JP2008097136A - Composite machine and form data registration method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a composite machine capable of easily preparing and registering form data to be used for a form overlay printing processing without using any exclusive software. <P>SOLUTION: This composite machine is provided with: a means for reading the image data of a slip by using a scanner device; a means for discriminating a place to be overlaid from the read image data; a means for setting item conditions including item names and the number of characters about each of the discriminated input places; and a means for registering the form data relating to the slip in the database base on the set item conditions. It is preferable that a region surrounded by a frame or a region surrounded by a marker is discriminated as a place to be overlaid. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a form registration process in form overlay printing.

  Conventionally, frequently used forms such as quotations, approval documents, and forms are registered in the printer in advance, and the content data is automatically transferred to the registered form by transferring only the content data during printing. A firmware overlay printing process for allocating and printing is known.

As a form used for the form overlay printing process, it is necessary to create a desired form in advance using dedicated software on the host computer side and register the created form data in a database. Then, by specifying an overlay at the time of printing, it is assigned to a registered and selected form and printed (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-5-81266 JP-A-7-264376

  By the way, the conventional form overlay printing process cannot execute form registration or overlay printing unless dedicated software is installed on the host computer side. Also, when creating a form using software, every time you create a form, draw a ruled line, draw a rectangle, paste a bitmap such as a company logo, or even a complicated form Form creation work is cumbersome for the user, such as the need for alignment.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a multifunction peripheral capable of easily creating and registering form data used for form overlay printing processing without using dedicated software. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a multifunction device according to the present invention controls a scanner device for reading an image, a database for recording form data read when form overlay printing processing is performed for each form, and an overall operation. In a multi-function peripheral comprising a control unit, the control unit uses a scanner device to obtain a form acquisition unit that reads image data of a form, and an input location that determines a location to be overlaid from the image data read by the form acquisition unit Based on the item condition setting means for setting the item condition including the item name and the number of characters and the item condition set by the item condition setting means for each of the input locations determined by the determination means and the input location determination means Form data registration means for registering form data related to the database in the database .

  According to this invention, it is possible to provide a multi-function peripheral that can easily create and register form data used for form overlay printing without using dedicated software.

  Moreover, it is preferable that an input location discrimination means discriminate | determines that the area | region enclosed with the frame is a location which should be overlaid among image data. According to this invention, it is possible to automatically cut out a region surrounded by a frame such as a rectangle from the image image read from the scanner device, thereby creating form data.

  Further, it is preferable that the input location determination means determines that the region surrounded by the marker is a location to be overlaid from the image data. According to this invention, it is possible for the user to create a form data by automatically cutting out the marked part by marking the form with a marker in advance.

  Further, a form data registration method according to the present invention includes a scanner device for reading an image, a database that records form data read when performing form overlay printing processing for each form, a control unit that controls the overall operation, This is a method for registering form data in a multi-function peripheral equipped with. At this time, the control unit uses the scanner device to read the image data of the form, from the image data read by the form acquisition means, to determine the location to be overlaid, and the input location determination means For each input location, there are provided a step of setting an item condition including an item name and the number of characters, and a step of registering form data relating to the form in the database based on the item condition set by the item condition setting means. According to this invention, it is possible to provide a form data registration method capable of easily creating and registering form data used for the form overlay printing process without using dedicated software.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer that controls a multifunction peripheral to execute each processing step of the form data registration method according to the present invention. The program of the present invention can be installed or loaded on a computer through various recording media such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory, or via a communication network.

  In this specification and the like, the means does not simply mean a physical means, but includes a case where the functions of the means are realized by software. Further, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system including a multifunction machine 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system includes a multifunction machine 10 and a host computer 20, which are configured to be connected to each other via a network 30.

  The multifunction device 10 is typically a device in which functions such as a scanner, storage, and FAX are integrated into an image forming apparatus. In the present invention, a main body 11 for controlling the operation of the multifunction device 10; A scanner (image reading device) 12 having a function of reading a form of a form as image data, a storage (storage device) 13 for registering data relating to the form, and a printer (image forming device) 14 for printing an image are provided. Yes.

  The main body 11 includes a CPU 15, a ROM 16, a RAM 17, an input unit 18, and a display unit 19. The CPU 15 functions as a control unit and an arithmetic device, and performs overall control of each device and circuit of the multifunction machine 10. The ROM 16 stores programs and the like. The RAM 17 is used as a temporary storage area for data and a work area when the CPU 15 executes a program. The input unit 18 is for inputting an instruction from the user, and is, for example, an input key. The display unit 19 displays and outputs messages from the multifunction machine 10. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the input unit 18 and the display unit 19 are configured by a liquid crystal display touch panel.

  The host computer 20 is a computer capable of inputting content data for form selection and composition into the multifunction machine 10 and corresponds to, for example, a personal computer (PC).

  The network 30 is a communication line for transmitting and receiving information between the multifunction machine 10 and the host computer 20. For example, it may be any of a LAN, a dedicated line, a corporate network, the Internet, a packet communication network, a telephone line, other communication lines, combinations thereof, and the like, regardless of whether they are wired or wireless.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration implemented in the CPU 15 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 15 has a form acquisition unit 41, an input location determination unit 42, an item condition setting unit 43, a form data registration unit 44, a form selection unit 45, a setting information reading unit 46, a content data input unit 47, And an allocation output means 48. In the present embodiment, the multifunction machine 10 functions so that the CPU 15 executes the predetermined program stored in the ROM 16 to implement each of the functional units.

  The form acquisition unit 41 has a function of acquiring a form image read from the scanner 12. The input location determination unit 42 has a function of determining an input location, that is, a rectangular region or a region surrounded by a marker from the form image acquired by the form acquisition unit 41, and acquiring coordinate data of the region. The item condition setting unit 43 has a function of setting the data item name, type, and the like of the input location discriminated by the input location discriminating unit 42. The form data registration unit 44 has a function of acquiring information from the input location determination unit 42 and the item condition setting unit 43 and registering form data such as coordinates, item names, and types in the storage 13 for each input location.

  The form selection unit 45 has a function of selecting one form from a plurality of forms registered in the storage 13 when executing the form overlay. The setting information reading unit 46 has a function of reading out form data of the form selected by the form selecting unit 45 from the storage 13. The content data input means 47 has a function of inputting content data to be combined with a form. The layout output unit 48 has a function of assigning and combining the data input by the content data input unit 47 to the form in accordance with the form data read by the setting information reading unit 46 and printing it out by the printer 14.

  Next, an outline of the operation of the multifunction machine 10 configured as described above will be described.

(Form registration)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of form registration processing by the information processing system in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example of a form for registering a form. Here, an example of registering the form of the form 60 shown in FIG. 4 is shown. FIG. 5 shows an example in which a form is marked with a marker. FIG. 6 is an example of a database item setting screen. FIG. 7 is an example of a database of form data. The form registration process will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, an area (input location) to be registered as an input item is marked with a marker on the form 60 to be registered (S51). FIG. 5 shows an example in which the form 60 is marked with a marker. In this example, it is assumed that the user surrounds the frames 61, 67, 73 with markers. In the present embodiment, an area surrounded by a frame such as a rectangle on the form is set to be determined and registered as an input item without marking with a marker.

  Next, the image data of the form 60 is read by the scanner 12 (S52). At this time, the reference point (upper left or upper right) of the scanner 12 is used as a base point and is set as a reading start point.

  After the image data is read by the scanner 12, the multi-function device 10 determines that an area surrounded by a frame such as a rectangle or an area surrounded by a marker is an input location from the read image data. The input location is classified as a database item (S53). For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the locations surrounded by the frames 61 to 73 are determined to be input locations in order from the upper left, and database items 61, 62,. Also, the coordinate data of the area determined to be the input location is acquired.

  Thereafter, the user sets conditions for the created database item (S54). For this condition setting, a setting screen 80 shown in FIG. 6 is set via the display panel (input unit 18 and display unit 19), and the number of characters and the like are set. The setting screen 80 can set the item name and the number of characters for each item of the database. Details will be described later.

  After setting conditions for each item, it is determined whether or not conditions have been set for all items (S55). If unset items remain (S55: No), the condition setting for the unset items is continued. On the other hand, when the setting of all items has been completed (S55: Yes), the state transitions to a state in which the registration button 89 can be pressed. A file 90 (CSV, EXCEL, etc.) is generated and registered in the database of the storage 13 (S56). As shown in FIG. 7, the setting information for each item, that is, the item name, the number of characters, coordinate data, and the like are registered in the database.

  Hereinafter, an item setting screen 80 for setting and inputting database items will be described.

  In the example of the setting screen 80 illustrated in FIG. 6, the image display unit 86 has an item-divided portion (an input portion surrounded by a frame or an input portion surrounded by a marker) in the image data read by the scanner. Is displayed for each part. When the input button 87 or 88 is pressed, the input location is sequentially switched to the previous item or the next item. In the example shown in FIG. 6, an image of a portion corresponding to the item 62 being set is enlarged and displayed.

  In the input box 81, the file name of the form to be registered is input. In the case of the form shown in FIG. 5, for example, a name such as “Purchase Order 1” is input. For the setting number 82, the number of items is displayed in the denominator and the identification number (order) of the item currently set is displayed in the numerator for the form to be registered. In this example, since the number of items of the form 60 is 13 items 61 to 73, the denominator is 13. In the example shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that data relating to the item 62 is currently being set, so the numerator is 2.

  In the input boxes 83 and 84, the number of characters at the input location is input in the number of full-width characters or the number of half-width characters. For example, in the case of item 62, the number of double-byte characters “1” is input. In the input box 85, the item name of the input location is input. For example, in the case of item 62, “amount (10,000)” is input, and in the case of item 61, “product name” is input.

  The input buttons 87 and 88 are used to switch the item being set one after the other in order. In the example shown in FIG. 6, when the input button 87 or 88 is pressed, the item being set is switched to the item 61 or the item 63, respectively.

  The registration button 89 is a button for registering the input condition settings in the database after inputting the condition settings for all items. This button is grayed out so that the buttons cannot be pressed until the condition setting input for all items is completed. When the registration button is pressed after setting input for all items is completed, a condition setting file (form data) in a predetermined format is generated.

  The input buttons 87 and 88 and the registration button 89 are buttons-shaped images displayed on the display panel. “Pressing” these buttons indicates that the user points to the button image displayed on the display panel. It means to touch with etc.

(Form overlay printing)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of form overlay printing processing by the information processing system in the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is an example of a selection screen for selecting a form. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic image of form overlay printing. Hereinafter, the form overlay printing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the user selects execution of form overlay printing using the host computer 20, the driver reads a plurality of form data registered in the multifunction peripheral 10 into the host computer 20 and displays the form selection screen 110. Then, the user uses the selection screen 110 to select a form to be used for form overlay printing from a plurality of form data (S101).

  FIG. 9 is an example of the selection screen 110 displayed on the display means of the host computer 20. The form selection menu 111 is a pull-down menu, and a form used for overlay printing can be arbitrarily selected from a plurality of forms registered in the multifunction machine 10. Before the user selects a form, the print button 112 is grayed out and the print button 112 cannot be pressed. When the user selects a desired form from the form selection menu 111, the print button 112 is displayed. Transitions to a state where can be pressed. Then, when the user presses the print button 112, a form used for form overlay printing is determined.

  When the form is determined, the setting information of the determined form is read from the database (S102). Then, based on the read setting information, the user inputs the content data of each item of the form data (S103). In this item input, the content data of each item may be sequentially input from the host computer 20, or a table-format file in which the content data of all items are input in advance, and all items are transferred by passing the file. May be input at a time.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the input of all items has been completed (S104). If an uninput item remains (S104: No), the process returns to step S103 and continues to input the item. When the input of all items is completed (S104: Yes), form overlay printing is executed (S105). That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the content data input in step S103 is combined with the form determined in step S102, and is printed out by the printer 14.

  In this way, the information processing system according to the present embodiment allows the scanner 12 of the multifunction machine 10 to read the form, and then easily forms the form data by operating the display panel and setting the data relating to the input item. Will be able to register. Further, when creating and registering form data, it is not necessary to install software for form overlay printing or software for registering form data in the host computer 20.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For this reason, the said embodiment is only a mere illustration in all points, and is not interpreted limitedly. For example, the above-described processing steps can be executed in any order or in parallel as long as there is no contradiction in the processing contents.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example of selecting a form using the host computer 20 when performing form overlay printing has been described, but it is also possible to select a form using the display panel 19 of the multifunction machine 10.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing system including a multifunction machine. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure mounted in CPU13. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a form registration process. It is an example of the form which registers a form. It is an example of a form that is marked with a marker. It is an example of the setting screen of a database item. It is an example of the database of form data. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a form overlay printing process. It is an example of the selection screen which selects a form. It is a figure which shows the schematic image of form overlay printing.

Explanation of symbols

10 MFP, 11 Main unit, 12 Scanner, 13 Storage, 14 Printer, 15 CPU, 16 ROM, 17 RAM, 18 Input unit, 19 Display unit, 20 Host computer, 30 Network, 41 Form acquisition means, 42 Input location determination Means, 43 item condition setting means, 44 form data registration means, 45 form selection means, 46 setting information reading means, 47 content data input means, 48 allocation output means

Claims (5)

A scanner device for reading an image;
A database that records the form data read when performing the form overlay printing process for each form,
A control unit that controls the overall operation;
In a multifunction machine equipped with
The controller is
Form acquisition means for reading the image data of the form using the scanner device;
From the image data read by the form acquisition means, input location determination means for determining the location to be overlaid,
Item condition setting means for setting an item condition including an item name and the number of characters for each of the input locations determined by the input location determination means,
Form data registration means for registering form data relating to the form in the database based on the item conditions set by the item condition setting means;
A multifunction machine with The input location determination means determines, from the image data, a region surrounded by a frame as a location to be overlaid,
The multifunction device according to claim 1. The input location determination means determines, from the image data, an area surrounded by a marker as a location to be overlaid,
The multifunction machine according to claim 1 or 2. Form data is registered in a multi-function peripheral that includes a scanner device for reading an image, a database that records form data read when form overlay printing is performed for each form, and a control unit that controls overall operation. A method,
The control unit is
Reading image data of a form using the scanner device;
Determining the location to be overlaid from the image data read by the form acquisition means;
Setting an item condition including an item name and the number of characters for each of the input locations determined by the input location determination means;
Registering form data relating to the form in the database based on the item conditions set by the item condition setting means;
Form data registration method comprising:   A program for causing a computer that controls a multifunction peripheral to execute the form data registration method according to claim 4.

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