JP2020009365A - Document management system, image forming apparatus, and document management method - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform concealment according to a user's access authority.SOLUTION: A communication control unit 114 transmits image data of a standard format document read by a scanner unit 101 to a document management server 200, and a system control unit 121 causes the document management server 200 to transmit, to the communication control unit 114, a request to transmit a selected document file and a request to transmit concealment information on a user who selects the document file. The system control unit 121 instructs, to an image processing unit 118, image processing of preventing visual recognition of a specific area to which concealment is set on the basis of the concealment information. Thus, the image processing of preventing visual recognition of the specific area can be executed on the document file on the basis of the concealment information on the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a document management system, an image forming apparatus, and a document management method suitable for concealing information.

  For example, in an environment in which an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) is connected to a document management server via a network, a document file or the like stored in the document management server by the image forming apparatus is read. , Print, or browse. In such an environment, the document file may include confidential information or the like, and the document file may be subjected to concealment processing from the viewpoint of preventing information leakage.

  As related to such concealment processing, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that scans a document to generate data, a storage device that stores data generated as a result of scanning, and a data that is stored in the storage device. In a document management system including an application server that exposes the application to a user, and an information processing apparatus connected to the application server via a network, the image forming apparatus includes a document key area setting unit, a document content area, Disclosure level setting means, data generation means for generating a plurality of data in which a content area is masked for each disclosure level according to the set disclosure level, disclosure level determination means for the generated data, and storing the generated data according to the disclosure level Document management system having data storage means for storing in a device It has proposed a beam.

JP 2007-140958 A

  In the document management system of Patent Document 1 described above, it is possible to conceal a specific area by applying blackening according to the disclosure level set for the content area of the scanned document.

  However, since concealment for a specific area is in accordance with the set disclosure level, concealment cannot be performed in accordance with the access authority of the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide an image forming apparatus, a document management system, and a document management method that can solve the above-described problems.

A document management system of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus that acquires image data of a fixed document, and a document management server that manages the image data acquired by the image forming apparatus as a document file, wherein the document management server includes: The image forming apparatus manages concealment information for each user with respect to a specific area of the document file, and the image forming apparatus sends a transmission request of the selected document file to the document management server and the concealment of the user who has selected the document file. And transmitting a request for transmission of the encryption information, and making the specific area of the document file for which encryption is set invisible based on the encryption information.
Further, the document management server has a file information management unit that manages a management table in which the concealment information is registered for each user associated with each document type of the document file, and the concealment information is The image forming apparatus includes: the coordinate information of the specific area of the document file included in the template for each document type, and whether or not the specific area can be visually recognized corresponding to each user. An image recognizing unit for recognizing a character string in a specified area of the document file received from the server and specifying the document type, and a system for issuing a transmission request for the concealment information related to the document type specified by the image recognizing unit And a control unit.
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image processing unit, a scanner unit, a communication control unit that transmits image data of a standard document read by the scanner unit to a document management server, and the document management unit for the communication control unit. A server, comprising: a system control unit that transmits a transmission request for the selected document file and a transmission request for confidential information relating to a user who has selected the document file, wherein the system control unit includes: On the other hand, based on the concealment information, an instruction is given to perform image processing for making a specific area for which concealment is set invisible.
The document management method according to the present invention includes a step of transmitting, to a document management server, image data of a standard document read by a scanner unit by a communication control unit, and a step of: Transmitting a request for transmitting the selected document file and a request for transmitting confidential information regarding the user who has selected the document file, wherein the system control unit transmits the confidential information to an image processing unit. It is characterized by instructing image processing to make a specific area for which concealment is set invisible based on the encryption information.
In the document management system, the image forming apparatus, and the document management method of the present invention, the communication control unit transmits the image data of the standard document read by the scanner unit to the document management server, and the system control unit transmits the image data to the communication control unit. And causing the document management server to transmit a transmission request for the selected document file and a transmission request for confidential information regarding the user who selected the document file. In addition, the system control unit instructs the image processing unit to perform image processing for making the specific area for which concealment is set invisible based on the concealment information.
Thereby, based on the concealment information about the user, it is possible to execute image processing in which the specific area of the document file cannot be visually recognized.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the document management system, image forming apparatus, and document management method of the present invention, based on the concealment information about the user, it is possible to execute image processing in which a specific area of the document file cannot be visually recognized. Can be concealed according to

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing an embodiment of a document management system of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing an example of a configuration of the MFP, a document management server, and a user terminal in FIG. 1. FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a standard document of an invoice A, and FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a standard document of the invoice A. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a template of an invoice A using the standard document of FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining the related information of the template of the invoice A in FIG. 3B. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the template of the invoice A, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a management table that has been assigned. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a template of an invoice B, and FIG. 5B is an example of a management table associated with the invoice B. FIG. FIG. 6A illustrates another related information of the template of the invoice A in FIG. 4A. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the template of the invoice A illustrated in FIG. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of another management table associated with the invoice A in which the document attribute information recognized by the zone OCR is registered. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating an example of concealment of a document file. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a print example 1 when a part of an area is blackened, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a print example 2 in a case where is painted black. 2 is a flowchart for explaining concealment processing by the document management system in FIG. 1.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a document management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An example of the image forming apparatus in the following description is, for example, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) which is a complex peripheral device equipped with a printing function, a copying function, a FAX (Facsimile) function, a data transmitting / receiving function via a network, and the like. ).

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the document management system includes an MFP 100 as an image forming apparatus, a document management server 200, and a user terminal 300. MFP 100 is connected to a network 400 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The MFP 100 is connected to a document management server 200 and a user terminal 300 such as a PC (Personal Computer) via a network 400. MFP 100 may be connected to a mobile terminal such as a smartphone by network 400 or wireless communication.

  The user terminal 300 can transmit a print job to any of the MFPs 100 via the network 400. MFP 100 has a user box mounted on HDD 106 described later, and registers a print job received from user terminal 300. When transmitting a print job from the user terminal 300, a user ID and a password, which are authentication information registered in the MFP 100, are used. When printing is performed on the MFP 100 side, for example, a login process is required. In this case, on the MFP 100 side, for example, the user ID and password input via the panel unit 105 described later are compared with the already registered user ID and password to perform user authentication. Execute the print processing of the selected print job. Although details will be described later, when printing or browsing a document file or the like stored in the document management server 200 on the MFP 100 side, confidentiality for a specific area is determined based on confidentiality information set for each user. Conversion processing is performed.

  Next, an example of the configuration of the MFP 100, the document management server 200, and the user terminal 300 will be described with reference to FIG. The MFP 100 includes a scanner unit 101, a printer unit 102, a FAX unit 103, an I / F (interface) 104, a panel unit 105, and a control unit 110 that controls operations of the HDD 106.

  The scanner unit 101 is a device that converts an image on paper (not shown) read by an image sensor (not shown) into digital image data and inputs the digital image data to the control unit 110. The printer unit 102 is a device that prints an image on a sheet (not shown) based on print data output from the control unit 110. The FAX unit 103 is a device that transmits data output from the control unit 110 to a facsimile which is a partner via a telephone line, and receives data from the other party's facsimile and inputs the data to the control unit 110.

  The I / F 104 performs communication with the document management server 200, the MFP 100, the user terminal 300, and the like via the network 400. The I / F 104 may be responsible for communication with a content server (not shown), a web server, or the like. The panel unit 105 is a device such as a print function, a copy function, a facsimile function, a data transmission / reception function via a network, and a touch panel for displaying various settings. Further, panel unit 105 displays contents for prompting the user to input a user ID and a password, which are authentication information required for the login process. HDD 106 is a storage device that stores application programs and the like for providing various functions of MFP 100. The HDD 106 has a user box for storing a print job registered from the user terminal 300 side, for example.

  Control unit 110 is a processor that executes an application program, an image forming program, a control program, and the like to control operations of MFP 100 as a whole. The control unit 110 includes a scanner control unit 111, a printer control unit 112, a facsimile (Facsimile) control unit 113, a communication control unit 114, a random access memory (RAM) 115, a read-only memory (ROM) 116, an image recognition unit 117, An image processing unit 118, a panel operation control unit 119, an HDD control unit 120, and a system control unit 121 are provided. These are connected to the data bus 122.

  The scanner control unit 111 controls a reading operation of the scanner unit 101. The printer control unit 112 controls a printing operation of the printer unit 102. The FAX control unit 113 controls the data transmission / reception operation of the FAX unit 103. The communication control unit 114 controls transmission and reception of data and the like via the network 400 via the I / F 104. The RAM 115 is a work memory for executing a program. Further, the RAM 115 stores print data that has been subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 118. The ROM 116 stores a control program for checking the operation of each unit.

  The image recognizing unit 117 has, for example, a zone OCR (Optical Character Recognition) function. For example, the image recognizing unit 117 is located at the top, for example, with respect to image data of a standard document 500 shown in FIG. The character recognition of the character string in the title entry column 501 is performed, and the document type is specified. The image processing unit 118 performs image processing (rasterization) on the image data read by the scanner unit 101. The image processing unit 118 performs image processing (rasterization) on a print job registered in a user box of the HDD 106. Note that the system control unit 121 causes the RAM 115 to temporarily store the print data subjected to the image processing by the image processing unit 118. Further, based on an instruction from the system control unit 121, the image processing unit 118, for example, corresponds to a recognition area 511, 512, 517a indicated by a template 510 of invoice A shown in FIG. The concealment such as blackening of the character string of the entry column 502 and the description item 507a of the fixed form document 500 of (a) is performed. The panel operation control unit 119 controls the display operation of the panel unit 105. In addition, the panel operation control unit 119 receives, via the panel unit 105, printing, copying, facsimile, start of data transmission / reception via the network 400, input of authentication information, and the like.

  The system control unit 121 controls the cooperative operation of each unit. When the panel operation control unit 119 receives the input of the authentication information indicating the user ID and the password for login via the panel unit 105, the system control unit 121 transmits the authentication information of the user registered in the HDD 106, for example. Compare and authenticate the user. Further, when the user authentication is successful, the system control unit 121 permits the panel operation control unit 119 to receive various instructions and the like via the panel unit 105. Further, when the panel operation control unit 119 receives an instruction to print or view a document file, the system control unit 121 acquires the corresponding document file from the document management server 200 and the confidential information for each user, and It instructs the processing unit 118 to perform image processing based on the concealment information.

  The document management server 200 includes a control unit 210 that controls the I / F 201. The I / F 201 is responsible for communication with the MFP 100, the user terminal 300, and the like via the network 400. The control unit 210 is a processor that executes an application program, a control program, and the like to control the operation of the entire document management server 200. The control unit 210 includes a RAM 211, a ROM 212, a communication control unit 213, a file information management unit 214, and a system control unit 215. These are connected to the data bus 216.

  The RAM 211 is a work memory for executing a program. The ROM 212 stores a control program for checking the operation of each unit. The communication control unit 213 controls transmission and reception of data and the like with the MFP 100, the user terminal 300, and the like via the network 400 via the I / F 201. File information management section 214 manages the document file received from MFP 100. The details of the file information management unit 214 will be described later. The template 510 of the invoice A shown in FIG. 4A, the template 530 of the invoice B shown in FIG. 5), a management table 520 having concealment information for each user of invoice A, a management table 540 having concealment information for each user of invoice B shown in FIG. Here, the concealment information is, for example, coordinate information of metadata A and B registered in the management table 520 of FIG. 4B, permission of printing of metadata A and B corresponding to each user, Or contents indicating prohibition. The permission or prohibition of the printing of the metadata A and B means whether the printing is permitted or not permitted. Upon receiving a document file or the like from MFP 100 via communication control unit 213, system control unit 215 instructs file information management unit 214 to perform management. Further, when there is a request for transmission of a document file from the MFP 100 or confidential information for each user, the system control unit 215 transmits the document file managed by the file information management unit 214 and the concealment information to the communication control unit. 213.

  The user terminal 300 includes an I / F 301, a keyboard 302, a mouse 303, a display unit 304, and a control unit 310 that controls the HDD 305. The I / F 301 is responsible for communication with the MFP 100, the document management server 200, and the like via the network 400. Note that the I / F 301 may be responsible for communication with a content server (not shown) or a web server via the network 400. The keyboard 302 is an input device for inputting characters and the like to the control unit 310. The mouse 303 is an input device for instructing the control unit 310 on an input position and the like. The display unit 304 displays information such as characters. The HDD 305 is a storage device that stores application programs and the like for providing various functions of the user terminal 300.

  The control unit 310 is a processor that executes an application program, a control program, and the like, and controls the operation of the entire user terminal 300. The control unit 310 includes a communication control unit 311, a RAM 312, a ROM 313, an input device control unit 314, a display control unit 315, an HDD control unit 316, and a system control unit 317. These are connected to the data bus 318.

  The communication control unit 311 controls transmission and reception with the MFP 100, the document management server 200, and the like via the I / F 301. The RAM 312 is a work memory for executing a program. The ROM 313 stores a control program for checking the operation of each unit. The input device control unit 314 controls input operations of the keyboard 302 and the mouse 303, and passes input signals of the keyboard 302 and the mouse 303 to the control unit 310. The display control unit 315 controls the display operation of the display unit 304. The HDD control unit 316 controls reading and writing of data from and to the HDD 305. The system control unit 317 controls the cooperative operation of each unit. Further, when a print job registration instruction is issued to any one of the MFPs 100, the system control unit 317 transmits the print job to any one of the MFPs 100 via the communication control unit 311.

  Next, an outline of concealment of a document file will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 3A shows an example of a standard document 500 of the invoice A. That is, it is assumed that the scanner unit 101 of the MFP 100 has read the standard document 500. At this time, the above-described image recognition unit 117 performs character recognition on the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101, the character string of the title is an invoice, and the position of the title entry column 501 is At the upper right of the fixed-form document 500, the fixed-form document 500 in FIG. The system control unit 121 transmits the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101 to the document management server 200 in order to store the image data of the standard document 500 in the document management server 200. Notify that Accordingly, the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 manages the image data of the standard document 500 as corresponding to the invoice A.

  Here, in the fixed form document 500, for example, an entry column 501 for the title of INVOICE, an entry column 502 for the address of the client (Sender), an entry column 503 for the addressee (Addressee), a mail number (Mail Item No. ), A field 505 for shipping means (Shipped Per), a field 506 for remarks, a field 507 for description of contents, a field 508 for number of pieces of mail. , A signature entry field 509, and the like. Reference numerals 507a and 507b indicate the description items of the contents. The number of the description items 507a and 507b is not limited to two as illustrated, but may be plural.

  FIG. 3B shows an example of the template 510 used for the zone OCR, which is a sample of the standard document 500 of FIG. 3A. The template 510 includes, for example, a recognition area 511 corresponding to a title entry field 501, a recognition area 512 equivalent to a requester (Sender) address entry field 502, and a description field 507 for a description of contents. A recognition area 517a corresponding to the item 507a is provided. Here, the recognition area 511 is set as an anchor for specifying the document type. In addition, the recognition areas 512 and 517a are set as the viewing permission area or the non-viewing area in the invoice A. The setting of the recognition areas 512 and 517a is arbitrary, and the other entry columns 503 to 506, the entry item 507b, and the entry columns 508 and 509 can also be set as the visual permission area or the invisible area in the invoice A.

  Next, details of the template 510 of the invoice A and the like managed by the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 4A shows the template 510 of the invoice A described above. It is assumed that the recognition areas 511, 512, and 517a are set in the template 510 of the invoice A as described above. Here, the recognition area 511 is an anchor for specifying the document type as described above, and it is assumed that the metadata of the recognition area 512 is A and the metadata of the recognition area 517a is B. In addition, it is assumed that information on browsing and printing for each user in the recognition areas 512 and 517a is registered in the management table 520 of the invoice A shown in FIG. 4B.

  That is, the management table 520 includes a metadata item 521, a coordinate information item 522, a user item 523, a browse item 524, and a print item 525. In the item 521, metadata A and B are registered. In item 522, (xxx, yyy), which is coordinate information corresponding to metadata A, is registered. In item 522, (www, zzz), which is coordinate information corresponding to metadata B, is registered. In the item 523, recognition information of the user A, the user B, and the group C is registered in association with the metadata A and B, respectively. The recognition information of the user A and the user B may be, for example, a user ID used when logging in to the MFP 100. The recognition information of the group C may be, for example, attribute information of a group belonging to the user A or attribute information of a group belonging to the user B. That is, it is assumed that the file information management unit 214 manages attribute information such as the departments associated with the user IDs of the users A and B and other users. Then, when a user other than the users A and B logs in to the MFP 100, whether or not the user belongs to the group C can be confirmed from the attribute information of the other users.

  In the item 524, whether to permit or prohibit browsing is registered for each of the user A, the user B, and the group C. Here, whether to permit or prohibit the browsing is arbitrary, so that the setting can be changed. In the item 525, whether to permit or prohibit printing is registered for each of the user A, the user B, and the group C. Note that whether to permit or prohibit printing is arbitrary, and the setting can be changed. Here, for example, the coordinate information of the metadata A and B registered in the management table 520 of FIG. 4B and the content indicating permission or prohibition of printing of the metadata A and B for each user are kept secret. Information. Permission or prohibition of browsing or printing means whether visual recognition of the specific area is permitted or not permitted.

  Next, the details of the template 530 of the invoice B and the like managed by the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 5A shows the template 530 of the invoice B. That is, it is assumed that the scanner unit 101 has read a document corresponding to the standard document 500 in FIG. 3A, for example. At this time, the above-described image recognition unit 117 performs character recognition on the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101. Further, when the character string of the title is an invoice and the position of the title entry column 501 is at the upper left of the fixed form document 500 (a position corresponding to the recognition area 531 of the template 530), the image recognition unit 117 The document corresponding to the standard document 500 of FIG. 3A is recognized as the standard document of the invoice B. Further, the system control unit 121, when transmitting the image data read by the scanner unit 101 to the document management server 200 to store the image data in the document management server 200, confirms that the image data of the standard document 500 is invoice B. Notice. Accordingly, the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 manages the image data as corresponding to the invoice B.

  Assume that recognition areas 531, 532, 536, and 539 are set in the template 530 of the invoice B. Here, similarly to the above, the recognition area 531 is an anchor for specifying the document type, the metadata of the recognition area 532 is A, the metadata of the recognition area 536 is B, and the metadata of the recognition area 539 is Is C. In addition, it is assumed that information on browsing and printing for each user in these recognition areas 532, 536, and 539 is registered in the management table 540 of the invoice B shown in FIG. 5B.

  That is, similarly to the management table 520 of FIG. 4B, the management table 540 includes a metadata item 541, a coordinate information item 542, a user item 543, a browse item 544, and a print item 545. ing. In the item 541, metadata A, B, and C are registered. In item 542, (xxx, yyy), which is coordinate information corresponding to metadata A, is registered. In the item 542, (www, zzz), which is coordinate information corresponding to the metadata B, is registered. In the item 542, (aaa, bbb), which is coordinate information corresponding to the metadata C, is registered. In the item 543, recognition information of the user A, the user B, and the group C is registered in association with each of the metadata A, B, and C. As described above, the recognition information of the user A and the user B may be, for example, a user ID used when logging in to the MFP 100. As described above, the recognition information of the group C may be, for example, attribute information of a group belonging to the user A or attribute information of a group belonging to the user B. That is, it is assumed that the file information management unit 214 manages the attribute information of the departments associated with the user IDs of the users A, B, and other users in the same manner as described above. Then, when a user other than the users A and B logs in to the MFP 100, whether or not the user belongs to the group C can be confirmed from the attribute information of the other users.

  In the item 544, whether to permit or prohibit browsing is registered for each of the user A, the user B, and the group C. Here, whether to permit or prohibit the browsing is arbitrary, so that the setting can be changed. In the item 545, whether to permit or prohibit printing is registered for each of the user A, the user B, and the group C. Here, whether to permit or prohibit the printing is arbitrary, and the setting can be changed. Here, for example, the coordinate information of the metadata A, B, and C registered in the management table 540 of FIG. 5B, and contents indicating permission or prohibition of printing of the metadata A, B, and C for each user. Is confidential information. Permission or prohibition of browsing or printing means whether visual recognition of the specific area is permitted or not permitted.

  The file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 includes a management table 520 having concealment information for each user of the invoice A shown in FIG. 4B and a user table of the invoice B shown in FIG. Although the management table 540 having confidential information for each is managed, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the management tables 520 and 540 may be managed on the MFP 100 side.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6, for example, saving of the document attribute information in the recognition areas 512 and 517a of the template 510 of the invoice A will be described.

  First, FIG. 6A is the same as the template 510 of the invoice A shown in FIG. It is assumed that the recognition areas 511, 512, and 517a are set in the template 510 of the invoice A as described above. The recognition area 511 is an anchor for specifying the document type. It is assumed that the metadata of the recognition area 512 is A and the metadata of the recognition area 517a is B. Here, the image recognizing unit 117 executes the zone OCR using the template 510 on the image data of the standard document 500 of, for example, FIG. When recognizing that the character string in the recognition area 511 is INVOICE, the image recognition unit 117 recognizes that the document type is invoice A, and notifies the system control unit 121. When recognizing the character strings in the recognition areas 512 and 517a, the image recognition unit 117 notifies the system control unit 121 of each character string as document attribute information.

  FIG. 6B shows a management table 520A of the invoice A managed by the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200. The management table 520A registers the document attribute information and the like recognized by the image recognition unit 117 by the zone OCR. That is, the management table 520A is provided with a metadata item 521, a coordinate information item 522, a user item 523, a browse item 524, and a print item 525, similarly to the management table 520 of FIG. 4B. ing. However, in the management table 520A of FIG. 6B, an item 522a of document attribute information is provided instead of the item 522 of coordinate information. In the item 522a, document attribute information recognized by the zone OCR in association with the metadata A and B is registered. As described above, by recognizing the character strings in the recognition areas 512 and 517a by the zone OCR, the document attribute information of the set area can be stored.

  Next, an example of concealment of a document file will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 7A shows Printing Example 1. Here, it is assumed that, for example, user B logs in MFP 100 and instructs printing of standard document 500 of invoice A shown in FIG. In this case, the system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 requests the document management server 200 for the concealment information for the user B of the invoice A. Here, as shown in the management table 520 of the invoice A shown in FIG. 4B, the document management server 200 provides the user B with an entry column 502 such as the address of the client (Sender) 502 (for the template 510). Printing of the recognition area 512) is set to prohibition, but printing of the entry 507a (corresponding to the recognition area 517a of the template 510) in the entry column 507 of the description of the contents is set to permission. Is transmitted to MFP 100. As a result, on the MFP 100 side, when printing the standard document 500 of the invoice A for the user B, as shown in FIG. Is performed. Regarding concealment from the user B, the system control unit 121 instructs the image processing unit 118 to prohibit or permit printing based on the concealment information from the document management server 200. Is issued.

  Further, it is assumed that, for example, a user in group C belonging to user A logs in MFP 100 and instructs printing of standard document 500 of invoice A shown in FIG. In this case, the system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 requests the confidential information of the group C of the invoice A from the document management server 200. Here, as shown in the management table 520 of the invoice A shown in FIG. 4B, the document management server 200 provides the user of the group C with an entry column 502 such as the address of the sender (Sender). Both the printing of the recognition area 512 of the template 510) and the entry 507a (corresponding to the recognition area 517a of the template 510) of the entry column 507 for the description of the contents are set to be prohibited. The concealment information is transmitted to MFP 100. As a result, on the MFP 100 side, when printing the standard document 500 of the invoice A for the user in the group C, as shown in FIG. A concealment process is performed in which the description item 507a of the (Description) entry column 507 is blackened. As described above, the system control unit 121 prohibits the image processing unit 118 from printing on the image processing unit 118 based on the concealment information from the document management server 200 as described above. , Or by giving an instruction about permission.

  Next, the concealment processing in the document management system will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the user B instructs to print the standard document 500 of the invoice A in FIG. Also, a description will be given assuming that the document file of the standard document 500 specified for printing by the user B is stored in the document management server 200. Also, a description will be given assuming that the document file specified by the user B for printing corresponds to the invoice A. Further, it is assumed that the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 manages, for example, the management table 520 of the invoice A regarding the concealment information for each user related to the standard document 500 of the invoice A.

(Step S101)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 determines whether or not login has been accepted.
In this case, the system control unit 121 determines that the login has not been accepted unless there is a notification from the panel operation control unit 119 via the panel unit 105 that a login instruction has been issued (step S101: No). .
On the other hand, the system control unit 121 determines that the login has been accepted if there is a notification from the panel operation control unit 119 via the panel unit 105 that the login instruction has been issued (step S101: Yes). Then, the process proceeds to step S102.
At this time, the system control unit 121 compares the authentication information such as the user ID input by the user B via the panel unit 105 with the authentication information registered in the HDD 106, for example, and confirms whether they match.

(Step S102)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 determines whether the authentication has been successful.
In this case, when the authentication information such as the user ID input by the user B via the panel unit 105 does not match the authentication information registered in the HDD 106, the system control unit 121 determines that the authentication is not successful. , And the process ends.
At this time, the system control unit 121 causes the panel unit 105 to display an error indicating that the authentication was not successful via the panel operation control unit 119.
On the other hand, when the authentication information such as the user ID input by the user B via the panel unit 105 matches the authentication information registered in the HDD 106, the system control unit 121 determines that the authentication is successful. (Step S102: Yes), and the process proceeds to Step S103.

(Step S103)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 determines whether printing of a document file has been instructed.
In this case, the system control unit 121 prints the document file unless there is a notification from the panel operation control unit 119 via the panel unit 105 that there is an instruction to select a document file and to print the selected document file. Is not instructed (step S103: No).
On the other hand, if there is a notification indicating that the selection of a document file and the printing of the selected document file are instructed from the panel operation control unit 119 via the panel unit 105, the system control unit 121 Is determined to have been instructed (step S103: Yes), and the process proceeds to step S104.

(Step S104)
The system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 requests transmission of the selected document file.
In this case, the system control unit 121 requests the document management server 200 to transmit the selected document file via the network 400 via the communication control unit 114.
At this time, the system control unit 215 of the document management server 200 transmits the selected document file managed by the file information management unit 214 to the MFP 100 via the communication control unit 213.

(Step S105)
The system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 instructs the image recognition unit 117 to specify the document type.
At this time, the image recognizing unit 117 uses, for example, the zone OCR using the template 510 in FIG. 4A to input, for example, the characters in the title entry column 501 located at the top in the standard document 500 in FIG. The document type is identified by performing character recognition of the column, and the system control unit 121 is notified.

(Step S106)
The system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 checks whether the document type is invoice A.
In this case, when the system control unit 121 confirms that the notification from the image recognition unit 117 is not the invoice A (step S106: No), the process ends.
If the notification from the image recognition unit 117 is other than the invoice A, the system control unit 121 executes the concealment process other than the invoice A. Here, the concealment process other than the invoice A is to receive concealment information different from the concealment information of the invoice A from the document management server 200 and perform concealment.
On the other hand, if the notification from the image recognition unit 117 is the invoice A (step S106: Yes), the system control unit 121 proceeds to step S107.

(Step S107)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 requests transmission of confidential information of invoice A.
In this case, the system control unit 121 requests the document management server 200 to transmit confidential information about the user B via the communication control unit 114.
At this time, the system control unit 215 of the document management server 200 refers to the management table 520 of the invoice A shown in FIG. Send Here, as described above, the concealment information includes the coordinate information of the metadata A and B registered in the management table 520 and the content indicating permission or prohibition of printing of the metadata A and B for the user B. And are included.

(Step S108)
The system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 acquires the coordinate information of the metadata A or B for which printing is prohibited.
In this case, the system control unit 121 obtains (xxx, yyy) which is the coordinate information of the metadata A for which printing is prohibited from the confidential information regarding the user B received from the document management server 200 (FIG. 4 (b) management table 520 of invoice A).

(Step S109)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 instructs printing of a document file.
In this case, the system control unit 121 notifies the image processing unit 118 of (xxx, yyy), which is the coordinate information of the metadata A for which printing is prohibited, and instructs printing of the document file.
At this time, the image processing unit 118 fills the entry field 502 such as, for example, the address of the sender (Sender) with respect to the document file selected by the user B, for example, as in Print Example 1 of FIG. Image processing.
Further, the system control unit 121 instructs the printer control unit 112 to print a document file.
At this time, the printer control unit 112 controls the printer unit 102, and based on the image processing unit 118 and the image-processed print data, for example, the address of the sender (Sender) as in the print example 1 in FIG. Etc. are printed with the entry column 502 filled out.

  In step S109, when both the metadata A and B are prohibited as in the group C in FIG. 4B, the system control unit 121 sets the image processing unit 118 to prohibit printing. The image processing unit 118 is notified of (xxx, yyy), which is the coordinate information of the metadata A, and (www, zzz), which is the coordinate information of the metadata B. At this time, the image processing unit 118 stores, for example, an entry column 502 such as the address of the client (Sender) and a description item 507a of the content item in the document file as in Print Example 2 of FIG. Image processing to fill.

  Further, in step S109, the image processing unit 118 performs image processing on the document file so as to fill the entry column 502 of, for example, the address of the client (Sender). However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Image processing may be performed such that a character string or image irrelevant to the content of 502 is overwritten. Further, the image processing unit 118 may perform image processing such as deleting the character string in the entry field 502.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the communication control unit 114 transmits the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101 to the document management server 200, and the system control unit 121 sends the document data to the communication control unit 114. The management server 200 transmits a transmission request for the selected document file and a transmission request for confidential information regarding the user who selected the document file. In addition, the system control unit 121 instructs the image processing unit 118 to perform image processing for making the specific area for which concealment is set invisible based on the concealment information. Thereby, based on the concealment information on the user, the image processing of invisible the specific area to the document file can be executed, so that the concealment according to the access authority of the user can be performed.

100 MFP
101 scanner unit 102 printer unit 103 fax unit 104, 201, 301 I / F
105 Panel unit 106, 305 HDD
110, 210, 310 Control unit 111 Scanner control unit 112 Printer control unit 113 FAX control unit 114, 213, 311 Communication control unit 115, 211, 312 RAM
116, 212, 313 ROM
117 Image recognition unit 118 Image processing unit 119 Panel operation control unit 120, 316 HDD control unit 121, 215, 317 System control unit 122, 216, 318 Data bus 200 Document management server 214 File information management unit 300 User terminal 302 Keyboard 303 Mouse 304 display unit 314 input device control unit 315 display control unit 400 network 500 standard documents 501 to 509 entry fields 507a, 507b entry items 510, 530 templates 511, 512, 517a, 531, 532, 536, 539 recognition areas 520, 540, 520A management tables 521 to 525, 522a, 541 to 545

Claims (4)

An image forming apparatus for acquiring image data of a standard document,
A document management server that manages the image data acquired by the image forming apparatus as a document file,
The document management server manages confidential information for each user for a specific area of the document file,
The image forming apparatus includes:
To the document management server, a transmission request of the selected document file, and a transmission request of the confidential information regarding the user who selected the document file,
A document management system, wherein a specific area of the document file for which concealment is set is made invisible based on the concealment information. The document management server has a file information management unit that manages a management table in which the concealment information is registered for each user associated with each document type of the document file,
The concealment information includes coordinate information of the specific area of the document file included in the template for each document type, and whether or not the specific area associated with each user can be visually recognized,
The image forming apparatus includes:
An image recognition unit that recognizes a character string in a specified area of the document file received from the document management server and specifies the document type;
The document management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a system control unit that issues a transmission request for the confidential information related to the document type specified by the image recognition unit. An image processing unit;
A scanner section,
A communication control unit that transmits image data of the fixed form document read by the scanner unit to a document management server,
The communication control unit, the document management server, a transmission request of the selected document file, a system control unit that transmits a transmission request of confidential information regarding the user who selected the document file,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the system control unit instructs the image processing unit to perform image processing for making a specific area in which concealment is set invisible based on the concealment information. A step of transmitting image data of the fixed form document read by the scanner unit to the document management server by the communication control unit;
A step of causing the system control unit to cause the communication control unit to transmit, to the document management server, a transmission request of the selected document file and a transmission request of confidential information regarding a user who has selected the document file. Have
The document management method according to claim 1, wherein the system control unit instructs the image processing unit to perform image processing for making a specific area in which concealment is set invisible based on the concealment information.

Images