Document composite image display method and device utilizing categorized partial images

• US 6,735,740 B2
• Filed: 03/04/1998
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bear Creek Technologies Incorporated, Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Noda, Tsugio, Sakai, Kenichiro, Chiba, Hirotaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bashore, William L.
• Application Number:
  US09/034,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20020002570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,260 Days
• Field of Search: 707/526, 707/517, 707/2, 707/3, 345/418, 345/431, 348/408, 358/450, 358/453, 382/260, 382/241, 382/176, 382/249, 382/170, 382/173, 715/526, 715/517
• US Class Current: 715/273
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

One document image is divided according to attributes such as a character, a graphic, a table, etc., and the divided partial images are stored as one file. For example, each of the partial images is stored by being assigned with a priority, reduced in stages, and compressed with a compression method suitable for each of the attributes. If a user, etc. issues the instruction for making more of a desired portion visible and easy to view when he or she displays the document image, the user can freely make an easy-to-view display that the user desires according to the contents of the instruction. For example, the document image can be displayed by making an empty space between partial images smaller, a partial image with a higher priority can be displayed earlier, a specified partial image can be displayed larger, etc.

Claims

1. A document image display method, comprising:

a partial image extracting step for structurizing a document image as a display target by dividing the document image into areas according to editable content attributes, and extracting respective structured areas as partial images;

an image storing step for storing the partial images extracted from one document in said partial image extracting step as one file;

a data reading step for selecting and reading the partial image stored as one file in said image storing step; and

an image displaying step for independently displaying each partial image read in said data reading step;

wherein;

said partial image extracting step assigns priorities to the partial images and their area sizes for displaying according to attributes of the extracted partial images;

said image storing steps stores data of the priorities assigned to the partial images together with the partial images; and

a priority corresponds to a specified attribute.

2. A document image display method, comprising:

a partial image extracting step for structuring a document image as a display target by dividing the document image into areas according to editable content attributes, and extracting respective structured areas as partial images; and

an image storing step for storing the partial images extracted from one document in said partial image extracting step as one file;

wherein

said partial image extracting step assigns priorities to the partial images and their area sizes for displaying according to attributes of the extracted partial images;

said partial image extracting step extracts an area colored in a particular color by a marking tool among the structurized areas on a sheet of paper as a partial image, said partial image extracting step comprising;

a color detecting step for scanning the area colored in the particular color by the marking tool, in which a background of the marked area of input document image is colored with the marked particular color, and for extracting the area colored with the marked particular color;

a color erasing step for erasing the marked particular color from the extracted area colored with the marked particular color and outputting the image as the partial image; and

a priority corresponds to a specified attribute.

3. A document image display method, comprising:

a partial image extracting step for structurizing a document image as a display target by dividing the document image into areas according to editable content attributes, and extracting respective structured areas as partial images;

an image storing step for storing the partial images extracted from one document in said image extracting step as one file;

a data reading step for selectively reading a partial image stored as one file in said image step; and

an image displaying step for independently displaying each partial image read in said data step, wherein;

said partial image extracting step assigns priorities to the partial images and their area sizes for displaying according to of the extracted partial images;

said image storing steps stores data of the priorities assigned to the partial images together with the partial images;

said data image reading step selectively reads a partial image assigned with a specified based on the priorities assigned to the images; and

a priority corresponds to a specified attribute.

4. The document image display method according to claim 3, wherein said data reading step selects and reads a partial image according to a particular attribute.

5. The document image display method according to claim 3, wherein said image displaying step displays the partial images by reducing an empty space between partial images and relocating the partial images in order to be able to display more partial images.

6. The document image display method according to claim 3, wherein said image displaying step erases a display of a partial image to which an instruction is issued in correspondence with the instruction issued from an outside.

7. The document image display method according to claim 3, wherein said partial image extracting step extracts only a partial area instructed from an outside or an area according to an attribute instructed from the outside, as a partial image.

8. The document image display method according to claim 3, wherein said image storing step compresses data of a partial image extracted in said image extracting step, stores the compressed data, decompresses the compressed data to the partial image when reading the stored partial image, and outputs the restored partial image.

9. The document image display method according to claim 8, wherein said image storing step compresses the data of the partial image by switching a compression method depending on whether characters are either in vertical writing or in horizontal writing if the attribute of the partial image is a character attribute, at the time of compressing the data of the partial image.

10. The document image display method according to claim 8, wherein said image storing step performs data compression in each of a plurality of stages after reducing the partial image at the plurality of stages when compressing the data of the partial image, stores the compressed data, decompresses the compressed image to a reduced image at a specified stage when reading the stored partial image, and outputs the decompressed image as a partial image.

11. The document image display method according to claim 8, wherein

said partial image extracting step assigns a priority to the partial image according to an attribute of the partial image or in correspondence with an instruction issued from the outside; and

said image storing step performs data compression in each of a plurality of stages after reducing the partial image at the plurality of stages when compressing the data of the partial image, stores the compressed data together with data of the assigned priority, decompresses the compressed image to a reduced image at a stage according to the priority assigned to the partial image when reading the stored partial image, and outputs the decompressed image as a partial image.

12. A document image display device for displaying a document image, comprising:

partial image extracting means for structurizing a document image as a display target by dividing the document image into areas according to editable content attributes, and extracting respective structurized areas as partial images;

image storing means for storing the partial image extracted from one document by said partial image extracting means, as one file

data reading means for selecting and reading the partial image stored by said image storing means as one file; and

image displaying means for independently displaying each partial image read by said data reading means, wherein;

said partial image extracting means assigns priorities to the partial images and their area sizes for display according to attributes of the extracted partial images;

said image storing means stores data of the priorities assigned to the partial images together with the partial images;

said data image reading means selectively reads a partial image assigned with a specified priority based on the priorities assigned to the partial images; and

a priority corresponds to a specified attribute.

13. A computer readable storage medium in order to display document image, for storing a program which includes the functions of:

structurizing the document image as a display target by dividing the document image into areas according to editable content attributes, and extracting respective structurized areas as partial images; and

storing each partial image extracted from among document as one file, wherein

selecting and reading each partial image stored as one file;

independently displaying each read partial image;

assigning priorities to the partial images and their area sizes for displaying according to attributes of the extracted partial images;

storing data of the priorities assigned to the partial images together with the partial images;

selectively reading a partial image assigned with a specified priority based on the priorities assigned to the partial images; and

a priority corresponds to a specified attribute.

14. A document image display device for displaying a document image, comprising:

a partial image extracting unit structurizing a document image as a display target by dividing the document image into areas according to editable content attributes, and extracting respective structurized areas as partial images;

an image storing unit storing the partial image extracted from one document by said partial image extracting unit, as one file;

a data reading means for selecting and reading the partial image stored by said image storing unit as one file; and

an image displaying unit independently displaying each partial image read by said data reading unit, wherein;

said partial image extracting unit assigns priorities to the partial images and their area sizes for displaying according to attributes of the extracted partial images;

said image storing unit stores data of the priorities assigned to the partial images together with the partial images;

said data image reading unit selectively reads a partial image assigned with a specified priority based on the priorities assigned to the partial images; and

a priority corresponds to a specified attribute.