JP2007310545A - Electronic document management device, program and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a support environment in which a plurality of users update a document by using an electronic document and paper document. <P>SOLUTION: A printer 14 outputs a paper document by printing an electronic document stored in a document storage sharing folder 18 and information for specifying the electronic document. Also, the printer 14 performs security setting for restricting access to an electronic document to be printed. When reading the output paper document, a scanner 12 specifies the original electronic document based on the information for specifying the electronic document, and revises the original electronic document by calculating a difference. Furthermore, the scanner 12 releases access restriction to the revised electronic document. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing an electronic document and a paper document in cooperation with each other, and more particularly to a technique for ensuring consistency of revised document information.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for linking an electronic document being examined / approved with a paper document on which the electronic document is printed. In this technique, ID information is assigned to a paper document, and when the paper document is scanned, the ID information and the document information are read to update the examination / approval information, thereby continuing the examination / approval flow for the electronic document.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique used when storing an electronic document generated by scanning a paper document. In this technique, an electronic document that has already been stored is compared with an electronic document that is updated, and difference information is added and stored hierarchically, thereby clarifying time-lapse information. Patent Document 3 listed below discloses a technique for printing information for specifying an original electronic document on a paper document as a technique for extending the technique of Patent Document 2.

JP 2004-265140 A JP-A-8-317155 JP 2000-148790 A

  When an electronic document is updated electronically, even when a plurality of users work together, it is possible to perform fine document management control such as preventing the modification work from being performed at the same time. However, when an electronic document is updated using a paper document, document management control becomes difficult. For example, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the possibility that a plurality of users perform a plurality of editing operations at the same time or that a plurality of paper documents are printed is not excluded. Consistency cannot be ensured.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a new support environment for a plurality of users to perform a document update operation using an electronic document and a paper document.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize exclusive control that enables unique update of a document in an environment in which an electronic document and a paper document are mixed.

  Still another object of the present invention is to realize a system that achieves both seamless management of electronic documents and paper documents, and cost reduction.

  An electronic document management apparatus according to the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating that a paper document is printed from an electronic document, and a limitation unit that limits access to the electronic document when the information is acquired. Revision means for obtaining a result of scanning the paper document and revising the electronic document based on the result; and release means for releasing the access restriction for the revised electronic document.

  The electronic document management apparatus is an apparatus for managing an electronic document, and can be constructed using hardware having a calculation / storage function and software (program) for controlling the operation thereof. The electronic document management apparatus may be realized as a centralized processing system using a single piece of hardware, or may be realized as a distributed processing system using a plurality of communicable hardware. Here, the electronic document refers to electronically generated document data including characters or graphics or photographs. The electronic document is created by using various software such as word processing software and spreadsheet software, or is created by scanning a document written on a paper medium (referred to as a paper document). The electronic document management apparatus may or may not include a storage device that stores the electronic document. In the former case, it is possible to directly manage the electronic document, but even in the latter case, indirect control is possible by issuing appropriate instructions to the storage device and its management device.

  The acquisition means is means for acquiring information indicating that a paper document is generated by printing an electronic document. The electronic document management apparatus may or may not have a print function (printer) for performing this printing. Information indicating that a paper document is generated can be acquired from a print instruction to the printer, a print execution report from the printer, or the like.

  The restriction means is means for restricting access to the electronic document when this information is acquired. In other words, it is assumed that the access right of one or more users to the electronic document to be printed is more restricted than before. Here, access refers to general operations on an electronic document such as reading, writing, copying, moving, and erasing. When the access restriction function is built in each electronic document itself, the access restriction may be performed using the function. In addition, access restrictions include application programs that handle electronic documents (for example, editor programs that allow each user to open an electronic document, and conference system programs in which a plurality of users share an electronic document), and files that are included in each computer. It can be realized by using various levels of access management functions such as a management system level and a file management system level used via a network like a security policy management server. Access control is performed directly or indirectly by the control means (and the electronic document management apparatus). That is, even if the electronic document is stored in another device, the control means can at least indirectly restrict access through a command to that device.

  The revision means is means for obtaining a result obtained by scanning a paper document and revising the original electronic document directly or indirectly based on the result. The revision is typically made when the document information (information representing the text) of a new electronic document obtained by scanning is different from the document information of the original electronic document. Incorporated and done. Specifically, incorporation is performed by addition, deletion, replacement, or the like. At that time, history information of the original electronic document may or may not remain. Further, even when the document information is not changed because the scanned electronic document is the same as the original electronic document, the revision can be performed by a method of recording the fact as metadata. The electronic document management apparatus may or may not have a scan function (scanner). The original electronic document can be identified by, for example, printing identification information for specifying the original electronic document on a paper document. The printing mode of the identification information is not particularly limited as long as it can be read such as letters and numbers, but is particularly preferably performed by a code that can be easily read optically, such as a barcode or a secondary dimension barcode. desirable.

  The canceling means is a means for canceling the access restriction on the revised electronic document or instructing to cancel the access restriction. Here, since the electronic documents before and after the revision are regarded as one body, the term “removal of access restriction” is used. However, if the revised electronic document is regarded as a new electronic document, it can be said that the access right similar to that of the electronic document before printing is set for the revised electronic document. Also, if the pre-revision electronic document is saved separately, it does not matter whether the access restrictions on the pre-revision electronic document are removed (however, it may be more convenient to do so). . Note that the access right may be released prior to the revision of the electronic document as long as the appropriate revision of the electronic document is ensured. In other words, after the access restriction of the original electronic document is released, the revision process is performed, and the access right in the released state can be inherited.

  According to this electronic document management apparatus, electronic document access restriction is performed using electronic document printing as a trigger, and electronic document access right restriction is released using paper document reading as a trigger. In other words, while editing an electronic document using a paper document so that the electronic document is locked (exclusively controlled) from another editing operation during electronic editing of the electronic document, Access restriction is performed so that the electronic document is locked from at least a part of another editing operation. This makes it possible to ensure consistency of document information even when document information is updated in an environment in which electronic documents and paper documents are mixed. In particular, when a plurality of users perform an update operation, the effect is significant. In addition, since the electronic document and the paper document can be seamlessly connected, even a user who does not have the skill or environment to update with the electronic document can easily perform the update operation.

  In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the access restriction is prohibition of changing the electronic document for a part or all of users who have the right to change. As an example of the change of the electronic document, first, the change of the document information can be mentioned, but other changes of meta information (for example, version information and update date information) given to the electronic document, or the electronic document Name and storage location can be changed. In addition, as an access restriction that prohibits changes, for example, a part or all of users who have a printing right is prohibited from printing the electronic document in a manner that can be revised using a revision means. It is also possible to consider a mode in which printing of an electronic document in a mode that cannot be performed is permitted. Here, the mode in which revision is possible refers to a mode in which the revision means satisfies the setting conditions for revision. As a specific example, a condition that information specifying the original electronic document is given. The change prohibition is typically performed for all users, but it is considered effective not to restrict access to some users such as a user who performs printing or a privileged user. .

  In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the access restriction is prohibition of browsing of the electronic document performed for a part or all of users who have a viewing right. “Browsing prohibition” means that the contents of the electronic document cannot be displayed, and specific examples include screen display prohibition and printing prohibition. Normally, when browsing is prohibited, changes are also prohibited.

  In an aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the electronic document includes an access protection mechanism, and the access restriction and release are performed using the access protection mechanism. The access protection mechanism is a protection mechanism provided in the electronic document itself. For example, such a protection mechanism is provided as a specification in a PDF (Portable Document Format). When this aspect is adopted, it is not necessary to provide a management server such as a policy server, and the introduction and simplification of the electronic document management apparatus can be expected, so that cost reduction can be expected.

  In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, a password that is printed on the paper document together with the electronic document and read by the scan is used to release the access restriction. According to this aspect, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of the user remembering the password. In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the password is created based on information specifying the electronic document. That is, it is automatically created based on the information for specifying the paper document. Of course, it is possible to set a password by user input. However, in the case of automatic creation, there is an advantage that complexity of user input can be eliminated.

  In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, there is provided means for prohibiting revision processing by the revision means and releasing the access restriction when a set period has elapsed. That is, a valid period is provided for the revision process through a paper document. The period can be set, for example, by setting an elapsed time from printing or a certain date and time. In this example, the access restriction is canceled when the valid period has passed. However, the access right restriction is forcibly released when an instruction is issued from a privileged user or a user who has performed printing. It is also effective to provide means.

  In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the information acquired by the acquisition unit is information indicating that the paper document that can be processed by the revision unit is printed. That is, when the generated paper document can be scanned and the result reflected by the revision means can be reflected, the information is acquired and the access restriction is performed by the restriction means. When other printing is performed, the exclusive control is not necessarily performed.

  In one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the information acquired by the acquisition unit is information indicating that the paper document in which the revision target range is set is printed, and the limitation unit includes Access restriction is performed on the target range in the electronic document. As a result, for example, it is possible to set only a specific page of a plurality of pages as a revision target range, or to set only a specific chapter of a chaptered electronic document as a revision target range. When this mode is adopted, it is desirable to clearly indicate the range with a color, shading, frame, etc. for a paper document or an electronic document.

  One aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention includes notification means for notifying the user that access restriction has been performed. As a notification destination, first, the user who performed printing can be considered. In this case, the fact may be displayed on the screen on which the print instruction is given, or the fact may be printed on the paper document to be outputted or the paper outputted before and after that. Another example of a notification destination is a user who tries to access an electronic document after printing. In this case, it is typically sufficient to display that fact on the screen used by the user. Also, in one aspect of the electronic document management apparatus of the present invention, the notification in the notification means is performed by printing that the access restriction has been performed over the paper document. As a result, not only the user who performed printing but also the third party who received the paper document can immediately recognize that fact.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of an electronic document management system 10 according to the present embodiment. The electronic document management system 10 is an apparatus that manages an electronic document configured by a plurality of hardware. Specifically, the electronic document management system 10 includes a scanner 12, a printer 14, a multifunction device 16, a document storage shared folder 18, and a client PC 20, which are communicably connected via a network 22. .

  The scanner 12 is an apparatus that generates a digital document (typically a raster image) by reading a document (referred to as a paper document) written on a sheet. The printer 14 performs printing on a sheet based on the electronic document. An apparatus for generating a paper document. The multifunction device 16 has at least functions of a scanner and a printer. The document storage shared folder 18 includes a storage device such as a disk array, and stores electronic documents. For the stored electronic document, the scanner 12, the printer 14, the multi-function device 16, or the client PC 20 appropriately encrypts and decrypts the electronic document with a password. In addition, the electronic document is appropriately changed and revised by the scanner 12, the multifunction device 16, and the client PC 20. The client PC 20 is a PC (personal computer) used daily by each user. From the client PC 20, it is possible to give an instruction to print an electronic document stored in the document storage shared folder 18 and various settings of the electronic document management system 10.

  The electronic document management system 10 is typically used for work in which a plurality of users update an electronic document jointly. The electronic document can be updated electronically through the client PC 20 or by using a paper document. In the latter case, the user first selects an electronic document to be updated from the document storage shared folder 18, and generates a paper document using the printer 14 or the printer function of the multifunction device 16. Subsequently, the user corrects the paper document by hand or writes a comment sentence. This paper document is converted into an electronic document by using the scanning function of the scanner 12 or the multifunction device 16. Then, the scanner 12 and the multifunction device 16 obtain the difference from the original electronic document, update the original electronic document, and revise the original electronic document stored in the document storage shared folder 18.

  When a revision work using a paper document is performed, the electronic document stored in the document storage shared folder 18 is updated by an instruction from the client PC 20 between printing and scanning, and the document information of the paper document is updated. And the document information of the electronic document may not be consistent. Therefore, the electronic document is protected with a password so that the electronic update from the client PC 20 and the update printing using the printer 14 or the multifunction device 16 cannot be performed until the scan after printing. That is, the printer 14 and the multifunction device 16 encrypt the electronic document stored in the document storage shared folder 18 at the time of printing, and the scanner 12 and the multifunction device 16 decrypt the electronic document at the time of scanning.

  Next, the flow of electronic document update processing in the electronic document management system 10 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a printing process of a paper document used for updating an electronic document. First, the user operates the client PC 20 to access an electronic document such as a PDF file stored in the document storage shared folder 18 and select an electronic document to be printed (S10). The selection is typically performed by dragging and dropping an electronic document icon onto a direct print utility icon on the desktop of the client PC 20. At this time, the client PC 20 confirms whether or not there is a change authority for the selected electronic document (S12). That is, it is confirmed whether update processing by another user is in progress and whether access restriction such as prohibition of change is not made on the selected electronic document. As a result, when the change authority is not given, the printing with the update setting is not permitted, and the normal printing process is performed (if the user desires) (S14). On the other hand, if the change authority is given, a print instruction is transmitted from the client PC 20 to the printer 14 (S16). That is, the job in which the direct print utility includes a URL as information for identifying the selected electronic document, print setting information such as the number of copies to be printed and paper size, and a security setting instruction for instructing to prohibit changing the electronic document A ticket is generated and transmitted to the printer 14.

  When the printer 14 accepts the print job (S18), it analyzes the job ticket (S20), and acquires the URL, print setting information, and security setting command. Subsequently, the printer 14 analyzes the security setting command and determines whether or not a security setting that restricts the access right for the document change is necessary (S22). As a result, when the change prohibition setting is unnecessary, normal printing processing is performed (S23). On the other hand, when the change prohibition setting is necessary, a unique ID (identification information) that is different for each electronic document and is set for each change prohibition setting is generated (S24). The unique ID is data used as a password as will be described later, and is preferably created so as not to be easily guessed, for example, by using a hash function. The printer 14 encodes the generated unique ID, the URL of the electronic document, and a flag indicating that the change prohibition setting has been performed into a barcode, and generates a barcode image (S26).

  Next, based on the acquired URL, the printer 14 inputs an electronic document to be printed from the document storage shared folder 18 and opens it (S28). Then, a print image is generated by overlaying the barcode image and the annotation text indicating that the change prohibition is set on the input electronic document. The print image is raster format data, and is used for printing and also for comparison with scan results.

  The printer 14 stores this print image as metadata for the electronic document. When the electronic document is a PDF file, the storage is performed according to the PDF specification. Further, the printer 14 performs encryption processing and other security settings for the electronic document using the unique ID as a password (S34). As a result, a third party who does not have the unique ID cannot change the electronic document. If the electronic document has a built-in security function like a PDF file, the security setting can be performed using this function. When these settings are completed, the electronic document is closed (S36). Then, the printer 14 performs printing based on the print image and outputs a paper document (S38).

  Next, a process of updating the original electronic document based on the output paper document will be described with reference to FIG. The user can make various changes such as correction, annotation writing, and stamping on the paper document generated by the processing of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process of reflecting the contents of the changed paper document in the electronic document.

  Here, first, a paper document is scanned by the scanner 12 (S50), and a scanned image that is raster format data is generated. The scanner 12 analyzes this scanned image and detects whether or not an assumed barcode is included (S54). As a result, when the barcode is not included, the new electronic document is registered in the document storage shared folder 18. On the other hand, if a barcode is included, the barcode is analyzed (S58), and the original electronic document unique ID, URL, and information indicating that the change prohibition setting has been performed are acquired. Then, the document storage shared folder 18 is accessed according to the URL, and the original electronic document is opened (S60). When opening, a unique ID is input and writing is enabled. Then, a print image incorporated as metadata is extracted from the opened original electronic document (S62), and a difference image from the scanned image is generated (S64). The difference image represents data changed by the user. Therefore, the electronic document is revised by merging the difference image with the original electronic document (S66). When the electronic document is a PDF file, merging of difference images can be performed using the PDF annotation function. In the revised electronic document, a security setting is made to cancel the prohibition of change and give a normal access right (S68). In addition, the print image previously incorporated as metadata is deleted. When these processes are completed, the printer 14 closes the electronic document (S70) and ends the revision work.

  By performing the series of processes described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the electronic document can be electronically changed or another paper document can be printed after the electronic document is printed until the corresponding paper document is scanned. The process to change by is prohibited. This eliminates the concern that another user will perform change processing before the scan, and prints a paper document for update without knowing that another user is already updating. No worries about starting the update process.

  In the above description, the example using the scanner 12 and the printer 14 is shown, but the same can be implemented using the scan function and the print function of the multifunction machine 16. When the multifunction device 16 is used, it is also effective to store the print image to be used again when generating the difference image in the multifunction device 16 in association with the unique ID. In the example shown here, the operation on the electronic document stored in the document storage shared folder 18 is executed by the scanner 12 or the printer 14 (control unit thereof). In this aspect, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated document management server, and the electronic document management system 10 can be constructed at a low cost. However, of course, it is also effective to provide a separate document management server to manage the entire system including operations on electronic documents. In addition to the exclusive control for the revision work by the paper document as described above, exclusive control for avoiding multiple process conflicts normally performed on the electronic document regardless of the existence of the paper document can be introduced. Needless to say.

  Subsequently, as a modification, an aspect in which the change prohibition period is limited will be described. This technique is useful in that when a printed user does not scan for a long period of time, another user (or the user) can prevent a problem that the electronic document cannot be changed indefinitely.

  In this aspect, the expiration date set by the user at the time of the instruction to print the electronic document or set as the standard is described in the job ticket and sent to the printer. The printer encodes the expiration date information into a barcode to generate a print image, and further stores the expiration date information as metadata in the electronic document. The printer also registers and holds the URL of the printed electronic document, expiration date information, and security setting information in the expiration date list.

  The printer checks the expiration date list at regular intervals to check whether there is an electronic document whose expiration date has passed. If there is an electronic document whose expiration date has passed, the electronic document is accessed based on the held URL, and the security setting is restored to enable the change of the document information. When scanning is performed, the scanner analyzes the barcode of the scanned image and recognizes that an expiration date has been set. Then, the current time is compared with the expiration date, and if it is determined that it is within the expiration date, an electronic document update process is performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the expiration date has passed, the fact that the expiration date has expired is displayed on the operation panel, and the update process is stopped.

  Next, specific examples of an electronic document and a paper document will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a PDF file 30 as an example of an electronic document stored in the document storage shared folder 18. The PDF file 30 has document information in which a plurality of character strings are arranged.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a print document 32 as an example of a print image created based on the PDF file 30 of FIG. The print document 32 is raster image data formed by combining the PDF file 30 and the additional information 34. The additional information 34 includes a barcode 36 and an annotation text 38. The annotation text 38 conveys access right-related information encoded in the barcode 36 to the user, and includes information on the storage location of the PDF 30 and information on the expiration date of exclusive control. Therefore, a user who has a paper document generated by printing the print original 32 can know that the paper document is for updating the electronic document of the server and the expiration date of the update.

  FIG. 6 shows a sheet 40 as an example of a paper document generated by printing the print original 32. A character string 42, a surrounding symbol 44, and a marker 46 are written on the paper 40 by the user.

  A difference document 50 shown in FIG. 7 is an example of a difference image generated from a scan image generated by scanning the paper 40 and the print document 32. Here, as described in FIG. 6, the character string 42, the surrounding symbol 44, and the marker 46 are extracted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a revised PDF file 52. The revised PDF file 52 is created by taking the difference document 50 shown in FIG. 7 into the PDF file 30 shown in FIG. The import is performed by using the annotation import function of the PDF file 30 for the differential document 50 that is raster format data.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of an electronic document management system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of printing based on an electronic document. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the electronic document update by the scanning of a paper document. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of an electronic document. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a printed image. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the paper document in which the annotation was written. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a difference image. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the revised electronic document.

Explanation of symbols

  10 electronic document management system, 12 scanner, 14 printer, 16 multifunction device, 18 document storage shared folder, 20 client PC, 22 network, 30 PDF file, 32 print original, 34 additional information, 36 barcode, 38 annotation text, 40 Paper, 42 Character string, 44 Box symbol, 46 Marker, 50 Difference manuscript, 52 Revised PDF file.

Claims (13)

Acquisition means for acquiring information that a paper document is printed from an electronic document;
Limiting means for limiting access to the electronic document when the information is acquired;
Revision means for obtaining a result of scanning the paper document and revising the electronic document based on the result;
Release means for releasing the access restriction on the revised electronic document;
An electronic document management apparatus comprising: The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the access restriction is a change prohibition of the electronic document performed on a part or all of a user who has a change right. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the access restriction is a prohibition of browsing the electronic document for a part or all of users who have a viewing right. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
The electronic document includes an access protection mechanism,
The access restriction and the cancellation thereof are performed using the access protection mechanism. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 4.
The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the access restriction is released by using a password printed on the paper document together with the electronic document and read by the scan. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 5.
The electronic document management apparatus, wherein the password is created based on information specifying the electronic document. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
An electronic document management apparatus comprising: means for prohibiting revision processing by the revision means and releasing the access restriction when a set period has elapsed. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
The information acquired by the acquisition unit is information indicating that the paper document that can be processed by the revision unit is printed. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
The information acquired by the acquisition means is information indicating that the paper document in which the revision target range is set is printed,
The electronic document management apparatus, wherein the restricting means restricts access to the target range in the electronic document. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1.
An electronic document management apparatus comprising notification means for notifying a user that access is restricted. The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 10,
The electronic document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification in the notification means is performed by printing that the access restriction is performed on the paper document. Against the computer
An acquisition procedure for acquiring information to print a paper document from an electronic document;
A restriction procedure for restricting access to the electronic document when the information is acquired;
A revision procedure for obtaining a result of scanning the paper document and revising the electronic document based on the result;
A release procedure for releasing the access restriction for the revised electronic document;
An electronic document management program characterized in that A method performed by a computer,
An acquisition procedure for acquiring information to print a paper document from an electronic document;
A restriction procedure for restricting access to the electronic document when the information is acquired;
A revision procedure for obtaining a result of scanning the paper document and revising the electronic document based on the result;
A release procedure for releasing the access restriction for the revised electronic document;
An electronic document management method comprising:

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