JP2008017003A - Data management apparatus, data management method, and data management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve efficiency of an operations for processing data that are not processed yet. <P>SOLUTION: An MFP includes: a data receiving section 10 for receiving data and storing the data to a HDD 116; an attribute information storage section 20 for associating the received data with sender identification information for identifying a sender for transmitting the data; a processing execution section 30 for processing at least one of the stored data; a history information generating section 40 for generating history information; a priority provision section 52 for providing priority to the sender identification information on the basis of the history information; and a sorting section 51 for sorting the data whose processing is not executed by the processing execution section 30 among the stored data according to the priority provided to the sender identification information and displaying the sorted data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a data management device, a data management method, and a data management program, and more particularly to a data management device, a data management method, and a data management program suitable for storing received data and instructing data to be processed later.

  In recent years, with the development of network technology, data transmission / reception is frequently performed using technology such as file transfer. The receiving apparatus stores the received data, and executes processing such as display, printing, or transfer on the stored data in accordance with an instruction input by the user. As the number of times of receiving data increases, the number of instructions for causing the user to execute processing on the received data increases. For this reason, a lot of time is required to instruct the process to be executed on the data received by the user.

  On the other hand, a document management apparatus that organizes stored data is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-32388. In this document management apparatus, an operation history of a document by the document operation apparatus is stored in an operation history information storage unit, and the systematization processing unit organizes a document group based on the operation history information. According to this document management apparatus, the systematized information is displayed as an image on the display device of the document operation apparatus, so that the user can easily grasp the general usage status of the document group.

However, since the conventional document management apparatus systematizes documents based on the operation history of documents in the past, it is systematized only for documents that have been operated in the past. For this reason, when the received data is newly added as a document, there is a problem that the document cannot be managed because it is not systematized.
JP 2002-32388 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a data management apparatus that improves the efficiency of operations for processing unprocessed data. is there.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a data management method in which an operation for processing data not yet processed is made efficient.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data management program that improves the efficiency of operations for processing data that has not yet been processed.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a data management device receives data and stores data in a storage unit, received data, and a transmission source that has transmitted the data An association means for associating with the transmission source identification information for identifying the data, a process execution means for executing processing on at least one of the stored data and generating history information, and transmitting based on the history information Priority order assigning means for assigning priorities to the original identification information; and display means for displaying data that has not been processed by the process execution means among the stored data in accordance with the priorities assigned to the source identification information. .

  According to this aspect, history information of processing executed on at least one of stored data is generated, and priority is given to transmission source identification information based on the history information. The stored data that has not been processed is displayed according to the priority assigned to the transmission source identification information associated therewith. Therefore, it is possible to provide a data management apparatus in which an operation for processing data that has not yet been processed is made efficient.

  Preferably, the priority order assigning means calculates the number of times of processing executed for each stored data, and executes the number of processing times for each transmission source identification information, and sets the priority order as destination information based on the number of processing items. Give.

  Preferably, the priority order assigning means includes a history information extracting means for extracting history information within a predetermined range when the process is executed, and a process execution count calculated for each stored data for each transmission source identification information. An average execution number calculating means for calculating an average average execution number, and a priority order is given to the destination information based on the average execution number.

  Preferably, the process execution means generates history information including process identification information for identifying a process executed among a plurality of types of processes, and the priority order assigning means applies to the process identification information included in the history information. The priority assigned in advance is assigned to the transmission source identification information associated with the data corresponding to the history information.

  Preferably, the priority order assigning means includes history information extracting means for extracting history information within a predetermined range when the process is executed, and destination identification information based on the history information extracted by the history information extracting means. A process-by-process execution count totaling unit that counts the number of process executions executed for each process, and a process having the highest priority among the plurality of processes that has a process execution count equal to or greater than a threshold value Is given to the transmission source identification information.

  Preferably, the priority order assigning means includes history information extracting means for extracting history information that is closest to the time when any of a plurality of types of processing is executed among the history information corresponding to the data associated with the transmission source identification information. In addition.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a data management method includes a step of receiving and storing data, and a step of associating the stored data with transmission source identification information for identifying a transmission source that has transmitted the data. A step of executing processing on at least one of the stored data to generate history information, a step of assigning priority to the transmission source identification information based on the history information, and transmission source identification information Displaying data that has not yet been processed among stored data in accordance with the assigned priority order.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a data management method in which an operation for processing data that has not yet been processed is made efficient.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the data management program receives and stores data, and associates the stored data with transmission source identification information for identifying a transmission source that has transmitted the data. A step of executing processing on at least one of the stored data to generate history information, a step of assigning priority to the transmission source identification information based on the history information, and transmission source identification information In accordance with the assigned priority order, the computer is caused to execute a step of displaying data that has not yet been processed among stored data.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a data management program that improves the efficiency of operations for processing data that has not yet been processed.

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of a data processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a data processing system 1 includes MFPs (Multis) each connected to a network 2.
Function Peripheral) 100, 101, 102, and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 200.

  The network 2 is a local area network (LAN), and the connection form may be wired or wireless. The network 2 is not limited to a LAN, and may be a network using a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a public switched telephone network, or the like.

  The PC 200 is a general computer, and a printer driver program for controlling the MFPs 100, 101, and 102 is installed. When the types of MFPs 100, 101, and 102 are different, three types of printer driver programs for controlling MFPs 100, 101, and 102 are installed in PC 200, respectively.

  Each of MFPs 100, 101, and 102 includes a scanner device for reading a document, an image forming device for forming an image on a recording medium such as paper based on image data, and a facsimile device. It has a transmission / reception function. In this embodiment, MFPs 100, 101, and 102 will be described as an example. However, instead of MFPs 100, 101, and 102, any device having a function of processing data can be used, for example, a scanner device or an image forming device. A facsimile machine, a computer, or the like. Further, since the MFPs 100, 101, and 102 have the same function, the MFP 100 will be described as an example in the following description unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of the functions of the MFP. Referring to FIG. 2, MFP 100 includes a main circuit 110, a document reading unit 130 for reading a document, an automatic document feeder 120 for transporting a document to document reading unit 130, and a document reading unit 130. An image forming unit 140 for forming an image on a sheet or the like based on image data output by reading the image, a sheet feeding unit 150 for supplying the image forming unit 140 with a sheet, an operation panel 160 as a user interface, including. The main circuit 110 includes a CPU 111, a communication interface (I / F) unit 112, a ROM 113, a RAM 114, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM) 115, a hard disk drive (HDD) 116 as a mass storage device, A facsimile unit 117 and a card interface (I / F) 118 to which a flash memory 118A is attached are included. CPU 111 is connected to automatic document feeder 120, document reading unit 130, image forming unit 140, sheet feeding unit 150, and operation panel 160, and controls the entire MFP 100.

  The ROM 113 stores a program executed by the CPU 111 or data necessary for executing the program. The RAM 114 is used as a work area when the CPU 111 executes a program. The RAM 114 temporarily stores read data (image data) continuously sent from the document reading unit 130.

  Operation panel 160 includes a display unit 160A and an operation unit 160B. The display unit 160A is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic ELD, and displays an instruction menu for a user, information about acquired image data, and the like. The operation unit 160B includes a plurality of keys, and accepts input of various instructions, data such as characters and numbers by user operations corresponding to the keys. Operation unit 160B further includes a touch panel provided on display unit 160A.

  Communication I / F unit 112 is an interface for connecting MFP 100 to network 2. The CPU 111 communicates with the PC 200 via the communication I / F unit 112 to transmit / receive data.

  The facsimile unit 117 is connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and transmits facsimile data to the PSTN or receives facsimile data from the PSTN. The facsimile unit 117 stores the received facsimile data in the HDD 116 or outputs it to the image forming unit 140. The image forming unit 140 prints the facsimile data received by the facsimile unit 117 on a sheet. Further, the facsimile unit 117 converts the data stored in the HDD 116 into facsimile data, and transmits the facsimile data to a facsimile apparatus connected to the PSTN.

  The card I / F 118 is mounted with a flash memory 118A. The CPU 111 can access the flash memory 118A via the card I / F 118. The CPU 111 loads the data transmission program recorded in the flash memory 118A attached to the card I / F 118 into the RAM 114 and executes it. The program executed by the CPU 111 is not limited to the data transmission program recorded in the flash memory 118A, and the data transmission program stored in the HDD 116 may be loaded into the RAM 114 and executed. In this case, another computer connected to the network 2 may rewrite the data transmission program stored in the HDD 116 of the MFP 100, or may add and write a new data transmission program. Further, MFP 100 may download a data transmission program from another computer connected to network 2 and store the data transmission program in HDD 116. The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 111 but also a source program, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  In data processing system 1 in the present embodiment, data is transmitted and received between MFPs 100, 101, 102 and PC 200. As a protocol for transmitting and receiving data, any protocol can be used as long as the transmission source can be specified in the receiving apparatus. As a protocol for transmitting and receiving data, for example, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMPT (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP (Post OFFICE Protocol), and the like are used.

  HDD 116 provided in MFP 100 according to the present embodiment has a storage area (hereinafter referred to as “user box”) allocated in advance for each user. The MFP 100 stores the received data in the user box assigned to the user who is the destination of the data. Thereby, the data received from the outside by the communication protocol mentioned above can be delivered to the transmission destination user. When the destination user logs in to MFP 100, MFP 100 permits the logged-in user to access the user box assigned to the user. The logged-in user can execute processing such as display, printing, or transmission on the data delivered to the user by accessing the user box.

  The user who logs in to MFP 100 can also deliver data to another user by storing the data in user BOX assigned to another user. In this case, the logged-in user becomes the transmission source user, and the user assigned the user box designated by the transmission source user becomes the transmission destination user. The data in this case includes image data that the document reading unit 130 reads and outputs a document, and data stored in the HDD 116. Thus, in the present embodiment, data can be delivered to another user by storing the data in the user BOX. Therefore, data transmission / reception in the present embodiment includes processing for storing data in the user BOX.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of the CPU 111 provided in the MFP 100 together with data stored in the HDD 116. Here, functions that the CPU 111 has when executing the data management program are shown. Referring to FIG. 3, CPU 101 stores data receiving unit 10 that receives data input from the outside, attribute information storage unit 20 that stores attribute information of the received data in HDD 116, and is stored in HDD 116 according to a user instruction. A data list for displaying a data list in which data identification information of unprocessed data is arranged, a process execution unit 30 for processing the processed data, a history information generation unit 40 for generating history information in response to the execution of the process Display unit 50.

  The data receiving unit 10 receives input data and stores the received data in the HDD 116. The data receiving unit 10 receives data from the communication I / F 112, the facsimile unit 117, the document reading unit 130, or the HDD 116. The communication I / F 112 receives data from any of the other MFPs 101 and 102 and the PC 105, receives an e-mail from an e-mail server connected to the network 2, or a case where the network 2 is connected to the Internet. When receiving data from a computer connected to the Internet, the received data is output to the CPU 111. When the facsimile unit 117 receives facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile apparatus, the facsimile unit 117 outputs the received facsimile data to the CPU 111. In addition, the document reading unit 130 outputs image data output by reading the document to the CPU 111. When the user operates the operation unit 160B and designates data stored in the HDD 116, the HDD 116 outputs the designated data to the CPU 111.

  When the data reception unit 10 receives the transmission destination identification information for identifying the transmission destination of the data together with the received data, the data received by the user BOX assigned to the user identification information of the transmission destination identification information Is stored. When the data reception unit 10 does not receive the transmission destination identification information for identifying the transmission destination of the data together with the received data, the transmission destination is the MFP 100 itself. For example, the facsimile data addressed to the facsimile number assigned to the MFP 100 is received. In this case, the data receiving unit 10 stores the received data in the shared BOX assigned to the HDD 116. Shared BOX is an area accessible to all users of MFP 100.

  When the data receiving unit 10 receives data, the attribute information storage unit 20 stores attribute information related to the data in the HDD 116. The communication I / F 112 or the facsimile unit 117 receives transmission source identification information for identifying the transmission source that has transmitted the data together with the data. The attribute information storage unit 20 generates attribute information including the transmission source identification information in response to the data reception unit 10 receiving the data, associates the attribute information with the data 61 received together with the transmission source identification information, and the HDD 116. To remember. As a result, the attribute information 63 is stored in the HDD 116.

  Further, when the data receiving unit 10 receives data from the document reading unit 130 or the HDD 116, the attribute information storage unit 20 receives user identification information for identifying a user who has logged into the MFP 100 as transmission source identification information, and transmits the source identification information. Attribute information including information is generated, and the attribute information is associated with data received from the document reading unit 130 or the HDD 116 and stored in the HDD 116.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of attribute information. Referring to FIG. 4, the attribute information includes data identification information, transmission source identification information, and reception date and time. The data identification information is information for identifying the data 61 stored by the data receiving unit 10, and a file name is used here. The transmission source identification information is user identification information for identifying a user who has instructed transmission of data. Here, the case where a user name is used for user identification information is demonstrated. The transmission source identification information may be information that can identify the transmission source, and may be device identification information for identifying a device that has transmitted data in addition to the user identification information. The e-mail address of the e-mail sender may be used.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the process execution unit 30 executes the process on the data 61 stored in the HDD 116 in accordance with an instruction input by the user to the operation unit 160 </ b> B. When the user inputs an instruction to select data and processing content to the operation unit 160B, the process execution unit 30 receives an instruction to select data and an instruction to select the processing content from the operation unit 160B. The process execution unit 30 includes a display processing unit 31, a print processing unit 32, and a transmission processing unit 33. When the processing content for displaying data is instructed, display processing unit 31 reads data 61 specified by the instruction for selecting data from HDD 116 and displays it on display unit 160A. When the processing content for printing the data is instructed, the print processing unit 32 reads the data 61 specified by the data selection instruction from the HDD 116, outputs the data 61 to the image forming unit 140, and the image forming unit 140. To form an image based on the data 61. When the processing content for transmitting data is instructed, the transmission processing unit 33 reads data 61 specified by the data selection instruction from the HDD 116 and transmits it. The instruction content for transmitting data includes a transmission method for transmitting data and information for specifying a transmission destination. When FTP is specified as the transmission method, the transmission processing unit 33 controls the communication I / F 112 to transmit the data 61 according to the FTP to the transmission destination included in the instruction content, and the facsimile transmission is specified as the transmission method. In the case where the facsimile unit 117 is controlled, the data 61 is transmitted to the facsimile number included in the instruction content, and when the e-mail is specified as the transmission method, the e-mail including the data 61 and included in the instruction content is transmitted. An e-mail addressed to the address is generated, the I communication / F unit 112 is controlled, and the generated e-mail is transmitted to the e-mail server.

  The history information generation unit 40 generates history information related to the data 61 processed by the process execution unit 30 and represents a history related to the executed process, and stores the generated history information in the HDD 116. Thereby, the history information 65 is stored in the HDD 116. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of history information. The history information includes data identification information, processing identification information, and processing date and time. The data identification information is information for identifying the data 61 processed by the process execution unit 30, and a file name is used here. The process identification information is information for identifying the process content processed by the process execution unit 30. Here, the process identification information is any one of display, printing, and transmission. The processing date and time is the date and time when the process execution unit 30 processes the data 61.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the data list display unit 50 gives priority to the transmission destination identification information based on the history information 65 stored in the HDD 116, and unprocessed data among the data 61 is used as the transmission destination identification information. Display according to the assigned priority. The data list display unit 50 includes a priority order assigning unit 52 and a rearrangement unit 51. The priority level assigning unit 52 reads the history information 65 from the HDD 116, and obtains the average number of history information with the same data identification information for each source identification information. That is, an average of the number of times processing has been performed on one piece of data for each source identification information (hereinafter referred to as “average number of executions”) is calculated. The average number of execution times is the average of the number of times processing has been performed on the data received from the transmission source identified by the corresponding transmission source identification information, so unprocessed data identified by the same transmission source identification information It can be predicted that the average number of executions will be executed. The priority assigning unit 52 assigns priorities to the transmission source identification information in descending order of the average number of executions, and outputs the priorities to the rearrangement unit 51.

  The rearrangement unit 51 reads the attribute information stored in the HDD 116, rearranges the attribute information in accordance with the priority assigned to the transmission source identification information, and displays the data identification information. As a result, data identification information for identifying unprocessed data is displayed in descending order of the average number of executions. If the average number of executions is large, it is expected that the probability of instructing the user as data to be processed is high, so that the user can efficiently select unprocessed data from the received data, and work efficiency Will improve.

  Note that when the history information 65 is read from the HDD 116, the priority level assigning unit 52 may extract the history information associated with the data received in a predetermined period from the history information 65 and read it. The predetermined period may be arbitrarily determined, but a period that is a predetermined number of days back from the current date and time is preferable. This is because the average number of executions may change with the passage of the period, and therefore it may be preferable to calculate based on the past past results. For example, data is frequently transmitted / received to / from a certain user before a certain negotiation is established, but the number of times of data transmission / reception may be reduced after the negotiation is established. In addition, after the negotiation is completed, data may be frequently transmitted and received in order to establish the negotiation with another user.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of data management processing executed by the CPU 111. The data management process is a process executed by the CPU 111 when the CPU 111 executes a data management program. Referring to FIG. 6, CPU 111 determines whether or not data has been accepted (step S01). If data is accepted, the process proceeds to step S02; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S04. CPU 111 accepts data from communication I / F 112, facsimile unit 117, document reading unit 130 or HDD 116. Specifically, when the communication I / F 112 receives data from any of the other MFPs 101 and 102 and P200 connected to the network, the CPU 111 receives the data received from the communication I / F 112. In addition, when the facsimile unit 117 receives facsimile data from another facsimile apparatus, the CPU 111 accepts the received facsimile data from the facsimile unit 117. Further, the CPU 111 accepts image data output from the original reading unit 130 by reading the original. Further, when the user operates operation unit 160 </ b> B and designates data stored in HDD 116, CPU 111 accepts the designated data from HDD 116.

  In step S02, attribute information relating to the received data is generated. Specifically, when the communication I / F 112 or the facsimile unit 117 receives data, the CPU 111 receives the transmission source identification information received together with the data by the communication I / F 112 or the facsimile unit 117, and includes an attribute including the transmission source identification information. Generate information. Further, when receiving data from document reading unit 130 or HDD 116, CPU 111 receives user identification information for identifying a user who has logged into MFP 100 as transmission source identification information, and generates attribute information including transmission source identification information.

  In the next step S03, the data received in step S01 and the attribute information generated in step S02 are stored in the HDD 116. When the CPU 111 receives the transmission destination identification information together with the received data, the CPU 111 stores the received data in the user box assigned to the user identification information of the transmission destination identification information, and does not receive the transmission destination identification information together with the received data. In this case, the received data is stored in the shared BOX assigned to the HDD 116.

  In step S04, it is determined whether a list display instruction is accepted. CPU 111 accepts a list display instruction by detecting pressing of a predetermined button on operation unit 160B. For example, a button corresponding to the list display instruction is provided on the operation unit 160B in order for the user of the MFP 100 to accept an operation for accessing the user BOX or the shared BOX. If CPU 111 accepts the list display instruction, the process proceeds to step S05, and if not, the process ends. In step S05, it is determined whether or not history information is stored. If history information is stored in HDD 116, the process proceeds to step S06; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S08. In step S06, priority assignment processing is executed, list display processing is executed in next step S07, and the process proceeds to step S09. Although the priority assignment process and the list display process will be described later, the list display process is a process of arranging the data identification information according to the priority order given by the priority order assignment process and displaying the data identification information on the display unit 160A. On the other hand, in step S08, among the user BOX and shared BOX assigned to HDD 116, the data identification information of the data stored in the area to be subjected to the list display process accepted in step S04 is rearranged in a predetermined order. Display, and the process proceeds to step S09. For example, the data identification information is arranged in order from the oldest reception date and time when the data is received and displayed on the display unit 160A.

  In step S09, it is determined whether any of the data identification information displayed on display unit 160A has been selected. If any is selected, the process proceeds to step S10, and if not selected, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S10, it is determined whether an instruction for executing the process has been accepted. If a process execution instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to step S11; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S11, the data of the data identification information selected in step S09 is processed in accordance with the accepted process execution instruction. Here, the process execution instruction is one of a process for displaying data, a process for printing data, and a process for transmitting data. The transmission process includes a process of storing data in another user's BOX.

  In step S12, history information corresponding to the process executed in step S11 is generated, and the process proceeds to step S13. The history information includes data identification information for identifying data that has been processed, process identification information for identifying the performed process, and the date and time when the process was performed. Then, the generated history information is stored in the HDD 116 (step S13).

  In step S14, it is determined whether an end instruction has been accepted. CPU 111 accepts an end instruction by detecting pressing of a predetermined button on operation unit 160B. For example, the button corresponding to the end instruction is provided on the operation unit 160B so that the user of the MFP 100 accepts an operation of logging out. If CPU 111 receives an end instruction, CPU 111 ends the process. If not, the process returns to step S09.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of priority order assignment processing. This priority order assigning process is a process executed in step S06 in FIG. Referring to FIG. 7, CPU 111 reads history information 65 stored in HDD 116 (step S21). Then, history information whose reception date and time is within a predetermined period is extracted from the read history information 65 (step S22). The predetermined period is a period that goes back a predetermined number of days from the current date and time. This is because, by using the data received from the current date and time before the predetermined period as the base data for determining the priority order, the priority order most suitable for the current situation is given.

  In the next step S23, one of the transmission source identification information included in the extracted history information is set as a processing target. Then, history information including transmission source identification information set as a processing target is further extracted from the extracted history information (step S24). Then, the number of history information is tabulated for each data identification information included in the extracted history information (step S25). As a result, the number of times processing is executed for each piece of data identification information with respect to the transmission source identification information set as the processing target in step S23 (hereinafter referred to as “processing execution count”) is calculated.

  In the next step S26, the average of the process execution counts for each data identification information calculated in step S5 is calculated as the average process execution count, and the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, it is determined whether there is unprocessed history information. If unprocessed history information exists, the process returns to step S23, and if not, the process proceeds to step S28. Therefore, when the process proceeds to step S <b> 28, an average process execution count corresponding to each of the transmission source identification information is calculated. In step S28, the higher priority is assigned to the transmission source identification information in the descending order of the average process execution count.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of list display processing. The list display process is a process executed in step S07 in FIG. The CPU 111 first extracts attribute information of data not associated with history information (step S31). When there is no history information including data identification information included in the attribute information, the attribute information is extracted. Data not associated with history information is data that has not yet been processed.

  In the next step S32, the transmission source identification information with the highest priority is set as a processing target. Then, attribute information including the transmission source identification information set as the processing target is extracted from the attribute information extracted in step S31 (step S33). When there are a plurality of transmission source identification information set as processing targets, attribute information including the transmission source identification information is extracted.

  In the next step S34, the data identification information included in the attribute information extracted in step S33 is displayed on the display unit 160A. When there are a plurality of extracted attribute information, they are arranged and displayed in a predetermined order, for example, from the oldest reception date included in the attribute information.

  In the next step S35, it is determined whether there is transmission source identification information that has not yet been set as a processing target. If unprocessed source identification information exists, the process proceeds to step S36; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S37. In step S36, transmission source identification information having the next highest priority is set as a processing target, and the process returns to step S33.

  When the process proceeds to step S37, the data identification information included in all the history information extracted in step S31 is displayed on the display unit 160A. In step S37, the data identification information included in the attribute information associated with the history information is displayed on display unit 160A. This is because the processed data associated with the history information is displayed. When there are a plurality of attribute information items associated with history information, they are arranged and displayed in a predetermined order, for example, in order of reception date and time included in the attribute information.

  Next, a specific example will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of attribute information. FIG. 9 shows attribute information corresponding to each of 13 pieces of data. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of history information. FIG. 11 is a first diagram illustrating the relationship between the average number of times of execution of processing for each source identification information calculated from the history information and the priority order. Referring to FIG. 11, since there is no processed data among the data transmitted from the history information by the transmission source identification information “USER1”, the average number of execution times of the transmission source identification information “USER1” is “0”. It is. Among the data transmitted from the transmission source identification information “USER2”, the data that has been processed is the data identification information “BBBB” and “CCCC” from the history information. The display process is executed once for the data identification information “BBBB”, and the display process and the printing process are executed once for the data identification information “CCCC” twice. For this reason, the average processing execution count of the transmission source identification information “USER2” is “1.5”. Of the data transmitted from the transmission source identification information “USER3”, the data that has been processed is the data identification information “DDDD” and “EEEE”. A display process and a printing process are performed once for the data identification information “DDDD”, and a total of two processes are executed. A display process, a printing process, and a transmission process are performed once for the data identification information “EEEE”. In total, three processes are executed. For this reason, the average processing execution count of the transmission source identification information “USER3” is “2.5”. Therefore, the priority “1” is assigned to the transmission source identification information “USER3” with the highest average processing execution count, and the priority “2” is assigned to the transmission source identification information “USER2” with the next highest average processing execution count. Then, the priority “3” is given to the transmission source identification information “USER1” having the lowest average processing execution count.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of data identification information displayed as a list. Referring to FIG. 12, among the attribute information of unprocessed data, attribute information including transmission source identification information “USER3” is first displayed, and then attribute information including transmission source identification information “USER2” is displayed. Finally, attribute information including the transmission source identification information “USER1” is displayed. Further, attribute information of data that has been processed at least once is displayed next to attribute information of unprocessed data.

<Modification>
In the embodiment described above, the priority level assigning unit 52 calculates the average number of executions for each transmission source identification information, and gives priority to the transmission source identification information in descending order of the average number of execution times. In the modified example, priorities are set in advance in the order of transmission processing, printing processing, and display processing, and priority is given to transmission source identification information depending on whether transmission processing, printing processing, or display processing has been performed on data. Is granted.

  The priority level assigning unit 52 extracts and reads out history information associated with data received in a predetermined period from the history information 65 stored in the HDD 116. The predetermined period may be arbitrarily determined, but a period that is a predetermined number of days back from the current date and time is preferable. This is because, by using the history of processing executed from the current date and time up to a predetermined period before to determine the priority order, the priority order most suitable for the current state is given. Then, based on the extracted history information, the priority level assigning unit 52 counts the number of times processing is performed for each transmission identification information for each transmission process, print process, and display process. The number of times processing has been performed for each transmission identification information is referred to as the number of executions by processing. Then, the priority level assigning unit 52 gives priority “1” to the transmission source identification information whose transmission process execution count exceeds the threshold T, and the transmission process execution count does not exceed the threshold T. However, the priority “2” is given to the transmission source identification information whose number of executions of the printing process exceeds the threshold T, and the number of executions of the transmission process and the printing process does not exceed the threshold T. The priority “3” is given to the transmission source identification information whose number of processing executions exceeds the threshold T.

  The priority level assigning unit 52 may extract one piece of history information for each piece of transmission destination identification information from the history information 65 stored in the HDD 116. When there are a plurality of pieces of history information including the transmission destination identification information, the history information including the processing date and time closest to the current date and time is extracted. This is because, by using the history of processing executed at the time closest to the current date and time as base data for determining the priority order, the priority order most suitable for the current state is given. And the priority provision part 52 provides a priority for every transmission identification information based on the process identification information contained in the extracted historical information. If the process identification information is a transmission process, priority "1" is assigned to the transmission source identification information, if the process is printing, priority "2" is assigned to the transmission source identification information, and if it is a display process, priority is given to the transmission source identification information. A rank “3” is assigned. When history information is not extracted, priority order “4” is set.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of priority assignment processing in the modification. Referring to FIG. 13, the difference from the priority order assignment process shown in FIG. 7 is that steps S41 to S48 are executed instead of steps S25 and S26, and step S28 is deleted. Is a point. Hereinafter, differences from the priority level assignment process illustrated in FIG. 7 will be mainly described. Referring to FIG. 13, in step S <b> 41, the number of history information (number of times of process execution) is tabulated for each process identification information based on the history information extracted in step S <b> 24. Specifically, among the history information including certain transmission source identification information, the number of history information including transmission processing is defined as the number of execution times of transmission processing, and the number of history information including print processing is defined as the number of processing execution times of print processing. And the number of history information including display processing is defined as the number of times display processing is executed.

  In the next step S42, it is determined whether or not the number of execution times of the transmission process is equal to or greater than a threshold value T. If the number of times the transmission process is executed is equal to or greater than threshold value T, the process proceeds to step S43; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S44. In step S43, priority “1” is assigned to the transmission source identification information set as the processing target in step S23, and the process proceeds to step S27.

  In step S44, it is determined whether or not the number of executions of the printing process is equal to or greater than a threshold value T. If the number of times the printing process has been executed is equal to or greater than threshold value T, the process proceeds to step S45; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S46. In step S45, priority “2” is assigned to the transmission source identification information set as the processing target in step S23, and the process proceeds to step S27.

  In step S46, it is determined whether or not the number of display processing executions is equal to or greater than a threshold value T. If the number of display processing execution times is equal to or greater than threshold value T, the process proceeds to step S47; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S48. In step S47, priority “3” is assigned to the transmission source identification information set as the processing target in step S23, and the process proceeds to step S27. In step S48, the priority “4” is assigned to the transmission source identification information set as the process target in step S23, and the process proceeds to step S27.

  FIG. 14 is a second diagram illustrating the relationship between the number of processing executions for each source identification information calculated from the history information and the priority order. Here, an example in which the threshold value is “1” is shown. Referring to FIG. 14, there is no processed data among the data transmitted from the history information by the transmission source identification information “USER1”. Therefore, the display process and the printing process are performed on the transmission source identification information “USER1”. Neither transmission processing nor transmission processing is executed. For this reason, priority “4” is assigned to the transmission source identification information “USER1”. Of the data transmitted by the transmission source identification information “USER2”, the data that has been processed is the data identification information “BBBB” and “CCCC”. The display process is executed once for the data identification information “BBBB”, and the display process and the print process are executed once for the data identification information “CCCC”. For this reason, priority “2” is given to the transmission source identification information “USER2”. Of the data transmitted from the transmission source identification information “USER3”, the data that has been processed is the data identification information “DDDD” and “EEEE”. Display processing, printing processing, and transmission processing are each performed once for the data identification information “DDDD”, and display processing, printing processing, and transmission processing are each performed once for the data identification information “EEEE”. . Therefore, the priority “1” is given to the transmission source identification information “USER3”. Since the priorities are given in the same order as the priorities shown in FIG. 11, the data identification information displayed in a list is the same as that shown in FIG.

  As described above, MFP 100 according to the present embodiment generates and stores history information when data is received and stored, and processing is executed. Then, based on the history information, priority is given to the transmission source identification information of the transmission source that has transmitted the data. The stored data that has not been processed is displayed according to the priority assigned to the transmission source identification information associated therewith. For this reason, since unprocessed data is displayed in the order of the sender identification information having a large number of times of processing in the past, it can be displayed in order from the data having the highest probability of executing the process. As a result, the user only needs to select the data in the displayed order and execute the process, and the operation for selecting the data to be processed from a plurality of data can be made efficient.

  Note that the CPU 200 can cause the CPU 200 to execute processing similar to that executed by the MFP 100. For example, when the PC 200 receives an e-mail, priority is given to the address of the sender of the e-mail based on the history of processing executed on the received e-mail, and the unread e-mail is sent to the address of the sender The titles of the e-mails may be displayed by rearranging them according to the priority order assigned to the e-mails.

  In the above-described embodiment, the MFP 100 has been described. However, the present invention is understood as a data management method or a data management program for causing the MFP 100 or the computer 200 to execute the processing illustrated in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, or FIG. Needless to say, you can.

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

It is a figure showing the whole data processing system outline in one of the embodiments of the invention. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of an MFP. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of functions of a CPU provided in the MFP together with data stored in an HDD. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of attribute information. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of log | history information. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the data management process performed with CPU. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a priority provision process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a list display process. It is a figure which shows the specific example of attribute information. It is a figure which shows the specific example of log | history information. It is a 1st figure which shows the relationship between the average process execution frequency classified by transmission origin identification information calculated from log | history information, and a priority. It is a figure which shows an example of the data identification information displayed as a list. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the priority provision process in a modification. It is a 2nd figure which shows the relationship between the process execution frequency classified by transmission origin identification information calculated from log | history information, and a priority.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data processing system, 2 Network, 10 Data reception part, 20 Attribute information storage part, 30 Processing execution part, 31 Display processing part, 32 Print processing part, 33 Transmission processing part, 40 History information generation part, 50 Data list display part , 51 Sorting unit, 52 Prioritizing unit, 61 Data, 63 Attribute information, 65 History information, 110 Main circuit, 111 CPU, 112 Communication I / F unit, 113 ROM, 114 RAM, 115 EEPROM, 116 HDD, 117 Facsimile unit, 118 card I / F, 118A flash memory, 120 automatic document feeder, 130 document reading unit, 140 image forming unit, 150 sheet feeding unit, 160 operation panel, 160A display unit, 160B operation unit, 112 communication I / F.

Claims (8)

Data receiving means for receiving data and storing it in the storage means;
Association means for associating the received data with transmission source identification information for identifying a transmission source that has transmitted the data;
Processing execution means for executing processing on at least one of the stored data and generating history information;
Priority order assigning means for assigning a priority order to the transmission source identification information based on the history information;
A data management apparatus comprising: display means for displaying data that has not been processed by the processing execution means in the stored data according to the priority assigned to the transmission source identification information. The priority level assigning means calculates the number of execution times of processing executed for each stored data, and calculates the number of execution times for each source identification information.
The data management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a priority is assigned to the transmission destination information based on the number of processing items. The priority order assigning means is a history information extracting means for extracting the history information within a predetermined range when processing is executed;
An average execution count calculating means for calculating an average execution count that is an average of the process execution counts calculated for each of the transmission source identification information and the stored data;
The data management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a priority is assigned to the transmission destination information based on the average number of executions. The process execution means generates history information including process identification information for identifying a process executed among a plurality of types of processes,
The priority order assigning means assigns a priority order given in advance to the processing identification information included in the history information to the transmission source identification information associated with the data corresponding to the history information. The data management device described in 1. The priority order assigning means is a history information extracting means for extracting the history information within a predetermined range when processing is executed;
Based on the history information extracted by the history information extraction means, the number of execution times for each process for counting the number of process executions executed for each of the plurality of processes, for each destination identification information,
5. The process according to claim 4, wherein among the plurality of processes, the process execution count is a process equal to or greater than a threshold value, and a priority given in advance to a process having the highest priority is assigned to the transmission source identification information. The data management device described.   The priority order assigning unit extracts history information that extracts the history information that is closest to the time when any of the plurality of types of processing is executed among the history information corresponding to the data associated with the transmission source identification information. The data management device according to claim 4, further comprising means. Receiving and storing data; and
Associating the stored data with transmission source identification information for identifying a transmission source that has transmitted the data;
Executing processing on at least one of the stored data to generate history information;
Assigning a priority to the source identification information based on the history information;
Displaying data that has not yet been processed among the stored data according to the priority assigned to the transmission source identification information. Receiving and storing data; and
Associating the stored data with transmission source identification information for identifying a transmission source that has transmitted the data;
Executing processing on at least one of the stored data to generate history information;
Assigning a priority to the source identification information based on the history information;
A data management program that causes a computer to execute a step of displaying data that has not yet been processed among the stored data in accordance with the priority assigned to the transmission source identification information.

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