IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, IMAGE PROCESSING PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20070046985A1
• Filed: 08/24/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Komada, Yasuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,813,550 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.150
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1265 Printing by reference, e.g. retrieving document/image data for a job from a source mentioned in the job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

The object of this invention is to reduce the effort of deleting and information symbol from a read image. To accomplish this, an image of a document with an information symbol is read (S100), and the information symbol is identified in the read image (S130). The identified information symbol is decoded (S150), and it is determined on the basis of the decoding result whether the data format of the information symbol is a desired one (S160). On the basis of the determination, if the data format is the desired one, the information symbol is deleted from the read image (S170).

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus having:

an image reading unit which reads an image of a document with an information symbol;

an identification unit which identifies the information symbol in the read image;

a decoding unit which decodes the information symbol identified by said identification unit;

a determination unit which determines on the basis of a decoding result from said decoding unit whether a data format of the information symbol is a prescribed data format; and

a deletion unit which deletes the information symbol from the read image if the data format is the prescribed data format on the basis of a determination made by said determination unit.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said deletion unit automatically deletes an information symbol if a data format of the information symbol is the prescribed data format, on the basis of a determination made by said determination unit.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having:

a display unit which provides an indication prompting for a determination input as to whether to delete an information symbol if a determination result from said determination unit shows that a data format of the information symbol is the prescribed data format; and

an operation input unit for providing an operation input in response to the indication on said display unit, wherein

said deletion unit deletes the information symbol if an operation input giving an instruction to delete the information symbol is provided from said operation input unit.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further having

a counting unit which starts counting when said display unit provides the indication prompting for the determination input as to whether to delete the information symbol, wherein

said deletion unit automatically deletes the information symbol if a count of said counting unit has reached a prescribed value without the input from said operation input unit in response to the indication prompting for the determination input on said display unit.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further having

a counting unit which starts counting when said display unit provides the indication prompting for the determination input as to whether to delete the information symbol, wherein

said deletion unit does not delete the information symbol if a count of said counting unit has reached a prescribed value without the input from said operation input unit in response to the indication prompting for the determination input on said display unit.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having a notification unit which notifies a user that said deletion unit has deleted an information symbol.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said notification unit notifies the user that said deletion unit has deleted an information symbol and of the deleted information symbol.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said notification unit notifies the user that said deletion unit has deleted an information symbol and of a result of decoding the deleted information symbol.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, further having

a thumbnail creation unit which creates a thumbnail image of a read document, wherein

if said deletion unit has deleted an information symbol, said notification unit displays the thumbnail image created by said thumbnail creation unit and further displays a position of the deleted information symbol on the thumbnail image created by said thumbnail creation unit.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having a recording unit which records an image on the basis of a read document.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having a facsimile transmission unit which faxes an image on the basis of a read document.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having a server transmission unit for transmitting an image to a file server on the basis of a read document.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having a mail transmission unit for attaching an image to an e-mail message and transmitting the message to a mail server, on the basis of a read document.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further having

a registration unit which registers at least one image transmission destination, wherein

said registration unit can register, for each of the at least one transmission destination, whether to automatically delete an information symbol if said determination unit determines that a data format of the information symbol is the prescribed data format.

15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said identification unit takes a whole area of a read image as an identification area.

16. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said identification unit takes only a partial area of a read image as an identification area.

17. An image processing method including:

an image reading step of reading an image of a document with an information symbol;

an identification step of identifying the information symbol in the read image;

a decoding step of decoding the information symbol identified in the identification step;

a determination step of determining on the basis of a result of the decoding in the decoding step whether a data format of the information symbol is a prescribed data format; and

a deletion step of deleting the information symbol from the read image if the data format is the prescribed data format on the basis of the determination made in the determination step.

18. A storage medium computer-readably storing an image processing program for causing a computer to execute:

an image reading step of reading an image of a document with an information symbol;

an identification step of identifying the information symbol in the read image;

a decoding step of decoding the information symbol identified in the identification step;

a determination step of determining on the basis of a result of the decoding in the decoding step whether a data format of the information symbol is a prescribed data format; and

a deletion step of deleting the information symbol from the read image if the data format is the prescribed data format on the basis of the determination made in the determination step.