JP4665865B2 - Image processing apparatus and document storage processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a document storage processing program.

  The e-Document Act (Electronic Document Act), which allows electronic storage of documents obligated to be stored by various laws and regulations, has been enforced, making it unnecessary for companies to store documents using paper media. In addition to reducing the amount of space required for storing documents, the management costs can be reduced. Note that financial statements, books, contracts without standard terms and conditions, and receipts exceeding the prescribed amount are not subject to the e-Document Act and are still required to be stored on paper.

  When a document subject to e-document law is digitized and stored, the document is subjected to signature processing and time stamp processing to prove the creator, creation time, and non-falsification of the document. It is necessary to ensure authenticity.

  Signature processing is an effective technique for proving the creator of an electronic document and that the document has not been tampered. For example, in Patent Document 1, an electronic certificate is input to a sender when transmitting image data. A technique for verifying the validity of the electronic certificate and clarifying the issuer is disclosed. That is, according to this Patent Document 1, since the sender can be managed by the certificate, misuse by a third party can be prevented.

In addition, the time stamp process is a technique effective for proving that the creation time of the document or the document has not been falsified by combining certain information (for example, a hash value generated from the document) and time information. It is.
JP-A-2005-159726

  To digitize and store a document subject to the e-document method, an application that scans an original using a scanner or a multifunction peripheral, transfers the read electronic document to a personal computer, etc., and then operates on the computer The procedure of signature processing and time stamp processing was performed using.

  Depending on the type of document, even if an electronic signature or a time stamp is given, it may not be handled as a public document. However, even in such a case, if the certificate information of the person can be confirmed, signature processing and time stamp processing are executed. In order to cope with this, the user only has to check the contents of the documents one by one when reading, but when dealing with a large number of documents, such a response requires a great deal of labor. Will be overburdened.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and a document storage processing program that can efficiently perform storage processing on a document to be subjected to the e-document method and reduce the user's trouble. .

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a reading unit for reading a document, a type of format of the document and a predetermined format in the format from an electronic document generated by reading from the document by the reading unit are predetermined. extracts the information shown in the area, and format determining means and the type and the information of the format issued extracted to determine whether to match a predetermined format, issued Ri抽 by the format determination means characterized in that said the type of the format information when it is determined not to match the predetermined format comprises a signature processing means for performing signature processing of an electronic document is extracted and the type and the information of the format And

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the signature processing unit determines that the format type and the information extracted by the format determination unit match a predetermined format, The signature processing of the electronic document from which the format type and the information are extracted is not performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the signature processing unit determines that the format type and the information extracted by the format determining unit match a predetermined format, It further comprises user intervention control means for controlling display of a user intervention screen for selecting whether or not to perform signature processing by the signature processing means on the display.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the format determining means determines that the extracted format type matches the format of the receipt, the amount of the receipt is calculated as the information. It is determined whether or not it is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, and when the amount of the receipt is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, it is determined that the predetermined format is satisfied .

The invention according to claim 5 further comprises time information processing means for performing time information certification processing of the electronic document according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the time information processing means includes the signature processing. A time information certification process is performed on the electronic document that has been subjected to the signature process by the means .

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document storage processing program for causing a computer to execute processing in an image processing apparatus that reads an electronic document from a manuscript, wherein the manuscript is generated from the electronic document read and generated from the manuscript. A format determination step of extracting the format type of the format and information indicated in a predetermined area in the format and determining whether the extracted format type and the information match a predetermined format; Signature processing for performing signature processing of the electronic document from which the format type and the information are extracted when it is determined that the format type and the information extracted by the format determination step do not match a predetermined format And a step .

The invention of claim 7 is the invention of claim 6 , wherein the signature processing step determines that the format type and the information extracted by the format determination step match a predetermined format. The signature processing of the electronic document from which the format type and the information are extracted is not performed .

  According to the present invention, when a document subject to the e-document method is saved, a document corresponding to a predetermined condition can be automatically determined and saved, so that it is not a subject of the e-document method. It is possible to prevent the document from being electronically stored by mistake.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary for the user to check the document and determine whether the document is a target of the e-document method, a large amount of documents can be processed efficiently, and the user's trouble Can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an image processing apparatus and a document storage processing program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an image reading system configured by arranging an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the case where the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the multifunction machine 10 will be described as an example.

  The image reading system includes a multifunction device 10, a certificate authority 20, and a time stamp station 30. The multifunction device 10, the certificate authority 20, and the time stamp station 30 include an intranet 41 and the Internet 42. It is connected so that communication is possible.

  Here, the multifunction machine 10 has various functions such as copying, scanning, and faxing, and performs signature processing with the intranet 41 and the certificate authority 20 connected via the Internet 42. Time stamp processing is executed with the time stamp station 30 connected via the terminal 42.

  The multi-function device 10 has a function of reading a manuscript that is an object of the e-document method, executing signature processing and time stamp processing on the read electronic document, and digitizing and storing the document as an official document. In the MFP 10, when the electronic document is read, if the read electronic document matches a specific format and meets the predetermined conditions, it is not recognized as an official document even if it is stored electronically. Such documents are not subjected to signature processing or the like (signature processing, time stamp processing). For example, receipts over a predetermined amount (for example, 30,000 yen) are still required to be stored in paper media, and even if they are stored electronically, they are not treated as official documents. The signature processing or the like is not executed for a document such as a receipt exceeding a predetermined amount.

  The certificate authority 20 is a public institution that issues certificates. The certificate authority 20 issues an electronic certificate for proving that the electronic document issuer is a reliable organization. That is, the certificate authority 20 guarantees the trust of the electronic document for which the certificate is issued by the certificate authority 20. A signature process is performed in the certificate authority 20 and an electronic signature is given to the electronic document, thereby proving that the creator of the electronic document and the document have not been tampered with.

  The time stamp station 30 is a public organization that guarantees time information. The time stamp station 30 can verify the electronic document by issuing reliable time information to the electronic document. A time stamp process is performed in the time stamp station 30 and a time stamp is given to the electronic document, thereby proving that the document creation time and the document have not been tampered with.

  Next, a part of the schematic configuration of the multifunction machine 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The multifunction machine 10 includes a communication unit 11, a UI (User Interface) unit 12, a control unit 13, an image reading unit 14, an image forming unit 15, and a storage unit 16 as functional configurations. Is done.

  The communication unit 11 is configured by a LAN (Local Area Network) board or the like, and functions as a communication interface that connects the multifunction machine 10 and the intranet 41. It does not matter whether the communication in the communication unit 11 is wired or wireless.

  The UI unit 12 includes an operation panel including a display unit 12a that is a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an operation unit 12b that is an input device such as a touch panel and operation buttons. Functions as a user interface that connects

  The control unit 13 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a program memory, a working memory, various ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), and the like, and fulfills a function of controlling the MFP 10 in an integrated manner.

  The image reading unit 14 includes an illumination lamp, a lens, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and the like, and has a function of optically scanning a document placed on a platen glass (document table) and reading an electronic document from the document. Fulfill. The image reading unit 14 may be provided with an automatic paper feed feeder or the like, and in this case, it is possible to continuously read the original set on the tray.

  The image forming unit 15 includes a photosensitive drum, a transfer belt, a fixing device, and the like, and functions to form and output an image on a recording medium such as paper. In this embodiment, the case where the image forming unit 15 is configured by an electrophotographic method will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other methods (for example, an ink jet method) may be adopted. .

  The storage unit 16 includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like, and functions as a storage device that stores various data. The storage unit 16 mainly stores an electronic document read from an original by the image reading unit 14. The above is the description of the various processing functions that make up the multifunction machine 10. In FIG. 2, for easy understanding of the description, a configuration for specifically realizing each processing function is illustrated, but this is merely an example, and each processing function is realized by a configuration other than this. May be.

  Next, a part of the functional configuration of the control unit 13 described with reference to FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 13 includes, as its functional functions, a setting information holding unit 51, a document determination unit 52, a storage control unit 53, a user intervention control unit 54, a signature processing unit 55, a time stamp processing unit 56, a document And a storage processing unit 57.

  The setting information holding unit 51 functions to hold various setting information. The setting information holding unit 51 holds setting information for preventing signature processing or the like from being executed on an electronic document that is not handled as an official document even if it is digitized and stored. Specifically, “specific format information” in which a specific format is set, the position, shape, size, and the like of a predetermined area in the specific format (hereinafter, this area is referred to as a condition determination area) are set. “Region information”, “condition information” in which a predetermined condition is set, are held, the format of the electronic document read from the original matches the format set in “specific format information”, and “ When the information of the condition determination area set in “area information” corresponds to “condition information”, the signature processing or the like is not performed on the electronic document. The setting information held in the setting information holding unit 51 may be registered from the UI unit 12 provided in the multifunction device 10 or may be registered by causing the multifunction device 10 to read the instruction form. Alternatively, registration may be performed from a personal computer connected to the multifunction machine 10 or the like.

  Here, these setting information will be described with specific examples. For example, if you do not want to perform signature processing etc. when the amount of the receipt shown in FIG. 4 is 30,000 yen or more, set the format of this receipt in “Specific format information” and set the receipt in “Region information”. The amount information area located within the dotted line frame at the center of the book is set as the condition judgment area, and “Condition information” is set at 30,000 yen or more.

  When the shape is a rectangular shape as in the condition determination region shown in FIG. 4, for example, the coordinates (points (x1, y1) and two vertexes on the diagonal of the rectangular region based on a predetermined reference position) The point (x2, y2)) is derived, and the vertex coordinates may be set in the “region information”. A plurality of “area information” may be set for the same format. For example, in the case of the receipt shown in FIG. 4, a character string “receipt” or the like may be set as the area information. Good.

  The document determination unit 52 performs a function of determining whether or not an electronic document read from an original is not subject to the e-document method. The determination in the document determination unit 52 is made based on the setting information held in the setting information holding unit 51. The document determination unit 52 includes a format extraction unit 61, a format determination unit 62, a condition determination region extraction unit 63, and a condition determination region determination unit 64 therein.

  The format extraction unit 61 functions to extract a format from an electronic document read from a document, and the format determination unit 62 determines whether the format extracted from the electronic document matches a specific format. Fulfills the function of The determination as to whether the formats match is made based on the “specific format information” held in the setting information holding unit 51.

  The condition determination area extraction unit 63 functions to extract a predetermined area (condition determination area) in the electronic document when the format determination unit 62 determines that the formats match. In the condition determination area extraction unit 63, the extracted condition determination area is subjected to OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing to extract a character string in the area, and the extracted character string is input to the condition determination area determination unit 64. Supply. The condition determination area is acquired based on “area information” held in the setting information holding unit 51.

  The condition determination area determination unit 64 has a function of determining whether or not the character string extracted by the condition determination area extraction unit 63 satisfies a predetermined condition. The determination as to whether or not the predetermined condition is met is made based on “condition information” held in the setting information holding unit 51. As a result of the determination in the condition determination area determination unit 64, if the condition set in the “condition information” is met, signature processing or the like is not executed for the electronic document. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which it is determined whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied by comparing character strings. However, the present invention is not limited to character strings, and images such as pictures and photographs match. It may be configured to determine whether or not a predetermined condition is met depending on whether or not the condition is met.

  The storage control unit 53 functions to control the operation of the document storage process based on the determination result in the document determination unit 52 and the like. For example, the signature processing in the signature processing unit 55 and the start of user intervention processing by the user intervention control unit 54 are controlled based on the determination result in the document determination unit 52.

  The user intervention control unit 54 functions to control user intervention based on an instruction from the storage control unit 53. Specifically, if the electronic document read from the document is not subject to the e-document method, the user intervention screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 12a to notify the user to that effect. In addition, a user instruction input from the operation unit 12b by the user is received along with this display. In this embodiment, a case where user intervention is performed using the display unit 12a and the operation unit 12b installed in the multifunction machine 10 will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a personal computer handled by the user To the user from the personal computer.

  The signature processing unit 55 manages a signature process performed with the certificate authority 20 and performs a function of adding a signature to the electronic document. The signature processing in the signature processing unit 55 is started based on an instruction from the storage control unit 53. For example, in this signature processing, an electronic signature that employs an authentication method using a public key is often used.

  The time stamp processing unit 56 manages time stamp processing performed with the time stamp station 30 and performs a function of giving a time stamp to an electronic document. The time stamp processing in the time stamp processing unit 56 is performed on the electronic document to which the digital signature is given in the signature processing unit 55. That is, time information or the like (time information, hash value, etc.) that is publicly certified is attached to the electronic document that has been subjected to the signature processing in the signature processing unit 55.

  The document storage processing unit 57 has a function of storing an electronic document with an electronic signature and a time stamp in the storage unit 16. In this embodiment, an example in which an electronic document is stored and stored in the storage unit 16 in the multifunction machine 10 will be described as an example. However, a repository or personal computer on the intranet 41 is set as a storage destination. In addition, the electronic document that has been subjected to the signature processing or the like may be stored outside the multifunction device 10.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6, description will be given of the operation when the document on the paper medium is digitized and saved as an official document in the multifunction machine 10 shown in FIG.

  When the user sets an original on the platen glass and performs a predetermined setting and then presses the start button or the like to instruct the start of the process, this process is started. When this processing is started, first, the image reading unit 14 reads an electronic document from a document, and this is input to the control unit 13. Then, the document determination unit 52 of the control unit 13 performs determination processing as to whether or not to execute signature processing or the like on the electronic document.

  In this determination process, first, the format extraction unit 61 extracts a format from the electronic document (step S102). Then, the format determination unit 62 determines whether or not the extracted format matches the specific format information held in the setting information holding unit 51 (step S102). As a result of this determination, if the format does not match (NO in step S103), the signature processing in step S109 is started. If the format matches (YES in step S103), the condition determination area extraction is performed. The unit 63 extracts a condition determination area from the electronic document, and performs OCR processing on the extracted condition determination area (step S104). Then, the condition determination area determination unit 64 determines whether the extracted character string in the area corresponds to the condition information held in the setting information holding unit 51.

  As a result of this determination, if the character string of the extracted area meets the predetermined condition (YES in step S105), the user intervention control unit 54 that has received an instruction from the storage control unit 53 displays the display unit 12a. The user intervention screen described in FIG. 5 is displayed to notify the user that the document is not subject to the e-document method (step S106). If the user who has received this notification instructs the continuation of processing from the operation unit 12b (YES in step S107), the signature processing in step S109 is started, but the user cancels the processing. Is instructed (NO in step S107), the storage control unit 53 instructs each unit to cancel, so that the storage process of the document is stopped (step S108), and this process ends.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S105, if the extracted character string in the region does not meet the predetermined condition (NO in step S105), the signature processing unit 55 that has received an instruction from the storage control unit 53 Signature processing is performed (step S109). If the signature processing is successful, the time stamp processing unit 56 subsequently performs time stamp processing (step S110), whereby an electronic signature and a time stamp are added to the electronic document read from the document. . The electronic document with the electronic signature and the time stamp is stored and saved in the storage unit 16 by the document storage processing unit 57 (step S111). Then, this process ends.

  In the document storage process described with reference to FIG. 6, when the read electronic document is not subject to the e-document method, the user is notified and intervention is performed (step S106, step S106). S107), when processing an original continuously using an automatic paper feeder, etc., even if the read electronic document is not subject to the e-document method, the processing is performed without performing user intervention each time. You may make it give priority to the continuation of a process, for example so that it may notify that after completion | finish.

  Next, Example 2 will be described. In the first embodiment, an electronic document that is not subject to the e-document method is determined. In the second embodiment, a configuration that determines an electronic document that is an object of the e-document method will be described. . The overall configuration of the second embodiment and the schematic configuration of the multi-function device 20 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS.

  In the second embodiment, the e-document method is used for setting information such as “specific format information”, “region information”, and “condition information” held in the setting information holding unit 51 described in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment. The conditions necessary to determine the target document are set. The document determination unit 52 determines an electronic document that is an object of the e-document method based on the setting information held in the setting information holding unit 51.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 7, an operation when a paper document is digitized and saved as a public document will be described.

  When the user sets an original on the platen glass and performs a predetermined setting and then presses the start button or the like to instruct the start of the process, this process is started. When this processing is started, first, the image reading unit 14 reads an electronic document from a document, and this is input to the control unit 13. Then, the document determination unit 52 of the control unit 13 performs determination processing as to whether or not to execute signature processing or the like on the electronic document.

  In this determination process, first, the format extraction unit 61 extracts a format from the electronic document (step S202). Then, the format determination unit 62 determines whether or not the extracted format matches the specific format information held in the setting information holding unit 51 (step S202). As a result of this determination, if the formats match (YES in step S203), the signature processing in step S209 is started. If the formats do not match (NO in step S203), the condition determination area extraction is performed. The unit 63 extracts a condition determination area from the electronic document, and performs OCR processing on the extracted condition determination area (step S204). Then, the condition determination area determination unit 64 determines whether the extracted character string in the area corresponds to the condition information held in the setting information holding unit 51.

  As a result of this determination, if the character string of the extracted area does not meet the predetermined condition (NO in step S205), the user intervention control unit 54 that has received an instruction from the storage control unit 53 displays the display unit. The user intervention screen described with reference to FIG. 5 is displayed on 12a to notify the user that the document is not subject to the e-document method (step S206). If the user who has received this notification instructs the continuation of processing from the operation unit 12b (YES in step S207), the signature processing in step S209 is started, but the user cancels the processing. Is instructed (NO in step S207), the storage control unit 53 instructs each unit to stop, so that the storage process of the document is stopped (step S208), and this process ends.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S205, if the extracted character string in the region meets a predetermined condition (YES in step S205), the signature processing unit 55 that has received an instruction from the storage control unit 53 performs signature processing. Is performed (step S209). If the signature processing is successful, the time stamp processing unit 56 performs time stamp processing (step S210). Thereby, an electronic signature and a time stamp are given to the electronic document read from the original. The electronic document to which the electronic signature and the time stamp are provided in this way is stored and saved in the storage unit 16 by the document storage processing unit 57 (step S211). Then, this process ends.

  In the document storage process described with reference to FIG. 7, when the read electronic document is not subject to the e-document method, the user is notified and intervention is performed (step S206, step S206). S207), when processing an original continuously using an automatic paper feeder, etc., even if the read electronic document is not subject to the e-document method, the processing is performed without performing user intervention each time. You may make it give priority to the continuation of a process, for example so that it may notify that after completion | finish.

  As mentioned above, although an example of typical embodiment of this invention was demonstrated using Example 1 and Example 2, this invention is not limited to the Example shown to the said and drawing, The summary is not changed. It can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the range.

  For example, in the above embodiment, when the read electronic document matches a specific format and satisfies a predetermined condition, it is determined that the electronic document is not (or is) subject to the e-document law. However, it is not always necessary to determine the format and conditions, and depending on the type of document, only the format is determined to determine whether the electronic document is not (or is) subject to the e-document law. You may make it do. On the other hand, an electronic document that is not subject to (or subject to) the e-document law depending on whether or not predetermined information (character string, number, etc.) exists in the electronic document without judging the format. It may be determined whether or not there is.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when saving as an official document, the time stamp process is continuously performed after the signature process. However, depending on the document, a time stamp may be given all at once. Since there are some, it is not always necessary to perform the signature processing and the time stamp processing at a time, and only the signature processing may be performed.

  In the above-described embodiments, the case where the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the multifunction machine 10 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is a scanner, The present invention may be applied to a copying machine or a fax machine.

  The processing described in the above embodiment may be configured to be executed by a control program installed in a computer. This control program can be provided not only by communication means such as a network but also by storing it in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  The image processing apparatus and the document storage processing program of the present invention can be applied to an image processing apparatus having a function of reading an electronic document from a manuscript and a document storage processing program in general that causes a computer to execute this processing.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of an image reading system configured by arranging an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a part of a schematic configuration of a multifunction machine 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a part of functional structure of the control part 13 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the layout of a receipt. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen layout of a user intervention screen. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the multifunction machine 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the multifunction machine 10 according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 MFP 11 Communication part 12 UI (User Interface) part 12a Display part 12b Operation part 13 Control part 14 Image reading part 15 Image formation part 16 Storage part 20 Authentication station 30 Time stamp station 41 Intranet 42 Internet 51 Setting information holding part 52 Document determination unit 53 Storage control unit 54 User intervention control unit 55 Signature processing unit 56 Time stamp processing unit 57 Document storage processing unit 61 Format extraction unit 62 Format determination unit 63 Condition determination region extraction unit 64 Condition determination region determination unit

Claims (7)

Reading means for reading a document;
Predetermined extracts the indicated information in the area, extracting the format type and the information issued in the type and the format of the format of the document from the electronic document generated is read from a document by the reading means And a format determining means for determining whether or not matches a predetermined format,
If the type of the format issued by Ri抽 the format determination means and the information is determined not to match the predetermined format, performs signature processing of an electronic document is extracted and the type and the information of the format An image processing apparatus comprising: a signature processing unit. The signature processing unit, when the type of the format extracted by the format determination means and the information is determined to match the predetermined format, the signature processing of an electronic document is extracted and the type and the information of the format The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein no image processing is performed. The signature processing means is configured to select whether or not to perform signature processing by the signature processing means when it is determined that the format type and the information extracted by the format determination means match a predetermined format. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising user intervention control means for controlling display of the user intervention screen on the display. When it is determined that the type of the extracted format matches the format of the receipt , the format determining means determines whether the amount of the receipt is equal to or more than a predetermined amount as the information , and the receipt The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the amount of money is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the image processing apparatus determines that the predetermined format is satisfied. Further comprising time information processing means for performing time information certification processing of the electronic document,
The time information processing unit, an image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 which is characterized in that the time information certification processing on electronic document signature processing is performed by the signature processing unit. A document storage processing program for causing a computer to execute processing in an image processing apparatus that reads an electronic document from a document,
Predetermined extracts the indicated information in the area, extracting the format type and the information issued in the type and the format of the format of the document from the electronic document generated is read from a document by the reading means And a format determination step for determining whether or not match a predetermined format;
A signature processing step for performing signature processing of the electronic document from which the format type and the information are extracted when it is determined that the format type and the information extracted by the format determination step do not match a predetermined format A document storage processing program comprising: and. Electronic pre Symbol signature processing step, when the type of the format issued by Ri抽 the format determination step and the information is consistent result determined in a predetermined format, extracting the type and the information of the format 7. The document storage processing program according to claim 6, wherein the document signature processing is not performed.

Images