JP2006195722A - Network service system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a complicated procedure of a user acquiring network path information of a data storing destination, memorizing it and then setting the network path information, etc., of the data storing destination by manual input. <P>SOLUTION: A system is constituted with a service provided with a means to store the data, a means to logically divide the storing means into at least one or more, a means to specify one of the divided data storing means, a means to produce location information on the network for the specified data storing means and attribute information, a service to transmit the location information and the attribute information to the network, a means to receive and record the location information and the attribute information and then to specify the service providing the data storing means with the location information and the attribute information, and a data producing function with a function for transmitting data to the service providing the data storing means with the specified location information and the attribute information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a peripheral device corresponding to a network, an information processing device that controls the peripheral device, and a network service system including these devices.

  As network infrastructure is improved, image processing apparatuses such as network compatible printers, flatbed scanners, digital cameras, and copiers are rapidly spreading.

  Along with this, information that has been conventionally stored on a paper base is digitized by image input devices such as scanners and digital cameras, and stored and managed by personal computers and storage devices connected to these network-compatible image processing devices. However, a workflow for creating a hard copy is being transferred from an image output device such as a printer or a copying machine as necessary.

In order to support such a situation, an image processing apparatus having functions of electronic information and storage means has been developed. For example, in a network-compatible scanner provided with an operation unit, it is recorded on paper. The information is read from the scanner and converted to electronic data, and the converted data is transferred to a destination specified by the operation unit using a data transfer protocol such as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP). An image processing apparatus having a function is widespread (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-136475

  However, in the above conventional example, there is a great restriction on convenience depending on the data transfer protocol used. That is, in the case of Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), when the transfer protocol is used, the environment to which the network-compatible image processing apparatus is connected is an environment in which a mail server can be used. When using services provided by, image input devices, output devices, and client devices that use these devices need to have independent mail accounts, which is difficult to implement in a SOHO (Small Office / Home Office) environment. Met. In addition, when the transfer protocol is used, there is a limit to the data capacity that can be transferred at one time due to the limitation of the mail server system to be used, which is not suitable for handling a large amount of data such as a color image.

  On the other hand, when using a transfer protocol such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), it is necessary to specify the transmission destination of electronic data read by the image input device, that is, the network path via the operation unit of the image input device. However, first, the user needs to accurately grasp the network information of the network device to which the electronic data is transferred, and if the network path has a deep directory hierarchy, the kanji characters are used for folder names and file names. In such a case, the input is extremely complicated, which is a factor that impairs convenience for the user. In addition, since it is necessary to specify the network path accurately in this way, the image input apparatus needs to have a high-function operation unit, and the low-end image input apparatus cannot implement the function due to cost problems. I had a problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems. Conventionally, the user acquires and stores the network path information of the data storage destination, and further manually inputs the network path information of the data storage destination. An object of the present invention is to provide a network service system that can eliminate the complicated procedure of setting.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems,
A network service system comprising a plurality of service providing devices connected to a network,
Means for storing data, means for logically dividing the storage means into at least one or more, means for designating one of the divided data storage means, and a network of the designated data storage means Means for generating location information and attribute information, a service for transmitting the location information and attribute information over a network, a function for receiving and recording the location information and attribute information, and the location information, and A data generation function having a function of transmitting data to a service providing a data storage means having a specified location information and attribute information is provided. It is characterized by
In addition, the network service system is provided with a means for storing data, the service having means for logically dividing the storage means into at least one, and either of the divided data storage means A service that is logically independent of a means for designating the location information and attribute information on the network of the designated data storage means, and a service for transmitting the location information and attribute information on the network. It is characterized by
A function for receiving and recording data storage destination location information and attribute information, and a service designating means for providing a data storage means having the location information and attribute information; For services that provide data storage means with specified location information and attribute information, services with data transmission and services with data generation are logically independent services. Features
Further, in the network service system, the attribute information of the data storage means generated by the service includes at least information specifying an access right owner for the data storage means, a data size that can be stored in the storage means, Including an expiration date for using the storage means,
The network service system is characterized in that it has a function of generating and displaying an icon uniquely associated with the location information of all received data storage destinations and attribute information,
In addition, by selecting and specifying the displayed icon in the network service system, location information and attribute information uniquely associated with the icon are acquired from the recording means and generated for the corresponding data storage destination. It is equipped with a function to automatically transmit the processed data,
Further, the network service system has a function of displaying an icon uniquely associated with the data storage destination based on the received location information and attribute information of the data storage destination, and is recorded in the attribute information Based on the valid expiration date, it has a function of deleting the icon corresponding to the data storage destination that has exceeded the expiration date, and a function of deleting the location information and attribute information of the received data storage destination,
Further, the network service system has a function of displaying an icon that uniquely associates the information with the data storage destination based on the received location information and attribute information of the data storage destination, and designates the icon In comparing the generated data and the data size that can be stored in the data storage destination, if the generated data size exceeds the storable data size, it has a function to stop data transfer,
Further, the network service system has a function of displaying an icon that uniquely associates the information with the data storage destination based on the received location information and attribute information of the data storage destination, and designates the icon Compare the generated data with the data size that can be stored in the data storage destination, and if the generated data size exceeds the data size that can be stored, notify the procedure for generating data of the storable data size A network service system comprising means for performing

  According to the present invention, when an information processing device provided with data storage means and an information processing device provided with data generation means are connected via a network, the location information on the data storage destination network and the storage A means for notifying attribute information for accessing first, and a function of receiving the location information and the attribute information by an information processing device including a data generating means, and displaying the icon information based on the received information. In order to provide a function of automatically transmitting data to an information processing apparatus having a data storage means by selecting and specifying an icon, conventionally, a user acquires and stores network path information of a data storage destination. Setting the network path information, account information, etc. of the data storage destination manually to the data generation device It has become possible to eliminate more. In addition, since no special server or the like is required on the network for data transfer, it is possible to realize data transfer and storage services without depending on the scale of the network infrastructure.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the protocol, version, address, other numerical values and the like described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified.

  A protocol conversion system as an embodiment of a service providing system according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing system as an embodiment of the present invention.

  In practicing the present invention, it is necessary to mount a file transfer control unit in each of the client and the image input device, and the configuration of each will be described in detail below.

  The file transfer control unit 1 implemented in the client 100 operates on a general-purpose operating system such as Windows (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation or Mac OS of Apple Corporation, and includes an input processing unit 7, a graphic processing unit 8, It comprises a recording device control unit 6, a SOAP processing unit 4, and a data reception processing unit 5. The SOAP processing unit 4 and the data reception processing unit 5 are constructed in an upper layer of the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) processing unit 3, and the HTTP processing unit is constructed in an upper layer of the TCP / UDP / IP protocol stack 2. .

  On the other hand, the file transfer control unit 9 is implemented by taking a network-capable image input apparatus 200, in this embodiment as an example of a multi-function peripheral composed of a scanner, a printer, and an operation panel.

  The file transfer control unit 9 implemented in the image input processing device 200 operates on a general-purpose real-time operating system, and includes an operation unit control unit 15, a display unit control unit 14, a recording device control unit 16, a scanner controller 17, It comprises a SOAP processing unit 12 and a data transmission processing unit 13. The SOAP processing unit 12 and the data transmission processing unit 13 are constructed in an upper layer of the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) processing unit 11, and the HTTP processing unit is constructed in an upper layer of the TCP / UDP / IP protocol stack 10. .

  Hereinafter, the control flow of the present system will be described with reference to a flowchart.

  FIG. 2 shows the setting of the storage device that is the transfer destination of the electronic file, that is, in the case of this embodiment, the directory / folder for storing the electronic file input from the image input device is designated, and the information is stored in the image input device. The flow of control until notification is shown.

  Hereinafter, step is indicated as S in the drawing.

  In the case of this embodiment, when the user right-clicks the transfer destination folder of the electronic file with the mouse (step 2-1), the input processing unit 7 of the file transfer control unit 1 of the client 100 detects the operation, and FIG. As shown, a menu is displayed via the graphic processing unit 8. When the user further right-clicks the item “Data SEND” displayed on this menu with the mouse, the input processing unit 7 detects the operation, and an input screen is displayed via the graphic processing unit 8 as shown in FIG. Here, the user inputs an account name for identifying the user, a password, and an expiration date for accessing the folder by date and time (step 2-2). When the above input is completed and the OK button is pressed, the input processing unit 7 detects these operations, and the file transfer control unit 1 inputs the path information of the file designated via the recording device control unit 6 and the steps. The recorded account name, password, and expiration date are recorded on the recording device (step 2-3).

  Next, the file transfer control unit 1 transmits a packet for searching for an image input device having an electronic file transfer function connected on the network (step 2-4). The protocol used for the search uses Simple Service Discovery Protocol defined in Universal Plug and Play Architecture 1.0, describes “DataSend” as a search condition in the ST header, and multicast address 239.255.255. The HTTP packet having the format shown in FIG.

At this time, Simple Object Access Protocol is used as the entity body of the HTTP request, and when the document data is transmitted, the account name, the password, the expiration date permitting access to the folder, and the transfer described in the URL format are transmitted. The path information of the destination folder and the data capacity that can be received in the folder, in this embodiment, the unit is bytes. These pieces of information are transmitted in the format shown in FIG. In the figure,
<Account> is the account name,
<Password> is the password,
<Expiration> is the expiration date,
<Url> is the path information of the data transfer destination folder <capacity> corresponds to the receivable data capacity.

  The SOAP envelope is generated by the SOAP processing unit 4 based on the information recorded on the recording device in step 2-3, and is multicast-transmitted via the HTTP processing unit 3 and the protocol stack 2 (step 2-4).

  The file transfer control unit 1 of the image input apparatus 200 receives the HTTP request via the HTTP processing unit (step 2-5), analyzes the ST (Service Type) header of the request, and specifies the ST specification outside DataSend. If there is, or if the packet contents are invalid, the processing is interrupted. A response is not issued for the request, but is ignored (step 2-6).

  When the content of the header is DataSend, the SOAP processing unit 12 analyzes the SOAP message that is the entity body of the HTTP request, and when the processing is acceptable, records the information via the recording device control unit 6. After recording in the apparatus (step 2-7), a response is issued by unicast to the client in the format shown in FIG. 6 (step 2-8).

  In this case, Simple Object Access Protocol is used as the entity body, and the product name, identification name, URL, and location information of the image input device 200 are transmitted.

FIG. 6 shows the format of the SOAP envelope.
<ModelName> is the product name,
<Friendlyname> is an identification name,
<Url> is URL,
<Location> corresponds to location information.

  After these processes are completed, the file transfer control unit of the image input apparatus 200 again enters the search packet reception waiting state.

  When the file transfer control unit 1 of the client 100 receives a response from the image input device 200 within a predetermined time, within 10 seconds in the case of this embodiment (step 2-9), the SOAP processing unit 4 transmits the response packet. The SOAP envelope that is an entity body is analyzed, and the product name, identification name, URL, and location information described in the envelope are recorded in the recording device via the recording device control unit 6 (step 2-10).

  Next, the file transfer control unit 1 changes the icon display of the folder designated as the electronic data transfer destination in the step to the icon display shown in FIG. 7 via the graphic processing unit 8, and the image input apparatus 200 has been searched. The user is notified (step 2-11).

  In this case, when the user selects a property from a menu item displayed by right-clicking the folder with the mouse, the input processing unit 7 detects these operations, and is acquired from the image input apparatus 200 in step 2-12. The product name, identification name, URL, and location information are displayed (FIG. 8).

  When there are a plurality of responding image input devices, a tag is assigned to each image input device as shown in the figure, and the product name, identification name, URL, and location information are described and displayed.

  If there is no response from any of the image input devices within the specified time, the folder icon display does not change and the property information is not displayed (step 2-13). With this operation, the user can confirm that the image input device cannot be found.

  A plurality of folders can be specified, and the user can specify a plurality of folders as data transfer destinations by repeating the steps.

  Based on the profile information of the step, the user moves to a desired installation location of the image input device and executes an image input process. The processing procedure will be described below with reference to flowcharts 9a and 9b.

  FIG. 10 shows the display contents of the display panel of the image input apparatus 200 embodying the present invention.

  In the figure, when the “Send” button is touched (step 9-1), the operation unit control unit 15 of the image input device 200 and the file transfer control unit 9 detects the operation, and via the display unit control unit 14, FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the step 9-2 data transfer destination within the expiration date recorded in step 2-7 is displayed in the form of an icon, and the folder owner is displayed as an account name (step 9-3). When Notify is received from a plurality of clients, a folder icon is displayed for each client.

  Here, when the user touches the icon on which the account name designated in the previous step is displayed (step 9-4), the operation unit control unit 15 detects the operation and displays the operation in FIG. As shown, a password input screen is displayed for user authentication (step 9-5).

  The file transfer control unit 9 detects the user's key input via the operation unit control unit 15 and compares the input password with the password recorded in the recording device in steps. If the input passwords do not match, an error message is displayed via the display control unit 14 (step 9-6), and the user is prompted to input again (step 9-5). Re-input is possible up to three times, and when a password that does not match the third time is input (step 9-7), the file transfer control unit 9 of the image input device 200 displays a folder icon via the display unit control unit 14. Along with step 9-10 to be erased from the display unit, the corresponding information received from the client recorded in the recording device is erased (step 9-11).

  When the expiration date is exceeded in the state of Step 9-3, that is, when the folder icon is displayed on the display unit of the image input device 200 (step 9-8), the image input device 200 transmits the folder via the display unit control unit 14. The icon is deleted from the display unit (step 9-10), and the corresponding information received from the client recorded in the recording device is deleted (step 9-11).

  If the passwords match (step 9-12), it is determined whether or not the expiration date has passed in the process so far (step 9-13). If the expiration date has been exceeded (step 9-14), the image input apparatus 200 displays The message that the expiration date of the designated folder has been exceeded is displayed via the section control section 14 (step 9-9), the folder icon is deleted from the display section (step 9-10), and the client recorded in the recording device The corresponding information received from (1) is deleted (step 9-11).

  If it is within the validity period, the file transfer control unit 9 of the image input device 200 specifies the data format and resolution for digitizing the read image to the user via the display control unit as shown in FIG. Prompt (step 9-15). In this embodiment, PDF, TIFF, and JPEG can be specified, and 200, 300, 400, and 600 dpi can be specified as resolutions.

  When the expiration date is exceeded in the state of step, the image input device 200 deletes the folder icon from the display unit via the display unit control unit 14, displays an expiration date expiration message, and receives it from the client recorded in the recording device. Delete the corresponding information.

  Next, when the user presses the start button, reading of the image is started. If the expiration date is exceeded during that time (step 9-16), the image input apparatus 200 determines the expiration date of the folder designated via the display unit control unit 14. Is displayed (step 9-9), the folder icon is deleted from the display unit (step 9-10), and the corresponding information received from the client recorded in the recording device is deleted (step 9-11).

  When the user presses the start button (step 9-17), the file transfer control unit 9 detects these operations via the operation unit control unit 15, and activates the scanner controller 17 based on the designated data format and resolution (step 9). -18). The scanner controller 17 converts the document placed on the document table into the read data format with the specified data format and resolution (step 9-19).

  The file read by the scanner and converted into the designated data format is temporarily stored in the recording device of the image input processing device 200 via the recording device control unit 16 (step 9-20), and the file transfer control unit 9 Checks the data size of the file (step 9-21). This data size is compared with the file capacity notified in step, and when the file capacity is exceeded (step 9-22), the data recorded in the recording device in step 9-20 is erased (step 9-23), and the display section control section 14 displays an error message on the display unit (step 9-24). In this case, the file transfer control unit 9 calculates the recommended resolution and the number of readable originals and displays them on the display unit (FIG. 14) (steps 9-25). The user executes the operation of step 9-15 again as necessary.

  If it is within the file capacity in the step (step 9-26), the image input device 200 causes the file transfer control unit 9 to bind the data recorded in the recording device to the HTTP POST packet for the URL recorded in the step and to process the HTTP processing unit. 11. Send to client via protocol stack 10 (step 9-27).

  After receiving the HTTP request via the HTTP processing unit 3 (step 9-30), the file transfer control unit 1 of the client compares the URL described in the HTTP header with the information recorded in the recording device in the step, If they match, the received data is recorded in the folder of the URL (step 9-32).

  If they do not match, an error response is returned to the image input apparatus 200, and data reception is not executed (step 9-33).

  When the series of data transfer is normally completed (step 9-28), the file transfer control unit 9 of the image input device 200 deletes the data file remaining in the recording device via the recording device control unit 16 (step 9-29). ), (Step 9-3) Return to the folder icon display process.

  As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to transfer the digitized data by the image input apparatus 200 to a specified arbitrary folder by repeating the steps 92-1 to 9-33 described above. It becomes.

[Other embodiments]
In this embodiment, an embodiment in which a scanner having an operation unit is a network-compatible image input device is shown. However, as a network-compatible device, a flatbed scanner, a copier, a digital camera, a storage device, and those A device having a composite function, which has a function to generate and hold information that is not limited to images but also digitized, and has an operation unit inside or outside the device, and the digitized data held by these devices As long as the device has a function of designating the destination of the transfer, it can be realized in any case.

  Further, in this embodiment, an embodiment in which a personal computer having a general-purpose operating system is used as a client device is shown. However, as a client device, a PDA, a mobile phone, a copying machine, a digital camera, a storage device, and a composite thereof A device having a function, having a function of recording computerized information as well as an image, and having an operation unit inside or outside the device, and a function of designating a storage location of the digitized data It can be realized in any case as long as it has an apparatus.

  Therefore, the storage service for storing data is a service provided by a service provider via the Internet, and the storage destination information for the storage is stored in a personal computer equipped with the file transfer control unit according to the present invention independent of the service. By designating and notifying the storage device information to the image input device, the present invention can also be implemented for a storage device that exists in a network segment different from the client device via the Internet from the image input device. is there.

  In step 2-2 in this embodiment, an account name and password are set for the data transfer destination folder. However, in a network environment that does not require these security measures, information for uniquely identifying the transfer destination folder. An embodiment in which only these are generated and these settings are omitted is also possible.

  In step 2-4 of this embodiment, information such as the account name, password, and expiration date set in step 2-2 is multicast transmitted in plain text, but in a network environment that requires security measures, An embodiment in which information described in XML is encrypted and transmitted is also possible.

  Also, in step 2-2 of this embodiment, designation settings such as whether or not to allow input in a color image and a file format are added, and these additional information is transmitted in step 2-4, and an image input device that satisfies the conditions of the additional information It is also possible to have a function of performing a search for narrowing down the image input device by only responding.

  In this embodiment (steps 2-4), SSDP defined in Microsoft Universal Plug and Play Device Architecture v1.0 is used for searching for an image input device. For example, SLP, Multicast DNS-SD, SNMP It can be realized even when other standardized protocols are used.

  In this embodiment, when electronic data is transmitted from the image input apparatus 200 to the client 100, an example in which electronic data is transmitted as an entity of HTTP POST has been described. However, these electronic data are banded using SOAP. It is also possible to realize this by transferring the data after transfer.

  In this embodiment, when the electronic data is transmitted from the image input apparatus 200 to the client 100, the HTTP protocol is used. However, in step 2-2, the client side notifies the protocol for data transfer, so that an arbitrary data is transmitted. Embodiments that transmit electronic data using a protocol are also feasible.

It is a figure which shows each function structure of the client which comprises the file transfer system as one Embodiment of this invention, and a network corresponding | compatible scanner. It is a flowchart figure which shows the electronic file transfer destination designation | designated procedure of the file transfer system in this invention, and the process of an image input device search. It is a figure which shows the menu display at the time of the file transfer destination folder designation | designated in this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen display which prompts the attribute information setting of the file transfer destination folder in this invention. It is a figure which shows the packet format for the image input device search in this invention. It is a figure which shows the format of the response packet transmitted from the image input device in this invention. It is a figure which shows the folder icon displayed when there exists a response from an image input device. It is a figure which shows the attribute information display of the image input apparatus which responded. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an image input process of the file transfer system according to the present invention and a process until data is transferred from the image processing apparatus to a folder designated by a client. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an image input process of the file transfer system according to the present invention and a process until data is transferred from the image processing apparatus to a folder designated by a client. It is a figure which shows the function selection screen of an image input device display part. It is a figure which shows the data transfer destination folder display screen of an image input device display part. It is a figure which shows the password input screen of an image input device display part. It is a figure which shows the resolution and data format designation | designated screen of an image input device display part. It is a figure which shows the error message of the image input device display part, recommended resolution, and the number of scanable images.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 File transfer control part 2 TCP / UDP / IP protocol stack 3 HTTP processing part 4 SOAP processing part 5 Data reception processing part 6 Recording device control part 7 Input processing part 8 Graphic processing part 9 File transfer control part 10 TCP / UDP / IP Protocol stack 11 HTTP processing unit 12 SOAP processing unit 13 Data transmission processing unit 14 Display unit control unit 15 Operation unit control unit 16 Recording device control unit 17 Scan controller 100 Client 200 Image input device

Claims (9)

A network service system comprising a plurality of service providing devices connected to a network,
Means for storing data, means for logically dividing the storage means into at least one or more, means for designating one of the divided data storage means, and a network of the designated data storage means Means for generating location information and attribute information, and a service for transmitting the location information and attribute information over a network;
A function for receiving and recording the location information and attribute information; a means for specifying a service for providing data storage means having the location information and attribute information; and data storage having the specified location information and attribute information. A network service system comprising a service having a data generation function having a function of transmitting data to a service providing means.   2. The network service system according to claim 1, comprising means for storing data, a service comprising means for logically dividing the storage means into at least one and the divided data storage means. Is logically independent of the means for specifying any one of the above, the means for generating location information and attribute information on the network of the specified data storage means, and the service for transmitting the location information and attribute information on the network. Network service system characterized by being   2. The network service system according to claim 1, wherein a function for receiving and recording data storage location information and attribute information and a service for providing data storage means having the location information and attribute information are specified. Service providing data transmission means and service providing data generation for services that provide data storage means having means, specified location information, and attribute information are logically independent services A network service system characterized by   3. The network service system according to claim 2, wherein the attribute information of the data storage means generated by the service is stored in at least information for specifying an access right owner for the data storage means and the storage means A network service system comprising a data size and an expiration date for using the storage means.   The network service system according to claim 3, comprising a function for generating and displaying icons uniquely associated with location information and attribute information of all received data storage destinations. Network service system.   6. The network service system according to claim 5, wherein by selecting and specifying the displayed icon, location information and attribute information uniquely associated with the icon are acquired from the recording means, and the corresponding data storage destination A network service system comprising a function of automatically transmitting data generated to   4. The network service system according to claim 3, comprising a function for displaying an icon in which the information is uniquely associated with the data storage location based on the received location information and attribute information of the data storage location, and an attribute A function of erasing an icon corresponding to a data storage destination that has exceeded the expiration date based on an expiration date recorded in the information, and a function of deleting the location information and attribute information of the received data storage destination Network service system.   4. The network service system according to claim 3, comprising a function of displaying an icon that uniquely associates the information with the data storage destination based on the received location information and attribute information of the data storage destination. By specifying, compare the generated data with the data size that can be stored in the data storage destination, and if the generated data size exceeds the storable data size, it has a function to stop data transfer Network service system.   4. The network service system according to claim 3, comprising a function of displaying an icon that uniquely associates the information with the data storage destination based on the received location information and attribute information of the data storage destination. By specifying, the generated data is compared with the data size that can be stored in the data storage destination. If the generated data size exceeds the storable data size, the data for generating the storable data size is generated. A network service system comprising means for notifying a procedure.