JP4136357B2 - Form definition processing device, form definition processing program, and form definition processing program recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a form definition processing device, a form definition processing program, and a form definition processing program recording medium, and in particular, a form definition used in a form printing device or a form printing program from data created in a unique format of various applications. The present invention relates to a form definition processing apparatus that automatically generates a program, a program used to realize the apparatus, and a program recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to print a form such as a slip, in addition to the form print processing program, a form definition that is information such as frame information indicated by ruled lines of the form and character information of items is necessary. Generally, the form definition differs for each form printing apparatus or form printing program. In other words, the data format of the form definition varies depending on the form printing processing apparatus or the manufacturer that developed the form printing processing program, the form printing apparatus, or the form printing program.
[0003]
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conventional form definition creation process.
[0004]
The form data created by the application 91 is an application format file (application format file) 92 which is a unique data format defined by the application 91. For this reason, when creating a form definition for form printing with respect to form data, the application 91 and the application format file 92 directly form a form definition that is a unique data format determined by the form printing processing apparatus or the form printing processing program. It cannot be extracted.
[0005]
Therefore, the application format file 92 is printed by the printer 93 and printed out as a form on the paper 94 by the user's printing operation. Then, by the user's scanner reading operation, the form printed on the paper 94 is read by the scanner 95, and the read data is converted into standard format data such as a bitmap format and stored in the standard format file 96. . Further, when the user performs a form definition processing operation, the standard format file 96 is read by the form definition processing device 97, and the recognition process 98 is performed on the read data. As a result of the recognition process 98, the form definition file 99 is changed. Generated. With the form definition file 99 of a unique format such as the form print processing apparatus generated in this way, it becomes possible to print the form with the form print processing apparatus.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, in order to make the form data created using various applications into a standard format file 96 that can be read by the form definition processing device 97, the form data is printed out on the paper 94 once by the printer 93, and further the paper It was necessary to read the form on 94 with the scanner 95. Therefore, there is a problem that the data of the standard format file 96 is affected by the processing performance of the printer 93 and the scanner 95.
[0007]
For example, when the printing quality of the printer 93 is low, the quality of the form on the output paper 94 is lowered, and the quality of the image data of the standard format file 96 that is the output of the scanner 95 is also lowered. For this reason, the processing accuracy in the recognition processing 98 of the form definition processing device 97 is lowered. Similarly, when the reading quality of the scanner 95 is low, the quality of the image data of the standard format file 96 also decreases, so that the processing accuracy in the recognition processing 98 of the form definition processing device 97 is lowered.
[0008]
In addition, when the paper 94 is read by the scanner 95, the paper 94 may not be read in the correct direction. For example, since the data obtained from the data of the paper 94 read obliquely is distorted, there arises a problem that the processing accuracy of the recognition processing 98 is lowered. Furthermore, it is necessary to correct the distortion of data generated from the paper 94 read obliquely, and there is a problem that the processing load of the recognition process 98 and the labor of the work increase.
[0009]
Further, the printing process by the printer 93 and the reading process by the scanner 95 must be performed by the user and are complicated. That is, for the processing of one form definition processing device 97, the user must perform a printing operation once and a reading operation twice.
[0010]
Further, when a form definition for another form print processing apparatus is created by reusing a form definition that has already been created, the standard format file 96 is obtained by reading the paper 94 once printed by the form definition with the scanner 95 again. Then, the form definition must be created again, which is troublesome.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a form definition processing apparatus that can accurately create a form definition with little effort without performing a printing process or a scanner reading process. It is another object of the present invention to provide a program and a program recording medium used for realizing the form definition processing apparatus.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus according to the present invention is a form definition processing apparatus that generates a form definition that is setting information for form print processing, and has a common interface by an operating system , electrostatic Coca been recognized frame information form definitions included in the data based, by placing the printed information in the frame indicated by the frame information, that can be processed recognition processing means the electronic encrypted data Recognition data generation processing means for converting the data into a format and outputting recognition data; and recognition processing means for generating a form definition by recognizing frame information or character information from the recognition data.
[0013]
Furthermore, the program according to the present invention, the form definition process for generating a form definition is the setting information of the form printing process, a program executed by a computer, having a common Interfaces by the operating system, electronic Data in a format that can recognize frame information based on the form definition included in the digitized data, place print information in the frame indicated by the frame information, and process the digitized data by recognition processing The computer executes recognition data generation processing for converting the data into recognition data and outputting recognition data, and recognition processing for recognizing frame information or character information from the recognition data and generating a form definition.
[0014]
Furthermore, a program recording medium according to the present invention is a recording medium that records a program for causing a computer to execute a form definition process for generating a form definition that is setting information for a form print process, and is shared by an operating system. has an interface, electrostatic Coca been recognized frame information form definitions included in the data based, by placing the printed information in the frame indicated by the frame information, the recognition processing the electronic encrypted data Recognizing data generation processing that converts data into a processable format and outputs recognition data and recognition processing that generates frame definition by recognizing frame information or character information from the recognition data The program to be recorded is recorded.
[0015]
The program according to the present invention can be stored in an appropriate recording medium such as a portable medium memory, a semiconductor memory, or a hard disk that can be read by a computer, and is provided by being recorded on these recording media or a communication interface. Thus, the form definition processing device can be easily realized because it is provided by transmission and reception using various communication networks.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. The form definition processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a recognition file generation unit 2, an output management unit 4, and a recognition processing unit 5.
[0017]
The recognition file generation unit 2 is a recognition data generation unit shown in the claims, and includes an interface shared by the operating system of the processing device in which the form definition processing device 1 is realized, and includes various applications. 6 is a means for receiving the application file 7 generated in step 6 and converting the data of the received application file 7 into data in a format that can be processed by the recognition processing means 5 to generate the recognition file 3. The recognition file 3 is image data that can be output by, for example, a printing apparatus (not shown).
[0018]
The application file 7 includes a file having the same format as the form definition file 8. In this case, the recognition file generation means 2 recognizes the frame information based on the form definition of the received file, and automatically arranges the print information in the frame and converts it into the recognition file 3.
[0019]
The output management means 4 is a part of the recognition data generation means shown in the claims, and is means for receiving the recognition file 3 generated by the recognition file generation means 2 and notifying the recognition processing means 5. is there. Further, the output management unit 4 manages the output of the form definition file 8 generated by the recognition processing unit 5.
[0020]
The recognition processing means 5 is a recognition processing means shown in the claims, and is means for receiving a notification from the output management means 4 and generating a predetermined form definition from the recognition file 3 and outputting the form definition file 8. It is. The recognition processing unit 5 generates a form definition from image data that can be output by a printer, for example. Further, the recognition processing means 5 may pass the form definition file 8 to the output management means 4.
[0021]
Upon receipt of the application file 7, the recognition file generation means 2 converts the data into a format (for example, print output image data) that can be processed by the recognition processing means 5 and generates the recognition file 3. The output management means 4 receives the recognition file 3 and calls the recognition processing means 5. The recognition processing means 5 extracts ruled line information, shading information, frame information and the like from the image data of the recognition file 3, recognizes character information, automatically generates a predetermined form definition, and generates the generated form definition. Is output as a form definition file 8. As described above, according to the present invention, a form definition for form printing processing can be easily and accurately extracted from various types of data created by various applications.
[0022]
Further, when the application file 7 is a form definition, the recognition file generation means 2 interprets the form definition and converts it into image data that can be processed by the recognition processing means 5. That is, in the present invention, when the digitized data is the form definition, the recognition data generation processing means interprets the form definition and converts it into image data that can be processed by the recognition processing means. it can.
[0023]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration example for specifically realizing the present invention shown in FIG. In the system shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is realized by using a print processing function generally provided in a computer operating system.
[0024]
The computer 10 includes an application 6 and a printer spooler 20, and includes a CPU / memory (not shown). Examples of the operating system of the computer 10 include Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation), MacOS (registered trademark of Apple Corporation), UNIX, and the like. However, any operating system may be used as long as it has a printing function. The operating system has output interfaces for printing, mail, and files that are common to a plurality of applications 6 operating on the operating system.
[0025]
The application (program) 6 is means for performing various processes such as a word processor process, a spreadsheet process, and a drawing process. The application 6 runs on the operating system. The application 6 is, for example, Word, Excel (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) or the like. The application 6 outputs the processed data as an application file 7 having a uniquely defined format by file output processing of the operating system.
[0026]
The printer spooler 20 is activated by a print request from the application 6 via the operating system, and manages print processing while temporarily holding the application file 7 to be printed received from the application 6. . The printer spooler 20 includes a printer driver 2A, a print monitor 4A, and a recognition processing unit 5A.
[0027]
The printer spooler 20 is a part of the operating system. In the application 6, “Print” of the common interface of the operating system is selected to display a print setting screen (see FIG. 4), and the printer driver 2 </ b> A is displayed on the print setting screen. Is selected, the file to be processed is output to the printer driver 2A as the designated output destination.
[0028]
The printer driver 2A is a unit corresponding to the recognition file generation unit 2 shown in FIG. 1 and includes an output interface shared by a plurality of applications 6 by the operating system. This is means for converting the received data of the application file 7 into data in a format that can be processed by the recognition processing unit 5A. A format for converting the received file is predetermined. For example, the printer driver 2 </ b> A generates a bitmap-format print image 3 </ b> A from a processing sequence such as a character or ruled line description or bit image drawing in the application file 7. The print image 3A corresponds to the recognition file 3 shown in FIG.
[0029]
Since the printer driver 2A has a common interface, it is actually configured as a part of the operating system of the computer 10. Since the printer driver 2A can generate the print image 3A from all the applications 6 supported by the operating system, the application is not limited by this common output interface.
[0030]
The print monitor 4A is a means corresponding to the output management means 4 shown in FIG. 1, and is a means for receiving and outputting the print image 3A. In the present invention, the output destination of the output management means 4 is not the printer but the recognition processing unit 5A. Further, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 2, the recognition processing unit 5A may be called to recognize the print image 3A, and the form definition file 8 that is the result of the recognition processing may be received and output.
[0031]
The print monitor 4A is called from the printer driver 2A when the print image 3A is generated. The print monitor 4A is configured as an application because it is necessary to operate each printer. Although the print monitor 4A appears to the application 6 as a part of the operating system, it actually operates on the operating system as an application.
[0032]
Here, it is also conceivable that the printer driver 2A creates the form definition file 8 directly from the application file 7. However, the present invention does not operate to create the form definition file 8 directly from the application file 7. In the present invention, the printer driver 2A, which has a common interface of the operating system and is part of the operating system, is used in order not to limit the types of the applications 6. When the recognition process is performed in the printer driver 2A configured as a part of the operating system, if a malfunction occurs during the recognition process, the entire operating system is affected and a fatal failure may occur. This is because it is not preferable. On the other hand, the printer driver 2A is required to output data in a format that can be interpreted by the recognition processing unit 5A. Therefore, in the present invention, the printer driver 2A having a common interface is configured to create, for example, a bitmap format print image 3A, and the recognition processing unit 5A is configured to recognize the print image 3A.
[0033]
The recognition processing unit 5A is a means corresponding to the recognition processing means 5 shown in FIG. 1, and is a means for generating a predetermined form definition from the print image 3A received from the print monitor 4A. The recognition processing unit 5A, for example, extracts ruled line information and shading information from the bitmap-format print image 3A, recognizes character information, and defines frame information and form item characters constituting the form. Perform recognition processing. Form definitions such as frame information and character information generated by the processing are stored in the form definition file 8. The form definition file 8 is stored in a memory in the computer 10 or an external storage device. The form definition file 8 can be delivered to the print monitor 4A and output from the print monitor 4A to the printing apparatus.
[0034]
The recognition processing unit 5A is an application and operates on an operating system. The recognition processing unit 5A is called from the print monitor 4A and starts up, and recognizes the print image 3A received from the print monitor 4A.
[0035]
Conventionally, the print monitor 4A that performs output processing to the printer does not call the recognition processing unit 5A.
[0036]
FIG. 3 is a processing flowchart of the present invention in the configuration example shown in FIG.
[0037]
The printer spooler 20 receives the application file 7 to be processed from the application 6 (step S1). Specifically, when the user performs a print processing operation while the application 6 is being executed, the printer spooler 20 displays a print setting screen as shown in FIG. In the print setting screen shown in FIG. 4, when the file name to be processed is specified, the printer driver is selected as the output destination, and OK is selected, the printer driver 2A is called.
[0038]
The printer driver 2A receives the application file 7 “aaa.xls” to be processed, for example, via the printer spooler 20. When printer # 1, printer # 2, or printer # 3 is selected, each printer driver (not shown) corresponding to each of printer # 1 to printer # 3 is called to perform normal printing processing. Is called.
[0039]
Then, the printer driver 2A converts the received application file 7 into a print image 3A in a data format that can be processed by the recognition processing unit 5A (step S2). For example, when the recognition processing unit 5A processes bitmap format data, the printer driver 2A converts the application file 7 “aaa.xls” into bitmap format image data “aaa.bmp”. The printer driver 2A can be configured to convert the data into any data format that can be processed by a preset recognition processing unit 5A.
[0040]
The printer monitor 4A calls the recognition processing unit 5A and passes the print image 3A generated by the printer driver 2A to the recognition processing unit 5A (step S3).
[0041]
Then, the recognition processing unit 5A performs a recognition process on the print image 3A and generates a form definition (step S4). The recognition processing unit 5A performs ruled line extraction processing, character recognition processing, overlay processing, and the like, creates a form definition such as form frame information and character information, and outputs it as a form definition file 8 (step S5).
[0042]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by the embodiment, various deformation | transformation are possible for this invention in the range of the main point. For example, in the present embodiment, the configuration example in which the processing means for realizing the present invention is provided in the printer spooler 20 has been described. However, it has an interface shared by the operating system of the computer 10 and receives and recognizes various types of files. As long as the processing unit has a function capable of outputting data in a format that can be processed by the processing unit 5A, each unit described in this embodiment can be provided, and the present invention can be realized.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately create a form definition with less effort based on form data created by various applications and already created form definitions.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration for specifically realizing the present invention.
3 is a processing flowchart of the present invention in the configuration example shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a print setting screen for starting processing of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conventional form definition creation process;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Form definition processing apparatus 2 Recognition file generation means 3 Recognition file 4 Output management means 5 Recognition processing means 6 Application 7 Application file 8 Form definition file 10 Computer 20 Printer spooler 2A Printer driver 3A Print image 4A Print monitor 5A Recognition process Part

Claims (4)

A form definition processing device that generates a form definition that is setting information for form print processing,
Have a common Interfaces by the operating system, electrostatic Coca been recognized frame information form definitions included in the data based, by placing the printed information in the frame indicated by the frame information, electronic a reduction has been recognized data generation processing means for data recognition processing means outputs a recognition data is converted into data processable form,
Form definition processing device characterized by Ru and a recognition processing means for generating a form definition recognizes the frame information or character information from the recognition data. The form definition processing device according to claim 1,
The form definition processing device characterized in that the recognition data generation processing means generates page format data that can be printed out as the recognition data. A program that causes a computer to execute a form definition process for generating a form definition that is setting information for a form print process,
Have a common Interfaces by the operating system, electrostatic Coca been recognized frame information form definitions included in the data based, by placing the printed information in the frame indicated by the frame information, electronic and recognition data generation processing for outputting recognition data by converting encrypted data to data processable format recognition process,
The form definition program, characterized in that the recognition process for generating a form definition recognizes the frame information or character information from the recognition data, Ru cause the computer to execute. A recording medium that records a program that causes a computer to execute a form definition process for generating a form definition that is setting information for a form print process,
Have a common Interfaces by the operating system, electrostatic Coca been recognized frame information form definitions included in the data based, by placing the printed information in the frame indicated by the frame information, electronic and recognition data generation processing for outputting recognition data by converting encrypted data to data processable format recognition process,
Wherein the recognition processing for generating to form definition recognizes recognition frame information or character information from the data, the form definition processing program recording medium recording a program characterized <br/> that Ru is executed by a computer.

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