DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20080201636A1
• Filed: 02/19/2007
• Published: 08/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujiwara, Akihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,778,953 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/289 Phrasal analysis, e.g. finite state techniques or chunking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1444 Selective acquisition, locating or processing of specific regions, e.g. highlighted text, fiducial marks or predetermined fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/40 Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition

Abstract

A document management apparatus according to the invention is aimed at easily processing, managing and reusing newly taken image data in accordance with user'"'"'s needs. The apparatus includes: a document area analyzing unit configured to analyze and extract a document area from image data; a text information analyzing unit configured to analyze and extract text information with respect to the document area; a text information semantic analysis unit configured to analyze and extract semantics of the text information from the text information; a managing unit configured to associate the document area, the text information and the semantics of the text information with each other, and manage them as integrated information; an integrated information presenting unit configured to present to a user at least the semantics of the text information, of the integrated information managed by the managing unit; and a user-designated semantic setting unit configured to be capable of allowing the user to change the semantics of the text information presented by the integrated information presenting unit and to set the changed semantics.

Claims

1. A document management apparatus comprising:

a document area analyzing unit configured to analyze and extract a document area from image data;

a text information analyzing unit configured to analyze and extract text information with respect to the document area extracted by the document area analyzing unit;

a text information semantic analysis unit configured to analyze and extract semantics of the text information from the text information extracted by the text information analyzing unit;

a managing unit configured to associate the document area extracted by the document area analyzing unit, the text information extracted by the text information analyzing unit and the semantics of the text information extracted by the text information analyzing unit with each other, and manage them as integrated information;

an integrated information presenting unit configured to present to a user at least the semantics of the text information, of the integrated information managed by the managing unit; and

a user-designated semantic setting unit configured to be capable of allowing the user to change the semantics of the text information presented by the integrated information presenting unit and to set the changed semantics.

2. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a template managing unit configured to be capable of creating and managing a template of a format having a document layout structure on the basis of the integrated information including the semantics of the text information designated by the user-designated semantic setting unit.

3. The document management apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a semantic estimating unit configured to compare a document area of new image data analyzed by the document area analyzing unit with a document area of the template managed by the template managing unit, and estimate and acquire semantics of text information included in the new image data as semantics of text information included in the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

4. The document management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the semantic estimating unit further compares text information of the new image analyzed by the text information analyzing unit with text information of a template managed by the template managing unit, and estimates and acquires semantics of the text information included in the new image data as semantics of the text information included in the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

5. The document management apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a document type setting unit configured to set a document type of the template, and

a document type determining unit configured to compare a document area of new image data analyzed by the document area analyzing unit with a document area of a template managed by the template managing unit, and determine a type of a document included in the new image data from a document type provided for the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

6. The document management apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a document type setting unit configured to set a document type of the template, and

a document type determining unit configured to compare the integrated information acquired from new image data with information corresponding to the integrated information included in the template, and determine a type of document included in the new image data from a document type provided for the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

7. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a term semantic system information managing unit configured to manage plural terms as a conceptual semantic system, and a term semantic system information extracting unit configured to extract a conceptually related term from the term semantic system managed by the term semantic system information managing unit,

wherein the user-designated semantic setting unit causes predetermined semantics to be designated from the term semantic system extracted by the term semantic system information extracting unit.

8. A document management apparatus comprising:

document area analyzing means for analyzing and extracting a document area from image data;

text information analyzing means for analyzing and extracting text information with respect to the document area extracted by the document area analyzing means;

text information semantic analysis means for analyzing and extracting semantics of the text information from the text information extracted by the text information analyzing means;

managing means for associating the document area extracted by the document area analyzing means, the text information extracted by the text information analyzing means and the semantics of the text information extracted by the text information analyzing means with each other, and managing them as integrated information;

integrated information presenting means for presenting to a user at least the semantics of the text information, of the integrated information managed by the managing means; and

user-designated semantic setting means for allowing the user to change the semantics of the text information presented by the integrated information presenting means, and setting the changed semantics.

9. The document management apparatus according to claim 8, comprising template managing means for creating and managing a template of a format having a document layout structure on the basis of the integrated information including the semantics of the text information designated by the user-designated semantic setting means.

10. The document management apparatus according to claim 9, comprising semantic estimating means for comparing a document area of new image data analyzed by the document area analyzing means with a document area of the template managed by the template managing means, and estimating and acquiring semantics of text information included in the new image data as semantics of text information included in the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

11. The document management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the semantic estimating means further compares text information of the new image analyzed by the text information analyzing means with text information of a template managed by the template managing means, and estimates and acquires semantics of the text information included in the new image data as semantics of the text information included in the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

12. The document management apparatus according to claim 9, comprising document type setting means for setting a document type of the template, and

document type determining means for comparing a document area of new image data analyzed by the document area analyzing means with a document area of a template managed by the template managing means, and determining a type of a document included in the new image data from a document type provided for the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

13. The document management apparatus according to claim 9, comprising document type setting means for setting a document type of the template, and

document type determining means for comparing the integrated information acquired from new image data with information corresponding to the integrated information included in the template, and determining a type of document included in the new image data from a document type provided for the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

14. The document management apparatus according to claim 8, comprising term semantic system information managing means for managing plural terms as a conceptual semantic system, and term semantic system information extracting means for extracting a conceptually related term from the term semantic system managed by the term semantic system information managing means,

wherein the user-designated semantic setting means causes predetermined semantics to be designated from the term semantic system extracted by the term semantic system information extracting means.

15. A document management method comprising:

analyzing and extracting a document area from image data;

analyzing and extracting text information with respect to the document area;

analyzing and extracting semantics of the text information from the text information;

associating the extracted document area, the text information and the semantics of the text information extracted by analyzing the semantics of the text information with each other, and managing them as integrated information;

presenting to a user at least the semantics of the text information, of the integrated information; and

allowing the user to change the semantics of the presented text information and setting the changed semantics.

16. The document management method according to claim 15, wherein a template of a format having a document layout structure is created and managed on the basis of the integrated information including the semantics of the text information.

17. The document management method according to claim 16, wherein the document area of new image data is compared with a document area of the template, and semantics of text information included in the new image data is estimated and acquired as semantics of text information included in the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

18. The document management method according to claim 17, wherein, further, the text information of the new image is compared with text information of a template, and semantics of the text information included in the new image data is estimated and acquired as semantics of the text information included in the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

19. The document management method according to claim 16, wherein a document type is set for the template, and

the document area of new image data is compared with a document area of a template, and a type of a document included in the new image data is determined from a document type provided for the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.

20. The document management method according to claim 16, wherein a document type is set for the template, and

the integrated information acquired from new image data is compared with information corresponding to the integrated information included in the template, and a type of document included in the new image data is determined from a document type provided for the template on the basis of the result of the comparison.