JP2006025072A - Image processing server, image processing client, image processing method, computer program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable even a user who does not possess a specified storage area on an image processing server beforehand to perform network transmission of a scanned image with access right through simple setting. <P>SOLUTION: A network scanner 2 as a 1st image processing client reads the image, sets a destination and the access right, and transmits control data regarding the destination and access right to the image processing server 1 while making the control data correspond to the image. The image processing server 1 transmits the control data to a personal computer PC as the destination-specified 2nd image processing client through the Internet N2. When the personal computer PC transmits the control data to the image processing server 1, the image processing server 1 having received the control data transmits the image made to correspond to the control data to the personal computer PC through the Internet N2 based upon the access right of the control data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention receives an image transmitted from an image processing client and sends it to another image processing client, and transmits the image to the image processing server, or receives the image from the image processing server, and a first image processing server. The present invention relates to an image processing method for sending an image from an image processing client to a second image processing client via an image processing server.

  In Patent Documents 1 to 5, in a scanner device connected to a network, a user inputs information such as a client identifier or ID (identification information) by hand or reads it from an IC card, and scan image data based on the information. Is disclosed to a storage area owned by a user. At this time, if the user does not give information such as a client identifier or ID to the scanner, the scanned image data is transferred to the shared storage area.

JP-A-11-120369 JP 11-122444 A JP-A-11-196224 JP 2000-069221 A JP 2001-148753 A

  In these cases, when it is desired to set access restrictions on the scanned image data and share it, the user who owns the client identifier or ID transfers the scanned image data to the storage area owned by the user, and the storage area By setting the access restriction for, the access restriction to the scanned image data is realized. Therefore, it is difficult for a user who does not have a client identifier or ID and a storage area corresponding to the client identifier to generate scan image data, set an access right, and publish it on the network.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, the present invention relates to a file system for storing an image sent from a client via a network, a control data transmission means for transmitting control data relating to an access right to an image sent from the client to another client, and another client An image processing server comprising image transmission means for transmitting an image stored in the file system to another client based on the access right of the control data sent from.

  The present invention also provides a scanner unit for reading an image, a setting unit for setting an image destination and an image access right read by the scanner unit, and control data from the image destination and the image access right set by the setting unit. Image processing comprising: control data generation means for generating; and transmission means for transmitting the image to the image processing server via the network and transmitting the control data generated by the control data generation means to the image processing server in association with the image It is a client.

  The present invention also provides control data receiving means for receiving control data related to image access rights sent from the image processing server, and control data transmitting means for sending control data received by the control data receiving means to the image processing server. An image processing client comprising: an image receiving unit that receives an image transmitted from the image processing server in accordance with an access right based on the control data transmitted by the control data transmitting unit.

  The present invention also includes a step of reading an image with the scanner unit of the first image processing client, transmitting control data related to the access right of the image to the image processing server in association with the image, and an image processing server. Transmitting the control data from the image processing server to the second image processing client via the network, and transmitting the control data from the second image processing client that has received the control data to the image processing server. And a step of transmitting an image associated with the control data to the second image processing client via the network based on the access right.

  In the present invention as described above, the destination and access right of the image read by the scanner unit of the image processing client are set, control data relating to the destination and access right is generated and transmitted to the image processing server together with the image. The image processing server stores the image and control data sent from the image processing client in the file system, and transmits the control data to another image processing client that is the destination of the image. When another image processing client that has received the control data transmits the control data to the image processing server, the image processing server transmits the image stored in the file system to the other image processing client based on the access right of the control data. With such an image processing client and image processing server, an access right can be set for each image read by the scanner unit (or for each page if the image is composed of multiple pages) so that the image can be transmitted and received. Become.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, for example, using a network-connected scanner device (for example, a color copying machine) installed in a convenience store, an image read by the scanning unit is registered and stored in the image processing server, An access right can be set for each image (or for each page if the image is composed of a plurality of pages), and use according to the access right is possible. As a result, even if the user does not own information such as a client identifier or ID or a specific storage area in the image processing server, the access right for the image read by the scanning unit can be set only with a simple operation. It is possible to send and receive images based on the above.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, for example, in a scanner device connected to a network (for example, a color copying machine) installed in a convenience store, scanned image data generated by a user scanning a document is transmitted to an image processing server on the network. An example is a system in which the scanned image data can be used from a computer at another location connected to the network by transmitting to the network and registering it.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram to which the present embodiment is applied. The image processing server 1 of the present embodiment is connected to a store network N1 and the Internet N2. A network scanner 2 such as a color copier serving as an image processing client installed in each store such as a convenience store is connected to the store network N1, and a personal computer PC (for example, other image processing client) is connected to the Internet N2. PC1 to PC3) are connected.

  In such a system configuration, in this embodiment, even a user who does not have a special storage area in the image processing server 1 can register an image captured by the network scanner 2 in the store in the image processing server 1, and this image The access right is set for the personal computer PC that is connected to the Internet N2.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image processing server. The image processing server includes a system control unit 11, a file system 12, and a transmission / reception unit 13. That is, the image processing server receives the image read by the network scanner 2 shown in FIG. To do. Further, the image processing server transmits control data sent in correspondence with the image from the transmission / reception unit 13 to the personal computer PC designated as the destination via the Internet N2. This control data is transmitted as an attached file of an e-mail to the personal computer PC as a destination.

  The image processing server receives the control data sent from the personal computer PC by the transmission / reception unit 13, analyzes the access right based on the control data, and sends an image from the file system 12 via the Internet N2 according to the access right. The data is transmitted to the personal computer PC that is the transmission source of the control data.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the network scanner. The network scanner includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 22, a file system 23, an operation panel 24, a system control unit 25, a control data generation unit 26, and a transmission unit 27. The scanner unit 21 is a part that reads a desired document (image) prepared by a user as image data (scanned image). The image processing unit 22 is a part that performs desired image processing such as enlargement, reduction, hue, and sharpness on the image data read by the scanner unit 21 and stores the image data in the file system 23.

  The operation panel 24 includes input means (touch panel, key switch, etc.) for receiving various settings by the user and a monitor. The system control unit 25 is a part that controls each unit. The control data generation unit 26 is a part that generates control data relating to the access right to the image read by the scanner unit 21 and the destination of the image. The transmission unit 27 performs processing for transmitting an image read by the scanner unit 21 and control data corresponding to the image to the image processing server 1 (see FIG. 1) via the store network N1.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a personal computer that is another image processing client. The personal computer includes a system control unit 31, a display unit 32, and a transmission / reception unit 33. The system control unit 31 controls each unit. The display unit 32 is a part for displaying the content of the received electronic mail or displaying data such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) downloaded via the Internet N2.

  The transmission / reception unit 33 includes a control data reception unit 33a, a control data transmission unit 33b, and an image reception unit 33c. Among these, the control data receiving unit 33a is a part that receives control data transmitted from the image processing server via the Internet N2 as an attached file of an e-mail. The control data transmission unit 33b is a part that transmits control data received as an attached file of an electronic mail to the image processing server via the Internet N2. The image receiving unit 33c is a part that downloads and receives an image corresponding to the control data from the image processing server.

  In the present embodiment, the image processing server 1, the network scanner 2 and the personal computer PC having such a configuration realize transmission / reception of images for which access rights are set.

  Next, the image processing method of the present embodiment will be described along the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, steps S1 to S5 are processing by the network scanner, steps S6 to S7 and step S9 are processing by the image processing server, and steps S8 and S10 are processing by the personal computer. Reference numerals not shown in FIG. 5 in the following description refer to FIGS.

  First, as shown in step S1, when the user selects a net scan from the menu screen displayed on the operation panel 24 of the network scanner 2, the operation panel 24 sets parameters (scan parameters) for an image to be scanned. Is displayed. The user sets, for example, a color mode (full color, gray scale, black and white binary), resolution, magnification, and file format as scan parameters (step S2).

  Next, as shown in step S3, an original is placed on the scanner unit 21 and an image is scanned. The scanned image is subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing unit 22 of the network scanner 2 and then stored in the file system 23. Next, a screen for setting the destination and the access right is displayed, and the user sets an e-mail address as the destination of the image and sets the access right for the image (step S4). Thereafter, the control data generation unit 26 of the network scanner 2 generates control data relating to the destination (e-mail address) and access right of the image set by the user in advance (step S5). Next, as shown in step S6, the network scanner 2 transmits the scanned image and the control data corresponding thereto to the image processing server 1 from the transmission unit 27 via the store network N1. At this time, the control data may be transmitted after being encrypted.

  Next, as shown in step S <b> 7, the image and control data transmitted from the network scanner 2 via the store network N <b> 1 are received by the transmission / reception unit 13 of the image processing server 1 and registered in the file system 12. Subsequently, the image processing server 1 transmits the control data by e-mail to the destination address as an attached file of the e-mail (step S8). This e-mail is sent to an e-mail server (not shown) connected to the Internet N2, and is received by the personal computer PC.

  Next, as shown in step S9, control data attached to the e-mail is transmitted from the personal computer PC that has received the e-mail to the image processing server 1 via the Internet N2. The image processing server 1 receives the control data sent from the personal computer PC, and analyzes the corresponding image and access right from the control data. Then, an image corresponding to the control data is read from the file system 12, and transmitted to the personal computer PC that is the transmission source of the control data via the Internet N2 (step S10). The personal computer PC can process an image based on the access right (step S11).

  Next, the image processing method as described above will be described along the transition of the screens shown in FIGS. First, when the user selects net scan from the menu screen of the network scanner 2, a mail destination input and access right setting screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. This e-mail address is an e-mail address to which images and control data are sent from the image processing server 1. For this e-mail address, it is possible to specify a destination addressed to the user himself / herself and a destination by access right for the scanned image.

  Examples of access rights include read-only and editable (allowing application of image processing to scanned image data on the server). At the same time, the user may be prompted to enter a password such as a password, and the control data corresponding to the access right may be generated by adding the information corresponding to the access right to the input password and applying encryption. . In some cases, biometric information such as a user's fingerprint is used instead of the password or password. The control data is stored in the image processing server 1 in one-to-one correspondence by embedding or attaching to the scanned image data.

  When the setting of the e-mail destination and access right is completed, an image reading parameter setting screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. Here, the color mode (full color, gray scale, black and white binary, etc.), resolution, magnification, and file format can be set. After setting, when a document is placed on the scanner unit 21 and the “read” button is selected, a preview of the read image is displayed. If the read image is acceptable, the “transmission registration” button is selected. By selecting this button, the read image, the previously set electronic mail address, and control data relating to the access right are transmitted to the image processing server 1 via the store network N1.

  When the image processing server 1 receives the scan image sent from the network scanner 2 and accepts the registration, the image processing server 1 generates a scan registration number (passcode) for uniquely identifying the scan image, and the generated scan registration The scanned image received in association with the number (passcode) is registered. Here, the passcode is identification information for uniquely specifying a scanned image, and is, for example, a unique character string (a string of alphabets and numbers) generated for each scanned image. This passcode may be used for the file name or storage location name of the scanned image.

  The image processing server 1 transmits an e-mail (notification mail) that provides a storage location of the scanned image and control data to an e-mail address that is input and designated by the user at the time of scanning. It is also possible to attach a thumbnail image of the scanned image to the notification mail by the user who sends the image specifying in advance with the network scanner 2.

  The recipient of the notification mail uses the browser of the personal computer PC to access the scan image storage location via the network. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the browser screen when accessing the storage location of the scanned image. On this screen, a text box for specifying the location of the control file (access control file) is displayed, and a path is directly entered here, or the “location” button is selected and the control file is designated from the screen display. Until this control file is transmitted, the characters “scanned image cannot be downloaded” are displayed on the screen, indicating that the image cannot be extracted.

  When the control file is designated and the “input” button is selected, the browser screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. In this screen, the display that has been “scanned image download disabled” until the previous display has changed to “scanned image download enabled”, and the image of the displayed scan registration number is transferred from the image processing server 1 to the personal computer PC. Indicates that it can be downloaded. In this download, the scanned image data can be used according to the access right of the control data.

  By such processing, the scanned image read by the network scanner 2 can be downloaded by an external personal computer PC connected to the Internet N2, and the handling of the image is restricted by the access right specified when the network scanner 2 reads the scanned image. Is also possible.

  The control data described above is composed of data related to the destination and the access right, but other data may be taken into the control data. For example, the location (area or store number) where the network scanner 2 is installed, store number, machine number, date and time, scan job number, password set by the user, and access for each page when the image is composed of multiple pages By embedding the rights, etc., it is possible to easily identify the place where the image is taken in, and the receiving side can easily grasp where the image is sent from.

  In addition, as an example of the personal computer PC connected to the Internet N2 as an image processing client serving as an image destination, a portable terminal such as a PDA or a cellular phone may be used. Furthermore, the networks (the store network N1 and the Internet N2) used in the above description may be other networks.

It is a system configuration figure to which this embodiment is applied. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of an image processing server. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of a network scanner. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a personal computer that is another image processing client. It is a flowchart explaining the image processing method of this embodiment. It is FIG. (1) explaining a screen transition. It is FIG. (2) explaining a screen transition. It is FIG. (3) explaining a screen transition. It is FIG. (4) explaining a screen transition.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image processing server, 2 ... Network scanner, 11 ... System control part, 12 ... File system, 13 ... Transmission / reception part, 21 ... Scanner part, 22 ... Image processing part, 23 ... File system, 24 ... Operation panel, 25 ... System control unit 26 ... Control data generation unit 27 ... Transmission unit 31 ... System control unit 32 ... Display unit 33 ... Transmission / reception unit 33a ... Control data reception unit 33b ... Control data transmission unit 33c ... Image reception Department, N1 ... Store network, N2 ... Internet, PC1-PC3 ... Personal computer

Claims (10)

A file system for storing images sent from the client via the network;
Control data transmission means for transmitting control data relating to the access right to the image sent from the client to another client;
An image processing server, comprising: an image transmission unit configured to transmit the image stored in the file system to the another client based on an access right of the control data transmitted from the other client. The image processing server according to claim 1, wherein the control data transmission unit transmits the control data as an attachment to an e-mail addressed to the other client. A scanner unit for reading an image;
Setting means for setting the destination of the image read by the scanner unit and the access right of the image;
Control data generating means for generating control data from the destination of the image set by the setting means and the access right of the image;
A transmission unit that transmits the image to the image processing server via a network, and transmits the control data generated by the control data generation unit to the image processing server in association with the image. Image processing client. In addition to the setting of the access right, the setting means can accept an e-mail address addressed to another client that is the transmission destination of the image,
The image processing client according to claim 3, wherein the transmission unit transmits the electronic mail address received by the setting unit in addition to the image and the control data to the image processing server. The image processing client according to claim 3, wherein the control data generation unit includes information on an installation location of the scanner unit in addition to the access right of the image as the control data. Control data receiving means for receiving control data related to image access rights sent from the image processing server;
Control data transmitting means for transmitting the control data received by the control data receiving means to the image processing server;
An image processing client comprising: an image receiving unit that receives an image transmitted from the image processing server in accordance with an access right based on the control data transmitted by the control data transmitting unit. The image processing client according to claim 6, wherein the control data receiving unit receives the control data as an attached file of an e-mail. Reading an image with a scanner unit of a first image processing client, and transmitting control data relating to the access right of the image to the image processing server in association with the image;
Transmitting the control data from the image processing server to a second image processing client via a network;
By transmitting the control data from the second image processing client that has received the control data to the image processing server, it is associated with the control data based on the access right of the control data from the image processing server. And a step of transmitting an image to the second image processing client via a network.   A computer program for realizing the image processing method according to claim 8. A storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 9.

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