Method and apparatus for selecting blocks of image data from image data having both horizontally- and vertically-oriented blocks

A method for forming text blocks in a stored document having horizontal and vertical text, comprising the steps of:

• identifying connected pixel components;
• grouping the identified connected pixel components horizontally and vertically;
• forming irregularly-shaped horizontal and vertical text blocks based on the grouped components and without having performed skew detection;
• detecting a text orientation for each formed text block, the text orientation including horizontal text orientation and vertical text orientation;
• forming text lines from the formed text block based on the detected text orientation, and thereafter detecting a skew angle for each of the formed text blocks.

A method for forming text and non-text blocks in a stored document having non-text information and horizontal and vertical text information, comprising the steps of:

• identifying connected pixel components;
• separating the identified connected pixel components into text and non-text components;
• grouping connected text components horizontally and vertically;
• searching said document for visible lines and for invisible lines along edges of non-text components;
• forming irregularly-shaped non-text blocks and irregularly-shaped horizontal and vertical text blocks based on the grouped text components and visible and invisible lines, without having performed skew detection;
• detecting a text orientation for each formed text block, the text orientation including horizontal text orientation and vertical text orientation;
• extracting text lines from the text block based on the detected text orientation;
• thereafter detecting a skew angle for each of the formed text blocks;
• and
• modifying the formed horizontal and vertical text blocks based on the detected skew angle.

A computer-readable memory medium storing computer-executable process steps for separating blocks of text areas and non-text areas of a stored document, the steps comprising:

• an identifying step to identify connected pixel components in the stored document;
• a separating step to separate identified pixel components into text and non-text components;
• a searching step to search said document for visible lines and for invisible lines along edges of non-text components;
• a forming step to form text and non-text blocks using the text components and the visible and invisible lines;
• a detecting step to detect text orientation for a formed text block, the text orientation including horizontal text orientation and vertical text orientation;
• an extracting step to extract text lines from the formed text block based on the detected text orientation;
• a detecting step to detect a skew angle for the stored document based on the extracted text lines;
• and
• a modifying step to modify the formed text blocks based on the detected skew angle.

A computer-readable memory medium storing computer-executable process steps for forming text blocks in a stored document having horizontal and vertical text, the steps comprising:

• an identifying step to identify connected pixel components;
• a grouping step to group the identified connected pixel components horizontally and vertically;
• a forming step to form irregularly-shaped horizontal and vertical text blocks based on the grouped components and without having performed skew detection;
• a detecting step to detect a text orientation for each formed text block, the text orientation including horizontal text orientation and vertical text orientation;
• a forming step to form text lines from each formed text block based on the detected text orientation;
• and
• a detecting step to thereafter detect a skew angle for each of the formed text blocks.

A computer-readable memory medium storing computer-executable process steps for forming text and non-text blocks in a stored document having non-text information and horizontal and vertical text information, the steps comprising:

• an identifying step to identify connected pixel components;
• a separating step to separate the identified connected pixel components into text and non-text components;
• a grouping step to group connected text components horizontally and vertically;
• a searching step to search the document for visible lines and for invisible lines along edges of non-text components;
• a forming step to form irregularly-shaped non-text blocks and irregularly-shaped horizontal and vertical text blocks based on the grouped text components, the visible lines, and the invisible lines, without skew detection having been performed;
• a detecting step to detect a text orientation for each formed text block, the text orientation including horizontal text orientation and vertical text orientation;
• an extracting step to extract text lines from a formed text block based on the detected text orientation;
• a detecting step to thereafter detect a skew angle for each of the formed text blocks;
• and
• a modifying step to modify the formed horizontal and vertical text blocks based on the detected skew angle.