JP7534016B2 - Table generation method and system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method and system for generating a table using a table generation application.

The dictionary definition of artificial intelligence is a technology that realizes human abilities such as learning, reasoning, perception, and natural language understanding through computer programs. This type of artificial intelligence has made great strides through deep learning, which adds neural networks that mimic the human brain to machine learning.

Deep learning is a technology that enables computers to make judgments and learn like humans, thereby clustering or classifying things and data. In recent years, it has become possible to analyze not only text data but also image data, and it is being actively used in a wide variety of industrial fields.

With the development of artificial intelligence, various automations are also being made in the field of office automation. In particular, in the field of office automation, a lot of effort is being made to digitize the contents printed on paper based on image data analysis technology that utilizes artificial intelligence. As part of this, in the field of office automation, the contents contained in the document are digitized using image analysis technology (or image data analysis technology) that visualizes paper documents and analyzes the contents contained in the image, and in this case, technology is required to analyze the image based on the characteristics of the content contained in the document.

For example, when digitizing a document that contains a table, a precise analysis of various elements related to the table is required, such as the format of the table, the content of the text contained in the table, and the position of the text contained in the table.

Therefore, various applications have been developed that analyze the data contained in images in order to recreate tables contained in the images. For example, the "ROSSUMM (https://rossum.ai/)" application provides the functionality to extract and label text data from tables contained in images.

However, the applications developed so far are only capable of extracting the table structure and text data contained in images, so there is a continuing need for applications that can accurately reproduce the relationships between the table structure and text data contained in images.

The present invention aims to provide a table generation method and system that can generate a table with the same structure as a table contained in an image.

The present invention also aims to provide a user environment that allows users to more easily and intuitively generate a table that has the same structure as a table contained in an image, taking into account non-visual characteristics that do not appear in the image.

Furthermore, the present invention aims to provide a table generation method and system that can provide relationships between data contained in a table.

In order to solve the above problem, a table generation method of a table generation application according to the present invention may include the steps of: outputting an image including a table in a task area provided by the application; accepting a selection of one of a plurality of functional icons included in one area of the task area; after one of the functional icons is selected, outputting guide information corresponding to a table component matched to the functional icon based on a preset input method added to the image; and generating a table having a structure corresponding to the table included in the image using the guide information.

In addition, a control unit of a system for generating a table in a task area output to a display unit of an electronic device according to the present invention may output an image including a table in the task area, accept a user's selection of one of a plurality of functional icons included in one area of the task area, and after the one functional icon is selected, output guide information corresponding to a table component matched to the functional icon based on an input of a preset method added to the image, and generate a table having a structure corresponding to the table included in the image using the guide information.

Furthermore, a computer program that is implemented by one or more processes in the electronic device of the present invention and can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium may include commands to execute the steps of: outputting an image including a table in a task area provided by the application; accepting a selection of any one of a plurality of functional icons included in one area of the task area; after any one of the functional icons is selected, outputting guide information corresponding to a table component matched to the functional icon based on a preset input method applied to the image; and generating a table having a structure corresponding to the table included in the image using the guide information.

As described above, the table generation method and system according to the present invention can provide a user environment that can extract components of a table contained in an image based on user input. Therefore, the table generation method and system according to the present invention can extract not only the text data contained in a table, but also the components that make up the structure of the table, and as a result, it is possible to generate a table that has the same structure and the same data as the table contained in the image.

The table generation method and system according to the present invention can also provide a user environment in which the data contained in each cell can be organically analyzed by identifying cells defined by the components of a table contained in an image and assigning relationships between the cells based on user input.

The table generation method using the table generation application of the present invention provides a function to extract the components of a table contained in an image and a function to assign relationships between data contained in the table, thereby reproducing the visual characteristics of the table contained in the image as well as the relational characteristics between data.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a table generating system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining components of a table. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a table generation application according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a table generation application according to the present invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a table generating method according to the present invention. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for generating a table in a user environment provided by the application.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Regardless of the drawing number, the same or similar components are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions thereof will be omitted. The suffixes "module" and "part" of components used in the following description are given or mixed to facilitate the preparation of the specification, and do not have any significance or usefulness in themselves. In addition, when describing the embodiments of the present invention, if a specific description of related publicly known technology is judged to make the gist of the embodiments of the present invention unclear, the detailed description will be omitted. Furthermore, the attached drawings are merely intended to aid in the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by the attached drawings, and it should be understood that the drawings include all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives within the idea and technical scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used to describe various components, but the components are not limited to the terms. The terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

When a component is said to be "linked" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly linked or connected to the other component, and that there may be additional components in between. In contrast, when a component is said to be "directly linked" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no additional components in between.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless otherwise specified.

In this specification, the terms "comprise" and "have" are intended to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in this specification, but should not be understood to preclude the presence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

As mentioned above, with the development of artificial intelligence, various forms of office automation are being implemented, and for the sake of business efficiency, there is an increasing need to digitize (convert to data) tables contained in paper documents while keeping them in the table format contained in the paper documents.

For example, documents such as various types of receipts contain tables, and insurance companies and hospitals need to process the tables contained in large volumes of paper documents as digitized data and convert them into computers.

The present invention therefore provides a table generation application capable of generating a table having the same structure as a table contained in an image, and in particular provides a table generation method using the table generation application and a table generation system constituting the table generation application.

The table generation method and system according to the present invention using a table generation application provides the functionality of extracting the components of a table contained in an image and of assigning relationships between the data contained in the table, thereby reproducing the visual characteristics of the table contained in the image as well as the relational characteristics between the data.

Below, we will specifically explain a method and system for generating a table with the same structure as a table contained in a paper document using a table generation application, with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a table generation system according to the present invention, and Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the components of a table. Also, Figures 3A and 3B are conceptual diagrams for explaining a table generation application according to the present invention, and Figure 4 is a flowchart for explaining a table generation method according to the present invention. Furthermore, Figures 5 to 15 are conceptual diagrams for explaining a method of generating a table in a user environment provided by the application.

The table generation application according to the present invention can provide a user environment in which tables having the same or corresponding structure as tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000 shown in FIG. 1 can be generated.

That is, the table generating system 100 according to the present invention can be realized in the form of an application or software. According to a software realization of the table generating system 100 according to the present invention, the embodiments of the procedures, functions, etc. described in this specification can be realized in separate software modules. Each of the software modules can perform one or more functions and operations described in this specification.

Such a table generation application is realized by a table generation system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The configuration of the table generation system 100 will be described in more detail below.

The table generation system 100 according to the present invention can recognize the table components (or constituent elements) that make up the tables 1100 and 1200 from the image 1000, and generate tables identical to the tables 1100 and 1200 contained in the image 1000 based on the recognized components.

Such a table generation system 100 can generate a table having components that are identical to or correspond to the tables 1100, 1200 contained in the image 1000, regardless of the number of tables 1100, 1200 contained in the image 1000.

Here, image 1000 is an image obtained by scanning a paper document, or an image obtained by various other methods.

The table generated by the table generation system 100 according to the present invention can be called by various names, such as a reproduction table or a restoration table.

In the present invention, a "table" is also referred to as a chart, and means something that shows certain contents in a specific format or procedure. Referring to FIG. 2, the components of a table are described. A table 200 may include at least one cell (or space, area) 210. That is, the table 200 includes at least one cell 210, and is configured to include information in the cell 210.

Here, a cell 210 refers to a space partitioned by the components of the table 200. The components of the table 200 include at least one of a frame element 201, a row element 202, and a column element 203.

The outer frame element 201 is an element that determines the size and shape of the table 200, and does not necessarily need to be visually indicated.

The row element 202 is a horizontal line (or a horizontal line segment, a horizontal line) contained within the outer frame element 201, and depending on the configuration of the table 200, one or more horizontal lines may be provided within the table 200. The row element 202 may include at least a portion of the outer frame element 201 (a frame corresponding to the horizontal line).

The column elements 203 are vertical lines (or vertical line segments, or vertical lines) contained within the outer frame element 201, and depending on the configuration of the table 200, one or more vertical lines may be provided within the table 200. The column elements 203 may include at least a portion of the outer frame element 201 (the frame corresponding to the vertical line).

The number, size, and position of the cells in table 200 can be modified in various ways based on the number and arrangement of horizontal and vertical lines, and can also be modified in various ways by combining cells.

The table 200 and the cells 210 contained in the table 200 have a square shape.

A cell 210 included in the table 200 may be defined by at least four lines. That is, a cell 210 included in the table 200 may be configured as a rectangle surrounded by four lines (a, b, c, d). In this way, at least four lines are required to form one rectangular cell 210, and the cell may be configured as two horizontal lines (b, d) and two vertical lines (a, c).

The term "line" can also be called "line segment" or "edge."

In this way, the rectangular cell 210 may be formed by at least partially intersecting two horizontal lines (b, d) and two vertical lines (a, c).

The table therefore contains at least four lines, and the number of cells, cell size, cell position, etc. are determined according to the number of horizontal lines, the number of vertical lines, the line spacing, and the arrangement position of the lines.

In addition, the components constituting a table in the present invention may include lines (horizontal and vertical lines) constituting the table, and corners (or angles, vertices) (e, f, g, h) formed by the intersection of the lines constituting the table.

All tables have at least four corners, which may be corners that are included in the outermost border of the table. Also, the number of corners a table has depends on the number of cells it contains.

Meanwhile, the table generating system 100 according to the present invention includes at least one of a receiving unit 110, a storage unit 120, an OCR (Optical Character Reader) unit 130, and a control unit 140, as shown in FIG. 1.

First, the receiving unit 110 is a means for receiving an image 1000 including a table 1100, and may include at least one of a communication unit, a scanning unit, and an input unit, or may be composed of other means for receiving the image 1000.

The table generating system 100 can analyze and generate tables identical to the tables 1100 and 1200 contained in the image 1000 received via the receiving unit 110 based on the tables 1100 and 1200 contained in the image 1000.

Next, the storage unit 120 may store various information according to the present invention. The storage unit 120 may be of various types, and at least a part of the storage unit 120 may be an external server 150 (at least one of a cloud server 151 and a database (DB) 152). In other words, the storage unit 120 may be any space in which information related to the present invention is stored, and there are no physical space restrictions.

The storage unit 120 stores at least one of i) the image 1000 including the tables 1100 and 1200 and associated data, ii) components (e.g., outer frame, lines, corners, etc.) identified for reconstructing the tables 1100 and 1200 and associated data, and iii) content (e.g., text, images, etc.) data included in the tables 1100 and 1200.

Next, the OCR unit 130 is a means for recognizing the content contained in the image 1000, and can recognize the content contained in the image 1000 using at least one of various content recognition algorithms. The OCR unit 130 can recognize the content using an algorithm based on artificial intelligence. Here, the content may include text (characters).

The OCR unit 130 can extract text and text position information contained in the image. Here, the text position information may include information regarding the position of the text in the image 1000 input via the receiving unit 110, or the position of the text in the tables 1100 and 1200.

Next, the control unit 140 controls the overall operation of the table generation system 100 related to the present invention. The control unit 140 may include a processor (or an artificial intelligence processor) that processes an artificial intelligence algorithm. The control unit 140 can recognize the tables 1100 and 1200 from the image 1000 based on a deep learning algorithm, and generate tables having the same cell configuration as the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000.

The control unit 140 also provides a task area 300 for generating tables, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, and the task area 300 is also called a "user environment" or "user interface" for generating tables.

Such a task area 300 can be output (or provided) to a display unit of the electronic device. Furthermore, the control unit 140 can generate the table based on user input received via a user input unit (e.g., a touch screen, a mouse, etc.) provided in the electronic device or linked to the electronic device.

In the present invention, there is no particular restriction on the type of electronic device to which the task area 300 is output, as long as it is capable of starting the table generation application according to the present invention. For example, the electronic device may include at least one of a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a computer, a notebook computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), a smart mirror, and a smart TV.

In the present invention, no reference numerals are given to the electronic device or the display unit and user input unit provided in the electronic device. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that in the present invention, the task area 300 is output to the display unit of the electronic device, and the user input is provided in the electronic device or is received via a user input unit linked to the electronic device.

Meanwhile, the table generation method and system according to the present invention can generate a table based on a user environment (or user interface) provided by a table generation application. That is, the table generation application can provide a user interface that can generate a table having the same or corresponding structure as tables 1100, 1200 included in image 1000. Such a user interface is also called a "table generation tool."

The table generation application can provide a task area 300 in which table generation tasks can be performed based on user input provided by a user via an electronic device, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B.

The task area 300 may be divided into multiple areas, and various information for generating the table may be output.

The areas and information contained in the task area 300 disappear or change depending on the user's selections and the current task state.

First, the task area 300 may include a header area 310. The header area 310 may also be referred to as a menu area, and may include at least one function icon. The header area 310 may include at least one function icon assigned with a login function for logging in to a user account, and function icons each matched to a plurality of table generation task processes (or tasks).

Here, the multiple table generation task processes (or tasks) may include: i) a task process of identifying components of tables 1100, 1200 included in image 1000; ii) a process of verifying the identification of components of tables 1100, 1200 included in image 1000; and iii) a process of identifying relationships between cells included in tables 1100, 1200 included in image 1000.

The header region 310 may include at least one of the following functional icons: i) a functional icon corresponding to a task process of identifying components of the tables 1100, 1200 included in the image 1000 (the "Table" icon in the header region 310 of FIG. 3A); ii) a functional icon corresponding to a process of verifying the identification of components of the tables 1100, 1200 included in the image 1000 (the "Table Inspection" icon in the header region 310 of FIG. 3A); and iii) a functional icon corresponding to a process of identifying relationships between cells included in the tables 1100, 1200 included in the image 1000 (the "Labeling" icon in the header region 310 of FIG. 3A).

The user can select one of the function icons corresponding to different task processes in the header area 310 and execute the task process corresponding to the selected function icon.

Next, the task area 300 may include toolbar areas 320, 370 that include functional icons that are assigned functions for identifying components of the table or identifying relationships between data contained in the table.

The types of functional icons included in the toolbar areas 320 and 370 vary depending on which of the multiple table generation task processes described above the current task process is.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 3A, if the current task process is a task process for identifying components of tables 1100, 1200 included in image 1000, toolbar area 320 may include at least one functional icon 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326 that is matched with a function for identifying components of tables 1100, 1200 (e.g., border elements, row elements, column elements, etc.).

As another example, as shown in FIG. 3B, if the current task process is a task process of identifying relationships between cells contained in tables 1100 and 1200 contained in image 1000, toolbar area 370 may include at least one function icon 371, 372, 373 that is matched with a function for identifying relationships between cells contained in tables 1100 and 1200.

In the present invention, "identifying relationships between cells" can be said to be the process of identifying (or grouping) multiple cells that contain related data among the multiple cells contained in a table.

Here, at least one of the multiple cells containing related data may be a category cell and at least one of the other cells may be a data cell.

Here, categories are classifications based on the same or similar properties or meanings, and are also called categories. Data belonging to the same category may be data with the same meaning, the same type, or the same affiliation. In other words, data included in a data cell may be data that falls into a category corresponding to a category cell.

In this case, the meaning of the text contained in the data cell may be a sub-concept of the meaning of the text contained in the category cell.

A category cell may contain a category name or data related to a category name, and a data cell may contain data that belongs to the category name contained in the category cell. Here, a category name may also be called a category name.

On the other hand, the functional icons included in the toolbar area 320 may be changed based on which functional icon corresponding to the task process is selected in the header area 310 described above.

For example, when a functional icon (such as the "Table" icon in header area 310 of FIG. 3A) corresponding to a task process for identifying components of tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000 is selected in header area 310, at least one functional icon 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, or 326 matching a function for identifying components of tables 1100 and 1200 (e.g., outer frame elements, row elements, column elements, etc.) may be output in toolbar area 320.

In addition, when a functional icon (such as the "Labeling" icon in the header area 310 of FIG. 3B) corresponding to the process of identifying the relationship between cells contained in tables 1100 and 1200 contained in image 1000 is selected in the header area 310, at least one functional icon 371, 372, or 373 matching the function of identifying the relationship between cells contained in tables 1100 and 1200 may be output in the toolbar area 370.

Next, the task area 300 may further include a function icon area 330 including at least one function icon for controlling the size, orientation, etc. of the image 1000, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

Next, the task area 300 includes an image 1000 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and may further include an editor pane 340 in which the results (or work) of the task process are visually presented.

Next, the task area 300 may further include a property pane 350 in which information about the tables 1100, 1200 identified during the task process or information about content (or text) extracted from the tables 1100, 1200 is output, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

For the sake of convenience, the areas included in the task area 300 have been described above using names such as the header area 310, the toolbar areas 320 and 370, the editor area 340, and the attribute area 350, but these are merely examples, and it goes without saying that the names of the areas included in the task area 300 can be changed in various ways and may be given general names such as "first area" and "second area."

The following describes in more detail how to generate a table using a table generation application, with reference to the description of task area 300 above. First, the method of identifying the components of a table will be described with reference to a flowchart.

In the table generation method according to the present invention, a process of outputting an image 1000 (see FIG. 1) including tables 1100 and 1200 is performed (S410).

As mentioned above, the image 1000 containing the tables 1100, 1200 can be received through a variety of routes.

More specifically, the image 1000 can be output to a task area 300 provided in a table generation application, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B.

In particular, the image 1000 can be output to the editor area 340 of the task area 300. Hereinafter, there will be no clear distinction between the two, and the image 1000 will be expressed as being output to (or included in) the task area 300.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 140 may rotate the image 1000 based on a user input applied to the image 1000 after a specific functional icon 321 is selected when the image 1000 is output to the task area 300. Here, the specific functional icon 321 may be an icon that is matched with a function of rotating the image 1000. In addition, the user input may be a click input that selects an area of the image 1000, or a drag input that is applied while the click input is maintained.

The control unit 140 can rotate the image 1000 according to the degree of the drag input. In addition, the control unit 140 can appropriately rotate the image 1000 so that the tables 1100 and 1200 are displayed in the forward direction when the drag input is applied.

In this case, the control unit 140 can recognize the tables 1100 and 1200 contained in the image 1000 and rotate the image 1000 so that the rectangles corresponding to the recognized tables are not displayed tilted.

This process of rotating the image 1000 is not a required process, but is performed as needed.

Next, in the present invention, when the image 1000 including the tables 1100 and 1200 is output to the task area 300 as described above, a process of accepting the selection of one of the multiple functional icons included in one area of the task area 300 is performed (S420).

As shown in FIG. 6, the multiple functional icons 321-326 are functional icons that are each matched to a function of identifying components (or table components) of the tables 1100 and 1200, or combining cells partitioned based on the identified components.

For example, among the multiple functional icons 321 to 326, the first functional icon 322 may be an icon that matches a function that identifies, among the table components, the outer frame elements of the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000.

Furthermore, among the multiple functional icons 321 to 326, the second functional icon 323 may be an icon that matches a function that identifies row elements of the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000, among the table components.

Furthermore, among the multiple functional icons 321 to 326, the third functional icon 324 may be an icon that matches a function that identifies, among the table components, column elements of the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000.

Furthermore, among the multiple functional icons 321 to 326, the fourth to sixth functional icons 324, 325, and 326 may be icons that match a combining function that combines cells partitioned by the identified table components in at least one of the horizontal and vertical directions.

In the present invention, when one of the functional icons is selected based on a user input, the control unit 140 can execute a process of identifying an element corresponding to the selected functional icon from tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000.

As an example, when the first functional icon 322 is selected from among the multiple functional icons 321 to 326, the control unit 140 may identify the outer frame elements of the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000 from among the table components.

As another example, when the second function icon 323 is selected from among the multiple function icons 321 to 326, the control unit 140 may identify row elements of tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000 from among the table components.

As yet another example, when the third function icon 324 is selected from among the multiple function icons 321 to 326, the control unit 140 may identify, from among the table components, the column elements of tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000.

Next, in the present invention, when one of the above-mentioned functional icons is selected, a process is performed to output guide information corresponding to the table component that is matched to the selected functional icon based on a preset input method added to the image 1000 (S430).

Here, the input in the preset manner may be various and may include at least one of a drag input and a click applied to the image 1000. For example, the input in the preset manner may be a drag input in which the user clicks and then drags the input.

When an input (or user input) in the preset manner is applied to the image 1000 after one of the functional icons is selected, the control unit 140 can process the applied user input as an input that identifies or recognizes the component corresponding to the selected functional icon.

At this time, the control unit 140 can recognize the component corresponding to the selected functional icon based on an image recognition algorithm.

The storage unit 120 may store shape information corresponding to each component. The control unit 140 can recognize the component corresponding to the selected functional icon from the tables 1100 and 1200 based on the shape information.

For example, when a first function icon that identifies a component corresponding to an outer frame element is selected, the control unit 140 may recognize or identify the outer frame element included in the area in the image 1000 where the user input was applied. In addition, the control unit 140 may output guide information (e.g., a box image) corresponding to the identified component to indicate that the component corresponding to the outer frame element has been identified.

Alternatively, when a first function icon that identifies a component corresponding to an outer frame element is selected, the control unit 140 may output guide information indicating the outer frame element so as to correspond to the area in the image 1000 where the user input was applied.

The guide information is visual information and differs depending on each component. As an example, if the component corresponds to an outer frame element of a table, the guide information may be a box image. The area in which the box image is output may be an area in image 1000 that corresponds to the table area in which tables 1100 and 1200 are placed.

As another example, if the component corresponds to a row element, the guide information may be an image of a horizontal line (or horizontal line segment) extending horizontally.

As yet another example, if the component corresponds to a column element, the guide information may be an image of a vertical line (or vertical line segment) extending vertically.

Below, we will explain in more detail how to identify each component and output guide information.

In the present invention, as a result of the process of identifying components (outer frame elements, row elements, column elements), a table having the same table structure as tables 1100, 1200 contained in image 1000 can be drawn. A table having the same structure as tables 1100, 1200 contained in image 1000 is called a "reproduced table." The process of Figures 6 to 8 described below is a process for generating a reproduced table having the same structure as tables 1100, 1200 contained in image 1000, and the table drawn in this process is also called a "reproduced table."

In other words, even before the reproduction tables having the same structure as tables 1100 and 1200 contained in image 1000 are completed, all tables drawn in the above process are called "reproduction tables."

First, referring to Figure 6, we will explain how to identify the outer frame elements and output guide information.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the first functional icon 322 is selected from among the multiple functional icons 321 to 326, the control unit 140 can identify the outer frame elements of the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000 from among the table components.

When the first function icon 322 is selected, the control unit 140 can receive inputs 401, 402, 403, and 404 in a preset manner to identify the table area in which the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000 are to be placed.

The preset input methods include drag inputs from one area of each table 1100, 1200 to another area.

The user can use drag input to select the table area in image 1000 that contains tables 1100 and 1200.

Based on the drag input, the control unit 140 can identify the table area in the image 1000 that contains the tables 1100 and 1200, and output guide information to the identified table area.

Such table areas correspond to the outer frames of tables 1100 and 1200, and the control unit 140 can output box images 610 and 620 indicating the outer frames of tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000 as guide information. The box images 610 and 620 may have an appearance in which the interior is made of empty space and the border is made of a solid or dotted line so that the user can recognize tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000.

The control unit 140 can display such guide information by overlapping it with the image 1000. That is, the guide information can be output by overlapping it with the image 1000.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the control unit 140 can output the box images 610, 620 in a size corresponding to the size of the tables 1100, 1200 included in the image 1000, even if the user input for identifying the outer frame elements is not added in a way that completely matches the size of the tables 1100, 1200 included in the image 1000.

This is because, as mentioned above, the control unit 140 can recognize the component that corresponds to the selected functional icon based on an image recognition algorithm.

The storage unit 120 may store shape information corresponding to each component. The control unit 140 can recognize the component (e.g., outer frame) corresponding to the selected functional icon from the tables 1100 and 1200 based on the shape information. The control unit 140 can use an image recognition algorithm to recognize or identify the outer frame element included in the area in the image 1000 where the user input was applied.

As shown in the figure, when an image 1000 includes multiple tables 1100 and 1200, the control unit 140 can identify the outer frame elements of the first table 1100 based on input of a preset method into the table area including the first table 1100.

Similarly, the control unit 140 can identify the outer frame elements of the second table 1200 based on input of a pre-set method into the table area in which the second table 1200 is included.

In this way, in the present invention, even if the image 1000 contains multiple tables 1100 and 1200, it is possible to identify the components of each table 1100 and 1200.

On the other hand, if multiple outer frame elements are identified in the image 1000, the control unit 140 can determine that the image 1000 contains multiple tables 1100, 1200.

On the other hand, when the outer frame elements of tables 1100 and 1200 are identified in this manner, the control unit 140 can determine that it has recognized the table to be generated.

In this case, the control unit 140 can output the information of the table reproduced up to now to one area of the task area 300 (e.g., the attribute area 350).

Information may be output to the attribute area 350 in a divided manner for different tables. The control unit 140 may recognize each outer frame element as a different table, and may provide the attribute information 351, 352 of the tables corresponding to each recognized outer frame element to the attribute area 350.

As shown in the figure, attribute information 351, 352 includes information on the respective attributes of the recognized table (or reproduced table (table corresponding to the outer frame element)), and the attributes may include information on at least one of the number of rows (Rows), the number of columns (Cols), and the number of merged cells (Merges). Here, the recognized table (or reproduced table) is distinct from tables 1100, 1200 included in image 1000, and refers to a table corresponding to box images 610, 620.

On the other hand, the attribute information 351, 352 output to the attribute area 350 can be updated by executing a process to identify the components included in the tables 1100, 1200.

For example, as described above, if only the table border elements are specified for each of the first and second tables 1100, 1200, the reproduced table based on the first and second tables 1100, 1200 will each contain one row and one column, and there will be no merged cells.

Next, referring to Figure 7, we will explain how to identify row elements and output guide information.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the second function icon 323 is selected from among the multiple function icons 321 to 326, the control unit 140 can identify the row elements of tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000 from among the table components.

A row element is a line (or line segment) that extends horizontally. There may be one or more such row elements depending on the table configuration.

When the second function icon 323 is selected, the control unit 140 can receive identification of horizontal lines constituting the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000 through input 601 in a preset manner. The input in the preset manner may be a click input.

That is, when the second function icon 323 is selected and a row element of a table included in the image 1000 is identified by inputting the preset method, the control unit 140 can output guide information 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208 corresponding to at least one horizontal line constituting the row element of the table included in the image 1000 into the box images 610, 620.

Guide information 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208 may be visually indicated by solid or dotted lines as shown in the figure, and may extend from one side of box image 610, 620 to the opposite side opposite to the one side. Here, the extending direction may be the lateral (or horizontal) direction. Such guide information 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208 divides box image 610, 620 into at least two cells in the row direction.

For example, the first box image 610 corresponding to the first table 1100 is partitioned into five rows based on the horizontal lines extracted from the first table 1100 and the corresponding guide information 1101, 1102, 1103, and 1104.

Based on these partitions, the attribute information output to the attribute area 350 is updated. As a result of the update, the attribute information 351 corresponding to the first table 1100 shows that the reproduced first table (the table corresponding to the first box image 610) contains five rows, and the row-related information ("Rows: 5") is updated.

Similarly, the second box image 620 corresponding to the second table 1200 is partitioned into nine rows based on the horizontal lines extracted from the second table 1200 and the corresponding guide information 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, and 1208.

Based on these partitions, the attribute information output to the attribute area 350 is updated. As a result of the update, the attribute information 352 corresponding to the second table 1200 is updated so that the reproduced second table (the table corresponding to the second box image 620) contains nine rows, and the row-related information ("Rows: 9") is updated.

Meanwhile, the control unit 140 can extract horizontal lines included in the area where the user input is applied in the preset manner based on an image recognition algorithm. "Extracting horizontal lines" from tables 1100 and 1200 means recognizing elements corresponding to horizontal lines from tables 1100 and 1200 and determining the elements as horizontal lines.

Next, referring to Figure 8, we will explain how to identify column elements and output guide information.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the third function icon 324 is selected from among the multiple function icons 321 to 326, the control unit 140 can identify, from among the table components, the column elements of tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000.

A column element is a line (or line segment) that extends vertically (or vertically). There may be one or more such column elements depending on the table configuration.

When the third function icon 324 is selected, the control unit 140 can receive input 701 in a preset manner to identify vertical lines that constitute the tables 1100 and 1200 included in the image 1000. The input in the preset manner may be a click input.

That is, when the third function icon 324 is selected and a column element of a table included in the image 1000 is identified by inputting the preset method, the control unit 140 can output guide information 1111, 1112, 1113, 1211, 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, 1225 corresponding to at least one vertical line constituting the column element of the table included in the image 1000 into the box images 610 and 620.

Guide information 1111, 1112, 1113, 1211, 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, 1225 may be visually indicated by solid or dotted lines as shown in the figure, and may extend from one side of box image 610, 620 to the opposite side opposite said one side. Here, the extending direction may be the vertical direction. Such guide information 1111, 1112, 1113, 1211, 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, 1225 divides box image 610, 620 into at least two cells in the column direction.

For example, the first box image 610 corresponding to the first table 1100 is divided into four columns based on the vertical lines extracted from the first table 1100 and the corresponding guide information 1111, 1112, and 1113.

Based on these partitions, the attribute information output to the attribute area 350 is updated. As a result of the update, the attribute information 351 corresponding to the first table 1100 is updated so that the reproduced first table (the table corresponding to the first box image 610) contains four columns, and the information about the columns ("Cols: 4") is updated.

Similarly, the second box image 620 corresponding to the second table 1200 is partitioned into seven columns based on the vertical lines extracted from the second table 1200 and the corresponding guide information 1211, 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, and 1225.

Based on these partitions, the attribute information output to the attribute area 350 is updated. As a result of the update, the attribute information 352 corresponding to the second table 1200 is updated so that the reproduced second table (the table corresponding to the second box image 620) contains seven columns, and the column-related information ("Cols: 7") is updated.

Meanwhile, the control unit 140 can extract vertical lines included in the area where the user input is applied in the preset manner based on an image recognition algorithm. "Extracting vertical lines" from tables 1100 and 1200 means recognizing elements corresponding to vertical lines from tables 1100 and 1200 and determining the elements as vertical lines.

The order in which components are identified from tables 1100 and 1200 can be freely changed.

As described above, in the present invention, the components (outer frame elements, row elements, column elements) of tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000 are identified based on the selection of a functional icon and user input. Through such identification, guide information corresponding to each component is output, and thus the guide information corresponds to tables that reproduce tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the box images 610 and 620 that identify the outer frame elements of the tables 1100 and 1200 are partitioned to include multiple cells by the guide information 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208, 1111, 1112, 1113, 1211, 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, and 1225 that correspond to the horizontal and vertical lines output by identifying the row and column elements.

That is, the box images 610, 620 are partitioned to include multiple cells by horizontal and vertical lines identified by the functional icons.

These multiple cells may be cells divided into sub-cell units that are divided based on all the lines present in the tables, regardless of the actual cells present in the tables 1100, 1200 included in the image 1000.

As an example, the first table 1100 is divided into 20 subcells by four horizontal lines 1101, 1102, 1103, and 1104 (see FIG. 7) and three vertical lines 1111, 1112, and 1113 (see FIG. 8). The number of subcells is calculated by (number of horizontal lines + 1) x (number of vertical lines + 1).

As another example, the second table 1200 is divided into 63 subcells by eight horizontal lines 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208 (see Figure 7) and six vertical lines 1211, 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, 1225 (see Figure 8).

In this way, when cells are partitioned based on the components of tables 1100 and 1200 contained in image 1000, the structure of box images 610 and 620 may differ from the structure of tables 1100 and 1200 contained in image 1000.

This is because the box images 610, 620 have cells that are divided into the smallest units based on all the lines (horizontal and vertical lines) contained in each table 1100, 1200.

Therefore, in the present invention, a process of merging cells can be performed to generate a table (or a reproduction table) having the same structure as tables 1100 and 1200 contained in image 1000.

That is, in the table generation method according to the present invention, a process of generating a table having a structure corresponding to the table included in the image using guide information may be performed (S440).

This process removes at least some of the horizontal and vertical lines, and is performed only when necessary.

In other words, if a reproduction table having the same structure as tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000 is generated by steps S410 to S430 described above, step S440 does not need to be performed. The reproduction table may be a table consisting of guide information corresponding to the box image, horizontal lines, and vertical lines drawn in the process of identifying the components described above.

On the other hand, the process of removing at least a portion of the horizontal and vertical lines means the process of combining at least two adjacent cells by removing at least a portion of the horizontal and vertical lines contained between the at least two adjacent cells.

This combining process may be performed based on a user input added to the guide information after a functional icon that matches the function of deleting at least a portion of the horizontal and vertical lines (or a combining function) is selected from among a plurality of functional icons included in the toolbar area 320.

There may be more than one functional icon with a matching function. The functional icons with a matching function include i) a fourth functional icon 325 to which a function of removing all horizontal and vertical lines existing between at least two cells specified by user input, regardless of the horizontal and vertical directions, and ii) a fourth functional icon 325 to which a function of removing all horizontal and vertical lines existing between multiple cells 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, 932 included in an area specified by user input (an area including cells with reference numbers 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, 932) included in the area specified by user input as shown in FIG. It may include at least one of the following: a fifth functional icon 326 assigned with the function of removing the vertical line 911 and horizontally combining multiple cells 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, 932; and iii) a sixth functional icon 327 assigned with the function of removing the horizontal lines 941, 942, 943 that exist between multiple cells 951, 952, 953, 954 included in an area specified by user input (an area that includes cells with reference numbers 951, 952, 953, 954), as shown in FIG. 11, and vertically combining adjacent cells.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 9, after the fourth function icon 325 is selected, based on user input applied to the image 1000, the control unit 140 can remove (delete) all horizontal and vertical lines between multiple cells included in the area where the user input is applied, and generate one cell. For example, when four cells containing information such as "Patient Number", "Patient Name", "12345678", and "Hong Gil-dong" are selected from the first table 1100 by user input in a preset manner, the control unit 140 can remove all horizontal and vertical lines between the four cells and combine the four cells into one cell.

Also, referring to FIG. 10, i) as shown in FIG. 10(a), after the fifth function icon 326 is selected, ii) as shown in FIG. 10(b), when a user input of a preset user method is applied to a plurality of cells 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, and 932, iii) as shown in FIG. 10(b) and (c), the control unit 140: The vertical lines 911 that exist between multiple cells 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, and 932 can be removed to generate merged cells 921', 923', 925', 927', 929', and 931' in which multiple cells 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 929, 930, 931, and 932 are merged horizontally.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 11, i) after the sixth function icon 327 is selected as shown in FIG. 11(a), ii) as shown in FIG. 11(b), a user input of a preset user method is applied to a plurality of cells 951, 952, 953, 954, and iii) as shown in FIG. 11(b) and (c), the control unit 140 can remove the horizontal lines 941, 942, 943 existing between the plurality of cells 951, 952, 953, 954, and generate a merged cell 950 in which the plurality of cells 951, 952, 953, 954 are vertically merged.

In this way, the control unit 140 can combine at least two cells based on user input, so that the box images 610, 620 have the same cell structure as the tables 1100, 1200 contained in the image 1000, as shown in FIG. 9.

Meanwhile, based on this merging process, the attribute information output to the attribute area 350 is updated. As a result of the update, the attribute information 351 corresponding to the first table 1100 is such that the reproduced first table (the table corresponding to the first box image 610) includes one merged cell 1121, and the information regarding the merged cell ("Merges: 1") is updated.

Also, as a result of the update, the attribute information 352 corresponding to the second table 1200 indicates that the reproduced second table (the table corresponding to the second box image 620) contains eight merged cells 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, 1225, 1226, 1227, and 1228, and the information regarding the merged cells ("Merges: 8") is updated.

When this merging is completed, as shown in FIG. 12, the box images 610 and 620 become reproduction tables having the same cell structure as the tables 1100 and 1200 contained in the image 1000. In other words, the control unit 140 can generate a reproduction table.

In the above process, the function of extracting components corresponding to the structures of tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000 was described without considering the relevance between cells. Below, a more detailed description will be given of a method of assigning relevance between cells of tables 1100 and 1200 included in image 1000, i.e., relationships between data.

As described with reference to FIG. 3B, "identifying relationships between cells" refers to the process of identifying (or grouping) multiple cells that contain related data among multiple cells included in a table, and functional icons 371, 372, and 373 in the toolbar area 370 may be provided for this process.

The process of identifying the relationship between cells may also be a process of identifying cells by semantically classifying text as a superordinate concept and text as a subordinate concept. For example, the process of identifying the relationship between cells may be a process of designating whether the corresponding text belongs to a superordinate concept or a subordinate concept, and linking and grouping the text designated as the superordinate concept with the text of the related subordinate concept.

More specifically, the cell in which the text of the superordinate concept is placed may be a category cell, and the cell in which the text of the subordinate concept is placed may be a data cell belonging to the category cell. As described with reference to FIG. 3B, categories are classified based on the same or similar properties or meanings, and are also called categories. Data belonging to the same category may be data with the same meaning, the same type, or the same affiliation.

A category cell may contain a category name or data related to a category name, and a data cell may contain data that belongs to the category name contained in the category cell. Here, a category name may also be called a category name.

Referring to FIG. 13, first, a step is performed to identify a category cell from among the plurality of cells that contains the category name of the table included in the image.

When a first functional icon 371 for specifying a category is selected from among the functional icons 371, 372, and 373 in the toolbar area 370, the step of identifying the category cell may be started. In this case, the category name included in the category cell may be output together with the identification information of the category cell in another area of the task area based on the identification of the category cell.

For example, when the first function icon 371 is selected by selecting the first function icon 371, the Keys item may become active in the attribute area 350 of the task area 300, and a list of the selected category data may be output. In the list of category data, the category name included in the category cell may be output together with the identification information (e.g., serial number) of the category cell.

At this time, a cell may be selected by clicking or dragging in the tables 1100 and 1200 output to the task area 300, and the selected cell may be designated as a category cell. For example, when cells 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, and 1305 are selected by clicking and dragging in the tables 1100 and 1200, they may be designated as category cells.

In the list of category data, the category names and the identification information may be output in sequence according to the procedure in which the category cells are selected. In this case, the selected cells may be displayed as selected by being highlighted, etc.

Meanwhile, the attribute area 350 may be formed with list areas of category names corresponding to the tables 1100 and 1200 output to the task area 300. For example, a first list area 1330 corresponding to the first table 1100 and a second list area 1340 corresponding to the second table 1200 may be displayed in the output area 1320 of the Keys item. Here, the order in which the category names are output in the first list area 1330 may be independent of the second table 1200, and may be based on the procedure in which cells 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, and 1305 are selected in the first table 1100. Also, the order in which the category names are output in the second list area 1340 may be independent of the first table 1100, and may be based on the procedure in which cell 1311 is selected in the second table 1200.

Next, in the table generation method according to the present invention, a step of identifying a data cell related to the category cell among the plurality of cells is performed. For example, when a category cell is selected as a key item in the tables 1100 and 1200 output to the task area 300, a step of selecting a data cell according to row and column may be performed.

The identification of the data cells associated with the category cell may be based on a preset input method starting from the category cell. The input method is described in more detail below.

For example, when the second function icon 372 is selected, a function for selecting data cells according to rows is activated as shown in FIG. 14, and when the third function icon 373 is selected, a function for selecting data cells according to columns is activated as shown in FIG. 15.

First, as shown in FIG. 14, when the second function icon 372 is selected, the Rows item in the attribute area 350 becomes active, and a cell group list grouped in the row direction may be output.

In the tables 1100 and 1200 output to the task area 300, one of the category cells 1402 is selected, and the data cells 1403 and 1404 selected following the category cell 1402 are designated as data cells belonging to the category cell 1402. The selection of the cell may be performed by a click input, a drag input, or a click-and-drag input. As an example, when the category cell 1402 is touched and then a drag is input through the adjacent data cells 1403 and 1404 in the row direction, a cell group is formed in which the category name of the category cell 1402 is a higher concept and the contents of the data cells 1403 and 1404 are a lower concept.

The attribute area 350 may be configured to output a list 1420 of cell group data grouped by the cell selected in the task area 300. The list 1420 may be configured to output a category name at the top, and the contents of the selected data cells may be output sequentially below the category name.

On the other hand, in the process of identifying the relationships between cells in the row direction, the start and end of a cell group may be specified based on the selection of different category cells.

For example, when a plurality of category cells are identified from the plurality of cells, and a second category cell different from the first category cell is selected from the plurality of category cells by inputting in a preset manner starting from a first category cell, the control unit 140 may identify the selected data cell as a data cell related to the first category cell until the second category cell is selected.

Referring to FIG. 14, such determination is made when a first category cell 1402 corresponding to "examination fee" is touched, and then adjacent data cells 1403 and 1404 in the row direction are selected, followed by the selection of the final data cell "38,040", and then the selection of a second category cell 1405 corresponding to "hospitalization fee". The cell selected between the first category cell and the second category cell is determined as a data cell related to the first category cell. Also, a data cell selected after the second category cell is selected is determined as a data cell related to the second category cell.

Furthermore, some of the cells in the table may be cells that have both the attributes of the category cells and the attributes of the data cells. For example, "Consultation fee" is a category cell for data cells 1403 and 1404, "7,608" and "30,432," but is a data cell for category cell 1401, "Basic item." In this case, the cell that corresponds to "Consultation fee" is defined as an intermediate category cell.

In this example, the following cells are selected in the row direction: category cell 1401, intermediate category cell 1402, data cell 1403, 1404. In this case, the list 1420 is output in the order of superordinate concept (category name), intermediate concept (intermediate category name), and subordinate concept (data), forming one cell group.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, when the third function icon 373 is selected, the column (Clos) item becomes active in the attribute area 350, and a cell group list grouped in the column direction may be output.

In the tables 1100 and 1200 output to the task area 300, one of the category cells 1501 may be selected, and an intermediate category cell 1502 selected following the category cell 1501 may form one cell group. In this case, a cell designated with a certain attribute in the process of identifying relationships between cells in the row direction described above is designated with a different attribute in the process of identifying relationships between cells in the column direction in this example. As an example, a "basic item" is identified as a category cell in the row direction, but is identified as an intermediate category cell 1502, which is a subordinate concept of "item", which is the category cell 1501, in the column direction.

On the other hand, in the process of identifying the relationships between cells in the column direction in this example, a data cell may be designated as a data cell belonging to the category cell or the intermediate category cell. The selection of the cell may be performed by click input, drag input, or click and drag input.

In addition, cells selected in the process of identifying relationships between cells in the row direction described with reference to FIG. 14 and the process of identifying relationships between cells in the column direction described with reference to FIG. 15 may be highlighted to indicate that they have been selected. Furthermore, for cells that are selected in duplicate, the shape of the highlight may be changed depending on the number of times they are selected. As an example, the highlight color may become darker as the number of times they are selected increases.

As described above, the table generation method and system according to the present invention not only reproduces the tables 1100 and 1200 contained in the image 1000 visually identically, but also reproduces the relationships between the cells that make up the tables 1100 and 1200 identically, thereby generating a reproduced table that is more useful.

Meanwhile, the reproduction tables 2100, 2200 can be provided as data in various formats, not just data in an Excel (xlsx) structure. When the reproduction tables are provided as data in an Excel structure, the control unit 140 can reflect the relationships between multiple cells in the Excel data, and in that case, the arithmetic relationships between the cells can also be included in the Excel data. The control unit 140 can estimate the inter-arithmetic relationships between the texts included in the cells, and apply the estimated arithmetic relationships as functions to the cells corresponding to the Excel data.

As described above, the table generation method and system according to the present invention can provide a user environment that allows extraction of table components contained in an image based on user input. Therefore, the table generation method and system according to the present invention can extract not only the text data contained in a table, but also the components that make up the structure of the table, and as a result, can generate a table that has the same structure and the same data as the table contained in the image.

The table generation method and system according to the present invention also identifies cells defined by the components of a table contained in an image and assigns relationships between cells based on user input, providing a user environment in which the data contained in each cell can be organically analyzed.

The table generation method using the table generation application of the present invention provides a function to extract the components of a table contained in an image and a function to assign relationships between data contained in the table, thereby reproducing the visual characteristics of the table contained in the image as well as the relational characteristics between data.

On the other hand, the present invention described above can be realized as a program that can be executed by one or more processes on a computer and stored on a computer-readable medium (or recording medium).

The present invention described above can also be realized as computer-readable code or commands on a program recording medium. In other words, the present invention can be provided in the form of a computer program.

On the other hand, computer-readable media includes any type of storage device on which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state disks (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), ROMs, RAMs, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices.

The computer-readable medium may also be a server or cloud storage that includes storage and can be accessed by the electronic device through communication. In this case, the computer can download the program according to the present invention from the server or cloud storage through wired or wireless communication.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the aforementioned computer is an electronic device equipped with a processor, i.e., a central processing unit (CPU), and the type of the processor is not particularly limited.

On the other hand, the detailed description of the present invention is illustrative and should not be interpreted as restrictive in any respect. The scope of the present invention should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all modifications within the scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

100 Table generation system 110 Receiving unit 120 Storage unit 130 OCR unit 140 Control unit 150 External server 151 Cloud server 152 Database (DB)
200 Table 201 Frame element 202 Row element 203 Column element 210 Cell 300 Task area 310 Header area 320, 370 Toolbar area 330 Function icon area 340 Editor area 350 Attribute area 1000 Image 1100, 1200 Table

Claims (15)

1. A method for generating a table for a table generation application, comprising:
outputting an image including a table in a task area provided by the application;
receiving a selection of one of a plurality of function icons included in one area of the task area;
and when an input in a preset manner including at least one of a drag input and a click is applied to the image after any one of the functional icons is selected , processing the input in the preset manner as an input for recognizing or identifying a table component corresponding to the selected functional icon, and outputting guide information corresponding to the recognized or identified table component based on the input in the preset manner.
and using the recognized or identified table components to generate a table having a structure corresponding to a table contained in the image;
The table components include:
At least one of a frame element, a row element, and a column element is included;
The guide information includes:
The image includes at least one of a box image showing an outer frame element of a table included in the image, a horizontal line constituting a row element of a table included in the image, and a vertical line constituting a column element of a table included in the image.
A method comprising: In the step of outputting the guide information,
identifying a unit element corresponding to a table component matched with the functional icon from a table included in the image based on the input of the preset format, and outputting the guide information corresponding to the identified unit element.
2. The method according to claim 1 . In the step of outputting the guide information,
Recognizing at least one unit element included in an area to which the input of the preset type is added, among unit elements constituting a table included in the image;
3. The method according to claim 2 . A first function icon of the plurality of function icons is matched to a function that identifies an outer frame element of a table included in the image among the table components;
a second function icon of the plurality of function icons is matched to a function that identifies a row element of a table included in the image among the table components;
A third function icon among the plurality of function icons is matched to a function of outputting guide information corresponding to a column element of a table included in the image among the table components.
2. The method according to claim 1 . In the step of outputting the guide information,
When the first function icon is selected and a table area in which a table included in the image is arranged is specified by inputting the preset method,
outputting the box image indicating an outer frame of a table included in the image as guide information to the table area;
5. The method according to claim 4 . In the step of outputting the guide information,
When the second function icon is selected and a row element of a table included in the image is specified by inputting the preset method,
outputting, into the box image, guide information corresponding to at least one of the horizontal lines constituting a row element of a table included in the image;
When the third function icon is selected and a column element of a table included in the image is specified by inputting the preset method,
outputting, into the box image, guide information corresponding to at least one of the vertical lines constituting a column element of a table included in the image;
6. The method according to claim 5 . the horizontal line and the vertical line are output so as to extend from one side of the box image to an opposite side opposite to the one side,
7. The method according to claim 6 . The box image is
The horizontal lines and the vertical lines partition the screen so as to include a plurality of cells.
8. The method according to claim 7 . The plurality of function icons further include
a fourth function icon matching a function of deleting at least a part of the horizontal line and the vertical line;
In the step of generating the table,
after the fourth functional icon is selected, combining at least two of the plurality of cells by removing at least a portion of the horizontal line and the vertical line based on a user input applied to the image.
9. The method according to claim 8. The method further comprises:
identifying a category cell, among the plurality of cells, that includes a category name of a table included in the image, in order to identify a relationship between the plurality of cells;
In the step of identifying the category cells,
When at least one cell is selected from among the plurality of cells by a click or drag input, the selected cell is identified as the category cell;
9. The method according to claim 8. Another area of the task area includes:
Based on the identification of the category cell, a category name included in the category cell is output together with identification information of the category cell.
11. The method according to claim 10. The method further comprises:
identifying data cells among said plurality of cells that are related to said category cell to identify relationships between said plurality of cells;
Identifying a data cell associated with the category cell includes:
Based on a preset input method starting from the category cell, the identified data cell is designated as a data cell belonging to the category cell.
11. The method according to claim 10. A plurality of category cells are identified from the plurality of cells, and a second category cell different from the first category cell is selected from the plurality of category cells by inputting in a preset manner starting from a first category cell,
identifying selected data cells as data cells associated with the first category cell until the second category cell is selected;
13. The method according to claim 12. A system for generating a table in a task area output to a display unit of an electronic device, comprising:
The control unit of the system
outputting an image including a table in the task area;
receiving, from a user, a selection of one of a plurality of function icons included in one area of the task area;
and when an input in a preset manner including at least one of a drag input and a click is applied to the image after any one of the functional icons is selected, the input in the preset manner is processed as an input for recognizing or identifying a table component corresponding to the selected functional icon, and guide information corresponding to the recognized or identified table component is output based on the input in the preset manner.
generating a table using the recognized or identified table components having a structure corresponding to a table contained in the image;
The table components include:
At least one of a frame element, a row element, and a column element is included;
The guide information includes:
The information visually indicates a box image showing an outer frame element of a table included in the image, horizontal lines constituting row elements of the table included in the image, and vertical lines constituting column elements of the table included in the image.
A system characterized in that A computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed,
outputting an image including the table in a task area provided by the application;
receiving a selection of one of a plurality of function icons included in one area of the task area;
and when an input in a preset manner including at least one of a drag input and a click is applied to the image after any one of the functional icons is selected , processing the input in the preset manner as an input for recognizing or identifying a table component corresponding to the selected functional icon, and outputting guide information corresponding to the recognized or identified table component based on the input in the preset manner.
generating a table using the recognized or identified table components having a structure corresponding to a table contained in the image;
The computer executes the above.
The table components include:
At least one of a frame element, a row element, and a column element is included;
The guide information includes:
The image includes at least one of a box image showing an outer frame element of a table included in the image, a horizontal line constituting a row element of a table included in the image, and a vertical line constituting a column element of a table included in the image.
A computer program comprising: