JP2005262754A - Document printing apparatus, printing controlling apparatus and document processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a required processing according to instruction information corresponding to a document of an object to be processed even after the document of the object to be processed is printed on a printing medium. <P>SOLUTION: For example, when the document of the object to be processed is a questionnaire paper, the instruction information describing a series of processings in which the document of the object to be processed is scanned, an OCR processing is performed to the scanned data, text data obtained by the OCR processing are stored in a specified storing place in a control server, a total service program is started on the control server, is prepared, and an invisible special bar code 50 expressing the instruction information is printed on the document of the object to be processed. When reading of the document of the object to be processed in which the questionnaires are completed is performed by a service processing apparatus, the service processing apparatus simultaneously obtains the corresponding instruction information by reading the special bar code 50, and respective processings such as the OCR processing, transferring/storing the text data in the control server, totaling of the questionnaire results by the control server, are automatically performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a document printing apparatus, a print control apparatus, a document processing apparatus, and a method, and more particularly, a document printing apparatus that prints information of a document to be processed on a print medium, a document printing method applicable to the document printing apparatus, and a printing apparatus. The present invention relates to a print control apparatus that controls a document, a print control method that can be applied to the print control apparatus, a document processing apparatus that performs an instructed process on a document to be processed, and a document processing method that can be applied to the document processing apparatus .

  Traditionally, for business that has a standardized document flow, such as circulation, small-scale deliberation, approval, etc., use a network to distribute electronic documents among related parties along the standardized flow Therefore, a workflow system has been proposed that realizes business efficiency. With the development of Internet-related technologies, scanners, facsimile machines, copying machines connected to a network, multifunction devices integrating these as a single device, personal computers (PCs) and other devices (called service processing devices) Is a so-called flow service that uses a service that can be provided as a service component, and implements more sophisticated business processing by linking the desired services among the available service components with instruction information. Proposed.

For example, Patent Document 1 collects and stores linked service information corresponding to the above instruction information from each device connected to the network, and supports each input / output function and program of each device linked via the network. If the input / output function and program that operate on each device are reserved for each device, the input / output function and program of each reserved device are stored. Discloses a technique for linking a network on a network by executing a stored linked service program.
JP 2001-306534 A

  It is also possible for the flow service to target a document, and by using instruction information that describes a series of processes that should be executed in cooperation, a series of processes can be linked to the target document. It is also possible to execute. However, at the stage of handling the electronic information of the processing target document, specific instruction information describing the processing to be executed on the processing target document can be easily associated with the processing target document. If the target document is printed on a print medium such as paper and the process target document is handled as a print medium, the specific instruction information may be associated with the process target document printed on the print medium. Because it is difficult, even if there is a process to be performed on the document to be processed after printing on the print medium, the process is linked with the process executed before printing on the print medium. There was a problem that it was difficult.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts. A document that can execute a desired process according to instruction information associated with a processing target document even after the processing target document is printed on a print medium. It is an object to obtain a printing apparatus, a printing control apparatus, a document processing apparatus, a document printing method, a printing control method, and a document processing method.

  In order to achieve the above object, a document printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a printing unit that prints a processing target document on a print medium, and instruction information that describes processing to be performed on the processing target document. And a recording means for recording on the print medium together with the document.

  In the document printing apparatus according to the present invention, the processing target document is printed on the print medium by the printing unit based on the information of the processing target document. The recording unit records instruction information describing processing to be executed on the processing target document on the print medium together with the processing target document. The process described in the instruction information may be a process related to a document such as copying of a process target document, printing of a process target document, reading of a process target document (digitization), transmission / reception of information on the process target document, and the like. It may be other processing such as image processing on an image representing a processing target document, and arbitrary processing is applicable. In addition, the instruction information may be recorded by the recording means optically such as characters and barcodes, or may be magnetically recorded on a magnetic medium previously attached to a print medium on which the processing target document is printed. Alternatively, it may be electrically recorded on a recording medium such as an IC tag added in advance to a printing medium on which the document to be processed is printed.

  As a result, the processing target document is printed on the printing medium by the printing unit, so that even if the processing target document is entered as a printing medium, the processing target document is recorded on the printing target printing medium. By reading the instruction information, the corresponding instruction information can be acquired, and by referring to the description of the acquired instruction information, the process described in the instruction information (process to be executed on the processing target document) is performed. It becomes possible to execute. Therefore, according to the document printing apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to execute a desired process according to the instruction information recorded on the print medium even after the document to be processed is printed on the print medium.

  The printing control apparatus according to the present invention is a printing control apparatus that controls a printing apparatus, and causes the printing apparatus to print a processing target document on a printing medium and performs processing to be performed on the processing target document. The printing apparatus includes control means for recording the described instruction information on the print medium together with the processing target document by the printing apparatus.

  The print control apparatus according to the present invention causes a printing target device to print a processing target document on a printing medium, and sends instruction information describing processing to be executed on the processing target document to the printing medium together with the processing target document. Since the data is recorded, similarly to the document printing apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to execute desired processing according to the instruction information recorded on the print medium even after the document to be processed is printed on the print medium.

  Further, the document processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an acquisition unit that reads a print medium on which instruction information is recorded while the document to be processed is printed by the document printing apparatus according to the present invention, and acquires the instruction information. And processing means for performing processing described in the instruction information on a processing target document obtained by reading the print medium based on the acquired instruction information.

  In the document processing apparatus according to the present invention, the acquisition unit reads the processing target document by the document printing apparatus according to the present invention and reads the print medium on which the instruction information is recorded, thereby acquiring the instruction information. Based on the instruction information acquired by the acquisition unit, the processing described in the instruction information is performed on the processing target document obtained by reading the print medium by the processing unit. The processing performed by the processing means is also described in advance in the instruction information, for example, copying of the processing target document, printing of the processing target document, reading of the processing target document (digitization), transmission / reception of information on the processing target document, Arbitrary processing such as image processing on an image representing a processing target document can be applied. Thereby, even after the document to be processed is printed on the print medium, a desired process can be executed according to the instruction information.

  Furthermore, the document printing method according to the present invention prints a processing target document on a printing medium and records instruction information describing processing to be executed on the processing target document on the printing medium. Similar to the document printing apparatus, it is possible to execute desired processing according to the instruction information recorded on the print medium even after the document to be processed is printed on the print medium.

  The print control method according to the present invention is a print control method for controlling a printing apparatus, wherein the processing target document is printed on a print medium by the printing apparatus and a process to be executed on the processing target document is performed. Since the described instruction information is recorded on the print medium together with the processing target document by the printing device, the processing target document is printed on the printing medium even after the processing target document is printed on the printing medium in the same manner as the printing control device according to the present invention. It is possible to execute a desired process according to the recorded instruction information.

  The document processing method according to the present invention acquires the instruction information by reading a print medium on which instruction information describing a process to be executed on the processing target document is recorded while the processing target document is printed. Since the processing described in the acquired instruction information is performed on the processing target document obtained by reading the printing medium, the processing target document is printed on the printing medium as in the document processing apparatus according to the invention. Even after printing, desired processing can be executed according to the instruction information.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the processing target document is printed on the printing medium, and the instruction information describing the processing to be executed on the processing target document is recorded on the printing medium. Even after printing on the print medium, there is an excellent effect that desired processing can be executed according to the instruction information associated with the document to be processed.

  According to the present invention, a processing target document is printed on a printing medium by a printing device, and instruction information describing processing to be executed on the processing target document is recorded on the printing medium by the printing device together with the processing target document. Therefore, even after the document to be processed is printed on the print medium, there is an excellent effect that a desired process can be executed according to the instruction information recorded on the print medium.

  Further, the present invention acquires instruction information by reading a print medium on which instruction information describing a process to be executed on the processing target document is printed and the instruction information is recorded, and is described in the acquired instruction information. Since the processing being performed is performed on the processing target document obtained by reading the print medium, the instruction sheet associated with the processing target document even after the processing target document is printed on the print medium. It has an excellent effect that a desired process can be executed according to information.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a document processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. In the document processing system 10, a plurality of service processing devices 12 that provide various services, a plurality of client terminals 14 operated by a user, and a management server 16 are connected to each other via a network (for example, a LAN) 18. Has been configured.

  In the present embodiment, the service provided by the service processing device 12 refers to a service that performs various types of processing (referred to as service processing) related to a document in response to an external request. For example, copying (copying a document), printing (copying a document) Image processing such as printing, scanning (digitalization of documents), facsimile transmission / reception (transmission / reception of digitized documents), mail delivery, storage in the repository and reading from the repository, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing, noise removal processing, etc. Document editing such as image composition. The service processing device 12 can be constituted by a multifunction device having a function of providing a plurality of types of services among the various services listed above, but is not limited to this. Further, it may be a device that provides only a single service, such as a scanner or a facsimile machine, or a computer in which an application program for performing predetermined processing on document data is installed.

  Next, as a typical configuration of the service processing apparatus 12, a configuration of the service processing apparatus 12 having a function of providing printing and scanning as a service will be described with reference to FIG. The service processing apparatus 12 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the document printing apparatus and the document processing apparatus according to the present invention. The service processing apparatus 12 includes a network I / F (interface) unit 20 that is connected to the network 18 and manages communication with other apparatuses via the network 18. The network I / F unit 20 is connected to an internal bus 22, which includes a system control unit 24, a memory 26, a received data processing unit 28, and a nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) connected to a backup power source. 30, a printing unit 32, a special barcode printing unit 34, an operation panel 36 including a display panel and a keyboard such as a numeric keypad, a scanner 38, and a special barcode reading unit 40 are connected to each other.

  Among these, the system control unit 24 is configured to include a microcomputer, controls each unit of the service processing device 12, executes service processing instructed to be executed by instruction information described later, manages instruction information, etc. Perform the process. The received data processing unit 28 is connected to a storage device 42 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The received data processing unit 28 stores the data received from the outside in the storage device 42 and the storage device 42. Read stored data.

  The printing unit 32 has a function of performing a printing process as a service process. The printing unit 32 expands the information of the input document to be printed into bitmap data, and applies a printing agent (ink or toner) based on the bitmap data. The document to be printed is printed on a print medium such as paper. In addition, the special barcode printing unit 34 has a non-visible special printing agent (with the reflectance to light in the visible region in the state of being attached on the printing medium being substantially equal to that of the printing medium, and for light in a specific wavelength region (for example, infrared region). It has a function of printing a special bar code that is difficult to read visually by using ink, toner, or the like whose reflectance is different from that of the print medium. The special barcode printing unit 34 is disposed in the vicinity of the printing unit 32. When barcode information representing a barcode to be printed is input, the printing unit 32 simultaneously prints a print target document on a print medium. The barcode represented by the inputted barcode information is printed on the print medium as a special barcode. The printing unit 32 corresponds to the printing unit according to the first aspect, and the special barcode printing unit 34 corresponds to the recording unit according to the first aspect (specifically, the fourth aspect).

  Further, the scanner 38 has a function of performing a scanning process as a service process. When a processing target document is set, the scanner 38 irradiates visible light while conveying the processing target document at a constant speed, and reflects it from the processing target document. The processing target document is read by photoelectrically converting light by a visible light sensor (for example, a sensor for each color component of R, G, and B), and the signal output from the visible light sensor is converted into digital data. Output image data. The special barcode reading unit 40 has a function of reading a special barcode printed on the processing target document. The special bar code reading unit 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the scanner 38, and irradiates light (for example, infrared light) in a specific wavelength region to the processing target document conveyed by the scanner 38, and reflects light from the processing target document. The special bar code is read by photoelectrically converting it with a specific wavelength range sensor (for example, an infrared sensor) having sensitivity in a specific wavelength range, and the signal output from the specific wavelength range sensor is converted into digital data. Output the data.

  The NVRAM 30 of the service processing device 12 stores I / F information for making the service provided by the service processing device 12 available from the outside. The I / F information is information that defines a single service that can be provided by the service processing apparatus 12. In the service processing apparatus 12 that can provide a plurality of types of services, the same number of I / Fs as the number of types of services that can be provided. F information is stored in the NVRAM 30. As shown in FIG. 3A, the I / F information includes <Service Class>, <Service Name>, <Service Icon>, <Service Location Information (Service Info Location>, <Input>, <Output>, <Parameter Restriction Rules>, <Service Location>, <Method Name>, < It consists of <Invocation Scheme> and <Inplicit Elements>.

  Information indicating the type of service (for example, printing, scanning, repository storage, etc.) provided by the service processing device 12 is set in <Service Type>, and information indicating the name of the provided service is set in <Service Name>. . Also, <service icon> is set with information defining an icon of a service to be displayed via the GUI, and <service location information> is an I / F information storage address on the network 18 ( URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) is set. In addition, information declaring a providing method for the provided service is set in <method name>, and information declaring a method for calling and starting a service process for executing the provided service is set in <starting method>. For example, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) or STMP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which are message exchange protocols, can be used as the <startup method>. Also, <implicit element> is set with data that can be referred to in subsequent service processing. The service processing apparatus 12 registers a part of the I / F information in the management server 16 and transmits the I / F information in response to a transmission request from an external apparatus.

  On the other hand, in the document processing system 10, a desired single service among various services provided by the service processing device 12 is used, or a desired plurality of types of services are linked to be used as a single service (flow service). In order to do this, instruction information (corresponding to instruction information according to the present invention) is used. As shown in FIG. 3B, the instruction form information is composed of header information and service definition information. Information such as the name of the instruction information is set in the header information, and when execution of the service specified by the instruction information is instructed, the time at that time is set as the instruction start time. The service specification information is information that specifies a single service to be used. When a plurality of types of services are used in combination, a plurality of service specification information corresponding to any of the plurality of types of services to be combined is included. Added. Individual service specification information is the same as the above-mentioned I / F information: <Service type>, <Service name>, <Service icon>, <Service location information>, <Input>, <Output>, <Parameter restrictions It consists of <Rule>, <Service Location>, <Method Name>, <Invocation Method>, and <Implicit Element>.

  Further, when a plurality of types of services are linked, <Flow> describing information related to linkage between individual services defined in the service definition information is set in the header information of the instruction information. <Flow> represents a specific method of the service processing apparatus 12 and includes <Invoke> for executing a service call, <if> for performing control, logical operation, and the like as elements. <Activation> includes <Map> indicating the position information of the parameter and a method name <Method> to be called as elements. In addition, <if>, <and>, <eq>, <gt> for performing control and logical operations, etc. are used for conditional branching during coordination processing and adjustment of parameters passed between service processing Set to The cooperation of each service process when a plurality of types of services are linked and used as a single service (flow service) is controlled according to information described as <flow>.

  The above instruction form information is obtained by, for example, starting the instruction form editor on the client terminal 14 in which the instruction form editor program is installed in advance, and performing a predetermined operation by the user via the keyboard or mouse of the client terminal 14. Created and edited by the instruction editor. At the time of creating / editing the instruction form information, an instruction form creating / editing screen 100 as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display of the client terminal 14 as an example. The instruction creation / editing screen 100 displays the service window 101 for displaying available services as icons, the services to be used, and how to link them (workflow that is the basis of the instruction information) with icons. A flow window 102, a logic window 103 for displaying a cooperation pattern of used services as icons, and a property window 104 for displaying detailed setting parameters of each icon.

  The management server 16 has a function as a service search server that searches for available services provided by the service processing devices 12 of the document processing system 10. The instruction editor obtains a service list representing an outline of available services searched by the management server 16 from the management server 16 and stores the location information of each service processing device 12 described in the obtained service list. Based on this, I / F information indicating a service usage method is acquired from each service processing device 12. Based on the acquired information, the aforementioned information is displayed in the service window 101 and the property window 104.

  The workflow is created by the user operating the mouse or the like of the client terminal 14 and dragging and dropping the icon of the service window 101 and the icon of the logic window 103 into the flow window 102. In addition, the user can set the service processing to be executed and the logic of cooperation in detail by selecting a desired icon and editing the contents displayed in the property window 104. When the creation of the workflow is completed, the instruction book editor generates the instruction book information in the XML format according to the created workflow, and transmits it to the management server 16. The management server 16 also has a function as an instruction management server that manages the instruction information, holds the received instruction information, and receives the instruction information according to a request from the client terminal 14 or the service processing device 12. Send.

  When editing the existing instruction information, the instruction editor requests the management server 16 to transmit the name of each instruction information held by the management server 16 in accordance with an instruction from the user. Display the name of each instruction information received from the list. When a specific name is selected by the user, the management server 16 is requested to transmit instruction information corresponding to the selected name, and the contents of the instruction information received from the management server 16 are created / edited. It is displayed on the screen 100. Further, when parameters necessary for executing a desired service process are input by the user, the contents of the instructions are reflected (indicated) on the instruction information, thereby editing (updating) the instruction information. When the editing of the instruction book information is completed, the edited instruction book information is transmitted to the management server 16.

  The above-described creation and editing of the instruction information can also be performed by the system control unit 24 by a user performing a predetermined operation via the operation panel 36 of the service processing apparatus 12. In addition, execution of the instruction form information (use of a service described in the instruction form information) can be instructed from the client terminal 14 or can be instructed via the operation panel 36 of the service processing apparatus 12. Yes.

  The service processing apparatus 12 that has received the instruction form information refers to the service specification information corresponding to the service process to be executed by the own apparatus in the received instruction form information, and has grasped the details of the service process to be executed. The service process specified by the service definition information is executed. When the execution of the service process is completed, the service processing apparatus 12 sets a completion flag indicating that the execution is completed in the service specification information corresponding to the service process that has completed the execution, and then refers to the instruction form information to The presence or absence of service processing to be executed is determined. If there is a service process to be executed next, the service processing apparatus transfers the instruction information to the service processing apparatus 12 capable of executing the service process to be executed next. By repeating this, a flow service that links a plurality of types of service processes defined by the instruction information is realized. If there is no service process to be executed next, it is determined that the execution of the service process specified by the instruction information has been completed, and the service processing device 12 (or client that transmitted the instruction information first) Information indicating the execution result and instruction information are transmitted to the terminal 14).

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the service processing apparatus 12 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 (service processing apparatus 12 having a function of providing printing and scanning as a service), information on the processing target document and instruction information corresponding to the processing target document are received from an external device. When received (corresponding to the invention described in claim 3), the service control information of the received instruction form information is referred to by the system control unit 24, so that the service processing to be executed by the own apparatus for the processing target document is determined. However, if the service process to be executed by the own apparatus is a “print process” for printing the processing target document on a print medium such as paper, the system control unit 24 executes the document print process. This document printing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step 110, the service corresponding to the print process (print process) to be executed out of the instruction sheet information (the instruction sheet information received from the external apparatus together with the process target document information) corresponding to the process target document (print target document). A completion flag indicating completion of execution is set in the regulation information. In step 112, based on the instruction information set with the completion flag, barcode information for printing a barcode representing the instruction information on a print medium such as paper is generated. The generation of the barcode information can be realized, for example, by converting (encoding) the instruction information after the completion flag is set according to a predetermined conversion rule. Further, although it depends on the size of the instruction information, the barcode represented by the barcode information is desirably a two-dimensional barcode that can represent a relatively large amount of data. In the next step 114, the print target document information received from the external device is transferred to the printing unit 32 to instruct execution of printing. Accordingly, the printing target document is printed on a printing medium such as paper by the printing unit 32.

  In step 116, the barcode information generated in the previous step 112 is transferred to the special barcode printing unit 34, the printing of the barcode represented by the barcode information is instructed, and the document printing process is terminated. As a result, the special barcode printing unit 34 prints the barcode represented by the transferred barcode information with the special printing agent on the print medium on which the printing unit 32 has printed the document to be printed. Since the special printing agent used by the special barcode printing unit 34 for printing the barcode is an invisible printing agent, as shown in FIG. 9 as an example, the print medium on which the document to be printed is printed is visually observed. A special barcode 50 that is difficult to read (a special barcode 50 representing the contents of the instruction information corresponding to the document to be printed) is also printed.

  The system control unit 24 that executes the document printing process described above corresponds to the printing control apparatus according to the present invention (specifically, the control unit described in claim 7). The printing unit 32 that prints the image on the print medium, and the special barcode printing unit 34 that prints the barcode on the print medium on which the printing unit 32 has printed the document to be printed is the printing according to claim 7 or 13. It corresponds to the device.

  In the service processing apparatus 12 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2, a processing target document (a printing medium on which is printed) is set in the scanner 38, and the user operates the operation panel 36 to read the processing target document. When instructed, the system control unit 24 executes document scanning processing. This document scanning process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step 120, the scanner 38 and the special barcode reading unit 40 are instructed to read the processing target document. As a result, the scanner 38 conveys the set processing target document at a constant speed, irradiates the processing target document being conveyed with visible light, and photoelectrically converts the reflected light with a visible light sensor, thereby processing the processing target with visible light. Read the document. Further, the special barcode reading unit 40 irradiates the processing target document being conveyed by the scanner 38 with light in a specific wavelength range and photoelectrically converts the reflected light by a specific wavelength range sensor, thereby processing the document to be processed with light in the specific wavelength range. Read. In the next step 122, the document image data obtained by the scanner 38 reading the processing target document with visible light is stored in the memory 26 or the storage device 42.

  In the next step 124, the special bar code reading unit 40 refers to the read data obtained by reading the document to be processed with the light in the specific wavelength range, and the data corresponding to the special bar code 50 in the read data. It is determined whether or not the special barcode 50 is printed on the processing target document based on whether or not the message is included. If the determination is negative, the document scanning process is terminated without performing any process.

  On the other hand, when the data corresponding to the special barcode 50 is included in the read data, the special barcode 50 is also printed on the processing target document set in the scanner 38 by the document printing process (FIG. 5) described above. Therefore, the determination in step 124 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 126, where data corresponding to the special barcode 50 is extracted from the read data, and the special barcode 50 is extracted based on the extracted data. The instruction form information represented by is restored. In order to restore the instruction information, first, information representing the width of each bar and each space constituting the special barcode 50 is generated from the extracted data, and the generated information is converted (decoded) according to a predetermined conversion rule. This can be achieved. As a result, the instruction information represented by the special barcode 50 printed on the processing target document, that is, the instruction information corresponding to the processing target document is restored. Steps 120 and 126 described above correspond to the acquisition unit according to claim 8 together with the scanner 38 for reading the processing target document and the special bar code reading unit 40 for reading the special bar code.

  In the next step 128, by referring to the service definition information of the processing target document restored in step 126, an attempt is made to recognize the service processing to be executed next on the processing target document. Note that the instruction information represented by the special barcode 50 printed on the processing target document already has a completion flag in the service definition information corresponding to the printing process (printing process) executed in the document printing process (FIG. 5). Since it is set, it is possible to prevent a print process executed in the past from being erroneously recognized as a service process to be executed next.

  In step 130, it is determined whether or not the service process to be executed next can be recognized by the process in step 128 (whether there is a service process to be executed next). If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 132, and it is determined whether or not the recognized service process (the service process to be executed next for the processing target document) is a service process that can be executed by the own apparatus. If this determination is also affirmed, the process proceeds to step 134, and the service processing recognized in step 128 is executed by the own apparatus for the processing target document (document image data of the processing target document stored in step 122). When the execution of the service process is completed, the process proceeds to step 136, a completion flag is set in the service specification information corresponding to the service process that has been executed out of the instruction information corresponding to the processing target document, and the process returns to step 128. Note that the processing in steps 128 to 136 corresponds to the invention described in claim 11.

  As a result, while the service process to be executed next for the process target document is defined in the instruction information, and the service process to be executed next is a process that can be executed by the own apparatus, the process target document Service processing to be executed on the device is sequentially executed by the own device. If the service process to be executed next for the document to be processed is a process that cannot be executed by the own apparatus, the determination in step 132 is denied and the process proceeds to step 138 to execute the service process to be executed next. The document image data of the processing target document and the instruction information corresponding to the processing target document (instruction information restored in step 126) are transferred to the executable service processing apparatus 12, and the document scanning process is terminated. In this case, the service processing to be executed next on the processing target document is executed in the service processing device 12 to which the document image data and instruction information are transferred. When execution of all the service processes specified in the instruction form information is completed, the determination in step 130 is denied and the process proceeds to step 140, and an apparatus (for example, an instruction to start execution of a series of service processes) The document image data and instruction information are transferred to the client terminal 14) (other information such as information indicating the processing result may be transferred), and the document scanning process is terminated. Steps 128 to 140 correspond to processing means described in claim 8.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when a printing process (printing process) is performed and a processing target document is once printed on a printing medium, the service processing apparatus 12 having a function of providing a scan as a service performs processing. By performing reading (scanning processing) of the target document, it is possible to execute the service process defined by the corresponding instruction document information, and the instruction document information corresponding to the processing target document has a plurality of types for the processing target document. Even if the content is to link service processing, a flow service that links multiple types of service processing to a processing target document can be realized.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the processing target document is a questionnaire sheet on which character strings representing a plurality of questions are printed and an entry field for entering answers to each question is provided, this processing target document As the instruction information corresponding to, the OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing is performed on the scan data (document image data) obtained by scanning the processing target document, and the text data obtained by the OCR processing is managed by the management server 16 creates instruction information describing a series of service processes that are stored in a predetermined storage location in 16 and activates the aggregation service program on the management server 16, and processes a special barcode 50 representing the instruction information. If the target document (questionnaire sheet) is printed, the service processing apparatus 12 having a function of providing a scan as a service The above-described OCR processing, transfer of text data to the management server 16 is performed only by reading (scanning processing) the processing target document (questionnaire sheet in which the answer is entered in the entry field by the respondent). Each process of storing and summarizing questionnaire results by the management server 16 can be automatically executed.

  In the above description, the example in which the completion flag is set in the service specification information corresponding to the service process that has been executed in the instruction information has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The corresponding service definition information may be deleted from the instruction information.

  In the document printing process (FIG. 5) described above, the special barcode 50 representing the instruction information itself is printed on the document to be printed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Hereinafter, another example of the document printing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As described above, the management server 16 has a function as an instruction sheet management server for managing instruction sheet information, and the instruction sheet information is also stored in the management server 16. Therefore, in the document printing process shown in FIG. 7, first, in step 150, the management server 16 is inquired of the address storing the instruction information received from the external apparatus together with the information of the document to be printed, and the response to the inquiry is managed. By receiving from the server 16, the address where the instruction information corresponding to the document to be printed is stored is recognized.

  In step 152, the management server 16 is requested to set a completion flag in the service specification information corresponding to the printing process to be executed from the instruction information stored in the recognized storage address, and the service specification information described above. Is set by the management server 16. In the next step 154, barcode information for printing a barcode representing a storage address of the instruction information on a print medium such as paper is generated. In step 156, as in step 114 described above, the information of the print target document is transferred to the printing unit 32, and the print unit 32 causes the print target document to be printed on the print medium. In step 158, the barcode information generated in the previous step 154 is transferred to the special barcode printing unit 34, and the barcode represented by the barcode information is printed on the document to be printed (the print medium on which the barcode is printed). 52 (special barcode 52 indicating the storage address of the instruction information corresponding to the document to be printed) is printed (see FIG. 10). Note that the storage address of the instruction information corresponds to the instruction information described in claim 5.

  When the document printing process (FIG. 7) described above is performed instead of the document printing process shown in FIG. 5, the document scanning process shown in FIG. 8 replaces the process of step 126 described above (see FIG. 6). Steps 160 and 162 may be performed. That is, in step 160, data corresponding to the special bar code 52 is extracted from the read data obtained by reading by the special bar code reading unit 40, and instruction information represented by the special bar code 52 is stored based on the extracted data. Restore the address. In step 162, the management server 16 is requested to transfer the instruction information stored in the storage address restored in step 160 (instruction information corresponding to the processing target document), and the instruction document transferred from the management server 16 is requested. Instruction information is acquired by receiving the information.

  In the document scanning process shown in FIG. 8, the processes other than the above-described steps 160 and 162 are the same as the document scanning process shown in FIG. Steps 160 and 162 described above also correspond to the acquisition unit according to claim 8 (specifically, claim 9) together with the scanner 38 for reading the processing target document and the special barcode reading unit 40 for reading the special barcode. doing.

  As described above, when the special barcode 52 representing the storage address of the instruction information is printed instead of the special barcode 50 representing the instruction information itself, the amount of information to be represented by the special barcode is greatly reduced. Therefore, it is suitable for a mode of printing a general visible barcode instead of printing a special barcode that is difficult to read visually by using a non-visible special printing agent as in this embodiment. In this aspect, it is possible to prevent the appearance of the processing target document (printing target document) from being significantly impaired.

  Also in the above aspect, when the processing target document is once printed on the printing medium after the printing process (print processing) is performed, the processing target document is read by the service processing apparatus 12 having a function of providing scanning as a service ( By performing the scanning process), it is possible to execute the service process specified by the corresponding instruction information, and the instruction information corresponding to the processing target document links multiple types of service processing to the processing target document. Even if it is the content, it is possible to realize a flow service that links a plurality of types of service processing to a processing target document.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the processing target document is an approval document, as instruction information corresponding to the processing target document, scan data (document image data) obtained by scanning the processing target document is used. A series of OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing and sending the text data obtained by the OCR processing as an e-mail to a preset e-mail address (the e-mail address of the person who should view the request for approval) Instruction information describing service processing (corresponding to the instruction information described in claims 6 and 10) is created, and a special bar code 52 indicating the storage address of the instruction information is created in the processing target document (approval document). If printed, the service processing device 12 having a function of providing a scan as a service reads the processing target document (consultation document). Scan processing) is automatically performed, and the above-described OCR processing and transmission of e-mail to related parties (this e-mail transmission corresponds to the processing means according to claim 10) are automatically performed. Can be executed.

  In addition, the example in which the instruction information or the storage address of the instruction information is printed as an invisible special barcode has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a general visible barcode as described above. (In this case, the system control unit 24 generates print image information including a print target document (processing target document) and instruction information or a bar code indicating a storage address of the instruction information. The printing unit 32 may be configured such that the print image is printed on a print medium by output), and may be printed as characters. In addition, the instruction information or the storage address of the instruction information may be magnetically recorded on a magnetic medium previously attached to a print medium on which a print target document (processing target document) is printed (the magnetic medium is an instruction sheet). (It can also be formed by applying a magnetic material to the print medium before recording the storage address of the information or instruction information), and the IC added in advance to the print medium for printing the print target document (processing target document) You may electrically record on recording media, such as a tag.

  Furthermore, in the above description, the mode in which the service processing device 12 receives information on the processing target document and the instruction information corresponding to the processing target document from the external device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Storage means provided in the service processing device 12 (for example, stored in the storage device 42 or the NVRAM 30 and stored in the storage means when information specifying specific instruction information is input via the operation panel 36. The instruction information corresponding to the document to be processed may be recognized among the instruction information stored in the instruction information.

  Further, in the above description, as the document printing apparatus and document processing apparatus according to the present invention, the single service processing apparatus 12 that can function as the document printing apparatus according to the present invention and that can also function as the document processing apparatus according to the present invention. Although described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the apparatus functioning as the document printing apparatus according to the present invention and the apparatus functioning as the document processing apparatus according to the present invention may be separate. Yes.

  Further, in the above, the system control unit 24 functioning as the print control device according to the present invention is integrated with the printing unit 32 and the special barcode printing unit 34 as the printing device according to claim 7 and claim 13. The (service processing apparatus 12) has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The print control apparatus according to the present invention is separated from the above-described printing apparatus, and a communication line (for example, a network such as a LAN). The print control device is connected to the print device via the printer, and the print control device controls printing (including printing of the processing target document on the print medium and recording of instruction information) via the communication line. Also good.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing system according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of a service processing apparatus. (A) is a figure which shows an example of I / F information, (B) is a figure which respectively shows an example of instruction information. It is an image figure which shows an example of an instruction creation / editing screen. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content of a document printing process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the content of a document scanning process. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the content of a document printing process. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the content of a document scanning process. It is an image figure which shows an example of the content of the barcode recorded on the document, and the instruction information which this barcode represents. It is an image figure which shows an example of the content of the instruction | indication information stored in the storage position which the barcode recorded on the document and this barcode represents.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Document processing system 12 Service processing apparatus 24 System control part 32 Printing part 34 Special barcode printing part 36 Operation panel 38 Scanner 40 Special barcode reading part

Claims (14)

Printing means for printing the document to be processed on a print medium;
Recording means for recording instruction information describing processing to be performed on the processing target document together with the processing target document on the print medium;
Document printing device including   An input means for inputting information and a storage means for storing the instruction information are further provided, and the instruction information recorded on the print medium together with the processing target document is based on information input through the input means. 2. The document printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document printing apparatus is specified from the instruction information stored in the storage unit.   2. The document printing according to claim 1, wherein the instruction information to be recorded on the print medium together with the process target document is received from an external device together with print data for causing the process target document to be printed on the print medium. apparatus.   The document printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records on the print medium so that visual reading is difficult.   5. The instruction information according to claim 1, wherein a storage location of an instruction document describing details of processing to be executed on the processing target document is described in the instruction information. Document printer.   The document printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transmission destination of the processing target document is described in the instruction information. A printing control device for controlling a printing device,
Control means for causing the printing apparatus to print a processing target document on a printing medium and for causing the printing apparatus to record instruction information describing the processing to be executed on the processing target document together with the processing target document on the printing medium. A printing control apparatus comprising: An acquisition means for acquiring the instruction information by reading a print medium on which the processing target document is printed and the instruction information is recorded by the document printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
Processing means for performing processing described in the instruction information on the processing target document obtained by reading the print medium based on the instruction information acquired by the acquisition means;
Document processing device including   The instruction information acquired by the acquisition unit describes a storage location of an instruction sheet that describes the contents of processing to be executed on the processing target document. The acquisition unit stores the acquired instruction information. The instruction is acquired from the storage location of the instruction described in the above, and the processing unit performs the process described in the instruction acquired by the acquiring unit on the processing target document. The document processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein:   The instruction information acquired by the acquisition unit describes the transmission destination of the processing target document, and the processing unit transmits the processing described in the acquired instruction information as processing for the processing target document. 9. The document processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein processing for transmitting the processing target document is performed first. The instruction information describes a series of processes to be executed in cooperation with the document, and has been edited so that an unexecuted process among the series of processes can be recognized.
The processing means refers to the instruction information acquired by the acquisition means, recognizes and recognizes an unexecuted process in a series of processes to be executed in cooperation described in the instruction information. 9. The document processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein unexecuted processing is performed on the processing target document.   A document printing method for printing a processing target document on a printing medium and recording instruction information describing processing to be executed on the processing target document on the printing medium. A printing control method for controlling a printing apparatus,
Print control for printing a processing target document on a printing medium by the printing apparatus, and recording instruction information describing processing to be performed on the processing target document together with the processing target document by the printing apparatus on the printing medium. Method.   When the processing target document is printed, the instruction information is acquired by reading the print medium on which the instruction information describing the processing to be executed on the processing target document is recorded, and is described in the acquired instruction information. Processing method for performing processing on a processing target document obtained by reading the print medium.

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