JP7147306B2 - Document management system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a document management system suitable for keeping information confidential.

For example, in an environment where an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) and a document management server are connected via a network, the image forming apparatus can read out document files stored in the document management server. , can be printed or viewed. Further, in such an environment, the document file may contain confidential information, etc., and the document file may be subjected to anonymization processing from the viewpoint of information leakage prevention.

As for such anonymization processing, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that scans a document to generate data, a storage device that stores data generated as a result of scanning, and data stored in the storage device. and an information processing device connected to the application server via a network. Disclosure level setting means, data generation means for generating a plurality of data in which a content area is masked for each disclosure level according to the set disclosure level, disclosure level determination means for the generated data, and storage of the generated data according to the disclosure level A document management system is proposed which has a data storage means for storing in the device.

JP 2007-140958 A

In the document management system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200003, it is possible to conceal a specific area by blacking out the content area of a scanned document according to the disclosure level set for the content area.

However, since the anonymization of a specific area is based on the set public level, it is impossible to anonymize the area according to the user's access authority.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a document management system capable of solving the above problems.

A document management system according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus that acquires image data of a standard document, manages the image data acquired by the image forming apparatus as a document file, and anonymizes a specific area of the document file for each user. a document management server for managing information, the document management server having a file information management unit for managing a management table in which the anonymization information for each user associated with each document type of the document file is registered. and the image forming apparatus includes: an image recognition unit that identifies the document type by recognizing a character string in a specified area of the document file received from the document management server; and the document type that the image recognition unit identifies. and a system control unit that issues a transmission request for the anonymization information related to the document type, and the anonymization information corresponds to each user and the coordinate information of the specific area of the document file included in the template for each document type. The image forming apparatus requests the document management server to send the selected document file, and anonymizes the user who selected the document file. An information transmission request is transmitted, and based on the anonymization information, a specific area of the document file set to be anonymized is made invisible. sends the image data of the standard document read by the scanner unit to the document management server, and the system control unit requests the communication control unit to send the selected document file to the document management server, and selects the document file. to send a request to send anonymized information about the user. In addition, the system control unit instructs the image processing unit to perform image processing to make the specific area set to be anonymized invisible based on the anonymization information.
Thus, based on the anonymization information about the user, it is possible to perform invisible image processing on the specific area of the document file.

According to the document management system of the present invention, it is possible to perform invisible image processing on a specific area of a document file based on the anonymization information about the user. can.

1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of a document management system of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the MFP, document management server, and user terminal in FIG. 1; FIG. An outline of anonymization of document files in the document management system of FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an invoice A template using the standard document of (a) as a sample; 4(a) is a diagram showing the template of invoice A, and FIG. 4(b) is a diagram related to invoice A. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a management table obtained; 5(a) is a diagram showing the template of invoice B, and FIG. 5(b) is an example of a management table associated with invoice B. It is a figure which shows. Other related information of the template of invoice A shown in FIG. 4(a) will be explained. FIG. 6(a) is a diagram showing the template of invoice A shown in FIG. 6(b) is a diagram showing an example of another management table associated with invoice A in which document attribute information recognized by zone OCR is registered. An example of anonymization of a document file will be described. FIG. 7(a) is a diagram showing a print example 1 when a part of the area is blacked out, and FIG. 7(b) shows a plurality of areas. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a printing example 2 in the case of blacking out . 2 is a flowchart for explaining anonymization processing by the document management system of FIG. 1;

An embodiment of the document management system of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. In the following description, an example of an image forming apparatus is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), which is a complex peripheral equipped with a print function, a copy function, a FAX (Facsimile) function, a data transmission/reception function via a network, and the like. ).

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the document management system includes an MFP 100 which is an image forming apparatus, a document management server 200, and a user terminal 300. FIG. MFP 100 is connected to a network 400 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The MFP 100 is also connected via a network 400 to a document management server 200 and a user terminal 300 such as a PC (Personal Computer). MFP 100 may be connected to a mobile terminal such as a smartphone via network 400 or wireless communication.

User terminal 300 can transmit a print job to any of MFPs 100 via network 400 . The MFP 100 has a user box installed in the HDD 106 described later, and registers a print job received from the user terminal 300 . When a print job is transmitted from the user terminal 300, a user ID and password, which are authentication information registered on the MFP 100 side, are used. When executing printing on the MFP 100 side, for example, login processing is required. In this case, on the MFP 100 side, for example, user authentication is performed by comparing a user ID and password input via panel unit 105, which will be described later, with an already registered user ID and password. Executes print processing for the selected print job. In addition, although the details will be described later, when printing or viewing a document file or the like stored in the document management server 200 on the MFP 100 side, based on the anonymization information set for each user, anonymization for a specific area is performed. conversion processing is performed.

Next, an example configuration of the MFP 100, the document management server 200, and the user terminal 300 will be described with reference to FIG. The MFP 100 includes a scanner unit 101 , a printer unit 102 , a FAX unit 103 , an I/F (interface) 104 , a panel unit 105 and a control unit 110 that controls the operation of the HDD 106 .

The scanner unit 101 is a device that converts an image on a sheet (not shown) read by an image sensor (not shown) into digital image data and inputs the digital image data to the control unit 110 . The printer unit 102 is a device that prints an image on paper (not shown) based on print data output from the control unit 110 . The FAX unit 103 is a device that transmits data output from the control unit 110 to a facsimile machine of the other party through a telephone line, and receives data from the facsimile machine of the other party and inputs the data to the control unit 110 .

The I/F 104 takes charge of communication with the document management server 200, MFP 100, user terminal 300 and the like via the network 400. FIG. Note that the I/F 104 may take charge of communication with a content server, a web server, or the like (not shown). A panel unit 105 is a device such as a touch panel for displaying the print function, copy function, FAX function, data transmission/reception function via a network, and various settings of the MFP 100 . In addition, the panel unit 105 displays contents prompting the user to enter a user ID and a password, which are authentication information necessary for login processing. HDD 106 is a storage device that stores application programs and the like for providing various functions of MFP 100 . HDD 106 also has a user box for storing print jobs registered from the user terminal 300 side, for example.

Control unit 110 is a processor that executes an application program, an image forming program, a control program, and the like to control the overall operation of MFP 100 . The control unit 110 includes a scanner control unit 111, a printer control unit 112, a FAX (Facsimile) control unit 113, a communication control unit 114, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 115, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 116, an image recognition unit 117, An image processing unit 118 , a panel operation control unit 119 , an HDD control unit 120 and a system control unit 121 are provided. They are also connected to the data bus 122 .

A scanner control unit 111 controls the reading operation of the scanner unit 101 . A printer control unit 112 controls the printing operation of the printer unit 102 . The FAX control unit 113 controls data transmission/reception operations by the FAX unit 103 . The communication control unit 114 controls transmission and reception of data via the network 400 via the I/F 104 . A RAM 115 is a work memory for executing programs. The RAM 115 also stores print data image-processed by the image processing unit 118 . A ROM 116 stores a control program for checking the operation of each unit.

The image recognition unit 117 has, for example, a zone OCR (Optical Character Recognition) function. Character recognition is performed on the character string in the entry column 501 of the title to specify the document type. An image processing unit 118 performs image processing (rasterization) on image data read by the scanner unit 101 . The image processing unit 118 also performs image processing (rasterization) on print jobs registered in the user box of the HDD 106 . Note that the system control unit 121 causes the RAM 115 to temporarily store the print data image-processed by the image processing unit 118 . Further, based on an instruction from the system control unit 121, the image processing unit 118, for example, displays the recognition areas 511, 512, and 517a indicated by the template 510 of the invoice A shown in FIG. The entry column 502 of the form document 500 of (a) and the character string of the description item 507a are blacked out or otherwise anonymized. A panel operation control unit 119 controls the display operation of the panel unit 105 . Panel operation control unit 119 also accepts, via panel unit 105 , the start of printing, copying, facsimile, data transmission/reception via network 400 , input of authentication information, and the like.

The system control unit 121 controls cooperative operations and the like of each unit. Further, when panel operation control unit 119 accepts input of authentication information indicating a user ID and password for login via panel unit 105, system control unit 121 receives user authentication information registered in HDD 106, for example. Compare and authenticate users. Further, when the system control unit 121 succeeds in user authentication, the system control unit 121 permits the panel operation control unit 119 to accept inputs such as various instructions through the panel unit 105 . Further, when the panel operation control unit 119 receives an instruction to print or view a document file, the system control unit 121 acquires the corresponding document file and the anonymization information for each user from the document management server 200, and displays the image. The processing unit 118 is instructed to perform image processing based on the anonymization information.

The document management server 200 has a control unit 210 that controls the I/F 201 . The I/F 201 takes charge of communication with the MFP 100, the user terminal 300, etc. via the network 400. FIG. The control unit 210 is a processor that executes application programs, control programs, and the like to control the overall operation of the document management server 200 . The control unit 210 includes a RAM 211 , a ROM 212 , a communication control unit 213 , a file information management unit 214 and a system control unit 215 . They are also connected to the data bus 216 .

A RAM 211 is a work memory for executing programs. A ROM 212 stores a control program for checking the operation of each unit. A communication control unit 213 controls transmission/reception of data to/from the MFP 100 , the user terminal 300 and the like via the network 400 via the I/F 201 . File information management unit 214 manages document files received from MFP 100 . Further, the file information management unit 214, which will be described later in detail, also includes an invoice A template 510 shown in FIG. 4A, an invoice B template 530 shown in FIG. ) having anonymous information for each user of invoice A, and a management table 540 having anonymous information for each user of invoice B shown in FIG. Here, the anonymization information includes, for example, coordinate information of metadata A and B registered in the management table 520 of FIG. or content that indicates prohibition. Note that permission or prohibition of printing of the metadata A and B means whether it is visible or invisible. When system control unit 215 receives a document file or the like from MFP 100 via communication control unit 213, system control unit 215 instructs file information management unit 214 to manage the file. Further, when there is a transmission request from MFP 100 for a document file or anonymization information for each user, system control unit 215 sends the document file and anonymization information managed by file information management unit 214 to the communication control unit. 213.

The user terminal 300 includes an I/F 301 , a keyboard 302 , a mouse 303 , a display section 304 and a control section 310 that controls the HDD 305 . The I/F 301 takes charge of communication with the MFP 100, the document management server 200 and the like via the network 400. FIG. Note that the I/F 301 may take charge of communication with a not-shown content server, web server, or the like via the network 400 . A keyboard 302 is an input device for inputting characters and the like to the control unit 310 . A mouse 303 is an input device that instructs the control unit 310 on an input position and the like. The display unit 304 displays information such as characters. The HDD 305 is a storage device that stores application programs and the like for providing various functions of the user terminal 300 .

The control unit 310 is a processor that executes application programs, control programs, and the like to control the overall operation of the user terminal 300 . The control unit 310 includes a communication control unit 311 , RAM 312 , ROM 313 , input device control unit 314 , display control unit 315 , HDD control unit 316 and system control unit 317 . They are also connected to the data bus 318 .

A communication control unit 311 controls transmission/reception with the MFP 100 , the document management server 200 and the like via the I/F 301 . A RAM 312 is a work memory for executing programs. A ROM 313 stores a control program for checking the operation of each unit. The input device control unit 314 controls input operations of the keyboard 302 and mouse 303 and passes input signals of the keyboard 302 and mouse 303 to the control unit 310 . A display control unit 315 controls the display operation of the display unit 304 . The HDD control unit 316 controls reading and writing of data with respect to the HDD 305 . A system control unit 317 controls the cooperative operation of each unit. Further, when receiving a print job registration instruction for any of MFPs 100 , system control unit 317 transmits the print job to any of MFPs 100 via communication control unit 311 .

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an outline of anonymization of document files will be described. First, FIG. 3(a) shows an example of an invoice A standard document 500. As shown in FIG. That is, assume that the scanner unit 101 of the MFP 100 reads the standard document 500 . At this time, the image recognition unit 117 described above performs character recognition on the image data of the fixed-form document 500 read by the scanner unit 101, the character string of the title is an invoice, and the position of the entry column 501 of the title is 3A is recognized as the standard document 500 of the invoice A when the standard document 500 is on the upper right. Further, when the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101 is transmitted to the document management server 200 in order to be stored in the document management server 200, the system control unit 121 stores the image data of the standard document 500 as invoice A. to be notified. Accordingly, the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 manages the image data of the standard document 500 as corresponding to the invoice A. FIG.

Here, the standard document 500 includes, for example, an entry field 501 for a title such as INVOICE, an entry field 502 for an address of a sender (Sender), an entry field 503 for an addressee (Addressee), a mail item number (Mail Item No. ) entry field 504, delivery means (Shipped Per) entry field 505, remarks (Remarks) entry field 506, contents description (Description) entry field 507, postal item number (Number of pieces) entry field 508 , a signature field 509 and the like are provided. Reference numerals 507a and 507b denote description items of contents. The number of description items 507a and 507b is not limited to two as illustrated, but may be plural.

FIG. 3(b) shows an example of a template 510 used for zone OCR, using the standard document 500 of FIG. 3(a) as a sample. The template 510 includes, for example, a recognition area 511 corresponding to the entry column 501 for the title, a recognition area 512 corresponding to the entry column 502 for the address of the sender, etc., and an entry column 507 for the description of the contents. A recognition area 517a corresponding to item 507a is provided. Here, the recognition area 511 is set as an anchor for specifying the document type. Also, the recognition areas 512 and 517a are set as visible areas or non-visible areas in the invoice A. FIG. Note that the recognition areas 512 and 517a can be set arbitrarily, and the other entry fields 503 to 506, the description item 507b, and the entry fields 508 and 509 can also be set as visible regions or non-visible regions in the invoice A.

Next, the details of the invoice A template 510 and the like managed by the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 4(a) shows the template 510 of the invoice A described above. Assume that the template 510 of the invoice A has recognition areas 511, 512, and 517a set as described above. Here, it is assumed that the recognition area 511 is an anchor for specifying the document type as described above, the metadata of the recognition area 512 is A, and the metadata of the recognition area 517a is B. FIG. Also, it is assumed that whether or not there is authority to view and print information for each user in these recognition areas 512 and 517a is registered in the invoice A management table 520 shown in FIG. 4B.

That is, the management table 520 includes a metadata item 521 , a coordinate information item 522 , a user item 523 , a browse item 524 , and a print item 525 . Metadata A and B are registered in item 521 . In item 522, (xxx, yyy), which is coordinate information corresponding to metadata A, is registered. In item 522, coordinate information (www, zzz) corresponding to metadata B is registered. Recognition information of user A, user B, and group C is registered in item 523 in association with metadata A and B, respectively. The identification information of user A and user B may be, for example, a user ID used when logging into MFP 100 . The recognition information of group C may be attribute information of a group belonging to user A or attribute information of a group belonging to user B, for example. In other words, it is assumed that the file information management unit 214 manages attribute information, such as departments to which users A, B, and other users belong, associated with their respective user IDs. Then, when a user other than users A and B logs in to MFP 100, it can be confirmed whether or not the user belongs to group C from the attribute information of the other user.

Item 524 registers whether to permit or prohibit browsing for each of user A, user B, and group C. FIG. Here, since it is arbitrary whether to permit or prohibit browsing, it is also possible to change the setting. Item 525 registers whether printing is permitted or prohibited for each of user A, user B, and group C. FIG. Since it is arbitrary whether to permit or prohibit printing, it is also possible to change the setting. Here, for example, the coordinate information of the metadata A and B registered in the management table 520 of FIG. information. Permission or prohibition of viewing or printing means whether or not viewing of a specific area is permitted.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the details of the invoice B template 530 and the like managed by the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 will be described. First, FIG. 5(a) shows an invoice B template 530. As shown in FIG. That is, it is assumed that the scanner unit 101 reads a document corresponding to the standard document 500 in FIG. 3(a), for example. At this time, the image recognition unit 117 described above performs character recognition on the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101 . In addition, when the character string of the title is an invoice and the position of the entry column 501 of the title is the upper left of the standard document 500 (the position corresponding to the recognition area 531 of the template 530), the image recognition unit 117, for example, A document corresponding to the standard document 500 in 3(a) is recognized as the standard document of the invoice B. FIG. Further, when transmitting the image data read by the scanner unit 101 to the document management server 200, the system control unit 121 confirms that the image data of the standard document 500 is the invoice B. Notice. Accordingly, the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 manages the image data as corresponding to the invoice B. FIG.

Assume that recognition areas 531, 532, 536, and 539 are set in the template 530 of the invoice B. FIG. Here, the recognition area 531 is an anchor for specifying the document type in the same manner as described above, the metadata of the recognition area 532 is A, the metadata of the recognition area 536 is B, and the metadata of the recognition area 539 is Let C be It is also assumed that whether or not there is authority to view and print information for each user in these recognition areas 532, 536, and 539 is registered in the invoice B management table 540 shown in FIG. 5(b).

That is, the management table 540 has a metadata item 541, a coordinate information item 542, a user item 543, a browse item 544, and a print item 545, similar to the management table 520 of FIG. 4B. ing. Metadata A, B, and C are registered in item 541 . In item 542, (xxx, yyy), which is coordinate information corresponding to metadata A, is registered. In item 542, coordinate information (www, zzz) corresponding to metadata B is registered. In item 542, coordinate information (aaa, bbb) corresponding to metadata C is registered. Recognition information of user A, user B, and group C is registered in item 543 in association with metadata A, B, and C, respectively. The identification information of user A and user B may be, for example, a user ID used when logging in to MFP 100, in the same manner as described above. The recognition information of group C may be, for example, attribute information of a group belonging to user A or attribute information of a group belonging to user B, in the same manner as described above. In other words, it is assumed that the file information management unit 214 manages attribute information such as departments associated with user IDs of users A, B, and other users in the same manner as described above. Then, when a user other than users A and B logs in to MFP 100, it can be confirmed whether or not the user belongs to group C from the attribute information of the other user.

Item 544 registers whether to permit or prohibit browsing for each of user A, user B, and group C. FIG. Here, since it is arbitrary whether to permit or prohibit browsing, it is also possible to change the setting. Item 545 registers whether printing is permitted or prohibited for each of user A, user B, and group C. FIG. Here, since it is arbitrary whether to permit or prohibit printing, it is also possible to change the setting. Here, for example, coordinate information of metadata A, B, and C registered in the management table 540 of FIG. is anonymized information. Permission or prohibition of viewing or printing means whether or not viewing of a specific area is permitted.

Note that the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 has a management table 520 having anonymization information for each user of invoice A shown in FIG. Although the management table 540 having the anonymization information for each is managed, the management tables 520 and 540 may be managed by the MFP 100 without being limited to this example.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, storage of the document attribute information of the recognition areas 512 and 517a of the invoice A template 510, for example, will be described.

First, FIG. 6(a) is the same as the invoice A template 510 shown in FIG. 4(a). Assume that the template 510 of the invoice A has recognition areas 511, 512, and 517a set as described above. It is also assumed that the recognition area 511 is an anchor for specifying the document type, the metadata of the recognition area 512 is A, and the metadata of the recognition area 517a is B. FIG. Here, the image recognition unit 117 uses the template 510 to perform zone OCR on the image data of the standard document 500 of FIG. 3A read by the scanner unit 101 . Upon recognizing that the character string in the recognition area 511 is INVOICE, the image recognition unit 117 recognizes that the document type is invoice A, and notifies the system control unit 121 of it. When the image recognition unit 117 recognizes the character strings in the recognition areas 512 and 517a, the image recognition unit 117 notifies the system control unit 121 of each character string as document attribute information.

6B shows a management table 520A of invoice A managed by the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200. FIG. Note that the management table 520A registers document attribute information and the like recognized by the image recognition unit 117 by zone OCR. That is, the management table 520A is provided with a metadata item 521, a coordinate information item 522, a user item 523, a browse item 524, and a print item 525, similarly to the management table 520 of FIG. 4B. ing. However, in the management table 520A of FIG. 6B, an item 522a of document attribute information is provided instead of the item 522 of coordinate information. Document attribute information recognized by zone OCR in association with metadata A and B is registered in item 522a. In this way, by recognizing character strings in the recognition areas 512 and 517a by zone OCR, the document attribute information of the set areas can be saved.

Next, an example of anonymizing a document file will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 7A shows a printing example 1. FIG. Here, for example, assume that user B logs in to MFP 100 and instructs printing of standard document 500 of invoice A shown in FIG. 3A. In this case, the system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 requests the anonymization information of the invoice A for the user B from the document management server 200 . Here, the document management server 200, like the invoice A management table 520 shown in FIG. (corresponding to the recognition area 512 of the template 510) is set to be prohibited, but printing of the description item 507a (corresponding to the recognition area 517a of the template 510) in the entry field 507 of the Description of the content item is set to be permitted. Anonymization information indicating that the encryption is performed is transmitted to MFP 100 . As a result, on the MFP 100 side, when printing the standard document 500 of the invoice A for the user B, as shown in FIG. is done. Regarding the anonymization for User B, the system control unit 121 instructs the image processing unit 118 to prohibit or permit printing based on the anonymization information from the document management server 200. is executed by issuing

For example, assume that a user belonging to group C belonging to user A logs in to MFP 100 and instructs printing of standard document 500 of invoice A shown in FIG. 3A. In this case, the system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 requests the anonymization information of the group C of the invoice A to the document management server 200 . Here, the document management server 200, like the invoice A management table 520 shown in FIG. 510) and the description item 507a of the entry column 507 of the description of the contents (Description) (corresponding to the recognition area 517a of the template 510) are both set to be prohibited. Anonymization information shown is transmitted to MFP 100 . As a result, on the MFP 100 side, when printing the fixed form document 500 of the invoice A for the users of the group C, as shown in FIG. Anonymization processing is performed by blacking out the description item 507a of the (Description) entry field 507, respectively. As for the anonymization for the users of group C, the system control unit 121 prohibits printing for the image processing unit 118 based on the anonymization information from the document management server 200 in the same manner as described above. , or by issuing an instruction for permission.

Next, anonymization processing in the document management system will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the user B instructs to print the standard document 500 of the invoice A shown in FIG. 3(a). Also, it is assumed that the document file of the standard document 500 specified for printing by user B is stored in the document management server 200 . Also, it is assumed that the document file specified for printing by the user B corresponds to the invoice A. FIG. It is also assumed that the file information management unit 214 of the document management server 200 manages, for example, the management table 520 of the invoice A regarding the anonymized information for each user related to the standard document 500 of the invoice A. FIG.

(Step S101)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 determines whether login has been accepted.
In this case, system control unit 121 determines that login has not been accepted unless there is a notification from panel operation control unit 119 indicating that there is a login instruction via panel unit 105 (step S101: No). .
In response to this, the system control unit 121 determines that the login has been accepted if there is a notification from the panel operation control unit 119 indicating that there is a login instruction via the panel unit 105 (step S101: Yes). , the process proceeds to step S102.
At this time, system control unit 121 compares the authentication information such as the user ID input by user B via panel unit 105 with the authentication information registered in HDD 106, for example, to confirm whether or not they match.

(Step S102)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 determines whether or not authentication has succeeded.
In this case, system control unit 121 determines that authentication has not succeeded when authentication information such as a user ID input by user B through panel unit 105 does not match authentication information registered in HDD 106, for example. , the process ends.
At this time, system control unit 121 causes panel unit 105 to display an error indicating that the authentication has not succeeded, via panel operation control unit 119 .
On the other hand, system control unit 121 determines that the authentication has succeeded when the authentication information such as the user ID input by user B through panel unit 105 matches the authentication information registered in HDD 106, for example. (step S102: Yes), and the process proceeds to step S103.

(Step S103)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 determines whether printing of a document file has been instructed.
In this case, system control unit 121 does not print the document file if there is no notification from panel operation control unit 119 indicating that the selection of a document file via panel unit 105 and the printing of the selected document file have been instructed. is not instructed (step S103: No).
On the other hand, if the system control unit 121 receives a notification from the panel operation control unit 119 via the panel unit 105 indicating that the document file is selected and the printing of the selected document file is instructed, the system control unit 121 prints the document file. is instructed (step S103: Yes), and the process proceeds to step S104.

(Step S104)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 requests transmission of the selected document file.
In this case, the system control unit 121 requests transmission of the selected document file to the document management server 200 via the network 400 via the communication control unit 114 .
At this time, system control unit 215 of document management server 200 transmits the selected document file managed by file information management unit 214 to MFP 100 via communication control unit 213 .

(Step S105)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 instructs image recognition unit 117 to specify the document type.
At this time, the image recognition unit 117 performs zone OCR using the template 510 of FIG. 4A, for example, for the fixed form document 500 of FIG. The character recognition of the string is performed to specify the document type, and the system control unit 121 is notified of it.

(Step S106)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 confirms whether the document type is invoice A or not.
In this case, when the system control unit 121 confirms that the notification from the image recognition unit 117 is not the invoice A (step S106: No), the process ends.
If the notification from the image recognition unit 117 is anything other than the invoice A, the system control unit 121 executes anonymization processing for the invoices other than the invoice A. Here, the anonymization processing for items other than invoice A is to receive anonymization information different from the anonymization information for invoice A from the document management server 200 and perform anonymization.
On the other hand, if the notification from the image recognition unit 117 is the invoice A (step S106: Yes), the system control unit 121 proceeds to step S107.

(Step S107)
The system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 requests transmission of the anonymization information of the invoice A.
In this case, the system control unit 121 requests the document management server 200 to transmit the anonymization information regarding the user B via the communication control unit 114 .
At this time, the system control unit 215 on the document management server 200 side refers to the invoice A management table 520 shown in FIG. to send. Here, as described above, the anonymization information includes the coordinate information of the metadata A and B registered in the management table 520, and the content indicating permission or prohibition for the user B to print the metadata A and B. and are included.

(Step S108)
The system control unit 121 of the MFP 100 acquires the coordinate information of the metadata A or B for which printing is prohibited.
In this case, the system control unit 121 acquires (xxx, yyy), which is the coordinate information of the metadata A for which printing is prohibited, from the anonymization information about the user B received from the document management server 200 (Fig. 4 (b) invoice A management table 520).

(Step S109)
System control unit 121 of MFP 100 instructs printing of the document file.
In this case, the system control unit 121 notifies the image processing unit 118 of (xxx, yyy), which is the coordinate information of metadata A for which printing is prohibited, and instructs the image processing unit 118 to print the document file.
At this time, the image processing unit 118 fills in the entry field 502 of the document file selected by the user B, for example, the address of the sender, as shown in the print example 1 of FIG. 7A. image processing.
The system control unit 121 also instructs the printer control unit 112 to print the document file.
At this time, the printer control unit 112 controls the printer unit 102, and based on the print data image-processed by the image processing unit 118, for example, the address of the sender (Sender) as shown in print example 1 in FIG. 7A. , etc., are filled out and printed.

In step S109, if both metadata A and B are prohibited as in group C in FIG. The coordinate information (xxx, yyy) of the metadata A and the coordinate information (www, zzz) of the metadata B are notified to the image processing unit 118 . At this time, the image processing unit 118 fills in the document file with an entry field 502 for the address of the sender, etc., and entry items 507a for the contents, as shown in print example 2 in FIG. 7A. Process the image to fill it.

In step S109, the image processing unit 118 performs image processing on the document file so as to fill in the entry fields 502, such as the sender's address. Image processing may be performed such that a character string or image unrelated to the content of 502 is overwritten. Also, the image processing unit 118 may perform image processing such as deleting the character string in the entry field 502 .

As described above, in this embodiment, the communication control unit 114 transmits the image data of the standard document 500 read by the scanner unit 101 to the document management server 200, and the system control unit 121 transmits the document data to the communication control unit 114. The management server 200 is caused to transmit a transmission request for the selected document file and a transmission request for the anonymization information regarding the user who selected the document file. In addition, the system control unit 121 instructs the image processing unit 118 to perform image processing to make the specific area set to be anonymized invisible based on the anonymization information. As a result, based on the anonymization information about the user, it is possible to perform image processing in which the specific area of the document file cannot be visually recognized, so that it is possible to perform anonymization according to the user's access authority.

100 MFPs
101 scanner unit 102 printer unit 103 FAX unit 104, 201, 301 I/F
105 panel section 106, 305 HDD
110, 210, 310 control section 111 scanner control section 112 printer control section 113 FAX control section 114, 213, 311 communication control section 115, 211, 312 RAM
116, 212, 313 ROMs
117 image recognition unit 118 image processing unit 119 panel operation control unit 120, 316 HDD control unit 121, 215, 317 system control unit 122, 216, 318 data bus 200 document management server 214 file information management unit 300 user terminal 302 keyboard 303 mouse 304 display unit 314 input device control unit 315 display control unit 400 network 500 standard documents 501 to 509 entry fields 507a, 507b entries 510, 530 templates 511, 512, 517a, 531, 532, 536, 539 recognition areas 520, 540, 520A Management Tables 521-525, 522a, 541-545 Items

Claims (1)

an image forming apparatus that acquires image data of a standard document;
a document management server that manages the image data acquired by the image forming apparatus as a document file and manages anonymization information for each user for a specific area of the document file ;
The document management server has a file information management unit that manages a management table in which the anonymization information for each user associated with each document type of the document file is registered,
The image forming apparatus is
an image recognition unit that recognizes a character string in a specified area of the document file received from the document management server and specifies the document type;
a system control unit that issues a transmission request for the anonymization information related to the document type specified by the image recognition unit;
The anonymization information includes coordinate information of the specific area of the document file included in the template for each document type, and visibility of the specific area corresponding to each user,
The image forming apparatus is
transmitting a transmission request for the selected document file and a transmission request for the anonymization information regarding the user who selected the document file to the document management server;
A document management system, wherein a specific area of the document file set to be anonymized is rendered invisible based on the anonymization information.

Images