Image processing device, control method for image processing device, and application

Abstract

To update a file name based upon the position in an image where, for example, a user puts his or her seal.SOLUTION: There is provided an application that causes a computer to function as: holding means which holds a rule to specify a position in an image and then define data to be used as the file name of the file including the image associatively with the position; receiving means for receiving a file to be processed; and update means which uses the data defined associatively with the position by the rule when a user operates at the position, specified by the rule, of the image included in the received file to be processed to update the file name of the file to be processed using the data defined by the rule associatively with the position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for updating the file name of a file based on the position of a user operation on an image included in the file. [Background technology]

[0002] When processing applications within a company, it is customary for approvers to take turns stamping documents such as application forms in accordance with an approval workflow, and then accept the application. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases where these documents are digitized and used. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to electronic stamping, in which when a user uses an electronic seal to stamp a stamp field in an image of a document displayed on a tablet, a seal impression is displayed in the stamp field. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-267439 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration updating the file name based on the position where the user performs an operation such as stamping on the document image.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to update the file name based on the position within the image where a user performs an operation such as stamping. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the application of the present invention causes a computer to function as a storage means for storing rules that specify a position in an image and define data to be used in the file name of a file containing the image in association with that position, a receiving means for receiving a file to be processed, and an update means for updating the file name of the file to be processed using the data defined in association with that position by the rule when a user performs an operation on an image included in the received file to be processed at a position specified by the rule. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the device of the present invention, it is possible to update the file name based on the position within the image where the user performs an operation such as stamping. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] System configuration diagram of this embodiment [Diagram 2] Hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment [Diagram 3] An example of a rule setting screen in the second embodiment [Figure 4] Software configuration diagram of the system according to this embodiment [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for detecting a stamp processing position based on rules and assigning a file name and tag in this embodiment. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of setting rules in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of setting rules in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] An example of a rule setting screen in the first embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <First embodiment> This embodiment is an embodiment in which a seal processing is performed on a scanned document, and file names and tagging are automated based on the position information.

[0011] The system configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0012] The image forming apparatus 101 is an image forming apparatus such as a digital multifunction image forming apparatus that integrates a print function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and a transmission function (e-mail, FTP, etc.), a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, or the like.

[0013] The LAN 102 is a local area network. The image forming apparatus 101 can be connected to another image forming apparatus (not shown) and a seal processing application 103 via the LAN 102. In this embodiment, the seal processing application 103 is installed in an image processing apparatus such as a PC or a mobile terminal, and the PC or the mobile terminal communicates with the image forming apparatus 101 and the shared folder 104.

[0014] A seal processing application 103 is an application that acquires an electronic file placed in a shared folder 104, displays a preview on the application to prompt the user to perform a seal processing, and names the file and adds tags according to the seal position.

[0015] The shared folder 104 is a file management server that stores electronic files. Using a protocol such as SMB, documents scanned by the image forming apparatus 101 can be stored therein, and files can also be stored therein directly from a PC (not shown).

[0016] 1 shows a closed configuration within the LAN 102, but the network configuration is not limited to this. For example, the seal processing application 103 may be configured on an external cloud, and the shared folder 104 may also be an external cloud storage service.

[0017] The hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0018] The image forming apparatus 101 is composed of a control unit 210, an operation unit 220, a printer unit 221, a scanner unit 222, and a modem 223. The control unit 210 is composed of the following units 211 to 219, and controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 101. The CPU 211 reads out a control program stored in a ROM 212, and executes and controls various functions of the image forming apparatus 101, such as reading, printing, and communication. The RAM 213 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory and a work area of ​​the CPU 211. In this embodiment, one CPU 211 executes each process shown in a flowchart described later using one memory (RAM 213 or HDD 214), but is not limited to this. For example, each process may be executed by cooperating with multiple CPUs and multiple RAMs or HDDs. The HDD 214 is a large-capacity storage unit that stores image data and various programs.

[0019] The operation unit I / F 215 is an interface that connects the operation unit 220 and the control unit 210. The operation unit 220 is provided with a touch panel, a keyboard, and the like, and accepts operations / inputs / instructions from a user. The printer I / F 216 is an interface that connects the printer unit 221 and the control unit 210. Image data for printing is transferred from the control unit 210 to the printer unit 221 via the printer I / F 216 and printed on a recording medium. The scanner I / F 217 is an interface that connects the scanner unit 222 and the control unit 210. The scanner unit 222 reads an original set on a document tray or an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), not shown, generates image data, and inputs the image data to the control unit 210 via the scanner I / F 217. The image forming apparatus 101 can print (copy) the image data generated by the scanner unit 222 from the printer unit 221, as well as transmit the image data as a file or by e-mail. The modem I / F 218 is an interface that connects the modem 223 and the control unit 210. The modem 223 communicates image data by facsimile with a facsimile device on the PSTN. The network I / F 219 is an interface that connects the control unit 210 (image forming apparatus 101) to a LAN. The image forming apparatus 101 uses the network I / F 219 to transmit image data and information to each service on the Internet and to receive various information.

[0020] Next, the software configuration of the system will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The software of the image forming apparatus 101 is made up of a display control unit 421, a scan instruction unit 422, a scan execution unit 411, an image data storage unit 412, and a scan transmission unit 423.

[0021] The display control unit 421 displays a UI screen for receiving operations by a user on a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function of the operation unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 101. For example, the display control unit 421 displays UI screens such as scan settings, an operation for starting a scan, and a preview screen. The scan instruction unit 422 requests the scan execution unit 411 to perform a scan process together with scan settings according to a user instruction input via the UI screen.

[0022] The scan execution unit 411 receives a scan request including scan settings from the scan instruction unit 422. In accordance with the scan request, the scan execution unit 411 generates scanned image data by reading a document placed on a platen glass with the scanner unit 222 via the scanner I / F 217. The generated scanned image data is sent to the image data storage unit 412. The scan execution unit 411 sends a scanned image identifier that uniquely identifies the stored scanned image data to the scan instruction unit 422. The scanned image identifier is a number, symbol, alphabet, or the like (not shown) for uniquely identifying an image scanned in the image forming apparatus 101. The image data storage unit 412 stores the scanned image data received from the scan execution unit 411 in the HDD 214.

[0023] The scan instruction unit 422 acquires scan image data corresponding to the scan image identifier received from the scan execution unit 411 from the image data storage unit 412. The scan instruction unit 422 requests the scan transmission unit 423 to instruct the scan transmission unit 423 to transmit the acquired scan image data to the shared folder 104. The scan transmission unit 423 transmits the scan image data to the shared folder 104.

[0024] Next, a description will be given of the software configuration of the seal processing application 103. The seal processing application 103 is made up of a folder monitoring section 431, a rule setting section 432, a rule determining section 433, a file updating section 434, a position detecting section 435, and a display section 436.

[0025] The folder monitoring unit 431 monitors the shared folder 104. When an image scanned by the image forming apparatus 101 is sent to the shared folder 104, the folder monitoring unit 431 detects this and instructs subsequent processing.

[0026] The rule setting unit 432 sets file name and tagging rules when a seal is detected. Here, the rule setting will be described. Fig. 7 is a flowchart explaining the flow when a rule is set in the first embodiment, and Fig. 8 is an example of a rule setting screen. Each process of the flowchart in Fig. 7 is executed by the rule setting unit 432 of the seal processing application 103.

[0027] Step S701 is a step in which the rule setting unit 432 sets a seal position to be the target of file naming / tagging. As shown in 801, the user specifies the seal position while viewing a preview of the actual document. The rule setting unit 432 accepts the position specification by the user. In this embodiment, the user specifies an area on the image to be sealed by a dragging operation or the like. The rule setting unit 432 stores the coordinates of the specified area as the seal position, as shown in 802.

[0028] Step S702 is a step in which the rule setting unit 432 sets a file name tagging rule. As shown in 803, the rule setting unit 432 defines character string data to be used in the file name and character string data to be added as a tag in association with the position specified in S701. In the example of 803, a rule is defined to add the phrase "Chief Approved_" to the beginning of the file name. It is also defined that a tag "Chief Approved" is added to the file. Although not shown, a destination to save the file to be processed and a destination to send the file to may also be defined as a rule in association with the position specified in S701. For example, a rule is defined to move the file to be processed to a folder "Chief Approved" in the shared folder 104.

[0029] As described above, by the rule setting unit 432 setting and storing rules regarding the imprint position in advance, the rules can be used for file naming, tagging, etc. based on detection of the imprint position, which will be described later.

[0030] The rule determination unit 433 determines the rule when the seal is detected. The rule determination unit 433 checks the position information of the seal processing detected by the position detection unit 435 against the rules set and held by the rule setting unit 432 to determine the file name and tag, and instructs the file update unit 434 described later to update the file.

[0031] The file update unit 434 updates the file name and tag based on the rule determined by the rule determination unit 433 .

[0032] The position detection unit 435 detects the position of the stamp processing performed by the stamp processing application 103. The stamp position detected by the position detection unit 435 is checked against the position information specified by the rule setting unit 432 and used to determine the file name / tag name.

[0033] The display unit 436 displays on its screen an image of the document contained in the file imported from the shared folder 104. The user can apply a seal to the image displayed on the screen on the application.

[0034] 5 is a sequence diagram explaining the flow when the seal processing application 103 imports a document scanned by the image forming device 101 and updates the file name and tag based on the rules. The processing of the sequence diagram in FIG. 5 is performed by the CPU of each device executing a program stored in the storage means.

[0035] In step S501, the image forming apparatus 101 transmits a scanned image to the shared folder 104. Specifically, the scan transmission unit 423 transmits to the shared folder 104 a file including a scanned image obtained by scanning with the scanner 222 of the image forming apparatus 101.

[0036] Step S502 is a step in which the folder monitoring unit 431 of the seal processing application 103 acquires a scanned image from the shared folder 104. The folder monitoring unit 431 constantly monitors the shared folder, and when a file including a scanned image is sent from the image forming apparatus 101 to the shared folder 104, it detects this and acquires the scanned document. More specifically, the folder monitoring unit 431 accepts the file including the scanned image sent from the image forming apparatus 101 and saved in the shared folder 104 as a file to be processed, such as for seal. After acquiring the scanned image, the folder monitoring unit 431 requests the display unit 436 to display a preview.

[0037] Step S503 is a step in which the display unit 436 displays a preview of the scanned image. The display unit 436 displays the preview of the scanned image on the screen, and the user can perform a seal processing or the like on the screen. When the user performs a seal processing, the position detection unit 435 detects the processing position in the next step S504.

[0038] In step S504, the position detection unit 435 detects the seal processing position from the scanned document. When detecting the seal processing position, the position detection unit 435 refers to the rules held in the rule setting unit 432, and compares the detected seal processing position with a position specified in advance in the rule. When the position detection unit 435 detects the seal processing, in the next step, it requests the rule determination unit 433 to determine the file name and tagging based on the detected seal processing position and the rule.

[0039] In step S505, the rule determination unit 433 determines the final file name / tag in accordance with the rules based on the imprint position information detected by the position detection unit 435. The rule determination unit 433 determines the final file name / tag based on the rules from the imprint position detected by the position detection unit 435. After determination, in step S506 described below, the rule determination unit 433 instructs the file update unit 434 to update the file name.

[0040] In step S506, the file updating section 434 updates the file. Since the file name and tag have been determined based on the rules in step S505 described above, the file updating section 434 updates the file name and tag.

[0041] An example will be used to explain the update of the file name. For example, in S501, a file including a scanned image obtained by scanning the document shown in FIG. 8 is sent to the shared folder 104. At this time, it is assumed that the file name of the file is set to "Business Trip Application" in the image forming apparatus 101. The folder monitoring unit 431 accepts the file. Then, it is assumed that the user performs a seal operation at a certain position. The position detection unit 435 detects the position where the operation was performed. The rule determination unit 433 compares the detected position with the position "40,200,40,40" of the area specified by the rule shown in 802, and determines whether or not the user's operation was detected within the specified area. If it is determined that the user's operation was performed within the area specified by the rule, that is, if it is determined that the user's operation was performed at the position specified by the rule, the seal processing is performed and the file name is updated. Specifically, as defined in 803, "Senior Approved_" is added to the beginning of the file name. That is, the file name is automatically updated to "Senior Approved_Business Trip Application". Although not shown in the figure, if a rule for the file storage destination is also defined, the updated file is stored according to the rule. In this embodiment, the updated file is stored in a folder called "section manager approved" in the shared folder 104.

[0042] In this manner, the seal processing position on the document scanned by the image forming apparatus 101 can be detected, and the file name and tagging can be automatically updated.

[0043] Although the configuration in which only one rule is set has been described so far, the present invention is not limited to this. A rule may be defined for each type of document. For example, a different rule may be defined for each type of form, such as "business trip application", "invoice", and "proposal". In this case, the rule setting unit 432 accepts a position designation in association with each type of form. Then, at any timing before S506 after the folder monitoring unit 431 accepts the file to be processed, the rule determination unit 433 identifies the type of form. For example, the rule determination unit 433 performs an analysis process on an image included in the file to be processed to identify the type of form. The analysis process may include a method of detecting lines or the like included in an image and identifying the type based on the layout of the detected lines or the like. Alternatively, a method of performing character recognition process on an image and determining whether a specific character string indicating the type of form is included in the recognized character string may also be used. Alternatively, an area determined to include characters (called a character area) may be detected from the image, and the type may be identified based on the layout of the character area.

[0044] <Second embodiment> This embodiment is an embodiment for carrying out unique file naming and tagging when multiple seal processing is performed. An application form may have multiple seal positions, and by setting dependencies for each seal processing position, file naming and tagging are performed in the correct order.

[0045] The system configuration, hardware configuration, and software configuration of this embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] Fig. 3 is an example of a rule setting screen in this embodiment, and Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of rule setting in this embodiment. The flow of rule setting in this embodiment will be described with reference to these figures.

[0047] Step S601 is a step in which the user of the seal processing application 103 sets a processing position to be a target of file name / tagging. As shown in 301 and 305, the target position is set while viewing a preview of the document.

[0048] Step S602 is a step in which the user of the seal processing application 103 sets file name / tagging rules. As shown in 303, when a seal processing is performed at a specified position, a character string to be used for file name / tagging is specified in advance. In this manner, the rule setting unit 432 can specify a plurality of positions in an image. Then, it is possible to define a rule by associating a different character string to be used in the file name with each of the plurality of positions.

[0049] Step S603 is a step in which the user of the seal processing application 103 sets dependencies between rules. As shown in 304 and 306, dependent rules are set for each rule. For example, 304 does not depend on any rule because the dependent location is not specified, but 306 depends on a rule in a specific location, so the rule is not applied if the processing corresponding to the dependent rule is not performed. In other words, even if the user performs a seal operation on column 305 when no seal processing has been performed on column 301, no seal processing is performed on column 305 and no file name is updated.

[0050] As described above, when multiple stamp processes are performed, it is possible to set rules for performing file name and tagging while taking into consideration dependencies. The flow for reading a scanned document, detecting the position where the stamp process was performed, and performing file name and tagging is the same as that shown in Figure 5 above, so a detailed explanation is omitted. As a result, when multiple stamp processes are performed on an application, file names and tags can be automatically assigned uniquely according to dependencies.

[0051] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of each of the above-mentioned embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC or FPGA) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 103 Stamp processing application 432 Rule Setting Section 435 Position detector 433 Rule Judgment Unit 434 File Update Section

Claims

1. a storage means for storing rules that specify a position in an image and define data to be used in a file name of a file including the image in association with the position; A receiving means for receiving a file to be processed; an updating means for updating the file name of the file to be processed using data defined in association with the position in the rule when a user operation is performed at the position in the image included in the accepted file to be processed, the position being specified by the rule; An application that enables a computer to function as a

2. The file to be processed is saved after the file name of the file to be processed is updated by the update means.

2. The application of claim 1 .

3. The destination where the file to be processed is saved is defined in association with the location by the rule.

3. The application according to claim 2 .

4. The rule can specify multiple locations in an image, and can define each of the multiple locations by associating it with different data that will be used in the file name of a file that includes the image.

2. The application of claim 1 .

5. The operation includes an operation for imprinting a seal on the image.

2. The application of claim 1 .

6. a storage means for storing rules that specify a position in an image and define data to be used in a file name of a file including the image in association with the position; A receiving means for receiving a file to be processed; an updating means for updating a file name of the file to be processed using data defined in the rule in association with the position when a user operation is performed on an image included in the accepted file to be processed at the position specified by the rule; An image processing device comprising:

7. A control method for an image processing device, comprising: a storing step of storing a rule that specifies a position in an image and defines data to be used in a file name of a file including the image in association with the position; a receiving step of receiving a file to be processed; an updating step of updating a file name of the file to be processed using data defined in the rule in association with the position when a user operation is performed on an image included in the received file to be processed, the file name being updated using data defined in the rule in association with the position; The control method includes:

Images