Patent · US Expired

Method for capturing a document image, a scanner using the method and a document image management system using the scanner

US6449065B1 · kind B1 · utility

5Cited by
38References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 7, 1999
Grant dateSep 10, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 7, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N1/40062
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A document image capture method and scanner, and an image processing apparatus incorporating such a scanner, in which a document is scanned two or more times. The first scan preferably provides bi-level image data, which is analyzed to identify blocks of uniform image type (for example, text, line drawing, grayscale image, or full-color image) within the document. The second scan, preferably performed at lower resolution than the first, provides grayscale or color information, which is substituted in the grayscale or color blocks, respectively, for the bi-level information obtained in the first scan. A third scan, to provide information of the third type, may also be performed. An operator preferably views an image of the document, based on the scanned information, to be sure that the identification and typing of the various blocks has been done correctly, and may instruct that the document be rescanned to provide new data for a designated portion of the document image, if it appears that an error has occurred. The information representing the document image obtained in this way is preferably stored using a set of linked bit maps, one bit map for each block. The memory capacity nee…

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