JPH11232282A - Form accepting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide mechanism to process a form by transferring it to a proper form processor even when the form is inputted without considering a proper input destination by a user. SOLUTION: A form accepting device 10 is connected with a plurality of form processors 22-1 to 22-4 (generally named as 22 afterward) via a communication network 20. A device ID to indicate the form processor to which the form belongs is detected from an image of the form inputted via a FAX, etc., by a form accepting device 10a. The form accepting device 10a is provided with a correspondence table between the device ID of each of the connected form processors 22 and a communication address and the communication address corresponding to the device ID detected from the form is obtained from the table. The image of the form is transfered to the form processor 22 to which the form belongs by using the communication address.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a form receiving apparatus for receiving a form input and transferring the received form to a form processing apparatus to which the form belongs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The present applicant has proposed a form processing apparatus as an information processing apparatus for inputting instructions and data by using an input medium called a form (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-11 / 1990).
4610, JP-A-9-223007 and the like). A form is a fixed form document used to request a service from a form processing apparatus, and forms are prepared for various services. The form is distributed to the user, for example, in a form printed on paper. The user obtains the form corresponding to the desired service,
On the other hand, by filling in data and instruction contents and inputting them to the form processing apparatus, the form processing apparatus can receive desired services.

[0003] The form processing apparatus, for each form,
It has a service corresponding to the form, that is, a processing program that describes the contents of information processing. The form processing apparatus analyzes the input image of the form, recognizes the type of the form and the contents of the user's entry, and performs processing. In this case, the form processing apparatus identifies the form by recognizing the identifier embedded in the form from the image of the input form, and executes a processing program corresponding to the form.

For example, a form processing apparatus is configured as a so-called digital multifunction peripheral having various functions such as a scanner, a printer, and a facsimile (FAX).
In this case, the form processing apparatus can accept input of a form using a scanner or a facsimile. Further, the form processing apparatus can print out the processing result of the form via a printer or a facsimile.

[0005]

A plurality of such form processing apparatuses may be operated by one company or the like.

However, in the conventional form processing apparatus, a desired service cannot be obtained unless a form is input to a correct form processing apparatus corresponding to the form. Therefore, the user must always be aware of which form processing device can use the desired form, and input the form to an appropriate form processing device. For example, when attempting to use a form from a facsimile apparatus, the user has to remember the FAX number of the form processing apparatus corresponding to the form. As the types of forms and the number of form processing devices increase, it becomes extremely difficult to accurately grasp the correspondence between them.

Further, since the conventional form processing apparatus is based on the so-called stand-alone operation, it has not been possible to use a form to instruct processing to be performed between a plurality of form processing apparatuses. That is, for example, when there are a plurality of form processing apparatuses used as a document management server, if a document search is attempted to be performed on all of them using the same search key, it cannot be designated by one form. Thus, it is necessary to instruct a search for each form processing apparatus using a form for that form processing apparatus, and to collect and edit the results by the user himself.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and even if a user inputs a form without being conscious of an appropriate input destination of the form, the form is transferred to an appropriate form processing device. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of performing processing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for enabling processing to be performed over a plurality of form processing apparatuses with a single form.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a form receiving apparatus according to the present invention registers, for each form processing apparatus, an apparatus identifier and a communication address of the form processing apparatus in association with each other. An address database, form input means for inputting an image of the form, apparatus identifier recognizing means for recognizing the apparatus identifier of the form processing apparatus to which the form belongs from the input image of the form, and corresponding to the recognized apparatus identifier Address search means for searching a communication address from the address database, and transfer means for transferring the input form to a form processing apparatus to which the form belongs using the searched communication address.

According to this form accepting device, the device identifier can be detected from the input form and the communication address of the form processing device corresponding to the device identifier can be known from the address database. It can be transferred to an appropriate form processing device according to the communication address and processed.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, when a form image is input to the form input means via a communication line, the form receiving apparatus obtains a communication address of a transmission source of the form. Acquiring means, and a reply destination address notifying means for notifying the communication address of the transmission source of the form acquired by the transmission source address acquiring means to a form processing apparatus of a transfer destination of the form as a destination address of a reply to the form. Have.

According to this aspect, since the communication address of the transmission source can be notified to the form processing apparatus of the transfer destination, the processing result of the form can be directly returned from the form processing apparatus of the transfer destination to the transmission source. it can.

[0014] In another aspect of the present invention, a source address obtaining means for obtaining a communication address of a source of the form input to the form input means, and a job identifier for the form transferred by the transfer means. Transfer management means for associating the job identifier with the form and notifying the form processing apparatus of the transfer destination of the form, and the form acquired by the transmission source address acquisition means for the form transferred by the transfer means. A transfer database for registering a communication address of a form transmission source and a transfer identifier assigned to the form by the transfer management means in association with each other, and, when a form is received from the form processing apparatus, the transfer database. Communication of the transmission source corresponding to the recognized transfer identifier. Get the dress from the forwarding database, and a reply transfer means for transferring the form on the acquired transmission source communication address.

In this aspect, the transfer identifier may be transmitted, for example, using a communication path different from the transfer of the form, or may be embedded as image information in the form itself to be transferred.

According to this aspect, by using the transfer identifier, the processing result of the form returned from the form processing apparatus at the transfer destination can be associated with the communication address of the transmission source of the form. Can be returned from the form receiving device to the transmission source.

In another aspect of the present invention, the form receiving apparatus includes: a comprehensive form for instructing each of the form processing apparatuses to perform comprehensive processing; and an individual form of each of the form processing apparatuses corresponding to the comprehensive form. A form correspondence database in which individual form specifying information for specification is registered in association with each other, and a package for determining whether or not the form is the comprehensive form based on an image of the form input to the form input means. Form determination means, and when the input form is a comprehensive form, obtains each individual form identification information corresponding to the comprehensive form from the form correspondence database, and, based on each of the individual form identification information, To obtain the individual form of each form processing device corresponding to Has a form obtaining means, each individual form obtained in the individual form acquiring means, by referring to the address database, and the individual form transmitting means for transmitting to each corresponding form processing device.

According to this aspect, the individual forms of each form processing device corresponding to the input comprehensive form can be acquired based on the form correspondence database, and the individual forms are transmitted to the corresponding form processing devices and processed. Let it. According to this aspect, by inputting one comprehensive form to the form receiving apparatus, it is possible to cause a plurality of form processing apparatuses to execute the processing of the corresponding forms.

In this embodiment, as the individual form specifying information, information defining the corresponding individual form itself, for example, image information of the individual form can be used. In this case, since a required individual form can be directly generated from the individual form specifying information, the individual form can be immediately sent to each form processing apparatus.

Further, in this aspect, as the individual form specifying information, for example, information for creating a form that requests an individual form corresponding to the comprehensive form to the corresponding form processing apparatus can be used. In this case, since each individual form corresponding to the comprehensive form can be acquired from each form processing device using the individual form identification information, each form receiving device does not need to store the individual form.

In this aspect, the form receiving apparatus further assigns a job identifier to the input comprehensive form, and associates the job identifier with each of the individual forms corresponding to the comprehensive form. Transfer management means for notifying each form processing device, processing result receiving means for receiving the transmitted processing result of each individual form from each form processing device, and detecting a job identifier associated with each received processing result And a response editing unit that edits a received job result having the same job identifier and creates a response document for a comprehensive form corresponding to the job identifier. .

In this aspect, the job identifier may be transmitted using a communication path different from the transmission of the individual form or the processing result, or may be embedded as image information in the transmitted individual form or the processing result itself. May be. According to this aspect, the processing result of the individual form from each form processing apparatus can be associated with the comprehensive form based on the job identifier. As a result, the processing results of each form processing device for one comprehensive form can be edited and totaled by the form receiving device, and can be collected into one answer document.

In this aspect, if a mechanism for managing the job identifier assigned to the input comprehensive form in association with the communication address of the transmission source of the comprehensive form is provided,
The generated answer document can be returned to the transmission source.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of Form Processing Apparatus] Each form processing apparatus has its own form. The form is printed on paper or the like and provided to the user. FIG.
Is a diagram showing an example of a form. This form example is a form used to search a database of a form processing apparatus for a keyword and to instruct registration or change of a keyword used for the keyword search. Form 200
Has an ID section 202 at a predetermined position in the form paper. The ID part 202 is a part for displaying an identifier for identifying the form 200 as a code in a predetermined format. The ID unit 202 includes a device ID and a form I
D includes two types of identifiers. The device ID is an identifier of the form processing device to which the form 200 belongs, and is assigned by, for example, a manufacturer at the time of manufacture or shipment. The form ID is an identifier of the form 200 in the belonging form processing apparatus. Further, the form is provided with a check box 204, a writing column 206, and the like. The contents of the check boxes 204 and the entry fields 206 are image-recognized by the form processing apparatus during form processing.

The form processing apparatus has a program module for processing the form for each form of the form processing apparatus. The contents of processing to be performed in response to the input form, such as image recognition of the check box 204 and the like and processing based on the recognition result, are described in this program module. For example, FIG.
The form 3 is associated with a program module that describes a database search based on the checked keyword, a process for registering a new keyword written in the writing column 206, and the like. These program modules are managed in association with the form ID of the corresponding form.

The form processing apparatus has a scanner for reading a form and a facsimile for receiving an image of the form. The form image is input to the form processing device by these means. For example, when an image of the form 200 is input, the form processing device detects the ID part 202 from a predetermined position of the image, and recognizes the identifier indicated therein. At this time, first, the device ID is recognized, and it is determined whether or not the device ID is that of the own device. If the device ID is that of the own device, the form ID is further recognized, and a process corresponding to the form 200 is performed by executing the program module associated with the form ID. If the recognized device ID is not that of the own device, the form processing device cannot process the form. In this case, for example, an error sheet indicating "This form cannot be used with this device" can be output.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system to which a form receiving apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

This system includes a plurality of the above-described form processing devices 22-1 to 22-4 (hereinafter, represented by reference numeral 22).

The form receiving device 10 is connected to the plurality of form processing devices 22 via a communication network 20. As the communication network 20, a known network such as a LAN (local area network), a public line network, and an extension telephone network can be used. In addition,
In each of the following embodiments, it is sufficient that the form receiving device 10 is connected to each form processing device 22, and it is not always necessary that the form processing devices 22 are connected to each other via a network.

The form receiving apparatus 10 has a scanner for reading a form and a facsimile for receiving an image of the form. The form image is input to the form receiving device 10 by these means. Form receiving device 10
Analyzes the image of the form input by these means, specifies the form processing device 22 to which the form belongs (that is, can process the form), and specifies the form processing device 22 to the determined belonging form processing device 22. It has a function to transfer images. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the form receiving apparatus 10 receives a form from an external source FAX 24.

FIG. 2 shows a form receiving apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a zero. The FAX unit 108
(Facsimile) A unit that performs a transmission / reception function.
An image of a form issued by an external fax can be received via the fax unit 108. In addition, the form receiving apparatus 10 is provided with an image reading mechanism such as a scanner, and it is of course possible to input a form on the spot. Further, the form receiving device 10 can be provided with a printer. In the following, a case where a form is input via the FAX unit 108 will be described as an example to avoid complexity.

The image processing unit 102 performs image processing for correcting an image of a form input via the facsimile unit 108 when the image is tilted or shifted. The form analysis unit 104 detects an ID part from the image of the form corrected by the image processing unit 102, recognizes the device ID displayed there, and checks its value. The obtained device ID is passed to the job control unit 100. The job control unit 100 is a mechanism that controls the overall job control in the form receiving device 10, and particularly in the context of the present invention, controls a process of transferring an input form to each form processing device 22. That is, the job control unit 100 searches the address database 106 for the communication address of the form processing device 22 corresponding to the device ID of the form obtained by the form analysis unit 104, and uses the communication address obtained as a result to The form is transferred to the form processing device 22 to which the form belongs via the control unit 110.

In the address database 106, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, for each form processing device 22 connected to the form receiving device 10, its device ID and communication address are registered in association with each other. . Here, the communication address registered in the address database 106 is registered in a format corresponding to the type of the network 20 connecting the form receiving device 10 and the form processing device. For example, if connected by a network using TCP / IP, the IP address is registered and F
If the connection is made via an AX line, the FAX number is registered. One device is an IP address and another is FA
Of course, it is also possible to mix different connection methods such as an X number. In this case, it is also preferable to register the type of connection method for each form processing device in the address database 106. In addition, in the example of FIG. 4, the item of the device name is included in addition to this, but this is for the convenience of the maintenance work of the system administrator or the like, and is not necessarily required for the form transfer processing. is not.

The network control unit 110 is a control mechanism for controlling communication processing via the network 20 such as a LAN. In this example, the form receiving device 10 controls the network 20 under the control of the network control unit 110.
The exchange of data such as a form image with each form processing device is performed via the. The form receiving apparatus 10 can be connected to another form processing apparatus via a facsimile (telephone) line or an extension network.

Next, an outline of a form process using the form receiving apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a remote FAX device (source FAX 24)
A case where a form is input to the form accepting apparatus 10 from is described. First, when the user sets the F
When an AX number is specified as a transmission destination and a form is input to the transmission source FAX 24, the image of the form is transmitted to the transmission source FAX 24.
24, (1) the image of the form is faxed
The data is transferred to the form receiving device 10 via the line.
(2) Form receiving device 1 that has received this firmware image
A value of 0 detects the device ID of the form and refers to the address table 106 to specify the form processing device 22 to which the form should be transferred. (3) Then, the form receiving device 10 transfers the form image to the specified transfer destination form processing device 22 via, for example, the network 20. The form processing device 22 that has received the transfer of the form image analyzes the form image and
D and form ID are obtained. In this case, the device ID
Is the same as that of the form processing device 22, the form processing device 22 executes the program module corresponding to the form ID, and (4) processes the form.

Here, if the form requests an answer of the processing result, the form processing device 22
(5) Send the processing result by FAX communication to the sender FAX2
Send to 4. On the other hand, if the input form does not require a response, the processing result is not transmitted from the form processing device 22 to the transmission source fax 24.
By such a procedure, the processing for the form input from the transmission source FAX 24 is completed.

The form processing device 22 needs to know the communication address of the transmission source FAX 24 in order to transmit the form processing result. If this communication address is explicitly displayed in the form itself, it may be used. For example, the return address (F
It is also possible to design a form having a field for entering an AX number or the like. If the input form is such a form, the form processing device 22 determines the communication address of the transmission source FAX 24 from the entry field. You can know. Alternatively, the form receiving apparatus 10 may acquire the FAX number of the transmission source FAX 24 according to the FAX protocol and notify the form number to the form processing apparatus 22 of the form transfer destination. For this purpose, for example, between the form receiving apparatus 10 and the form processing apparatus 22, the transmission source F
A procedure for notifying the FAX number of the AX 24 may be defined. Also, the form receiving apparatus 10 sets the FAX number of the transmission source FAX 24 acquired by the fax protocol,
For example, a method of embedding an image in the form of a barcode or the like in a form image and notifying the form processing device 22 is also possible. In this case, between the form receiving apparatus 10 and the form processing apparatus 22, it is sufficient to define in which position of the form the form of the transmission source FAX number is embedded.

Next, a processing procedure of the form receiving apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The form receiving device 10
Usually, it is in a form input waiting state (S100). When a form is entered, the device I
D is image-recognized, and the form database is determined from the address database 106 based on the apparatus ID (S102). At this time, if the device ID is registered in the address database 106, the communication address corresponding to the device ID is read, and the image of the form is transferred to the form processing device 22 having the device ID using the communication address. Yes (S10
8). On the other hand, in S102, the input form device I
If D is not registered in the address table 106,
A predetermined error process is performed (S104). In this error processing, for example, an error message such as “the input form cannot be used” may be returned as a processing result to the transmission source FAX 24 and output as an error notification sheet (S106).

The form processing device 22, which has received the form transfer from the form receiving device 10 in S108, processes the form (S200). That is, the form is analyzed, a program module corresponding to the form is specified, and the program module is executed. When it is necessary to return the processing result of the form to the user, the form processing device 22 creates a form indicating the processing result, and transmits this to the transmission source FAX 24.

In the above, a case has been described in which the form receiving apparatus 10 receives an input of a form from an external facsimile. However, according to the method of this embodiment, the form receiving apparatus 10
When a form is input from the attached scanner, the form can be transferred to an appropriate form processing device 22 and processed in the same procedure. In this case, the processing result of the form processing device 22 is returned to the form receiving device 10, but the form processing device 22 may know the address of the reply destination at that time from an explicit display in the form. Alternatively, it can be obtained by a protocol specified in the network 20.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, if the user does not know which of the plurality of form processing devices 22 should input the form, the user sends the form to the form receiving device 10. By inputting, a service corresponding to the form can be received from the appropriate form processing device 22. Even if the user does not know the communication addresses of the individual form processing devices 22, if the user remembers the communication addresses of the form receiving devices 10, the user can receive services provided by the form processing devices 22. In addition, no matter how far the form processing device 22 that can process a form to be used is, the user can receive a service using the form simply by going to the form receiving device 10.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the form processing result is transmitted from the form processing apparatus 22 to the transmission source F
Replying directly to AX24. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a method for returning a processing result of a form to a FAX of a form transmission source via a form receiving device will be described.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
(1) The image of the form transferred from the source FAX 24 is transferred from (3) the form receiving device 10a to the appropriate form processing device 22, and (5) the processing result by the form processing device 22 is displayed. Once the form image is transferred to the form receiving device 10a,
(6) The sender FAX 2 is sent from the form receiving device 10a.
Transfer to 4. Note that (2) the process of specifying the form processing apparatus 10 to which the form is to be transferred by the form receiving apparatus 10a and (4) the form processing by the form processing apparatus 22 are the same as those in the embodiment.

In the present embodiment, a form processing device is used as the form receiving device 10a. That is, since the recognition mechanism of the device ID used in the form receiving device is also included in a general form processing device,
By adding a form transfer function to the form processing device, it is used as a form receiving device.

FIG. 7 shows a form receiving apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the line 0a. In FIG. 7, the same or corresponding components as those of the form receiving apparatus 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The form receiving apparatus 10a of the present embodiment
A form generation unit 112, a form database 114, and a transfer management unit 116 are added to the form reception device 10 of the first embodiment. Among them, the form generation unit 112 and the form database 114 are units for the form receiving device 10a to function as a form processing device. In the form database 114, for each form of the form receiving apparatus 10a, a program module for processing each form is registered in association with the form ID. When the form input to the form receiving device 10a is
In the case of the form receiving apparatus 10a itself, the job control unit 100 retrieves a program module corresponding to the form from the form database 114 and executes it. On the other hand, the form generation unit 112 is a unit for generating and outputting a form. Form generation may be performed in response to input of a form request command from the console panel, or may be performed to display the processing result of another form. Depending on the type of form service supported by the form receiving device 10a, a database for the service is further provided. For example, when a form processing device that provides a document management service is used as the form receiving device 10a, the form receiving device 10a has a document database.

On the other hand, the transfer management unit 116 is a mechanism for returning a processing result from the form processing device 22 of the form transfer destination to the transmission source FAX 24. When transferring the form received from the transmission source FAX 24 to the form processing apparatus 22, the transfer management unit 116 assigns a job ID to the form and notifies the form processing apparatus 22 of the job ID. . Further, the transfer management unit 116 associates the communication address (FAX number) of the transmission source FAX 24 of the form acquired by the FAX protocol or the like with the job ID assigned to the form and registers it in the transfer database as shown in FIG. I do.

Upon receiving the form transfer, the form processing device 22 transmits the processing result of the form to the form receiving device 1.
When replying to the form 0a, the job ID assigned to the form is notified to the form receiving apparatus 10a. The form receiving apparatus 10a that has received the processing result of the form in this way detects the job ID, and searches the transfer database of the transfer management unit 116 for the communication address of the transmission source corresponding to the job ID. And the form receiving device 1
0a transfers the processing result received from the form processing device 22 to the searched communication address of the transmission source.

The exchange of the job ID between the form receiving apparatus 10a and the form processing apparatus 22 is performed by embedding the job ID as an image in the form as in the notification of the communication address of the transmission source FAX 24 in the first embodiment. Alternatively, it can be realized by a method of separately defining a communication procedure for a job ID.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a processing procedure of the form receiving apparatus 10a in the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 9, steps having the same contents as the steps shown in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When a form is input, the form receiving apparatus 10a specifies a form processing apparatus that can process the form from the apparatus ID of the form (S102).
a). At this time, in the present embodiment, the form receiving device 1
Since 0a itself is also a form processing apparatus, it first checks whether the apparatus ID is its own, and if not, checks the address table 106 to find a corresponding form processing apparatus. If the device ID is its own, the form receiving device 10a extracts the program module corresponding to the form from the form database 114 and executes the form processing (S11).
0). Then, the result of the processing of the form is transmitted to the source F
A reply is sent to the AX 24 (S106a). Otherwise, the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed. Here, when transferring the form to the form processing device 22, the form receiving device 10a performs the above-described assignment of the job ID and registration of the transmission source address in the transfer table.

After receiving the transfer of the form and the job ID from the form receiving apparatus 10a, the form processing apparatus 22 processes the form (S200), and if it is necessary to return the processing result, the form of the processing result is returned. Is returned to the form receiving apparatus 10a together with the job ID (S202a).

The form receiving apparatus 10a receives the reply of the processing result (S112), specifies the communication address of the transfer destination of the processing result by referring to the transfer management unit 116 from the job ID contained therein, and The processing result is transferred to the transmission source FAX 24 requesting the request.

As described above, also in the present embodiment, if a form is input to the form receiving device 10a, the service of the form can be received by the appropriate form processing device 22. In this embodiment, the processing result of the form is transmitted to the external F via the form receiving device 10a.
Since a reply can be sent to the AX, each form processing device 22 can be completely separated from an external FAX.
That is, each form processing device 22 does not need to have a FAX function or the like. In this way, by preventing direct access to each form processing device from the outside and performing all input and output of forms to and from the system via the form receiving device 10a, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of each form processing device 22. It is also possible to centrally manage security aspects in the form receiving device 10a.

[Embodiment 3] Next, an embodiment will be described in which processing over a plurality of form processing apparatuses 22 can be instructed by one form using a form receiving apparatus 10a having a form processing function. . The configuration of the form receiving device 10a of this embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment.
(See FIG. 7).

In this embodiment, each form processing device 2
The form for instructing the processing to extend over 2 is registered as the form of the form receiving apparatus 10a itself. For example, when there is a request to perform a search with the same search key on the databases of all the form processing devices 22, a batch search form is created as the form of the form receiving device 10a, and the form database of the form receiving device 10a is created. Register at 114. Here, the form of the form receiving apparatus 10a for instructing the processing that extends over between the form processing apparatuses 22 is called a comprehensive form.

As shown in FIG. 10, (1) source FAX
When the image of the comprehensive form is input from 24, the form receiving apparatus 10a acquires (2) a form (referred to as an individual form) for each form processing apparatus 22 corresponding to the processing content of the comprehensive form, and (3) The individual forms are transferred to the form processing devices 22-1 to 22-n. (4) Each form processing device 22 processes the received form. Here, the processing result is
When it is necessary to reply to X24, each form processing device 22 creates (5) a form indicating the processing result and transfers it to the form receiving device 10a. Then (6)
The form receiving device 10a performs image analysis of the form transferred from each form processing device 22, extracts the processing result, totals and edits the processing result of each form processing device 22, and obtains one response result. Conclusion, (7)
A form indicating the response result is transmitted to the transmission source FAX 24.

In this series of procedures, (2) individual form acquisition processing (2) and its transfer processing (3), processing result editing processing (6) and transmission processing of the editing result (6) by the form receiving apparatus 10a 7) is described as a program module corresponding to the comprehensive form, and is registered in the form database 114 of the form receiving apparatus 10a. That is, the form receiving apparatus 10a can realize each of the above processes by executing the program module in the job control unit 100 as the form process for the input comprehensive form.

Here, the following two methods are conceivable as methods for obtaining an individual form unique to each form processing device 22 corresponding to a comprehensive form.

One is a method in which image information of an individual form corresponding to the comprehensive form is registered in the database for each form processing device 22 in association with the form ID of the comprehensive form. In this case, the form receiving device 10a searches for image information of each individual form corresponding to the input form ID of the comprehensive form as a key (any form may be used as long as an image of the individual form can be generated). Then, an image of each individual form is generated from the image information.

The other is to convert each individual form corresponding to the comprehensive form into a corresponding form processing unit 22.
It is a method of acquiring from itself. In this method, a form for form request is defined in advance as a common form for each form processing device 22. Then, the form receiving apparatus 10a identifies the type of the input comprehensive form from the form ID and the like, fills the type in the form for the form request, and transmits it to each form processing apparatus 22. Each form processing device 22 that has received the form for form request processes it, and as a processing result,
Reply the individual form corresponding to the comprehensive form. Using the individual form received in this way, the form receiving apparatus 10a requests each form processing apparatus 22 for the processing specified by the comprehensive form again.

According to this method, the form receiving device 10
As long as a has only the image information of the form for form request, it does not need to have the image information of each individual form, so that the storage capacity can be saved. Also, the image information of the individual form once obtained by this method is cached in association with the form ID of the comprehensive form, and thereafter,
It is also possible to create an individual form directly from the image information.

If the input comprehensive form includes parameters necessary for processing such as a search key, the form receiving apparatus 10a transcribes the parameters to each individual form, and then corresponds to each individual form. It is transmitted to the form processing device 22. Form processing device 22
In this transmission, the destination of each form processing device 22 is determined with reference to the address database 106.

Next, with reference to FIG. 11, a procedure of processing of the comprehensive form in this embodiment will be described.

When a form is input to the form receiving apparatus 10a waiting for input (S100), the form receiving apparatus 10a sets the apparatus ID and form ID of the form.
To inspect. Here, when the device ID indicates its own device, the form receiving device 10a searches for the corresponding program module from the form ID and executes it. Here, when the input form is a comprehensive form, the program module corresponding to the comprehensive form is executed. Note that the processing in the case of a form other than the comprehensive form is the same as that in the case of the second embodiment, and thus illustration and description are omitted.

When the input form is a comprehensive form, execution of the corresponding program module
The form receiving device 10a first selects one form processing device 22 registered in the address database 106, and acquires an individual form of this form processing device corresponding to the comprehensive form (S120). Next, the form receiving device 10a transfers the individual form thus obtained to the form processing device 22 (S12).
2). Form processing device 22 that has received an individual form
Processes it (S200), and when it is necessary to return a processing result, the processing result is transmitted to the form receiving apparatus 10a.
(S202a). Form receiving device 10a
Receives and stores the processing result (S124). The above processing S120 to S124 is performed in the address database 1
By performing the process on all the form processing devices 22 registered in the step 06 (S126), the processing results of all the form processing devices 22 on the comprehensive form can be obtained. When all the processing results are collected, the form receiving apparatus 10a totals and edits all the processing results, and puts the results together as a response form (S128). For example, in the case of a search form, the search results in each of the form processing devices 22 are summarized, and an answer form in which the search results are displayed in, for example, a list is created. Then, the form receiving device 10a transmits the response form to the transmission source FAX 24 of the comprehensive form (S130). To transmit this answer, the transfer management unit 116 performs the same operation as in the second embodiment.
A job ID is assigned to the input comprehensive form, and the communication address of the transmission source is stored in association with the job ID.

For form processing that does not require return of a processing result, such as data registration processing to a database, for example, S202a, S124, S128, and S13
The processing of 0 becomes unnecessary.

Further, in the example of FIG. 11, the transmission of the individual form and the reception of the processing result are performed as a series of operations, and this is repeated for each form processing apparatus 22, but instead, only the transmission of the individual form is performed. May be performed on all the form processing devices 22 in parallel, and then a reply of the processing result from each form processing device 22 may be collected. In this case, it is necessary to identify which comprehensive form the reply from each form processing device 22 corresponds to. For this purpose, the job ID used in the second embodiment can be diverted. That is, a job ID is assigned to the input comprehensive form, and when the corresponding individual form is transmitted to the form processing device 22, the job ID is also notified to the form processing device 22. Then, each form processing device 22 returns the processing result together with the job ID to the form receiving device 10a. In this way, the form receiving apparatus 10a can identify which comprehensive form each processing result corresponds to. Also, in this case, to edit the answer form,
It is necessary to confirm whether or not processing results have been received from all the form processing devices 22. For this purpose, a reply management table as shown in FIG. 12 can be used. This table has a reply flag indicating whether a processing result has been returned or not for each identifier (either a device ID or a communication address; FIG. 12 employs a device ID) of each form processing device 22 that has sent an individual form. FIG. The form receiving device 12a registers the transmission destination identifier such as the job ID and the device ID in the table each time the individual form is transmitted, and sets the reply flag to "none". Each time a processing result is received from the form processing apparatus, the reply flag corresponding to the job ID and the identifier of the form processing apparatus is changed to “Yes”. In this way, when all the reply flags corresponding to the same job ID become “Yes”, the answer form may be created.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to instruct the processing for a plurality of form processing devices 22 by using one comprehensive form, and furthermore, the processing results of the plurality of form processing devices 22 are obtained. Edit
They can be aggregated and put together.

The comprehensive form is the form receiving device 1
Even when the data is directly input to the scanner 0a or the like, processing can be performed in the same procedure as described above. In this case, the answer form is output from the printer of the form receiving device 10a.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention,
If a form is input to the form receiving device, the form can be transferred to an appropriate form processing device for processing. Therefore, the user does not need to go to each form processing apparatus or store the communication address of each form processing apparatus.

Further, according to the present invention, by using the form receiving device, it is possible to instruct the processing for a plurality of form processing devices with one form.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system to which a form receiving device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a form receiving device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a form process using the form receiving device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data contents of an address database.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a form process using the form receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a form process using the form receiving device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a form receiving apparatus having a form processing function according to the second and third embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data contents of a transfer database.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a form process using the form receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an outline of processing of a comprehensive form using the form receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a form process using the form receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of data contents of a reply management table.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a form.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 10a form receiving device, 20 network, 22 form processing device, 24 source FAX, 1
00 job control unit, 102 image processing unit, 104 form analysis unit, 106 address database, 108
FAX unit, 110 network control unit, 112 form generation unit, 114 form database, 116
Transfer management unit.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Fumi Aota 3-2-1, Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa KSP R & D Business Park Building Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A form including an apparatus identifier of a form processing apparatus to which the user belongs as image information and a processing program for processing the form are associated with each other and managed.
Image recognition of the device identifier from the input form,
Connected to at least one form processing apparatus that processes the input form by a processing program corresponding to the form only when the obtained apparatus identifier is that of the own apparatus. A form receiving apparatus for receiving an input of a form for the form processing apparatus, wherein for each of the form processing apparatuses, an address database in which a device identifier and a communication address of the form processing apparatus are registered in association with each other, and a form for inputting an image of the form Input means, apparatus identifier recognizing means for recognizing an apparatus identifier of a form processing apparatus to which the form belongs from an image of the input form, and an address for retrieving a communication address corresponding to the recognized apparatus identifier from the address database. Using the search means and the found communication address , Forms reception apparatus having a transfer means for a form that is the input, and transfers to the form processing unit that form belongs. 2. The form receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when an image of the form is input to the form input means via a communication line, a transmission address of the transmission source of the form is acquired. Address obtaining means, and a reply destination address notifying means for notifying the communication address of the transmission source of the form obtained by the transmission source address obtaining means as a destination address of a reply to the form to a form processing apparatus of a transfer destination of the form; A form receiving device comprising: 3. The form receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: a source address obtaining unit that obtains a communication address of a source of the form input to the form input unit; and a form that is transferred by the transfer unit. Transfer management means for assigning a job identifier to the form processing apparatus, and associating the job identifier with the form and notifying the form processing apparatus of the transfer destination of the form; and for the form transferred by the transfer means, the transmission source address obtaining means. A transfer database for registering the communication address of the transmission source of the form acquired by the transfer management means and the transfer identifier assigned to the form in association with each other, and when the form is received from the form processing device,
A reply that recognizes the transfer identifier associated with the form, obtains the communication address of the transmission source corresponding to the recognized transfer identifier from the transfer database, and transfers the form to the communication address of the obtained transmission source. A form receiving device comprising: a transfer unit. 4. The form receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a comprehensive form for instructing each of the form processing apparatuses to perform comprehensive processing and an individual form of each of the form processing apparatuses corresponding to the comprehensive form are specified. A form correspondence database in which individual form identification information for registering the form is registered in association with each other; and a comprehensive form for determining whether or not the form is the comprehensive form based on an image of the form input to the form input means. Determining means, if the input form is a comprehensive form,
Individual form acquisition means for acquiring each individual form identification information corresponding to the comprehensive form from the form correspondence database, and acquiring an individual form of each form processing apparatus corresponding to the comprehensive form based on each individual form identification information A form receiving unit that transmits each individual form acquired by the individual form acquiring unit to a corresponding form processing device with reference to the address database. . 5. The form accepting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the individual form specifying information is information defining a corresponding individual form itself, and the individual form obtaining means includes: A form receiving apparatus for generating the individual forms corresponding to the comprehensive form based on the form. 6. The form receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the individual form specifying information is information for creating a form for requesting a corresponding individual form to the form processing apparatus. The individual form acquisition means generates a form for requesting each of the form processing devices to output an individual form corresponding to the comprehensive form, based on the individual form identification information, and sends the form to each of the form processing devices. The form receiving apparatus acquires the individual form of each of the form processing apparatuses by transmitting the form. 7. The form receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a job identifier is assigned to the input comprehensive form, and the job identifier is assigned to the comprehensive form. Transfer management means for notifying each form processing apparatus in association with each individual form, processing result receiving means for receiving the processing result of each transmitted individual form from each form processing apparatus, and receiving each processing result A job identifier detecting unit that detects a job identifier associated with the job identifier; and a response that edits a received job result having the same job identifier and creates a response document for a comprehensive form corresponding to the job identifier. A form receiving device, comprising: editing means; 8. The form accepting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the response editing means manages a communication address of a transmission source of the input comprehensive form in association with a job identifier assigned to the comprehensive form. A form response device for replying to the response document corresponding to the comprehensive form edited by using the communication address of the transmission source associated with the job identifier of the comprehensive form.