JP2009302944A - Image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus wherein a bundle of documents in which a plurality of kinds of documents are mixed, is scanned, automatically sorted for each kind, and outputted while being arranged. <P>SOLUTION: When scanning a bundle of documents in which a plurality of kinds of documents are mixed, a multifunctional device scans the documents in the bundle of documents one by one to capture image data for the unit of a page (S101), detects the attribute of an image (document image), that the image data for the unit of a page represent, for each page of a document (S102), and correspondingly stores the image data for the unit of a page and the attribute corresponding to the image data (S103). The stored image data for the unit of a page are sorted for each kind on the basis of the attribute (S104), sorted in an order of pages (S105), and joined for each kind (S109). A thumbnail image of each document sorted for each kind is then displayed (S110) so as to print out the document designated by the user (S111). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that reads a bundle of documents in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed, and sorts the pages for each type and rearranges the pages.

  When copying a document bundle with a copier or multifunction machine equipped with an automatic document feeder, if the document bundle is composed of one type of document and arranged in page order, the document bundle is left as it is. There is no problem even if copying is performed in the automatic document feeder in the state. However, if multiple types of originals are mixed or not arranged in page order, the original bundle must be sorted by type or rearranged in page order before copying, which imposes a burden on the user. It takes. Also, if copying is performed without these, the printed matter after copying must be sorted by type or rearranged in the same manner.

  A technique relating to such sorting and page order rearrangement is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In the technique of Patent Document 1, classification information (document classification information) including an identifier and a page number is added in advance to each page of a copied document, and the document is copied without being arranged in page order, or classified. When multiple types of documents to which information is added are copied in a mixed state, the pages are sorted and output based on the read classification information, or multiple types of mixed documents are sorted by type. Or to output.

JP-A-10-228470

  However, the above-mentioned technique is not versatile because it is necessary to create a document in which the original information is copied in advance and to which the classification information is added, and it cannot deal with a document without the classification information.

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problem, and can read an original bundle in which a plurality of types of originals are mixed, automatically sort the types, and output them in an organized state. The purpose is to provide. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus that can read a bundle of documents that are not arranged in the page order, automatically rearrange them in the page order, and output them.

  The gist of the present invention for achieving the object lies in the inventions of the following items.

[1] a reading unit that reads the originals of the original bundle one by one to acquire image data in units of pages;
A detection unit that detects an attribute of an image represented by the image data acquired by the reading unit for each of the originals;
A storage unit that stores the image data and the attribute corresponding to the image data in association with each other for each document;
An output unit for outputting the image data stored in the storage unit;
The individual image data related to the original bundle stored in the storage unit is sorted by type based on the attribute corresponding to the image data, and the output of the image data is performed by the sorted type in the output unit. A control unit,
An image processing apparatus comprising:

  In the above-described invention, image data for each page is acquired by reading the originals of the original bundle one by one. Further, for each original document, the attribute of the image represented by the page unit image data is detected, and the page unit image data and the attribute corresponding to the image data are stored in association with each other. Then, the image data for each page related to the stored document bundle is sorted for each type based on the attribute corresponding to the image data, and the image data is output for each type. For the output by type, for example, all classified types may be output, or only some types may be output. For example, image data can be output by recording and outputting image data to a recording medium through a recording medium connection unit, transmitting and outputting image data to an external device through a communication unit, or image data on a sheet by a printing unit. It is possible to print and output an image corresponding to. As a result, when reading a bundle of documents containing a plurality of types of documents, sorting is automatically performed for each type and output in an organized state.

[2] The image processing device according to [1], wherein the control unit rearranges the image data in the page order for each type based on the attribute.

  In the above invention, the page-by-page image data sorted for each type is rearranged in page order for each type based on the attribute. Therefore, when reading a bundle of documents that are not in page order, they are automatically rearranged in page order. Will be output.

[3] a display unit for displaying an image based on the image data;
A selection unit for accepting selection of an image displayed on the display unit;
With
The control unit, when there are a plurality of image data that are candidates for a page of a specific page order in a specific type in the sorting, images corresponding respectively to the plurality of image data that are candidates for the display unit Is displayed as an option, and an image corresponding to the image data sorted into the specific type is displayed, and the image data corresponding to an image selected by the selection unit from the options is displayed as the specific type. The image processing apparatus according to [1] or [2], wherein the page is determined to be a page having the specific page order.

  In the sorting for each type of image data in units of pages performed based on the attribute, it is difficult to discriminate when there are a plurality of image data that are candidates for pages of a specific page order in a specific type. Therefore, in the above invention, images corresponding to a plurality of candidate image data are displayed as options, and images corresponding to image data classified into a specific type are displayed so that the user can check and select. Then, the image data corresponding to the image selected by the user from the options is determined as the image data of the page of the specific page order in the specific type. As a result, for the image data that is difficult to determine, the user can correctly determine the type to which the image data belongs and the page order of the type.

[4] A designation unit that accepts designation of a type to be output from the image data sorted for each type.
The image according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the control unit causes the output unit to output the image data corresponding to a type received by the designation unit. Processing equipment.

  In the above-described invention, it is possible to specify the type to be actually output from the image data in units of pages sorted for each type, and the user can output only the desired type.

[5] The attributes include a margin attribute of an image represented by the image data, a character attribute included in the image, a layout attribute of the image, and a page number included in the image. The image processing apparatus according to any one of [1] to [4], including:

  In the above invention, when the image margin attribute is used as the attribute, for example, image data having the same position and size of the margin can be classified into the same type. When the character attribute included in the image is used as the attribute, for example, image data having the same character type and size can be classified into the same type. When an image layout attribute is used as the attribute, for example, image data having the same layout configuration can be classified into the same type. When the page number included in the image is used as the attribute, the page-based image data can be rearranged in the page order based on the page number.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to read a bundle of documents in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed, automatically sort each type, and output them in an organized state. Further, it is possible to read a bundle of documents that are not arranged in the page order, and automatically perform sorting and output in the page order. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to sort the document bundles by type or rearrange them in order of pages before reading a bundle of documents in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a multi function peripheral (MFP) 10 as an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction machine 10 has a document color copy function, a color printer function, a scanner function, and the like. In addition, when copying or scanning a bundle of documents in which a plurality of types of documents (document groups) are mixed, each document in the document bundle is read one by one to acquire image data for each page, and each image data for each page is automatically read. It has a function to sort by sort page for each type.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 as a control unit, a ROM 13 (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14, and a nonvolatile memory 15 via a bus 12. And an operation display unit 16, an automatic document feeder 17, a scanner unit 18, a printer unit 19, and a network communication unit 20.

  The CPU 11 controls the operation of the multifunction machine 10 based on a program stored in the ROM 13. The RAM 14 is used as a work memory for temporarily storing various data when the CPU 11 executes a program, and is also used for an image memory for temporarily storing image data. The nonvolatile memory 15 is a memory that retains memory even when the power is turned off, and stores device-specific information and various setting information.

  The operation display unit 16 functions as a display unit for displaying various screens such as an operation screen, a selection screen, and a designation screen, and an operation for accepting various operations such as setting, selection, and designation performed by the user of the multifunction machine 10 and the like. It functions as a part (selection part / designation part). Here, the operation display unit 16 includes a liquid crystal display, a touch panel provided on the screen, and various switches.

  The automatic document feeder 17 has a function of automatically feeding a document to a reading position by the scanner unit 18. For example, the automatic document feeder 17 discharges a document tray on which a bundle of documents is stacked, a document feeding mechanism that sequentially feeds documents one by one to the reading position of the scanner unit 18, and a document that has been read by the scanner unit 18. It is configured with a discharge tray.

  The scanner unit 18 has a function of optically reading a document and acquiring color image data. In the present embodiment, the automatic document feeder 17 optically reads a document fed one by one to a reading position, and functions as a reading unit that acquires image data (page unit image data). The scanner unit 18 is, for example, a light source that irradiates light to a document fed to the reading position by the automatic document feeder 17 and a color that receives reflected light from the document that passes through the reading position and reads the document line by line. This type of image sensor includes an optical path including a lens and a mirror that guides reflected light from a document to the image sensor to form an image.

  The printer unit 19 functions as a printing unit (output unit) that prints an image corresponding to input image data in color on paper and outputs the image. The printer unit 19 includes, for example, a paper transport device, a photosensitive drum, a charging device, a laser unit, a developing device, a transfer separation device, a cleaning device, a fixing device, and the like. It is configured as a color laser printer or the like that forms an image on top.

  The network communication unit 20 functions to communicate with an external device (not shown) through a network.

  The CPU 11 executes a program as a detection unit that detects an attribute of an image (original image) represented by page-unit image data acquired by the scanner unit 18 for each original document when copying or scanning an original bundle. , The function of storing image data in page units and attributes corresponding to the image data in association with each other, and storing the image data in page units of the original bundle corresponding to the image data. A function that sorts by sort page for each type based on attributes and connects them for each type, a function that displays an image (thumbnail image) corresponding to each type of document that has been sorted on the operation display unit 16, and an operation display The function of causing the printer unit 19 to print out the document of the type accepted by the unit 16 is achieved. In addition, in the above sorting, when there are a plurality of image data that are candidates for a page of a specific page type in a specific type, images corresponding to the plurality of candidate image data are displayed on the operation display unit 16, respectively. A function for displaying the image corresponding to the image data classified into the specific type as described above and the image data corresponding to the image that has been selected by the operation display unit 16 from the options are displayed. It performs the function of determining the page of a specific page order in the type.

  The attribute of the image (original image) is a characteristic or unique property of the image. This attribute is used for rearranging the image data of each page of the originals related to the read original bundle in the order of the sorting pages for each type of originals. Specifically, it includes a margin attribute of the image represented by the image data, a character attribute included in the image, a layout attribute of the image, a page number included in the image, and the like.

  FIG. 2 shows an overall flow of reading a document bundle 30 in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed with the multi-function peripheral 10 and sorting and outputting them according to the types and sorting in the page order. The document bundle 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a mixture of three types of documents such as a total of three pages of a document A, a total of three pages of a document B, and a total of one page of a document C, and the pages of each document are in random order. Is superimposed. When the original bundle 30 is set in the automatic document feeder 17 of the multifunction machine 10 and scanned, the multifunction machine 10 reads the originals of the original bundle 30 one by one to acquire page-unit image data. The attribute of the image to be represented (original image) is detected, and each image data is rearranged in order of sorting page for each type based on the attribute. Here, the image data of each page of the document bundle 30 is divided into a group (page 3) belonging to the document A31, a group (page 3) belonging to the document B32, and a group (page 1) belonging to the document C33. Sorting is performed in the order of pages for each sort and document type.

  The user of the multi-function peripheral 10 can receive the image data that is sorted for each type of document and rearranged in the page order as a printout on the paper as an image, or as data. In the case of receiving as data, for example, it is possible to transmit and receive image data to an external terminal or the like through the network communication unit 20, or to record and receive image data on a recording medium through a recording medium connection unit (not shown). is there. In addition, a desired type can be designated and output through the operation display unit 16. As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to outputting all types (document A31, document B32, document C33), for example, a desired document A can be designated and only document A31 can be output.

  Next, details of sorting for each type of image data based on the above attributes and rearranging in the page order will be described. The attributes used in the present embodiment are, as described above, the image margin attribute, the character attribute included in the image, the image layout attribute, the page number included in the image, and the like. Here, these attributes will be described as examples.

[margin]
Generally, a document is provided with margins at the top, bottom, left, and right edges of a paper surface (document surface) on which an image is printed. For example, a margin for a document to be stapled or punched is often larger than a document for which such processing is not performed. Therefore, the type of document can be specified by detecting the margin of the document and checking the position and size.

  For example, character areas and image areas are extracted from image data (image data in units of pages) obtained by reading a document, and the distance from the edge of the document is examined at the top, bottom, left, and right of these regions. The vertical and horizontal intervals are stored as margin attributes in association with the image data of the document. Then, it is possible to sort image data having the same margin attribute or similar as image data of the same type of document. The “character area” refers to a portion described by characters, for example, a character string or a sentence. “Image region” refers to, for example, a photograph, a picture, a graph, a chart, and the like. In addition, characters described in photographs, pictures, graphs, charts, and the like are included in the image area.

  Specifically, a character area 41 (or image area) is extracted from image data (image data in units of pages) obtained by reading the original 40 as shown in FIG. 3, and the upper edge of the original 40 from the upper end of the character area 41. The upper margin 42, the lower margin 43 from the lower end of the character area 41 to the lower edge of the document 40, the left margin 44 from the left edge of the character area 41 to the left edge of the document 40, the character An interval from the right end of the area 41 to the right edge of the document 40 is stored as a right margin 45 in association with the image data of the document 40. Then, image data having the same position and size of the margin (the space between the character area or image area and the document edge) is classified as image data of the same type of document. It should be noted that the target margins may be three on the top, left and right, or two on the left and right, among the top, bottom, left and right.

  In the case of a document bundle 50 including five documents (51 to 55) illustrated in FIG. 4, the second document 52, the third document 53, and the fourth document 54 are arranged on the upper, left, and right sides. The size of the margin is the same. Also, the size of the upper and left margins of the first document 51 and the fifth document 55 are the same. Accordingly, the document 52, the document 53, and the document 54 are sorted as the same type of document, for example, the document A, and the document 51 and the document 55 are sorted as the same type of document, for example, the document B.

[Character (Font)]
In general, in a multi-page manuscript including characters, the type and size of characters (fonts) used are often the same on each page. Therefore, the type of document can be specified by detecting characters and examining the type and size of the font. For example, a character area is detected by OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing from image data (page unit image data) obtained by reading a document, and the font type and size are associated with the image data of the document as font attributes. And remember. Then, it is possible to sort image data having the same font attribute as image data of the same type of document.

  In the case of a document bundle 60 including five documents (61 to 65) illustrated in FIG. 5, the first document 61, the third document 63, and the fifth document 65 are used in the document. The font type and size are consistent with each other. The second document 62 and the fourth document 64 also have the same font type and size used in the document. Accordingly, the document 61, the document 63, and the document 65 are sorted as the same type of document, for example, the document A, and the document 62 and the document 64 are sorted as the same type of document, for example, the document B.

  Also, if there are multiple types or sizes of fonts used in the document, the occupancy rate in the document is calculated for each font, and the type and size of the font with the highest occupancy rate is selected as the font attribute of the document. It is possible to make it. As the occupation ratio, for example, the ratio of the number of characters or the ratio of the area can be used.

For example, when the manuscript 66 shown in FIG. 6 is read, MS Gothic 36pt, Century 24pt, Ariel
Four types of font attributes such as 18 pt and Ariel 10.5 pt are detected. Among these, the font attribute having the highest occupation ratio in the document 66 is the Century.
If it is 24 pt, “Century 24 pt” is stored as the font attribute of the document 66. Therefore, the document 66 is sorted into document types having a font attribute of Century 24pt.

[Layout]
In general, in a multi-page document, the layout is often the same on each page. Therefore, the type of document can be specified by examining the layout. For example, a character area or an image area is detected from image data (image data for each page) obtained by reading a document, and the layout configuration is checked from these configurations. The layout configuration is stored as a layout attribute in association with the image data of the document. Then, image data having the same layout attribute can be sorted as image data of the same type of document.

  In the case of a document bundle 70 including five documents (71 to 75) illustrated in FIG. 7, the first document 71, the third document 73, and the fifth document 75 have a character area of 1. Since it is composed of portions, it can be recognized as a one-column layout. Further, since the second original 72 and the fourth original 74 have two character areas, it can be recognized as a two-column layout. Accordingly, the document 71, the document 73, and the document 75 are sorted as the same type of document, for example, the document A, and the document 72 and the document 74 are sorted as the same type of document, for example, the document B.

[page number]
The page number is detected together with the above-described detection of margins, characters (fonts), and layout attributes. For example, text including a header or footer number is detected from image data (page unit image data) obtained by reading a document by OCR processing, and the number is associated with the document image data as a page number. And remember.

  The above is a detailed example of the sorting of attributes and image data. When all the pages of the document bundle have been read, the multifunction machine 10 determines which type of document each page belongs to based on attributes such as the detected margin, character, layout, and the like. Sort data by type. When the sorting is finished, the image data is sorted for each type based on the page number which is one of the detected attributes, and rearranged in the page order. In a document bundle in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed, the image data of each page (each document) can be rearranged in the order of sorting pages for each document type.

  Next, the operation of the multifunction machine 10 will be described.

  FIG. 8 shows a flow of copy printing processing by the multifunction machine 10. When the user selects a predetermined mode (mixed document automatic sorting copy mode) through the operation display unit 16, the CPU 11 starts this processing (Start). When a document bundle in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed is set in the automatic document feeder 17 and a reading start operation is performed through the operation display unit 16, the CPU 11 feeds the documents one by one by the automatic document feeder 17; One original is read by the scanner unit 18 and image data in units of pages is obtained for each original (step S101). Further, the attribute of the document image represented by the acquired image data for each page is detected for each document (step S102). The attributes to be detected are the page number, the margin, the character (font), the layout, and the like described above. Then, page by page image data and attributes corresponding to the image data are associated with each other and stored in the RAM 14 for each original document (step S103).

  Subsequently, the CPU 11 sorts each page of image data stored in the RAM 14 into types (groups) with matching attributes such as margins, characters, and layout (step S104), and sets the images within the types (in groups). The data is rearranged in the page order based on the page number attribute (step S105).

  Here, when there are documents having the same attributes such as margins, characters, and layout and having the same page number attribute (step S106; Yes), that is, pages of a specific type and a specific page order. When there are a plurality of page-by-page image data as candidates, the CPU 11 displays each corresponding document (candidate target) on the operation display unit 16 (step S107), and requests the user to select. . If it does not exist (step S106; No), the process proceeds to step S109.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the selection screen 80 displayed on the operation display unit 16 in the above step S107. In the upper part of the selection screen 80, a display image obtained by reducing each original document as the candidate target is displayed. In the example of FIG. 9, display images 81 and 82 of two originals that are candidates for the third page of original A are displayed side by side. In the lower part of the selection screen 80, in order to confirm the originals of other pages in a specific type (group to which the candidate target original belongs), a reduced display of the originals of other pages classified into the specific type is displayed. A work image 83 is displayed. As this display image 83, one arbitrary page is displayed. In the example of FIG. 9, the second page of the document A is displayed.

  Further, on the selection screen 80, a selection button 84 (indicated as “OK” in the drawing) for selecting each document (display images 81, 82) displayed as a candidate object and display of the display image 83 are displayed. A previous page button 85 (indicated as “previous page” in the figure) for switching to the previous page, a next page button 86 (indicated as “next page” in the figure) for switching the display to the next page, and a message 87 is displayed. The message 87 includes a text for notifying the user of the type and page number of the manuscript to be selected, such as “There are a plurality of three page candidates for manuscript A”, and “Select the correct page. ”And the like to prompt the user to perform a selection operation.

  The user confirms an arbitrary page of the display image 83 displayed on the selection screen 80, and finds a missing page from a plurality of originals (display images 81 and 82) displayed as candidate targets. Select uniquely. In this example, the user recognizes that the missing third page of the document A is the document of the display image 81 and presses the selection button 84 corresponding to the display image 81 to make a selection.

  When the above selection operation is performed, in the process shown in FIG. 8, the CPU 11 determines the image data corresponding to the selected document as the image data of the page of the specific page order of the specific type (step S108). Subsequently, the image data sorted for each type is connected for each type (step S109), each type of document is displayed on the operation display unit 16 (step S110), and the user specifies the type of document to be printed. Request.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the designation screen 90 displayed on the operation display unit 16 in the above step S110. On the designation screen 90, images of each document sorted by type from the read document bundle are displayed as thumbnails for one page. For example, when classified into three types, as illustrated in FIG. 10, a thumbnail image 91 of a predetermined page of document A, a thumbnail image 92 of a predetermined page of document B, and a thumbnail image of a predetermined page of document C are illustrated. 93 is displayed.

  Further, on the designation screen 90, a previous page button 94 (indicated as “previous page” in the drawing) for switching the display of thumbnail images (91, 92, 93) of each document to the previous page, and the same display are displayed on the next page. A next page button 95 (indicated as “next page” in the figure), an execution button 96 (indicated as “OK” in the figure), a cancel button 97, and a message 98 are displayed. The message 98 includes a text for notifying the user of the number of types of the sorted manuscripts such as “We were able to sort into three types of manuscripts”, and “Please specify the manuscript you want to output”. And a sentence that prompts the user to perform a designation operation.

  The user can check the thumbnail image of each document displayed on the designation screen 90, specify a desired document, and print out the document. The document can be specified by, for example, pressing a thumbnail image of the displayed document. The designation of the original can be canceled by, for example, pressing the thumbnail image of the designated original again or pressing the cancel button 97. For example, printing of the designated document can be performed by pressing the execution button 96 in a state where the document is designated. Also, a plurality of originals can be specified and printed out at once.

  When the above-described designation operation and print output execution operation are performed, in the process shown in FIG. 8, the CPU 11 causes the printer unit 19 to execute print output of the designated document, and ends this process (End).

  Here, an example has been described in which image data sorted for each type and rearranged in page order is connected and printed as an image on paper, but the same processing is performed when data is output as data. . For example, when the user selects a predetermined mode (data output mode) on the multi-function device 10 and sets a document bundle in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed in the automatic document feeder 17 and performs an operation of starting reading, the above steps are performed. Steps S101 to S110 are performed. Then, when the user designates a desired document on the designation screen 90 and presses the execution button 96, processing is performed such that output of image data corresponding to the designated document is executed.

  As described above, in the MFP 10 according to the present embodiment, when a document bundle in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed is read, the documents are automatically sorted and sorted according to the page order in an organized state. Output. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to sort the document bundles by type or rearrange them in order of pages before reading a bundle of documents in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

  In addition, in the above-described sorting for each type, if there are a plurality of image data (image data in units of pages) that are candidates for a page of a specific page order in a specific type, it is difficult to determine, but a plurality of candidates The original image (display images 81 and 82) corresponding to each of the image data is displayed as an option, and the original image (display image 83) corresponding to the image data sorted into a specific type is displayed. Allow user confirmation and selection. Then, the image data corresponding to the document selected by the user from the options is determined as the image data of the page of the specific page order in the specific type. As a result, for the image data that is difficult to determine, the user can correctly determine the type to which the image data belongs and the page order of the type.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to specify the type to be actually output from the originals sorted for each type. As a result, the user can output only a desired document. In particular, when printing and outputting as an image, unnecessary printing of resources such as paper, toner, and electric energy can be suppressed by not printing unnecessary originals.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to that shown in the embodiment, and there are changes and additions within the scope of the present invention. Are also included in the present invention.

  For example, the attribute detected to perform rearrangement in the page order is not limited to the page number described in the embodiment. It is also possible to detect paragraph numbers included in the character area of the document as attributes and rearrange them in page order, or detect character areas (sentences) as attributes and analyze the context to rearrange them in page order.

  Also, the layout attribute of the image detected for sorting by type is not limited to the column described in the embodiment. It is also possible to detect the color arrangement such as the color part and the black and white part, the arrangement of the language type such as the Japanese part and the English part, etc., and examine the layout configuration from these arrangements to make the layout attribute.

  Further, the sorting of image data in units of pages for each original document may be performed by combining a plurality of types of attributes. For example, regarding a document stack of 5 pages, page 1 and page 5 are determined to be the same group by a first attribute (for example, margin position and size), and page 1 and page 3 are determined by a second attribute (for example, character type). May be processed such that pages 1, 3, and 5 are sorted into the same group (type) from these two combinations.

  The printer unit 19 in the multifunction machine 10 may be an LED printer that scans and exposes a photosensitive drum with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) instead of laser light, or another type of printer such as an inkjet printer or a thermal transfer printer.

  The present invention is not limited to the full-color compatible multifunction device described in the embodiment, and can also be applied to an image processing apparatus such as a monochrome multifunction device or a full-color compatible or monochrome copying machine.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a multifunction machine as an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an overall flow of reading a document bundle in which a plurality of types of documents are mixed with the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention, sorting the documents for each document type, and rearranging them according to the page order; It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to detect the attribute of the margin of the document based on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the document bundle sorted based on the margin attribute of the document which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the document bundle sorted based on the attribute of the character of the document which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the method to determine the attribute of a character, when the character (font) currently used in a document has multiple types or multiple sizes. It is a figure which shows an example of the original document bundle sorted based on the attribute of the original layout which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a copy printing process by the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the selection screen displayed on the operation display part of the multifunctional device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the designation | designated screen displayed on the operation display part of the multifunctional device which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Machine 11 ... CPU
12 ... Bus 13 ... ROM
14 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Nonvolatile memory 16 ... Operation display part 17 ... Automatic document feeder 18 ... Scanner part 19 ... Printer part 20 ... Network communication part 30 ... Document bundle 31 ... Document A
32. Document B
33. Document C
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 40 ... Document 41 ... Character area 42 ... Upper margin part 43 ... Lower margin part 44 ... Left margin part 45 ... Right margin part 50 ... Document bundle 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 ... Document bundle 60 ... Document bundle 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 ... Original 70 ... Original bundle 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 ... Original 80 ... Selection screen 81, 82, 83 ... Display image 84 ... Selection button 85 ... Previous page button 86 ... Next page Button 87 ... Message 90 ... Designation screen 91, 92, 93 ... Thumbnail image 94 ... Previous page button 95 ... Next page button 96 ... Execution button 97 ... Cancel button 98 ... Message

Claims (5)

A reading unit that reads the originals of the original bundle one by one to acquire image data in units of pages;
A detection unit that detects an attribute of an image represented by the image data acquired by the reading unit for each of the originals;
A storage unit that stores the image data and the attribute corresponding to the image data in association with each other for each document;
An output unit for outputting the image data stored in the storage unit;
The individual image data related to the original bundle stored in the storage unit is sorted by type based on the attribute corresponding to the image data, and the output of the image data is performed by the sorted type in the output unit. A control unit,
An image processing apparatus comprising: The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit rearranges the image data for each type based on the attribute in page order. A display unit for displaying an image based on the image data;
A selection unit for accepting selection of an image displayed on the display unit;
With
The control unit, when there are a plurality of image data that are candidates for a page of a specific page order in a specific type in the sorting, images corresponding respectively to the plurality of image data that are candidates for the display unit Is displayed as an option, and an image corresponding to the image data sorted into the specific type is displayed, and the image data corresponding to an image selected by the selection unit from the options is displayed as the specific type. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the page is determined to be a page having the specific page order. A designation unit that accepts designation of a type to be output from the image data sorted for each type;
4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the output unit to output the image data corresponding to a type received by the designation unit. 5. . The attributes include a margin attribute of an image represented by the image data, a character attribute included in the image, a layout attribute of the image, and a page number included in the image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is characterized.