Information processing device, program for operating the same, document scanning device, and document scanning system

Abstract

An information processing device comprises: an image data receiving unit which receives image data of each page of a double-sided document generated by a document scanning device by double-side scanning of the document; a recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit which receives recognizable direction adjustment information outputted by the document scanning device as information to be used for adjusting a recognizable direction of the image data of a back page of the document to a standard recognizable direction which is defined as the recognizable direction of the image data of a front page of the document; and a vertical inversion unit which vertically inverts the image data of the back page as needed based on the recognizable direction adjustment information so that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page will be in the standard recognizable direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the composition of a document scanning system in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the composition of a scanner unit of a document scanning device included in the document scanning system of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A-3C are cross-sectional views for explaining a document feeding process executed by a document feeding mechanism of the document scanning device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) as the document scanning device of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5A-5D are schematic diagrams showing four methods of double-side scanning.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing image data (scanned image data) generated by double-side scanning of a long edge document according to scanning methods #1-#4 shown in FIGS. 5A-5D and image data (processed image data) obtained by executing an inversion process to the scanned image data.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing image data (scanned image data) generated by double-side scanning of a short edge document according to the scanning methods #1-#4 and image data (processed image data) obtained by executing an inversion process to the scanned image data.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the inversion process.

FIG. 9 is a screen image showing a user interface screen which is displayed on a display unit of the PC for letting the user change settings of scanning parameters.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a process executed by a PC (information processing device) in the document scanning system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a process executed by the document scanning device.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the composition of a document scanning system as a first modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the composition of a document scanning system as a second modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the composition of a document scanning system as a third modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the composition of a document scanning system as a fourth modification of the embodiment.

FIGS. 16A-16D are schematic diagrams for explaining a recognizable direction and a reading direction.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are schematic diagrams for explaining a long edge document (long edge-bound document) and a short edge document (short edge-bound document).

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an image data receiving unit which receives image data of each page of a double-sided document generated by a document scanning device by double-side scanning of the document;a recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit which receives recognizable direction adjustment information outputted by the document scanning device as information to be used for adjusting a recognizable direction of the image data of a back page of the document to a standard recognizable direction which is defined as the recognizable direction of the image data of a front page of the document; anda vertical inversion unit which vertically inverts the image data of the back page as needed based on the recognizable direction adjustment information so that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page will be in the standard recognizable direction.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: the recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit receives recognizable direction information, which takes on different values depending on whether the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is the same as or opposite to the recognizable direction of the document, as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further comprises a first recognizable direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based on the recognizable direction information, andthe vertical inversion unit vertically inverts the image data of a page when the recognizable direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the recognizable direction of the document by the first recognizable direction judgment unit.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, further comprising a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, wherein: the first recognizable direction judgment unit makes the judgment on whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: the recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit receives scanning method information, which represents a double-side scanning method of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the scanning method, as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further comprises a second recognizable direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based on the scanning method information, andthe vertical inversion unit vertically inverts the image data of a page when the recognizable direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the recognizable direction of the document by the second recognizable direction judgment unit.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, further comprising a first storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of scanning method information, and the second recognizable direction judgment unit judges that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document when the information stored in the first storage unit being associated with the scanning method information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

6. The information processing device according to claim 4, further comprising a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, wherein: the second recognizable direction judgment unit makes the judgment on whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

7. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: the recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit receives type information, which represents the type of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the type, as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further comprises a third recognizable direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based on the type information, andthe vertical inversion unit vertically inverts the image data of a page when the recognizable direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the recognizable direction of the document by the third recognizable direction judgment unit.

8. The information processing device according to claim 7, further comprising a second storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of type information, and the third recognizable direction judgment unit judges that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document when the information stored in the second storage unit being associated with the type information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

9. The information processing device according to claim 7, further comprising a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, wherein: the third recognizable direction judgment unit makes the judgment on whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

10. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a reading direction adjustment information receiving unit which receives reading direction adjustment information outputted by the document scanning device as information to be used for adjusting a reading direction of the image data of the back page, in a state in which the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page has been adjusted to the standard recognizable direction, to a standard reading direction which is defined as the reading direction of the image data of the front page; anda horizontal inversion unit which horizontally inverts the image data of the back page as needed based on the reading direction adjustment information so that the reading direction of the image data of the back page will be in the standard reading direction.

11. The information processing device according to claim 10, wherein: the reading direction adjustment information receiving unit receives reading direction information, which takes on different values depending on whether the reading direction of the image data of each page is the same as or opposite to the reading direction of the document, as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further comprises a first reading direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based on the reading direction information, andthe horizontal inversion unit horizontally inverts the image data of a page when the reading direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the reading direction of the document by the first reading direction judgment unit.

12. The information processing device according to claim 11, further comprising a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, wherein: the first reading direction judgment unit makes the judgment on whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

13. The information processing device according to claim 10, wherein: the reading direction adjustment information receiving unit receives scanning method information, which represents a double-side scanning method of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the scanning method, as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further comprises a second reading direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based on the scanning method information, andthe horizontal inversion unit horizontally inverts the image data of a page when the reading direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the reading direction of the document by the second reading direction judgment unit.

14. The information processing device according to claim 13, further comprising a third storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of scanning method information, and the second reading direction judgment unit judges that the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document when the information stored in the third storage unit being associated with the scanning method information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

15. The information processing device according to claim 13, further comprising a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, wherein: the second reading direction judgment unit makes the judgment on whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

16. The information processing device according to claim 10, wherein: the reading direction adjustment information receiving unit receives type information, which represents the type of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the type, as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further comprises a third reading direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based on the type information, andthe horizontal inversion unit horizontally inverts the image data of a page when the reading direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the reading direction of the document by the third reading direction judgment unit.

17. The information processing device according to claim 16, further comprising a fourth storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of type information, and the third reading direction judgment unit judges that the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document when the information stored in the fourth storage unit being associated with the type information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

18. The information processing device according to claim 16, further comprising a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, wherein: the third reading direction judgment unit makes the judgment on whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

19. A computer readable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to function as: an image data receiving unit which receives image data of each page of a double-sided document generated by a document scanning device by double-side scanning of the document;a recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit which receives recognizable direction adjustment information outputted by the document scanning device as information to be used for adjusting a recognizable direction of the image data of a back page of the document to a standard recognizable direction which is defined as the recognizable direction of the image data of a front page of the document; anda vertical inversion unit which vertically inverts the image data of the back page as needed based on the recognizable direction adjustment information so that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page will be in the standard recognizable direction.

20. A document scanning device comprising: a scanning unit which scans each page of a double-sided document and thereby generates image data of each page;an image data outputting unit which outputs the image data of each page generated by the scanning unit; anda recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit which outputs recognizable direction adjustment information as information to be used for adjusting a recognizable direction of the image data of a back page of the document to a standard recognizable direction which is defined as the recognizable direction of the image data of a front page of the document.

21. The document scanning device according to claim 20, wherein the recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit outputs recognizable direction information, which takes on different values depending on whether the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is the same as or opposite to the recognizable direction of the document, as the recognizable direction adjustment information.

22. The document scanning device according to claim 20, wherein the recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit outputs scanning method information, which represents a double-side scanning method of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the scanning method, as the recognizable direction adjustment information.

23. The document scanning device according to claim 20, wherein the recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit outputs type information, which represents the type of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the type, as the recognizable direction adjustment information.

24. The document scanning device according to claim 20, further comprising a reading direction adjustment information outputting unit which outputs reading direction adjustment information as information to be used for adjusting a reading direction of the image data of the back page, in a state in which the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page has been adjusted to the standard recognizable direction, to a standard reading direction which is defined as the reading direction of the image data of the front page.

25. The document scanning device according to claim 24, wherein the reading direction adjustment information outputting unit outputs reading direction information, which takes on different values depending on whether the reading direction of the image data of each page is the same as or opposite to the reading direction of the document, as the reading direction adjustment information.

26. The document scanning device according to claim 24, wherein the reading direction adjustment information outputting unit outputs scanning method information, which represents a double-side scanning method of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the scanning method, as the reading direction adjustment information.

27. The document scanning device according to claim 24, wherein the reading direction adjustment information outputting unit outputs type information, which represents the type of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the type, as the reading direction adjustment information.

28. A document scanning system comprising a document scanning device and an information processing device, wherein: the document scanning device includes: a scanning unit which scans each page of a double-sided document and thereby generates image data of each page;an image data outputting unit which outputs the image data of each page generated by the scanning unit; anda recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit which outputs recognizable direction adjustment information as information to be used for adjusting a recognizable direction of the image data of a back page of the document to a standard recognizable direction which is defined as the recognizable direction of the image data of a front page of the document, andthe information processing device includes: an image data receiving unit which receives the image data of each page of the document generated by the document scanning device;a recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit which receives the recognizable direction adjustment information outputted by the document scanning device; anda vertical inversion unit which vertically inverts the image data of the back page as needed based on the recognizable direction adjustment information so that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page will be in the standard recognizable direction.

29. The document scanning system according to claim 28, wherein: the recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit of the document scanning device outputs recognizable direction information, which takes on different values depending on whether the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is the same as or opposite to the recognizable direction of the document, as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit of the information processing device receives the recognizable direction information as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further includes a first recognizable direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based on the recognizable direction information, andthe vertical inversion unit of the information processing device vertically inverts the image data of a page when the recognizable direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the recognizable direction of the document by the first recognizable direction judgment unit.

30. The document scanning system according to claim 29, wherein: the information processing device further includes a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, andthe first recognizable direction judgment unit of the information processing device makes the judgment on whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

31. The document scanning system according to claim 28, wherein: the recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit of the document scanning device outputs scanning method information, which represents a double-side scanning method of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the scanning method, as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit of the information processing device receives the scanning method information as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further includes a second recognizable direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based on the scanning method information, andthe vertical inversion unit of the information processing device vertically inverts the image data of a page when the recognizable direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the recognizable direction of the document by the second recognizable direction judgment unit.

32. The document scanning system according to claim 31, wherein: the information processing device further includes a first storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of scanning method information, andthe second recognizable direction judgment unit of the information processing device judges that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document when the information stored in the first storage unit being associated with the scanning method information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

33. The document scanning system according to claim 31, wherein: the information processing device further includes a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, andthe second recognizable direction judgment unit of the information processing device makes the judgment on whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

34. The document scanning system according to claim 28, wherein: the recognizable direction adjustment information outputting unit of the document scanning device outputs type information, which represents the type of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the type, as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe recognizable direction adjustment information receiving unit of the information processing device receives the type information as the recognizable direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further includes a third recognizable direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based on the type information, andthe vertical inversion unit of the information processing device vertically inverts the image data of a page when the recognizable direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the recognizable direction of the document by the third recognizable direction judgment unit.

35. The document scanning system according to claim 34, wherein: the information processing device further includes a second storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of type information, andthe third recognizable direction judgment unit of the information processing device judges that the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document when the information stored in the second storage unit being associated with the type information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

36. The document scanning system according to claim 34, wherein: the information processing device further includes a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, andthe third recognizable direction judgment unit of the information processing device makes the judgment on whether or not the recognizable direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the recognizable direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

37. The document scanning system according to claim 28, wherein: the document scanning device further includes a reading direction adjustment information outputting unit which outputs reading direction adjustment information as information to be used for adjusting a reading direction of the image data of the back page, in a state in which the recognizable direction of the image data of the back page has been adjusted to the standard recognizable direction, to a standard reading direction which is defined as the reading direction of the image data of the front page, andthe information processing device further includes: a reading direction adjustment information receiving unit which receives the reading direction adjustment information outputted by the document scanning device; anda horizontal inversion unit which horizontally inverts the image data of the back page as needed based on the reading direction adjustment information so that the reading direction of the image data of the back page will be in the standard reading direction.

38. The document scanning system according to claim 37, wherein: the reading direction adjustment information outputting unit of the document scanning device outputs reading direction information, which takes on different values depending on whether the reading direction of the image data of each page is the same as or opposite to the reading direction of the document, as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe reading direction adjustment information receiving unit of the information processing device receives the reading direction information as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further includes a first reading direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based on the reading direction information, andthe horizontal inversion unit of the information processing device horizontally inverts the image data of a page when the reading direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the reading direction of the document by the first reading direction judgment unit.

39. The document scanning system according to claim 38, wherein: the information processing device further includes a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, andthe first reading direction judgment unit of the information processing device makes the judgment on whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

40. The document scanning system according to claim 37, wherein: the reading direction adjustment information outputting unit of the document scanning device outputs scanning method information, which represents a double-side scanning method of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the scanning method, as the reading direction adjustment information, and the reading direction adjustment information receiving unit of the information processing device receives the scanning method information as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further includes a second reading direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based on the scanning method information, andthe horizontal inversion unit of the information processing device horizontally inverts the image data of a page when the reading direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the reading direction of the document by the second reading direction judgment unit.

41. The document scanning system according to claim 40, wherein: the information processing device further includes a third storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of scanning method information, andthe second reading direction judgment unit of the information processing device judges that the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document when the information stored in the third storage unit being associated with the scanning method information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

42. The document scanning system according to claim 40, wherein: the information processing device further includes a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, andthe second reading direction judgment unit of the information processing device makes the judgment on whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based also on the document binding information.

43. The document scanning system according to claim 37, wherein: the reading direction adjustment information outputting unit of the document scanning device outputs type information, which represents the type of the document scanning device and takes on different values depending on the type, as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe reading direction adjustment information receiving unit of the information processing device receives the type information as the reading direction adjustment information, andthe information processing device further includes a third reading direction judgment unit which judges whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based on the type information, and the horizontal inversion unit of the information processing device horizontally inverts the image data of a page when the reading direction of the image data of the page is judged to be opposite to the reading direction of the document by the third reading direction judgment unit.

44. The document scanning system according to claim 43, wherein: the information processing device further includes a fourth storage unit which stores information indicating whether or not the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document while associating the information with possible pieces of type information, andthe third reading direction judgment unit of the information processing device judges that the reading direction of the image data of the back page is opposite to the reading direction of the document when the information stored in the fourth storage unit being associated with the type information received from the document scanning device indicates the fact.

45. The document scanning system according to claim 43, wherein: the information processing device further includes a document binding information receiving unit which receives document binding information indicating whether the double-sided document is a long edge-bound document or a short edge-bound document, andthe third reading direction judgment unit of the information processing device makes the judgment on whether or not the reading direction of the image data of each page is opposite to the reading direction of the document based also on the document binding information.