JP2022011985A - Image processing system, information processing system, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image processing system configured to perform image processing in an area of image data in accordance with selected identification information.SOLUTION: An image processing system 100 configured so that a device 20 and an information processing system 10 can communicate with each other over a network, includes a setting receiving unit 12 which associates an image processing area with identification information. The device includes a communication unit 31 which transmits the identification information and image data to the information processing system in accordance with a selection from a user received by the device. The information processing system includes a processing result output unit 68 which outputs a result of image processing performed in the image processing area associated with the identification information, of the image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing system, an information processing system, an image processing method, and a program.

In the daily work of organizations such as companies and organizations, invoices, purchase orders, expense invoices, and other forms are often processed. The person in charge in the organization, for example, performs daily work of extracting and totaling the handling date, case number, amount of money, etc. from the form.

A technique for digitizing such work has been devised (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses an image reading device in which a multifunction device scans a form marking an area to be masked by a user and registers the form in which the area is masked in a core system or the like.

However, in the conventional technique, there is a problem that the image processing cannot be performed on the area of the image data according to the selection of the identification information. For example, there is a system in which a device reads a form, digitizes it, and registers it in a server when the user presses an icon or a button displayed by the device. However, this system could not perform image processing on a predetermined area of digitized image data.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing system that performs image processing on an area of image data according to the selection of identification information.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is an image processing system capable of communicating between a device (including a terminal device such as an MFP and a PC) and an information processing system (including a PC and an MFP) and an information processing system via a network. The device has a setting reception unit that associates a processing area with an identification information, and the device includes a communication unit that transmits the identification information and image data to the information processing system according to a selection from a user accepted by the device. The information processing system has
Among the image data, it is characterized by having a processing result output unit that outputs an image processing result to the area of the image processing associated with the identification information.

It is possible to provide an image processing system that performs image processing on an area of image data according to the selection of identification information.

It is a figure explaining the process or operation which the image processing system creates a file with the data acquired from a form. It is a figure which shows the system configuration of an example of the image processing system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware configuration of an example of an information processing system and a terminal apparatus. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of an example of an apparatus, a terminal apparatus, and an information processing system. It is a figure explaining the correspondence of an icon and area information. It is a figure which shows an example of the application processing information stored in the application processing information storage part. It is a figure which shows typically the series of processing performed by an application. It is a figure explaining the marking method of the area in a form. It is a figure which shows an example of the area registration screen which a device displays at the time of registration of area information. This is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which an information processing system acquires area information from a form in which an administrator has marked an area and creates a setting file. It is an example of a figure explaining the detection of a region from image data. This is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which an administrator sets information in columns F to K of a setting file. It is an example of the figure explaining the correspondence between the setting file and the form. This is an example of a screen displayed by the terminal device regarding the correspondence between the application and the area information. This is an example of a sequence diagram that explains the process of associating an application with a configuration file by an administrator. It is an example of the figure which shows the selection screen of some application. This is an example of a screen operated by the administrator when duplicating an application. This is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which an information processing system registers a copy of an application. It is a figure which shows the transition example of the screen which a device displays. It is an example of the figure explaining the file stored in the external service system. This is an example of a sequence diagram in which an information processing system receives a PDF file containing image data of a form from an apparatus and acquires data from an area. It is an example of the figure explaining the correction of the OCR processing result. It is a figure which shows an example of the file list screen of an external service system displayed by a terminal apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the output data display screen which a device displays. It is an example of a figure showing a plurality of forms and an output file.

Hereinafter, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing system and an image processing method performed by the image processing system as an example of a mode for carrying out the present invention.

<Outline of processing or operation>
Organizations such as companies and organizations often process forms such as expense invoices, invoices or purchase orders. The person in charge in the organization performs the work of extracting the date, the case number or the amount of money from the form and totaling it every day. The processed form is stored after filing, but the storage space is also costly. Although the digitization of forms is gradually progressing, it takes time and effort for the person in charge to rename the file name automatically given to the form file.

There are systems and services that automate billing and ordering, but many are expensive, so not many SMEs can invest in them. For this reason, the current situation is that this form is unavoidably processed manually.

In the present embodiment, the information processing system performs image processing on the area of the form that occurs every day to acquire data based on the area information registered in advance by the form marked with the area, and obtains data as an electronic file. Can be output.

The outline of the processing or operation performed by the image processing system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a process or operation of creating a file with data acquired from a form by the image processing system 100. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating setting of area information in a form, and FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating acquisition of data from a form using area information.

(1) The image processing system 100 can cooperate with the external service system 40. The image processing system 100 cooperates with the external service system 40 via an application. An application that operates on the image processing system 100 may be simply called an "app", and an application that operates on the external service system 40 may be called a cooperation destination application. In this case, the application IDs of the application and the cooperation destination application are associated with each other. The image processing system 100 stores the correspondence relationship.

(2) The administrator 8 of the image processing system 100 specifies in which area of the form 7 data should be acquired by using the form 7 that the user in the organization uses on a daily basis. For example, the area of the form 7 may be filled or surrounded with a marker pen. The device 20 reads the form 7 in which the area is marked and transmits the generated image data to the information processing system 10. It should be noted that the marked form 7 may have characters or the like written on the items, may be only the items, or may be a blank sheet.

(3) The information processing system 10 saves the area information of the area designated by the marker pen in the setting file. The area information is the coordinates of the diagonal vertices of, for example, a rectangular area in the image data. The information processing system 10 stores the setting file in the external service system 40.

(4) -1 The administrator connects the terminal device 30 to the external service system 40, downloads the setting file, and complements the setting file with the language of the form and the format of the date and time.

(4) -2 Further, the administrator connects the terminal device 30 to the information processing system 10 and performs an operation of associating the application ID of the application with the setting file. The administrator can associate any number of application IDs with the setting file. As a result, the icon that accepts the selection of the application and the area information in which the image processing is performed are associated with each other.

(5) When the user 6 in the organization submits the form 7 to the organization for the purpose of reimbursement of expenses, the icon of the application corresponding to the form 7 is pressed on the device 20. You can easily select an application from multiple form names. The user causes the device 20 to read a form in which necessary items are handwritten or a form printed out. The device 20 reads the application ID and the form of the application and transmits the generated image data (for example, a PDF file) to the information processing system 10.

(6) The information processing system 10 identifies the setting file by the application ID, and acquires (for example, cuts out) the area of the area information of the setting file acquired from the external service system 40 from the image data. Therefore, the area of the form registered by the administrator is acquired.

(7) The information processing system 10 performs OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing only in this area and converts it into data. That is, the data (character code such as a character) described in the area can be obtained.

(8) The information processing system 10 outputs data to an electronic file (for example, a CSV (Comma Separated Value) file), and transmits the file and image data to the external service system 40. When the information processing system 10 specifies the application ID of the cooperation destination application, the file and image data can be transmitted by designating the cooperation destination application.

(9) The external service system 40 registers image data and files in a folder (or directory) specified by the administrator. Since the file contains the information necessary for settlement, the person in charge can process the settlement.

As described above, in the image processing system of the present embodiment, the device 20 reads the form in which the area is marked, and stores the area information for each form. Since the administrator associates the form with the icon of the application, the icon for accepting the selection of the application is associated with the area information in which the image processing is performed. Then, the information processing system 10 acquires only an area from the image data of the form transmitted from the device, performs OCR processing, and outputs the data as the OCR processing result to a file. This makes it possible to associate an image processing area with each of an arbitrary number of icons. For example, the user simply selects an icon according to the type of form, and the image is displayed in the desired area of the image data generated by scanning. Processing (for example, OCR processing) can be performed.

<Terminology>
The administrator is a system administrator or the like on the customer side of the image processing system, and is a person who sets the image processing system for a general user. The user is a general user on the customer side. Since a general user may perform the work of the administrator, it is not necessary to distinguish between the two.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition / Reader) refers to a technique of converting handwritten characters or printed characters into electrical signals by a photosensitive element to convert them into digital character codes that can be used by a computer. It may also be called character recognition processing, character conversion processing, digitization, and the like. The data obtained by OCR processing is various such as Japanese, English, numbers, symbols, and figures.

A form is a general term for books and slips. It is also called an office form with blanks for the user to fill out. In this embodiment, the form will be mainly described, but the name may be used as long as the device 20 is readable as long as it is a manuscript. For example, documents, documents, documents, reports, newspapers, magazines, etc. are also covered. The form may not be printed out on a paper medium (the device 20 may not need to read the form).

Any type of image data to be OCR processed may be used, and there are PDF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and the like.

The identification information may be any information that identifies the area. The identification information does not necessarily have to be an image, and the area may be associated with some identification information in advance. In this embodiment, it is described by the term of application ID. As long as there is information for identifying the area, in addition to the application ID, icon or button, the application name, setting name, setting number, form name, document name, URL embedded in the link, etc. may be used.

The information regarding the OCR region is information for the information processing system 10 to specify the OCR region. In this embodiment, it is described by the term of area information.

The image processing result refers to a product obtained by image processing. For example, it refers to a character code (data) that is the result of OCR processing.

In the present embodiment, the "setting file" is a file in which area information is set, and the "file" is a file in which data is output. A file is a group of data that is the basic unit of data managed by a computer.

Outputting data means allowing the user to visually check the data. In this embodiment, it is output to a file, for example.

The selection receiving component is a display component for the device 20 or the terminal device 30 to accept the user's selection. The selection receiving component may be displayed by the device 20 or may be displayed by the terminal device 30. The selection receiving parts are called, for example, icons and buttons, but they may be called in any way. The selection receiving component is displayed on a display with a touch panel, for example, but when there is no touch panel, the selection is accepted by pressing the cursor moved to the selection receiving component with the keyboard or mouse with the keyboard or mouse.

The information regarding the selected receiving component is, for example, information for identifying or specifying the selected receiving component, and is described in the present embodiment by the term of the application ID of the application.

An icon is a graphic (image) that symbolizes instructions / commands or document files given to a computer. A button is a figure (image) that a user presses with a mouse or a fingertip to give a command to software. Both the icon and the button may describe the operation content and the command content. Icons and buttons do not have to be strictly distinguished.

<System configuration example>
First, the system configuration of the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an example of the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment.

The image processing system 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes an information processing system 10 and a device 20, and is communicably connected via a wide-area network N1 such as the Internet. The image processing system 100 communicates with an external service system 40, which is an external system. Further, any terminal device 30 can communicate with the information processing system 10 via the networks N1 and N2.

The information processing system 10 is realized by one or more information processing devices, and provides various services realized by a series of processes linked with an external service system 40 such as a cloud service via a network N1. A specific example of the service provided by the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described later. The information processing system 10 may be realized by cloud computing or may be realized by a single information processing device. Cloud computing refers to a usage mode in which resources on a network are used without being aware of specific hardware resources. The information processing system 10 may exist on the Internet or on-premises. A series of processes are provided by one application, and the series of processes are also referred to as "processing flow" and "workflow".

The device 20 is various electronic devices used by the user. The device 20 is, for example, an image processing device such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), an image forming device, a PC (personal computer), a projector, an electronic blackboard, a digital camera, or the like. The device 20 is connected to the network N2. The user can use the device 20 to use various services provided by at least one of the information processing system 10 and the external service system 40.

In the following, when distinguishing _each of the plurality of devices ₂₀ , the subscripts such as “device 201” and “device 202” will be used.

The terminal device 30 is, for example, a desktop PC (personal computer), a notebook PC, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like used by an administrator or a user. In addition, the terminal device 30 may be a device capable of operating a Web browser. The terminal device 30 is connected to the network N2. The administrator or the user can operate the terminal device 30 to use various services provided by the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40, and can further set the cooperation destination application or the application.

Although the device 20 and the terminal device 30 will be described separately for convenience of explanation, the device 20 and the terminal device 30 may be referred to as a device.

Further, in the following, when distinguishing each of the plurality of terminal devices 30, they will be described by using subscripts such as “terminal device 30 ₁ ” and “terminal device 30 ₂ ”.

The external service system 40 is one or more information processing devices that provide a service by executing a linked application via a network N1. Data is managed or processed by executing the linked application, and the data itself and the processing result become a service.

An example of the external service system 40 includes, for example, a cloud service, an ASP (Application Service Provider), and the like, and various external services provided via a network may be included. In this embodiment, the storage service will be described as an example of the service. The external service system 40 may exist on the Internet or on-premises.

In the following, when distinguishing each of the plurality of external service systems 40, the illustrated "external service system 40 ₁ " is referred to as the external service system 40A, the "external service system ₄₀₂ " is referred to as the external service system 40B, etc. It is described.

<Hardware configuration example>
With reference to FIG. 3, the hardware configuration of the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 included in the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

<< Information processing system and terminal equipment >>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an example of the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 are constructed by a computer, and are connected to a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, an HD 504, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, a display 506, and an external device 20. It includes an I / F (Interface) 508, a network I / F 509, a bus line 510, a keyboard 511, a pointing device 512, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and a media I / F 516.

Of these, the CPU 501 controls the operation of the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 as a whole. The ROM 502 stores a program used to drive the CPU 501 such as an IPL. The RAM 503 is used as a work area of the CPU 501. The HD504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 504 according to the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device 20 connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices 20. The external device 20 in this case is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a printer, or the like. The network I / F509 is an interface for performing data communication using the network N2. The bus line 510 is an address bus, a data bus, or the like for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501 shown in FIG.

Further, the keyboard 511 is a kind of input means including a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions and the like. The pointing device 512 is a kind of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like. The DVD-RW drive 514 controls reading or writing of various data to the DVD-RW 513 as an example of a detachable recording medium. In addition, it is not limited to DVD-RW, and may be DVD-R or the like. The media I / F 516 controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 515 such as a flash memory.

<< Equipment >>
FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus which is an example of the device 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, and a network I / F 950.

Of these, the controller 910 is a CPU 901, a system memory (MEM-P) 902, a north bridge (NB) 903, a south bridge (SB) 904, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, and a storage unit, which are the main parts of the computer. It has a local memory (MEM-C) 907, an HDD controller 908, and a storage unit HD909, and has a configuration in which the NB 903 and the ASIC 906 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

Of these, the CPU 901 is a control unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus. The NB903 is a bridge for connecting the CPU901, the MEM-P902, the SB904, and the AGP bus 921, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target. Has.

The MEM-P902 includes a ROM 902a that is a memory for storing programs and data that realizes each function of the controller 910, and a RAM 902b that is used as a memory for developing programs and data and a memory for drawing at the time of memory printing. The program stored in the RAM 902b is configured to be recorded and provided as a file in an installable format or an executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD. You may.

The SB904 is a bridge for connecting the NB903 to a PCI device and a peripheral device. The ASIC 906 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge connecting the AGP bus 921, the PCI bus 922, the HDD controller 908, and the MEM-C907, respectively. This ASIC906 is a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) which is the core of the ASIC906, a memory controller which controls MEM-C907, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) which rotate image data by hardware logic and the like. , And a PCI unit that transfers data between the scanner unit 931, the printer unit 932, and the facsimile unit via the PCI bus 922. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface may be connected to the ASIC 906.

The MEM-C907 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HD909 is a storage for accumulating image data, accumulating font data used at the time of printing, and accumulating forms. The HD909 controls reading or writing of data to the HD909 according to the control of the CPU 901. The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for accelerating graphic processing, and the graphics accelerator card can be accelerated by directly accessing the MEM-P902 with high throughput. ..

Further, the short-range communication circuit 920 is provided with an antenna 920a of the short-range communication circuit. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

Further, the engine control unit 930 has a scanner unit 931, a printer unit 932, and a facsimile unit 933. Further, the operation panel 940 displays the current setting value, the selection screen, and the like, and sets the panel display unit 940a such as a touch panel that accepts the input from the operator, and the setting value of the condition related to image formation such as the density setting condition. It is provided with a hard key 940b including a numeric keypad for receiving and a start key for receiving a copy start instruction. The controller 910 controls the entire image forming apparatus, and controls, for example, drawing, communication, input from the operation panel 940, and the like. The scanner unit 931 or the printer unit 932 includes an image processing portion such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

The image forming apparatus can sequentially switch and select the document box function, the copy function, the printer function, and the facsimile function by the application switching key of the operation panel 940. When the document box function is selected, the document box mode is set, when the copy function is selected, the copy mode is set, when the printer function is selected, the printer mode is set, and when the facsimile mode is selected, the facsimile mode is set.

Further, the network I / F950 is an interface for performing data communication using the network N2. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network I / F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922.

<About functions>
Next, the functional configuration of the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of an example of the device 20, the terminal device 30, and the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment.

<< Equipment >>
First, the device 20 has a second communication unit 21, a display control unit 22, an operation reception unit 23, an image data generation unit 24, a facsimile processing unit 25, and an e-mail processing unit 26. Each of these functional units is a function or means realized by the CPU 901 executing an instruction included in one or more programs installed in the device 20. For example, the second communication unit 21, the display control unit 22, and the operation reception unit 23 are realized by a Web browser, and the others are realized by individual applications (native applications).

The second communication unit 21 transmits and receives various information to and from the information processing system 10. In the present embodiment, the screen information of the application list screen is received from the information processing system 10, and the image data of the form, the application ID, and the like are transmitted to the information processing system 10.

The display control unit 22 interprets the screen information of various screens and displays it on the panel display unit 940a. The operation receiving unit 23 receives various operations of the user on various screens displayed on the panel display unit 940a.

The image data generation unit 24 scans the document with the scanner unit 931 to generate the image data when the application for which the operation reception unit 23 has received the selection generates the image data. The image data generation unit 24 has a scanning function. The image data generation unit 24 converts the image data into a PDF file. Image data (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, etc.) may be used without conversion. The facsimile processing unit 25 performs processing related to reception and transmission of the facsimile by the facsimile unit 933, and requests the information processing system 10 to execute an application associated in advance when the facsimile is received. In addition, you may request an application corresponding to the sender (FAX number) of the facsimile.

The e-mail processing unit 26 performs processing related to transmission / reception of e-mail, and requests the information processing system 10 to execute an application associated in advance when the e-mail is received. In addition, you may request an application corresponding to the sender (email address) of the e-mail.

<< Terminal device >>
The terminal device 30 has a first communication unit 31, a display control unit 32, and an operation reception unit 33. Each of these functional units is a function or means realized by the CPU 501 executing an instruction included in one or more programs installed in the terminal device 30. The program may be a Web browser or dedicated software for communicating with the information processing system 10.

The first communication unit 31 transmits and receives various information to and from the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40 (an example of the second communication unit). In the present embodiment, various screen information and the like are received from the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40, and the information set by the administrator or the user is transmitted to the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40.

The display control unit 32 interprets the screen information of various screens and displays it on the display 506. The operation receiving unit 33 receives various operations of the user on various screens displayed on the display 506.

<< Information processing system >>
The information processing system 10 includes an application data service unit 11, a setting reception unit 12, an authentication service unit 14, a Web service processing unit 15, an input / output service unit 16, a component 18, and a communication unit 19. Each of these functional units is a function or means realized by the CPU 501 executing an instruction included in one or more programs installed in the information processing system 10. In FIG. 5, one information processing system 10 has each functional unit for convenience of drawing, but each functional unit may be distributed and arranged in a plurality of information processing devices.

The communication unit 19 transmits and receives various information to and from the terminal device 30 and the device 20. The setting receiving unit 12 provides the setting site to the terminal device 30 and accepts the setting for the setting site. The site may refer to a web page or a web application, or may refer to a server-side system that provides the web page or the web application to the terminal device 30. The setting reception unit 12 has a terminal screen providing unit 42, and the terminal screen providing unit 42 provides an initial screen, an application list screen, a correspondence screen, and the like for allowing an administrator to set information necessary for executing an application. do. The terminal screen providing unit 42 generates screen information described by HTML, XML, CSS (Cascade Style Sheet), JavaScript (registered trademark), etc. in response to an HTTP request from the terminal device 30, and converts the screen information into HTTP. It is transmitted to the terminal device 30 as a response.

The application data service unit 11 has an application data management unit 41. The application data management unit 41 manages application data 43 of an application purchased by a customer such as a company for each customer. The application data 43 associates the application with the above-mentioned area information, for example. The application data 43 is stored in the application data storage unit 13. An organization such as a customer as seen from the image processing system 100 is called a tenant.

The Web service processing unit 15 provides screen information to the device 20 and accepts the execution of the application from the device 20. The Web service processing unit 15 has an application execution unit 46 and a device screen providing unit 47. The application execution unit 46 accepts the execution of the application from the device 20 and requests the input / output processing unit 48 to execute the application. The device screen providing unit 47 uses the screen information 54 to provide the application list screen and the screen information of the application screen to the device 20.

The input / output service unit 16 inputs / outputs data using the authentication service unit 14, the application processing information storage unit 17, and the component 18. The input / output service unit 16 has an input / output processing unit 48 and an application management unit 49. The input / output processing unit 48 executes the application requested by the application execution unit 46. At the time of execution, the application processing information 53 is referred to and each processing included in the application is requested to the component 18. The application management unit 49 manages the application processing information 53 and the screen information 54 of the application stored in the application processing information storage unit 17. In the application processing information 53, which processing is performed by the application in what order (for example, a processing request is made to the external service system 40 after OCR) is set. The screen information 54 is screen information displayed by the device 20 such as an icon of each application, an application list screen, and each application screen. The application processing information storage unit 17 stores application processing information 53 and screen information 54 for each application.

The authentication service unit 14 performs processing related to authentication of the user (including the administrator) and the device 20. The authentication service unit 14 has a user management unit 44 and a device management unit 45. The user management unit 44 manages information about the user. For example, it holds authentication information such as a user name and a password. Further, the authentication information includes that of the information processing system 10 and that of the external service system 40. The device management unit 45 manages the device 20 associated with the tenant. That is, the tenant identification information and the device 20 are managed in association with each other, and when the device 20 is specified, the tenant is also specified.

The component 18 is a general term for individual functions that actually perform each process. One block in component 18 corresponds to one process. The component 18 is, for example, an authentication processing unit 61, an external service processing unit 62, a judgment unit 63, a PDF processing unit 64, an area detection unit 65, a file output unit 66, an area acquisition unit 67, a processing result output unit 68, and an OCR correction. It has a part 69. The authentication processing unit 61 is a component 18 that requests the authentication service unit 14 to perform processing related to authentication. The external service processing unit 62 is a component 18 that requests a processing request from the external service system 40. That is, the external service processing unit 62 is a function for cooperating with the external service system 40. The external service processing unit 62 is prepared for each type of the external service system 40. The determination unit 63 makes various determinations and controls branching of the processing flow. The PDF processing unit 64 performs processing related to a PDF file, for example, extracting image data from a PDF file or creating a PDF file with transparent text. This is because the device 20 transmits image data in the form of a PDF file. The area detection unit 65 detects a rectangular area marked with a marker pen or the like from the image data, and creates coordinates (area information) of the rectangular area. The file output unit 66 creates a setting file including the area information, and also outputs a file including the OCR processing result (data acquired from the form area). The area acquisition unit 67 acquires (for example, cuts out) an area from the image data based on the area information. The processing result output unit 68 performs OCR processing only on the area and the entire image data. The OCR correction unit 69 corrects the OCR processing result. In addition to the illustrations, it may have components such as translation.

表１は、アプリ処理情報記憶部１７が保持するアプリ処理情報の一例を示す。アプリ処理情報記憶部１７はテナントごとに購入されている（ライセンスがある）アプリのリストを記憶する。表１に示す情報はアプリ処理情報記憶部が記憶するリストに含まれるアプリうち、本実施形態で説明する受信した画像データの一部に画像処理を行うアプリの一覧で、アプリＩＤ、アプリ名、画面情報、アプリ処理情報、共有アプリ、及び、外部サービスシステム４０の各項目を有している。アプリＩＤはアプリを識別する識別情報である。アプリ名は管理者が付与したアプリの名称である。また、アプリのアイコンや設定画面を機器２０が表示する際に使用される画面情報５４（ＨＴＭＬ等で記述された）がアプリに対応付けられる。アプリには一連の処理の内容と順番（処理フロー）が定義されるので、各アプリにはアプリ処理情報５３が対応付けられる。後述するように、複製されたアプリはフロー情報が同じになる。共有アプリとは、一般のアプリがユーザごとに利用権限が与えられるのに対し、共有アプリはテナントのユーザが共通に使えるアプリであることを示す。表１では経費精算書アプリが共有アプリである。各ユーザが共通に利用するためである。外部サービスシステム４０の項目は各アプリが連携する外部サービスシステム４０である。外部サービスシステム４０と連携しないアプリも存在する。

Table 1 shows an example of the application processing information held by the application processing information storage unit 17. The application processing information storage unit 17 stores a list of purchased (licensed) applications for each tenant. The information shown in Table 1 is a list of applications that perform image processing on a part of the received image data described in the present embodiment among the applications included in the list stored in the application processing information storage unit. It has each item of screen information, application processing information, shared application, and external service system 40. The application ID is identification information that identifies the application. The application name is the name of the application given by the administrator. Further, the screen information 54 (described in HTML or the like) used when the device 20 displays the icon or setting screen of the application is associated with the application. Since the content and order (processing flow) of a series of processes are defined in the application, the application process information 53 is associated with each application. As will be described later, the duplicated apps have the same flow information. The shared application indicates that the general application is given usage authority for each user, while the shared application is an application that can be commonly used by tenant users. In Table 1, the expense report application is a shared application. This is because each user uses it in common. The item of the external service system 40 is the external service system 40 to which each application cooperates. There are also applications that do not cooperate with the external service system 40.

When the administrator or the user logs in, the application management unit 49 acquires a list of applications whose usage authority is granted to the administrator or the user from the application processing information storage unit 17 and provides the device 20 with the list. Further, when the application is specified from the list of applications, the application management unit 49 identifies the screen information and the application processing information associated with the application.

表２はユーザ管理部４４が管理するユーザに関する情報の一例を示す。表２（ａ）はユーザに関する情報として、情報処理システム１０におけるユーザＩＤ、ユーザ名、メールアドレス、パスワード、利用できるアプリ、及び、外部サービスシステム情報の各項目を有している。このユーザには管理者も含まれる。ユーザＩＤ、ユーザ名又はメールアドレスの少なくとも１つとパスワードは、ユーザが情報処理システム１０にログインするための認証情報である。利用できるアプリはこのユーザに利用権限が与えられているアプリである。利用権限は、利用人数などを指定してライセンスを購入したアプリを管理者が各ユーザに割り当てることで与えられる。利用できるアプリには個人アプリと共有アプリがある。個人アプリも共有アプリも複数のユーザに使用されるが、個人アプリは個人のユーザの外部サービスの認証情報を使用し、共有アプリは複数のユーザが外部サービスに対し管理者の認証情報を使用する。表２（ａ）では、U001～U003に共通のapp003が共有アプリである。その他は個人アプリである。個人アプリの場合、ユーザごとに外部サービスシステムの認証情報の登録が必要である。外部サービスシステム情報はユーザが連携設定済みの外部サービスシステム４０である。

Table 2 shows an example of information about a user managed by the user management unit 44. Table 2 (a) has each item of the user ID, the user name, the e-mail address, the password, the available application, and the external service system information in the information processing system 10 as the information about the user. This user also includes an administrator. At least one of the user ID, user name or e-mail address and password are authentication information for the user to log in to the information processing system 10. The apps that can be used are those for which this user has the right to use. The usage authority is given by the administrator assigning the application for which the license is purchased by specifying the number of users to each user. Available apps include personal apps and shared apps. Both personal and shared apps are used by multiple users, but personal apps use the credentials of individual users' external services, and shared apps use administrator credentials for multiple users to external services. .. In Table 2 (a), app003 common to U001 to U003 is a shared application. Others are personal apps. In the case of a personal application, it is necessary to register the authentication information of the external service system for each user. The external service system information is the external service system 40 for which the user has already set the cooperation.

Note that the link setting has been completed means that the user wishes to link with the external service system 40 and can confirm that he / she can log in with the authentication information of the external service system 40. When the user inputs the authentication information of the external service system 40 from the setting site and can log in, the identification information of the external service system is set in the external service system information of Table 2 (a). Further, the authentication information of the external service system 40 is registered in Table 2 (b).

Table 2 (b) is information about the external service system of each user, and has each item of user ID, external service system 40, user ID, and password. In Table 2 (b), the authentication information of the external service system 40 set by the user in cooperation is registered. The authentication information of the external service system 40 is the authentication information for the user to log in to the external service system 40. The authentication information may be different for each external service system 40, such as the user of U002. Therefore, the authentication information of the external service system 40 is associated with each user of the image processing system 100. The information processing system 10 specifies the authentication information of the external service system 40 of the cooperation destination according to the authentication information such as the user ID and password of the information processing system 10 acquired from the device 20.

Further, the authentication information may be the authentication information of the external service system 40 or the authentication information necessary for linking with the external service system 40, and is external when setting the link with the external service system 40 in addition to the user ID and password. A token or the like obtained from the service system 40 may be used.

Table 2 (c) shows the authentication information for the shared application. The external service system 40 and the authentication information are associated with the identification information of the shared application. Since the authentication information of the shared application is used by the administrator, the identification information of the administrator is registered.

表３は、アプリデータ記憶部１３に記憶されているアプリデータ４３の一例を示す。アプリデータ４３は、アプリと設定ファイル（領域情報）を対応づける。対応付けは管理者が行う。
・applicationId…連携元のアプリＩＤである。
・applicationName…アプリのアプリ名である。
・fileId…情報処理システム１０が作成した設定ファイルの識別情報である。
・fileName…情報処理システム１０が作成した設定ファイルのファイル名である。設定ファイルは外部サービスシステム４０に保存されるが、そのフォルダと共にファイル名が設定される。例えばＵＲＬでよい。
・アップロード先フォルダ…設定ファイルが保存される外部サービスシステム４０とそのフォルダである。例えばＵＲＬでよい。管理者が設定する。

Table 3 shows an example of the application data 43 stored in the application data storage unit 13. The application data 43 associates the application with the setting file (area information). The administrator performs the mapping.
-ApplicationId: The application ID of the link source.
-ApplicationName: The application name of the application.
-FileId ... Identification information of the setting file created by the information processing system 10.
-FileName: The file name of the setting file created by the information processing system 10. The setting file is saved in the external service system 40, and the file name is set together with the folder. For example, it may be a URL.
-Upload destination folder: The external service system 40 and its folder where the setting file is saved. For example, it may be a URL. Set by the administrator.

表４は、外部サービスシステム４０に記憶されている設定ファイル９の一例を示す。設定ファイル９は、ＯＣＲ処理の対象となる領域情報を有するファイルである。設定ファイルは表形式（例えばＣＳＶ形式）になっており、各セルの位置が列番号と行番号で指定される。以下、Ａ列～Ｌ列の項目について説明する。なお、設定ファイルの１行目にある項目名は、設定ファイルの作成時に情報処理システム１０により設定される。
・ＩＤ…領域情報の識別情報である。自動的に採番され、管理者やユーザが意識する必要はない。
・始点Ｘ座標、始点Ｙ座標、終点Ｘ座標、終点Ｙ座標…領域情報である。マーキングされた帳票の矩形領域の対角頂点を表す。１点の座標と幅と高さが指定されてもよい。座標の単位は例えばｃｍ、ピクセルなどでよい。

Table 4 shows an example of the setting file 9 stored in the external service system 40. The setting file 9 is a file having area information to be subject to OCR processing. The configuration file is in table format (for example, CSV format), and the position of each cell is specified by a column number and a row number. Hereinafter, the items in columns A to L will be described. The item name on the first line of the setting file is set by the information processing system 10 when the setting file is created.
-ID: Identification information of area information. It is automatically numbered and does not need to be conscious of the administrator or user.
-Start point X coordinate, start point Y coordinate, end point X coordinate, end point Y coordinate ... Area information. Represents the diagonal vertices of the rectangular area of the marked form. The coordinates, width and height of one point may be specified. The unit of the coordinates may be, for example, cm or a pixel.

The above information becomes the information automatically set by the information processing system 10. The following information is entered by the administrator.
-Format: The data format of the area. For example, there are dates (YYYY / MM / DD), numerical values (NUMERIC), and the like. Since the data format is known, the processing result output unit 68 can perform OCR processing with higher accuracy. The format is a pull-down menu. In this way, the data type is set for each area.
-CSV column name: A name given to the area. In the case of a form, the title of a rectangular frame is input, but the administrator can input any value. The CSV column name is output to a file together with the data.
-CSV position (column) ... Specify in which column of the file the information processing system 10 writes the data extracted from the area.
-CSV position (start line) ... Specifies to which line in the file the information processing system 10 writes the data extracted from the area. Since the line number increases each time the form is read, a "start line" is set when no data is described in the file. For example, the data acquired from the first form is set in the second line, but the data acquired from the second form is set in the third line. On the other hand, the row position may be fixed.
-OCR language: The language in which the area is described is set. Since the language is known, the processing result output unit 68 can perform OCR processing with higher accuracy. The OCR language is a pull-down menu. In this way, the data type is set for each area.
-Order to be used for the file name ... In this embodiment, the data acquired from the area is used for the file name of the output file. The order used for the file name is the order of the data used for the file name of the file output by the information processing system 10. For example, when the "document name" is No. 1 and the "application date" is No. 2, the file name is "expense settlement report_2010010.csv" according to the data (expense settlement report, 2010010) acquired from each area.

<Association of icon and area information>
Table 1 is associated with the application ID and screen information, and Table 3 is associated with the fileName including the application ID and the area information. Therefore, in the information processing system 10, screen information and area information are associated with each other. And this screen information includes the app icon.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the correspondence between the icons obtained from Tables 1 and 3 and the area information. As shown in FIG. 6, the application ID is associated with the icon of the application and further associated with the area information. Therefore, since the icon and the area information are associated with each other, the information processing system 10 can perform image processing (OCR processing) on the area of the area information associated with the icon selected by the user.

<App processing information>
Next, the details of the application processing information will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the application processing information 53 stored in the application processing information storage unit 17.

The application processing information 53 shown in FIG. 7 is information related to a series of processing for realizing a service that requests the "external service system B" to process the image data generated by scanning with the device 20.

The application processing information 53 includes a flow ID 1201A indicating the identification information of the application processing information 53, a flow name 1202A indicating the name of the application processing information 53, and a flow detail 1203A indicating the processing content of a series of processing. .. The flow name 1202A also serves as the name of the application.

Further, the flow detail 1203A includes the processing content 1223A indicating that the processing is requested to the “external service system B”.

In the process content 1223A, the component ID "ExService_B" of the component 18 that executes the process linked with the "external service system B", and the parameters "AppId" and "Folder" are specified. "ExService_B" corresponds to the external service processing unit 62 for the external service system B. The link destination application ID is stored in "AppId" (the correspondence between the application and the link destination application is predetermined), and the file save destination folder (upload destination folder) is stored in "Folder" (administrator). The upload destination folder set by is set). As a result, the information processing system 10 can store the scanned image data in the "external service system B".

In addition, in the case of an application that does not cooperate with the linked application, "AppId" is omitted. The illustrated parameters are partial and the application processing information may include more parameters.

In FIG. 7, for the sake of simplicity, only one component is specified, but in the application processing information 53, a series of processing contents 1223A performed by the application are registered as many as the number of processing (components).

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a series of processes performed by the application. FIG. 8A shows a series of processes of an application (for example, an OCR area designation application) that creates a setting file. One block corresponds to the processing content 1223A. Details of each process will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8B shows a series of processes of an application (for example, an expense settlement application) that outputs data from the form area. One block corresponds to the processing content 1223A. Details of each process will be described with reference to FIG.

<Specify area, get area, create configuration file>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12, the administrator specifies an area, acquires an area, and creates a setting file.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method of marking an area in a form. In FIG. 9A, a color adhesion portion 601 colored with a marker pen other than black and white (with saturation) is formed. The area detection unit 65 detects pixels other than black and white, and detects an circumscribed rectangle of pixels other than black and white (color adhesion portion 601). A marker pen other than black and white is used so that the area detection unit 65 can easily detect the area, and a black marker pen may be used. In this case, the area detection unit 65 detects the circumscribed rectangle of the black pixel having a certain height and area or more.

Further, in FIG. 9B, a frame line 602 surrounding the area is formed by a marker pen other than black and white. The area detection unit 65 detects pixels other than black and white, and detects an circumscribed rectangle of pixels other than black and white (frame line 602).

The area marking method is not limited to the method shown in FIG. For example, an area may be specified by a double line, or an area may be specified within a range surrounded by a predetermined symbol (%, $, #, Δ, etc.).

FIG. 10 is an example of the area registration screen 610 displayed by the device 20 when the area information is registered. The administrator logs in to the information processing system 10 from the device 20 and selects the OCR area designation application. The area registration screen 610 has a message 611 "Please set a document in which the area to be OCR is surrounded by a frame and press" Start "", a reading setting field 612, and a start button 613. The user sets the manuscript (form) on the contact glass and presses the start button 613. If necessary, reading conditions (color / black and white, single-sided / double-sided, orientation, resolution, etc.) may be set in the reading setting field 612. Note that color / black and white should be fixed to color so that the user does not accidentally set it to black and white.

It is preferable that the administrator can specify the file name of the setting file from the area registration screen 610 of FIG. This is to make it easier to find the setting file from the external service system 40. In addition, it is preferable that the user can set the folder to save the setting file.

FIG. 11 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which the information processing system 10 acquires area information from a form in which an area is marked by an administrator and creates a setting file.

S1: The administrator operates the device 20 to log in to the information processing system 10 and selects an OCR area designation application from the application list displayed on the initial screen. As a result, the display control unit 22 of the device 20 displays the area registration screen 610. The administrator installs the form marking the area on the contact glass and presses the start button 613. The image data generation unit 24 generates the image data of the form and converts it into a PDF file.

S2: The second communication unit 21 of the device 20 transmits the PDF file to the information processing system 10 together with the execution request of the OCR area designation application.

S3: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives the PDF file. The application execution unit 46 specifies the application ID of the OCR area designation application and requests the input / output processing unit 48 to execute the application. The input / output processing unit 48 executes the application with reference to the application processing information 53 associated with the application ID of the OCR area designation application. First, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies a PDF file and requests the PDF processing unit 64 to extract image data. The PDF processing unit 64 extracts the image data of the form from the PDF file.

S4: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 requests the area detection unit 65 to acquire the area together with the image data. The area detection unit 65 acquires an area from the image data based on the color information of the image data.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the detection of a region from image data. As shown in FIG. 12A, the RGB value of the color adhesion portion 601 designated by the marker pen has a value that is not black and white. Since the black RGB is (0,0,0) and the white RGB is (255,255,255), the region detection unit 65 can use, for example, the RGB of (1,1,1) to (254,254,254). The color adhering portion 601 to be possessed is detected. When the color of the marker pen is fixed, the developer can narrow the range of RGB according to the color, and can detect the color adhesion portion 601 more accurately. For example, even when the form is in color, if a marker pen having a color not found in the form is used, the area detection unit 65 can detect the color adhesion unit 601 from the color form.

FIG. 12B shows the detected color adhesion portion 601. The region detection unit 65 sets the circumscribed rectangle 620 of the detected color adhesion unit 601. Then, margins are set on the top, bottom, left, and right of the circumscribed rectangle 620, and the area 621 including the margins is determined. In FIG. 12B, a [mm] is set on the left and right, and b [mm] is set on the top and bottom. The reason for setting the margin is that when the device 20 reads the form, the position shift or the like occurs. The coordinates of the upper left corner 622 of FIG. 12B are the start point X coordinate and the start point Y coordinate of the area information, and the coordinates of the lower right corner 623 are the end point X coordinate and the end point Y coordinate (area information) of the area information.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), the region detection unit 65 may detect the outer frame line 625 of the color adhesion unit 601 detected based on RGB. The region detection unit 65 searches for black pixels toward the outside in the vertical direction of the color adhesion portion 601 (external rectangle 620), traces the black pixels when the black pixels are found, and traces the black pixels when the black pixels are returned to the outside. It is determined that the frame line 625 of is detected. By doing so, it is possible to detect the maximum area in which data is entered, and it becomes easy for the area acquisition unit 67 to acquire data even if a misalignment occurs when the device 20 reads the form.

S5: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies the image data whose area is designated by the marker pen, and requests the external service processing unit 62 to upload the image data to the external service system 40.

S6: The external service processing unit 62 acquires the authentication information of the administrator in the external service system 40 from the user management unit 44. As a result, the external service processing unit 62 logs in to the external service system 40 and saves the image data in the top folder of the administrator (or the folder specified by the administrator). When the administrator specifies the file name of the setting file on the area registration screen 610, the external service processing unit 62 assigns the same file name to the image data file. If the file name is not set, the current date and time will be the file name.

S7: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies the area information detected by the area detection unit 65, and requests the file output unit 66 to create a setting file. The file output unit 66 assigns an ID, arranges the area information in a fixed column of the CSV file, and generates a setting file. At this point, the information is in columns A to E of Table 4.

S8: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies a setting file and requests the external service processing unit 62 to upload to the external service system 40.

S9: Since the external service processing unit 62 has already logged in to the external service system 40, the external service processing unit 62 saves the setting file in the top folder of the administrator (or the folder specified by the administrator). When the administrator specifies the file name of the setting file on the area registration screen 610, the external service processing unit 62 assigns this file name to the file of the setting file. If the file name is not set, the current date and time will be the file name. Since the image data and the file name of the setting file are the same, the administrator can easily determine which image data the setting file was generated from.

<Registration of other information in the configuration file>
With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, the settings for columns F to K in the setting file will be described. FIG. 13 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which the administrator sets information in columns F to K of the setting file.

S11: After registering the setting file in the external service system 40, the administrator operates the terminal device 30 to connect the terminal device 30 to the external service system 40. The administrator inputs his / her authentication information and logs in to the external service system 40.

S12: Since the external service system 40 is a storage service, a list of files registered by the administrator is transmitted to the terminal device 30. For example, a list of files in the top folder is sent. If it is not in the top folder, the administrator specifies the hierarchy. The file list also includes the setting file and the image data file registered by the administrator from the device 20.

S13: The administrator selects the setting file in order to check the contents of the setting file and set the information in columns F to K. The operation receiving unit 33 of the terminal device 30 accepts the selection, and the first communication unit 31 specifies the file ID of the setting file and requests the setting file from the external service system 40.

S14: The communication unit 19 of the external service system 40 receives the request for the setting file and transmits the setting file to the terminal device 30.

S15: The administrator confirms the contents of the setting file and sets the information in columns F to K. The operation reception unit 33 of the terminal device 30 accepts the setting.

S16: For example, when the administrator performs an operation of uploading a setting file, the first communication unit 31 transmits a setting file in which information is set to columns A to K to the information processing system 10.

As described above, the setting file is registered in the external service system 40.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the correspondence between the setting file and the form. As described in Table 4, the administrator sets the format, CSV column name, CSV position (column), CSV position (row), OCR language, and order to be used for the file name. It is not always necessary to set all columns.

In the example of FIG. 14, the data acquired from the area information with ID = 1 is set to correspond to the “document name” of the CSV column name. "Document name" is used first in the file name. It is set that the data acquired from the area information of ID = 2 corresponds to the "application date" of the CSV column name. Further, since the CSV position on the application date is set to 3 columns and 2 rows, the data acquired from the area information of ID = 2 is written out in the 3rd column and 2nd row of the file. In addition, "application date" is used second in the file name. It is set that the data acquired from the area information of ID = 3 corresponds to the "amount" of the CSV column name. Further, since the CSV position of the amount of money is set to 4 columns and 2 rows, the data acquired from the area information of ID = 3 is written out in the 4th column and 2nd row of the file.

<Association of application and area information>
Next, the correspondence between the application and the area information will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 is an example of a screen displayed by the terminal device 30 regarding the correspondence between the application and the area information. The administrator operates the terminal device 30 to communicate the terminal device 30 with the information processing system 10.

First, FIG. 15A is an initial screen 630 displayed when the administrator logs in to the information processing system 10. The operation menu approved by the administrator is displayed. In order to associate the application with the setting file, the administrator selects the icon 631 to display the application list.

As shown in Table 2, since the application that can be used for each user and the external service system information are registered in the user management unit 44, the information processing system 10 is a list of applications that can be used by the administrator for each external service system 40. Can be provided to the terminal device 30.

FIG. 15B shows an example of the application list screen 632. The application list screen 632 displays a list of applications that can be used by the administrator. From the application list screen 632, the administrator selects an application 633 (for example, an expense settlement application) for associating with the setting file registered in the external service system 40. When the operation reception unit 33 accepts the selection of the application 633, the association screen 640 shown in FIG. 15C is displayed. The association screen 640 has an external service system selection field 641, an upload destination folder field 642, and a setting file field 643.
-External service system selection field 641 ... This is a field for the administrator to set the external service system 40 of the storage destination of the file for writing the data acquired from the area. Therefore, the administrator can change or newly set the external service system 40 associated with the application in advance.
-Upload destination folder column 642 ... In the external service system 40, this is a column for the administrator to set a folder for saving a file for writing data acquired from the area. When the administrator presses the folder selection button 642a, the information processing system 10 logs in to the external service system 40 with the administrator's authentication information in the external service system 40, and the top folder accessible to the administrator in the external service system 40 is the terminal. It is displayed on the device 30. The administrator can select any folder.
-Setting file field 643 ... This is a field for the administrator to select a setting file to be associated with the application. When the administrator presses the file selection button 644, the information processing system 10 logs in to the external service system 40 with the administrator's authentication information in the external service system 40, and the top folder accessible to the administrator in the external service system 40. Is displayed on the terminal device 30. The top folder (or a folder set by the administrator) includes a setting file registered by the information processing system 10 and updated by the administrator. If there is no configuration file in the top folder, the administrator can search for the configuration file in the folders under the top folder.

FIG. 16 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a process in which an administrator associates an application with a setting file via the screen of FIG. The process of FIG. 16 starts from the state where the screen of FIG. 15 (a) is displayed.

S21: The administrator logs in to the information processing system 10 and inputs an operation for displaying the application list from the initial screen 630 to the terminal device 30. The operation reception unit 33 of the terminal device 30 accepts the operation, and the first communication unit 31 requests the information processing system 10 for the application list.

S22: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives the request for the application list, and the terminal screen providing unit 42 acquires the application associated with the user ID of the administrator from the user management unit 44. The terminal screen providing unit 42 creates screen information of an application list screen including an application that can be used by the administrator for each external service system 40. The communication unit 19 transmits the screen information of the application list screen to the terminal device 30.

S23: The administrator selects the application to which the setting file is associated. The operation reception unit 33 of the terminal device 30 accepts the selection. After that, the terminal device 30 displays the correspondence screen 640 as described above.

S24: The administrator presses the file selection button 644 on the mapping screen 640. The operation reception unit 33 accepts the press, and the first communication unit 31 transmits a request for a file list stored in the external service system 40 set on the correspondence screen 640 to the information processing system 10.

S25: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives the file list request, and the application execution unit 46 designates the external service system 40 to the input / output processing unit 48 and requests the file list. The input / output processing unit 48 requests a file list from the external service processing unit 62 corresponding to the external service system 40. The external service processing unit 62 acquires the authentication information of the administrator's external service system 40 (whether it is associated with the application or set by the user on the mapping screen) from the user management unit 44, and causes the external service system 40 to obtain the authentication information. Send a file list request.

S26: The external service system 40 permits the administrator to log in based on the administrator's authentication information, and acquires a list of files associated with the administrator. A list of files is transmitted to the terminal device 30. Note that FIG. 16 assumes that the external service system 40 in which the setting file is stored and the external service system 40 in which the data file acquired from the area is stored are the same, but both may be different. In this case, the administrator selects the setting file and then changes the external service system 40 on the association screen 640.

S27: The display control unit 32 of the terminal device 30 displays a list of files. The administrator selects the configuration file associated with the app. The operation reception unit 33 of the terminal device 30 accepts the selection.

S28: The first communication unit 31 of the terminal device 30 specifies the identification information of the setting file, the identification information of the application, the external service system 40, and the upload destination folder, and processes the correspondence request between the setting file and the application. Send to 10.

S29: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives the request for associating the setting file with the application, and the application data management unit 41 registers the setting file and the application in the application data 43 in association with each other. That is, the applicationId, applicationName, fileId, fileName, and the upload destination folder are registered in association with each other. The external service system 40 is registered in the application processing information 53.

From the above, the application and the setting file are associated. After that, the general user can output the data in the form area to a file simply by pressing the icon from the device 20.

Although FIG. 16 describes a method in which the administrator associates the application with the area information on the association screen 640, the application and the area information may be associated with each other when the area information is registered.

In this case, for example, a field for inputting an application name is displayed on the area registration screen 610 of FIG. The administrator enters the app name of the app that he wants to associate with the configuration file. After creating the setting file, the information processing system 10 can associate the input application with the application name with the setting file. In other words, if the administrator sets the application name and reads the form, a setting file is generated, and the linkage source file and the setting file are associated with each other.

<App duplication>
Since the shape of the form varies, the location of the area where data is entered by the user also varies depending on the form. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the administrator can register the area information according to the shape of each form. As one of the methods of registering the area information for each form, the method of duplicating the application by the administrator will be described.

FIG. 17 shows a selection screen 650 for some apps. As an example, when there is a statement application, a payment slip application, and an OCR designated area application, the statement area information is used for the statement application, and the payment slip area information is used for the payment slip application. They are associated with each other in the data 43. When the user wants to acquire data from the specification area, he / she can output the data in the expected area by starting the specification application and scanning the specification. When the user wants to acquire data from the payment slip area, he / she can output the data in the expected area by starting the payment slip application and scanning the payment slip.

The processing performed by each application is described in the application processing information 53, but the processing performed by the statement application and the payment slip application is a component to be executed although the file save destination, upload destination folder, and setting file are different. Is the same. Therefore, if the administrator duplicates the statement application or payment slip application, the area is specified, the area is acquired, the setting file is created, and the setting file is associated with the duplicated application. The processing system 10 can create an application corresponding to any form.

Reproduction of the application will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is an example of a screen operated by the administrator when duplicating the application. FIG. 18A is an initial screen 630 displayed by the terminal device 30 when the administrator logs in to the information processing system 10. On the initial screen 630, a setting button 651 for the administrator to make various settings is displayed.

FIG. 18B is an application management screen 652 displayed after the setting button 651 is pressed. On the application management screen 652, a group name 653 in which some applications are grouped is displayed. The screen transition is an example for explanation, and the illustrated screen may be omitted or a new screen may be added.

A list of apps belonging to this group is displayed on the right side of the group name 653. The apps displayed in the list of apps are apps for which the administrator has been granted usage rights. Some apps are dedicated to administrators, while others are used by other users. The administrator presses the setting button 654 of the application to be duplicated. By pressing the setting button 654, a menu is displayed, and there is a button 655 to be duplicated in the menu.

When the administrator presses the duplicate button 655, the duplicate application setting screen (pop-up screen) 660 shown in FIG. 18 (c) is displayed. The duplication application setting screen 660 has an application name setting field 661, an icon list field 662, and a duplication request button 663. In the application name setting field 661, the administrator inputs an arbitrary application name to the new application created by duplication. The application name may be arbitrary, but duplicate application names are excluded or a branch number such as "~ (2)" is added. In addition to the application name, it may be called an icon name or a setting name.

A list of icons is displayed in the icon list column 662. The administrator can select the desired icon. It is also possible to press the reference button 664 to display another icon. When the administrator presses the duplication request button 663, the app ID, the app name, and the icon of the duplication source application are transmitted to the information processing system 10. The information processing system 10 receives these, and the application management unit 49 newly registers the application by using the application processing information 53 and the screen information 54 of the copy source application. Of the application processing information 53, those that do not have duplicate application IDs are numbered, and the application name entered by the administrator is set as the application name. The screen information is the same as the copy source application, but the icon is selected by the administrator. The items of the application processing information, the shared application, and the external service system 40 are the same as those of the copy source application. For example, if the user can identify the application by the application name or the like, it is not necessary to set another icon for all the applications.

Further, in the present embodiment, a new image processing area setting is added along with the duplication of the application, but instead of duplicating the application, a new image processing area is added in the form of adding a setting or adding an icon. The administrator may make a setting to associate the addition with the identification information that accepts the selection by the device.

FIG. 19 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which the information processing system 10 registers a copy of an application.

S31: The administrator inputs the authentication information of the information processing system 10 into the terminal device 30. The operation reception unit 33 of the terminal device 30 accepts the input of the authentication information, and the first communication unit 31 transmits the authentication information to the information information system 10, so that the administrator logs in to the information system 10.

S32: Upon login, the terminal screen providing unit 42 of the information processing system 10 transmits the screen information of the initial screen to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 19. After that, according to the operation of the administrator, the terminal screen providing unit 42 transmits the screen information of the screen shown in FIG. 18 to the terminal device 30.

S33: Since the administrator inputs the application name and the like into the terminal device 30, the operation receiving unit 33 accepts the input.

S34: The first communication unit 31 of the terminal device 30 transmits the application ID, application name, and icon of the copy source application to the information processing system 10.

S35: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives these, and the application management unit 49 newly registers the application using the application processing information 53 and the screen information 54 of the copy source application.

In this way, the administrator can duplicate the app. The administrator can associate the setting file with the new application generated by duplication and acquire data from a predetermined area of the desired form.

The administrator can create a plurality of new applications from one copy source application, and the information processing system 10 can accept the selection of different setting files for the plurality of new applications. Since it is sufficient that some identification information can be given to the same processing flow, the duplication of the application is an example, and the identification information may be given to the same processing flow in the form of adding an icon and adding a setting.

<Acquisition of data from the form using the correspondence between the application and the setting file>
After the correspondence between the application and the setting file is completed, the user causes the device 20 to read the form, so that the information processing system 10 can acquire data from the form.

The acquisition of data from the form will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a transition example of the screen displayed by the device 20.

(1) As shown in FIG. 20A, the user causes the device 20 to display the application list screen. For example, if the user wants to settle the expense, the user selects the icon of the expense report application. Although the user knows which form corresponds to which application, it is preferable that the name of the application displayed on the icon 690 of the application and the name of the form (manuscript) match. This app name may be called an icon name or a setting name. That is, the icon 690 may include the name of the form. Further, the icon 690 may include a thumbnail of the form. It becomes easier to prevent the user from selecting an icon that does not correspond to the form. Alternatively, when the user presses the icon 690, the thumbnail of the form may be displayed. The user can confirm the icon 690 by enlarging or partially displaying the thumbnail.

Further, a link may be embedded in the icon 690. The link has, for example, a URL including an application ID or a URL associated with the application ID on the information processing system side. By pressing the icon 690, the device 20 connects to the URL and notifies the information processing system of the application ID.

Further, when the user selects a form that the icon 690 does not correspond to, the device 20 may warn the user. For example, the device 20 compares the image data of the read form with the image data associated with the icon 690, and if the two are different, inquires the user by displaying a message as to whether or not to continue the processing. .. The information processing system 10 may perform the comparison of the image data. As a method of comparison, for example, there is a method in which the device 20 or the information processing system 10 pattern-matches the image data of the form read by the image data associated with the icon 690. Further, when the application ID is printed on the form with a barcode or a two-dimensional bar code, there is a method in which the device 20 or the information processing system 10 compares the application ID associated with the icon 690 with the application ID. ..

Further, an icon may be selected by the user, and a character string such as an application ID or a setting number may be transmitted by the device 20 to the information processing system 10. That is, the selected object itself does not have to be the application ID (identification information).

(2) When the device 20 scans the expense report, the user prepares the expense report (FIG. 20 (b)). The expense report may be prepared by hand by the user, or may be printed out by the device 20. It does not have to be printed out by the user himself (publicly issued documents, documents sent from other companies, etc.).

(3) The application selected by the user displays the screen of FIG. 20 (c) based on the screen information 54. The screen of FIG. 20 (c) is the same as that of FIG. The user sets the printed out expense statement on the contact glass and presses the start button 613 to have the device 20 read it.

The image data of the form is transmitted to the information processing system 10, and the file is output by the process described below.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a file stored in the external service system 40. FIG. 21A shows an example of the upload destination folder of the external service system 40. That is, the file output by the information processing system 10 is saved in the upload destination folder set by the administrator in FIG. The file hierarchy of "My Drive> Expense Reimbursement Report Storage" in FIG. 21A is an example, and the administrator can specify a folder to which the access right is granted.

FIG. 21B shows two files saved in the upload destination folder. Two files are generated in one read operation.
A. CSV file 681 in which the data acquired from the form area is stored.
B. PDF file 682 containing the image data of the form.

CSV files created by the same app will be separate for each read operation. Since the file name includes the application date, the file will not be overwritten. On the other hand, the data acquired by the same application may be added to the same CSV file even if the timing of the reading operation is different. This method will be described later. By doing so, the person in charge of general affairs can settle the data of each employee only by accessing one CSV file.

<< When device 20 does not scan the form >>
In the explanation of FIG. 20, the device 20 scans the expense report, but the information processing system 10 can receive the image data of the form from the terminal device 30 or the like and acquire the data from the image data area. In this case, the terminal device 30 transmits the image data of the form to the information processing system 10 as follows.

-The user displays the expense report on the word processor operated by the terminal device 30, and inputs the necessary items. Therefore, the necessary items are character codes. The user connects the terminal device 30 to the information processing system 10 and logs in to display the application list. Since the screen of the terminal device 30 is the same as the screen of FIG. 20A, the user selects a desired application. The terminal screen providing unit 42 of the information processing system 10 transmits screen information that can accept an expense reimbursement report to the terminal device 30. When the user selects a PDF file or the like including the image data of the expense report on this screen, the terminal device 30 can send the PDF file to the information processing system 10.

Therefore, the user can acquire data from the form by the information processing system 10 without printing out the form. In this case, the processing of the device 20 in the processing of FIG. 22 described later is performed by the terminal device 30.

<Operation procedure>
FIG. 22 is an example of a sequence diagram in which the information processing system 10 receives a PDF file containing image data of a form from the device 20 and acquires data from the area.

S41: The user who prints out the form operates the device 20 and inputs his / her authentication information in the information processing system 10. The operation reception unit 23 of the device 20 accepts the input of the authentication information, and the second communication unit 21 transmits the authentication information to the information processing system 10. As a result, the user logs in to the information processing system 10. Upon login, the display control unit 22 of the device 20 displays a list of applications for which the user has permission to use (FIG. 20 (a)). For example, the user selects an application with an application name that matches the name of the printed form. The operation reception unit 23 accepts selection.

S42: The second communication unit 21 of the device 20 specifies the application ID and transmits the application screen acquisition request to the information processing system 10.

S43: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives the application screen acquisition request, and the device screen providing unit 47 acquires the screen information 54 of the application specified by the application ID from the application management unit 49. The screen information of the application screen of the application is transmitted to the device 20. As a result, the display control unit 22 of the device 20 displays the application screen (FIG. 20 (c)).

S44: The user sets the printed form on the contact glass and presses the start button 613. The operation reception unit 23 of the device 20 accepts the press, the image data generation unit 24 generates the image data of the form, and the image data is converted into a PDF file.

S45: The second communication unit 21 of the device 20 specifies the application ID and PDF file of the application, and requests the information processing system 10 to execute the application.

S46: The communication unit 19 of the information processing system 10 receives the application execution request, and the application execution unit 46 starts executing the application. The application execution unit 46 specifies an application ID and requests the input / output service unit 16 to execute the application. The input / output service unit 16 acquires the application processing information 53 via the application management unit 49. As a result, the processing flow of the application was obtained. Further, the input / output processing unit 48 acquires the application data 43 associated with the application ID from the application data storage unit 13. This makes it possible to identify the configuration file associated with the application.

The input / output processing unit 48 requests the external service processing unit 62 to acquire the setting file based on the application data 43 and the application processing information 53.

S47: The external service processing unit 62 connects to the URL of the item of fileName registered in the application data 43, and acquires the setting file from the external service system 40. If the application requested to be executed is not a shared application, the external service processing unit 62 logs in to the external service system 40 with the authentication information in the user's external service system 40, and if the application requested to be executed is a shared application, the external service processing unit 62 logs in to the external service system 40. Log in to the external service system 40 with the authentication information of the administrator's external service system 40.

S48: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 requests the file output unit 66 to acquire the area information from the setting file based on the application processing information 53.

S49: The file output unit 66 acquires all area information from predetermined rows and columns of the setting file and returns it to the input / output processing unit 48.

S50: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies image data and area information based on the application processing information 53, and requests the area acquisition unit 67 to acquire (cut) an area from the image data.

S51: The area acquisition unit 67 acquires an area specified by the area information from the image data, and returns the image of the area to the input / output processing unit 48. The area acquisition unit 67 does not have to acquire (cut) an area from the image data. In this case, the processing result output unit 68 may perform OCR processing on the area of the image data specified by the area information.

Steps S52 to S55 are repeatedly executed for the number of regions.

S52: The input / output processing unit 48 designates an image of the area based on the application processing information 53, and requests the processing result output unit 68 to perform OCR processing of the area. At this time, the input / output processing unit 48 may specify the format acquired from the setting file and the OCR language in association with the area.

S53: The processing result output unit 68 performs OCR processing on the area with a recognition engine corresponding to the format and the OCR language. The processing result output unit 68 returns the data converted into the character code (OCR processing result) to the input / output processing unit 48.

The recognition engine is, for example, a discriminator that learns the correspondence between a character image and a character code as a set and outputs an OCR processing result (character code) from the image. The simpler the learning data is, such as Japanese only, English only, numerical values only, and dates only, the better the identification accuracy of the discriminator. On the other hand, when a plurality of Japanese, English, numerical values and dates are mixed in the learning data, various data can be recognized, but the identification accuracy tends to decrease. Therefore, the recognition accuracy can be improved by using the recognition engine corresponding to the format and the OCR language.

Here, machine learning is a technique for making a computer acquire learning ability like a human being, and the computer autonomously generates an algorithm necessary for judgment such as data identification from learning data taken in advance. However, it refers to a technology that applies this to new data to make predictions. The learning method for machine learning may be any of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-teacher learning, enhanced learning, and deep learning, and may be a learning method that combines these learning methods, and machine learning. It doesn't matter how you learn for. Also, the recognition engine does not have to be generated by the learning effect of machine learning.

S54: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies the data acquired from the area, the CSV column name, the CSV position, and the file name (acquired from the setting file) based on the application processing information 53, and outputs the file. The unit 66 is requested to output a file having data.

S55: The file output unit 66 writes the CSV column name at the beginning of the column, writes the data to the cell of the CSV file specified by the CSV position, and returns the OCR processing result (CSV file) to the input / output processing unit 48. The specified file name is given to the CSV file. The format of the output destination file is not limited to the CSV file, and may be a tabular file, a text file, or a file of another application.

S56: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 specifies the OCR processing result (CSV file), the format, and the OCR language based on the application processing information 53, and requests the OCR correction unit 69 to correct the OCR processing result. This format is obtained from the configuration file shown in Table 4 and has been set by the administrator.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating correction of the OCR processing result. When the format is set in the setting file, the OCR correction unit 69 can correct the OCR processing result. The rules for the designated character string and the converted character are defined in the OCR correction unit 69 as shown in FIG. FIG. 23A is a rule when the format is NUMERIC. For example, since the numerical values do not include I, B, and Z, they are corrected to 1, 8 and 2, respectively. FIG. 23B is a rule when the language is English. For example, English does not include 1, 2, and 8, so they are corrected to I, B, and Z, respectively.

S57: The OCR correction unit 69 returns the corrected OCR processing result (CSV file) to the input / output processing unit 48.

Steps S58 to S61 are executed for the number of CSV files. The number of CSV files created by one reading operation may be one, regardless of the number of forms, or may be the same as the number of pages of the form. Which one is adopted is set in the app.

S58: Next, the input / output processing unit 48 requests the external service processing unit 62 to upload the OCR processing result (CSV file) based on the application processing information 53. The upload destination folder is set in the application data 43.

S59: The external service processing unit 62 saves the CSV file in the upload destination folder of the external service system 40.

S60: If the metadata can be set, step S60 is executed. When the external service system 40 supports the setting of metadata (items set by the user on the external service system, such as a character string and a date), the user can set the metadata to be associated with the CSV file to be uploaded. The user can input metadata from the screen displayed by the device 20. The input / output processing unit 48 requests the external service processing unit 62 to upload metadata. The upload destination folder is the same as the CSV file.

S61: The external service processing unit 62 stores the metadata in the upload destination folder of the external service system 40.

S62: When multiple form data are read, the user may want to save them in individual files. In this case, the input / output processing unit 48 requests the PDF processing unit 64 to perform page division together with the image data of a plurality of pages based on the application processing information 53. This process may be omitted, in which case the input / output processing unit 48 may save a plurality of data as one file.

S63: The PDF processing unit 64 returns the PDF file decomposed page by page to the input / output processing unit 48.

S64: The input / output processing unit 48 specifies a PDF file based on the application processing information 53, and requests OCR processing from the processing result output unit 68.

S65: The processing result output unit 68 performs OCR processing on the PDF file, and sets the character code generated by the OCR processing as transparent text in the PDF file.

Steps S66 to S69 are executed for the number of PDF files.

S66: The input / output processing unit 48 requests the external service processing unit 62 to upload the PDF file with text based on the application processing information 53. The upload destination folder is set in the application data 43.

S67: The external service processing unit 62 saves the PDF file with text in the upload destination folder of the external service system 40.

S68: When the external service system 40 supports the above metadata (items set by the user on the external service system, such as a character string and a date), the user can input the metadata from the screen displayed by the device 20. .. The input / output processing unit 48 requests the external service processing unit 62 to upload metadata. The upload destination folder is the same as the PDF file.

S69: The external service processing unit 62 stores the metadata in the upload destination folder of the external service system 40.

As described above, the CSV file and the PDF file different from the CSV file are registered in the upload destination folder of the external service system 40.

<Display of CSV files and PDF files registered in the external service system>
When the person in charge of the company calculates the expenses of the employee, he / she operates the terminal device 30 to connect to the external service system 40. Since the person in charge is notified of the upload destination folder, the terminal device 30 can acquire the CSV file and the PDF file.

FIG. 24 is an example of the file list screen 670 of the external service system 40 displayed by the terminal device 30. As shown in FIG. 24A, the PDF file 671 and the CSV file 672 are stored in the upload destination folder. FIG. 24B shows the contents of the CSV file 672 displayed by the terminal device 30. That is, FIG. 24B is the data output from the form. In FIG. 24 (b), the data acquired from the two areas is stored. The CSV column name set in the setting file is also set for each column, and the user can determine what data each column is.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25, it is preferable that the device 20 also displays the processing result. FIG. 25 is an example of the output data display screen 691 displayed by the device 20. The output data display screen 691 displays the executed application name 692 and the list 693 of the files output by the application. These are transmitted from the information processing system 10 to the device 20. The CSV file contains the contents of the CSV file, and when the user presses the CSV file, the device 20 can display the data 694 acquired from the form area and saved in the CSV file.

The user who confirms the file name and data can judge whether the form has been processed correctly.

In FIG. 22, the image data to be processed is a PDF file, but image data in any format such as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, etc. may be used.
<When multiple forms are read>
A case where a plurality of forms are read by one reading operation will be described with reference to FIG. 26. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a plurality of forms and an output file. As shown in FIG. 26A, a plurality of forms were read by one reading operation when the application was executed. The one-time reading operation means that the start button 613 is pressed only once. The device 20 reads a plurality of forms in order, and the information processing system 10 acquires a plurality of data from the same area of the image data of each form.

FIG. 26B is a diagram showing a CSV file when a plurality of forms are read by a single reading operation. The first row is the data acquired from the first form, and the second row is the data acquired from the second form. In this way, since the plurality of data of the plurality of forms are combined into one CSV file, the person in charge can easily aggregate and graph the data.

When a plurality of forms are read by one reading operation, the file output unit 66 increments the CSV position (start line) of the setting file one by one. In other words, you can write the data in the lower line for each form.

When a plurality of forms are read by one reading operation, the information processing system 10 can output as many CSV files as the number of forms.

Further, when a plurality of forms are read by a plurality of reading operations (when they are read at different timings), the information processing system 10 can output data to one and the same CSV file. There are cases where the external service system 40 merges and cases where the information processing system 10 merges.

When the external service system 40 merges, the external service processing unit 62 requests the external service system 40 to merge the CSV files. If the application is the same, the same character string (for example, expense settlement report) is included in the file name of the CSV file, so the external service processing unit 62 can specify the file name and request the merge of the CSV file. The external service system 40 adds the data of the same column number of the CSV file for which the merge was requested to the same column number of the CSV file already saved.

-When the information processing system merges, the external service processing unit 62 specifies a file name and downloads the CSV file from the external service system 40. The external service processing unit 62 adds the data of the same column number of the newly created CSV file to the same column number of the acquired CSV file. The external service processing unit 62 uploads the merged CSV file to the external service system 40.

In this way, the information processing system acquires the same area from the plurality of received image data, the processing result output unit 68 performs OCR processing on the same area with the plurality of image data, and the file output unit 66 performs a plurality of OCR processes. It is possible to output a plurality of data generated from the same area in the image data of the above to one file.

<Main effect>
As described above, in the image processing system of the present embodiment, the device 20 reads the form in which the area is marked, and stores the area information for each form. Then, only the area is acquired from the image data of the form transmitted from the device, OCR processing is performed, and the data which is the OCR processing result is output to a file. This makes it possible to easily create a file in which only a specific area is extracted from a plurality of forms of the same type.

<Other application examples>
Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to examples, the present invention is not limited to these examples, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. And substitutions can be made.

For example, in the present embodiment, the data acquired from the form area is output to a file, but the data may be sent by e-mail instead of being converted into a file, or may be displayed on the device 20.

Further, although the OCR processing is performed on the designated area in the present embodiment, other image processing (mask processing, image extraction processing, etc.) may be performed.

Further, the configuration example shown in FIG. 5 is divided according to the main functions in order to facilitate understanding of the processing by the terminal device 30, the device 20, and the information processing system 10. The present invention is not limited by the method of dividing the processing unit or the name. The processing of the terminal device 30, the device 20, and the information processing system 10 can be further divided into more processing units according to the processing contents. Further, one processing unit can be divided so as to include more processing.

Also, the group of devices described in the examples is only one of a plurality of computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the information processing system 10 includes a plurality of computing devices such as server clusters. The plurality of computing devices are configured to communicate with each other over any type of communication link, including networks, shared memory, and the like, and perform the processes disclosed herein.

Further, the information processing system 10 can be configured to share the processing steps disclosed in the present embodiment, for example, FIG. 22 and the like in various combinations. For example, a process executed by a predetermined unit may be executed by a plurality of information processing devices included in the information processing system 10. Further, the information processing system 10 may be integrated into one server device or may be divided into a plurality of devices.

Each function of the embodiment described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" as used herein is a processor programmed to perform each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, or a processor designed to execute each function described above. It shall include devices such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and conventional circuit modules.

10 Information processing system 20 Equipment 30 Terminal equipment 100 Image processing system

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-212575

Claims (16)

An image processing system that allows devices and information processing systems to communicate via a network.
It has a setting reception unit that associates the image processing area with the identification information.
The device is
It has a communication unit that transmits the identification information and image data to the information processing system according to a selection from a user accepted by the device.
The information processing system is
A processing result output unit that outputs an image processing result to the image processing area associated with the identification information among the image data.
An image processing system characterized by having. The device is
It has an operation reception unit that accepts a selection from the user for specifying one of the identification information among the plurality of identification information.
The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits the identification information and the image data specified according to the selection accepted by the operation reception unit to the information processing system. The image processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image processing area is an area where OCR processing is performed. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the identification information is identification information of an icon displayed by the device. The icon is an icon of an application executed by the information processing system.
The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein the image processing area is associated with the application. The information processing system associates the icon with a setting file having the image processing area.
The configuration file is stored in the external service system and
The image processing system according to claim 5, wherein the processing result output unit performs image processing on the image processing area of the setting file acquired from the external service system. The operation receiving unit receives the selection of the application of the duplication source and the application name of the application created by duplication.
The communication unit transmits the identification information of the application of the duplication source and the application name to the information processing system.
The information processing system is
Create a new application with the application name by duplicating the application from the duplication source.
The image processing system according to claim 6, wherein the operation receiving unit receives a selection of the new application and the setting file associated with the new application. A plurality of the new applications are created from the application of the duplication source.
The image processing system according to claim 7, wherein the operation receiving unit accepts the selection of different setting files for the plurality of new applications. The icon is associated with the identification information of the application.
When the operation receiving unit accepts the selection of the icon, the communication unit transmits the execution request of the application and the image data associated with the icon to the information processing system.
When the execution of the application is requested, the processing result output unit performs image processing on the image data in the image processing area associated with the selected icon. Item 7. The image processing system according to Item 7. The image data is generated by reading the original by the device.
The image processing system according to claim 9, wherein the name of the manuscript is displayed on the icon. The image processing system according to claim 10, wherein a thumbnail of the manuscript is displayed on the icon. The image processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the device is an image processing device having a scanning function. The image processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the device is a personal computer or a smartphone. An information processing system that can communicate with devices via a network.
A setting reception unit that associates the image processing area with the identification information,
A communication unit that receives the identification information and image data from the device according to the selection from the user accepted by the device.
Among the image data, a processing result output unit that outputs an image processing result to the image processing area associated with the identification information, and a processing result output unit.
An information processing system characterized by having. It is an image processing method performed by an image processing system that allows equipment and an information processing system to communicate via a network.
The step that the setting reception unit associates the image processing area with the identification information,
The device is
A step in which the communication unit transmits the identification information and image data to the information processing system according to a selection from the user accepted by the device.
The information processing system is
A step of outputting an image processing result to the image processing area associated with the identification information among the image data, and a step of outputting the image processing result.
An image processing method characterized by having. An information processing device that can communicate with devices via a network
A setting reception unit that associates the image processing area with the identification information,
A communication unit that receives the identification information and image data from the device according to the selection from the user accepted by the device.
A processing result output unit that outputs an image processing result to the image processing area associated with the identification information among the image data.
A program to function as.

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