JP2003032425A - Distribution system for scan image data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distribution system for scan image data, with which a rational means can be provided for easily utilizing digital image data acquired by scanner equipment from the viewpoint of image data management and charge billing management in a remote server. SOLUTION: This distribution system for scan image data is composed of electronic equipment such as multi-function electronic equipment or single scanner equipment provided with a scanner function connected to a network, the remote server for storing and managing the digital image data acquired by scanning an original by the electronic equipment and transferred through the network and a personal computer(PC) connected to the network, and the digital image data stored and managed in the remote server are distributed and provided through the network to the PC.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scan image data distribution system, and more particularly to image data management and accounting management of digital image data acquired by a scanner device in a remote server connected on a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a billing system for copying or the like has already been established, but a system for billing digital image data such as a scanner is not so popular. According to this system, an unspecified number of people can scan digital image data at convenience stores and the like, and digital image data can be centrally managed by a remote server using a network. As a result, the user can access the remote server from his / her personal computer and acquire the scanned image data.
In addition, the manager who introduces this system can also obtain a scanner usage fee. A proposal for charging such a scanner is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-134058 (hereinafter referred to as a conventional example). In this conventional example, the amount of data and the format of image data are charged.

The present invention provides a scan image data distribution system capable of providing a rational means for facilitating the use of digital image data acquired by a scanner device from the viewpoint of image data management and accounting management at a remote server. With the goal.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a scan image data distribution system of the present invention is an electronic device such as a multifunction electronic device including a scanner function connected to a network or a single scanner device. It is constructed by including a device, a remote server that stores and manages digital image data acquired by scanning an original with an electronic device and transferred through a network, and a personal computer connected to the network. The digital image data stored and managed in the remote server is distributed to the personal computer via the network and provided. Therefore, it is possible to collectively manage the image data by transferring the scanned digital image data to a file server or the like that is remotely connected using the network.

Further, the image data sent to the remote server is accessed by the home page browsing browser installed on the personal computer, the scanned remote image data is created in the thumbnail format, and the created thumbnail format is created. Confirm the contents of the image data with the image data of. Therefore, it is possible to recognize at a glance what kind of image data is managed by the remote server. In addition, you can easily access the remote server displayed on the page of HTML format or XML format with the homepage browsing browser installed as standard on the personal computer, and you can perform ID authentication and image acquisition on the page. It is easy to manage and hide personal information.

Further, when the user desires the actual image data by downloading the image data desired by the user among the image data confirmed by the homepage browsing browser via the network by the personal computer owned by the user, the image data is downloaded from there. As a result, the image data can be imported into the personal computer owned (or used) by the user.

When an electronic device installed in a state where it can be used by an unspecified number of users is used by an unspecified number of users, an ID and password for specifying the user are assigned by a prepaid card or the like. The image data is viewed and downloaded only to the user who is authenticated by. Therefore, an ID and a password are individually registered for each user, and a prepaid card for using the scanner is issued. It is possible to authenticate an individual with this ID and password, detect only the image data scanned by the user from the image data sent to the remote server, and download. in this way,
Instead of entrusting the management of billing to the main body of the scanner device, the remote server that manages the image data can manage it by ID and password authentication. In addition, by using the prepaid card format, it is possible to easily obtain IDs and passwords at convenience stores and the like that can be used by an unspecified number of users, and to manage them easily. be able to.

Further, when the image data scanned by the electronic device is transmitted to the remote server, while the image data is managed by the remote server, the image data is scanned by the user depending on the period and the amount of data to be managed. Make a bill. Therefore, it will occupy resources such as the hard disk of the remote server to some extent, so by charging the user according to the amount of data and the period of time stored in the remote server, the remote server administrator or manager can be economically Even if this system is introduced, management can be established without giving any pressure.

[0009] Further, when the user scans an original and sends it to the remote server or downloads it from the remote server, the user is charged. Therefore, even if the user does not use the image data transferred to the remote server, there is no further financial burden on the user. Further, when this system is introduced, since the scanner device and the remote server often have different administrators or managers, it is possible to clarify the management responsibility and the division of profits generated by the user's use of the system.

Further, when the usable charge amount of the prepaid card or the like is exceeded, the image data in the remote server which has passed the management period is deleted. Therefore, the user who left the image data unattended will not be overcharged, and if it is explicitly stated that the image data will be deleted, it can be deleted. , Don't waste resources on remote server.

Further, the image data stored and managed in the remote server is set to be public or non-public, the image data is shared with an unspecified number of users in the case of public, and the image data is scanned in the case of non-public. It can be downloaded only to the owner of the data transferred to the remote server. Therefore, if there is another user who wants similar image data, that user can obtain the information without using the scanner function and reuse the information.
Can be shared.

Further, when the image data is disclosed to an unspecified number of users, or when any user downloads the image data to use it, the data owner is exempted from a certain amount of the charge so far. Or add to the charges available to the data owner. Therefore,
The management fee will be charged even while the image data is open to the public, but if the amount of money that can be used by other users increases, the period during which the remote server can manage it will increase, and this system will also increase. Can be used effectively and positively.

[0013] Further, subject data and category are set for the image data open to the public, and the page accessed by the home page browsing browser can be searched. Therefore, the required image data can be found quickly and accurately.

Further, when it is desired to limit the users to the image data disclosed to the unspecified number of users, a management password is set for each image data, the password is notified to the limited users, and the password is held. The image data will be disclosed only to limited users. Therefore, if the user wants to browse / download only within a certain group, by presenting the password to the group, the use can be limited only to the user who needs the data.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A scan image data distribution system according to the present invention is an electronic device such as a multifunction electronic device including a scanner function connected to a network or a single scanner device, and an original is scanned by the electronic device. A remote server that stores and manages digital image data that is acquired and transferred via a network, and a personal computer that is connected to the network are constructed.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a scan image data distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the scan image data distribution system of the present embodiment is a system mainly constructed by connecting a scanner device 11, a remote server 12, and a user's personal computer 13 via the Internet 14. Further, the scanner device 11 uses a contact glass or a document feeder to optically scan an image of a paper medium such as a document or a photograph and convert it into digital data. In addition, a card recognition unit for authenticating the ID assigned to the prepaid card for charging the system is provided. Further, the scanner device 11 has a system for connecting to a network (IP address allocation, equipment of a network interface card, etc.), is connected to the Internet 14, and uses a file transfer protocol such as FTP to image. Data can be sent. The remote server 12 is the Internet 1
The image data transmitted from the scanner device 11 via 4 can be managed so that the image data can be confirmed on the home page browsing browser on the Internet 14.
A thumbnail is created (or a thumbnail created on the scanner device 11 side is received), a document in HTML / XML format is created, and the document is automatically published on the Internet 14. Through the user's personal computer 13, the user inputs the ID and password assigned at the time of creating the prepaid card on the homepage where the remote server 12 can be accessed. After completing the user authentication, the user can check the scanned image data and download the necessary image data to his or her personal computer.
At that point, if the image data is unnecessary, the image data is deleted according to the user's instruction.

Next, the operation of the scan image data distribution system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 showing the operation flow until the end of the scan of the image data.

First, the user registers an ID and a password for creating a prepaid card at a convenience store or service center where services can be provided (step S101). Then, the prepaid card is inserted into the scanner device 11 of FIG. 1 installed in a convenience store or the like, and the registered ID and password are input (step S102). The scanner device 11 accesses the remote server 12 via the Internet 14 (step S103). And the remote server 1
2 authenticates the ID and password entered by the user,
As a result of the authentication, for example, if the ID or password is different, the ID is unusable, or the usage amount is over, the use refusal is notified to the scanner device 11 and the service is terminated (step S104;
NO, step S105). On the other hand, when the authentication result is OK (step S104; YES), the remote server 12 notifies the scanner device 11 of permission of use, and the scanner device 11 notifies the user of the scanner operation by a message or display. Then, the user places a document on the scanning table of the scanner device 11 and instructs scanning, and the document is scanned (steps S106 and S107). Confirm that all scans have been completed (step S10
8) Ask the user if it should be sent to the remote server 12, cancel the process if not sent (step S109; NO, step S110), and give a name to the read digital image data if sent. The remote server 12 is accessed via the Internet 14 (step S109; YES, step S1).
11, S112).

Next, the operation from the end of scanning to the management by the remote server will be described with reference to FIG. 3 showing the operation flow.

First, the scanner device 11 starts transferring the digital image data having a name to the remote server 12 via the Internet 14 (step S2).
01). The remote server 12 interrupts the data transfer when the reception of the sent digital image data is not completed for some reason (step S202; N).
O, step S203). On the other hand, when the data reception is completed, the received digital image data is filed and stored in the memory in the remote server 12, and the transfer fee from the start to the end of the transmission is charged (step S202; YES, step S204). , S205). Then, the digital image data is created in a thumbnail format, and an HTML / XML format document is created (steps S206 and S207). After the creation, the owner information is registered with the user name and published on the Internet 14 (steps S208, S209). At this point, the management fee is charged according to the management period and the amount of data.

Next, the operation of downloading the digital image data managed by the remote server to the personal computer of the user will be described with reference to FIG. 4 showing the operation flow.

First, the user connects to the HP of the remote server 12 by the personal computer 14 via the Internet 14 (step S301). Then, enter the ID and password according to the message on the HP (step S3).
02). ID authentication is performed, and if the authentication result is unsuccessful, the login is rejected (step S303; NO, step S304). At this time, the user may be prompted to re-enter the ID and password several times, and the login may be rejected when the authentication finally fails. If the authentication is successful, log in, determine whether or not there is a user's instruction, and if not, log out from the user's page (step S
303; YES, step S305, step S30
6; NO, step S307). On the other hand, if there is an instruction, if the instruction is to delete the image data, it is excluded from the billing target, and the corresponding digital image data is deleted from the memory (step S306; YES, step S308). If the user's instruction is to download the image data, the corresponding digital image data is transferred to the user's personal computer and the transfer fee is charged (step S309). If the user who downloaded the published digital image data is the user who sent the digital image data to the remote server, that is, an unspecified number of users other than the so-called data owner, a part of the data usage fee is data. The owner is exempted from being charged when the service is used by the data owner, or returned to the owner such that the data is added to the service available amount.

Here, FIG. 5 shows an example of a charging mode in the scan image data distribution system of this embodiment. The transfer charge in the figure is the charge charged when transferring image data to a remote server using a network line, and the management charge refers to the management period and data volume when managing image data on a remote server. It is a charge set proportionally. Further, the data usage fee is a fee charged when the user downloads public or private image data. However, when used by a user other than the data owner, part of the usage fee is returned to the data owner. In this way, the transfer fee is basically paid to the manager such as a convenience store that has introduced this system, and the management fee and the data use fee are paid to the manager who manages the remote server and the manager thereof. By dividing the billing target, it is possible to bring fair benefits to the resources that need cooperation to establish this system. In addition, by managing the charge with the ID assigned to the prepaid card, the amount of money that can be used when the prepaid card is created is set, and based on this, the management fee for managing the image data on the remote server is the amount of money that can be used. ("Available money" here is the point of view of available points, not the direct exchange of money, but the concept of buying available points.) The image data that is being deleted. As a result, the user is not overcharged and the resources of the remote server are not wasted.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope of the claims.

[0025]

As described above, the scan image data distribution system of the present invention includes an electronic device such as a multifunction electronic device including a scanner function connected to a network or a single scanner device, and an electronic device. A remote server that stores and manages digital image data that is acquired by scanning a document and transferred through a network, and a personal computer connected to the network are constructed. The digital image data stored and managed in the remote server is distributed to the personal computer via the network and provided. Therefore, it is possible to collectively manage the image data by transferring the scanned digital image data to a file server or the like that is remotely connected using the network.

The image data sent to the remote server is accessed by the home page browsing browser installed in the personal computer, and the scanned image data is created in the thumbnail format, and the created thumbnail format is created. Confirm the contents of the image data with the image data of. Therefore, it is possible to recognize at a glance what kind of image data is managed by the remote server. In addition, you can easily access the remote server displayed on the page of HTML format or XML format with the homepage browsing browser installed as standard on the personal computer, and you can perform ID authentication and image acquisition on the page. It is easy to manage and hide personal information.

Further, when the user desires the actual image data by downloading the image data desired by the user among the image data confirmed by the homepage browsing browser via the network by the user own personal computer, the image data is downloaded from there. As a result, the image data can be imported into the personal computer owned (or used) by the user.

When an electronic device installed so that it can be used by an unspecified number of users is used by an unspecified number of users, an ID and password for specifying the user are assigned by a prepaid card or the like, and the ID and password are assigned. The image data is viewed and downloaded only to the user who is authenticated by. Therefore, an ID and a password are individually registered for each user, and a prepaid card for using the scanner is issued. It is possible to authenticate an individual with this ID and password, detect only the image data scanned by the user from the image data sent to the remote server, and download. in this way,
Instead of entrusting the management of billing to the main body of the scanner device, the remote server that manages the image data can manage it by ID and password authentication. In addition, by using the prepaid card format, it is possible to easily obtain IDs and passwords at convenience stores and the like that can be used by an unspecified number of users, and to manage them easily. be able to.

Further, when the image data scanned by the electronic device is transmitted to the remote server, while the image data is managed by the remote server, it is possible to manage the image data for the user who scanned the image data according to the management period and the amount of data. Make a bill. Therefore, it will occupy resources such as the hard disk of the remote server to some extent, so by charging the user according to the amount of data and the period of time stored in the remote server, the economics will be given to the administrator and manager of the remote server. Even if this system is introduced, management can be established without giving any pressure.

In addition, when the user scans the original and sends it to the remote server or downloads it from the remote server, the user is charged. Therefore, even if the user does not use the image data transferred to the remote server, there is no further financial burden on the user. Further, when this system is introduced, since the scanner device and the remote server often have different administrators or managers, it is possible to clarify the management responsibility and the division of profits generated by the user's use of the system.

Further, when the usable charge amount of the prepaid card or the like is exceeded, the image data in the remote server which has passed the management period is deleted. Therefore, the user who left the image data unattended will not be overcharged, and if it is explicitly stated that the image data will be deleted, it can be deleted. , Don't waste resources on remote server.

Further, the image data stored and managed in the remote server is set to be public or non-public, in the case of public, the image data is shared with an unspecified number of users, and in the case of non-public, the image data is scanned. It can be downloaded only to the owner of the data transferred to the remote server. Therefore, if there is another user who wants similar image data, that user can obtain the information without using the scanner function and reuse the information.
Can be shared.

Further, when the image data is disclosed to an unspecified number of users, or when any user downloads the image data to use it, the data owner is exempted from a certain amount of the charge so far. Or add to the charges available to the data owner. Therefore,
The management fee will be charged even while the image data is open to the public, but if the amount of money that can be used by other users increases, the period during which the remote server can manage it will increase, and this system will also increase. Can be used effectively and positively.

Further, subject data and category are set for the image data open to the public, and the page accessed by the home page browsing browser can be searched. Therefore, the required image data can be found quickly and accurately.

Further, when it is desired to limit the users to the image data disclosed to the unspecified public, a management password is set for each image data, the limited users are notified of the password, and the password is given. The image data will be disclosed only to limited users. Therefore, if the user wants to browse / download only within a certain group, by presenting the password to the group, the use can be limited only to the user who needs the data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a scan image data distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation up to the end of scanning of image data in the scan image data distribution system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation from a scan end to management by a remote server in the scan image data distribution system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when digital image data managed by a remote server in the scan image data distribution system of the present embodiment is downloaded to a user's personal computer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of a charging form in the scan image data distribution system according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11; Scanner device, 12; Remote server, 13; User's personal computer, 14; Internet.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device such as a multifunction electronic device including a scanner function connected to a network or a single scanner device, and a digital image which is obtained by scanning a document by the electronic device and transferred through a network. A remote server that stores and manages data and a personal computer that is connected to a network are built, and digital image data that is stored and managed by the remote server is delivered to the personal computer via the network and provided. A scan image data distribution system. 2. The image data sent to the remote server is accessed by the home page browsing browser installed in the personal computer, and the scanned image data is created in the thumbnail format and created. The scan image data distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the content of the image data is confirmed with the thumbnail-format image data. 3. The distribution of scan image data according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image data desired by the user among the image data confirmed by the homepage browsing browser is downloaded via a network by a personal computer owned by the user. system. 4. When the electronic device installed so as to be usable by an unspecified number of users is used by an unspecified number of users, an ID and a password for specifying the user are assigned by a prepaid card or the like, and The scan image data distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image data is browsed and downloaded only to the user who is authenticated by the password. 5. When the image data scanned by the electronic device is transmitted to the remote server, the period and the amount of data to be managed for the user who scanned the image data while the remote server manages the image data. The distribution system for scan image data according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein billing is performed according to the charge. 6. The scan image data distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the user is charged when the document is scanned and sent to a remote server, or when the document is downloaded from the remote server. 7. The scan image data distribution system according to claim 1, wherein when the usable charge amount of a prepaid card or the like is exceeded, image data in the remote server that has passed the management period is deleted. 8. The image data stored and managed in the remote server is set to be public or non-public, the image data is shared with an unspecified number of users in the case of public, and the image data is scanned in the case of non-public. The scan image data distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the scan image data can be downloaded only to a data owner who has transferred to the remote server. 9. When the image data is disclosed to an unspecified number of users, and when any user downloads the image data in order to use it, the data owner is charged a certain fixed amount from the fees charged so far. 9. The scan image data distribution system according to claim 8, wherein the system is exempted or added to the usable amount of charge of the data owner. 10. The scanned image according to claim 8 or 9, wherein subject data is set and categories are assigned to image data that is open to the public, and search is possible on a page accessed by a home page browsing browser. Data distribution system. 11. When it is desired to limit users to image data disclosed to an unspecified number of users, a management password is set for each image data, the password is notified to the limited users, and the password is given. 9. The image data is disclosed only to limited users.
A delivery system for scan image data according to any one of 10 to 10.