JP7547729B2 - Information processing device, information processing system, and program - Google Patents

Description

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

Conventionally, paper documents are provided with spaces to be filled in, and the document is filled in and submitted to a predetermined person in charge. The person who receives the paper document must then check the information that has been written. One example of this checking work is checking whether there are any blank spaces. Conventionally, the person in charge must visually check whether there are any blank spaces, which requires a great deal of effort. On the other hand, when electronic documents are used as documents, the effort required for document delivery is reduced, but the person in charge must still visually check whether there are any blank spaces.

Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing device. In this image processing device, a first image receiving means receives an image of an unwritten document, and a writing area extraction means extracts a writing area from the image received by the first image receiving means. Furthermore, a first feature extraction means extracts features of the image received by the first image receiving means. Then, a storage means stores information about the writing area extracted by the writing area extraction means and the features extracted by the feature extraction means.

Patent Document 2 discloses an information processing device connected to a feature database that accumulates feature data related to the external features of forms for each form type. This information processing device includes an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data of the form to be processed, a feature data acquisition unit that acquires feature data related to the form to be processed from the image data, an estimation unit that estimates the form type of the form to be processed by identifying feature data that matches or is similar to the feature data related to the form to be processed from the feature data accumulated in the feature database, and a feature data addition unit that adds the feature data related to the form to be processed to the feature database when the form type of the form to be processed has not been estimated by the estimation unit.

JP 2011-65311 A JP 2012-198684 A

One method for checking for the presence of unfilled sections is to register the filled-in sections of an electronic document in advance and identify the unfilled sections based on the registered information, but this requires the work of registering the filled-in sections to be checked in advance for each electronic document. Furthermore, when an electronic document is handed over through a flow consisting of multiple steps, the filled-in sections differ for each step even for the same electronic document, and the work of registering the filled-in sections for each step is cumbersome.
An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and the like that can identify unfilled portions of an electronic document without having to register filled-in portions in advance.

The invention described in claim 1 is an information processing device comprising a processor, which groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, accepts the electronic documents, determines to which of the groupings the accepted electronic document corresponds, and, if the amount of difference between each image of the electronic documents belonging to the determined group and the image of the accepted electronic document is within a predetermined range, identifies the location where the difference exists as an unfilled area in the accepted electronic document.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the processor changes the amount of the difference depending on the type of electronic document.
The invention according to claim 3 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the processor changes the amount of the difference for an electronic document in which the portion to be filled in changes.
The invention described in claim 4 is an information processing apparatus comprising a processor, which groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, accepts the electronic document, determines to which of the groupings the accepted electronic document corresponds, identifies unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the determined group, and, when the electronic document is data for printing, marks the electronic document as an unfilled electronic document.
The invention described in claim 5 is an information processing device described in claim 4, characterized in that when the electronic document is not print data, the processor determines that it is an electronic document with notes, and determines that the areas where there are differences between the image based on the print data and the image of the accepted electronic document are areas where the user has written in.
The invention described in claim 6 is an information processing device described in claim 4, characterized in that when the electronic document is data for printing, the processor further utilizes information about the file name assigned to the electronic document to group the electronic document.
The invention described in claim 7 is an information processing apparatus comprising a processor, which groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, further groups the electronic documents for each step of a flow in which the same electronic document is transferred, accepts an electronic document, determines to which of the groupings the accepted electronic document corresponds, and identifies unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the determined group.
The invention described in claim 8 is the information processing apparatus described in claim 7, characterized in that the processor determines that the electronic documents are the same when predetermined items match as the degree of similarity.
The invention described in claim 9 is an information processing system comprising an image processing device that processes images, and an information processing device that performs processing to identify unfilled areas in electronic documents used when using the image processing device, the information processing device having a processor, the processor grouping previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, accepting the electronic documents, determining to which of the groupings the accepted electronic document corresponds, and, if the amount of difference between each image of an electronic document belonging to the determined group and the image of the accepted electronic document is within a predetermined range, identifying the areas where the difference existed as unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document.
The invention described in claim 10 is a program for causing a computer to realize a sorting function that sorts previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, a reception function that accepts electronic documents, a determination function that determines to which of the groups sorted by the sorting function the electronic document accepted by the reception function corresponds, and an identification function that, if the amount of difference between each image of an electronic document belonging to a group determined by the determination function and the image of the accepted electronic document is within a predetermined range, identifies the location where the difference exists as an unfilled area in the accepted electronic document.
The invention described in claim 11 is an information processing system comprising an image processing device that processes images, and an information processing device that performs processing to identify unfilled areas in electronic documents used when using the image processing device, the information processing device having a processor, the processor grouping previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, accepting the electronic documents, determining which of the groupings the accepted electronic document corresponds to, identifying unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the determined group, and when the electronic document is data for printing, marking the electronic document as an unfilled electronic document.
The invention described in claim 12 is a program for causing a computer to realize a sorting function that sorts previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, a reception function that accepts electronic documents, a determination function that determines to which of the groups sorted by the classification function the electronic document accepted by the reception function corresponds, an identification function that identifies unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the group determined by the determination function, and a sorting function that, when the electronic document is data for printing, treats the electronic document as an unfilled electronic document.
The invention described in claim 13 is an information processing system comprising an image processing device that processes images, and an information processing device that performs processing to identify unfilled areas in electronic documents used when using the image processing device, the information processing device having a processor, the processor grouping previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, further grouping the electronic documents for each step of a flow in which the same electronic document is transferred, accepting an electronic document, determining to which of the groupings the accepted electronic document corresponds, and identifying unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the determined group.
The invention described in claim 14 is a program for enabling a computer to realize a sorting function that groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, a sorting function that further groups the electronic documents for each step of a flow in which the same electronic document is transferred, a reception function that accepts electronic documents, a determination function that determines to which of the groups grouped by the sorting function the electronic document accepted by the reception function corresponds, and an identification function that identifies unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the group determined by the determination function.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus that can more easily and more accurately specify unfilled portions of an electronic document without having to register filled-in portions in advance.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a more appropriate difference amount can be set according to the type of electronic document.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accommodate cases where different users write in different places.
According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to provide an information processing device that can identify unfilled areas in an electronic document without having to register the areas to be filled in in advance, making it easier to identify fill-in areas in an electronic document that are areas to be filled in by the user.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it becomes easier to specify an area in an electronic document that has been filled in by a user.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the accuracy of group determination is further improved.
According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to provide an information processing device that can identify unfilled areas without having to register the filled-in areas of an electronic document in advance, and that can prevent an electronic document with unfilled areas from being passed on to the next step.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the accuracy of group determination is further improved.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system that can reduce the work of checking the items to be entered in an electronic document.
According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, a function can be realized by a computer that can more easily and more accurately specify unfilled portions of an electronic document without having to register filled-in portions in advance.
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system that can reduce the work of checking the items to be entered in an electronic document.
According to the invention of claim 12, it is possible to identify unfilled areas in an electronic document without having to register the areas to be filled in in advance, and a function can be realized by a computer that makes it easier to identify fill-in areas in an electronic document that are areas to be filled in by the user.
According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system that can reduce the work of checking the items to be entered in an electronic document.
According to the invention of claim 14, it is possible to identify unfilled areas in an electronic document without having to register the filled-in areas in advance, and a function can be realized by a computer to prevent an electronic document with unfilled areas from being passed on to the next step.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic operation of an information processing system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management server according to the first embodiment. 11A to 11C are diagrams comparing an image of an accepted electronic document with an image of an electronic document belonging to a determined group. 13A to 13C are diagrams comparing the state before and after a user makes a note. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a schematic operation of an information processing system according to a modified example of the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a management server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of group information. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a management server according to a second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Explanation of the overall information processing system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment is configured by connecting image forming apparatuses 10a and 10b, terminal devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, and a management server 30 via a network 40. When there is no need to distinguish between the image forming apparatuses 10a and 10b, they may hereinafter be simply referred to as the image forming apparatuses 10. When there is no need to distinguish between the terminal devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, they may hereinafter be simply referred to as the terminal devices 20.
Although FIG. 1 shows only two image forming apparatuses 10 and four terminal apparatuses 20, the number of each may be any number.

Image forming device 10 is an example of an image processing device that processes images. Image forming device 10 has a printer function. That is, image forming device 10 can form an image on a recording medium such as paper and output it as a print medium. In addition to the printer function, image forming device 10 also has other image processing functions such as a scanner function and a facsimile function.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 14, an operation panel 15, an image reading unit 16, an image forming unit 17, and a communication I/F 18. These elements exchange necessary data via a bus B.

The CPU 11 loads various programs stored in the ROM 13 etc. into the RAM 12 and executes them to realize the functions described below.

The RAM 12 is a memory used as a working memory for the CPU 11, etc.
The ROM 13 is a memory that stores various programs executed by the CPU 11 .
The HDD 14 is, for example, a magnetic disk device that stores image information read by the image reading unit 16 and image information used in image formation by the image forming unit 17 .
The operation panel 15 is, for example, a touch panel that displays various information and accepts operation input from the user. Therefore, the display mechanism has a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel that displays content (information content) as an image in a predetermined area, and has a function of detecting the position of a contact object, such as a human finger or a stylus pen, when the contact object touches the liquid crystal panel. In this embodiment, the touch panel is not particularly limited, and various types such as a resistive film type and a capacitive type can be used.

The image reading unit 16 reads the image recorded on the document. Here, the image reading unit 16 is, for example, a scanner, and may be of the CCD type, in which the reflected light of the light irradiated from the light source onto the document is reduced by a lens and received by a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices), or the CIS type, in which the reflected light of the light irradiated sequentially onto the document from an LED light source is received by a CIS (Contact Image Sensor).

The image forming unit 17 is an example of a printing mechanism that forms an image on a recording medium. Here, the image forming unit 17 may be, for example, a printer, and may be an electrophotographic type that transfers toner attached to a photoreceptor onto a recording medium such as paper to form an image, or an inkjet type that ejects ink onto a recording medium to form an image.
The communication I/F 18 transmits and receives various types of information to and from other devices via the network.

In this embodiment, the CPU 11, RAM 12, and ROM 13 constitute the control unit 100 that controls each of the mechanical parts of the image forming device 10 itself.

The terminal device 20 processes electronic documents by creating and authorizing them.
In this embodiment, an "electronic document" refers to character information or image information that has been digitized. This electronic document is not particularly limited in format or data structure, as long as it can be handled by the image forming apparatus 10, the terminal device 20, and the management server 30. Here, a user can write by hand on the electronic document displayed on the terminal device 20 or on a printout of the electronic document. An example of an electronic document in this embodiment is a form. Specific examples of forms include estimates, invoices, reports, approval documents, and application forms.

The terminal device 20 is, for example, a general-purpose personal computer (PC). The terminal device 20 runs various application software under the management of an OS (Operating System) to create, view, and otherwise perform electronic documents.

The management server 30 is an example of an information processing device, and is a server computer that manages the entire information processing system 1. For example, the management server 30 authenticates the user of the terminal device 20 and transmits an electronic document to the terminal device 20. It also receives an electronic document from the terminal device 20 and stores the received electronic document. Then, as will be described in detail later, the management server 30 performs a process to identify blank areas that the user did not fill in on the electronic document used when using the image forming device 10.

The terminal device 20 and the management server 30 each include a CPU as a computing means, a main memory as a storage means, and storage such as an HDD or SSD (Solid State Drive). Here, the CPU is an example of a processor, and executes various software such as an OS (operating system) and application software. The main memory is a storage area that stores various software and data used for executing the software, and the storage is a storage area that stores input data for the various software and output data from the various software.
Furthermore, the terminal device 20 and the management server 30 each include a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as a "communication I/F") for communicating with the outside, a display mechanism including a video memory, a display, etc., and input devices including a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a stylus pen, etc. This display mechanism functions as a display means for displaying an electronic document when the electronic document is viewed.

The network 40 is a communication means used for information communication between the image forming device 10, the terminal device 20, and the management server 30, and is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

<Outline of Operation of Information Processing System 1>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic operation of the information processing system 1. As shown in FIG.
First, user A, who operates terminal device 20a, creates an electronic document. At this time, user A can create the electronic document using application software such as word processing software or spreadsheet software. In other words, user A is the creator of the electronic document. User A then uploads the created electronic document to management server 30 (1A). At this time, user A may also scan the electronic document with image forming device 10a and use the captured image as the electronic document (1B).

The electronic document uploaded by user A is sent to management server 30 via network 40. Management server 30 then stores the electronic document and groups the electronic documents using a method described in detail below (1C).

The electronic document stored in the management server 30 is downloaded by user B, who operates the terminal device 20b, as required (1D).
User B then uses image forming apparatus 10b to print out the downloaded electronic document, producing a printed matter (1E), and writes necessary information by hand on the printed matter.
User B scans the printed matter on which the necessary information has been written using image forming device 10b, and imports the image of the printed matter on which the information has been written (1F). User B then uploads the imported image to management server 30 as an electronic document (1G).
At this time, the user B may display the downloaded electronic document on the terminal device 20b without printing it, and write on the displayed screen using an input device. At this time, the user B may write by hand using a mouse or a stylus pen.

The electronic document uploaded by user B is sent to the management server 30 via the network 40. The management server 30 then stores this electronic document and compares it with previously stored electronic documents using a method described in detail below. It then detects whether there are any blanks (1H). Note that an "blank" here refers to a portion of the electronic document that should have been filled in but that the user did not fill in.
If there are any blanks, a notification or warning is sent to the terminal device 20b (1I). User B fills in the blanks in the above-described manner, and uploads the corrected electronic document back to the management server 30 (1J). The corrected electronic document is then stored in the storage of the management server 30 (1K).

In the above example, user A created the electronic document, but the electronic document does not necessarily have to be created by the user using the information processing system 1. For example, an electronic document that is publicly available on the Internet may be used. This corresponds to the case where, for example, an application form handled by a government agency is downloaded from the government agency's website and used. In that case, the above-mentioned processes 1A and 1B are not necessary.

[First embodiment]
Next, the management server 30 will be described in detail. First, a first embodiment of the management server 30 will be described. In the first embodiment, the management server 30 identifies unfilled portions from within an electronic document filled in by a user.

<Description of Functional Configuration of Management Server 30>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the management server 30 according to the first embodiment.
In this figure, functions related to this embodiment are selected from among the various functions possessed by the management server 30.

The management server 30 includes a transmission/reception unit 31 that transmits and receives information to and from external devices, a distribution unit 32 that divides electronic documents into groups, a storage unit 33 that stores electronic documents, a determination unit 34 that determines the group to which the electronic document belongs, and an identification unit 35 that identifies unfilled areas of the electronic document.

The transmission/reception unit 31 transmits and receives electronic documents to and from the terminal device 20. In other words, the transmission/reception unit 31 is an example of a reception unit that receives electronic documents. The transmission/reception unit 31 corresponds to, for example, a communication I/F or a CPU.

The sorting unit 32 groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents and stores them in the storage unit 33. That is, the sorting unit 32 pre-sorts previously processed electronic documents into multiple groups. Electronic documents belonging to each of the multiple groups are, for example, electronic documents based on the same form. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 3, an electronic document created by user A and an electronic document in which user B has written necessary information based on this electronic document are grouped into the same group. In contrast, if the forms are different, they are grouped into different groups.

The range of electronic documents that the sorting unit 32 targets for grouping can also be predefined. For example, it can be all electronic documents accepted by the management server 30. It can also be the range of electronic documents handled by a predefined department or user. It can also be electronic documents generated by scanning with a predefined image forming device 10. In this case, the image forming device 10 may be one or multiple. In addition to scan data generated by scanning with the image forming device 10, the electronic documents can also include print data to be printed by the image forming device 10.

The storage unit 33 stores the electronic documents grouped by the sorting unit 32. The storage unit 33 may also store the history of creation and submission of the electronic documents. The storage unit 33 corresponds to, for example, a main memory or a storage.
The storage unit 33 can also assign a group ID to each group. This allows the stored electronic documents to be managed for each group. The group ID is stored as group information together with the electronic document. In addition, other information can also be stored as group information, as will be described in detail later.

The determination unit 34 determines to which of the groups divided by the allocation unit 32 the electronic document accepted by the transmission/reception unit 31 corresponds. That is, when the transmission/reception unit 31 accepts an electronic document, the determination unit 34 determines to which of the groups previously divided by the allocation unit 32 the electronic document belongs.

The determining unit 34 can use existing matching determination techniques to determine the similarity between the electronic documents. For example, the determining unit 34 makes the determination based on the similarity between the formats of the electronic documents.
Specifically, there is a method for judging the similarity of the positions of tables, drawings, and text. If the positions of the tables, drawings, and text are approximately the same, it is judged that the electronic documents belong to the same group. There is also a method for judging the similarity based on the ruled lines of tables. That is, the ruled lines written in the electronic document are extracted. If the number of intersections of these ruled lines are the same and the coordinates of the intersections in the electronic documents are approximately the same, it is judged that the electronic documents belong to the same group.

Furthermore, a predetermined portion of the electronic document may be subjected to OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing, and if the character strings at this portion are nearly identical, it may be determined that the electronic documents belong to the same group. This predetermined portion may be, for example, the top or upper right corner of the electronic document, and a portion containing predetermined items such as "quotation," "invoice," "report," "approval document," and "application form" may be selected.

At this time, the determination unit 34 judges the similarity between the accepted electronic document and the previously processed electronic document. If the similarity is high, it is determined that the accepted electronic document and the previously processed electronic document belong to the same group. The previously processed electronic document used to judge the similarity can be a representative one of the multiple electronic documents belonging to each group. Also, it may be a comparison with some or all of the multiple electronic documents.

The determination unit 34 uses, for example, image differences to determine the degree of similarity. That is, an image of the difference between the image of the accepted electronic document and the image of an electronic document previously processed is created. From these images, areas that differ from each other are extracted. When the amount of difference is within a predetermined range, the similarity is high, and it is determined that these electronic documents belong to the same group. On the other hand, when the amount of difference is outside the predetermined range, it is determined that these electronic documents belong to different groups.

The amount of difference is, for example, the number of pixels in the different locations, or the ratio of the number of pixels in the different locations to the total number of pixels. For example, if the ratio of the number of pixels as the amount of difference is within ±5%, the determination unit 34 determines that these electronic documents belong to the same group. If it is outside this range, that is, if the ratio of the number of pixels as the amount of difference is below -5% or exceeds 5%, the determination unit 34 determines that these electronic documents belong to different groups.
If multiple groups satisfy this condition, the determination unit 34 can select the group with the difference amount closest to 0%. The determination unit 34 can also select a group based on whether or not predetermined items in the electronic documents match. These items are, for example, words that indicate the type of electronic document, and specifically, words such as "quotation,""invoice,""report,""request,""application," etc.

When the electronic document is data for printing, the determination unit 34 can further use the information of the file name given to the electronic document to determine which group the electronic document corresponds to. For example, when the electronic document is data for printing, if the original electronic document is the same, the same or similar file name is often given. For example, the file names are "○×△", "○×△1", "○×△Revised", "○×△Final Version", etc. In this case, the "○×△" part is common. Therefore, based on this, the determination unit 34 can find a group in which an electronic document with a file name including "○×△" exists, and can estimate that the accepted electronic document corresponds to this group. In contrast, when an electronic document is generated by a user scanning it, the image forming device 10 often automatically gives the file name. The automatically given file name is often significantly different from the file name of the original electronic document. For example, the file name may be a date + time. Therefore, when the electronic document is data for printing, the file name information of the electronic document can be used to determine which group the electronic document corresponds to.

The identifying unit 35 identifies unfilled portions in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the group determined by the determining unit 34 .
As this comparison, the identification unit 35 identifies an unfilled portion based on the difference between each image of the electronic document belonging to the group determined by the determination unit 34 and the image of the accepted electronic document. That is, a difference between the image of the accepted electronic document and each image of the electronic document belonging to the determined group is created. For this difference, different areas are extracted from these images. Then, for the accepted electronic document, an area where the difference is negative is determined as an unfilled portion. Here, "the difference is negative" means that there is a description in the past electronic document but there is no description in the accepted electronic document. In other words, if there is an unfilled portion in the accepted electronic document, this portion can be identified by detecting a negative difference. In practice, if the amount of difference is within a predetermined range, the identification unit 35 determines the portion where the difference exists as an unfilled portion. For example, the identification unit 35 determines a portion where the amount of difference X is, for example, -5%≦X≦0% as an unfilled portion. Conversely, if there is no description in the past electronic document but there is a description in the accepted electronic document, it can be said that "the difference is positive." This applies, for example, when an electronic document is changed and the number of items to be described increases.

5A to 5C are diagrams comparing images of accepted electronic documents with images of electronic documents belonging to a determined group.
Of these, Fig. 5(a) is an image of the accepted electronic document, Fig. 5(b) is an image of the electronic document belonging to the determined group, and Fig. 5(c) shows an unfilled area extracted based on the images in Fig. 5(a) and 5(b).
As shown in Fig. 5(a), the accepted electronic document contains an unfilled portion M1 and a filled-in portion K1 filled in by the user. In Fig. 5(b), the unfilled portion M1 is filled in as a filled-in portion K2. In Fig. 5(b), the filled-in portion K1 in Fig. 5(a) is filled in in the same manner and is shown as a filled-in portion K3. By calculating the difference between these images, the unfilled portion M1 in Fig. 5(a) is extracted as an area where the difference is negative, as shown in Fig. 5(c). The unfilled portion M1 can be presented to the user, for example, by being surrounded by a frame and displayed in red or highlighted.

Furthermore, when the electronic document is data for printing, the identification unit 35 can determine that the electronic document is blank. On the other hand, when the electronic document is not data for printing, the identification unit 35 can determine that the electronic document is a filled-in electronic document. Print data is, for example, an electronic document created with application software such as word processing software or spreadsheet software. When the electronic document is not data for printing, it is, for example, an electronic document that is scan data generated by scanning with the image forming device 10 or photo data captured with a camera.

In other words, when an electronic document is data for printing, it is often an electronic document before the user has written the necessary information. In the example described above in FIG. 3, this corresponds to an electronic document created by user A, and this electronic document is printed by user B using image forming device 10b. In contrast, an electronic document generated by scanning with image forming device 10 is often an electronic document after the user has written the necessary information. In the example described above in FIG. 3, this corresponds to an electronic document generated by user B scanning a printout on which the necessary information has been written, using image forming device 10b.

6A to 6C are diagrams comparing the state before and after a user writes something.
Of these, Fig. 6(a) is an image of print data before the user writes on it, Fig. 6(b) is an image of scan data after the user writes on it, and Fig. 6(c) is an image of the difference between the images in Fig. 6(a) and Fig. 6(b).
Here, as shown in Fig. 6(a), the image of the print data occupies the range of area R1. Then, as shown in Fig. 6(b), the user writes in writing area R2. The image of the difference between these images is as shown in Fig. 6(c), and the user's writing area R2 is extracted.

In this case, when an electronic document is accepted, the identifying unit 35 first determines the difference between the print data and the accepted electronic document. The identifying unit 35 then determines that the portion where there is a difference between the print data and the accepted electronic document is the portion filled in by the user. This allows the identifying unit 35 to identify the writing area R2 in which the user is to fill in the document. Then, by performing the process described with reference to FIG. 5 thereafter, the accuracy of identifying the unfilled portions is improved.
The allocating unit 32, the determining unit 34, and the identifying unit 35 correspond to, for example, a CPU.

<Modification>
Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the information processing system 1 in the modified example of the first embodiment.
First, user A who operates the terminal device 20a creates an electronic document, and then user A submits the created electronic document (2A).

The electronic document is sent to the management server 30. The management server 30 then sends the electronic document to other users in a predetermined order. In this case, the electronic document is sent to user B (2B). User B operates terminal device 20b to inspect the electronic document created by user A. In other words, user B is the inspector of the electronic document. Then, if there are no problems with the contents of the electronic document, user B gives approval.

If the electronic document is approved by user B, it is sent to management server 30. Furthermore, management server 30 sends the electronic document to user C (2C). User C operates terminal device 20c and further approves the electronic document that user B has reviewed. In other words, this user C is the approver of the electronic document. Then, if there is no problem with the contents of the electronic document, user C gives approval.

If the electronic document is approved by user C, the electronic document is sent to management server 30. Furthermore, management server 30 sends the electronic document to user D (2D). User D operates terminal device 20d and gives final approval to the electronic document approved by user C. In other words, this user D is the final approver of the electronic document. Then, if there are no problems with the contents of the electronic document, user D gives approval.

If the electronic document is approved by user D, the electronic document is sent to management server 30 and stored in the storage of management server 30 (2E).
In this manner, here, the electronic document is handed over by users A to D. This flow includes four steps 2A to 2D in which users A to D process the electronic document.
The electronic document created and approved by each user may be scan data scanned by the image forming device 10 or may be data to be printed.

In this embodiment, the management server 30 identifies any blank areas in the electronic documents sent by each of user B, user C, and user D. This allows the management server 30 to check each step of the flow where the same electronic document is handed over, and can prevent electronic documents with blank areas from being passed on to the next step.

In this case, the sorting unit 32 must group the electronic documents for each step of the flow where the same electronic document is handed over. However, in this case, the amount of writing added to each electronic document at each step may be small. For example, the only difference may be whether or not User B, User C, and User D affixed their seals when granting authorization.

In this case, when the determining unit 34 determines the group, the determining unit 34 changes the amount of difference depending on the type of electronic document. That is, the determining unit 34 sets the amount of difference for determining whether or not electronic documents transferred by such a flow belong to the same group to be small. This makes it possible to determine the group even if the only difference is whether or not a seal was affixed when authorizing. In addition, the determining unit 34 can determine that the electronic documents are the same when predetermined items match as the similarity. For example, since they are based on the same electronic document, the wordings such as "quotation", "invoice", "report", "request form", and "application form" do not change. Therefore, the determining unit 34 can determine the group by looking at these items. However, in this case, the administrator who manages the management server 30 needs to set the items in advance.
The above-described modified example is particularly effective when the number of types of electronic documents to be handled is small.

The determination unit 34 may also change the amount of difference for electronic documents in which the areas to be filled out change. An electronic document in which the areas to be filled out change is one in which the areas to be filled out differ depending on the state of the user. For example, this is an electronic document in which entries are made in the parents section. In this case, both the father and mother may be entered, but in the case of a single parent, only one may be entered. In this case, the areas to be filled out and the amount to be filled out change. By setting the amount of difference to a more appropriate amount for such electronic documents as well, the determination unit 34 can accurately determine which group the accepted electronic document corresponds to.

<Explanation of Operation of Management Server 30>
Next, the operation of the management server 30 in the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the management server 30 in the first embodiment.
First, the transmitting/receiving unit 31 accepts an electronic document from the terminal device 20 (step 101).
Next, the determination unit 34 determines to which group the electronic document accepted by the transmission/reception unit 31 belongs (step 102). As described above, this is determined by judging the degree of similarity from the difference between the image of the accepted electronic document and the image of an electronic document belonging to a group, or from the file name of the electronic document.

The identification unit 35 then identifies unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document (step 103). As described above, this is done by determining as an unfilled area any area where a negative difference occurs between the image of the accepted electronic document and the image of each electronic document belonging to the group determined by the determination unit 34.

Then, the identifying unit 35 judges whether or not there is any blank space (step 104).
As a result, if there is no blank space (No in step 104), the sorting unit 32 sorts the received electronic document into the group determined by the determination unit 34, and stores the group in the storage unit 33 (step 105). At this time, the sorting unit 32 also stores the above-mentioned group ID and the like as group information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of group information.
The group information shown in the figure is for one group, and in reality, there are as many pieces of group information as there are groups.
This group information includes a group ID, the number of intersections, the OCR results, the coordinates of the intersections, the number of saved data, saved data 1 to n, and the coordinates of the writing area.
Among these, the number of intersections is the number of intersections of the ruled lines described above. Furthermore, the coordinates of the intersections are the coordinates of the intersections of the ruled lines. Furthermore, the OCR results are the results of OCR of a predetermined portion in the above-mentioned electronic document, for example, items such as an estimate or an invoice. Furthermore, the number of saved data is the number of electronic documents belonging to this group. Furthermore, the saved data 1 to n are data of electronic documents. Here, n electronic documents belong to the group. Note that the saved data 1 to n may be saved as included in the group information, or may be saved separately from the group information. Furthermore, the writing area coordinates are the coordinates of the writing area R2 (see FIG. 6) in these electronic documents, and are the coordinates of the portion where the user writes.

8, if there are any unfilled areas in step 104 (Yes in step 104), a warning is issued to the terminal device 20 (step 106). This warning is to notify the user of the unfilled areas. The warning can be issued, for example, by displaying the electronic document and further displaying the unfilled areas in red or by surrounding them with a red frame.
Then, the transmitting/receiving unit 31 judges whether the corrected electronic document has been accepted (step 107).
As a result, if it has not been accepted (No in step 107 ), the process returns to step 106 .
On the other hand, if it is accepted (Yes in step 107 ), the process returns to step 103 .

When the management server 30 performs these operations, the allocation unit 32 allocates the accepted electronic document to a group determined by the determination unit 34, and the document is stored in the storage unit 33. Therefore, when an electronic document is accepted, the number of electronic documents belonging to any group increases by one. In this way, the processed electronic documents are stored after being grouped. Note that if the accepted electronic document is a new electronic document that is different from past electronic documents, the allocation unit 32 creates a new group and allocates the document.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the management server 30 will be described. In the second embodiment, the management server 30 not only identifies the portions of the accepted electronic document h that have not been filled in by the user, but also detects whether the electronic document is a revised version.

<Description of Functional Configuration of Management Server 30>
An example of the functional configuration of the management server 30 in the second embodiment is the same as that in Fig. 4. That is, the management server 30 includes a transmission/reception unit 31, a distribution unit 32, a storage unit 33, a determination unit 34, and an identification unit 35. Among these, the functions of the transmission/reception unit 31, the distribution unit 32, the storage unit 33, and the identification unit 35 are the same as those in the first embodiment. Meanwhile, the determination unit 34 includes the functions of the second embodiment in addition to the functions of the first embodiment. Therefore, the following description will be centered on the determination unit 34.

As in the first embodiment, the determining unit 34 determines to which of the groups divided by the sorting unit 32 the received electronic document belongs.
In addition, in the second embodiment, the determination unit 34 determines that the accepted electronic document is a modified version of an electronic document belonging to the determined group, which has been partially modified. Here, a "modified version" is an electronic document in which a portion of the original electronic document has been modified. In other words, a "modified version" is an electronic document in which minor changes have been made to the original electronic document.

In other words, small changes to electronic documents occur on a daily basis. For example, invoices and estimates may have changes to the date, the person placing the order, the name of the person in charge, or the company's address. Another example would be a nursery school admission application form, where the system changes with the start of a new fiscal year, or a section on newly established nursery schools is added. Another example would be a financial institution changing its format due to a revision of the law. An example of this would be the addition of a new signature section to enhance security in order to prevent international money laundering. Another example would be a contract, where the wording of the terms and conditions is changed.

In this way, if an electronic document is modified, when the determination unit 34 determines a group, the similarity of another group may be higher than the similarity of the group of the original electronic document. Then, the determination unit 34 may determine that the modified version belongs to a different group from the group of the original electronic document before the modification. Therefore, if it is possible to determine whether or not a received electronic document is a modified version, the accuracy of grouping can be further improved.
Therefore, in the second embodiment, the determining unit 34 determines whether the received electronic document is a modified version.
Specifically, the determination unit 34 obtains the difference between the image of each of the electronic documents belonging to the determined group and the image of the accepted electronic document, as in the first embodiment, and then determines whether the accepted electronic document is a modified version based on the difference.

A more specific example of this matter will be described below.
The determining unit 34 estimates that the accepted electronic document is a revised version when the trend of the differences is different from the conventional one. In other words, the determining unit 34 estimates that the accepted electronic document is a revised version when the differences generated in the accepted electronic document have changed in a predetermined manner in comparison with the differences generated in the electronic documents that belong to the group and have been processed in the past.
"When the difference changes in a predetermined way" refers to, for example, the following cases.

(Change in the amount of difference)
For example, if the difference in the conventional electronic document is -2% and the difference in the accepted electronic document is -4%, the difference has changed. This occurs, for example, when a revised version is accepted in which the number of fields to be filled in has been increased. An example of an increase in the number of fields would be when there are more approvers.

(Positive/negative change in the amount of difference)
For example, if the amount of difference in the conventional electronic document is -2% and the amount of difference in the accepted electronic document is 2%, the sign of the difference changes from negative to positive. This occurs, for example, when a modified version in which the user's options have been increased is accepted. An example of an increase in the user's options is when the number of selectable nursery schools is increased in the modified version of a nursery school admission application form compared to the original electronic document.

(Changes in the areas where differences occurred)
This is the case when the location where the difference occurs in the accepted electronic document has changed compared to the location where the difference occurs in the conventional electronic document, for example, when the location where the seal is to be pressed has moved.
In addition, the type of electronic document can be clearly identified by items such as an invoice or estimate, and there is no difference in this regard, but in the modified version, changes occur in other parts.
In addition, if a large positive difference occurs only in some areas, it means that matters that were not present in the previous electronic document have been added to the accepted electronic document. For example, this would occur if the contract is the same except for the terms and conditions, but the revised version includes new terms and conditions that need to be confirmed.

(Color change)
When comparing the accepted electronic document with a conventional electronic document, there may be differences when considering the color, but when binarized to black and white, there may be no differences. This means that the color has changed in the modified version. For example, this applies when the color of a seal is changed from red to blue in the modified version.

Next, the determining unit 34 performs a predetermined determination on the electronic document presumed to be a revised version, and determines whether or not the received electronic document is a revised version.
The "predetermined judgment" is that the determination unit 34 finds a feature point of the difference and determines that the image is a modified version when the feature point satisfies a predetermined condition. This is, for example, in the following cases.
(Inquiries to users)
If the user responds that the electronic document is a revised version, the determination unit 34 determines that the electronic document is a revised version. At this time, the determination unit 34 may display the conventional electronic document and the received electronic document side by side, for example, and present the user with the location where the difference has occurred. This allows the user to determine whether the electronic document is a revised version even if the person in charge has changed. In this case, the characteristic point of the difference is the user's response to the location where the difference has occurred, and the determination unit 34 determines that the electronic document is a revised version when the user responds that the electronic document is a revised version.

(amount of difference)
When the amount of difference in the conventional electronic document is, for example, -2%, and the amount of difference in the accepted electronic document is within ±1% of the amount of difference in the conventional electronic document, which is -2% (i.e., -1% or less and -3% or more), the determining unit 34 determines that the accepted electronic document is a modified version. In this case, the characteristic point of the difference is the amount of difference, and the determining unit 34 determines that the accepted electronic document is a modified version when the amount of difference is within a predetermined range. Here, the amount of difference that serves as the reference is the amount of difference in the conventional electronic document, but the reference may also be 0%, which means that there is no difference.

(Application period)
When a predetermined number or more of electronic documents having a similar amount of difference are received within a predetermined period, the determining unit 34 determines that these are modified versions. In this case, the characteristic points of the difference are the time when the similar difference occurred, the amount of the difference, and the number of received electronic documents. In addition, in this case, the characteristic points are an example of a case where the received multiple electronic documents are in the same group and have similar differences. Then, when a predetermined number or more of electronic documents having an amount of difference within a predetermined range are received within a predetermined period, the determining unit 34 determines that these are modified versions.

(Acceptance from multiple people)
When electronic documents having a similar amount of difference are received from multiple users, the determining unit 34 determines that the document is a revised version. In this case, the feature points of the difference are the number of users and the amount of difference. In this case, the feature points are an example of a case where the received electronic documents are from the same group and have similar differences. Then, when electronic documents having an amount of difference within a predetermined range are received from multiple users, the determining unit 34 determines that the documents are revised versions.

(Confirmation of changes)
When a change is confirmed on the Internet, a database, etc. for the part where the difference has occurred, the determining unit 34 judges it to be a revised version. For example, an address change due to a relocation of a head office or a branch office can be confirmed by an inquiry to the Internet, a database, etc. In this case, the characteristic point of the difference is that a change is confirmed for the part where the difference has occurred, and the determining unit 34 determines that it is a revised version when a change is confirmed for the part where the difference has occurred.

(Changed object)
If the portion where the difference occurs is a predetermined type of change, such as a change to the form of the electronic document or the addition of numbers, the determination unit 34 determines that it is a modified version. In this case, the characteristic point of the difference is that the portion where the difference occurs is of a predetermined type. For example, the determination unit 34 distinguishes between a typed portion and a handwritten portion of the electronic document, and if the portion where the difference occurs is a typed portion, it determines that it is a modified version. That is, the determination unit 34 finds characteristic points by distinguishing between an entry portion, which is a portion where the user writes, and other portions. In this case, in anticipation of the registration of a modified version, the user may create an instruction or mode in advance indicating that the form or numbers may be changed or added.

(Changes other than those specified in advance)
If the location where the difference has occurred is other than an item such as an estimate, invoice, report, request form, or application form, the determination unit 34 determines that it is a modified version. In this case, the characteristic point of the difference is that the location where the difference has occurred is other than a predetermined item. The characteristic point is an example of a case where multiple accepted electronic documents are in the same group and the predetermined part has not been changed. The determination unit 34 identifies the predetermined item, and if the location where the difference has occurred is other than this, it determines that it is a modified version.

When there are multiple groups corresponding to the received electronic document, the determination unit 34 selects the group that is determined to be a modified version. When both are determined to be modified versions, or when both are determined to be non-modified versions, the determination unit 34 can select the group with the difference amount closest to 0%.

The determination unit 34 may also divide the electronic document into predetermined sections and compare each section to determine whether it is a revised version. In other words, if the method of calculating the above difference assumes that the overall difference is taken, the overall difference may appear to be large. For example, if the number of lines in a written document has changed, this may appear to be a small difference when viewed in part, but the image may be shifted, resulting in a large difference. In other words, even a minor change may result in a large difference.

To prevent this, the determination unit 34 separates the sections using predetermined symbols in the electronic document. These symbols are, for example, "I," "II," "III," (1), (2), and (3) that indicate units, a space at the beginning of a paragraph, or table lines. In other words, the determination unit 34 separates the sections using these symbols as markers. The determination unit 34 then extracts the differences for each section. If the number of sections is the same but differences appear in only some of the sections, the electronic document can be determined to be a revised version.

<Explanation of Operation of Management Server 30>
Next, the operation of the management server 30 in the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the management server 30 in the second embodiment.
Of these, steps 201 and 202 are similar to steps 101 and 102 in FIG. 8, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.
After step 203, the determination unit 34 judges whether the difference occurring in the accepted electronic document has undergone a predetermined change (step 203). The predetermined change corresponds to the amount of the difference or the location where the difference has occurred in the electronic document, as described above.
As a result, if the difference has changed in a predetermined manner (Yes in step 203), the determination unit 34 finds a feature of the difference and determines whether or not this feature satisfies a predetermined condition (step 204). The feature of the difference corresponds to the amount of the difference and the time of acceptance described above.
If the feature points satisfy a predetermined condition (Yes in step 204), the determining unit 34 determines that the received electronic document is a revised version (step 205).
On the other hand, if the difference does not change as predetermined (No in step 203) and if the feature points do not satisfy the predetermined conditions (No in step 204), the determination unit 34 determines that the accepted electronic document is not a modified version (step 206).

The next steps 207 to 211 are the same as steps 103 to 107 in FIG. 8. However, in step 209, the sorting unit 32 sorts the received electronic document into groups and stores them in the storage unit 33, and also stores information indicating that the received electronic document is a revised version as group information.

In the first embodiment, it is possible to provide an information processing device or the like that can identify blank areas without having to register blank areas of an electronic document in advance. This reduces the burden on the administrator who manages the information processing system 1. Also, it is possible to have the user fill in blank areas. Furthermore, by having the user fill in blank areas and eliminating blank areas, the accuracy of grouping is further improved.
In addition, in the second embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not the received electronic document is a modified version, which further improves the accuracy of grouping.

In the above example, the management server 30 identifies blank areas and distinguishes between modified versions, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the terminal device 20 may perform the above. Furthermore, the image forming device 10 may perform the above.
Although not mentioned in the above example, the management server 30 may identify the unfilled areas and not only have the user correct them, but may also subsequently perform other processes, such as a process specified by the user. An example of such other processes is, for example, transferring the scanned electronic document to another device. Also, the management server 30 may request the user to confirm the unfilled areas, and if the user determines that the unfilled areas are not items to be filled in, may not treat the unfilled areas as such.

In addition, the sorting unit 32 can extract the writing area R2 (see FIG. 6) from within a group, and if there is an electronic document that is different from the others, it can delete this electronic document from the group and sort it into a new group, thereby further improving the accuracy of grouping.
Furthermore, when many electronic documents are stored in a group and the writing areas R2 in the electronic documents become clearer, the identification unit 35 may identify unfilled areas using the writing area coordinates shown in Fig. 9. That is, since the writing area coordinates indicate the coordinates of the area where the user will write, if there is no writing in this area, it is identified as an unfilled area.
Then, the user may be asked to confirm the writing area R2, so that the accuracy of the writing area R2 can be improved.

<Program Description>
The processes performed by the management server 30 of the present embodiment described above are prepared as a program such as software, and are realized by the cooperation of software and hardware resources.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, the program that executes the processing performed by the management server 30 can also be considered as a program that causes a computer to realize a sorting function that groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, a reception function that accepts electronic documents, a determination function that determines to which group, grouped by the sorting function, the electronic document accepted by the reception function corresponds, and an identification function that identifies unfilled areas in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents that belong to the group determined by the determination function.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the program that executes the processing performed by the management server 30 can also be considered as a program that causes a computer to realize a sorting function that groups previously processed electronic documents based on the similarity of the electronic documents, a determination function that determines to which group the accepted electronic document corresponds, resulting from the sorting function, and determines that an electronic document belonging to a group is a partially modified version, and an identification function that identifies unfilled portions of the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with an electronic document belonging to the determined group.

The program for implementing this embodiment can be provided not only by communication means, but also by storing it on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It is clear from the claims that the technical scope of the present invention also includes various modifications or improvements to the above embodiment.

1...information processing system, 10...image forming device, 20...terminal device, 30...management server, 31...transmitting/receiving unit, 32...distributing unit, 33...storing unit, 34...determining unit, 35...identifying unit, M1...blank area

Claims (14)

A processor is provided.
The processor,
Group previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity,
Accepts electronic documents,
determining to which of the groupings the received electronic document corresponds;
An information processing device characterized in that, when the amount of difference between each image of an electronic document belonging to a determined group and an image of an accepted electronic document is within a predetermined range, the area where the difference exists is identified as an unfilled area in the accepted electronic document. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processor changes the amount of the difference depending on the type of electronic document. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the processor changes the amount of difference for electronic documents in which the portion to be filled out changes. A processor is provided.
The processor,
Group previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity,
Accepts electronic documents,
determining to which of the groupings the received electronic document corresponds;
identifying blanks in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the determined group;
13. An information processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit that converts an electronic document into a blank electronic document when the electronic document is data for printing; The information processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that the processor determines that the electronic document is an electronic document containing entries when the electronic document is not print data, and determines that the user has entered entries in areas where there is a difference between the image based on the print data and the image of the accepted electronic document. The information processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that, when the electronic document is data to be printed, the processor further uses information on the file name given to the electronic document to group the electronic document. A processor is provided.
The processor,
Group previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity,
Group the electronic documents further for each step in the flow where the same electronic documents are handed over,
Accepts electronic documents,
determining to which of the groupings the received electronic document corresponds;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a processor for processing a received electronic document; a processor for processing the received electronic document; The information processing device according to claim 7, characterized in that the processor determines that the electronic documents are the same when predetermined items match as the similarity. an image processing device that processes images;
an information processing device that performs processing to identify blank areas that a user has not filled in with respect to an electronic document used when the image processing device is used;
Equipped with
The information processing device includes a processor,
The processor,
Group previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity,
Accepts electronic documents,
determining to which of the groupings the received electronic document corresponds;
An information processing system characterized in that, when the amount of difference between each image of an electronic document belonging to a determined group and an image of an accepted electronic document is within a predetermined range, the area where the difference exists is identified as an unfilled area in the accepted electronic document. On the computer,
A sorting function that groups previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity;
A reception function for receiving electronic documents;
a determination function for determining to which of the groups divided by the sorting function an electronic document accepted by the accepting function corresponds;
a specifying function for specifying, when an amount of difference between each image of the electronic document belonging to the group determined by the determining function and an image of the accepted electronic document is within a predetermined range, a portion where the difference exists as an unfilled portion in the accepted electronic document;
A program to achieve this. an image processing device that processes images;
an information processing device that performs processing to identify blank areas that a user has not filled in with respect to an electronic document used when the image processing device is used;
Equipped with
The information processing device includes a processor,
The processor,
Group previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity,
Accepts electronic documents,
determining to which of the groupings the received electronic document corresponds;
identifying blanks in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the determined group;
An information processing system characterized in that, when the electronic document is data for printing, the electronic document is treated as a blank document. On the computer,
A sorting function that groups previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity;
A reception function for receiving electronic documents;
a determination function for determining to which of the groups divided by the sorting function an electronic document accepted by the accepting function corresponds;
a identifying function for identifying blanks in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the group determined by the determining function;
A function for sorting electronic documents that are to be printed and then treated as blank electronic documents;
A program to achieve this. an image processing device that processes images;
an information processing device that performs processing to identify blank areas that a user has not filled in with respect to an electronic document used when the image processing device is used;
Equipped with
The information processing device includes a processor,
The processor,
Group previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity,
Group the electronic documents further for each step in the flow where the same electronic documents are handed over,
Accepts electronic documents,
determining to which of the groupings the received electronic document corresponds;
An information processing system comprising: a processing unit for processing a received electronic document; a processing unit for processing a received electronic document; On the computer,
A sorting function that groups previously processed electronic documents based on their similarity;
A sorting function that further groups electronic documents according to the steps of the flow where the same electronic documents are handed over;
A reception function for receiving electronic documents;
a determination function for determining to which of the groups divided by the sorting function an electronic document accepted by the accepting function corresponds;
a identifying function for identifying blanks in the accepted electronic document by comparing the accepted electronic document with electronic documents belonging to the group determined by the determining function;
A program to achieve this.

Images