Electronic filing apparatus using part of read image information as retrieval information

• US 5,093,873 A
• Filed: 12/27/1990
• Issued: 03/03/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Masaharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Razavi, Michael
• Application Number:
  US07/634,486
• Time in Patent Office: 432 Days
• Field of Search: 382/61, 382/9, 382/16, 382/56, 382/47, 382/48, 382/62, 358/443, 358/453, 340/711, 340/710, 340/709, 340/730, 364/522, 235/375
• US Class Current: 382/306
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

An area of image information read by a scanner is designated by a mouse to designate a part of the image information as retrieval information. The designated part of the image information is recognized in an OCR as the retrieval information which is then stored in an information recording medium in association with the image information.

Claims

1. An image information processing apparatus for recording, on an information recording medium, image information and associated retrieval information, and for retrieving desired image information from the information recording medium by designating the recorded retrieval information, the apparatus comprising:

read means for successively reading image information to be recorded, said image information to be recorded not including a retrieval data area;

first storing means for temporarily storing the image information read by said read means;

designation means for designating an area which is a part of the image information to be recorded;

second storing means for temporarily storing area information relating to the area designated by said designation means, said second storing means storing the area information temporarily stored therein until a new area of the image information is designated;

recognition means for recognizing the part of the image information to be recorded which is the designated area as retrieval information based on the area information temporarily stored in said second storing means and the image information to be recorded which is stored temporarily in said first storing means; and

means for recording the retrieval information recognized by said recognition means on said information recording medium in association with the image information to be recorded.

2. An image information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said designation means includes:

means for displaying image information together with a cursor;

means for moving said cursor to start and end points of said area; and

switch means, provided on said moving means, for generating an instruction signal to fetch position data of said start and end points.

3. An image information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recognition means includes an optical character reader for executing pattern recognition to recognize image information in said area as a sequence of characters and outputting said image information as ASCII codes.

4. An image information recording apparatus for recording, on an information recording medium, image information and associated retrieval information, the apparatus comprising:

read means for successively reading image information to be recorded, said image information to be recorded not including a retrieval data area;

first storing means for temporarily storing the image information read by said read means;

designation means for designating an area which is a part of the image information to be recorded;

second storing means for temporarily storing area information relating to the area designated by said designation means, said second storing means storing the area information temporarily stored therein until a new area of the image information is designated;

recognition means for recognizing the part of the image information to be recorded which is the designated area as retrieval information based on the area information to be recorded stored temporarily in said first storing means; and

means for recording the retrieval information recognized by said recognition means on said information recording medium in association with the image information to be recorded.

5. An image information recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said designation means includes:

means for displaying image information together with a cursor;

means for moving said cursor to start and end points of said area; and

switch means, provided on said moving means, for generating an instruction signal to fetch position data of said start and end points.

6. An image information recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said recognition means includes an optical character reader for executing pattern recognition to recognize image information in said area as a sequence of characters and outputting said image information as ASCII codes.

7. An image information processing apparatus comprising:

means for reading out image information from an original;

first storing means for storing the image information read out from the original;

means for displaying, on a screen, the read out image information and a cursor which is movable to a desired position on the read out image information;

means for moving the cursor to two specified positions on the screen to designate the two specified positions;

second storing means for storing the read out image information and position information corresponding to the designated two specified positions;

means for reading out from said second storing means partial image information corresponding to a partial image contained in a rectangular area having diagonal points corresponding to the two specified positions on said screen according to the position information stored in said second storing means;

means for recognizing a sequence of characters contained in the partial image information read out from said second storing means in order to convert the sequence of characters into code date; and

third storing means for storing the code data as data for retrieving the image information rom said second storing means.

8. An image information processing apparatus comprising:

first reading means for successively reading out, as image information, contents of a sequence of originals having a standard format;

first storing means for successively storing the contents read out by said reading means;

means for displaying on a screen the read out image information and a cursor which is movable to two specified positions in the image information to designate the two specified positions;

means for moving the cursor to the two specified positions in the image information displayed on the screen in order to designate the two specified positions;

second storing means for storing the two specified positions with respect to the read out image information and the image information of the sequence of originals;

second reading means for reading out from said second storing means, for each image information read out by said first reading means, partial image information corresponding to a partial image contained in a rectangular area having two diagonal points defined by the two specified positions on the screen according to the two specified positions stored in said second storing means;

means for successively recognizing a sequence of characters contained in the partial image information read out by second said reading means in order to convert the sequence of characters into code data; and

third storing means for successively storing the code data as data for retrieving the image information stored in said second storing means.