JP7159762B2 - Image reader - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image reading device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image reading apparatus equipped with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) has a function of continuously reading a large number of originals and dividing the read image data into a plurality of electronic files.

By registering information about document breaks, when a large number of documents are scanned in succession, the document image data is divided into multiple electronic files according to the registered information. There has been proposed a device that divides into . This device does not require work to put a separation paper such as a blank document at a division position in the document before starting reading of the document, and also eliminates the need to remove the separation paper after the reading of the document is completed.

JP 2010-198257 A

The work of registering responses to questionnaires, customer information, job application information, and the like includes reading manuscripts in which a plurality of pages are repeatedly arranged in the same pattern. In the conventional apparatus, for example, if the image of the first page is registered as delimiter information, it is checked whether or not the image read from the document matches the registered image. , and the image data up to the previous page are put together to generate an electronic file.

However, with the conventional apparatus, even if a human error occurs, such as misaligning or forgetting to insert documents, or skipping pages due to double feeding, the user cannot be notified of the occurrence of these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus capable of notifying a user of problems such as misalignment of documents, forgetting to insert documents, and skipping of pages when reading a document in which a plurality of pages are arranged in the same pattern. It is to be.

In order to achieve the above object, an image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes a reading unit that sequentially reads each page of a document, a storage unit that stores the characteristics and order of arrangement of a plurality of pages, and a control unit. wherein the control unit extracts features of image data of each page read by the reading unit, and the features of each page are stored in advance in the storage unit as features extracted from the image data of each page. and the order of the pages matches the order of arrangement previously stored in the storage unit, a file is generated in which the image data of the matching pages are grouped in the order of arrangement, and The features extracted from the image data of each page match the features of each page pre-stored in the storage unit, or the order of pages matches the arrangement order pre-stored in the storage unit. If one does not hold, output an error notification.

According to this configuration, each page of the document is read by the reading unit, and the feature is extracted from the image data of each read page. On the other hand, the storage unit stores, for a document in which a plurality of pages are arranged in the same pattern, the features of each page included in the pattern and the order in which the pages are arranged.

Then, whether the features extracted from the image data of each page match the features of each page stored in advance in the storage unit, and whether the order of the pages matches the order of arrangement stored in advance in the storage unit. It is determined whether or not If this determination is affirmative, a file is generated in which the image data of the matching pages are put together in the order of arrangement.

On the other hand, at least one of: the features extracted from the image data of each page match the features of each page stored in advance in the storage unit; or the order of pages matches the arrangement order stored in advance in the storage unit. is not established, an error notification is output from the control unit. As a result, when a problem such as misalignment of documents, forgetting to insert documents, or skipping of pages occurs, it is possible to notify the user of the error due to the occurrence of the problem.

According to the present invention, when reading a document in which a plurality of pages are arranged repeatedly in the same pattern, it is possible to notify the user of problems such as misalignment of documents, forgetting to insert documents, skipping of pages, and the like.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an image reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the image reading device; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 1) showing an example of features and arrangement order of a plurality of pages stored in a ROM; FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 2) showing an example of features and arrangement order of a plurality of pages stored in a ROM; 10 is a flowchart (part 1) showing the flow of split file generation processing; FIG. 11 is a flowchart (part 2) showing the flow of split file generation processing; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for extracting a feature amount; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image of one page of a document; 10 is a flowchart showing a modified example of split file generation processing;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Below, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Mechanical configuration>
An image reading apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an electronic device that reads an original using an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) method. The image reading device 1 has a housing 2 , a supply tray 3 and a discharge tray 4 . The supply tray 3 is provided on one side of the housing 2 , and the discharge tray 4 is provided on the opposite side of the housing 2 to the supply tray 3 . In the image reading apparatus 1, one side of the housing 2 where the supply tray 3 is provided is the rear side, and the opposite side is the front side. The supply tray 3 extends rearward and upward from the housing 2 in use. The discharge tray 4 extends forward from the housing 2 in use.

For use in the following description, left and right are defined based on a state in which the image reading apparatus 1 is viewed from the front side.

The housing 2 is formed with a support surface 11 extending forward and downward from the vicinity of the front end of the supply tray 3 in use. The front end of the support surface 11 forms the lower end of an insertion port 12 that communicates the inside and outside of the housing 2 . Further, the housing 2 is formed with a discharge port 13 that communicates the inside and outside of the housing 2 at a position above the rear end portion of the discharge tray 4 .

A conveying path 14 is provided in the housing 2 and extends from the insertion port 12 toward the discharge port 13 while being inclined forward and downward. A separation roller 15 , a separation piece 16 , a conveyance roller 17 , and a discharge roller 18 are provided in order from the insertion port 12 side along the conveyance path 14 inside the housing 2 . The separation roller 15 is arranged so that its peripheral surface is in contact from below with an imaginary plane extending forward along the support surface 11 . The separation piece 16 is arranged so as to abut on the peripheral surface of the separation roller 15 from the front upper side. The conveying roller 17 is arranged at a position separated from the separation roller 15 . The conveying rollers 17 are composed of a pair of upper conveying rollers 21 and lower conveying rollers 22 . The upper conveying roller 21 and the lower conveying roller 22 form a nip when their peripheral surfaces come into contact with each other on the conveying path 14 . The discharge rollers 18 consist of a pair of upper discharge rollers 23 and lower discharge rollers 24 . The upper discharge roller 23 and the lower discharge roller 24 form a nip by contacting their peripheral surfaces on the conveying path 14 , and the nip portion is exposed to the outside of the housing 2 from the discharge port 13 .

A first CIS (Contact Image Sensor) 25 and a second CIS 26 (an example of a reading unit) are provided between the transport roller 17 and the discharge roller 18 . The first CIS 25 is arranged below the transport path 14 . The second CIS 26 is arranged above the conveying path 14 and at a position shifted forward with respect to the first CIS 25 . The first CIS 25 and the second CIS 26 include an image sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in the width direction of the document being conveyed, a light source that irradiates light toward the conveying path 14, and light emitted from the light source and reflected by the object to be irradiated. and a rod lens array for forming an image of the received light on each light receiving element of the image sensor. The image sensor outputs an analog signal corresponding to the light received by each light receiving element.

When executing a document reading job, for example, a document is gripped by the user's fingers, and the leading edge of the document is slid on the support surface 11 of the housing 2 and inserted into the housing 2 through the insertion opening 12 . . After the document is inserted into the housing 2 until the leading edge of the document contacts the peripheral surface of the separation roller 15 , the document is supported by the supply tray 3 and the support surface 11 when the user's fingers are removed from the document. When the number of originals is plural, the plural originals are stacked and supported by the supply tray 3 and the support surface 11 . Depending on the size of the document, the document is supported only by the support surface 11 without reaching over the supply tray 3 .

Rotation of the separation roller 15, the conveying roller 17, and the discharge roller 18 is started in response to the user's instruction to start scanning. As the separation roller 15 rotates, a conveying force is applied from the separation roller 15 to the document in contact with the separation roller 15 , and the leading edge of the document passes between the separation roller 15 and the separation piece 16 . When a plurality of documents are stacked, the lowest document is separated from the other documents by passing between the separation roller 15 and the separation piece 16 . After that, when the document reaches the transport roller 17 , a transport force is applied to the document from the transport roller 17 , and the document is further transported toward the discharge roller 18 . When the document passes between the first CIS 25 and the second CIS 26 , light is emitted from the first CIS 25 to the lower surface of the document, and the image of the lower surface of the document is read by the first CIS 25 . When images on both sides of the document are to be read, light is emitted from the second CIS 26 to the upper surface of the document, and the image on the upper surface of the document is read by the second CIS 26 . When the document reaches the discharge roller 18 , a conveying force is applied to the document from the discharge roller 18 , and the document is discharged onto the discharge tray 4 by the conveying force.

<Electrical configuration>
The image reading apparatus 1 includes an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 41, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 42 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 43, as shown in FIG.

The ASIC 41 incorporates a CPU 44 (an example of a control section). The ROM 42 stores programs executed by the CPU 44 and various data. The RAM 43 is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and is used as a work area when the CPU 44 executes programs.

AFEs (Analog Front Ends) 45 and 46 are provided in association with the first CIS 25 and the second CIS 26, respectively. The AFE 45 amplifies the analog signal output from the image sensor of the first CIS 25 and converts it into image data, which is a digital signal. Also, the AFE 46 amplifies the analog signal output from the image sensor of the second CIS 26 and converts it into image data, which is a digital signal. Image data is input to the ASIC 41 from the AFEs 45 and 46 .

A network interface 47 is connected to the ASIC 41 . The network interface 47 is an interface for data communication with an external device such as a PC (Personal Computer) via a LAN (Local Area Network). The communication method may be a wireless communication method or a wired communication method.

Other than the network interface 47 , other interfaces for data communication such as a USB interface for data communication with USB (Universal Serial Bus) devices may be connected to the ASIC 41 .

The ASIC 41 is also connected to a rewritable non-volatile memory 48 (an example of a storage unit) such as a flash memory.

Further, the image reading device 1 is provided with an operation panel 51 . The operation panel 51 is arranged, for example, at a position where the user can visually recognize and operate it, for example, on the upper surface of the housing 2 . The operation panel 51 is composed of a touch panel, and is configured by stacking an operation unit 53 such as pressure-sensitive or capacitive transparent film switches on a display unit 52 such as a liquid crystal display. The display unit 52 displays various information and images such as operation keys. When the user touches an operation key displayed on the display unit 52 , the touch operation of the operation key is accepted by the operation unit 53 , and a signal corresponding to the touch operation is input from the operation unit 53 to the ASIC 41 .

Note that the display unit 52 and the operation unit 53 may be provided separately and independently without forming a touch panel.

The image reading apparatus 1 also includes a conveying motor 54 as a rotational drive source for the separation roller 15 , the conveying roller 17 and the discharge roller 18 . The separating roller 15, the conveying roller 17, the discharging roller 18, the conveying motor 54, and the like constitute a conveying section for conveying the document.

The CPU 44 of the ASIC 41 executes a program stored in the ROM 42 to operate the first CIS 25, the second CIS 26, the network interface 47, the operation panel 51, and the conveying motor based on information obtained from signals input to the ASIC 41. 54 and other parts.

<Reference feature amount>
The image reading apparatus 1 reads a document of multiple pages (multiple sheets) in which the arrangement of features of each page is repeated in a fixed pattern, divides the read image data into multiple pages, and collects them into one. It has a split file generation function that generates files. The non-volatile memory 48 stores the features and the order of arrangement of a plurality of pages forming the pattern.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in nonvolatile memory 48, when the setting is to read both sides of a document, the front side of the first document is assigned page number "1" and The back side of the document is assigned the page number "2", and the front side of the second document is assigned the page number "3". is stored in association with the page number as a reference feature amount of a document set of a plurality of pages repeated in a fixed pattern. The reference feature amount (feature amount information) includes the width, height and background color of the document, whether it is blank or not, the number of colors, the presence or absence of barcodes, the presence or absence of content such as text areas and photographs, and content. Information on the type, position, and size of the content is included, if applicable. The width of the document is the length of the document in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the document is transported in the image reading device 1, and the height of the document is the length of the document in the transport direction.

The page numbers may be numbered consecutively, or if the order of the pages is known, they may be numbered in the order of the front of the first page, the back of the first page, the front of the second page, and so on. .

<Split file generation processing>
In order to generate files by the split file generation function, the CPU 44 of the ASIC 41 executes split file generation processing shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

In the division file generation process, the CPU 44 controls the first CIS 25, the second CIS 26, the transport motor 54, etc., and causes the first CIS 25 and the second CIS 26 to read the front and back sides of the first document (S1). Then, the CPU 44 extracts a feature amount from the image data of the front side of the document read by the first CIS 25, and extracts the feature amount from the image data of the back side of the document read by the second CIS 26 (S2).

The RAM 43 is provided with a feature quantity extraction flag. The feature amount extraction flag is a flag indicating whether or not the feature amount extracted from the image data of each page of the first set is to be stored in the nonvolatile memory 48 as the reference feature amount. When the user designates the number of pages included in one set (hereinafter referred to as "number of set pages") before instructing to start reading the document, "1" is set to the feature extraction flag. The CPU 44 determines whether or not the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1" (S3).

When the CPU 44 determines that the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1" (S3: YES), the feature amount extracted from the image data of the front side of the document (hereinafter referred to as "extracted feature amount"). is stored in the non-volatile memory 48 as the reference feature amount of the page number "1", and the extracted feature amount extracted from the image data of the back side of the document is stored in the non-volatile memory 48 as the reference feature amount of the page number "2". (S4).

After that, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the number of pages of the read document has reached the set number of pages (S5). The number of pages of the read document is counted by a page number counter provided in the RAM 43 . When the CPU 44 determines that the number of pages of the read document has not reached the set number of pages (S5: NO), it starts reading the front and back sides of the second document (S1). Then, the CPU 44 extracts feature amounts from the image data of the front and back sides of the second document (S2), and uses the extracted feature amount of the front side of the document as the reference feature amount of the page number "3" in the nonvolatile memory 48. , and the extracted feature amount of the back side of the document is stored in the non-volatile memory 48 as the reference feature amount of the page number "4" (S4). In this way, by repeating steps S1 to S5, the CPU 44 causes the non-volatile memory 48 to store the reference feature amounts for the page number "5" and later.

When the CPU 44 determines that the number of pages of the read document has reached the set number of pages (S5: YES), the CPU 44 generates a file in which the image data read up to that point is grouped in page order (S6). The generated file is sent to the destination specified by the user. The destination may be a PC, a server on the Internet that can communicate via a LAN, or a USB device. Then, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1" (S7), and if it determines that the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1" (S7: YES), reset the feature amount extraction flag to "0" (S8). Also, the CPU 44 resets the count value of the page number counter to "0".

After that, the CPU 44 determines whether or not there is a next document (S9). When the document on the supply tray 3 is detected by the document sensor (not shown), the CPU 44 determines that there is the next document (S9: NO), and starts reading the second set of documents ( S1). If the CPU 44 determines that there is no next document (S9: YES), it ends the split file generation process.

When reading the second and subsequent sets of documents, the feature quantity extraction flag is reset to "0". Therefore, in the determination step (S3) of whether or not the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1", the CPU 44 determines that the feature amount extraction flag is not set to "1" (S3: NO). In this case, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the extracted feature amount extracted from the image data of the front side of the document matches the reference feature amount corresponding to the image data (S10). For example, the reference feature amount corresponding to the image data of the front side of the first document of each set is the reference feature amount stored in the non-volatile memory 48 in association with the page number "1". Therefore, it is determined whether or not the extracted feature amount of the front side of the first document matches the reference feature amount associated with the page number "1".

Also, if the user does not specify the number of pages to be set before instructing to start reading the document, the feature amount extraction flag remains reset to "0", so the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1". In the determination step (S3) for determining whether or not the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1" (S3: NO), the CPU 44 determines that the feature amount extraction flag is not set to "1" (S3: NO), and extracts from the image data of the front side of the document from the first set. It is determined whether or not the extracted feature amount matches the reference feature amount corresponding to the image data (S10).

When determining that the extracted feature amount of the front side of the document matches the corresponding reference feature amount, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the extracted feature amount of the back side of the document matches the corresponding reference feature amount. Then, when the CPU 44 determines that the extracted amounts of the front and back sides of the document match the reference feature amount (S10: YES), it determines whether or not the number of pages of the read document has reached the number of set pages. (S5). When it is determined that the number of pages of the read document has not reached the set number of pages (S5: NO), the reading of the front and back sides of the next document is started (S1), and the extracted amount of each front and back side of the document is used as a reference. It is determined whether or not it matches the feature amount.

In this way, the CPU 44 repeats the loop of steps S1 to S3→S10→S5→S1 to determine that each extracted feature amount matches the reference feature amount, and the number of pages of the read document reaches the number of set pages. If so (S5: YES), a file is created in which the image data read up to that point is put together (S6). Then, the CPU 44 denies determination as to whether or not the feature amount extraction flag is set to "1" (S7: NO), and determines whether or not there is the next document (S9). The CPU 44 determines that there is a next document (S9: NO), and starts reading a new set of documents (S1). If the CPU 44 determines that there is no next document (S9: YES), it ends the split file generation process.

When the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount (S10: NO) in the step of determining whether the extracted feature amount matches the reference feature amount (S10), an error screen is displayed on the operation panel 51. is displayed (S11). The error screen contains information that allows the user to identify pages in which the extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount. In addition, the error screen may include, for example, a message asking the user whether or not to stop file generation, a stop button for instructing the stop, and an instruction to restart reading from the page where the extracted feature quantity does not match the reference feature quantity. A continuation button to continue reading, and a next set reading button for instructing restart of reading from the next set including pages whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount are displayed. The CPU 44 does not proceed with the split file generation process until any one of the stop button, continue button, or next set read button is pressed.

When the CPU 44 determines that the stop button on the error screen is pressed to stop the file generation (S12: YES), the CPU 44 ends the split file generation process. If the image data read in the split file creation process remains in the RAM 43 after the split file creation process ends, the image data is discarded.

When the CPU 44 determines that the stop of file generation has not been instructed (S12: NO), it determines whether the restart of reading from the next set has been instructed (S13). When the CPU 44 determines that the next set reading button has been pressed to instruct the restart of reading from the next set, the image data of the set including the page whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount, that is, the set (S14), and the image reading is restarted (S1). In this case, the user needs to reset the next and subsequent originals on the supply tray 3 before pressing the next set reading button.

When the CPU 44 determines that the continuation button has been pressed and the restart of reading from the next set has not been instructed (S13: NO), the image data of the page whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount, that is, The last read image data is discarded (S15), and image reading is resumed (S1). In this case, the user needs to reset on the supply tray 3 a document including a page whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount before pressing the next set read button.

When all the documents on the supply tray 3 have been read in this way and the CPU 44 determines that there is no next document (S9: YES), the split file generation process ends.

<Feature value extraction>
The extraction feature amount is extracted from the image data by the procedure shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 44 of the ASIC 41 divides the image of one page of the document into a plurality of blocks in a grid pattern (S21). Then, the CPU 44 creates a Y component (luminance component) histogram, a Cb component (color difference data) histogram, and a Cr component (color difference data) histogram for each block (S22).

After that, the CPU 44 obtains the mode of the Y component for each block. If the ratio of the mode value to the total number of pixels in the block exceeds the threshold, the CPU 44 determines that the block is a single-color block, and if it does not exceed the threshold, determines that the block is a multi-color block (S23). ). For example, in blocks that are almost solid white, the mode of the Y component is concentrated around 255. Therefore, the block whose mode value of the Y component is near 255 is an example of blank page determination data.

In the case of the image shown in FIG. 6, (length, width)=(1,6)-(1,8), (2,5)-(2,8), (3,5)-(3,8) , (4,5) to (4,8), (6,2) to (6,7), (7,2) to (7,7), (8,2) to (8,7), ( Blocks 9, 2) to (9, 7) are determined to be multicolor blocks.

The CPU 44 also determines the number of colors for each block (S24). In the YCbCr color space, when the range of Cb component value and Cr component value is set to 0 to 255, a pixel whose Cb component value and Cr component value are near the middle value (=127) respectively. becomes almost achromatic. Therefore, the CPU 44 refers to the histogram of the Cb component and the histogram of the Cr component for each block, and determines the number of achromatic pixels whose Cb component value is within the achromatic color range and the number of pixels whose Cr component value is within the achromatic color range. The number of achromatic pixels is obtained, and if one of the ratios of the number of achromatic pixels to the total number of pixels in the block does not exceed the threshold, the block is determined to be a color block. When the CPU 44 determines that the block is not a color block, it determines whether the block is a monochrome block or a gray block. In the YCbCr color space, when the ranges of the Y component value, the Cb component value, and the Cr component value are set to 0 to 255, the Cb component value and the Cr component value are approximately intermediate values (=127). , the closer the Y component value is to 0, the closer the pixel color is to black, and the closer the Y component value is to 255, the closer the pixel color is to white. Therefore, for blocks other than color blocks, the histogram of the Y component is referenced, and if the ratio of the number of pixels whose Y component value is within a certain range to the total number of pixels in the block is equal to or less than a threshold, the block is converted to monochrome. If the threshold value is exceeded, the block is determined to be a gray block.

In the case of the image shown in FIG. 6, (length, width)=(1,6)-(1,8), (2,5)-(2,8), (3,5)-(3,8) , (4,5) to (4,8) are determined to be color blocks, and (vertical, horizontal)=(6,2) to (6,7), (7,2) to (7,7) , (8,2) to (8,7) and (9,2) to (9,7) are determined to be monochrome blocks.

The picture shown in the image shown in FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a color photograph.

When the single-color determination and the number-of-colors determination for all blocks are completed (S25: YES), the CPU 44 determines that the ratio of single-color blocks to the total number of blocks in the page exceeds the threshold value and that the mode of the Y component for each block is determined. If the value variation does not exceed the threshold, it is determined that the page is a blank page (S26: blank page determination).

In the case of the image shown in FIG. 6, since there are 40 multicolor blocks for a total of 104 blocks, the page of the image is determined to be a color page.

Also, when the ratio of color blocks to the total number of blocks in the page exceeds the threshold, the CPU 44 determines that the page is a color page. Further, when the ratio of gray blocks to the number of blocks obtained by subtracting the number of color blocks from the total number of blocks in the page exceeds a threshold value, the CPU 44 determines that the page is a gray page. The page is determined to be a monochrome page (S26: color number determination).

In the case of the image shown in FIG. 6, since there are 16 color blocks for a total of 104 blocks, the page of that image is determined to be a color page.

After that, the CPU 44 determines whether or not there is content on page 1 of the document (S27). In this content determination, the CPU 44 determines variations in color blocks, monochrome blocks, and gray blocks within the page. Specifically, the CPU 44 searches for an area in which a certain number of color blocks are continuously present vertically and horizontally within the page. If the number of continuous color blocks in the area exceeds the threshold and the variation in the mode of the Y component for each block in the area exceeds the threshold, it is determined that there is a photograph in the area. In addition, it searches for a place where a certain number of monochrome blocks are continuously present vertically and horizontally within the page. If the number of consecutive monochrome blocks in that area exceeds the threshold, it is determined that there is text in that area.

In the case of the image shown in FIG. 6, (length, width)=(1,6)-(1,8), (2,5)-(2,8), (3,5)-(3,8) , (4, 5) to (4, 8) are continuous color blocks, and the mode of the Y component of each block in the color block area varies. be judged. (vertical, horizontal) = (6,2) ~ (6,7), (7,2) ~ (7,7), (8,2) ~ (8,7), (9,2) ~ (9) , 7) are continuous monochrome blocks, the area of the monochrome blocks is determined to be a text area. The photograph area and the position and size of the photograph area are stored in the non-volatile memory 48 as page feature information (S28).

<Effect>
According to this configuration, each page of the document is read, and the feature amount is extracted from the image data of each read page. On the other hand, the non-volatile memory 48 stores the reference feature amount of each page included in the pattern and the order of the arrangement for the document in which the arrangement of a plurality of pages is repeated in the same pattern.

The extracted feature amount from the image data of each page matches the reference feature amount of each page pre-stored in the non-volatile memory 48, and the page order is pre-stored in the non-volatile memory 48. It is determined whether or not the order matches the order of The feature amount extracted from the image data of each page matches the features of each page stored in advance in the non-volatile memory 48, and the order of the pages matches the order of arrangement pre-stored in the non-volatile memory 48. In this case, a file is generated in which the image data of the matching pages are put together in the order of arrangement.

On the other hand, the feature amount extracted from the image data of any page does not match the reference feature amount corresponding to that page, or the order of the pages does not match the order of arrangement previously stored in the non-volatile memory 48. or both, an error screen is displayed on the operation panel 51 . As a result, when a problem such as misalignment of documents, forgetting to insert documents, or skipping of pages occurs, it is possible to notify the user of the error due to the occurrence of the problem.

Furthermore, in that case, at least the image data of the page whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount is discarded and not included in the file. This saves the user the trouble of identifying and deleting unnecessary image data from the file.

Further, when an error screen is displayed on the operation panel 51, the user must stop generating the file, resume reading from the page where the extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount, or It is possible to select whether to resume reading from the next set that includes pages that do not match the reference feature amount. As a result, it is possible to meet the user's request and improve the convenience for the user.

Further, when the user designates the number of set pages before instructing to start reading the original, the feature amount extracted from the image data of each page of the first set is stored in the nonvolatile memory 48 as a reference feature amount. be. This eliminates the need for the process of separately storing the reference feature amount in the nonvolatile memory 48, thereby further improving convenience for the user.

In addition, since data for blank page determination and color number determination are used for extracting feature amounts from image data, in a device that performs blank page determination and color number determination, extraction of feature amounts from image data is performed by the CPU 44. can be suppressed from becoming a heavy burden on

<Correction processing>
In the above-described split file generation process, if the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount in the determination step (S10) for determining whether the extracted feature amount matches the reference feature amount (S10: NO), an error screen is displayed on the operation panel 51 (S11).

However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount (FIG. S10: NO), after attempting to resolve the error (S to S), an error screen is displayed. may be displayed on the operation panel 51 (S11). Resolving the error saves the user the trouble of resetting the document, further improving convenience for the user.

Specifically, when the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount from the image data does not match the reference feature amount, the CPU 44 rotates the image data by 90°, 180°, and 270° ( S31). Then, the CPU 44 extracts a feature amount from the image data after rotation processing, and determines whether or not the extracted feature amount matches the reference feature amount (S32). When the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount matches the reference feature amount (S32: YES), the image data after the rotation processing is stored in the RAM 43 (S33). In this case, the file includes image data after rotation processing. After that, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the number of pages of the read document has reached the set number of pages (S5).

When the CPU 44 determines that the feature amount extracted from the image data after the rotation process does not match the reference feature amount (S32: NO), the feature amount extracted from the image data is one of the reference feature amounts corresponding to another page. It is determined whether or not they match (S34). When the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount matches any of the reference feature amounts corresponding to the separate page (S34: YES), the CPU 44 converts the image data related to the extracted feature amount to the reference feature amount that matches the extracted feature amount. As the image data of the corresponding page, the arrangement order (page order) of the image data grouped into the file is edited (S35). After that, the CPU 44 determines whether or not the number of pages of the read document has reached the set number of pages (S5).

When the CPU 44 determines that the extracted feature amount does not match any of the reference feature amounts corresponding to another page (S34: NO), it causes the operation panel 51 to display an error screen (S11).

<Modification>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can also be implemented in other forms.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the reference feature amount is stored in the nonvolatile memory 48, but it may be stored in a server communicatively connected to the image reading apparatus 1 via a LAN.

Further, when it is determined that the extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount, the error screen displayed on the operation panel 51 displays the first page of the set including the page whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount. image thumbnails may be included. This makes it easier for the user to identify a set that includes pages whose extracted feature amount does not match the reference feature amount.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the CPU 44 executes each process has been described. However, the ASIC 41 may include multiple CPUs, and the multiple CPUs may cooperate to execute each process.

In addition, various design changes can be made to the above configuration within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

1: Image reading device 25: 1st CIS
26: 2nd CIS
44: CPU
48: non-volatile memory 51: operation panel 52: display unit 53: operation unit

Claims (7)

a reading unit that sequentially reads each page of a document;
a storage unit that stores the features and order of arrangement of a plurality of pages;
an operation unit;
a control unit;
The control unit
extracting features of image data of each page read by the reading unit;
The features extracted from the image data of each page match the features of each page stored in advance in the storage unit, and the order of pages matches the arrangement order stored in advance in the storage unit. When doing so, generate a file in which the image data of the matching pages are put together in the order of the arrangement,
The feature extracted from the image data of each page matches the feature of each page pre-stored in the storage unit, or the order of pages matches the arrangement order pre-stored in the storage unit. If at least one does not hold, output an error notification ,
When the specification of the number of pages for storing the features and the order of arrangement of a plurality of pages is accepted by operating the operation unit, the features extracted from the image data of each page up to the first specified number of pages are stored. and storing the order of the pages in the storage unit as the order of arrangement. The image reading device according to claim 1,
The control unit
generating blank page determination data for determining whether the image data of each page is image data of a blank image from the image data of each page read by the reading unit;
An image reading apparatus for extracting features of image data of each page using the blank page determination data. a reading unit that sequentially reads each page of a document;
a storage unit that stores the features and order of arrangement of a plurality of pages;
a control unit;
The control unit
extracting features of image data of each page read by the reading unit;
The features extracted from the image data of each page match the features of each page stored in advance in the storage unit, and the order of pages matches the arrangement order stored in advance in the storage unit. When doing so, generate a file in which the image data of the matching pages are put together in the order of the arrangement,
The feature extracted from the image data of each page matches the feature of each page pre-stored in the storage unit, or the order of pages matches the arrangement order pre-stored in the storage unit. If at least one does not hold, output an error notification,
generating blank page determination data for determining whether the image data of each page is image data of a blank image from the image data of each page read by the reading unit;
An image reading apparatus for extracting features of image data of each page using the blank page determination data. The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
a display unit;
and further comprising an operation unit,
The control unit
The feature extracted from the image data of each page matches the feature of each page stored in advance in the storage unit, or the order of the pages matches the arrangement order stored in advance in the storage unit. If at least one does not hold,
After outputting the notification of the error to the display unit and displaying the error on the display unit,
An image reading apparatus that receives a selection of stopping generation of the file or resuming generation of the file related to the image data that is the target of the error from the next file, by operation of the operation unit. The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The control unit
When the features extracted from the image data of each page match the features of each page stored in the storage unit, but the order of the pages does not match the arrangement order stored in the storage unit, An image reading device that generates the file by changing the order of the image data of each page so that the order of the pages matches the order of arrangement stored in the storage unit. The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The control unit
The feature extracted from the image data of each page does not match the feature of each page stored in the storage unit, but the feature extracted from the image data obtained by rotating the image data from which the feature that does not match is extracted. matches the feature of each page stored in the storage unit, the image reading device generates the file containing the image data obtained by the rotation processing. The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The control unit
At least one of the characteristics extracted from the image data of each page matching the characteristics of each page stored in the storage unit, or the order of the pages matching the arrangement order stored in the storage unit. is not established, the image reading device discards the image data and does not create the file.

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