Information processing device and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus and program capable of presenting an operator related to processing to be performed by a user from among a plurality of operators shared by a plurality of users.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus (image forming apparatus 10) comprises a processor (CPU11). The processor presents an operator, from among a plurality of operators obtained by acquiring data to be processed and associating with processing to be performed respectively, and shared by a plurality of users, with which processing performed in the past on data similar to acquired data to be processed is associated, to a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an output device that searches through stored job history information records (history) for those that are closely related to a new job to be executed, and provides the user with detailed settings and functions of the searched history. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5129640 Public Relations Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In an information processing device such as a multifunction peripheral, a technique has been proposed in which previously executed processes are registered in association with operators, and by operating the operators, a process similar to the previously executed process can be easily performed. It is conceivable that such operators can be shared by multiple users, with one user providing operators recommended to other users, or an administrator providing operators commonly used within a group. However, when a large number of operators are registered, a problem arises in that it becomes difficult for users to find the operator they want.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and a program that can present operators related to the process that a user is trying to execute from among multiple operators shared by multiple users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device of a first aspect of the present invention includes a processor that acquires target data to be processed and presents to a user a plurality of operators, each associated with a process to be executed, from among a plurality of operators shared by a plurality of users, an operator associated with a process previously performed on data similar to the acquired target data.

[0007] An information processing device of a second aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the first aspect, in which an operator is associated with image features of data previously processed by the operator, and the processor acquires the image features of the target data, and presents an operator that processed the similar data as the similar data, for example, data from previously processed data that is associated with image features whose similarity to the image features of the target data is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0008] An information processing device of a third aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the second aspect, wherein, if there is a plurality of data items that the operator has previously processed, the operator is associated with image features of the plurality of data items previously processed for the operator, and if at least one of the image features of the plurality of data items associated with the operator has a similarity to the image feature of the target data that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the processor presents the operator as an operator that has processed similar data.

[0009] An information processing device of a fourth aspect of the present invention is an information processing device of the second or third aspect, in which data associated with an operator is associated with the number of times the operator has been used after being presented because the data corresponds to the similar data, and when the processor presents to the user an operator associated with processing previously performed on data similar to the target data, it presents to the user the number of times the operator has been used together with the data associated with the operator.

[0010] An information processing device of a fifth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the fourth aspect, wherein the processor changes an initial value of the number of uses associated with data from a standard value depending on the user who provided the data.

[0011] An information processing device of a sixth aspect of the present invention is an information processing device of the fifth aspect, wherein the processor sets the initial value of the number of times of use associated with the data to the median or average of the number of times of use of data previously provided by the user who provided the data.

[0012] An information processing device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the information processing device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the processor rearranges the order in which the controls are presented based on a preset condition.

[0013] An information processing device according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device according to the seventh aspect, wherein the processor rearranges the operators so that the more frequently used the operators are presented, the higher they are placed in the order of presentation.

[0014] An information processing device of a ninth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the seventh aspect, wherein the processor rearranges the operators so that the operators associated with data having a higher similarity to the target data are presented higher in the order of presentation.

[0015] An information processing device of a tenth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the seventh aspect, wherein the processor rearranges the operators so that the operator that has been used by a greater number of users is presented higher in the order of presentation.

[0016] An information processing device of an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the seventh aspect, wherein the processor rearranges the operators so that the closer to the present the last used date and time, the higher the operator is presented.

[0017] A twelfth aspect of the information processing device of the present invention is the information processing device of the seventh aspect, wherein the processor classifies the operators to be presented into groups based on the degree of similarity of the data associated with the operators to the target data, rearranges the operators so that operators belonging to groups with higher similarity are presented higher, and rearranges the order in which the operators are presented for each group based on preset conditions.

[0018] An information processing device of a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the twelfth aspect, wherein the processor rearranges the operators for each group so that the more frequently used the operators are presented, the higher the order of presentation.

[0019] A fourteenth aspect of the program of the present invention causes a computer to execute the steps of acquiring target data for processing, and presenting to a user, from among a plurality of operators each associated with a process to be executed and shared by a plurality of users, an operator associated with a process previously performed on data similar to the acquired target data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the information processing device of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to present an operator related to a process that a user is about to execute from among a plurality of operators shared by a plurality of users.

[0021] According to the information processing device of the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to present operators that process data similar to the target data of the processing that the user is attempting to perform, from among multiple operators shared by multiple users.

[0022] According to the information processing device of the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to present operators related to the process that the user is about to execute, based on a plurality of data items processed in the past by the operators.

[0023] According to the information processing device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the number of times data associated with a control can be used can be shown to a user as the degree of reliability of the data.

[0024] According to the information processing device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the number of times of use to be presented can be adjusted depending on the user who provided the data.

[0025] According to the information processing device of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the number of times of use to be presented can be adjusted according to the usage record of data provided by the user in the past.

[0026] According to the information processing device of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the order in which the controls are presented to the user can be changed based on a preset condition.

[0027] According to the information processing device of the eighth aspect of the present invention, an operator that has been used more frequently can be presented to the user with higher priority.

[0028] According to the information processing device of the ninth aspect of the present invention, an operator associated with data having a higher similarity to the target data can be presented to the user with higher priority.

[0029] According to the information processing device of the tenth aspect of the present invention, an operator that has been used by a greater number of users can be presented to users with higher priority.

[0030] According to the information processing device of the eleventh aspect of the present invention, an operator whose last use date and time is closer to the present can be presented to the user with higher priority.

[0031] According to the information processing device of the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the order in which operators are presented to the user can be changed based on preset conditions, while groups with higher similarities are presented at the top.

[0032] According to the information processing device of the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, an operator that has a higher similarity and is used more frequently can be presented to the user with higher priority.

[0033] According to the program of the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to present an operator related to a process that a user is about to execute from among a plurality of operators shared by a plurality of users. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a personal setting information management table stored in a setting information storage unit. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a shared setting information management table stored in a setting information storage unit; FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a list display screen of job setting information displayed for a user to use a quick function. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the processing content when a recommendation function is executed. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of icons extracted by a recommendation function. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of display of icons extracted by the recommendation function. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the processing content when an icon extracted by the recommendation function is selected. [Figure 11] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the processing content when an icon extracted by the recommendation function is selected. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the processing content when a recommendation function is executed. [Figure 13] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the processing content when an icon extracted by the recommendation function is selected. [Figure 14] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the processing content when changing the display order of icons extracted by the recommendation function. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a recommendation function is executed. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a presentation list is obtained. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a process for adding the number of times a document is used when a job is executed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured with an image forming apparatus 10 and a terminal apparatus 20 interconnected by a network 30. The terminal apparatus 20 generates print data and transmits the generated print data to the image forming apparatus 10 via the network 30. The image forming apparatus 10 receives the print data transmitted from the terminal apparatus 20 and outputs an image on paper in accordance with the print data. The image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called multifunction device having multiple functions, such as a print function, a scan function, a copy function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 10 is an example of an information processing apparatus in the technology of the present invention.

[0037] Next, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 in the image forming system of this embodiment is shown in FIG.

[0038] 2, the image forming apparatus 10 has a CPU 11, a memory 12, a storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (abbreviated as IF) 14 that transmits and receives data to and from external devices via a network 30, a user interface (abbreviated as UI) device 15 that includes a touch panel or liquid crystal display and a keyboard, a scanner 16, and a print engine 17. These components are connected to one another via a control bus 18.

[0039] UI device 15 accepts instruction input from a user. Scanner 16 reads an original document loaded in image forming apparatus 10 as image data. Print engine 17 prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing.

[0040] The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 by executing predetermined processes based on a control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13. While the present embodiment has been described as the CPU 11 reading and executing the control program stored in the memory 12 or the storage device 13, this is not limiting. The control program may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. For example, the program may be provided in a form recorded on an optical disc such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or in a semiconductor memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a memory card. The control program may also be obtained from an external device via a communication line connected to the communication interface 14.

[0041] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 realized by executing the above control program.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming device 10 of this embodiment includes an authentication unit 31, an operation input unit 32, a display unit 33, a data transmission / reception unit 34, a control unit 35, an image reading unit 36, an image output unit 37, and a setting information storage unit 38.

[0043] The authentication unit 31 executes authentication processing for a user who attempts to use the image forming apparatus 10. The operation input unit 32 inputs various operation information performed by the user. The display unit 33 is controlled by the control unit 35 and displays various information to the user. The data transmission / reception unit 34 transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as the terminal device 20.

[0044] The control unit 35 controls the overall operation of the image forming device 10, generates print data based on a print job received from the terminal device 20 via the data transmission / reception unit 34, controls the output of the generated print data from the image output unit 37, and controls the reading of the document image by the image reading unit 36.

[0045] The image reading unit 36 ​​reads an original image from a set original under the control of the control unit 35. The image output unit 37 outputs an image onto a recording medium such as printing paper under the control of the control unit 35.

[0046] The setting information storage unit 38 stores setting information in which setting values ​​for executing job processing are stored for each setting item, along with job history information that indicates the execution history of various jobs, such as print jobs, scan jobs, copy jobs, and fax jobs, executed by the control unit 35. Here, the job history information is history information on the processing contents of jobs executed in the past.

[0047] The setting information storage unit 38 stores a personal setting information management table for managing personal setting information that can only be used by specific users, and a shared setting information management table for managing shared setting information that can be used by multiple users.

[0048] In the image forming device 10 of this embodiment, a quick function is provided that allows a user to select any job from the job history information and personal setting information described above, and execute a new job using the settings of a previously executed job.

[0049] Fig. 4 shows an example of the personal setting information management table stored in the setting information storage unit 38. As shown in Fig. 4, the personal setting information management table manages job history information of jobs executed in the past and personal setting information pinned by user operation from this job history information.

[0050] The job history information and personal setting information manage information on items such as the job's "name," "type," "settings," "last used date and time," and "image features of the document" for each job.

[0051] Here, "Name" refers to the name of the job displayed on the display screen for using the quick function. "Type" refers to the type of processing in the job, such as copy, fax, or scan. "Settings" refers to information about the settings required to execute the job. "Last used date and time" refers to the date and time when the job was last used.

[0052] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 10 executes some kind of job on a document prepared by a user, such as copying, faxing, or scanning. The document prepared by the user is acquired as image data by the image forming apparatus 10, for example, by the scanner 16. The "image feature amount of the document" refers to the image feature amount of the image data of the document that is the target of a job executed in the past.

[0053] Here, the image feature is a numerical representation of the features of image data, and is a value calculated using the image data. The image feature may be a global feature obtained from the entire image, or a local feature obtained from a portion of the image. Examples of algorithms that can be used to acquire the image feature of image data include SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) and HOG (Histograms of Oriented Gradients). In addition to these algorithms, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing may be performed on the image data of a document, and the number of characters in the document or the proportion of character areas in the document may be used as the image feature. The algorithm for acquiring the image feature of image data is not limited to the above algorithm, and any algorithm may be used. The number of image features managed as "image feature of document" may be one or multiple for one piece of image data.

[0054] In this embodiment, as an example, the image feature of the image data is the proportion of the text area in the image. Specifically, OCR processing is performed on the image data of the document, the proportion of the text area to the entire document area is calculated, and the calculated value is used as the image feature. This makes it possible to capture the rough characteristics of the document, such as a document with a large image feature being mainly text, and a document with a small image feature being mainly non-text.

[0055] When a user wants to execute a job with the same settings as those in a job executed in the past, the user can execute the job with the same settings as those in the job history information by selecting the job history information on the display screen for using the quick function.

[0056] Note that job history information is also included in personal setting information that is available only to specific users. In other words, job history information is personal setting information that is not pinned. However, in the following description, pinned setting information that is available only to specific users will be referred to as personal setting information, and unpinned setting information that is available only to specific users will be referred to as job history information.

[0057] When a user uses the image forming apparatus 10 to execute a job, new job history information is generated each time the job is executed. However, there is a limit to the data storage area, and storing all the job history information may result in insufficient data storage area. For this reason, an upper limit is set, such as keeping job history information for only the most recent 200 jobs, and job history information exceeding the upper limit is deleted starting with the oldest execution date and time.

[0058] Therefore, you can pin job history that you do not want to delete so that it will not be deleted. Pinned job history is managed as personal setting information and will remain undeleted even if the number of jobs executed later exceeds the upper limit.

[0059] For example, referring to the personal setting information management table in Figure 4, we can see that setting information named "Send Email To Accounting Department" and "Fax To Travel Agency" is pinned and managed separately from regular job history information. In other words, this pinned personal setting information remains and continues to be displayed on the operation screen regardless of the number of jobs executed later. Therefore, if you register frequently used job history information as personal setting information by pinning it, you can use that personal setting information multiple times and execute jobs with the same settings.

[0060] Here, the personal setting information and job history information shown in Fig. 4 are setting information that can only be used by a specific user, such as user X. However, there are cases where such setting information is desired to be used by multiple users. For this reason, the personal setting information can be changed to shared setting information. Note that shared setting information is available to all logged-in users.

[0061] An example of a shared setting information management table for managing such shared setting information is shown in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, the shared setting information management table manages information on items such as the job's "name," "type," "settings," "creator user," "user," "last used date and time," "image features of the document," and "number of times used" for each job.

[0062] Here, the "Name," "Type," "Setting Content," "Last Used Date and Time," and "Image Features of Document" are the same as those in the personal setting information management table. Also, the "Creating User" is the user who created the setting information for the job. Also, the "Using User" is the user who used the job.

[0063] The "number of uses" refers to the number of times the job has been used since it was set to shared, and is the number of times it has been presented as a job that processes a document similar to a document prepared by the user using the "recommended function" described below and used. If multiple "image features of document" are registered for one job, the "number of uses" is registered for each document. The "recommended function" will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the "number of uses" is initially set to 0.

[0064] In the image forming device 10 of this embodiment, when using the quick function, in addition to the job history information and personal setting information described above, it is possible to select setting information to be used when executing a job from among the shared setting information.

[0065] An example of a job setting information list display screen that is displayed so that the user can use the quick function is shown in Fig. 6. As shown in Fig. 6, the job setting information list display screen displays a list of shared setting information 61, personal setting information 62, and job history information 63. In this list display, each job is displayed as an icon 70, and the user can use the job of the touched icon 70 by touching the icon 70. In other words, the icon 70 is an operator with which a job is associated.

[0066] The job setting information list display screen shown in Fig. 6 is an example of a display screen that is displayed when user X logs in in a state in which the personal setting information management table shown in Fig. 4 and the shared setting information management table shown in Fig. 5 are stored in the setting information storage unit 38. However, due to display space limitations, some of the job histories displayed on the job history list display screen are omitted.

[0067] 6, job history information 63 is deleted sequentially from the oldest one as a new job is executed. However, shared setting information 61 and personal setting information 62 with pinned marks 50 are not affected even when a new job is executed, and continue to be displayed in the same place without changing the display position.

[0068] When a user wishes to execute a job with the same content as a job executed in the past, the user can simply touch the icon 70 of the job with the same or similar settings as the settings of the job to be executed from the list of shared setting information 61, personal setting information 62, and job history information 63 displayed in this way, and execute the job with the desired settings without having to make detailed settings.

[0069] For example, the user can simply touch the icon 70 for the shared setting information named "report submission" to send an email to the same destination as usual without having to enter destination information, etc.

[0070] However, in most cases, users do not know the contents of the shared setting information 61 registered by others, and therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult for users to find the desired operator even if useful setting information is found in the shared setting information 61. Furthermore, when a large amount of shared setting information 61 is registered, there arises a problem that it becomes difficult for users to find the desired operator.

[0071] Therefore, in the image forming device 10 of this embodiment, the control unit 35 acquires image data of a document as target data for a job, and presents to the user, from among multiple icons 70 associated with shared setting information 61, an icon 70 associated with a job previously performed on data similar to the acquired image data.

[0072] That is, the control unit 35 presents an icon 70 associated with a job previously performed on a document similar to the document prepared by the user as a recommended icon for the document prepared by the user. Hereinafter, this function will be referred to as a “recommended function.”

[0073] As a specific process for executing the recommendation function, in this embodiment, the control unit 35 acquires image features of the acquired image data, and, among previously processed data, presents an icon 70 representing data that is similar to the image features of the acquired image data and that are associated with image features whose similarity to the image features of the acquired image data is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold, as similar data.

[0074] The process flow in this case will be specifically described below.

[0075] When the user inputs an instruction to use a recommended function on a menu screen or the like, the control unit 35 displays a screen prompting the user to set a document in the image forming device 10. When the user sets a document in the image forming device 10 and inputs a read instruction, the control unit 35 drives the scanner 16 to obtain image data of the document as data to be processed.

[0076] Next, the control unit 35 acquires image feature quantities of the acquired image data. As described above, in this embodiment, as an example, the image feature quantity of the image data is the proportion of the character area in the image. Therefore, the control unit 35 performs OCR processing on the image data of the document, calculates the proportion of the character area to the entire document area, and sets the calculated value as the image feature quantity.

[0077] Next, the control unit 35 extracts, from the image data of the originals that were the subject of jobs executed in the past, image data associated with image features whose similarity to the image features of the acquired image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, as similar image data.

[0078] Here, the similarity between the image feature amount of the image data of the document that was the subject of a job executed in the past and the image feature amount of the image data of the document prepared by the user is calculated, for example, using the following formula: The threshold value can be set to any value, but here, as an example, it is set to 80% or more. D={1-(|Fu-Fp|) / (Fu+Fp)}×100 where: D: Similarity (%) Fu: Image feature quantity of the image data of the manuscript prepared by the user Fp: Image feature quantity of image data of previously processed manuscripts is.

[0079] Note that the above formula is an example of a formula for calculating the similarity of image data when one image feature is used for one image data, but the formula in this case is not limited to the above formula and may be another formula. Furthermore, when multiple image features are used for one image data, a formula different from the above formula must be used, but in this case, the formula may also be selected appropriately depending on the number of image features. Furthermore, as a method for extracting similar data, other methods may be used, such as not calculating the similarity (%) but extracting data whose image feature error is within a predetermined threshold value as similar data.

[0080] Next, the control unit 35 presents an icon 70 obtained by processing the data extracted as similar data as a recommended icon for the document prepared by the user.

[0081] For example, as shown in Figure 7, assume that three pieces of shared setting information are registered: "Send email to Accounting Department," "Send email to Public Relations Department," and "Send email to General Affairs Department." The setting information for "Send email to Accounting Department" is associated with a job previously performed on manuscript A, and the image feature value of manuscript A is "85." The setting information for "Send email to Public Relations Department" is associated with a job previously performed on manuscript B, and the image feature value of manuscript B is "10." The setting information for "Send email to General Affairs Department" is associated with a job previously performed on manuscript C, and the image feature value of manuscript C is "70."

[0082] Here, when user R attempts to perform a job on document D and inputs an instruction to use the recommended function, control unit 35 acquires image data of document D as described above, and acquires the image feature amount of the acquired image data. In the example of Fig. 7, the image feature amount of document D is "8".

[0083] Next, the control unit 35 extracts setting information for processing a document similar to document D from the shared setting information. The image feature value of document A processed by "Email To Accounting Department" is "85," and the similarity to the image feature value of document D calculated using the above formula is 17%. The image feature value of document B processed by "Email To Public Relations Department" is "10," and the similarity to the image feature value of document D calculated using the above formula is 83%. The image feature value of document C processed by "Email To General Affairs Department" is "70," and the similarity to the image feature value of document D calculated using the above formula is 20%. In this example, the threshold is set to 80%, so setting information for "Email To Public Relations Department," which has a similarity value above the threshold, is extracted. Hereinafter, a list of icons 70 associated with the extracted setting information will be referred to as a presentation list.

[0084] Next, the control unit 35 changes the display order of the icons 70 associated with the shared setting information. The display order of the icons 70 is such that the icons 70 in the presentation list are displayed first, followed by the icons 70 removed from the presentation list.

[0085] First, the display order of the icons 70 in the presentation list is changed to descending order of frequency of use. In this example, since there is only setting information for "Email Send To Public Relations Department," the display order is not changed.

[0086] Next, the display order of the icons 70 removed from the presentation list is changed based on some attribute information. Any attribute information may be used for changing the display order, such as the order of registration in the shared setting information, the number of times of use, the last date and time of use, and the number of users. In this example, since the setting information "Send email to accounting department" and "Send email to general affairs department" have been removed from the presentation list, the display order of these two setting information is changed to "Send email to accounting department" and "Send email to general affairs department" in order of earliest registration in the shared setting information.

[0087] 8, on the display screen for the results of recommended functions, icons 70 associated with shared setting information 61 are displayed based on the display order set as described above. In addition, behind the icons 70 associated with the shared setting information 61, icons 70 associated with user R's personal setting information 62 and job history information 63 are displayed.

[0088] This makes it possible to present an icon 70 related to the process that the user is trying to execute from among a plurality of icons 70 shared by a plurality of users, making it easier for the user to find the desired icon 70.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 9, the number of times of use may be displayed in an icon 70 associated with the shared setting information 61.

[0090] After presenting an icon 70 associated with shared setting information 61 as a recommended function, if the icon 70 in the presentation list is used, the number of times the setting information associated with the used icon 70 has been used is incremented, as shown in FIG. 10.

[0091] Furthermore, when an icon 70 that is not included in the presentation list is used, information about the document D is newly added to the setting information associated with the used icon 70, as shown in FIG.

[0092] In addition, when an icon 70 is associated with image features of image data of multiple documents processed in the past, if at least one of the multiple image features associated with the icon 70 has a similarity to the image features of the target data that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 35 may present the icon 70 as an icon 70 that has processed similar data.

[0093] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, assume that three pieces of setting information, "Send email to Accounting Department," "Send email to Public Relations Department," and "Send email to General Affairs Department," are registered as shared setting information. The setting information for "Send email to Accounting Department" is associated with processing previously performed on manuscript A and manuscript D, with the image feature value of manuscript A being "85" and the image feature value of manuscript D being "8." The setting information for "Send email to Public Relations Department" is associated with processing previously performed on manuscript B, with the image feature value of manuscript B being "10." The setting information for "Send email to General Affairs Department" is associated with processing previously performed on manuscript C, with the image feature value of manuscript C being "70."

[0094] Here, when user S attempts to perform a job on document E and inputs an instruction to use the recommended function, control unit 35 acquires image data of document E as described above, and acquires the image feature amount of the acquired image data. In the example of Fig. 12, the image feature amount of document E is "11".

[0095] Next, the control unit 35 extracts setting information for processing a document similar to document E. The image feature amount of document A processed by "Email To Accounting Department" is "85," and the similarity to the image feature amount of document E calculated by the above formula is 23%. The image feature amount of document D processed by "Email To Accounting Department" is "8," and the similarity to the image feature amount of document E calculated by the above formula is 84%. The image feature amount of document B processed by "Email To Public Relations Department" is "10," and the similarity to the image feature amount of document E calculated by the above formula is 95%. The image feature amount of document C processed by "Email To General Affairs Department" is "70," and the similarity to the image feature amount of document E calculated by the above formula is 27%. In this example, the threshold is set to 80%, so setting information for "Email To Accounting Department" and "Email To Public Relations Department," which have similarities above the threshold, is extracted.

[0096] Next, the control unit 35 changes the display order of the icons 70 associated with the shared setting information. The display order of the icons 70 is such that the icons 70 in the presentation list are displayed first, followed by the icons 70 removed from the presentation list.

[0097] When there are multiple icons 70 in the presentation list, the control unit 35 may rearrange the order in which they are presented to the user based on preset conditions. As a condition for rearranging, for example, the icons 70 may be rearranged so that the more frequently used the icon 70 is, the higher the order in which they are presented. Alternatively, the icons 70 may be rearranged so that the icons 70 associated with data that is more similar to the target data are, the higher the order in which they are presented. Alternatively, the icons 70 may be rearranged so that the more users have used them, the higher the order in which they are presented. Alternatively, the icons 70 whose last use date and time is closer to the present are, the higher the order in which they are presented.

[0098] In this example, the setting information "Email To Accounting Department" and "Email To Public Relations Department" are extracted as setting information used to process manuscripts similar to manuscript E, so these two setting information are displayed in the order of most frequently used: "Email To Public Relations Department" and "Email To Accounting Department." Note that if the number of times of use is the same, the display order may be changed based on other conditions.

[0099] Next, the display order of the icons 70 that have been removed from the presentation list is changed based on some attribute information. In this example, since the only setting information is "Email To General Affairs Department," the display order is not changed.

[0100] After presenting an icon 70 associated with shared setting information 61 as a recommended function, if an icon 70 in the presentation list is used, the number of times a manuscript similar to the current manuscript has been used is added to the setting information associated with the used icon 70, as shown in Figure 13.

[0101] The control unit 35 may also change the initial value of the number of uses associated with data from a standard value depending on the user who provided the data. In this case, the initial value of the number of uses may be the median or average value of the number of uses of data previously provided by the user who provided the data.

[0102] Specifically, in this example, the standard value for the initial value of the number of uses is set to 0, but for example, by setting the median or average value of the number of uses of data previously provided by a user who has provided new data, the initial value of the number of uses of new data provided by a user who has provided new data more frequently will be higher. As a result, when the presentation order of icons 70 is rearranged based on the number of uses, icons 70 associated with new data provided by users who have provided new data more frequently are more likely to be displayed preferentially.

[0103] In addition, the control unit 35 may classify the icons 70 presented as recommended functions into groups based on the degree of similarity between the image data of the manuscript associated with the icon 70 and the image data of the user's manuscript, and rearrange the icons 70 so that the icons 70 belonging to a group with higher similarity are presented higher in the order of presentation, and may also rearrange the order in which the icons 70 are presented for each group based on predetermined conditions.

[0104] At this time, it is preferable that the control unit 35 rearranges the icons 70 for each group so that the icons 70 that have been used more frequently are presented at the top of the order, but the rearrangement may also be based on various conditions other than the number of times they have been used, as described above.

[0105] For example, as shown in FIG. 14, if the threshold for determining similarity is set to 60% or more and there are 12 icons 70 to be presented, the control unit 35 classifies the data associated with the icons 70 into four groups based on the degree of similarity to the target data: a group with a similarity of 90% or more but less than 100%, a group with a similarity of 80% or more but less than 90%, a group with a similarity of 70% or more but less than 80%, and a group with a similarity of 60% or more but less than 70%.

[0106] Furthermore, the control unit 35 rearranges the icons 70 so that the icons 70 belonging to a group with higher similarity are presented at a higher position, and for each group, the icons 70 that are used more frequently are presented at a higher position.

[0107] By adopting such an embodiment, the icons 70 can be rearranged based on both the similarity and the number of times of use.

[0108] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of Figures 15 to 17. In the following description, the icon 70 associated with the shared setting information will be referred to as a pinned shared icon.

[0109] First, the process when a user inputs an instruction to use a recommended function will be described. When a user inputs an instruction to use a recommended function, the control unit 35 scans the user's manuscript and extracts image features of the user's manuscript in step S11, as shown in the flowchart of Fig. 15.

[0110] Next, the control unit 35 acquires a list of pinned shared items in step S12. The process at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

[0111] In steps S121 to S125, the control unit 35 determines whether to add each of the document histories of all pinned documents to the presentation list. The document histories of pinned documents are documents that have been previously processed in the shared setting information and registered in this setting information. Hereinafter, documents registered in the shared setting information are referred to as past documents, and documents newly prepared by the user are referred to as user documents.

[0112] Specifically, for each document history of pinned shared documents, the control unit 35 calculates the similarity between the image feature amount of the past document and the image feature amount of the user document in step S122. Next, the control unit 35 determines whether the similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold in step S123.

[0113] If it is determined in step S123 that the similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold, the control unit 35 adds the pinned shared document associated with this past document to the presentation list in step S124, and proceeds to determining the next document history.

[0114] If it is determined in step S123 that the similarity is not equal to or greater than the threshold, the control unit 35 does not add the pinned shared document associated with this past document to the presentation list, and proceeds to determining the next document history.

[0115] When the determination of all document histories of the shared pinning is completed, the control unit 35 changes the display order of the presentation list acquired as described above in step S13 of the flowchart in FIG.

[0116] Next, in step S14, the control unit 35 changes the display order of pinned shared items that are not in the presentation list. Finally, in step S15, the control unit 35 displays pinned shared items in the presentation list at the top, and ends the process.

[0117] Next, a process of adding the number of times a document is used when a job is executed will be described. As shown in the flowchart of Fig. 17, in step S21, the control unit 35 determines whether the job is executed from pinned shared folder.

[0118] If it is determined in step S21 that the job is not being executed from the shared pinning, the control unit 35 ends the process.

[0119] If it is determined in step S21 that the job was executed from a shared pin, the control unit 35 determines in steps S22 to S26 whether to increment the number of uses for all document histories registered in the executed shared pin.

[0120] Specifically, in step S23, the control unit 35 calculates the similarity between the image feature amount of the past manuscript and the image feature amount of the user manuscript for each manuscript history of shared pinning. Next, in step S24, the control unit 35 determines whether the similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0121] If it is determined in step S24 that the similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit 35 adds 1 to the number of times this past manuscript has been used in step S25, and moves on to determining the next manuscript history.

[0122] If it is determined in step S24 that the similarity is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit 35 does not change the number of times the past manuscript has been used, and proceeds to determining the next manuscript history.

[0123] When the determination of all manuscript histories registered in the executed shared pinning is completed, the control unit 35 determines in step S27 whether the number of uses has been incremented for any of the manuscript histories registered in the executed shared pinning.

[0124] If it is determined in step S27 that the number of uses has been incremented, the control unit 35 ends the process.

[0125] If it is determined in step S27 that the number of uses has not been incremented, the control unit 35 adds the current document to the document history of the pinned shared document in step S28, and ends the process.

[0126] In the above embodiment, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0127] Furthermore, the operations of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be performed not only by a single processor but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. Furthermore, the order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments and may be changed as appropriate.

[0128] [Variations] In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to an image forming device that forms an image on a recording medium, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be similarly applied to any information processing device, such as a personal computer or mobile terminal device, that stores processing execution information for executing a preset process and executes the process using the stored processing execution information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0129] 10 Image forming device 11 CPU 12 Memory 13 Storage device 14 Communication Interface 15 User Interface Device 16 Scanner 17 Print Engine 18 Control Bus 20 Terminal equipment 30 Network 31 Authentication Section 32 Operation input section 33 Display section 34 Data transmission / reception unit 35 Control Unit 36 Image reading unit 37 Image output unit 38 Setting information storage unit 50 Pinned Mark 61 Shared settings information 62 Personalized Settings Information 63 Job history information 70 icons

Claims

1. a processor; The processor: Acquire the data to be processed, presenting to the user a plurality of operators each associated with a process to be executed and shared by a plurality of users, the operators being associated with a process previously performed on data similar to the acquired target data; The operator is associated with an image feature of data previously processed by the operator, and the data associated with the operator is associated with the number of times the operator has been used after being presented because the data corresponds to the similar data; The processor: Acquire image features of the target data; Among previously processed data, data associated with an image feature whose similarity to the image feature of the target data is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is regarded as the similar data, and when an operator that processed the similar data is presented, the number of times of use associated with the data associated with the operator is presented to the user together with the data associated with the operator. Information processing device.

2. When there are a plurality of data items that have been processed by the operator in the past, the operator is associated with the image feature amounts of the plurality of data items that have been processed in the past for the operator; The processor: If at least one of the image features of the plurality of data items associated with the operator has a similarity to the image feature of the target data that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the operator is presented as an operator that has processed similar data. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The processor: The initial value of the number of uses associated with the data is changed from the standard value depending on the user who provided the data. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. The processor: The initial value of the number of uses associated with the data is set to the median or average number of uses of data provided in the past by the user who provided the data. The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. The processor: Rearrange the order in which controls are presented based on predefined conditions The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The processor: The more frequently used controls are sorted so that they are presented at the top. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

7. The processor: The operators are rearranged so that the operators associated with data having a higher similarity to the target data are presented at a higher position. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

8. The processor: The more users have used the controls, the higher they are presented. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

9. The processor: The controls whose last use date and time is closer to the present are sorted so that they are presented at the top. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

10. The processor: classifying the presented operators into groups according to the degree of similarity of the data associated with the operators to the target data; The operators are sorted so that the more similar the group, the higher the order of presentation. Furthermore, the order in which the controls are presented is rearranged for each group based on a preset condition. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

11. The processor: For each group, the operators are rearranged so that the more frequently used the operators are, the higher the order of presentation. The information processing device according to claim 10.

12. acquiring data to be processed; presenting to the user a plurality of operators each associated with a process to be executed, the plurality of operators being shared by a plurality of users, and each operator being associated with a process previously performed on data similar to the acquired target data; on the computer, Furthermore, the operator is associated with an image feature of data previously processed by the operator, and the data associated with the operator is associated with the number of times the operator has been used after being presented because the data corresponds to the similar data; acquiring image features of the target data; a step of presenting to a user, among previously processed data, data associated with an image feature whose similarity to the image feature of the target data is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, as the similar data, and presenting an operator that processed the similar data, the number of times of use associated with the data associated with the operator, together with the data associated with the operator; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

Images