JP4781214B2 - Printing system and composite terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system and a composite terminal device for printing by inserting individual characters such as names and dates on a sheet having a predetermined format or a fixed format.

  Inserting and printing individual characters such as names and dates on paper with a predetermined format or fixed format is called merge printing. Traditionally, merge printing uses coordinates, areas, and font formats for character placement. Common data such as name and individual data such as names, and the common data and individual data are combined to obtain a print image.

  For example, when printing a certificate, individual print data such as name and date is obtained from the host device, and other common print information is printed by using information read by the scanner device. In this case, the operator's work is as follows. (1) The operator first prepares individual print data. Next, (2) a certificate as a sample is read by a scanner device and taken into a personal computer. (3) Information read on the image composition software is displayed, where the necessary portions of the copy are left, the unnecessary portions are masked so as not to be printed, and the coordinates are determined by arranging individual print data. To do.

  Next, (4) printing on the actual certificate mount and visually confirming the position of the printed characters. If the character position is misaligned, (5) the printing start position of the printing apparatus is adjusted. If the printing result is good, (6) printing is performed for the remaining certificate.

As described above, the individual print data and the common data read by the scanner device are combined, and when the combined data is trial printed and the result is good, the print is officially printed on the format paper. There are some which are indicated by JP, 2003-63087, A.
JP 2003-63087 A

However, it is extremely complicated to repeat the above operations, particularly the above operations (4) and (5), for those who occasionally perform the above operations, apart from professionals who perform them only occasionally. It was. That is, conventionally, there is a problem that the burden on the operator is heavy because there is a process of repeating trial and error in adjusting the printing position in addition to a process of inputting a printing format.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printing system that does not require repeated adjustment of the printing position by appropriately setting the printing position.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a reading device having a reading unit that reads a document with a predetermined mark indicating an area to be printed, and printing that is connected to the reading device and prints print data on a mount. An area extracting unit that extracts the area to be printed based on the read data of the predetermined mark read from the original by the reading unit; and the area extraction in the original the image in the extracted area by means extracts a character image is an image corresponding to a character, a feature extracting means for extracting feature information indicating a feature of the character based on the character image, before SL on backing of the area to be the print extracted by the area extraction means, a feature of the character indicated by the feature information extracted by the feature extraction unit, to print the characters in the print data And control means for controlling the printing apparatus as and is characterized in that it comprises.

According to the present invention, the area to be printed is extracted by the area extracting means, and the print data is printed on the extracted area to be printed on the mount, so the operator adjusts the print position by looking at the print result. Printing that does not need to be performed becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a printing system according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the printing system according to the first embodiment. First, the configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 2, a printing system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a personal computer 2 as a host external input device, a non-impact printer 3 as a printing device, and a flat bed type scanner device as a document reading device. It is composed of four. The personal computer 2 and the printer 3 are connected by an interface cable 5 capable of bidirectional communication, and the printer 3 and the scanner device 4 are also connected by an interface cable 6 capable of bidirectional communication.

  In FIG. 1, a personal computer 2 has a function of inputting print data and the like to the printer 3 from the outside. The printer 3 includes a control unit 11, a font memory 12, and an image forming unit 13. The control unit 11 has a function of controlling the entire operation of the printer 3 and the scanner device 4, and has a function of parsing print data input from the personal computer 2 and executing it sequentially, such as a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. Consists of.

  The font memory 12 is composed of a non-volatile ROM and stores font data such as symbols, numbers, katakana, hiragana, and kanji. The image forming unit 13 is an electrophotographic image forming unit. Although not shown, a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed, a print head that exposes the photosensitive drum according to print data, and toner The image forming apparatus includes a transfer device that transfers an image from a photosensitive drum to a medium, a fixing device that fixes the transferred toner image on the medium, and the like.

  The scanner device 4 includes a reading unit 14, an operation unit 15, a region setting unit 16, a feature extraction unit 17, and a storage unit 18. The reading unit 14 applies light such as a fluorescent lamp to a document set on a predetermined reading table, converts reflected light from the document into an electrical signal by a light receiving element such as a CCD sensor, and obtains image data from the electrical signal. Is. The output image data is in the form of a gradation bitmap.

  The operation unit 15 is a portion that is operated by an operator when operating the scanner device 4, and includes a selection button for selecting a direction of a character of a template set on the scanner device 4 to be described later. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 15 is provided with a vertical writing selection button 21 and a horizontal writing selection button 22, and display lamps 23 and 24 are provided opposite to the buttons. The vertical writing selection button 21 and the horizontal writing selection button 22 are in a contradictory relationship, and only one of them is selected, and the display lamp of the selected selection button is lit and selected. indicate. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation unit of the scanner device.

  The region setting unit 16 has a function of extracting a continuous set of dots from the read bitmap data and extracting only a continuous set without a cut as a closed region. Also, it has a function of extracting line segments from dots constituting the closed region and calculating the vertexes of the four corners, and a function of storing the calculated vertex coordinates in the storage unit 18 together with the image data in the region as rectangular data. . The area setting unit 16 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.

  As will be described later, the feature extraction unit 17 has a function of cutting out a character from an area designated by a rectangle and extracting the thickness of the character and the density of the character. The storage unit 18 is composed of a RAM having a high access speed for temporary storage, and is used for storing image data and rectangular data described later.

  Next, an operation will be described. In the present embodiment, an operation for printing a certificate is described. A template is created as a preliminary preparation before the printing operation by the printer 3. A template is applied to a certificate created in the past. FIG. 4 shows award certificate created in the past. The template 33 shown in FIG. 5 is created by writing rectangular frame lines 32a and 32b for the winner 31a and date 31b of the certificate 31. The frame lines 32a and 32b are created at positions surrounding the winner 31a and the date 31b. Frame lines 32a and 32b indicate positions where the scanner device 4 reads, and also indicate the positions of characters when printing a certificate. If the frame line cannot be directly written on the award, the frame line may be written on the film using a transparent film or the like.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a mount. Characters other than the name and date and a decorative frame are printed on the mount 34. In this embodiment, the name and date are printed on the mount 34 to print as a certificate. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a completed certificate. As shown in FIG. 7, the winners 35 a and dates 35 b different from the past certificate 31 are printed on the completed certificate 35 at the same positions as the winners 31 a and dates 31 b of the past certificate 31.

  The operator sets the created template 33 on the scanner device 4 and presses the vertical writing selection button 21 of the operation unit 15. That is, since the character of the template 33 created from the past certificate 31 is in vertical writing, the vertical writing selection button 21 is pressed.

  On the other hand, the personal computer 2 inputs a list of winners to be printed on the award certificate and award date. This list is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the list 36 includes the names 37 of the winners and the award date 38. Based on the list data, the personal computer 2 creates print data by a driver program that operates inside. The created print data is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the print data 39 includes a document reading command 40, award winner list data 41, date data 42, and a list print command 43.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 11 of the printer 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer in the first embodiment. When the control unit 11 of the printer 3 receives the print data 39 from the personal computer 2 (step 1), the control unit 11 performs syntax analysis in order from the top and sequentially executes them. Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the document reading command 40 is included in the print data 39 (step 2).

  If it is determined that there is no document reading command 40, normal printing is performed, and the print data includes character information such as character type, character direction, coordinates to be arranged, and character darkness. These character information is extracted from the print data (step 3). Next, the control unit 11 selects the most suitable font data from the font memory 12 based on the character code specified by the winner list data 41 and the character information obtained in Step 3. The font data is arranged at the coordinates specified in the print data or rectangular data described later (step 4).

  The image forming unit 13 prints the image data formed by the control unit 11 by an electrophotographic method (step 5). The normal printing is thus completed.

  When it is determined in step 2 that the document reading command 40 is included in the print data 39, the control unit 11 instructs the scanner device 4 to read the document (step 6) and waits until the reading is completed. Here, the document reading operation in the scanner device 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the document reading operation.

  In the scanner device 4, the reading unit 14 first reads the set template 33 and stores it in the storage unit 18 as bit map data having gradation (step 11). Next, the area setting unit 16 extracts the number of rectangles and the coordinates of the rectangles from the bitmap data stored in the storage unit 18 and stores them in the storage unit 18 as rectangular data (step 12). Here, the rectangle means the entire rectangular frame lines 32a and 32b described in the template 33, and the number and coordinates of the frame lines 32a and 32b are extracted.

  Next, rectangle extraction will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 12 and with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the rectangle extraction operation, and FIG. 13 is an operation explanatory diagram showing the rectangle extraction operation. First, the area setting unit 16 scans the image data obtained from the storage unit 18 from the outer periphery as shown in FIG. 13A, and uses the found dot as a starting point, its left, right, top, bottom, and diagonal adjacent dots. Determine if there is any. If there is an adjacent dot, it is determined whether there is an adjacent dot from that dot. If this is repeated and it is possible to return to the first starting point, it is assumed that a closed region exists. If the area of the closed region is smaller than a predetermined size, it is ignored as a reading error (step 21).

  For example, in the case of the dot cluster 51 shown in FIG. 13 (a), as shown in FIG. 13 (b), there are consecutive dots adjacent to the starting dot 51a first, and finally the first dot 51a. When it reaches, it is a closed area. Further, as in the dot cluster 52 shown in FIG. 13A, even if there is an adjacent dot, if it does not return to the first dot, it is ignored as a reading error.

  Next, the region setting unit 16 pays attention to the set of lines constituting the closed region found in step 21, and sets a set that falls within a certain Y coordinate range or X coordinate range as one line segment (step 22). For example, a dot cluster 53 shown in FIG. 13C is a set of dots that fall within a certain Y coordinate range, and in such a case, a line segment is present.

  Next, the region setting unit 16 obtains the intersection of each line segment obtained in step 22. The obtained intersection is the coordinates of the four corners (vertices) of the closed region. The obtained coordinates are stored in the storage unit 18 as rectangular data (step 23). For example, the coordinates of the dot 55 are obtained as the intersection of the dot block 53 and the dot block 54 shown in FIG. Then, as the intersections of all the line segments, the coordinates of the dots 55 to 58 are obtained as shown in FIG. If the coordinates of the dots 55 to 58 are (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2), (X3, Y3), and (X4, Y4), these coordinates are stored in the storage unit 18. The rectangular data will be described later.

  Next, the area setting unit 16 obtains the size of the closed area (step 24). This can be obtained from the coordinates of the vertices at the four corners. The obtained data of the size of the closed region is stored in the storage unit 18 as rectangular data. The rectangle extraction operation (step 12) is thus completed.

  Next, the process proceeds to step 13 where the feature extraction of the characters in the extracted rectangle is performed. Character feature extraction will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 14 and with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the feature extraction operation, and FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory diagram showing the feature extraction operation. First, the feature extraction unit 17 cuts out a set of connected dots as one block from the bitmap data of the closed region indicated by the rectangular data obtained in step 12 (the coordinate data of the four corners of the rectangle is included as data). Perform (step 31).

  Next, the feature extraction unit 17 counts the number of horizontally continuous dots from the cluster of dots cut out in step 31, and accumulates the number of consecutive dots. The first peak of the accumulated value obtained as a result is estimated as the thickness of the character (step 32). For example, as shown in FIG. 15 (a), assuming that the character cluster of “day” is cut out, the cumulative value shown in FIG. 15 (b) is obtained by counting the number of consecutive dots in the horizontal direction. At this time, when there are a plurality of dot clusters having the same Y coordinate, they are counted separately. In FIG. 15B, for example, “2 13” and “2 2” indicate respective accumulated values at different locations.

  FIG. 16 is a graph showing the cumulative value of consecutive dots. In FIG. 16, the first peak of the accumulated value is when the accumulated value is “2”. Therefore, it is assumed that “2”, which is the cumulative value of the first peak, is the thickness of the extracted character. The number of dots that are horizontally continuous is counted when the character is vertically written. If the character is horizontally written, the number of dots that are consecutive in the vertical direction is counted.

  Next, the feature extraction unit 17 determines the size of the character (step 33). Determination of the size of the cut out character will be described with reference to FIG. When the reading resolution is 150 DPI, the number of dots in the vertical direction of the “day” character shown in FIG. 15A is 22 dots. If one dot is composed of 4 × 4 16 pixels, then 22 (dots) × 4 = 88 pixels. If the reading resolution is 150 DPI, the size in the vertical direction is (25.4 / 150) × 88 = 14.9 mm. Since 1 point is 1/72 (inch) = 0.353 mm, the character “day” shown in FIG. 15A is 14.9 / 0.353 = 42.2 (points). If the digits after the decimal point are discarded in order to fit the characters in the closed area, the character of “day” is determined to be 42 points.

  Next, the feature extraction unit 17 adds up the tone values of the dots from the dot cluster cut out in step 31 and estimates the character density from the peak value of the darkest tone (step 34). The estimated density value is stored in the storage unit 18 as rectangular data.

  Next, the feature extraction unit 17 selects a character type (step 35). A character type is selected based on the accumulated values shown in FIGS. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the first peak of the cumulative value of consecutive dots is determined to be the character thickness, but the character type is selected based on the determined dot width. FIG. 16 shows a character type table in which dot widths and character types are stored in association with each other. The character type table 61 is stored in the storage unit 18 in advance. When selected according to the character type table 61, the character type when the dot width is 2 dots is Mincho. The selected character type data is stored in the storage unit 18 as rectangular data. Thus, the feature extraction operation in step 13 is completed. Further, the reading operation in the scanner device 4 is completed.

  Through the above operation, all the rectangular data is stored in the storage unit 18. FIG. 18 shows rectangular data. In FIG. 18, rectangular data 62 includes coordinate data 63 at the four corners of the closed area (rectangular area), data 64 indicating the size of characters in the closed area, data 65 indicating the thickness of the characters, and the darkness of the characters. Data 66 indicating data, data 67 indicating the direction of characters, and data 68 indicating the type of characters are included.

  When the reading operation according to the document reading instruction in step 6 is completed, the control unit 11 of the printer 3 acquires the rectangular data 62 stored in the storage unit 18 of the scanner device 4 as character information (step 7).

  Next, the control unit 11 analyzes the coordinates of the line segments in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular area from the rectangle data 62, and calculates the angle of each line segment. When a document is read by the scanner device 4, the document may be read obliquely. In the case of being read obliquely, when the name or the like is printed based on the obtained coordinate data, the name position is shifted.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the correction operation of the coordinates of the read rectangular area. FIGS. 19A and 19B show a case where the read template 33 is not tilted. In this case, no deviation occurs even if the name is printed in the area indicated by the obtained rectangular data. However, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 19C, when the template 33 is read obliquely, the coordinates of the rectangular area are shifted. Therefore, when a name is printed in the area set based on the shifted coordinates, FIG. As shown in (d), the name position deviates from the original (template). Therefore, it is necessary to correct the coordinates of the rectangular area.

  The angle of each line segment of the rectangular area can be obtained from the coordinate values of the four corners of the rectangular area. Next, the average of the angles of the obtained line segments is obtained. At this time, the extremely shifted angle is excluded from the sample. The obtained average angle θ is set as the shift angle of the template 33. Based on the deviation angle θ, the coordinate data 63 of the rectangular data 62 is corrected (step 8).

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. First, how to obtain the angle θ will be described. In FIG. 19E, when the upper left coordinates of the rectangular area obtained by reading are (X1 ′, Y1 ′) and the lower left coordinates are (X2 ′, Y2 ′), The inclination θ of the line in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular area can be obtained by θ = tan−1 {(Y1′−Y2 ′) / (X1′−X2 ′)}. Next, the coordinates of the rectangular area when there is no inclination are obtained from the obtained angle θ.

  In FIG. 19F, when the upper left coordinates of the rectangular area when there is no inclination are (X1 ″, Y1 ″), X1 ″ = cos θX1 ′ + sin θY1 ′ and Y1 ″ = sin θX1 ′ + cos θY1 ′. Can do. The coordinates of the other corners can be obtained similarly. The obtained coordinate data is added to the rectangular data 62. Thus, the correction operation for the coordinates of the rectangular area is completed.

  Next, the control unit 11 proceeds to step 4, and selects the most suitable font data from the font memory 12 based on the character code specified by the winner list data 41 and the character information of the rectangular data 62. The font data is arranged at the coordinates specified in the rectangular data 62 (step 4).

  Here, the arrangement position of the characters in the rectangular area will be described. For the arrangement of characters with respect to the rectangular area, the center of the rectangular area is obtained, the center of the character string is obtained, and the character string is arranged so that both the obtained centers coincide. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20A shows a rectangular area 70, and FIG. 20B shows a character string 71. The center 70a of the rectangular area 70 can be obtained from the coordinates of the four corners. Further, the center 71a of the character string 71 is obtained by calculation from the character size and the number of characters. The character string 71 is arranged so that the center 71 a thereof coincides with the center 70 a of the rectangular region 70.

  The image forming unit 13 prints the image data formed by the control unit 11 by an electrophotographic method (step 5). As a result, the certificate 5 shown in FIG. 7 is obtained, and the printing of the certificate accompanied by the reading operation is completed as described above.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the template 33 describing the frame lines 32a and 32b is read, and it is necessary for the print position and print of the print data from the read rectangular area information and the character information therein. Since simple character information is obtained, it is possible to perform simple printing without performing trial printing, and without passing through steps such as transmitting data once read to a personal computer and specifying a printing position on the screen of the personal computer. The certificate can be printed by this method. Even when there is a deviation when reading the template, the deviation coordinates are obtained and the reading coordinates of the frame lines 32a and 32b are corrected, so that printing can be performed at an appropriate position.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, in order to improve the convenience for the user, a frame line drawn on the template and a symbol in the frame line are determined, and whether to perform merge printing or copy printing is determined according to the determination result. The printing control is changed. FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 21, a printing system 80 according to the second embodiment includes a personal computer 2 as an external input device, a printer 3, and a scanner device 81 as in the first embodiment. The configurations of the personal computer 2 and the printer 3 are the same as those in the first embodiment. A scanner device 81 according to the second embodiment includes a reading unit 14, an operation unit 15, a region setting unit 16, a feature extraction unit 17, a storage unit 18, an image recognition unit 82, and a feature data storage unit 83.

  The image recognizing unit 82 extracts a set of dots from the bitmap data of the area designated by the rectangle, and converts the adjacent dot connections into feature data each having a length and an angle. A plurality of feature data is obtained from one set. For example, it is possible to obtain features that have unique characters and symbols such as the number of line segments close to vertical, the number of line segments close to horizontal, and the number of line segments with inclination. The feature obtained in this way and the character feature data stored in the feature data storage unit 83 are evaluated by pattern matching, and the most similar features are recognized as characters and symbols.

  The feature data storage unit 83 includes a nonvolatile memory, and stores feature data of various symbols, numbers, alphabets, hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

  Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a template is created from a certificate created in the past. FIG. 22 shows a template in which a frame line indicating a position for printing print data is written on a certificate created in the past. In FIG. 22, in the template 84, frame lines 85 to 90 are written at print positions of all characters excluding the decorative frame. These frame lines indicate positions where the scanner device 81 reads, and also indicate the arrangement positions of characters when printing is performed.

  There are two types of frame lines 85 to 90, one for designating the character writing position of the print data sent from the personal computer 2, and the other designating that the image of the template 84 is directly taken and printed. Is. In the former case, arrow symbols 91 and 92 are further written in the frame line, and the former and the latter are distinguished by the presence or absence of these symbols 91 and 92. In the example of FIG. 22, symbols 91 and 92 are written in the frame line 86 and the frame line 89. If the frame line or symbol cannot be directly written on the template, the frame line may be written on a transparent film or the like.

  FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a mount according to the second embodiment. Only the decorative frame is printed on the mount 93. In this embodiment, the title 93, the name of the winner, the title, the text, the date, and the name of the award are printed on the mount 93 to print as a certificate. FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a certificate of completion of printing. As shown in FIG. 24, in the completed certificate 94, the winner name 35a and date 35b different from the past certificate used in the template 84 shown in FIG. The other items are printed in the same manner as the items shown in the template 84.

  Before starting printing, the operator fills in the frame 85 to 90 shown in FIG. 22 for the past certificate 31 shown in FIG. Each of the symbols “↑” indicating the printing direction and the printing start position is written to create a template 84 as shown in FIG. The other items, that is, title, title, text, and award name are the same as those in the past certificate 31 and are copied, and only the frame lines 85, 87, 88, 90 are written. The operator sets the created template 84 on the scanner device 81.

  On the other hand, the personal computer 2 inputs a list of winners to be printed on the award certificate and award date. This list is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Based on the list data, the personal computer 2 creates print data by a driver program that operates inside. The print data to be created is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 11 of the printer 3 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer in the second embodiment. When the control unit 11 of the printer 3 receives the print data 39 (shown in FIG. 9) from the personal computer 2 (step 41), the control unit 11 performs syntax analysis in order from the top and sequentially executes them. Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the document reading command 40 is present in the print data 39 (step 42).

  If it is determined that the document reading command 40 is present, the control unit 11 instructs the scanner device 81 to read the document (step 43) and waits until the reading is completed. Here, the document reading operation in the scanner device 81 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the document reading operation.

  In the scanner device 81, the reading unit 14 first reads the set template 84 and stores it in the storage unit 18 as bit map data having gradation (step 51). Next, the area setting unit 16 extracts the number of rectangles and the coordinates of the rectangles from the bitmap data stored in the storage unit 18 and stores them in the storage unit 18 as rectangular data (step 52). Since the rectangle extraction operation is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, by this rectangle extraction operation, the number and coordinates of the rectangular frame lines 85 to 90 described in the template 84 are described. Is extracted.

  Next, the process proceeds to step 53, where symbols in the rectangle are extracted. This symbol extraction will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the symbol extraction operation. First, the image recognition unit 82 cuts out a set of dots connected from the bitmap data of the area indicated by the rectangular coordinates obtained in step 52 as one lump (step 61).

  Next, the image recognizing unit 82 subdivides the cut out dot cluster as line segment data (step 62), and performs feature extraction from the line segment vector (step 63). The features here are “1” if there is a vertical line segment, “2” if there is a horizontal line segment, and “a diagonal line that goes down from the center line to the right of the center line. "3" "," 4 "if there is a diagonal line down from the center line on the left side of the center line, and" 5 "if there is a diagonal line upward from the center line on the right side of the center line A condition indicating character characteristics is prepared, such as “6 if there is an oblique line on the left side of the center line and upward from the center line”, and a score is given only when they match in light of these conditions. Here, the center line means a central vertical line 103 shown in FIG. If the corresponding line does not exist, the score is “0”. FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of symbol extraction, which will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 28 shows an example of an image obtained in steps 61 and 61. When feature extraction is performed from this image, as shown on the right side of FIG. 28, since there is a vertical line segment, “1” is scored, and since there is no horizontal line, the score is not scored. Since there is a diagonal line going down from the line, "3" is scored, and since there is a diagonal line going down from the center line on the left side of the center line, "4" is scored. The scored result is pattern-matched with the feature data stored in the feature data storage unit 83 (step 64).

  In this case, matching is performed by comparing the total scores obtained by adding the scores. By increasing the scored feature items, if the total score matches, the probability that the features will match increases.

  FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing feature data stored in advance in the feature data storage unit 83. In the feature data storage unit 83, four patterns of symbols (arrow symbols) written in the frame line written in the template 84 are stored in advance. FIG. 29A shows an upward vertical arrow pattern, and the result of scoring according to the above rule is shown on the right side. FIG. 29B shows a pattern of horizontal arrows pointing to the right, and the scored result is shown on the right side. FIG. 29 (c) shows a pattern of horizontal arrows pointing to the left, and the scored result is shown on the right side. Similarly, FIG. 29 (d) shows a downward vertical arrow pattern, and the scored result is shown on the right side.

  When the result of scoring of the image shown in FIG. 28 is compared with the result of scoring of any of the patterns in FIG. 29, it matches the total score of the pattern in FIG. Therefore, it is determined that the image shown in FIG. 28 represents an upward vertical arrow. Thus, information on the type and direction of the symbol and information on the position of the symbol can be obtained. Pattern matching is performed for each feature item such as “1” if there is a vertical line segment or “3” if there is a diagonal line on the right side of the center line that goes down from the center line. If the feature items match, it may be determined that there is a matching pattern. In this case, the accuracy of matching is improved.

  Next, in step 54, it is determined whether or not there is a rectangular area from which the symbol is extracted. Here, when the feature of the cluster of dots cut out from the rectangular area does not match any of the patterns shown in FIG. 29, it is determined that the arrow symbol does not exist in the rectangular area. If there is a rectangular area from which a symbol (arrow symbol) is extracted from within the frame line, character extraction of the character in the rectangular area is performed (step 55).

  Since character feature extraction is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, a detailed description thereof is omitted here. By this feature extraction operation, the character thickness, character size, character density, and character type in the rectangular areas 86 and 89 including the symbols 91 and 92 are extracted. In addition, no feature extraction is performed on a rectangular area from which no symbol is extracted.

  Through the above operation, all the rectangular data is stored in the storage unit 18. FIG. 30 shows rectangular data. In FIG. 30, the rectangular data 95 includes data relating to all rectangular areas. The rectangular area data 96 is information regarding the area of the frame line 86 shown in FIG. 22, and the rectangular area data 97 is information regarding the area of the frame line 89. The information includes coordinate data 63 at the four corners of the rectangular area, data 64 indicating the size of the character in the closed area, data 65 indicating the thickness of the character, data 66 indicating the darkness of the character, and the direction of the character. Data 67 to indicate and data 68 to indicate the character type are included.

  The rectangular area data 98 is information relating to the area of the frame 85 shown in FIG. 22, and as this information, coordinate data 63 at the four corners of the rectangular area and bitmap data 99 in the area are included. The other rectangular area data 100, 101, 102 are information relating to the areas of the frame lines 87, 88, 90, respectively, and similarly consist of coordinate data 63 at the four corners of the rectangular area and bitmap data 99 in the area.

  That is, the rectangular data 95 includes two types of data, one is data for replacing characters (indicated by reference numerals 96 and 97), and the other is data for copying (reference numerals 98 and 100). , 101, 102).

  Next, when the reading operation according to the document reading instruction in step 43 is completed, the control unit 11 of the printer 3 acquires the rectangular data 95 stored in the storage unit 18 of the scanner device 81 as character information (step 44).

  Next, the control unit 11 analyzes the coordinates of the line segments in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular area from the rectangle data 95, calculates the angle of each line segment, and corrects the coordinate data 63 of the rectangle data 95 (step 45). . Since this is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, a detailed description thereof is omitted here. The correction of the coordinate data 63 is performed on the rectangular area data 96 and 97 for replacing characters and also on the rectangular area data 98, 100, 101, and 102 for copying.

  Next, the control unit 11 sets the character code specified by the winner list data 41 shown in FIG. 9 and the character information of the rectangular area data 96 and 97 for the rectangular area data 96 and 97 for replacing characters. Thus, the most suitable font data is selected from the font memory 12. The font data is arranged at the coordinates specified by the rectangular area data 96 and 97.

  In addition, the rectangular area data 98, 100, 101, 102 for copying is set at the coordinates specified by the rectangular area data 98, 100, 101, 102. Each bit map data included in is arranged.

  The image forming unit 13 prints the image data formed by the control unit 11 by electrophotography (step 47). As a result, a certificate 94 shown in FIG. 24 is obtained, and the printing of the certificate accompanied by the reading operation is completed as described above.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the rectangular area for character replacement is distinguished from the rectangular area for copying, and the rectangular area for character replacement is sent from the personal computer 2 to the rectangular area for character replacement. Since the bitmap data read by the scanner device 81 is printed in the rectangular area to be printed and copied, it is possible to flexibly cope with any number of items that need to be replaced. Since items that do not need to be replaced are copied, items that are not described as a mount or printed only with a decorative frame can be used. Can be spread. Therefore, it is easy for the user to use.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is obtained by improving the rectangular extraction described in the first embodiment. In the two embodiments, by writing a rectangular frame line, a completely enclosed rectangular shape is formed, and an arrangement position or the like of characters to be printed is obtained based on the coordinates of the rectangle. This method can specify the print position of the character accurately, but in some cases, the print position is not required to be as accurate as the left. In that case, it is preferable to specify the region by a simpler method. The third embodiment has been made in view of this point.

  In the third embodiment, a frame line to be written on a template can be written freehand. When it is necessary to write a symbol (arrow symbol), only the symbol can be written without writing a frame line. FIG. 31 shows a template in which a frame line is written freehand at the location of the winner.

  When the frame line 111 on the template 110 shown in FIG. 31 (a) is scanned according to the rectangle extraction method in the first embodiment described in FIG. 13, a plurality of straight lines 112 are obtained as shown in FIG. 31 (b). Extracted. When a plurality of line segments 112 are extracted in this way, as shown in FIG. 31C, the largest rectangle 113 that encloses the frame line 111 is set as a temporary area.

  Next, the four line segments of the rectangle 113 are moved toward the center of the rectangle 113 to positions where they do not interfere with characters or symbols. As a result, as shown in FIG. 31D, a rectangular area 114 adjacent to the character is obtained. The obtained rectangular area 114 is adjacent to the internal character, but the arrangement of the print characters with respect to the rectangular area 114 is obtained by calculating the center of the rectangular area 114 and the center of the print character string. Since the character strings are arranged so as to coincide with each other, it is possible to set the printing position appropriately without any problem.

  FIG. 32 shows a template in which only a symbol (arrow symbol) is written without writing a frame line. Here, a method of extracting a region including characters as a rectangular region when a frame line is not written will be described. In the template 115 shown in FIG. 32A, an arrow symbol 116 is written in the vicinity of the name of the winner. In this case, since the line segment constituting the closed region is not on the template 115, the entire template 115 is set as a temporary rectangular region as shown in FIG.

  Then, the symbol 116 is cut out in the rectangular area of the entire template 115. The extraction of the symbol 116 is performed by the same method as described in FIGS. 27 to 29 in the second embodiment. When the symbol 116 is extracted, as shown in FIG. 32C, the dots are searched in a spiral shape around the symbol 116 to search for a lump of characters. As a result, as shown in FIG. 32 (d), the first detected character region 117 is set as a rectangular region. Then, the coordinates and features of the characters in the rectangular area 117 are extracted.

  In this case, the arrangement position of the print character is calculated from the coordinates of the rectangular area 117. The print position is designated by setting a predetermined size in the print area with reference to the coordinates of the rectangular area 117. In this case, since the rectangular area to be copied is not extracted, the present invention is applied to extracting the rectangular area for character replacement as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, since the frame lines written freehand are extracted, it becomes possible to greatly simplify the writing of the frame lines when creating a template. Further, since the rectangular area is set by extracting the symbol (arrow symbol) written on the template, writing to the template can be simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in each of the above embodiments, print data is sent from the personal computer 2, but the print data is input by the printer 3, and the input data is printed at the position indicated by the rectangular area. Creation can be made unnecessary. This will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing a modification of the present invention. In FIG. 33, a printing system 120 according to a modified example includes a printer 121 and a scanner device 122, and no personal computer is connected thereto. The printer 121 is provided with a word dictionary 123 and an operation unit 124 in addition to the control unit 11, font memory 12, and image forming unit 13. The word dictionary 123 stores a phrase conversion word used for character input. The scanner device 122 includes a reading unit 14, an operation unit 15, an area setting unit 16, a feature extraction unit 17, a storage unit 18, and an image recognition unit 82.

  FIG. 34 shows the operation unit 124 of the printer 121. In FIG. 34, the operation unit 124 includes a large display screen 125 of about 10 inches and eight keys. In accordance with the display on the screen 125, the display item is moved to the left and right, and a selection key is used to indicate a function, and a return key 126a and a forward key 126b. A copy key 126g for directly instructing the operation of the scanner device 122 and a scan key 126h for instructing reading are provided.

  In the printing system 120 configured as described above, the operator first sets a template on the scanner device 122 and presses the scan key 126h of the operation unit 124. In this case, the template is the same template 33 as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. When the scan key 126h is pressed, reading of the template 33 is started by the reading unit 14, and rectangular data 62 shown in FIG. 18 is created and stored in the storage unit 18 as in the first embodiment.

  The control unit 11 displays the contents of the obtained rectangular data 62 on the display unit 125 of the operation unit 124. Here, as shown in the figure, the character designated by the rectangular data 62 is displayed. Further, based on the result of the image recognition performed by the scanner device 122, the control unit 11 displays words that are considered appropriate from the word dictionary 123 as candidates on the display unit 125 of the operation unit 124.

  The operator operates the instruction keys 126a to 126d to move the display items up, down, left, and right, and selects an appropriate one from the displayed candidates. The selection from the candidates displayed in this way is repeated, and when all selections are completed, the control unit 11 starts printing in the image forming unit 13.

  According to the above modification, the printer 121 includes the word dictionary 123, so that a certificate can be printed only by the printer 121 and the scanner device 122 without creating print data.

  Further, the present invention can be further modified. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the system configuration is such that the personal computer 2, the printer 3, and the scanner device 4 are connected. It is.

  In each of the above embodiments, print data is sent from the personal computer 2. However, for example, a memory stick with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface can be used. A list of winners is stored in advance on a memory stick and connected to a serial connector of a printer at the time of printing. The award winner list is selected from the operation panel of the printer for printing. Use of such a portable memory stick can improve convenience.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a printing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation part of a scanner apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the certificate created in the past. It is explanatory drawing which shows the produced template. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mount. It is explanatory drawing which shows the certificate which performed printing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the list | wrist of a winner and an award date. It is explanatory drawing which shows print data. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printer according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a document reading operation. It is a flowchart which shows a rectangle extraction operation | movement. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a rectangle extraction operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows a feature extraction operation | movement. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the feature extraction operation | movement. It is a graph which shows accumulation of continuous dots. It is explanatory drawing which shows a character type table. It is explanatory drawing which shows rectangular data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correction | amendment operation | movement of the coordinate of a rectangular area. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the arrangement position of the character in a rectangular area. It is a block diagram which shows the printing system of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the template of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mount in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the certificate which the printing in 2nd Embodiment completed. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a printer according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a document reading operation in the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows symbol extraction operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of symbol extraction. It is explanatory drawing which shows the feature data stored in the feature data storage part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the rectangular data of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the template which wrote the frame line freehand. It is explanatory drawing which shows the template which only wrote the symbol. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation part of the printer in a modification.

Explanation of symbols

1, 80, 120 Printing system 2 Personal computer 3 Printer 4, 81 Scanner device 10 External input unit 11 Control unit 13 Image forming unit 14 Reading unit 16 Area setting unit 17 Feature extraction unit 18 Storage unit 82 Image recognition unit 83 Feature data storage Part

Claims (9)

A reading device having a reading unit for reading a document with a predetermined mark indicating an area to be printed;
A printing system connected to the reading device and having a printing device for printing print data on a mount,
An area extracting means for extracting the area to be printed based on the read data of the predetermined mark read from the original by the reading unit;
Feature extraction means for extracting a character image, which is an image corresponding to a character, from an image in the region extracted by the region extraction means in the document, and extracting feature information indicating the character feature based on the character image and,
On pre Symbol mount, the area to be the print extracted by the area extraction means, a feature of the character indicated by the feature information extracted by the feature extraction unit, to print the characters in the print data Control means for controlling the printing apparatus;
Printing system comprising: a.   The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined mark is a rectangular frame surrounding the area to be printed.   3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an inclination correction unit that corrects an inclination of the area to be printed extracted by the area extraction unit, wherein the area whose inclination is corrected by the inclination correction unit is set on the mount. Printing system. The printing system according to claim 1, 2, or 3 , wherein the character feature indicated by the feature information extracted by the feature extraction means is a size and a thickness of the character . The printing system according to claim 4, further comprising a selection unit that selects a font of the print data based on the feature information extracted by the feature extraction unit. A reading device having a reading unit for reading a document with a predetermined mark indicating an area to be printed;
A printing system connected to the reading device and having a printing device for printing print data on a mount,
An area extracting means for extracting the area to be printed based on the read data of the predetermined mark read from the original by the reading unit;
Feature extraction means for extracting a character image, which is an image corresponding to a character, from an image in the region extracted by the region extraction means in the document, and extracting feature information indicating the character feature based on the character image When,
Symbol extraction means for extracting a predetermined symbol in the area extracted by the area extraction means in the manuscript;
On the mount, the area to be printed, which is extracted by the area extracting unit and where the predetermined symbol is extracted by the symbol extracting unit, is indicated by the feature information extracted by the feature extracting unit. Controlling the printing device to print the characters included in the print data with character features;
An image in the area of the original is printed on the area to be printed extracted by the area extracting unit on the mount and the predetermined symbol is not extracted by the symbol extracting unit. Control means for controlling the printing apparatus;
A printing system comprising: The predetermined mark is a free curve, and the region extracting means extracts a region including the free curve,
The feature extraction unit extracts a character image that is an image corresponding to a character from an image in a region including the free curve,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the area extracting unit narrows the area to a position close to the character image extracted by the feature extracting unit. Area extraction means, said a starting point the extraction position of the predetermined mark to search a character image, the printing system of claim 1 wherein the extract as an area to be printed area that includes a character image retrieved. A composite terminal device having a reading unit for reading a document with a predetermined mark indicating an area to be printed, and a printing unit for printing print data on a mount,
An area extracting means for extracting the area to be printed based on the read data of the predetermined mark read from the original by the reading unit;
Feature extraction means for extracting a character image, which is an image corresponding to a character, from an image in the region extracted by the region extraction means in the document, and extracting feature information indicating the character feature based on the character image and,
On pre Symbol mount, the area to be the print extracted by the area extraction means, a feature of the character indicated by the feature information extracted by the feature extraction unit, to print the characters in the print data Control means for controlling the printing apparatus;
Compound terminal apparatus comprising: a.

Images