JP2001266112A - Document managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a confidential document from being preserved in an outer storage device when an operator does not recognize it and to prevent the leakage of the confidential document by informing the operator who is to perform a copying processing of the automatic preservation of picture data of the document picture and warning the confidential degree of the document in a document managing system where picture data that are read at the time of the copying processing are preserved and picture data can be read at need. SOLUTION: A copying machine 11 is provided with a character recognition part 32 recognizing picture data inputted from a picture reading part 31. When a specified mark or a mark string is included in picture data, the effect is displayed on an operation part 34 and it is informed to an operator. When a keyword on a confidential degree is included in picture data which are read, the effect is informed to the operator and he selects whether picture data are to be stored as it is or to be cancelled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for connecting image data read by an image processing device such as a copying machine to a hard disk device built in the image processing device or to a LAN or the Internet without making the operator aware of the image data. The present invention relates to a document management system for storing in a stored external storage device such as a file server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as environmental problems have been raised, paperless offices have been rapidly advancing. However, the current situation is that paperlessness is not progressing because the operability of electronic filing using a scanner, which is indispensable for promoting paperlessness, does not progress as expected. In order to solve such a problem of the operability of the scanner, a document management system has been devised which automatically saves a copied document as image data without being conscious of an operator. FIG. 2 shows an example of the simple system configuration. This document management system is realized by connecting the office 100 and the document storage service company 200 via the Internet 300. LAN built in office 100
101 includes a copying machine 102 and a management PC 10
3. Client PC 104 and proxy server 10
5 is connected. LAN 101 is proxy server 1
05 is connected to the Internet 300. On the other hand, the LAN built in the document storage service company 200
201 includes a document management server 202 and a database 20.
3 and the WWW server 204 are connected. Copier 1
Numeral 02 denotes an image reading unit 106 for reading a document, a large-capacity storage device 107 for storing the read image, various keys for the operator to give instructions to the copying machine 102, and the status of the apparatus and messages to the operator. Operation unit 10 including a display panel or the like for notifying
8, a network interface 109 connected to the network 109, a printing unit 110 for printing a read image, a received image, and the like on a sheet, and a main control unit 111 for integrally controlling these units.

The operation of this document management system is as follows. When the start key is pressed, the copying machine 102 reads the image of the document set in the document reading window, prints the image on a recording sheet, and automatically stores the read image data in a large-capacity storage in the copying machine 102. Apparatus 1
07. The image data stored in the large-capacity storage device 107 is automatically transferred to the management PC 103 when there is little traffic on the LAN 101, and is under the management of the management PC 103. The management PC 103 automatically assigns a file name or attaches a search keyword to the image data under management. In addition, in order to receive a contracted external document storage service, it has a function of automatically transferring image data under management to the document management server 202 in the document storage service company 200 via the Internet 300. The image data stored in various places as described above can be retrieved from the client PC 104 and browsed (displayed / printed). The above is a simple operation example, but the following problems arise here. Since the image data is stored without being recognized by the operator and is all automatically performed, there is a risk of leakage of the confidential document. In addition, since confidential documents are concentrated and stored in the document management server 202 outside the company, they are easily targeted by attacks by hackers and the like. Further, since the image data once stored can be freely viewed by the client PC 104, for example, a problem occurs that a document that can be viewed only by a manager or higher can be viewed by flat employees. The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent leakage of a confidential document without impairing the convenience of the document management system.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an image reading means for reading an original and inputting it as image data, an internal storage means for storing the image data, and a communication network. The image data input by the image reading means automatically, that is, without the operator's awareness, the internal storage means or the image processing apparatus and a communication network A document management system configured to be able to store image data from the internal storage means or the external storage means when necessary, by storing the image data in the external storage means connected through the image processing apparatus. Character recognition means for recognizing characters in the image data inputted by the means, and recognition results by the character recognition means. Determining means for determining whether or not a specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data based on the image data, and the determining means determines that the specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data And a notifying means for notifying the operator of such a case. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the document management system according to the first aspect, the image processing apparatus determines that a specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data by the determination unit. In addition, the operator can select whether to store the image data in the internal storage unit or the external storage unit in the same manner as a normal document, or to discard the image data without storing the image data. It is characterized by.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the document management system according to the first or second aspect, the image processing device includes the specific image data contained in the image data input from the image reading means. It has a function of ranking confidentiality for each image data according to a symbol or a symbol string. For example, if the keyword “confidential” is detected, the confidential rank is “1”. If the keyword “confidential” is detected, the confidential rank is “2”. If the keyword “secret” is detected, the confidential rank is “3”.
It has a function to rank. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the document management system according to the third aspect, an access right to each image data stored in the internal storage means or the external storage means is set to a confidentiality level of each image data. It has a function of controlling according to the rank. For example, a document of “confidential rank 3” can be viewed only by an ID having a post of manager or higher so that a flat employee cannot view a top secret document. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the document management system according to the third or fourth aspect, the storage destination of the image data input from the image reading means is automatically selected according to the confidentiality rank of each image data. It is characterized by having a function to perform. For example, in order to prevent highly confidential image data from being transferred to an external storage device such as a document management server outside the company without the operator's knowledge, the image data of “Secret rank 2” or higher is stored in the internal storage of the image processing device. The storage destination is selected based on the image data, such as storing it in the device and not transferring it to the outside.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a character recognition process is performed on the image data read by the image reading means, and a specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data. Is included, a function to notify the operator of this (sounds a buzzer,
The image processing device has a function of displaying a message on the display section of the operation panel, etc., so that an operator who intends to perform image processing (copying, facsimile transmission, etc.) including reading of a document image can be provided to the operator. It informs that the image data of the document image is automatically saved and alerts the user to the confidentiality of the document, so that the confidential document can be stored in the image processing device (copier, facsimile, etc.) without the operator's knowledge. It is possible to prevent the confidential document from being leaked by preventing it from being stored in the internal storage means or the external storage means. According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data read by the image reading means, the fact is notified to the operator, and the image data is sent to a normal As in the case of the document, the leakage of the confidential document can be prevented by allowing the operator to select whether to store the document in the internal storage unit or the external storage unit of the image processing apparatus or to discard it without storing it. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, each image data is ranked by confidentiality according to a specific symbol or symbol string included in the image data input from the image reading means. In addition, it is possible to determine the handling of each image data according to the confidentiality rank. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the access right to each image data stored in the internal storage unit or the external storage unit of the image processing apparatus is controlled according to the confidentiality rank of each image data. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the highly sensitive image data from being easily viewed by a person who does not have the access right, and to prevent leakage of the confidential document. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage destination of the image data input from the image reading unit is selected according to the confidentiality rank of each image data, so that the image data having a high confidentiality can be stored in the storage unit. It is possible to prevent the confidential document from being leaked by preventing it from being stored in a storage destination that can be viewed by an outsider.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a document management system according to the present invention. This document management system is realized by connecting the office 100 and the document storage service company 200 via the Internet 300. The LAN 15 built in the office 100 includes a copying machine 11, a management PC 12, and a client PC.
(External storage means) 13 and a proxy server 14 are connected. The LAN 15 is connected to the Internet 300 via the proxy server 14. On the other hand, a document management server 21, a database (external storage means) 22, and a WWW server 23 are connected to a LAN 24 built in the document storage service company 200. The copying machine 11
An image reading unit 31 for reading a document, a character recognition unit (character recognition unit) 32 for recognizing the read image as a character, a large-capacity storage device (internal storage unit) 33 such as an HDD for storing the read image, an operator , An operation unit (notifying unit) 34 including a display panel and the like for instructing the copying machine 11 to notify the operator of the status of the apparatus and messages, etc.
5, a printing unit 3 for printing a read image, a received image, and the like on paper.
6, a main control unit 37 for integrally controlling these units. The main control unit 37 determines whether or not a keyword relating to confidentiality is included in the image data based on the recognition result of the character recognition unit 32, and determines that the keyword is included in the image data In the case where the operation is performed, the function is also displayed on the operation unit 34 to function as a notification unit for notifying the operator. Management P
C12 has a document management function in LAN15. The client PC 13 has a function of searching and browsing documents managed by the management PC 12 or the document management server 21 of the document storage service company 200.

The operation of this document management system is as follows. When a start key (not shown) of the operation unit 34 is pressed, the copier 11 operates the image reading unit 31 to read an image of a document set on a reading window (contact glass) and read the image of the document. Data is temporarily stored in the mass storage device 107. Thereafter, the character recognition unit 32 operates to recognize characters (symbols) included in the image data stored in the mass storage device 107.
When the character recognition is completed, the main control unit 37 detects a keyword related to confidentiality included in the image data based on the recognition result, and determines the confidentiality of the image data. For example, when the keyword “secret document” is detected, the document is determined to be a highly confidential document. If the main control unit 37 determines that the document is a confidential document, a message indicating that the image data of the confidential document is currently stored in the large-capacity storage device 33 in the copying machine 11 and will be transferred to the document management server 21 eventually. Is displayed on the display panel of the operation unit 34 to alert the operator,
The user selects (inputs) whether to discard (delete) the image data of the confidential document stored in the large-capacity storage device 33 or keep the image data as it is, and eventually permit transfer to the document management server 21. Prompt.

For example, "The confidential document has been saved.
This document is automatically transferred to the document storage service company. Is it OK? "And selection buttons [Yes] and [No] are displayed on the touch panel. In this case, when the [Yes] button is pressed, the image data is stored in the mass storage device 33 as it is, but is deleted when the [No] button is pressed. The main control unit 37
Ranks the confidentiality of the document from the detected keywords. For example, if the detected keyword is "confidential", the confidentiality rank is "1", if "confidential", the confidentiality rank is "2", if "secret", the confidentiality rank is "3". Then, the main control unit 37
Each image data is stored as a set with the confidentiality rank information in the mass storage device 107. Each image data is transferred to and stored in the document management server 21 together with the confidentiality rank information. The document management server 21 controls access to each stored image data based on the confidentiality rank information. For example, when there is a document browsing request from the client PC 13, the operator is requested to input an ID and a password. If the passwords match, the access authority of the operator is referred to from the database based on the input ID, and compared with the confidential rank of the image data to be browsed. If access is permitted,
Display and printing of the image data are enabled. Also,
The management PC 12 finally determines which storage device stores the read image data based on the confidentiality rank information. For example, the confidentiality rank is "3"
Is transferred from the copying machine 11, the management PC 12 searches for a storage device set in advance as a storage destination of the information on the confidentiality rank, which is stored in the large-capacity storage device built in the client PC 13. (HD
In the case of D), the image data is transferred to the client PC 13 and in the case of the document storage service company, the image data is transferred to the document management server 21 for storage.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the first aspect of the present invention, an operator who intends to perform a process including reading of a document image using an image processing device is notified that image data of the document image is automatically stored. Since it is possible to call attention to the confidentiality of the document, it is possible to prevent the confidential document from being stored in the internal storage means or the external storage means of the image processing apparatus without the knowledge of the operator, and to prevent leakage of the confidential document. Can be prevented. According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data read by the image reading means, the fact is notified to the operator, and the image data is sent to a normal As in the case of the document, the leakage of the confidential document can be prevented by allowing the operator to select whether to store the document in the internal storage unit or the external storage unit of the image processing apparatus or to discard it without storing it. According to the third aspect of the present invention, according to a specific symbol or symbol string included in the image data input from the image reading unit,
By ranking each image data by confidentiality,
The handling of each image data can be determined according to the confidentiality rank. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the access right to each image data stored in the internal storage unit or the external storage unit of the image processing apparatus is controlled according to the confidentiality rank of each image data. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the highly sensitive image data from being easily viewed by a person who does not have the access right, and to prevent leakage of the confidential document. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage destination of the image data input from the image reading unit is selected according to the confidentiality rank of each image data, so that the image data having a high confidentiality can be stored in the storage unit. It is possible to prevent the confidential document from being leaked by preventing it from being stored in a storage destination that can be viewed by an outsider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a document management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional document management system.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: Copy machine (image processing device) 12: Management PC (management device) 13: Client PC (terminal device including external storage means) 14: Proxy server 15: LAN 21: Document management server 22: Database (external storage means) 23: WWW server 24: LAN 31: Image reading unit 32: Character recognition unit (character recognition unit) 33: Large-capacity storage device (internal storage unit) 34: Operation unit (notification unit) 35: Network interface 36: Printing unit 37 : Main control unit (notification means, judgment means) 100: Office 200: Document storage service company 300: Internet

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus comprising: an image reading means for reading a document as input image data; an internal storage means for storing image data; and a connection means for connecting to a communication network. The input image data is
Automatically store the image data in the internal storage means or the external storage means connected to the image processing apparatus via a communication network, so that the image data can be read from the internal storage means or the external storage means when necessary. In the configured document management system, the image processing apparatus includes a character recognition unit that recognizes a character in the image data input from the image reading unit, and a specific character in the image data based on a recognition result by the character recognition unit. Judging means for judging whether or not a symbol or a symbol string is included, and a notification for notifying an operator when the judgment means judges that a specific symbol or symbol string is included in the image data. And a document management system. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines that the image data includes a specific symbol or symbol string in the same manner as in a normal document. 2. The document management system according to claim 1, wherein an operator can select whether to store the image data in the internal storage unit or the external storage unit or to discard the image data without storing the image data. 3. A function of ranking the confidentiality of each image data according to the specific symbol or symbol string included in the image data input from the image reading means. The document management system according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. A function of controlling an access right to each image data stored in said internal storage means or said external storage means in accordance with a confidentiality rank of each image data. Item 3. The document management system according to Item 3. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a function of automatically selecting a storage destination of the image data input from the image reading unit in accordance with a confidentiality rank of each image data. Document management system.