JP2016057948A - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve flexibility of a processing flow configured by the combination of a processing unit.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes a processing controller for executing one or more processing units relative to input data according to an order defined in definition information and a first output section that obtains data to be made to be a processing object by any of the processing units or data generated by any of the processing units from a storage section, in response to stop of a first processing unit that is one of the one or more processing units, to output the obtained data to an output destination specified by the definition information. The processing controller executes processing units after the first processing unit in response to input of the renewal request of processing unit from the output destination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

  There is a system capable of executing a predefined workflow for image data scanned from a document in an image forming apparatus (for example, Patent Document 1). In such a system, a workflow is defined so that data flows in a form in accordance with the user's business flow.

  One workflow basically includes processing units such as data input processing, zero or more processing processes for the data, data input by input processing or output processing of data generated by execution of one or more processing processes, and the like. Consists of a combination of

  However, it may not be desirable for the processing units constituting the workflow to be executed continuously and automatically. For example, in the middle of a workflow, there is a case where it is desired to wait for input by the user and execute subsequent processing units in accordance with the input by the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to improve the flexibility of a processing flow configured by a combination of processing units.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the information processing apparatus executes one or more processing units for input data in the order defined in the definition information, and one of the one or more processing units. In response to the stop of the first processing unit, the data to be processed by any processing unit or the data generated by any processing unit is acquired from the storage unit, the acquired data, A first output unit that outputs to the output destination specified in the definition information, and the processing control unit responds to an input of a restart request for the processing unit from the output destination. The subsequent processing unit is executed.

  The flexibility of the processing flow configured by the combination of processing units can be improved.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information processing system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the flow management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the flow management server and restart instruction | indication apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a job input part. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence which a job input part performs. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence which a flow execution control part performs. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the workflow in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow definition data in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the classification of the content data of a flow job. It is a figure which shows an example of the job definition data of the initial state in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the job definition data after execution of the OCR process in this Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed until a flow job is stopped in a stop process. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the parameter edit screen before editing of parameter information. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating an example of the process sequence performed according to operation via a parameter edit screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the parameter edit screen after editing parameter information. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating an example of the process sequence performed according to the restart instruction | indication of a stop process. It is a figure which shows an example of the job definition data after the change of the parameter in this Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a flow management server 10, one or more restart instruction devices 20, and one or more image forming devices 30. Each device is communicably connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet (whether wired or wireless).

  The flow management server 10 is a computer that executes a predefined workflow for data received via a network. A workflow refers to, for example, a process flow (process flow) realized by an arbitrary combination of one or more processing units (tasks) that realize functions independently or independently. The processing unit may be applied to an activity in general workflow terms.

  The restart instruction apparatus 20 is an apparatus used for inputting a restart instruction for a workflow in which the progress of processing is temporarily stopped (a stopped workflow). That is, in the present embodiment, it is possible to execute a workflow that can temporarily stop the progress of processing. The restart instruction device 20 may be, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the image forming device 30. Further, the restart instruction device 20 may be the same device as the flow management server 10.

  The image forming apparatus 30 is an example of an apparatus that is an input source of data to be processed in a workflow. For example, the image forming apparatus 30 transmits image data scanned from a document to the flow management server 10 as input data for a workflow. The data input source for the workflow may be performed by saving a file in a predetermined folder of a predetermined file server. It may also be performed by transmitting data by e-mail. Further, it may be performed by storing a file in a cloud storage.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the flow management server according to the embodiment of the present invention. The flow management server 10 in FIG. 2 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, an interface device 105, and the like that are mutually connected by a bus B.

  A program for realizing processing in the flow management server 10 is provided by a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 storing the program is set in the drive device 100, the program is installed from the recording medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. However, the program need not be installed from the recording medium 101 and may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 103 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 102 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 104 executes functions related to the flow management server 10 in accordance with a program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network.

  The flow management server 10 may be a computer system including a plurality of computers.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the flow management server and the restart instruction device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, the flow management server 10 includes a job input unit 11, a flow execution control unit 12, a processing unit 13, a stop notification transmission unit 14, a parameter transmission unit 15, a content transmission unit 16, a restart request reception unit 17, and the like. . Each of these units is realized by processing executed by the CPU 104 by a program installed in the flow management server 10. The flow management server 10 also uses storage units such as a start job queue 121, a stop job queue 122, an executing job storage unit 123, and a flow definition storage unit 124. Each of these storage units can be realized by using the auxiliary storage device 102 or a storage device connected to the flow management server 10 via a network.

  The flow definition storage unit 124 stores flow definition data. The flow definition data refers to data in which definition information related to the workflow processing flow is recorded. In the present embodiment, one flow definition data corresponds to one workflow. Therefore, the flow definition data is created for each workflow having a different processing procedure.

  The job input unit 11 receives a workflow execution request, input data for the workflow, and the like, and inputs job information related to the workflow into the start job queue 121. In the present embodiment, a job refers to a workflow execution unit. For example, when the same workflow is executed a plurality of times, the jobs at the time of execution are different. Hereinafter, a workflow job is referred to as a “flow job”.

  The start job queue 121 stores the input job information in, for example, a FIFO (First-In First-Out) format. The job information is information including job definition data generated based on a copy of the flow definition data of the execution target workflow, processing target data such as image data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 30, and the like. Note that job information for one flow job may be stored and managed in one folder, for example.

  The flow execution control unit 12 is a running job storage unit 123 that allows each processing unit 13 to access job information to be executed according to the storage order among one or more pieces of job information stored in the start job queue 121. Move to. The flow execution control unit 12 controls the execution of the flow job based on the job information stored in the executing job storage unit 123. In other words, each processing unit 13 refers to the job information stored in the executing job storage unit 123 and executes the processing unit related to the processing unit 13. The executing job storage unit 123 may be formed for each flow job.

  The processing unit 13 executes processing for each processing unit (activity) constituting the workflow. For example, one processing unit is executed by one processing unit 13. Therefore, the workflow is realized by connection of processing units executed by one or more processing units 13 having different processing contents. However, the same processing unit may appear twice or more in one workflow.

  In the present embodiment, one or more processing units constituting a workflow executed by the flow management server 10 are roughly divided into an input process, an intermediate process, a stop process, and an output process. The input process is a process for inputting input data for a workflow from an external apparatus such as the image forming apparatus 30.

  The intermediate process is, for example, a processing process for data to be processed by the flow job. Examples of the intermediate processing include noise removal processing, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing, translation processing, data conversion processing, and the like.

  The stop process is a process for temporarily stopping the progress of the flow job in order to allow the user to intervene in the flow job in the middle of the flow job. The stopped state of the flow job continues until an instruction to restart the flow job is issued.

  The output process is a process for outputting data generated by the flow job in a form usable by the user. Available forms include not only forms directly used by the user such as printing on paper, but also forms usable by the user via an application program or the like such as electronic storage. As an example of the output process, a delivery process to a folder of a predetermined computer can be cited. A predetermined mail address may be set as the delivery destination. Further, the image forming apparatus 30 that is the input source of image data, or an image forming apparatus 30 that is different from the image forming apparatus 30 may be the distribution destination. In this case, printing of the distributed data may be executed by the image forming apparatus 30 that is the distribution destination.

  In FIG. 3, as an example of the processing unit 13, an OCR processing unit 13a, a stop processing unit 13b, a mail transmission processing unit 13c, and the like are illustrated. The OCR processing unit 13a performs OCR processing on the data to be processed. The stop processing unit 13b executes stop processing. In other words, the stop processing unit 13b temporarily stops the flow job and enables user intervention for the flow job. The mail transmission processing unit 13c transmits an e-mail attached with data to be processed to a predetermined destination. Each processing unit 13 may be realized by a process that the independent program module causes the CPU 104 to execute. A program module that causes the flow management server 10 (CPU 104) to function as the processing unit 13 is hereinafter referred to as a “plug-in”.

  When the stop process is executed in the flow job and the flow job is stopped, the stop notification transmission unit 14 sends the flow job to the restart instruction device 20 set as the stop notification transmission destination in the job definition data. Send a stop notification. The parameter transmission unit 15 selects a parameter whose value is allowed to be changed by the user from among parameters used for flow job execution control in response to a request from the restart instruction device 20 that is a transmission destination of a flow job stop notification. Then, it is transmitted (output) to the restart instruction device 20. That is, the transmission destination of the flow job stop notification is the parameter output destination. The parameters include, for example, output information of processing units whose execution order (hereinafter referred to as “execution order”) precedes the stop processing part 13b that executed the stop process, and the execution order later than the stop processing part 13b. This is information including one or both of the input information set in the job definition data for a certain processing unit. Which parameter is allowed to be changed by the user depends on the definition of the flow definition data that is the source of the job definition data. The stop notification transmission unit 14 may transmit the parameter information together with the flow job stop notification.

  The content transmission unit 16 responds to a request from the restart instruction apparatus 20 that is the transmission destination of the flow job stop notification, and is data to be processed by any processing unit, or data generated by any processing unit. Etc. (hereinafter, these data are collectively referred to as “content data”) is transmitted (output) to the restart instruction device 20. As a result, the user can browse and edit the content data in the restart instruction device 20.

  The resumption request receiving unit 17 receives a resumption request for a stopped flow job from the resumption instruction device 20. In response to receiving the restart request, the stopped flow job is restarted. It should be noted that the flow job restart request includes the result of changing the value of the parameter transmitted by the parameter transmitting unit 15, the result of editing the content data, and the like. The resumed flow job is controlled based on parameters related to the change result, content data related to the edit result, and the like.

  The restart instruction device 20 includes a stop notification reception unit 21, a parameter acquisition unit 22, a content acquisition unit 23, a display control unit 24, a restart request transmission unit 25, and the like. Each of these units is realized by processing that one or more programs installed in the restart instruction device 20 cause the CPU of the restart instruction device 20 to execute. The program may be a script included in a web page. In this case, the restart instruction device 20 only needs to have a Web browser that can interpret the script.

  The stop notification receiving unit 21 receives a flow job stop notification transmitted from the flow management server 10. The parameter acquisition unit 22 acquires the flow job parameters related to the stop notification from the flow management server 10. The content acquisition unit 23 acquires the flow job content data related to the stop notification from the flow management server 10. The display control unit 24 changes a value of the parameter acquired by the parameter acquisition unit 22 and downloads and uploads content data acquired by the content acquisition unit 23 (hereinafter referred to as “parameter editing screen”). .) Is displayed. The restart request transmission unit 25 transmits a flow job restart request to the flow management server 10 when the parameter value change by the user via the parameter editing screen, content data editing, or the like is completed. The restart request includes a change value of the parameter value on the parameter editing screen, content data after editing, and the like.

  By the way, among the input process, the intermediate process, the stop process, and the output process, each processing unit 13 executes an intermediate process, a stop process, or an output process. The input process is executed by the job input unit 11. In the input processing, there are various external devices as data input sources. Further, the data input method (data acquisition method or reception method when viewed from the flow management server 10) may be different for each external device. In order to flexibly cope with such a situation, the job input unit 11 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the job input unit. In the job input unit 11, the exchange with the data input source is realized by a pluggable program module (plug-in) as in the processing unit 13. FIG. 4 illustrates a scan input plug-in 111, a mail input plug-in 112, and a folder input plug-in 113.

  The scan input plug-in 111 is a plug-in that receives input data from the image forming apparatus 30. That is, the scan input plug-in 111 receives image data scanned by the image forming apparatus 30 from the image forming apparatus 30 as input data. A flow ID and the like are received from the image forming apparatus 30 together with the image data. The scan input plug-in 111 generates job information according to the format scheduled by the flow execution control unit 12 based on the received flow ID and image data, and stores the job information in the start job queue 121. To do. The flow ID is identification information for each workflow definition (that is, for each flow definition data).

  The mail input plug-in 112 is a plug-in that accepts a workflow execution request by an e-mail addressed to a predetermined mail address. In this case, the data attached to the e-mail is a workflow processing target. The data may be image data or data in another format. The mail input plug-in 112 acquires an e-mail addressed to a predetermined mail address from a mail server (not shown). The mail input plug-in 112 executes a job according to a format scheduled by the flow execution control unit 12 based on the data attached to the acquired electronic mail and the flow ID described in the electronic mail. Information is generated and the job information is stored in the start job queue 121.

  The folder input plug-in 113 is a plug-in that accepts a workflow execution request by uploading a file to a predetermined folder. The predetermined folder may be a folder formed in the auxiliary storage device 102 of the flow management server 10 or a storage device (for example, a storage device of a file server (not shown)) connected to the flow management server 10 via a network. It may be a formed folder. For example, the folder input plug-in 113 polls (periodically refers to) a predetermined folder, and stores the data to be processed in the folder (hereinafter referred to as “data file”), and the flow ID and setting. If a file storing values and the like (hereinafter referred to as “bibliographic file”) is stored, the data file and the bibliographic file are acquired. The folder input plug-in 113 generates job information according to the format scheduled by the flow execution control unit 12 based on the acquired data file and the information stored in the acquired bibliographic file. The job information is stored in the start job queue 121.

  Note that a plug-in for inputting input data may be added by a method other than the above. For example, a plug-in that accepts input data via a Web page may be added.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, each of the input process, the intermediate process, the stop process, and the output process is realized by a plug-in. Therefore, by creating and adding a plug-in that executes a desired process, it is possible to increase the number of workflow variations that can be defined.

  Hereinafter, a processing procedure executed by the flow management server 10 and the like will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed by the job input unit. Strictly speaking, FIG. 5 shows processing executed by the flow management server 10 by any plug-in for the job input unit 11.

  When the job input unit 11 receives the input data for the workflow and the flow ID of the workflow to be executed (Yes in S11), the job input unit 11 acquires the flow definition data corresponding to the flow ID from the flow definition storage unit 124 (S12). . The input data is scanned image data if the transmission source of the input data or the like is the image forming apparatus 30.

  Subsequently, the job input unit 11 generates job definition data based on the obtained copy of the flow definition data (S13). Subsequently, the job input unit 11 stores the input data and job definition data in the start job queue 121 (S14). For example, a file corresponding to the flow job is generated under a predetermined folder used as the start job queue 121, and each of input data, job definition data, and meta information is stored in the folder. May be stored.

  Next, a processing procedure executed in response to storing job information for the start job queue 121 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed by the flow execution control unit.

  For example, the flow execution control unit 12 periodically refers to the start job queue 121 (S101). When one or more pieces of job information are stored in the start job queue 121 (Yes in S <b> 101), the flow execution control unit 12 stores, for example, the oldest job information in the job information from the start job queue 121. The data is taken out and moved to the executing job storage unit 123 (S102). That is, the retrieved job information is deleted from the start job queue 121.

  Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 assigns “1” to the variable i (S103). The variable i is a variable for storing the execution order of processing units to be executed in a flow job to be processed (hereinafter referred to as “target flow job”). Hereinafter, the processing unit executed i-th is referred to as “processing unit i”. Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 substitutes the total number of processing units constituting the target flow job into a variable N (S104). The total number of processing units constituting the target flow job can be specified based on the job definition data.

  Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 determines whether or not the value of the variable i is equal to or less than the variable N (S105). That is, it is determined whether there is an unprocessed processing unit among the processing units constituting the target flow.

  When the value of the variable i is equal to or less than the variable N, that is, when there is an unprocessed processing unit (Yes in S105), the flow execution control unit 12 assigns the processing unit i to the processing unit 13 corresponding to the processing unit i. This is executed (S106). For example, the flow execution control unit 12 requests the processing unit 13 to execute the processing unit i. The request includes, for example, identification information (hereinafter referred to as “job ID”) of the target flow job. The processing unit 13 executes the processing unit i based on the job information in response to the request, and returns the status of the processing unit i to the flow execution control unit 12. In the present embodiment, the status of the processing unit has a value of “complete”, “stop”, or “error”. “Completed” indicates that the processing unit has been completed normally. “Stop” indicates that the processing unit is temporarily stopped. “Error” indicates that the processing unit ended abnormally.

  Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 determines whether or not the returned status is “stop” (S107). If the status is not “stop” (No in S107), the flow execution control unit 12 determines whether the status is “error” (S108). When the status is not “error” (No in S108), the flow execution control unit 12 adds 1 to the variable i (S109), and repeats Step S105 and subsequent steps. That is, when the returned status is “completed”, the next processing unit is executed.

  On the other hand, when the status is “error” (Yes in S108), the flow execution control unit 12 executes processing at the time of abnormal termination (S110). For example, the job information of the target flow job is moved from the executing job storage unit 123 to an area for storing the job information of the flow job in which an error has occurred. When the processing at the abnormal end is completed, the target flow job is ended.

  When the status is “stopped” (Yes in S107), the flow execution control unit 12 moves the job information of the target flow job from the executing job storage unit 123 to the stop job queue 122 (S111). As a result, the progress of the target flow job is stopped. In the present embodiment, the processing unit 13 that returns a status indicating “stop” is the stop processing unit 13b.

  Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 waits for a notification of a request to resume the target flow job (S112). When a request to resume the target flow job is notified (Yes in S112), the flow execution control unit 12 moves the job information of the target flow job stored in the stop job queue 122 to the executing job storage unit 123. (S113). Subsequently, step S106 and subsequent steps are repeated. Here, the processing unit requested to be executed in step S106 is the stopped processing unit. In response to the second execution request, the stop processing unit 13b related to the processing unit returns a status indicating “completed”. As a result, the progress of the flow is resumed.

  Next, the present embodiment will be described based on a specific example. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of a workflow in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, OCR processing is first executed on the image data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 30 included in the job information. Text data extracted from the image data is output by the OCR process. Subsequently, stop processing is executed. The stop process gives the user an opportunity to edit the text data. Subsequently, mail transmission processing is executed. In the mail transmission process, an e-mail whose subject is text data that has been modified by the user with respect to the result of the OCR process is transmitted to the e-mail address set in the job definition data. In the present embodiment, the stop process gives the user an opportunity to change the mail address as well as editing the text data.

  The workflow flow definition data shown in FIG. 7 is defined as shown in FIG. 8, for example. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow definition data in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the flow definition data is defined in an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format. However, the flow definition data may be defined according to other formats such as CSV (Comma Separated Values) format.

  In FIG. 8, the flow definition data 500 uses a flow element surrounded by <flow> tags as a root element. The flow element includes an id element 510 and one or more plug-in elements as child elements. The value of the id element 510 (“Flow1”) is a flow ID.

  The plug-in element is a definition for each processing unit. The flow definition data 500 includes a plug-in element 520 corresponding to the OCR process, a plug-in element 530 corresponding to the stop process, and a plug-in element 550 corresponding to the mail transmission process. Each plug-in element includes an order attribute. The value of the order attribute indicates the execution order of the processing units related to the plug-in element. Each plug-in element includes an id element, a displayName element, and a parameters element as child elements.

  The value of the id element is identification information of a program (plug-in) that causes the flow management server 10 to function as the processing unit 13 that executes the processing unit. The flow execution control unit 12 can call the program based on the value of the id element. The value of displayName is a character string displayed on the graphic when the graphic indicating each processing unit is displayed on the editing screen related to the flow definition data. The parameters element is a part where an input parameter for the processing unit is specified and a processing result (output information) by the processing unit is recorded. Input parameters and output information are different for each processing unit. Accordingly, the structure of the value of the parameters element differs depending on the processing unit.

  For example, the parameters element of the plug-in element 520 corresponding to the OCR process includes a keyword element 521. The keyword element 521 is an element for storing the result of the OCR process. In FIG. 8, the value of the keyword element 521 is empty. This is because the result of the OCR process is not fixed in the state of the flow definition data. That is, in the keyword element 521, a character string extracted by the OCR process after the OCR process is executed based on the job definition data generated based on the flow definition data 500 is recorded.

  The parameters element of the plug-in element 530 corresponding to the stop process includes a panel element 531, a panelAddress element 532, a panelSize element 533, a maxWaitingTime element 534, an errorHandling element 535, a displayParameter element 536 to 539, and a contentHand element 536.

  The value of the panel element 531 is the type of the restart instruction apparatus 20 that is the transmission destination of the stop notification. “Mfp” indicates the image forming apparatus 30. The value of the panelAddress element 532 is the IP address of the restart instruction device 20. The value of the panelSize element 533 is the screen size of the display device in the restart instruction device 20. The value of the maxWaitingTime element 534 is the maximum waiting time until the restart is requested after the flow job is stopped. The value of the errorHandling element 535 indicates a process to be executed when resumption is not requested even after the maximum waiting time has elapsed. “Skip” indicates that the processing unit (stop processing) is skipped.

  The value of each displayParameter element is identification information of a parameter to be output (displayed or edited) in the restart instruction device 20. The identification information is indicated in the form of “<value of id element of plug-in element> / <tag name of element corresponding to parameter>”. For example, “ocr / keyword” of the displayParameter element 536 indicates the value of the keyword element 521 of the plug-in element 520 including the id element whose value is “ocr” as a child element. “smtp / to1” of the display Parameter 537 indicates the value of the to1 element 553 of the plug-in element 550 including the id element whose value is “smtp” as a child element.

  The value of the contentHandling element 540 is a definition indicating whether or not download (reference) and upload (overwrite) during stop processing can be performed for various content data of the flow job.

  Here, the type of content data will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the type of content data of a flow job. FIG. 9 shows that primary data, original data, full text data, and the like can exist as content data.

  Primary data is data to be processed in a flow job. Accordingly, the contents of the primary data can change as the flow job progresses. For example, when a flow job including data conversion is executed as a processing unit, the contents of primary data are different before and after the processing unit.

  Original data is input data for a flow job. Original data is generated by copying from primary data as a backup at the start of a flow job. The original data does not change as the flow job progresses.

  Full text data is full text data, and is generated when OCR processing is performed on primary data. In this embodiment, since the OCR process is executed, full text data is generated.

  These pieces of content data are stored in the executing job storage unit 123 as components of job information during execution of the flow job. These content data are stored in the stop job queue 122 when the flow job is stopped.

  Returning to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the contentHandling element 540 includes one or more content elements as child elements. In FIG. 8, two content elements of content elements 541 and 542 are included in the contentHandling element 540.

  Each content element has a renditionType attribute, an r attribute, and a w attribute. The value of the renditionType attribute indicates the type of content data described with reference to FIG. That is, the value of the renditionType attribute is “primary”, “original”, or “fullText”. “Primary” indicates primary data. “Original” indicates original data. “FullText” indicates full text data. The value of the r attribute indicates whether referencing (that is, downloading to the restart instruction device 20) is possible. The value of the w attribute indicates whether overwriting (that is, uploading from the restart instruction apparatus 20) is possible. The value of the r attribute and w attribute is true or false. true indicates that reference or overwriting is possible (permitted). “false” indicates that reference or overwriting is impossible (not permitted). Therefore, the content element 541 indicates that the primary data is allowed to be referenced but not overwritten. The content element 542 indicates that reference and overwriting are permitted for full text data.

  The parameters element of the plug-in element 550 corresponding to the mail transmission process includes a serverIp element 551, a portNumber element 552, a to1 element 553, a cc1 element 554, a cc2 element 555, and a subject element 556. The value of the serverIp element 551 is the IP address of the SMTP server that is the request destination for mail transmission. The value of portNumber 542 is the port number of the SMTP server that is the request destination for mail transmission. The value of the to1 element 553 is the first destination address of the email to be transmitted. The value of the cc1 element 554 is the first Cc address of the email to be transmitted. The value of the cc2 element 555 is the second Cc address of the e-mail to be transmitted. The value of the subject element 556 is the subject of the email to be transmitted. Here, the value of the subject element 556 is enclosed in braces. This indicates that the value related to the identification information specified in the curly braces is adopted as the value. “Ocr / keyword” indicates the value of the keyword element in the plug-in element 520 including the id element whose value is “ocr”. That is, “ocr / keyword” indicates a character string extracted from the title part area of the OCR target image in the OCR process. Of “ocr / keyword”, “keyword” is an identifier corresponding to the title portion. Therefore, in the subject element 556, for example, it is defined that the character string of the title portion of the scanned image is adopted as the subject of the e-mail. Note that information defining the area of the title part of the image is separately defined and stored in the auxiliary storage device 102 or the like.

  Each child element of each parameters element in each of the plug-in elements 520, 530, and 540 has a type attribute, an r attribute, and a w attribute. The value of the type attribute indicates the data type of the parameter value related to the element. The value of the r attribute indicates whether or not the parameter value can be referred to by the user when the flow job is executed. The value of the w attribute indicates whether or not the parameter value can be written or updated by the user when the flow job is executed. Regarding the values of the r attribute and the w attribute, “true” indicates that reference and writing are possible (permitted), respectively. “False” indicates that reference is impossible and writing is impossible (not permitted).

  When receiving a workflow execution request whose flow ID is “Flow1”, the job input unit 11 generates the job definition data illustrated in FIG. 10 based on the flow definition information illustrated in FIG. 8.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of job definition data in an initial state according to the present embodiment. 10, parts that are the same as the parts shown in FIG. 8 are given the same reference numerals, and explanation thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 10, job definition data 600a includes a jobInfo element as a root element. In other words, the job definition data 600a in the initial state is obtained by adding a jobInfo element as a parent element of the flow element to the copy of the flow definition data 500. The jobInfo element includes an id element 610 as a child element other than the flow element. The value of the id element 610 indicates a job ID. The job ID is assigned by the job input unit 11, for example.

  In step S102 of FIG. 6, job information including job definition data as shown in FIG. 10 is acquired. At this time, the job information includes primary data and original data as content data. At this time, the contents of the primary data and the original data are the same.

  When the value of the variable i is 1, among the plug-in elements included in the job definition data 600a, based on the plug-in element 520 whose order attribute value is 1, the OCR processing unit 13a changes the job information. OCR processing is performed on the included image data (primary data). As a result of the OCR process, full text data is added as content data to the job information. In addition, the OCR processing unit 13a writes a character string extracted from the title part area of the OCR target image among the character strings obtained by the OCR process to the keyword element 521 of the job definition data 600a.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of job definition data after execution of the OCR process in the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In the job definition data 600b shown in FIG. 11, “abc” is added as the value of the keyword element 521. That is, the job definition data 600b shows an update example of the job definition data 600a when the character string of the title portion of the OCR target image is “abc”.

  Next, stop processing that is executed when the value of the variable i is 2, that is, based on the plug-in element 530 of the job definition data 600b will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed until the flow job is stopped in the stop processing.

  In step S201, the flow execution control unit 12 executes stop processing on the stop processing unit 13b specified based on the value of the id element (“suspend”) in the plug-in element 530 of the job definition data 600b. Request. The execution request from the flow execution control unit 12 to each processing unit 13 includes, for example, a job ID of a flow job to be executed (hereinafter referred to as “target job ID”).

  Subsequently, the stop processing unit 13b refers to the job definition data 600b included in the job information related to the target job ID (S202), and acquires notification destination information from the job definition data 600b (S203). The notification destination information is information related to a stop notification transmission destination. In the present embodiment, the panel element 531, the panel Address element 532, and the panelSize element 533 in the job definition data 600b correspond to notification destination information.

  Subsequently, the stop processing unit 13b requests the stop notification transmitting unit 14 to transmit a stop notification addressed to the IP address included in the notification destination information (S204). The request includes the target flow ID. Subsequently, the stop notification transmission unit 14 transmits a stop notification including the target job ID to the restart instruction apparatus 20 associated with the IP address (S205). If the plug-in element 530 of the job definition data 600b (FIG. 11) includes two or more pieces of notification destination information, a stop notification is transmitted to the two or more restart instruction devices 20. Also good.

  When receiving the stop notification, the stop notification receiving unit 21 of the restart instruction device 20 that is the transmission destination of the stop notification notifies the parameter acquisition unit 22 of the stop notification (S206). The parameter acquisition unit 22 designates the job ID included in the stop notification and transmits a parameter information acquisition request to be edited to the parameter transmission unit 15 of the flow management server 10 that is the stop notification transmission source (S207). ). Note that the address information of the parameter transmission unit 15 may be included in the stop notification, for example. The parameter transmission unit 15 notifies the acquisition processing request to the stop processing unit 13b (S208).

  The stop processing unit 13b refers to the job definition data 600b related to the job ID specified in the acquisition request (S209), and acquires parameter information from the job definition data (S210). Here, displayParameter elements 536 to 539 in the job definition data 600b are acquired. Also, the definition content of the contentHaddling element 540 is acquired. At this time, for each of the displayParameter elements 536 to 539, the parameter value in the job definition data 600b related to the identification information indicated by the value of the displayParameter element is acquired. The acquired value is associated with the displayParameter element from which the value is acquired and is included in the parameter information. For example, based on the value “ocr / keyword” of the displayParameter element 536, the value (“abc”) of the keyword element 521 is acquired, and the value is associated with the displayParameter element 536. Based on the value “smtp / to1” of the displayParameter element 537, the value of the to1 element 553 (“xxx1@abc.com”) is acquired, and the value is associated with the displayParameter element 537. Based on the value “smtp / cc1” of the displayParameter element 538, the value of the cc1 element 554 (“xxx2@abc.com”) is obtained, and the value is associated with the displayParameter element 538. Based on the value “smtp / cc2” of the displayParameter element 539, the value of the cc2 element 555 (“xxx3@abc.com”) is acquired, and the value is associated with the displayParameter element 539.

  Subsequently, the stop processing unit 13b requests the parameter transmission unit 15 to transmit parameter information acquired to the acquisition request source (S211). In addition to the parameter information, a panel element 531 and a panelSize element 533 included in the notification destination information may be included in the transmission target. Subsequently, the parameter transmission unit 15 transmits the parameter information to the resuming instruction apparatus 20 that is the parameter information acquisition request source (S212). When receiving the parameter information, the parameter acquisition unit 22 of the restart instruction device 20 specifies the parameter information and requests the display control unit 24 to display the parameter editing screen (S213). The display control unit 24 generates a parameter editing screen in which the parameter information can be edited, and displays the parameter editing screen on the display device of the restart instruction device 20 (S214). In addition, when the information regarding a display apparatus, such as the panel element 531 and the panelSize element 533, is received with parameter information, a parameter edit screen may be produced | generated based on these information. By doing so, the generation logic of the parameter editing screen by the display control unit 24 can be generalized for the type of the restart instruction device 20. That is, it is possible to reduce the dependence on the specific restart instruction device 20 for the program that functions as the display control unit 24 of the restart instruction device 20.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a parameter editing screen before editing parameter information. In FIG. 13, the parameter editing screen 810 includes a display area for each displayParameter element that is a displayParameter element included in the received parameter information and whose r attribute value is “true”. In each display area, the value of the parameter associated with the displayParameter element corresponding to the display area is displayed. For example, the display area 811 displays a value associated with the displayParameter element 536. In the display area 812, a value associated with the displayParameter element 537 is displayed. In the display area 813, a value associated with the displayParameter element 538 is displayed. In the display area 814, a value associated with the displayParameter element 539 is displayed.

  Each display area can be edited if the value of the w attribute of the corresponding displayParameter element is “true”, and cannot be edited if the value of the w attribute is “false”.

  The parameter editing screen 810 further includes a download button 816, a download button 817, and an upload button 818. These buttons are generated based on the definition content of the contentHandle element 540 included in the received parameter information. Specifically, the Download button 816 is a button for accepting a primary data download instruction based on the retentionType attribute and the r attribute of the content element 541. The Download button 817 is a button for receiving a full-text data download instruction based on the renditionType attribute and the r attribute of the content element 542. The Upload button 818 is a button for receiving a full text data upload instruction based on the renditionType attribute and the w attribute of the content element 542. As described above, these buttons are displayed corresponding to operations permitted for the content data. That is, it can be said that the contentHandle element 540 is information specifying content data that is an output candidate.

  The stop processing unit 13b returns a “stop” status to the flow execution control unit 12 after a parameter information transmission request (S211) (S215). In response to the “stop” status, the flow execution control unit 12 saves the job information of the target flow job stored in the executing job storage unit 123 in the stop job queue 122 (S216). The job information may be stored in the ongoing job storage unit 123. In this case, information indicating that the job information is stopped may be added to the job information so that the job information related to the stopped flow job can be identified.

  Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 starts monitoring the maximum waiting time (S217). The maximum waiting time is the value of the maxWaitingTime element 534 of the job definition data 600b.

  Steps S201 to S215 correspond to step S106 when the value of the variable i is 2 in FIG. Step S216 corresponds to step S111 in FIG.

  Subsequently, the user of the resuming instruction apparatus 20 refers to or edits the content data or edits (changes) the parameter value as necessary via the parameter editing screen 810.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed in response to an operation via the parameter editing screen.

  For example, when the user presses the download button 816 or 817 on the parameter editing screen 810 (S221), the display control unit 24 requests the content acquisition unit 23 to transmit a content data acquisition request (S222). The acquisition request includes the job ID of the target flow job and the content type. When the download button 816 is pressed, the content type is “primary”. When the Download button 817 is pressed, the content type is “fullText”.

  The content acquisition unit 23 transmits the acquisition request to the flow management server 10 (S223). The acquisition request is received by the content transmission unit 16 of the flow management server 10. The content transmission unit 16 acquires content data corresponding to the job ID and content type included in the acquisition request from the stop job queue 122 (S224, S225). That is, the content data selected by the user from the output candidates is acquired. The content transmission unit 16 returns (outputs) the acquired content data to the content acquisition unit 23 (S226). Upon receiving the content data, the content acquisition unit 23 outputs the content data to the display control unit 24 (S227). The display control unit 24 stores the content data in a predetermined location (for example, a predetermined folder), and displays the content data on the display device of the restart instruction device 20 (S228). At this time, if the content data can be edited, the content data is displayed in an editable state.

  The user confirms the content of the displayed content data (S229). For example, it is confirmed whether or not the content is as intended. If the content data can be edited, the user can edit the content data. In the present embodiment, editing is possible if the content data is full text data. Therefore, for example, the user can confirm the presence / absence of misrecognition by the OCR process and correct the misrecognized portion.

  When the content data is edited and the Upload button 818 corresponding to the content data is pressed, the display control unit 24 changes the edited content to the content data stored in a predetermined location. reflect. Further, information indicating that the content data has been edited (changed) is stored in association with the content data.

  Subsequently, the user edits each parameter (S231). Here, it is assumed that editing has been performed as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the parameter editing screen after editing the parameter information. 15, the same parts as those in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 15, the value of keyword is changed to “def” in the display area 811, the value of to1 is changed to “xxx3@abc.com” in the display area 812, and the value of cc2 is changed to “ An example changed to “xxx4@abc.com” is shown. In response to the editing, the display control unit 24 updates the value of the parameter associated with the displayParameter element corresponding to the changed parameter.

  Note that content data may be referred to or edited after the parameter value is changed.

  Subsequently, FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed in response to a stop processing restart instruction.

  When the editing of the parameter value is completed and the Resumu button 815 on the parameter editing screen 810 is pressed (S241), the display control unit 24 requests the restart request transmitting unit 25 to transmit a flow job restart request ( S242). The restart request includes the job ID of the target flow job and parameter information reflecting the editing result. When the content data is downloaded and the content data is changed, the changed content data and information indicating the type of the content data are also included in the restart request. Whether or not the content data has been changed may be determined based on whether or not information indicating that the content data has been changed is stored in association with the content data.

  The restart request transmission unit 25 transmits the restart request to the flow management server 10 (S244). The restart request is received by the restart request receiving unit 17 of the flow management server 10. The restart request receiving unit 17 notifies the flow execution control unit 12 of the received restart request (S244).

  In response to the notification of the restart request, the flow execution control unit 12 acquires the job information related to the job ID included in the restart request from the stop job queue 122 and moves it to the executing job storage unit 123 (S245). ). Subsequently, the flow execution control unit 12 requests the stop processing unit 13b whose status is “stop” again to execute the processing unit (S246). The request includes the job ID of the target flow job and the parameter information and content data included in the restart request.

  In response to the re-execution request, the stop processing unit 13b updates the parameter value in the job definition data 600b based on the parameter information included in the execution request (S247). That is, for each displayParameter element included in the parameter information, the value of the parameter identified by the value of the displayParameter element is updated to the value included in the parameter information in association with the displayParameter element. As a result, the job definition data 600b is changed as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of job definition data after changing parameters in the present embodiment. In the job definition data 600c shown in FIG. 17, the value of the keyword element 521 is changed to “def”. Further, the value of the to1 element 553 is changed to “xxx3@abc.com”. The value of the cc2 element 555 is changed to “xxx4@abc.com”.

  Further, when the execution request includes content data, the stop processing unit 13b sets the job ID of the target flow job and the content type included in the execution request in the executing job storage unit 123. The content data stored in association with the indicated information is overwritten (updated) with the content data included in the execution request.

  The update of parameter information, the update of content data, and the like may be executed by the restart request receiving unit 17 subsequent to step S243. When the parameter information is updated at this timing, the information to be updated is stored in the stop job queue 122.

  Subsequently, the stop processing unit 13b returns a “completed” status to the flow execution control unit 12 (S248). Thereby, the flow execution control unit 12 recognizes that the processing unit by the stop processing unit 13b is completed. Therefore, the mail delivery processing unit 13c related to the next processing unit is requested to execute the processing unit. At this time, the mail delivery processing unit 13 transmits an e-mail based on the changed parameters. For example, the value of the subject of the e-mail is “def”. The destination address of the e-mail is “xxx3@abc.com”. In addition, the Cc address of the e-mail is “xxx2@abc.com” and “xxx4@abc.com”.

  Further, when the full text data is changed and there is a processing unit using the full text data in the subsequent processing unit, the processing unit is executed with respect to the changed full text data.

  Note that Step 112 in FIG. 6 becomes Yes through Step S244 in FIG. Step S245 corresponds to step S113. Step S246 corresponds to step S106 after step S113.

  Also, if the editing of the content data or the parameter information is not performed by the user, and the elapsed time from step S217 of FIG. 12 exceeds the maximum waiting time before step S244 of FIG. 16 is executed. The flow execution control unit 12 determines that the stop process (parameter change) should be skipped based on the value (“Skip”) of the errorHandling element 535 of the job definition data 600b. Therefore, the flow execution control unit 12 requests the mail transmission processing unit 13c related to the next processing unit to execute the processing unit.

  In the above description, an example is shown in which a parameter that affects the processing content in one processing unit (mail transmission processing) is changed. However, a parameter that affects the flow of the workflow itself may be changed. For example, when a workflow process branches in the middle, a parameter used for determining the condition of the branch may be changed. By doing so, the flow of the workflow itself can be changed by the user when the flow job is executed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the stop processing unit 13b gives the user an opportunity to refer to and change parameters and content data related to the flow job. The processing unit after the stop processing by the stop processing unit 13b is executed based on the changed parameters and content data. As a result, the flexibility of the flow job can be improved.

  Note that the present embodiment may be applied to combinations of processing units other than the workflow shown in FIG. Further, two or more stop processes may be incorporated for one workflow. Further, when stop notifications are transmitted to a plurality of restart instruction devices 20, whether the stop state is continued until restart requests from all the restart instruction devices 20 are notified, or from some restart instruction devices 20 Information indicating whether or not to cancel the stop state when a restart request is notified may be set in the parameters element of the plug-in element 530 of the flow definition data 500. In a case where the information indicates that the stop state is continued until a restart request from all the restart instruction devices 20 is notified, for example, the flow execution control unit 12 includes all the restart instruction devices 20 that are transmission destinations of the stop notification. With regard to, until step S244 is executed, execution after step S245 may be awaited. In a case where the information indicates that the stop state is to be canceled if a restart request from some restart instruction devices 20 is notified, for example, the flow execution control unit 12 sets a part of the stop notification transmission destinations. Regarding the restart instruction device 20, step S245 and subsequent steps may be executed when step S244 is executed. The part of the resumption instruction devices 20 may be designated by a number, or may be designated based on the IP address or the like of a specific resumption instruction device 20.

  In the present embodiment, the flow management server 10 is an example of an information processing apparatus and an information processing system. The flow execution control unit 12 is an example of a processing control unit. The stop process is an example of a first processing unit. The content transmission unit 16 is an example of a first output unit. The restart request receiving unit 17 is an example of a receiving unit. The stop processing unit 13b is an example of an update unit. The parameter transmission unit 15 is an example of a second output unit. The transmission of parameter information by the parameter transmission unit 15 is an example of displaying (outputting) the parameter information on the restart instruction device 20 (output destination) in a changeable state.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation・ Change is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 10 Flow management server 11 Job input part 12 Flow execution control part 13 Processing part 13a OCR processing part 13b Stop processing part 13c Mail transmission processing part 14 Stop notification transmission part 15 Parameter transmission part 16 Content transmission part 17 Resumption request reception Unit 20 restart instruction device 21 stop notification receiving unit 22 parameter acquisition unit 23 content acquisition unit 24 display control unit 25 restart request transmission unit 30 image forming device 100 drive device 101 recording medium 102 auxiliary storage device 103 memory device 104 CPU
105 interface device 111 can input plug-in 112 mail input plug-in 113 folder input plug-in 121 job queue for start 122 job queue for stop 123 running job storage unit 124 flow definition storage unit B bus

JP 2008-97586 A

Claims (8)

A processing control unit that executes one or more processing units for the input data in the order defined in the definition information;
In response to the stop of the first processing unit that is one of the one or more processing units, data to be processed by any processing unit or data generated by any processing unit is stored in the storage unit. A first output unit that acquires and outputs the acquired data to an output destination specified in the definition information;
The process control unit executes a process unit after the first process unit in response to an input of a process unit restart request from the output destination.
An information processing apparatus characterized by that. Among the data output by the first output unit, a reception unit that receives data changed at the output destination;
An update unit for updating data stored in the storage unit with data received by the reception unit;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The first output unit obtains the data specified in the definition information from the data to be processed by any of the processing units or the data generated by any of the processing units, Outputting the acquired data to the output destination;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. In response to the suspension of the first processing unit, the data specified in the definition information is output from the data to be processed by any one of the processing units or the data generated by any one of the processing units. A second output unit that outputs to the output destination as a candidate;
The first output unit outputs data selected from the output candidates among the data specified in the definition information to the output destination.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The second output unit outputs output information of a processing unit executed before the first processing unit and processing executed after the first processing unit in response to the stop of the first processing unit. Information including any one or both of the input information set in the definition information regarding the unit is output to the output destination in a changeable state,
The processing control unit controls execution of a processing unit after the first processing unit based on the information changed at the output destination.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. An information processing system including one or more computers,
A processing control unit that executes one or more processing units for the input data in the order defined in the definition information;
In response to the stop of the first processing unit that is one of the one or more processing units, data to be processed by any processing unit or data generated by any processing unit is stored in the storage unit. A first output unit that acquires and outputs the acquired data to an output destination specified in the definition information;
The process control unit executes a process unit after the first process unit in response to an input of a process unit restart request from the output destination.
An information processing system characterized by this. An information processing system including one or more computers
A process control procedure for executing one or more processing units for the input data in the order defined in the definition information;
In response to the stop of the first processing unit that is one of the one or more processing units, data to be processed by any processing unit or data generated by any processing unit is stored in the storage unit. And performing a first output procedure for outputting the acquired data to the output destination specified in the definition information,
The process control procedure executes a process unit after the first process unit in response to an input of a process unit restart request from the output destination.
An information processing method characterized by the above. On the computer,
A process control procedure for executing one or more processing units for the input data in the order defined in the definition information;
In response to the stop of the first processing unit that is one of the one or more processing units, data to be processed by any processing unit or data generated by any processing unit is stored in the storage unit. To obtain and execute the first output procedure for outputting the obtained data to the output destination specified in the definition information;
The process control procedure executes a process unit after the first process unit in response to an input of a process unit restart request from the output destination.
A program characterized by that.

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