JPH11167532A - Data processing system and device, data processing method, recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To make it easier to input data for various applications provided in a small portable information terminal. A portable information terminal having an image input function, a communication function, and an application program execution function, and a server, and digital image data input by the image input function is transmitted from the terminal to the server. Then, the server 8 converts the received digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute by performing data processing on the received digital image data, and converts the digital image data into a data format according to an application program executed on the terminal 2. By returning the data to the terminal 2, the management data of the application program can be automatically registered only by performing an operation for inputting an image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a data processing system and apparatus, a data processing method, and a recording medium.
It is suitable for use in a service provided between a terminal (client) having an image input function, a communication function, and an application program execution function, such as a digital camera, and a server capable of communicating with the terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of semiconductor technology, software technology, and the like, portable small portable information terminals have become widespread. Some of these types of small portable information terminals include personal information management functions such as address books and schedules,
Many are equipped with a database function and the like.

[0003]

However, conventional small portable information terminals are designed based on a balance between functions and portability, so that input devices such as a keyboard and a digitizer with good operability are mounted. It is difficult. On the other hand, using only numeric keys and switches has a drawback that information input operation is complicated and difficult to understand.

For this reason, for example, when registering business card data in an address book of a small portable information terminal, a great deal of labor is required. Therefore, it has not been practically possible to frequently add or change business card data. Also, when inputting information for schedule management, database management, etc.,
It required a great deal of effort.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to make it easier to input data for various applications provided in a small portable information terminal. Aim.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Recent advances in technology have made it possible to incorporate digital camera functions and communication functions into small portable information terminals. In the present invention, using these functions, digital image data captured by a digital camera is transmitted to a server via a communication function, and the server performs pattern recognition processing, character recognition processing, and word recognition on the digital image data. By performing recognition processing, data analysis processing, and the like, the data is converted into text data having attributes such as a name, address, and telephone number. Further, the digital image data is converted into a data format corresponding to the application of the terminal that has transmitted the digital image data, and is returned to the terminal. Thus, for example, just by pressing the shutter button of the terminal, the information displayed on the photographed subject can be automatically registered as the management data of the application. Further, the present invention supports not only such a digital camera function but also other image input functions such as a scanner function and a facsimile function.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which various information written on a business card is stored in a PIM (Personal Information Management).
r) shows a system configuration for providing a service for automatically registering in the address book.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a business card, 2 is a portable information terminal (PDA: Personal Digital Assistants), and 8 is a server. In the configuration of the portable information terminal 2, a digital camera function 3 can process captured image data as digital data, a communication function 4 can transmit and receive digital image data and text data to and from the server 8 and the like, and a reference numeral 5 PI that can manage personal information and address book
M function, 6 is a CPU for controlling each of the above functions 3, 4, 5
It is.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a communication path from the portable information terminal 2 to the server 8, and reference numeral 15 denotes a communication path from the server 8 to the portable information terminal 2. Further, in the configuration of the server 8, a communication function 9 is capable of transmitting and receiving digital image data, text data, and the like to and from the portable information terminal 2.
Is a pattern recognition processing function, 11 is a character recognition processing function, 1
2 is a word recognition processing function, 13 is a data analysis processing function, 1
4 is a data conversion processing function. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the business card 1 shown in FIG.

In the above configuration, in order to input various information written on the business card 1 into the PIM address book, first, the entire surface of the business card 1 is photographed by the digital camera function 3 built in the portable information terminal 2. Digital image data of the photographed business card 1 is recorded in a memory such as a frame memory (not shown) of the digital camera function 3. The recorded digital image data of the business card 1 is transmitted to the communication function 4 of the portable information terminal 2.
And the communication function 9 on the server 8 side.
Is sent to the server 8 via the.

The server 8 converts the sent digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute as described below in order. At this time, image data patterns and words serving as hints are associated with attributes as shown in FIG.
Is registered in advance. For example, the attribute indicated in bold in the hint item in the logo column (xxxxxx, Pand
a, Maruko) is registered as an image pattern in image data.

The server 8 first scans the sent digital image data and performs processing by the pattern recognition function 10. For example, in the case of a horizontally written business card, the entire digital image data is scanned in the horizontal direction, and a blank portion exceeding a certain amount is detected. Then, a data area surrounded by the blank portion is cut out (when the business card 1 in FIG. 2 is taken as an example, a data area in each dotted frame indicated by 22 to 28 in FIG. 2 is cut out).

The position information indicating the positional relationship of the cut data area, the color information indicating the color used for the cut data area, the vertical length of the cut data area (that is, the length of the cut data area written on the business card) Large font size)
Size information and the like indicated at about three levels of medium and small are stored in a memory (not shown). Further, the image pattern of the logo in the hint-attribute table of FIG. 3 is compared with the image data in the cut-out data area. If the pattern is similar to any of the patterns, an attribute corresponding to the image data is added. deep.

For example, the image data in the dotted frame 22 in FIG. 2 is a pattern of the image data registered in association with the attribute "logo, Canon Inc." Item). Further, since the position information “top left” and the condition “color display” in the hint column also match, it can be determined that the logo is used. Therefore, FIG.
The image data within the dotted frame 22 is given an attribute "Canon Inc., logo".

Next, the image data in each data area extracted by the pattern recognition processing is processed by the character recognition function 11. As a result, 23-2 in FIG.
Characters in the dotted frame indicated by 8 are obtained as text data. Next, the word recognition function 12 compares the text data obtained as a result of the character recognition processing with the words registered in the hint column of the hint-attribute table in FIG.
Perform word recognition.

As a result, "project" is shown in the dotted frame 23, "chief" is shown in the dotted frame 24, "Ohara" is shown in the dotted frame 25, "stock" is shown in the dotted frame 26, and so on. It is recognized that the words "@", "To" and "ku" are included in the dotted frame 27, and the word "TEL" is included in the dotted frame 28, respectively.

Next, based on the information obtained in each recognition process and the hint-attribute table, the data analysis function 13 sets each text data (each dotted frame 23 in FIG. 2) obtained in the character recognition process. The attributes of (text data within ~ 28) are analyzed. In the present embodiment, for example, the text data in the dotted frame 23 in FIG. 2 includes the word “project”, and “project” in the hint column of the hint-attribute table is changed to “belonging” in the column of attribute 1. It can be seen that the name is “XX project” (has an attribute of “affiliation”).

Similarly, it can be seen that the text data in the dotted frame 24 in FIG. 2 is in the position of "chief". Also,
In the text data in the dotted frame 25, “Ohara” in the hint item matches, and the position information and size information obtained during the pattern recognition are described in the hint item “right of post”, “affiliation”. Under the conditions of "lower" and "large", it is known that the name is "Keiji Ohara" (If the name is difficult to analyze like the name, it is judged from multiple hint items as in the above example. Do).

Similarly, the text data in the dotted frame 26 in FIG. 2 includes the word “
Because it matches the logo attribute at the time of pattern recognition,
It is certain that the name is "Canon Inc." Similarly, from the text data in the dotted frame 27,
“146” is a postal code, “3-30 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo”
-2 "is an address, and from the text data in the dotted frame 28, 03 (1234) 5678 is an external telephone number.

As described above, various information written on the business card 1 can be analyzed from the digital image data of the business card 1. In order to register the analyzed information in the PIM address book or the like, it is necessary to convert the analyzed information into a data format that can be managed by the PIM address book or the like. For example, information of one address book is displayed as shown in FIG. 4, and the data format of the address book is
It is assumed that text data for each item in the table shown in FIG. 4 is arranged by separating them with commas in the order from top to bottom of the table.

That is, there is text data having a name attribute first, followed by a comma, followed by text data having a company (company name) attribute. Similarly, the text data corresponding to the attribute of the order position is connected one after another, separated by commas, and finally the date text data of the registration date comes. Here, the information of the last registration date is constituted by a value read from a clock function (not shown) of the server 8.

When the data analyzed by the data analysis function 13 is converted into a data format that can be managed by an address book as shown in FIG. 4, the following is obtained. Keiji Ohara,
Canon Inc., XX Project, Chief, 146
3-30-2, 03 (1234) 5 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo
678, June 24, 1997

As described above, a series of processing on the server 8 side is completed, and the digital image data of the business card 1 is converted into data of a data format that can manage the address book of the PIM function 5 in the portable information terminal 2. The sent text data is transmitted and received between the communication function 9 of the server 8 and the communication function 4 of the portable information terminal 2 and returned to the portable information terminal 2 as additional data.

The portable information terminal 2 adds the text data returned from the server 8 to the address / data area managed by the address book of the PIM function 5. That is, new data is additionally registered in the address book. In this state, if "Ohara" is searched by the search function of the address book, it will be displayed on a display screen (not shown) as shown in FIG. 5 (additionally registered data is automatically displayed immediately after registration. Can also be). The operator
The content displayed on this display screen is visually checked, and if there is an error or an erroneous input, the content can be corrected on this screen.

In this embodiment, the digital image data of the business card 1 is transmitted from the portable information terminal 2 to the server 8, and the digital image data is processed in real time by the server 8, and the processed data is immediately transferred to the server 8. Information terminal 2
It is supposed to be returned to the side. However, if the data processing on the server 8 takes a long time, the communication line is temporarily disconnected when the digital image data has been transferred from the portable information terminal 2 to the server 8 in order to reduce the communication cost. . Thereafter, as soon as the processing on the server 8 side is completed, the server 8 connects the communication line to the portable information terminal 2 to return the processed data, or the portable information terminal 2 transmits the next digital image data. The previous processing data may be returned when a line is connected to the transmission line 8.

As described above, by providing the data processing system of the present embodiment, various information written on the business card 1 can be addressed by simply pressing the shutter button (not shown) on the portable information terminal 2. It can be automatically added to the book.

(Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, even if the server 8 performs pattern recognition processing, character recognition processing, word recognition processing, data analysis processing, etc., on the digital image data of the business card 1. In some cases, it cannot be analyzed as text data having attributes.

The first reason is that the character recognition process can be performed normally and can be converted into text data. However, since the attribute of the text is not supported by the address book, the attribute cannot be changed. That it can not be attached. For example, since the address book according to the first embodiment does not support phonetic (ruby), e-mail addresses, and the like, even if such information is written on a business card, it can only be converted to text data without attributes. .

The second reason is that when a business card has a face photo or a logo or the like not registered in the hint-attribute table is written, a memo is added to the business card by hand. In such a case, since the character cannot be identified at the stage of the character recognition processing, the subsequent processing cannot be performed and an attribute cannot be attached. The logos registered in the hint-attribute table have attributes but are image data, and thus cannot have attributes as text data.

In order to effectively use data that cannot be analyzed as text data having attributes as described above, in the second embodiment, the address book described in the first embodiment is stored in the address book shown in FIG. Add a memo field and an image field as shown in. In other words, if the address book contains a "memo" attribute or "image"
New support for certain attributes, such as attributes.

Even if the server 8 performs a pattern recognition process, a character recognition process, a word recognition process, a data analysis process, etc. on the digital image data, the first data is not analyzed as text data having an attribute. The attribute of "memo" is attached to the data of the reason, and the attribute of "image" is attached to the data of the second reason. Then, together with the text data with other attributes, the addresses and addresses managed by the address book 5 of the portable information terminal 2 are stored.
Return to data area.

On the portable information terminal 2 side, the data returned from the server 8 is added to the address / data area managed by the address book 5 as in the first embodiment. That is, new data is additionally registered. In this state, when "Ohara" is searched by the search function of the address book 5, the display is as shown in FIG. The second
In the embodiment, the basic configuration of the data processing system is the same as that of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment.

As described above, the address book 5 of the portable information terminal 2 enables the "memo" attribute and the "image" attribute to be newly supported, and the server 8 performs pattern recognition processing on digital image data of a business card. Text data that cannot be analyzed as text data with attributes even after character recognition processing, word recognition processing, data analysis processing, etc. In addition, by returning the information to the address data area managed by the address book 5 of the portable information terminal 2, all the information written on the business card such as phonetic letters, logos, face photographs, e-mail addresses, handwritten memos, etc. It can be automatically registered in the address book.

(Third Embodiment) In the first embodiment, in the case where a business card is written as shown in FIG. 7 (a display indicating a telephone number of an outside line is a symbol not included in the hint-attribute table) ), The attribute of the last line cannot be determined. In this case, according to the second embodiment,
Either the “memo” attribute or the “image” attribute is given, but it is not preferable because the attribute of “external telephone number” should be given.

In such a case, during the processing by the data analysis function 13 of the server 8, the image data of the cut-out data area or the text data of which attribute is unknown is temporarily stored in the attribute of the portable information terminal 2. Return to the indistinguishable data area.

On the other hand, the portable information terminal 2 displays the image data in the attribute discrimination-impossible data area and an attribute designation icon on a display screen (not shown), and allows the operator to select an attribute. When the operator presses the attribute icon of the external telephone number and indicates that the image data displayed on the display screen is the attribute of the external telephone number, the portable information terminal 2 sends the attribute code of the external telephone number to the server 8 side. send.

On the server 8 side, since the attribute of the outside line telephone number is sent back to the image data returned to the portable information terminal 2, the numeral "03 (1234) of the text data after the character recognition processing in the image data is returned. ) 5678 "is an external telephone number. Subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

As described above, the server 8 performs pattern recognition processing, character recognition processing,
If there is a part that cannot be analyzed as text data having an attribute even after performing word recognition processing, data analysis processing, or the like, the digital image data or text data whose attribute is unknown is cut out from the part and returned to the portable information terminal 2. And
The operator is inquired about the attribute of the returned data. Then, by transmitting the attribute name (attribute code) designated by the operator from the portable information terminal 2 to the server 8, the accuracy of the data analysis processing of the server 8 can be improved.

Fourth Embodiment In the first to third embodiments, the digital camera function 3 of the portable information terminal 2 is used to obtain digital image data of a business card.
The server 8 does not matter how to create the digital image data. That is, digital image data read by a scanner (not shown) or digital image data sent by facsimile (not shown) can be processed.

Therefore, the service provided by the server 8 can be performed not only for the portable information terminal 2 but also for a device in which a communication function and a scanner or facsimile function are combined with a desktop personal computer. In addition,
In the fourth embodiment, the basic configuration on the server 8 side is the same as that in FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment.

(Fifth Embodiment) In the first to third embodiments, the object photographed by the digital camera function 3 of the portable information terminal 2 is only information written in printed characters such as a business card. It is. On the other hand, in the fifth embodiment,
In the processing by the character recognition function 11 of the server 8, the function is extended so that handwritten characters can be recognized. The digital camera captures images containing handwritten characters and pictures written on paper or a white board and transmits them to the server 8. The server 8 performs pattern recognition processing and character recognition processing on the transmitted digital image data. After performing word recognition processing, data analysis processing, and the like, the captured information is converted into a format corresponding to an application that can handle the information, and can be returned.

In the fifth embodiment, the basic configuration of the data processing system is the same as that in FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, instead of the business card 1, for example, a text such as that shown in FIG. 8 written on paper or a white board is photographed by a digital camera, and the digital image data obtained thereby is transmitted to the server 8. On the server 8 side, the first
Pattern recognition processing and (handwritten) character recognition processing are performed in the same manner as in the embodiment.

Next, word recognition processing is performed.
Here, first, an application determination table registered in advance in the server 8 (a table for determining which application the digital image data transmitted from the portable information terminal 2 is for which application, as shown in FIG. 9). Based on this, word recognition is performed for the first line. In the case of the present embodiment, since the content of the first line is “E-mail”, it can be determined that the digital image data sent to the server 8 is data for an electronic mail application. Therefore, in this case, the data after the second line is subjected to the word recognition processing based on the hint information in the column of “E-mail” in the attribute 1 of the second hint attribute table registered in advance as shown in FIG. Do.

Then, by performing data analysis processing, the sender: Ohara, the recipient: Yoshida, the subject: the meeting, the text: "I want to have a meeting about the battery from tomorrow at 10:00, but what is your convenience? Do you? " In addition, data that cannot be converted to text data, such as a picture, is provided with an attribute of “image”.

The server 8 converts these attributed data into
The data is converted into the data format of the electronic mail application of the portable information terminal 2 and returned to the data area managed by the electronic mail application.

On the portable information terminal 2 side, based on the attributed data returned from the server 8, data is input to each input item on the screen for creating / editing an electronic mail application. This is shown in FIG. At this time, since the name (Yoshida) of the destination (recipient) is registered in advance in the mail address book managed by the e-mail application, it can be transmitted to that address by referring to the e-mail address. Also, in the first line of the text,
The text "Sender +" can be automatically inserted. If there is image attribute data,
Handle as attached data such as MIME or uuencode of e-mail application.

The operator inputs the e-mail message displayed on the display (not shown) of the portable information terminal 2 as described above.
By pressing the send button after visually checking the creation / editing screen of the application, the e-mail of the content can be sent to the destination (of course, the visual check can be omitted and sent). . If there is an error or erroneous input as a result of the visual check, the content can be edited and corrected on the creation / edit screen of the e-mail application, and then transmitted by pressing the send button. If the server has an e-mail transmission function, the e-mail may be directly transmitted from the server.

In the fifth embodiment, the word recognition function 1
If it is determined in the processing of the first line in step 2 that the data is for an e-mail application, in the subsequent processing, processing for the e-mail application is performed. If it is determined in the process (3) that the data is for another application (such as a memo pad / application, schedule management / application, etc.), in the subsequent process, the process for the determined application is performed.

As described above, by providing the data processing system of the present embodiment, the photographed information can be transmitted by e-mail or stored in a memo pad just by pressing the shutter button (not shown) on the portable information terminal 2. It is possible to register and write a schedule in a schedule book. As described above, in this embodiment, one server can provide services for a plurality of applications.

(Sixth Embodiment) In the first to fifth embodiments, the service provided by the server 8 targets the data format of a specific application in the processing by the data conversion function 14. Only the portable information terminal 2 of a specific model can be supported. Further, even the specific portable information terminal 2 cannot cope when another application is being executed.

Therefore, in the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of types of service processing programs are registered in advance in the server 8 in association with service designation information (for example, numbers). Then, when transmitting the captured digital image data from the portable information terminal 2, the service specifying information corresponding to the desired service is added and transmitted. The server 8 executes a service processing program specified by the service specifying information (number) added to the received digital image data on the received digital image data to perform service processing.

In the example of FIG. 12, when a service designation number “1” is added to digital image data photographed by the portable information terminal 2 and transmitted to the server 8, the server 8 transmits the image data to the server 8 (not shown). A service process is performed to save the data in a predetermined area of the storage device. In the case of this service, no data is returned from the server 8 to the portable information terminal 2.

When the digital image data is added to the service designation number “2” and transmitted to the server 8, the server 8
Performs a service process of returning an image obtained by superimposing an image registered in the server 8 in advance on an image transmitted from the portable information terminal 2 to the portable information terminal 2. When the digital image data is added to the service designation number “3” and transmitted to the server 8, the server 8 performs the same service processing as any of the services of the first to fourth embodiments.

When the digital image data is added to the service designation number “4” and transmitted to the server 8, the server 8
Is "E-ma" in the first line in the fifth embodiment.
In this service processing, if there is no need to confirm the contents of the E-mail on the portable information terminal 2 or the desktop personal computer side, the E-mail Do not return the contents to the portable information terminal 2 etc.
-Mail transmission may be performed.

When the digital image data is added to the service designation number "5" and transmitted to the server 8, the server 8
Is "Sche" in the first line in the fifth embodiment.
service processing similar to the case where "dule" is written,
That is, a service process is performed in which digital image data to which schedule information written on paper or a white board is input is converted into a data format that can be handled by a schedule management program executed on the portable information terminal 2 or a desktop personal computer and returned.

As described above, in the sixth embodiment, digital image data transmitted from a terminal can be transmitted by adding service designation information, and a plurality of types of service processing programs can be designated in advance on the server side. It is registered in association with the information. A single server performs a service process on the transmitted digital image data according to a service processing program determined by the service designation information transmitted in addition to the digital image data. Services for mobile information terminals and a plurality of applications.

In each of the above embodiments, the pattern recognition function 10, the character recognition function 11, the word recognition function 1
2. By providing the data analysis function 13 and the data conversion function 14 in the portable information terminal 2, it is possible to make communication with the server 8 unnecessary. Accordingly, the portable information terminal 2 does not require programs for large-scale text input / edit processing, various recognition processing, analysis processing, format conversion processing, and the like, and thus the memory capacity can be reduced. This has advantages in terms of miniaturization of terminals, cost, power consumption, and the like.

(Other Embodiments of the Present Invention) The present invention comprises a plurality of devices (for example, a server, a portable information terminal, an interface device, a reader, a printer, a facsimile device, etc.) as described in the above embodiments. The present invention may be applied to a system to be implemented or an apparatus composed of one device.

Further, in order to operate the various devices so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by an apparatus connected to the various devices or a computer in the system. The present invention also includes programs implemented by supplying the program code of the software described above and operating the various devices according to programs stored in a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus.

In this case, the program code of the software implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer are provided.
For example, a recording medium storing such a program code constitutes the present invention. As a recording medium for storing such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM,
A magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (operating system) or other operating system running on the computer. Needless to say, even when the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized in cooperation with application software or the like, such program codes are included in the embodiments of the present invention.

Further, after the supplied program code is stored in the memory provided in the function expansion board of the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or the function expansion unit is specified based on the instruction of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention also includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the first embodiment performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0063]

As described above, according to the data processing system of the present invention, for example, the terminal presses the shutter button for photographing (or the scan start button of the scanner or the facsimile transmission start button) for inputting an image. With just a simple operation, for example, automatically register information written on a business card, paper, or white board in the address book or memo pad, send it by e-mail, or write a schedule in the schedule book Can be. Furthermore, there is no need to equip the terminal with a large keyboard with many keys or a small switch with poor operability, and large-scale text input / edit processing, various recognition processing, analysis processing, format conversion processing, etc. Since no program is required, the memory capacity can be reduced. This has advantages in terms of downsizing, cost reduction, and low power consumption of the terminal. Also, since there is no need for the operator of the terminal to perform key input operations or complicated switch operations, there is a merit that anyone can use the terminal immediately without reading or training a thick manual.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a data processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a business card.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hint-attribute table (table information) registered in a server in advance.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data display format of an address book.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data display of an address book.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data display of an address book with expanded functions.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of a business card.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a sentence written on paper or a white board.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application identification table (table information) registered in a server in advance.

FIG. 10 shows a second hint registered in the server in advance.
It is a figure showing the example of an attribute table (table information).

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message creation screen of an electronic mail application.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a service designation table (table information) registered in a server in advance.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 business card 2 portable information terminal 3 digital camera function 4 communication function of portable information terminal 5 PIM function (address book) 6 CPU 7 communication path from portable information terminal to server 8 server 9 communication function of server 10 pattern recognition processing function 11 Character Recognition Processing Function 12 Word Recognition Processing Function 13 Data Analysis Processing Function 14 Data Conversion Processing Function 15 Communication Path from Server to Mobile Information Terminal

Claims (29)

[Claims] 1. A terminal having an image input function, a communication function, and an application program execution function, receiving digital image data transmitted from the terminal,
Data processing means for converting the digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute; and converting the processed text data into a data format corresponding to an application program executed on a terminal that has transmitted the digital image data. A data processing system comprising: a format conversion unit for converting; and a communication unit for returning the format-converted text data to the terminal. 2. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit, the format conversion unit, and the communication unit are provided in a server different from the terminal. 3. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit includes: a pattern recognition unit that recognizes an image pattern included in digital image data transmitted from the terminal; Character recognition means for recognizing a character included in the transmitted digital image data and converting the character data into text data; and word recognition means for recognizing whether a predetermined word is included in the character recognized by the character recognition means. A data processing system comprising: an attribute assigning unit that assigns predetermined attributes to image patterns and characters included in the digital image data based on recognition results of the pattern recognition unit and the word recognition unit. 4. The data processing system according to claim 3, wherein said word recognizing means and said attribute assigning means perform processing based on predetermined table information. 5. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal includes means for correcting the content of the text data returned by the communication means to a data area managed by the application program. Data processing system. 6. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein the communication line is disconnected at the stage when the digital image data has been transmitted from the terminal to the server, and then the format conversion processing of the server is performed. A data processing system for reconnecting the communication line after the communication is completed and returning data from the server to the terminal by the communication means. 7. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein the communication line is disconnected at a stage when the digital image data has been transmitted from the terminal to the server, and the next digital image data is transmitted. A data processing system, wherein when the communication line is reconnected, data is returned from the server to the terminal by the communication means. 8. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein, when the digital image data includes a data area that cannot be analyzed as text data having the predetermined attribute, a specific attribute is assigned to the data area. A data processing system characterized by being attached. 9. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein when there is a data area in the digital image data that cannot be analyzed as text data having the predetermined attribute, the digital image data in the data area or Cut out the attribute unknown text data and send it back to the terminal,
A data processing system, wherein an attribute of the returned data is inquired to an operator of the terminal to obtain an attribute name specified by the operator. 10. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image input function of the terminal is at least an image input function using a digital camera, an image input function using a scanner, or an image input function using a facsimile. A data processing system comprising any one of the following. 11. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit is configured to recognize and process handwritten characters in the digital image data. An application discriminating unit for discriminating an application program executed on a terminal that has transmitted the digital image data based on the result of the character recognition. A data processing system for performing a conversion process. 12. The data processing system according to claim 11, wherein the application program executed on the terminal is:
A data processing system comprising at least one of processing programs such as an address book, an e-mail, a memo pad, and a schedule management. 13. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein service designation information is added to digital image data transmitted from the terminal, and the digital image data is transmitted. On the side, a plurality of types of service processing programs are registered in advance in association with the service designation information, and the data processing unit and the format conversion unit perform, for digital image data transmitted from the terminal,
A data processing system characterized in that processing is performed by a service processing program specified by service specification information transmitted in addition to the digital image data. 14. The data processing system according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of types of service processing programs are each a service processing program such as image data storage, image data superimposition, an address book, e-mail, a memo pad, and schedule management. A data processing system comprising at least two of the following. 15. Data processing for performing data processing on digital image data sent from an external terminal having an image input function, a communication function, and an application program execution function to convert the digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute. Means for converting the processed text data into a data format corresponding to an application program executed on the external terminal; and returning the format-converted text data to the external terminal. A data processing device comprising communication means. 16. A terminal provided with a terminal having an image input function and an application program execution function, wherein data processing is performed on digital image data input by the image input function to convert the digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute. A data processing unit, a format conversion unit that converts the processed text data into a data format corresponding to a currently executed application program, and a format conversion unit that converts the format-converted text data into a currently executed application program. A data processing device, comprising: storage means for storing data in a data area to be managed. 17. The data processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein when there is a data area in the digital image data that cannot be analyzed as text data having the predetermined attribute, a specific data area is specified in the data area. A data processing device characterized by adding attributes. 18. The data processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein, when there is a data area in the digital image data that cannot be analyzed as text data having the predetermined attribute, the digital image of the data area is provided. Data processing characterized in that data or text data with unknown attributes are cut out and presented, an attribute of the presented data is inquired to an operator of the terminal, and an attribute name designated by the operator is obtained. apparatus. 19. A terminal having an image input function, a communication function, and an application program execution function transmits digital image data input by the image input function to a server via the communication function, and receives the digital image data. The server performs data processing on the digital image data to convert the digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute, and converts the digital image data into a data format according to an application program executed on the terminal. A data processing method, wherein management data of the application program can be automatically registered by returning the data to a data area managed by an application program executed on the terminal. 20. The data processing method according to claim 19, wherein, when the digital image data includes a data area that cannot be analyzed as text data having the predetermined attribute, a specific attribute is assigned to the data area. A data processing method characterized by being attached. 21. The data processing method according to claim 19, wherein when there is a data area in the digital image data that cannot be analyzed as text data having the predetermined attribute, the digital image data in the data area or A data processing method characterized by cutting out and presenting text data of unknown attribute, inquiring an attribute of data of the presented portion to an operator of the terminal, and obtaining an attribute name designated by the operator. 22. The data processing method according to claim 19, wherein digital image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera of the terminal, digital image data obtained by reading an image with a scanner of the terminal, or the digital image data of the terminal. A data processing method, wherein digital image data received by a facsimile function is transmitted to the server. 23. The data processing method according to claim 19, wherein the server is capable of recognizing a handwritten character in the digital image data, and transmits the digital image data based on a result of the character recognition. A data processing method comprising: determining an application program executed by a terminal; and performing a data processing process and a format conversion process according to a result of the determination. 24. The data processing method according to claim 19, wherein the digital image data transmitted from the terminal is added with service designation information and transmitted, and the server side executes a plurality of types of service processing programs. The server is registered in advance in association with the service designation information, and the server is designated by the service designation information sent to the digital image data transmitted from the terminal in addition to the digital image data. A data processing method characterized by performing processing by a service processing program. 25. A digital image data input from a terminal is transmitted to a server, and the server converts the received digital image data into text data having a predetermined attribute by performing data processing on the received digital image data. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for converting a data format according to an application program executed on a terminal and returning the converted data to the terminal is recorded. 26. The recording medium according to claim 25, wherein, when the digital image data includes a data area that cannot be analyzed as the text data having the predetermined attribute, a specific attribute is added to the data area. A computer-readable recording medium further recorded with a program for causing a computer to execute the method. 27. The recording medium according to claim 25, wherein, when the digital image data includes a data area that cannot be analyzed as the text data having the predetermined attribute, the digital image data or the attribute of the data area is unknown. A program that cuts out the text data and returns it to the terminal, inquires the attribute of the data in the returned portion to the operator of the terminal, and transmits the attribute name specified by the operator from the terminal to the server. A computer-readable recording medium characterized by further recording the following. 28. The data processing method according to claim 25, wherein a handwritten character in the digital image data is made recognizable, and the digital image data is executed by a terminal that has transmitted the digital image data based on a result of the character recognition. A computer-readable recording medium, further comprising a program for judging an application program being executed, and performing a data processing process and a format conversion process according to the judgment result. 29. The recording medium according to claim 25, wherein service designation information is added to digital image data transmitted from said terminal and transmitted, and said server associates said digital image data with said service designation information. Out of a plurality of types of service processing programs registered in advance by using the service processing program specified by the service specification information transmitted in addition to the digital image data, the digital program transmitted from the terminal. A computer-readable recording medium further recorded with a program for performing data processing on image data.