JP5585433B2 - Image processing apparatus, expert information storage method, and expert information storage program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an expert information storage method, and an expert information storage program, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus that executes a job, an expert information storage method and an expert information storage program executed by the image processing apparatus.

  When creating a document, it is created with reference to the documents accumulated so far, or it is created with advice from a knowledgeable person. As a technique for extracting documents for reference from many stored documents, a technique for searching a database or the like by inputting a keyword is known, but the number of documents extracted by the search is large. In some cases, it is troublesome to select an appropriate document. For this reason, a technique for determining the usefulness of a document by the number of accesses is known (Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, when obtaining advice from a user who has knowledge of the theme of a document to be created, terms used, and the like, it is necessary to search for such a user. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-191894 discloses a WEB server that is connected to a plurality of client computers operated by a user via the Internet and includes a processor, a memory, and an interface, and searches for the search keyword and the search keyword. Stores a search history indicating correspondence with a user, receives a search request including a search keyword from the client computer, extracts a search keyword from the received search request, and extracts the search keyword based on the search history Identifying a user corresponding to the search keyword, and transmitting the information related to the identified user to the client computer that is the transmission source of the received search request as information related to a user who has searched the same search keyword in the past. Features WEB server is described .

However, not all search results are successful, and even if the search results are successful, the user does not always use the search results. For this reason, although the conventional WEB server can specify the user who performed the same search in the past, there is a problem that the specified user is not necessarily an expert who has knowledge about the keyword.
JP 2007-293746 A JP 2008-191894A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of specifying a user who has knowledge about keywords.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an expert search method capable of specifying a user having knowledge about a keyword.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an expert search program capable of specifying a user who has knowledge about a keyword.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus is executed by a job reception unit that receives a job for processing a document, a job execution unit that executes a job, and a job execution unit. Keyword extraction means for extracting keywords from the job-targeted document, and keywords extracted from the job-targeted document and job execution in response to job execution by the job execution means Job history storage means for storing job history information including user identification information for identifying the instructor and / or user identification information for identifying the creator of the document subject to the job, and keyword reception means for receiving keywords And job history information stored to extract job history information including accepted keywords Job history search means for searching, related user specifying means for specifying related users related to the accepted keyword based on at least one job history information extracted by search by job history search means, and specified relation User information notifying means for notifying user information about the user, and the related user specifying means counts the number of at least one extracted job history information for each user identification information included in the job history information, the user-specific job execution count totalization means for determining the number of job history information aggregated by the user to the user-specific job execution count includes, that identifies the associated user based on the determined user-specific job execution times.

According to this aspect, a keyword is extracted from the document that is the target of the executed job, and the keyword and the instructor who instructed the execution of the job or / and the creator of the document that is the target of the job are identified. The job history information including the user identification information is stored. When the keyword is accepted, job history information including the keyword is extracted, the related user related to the keyword is identified based on the extracted at least one job history information, and user information related to the related user is notified. . Specifically, the number of job history information aggregated for each user is determined as the number of job executions for each user, and related users are identified based on the number of job executions for each user. For this reason, since it is determined whether or not the user is familiar with the keyword based on the number of times the execution of the job for the document including the keyword is instructed, it is possible to specify a user who has knowledge related to the keyword. As a result, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of specifying a user who has knowledge about keywords.

  Preferably, the printer further includes a print job receiving unit that receives a print job including a document and user identification information from the outside, the job receiving unit receives the print job received by the print job receiving unit, and the job execution unit includes: An image of a document included in the print job is formed, and the job history storage means includes a keyword extracted from the document included in the print job and user identification information of the creator extracted from the document included in the print job, and / or Job history information including user identification information included in the print job is stored.

  Preferably, the apparatus further includes an authentication unit that authenticates the operator and an operation reception unit that receives an operation by the authenticated operator, and the job reception unit receives an operation instructing execution of the job by the operation reception unit. The job history storage means receives the instructed job, and the job history storage means extracts the keyword extracted from the document to be processed of the instructed job and the creator user extracted from the document to be processed of the instructed job. Job history information including identification information or / and user identification information of an authenticated operator is stored.

  Preferably, the image processing apparatus further includes a document reading unit that reads a document image and outputs image data, and the job execution unit outputs a document image to the document reading unit when a job received by the job receiving unit after the operator is authenticated by the authentication unit. In the case of including a process for reading, the image data output by the document reading unit is set as a document to be processed.

  Preferably, the apparatus further includes a storage unit that stores the document, and the job execution unit includes a process in which a job received by the job reception unit after the operator is authenticated by the authentication unit includes a process of reading the document stored in the storage unit The read processing is executed and the read document is set as the processing target.

  Preferably, the related user specifying unit uses a classification table in which a plurality of users are classified into at least one group, and sums up the number of job executions for each user calculated for each user to calculate the number of job executions for each group. And a group totaling unit that identifies the related user based on the calculated group job execution count.

  According to this aspect, the number of job history information aggregated for each group is determined as the number of job executions for each group, and related users are identified based on the number of job executions for each group. For this reason, it is possible to determine whether or not the keyword is known to users belonging to the group by the number of times the execution of the job for the document including the keyword is instructed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an expert search method is an expert search method executed by an image forming apparatus including a job execution unit that executes a job, and accepts a job for processing a document; , A step of extracting a keyword from the document that is the target of the job executed by the job execution unit, a keyword extracted from the document that is the target of the job according to the job execution by the job execution unit, and the job A step of storing job history information including user identification information for identifying an instructor who has instructed execution and / or user identification information for identifying a creator of a document subjected to a job, and keyword reception for receiving a keyword Job history stored to extract job history information including steps and accepted keywords A job history search step for searching for information, and a related user specifying step for specifying a related user related to the accepted keyword based on at least one job history information extracted by the search in the job history search step. and a user information notifying step of notifying the user information about the associated user, only contains the relevant user specifying step, the number of at least one job history information is extracted, for each user identification information included in the job history information And a job execution frequency counting step for each user that determines the number of job history information that has been aggregated and totaled for each user as the job execution frequency for each user, and a step for identifying related users based on the determined job execution frequency for each user. Mu

  If this aspect is followed, the expert search method which can specify the user who has the knowledge regarding a keyword can be provided.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, an expert search program is an expert search program that is executed by a computer that controls an image forming apparatus that includes a job execution unit that executes a job. A step of accepting a job, a step of extracting a keyword from a document subjected to the job executed by the job execution means, and an extraction from the document targeted for the job in accordance with the execution of the job by the job execution means Storing job history information including a keyword and user identification information for identifying an instructor who has instructed execution of the job or / and user identification information for identifying the creator of the document that is the subject of the job; Keyword acceptance step for accepting keywords, and job history including accepted keywords A job history search step for searching stored job history information for extracting information, and a related user related to the accepted keyword based on at least one job history information extracted by the search in the job history search step And a user information notifying step for notifying user information related to the specified related user. The related user specifying step determines the number of the extracted at least one job history information. The job execution count counting step for each user that counts for each user identification information included in the job history information and determines the number of job history information totaled for each user as the job execution count for each user, and the determined job for each user Includes steps to identify related users based on the number of executions. .

  If this situation is followed, the expert search program which can specify the user who has the knowledge regarding a keyword can be provided.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an MFP according to one embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an MFP. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of a CPU provided in an MFP, together with data stored in an HDD. It is a figure which shows an example of user data. It is a figure which shows an example of job history information. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a job execution process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a related user search process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an MFP according to one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, MFP 100 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 10, an image reading unit 20, an image forming unit 30, a paper feeding unit 40, and a post-processing unit 50.

  The ADF 10 automatically conveys a plurality of documents set on the document feed tray 11 one by one to a predetermined document reading position set on the platen glass of the image reading unit 20, and the image reading unit 20 The document on which the document image is read is discharged onto the document discharge tray 12. The image reading unit 20 includes a light source that irradiates light to a document conveyed to a document reading position and a photoelectric conversion element that receives light reflected by the document, and scans a document image corresponding to the size of the document. The photoelectric conversion element converts the received light into image data that is an electrical signal and outputs the image data to the image forming unit 30. The paper feed unit 40 conveys the paper stored in the paper feed tray to the image forming unit 30.

  The image forming unit 30 forms an image by a known electrophotographic method, and performs various data processing such as shading correction on image data received from the outside or image data input from the image reading unit 20. Then, an image is formed on the sheet conveyed by the sheet feeding unit 40 based on the image data after the data processing.

  The post-processing unit 50 discharges the paper on which the image is formed. The post-processing unit 50 includes a plurality of paper discharge trays, and can sort and discharge the sheets on which images are formed. The post-processing unit 50 includes a punch hole processing unit and a staple processing unit, and can perform punch hole processing or staple processing on the discharged paper. The MFP 100 also includes an operation panel 9 as a user interface with the user on the upper surface.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the MFP. Referring to FIG. 2, MFP 100 includes a main circuit 101, a facsimile unit 122, and a communication control unit 123. The main circuit 101 is connected to an automatic document feeder (ADF) 10, an image reading unit 20, an image forming unit 30, a paper feeding unit 40, and a post-processing unit 50.

  The main circuit 101 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 112 used as a work area of the CPU 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 113 for storing programs executed by the CPU 111, and the like. A display unit 114, an operation unit 115, a hard disk drive (HDD) 116 as a mass storage device, and a data communication control unit 117.

  The CPU 111 is connected to the RAM 112, the ROM 113, the display unit 114, the operation unit 115, the HDD 116, and the data communication control unit 117, and controls the entire main circuit 101. The CPU 111 is connected to the facsimile unit 122, the communication control unit 123, the ADF 10, the image reading unit 20, the image forming unit 30, the paper feeding unit 40, and the post-processing unit 50, and controls the entire MFP 100.

  The display unit 114 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic ELD (Electro Luminescence Display), and displays an instruction menu for the user, information about acquired image data, and the like. The operation unit 115 includes a plurality of keys, and accepts input of various instructions, data such as characters and numbers by user operations corresponding to the keys. The operation unit 115 includes a touch panel provided on the display unit 114.

  The data communication control unit 117 includes a LAN terminal 118 that is an interface for communicating with a communication protocol such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and a serial communication interface terminal 119 for serial communication. . The data communication control unit 117 transmits / receives data to / from an external device connected to the LAN terminal 118 or the serial communication interface terminal 119 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 111.

  When a LAN cable for connecting to a network is connected to the LAN terminal 118, the data communication control unit 117 communicates with another computer connected via the LAN terminal 118. Furthermore, the data communication control unit 117 communicates with other computers connected to the Internet.

  When a device is connected to the serial communication interface terminal 119, the data communication control unit 117 communicates with a device connected to the serial communication interface terminal 119, for example, a digital camera, a digital video camera, or a portable information terminal. Input and output image data. The serial communication interface terminal 119 can be connected to a memory card 119A incorporating a flash memory. The CPU 111 controls the data communication control unit 117 to read a program to be executed by the CPU 111 from the memory card 119A, and stores the read program in the RAM 112 and executes it.

  The recording medium for storing the program to be executed by the CPU 111 is not limited to the memory card 119A, but a flexible disk, a cassette tape, an optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) / MO (Magnetic Optical Disc / A medium such as a semiconductor memory such as an MD (Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an IC card, an optical card, a mask ROM, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically EPROM), or the like may be used. Download a program from a computer connected to the computer and store it in the HDD 116. Alternatively, a computer connected to the Internet may write the program to the HDD 116, and the program stored in the HDD 116 may be loaded into the RAM 112 and executed by the CPU 111. The program here is executed by the CPU 111. It includes not only directly executable programs but also source programs, compressed programs, encrypted programs, and the like.

  The communication control unit 123 is a modem for connecting the CPU 111 to the PSTN 7. The telephone number in PSTN 7 is assigned to MFP 100 in advance, and when a call is made from the facsimile apparatus connected to PSTN 7 to the telephone number assigned to MFP 100, communication control unit 123 detects the call. When the communication control unit 123 detects a call, the communication control unit 123 establishes a call and causes the facsimile unit 122 to communicate.

  The facsimile unit 122 is connected to the PSTN 7 and transmits facsimile data to the PSTN 7 or receives facsimile data from the PSTN 7. The facsimile unit 122 stores the received facsimile data in the HDD 116, converts the received facsimile data into print data that can be printed by the image forming unit 30, and outputs the print data to the image forming unit 30. As a result, the image forming unit 30 prints the facsimile data received by the facsimile unit 122 on paper. Further, the facsimile unit 122 converts the data stored in the HDD 116 into facsimile data, and transmits the facsimile data to the facsimile apparatus connected to the PSTN 7.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functions of the CPU provided in the MFP together with data stored in the HDD. The functions of CPU 111 provided in MFP 100 shown in FIG. 3 are functions formed in CPU 111 when CPU 111 executes an expert information storage program stored in ROM 113, HDD 116, or memory card 119A.

  Referring to FIG. 3, HDD 116 provided in MFP 100 stores user data 97. The user data 97 includes user identification information for identifying the user, user related information related to the user, and group identification information for identifying the group to which the user belongs. The user related information includes contact information such as a telephone number and an e-mail address assigned to the user. Further, the group information is group identification information for identifying a group into which the user is classified among a plurality of predetermined groups. The group is a predetermined class for classifying a plurality of users, and is not particularly limited. Here, the group is a company to which the user belongs. Further, the group may be a group classified by knowledge possessed by the user, for example, may be classified by a specialized knowledge field.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of user data. Referring to FIG. 4, user data 97 includes a plurality of user records for each user. The user record includes a user name item, an E-mail item, a telephone number item, and an affiliation item. In the user name item, user identification information for identifying the user is set. In the E-mail item, an e-mail address assigned to the user as the contact information of the user is set. In the telephone number field, a telephone number assigned to the user as the user's contact information is set. In the affiliation item, a department name to which the user belongs is set as a group to which the user belongs.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the CPU 111 authenticates a user who operates the MFP 100, a job reception unit 53 that receives a job, a job execution unit 55 that executes a job, and a keyword extraction unit 57 that extracts a keyword. A job history information generating unit 59 that generates job history information, a job history searching unit 61, a keyword receiving unit 63 that receives keywords, a related user specifying unit 69 that specifies related users, and user information related to related users are notified. A user information notifying unit 81.

  Authentication unit 51 authenticates a user who operates MFP 100. Specifically, the authentication unit 51 displays a login screen on the display unit 114. The login screen includes an area for inputting user identification information and an area for inputting authentication information such as a password. When the user inputs the user identification information and password to the operation unit 115, the user identification information and password are received from the operation unit 115, and the received user identification information and password are connected via the data communication control unit 117 via the network. Sent to the authentication server and let the authentication server authenticate. When the authentication server receives the user identification information and the password, the authentication server compares the user identification information and the password with authentication data stored in advance, and if both match, returns an authentication result indicating successful authentication. If they do not match, an authentication result indicating authentication failure is returned. Here, the authentication data includes user identification information for identifying the user and a password.

  When the data communication control unit 117 receives the authentication result from the authentication server, the authentication unit 51 receives the authentication result. The authentication unit 51 outputs the user identification information of the login user to the job reception unit 53 and the job history information generation unit 59 when the authentication result indicates authentication success, but when the authentication result indicates authentication failure, an error message is output. It is displayed on the display unit 114. When an authentication result indicating successful authentication is received by the authentication unit 51, an operation that is subsequently input to the operation unit 115 is accepted as an operation by a user who is authenticated and permitted to log in.

  The job reception unit 53 receives an input job and outputs the received job to the job execution unit 55. The job is a command for causing the MFP 100 to execute the function of the MFP 100. For example, a print job for executing the print function, a facsimile transmission / reception job for executing the facsimile transmission / reception function, reading a document, storing image data, or This includes a scan job to be sent and a copy job to read an original and print image data. The job also includes user identification information of the user who has instructed execution of the job.

  When the data communication control unit 117 receives a combination of print data and user identification information from the outside, the job reception unit 53 receives the combination of the received print data and user identification information as a print job, and executes the print job as a job. To the unit 55. For example, the data communication control unit 117 receives print data from a personal computer connected via a network.

  Further, after the user identification information is input from the authentication unit 51, the job reception unit 53 receives the job when the logged-in user inputs a job execution instruction operation to instruct the operation unit 115 to execute the job. A job including the input user identification information and specified by the job execution instruction operation is output to the job execution unit 55. The job specified by the job execution instruction operation includes a print job for printing the document 93 stored in the HDD 116, a scan job for storing the image data output by the image reading unit 20 reading the document as the document 93 in the HDD 116, an image A facsimile transmission job in which image data output by reading unit 20 reading and outputting a document is transmitted by facsimile, a copy job in which image reading unit 20 reads image data to be output and printed by image forming unit 30, and image reading unit 20 is an original document Includes a transmission job for transmitting image data to be read and output or a document 93 stored in the HDD 93 by e-mail.

  When a job is input from the job reception unit 53, the job execution unit 55 executes the job. If the target document for executing the job is the document 93 stored in the HDD 116, the job execution unit 55 requests the document management unit 67 to read the document, and the job management unit 67 performs the job execution target. The document 93 to be obtained is acquired, and the job is executed on the acquired document 93. When executing a scan job or a copy job, the job execution unit 55 sets image data output by the image reading unit 20 reading a document as a document to be processed. When executing a print job, the job execution unit 55 sets print data received from the outside by the data communication control unit 117 as a document to be processed. The job execution unit 55 outputs the document subjected to the job execution process to the keyword extraction unit 57, and when the job execution is completed, the job execution information generation unit generates job identification information for identifying the type of the executed job. 59.

  When a document is input from the job execution unit 55, the keyword extraction unit 57 extracts a character string that conforms to a predetermined rule from the character strings included in the input document as a keyword. The keywords to be extracted are extracted based on a predetermined standard. For example, all the predetermined criteria may be extracted if they are nouns, or only nouns registered in advance may be extracted. Moreover, you may restrict | limit with the number of characters. If the document is an image, the keyword extraction unit 57 performs OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing to extract keywords. The keyword extraction unit 57 outputs the extracted keyword to the job history information generation unit 59. When extracting a plurality of keywords, the keyword extraction unit 57 outputs all of the plurality of keywords to the job history information generation unit 59.

  The job history information generation unit 59 receives user identification information from the authentication unit 51, job identification information from the job execution unit 55, and a keyword from the keyword extraction unit 57. When job identification information is input from the job execution unit 55, the job history information generation unit 59 generates job history information including the job identification information, user identification information, and keywords, and stores the job history information in the HDD 116. As a result, the job history information 91 is stored in the HDD 116.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of job history information. Referring to FIG. 5, the job history information includes a job type item, a date / time item, a document name item, a user name / creator name item, and a keyword item. In the job type item, job identification information for identifying the job type is set. In the item of document name, document identification information of a document that is a target of job execution is set. In the item of user name / creator, user identification information of a logged-in user who has instructed execution of a job and user identification information of a creator of a document subjected to job execution are set. In the figure, the upper part of one item shows the user identification information of the logged-in user who has instructed execution of the job, and the lower part shows the user identification information of the creator of the document that is the target of job execution. Further, when one piece of user identification information is set for one item, it indicates that the login user who has instructed execution of the job is the same as the creator of the document to be executed.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the keyword receiving unit 63 receives a keyword input by the user. When the user inputs a keyword to the operation unit 115, the keyword is received from the operation unit 115. When the MFP 100 is remotely operated by the PCs 400 to 402, for example, when the user inputs a keyword to the PC 400, the PC 400 transmits the input keyword to the MFP 100, so that the data communication control unit 117 receives the keyword from the PC 400. Receive. In this case, a keyword is received from the data communication control unit 117. The keyword receiving unit 63 outputs the received keyword to the job history search unit 61 and the document search unit 65.

  When a keyword is input from the keyword receiving unit 63, the job history search unit 61 searches the job history information 91 stored in the HDD 116 with the input keyword, and among the job history information 91 stored in the HDD 116. Job history information 91 including a keyword is extracted from. The job history information 91 stored in the HDD 116 and having the same keyword set as the keyword input from the keyword receiving unit 63 in the keyword item is extracted. The job history search unit 61 outputs the extracted job history information 91 to the related user specifying unit 69.

The related user specifying unit 69 includes a user-specific execution count totaling unit 71 and a group totaling unit 79.
The user-specific execution count totaling unit 71 calculates the job execution count for each user by counting the number of job history information for each user for all the job history information input from the job history search unit 61. The job execution count for each user is the number of job history information including the same user identification information, and indicates the number of times job execution has been instructed. Since job history information includes user identification information, job history information including the same user identification information is classified into the same user, and the number of job history information is calculated by counting the number of job history information for each user identification information. To do.

  The user-specific execution count totaling unit 71 determines whether the output setting is set to the user-specific setting or the group-specific setting. The output setting is a setting value set in advance in either the user-specific setting or the group-specific setting, and is set when the user inputs the MFP 100 in advance. When the output setting is set to the user setting, the user-specific execution count totaling unit 71 rearranges the user identification information in descending order of the number of job executions by user, and gives priority to the order of the job execution count by user. The user identification information is output to the user information notification unit 81. In addition, when the number of user identification information is M or more, the user-specific execution count totaling unit 71 rearranges the user identification information in descending order of the number of user-specific job executions, The user identification information is output to the user information notification unit 81. Here, M is a predetermined threshold value, and is set when the user inputs to MFP 100 in advance.

  When the output setting is set to the group setting, the user execution count totaling unit 71 outputs the user job execution count to the group totaling unit 79.

  When the output setting is set for each group, the group totaling unit 79 counts the number of job executions for each user by group for all the number of job executions for each user input from the total number of executions for each user 71. Then, the number of job executions for each group is calculated. The number of job executions for each group is the sum of the number of job executions for each user for each group. The group totaling unit 79 refers to the user data 97 and specifies group identification information of a group in which the user of the user identification information is classified. Then, the user identification information having the same group identification information is classified into the same group, and the number of job executions for each group is calculated. The group totaling unit 79 identifies the group with the largest number of job executions by group, and outputs the group identification information of the identified group to the user information notifying unit 81.

  When the output setting is set to the user setting, the user information notifying unit 81 receives a maximum of M pieces of user identification information from the related user specifying unit 69 and the output setting is set to the group setting. , One group identification information is input from the related user specifying unit 69. The user information notifying unit 81 refers to the user data 97 for the contact information of each of the maximum M pieces of user identification information input from the related user specifying unit 69 when the output setting is set for each user. And a set of user identification information and contact information is output. When the output setting is set to the group-specific setting, the user information notification unit 81 displays the contact information of each user classified into the group specified by one group identification information input from the related user specifying unit 69. The user data 97 is obtained with reference to the user data 97, and a set of user identification information and contact information is output.

  When the keyword accepting unit 63 accepts a keyword from the operation unit 115, the user information notifying unit 81 displays a set of user identification information and contact information on the display unit 114. When the keyword accepting unit 63 accepts a keyword from the data communication control unit 117, the user information notifying unit 81 transmits the keyword identification information and contact information pair via the data communication control unit 117. To the device.

  FIG. 6 is a chart showing an example of the flow of job execution processing. The job execution process shown in FIG. 6 is a process executed by CPU 111 when CPU 111 provided in MFP 100 executes a job execution program stored in ROM 113, HDD 116, or memory card 119A. The job execution program is a part of the expert information storage program.

  Referring to FIG. 6, CPU 111 determines whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S01). Accepting input of user identification information and a password from the user operating MFP 100B, requesting authentication from the authentication server, and receiving an authentication result indicating successful authentication from the authentication server, determines that authentication has succeeded. If the user authentication is successful, the process proceeds to step S02; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S09. In step S09, it is determined whether a job has been received. If the data communication control unit 117 receives a set of print data and user identification information from a personal computer connected to the network, the data communication control unit 117 determines that a job has been received. If a job is received, the process proceeds to step S10; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S02, it is determined whether a job execution instruction has been accepted. If a job execution instruction operation is input to the operation unit 115, the job execution instruction is accepted. If a job execution instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to step S03; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S08. A job is a command for causing MFP 100 to execute a function of MFP 100.

  In step S03, the login user is set as the instructing user. Then, the job is executed (step S04). Then, keywords are extracted from the document to be processed when the job is executed (step S05). The document to be processed when executing the job is determined by the job execution instruction received in step S02, the document 93 stored in the HDD 116, the image data output by the image reading unit 20 reading the document, and It includes print data received from the PCs 400, 401, 402 by the data communication control unit. When a document to be processed when executing a job is image data, the image data is subjected to OCR processing and a keyword is extracted.

  In the next step S06, job history information is generated. The generated job history information is stored in the HDD 116 (step S07). The job history information includes the user identification information of the instructing user set in step S03, the keyword extracted in step S05, and job identification information for identifying the type of job executed in step S04.

  In step S08, it is determined whether a logout condition is satisfied. When a key provided in advance on the operation unit 115 is pressed, or when a predetermined time elapses without the user inputting an operation to the operation unit 115, it is determined that the logout condition is satisfied. If the logout condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S15; otherwise, the process returns to step S02. In step S15, it is determined whether or not the power is switched off. If the power is switched off, the process ends. If not, the process returns to step S01.

  On the other hand, if a job is received in step S09, the instructing user is specified in step S10. In step S09, the user identified by the user identification information received together with the print data is specified as the instructing user. In the next step S11, the job received in step S09 is executed. Then, keywords are extracted from the document to be processed when the job is executed (step S12). The document to be processed when executing the job is print data included in the job received in step S09. When the print data is image data, the print data is subjected to OCR processing and a keyword is extracted.

  In the next step S13, job history information is generated. Then, the generated job history information is stored in the HDD 116 (step S14), and the process proceeds to step S15. The job history information includes the user identification information of the instructing user set in step S10, the keyword extracted in step S12, the type of job executed in step S11, here job identification information for identifying a print job Including. In step S15, it is determined whether or not the power source has been switched off. If the power source has been switched off, the process ends. If not, the process returns to step S01.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of related user search processing. The related user search process shown in FIG. 7 is a process executed by CPU 111 when CPU 111 provided in MFP 100 executes an expert search program stored in ROM 113, HDD 116, or memory card 119A.

  Referring to FIG. 7, CPU 111 determines whether a keyword has been accepted (step S21). When the user inputs a keyword to the operation unit 115, the keyword is received from the operation unit 115. When the data communication control unit 117 receives a keyword from a personal computer connected to the network, the keyword is received from the data communication control unit 117. The process waits until a keyword is accepted (NO in step S21). If a keyword is accepted (YES in step S21), the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22, the job history information 91 stored in the HDD 116 is searched with the accepted keyword. From the job history information 91 stored in the HDD 116, job history information 91 in which the same keyword as the keyword accepted in step S21 is set in the keyword item is extracted. Then, for all of the extracted at least one job history information 91, the number of job history information 91 is totaled for each user to calculate the number of job executions for each user (step S23). Since the job history information 91 includes user identification information, the job history information including the same user identification information is classified into the same user, and the number of job history information is counted for each user identification information.

  In the next step S24, the process branches depending on the setting state of the output setting. If the output setting is set for each user, the process proceeds to step S25. If the output setting is set for each group, the process proceeds to step S29. In step S25, the user identification information is rearranged in descending order of the number of job executions for each user calculated in step S23. Then, the top M pieces of user identification information are selected in descending order of the number of job executions for each user (step S26). Then, the user of the selected user identification information is set as the related user (step S27). A maximum of M users are set as related users.

  Further, the user data 97 including the user identification information of the related user is read from the HDD 116 (step S28), and the process proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the contact information of the related user is acquired from the user data 97 read in step S33. Then, a set of user identification information and contact information is output, and the process ends. When a keyword is accepted from the operation unit 115 in step S21, a set of user identification information and contact information is displayed on the display unit 114. When a keyword is accepted from the data communication control unit 117, the user identification information and contact information are displayed. The pair with the previous information is transmitted to the device that has transmitted the keyword via the data communication control unit 117, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, in step S 29, the user data 97 is read from the HDD 116. With reference to the user data 97, the group identification information of the group into which the user of the user identification information is classified is specified. In the next step S30, the number of job executions for each user is integrated for each group identification information for the number of job executions for each user calculated in step S23, and the total number of times for each group is calculated.

  In the next step S31, the group having the maximum number of job executions by group is selected as the selected group. In the next step S32, the users classified into the group selected as the selected group are set as related users, and the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S33, when the process proceeds from step S32, the contact information of the related user is acquired from the user data 97 read in step S29. Then, a set of user identification information and contact information is output (step S34), and the process ends. When a keyword is accepted from the operation unit 115 in step S21, a set of user identification information and contact information is displayed on the display unit 114. When a keyword is accepted from the data communication control unit 117, the user identification information and contact information are displayed. The pair with the previous information is transmitted to the device that has transmitted the keyword via the data communication control unit 117, and the process ends.

  As described above, MFP 100 according to the present embodiment functions as an image processing apparatus, executes a received job, extracts a keyword from a document that is the target of the job, and instructs the keyword and the job to be executed. Job history information including user identification information for identifying a person and / or user identification information for identifying a creator of a document that is the subject of a job is stored in HDD 116. For this reason, the user who instructed the execution of the job for the document including the keyword can be specified from the job history information. The user who gives an instruction to execute the job should have knowledge about the keywords included in the document that is the target of the job execution. Therefore, it is possible to store job history information for specifying a user who has knowledge about keywords.

  Further, when a keyword is accepted, job history information including the keyword is extracted, and based on the extracted at least one job history information, a related user related to the keyword is specified, and an e-mail address or telephone number of the related user The user information including is output. For this reason, the user who has the knowledge relevant to a keyword can be notified.

  Further, the number of job history information aggregated for each user is determined as the number of job executions for each user, and related users are identified based on the number of job executions for each user. For this reason, it is possible to determine whether or not the user is familiar with the keyword based on the number of times the job execution is instructed for the document including the keyword.

  Further, the number of job history information aggregated for each group is determined as the number of job executions for each group, and related users are identified based on the number of job executions for each group. For this reason, it is possible to determine whether or not the keyword is known to users belonging to the group by the number of times the execution of the job for the document including the keyword is instructed.

  In the above-described embodiment, MFP 100 has been described as an example of an image processing apparatus. However, in the CPU 111 provided in MFP 100, an expert search method that causes MFP 100 to execute the processes shown in FIGS. It goes without saying that the invention can be understood as an expert search program to be executed.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

100 MFP, 9 operation panel, 10 ADF, 20 image reading unit, 30 image forming unit, 40 paper feeding unit, 50 post-processing unit, 51 authentication unit, 53 job reception unit, 55 job execution unit, 57 keyword extraction unit, 59 Job history information generation unit, 61 Job history search unit, 63 Keyword reception unit, 65 Document search unit, 67 Document management unit, 69 Related user specification unit, 71 User-specific execution count unit, 79 Group tabulation unit, 81 User information notification Part, 91 job history information, 93 documents, 97 user data, 101 main circuit, 111 CPU, 112 RAM, 113 ROM, 114 display part, 115 operation part, 116 HDD, 117 data communication control part, 119A memory card, 122 facsimile Part, 123 communication control part.

Claims (8)

Job accepting means for accepting a job for processing a document;
Job execution means for executing the job;
Keyword extraction means for extracting a keyword from a document that is a target of a job executed by the job execution means;
The keyword extracted from the job target document according to the job execution by the job execution means, the user identification information for identifying the instructor instructing the job execution, and / or the job target document Job history storage means for storing job history information including user identification information for identifying the creator of
Keyword accepting means for accepting keywords;
Job history search means for searching the stored job history information to extract job history information including the accepted keyword;
Related user specifying means for specifying a related user related to the accepted keyword based on at least one job history information extracted by the search by the job history search means;
User information notifying means for notifying user information related to the specified related user ,
The related user specifying means totals the number of the extracted at least one job history information for each user identification information included in the job history information, and calculates the number of job history information totaled for each user Including job-specific job execution count aggregation means to determine the execution count,
An image processing apparatus that identifies related users based on the determined job execution count for each user . A print job receiving means for receiving a print job including the document and user identification information from outside;
The job accepting means accepts a print job received by the print job receiving means;
The job execution means forms an image of a document included in the print job,
The job history storage means includes a keyword extracted from a document included in the print job, user identification information of a creator extracted from the document included in the print job, and / or user identification information included in the print job. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein job history information including: is stored. An authentication means for authenticating the operator;
An operation receiving means for receiving an operation by the authenticated operator,
When the operation accepting operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit, the job accepting unit accepts the instructed job,
The job history storage means includes a keyword extracted from a document to be processed by the designated job, user identification information of a creator extracted from the document to be processed by the designated job, and / or the The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein job history information including user identification information of an authenticated operator is stored. Document reading means for reading a document image and outputting image data is further provided,
When the job accepted by the job accepting unit includes a process of causing the original reading unit to read an original image after the operator is authenticated by the authentication unit, the job execution unit outputs image data output by the original reading unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the document is a document to be processed. A storage means for storing the document;
When the job accepted by the job accepting unit includes a process of reading a document stored in the storage unit after the operator is authenticated by the authenticating unit, the job executing unit executes the read process to read The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the document is a processing target. The related user specifying means uses a classification table in which a plurality of users are classified into at least one group, and calculates the number of job executions for each user calculated for each user for each group to calculate the number of job executions for each group. Further including a group counting means,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus identifies the related user based on the calculated number of job executions for each group. An expert search method executed by an image forming apparatus provided with job execution means for executing a job,
Receiving a job for processing the document;
Extracting a keyword from a document that is a target of a job executed by the job execution unit;
The keyword extracted from the job target document according to the job execution by the job execution means, the user identification information for identifying the instructor instructing the job execution, and / or the job target document Storing job history information including user identification information for identifying the creator of
A keyword acceptance step for accepting keywords;
A job history search step for searching the stored job history information to extract job history information including the accepted keyword;
A related user specifying step of specifying a related user related to the accepted keyword based on at least one job history information extracted by the search in the job history search step;
A user information notifying step of notifying user information related to the identified related user ,
In the related user specifying step, the number of the extracted at least one job history information is totaled for each user identification information included in the job history information, and the number of job history information totaled for each user is calculated for each user job. A job execution count totaling step for each user that is determined by the number of executions;
Including experts search method for identifying a relevant user based on the user-specific job execution times said determined. An expert search program that is executed by a computer that controls an image forming apparatus including job execution means for executing a job,
Receiving a job for processing the document;
Extracting a keyword from a document that is a target of a job executed by the job execution unit;
The keyword extracted from the job target document according to the job execution by the job execution means, the user identification information for identifying the instructor instructing the job execution, and / or the job target document Storing job history information including user identification information for identifying the creator of
A keyword acceptance step for accepting keywords;
A job history search step for searching the stored job history information to extract job history information including the accepted keyword;
A related user specifying step of specifying a related user related to the accepted keyword based on at least one job history information extracted by the search in the job history search step;
Causing the computer to execute a user information notifying step of notifying user information relating to the identified related user ,
In the related user specifying step, the number of the extracted at least one job history information is totaled for each user identification information included in the job history information, and the number of job history information totaled for each user is calculated for each user job. A job execution count totaling step for each user that is determined by the number of executions;
An expert search program including a step of specifying a related user based on the determined job execution count for each user .

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