Information processing device, and information processing method

Abstract

A control unit (61): causes a display unit (52) to display a character string consisting of a plurality of characters recognized by OCR processing executed by an OCR processing unit (62); acquires, as candidates of a setting character string to be used as a setting value of a setting item, a character string including a remaining character string part excluding a designated character string designated by a first designation instruction from among a plurality of a character strings stored in a storage unit (35) of an image forming device (1) when the first designation instruction designating a character part of the character string displayed on the display unit (52) is accepted by an operating unit (51) through a user operation, and causes the display unit (52) to display the acquired candidates of the setting character string; and sets the setting character string as the setting value of the setting item when a second designation instruction, which designates the setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item from among the candidates of a setting character string displayed on the display unit (52), is accepted by the operating unit (51).

Description

Information processing device and information processing method

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and an information processing method, and more particularly to an information processing device and an information processing method that execute a series of multiple processes.

[0002] Conventionally, there have been information processing devices that execute workflows including multiple processes. For example, an information processing device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (JP-A-2007-109523) is an information processing device that executes such workflows. The information processing device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 executes OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing on electronic data, sets setting values ​​for setting items used in processes executed after the OCR processing in the workflow based on a string of characters recognized in the OCR processing, and executes the processes executed after the OCR processing based on the set setting values ​​for the setting items. In setting the setting values ​​for the setting items, the information processing device displays the character string recognized in the OCR processing on a display unit, allows a user to edit the character string displayed on the display unit, and sets the edited character string as the setting value for the setting item.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-195146

[0004] However, if a character string recognized by OCR processing contains a character that the user believes to be misrecognized, the user must edit the character string so that the character that the user believes to be misrecognized is correct, which is a hassle for the user.Furthermore, if the user does not know what the correct character string is, the user cannot edit the character string so that the character that the user believes to be misrecognized is correct in the first place.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to improve the ability to correct characters that the user believes to have been misrecognized into correct characters, while reducing the effort required of the user to correct the character string recognized in OCR processing so that the characters that the user believes to have been misrecognized become correct characters, when the character string recognized in OCR processing contains characters that the user believes to have been misrecognized.

[0006] An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus via a network, and includes a display unit, an operation unit that receives instructions from a user, an OCR processing unit that performs OCR processing on electronic data, a control unit that causes the display unit to display a character string composed of a plurality of characters recognized in the OCR processing performed by the OCR processing unit, and sets setting values ​​of setting items to be used in processing that is performed after the OCR processing based on the character string, and a post-processing execution unit that causes the image forming apparatus to perform the processing that is performed after the OCR processing based on the setting values ​​of the setting items set by the control unit, and the control unit When the operation unit receives a first designation instruction specifying a part of the character portion of the character string displayed on the display unit by an operation using the above-mentioned method, the image forming apparatus acquires, from among a plurality of character strings stored in a memory unit of the image forming apparatus, character strings including the remaining character portion excluding the designated character string specified by the first designation instruction, as candidates for setting character strings to be used as a setting value of the setting item, and displays the acquired candidate setting character strings on the display unit; when the operation unit receives a second designation instruction specifying the setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item from the candidates for setting character strings displayed on the display unit, the setting character string is set as the setting value of the setting item.

[0007] An information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes an OCR processing step of performing OCR processing on electronic data; a control step of displaying a character string consisting of a plurality of characters recognized in the OCR processing performed in the OCR processing step on a display unit and setting values ​​of setting items to be used in processing to be performed after the OCR processing based on the character string; and a post-processing execution step of executing the processing to be performed after the OCR processing based on the setting values ​​of the setting items set in the control step, wherein the control step causes an operation unit to display one of the character strings displayed on the display unit by operation of a user. The method includes the steps of: when a first designation instruction specifying a character portion of a part is received, acquiring, from a plurality of character strings stored in a storage unit, a character string including the remaining character portion excluding the designated character string specified by the first designation instruction, as a candidate setting character string to be used as a setting value of the setting item; displaying the acquired candidate setting character string on the display unit; and when a second designation instruction is received by the operation unit to specify the setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item from the candidate setting character strings displayed on the display unit, setting the setting character string as the setting value of the setting item.

[0008] According to the present invention, when a character string recognized in OCR processing contains a character that the user believes to have been misrecognized, the ability to correct the character that the user believes to have been misrecognized to the correct character can be improved while reducing the effort required of the user to correct the character string so that the character that the user believes to have been misrecognized becomes the correct character.

[0009] 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a personal computer and an image forming apparatus as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the personal computer and the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for setting setting values ​​for setting items; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen in which a portion of an email address containing an error has been specified; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an address book; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog box; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog box in which the email address of an email destination has been specified; and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen in which an email address specified by a user is displayed in a text field. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of information processing by the personal computer of FIG. 1.

[0010] An information processing device and an information processing method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] First, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a personal computer 40 as an information processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus 1, and Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the general internal configuration of the personal computer 40 and image forming apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1. The image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction machine that combines multiple functions such as a facsimile function, a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function.

[0012] First, the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. A housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 houses a plurality of devices for realizing various functions of the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the housing 2 houses an image reading unit 3, an image forming unit 31 (see Figure 2), a fixing unit 32 (see Figure 2), a paper feed unit 4, etc.

[0013] The image reading unit 3 is an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) that includes a document transport unit 5 that transports documents, and a scanner that optically reads documents transported by the document transport unit 5 or documents placed on a contact glass (not shown). The image reading unit 3 reads an image from the document and acquires image data by illuminating the document with a light irradiation unit and receiving the reflected light with a CCD sensor.

[0014] The image forming unit 31 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, and a transfer device. The image forming unit 31 forms a toner image on recording paper supplied from the paper feed unit 4 based on image data acquired by the image reading unit 3 or image data sent from a personal computer or other facsimile device connected via a network line.

[0015] The fixing unit 32 performs a fixing process by heating the recording paper on which a toner image has been formed by the image forming process of the image forming unit 31, and fixing the toner image to the recording paper by thermocompression. After undergoing the fixing process by the fixing unit 32, the recording paper on which the image has been formed is discharged to the paper discharge unit 6. The paper discharge unit 6 includes a paper discharge tray 7 on which the discharged recording paper on which the image has been formed is placed. The paper feed unit 4 pulls out recording paper stored in a paper feed cassette or recording paper placed on a manual feed tray one sheet at a time and sends it to the image forming unit 3.

[0016] The image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 10 on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1, near the image reading unit 5. The operation unit 10 accepts instructions input by a user via the operation unit 10 regarding processes related to various functions that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 10 includes a touch panel display unit 11. Under the control of the control unit 21, the display unit 11 displays various screens including a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen, such as a home screen, a login screen, a copy screen, a send screen, and a job history screen, on which the user can perform various operations for the various functions of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0017] Image processing unit 33 includes an image processing circuit and performs image processing as necessary on the image data acquired by image reading unit 3. Image memory 34 includes an area for temporarily storing image data acquired by image reading unit 3. For example, image memory 34 temporarily stores image data that is the target of image formation by image forming unit 31.

[0018] The storage unit 35 is a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and is a large-capacity storage device that stores various data including image data read by the image reading unit 3. The storage unit 35 also stores various computer programs such as a control program for realizing the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The storage unit 35 stores multiple character strings (in this embodiment, multiple email addresses).

[0019] The facsimile communication unit 36 ​​is a facsimile communication mechanism that connects to a public line and transmits and receives image data via the public line. The network interface unit 37 is an interface with a LAN or internetwork. The control unit 21 communicates data with an information processing device such as a personal computer 40 on the LAN or internetwork via the network interface unit 37.

[0020] A power supply (not shown) is connected to each component of the image forming apparatus 1, and each component of the image forming apparatus 1 operates when power is supplied from the power supply. In this embodiment, the control unit 20 controls the power supply to each component of the image forming apparatus 1. When a predetermined condition is met, such as when no image formation processing is performed for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 20 stops or limits the power supply to each component of the image forming apparatus 1, thereby transitioning the image forming apparatus 1 to a low-power consumption power-saving state (hereinafter referred to as "power-saving mode"). Furthermore, when a predetermined condition is met, such as when an operation is performed on the operation unit 10, the control unit 20 performs a return process from the power-saving mode, transitioning the image forming apparatus 1 to a state in which processing related to various functions of the image forming apparatus 1 can be quickly executed.

[0021] 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 20. The control unit 20 includes a processor, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), etc. The processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0022] The control unit 20 includes a control unit 21. The control unit 20 functions as the control unit 21 through operation by the processor in accordance with a control program stored in the storage unit 35. However, the control unit 21 and the like can also be configured by hardware circuits, without relying on operation in accordance with a control program by the control unit 20. Unless otherwise stated below, the same applies to each embodiment.

[0023] The control unit 20 is electrically connected to the document transport unit 5, the image reading unit 3, the image forming unit 31, the fixing unit 32, the paper feed unit 4, the operation unit 10, the image processing unit 33, the image memory 34, the storage unit 35, the facsimile communication unit 36, and the network interface unit 37. The control unit 21 is responsible for the overall control of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0024] Next, the personal computer 40 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The personal computer 40 comprises a control unit 60 housed in a main body 50, an operation unit 51, a display unit 52, a communication unit 75 housed in the main body 50, and a storage unit 70 housed in the main body 50. Each of these components can send and receive data or signals to and from each other via a communication bus.

[0025] The operation unit 51 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and accepts input of instructions from the user based on the user's operation. The display unit 52 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) etc., and its operation is controlled by the control unit 61 in the control unit 60.

[0026] The communication unit 75 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various data to and from external devices such as image forming devices and servers within a local area or on the Internet.

[0027] The storage unit 70 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD or SSD, and stores various computer programs such as a control program for realizing the operation of the personal computer 40. An information processing program 71 is installed in the storage unit 70 as one of the control programs.

[0028] The control unit 60 includes a processor, RAM, ROM, and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU, an ASIC, or an MPU. The control unit 60 includes a control unit 61, an OCR processing unit 62, and a post-processing execution unit 63. The control unit 60 functions as the control unit 61, the OCR processing unit 62, and the post-processing execution unit 63 through operation of the processor in accordance with an information processing program 71, which is one of the control programs stored in the storage unit 70. However, the control unit 61 and the like can also be configured as hardware circuits, regardless of operation of the control unit 60 in accordance with the information processing program 71. Unless otherwise specified below, the same applies to each embodiment.

[0029] The control unit 61 is responsible for overall operational control of the personal computer 40. The control unit 61 is connected to the operation unit 51, the display unit 52, the communication unit 75, and the storage unit 70, and performs drive control of each of these units. The OCR processing unit 62 performs OCR processing on electronic data. The control unit 61 displays on the display unit 52 a character string composed of multiple characters recognized in the OCR processing performed by the OCR processing unit 62, and sets setting values ​​for setting items to be used in processing to be performed after the OCR processing, based on the character string. The post-processing execution unit 63 causes the image forming apparatus to perform processing to be performed after the OCR processing, based on the setting values ​​for the setting items set by the control unit 61.

[0030] When a first designation instruction specifying a portion of the character string displayed on the display unit 52 is received by the operation unit 51 through a user operation, the control unit 61 acquires, from among the multiple character strings stored in the memory unit 35 of the image forming device 1, a character string including the remaining character string portion excluding the designated character string specified by the first designation instruction, as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item, and displays the acquired candidate setting character string on the display unit 52.When a second designation instruction specifying the setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item from the candidate setting character strings displayed on the display unit 52 is received by the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 sets the setting character string as the setting value of the setting item.

[0031] Next, specific examples of information processing by the personal computer 40 as an information processing device will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 8. In these specific examples and the information processing in Figure 9, the personal computer 40 performs a series of processes including OCR processing, setting processing of setting values ​​(email addresses) for setting items (email destinations), and processing for sending e-mail to the image forming device 1.

[0032] The control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 acquires image data by causing the image reading unit 3 to read the document conveyed by the document conveying unit 5 or the document placed on a contact glass (not shown), and temporarily stores the acquired image data in the image memory 34. The control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 acquires the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 34 of the image forming apparatus 1, and temporarily stores the acquired image data in the storage unit 70.

[0033] The OCR processing unit 62 performs OCR processing on image data temporarily stored in the storage unit 70 as an example of electronic data. In this specific example and in the information processing of FIG. 9 , the document scanned by the image reading unit 3 is a document with a fixed form, which includes an email address, and the location of the email address on the document is specified in advance in the form. As a result of the OCR processing on the image data, a character string consisting of multiple characters recognized in the location of the email address becomes the email address contained in the document.

[0034] The storage unit 70 stores document form information, including document size and information indicating a predetermined location on the document where an email address is written (here, the location of the email address is a rectangle, and the coordinate values ​​of its four corners). The control unit 61 identifies the location on the document where the email address is written, based on the document size and the information indicating the location of the email address stored in the storage unit 70, and obtains the email address, which is composed of multiple characters recognized in the OCR processing executed by the OCR processing unit 22 at the identified location of the email address.

[0035] The control unit 61 causes the display unit 52 to display a setting screen for setting values ​​for setting items, an example of which is shown in FIG. 3 . On the setting screen, the display unit 52, under the display control of the control unit 61, displays a setting item specification box 102 for specifying a setting item. Here, the setting item specification box 102 displays "to," indicating that the setting item is an email destination. Also, on the setting screen, the display unit 52, under the display control of the control unit 61, displays an email address recognized by OCR processing in a text field 101. Here, the email address recognized by OCR processing, acquired by the control unit 61 from the location of the email address written in the manuscript, in this specific example, "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp," is displayed in the text field 101. Furthermore, on the setting screen, the display unit 52, under the display control of the control unit 61, displays a "Candidates" button 104 and a "Set" button 105. In this embodiment, the email address recognized by OCR processing includes a portion containing characters that the user believes have been incorrectly recognized by OCR processing, and a portion containing characters that the user believes have been correctly recognized by OCR processing.

[0036] The user believes that the "a6cd1" portion of the email address "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp" displayed in the text field 101 of FIG. 3 contains characters that have been misrecognized. As shown in FIG. 4 , the user operates the operation unit 51 to specify "a6cd1" in the text field 101. When the user specifies "a6cd1" by operating the operation unit 51, the operation unit 51 receives a first specification instruction specifying "a6cd1," which then outputs the first specification instruction to the control unit 61. In accordance with the first specification instruction input from the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 identifies "a6cd1" in the email address "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp" as the portion of the email address specified by the user (hereinafter, referred to as the "specified email address portion" as appropriate). The user can specify the portion containing characters that they believe have been misrecognized by the OCR process using a known mechanism, such as a cursor or a highlighter.

[0037] After specifying the designated email address portion "a6cd1," the user operates operation unit 51 to select "Candidates" button 104 on the screen shown in an example of Figure 4. When the user operates operation unit 51 to select "Candidates" button 104, operation unit 51 receives an instruction to search for candidate email addresses to be used as email addresses for email destinations, and operation unit 51 outputs the search instruction to control unit 61.

[0038] The memory 35 of the image forming apparatus 1 stores an address book 110, an example of which is shown in Fig. 5. The address book 110, an example of which is shown in Fig. 5, has the following items: "Name," "Address," "Telephone Number," and "Email Address." Email addresses stored in the address book, an example of which is shown in Fig. 5, include "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp," "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp," and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp."

[0039] In accordance with a search instruction for candidate email addresses for setting input from the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 acquires, from among the email addresses registered in the address book, an example of which is shown in FIG. 5 and stored in the memory unit 35 of the image forming apparatus 1, "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp," "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp," and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp," which include the remaining email address portion "-username1@xyz.co.jp" excluding the identified designated email address portion "a6cd1," as candidates for the email address for setting. For example, the control unit 61 may send a search request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting a search for email addresses including the remaining email address portion "-username1@xyz.co.jp" excluding the specified email address portion "a6cd1." The control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 may then search for email addresses including "-username1@xyz.co.jp" from the email addresses registered in the address book, and search for email addresses including "-username1@xyz.co.jp," such as "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp" and "abcxi-user The control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 may extract "-username1@xyz.co.jp", "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp", and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp" as candidates for the email address for setting and send them to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 may obtain "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp", "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp", and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp", which include "-username1@xyz.co.jp", from the image forming device 1 as candidates for the email address for setting.In addition, the control unit 61 may send an address book request signal to the image forming device 1 requesting the address book stored in the memory unit 35 of the image forming device 1, the control unit 21 of the image forming device 1 may send the address book to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 may search for email addresses that include "-username1@xyz.co.jp" from among the email addresses registered in the address book, and extract "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp," "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp," and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp" that include "-username1@xyz.co.jp" as candidates for the email address to be set.

[0040] The control unit 61 sets the acquired email addresses "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp," "abcx-username1@xyz.co.jp," and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp" as candidates for email addresses to be set, and causes the display unit 52 to display a dialog box 120, an example of which is shown in Fig. 6, in which the candidate email addresses to be set are displayed as options. In the dialog box 120, under the display control of the control unit 61, the display unit 52 displays the email addresses "abcdg-username1@xyz.co.jp," "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp," and "abcyk-username1@xyz.co.jp" as selectable options in an email address specification field 121 as candidates for email addresses to be set, and displays a "Decide" button 122.

[0041] The user designates the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" from among the candidate email addresses for configuration displayed in email address designation field 121 of dialog box 120 of Fig. 6 as the email address of the destination of the email, and operates operation unit 51 to designate the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp," as shown in an example of Fig. 7. When the user designates the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" by operating operation unit 51, a second designation instruction designating the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" is received by operation unit 51, and operation unit 51 outputs the second designation instruction to control unit 61. In accordance with the second designation instruction input from operation unit 51, control unit 61 identifies the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" from among the candidate email addresses for configuration as the email address of the destination of the email.

[0042] The user specifies the email address "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp" as the email destination, and then operates operation unit 51 to select "OK" button 122 in the dialog box, an example of which is shown in Figure 7. When the user operates operation unit 51 to select "OK" button 122, operation unit 51 receives an instruction to correct the email address displayed in text field 101, and operation unit 51 outputs an instruction to correct the email address to control unit 61.

[0043] When an instruction to correct the email address is input from the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 displays in the text field 101 the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" that has been specified as the email destination in accordance with the above-mentioned specification instruction, thereby causing the display unit 11 to display a setting screen, an example of which is shown in Figure 8.

[0044] The user operates operation unit 51 to select "Settings" button 105 on the setting screen, an example of which is shown in Fig. 8. When the user operates operation unit 51 to select "Settings" button 105, an instruction to set an email destination is received by operation unit 51, and operation unit 51 outputs the instruction to set an email destination to control unit 61. In accordance with the instruction to set an email destination, control unit 61 sets the email address of the email destination to the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" displayed in text field 101.

[0045] The post-processing execution unit 63 sends an instruction signal to the image forming apparatus 1 to cause the image forming apparatus 1 to send an email related to the image data of the document temporarily stored in the image memory 34 to the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp" set as the email address of the email destination, to the network interface unit 37 as a sending unit. Upon receiving the instruction signal, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 causes the network interface unit 37 to send an email related to the image data of the document temporarily stored in the image memory 34 to the email address "abcxi-username1@xyz.co.jp".

[0046] Next, a description will be given of information processing and an information processing method by the personal computer 40. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of information processing by the personal computer 40 as an information processing device.

[0047] The control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 acquires image data by having the image reading unit 3 read the document or the like conveyed by the document conveying unit 5, and temporarily stores the acquired image data in the image memory 34. The control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 acquires the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 34 of the image forming apparatus 1, and temporarily stores the acquired image data in the storage unit 70 (step S1).

[0048] The OCR processing unit 62 performs OCR processing on the image data temporarily stored in the storage unit 70 (step S2).

[0049] The control unit 61 causes the display unit 11 to display a setting screen (see Figure 3, etc.) for setting the setting values ​​of the setting items, which includes a setting item specification box 102 for specifying the setting items, a text field 101 displaying the email address recognized by OCR processing, a "Candidate" button 104, and a "Set" button 105 (step S3).

[0050] Based on the signal input from the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the user has instructed to set the destination of the e-mail by specifying the "Set" button 105 using the operation unit 51 (step S4).

[0051] The user operates operation unit 51 to specify, in text field 101, a portion of the email address displayed in text field 101. When the user specifies a portion of the email address by operating operation unit 51, operation unit 51 receives a first specification instruction specifying a portion of the email address, and operation unit 51 outputs the first specification instruction to control unit 61.

[0052] If the control unit 61 determines that there is no instruction to set an email destination by specifying the "Set" button 105 (S4: NO), the control unit 61 determines whether or not there is a first designation instruction to designate a part of the email address based on a signal input from the operation unit 51 (step S5). If the control unit 61 determines that there is no first designation instruction (S5: NO), the control unit 61 returns to the processing of step S5.

[0053] If the control unit 61 determines that a first designation instruction specifying a part of the email address has been given (S5: YES), the control unit 61 identifies the part of the email address (designated email address part) specified by the user in accordance with the first designation instruction, and determines, based on a signal input from the operation unit 51, whether or not a search instruction for candidate email addresses for setting has been given by the user using the operation unit 51 to designate the "Candidates" button 104 (step S6). If the control unit 61 determines that the search instruction has not been given (S6: NO), the control unit 61 returns to the processing of step S5.

[0054] If the control unit 61 determines that there has been an instruction to search for candidate email addresses for setting (S6: YES), the control unit 61 acquires, from the email addresses registered in the address book stored in the memory unit 35 of the image forming device 1, email addresses that include the remaining email address portion excluding the designated email address portion identified by the first designation instruction described above, as candidates for email addresses for setting (step S7).

[0055] The control unit 61 sets the acquired email address as a candidate for the email address to be set, and causes the display unit 52 to display a dialog box 120 (see Figure 6, etc.) including an email address specification field 121 in which the candidate email addresses to be set are available as options, and a "Decide" button 122 (step S8).

[0056] The user operates operation unit 51 to specify the email address of the email destination from among the candidate email addresses for setting displayed as options in email address specification field 121 of dialog box 120. When the email address of the email destination is specified by the user's operation of operation unit 51, operation unit 51 receives a second specification instruction for specifying the email address of the email destination, and operation unit 51 outputs the second specification instruction to control unit 61.

[0057] Based on the signal input from the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 determines whether or not a second designation instruction has been given to designate an email address as the destination of the email from among the candidate email addresses for setting displayed in the email address designation field 121 (step S9). If the control unit 61 determines that the second designation instruction has not been given (S9: NO), the control unit 61 returns to the processing of step S9.

[0058] If the control unit 61 determines that a second designation instruction specifying an email address of the email destination has been given (S9: YES), the control unit 61 identifies the email address of the email destination specified by the user from among the candidate email addresses for setting in accordance with the second designation instruction, and determines, based on a signal input from the operation unit 51, whether or not an instruction to correct the email address has been given by the user using the operation unit 51 to press the "OK" button 122 (step S10). If the control unit 61 determines that an instruction to correct the email address has not been given (S10: NO), the control unit 61 returns to the processing of step S9.

[0059] If the control unit 61 determines that an instruction to correct the email address has been given (S10: YES), the control unit 61 causes the display unit 11 to display the updated setting screen by displaying the email address specified by the second designation instruction in the text field 101 (step S11), and the control unit 61 returns to the processing of step S4. Based on a signal input from the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the user has given an instruction to set an email destination by specifying the "Set" button 105 using the operation unit 51 (step S4).

[0060] If the control unit 61 determines that an instruction to set the email destination has been received (S4: YES), the control unit 61 sets the email address of the email destination to the email address displayed in the text field 101 (step S12).

[0061] The post-processing execution unit 63 sends an instruction signal to the image forming apparatus 1 to cause the image forming apparatus 1 to send an email related to the image data of the document to the network interface unit 37, addressed to the email address set as the email destination address in step S12 (step S13). Upon receiving the instruction signal, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 causes the network interface unit 37 to send an email related to the image data of the document temporarily stored in the image memory 34, addressed to the email address.

[0062] According to the above-described embodiment, when an email address displayed on display unit 52 contains characters that the user believes have been misrecognized, it is possible to improve the ability to correct characters that the user believes have been misrecognized into correct characters, while reducing the effort required of the user to correct the character string so that the characters that the user believes have been misrecognized become correct characters.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible.

[0064] For example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the information processing program is installed in the memory unit 70 of the personal computer 40 as an information processing device, and the personal computer 40 and the image forming device 1 work together to carry out a series of workflow processes, but the information processing program may also be installed in the memory unit 35 of the image forming device 1, and in this case, a character string consisting of multiple characters recognized in the OCR processing is displayed on the display unit 11 of the image forming device 1, and the series of workflow processes is carried out by the image forming device 1 alone.

[0065] Furthermore, for example, in the above embodiment, OCR processing, processing for setting the setting value (email address) of a setting item (email destination), and processing for causing the image forming device to send an e-mail are described as a series of processes, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a series of processes including OCR processing of electronic data, displaying a string consisting of multiple characters recognized in the OCR processing on a display unit, and setting the setting value of a setting item to be used in processing to be performed after the OCR processing based on the string, and post-processing for having the image forming device 1 perform the processing to be performed after the OCR processing based on the setting value of the setting item set in the setting processing.

[0066] Furthermore, for example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which, of the multiple character strings stored in the storage unit 35 of the image forming apparatus 1, a character string including the remaining character string portion excluding the specified character string specified by the first specifying instruction is acquired as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item. However, when the first specifying instruction is accepted, the control unit 61 may acquire, of the multiple character strings, a character string including the remaining character string portion and including a character string portion similar to the specified character string specified by the first specifying instruction as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item. In this way, it is possible to narrow down the candidate setting character strings to be used as the setting value of the setting item, making it easier for the user to select a setting character string.

[0067] For example, determining whether multiple email addresses stored in the address book contain an email address portion similar to a portion of the email address specified by the user (specified email address portion) among the email addresses specified by the first specification instruction is performed, for example, as follows.

[0068] Characters that have a similar relationship are defined in advance, such as the character "b" and the character "6" being similar, the character "I" and the character "1" being similar, the character "0", the character "O" and the character "o" being similar, and candidate email address portions are created by replacing characters in the designated email address portion with characters that have a similar relationship, and if multiple email addresses stored in the address book contain the created email address portion in the email address portion excluding the portion that is the same as the remaining email address portion, they are determined to contain a similar email address portion.

[0069] More specifically, for example, if the specified email address portion specified by the first specifying instruction is "6kh0", and multiple email addresses stored in the address book contain email address portions of "bkh0", "6kho", "6khO", "bkho", and "bkhO" in the email address portion excluding the portion that is the same as the remaining email address portion, they are determined to contain similar email address portions. Note that known technology can be used to search for similar portions.

[0070] For example, the control unit 61 may transmit a search request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting a search for email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and an email address portion similar to the designated email address portion, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 extracts email addresses that satisfy the conditions requested in the search request signal from the address book and transmits them to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 acquires the email addresses received from the image forming apparatus 1 as candidates for email addresses for setting. Alternatively, the control unit 61 may transmit an address book request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting an address book, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 transmits the address book to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 extracts email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and an email address portion similar to the designated email address portion from the address book and acquires the extracted email addresses as candidates for email addresses for setting.

[0071] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which, of the multiple character strings stored in the storage unit 35 of the image forming apparatus 1, a character string including the remaining character string portion excluding the specified character string specified by the first specifying instruction is acquired as a candidate for a setting character string to be used as a setting value for the setting item. However, when the first specifying instruction is accepted and a third specifying instruction specifying a portion of the specified character string specified by the first specifying instruction is accepted by the operation unit 51, the control unit 61 may acquire, from the multiple character strings, a character string including the remaining character string portion and a character string portion similar to the portion of the specified character string as a candidate for a setting character string to be used as a setting value for the setting item. In this way, the candidate for a setting character string to be used as a setting value for the setting item can be narrowed down, making it easier for the user to select a setting character string.

[0072] For example, determining whether multiple email addresses stored in an address book contain an email address portion similar to a portion of the designated email address portion specified by a first designation instruction, which is further specified by a third designation instruction, is performed, for example, as follows.

[0073] Characters that have a similar relationship are defined in advance, such as the character "b" and the character "6" being similar, the character "I" and the character "1" being similar, and the character "0", the character "O" and the character "o" being similar. Candidate email address portions are created by replacing characters in a portion of the designated email address portion with characters that have a similar relationship, and when multiple email addresses stored in the address book contain the created email address portion in the email address portion excluding the portion that is the same as the remaining email address portion, they are determined to contain a portion of a similar email address portion.

[0074] More specifically, for example, if the specified email address portion specified by the first specifying instruction is "6kh0" and the portion specified by the third specifying instruction is "0", and if multiple email addresses stored in the address book contain email address portions of "6kho" and "6khO" in the email address portion excluding the portion that is the same as the remaining email address portion, they are determined to contain portions of similar email address portions. Note that known technology can be used to search for similar portions.

[0075] For example, the control unit 61 may transmit a search request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting a search for email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and an email address portion similar to a portion of the designated email address portion specified by the third specification instruction, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 extracts email addresses that satisfy the conditions requested in the search request signal from the address book and transmits them to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 acquires the email addresses received from the image forming apparatus 1 as candidates for email addresses for setting. Alternatively, the control unit 61 may transmit an address book request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting the address book, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 transmits the address book to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 extracts email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and an email address portion similar to a portion of the designated email address portion specified by the third specification instruction from the address book, and acquires the extracted email addresses as candidates for email addresses for setting.

[0076] In a further modified example, when the control unit 61 receives the first designation instruction and further receives a third designation instruction from the operation unit 51 that designates a portion of the partial character portion of the character string displayed on the display unit 52, the control unit 61 may acquire, from the plurality of character strings, a character string that includes the remaining character string portion and a character string portion excluding the portion of the partial character portion, as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item. In this way, the candidate setting character strings to be used as the setting value of the setting item can be narrowed down, making it easier for the user to select a setting character string.

[0077] For example, if the email address recognized by OCR processing and displayed on display unit 52 is "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp," and "a6cd1" is specified by the first designation instruction and "cd1" is specified by the third designation instruction, an email address that includes the remaining email address portion "-username1@xyz.co.jp" of the email address "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp" excluding the partial email address portion "a6cd1" specified by the first designation instruction, and that includes the email address portion "a6" of the partial email address portion "a6cd1" excluding the portion "cd1" of the partial email address portion "a6cd1" specified by the third designation instruction, is extracted from the address book as a candidate email address for setting.

[0078] For example, the control unit 61 may send a search request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting a search for email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and that include, from the partial email address portion, an email address portion excluding the portion of the partial email address portion specified by the third designation instruction, and the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 may extract email addresses that satisfy the conditions requested in the search request signal from the address book and send them to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 may acquire the email addresses received from the image forming apparatus 1 as candidates for email addresses for setting. Alternatively, the control unit 61 may send an address book request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting the address book, and the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 may send the address book to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 may extract, from the address book, email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and that include, from the partial email address portion, an email address portion excluding the portion of the partial email address portion, and acquire the extracted email addresses as candidates for email addresses for setting.

[0079] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which, of the multiple character strings stored in the storage unit 35 of the image forming apparatus 1, a character string including the remaining character string portion excluding the specified character string specified by the first specifying instruction is acquired as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item. However, when the first specifying instruction is accepted, the control unit 61 may acquire, from the multiple character strings, a character string including the remaining character string portion and including a character string portion having the same number of characters as the partial character portion excluding the portion that is the same as the remaining character string portion, as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item. In this way, the candidate setting character strings to be used as the setting value of the setting item can be narrowed down, making it easier for the user to select a setting character string.

[0080] For example, if "a6cdI-username1@xyz.co.jp" and "aa6cdI-username1@xyz.co.jp" are stored in the address book, and the email address "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp" is recognized by OCR processing and displayed on display unit 52, and "a6cd1" is specified by the first designation instruction, then an email address that includes the remaining email address portion "-username1@xyz.co.jp" of the email address "a6cd1-username1@xyz.co.jp" excluding the portion of the email address "a6cd1" specified by the first designation instruction, and also includes the character string portion "a6cdI" of the same number of characters "5" as the portion of the email address excluding the same portion as the remaining character string portion, is extracted from the address book as a candidate email address for setting.

[0081] For example, the control unit 61 may send a search request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting a search for email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and an email address portion excluding the same number of characters as the remaining email address portion, and the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 extracts email addresses that satisfy the conditions requested in the search request signal from the address book and transmits them to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 acquires the email addresses received from the image forming apparatus 1 as candidates for email addresses to be set. Alternatively, the control unit 61 may send an address book request signal to the image forming apparatus 1 requesting the address book, and the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 transmits the address book to the personal computer 40, and the control unit 61 of the personal computer 40 extracts email addresses that include the remaining email address portion and an email address portion excluding the same number of characters as the remaining email address portion, and acquires the extracted email addresses as candidates for email addresses to be set.

[0082] In the above embodiment, the setting value of the setting item is described as an email address of an email destination. However, this is not limited thereto. For example, the setting value of the setting item may be a fax number of a facsimile destination. In this case, in the description of steps S1 to S12 of FIG. 9 of the above embodiment, "email address" may be replaced with "fax number," and "email" may be replaced with "facsimile." In step S13, the post-processing execution unit 63 may send an instruction signal to the image forming apparatus 1 to cause the image forming apparatus 1 to transmit image data of the original document to the facsimile communication unit 36 ​​to the fax number set as the fax number of the facsimile destination in step S12. Upon receiving the instruction signal, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 may cause the facsimile communication unit 36 ​​to transmit the image data of the original document temporarily stored in the image memory 34 to the fax number.

[0083] The configurations and processes shown in the above embodiment using Figures 1 to 9 and the configurations and processes shown in the above modified examples are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these configurations and processes.

Claims

1. An information processing device connected to an image forming device via a network, comprising: a display unit; an operation unit that accepts instructions from a user; an OCR processing unit that performs OCR processing on electronic data; a control unit that causes a character string consisting of multiple characters recognized in the OCR processing executed by the OCR processing unit to be displayed on the display unit, and sets setting values ​​of setting items to be used in processing to be executed after the OCR processing based on the character string; and a post-processing execution unit that causes the image forming device to execute the processing to be executed after the OCR processing based on the setting values ​​of the setting items set by the control unit, wherein the control unit, when a first designation instruction that designates a portion of the character string displayed on the display unit is accepted by the operation unit through a user's operation, acquires, from the multiple character strings stored in a memory unit of the image forming device, a character string including the remaining character string excluding the designated character string designated by the first designation instruction, as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item, and displays the acquired candidate setting character string on the display unit. When a second designation instruction is received by the operation unit to designate the setting string to be used as the setting value of the setting item from among the setting string candidates displayed on the display unit, the information processing device sets the setting string as the setting value of the setting item.

2. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein when the first designation instruction is accepted, the control unit acquires, from among the plurality of character strings, a character string that includes the remaining character string portion and that includes a character string portion similar to the designated character string designated by the first designation instruction, as a candidate for a setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the character string portion that is similar to the specified character string using characters that have a predefined similarity relationship.

4. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein when the first designation instruction is received and the operation unit further receives a third designation instruction that designates a portion of the designated string designated by the first designation instruction, the control unit acquires, from among the plurality of strings, a string that includes the remaining string portion and that includes a string portion similar to the portion of the designated string, as a candidate for a setting string to be used as a setting value for the setting item.

5. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein when the first designation instruction is received and the operation unit receives a third designation instruction that designates a portion of the character portion of the character string displayed on the display unit, the control unit acquires, from the plurality of character strings, a character string that includes the remaining character string portion and a character string portion excluding the portion of the character portion, as a candidate for a setting character string to be used as a setting value for the setting item.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein when the first designation instruction is accepted, the control unit acquires, from among the plurality of character strings, a character string that includes the remaining character string portion and a character string portion that has the same number of characters as the partial character portion, excluding the portion that is the same as the remaining character string portion, as a candidate for a setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item.

7. The information processing device of claim 1, wherein the image forming device comprises an image reading unit that reads an image of a document and acquires the image data as electronic data, and a sending unit, wherein the setting value of the setting item is an email address of an email destination, and the post-processing execution unit causes the image forming device to send the image data obtained by reading with the image reading unit to the email address indicated by the setting value, using the sending unit.

8. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image forming device comprises an image reading unit that reads an image of a document and acquires the image data as electronic data, and a facsimile communication unit, wherein the setting value of the setting item is a fax number of a facsimile destination, and the post-processing execution unit causes the image forming device to transmit the image data obtained by reading by the image reading unit to the facsimile destination indicated by the setting value via the facsimile communication unit.

9. A method for executing OCR processing on electronic data; an OCR processing step for executing OCR processing on the electronic data; a control step for displaying a character string consisting of a plurality of characters recognized in the OCR processing executed by the OCR processing step on a display unit, and setting a setting value of a setting item to be used in processing executed after the OCR processing based on the character string; and a post-processing execution step for executing the processing to be executed after the OCR processing based on the setting value of the setting item set in the control step, wherein the control step: when a first designation instruction specifying a part of the character string displayed on the display unit is received by the operation unit through a user's operation, acquires, as a candidate setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item, a character string including the remaining character string excluding the designated character string specified by the first designation instruction from the plurality of character strings stored in a memory unit; displays the acquired candidate setting character string on the display unit; and when a second designation instruction specifying the setting character string to be used as the setting value of the setting item from the candidate setting character strings displayed on the display unit is received by the operation unit, setting the setting string as the setting value of the setting item.

Images