Patent Document ID: 5448692
Application ID: 07858155
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An image processing device for writing into a storing means, a digital document image produced by image inputting means, for executing digital image processing with said digital document image stored in said storing means by image processing means to arrive at a processed digital document image, and for feeding the processed digital document image to image outputting means, said image processing device comprising a) area recognizing means including: 1) contour tracing means for tracing contour lines included in said digital document image to produce image contour information; 2) text/graphic discriminating means for determining whether said digital document image is a text image or a graphic image on the basis of the size of the contour of each portion of said digital document image represented by said image contour information; 3) inclusion relation determining means for determining, when said digital document image is a graphic image, an inclusion relation between an outer contour and an inner contour with each other; and 4) area extracting means for extracting areas each being delimited by a frame line on the basis of said determined inclusion relation; and b) selecting means for allowing an operator to select desired one of said areas and a content of desired processing.