Document server device, document processing method and storage medium

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a document server system, and more particularly to a document server system provided on a LAN and used for storing and retrieving documents.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, a document server has been set up on a LAN to share information in order to share and use documents. Some document servers with a simple configuration read documents with a scanner by a client computer and save them as image files on a file server. Although the purpose of information sharing can be achieved even with such a server, in the commercially available document server system, an image file is stored in association with a keyword for search to facilitate document retrieval. is there.

【0003】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, in order for the client to access the image file and refer to the document, the client is required to have a CPU and display capability having a certain level of performance or higher. Also, when you go out and connect to a document server via a modem to browse a document, if the image file of the document is large, it will take a considerable amount of time to display it.

【0004】

Also, when trying to view an image file obtained by color scanning on a client that has a display that can only display monochrome, if the brightness of the characters and the brightness of the background color are close, the characters and the background color are distinguished. It was difficult to put on, and in some cases it could not be read. Furthermore, clients with only text display capabilities cannot display image files, so they could not take advantage of information sharing.

【0005】

Further, in order to input a keyword when inputting a document image, an operation of inputting a keyword by a keyboard or the like is required in addition to an operation of scanning the document. It was difficult for the keywords that were put in in this way to be hit in the search when the exact same words as the input words were not used in the document search.

【0006】

Further, depending on the resolution of the display device of the client, the scan resolution at the time of storing the document may interfere with the document display on the client.

【0007】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the document server device of the present invention divides a document read as an image into an area dividing means for dividing an area according to a plurality of attributes including text and a text area divided by the area dividing means. On the other hand, the character recognition processing means for performing character recognition processing, the summary generation means for generating a summary for the text recognized by the character recognition means, the identification means for identifying the client type and the connection method, and the identification. It has a control means for controlling the summary generation means according to the type of the client identified by the means and the request from the client.

【0008】

Preferably, the area dividing means is a color area dividing means, recognizes the background color of the text area, and uses the character recognition result of the specific background color portion as a keyword from the text recognized by the character recognition processing means. Further has a keyword extraction means for extracting as.

【0009】

Also preferably, the control means urges the summary generation means when the client identified by the identification means requests a summary.

【0010】

More preferably, the plurality of attributes include a figure, further include a binarization processing means for performing a binarization process on the area of the figure divided by the area dividing means, and the control means said. When the display of the client identified by the identification means is a black-and-white display, the binarization processing means is urged.

【0011】

More preferably, the control means further includes a resolution conversion means for converting the resolution of the read document, and the control means is said to be the case when the resolution of the client identified by the identification means is different from the resolution of the read document. Encourage resolution conversion means.

【0012】

More preferably, when the client identified by the identification means is connected via a modem, the control by the control means is performed.

【0013】

More preferably, it further has a means for automatically correcting an error in character recognition for the text recognized by the character recognition means.

【0014】

More preferably, the plurality of attributes include a figure, and further has a compression means for compressing the region of the figure divided by the region dividing means by selecting one from a plurality of compression methods.

【0015】

More preferably, it further has means for converting the format of the document depending on the connection method of the client identified by the identification means.

【0016】

Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, with respect to the area division step of dividing the document read as an image into areas according to a plurality of attributes including text, and the text area divided in the area division step. , The character recognition processing step of performing the character recognition process, the identification step of identifying the client type and the connection method, and the recognition in the character recognition step according to the client type identified by the identification step and the request from the client. It has a summary generation step of generating a summary for the text.

【0017】

Further, preferably, in the area division step, the color area is divided, the background color of the text area is recognized, and the character recognition result of the portion with the specific background color is obtained from the text recognized by the character recognition processing step. It further has a keyword extraction step of extracting as a keyword.

【0018】

More preferably, in the summary generation step, the summary generation process is executed when the client identified by the identification step requests the summary.

【0019】

More preferably, the plurality of attributes include a figure, further include a binarization processing step of performing a binarization process on the region of the figure divided in the region division step, and the binarization treatment step. Then, when the display of the client identified in the identification step is a black-and-white display, the binarization process is executed.

【0020】

More preferably, it further includes a resolution conversion step of converting the resolution of the read document, and in the resolution conversion step, when the resolution of the client identified in the identification step is different from the resolution of the read document. The resolution conversion process is executed.

【0021】

More preferably, when the client identified by the identification step is connected via a modem, the above-mentioned various processes are executed.

【0022】

More preferably, it further includes a step of automatically correcting an error in character recognition for the text recognized in the character recognition step.

【0023】

More preferably, the plurality of attributes include a figure, and further has a compression step of selecting one from a plurality of compression methods to compress the region of the figure divided in the region division step.

【0024】

More preferably, it further includes a step of converting the document format according to the connection method of the client identified in the identification step.

【0025】

According to the above configuration, the text summarized on demand is delivered to the modem-connected client, so that the document layout can be reproduced and the document can be reproduced even on a client with a relatively weak CPU. It will be possible to read the contents of the above at a higher speed than before.

【0026】

Also, even if the client's display is monochrome and the color document on the server is referenced, the document is converted to a monochrome document that has undergone adaptive binarization processing and delivered, so the background color of the color is removed. An easy-to-read document will be displayed.

【0027】

Further, since the resolution is converted according to the resolution of the client display, the image is not displayed extremely large or small on the client side, and the quality of the image can be maintained.

【0028】

Also, by sending a document in RTF or HTML to a client connected to the LAN, even layout information can be sent with a smaller amount of data than when sending in WORD format, so traffic on the LAN can be reduced. Useful.

【0029】

Furthermore, by preliminarily adding a background color to the keyword using a marker or the like, the keyword is automatically extracted and registered when the document is read, so that it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the keyword with the keyboard.

【0030】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

【0031】

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the document server system of the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a client such as a personal computer, 12 is a document server similarly composed of a personal computer server or the like, 13 is a scanner for reading an image, and 14 is a printer for printing. The printer 14 is provided with a user interface 15, and is equipped with a liquid crystal panel having a resolution and size capable of reducing and displaying one page of an A4 document. In addition, accessories 16 such as a finisher may be equipped. Although the scanner 13 and the printer 14 are shown as different devices in FIG. 1, a printer / scanner integrated device may be used. 17 is a groupware server such as Notes, 18 is a mail server composed of UNIX workstations, and 19 is a browser composed of a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a dedicated terminal.

【0032】

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the document server 12 shown in FIG. 21 is a digital line such as a LAN, and 22 is an analog line, which serve as data entrances and exits to the document server 12. 23 is a network interface card (NIC). 24 is a modem, connected to the serial port controller 25. Reference numeral 26 is a system bus, and data exchange is performed via the system bus 26.

【0033】

27 is a hard disk controller, which controls the hard disk drive 28. Documents read as images on the hard disk 28, area division, character recognition, and image compression processing are added to them to store the original images in a reproducible format (PAF: Page Analysis Format). Data is accumulated. In addition, a program that implements the present invention can also be accumulated. 29 is RAM, which is used as a program load area for executing various processes or a work area for processes. The 210 is a microprocessor unit (MPU) that performs various processes according to a program. In addition, 211 is a CD-ROM drive, which reads programs, data, etc. from a CD-ROM, which is an external storage medium. The external storage medium is not limited to the CD-ROM, and if it is not a CD-ROM, a drive corresponding to the external storage medium may be provided instead of the CD-ROM drive 211.

【0034】

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the document server shown in FIG. 2 at the time of document registration. The operation of the document server will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

【0035】

First, in step S31, the image file of the document read by the scanner 13 is acquired via the digital line 21 or the analog line 22, and the acquired image file is temporarily stored in the hard disk 28. In step S32, the color area division process is performed on the image file saved in the hard disk 28 in step S31. In this color area division process, the image is divided into areas according to the attributes of text, figures, and tables. Each of the divided areas is distinguished for each attribute in step S33, and processing according to each attribute is performed in step S34 and subsequent steps.

【0036】

If it is distinguished from the text area in step S33, the process proceeds to step S34 to perform character recognition processing. In this process, in addition to recognizing character spacing and line spacing, it is also possible to recognize character fonts. The obtained text is corrected by language analysis in step S35, and an error in the character recognition process is corrected. In step S36, when the color area is divided in step S32, the background color of the character is also recognized at the same time. Therefore, using that information, a character string having a predetermined background color, for example, a marker or the like is used in advance. Extract the colored character string as a keyword and write it to the search index area of the hard disk 28.

【0037】

If the attribute of the area is distinguished from the figure in step S33, the process proceeds to step S37 to compress the figure. At this time, if the figure is a black-and-white binary image, MH, MR or MMR compression is performed, and if it is color (including gray), JPEG compression is performed.

【0038】

If it is determined in step S33 that the area is a table, the process proceeds to step S37 to perform table analysis. This includes getting the number of rows and columns in the table, and adding dummy cells to the irregular table to convert it into a table that is easy to analyze.

【0039】

When the processing of steps S36, S37, and S38 is completed, the data format (PAF) that can reconstruct the original image is edited in step S39, written to the hard disk 28, and the processing is completed.

【0040】

Next, the operation when the document search request from the client is accepted will be described.

【0041】

4 and 5 are flowcharts explaining the operation of the document server when a document search request from a client is received.

【0042】

First, in step S401 of FIG. 4, it is confirmed which line the requesting client is connected to and what kind of request is being made. The request received here includes a plurality of requests such as a search request and a request for a keyword or a summary thereof. Next, in step S402, a search is performed using the received keyword. If there is no corresponding document (NO in step S403), the process proceeds to step S417 in FIG. 5, returns to the requesting client that the document corresponding to the keyword was not found, and ends the process.

【0043】

If there is a corresponding document as a result of the search in step S402 (YES in step S403), the process proceeds to step S404 to determine whether or not the connection is a modem. In the case of a modem connection, proceed to step S405 to determine if the requesting client needs a summary. If necessary, the process proceeds to the summarization process of step S406, only the text part is extracted from the PAF data of the target document, the summarization process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S407. If there is no need for summarization, go directly to step S407.

【0044】

In step S407, it is determined whether or not the client display is monochrome, and in the case of monochrome, adaptive binarization processing according to the monochrome display is performed in step S408 to remove the background color in the image, especially in the figure. Create a monochrome image from the color image so that the characters in can be clearly read, and proceed to step S409. If it is determined in step S407 that the display is a color display, the process proceeds to step S409 as it is.

【0045】

In step S409, the display resolution information of the client is obtained, and the difference from the resolution of the original image held by the server is determined. If the difference from the client's display is too large, the image display on the client's display will be of low quality. In such a case, the resolution conversion process is performed in step 410 to perform the resolution conversion process on the client's display. Get closer to the resolution. After that, the process proceeds to step S411 in FIG.

【0046】

In step S411, a layout-reproducible HTML document is created based on PAF information using small text and images suitable for sending to a modem-connected client.

【0047】

In step 412, the HTML document created in step S411 is sent from the modem 24 to the analog line 22 through the serial port controller 25, the HTML document is sent to the requesting client, and the process ends.

【0048】

If it is determined in step S404 that the client is connected to the LAN, the process proceeds to step S413, the PAF data is read, and the RTF conversion process is performed in step S414 or the HTML conversion process is performed in step S415 according to the conversion request of the requesting client. I do.

【0049】

In the HTML conversion process of step S415, the image data of the block of the figure is already compressed at the time of PAF data construction, so it is not necessary to change the image compression method at the time of HTML conversion, but in the case of the RTF conversion process of step S413. Does not support compression formats such as JPEG as the image data format of the figure part, so it is necessary to perform the process of converting to a BMP file.

【0050】

As described above, the document converted into HTML or RTF is sent to the digital line 21 such as LAN by NIC23 in step S416, the document information is returned to the requesting client, and the process is completed.

【0051】

In the present embodiment, the document is divided into each area according to the attributes of text, figures, and tables, but the attributes are not limited to these and can be arbitrarily defined.

【0052】

Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) on which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is recorded to a system or device, and to supply a computer (or CPU) of the system or device. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the operating system (OS) running on the computer is activated based on the instructions of the program code. Needless to say, there are cases where a part or all of the actual processing is performed and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment.

【0053】

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, there are cases where a CPU provided in an expansion card or a function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment.

【0054】

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores the program code corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 described above.

【0055】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, the client connected to the modem is delivered with the text summarized on request and the HTML document in a small size in place of the original image, so that the layout of the document It will be possible to read the contents of a document at a higher speed than before even with a client with a CPU that has relatively weak performance while reproducing the above.

【0056】

Also, even if the client's display is monochrome and the color document on the server is referenced, the document is converted to a monochrome document that has undergone adaptive binarization processing and delivered, so the background color of the color is removed. An easy-to-read document will be displayed.

【0057】

Further, since the resolution is converted according to the resolution of the client display, the image is not displayed extremely large or small on the client side, and the quality of the image can be maintained.

【0058】

Also, by sending a document in RTF or HTML to a client connected to the LAN, even layout information can be sent with a smaller amount of data than when sending in WORD format, so traffic on the LAN can be reduced. Useful.

【0059】

Furthermore, by preliminarily adding a background color to the keyword using a marker or the like, the keyword is automatically extracted and registered when the document is read, so that it is possible to save the trouble of inputting the keyword with the keyboard.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a block diagram of the document server system in embodiment of this invention.

[Figure 2]

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the document server in embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 3]

It is a flowchart which shows the operation at the time of document registration in the document server of embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 4]

It is a flowchart which shows the operation at the time of receiving the document search request from the client in the document server of embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 5]

It is a flowchart which shows the operation at the time of receiving the document search request from the client in the document server of embodiment of this invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Client 12 Document server 13 Scanner 14 printer 15 user interface 16 accessories 17 Groupware server 18 mail server 19 browser 21 digital line 22 analog line 23 Network interface card 24 modem 25 serial port controller 26 System bus 27 Hard disk controller 28 hard disk drive 29 RAM 210 microprocessor 211 CD-ROM drive