JP2023046901A - System and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce time and effort of a person who classifies FAX documents.SOLUTION: An information processing system according to the present invention that can communicate with an apparatus and a terminal device comprises: a terminal screen provision unit that provides first screen information indicating a first screen which is a screen of a list of FAX reception data, to the terminal device; and a communication unit that transmits information associated with mapping between the FAX reception data and a first link destination according to a user operation for the first screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

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

A system is known in which an application is executed by a device such as an image forming apparatus and electronic data is stored in an external service system. For example, a system is known in which image data generated by scanning a document by a device is stored in an external service system, or electronic data is downloaded from the cloud and printed.

Also, there is known a technique for creating an application or the like that uses such a system (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100003). Patent Literature 1 discloses an information processing system in which flow information defining an execution order of a plurality of processes is registered in association with application identification information, and programs defined in the flow information are executed in accordance with the execution order. ing.

According to the conventional technology, the first data received by FAX (FAX reception data) can be classified and saved in a specific folder in the external service system according to the FAX number of the transmission source. However, if a person who decides which employee in the company the saved first data is addressed to and sends it to the employee's e-mail address, etc., when trying to sort in a state where it is classified in a specific folder, which It was difficult and troublesome to identify whether the FAX document was the latest received document.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to reduce the labor of sorting FAX documents.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing system capable of communicating with a device and a terminal device, wherein screen information indicating a first screen, which is a screen of a list of received FAX data, is provided to the terminal device. It is characterized by comprising: a providing unit; and a communication unit that transmits information relating to correspondence between FAX reception data and a first link destination according to a user's operation on the first screen.

It is possible to reduce the labor of the person who sorts the FAX documents.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of two applications (a scan application and a FAX application) assumed in this embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining examples of main screens displayed in the service providing system; It is a figure which shows the system configuration|structure of an example of a service provision system. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system and a terminal device; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus, which is an example of equipment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of an example of a service provision system. It is a figure which shows the functional structure of an example of an external service system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of transmission data transmitted to an external service system; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an application list screen displayed by a device; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a folder selection screen displayed by selecting a scan application; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a folder structure of a scan data save folder of an external service system; FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the user operates the device, the device displays the application list screen, and the scan application selected by the user is executed. FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which a device receives a FAX and an information processing system executes a FAX application; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a received FAX data list screen of a specific folder displayed on the terminal device by the user of the engineering firm; FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing data of a link destination table associated with a specific folder in an external service system; It is an example of a FAX reception data detail screen displayed by the terminal device when an open button is pressed. It is an example of the detailed screen of the estimate data which a terminal device displays. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure for a screen generation unit to generate a screen related to FAX reception data saved in a specific folder according to a user's operation; It is an example of a FAX reception data detail screen in the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, an information processing system and an information processing method performed by the information processing system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as an example of a mode for carrying out the present invention.

<Supplement to comparative technology>
The service providing system provides services by executing individual applications (hereinafter simply referred to as applications) created according to the customer's business. For example, an application that automatically uploads image data generated by scanning a document with a device (hereinafter referred to as scan data; an example of second data) to an external service system or sends it by facsimile (hereinafter referred to as FAX) There is an application that automatically uploads received FAX data (an example of first data) to an external service system when it is received.

Therefore, in order for the user to automatically upload the scan data and the received FAX data to the external service system, it is necessary to separately purchase an application for the scanned data and an application for the received FAX data.

However, even if the manufacturer creates an application that integrates these two applications, the device simply uploads the scan data and the received FAX data to the external service system. In this case, a large amount of scan data and FAX reception data are miscellaneously stored, making it difficult for the user to search for necessary data.

When a user uses an app that uploads scan data to an external service system, the user must specify the save destination for the scan data when the app is executed because paper media is handled. The user selects one from a plurality of folders preset in the external service system and stores the selected folder in a predetermined folder, thereby facilitating later retrieval of scan data.

On the other hand, with regard to FAX reception data, since the device automatically receives FAX data, the user cannot select one folder from a plurality of folders when receiving FAX data. For this reason, when a fax is received, an application acquires information such as the sender's fax number and email address, and stores the information in folders by fax number, email address, and the like, thereby facilitating searches.

However, in actual business, for example, it is necessary to collectively store all scan data and FAX reception data related to a certain business partner in a predetermined folder corresponding to that business partner. Even if there is an application that combines two applications into one, the scanned data and the received fax data will be stored in separate folders after all. Therefore, it is necessary for the user to manually move the received FAX data to the folder in which the scan data is stored (or vice versa).

In such a situation, the user can change the folder name of the folder in which the received fax data is classified, add subfolders, and delete folders. was becoming difficult.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the information processing system saves the received FAX data in a specific folder of the external service system that has restrictions on renaming folders, adding folders, deleting folders, and the like. The user cannot change the folder name, add folders, delete folders, etc. for this particular folder. On the other hand, the user can move the received FAX data to another folder. The user can easily check whether there is fax reception data in a specific folder, and if so, can move the scan data to the folder where the scan data is stored. Also, the user can easily confirm whether or not the received FAX data has been moved to the scan data storage folder.

<Supplement to configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of two applications (a scan application and a FAX application) assumed in this embodiment. The equipment 20 is arranged in the construction shop 9 as an example. The construction firm 9 undertakes, for example, new construction and renovation of private houses, and deals with various contractors to build houses. There are a wide variety of contractors, but for example, there are contractors for electrical work, civil engineering work, and interior work. In addition, building contractors often obtain competitive quotations from contractors in the same industry, so it is necessary to manage a large number of quotations.

First, the operation of the FAX application (an example of the first application) will be described.

(1) The device 20 receives quotations and the like from vendors A to C by FAX.

(2) Upon receiving the FAX, the device 20 requests the information processing system 10 to execute the FAX application. The equipment 20 transmits the construction firm ID held by the equipment 20 and the FAX reception data to the information processing system 10 .

(3) The information processing system 10 activates the FAX application corresponding to this engineering firm, and instructs the external service system 40 to store the received FAX data in a specific folder (an example of a first folder) corresponding to this engineering firm. demand.

(4) The external service system 40 saves the received FAX data in a specific folder. A specific folder is a folder that cannot be renamed, added, or deleted.

Next, the operation of the scan application (an example of the second application) will be described.

(5) The person in charge of the construction company (hereafter referred to simply as the user) receives quotations and the like in paper form from contractors A to C, etc., and sets them in the device 20 . The user selects a save destination folder (hereinafter referred to as a scan data save folder, an example of a second folder) on the operation panel, and executes scanning.

(6) By executing the scan, the device 20 requests the information processing system 10 to execute the scan application. The device 20 transmits to the information processing system 10 the contractor ID held by the device 20 , the scan data, and the folder name of the scan data storage folder.

(7) The information processing system 10 activates the scan application corresponding to this construction company and requests the external service system 40 to save the scan data in the scan data save folder.

(8) The external service system 40 stores the scan data in the designated scan data storage folder. Scan data storage folders are created for each type of individual house and contractor, and quotation sheets for the same type of business such as electrical work, civil engineering work, and interior work are stored in the same folder.

Also, the external service system 40 can link the received FAX data with data in a pre-associated table.

Next, the user can check whether there is new fax reception data in the specific folder, and if so, can move the fax reception data to the scan data storage folder created for each type of individual home and business.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining examples of main screens displayed in the service providing system of this embodiment. FIG. 2A shows a scan application folder selection screen 310 displayed by the device 20 . FIG. 2B shows an example of the folder structure of the scan data storage folder 320 displayed by the terminal device 30 when the user of the engineering firm connects the terminal device 30 to the external service system 40 . FIG. 2(c) is an example of a received FAX data list screen 330 of a specific folder displayed by the terminal device 30 when the user of the engineering firm connects the terminal device 30 to the external service system 40. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the device 20 can reproduce and display the folder structure obtained from the external service system 40. FIG. Therefore, the user of the construction shop can directly select a desired folder in the external service system 40 with the device 20 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, the received FAX data in a specific folder is displayed in a list form, so that the user can easily determine in which scan data storage folder 320 each received FAX data is to be stored. .

Since the specific folder cannot be renamed, added, or deleted, FAX reception data always exists in the specific folder. The user can easily determine whether or not each FAX reception data has been received and whether or not it has been transferred.

<Terms>
A field indicates a column of tabular data held by an application of the external service system 40 .

The application of the information processing system 10 is an application for the information processing system 10 to provide services to the devices 20 included in the service providing system. A server and a client on a network communicate with each other to process data, and the client can use the results. Such applications can be provided as web apps. A server is a computer or software that provides information and processing results in response to requests from clients. A screen that a client acquires from a server and displays is sometimes called a web page. Also, the applications of the information processing system 10 are not limited to web applications, and may be provided as native applications. The device 20 downloads the cooperation source application, which is a native application, from the information processing system 10 and the device 20 executes it, so that the device 20 and the information processing system 10 transmit and receive data such as image data.

The information processing system 10 provides services, and one of the means for providing services is execution of applications. When the information processing system 10 executes an application, it may (or may not) cooperate with an application provided by the external service system 40 . Since the service provided by the application of the information processing system 10 is realized by executing a series of processes in order, the contents and order of the series of processes are defined in the application.

The external service system 40 also provides services, and one of the means of providing services is execution of the application of the external service system 40 . The external service system 40 can provide services to users without cooperating with the information processing system 10. In this case, the application provided by the external service system 40 is a web application provided by communication between a server and a client. The service providing system 100 of the present embodiment enables an application of the external service system 40 that can be used by the user from the terminal device 30 or the like to be used from the device 20 via the information processing system 10 .

A service of the external service system 40 may be called an application, or may be called a program, software, site, or the like. That is, the application of the external service system 40 may be related to the service of the external service system 40 even if it is not called an application.

A user means a person in charge of a so-called tenant (for example, a construction company), and a person who uses the device 20 including the application of the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40 . A tenant is a company, an organization, or the like that has contracted to receive services from a service provider (information processing system in this embodiment). As an example, a user belongs to a tenant, but an individual user may subscribe to the service.

An administrator is a tenant administrator. An administrator is a person who sets various settings so that users can use these apps. However, there is no need to make a clear distinction between the user and the administrator, and they are used separately for convenience in this embodiment as well.

A lower folder may be a folder that is relatively lower than the target folder. A subordinate folder is not limited to a folder immediately below the folder of interest.

Restriction on folder creation includes not only the fact that the user cannot create folders at all, but also the fact that folders can be created with some kind of authentication.

Moving a file means deleting the file in the source folder and duplicating the file in the destination folder. The file may be left by clearly indicating that it was deleted in the source folder.

Information about the first data refers to bibliographic information other than the first data itself. For example, the date and time of reception, etc., details of which will be described in the embodiment.

<System configuration>
A system configuration of the service providing system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example system configuration of the service providing system 100 according to this embodiment.

A service providing system 100 shown in FIG. 3 includes an information processing system 10 and devices 20, which are communicably connected via a wide area network N1 such as the Internet. The service providing system 100 can communicate with an external service system 40 and a terminal device 30, which are external systems. Note that the configuration including the information processing system 10 and the external service system 40 is an example of a system.

The information processing system 10 is realized by one or more information processing devices, and provides various services realized by a series of processes in cooperation with an external service system 40 such as a cloud service via the network N1. Services provided by the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment are provided by a scan application, a FAX application, or the like. The information processing system 10 may be realized by cloud computing, or may be realized by a single information processing device. Cloud computing is a form of usage in which resources on a network are used without being conscious of specific hardware resources. The information processing system 10 may exist on the Internet or may exist on-premises. A series of processes is provided by one application of the information processing system 10, and the series of processes is also called a "processing flow" or a "workflow."

The devices 20 are various electronic devices used by users. The device 20 is, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), a PC (Personal Computer), a projector, an electronic blackboard, a digital camera, or the like, but it is sufficient if a Web browser operates. Device 20 is connected to communication network N2. A user can use the device 20 to use various services provided by at least one of the information processing system 10 and the external service system 40 .

In addition, hereinafter, a plurality of devices 20 will be described using suffixes such as “device 20 ₁ ”, “device 20 ₂ ”, etc. when distinguishing between them.

The terminal device 30 is, for example, a desktop PC, a notebook PC, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or the like used by an administrator or a user, and any device that can run a web browser is sufficient. The terminal device 30 is connected to the communication network N2. An administrator or user can operate the terminal device 30 to use various services provided by the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40 .

In addition, hereinafter, a plurality of terminal devices 30 will be described using suffixes such as “terminal device 30 ₁ ”, “terminal device 30 ₂ ”, etc. when distinguishing between them.

The external service system 40 is one or more information processing devices that provide services by executing applications of the external service system 40 via the network N1. Data is managed or processed by executing the application of the external service system 40, and the data itself and the processing result become the service.

Examples of the external service system 40 include cloud services, ASPs (Application Service Providers), etc., and may include various external services provided via a network. In this embodiment, a tabular database will be described as an example of the service. The external service system 40 may exist on the Internet or may exist on-premises. The term "outside" means that the information processing system 10 is operated or managed by a different subject. However, the information processing system 10 may integrally have the functions of the external service system 40 .

In the following description, when distinguishing between a plurality of external service systems 40, the illustrated "external service system 40 ₁ " is designated as external service system A, and "external service system 40 ₂ " is designated as external service system B, etc. and describe.

<Hardware configuration example>
Hardware configurations of the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 included in the service providing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

<<information processing system and terminal device>>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 are constructed by a computer, and include a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, an HD 504, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, a display 506, an external device connection I /F (Interface) 508 , network I/F 509 , bus line 510 , keyboard 511 , pointing device 512 , optical drive 514 and media I/F 516 .

Among them, the CPU 501 controls the operations of the information processing system 10 and the terminal device 30 as a whole. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501 such as IPL. A RAM 503 is used as a work area for the CPU 501 . The HD 504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls reading or writing of various data to/from the HD 504 under the control of the CPU 501 . A display 506 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I/F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The external device in this case is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a printer, or the like. A network I/F 509 is an interface for data communication using the communication network N2. A bus line 510 is an address bus, a data bus, or the like for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501 shown in FIG.

Also, the keyboard 511 is a kind of input means having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, and the like. A pointing device 512 is a kind of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like. An optical drive 514 controls reading or writing of various data to an optical storage medium 513 as an example of a removable recording medium. Optical storage media include CD, DVD, Blu-Ray (registered trademark), and the like. A media I/F 516 controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 515 such as a flash memory.

<<Equipment>>
FIG. 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus, which is an example of the device 20. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control section 930, an operation panel 940, and a network I/F 950.

Among these, the controller 910 includes a CPU 901, a system memory (MEM-P) 902, a north bridge (NB) 903, a south bridge (SB) 904, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, and a storage unit, which are the main parts of the computer. A local memory (MEM-C) 907 , an HDD controller 908 , and an HD 909 as a storage unit, and the NB 903 and ASIC 906 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921 .

Among them, the CPU 901 is a control unit that performs overall control of the image forming apparatus. The NB 903 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 901, the MEM-P 902, the SB 904, and the AGP bus 921, and is a memory controller that controls reading and writing with respect to the MEM-P 902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target. have

The MEM-P 902 is composed of a ROM 902a, which is a memory for storing programs and data for realizing each function of the controller 910, and a RAM 902b, which is used as a drawing memory for expansion of programs and data, memory printing, and the like. The program stored in the RAM 902b is configured to be provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, etc. as a file in an installable format or an executable format. You may

SB 904 is a bridge for connecting NB 903 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The ASIC 906 is an image processing IC (Integrated Circuit) having hardware elements for image processing, and serves as a bridge that connects the AGP bus 921, PCI bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C 907, respectively. This ASIC 906 includes a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 906, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 907, and multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic. , and a PCI unit for performing data transfer via the PCI bus 922 with a scanner section 931, a printer section 932, and a facsimile section. The ASIC 906 may be connected to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface.

MEM-C 907 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and an encoding buffer. The HD 909 is a storage for accumulating image data, accumulating font data used for printing, and accumulating forms. The HD 909 controls reading or writing of data to or from the HD 909 under the control of the CPU 901 . The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for graphics accelerator cards proposed to speed up graphics processing, and can speed up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 902 with high throughput. .

Also, the near field communication circuit 920 is provided with an antenna 920a of the near field communication circuit. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit for NFC, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like.

Furthermore, the engine control section 930 has a scanner section 931 , a printer section 932 and a facsimile section 933 . Further, the operation panel 940 has a panel display section 940a such as a touch panel for displaying current setting values, selection screens, and the like, and for receiving input from the operator. The operation panel 940 includes hard keys 940b including numeric keys for receiving setting values of conditions related to image formation such as density setting conditions, and a start key for receiving a copy start instruction. A controller 910 controls the entire image forming apparatus, such as drawing, communication, and input from an operation panel 940 . The scanner unit 931 or printer unit 932 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

Note that the image forming apparatus can switch and select the document box function, the copy function, the printer function, and the facsimile function in sequence using an application switching key on the operation panel 940 . The image forming apparatus enters a document box mode when the document box function is selected, a copy mode when the copy function is selected, a printer mode when the printer function is selected, and a facsimile mode when the facsimile mode is selected.

A network I/F 950 is an interface for data communication using the communication network N2. A short-range communication circuit 920 and a network I/F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via a PCI bus 922 .

<About functions>
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the functional configuration of the service providing system 100 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example functional configuration of the service providing system 100 according to this embodiment.

<<Equipment>>
First, the device 20 has a second communication section 21 , a display control section 22 , an operation reception section 23 , an image data generation section 24 , a facsimile processing section 25 and an e-mail processing section 26 . Each of these functional units is a function or means implemented by the CPU 901 executing instructions included in one or more programs installed in the device 20 . For example, the second communication unit 21, the display control unit 22, and the operation reception unit 23 are implemented by a web browser, and the others are implemented by individual applications (native apps).

The second communication unit 21 transmits and receives various information to and from the information processing system 10 . In the present embodiment, the second communication unit 21 receives screen information and the like of the scan application from the information processing system 10 and transmits scan data, fax reception data, and the like to the information processing system 10 .

The display control unit 22 interprets the screen information of various screens and displays it on the panel display unit 940a. The operation accepting unit 23 accepts various user operations on various screens displayed on the panel display unit 940a.

The image data generation unit 24 causes the scanner unit 931 to scan a document and generates image data (for example, a PDF file). The facsimile processing unit 25 performs processing related to facsimile reception and transmission by the facsimile unit 933, and creates image data (for example, a PDF file) to be transmitted and received. The facsimile processing unit 25 requests the information processing system 10 to execute a pre-associated FAX application when receiving a facsimile.

The e-mail processing unit 26 performs processing related to e-mail transmission and reception, and requests the information processing system 10 to execute an application associated in advance when an e-mail is received.

<< terminal device >>
The terminal device 30 has a first communication section 31 , a display control section 32 and an operation reception section 33 . Each of these functional units is a function or means implemented by the CPU 501 executing instructions included in one or more programs installed in the terminal device 30 . This program may be a web browser or dedicated software.

The first communication unit 31 transmits and receives various information to and from the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40 . In this embodiment, various screen information and the like are received from the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40, and information set by the user is transmitted to the information processing system 10 or the external service system 40. FIG.

The display control unit 32 interprets screen information of various screens and displays it on the display 506 . The operation accepting unit 33 accepts various user operations on various screens displayed on the display 506 .

<<Information Processing System>>
The information processing system 10 includes an application data service unit 11, a setting reception unit 12, an authentication service unit 14, a web service processing unit 15, an input/output service unit 16, an application processing information storage unit 17, a component 18, and a communication unit 19. have. Each of these functional units is a function or means implemented by the CPU 501 executing instructions included in one or more programs installed in the information processing system 10 .

The communication unit 19 transmits and receives various information between the terminal device 30 and the device 20 . The setting reception unit 12 provides the terminal device 30 with a setting site and receives settings for the setting site. The setting reception unit 12 has a terminal screen providing unit 42 , and the terminal screen providing unit 42 provides an application setting screen or the like for allowing the administrator to set information necessary for executing the application of the information processing system 10 . In addition, the terminal screen providing unit 42 generates screen information described in HTML, XML, CSS (Cascade Style Sheet), JavaScript (registered trademark), etc. in response to an HTTP request from the terminal device 30, and transmits the screen information via HTTP. It is transmitted to the terminal device 30 as a response.

The application data service section 11 has an application data management section 41 . The application data management unit 41 manages application data 43 of applications (scan application, FAX application, etc.) purchased by customers such as builders (called tenants) for each customer. The application data 43 is mainly data for associating with an application operating on the external service system 40 . Note that the application data 43 is stored in the application data storage unit 13 .

The web service processing unit 15 provides screen information to the device 20 and receives execution of a scan application and a FAX application from the device 20 . The web service processing unit 15 has an application executing unit 46 and a device screen providing unit 47 . The application execution unit 46 receives execution of the scan application and the FAX application from the device 20 and requests the input/output processing unit 48 to process the scan application and the FAX application based on the application processing information 53 . The device screen providing unit 47 uses the screen information 54 to provide screen information such as the folder selection screen 310 of the scan application to the device 20 .

The input/output service unit 16 uses the authentication service unit 14 and the component 18 to input/output data. The input/output service unit 16 has an input/output processing unit 48 and an application management unit 49 . The input/output processing unit 48 executes a scan application or a FAX application requested by the application execution unit 46 . At the time of execution, the input/output processing unit 48 refers to the application processing information 53 and requests the component 18 to perform each process included in the scan application and the FAX application.

The application management unit 49 manages application processing information 53 and screen information 54 of the scan application and the FAX application stored in the application processing information storage unit 17 . In the application processing information 53, which processing is to be performed by the scan application or the FAX application in what order (for example, after OCR, the external service system 40 is requested to perform processing, etc.) is set. The screen information 54 is information of a screen displayed by the device 20, such as the folder selection screen 310 of the scan application. The application processing information storage unit 17 stores application processing information 53 and screen information 54 for each application of the information processing system 10 .

The authentication service unit 14 performs processing related to user (including administrator) and device 20 authentication. The authentication service section 14 has a user management section 44 and a device management section 45 . The user management unit 44 manages information about users. The user management unit 44 holds authentication information such as user names and passwords, for example. Authentication information includes information for the information processing system 10 and information for the external service system 40 . The device management unit 45 manages the devices 20 associated with tenants. That is, the identification information of the tenant and the device 20 are managed in association with each other, and when the device 20 is specified, the tenant is also specified.

The component 18 is a general term for individual functions that actually perform each process. One block within the component 18 corresponds to one process of the process flow. The component 18 has, for example, an authentication processing section 51 and an external service processing section 52 . The authentication processing unit 51 is the component 18 that requests the authentication service unit 14 to perform authentication processing. The external service processing unit 52 is a component 18 that issues a processing request to the external service system 40 . In other words, the external service processing unit 52 is a function for cooperating with the external service system 40 . The external service processing unit 52 is prepared for each type of external service system 40 . Note that the functions of the illustrated component 18 are only a part, and may have functions such as OCR and translation.

表１は、アプリ処理情報記憶部１７が保持する情報の一例を示す。アプリ処理情報記憶部１７は外部サービスシステム４０に対応付けられており、アプリＩＤ、アプリ名、画面情報、アプリ処理情報、及び、共有アプリの各項目を有している。表１のアプリは情報処理システム１０で動作するアプリである。アプリＩＤはアプリ（スキャンアプリやＦＡＸアプリ等）を識別する識別情報である。アプリ名は管理者が付与したアプリの名称である。また、アプリのアイコンや設定画面を機器２０が表示する際に使用される画面情報５４（ＨＴＭＬ等で記述された）がアプリに対応付けられる。アプリには一連の処理の内容と順番（処理フロー）が定義されるので、各アプリにはアプリ処理情報５３が対応付けられる。共有アプリとは、一般のアプリがユーザーごとに利用権限が与えられるのに対し、共有アプリはテナントのユーザーが共通に使えるアプリであることを示す。表１ではメール受信登録とＦＡＸアプリが共有アプリである。これらは各ユーザーが利用するためである。

Table 1 shows an example of information held by the application processing information storage unit 17 . The application processing information storage unit 17 is associated with the external service system 40 and has items of application ID, application name, screen information, application processing information, and shared application. The applications in Table 1 are applications that operate in the information processing system 10 . The application ID is identification information for identifying an application (scan application, FAX application, etc.). The application name is the name of the application given by the administrator. Further, the screen information 54 (written in HTML or the like) used when the device 20 displays the icon of the application and the setting screen is associated with the application. Since the content and order (processing flow) of a series of processes are defined for each application, application processing information 53 is associated with each application. A shared application indicates that usage rights are given to each user for general applications, whereas a shared application is an application that can be used commonly by tenant users. In Table 1, the mail reception registration and the FAX application are shared applications. These are for each user to use.

When the device ID is transmitted from the device 20 and, for example, "external service system A" is specified, the application management unit 49 corresponds to the "external service system A" that the customer has the right to use from the application processing information storage unit 17. A list of attached applications is provided to the device 20. - 特許庁Also, when an application is specified from the application list, screen information and application processing information associated with the application are specified.

表２はユーザー管理部４４が管理するユーザーに関する情報の一例を示す。ユーザー管理部４４は、ユーザーに関する情報として、情報処理システム１０におけるユーザーＩＤ、ユーザー名、メールアドレス、パスワード、利用できるアプリ、外部サービスシステムの認証情報、及び、連携設定の各項目を有している。このユーザーには管理者も含まれる。ユーザーＩＤ、ユーザー名又はメールアドレスの少なくとも１つと、パスワードは、ユーザーが情報処理システム１０にログインするための認証情報である。利用できるアプリはこのユーザーに利用権限が与えられているアプリである。利用できるアプリには個人アプリと共有アプリがある。個人アプリも共有アプリも複数のユーザーに使用されるが、個人アプリは個人のユーザーの外部サービスの認証情報を使用し、共有アプリは複数のユーザーが共有で外部サービスの認証情報を使用する。表２では、app003が共有アプリである。その他は個人アプリである。個人アプリの場合、ユーザーごとに外部連携サービスの認証情報の登録が必要である。

Table 2 shows an example of user-related information managed by the user management unit 44 . The user management unit 44 has items of user ID, user name, e-mail address, password, usable applications, authentication information of the external service system, and linkage setting in the information processing system 10 as information about the user. . This user includes administrators. At least one of a user ID, a user name or an email address, and a password are authentication information for a user to log into the information processing system 10 . The applications that can be used are the applications that this user has permission to use. There are personal apps and shared apps available. Both personal and shared apps are used by multiple users, but personal apps use the individual user's external service credentials, while shared apps are shared by multiple users and use external service credentials. In Table 2, app003 is a shared application. Others are personal apps. In the case of personal applications, it is necessary to register the authentication information of the external linkage service for each user.

The authentication information for the external service system is authentication information for the user to log in to the external service system 40 . Authentication information may be different for each external service system 40 . In this way, each user of the service providing system is associated with a user of the external service system 40 on a one-to-one basis. Note that it is not always necessary to associate one-to-one, and if there are multiple applications of the information processing system 10 that use the same external service system 40, each application may be associated with a different user of the external service system 40. . Therefore, the information processing system 10 identifies the user (user identification information, etc.) of the external service system 40 according to the user information such as the user ID and password of the information processing system 10 acquired from the device 20 . Alternatively, the information processing system 10 identifies the user of the external service system 40 according to the user information of the information processing system 10 and the application. If the user wishes to cooperate with the external service system 40 and it is confirmed that the user can log in with the authentication information of the external service system 40, the item of cooperation setting is "completed". The linkage settings are used to determine whether or not the user can execute the application of the external service system 40 .

In addition, the authentication information may be authentication information of the external service system 40 or authentication information necessary for cooperating with the external service system. A token or the like acquired from the system 40 may be used.

表３は、デバイス管理部４５が管理する情報の一例である。デバイス管理部４５は機器ＩＤ、顧客名、及び、テナントの識別情報を対応付けて管理する。したがって、機器２０が機器ＩＤを情報処理システム１０に送信すると、テナントが特定される。

Table 3 is an example of information managed by the device management unit 45 . The device management unit 45 manages device IDs, customer names, and tenant identification information in association with each other. Therefore, when the device 20 transmits the device ID to the information processing system 10, the tenant is identified.

表４（ａ）は、アプリデータ記憶部１３に記憶されているアプリデータの一例を示す。アプリデータは、外部サービスシステム４０に対応付けて、情報処理システム１０のアプリＩＤ、外部サービスシステムのアプリＩＤ、スペースＩＤ、及び、アプリ設定画面の各項目を有している。つまり、表４（ａ）のアプリデータは、情報処理システム１０のアプリと外部サービスシステム４０のアプリを対応付ける。アプリ設定画面の項目は情報処理システム１０のアプリが設定される画面の画面情報を指定する情報である（本実施形態では省略した）。

Table 4(a) shows an example of application data stored in the application data storage unit 13. FIG. The application data is associated with the external service system 40 and includes items of an application ID of the information processing system 10, an application ID of the external service system, a space ID, and an application setting screen. That is, the application data of Table 4(a) associates the application of the information processing system 10 with the application of the external service system 40. FIG. The item of the application setting screen is information specifying screen information of a screen on which an application of the information processing system 10 is set (omitted in the present embodiment).

Also, the application data manages field codes as shown in Tables 4(b) and 4(c). The field code is information specifying in which field of the application of the external service system the data of each item of the scan application and the FAX application is saved. Table 4(b) shows the field code information of the FAX application. First, when the FAX application is identified, the specific folder is also identified. The specific folder may be managed by the application of the external service system 40, but Table 4(b) shows the specific folder "FAX folder" for reference.

FAX reception data is stored in a specific folder of the external service system 40 . A field code is identification information of a field in which items related to fax reception data in a specific folder are stored. In Table 4(b), each item name of the FAX application and the field code of the application of the external service system 40 are given the same name (the field code is not limited to numbers and alphabets, and may be Japanese) for easy understanding. The field code is set in advance by the administrator for the application on the external service system side. Note that the item names of the FAX application are also known.

Table 4(c) shows the field code information of the scan application. Similarly, for Table 4(c), the field code is set in advance by the administrator for the application on the external service system side. In the case of the scan application, the scan data storage folder 320 is specified by the user, so Table 4(c) does not describe the folder in which the scan data is stored.

Also, the application data manages customer data as shown in Table 4(d). Table 4(d) shows supplier data used by the FAX reception application. The business partner data is information such as a business partner who has a relationship of sending and receiving FAX to a tenant (for example, a construction company) using the FAX application. Each item will be described below.

- The customer ID is identification information for identifying a customer (contractor for various construction work, etc.).

・The business partner name is the general name of the business partner, such as the company name of the business partner.

・The name of the person in charge of the business partner is the name of the person in charge of the business partner.

・The telephone number is the telephone number of the department or representative of the business partner.

・The FAX number is the FAX number of the business partner's department or representative.

<<External service system>>
Next, functions of the external service system 40 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example functional configuration of the external service system 40. As shown in FIG. The external service system 40 has a third communication section 61 , an application determination section 62 , a data processing section 63 and a screen generation section 64 . Each of these functional units is a function or means implemented by the CPU 501 executing instructions included in one or more programs installed in the external service system 40 .

The third communication unit 61 transmits and receives various information to and from the information processing system 10 or the terminal device 30 . In this embodiment, the third communication unit 61 receives scan data and FAX reception data from the information processing system 10 . Also, the third communication unit 61 transmits screen information for displaying these data to the terminal device 30 . When the third communication unit 61 communicates with the information processing system 10, an API (Application Interface) of the external service system 40 is used.

Based on the application ID of the external service system 40 transmitted from the information processing system 10, the application determining unit 62 determines an application of the external service system 40 that processes scan data, received FAX data, etc., which is the target of the processing request. .

The data processing unit 63 is a process performed by the application determined by the application determination unit 62, and processes scan data and FAX reception data with processing specific to the application. In this embodiment, the application of the external service system 40 is an application that provides a tabular database. For example, the data processing unit 63 stores the item values of the scan data and the received FAX data in the field of the application specified by the application ID and field code of the external service system 40 .

The data processing unit 63 has a table similar to the correspondence between item names and field codes shown in Tables 4(b) and 4(c). When a field code is designated, the data processing unit 63 saves each item value of information related to scan data or received FAX data in the application field of the external service system 40 to which this field code is assigned.

The screen generation unit provides a web application (or web page) to the terminal device 30, and generates a screen regarding fax reception data saved in a specific folder according to user operations.

表５は、ＦＡＸ受信データ記憶部６５が記憶するＦＡＸ受信データのリストの一例である。ＦＡＸ受信データ記憶部６５には、外部サービスシステム４０の特定フォルダに保存されたＦＡＸ受信データのリストが保持されている。以下、各項目を説明する。

Table 5 is an example of a list of received FAX data stored in the received FAX data storage unit 65 . The received FAX data storage unit 65 holds a list of received FAX data saved in a specific folder of the external service system 40 . Each item will be described below.

- The data ID is identification information of the FAX reception data.

- The reception date and time is the date and time when the device 20 received the FAX.

- The document name is the file name of the image data that is the fax reception data. The document name may include, for example, at least one of the received date and time, sender, or FAX number.

• The sender FAX number is the FAX number of the sender of the FAX (therefore, the FAX number of the vendor).

- The supplier name is the company name of the supplier that sent the FAX. The supplier name specified by the source FAX number in the supplier data in Table 4(d) is transcribed by the FAX application.

- The name of the person in charge of the business partner is the name of the person in charge of the business partner who sent the FAX. The FAX application transcribes the name of the person in charge of the business partner specified by the sender's FAX number in the business partner data of Table 4(d).

・Priority is the priority of processing of fax reception data set by the user of the engineering firm. The priority can be manually set by the user, but the FAX application may set a predetermined initial value.

・The status is the status of processing of received fax data set by the user of the construction company (fax received, quote requested, quote completed, etc.). The status has an initial value, and the user manually changes it according to progress.

表６は、スキャンデータ記憶部６６が記憶するスキャンデータのリストの一例である。スキャンデータ記憶部６６には、外部サービスシステム４０のスキャンデータ保存フォルダ３２０に保存されたスキャンデータのリストが保持されている。以下、各項目を説明する。

Table 6 is an example of a list of scan data stored in the scan data storage unit 66. The scan data storage unit 66 holds a list of scan data stored in the scan data storage folder 320 of the external service system 40 . Each item will be described below.

- The data ID is identification information of the scan data.

The date and time of scanning is the date and time when the device 20 started scanning the document.

- The document name is the file name of the image data, which is the scan data. The document name may have, for example, the date and time of scanning.

・The data size is the capacity of the scan data.

- The user ID is the identification information of the user who operated the device. User ID is specified at the time of login.

All of the above values can be set by the scan app. Scan data and FAX reception data have different items, but since they are actually just files, the user can display them if they are in the same folder. As for items of scan data and received FAX data, it is preferable that the application of the external service system 40 merges them when moving the received FAX data.

表７は、ＦＡＸ受信データ対応情報記憶部６７が記憶するＦＡＸ受信データ対応情報の一例である。ＦＡＸ受信データ対応情報記憶部６７には、個別のＦＡＸ受信データが対応するリンク先テーブルのデータが登録されている。ＦＡＸ受信データとリンク先テーブルのデータの対応は、管理者が予め設定している。

Table 7 is an example of received FAX data correspondence information stored in the received FAX data correspondence information storage unit 67 . In the FAX reception data correspondence information storage unit 67, the data of the linked table corresponding to the individual FAX reception data is registered. The correspondence between the FAX reception data and the data in the link destination table is set in advance by the administrator.

<Data sent by the information processing system to the external service system>
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of transmission data that the information processing system 10 transmits to the external service system 40. As shown in FIG. The transmission data shown in FIG. 8 is information relating to a series of processes for realizing a service of requesting the "external service system A" to process the FAX reception data received by the device 20 .

The transmission data includes a flow ID 1201A indicating a FAX reception application, a flow name 1202A indicating the name of the scan application, and flow details 1203A indicating the details of a series of processes.

Further, the flow details 1203A includes a processing content 1223A indicating that processing is requested to "external service system A".

In the processing content 1223A, the component ID "ExService_A" of the component 18 that executes processing in cooperation with "external service system A", the operation ID "processFile" indicating the processing request, and the parameter "AppId" and N "FieldCodes". and "Value" are specified. "AppId" stores the application ID of the external service system 40 corresponding to the scan application, "FieldCode" stores the field code, and "Value" stores the value of the field. Note that the illustrated parameters are only a part, and the application processing information may include more parameters.

With the transmission data, the FAX application can make a processing request (in this embodiment, a storage request) to the "external service system A" for the FAX reception data.

<Operation of Scan App>
Processing of the scan application will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. FIG. The screens shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 below are screen information displayed by the device 20 when the device 20 transmits an HTTP request to the information processing system 10 and the information processing system 10 transmits the HTTP response.

FIG. 9 is an example of an application list screen 380 displayed by the device 20. As shown in FIG. Since the device 20 transmits the device ID to the information processing system 10, the tenant becomes clear. An external service system 40 that can be used by this tenant is also specified. When the user selects one external service system 40, the application management unit 49 of the information processing system 10 acquires the applications associated with the external service system 40, and the application list screen on which the icon of each application is displayed on the device 20. 380 screen information is transmitted. The device 20 can communicate with one or more external service systems 40 via the information processing system 10 and cooperate with the services (applications of the external service systems 40).

The application list screen 380 in FIG. 9 has three icons 381 to 383 corresponding to three applications. One of them is the “scan application” icon 381 . When the user presses the “scan application” icon 381 , a notification to that effect is sent to the information processing system 10 . The application management unit 49 of the information processing system 10 acquires the screen information 54 associated with the application ID of the “scan application”, and the device screen providing unit 47 generates the screen information of the setting screen of the “scan application”. , to the device 20 .

FIG. 10 is an example of a folder selection screen 310 displayed by selecting a scan application. A folder selection screen 310 displays the folder name of the scan data storage folder 320 of the external service system 40 . In FIG. 10, three folder names are displayed. When the user presses a folder name and presses the folder move button 393, the device 20 displays a list of folders in the child hierarchy of the pressed folder. When the user presses the folder name and presses the decision button 394, the scan data storage folder 320 is decided. Users can select a folder based on the type of document they are about to scan.

FIG. 11 shows the folder structure of the scan data storage folder 320 of the external service system 40 shown for reference. In the scan data storage folder 320, folders are formed in consideration of the types of personal residences and traders. In the case of a house constructed by a building firm, various contractors such as temporary construction, electrical work, and civil engineering work are involved, and a folder is created for each type of contractor. If the type of trader is the same, the quotes are saved in one folder even if the traders are different, which makes comparison easier for the building contractor.

FIG. 12 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the user operates the device 20, the device 20 displays the application list screen 380, and the scan application selected by the user is executed.

S11: The operation reception unit 23 of the device receives input of the authentication information of the information processing system 10 from the user, and the second communication unit 21 requests the user management unit 44 of the information processing system 10 to log in. Here, it is assumed that login is permitted. When the user selects the external service system A, the second communication unit 21 of the device 20 receives the screen information of the application list screen from the web service processing unit 15, and the display control unit 22 displays it on the display.

S12: The user performs an operation to select a desired application from the application list screen 380. FIG. It is assumed that the user selects the “scan application” icon 381 from the application list screen 380 .

S13: The operation accepting unit 23 of the device 20 accepts the selection operation of the scan application. As a result, the second communication unit 21 designates the application ID and device ID of the information processing system 10 to the application data management unit 41 of the information processing system 10, and the application data (application ID of the external service system 40, space ID, etc.). No space ID is required. A tenant is specified by the device ID. Also, when a tenant is identified, the application ID of the external service system 40 associated with the tenant's application ID is identified in Table 4(a). In addition, it is possible to specify in which field the application of the external service system 40 saves the scan data or the like by the field code in Table 4(c).

S14: The first communication unit 31 specifies the application ID of the scan application selected by the user and requests the device screen providing unit 47 to display the folder selection screen 310 .

S15: The device screen providing unit 47 receives the request for the setting screen of the folder selection screen 310. FIG. The device screen providing unit 47 specifies the application ID of the scan application and requests the folder selection screen 310 from the application management unit 49 .

S<b>16 : The application management unit 49 acquires screen information specified by the application ID of the scan application from the application processing information storage unit 17 and transmits it to the device screen providing unit 47 . Thereby, the device screen providing unit 47 can generate the folder selection screen 310 .

S17: Since the folder selection screen 310 requires a folder, the terminal device 30 requests information about the folder from the information processing system 10 so that the user can select the folder. The second communication unit 21 specifies the space ID and the application ID of the external service system 40 and transmits a folder list acquisition request to the application execution unit 46 . No space ID is required.

S18: The application executing unit 46 specifies the space ID and the application ID of the external service system 40, and requests the input/output processing unit 48 to acquire the folder list.

S19: The input/output processing unit 48 requests the authentication processing unit 51 for the authentication information of the external service system 40 shown in Table 2 corresponding to the logged-in user (whose user name is known). In the case of a shared application, the administrator's authentication information is used by a plurality of users, so the input/output processing unit 48 requests the authentication processing unit 51 for this common authentication information. In the case of a personal application, the input/output processing unit 48 requests the authentication processing unit 51 for the authentication information of the external service system 40 corresponding to the user of the information processing system 10 .

S20: The authentication processing unit 51 acquires this user's authentication information (user name, password) from the user management unit 44 .

S21: The input/output processing unit 48 specifies the authentication information, the space ID, and the application ID of the external service system 40, and requests the external service processing unit 52 for a folder list. No space ID is required.

S22: The external service processing unit 52 is authenticated with the authentication information, designates the application ID of the external service system 40, and requests the external service system 40 for a folder list managed as the scan data storage folder 320. The data processing unit 63 of the external service system 40 returns a folder list managed as the scan data storage folder 320 .

S23, S24: The folder list is transmitted to the device 20, and the second communication section 21 receives the folder list. The display control unit 22 displays a folder selection screen 310. FIG. The user can select the folder in which the scan data will be registered. The operation accepting unit 23 accepts selection of a folder through the screen.

S25: Next, the user presses the start button 395 to execute scanning. The image data generation unit 24 of the device 20 scans the document and generates scan data.

S26: The second communication unit 21 of the device 20 sends the application execution unit 46 information about the scan data, document name, scan date and time, data size, user ID, folder name (including folder path), and application ID of the external service system 40. Send to processing system 10 . That is, the second communication unit 21 requests the information processing system 10 to store the scan data in the external service system 40 .

S27: The application executing unit 46 identifies field codes corresponding to the data ID, document name, scan date/time, data size, and user ID based on Table 4(c). The application execution unit 46 requests the input/output processing unit 48 to store these and the scan data in the external service system 40, as shown in FIG.

S28, S29: The input/output processing unit 48 acquires the authentication information of the logged-in user via the authentication processing unit 51. FIG.

S30: The input/output processing unit 48 sets the application ID, field code, and value of the external service system 40 to the parameters of the transmission data shown in FIG. do.

S31: The external service processing unit 52 is authenticated with the authentication information, and sends the application ID, field code, and value of the external service system 40 set in the parameters of the transmission data, and the scan data by specifying the folder name. Send to the external service system 40 . That is, the external service processing unit 52 requests the application of the external service system 40 associated with the application of the information processing system 10 to store the received fax data in the scan data storage folder.

As a result, the data processing unit 63 saves the scan data in the designated folder, and registers the item values of the information related to the scan data in the field specified by the field code of the application specified by the application ID of the external service system 40. can. That is, the data processing unit 63 stores the scan data received from the device 20, which is different in type from the received FAX data, in the scan data storage folder.

In the process of FIG. 12, the device 20 acquires the folder list from the external service system 40, but even if the device 20 acquires the folder list from the external service system 40 when the device 20 is started, good. By doing so, the time until the device 20 displays the folder selection screen 310 can be shortened.

<Fax application operation procedure>
Since the FAX application automatically starts when the device 20 receives a FAX, there is no need for the user to explicitly start the FAX application. A FAX application icon 382 is displayed on the application list screen 380 for the user to make various settings, check the execution results, and the like.

FIG. 13 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the device 20 receives a FAX and the information processing system 10 executes the FAX application.

S41: The device 20 receives a FAX from, for example, a trader. The facsimile processing unit 25 generates FAX reception data.

S42: The second communication unit 21 of the device 20 sends the application execution unit 46 the FAX reception data (including date and time of reception, document name, sender FAX number), the device ID, and the application ID of the information processing system 10 to the external service system. 40. That is, the second communication unit 21 requests the information processing system 10 to store the received FAX data in the external service system 40 .

S43: First, the tenant is identified by the device ID. Next, the FAX application of this tenant is specified by receiving the FAX (by the application ID of the information processing system 10). Further, when the FAX application is identified, the application ID of the external service system 40 associated with the FAX application is identified from Table 4(a).

The application executing unit 46 also refers to Table 4(d) to identify the business partner and the name of the person in charge of the business partner associated with the FAX number of the sender. The application executing unit 46 sets the priority and status to initial values. In addition, based on Table 4(b), the application execution unit 46 performs Identifies the field code that is The application executing unit 46 requests the input/output processing unit 48 to store these and the received FAX data in the external service system 40, as shown in FIG.

S44, S45: The input/output processing unit 48 acquires the authentication information of the FAX application via the authentication processing unit 51. Since the Fax app is a shared app, administrator credentials are used.

S46: The input/output processing unit 48 sets the application ID, field code, and value of the external service system 40 to the parameters of the transmission data shown in FIG. The folder in which the received FAX data is saved is a specific folder, and when the application of the external service system 40 is specified, the specific folder is also specified. The specific folder is managed by an application of the external service system 40 . However, the input/output processing unit 48 may explicitly designate a specific folder.

S47: The external service processing unit 52 is authenticated by the authentication information, and sends the application ID, field code, and value of the external service system 40 set in the parameters of the transmission data, and the fax reception data to the external service system 40. Send. That is, the external service processing unit 52 requests the application of the external service system 40 associated with the application of the information processing system 10 to store the received FAX data in a specific folder.

As a result, the data processing unit 63 saves the received FAX data in the specific folder, and sets the item value of the information about the received FAX data to the field specified by the field code of the application specified by the application ID of the external service system 40. can be registered.

FIG. 14 is a FAX reception data list screen 330 of a specific folder displayed on the terminal device 30 by the user of the engineering firm. The received FAX data list screen 330 (an example of the first screen) displays the item values of the received FAX data stored in the received FAX data storage unit 65 in list form. Therefore, each item on the FAX reception data list screen 330 is the same as the item in Table 5.

Since the user cannot change the folder name of the specific folder, add or delete folders, etc., there are no folders other than the specific folder, and the list of received FAX data can be grasped with certainty.

If there is received FAX data on the received FAX data list screen 330, the user can notice that the FAX has been received. Also, the status and priority can be checked, and the user can take some action. Also, the user can manually move each FAX reception data to the scan data storage folder 320 as necessary. Also, even if fax reception data such as an advertisement is included in a specific folder, it can be easily deleted.

<Display of linked data in external service system>
In this embodiment, when the user presses FAX reception data on the FAX reception data list screen 330, the external service system 40 displays the data (for example, estimate) of the linked table associated (linked) in advance. .

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing data of a link destination table (see Table 7) associated with a specific folder in the external service system 40. As shown in FIG. Fax reception data received by the device 20 is stored in the specific folder 71 . The file name of the FAX reception data saved in the specific folder 71 and the reception date and time are registered in the reception FAX table 72 .

As shown in Table 7, in the external service system 40, for each application of the external service system 40, FAX reception data in the specific folder 71 and link destination tables (project table 73, customer table 74, quotation table 75) data is associated.

An edit button 332 is displayed on the FAX reception data list screen 330 shown in FIG. When the user presses the edit button 332, a screen for selecting a link destination table with which the FAX reception data is associated is displayed. The user can associate the received FAX data with the link destination table by selecting the link destination table on the screen for selecting the link destination table. In the following, a case in which the "estimate data table" is associated with FAX reception data will be described.

The FAX reception data list screen 330 shown in FIG. 14 displays an open button 331 for each FAX reception data. When the user presses the open button 331, the data of the linked table associated with the received FAX data is displayed.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a received FAX data detail screen 340 displayed by the terminal device 30 when the open button 331 is pressed. Items characteristic of this embodiment on the FAX reception data detail screen 340 will be described. The FAX reception data detail screen 340 has items of an estimate data link 341 and an attached file 342 . The item of estimate data link 341 indicates in Table 7 that this FAX reception data is linked to the data of the estimate table. A file name is displayed in the item of the estimate data link 341, and details of the estimate data are displayed by clicking the file name. The item of the attached file 342 is the name of the file having the image data of the FAX reception data.

FIG. 17 is an example of the detailed screen 350 of the estimate data displayed by the terminal device 30 . The estimate data detail screen 350 displays data related to the estimate set in advance in the data of the estimate table.

FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure for the screen generation unit 64 to generate a screen regarding FAX reception data saved in a specific folder in accordance with a user's operation.

S51 : The user operates the terminal device 30 to connect to the external service system 40 . In response to a request from the terminal device 30 , the screen generation unit 64 of the external service system 40 transmits screen information of the received FAX data list screen 330 to the terminal device 30 via the third communication unit 61 . The display control unit 32 of the terminal device 30 displays the received FAX data list screen 330 as a web application (or web page).

S52: The user selects FAX reception data with the button 331 opened. The operation accepting unit 33 accepts an operation. The first communication unit 31 specifies the data ID of the received FAX data and requests the external service system 40 to send the received FAX data detailed screen 340 . In response to a request from the terminal device 30, the screen generator 64 of the external service system 40 sends the screen information of the FAX reception data details screen 340, which displays information about the FAX reception data specified by the data ID, to the third communication. It transmits to the terminal device 30 via the unit 61 . At this time, the screen generation unit 64 identifies the data of the estimation table associated with the data ID in the received FAX data correspondence information storage unit 67 and sets the data in the received FAX data detail screen 340 . The display control unit 32 of the terminal device 30 displays a FAX reception data detail screen 340 as a web application (or web page).

S53: The user selects data in the quotation table. The operation accepting unit 33 accepts an operation. The first communication unit 31 requests the external service system 40 to send the detailed screen 350 of the estimate data by designating the data of the estimate table. In response to a request from the terminal device 30 , the screen generation unit 64 of the external service system 40 transmits screen information of the detailed screen 350 of the estimate data to the terminal device 30 via the third communication unit 61 . The display control unit 32 of the terminal device 30 displays a detailed screen 350 of the estimate data as a web application (or web page).

<Main effects>
As described above, according to the information processing system 10 of the present embodiment, since a specific folder cannot be renamed, added, or deleted, FAX reception data always exists in the specific folder. The user can easily determine whether or not each received FAX data has been received and whether or not it has been transferred, and can move the received FAX data to the scan data storage folder as necessary.

<Second embodiment>
In the above embodiment, a mode has been described in which FAX reception data existing in a specific folder, which cannot be renamed, added, or deleted, is moved to a scan data storage folder.

In this embodiment, an operation will be described in which received fax data existing in a specific folder is not moved to the scan data storage folder.

The user presses the edit button 332 on the FAX reception data list screen shown in FIG. When the edit button 332 is pressed, a screen for selecting a link destination table with which the received FAX data is associated is displayed.

The user selects the link destination table to be associated on the screen for selecting the link destination table. In the following, a case in which the "estimate data table" is associated with FAX reception data will be described.

When the user selects the "quotation data table" as the link destination table, the URL indicating the received FAX data is displayed in the item of the quotation data link 341 in FIG.

FIG. 19 is an example of a FAX reception data detail screen in the second embodiment. In the description of FIG. 19, mainly the difference from FIG. 16 will be described. In FIG. 19, the item of the estimate data link 341 displays the URL indicating the received FAX data. At this time, the file name of the received FAX data may be displayed instead of the URL.

When the user selects the URL, the terminal device 30 can display the received FAX data for which the edit button 332 was pressed in FIG. 14 and which corresponds to the selected URL.

As a result, the link destination table and the received FAX data can be associated without moving the file from the first folder storing the received FAX data. Since the received FAX data is not moved from the first folder to the second folder, the received FAX data can be associated with the data destination link without being affected by a network abnormality during movement between folders.

<Other application examples>
Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above using examples, the present invention is by no means limited to such examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. and substitutions can be added.

For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the tenant is a construction company has been described as an example, but the construction company is only an example. Tenants may be corporations or individuals that handle both received fax data and scanned data, such as retail stores and insurance agencies. A construction company may also be called a house maker or a power builder.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case of handling received FAX data and scanned data has been described, but the device 20 may receive received FAX data and an attached file of an e-mail, or may receive scanned data and an attached file of an e-mail. can handle. In addition, the device 20 may handle FAX reception data, scan data, and e-mail attachments.

Further, the configuration examples of FIG. 6 and the like are divided according to main functions in order to facilitate understanding of the processing by the terminal device 30, the device 20, and the information processing system 10. FIG. The present invention is not limited by the division method or name of the unit of processing. The processing of the terminal device 30, the device 20, and the information processing system 10 can also be divided into more processing units according to the content of the processing. Also, one processing unit can be divided to include more processing.

Moreover, the devices described in the examples are only representative of one of several computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, information handling system 10 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. Multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other over any type of communication link, including a network, shared memory, etc., to perform the processes disclosed herein.

Further, the information processing system 10 can be configured to share the processing steps disclosed in this embodiment, such as FIG. 25, in various combinations. For example, a process executed by a given unit may be executed by multiple information processing devices included in the information processing system 10 . Further, the information processing system 10 may be integrated into one server device, or may be divided into a plurality of devices.

Each function of the embodiments described above may be implemented by one or more processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" in this specification means a processor programmed by software to perform each function, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, or a processor designed to perform each function described above. Devices such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and conventional circuit modules are included.

10 information processing system 20 equipment 30 terminal device 100 service providing system

JP 2017-076368 A

Claims (9)

An information processing system capable of communicating with devices and terminal devices,
a terminal screen providing unit for providing screen information indicating a first screen, which is a list screen of received FAX data, to the terminal device;
a communication unit that transmits information about the correspondence between the received fax data and the first link destination in response to the user's operation on the first screen;
An information processing system comprising: receiving the first data received by the device from the device and storing it in a first folder;
2. The information processing system further comprises an external service processing unit that stores second data different in type from the first data received from the device in a second folder. The system described in . a first application that processes the first data operates in the information processing system;
the information processing system communicates with an external service system;
3. The external service processing unit requests the application of the external service system associated with the first application to store the first data in the first folder. 2. The system according to 2. a second application that processes the second data operates in the information processing system;
the information processing system communicates with an external service system;
3. The external service processing unit requests the application of the external service system associated with the second application to store the second data in the second folder. 2. The system according to 2. The external service processing unit converts each item of information related to the first data to the external service system based on the correspondence between the preset first application item and the application field of the external service system. 4. The system of claim 3, requesting to save to a corresponding field in the app. The external service processing unit converts each item of information about the second data to the external service system based on the correspondence between the preset items of the second application and the fields of the application of the external service system. 5. The system of claim 4, requesting to save to a corresponding field in the app. The second application obtains the list of the second folders from the external service system and transmits it to the device,
5. The system according to claim 4, wherein designation of said second folder is received from said device. 8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the first data is FAX reception data or e-mail received by the device, and the second data is scan data obtained by scanning an original by the device. 2. The system according to item 1. An information processing method performed by an information processing system capable of communicating with devices and terminal devices,
a step in which a terminal screen providing unit provides screen information indicating a first screen, which is a screen of a list of received FAX data, to the terminal device;
a step in which the communication unit transmits information regarding the correspondence between the received fax data and the first link destination in response to the user's operation on the first screen;
An information processing method comprising:

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