JP2008009833A - Document management device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly reflect writing to a second electronic document for writing reflection different from a first electronic document of a print object. <P>SOLUTION: In a document server 20, in printing, a receiving part 20a receives a print instruction, a document image generation part 21 generates a document image of the first electronic document, a code image generation part generates a code image containing a medium ID and coordinates, and a transmission part 20b transmits a print instruction of the document image and the code image. Meanwhile, a document generation part 23 generates and stores the second electronic document having the same layout as that of the document image in a document storage part 24, and a management information generation part 25 generates and stores management information for associating the medium ID with a second document ID or the like for identifying the second electronic document in a management information storage part 26. In writing, a document specification part 27 specifies the second electronic document in reference to the management information, a document acquisition part 28 acquires the second electronic document, and a writing addition part 29 adds writing data to the second electronic document. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a document management apparatus and a program.

A technique for adding writing data obtained by digitizing the writing to the electronic document when the writing is performed on the paper surface on which the electronic document is printed is already known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).
In Patent Document 1, an image is formed on a recording medium in which a large number of code symbols including coordinate information and identity information are arranged according to image data generated based on an image source. At that time, the code symbol read from the recording medium is decoded to acquire the identity information, and the identity information is associated with the image source specifying information for specifying the image source. Then, along with the writing operation, writing information is obtained from the recognized coordinate information, and this is added on the data to the image source specified by the image source specifying information associated with the recognized identity information.

  In Patent Document 2, an electronically stored document is printed on a surface having a position coding pattern. Next, the printout surface is edited with means for reading the position coding pattern and pen points for marking the surface. The marking is then transferred to the computer, interpreted within the computer, and the stored document is modified based on the interpretation.

JP 2002-196870 A Special table 2003-528388 gazette

Incidentally, it is not preferable to add writing data for a medium such as paper on which an electronic document is printed to the electronic document itself (original electronic document) from the following points, for example. First, when an original electronic document is shared by a plurality of users, handwritten data added to the electronic document by a certain user can be seen by other users. Second, when the layout is changed when printing the electronic document, the writing data for the medium may not be reflected at an appropriate position on the electronic document.
Further, for example, when displaying the contents of writing performed by a user on a medium on which an electronic document is printed on a display, a system that is easier to use for the user is shorter in time from writing to display. That is, it is preferable that writing can be quickly reflected on the electronic document.

  The present invention has been made under the background as described above, and its purpose is to reflect a writing different from an electronic document for which printing is instructed (hereinafter referred to as a “first electronic document”). This is to enable the writing to be quickly reflected in the electronic document (hereinafter referred to as “second electronic document”).

  A first document management apparatus according to the present invention provides a processing unit that performs processing for printing a first electronic document on a medium, and a medium on which the first electronic document is printed based on the first electronic document. A second electronic document for reflecting written data obtained by digitizing writing is provided with a generation unit that generates in advance so that the written data can be reflected when writing is performed.

Here, the generation unit may generate the second electronic document by converting the first electronic document based on information set when the first electronic document is printed on the medium.
Further, the generation unit may generate the second electronic document by converting the first electronic document into a format in which the content cannot be changed.
On the other hand, the generation unit may generate the second electronic document during the processing by the processing unit.
Further, the generation unit may generate the second electronic document when receiving information indicating that the medium is not yet written.

  The second document management apparatus according to the present invention, based on the first electronic document, a second electronic document for reflecting written data obtained by digitizing the writing on the medium on which the first electronic document is printed, A generation unit that generates in advance so that the writing data can be reflected when writing is performed, an acquisition unit that acquires the second electronic document in response to the acquisition of the writing data, and a second acquired by the acquisition unit Storage means for storing handwritten data in association with the electronic document.

Here, the second document management apparatus holds processing means for performing processing for adding the identification information of the medium to the medium, and management information for specifying the second electronic document by the identification information of the medium. Holding means, and the obtaining means may obtain the second electronic document specified by the identification information of the medium added to the medium with reference to the management information.
The image processing apparatus further includes processing means for performing processing for adding information for specifying the second electronic document to the medium, and the acquiring means acquires the second electronic document specified by the information added to the medium. You may make it do.

  The program according to the present invention has a function of acquiring a first electronic document instructed to be printed on a medium by a computer, and a predetermined process until a user writes on the medium on which the first electronic document is printed. At this point, based on the first electronic document, a function for generating a second electronic document for reflecting written data obtained by digitizing writing on the medium is realized.

Here, the generating function may generate the second electronic document by converting the first electronic document based on information set when the first electronic document is printed on the medium.
On the other hand, the function to be generated may generate a second electronic document when the first electronic document is printed.
The program further causes the computer to realize a function of acquiring the second electronic document and a function of storing the writing data in association with the acquired second electronic document in response to acquisition of the writing data. There may be.
Further, this program further causes the computer to realize a function of generating management information for specifying the second electronic document by the identification information of the medium, and refers to the management information in the function of acquiring the second electronic document. The second electronic document specified by the medium identification information may be acquired.

The invention of claim 1 has an effect that writing can be quickly reflected on a second electronic document different from the first electronic document.
The invention of claim 2 has an effect that writing can be accurately reflected on the second electronic document.
The invention of claim 3 has an effect that the alteration of the second electronic document can be prevented.
The invention of claim 4 is advantageous in that it is not necessary to store all settings at the time of printing.
The invention of claim 5 has the effect that it is possible to eliminate the need to store the second electronic document that does not know whether the writing data is reflected.
The invention of claim 6 has an effect that writing can be quickly reflected on a second electronic document different from the first electronic document.
The invention according to claim 7 has an effect that the correspondence relationship between the medium and the second electronic document can be changed after the first electronic document is printed on the medium.
The invention of claim 8 has the effect that the second electronic document can be quickly acquired based on the information added to the medium.
The invention of claim 9 has an effect that writing can be quickly reflected on a second electronic document different from the first electronic document.
The invention of claim 10 has the effect that the writing can be accurately reflected on the second electronic document.
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the need to store all the settings at the time of printing.
The invention of claim 12 has an effect that writing can be quickly reflected on a second electronic document different from the first electronic document.
The invention of claim 13 has the effect that the correspondence between the medium and the second electronic document can be changed after the first electronic document is printed on the medium.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In this embodiment, a code image is printed on a medium such as paper in addition to a document image obtained by imaging the first electronic document. A code image is an image of an identification code and a position code obtained by encoding identification information and position information. Here, the identification information is information that uniquely identifies the medium, and the position information is information that represents coordinates on the medium.

And in this Embodiment, it writes with the electronic pen with respect to the medium on which such an image was printed. Thereby, handwritten data is generated based on the position information included in the code image. Further, the second electronic document having an image when the first electronic document is printed is specified based on the identification information included in the code image. The identification of the second electronic document can be realized by managing the correspondence between the identification information of the medium and the identification information of the second electronic document.
Then, writing data is added to the specified electronic document.

In this specification, the term “electronic document” is used, but this does not mean only data obtained by digitizing a “document” including text. For example, “electronic document” includes image data such as pictures, photographs, figures, etc. (regardless of raster data or vector data) and other printable electronic data.
As described above, medium identification information is assumed below as identification information included in the code image. Therefore, in the present embodiment, “identification information” simply refers to medium identification information unless otherwise specified.
Further, in the following description, the identification information and the position information are clearly distinguished from each other for the sake of simplicity. However, there is a technique in which different position information for each medium is embedded in a code image, and the medium is identified by the difference in the position information. Therefore, when such a method is adopted, it is assumed that the position information has a function of identifying the medium, and this is considered as identification information.

First, the system configuration in the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration to which the present embodiment is applied. This system is configured by connecting a terminal device 10, a document server 20, an identification information server 30, and an image forming apparatus 40 to a network 90. The system also includes a print document 50 and an electronic pen 60.

The terminal device 10 transmits a print instruction for the first electronic document or transfers information from the electronic pen 60. The terminal device 10 is exemplified by a PC (Personal Computer).
The document server 20 stores an electronic document. The document server 20 has a function of outputting a print command of a composite image obtained by combining a document image and a code image when a print instruction is issued. It also has a function of generating a second electronic document from the first electronic document. It also has a function of associating written data with the second electronic document. The document server 20 can be realized by a general-purpose server computer.

The identification information server 30 manages the identification information given to the medium, and issues the identification information so that there is no duplication in response to an external request. The identification information server 30 can also be realized by a general-purpose server computer.
The image forming apparatus 40 forms an image on a medium. Here, as an image forming method in the image forming apparatus 40, for example, an electrophotographic method can be used, but any other method may be used.
The print document 50 is a medium on which a composite image obtained by combining a document image and a code image is printed.
The electronic pen 60 is a pen device having a function of recording characters or figures on the print document 50. In the present embodiment, the electronic pen 60 also has a mechanism for acquiring information from the code image and transmitting it to another device.

Next, the document server 20 among the components of the system of FIG. 1 will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the document server 20.
As illustrated, the document server 20 includes a receiving unit 20a, a transmitting unit 20b, a document image generating unit 21, and a code image generating unit 22. The document generation unit 23, the document storage unit 24, the management information generation unit 25, and the management information storage unit 26 are provided. Further, a document specifying unit 27, a document acquisition unit 28, and a writing addition unit 29 are provided.

The reception unit 20a receives a print instruction and setting information about printing (hereinafter simply referred to as “setting information”) from the network 90 when printing an electronic document. Then, the first electronic document designated by the print instruction is transferred to the document image generation unit 21, and the setting information is transferred to the document image generation unit 21 and the code image generation unit 22. Here, the setting information includes, for example, paper size, orientation, margin size, N-up designation (designation for assigning N pages of an electronic document to one page of paper), and the like.
In addition, when writing is performed on the medium, the identification information of the medium and the position information on which writing is performed on the medium are received, and these pieces of information are transferred to the document specifying unit 27.

The document image generation unit 21 converts the first electronic document passed from the receiving unit 20a into an image based on the setting information passed from the receiving unit 20a, and generates a document image.
The code image generation unit 22 generates a code image including identification information and position information based on the setting information passed from the reception unit 20a. The code image generation unit 22 can be regarded as an example of a processing unit that performs processing for adding information to a medium.
When printing the electronic document, the transmission unit 20b transmits the document image and the code image to the image forming apparatus 40, and instructs the formation of a composite image obtained by combining these images.
In addition, when writing is performed on the medium, the second electronic document reflecting the writing data is transmitted.
The receiving unit 20a, the document image generating unit 21, the code image generating unit 22, and the transmitting unit 20b can be regarded as an example of a processing unit that performs processing for printing the first electronic document on a medium.

The document generation unit 23 generates a second electronic document having the same layout as the document image generated by the document image generation unit 21 from the first electronic document specified by the print instruction.
The document storage unit 24 stores the second electronic document generated by the document generation unit 23.
The management information generation unit 25 generates management information that associates at least the identification information of the medium embedded in the code image by the code image generation unit 22 and the identification information of the second electronic document generated by the document generation unit 23. .
The management information storage unit 26 stores the management information generated by the management information generation unit 25.

The document specifying unit 27 specifies the second electronic document that is the target for reflecting the writing data based on the identification information passed from the receiving unit 20a.
The document acquisition unit 28 acquires the second electronic document specified by the document specification unit 27 from the document storage unit 24.
The writing addition unit 29 adds writing data to the second electronic document acquired by the document acquisition unit 28.

  These functions are realized by cooperation between software and hardware resources. Specifically, a CPU (not shown) of the document server 20 includes a receiving unit 20a, a document image generating unit 21, a code image generating unit 22, a transmitting unit 20b, a document generating unit 23, a management information generating unit 25, a document specifying unit 27, These functions are realized by reading a program for realizing the document acquisition unit 28 and the writing addition unit 29 from a magnetic disk device into the main memory and executing the program. The document storage unit 24 and the management information storage unit 26 can be realized using a magnetic disk device, for example. Furthermore, the program and data stored in the magnetic disk device may be loaded from a recording medium such as a CD, or may be downloaded via a network such as the Internet.

Next, the operation at the time of printing in this embodiment will be described.
First, the user operates the terminal device 10 to designate a first electronic document to be printed from among the electronic documents stored in the document server 20. As a result, the terminal device 10 transmits the print instruction and setting information of the first electronic document to the document server 20, and the operation of the document server 20 starts.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the document server 20 at this time.
In the document server 20, the receiving unit 20a first receives a print instruction (step 201). Then, the first electronic document designated by the print instruction is read from a storage device (not shown) and transferred to the document image generation unit 21 together with the setting information. The setting information is also passed to the code image generation unit 22.
As a result, the document image generation unit 21 converts the first electronic document into an image and generates a document image (step 202). At that time, the document image is generated in a layout according to the setting information passed from the receiving unit 20a.

On the other hand, the code image generation unit 22 generates a code image (step 203). Here, as described above, two types of information are embedded in the code image.
One is identification information for uniquely identifying a medium. This identification information can be acquired from the identification information server 30 (see FIG. 1). That is, first, the code image generation unit 22 requests the identification information server 30 to give identification information. In response to this, the identification information server 30 extracts unused identification information from the database that manages the identification information, and transmits it to the code image generation unit 22. Here, the number of pieces of identification information to be extracted is determined according to the setting information. In other words, basically, the number of pieces of identification information obtained by multiplying the number of pages to be printed by the number of copies is extracted. However, if there is an N-up designation or the like in the setting information, it is also taken into consideration. For example, when 10 pages of an electronic document are printed in 5 copies with 2-up designation, 25 (= 10 ÷ 2 × 5) pieces of identification information are extracted.
The other is position information for specifying the position on the medium. This is information prepared to represent the coordinates of a range required depending on the size and orientation of the paper included in the setting information.
Details of the code image generation processing will be described later.

Then, the document server 20 transmits the document image and code image of the electronic document to the image forming apparatus 40, and instructs image formation (step 204).
As a result, the image forming apparatus 40 forms a composite image on a medium using, for example, an electrophotographic method, and outputs a print document 50. At this time, the document image is formed using C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) toner, and the code image is formed using K (black) toner.
Thereafter, when the output of the print document 50 is completed, the image forming apparatus 40 transmits a print completion report to the document server 20. Thereby, in the document server 20, the receiving unit 20a receives this print completion report (step 205). Then, it instructs the document image generation unit 21 to send the document image reflecting the setting information to the document generation unit 23. Then, the document image generation unit 21 sends the document image to the document generation unit 23. Then, the document generation unit 23 generates a second electronic document having the same layout as the sent document image, and stores it in the document storage unit 24 (step 206).

  Here, the second electronic document can also be generated by converting the first electronic document into a format whose contents cannot be changed. Examples of the format of the second electronic document include “XDW format” in “DocuWorks” by Fuji Xerox Co., “PDF format” in “Acrobat” by Adobe Systems Inc., USA. When the second electronic document is generated in such a format that the content of the first electronic document cannot be changed, for example, the second electronic document is used by using the “annotation” function in “DocuWorks” of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Written data can be pasted on.

  Next, the management information generation unit 25 acquires medium identification information (medium ID) from the code image generation unit 22. On the other hand, from the document generation unit 23, the identification information (first document ID) of the first electronic document, the page number of the page printed in the first electronic document, and the identification information of the second electronic document ( Second document ID). Then, management information in which these pieces of information are associated with each other is generated and stored in the management information storage unit 26 (step 207).

In the above, the code image is formed using K toner. This is because the K toner has more infrared light absorption than the C, M, and Y toners, and the code image can be read by the electronic pen 60. However, the code image can also be formed using special toner.
Here, as the special toner, an invisible toner having a maximum absorption rate of 7% or less in the visible light region (400 nm to 700 nm) and an absorption rate of 30% or more in the near infrared region (800 nm to 1000 nm) is exemplified. . Here, “visible” and “invisible” are not related to whether they can be recognized visually. “Visible” and “invisible” are distinguished depending on whether or not an image formed on a printed medium can be recognized by the presence or absence of color development due to absorption of a specific wavelength in the visible light region. Further, “invisible” includes those that have some color developability due to absorption of a specific wavelength in the visible light region but are difficult to recognize with human eyes.
The invisible toner preferably has an average dispersion diameter in the range of 100 nm to 600 nm in order to increase the near infrared light absorption capability necessary for machine reading of an image.

Next, the second electronic document and the print document 50 generated by the process of FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 4 shows a first electronic document that is an electronic document to be printed, a second electronic document that is an electronic document for reflecting writing data, and a printed document 50 on which the first electronic document is printed. It is the figure shown by contrast.
In this example, the first electronic document is set to A4 size, and four pages of the first electronic document are output to A4 size paper with 2-up designation.

In this case, processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 3 is as follows.
In other words, the first and second page images of the first electronic document are printed on the medium “P1001” by the processing in steps 201 to 204, and become the first page of the print document 50. In addition, the images of the third page and the fourth page of the first electronic document are printed on the medium “P1002” and become the second page of the print document 50.
In addition, by the processing in step 206, the second electronic document “C1001” including the first page and the second page of the first electronic document, and the second page including the third page and the fourth page of the first electronic document are displayed. The electronic document “C1002” is generated.

  At this time, it is assumed that a coordinate system having the same orientation as the coordinate system on the print document 50 is implicitly set for the second electronic document. That is, as shown in comparison with FIG. 4, in the state where the second electronic document and the printed document 50 are aligned so that the appearance is the same, for example, the upper left point is set as the origin. A coordinate system with the right direction as the X axis and the lower direction as the Y axis is set. Thereby, the coordinate pointed on the print document 50 becomes the coordinate on the second electronic document as it is.

The contents of the management information stored in the management information storage unit 26 in the document server 20 will be specifically described.
FIG. 5 shows an example of this management information.
As shown in the figure, the management information is a correspondence between the first document ID, the page number, the second document ID, and the medium ID.

The first document ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the first electronic document. As the first document ID, information on the storage location of the electronic document (address information) may be employed, or a number unrelated to the address information may be employed. However, in the latter case, it is necessary to separately manage information for acquiring the first electronic document based on the number or the like.
The page number is a number indicating the page of the first electronic document.
The second document ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the second electronic document. As the second document ID, information on the storage location of the electronic document (address information) may be employed, or a number unrelated to the address information may be employed. However, in the latter case, it is necessary to separately manage information for acquiring the second electronic document based on the number or the like.
The medium ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the medium on which the first electronic document is printed.

For example, referring to the management information related to the first electronic document “D101” in FIG. 5, the first and second pages are printed on the medium “P1001”, and the third and fourth pages are printed on the medium “P1002”. It can be seen that it is printed on. It can also be seen that the second electronic document “C1001” including the first and second pages and the second electronic document “C1002” including the third and fourth pages are generated. That is, the state as shown in FIG. 4 is managed using the first document ID, page number, second document ID, and medium ID.
Note that the first document ID and the page number do not necessarily need to be included in the management information if the second electronic document is only specified based on the medium ID. That is, for example, a configuration in which the correspondence relationship between the first document ID, the page number, and the second document ID is separately managed may be employed.

Next, the code pattern that is the basis of the code image generated in the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a code pattern.
First, the bit pattern constituting the code pattern will be described.
FIG. 6A shows an example of bit pattern arrangement.
A bit pattern is the minimum unit of information embedding. Here, as shown in FIG. 6A, bits are arranged at two locations selected from nine locations. In the figure, black squares indicate positions where bits are arranged, and hatched squares indicate positions where bits are not arranged. There are 36 (= ₉ C ₂ ) combinations for selecting 2 locations out of 9 locations. Therefore, 36 kinds (about 5.2 bits) of information can be expressed by such an arrangement method.

By the way, the minimum square shown in FIG. 6A has a size of 2 dots × 2 dots at 600 dpi. Since the size of one dot at 600 dpi is 0.0423 mm, one side of this minimum square is 84.6 μm (= 0.0423 mm × 2). The larger the dots that make up the code pattern, the more likely it is to be noticeable. However, if it is too small, printing with a printer becomes impossible. Therefore, the above value is adopted as the dot size, which is larger than 50 μm and smaller than 100 μm. Thereby, it is possible to form dots of an optimum size that can be printed by the printer. That is, 84.6 μm × 84.6 μm is the minimum size that can be stably formed by the printer.
In addition, by setting the dot to such a size, one side of one bit pattern becomes about 0.5 mm (= 0.0423 mm × 2 × 6).

A code pattern composed of such bit patterns will be described.
FIG. 6B shows an example of the arrangement of code patterns.
Here, the minimum square shown in FIG. 6B corresponds to the bit pattern shown in FIG. In FIG. 6 (a), it has been described that 36 kinds of information can be expressed by one bit pattern. However, in this code pattern, one bit pattern has 32 kinds (5 bits) except for a synchronous code. It shall represent information.

The identification code obtained by encoding the identification information is embedded using 16 (= 4 × 4) bit patterns. Also, the X position code obtained by encoding the position information in the X direction and the Y position code obtained by encoding the position information in the Y direction are each embedded using four bit patterns. Further, a synchronization code for detecting the position and rotation of the code pattern is embedded in the upper left corner using one bit pattern.
Note that the size of one code pattern is approximately 2.5 mm because it is equal to the width of five bit patterns. In the present embodiment, a code image obtained by imaging the code pattern generated in this way is arranged on the entire sheet surface.

Next, processing for encoding identification information and position information and generating a code image from the encoded information will be described. This process is executed by the code image generation unit 22 (see FIG. 2) in step 203 (see FIG. 3).
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining such encoding and image generation processing.
First, encoding of identification information will be described.
For encoding the identification information, an RS (Reed Solomon) code of a block encoding method is used. As described with reference to FIG. 6, in this embodiment, information is embedded using a bit pattern that can represent 5-bit information. Accordingly, since an information error also occurs in units of 5 bits, an RS code having good coding efficiency is used in the block coding method. However, the encoding method is not limited to the RS code, and other encoding methods such as a BCH code can also be used.

As described above, in the present embodiment, information is embedded using a bit pattern having an information amount of 5 bits. Therefore, the block length of the RS code needs to be 5 bits. For this reason, the identification information is divided into blocks of 5 bits. In FIG. 7, the first block “00111” and the second block “01101” are cut out from the identification information “0011101101001...”.
Then, RS coding processing is performed on the identification information that has been blocked. In FIG. 7, after the blocks such as “blk1”, “blk2”, “blk3”, “blk4”,..., RS encoding is performed.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the identification information is divided into 16 (= 4 × 4) blocks. Therefore, the number of code blocks in the RS code can be 16. Further, the number of information blocks can be designed according to an error occurrence state. For example, if the number of information blocks is 8, RS (16, 8) code is obtained. This code can correct even if an error of 4 blocks (= (16−8) / 2) occurs in the encoded information. Moreover, if the position of the error can be specified, the correction capability can be further improved. In this case, the amount of information stored in the information block is 40 bits (= 5 bits × 8 blocks). Therefore, about 1 trillion kinds of identification information can be expressed.

Next, encoding of position information will be described.
For encoding the position information, an M-sequence code, which is a kind of pseudo-random sequence, is used. Here, the M sequence is a sequence of the maximum period that can be generated by a K-stage linear shift register, and has a sequence length of 2 ^K −1. Arbitrary consecutive K bits extracted from the M sequence have a property that they do not appear at other positions in the same M sequence. Therefore, the position information can be encoded by using this property.

By the way, in the present embodiment, a necessary M-sequence order is obtained from the length of position information to be encoded, and an M-sequence is generated. However, if the length of the position information to be encoded is known in advance, it is not necessary to generate the M sequence each time. That is, a fixed M sequence may be generated in advance and stored in a memory or the like.
For example, it is assumed that an M sequence (K = 13) having a sequence length of 8191 is used.
In this case, since the position information is also embedded in units of 5 bits, 5 bits are extracted from the M series having a sequence length of 8191 and blocked. In FIG. 7, the M sequence “11010011011010...” Is divided into blocks of 5 bits.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, different encoding methods are used for position information and identification information. This is because it is necessary to set the detection capability of identification information to be higher than the detection capability of position information. That is, since the position information is information for acquiring the position of the paper surface, even if there is a part that cannot be decoded due to noise or the like, the part is lost and does not affect the other part. On the other hand, if the identification information fails to be decoded, it is impossible to detect a target reflecting the writing information. Further, with such a configuration, it is possible to minimize the image reading range when decoding the position information and the identification information. That is, if an encoding method having a boundary such as an RS code is used for position information, it is necessary to read the code between the boundaries when decoding it, so the image reading range is shown in FIG. The area needs to be twice as large as the area. However, by using the M series, it is possible to have a configuration in which an area having the same size as the area shown in FIG. This is because the position information can be decoded from an arbitrary partial sequence of the M sequence due to the nature of the M sequence. That is, when decoding the identification information and the position information, it is necessary to read the area having the size shown in FIG. 6B, but the read position matches the boundary shown in FIG. 6B. There is no need. The position information can be decoded from a partial series at an arbitrary position of the M series. Since the same information is arranged on the entire surface of the sheet, the original information is restored by rearranging the pieces of read information even if the reading position is shifted from the boundary shown in FIG. 6B. be able to.

  As described above, after the identification information is divided into blocks, it is encoded with an RS code, and when the position information is encoded with an M sequence and then divided into blocks, a block is synthesized as shown in the figure. The That is, these blocks are developed on a two-dimensional plane in the format shown in the figure. The format shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to the format shown in FIG. That is, a black square means a synchronization code. Further, “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”,... Arranged in the horizontal direction represent X position codes, and “1”, “2”, “3”, “ 4 ”,... Mean Y position codes. The position code is indicated by a number corresponding to the coordinate position because different information is arranged if the position of the medium is different. On the other hand, a gray square means an identification code. Since the same information is arranged even if the position of the medium is different, the identification codes are all indicated by the same mark.

By the way, as can be seen from the figure, there are four bit patterns between two synchronization codes. Therefore, 20 (= 5 × 4) -bit M-sequence partial sequences can be arranged. If a 13-bit partial sequence is extracted from the 20-bit partial sequence, it is possible to specify which partial sequence in the whole (8191) the 13 bits are. As described above, when 13 bits out of 20 bits are used for specifying the position, it is possible to detect or correct the extracted 13-bit error using the remaining 7 bits. That is, it is possible to detect and correct an error by confirming the 20-bit consistency by using the same generator polynomial as when the M sequence was generated.
Thereafter, the bit pattern in each block is imaged by referring to the dot image. Then, an output image representing information with dots as shown on the rightmost side of FIG. 7 is generated.

Next, an operation when reflecting handwritten data in an electronic document in the present embodiment will be described. However, in the following description, handwritten data is assumed to be added directly to the electronic document.
First, the electronic pen 60 used to read the writing on the printed document 50 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the mechanism of the electronic pen 60.
As illustrated, the electronic pen 60 includes a control circuit 61 that controls the operation of the entire pen. The control circuit 61 includes an image processing unit 61a that processes a code image detected from an input image, and a data processing unit 61b that extracts identification information and position information from the processing result there.
The control circuit 61 is connected to a pressure sensor 62 that detects a writing operation by the electronic pen 60 by a pressure applied to the pen tip 69. Further, an infrared LED 63 that irradiates infrared light onto the medium and an infrared CMOS 64 that inputs an image are also connected. Further, an information memory 65 for storing identification information and position information, a communication circuit 66 for communicating with an external device, a battery 67 for driving the pen, and pen identification information (pen ID) are stored. A pen ID memory 68 is also connected.

Here, an outline of the operation of the electronic pen 60 will be described.
When writing with the electronic pen 60 is performed, the pressure sensor 62 connected to the pen tip 69 detects the writing operation. Thereby, the infrared LED 63 is turned on, and the infrared CMOS 64 captures an image on the medium by the CMOS sensor.
The infrared LED 63 is pulsed in synchronization with the shutter timing of the CMOS sensor in order to reduce power consumption.
The infrared CMOS 64 uses a global shutter type CMOS sensor that can simultaneously transfer captured images. A CMOS sensor having sensitivity in the infrared region is used. In order to reduce the influence of disturbance, a visible light cut filter is disposed on the entire surface of the CMOS sensor. The CMOS sensor captures an image with a period of about 70 fps to 100 fps (frame per second). Note that the image sensor is not limited to a CMOS sensor, and other image sensors such as a CCD may be used.

When the captured image is input to the control circuit 61, the control circuit 61 acquires a code image from the captured image. Then, it is decoded to obtain identification information and position information embedded in the code image.
Hereinafter, the operation of the control circuit 61 at this time will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control circuit 61.
First, the image processing unit 61a inputs an image (step 601). Then, processing for removing noise included in the image is performed (step 602). Here, the noise includes variations in CMOS sensitivity, noise generated by an electronic circuit, and the like. What processing is performed to remove noise should be determined according to the characteristics of the imaging system of the electronic pen 60. For example, sharpening processing such as blurring processing or unsharp masking can be applied.

Next, the image processing unit 61a detects a dot pattern (the position of the dot image) from the image (step 603). For example, the dot pattern portion and the background portion are separated by binarization processing, and the dot pattern can be detected from each binarized image position. When a binarized image contains a lot of noise components, for example, it is necessary to combine a filter process for determining a dot pattern based on the area and shape of the binarized image.
In addition, the image processing unit 61a converts the detected dot pattern into digital data on a two-dimensional array (step 604). For example, on a two-dimensional array, a position where there is a dot is converted to “1”, and a position where there is no dot is converted to “0”. Then, the digital data on this two-dimensional array is transferred from the image processing unit 61a to the data processing unit 61b.

Next, the data processing unit 61b detects a bit pattern composed of a combination of two dots shown in FIG. 6A from the received digital data (step 605). For example, the bit pattern can be detected by moving the boundary position of the block corresponding to the bit pattern on the two-dimensional array and detecting the boundary position so that the number of dots included in the block is two. .
When the bit pattern is detected in this way, the data processing unit 61b detects the synchronization code by referring to the type of the bit pattern (step 606). Then, the identification code and the position code are detected based on the positional relationship from the synchronization code (step 607).
Thereafter, the data processing unit 61b decodes the identification code to obtain identification information, and decodes the position code to obtain position information (step 608). About an identification code, identification information is obtained by performing RS decoding process. On the other hand, for the position code, position information is obtained by comparing the position of the read partial series with the M series used at the time of image generation.

Thereafter, the electronic pen 60 transmits the identification information (medium ID) and position information (coordinates) acquired in this way to the terminal device 10. Thereby, the terminal device 10 transmits the medium ID and the coordinates to the document server 20, and the operation of the document server 20 starts.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the document server 20 at this time.
In the document server 20, the receiving unit 20a first receives the medium ID and coordinates (step 221). Then, these pieces of information are transferred to the document specifying unit 27. Then, the document identification unit 27 refers to the management information stored in the management information storage unit 26 and acquires the second document ID based on the medium ID (step 222). That is, the second electronic document corresponding to the written medium is specified. Then, the document identification unit 27 passes the second document ID and coordinates to the document acquisition unit 28. Thereby, the document acquisition unit 28 reads out the second electronic document specified by the second document ID from the document storage unit 24 (step 223). Then, the document acquisition unit 28 passes the read second electronic document and coordinates to the writing addition unit 29.

As a result, the writing adding unit 29 adds writing data composed of coordinates to the second electronic document and writes it back into the document storage unit 24 (step 224).
Then, the writing adding unit 29 passes the second electronic document to which the writing data is added to the transmitting unit 20b, and the transmitting unit 20b transmits the second electronic document to, for example, the terminal device 10 (step 225).
Various timings for reflecting the writing data in the electronic document are conceivable. For example, when the electronic pen 60 leaves the paper, when writing with the electronic pen 60 moves to another page, when a certain period of time has elapsed since the last writing with the electronic pen 60, and the like.

Next, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 will be described using a specific example.
Here, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that the width of the A4 sheet in the short direction is 210 and the width in the long direction is 296. In this state, it is assumed that the point (222, 105) in the medium “P1002” shown in FIG.
In that case, processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 is as follows.
First, in step 221, the receiving unit 20a receives the medium ID “P1002” and the coordinates (222, 105).

Next, in step 222, the document specifying unit 27 specifies the second electronic document “C1002” as a target to reflect the writing data, and in step 223, the document acquiring unit 28 reads it.
In step 224, the writing addition unit 29 adds writing data to the position of the point (222, 105) in the second electronic document “C1002”. In step 225, the transmission unit 20b adds the writing data. The second electronic document “C1002” is transmitted to the terminal device 10, for example.
With the above processing, the second electronic document is in a state as shown in FIG. Here, a black square indicates a portion to which writing data is added.

Finally, the hardware configuration of the document server 20 in the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the document server 20.
As shown in the figure, the document server 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 that is a calculation means, a main memory 102 that is a storage means, and a magnetic disk device (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) 103. Here, the CPU 101 executes various types of software such as an OS (Operating System) and applications to realize the above-described functions. The main memory 102 is a storage area for storing various software and data used for execution thereof, and the magnetic disk device 103 is a storage area for storing input data for various software, output data from various software, and the like. .
Furthermore, the document server 20 includes a communication I / F 104 for performing communication with the outside, a display mechanism 105 including a video memory and a display, and an input device 106 such as a keyboard and a mouse.

This is the end of the description of the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which a second electronic document for reflecting written data is generated from the first electronic document to be printed at the time of printing. On the other hand, a configuration in which the second electronic document is not generated at the time of printing but is generated at the time of writing is also conceivable.
However, in the present embodiment, the former configuration is employed for the following reason, and the latter configuration is not employed.

That is, when the first electronic document is printed with its layout changed, it is necessary to refer to the setting information regarding the layout in order to convert the position on the print document 50 to the position on the electronic document. However, since there are a wide variety of setting information at the time of printing, the process of temporarily saving the setting information and using it to convert the position on the print document 50 to the position on the electronic document is very complicated. turn into. As a result, the time lag from when the user writes in the print document 50 until the written content is displayed on the display on the PC increases. For example, when the area corresponding to the first page and the area corresponding to the second page of the electronic document are alternately written on the paper printed with the 2-up designation, the page switching process is performed. It occurs many times and takes time especially for processing.
Furthermore, if the resolution of the pen is increased and finer handwriting input is to be performed, conversion takes time with limited hardware resources. Therefore, one of the reasons is that it is necessary to store a large amount of read data.

  However, for the purpose of improving the processing speed at the time of writing, the timing for generating the second electronic document from the first electronic document does not need to be when the first electronic document is printed. The second electronic document only needs to be created in advance so that the written data can be reflected when written by the user. Alternatively, the second electronic document may be created at a predetermined time until the user writes on the medium. Normally, the system cannot know when the writing is made after the print document 50 is output. Therefore, a signal indicating that writing is not performed on the printed document 50, for example, that writing is to be started is transmitted to the system, and a second electronic document is generated when the signal is received. You may do it.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the second electronic document is generated with the same layout as when the first electronic document is printed. However, it is not necessary to have the exact same layout. Even if there is a slight difference between the layout when the first electronic document is printed and the layout of the second electronic document, complicated conversion processing is required due to the difference when the user writes on the medium. If not, it ’s good. For example, the configuration may require a conversion process that is about the enlargement / reduction.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the medium ID is included in the code image, printed on the medium, and the correspondence between the medium ID and the second document ID is managed by the management information, so that the second from the medium ID. It became possible to identify the electronic document. However, the second document ID may be directly included in the code image. In this case, the second electronic document is directly accessed based on the second document ID acquired from the code image without referring to the management information.

  Furthermore, the present embodiment has been described on the assumption that handwritten data is directly added to the second electronic document. However, the configuration may be such that the attribute information (link information or the like) of the second electronic document is associated with the handwritten data on the database. Or it is good also as a structure which hold | maintains integrally the attribute information and writing data of a 2nd electronic document as a file. That is, any technique can be used as long as it is a technique in which the writing data and the second electronic document are associated with each other and the second electronic document and the writing data can be superimposed and displayed as necessary.

By the way, in the above description, all of the generation of the document image and the code image, the generation of the second electronic document from the first electronic document, and the storage of the management information in which the medium ID and the second document ID are associated with each other are performed. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this configuration.
For example, electronic document data, identification information, position information, and the like are transmitted from the document server 20 to the image forming apparatus 40 as a page description language (PDL), and the image forming apparatus 40 generates a document image and a code image. May be. Further, the identification information server 30 may not only pay out the requested identification information but also hold management information in which the identification information is associated with the electronic document.

  Furthermore, the process of generating the second electronic document from the first electronic document can also be performed by an application or printer driver that instructs printing. That is, in this case, the terminal device 10 has a function of generating the second electronic document. Alternatively, a configuration in which the image forming apparatus 40 has a function of generating the second electronic document may be employed.

It is the figure which showed the system configuration | structure with which embodiment of this invention is applied. It is the block diagram which showed the function structure of the document server in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement at the time of the printing of the document server in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the 2nd electronic document produced | generated by the process of the document server in embodiment of this invention, and the print document output. It is the figure which illustrated management information generated by processing of a document server in an embodiment of the invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the code pattern produced | generated by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the encoding of the information in the embodiment of this invention, and the production | generation of a code image. It is the figure which showed the mechanism of the electronic pen in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed operation | movement of the electronic pen in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement at the time of reflecting writing data of the document server in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the 2nd electronic document in which writing data was reflected by processing of a document server in an embodiment of the invention. It is the block diagram which showed the hardware constitutions of the document server in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal device, 20 ... Document server, 30 ... Identification information server, 40 ... Image forming apparatus, 50 ... Print document, 60 ... Electronic pen, 90 ... Network

Claims (13)

Processing means for performing processing for printing the first electronic document on a medium;
Based on the first electronic document, the second electronic document for reflecting the written data obtained by digitizing the writing on the medium on which the first electronic document has been printed is reflected when the writing is made. A document management apparatus comprising: a generation unit that generates in advance so that handwritten data can be reflected.   2. The generation unit according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the second electronic document by converting the first electronic document based on information set when the first electronic document is printed on the medium. Document management device.   The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the second electronic document by converting the first electronic document into a format in which the content cannot be changed.   The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the second electronic document during the processing by the processing unit.   The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the second electronic document when receiving information indicating that the medium is not yet written. Based on the first electronic document, when the second electronic document for reflecting the written data obtained by digitizing the writing on the medium on which the first electronic document is printed, the written data when the writing is made Generation means for generating in advance so that can be reflected,
An acquisition means for acquiring the second electronic document in response to acquisition of the writing data;
A document management apparatus comprising: storage means for storing the writing data in association with the second electronic document acquired by the acquisition means. Processing means for performing processing for adding identification information of the medium to the medium;
Holding means for holding management information for specifying the second electronic document by identification information of the medium;
The document management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the second electronic document specified by identification information of the medium added to the medium with reference to the management information. Processing means for performing processing for adding information for specifying the second electronic document to the medium;
The document management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the second electronic document specified by information added to the medium. On the computer,
A function of acquiring a first electronic document instructed to be printed on a medium;
Based on the first electronic document, the writing data obtained by digitizing the writing on the medium is reflected at a predetermined time point until the user performs writing on the medium on which the first electronic document is printed. A program for realizing a function of generating a second electronic document for causing   10. The generating function generates the second electronic document by converting the first electronic document based on information set when the first electronic document is printed on the medium. The listed program.   The program according to claim 9, wherein the generating function generates the second electronic document when the first electronic document is printed. A function of acquiring the second electronic document in response to acquisition of the writing data;
The program according to claim 9, further causing the computer to realize a function of storing the writing data in association with the acquired second electronic document. Allowing the computer to further realize a function of generating management information for specifying the second electronic document by identification information of the medium;
13. The program according to claim 12, wherein the function of acquiring the second electronic document refers to the management information and acquires the second electronic document specified by the identification information of the medium.

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