Imaging object

• US 8,368,781 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2011
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: King JIM Company Limited
• Original Assignee: King JIM Company Limited
• Inventors: Hine, Yoichi, Endo, Shin
• Primary Examiner(s): CUTLER, ALBERT H
• Application Number:
  US13/499,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20120218446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 382/183, 382/184, 382/287
• US Class Current: 348/241
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30176 Document
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30204 Marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/00 Geometric image transformations in the plane of the image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1448 based on markings or identifiers characterising the document or the area

Abstract

The present invention provides an imaging technology having high reproducibility of a document and making image correction possible, without being influenced by a way of placing the document or a position of a camera, and irrespective of paper color and despite of damage of a corner portion. By printing positioning symbols on document paper in advance when the document is photographed by a digital camera or a portable phone with a camera, such as a smart phone, and by processing the image based on these positioning symbols, image processing having high reproducibility of the document and making image correction (keystone correction) possible can be implemented irrespective of paper color and despite of damage of a corner portion.

Claims

1. An imaging object used for an image processing system which includes:

imaging unit which images an imaging object having positioning symbols;

image acquisition unit which detects the positioning symbols from original image data imaged by the imaging unit, recognizes a predetermined area calculated based on the positioning symbols as a first range, extracts only image data existing in the first range to acquire this image data as extracted image data, and corrects the extracted image data based on a distance between the positioning symbols; and

image data storage unit which stores the extracted image data acquired by the image acquisition unit, the imaging object comprising;

a rectangular paper main portion; and

the positioning symbols which are formed in at least two kinds of shapes and disposed in at least two locations out of areas near four corners of the paper main portion, and are created as symbol codes constituted by multi-valued graphics, wherein

each of the positioning symbols has an emerging portion having a color value that is different from a ground color of the paper main portion and a non-emerging portion having the ground color of the paper main portion,

the emerging portion of a first positioning symbol includes a frame-shaped emerging portion having two straight line portions respectively parallel with two sides extending from a corner of the paper main portion and a corner portion where edges of the two straight line portions contact each other, and the non-emerging portion of the first positioning symbol is an area having the ground color which is surrounded by the frame-shaped emerging portion, and the emerging portion of a second positioning symbol at least includes an emerging portion having two straight line portions respectively parallel with two sides extending from a corner of the paper main portion and a corner portion where edges of the two straight line portions contact each other, and a rectangular emerging portion which is located inside the emerging portion having the two straight line portions and the corner portion, and the non-emerging portion of the second positioning symbol is an area between the emerging portion having the two straight line portions and the corner portion and the rectangular emerging portion.

2. The imaging object according to claim 1, wherein the positioning symbols are disposed in areas near the four corners of the paper main portion respectively, and one of the four positioning symbols is an orientation symbol of which shape is different from those of the other three positioning symbols.

3. The imaging object according to claim 2, further comprising a second range, which is disposed within the first range or disposed as a separate area from the first range, and of which direction is recognized by a positional relationship with the orientation symbol, and which is constituted by a range where characters for collating with character information for collation stored in the image data storage unit in advance are written.

4. The imaging object according to claim 1, wherein

the positioning symbols are disposed so that the distance between the positioning symbols matches with a reference distance between the positioning symbols which is stored in the image acquisition unit in advance, and

the imaging object further comprises a first range delimited by the positioning symbols.

5. The imaging object according to claim 1, wherein

the paper main portion further includes a second range constituted by seven segments of an entry guide.

6. The imaging object according to claim 1, wherein

the paper main portion is subjected to printing processing so that, when the paper main portion is electronically copied, a prohibition symbol emerges at a predetermined location having a shape different from those at other locations.

7. The imaging object according to claim 1, wherein

the non-emerging portion has a background portion and a latent image portion having different patterns which are not visualized by the imaging unit, but visibly emerge by electronic copying.

8. The imaging object according to claim 1, having a background portion and a latent image portion having different patterns which are not visualized by the imaging unit, but visibly emerge by electronic copying, in a predetermined area excluding an area where the positioning symbols are formed.

9. An imaging object used for an image processing method which includes the steps of:

imaging an imaging object having positioning symbols;

detecting the positioning symbols from imaged original data;

recognizing a predetermined area calculated based on the detected positioning symbols as a first range, extracting only image data existing in the recognized first range to acquire this image data as extracted image data;

correcting the extracted image data based on a distance between the positioning symbols; and

storing the extracted image data, the imaging object comprising;

a rectangular paper main portion; and

the positioning symbols which are formed in at least two kinds of shapes and disposed in at least two locations out of areas near four corners of the paper main portion, and are created as symbol codes constituted by multi-valued graphics, wherein

each of the positioning symbols has an emerging portion having a color value that is different from a ground color of the paper main portion and a non-emerging portion having the ground color of the paper main portion,

the emerging portion of a first positioning symbol includes a frame-shaped emerging portion having two straight line portions respectively parallel with two sides extending from a corner of the paper main portion and a corner portion where edges of the two straight line portions contact each other, and the non-emerging portion of the first positioning symbol is an area having the ground color which is surrounded by the frame-shaped emerging portion, and

the emerging portion of a second positioning symbol at least includes an emerging portion having two straight line portions respectively parallel with two sides extending from a corner of the paper main portion and a corner portion where edges of the two straight line portions contact each other, and a rectangular emerging portion which is located inside the emerging portion having the two straight line portions and the corner portion, and the non-emerging portion of the second positioning symbol is an area between the emerging portion having the two straight line portions and the corner portion and the rectangular emerging portion.