Patent ID: 6865720

Claim:
A document segmentation apparatus for segmenting a first type of table, for presenting data in a visual tabular format, or a second type of table represented between tags defined in a language for use in composing the layout of web pages containing data that lacks tabular relationships, comprising: table analyzing means for generating cell vectors representing characteristics of cells having at least one of row width and column width of the cells, and cell position data indicating a positional relationship between cells, by analyzing a table in a document to be processed; table type judging means for judging, with reference to the cell position data and the cell vectors generated by said table analyzing means, whether the table analyzed by said table analyzing means is either a table of the first type or a table of the second type; first segment generating means for generating a plurality of segments by dividing the table with a first method in a case in which said table type judging means judges that the table analyzed by said table analyzing means is a table of the first type; and second segment generating means for generating a plurality of segments by dividing the table with a second method in a case in which said table type judging means judges that the table analyzed by said table analyzing means is a table of the second type.