JP5206586B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus used together with a TV conference system for conducting a TV (TV) conference between a plurality of bases, and more particularly to a user's labor required when transmitting materials to another base during a TV conference. Related to mitigating technology.

  In recent years, TV conference systems have been actively used in companies, etc., to connect TV offices in geographically distant locations such as Osaka, Tokyo, New York, London, etc. with network lines against the background of globalization and network development. Has been introduced. Along with the TV conference system, MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having a FAX function and a printer function was also introduced. In the TV conference, users can use the information posted on the printed matter as additional materials for TV conference participants at other locations. Is used to send. The user reads the additional material into the MFP installed at his / her base, designates the MFP at the other base with the button operation of the MFP, the touch panel, etc., and transmits the additional material.

JP-A-11-196216

  However, according to the technology described above, additional materials can be transmitted to an MFP installed at another site, but the user needs to input or select a transmission destination by operating an input device of the MFP. There is a problem that it is troublesome for the user. When the number of offices participating in video conferences becomes large, in addition to increasing the time and effort of inputting destinations, it becomes necessary to memorize and take note of offices participating in video conferences. The burden on the person is further increased. In addition to sending additional materials to the office participating in the TV conference, the additional materials are converted into electronic data, attached to an e-mail, and individually transmitted to many TV conference participants. The burden on users will increase dramatically.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of selecting and transmitting an appropriate transmission destination without forcing the user when transmitting additional material in a TV conference. Objective.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus used together with a video conference terminal installed at each base for performing a video conference between a plurality of bases, a reading unit for reading a document, comprising obtaining means for television retrieve information from the conference terminal other bases, and transmitting means for transmitting the document data to determine the destination of the document data based on the acquired information of the other bases, the transmitting means Is an image acquisition unit that acquires a conference image captured by a video conference terminal at another site from the video conference terminal at its own site, an extraction unit that extracts all of the person images that appear in the conference image, and all of the above A selection unit that selects a person image satisfying a predetermined condition from a plurality of person images, a database storage unit that stores a database indicating correspondence between the person image and a destination address, and the database. And includes a specifying unit for specifying a destination address corresponding to each of the elected figures, and a transmission unit configured to transmit the original data to all of the identified destination address.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, so that only the person currently participating in the video conference is selected from the persons associated with each base, and the document is transmitted to the selected person. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to save the user from having to distinguish between those who are participating in the video conference and those who are not.

Also, the selection unit, out of the human image the extracted, it is also possible to elect the figures of the person has a specific orientation.

In addition, the selection unit may select a person image related to a speaking person from the extracted person images.
According to this configuration, it is possible to narrow down the persons to be transmitted from the conference participants at other bases based on conditions that can be grasped by analyzing the conference image. Therefore, it is possible to transmit the document only to a person who has a specific attitude in the meeting image, for example, a person who raises his hand.

In addition, the selection unit presents the conference image to a user, receives a user's selection from all the extracted person images, and selects the person image selected by the user as a person who satisfies the predetermined condition. It may be selected as an image.
According to this configuration, it is possible to exclude a person who is determined not to be transmitted by the user from among the persons selected as transmission destination candidates.

The image forming apparatus includes: a receiving unit that receives document data transmitted from another site;
It may be a possible and a printing means for printing the document data thus received.
According to this configuration, the functions of reading, printing, and transmitting a document can be integrated, and each function can be centrally managed.
An image forming program according to the present invention is an image forming program applied to an image forming apparatus used together with a video conference terminal installed at each site in order to hold a video conference between a plurality of sites. An acquisition step of acquiring information of another site from the video conference terminal of the local site, and a transmission step of determining a transmission destination of document data based on the acquired information of the other site and transmitting the read document data And the transmitting step extracts a conference image captured by a video conference terminal at another site from the video conference terminal at the local site, and extracts all of the person images appearing in the conference image. A step of selecting a person image satisfying a predetermined condition from all the person images, and a correspondence between the person image and the destination address A step of storing a database indicating; a step of referring to the database to specify a destination address corresponding to each of the selected person images; and a step of transmitting the document data to all of the specified destination addresses Including.

According to this configuration, it is possible to select only the person currently participating in the video conference from the persons associated with the respective bases and transmit the document to the selected person. Therefore, it is possible to save the user from having to distinguish between those who are participating in the video conference and those who are not.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a TV conference system 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an MFP. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of connection destination DB. It is a figure which shows an example of notification destination DB. It is a figure which shows an example of refinement condition DB. It is a figure which shows GUI used in order to correct a transmission destination. It is a figure which shows GUI which added the transmission destination address confirmation window. It is a flowchart which shows a data transmission process. It is a flowchart which shows the data transmission process in the case of correcting a transmission destination. It is a flowchart which shows the narrowing down of the transmission destination by a user, and an additional process. It is a flowchart which shows a data reception process.

1. Outline In a TV conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a TV conference performed between geographically distant bases such as Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, etc., a participant of the TV conference becomes a TV conference participant in another base. On the other hand, it is possible to send additional materials without any trouble. Further, in this TV conference system, the user can easily narrow down transmission destinations of additional materials and the like, for example, under a condition such as “person who raises hands among TV conference participants at other bases”.

Hereinafter, a TV conference system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to illustrated examples.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the TV conference system 1.
The TV conference system 1 is a system for performing a TV conference by mutually connecting the Osaka office 2, the Tokyo office 3, and the Nagoya office 4 via a line 5. In the Osaka office 2, a TV conference terminal 6, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 11 connected to the TV conference terminal 6, and a TV 14 connected to the TV conference terminal 6 are installed. The Tokyo office 3 is provided with a TV conference terminal 7, an MFP 12 connected to the TV conference terminal 7, and a TV 15 connected to the TV conference terminal 7. The Nagoya office 4 is connected to the TV conference terminal 8 and the TV conference terminal 8. The MFP 13 and the TV 16 connected to the TV conference terminal 8 are installed.

  The line 5 is composed of a communication line network including a network line such as the Internet, a dedicated line, a FAX line, a telephone line, and the like. The TV conference terminals 6 to 8 and the MFPs 11 to 13 are connected via the line 5. When confidentiality is required for data transmitted through the line 5, the confidentiality may be ensured between devices using an encryption technique such as IPsec.

Since the devices installed in the Tokyo office 3 and the Nagoya office 4 are the same as those installed in the Osaka office 2, only the Osaka office 2 will be described below unless otherwise required.
In addition, it is considered that the TV conference system usually means a system composed of a TV conference terminal and a TV. In the present embodiment, a system in which an MFP is added as a configuration is referred to as a TV conference system, but this is merely for convenience of explanation.
2. Configuration The TV conference terminal 6 is a video conference camera, a microphone, and a TV conference terminal device having an Internet communication function.

  The TV conference terminal 6 acquires an instruction to start a TV conference by a user's input operation or from a TV conference terminal at another site. Upon acquiring the instruction to start the video conference, the video conference terminal 6 captures the conference video mainly with the participants as the subject by the camera, collects the conference audio with the microphone, collects the conference video and the collected conference audio. Conference video data is generated from and transmitted to the TV conference terminals 7 and 8 installed in the offices of other bases.

  When the video conference terminal 6 receives the conference video data from the TV conference terminals 7 and 8, the video conference terminal 6 restores the video signal representing the conference video and the audio signal representing the conference audio from the received conference video data to the TV 14. Output. As an example of the video signal, the TV conference terminal 6 generates a signal representing a video in which the conference video captured by the TV conference terminals 7 and 8 is inserted in each of the two windows. For example, the TV conference terminal 6 generates an audio signal in which the audio generated by the TV conference terminal 7 is the left audio of stereo audio, and the audio generated by the TV conference terminal 8 is the right audio of stereo audio, and is output to the TV 14. To do.

  The TV conference terminal 6 transmits the identification information of the base where the own device is installed to other TV conference terminals participating in the TV conference. Also, identification information (hereinafter referred to as connection destination information) indicating a base where the TV conference terminal is installed is received from another TV conference terminal participating in the TV conference. Hereinafter, a state in which the TV conference terminal is in a power-on state and is connected to another TV conference terminal via the line 5 in order to participate in the TV conference is referred to as an online state.

The TV 14 is a television receiver including a display and a speaker. The TV 14 receives the video signal output from the TV conference terminal 11 and displays it on the display, receives the audio signal, and outputs it through the speaker.
The MFP 11 is an information processing apparatus having a scanner function, a printer function, and the like. The MFP 11 reads the additional material related to the conference in the TV conference, and transmits it to the MFP at another base or other transmission destination. Regarding transmission of an original, when transmitting to a predetermined transmission destination, or by narrowing down from predetermined transmission destination candidates, or by adding a transmission destination based on input by a user, the transmission destination is changed and transmitted. There is a case.

  In terms of hardware, the MFP 11 includes a microprocessor, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a touch panel unit, a printing unit, a scanner unit, a keypad unit, and the like. It is a computer system. A computer program is stored in the ROM or the HDD, and the MFP 11 achieves its function by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program read out on the RAM.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 11 functionally includes a keypad 31, a touch panel 32, a UI (User Interface) control unit 33, an external IF (Interface) unit 34, a scanning unit 35, a printing unit 36, and a control unit 37. A storage unit 38, a person extraction unit 39, a transmission destination determination unit 40, a communication control unit 41, and a communication unit 42. Further, the storage unit 38 stores narrowing setting information 51, a feature DB (DataBase) 52, a transmission destination DB 53, document data 54, and individual data 55.

  The keypad 31 is a group of buttons associated with various user instructions, and notifies the control unit 37 of user operation information indicating instructions by buttons pressed by the user. The keypad 31 includes “start key”, “destination selection key”, “menu key”, “decision key”, and the like as examples of buttons. For example, when the user presses the start key, the keypad 31 notifies the control unit 37 of user operation information indicating a start instruction.

The touch panel 32 is a display device having a pressure-sensitive touch panel on the surface. When a user touches the touch panel, the touched coordinates on the touch panel (hereinafter referred to as contact coordinates) are transmitted to the UI control unit 33. To do.
The external IF unit 34 is an interface connected to an external device, and receives conference video data from the TV conference terminal 11. The external IF unit 34 receives connection destination information from the TV conference terminal 11 and notifies the control unit 37 of the connection destination information. The external IF unit 34 is connected to an external device such as a memory card, a digital camera, a digital video camera, or a digital audio player that stores electronic data according to the specifications of USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE 1394, etc. Perform data communication.

The UI control unit 33 generates a GUI (Graphical User Interface), displays the generated GUI on the touch panel 32, presents information to the user, and gives instructions from the user using the touch panel 32. Accept.
In the GUI, a window image in which an image of an operation button for a user to give an instruction to the MFP 11, an image of a software keyboard for inputting characters, etc., and an image showing a state of a TV conference at another base are inserted. Etc. are included. The UI control unit 33 acquires contact coordinates from the touch panel 32, determines which operation instruction corresponds to a button corresponding to the contact coordinates in the GUI displayed on the touch panel 32, and indicates the operation instruction. The control unit 37 is notified of user operation information. For example, when the contact coordinates indicate the area where the “decision button” in the GUI is displayed, the UI control unit 33 notifies the control unit 37 of user operation information indicating “decision instruction”.

Here, a transmission destination setting image used when the user narrows down the transmission destination of the document will be described with reference to FIG.
The transmission destination setting image includes windows 61, 63, 64, 65 and a transmission destination confirmation button 66.
The window 61 is a window in which a conference video in the Tokyo office is fitted. A window 62 is fitted in the window 61 as a picture-in-picture.

The window 62 is a window in which a conference video in the Nagoya office is fitted.
These conference videos are obtained from the TV conference terminal 11 by the UI control unit 33 via the external IF unit 34.
The window 63 is a window that displays narrowing conditions used by the user to narrow down the transmission destination of the original. To narrow down the destination, for example, if the user wants to send a manuscript only to those who are raising hands (agreement) among the participants in the TV conference, or manuscripts are sent only to those who satisfy the condition that they are wearing white clothes This is done when you want to. The narrowing-down conditions are not limited to those shown in this embodiment, and whether or not the narrowing-down conditions are satisfied using techniques such as image processing technology, image recognition technology, face recognition technology, moving image analysis technology, and voice analysis. As long as it can be determined.

  As an example, as shown in FIG. 6, an AND button 71, an OR button 72, a narrowing-down condition candidate 73..., A check box 74. The narrowing-down condition candidates include “wearing black clothes”, “wearing white clothes”, “raising hands”, “standing up”, “drawing a circle with hands”, and so on. A check box is displayed corresponding to each narrowing-down condition candidate. The user touches a check box portion corresponding to the narrow-down condition displayed on the touch panel 32. Then, the touched check box image is replaced with an image that is checked as “re” as shown in FIG. The selected narrowing conditions are used in the destination narrowing process. When a user touches a check box that is checked, the image in the check box is replaced with an unchecked image. Narrowing conditions that are not checked are not used in the destination filtering process.

In the example of FIG. 6, since the check box 74 of the narrowing condition 73 of “wearing black clothes” is checked, it is used for narrowing down the destination, and the narrowing condition of “wearing white clothes” is selected. Since the check box is not checked, this condition is not used to narrow down the destination.
The AND button 71 and the OR button 72 are used by the user to instruct whether to use a plurality of narrow-down conditions using AND or OR.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the narrowing-down conditions “wearing black clothes” and “raising hands” are selected, and the OR button 72 is selected. Therefore, both the person wearing black clothes and the person raising his hand are selected as transmission destinations. If the AND button 71 is selected while the check boxes for the narrowing conditions “I am wearing black clothes” and “I am raising hands” are checked, wear black clothes and raise hands. Will be chosen as the destination.

  The selection of the AND button 71 and the OR button 72 does not become effective at the same time, and the last pressed button becomes effective. In the present embodiment, one AND button 71 and one OR button 72 are provided for the entire narrowing conditions. However, for each narrowing condition, both the AND button and the OR button are provided, and the narrowing is performed. AND and OR may be selected for each condition. In this way, the narrowing-down conditions can be controlled in more detail.

Of the persons 81, 82, 83, and 84 displayed in the window 61 and the persons 85, 86, and 87 displayed in the window 62, the persons 81, 82, 84, and 85 are surrounded by an oval frame. It is. A person surrounded by a frame indicates a transmission destination.
The narrowing-down conditions described above are stored in the storage unit 38 as the narrowing-down condition DB shown in FIG. 5, and details will be described later.

In the window 64, a transmission destination selection image is displayed. The user can select a transmission destination from the transmission destination candidates displayed in the transmission destination selection image. Check boxes are displayed corresponding to transmission destination candidates, and a checked state and an unchecked state are alternately selected each time the user touches the check box on the touch panel.
This transmission destination candidate is stored in the storage unit 38 as the notification destination DB shown in FIG. 4 and will be described in detail later.

The window 65 is provided with a software keyboard 68 and an input address display field 67 in which characters input using the software keyboard 68 are displayed.
The software keyboard 68 is used when the user inputs a mail address that is not registered in the MFP 11. Specifically, the user touches a position on the touch panel 32 where a desired key of the software keyboard 68 is displayed. Then, the contact coordinates are notified from the touch panel 32 to the UI control unit 33. The UI control unit 33 compares the notified contact coordinates with the display area to which each key in the software keyboard 68 in the display on the touch panel 32 is assigned, and determines which key the user has pressed. To do. The software keyboard 68 displays various keys necessary for input such as a Roman key, a hiragana key, a katakana key, a numeric key, and various symbol keys.

The transmission destination confirmation button 66 is used when the user wants to confirm a list of transmission destinations that are currently targeted for document transmission.
When the user depresses the transmission destination confirmation button 66 displayed on the touch panel 32, the UI control unit 33 changes the image in FIG. 6 to an image in which the transmission destination address confirmation window 69 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. change. The destination address confirmation window 69 displays information such as the MFP currently selected as the document destination and the mail address. Thereafter, when the close button 70 is pressed, the UI control unit 33 changes the image displayed on the touch panel 32 from the image in FIG. 7 to the image in FIG. 6.

Above, description of FIG. 6 is completed and it returns to description of the structure of UI control part 33. FIG.
When it is necessary to specify a person participating in the TV conference, the UI control unit 33 captures the conference video to generate an image, and extracts the generated image (hereinafter referred to as an extraction target image). To the unit 39.
The UI control unit 33 performs image processing such as trimming, scaling, and rendering of moving images and still images, such as converting the resolution of the received conference image according to the screen resolution of the touch panel 32.

The control unit 37 is a control unit that controls the overall operation of the MFP 11. The control unit 37 holds the connection destination information when the connection destination information is acquired from the TV conference terminal 6. The control unit 37 receives user operation information from the keypad 31 and the UI control unit 33, and performs control according to the received user operation information.
For example, when acquiring the user operation information for pressing the start key from the keypad 31 and the UI control unit 33, the control unit 37 transmits a scan start instruction to the scan unit 35. When the scan by the scan unit 35 is completed, a scan completion notification is received from the scan unit 35. Then, the connection address of the MFP at the base indicated by the held connection destination information is read from the connection destination DB, and an instruction to transmit the document read by the scan unit 35 is transmitted to the read connection address. Go to the unit 41 to complete the scan control.

As shown in FIG. 3 as an example, the connection destination DB indicates a correspondence between the connection destination and the connection address. The connection destination in the connection destination DB indicates a base, and the connection address indicates the address of an MFP installed at the base indicated by the connection destination. Here, although the connection address is the address of the MFP, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an address indicating a transmission destination other than the MFP.
In addition, when the communication control unit 41 receives a notification that a document transmitted from another MFP is received, the control unit 37 transmits a print instruction for the received document to the printing unit 36.

  The person extraction unit 39 acquires an extraction target image from the UI control unit 33, and extracts a person matching the condition from the extraction target image using the narrowing-down condition DB 51 (hereinafter referred to as a person extraction process). Specifically, the person extraction unit 39 includes a portion of the extraction target image in which a person having a predetermined feature such as “wearing black clothes”, “wearing white clothes”, “raising hands”, etc. (Hereinafter referred to as a human figure) is extracted. The person extraction unit 39 assigns a person image identification number to all the extracted person images, and notifies the UI control unit 33 and the transmission destination determination unit 40 of the person image identification number and the position of the person image in the extraction target image. .

  The person image extraction process uses image analysis, pattern recognition technology, and the like, and is not limited to this, and may be performed by another method capable of extracting a person image. Further, a moving image recognition technique or a voice analysis technique may be used, or these techniques may be used in combination. For example, with respect to the extraction condition “speaking”, it is possible to analyze a moving image related to a meeting and specify a person whose mouth is moving. Further, when the mouth is moving and the voice signal related to the speech can be recognized by the voice analysis technique, the person image of the person may be extracted.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the refinement condition DB used for extraction.
The narrow-down condition DB 51 is a list of narrow-down conditions composed of feature types, feature amount information, and selection information. The feature type indicates the feature of the person to be extracted, such as “black clothes”. This feature type corresponds to the above-described condition candidate 73 in FIG. The feature amount information indicates a feature amount calculated from an image block corresponding to the person image indicated by the feature type. The selection information indicates whether or not to extract a person image indicated by the feature type from the extraction target image. When the selection information is a value 1, it indicates that it is extracted, and when it is a value 0, it indicates that it is not extracted. The selection information corresponds to the contents of the check box 74 and the like described with reference to FIG. 6, and indicates a state in which the value 1 is checked and a state in which the value 0 is not checked. In the present embodiment, the person image is extracted only when the value of the selection information is 1. However, all the human images that can be extracted from the extraction target image are extracted without using the selection information. It is good.

  In the extraction of a person image, the person extraction unit 39 first reads out a narrowing condition whose selection information value is 1 from the narrowing condition DB 51. The person extraction unit 39 divides the extraction target image into image blocks of a specific size and calculates a feature amount for each image block. Then, it is determined whether or not the calculated feature amount matches or approximates the feature amount related to the feature type for which the corresponding selection information is 1. When the calculated feature amount matches or approximates, the feature corresponding to the “feature type” Is determined to be a human figure having Then, the determined person image is notified to the transmission destination determination unit 40.

In the example of FIG. 6, when the feature amount calculated for the image block matches or approximates “12356b...”, The image block is determined to be “a person image wearing black clothes”.
Note that the feature amount indicated by the feature amount information related to the narrow-down condition DB 51 is calculated in advance by an image analysis technique using a computer or the like. For example, for the feature amount corresponding to “black clothes” in the narrow-down condition DB 51, a plurality of image blocks corresponding to “person wearing black clothes” are prepared, and a common property is extracted for each image block. The corresponding feature amount is calculated by a computer image analysis technique or the like. In addition, the person extraction unit 39 divides the extraction target image into a plurality of sizes, and performs person extraction processing on image blocks of each size. The probability that a person image will be extracted increases as the number of sizes of images is increased, but the time required for processing also increases. Therefore, the optimal number of sizes according to the capacity of hardware resources should be selected. .

The transmission destination determination unit 40 identifies who the person related to the person image is from the person image extracted and notified by the person extraction unit 39, and uses the transmission destination DB 53 for the document transmission destination corresponding to the person image. decide.
The transmission destination information DB 53 is a list of transmission destination information including a person name, a mail address corresponding to the person name, a person feature amount of the person related to the person name, and affiliated site information. The affiliation base information indicates at which base the person related to the name normally works. The person feature amount is a value indicating the feature of the face portion in the person image related to the person's name. In the example of FIG. 7, the character feature amount of “Ichiro Aoki” is “da6a5b...”, The mail address of “Ichiro Aoki” is “aoki@abc.co.jp”, and “Tokyo office” It belongs to.

  The transmission destination determination unit 40 identifies a face portion by image recognition for the person image notified from the person extraction unit 39, and calculates a feature amount (hereinafter referred to as a face feature amount). Then, a search is performed for a person feature amount included in the transmission destination information DB 53 that matches or approximates the calculated face feature amount. If they match or approximate, the mail address corresponding to the person feature amount is read out and determined as a notification destination.

Note that the feature amount indicated by the feature amount information related to the transmission destination information DB 53 is calculated in advance by an image analysis technique using a computer or the like. As a technique for detecting and recognizing a face from an image, a face recognition technique such as a multiple matching face detection method, a perturbation space method, and an adaptive region mixed matching method may be used, or another method may be used.
When the scan unit 35 receives a scan start instruction notification from the control unit 37, the scan unit 35 starts scanning the material set in the reading unit of the scanner. The scan unit 35 stores the scanned image as document data 54 in the storage unit 38 and then notifies the control unit 37 of the completion of the scan.

The print unit 36 is a printer, and upon receiving a print instruction from the control unit 37, prints out a document based on the print instruction.
The communication control unit 41 generates communication data according to a format suitable for the type of line to be used among the lines 5, and outputs the created communication data to the communication unit 42. In addition, when the communication unit 42 receives a document via the line 5, the communication control unit 41 notifies the control unit 37 that the document has been received. Further, when the document received by the communication unit 42 is addressed to an individual, the communication control unit 41 causes the storage unit 38 to store the document as individual-specific data 55.

The communication unit 42 performs data communication according to control by the communication control unit 41.
3. Operation In the following, an operation when a user of the Osaka office 2 sends a manuscript to another site as an additional material of the conference in the TV conference will be described. For manuscript transmission, each operation is divided into a case where the manuscript is sent to another site during the TV conference without narrowing or adding the destination, and a case where the manuscript is sent after narrowing or adding the destination. Will be described.
3.1. Data Transmission Processing when Narrowing or Adding a Destination is not Performed Hereinafter, data transmission processing when not narrowing or adding a transmission destination will be described. Specifically, a case where a conference participant in the Osaka office 2 transmits additional materials will be described as an example.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a data transmission process when the transmission destination is not narrowed down or added.
First, in the Osaka office 2, a user sets additional materials to be transmitted to the scanning unit 35 of the MFP 11. The scanning unit 35 detects that the document has been set (step S1), and notifies the control unit 37 that the document has been set. Then, the user presses the start key on the keypad 31. The keypad 31 detects pressing of the start key, and transmits user operation information indicating the start key to the control unit 37 (step S2).

Since the control unit 37 recognizes that the document is set and the start key is pressed, the control unit 37 instructs the scanning unit 35 to start scanning.
When the scanning unit 35 is instructed to start scanning by the control unit 37, the scanning unit 35 scans the set original (step S3), and stores the original data obtained by the scanning in the storage unit 38 (step S4). When the scanning of the set original and the storage of the original data are completed, the scanning unit 35 notifies the control unit 37 of the completion of scanning (step S5).

  Upon receiving the scan completion notification, the control unit 37 notifies the video conference terminal 6 of a connection destination information transmission request via the control signal IF (step S6). When receiving the connection destination information transmission request from the MFP 11, the TV conference terminal 6 participates in the TV conference among other sites, and thus the connection destination configured by the site information where the TV conference terminal that is online is installed. Information is generated and transmitted to the MFP 11. The control unit 37 in the MFP 11 acquires connection destination information from the TV conference terminal 6 via the control signal IF in the external IF unit.

When acquiring the connection destination information, the control unit 37 reads the connection destination address corresponding to the base indicated by the acquired connection destination information from the connection destination DB 52 as the transmission destination of the material (step S6).
The control unit 37 notifies the communication control unit 41 of the read connection address, and instructs transmission of the document data acquired in steps S3 to S5.
The communication control unit 41 reads the document data from the storage unit 38, and transmits the document data to the notified connection address via the communication unit 42 (step S7).

Here, as an example, communication of document data or the like may be performed by FTP (File Transfer Protocol), HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), or the like, but is not limited thereto, and may be performed by another protocol capable of transferring data. .
Here, in addition to the MFP, e-mail addresses of participants in the TV conference may be designated as the transmission destination. Specifically, in step S6, the control unit 37 further refers to the notification destination DB shown in FIG. 4 as the document transmission destination, and corresponds to the affiliated base information indicating the base related to the connection destination information from the notification destination DB. Read the e-mail address. In step S7, in addition to transmitting the document to the connection destination address that is the address of the MFP, or instead of transmitting the document to the connection destination address, an e-mail is used for the mail address read in step S6. Send the document.
3.2. Data transmission processing when filtering or adding destinations When the user explicitly notifies the MFP 11 that the destination is to be corrected using the keypad 31 or the like, or when the person extraction processing fails in the MFP 11 If the predetermined conditions such as are satisfied, the transmission destinations are narrowed down or added.

In the following, data transmission processing in the case of narrowing down or adding destinations (hereinafter referred to as destination correction) will be described. Specifically, a case where a conference participant in the Osaka office 2 transmits additional materials will be described as an example.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission process when the transmission destination is corrected.
FIG. 9 is different from FIG. 8 in FIG. 8. In FIG. 8, in step S6, the base in the online state is determined as the transmission destination, and the transmission destination is not corrected by the user's operation, whereas in FIG. This is the point that the user narrows down the destination and performs additional processing. Details of step S8 in FIG. 9 are shown in FIG.

The UI control unit 33 acquires a GUI display instruction to be used for narrowing down from the control unit 37 (step S31). The UI control unit 33 displays a transmission destination determination screen as shown in FIG. 6 on the touch panel 32, generates an extraction target image from the conference image, and outputs it to the person extraction unit 39.
The person extraction unit 39 performs the person extraction process described above for the extraction target image (step S32), and notifies the transmission destination determination unit 40 of the completion of the person extraction process.

The transmission destination determination unit 40 performs the above-described transmission destination specifying process (step S35), specifies a transmission destination address related to each person image, a person image identification number related to the specified human image, a transmission destination address, Are notified to the UI control unit 33.
When the UI control unit 33 receives the notification, the UI control unit 33 collates the person image identification number received from the person extraction unit 39 with the person image identification number received from the transmission destination determination unit 40, and the person image whose transmission destination address could not be specified. It is determined whether there is (hereinafter referred to as an unspecified person image). For example, an unspecified person image exists when the face cannot be identified in the person image. Here, the UI control unit 33 transmits a person image (hereinafter referred to as a specific person image) whose transmission destination address in the extraction target image can be specified by enclosing it in an oval frame as shown in FIG. A person whose destination is specified and a person who is not specified may be displayed so as to be distinguishable to the user.

Next, the UI control unit 33 determines whether the transmission destination address has been specified for all the human images in the extraction target image (step S36).
When the address of the transmission destination can be specified for all the person images (step S36: YES), the process proceeds to step S42, and when the address cannot be specified (step S36: NO), the UI control unit 33 is shown in FIG. 6 as an example. The GUI is displayed on the touch panel 32, and the address is specified by the user, such as the input of the transmission destination address by the user, the selection by the user from the candidates displayed for the transmission destination address, and the selection of the person image not selected by the condition. Display to prompt.

Then, the touch panel 32 waits for the user to touch the touch panel 32 (step S37). When the touch panel 32 is touched by the user (step S37: YES), the touch panel 32 notifies the UI control unit 33 of the contact coordinates corresponding to the contact position. The UI control unit 33 notifies the person extraction unit 39 of the position of the received contact coordinates.
The person extraction unit 39 determines whether or not the contact coordinates are a position corresponding to a part of a person image in the extraction target image (step S38). If it is a part of the person image (step S38: YES), the person extraction unit 39 performs the person extraction process as a result of the person specifying process already performed, or if not yet performed, and the person image Is identified (step S39), and the destination address corresponding to the name is read (step S40). If the name of the person cannot be specified (step S39: NO), the UI control unit 33 is notified accordingly.

  When the UI control unit 33 receives a notification that the person's name could not be specified, the UI control unit 33 causes the touch panel 32 to directly input a transmission destination address or display to prompt the user to select a transmission destination from transmission destination selection candidates. Then, direct input of the transmission destination address by the user or input of selection of the transmission destination from the transmission destination candidates is accepted (step S45). In addition, the user waits for notification that the input or selection of the address is completed (step S41).

  If there is a notification that address input and selection has been completed (step S41: YES), it is determined whether or not address acquisition for all connection destinations has been completed (step S42). When the destination address specifying process is completed for all bases in which the TV conference terminal is online (step S42: YES), the process ends. If the destination address specifying process has not been completed for all the bases (step S42: NO), the next base where the MFP is online is selected (step S43), and the next base selected in step S43 is selected. The processing from step S32 is performed for the base.

Here, the determination in step S42 is necessary because the transmission destinations are narrowed down for each base. Specifically, if all the transmission destination addresses are specified for the moving image transmitted from the Tokyo office, it is necessary to specify the transmission destination address for the Nagoya office next, so step S42 is YES. If the destination address specification for the Nagoya office has been completed, there is no other base that needs to specify the destination address, so step S42 is NO. If the transmission destinations are determined collectively without distinguishing the Tokyo office, Nagoya office, etc., the determination in step S42 is not necessary.
3.3. Data Receiving Process Next, the data receiving process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the communication unit 42 receives document data transmitted from the MFP at another site (step S61), and notifies the communication control unit 41 of the reception.
It is assumed that a header portion is attached to the document data, and the header portion includes processing instruction information. The processing instruction information indicates whether the document is printed or stored. When the processing instruction information indicates storage, a personal name for distinguishing each conference participant's folder is described as a storage destination in the header portion as necessary.

The communication control unit 41 refers to the header portion attached to the document data and determines how to process the document data.
If the processing instruction information included in the header indicates printing, a printing instruction is given to the printing unit 36 (step S63). If the processing instruction information indicates storage and the personal name is drawn in the header portion, the document data related to the header portion is stored in the folder for each person (step S64).

Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.
4). Other Modifications (1) Specifically, each of the above devices is a computer system including a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk unit, a display unit, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. A computer program is stored in the RAM or the hard disk unit. Each device achieves its function by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program. Here, the computer program is configured by combining a plurality of instruction codes indicating instructions for the computer in order to achieve a predetermined function.

Each device is not limited to a computer system including all of a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk unit, a display unit, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and may be a computer system including a part of them.
(2) The present invention may be the method described above. Further, the present invention may be a computer program that realizes these methods by a computer, or may be a digital signal composed of the computer program.

  The present invention also provides a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, BD (Blu-ray Disc). ), Recorded in a semiconductor memory or the like. Further, the present invention may be the computer program or the digital signal recorded on these recording media.

  (3) The above embodiment and the above modifications may be combined.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is suitable for use with a TV conference system when a paper medium material is added in a TV conference and the material is often shared among conference participants. Production, transfer, etc. are carried out by the manufacturer, dealer, etc. that handle it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Video conference system 31 Keypad 32 Touch panel 33 UI control part 34 External IF part 35 Scan part 36 Print part 37 Control part 38 Memory | storage part 39 Person extraction part 40 Transmission destination determination part 41 Communication control part 42 Communication part 61-65 Window 66 Destination confirmation button 67 Input address display field 68 Software keyboard 69 Destination address confirmation window

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus used together with a video conference terminal installed at each site in order to hold a video conference between a plurality of sites,
Reading means for reading a document;
An acquisition means for acquiring information of another base from the video conference terminal of the own base;
Transmission means for determining the transmission destination of the document data based on the acquired information on the other site and transmitting the document data ;
The transmission means includes
An image acquisition unit that acquires a conference image taken by a video conference terminal at another site from the video conference terminal at the site;
An extraction unit for extracting all of the person images appearing in the meeting image;
A selection unit for selecting a person image satisfying a predetermined condition from all the person images;
A database storage unit storing a database indicating correspondence between a person image and a destination address;
A specifying unit that refers to the database and specifies a destination address corresponding to each of the selected person images;
A transmission unit that transmits the document data to all of the specified transmission destination addresses;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The selection unit, among the human image the extracted image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elect figures relating to the person that the particular posture. The selection unit, among the human image the extracted image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elect figures relating to the person is speaking. The selection unit presents the conference image to a user, accepts a user's selection from all the extracted person images, and sets the person image selected by the user as a person image satisfying the predetermined condition. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus is selected. The image forming apparatus includes:
Receiving means for receiving manuscript data transmitted from another base;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a printing unit that prints the received document data. An image forming program applied to an image forming apparatus used together with a video conference terminal installed at each base for performing a video conference between a plurality of bases,
A reading step for reading a document;
An acquisition step of acquiring information on another site from the video conference terminal at the site;
A transmission step of determining a transmission destination of the document data based on the acquired information on the other site and transmitting the read document data ;
The transmitting step includes
Acquiring a conference image taken by a video conference terminal at another site from the video conference terminal at the local site;
Extracting all of the human figures appearing in the meeting image;
Selecting a person image satisfying a predetermined condition from all the person images;
Storing a database indicating correspondence between a person image and a destination address;
Referring to the database and identifying a destination address corresponding to each of the selected person images;
Transmitting the document data to all of the specified transmission destination addresses;
The image forming program characterized by comprising.

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