Abstract:
A system and method for determining the image and ancillary image sides of scanned hardcopy media. Hardcopy prints typically provide ancillary data to supply additional information for an area of interest and can enhance the analysis of key data in the print. Postcards, for example, provide a unique form of ancillary data. On the back of a postcard image, ancillary data information such as stamps, user notes, dates, addresses, and other types of annotation can be found. This data typically provides additional information to a reader of the postcard. Dual sided scanners provide both the image and ancillary (i.e., non-image) scans simultaneously. In addition, ancillary data can be in a variety of formats, such as audio, video and the like. When a hardcopy print is scanned the scanner provides two image files that represent the image and ancillary image sides of the print. However, given two image files that represent a hardcopy print scan, the front and back need to be automatically identified as to which is of primary interest to a user.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to hardcopy media, and more particularly, to a method and system for determining image and ancillary image sides of scanned hardcopy prints. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Hardcopy prints typically provide ancillary data to supply additional information for an area of interest and can enhance the analysis of key data in the print. Postcards, for example, provide a unique form of ancillary data. On the back of a postcard image, ancillary data information such as stamps, user notes, dates, addresses, and other types of annotation can be found. This data typically provides additional information to a reader of the postcard. The ancillary data can be in a variety of formats, such as audio, video and the like. 
         [0003]    Dual sided scanners can be used to simultaneously scan the image and non-image sides of the hardcopy print. When both sides of a hardcopy print are scanned, the scanner provides two image files that represent the image and non-image or ancillary sides of the hardcopy print. Nevertheless, given two image files that represent the scanned hardcopy print, the front and back sides need to be automatically identified. Once the front and back images of the hardcopy print have been identified, the back image (i.e., ancillary image) can then be highly compressed and used for applications such as embedding the back image as ancillary data into the front image. This can be accomplished using standard JPEG compression. 
         [0004]    Embedding this compressed ancillary data into a JPEG file offers many practical uses. For example, still images or pictures may be transmitted over the Internet with an accompanying audio file. The audio file can be a person&#39;s voice describing the picture. This allows families to share pictures including a family member&#39;s voice. 
         [0005]    Scanned prints provide a unique type of image and ancillary data. A scanned print contains both an image and non-image side. Typically when prints are scanned, only the image side is scanned and saved as a digital file. However, many times the non-image side contains information that can be valuable to the viewing experience. The non-image side can contain manufacturer marks in the form a watermark that can be used to identify the year(s) the photo was printed. This date information can be meaningful in the creation of multimedia presentations, scrapbooks, photobooks, etc. Older prints may contain consumer marks in the form of handwritten notes, names of people in the photo, the location of the photo, or other relevant facts. Often the photofinisher places a stamp or mark on the non-image side of the print to identify the date the photo was processed and printed. 
         [0006]    Today, automatic two-sided feeder copier systems are available. A separate sensor in the system is used to detect the presence of markings on the backside of the paper. If markings are present, it is required that the paper to be flipped and rescanned. This two-step process is time consuming and requires a reversing paper handling mechanism that is unnecessary in a double array scanner. Other systems also provide sensors that look for marks on the backside of the document and will initiate a second pass scan only if needed. However, these types of systems are not useful as post processing is necessary to determine which side of the document is of primary interest to a user. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In general terms, the present invention is a system and method for automatically identifying the image and ancillary image sides of a double-sided scan of a hardcopy print. 
         [0008]    One aspect of the present invention includes a method for determining a primary side of a double-sided hardcopy media. More particularly, the method includes scanning a first side of a hardcopy media to produce a first file, scanning a second side of the hardcopy media to produce a second file, and analyzing the first and second files of the scanned hardcopy media for determining the side of primary interest. 
         [0009]    Another aspect of the present invention includes a system for determining a primary side of a double-sided hardcopy media. More particularly, the system includes a scanner for digitizing a first side of a hardcopy media to produce a first file and digitizing a second side of the hardcopy media to produce a second file, and a processor for analyzing the first and second files of the scanned hardcopy media for determining the side of primary interest. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a system for creating separate image files from a scanned hardcopy media; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates another embodiment of the system for determining an image side and an ancillary image side of a scanned hardcopy print from associated JPEG files; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart describing the steps to determine the image side JPEG file and the ancillary image side JPEG file; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates automatic organization of a plurality of scanned hardcopy media; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates an equation for calculating the Normalized Compression Ratio used in sorting the image and ancillary image sides of the scanned hardcopy media. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the invention, which is limited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the claimed invention. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a system  100  for determining an image side and an ancillary image side (i.e., non-image side) of a scanned hardcopy print. In  FIG. 1 , a hardcopy print  102  is illustrated as having an image side  110  and ancillary image side  120 . The image side  110  and ancillary image side  120  are processed by a computing device  125  to produce associated JPEG files  123 . The associated JPEG files are stored in a memory  127 . The computing device  125  automatically analyzes the associated JPEG files  123  stored in the memory  127  and identifies and marks the associated JPEG files  123  as being associated with either the image side  110  or the ancillary image side  120  of the hardcopy print  102 . As discussed hereafter, the front of the photographic print (i.e., image side) is a photographic image and the back of the photographic print (i.e., ancillary image side) contains either nothing, or manufacturer marks (i.e., watermarks), photofinisher marks (i.e., time, date stamp), or consumer marks (consumer annotations as to the place image was taken, date image was taken, or who is in the image). However, the invention is not limited to photographic prints and any similar media construction can be used, such as postcards, stamps, graphic prints or the like. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment, a user will determine which side of the hardcopy print is a side of primary interest. For example, if the user determines that the side of primary interest is the image side of the photographic print, the system  100  will accept a plurality of unorganized photographic prints having some of the image sides facing up and some facing down. This plurality of prints will be scanned to generate image side files  137  and corresponding ancillary image side files  147  and the plurality of files is then organized so substantially all of the image sides are facing up. The resulting organized plurality of files can be displayed on a display device. 
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates another embodiment of the system  200  for determining an image side and an ancillary image side (i.e., non-image) of a scanned hardcopy print from associated JPEG files. In  FIG. 2 , the scanned hardcopy print  102  is shown having an image side  210  and ancillary image side  220 . The content of the image side  210  and ancillary image side  220  are compared by scanning the first and second sides  210 ,  220  to produce a first JPEG file  235  stored in a first storage  240 , and a second JPEG file  245  stored in a second storage  250 , respectively. The system  200  then automatically determines the image side  210  and the ancillary image side  220  of the scanned print from the individual JPEG files  235 ,  245 . 
         [0019]    In one embodiment, the identification of the image side  210  from the ancillary image side  220  of the hardcopy print is accomplished by determining the compression ratio of the first JPEG file  235  with respect to the second JPEG file  245 . That is, the digitized ancillary side of a print is typically very uniform except for the previously mentioned markings. This allows the digitized ancillary side of the print to be highly compressible resulting in a very small JPEG file. Accordingly, the relationship of the compressibility of the first JPEG file  235  of the print versus the compressibility of the second JPEG file  245  of the print can be used to identify the image side file  237  and the ancillary image side file  247  as will be discussed in more detail in  FIG. 5 . Accordingly, the image side  210  and ancillary image side  220  of the print can be identified. 
         [0020]    In another embodiment, the system  200  can automatically handle images that are stacked in a feeder without regard to image orientation. Accordingly, the prints do not have to be sorted such that all the image sides are face up. This eliminates any rework necessary to rescan prints that are in the wrong orientation. It is important to maintain compatibility with the JPEG standard so that commonly available third party software can be used as needed without any modifications. JPEG is a file format standard used for compressing, storing, and transmitting digital image data. As used herein, the term “JPEG” refers to all versions, revisions, and releases of the format, including “JPEG” and “JPEG 2000.” The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) developed the format and it is currently the most popular and widely used image format. One of JPEG&#39;s advantages is that it provides the greatest compression of any bitmap format in common use, allowing devices and users to store image files using the least amount of storage space. This compression capability is also one of the features that have made JPEG the most commonly used format for sending pictures over the Internet. Users can transmit and receive images in JPEG more quickly and with a higher degree of image quality than in many other formats. 
         [0021]    In addition to data for the subject image, JPEG allows ancillary data to be stored within a JPEG file. The ancillary data can include data for applications other than an application that uses image data. For example, data that indicates the setting of the camera that captured the image or the identity of the artist who created the image can be inserted into a JPEG file. In this way, one of the advantages of the JPEG format is that data other than the subject image data can be stored and transmitted in the JPEG file itself. One important feature of storing ancillary data within a JPEG file is that only one file is used. This eliminates the need for maintaining multiple files. In  FIG. 2 , once the system  200  has automatically identified which side of the hardcopy print is the ancillary image side  220 , that image can be marked as the ancillary image side file  247  having ancillary data and inserted into the JPEG file designated as the image side file  237 . 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the system  200  includes a computer  260  that is programmed to detect the image side  210  and ancillary image side  220  of the hardcopy print. This is accomplished by the computer  260  reading the first JPEG file  235  from the first storage  240  and the second JPEG file  245  from the second storage  250 . The computer  260  uses various characteristics of the two files  235 ,  245  to determine the image side file  237  from the ancillary image side file  247 . After the computer has made the determination, the computer can then recompress the ancillary image side file  247  using a higher compression ratio than the image side file  237 . As mentioned above, this is because the ancillary image side file  247  typically has a uniform background that can be highly compressed to produce ancillary data. This ancillary data will be in the form of a JPEG file and can be embedded into the image side file  237  to form a single JPEG file  270 . 
         [0023]    One embodiment of producing the image side file  237  and the ancillary image side file  247  using various scanners is discussed below. If the scanner  230  is equipped with dual cameras, the image side  210  of the print and ancillary image side  220  of the print can be scanned in one pass. However, if the scanner  230  is a simple flatbed scanner, the scanning of the image side  210  and ancillary image side  220  is accomplished in two steps. 
         [0024]    The determination of the image side file  237  and an ancillary image side file  247  of a scanned hardcopy print from associated JPEG files will now be discussed in greater detail. The image side  210  of the print is scanned and saved into, for example, a first storage  240 , and the ancillary image (or non-image) side  220  of the print is saved into, for example, a second storage  250 . However, the invention is not limited to using a first and second storage  240 ,  250 , and any suitable storage can be used, e.g., a single memory location and/or removable memory. The computer  260  calculates a probability using the first JPEG file  235  and the second JPEG file  245  to determine which file  235 ,  245  actually correlates to the image side  210  of the hardcopy print and will become the image side file  237 . The computer  260  also calculates the probability that the determined ancillary image side file  247  is actually the ancillary image side  220  of the hardcopy print. Once the image side file  237  and ancillary side file  247  have been classified, the computer  260  combines the image side file  237  and ancillary image side file  247  into a combined file  270  that contains both the image side file  237  and ancillary image side file  247 . However, the embodiment is not limited to the image side  210  being a print, and the image side  210  print could be a slide having a slide mount  212 . The slide mount  212  can also have visible and/or invisible data  214  disposed on the front and/or back of the slide mount  212 . The data  214  is human and/or machine-readable. 
         [0025]    In  FIG. 2 , computer  260  is further connected to a communication network  280  for the purpose of storing in memory  275  and semantically indexing the combined image files  270 . More specifically, computer  260  can store other sources of digital media files including digital still image files and digital video files. The process of semantically indexing a digital media file will be understood to include by way of example, but not limitation, multiple image classifiers such as material classifiers (i.e. wood, metal, glass, water, rock, grass, sand etc.) and scene classifiers (beach, gray sky, blue sky, sunset, etc.). Further, examples of semantic indexing include the detection and recognition of various scene components such as people and objects. Still other indexers include text recognition, voice recognition and voice-to-text recognition. 
         [0026]    Semantic indexing in system  200  is accomplished by an indexing server  290  executing software that accepts a digital media file and applies various indexing technologies to create a set of indexed data for each digital media file supplied. Such indexed data can be derived from the image side  210  of the print, the ancillary image side  220  of the print, surrounding slide mount data that has the logo, date, and writing on it, or from any digital media file stored on computer  260 . An advertisement server  295  is coupled to the network  280  and operates on the set of indexed data created by indexing server  290 . Advertisement server  295  stores a plurality of advertisements that can be combined with the image side file  237  that was semantically indexed to create a new combined image file. The new combined image file contains advertisement data and is stored as the ancillary data in the EXIF header of the image side file  237 . Advertisement data can be any type of file useful in presenting advertising information correlated to the indexed digital image file. The proper advertisement data is chosen by the advertisement server  295  to closely match the indexed information derived from the image side  210  of print or the image content of the image side file  237  provided by computer  260 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart  300  describing the steps to determine the image side JPEG file and the ancillary image side JPEG file. The first side of a hardcopy print or media is scanned and stored as a JPEG file in step  305 . The second side of the hardcopy media is also scanned and stored as a JPEG file in step  310 . The first and second JPEG files are read from memory and a Normalized Compression Ratio (NCR 1 ) is calculated for the first JPEG file in step  320  and a Normalized Compression Ratio (NCR 2 ) is calculated for the second JPEG file in step  330 . The ratio of NCR 1  of the first JPEG file to NCR 2  of the second JPEG file is calculated in step  340 . If the ratio (NCR 1 /NCR 2 ) is greater than 1.0, then the first JPEG file is the image side of the scanned hardcopy media in step  350 . If the ratio (NCR 1 /NCR 2 ) is less than 1.0 then the first JPEG file is the ancillary image side of the scanned hardcopy media in step  360 . The process is complete and the two unknown sides have been identified in step  370 . At this point the non-image side can be recompressed at higher compression ratio for use in embedding the non-image side into the primary (image) side of the JPEG file. 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates automatic organization of a plurality of scanned hardcopy media. In one embodiment, prints can be placed in a scanner in an unorganized stack  400 . This relieves the user or operator of having to presort the images. After the operation, all the images are organized in a face up orientation  410  in memory. The result of automatically organizing the stack of images creates a more positive user experience and eliminates the need for rework. 
         [0029]      FIG. 5  illustrates an equation for calculating the Normalized Compression Ratio  500  used in sorting the image and ancillary image sides of the scanned hardcopy media. The Normalized Compression Ratio is calculated by first computing the area of the scanned hardcopy media and then dividing the area by size of the JPEG compressed file. More specifically, this is accomplished by multiplying the media height  510  and media width  520  in pixels and dividing the result by the size of the JPEG compressed file  530 . It is important that the same compression ratio is used when storing both sides of the scanned hardcopy media. 
         [0030]    The invention is not limited to the calculation of the Normalized Compression Ratio as different techniques can be used. For example, a histogram of the image content for each side of the scanned hardcopy media can be compared against a known pattern. By comparing the histograms against a database of known ancillary image sides, the sides can be differentiated and identified as either the image side or the ancillary image side of the hardcopy media. 
         [0031]    In another embodiment, a technique involves comparing color channels from the two image sides and comparing color content of the image side with the ancillary image side. The ancillary image side is typically characterized by having a white or neutral background with very little extraneous markings. 
         [0032]    In another embodiment, a technique involves measuring a reflectance of the surfaces from the scans of the hardcopy media. The reflectance of the ancillary image side is less than the image side and can be used to discriminate the image side from the ancillary image side. 
         [0033]    In yet another embodiment, a technique involves the detection of steganographic marks on either the image side or the ancillary image side of the scanned hardcopy media. Professional printers identify security marks that are used in the detection of illegal copying. These security marks can also be used to detect the image side from the ancillary image side. Eastman Kodak Company also uses hidden marks on the ancillary image side of the paper of their ink jet photographic to designate the quality level of the paper. This technique can also be used to determine the image side from the ancillary image side of the scanned hardcopy media. 
         [0034]    The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made to the present invention without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims. 
       PARTS LIST 
       [0000]    
       
           100  System 
           102  Hardcopy print 
           110  Image side of scanned print 
           120  Ancillary Image side of scanned print 
           123  JPEG files 
           125  Computing device 
           127  Memory 
           137  Image side file 
           147  Ancillary image side file 
           200  System 
           210  Image side of print 
           212  Mount 
           214  Data 
           220  Ancillary image side of print 
           230  Scanner 
           235  First JPEG file 
           237  Image side file 
           240  First storage 
           245  Second JPEG file 
           247  Ancillary image side file 
           250  Second storage 
           260  Computer 
           270  Single JPEG files 
           280  Communication network 
           290  Indexing server 
           295  Advertising server 
           300  Flowchart 
           305  Scan first side of media 
           310  Scan second side of media 
           320  Normalized Compression Ratio (NCR 1 ) of Scanned first side of media 
           330  Normalized Compression Ratio (NCR 2 ) of Scanned second side of media 
           340  Test to see if NCR 1 /NCR 2 &gt;1.0? 
           350  If test is true, record scanned first side of media as the front side of the media 
           360  If test is false, record scanned second side of media as the front side of the media 
           370  Algorithm completed 
           400  Unorganized stack of hardcopy media to be scanned 
           410  Organized stack of hardcopy media after scanning and processing 
           500  Normalized compression ratio calculation 
           510  Media height 
           520  Media width 
           530  JPEG compressed file size