JP7173106B2 - Information processing system, information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

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

In recent years, a wide variety of external services have come to be provided by cloud computing and the like. For example, an external service is known that stores electronic data specified by a user in an external storage.

Further, for example, a technique is known in which image data obtained by scanning a document with an image forming apparatus is stored in an external storage (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100001). As described above, there has been conventionally known a technique of performing processing in cooperation with an image forming apparatus and an external service.

However, in the conventional technology described above, it is necessary to develop an application installed in the image forming apparatus in order to perform processing in cooperation with an external service. In addition, when a certain external service provides unique functions (functions not provided by other external services), it is necessary to develop modules, plug-ins, etc. to use such unique functions. There is Therefore, in some cases, the number of man-hours required for development such as addition or correction of applications installed in the image forming apparatus becomes large.

An embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to support the development of applications for performing processing in cooperation with external services.

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides an information processing system including one or more information processing devices, comprising: a first storage means for storing and controlling information related to the series of processes, a first component registered by a user, and a second pre-installed in the information processing system for each application executed in combination with a second storage means for controlling storage of component information including information relating to a component ; receiving registration of the first component and storing the received information relating to the first component in the second storage means as the component information; and information identifying the application when information identifying the application and information regarding electronic data are received from one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing system. a process execution means for executing a series of processes based on the information on the series of processes corresponding to the application identified by using the electronic data specified by the information on the electronic data, wherein the process execution means is and executing the series of processes using the electronic data by combining the first component and the second component based on the information on the series of processes corresponding to the application and the component information.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to support the development of applications for performing processing in cooperation with external services.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration|structure of an example of the information processing system which concerns on 1st embodiment. 1 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of a service providing system and a PC terminal according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the processing block of an example of the information processing system which concerns on 1st embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of common I/F and specific I/F; It is a figure which shows an example of a data definition. It is a figure which shows an example of layout information. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of a process. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of overall processing of the scan delivery service according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an application screen for using the scan delivery service; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing processing blocks of an example of a logic processing unit according to the first embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the component information table which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a type|mold conversion table. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of flow execution processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of component addition, update, and deletion processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a component editing screen, a component adding screen, and a component updating screen; It is a figure which shows an example of a processing block of the logic processing part which concerns on 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the component information table which concerns on 2nd embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of flow execution processing according to the second embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of a processing block of the logic processing part which concerns on 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the component information table which concerns on 3rd embodiment. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of flow execution processing according to the third embodiment;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
<System configuration>
First, the system configuration of an information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an example of an information processing system according to the first embodiment.

The information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a service providing environment E1, a user environment E2, and an external storage system 40, which are communicably connected via a wide area network N1 such as the Internet.

The service providing environment E1 is a system environment that provides external services such as cloud services via the network N1. In this embodiment, a cloud service is used as a specific example of an external service. Morphology may be applied.

The service providing environment E1 has a service providing system 10 realized by one or more information processing devices. The service providing system 10 provides predetermined services via the network N1. For example, the service providing system 10 performs an OCR (Optical Character Reader) process on an electronic file generated by scanning a document in the image forming apparatus 20 in the user environment E2, and saves it in the external storage system 40 (scan delivery service). services). The service providing system 10 according to this embodiment provides such a scan distribution service.

However, the services provided by the service providing system 10 are not limited to this. The service providing system 10 may provide, for example, a service (cloud print service) for printing electronic files stored in the external storage system 40 with the image forming apparatus 20 in the user environment E2.

Further, the service providing system 10 may provide a service of projecting an electronic file stored in the external storage system 40 with a projector in the user environment E2, for example. Furthermore, the service providing system 10 translates an electronic file generated by scanning a document in the image forming apparatus 20 into a predetermined language (for example, translating from English into Japanese) after OCR processing, and stores it in an external storage. A service of storing in the system 40 may be provided. As described above, the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment provides various services realized by a series of processes in cooperation with the external storage system 40 .

All or part of the service providing system 10 may be installed in the user environment E2. That is, all or part of the information processing devices that constitute the service providing system 10 may be included in the user environment E2.

The user environment E2 is, for example, the system environment of a company or the like, which is the user who uses the image forming apparatus 20 . The user environment E2 includes one or more image forming apparatuses 20 and one or more PC terminals 30, which are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

The image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment is a multifunction device such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) having a scanning function. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 may have a print function, a copy function, a facsimile (FAX) communication function, etc., in addition to the scan function.

Also, the PC terminal 30 according to the present embodiment is an information processing device used for developing programs for the service providing system 10 to provide various services. The user can use the PC terminal 30 to add, for example, a program or module that executes a predetermined process to the service providing system 10 .

The external storage system 40 is a computer system that provides a cloud service called storage service (or online storage) via the network N1.

A storage service is a service that lends out a storage area of the external storage system 40 . In this embodiment, in the scan distribution service, an OCR-processed electronic file is stored (uploaded) in a storage area rented by the external storage system 40 .

In the following description, when differentiating a plurality of external storage systems 40, they are described using suffixes such as “external storage system 40 ₁ ” and “external storage system 40 ₂ ”. The name of the service provided by the external storage system 40-1 is "storage service _A ", and the name of the service provided by the external storage system _40-2 is "storage service B".

The external storage system 40 may be a system implemented by multiple information processing devices. Also, the configuration of the information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, the user environment E2 may have various devices such as a projector and an electronic blackboard in addition to the image forming apparatus 20 or instead of the image forming apparatus 20 .

<Hardware configuration>
≪Service provision system, PC terminal≫
Hardware configurations of the service providing system 10 and the PC terminal 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of a service providing system and a PC terminal according to the first embodiment. Since the service providing system 10 and the PC terminal 30 have similar hardware configurations, the hardware configuration of the service providing system 10 will be mainly described below.

The service providing system 10 has an input device 11 , a display device 12 , an external I/F 13 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14 . The service providing system 10 also has a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15 , a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16 , a communication I/F 17 and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18 . Each of these pieces of hardware are connected by a bus B, respectively.

The input device 11 includes a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc., and is used by the user to input various operation signals. The display device 12 includes a display and the like, and displays the processing result by the service providing system 10 . The input device 11 and the display device 12 may be connected to the bus B and used when necessary.

Communication I/F 17 is an interface that connects service providing system 10 to network N1. Thereby, the service providing system 10 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 17 .

The HDD 18 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS (Operating System), which is basic software that controls the entire service providing system 10, and application software that provides various functions on the OS.

Note that the service providing system 10 may use a drive device using flash memory (for example, solid state drive: SSD) instead of or in addition to the HDD 18 . In addition, the HDD 18 manages stored programs and data using a predetermined file system and/or DB.

The external I/F 13 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 13a and the like. Thereby, the service providing system 10 can read and/or write to the recording medium 13a via the external I/F 13. FIG. The recording medium 13a includes a flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, USB memory, and the like.

The ROM 15 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory that can retain programs and data even when power is turned off. The ROM 15 stores programs and data such as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), OS settings, network settings, etc., which are executed when the service providing system 10 is started. The RAM 14 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily holds programs and data.

The CPU 16 is an arithmetic unit that implements the overall control and functions of the service providing system 10 by reading programs and data from the ROM 15, HDD 18, etc. onto the RAM 14 and executing processing.

The service providing system 10 and the PC terminal 30 according to the present embodiment have the hardware configuration described above, so that they can implement various processes described later.

<<Image forming apparatus>>
A hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

The image forming apparatus 20 has a controller 21 , an operation panel 22 , an external I/F 23 , a communication I/F 24 , a printer 25 and a scanner 26 . Moreover, the controller 21 has CPU211, RAM212, ROM213, NVRAM214, and HDD215.

The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. A RAM 212 temporarily holds programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores, for example, setting information. The HDD 215 also stores various programs and data.

The CPU 211 reads out programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 213, the NVRAM 214, the HDD 215, and the like onto the RAM 212 and executes processing, thereby realizing control and functions of the image forming apparatus 20 as a whole.

The operation panel 22 includes an input section for receiving input from the user and a display section for displaying. The external I/F 23 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 23a and the like. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 20 can read and/or write to the recording medium 23a via the external I/F 23. FIG. The recording medium 23a includes an IC card, a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, a USB memory, and the like.

Communication I/F 24 is an interface that connects image forming apparatus 20 to network N1. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 20 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 24 . The printer 25 is a printing device for printing print data. The scanner 26 is a reading device for reading an original and generating an image file (electronic file).

The image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment has the hardware configuration described above, so that it can implement various types of processing described later.

<Software configuration>
Next, processing blocks of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating processing blocks of an example of the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

The image forming apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 4 has a browser 210 executed by, for example, a CPU 211 or the like. A user of the image forming apparatus 20 can use services provided by the service providing system 10 via the browser 210 . As described above, in the image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, it is sufficient that the browser 210 is installed (installed), and there is no need to install a dedicated application for using the service.

The PC terminal 30 shown in FIG. 4 has a browser 310 executed by the CPU 16 or the like, for example. The user of the PC terminal 30 can add programs, modules, etc. (that is, “components” to be described later) for executing predetermined processes to the service providing system 10 via the browser 310 . As a result, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to add services realized by components added from the PC terminal 30 .

Here, a component is a module or the like for executing one process included in a series of processes for realizing a service provided by the service providing system 10 .

The service providing system 10 shown in FIG. 4 has a service processing section 110 , a document service section 150 and a storage service linking section 160 . Each of these units is implemented by processing that one or more programs installed in the service providing system 10 cause the CPU 16 to execute.

The service providing system 10 also has an application information storage unit 190 . The application information storage unit 190 can be implemented by the HDD 18 . Note that the application information storage unit 190 may be realized by a storage device or the like connected to the service providing system 10 via the network N1.

The service processing unit 110 executes processing related to various services in response to requests from the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 . The service processing unit 110 has an application management unit 120 , a logic processing unit 130 and a data I/F unit 140 .

Application management unit 120 manages application information 1000 stored in application information storage unit 190 . The application management unit 120 returns an application screen based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000 in response to a request from the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 . Accordingly, an application screen for using the service provided by the service providing system 10 is displayed on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20 by the browser 210 .

Here, the application information 1000 includes a screen definition for displaying an application screen on the image forming apparatus 20 and processing contents for realizing a service used from the application screen. Note that the application information 1000 may include a plurality of screen definitions and a plurality of processing contents.

Also, the application management unit 120 returns the processing content included in the application information 1000 in response to a request from the logic processing unit 130 . The processing content describes the content of a series of processing (a series of processing is also referred to as a “processing flow”) for realizing the service provided by the service providing system 10 .

Logic processing unit 130 acquires processing content via application management unit 120 in response to a request from browser 210 of image forming apparatus 20 . Then, the logic processing unit 130 executes a series of processes based on the acquired process content.

That is, the logic processing unit 130 requests the document service unit 150 and/or the file processing unit 170 of the storage service cooperation unit 160 to execute processing according to the processing content, thereby performing a series of operations based on the processing content. Execute the process. Accordingly, the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment can provide various services to the image forming apparatus 20 . Detailed processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130 will be described later.

In response to a request from the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20, the data I/F unit 140 sends a predetermined request (for example, a request to obtain a list of folders, etc.) to the data processing unit 180 of the storage service cooperation unit 160. conduct.

The document service unit 150 is a group of programs (modules) for implementing services provided by the service providing system 10 . The document service section 150 includes an OCR processor 151 that performs OCR processing on electronic files. Note that the document service unit 150 may include various programs such as a translation processing program for translating a document file (electronic file) written in a predetermined language into another predetermined language.

The storage service cooperation unit 160 requests the external storage system 40 to execute various processes in response to requests from the logic processing unit 130 and the data I/F unit 140 .

Here, the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment has a storage service cooperation unit 160 for each external storage system 40 . That is, the service providing system 10 includes a storage service A cooperation unit 160 1 for requesting the execution of processing from the external storage system 40 ₁ , and a storage service A linking unit 160 ₁ for requesting the execution of processing from the external storage system 40 ₂ . It has a B cooperation unit 160 ₂ and the like. In this way, the service providing system 10 has a storage service cooperation unit 160 corresponding to each external storage system 40 that performs processing in cooperation with the service providing system 10 .

In addition, hereinafter, when distinguishing between a plurality of storage service cooperation units 160, they are described as “storage service A cooperation unit 160 ₁ ”, “storage service B cooperation unit 160 ₂ ”, and the like.

The storage service cooperation unit 160 has the file processing unit 170 that receives requests from the logic processing unit 130 and the data processing unit 180 that receives requests from the data I/F unit 140, as described above.

The file processing unit 170 includes a common I/F 171 and a unique I/F 171 defining an API (Application Programming Interface) for performing operations (for example, acquisition, storage, editing, etc.) on electronic files stored in the external storage system 40 . /F172.

The common I/F 171 is an API that can be used in common among a plurality of external storage systems 40, such as the API shown in FIG. 5(a). In other words, the common I/F 171 of the file processing unit 170 is an API group for using functions related to file operations that can be used by all external storage systems 40 (for example, file acquisition, storage, etc.).

On the other hand, the unique I/F 172 is an API that can be used in a specific external storage system 40, such as the API shown in FIG. 5(b). In other words, the unique I/F 172 of the file processing unit 170 is an API group for using functions related to file operations (for example, file editing, etc.) that can be used in a specific external storage system 40 .

Therefore, the common I/F 171 is similarly defined for all storage service cooperation units 160 . On the other hand, the unique I/F 172 is individually defined for the storage service cooperation unit 160 corresponding to the specific external storage system 40 that can use the API defined by the unique I/F 172 .

The data processing unit 180 also includes a common I/O interface defining an API for acquiring metadata such as bibliographic information of electronic files stored in the external storage system 40 (e.g., file list, folder list, etc.). It has F181 and unique I/F182.

The common I/F 181 is an API that can be used in common among a plurality of external storage systems 40, such as the API shown in FIG. 5(c). In other words, the common I/F 181 of the data processing unit 180 is an API group for using functions such as metadata acquisition that can be used by all external storage systems 40 .

On the other hand, the unique I/F 182 is an API that can be used in a specific external storage system 40, such as the API shown in FIG. 5(d). In other words, the unique I/F 182 of the data processing unit 180 is an API group for using functions such as metadata acquisition (for example, image file list acquisition, etc.) that can be used in a specific external storage system 40 .

Therefore, the common I/F 181 is similarly defined for all storage service cooperation units 160 . On the other hand, the unique I/F 182 is individually defined for the storage service cooperation unit 160 corresponding to the specific external storage system 40 that can use the API defined by the unique I/F 182 .

As described above, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment has the storage service linking unit 160 corresponding to each external storage system 40 that performs processing in cooperation with each external storage system 40 . Therefore, in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, when adding an external storage system 40 to be a cooperation destination, the storage service cooperation unit 160 corresponding to the external storage system 40 is added to the service providing system 10. should be equal.

Therefore, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment can localize the impact caused by the addition of the external storage system 40 as a cooperation destination. In other words, without affecting other processing blocks (service processing unit 110, document service unit 150, etc.) (that is, without the need to modify other processing blocks), the Additions, etc. can be performed.

As a result, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce man-hours required for development such as addition of the external storage system 40 to be linked. Note that the addition of the storage service cooperation unit 160 can be performed using an SDK (Software Development Kit).

Also, in the storage service linking unit 160, the common I/F 171 and the specific I/F 172 are implemented by different modules or the like. Furthermore, the APIs defined by the common I/F 171 and the unique I/F 172 can be used by specifying the "storage service name" (external service name) (that is, the "storage service name" (external service name ) is a variable part).

Therefore, when adding a cooperation destination external storage system 40, the common I/F 171 defined in another storage service cooperation unit 160 can be reused. In other words, when adding a cooperation destination external storage system 40, only the unique I/F 172 of the external storage system 40 to be added needs to be developed. As a result, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment can further reduce man-hours required for development such as addition of the external storage system 40 to be linked. Note that this is the same for the common I/F 181 and unique I/F 182 of the data processing unit 180 .

The application information storage unit 190 stores application information 1000 for providing various services. The application information 1000 includes a screen definition for displaying an application screen on the image forming apparatus 20, and processing details describing a series of processes for realizing a service used from the application screen. An application ID for uniquely identifying the application information 1000 is assigned to the application information 1000 . Note that the application ID of the application information 1000 for providing the scan distribution service in cooperation with the storage service A is hereinafter referred to as "app001".

Data definitions included in the screen definition of the application information 1000 for providing the scan delivery service in cooperation with the storage service A will now be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data definition.

A data definition 1100 shown in FIG. 6 describes information for configuring an input field (input box), a selection field (selection box), etc. of an application screen displayed on the operation panel 22 or the like by the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 . It is

Specifically, in the data definition section 1101 included in the data definition 1100 shown in FIG. 6, information for constructing an input field for inputting the file name of the electronic file generated by scanning is described. . Also, in the data definition part 1102 included in the data definition shown in FIG.

Note that “data_source” in the data definition section 1102 describes the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the acquisition destination of each selection element (here, the folder name and folder ID of the storage destination candidate) in the selection column.

Next, the layout information included in the screen definition of the application information 1000 for providing the scan delivery service linked with the storage service A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of layout information.

Layout information 1200 shown in FIG. 7 is the display position and display name of characters (display names of input fields, etc.), input fields, selection fields, etc. on an application screen displayed on the operation panel 22 or the like by the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20. etc. is described.

Specifically, the layout definition section 1201 included in the layout information 1200 shown in FIG. is described. As a result, an input field whose display name is "file name" is displayed at the first position on the application screen. In addition, in the layout definition section 1202 included in the layout information 1200, information on the display position and display name of ““data_id”:2” (that is, the data definition section 1102) in the data definition 1100 is described. As a result, a selection field whose display name is "save destination folder selection" is displayed at the second position on the application screen.

Next, the processing contents of the application information 1000 for providing the scan distribution service linked with the storage service A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing contents.

The processing content 1300 shown in FIG. 8 describes the content of a series of processing for realizing the scan distribution service in cooperation with the storage service A. FIG.

Specifically, in the flow ID definition section 1301 included in the processing content 1300 shown in FIG. 8, a flow ID “flow001”, which is identification information for uniquely identifying the processing content 1300, is described. Further, in the process definition part 1302 and the process definition part 1303 shown in FIG. 8, the details of a series of processes for realizing the scan delivery service in cooperation with the storage service A are defined.

That is, the process definition section 1302 describes the details of the process for OCR processing an electronic file generated by scanning. Further, in the processing definition section 1303, the details of the processing for delivering the electronic file after the OCR processing to the storage service A are described. In this way, the processing content included in the application information 1000 describes the content of one or more processes that constitute a series of processes in cooperation with the external storage system 40 .

As described above, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment describes a screen definition for displaying an application screen on the image forming apparatus 20 and a series of processes (processing flow) for realizing a service. It has application information 1000 including the processing content. The service providing system 10 according to this embodiment provides various services to the image forming apparatus 20 using the application information 1000 . Therefore, when adding a service provided by the service providing system 10 , the application information 1000 may be added to the application information storage unit 190 .

Moreover, in order to add the application information 1000 to the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is sufficient to describe the screen definition and the processing content, so development can be easily performed. Therefore, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of development man-hours associated with addition/change of services, and for example, it is possible to easily add/change services by a third vendor or the like.

<Details of processing>
Next, the details of the processing of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

≪Overall Processing of Scan Delivery Service≫
Overall processing when the user of the image forming apparatus 20 uses the scan delivery service according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of overall processing of the scan distribution service according to the first embodiment.

First, the user of the image forming apparatus 20 performs an operation for obtaining a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 using the browser 210 . Then, the image forming apparatus 20 transmits a service list acquisition request to the service processing unit 110 of the service providing system 10 (step S901). Upon receiving the acquisition request, the application management unit 120 of the service processing unit 110 transmits a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 to the image forming apparatus 20 . Accordingly, a list of services provided by the service providing system 10 is displayed by the browser 210 on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20 .

Note that the service list includes, for example, the service name of the service provided by the service providing system 10, the application ID of the application information 1000 for providing the service, and the flow of processing content for realizing the service. ID.

The user selects a desired service from a list of services displayed on the operation panel 22 of the image forming apparatus 20 . The browser 210 then transmits the application ID of the application information 1000 corresponding to the service selected by the user and the flow ID of the processing content to the application management unit 120 (step S902).

Here, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the user has selected to use the "scan delivery service in cooperation with storage service A". Therefore, the browser 210 transmits the application ID “app001” and the flow ID “flow001” to the application management unit 120 .

Then, the application management unit 120 generates an application screen in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000 of the application ID “app001” received from the browser 210 and returns it to the browser 210 .

Upon receiving the application screen from the application management unit 120, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 requests the data I/F unit 140 to acquire display information (step S903).

Here, the display information is, for example, each selection element in the selection column of the application screen. That is, in the present embodiment, the browser 210 requests the data I/F unit 140 to acquire a list of folders of the storage service A, which is the delivery destination (storage destination) of the scan delivery service.

The display information acquisition request is the URL "http://sample.xxx.co.jp/service-a/data/ folders" by sending an HTTP request.

In the URL, "http://sample.xxx.co.jp" is the host name of the service providing system 10, and "/service-a/data/folders" is the API (that is, the API shown in FIG. 5) is specified.

Next, when the data I/F unit 140 receives a display information acquisition request from the browser 210, the data I/F unit 140 transmits the request to the corresponding data processing unit 180 of the storage service cooperation unit 160 (step S904). That is, the data _I /F unit 140 transmits the request to the data processing unit 180-1 of the storage service _A cooperation unit 160-1 based on "service-a" (storage service name) included in the above URL.

When receiving the display information acquisition request from the data I/F unit 140, the data processing unit 180 transmits a processing request based on the URL included in the acquisition request to the external storage system 40 (step S905). That is, based on the URL included in the acquisition request received from the data I/F unit 140, the data processing unit 180 uses the API defined in the common I/F 181 or the unique I/F 182 to access the corresponding external storage. Request the system 40 to process.

More specifically, based on "/service-a/data/folders" included in the above URL, the data processing unit 180-1 uses the API defined in the common _{I /} F 181-1 to access the external storage system 40 ₁ is requested to obtain a folder list. Then, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 acquires the folder list via the storage service _A linking unit 1601 . The folder list is information such as folder names and folder IDs of the storage service A that are candidates for saving destinations of electronic files in the scan delivery service according to the present embodiment.

Next, based on the application screen received from the application management unit 120 and the folder list received from the external storage system 40, the browser 210 displays, for example, an application screen 2000 as shown in FIG. display (step S906).

Here, the application screen 2000 for using the scan distribution service shown in FIG. Among them, the file name input field 2001 and the save destination folder selection field 2002 are described in HTML source code 2101 and 2102, respectively, as shown in FIG. 10(b). Such HTML source codes 2101 and 2102 are generated by the application management section 120 based on the data definition sections 1101 and 1102 shown in FIG. 6 and the layout definition sections 1201 and 1202 shown in FIG.

However, the setting value of "option" specified in the HTML source code 2102 is set by the browser 210 based on the folder list obtained from the external storage system 40. FIG. As described above, the application screen 2000 is generated by setting the folder list information acquired from the external storage system 40 to the HTML generated by the application management unit 120 based on the screen definition included in the application information 1000. be.

Next, the user enters a desired file name in the file name input field 2001 on the application screen 2000 of FIG. Then, the document is set on the scanner 26 of the image forming apparatus 20, and the scan execution button 2003 is pressed. The browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 then accepts these operations (step S907).

Here, it is assumed that the user has entered the file name “test” in the file name input field 2001 , selected “FolderB” from the destination folder selection field 2002 , and pressed the scan execution button 2003 . Then, the document is read by the scanner 26 of the image forming apparatus 20, and an electronic file with the file name "test" is generated (step S908).

Subsequently, the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 transmits a processing execution request of the scan distribution service to the logic processing unit 130 (step S909). Here, the execution request includes the application ID "app001", the flow ID "flow001" of the process content 1300 included in the application information 1000 of the application ID, the generated electronic file, and the selected storage destination folder. The folder ID "folder_id_b" of "FolderB" is included.

Upon receiving a process execution request from the browser 210, the logic processing unit 130 performs a flow execution process of executing a series of processes based on the process content corresponding to the application ID and flow ID included in the process execution request (step S910). . As a result, a scan distribution service in cooperation with the storage service A is realized. Details of the flow execution process will be described later.

Then, the logic processing unit 130 transmits the processing result of the flow execution processing to the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 (step S911). This completes the scan delivery service according to the present embodiment.

≪Flow execution processing≫
Next, details of the flow execution process in step S910 of FIG. 9 will be described. Flow execution processing is mainly executed by the logic processing unit 130 . Therefore, before describing details of the flow execution process, detailed processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130 will be described with reference to FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing blocks of a logic processing unit according to the first embodiment;

The logic processing unit 130 has a flow execution unit 131 , a component management unit 132 , a component group 133 , a type conversion management unit 134 and a type conversion group 135 . Also, the logic processing unit 130 uses the component information table 3000 and the type conversion table 4000 .

Upon receiving a processing execution request from the browser 210 of the image forming apparatus 20 , the flow execution unit 131 acquires the processing content from the application information 1000 via the application management unit 120 . Then, the flow execution unit 131 requests acquisition of a component that executes one process included in the series of processes according to the contents of the series of processes described in the acquired process contents. Further, the flow execution unit 131 requests the acquired component to execute processing.

The component management unit 132 generates a component in response to a component acquisition request from the flow execution unit 131 . Note that generating a component means, for example, developing a component defined by a class on a memory (for example, RAM 14).

The component management unit 132 has a component determination unit 1321 , an existing component generation unit 1322 , an additional component generation unit 1323 and a component registration unit 1324 .

The component determination unit 1321 refers to the component information table 3000 in response to a component acquisition request from the flow execution unit 131, and determines whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component.

Here, the existing component refers to a component pre-installed in the service providing system 10 . On the other hand, an additional component is a component registered in the component information table 3000 via the PC terminal 30 by the user. In other words, the additional component is a component developed by the user and added to the service providing system 10 .

As described above, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to add a component developed by a user. Therefore, the user can describe a series of processes realized using the additional component as the process content, and thus can develop the application information 1000 that provides various services.

When the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the component acquisition request is an existing component, the existing component generation unit 1322 generates the existing component related to the acquisition request.

When the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the component acquisition request is the additional component, the additional component generation unit 1323 generates the additional component related to the acquisition request.

The component registration unit 1324 registers additional components in the component information table 3000 in response to requests from the browser 310 of the PC terminal 30 . The component registration unit 1324 also updates or deletes additional components registered in the component information table 3000 in response to requests from the browser 310 of the PC terminal 30 .

Here, the component information table 3000 will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of component information according to the first embodiment.

A component information table 3000 shown in FIG. 12 manages information on components (component information) for each component. Component information has component name, version, parameter, and file as data items.

The component name is component information. Version is the version of the component. Each component is uniquely identified by a component name and version.

A parameter is an input parameter to a component. For example, the parameters of a component (distribution component described later) for distributing an electronic file to the external storage system 40 are the folder ID of the destination folder in the external storage system 40 and the like.

A file stores an electronic file for generating a component (hereinafter, this electronic file is referred to as a "generated file") in a data format such as JAR (Java Archive). Therefore, in this embodiment, the data item "file" of the component information of the additional component stores the generated file of the additional component. On the other hand, the generated file is not stored in the data item "file" of the component information of the existing component.

More specifically, in the component information table 3000 shown in FIG. 12, the generated file is not stored in the data item "file" of the component information with the component name "ocrA" and version "v1". On the other hand, the data item "file" of the component information with the component name "ocrB" and version "v2" stores the generated file of the component.

Therefore, in the component information table 3000 shown in FIG. 12, the component information of the component name "ocrA" and the version "v1" is the component information of the existing component. On the other hand, the component information of the component name "ocrB" and the version "v2" is the component information of the additional component.

A component group 133 is a set of existing components and additional components. The component group 133 includes an OCRA component 1331 corresponding to component information with the component name "ocrA" and version "v1". The component group 133 also includes an OCRB component 1332 corresponding to component information with a component name of "ocrB" and a version of "v2".

Similarly, the component group 133 includes a delivery A component 1333 corresponding to component information with a component name of "uploadA" and a version of "v1". The component group 133 also includes a distribution B component 1334 corresponding to component information with a component name of "uploadB" and a version of "v1".

Thus, the component group 133 is a set of components corresponding to the component information managed by the component information table 3000. FIG.

Furthermore, each component included in the component group 133 has a component common I/F 1330 . The component common I/F 1330 is an API commonly defined for each component, and includes an API for generating a component and an API for requesting the component to execute processing.

In this way, each component has the component-common I/F 1330, so that it is possible to localize the influence caused by the addition of a component or the like. In other words, components can be added without affecting the flow execution unit 131, the component management unit 132, other components, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to reduce man-hours required for development such as addition of components.

The type conversion management unit 134 manages type conversion of data types. Here, each component has a predetermined data type that it can handle. Therefore, the type conversion management unit 134 refers to the type conversion table 4000 in response to a request from a component and generates type conversion according to the request.

Here, the type conversion table 4000 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a type conversion table.

The type conversion table 4000 shown in FIG. 13 manages information on type conversion (type conversion information). The type conversion information has, as data items, a data type before conversion, a data type after conversion, and a type conversion to be generated. As a result, for example, when receiving a request to convert the data type of "InputStream" to the data type of "LocalFilePath" from the component, the type conversion management unit 134 generates the first type conversion 1351 described later.

Then, the type conversion management unit 134 requests execution of type conversion processing for the generated type conversion. Here, the type conversion is a module or the like for executing data type type conversion processing, and is defined by, for example, a class or a function.

Note that generating a type conversion means, for example, developing a type conversion defined in a class on a memory (for example, the RAM 14). The data types include, for example, the data type "InputStream" indicating stream data, "LocalFilePath" indicating the path (address) of an electronic file stored in a storage device, etc., and "File" indicating the substance of an electronic file. is mentioned.

A type conversion group 135 is a set of type conversions. The type conversion group 135 includes a first type conversion 1351 that converts the data type "InputStream" to "LocalFilePath". In addition to the first type conversion 1351, the type conversion group 135 includes, for example, a second type conversion for converting "LocalFilePath" to "File".

Furthermore, each of these type conversions has a type conversion common I/F 1350 . The type conversion common I/F 1350 is an API commonly defined for each type conversion, and includes an API for generating type conversion and an API for requesting execution of processing for type conversion. be In this way, each type conversion has the type conversion common I/F 1350, thereby localizing the influence caused by the addition of type conversion or the like. In other words, addition of components can be performed without affecting the type conversion management unit 134 . As a result, man-hours required for development such as addition of type conversion can be reduced.

Next, details of the flow execution process in step S910 of FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of flow execution processing according to the first embodiment.

First, when the flow execution unit 131 receives a processing execution request of the scan delivery service from the browser 210, it requests the application management unit 120 to acquire the processing content (step S1401). Here, the acquisition request for the processing content includes the application ID "app001" and the flow ID "flow001".

Then, the flow execution unit 131 acquires from the application management unit 120 the process content of the flow ID “flow001” included in the application information 1000 corresponding to the application ID “app001”. That is, the flow execution unit 131 acquires the processing content 1300 shown in FIG.

The flow execution unit 131 requests the component management unit 132 to acquire the component according to the acquired process content 1300 (step S1402). More specifically, based on the description in the process definition part 1302 of the process content 1300 shown in FIG. request to.

When the component management unit 132 receives the component acquisition request, the component determination unit 1321 determines whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component (step S1403). That is, the component determination unit 1321 refers to the component information table 3000 and determines whether or not the generated file of the component is stored in the data item "file" of the component information with the component name "ocrB" and version "v2". do.

The component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an additional component when the generated file of the component is stored in the data item "file" of the component information. On the other hand, the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component when the generated file of the component is not stored in the data item "file" of the component information.

In this embodiment, in the component information table 3000, the generated file of the component is stored in the data item "file" in the component information with the component name "ocrB" and version "v2". Therefore, the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is the additional component.

When the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is the additional component, the component determination unit 1321 transmits the acquisition request to the additional component generation unit 1323 (step S1404).

Next, upon receiving the acquisition request, the additional component generation unit 1323 acquires the generated file of the component from the component information table 3000 based on the component name "ocrB" and version "v2" (step S1405). That is, the additional component generation unit 1323 acquires the generated file stored in the data item “file” of the component information with the component name “ocrB” and version “v2”.

Subsequently, the additional component generation unit 1323 generates additional components based on the acquired generation file (step S1406). That is, the additional component generation unit 1323 generates the OCRB component 1332 based on the generated file obtained from the component information of the component name “ocrB” and version “v2”. Note that the OCRB component 1332 can be generated, for example, by executing a JAR format generated file and using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I/F 1330 .

After generating the OCRB component 1332 , the additional component generation unit 1323 returns the OCRB component 1332 to the flow execution unit 131 . For this, for example, the additional component generation unit 1323 may return to the flow execution unit 131 the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the OCRB component 1332 is expanded.

Next, the flow execution unit 131 designates data and requests the generated OCRB component 1332 to execute processing (step S1407). The data specified here is an electronic file passed from the browser 210 with a data type of "InputStream".

That is, the flow execution unit 131 simply passes the electronic file passed from the browser 210 as data type "InputStream" as "data" (without being aware of the data type) to the OCRB component 1332 and requests execution of processing. . In FIG. 14, an electronic file or the like that is passed without being aware of the data type is simply referred to as "data".

Next, when the OCRB component 1332 receives a request to execute a process in which data is specified, the OCRB component 1332 requests the type conversion management unit 134 to convert the data type (step S1408). Here, the type conversion request includes the data and the specification of "LocalFilePath" indicating the data type that the OCRB component 1332 can handle.

Upon receiving the type conversion request, the type conversion management unit 134 checks whether the data type of the data included in the type conversion request matches the specified data type (step S1409). Here, the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is "InputStream", while the specified data type is "LocalFilePath", so it is determined that they do not match.

Then, the type conversion management unit 134 refers to the type conversion table 4000 and identifies the type conversion for converting "InputStream" to "LocalFilePath" (here, the first type conversion 1351 is identified). , generates the identified type conversion (step S1410).

Next, the type conversion management unit 134 designates data and requests the generated first type conversion 1351 to execute type conversion processing (step S1411). Then, the first type conversion 1351 converts the data type of the specified data from “InputStream” to “LocalFilePath” (step S 1412 ), and returns the converted data to the type conversion management unit 134 . Then, the type conversion management unit 134 returns the type-converted data to the OCRB component 1332 (step S1413).

When the OCRB component 1332 receives the type-converted data, it performs processing (step S1414). That is, the OCR process is performed on the electronic file indicated by the data of the data type "LocalFilePath" (that is, path or address). More specifically, the OCRB component 1332 requests processing from the OCR processing 151 of the document service section 150, and the OCR processing 151 executes processing on the electronic file.

Then, the OCRB component 1332 returns the data to the flow execution unit 131 when execution of the process is completed. The data returned here is a path or address indicating the electronic file after OCR processing (that is, the data type of the returned data is "LocalFilePath").

Next, the flow execution unit 131 requests the component management unit 132 to acquire the component according to the acquired process content 1300 (step S1415). More specifically, the flow execution unit 131 creates a component with the component name “uploadA” and the version “v1” based on the description in the process definition part 1303 following the process definition part 1302 of the process content 1300 shown in FIG. It requests the component management unit 132 to acquire it.

When the component acquisition request is received, the component management unit 132 determines, by the component determination unit 1321, whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component (step S1416). That is, the component determination unit 1321 refers to the component information table 3000 and determines whether or not the generated file of the component is stored in the data item "file" of the component information with the component name "uploadA" and version "v1". do.

The component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an additional component when the generated file of the component is stored in the data item "file" of the component information. On the other hand, the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component when the generated file of the component is not stored in the data item "file" of the component information.

In this embodiment, in the component information table 3000, the generated file of the component is not stored in the data item "file" in the component information with the component name "uploadA" and version "v1". Therefore, the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component.

When the component determination unit 1321 determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component, the component determination unit 1321 transmits the acquisition request to the existing component generation unit 1322 (step S1417).

Next, upon receiving the component acquisition request, the existing component generation unit 1322 generates an existing component related to the acquisition request (step S1418). That is, the existing component generation unit 1322 generates the distribution A component 1333 based on the component name "uploadA" and version "v1". Generation of the distribution A component 1333 can be performed using an API for generating a component defined in the component common I/F 1330 .

Then, when the distribution A component 1333 is generated, the existing component generation unit 1322 returns the distribution A component 1333 to the flow execution unit 131 . For example, the existing component generation unit 1322 may return the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the distribution A component 1333 is expanded to the flow execution unit 131. FIG.

Next, the flow execution unit 131 designates data and requests the generated distribution A component 1333 to execute processing (step S1419). The data specified here is the electronic file after the OCR process returned from the OCRB component 1332 with the data type of "LocalFilePath".

Next, when the distribution A component 1333 receives a request to execute a process in which data is specified, it requests the type conversion management unit 134 to convert the data type (step S1420). Here, the type conversion request includes data and specification of "LocalFilePath" indicating the data type that the delivery A component 1333 can handle.

Upon receiving the type conversion request, the type conversion management unit 134 checks whether the data type of the data included in the type conversion request matches the specified data type (step S1421). Here, since the data type of the data included in the received type conversion request is "LocalFilePath" and the specified data type is also "LocalFilePath", it is determined that they match.

Then, the type conversion management unit 134 transmits the data included in the type conversion request to the distribution A component 1333 as it is (step S1422). In this way, when the data types of both match in the data type check (processing of step S1421), the type conversion management unit 134 does not generate type conversion.

When the distribution A component 1333 receives data from the type conversion management unit 134, it executes processing (step S1423).

That is, the distribution A component 1333 requests the file processing unit 170 ₁ of the storage service A cooperation unit 160 ₁ to execute data distribution using the file storage API defined as the common I/F 171 ₁ . . More specifically, the distribution _A component 1333 uses the API "service _- a/process/folder" shown in FIG. Requests delivery execution of data. As a result, the electronic file with the file name "test" (an electronic file obtained by OCR processing the electronic file generated by scanning) is saved in the folder "FolderB" of the storage service A.

Then, the delivery A component 1333 returns the data to the flow execution unit 131 after completing the execution of the process. The data returned here is, for example, a processing result indicating that the electronic file has been successfully delivered to the storage service A. As a result, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, execution of a series of processes in cooperation with the storage service A based on the process content 1300 is completed.

As described above, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment determines whether a component that executes one process included in a series of processes for realizing a service is an existing component or an additional component. . Then, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, an existing component or an additional component is generated according to the determination result.

As described above, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, various components developed and distributed in the JAR format, for example, can be used. Therefore, for example, the developer or the like of the application information 1000 can describe the details of a series of processes including processes executed by various components including additional components as the process details. Therefore, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment can provide various services realized by a series of processes including processes executed by additional components.

<<Adding, updating, and deleting components>>
Next, processing for adding an additional component to the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, updating the additional component, and deleting the additional component will be described with reference to FIG. 15 . FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of component addition, update, and deletion processing according to the first embodiment.

First, a user, such as a developer of a component, uses the browser 310 of the PC terminal 30 to display a component editing screen. Then, the browser 310 accepts the display operation and causes the display device 12 to display, for example, the component edit screen 5000 shown in FIG. 16A (step S1501).

A component edit screen 5000 shown in FIG. 16A is a screen for adding (registering), updating, and deleting additional components. The component edit screen 5000 includes an add button 5010 for registering a new component in the component information table 3000, an update button 5020 for updating the registered additional component, and a delete button 5030 for deleting.

When the user selects the add button 5010 on the component edit screen 5000, the browser 310 accepts the operation and displays the component add screen 5100 shown in FIG. 16B, for example (step S1502).

A component addition screen 5100 shown in FIG. 16B is a screen for adding (registering) a component, and includes a component name column 5110, a file column 5120, a reference button 5130, and a register button 5140.

The user inputs the component name of the additional component to be registered in the component name column 5110, designates the generated file of the additional component in the file column 5120, and presses the registration button 5140 to register the additional component. The browser 310 then accepts the registration operation (step S1503). Note that the user may specify a generated file in the file field 5120 by pressing the reference button 5130 to display a list of generated file storage locations and then selecting a desired generated file from the list. .

The browser 310, upon receiving the registration operation of the additional component, requests the component management unit 132 to register the component (step S1504). Note that the component registration request includes the component name specified in the component name field 5110 and the generated file specified in the file field 5120 .

Upon receiving the component registration request, the component management unit 132 causes the component registration unit 1324 to create component information based on the component name and generated file included in the registration request. Then, the component registration unit 1324 registers the created component information in the component information table 3000 (step S1504). As a result, the additional component is registered in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment.

If the component name identical to the component name included in the registration request does not exist in the component information table 3000, the component registration unit 1324 sets "v1" in the data item "version" to create component information. On the other hand, when a component name identical to the component name included in the registration request exists in the component information table 3000, the component registration unit 1324 creates component information by assigning the latest version to the data item "version".

In addition, the component registration unit 1324 acquires information about the input parameters of the additional component from the generated file included in the registration request, sets the information about the input parameters in the data item "parameter", and creates component information. . If the component registration unit 1324 cannot acquire the information about the input parameters from the generated file due to, for example, a different data format, the component registration unit 1324 displays on the PC terminal 30 a screen for allowing the user to specify the information about the input parameters. You can let me.

When the user selects an update button 5020 associated with the component name and version of the additional component desired to be updated on the component edit screen 5000, the browser 310 accepts the operation. The browser 310 then displays, for example, the component update screen 5200 shown in FIG. 16C (step S1506).

A component update screen 5200 shown in FIG. 16C is a screen for updating additional components, and includes a file column 5210, a reference button 5220, and an update button 5230. FIG.

The user designates a generated file in the file column 5210 and presses an update button 5230 to update the additional component. The browser 310 then accepts the update operation (step S1507). Note that the user can specify a generated file in the file column 5210 by pressing the reference button 5220 to display a list of generated file storage locations and then selecting a desired generated file from the list. good.

The browser 310, upon receiving the operation to update the additional component, requests the component management unit 132 to update the component (step S1508). Note that the component update request includes the component name and version associated with the update button 5020 selected by the user, and the generated file specified in the file column 5210 .

Upon receiving the component update request, the component management unit 132 updates the component information registered in the component information table 3000 by the component registration unit 1324 (step S1509). That is, the component registration unit 1324 overwrites and updates the data item "file" of the component information corresponding to the component name and version included in the registration request with the generated file included in the registration request. As a result, the additional component registered in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment is updated.

Note that the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment does not perform the update when the update of the additional component makes it impossible to normally execute a series of processes based on the processing content included in the application information 1000. can be Alternatively, in this case, updated component information may be registered in the component information table 3000 while pre-update component information remains.

Further, when a series of processes using an additional component to be updated is being executed, the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment updates the additional component to be updated after the execution of the series of processes is completed. Good luck.

When the user selects the delete button 5030 associated with the component name and version of the additional component desired to be deleted on the component edit screen 5000, the browser 310 accepts the operation (step S1510).

The browser 310, upon receiving the deletion operation of the additional component, requests the component management unit 132 to delete the component (step S1511). Note that the component deletion request includes the component name and version associated with the delete button 5030 selected by the user.

Upon receiving the component deletion request, the component management unit 132 causes the component registration unit 1324 to delete the component information registered in the component information table 3000 (step S1512). That is, the component registration unit 1324 deletes from the component information table 3000 the component information corresponding to the component name and version included in the deletion request. As a result, the additional component registered in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment is deleted.

As described above, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to register an additional component from the PC terminal 30 or the like. Therefore, a user such as a developer of the application information 1000 can register in the service providing system 10 an additional component to be used by the application information 1000 developed by the user. Therefore, the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment can provide various services.

Further, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, the registered additional component can be updated or deleted from the PC terminal 30 or the like. Therefore, a user such as a developer of the application information 1000 can, for example, update additional components used by the application information 1000, and can develop the application information 1000 flexibly.

Furthermore, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, additional components can be used by registering generated files developed and distributed in the JAR format, for example. Therefore, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, additional components can be registered, updated, and deleted without affecting existing components. That is, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, it is possible to dynamically register, update, and delete additional components without having to stop the service providing system 10 .

[Second embodiment]
Next, an information processing system 1 according to a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, in the flow execution process, it is determined whether the component to be executed is an existing component or an additional component by a method different from that of the first embodiment. In the following description, portions having substantially the same functions and portions performing the same processing as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted.

<Software configuration>
Processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130 of the service providing system 10 included in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 17 . FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating processing blocks of an example of a logic processing unit according to the second embodiment;

The component management unit 132 of the logic processing unit 130 according to this embodiment has a component determination unit 1321A. Also, the logic processing unit 130 according to this embodiment uses the component information table 3000A.

In response to a component acquisition request, the component determination unit 1321A refers to the component information table 3000A and determines whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component.

Here, component information table 3000A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a component information table according to the second embodiment.

The component information table 3000A shown in FIG. 18 further has component categories as data items. The component classification is a classification indicating whether the component information is the component information of the existing component or the component information of the additional component. Therefore, the component determination unit 1321A according to this embodiment can determine whether the component related to the component acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component by referring to the component classification of the component information.

<Details of processing>
Next, the details of the processing of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

≪Flow execution processing≫
Hereinafter, flow execution processing according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 19 . FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of flow execution processing according to the second embodiment. It should be noted that the description of the parts that perform the same processing as the flow execution processing according to the first embodiment will be omitted.

When the component management unit 132 receives the component acquisition request, the component determination unit 1321A determines whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component (step S1901). That is, the component determination unit 1321A refers to the component information table 3000A and determines whether the data item "component classification" of the component information of the component name "ocrB" and version "v2" is "existing" or "additional". determine.

When the data item “component classification” of the component information is “additional”, the component determination unit 1321A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an additional component. On the other hand, when the data item "component classification" of the component information is "existing", the component determination unit 1321A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component.

In this embodiment, in the component information table 3000A, the data item "component classification" of the component information with the component name "ocrB" and the version "v2" is "added". Therefore, the component determination unit 1321A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is the additional component.

When the component acquisition request is received, the component management unit 132 uses the component determination unit 1321A to determine whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component (step S1902). That is, the component determination unit 1321A refers to the component information table 3000A and determines whether the data item "component classification" of the component information of the component name "uploadA" and version "v1" is "existing" or "additional". determine.

In this embodiment, in the component information table 3000A, the data item "component classification" of the component information with the component name "uploadA" and version "v1" is "existing". Therefore, the component determination unit 1321A determines that the component related to the acquisition request is the existing component.

As described above, in the service providing system 10 according to the present embodiment, by referring to the data item "component classification" of the component information, it is determined whether the component related to the acquisition request is an existing component or an additional component. . Accordingly, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, it is possible to more easily determine whether the component is an existing component or an additional component.

[Third embodiment]
Next, an information processing system 1 according to a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the existing component is also generated based on the generated file in the flow execution process. In the following description, portions having substantially the same functions and portions performing the same processing as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted.

<Software configuration>
Processing blocks of the logic processing unit 130 of the service providing system 10 included in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 20 . FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of processing blocks of a logic processing unit according to the third embodiment.

The component management unit 132 of the logic processing unit 130 according to this embodiment has an existing component generation unit 1322A. Also, the logic processing unit 130 according to this embodiment uses the component information table 3000B.

When the component determination unit 1321A determines that the component related to the component acquisition request is an existing component, the existing component generation unit 1322A generates the existing component related to the acquisition request. At this time, the existing component generation unit 1322A acquires the generated file of the existing component from the component information table 3000B, and generates the existing component based on the acquired generated file.

Here, component information table 3000B will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a component information table according to the third embodiment.

In the component information table 3000B shown in FIG. 21, the generated file is stored in the data item "file" of the component information of the existing component. Thus, the component information table 3000B according to this embodiment also manages generated files of existing components.

<Details of processing>
Next, the details of the processing of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

≪Flow execution processing≫
Hereinafter, flow execution processing according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 22 . FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing an example of flow execution processing according to the third embodiment. It should be noted that descriptions of portions where processing similar to the flow execution processing according to the second embodiment is performed will be omitted.

Upon receiving the component acquisition request, the existing component generation unit 1322A acquires the component generation file from the component information table 3000B based on the component name "uploadA" and version "v1" (step S2201). That is, the existing component generation unit 1322A acquires the generation file stored in the data item "file" of the component information with the component name "uploadA" and version "v1".

Next, the existing component generation unit 1322A generates an existing component based on the acquired generation file (step S2202). That is, the existing component generation unit 1322A generates the distribution A component 1333 based on the generated file acquired from the component information of the component name "uploadA" and version "v1". Note that the distribution A component 1333 can be generated using, for example, an API for executing a JAR format generation file and generating a component defined in the component common I/F 1330 .

Then, when the distribution A component 1333 is generated, the existing component generation unit 1322A returns the distribution A component 1333 to the flow execution unit 131 . For example, the existing component generation unit 1322A may return to the flow execution unit 131 the address on the memory (for example, the RAM 14) where the distribution A component 1333 is developed.

As described above, in the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment, existing components are generated based on the generated files stored in the component information table 3000B. As a result, the service providing system 10 according to this embodiment can manage existing components and additional components in the same manner.

The invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments above, but various modifications and changes are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

1 information processing system 10 service providing system 20 image forming apparatus 30 PC terminal 40 external storage system 110 service processing unit 120 application management unit 130 logic processing unit 131 flow execution unit 132 component management unit 133 component group 134 type conversion management unit 135 type conversion Group 140 data I/F unit 150 document service unit 151 OCR processing 160 storage service cooperation unit 170 file processing unit 180 data processing unit 190 application information storage unit 1000 application information 1321 component determination unit 1322 existing component generation unit 1323 additional component generation unit 1324 Component registration unit 3000 Component information table 4000 Type conversion table

JP 2014-032659 A

Claims (13)

An information processing system including one or more information processing devices,
a first storage means for storing and controlling information on a series of processes using electronic data for each application that executes a series of processes by combining components that execute the series of processes;
a second storage means for controlling storage of component information including information relating to a first component registered by a user and a second component pre-installed in the information processing system;
receiving a registration request for a new first component in response to an addition request from an addition screen displayed on the user's terminal, and storing the information on the received first component in the second storage means component registration means for creating the component information for generating the first component and storing the created component information as the first component ;
When the information identifying the application and the information about the electronic data are received from one device among the one or more devices connected to the information processing system, the information processing apparatus 100 responds to the application identified by the information identifying the application. a process execution means for executing a series of processes based on the information on the series of processes using electronic data specified by the information on the electronic data;
The processing execution means combines the first component and the second component based on information about the series of processing corresponding to the application and the component information to perform the series of processing using the electronic data. An information processing system that executes processing. The processing execution means is
determining means for determining whether to use the first component or the second component for each process of the series of processes based on information about the series of processes and information about the component;
2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said series of processes using said electronic data is executed by combining a first component or a second component according to a determination result by said determining means. The determination means is
3. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein when said component information includes a generation file for generating said component, said first component is determined to be generated. The processing execution means is
a first generating means for generating the first component;
a second generating means for generating the second component;
generating the first component by the first generating means when the determining means determines to use the first component;
4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein said second generating means generates said second component when said determining means determines to use said second component. 5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein said first generating means generates said first component based on said generated file included in said component information. The component registration means is
When receiving a request including a generated file specified by a user through a screen displayed on one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing system, the first device including the generated file is received. 6. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein information about a component is stored in said second storage means as said component information, and said first component generated by said generation file is registered. The processing execution means is
having one or more type conversion means for converting the data type of electronic data into a predetermined data type;
After converting the data type of the electronic data into a data type that can be processed by the component by the type conversion means, executing the processing of the component, thereby executing the series of processing using the electronic data. Item 7. The information processing system according to any one of Items 1 to 6. The components include components that perform processing related to external services,
A component that performs processing related to the external service,
8. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising at least a component that executes processing for uploading electronic data to an external service. 9. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said first storage means and said second storage means are realized by the same storage device. The information processing device is communicably connected to a plurality of storage services, further comprises a plurality of cooperation means corresponding to each of the plurality of storage services, and requesting the corresponding storage service to execute processing,
10. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said series of processes includes a process of transmitting electronic data to one of said storage services. An information processing device,
a first storage means for storing and controlling information on a series of processes using electronic data for each application that executes a series of processes by combining components that execute the series of processes;
a second storage means for controlling storage of component information including information relating to a first component registered by a user and a second component pre-installed in the information processing apparatus;
receiving a registration request for a new first component in response to an addition request from an addition screen displayed on the user's terminal, and storing the information on the received first component in the second storage means component registration means for creating the component information for generating the first component and storing the created component information as the first component ;
When the information identifying the application and the information about the electronic data are received from one of the one or more devices connected to the information processing device, the application identified by the information identifying the application is identified. a process execution means for executing a series of processes based on the information on the series of processes using electronic data specified by the information on the electronic data;
The processing execution means combines the first component and the second component based on information about the series of processing corresponding to the application and the component information to perform the series of processing using the electronic data. An information processing device that executes processing. An information processing system including one or more information processing devices,
a first storage procedure for controlling storage of information about the series of processes in a first storage means for each application that executes a series of processes using electronic data by combining components that execute the series of processes; ,
a second storage procedure for controlling storage of component information including information relating to a first component registered by a user and a second component pre-installed in the information processing system in a second storage means;
receiving a registration request for a new first component in response to an addition request from an addition screen displayed on the user's terminal, and storing the information on the received first component in the second storage means a component registration procedure for creating the component information for generating the first component and storing the created component information as the first component ;
When the information identifying the application and the information about the electronic data are received from one device among the one or more devices connected to the information processing system, the information processing apparatus 100 responds to the application identified by the information identifying the application. a process execution procedure for executing a series of processes based on the information on the series of processes using electronic data specified by the information on the electronic data;
The process execution procedure combines the first component and the second component based on information about the series of processes corresponding to the application and the component information to perform the series of processes using the electronic data. An information processing method that performs processing. An information processing system including one or more information processing devices,
a first storage procedure for controlling storage of information about the series of processes in a first storage means for each application that executes a series of processes using electronic data by combining components that execute the series of processes; ,
a second storage procedure for controlling storage of component information including information relating to a first component registered by a user and a second component pre-installed in the information processing system in a second storage means;
receiving a registration request for a new first component in response to an addition request from an addition screen displayed on the user's terminal, and storing the information on the received first component in the second storage means a component registration procedure for creating the component information for generating the first component and storing the created component information as the first component ;
When the information identifying the application and the information about the electronic data are received from one device among the one or more devices connected to the information processing system, the information processing apparatus 100 responds to the application identified by the information identifying the application. a process execution procedure for executing a series of processes based on the information on the series of processes using electronic data specified by the information on the electronic data;
The process execution procedure combines the first component and the second component based on information about the series of processes corresponding to the application and the component information to perform the series of processes using the electronic data. A program that performs an action.

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