JP2020065233A - Information processing system and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing system and an information processing method that, even when there is a time difference between a management side that manages a file corresponding to image data read by an image reading unit and a utilization side that utilizes the file, allow a user on the utilization side to appropriately utilize the file.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 comprises: a sharing destination device setting unit 163; a sharing date setting unit 168; and a file transmission unit 169. The sharing destination device setting unit 163 sets up a terminal device 3 that is a sharing destination of a file corresponding to image data of a document read by an image reading unit 12, and is arranged at a place where there is a time difference from the place where the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged. The sharing date setting unit 168 sets, based on the time difference, a sharing date that is the date at which the terminal device 3 can share the file. The file transmission unit 169 transmits the file to the terminal device 3 based on the sharing date.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

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

  A system is known in which a file corresponding to image data read by an image reading unit is transmitted from an image forming apparatus to a predetermined user terminal in order to share the file with a plurality of users (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

JP, 2010-211769, A

  By the way, when there is a time difference between the transmission source (management side) transmitting the file and the transmission destination (use side) of the file, when the file is transmitted to the user terminal of the transmission destination, The user may not be aware that the user terminal has received the file. In such a case, the user cannot properly use the file.

  An object of the present invention is to allow a user of a user side to use a user even if there is a time difference between a management side that manages a file corresponding to image data read by an image reading unit and a user side that uses the file. An object is to provide an information processing system and an information processing method that can appropriately use the file.

  An information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a sharing destination device setting unit, a sharing date and time setting unit, and a file sharing unit. The sharing destination device setting unit is a sharing destination device that is a sharing destination of the file corresponding to the image data of the document read by the image reading unit, and the sharing destination device setting unit is provided between the sharing destination device setting unit and a place where a management device that manages the file is arranged. The sharing destination device arranged at a time difference is set. The sharing date and time setting unit sets a sharing date and time, which is set by the sharing destination device setting unit, at which the sharing destination device can share the file based on the time difference. The file sharing unit transmits the file to the sharing destination device or permits access to the file from the sharing destination device based on the sharing date and time set by the sharing date and time setting unit.

  An information processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a sharing destination device setting step, a sharing date and time setting step, and a file sharing step. In the sharing destination device setting step, the sharing destination device is a sharing destination device of a file corresponding to the image data of the original read by the image reading unit, and the sharing destination device is located between the management device for managing the file and the location. The sharing destination device arranged at a time difference is set. In the sharing date and time setting step, a sharing date and time, which is the date and time when the sharing destination device set in the sharing destination device setting step can share the file, is set based on the time difference. In the file sharing step, the file is transmitted to the sharing destination device or access to the file is permitted from the sharing destination device based on the sharing date and time set in the sharing date and time setting step.

  According to the present invention, even if there is a time difference between the management side that manages the file corresponding to the image data read by the image reading unit and the usage side that uses the file, the user on the usage side can An information processing system and an information processing method capable of appropriately using the file are provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a country information DB used in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a shared file selection screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a sharing destination device selection screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a sharing destination country selection screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a file name setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a transmission date / time setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the server device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of file sharing processing executed by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an access date / time setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a file name setting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide an understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments are examples of embodying the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Image forming system 100]
As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus 1, a server apparatus 2, and a plurality of terminal devices 3 (for example, a terminal device 3A and a terminal device 3B). Prepare The image forming apparatus 1, the server apparatus 2, and each terminal apparatus 3 can communicate with each other via a communication network N1 such as a telephone line, the Internet, or a LAN. The image forming system 100 is an example of the information processing system of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is an example of the management apparatus of the present invention. The terminal device 3 is an example of a sharing destination device or a user terminal of the present invention.

  The image forming system 100 allows, for example, a file corresponding to the image data read by the image forming apparatus 1 to be shared by the terminal device 3 arranged at a location where there is a time difference with the location of the image forming apparatus 1. . For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged in the country C0, the terminal device 3A of the user A is arranged in the country C1, and the terminal device 3B of the user B is arranged in the country C2. There is. There is a time difference of “+5 hours” between country C0 and country C1, and country C1 is ahead of country C0 by 5 hours. There is a time difference of "-8 hours" between the country C0 and the country C2, and the country C2 is behind the country C0 by 8 hours. In such a configuration, the image forming apparatus 1 transmits the file to each of the terminal devices 3A and 3B via the server device 2 at a predetermined timing based on the time difference, or the file is transmitted to the terminal device 3A. , 3B, respectively, at a predetermined timing based on the time difference.

  Hereinafter, a user who operates the image forming apparatus 1 to set the file to be sharable on the terminal device 3 is referred to as a “management side user”, and a user of the terminal device 3 who uses the file is referred to as a “user side user”. To call.

  By the way, as a system related to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in order to share a file corresponding to the image data read by the image reading unit among a plurality of users, the file is transmitted from the image forming apparatus to a predetermined user. A system for transmitting to a terminal is known. However, in the system, if there is a time difference between the transmission source (management side) transmitting the file and the transmission destination (use side) of the file, the file is transmitted to the transmission destination user terminal. In some cases, the user may not be aware that the user terminal has received the file. In such a case, the user cannot properly use the file. On the other hand, in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment, when there is a time difference between the management side that manages the file corresponding to the image data read by the image reading unit and the usage side that uses the file. However, the user on the user side can properly use the file.

[Image forming apparatus 1]
As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation display unit 10, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 11, an image reading unit 12, an image forming unit 13, a communication I / F 14, a storage unit 15, and a control unit 16. And so on. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction machine having a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like. The image forming apparatus of the present invention can be applied not only to a multifunction machine but also to an image reading apparatus such as a scanner apparatus.

  The operation display unit 10 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display for displaying information and an operation unit such as a touch panel and operation buttons for receiving information input operation by the management-side user.

  The ADF 11 is an automatic document feeder that includes a document setting unit, a transport roller, a document retainer, and a paper discharge unit, and transports a document to be read by the image reading unit 12.

  The image reading unit 12 includes a document table, a light source, a mirror, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and can read image data of a document. The image reading unit 12 is an example of the image reading unit of the present invention.

  The image forming unit 13 can execute a printing process based on image data by an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method, and forms an image on a sheet based on the image data. For example, when the image forming unit 13 is an electrophotographic image forming unit, the image forming unit 13 includes a photosensitive drum, a charger, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a fixing device.

  The communication I / F 14 follows a predetermined communication protocol with an information processing device such as an external facsimile device, a personal computer, or a mobile terminal (smartphone) via a communication network N1 such as a telephone line, the Internet, or a LAN. It is a communication interface capable of executing the communication processing.

  The storage unit 15 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a hard disk or an EEPROM (registered trademark). The storage unit 15 stores various control programs such as a file sharing program for causing the control unit 16 to execute a file sharing process (see FIG. 10) described later, and various data.

  The storage unit 15 also includes a country information database (DB) 151 in which information about a plurality of countries is registered. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, country name information D1, local language information D2, time difference information D3, etc. are registered in the country information DB 151. The country name information D1 is information on the name of the country. The local language information D2 is a main language used in the country, and is, for example, information in an official language. The time difference information D3 is information on the difference between the time (reference time) of the location of the image forming apparatus 1 that is the transmission source (management side) of the file and the time of the country (local time). In the country information DB 151, the information of a plurality of countries is registered in advance by the administrator of the image forming apparatus 1 or the like, and is appropriately added or updated.

  The control unit 16 includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or nonvolatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

  Specifically, the control unit 16 includes an image data acquisition unit 161, a shared file setting unit 162, a sharing destination device setting unit 163, an image analysis processing unit 164, a language acquisition unit 165, a sharing destination country setting unit 166, a file name setting unit. 167, a shared date / time setting unit 168, and a file transmission unit 169. The control unit 16 functions as each of these processing units by executing various processes according to the control program. Further, the control unit 16 may include an electronic circuit that realizes a part of these processing units or a plurality of processing functions.

  The image data acquisition unit 161 acquires the image data read by the image reading unit 12. Specifically, the image data acquisition unit 161 acquires the image data by the image reading unit 12 reading the document set on the platen by the management-side user. The image data acquisition unit 161 is image data for executing image formation (print processing) corresponding to a print job input from an external device (such as a user terminal) connected via the communication I / F 14 and the network. May be obtained. The image data acquisition unit 161 acquires image data by connecting a computer-readable recording medium such as a USB, SD card, CD (registered trademark) or DVD (registered trademark) to the image forming apparatus 1. Good. The image data acquisition unit 161 may also acquire the image data stored in the file box (not shown) of the storage unit 15.

  Here, the image data includes a character image in a predetermined language. For example, the image data includes a document image described in English, an image image with an English title, and the like.

  Further, the image data acquisition unit 161 converts the acquired image data into a predetermined file format and stores it in the storage unit 15. The storage unit 15 stores a plurality of files.

  Further, the image data acquisition unit 161 sets the name input by the management-side user or the reading date and time when the image reading unit 12 reads the document as the file name of the file.

  The shared file setting unit 162 sets a file (hereinafter, referred to as “shared file”) to be shared by the terminal device 3 of the sharing destination among the files corresponding to the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit 161. For example, when the management-side user selects a desired file on the shared file selection screen P1 (see FIG. 4) displayed on the operation display unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1, the shared file setting unit 162 sets the selected file to the above-mentioned file. Set as a shared file. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the shared file setting unit 162 sets “scan file 2.PDF” in the shared file. The file name set by the image data acquisition unit 161 is displayed on the shared file selection screen P1. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the name input by the management-side user is set as the file name.

  The sharing destination device setting unit 163, among the terminal devices 3 capable of communicating with the image forming apparatus 1 via the communication network N1, is the sharing destination terminal device 3 of the sharing file set by the sharing file setting unit 162 (hereinafter, "Shared device" is also set. Specifically, the sharing destination device setting unit 163 is a sharing destination device that is a sharing destination of the shared file, and there is a time difference between the sharing destination device setting unit 163 and the place where the image forming apparatus 1 that manages the sharing file is arranged. Set the sharing destination device located at a location. The sharing destination device setting unit 163 is an example of the sharing destination device setting unit of the present invention.

  For example, when the management-side user selects the desired terminal device 3 on the sharing destination device selection screen P2 (see FIG. 5) displayed on the operation display unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1, the sharing destination device setting unit 163 is selected. The terminal device 3 is set as the sharing destination device. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the sharing destination device setting unit 163 sets “PC1 (terminal device 3A)” and “PC2 (terminal device 3B)” as the sharing destination device. Although six terminal devices 3 are displayed on the sharing destination device selection screen P2 shown in FIG. 5, only two terminal devices 3 (terminal devices 3A and 3B) are shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation. Shows.

  The image analysis processing unit 164 analyzes the image data obtained by the image data obtaining unit 161 and analyzes the language of the image (document image, image image, etc.) included in the image data. The image analysis processing unit 164 executes the image analysis using a known character recognition technique or the like.

  The language acquisition unit 165 acquires the language of characters included in the image data based on the result of the image analysis by the image analysis processing unit 164.

  The sharing destination country setting unit 166 sets the country (sharing destination country) of the sharing file set by the sharing file setting unit 162. The sharing destination country setting unit 166 is an example of the sharing destination country setting unit of the present invention. For example, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 extracts one or more countries whose local language is the language acquired by the language acquisition unit 165 from a plurality of countries registered in the country information DB 151 (see FIG. 3). Then, the country name of the extracted country is displayed on the sharing destination country selection screen P3 (see FIG. 6).

  Here, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 displays a list S1 of a plurality of country names on the sharing destination country selection screen P3 according to a predetermined condition when a plurality of countries having the language as a local language are extracted. For example, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 displays a country in which the local language is only the language on the upper side (upper side) of the sharing destination country selection screen P3, and a country in which the local language includes a language other than the language is the sharing destination country. It is displayed at the lower level (upper side) of the selection screen P3. That is, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 sets the display position of the country name on the sharing destination country selection screen P3 according to the number of other languages used as the local language in the plurality of countries using the language as the local language. decide.

  Further, for example, when the image forming apparatus 1 can acquire the position information (location) of each terminal device 3, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 sets the country acquired from the position information on the sharing destination country selection screen P3. It may be displayed in a higher rank. Further, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 may display "other" which is an input field in which the management-side user inputs a desired country name. The management-side user selects a desired country name from a plurality of country names displayed in the "Other" pull-down list.

  When the management-side user selects a desired country name on the sharing destination country selection screen P3, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 sets the country of the selected country name as the sharing destination country. For example, the management-side user selects the country name of the country where the terminal device 3 is set in the sharing destination device by the sharing destination device setting unit 163. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the sharing destination country setting unit 166 sets the country “C1” where “PC1 (terminal device 3A)” is located and the country “C2” where “PC2 (terminal device 3B)” is located. Set as the sharing destination country.

  The file name setting unit 167 sets the file name of the shared file set by the shared file setting unit 162. The file name setting unit 167 is an example of the file name setting unit of the present invention. For example, the file name setting unit 167 translates and converts the file name set by the image data acquisition unit 161 into the local language of the sharing destination country set by the sharing destination country setting unit 166. For example, as shown in the file name setting screen P4 of FIG. 7, the file name setting unit 167 causes the shared file “scan file 2.PDF” to be shared by the sharing destination device “PC1” (terminal device 3A). , And is translated into the local language “L1” (here, “English”) of the sharing destination country “C1” and converted into “Scanned File 2 .PDF”. Further, for example, the file name setting unit 167 sets the shared file “scan file 2.PDF” to be shared by the “PC2” (terminal device 3B), which is the sharing destination device, to the location of the destination country “C2”. It is translated into the word "L2" (here, "German") and converted into "Gescante Datei 2 .PDF".

  Note that, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 16 has a selection field (eg, FIG. 6) on the sharing destination country selection screen P3 in which the management-side user can select whether or not he / she wants to set (convert) the file name. Check box) may be provided. In this case, the file name setting unit 167 executes the file name setting process when the management-side user performs an operation for setting the file name on the sharing destination country selection screen P3.

  The sharing date and time setting unit 168 sets a sharing date and time (sharing schedule), which is a date and time when the sharing destination device can share the shared file, which is set by the sharing destination device setting unit 163, based on the time difference. For example, the sharing date and time setting unit 168 sets the sharing date and time based on the date and time at which the user of the sharing destination device can operate the sharing destination device. Further, for example, the shared date and time setting unit 168 sets the shared date and time to the date and time designated by the management-side user. The shared date / time setting unit 168 is an example of the shared date / time setting unit of the present invention. Here, as an example, a case will be described in which the shared date and time is a transmission date and time indicating a date and time when the shared file is transmitted. An example in which the shared date and time is an access date and time indicating a date and time when access to the shared file is permitted will be described in a modified example described later.

  For example, the management-side user selects the transmission date and time on the transmission date and time setting screen P5 (see FIG. 8) displayed on the operation display unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. The transmission date and time setting screen P5 includes "immediate transmission" and "time difference transmission" as the selection items of the transmission date and time. The "time difference transmission" includes the "operation start time" and the "specified time". “Immediate transmission” is a selection item indicating that the shared file is transmitted at the timing when the setting of the file sharing process is completed, for example, when the management-side user presses the “Complete” button on the transmission date / time setting screen P5. .

  "Time difference transmission" is a selection item indicating that the shared file is transmitted at a timing later than the timing when the setting of the file sharing process is completed. The “operation start time” is a selection item indicating the time when the management-side user can confirm the shared file. The time is the time of the country where the shared file is shared. For example, the "operation start time" is set to the time (e.g. work time, login time, etc.) (for example, "9:00") when the user of the "PC1 (terminal device 3A)" starts work. The “operation start time” may be set in advance by the management side user, the use side user, or the like. Further, the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 may acquire the login information (login time) in the terminal device 3 and set the “operation start time” based on the login time.

  The “designated time” is a selection item indicating that the shared file is transmitted at the time designated by the management-side user. The management-side user can input a desired time. The time is the time of the country where the shared file is shared. The management-side user inputs the designated time in consideration of the time difference between the shared file and the country where the shared file is shared.

  The shared date / time setting unit 168 sets the transmission date / time of the shared file based on the information selected by the management-side user on the transmission date / time setting screen P5 (see FIG. 8). In the example shown in FIG. 8, for the shared file “scan file 2.PDF” to be transmitted to the “PC1” (terminal device 3A) that is the sharing destination device, the management-side user sets the “operation start time” (for example, “9: Since “00”) is selected, the shared date and time setting unit 168 sets “9:00” as the transmission date and time of the shared file. Moreover, since the management user has input "designated time (11:00)" for the shared file "scan file 2.PDF" to be transmitted to the "PC2" (terminal device 3B) which is the sharing destination device, The shared date / time setting unit 168 sets “11:00” as the transmission date / time of the shared file.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the current time of the country “C0” in which the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged is “October 15, 2018 14:00”. In this case, the current time of the country “C1” in which “PC1 (terminal device 3A)” is located is “October 15, 2018 19:00” because the time difference is “+5 hours”, and “PC2 ( The current time of the country "C2" in which the terminal device 3B) "is located is" October 15, 2018 6:00 "because the time difference is" -8 hours ".

  The file transmission unit 169 transmits the shared file to the terminal device 3 set as the sharing destination device by the sharing destination device setting unit 163 at the transmission date and time set by the sharing date and time setting unit 168. Specifically, the file transmission unit 169 transmits the shared file to the sharing destination when the local date and time of the place where the sharing destination device is arranged is the sharing date and time set by the sharing date and time setting unit 168. Send to device. The file transmission unit 169 is an example of the file sharing unit of the present invention.

  In the above example, the file transmission unit 169 sets the time (local time) of the sharing destination country “C1” to “PC1 (terminal device 3A)” set in the sharing destination device as “9: When it becomes "00", the shared file is transmitted. In other words, the file transmission unit 169 considers the time difference from the destination country “C1”, and the current time of the country “C0” in which the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged is the next day (October 16, 2018). When it becomes “4:00”, the shared file is transmitted to “PC1 (terminal device 3A)”.

  Further, when the time (local time) of the destination country "C2" becomes "11:00" with respect to the "PC2 (terminal device 3B)" set in the sharing destination device, the file transmitting unit 169 determines that the time is "11:00". Send the shared file. In other words, the file transmission unit 169 considers the time difference from the destination country “C2”, and the current time of the country “C0” in which the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged is the current day (October 15, 2018). At “19:00”, the shared file is transmitted to “PC2 (terminal device 3B)”.

  The shared date and time may or may not include date information. When the shared date and time does not include date information, the file transmission unit 169 transmits the shared file based on the hour and minute information.

[Server device 2]
The server device 2 is a computer such as a mail server and a management server. The server device 2 may be a cloud server constructed by one or a plurality of physical servers.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the server device 2 includes an operation display unit 20, a communication I / F 21, a storage unit 22, a control unit 23, and the like. The operation display unit 20 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel and an operation button that receives an information input operation by the user. The server device 2 may not include the operation display unit 20. The communication I / F 21 is a communication interface capable of executing communication processing according to a predetermined communication protocol with an information processing apparatus such as the image forming apparatus 1 and the terminal device 3 via the communication network N1. .

  The storage unit 22 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a hard disk or an EEPROM (registered trademark). The storage unit 22 stores various control programs and various data.

  The control unit 23 includes control devices such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or nonvolatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

  Specifically, the control unit 23 includes a file receiving unit 231 and a file management unit 232. The file receiving unit 231 receives the shared file transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1.

  The file management unit 232 manages the shared file received by the file reception unit 231. Specifically, the file management unit 232 transfers the shared file to the sharing destination device set in the image forming apparatus 1. That is, the control unit 23 performs a process of transferring the shared file received from the image forming apparatus 1 to a predetermined terminal device 3.

[Terminal device 3]
Although illustration is omitted, the terminal device 3 includes an operation display unit, a communication I / F, a storage unit, a control unit, and the like. A well-known configuration can be applied to the terminal device 3.

  The operation display unit includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display for displaying information, and an operation unit such as a touch panel and operation buttons for receiving information input operation by the user on the user side. The user on the use side performs, for example, a login operation of the terminal device 3, a mail transmission / reception operation, an access operation to the shared file, and the like using the operation display unit.

  The communication I / F is a communication interface capable of executing communication processing according to a predetermined communication protocol with an information processing apparatus such as the image forming apparatus 1 and the server apparatus 2 via the communication network N1. is there. The storage unit is a non-volatile storage unit such as a hard disk or an EEPROM (registered trademark). Various control programs and various data are stored in the storage unit.

  The control unit includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or nonvolatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

  For example, when the control unit receives the shared file transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 via the server apparatus 2, the control unit notifies the user of the message indicating that the shared file has been received. Further, the control unit causes the operation display unit to display the received shared file.

[File sharing processing]
Next, an example of the procedure of the file sharing process executed by the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a process in which the control unit 16 transmits the shared file to the sharing destination device via the server device 2 will be described. The control unit 16 executes the file sharing process by starting execution of the file sharing program in response to a user operation, for example, an operation (scan operation) of reading an original by the image reading unit 12 in the image forming apparatus 1. To start. It should be noted that the file sharing process may be terminated midway in response to a predetermined operation of the image forming apparatus 1 by the user. Here, steps S11, S12, ... Represent numbers of processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 16.

  Note that one or a plurality of steps included in the file sharing process described here may be appropriately omitted. Further, the steps in the file sharing process may be executed in different orders within a range in which the same operational effect is produced. Further, here, a case where each step in the file sharing process is executed by the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described as an example, but in another embodiment, the file sharing process is performed by a plurality of other processors. Each step in may be distributed and executed.

  Here, the present invention can be understood as an invention of an information processing method for executing one or a plurality of steps included in the file sharing process.

  First, in step S11, the control unit 16 acquires the image data read by the image reading unit 12. For example, the control unit 16 acquires the image data by the image reading unit 12 reading the document set on the platen by the management-side user in the image forming apparatus 1.

  Next, in step S12, the control unit 16 sets a file (shared file) to be shared by the sharing destination device (terminal device 3) among the files corresponding to the image data. For example, the control unit 16 sets the file selected by the management-side user on the shared file selection screen P1 (see FIG. 4) as the shared file.

  Next, in step S13, the control unit 16 sets the sharing destination device (terminal device 3) of the sharing file. For example, the control unit 16 sets the terminal device 3 selected by the management-side user on the sharing destination device selection screen P2 (see FIG. 5) as the sharing destination device.

  Next, in step S14, the control unit 16 analyzes the image of the image data and analyzes the language of the image included in the image data.

  Next, in step S15, the control unit 16 acquires the language of the characters included in the image data based on the result of the image analysis.

  Next, in step S16, the control unit 16 sets a country (shared country) of the shared file. For example, the control unit 16 displays the destination country selection screen P3 (see FIG. 6) that displays the country names of a plurality of countries having the language as a local language among the plurality of countries registered in the country information DB 151 (see FIG. 3). In (), the country of the country name selected by the management-side user is set as the sharing destination country.

  Next, in step S17, the control unit 16 sets the file name of the shared file. For example, the control unit 16 translates and converts the file name set by the image data acquisition unit 161 into the local language of the sharing destination country (see FIG. 7).

  Next, in step S18, the control unit 16 sets the shared date and time (for example, transmission date and time) of the shared file set by the shared file setting unit 162. For example, the control unit 16 sets the transmission date / time of the shared file based on the information selected by the management-side user on the transmission date / time setting screen P5 (see FIG. 8).

  Next, in step S19, the control unit 16 transmits the shared file to the terminal device 3 of the sharing destination device set in step S13 at the transmission date and time.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the location of the image forming apparatus 1 that manages the file corresponding to the image data read by the image reading unit 12 and the terminal device 3 that shares the shared file. When there is a time difference with the location of the terminal device 3, the shared file is transmitted to the terminal device 3 based on the local time corresponding to the location of the terminal device 3. Therefore, the user of the terminal device 3 can properly receive and use the shared file.

  The information processing system of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Hereinafter, a modified example of the image forming system 100 according to the above embodiment will be described. Further, in the following description, for configurations common to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, the same reference numerals as those of the configurations of the above-described embodiments will be given, and the description thereof will be omitted. Omit it.

[Modification 1]
The image forming system 100, for example, accesses a file corresponding to the image data read by the image forming apparatus 1 from the terminal device 3 arranged at a position having a time difference from the location of the image forming apparatus 1. May be permitted. In this configuration, for example, the server device 2 acquires the shared file from the image forming apparatus 1 and controls the permission or non-permission of the access to the shared file. That is, the server device 2 according to the first modification functions as a management server.

  Specifically, the control unit 16 (shared date / time setting unit 168) of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first modification sets the access date / time as the shared date / time (shared schedule) of the shared file set by the shared file setting unit 162. Set. That is, the shared date and time may be an access date and time indicating a date and time when access to the shared file is permitted.

  For example, the management-side user sets the access date and time on the access date and time setting screen P6 (see FIG. 11) displayed on the operation display unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. The access date / time setting screen P6 includes “immediate access” and “time difference access” as the access date / time selection items. The "time difference access" includes "operation start time" and "specified time". “Immediate access” is a selection item indicating that access to the shared file is permitted when the shared file is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 to the server apparatus 2.

  “Staggered access” is a selection item indicating that access to the shared file is permitted at a timing later than the timing at which the shared file is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1 to the server apparatus 2. The "operation start time" and the "specified time" are the same as the "operation start time" and the "specified time" shown in FIG.

  The shared date / time setting unit 168 sets the access date / time of the shared file based on the information selected by the management-side user on the access date / time setting screen P6 (see FIG. 11).

  When the sharing date / time (access date / time) of the shared file is set by the sharing date / time setting unit 168, the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 transmits the shared file and the access date / time information to the server device 2.

  When the file management unit 232 of the control unit 23 of the server device 2 according to the modified example 1 acquires the shared file and the information of the access date and time from the image forming device 1, it controls the access of the terminal device 3 to the shared file. . The file management unit 232 is an example of the file sharing unit of the present invention.

  Specifically, the control unit 23 (file management unit 232) permits access to the shared file from the terminal device 3 set as the sharing destination device by the sharing destination device setting unit 163 at the access date and time. In the above-mentioned example, when the time of the sharing destination country “C1” becomes “9:00”, the control unit 23 causes the sharing from the “PC1 (terminal device 3A)” set in the sharing destination device. Allow access to files. In other words, the control unit 23 considers the time difference from the destination country “C1”, and the current time of the country “C0” in which the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged is the next day (October 16, 2018) “ When it becomes "4:00", the access of "PC1 (terminal device 3A)" to the shared file is permitted.

  Further, when the time of the destination country "C2" becomes "11:00", the control unit 23 causes the "PC2 (terminal device 3B)" set in the destination device to access the shared file. to approve. In other words, the control unit 23 considers the time difference from the destination country “C2”, and the current time of the country “C0” in which the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged is the current day (October 15, 2018) “ When it becomes "19:00", the access of "PC2 (terminal device 3B)" to the shared file is permitted.

  In the image forming system 100 according to the modified example 1, the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 sets the information on the date and time when the shared file can be accessed in the sharing destination apparatus by the sharing destination apparatus setting unit 163. The user of the terminal device 3 may be notified. Accordingly, the user on the use side can grasp the accessible date and time of the shared file, and thus can surely access the shared file.

  Further, in the image forming system 100 according to the first modification, the server device 2 may set an authentication condition for allowing the user on the access side to access the shared file at the access date and time. For example, the server device 2 permits access to the shared file when the password input by the user on the sharing destination device (terminal device 3) at the access date and time matches the preset password. .

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to Modification 1 includes the location of the image forming apparatus 1 that manages the shared file corresponding to the image data read by the image reading unit 12 and the location of the terminal device 3 that shares the shared file. If there is a time difference between the two, the access to the shared file is permitted based on the local time corresponding to the location of the terminal device 3. Therefore, the user of the terminal device 3 can properly access the shared file. That is, according to the present invention, even if there is a time difference between the management side that manages the file corresponding to the image data read by the image reading unit 12 and the usage side that uses the shared file, It becomes possible for the user on the side to properly use the shared file.

[Modification 2]
In the image forming system 100, the control unit 23 (see FIG. 9) of the server device 2 may include the function of the file transmission unit 169 (see FIG. 2) of the image forming device 1. With this configuration, when the sharing date / time (transmission date / time) of the shared file is set by the sharing date / time setting unit 168, the control unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 sends the shared file and the information of the transmission date / time to the server device 2 Send to. When the control unit 23 of the server device 2 acquires the shared file and the information of the transmission date and time from the image forming apparatus 1, the terminal device set in the sharing destination device by the sharing destination device setting unit 163 according to the transmission date and time. 3 transmits the shared file.

  As described above, in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment, the main body that transmits the shared file according to the transmission date and time may be the image forming apparatus 1 or the server apparatus 2.

[Modification 3]
In the image forming system 100, the control unit 16 (file name setting unit 167) sets the file name of the shared file set by the shared file setting unit 162 to the country (share destination country) set by the share destination country setting unit 166. ) Local date and time may be displayed.

  Further, the control unit 16 sets the reading date and time, which is the date and time when the document is read by the image reading unit 12, as the file name of the image data file, and the sharing destination country setting unit 166 sets the sharing destination of the shared file. When the country is set, the read date and time may be converted into the local date and time. For example, as shown in the file name setting screen P4 of FIG. 12, the file name setting unit 167 causes the shared file “img-201810151400.PDF” to be shared by the “PC1” (terminal device 3A) that is the sharing destination device. , And the local date and time of the sharing destination country “C1” is converted to “img-201810151900.PDF”. Further, for example, the file name setting unit 167 sets the shared file “img-201810151400.PDF” to be shared by the “PC2” (terminal device 3B), which is the sharing destination device, to the location of the “C2” that is the destination country. The date and time is converted to "img-201810150600.PDF". Note that “201810151400” indicates that the read date and time is “October 15, 2018 14:00”.

  As a result, the user on the use side can grasp the date and time (reading date and time) when the shared file is generated by the date and time corresponding to the local time.

  The image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment may be configured by the image forming apparatus 1, or may be configured by the image forming apparatus 1 and the server apparatus 2.

1: Image forming device 2: Server device 3: Terminal device 10: Operation display unit 12: Image reading unit 13: Image forming unit 14: Communication I / F
15: storage unit 16: control unit 20: operation display unit 21: communication I / F
22: Storage unit 23: Control unit 100: Image forming system 161: Image data acquisition unit 162: Shared file setting unit 163: Sharing destination device setting unit 164: Image analysis processing unit 165: Language acquisition unit 166: Sharing destination country setting unit 167: File name setting unit 168: Shared date / time setting unit 169: File transmission unit 231: File reception unit 232: File transfer unit

Claims (11)

A sharing destination device that is a sharing destination of a file corresponding to the image data of the document read by the image reading unit, and is arranged at a place where there is a time difference from the place where the management device that manages the file is arranged. A sharing destination device setting unit for setting the sharing destination device;
A sharing date and time setting unit configured to set a sharing date and time, which is a date and time at which the sharing destination device can share the file, set by the sharing destination device setting unit, based on the time difference;
A file sharing unit that transmits the file to the sharing destination device or permits access to the file from the sharing destination device based on the sharing date and time set by the sharing date and time setting unit;
An information processing system including. The management device and the sharing destination device are located in different countries,
The information processing system according to claim 1. The sharing date and time setting unit sets the sharing date and time based on the date and time at which the user of the sharing destination device can operate the sharing destination device,
The information processing system according to claim 2. The shared date and time setting unit sets the shared date and time to a date and time designated by a user of the management device,
The information processing system according to claim 2. The file sharing unit transmits the file to the sharing destination device when the local date and time of the location where the sharing destination device is arranged is the sharing date and time set by the sharing date and time setting unit, or , Permitting access to the file from the sharing destination device,
The information processing system according to claim 3. A language acquisition unit for acquiring the language of characters included in the image data,
Display a screen listing the country names of one or more countries that use the language as the local language acquired by the language acquisition unit, and select the country of the country selected by the user on the screen as the destination country of the file sharing. Share destination country setting section set to
A file name setting unit for displaying the file name of the file in the local language of the country set by the sharing destination country setting unit;
The information processing system according to claim 2, further comprising: A language acquisition unit for acquiring the language of characters included in the image data,
Display a screen listing the country names of one or more countries that use the language as the local language acquired by the language acquisition unit, and select the country of the country selected by the user on the screen as the destination country of the file sharing. Share destination country setting section set to
A file name setting unit for displaying the file name of the file with the local date and time of the country set by the sharing destination country setting unit;
The information processing system according to claim 2, further comprising: The file name setting unit sets the reading date and time, which is the date and time when the document was read by the image reading unit, in the file name of the file, and the sharing destination country setting unit sets the sharing destination country of the file. If the reading date and time is converted to the local date and time,
The information processing system according to claim 7. The shared destination country setting unit determines a display position of the country name on the screen according to the number of other languages used as local languages in a plurality of countries using the language as local languages.
The information processing system according to claim 6 or 7. The management apparatus is an image forming apparatus including the image reading unit,
The sharing destination device is a user terminal,
The information processing system according to claim 1. A sharing destination device that is a sharing destination of a file corresponding to the image data of the document read by the image reading unit, and is arranged at a place having a time difference from the place where the management device that manages the file is arranged. A sharing destination device setting step of setting the sharing destination device;
A sharing date and time setting step of setting a sharing date and time, which is a date and time at which the sharing destination device can share the file, set by the sharing destination device setting step, based on the time difference;
A file sharing step of transmitting the file to the sharing destination device or permitting access to the file from the sharing destination device based on the sharing date and time set by the sharing date and time setting step;
Information processing method including.

Images