JP3551709B2 - Form processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a form processing apparatus that receives an instruction from a user using a fixed form document called a form, starts a processing program corresponding to the input form, and executes a process requested by the user.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The present applicant has proposed a form processing apparatus as an information processing apparatus for inputting instructions and data using an input medium called a form (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-114610, Japanese Patent Application No. 8-123396, and the like). reference).
[0003]
The form is a fixed form document used to request a service from the form processing apparatus, and forms are prepared for various services. The form includes, for example, a form for registering information in a database, a form for extracting information from a database, and the like. The form is designed according to the content of the corresponding service, and may include an entry column for entering data, instruction content, and the like. The form is distributed to the user, for example, in a form printed on paper. The user obtains a form corresponding to a desired service, fills in data and instruction contents for the form, and inputs the form to the form processing apparatus, so that the form processing apparatus can receive the desired service.
[0004]
The form processing apparatus has, for each form, a service program corresponding to the form, that is, a processing program for describing the contents of information processing. The form processing apparatus analyzes the data of the form input as described above, recognizes the type of the form and the contents entered by the user, and performs processing. In this case, the form processing device recognizes the type of the form by recognizing the form identifier embedded in the form from the data of the input form, and activates a processing program corresponding to the form. By executing this program, the process specified by the form is performed. In such form processing, the processing result may be output to the user, and the processing result is output by being printed on paper in the form of a form, for example.
[0005]
A plurality of methods for inputting a form to the form processing apparatus are provided. For example, a method in which an image scanner attached to a form processing apparatus reads a form, a method in which a form is read by a remote facsimile (facsimile) apparatus, and the read result is transmitted to the form processing apparatus via a communication line. is there. The same applies to the output of the form processing result, which can be output from a printer attached to the form or a remote FAX device.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the form processing apparatus, a fee may be set for the process (service), or a fee may be set for information provided by the service.
[0007]
When the form processing device is shared by a plurality of users, the burden distribution of such a form processing fee becomes a problem. For this reason, there is a demand for an apparatus that can charge a user for a form process fairly to each user in accordance with the usage amount in order to smoothly realize the sharing of the form processing apparatus.
[0008]
As a charging technique for a shared device, for example, in a copy machine, a method of charging an appropriate charging destination by inputting a charging destination to the device by, for example, reading an ID card into an attached card reader at the time of use. It has been known. However, in the form processing apparatus, a form may be input from a remote place by facsimile or the like. Therefore, even if such a method is applied to the form processing apparatus, a billing destination is specified for the form input by facsimile. Inability to do so causes inconvenience.
[0009]
Further, the present applicant has proposed a charging management technique in a so-called multifunction peripheral having functions such as FAX, copy, and printer (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-197209). This technology is for allocating the cost required for image formation at the time of FAX reception to a plurality of departments sharing the multifunction peripheral. The billing department is specified based on the original FAX number and billing is performed. If the billing department cannot be identified based on the source FAX number, billing is distributed to each department according to a predetermined charging change ratio. .
[0010]
Although this technology can be applied to a form processing apparatus, it is an important advantage that a form processing apparatus can receive necessary services and information from anywhere using a facsimile apparatus. In many cases, the form processing apparatus is accessed from a fax machine or the like that has not been installed, so that the charge distribution is often performed in accordance with the replacement ratio. However, in the case of the charge distribution based on the replacement ratio, it is difficult to determine a fair replacement ratio, and the replacement ratio must be changed every time the organization is changed.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide an apparatus capable of appropriately distributing and charging a fee for form processing to each user with a simple mechanism. I do.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present applicant proposes a novel and novel charging management method using a form identifier which is a feature of the form processing technology. That is, the present invention is a unique feature of the form processing technology in that each form is managed by a unique form identifier in the form processing apparatus, and a form provided to a user always has a unique form identifier embedded in the form. The charge management is performed by associating a billing destination with the form identifier using the form identifier.
[0013]
A form processing apparatus according to the present invention manages a form and a corresponding processing program in association with each other, embeds a form identifier in a created form and outputs the form. A form identifier for detecting a form identifier from the form identifier, searching for a processing program corresponding to the input form based on the form identifier, and executing the processing. A charging destination management unit that manages the assigned charging destination identifier in association with the form identifier of the form; and obtains a charging destination identifier corresponding to the form identifier detected from the input form by referring to the charging destination management unit. , Based on the obtained billing destination identifier, And having a charging destination specifying means for specifying the charging destination.
[0014]
In this configuration, the form used by the user always has a form identifier embedded therein, and when a form is input, the form identifier is embedded in the form to activate a processing program corresponding to the form. Is detected. Therefore, by managing the billing destination of each form in association with the form identifier, and specifying the billing destination corresponding to the form from the form identifier of the input form, the fee for processing the form is determined in advance. Billing can be made to an appropriate billing destination.
[0015]
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the billing destination assigning means has means for assigning the same billing destination identifier as the billing destination identifier of the input form to a form created as a result of processing the input form.
[0016]
According to this aspect, the billing destination identifier of the input form is automatically associated with the new form created as a result of the processing of the input form. The billing destination can be automatically registered without performing the above operation. It is considered that a new form created as a result of form processing is often used by the same user as the user (department) of the form that caused the creation, so that the billing destination can be automatically registered as described above, and the Operation burden is reduced.
[0017]
Also, the billing destination assigning means requests the user to input a billing destination identifier for the new form when the created new form is not the result of processing of another form, and the billing destination identifier input by the user. Is managed by associating it with the form identifier of the new form, even if the newly created form is not created as a result of processing another form, the corresponding billing destination is always set at the time of form creation Is done. Therefore, when the new form is input to the form processing device, there is always a corresponding billing destination, so that the billing destination cannot be determined.
[0018]
Further, in a preferred aspect of the present invention, the form processing device includes: a second billing destination specifying unit that specifies a billing destination based on information other than a form identifier; a billing destination specified by the unit; And a priority charging destination setting means for setting which of the charging destinations specified in (1) is prioritized, and determines a charging destination according to the setting of the priority charging destination setting means.
[0019]
In this configuration, the form processing apparatus has a billing destination specifying unit based on a form identifier and a second charging destination specifying unit based on information other than the form identifier such as a user input or an address of a form transmission source. The priority charging destination setting means can set whether to give priority to the charging destination by the means. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to determine an appropriate billing destination in accordance with the properties of each form and individual circumstances.
[0020]
Further, the form processing apparatus according to the present invention manages the form and the corresponding processing program in association with each other, embeds the form identifier in the created form and outputs the form, and when the form is input, In a form processing apparatus that detects a form identifier from an input form, searches for a processing program corresponding to the input form based on the form identifier, and executes the processing, a default billing destination corresponding to the form corresponds to the form identifier of the form. In addition, when a form is processed, a billing destination for the form processing is specified by a user input or specified from a transmission source address of the form. Search for the corresponding default billing party based on the form identifier And having a means for charging Te.
[0021]
According to this device, the default billing destination (that is, the billing destination used when the billing destination cannot be specified by another method) is managed for each form in association with the form identifier. Even if the charging destination cannot be specified from the user input or the address (FAX number) of the form transmission source, the default charging destination can be searched and charged based on the form identifier.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a form processing apparatus according to the present invention.
[0024]
In FIG. 1, a form input unit 10 is a unit that receives input of form data from outside. The form input unit 10 is a general term for, for example, a FAX modem, an image scanner, a network input device, and the like. For example, when a form is read by an image scanner, image data of the form is input into the form processing apparatus. Further, if the form is read by a remote FAX device and transmitted to the form processing device, the image data of the form is taken into the form processing device via the FAX modem as the form input unit 10. Further, the form can be transmitted from another terminal to the form processing apparatus in the form of electronic data via a network such as a LAN. The form recognition unit 12 recognizes a form ID, which is an identifier of the form, from the input form data. For example, referring to an example of the form shown in FIG. 11, the form 100 always displays the form ID code 102 representing the form ID in a predetermined code expression at a predetermined position. The form ID code 102 is extracted from the image data of the form input from the form input unit 10, and the form ID is recognized by performing image recognition. It is preferable that the form processing apparatus is constructed based on a so-called multifunction peripheral having functions such as facsimile, copying, and printing. In such a case, the image data input from the form input unit 10 is not a form. If it is determined that the form processing apparatus is operating, the form processing apparatus functions as a general FAX or copier.
[0025]
In the form DB (database) 14, a form ID and a processing program corresponding to the form are registered in association with each form. For example, the form illustrated in FIG. 11 is a form for receiving a document search service. In this form, when the check box 104 of the enumerated search keyword is checked and input to the form processing apparatus, for example, the form processing apparatus recognizes the entry of the check from the form and checks the check from the attached document database (not shown). Documents corresponding to the entered keywords are searched, and a list of the document names of those documents is output. The form DB 14 stores a processing program that describes the contents of a series of form processes such as a recognition process of such a check, a search process performed based on the recognition result, and a search result output process. The form ID of the form is associated with this processing program.
[0026]
The form ID recognized by the form recognition unit 12 is sent to the form DB 14. In response, the form DB 14 passes a processing program for processing the input form to the form processing unit 16. In addition, the form recognition unit 12 passes form data (for example, image data) input to the form input unit 10 to the form processing unit 16. The form processing unit 16 executes the processing program received from the form DB 14, processes the input form data, and executes a form process corresponding to the input form. Output data generated as a result of this processing is sent to the user who has input the form via the form output unit 18. The form output unit 18 is, for example, a printer, a FAX modem, a network output device, or the like.
[0027]
The form processing apparatus includes an input panel (such as a touch panel) for inputting operation instructions and an input device 20 such as a card reader for reading a management card that stores a user ID and the like, similar to a general multifunction peripheral. The operation device can be manually input from the input device 20. The control unit 22 is a unit that controls each unit of the form processing apparatus. For example, an operation instruction input from the input device 20 is analyzed by the control unit 22 and sent to each unit.
[0028]
The billing processing unit 24 is a unit that performs billing processing for form processing in the form device, and performs processing using a form ID / billing ID correspondence table 26 and a billing management table 28. The billing processing unit 24 assigns a billing ID indicating a billing destination (a department or the like) for the form to the form generated by the form processing unit 16, and associates the billing ID with the form ID of the form. It has a function of registering in the form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26. Further, the billing processing unit 24 determines the billing destination of the fee for the process performed on the input form (that is, the service provided by the form processing device) according to predetermined information and a predetermined rule, and performs the billing process. Do. Note that the processing performed by the charging processing unit 24 will be described later in detail.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 2, in the form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26, for each form output from the form processing device, the form ID and the charging ID are registered in association with each other. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, in the charging management table 28, for each charging destination, the total value of the charging points indicating the amount of charging (total charging points) is registered in association with the charging ID.
[0030]
Next, the details of the processing related to charging in the form processing apparatus will be described.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of processing relating to charging in the form processing apparatus of this embodiment.
[0032]
When the power is turned on, the form processing apparatus enters an input waiting state and waits for an input (S10). In this example, the following three types are assumed as inputs to the form processing device. That is, the registration operation of the charging ID from the input device 20, the input of the form creation command from the input device 20, and the input of the form from the form input unit 10. In the actual form processing apparatus, there are also inputs such as a simple copy original and a facsimile signal, and inputs such as a copy mode operation from an input panel. However, these are not directly related to the form processing. I will not mention it.
[0033]
When there is an input (S12), the form processing apparatus determines whether or not this is a charging ID registration operation on the input device 20 (S14). The accounting processing unit 24 registers the accounting ID input from the input device 20 in the accounting management table 28 (that is, creates an entry of the accounting ID in the accounting management table 28) (S16). The charging ID can be input by operating a button on an input panel or inputting a management card.
[0034]
If the input is not a charging ID registration operation, the control unit 22 determines whether the input is an input of a form creation command from the input device 20 (S18). The form processing apparatus has a function of displaying a list of forms on, for example, an input panel and receiving a request for a desired form from a user. The form creation command indicates a request command for such a form input from an input panel or the like. If the input is a form creation command in S18, the form processing unit 16 executes a form creation command process (S20) according to an instruction from the control unit 22. The details of the form creation command processing (S20) will be described later with reference to FIG.
[0035]
When the input is not a form processing command in S18, the input is a form, and the form processing (S30) is performed on the input form by the form processing unit 16 or the like. Then, when the form processing is completed, the charging processing unit 24 executes the charging processing (S40) for the form processing. The procedure of the form process and the billing process will be described later in detail with reference to a flowchart.
[0036]
Next, a detailed processing procedure of the form creation command processing (S20) will be described with reference to FIG.
[0037]
When the form creation command has been input, the control unit 22 determines whether the designation of the charging ID has already been input (S202). For example, when the user inputs the form creation command after inputting the management card or after inputting the charging ID (or the personal ID for specifying the charging ID) from the input panel, The result of this determination is Yes (Yes). If the form creation processing command is input before the input of the charging ID or the like, the control unit 22 displays a message prompting the input of the charging ID on an input panel or the like, and requests the input of the charging ID ( S204). If the charging ID is not input even after making this request, the form processing device does not create a form. If a password is set for this billing ID and a request is made to input the password together with the billing ID, it is effective in preventing unauthorized use of the billing ID.
[0038]
When the charging ID is specified, the control unit 22 passes the charging ID to the charging processing unit 24, and also passes information of the type of the form specified by the user to the form processing unit 16 and instructs the form processing unit 16 to create a form. In response to this command, the form processing unit 16 determines a unique form ID for a newly created form (S206). Then, the form processing unit 16 obtains a processing program corresponding to the specified form type in the form DB 14, associates the determined form ID with the processing program, and registers information of the correspondence in the form DB 14 ( S206). Further, the charging processing unit 24 receives the form ID of the form to be created from the form processing unit 16 and associates the form ID with the charging ID received from the control unit 22 and registers the form ID and the charging ID in the form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26. (S208). As a result, the created form is associated with a specific billing destination (that is, the user who has requested the creation). Then, the form processing unit 16 acquires the appearance information of the designated type of form from the form DB 14, and forms an image of the form based on this information (S210). The created form image is printed on paper and output by the printer as the form output unit 18 (S210). Note that the order of S208 and S210 is for convenience, and both steps may be processed in parallel.
[0039]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the charging ID corresponding to the user is associated with the form created and output in response to the manual operation of the user from the input device 20. Therefore, when the user makes an entry or the like in this form and inputs the form into the form processing apparatus, the form processing apparatus can specify the billing destination (billing ID) from the form ID of the form. In the present embodiment, the charging ID associated with the form ID in this manner is used as a default (or provisional) charging destination when the charging destination cannot be specified by another means (for example, input of a management card). It is positioned. As will be described later, if the user who has entered the form can be clearly identified by using a management card or the like, it is appropriate to set the user as a billing destination. Only when the billing destination cannot be specified by such means, the billing ID corresponding to the form ID is set as the billing destination. It is considered that the form extracted from the form processing apparatus is highly likely to be used by the user who has extracted the form. Therefore, even if the charging ID of the user who inputs the form creation command is considered as the charging destination of the form, it is almost impossible to use the form. In the case of, there is no problem.
[0040]
Next, a detailed processing procedure of the form processing (S30) will be described with reference to FIG.
[0041]
When a form is input, the form recognition unit 12 detects a form ID from the data of the form (S302), and the form processing unit 16 acquires a processing program corresponding to the form ID from the form DB 14 and executes it (S304). . This is the form processing. In this form processing, a new form may be created along with the processing. For example, when the above-described document search form is input, a list of document names related to the selected keyword is output in the form of a form. In the present embodiment, the billing ID is always associated with the form created as a result of the form processing. Therefore, when creating a form, the form processing unit 16 notifies the accounting processing unit 24 of the fact.
[0042]
If a form is not created in the form processing (S306), the processing ends there. However, if a form is created (S306), the billing processing unit 24 uses a button input from an input panel, a management card input, or the like. It is determined whether the charging ID has not been specified (S308). If, for example, the user causes the scanner to read the form after inputting the management card, the result of this determination is Yes (Yes). In this embodiment, when a user (form input person) is clear by a management card or the like, a charging destination (charging ID) corresponding to the user is prioritized and determined as a temporary charging destination of a newly created form. I do. On the other hand, if the form is input via a communication means such as a facsimile, the charge ID cannot be specified by the management card or the like, so the charge processing unit 24 sets the form processed by the form processing unit 16 (that is, the form to be created). The charging ID of the form that caused the creation of the form is acquired from the form ID / charging ID correspondence table (S310), and this is determined as a provisional charging destination for the newly created form. As described above, in the present embodiment, when another form is derived from a form, the latter inherits the information of the former billing party as its attribute unless otherwise specified. Also, the form processing unit 16 determines the form ID of the newly created form, associates the form ID with a processing program for processing the newly created form, and registers the correspondence in the form DB 14. (S312). Then, the charging processing unit 24 registers the charging ID specified by the management card or the charging ID obtained in S310 in the form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26 in association with the form ID of the form to be created (S314). ). Then, the form processing unit 16 forms a new form image and outputs this image to the user who has input the original form via the form output unit 18 (S316).
[0043]
Note that the order of the steps after S306 is a matter of convenience, and the processing of the charging processing unit 24 (S308, S310, S314) and the processing of the form processing unit 16 (S312 and S316) can be performed in parallel. .
[0044]
As described above, in the present embodiment, a valid default accounting destination is also associated with a form generated as a result of processing the form, as in the case of the form creation command.
[0045]
Next, details of the billing process (S40) performed after such a form process (S30) will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the charging process according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the charging processing unit 24 receives a signal from the form processing unit 16 at the end of the processing, and determines whether or not the form processing has been normally completed based on this signal (S402). If the processing has not been completed normally, no charge is made for the form processing. In the case of normal termination, it is checked whether or not a billing ID has been specified from the input device 20 (S404). If the user inputs a management card or inputs a billing ID from the input panel and then causes the scanner to read the form, the result of this determination is Yes (Yes). If there is such a designation, the designated billing ID is determined as a billing destination of the fee for the form processing (S406). On the other hand, in S404, if the charging ID has not been specified (for example, a form input from a FAX corresponds to this), the charging processing unit 24 sets the charging ID corresponding to the processed form ID to the form ID. The charging ID is obtained from the charging ID correspondence table 26, and this charging ID is determined as a charging destination (S408). Thus, in any case, the billing destination of the fee for the form processing is determined. Then, the charging processing unit 24 charges a fee for the form processing to the charging ID determined in this way. That is, the charge points for the form processing are added to the total charge points of the entry of the charge ID in the charge management table 28 (S410). As described above, the charging process when the input form is processed is completed.
[0046]
In the above, the flow of the process related to charging in the present embodiment has been described. As can be understood from this description, according to the present embodiment, by associating the billing ID of the billing party with the form ID that the form always has, there is no designation of the billing party from the user for the input form. Even in this case, the billing destination can always be specified. Further, since the charging ID associated with the form ID is determined based on the user who has requested the creation of the form when the form is created, it can be used as a highly appropriate default charging destination.
[0047]
[Embodiment 2]
This embodiment has the following two features with respect to the first embodiment. One is that, for a form input from a remote device such as a FAX device or a terminal on a network, a function for specifying a billing destination from the address (FAX number or the like) of the transmission source device has been added. The other is that, in the first embodiment, the charging ID associated with the form ID is used as a default charging destination when no charging is specified by the user. The point is that the charging ID corresponding to the ID can be preferentially adopted.
[0048]
An apparatus configuration for implementing the present embodiment may be the same as that of FIG. However, in the present embodiment, the form processing apparatus has a billing / address correspondence table (see FIG. 8) in which billing IDs and addresses (transmission source addresses) of the corresponding fax machines and terminals are registered. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the form processing apparatus stores a form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26 in which a priority mode flag indicating whether or not the registered charging ID is prioritized is set for each form ID. Have. When the priority mode flag is “On”, the form processing apparatus determines the charging ID obtained from the form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26 as the charging destination regardless of the input of the management card or the FAX number of the transmission source. . Note that the setting of the priority mode can be performed for each form, so that the billing method can be finely defined for each form. The priority mode is set, for example, when a form is created, and the default is “Off”.
[0049]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a charging process according to the present embodiment. This procedure is a part corresponding to the charging process (S40) in FIG. The other steps in FIG. 4 can be applied to this embodiment as they are.
[0050]
In FIG. 10, when the form processing in the form processing unit 16 is completed, the charging processing unit 24 determines whether or not the processing is normally completed (S412). To end. In the case of normal termination, the charging processing unit 24 checks the form ID / charging ID correspondence table (see FIG. 9) using the form ID of the processed form and determines whether the priority mode is On or Off. (S414). If the priority mode is On, the charging ID determined from the form ID / charging ID correspondence table is prioritized and the charging destination for the form processing is determined (S428), and the charging points for the processing are set in the charging management table 28. It is added to the total charging point of the entry of the charging ID (S430).
[0051]
On the other hand, when the priority mode is Off, the billing ID corresponding to the form ID is used as a default as in the first embodiment. Therefore, in this case, as in the first embodiment, the charging processing unit 24 checks whether or not the charging ID has been specified from the input device 20 (S416). Is determined (S418), and a charging point is added to the entry of the charging ID in the charging management table 28 (S430).
[0052]
If no charging ID is specified in S416, it is determined whether the performed form processing is a received job, that is, whether the processing is for a form received from a remote FAX device or the like (S420). In the case of a reception job, the accounting processing unit 24 receives the information of the transmission source address from the form input unit 10 (in this case, a FAX modem or a network input device) via the control unit 22, and performs the accounting corresponding to the transmission source address. The ID is retrieved from the charging / address correspondence table (see FIG. 8) (S422). When the charging ID corresponding to the transmission source address can be searched (S424), the charging ID is determined as a charging destination (S426), and charging is performed (S430). If there is no charging ID corresponding to the transmission source address, the charging processing unit 24 determines a charging ID corresponding to the form ID obtained from the form ID / charging ID correspondence table 26 as a charging destination (S428), and performs charging. (S430).
[0053]
If the received job is not a received job in the determination of S420, the default billing ID associated with the form ID is determined as the billing destination (S428), and the billing ID is billed (S428). S430).
[0054]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the priority mode can be set for each form, so that the charging method can be flexibly operated according to the properties of the form and individual circumstances.
[0055]
The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In each of the above embodiments, the case where the charging ID associated with the form ID is used as the default charging destination has been described. It is possible.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the charge for the form processing can be appropriately charged by managing the billing destination scheduled for each form in association with the form identifier of the form. According to the present invention, the billing destination is specified by using the form identifier recognition function inherent in the form processing apparatus. Therefore, a special mechanism (for example, a management card) for acquiring information for specifying the charging destination is used. However, there is an advantage that the billing destination can be specified even in an implementation in which there is no card reader for reading the information.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a form processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a form ID / charging ID correspondence table according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a charge management table.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall flow of processing related to charging in the form processing apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a form creation command process.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a form process.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a charging process according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a form ID / charging ID correspondence table according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a source address / charging ID correspondence table.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a billing process according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a form.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 form input section, 12 form recognition section, 14 form DB (database), 16 form processing section, 18 form output section, 20 input device, 22 control section, 24 charging processing section, 26 form ID / charging ID correspondence table, 28 Billing management table.

Claims (6)

The form and the corresponding processing program are managed in association with each other, the form identifier is embedded in the created form and output, and when the form is input, the form identifier is detected from the input form, and the form is detected. In a form processing apparatus that searches for a processing program corresponding to the input form based on the identifier and executes the processing,
Billing destination assigning means for assigning a billing destination identifier to the created form;
Billing destination management means for managing the assigned billing destination identifier in association with the form identifier of the form,
A billing destination identifier corresponding to the form identifier detected from the input form is obtained by referring to the billing destination management means. Based on the obtained billing destination identifier, a billing destination for the processing performed in response to the input form is determined. Billing party identification means to identify,
A foam processing apparatus comprising: The form processing device according to claim 1,
The form processing apparatus, characterized in that the billing destination assigning means has means for assigning the same billing destination identifier as the billing destination identifier of the input form to a form created as a result of processing the input form. 3. The form processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the billing destination assigning means is configured to charge a user with a billing destination for the new form when the created new form is not the result of processing another form. A form processing apparatus for requesting an input of an identifier, and managing a billing destination identifier input by a user in association with a form identifier of the new form. A form processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
Second billing destination specifying means for specifying a billing destination based on information other than the form identifier;
A priority charging destination setting unit for setting which of the charging destination specified by the means and the charging destination specified by the charging destination specifying unit is to be prioritized; A form processing apparatus characterized by determining the following. The form and the corresponding processing program are managed in association with each other, the form identifier is embedded in the created form and output, and when the form is input, the form identifier is detected from the input form, and the form is detected. In a form processing apparatus that searches for a processing program corresponding to the input form based on the identifier and executes the processing,
Means for managing a default billing destination corresponding to the form in association with the form identifier of the form;
When a form is processed, a billing destination for the form processing is specified by user input or specified from the transmission source address of the form, and if a charging destination cannot be specified, a default corresponding to the form identifier of the form is used. A means for searching for a billing destination and billing. When a form managed in association with a processing program is input, a form processing method for searching for a corresponding processing program and executing a process includes:
Detect the form identifier from the input form,
With reference to the billing destination management means that manages the form identifier and the billing destination identifier in association with each other, a charging identifier is obtained from the detected form identifier,
A form processing method characterized in that a billing destination for processing performed in response to the input form is specified based on the obtained billing destination identifier.

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