Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for processing a document by utilizing an image

US5101448A · kind A · utility

79Cited by
3References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 21, 1989
Grant dateMar 31, 1992
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 21, 2009

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F40/177
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A document processor for processing a document image which includes both a table formed by a plurality of ruled lines, and characters to generate vector data defining the ruled lines comprises an image input device for reading an image of the document, a display for displaying the document image and a processor for processing the document image. The processor corrects a skew of the input document image, detects a successive black pixel area included in the skew-corrected image, detects a character area based on a size of a rectangle which circumscribes the successive black pixel area, and converts the image to a second document image having characters deleted and including only the ruled lines. Those line segments detected by horizontally scanning the second document image which are longer than a predetermined threshold are determined as horizontal temporary lines, and those segments detected by vertically scanning the second document image which are longer than a predetermined threshold are determined as vertical temporary lines, and data defining positons and sizes of those lines are stored. A plurality of horizontal temporary lines which are adjacent to each other are consolidat…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.