JP2010166174A - Image processing system, image processing apparatus, control program, recording medium and workflow management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve convenience when a user confirms a value set for each processing constituting a workflow. <P>SOLUTION: An image processing system includes an operation information acquiring section 101, a flow information management section 102, and an external information acquiring section 103. The operation information acquiring section 101 acquires workflow selecting information. The flow information management section 102 acquires information of processing constituting a workflow selected by referring to the workflow constitution information, and generates display information of an item selecting screen for selecting set items for the processing constituting the workflow selected by referring to the set item information. The operation information acquiring section 101 acquires selecting item information. The external information acquiring section 103 acquires information of a set value for the selected set item. The flow information management section 102 generates display information of the set information display screen for displaying the information of the set value for the selected set item. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system, an image processing apparatus, a control program, a recording medium, and a workflow management method, and more particularly, to browsing registered information.

  In recent years, there has been a tendency to digitize information, and image processing apparatuses such as printers and facsimiles used for outputting digitized information and scanners used for digitizing documents have become indispensable devices. Such an image processing apparatus is often configured as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) that can be used as a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, and a copier by providing an imaging function, an image forming function, a communication function, and the like. .

  In addition, there is known a document management system that stores such digitized documents in a document management server or distributes them to a specified distribution destination (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a document management system, a workflow is configured by combining a scanner function and an information processing function to improve the efficiency of document storage.

  In addition, such a workflow system is set as SDK (Software Development Kit), and API (Application Programming Interface) is disclosed. Thereby, each user can freely construct a workflow program suitable for each environment.

  The API allows an external program to execute a part of the processing executed in the workflow. For this reason, a user can expand the function of the system by creating a program for executing a necessary function later as a plug-in and incorporating it into the system.

  The above-mentioned plug-ins may be provided with setting values necessary for operation, that is, GUI (Graphical User Interface) for parameter setting. Generally, these GUIs are provided for each plug-in. Provided.

  However, if a GUI for parameter setting is provided for each plug-in, for example, when confirming the value of each plug-in included in one workflow, it is necessary to switch a plurality of screens. The convenience of is impaired. On the other hand, it is conceivable to construct a screen that displays the setting values of all the installed plug-ins.

  However, as described above, plug-ins are added and increased as needed. Therefore, it is difficult to construct a screen that displays the setting values of all installed plug-ins, and when the number of plug-ins becomes enormous, it is difficult to find items to be confirmed. .

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve the convenience of the user in confirming the set values for the individual processes constituting the workflow.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is an image processing system for processing input image information according to a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes, wherein the image information is input. A workflow execution unit that processes the input image according to the workflow, and a workflow management unit that manages an operation when the workflow execution unit executes the workflow. Refers to a workflow selection information acquisition unit for acquiring workflow selection information for selecting the workflow, and workflow configuration information stored in association with information for identifying the workflow and information on the plurality of processes constituting the workflow And obtain information about the processes that make up the selected workflow For selecting a setting item for a process constituting the selected workflow with reference to the setting item information storing the setting item information for each of the plurality of processes. An item selection screen display information generation unit that generates display information of an item selection screen, a selection item information acquisition unit that acquires selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen, and the acquisition A setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information that is setting value information about the selected setting item based on the selected selection item information; and a setting information acquisition unit that acquires the setting information about the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information. A setting information display screen generating unit that generates display information of a setting information display screen for displaying information of setting values.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first aspect, the workflow management unit further includes a setting item information storage unit that stores the workflow configuration information and the setting item information. It is characterized by that.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first or second aspect, the workflow management unit has a new processing function that configures the workflow as the execution unit. In this case, the apparatus further includes a setting item information updating unit that updates the setting item information stored in the setting item information storage unit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the workflow management unit registers a new workflow in the workflow execution unit, the setting item It further has a workflow configuration information update unit that updates the workflow configuration information stored in the information storage unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the work flow management unit acquires process selection information for selecting a process constituting the work flow. An acquisition unit; and the item selection screen display information generation unit generates item selection screen display information for selecting a setting item for the selected process, and the setting information display screen generation unit includes: Reference is made to embedded workflow information stored in association with information for identifying each of the plurality of processes and workflow information in which the processes are embedded, and the plurality of workflows in which the selected processes are embedded For each, display information of a setting information display screen for displaying information of a setting value for the selected setting item is generated. To.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the fifth aspect, the workflow management unit further includes a setting item information storage unit that stores the embedded workflow information. .

  In the image processing system according to claim 6, when the workflow management unit registers a new workflow in the workflow execution unit, the setting item information storage unit stores the setting item information storage unit. It further has an embedded workflow information update unit for updating the stored embedded workflow information.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an image processing system that processes input image information according to a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes, and an image input unit that inputs the image information; A workflow execution unit that processes the input image according to the workflow; and a workflow management unit that manages an operation when the workflow execution unit executes the workflow. The workflow management unit configures the workflow A process selection information acquisition unit that acquires process selection information for selecting a process to be performed, and setting item information that stores setting item information for each of the plurality of processes, and settings for the selected process Item for generating display information of an item selection screen for selecting an item based on the acquired process selection information A selection screen display information generation unit; a selection item information acquisition unit that acquires selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen; and the selection based on the acquired selection item information. A setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information that is setting value information about the set items, information that identifies each of the plurality of processes, and information of a workflow in which the processes are incorporated are stored in association with each other. Display information of a setting information display screen for displaying the setting value information of the selected setting item for each of the plurality of workflows in which the selected process is embedded. A setting information display screen generating unit for generating

  The invention described in claim 9 is the image processing system according to claim 8, further comprising a setting item information storage unit storing the embedded workflow information.

  In the image processing system according to claim 9, when a new workflow is registered in the workflow execution apparatus that executes the workflow, the setting item information storage unit stores the setting item information storage unit. It further has an embedded workflow information update unit for updating the embedded workflow information.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus included in an image processing system that processes input image information in accordance with a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes. A workflow management unit that manages an operation of a workflow execution unit that processes the input image according to the workflow, and the workflow management unit acquires workflow selection information for selecting the workflow Information on a process constituting the selected workflow with reference to workflow configuration information stored in association with the workflow selection information acquisition unit, information for identifying the workflow, and information on the plurality of processes constituting the workflow And a workflow configuration information acquisition unit for acquiring Item selection screen display information for generating display information of an item selection screen for selecting a setting item for processing constituting the selected workflow with reference to setting item information storing setting item information about A generation unit, a selection item information acquisition unit that acquires selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen, and the selected setting item based on the acquired selection item information A setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information that is setting value information about the setting information display screen for displaying setting value information about the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information A setting information display screen generating unit that generates display information.

  The invention according to claim 12 is a control program for causing an information processing apparatus to operate as a workflow management apparatus that manages information on a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes. The workflow selects the workflow. A process of configuring the selected workflow with reference to the step of acquiring selection information, the workflow configuration information stored in association with the information for identifying the workflow and the information of the plurality of processes constituting the workflow And a setting item information for storing the setting item information for each of the plurality of processes, and for selecting a setting item for the process constituting the selected workflow. Generating display information for the item selection screen, and depending on the item selection screen Obtaining selection item information that is information on the selected setting item; obtaining setting information that is setting value information on the selected setting item based on the obtained selection item information; Generating the display information of the setting information display screen for displaying the information of the setting value for the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information.

  The invention according to claim 13 is characterized in that the control program according to claim 12 is recorded on a recording medium in a format readable by the information processing apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 14 is a workflow management method for managing information of a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes, wherein the workflow selection information for selecting the workflow is acquired and the workflow is identified. The information of the plurality of processes constituting the workflow is referred to, the workflow configuration information stored in association with the information of the plurality of processes to obtain the information of the processes constituting the selected workflow, By referring to the setting item information storing the setting item information for each, the display information of the item selection screen for selecting the setting item for the process constituting the selected workflow is generated, and the item The selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the selection screen is acquired, and the acquired selection item For obtaining setting information which is setting value information for the selected setting item based on the information, and displaying setting value information for the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information. Display information of the setting information display screen is generated.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience for the user in checking the set values for the individual processes constituting the workflow.

It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the document management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically the hardware constitutions of the information processing terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the workflow server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in flow information DB which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the terminal for managers concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in setting item information DB which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in setting item information DB which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of operation | movement of the document management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of GUI of the item selection screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of GUI of the setting information display screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in setting item information DB which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of operation | movement of the document management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of GUI of the item selection screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of GUI of the setting information display screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation mode of a document management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the document management system according to the present embodiment includes an administrator terminal 1, a workflow server 2, an image processing apparatus 3, a client terminal 4, and a file management server 5. The administrator terminal 1 is a terminal operated by an administrator who manages the document management system according to the present embodiment, and a management tool for managing the system is installed. That is, the manager terminal 1 is a workflow management device and functions as a workflow management unit. The function of the manager terminal 1 is one of the gist of the present embodiment.

  The client terminal 4 is an information processing terminal operated by a user. The image processing apparatus 3 is a multifunction machine that can be used as a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, and a copying machine by including an imaging function, an image forming function, a communication function, and the like. The workflow server 2 is a server that executes a workflow constructed by a user in the document management system according to the present embodiment. The control system of the workflow server 2 according to the present embodiment is configured by SDK (Software Development Kit), and executes document accumulation or distribution processing according to a workflow constructed by a user.

  The file management server 5 is a data server that stores document information. The document information stored in the file management server 5 is information composed of image information such as extensions “jpg” and “pdf” and character information such as extensions “txt” and “doc”. The manager terminal 1, the workflow server 2, the image processing apparatus 3, the client terminal 4, and the file management server 5 are connected via a network. With this configuration, the document management system according to the present embodiment functions as an image processing system that processes input image information according to a workflow.

  Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the workflow server 2 and the image processing apparatus 3 are provided as separate apparatuses, it is also possible to configure as a single apparatus. Further, the administrator terminal 1 and the workflow server 2 or the image processing device 3 may be configured as a single device. Furthermore, the file management server 5 and the workflow server 2 or the image processing device 3 may be configured as a single device.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the information processing terminal such as the administrator terminal 1, the workflow server 2, the image processing apparatus 3, the client terminal 4, and the file management server 5 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the information processing terminal according to the present embodiment. The image processing apparatus 3 includes an engine for realizing a scanner, a printer, and the like in addition to the hardware configuration shown in FIG. Hereinafter, although the hardware configuration of the manager terminal 1 will be described as an example, the same applies to other information processing terminals.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the manager terminal 1 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as an information processing terminal such as a general server or a PC (Personal Computer). That is, the administrator terminal 1 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 40, and an I / F 50. They are connected via a bus 80. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation means and controls the operation of the manager terminal 1 as a whole. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 80 and various hardware and networks. The LCD 60 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the manager terminal 1. The operation unit 70 is a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse for the user to input information to the manager terminal 1. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the application server 4 and the file management server 5 according to the present embodiment are operated as servers. Therefore, user interfaces such as the LCD 60 and the operation unit 70 can be omitted.

  In such a hardware configuration, a program stored in a storage medium such as the ROM 30, the HDD 40, or an optical disk (not shown) is read into the RAM 20, and operates according to the control of the CPU 10, thereby configuring a software control unit. A functional block that realizes the functions of the information processing terminal such as the administrator terminal 1 according to the present embodiment is configured by a combination of the software control unit configured as described above and hardware.

  Next, the functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 300, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 301, a scanner unit 302, a paper discharge tray 303, a display panel 304, and a paper feed table. 305, a print engine 306, a paper discharge tray 307, and a network I / F 308.

  The controller 300 includes a main control unit 311, an engine control unit 312, an input / output control unit 313, an image processing unit 314, and an operation display control unit 315. As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment is configured as a multifunction machine having a scanner unit 302 and a print engine 306. In FIG. 3, the electrical connection is indicated by a solid arrow, and the flow of a sheet or a document bundle is indicated by a broken arrow.

  The display panel 304 is an output interface that visually displays the state of the image processing apparatus 3 and is an input when the user directly operates the image processing apparatus 3 or inputs information to the image processing apparatus 3 as a touch panel. It is also an interface (operation unit). The network I / F 308 is an interface for the image processing apparatus 3 to communicate with other devices via the network A, and uses an Ethernet (registered trademark) or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface.

  The controller 300 is configured by a combination of software and hardware. Specifically, a control program such as firmware stored in a ROM 30, a nonvolatile memory, and a nonvolatile storage medium such as the HDD 40 or an optical disk is loaded into a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as “memory”) such as the RAM 20 to control the CPU 10. The controller 300 is configured by a software control unit configured according to the above and hardware such as an integrated circuit. The controller 300 functions as a control unit that controls the entire image processing apparatus 3.

  The main control unit 311 plays a role of controlling each unit included in the controller 300, and gives a command to each unit of the controller 300. The engine control unit 312 serves as a driving unit that controls or drives the print engine 306, the scanner unit 302, and the like. The input / output control unit 313 inputs signals and commands input via the network I / F 308 to the main control unit 311. The main control unit 311 controls the input / output control unit 313 to access the workflow server 2 and the file management server 4 via the network I / F 308 and the network.

  The image processing unit 314 generates drawing information based on image information to be printed and output under the control of the main control unit 311. The drawing information is information for drawing an image to be formed in the image forming operation by the print engine 306 as an image forming unit.

  Further, the image processing unit 314 processes image data input from the scanner unit 302 and generates image data. This image data is information stored in the image processing apparatus 3 as a result of the scanner operation or transmitted to the file management server 4 via the network I / F 308. The operation display control unit 315 displays information on the display panel 304 or notifies the main control unit 311 of information input via the display panel 304.

  When the image processing apparatus 3 operates as a printer, first, the input / output control unit 313 receives a print job via the network I / F 308. The input / output control unit 313 transfers the received print job to the main control unit 311. When receiving the print job, the main control unit 311 controls the image processing unit 314 to generate drawing information based on document information or image information included in the print job.

  When the drawing information is generated by the image processing unit 314, the engine control unit 312 performs image formation on the paper conveyed from the paper feed table 305 based on the generated drawing information. As a specific mode of the print engine 306, an ink jet image forming mechanism, an electrophotographic image forming mechanism, or the like can be used. A document on which an image is formed by the print engine 306 is discharged to a discharge tray 307.

  When the image processing apparatus 3 operates as a scanner, the operation display control unit 315 or the operation display control unit 315 or the like according to a scan operation instruction input from the external client terminal 2 or the like via the operation of the display panel 304 or the network I / F 308 by the user The input / output control unit 313 transfers the scan execution signal to the main control unit 311. The main control unit 311 controls the engine control unit 312 based on the received scan execution signal.

  The engine control unit 312 drives the ADF 301 and conveys the document to be imaged set on the ADF 301 to the scanner unit 302. In addition, the engine control unit 312 drives the scanner unit 302 and images a document conveyed from the ADF 301. If no original is set on the ADF 301 and the original is directly set on the scanner unit 302, the scanner unit 302 captures the set original under the control of the engine control unit 312. That is, the scanner unit 302 operates as an imaging unit.

  In the imaging operation, an imaging element such as a CCD included in the scanner unit 302 optically scans the document, and imaging information generated based on the optical information is generated. The engine control unit 312 transfers the imaging information generated by the scanner unit 302 to the image processing unit 314. The image processing unit 314 generates image information based on the imaging information received from the engine control unit 312 according to the control of the main control unit 311. Image information generated by the image processing unit 314 is stored in a storage medium attached to the image processing apparatus 3 such as the HDD 40.

  The image information generated by the image processing unit 314 is stored in the HDD 40 or the like as it is according to a user's instruction or externally such as the workflow server 2 and the file management server 5 via the input / output control unit 313 and the network I / F 308. Sent to the device. That is, the ADF 301 and the engine control unit 312 function as an image input unit.

  When the image processing apparatus 3 operates as a copying machine, the image processing unit 314 generates drawing information based on the imaging information received by the engine control unit 312 from the scanner unit 302 or the image information generated by the image processing unit 314. To do. Based on the drawing information, the engine control unit 312 drives the print engine 306 as in the case of the printer operation.

  Next, functional blocks of the workflow server 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of the workflow server 2 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the workflow server 2 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 200, a network I / F 210, and a flow information DB 220. With such a configuration, the workflow server 2 processes the input image information according to the workflow.

  The network I / F 220 is an interface for the workflow server 2 to acquire information via the network or transmit information via the network, and is realized by the I / F 50 illustrated in FIG. Specifically, it is realized by, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) connection interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection interface.

  The controller 200 is configured by a combination of software and hardware. Specifically, a control program such as firmware stored in a ROM 30, a nonvolatile memory, and a nonvolatile storage medium such as the HDD 40 or an optical disk is loaded into a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as “memory”) such as the RAM 20 to control the CPU 10. The controller 200 is configured by a software control unit configured according to the above and hardware such as an integrated circuit. The controller 200 functions as a control unit that controls the entire workflow server 2.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the controller 200 includes an information acquisition unit 201, a flow control unit 202, and a flow execution unit 203. The information acquisition unit 201 acquires information input via the network I / F 210. The main information acquired by the information acquisition unit 201 is workflow execution instructions and image information to be processed according to the workflow.

  The flow control unit 202 acquires workflow information from the flow information DB 220 according to the workflow execution instruction acquired by the information acquisition unit 201 and causes the workflow execution unit 203 to execute the workflow. The workflow execution unit 203 executes the workflow according to the control of the flow control unit 202. That is, the flow execution unit 203 functions as a workflow execution unit. The flow execution unit 203 executes processing via the network I / F 210 when it is necessary to accumulate documents in the file management server 5 or to distribute documents to the client terminal 4 when executing a workflow.

  The flow information DB 220 is a storage unit that stores workflow information. An example of information stored in the flow information DB 220 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow information DB 220 stores ID, which is workflow identification information for identifying a workflow, the name of the workflow, and information on the contents of processing included in the workflow, that is, workflow information. That is, the flow information DB 220 functions as a workflow information storage unit.

  For example, in the case of a workflow with ID “001”, the name is “project A” and includes processes such as “process a”, “process b”, “process c”. Each process includes various setting items such as “setting 1”, “setting 2”, and “setting 3”, and the flow information storage unit 220 stores the setting information, that is, parameters. Each process such as “process a”, “process b”, “process c”,... Shown in FIG. 6 is a process that constitutes a workflow. OCR (Optical Character Recognition), information embedding, and document information accumulation Or processing such as distribution.

  Each setting item such as “setting 1” and “setting 2” described above includes more detailed parameters. This parameter is, for example, a setting value of an IP address or a port number if it is a setting item for document distribution processing, and is a setting value for character code or character range recognition if it is an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) process. is there. Such parameter setting information will be described later.

  Next, functional blocks of the manager terminal 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of the manager terminal 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the manager terminal 1 according to the present embodiment includes a management tool 100, an information input unit 110, a network I / F 120, and a display unit 130.

  The information input unit 110 is configured to allow a user who is an administrator to input information by operating the administrator terminal 1, and is realized by the I / F 50 and the operation unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 2. The network I / F 120 is an interface for the administrator terminal 1 to acquire information via the network or transmit information via the network, and is realized by the I / F 50 illustrated in FIG. Specifically, it is realized by, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) connection interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection interface. The display unit 130 is configured to display the operation state of the manager terminal 1, search results, and the like, and is realized by the I / F 50 and the LCD 60 shown in FIG.

  The management tool 100 is configured to take a function of managing or constructing a workflow executed in the image processing apparatus 3 in the administrator terminal 1 according to the present embodiment, and includes an operation information acquisition unit 101, a flow information management unit 102, an external information acquisition unit 103, and a flow information update unit 104. The management tool 100 is configured by a program loaded in the RAM 20 shown in FIG.

  The operation information acquisition unit 101 acquires operation information by the user via the information input unit 110. In the present embodiment, the operation information acquisition unit 101 acquires operation information related to workflow design and construction. The flow information management unit 102 manages workflow information according to the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 101, that is, an operation by the user, and configures a new workflow.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the flow information management unit 102 constructs a workflow by stacking a plurality of processes and storing information in the flow information DB 220 of the workflow server 2 in accordance with a user operation. In the present embodiment, the flow information management unit 102 outputs flow construction information via the network I / F 120 and stores the information in the flow information DB 220 of the workflow server 2.

  In addition, the flow information management unit 102 browses information on a workflow that has already been constructed or edits parameters of each process in accordance with a user operation. At this time, the flow information management unit 102 according to the present embodiment can collectively display a plurality of processing parameters incorporated in one workflow. Browsing workflow information by the flow information management unit 102 is one of the gist of this embodiment.

  The external information acquisition unit 103 acquires information from the outside via the network I / F 120 according to the processing by the flow information management unit 102. When a new plug-in is installed in the controller 200 of the workflow server 2, that is, when a new function is added to the flow execution unit 203 of the workflow server 2, the flow information update unit 104 sets the information as a setting item. It adds to information DB140.

  The setting item information DB 140 is a storage unit that stores information on plug-ins installed in the controller 200 of the workflow server 2. FIG. 7 shows an example of information stored in the setting item information DB 140 according to this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the setting item information DB 140 stores ID that is identification information for identifying a plug-in, the name of the plug-in, and information on the content of the setting item included in the plug-in. That is, the information shown in FIG. 7 is used as setting item information, and the setting item information DB 140 functions as a setting item information storage unit.

  For example, in the case of the plug-in with ID “001”, the name is “Processing A” and includes setting items such as “Setting 1”, “Setting 2”, “Setting 3”, and “Setting 4”. As described above, the setting item information DB 140 holds information on setting items of plug-ins installed in the workflow server 2 as a database. Thereby, it becomes possible to complete the search and extraction of each item information quickly.

  The setting item information DB 140 also stores information shown in FIG. The information shown in FIG. 8 is information obtained by omitting the setting item information from the information stored in the flow information DB 220 described in FIG. That is, the setting item information DB 140 stores information (hereinafter referred to as workflow configuration information) indicating what kind of processing each workflow registered in the workflow server 2 is configured.

  Next, in the document management system according to the present embodiment, an operation when the administrator operates the administrator terminal 1 and browses information on plug-in setting items included in a predetermined workflow will be described. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the above operation in the document management system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, when the administrator operates the information input unit 110 of the administrator terminal and inputs a screen display instruction to the management tool 100, the operation information acquisition unit 101 acquires the operation information. Then, the flow information management unit 102 is instructed to display a screen (S901). At this time, the administrator designates a workflow for displaying the setting item and instructs screen display. That is, the screen display instruction in S901 is workflow selection information including an ID for identifying the workflow. Further, the operation information acquisition unit 101 functions as a workflow selection information acquisition unit. In the present embodiment, a case where “project A”, that is, ID “001” is designated will be described as an example.

  Receiving the screen display instruction from the operation information acquisition unit 101, the flow information management unit 102 acquires item information from the flow information DB 140 based on the specified workflow ID (S902). In step S <b> 902, first, the flow information management unit 102 refers to the information illustrated in FIG. 9 based on the designated workflow ID “001”, and acquires information on the contents of the process included in “projectA”. Here, information indicating “process a”, “process b”, and “process c” is acquired. That is, the flow information management unit 102 functions as a workflow configuration information acquisition unit that acquires workflow configuration information.

  When the flow information management unit 102 acquires information on the contents of the process included in “project A”, the flow information management unit 102 refers to the information illustrated in FIG. 8 and acquires information on the setting items included in the acquired process. For example, for “processing a”, information such as “setting 1”, “setting 2”, “setting 3”, and “setting 4” is acquired. That is, the flow information management unit 102 refers to the setting item information, and acquires the setting item information of each plug-in.

  When the flow information management unit 102 acquires setting item information through the processing of S902, the flow information management unit 102 generates display information for a screen for selecting an item by the administrator (hereinafter referred to as an item selection screen) and displays the display information on the display unit 130 (S903). That is, the flow information management unit 102 functions as an item selection screen display information generation unit that generates display information of an item selection screen.

  The flow information management unit 102 generates the display information by using, for example, XML (extensible Markup Language). Thus, the screen can be easily configured according to the acquired setting item information. An example of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the display unit 130 by the processing of S903 is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a GUI of an item selection screen in the document management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, on the item selection screen according to the present embodiment, first, the name of the workflow selected in S801 is displayed as “project A”, and a setting item is set for each process included in the workflow. Is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a check box is provided for each setting item for each process included in the workflow. The administrator operates a pointer such as a mouse as the information input unit 110, and selects an item to be displayed by checking each check box. Accordingly, the operation information acquisition unit 101 acquires information indicating the selected item (hereinafter referred to as selection item information) as operation information, and inputs the operation information to the flow information management unit 102 (S904). In this embodiment, the case where setting 1 of process a, setting 2 and setting 2 of process b are selected is taken as an example. That is, the operation information acquisition unit 101 functions as a selection item information acquisition unit.

  When the flow information management unit 102 acquires the selection item information from the operation information acquisition unit 101, the flow information management unit 102 instructs the external information acquisition unit 103 to acquire setting value information (hereinafter referred to as setting information) of the selected item, that is, a parameter. (S905). The external information acquisition unit 103 acquires setting information from the flow information DB 220 of the workflow server 2 in response to the setting information acquisition instruction from the flow information management unit 102 (S906). That is, the external information acquisition unit 103 functions as a setting information acquisition unit.

  In step S906 according to the present embodiment, the external information acquisition unit 103 acquires information on the selected setting item for the selected workflow from the information illustrated in FIG. The information acquired here is the detailed parameter information described above. That is, if the setting item is a document distribution process, the setting value is an IP address or a port number. If the process is an OCR process, the setting value is a character code or a character range recognition value.

  When the external information acquisition unit 103 acquires the setting information from the workflow server 2, the external information acquisition unit 103 transfers the acquired setting information to the flow information management unit 102 (S907). When the flow information management unit 102 acquires the setting information, the flow information management unit 102 generates display information for a screen (hereinafter referred to as a setting information display screen) for displaying the setting information of the selected setting item, and causes the display unit 130 to display the display information. (S908), the process ends. That is, the flow information management unit 102 functions as a setting information display screen generation unit that generates display information of the setting information display screen. Again, the flow information management unit 102 generates the display information by XML.

  An example of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the display unit 130 by the processing of S908 is shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a GUI of the setting information display screen in the document management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, on the setting information display screen according to the present embodiment, first, the name of the workflow selected in S901 is displayed as “projectA”, and further, the setting of the setting item selected in S904 is set. Information is displayed for each plug-in. These setting information is information acquired in S907.

  When the setting information display screen as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, the administrator can change each setting information by operating the information input unit 110. The change of the setting information is, for example, the change of the IP address and the port number in the setting 1 of the process a, the change of the character code and the paragraph number in the setting 2 of the process b.

  As described above, in the document management system according to the present embodiment, when browsing the setting information of each process included in the already registered workflow, it is displayed as a different GUI for each plug-in as in the past. Instead, they can be displayed together on a single GUI. Thereby, the convenience of the administrator at the time of confirmation or change of items can be improved.

  Also, in the document management system according to the present embodiment, when browsing the setting information, not all the setting items included in the selected workflow are displayed, but only the setting information of the item selected by the administrator is displayed. To do. Thereby, the number of setting information items to be displayed is enormous, and it is not difficult to find setting information to be confirmed on the GUI.

  Further, the processes that can be executed in the workflow server 2 increase as needed by installing new plug-ins in the workflow server 2. Therefore, the screen described in FIG. 10 needs to correspond to the addition of a new plug-in in the workflow server 2. In this embodiment, every time a new plug-in is installed in the workflow server 2, the flow information update unit 104 updates the information described in FIG. 7 among the information stored in the setting item information DB 140. The item selection screen described in FIG. 10 can always be kept up-to-date. That is, the flow information update unit 104 functions as a setting item information update unit.

  In addition, when the flow information management unit 102 configures a new workflow according to an operation of a user who is an administrator and workflow information is added to the flow information DB 220 of the workflow server 2, the flow information update unit 104 Of the information stored in the information DB 140, the information described in FIG. 8 is updated. As a result, even when a new workflow is added and the workflow is selected in S901, the processing can be executed in the same manner as described above. That is, the flow information update unit 104 functions as a workflow configuration information update unit.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the setting item information DB 140 provided in the manager terminal 1 holds information as described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, and as described with reference to FIG. The display process of the item selection screen can be completed within the manager terminal 1. Therefore, after the administrator issues a screen display instruction in S901, the process until the item selection screen is displayed in S903 can be completed quickly.

  In the above embodiment, the setting item information DB 140 stores information indicating what kind of processing each workflow registered in the workflow server 2 is configured as described in FIG. The case is described as an example. In this case, as in S907 of FIG. 9, the actual setting value information needs to be acquired from the workflow server 2. However, if there is a margin in the storage medium that configures the setting item information DB 140, information on the setting value may be stored in the setting item information DB 140. In this case, the setting item information DB 140 stores the information shown in FIG. 5 instead of the information shown in FIG. Thereby, the process of S906 can also be completed inside the manager terminal 1, and the process can be completed quickly.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the present embodiment, a document management system capable of displaying a setting information display screen having a mode different from the setting information display screen described in the first embodiment will be described. In addition, about the structure which attaches | subjects the code | symbol similar to Embodiment 1, it shall show the same or equivalent part, and abbreviate | omits description.

  The document management system according to the present embodiment has a configuration substantially similar to that of the first embodiment. Here, in the present embodiment, the information stored in the setting information DB 140 of the manager terminal 1 is different from the first embodiment. The setting information DB 140 according to the present embodiment stores information as shown in FIG. 12 instead of the information described in FIG.

  The information shown in FIG. 12 is information indicating in which workflow each process executable by the workflow server 2, that is, the plug-in is registered. In other words, the information shown in FIG. 12 is embedded workflow information in which information for identifying each plug-in and information on a workflow in which each plug-in is incorporated are stored in association with each other. As shown in FIG. 12, the embedded workflow information stores an ID that is identification information for identifying a plug-in, a name of the plug-in, and information on a workflow in which the plug-in is registered. For example, in the case of the plug-in of process “a” with ID “001”, it is registered in “project A”, “project B”, and “project C”.

  Next, in the document management system according to the present embodiment, an operation when the administrator operates the administrator terminal 1 to browse setting information of a predetermined plug-in for each workflow will be described. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the above operation in the document management system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, first, when the administrator operates the information input unit 110 of the administrator terminal and inputs a screen display instruction to the management tool 100, the operation information acquisition unit 101 acquires the operation information. Then, the flow information management unit 102 is instructed to display a screen (S1301). At this time, the administrator designates a plug-in that should display the setting item and instructs screen display. That is, the screen display instruction in S1301 includes an ID for identifying the plug-in. In the present embodiment, a case where “processing a”, that is, ID “001” is designated will be described as an example. That is, the operation information acquisition unit 101 functions as a process selection information acquisition unit that acquires process selection information that is information for selecting a plug-in.

  Receiving the screen display instruction from the operation information acquisition unit 101, the flow information management unit 102 acquires item information from the flow information DB 140 based on the specified workflow ID (S1302). In step S <b> 1302, the flow information management unit 102 refers to the information illustrated in FIG. 7 based on the specified plug-in ID “001”, and acquires the setting item information of “processing a”. Here, information indicating “setting 1”, “setting 2”, “setting 3”, and “setting 4” is acquired.

  When the flow information management unit 102 acquires setting item information through the processing of S1302, the flow information management unit 102 generates display information for a screen for selecting an item by the administrator (hereinafter referred to as an item selection screen) and displays the display information on the display unit 130. (S1303). An example of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the display unit 130 by the processing of S1303 is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a GUI of an item selection screen in the document management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, on the item selection screen according to the present embodiment, the setting items of the plug-in selected in S1301 are displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 14, check boxes are provided for the plug-in setting items. The administrator operates a pointer such as a mouse as the information input unit 110, and selects an item to be displayed by checking each check box. Thereby, the operation information acquisition unit 101 acquires information indicating the washed item (hereinafter referred to as selection item information) as operation information, and inputs the operation information to the flow information management unit 102 (S1304). In this embodiment, the case where setting 1 and setting 2 are selected is taken as an example.

  When the flow information management unit 102 acquires the selection item information from the operation information acquisition unit 101, the flow information management unit 102 refers to the embedded workflow information described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, since the workflow including “process a” is “project A”, “project B”, and “project C”, the flow information management unit 102 stores the information “project A”, “project B”, and “project C”. get.

  When recognizing the workflow including the selected plug-in, the flow information management unit 102 instructs the external information acquisition unit 103 for each workflow recognized to acquire the setting information of the selected item, that is, the parameter (S1305). ). The external information acquisition unit 103 acquires setting information from the flow information DB 220 of the workflow server 2 in response to the setting information acquisition instruction from the flow information management unit 102 (S1306).

  In step S1306 according to the present embodiment, the external information acquisition unit 103 acquires information on the selected setting item for each workflow from the information illustrated in FIG. The information acquired here is the detailed parameter information described above. That is, if the setting item is a document distribution process, the setting value is an IP address or a port number. If the process is an OCR process, the setting value is a character code or a character range recognition value.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 5, plug-in setting information is stored for each plug-in, and the value of the setting information differs for each workflow even in the same process a. In the present embodiment, the external information acquisition unit 103 acquires information on the setting items of the selected plug-in for each workflow.

  When the external information acquisition unit 103 acquires the setting information from the workflow server 2, it transfers the acquired setting information to the flow information management unit 102 (S1307). When the flow information management unit 102 acquires the setting information, the flow information management unit 102 generates display information for a screen (hereinafter referred to as a setting information display screen) for displaying the setting information of the selected setting item, and causes the display unit 130 to display the display information. (S1308), the process ends.

  An example of the GUI displayed on the display unit 130 by the process of S1308 is shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a GUI of the setting information display screen in the document management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, on the setting information display screen according to the present embodiment, first, the name of the plug-in selected in S1301 is displayed as “Processing a”, and further, the setting item selected in S1304. Is displayed for each workflow. The setting information is information acquired in S1307.

  When the setting information display screen as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed, the administrator can change each setting information and the like by operating the information input unit 110 as in the first embodiment. Become.

  As described above, the document management system according to the present embodiment includes the selected plug-in by selecting the plug-in when browsing the setting information of each plug-in included in the already registered workflow. The setting information of the plug-in is displayed for each workflow. As a result, when there is a change to be reflected in all workflows with respect to one plug-in, it is possible to make a change in a batch, and it is possible to improve the convenience of the user who is an administrator.

  In this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 12, the setting item information DB 140 stores information indicating a workflow in which each plug-in is incorporated. In this case, as in S1306 in FIG. 13, the actual setting value information needs to be acquired from the workflow server 2. However, if there is a margin in the storage medium that configures the setting item information DB 140, information on the setting value may be stored in the setting item information DB 140. Thereby, the process of S1306 can also be completed within the manager terminal 1, and the process can be completed quickly.

  In the present embodiment, the information described with reference to FIG. 12 needs to correspond to the addition of a new plug-in in the workflow server 2. In the present embodiment, every time a new plug-in is installed in the workflow server 2, the flow information update unit 104 updates the information described in FIG. 12 among the information stored in the setting item information DB 140. The setting information display screen displayed as a result of the processing described in FIG. 13 can always be kept up-to-date. That is, the flow information update unit 104 functions as an embedded workflow information update unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal for managers 2 Workflow server 3 Image processing device 4 Terminal for clients 5 File management server 10 CPU
20 RAM
30 ROM
40 HDD
50 I / F
60 LCD
70 Operation Unit 80 Bus 100 Management Tool 101 Operation Information Acquisition Unit 102 Flow Information Management Unit 103 External Information Acquisition Unit 104 Flow Information Update Unit 110 Information Input Unit 120 Network I / F
130 Display unit 140 Setting item information DB
200 Controller 201 Information Acquisition Unit 202 Flow Control Unit 203 Flow Execution Unit 210 Network I / F
220 Flow information DB
300 Controller 301 ADF
302 Scanner unit 303 Paper discharge tray 304 Display panel 305 Paper feed table 306 Print engine 307 Paper discharge tray 308 Network I / F
311 Main control unit 312 Engine control unit 313 Input / output control unit 314 Image processing unit 315 Operation display control unit

JP 2008-97586 A

Claims (14)

An image processing system that processes input image information according to a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes,
An image input unit for inputting the image information;
A workflow execution unit that processes the input image according to the workflow;
A workflow management unit that manages operations when the workflow execution unit executes the workflow, and
The workflow management unit
A workflow selection information acquisition unit for acquiring workflow selection information for selecting the workflow;
Workflow configuration information acquisition for acquiring information on a process constituting the selected workflow with reference to workflow configuration information stored in association with information for identifying the workflow and information on the plurality of processes constituting the workflow And
Referring to setting item information storing setting item information for each of the plurality of processes, generating display information of an item selection screen for selecting a setting item for the process constituting the selected workflow An item selection screen display information generation unit to perform,
A selection item information acquisition unit that acquires selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen;
Based on the acquired selection item information, a setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information that is setting value information about the selected setting item;
An image processing system comprising: a setting information display screen generating unit that generates display information of a setting information display screen for displaying setting value information for the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information.   The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the workflow management unit further includes a setting item information storage unit that stores the workflow configuration information and the setting item information.   Setting item information for updating the setting item information stored in the setting item information storage unit when the workflow management unit adds a function of a new process constituting the workflow to the execution unit of the workflow The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising an update unit.   The workflow management unit further includes a workflow configuration information update unit that updates the workflow configuration information stored in the setting item information storage unit when a new workflow is registered in the workflow execution unit. The image processing system according to claim 1. The workflow management unit further includes a process selection information acquisition unit that acquires process selection information for selecting processes constituting the workflow,
The item selection screen display information generation unit generates item selection screen display information for selecting a setting item for the selected process,
The setting information display screen generation unit
Referring to the embedded workflow information stored in association with the information for identifying each of the plurality of processes and the information of the workflow in which the processes are embedded;
For each of a plurality of workflows in which the selected process is incorporated, display information of a setting information display screen for displaying setting value information about the selected setting item is generated. The image processing system according to claim 1.   The image processing system according to claim 5, wherein the workflow management unit further includes a setting item information storage unit that stores the embedded workflow information.   The workflow management unit further includes an embedded workflow information update unit that updates the embedded workflow information stored in the setting item information storage unit when a new workflow is registered in the workflow execution unit. The image processing system according to claim 6. An image processing system that processes input image information according to a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes,
An image input unit for inputting the image information;
A workflow execution unit that processes the input image according to the workflow;
A workflow management unit that manages operations when the workflow execution unit executes the workflow, and
The workflow management unit
A process selection information acquisition unit for acquiring process selection information for selecting processes constituting the workflow;
Reference is made to setting item information storing setting item information for each of the plurality of processes, and display information of an item selection screen for selecting a setting item for the selected process is acquired. An item selection screen display information generation unit that generates based on the process selection information;
A selection item information acquisition unit that acquires selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen;
Based on the acquired selection item information, a setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information that is setting value information about the selected setting item;
Reference is made to embedded workflow information stored in association with information for identifying each of the plurality of processes and workflow information in which the processes are embedded, and the plurality of workflows in which the selected processes are embedded An image processing system including a setting information display screen generating unit that generates display information of a setting information display screen for displaying information of setting values for the selected setting items.   The image processing system according to claim 8, further comprising a setting item information storage unit that stores the embedded workflow information.   An embedded workflow information update unit that updates the embedded workflow information stored in the setting item information storage unit when a new workflow is registered in the workflow execution device that executes the workflow, The image processing system according to claim 9. An image processing apparatus included in an image processing system that processes input image information according to a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes,
An image input unit for inputting the image information;
A workflow management unit that manages the operation of a workflow execution unit that processes the input image according to the workflow;
The workflow management unit
A workflow selection information acquisition unit for acquiring workflow selection information for selecting the workflow;
Workflow configuration information acquisition for acquiring information on a process constituting the selected workflow with reference to workflow configuration information stored in association with information for identifying the workflow and information on the plurality of processes constituting the workflow And
Referring to setting item information storing setting item information for each of the plurality of processes, generating display information of an item selection screen for selecting a setting item for the process constituting the selected workflow An item selection screen display information generation unit to perform,
A selection item information acquisition unit that acquires selection item information that is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen;
Based on the acquired selection item information, a setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information that is setting value information about the selected setting item;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a setting information display screen generating unit that generates display information of a setting information display screen for displaying setting value information for the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information. A control program for operating an information processing apparatus as a workflow management apparatus that manages information on a workflow configured by combining a plurality of processes,
Obtaining workflow selection information for selecting the workflow;
Referring to workflow configuration information stored in association with information for identifying the workflow and information of the plurality of processes constituting the workflow, and obtaining information of the processes constituting the selected workflow;
Referring to setting item information storing setting item information for each of the plurality of processes, generating display information of an item selection screen for selecting a setting item for the process constituting the selected workflow And steps to
Obtaining selection item information which is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen;
Based on the acquired selection item information, obtaining setting information which is information of a setting value for the selected setting item;
A control program that causes the information processing apparatus to execute display information of a setting information display screen for displaying setting value information for the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information. .   A recording medium in which the control program according to claim 12 is recorded in a format readable by an information processing apparatus. A workflow management method for managing workflow information configured by combining multiple processes,
Obtaining workflow selection information for selecting the workflow;
Referencing the workflow configuration information stored in association with the information for identifying the workflow and the information of the plurality of processes constituting the workflow, to acquire the information of the process constituting the selected workflow,
Display information of an item selection screen for selecting a setting item for a process constituting the selected workflow with reference to setting item information storing setting item information for each of the plurality of processes Generate
Obtaining selection item information which is information of the setting item selected according to the item selection screen;
Based on the acquired selection item information, obtain setting information that is information of a setting value for the selected setting item;
A workflow management method for generating display information of a setting information display screen for displaying setting value information for the selected setting item based on the acquired setting information.

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