DOCUMENT PROCESSING SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20100079781A1
• Filed: 09/17/2009
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masahito
• Application Number:
  US12/562,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20100079781A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.130
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2179 Interfaces allowing access to a plurality of users, e.g. connection to electronic image libraries
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2187 with image input from a plurality of different locations or from a non-central location, e.g. from one or more users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2191 for simultaneous, independent access by a plurality of different users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32112 in a separate computer file, document page or paper sheet, e.g. a fax cover sheet H04N1/32122 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3232 of a page, copy or picture number
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3242 of processing required or performed, e.g. for reproduction or before recording H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3243 of type information, e.g. handwritten or text document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3249 data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/325 Modified version of the image, e.g. part of the image, image reduced in size or resolution, thumbnail or screennail
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3254 Orientation, e.g. landscape or portrait; Location or order of the image data, e.g. in memory

Abstract

This invention is directed to a document processing system and control method thereof. The system includes a document database for storing a plurality of items of document data. When scanned image data or facsimile-received image data is input, document data related to the input image data is specified among the plurality of items of document data, based on metadata contained in each document data, and the importance of the specified related document data is updated.

Claims

1. A document processing system comprising:

a storage unit that stores a plurality of items of document data each containing metadata pertaining to a content of each item of document data;

an input unit that inputs image data;

a related document specifying unit that specifies document data related to the image data input by the input unit among the plurality of items of document data stored in the storage unit, based on the metadata contained in each item of document data; and

an update unit that updates an importance of the related document data specified by the related document specifying unit in response to input of the image data by the input unit.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines an importance of the image data input by the input unit,

wherein the update unit updates the importance of the related document data in accordance with the importance of the image data determined by the determination unit.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines the importance of the image data in accordance with a content of input processing executed by the input unit.

4. The system according to claim 2, further comprising an output unit that outputs the image data input by the input unit,

wherein the determination unit determines the importance of the image data in accordance with a content of output processing executed by the output unit.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the output processing executed by the output unit includes at least one of transmission processing to transmit the input image data to an external apparatus, save processing to save the input image data in a predetermined area in the document processing system, and print processing to print the input image data.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a reading unit that reads an image on a document to generate image data based on the image,

wherein the input unit inputs the image data generated by the reading unit.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the update unit updates the importance of the related document data by adding a value representing an importance of the image data input by the input unit to a value representing the importance of the related document data.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the related document specifying unit determines similarity between the input image data and each document data stored in the storage unit, and specifies the related document data based on the determined similarity.

9. A method of controlling a document processing system having a storage unit which stores a plurality of document data each containing metadata pertaining to a content of each document data, the method comprising the steps of:

inputting image data;

specifying document data related to the image data input in the inputting step among the plurality of items of document data stored in the storage unit, based on the metadata contained in each item of document data; and

updating an importance of the related document data specified in the specifying step in response to input of the image data in the inputting step.

10. A program for causing a computer to execute a document processing system control method defined in claim 9.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a document processing system control method defined in claim 9.