IMAGE READING APPARATUS

• US 20170155792A1
• Filed: 11/21/2016
• Published: 06/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: MIZUDE, Kazuhiro, OGAWA, Kazuma, FUJISAKI, Tatsuya, TSUJIMOTO, Sho
• Application Number:
  US15/356,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20170155792A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/44 Local feature extraction by analysis of parts of the pattern, e.g. by detecting edges, contours, loops, corners, strokes or intersections; Connectivity analysis, e.g. of connected components
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/413 Classification of content, e.g. text, photographs or tables
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/414 Extracting the geometrical structure, e.g. layout tree; Block segmentation, e.g. bounding boxes for graphics or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00748 Detecting edges, e.g. of a stationary sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3208 Transmitting a plurality of separate messages to a common destination in a single transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/38 Circuits or arrangements for blanking or otherwise eliminating unwanted parts of pictures H04N1/387 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3873 defined only by a limited number of coordinate points or parameters, e.g. corners, centre; for trimming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3878 Skew detection or correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

An image reading apparatus comprising: an original reading unit configured to scan originals placed on an original table in batch by a batch-scan to read an image of each of the originals; a cropping unit configured to crop an image of each original from an image obtained by the batch-scan; an image output unit configured to attach a filename to image data of the cropped image of each original and output each image data in a new folder or an existing folder; and a control unit configured to control the original reading unit, the cropping unit, and the image output unit, wherein the control unit is capable of processing images of multiple originals cropped by more than one batch-scan as a series of image data, and controlling the image output unit in at least such a way that a series of filenames is attached to the series of image data according to a predetermined rule, the series of image data is output into the same folder, or the series of image data is stored in association with one another.

Claims

1. An image reading apparatus comprising:

an original reading unit configured to scan originals placed on an original table in batch by a batch-scan to read an image of each of the originals;

a cropping unit configured to crop an image of each original from an image obtained by the batch-scan;

an image output unit configured to attach a filename to image data of the cropped image of each original and output each image data in a new folder or an existing folder; and

a control unit configured to control the original reading unit, the cropping unit, and the image output unit, wherein

the control unit is capable of processing images of multiple originals cropped by more than one batch-scan as a series of image data, and controlling the image output unit in at least such a way that a series of filenames is attached to the series of image data according to a predetermined rule, the series of image data is output into the same folder, or the series of image data is stored in association with one another.

2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit attaches filenames including the same time information to the series of image data.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the time information concerns a time of the first batch-scan.

4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the image output unit in such a way that a new folder is created and each image data is output into this folder, the folder having a folder name including time information concerning a time of the first batch-scan.

5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image output unit transmits image data to an external transmission destination designated beforehand, and

the control unit transmits a series of image data to the same transmission destination.

6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operation key configured to receive designation indicating that a type of each original is a business card or not; and

a character recognition unit configured to perform character recognition to a cropped image of each original which is designated as a business card, and to output character data, wherein

the image output unit outputs the character data, in place of or along with image data of each original, with a filename being attached thereto, and

the control unit controls the image output unit in such a way that filenames corresponding to the image data of each original and the character data output as a result of the character recognition performed to the original by the character recognition unit are attached.

7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the operation key receives a selection of whether or not image data of each original designated as a business card is output along with character data output from the character recognition unit, and

the control unit controls whether to output only the character data or to output the image data along with the character data according to the selection.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the image output unit in such a way that, for each original designated as a business card, a filename is attached using the character data output from the character recognition unit.

9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a display unit that displays an image of each of scanned originals as a preview, wherein

the display unit displays each scanned original on the display unit for a preview in the case where an original which has been designated as a business card is to be read,

the operation key receives a selection of whether each of the scanned originals is subjected to character recognition by the character recognition unit or the scan of each original is redone, at the point or after the point at which each original is displayed as a preview, and

the control unit causes the character recognition unit to perform character recognition or causes the original reading unit to redo a scan of each original.

10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the original reading unit reads an image of each original on the basis of a plurality of reading conditions according to a type of an original, and

the control unit changes the image reading conditions to a setting optimum for reading a business card, when the operation key receives a designation indicating that the original is a business card.

11. The image reading apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

an original cover provided to be openable with respect to the original table and holds an original placed on the original table; and

a cover open-and-close sensor configured to detect an open and closed state of the original cover, wherein

when an original designated as a business card is to be read, the control unit displays, on the display unit, an operation guide indicating that the original is scanned with the original cover being left open, and in the case where the cover open-and-close sensor detects that the original cover is closed, the control unit inhibits a scan.

12. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the original reading unit detects an edge of an original designated as a business card,

the character recognition unit has a correction function for correcting skew of each original in such a way that a character to be recognized is erected, on the basis of the direction of the detected edge and features of a character, and

the skew correction function is enabled to be validated or invalidated according to a setting.

13. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit is capable of selectively executing a single multi-crop process in which images of originals read by one batch-scan are handled as a series of image data and output so as to be distinguishable from image data read by other batch-scans and a continuous multi-crop process in which images of originals read by more than one batch-scan are handled as a series of image data.

14. The image reading apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a display unit configured to display a number of originals read by each batch-scan and the total number of originals read by a sequence of batch-scans, when the continuous multi-crop process is executed.

15. The image reading apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, when the continuous multi-crop process is executed, the control unit displays an operation key that receives an instruction to start the next scan on the display unit every time each batch-scan is executed, and when the operation key is operated, the control unit executes the next batch-scan to acquire image data of each original, and handles the acquired image data and the image data obtained by the previous batch-scan as a series of image data.