JP2009060253A - Electronic seal program, image editing apparatus, and electronic seal method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To electronically seal with sure on a seal position which a user wants, with no labor required. <P>SOLUTION: A computer including an extracting part 111 which extracts candidates of seal position to electronically seal an electronic document 100, a selecting part 112 in which the candidates extracted by the extracting part 111 are displayed and a user selects a wanted seal position from among the extracted candidates, and a seal part 113 to electronically seal a seal information 152 on a wanted seal position that is selected by the user, is functioned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic stamping program, an image editing apparatus, and an electronic stamping method.

  In recent years, there has been an active movement to store documents and the like that have been stored in paper as electronic documents. For this reason, attention is being paid to a technique for electronically stamping electronic documents.

  As a technique for electronically stamping an electronic document, a technique for leaving an electronic seal impression at a stamped location is known. Thereby, the user can confirm the stamp in the form that the electronic seal is visually pressed like a seal stamp on a paper document.

In addition, a technique for performing a digital signature with a seal-shaped device using data transmission by a light emitting diode has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, a technique has been proposed that saves input of an approver's ID (Identification) or the like with a seal-shaped device with a built-in wireless tag (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, a technique has also been proposed in which approval stamp data or the like is taken into a predetermined position in a word processor document (for example, see Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-247022 JP 2004-235913 A JP-A-9-128381

However, the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above are techniques for performing electronic stamping by bringing a seal-shaped device into direct contact with a touch panel or the like. For this reason, there has been a problem that the stamping position is shifted and the electronic stamping cannot be reliably performed at the stamping position desired by the user.
Moreover, the technique of patent document 3 is a technique which performs an electronic seal | sticker to the taking-in position (seal | sticker position) designated by the user. In this case, there is a problem that the user needs time and labor to specify the stamp position from the electronic document.

An object of the present invention is to reliably perform electronic stamping on a stamping position desired by a user without requiring labor.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an electronic stamping program according to claim 1 is provided by:
Computer
An extraction unit for extracting candidates for a stamp position for electronic stamping an electronic document;
A selection unit that displays the candidates extracted by the extraction unit and allows the user to select a desired stamping position among the extracted candidates;
A stamping unit that electronically seals stamping information at a desired stamping position selected by the user;
To function as.

The invention according to claim 2 is the electronic stamping program according to claim 1,
The extraction unit includes:
If the vertical / horizontal width size or the vertical / horizontal width ratio of an arbitrary area included in the electronic document is within the reference range, the arbitrary area is extracted as a candidate.

The invention according to claim 3 is the electronic stamping program according to claim 1 or 2,
The extraction unit includes:
When a predetermined range from the center of an arbitrary character included in the electronic document is blank, the arbitrary character is extracted as a candidate.

The invention according to claim 4 is the electronic stamping program according to claim 1 or 2,
A first storage unit for storing information;
A first registration unit that registers the arbitrary character string in the first storage unit when an arbitrary character string is present in the vicinity of the stamp position electronically stamped by the stamp unit;
The extraction unit includes:
When an arbitrary character string registered by the first registration unit exists in the vicinity of the candidate, the priority order of the candidate is set high,
The selection unit includes:
Candidates are displayed in the order in which priority is set higher by the extraction unit.

The invention according to claim 5 is the electronic stamping program according to claim 4,
The first registration unit includes:
If the arbitrary character string is a job title and the job title is not registered in the storage unit, the arbitrary character string is registered in the first storage unit as a predicted job title.

The invention according to claim 6 is the electronic stamping program according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A second storage unit for storing information;
A second registration unit for registering information in the second storage unit;
The second storage unit is
Pre-store the format string for judging the format,
The second registration unit includes:
When the format character string stored in the second storage unit exists in the electronic document, the combined character string obtained by combining the character strings immediately before the format character string and the stamp position in the electronic document are displayed in the second document. Registered in the storage section of
The extraction unit includes:
When the combined character string registered by the second registration unit is present in the electronic document, the stamp position registered by the second registration unit is extracted as a candidate, and the priority of the extracted candidate is set high. And
The selection unit includes:
Candidates are displayed in the order in which priority is set higher by the extraction unit.

An image editing apparatus according to the invention of claim 7 is provided.
An extraction unit for extracting a candidate for a stamp position for electronic stamping an electronic document;
A selection unit that displays the candidates extracted by the extraction unit and allows the user to select a desired stamping position among the extracted candidates;
A stamping unit that electronically seals stamping information at a desired stamping position selected by the user;
Is provided.

The invention according to claim 8 is the image editing apparatus according to claim 7,
The extraction unit includes:
If the vertical / horizontal width size or the vertical / horizontal width ratio of an arbitrary area included in the electronic document is within the reference range, the arbitrary area is extracted as a candidate.

The invention according to claim 9 is the image editing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8,
The extraction unit includes:
When a predetermined range from the center of an arbitrary character included in the electronic document is blank, the arbitrary character is extracted as a candidate.

The invention according to claim 10 is the image editing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8,
A first storage unit for storing information;
A first registration unit that registers the arbitrary character string in the first storage unit when an arbitrary character string is present in the vicinity of the stamp position electronically stamped by the stamp unit;
The extraction unit includes:
When an arbitrary character string registered by the first registration unit exists in the vicinity of the candidate, the priority order of the candidate is set high,
The selection unit includes:
Candidates are displayed in the order in which priority is set higher by the extraction unit.

The invention according to claim 11 is the image editing apparatus according to claim 10,
The first registration unit includes:
When the arbitrary character string is a job title and the job title is not registered in the storage unit, the arbitrary character string is registered in the storage unit as a predicted job title.

The invention according to claim 12 is the image editing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
A second storage unit for storing information;
A second registration unit for registering information in the second storage unit,
The second storage unit is
Pre-store the format string for judging the format,
The second registration unit includes:
When the format character string stored in the second storage unit exists in the electronic document, the combined character string obtained by combining the character strings immediately before the format character string and the stamp position in the electronic document are displayed in the second document. Registered in the storage section of
The extraction unit includes:
When the combined character string registered by the second registration unit is present in the electronic document, the stamp position registered by the second registration unit is extracted as a candidate, and the priority of the extracted candidate is set high. And
The selection unit includes:
Candidates are displayed in the order in which priority is set higher by the extraction unit.

The electronic stamping method of the invention described in claim 13 is:
An extraction process for extracting candidate stamp positions for electronic stamping on electronic documents;
A selection step of displaying the candidate of the stamp position extracted by the extraction step and allowing the user to select a desired stamp position among the extracted candidates;
A stamping step for electronically stamping the stamping information at a desired stamping position selected by the user;
including.

  According to the first, seventh and thirteenth aspects of the present invention, the extracted stamp position candidates are displayed, the user is allowed to select a desired stamp position among the extracted candidates, and the user selects the desired stamp position. The stamp information is electronically stamped at the stamp position. Thereby, an electronic stamp can be reliably performed to the stamp position which a user desires, without requiring an effort.

  According to the second and eighth aspects of the present invention, an arbitrary area can be extracted as a candidate for the stamp position when the vertical or horizontal width size or the vertical / horizontal width ratio of the arbitrary area is within the reference range. .

  According to the third and ninth aspects of the present invention, an arbitrary character can be extracted as a candidate for a stamp position when a predetermined range is blank from the center of the arbitrary character.

  According to the fourth and tenth aspects of the present invention, when an arbitrary character string exists in the vicinity of the candidate for the stamp position, the priority of the candidate is set high, and the candidates are displayed in the order in which the priority is set high. Let As a result, the user can refer to the candidates in descending order of priority, so that the user can perform electronic stamping at the stamping position without any effort.

  According to the invention described in claims 5 and 11, when the character string is a job title and the job title is not registered in the storage unit, the job title is registered in the first storage unit as a predicted job title. can do.

  According to the invention described in claims 6 and 12, when the combined character string registered by the second registration unit exists in the electronic document, the seal position registered by the second registration unit is extracted as a candidate, The priority order of the extracted candidates is set high, and the candidates are displayed in the order in which the priority order is set high. As a result, the user can refer to the candidates in descending order of priority, so that the user can perform electronic stamping at the stamping position without any effort.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

  First, with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the apparatus structure of the electronic stamping system 1 of this Embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the electronic stamping system 1.

The electronic stamp system 1 includes an image editing device 10, a user terminal 20, an image forming device 30, and an authentication device 40. Each device of the electronic stamping system 1 is connected for communication via a communication network N.

  The electronic stamping system 1 is a system that performs electronic stamping on a stamping position selected by a user. The image editing apparatus 10 is an apparatus that extracts a stamp position candidate, displays the extracted stamp position candidates, and electronically stamps the stamp position selected by the user. The user terminal 20 is a device for browsing the electronic document transmitted from the image editing device 10. The image forming apparatus 30 is an apparatus that performs paper scanning, image formation, and the like. The authentication device 40 is a device that performs user authentication. The communication network N is an Internet network. The communication network N may include a WAN (Wide Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), an intranet, and the like.

  FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the image editing apparatus 10, the user terminal 20, and the image forming apparatus 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the image editing apparatus 10 includes a control unit 11, a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, a communication unit 14, an HDD (Hard Disk) as a first storage unit, and a second storage unit. Drive) 15. Each unit of the image editing apparatus 10 is connected via a bus 16.

  The control unit 11 functions as an extraction unit 111, a selection unit 112, a stamping unit 113, and a registration unit 114 serving as a first registration unit and a second registration unit, according to an electronic stamp program 151 described later.

  The extracting unit 111 extracts a stamp position candidate for electronically stamping an electronic document. The selection unit 112 displays the seal position candidates extracted by the extraction unit 111 on the display unit 12 and allows the user to select a desired seal position from among the extracted candidates. The stamping unit 113 electronically stamps the stamping information 152 at a desired stamping position selected by the selection unit 112. The registration unit 114 as the first registration unit and the second registration unit registers the registration information 153 in the HDD 15. The stamp information 152 and the registration information 153 will be described later.

  The display unit 12 includes a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and the like, and performs screen display according to a display signal from the control unit 11.

  The operation unit 13 includes a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like, and outputs a pressing signal pressed by the operator on the keyboard to the control unit 11. Further, the operation unit 13 may include a pointing device such as a mouse so that position information can be input.

  The communication unit 14 includes a modem, a router, a network card, and the like, and transmits / receives information to / from various devices on the communication network N.

  The HDD 15 as the first storage unit and the second storage unit includes a magnetic information recording medium, and stores various programs and various data used in the programs in a readable and writable manner. The HDD 15 stores an electronic stamp program 151, stamp information 152, and registration information 153.

  The electronic stamp program 151 is a program for performing an electronic stamp process described later. The stamp information 152 refers to information for electronically stamping a stamp position. The stamp information 152 corresponds to, for example, the user's last name and date. The registration information 153 refers to information for specifying a stamping position for electronic stamping. The registration information 153 corresponds to a user login ID, password, user name (last name and name), department, post, expected post, search target character string, seal history, format character string, combined character string, and the like, which will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 20 includes a control unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a communication unit 24, and an HDD 25. Each unit of the user terminal 20 is connected via the bus 26.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like, and controls each unit of the user terminal 20. The display unit 22, the operation unit 23, the communication unit 24, and the HDD 25 are the same as the display unit 12, the operation unit 13, the communication unit 14, and the HDD 15 of the image editing apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 30 includes a control unit 31, a scanner unit 32, an image forming unit 33, a storage unit 34, and a communication unit 35.

  The scanner unit 32 includes a platen glass, a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices), and a light source (all not shown), and scans the original placed on an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) unit (not shown) from the light source. A reflected image of light is imaged by a CCD and subjected to photoelectric conversion to read an image of a document and generate image data of the image.

  The image forming unit 33 forms image formation target data on a sheet. The image forming unit 33 forms an image by an electrophotographic method, an ink jet method, a thermal transfer method, or the like.

  The storage unit 34 includes a RAM that temporarily stores information, a flash memory that can read and write information, and the like.

  The communication unit 35 is the same as the communication unit 14 of the image editing apparatus 10. Further, the image forming apparatus 30 may be configured to include an operation unit, a display unit, or a touch panel having both functions.

  Next, the operation of the electronic stamping system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, user login processing will be described. The login process refers to a process for performing user authentication. In the login process, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a login screen 81 is displayed on the display unit 12. The login screen 81 has an ID (login ID) input field 82, a password input field 83, and an OK button 84. On the login screen 81, the user's login ID and password are input to the ID input field 82 and the password input field 83 via the operation unit 13. When the OK button 84 is pressed via the operation unit 13, information (input information) input in the ID input field 82 and the password input field 83 is transmitted to the authentication device 40. When the input information is transmitted to the authentication device 40, the authentication device 40 performs user authentication. Then, the result of user authentication is transmitted to the image editing apparatus 10. When the user is authenticated by the authentication device 40, the user is logged in.

  When user authentication is performed, a scan screen is displayed on the display unit 12. FIG. 9 shows a scan screen 91. The scan screen 91 includes a file name change button 92, a format setting button 93, a resolution setting button 94, and a scan button 95. When various buttons (file name change button 92, format setting button 93, resolution setting button 94) are pressed via the operation unit 13 on the scan screen 91, various settings are executed. Then, the scan button 95 is pressed.

  When the scan button 95 is pressed, the image forming apparatus 30 scans the sheet, and the scan preview screen 101 is displayed on the display unit 12. FIG. 10 shows the scan preview screen 101. The scan preview screen 101 has a preview screen 102 and an edit button 103. When the edit button 103 is pressed on the scan preview screen 101 via the operation unit 13, the scan preview screen 102 is edited.

  For example, assume that the image editing apparatus 10 is instructed to execute an electronic seal process (for example, the electronic signature button of the edit button 103 on the scan preview screen 101 is pressed) via the operation unit 13. In this case, the electronic stamping program 151 is read and started by the control unit 11 and triggered by an instruction to execute the electronic stamping process via the operation unit 13 or the like, and the electronic stamping process is executed. Hereinafter, the electronic stamping process will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a rectangular area as an arbitrary area is extracted as a candidate in the electronic document (step S11). FIG. 11 shows the electronic document 100. The electronic document 100 corresponds to the preview screen 102. In this case, rectangular areas are extracted as the stamp position candidates 1 to 16. Then, it is determined whether or not all candidate positions have been inspected in the electronic document 100 (step S12).

If it is determined in step S12 that all candidate positions have not been inspected (step S12; NO), it is determined whether the vertical and horizontal width of the rectangle is within the reference range (step S13). 12 and 13 are diagrams showing the size of the vertical and horizontal widths of the rectangular area extracted from the electronic document 100 shown in FIG. The lateral width W shown in FIG. 13 indicates the lateral width of the rectangle. The vertical width h indicates the size of the rectangular vertical width. Specifically, in this step, whether or not the horizontal width W is within the reference (specified) range (Wmin ≦ W ≦ Wmax), and the vertical width h is within the reference (specified) range (hmin ≦ h ≦ hmax). It is determined whether or not.

If it is determined in step S13 that the vertical and horizontal width of the rectangle is not within the reference range (step S13; NO), the rectangle is deleted from the candidate list (step S14). The candidate list refers to the extracted candidates. For example, it refers to the candidates 1 to 16 shown in FIGS. For example, assume that it is determined that the vertical and horizontal widths of the rectangles in candidates 1 to 11 and candidate 16 shown in FIG. 13 are not within the reference range. In this case, candidates 1 to 11 and candidate 16 are deleted from the candidate list.

If it is determined in step S13 that the vertical and horizontal width of the rectangle is within the reference range (step S13; YES), it is determined whether or not the vertical and horizontal width ratio of the rectangle is within the reference range (step S15). ). Specifically, in this step, it is determined whether or not the aspect ratio r of the long side / short side shown in FIG. 13 is within a reference (specified) range (rmin ≦ r ≦ rmax). Here, r = W / h (when W ≧ h) or r = h / W (when h> W).

In step S15, when it is determined that the aspect ratio of the rectangle is within the reference range (step S15; YES), the process proceeds to step S12. If it is determined in step S15 that the aspect ratio of the rectangle is not within the reference range (step S15; NO), the process proceeds to step S14.

If it is determined in step S12 that all candidate positions have been inspected (step S12; YES), character recognition processing is performed (step S16). Character recognition processing refers to processing for recognizing characters in the electronic document 100.

After execution of step S16, a search for “mark” characters as arbitrary characters included in the electronic document and coordinate extraction are performed (step S17). Then, it is determined whether or not all “mark” characters in the electronic document 100 have been inspected (step S18).

If it is determined in step S18 that not all “mark” characters in the electronic document 100 have been inspected (step S18; NO), whether or not the predetermined range from the center of the “mark” character is a blank area. Is discriminated (step S19). FIG. 14B shows a predetermined range r of “mark” characters. The predetermined range r indicates an arbitrary distance from the center coordinate of the “mark” character. Specifically, in this step, it is determined whether or not the predetermined range r is a blank area. If it is determined in this step that the reference range r is a blank range, the “mark” character is extracted as a candidate for the stamp position.

If it is determined in step S19 that the predetermined range from the center of the “mark” character is a blank area (step S19; YES), it is added to the candidate list (step S20). After execution of step S20, the process proceeds to step S18. If it is determined in step S19 that the predetermined range of the “mark” character is not a blank area (step S19; NO), the process proceeds to step S18.

If it is determined in step S18 that all the “mark” characters have been inspected (step S18; YES), it is determined whether or not the user's post has been registered (step S21). That is, it is determined whether or not the user's post has been registered as registration information 153 in the HDD 15. The title refers to information such as “person in charge”, “section manager”, “department manager”, and the like. FIG. 15A shows an example of registration information 153 registered in the HDD 15. The registration information 153 includes a user login ID, password, user name information (last name, name), department information, post information, and expected post information. In addition, the registration information 153 includes a search target character string, a stamp history, a format character string, and a combined character string, which will be described later.

If it is determined in step S21 that the user's post has not been registered (step S21; NO), the process proceeds to step S26 described later. When it is determined that the user's post has been registered (step S21; YES), the search target character string corresponding to the user's post and the coordinate extraction are performed (step S22). FIG. 15B shows a search target character string corresponding to the job title of the user. The search target character string is a character string stored in association with a registered position (position in FIG. 15A) or a predicted position (expected position in FIG. 15A). Say. The search target character string is included in the registration information 153. The search target character string corresponds to an arbitrary character string. Next, a method for extracting coordinates of a search target character string will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14A shows a diagram when a character string of “person in charge” is searched as a search target character string. In this case, the coordinates (X1, Y1) to (X4, Y4) of the four corners of the character string “person in charge” are extracted as coordinates.

After execution of step S22, it is determined whether or not all candidate positions have been inspected (step S23). If it is determined in step S23 that all candidate positions have not been inspected (step S23; NO), it is determined whether or not a search target character string exists in the vicinity of the candidate position (step S24). This step will be described with reference to FIG. In the case of FIG. 14A, the character string “person in charge” exists within an arbitrary distance r from the center coordinates of “candidate 12”. At this time, the coordinates (X1, Y1) to (X4, Y4) extracted in step S22 are all included in the range of the distance r. In this case, it is determined that the search target character string “person in charge” exists in the vicinity of the candidate position “candidate 12”.

If it is determined in step S24 that the search target character string exists in the vicinity of the candidate position (step S24; YES), the priority order of the candidate position in the vicinity of the search target character string is set high (step S25). For example, when the job title of the user is “section manager”, as shown in FIG. 15C, the priority position of the candidate position of “candidate 13” is set high (priority order 1). After execution of step S25, the process proceeds to step S23. If it is determined in step S24 that no search target character string exists in the vicinity of the candidate position (step S24; NO), the process proceeds to step S23.

If it is determined in step S23 that all candidate positions are inspected (step S23; YES), it is determined whether or not there is a past stamp history (step S26). The stamp history refers to a character string in the vicinity of a stamp position where the user has electronically stamped in the past. The stamp history corresponds to, for example, a post, last name, department name, and the like. The stamp history is included in the registration information 153. The stamp history corresponds to an arbitrary character string.

If it is determined in step S26 that there is a past stamp history (step S26; YES), the stamp history is retrieved and coordinates are extracted (step S27). After execution of step S27, it is determined whether or not all candidate positions have been inspected (step S28).

If it is determined in step S28 that all candidate positions have not been inspected (step S28; NO), it is determined whether or not a stamp history exists in the vicinity of the candidate position (step S29). If it is determined that a stamp history exists in the vicinity of the candidate position (step S29; YES), the priority order of candidate positions in the vicinity of the stamp history is set high (step S30). After execution of step S30, the process proceeds to step S28. If it is determined in step S29 that there is no stamp history near the candidate position (step S29; NO), the process proceeds to step S28.

Character recognition is performed after execution of step S28 (step S31). Then, the registered format character string is searched and the coordinates are extracted (step S32). The format character string refers to information for determining the format of the electronic document 100. FIG. 16B shows an example of a format character string registered in advance in the HDD 15. The format character string is included in the registration information 153.

After execution of step S32, the immediately preceding character strings are combined (step S33). Here, with reference to FIG. 16A, a method for combining the immediately preceding character strings will be described. For example, when the format character string is “approval document” and the immediately preceding character string is “general”, the character string “general” is combined with “approval document”. That is, “general approval document” is a combined character string.

After execution of step S33, it is determined whether or not all of the combined character strings have been inspected (step S34). For example, it is determined whether or not all character strings of “general approval document” in the electronic document 100 have been inspected. If it is determined in step S34 that all the combined character strings have not been inspected (step S34; NO), it is determined whether or not the font size is within the reference range (step S35). For example, it is determined whether or not the font size of the “general approval document” is within a reference range (for example, X points). When it is determined that the font size is not within the reference range (step S35; NO), the process proceeds to step S38 described later.

In step S35, when it is determined that the font size of the combined character string is within the reference range (step S35; YES), it is determined whether or not a certain margin area exists (step S36). For example, as shown in FIG. 16A, it is determined whether or not there is a certain margin area before the character string “general approval document”. If it is determined that there is no more than a certain margin area (step S35; NO), the process proceeds to step S38 described later.

In step S36, when it is determined that there is a certain margin area (step S36; YES), it is determined whether the character string coordinates of the combined character string are within the reference range (step S37). The reference range refers to a predetermined range in the electronic document 100 that is determined in advance. FIG. 16C shows an example of the reference range. For example, in this step, it is determined whether or not the coordinates of the “general approval document” are within the reference range A or the reference range B.

If it is determined in step S37 that the character string coordinates are not within the reference range (step S37: NO), the character string coordinates are deleted from the candidate list (step S38). After execution of step S38, the process proceeds to step S34. If it is determined in step S37 that the character string coordinates are within the reference range (step S37; YES), the process proceeds to step S34.

If it is determined in step S34 that all of the combined character strings have been inspected (step S34; YES), it is determined whether the number of candidates is greater than 1 (step S39). The number of candidates refers to the number of combined character strings (for example, general approval documents) included in the electronic document 100. When it is determined that the number of candidates is not greater than 1 (step S39; NO), the process proceeds to step S44 described later. If it is determined in step S39 that the number of candidates is greater than 1 (step S39; YES), the center X coordinate (X0) of the scanned document is calculated (step S40). For example, as shown in FIG. 16C, the center X coordinate (X0) of the scanned document (electronic document 100) is calculated.

After execution of step S40, the center X coordinate of the combined character string is calculated (step S41). For example, as shown in FIG. 16C, when there are a plurality of combined character strings within the reference range, the center X coordinates (X1, X2, X3) of each character string are calculated. And it is discriminate | determined whether the center X coordinate of all the combined character strings was calculated (step S42).

If it is determined in step S42 that the center X coordinates of all the combined character strings have not been calculated (step S42; NO), the process proceeds to step S44 described later. If it is determined in step S42 that the center X coordinates of all the combined character strings have been calculated (step S42; YES), the one closest to the center X coordinate of the scanned document (electronic document 100) is selected (step S42). S43). For example, in the case of FIG. 16C, since X2 is closest to X0 which is the center X coordinate of the scanned document (electronic document 100), a combined character string whose center coordinate is X2 is selected.

After execution of step S43, it is determined whether or not the selected combined character string is registered (step S44). That is, it is determined whether or not the selected combined character string is registered in the HDD 15 as the registration information 153. If it is determined that the selected combined character string is registered (step S44; YES), the stamp position at the time of registering the combined character string is extracted as a candidate, and the priority of the extracted candidate is set high. (Step S45). For example, it is assumed that when the “general approval document” is registered, the electronic document 100 of the “general approval document” is electronically stamped. In this case, the “general approval document” and the electronically stamped seal position are registered in the HDD 15 as registration information 153 by the registration unit 114. The stamp position registered at this time is extracted as a candidate. The extracted stamp position is set with a high priority.

If it is determined in step S44 that the selected combined character string is not registered (step S44; NO), the combined character string and the stamp position are registered (step S46). That is, the combined character string and the stamp position are registered in the HDD 15 as registration information 153 by the registration unit 114.

After execution of step S45 and step S46, candidates are displayed on the display unit 12 in descending order of priority (step S47). Then, a desired stamp position is selected by the user via the operation unit 13, and the selection input of the stamp position is accepted (step S48). After execution of step S48, electronic stamping is performed at the accepted stamping position (step S49). The operation of step S49 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 17 shows a selection position selection screen 171. The selection screen 171 has a candidate display button 172. When a candidate display button 172 is pressed via the operation unit 13, a candidate for a stamp position is displayed.

When the candidate display button 172 is pressed, a selection screen 181 is displayed on the display unit 12. FIG. 18 shows a selection screen 181. The selection screen 181 has a signature (seal) position display message 182. The seal position display message 182 is a message for causing the user to select a seal position. For example, a seal position display message 182 is displayed, “Do you want to sign this position?”. The seal position display message 182 has a “Yes” button 182A and a “Next candidate button” 182B. When the “Yes” button 182A is pressed via the operation unit 13, the position displayed by the seal position display message 182 is determined as the seal position. When the next candidate button 182 </ b> B is pressed via the operation unit 13, the candidate position with the next highest priority is displayed on the display unit 12. Here, when the image is reduced due to the relationship between the display areas and the visibility is poor, an enlarged selection screen 191 may be displayed as shown in FIG. In this case, a candidate for the stamp position is displayed at the center of the preview area 192.

When the stamp position is determined, the stamp information 152 is read from the HDD 15, and the read stamp information 152 is electronically stamped at the stamp position. When an electronic stamp is placed at the stamping position, an imprint adjustment screen is displayed on the display unit 12. FIG. 20 shows an imprint adjustment screen 201. The imprint adjustment screen 201 includes an imprint size adjustment button 202, an imprint position adjustment button 203, a redo button 204, and an OK button 205. By pressing the imprint size adjustment button 202, the imprint position adjustment button 203, or the redo button 204 via the operation unit 13, the imprint size and the imprint position of the imprinted stamp information are adjusted. When the OK button 205 is pressed, the adjustment of the stamp size and the stamp position is completed. At this time, the default value of the stamp size is set to a stamp size that fits in the frame to be stamped. The default value of the stamp position (imprint position) is set such that the center of the frame to be stamped matches the center of the stamp information. When the user does not adjust the imprint size and imprint position, electronic stamping is performed based on the default value. For example, when “Matsumoto” 207 is electronically stamped with a default value in the frame of the stamp position 206, “Matsumoto” 207 is electronically stamped with the stamp size and the stamp position shown in FIG. 20.

When the adjustment of the stamp size and the stamp position is completed, a document processing selection screen is displayed on the display unit 12. FIG. 21 shows a document processing selection screen 211. The document processing selection screen 211 has a document processing selection button 212 and a next button 213. A document processing method is selected by pressing any one of the document processing selection buttons 212 via the operation unit 13. Then, when the next button 213 is pressed, the selection of document processing is completed.

When the FTP transfer button or the E-mail transfer button of the document processing selection button 212 is pressed on the document processing selection screen 211 and the next button 213 is pressed, a transfer destination selection screen is displayed on the display unit 12. FIG. 22 shows a transfer destination selection screen 221. The transfer destination selection screen 221 includes a transfer destination selection button 222 and an OK button 223. The transfer destination selection buttons 222 are displayed in order from the most recent senior manager of the user. A transfer destination is selected by selecting and inputting any one of the transfer destination selection buttons 222 via the operation unit 13. Then, when the OK button 223 is pressed, the transfer destination selection is completed.

After execution of step S49 in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not a character string exists in the vicinity of the stamp position (step S50). With reference to FIG. 23B, a method for determining a character string in the vicinity of the stamp position will be described. For example, it is assumed that the seal information 152 is “Matsumoto”. In this case, it is determined whether or not an arbitrary character string exists within a distance r from the center coordinates of “Matsumoto”. In the case of FIG. 23B, the character string “section manager” exists within the range of the distance r. Therefore, it is determined that the character string “section manager” exists in the vicinity of the stamp position.

When it is determined that there is no character string in the vicinity of the stamp position (step S50; NO), the process proceeds to step S54 described later. If it is determined that there is a character string near the stamp position (step S50; YES), it is determined whether the character string near the stamp position is a title (step S51). Specifically, it is determined whether or not a character string existing in the vicinity of the seal position is a title such as “section manager” or “department manager”.

In step S51, when it is determined that the character string existing in the vicinity of the seal position is not a title (step S51; NO), the process proceeds to step S54 described later. When it is determined that the character string existing in the vicinity of the seal position is the title (step S51; YES), it is determined whether the title has been registered (step S52). Specifically, in this step, it is determined whether or not a character string that exists in the vicinity of the seal position is registered in the HDD 15 as the title of the registration information 153.

If it is determined in step S52 that the post has been registered (step S52; YES), the process proceeds to step S54 described later. When it is determined that the post has not been registered (step S52; NO), the character string existing in the vicinity of the seal position is registered as the expected post (step S53). With reference to FIG. 23 (A), a method for registering a character string existing in the vicinity of the seal position as a predicted position will be described. Now, for example, it is assumed that a character string existing in the vicinity of the seal position is “section manager”. In this case, the expected position of the registration information 153 is registered in the HDD 15 as “section manager”. After execution of step S53, a character string near the stamp position is registered as a stamp history (step S54). After the execution of step S54, the electronic stamping process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the extracted stamp position candidates are displayed, the user is allowed to select a desired stamp position among the extracted candidates, and the stamp information is displayed at the desired stamp position selected by the user. Is electronically stamped. Thereby, an electronic stamp can be reliably performed to the stamp position which a user desires, without requiring an effort.

  In addition, when the size of the rectangle is in the reference range, the rectangle can be extracted as a candidate for the stamp position.

  When the predetermined range from the center of the “mark” character is blank, the “mark” character can be extracted as a candidate for the stamp position.

  Further, when the search target character string or the stamp history exists in the vicinity of the candidate for the stamp position, the priority of the candidate is set high, and the candidates are displayed on the display unit 12 in the order in which the priority is set high. As a result, the user can refer to the candidates in descending order of priority, so that the user can perform electronic stamping at the stamping position without any effort.

  Further, when the character string in the vicinity of the seal position is a job title and the job title is not registered in the HDD 15, the job title can be registered in the HDD 15 as a predicted job title.

  When the combined character string registered by the registration unit 114 exists in the electronic document 100, the stamp position registered by the registration unit 114 is extracted as a candidate, the priority of the extracted candidate is set high, and the priority is The candidates are displayed on the display unit 12 in the order set higher. As a result, the user can refer to the candidates in a higher priority order, and can perform electronic stamping at the stamping position without any effort.

  The description in the above embodiment is an example of the electronic stamping program, the image editing apparatus, and the electronic stamping method according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, in the above embodiment, the authentication device 40 is included as the electronic stamping system 1, but the authentication device 40 may not be included. In this case, user authentication is performed by the image editing apparatus 10.

In step S19 of the electronic stamping process, it is determined whether or not the reference range r of the “mark” character is a blank area. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined whether or not there is an arbitrary character string within the reference range r. For example, when it is determined that there is no arbitrary character string within the reference range r, it is determined that the “mark” character is not a character included in the sentence, and is extracted as a candidate for the stamp position.

  In addition, the default value of the seal impression size is set to a size that falls within the frame to be stamped, but is not limited to this. For example, a size desired by the user (for example, a size that protrudes from a frame to be stamped) may be set as a default value.

  In addition, as a default value of the imprint position (imprint position), a position where the center of the imprint frame coincides with the center of the imprint information is not limited to this. For example, a stamp position desired by the user may be set as a default value. As a result, since the stamp position is different for each user, it becomes easy to identify the user who electronically stamped the electronic document 100 based on the stamp position.

Further, for example, as shown in the electronic document 100 of FIG. 20, when there are a plurality of users (persons in charge, section managers, and general managers), the stamp position of the user who stamps later is the imprint position of the user who stamped before. It is good also as a structure which stamps on the position which does not overlap. For example, in FIG. 20, it is assumed that the characters “Matsumoto” are stamped out of the frame 208. In this case, the stamp position of the user who stamps the frame 208 is set to a position that does not overlap with the characters “Matsumoto”. Then, electronic stamping is performed at the set stamping position. As a result, even when there are a plurality of users to be stamped, electronic stamping can be performed so that stamped characters do not overlap.

  In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of the electronic stamping system 1 in the above embodiment can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a schematic diagram of electronic stamping system 1 concerning the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of an image editing apparatus, a user terminal, and an image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an electronic stamp process. It is a flowchart which shows an electronic stamp process. It is a flowchart which shows an electronic stamp process. It is a flowchart which shows an electronic stamp process. It is a flowchart which shows an electronic stamp process. It is a figure which shows a login process screen. It is a figure which shows a scanning screen. It is a figure which shows a scan preview screen. It is a figure which shows an electronic document. It is a figure which shows the vertical and horizontal width of the extracted rectangular area | region. It is a figure which shows the vertical and horizontal width of the extracted rectangular area | region. (A) is a figure which shows that the character string of "the person in charge" was searched as a search object character string. (B) is a figure which shows the reference | standard range r of a "mark" character. (A) is a figure showing an example of registration information. (B) is a figure which shows the search object character string according to a user's post. (C) is a figure which shows that the priority of a candidate position is set high. (A) is a figure which shows the concatenation method of the character string immediately before. (B) is the figure which showed the example of the format character string. (C) is the figure which showed the example of the reference range. It is the figure which showed the selection screen of a stamp position. It is the figure which showed the selection screen. It is the figure which showed the enlarged selection screen. It is the figure which showed the seal imprint adjustment screen. It is the figure which showed the document processing selection screen. It is the figure which showed the transfer destination selection screen. (A) is the figure which showed the method of registering the character string which exists in the vicinity of a stamp position as a predicted post. (B) is the figure which showed the method of discriminating the character string which exists in the vicinity of a stamp position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic stamping system 10 Image editing apparatus 11,21,31 Control part 12,22 Display part 13,23 Operation part 14,24,35 Communication part 15,25 HDD
16, 26 Bus 20 User terminal 30 Image forming device 32 Scan unit 33 Image forming unit 34 Storage unit 40 Authentication device 111 Extraction unit 112 Selection unit 113 Stamping unit 114 Registration unit 151 Electronic stamping program 152 Sealing information 153 Registration information

Claims (13)

Computer
An extraction unit for extracting candidates for a stamp position for electronic stamping an electronic document;
A selection unit that displays the candidates extracted by the extraction unit and allows the user to select a desired stamping position among the extracted candidates;
A stamping unit that electronically seals stamping information at a desired stamping position selected by the user;
Electronic stamping program to function as. The extraction unit includes:
The electronic stamping program according to claim 1, wherein the arbitrary region is extracted as a candidate when the size of the arbitrary region included in the electronic document is within the reference range. The extraction unit includes:
The electronic stamping program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when a predetermined range is blank from the center of an arbitrary character included in the electronic document, the arbitrary character is extracted as a candidate. A first storage unit for storing information;
A first registration unit that registers the arbitrary character string in the first storage unit when an arbitrary character string is present in the vicinity of the stamp position electronically stamped by the stamp unit;
The extraction unit includes:
When an arbitrary character string registered by the first registration unit exists in the vicinity of the candidate, the priority order of the candidate is set high,
The selection unit includes:
The electronic stamping program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein candidates are displayed in the order in which priority is set higher by the extraction unit. The first registration unit includes:
The said arbitrary character string is a title, and when the said title is not registered into the said memory | storage part, the said arbitrary character string is registered into the said 1st memory | storage part as an expected title. Electronic stamping program. A second storage unit for storing information;
A second registration unit for registering information in the second storage unit;
The second storage unit is
Pre-store the format string for judging the format,
The second registration unit includes:
When the format character string stored in the second storage unit exists in the electronic document, the combined character string obtained by combining the character strings immediately before the format character string and the stamp position in the electronic document are displayed in the second document. Registered in the storage section of
The extraction unit includes:
When the combined character string registered by the second registration unit is present in the electronic document, the stamp position registered by the second registration unit is extracted as a candidate, and the priority of the extracted candidate is set high. And
The selection unit includes:
The electronic stamping program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the candidates are displayed in an order in which the extraction unit sets a higher priority. An extraction unit for extracting a candidate for a stamp position for electronic stamping an electronic document;
A selection unit that displays the candidates extracted by the extraction unit and allows the user to select a desired stamping position among the extracted candidates;
A stamping unit that electronically seals stamping information at a desired stamping position selected by the user;
An image editing apparatus comprising: The extraction unit includes:
The image editing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the arbitrary area is extracted as a candidate when the vertical / horizontal width size or the vertical / horizontal width ratio of the arbitrary area included in the electronic document is within the reference range. The extraction unit includes:
The image editing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein when a predetermined range is blank from the center of an arbitrary character included in the electronic document, the arbitrary character is extracted as a candidate. A first storage unit for storing information;
A first registration unit that registers the arbitrary character string in the first storage unit when an arbitrary character string is present in the vicinity of the stamp position electronically stamped by the stamp unit;
The extraction unit includes:
When an arbitrary character string registered by the first registration unit exists in the vicinity of the candidate, the priority order of the candidate is set high,
The selection unit includes:
The image editing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein candidates are displayed in an order in which the extraction unit sets a higher priority. The first registration unit includes:
The said arbitrary character string is a title, and when the said title is not registered into the said memory | storage part, the said arbitrary character string is registered into the said 1st memory | storage part as an expected title. Image editing device. A second storage unit for storing information;
A second registration unit for registering information in the second storage unit,
The second storage unit is
Pre-store the format string for judging the format,
The second registration unit includes:
When the format character string stored in the second storage unit exists in the electronic document, the combined character string obtained by combining the character strings immediately before the format character string and the stamp position in the electronic document are displayed in the second document. Registered in the storage section of
The extraction unit includes:
When the combined character string registered by the second registration unit is present in the electronic document, the stamp position registered by the second registration unit is extracted as a candidate, and the priority of the extracted candidate is set high. And
The selection unit includes:
The image editing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein candidates are displayed in an order in which the extraction unit sets a higher priority. An extraction process for extracting candidate stamp positions for electronic stamping on electronic documents;
A selection step of displaying the candidate of the stamp position extracted by the extraction step and allowing the user to select a desired stamp position among the extracted candidates;
A stamping step for electronically stamping the stamping information at a desired stamping position selected by the user;
Including electronic stamping method.

Images