated (S35). The article score is calculated by adding the area calculated in S28 to S30 multiplied by the score. The article score calculated in this way becomes higher as the article score closer to the center of the read image.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the article score calculated in S35 is larger than the maximum score (S41). Since the maximum score is initialized to “0” in S24, the article score is larger than the maximum score in the first process (S41: YES). Therefore, the value of the article score is substituted for the maximum score (S42). If the article score is less than or equal to the maximum score (S38: NO), the process proceeds directly to S44.

  Next, it is determined whether or not an undetermined element remains in the acquired read article list (S44). If there are still remaining elements (S44: YES), the process returns to S26 and the same process is executed for the next element. When the determination process is completed for all elements (S44: NO), the article with the maximum score is set as the target article (S51). Then, the process returns to the determination process of FIG.

    In the above processing, the CPU 20 that calculates the article score in S35 corresponds to the proximity calculation means of the present invention.

  Next, a sixth embodiment of the target article determination process will be described with reference to FIG. In the sixth embodiment, processing is performed in the same manner as in the fifth embodiment, but instead of selecting only one target article, the article area ratio is listed for all articles, and a plurality of them are set as target articles. To do. All of the plurality of target articles may be content download targets, or the user may select one or two from among them. FIG. 18 is a flowchart of target article determination processing according to the sixth embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 18, first, a list (read article list) of article information (article position and article area) cut out in S11 of FIG. 8 is acquired (S20). For example, in the example of FIG. 16, four articles 101, 102, 103, and 104 are acquired as a read article list. Next, an “article score list” that sequentially stores the article scores of the read articles is initialized (S25). Next, the first element of the list (read article) is set as a “read article image” as a processing target (S26).

  Next, the area of the portion of the read article image existing in the region 131 having the score “1.0” is calculated (S28). For example, in the case of the article 101, since there is no article in the area 131 having the score “1.0”, the area is “0”. Next, the area of the portion of the read article image existing in the region 132 having the score “0.6” is calculated (S29). Further, the area of the portion of the read article image existing in the region 133 having the score “0.2” is calculated (S30).

  Next, an article score is calculated (S35). The article score is calculated by adding the area calculated in S28 to S30 multiplied by the score. The article score calculated in this way becomes higher as the article score closer to the center of the read image.

  Next, the article score calculated in S35 is added to the article score list (S43). Then, it is determined whether or not undetermined elements remain in the acquired read article list (S44). If there are still remaining elements (S44: YES), the process returns to S26 and the same process is executed for the next element. When the determination process is completed for all elements (S44: NO), the article score list is sorted in descending order of score (S52). Then, the top three items in the list are set as target articles (S53). Then, the process returns to the determination process of FIG.

  Next, the area calculation process will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the area calculation process. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram for calculating the area of the target article 150 in the read image 140 in the paper image 101. This area calculation process is commonly used in each embodiment when calculating the area of an article image. Hereinafter, a case where the area of the target article 150 in FIG. 20 is calculated will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 19, first, the coordinates (0, 0) of the read image 140 are converted into coordinates on the acquired paper surface information. The coordinates on the acquired paper surface information are acquired when the alignment process is performed in S10 of FIG. The coordinates on the acquired paper surface information are (x0, y0). In the example of FIG. 10, (0, 0) of the read image 140 is (230, 700) on the paper image 101.

  Next, a variable (area) for storing the area is initialized to “0” (S62). Next, the vertical width of the read image is stored in a variable (height) (S63). In the example of FIG. 10, since the vertical width is 500 px, height = 500. Then, the horizontal width of the read image is stored in a variable (width) (S63). In the example of FIG. 10, since the horizontal width is 600 px, width = 600. Next, x and y are initialized to “0”, respectively (S65).

  Hereinafter, the scanned image is scanned in units of pixels, it is determined whether the target pixel is included in the target article, and the area is calculated by distributing the pixels. Specifically, first, it is determined whether or not the value of y is equal to or less than the value of y0 + height (S66). In the example of FIG. 10, in the first round of processing (230, 700), y = 0, y0 = 700, and height = 500. Therefore, since the value of y is less than or equal to y0 + height = 1200 (S66: YES), it is next determined whether or not the value of x is less than or equal to x0 + width (S67). In the example of FIG. 10, in the first round of processing, x = 0, x0 = 230, and width = 600. Therefore, the value of x is equal to or less than the value of x0 + width = 830 (S67: YES). Next, whether the pixel at the target position, (230, 700) in the first round is within the range of the graphic position of the calculation target article information. It is determined whether or not (S68). The image position of each article information is stored in a list of (Y coordinate, X start position, X end position), and x exists from the X start position to the X end position corresponding to the Y value being scanned. Whether it is within the range is determined by whether or not.

  The graphic position of the calculation target article information is acquired by the coordinates of each point when each article is cut out in S11 of FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, the target article 150 is surrounded by points (300, 570), (770, 570), (300, 1030), (550, 1030), (550, 870), and (770, 870). It is a range. Here, since (230, 700) is not included in the area of the article to be calculated (S68: NO), 1 is added to x and the process proceeds to the next pixel in the horizontal direction (S70). For example, when it is in the area of the article to be calculated like the pixel of (350, 700) (S68: YES), 1 is added to the variable area (S69), and the process proceeds to the next pixel. (S70).

  When the value of x exceeds x0 + width (S67), the x-direction processing of the read image is completed for one line, so x is returned to 0 and 1 is added to y to move to the next line ( S71). Then, the process returns to S66. In this way, it is checked whether or not each pixel for all lines (until S66: NO) of the read image is within the area of the article to be calculated (S68), and if it is included (S68: YES). By adding to the area (S69), the value of the variable area is calculated as the area (S72).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 21, the distribution process of the MFP 2 that distributes the target article determined by the determination process to the display terminal 1 will be described. FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the distribution process of the multifunction device 2. When the display terminal 1 is connected, the distribution process is started. As shown in FIG. 21, first, a download target article is acquired from the target article storage area 224 of the RAM 22 (S91). Next, the content server 3 is requested to transmit content data corresponding to the target article acquired in S91 (S92). The content server 3 receives the designation of the target article, searches the content storage area 333 of the HDD 33, and transmits the corresponding content data, so that it is received (S93). Then, the received content data is transmitted to the display terminal 1 (S94), and the process ends. The CPU 20 of the multifunction device 2 that requests and receives content data from the content server 3 in S92 and S93 corresponds to the content acquisition means of the present invention. Note that the content may be downloaded from the content server 3 when the target article is determined and stored in the RAM 22 or the EEPROM 23 of the multifunction device 2 until the display terminal 1 is connected.

  As described above, according to the read article distribution system 4 of the above-described embodiment, when the paper surface of the printed material is read by the scanner unit 24 of the multi-function device 2, it is used from a plurality of articles existing in the read image. The article that the user is expected to download to the display terminal 1 is determined by the target article determination process of the first to sixth embodiments. When the user connects the display terminal 1 to the multifunction device 2, the content data of the determined target article is downloaded from the content server 3 and distributed. Therefore, even if the two-dimensional code is not read pinpointly and content data is not specified, the paper surface is read using the flatbed scanner unit 24 as if clipping the paper surface, and the content of the desired article is displayed on the display terminal 1. Downloadable.

FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram showing the relationship between devices that constitute a read article distribution system 4; 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the multifunction machine 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a RAM 22 of the multifunction machine 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical configuration of the display terminal 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical configuration of a content server 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a hard disk device 33. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a paper image 100. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a determination process of the multifunction device 2. 5 is a flowchart of a paper image transmission process of the content server 3. It is explanatory drawing of the structure of the paper surface image 100 in 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart of the object article discrimination | determination process of 1st embodiment. It is. It is explanatory drawing of a structure of the paper surface image 100 in 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the object article discrimination | determination process of 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart of the object article discrimination | determination process of 4th embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the structure of the paper surface image 100 in 5th embodiment. It is a flowchart of the object article discrimination | determination process of 5th embodiment. It is a flowchart of the object article discrimination | determination process of 6th embodiment. It is a flowchart of an area calculation process. 5 is an explanatory diagram for calculating an area of a target article 150 in a read image 140 in a paper image 101. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of distribution processing of the multifunction machine 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display terminal 2 Multifunction machine 3 Content server 3 Higher level 4 Reading article distribution system 5 Internet 10 CPU
14 Display controller 15 Display unit 20 CPU
24 Scanner unit 29 LAN controller 30 CPU
33 Hard disk device 39 LAN controller 100 Paper image 111 to 114 Two-dimensional code 120 Read image 125 Read image 191 Content information storage area 331 Paper surface corresponding information storage area 332 Paper surface information storage area 333 Content storage area

Claims (8)

Reading means for reading the paper on which the identifier and the article are printed;
An identifier specifying means for specifying the identifier included in the read image read by the reading means;
Based on the identifier specified by the identifier specifying means, the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the article arranged in the page, and the area information on the page that is the area occupied by the article on the page A page information acquisition means for acquiring page information including at least
Based on the read image and the page information acquired by the page information acquisition means, a target article that identifies an article to be transmitted to a display terminal that displays content from among the articles included in the read image as a target article An article reading apparatus comprising: an identification unit. An article specifying means for specifying an article included in the read image based on the read image and the page information;
Article area calculating means for calculating the area occupied in the read image of each specific article specified by the article specifying means,
The article reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target article specifying unit specifies a specific article having a wider article area in the read image calculated by the article area calculating unit as the target article. An article specifying means for specifying an article included in the read image based on the read image and the page information;
Article area calculating means for calculating an area occupied in the read image of each specific article specified by the article specifying means;
Based on the area information in the page of each specific article acquired by the page information acquisition means and the article area in the read image calculated by the article area calculation means, the read image portion of each specific article is within the page. A reading ratio calculating means for calculating a ratio to the article,
The article reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target article specifying unit specifies a specific article having a higher ratio calculated by the reading ratio calculating unit as the target article. An article specifying means for specifying an article included in the read image based on the read image and the page information;
Proximity calculating means for calculating the proximity from the center of the read image of each specific article specified by the article specifying means,
The article reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target article specifying unit specifies a specific article having a closer proximity calculated by the proximity calculating unit as the target article.   5. The article reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the target article specifying unit specifies a plurality of the target articles. A reading process of reading the paper on which the identifier and the article are printed;
An identifier specifying step for specifying the identifier included in the read image read in the reading step;
Based on the identifier specified in the identifier specifying step, the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the article arranged in the page, and the area information on the page that is the area occupied by the article on the page A page information acquisition process for acquiring page information including at least
Based on the read image and the page information acquired by the page information acquisition means, a target article that identifies an article to be transmitted to a display terminal that displays content from among the articles included in the read image as a target article Article identification method consisting of a specific process. A reading article comprising an article reading device that reads a paper surface on which an identifier and an article are printed, and a display terminal that is connected to the article reading device and receives and displays the content of the article read by the article reading device from the reading device. A distribution system,
The article reading device includes:
Reading means for reading the paper surface;
An identifier specifying means for specifying the identifier included in the read image read by the reading means;
Based on the identifier specified by the identifier specifying means, the page information including at least the image information of the page including the read image, the position information of the article arranged in the page, and the area information occupied by the article on the page. A page information acquisition means for acquiring
Based on the read image and the page information acquired by the page information acquisition unit, from the articles included in the read image, target article specifying means for specifying an article for transmitting content to the display terminal;
Content acquiring means for acquiring the content of the target article specified by the target article specifying means;
Content transmission means for transmitting the target article content acquired by the content acquisition means to the display terminal,
The display terminal is
Display means for displaying content;
Receiving means for receiving target article content transmitted from the article reading device;
A read article distribution system comprising: display control means for causing the display means to display the target article content received by the receiving means. A content server is connected to the article reading device,
The content server
A page information storage means for storing image information of the page, position information of the article arranged in the page, and page information including at least area information occupied by the article on the page;
Content storage means for storing content that is the content of the article;
Paper surface information providing means for providing paper surface information stored in the paper surface information storage means in response to a request from the article reading device;
Content providing means for providing content stored in the content storage means in response to a request from the article reading device;
The article reading device includes:
The page information acquisition means acquires the page information by requesting the content server,
8. The read article distribution system according to claim 7, wherein the content acquisition unit acquires the target article content by requesting the content server.

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