JP2019082974A - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve security in image processing using an external device provided on a cloud.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: reading means for reading image information of a document; determination means for executing character recognition processing on the read image information and determining characters which are subject to strict confidentiality and which are included in processing results of the character recognition processing; and transmission means for transmitting, to the external device, a processing request for image processing performed on the image information in a case where the number of the determined characters subjected to the strict confidentiality is smaller than a predetermined threshold value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

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

  In an information processing apparatus such as MFP (Multifunction Peripheral / Printer / Product), an image processing function such as an optical character recognition (OCR) function for converting image information of a document read by a scanner into text data is implemented. ing.

  In addition, in order to improve the accuracy of image processing in the image processing apparatus, there is a mechanism for connecting to an external server that provides a service related to image processing using the Internet or a public line, and using the service provided by the external server. Are known.

  For example, according to Patent Document 1, it is input that the document is a confidential document in a system for notifying the image forming apparatus of the storage location of the document processing result on the cloud before receiving an execution request of the document processing from the image forming apparatus. Only when this is the case, the content of displaying the location of the scanning system and the location of the storage provided in the cloud on the image forming apparatus is disclosed.

  However, according to the above method, even if the document to be processed is a strictly confidential document (for example, a highly confidential document such as a government office etc.), the document to be processed by the scan system provided on the cloud which is an external device Data (content) is transmitted, which may increase the risk of information leakage.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention executes a reading unit for reading image information of a document, and character recognition processing on the read image information, and determines a confidential target character included in the processing result of the character recognition processing. The image processing apparatus may further include a determination unit, and a transmission unit configured to transmit a processing request for image processing on the image information to an external device when the number of characters of the determined confidential target character is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

  According to the present invention, security in image processing using an external device provided on a cloud can be enhanced.

It is a figure showing an example of system configuration of an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the hardware constitutions of the image processing device concerning one embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the hardware constitutions of the cloud server concerning one embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the confidential character table which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the condition information which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the concealment object table which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example (the 1) of an information processing method of an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the OCR process in the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of an outline of OCR processing in an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows an example of judgment processing of a degree of secrecy of a manuscript for processing in an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a figure showing an example (the 1) of secrecy processing of an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a figure showing an example (the 2) of secrecy processing of an information processing system concerning one embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example (the 2) of the information processing method of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example (the 3) of the information processing method of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the registration process of the confidential character pattern of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the confidential character table which concerns on the modification 1 of embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of an information processing system concerning modification 2 of an embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example (the 1) of the information processing method of the information processing system which concerns on the modification 2 of embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example (the 2) of the information processing method of the information processing system which concerns on the modification 2 of embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example (the 3) of the information processing method of the information processing system which concerns on the modification 2 of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols and redundant description will be omitted.

● embodiment ●
System Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a system capable of enhancing security in image processing using an external device provided on a cloud. The information processing system 1 can use a service provided by the cloud server 50 connected to the Internet, a public line, or the like in order to improve the image processing accuracy such as an optical character recognition (OCR) process.

  The information processing system 1 includes an image processing device 10A, an image processing device 10B, a server device 30, and a cloud server 50. The image processing device 10A, the image processing device 10B, and the server device 30 are connected to one another via a LAN (Local Area Network) 3. The image processing device 10A, the image processing device 10B, and the server device 30 are disposed in a local area where access from the outside is restricted.

  The image processing device 10A, the image processing device 10B, and the server device 30 form a local network with which each can communicate via the LAN 3. The local network is formed, for example, in a non-Internet network environment such as an office, a conference room, a warehouse, a factory or a specific production line. The local network is blocked by a firewall from the cloud network 5 in which the cloud server 50 is disposed. The image processing apparatus 10A and the image processing apparatus 10B will be referred to as an image processing apparatus 10 when any one is shown.

  The image processing apparatus 10 determines the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed based on the image information of the document to be processed read using a scanner or the like. Specifically, the image processing apparatus 10 determines the confidential character included in the document to be processed, and if the classified confidential character is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, the document to be processed is a highly confidential document (a confidential document Judge that it is). Here, a highly confidential document (strictly confidential document) means, for example, a contract, a business plan, a document in which personal information is described (passport, my number card, insurance card, license, employee ID card, identification card, etc. Etc. In addition, strictly confidential characters are characters, numbers, special symbols, bar codes, etc. which are highly likely to be described in a highly confidential document such as a contract or business plan.

  When the image processing apparatus 10 determines that the document to be processed is a highly confidential document (a confidential document), the image processing apparatus 10 does not transmit the image information of the document to be processed to the cloud server 50. In this case, the image processing apparatus 10 performs the OCR processing of the image information using the own apparatus or another apparatus (other image processing apparatus 10, server apparatus 30, etc.) located in the local network and having an OCR processing function. I do. On the other hand, when the image processing apparatus 10 determines that the document to be processed is a document with low secrecy (is not a strictly confidential document), the OCR process of the image information is performed on the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5 Send processing request of.

  Therefore, the information processing system 1 determines whether to use the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5 based on the degree of secrecy of the read target document (whether the document is a confidential document or not). Therefore, the security risk (risk of information leakage) in the image processing using the cloud server 50 can be reduced.

  The document to be processed may be a medium on which the information to be read is described. The medium is not limited in material or shape, as long as the scanner or the like can read information to be read. The medium may be a tangible object such as a scanner or the like that can read information to be read, and examples include media such as paper, documents, plastics, resins, metals, and fibers. Also, the information to be read is information that the user wants to read using the scanner or the like when creating a document, or needs or information that can be read by a machine, read by a machine, and further decoded or recognized after reading. is there. The information to be read includes, for example, information described by a bar code, characters, numbers, special symbols, and the like.

  The image processing apparatus 10 is an information processing apparatus including an image processing function such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral / Printer / Product: multifunction device), a facsimile, a scanner, or a printer, a communication function, and an output function of an OCR result. The image processing apparatus 10 includes an OCR module that converts image information of a document into text data (character code). The image processing apparatus 10 also has an application for requesting an OCR process for image information of a designated document.

  The image processing apparatus 10 may output the result of the OCR processing as a display image or may output it as data. The image processing apparatus 10 may be a handy scanner that outputs an OCR result as data by communication with the cloud server 50 or the server device 30 or writing to an external storage. When the image processing apparatus 10 outputs the OCR result as data, the format of the data is not particularly limited. For example, the image processing apparatus 10 may output the OCR result as text data, or may embed and output it in a PDF (portable document format) file. Hereinafter, the case where the image processing apparatus 10 is an MFP will be described.

  The server device 30 is an information processing device having an image processing function and a communication function. The server device 30 includes an OCR module that converts image information of a document to be processed into text data (character code). The server device 30 executes an OCR process in response to a request from the image processing device 10.

  The cloud server 50 is a server device that provides a predetermined service to the image processing device 10 or the server device 30 located in the local network. The cloud server 50 includes, for example, an OCR module, and executes analysis processing of image information requested from the image processing apparatus 10 or the server apparatus 30.

  The number of image processing apparatuses 10, server apparatuses 30, and cloud servers 50 shown in FIG. 1 is not limited to this. The information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 may include one or more image processing apparatuses 10 or server apparatuses 30, and a cloud server 50, respectively.

Hardware Configuration FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment. The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2 may have the same configuration in each embodiment, and components may be added or deleted as necessary. The image processing apparatus 10 includes a controller 1020. The controller 1020 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1001, a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) 1002, a flash memory 1003, a hard disk drive (HDD) 1004, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 1005, and a communication unit 1006.

  The ASIC 1005 is a multifunction device board provided with a CPU interface, an SDRAM interface, a local bus interface, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus interface, a MAC (Media Access Controller), an HDD interface, and the like.

  The CPU 1001 reads and executes various programs such as a program according to the present invention from the HDD 1004 via the ASIC 1005. The image processing apparatus 10 implements an information processing method according to the present invention, for example, by the CPU 1001 executing a program according to the present invention. The SDRAM 1002 functions as a program memory storing various programs, or a work memory used when the CPU 1001 executes various programs. Note that as the SDRAM 1002, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM) may be used.

  The flash memory 1003 is a non-volatile memory, and stores programs such as a boot loader (boot program) for starting the image processing apparatus 10, an OS (Operation System), an SDK (Software Development Kit), and an API (Application Programming Interface). The flash memory 1003 also functions as an application memory for storing each program. Further, the flash memory 1003 functions as a service memory for storing software of each service (copy service, print service, facsimile service).

  The flash memory 1003 also functions as a firm memory for storing firmware, or a data memory for storing a network address or a model number. The flash memory 1003 may be a non-volatile RAM in which backup circuits using RAM (Random Access Memory) and a battery are integrated, or another non-volatile memory such as EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). Good.

  The HDD 1004 is a non-volatile storage medium that stores data regardless of whether the power of the image processing apparatus 10 is on or off. The HDD 1004 records programs and data other than the programs and data stored in the flash memory 1003. The HDD 1004 may be used as a firm memory. The communication unit 1006 is an interface for performing communication (connection) via a network by a wireless LAN such as a wired LAN (Ethernet (registered trademark)) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication unit 1006 includes an antenna, a wireless unit, a MAC unit, and the like.

  The operation unit 1007 is connected to the controller 1020 using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like. The operation unit 1007 is an interface for a user who performs an operation on the image processing apparatus 10. The operation unit 1007 includes various operation keys, a character display and a touch panel of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) as a display device. The image processing apparatus 10 can input data, execute a job, and display the image by operating the operation unit 1007.

  Furthermore, the controller 1020 can be a fax control unit 1008, a USB 1009 with a removable storage medium 1009a, an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 (1010), a plotter engine 1011, a scanner engine 1012, and a BLE via the PCI bus 1014. A (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) module 1013 is connected. Thus, the image processing apparatus 10 can provide each service such as a copy service, a print service, and a facsimile service. The plotter engine 1011 may adopt either an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

  The configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 2. The communication unit 1006 may be connected to the PCI bus 1014, for example. Furthermore, the communication unit 1006 may have a digital service unit (DSU) or a modem connected to a telephone network. The communication unit 1006 may have a communication device connected to a mobile telephone network.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a cloud server according to an embodiment. The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3 may have the same configuration in each embodiment, and components may be added or deleted as necessary. Although FIG. 3 shows the hardware configuration of the cloud server 50, the server device 30 may have the same configuration. The cloud server 50 includes a CPU 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, a RAM 503, a storage 504, an input unit 505, a display interface (I / F) 506, an input / output interface (I / F) 507, a communication unit 508 and a bus 509. Prepare.

  The CPU 501 controls the entire cloud server 50. The CPU 501 is an arithmetic device that implements each function of the cloud server 50 by reading a program or data stored in the ROM 502, the storage 504, or the like onto the RAM 503 and executing processing. The RAM 503 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 501. The ROM 502 is a non-volatile memory that can hold programs or data even after the power is turned off.

  The storage 504 is, for example, a storage device such as an HDD, a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash ROM, and stores an OS, an application program, various data, and the like. The input unit 505 is an interface for the operator to input various instructions to the cloud server 50. The input unit 505 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a voice input device, or the like.

  The display interface (I / F) 506 displays various information possessed by the cloud server 50 on the display 506 a in the form of a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, an image or the like in response to a request from the CPU 501. The display interface (I / F) 506 is, for example, a graphic chip or a display interface. An input / output interface (I / F) 507 is an interface for connecting another device to the cloud server 50. Other devices include, for example, a recording medium 507 a such as a USB memory, a memory card, an optical disk, or various electronic devices.

  The communication unit 508 is a communication interface that communicates (connects) with the image processing apparatus 10 or the server apparatus 30 located inside the local network via the network. The communication unit 508 includes an antenna, a wireless unit, a MAC unit, and the like. A bus 509 is connected to the above-described components and transmits an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like. The CPU 501, the ROM 502, the RAM 503, the storage 504, the input unit 505, the display interface (I / F) 506, the input / output interface (I / F) 507, and the communication unit 508 are mutually connected via a bus 509.

Functional Configuration Subsequently, a functional configuration of the information processing system according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing system according to an embodiment. The image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 includes a main unit 100 and an application unit 200. The main body unit 100 is a function that is responsible for processing such as printing processing that is a main body function of the image processing apparatus 10. The application unit 200 is a function executed by application software or an OCR module installed in the image processing apparatus 10. The application software is, for example, software for executing an OCR process on image information of a document to be processed.

  The functions realized by the main body unit 100 include a communication unit 11, an application control unit 12, a reception unit 13, a reading unit 14, a display control unit 15, and a print processing unit 16. The communication unit 11 is a function of exchanging data with another device via a network. The communication unit 11 controls, for example, communication with other devices located in the local network. The communication unit 11 also controls communication with the cloud server 50 located in the cloud network 5, for example.

  The communication unit 11 communicates with the cloud server 50 located in the cloud network 5 using a protocol of HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure). The communication method is not limited to this, and a protocol such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol), HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) may be used. The communication unit 11 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the communication unit 1006 and the CPU 1001 illustrated in FIG. The communication unit 11 is an example of a transmission unit.

  The application control unit 12 is a function of requesting processing by an application installed in the image processing apparatus 10. The application control unit 12 requests, for example, an application unit 200 described later to execute an OCR process on image information of a document read by the reading unit 14. The application control unit 12 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 1001 illustrated in FIG.

  The receiving unit 13 is a function of receiving an input operation by the user. The receiving unit 13 receives, for example, a processing request for a document that the user wants to perform processing using the image processing apparatus 10 based on a user operation on the operation unit 1007. In addition, the reception unit 13 causes the display control unit 15 to display the image information of the document to be processed, for example, and receives registration of characters set as confidential characters among predetermined characters included in the displayed image information. The registered confidential characters are stored in the confidential character table 210 described later. The reception unit 13 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 1001 illustrated in FIG. The reception unit 13 is an example of a registration unit.

  When the receiving unit 13 receives an input of a reading instruction, the reading unit 14 scans an original set in the image processing apparatus 10 to read image information. The reading unit 14 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 1001 illustrated in FIG. The reading unit 14 is an example of a reading unit.

  The display control unit 15 is a function of displaying an operation screen for receiving an input operation by the user, image information read by the reading unit 14 or an OCR result on the operation unit 1007 shown in FIG. The display control unit 15 is realized by, for example, the operation unit 1007 shown in FIG. 2 and a program executed by the CPU 1001. The print processing unit 16 is a function of executing printing processing of image information or an OCR result read by the reading unit 14. The print processing unit 16 is realized by the plotter engine 1011 shown in FIG. The image processing apparatus 10 outputs an OCR result by one or both of the display control unit 15 and the print processing unit 16.

  Next, the function of the application unit 200 of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described. The functions realized by the application unit 200 include an application control unit 21, a data processing unit 22, a determination unit 23, a storage / readout unit 24 and a storage unit 25. The application control unit 21 is a function that controls the operation of an application executed by the image processing apparatus 10. The application control unit 21 executes the requested processing (application), for example, in response to a processing request from the main unit 100. The application control unit 21 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 1001 illustrated in FIG.

  The data processing unit 22 is a function of executing processing of image information included in the processing request based on the processing request from the main unit 100. The data processing unit 22 executes, for example, an OCR process on the image information included in the process request. When the data processing unit 22 detects a processing request from the main unit 100, the data processing unit 22 first executes OCR pre-scan processing. The prescan process of OCR is a process for generating text data (character code) used for the determination process by the determination unit 23 described later. In addition, the data processing unit 22 executes a concealment process described later on the OCR result. The data processing unit 22 outputs the OCR result and the concealment processing result as text data or a PDF file in which the text data is embedded. The data processing unit 22 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 1001 shown in FIG. The data processing unit 22 is an example of data processing means and concealment processing means.

  The determination unit 23 is a function that determines the degree of secrecy of the read document based on the pre-scan result of the OCR by the data processing unit 22. The determination unit 23 determines, for example, the confidential characters included in the read document based on the confidential character table 210 and the condition information 220 stored in the storage unit 25 described later. Then, the determination unit 23 determines the degree of secrecy of the document based on the determined ratio of the confidential characters. The determination unit 23 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 1001 illustrated in FIG. The determination unit 23 is an example of a determination unit.

  The storage / readout unit 24 is a function of storing various data in the storage unit 25 and reading out various data from the storage unit 25. The storage unit 25 stores, for example, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or a host name of the cloud server 50 as a request destination of the image processing (OCR processing). The storage / readout unit 24 and the storage unit 25 are realized by, for example, a program executed by the flash memory 1003, the HDD 1004, and the CPU 1001 shown in FIG. The storage unit 25 is an example of a storage unit. The storage unit 25 stores the confidential character table 210, the condition information 220, and the concealment target table 230.

  Here, various data stored in the storage unit 25 will be described. First, the confidential character table 210 stored in the storage unit 25 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a confidential character table according to an embodiment. The confidential character table 210 shown in FIG. 5 is a table in which characters, codes and the like that frequently appear in highly confidential documents (critical confidential documents) are registered. The confidential character pattern of the confidential character table 210 includes characters, numbers, special symbols, bar codes and the like which are highly likely to be described in a highly confidential document such as a contract document or a business plan document. The strictly confidential character pattern is an example of a strictly confidential character.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the strictly confidential character table 210 targets a contract as a highly confidential document (strictly confidential document), and a contract, company name, yen, 甲, 甲, etc. are set as a strictly confidential character pattern. The confidential character table 210 is registered by, for example, a user who uses the image processing apparatus 10 or a manager of the information processing system 1, and can be appropriately corrected or changed. The characters included in the confidential character pattern of the confidential character table 210 are not limited to this.

  Subsequently, the condition information 220 stored in the storage unit 25 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of condition information according to an embodiment. Condition information 220 shown in FIG. 6 is for determining the degree of secrecy of the document read by the reading unit 14 (whether the document is a confidential document or not). The condition information 220 includes the matching rate with the confidential character pattern shown in FIG. 5 and the processing content (associated, associated) associated with each matching rate. The matching rate with the confidential character pattern indicates the ratio of the confidential characters detected (discriminated) by the pre-scan process of the document to be processed among the characters registered in the confidential character pattern. For example, when the number of characters registered in the strictly confidential character pattern is 10, if the number of strictly confidential characters detected by the pre-scan process is 8 characters, the matching rate is 80%.

  For example, when 90% of the characters registered in the strictly confidential character pattern match in the prescan process of OCR, for example, the determination unit 23 identifies processing content in which the coincidence rate of the strictly confidential character pattern is “90% or more”. . The condition information 220 has different processing contents set in accordance with the matching rate with the strictly confidential character pattern. The processing content is, for example, information as to whether or not the cloud server 50 is permitted to execute the OCR processing. The numerical value of the matching rate with the strictly confidential character pattern is an example of a predetermined threshold value for determining the ratio of strictly confidential characters included in the document to be processed.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the condition information 220 includes, for example, “prohibit use of the cloud server 50” content as the processing content when the coincidence rate with the strictly confidential character pattern is “90% or more”. . Further, the condition information 220 is, for example, set as the content of “confirm availability to the user of the cloud server 50 to the user” as the processing content in the case where the matching rate with the strictly confidential character pattern is “less than 90% It is done. Furthermore, in the condition information 220, for example, the content of “perform the OCR processing using the cloud server 50” is set as the processing content when the matching rate with the strictly confidential character pattern is “less than 70%”. . The matching rate with the confidential character pattern included in the condition information 220 and the processing content are not limited to this. The condition information 220 includes, for example, a mismatch rate with the strictly confidential character pattern (proportion of characters that do not match with the strictly secret character pattern), and processing content (associated, associated) associated with each mismatch rate. It may be configured.

  Subsequently, the concealment target table 230 stored in the storage unit 25 will be described. FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of the concealment target table according to the embodiment. The concealment target table 230 shown in FIG. 7 is for performing concealment processing of a predetermined character included in text data which is an OCR result. The concealment target table 230 includes (corresponds to and is associated with) the processing content associated with each of the concealed character and the concealed character. The characters to be concealed may be the same as the confidential character patterns included in the confidential character table 210 shown in FIG. 5, or may be set independently. The concealment target table 230 is registered by, for example, a user who uses the image processing apparatus 10 or a manager of the information processing system 1, and can be appropriately corrected or changed. Note that the characters to be concealed and the processing content included in the concealment target table 230 are not limited to this.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the data processing unit 22 performs, for example, concealment processing of numbers included in text data which is an OCR result. In addition, the data processing unit 22 performs, for example, the concealment process of the corresponding “○” on the ““ company ”included in the text data that is the OCR result. Furthermore, the data processing unit 22 performs, for example, the concealment processing of the corresponding “ΔΔ” with respect to “ΔΔ-like” included in the text data that is the OCR result. Here, in the concealment process, characters to be concealed may be masked with a black fill or the like, or characters to be concealed may be replaced with specific symbols (such as {circle around (1)}, *, etc.). Details of the concealment process will be described later.

  The confidential character table 210, the condition information 220, and the concealment target table 230 stored in the storage unit 25 illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 are other devices (the other image processing device 10, and the like) that constitute the information processing system 1. The configuration may be stored in the server device 30 or the cloud server 50). In this case, when the processing in the determination unit 23 and the data processing unit 22 is performed, the image processing apparatus 10 reads the information with respect to the apparatus in which the necessary information is stored.

  Next, the functional configuration of the cloud server 50 will be described. The functions realized by the cloud server 50 shown in FIG. 5 include a communication unit 51, a data processing unit 52, a storage / readout unit 53, and a storage unit 54. The communication unit 51 is a function of exchanging data between the image processing apparatus 10 and the server device 30 via the Internet. The communication unit 51 receives, for example, a processing request for image information of a document read by the image processing apparatus 10. The communication unit 51 transmits, for example, the processing result of the data processing unit 52 described later to the image processing apparatus 10.

  The communication unit 51 communicates with the image processing apparatus 10 or the server apparatus 30 located inside the local network using the HTTPS protocol. The communication method is not limited to this, and a protocol such as FTP, HTTP, or SMTP may be used. The communication unit 51 is realized by, for example, the communication unit 508 illustrated in FIG. 3 and a program executed by the CPU 501.

  The data processing unit 52 is a function of executing processing on the image information transmitted from the image processing apparatus 10. The data processing unit 52 executes, for example, an OCR process on the image information included in the process request. Further, the data processing unit 52 executes a concealment process described later on the OCR result. The data processing unit 52 transmits the OCR result and the concealment processing result to the image processing apparatus 10 as text data or a PDF file in which the text data is embedded. The data processing unit 52 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 501 shown in FIG.

  The storage / readout unit 53 is a function of storing various data in the storage unit 54 and reading out various data from the storage unit 54. The storage / readout unit 53 and the storage unit 54 are realized by, for example, a program executed by the ROM 502, the storage 504, and the CPU 501 shown in FIG. The storage unit 54 stores a concealment target table 550. In addition. The concealment target table 550 stored in the storage unit 54 is similar to the concealment target table 230 shown in FIG. 7.

  Although the information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 4 has been described as an example including one image processing apparatus 10, the information processing system 1 may include a plurality of image processing apparatuses 10 having similar functions. In addition, the information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 4 may be configured to include, for example, the server device 30 illustrated in FIG. 1. In this case, the server device 30 may include application software or an OCR module for performing an OCR process, and may have the same function as the image processing device 10 or the cloud server 50.

Information Processing Method Subsequently, an information processing method in the information processing system 1 will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example (No. 1) of the information processing method of the information processing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 illustrates the case where the document to be processed read by the image processing apparatus 10 is a highly confidential document (a confidential document (for example, a contract document)).

  In step S101, the main body unit 100 of the image processing apparatus 10 causes the reception unit 13 to receive a processing request such as printing processing by the image processing apparatus 10 from the user for the document to be processed. Specifically, the reception unit 13 of the main body unit 100 receives a processing request input by the user to the operation unit 1007. In step S102, the receiving unit 13 of the main body unit 100 outputs the received processing request to the reading unit 14.

  In step S103, the reading unit 14 of the main unit 100 reads, as image information (document image), a document to be processed set on a scanner or the like by the user (an example of a reading step). In step S104, the reading unit 14 of the main unit outputs the read image information to the application control unit 12. In step S105, when detecting the output image information, the application control unit 12 of the main body unit 100 outputs a processing request for the detected image information to the application unit 200.

  In step S106, when detecting the processing request from the main unit 100, the application control unit 21 of the application unit 200 outputs the detected processing request to the data processing unit 22. In step S107, when the data processing unit 22 of the application unit 200 detects the output processing request, the data processing unit 22 executes OCR processing (pre-scan) of the image information included in the processing request.

  Here, OCR processing of image information of a document read by the reading unit 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the OCR processing in the information processing system according to an embodiment. The OCR processing illustrated in FIG. 9 is executed by the data processing unit 22 of the image processing apparatus 10 or the data processing unit 52 of the cloud server 50. In the OCR processing shown in FIG. 9, the same processing is performed in the OCR processing in the data processing unit 22 and the data processing unit 52. FIG. 9 illustrates the OCR processing performed at the time of pre-scanning in the data processing unit 22.

  In step S201, the data processing unit 22 takes in the image information (document image) of the document read by the reading unit 14. In step S202, the data processing unit 22 analyzes the layout of the captured image information. Specifically, the data processing unit 22 analyzes what kind of column the title, figure or sentence is configured from the captured image information.

  In step S203, the data processing unit 22 disassembles the image information line by line and cuts out the image information based on the analyzed information. In step S204, the reading unit 14 cuts out character information from the cut out line. In step S205, the reading unit 14 performs character recognition on the cutout character. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the data processing unit 22 acquires position information (X, Y) of the character to be recognized which is included in the image information 250. The data processing unit 22 performs concealment processing to be described later based on the acquired position information of the character. When “number” is designated as a concealment target, the data processing unit 22 acquires position information of the numbers “1” and “2” as shown in FIG. Perform secrecy process of Note that the concealment process is not performed when the pre-scan process is performed in the data processing unit 22.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the description of the information processing method in the information processing system according to the embodiment will be continued. In step S108, the data processing unit 22 outputs the OCR pre-scan result to the determination unit 23. The data processing unit 22 outputs text data which is a pre-scan result of the OCR. In step S109, the determination unit 23 determines the degree of secrecy of the read document (whether the document is a confidential document or not) based on the output pre-scan result of the OCR (an example of the determination step).

  Here, the process of the determination unit 23 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing of the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed in the information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 illustrates an example in which the confidential character table 210 shown in FIG. 5 and the condition information 220 shown in FIG. 6 are stored in the storage unit 25 in advance.

  In step S301, when the determination unit 23 detects the OCR pre-scan result, the process proceeds to step S302. On the other hand, when the determination unit 23 does not detect the pre-scan result of the OCR, the determination unit 23 repeats the process of step S301.

  In step S302, the determination unit 23 reads the confidential character table 210 and the condition information 220 stored in the storage unit 25. Specifically, the determination unit 23 outputs a read request of the confidential character table 210 and the condition information 220 to the storage / readout unit 24. The storage / readout unit 24 reads the confidential character table 210 and the condition information 220 stored in the storage unit 25 when detecting the output readout request. Then, the storage / readout unit 24 outputs the read confidential character table 210 and the condition information 220 to the determination unit 23.

  In step S303, the determination unit 23 calculates (determines) the matching rate between the characters included in the pre-scan result and the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210. The matching rate with the strictly confidential character pattern indicates the number of characters (percentage) of strictly confidential characters detected by the pre-scan process of the document to be processed among the characters registered in the strictly confidential character pattern. In step S304, when the matching rate is 90% or more, the determination unit 23 shifts the process to step S305. In step S305, the determination unit 23 determines that the document to be processed is a highly confidential document (a confidential document), and outputs a determination result indicating that the use of the cloud server 50 is prohibited.

  In step S306, when the matching rate is 70% or more, the determination unit 23 shifts the process to step S307. In step S307, the determination unit 23 outputs, to the user, a determination result indicating that the availability of the cloud server 50 is to be confirmed. On the other hand, in step S306, when the matching rate is less than 70%, the determination unit 23 shifts the process to step S308. In step S308, the determination unit 23 outputs the determination result indicating that the OCR process is to be performed using the cloud server 50.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the description of the information processing method in the information processing system according to the embodiment will be continued. The process described below is a process when it is calculated (determined) that the matching rate with the strictly confidential character included in the strictly confidential character table 210 is less than 70% in step S304 shown in FIG. In step S110, the determination unit 23 of the application unit 200 determines that the document to be processed is not a highly confidential document (confidential document), and performs OCR processing on the application control unit 21 using the cloud server 50. Output the judgment result to the effect of executing. In step S111, the application control unit 21 of the application unit 200 outputs the determination result output from the determination unit 23 to the main unit 100.

  In step S112, the application control unit 12 of the main body unit 100 outputs the determination result output from the application control unit 21 to the communication unit 11. In step S113, the communication unit 11 of the main unit 100 transmits, to the cloud server 50, a processing request for image information of a document to be processed (an example of a transmission step). In step S114, when the cloud server 50 receives the processing request of the image information, the cloud server 50 executes the OCR processing and the concealment processing of the received image information. In step S115, the cloud server 50 transmits the OCR result and the concealment process result to the image processing apparatus 10.

  Here, the concealment process for the image information of the document to be processed will be described. The concealment process shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is executed by the data processing unit 52 of the cloud server 50 or the data processing unit 22 of the image processing apparatus 10. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example (No. 1) of the secrecy process of the information processing system according to the embodiment. 12 (a) to 12 (d) show layers used for the concealment process or output results of the concealment process. The concealment process shown in FIG. 12 is a process when the character to be concealed is masked using a specific symbol.

  FIG. 12A shows the highest layer (layer 1), and the characters to be concealed included in the concealment target table 230 shown in FIG. 7 are created as black symbols. The position of the black-painted character shown in FIG. 12A is a character position that can be acquired at the time of executing the OCR shown in FIG. 10 for the character to be concealed. FIG. 12B shows image information obtained by scanning a document to be processed. The layer (layer 2) of FIG. 12 (b) is positioned below the layer 2 shown in FIG. 12 (a). FIG. 12C shows the result of the OCR processing performed on the document to be processed. The layer (layer 3) shown in FIG. 12C is processed as a transparent layer.

  FIG.12 (d) is a concealment process result output by synthesize | combining the layers (layers 1-3) shown to Fig.12 (a)-FIG.12 (c). The concealment processing result shown in FIG. 12D is output by superimposing in order of layer 1 → layer 2 → layer 3 from the highest order. In this case, layer 3 is a transparent layer, and layers 2 and 1 are normally displayed. The layer 1 may have a configuration in which the layer 1 is not displayed (OR display) when the OCR result for which the concealment process is not performed is also presented (outputted) to the user.

  Next, another example of the concealment process on the image information of the document to be processed will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example (No. 2) of the secrecy process of the information processing system according to the embodiment. The concealment process shown in FIG. 13 is a process for replacing a character to be concealed with a specific symbol.

  FIG. 13A shows the result of the OCR processing performed on the document to be processed. FIG. 13B shows a concealment processing result obtained by performing the concealment processing on the OCR result shown in FIG. The concealment processing result shown in FIG. 13B is obtained by replacing the concealment target character included in the OCR result shown in FIG. 13 with a specific symbol (“■”). The specific symbol is set by, for example, a user who uses the image processing apparatus 10 or an administrator of the information processing system 1, and can be appropriately corrected or changed. The specific symbol may be, for example, "*" or "○" in addition to "■".

  By performing the concealment process shown in FIG. 12 or FIG. 13, the information processing system 1 can conceal the characters to be concealed contained in the document to be processed, so the contents of the outputted strict document (confidential document) Can be concealed.

  Subsequently, in the process of step S304 shown in FIG. 11, the matching rate between the text data included in the OCR pre-scan result and the strictly confidential character pattern included in the strictly confidential character table 210 is calculated (determined) as 90% or more An information processing method in the information processing system 1 in the case will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example (No. 2) of the information processing method of the information processing system according to the embodiment. The process from step S401 to step S409 shown in FIG. 14 is the same as the process from step S101 to step S109 shown in FIG.

  In step S410, the determination unit 23 of the application unit 200 sends the determination result based on the matching rate between the text data included in the pre-scan processing result and the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 to the data processing unit 22. Output. In this case, since the coincidence rate is 90% or more, the judgment unit 23 judges that the prescanned document is a strictly confidential document, and outputs a judgment result indicating that the use of the cloud server 50 is prohibited. In step S411, the data processing unit 22 of the application unit 200 executes an OCR process on the image information of the read document. Then, the data processing unit 22 executes the concealment process shown in FIG. 14 or 15 on the text data which is the OCR result.

  In step S412, the data processing unit 22 of the application unit 200 outputs the OCR result and the concealment processing result to the application control unit 21. In step S413, the application control unit 21 of the application unit 200 outputs the output OCR result and the concealment processing result to the main unit 100. When the application control unit 12 detects the OCR result and the concealment process result, the main body unit 100 outputs the OCR result and the result of the concealment process. The method of outputting the processing result is performed by a method such as printing processing by the print processing unit 16 or processing result by the display control unit 15.

  Subsequently, in the process of step S304 shown in FIG. 11, the information processing system 1 in the case where the matching rate with the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 is calculated (determined) as less than 90% to 70% or more. The information processing method will be described. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example (No. 3) of the information processing method of the information processing system according to the embodiment. The process from step S501 to step S509 shown in FIG. 15 is the same as the process from step S101 to step S109 shown in FIG.

  In step S510, the determination unit 23 of the application unit 200 outputs, to the application control unit 21, the determination result of the matching rate between the pre-scan processing result and the strictly confidential character included in the strictly confidential character table 210. In this case, the determination unit 23 determines that the match rate is less than 90% to 70% or more, and outputs the determination result indicating that the availability of the cloud server 50 is confirmed to the user. The process of step S510 is the same as the process of step S305 shown in FIG.

  In step S 511, the application control unit 21 of the application unit 200 outputs the processing result and the determination result of the pre-scan to the main unit 100. In step S512, the application control unit 21 of the main body unit 100 outputs, to the display control unit 15, the pre-scan processing result and the determination result output from the application unit 200.

  In step S513, the display control unit 15 of the main body unit 100 causes the operation unit 1007 to display the output pre-scan result and the determination result of the OCR. The user of the image processing apparatus 10 confirms whether to execute the OCR processing using the cloud server 50 based on the contents of the processing result and the determination result displayed on the operation unit 1007. The image processing apparatus 10 may be configured to display only the determination result on the operation unit 1007.

  As shown in FIGS. 8, 14 and 15, the information processing system 1 uses the image processing apparatus 10 or the cloud server 50 based on the determination result by the determination unit 23 of the image processing apparatus 10 to perform processing. Executes OCR processing and concealment processing on image information of a document. Thus, the information processing system 1 determines whether to use the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5 based on the degree of secrecy of the read target document (whether the document is a confidential document or not). Therefore, security risk (risk of information leakage) in image processing using the cloud server 50 can be reduced.

Next, registration processing of the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 shown in FIG. 5 will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a registration process of the confidential character of the information processing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a preview screen of the OCR processing result displayed on the operation unit 1007 of the image processing apparatus 10. First, the image processing apparatus 10 scans an original to be read by a scanner or the like and executes an OCR process (or an OCR pre-scan process). The display control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 10 causes the operation unit 1007 to display the OCR result. The OCR result is displayed as text data (character string) in the "preview content" column shown in FIG.

  The user of the image processing apparatus 10 selects a character to be registered from the preview screen displayed on the operation unit 1007 of the image processing apparatus 10, and selects the “OK” icon to register the confidential character. Selection of a character to be registered may be performed by the user touching the touch panel of the operation unit 1007 or may be performed by the user operating the keyboard of the operation unit 1007. The reception unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the registration request input by the user, and stores the requested confidential character in the confidential character table 210 shown in FIG. As a result, the information processing system 1 can easily register strictly confidential characters by selecting the text data displayed on the image processing apparatus 10 as the OCR result.

As described above, in the information processing system according to the present embodiment, the document to be processed is read by the image processing apparatus 10 using a scanner or the like, and the document to be processed is read using image information of the read document. Determine the confidential characters (examples of confidential characters) included in. Then, the information processing system 1 transmits a processing request of the image information to the cloud server 50 (an example of the external device) when the determined confidential character is less than the predetermined threshold. Therefore, the information processing system 1 determines whether to use the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5 based on the degree of secrecy of the read target document (whether the document is a confidential document or not). Therefore, security risk (risk of information leakage) in image processing using the cloud server 50 can be reduced.

Modification 1 of Embodiment
Next, a first modification of the embodiment will be described. In the information processing system 1a according to the first modification of the embodiment, the storage unit 25 of the image processing apparatus 10 stores a confidential character table 210a in which the confidential pattern is set for each type (category) of the document. The information processing system 1a determines the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed (whether the document is a confidential document or not) using the confidential character table 210a.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the confidential character table according to the first modification of the embodiment. In the confidential character table 210a shown in FIG. 17, a confidential document pattern is registered for each document category. In the example of FIG. 17, in the strictly confidential character table 210a, when the document category is “contract”, “contract, company name, yen, first, second, etc.” is set as the strictly confidential character pattern. Further, in the strictly confidential character table 210a, when the document category is "business plan document", "budget, settlement, business, etc." is set as the strictly confidential character pattern.

  The image processing apparatus 10 receives the type of processing target document (for example, a contract, a business plan, etc.) as well as a processing request by the receiving unit 13. Then, the determination unit 23 of the image processing apparatus 10 calculates (determines) the matching rate between the characters included in the document and the strictly confidential character pattern for each type (category) of the document to be processed, thereby determining the document to be processed. Determine the degree of secrecy of the document (whether it is a confidential document or not). The method of calculating (discriminating) the strictly confidential character pattern and the method of judging the degree of secrecy are the same as the method shown in FIG.

  The categories included in the strictly confidential character table 210a and the contents of the strictly confidential character patterns included in each category are not limited thereto, and are registered by the user who uses the image processing apparatus 10 or the administrator of the information processing system 1, It can be corrected or changed.

Effect of Modification 1 of Embodiment As described above, in the information processing system according to Modification 1 of the embodiment, the confidential character pattern is set for each type (category) of the document to be processed. Then, the information processing system 1a determines the confidential characters included in the document to be processed using the confidential character pattern associated with (associated with) the type (category) of the document to be processed. Do. Therefore, the information processing system 1a can improve the accuracy of the determination of the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed (whether the document is a confidential document or not).

Modification 2 of Embodiment
Subsequently, an information processing system according to a second modification of the embodiment will be described. The same configuration and the same function as those of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The information processing system according to the second modification of the embodiment is not the image processing apparatus 10 that performs the reading process of the document to be processed for determining the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed (whether the document is a confidential document or not). , And processing when executed using another apparatus (other image forming apparatus 10 or server apparatus 30) located in the local network.

Functional Configuration FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing system according to the second modification of the embodiment. The information processing system according to the modification 2 of the embodiment includes the image processing apparatus 10, the server apparatus 30, and the cloud server 50. Unlike the image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4, the image processing apparatus 10 b does not include application software or an OCR module for performing an OCR process. Therefore, the image processing apparatus 10b does not have the function to be executed by the application unit 200 shown in FIG. 4 but has the function to be executed by the main unit 100. The functions performed by the main unit 100 are the same as the functions shown in FIG. Note that the information processing system 1b may include other image processing apparatus having the same function as the image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 provided with application software or an OCR module for executing the OCR processing. .

  On the other hand, the server device 30 includes application software or an OCR module for performing an OCR process. The functions executed by the server device 30 include a communication unit 31, a data processing unit 32, a determination unit 33, a storage / readout unit 34 and a storage unit 35. The communication unit 31 controls, for example, communication with another device (for example, the image processing device 10b) located in the local network. The communication unit 31 also controls, for example, communication with the cloud server 50 located in the cloud network 5. The communication unit 31 is realized by, for example, the communication unit 508 illustrated in FIG. 3 and a program executed by the CPU 501. The communication unit 31 is an example of a transmission unit.

  The functions of the data processing unit 32, the determination unit 33, the storage / readout unit 34 and the storage unit 35 are the same as those of the data processing unit 22, the determination unit 23, the storage / readout unit 24 and the storage unit 25, respectively. Further, the strictly confidential character table 310, the condition information 220, and the concealment target table 330 stored in the storage unit 35 are the same as the strictly confidential character table 210, the condition information 220, and the concealment target table 230.

  The cloud server 50 b can communicate with the server device 30 and the image processing device 10. The functions executed by the cloud server 50b are similar to the functions executed by the cloud server 50 shown in FIG.

Information Processing Method Subsequently, an information processing method in the information processing system 1 b will be described. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example (No. 1) of the information processing method of the information processing system according to the second modification of the embodiment. FIG. 19 illustrates the case where the document to be processed read by the image processing apparatus 10b is a highly confidential document (for example, a confidential document (for example, a contract)).

  In step S601, the receiving unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10b receives a processing request such as printing processing by the image processing apparatus 10b from the user for the document to be processed. Specifically, the reception unit 13 receives a processing request input by the user to the operation unit 1007. In step S602, the receiving unit 13 outputs the received processing request to the reading unit 14.

  In step S603, the reading unit 14 of the image processing apparatus 10b reads the image information received by the receiving unit 13. In step S604, the reading unit 14 outputs, to the communication unit 11, image information of the read target document to be processed. In step S605, the communication unit 11 of the image processing apparatus 10b transmits a processing request for image information to the communication unit 31 of the server device 30. In step S606, the communication unit 31 of the server device 30 outputs the received processing request to the data processing unit 32.

In step S607, when the data processing unit 32 of the server device 30 detects the output processing request, the data processing unit 32 executes the OCR processing (pre-scan) of the image information included in the processing request. The pre-scan method is similar to the process shown in FIG. In step S608,
The data processing unit 32 outputs the pre-scan result of the OCR to the determination unit 33. The data processing unit 32 outputs text data which is a pre-scan result of the OCR.

  In step S609, the determination unit 33 of the server device 30 determines the degree of secrecy of the read document (whether the document is a confidential document or not) based on the output pre-scan result of the OCR. The determination method of the degree of secrecy (whether the document is a confidential document or not) is the same as the process shown in FIG. In this case, the process described below will be described assuming that the matching rate with the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 is calculated (determined) as less than 70%.

  In step S610, the determination unit 33 determines that the document to be processed is not a highly confidential document (a confidential document), and performs OCR processing on the communication unit 31 using the cloud server 50b. Output the judgment result. In step S611, the communication unit 31 of the server device 30 transmits, to the cloud server 50b, a processing request for image information of a document to be processed. In step S612, when the cloud server 50b receives the processing request of the image information, the cloud server 50b performs the OCR processing and the concealment processing of the received image information. The OCR process and the concealment process executed by the cloud server 50b are similar to the processes shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 13 (FIG. 14), respectively. In step S613, the cloud server 50b transmits the OCR result and the concealment process result to the server device 30. In step S614, when the communication unit 31 of the server device 30 receives the processing result from the cloud server 50b, the communication unit 31 transmits the received processing result to the image processing device 10b.

  In the example of FIG. 19, the server device 30 transmits the processing request of the image information to the cloud server 50b. However, the server device 30 transmits the determination result to the image processing device 10b, and the cloud Communication with the server 50b may be performed by the image processing apparatus 10b.

  Subsequently, in the second modification of the embodiment, information in the case where the matching rate between the text data included in the prescan result of the OCR and the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 is calculated (determined) as 90% or more An information processing method in the processing system 1b will be described. FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example (part 2) of the information processing method of the information processing system according to the second modification of the embodiment. The process of steps S701 to S709 shown in FIG. 20 is the same as the process of steps S601 to S609 shown in FIG.

  In step S710, the determination unit 33 of the server device 30 determines that the pre-scanned document is a strictly confidential document because the coincidence rate with the strictly confidential character pattern included in the strictly confidential character table 210 is 90% or more. A determination result indicating that the use of the cloud server 50b is prohibited is output to the processing unit 32. In step S711, when the data processing unit 32 of the server device 30 detects the determination result by the determination unit 33, the data processing unit 32 executes the OCR process and the concealment process on the image information of the document for which the process request has been received. The OCR process and the concealment process executed by the server device 30 are similar to the processes shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 13 (or FIG. 14), respectively.

  In step S 712, the data processing unit 32 outputs the OCR result and the concealment processing result to the communication unit 31. In step S713, when the communication unit 31 of the server device 30 detects the OCR result and the concealment processing result, the communication unit 31 transmits the detected processing result to the image processing device 10b. When the image processing apparatus 10 b receives the OCR result and the concealment processing result, the image processing apparatus 10 b outputs the processing result by a printing process by the print processing unit 16 or a process result by the display control unit 15.

  Subsequently, in the second modification of the embodiment, the matching rate between the text data included in the processing result of the OCR pre-scan and the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 is calculated to be less than 90% and 70% or more An information processing method in the information processing system 1b in the case where it is determined is described. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example (No. 3) of the information processing method of the information processing system according to the second modification of the embodiment. The process of steps S801 to S809 shown in FIG. 21 is the same as the process of steps S601 to S609 shown in FIG.

  In step S810, the determination unit 33 of the server device 30 determines that the coincidence rate with the confidential character pattern included in the confidential character table 210 is less than 90% and 70% or more, and instructs the data processing unit 32 to the user. On the other hand, the determination result to confirm the availability of the cloud server 50 is output. In step S811, when the communication unit 31 of the server device 30 detects the determination result by the determination unit 33, the communication unit 31 transmits the prescanning result and the detected determination result to the image processing device 10b.

  In step S812, the communication unit 11 of the image processing apparatus 10b outputs the received pre-scan result and the determination result to the display control unit 15. In step S813, the display control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 10b causes the operation unit 1007 to display the prescanning result and the determination result. The user of the image processing apparatus 10b confirms whether to execute the OCR processing using the cloud server 50 based on the contents of the processing result and the determination result displayed on the operation unit 1007. The image processing apparatus 10 b may be configured to display only the determination result on the operation unit 1007.

Effect of Modification 2 of Embodiment As described above, in the information processing system according to Modification 2 of the embodiment, the application software or the application software for causing the image processing apparatus 10 b for reading the document to be processed to execute the OCR processing Even if the OCR module is not provided, the degree of secrecy of the processing target document read using the server device 30 (or other image processing device 10) located in the local area Can be determined. Therefore, the information processing system 1b can determine whether to use the cloud server 50b provided in the cloud network 5 even when the image processing apparatus 10b for reading the document to be processed is not provided with the OCR function. It is possible to reduce the security risk (risk of information leakage) in image processing using the server 50b.

● Summary ●
As described above, the information processing apparatus (for example, the image processing apparatus 10) according to an embodiment of the present invention reads the image information of the document to be processed, and performs OCR pre-scan processing on the read image information An example of recognition processing is executed to determine strictly confidential characters (an example of strictly confidential characters) included in the pre-scan result. Then, when the number of the determined confidential characters is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the image processing apparatus 10 requests the cloud server 50 (a processing of the external device) to process the OCR processing (an example of the image processing) on the image information of the document to be processed. Send for example). Therefore, the information processing apparatus can enhance security in image processing using the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5.

  The information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention stores strictly confidential characters (an example of strictly confidential characters) for determining the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed, and the characters included in the pre-scan result And determine the matching rate with the stored confidential characters. Therefore, the information processing apparatus can determine whether to use the cloud server 50b (an example of the external device) provided in the cloud network 5 according to the information (characters, codes, etc.) included in the document to be processed. Security in image processing using the cloud server 50 can be enhanced.

  Further, the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention stores strictly confidential characters (an example of strictly confidential characters) for each type (category) of a document, and the type of the document is included in the document to be processed. Determine the corresponding secret characters. Therefore, the information processing apparatus can improve the accuracy of the determination of the degree of secrecy of the document to be processed (whether the document is a confidential document or not).

  Further, the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention displays the image information of the read document, and of the predetermined characters included in the displayed image information, the confidential character (an example of the character of the confidential object) Register the character to be stored as. Therefore, the information processing apparatus can easily register the confidential character by the user selecting a predetermined character included in the image information displayed on the information processing apparatus.

  Furthermore, an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cloud server 50 (an example of an external device) that performs image processing, and an image processing device 10 (an example of an information processing device) that can communicate with the cloud server 50. The image processing apparatus 10 reads image information of a document to be processed. The information processing system 1 executes an OCR prescan process (an example of a character recognition process) on the read image information, and determines strictly confidential characters (an example of a confidential target character) included in the prescan result. Then, the information processing system 1 transmits, to the cloud server 50, a processing request of the OCR processing (an example of the image processing) on the image information of the document to be processed, when the number of the determined confidential characters is less than the predetermined threshold. Do. Therefore, the information processing system 1 can enhance security in image processing using the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5.

  An information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by the image processing apparatus 10 (an example of the information processing apparatus), and includes a reading step of reading image information of a document, and a read image The pre-scan process (an example of a character recognition process) of OCR is performed on the information, and the determination step of determining the strictly confidential character (an example of the strictly confidential character) included in the pre-scan result; If it is smaller than the threshold value, a transmission step of transmitting a processing request of the OCR processing (an example of the image processing) on the image information of the document to the cloud server 50 is executed. Therefore, the information processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention can enhance security in image processing using the cloud server 50 provided in the cloud network 5.

  The functions of each embodiment can be realized by a computer executable program described in a legacy programming language such as assembler, C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark) or an object oriented programming language, etc., ROM, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), Flash Memory, Flexible Disc, CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, CD-RW (Re-Writable), DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM It can be stored in a device readable recording medium such as a DVD-RW, a Blu-ray disc, an SD card, a MO (Magneto-Optical disc) or the like, or can be distributed through a telecommunication line.

  Also, some or all of the functions of each embodiment can be implemented on a programmable device (PD) such as, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or can be implemented as an ASIC. Circuit configuration data (bit stream data) to be downloaded to the PD to realize the functions of the PD, Hardware Description Language (HDL) for generating the circuit configuration data, Very High Speed Integrated Circuits Hardware Description Language (VHDL), It can be distributed by a recording medium as data described by Verilog-HDL or the like.

  Although the information processing apparatus, the information processing system, the information processing method, and the program according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and other embodiments, additions Modifications, deletions, etc. can be made within the scope of those skilled in the art, and any modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention as long as the functions and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

1 information processing system 5 cloud network 10 image processing apparatus (an example of information processing apparatus)
11 Communication unit (an example of transmission means)
13 Reception section (an example of registration means)
14 Reader (example of reader)
22 Data processing unit (an example of data processing means and concealment processing means)
23 Judgment unit (an example of judgment means)
25 storage unit (an example of storage means)
30 Server device (an example of an information processing device)
31 Communication unit (an example of transmission means)
32 Data processing unit (an example of data processing means and concealment processing means)
33 Judgment unit (an example of judgment means)
35 Memory unit (an example of memory means)
50 Cloud server (example of external device)

JP 2011-253470 A

Claims (10)

Reading means for reading image information of a document;
A determination unit that executes character recognition processing on the read image information and determines the confidential target character included in the processing result of the character recognition processing;
A transmitting unit that transmits a processing request for image processing on the image information to an external device when the number of the determined confidential target characters is smaller than a predetermined threshold value;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
An information processing apparatus further comprising data processing means for executing image processing on the image information when the number of characters of the determined confidential target character is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The storage device further includes storage means for storing the confidential subject character,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the determination unit determines a matching rate between the character included in the processing result of the character recognition process and the stored confidential target character. The storage means stores the confidential target character for each type of the document,
The discrimination means discriminates the matching rate between the character included in the processing result of the character recognition process for the image information and the confidential target character according to the type of the document corresponding to the image information. Information processor as described. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein
An information processing apparatus, further comprising: registration means for displaying the image information of the document and registering a character to be stored as the confidential object character among the predetermined characters included in the displayed image information. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein
An information processing apparatus, further comprising: a secrecy processing means for masking the stored confidential target character of the character information recognized by the image processing on the image information. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein
An information processing apparatus, further comprising a secrecy processing means for replacing the confidential target character of the character information recognized by the image processing with a specific symbol. An information processing system, comprising: an external device that performs image processing; and an information processing device capable of communicating with the external device,
Reading means for reading image information of a document;
A determination unit that executes character recognition processing on the read image information and determines the confidential target character included in the processing result of the character recognition processing;
A transmitting unit that transmits a processing request for image processing on the image information to the external device if the number of characters of the determined confidential target character is smaller than a predetermined threshold value;
An information processing system comprising: An information processing method executed by the information processing apparatus;
A reading step of reading image information of a document;
Performing a character recognition process on the read image information, and determining a confidential target character included in the process result of the character recognition process;
A transmitting step of transmitting a processing request for image processing to the image information to an external device when the number of the determined confidential target characters is smaller than a predetermined threshold value;
Information processing method to perform. A program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 9.