Patent Description:
<CIT> describes an image forming apparatus in which, even for a plurality of small-size documents, an image of a front side and an image of a back side of each document can be superimposed and formed on the image positions of the front and back sides which have been aligned on the front and back of one sheet of recording paper.

<CIT> describes an image scanning device capable of scanning at a single time a plurality of documents placed on a platen, an image processing apparatus including the image scanning device, an image scanning method, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

In an image processing apparatus such as a multifunction machine, an imaging unit such as a camera may be provided, and an image may be acquired by imaging a document by using the imaging unit.

In this case, for example, a plurality of related documents such as the front side and the back side of a business card are imaged one by one in order, and the acquired images of the plurality of documents are associated with each other, thereby managing the images of the plurality of related documents as a group.

In a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of related documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including one sheet of document of each set are simultaneously imaged, unless documents of each set are placed within a range in which the documents can be regarded as the same set of documents for each imaging, it is not possible to associate the images of documents of each set.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus, a program, and an image processing method capable of allowing a user to know a position where the document of each set is placed, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of documents and a plurality of sheets of documents including one sheet of document of each set are simultaneously imaged.

The present invention is provided by the appended claims. The following disclosure serves a better understanding of the present invention.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image processing apparatus including a processor configured to: display, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including at least one sheet of a document of each of all or part of the plurality of sets are simultaneously imaged by an imaging unit that images a document, guidance information for guiding a placement position of the document of each set to be superimposed on an image imaged by the imaging unit and representing a current state, on a display unit, in second and subsequent imaging, by using information pertaining to documents acquired in past imaging.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the guidance information may be images of the documents acquired in the past imaging.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to the second aspect, in which the guidance information may be images in a state in which the images of the documents acquired in the past imaging are made transparent at a preset transparency.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the guidance information may be an image of a frame representing an outline of each document acquired in the past imaging.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, in which the guidance information may include an image indicating at least one of up, down, right, or left directions of each document.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, in which the processor may be configured to change a transparency in displaying the guidance information in accordance with a user operation.

According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, in which the processor may be configured to switch between a display state and a hidden state of the guidance information in accordance with a user operation.

According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, in which the plurality of documents included in each set may be a front-side document and a back-side document of one medium.

According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a program causing a computer to execute a process including: displaying, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including at least one sheet of a document of each of all or part of the plurality of sets are simultaneously imaged by an imaging unit that images a document, guidance information for guiding a placement position of the document of each set to be superimposed on an image imaged by the imaging unit and representing a current state, on a display unit, in second and subsequent imaging, by using information pertaining to documents acquired in past imaging.

According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image processing method including: displaying, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including at least one sheet of a document of each of all or part of the plurality of sets are simultaneously imaged by an imaging unit that images a document, guidance information for guiding a placement position of the document of each set to be superimposed on an image imaged by the imaging unit and representing a current state, on a display unit, in second and subsequent imaging, by using information pertaining to documents acquired in past imaging.

According to the image processing apparatus of the first aspect, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of related documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including one sheet of a document of each set are simultaneously imaged, a user is allowed to know a position where the document of each set is placed.

According to the image processing apparatus of the second aspect, it is possible to guide the placement position while checking the content of the image captured in the past.

According to the image processing apparatus of the third aspect, even in a case where the guidance information and the image of the document to be newly imaged overlap each other in the moving image representing the current state, the contents of both images can be visually recognized.

According to the image processing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the content of the guidance information can be simply displayed with only a frame line.

According to the image processing apparatus of the fifth aspect, related documents can be associated with each other by being aligned vertically and horizontally.

According to the image processing apparatus of the sixth aspect, a density at which the guidance information is displayed can be adjusted according to the preference of the user.

According to the image processing apparatus of the seventh aspect, it is possible to facilitate checking of an image of a document to be newly captured, as compared with a case where the guidance information is always displayed.

According to the image processing apparatus of the eighth aspect, for a medium having a front-side document and a back-side document, the image of the front-side document and the image of the back-side document can be associated with each other.

According to the program of the ninth aspect, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of related documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including one sheet of a document of each set are simultaneously imaged, a user is allowed to know a position where the document of each set is placed.

According to the image processing method of the tenth aspect, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of related documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including one sheet of a document of each set are simultaneously imaged, a user is allowed to know a position where the document of each set is placed.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. <FIG> are views showing an external appearance of an image forming apparatus <NUM> as an example of an image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, where <FIG> is a side view of the image forming apparatus <NUM> and <FIG> is a front view of the image forming apparatus <NUM>. The image forming apparatus <NUM> is an apparatus installed in an office such as a multifunction machine.

As shown in <FIG>, the image forming apparatus <NUM> includes an apparatus main body <NUM>, a discharge tray <NUM> as a medium discharge unit, a placement unit <NUM>, an imaging device <NUM>, an irradiation device <NUM> including four light sources 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, an operation panel <NUM>, or the like.

The discharge tray <NUM> is where paper, which is an example of a medium, is discharged. Further, the discharge tray <NUM> is provided at a position where the medium is taken out by the user in a standing state.

The placement unit <NUM> is a top surface of the apparatus main body <NUM>, to be described in detail later, and is disposed on an upper portion of the apparatus main body <NUM>. Further, the placement unit <NUM> is installed above the discharge tray <NUM> in the vertical direction. Further, the placement unit <NUM> is configured such that a document such as a paper, a business card, or a receipt can be placed.

The imaging device <NUM> includes an imaging element such as a charge coupled device (CCD), for example, and images a subject such as a document to acquire image data. The imaging device <NUM> is installed above the placement unit <NUM>, and is configured to image the document placed on the placement unit <NUM> from above. Here, in a case where the upper surface of the placement unit <NUM> is used as the reference plane, the term "above the placement unit <NUM>" is not limited to the position vertically above the reference plane, and means a position that is above in the vertical direction and is higher than the reference plane.

Further, a column <NUM> is provided on the top surface of the apparatus main body <NUM> and on the back of the upper surface of the placement unit <NUM>. The column <NUM> extends upward substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the placement unit <NUM>, and is provided with an end portion bent above the placement unit <NUM>. The imaging device <NUM> is attached to an end portion of the column <NUM>.

An image forming unit, which forms an image of a subject placed on the placement unit <NUM>, is provided between the discharge tray <NUM> and the placement unit <NUM>. That is, an image forming unit that forms an image on the paper discharged to the discharge tray <NUM> is provided above the discharge tray <NUM>.

The irradiation device <NUM> includes one or more light sources such as, for example, a light emitting diode (LED), and includes, for example, the light sources 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d. The light sources 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are provided on the column <NUM>. That is, the light sources 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are provided above the placement unit <NUM>.

Specifically, the light sources 20a and 20b are provided in the vicinity of the imaging device <NUM>, downward on both sides of the imaging device <NUM> of the column <NUM>. The light sources 20c and 20d are provided in the vicinity of the operation panel <NUM>, obliquely downward on both sides of the column <NUM> at the lower end of the operation panel <NUM>.

That is, the light sources 20a and 20b and the light sources 20c and 20d are arranged at positions with different heights from the placement unit <NUM>. That is, the light sources 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are disposed at positions where the angles of light hitting the subject are different from each other, and are configured to irradiate the document with light from different directions. Thereby, the discriminability between the document and the placement unit <NUM> is improved.

The operation panel <NUM> includes a display screen, and is configured to set the image forming apparatus <NUM>. The operation panel <NUM> is installed on the column <NUM> between the placement unit <NUM> and the imaging device <NUM>, at the back of the apparatus main body <NUM>.

A document feeder having a double-sided simultaneous scanning function is provided inside the apparatus main body <NUM> below the top plate of the placement unit <NUM>. It is configured that the document feeder can be used by sliding a part of the top plate of the placement unit <NUM> in the plane direction.

Next, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus <NUM> of the present exemplary embodiment will be described. <FIG> is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the image forming apparatus <NUM> includes a CPU <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a storage device <NUM> such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (abbreviated as IF) <NUM> that transmits and receives data to and from an external device or the like via a network, a user interface (abbreviated as UI) device <NUM> including a touch panel or a liquid crystal display, and a keyboard, a scanner <NUM>, a print engine <NUM>, the imaging device <NUM>, and the irradiation device <NUM>. These components are connected to each other via the control bus <NUM>.

The communication IF <NUM> transmits and receives data to and from an external device or the like. The UI device <NUM> receives an instruction input from the user. The scanner <NUM> scans the document loaded in the image forming apparatus <NUM> as image data. The print engine <NUM> prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through steps such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing.

The CPU <NUM> is a processor that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus <NUM> by executing a predetermined process based on a control program stored in the memory <NUM> or the storage device <NUM>. In the present exemplary embodiment, it has been described that the CPU <NUM> reads and executes the control program stored in the memory <NUM> or the storage device <NUM>, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The control program may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. For example, this program may be provided in the form recorded on an optical disk such as a compact disc (CD)-read only memory (ROM) and a digital versatile disc (DVD)-ROM, or the form recorded on a semiconductor memory such as a universal serial bus (USB) memory and a memory card. Further, the control program may be acquired from an external device via a communication line connected to the communication IF <NUM>.

Next, the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus <NUM> of the present exemplary embodiment will be described. <FIG> is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the image forming apparatus <NUM> includes a control unit <NUM>, a communication unit <NUM>, a display input unit <NUM>, a storage unit <NUM>, an image scanning unit <NUM>, an image forming unit <NUM>, an image output unit <NUM>, an imaging unit <NUM>, and an irradiation unit <NUM>.

The control unit <NUM> controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus <NUM>, and for example, based on an instruction input from the user, performs control of imaging the document by the imaging unit <NUM>, control of outputting printing data such as a document image by the image output unit <NUM>, or the like.

The communication unit <NUM> transmits and receives data to and from an external device. The display input unit <NUM> displays various types of information on the display screen of the operation panel <NUM>, based on the control by the control unit <NUM>. Further, the display input unit <NUM> inputs various types of operation information performed by the user on the operation panel <NUM>. The display input unit <NUM> is an example of a display unit in the technique of the present disclosure. The storage unit <NUM> stores various types of data such as image data generated by the control unit <NUM> in addition to the control program.

The image scanning unit <NUM> performs a scanning operation of scanning various documents, based on the control by the control unit <NUM>. The image forming unit <NUM> forms an image to be output from the image output unit <NUM>, based on the control by the control unit <NUM>. The image output unit <NUM> outputs the image formed by the image forming unit <NUM> onto a recording medium such as printing paper, based on the control by the control unit <NUM>.

The imaging unit <NUM> images the document placed on the placement unit <NUM>, based on the control by the control unit <NUM>. The irradiation unit <NUM> irradiates the document placed on the placement unit <NUM> with light, based on the control by the control unit <NUM>.

The image forming apparatus <NUM> of the present exemplary embodiment images a plurality of related documents, for example, such as the front side and the back side of a business card, one by one in order, and associates the acquired images of the plurality of documents with each other, thereby managing the images of the plurality of related documents as a group.

Further, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of documents, a plurality of sheets of documents including one sheet of a document of each set may be simultaneously imaged. In this case, unless documents of each set are placed within a range in which the documents can be regarded as the same set of documents for each imaging, it is not possible to associate the images of documents of each set.

Therefore, in the present exemplary embodiment, in a case where there are a plurality of sets each consisting of a plurality of documents, and a plurality of sheets of documents including at least one sheet of a document of each of all or part of the plurality of sets are simultaneously imaged by the imaging unit <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> displays guidance information for guiding a placement position of the document of each set to be superimposed on the image imaged by the imaging unit <NUM> and representing a current state, on the display input unit <NUM>, in second and subsequent imaging, by using information pertaining to documents acquired in past imaging.

Here, the "plurality of documents included in each set" may be, for example, a front-side document and a back-side document of one medium such as a business card, or may be documents of a plurality of media. Further, the documents of a plurality of media may be included in one set, and both sides of the front-side document and the back-side document may be used as the documents for some of the media.

Further, regarding a set for simultaneous imaging, at least two or more sets may be mixed, among a set consisting of a front-side document and a back-side document of one medium, a set consisting of documents of a plurality of media, and a set of documents of a plurality of media and having both sides of the front-side document and the back-side document for some of the media as documents.

In the present exemplary embodiment, as an example, two sets each consisting of a front-side document and a back-side document of one medium are simultaneously imaged.

Further, the "image representing the current state captured by the imaging unit <NUM>" may be a still image or a moving image. In the present exemplary embodiment, as an example, a moving image representing the current state is displayed on the display input unit <NUM>. In addition, a moving image showing the current state is also called a live view. In the following description, a moving image showing the current state will be referred to as a live view.

Hereinafter, the process in the image forming apparatus <NUM> of the present exemplary embodiment will be described in detail. First, documents of each of a plurality of sets to be simultaneously imaged will be described. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example of documents of each of a plurality of sets to be simultaneously imaged.

As shown in <FIG>, in the present exemplary embodiment, a case where two sets of documents G1 and G2 are simultaneously imaged will be described as an example. The set G1 consists of a front-side document of the medium <NUM> and a back-side document of the medium <NUM>. The set G2 consists of a front-side document of the medium <NUM> and a back-side document of the medium <NUM>.

In the first imaging, the front-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G1 and the front-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G2 are simultaneously imaged, and in the second imaging, the back-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G1 and the back-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G2 are simultaneously imaged.

<FIG> is a diagram showing an example of a display state of the live view at the time of the first imaging for the two sets G1 and G2. <FIG> is a diagram showing an example of the entire image IE acquired in the first imaging.

At the time of imaging the document, the control unit <NUM> displays the live view LE imaged by the imaging unit <NUM> on the display input unit <NUM>.

In the first imaging, the front-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G1 and the front-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G2 are placed on the placement unit <NUM> by the user.

In a case where the document is placed on the placement unit <NUM>, the live view image L1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the live view image L2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> are displayed in the live view LE, as shown in <FIG>.

The user checks the live view LE displayed on the display input unit <NUM>, and inputs an imaging instruction to the image forming apparatus <NUM>.

The control unit <NUM> receives the input of the imaging instruction from the user to perform the first imaging, and acquires an entire image IE in which the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the front-side document of the medium <NUM> are shown, as shown in <FIG>. Next, the control unit <NUM> extracts the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM>, from the entire image IE.

<FIG> is a diagram showing an example of a display state of a live view at the time of the second imaging for the two sets G1 and G2, and is a diagram showing a state before a new document is placed. <FIG> is a diagram showing an example of a display state of a live view at the time of the second imaging for the two sets G1 and G2, and is a diagram showing a state after a new document is placed. <FIG> is a diagram showing an example of a display state of a live view at the time of the second imaging for the two sets G1 and G2, and is a diagram showing a state after a new document is placed and alignment is performed. <FIG> is a diagram showing an example of the entire image IE acquired in the second imaging.

At the time of the second imaging, as illustrated in <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> superimposes the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> acquired at the time of the first imaging as the guidance information, on the front side of the live view LE and displays the images at the same position as at the time of the first imaging.

The image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> to be displayed as the guidance information may be displayed in the acquired state, or may be displayed after adjusting the brightness or chroma such that the images can be easily distinguished from the document imaged during the second time. Here, as an example, a case where the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> are displayed with reduced brightness is shown.

In the second imaging, the back-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G1 and the back-side document of the medium <NUM> of the set G2 are placed on the placement unit <NUM> by the user.

In a case where the document is placed on the placement unit <NUM>, the live view image L1b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> and the live view image L2b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> are displayed in the live view LE, as shown in <FIG>.

The user checks the live view LE and the guidance information (the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> acquired at the time of the first imaging) displayed on the display input unit <NUM>, and aligns the document for the second imaging.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the user aligns the back-side document of the medium <NUM> such that the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the live view image L1b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> overlap. Further, the user aligns the back-side document of the medium <NUM> such that the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> and the live view image L2b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> overlap.

The control unit <NUM> receives the input of the imaging instruction from the user to perform the second imaging, and acquires an entire image IE in which the back-side document of the medium <NUM> and the back-side document of the medium <NUM> are shown, as shown in <FIG>. Next, the control unit <NUM> extracts the image I1b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> and the image I2b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM>, from the entire image IE.

In this way, since the guidance information is superimposed on the live view LE and displayed at the time of the second imaging, the user can place the front-side document and the back-side document of each medium in the position where the front-side document and the back-side document overlap each other, in the first imaging and the second imaging.

Therefore, the control unit <NUM> manages the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> acquired at the time of the first imaging and the image I1b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> shown at a position overlapping the image I1a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> at the time of the second imaging in association with the documents of the set G1. Similarly, the control unit <NUM> manages the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> acquired at the time of the first imaging and the image I2b of the back-side document of the medium <NUM> shown at a position overlapping the image I2a of the front-side document of the medium <NUM> at the time of the second imaging in association with the documents of the set G2.

Note that "the image of the back-side document shown at a position overlapping the image of the front-side document" is not limited to an aspect in which the image of the front-side document and the image of the back-side document completely overlap each other, and may be an aspect in which the image of the front-side document and the image of the back-side document partially overlap each other.

The method of determining whether or not the image of the front-side document overlaps the image of the back-side document is not particularly limited, and any method may be used. For example, in a case where the area where the image of the back-side document overlaps the image of the front-side document is equal to or more than a set threshold value, it may be determined that the two images overlap, and in a case where the area is less than the threshold value, it may be determined that the two images do not overlap. In this case, the threshold value may be, for example, <NUM>% or more.

With respect to the image of a document of each set, for example, a job such as file transfer, fax, or printing may be executed on one document file of each set, based on a user's instruction.

In addition to the images of the documents acquired in the past imaging as described above, the guidance information may be images in a state in which the images of the documents acquired in the past imaging are made transparent at a preset transparency, as shown in <FIG>.

In such an aspect, at the time of the second imaging, in a case where the user aligns the document for the second imaging, even in a case where the document for the second imaging overlaps the guidance information, the user can visually recognize the document for the second imaging.

Further, as shown in <FIG>, the guidance information may be the images IF1 and IF2 of a frame representing the outline of each document acquired in the past imaging.

In this case, as shown in <FIG>, the guidance information may include an image indicating at least one of the up, down, right, or left directions of each document. <FIG> shows an example in which arrows IA1 and IA2 indicating the upward direction of each document are displayed.

Further, the control unit <NUM> may change the transparency in displaying the guidance information in accordance with the user operation.

Further, the control unit <NUM> may switch between the display state and the hidden state of the guidance information in accordance with the user operation.

Further, in a case where the document is placed at a position where the document does not overlap with the guidance information, at the time of the second and subsequent imaging, for example, as shown in <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may cause the notification display image IN in which a message such as "Please place the document in an overlapping manner. " is described to be superimposed on the live view LE and displayed.

The method of determining whether or not the document and the guidance information overlap is not particularly limited, and any method may be used. For example, in a case where the area where the document area overlaps with the display area of the guidance information is equal to or greater than a set threshold value, it may be determined that the document and the guidance information overlap each other, and in a case where the area is less than the threshold value, it may be determined that the document and the guidance information do not overlap each other. In this case, the threshold value may be, for example, <NUM>% or more.

Next, a process at the time of imaging a document in the image forming apparatus <NUM> will be described with reference to the flowchart of <FIG>.

First, in a case where in step S11, the user selects the double-sided imaging, the control unit <NUM> starts displaying the live view in step S12. Here, "double-sided imaging" means that, as described above, both sides of the front-side document and the back-side document of each of a plurality of media are imaged. Further, it is assumed that the front-side document of each of the plurality of media is imaged in the first imaging and the back-side document of each of the plurality of media is imaged in the second imaging.

Next, in step S13, the control unit <NUM> determines whether either imaging of the front-side document of the medium or imaging of the back-side document is performed.

In a case where it is determined in step S13 that the front side imaging, that is, the first imaging is performed, the control unit <NUM> performs imaging of the front-side document of each of the plurality of media in step S14, records the document position of the front-side document of each of the plurality of media in the front-side captured image in step S <NUM>, and transitions to step S12.

In a case where it is determined in step S13 that the back side imaging, that is, the second imaging is performed, the control unit <NUM> uses the front-side document of each of the plurality of media acquired in the first imaging to display guidance information in step S <NUM>, and images the back-side document of each of the plurality of media in step S17.

Next, in step S <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> performs matching between the front-side document and the back-side document for each medium, and manages the documents for each set. Here, the matching means a process of combining a front-side document and a back-side document of the same medium.

Finally, in step S19, the control unit <NUM> executes a job such as file transfer, fax, or printing on the images of the documents of each set, based on the instruction of the user, and transitions to step S11.

Although the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above exemplary embodiment and may be appropriately modified.

Further, in the above exemplary embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the image forming apparatus has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can also be applied to various types of image processing apparatuses such as a mobile phone, a tablet, or a personal computer.

Claim 1:
An image processing apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
a processor (<NUM>,<NUM>) configured to:
display, in a case where there are a plurality of sets (G1, G2) each consisting of a plurality of documents (<NUM>, <NUM>), and a plurality of sheets of documents including at least one sheet of a document of each of all or part of the plurality of sets are simultaneously imaged by an imaging unit (<NUM>) that images a document, guidance information for guiding a placement position of the document of each set to be superimposed on an image imaged by the imaging unit (<NUM>) and representing a current state, on a display unit (<NUM>, <NUM>), in second and subsequent imaging, by using information pertaining to documents acquired in past imaging, wherein the guidance information is based on images of the documents acquired in the past imaging; and
the image processing apparatus being characterized in that:
the guidance information and an image of the document of each set acquired in the second and subsequent imaging overlap each other on the display unit.