Method, system and record medium for generating wide-area high-resolution image

• Main Author: NAKAJIMA NOBORU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 14.10.2003
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

A capture device 3 first captures the whole of a document 2 and thereby obtains a total image of the document 2. A structure analysis section 24 conducts image structure analysis to the total image, and thereby extracts structural elements (text, figure, picture, etc.) of the document 2 and obtains position information of the structural elements. For each of one or more selected structural elements, a sub-image acquisition process is conducted, in which a control information generation section 25 determines one or more partial areas and a resolution to be used for capturing the selected structural element and an image acquisition control section 23 acquires sub-images of the partial areas of the structural element by use of the capture device 3 with the determined resolution. An image connection section 26 connects the sub-images together and thereby obtains a high resolution image (synthesis target image) of the structural element. For each of the other (not selected) structural elements to which the sub-image acquisition process has not been conducted, part of the total image corresponding to the structural element is extracted as a synthesis target image. An image reconstruction section 28 synthesizes the synthesis target images of the structural elements maintaining relative position relationship between the structural elements, thereby a wide-area high-resolution image of the document 2 is obtained even if relatively large blank areas existed in the document 2.