JP2023113422A - System, information processing device, and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To make it possible to verify whether or not a document whose authenticity can be verified using block chain is an original document.SOLUTION: An information processing device instructs transaction registration of document information on a document and attribution information indicating that the document is an original, to a block chain device. The block chain device generates transactions based on the document information and the attribution information and registers the transactions in a block.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9(A)

Description

The present invention relates to authenticity of electronic data using blockchain.

With respect to documents printed by an image forming apparatus, it is known to use blockchain to ensure the reliability of recorded information that the document was printed based on specific electronic data (see Patent Document 1). .

The information registered on the blockchain here includes document identification information for identifying the document, registration date and time, registrant information (e.g. registered user, device, system), and from what document the document was changed. There is original document identification information indicating whether or not Document identification information and original document identification information use hash values that can uniquely identify a document.

As a result, a system that verifies a document (hereinafter referred to as a verification system) can verify the authenticity of a document by checking whether the document identification information is registered on the blockchain.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-19271

However, the verification system (and users of the system) cannot know whether the document is the original document by referring to the document identification information registered on the blockchain and other registered information. Also, it is not possible to distinguish whether the document is an original document (document that has been modified and revised and registered) or a document that has been reproduced and registered, such as a printed or electronic copy of an electronic document.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to verify whether or not a document is an original document for a document whose authenticity can be verified using blockchain.

In order to solve the above problems, there is provided a system comprising an information processing device and a block chain device, wherein the information processing device provides document information regarding a document and the fact that the document is original to the block chain device. and the block chain device has registration means for generating a transaction based on the document information and the attribute information and registering it in a block.

For documents whose authenticity can be verified using blockchain, it is also possible to verify whether the document is the original document.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a system. 2 illustrates the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus; FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware configuration of a document management apparatus, PC, and a block chain apparatus. 3 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the image forming apparatus; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the document management device; FIG. It is a figure which shows the software configuration of a blockchain apparatus. It is a figure which shows the data structure regarding the transaction in a block chain apparatus. It is an example of a screen of the document management device. 4 is a flowchart of the document management apparatus 102; 4 is a flowchart of the document management device 104; 3 is a flowchart of the image forming apparatus 101; 3 is a flowchart of transaction registration processing in the blockchain device 111. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of transaction verification processing in the blockchain device 111. FIG. FIG. 11 is an overall diagram of a system related to blockchain services in Example 2; FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of a blockchain device 111 in Example 2; 10 is a flow chart showing the flow of transaction registration processing in the blockchain device 111 according to the second embodiment.

<Example 1>
EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a system related to blockchain services in this embodiment. An image forming apparatus 101 , a document management apparatus 102 , a PC 103 , and a document management apparatus 104 are connected to a LAN 100 and exist within an intranet, and communicate with a blockchain device 111 via the Internet 110 . Although the configuration via the Internet 110 is shown here, the configuration within the same intranet may be used. The blockchain device 111 is a device for providing blockchain services for registering and verifying transactions in which document information is stored in the blockchain. The PC 103 is used to manage the image forming apparatus 101 using a web browser, print to the image forming apparatus 101 using a print driver, and manage electronic documents of the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 .

The block chain device 111 is a device that collectively manages information on printed documents generated by the image forming device 101 and documents saved by the document management devices 102 and 104 in units of blocks. Also, the blockchain device 111 is a device that provides a blockchain function for ensuring the validity of documents. The document management apparatuses 102 and 104 provide document management services for managing (viewing, newly saving, updating, and deleting) electronic documents. The document management apparatuses 102 and 104 are apparatuses for storing electronic documents generated by the image forming apparatus 101 and the PC 103, and update and store a document whose content has been changed to a document that has already been stored, thereby maintaining a revision record. to manage. Furthermore, both the document management devices 102 and 104 have a function of instructing the block chain device 111 to register information on electronic documents. Here, the document management apparatus 102 also instructs to register information that is a document whose contents have been changed when instructing to register. On the other hand, the document management device 104 instructs the blockchain device 111 to register information about the electronic document without including information about the document whose content has been changed. The document management apparatuses 102 and 104 have the same configuration except for the difference in whether or not to include information about documents whose contents have been changed. shall also include a description of When dealing with a system that needs to distinguish whether a document registered in the blockchain device 111 is a document whose content has been changed or a duplicated document, or a system that needs to represent the revision history in the blockchain device 111, The document management device 102 is used. On the other hand, the user uses the document management device 104 when dealing with a system in which it is not necessary to distinguish whether a document registered in the blockchain device 111 is a document whose contents have been changed or a duplicated document. In this embodiment, an example in which the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 are included is shown, but the configuration may be such that the document management apparatus 104 is not included. A configuration in which they are included in one document management apparatus may be suitable.

The services provided by the blockchain device 111 and the document management device 102 may be provided as cloud services, in which case the services may be provided as a single device by virtualizing a plurality of computers.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 101, which is an example of an information processing apparatus. A control unit 200 including a CPU 201 which is a central processing unit controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 101 . The CPU 201 reads control programs stored in the ROM 202, which is Read Only Memory, and performs various controls such as read control and transmission control. A RAM 203, which is a random access memory, is used as a main memory of the CPU 201 and a temporary storage area such as a work area. The HDD 204, which is a hard disc drive, stores image data, various programs, or various data described later. The image forming apparatus 101 has a hardware configuration as an information processing apparatus, and additionally has the following hardware configuration.

An operation unit I/F 205 connects the operation unit 209 and the control unit 200 . A printer I/F 206 connects the printer 210 and the control unit 200 . Image data to be printed by the printer 210 is transferred from the control unit 200 via the printer I/F 206 and printed on a recording medium by the printer 210 . A scanner I/F 207 connects the scanner 211 and the control unit 200 . A scanner 211 reads an image on a document to generate image data, and inputs the data to the control unit 200 via the scanner I/F 207 .

A network I/F 208 connects the control unit 200 (image forming apparatus 101 ) to the LAN 100 . A network I/F 208 transmits image data and information to external devices on the LAN 100 and receives various types of information from external devices on the LAN 100 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the document management apparatus 102, which is an example of an information processing apparatus. Although not illustrated here, the PC 103, the document management device 104, and the block chain device, which are other examples of the information processing device, may have the same hardware configuration as the 111 document management device . A CPU 302 controls the entire apparatus. The CPU 302 executes application programs, an OS, and the like stored in the HDD 305 and performs control to temporarily store information, files, and the like necessary for executing the programs in the RAM 303 . A ROM 304 is a storage unit, and stores therein various data such as basic I/O programs. A RAM 303 is a temporary storage unit and functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 302 . The HDD 305 is one of external storage units, functions as a large-capacity memory, and stores application programs such as office applications and web browsers, an OS, related programs, and the like.

A display 306 is display means, and displays commands and the like input from a keyboard/mouse 307 as an instruction input unit. An interface 308 is an external device I/F, and connects printers, USB devices, and peripheral devices. A system bus 301 governs the flow of data within the device. A network interface card (hereinafter referred to as NIC) 309 exchanges data with external devices via the LAN 100 .

The configuration of the information processing apparatus is one example, and is not limited to the configuration examples of FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. For example, the storage locations of data and programs can be changed to the ROM 304, RAM 303, HDD 305, etc. according to their characteristics. Unless otherwise specified in this embodiment, various processes are implemented by loading programs stored in the ROM 304 or the like into the RAM 303 or the like and executing them by the CPU 302 .

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a software configuration related to the present invention in the image forming apparatus 101. As shown in FIG. Unless otherwise specified, each processing unit is a software function implemented by the CPU 201 executing a control program stored in the ROM 202 .

A local UI control unit 400 provides a function of controlling the operation unit 209 via the operation unit I/F 205 . The local UI control unit 400 notifies the user authentication processing unit 402 and the application 404 of the contents of the user's operation on the operation unit 209 . The local UI control unit 400 receives a screen display request from the user authentication processing unit 402 or an application, and controls the operation unit 209 to display a screen. The user authentication processing unit 402 and the application 404 display screens on the operation unit 209 via the local UI control unit 400 .

A remote UI control unit 401 provides web pages to the web browser on the PC 103 via the network I/F 208 . The remote UI control unit 401 notifies the user authentication processing unit 402 and the application of the contents of the user's operation on the web browser. A remote UI control unit 401 receives a request from the user authentication processing unit 402 or an application and controls the web browser to display a web page. The user authentication processing unit 402 and the application 404 cause the web browser to display a web page via the remote UI control unit 401 .

A user authentication processing unit 402 provides a function for authenticating a user who uses the image forming apparatus 101 . The user authentication processing unit 402 receives authentication information such as a user name and password input from the user, and performs user authentication by comparing it with user information held in the user information DB 403 . Also, the user authentication processing unit 402 receives an instruction from the blockchain application 406 and passes the credential information 405 to the blockchain application 406 . The credential information 405 is credential information for assuring that the user is a legitimate user who uses the blockchain device 111 in the organizational unit. Here, a configuration in which one image forming apparatus 101 is used by one organization is shown, but in the case where a plurality of user organizations use the image forming apparatus 101, it is sufficient to adopt a configuration in which there are as many as the number of user organizations. . Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which credential information is prepared for each user.

The user information DB 403 provides a function of holding user information, which is information about users who use the image forming apparatus 101 . The user information DB 403 is constructed in the HDD 204, and the stored information is stored in the HDD 204. FIG. Table 1 shows an example of information stored in the user information DB 403 .

The user information table in Table 1 consists of "user name" and "password", where "user name" is a name for uniquely identifying a user, and "password" is a password used for user authentication. Any value can be set for each user.

An application 404 provides a function of receiving a document from the PC 103 or the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 via the network I/F 208 and printing the document via the printer I/F 206 . In addition, the application 404 provides a function of converting a scanned document into an electronic document and storing it in the HDD 204, a function of transmitting to the PC 103 or the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 via the network I/F 208, or a function of printing as a copy. do. Furthermore, a function to register document (printed documents, saved/sent electronic documents) information in the blockchain device 111 via the blockchain application 406, and a function to verify whether the scanned document has been registered in the blockchain device 111. I will provide a. The application 404 can print a document in which the embedded information corresponding to the inquiry information required when inquiring the blockchain device 111 about the presence or absence of registration is embedded in the document. A document is shown as an example of the printed matter, but printed matter other than the document can be handled in the same way. The application 404 controls the scanner 211 via the scanner I/F 207 and transmits data to the LAN 100 via the network I/F 208, thereby transmitting scan data to an external device (for example, the PC 103). The application 404 provides screen information to the local UI control unit 400 and remote UI control unit 401 . The application 404 receives input to the screen displayed on the operation unit 209 via the local UI control unit 400, and performs processing accordingly. Also, the application 404 receives input from the web browser on the PC 103 via the remote UI control unit 401 and performs processing accordingly. Note that an example in which one application has functions such as document printing and verification will be described, but these functions may be shared among a plurality of applications. For example, a configuration can be considered in which applications are divided into a scan application for registering documents and a print application for printing.

The blockchain application 406 is an application for blockchain cooperation, and provides a function of receiving instructions from the application 404 and registering and verifying document information in the blockchain device 111 . FIG. 7 shows an example of the data structure of a transaction 701 and blocks registered in the blockchain device 111 by the blockchain application 406, which will be described later in detail. The blockchain application 406 also receives credential information 405 from the user authentication processing unit 402 and credential information 407 from the credential information management unit 410 when receiving an instruction from the application to the blockchain device 111 . Blockchain application 406 also sends received credential information 405 , 407 when sending instructions to blockchain device 111 . The credential information sent by the blockchain device 111 is verified, and only when the verification is successful, the instructions sent to the blockchain device 111 are executed. In addition, the blockchain application 406 acquires processing settings related to the blockchain device 111 from the policy settings 408 and transmits them together when sending instructions to the blockchain device 111 . The policy settings 408 are settings related to registration processing of the blockchain device 111 . A setting example will be described later with reference to FIG. A policy setting 408 is set by an administrator of the image forming apparatus 101 . Alternatively, as another configuration example, the policy setting set by the administrator of the block chain device 111 may be downloaded from the block chain device 111 and set in the policy setting 408 . Alternatively, the policy setting 408 may be configured to be incorporated into the image forming apparatus 101 in advance by a system developer.

Credential information 407 is credential information for assuring that the image forming apparatus 101 is a legitimate apparatus that uses the blockchain device 111 . The credential information 407 may be issued for each device manufacturer, for example, by an organization that operates this system. The credential information 407 may be shipped in a state of being incorporated in the firmware of the image forming apparatus 101, or may be installed in the image forming apparatus 101 after shipment. The credential information may be a digital certificate, a key pair of a private key and a public key, or a predetermined data value, and there is no limit to the actual credential information. The credential information may be a different entity for each application. A credential information management unit 410 provides a function of managing credential information 407 within the image forming apparatus 101 . In this embodiment, the credential information management unit 410 receives an instruction from the blockchain application 406 and passes the credential information 407 to the blockchain application 406 .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a software configuration related to the present invention in the document management apparatus 102. As shown in FIG. The document management apparatus 104 may also have the same software configuration.

A UI control unit 501 provides web pages to the web browser on the PC 103 via the NIC 309 . The UI control unit 501 notifies the user authentication processing unit 502 and the document management unit 504 of the content of the user's operation on the web browser. The UI control unit 501 receives requests from the user authentication processing unit 502 and the document management unit 504 and controls the web browser to display web pages. A user authentication processing unit 502 and a document management unit 504 cause the web browser to display a web page via the UI control unit 501 . FIG. 9A shows an example of a document management screen that the UI control unit 501 causes the web browser to display. Although an example of providing the UI via the NIC 309 is shown here, the configuration may be such that the UI is provided on the display 306 .

A user authentication processing unit 502 provides a function for authenticating a user who uses the document management apparatus 102 . Therefore, the user authentication processing unit 502 displays an authentication screen 800 (a screen example is shown in FIG. 8A) on the operation unit 209 . The user authentication processing unit 402 receives authentication information such as a user name and password input from the user via the authentication screen 800, and performs user authentication by comparing it with the user information held in the user information DB 503. . Also, the user authentication processing unit 502 receives an instruction from the blockchain plug-in 506 and passes credential information 505 to the blockchain plug-in 506 . The credential information 505 is credential information for assuring that the user is a legitimate user who uses the blockchain device 111 in the organizational unit. Here, one document management apparatus 102 is used by one organization, but in the case where the document management apparatus 102 is used by a plurality of user organizations, the number of user organizations is equal to the number of user organizations. . Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which credential information is prepared for each user.

The user information DB 503 provides a function of holding user information, which is information about users who use the image forming apparatus 101 . The user information DB 503 is built in the HDD 305, and the stored information is stored in the HDD 305. FIG. Table 2 shows an example of information stored in the user information DB 503 .

The user information table in Table 2 consists of "user name" and "password", where "user name" is a name for uniquely identifying a user, and "password" is a password used for user authentication. Any value can be set for each user. Although an example of a user information table different from the user information of the user authentication processing unit 403 shown in Table 1 is shown here, it may be configured to be synchronized with the user information on the user information DB 403 . In addition, it is also possible to use the user information DB of either the user authentication processing unit 403 or the user authentication processing unit 503, or to arrange the user information DB externally and refer to the user information therefrom.

A document management unit 504 provides document management functions such as viewing and downloading documents, newly saving documents, updating documents, and deleting documents. In addition, it has a function to register document (newly saved, updated and saved electronic documents) information in the blockchain device 111 via the blockchain plug-in 506, and verifies whether the saved electronic document has been registered in the blockchain device 111. provide the function to The browse/download function displays a document stored in the electronic document DB 520 via the UI control unit 501, and transmits the electronic document to the PC 103 via the NIC 309 in accordance with user instructions. The new save function saves the electronic document received from the PC 103 in the electronic document DB 520 in the HDD 305 . The document update function updates the electronic document stored in the electronic document DB 520 to an electronic document received from the PC 103 and newly stores the electronic document in the electronic document DB 520 . When a user updates a document, the document before the update is not displayed for document management, but the document after the update is displayed. remains. Table 3 shows examples of documents stored in the electronic document DB 520 .

The stored electronic document information in Table 3 consists of "document", which is the electronic document itself, and "version" for identifying electronic documents with the same electronic document name.

A user who manages documents edits and changes the content of a document downloaded from the document management unit 504, then uses the document update function to send the changed document to the electronic document DB 520, and the document management unit 504 updates the electronic document. Save in the electronic document DB 520 . The document deletion function deletes documents stored in the electronic document DB. The document management unit 504 further provides a document revision management function. In the revision management function, after the document is updated by the document update function, the document management 504 associates the document before update with the document after update. Record in the revision record DB 521 inside. Table 4 shows an example of records stored in the revision record DB 521 .

The revision record in Table 4 consists of "document name", "pre-update version", "post-update version", "update date", and "updated by". Record the previous version and the updated version. The blockchain plug-in 506 is a plug-in for blockchain cooperation, and provides a function of receiving instructions from the document management unit 504 and registering and verifying document information in the blockchain device 111 . FIG. 7A shows an example of the data structure of a transaction 701 and a block registered in the blockchain device 111 by the blockchain plug-in 506, which will be described later in detail. The blockchain plug-in 506 also receives credential information 505 from the user authentication processing unit 502 and credential information 507 from the credential information management unit 510 when receiving instructions from the document management unit 504 to the blockchain device 111 . The blockchain plug-in 506 also sends the received credential information 505, 507 when sending instructions to the blockchain device 111 . The credential information sent by the blockchain device 111 is verified, and only when the verification is successful, the instructions sent to the blockchain device 111 are executed. In addition, the blockchain plug-in 506 acquires processing settings related to the blockchain device 111 from the policy settings 508 and transmits them together with instructions to the blockchain device 111 . The policy settings 508 are settings related to registration processing of the blockchain device 111 . A setting example will be described later with reference to FIG. Policy settings 508 are set by the administrator of the document management apparatus 102 . Alternatively, as another configuration example, the policy settings set by the administrator of the blockchain device 111 may be downloaded from the blockchain device 111 and set in the policy settings 508 . Alternatively, the policy settings 508 may be configured to be incorporated into the document management apparatus 102 in advance by the system developer.

Credential information 507 is credential information for assuring that the document management device 102 is a legitimate device that uses the blockchain device 111 . The credential information 507 may be issued for each document management service vendor, for example, by an organization that operates this system. The credential information 507 may be incorporated into the system of the document management apparatus 102, or may be installed in the document management apparatus 102 later. The credential information may be a digital certificate, a key pair of a private key and a public key, or a predetermined data value, and there is no limit to the actual credential information. A credential information management unit 510 provides a function of managing credential information within the document management apparatus 102 . In this embodiment, the credential information management unit 510 passes credential information 507 to the blockchain plugin 506 upon receiving an instruction from the blockchain plugin 506 .

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the software configuration related to the present invention in the block chain device 111 in this embodiment.

The processing control unit 601 receives processing instructions to the blockchain device 111 from external devices such as the image forming device 101 , the document management devices 102 and 104 , and the PC 103 via the network I/F 208 . Upon receiving an instruction from the external device, the processing control unit 601 executes the authentication function of the authentication processing unit 602 and then executes the block chain management function of the block data management unit 605 . Then, it transmits the processing result to the external device via the network I/F 208 .

The authentication processing unit 602 provides a function for authenticating devices, systems, and users who use services in the blockchain device 111 . The account information DB 603 holds information on devices, systems, and users who use services. The authentication processing unit 602 performs authentication processing by comparing credential information such as the credential information 405 , 407 , 505 and 507 with information in the account information DB 603 . Table 5 shows an example of the account information DB.

In Table 5, account names are stored. The authentication processing unit 602 can perform authentication processing by decoding the credential information such as the credential information 405, 407, 505, and 507 and verifying whether the decrypted character string is included in the account name shown in Table 5. Information to be saved in the account information DB 603 may be saved in advance by the administrator of the blockchain device 111 .

The block data management unit 604 performs block chain processing such as registration transaction generation, block generation, writing to the distributed ledger 607, and reference processing to the distributed ledger 607. A transaction is received together with a processing instruction from an external device, and the block data management unit 604 stores the received transaction information in a registration transaction and generates a registration transaction. The data structure of the registration transaction is the same as the data structure of the transaction shown in FIG. The data structure of the block will also be described later with reference to FIG. Distributed ledger 605 provides the ability to hold blocks. Generally, in a blockchain, a ledger is managed by a plurality of nodes (computers), and the block data management unit 604 may be composed of a plurality of nodes.

FIG. 7A is a block diagram showing the data structure of a transaction 701 held in the blockchain device 111 and blocks storing a plurality of the transactions. The blockchain device 111 is a device that manages data using a method called blockchain. This blockchain handles information in units called transactions, and manages multiple transactions in units called blocks.

Each block is configured in such a way that each block maintains a daisy-chained state by defining the relationship with the blocks before and after it. In addition, the blockchain is managed by multiple computers called nodes, and each node has a structure that manages the same block data. For this reason, when block data is to be tampered with, it is necessary to update a plurality of configured nodes, and this is known as a data management method that is highly resistant to tampering. Although described as the blockchain device 111, as described above, it is a device composed of a plurality of computers, and blockchain services are provided by them.

In this embodiment, when a document is processed by the image forming apparatus 101 and the document management apparatuses 102 and 104, a transaction including a document hash value is sent to the blockchain device 111 and block management is performed to maintain the correct state of the document. do. As a result, it is possible to confirm that the document did exist at a certain point in time, and furthermore, it is possible to confirm whether the electronic document in the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 has been tampered with. Here, a document hash value is used as an example of information for identifying each transaction, but identification information based on other information such as an ID with a serial number or a time stamp may be used.

A transaction 701 transmitted by the image forming apparatus 101 and the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 when registering a document in the blockchain apparatus 111 includes the following information.

A document hash value 702 is a hash value calculated to uniquely represent the target document. For example, for a print document, it can be calculated based on the credential information 407 of the image forming apparatus 101 and the time stamp at the time of printing. For electronic documents, the document hash value 702 is calculated from the entire document file. However, it does not limit calculation methods other than this.

The registration system information 704 is information for identifying the image forming apparatus 101 or the document management apparatus 102 or 104 that performed document registration, and stores the credential information 407 or the hash value of the credential information 507 in this embodiment.

The document registration date and time 705 is information representing the time when the document was registered. Here, the image forming apparatus 101 or the document management apparatuses 102 and 104 include the registration date and time in the transaction, but the block chain device 111 may store the registration date and time.

The document registrant 706 is information representing the user who registered the document, and stores the credential information 405 or the hash value of the credential information 505 .

The original document hash value 707 is information representing the relationship between documents. When an electronic document is updated in the document management apparatus 102, or when printing is performed based on an electronic document stored in the document management apparatuses 102 and 104, the printed matter is scanned based on the printed matter and electronic data is saved. It is used to associate with the original document when performing such as. Note that when there is no original document, such as when the document management apparatus 102 newly saves the original document, information may not be stored in the original document hash value 707 .

The document attribute 708 stores information indicating whether the document is a revised document with its content changed or a duplicate document with its content unchanged. In this embodiment, the document management apparatus 102 stores information "original document" when newly saving an electronic document or updating an electronic document. The information to be stored is not limited to this, and expressions such as "original", "org", "non-duplicate", and "original" may be used. By registering in the blockchain a transaction in which "original document" is stored in the document attribute 708 (attribute information), it is possible to confirm that the corresponding document is a revised document whose contents have been changed. Conversely, documents corresponding to transactions for which "original document" is not stored in document attribute 708 can be identified as duplicate documents. In this embodiment, the change of data in the electronic document is exemplified as the content change, but the change is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which changes in other items, such as user information that has updated the document, document storage location, update date and time, and document status in a general workflow system, are treated as content changes. Further, the present invention is not limited to changes in content of electronic documents, and may be configured to handle changes in content other than electronic data, or to handle changes in content of electronic data other than documents for which revision management is performed. For example, as an example of handling changes in content other than electronic data, there is a case where changes in the status of paper documents are handled as content in a workflow system. In addition, as an example of handling changes in the contents of electronic data other than documents for which revision management is to be performed, there is a case in which a change in electronic data on the basic resident register is handled as a change in contents in a basic resident register network system. In either case, a system that manages content changes instead of the document management apparatus 102 (for example, a workflow system or a basic resident register network system) sets the information "original" to the document attribute 708 when the content of the object to be managed is changed. It should be configured to be stored. Up to this point, ``the configuration in which "original document" is stored in the document attribute 708 when the document is updated'' has been exemplified. The configuration may be such that "information to be indicated is only stored in the document attribute 708". For example, when the image forming apparatus 101 duplicates a document (electronic copying of an electronic document, printing from an electronic document, scanning a paper document and saving it as an electronic document, copying and printing from a paper document), a "copy document" information may be stored. In the case of electronic copying from an electronic document to an electronic document, the document can be uniquely identified by treating it as document identification information including the document hash value, for example, the document name, storage location, and update date and time. Further, the information to be stored is not limited to "duplicate document", and expressions such as "duplication", "copy", "duplicate", "certified copy", "original", and "abstract" may be used. Documents corresponding to transactions in which "duplicate document" is stored in the document attribute 708 can be identified as duplicated documents, and documents corresponding to non-stored transactions can be identified as modified and revised documents. can. As a further configuration example, "a configuration in which 'original document' is stored in the document attribute 708 when the document is updated, and 'duplicate document' is stored in the document attribute 708 when the document is copied. , which uses the above-described two configurations together.

The policy setting 709 stores settings related to processing of the blockchain device 111 . A policy setting example will be described later with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, policy setting 408 or policy setting 508 is stored.

Next, the structure of the block holding the transaction 701 will be explained using the block 711. FIG. This is a schematic of a typical blockchain structure. A block 711 holds a plurality of transactions 701 ( a ) to 701 ( c ) and a block hash value 712 calculated from these transactions 701 .

Although the number of transactions 701 included in the block is three in this embodiment, the number of transactions is not limited. It also holds the hash value 713 of the previous block for linking the blocks. In this embodiment, the block hash value of block 714 is stored in the previous block hash value 713 to indicate that the blocks are related. Although the hash value of the previous block is used in this embodiment, the hash value of the subsequent block may be managed, or the hash values of both the previous block and the subsequent block may be managed.

Policy settings 721 in FIG. 7B indicate policy settings related to the registration process of the blockchain device. A setting item 722 permits the registration of a transaction instructed to be registered when the transaction corresponding to the original document hash value 707 of the transaction instructed to be registered (shown as Tx in the figure) is not registered in the blockchain device 111. Set whether or not to Furthermore, in the setting item 723, if the document attribute 708 of the transaction corresponding to the original document hash value 707 is not registered as "original document" in the blockchain device 111, registration of the transaction whose registration is instructed is permitted. or not. In the setting item 724, when the transaction instructing registration is specified as the original document hash value 707 of another transaction for which registration is instructed, registration of another transaction is permitted if both document registrants 706 do not match. or not. If the setting items 722 to 724 are not set, the default setting values indicated by * are used. This embodiment shows an example in which the policy settings 408 and 508 are stored in the policy settings 709, but the stored settings may be configured to store only the settings related to subsequent transaction registration. For example, in this case, the setting item 724 may be configured to store only the setting item 724 because it relates to the processing of a registration instruction for another transaction. Also, the setting items are not limited to those exemplified here. For example, "settings to be applied to the transaction instructed to be registered" or "settings to be applied to another transaction specifying the transaction instructed to be registered as the original document" are not limited to the examples. Furthermore, for example, there may be setting items related to the registration process of the blockchain device 111 in the case of other conditions, such as "when the registration system information does not match" and "when the registration date and time are apart from a certain standard".

FIG. 8 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display 306 of the PC 103 after the UI control unit UI of the document management apparatus 102 is transmitted to the PC 103 via the NIC 309 .

An authentication screen 800 in FIG. 8A is an example of a screen for providing a function of performing user authentication in order for the user to use the functions of the document management apparatus 102 . A user name input field 801 is a field for inputting a user name. A password input field 802 is a field for inputting a password. A login button 803 is a button for performing user authentication. When the user presses the login button 803 displayed on the display 306 of the PC 103 , the user authentication processing unit 502 performs user authentication based on the values entered in the user name input field 801 and password input field 802 .

A document management screen 810 in FIG. 8B is an example of a screen for providing the document management function of the document management apparatus 102 to the user. The document management apparatus 102 acquires the revision history from the revision record DB 521 and displays the latest version of each electronic document stored in the electronic document DB 520 in the document management list 811 . The document management list 811 displays information related to electronic documents stored in the electronic document DB 520 and revision record DB 521, such as a selection column, document name, document version, document update date, document updater, in order from the left.

A display button 812 is a button for displaying the contents of the document selected in the document management list 811 . A download button 813 is a button for downloading the document selected in the document management list 811 to the device displaying this screen.

A revision record display button 814 is a button for displaying the revision record of the document selected in the document management list 811, and the revision record screen will be described later with reference to FIG. 8C.

A document input field 815 is a field for the user to specify a document saved in the PC 103 when newly saving a document or updating a document.

A new save button 816 is a button for registering the document specified in the document input field 815 in the document management list 811 . When the user presses a new save button 816, the document management apparatus 102 saves the document specified in the document input field 815 in the electronic document DB 520, adds the document information to the document management list 811, displays the document, and performs the first revision. It is recorded in the revision record DB 521 as a history.

An update save button 817 is a button for updating the document selected in the document management list 811 to the document specified in the document input field 815 . When changing the content of an electronic document stored in the electronic document DB 520, the user downloads the electronic document in the document management list 811, changes the content of the document on the PC 103, then designates the changed document and updates and saves it. Update with button 817 . When the user presses an update save button 817 , the document management apparatus 102 saves the document specified in the document input field 815 in the electronic document DB 520 . Then, the document management apparatus 102 increments the version of the document selected in the document management list 811 by one and records it in the revision record DB 521 as a revision history. The revision record DB 521 stores a record indicating that the document selected in the document management list 811 has been updated to the document specified in the document input field 815 . A delete button 818 is a button for deleting a document selected in the document management list 811 . When the user presses the delete button 818, the document management apparatus 102 deletes the display of the document selected in the document management list 811, and deletes the related electronic document and revision record from the electronic document DB 520 and revision record DB 521. . A print button 819 is a button for instructing printing of a document selected in the document management list 811 . When the user presses the print button 830 , the document management apparatus 102 sends the image forming apparatus 101 an instruction to print the document selected in the document management list 811 . A verification button 831 is a button for instructing verification of a document selected in the document management list 811 . When the user presses the verification button 831 , the document management device 102 sends an instruction to verify the document selected in the document management list 811 to the blockchain device 111 .

A revision record screen 820 in FIG. 8C is an example of a screen for providing the revision record function of the document management apparatus 102 to the user. When the user presses a revision record display button 814 on the document management screen 810 , the revision record screen 820 displays the revision record table 821 of the document selected in the document management list 811 . The document management apparatus 102 identifies the related electronic document from the record information stored in the revision record DB 521 and displays the related electronic document information stored in the electronic document DB 520 in the revision record table 821 . In other words, the revision record table 821 displays the document selected in the document management list 811 and the information of the electronic document before the document is updated. The revision record table 821 displays information such as a selection column, document name, document version, document update date, and document updater in order from the left. A display button 822 is a button for displaying the contents of the document selected in the revision record table 821 . A download button 823 is a button for downloading the document selected in the revision record table 821 to the PC 103 . A print button 824 is a button for instructing printing of the document selected in the revision record table 821 . When the user presses the print button 832 , the document management apparatus 102 sends an instruction to print the document selected in the revision record table 821 to the image forming apparatus 101 . When the user presses the verification button 833 , the document management device 102 sends an instruction to verify the document selected in the document management list 811 to the blockchain device 111 .

FIG. 9A is a flow chart showing the flow of processing by the document management device 102 for instructing the block chain device 111 to register a transaction corresponding to a document, and the flow of basic processing by the document management device 102 . The flow of processing when the user performs authentication processing on the authentication screen 800 and presses the new save button 816 or update save button 817 on the document management screen 810 to save the document is shown.

First, the user inputs user information on the authentication screen 800 and presses a login button 803 to use the document management apparatus 102 . Thereafter, in S9001, the user authentication unit 502 of the document management apparatus 102 collates the input user information with the user information DB 503. If the input user information is in the user information DB 503, the process proceeds to S9003. proceed to In S9002, the document management apparatus 102 notifies the user that authentication has failed.

In step S9003, the document management apparatus 102 determines whether the function instructed by the user is to save a new document, to save an updated document, or to perform neither operation. If the user presses the save new button 816 on the document management screen, the process advances to step S9004. If the user presses the update save button 817, the document management apparatus 102 advances the processing to S9005. When the user presses another button, the document management apparatus 102 advances the process to S9012.

In S9004, the document management unit 504 of the document management apparatus 102 saves the document specified in the document input field 815 in the electronic document DB 520 as version "1". Then, the document management unit 504 adds the document information to the document management list 811, displays it, and records it in the revision record DB 521 as the first revision history. Then, the document management unit 504 passes the saved electronic document to the blockchain plug-in 506, and advances the process to S9006.

In step S9005, the document management unit 504 of the document management apparatus 102 identifies the pre-update electronic document from the electronic document DB 520 based on the document name selected in the document management list 811 and its version information. Then, the document specified in the document input field 815 is stored in the electronic document DB 520 as the updated document, and the version of the document after update is set to a value obtained by adding one to the specified version of the document before update. Further, as a revision history, the “document name”, “pre-update version”, “post-update version”, “update date” and “updater” of the document to be updated are recorded in the revision record DB 521 . After revising the document, the document management unit 504 passes the identified pre-update electronic document and the saved post-update electronic document to the blockchain plug-in 506 .

In S9006, the blockchain plug-in 506 of the document management device 102 generates a transaction 701 for instructing the blockchain device 111 to register. The blockchain plug-in 506 calculates a hash value from the newly saved electronic document passed in S9004 or the updated saved electronic document passed in S9005. The calculated hash value is stored in document hash value 702 . The blockchain plug-in 506 acquires the credential information 507 from the credential information management unit 510 and stores it in the registration system information 704 . The document registration date and time 705 stores the date and time at the time of this processing. The blockchain plug-in 506 acquires the credential information 506 from the user authentication processing unit 502 and stores it in the document registrant 706 .

In S9007, the blockchain plug-in 506 stores the value "original document" in the document attribute 508 of the transaction generated in S9006.

In S9008, the blockchain plug-in 506 determines whether the process instructed by the user in S9003 is new save or update save. In the case of new save, the process advances to S9010, and in the case of update save, the process advances to S9009.

In S9009, the blockchain plug-in 506 calculates a hash value from the pre-update electronic document passed to the document management unit 504 in S9005, and stores the value in the original document hash value 707 of the transaction generated in S9006.

At S9010, the blockchain plug-in 506 acquires the policy setting 508 and stores the setting value in the policy setting 709 of the transaction generated at S9006.

In S9011, the blockchain plug-in 506 transmits a registration instruction including the transaction 701 generated and stored in S9006 to S9010 to the blockchain device 111, and this flowchart ends.

In S9012, the document management apparatus 102 determines whether the function instructed by the user is verification, printing, or neither operation. If the user presses the verification button 831 or the verification button 833 on the document management screen, the process proceeds to S9014. If the user presses the print button 830 or the print button 832, the document management apparatus 102 advances the process to step S9017. When the user presses another button, the document management apparatus 102 advances the process to S9013.

In S9013, the document management unit 504 of the document management apparatus 102 executes processing of the document management function instructed by the user, and ends this flowchart.

In S<b>9014 , the document management unit 504 of the document management apparatus 102 acquires an electronic document from the electronic document DB 520 based on the document name and its version information selected in the document management list 811 and passes it to the blockchain plug-in 506 . Blockchain plug-in 506 calculates a hash value from the passed electronic document.

In S9015, the blockchain plug-in 506 of the document management apparatus 102 instructs the blockchain apparatus 111 to verify whether the hash value calculated in S9014 is registered.

In S9016, the blockchain plug-in 506 of the document management apparatus 102 displays the result of the verification instruction in S9015 via the UI control unit 501, and ends this flowchart.

In step S9017, the document management unit 504 of the document management apparatus 102 acquires an electronic document from the electronic document DB 520 from the document name and its version information selected in the document management list 811, and sends it to the image forming apparatus 101 together with the acquired electronic document. Send print instructions to Although not shown here, when the document management apparatus 102 transmits a print instruction and an electronic document to the image forming apparatus 101, the image forming apparatus 101 stores the electronic document to be printed in the HDD 204 until a user instruction is received. When the document management unit 504 transmits the print instruction, this flowchart ends.

In this embodiment, the document management apparatus 102, the image forming apparatus 101, the PC 103, and the like are separated. A configuration performed by the device 101 or the PC 103 may be used.

FIG. 9B is a flow chart showing the flow of the document management apparatus 104's processing for instructing the block chain device 111 to register a transaction corresponding to a document and the basic processing of the document management apparatus 104. FIG.

The processes of S9001 to S9006 and S9008 to S9017 shown in FIG. 9B are the same as those shown in FIG. 9A. As compared with the processing of the document management apparatus 102 shown in FIG. 9A, the document management apparatus 104 does not perform the processing of S9006. That is, unlike the document management apparatus 102, the document management apparatus 104 does not set a value to the document attribute 508 of the transaction generated in S9006.

As described above, the system of this embodiment includes apparatuses in which "original document" is not set as the document attribute.

FIG. 9C is a flowchart showing the flow of processing related to the blockchain device 111 performed by the image forming device 101 . 3 shows the processing flow of the image forming apparatus 101 when the user wants to register a printed matter in the blockchain device 111 or scan and verify whether the printed matter is registered in the blockchain device 111. FIG. For example, when a user issues a print instruction using the document management apparatus 102 or 104 , the document management apparatus 102 or 104 issues a print instruction to the image forming apparatus 101 . After that, in the process of printing the document instructed to be printed by the user using the image forming apparatus 101, the image forming apparatus 101 performs the processing shown in this flowchart.

In step S<b>9101 , the user authentication processing unit 402 of the image forming apparatus 101 determines whether the user who uses the image forming apparatus 101 exists in the user information DB 403 . For the user's information, it suffices to refer to information input by the user via the local UI control unit 400 or the remote UI control unit 401 in the same way that the document management apparatus 102 obtains information via the UI. If the user information exists in the user information DB 403, the process proceeds to S9103; otherwise, the process proceeds to S9102. In step S9102, the image forming apparatus 101 notifies the user that authentication has failed.

In step S<b>9103 , the image forming apparatus 101 receives an instruction from the user that indicates a function to register printed matter in the blockchain device 111 and print it, a function to scan and verify whether the printed matter is registered in the blockchain device 111 , or another function. operation. By displaying the UI for each function to the user via the local UI control unit 400 or the remote UI control unit 401, the image forming apparatus 101 can determine which function's UI the user has operated. good. If the user's instruction matches the function of registering the printed material in the blockchain device 111 and printing it, the image forming apparatus 101 advances the processing to step S9104. If the user instruction is a function of scanning and verifying whether the printed matter is registered in the blockchain apparatus 111, the image forming apparatus 101 advances the process to step S9109. If the user instruction is for a function that is not related to the blockchain device, such as a function that only prints a document or a function that only scans and saves a document, the process advances to S9112.

In S9104, the application 404 of the image forming apparatus 101 acquires from the HDD 204 the document to be printed that was sent in S9017. The application 404 passes the acquired document to the blockchain application 406 of the image forming apparatus 101 . Then, in S9105, the blockchain application 406 generates a transaction 701 for instructing the blockchain device 111 to register. Here, the blockchain application 406 calculates a hash value from the credential information 407 that can be obtained from the credential information management unit 410 and the date and time information at that time, and stores the value as the document hash value 702 . Since no document is printed by one image forming apparatus 101 at the same time, calculating a hash value from these two elements can be used as information for uniquely identifying a printed document. The blockchain application 406 acquires the credential information 407 from the credential information management unit 410 and stores it in the registration system information 704 . The document registration date and time 705 stores the date and time at the time of this processing. The blockchain application 406 acquires the credential information 405 from the user authentication processing unit 402 and stores it in the document registrant 706 . In the original document hash value 707, a hash value is calculated from the document passed from the application 404 in S9104, and the calculated value is stored. A setting value obtained from the policy setting 508 is stored in the policy setting 709 .

In S9106, the blockchain application 406 transmits a registration instruction including the transaction 701 generated in S9105 to the blockchain device 111.

At S9107, blockchain application 406 generates an image that encodes the document hash value 702 value. The coded image may be in a format that can be decoded by a system that issues a verification instruction to the blockchain device 111 , represented by the image forming device 101 , and restored to a hash value character string. For example, images with hash values as character strings, images with encrypted character strings, images with character strings converted into two-dimensional barcodes such as QR, images with patterned character strings, and invisible images that are difficult for the human eye to recognize. There is a configuration with an image of In step S9104, the blockchain application 406 synthesizes the image encoded with the document hash value 702 with the electronic document passed from the application 404 and the image encoded with the document hash value 702, and creates a printed document. Generate an image. Blockchain application 406 passes the generated image to application 404 .

In S9108, the application 404 uses the printer 210 to print the image for the print document passed from the blockchain application 406 in S9107, and ends this flowchart.

In step S<b>9109 , the application 404 of the image forming apparatus 101 uses the scanner 211 to scan the paper document for scan verification and saves it in the HDD 204 as electronic data. Application 404 then passes the scanned electronic data to blockchain application 406 .

In S9110, the blockchain application 406 reads the code from the electronic data passed in S9109, and decodes it into a character string for querying the blockchain device 111. The blockchain application 406 then sends a verification instruction to the blockchain device 111 together with the character string obtained by decoding.

In S9111, the blockchain application 406 displays the verification instruction result in S9110 via the local UI control unit 400 or the remote UI control unit 401, and ends this flowchart.

In step S<b>9112 , the application 404 of the image forming apparatus 101 executes the print function, scan function, etc. of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the user's instruction, and this flowchart ends.

Although this embodiment shows an example of printing a document transmitted by the document management apparatus 102 or 104, the document to be printed is not limited to this form. A document transmitted from the PC 102 may be used, a document saved in the image forming apparatus 101 may be printed, or a document saved externally such as a cloud storage service may be printed.

FIG. 9D is a flowchart showing the flow of transaction registration processing in the blockchain device 111 .

In step S<b>9201 , the processing control unit 601 of the blockchain device 111 receives an instruction to register a transaction in the blockchain from an external device such as the image forming device 101 , document management device 102 , PC 103 , or document management device 104 . Then, the registration system information 704 and the document registrant 706, that is, the credential information 405, 407, 505, and 507 are acquired from the transaction 701 received from the external device, the values are passed to the authentication processing unit 602, and the process proceeds to S9202. In S9202, the authentication processing unit 602 of the blockchain device 111 checks whether the account information DB 603 contains the credential information passed in S9201. If it is included, the process proceeds to S9204, and if it is not included, in S9203 the external device that instructed to register the authentication error is notified.

In S<b>9204 , the processing control unit 601 passes the transaction 701 received by the block data management unit 604 to the block data management unit 604 . Then, the block data management unit 604 determines whether the value of the document attribute 708 of the transferred transaction 701 is "original document". If it is the original document, the process proceeds to S9205, and if it is not the original document, the process proceeds to S9214.

In S9205, the block data management unit 604 acquires the policy setting 709 of the received transaction 701, and determines whether the setting item 722 prohibits registration processing when the original document is not registered in the blockchain. do. If the setting is not to allow, the process proceeds to S9206, and if the setting is to allow, the process proceeds to S9211.

In S<b>9206 , the block data management unit 604 acquires the original document hash value 707 of the received transaction 701 and determines whether the value is unregistered in the distributed ledger 605 . If not registered in the distributed ledger 605, the external device that instructed to register is notified of an error that interrupts the registration process due to policy setting in S9207, and if registered in the distributed ledger 605, the process proceeds to S9208.

In step S9208, the block data management unit 604 determines whether the setting item 723 of the received transaction 701 does not permit registration processing when the original document is not registered in the blockchain as an original document. If the setting is not to allow, the process proceeds to S9209, and if the setting is to allow, the process proceeds to S9211.

In S9209, the block data management unit 604 determines whether the value of the document attribute 708 of the transaction corresponding to the original document determined to be registered in S9206 is registered in the distributed ledger 605 as "original document". If it is not registered as an original document in the distributed ledger 605, in S9210 the external device that instructed to register is notified of an error that interrupts the registration process due to policy settings. Proceed with processing.

In S9211, the block data management unit 604 acquires the transaction policy setting 709 corresponding to the original document determined to be registered in S9206. Then, it is determined whether or not the setting item 724, which is the policy setting of the original document, is set to not allow the registration process when the registrant information does not match. If the setting does not allow the registration process, the process advances to S9212, and if the setting allows the registration process, the process advances to S9214.

In S9212, the block data management unit 604 determines whether the received transaction 701 matches the registration system information 704 and document registrant 706 of each transaction corresponding to the original document determined to have been registered in S9206. If the registration system information 704 of each transaction and the document registrant 706 do not match, in S9213 an error that interrupts the registration process due to policy setting is notified to the external device that instructed registration, and if they match, the process proceeds to S9214.

In S9214, the block data management unit 604 performs registration processing of the received transaction 701 in the distributed ledger 605, and this flowchart ends.

In this embodiment, it is determined in S9212 whether both the registration system information 704 and the document registrant 706 match, but it is also possible to determine only one of them. Further, after the block data management unit 604 performs the registration process in S9214, the registration result may be notified to the external device that instructed the registration. Note that here, a configuration in which the processing of S9204 to S9213 is performed by the blockchain device 111 is shown. However, the device that instructs registration, that is, the image forming device 101, the document management devices 102 and 104, and the PC 103 may use the verification function described in FIG. 9D.

FIG. 9E is a flowchart showing the flow of transaction verification processing in the blockchain device 111 .

In step S<b>9301 , the processing control unit 601 of the blockchain device 111 receives verification instructions from external devices such as the image forming device 101 , the document management device 102 and the PC 103 as to whether the document has been registered in the blockchain. During verification, only the document hash value is received from the external device.

In S<b>9302 , the processing control unit 601 determines whether the transaction 701 corresponding to the received document hash value is registered in the distributed ledger 605 . If the document is not registered in the distributed ledger 605, in S9303 the document is notified to the external device that instructed the verification that the result is unregistered, and if it is registered in the distributed ledger 605, the process proceeds to S9304.

In S9304, the processing control unit 601 determines whether the document attribute 708 of the transaction 701 determined as registered in S9302 is registered in the distributed ledger 605 as an original document. If it is not registered as an original document in the distributed ledger 605, the process proceeds to S9305, and if it is registered, the process proceeds to S9310.

In S<b>9305 , the processing control unit 601 determines whether the transaction corresponding to the original document hash value 707 of the transaction 701 determined as registered in S<b>9302 is registered in the distributed ledger 605 . If the transaction corresponding to the original document is registered in the distributed ledger 605, the process proceeds to S9307, and if not registered, in S9306 the document is notified to the external device that instructed verification that the document is a duplicate document.

In S9307, the processing control unit 601 determines whether the document attribute 708 of the transaction corresponding to the original document determined to be registered in S9305 is registered in the distributed ledger 605 as the original document. If the document is registered in the distributed ledger 605 as an original document, in S9308, the document is notified to the external device that instructed verification that the document is a document copied from the original document. If the document is not registered in the distributed ledger 605 as the original document, in S9309, the document is notified to the external device that instructed the verification that the document is a document duplicated from the duplicate document.

In S9310, the processing control unit 601 determines whether the transaction corresponding to the original document hash value 707 of the transaction 701 determined to be registered in S9302 is registered in the distributed ledger 605. If the transaction corresponding to the original document is registered in the distributed ledger 605, the process proceeds to S9312, and if not registered, the document is a newly saved original document in S9311. Notice.

In S9312, the processing control unit 601 determines whether the document attribute 708 of the transaction corresponding to the original document determined to be registered in S9310 is registered in the distributed ledger 605 as the original document. If the document is registered in the distributed ledger 605 as an original document, in S9313, the document is notified to the external device that instructed verification that the document is the updated and saved original document. If the document is not registered in the distributed ledger 605 as the original document, in S9314, the document is notified to the external device that instructed the verification that the document is the original document saved from the duplicate document. When the external device instructed to verify is notified, this flow chart ends.

In this embodiment, in S9304, the block chain device 111 determines the document attribute of the transaction registered in the distributed ledger 605, but an external device may perform the determination. For example, if the blockchain device 111 transmits a transaction registered in the distributed ledger 605 to an external device that has issued a verification instruction, the device that has issued a verification instruction can determine document attributes. Also, in this embodiment, a configuration is shown in which authentication processing is not performed when using the verification function. Also good.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the user changes the content of a document and saves it in the document management apparatus 102, the information "original document" stored in the document attribute 708 in S9007 is stored in the block chain together with the document information in S9214. It can be registered in a distributed ledger 605. When the user verifies a document, the document verification is performed via the image forming apparatus 101, the document management apparatus 102, and the PC 103, and the document transaction corresponding to the distributed ledger is registered as an original document in S9304. I can confirm that. This allows the user to determine, via the blockchain device, that the document to be verified is "a document correctly saved in the document management device 102". Conversely, the user can determine through the blockchain device that the document to be verified is "not a duplicated document." Then, in S9310, S9311, and S9313, by confirming the registration status of the distributed ledger of the original document of the original document, it is possible to determine whether the document is newly saved in the document management apparatus 102 or updated and saved. . This allows the user to determine through the blockchain device that the document to be verified is "an updated and saved document, that is, a document whose contents have been changed." In addition, since a block chain device is used, a document can be verified even by a person other than the user of the image forming apparatus 101 or the document management apparatus 102, and the falsification resistance of the information regarding the document including the document attributes is high.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the restrictions of S9206, S9209, and S9212 are determined using policy settings, but the policy settings 709 are not necessarily required. For example, the policy setting may be configured to be used only by a specific system, and as a basic configuration, the policy setting may be restricted without operating the policy setting and S9206, S9209, and S9212 may be restricted. In that case, the basic configuration can be such that an original document can designate only another original document (non-replicated document) as the original document. As a result, a transaction that is an original document is not registered in the distributed ledger 605 only in the case of new storage or update storage in the document management apparatus 102 . Therefore, it becomes possible to treat the chain of transactions, which is the original document of the distributed ledger 605, as a revision record of the document. In other words, the user recursively verifies the document via the blockchain device with respect to the "original document of the document resulting in the updated and saved original document in S9313". The update status of the document similar to the revision history of 102 can be confirmed.

Furthermore, the process of S9212 of the present embodiment can prevent another device from specifying a document registered in the blockchain device 111 by the document management device 102 as an original document. By preventing another registration system (or user) from entering the connection of the original document registered in the distributed ledger 605, the connection of the original document registered in the distributed ledger 605 can be treated as a more accurate revision history. can handle.

The policy setting 709 shown in this embodiment also makes it possible to relax the restrictions of S9206, S9209, and S9212 in a specific system.

In this embodiment, a system configuration including the image forming apparatus 101 and the document management apparatus 104 is shown that instructs the block chain device 111 to register a transaction without storing the information "original document" in the document attribute 708. . However, a system configuration that does not include apparatuses such as the image forming apparatus 101 and the document management apparatus 104 that does not store "original document" in the document attribute 708 may be used.

<Example 2>
In the first embodiment, the document management device 102 stores "original document" in the document attribute 708, thereby making it possible to distinguish whether the document to be registered in the blockchain device 111 is a document whose contents have been changed or a duplicated document. . On the other hand, there are cases in which the document management apparatus used by the user cannot perform the same processing as the document management apparatus 102 because the version of the software cannot be upgraded in document management apparatuses that have already been widely used. Embodiment 2 for implementing the present invention for solving the problem even in such a case will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 10 is an overall view of a system related to blockchain services in this embodiment. The image forming apparatus 101, PC 103, LAN 100, and Internet 110 are the same as those shown in FIG. Since the blockchain device 111 is also the same as that shown in FIG. 1, the description including the hardware configuration is omitted. The document management device 105 is an example of an information processing device, and is a device that instructs the blockchain device 111 to register information about electronic documents without including information about documents whose contents have been changed. The hardware configuration of the document management apparatus 105 is the same as that shown in FIG. 3, and the software configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. As another configuration, a system configuration including the document management apparatus 102 and the document management apparatus 104 may be used.

Transactions related to the blockchain device 111 in this embodiment, the data structure of blocks in the blockchain, and policy setting examples are the same as those shown in FIGS.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the software configuration related to the present invention in the blockchain device 111 in this embodiment. Since 601, 602, 604, and 605 are the same as those shown in FIG. 6, description thereof is omitted. The account information DB 610 holds information on devices, systems, and users who use services. The authentication processing unit 602 performs authentication processing by comparing credential information such as the credential information 405 , 407 , 505 and 507 with information in the account information DB 610 . Table 6 shows an example of the account information DB.

In Table 6, account names are stored. The authentication processing unit 602 can perform authentication processing by decoding the credential information such as the credential information 405, 407, 505, and 507 and verifying whether the account name shown in Table 6 contains the decrypted character string. Table 6 also stores settings indicating whether or not the account creates original documents, and settings similar to the policy setting items shown in FIG. 7B. By referring to the account information stored in the account information DB 610, the processing control unit 601 sets whether or not the device, system, or user using the blockchain device 111 is an account for creating an original document, and sets policy. can be obtained. Information to be saved in the account information DB 610 may be saved in advance by the administrator of the blockchain device 111 .

The processing flow of the document management apparatus 105 in this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 9B, and the processing flow of the image forming apparatus 101 is the same as that shown in FIG. Also, the flow of transaction verification processing of the blockchain device 111 in this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow of transaction registration processing in the blockchain device 111 in this embodiment. In step S9201, when the processing control unit 601 of the blockchain device 111 receives an instruction to register a transaction in the blockchain from an external device such as the image forming device 101, the document management device 105, or the PC 103, this flowchart starts. Note that the processing in S9201 to S9214 is the same as that shown in FIG. 9D, so the description is omitted. In S9202, the authentication processing unit 602 of the blockchain device 111 checks whether the credential information passed in S9201 is included in the account information DB 603. If it is included, the process advances to S9401.

In S9202, the processing control unit 601 of the blockchain device 111 receives from the authentication processing unit 602 information as to whether the account authenticated by the account information DB 610 is the account for creating the original document. If the item "account for creating original document" shown in Table 6 includes "o", the processing control unit 601 advances the processing to step S9402. If there is no "o" in the item "account for creating original document", the processing control unit 601 advances the processing to step S9204.

In S9402, the processing control unit 601 determines whether "original document" is stored in the document attribute 708 of the transaction received from the external device in S9201. If "original document" is not stored in the document attribute 708, the process control unit 601 advances the process to S9403, and if "original document" is stored in the document attribute 708, the process control unit 601 advances the process to S9204.

In S9403, the processing control unit 601 stores "original document" in the document attribute 708 of the transaction received from the external device in S9201.

In S9404, the processing control unit 601 receives from the authentication processing unit 602 the information regarding the policy setting of the account authenticated by the account information DB610.

In S9405, the processing control unit 601 stores the policy setting received from the authentication processing unit 602 in S9402 in the document attribute 709 of the transaction in S9403, and advances the processing to S9204.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the document management apparatus used by the user cannot perform the same processing as the document management apparatus 102, the document attribute 708 is set to " You can store the "original document". Therefore, when the user verifies a document, by verifying the document via the image forming apparatus 101, the document management apparatus 102, and the PC 103, the transaction of the document corresponding to the distributed ledger is registered as the original document in S9304. I can confirm that. This allows the user to determine, via the blockchain device, that the document to be verified is "a document correctly saved in the document management device 102".

<Other Examples>
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by processing to It can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

Claims (8)

A system composed of an information processing device and a blockchain device,
The information processing device is
a registration instruction means for instructing the blockchain device to register a transaction of document information about a document and attribute information indicating that the document is an original;
The blockchain device is
A system having registration means for generating a transaction based on the document information and the attribute information and registering it in a block. The information processing device, when storing the document, instructs the blockchain device to register document information about the document and attribute information indicating that the document is original in a transaction. The system of claim 1. The system further comprises an image forming device,
The image forming apparatus is
3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising registration instructing means for instructing transaction registration of document information relating to a document to be printed to the block chain device. 4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus, when printing the document, instructs the blockchain apparatus to register document information related to the document in a transaction. 5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the document information relating to said document is a hash value of said document. verification means for verifying the authenticity of the document based on document information related to the document;
The present invention further comprises display means for displaying information indicating that the document is original based on attribute information indicating that the document is original when displaying the result of verification by said verification means. Item 6. The system according to any one of Items 1 to 5. An information processing device,
a storage means for storing the document;
The information processing characterized by comprising registration instruction means for instructing transaction registration of document information related to the document and attribute information indicating that the document is original to a block chain device when storing the document. Device. A control method for an information processing device,
a saving step of saving the document;
The information processing characterized by comprising a registration instruction step of instructing transaction registration of document information related to the document and attribute information indicating that the document is original to a block chain device when storing the document. How to control the device.

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