JP2009044723A - Screen generating method, distribution managing system, client device, image forming apparatus, screen generating program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a screen generating method, distribution managing system, client device, image forming apparatus, screen generating program, and recording medium, for improving convenience in document distribution operation. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a screen generating method to be implemented on a distribution managing system in which an image forming apparatus, a managing server, and a client device are connected, and includes: an input accepting step of accepting designation of an item; a definition generating step of generating definition data of an input screen on which metadata are set based on a descriptor that is arbitrarily determined by a user for displaying the item on the input screen and the item designated on the generating screen; and a communication step of transmitting the definition data to the image forming apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a distribution management system, and more particularly to a screen generation method, a distribution management system, a client apparatus, and an image forming apparatus for realizing a network scanner function for efficiently distributing digitized data (image data) of a paper document to an external device. The present invention relates to a screen generation program and a recording medium.

  In recent years, of course, image input / output devices that digitize and output paper documents into image data by scan input are MFPs (Multi-Function Peripherals) that have multiple functions based on copiers. Even a single function device such as a scanner has a function of transmitting data via a network to an external device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a printer that uses scanned image data. In a system that uses scan input data via a network, a scanner is shared by an external device. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of the entire system, a method of managing input data with a server is employed. A method of providing this management server independently on the network is usually employed. However, for example, when the scan input data is used for output by itself as in the case of an MFP, a method of providing a management server function as one function of the MFP inside the device and accepting access from an external device can also be adopted. I am doing so.

  By the way, the above-described management server or management server function (hereinafter simply referred to as “management server”) stores and manages input data at the time of a scan request, and requests from an external device that are performed at the time of a scan request or at the time of reuse thereafter. In response to this, it has a function as a distribution management server that distributes the designated scan input data to an external device. The following patent documents 1 to 3 can be exemplified as a conventional scan input data distribution management system having a distribution management server function.

  The “scan image data distribution system” disclosed in Patent Document 1 relates to a system for managing distribution of digital image data acquired by a scanner device using a remote server, and FIG. 45 shows a schematic configuration of this system. In this case, the remote server also has a function of managing accounting for use of the system. As shown in FIG. 45, image data obtained by scanning a document with a scanner device connected to a network is transferred to a remote server via the network, where it is stored and managed. In response to a download request made by a personal computer via a network, the remote server performs an operation of distributing the managed digital image data to the request source according to the instruction.

  The “document management system” disclosed in Patent Document 2 introduces an automatic distribution function in order to simplify user operations when storing a scan input document in a specified folder and perform appropriate document management. FIG. 46 shows a schematic configuration of this system. As shown in FIG. 46, when using the automatic distribution function, the user selects a distribution destination automatic selection folder as a distribution destination and inputs a document document from the scanner. The input document image file is temporarily stored in the distribution destination automatic selection folder via the distribution processing unit. Since the destination folder information is added to the saved image as text data in a specific area on the document, the OCR processing unit recognizes this information and uses the recognition result as the destination for the image data file again. It is sent to the distribution processing unit and redistributed to the distribution destination folder.

  The “document distribution processing apparatus” disclosed in Patent Document 3 relates to an apparatus that can easily perform necessary image processing automatically when a document is read and distributed. A schematic configuration of this apparatus is shown. As shown in FIG. 47, an OCR form sheet is arranged on the first page of the input document. Recognize and extract code data corresponding to an image processing menu entered in an OCR form sheet and image processing position data designating an image processing range from document data read by a scanner. Image processing corresponding to the extracted code data is performed for a range determined by the image processing position data. The document data subjected to the specified image processing is distributed to the distribution destination corresponding to the extracted code data.

JP 2003-032425 A JP 2004-171199 A JP 2005-208934 A

  By the way, in the conventional scan input document management function, as seen in the examples of Patent Documents 1 to 3, when a document stored and managed in a server or database is scanned and input, Usually, management information such as a file name is added on the system side in accordance with a predetermined rule, and is only stored and managed once in a server or database. In other words, there is no idea of adding information that can be associated with distribution to a user when scanning input to a document stored and managed in a server or database as document management information.

  Therefore, when a user distributes a document that is managed by a server or database, the user opens a folder of the server, etc., and inputs and adds distribution-related information used at the time of distribution to set bibliographic information for the data file. Try again. The bibliographic information includes distribution-related information (for example, a company name of a transmission destination) used when distributing the above-described document, the name of the data file generated from the document, the attribute of the data file, reference and writing This refers to various types of information for identifying data files, including the presence or absence of authority settings, etc. Each time a scanned input document is distributed, the operation of setting such bibliographic information on the management server is repeated. Is complicated. In particular, when distributing to a plurality of distribution destinations, the burden on the user is increased, and in this respect, this management function of the prior art cannot be said to fully consider the convenience of the user. There was a problem that convenience was low.

  An object of the present invention has been made in view of the above, and can reduce a user's work burden when distributing a document, can improve the convenience of document distribution operation, and can be used with other systems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a screen generation method, a distribution management system, a client apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a screen generation program, and a recording medium that can perform cooperation more freely.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a screen generation method according to the present invention includes bibliographic information set for an input document and image data generated from the document. An image forming apparatus that transmits to a management server that manages distribution, the management server, and a client apparatus that includes a display unit that displays a generation screen for generating an input screen for setting the bibliographic information, via a communication network A screen generation method performed in a connected distribution management system, wherein in the client device, an input reception unit receives an designation of an item for setting the bibliographic information on the generation screen; and The definition generation means includes a descriptor arbitrarily defined by the user for displaying the item on the input screen, and a designation specified on the generation screen. A definition generating step for generating definition data of the input screen based on the items, and a communication unit for transmitting the generated definition data to the image forming apparatus. And
The present invention also provides a distribution management system, a client apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a screen generation program, and a recording medium that execute the screen generation method.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that bibliographic information related to image data can be set freely.

  Exemplary embodiments of a screen generation method, a distribution management system, a client device, an image forming apparatus, a screen generation program, and a recording medium according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments described below, a screen generation method, a distribution management system, a client device, an image forming apparatus, a screen generation program, and a screen generation method of performing distribution processing of image data obtained by scanning a recording medium with a multifunction peripheral according to the present invention An example applied to a distribution management system, a client apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a screen generation program, and a recording medium will be described. However, the screen generation method, the distribution management system, the client device, the image forming device, the screen generation program, and the recording medium of the present invention are not limited to this, and any one can be used as long as it controls processing for image data. The present invention can also be applied to other devices and systems.

  In the following embodiments, an image forming apparatus for inputting image data is described by taking a multifunction machine having a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function in one housing as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any image forming apparatus capable of inputting image data can be applied to any of a scanner apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, a copying apparatus, and the like.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a network configuration of the distribution management system 1000 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the distribution management system 1000 according to the present embodiment includes a multifunction peripheral 100, a management server 200, a client device 300, a PC 400, a printer 500, and a network N. Yes. First, the multifunction peripheral 100 will be described.

  The multi-function device 100 has a scan function, a copy function, a printer function, a facsimile function, and the like mounted in one housing. The multifunction device 100 scans a paper medium or the like with a scanner function to generate image data, and transmits the generated image data to the management server 200.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a scanner application 101, a printer application 102, a control unit 103, a remote communication unit 104, a display control unit 105, an input control unit 106, an operation panel 110, It mainly includes a scanner engine 107, a printer engine 108, and server information 109.

  Here, the server information 109 is a database in which the IP address or the like of the management server 200 is registered, and is stored in a storage medium such as an HDD or a memory.

  The scanner engine 107 is hardware that executes a scanning operation, and the printer engine 108 is hardware that executes a printer operation. The operation panel 110 is hardware that allows the user to perform various screens and operation inputs. The operation panel 110 includes a display unit 113 capable of displaying various screens and an operation unit 112 such as a start button, a stop button, a copy button, and a scan button.

  The control unit 103 receives a request from an application such as the scanner application 101 or the printer application 102, and controls the scanner engine 107, printer engine 108, HDD, memory, and the like.

  The remote communication unit 104 controls transmission / reception of various data to / from the management server 200. Specifically, the remote communication unit 104 manages the IP address registered in the server information 109 with respect to the management server 200, as will be described later, bibliographic information input from the operation panel 110 and scanned image data. It transmits to the server 200. Further, the remote communication unit 104 receives screen definition data 340 defining a screen for inputting bibliographic information from the operation panel 110 described above from the client device 300. Further, the remote communication unit 104 transmits the data converted into the XML format from the input value of the bibliographic information input from the bibliographic information input screen displayed based on the received screen definition data 340 to the management server 200. Specific contents of this data will be described later.

  The display control unit 105 controls the display unit 113 to display various screens, software keyboard screens, and the like so that touch input is possible. Specifically, as will be described later, when the input control unit 106 detects that the operation unit 112 has accepted a scan operation or the like from the user, the display control unit 105 defines an XML format screen definition from the client device 300. It is determined whether or not the data 340 is received. If it is determined that the data 340 is received, the received XML-format screen definition data 340 is executed to display the bibliographic information input screen on the display unit 113.

  FIG. 2 is an example showing how the display control unit 105 described above causes the display unit 113 to display the screen definition data 340 received from the client device 300. As shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 113 includes various contents such as contents of the screen definition data 340 generated by the client device 300 (an input text box for inputting a document name, a drop-down list for selecting a transmission destination, etc. Items for inputting bibliographic information, etc.) are displayed. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, an example in which a preset initial value is displayed in the drop-down list or the like of the display unit 113 is illustrated.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the input control unit 106 receives touch input from the display unit 113, software key input, and operation input from the operation unit 112 and performs input control. Specifically, the touch input or button press is detected by inputting an event by touch input to the display unit 113 or pressing of various buttons of the operation unit 112. Such detection is notified to the scanner application 101.

  Further, the input control unit 106 receives an input value of bibliographic information input from the bibliographic information input screen, and converts it into XML format data. Further, when the input control unit 106 detects a touch input or a button press from the user, the input control unit 106 executes the screen definition data 340 received by the remote communication unit 104 to the display control unit 105 to execute the bibliographic information input screen. Is displayed on the display unit 113.

  The scanner application 101 is an application that executes setting of scan conditions and scan processing according to an instruction from the operation unit 112 (scan button or the like) by a user. Specifically, the scanner application 101 sends a scan request to the control unit 103, operates the scanner engine 107, and scans the document.

  The printer application 102 is an application that executes print processing. Specifically, the printer application 102 makes a print request to the control unit 103 and operates the printer engine 108.

  In FIG. 1, only the scanner application 101 and the printer application 102 are shown as applications. However, as other applications, a copy application that performs copy processing, a fax application that performs facsimile transmission / reception processing, and the like operate. Next, the management server 200 will be described.

  The management server 200 is a computer such as a workstation that receives image data scanned by the multifunction peripheral 100 and executes various processes and distribution processes according to distribution definition data, as will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the management server 200 includes a remote communication unit 201, a processing unit 210, a flow execution control unit 203, a flow definition generation unit 204, a distribution definition generation unit 205, flow definition data 206, It mainly includes distribution definition data 207.

  The remote communication unit 201 receives image data and bibliographic information from the multifunction peripheral 100 and mediates communication of image data distributed by a distribution processing unit 212 described later to an external device such as the PC 400 and the printer 500.

  The processing unit 210 executes various types of processing defined in the flow definition data 206, and according to the image processing unit 211 that performs image processing such as image data conversion and the distribution contents defined in the distribution definition data 207. A distribution processing unit 212 that distributes received image data to external devices such as the PC 400 and the printer 500 is provided.

  Further, when receiving the image data and the bibliographic information from the multifunction peripheral 100, the distribution processing unit 212 refers to the distribution definition data 207 described later and distributes the image data and the bibliographic information to an external device such as the PC 400. Generate delivery parameters for. Although detailed description is omitted, it is assumed that the received image data, bibliographic information, and distribution parameters are associated in advance by ID (IDentification) or the like.

  The flow execution control unit 203 reads out flow definition data 206, which will be described later, from the HDD, and controls the execution of various processes defined by the flow definition data 206 by the processing unit 210.

  The flow definition generation unit 204 generates or edits the flow definition data 204 according to an instruction of a system administrator such as an administrator of the management server 200, and stores the generated or edited flow definition data 204 in the HDD.

  The distribution definition generation unit 205 generates or edits the distribution definition data 207 according to an instruction from the system administrator, and stores the generated or edited distribution definition data 207 in the HDD.

  The flow definition data 206 is data that defines the flow of various processes for image data that is scanned and input from the multifunction device 100 and received from the multifunction device 100. The image data and bibliographic information received from the MFP 100 are executed by the flow execution control unit 203 in accordance with the processing flow defined in the flow definition data 206 (for example, the processing flow as a contract document or a billing document). The

  The distribution definition data 207 is data in which a destination, a storage location, and the like for distributing the image data received from the MFP 100 to the PC 400 are defined. The distribution processing unit 212 described above refers to and distributes image data according to the definition. The specific contents of the distribution definition data will be described later. Next, the client device 300 will be described.

  The client device 300 includes an input receiving unit 310, a display unit 320, a screen definition generating unit 330, screen definition data 340, and a remote communication unit 350.

  The input receiving unit 310 includes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The user can set various items such as text boxes, radio buttons, and pull-down buttons for inputting bibliographic information constituting the bibliographic information input screen. Accept the designation of placement. Such item setting and layout designation can be performed, for example, by an operation such as mouse drag and drop.

  The display unit 320 includes a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and displays the bibliographic information input screen described above.

  The screen definition generation unit 330 displays a screen definition data generation screen on the display unit 320. Then, the system administrator performs an operation input on the screen definition data display screen, and the screen definition generation unit 330 receives the operation input and generates the screen definition data 340.

  As will be described later, the screen definition data generation screen can be edited using a GUI (Graphical User Interface), and the edited screen definition data generation screen is stored in the screen definition data 340 as an XML format file. As will be described later, this screen definition data 340 is data for defining an input screen as displayed on the screen definition data generation screen. When an input screen is generated according to this definition, the screen displayed at the time of editing is reproduced. The That is, the screen definition data generation screen can be edited by the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) method.

  In this way, by making it possible to edit the screen definition data generation screen with the GUI, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the screen administrator and the person who creates and manages the screen, and the screen definition data generation screen can be freely customized. It becomes.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen definition data display screen that can be displayed by the system administrator. As shown in FIG. 3, various bibliographic information items such as a character string type, a numeric type, a date type, a drop-down list type, and a check box type can be set.

  The bibliographic information input screen displayed on the operation panel 110 of the multifunction device 100 is displayed with the same screen design as that constructed on the screen definition data generation screen. However, it is possible to set so that the added bibliographic information item is not displayed on the display screen of the operation panel 110. In this case, the system administrator sets a fixed value in the bibliographic information item.

  Specifically, as shown in the left column of FIG. 3, the input receiving unit 310 is operated in the “hidden” box to drag and drop bibliographic information items, or screen definition data is generated once. It is also possible to arrange the position of the bibliographic information item set on the screen at a position different from the position once set. In this case, screen definition data 340 for only bibliographic information items arranged at a position different from the position once set may be generated and merged with the already created screen definition data 340.

  In addition, on the screen definition data generation screen, the system administrator can specify initial values for display on the operation panel 110 of the multifunction peripheral 100 for each bibliographic information item. In addition, by double-clicking each bibliographic information item, the screen definition generation unit 330 displays an attribute setting dialog box on the display device. Bibliographic information items can be set in detail by inputting from the attribute setting dialog box. These details will be specifically described later as an application example when the bibliographic information item is defined by being expanded.

  When the system administrator instructs execution on the screen definition data generation screen, the screen definition generation unit 330 acquires the setting content of the screen definition data generation screen and the setting content of the attribute setting dialog box. Then, the screen definition generation unit 330 merges the setting contents of the attribute setting dialog box with the setting contents of the screen definition data generation screen, performs definition of tags that are XML descriptors, and the like, It converts to the XML format by using it and generates screen definition data 340 in the XML format. As described above, by defining the bibliographic information item by the XML tag, the user can freely select the item to be displayed on the input screen displayed on the display unit 113 of the multifunction peripheral 100 as shown in an application example described later. It is possible to extend and define.

  The screen definition data 340 is definition data for displaying the bibliographic information input screen described in the XML format generated by the screen definition generation unit 330 described above, and is stored in a storage medium such as an HDD or a memory. A specific example of the screen definition data 340 will be described later.

  The remote communication unit 350 transmits the screen definition data 340 generated by the screen definition data generation unit 330 to the multifunction device 100.

  Subsequently, the screen definition data 340 generated by the client device 300 is transmitted to the multi-function peripheral 110 and displayed on the operation panel 110. Bibliographic information is input by the user from the displayed operation panel 110, and the input bibliographic information is further input. A specific example until is transmitted to the management server 200 will be described. In the following description, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, description will be made using a bibliographic information input screen and a screen definition data generation screen in which FIGS. 2 and 3 are simplified.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a screen definition data generation screen displayed on the display unit 320 of the client 300. This example shows a screen definition data generation screen in the case where an input box of a document to be scanned is displayed as a bibliographic information input screen.

  When the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. 4 is generated, the screen definition data generation unit 330 generates the generated screen definition data in the XML format as shown in FIG. To remember. In the example shown in FIG. 5, in the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. 4, the item attribute is defined as type = “text” and defined as text.

  When the screen definition data 340 is generated in this way, the image definition data generated by the system administrator or the like is transmitted to the multi-function peripheral 100 via the remote communication unit 350, and the input control unit 106 is When it is detected that the scanning process is executed by pressing the operation unit 112 or the like, the display control unit 105 executes the image definition data 340 and displays the bibliographic information input screen on the display unit 113 as shown in FIG. indicate. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, an example in which the user inputs the document name “aaa” to be scanned in the input text box 110 b displayed in the physical input area 110 a on the operation panel 110 is illustrated. . Reference numeral 110c denotes a scan execution button which is the physical operation unit 112.

  In the MFP 100, when a scan process is executed by the user, the remote communication unit 104 is input from the bibliographic information input screen displayed based on the received screen definition data 340 as shown in FIG. The XML format data converted from the bibliographic information and the scanned image data are transmitted to the management server 200. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the document name “aaa” that is the input bibliographic information and the date “20080407” in which the document name is input are converted into XML data.

  Thereafter, when the management server 200 receives the image data and the image data converted from the bibliographic information into the XML format and the image data from the multifunction peripheral 100, the distribution processing unit 212 refers to the distribution definition data 207 as shown in FIG. The image data is distributed by reading the IP address and storage location of the PC 400 that is the distribution destination of the image data. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the image data (file “aaa” input in FIG. 6) is distributed to the folder “c: \ targetfolder” of the PC 400 whose IP address is “XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX”. An example of saving is shown.

  Next, image data distribution processing by the distribution management system according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram of image data distribution processing according to the present embodiment. In the following example, it is assumed that the screen definition data of the bibliographic information input screen to be displayed on the display unit 113 is transmitted from the client device 300 in advance, and the user executes a scan to execute external scanning such as the PC 400 A case of performing processing for distributing image data to a machine will be described.

  First, when the user presses a scan button, which is the operation unit 112 of the operation panel 110, on the multifunction device 100 side, the press is accepted, the scanner application 101 is activated (step S11), and the operation unit 112 receives the image data. The designation of processing to be distributed is accepted (step S12).

  Then, when the scanner application 101 is activated, the display control unit 105 determines whether or not screen definition data is received from the client device 300 (step S13), and determines that no screen definition data is received. If so (step S13; No), a scan process is executed (step S16).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the screen definition data has been received (step S13; Yes), the screen definition data is executed and a bibliographic information input screen is displayed on the display unit 113 (step S14). The input is accepted (step S15), and the scan process is executed (step S16).

  Thereafter, the remote communication unit 104 transmits the scanned image data and bibliographic information to the management server 200 (step S17), and the remote communication unit 201 of the management server 200 receives the image data and bibliographic information (step S18).

  Then, the distribution processing unit 212 refers to the distribution definition data 207 to generate distribution parameters corresponding to the received image data and bibliographic information (step S19), and the PC 400 and the like via the remote communication unit 201 according to the distribution parameters. The received image data is distributed to the external device (step S20).

  As described above, in the distribution management system 1000 according to the present embodiment, when the image data scanned by the multifunction peripheral 100 is distributed to the management server 200, the bibliographic information related to the image data can be freely set in the client device 300. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user when distributing a document and to improve the convenience of document distribution operation.

  In this embodiment, the screen definition data 340, which is the screen definition of the bibliographic information input screen, is generated by the client device 300. However, the MFP 100 is provided with the screen definition generation unit 330 and the screen definition data 340. Thus, the system administrator or the like may directly generate the screen definition data 340 of the bibliographic information input screen using the multifunction peripheral 100 directly.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the file name of the image data to be scanned and distributed is input as text as the bibliographic information has been described. However, in addition to the file name, the screen definition is set so that various bibliographic information is set. Data 340 can also be generated. In the following, an application example (an example in which bibliographic information items are defined in an expanded manner) in which various bibliographic information is generated and various bibliographic information input screens are displayed on the display unit 113 of the multifunction peripheral 100 will be described. To do.

  Further, in the application example described below, processing from generation of the screen definition data 340 by the client device 300 to distribution of image data by the management server 200 is the same as each processing in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, only specific examples of the bibliographic information input screen, the screen definition data, the screen definition data generation screen, and the attribute screen of the screen definition data generation screen will be described.

(Application 1)
In application example 1, a case will be described in which a tag can be freely set when bibliographic information such as a document name of image data to be distributed is defined. FIG. 10 shows an example in which the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300 sets “myDocumentTitle” as the tag name T1 of the text box for inputting the file name of the image data to be distributed.

  In accordance with the screen definition data shown in FIG. 10, a bibliographic information input screen is displayed on the display unit 113 of the multi-function device 100. Thereafter, the bibliographic information input from the bibliographic information input screen is converted into XML format data. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the file name of the image data to be distributed is input as bibliographic information, as in the above-described embodiment.

  In this way, by allowing a tag indicating a bibliographic information item to be input on the bibliographic information input screen to be freely set, the set tag name (for example, tag T1 “myDocumentTitle” shown in FIG. 11) is used as a trigger. The distribution processing performed by the distribution processing unit 212 of the management server 200, or in an external device such as the PC 400 or another external system, only the file specified by the set tag name (for example, “myDocumentTitle”) Various processes in the multifunction device 100, the management server 200, the external device, or other external system other than these can be freely linked according to the set tag name.

(Application example 2)
In application example 2, a case will be described in which the title of a text box for inputting bibliographic information such as a document name of image data to be distributed is defined. FIG. 12 illustrates a case where the tag name T2 for displaying the title of the text box for inputting the file name of the image data to be distributed is set as “displayName” in the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300. It is an example. In accordance with the definition shown in FIG. 12, a bibliographic information input screen as shown in FIG.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the system administrator or the like operates the input reception unit 310 on the screen definition data generation screen displayed on the display unit 320 of the client device 300, and the document file name Is created, and a text box (a box shown as “input text” shown in FIG. 14) for creating a title of the created text box is created.

  Then, by right-clicking on the input receiving unit 310, the text box attribute display screen 320a as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed, and the title of the text box for adding a title is set. In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the title name “description” is set in the “display name” attribute. Then, the title name set in this way is displayed as a title “description” (T2) on the display unit 113 of the multi-function device 100, as shown in FIG.

  In this way, by allowing the title display of the document file name of the image data to be distributed to be freely defined, it is possible to reduce erroneous input or input error of the document file name by the user.

(Application 3)
In the application example 3, when bibliographic information such as a document name of image data to be distributed is input, a language to be displayed in a title is defined to be displayed in multiple languages so that the input can be performed in multiple languages. The case where it does is demonstrated. FIG. 17 shows that the tag definition T3 for displaying the bibliographic information input screen in English or Japanese in English in the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300 is “english” and the tag T2 This is an example of setting in addition to. In accordance with the definition shown in FIG. 17, a Japanese display screen as shown in FIG. 18 and an English display screen as shown in FIG. 19 are displayed as a bibliographic information input screen on the display unit 113 of the multi-function peripheral 100. be able to.

  More specifically, when a system administrator or the like displays a screen definition data generation screen by the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300, as shown in FIG. To display the attribute display screen 320a ′ of the item such as the input text box set in the screen definition data generation screen, and display “Display Name”, that is, “Description” described in “Display Name” shown in FIG. 22 can be changed to “Description” to generate screen definition data for English. Then, according to the screen definition data 340 generated in this way, an English bibliographic information input screen as shown in FIG. 23 is displayed on the display unit 113 of the multi-function peripheral 100.

  Thus, by defining the bibliographic information input screen using tags so that it can be displayed in multiple languages, various users can input bibliographic information.

(Application 4)
In application example 4, a case will be described in which the input value of bibliographic information such as the document name of image data to be distributed is defined to be displayed as a default value in advance. FIG. 24 shows an example in which the tag definition T4 for displaying the company name on the bibliographic information input screen as “XXX Corporation” is set as “value” in advance in the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300. is there. In accordance with the definition shown in FIG. 24, a display screen with the company name “XXX Corporation” as shown in FIG. 25 can be displayed in advance on the display unit 113 of the multi-function device 100 as a bibliographic information input screen. .

  More specifically, when a screen administrator generates a screen definition data generation screen by the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300, as shown in FIG. ”And the initial value is set on the attribute display screen 320a shown in FIG. 15 and the like, the default value as shown in FIG. The bibliographic information input screen is displayed. Although an example of the screen definition data is not shown, it is created in the same manner as the various application examples described above.

  Thus, by displaying the bibliographic information to be input from the bibliographic information input screen in advance, it is not necessary for the user to input the bibliographic information, and the convenience of the user at the time of executing the scan can be improved.

(Application example 5)
In Application Example 5, a case will be described in which input values of bibliographic information such as document names of image data to be distributed are defined so as to be selected and designated from a plurality of predetermined values. FIG. 28 shows the document name of the image data to be distributed as “request definition”, “basic design”, and “detailed design” in the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client apparatus 300, and among these displayed document names. The tag T5 is set as “select” so that the user can select one document name from the above, and the tags T5a, T5b, and T5c of each document name described above are set as “option”. It is.

  In accordance with the definition shown in FIG. 28, a so-called pull-down menu format display screen as shown in FIG. 29 can be displayed on the display unit 113 of the multifunction peripheral 100 as a bibliographic information input screen.

  More specifically, when a system administrator or the like displays a screen definition data generation screen by the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300, as shown in FIG. 30, a bibliographic information is input to a drop-down list. Further, as shown in FIG. 31, in the attribute display screen 320a of the drop-down list, “select” is set in the tag name field in the bibliographic XML, and the document file name to be selected is “ Enter each file name of "Requirement definition", "Basic design", and "Detailed design" and set it.

  Then, by setting a pull-down list and a plurality of document names in this way, a pull-down list as shown in FIG. 32 is displayed on the display unit 113 of the multi-function peripheral 100. Further, according to a selection operation from the user. As shown in FIG. 33, a menu screen on which a plurality of document names can be selected is displayed.

  In this way, by displaying the pull-down list on the bibliographic information input screen, the user can simplify the input operation of bibliographic information such as the document name at the time of scan execution, etc., improving the convenience of the user Can be made.

(Application example 6)
In Application Example 6, a case will be described in which, in the case of Application Example 5, it is defined that icons are displayed in the pull-down list. FIG. 34 shows a tag T6 as a definition for displaying an icon in addition to the definition of “option” for defining a plurality of document names as shown in FIG. 28 in the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300. Is set as “radio”, and tags T6a, T6b, and T6c for displaying icons of a plurality of document files are set as “icon”. It is assumed that the above-described icons are stored in advance in a storage medium (not shown) such as a memory or HDD of the client device 300.

  In accordance with the definition shown in FIG. 34, a pull-down menu type display screen with icons as shown in FIG. 35 can be displayed on the display unit 113 of the multi-function device 100 as a bibliographic information input screen. The user can select a document file name by touching an icon displayed on the display unit 113 or the like. In this case, the selected document file name may be color-reversed in order to improve visibility.

  In this way, by displaying a pull-down list with icons on the bibliographic information input screen, the user can understand bibliographic information such as the name of the document to be entered at a glance, and the user's input operation is further simplified. The convenience of the user can be further improved.

(Application example 7)
In Application Example 7, when bibliographic information such as a document name of image data to be distributed is input, the input value is represented by a hidden code (for example, a code such as * (asterisk) or # (sharp)) or a hidden character. The case of defining to display will be described. FIG. 36 shows that when a document name of image data to be distributed is input in the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300, a tag T7 that sets the input value as a hidden code or a hidden character is set as “password”. This is an example. According to the definition shown in FIG. 36, as shown in FIG. 37, a character string or the like input by the user can be replaced with a hidden code or a hidden character and displayed in the input field of the bibliographic information input screen.

  More specifically, when a screen administrator generates a screen definition data generation screen by the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300, as shown in FIG. 38, an attribute display such as a text box for inputting bibliographic information is displayed. By setting “pass” in the tag name field in the bibliographic XML on the screen 320a, a hidden code or a hidden character is displayed in the input field of the bibliographic information input screen as shown in FIG.

  In this way, by displaying the input character string etc. with hidden codes or hidden characters, it is possible to prevent third parties from peeping or reduce the risk of password leakage, and distribute image data safely. Security in image data distribution processing can be improved.

(Application 8)
In the application example 8, the bibliographic information input value input from the bibliographic information input screen is defined so that it can be checked whether or not it matches a character string or the like represented by a predetermined regular expression. Will be described. FIG. 40 shows that the tag definition T8 is set to “check” and the character string to be checked is “*” so that the screen definition generation unit 330 of the client device 300 can check with a character string or the like represented by a regular expression. This is an example in the case of “specification”. That is, when a character string that does not match the regular expression “* specifications” is input, an error message is displayed on the display unit 113 as described later.

  The input control unit 106 accepts the input value of the bibliographic information input from the bibliographic information input screen to determine whether the error message is displayed or whether a character string matching the regular expression is input. Performed when converting to XML format data. If it is determined that the input character string is not a regular expression character string, the display control unit 105 is instructed to display an error message, and the display control unit 105 follows the instruction to display the error message. Is displayed on the display unit 113. Only when the regular expression character string is matched, the distribution processing by the remote communication unit 104 or the like is executed.

  More specifically, when a system administrator or the like displays a screen definition data generation screen by the screen definition generation unit 330, as shown in FIG. 41, in an attribute display screen 320a such as a text box for inputting bibliographic information, By setting “* specifications”, which is a regular expression character string for verification, in the verification regular expression field, the input control unit 106 is input with a character string that matches the regular expression. Check whether or not.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 42, when the user inputs “system design specification” as bibliographic information, the condition of “* specification” which is a regular expression character string is satisfied. The control unit 106 determines that the regular expression character string condition is satisfied. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 43, when “system design document” is input as the bibliographic information, the input control unit 106 causes the display unit 113 to display an error message screen 110d as shown in FIG. The display control unit 105 instructs the display control unit 105 to display an error message screen 110d shown in FIG.

  As described above, the distribution process is performed only when the character string input as the bibliographic information matches the character string represented by the regular expression. Therefore, the distribution process is performed based on the erroneously input document file name. The risk of the image data being reduced can be reduced, and image data and the like can be distributed more appropriately.

  Note that the programs executed by the MFP 100, the management server 200, and the client device 300 according to the present embodiment are provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like. The programs executed in the MFP 100, the management server 200, and the client device 300 according to the present embodiment are files in an installable format or executable format, and are CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD. (Digital Versatile Disk) or the like may be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the program executed by the MFP 100, the management server 200, and the client device 300 according to the present embodiment is provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. It may be configured. In addition, the program executed by the MFP 100, the management server 200, and the client device 300 according to the present embodiment may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The programs executed by the MFP 100, the management server 200, and the client device 300 according to the present embodiment are the above-described units (remote communication unit, display control unit, input control unit, distribution processing unit, screen definition generation unit, etc.). As the actual hardware, the CPU (processor) reads the program from the ROM and executes it, so that the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device, and the remote communication unit, display control unit, input A control unit, a distribution processing unit, a screen definition generation unit, and the like are generated on the main storage device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the multifunction device has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the multifunction device, and can be applied to various apparatuses including a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

  As described above, the screen generation method, the distribution management system, the client apparatus, the image forming apparatus, the screen generation program, and the recording medium according to the present invention are useful when performing processing for distributing a document or the like to an external computer or the like. In particular, it is suitable for a technique in which a user inputs bibliographic information and distributes a document or the like.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the delivery management system concerning this Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the operation panel of the multifunction peripheral illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen (screen definition data generation screen) as which the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. 2 is produced | generated by a client apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of showing the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. 3 simply. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated from the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the operation panel of the multifunction peripheral according to the screen definition data illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which bibliographic information input from the multifunction peripheral illustrated in FIG. 1 is generated as XML format data. It is a figure which shows the example of the delivery parameter which the management server shown in FIG. 1 produces | generates. It is a sequence diagram of the delivery process of the delivery management system concerning this Embodiment. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of screen definition data in an XML format generated in application example 1. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of XML format data for bibliographic information generated in Application Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 2. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral by the screen definition data illustrated in FIG. 12. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data generation screen for producing | generating the screen definition data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the attribute display screen of the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral by screen definition data generated from the screen definition data generation screen illustrated in FIG. 14. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the bibliographic information input screen (Japanese) displayed on the display part of a multi-function device by the screen definition data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the bibliographic information input screen (English) displayed on the display part of a multifunctional device by the screen definition data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data generation screen for producing | generating the bibliographic information input screen (English) shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the attribute display screen (before change) of the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the attribute display screen (after change) of the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral in a language (English) set on the attribute display screen illustrated in FIG. 22. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 4. FIG. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multi-function peripheral using the screen definition data illustrated in FIG. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the screen definition data generation screen for producing | generating the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the more specific example of the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 5. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display part of a multi-function device by the screen definition data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the screen definition data generation screen for producing | generating the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the attribute display screen of the screen definition data generation screen shown in FIG. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a more specific example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multi-function peripheral by the screen definition data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example by which a pull-down menu is displayed on the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 6. FIG. FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral by the screen definition data shown in FIG. 34. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 7. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display part of a multifunctional device by the screen definition data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the attribute display screen of the screen definition data generation screen in the case of producing | generating the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral according to the definition set on the attribute display screen illustrated in FIG. 38. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data of the XML format produced | generated in the application example 8. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the attribute display screen of the screen definition data generation screen which produces | generates the screen definition data shown in FIG. FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating an example when a regular expression character string is input to the bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral according to the definition set on the attribute display screen illustrated in FIG. 41. FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating an example when a character string other than the regular expression character string is input to the bibliographic information input screen displayed on the display unit of the multifunction peripheral according to the definition set on the attribute display screen illustrated in FIG. 41. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which displays the error message when a character string other than a regular expression character string is input into the bibliographic information input screen shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the concept of the conventional delivery system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the concept of the conventional document management system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the concept of the conventional document delivery processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1000 Distribution management system 100 MFP 101 Scanner application 102 Printer application 103 Control unit 104 Remote communication unit 105 Display control unit 106 Input control unit 107 Scanner engine 108 Printer engine 109 Server information 110 Operation panel 110a Input area 110b Input text box 110c Scan execution Button 110d Error message screen 112 Operation unit 113 Display unit 200 Management server 201 Remote communication unit 203 Flow execution control unit 204 Flow definition generation unit 205 Distribution definition generation unit 206 Flow definition data 207 Distribution definition data 210 Processing unit 211 Image processing unit 212 Distribution Processing unit 300 Client device 310 Input receiving unit 320 Display unit 320a Attribute display screen 330 Screen definition Part 340 screen definition data 350 remote communication unit 400 PC
500 Printer N Network T1-T8 Tag name (setting value)

Claims (19)

An image forming apparatus that transmits bibliographic information set for an input document and image data generated from the document to a management server that manages distribution of the image data, the management server, and the bibliographic information. A screen generation method performed in a distribution management system in which a client device including a display unit that displays a generation screen for generating an input screen to be set is connected via a communication network,
In the client device,
An input receiving step for receiving an designation of an item for setting the bibliographic information on the generation screen;
Definition generation means generates definition data of the input screen based on a descriptor arbitrarily determined by a user for displaying the item on the input screen and the item specified on the generation screen. A definition generation step to
A communication unit including a communication step of transmitting the generated definition data to the image forming apparatus;
A screen generation method characterized by the above. The input receiving step further receives an input of the name of the descriptor corresponding to the item,
The definition generation step generates the definition data associating the descriptor with the accepted name and the item;
The screen generation method according to claim 1. An external system different from the distribution management system is connected to the distribution management system via the communication network,
The communication step further performs communication with the external system based on the definition data in which the descriptor of the name generated in the definition generation step and the item are associated with each other;
The screen generation method according to claim 2. The input receiving step further receives a setting of the title of the item,
The definition generation step generates the definition data associating the title with the item;
The screen generation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The input receiving step further receives a designation of a language for displaying the item on the input screen,
The definition generation step generates the definition data including a definition of the specified language;
The screen generation method according to claim 1, wherein: The input receiving step further accepts designation of an initial value of the bibliographic information input to the item,
The definition generation step includes generating the definition data including the initial value;
The screen generation method according to claim 1, wherein: The input receiving step further receives setting of an initial value selection screen for receiving designation of one or more initial values from the plurality of initial values,
The definition generation step generates the definition data including a definition of the initial value selection screen;
The screen generation method according to claim 6. The input receiving step further receives designation of a symbol corresponding to each of the initial values,
The definition generating step generates the definition data including a definition of the symbol;
The screen generation method according to claim 7. The input receiving step further receives a designation of a password for referring to the image data,
The definition generation step generates the definition data including a definition of the password and a hidden code for hiding the password when the password specification is accepted,
The screen generation method according to claim 1, wherein: The input receiving step further receives a designation of a regular expression code indicating whether or not the bibliographic information input to the item is input so as to satisfy a predetermined pattern,
The definition generation step includes generating the definition data including the regular expression code;
The screen generation method according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The display means includes a display area for displaying the item on the generation screen, and an item display area for designating the item,
The input receiving step receives a drag and drop operation of the item from the item display area to the display area,
The definition generation step generates definition data including the item moved from the item display area to the display area according to the drag-and-drop operation;
The screen generation method according to claim 1, wherein: The descriptor is a tag;
The definition data is described in a structured language, and the item is defined by the tag;
The screen generation method according to claim 1, wherein: The structured language is XML (eXtensible Markup Language);
The screen generation method according to claim 12. The input screen is displayed by a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) method,
The screen generation method according to claim 1, wherein: An image forming apparatus that transmits bibliographic information set for an input document and image data generated from the document to a management server that manages distribution of the image data, the management server, and the bibliographic information. A distribution management system in which a client device including a display unit for displaying a generation screen for generating an input screen to be set is connected via a communication network,
The client device is
On the generation screen, input accepting means for accepting designation of an item for setting the bibliographic information;
Definition generation means for generating definition data of the input screen in a format that allows expansion of the item specified on the generation screen;
First communication means for transmitting the generated definition data to the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Receiving means for displaying the input screen according to the definition data received from the client device, and receiving input of the bibliographic information from the displayed input screen;
Receiving the definition data generated by the client device, and the received bibliographic information and the second communication means for transmitting the image data to the management server,
The management server
Distribution definition generating means for generating a distribution definition for distributing the image data based on the bibliographic information;
Receiving the image data and the bibliographic information from the image forming apparatus, and third communication means for distributing the image data according to the distribution definition;
A distribution management system characterized by An image forming apparatus that transmits bibliographic information set for an input document and image data generated from the document to a management server that manages distribution of the image data, and a communication network connected to the management server A client device comprising display means for displaying a generation screen for generating an input screen for setting the connected bibliographic information,
On the generation screen, input accepting means for accepting designation of an item for setting the bibliographic information;
Definition generation means for generating definition data of the input screen in a format that allows expansion of the item specified on the generation screen;
Communication means for transmitting the generated definition data to the image forming apparatus,
A client device. An image forming apparatus connected via a communication network to a management server that manages distribution of image data and a client apparatus that generates definition data of an input screen for setting bibliographic information related to the image data,
Generating means for generating the image data from the input document;
Receiving means for displaying the input screen according to the definition data received from the client device, and receiving input of the bibliographic information from the displayed input screen;
Communication means for receiving the definition data generated by the client device and transmitting the accepted bibliographic information and the image data to the management server;
An image forming apparatus.   A screen generation program for causing a computer to execute the screen generation method according to claim 1.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the screen generation program according to claim 18 is recorded.

Images