JP7725964B2 - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Description

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

Conventionally, information contained in image data received by fax has been automatically extracted by applying OCR processing to the image data.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses extracting data indicating customer orders from image data received by fax.

However, the contents of a fax are not always correct. For example, a document containing an error may be sent via fax due to a sender's mistake. With conventional technology, it has been difficult to automatically detect such errors and notify the user (fax recipient).

The present invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to enable users to be notified of errors in the content of received faxes.

In order to solve the above problem, the information processing device has an extraction unit that performs character recognition on image data received by fax and extracts a character string in a specified area of the image data, a determination unit that determines whether the extracted character string matches a character string set for the specified area, and an output unit that outputs an indication that the image data is invalid if the extracted character string does not match the set character string .

It is possible to notify the user of errors in the contents of received faxes.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed by the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a condition storage unit 132. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a feedback screen display notifying that the received image is fraudulent. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a feedback screen display notifying that the authenticity of a received image is unknown.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1, the image forming device 10 includes hardware such as a controller 11, a scanner 12, a printer 13, a modem 14, an operation panel 15, a network interface 16, and an SD card slot 17.

The controller 11 includes a CPU 111, RAM 112, ROM 113, HDD 114, and NVRAM 115. ROM 113 stores various programs and data used by the programs. RAM 112 is used as a storage area for loading programs and as a work area for the loaded programs. CPU 111 performs various functions by processing the programs loaded into RAM 112. HDD 114 stores programs and various data used by the programs. NVRAM 115 stores various setting information, etc.

The scanner 12 is hardware (image reading means) for reading image data from a document. The printer 13 is hardware (printing means) for printing print data on printing paper. The modem 14 is hardware for connecting to a telephone line and is used to send and receive image data via fax. The operation panel 15 is hardware equipped with input means such as buttons for receiving input from the user and display means such as an LCD panel. The LCD panel may have touch panel functionality. In this case, the LCD panel also functions as an input means. The network interface 16 is hardware for connecting to a network (whether wired or wireless) such as a LAN. The SD card slot 17 is used to read programs stored on the SD card 80. In other words, in the image forming device 10, not only programs stored in the ROM 113 but also programs stored on the SD card 80 can be loaded into the RAM 112 and executed. The SD card 80 may be replaced by other recording media (for example, a CD-ROM or USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory). In other words, the type of recording media that corresponds to the position of the SD card 80 is not limited to a specific one. In this case, the SD card slot 17 may be replaced by hardware that corresponds to the type of recording media.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 2, image forming apparatus 10 has fax application 121, fax control unit 122, reception control unit 123, print control unit 124, and OCR unit 125. Each of these units is realized by the CPU 111 executing one or more programs installed in image forming apparatus 10. Image forming apparatus 10 also uses image storage unit 131 and condition storage unit 132. Each of these storage units can be realized using, for example, HDD 114 or RAM 112, or a storage device connected to image forming apparatus 10 via a network.

The reception control unit 123 controls the reception of image data transmitted by fax (fax reception). The print control unit 124 controls the printing of image data received by fax and stores the image data in the image storage unit 131. The OCR unit 125 applies optical character recognition (OCR) to a specified area of the image data to extract character strings and the coordinate values of each character contained in the specified area. The fax control unit 122 controls the processing executed in response to fax reception by the reception control unit 123. During this processing, the fax control unit 122 determines whether the character string extracted by the OCR unit 125 satisfies a condition that is preset for a specified area of the image data received by fax. The condition is stored in the condition storage unit 132. The fax application 121 controls the display of a screen for accepting user operations and a screen showing the results of the determination by the fax control unit 122.

The processing procedures executed by the image forming device 10 are described below. Figure 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the processing procedures executed by the image forming device 10.

When the reception control unit 123 receives a fax (S101), it notifies the fax control unit 122 of the image data received by fax (hereinafter referred to as the "received image") and the fax number of the sender (hereinafter referred to as the "sender number") (S102).

Next, the fax control unit 122 requests the print control unit 124 to save the received image and the sender number (S103). In response to the request from the fax control unit 122, the print control unit 124 associates the received image with the sender number and saves it in the image storage unit 131 (S104). Next, the print control unit 124 notifies the fax control unit 122 that saving of the received image is complete (S105). Note that in parallel with saving the received image, or before or after saving the received image, the print control unit 124 controls printing of the received image. As a result, paper on which the received image is printed is ejected from the image forming device 10.

Next, the fax control unit 122 requests the OCR unit 125 to perform OCR processing on the received image (S106). In response to the request from the fax control unit 122, the OCR unit 125 obtains the received image and sender number from the image storage unit 131 (S107, S108).

Next, the OCR unit 125 applies OCR processing (character recognition) to the received image to extract character strings from predetermined areas of the received image (S109). The predetermined areas are defined in the format data. Format data refers to data that defines each area (each range) to be subjected to OCR processing and the meaning (item name) of the character strings extracted from each area. In this embodiment, format data is defined for each sender's fax number, and the association between fax numbers and format data is stored in the condition storage unit 132.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example configuration of the condition storage unit 132. As shown in Figure 4, the condition storage unit 132 stores format names and the like in association with sender numbers. The contents stored in the condition storage unit 132 are set in advance by, for example, an administrator.

The sender number is the fax number of the sender. The format name is identification information for the format data corresponding to that sender. In other words, in this embodiment, the format data (the area from which the character string is extracted) can be made different depending on the sender. As a result, the format of the order form can be made different depending on the sender.

The OCR unit 125 identifies the format name of the format data to be used (hereinafter referred to as the "target format") based on the sender number associated with the received image. The actual format data is stored, for example, in the HDD 114. The OCR unit 125 extracts one or more character strings from one or more areas of the received image based on the format data (hereinafter referred to as the "target format") corresponding to the sender number associated with the received image. In this embodiment, the fax sent from each sender is an order form for a product ordered by the fax recipient, and is a document containing items such as the sender's address, contact name, and order quantity. However, the layout of each of these items differs depending on the sender, and this layout is defined in the format data. Therefore, the OCR unit 125 extracts character strings indicating the contents of each of these items from the received image based on the target format associated with the sender. However, if the target format (i.e., format data corresponding to the sender number) does not exist, the OCR processing unit does not perform OCR processing.

It should be noted that multiple format data may be associated with the same sender number. Figure 4 shows an example in which two format data (format names) are associated with the same sender number ("001"). In this case, the OCR unit 125 extracts a group of character strings from the received image based on each of the multiple format data, and adopts the best extraction result. For example, if using one format data makes it impossible to extract character strings from some areas, but using the other format data makes it possible to extract character strings from all areas, the OCR unit 125 should adopt the extraction result when the other format data is used.

Next, the OCR unit 125 notifies the fax control unit 122 of the group of character strings extracted from the received image by OCR processing and information indicating the item name of each character string (hereinafter referred to as the "OCR result") (S110). Note that if OCR processing is not performed, the OCR result content is empty.

Next, the fax control unit 122 determines whether the order form associated with the received image is valid by comparing the OCR results with the conditions that a valid order form must satisfy, which are stored in the condition storage unit 132 (S111).

The conditions are stored in association with the sender number in the condition storage unit 132 shown in Figure 4. That is, among the items associated with the sender number in Figure 4, the address, person in charge, and number of orders correspond to the conditions. The address is the address of the sender associated with the sender number. The person in charge is the name of the person in charge at the sender who is scheduled to send the purchase order. The number of orders is the range of order numbers for the sender (thresholds indicating the lower and upper limits). That is, in this embodiment, the conditions can be made different depending on the sender. As a result, the conditions can be made different depending on the order status of the sender.

The fax control unit 122 determines whether the address, contact person's name, and order quantity included in the OCR results each satisfy the conditions (hereinafter referred to as "target conditions") associated with the sender number and stored in the condition storage unit 132. Specifically, the fax control unit 122 determines that the address in the OCR results is correct if it matches the address in the target conditions, and determines that it is incorrect if it does not match. The fax control unit 122 also determines that the name in the OCR results is correct if it matches the name in the target conditions, and determines that it is incorrect if it does not match. The fax control unit 122 also determines that the order quantity in the OCR results is correct if it is within the range indicated by the order quantity in the target conditions, and determines that it is incorrect if it is outside that range.

If the fax control unit 122 determines that one or more of the address, contact person's name, and order quantity in the OCR results are incorrect, it sends a notification to the fax application 121 indicating that the order form related to the received image is invalid (S112). At this time, the fax control unit 122 includes the received image, target format, OCR results, and target conditions in the notification.

In response to this notification, the fax application 121 displays a feedback screen on the operation panel 15 to notify the user that the received image is fraudulent (S113).

Figure 5 shows an example of a feedback screen display notifying users that a received image is fraudulent. In the example of Figure 5, the feedback screen 510 includes the received image, target format, and comparison result 511. The comparison result 511 is information indicating the results of comparing the OCR results for each item that makes up the target conditions (address, contact person name, number of orders) with the target conditions. Figure 5 shows an example in which neither the address nor the contact person name match the target conditions, and the number of orders is outside the range of the target conditions. Note that by displaying the target format, the user can visually confirm the format data applied to the received image.

By referring to this feedback screen 510, if the user determines that a fax with an incorrect address or contact person has been received, for example, the user can suspect that the fax is fake and confirm with the sender whether the order is authentic. Furthermore, if the user determines that the number of orders is incorrect, the user can assume that the sender may have made a mistake and confirm with the sender whether the number of orders is authentic. As a result, it is possible to avoid unnecessary work being performed in response to an incorrect order.

Note that if the OCR result is empty (i.e., if the target format does not exist), there are no target conditions. In this case, the fax control unit 122 sends a notification to the fax application 121 indicating that the authenticity of the order form related to the received image is unknown (S114). At this time, the fax control unit 122 includes the received image in the notification.

In response to this notification, the fax application 121 displays a feedback screen on the operation panel 15 to notify the user that the authenticity of the received image is unknown (S115).

Figure 6 shows an example of a feedback screen display notifying the user that the authenticity of the received image is unknown. In the example of Figure 6, the feedback screen 520 includes the received image and a message indicating that the format data has not been registered. In this case, the user can learn that the order is from a new customer, or that an existing customer has started using a new format for the order form.

As described above, this embodiment determines whether a character string extracted from image data received by fax satisfies the conditions set for the area from which the character string was extracted, and if the character string does not satisfy the conditions, a message to that effect is output to the user. This makes it possible to notify the user of errors in the content of the received fax.

In the above, an example has been described in which the image forming apparatus 10 has all of the functional configuration shown in FIG. 2, but some of the functional configuration may be possessed, for example, by an information processing apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus 10 via a network. As an example, the OCR 125 may be possessed by the information processing apparatus. Furthermore, some of the processing performed by the fax control unit 122 (e.g., step S111 in FIG. 3) may be performed by the information processing apparatus or another information processing apparatus (hereinafter, these information processing apparatuses will be collectively referred to as "external apparatus"). In other words, the image forming apparatus 10 may be realized as an information processing system made up of multiple devices.

In this case, the external device is not limited to an image forming device, as long as it has a communication function. The external device may be, for example, a PJ (Projector), an IWB (Interactive White Board: an electronic whiteboard with a blackboard function that allows for intercommunication), an output device such as digital signage, a HUD (Head Up Display) device, industrial machinery, an imaging device, a sound collection device, medical equipment, network appliances, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a game console, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a wearable PC, or a desktop PC.

Furthermore, each function of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" as used herein includes processors programmed to perform each function by software, such as processors implemented by electronic circuits, as well as devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), and conventional circuit modules designed to perform each of the functions described above.

In this embodiment, the image forming device 10 is an example of an information processing device. The OCR unit 125 is an example of an extraction unit. The fax control unit 122 is an example of a determination unit. The fax application 121 is an example of an output unit.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

10 Image forming apparatus 11 Controller 12 Scanner 13 Printer 14 Modem 15 Operation panel 16 Network interface 17 SD card slot 80 SD card 111 CPU
112 RAM
113 ROM
114 HDD
115 NVRAM
121 Fax application 122 Fax control unit 123 Reception control unit 124 Print control unit 125 OCR unit 131 Image storage unit 132 Condition storage unit

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-214992

Claims (6)

an extraction unit that performs character recognition on image data received by fax and extracts character strings in a predetermined area of the image data;
a determination unit that determines whether the extracted character string matches a character string set for the predetermined area;
an output unit that outputs a signal indicating that the image data is invalid when the extracted character string does not match the set character string ;
An information processing device comprising: The predetermined area varies depending on the sender of the fax.
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The character string set in the predetermined area varies depending on the sender of the fax.
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a computer. An information processing system including a plurality of devices,
an extraction unit that performs character recognition on image data received by fax and extracts character strings in a predetermined area of the image data;
a determination unit that determines whether the extracted character string matches a character string set for the predetermined area;
an output unit that outputs a signal indicating that the image data is invalid when the extracted character string does not match the set character string ;
An information processing system comprising: The computer
an extraction step of performing character recognition on image data received by fax and extracting a character string in a predetermined area of the image data;
a determination step of determining whether the extracted character string matches a character string set for the predetermined area;
an output step of outputting an indication that the image data is invalid if the extracted character string does not match the set character string ;
An information processing method comprising: On the computer,
an extraction step of performing character recognition on image data received by fax and extracting a character string in a predetermined area of the image data;
a determination step of determining whether the extracted character string matches a character string set for the predetermined area;
an output step of outputting an indication that the image data is invalid if the extracted character string does not match the set character string ;
A program characterized by executing the following.