JP2016208244A - Communication device, image forming apparatus, and distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device, such as a communication device that can read information on addresses listed as facsimile transmission destinations, determine an E-mail address of the optimal transmission destination, and transfer E-mail attached with a facsimile document.SOLUTION: A communication device receiving a document through a communication line comprises: destination keyword extraction means (S110) that stores destination keywords and destination candidates, performs character recognition on a received document, and extracts a destination keyword; transfer destination setting means (S114) that reads a destination candidate corresponding to the destination keyword and sets the destination candidate as a transfer destination address; and E-mail transmission means (S122, S124) that transmit E-mail attached with the document to the transfer destination address.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that receives a document via a communication line.

  Conventionally, when a fax document is received, the content is printed on paper and output. Recently, however, the received fax content is stored as an image and displayed on a screen or sent to another information processing apparatus. A function to transfer is provided.

  Also, for example, in Patent Document 1, a fax document is electronically sent to a mail address designated by a sender by describing a mail address of a transfer destination using a predetermined format on the first page of the fax document. A technique for transmitting as an email is disclosed.

JP 10-051484 A

  However, in the above-described Patent Document 1, since the sender knows the e-mail address and needs to hand-write or print it, the sender needs to send a FAX by adding unnecessary information. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and reads information on a destination described as a facsimile destination, determines an optimal mail address of the destination, and sends a mail attached with a facsimile original. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device or the like that can be transferred.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the communication device of the present invention provides:
In a communication device that receives a document via a communication line,
Storage means for storing destination keywords and destination candidates;
Destination keyword extraction means for extracting a destination keyword from the received document;
Forwarding destination setting means for reading out destination candidates corresponding to the destination keyword and setting them as forwarding destination addresses;
Mail sending means for sending an email with the original attached to the forwarding address;
It is characterized by providing.

The distribution system of the present invention
A distribution system including an application server, a destination database server, a mail server, and a communication device,
The communication device
When a document is received, the document is sent to the application server,
The application server is
A destination keyword is extracted from the received document;
Sending the extracted destination keyword to the destination database server;
The destination database server is
Destination keywords and destination candidates are stored in association with each other,
Sending destination candidates corresponding to the received destination keywords to the application server;
The application server is
The mail attached with the received document is transmitted via the mail server using the received destination candidate as a forwarding address.

  According to the communication apparatus of the present invention, a destination keyword is extracted from a document, a destination candidate corresponding to the extracted destination keyword is read out, set as a transfer destination address, and a mail attached with the document is transmitted to the transfer destination address. . Thereby, even if the sender does not write or does not know the recipient's mail address, the manuscript can be appropriately distributed.

It is a figure for demonstrating the whole system to 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the function structure of the destination candidate table in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the process example in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the process example in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process in 4th Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the flow of the process in 5th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a communication apparatus of the present invention is applied to a multifunction peripheral (image forming apparatus) will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, although the following this embodiment demonstrates one Embodiment to which this invention is applied, the content of invention is not limited to the said description.

[1. First Embodiment]
[1.1 Overall configuration]
FIG. 1 illustrates a multifunction machine 10 that receives image data (text data) from a FAX machine 15 that is a transmission destination using a FAX function, and a service application that performs OCR processing on image data received by the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a distribution system 1 when the present invention is applied to a destination database that determines a FAX transmission destination in response to a destination inquiry from a service application.

  In FIG. 1, a multifunction device 10 that receives image data using the FAX function, a FAX device 15 that transmits image data, and receives image data from the multifunction device 10 and performs transfer processing as an e-mail. An application (AP) server 20, a destination database (DB) server 30 for extracting a character string from image data and determining a mail transfer destination for the extracted character string, and a mail server for transmitting / receiving the forwarded mail 40 and a terminal device 50 (mail client) that receives mail from the mail server 40 are shown. In the figure, hardware parts such as a CPU and a storage device (HDD) and various network devices are omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the application server 20, the destination DB server 30, and the mail server 40 are described as separate devices for convenience of explanation, but may be a server having a plurality of functions. Further, the function of each server may be provided in the multifunction machine 10 or may be realized by an ASP (Application Service Provider) or the like. That is, each function may be realized by any means. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it will be described that the multifunction device 10 realizes each function.

[1.2 Functional configuration]
Next, the functional configuration of the multifunction machine 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the multifunction machine 10 includes a control unit 110, a FAX communication unit 120, a mail transmission / reception unit 130, an OCR processing unit 140, and a storage unit 150. As described above, each functional unit may be realized by a server or a cloud.

  The control unit 110 is a functional unit for controlling the entire multifunction machine 10. The control unit 110 implements various functions by reading and executing various programs stored in the storage unit 150, and is configured by, for example, a CPU (Central Process Unit).

  The FAX communication unit 120 is a functional unit for performing FAX communication. For example, image data (text data) is transmitted / received as a document to / from another FAX apparatus, multifunction peripheral, computer, or the like through an INS line. Note that circuit-switched communication using an analog telephone line or ISDN line may be used, or packet communication or communication using the Internet (for example, Internet FAX) may be used. That is, the received document is stored as image data and processed.

  The OCR processing unit 140 is a functional unit for executing OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing on image data. Here, the OCR processing unit 140 can recognize, for example, an area in addition to the process of recognizing characters included in image data.

  The storage unit 150 is a functional unit that stores various programs necessary for the operation of the multifunction machine 10 and various data. The storage unit 150 includes, for example, a semiconductor memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like.

  The storage unit 150 stores a destination candidate table 152. The destination candidate table 152 is a table used when determining the transmission destination of image data. Here, an example of the destination candidate table 152 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the destination candidate table 152 includes a predetermined ID (for example, “1”), a keyword (for example, “During sales service”) used for destination determination, and a destination candidate (for example, “Tanaka.taro@example.com”) and priority (for example, “30”) are stored in association with each other.

  The image forming unit 160 is a functional unit used when the multifunction machine 10 functions as an image forming apparatus. For example, the printing process is executed by forming an image on recording paper based on the image data. Note that the detailed description of the image forming unit 160 is the same as that of the image forming unit in the conventional image forming apparatus, and thus will be omitted.

[1.3 Process flow]
Subsequently, the flow of processing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 shows processing executed by the control unit 110 in this embodiment.

  First, a document is received (step S102), and a FAX page image (image data) based on the document is stored (step S104).

  Subsequently, if this FAX page image is the first page of the document (step S106; Yes), OCR processing is executed (step S108). Here, the destination keyword is extracted from the character string recognized by executing the OCR process (step S110).

  As processing for extracting the destination keyword, for example, after all characters are recognized, it is determined whether or not the same character string as the destination keyword is included. Note that it may be recognized as a destination keyword based on a specific pattern. For example, when “sama” is described, the character preceding “sama” is recognized as the “destination keyword”.

  When the destination keyword is extracted, a destination candidate corresponding to the destination keyword is acquired. Then, the transfer destination address is set by referring to the destination candidate table 152 from the acquired destination candidates (step S114).

  Here, the original is continuously received until the last page is reached (step S116; No → step S102). When the manuscript reaches the last page, the mail text is set (step S118). Here, the mail text may be set from the OCR recognition result of the FAX page image, or a template text may be set. Further, the user may input or select each time. Note that the mail text here may or may not include the title of the mail. The mail text may not be described.

  Subsequently, an attached file is created from the FAX page image (step S120), and an e-mail is created (step S122). Here, the created attached file may be in any format that can be confirmed by the terminal device that has received the e-mail. For example, various formats such as PDF format, TIFF format, and JPG format are conceivable. As a result, the document is attached to the e-mail.

  Then, the e-mail created based on the set mail text and the created attached file is transmitted to the address set as the transfer destination address (step S124).

[1.4 Processing example]
Subsequently, a processing example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a fax cover sheet P100 that is the first page of the received document. The first page of the document is stored as one page of the FAX page image (a cover page P100), and the destination keyword is extracted from the region R100 by executing the OCR process on the cover sheet P100.

  The transfer destination address corresponding to the extracted destination keyword (for example, “Taro Tanaka”) is acquired from the destination candidate table 152. For example, according to FIG. 3, the destination candidate acquired based on the keyword “Taro Tanaka” is “tanaka.taro@example.com”. Then, an attached file based on the received document is created at the mail address of the destination candidate, and an e-mail is transmitted to the transfer destination address with the attached file attached.

[1.5 Effect]
As described above, according to this embodiment, the FAX communication unit 120 receives a document (FAX page image) transmitted from the outside, and the first page of the document, that is, the first page of the FAX page image is subjected to OCR. The data is transmitted to the processing unit 140. Then, the OCR processing unit 140 can read a name, a telephone number, a department name, and the like from the FAX image as a destination candidate, and set a mail address of the FAX transfer destination associated with the destination candidate.

[2. Second Embodiment]
Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, a case where a transfer destination is preferentially set from a plurality of destination keywords will be described.

  The process of 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. The process of FIG. 6 of the second embodiment is a process in which steps S108 to S114 (dotted line part of FIG. 4) of the first embodiment are replaced with S108 to S208 which are dotted line parts of FIG. Here, the functional configuration and the like are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. Further, the same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, description will be made mainly with reference to FIG.

  First, when the first page of a document (FAX page image) is read, OCR processing is executed (step S106; Yes → step S108). Then, a destination keyword is extracted (step S110), and one of the extracted destination keywords is stored as a destination candidate (step S202).

  When another destination keyword is further extracted, the destination keyword extracted in the same manner is stored as a destination candidate (step S204; Yes → step S202).

  Here, when there is no destination keyword that can be extracted, the evaluation score (destination evaluation score) of each destination keyword is calculated (step S206). Then, the transfer destination address having the maximum evaluation value among the destination evaluation scores is set (step S208), and the original is read up to the last page (step S116).

  The timing for setting the transfer destination address may be executed last. That is, after the original document (FAX page image) of the last page is read in step S116, the maximum evaluation value among the destination evaluation points of the destination keyword after reading may be set as the transfer destination address.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to extract a plurality of destination keywords, extract the most appropriate destination keyword among them, and send an e-mail. As described above, by using a plurality of destination candidates, it is possible to specify a transfer destination more suitable for an error that may occur in the accuracy of the OCR process.

[3. Third Embodiment]
Subsequently, the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, an embodiment in which an area in which a destination keyword is likely to be described is recognized in advance and a keyword is recognized in the area will be described.

  The process of 3rd Embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. The process of FIG. 7 of the third embodiment is a process in which steps S108 to S114 (dotted line part of FIG. 4) of the first embodiment are replaced with S302 to S114 which are dotted line parts of FIG. Here, the functional configuration and the like are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. Further, the same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  First, when the first page of the original is read, area recognition processing is executed (step S302). It is determined whether there is a destination area among the recognized areas in the read FAX page (step S304).

  If the destination area can be recognized (step S304; Yes), the OCR process is executed in the recognized destination area (step S306). On the other hand, when the destination area is not particularly recognized, the OCR process for the entire FAX page is executed (step S304; No → step S108).

  Then, a destination keyword is extracted from the character string recognized by the OCR process in step S108 or step S306 (step S110), and a destination candidate is acquired (step S112).

  A processing example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 shows the first page of the FAX. Here, when the area recognition process is executed on the paper P200, the area R200, the area R202, and the area R204 are recognized.

  Here, by comparing with the recognition pattern, it is determined that the normal region R200 is the destination region and the region R202 is the sender (sender) region. Further, it is determined that the area R204 is an area of a text or a communication text.

  In this case, the destination keyword can be extracted more correctly by executing the OCR process only for the region R200.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when the destination area can be recognized, the OCR process is executed only for the destination area. As a result, not only the operation processing speed is improved, but also the accuracy can be improved.

[4. Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, an embodiment in which a destination keyword is not extracted will be described.

  The processing of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The process of FIG. 9 of 4th Embodiment is the process which replaced step S108-S114 (dotted line part of FIG. 4) of 1st Embodiment by S108-S406 which is a dotted line part of FIG. Here, the functional configuration and the like are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. Further, the same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, description will be made mainly with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, a default address is set. In this embodiment, the default address is an address set as a mail transmission destination when a destination keyword cannot be extracted or when a destination keyword can be extracted but a destination candidate cannot be acquired. For example, a company representative address or a department representative address is set. This default address may be set in advance or may be set by the user.

  The processing will be specifically described. When the OCR process is executed for the first page of the document and the destination keyword is extracted (step S106; Yes → step S108 → step S110), it is determined whether the destination keyword is extracted (step S402). If it is determined that the destination keyword cannot be extracted (step S402; Yes), the transfer destination address is set as the default address (step S406).

  Further, when the destination keyword is extracted and the destination candidate is acquired (step S402; No → step S112), it is determined whether or not the destination candidate is acquired (step S404). If the destination candidate cannot be acquired (step S404; Yes), the transfer destination address is set as the default address (step S406).

  If the destination candidate can be acquired, the destination candidate is set as the transfer destination address (step S404; No → step S114).

  As described above, according to this embodiment, when the destination address cannot be specified, the mail can be transmitted to the predetermined default address. As a result, it is possible to perform processing on all documents received by FAX.

[5. Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the case where the multifunction machine 10 executes processing alone has been described. However, as described first, a server or the like may execute processing for each function.

  For example, FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the overall flow of the distribution system 1. First, a FAX page image is transmitted from the FAX apparatus 15 serving as a transmission source to the MFP 10 having a FAX function (S1002).

  Upon receiving the FAX page image, the multifunction machine 10 transmits the FAX page to the AP server 20 (S1004). Here, the FAX pages may be transmitted one by one, or may be transmitted after all are received. Alternatively, only the first page may be transmitted to the AP server 20 and the remaining pages may not be transmitted.

  The AP server 20 that has received the FAX page image executes OCR processing (S1006). Then, a destination keyword is extracted from the OCR-processed FAX page image (S1008).

  Based on the extracted destination keyword, the AP server 20 transmits a destination candidate request including the extracted destination keyword to the destination DB server 30 (S1010). When receiving the destination candidate request, the destination DB server 30 obtains a destination candidate based on the destination keyword included in the destination candidate request, and if there is one destination candidate, determines it as a transfer destination address (S1012). .

  The destination DB server 30 transmits a destination candidate response including the transfer destination address to the AP server 20 (S1014). Upon receipt of the destination candidate response, the AP server 20 kills the mail based on the transfer destination address included in the destination candidate response and the received FAX page image (S1016), and sends the mail to the mail server 40. (S1018).

  When the mail server 40 receives a mail from the AP server 20, the mail server 40 transmits the received mail to the terminal device 50 serving as a transfer destination address (S1020).

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize processing even on the cloud by using each device and server. For example, in the case of having a plurality of multi-function peripherals, address management in a company can be facilitated, for example, by managing addresses of a plurality of devices with the destination DB server 30 or the like.

[6. Sixth Embodiment]
Subsequently, a sixth embodiment will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the destination keyword is included in the first page. However, the same processing is executed for the second and subsequent pages. This embodiment can be further realized in combination with each embodiment.

  For example, in the first embodiment, in FIG. 4, the OCR process is executed only for the first page in step S106, but step S106 may not be executed. That is, OCR processing may be executed for all received FAX page images (originals).

  Furthermore, in the second embodiment, step S106 need not be executed in FIG. In this case, the destination evaluation score may be generated each time by knowing processing of a plurality of pages. Thereby, the destination keywords included in a plurality of pages may be extracted and transmitted to the person with the highest destination evaluation score.

  Thus, in each embodiment, the destination keyword may be extracted without being limited to the first page of the document.

[7. Seventh Embodiment]
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described. The above-described embodiment is an embodiment in which the OCR process is performed on an image (original) of a FAX page, but the OCR process is not performed.

  For example, keywords may be extracted from the FAX page image without executing the OCR process in step S108 of FIG. For example, when a document is transmitted by Internet FAX or another distribution system, text information may already be added to the document data. In this case, the destination keyword may be extracted from the added text information.

  In addition, for the FAX page image, only the cover page may be text data such as mail. In this case, if a destination keyword is extracted from the text data, the processing of another embodiment can be realized.

[8. Modified example]
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and the design and the like within the scope of the present invention are also within the scope of the claims. include.

  Further, in the above-described embodiments, the possible embodiments may be combined. For example, by combining the second embodiment and the third embodiment, a plurality of destination candidates are acquired in the destination area, and the transfer destination address is determined according to the priority. In combination, when a destination candidate cannot be acquired, a process of setting a default address may be performed.

  In addition, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention only needs to be able to realize a facsimile function. For example, the facsimile apparatus may be the multifunction apparatus described in the present embodiment, that is, an image forming apparatus, or by using a modem or the Internet. It may be a computer that can realize a facsimile function.

  Of course, if the original can be received by the facsimile function, it can be realized by installing software for realizing the above-described function in a computer.

  In addition, the program that operates in each device in the embodiment is a program (a program that causes a computer to function) that controls the CPU and the like so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments. Information handled by these devices is temporarily stored in a temporary storage device (for example, RAM) at the time of processing, then stored in various ROM or HDD storage devices, and read and corrected by the CPU as necessary. • Writing is performed.

  In addition, when distributing to the market, the program can be stored and distributed in a portable recording medium, or transferred to a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet. In this case, of course, the storage device of the server computer is also included in the present invention.

1: Distribution system 10: MFP 110: Control unit 120: FAX communication unit 130: Mail transmission / reception unit 140: OCR processing unit 150: Storage unit 152: Destination candidate table 160: Image forming unit 15: FAX device 20: Application (AP ) Server 30: Destination DB server 40: Mail server 50: Terminal device

Claims (6)

In a communication device that receives a document via a communication line,
Storage means for storing destination keywords and destination candidates;
Destination keyword extraction means for extracting a destination keyword from the received document;
Forwarding destination setting means for reading out destination candidates corresponding to the destination keyword and setting them as forwarding destination addresses;
Mail sending means for sending an email with the original attached to the forwarding address;
A communication apparatus comprising:   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the destination keyword extraction unit extracts a destination keyword by performing character recognition from image information of the document.   3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the destination keyword extracting unit extracts a destination keyword by performing character recognition on the first page of the document. The storage means further stores a priority,
The destination keyword extracting means extracts a plurality of destination keywords from the document,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer destination setting unit sets a destination candidate having the highest priority as the transfer destination address. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image reading unit that reads an image of an original; and an image forming unit that forms an image of image data of the original read by the image reading unit on a recording medium,
The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:
An image forming apparatus, wherein an image is formed by the image forming unit on a document received by the communication device. In a distribution system including an application server, a destination database server, a mail server, and a communication device,
The communication device
When a document is received, the document is sent to the application server,
The application server is
A destination keyword is extracted from the received document;
Sending the extracted destination keyword to the destination database server;
The destination database server is
Destination keywords and destination candidates are stored in association with each other,
Sending destination candidates corresponding to the received destination keywords to the application server;
The application server is
A distribution system, wherein the mail attached with the received document is transmitted via the mail server using the received destination candidate as a transfer destination address.

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