JP2010191611A - Image processor, image processing system, image processing method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform bibliographic data generation processing only when performing distribution processing requiring the generation of bibliographic data. <P>SOLUTION: An image processor for optically reading an original document and generating image data of the original document includes: a first selection means 17 for receiving the selection of image data distribution processing from among one or more distribution processing including plug-in; a determination means 16 for determining whether the plug-in included in the selected distribution processing includes a bibliographic data generation function; and a generation means 21 for generating bibliographic data from the image data when it is determined that the bibliographic data generation function is included. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, a program, and a storage medium that generate bibliographic data from scanned image data.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing system that distributes image data scanned by an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) to a terminal via a network. In such an image processing system, for example, an original is scanned by the MFP, and the scanned image data is transmitted to the server by the MFP. Also, distribution processing information (E-mail distribution, printing, storage in a file server, etc.) indicating the distribution processing of the image data is transmitted simultaneously with the image data. Next, the server distributes the image data to the distribution destination based on the received distribution processing information. At this time, a technique has been proposed in which the server extracts bibliographic data of image data in order to facilitate searching of the image data.

  The technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-011260 (Patent Document 1) is a technique for generating text data by performing character recognition processing on image data, and extracting bibliographic data based on the generated text data and extraction rules. It is disclosed.

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, bibliographic data extraction processing is performed on all scanned images or received image data. When bibliographic data generation processing is performed on all scanned images or received image data, it causes a load on the resources of the device, causing other processing to wait to generate bibliographic data. was there.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, and an image processing apparatus that can execute bibliographic data generation processing only when performing distribution processing that requires generation of bibliographic data. It is an object to provide a processing method, a program, and a storage medium.

  An image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that optically reads a document and generates image data of the document, and distributes the image data from one or more distribution processes including a plug-in. First selection means for accepting selection of processing, determination means for determining whether or not a function for generating bibliographic data is included in the selected plug-in included in the distribution processing, and generation of the bibliographic data And generating means for generating bibliographic data from the image data when it is determined that the function is included.

  An image processing system according to another aspect of the present invention is an image processing system in which an image processing apparatus that optically reads a document and generates image data of the document and a server are connected via a network. The image processing apparatus includes: a first selection unit that receives a selection of the image data distribution process from one or more distribution processes including a plug-in; and bibliographic data in the plug-in included in the selected distribution process. A determination unit that determines whether or not a function to be generated is included, and a bibliographic data generation request and the image data are transmitted when the determination unit determines that the function to generate the bibliographic data is included. And transmitting the bibliographic data from the image data when the server receives the bibliographic data generation request and the image data from the transmitting unit. And a generating means for generating a data.

  In addition, the image processing system, the image processing apparatus, and the image processing method of the present invention can be realized by a program that can be executed by a computer, and can also be realized by causing a computer to read a recording medium that records the program. Is possible.

  It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, a program, and a storage medium that can execute a bibliographic data generation process only when performing a distribution process that needs to generate bibliographic data.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing system in which an MFP is connected to a server via a network. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of an MFP. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of a server connected to an MFP via a network. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of an external computer connected to the MFP via a network. FIG. It is an example of GUI which the management tool part displayed on the display connected with the external computer displays. It is a transition diagram which shows the transition of the bibliographic data displayed on a display part with correction of bibliographic data. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of a procedure for distributing image data by an MFP according to a processing flow. It is a sequence diagram of a procedure in which a server distributes image data according to a processing flow. It is a process conceptual diagram which produces | generates bibliographic data in an image processing system. It is a figure which shows an example of the plug-in which has a bibliographic data generation function. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of display screen transition in the first embodiment. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing system that distributes image data scanned by an MFP to a terminal via a network (conventional diagram).

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Example 1]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing system in which the MFP 100 is connected to the server 200 via the network 103.

  The MFP 100 according to the present embodiment is capable of selecting a distribution process of image data obtained by scanning a document and determining whether to generate bibliographic data based on the selected distribution process. . The bibliographic data is, for example, a document name extracted from text data obtained as intermediate data by performing OCR (Optical Character Reader) on image data. In other words, a part (or all) of the text data extracted from the text data of the intermediate data is the bibliographic data. In the following, data associated with one scan such as image data and bibliographic data may be collectively referred to as scan data.

  The plurality of MFPs 100 may be apparatuses mainly providing a scanner function, may be an apparatus having a copy function or a facsimile function, or may be a scanner apparatus. The image data scanned by the MFP 100 and the generated bibliographic data are transmitted to the server 200. The server 200 accumulates and manages these, and further distributes them to the user's PC (personal computer) 104.

  The MFP 100 can complete bibliographic data generation, correction, and distribution processing by itself, but the external computer 101 and the external computer 102 connected to the network 103 can support these processing. The network 103 is a LAN, WAN, Internet, or the like, and is connected by a predetermined protocol such as TCP / IP.

<Configuration in which MFP 100 generates bibliographic data>
FIG. 2 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the MFP 100. In MFP 100, scanner engine 11 and arithmetic device 16 are connected via a bus. In the scanner engine 11, a line sensor in which photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in a line in the main scanning direction scans a document in the sub-scanning direction and converts each pixel into digital data representing a predetermined luminance gradation. The operation unit 12 is a keyboard for inputting an operation from a user, a pointing device, a touch panel that also serves as the display unit 14, and the like. The NIC (Network Interface Card) 13 is an interface for connecting to the network 103 with a predetermined protocol, and is, for example, a LAN card. The display unit 14 is a user interface composed of a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays scan conditions, operating conditions, operation menus, error messages, and the like. In this embodiment, bibliographic data can also be displayed on the display unit 14.

  The storage device 15 is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory, and stores image data, an OS, a program, a file, and the like. In this embodiment, a distribution process selection program 17P, a bibliographic data display control program 18P, a bibliographic data correction program 19P, various plug-in programs 20P, and a management tool program 30P are stored. These programs are stored and distributed in the storage medium 9 or downloaded via the network 103.

  The arithmetic device 16 loads and executes an OS, various programs, and the like from the storage device 15 to provide various functions, and comprehensively controls processing performed by the MFP 100. In the present embodiment, the distribution processing selection unit 17 is realized by the calculation device 16 executing the distribution processing selection program 17P, and the bibliographic data display control unit 18 is executed by the calculation device 16 executing the bibliographic data display control program 18P. The bibliographic data correction unit 19 is realized by the arithmetic device 16 executing the bibliographic data correction program 19P, and the plug-in 20 is realized when the arithmetic device 16 executes the plug-in program 20P.

  Note that there are a plurality of plug-ins 20 realized by executing the plug-in program 20P. Although these will be described later, the plug-in 20 has, for example, a function of extracting a document name by performing OCR processing, a function of converting from an image data format (tiff, Jpeg, Gif, etc.) to PDF (Portable Document File), an image, and the like. These include a function for transmitting data by attaching it to an e-mail, a function for registering image data and bibliographic data in the server 200, and a function for transmitting image data by FAX. These plug-ins 20 can be customized by the user using a management tool section program 30P described later.

  In the present embodiment, the plug-in 20 used in the distribution process includes the plug-in 20 in which a function (bibliographic data generation unit 21) for generating bibliographic data is mounted. The bibliographic data generation unit 21 generates bibliographic data from the image data generated by the scanner engine 11. Here, the distribution processing is an input system plug-in (for example, scan input, E-mail reception, etc.), an image conversion system plug-in (for example, PDF conversion, etc.), and an output system plug-in (E-mail transmission). , Printing, storing in server, etc.).

  Further, the bibliographic data generation unit 21 recognizes characters included in the image data by OCR, for example, and extracts a predetermined character string from the text data as intermediate data to obtain bibliographic data. For example, when the document name is set as bibliographic data, a character string having a characteristic such as “a character string having a larger character size than the other, centered in the center” in the first scan page is set as the bibliographic data. For example, when the “keyword” of the manuscript is used as bibliographic data, a noun that appears many times in the document is used as bibliographic data.

  Bibliographic data can be text data at a location designated by the user in the document or at the location designated by the user.

  In addition, the bibliographic data generation unit 21 may generate bibliographic data by identifying a form (recognizing a framework based on ruled lines) instead of performing OCR processing on a document. When the manuscript is a form, all information written on the form can be bibliographic data, and a part designated by the user (for example, the name of an writer or an employee code) in the form can be designated as the bibliographic data.

  Thus, the contents of the bibliographic data can be set as appropriate, and the bibliographic data generation unit 21 generates bibliographic data based on the set bibliographic data and its characteristics. The name (for example, document name) given to the generated bibliographic data can be given an appropriate name that is easy for the user to identify, such as a product name or a slip number. When bibliographic data is used as a document name, there is usually only one bibliographic data. When a keyword is used as a keyword, the number of bibliographic data extends over multiple pages so that there may be multiple bibliographic data. One or more for one document that may be present.

  The distribution process selection unit 17 is a unit that displays a distribution process list on the display unit 14 when scanning a document, and realizes selection of a distribution process by the user.

  The bibliographic data display control unit 18 displays the bibliographic data on the display unit 14, and the bibliographic data correction unit 19 overwrites and saves the bibliographic data before correction with the bibliographic data corrected by the user. The bibliographic data display control unit 18 and the bibliographic data correction unit 19 may be realized by a plug-in 20.

  Whether or not to display the bibliographic data generated by the plug-in 20 is set in the plug-in 20 in advance. Accordingly, it is possible to set so that bibliographic data generated by a certain plug-in 20 is always displayed on the display unit 14, and bibliographic data generated by a certain plug-in 20 is not displayed on the display unit 14. Can be set to be delivered.

  In addition, the user may set whether to display bibliographic data on the display unit 14. For example, the user invokes a setting mode for setting whether or not to display and correct bibliographic data from the operation unit 12, and sets the setting so that the bibliographic data is not displayed, so that the generated bibliographic data is not displayed. be able to.

  Similarly, bibliographic data (whether it is a document name or a keyword) generated by the plug-in 20 may be set for each plug-in, or may be set directly or indirectly by the user in the MFP 100. Good. When set for each plug-in, the bibliographic data generated by the plug-in 20 to be activated is also automatically determined, and desired bibliographic data can be generated when set by the user.

<Configuration in which server 200 generates bibliographic data>
The bibliographic data generation unit 21 may be realized by the server 200 instead of being executed by the MFP 100. FIG. 3 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the server 200 connected to the MFP 100 via the network 103. The server 200 includes a RAM 41, a ROM 42, an input device 43 such as a keyboard, a NIC 44, a display control unit 45 that controls display on the display, a storage device 46, and a CPU 47. Then, the bibliographic data generation unit 21 is realized by the CPU 47 executing the plug-in program 20P stored in the storage device 46. Note that the bibliographic data generation unit 21 can also be realized by the plug-in 20 in the form as shown in FIG.

  The bibliographic data generation unit 21 of the server 200 receives image data via the network 103 and generates bibliographic data. The generated bibliographic data is transmitted to the MFP 100 via the network 103, and is transmitted to the server 200 again when correction is performed by the user. Then, the server 200 distributes image data and bibliographic data.

  The server 200 may execute only bibliographic data generation, and the MFP 100 may execute correction by the user and distribution of image data and bibliographic data.

<Customization of processing flow of MFP 100 etc.>
The processing of the MFP 100 or the server 200 is not limited to the generation of bibliographic data, and even if a plurality of processing is possible, fixing it is not preferable because it cannot cope with each user's preference. Therefore, in this embodiment, the processing flow of the MFP 100 or the server 200 can be customized. In FIG. 4, the external computer 102 is connected to the MFP 100 for customization, but this may also be used as the PC 104 or the server 200.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the external computer 102 connected to the MFP 100 via the network 103. 4 that are the same as those in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  The customization function is provided by the management tool unit 30 realized by the CPU 47 executing the management tool program 30P. The management tool program 30P is stored in the storage device 15 of the MFP 100 or the storage device 46 of the external computer 102. When the management tool program 30P is stored in the storage device 15 of the MFP 100, it is downloaded to the external computer 102 and executed.

  The management tool unit 30 obtains a list of plug-in programs 20P stored in the storage device 46 of the MFP 100, and assists the user in determining which plug-in program 20 is to be used and its order. .

  The management tool unit 30 will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed by the management tool unit 30 displayed on a display connected to the external computer 102. By realizing the bibliographic data generation unit 21 and various functions by the plug-in 20, the user can easily customize without fixing the processing procedure and functions of the MFP 100.

  When the user downloads the management tool program 30P from the storage device 15 or starts the management tool program 30P of the storage device 46, the current processing procedure of the MFP 100 as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

  A “register to document management” box 34 means a function of registering image data and bibliographic data in the server 200. Here, it is assumed that the “register to document management” plug-in has a bibliographic data generation function.

  At this time, when executing “registration to document management”, the arithmetic unit 16 first executes bibliographic data generation processing. In the bibliographic data generation process, for example, OCR is performed on the first page of the image data, and a character string that seems to be suitable for the document name is automatically extracted. Further, the extracted character string is stored in the storage device 15 as bibliographic data with the name “document name”.

  Next, when bibliographic data is generated, a plug-in program (for example, a document registration program) 20P that implements a “register to document management” function may include a server 200 (for example, a software database and a distribution function). ) To register image data and bibliographic data.

  The “PDF conversion” box 35 means a function for converting image data into the PDF format. A plug-in program (for example, PDF conversion program) 20P that realizes this function converts image data (TIFF or JPEG format generated by the MFP 100) into data in a format called PDF.

  The “mail” box 36 means a function for sending image data attached to the mail text. A plug-in program (for example, a mail program) 20P that realizes this function transmits image data attached to a mail text. In the processing procedure of FIG. 5, the image data converted into PDF is attached to the mail.

  It is assumed that the “PDF conversion” plug-in and the “mail” plug-in do not have a bibliographic data generation function. Accordingly, the bibliographic data generation process is not performed in the “PDF conversion” process and the “mail” process, and the normal process is performed.

As described above, the MFP 101 can provide the plug-ins 20 having different functions.
1. Plug-in for processing image data Plug-in for transferring image data and bibliographic data to a delivery destination The plug-in includes a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function for generating bibliographic data from image data. Further, the user can customize the distribution process provided by the MFP 100 using the plug-in program 20P. For example, from the distribution process as shown in FIG. 5, unnecessary functions can be omitted by selecting each box with the mouse and dragging to change the arrangement or deleting the selected box.

  The process flow can be defined for each user. The management tool unit 30 transmits a processing flow from the external computer 102 to the MFP 100 according to a predetermined operation by the user. The arithmetic device 16 of the MFP 100 stores the received processing flow in the storage device 15 in association with the user ID, for example. Therefore, the MFP 100 only needs to activate and process the plug-in 20 in accordance with the stored processing flow.

<Example of bibliographic data correction>
Next, the procedure of the bibliographic data correction method of this embodiment will be described. Here, it is assumed that MFP 100 generates bibliographic data. FIG. 6 is a transition diagram showing the transition of the bibliographic data displayed on the display unit 14 as the bibliographic data is corrected. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that the distribution process selected by the user at the time of scanning includes a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function.

  St10: The MFP 100 is in a standby state and displays “Please set a document” for the user to scan. When the user selects the distribution process and operates the start key 31, the arithmetic unit 16 controls the scanner engine 11 to start reading the document. The start key 31 has a built-in LED, and the lighting color changes according to the operating state. As for the selection of the distribution process, when the arithmetic device 16 detects that the document is set, the distribution process selection unit 17 displays the distribution process list on the display unit 14 so that the user can select the distribution process. do it.

  St20: When the distribution process is selected and the start key is pressed, the arithmetic unit 16 displays “The document is being read” on the display unit 14. Further, the lighting color of the start key 31 changes during reading of the document, and the start key 31 cannot be operated. When the reading is completed, the read image data is stored in the storage device 15.

  St30: When the reading is completed, the arithmetic device 16 activates the bibliographic data generation unit 21 or reads the activated bibliographic data generation unit 21, and the bibliographic data generation unit 21 generates bibliographic data from the image data in the storage device 15. To do. As a result, the arithmetic unit 16 displays “bibliographic data is being generated” on the display unit 14. During this time, the start key 31 remains inoperable.

  St40: When the generation of the bibliographic data is completed, the arithmetic unit 16 requests the bibliographic data display control unit 18 to display the bibliographic data. In the figure, “XX newsletter book” is displayed on the display unit 14. In the figure, bibliographic data is used as the document name of the manuscript. When bibliographic data is generated, the start key 31 can be operated.

  St50: The bibliographic data can be corrected by the user when the user inputs a state in which the bibliographic data is displayed or an operation for switching to the correction mode, for example. The arithmetic device 16 activates the bibliographic data correction unit 19, and the bibliographic data correction unit 19 displays, for example, a software keyboard on the display unit 14 or displays another candidate character having a similar number of strokes or character shape. When the user inputs and corrects the displayed bibliographic data or selects a candidate character, the bibliographic data correction unit 19 corrects (overwrites) the bibliographic data stored in the storage device 15. When the correction of the bibliographic data is completed, the user operates the start key 31.

  St60: When the user operates the start key 31, the arithmetic unit 16 executes the selected distribution process, whereby the NIC 13 performs image data and corrected bibliographic data on the address of the distribution destination (for example, the server 200). And send. When the transmission is completed, the arithmetic unit 16 displays “The document has been transmitted” on the display unit 14. When the user touches “confirmation” displayed on the touch panel or when a certain period of time has passed, the computing device 16 returns to the St10 state and enters a standby state for the next scanning operation.

<Sequence>
As described with reference to FIG. 6, bibliographic data is generated (a document name may be extracted) between St30 and 40. Also, the document is actually distributed during St50-60.

  The computing device 16 refers to a processing flow that defines the entire flow of distribution processing selected at the time of scanning, determines which plug-in 20 should be executed in which state, and controls a series of processing. When the scan is executed, the arithmetic device 16 reads out from the storage device 15 a flowchart to be processed designated by the user ID or the like. At this time, when the bibliographic data generation function is included in the plug-in included in the flowchart, the bibliographic data generation unit 21 is requested to generate bibliographic data from the image data generated by the MFP 100. Further, the plug-in program 20P necessary for the processing flow is executed to prepare the processing flow.

  FIG. 7 shows a sequence diagram of a procedure in which MFP 100 distributes image data according to the processing flow. An outline will be described.

  The arithmetic device 16 can execute processing in two modes, “bibliographic data generation mode” and “distribution mode”. A queue (first-in first-out storage means) for storing image data or bibliographic data is prepared for each mode.

  First, the arithmetic device 16 appropriately determines whether or not the distribution processing plug-in to be executed has a function to be processed in the “bibliographic data generation mode”. When there is a “bibliographic data generation mode”, the arithmetic unit 16 executes processing in the “bibliographic data generation mode”. Which mode is currently being executed is notified to each plug-in 20 by inter-program communication or the like.

  FIG. 7 will be described. The MFP 100 scans a document based on a user operation (S10). At this time, the distribution processing selection unit 17 accepts selection of image data distribution processing. The image data is transferred to the arithmetic device 16 (S11), and the arithmetic device 16 stores the image data in the storage device 15 (S12). During this time, the display unit 14 displays the messages St10 and St20 in FIG.

  Next, the arithmetic device 16 reads the selected processing flow from the storage device 15 (S13). Next, the arithmetic unit 16 determines whether there is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function among the plug-ins set in the acquired processing flow (S14). Here, in step S14, it is determined that there is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function.

  Next, the arithmetic unit 16 requests the predetermined plug-in 20 to execute the bibliographic data generation mode (S15). The plug-in 20 (or bibliographic data generation unit 21) having a bibliographic data generation function generates bibliographic data from image data (S16). During this time, the display unit 14 becomes like St30 in FIG. Then, the bibliographic data generation unit 21 stores the bibliographic data in the storage device 15 (S17). Next, the plug-in 20 notifies the arithmetic device 16 that the bibliographic data generation process has been completed (S18).

  Next, the bibliographic data display control unit 18 reads the bibliographic data from the storage device 15 (S19) and displays it on the display unit 14 (S20). Accordingly, the bibliographic data is displayed on the display unit 14 as in St40 of FIG.

  The user checks the displayed bibliographic data, and if necessary, corrects the bibliographic data by the operation unit 12 (S21). The bibliographic data correction unit 19 acquires the corrected bibliographic data (S22), and overwrites and saves the bibliographic data in the storage device 15 (S23). Thereby, the bibliographic data of the storage device 15 is corrected.

  Next, the arithmetic device 16 switches the mode to the “distribution mode” (S24), and executes the subsequent processing. Each plug-in 20 set in the distribution process reads the image data and the bibliographic data from the storage device 15 (S26) in order to execute the distribution process (S25). Then, the image data and the bibliographic data are transmitted to the designated delivery destination.

  When the processing is completed, the calculation device 16 is notified (S27), and the display on the display unit 14 is changed to a standby state for waiting for the next scan (S28). Although not shown in FIG. 7, the plug-in 20 for converting to PDF and the plug-in 20 for sending e-mail perform the respective processes in the “distribution mode” if defined in the processing flow of the selected distribution process. Execute.

  Next, distribution processing of the image processing system that generates bibliographic data by the server 200 connected to the MFP 100 will be described.

  FIG. 8 shows a sequence diagram of a procedure in which the server 200 distributes image data according to the processing flow. In FIG. 8, the same steps as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be simply given.

  The MFP 100 scans a document based on a user operation (S10). At this time, the distribution process selection unit 17 accepts selection of the distribution process. The image data is transferred to the CPU 47 (S11), and the CPU 47 stores the image data in the storage device 15 (S12).

  Next, the CPU 47 reads out the processing flow of the selected distribution process from the storage device 46 (S13). The CPU 47 determines whether there is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function among the plug-ins set in the acquired processing flow (S14). Here, in step S14, it is determined that there is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function.

  Next, the CPU 47 requests the predetermined plug-in 20 to execute the acquired processing flow (S15). The plug-in 20 (or bibliographic data generation unit 21) that generates bibliographic data reads image data from the storage device 46 (S15-2).

  Next, the plug-in 20 (or bibliographic data generation unit 21) having a bibliographic data generation function generates bibliographic data from the image data (S16). The bibliographic data generation unit 21 stores the bibliographic data in the storage device 46 (S17).

  Next, the bibliographic data display control unit 18 displays the bibliographic data on the display unit 14 (S20). The user checks the displayed bibliographic data, and if necessary, corrects the bibliographic data by the operation unit 12 (S21).

  The plug-in 20 (or the bibliographic data correction unit 19) acquires the corrected bibliographic data (S22), and reads the image data from the storage device 46 (S22-2). Then, the read image data and the corrected bibliographic data are spooled in the storage device 46 (S23).

  Next, the CPU 47 switches the mode to “distribution mode” (S24), and executes the subsequent processing. The plug-in 20 set for the selected distribution process reads the image data and the bibliographic data from the storage device 46 (S26) in order to execute the distribution process (S25). Then, the image data and the bibliographic data are transmitted to the designated delivery destination.

  When the processing is completed, the CPU 47 is notified (S27), and the display on the display unit 14 is changed to a standby state waiting for the next scan (S28).

  FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of processing for generating bibliographic data in the image processing system. The MFP application 51 (the arithmetic device 16) acquires UI information from the distribution setting storage unit 52 (the storage device 15) (S101).

  Next, the MFP application 51 displays a UI on the operation panel (display unit 14) of the MFP 100 based on the acquired UI information (S102). The display screen A is a screen that displays a list of distribution processes.

  Next, the user selects one delivery process from the delivery process list displayed on the UI, and presses a start button to set a document and execute a scan (S103). The scanner engine 11 generates scanned image data, and notifies the generated image data to the scan event handler 54 (arithmetic device 16) (S104).

  Next, the scan event handler 54 receives a scan completion event. At this time, since the distribution processing information selected by the user can be acquired, a processing flow indicating the actual distribution processing is acquired from the acquired distribution processing information (S105). The scan event handler 54 determines whether there is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function among the plug-ins included in the acquired processing flow.

  When it is determined that there is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function, the scan event handler 54 also acquires a page number of image data necessary for generating bibliographic data. For example, the necessary page number may be only one page when generating bibliographic data of a document name, or all pages or a predetermined number of pages when generating bibliographic data of a keyword. The necessary page number may be set in advance depending on the type of bibliographic data, or may be set by the user every time bibliographic data is generated.

  Next, when it is necessary to generate bibliographic data, the scan event handler 54 transmits only the bibliographic data generation target page and the distribution processing information to the image data transfer unit 55 (the arithmetic device 16) (S106).

  Next, the image data transfer unit 55 transmits the bibliographic data generation target page and distribution processing information to the server 200 connected to the server 200 via the network (S107).

  Next, the scanner application 61 (CPU 41) of the server 200 outputs the data received from the MFP 100 to the flow controller 62 and requests to execute the bibliographic data generation mode (S108).

  Next, the Flow controller 62 executes the bibliographic data generation mode when executing the plug-in of the distribution process (S109). Thus, bibliographic data generation processing can be performed only when it is necessary to generate bibliographic data of image data.

  Each plug-in 20 adds the generated bibliographic data to the document preview bibliographic data. This preview bibliographic data is fed back from the server 200 to the MFP application 51. The MFP application 51 displays the acquired bibliographic data for preview on the display unit 14. As a result, the user can check the generated bibliographic data.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function. As shown in FIG. 10, when the plug-in A that executes the distribution process has a bibliographic data generation function, the plug-in A has two modes of a normal mode (distribution mode) and a bibliographic data generation mode. When the plug-in A is executed, the flow controller 62 first executes the plug-in A in the bibliographic data generation mode. When the generation of the bibliographic data is completed, the Flow controller 62 executes the plug-in A in the normal mode. When executed in the normal mode, image data and bibliographic data are distributed to the distribution destination.

<Transition of display screen>
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of display screen transition in the first embodiment. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen for selecting a distribution process when scanning a document. As shown in FIG. 11A, it is assumed that the OCR Reader process is selected by the user and the start button is pressed. At this time, it is assumed that the OCRReader is a plug-in having a bibliographic data generation function.

  Next, when the bibliographic data generation mode is executed by the MFP 100 or the server 200 and bibliographic data is generated, a bibliographic data generation result screen as shown in FIG. 11B is displayed. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic data generation screen. As shown in FIG. 11B, on the bibliographic data generation result screen, an area for outputting bibliographic data generation result information, a transmission continuation button for continuing the distribution process, a transmission stop button for suspending the distribution process, and bibliographic data are corrected. For example, a correction button for displaying a correction screen is included.

  Thereby, since the bibliographic data of the image data to be distributed can be confirmed, the bibliographic data can be corrected on the display screen if it differs from the contents desired by the user.

  As described above, according to the MFP 100 or the like of this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not to perform bibliographic data generation processing according to the type of distribution processing.

  In this embodiment, the user can also check and correct bibliographic data and issue a distribution instruction from the PC 104 using a Web browser (such as IE (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation). Bibliographic data may be transmitted and received by e-mail.

  When the user accesses the server 200 via a Web browser, the bibliographic data display screen generation unit generates display screen information described in HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Since the GUI information template is stored in the storage device 46 in advance, display screen information can be generated for each user by embedding bibliographic data or the like. Thus, when the bibliographic data is corrected on the user's PC 104, it is not necessary to wait in front of the MFP 100.

  Further, although the server 200 of this embodiment has been described as having a configuration that functions as both a scanner application server and a distribution server, the server may be configured separately for each function.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. It can be changed. It is also possible to configure an image processing apparatus and an image processing system by combining all or a plurality of the components of the above-described embodiments.

  Note that the processing contents described in the embodiments can be used as a program, and this program can be executed by a computer so that the above-described processing can be executed by the image processing apparatus and the image processing system. It is also possible to record the program on a recording medium, cause the computer to read the recording medium on which the program is recorded, and cause the image processing apparatus and the image processing system to execute the processing described above.

9 Storage Medium 11 Scanner Engine 12 Operation Unit 13, 44 NIC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Display part 15,46 Memory | storage device 16 Arithmetic unit 17 Distribution process selection part 18 Bibliographic data display control part 19 Bibliographic data correction part 20 Plug-in 21 Bibliographic data generation part 30 Management tool part 100 MFP
101, 102 External computer 103 Network 104 PC (personal computer)
200 servers

JP 2005-011260 A

Claims (13)

An image processing apparatus that optically reads a document and generates image data of the document,
First selection means for receiving selection of the image data distribution process from one or more distribution processes including a plug-in;
Determining means for determining whether or not a function for generating bibliographic data is included in the selected plug-in included in the distribution process;
An image processing apparatus comprising: generation means for generating bibliographic data from the image data when it is determined that the function of generating the bibliographic data is included. The generating means includes
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when generating the bibliographic data, only pages necessary for generating the bibliographic data are used among the image data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying bibliographic data generated by the generation means on a display screen.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising correction means for receiving correction of bibliographic data displayed on the display screen. When bibliographic data is generated by the generation unit, a second selection unit that receives a selection as to whether or not to perform the distribution process selected by the first selection unit;
5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a distribution unit configured to distribute the bibliographic data and the image data according to the distribution process when the distribution process is performed according to the selection result of the second selection unit. An image processing system in which an image processing apparatus that optically reads a document and generates image data of the document and a server are connected via a network,
The image processing apparatus includes:
First selection means for receiving selection of the image data distribution process from one or more distribution processes including a plug-in;
Determining means for determining whether or not a function for generating bibliographic data is included in the selected plug-in included in the distribution process;
A transmission means for transmitting the bibliographic data generation request and the image data when the determination means determines that the function of generating the bibliographic data is included;
The server
An image processing system comprising: generation means for generating bibliographic data from the image data when the bibliographic data generation request and the image data are received from the transmission means.   The image processing system according to claim 6, wherein the image data transmitted by the transmission unit is only a page of image data necessary for generating the bibliographic data. The server
A transmission unit that transmits the bibliographic data generated by the generation unit to the image processing apparatus;
The image processing apparatus includes:
The image processing system according to claim 6, further comprising a display unit that displays the bibliographic data on a display screen when the bibliographic data is received from the server. The image processing apparatus includes:
The image processing system according to claim 8, further comprising correction means for receiving correction of bibliographic data displayed on the display screen. The image processing apparatus includes:
A second selection unit that receives a selection as to whether or not to perform the distribution process selected by the first selection unit when the bibliographic data is received from the server;
A transmission unit configured to transmit distribution processing information indicating the bibliographic data, the image data, and the distribution processing information to the server when performing the distribution processing according to a selection result of the second selection unit;
The server
10. The distribution unit that distributes the bibliographic data and the image data based on the distribution processing information when the bibliographic data, the image data, and the distribution processing information are received from the image processing apparatus. Image processing system. An image processing method in an image processing apparatus for optically reading a document and generating image data of the document,
A selection step of selecting a distribution destination of the image data from one or more distribution processes including a plug-in;
A determination step of determining whether or not a function for generating bibliographic data is included in the selected plug-in included in the distribution process;
An image processing method comprising: generating a bibliographic data from the image data when it is determined that the function of generating the bibliographic data is included. Computer
Reading means for optically reading a document and generating image data of the document;
Selecting means for selecting a delivery destination of the image data from one or more delivery processes including a plug-in;
Determining means for determining whether or not a function for generating bibliographic data is included in the selected plug-in included in the distribution process;
A program for causing a function to generate bibliographic data from the image data when it is determined that the function to generate the bibliographic data is included.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 12 is recorded.

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