Apparatus and method of bitmap image processing, storage medium storing an image processing program

Abstract

An object is to enable designation of character frames and recognition of characters even where a document does not have any page mark or reference mark nor does a scanner have a function for detecting an edge of the document. Also, to enable identification processing of a bitmap image in an accerelated manner by comparing bitmap images on the basis of a circumscribed rectangle, which is formed solely from horizontal line segments that are recognizable at high-speed. In a case of identifying a bitmap image comprising horizontal line segments such as character frames or grid lines on a document (as done in an OCR when it detects a document without page marks but with black character frames and recognizes characters), the horizontal line segments are extracted as a feature of the document, a circumscribed rectangle is formed within an area generated by the horizontal line segments such that it is used as information for identifying an estimated basis of character frame's positions and a class of the document. Applying this to an OCR, it becomes possible to identify even a document without page marks or reference marks thereon. Also, comparing the extracted horizontal line segments themselves with horizontal line segments of pre-registered document definition set to determine similarity between them, it becomes possible to identify a document in a more precise manner.