Information input device

• US 7,081,975 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2004
• Issued: 07/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• 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: Yoda, Nobuhisa, Haraguchi, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US10/934,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20050024679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 358/400, 358/401, 358/474, 358/493, 358/494, 358/496, 358/497, 358/448, 358/450, 358/500, 358/501, 358/505, 382/312, 382/313, 382/315, 382/317, 382/321, 382/229
• US Class Current: 358/474
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/10 Image acquisition document image scanning and transmission H04N1/00; control of digital cameras H04N23/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/96 Management of image or video recognition tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition

Abstract

The present invention employs an instruction button for inputting an instruction to simultaneously executing registration, in a full-text-search database, of a document scanned by one scanning operation and subjected to OCR processing, and registration of the document in a designated folder contained in a database of a folder tree structure. This single instruction button enables the user to simultaneously register read images in a folder, and text data resulting from OCR processing executed on the read images.

Claims

1. An information input device comprising:

an image inputting section which inputs images on each of documents;

a character recognition section which subjects, to character recognition processing, the images input by the image inputting section;

a display section which displays various types of instruction buttons;

a management section which manages set contents corresponding to each of the instruction buttons displayed on the display section, the set contents including the destination of registration of the images input by the image inputting section, the contents of processing executed on the images by the character recognition section, and a range of processing executed by the character recognition section; and

a control section which executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on those of the input images which are contained within the range of processing, and simultaneously registering the input images and a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images contained within the range of processing,

wherein;

the management section manages the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons, the set contents including the destination of registration of the images input by the image inputting section, the contents of processing executed on the input images by the character recognition section, and processing conditions corresponding to types of the documents; and

the control section executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on the input images under the processing conditions, and simultaneously registering the input images and a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images.

2. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the processing conditions corresponding to types of the documents include designation of a dictionary to be used for character recognition processing.

3. The information input device according to claim 1, further comprising a memory which accumulates an image transmitted from an external device, and wherein

the character recognition section subjects, to character recognition processing, the images input by the image inputting section or the image accumulated in the memory;

and

the control section executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on images obtained by attaching the image accumulated in the memory to the input images, and simultaneously registering the images obtained by attaching the image accumulated in the memory to the input images, and a result of character recognition processing.

4. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein control section executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images and determine whether or not the input images have a data size greater than an allowable limit value, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on the input images, registering only a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images, without registering the input images in a destination of registration corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons if the input images have a data size greater than the allowable limit value, the control section registering the result of character recognition processing executed on the input images, and simultaneously registering the input images in the destination of registration corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons if the input images does not have a data size greater than the allowable limit value.

5. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein

the character recognition section subjects, to character recognition processing, the images input by the image inputting section, and also subjects a result of character recognition processing to sentence analysis processing for determining other recognition candidates;

and

the control section executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on the input images, subjecting a result of character recognition processing to sentence analysis processing, registering the input images, and simultaneously registering the result of character recognition processing together with recognition candidates obtained by the sentence analysis processing.

6. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein

the character recognition section has a function of subjecting, to character recognition processing, the images input by the image inputting section, and a function of detecting, from the images input by the image inputting section, separator information indicating an end of said each of the documents;

and

the control section executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on images on each document having an end thereof detected when the separator information is detected, registering the images on said each document after erasing the separator information from the images input by the image inputting section, and simultaneously registering a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images on said each document.

7. An information input device comprising:

an image inputting section which inputs images on each of documents;

a character recognition section which subjects, to character recognition processing, the images input by the image inputting section;

a display section which displays various types of instruction buttons;

a management section which manages set contents corresponding to each of the instruction buttons displayed on the display section, the set contents including the destination of registration of the images input by the image inputting section, the contents of Processing executed on the images by the character recognition section, and a range of processing executed by the character recognition section; and

a control section which executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on those of the input images which are contained within the range of processing, and simultaneously registering the input images and a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images contained within the range of processing,

wherein the control section executes control, when one of the instruction buttons has been designated, on the basis of the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons and managed by the management section, the control section controlling the image inputting section so as to input the images, controlling the character recognition section so as to execute character recognition processing on the input images, registering the input images, and simultaneously registering a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images, together with the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons.

8. An information input method comprising:

managing set contents corresponding to each of instruction buttons, the set contents including a destination of registration of input images, contents of character recognition processing executed on the images, and a range of character recognition processing;

inputting images according to the instruction buttons used for managing the sets contents;

executing the character recognition processing on the input images on the, basis of the set contents and the range of processing which correspond to one of the instruction buttons;

registering images input in the destination of registration corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons; and

registering in a database a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images and information indicating the destination of registration of the images.

9. The information input method according to claim 8, wherein:

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons includes the destination of registration of the input images, the contents of character recognition processing executed on the input images, and processing conditions corresponding to the input images; and

the character recognition processing is executed on the basis of the contents of processing and the processing conditions which correspond to said one of the instruction buttons.

10. The information input method according to claim 9, wherein the processing conditions corresponding to the images include designation of a dictionary to be used for the character recognition processing.

11. The information input method according to claim 8, further comprising:

accumulating an image transmitted from an external device in a memory,

and wherein;

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons includes the destination of registration of the input images and the contents of character recognition processing executed on the input images; and

the character recognition processing is executed on the images which is attached with the image accumulated in the memory.

12. The information input method according to claim 8, wherein:

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons includes the destination of registration of the input images and the contents of character recognition processing executed on the input images; and

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons are registered in the database together with a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images.

13. The information input method according to claim 8, wherein:

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons includes the destination of registration of the input images and the contents of character recognition processing executed on the input images;

the character recognition processing executes sentence analysis processing for determining other recognition candidates with respect to a result of character recognition processing executed on the input images; and

the recognition candidates obtained by the sentence analysis processing are registered together with the result of recognition of character recognition processing.

14. The information input method according to claim 8, further comprising:

detecting separator information indicating an end of each of the documents from the input images, wherein;

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons includes the destination of registration of the input images and the contents of character recognition processing executed on the input images;

the character recognition processing executes the character recognition processing on each of the images separated by the separator information when the separator information is detected from the input images;

registering each of the images separated by the separator information in the destination of registration after erasing the separator information from the input images; and

registering in the data base the result of recognition of character recognition processing executed on each of the images.

15. The information input method according to claim 8, further comprising:

determining whether or not the input images have data size greater than an allowable limit value, wherein

the set contents corresponding to said one of the instruction buttons includes the destination of registration of the input images and the contents of character recognition processing executed on the input images; and

the input images are not registered in the destination of registration if the input images are determined to have a data size greater than the allowable limit value.