JP2016012751A - Image forming apparatus and transmission method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology of reducing entry errors in documents when transmitting documents in a predetermined format in an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 has an input checking part 20 including, as functions to execute transmission determination processing, ImageJob22, JobInfo23, InputMission24, dvcSCN25, entDocPG26, entBOX27, EditMission28, and funOCR29. EditMission28 compares between a transmission image and a reference image to determine whether or not appropriate details are entered in predetermined entry columns. As a result of the determination, if it is appropriate, EditMission28 permits transmission of the transmission image, and if it is inappropriate, notifies a user of the effect by using a display part 16 or a speaker.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a transmission method, for example, an image forming apparatus having an image transmission function such as a FAX function and a transmission method in such an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a multifunctional image forming apparatus such as a MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), a technique for reducing user's erroneous operation has been proposed. For example, in an image forming apparatus having an image transmission function such as a FAX function, there is a setting for prohibiting double input of a destination or direct input as an erroneous transmission prevention function.

  Further, as a technique applicable to the image forming apparatus, a technique for effectively using a user's database with an OCR function using an image reading function has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, business card identification information and a questionnaire response column are added to a business card, and this business card identification information and the like can be managed by being linked to each other, Incorrect input is prevented. As a result, the sales person can use the business card as a marketing tool. Further, the customer can immediately convey questionnaire information such as customer information and complaint information to the information management system by performing OCR processing on the business card provided with the questionnaire response column, and can promptly respond to the customer.

JP 2003-291565 A

  By the way, as described above, even if the erroneous transmission prevention function is functioning effectively and the destination information is set correctly, if there is an error or omission in the transmission contents, the transmission data is corrected if it is originally. You have to send it again. However, there is no technology for such a problem, and a new technology has been demanded. Searching and checking such information as questionnaire information or by hand has been done in the past, but there is a problem that such work takes a lot of man-hours and supports such work. The technology to do was needed. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be used as a marketing tool by performing OCR processing on customer information on business cards, etc., but it does not take into account missing input contents etc. Technology was needed.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and it aims at providing the technique which can solve the said subject.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a confirmation unit for confirming contents written in a predetermined entry area in a document read by the image reading apparatus, and the reading based on the contents written in the entry area as a result of confirmation. And a determination unit for determining whether or not the document can be transmitted.
The check unit further includes a holding unit that specifies and holds a reference document serving as a reference for comparison in the check unit, and the check unit includes the comparison target region of the reference document, The determination of transmission may be made by comparing with the entry area of the read original corresponding to the comparison target area and judging whether or not the entry area contains appropriate contents.
In addition, when it is determined that the image cannot be transmitted, the determination unit may notify that effect.
Further, the determination unit may transmit the image even when it is determined that the image cannot be transmitted when a transmission execution instruction is given after the notification.
The transmission method in the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: an image acquisition step for reading an image to be transmitted; an entry confirmation step for confirming the contents entered in a predetermined entry area of the image by image processing; A transmission determination step of determining whether or not the read image can be transmitted based on the content entered in the entry area.
The entry confirmation step compares the comparison target area of the reference document recorded in advance with the entry area of the read document corresponding to the comparison target area, and the entry area includes appropriate contents. It may be determined whether or not the transmission is possible by determining whether or not the transmission is performed.
Further, when it is determined that the image cannot be transmitted, the transmission determination step may notify that fact.
The transmission determination step may transmit the image even when it is determined that the image cannot be transmitted when a transmission execution instruction is given after the notification.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for reducing mistakes in writing a document when transmitting a document in a predetermined format in the image forming apparatus.

1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 4 is a diagram illustrating a format example of a document to be transmitted according to the embodiment. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a document to be transmitted according to the embodiment, in which an area to be checked is added. It is a communication figure which shows the flow of the transmission judgment process based on embodiment.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, when a document having a predetermined base format such as an application form or a purchase order is faxed, an entry error (such as an entry error or omission) is checked. Then, a transmission determination process for notifying the user of the fact is executed. This will be specifically described below.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, and particularly shows an image reading function.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is, for example, an MFP, and includes a control unit 12, an operation unit 14, a display unit 16, a communication unit 17, a print execution processing unit 35, and an image reading unit 40.

  The operation unit 12 is a user interface including predetermined function buttons such as an execution key, a numeric keypad, and the like. The display unit 14 is composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and displays an operation state or the like. Note that a touch key or the like in which the operation unit 12 and the display unit 14 are integrally configured may be used. The communication unit 17 is connected to an external communication network and is used for FAX communication or the like.

  The print execution processing unit 35 has a general print execution function, and executes a print operation according to an instruction from the control unit 20.

  The image reading unit 40 has a general configuration capable of reading an A4 size document, and includes a scanner, a platen glass, a document reading slit, a document feeding device, and the like. The scanner includes a light source using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) and a light receiving unit including a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) line sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) line sensor, and the like.

  The control unit 12 includes an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and performs various processes. Here, the control unit 12 includes a JobManager 19 as a function for performing overall processing of the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, the control unit 12 includes an input check unit 20 that executes the above-described transmission determination process that is characteristic of the present embodiment. The input check unit 20 executes transmission determination processing when a document having a predetermined format is fax-transmitted under the instruction of the JobManager 19.

  The input check unit 20 includes ImageJob22, JobInfo23, InputMission24, dvcSCN25, entDocPG26, entBOX27, EditMission28, funOCR29, and OutputMission30 as functions for executing transmission determination processing.

  The ImageJob 22 controls and executes image reading processing using the image reading unit 40.

  The JobInfo 23 holds various setting information related to image reading processing including transmission determination processing. Here, an application form A1, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, is registered as a standard document (reference image) for comparison.

  The Input Mission 24 manages image acquisition. That is, the Input Mission 24 instructs the dvcSCN 25 to acquire an image to be transmitted and a reference image.

  The dvcSCN 25 controls the operation of the scanner of the image reading unit 40 and scans a document placed on the platen or a document supplied from a document feeder.

  The entDocPG 26 performs control so that an image acquired for transmission (referred to as a “transmission image”) and an image subjected to predetermined editing are registered and held in the entBOX 27.

  The entBOX 27 is a storage area that holds a transmission image and an edited image. Here, the entBOX 27 includes an entBOX_A 27a and an entBOX_B 27b. The entBOX_A 27a is an area for holding an image read for transmission, and holds an entire image of the transmission image and a partial image (image cut-out) of the transmission image used for determination. entBOX_B27b is an area for holding a partial image (image cutout) of a reference image used for determining whether or not transmission is possible.

  The Edit Mission 28 compares the transmission image with the reference image and determines whether or not appropriate content is entered in a predetermined entry field. As a result of the determination, the Edit Mission 28 permits transmission of the transmission image if appropriate, and notifies the user using the display unit 16 or a speaker if inappropriate.

  The fun OCR 29 performs OCR processing on the transmission image, and acquires the presence / absence of entry of characters and numbers and the presence / absence of other images. As a result of the OCR process, the acquired numeric information and character information are stored in the LibOCR 29b together with the position information, and image information other than the numeric information and character information is recorded in the LibFIG 29a together with the position information.

  2 and 3 are diagrams showing an example format of a document to be transmitted. FIG. 3 shows a determination target area added to the document shown in FIG. Here, the document to be transmitted is the product application form A1. In the application form A1, the upper half is a guide document part A2, and the lower half is an application form part A3. A person who desires a product fills in the application date entry section B1, application information entry section B2, quantity price entry section B3, and signature entry section B4 of the application form section A3, and transmits it by the image forming apparatus 10 by FAX. To do.

  The image forming apparatus 10 checks the entry status of the application date entry section B1, the applicant information entry section B2, the quantity price entry section B3, and the signature entry section B4, and determines whether or not transmission is allowed.

  As pre-processing of the transmission determination process, the user registers a standard document to be compared as shown in the application form A1 in the JobInfo 23 of the image forming apparatus 10. At this time, the user uses the operation unit 14 or the display unit 16 to check and select a rectangular portion to be determined. In many cases, there are a plurality of locations to be determined, and in the illustrated example, four locations are designated.

  The JobInfo 23 stores the area information of the image based on the position information (start point information, end point information) of the specified area.

  Further, the user designates the determination condition for the selected rectangular portion. The determination condition is as follows in the illustrated example. That is, “existence / absence of entry”, “numerical value”, and “existence / absence of image”.

  “Presence / absence of entry” is an item in which something is entered. In particular, there are no forbidden characters, and whether or not the characters are input is a criterion. In the figure, it is an item of the applicant information entry section B2.

  “Numerical value” is an item in which only a numerical value is entered. If anything other than numerical values is entered, it will be judged as an error. For example, it is an item of application date entry part B1 and quantity price entry part B3.

  “Presence / absence of image” is an item of image information such as a stamped image or a signature. In general, it is a region that is difficult to recognize by OCR, and it is determined by whether or not information exists. For example, it is an item of the signature entry part B4.

  The information on the designated rectangular portion and the designated condition (also referred to as condition information) are stored in the JobInfo 23 as a table in which they are described in association with each other.

  The transmission determination process at the time of FAX transmission with the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a communication diagram illustrating a flow of the transmission determination process.

  When the user operates the operation unit 14 to select the transmission determination process function during FAX transmission, the JobManager 19 notifies the ImageJob 22 to that effect and starts the transmission determination process (S1). Note that when the information of the transmission determination process is registered in advance, the transmission determination process may be executed regardless of whether or not the user has selected. In this case, it is determined whether or not the document to be transmitted uses the same format as the registered document. In this determination, for example, the determination is facilitated by comparing the area that the user is assumed not to fill in, that is, the area of the guidance document part A2 in FIG. In addition, a predetermined mark may be given to the registered image (format) for determination.

  The ImageJob 22 refers to the JobInfo 23, acquires various operation information of the transmission determination process, and starts the transmission determination process (S2). Here, a FAX transmission process using the application form A1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is assumed.

  The ImageJob 22 instructs the Input Mission 24 to execute a job (reading job) for obtaining the original, that is, the application sheet A1 with respect to the Input Mission 24 (S3).

  The Input Mission 24 causes the image reading unit 40 to read the image on the application form A1 (S4). The dvcSCN 25 operates the platen or the document feeder to read the image on the application sheet A1, and instructs the entDocPG 26 to register the image (S5).

  The entDocPG 26 acquires the image read by the dvcSCN 25, registers and records the image in the entBOX_A 27a (S6).

  When the dvcSCN 25 instructs registration to the entDocPG 26, the dvcSCN 25 notifies the InputMissition 24 that the image registration is completed (S7). Subsequently, the Input Mission 24 notifies the ImageJob 22 that the registration of the document image has been completed (S8).

  When ImageJob 22 receives a notification that image registration has been completed, it makes a determination request to Edit Mission 28 (S9). That is, the ImageJob 22 instructs the Edit Mission 28 to determine whether or not the read application sheet A1 can be transmitted.

  The Edit Mission 28 acquires condition information with reference to a table stored in the JobInfo 23 based on the instructed determination request (S10).

  The Edit Mission 28 makes the following determinations in order for the number of areas to be determined (the above-described rectangular locations) based on the information conditions. That is, the EditMission 28 cuts out the image for both the transmission image and the reference image for the first rectangular portion (S11), and for the cutout of the transmission image that is the read information, the entBOX_A27a is used for the reference image that is the registration information. It is additionally registered in entBOX_B27b (S12, S13).

  When the registration is completed, the entDocPG 26 notifies the Edit Mission 28 of the completion (S14).

  Subsequently, the Edit Mission 28 performs use condition determination processing (S15), instructs the funOCR 29, and performs information acquisition processing (image information acquisition processing and character information acquisition processing) associated with a predetermined image recognition processing for the corresponding part. That is, Edit Mission 28 acquires image information from LibFIG 29a (S16), and acquires character information from LibOCR 29b (S17). Based on the acquired image information and character information, a determination process is performed to determine whether the entry status is appropriate (S18).

  Information obtained by the image information acquisition process is used to determine whether an image is present. For example, the region data of the registered image is set to no state (0), and it is determined whether there is a change as image information for the region. The information obtained by the character information acquisition process is used at the time of entry / non-entry determination and numerical value determination. The Edit Mission 28 acquires OCR information in the corresponding area in the registered image and the read image. Based on the result, it is determined whether or not there is an input in the registration information and the read image, and what the input value is.

  The processes in steps S10 to S18 are repeatedly executed for the number of areas to be determined (the above-described rectangular portions), and then the EditMission 28 notifies the determination result to ImageJob 22 (S19).

  If the determination result indicates that the input status is appropriate, the ImageJob 22 instructs the Output Mission 30 to transmit the transmission image registered in the entBOX_A 27a (S20). The Output Mission 30 performs the transmission process in response to the instruction.

  In the case of the determination result that the input status is inappropriate, the ImageJob 22 may display the fact on the display unit 16 or the like and emit a warning sound, or simply execute a print output to notify the error processing. Also good. In the case of error notification by print output, the print output may be performed in a manner indicating which location is inappropriate. In addition to notifying that there is inappropriateness, display whether or not to execute the transmission process even in that case, and if it is determined to be inappropriate if the transmission process is selected and executed Even if it exists, it may be transmitted. For example, when the part written by the user is a thin character or the like, OCR recognition may not be successful. In that case, if the user thinks that there is no problem, the intention of the user can be appropriately reflected.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of these components, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, it may be considered that the accuracy is insufficient only with the basic conditions as described above. In such a case, conditions that may be generally used may be registered in advance. Specifically, an item “date and time” is assumed. The item “date and time” is an area in which only an item representing time such as a date should be registered. Therefore, numerical values and Chinese numerals can be used in this item. Furthermore, since descriptions such as “H13” and “S56 / 7/8” are also assumed, alphabets and some symbols used for the year can be used.

  Further, the user himself / herself may be allowed to register necessary characters and characters to be excluded. For example, an item “amount” is assumed. This item is an area in which only numerical values are entered, but the entry of symbols such as “¥”, “$” and “,” and operators such as “+” and “−” may be permitted. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Control part 14 Operation part 16 Display part 17 Communication part 19 JobManager
20 Input Check Unit 22 ImageJob
23 JobInfo
24 Input Mission
25 dvcSCN
26 entDocPG
27 entBOX
27a entBOX_A
27b entBOX_B
28 Edit Mission
29 funOCR
29a LibFIG
29b LibOCR
30 Output Mission
35 Print execution processing unit 40 Image reading unit

Claims (8)

A confirmation unit for confirming the contents written in a predetermined entry area in the manuscript read by the image reading device;
As a result of the confirmation, a determination unit that determines whether or not the read original may be transmitted based on the content entered in the entry area;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A holding unit for holding a reference document as a reference for comparison in the checking unit by designating a comparison target area;
The confirmation unit compares the comparison target area of the reference document with the entry area of the read original corresponding to the comparison target area, and determines whether or not appropriate contents are included in the entry area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission is determined.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the image cannot be transmitted, the determination unit notifies the fact. The said determination part transmits the said image, even when it is a case where it is judged that the said image cannot be transmitted when there exists a transmission execution instruction | indication after the said alerting | reporting. Image forming apparatus. A transmission method in an image forming apparatus,
An image acquisition process for reading an image to be transmitted;
An entry confirmation step for confirming the contents entered in a predetermined entry area of the image by image processing;
As a result of the confirmation, a transmission determination step for determining whether or not the read image may be transmitted based on the entered contents;
A transmission method comprising:   The entry confirmation step compares the comparison target area of the reference document recorded in advance with the entry area of the read document corresponding to the comparison target area, and the entry area includes an appropriate content. 6. The transmission method according to claim 5, wherein it is determined whether or not the transmission is possible by determining whether or not the transmission is possible.   The transmission method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, in the transmission determination step, when it is determined that the image cannot be transmitted, the fact is notified.   The transmission determination step transmits the image even when it is determined that the image cannot be transmitted when there is a transmission execution instruction after the notification. The transmission method described.

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