JP2016154000A - Information processing system, information processing apparatus, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing system configured to support development of an application for executing processing in cooperation with an external service, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing method.SOLUTION: An information processing system having a plurality of programs each executing predetermined processing includes: storage means which stores identification information of an application executing a series of processing using electronic data, in cooperation with an external service, in association with information on a series of processing for executing the above series of processing by combining the programs, for each application; receiving means for receiving a request including the identification information and information on electronic data to be used for the series of processing; and processing execution means which executes the series of processing using the electronic data, on the basis of the information on the series of processing associated with the identification information, by combining at least one of the programs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing method.

  In recent years, various external services have been provided by cloud computing and the like. For example, an external service that stores electronic data designated by a user in an external storage is known.

  For example, a technique for storing image data acquired by scanning an original with an image forming apparatus in an external storage is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As described above, a technique in which an image forming apparatus and an external service perform processing in cooperation is conventionally known.

  However, in the above prior art, in order to perform processing in cooperation with an external service, it is necessary to develop an application mounted on the image forming apparatus. In addition, when an external service provides a unique function (a function that is not provided by another external service), it is necessary to develop a module, plug-in, etc. to use this unique function. There is. Therefore, the man-hours required for development such as addition or correction of applications mounted on the image forming apparatus may increase.

  An embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to support development of an application for performing processing in cooperation with an external service.

  In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention is an information processing system that includes one or more information processing apparatuses and includes a plurality of programs that respectively execute predetermined processing, and a series of electronic data Storage means for associating and storing identification information for identifying each application and information related to a series of processes for executing the series of processes in combination with the program for each application that executes the processes in cooperation with an external service A receiving unit that receives a request including the identification information and information related to electronic data used for the series of processes from one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing system; and the receiving unit The series of processes using electronic data based on information on the electronic data included in the received request, Processing execution means for executing a combination of one or more of the plurality of programs based on information relating to the series of processing stored in the storage means in association with the identification information included in the request. It is characterized by that.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to support development of an application for performing processing in cooperation with an external service.

It is a lineblock diagram of an example of an information processing system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the service provision system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of common I / F and intrinsic | native I / F. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a data definition. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of layout information. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the processing content. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the entire process of the scan delivery service according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the application screen for utilizing a scan delivery service. It is a processing block diagram of an example of a logic processing unit according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a type | mold conversion table. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a process from OCR to distribution execution according to the first embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the entire process of the cloud print service according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the application screen for utilizing a cloud print service. It is a sequence diagram of an example of processing from file acquisition execution to print conversion according to the first embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of an information processing system concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the display process of the application screen which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of the information processing system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of an information processing system concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the logic processing part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a component management table. It is a processing block diagram of an example of an external component processing part concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a type | mold conversion table. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a process from OCR which concerns on 3rd Embodiment to delivery execution. It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of the processing content. It is a sequence diagram of an example of the external component process which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing for creating processing content according to a third embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of creation of the processing content.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. An information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a service providing environment E1, a user environment E2, and an external storage system 30, and is communicably connected via a wide area network N1 such as the Internet.

  The service providing environment E1 is a system environment that provides an external service such as a cloud service via a network. In the present embodiment, a cloud service will be described as a specific example of an external service. However, the present embodiment relates to a service provided via a network such as a service provided by an ASP (Application Service Provider) or a Web service. The form may be applied.

  The service providing environment E1 includes a service providing system 10 that is realized by one or more information processing apparatuses. The service providing system 10 provides a predetermined service via a network. For example, the service providing system 10 performs an OCR (Optical Character Reader) process on an electronic file generated by scanning an original in the image forming apparatus 20 of the user environment E2 and stores it in the external storage system 30 (scan distribution). Service). For example, the service providing system 10 provides a service (cloud print service) for printing an electronic file stored in the external storage system 30 by the image forming apparatus 20 of the user environment E2. In the present embodiment, the service providing system 10 will be described as providing such a scan distribution service and a cloud print service.

  However, the service provided by the service providing system 10 is not limited to these, and may be, for example, a service that projects an electronic file stored in the external storage system 30 with a projector in the user environment E2. In addition, an electronic file generated by scanning an original in the image forming apparatus 20 is subjected to OCR processing, translated into a predetermined language (for example, translated from English to Japanese), and stored in the external storage system 30 Etc.

  All or part of the service providing system 10 may be installed in the user environment E2. That is, all or a part of the information processing apparatuses constituting the service providing system 10 may be included in the user environment E2.

  The user environment E2 is a system environment in a company or the like that is a user who uses the image forming apparatus 20, for example. In the user environment E2, one or more image forming apparatuses 20 are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment is an image forming apparatus having a print function and a scan function. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 may be a multifunction machine having a copy function, a fax (FAX) communication function, and the like in addition to the print function and the scan function.

The external storage system 30 is a computer system that provides a cloud service called a storage service (or online storage) via a network. The storage service is a service that lends the storage area of the storage of the external storage system 30. In the present embodiment, in the scan distribution service, the OCR-processed electronic file is stored (uploaded) in a storage area lent by the external storage system 30. In the present embodiment, in the cloud print service, an electronic file to be printed is acquired (downloaded) from a storage area lent by the external storage system 30. Hereinafter, when distinguishing each of the plurality of external storage systems 30, they are described using subscripts such as “external storage system 30 ₁ ” and “external storage system 30 ₂ ”. Further, "Storage Service A" the name of the service provided by the external storage system 30 _1, and the like "storage service B" the name of the service provided by the storage system 30 _2.

  The external storage system 30 may be a system realized by a plurality of information processing apparatuses. In addition, the configuration of the information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, and other configurations may be employed. For example, as described above, the user environment E2 may include various devices such as a projector and an electronic blackboard in addition to the image forming apparatus 20 or instead of the image forming apparatus 20.

<Hardware configuration>
≪Service provision system≫
The service providing system 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 2, for example. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a service providing system according to the first embodiment. A service providing system 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes an input device 11, a display device 12, an external I / F 13, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14. The service providing system 10 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16, a communication I / F 17, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18. Each of these hardware is connected by a bus B.

  The input device 11 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and is used by a user to input each operation signal. The display device 12 includes a display and the like, and displays a processing result by the service providing system 10. The input device 11 and / or the display device 12 may be connected to the service providing system 10 when necessary.

  The communication I / F 17 is an interface that connects the service providing system 10 to the network N1. Thereby, the service providing system 10 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 17.

  The HDD 18 is an example of a nonvolatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS (Operating System) that is basic software for controlling the entire service providing system 10 and application software that provides various functions on the OS. The service providing system 10 may use a drive device (for example, a solid state drive: SSD) that uses a flash memory as a storage medium instead of the HDD 18. The HDD 18 manages stored programs and data by a predetermined file system and / or DB.

  The external I / F 13 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 13a. Thereby, the service providing system 10 can read and / or write to the recording medium 13a via the external I / F 13. Examples of the recording medium 13a include a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The ROM 15 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 15 stores programs and data such as BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the service providing system 10 is activated. The RAM 14 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 16 is an arithmetic device that realizes control and functions of the entire service providing system 10 by reading a program and data from a storage device such as the ROM 15 and the HDD 18 onto the RAM 14 and executing processing.

  The service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment can implement various processes as described later by having the above hardware configuration.

≪Image forming device≫
The image forming apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 1 has a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a controller 21, an operation panel 22, an external I / F 23, a communication I / F 24, a printer 25, and a scanner 26. The controller 21 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, an NVRAM 214, and an HDD 215. The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. The RAM 212 temporarily stores programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores setting information, for example. The HDD 215 stores various programs and data.

  The CPU 211 implements control and functions of the entire image forming apparatus 20 by reading programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 213, NVRAM 214, HDD 215, and the like onto the RAM 212 and executing processing.

  The operation panel 22 includes an input unit that receives input from a user and a display unit that performs display. The external I / F 23 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 23a. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 20 can read and / or write the recording medium 23a via the external I / F 23. Examples of the recording medium 23a include an IC card, a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The communication I / F 24 is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus 20 to the network N1. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 20 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 24. The printer 25 is a printing device for printing print data. The scanner 26 is a reading device for reading a document and generating an image file (electronic file).

  The image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment can realize various processes as described later by having the above hardware configuration.

<Software configuration>
The information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment can be realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 4, for example. FIG. 4 is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 20 includes a browser 210 realized by the CPU 211 or the like, for example. A user of the image forming apparatus 20 can use a service provided by the service providing system 10 via the browser 210. As described above, in the image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, it is sufficient that the browser 210 is installed, and it is not necessary to develop a dedicated application for using the service.

  The service providing system 10 includes a service processing unit 110, a document service unit 150, and a storage service cooperation unit 160. These units are realized by the CPU 16 or the like, for example.

  Further, the service providing system 10 includes an application information storage unit 190. The application information storage unit 190 is realized by the HDD 18. The application information storage unit 190 may be realized by a storage device or the like connected to the service providing system 10 via a network.

  The service processing unit 110 includes an application management unit 120, a logic processing unit 130, and a data I / F unit 140.

  The application management unit 120 manages the application information 1000 stored in the application information storage unit 190. In response to a request from the browser 210, the application management unit 120 returns an application screen based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000. As a result, an application screen for using the service provided by the service providing system 10 is displayed on the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20. Here, the application information 1000 will be described in detail later, but information describing the screen definition for displaying the above-described application screen on the image forming apparatus 20 and the processing contents of the service realized by the application information 1000 is described. It is.

  In addition, the application management unit 120 returns processing content included in the application information 1000 in response to a request from the logic processing unit 130. Although details of processing will be described later, a series of processes for realizing a scan distribution service, a cloud print service, and the like are described. The series of processing is also referred to as “processing flow” or “flow”.

  The logic processing unit 130 acquires processing contents from the application management unit 120 in response to a request from the browser 210. The logic processing unit 130 requests the document processing unit 150 and / or the file processing unit 170 of the storage service cooperation unit 160 to execute processing according to the acquired processing content. As a result, various services provided by the service providing system 10 are provided to the image forming apparatus 20. Detailed processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130 will be described in <Processing details> described later.

  In response to a request from the browser 210, the data I / F unit 140 requests the data processing unit 180 of the storage service cooperation unit 160 to acquire a folder list, for example.

  The document service unit 150 is a group of programs (modules) for realizing a service provided by the service providing system 10. The document service unit 150 includes, for example, an OCR process 151 that executes an OCR process on an electronic file, a print conversion process 152 that converts the electronic file into a data format (print data) that can be printed by the image forming apparatus 20, and the like. It is. In addition to these, the document service unit 150 executes various processes such as a program for compressing or decompressing an electronic file and a program for converting the data format of the electronic file (for example, converting to a PDF format). May be included.

The storage service cooperation unit 160 requests the external storage system 30 to execute various processes in response to requests from the logic processing unit 130 and the data I / F unit 140. Here, the service providing system 10 includes a storage service cooperation unit 160 for each external storage system 30. That is, the service providing system 10, the storage service A linkage unit 160 ₁ for requesting processing to the external storage system 30 _1, a storage service B cooperation unit 160 for requesting the processing to the external storage system 30 _{2 2} etc. As described above, the service providing system 10 includes the corresponding storage service cooperation unit 160 for each external storage system 30 that performs processing in cooperation. Hereinafter, when distinguishing each of the plurality of storage service cooperation units 160, the subscripts “storage service A cooperation unit 160 ₁ ”, “storage service B cooperation unit 160 ₂ ”, etc. are used as described above. To describe.

  As described above, the storage service cooperation unit 160 includes the file processing unit 170 that receives a request from the logic processing unit 130 and the data processing unit 180 that receives a request from the data I / F unit 140.

  The file processing unit 170 includes a common I / F 171 and a unique I / F that define an API (Application Programming Interface) for performing operations (for example, acquisition, storage, editing, etc.) on electronic files stored in the external storage system 30. / F172. The common I / F 171 is an API that can be used in common among a plurality of external storage systems 30, and includes, for example, an API as shown in FIG. In other words, the common I / F 171 of the file processing unit 170 is an API group for using functions related to file operations that can be used by all external storage systems 30 (for example, file acquisition and storage). On the other hand, the unique I / F 172 is an API that can be used in a specific external storage system 30 and includes, for example, an API as shown in FIG. In other words, the unique I / F 172 of the file processing unit 170 is an API group for using a file operation function (for example, file editing) that can be used in a specific external storage system 30. Therefore, the common I / F 171 is similarly defined for all the storage service cooperation units 160, while the unique I / F 172 is a specific storage service cooperation that can use the API defined by the unique I / F 172. Defined for part 160.

  On the other hand, the data processing unit 180 has a common I / O that defines an API for acquiring metadata (for example, file list, folder list, etc.) such as bibliographic information of electronic files stored in the external storage system 30. F181 and unique I / F182. The common I / F 181 is an API that can be used in common among a plurality of external storage systems 30, and includes, for example, an API as shown in FIG. In other words, the common I / F 181 of the data processing unit 180 is an API group for using functions such as metadata acquisition that can be used in all the external storage systems 30. On the other hand, the unique I / F 182 is an API that can be used in a specific external storage system 30 and includes, for example, an API as shown in FIG. In other words, the unique I / F 182 of the data processing unit 180 is an API group for using a function such as metadata acquisition that can be used in a specific external storage system 30 (for example, acquisition of a list of image files). . Therefore, the common I / F 181 is similarly defined for all the storage service cooperation units 160, while the unique I / F 182 is a specific storage service cooperation that can use the API defined by the unique I / F 182. Defined for part 160.

  As described above, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment has the storage service cooperation unit 160 for each external storage system 30 that performs processing in cooperation. For this reason, when the external storage system 30 to be linked is added, the corresponding storage service linkage unit 160 may be added to the service providing system 10. Therefore, it is possible to localize the influence associated with the addition of the external storage system 30 as a cooperation destination. In other words, without affecting other processing blocks (the service processing unit 110, the document service unit 150, etc.) (that is, there is no need to modify other processing blocks), the external storage system 30 that is the cooperation destination Additions can be made. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of man-hours required for development such as addition of the external storage system 30 as a cooperation destination. Note that the addition of the storage service cooperation unit 160 and the like can be performed using an SDK (Software Development Kit).

  Further, the storage service cooperation unit 160 defines the common I / F 171 and the unique I / F 172 with different modules or the like. The API defined by the common I / F 171 and the unique I / F 172 can be used by specifying a “storage service name” (that is, the “storage service name” is a variable part). Therefore, when adding the external storage system 30 of the cooperation destination, the common I / F 171 defined in the other storage service cooperation unit 160 can be reused. In other words, when adding the external storage system 30 to be linked, only the unique I / F 172 of the external storage system 30 to be added needs to be developed. Thereby, the man-hour required for development, such as addition of the external storage system 30 of a cooperation destination, can further be reduced. This also applies to the common I / F 181 and the unique I / F 182.

The application information storage unit 190 stores application information 1000. The application information 1000 is information describing a screen definition for displaying an application screen on the image forming apparatus 20 and processing contents indicating a series of processes for realizing a service, and uniquely identifies the application information 1000. Each application ID is stored in the application information storage unit 190. In the present embodiment, the application information for realizing the scan distribution service in cooperation with the cloud service A is “application information 1000 ₁ ”, and the application ID “app001” of the application information 1000 ₁ is used. In the present embodiment, application information for realizing a cloud print service in cooperation with the cloud service A is “application information 1000 ₂ ”, and an application ID of the application information 1000 ₂ is “app002”.

Here, the data definitions in the data definition and application information 1000 _{and second} screen definition included in the screen definition of the application information 1000 _1, in FIGS 6 (a) and 6 (b). The data definition describes information for configuring an input field (input box), a selection field (selection box), and the like of an application screen displayed on the operation panel 22 or the like by the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20. For example, in the data definition unit 1101 in FIG. 6A, information for configuring an input field for a user to input a file name of an electronic file generated by scanning is described. Further, the data definition unit 1102 describes information for configuring a selection field for selecting a storage destination folder in the storage service A. Note that “data_source” of the data definition unit 1102 describes the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the acquisition destination of each selection element (here, the storage destination candidate folder name and folder ID) in the selection field.

Next, the layout information included in the screen definition of the layout information and the application information 1000 ₂ included in the screen definition of the application information 1000 _1, in FIGS. 7 (a) and FIG. 7 (b). The layout information describes information such as characters (display name of the input field) displayed on the application screen displayed on the operation panel 22 or the like by the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20, the display position of the input field or the selection field, and the like. ing. For example, in the layout definition unit 1301 in FIG. 7A, information on the display position and display name of ““ data_id ”: 1” (that is, the data definition unit 1101) in the data definition is described. Thereby, although a specific example will be described later, an input field whose display name is “file name” is displayed at the first position on the application screen. The layout definition unit 1302 describes information on the display position and display name of ““ data_id ”: 2” (that is, the data definition unit 1102) in the data definition. Thereby, although a specific example will be described later, a selection column whose display name is “select storage folder” is displayed at the second position on the application screen.

Next, the processing contents and processing content of the application information 1000 _{and second} application information 1000 _1, in FIGS 8 (a) and 8 (b). The processing contents describe a series of processings requested to the document service unit 150 and the storage service cooperation unit 160 in order to realize a service provided by the service providing system 10. For example, the processing content illustrated in FIG. 8A includes a series of processing for realizing the scan delivery service according to the present embodiment (that is, the storage service A is designated after OCR processing of the scanned electronic file). A series of processes to be distributed to a folder). 8B includes a series of processes for realizing the cloud print service according to the present embodiment (that is, after converting an electronic file acquired from the storage service A into print data, A series of processing to be transmitted to the forming apparatus 20) is described. Details of these processing contents will be described later.

  As described above, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment has the application information 1000 in which the screen definition for displaying the application screen on the image forming apparatus 20 and the series of processing contents for realizing the service are described. Use to provide services. For this reason, when adding a service provided by the service providing system 10, the application information 1000 may be added to the application information storage unit 190. Further, as described above, the application information 1000 can be added simply by describing the screen definition and the processing content as described above. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the development man-hour associated with the addition / change of the service, and it is possible to easily add / change the service by a third vendor, for example.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

≪Overall processing of scan delivery service≫
First, an overall process when the user of the image forming apparatus 20 uses the scan distribution service according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of overall processing of the scan delivery service according to the first embodiment.

  First, the user of the image forming apparatus 20 uses the browser 210 to perform an operation for acquiring a list of services provided by the service providing system 10. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 transmits a service list acquisition request to the service processing unit 110 of the service providing system 10 (step S901). When receiving the acquisition request, the application management unit 120 of the service processing unit 110 transmits a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 to the image forming apparatus 20. As a result, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 displays a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20. The service list includes the service name of the service provided by the service providing system 10 and the application ID of the application information 1000 for realizing the service.

The user selects a service that the user desires to use from a list of services displayed on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20. Then, the browser 210 transmits the application ID of the application information 1000 for realizing the selected service to the application management unit 120 (step S902). Here, it is assumed that the use of the service name “scan delivery service” is selected by the user. Therefore, the browser 210 transmits the application ID of the application information 1000 ₁ "app001" to the application management unit 120.

The application management unit 120 generates the application screen of the HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000 ₁ app ID "app001" received from the browser 210, sends to the browser 210.

  Upon receiving the application screen from the application management unit 120, the browser 210 requests the data I / F unit 140 to acquire display information (step S903). Here, the display information is, for example, each selection element in the selection field of the application screen. In other words, in the present embodiment, the browser 210 requests the data I / F unit 140 to obtain a list of folders of the storage service A that is a delivery destination (storage destination) of scan delivery. Such a request is sent to the URL “http://sample.xxx.co.jp/service-a/data” defined in “data_source” described in the data definition unit 1102 in FIG. This can be done by sending an HTTP request to “/ folders”. In the URL, the “http://sample.xxx.co.jp” portion is the host name of the service providing system 10 and the “/ service-a / data / folders” portion is in the storage service cooperation unit 160. API (ie, the API shown in FIG. 5) is designated.

Next, when receiving a display information acquisition request from the browser 210, the data I / F unit 140 transmits the request to the data processing unit 180 of the corresponding storage service cooperation unit 160 (step S904). In this embodiment, the data I / F unit 140 sends the request to the data processing unit 180 ₁ of the storage service A cooperation unit 160 ₁ based on “service-a” (storage service name) included in the URL. Send.

When receiving a request from the data I / F unit 140, the data processing unit 180 transmits a corresponding processing request to the external storage system 30 based on the URL included in the request (step S905). That is, the data processing unit 180 uses the API defined in the common I / F 181 or the specific I / F 182 based on the URL included in the request received from the data I / F unit 140, and the corresponding external storage system. 30 is requested for processing. In the present embodiment, based on “/ service-a / data / folders” included in the URL, the data processing unit 180 uses the API defined in the common I / F 181 to store a folder list in the storage service A. Request acquisition. Then, the browser 210 via the storage service A linkage unit 160 _1, to receive the folder list. The folder list is information such as the folder name and folder ID of the storage service A that is a candidate for the storage destination of the electronic file in the scan distribution service of this embodiment.

  Next, the browser 210 displays an application screen 2000 as shown in FIG. 10A on the operation panel 22 based on the application screen and folder list received from the application management unit 120 in step S902 (step S906). .

Here, the application screen 2000 for using the scan delivery service shown in FIG. 10A includes a file name input field 2001, a save destination folder selection field 2002, and a scan execution button 2003. Among these, the file name input field 2001 and the save destination folder selection field 2002 are described in HTML source codes 2101 and 2102 as shown in FIG. 10B. Such HTML source codes 2101 and 2102 are generated by the application management unit 120 based on the data definition units 1101 and 1102 shown in FIG. 6A and the layout definition units 1301 and 1302 shown in FIG. . However, the setting value of “option” specified in the HTML source code 2102 is set by the browser 210 based on the folder list acquired from the external storage system 30. Thus, the application window 2000, to the generated HTML in the application management unit 120 based on the screen definition of the application information 1000 _1, is generated by setting the information of the folder list acquired from the external storage system 30 ₁ The

  Next, the user inputs a desired file name in the file name input field 2001 on the application screen 2000 in FIG. 10A and selects a desired storage destination folder from the storage folder selection field 2002. Then, an original is set on the scanner 26 of the image forming apparatus 20, and the scan execution button 2003 is pressed (step S907). Here, it is assumed that the user inputs the file name “test” in the file name input field 2001, selects “FolderB” from the save destination folder selection field 2002, and presses the scan execution button 2003. As a result, the document is read by the scanner 26 of the image forming apparatus 20, and an electronic file with the file name “test” is generated (step S908).

  Then, the browser 210 transmits an execution request for processing of the scan delivery service to the logic processing unit 130 (step S909). Here, the execution request includes the application ID “app001”, the electronic file generated in step S908 described above, and the folder ID “folder_id_b” of the selected storage destination folder “FolderB”.

When the logic processing unit 130 receives the processing execution request, the logic processing unit 130 acquires the processing content from the application information 1000 of the application ID included in the processing execution request via the application management unit 120, and performs processing according to the processing content. Is executed (step S910). That is, in the scan delivery service according to the present embodiment, after performing the OCR process on the electronic file included in the execution request for the process, the electronic file after the OCR process is performed on the folder “FolderB” of the storage service A Is delivered (uploaded). Details of the processing in step S910 will be described later. Here, the logic processing unit 130, an electronic file after OCR process, a request for delivery execution and a folder "FolderB" folder ID "folder_id_b" of the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the Storage Service A linkage unit 160 ₁ The description will be continued as if it were sent.

Upon receiving a distribution execution request from the logic processing unit 130, the file processing unit 170 requests processing from the corresponding external storage system 30 using an API defined in the common I / F 171 or the specific I / F 172. (Step S911). Specifically, in the present embodiment, by using the API "/ service-a / process / folder" to save the file in the storage service A that is defined in a common I / F171 ₁ file processing unit 170 ₁ The electronic file is distributed (uploaded) to the folder “FolderB”. When the upload of the electronic file is completed, the processing result is displayed on the browser 210. Thereby, the scan delivery service according to the present embodiment is completed.

≪Process from OCR to delivery execution≫
Next, details of the processing in step S910 in FIG. 9 will be described. This process is mainly executed by the logic processing unit 130. Therefore, before describing the details of the processing in step S910 of FIG. 9, the detailed processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130 will be described. FIG. 11 is a processing block diagram of an example of the logic processing unit according to the first embodiment. The logic processing unit 130 includes a flow execution unit 131, a component management unit 132, a component group 133, a type conversion management unit 134, and a type conversion group 135. The logic processing unit 130 uses the type conversion table 3000.

  When the flow execution unit 131 receives a scan distribution service processing execution request from the browser 210, the flow execution unit 131 acquires processing content from the application information 1000 via the application management unit 120. And the flow execution part 131 requests | requires execution of a process with respect to a component according to the acquired process content. Here, the component is a program (module) for executing various processes, and is defined by, for example, a class or a function.

  The component management unit 132 generates a component in response to a request from the flow execution unit 131. The generation of a component means that, for example, a component defined by a class is expanded on a memory (for example, the RAM 14).

  The component group 133 is a set of components. The component group 133 includes a distribution component 1331 for distributing an electronic file to the external storage system 30 and an acquisition component 1332 for acquiring an electronic file from the external storage system 30. The component group 133 includes an OCR component 1333 for performing OCR processing on the electronic file, and a print conversion component 1334 for converting the electronic file into print data.

  Further, each of these components has a component common I / F 1330. The component common I / F 1330 is an API commonly defined for each component, and includes an API for generating a component and an API for requesting the component to execute processing. As described above, by causing each component to have the component common I / F 1330, it is possible to localize the influence caused by the addition of the component. In other words, components can be added without affecting the flow execution unit 131 and the component management unit 132. Thereby, the man-hour required for development, such as addition of a component, can be reduced.

  The type conversion management unit 134 manages type conversion of data types. Here, the data type that each component can handle is determined in advance. Therefore, the type conversion management unit 134 generates a type conversion defined in the type conversion group 135 with reference to the type conversion table 3000 as illustrated in FIG. 12 in response to a request from the component. Then, the type conversion management unit 134 requests execution of the type conversion process for the generated type conversion. Here, the type conversion is a program (module) for executing a data type type conversion process, and is defined by, for example, a class or a function.

  The generation of type conversion means that, for example, type conversion defined by a class is expanded on a memory (for example, RAM 14). The data type includes, for example, a data type “InputStream” indicating stream data, “LocalFilePath” indicating the path (address) of the electronic file stored in the storage device, etc., “File” indicating the entity of the electronic file, etc. Is mentioned.

  The type conversion group 135 is a set of type conversions. The type conversion group 135 includes a first type conversion 1351 that converts the data type “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath”, a second type conversion 1352 that converts “LocalFilePath” to “File”, and the like.

  Further, each type conversion has a type conversion common I / F 1350. The type conversion common I / F 1350 is an API commonly defined for each type conversion, and includes an API for generating type conversion and an API for requesting execution of processing for type conversion. It is. In this way, by making each type conversion have the type conversion common I / F 1350, it is possible to localize the influence accompanying the addition of the type conversion. In other words, components can be added without affecting the type conversion management unit 134. Thereby, the man-hour required for development, such as addition of type conversion, can be reduced.

  Next, details of the processing in step S910 in FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing from OCR to distribution execution according to the first embodiment.

  First, the flow execution unit 131 receives an execution request for processing of the scan distribution service from the browser 210 (step S1301). Here, the execution request includes the application ID “app001”, the electronic file generated in step S908 of FIG. 9, and the folder ID (save destination) of the selected save destination folder “FolderB”. Here, it is assumed that the electronic file is passed from the browser 210 as the data type “InputStream” (that is, stream data).

When the flow execution unit 131 accepts the execution request, the flow execution unit 131 requests the application management unit 120 to acquire processing contents (step S1302). Here, the process ID acquisition request includes the application ID “app001”. The flow execution unit 131 acquires the processing contents included from the application management unit 120 to the application information 1000 ₁ corresponding to the application ID "app001". That is, the flow execution unit 131 acquires the processing content shown in FIG.

  The flow execution unit 131 requests the component management unit 132 to acquire a component according to the acquired processing content (step S1303). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131 specifies “.to (“ process: ocr ”)” specified after “From (“ file: input ”)” in the processing content illustrated in FIG. Based on the above, the component management unit 132 is requested to acquire the OCR component 1333.

  Upon receiving the acquisition request for the OCR component 1333, the component management unit 132 generates the OCR component 1333 (step S1304). The generation of the OCR component 1333 can be performed using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I / F 1330. When the OCR component 1333 is generated, the component management unit 132 returns the OCR component 1333 to the flow execution unit 131. For example, the component management unit 132 returns the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the OCR component 1333 is expanded to the flow execution unit 131.

  The flow execution unit 131 requests the generated OCR component 1333 to execute processing by specifying data (step S1305). Note that the data specified here is an electronic file passed from the browser 210 with the data type “InputStream”. That is, the flow execution unit 131 simply passes the electronic file passed from the browser 210 as the data type “InputStream” as “data” (without being aware of the data type) to the OCR component 1333 to request execution of the process. . In FIG. 13, an electronic file or the like passed without being aware of the data type is simply represented as “data”.

  The OCR component 1333 requests type conversion from the type conversion management unit 134 (step S1306). Here, the type conversion request includes data and designation of “LocalFilePath” indicating a data type that can be handled by the OCR component 1333.

  The type conversion management unit 134 checks whether or not the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request matches the designated data type (step S1307). Here, since the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is “InputStream”, and the specified data type is “LocalFilePath”, it is determined that they do not match.

  Then, the type conversion management unit 134 refers to the type conversion table 3000 and specifies type conversion for converting “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (here, the first type conversion 1351 is specified). ), The specified type conversion is generated (step S1308).

  Then, the type conversion management unit 134 requests the generated first type conversion 1351 to specify the data and execute the type conversion process (step S1309). Then, the first type conversion 1351 converts the data type of the designated data from “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (step S1310), and returns the converted data to the type conversion management unit 134. Thereafter, the type conversion management unit 134 transmits the data after the type conversion to the OCR component 1333 (step S1311).

  When receiving the data after the type conversion, the OCR component 1333 executes processing (step S1312). That is, the OCR process is executed on the electronic file indicated by the data type “LocalFilePath” (ie, path or address). More specifically, the OCR component 1333 requests processing from the OCR processing 151 of the document service unit 150, and the OCR processing 151 executes processing on the electronic file. Then, the OCR component 1333 returns data to the flow execution unit 131. Here, the returned data is a path or address indicating the electronic file after the OCR processing (that is, the data type of the returned data is “LocalFilePath”).

  Next, the flow execution unit 131 requests the component management unit 132 to acquire a component according to the acquired processing content (step S1313). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131 executes “.to (“ storage: send_to_folder? Type ”specified after“ .to (“process: ocr”) ”in the processing content illustrated in FIG. = service-a ")", the component management unit 132 is requested to acquire the distribution component 1331. Here, the portion of “? Type = service-a” in the designated processing content is an optional parameter, and the storage service to which data is uploaded by the processing of the distribution component 1331 is “storage service A”. It is shown that. In addition, here, the storage destination (folder ID of the storage destination folder) included in the execution request of step S1301 is added as an optional parameter to the specified processing content, and “.to (” storage: send_to_folder type = service-a & targetfolder = folder_id_b ")". Similarly, a file name may be further added as an optional parameter to obtain “.to (“ storage: send_to_folder? Type = service-a & targetfolder = folder_id_b & filename = test.pdf ”)”.

  When the component management unit 132 receives the acquisition request for the distribution component 1331, the component management unit 132 generates the distribution component 1331 (step S1314). The distribution component 1331 can be generated using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I / F 1330. Then, when the distribution component 1331 is generated, the component management unit 132 returns the distribution component 1331 to the flow execution unit 131. For example, the component management unit 132 returns the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the distribution component 1331 is expanded to the flow execution unit 131.

  The flow execution unit 131 requests the generated distribution component 1331 to execute processing by designating data (step S1315). Note that the data type of the data specified here is “LocalFilePath”.

  The distribution component 1331 requests the type conversion management unit 134 for type conversion (step S1316). Here, the type conversion request includes data and designation of “LocalFilePath” indicating a data type that can be handled by the distribution component 1331.

  The type conversion management unit 134 checks whether or not the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request matches the designated data type (step S1317). Here, since the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is “LocalFilePath” and the specified data type is also “LocalFilePath”, it is determined that they match. Then, the type conversion management unit 134 transmits the data included in the type conversion request to the distribution component 1331 as it is (step S1318). As described above, when both data types match in the data type check (processing in step S1317), the type conversion management unit 134 does not generate a type conversion.

Upon receiving data from the type conversion management unit 134, the distribution component 1331 executes processing (step S1319). That is, in this embodiment, the distribution component 1331, the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the Storage Service A linkage unit 160 _1, using the API of the file storage that is defined as a common I / F171 _1, the distribution of the data Request execution. More specifically, the distribution component 1331 sends “service-a / process / folder” as an API to the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the storage service A cooperation unit 160 ₁ as shown in FIG. To request data distribution execution. As a result, the electronic file having the file name “test” (the electronic file obtained by performing the OCR process on the electronic file generated by the scan) is stored in the folder “FolderB” of the storage service A. Then, the processing result is transmitted to the browser 210 via the flow execution unit 131.

≪Overall processing of cloud print service≫
Next, an overall process when the user of the image forming apparatus 20 uses the cloud print service according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of overall processing of the cloud print service according to the first embodiment.

  First, the user of the image forming apparatus 20 uses the browser 210 to perform an operation for acquiring a list of services provided by the service providing system 10. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 transmits a service list acquisition request to the service processing unit 110 of the service providing system 10 (step S1401). When receiving the acquisition request, the application management unit 120 of the service processing unit 110 transmits a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 to the image forming apparatus 20.

The user selects a service that the user desires to use from a list of services displayed on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20. Then, the browser 210 transmits the application ID of the application information 1000 for realizing the selected service to the application management unit 120 (step S1402). Here, it is assumed that the use of the service name “cloud print service” is selected by the user. Therefore, the browser 210 transmits the application ID of the application information 1000 ₂ "app002" to the application management unit 120.

The application management unit 120 generates the application screen in HTML format based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000 _{and second} application ID "app002" received from the browser 210, sends to the browser 210.

  Upon receiving the application screen from the application management unit 120, the browser 210 requests the data I / F unit 140 to acquire display information (step S1403). In the present embodiment, the browser 210 requests the data I / F unit 140 to obtain a list of electronic files of the storage service A that is a candidate for printing using the cloud print service. Such a request is sent to the URL “http://sample.xxx.co.jp/service-a/data” defined in “data_source” described in the data definition unit 1201 in FIG. This can be done by sending an HTTP request to “/ files”.

  Next, when receiving a display information acquisition request from the browser 210, the data I / F unit 140 transmits the request to the data processing unit 180 of the corresponding storage service cooperation unit 160 (step S1404).

When receiving a request from the data I / F unit 140, the data processing unit 180 transmits a corresponding processing request to the external storage system 30 based on the URL included in the request (step S1405). In the present embodiment, the data processing unit 180 requests the storage service A to obtain a file list based on “/ service-a / data / files” included in the URL. Then, the browser 210 via the storage service A linkage unit 160 _1, receives the file list. The file list is information such as the file name and file ID of an electronic file stored in the storage service A that is a candidate for printing in the cloud print service of the present embodiment.

  Next, the browser 210 displays an application screen 4000 as shown in FIG. 15A on the operation panel 22 based on the application screen and file list received from the application management unit 120 in step S1402 (step S1406). .

  Here, the application screen 4000 for using the cloud print service shown in FIG. 15A includes a file selection field 4001 for selecting a file to be printed and a print execution button 4002. Among these, the file selection field 4001 is described in HTML source code 4101 as shown in FIG. Such HTML source code 4101 is generated by the application management unit 120 based on the data definition unit 1201 shown in FIG. 6B and the layout definition unit 1401 shown in FIG. However, the setting value of “option” specified in the HTML source code 4101 is set by the browser 210 based on the file list acquired from the external storage system 30.

  Next, the user selects a desired file from the file selection field 4001 on the application screen 4000 in FIG. 15A and presses the print execution button 4002 (step S1407). Here, it is assumed that the user selects “FileA” from the file selection field 4001 and presses the print execution button 4002.

  Then, the browser 210 transmits a cloud print service process execution request to the logic processing unit 130 (step S1408). Here, the execution request includes the application ID “app002” and the file ID “file_id_a” of the file “FileA” selected from the file selection field 4001.

When the logic processing unit 130 receives the processing execution request, the logic processing unit 130 acquires the processing content from the application information 1000 of the application ID included in the processing execution request via the application management unit 120, and performs processing according to the processing content. Is executed (step S1409). That is, in the cloud print service according to the present embodiment, after acquiring (downloading) an electronic file to be printed from the storage service A, the electronic file is converted into print data that can be printed by the image forming apparatus 20 (print conversion). . Details of the processing in step S1409 will be described later. Here, the logic processing unit 130, a request for file acquisition execution including the file ID "file_id_a" File "FileA", the description will be continued assuming that sent the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the Storage Service A linkage unit 160 _1.

Upon receiving a file acquisition execution request from the logic processing unit 130, the file processing unit 170 requests processing from the corresponding external storage system 30 using the API defined in the common I / F 171 or the specific I / F 172. (Step S1410). Specifically, in the present embodiment, by using the API "/ service-a / process / file" for acquiring the file to the storage service A that is defined in a common I / F171 ₁ file processing unit 170 ₁ , Get (download) file "FileA". Then, the logic processing unit 130 converts the acquired file “FileA” into print data having a data format that can be printed by the image forming apparatus 20, and then transmits the print data to the image forming apparatus 20.

  When receiving the print data from the logic processing unit 130, the printer 25 of the image forming apparatus 20 prints the print data (step S1411). Thereby, the cloud print service according to the present embodiment is completed.

≪Process from file acquisition execution to print conversion≫
Next, details of the processing in step S1409 of FIG. 14 will be described. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing from file acquisition to print conversion according to the first embodiment.

  First, the flow execution unit 131 receives a request to execute a cloud print service process from the browser 210 (step S1601). Here, the execution request includes the application ID “app002” and the file ID “file_id_a” of the selected file to be printed. Here, it is assumed that the file ID is passed from the browser 210 as the data type “InputStream” (that is, stream data).

When the flow execution unit 131 accepts the execution request, the flow execution unit 131 requests the application management unit 120 to acquire processing contents (step S1602). Here, the processing content acquisition request includes the application ID “app002”. The flow execution unit 131 acquires the processing content included in the application information 1000 ₂ corresponding the application management unit 120 to the application ID "app002". That is, the flow execution unit 131 acquires the processing content illustrated in FIG.

  The flow execution unit 131 requests the component management unit 132 to acquire a component according to the acquired processing content (step S1603). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131 executes “.to (“ storage: receive_file? Type = ”specified next to“ From (“file: input”) ”in the processing content illustrated in FIG. Based on service-a ")", the component management unit 132 is requested to acquire the acquisition component 1332. Here, the part of “? Type = service-a” in the designated processing content is an optional parameter, and the acquisition (download) destination storage service of the processing of the acquisition component 1332 is “storage service A”. ". Here, the file ID of “FileA”, which is the file to be printed included in the execution request of step S1601, is added as an optional parameter to the specified processing content, and “.to (“ storage ” : receive_file? type = service-a & targetfile = file_id_a ")".

  When the component management unit 132 receives an acquisition request for the acquisition component 1332, the component management unit 132 generates the acquisition component 1332 (step S 1604). The acquisition component 1332 can be generated using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I / F 1330. When the acquisition component 1332 is generated, the component management unit 132 returns the acquisition component 1332 to the flow execution unit 131. For example, the component management unit 132 returns the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the OCR component 1333 is expanded to the flow execution unit 131.

  The flow execution unit 131 requests the generated acquisition component 1332 to execute processing by specifying data (step S1605). Note that the data specified here is the file ID of the file to be printed passed from the browser 210 with the data type “InputStream”. That is, the flow execution unit 131 simply passes the file ID passed from the browser 210 as the data type “InputStream” as “data” (without regard to the data type) to the acquisition component 1332 to request execution of the process. . In FIG. 16, a file ID, an electronic file, or the like passed without being aware of the data type is simply represented as “data”.

  The acquisition component 1332 requests the type conversion management unit 134 to perform type conversion (step S1606). Here, the type conversion request includes data and designation of “LocalFilePath” indicating a data type that can be handled by the acquisition component 1332.

  The type conversion management unit 134 checks whether or not the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request matches the designated data type (step S1607). Here, since the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is “InputStream”, and the specified data type is “LocalFilePath”, it is determined that they do not match.

  Then, the type conversion management unit 134 refers to the type conversion table 3000 and specifies type conversion for converting “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (here, the first type conversion 1351 is specified). ), The specified type conversion is generated (step S1608).

  Then, the type conversion management unit 134 requests the generated first type conversion 1351 to execute type conversion processing by specifying data (step S1609). Then, the first type conversion 1351 converts the data type of the designated data from “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (step S1610), and returns the converted data to the type conversion management unit 134. Thereafter, the type conversion management unit 134 transmits the data after the type conversion to the acquisition component 1332 (step S1611).

When the acquisition component 1332 receives the data after type conversion, the acquisition component 1332 executes processing (step S1612). That is, in this embodiment, the acquisition component 1332, the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the Storage Service A linkage unit 160 _1, using the API of the file acquisition defined as a common I / F171 _1, file acquisition run Request. More specifically, the acquisition component 1332 sends “service-a / process / file” as an API to the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the storage service A cooperation unit 160 ₁ as shown in FIG. To request execution of file acquisition. As a result, the electronic file having the file ID “file_id_a” is acquired (downloaded) from the storage service A. The electronic file acquired by the acquisition component 1332 is transmitted to the flow execution unit 131 as data.

  Next, the flow execution unit 131 requests the component management unit 132 to acquire a component according to the acquired processing content (step S1613). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131 specifies “.to (” storage: receive_file? Type = service-a ”)” of the processing content shown in FIG. Based on “process: conv”), the component management unit 132 is requested to acquire the print conversion component 1334.

  Upon receiving the print conversion component 1334 acquisition request, the component management unit 132 generates the print conversion component 1334 (step S1614). The print conversion component 1334 can be generated using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I / F 1330. When the print conversion component 1334 is generated, the component management unit 132 returns the print conversion component 1334 to the flow execution unit 131. For example, the component management unit 132 returns the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the print conversion component 1334 is expanded to the flow execution unit 131.

  The flow execution unit 131 requests the generated print conversion component 1334 to execute processing by specifying data (step S1615). Note that the data type of the data specified here is “LocalFilePath”.

  The print conversion component 1334 requests the type conversion management unit 134 to perform type conversion (step S1616). Here, the type conversion request includes data and designation of “File” indicating a data type that can be handled by the print conversion component 1334.

  The type conversion management unit 134 checks whether or not the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request matches the designated data type (step S1617). Here, the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is “LocalFilePath”, while the specified data type is “File”, and therefore it is determined that they do not match.

  Then, the type conversion management unit 134 refers to the type conversion table 3000 and specifies type conversion for converting “LocalFilePath” to “File” (here, the second type conversion 1352 is specified). ), The specified type conversion is generated (step S1618).

  Then, the type conversion management unit 134 requests the generated second type conversion 1352 to specify the data and execute the type conversion process (step S1619). Then, the second type conversion 1352 converts the data type of the designated data from “LocalFilePath” to “File” (step S1620), and returns the converted data to the type conversion management unit 134. Thereafter, the type conversion management unit 134 transmits the data after the type conversion to the print conversion component 1334 (step S1621).

  When the print conversion component 1334 receives the data after the type conversion, the print conversion component 1334 executes the process (step S1622). That is, a process of converting data of the data type “File” (that is, an electronic file) into print data that is a data format printable by the image forming apparatus 20 is executed. More specifically, the print conversion component 1334 requests the print conversion processing 152 of the document service unit 150 to perform processing, and the print conversion processing 152 executes processing on the data (electronic file). Then, the print conversion component 1334 returns print data to the image forming apparatus 20 via the flow execution unit 131.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, an information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. The service providing system 10 included in the information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it also receives a request from the image forming apparatus 20 in which the browser 210 is not installed. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used for the portions having substantially the same functions as those in the first embodiment and the portions for performing the same processing, and the description thereof is omitted.

<Software configuration>
The information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment can be realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 17, for example. FIG. 17 is a processing block diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the second embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 20 includes a browser 210 or a client application 220 realized by the CPU 211 or the like, for example. Here, it is assumed that the browser 210 can interpret HTML, while the client application 220 cannot interpret HTML. Therefore, the client application 220 according to the present embodiment generates and displays an application screen based on the data definition received from the service providing system 10.

  The service providing system 10 is different from the first embodiment in that the function of the application management unit 120A is different and that the request determination unit 121 is further included.

  The request determination unit 121 determines whether the transmission source is the browser 210 or the client application 220 based on the information received from the image forming apparatus 20.

  The application management unit 120 </ b> A returns an application screen or data definition to the image forming apparatus 20 according to the determination result of the request determination unit 121. That is, the application management unit 120A returns a data definition to the image forming apparatus 20 when the request determination unit 121 determines that the transmission source is the client application 220.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, in the entire process of the scan delivery service described with reference to FIG. 9 and the entire process of the cloud print service described with reference to FIG. Different. Therefore, in the second embodiment, processing from acquisition of a service list to display of an application screen will be described. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of display processing of an application screen according to the second embodiment.

  First, the user of the image forming apparatus 20 performs an operation for acquiring a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 using the browser 210 or the client application 220 (step S1801). Then, the request determination unit 121 of the service processing unit 110 acquires a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 from the application management unit 120A (step S1802) and transmits the list to the image forming apparatus 20. As a result, a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 is displayed on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20.

  The user selects a service that the user desires to use from a list of services displayed on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20. Then, the browser 210 or the client application 220 transmits the application ID of the application information 1000 for realizing the selected service to the request determination unit 121 (step S1803).

  Then, the request determination unit 121 determines whether the transmission source is the browser 210 or the client application 220 (step S1804). The request determination unit 121 can determine this based on, for example, User Agent. Thereafter, when the request determination unit 121 determines that the transmission source is the browser 210, the process of step S1805 is executed. On the other hand, when the transmission source is determined to be the client application 220, the processing of steps S1806 and S1807 is performed. Processing is executed.

  When the request determination unit 121 determines that the transmission source is the browser 210, the request determination unit 121 requests the application management unit 120A to acquire an HTML application screen (step S1805). The request includes the application ID of the application information 1000 for realizing the service selected in step S1803. Then, the application management unit 121A generates an HTML-format application screen based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000 of the application ID included in the request, and transmits it to the browser 210 via the request determination unit 121.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the transmission source is the client application 220, the request determination unit 121 requests the application management unit 120A to acquire a data definition in a general-purpose data format such as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format. (Step S1806). The request includes the application ID of the application information 1000 for realizing the service selected in step S1803. Then, the application management unit 121A transmits the data definition included in the application information 1000 of the application ID included in the request to the client application 220 in the JSON format via the request determination unit 121. As described above, when the client application 220 that cannot interpret HTML is installed in the image forming apparatus 20, the service providing system 10 returns only the data definition included in the screen definition. Then, the client application 220 of the image forming apparatus 20 generates an application screen based on the received JSON format data definition (step S1807).

  Then, the image forming apparatus 20 displays an application screen on the operation panel 22 (step S1808). If the browser 210 is installed in the image forming apparatus 20, the HTML application screen received in step S1805 is displayed. On the other hand, when the client application 220 is installed in the image forming apparatus 20, the application screen generated in step S1807 is displayed. By doing so, the browser 210 is not necessarily installed in the image forming apparatus 20. Therefore, the user can mount an arbitrary client application 220 for using the service provided by the service providing system 10 on the image forming apparatus 20.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, an information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment will be described. The information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a service realized by processing contents using components developed by a third vendor or the like can be provided. The information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a user can create processing contents using the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20.

  Hereinafter, a component developed by a third vendor or the like is referred to as an “external component”, and a component that is incorporated in advance in the service providing system 10 (that is, the component described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment). Distinguish it as “internal component”. Furthermore, when the internal component and the external component are not distinguished, they are simply expressed as “component”.

  In the following description, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used for the portions having substantially the same functions as those in the first embodiment and the portions for performing the same processing, and the description thereof is omitted.

<System configuration>
FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the third embodiment. The service providing environment E1 of the information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 19 includes an external component management device 40.

  The external component management device 40 is realized by one or more information processing devices and manages external components. As described above, in the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the external component is managed by the external component management device 40 which is a device different from the service providing system 10. For this reason, for example, the influence when the external component has a serious bug can be localized in the external component management apparatus 40.

Although FIG. 19 shows an example in which one external component management device 40 is included in the service providing environment E1, the present invention is not limited to this. The service providing environment E1 may include a plurality of external component management devices 40. For example, the service to offer environment E1, A company may include external component management apparatus 40 ₂ and the like for managing the external components external component management device 40 _{1, B} developed by the company that manages the external component developed .

<Software configuration>
The information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment can be realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 20, for example. FIG. 20 is a processing block diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the third embodiment.

  The service processing unit 110 of the service providing system 10 includes an application management unit 120A, a logic processing unit 130A, and a processing content creation unit 122.

  The processing content creation unit 122 creates a screen (processing content creation screen) for creating processing content in response to a request from the browser 210.

  In response to a request from the processing content creation unit 122, the application management unit 120A causes the application information storage unit 190 to store the processing content created on the processing content creation screen. Thereby, a service realized by a series of processes indicated by the process contents created by the user is added.

  When there is a process executed by an external component in a series of processes indicated by the processing content acquired from the application management unit 120A, the logic processing unit 130A requests the external component processing unit 410 to execute the process. Detailed processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130A will be described later.

  The external component management device 40 includes an external component processing unit 410. The external component processing unit 41 is realized by a CPU provided in the external component management device 40, for example.

  The external component processing unit 410 executes an external component in response to a request from the logic processing unit 130A. Detailed processing blocks of the external component processing unit 410 will be described later.

  Next, detailed processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130A according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 21 is a processing block diagram of an example of a logic processing unit according to the third embodiment.

  The logic processing unit 130A according to the present embodiment includes a flow execution unit 131A and a component management unit 132A. In addition, the component group 133 of the logic processing unit 130A according to the present embodiment includes an external component cooperation component 1335. Furthermore, the logic processing unit 130A according to the present embodiment uses the component management table 5000.

  The flow execution unit 131A requests the component management unit 132A to acquire a component according to the processing content acquired from the application management unit 120A. At this time, the flow execution unit 131A requests acquisition of a component by designating a component name to be described later based on the processing content.

  In response to a request from the flow execution unit 131A, the component management unit 132A refers to the component management table 5000 and determines whether the component related to the request is an internal component or an external component. Then, the component management unit 132A generates an external component cooperation component 1335 when the component related to the request is an external component.

  The external component cooperation component 1335 included in the component group 133 is a component for performing processing cooperation with the external component processing unit 410 of the external component management apparatus 40. The external component cooperation component 1335 requests the external component processing unit 410 to execute processing of the external component. Note that the external component cooperation component 1335 includes a component common I / F 1330.

  Here, the component management table 5000 has data items as shown in FIG. FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining an example of the component management table.

  The component management table 5000 shown in FIG. 22 has a component ID, a component name, and a host name as data items. The component ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the component. The component name is the name of the component. In the present embodiment, the component name is uniquely assigned to the component.

  The host name is information for identifying a device that manages the component. That is, for example, the host name “localhost” is associated with the internal component, and is managed by the service providing system 10. On the other hand, for example, a host name “server2.com” is associated with the external component, which indicates that the external component is managed by the external component management apparatus 40 of the host name.

  In this way, in the component management table 5000, the host name of the device that manages the component is associated with each component. The processing content creation unit 122 creates a processing content creation screen by acquiring a list of components from the component management table 5000.

  Next, detailed processing blocks of the external component processing unit 410 will be described. FIG. 23 is a processing block diagram of an example of an external component processing unit according to the third embodiment.

  The external component processing unit 410 includes a request reception unit 411, a component management unit 412, an external component group 413, a type conversion management unit 414, and a type conversion group 415. In addition, the external component processing unit 410 uses the type conversion table 6000.

  Upon receiving a request from the logic processing unit 130A, the request receiving unit 411 requests the component management unit 412 to generate an external component. Then, when an external component is generated, the request reception unit 411 requests the external component to execute processing.

  The component management unit 412 generates an external component in response to a request from the request reception unit 411.

  The external component group 413 is a set of external components. The external component group 413 includes various external components developed by a third vendor or the like. For example, the external component group 413 includes a distribution α component 4131 for distributing an electronic file to the external storage system 30 and a print conversion β component 4132 for converting the electronic file into print data.

  Each of these external components has a component common I / F 4130. The component common I / F 4130 is an API commonly defined for each external component, and includes an API for generating an external component and an API for requesting execution of processing to the external component. .

  The type conversion management unit 414 manages data type conversion. Here, the data types that can be handled by the external components are determined in advance. Therefore, the type conversion management unit 414 generates a type conversion defined in the type conversion group 415 with reference to the type conversion table 6000 shown in FIG. 24 in response to a request from the external component. Then, the type conversion management unit 414 requests execution of type conversion processing for the generated type conversion.

  The type conversion group 415 is a set of type conversions. The type conversion group 415 includes a first type conversion 4151 for converting the data type “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath”, a second type conversion 4142 for converting “LocalFilePath” to “File”, and the like.

  Each type conversion has a type conversion common I / F 4150. The type conversion common I / F 4150 is an API commonly defined for each type conversion, and includes an API for generating type conversion and an API for requesting execution of processing for type conversion. It is.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which processing executed by an external component is included in a series of processing for realizing a scan distribution service. That is, the scan distribution service according to the present embodiment is realized by a series of processes including processes executed by internal components and processes executed by external components.

≪Process from OCR to delivery execution≫
FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing from OCR to distribution execution according to the third embodiment. First, the processing in step S2501 is the same as the processing in step S1301 described with reference to FIG.

  When the flow execution unit 131A receives a scan delivery service execution request from the browser 210, the flow execution unit 131A requests the application management unit 120A to acquire processing content (step S2502). Here, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the processing content illustrated in FIG. 26 is acquired by the flow execution unit 131A.

  The flow execution unit 131A requests the component management unit 132A to acquire a component according to the acquired processing content (step S2503). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131 is based on “.to (“ process: ocr ”)” specified next to “From (“ file: input ”)” in the processing content shown in FIG. The component management unit 132A is requested to acquire a component whose component name is “ocr”.

  Upon receiving the component acquisition request, the component management unit 132A refers to the component management table 5000 and determines whether the component related to the acquisition request is an internal component or an external component (step S2504).

  That is, the component management unit 132A determines whether or not the host name associated with the component name included in the acquisition request is “localhost” in the component management table 5000. If the host name is “localhost”, the component management unit 132A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an internal component. On the other hand, when the host name is not “localhost”, the component management unit 132A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an external component.

  Here, in the component management table 5000, the host name associated with the component name “ocr” is “localhost”. Therefore, the component management unit 132A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an internal component.

  When it is determined that the component related to the component acquisition request is an internal component, the component management unit 132A generates an internal component corresponding to the component name included in the acquisition request (step S2505). That is, the component management unit 132A generates an OCR component 1333 corresponding to the component name “ocr” included in the acquisition request.

  Then, the component management unit 132A returns the generated OCR component 1333 to the flow execution unit 131A.

  The subsequent processes in steps S2506 to S2513 are the same as the processes in steps S1305 to S1312 described with reference to FIG.

  Next, the flow execution unit 131A requests the component management unit 132A to acquire a component according to the acquired processing content (step S2514). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131A performs “.to (“ storage: send_to_folderα? Type = service− ”specified next to“ .to (“process: ocr”) ”in the processing content illustrated in FIG. Based on b ")", the component management unit 132A is requested to acquire the component whose component name is "send_to_folderα". In addition, the part of “? Type = service-b” in the processing content specified here is an optional parameter, and the upload destination of data by the processing of the component with the component name “send_to_folderα” is “Storage Service B”. It shows that there is.

  Upon receiving the component acquisition request, the component management unit 132A refers to the component management table 5000 and determines whether the component related to the acquisition request is an internal component or an external component (step S2515).

  That is, the component management unit 132A determines whether or not the host name associated with the component name included in the acquisition request is “localhost” in the component management table 5000. If the host name is “localhost”, the component management unit 132A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an internal component. On the other hand, when the host name is not “localhost”, the component management unit 132A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an external component.

  Here, in the component management table 5000, the host name associated with the component name “send_to_folderα” is “server2.com”. Therefore, the component management unit 132A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an external component.

  When it is determined that the component related to the component acquisition request is an external component, the component management unit 132A generates the external component cooperation component 1335 (step S2516).

  As described above, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment generates the external component cooperation component 1335 when the component related to the component acquisition request is an external component.

  Then, the component management unit 132A returns the generated external component cooperation component 1335 to the flow execution unit 131A.

  The flow execution unit 131A requests the generated external component cooperation component 1335 to execute processing by specifying data (step S2517). Note that the data type of the data specified here is “LocalFilePath”.

  The external component cooperation component 1335 requests the type conversion management unit 134 to perform type conversion (step S2518). Here, the type conversion request includes data and designation of “LocalFilePath” indicating a data type that can be handled by the external component cooperation component 1335.

  The type conversion management unit 134 checks whether or not the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request matches the designated data type (step S2519). Here, since the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is “LocalFilePath” and the specified data type is also “LocalFilePath”, it is determined that they match. Then, the type conversion management unit 134 transmits the data included in the type conversion request to the external component cooperation component 1335 as it is (step S2520).

  When receiving the data from the type conversion management unit 134, the external component cooperation component 1335 executes processing (step S2521). That is, the external component cooperation component 1335 requests the external component processing unit 410 of the external component management apparatus 40 indicated by the host name “server2.com” to execute processing including the component name “send_to_folderα” and data. The execution request also includes the option parameter “? Type = service-b” indicating the upload destination storage service described above.

  Next, when receiving an execution request for processing from the external component cooperation component 1335, the external component processing unit 410 executes external component processing in response to the execution request (step S2522). Then, the external component processing unit 410 returns data indicating the processing result.

  Here, the details of the processing in step S2522 will be described. FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram of an example of external component processing according to the third embodiment.

  First, the request reception unit 411 receives a process execution request from the logic processing unit 130A (more specifically, the external component cooperation component 1335) (step S2701). The execution request includes the component name “send_to_folderα” of the external component, data, and an optional parameter “? Type = service-b”.

  If no optional parameter is specified in the processing content, the optional parameter is not included in the processing execution request. The data included in the execution request is passed as the data type “InputStream”.

  Upon receiving the process execution request, the request reception unit 411 requests the component management unit 412 to acquire the external component having the component name “send_to_folderα” included in the execution request (step S2702).

  Upon receiving the external component acquisition request, the component management unit 412 generates a distribution α component 4131 corresponding to the component name “send_to_folderα” included in the acquisition request (step S2703). The distribution α component 4131 can be generated using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I / F 4130.

  Then, the component management unit 412 returns the generated distribution α component 4131 to the request reception unit 411. For example, the component management unit 412 returns the address on the memory (for example, RAM) where the distribution α component 4131 is expanded to the request reception unit 411.

  The request reception unit 411 requests the generated distribution α component 4131 to execute processing by designating data (step S2704).

  Upon receiving the processing execution request, the distribution α component 4131 requests the type conversion management unit 414 for type conversion (step S2705). Here, the type conversion request includes data and designation of “LocalFilePath” indicating a data type that can be handled by the distribution α component 4131.

  The type conversion management unit 414 checks whether or not the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request matches the designated data type (step S2706). Since the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is “InputStream” and the specified data type is “LocalFilePath”, it is determined that they do not match.

  Then, the type conversion management unit 414 refers to the type conversion table 6000 and specifies type conversion for converting “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (here, the first type conversion 4151 is specified). ), The specified type conversion is generated (step S2707).

  The type conversion management unit 414 then requests the generated first type conversion 4151 to specify the data and execute the type conversion process (step S2708). Then, the first type conversion 4151 converts the data type of the designated data from “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (step S2709), and returns the converted data to the type conversion management unit 414.

  Thereafter, the type conversion management unit 414 transmits the data after the type conversion to the distribution α component 4131 (step S2710).

  Upon receiving data from the type conversion management unit 414, the distribution α component 4131 executes processing (step S2711). In other words, in this embodiment, the distribution α component 4131 executes data distribution to the storage service B.

Incidentally, the distribution α component 4131, not through the storage service B cooperation unit 160 _2, to deliver data to the storage service B. Thus, unlike the internal component, the external component executes various processes such as a distribution process and an OCR process without using the storage service cooperation unit 160 and the document service unit 150. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the external component may execute various types of processing by making processing requests to the storage service cooperation unit 160 and the document service unit 150 in the same manner as the internal component.

  Then, the distribution α component 4131 returns data indicating the processing result. Thereby, the scan distribution service according to the present embodiment is provided.

  As described above, when the processing content includes processing executed by the external component, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment requests the external component management apparatus 40 that manages the external component to execute the processing. Then, the external component is executed in the external component management device 40 which is a device different from the service providing system 10.

  Therefore, for example, even when a serious bug or defect exists in an external component developed by a third vendor or the like, the influence of the bug or defect can be localized in the external component management apparatus 40. In other words, the service providing system 10 can continue to provide services without being affected by bugs or malfunctions of external components.

  In this embodiment, the external component is managed by the external component management apparatus 40. However, for example, after the quality of the external component is ensured, the external component is managed by the service providing system 10. May be.

≪Processing content creation process≫
Next, for example, a process in which a user such as a developer of the application information 1000 creates processing content included in the application information 1000 will be described. FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing for creating processing content according to the third embodiment.

  First, the user of the image forming apparatus 20 uses the browser 210 to perform an operation for displaying a processing content creation screen. Then, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 requests the processing content creation unit 122 to acquire a processing content creation screen (step S2801).

  The processing content creation unit 122 acquires a component list (for example, a list of component names) from the component management table 5000, and creates a processing content creation screen 7000 as shown in FIG. 29A (step S2802). . Then, the processing content creation unit 122 returns the created processing content creation screen 7000 to the browser 210.

  Here, the processing content creation screen 7000 shown in FIG. 29A includes an application ID display column 7010, a component display column 7020, and a processing content creation column 7030.

  The application ID display field 7010 displays the application ID of the application information 1000 including the processing content to be created. This application ID may be specified by the user in step S2801, for example.

  In the component display column 7020, icons (display parts) indicating the respective components are displayed in a list. A list of icons indicating such components is created based on the component names acquired from the component management table 5000. The process content creation field 7030 is an area for the user to create process contents. For example, the process contents can be created by dragging and dropping an icon indicating a component included in the component display field 7020.

  Here, it is assumed that the user has dragged and dropped the acquisition component included in the component display field 7020 and the print conversion β component into the processing content creation field 7030 in this order using the browser 210. Then, as shown in FIG. 29B, a flow diagram 7120 schematically showing the processing content is created in the processing content creation column 7110 of the processing content creation screen 7100. A flow diagram 7120 shows the processing content of executing the print conversion β component, which is an external component, after executing the acquisition component, which is an internal component.

  Thereby, the processing content is created by the user. In addition, at this time, the user can create the processing content without being aware of whether the component that executes a series of processing included in the processing content is an internal component or an external component. Therefore, the user can easily create processing contents.

  When the processing content is created by the user, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 receives the created processing content (step S2803). Then, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 requests the processing content creation unit 122 to save the created processing content (step S2804). Note that the storage request includes the application ID and the processing content created by the user.

  When receiving the processing content storage request, the processing content creation unit 122 of the service processing unit 110 transfers the storage request to the application management unit 120A (step S2805). Next, when receiving the processing content storage request, the application management unit 120A stores the processing content included in the storage request in the application information storage unit 190 in association with the application ID (step S2806). And application management part 120A returns a preservation | save result. Thereby, the processing content created by the user is stored in the application information storage unit 190.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the service providing system 10 can provide the image forming apparatus 20 with a service linked to an external service. Further, the service providing system 10 can easily add or change the external service of the cooperation destination. Furthermore, the service providing system 10 can easily add or change a service provided to the image forming apparatus 20 (that is, add or change the application information 1000). Accordingly, the service providing system 10 according to the first embodiment can reduce the number of man-hours required for development / maintenance associated with addition / change of services.

  Furthermore, according to the information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment, the service providing system 10 can provide a service to the image forming apparatus 20 in which the browser 210 is not installed. Therefore, according to the service providing system 10 according to the second embodiment, a service can be provided to various electronic devices that are generally not equipped with a browser.

  Further, according to the information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment, an external component developed by a third vendor or the like can be managed and executed by the external component management device 40 that is a device different from the service providing system 10. it can. As a result, for example, even when the quality of the external component is not sufficient, such as when a bug or failure exists in the external component, the external component management device 40 can localize the effects associated with the bug or failure.

  Therefore, according to the information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment, for example, a situation in which the processing capability of the service providing system 10 is reduced or the service providing system 10 is stopped due to a bug or a defect of an external component. Can be prevented.

  The application information storage unit 190 is an example of a storage unit. The application management unit 120 is an example of a first transmission unit. The logic processing unit 130 is an example of a process execution unit.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 10 Service provision system 20 Image forming apparatus 30 External storage system 110 Service processing part 120 Application management part 130 Logic processing part 131 Flow execution part 132 Component management part 133 Component group 134 Type conversion management part 135 Type conversion group 140 Data I / F unit 150 Document service unit 151 OCR processing 152 Print conversion processing 160 Storage service cooperation unit 170 File processing unit 180 Data processing unit 190 Application information storage unit 1000 Application information 3000 type conversion table

JP 2014-032659 A

Claims (14)

An information processing system that includes one or more information processing apparatuses and includes a plurality of programs that respectively execute predetermined processes,
For each application that executes a series of processes using electronic data in cooperation with an external service, identification information for identifying the application, information on a series of processes for executing the series of processes in combination with the program, Storage means for associating and storing
A receiving unit that receives a request including the identification information and information related to electronic data used for the series of processes from one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing system;
The series of processes using electronic data based on information about the electronic data included in the request received by the receiving unit is stored in the storage unit in association with the identification information included in the request. An information processing system comprising: a process executing unit that executes a combination of one or more of the plurality of programs based on information related to the process. The process execution means includes
Furthermore, it has one or more type conversion means for converting the data type of the electronic data into a predetermined data type,
The series of processing using the electronic data is combined with the one or more programs and the type conversion unit based on information relating to the series of processing, and the data type of the electronic data is set by the type conversion unit. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the program is executed by executing processing after the program is converted into a predetermined data type that can be processed. The plurality of programs include a program for executing processing related to an external service,
A program for executing processing related to the external service is:
The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, comprising at least a program for executing processing for uploading electronic data to an external service and a program for executing processing for downloading electronic data from an external service. An external service cooperation unit including a common API defined in common for the plurality of external services and a unique API defined uniquely for each external service for each external service;
A program for executing processing related to the external service is:
The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein processing related to the external service is executed using the common API or the unique API. The common API is an API for using a function shared by all of the plurality of external services.
The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the unique API is an API for using a function provided by any one of the plurality of external services. A program for executing processing related to the external service is:
The process related to the external service is executed for the external service corresponding to the specified identification information by specifying the identification information of the external service in the variable part of the common API or the unique API. The information processing system described. The information processing system is connected to an external system having a plurality of external programs that respectively execute predetermined processes.
The process execution means includes
The series of processes using the electronic data is executed in combination with the one or more programs and the external program based on information regarding the series of processes. The information processing system described. The process execution means includes
Determining means for determining whether one process included in the series of processes is a process executed by the external program;
The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein when the determination unit determines that the one process is a process executed by the external program, the information processing system requests the external system to perform a process based on the external program.   9. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit a result of the series of processes executed by the process execution unit to the one device.   The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the application includes at least an application that uploads electronic data transmitted from the one device to the external service.   The information processing system according to claim 9, wherein the application includes at least an application that downloads electronic data stored in the external service and transmits the electronic data to the one device.   The information processing system according to claim 11, wherein the transmission unit transmits electronic data downloaded from the external service to the one device as a result of the series of processes. An information processing apparatus having a plurality of programs for executing predetermined processes,
For each application that executes a series of processes using electronic data in cooperation with an external service, identification information for identifying the application, information on a series of processes for executing the series of processes in combination with the program, Storage means for associating and storing
A receiving unit that receives a request including the identification information and information related to electronic data used for the series of processes from one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing apparatus;
The series of processes using electronic data based on information about the electronic data included in the request received by the receiving unit is stored in the storage unit in association with the identification information included in the request. An information processing apparatus comprising: a process execution unit that executes a combination of one or more of the plurality of programs based on information related to the process. An information processing system that includes one or more information processing apparatuses and includes a plurality of programs that respectively execute predetermined processing, and for each application that executes a series of processing using electronic data in cooperation with an external service, In an information processing method used in an information processing system having a storage unit that associates and stores identification information for identifying an application and information related to a series of processes for executing the series of processes in combination with the program,
A reception procedure for receiving a request including the identification information and information on electronic data used for the series of processes from one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing system;
The series of processes using electronic data based on information about the electronic data included in the request received by the reception procedure is stored in the storage unit in association with the identification information included in the request. And a process execution procedure for executing a combination of one or more of the plurality of programs based on information related to the process.

Images