JP2003348278A - Method and device for inputting image - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the selecting operation of a network scanner (network MFP) desired to utilize. <P>SOLUTION: A network is informed of shifting of a scanner mode by operation of a main body panel, and this information is detected by a network scanner driver to be a scanner selection candidate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image input method and an image input apparatus such as an image scanner which can be connected to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Devices called multifunction peripherals (MFPs) having functions such as copiers, printers, scanners, and facsimiles are widely provided. The MFP can replace several single-function devices by itself, thus contributing to cost reduction in installation and maintenance, space saving in offices, and the like.

In recent years, MFPs having a network interface have been provided, and it has become possible for a user connected to a network with an information terminal such as a personal computer to directly control the MFP and use its functions. I have. For example, operations such as printing a document created on a computer and transferring a scanned image to a computer can be performed by controlling the MFP over a network.

When a scanner is used via a network, unlike a conventional bus connection, the physical position of a user's computer and the scanner may be far from each other. Therefore, place the document you want to scan on the scanner and return to the place where the computer is installed.
In using the scanner, physical movement of the user occurs.

In order to obtain image data captured by a scanner on a computer, two types of methods, a push scan and a pull scan, have been put to practical use. Push scan is a method in which a user operates the scanner itself to send an image captured by the scanner to a computer. Pull scan is software in which the user controls the scanner on the computer (scanner driver) Is a method of receiving an image captured by a scanner into a computer using the computer. In order to implement pull scan with a network scanner, the user starts the scanner driver on the computer, selects the scanner to use from the scanners connected to the network, and scans the original to be scanned. , The user may set the scanner on the scanner, return to the installation location of the computer, operate the scanner driver, and receive the image read by the scanner on the computer.

[0006]

However, in order for a user to select a scanner to be used from scanners connected to a network, the user needs to know both the address of the scanner on the network and the physical location. If not, there was a problem that it was difficult to use. In addition, when using the scanner function of the MFP, if a conflict occurs such as another user using the copy function after selecting the MFP to be used, another MFP must be selected again. However, there is a problem that the burden on the user increases.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a user operates an MFP to be used as a scanner to shift to a scanner mode. Notify,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image input method and an image input apparatus which can reduce the burden of a user's scanner selecting operation and prevent contention when a user's computer receives this notification.

[0008]

The present invention is provided with the following constitutions (1) and (2) to solve the above-mentioned problems.

(1) In an image input method controlled via a network, means for switching between valid / invalid of an image readable state and a notifying means for notifying the network of valid / invalid switching of the image readable state are provided. An image reading apparatus that can be connected to a network, a detection unit that detects whether the image readable state is enabled or disabled on the network, a display unit that displays a result of the detection unit, and a display unit that displays the result. Selecting means for selecting an image reading apparatus based on the detected result.

(2) In an image input apparatus controlled via a network, means for switching between valid / invalid of an image readable state and notification means for notifying the network of valid / invalid switching of the image readable state are provided. An image reading apparatus that can be connected to a network, a detection unit that detects whether the image readable state is enabled or disabled on the network, a display unit that displays a result of the detection unit, and a display unit that displays the result. Selecting means for selecting an image reading apparatus based on the detected result.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples with reference to the drawings.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows an example of a network configuration according to the present invention. The host computer 101 and the MFPs 102 and 103 that can be connected to a network are connected via an Ethernet (R) 104. However, the form of the network is not limited to Ethernet (R).
For example, another form such as a token ring may be used.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a hardware configuration of a host computer according to the present invention. The host computer has, for example, a CPU (central processing unit) 201 of a microprocessor system, and executes programs and data stored in a RAM 202, a ROM 203, and a hard disk 205 to execute connection processing via a bus line 209. Control the device. The host computer is connected to the Ethernet® 104 via the network interface 206.

FIG. 3 is an example of a hardware configuration of the MFP according to the present invention. The MFP has, for example, a CPU 301 of a microprocessor type, a RAM 302, a ROM
By executing programs and data stored in the hard disk 303 and the hard disk 304, each device connected via the bus line 309 is controlled. The hard disk 304 is also used for storing various information and temporarily storing scanned images and print data. The scanner unit 305 photoelectrically reads an image and converts it into electronic data. The printer unit 306 outputs electronic data to a paper medium according to a predetermined format. The MFP is connected to a network through a network interface 307. The operation panel 308 is, for example, a liquid crystal display with a touch panel function for the user to operate the MFP or to transmit necessary information to the user.

FIG. 4 is an example of a block diagram of an MFP according to the present invention. The controller 401 is a program that is executed by the CPU and controls each device of the MFP.
Network interface 402, hard disk 4
03, monitor the states of the operation panel 404, the printer unit 405, and the scanner unit 406, and issue necessary control commands.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram in the case where the host computer uses the scan function of the MFP via the network in the above configuration. Host computer 5
01 and the MFP 504 communicate with each other through respective network interfaces 503 and 505. The software that runs on the host computer 501, the scanner driver 502 issues an instruction, and the MFP that receives the instruction
Reference numeral 504 denotes a controller 506 that drives the scanner unit 507 according to an internal command to perform a reading operation, and transmits image data to the host computer 501 via the network interface 505. As a result, the scanner driver 502 can obtain the image data generated by the MFP 504.

FIG. 6 is an example of a block diagram of a scanner driver according to the present invention. The network interface driver 602 is a network interface 601
To communicate with the MFP. The TCP / IP packet processing unit 603 extracts information from TCP / IP packets received through the network interface driver 602 and converts transmission information into TCP / IP packets.
Command interpreter / generator 604 uses TC
The information extracted by the P / IP packet processing unit 603 is interpreted as an internal command, the information transmitted to the MFP is converted into a predetermined format, and the TCP / IP packet processing unit 60
Send to 3. The image handler 605 holds image data received from the MFP. The user can operate the scanner driver through the user interface 606.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the controller of the MFP according to the present invention. A network interface driver 702 controls the network interface 701 and communicates with a host computer. The TCP / IP packet processing unit 703 extracts information from TCP / IP packets received through the network interface driver 702 and converts transmission information into TCP / IP packets. The command interpreter / generator 704 interprets information extracted by the TCP / IP packet processing unit 703 as an internal command, converts information to be transmitted to the host computer into a predetermined format, and sends the information to the TCP / IP packet processing unit 703. . Supervisor 705 is a command interpreter /
According to the internal command given from the generator 704, processing such as controlling each manager and returning an execution result of the command to the command interpreter / generator 704 is performed. It also manages the internal state of the MFP. Print job manager 706, copy job manager 707
The scan job manager 708 controls the printer controller 709 and the scanner controller 710 according to the instruction of the supervisor 705. The printer controller 709 controls the printer unit 716,
The scanner controller 710 is a scanner unit 717
To control directly. The file manager 711 accesses the hard disk 715 through the disk driver 712 to read and write files. The file manager 711 can communicate with the supervisor 705, the print job manager 706, the copy job manager 707, and the scan job manager 708, and stores and reads information. The window manager 713 controls the operation panel 718 through the display driver 714, and transmits the operation contents of the user to the supervisor 705 and instructs the supervisor 705 to display necessary information.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the processing procedure of the scanner driver according to the present invention. When the scanner driver is activated, an initialization process is performed in step S801, a message is displayed in step S802, a document to be scanned is set in the MFP, and the user is prompted to set the MFP in the scanner mode.
The user moves to the installation location of the MFP and operates the operation panel shown in FIG. 10, for example, to shift the MFP to the scanner mode. 1001 is an example of the display of the operation panel when the MFP is in the copy mode, and 1002 is an example of the display of the operation panel when the MFP is in the scanner mode. Since the display of the operation panel indicates that the MFP is in the scanner mode, it is possible to suppress a conflicting operation of a user who wants to operate the operation panel and use another function. When the shift to the scanner mode is designated by operating the operation panel, the supervisor inside the controller of the MFP changes the operation mode of the MFP in accordance with, for example, the processing procedure shown in FIG. Notice. After shifting the MFP to the scanner mode, the user returns to the installation location of the computer and checks the display of the user interface of the scanner driver. S803 to S806 are processing procedures when a notification from the MFP is received. In step S803, it is detected that the MFP has shifted to the scanner mode. In step S804, the MFP that has shifted to the scanner mode is displayed on the user interface of the scanner driver. In S805, the MFP
Detects that the MFP has shifted from the scanner mode to another operation mode, and deletes the MFP that has shifted to the other mode from the display in S806. FIG. 11 shows an MFP in the scanner mode.
It is an example of the display. In this display, only MFPs that have shifted to the scanner mode after the activation of the scanner driver are displayed, and MFPs that have already shifted to the scanner mode before the activation are not displayed. This makes it easier for the user to determine which MFP has shifted to the scanner mode by his / her operation than to select from all MFPs on the network. In step S807, the MFP selection operation of the user is detected. If only one MFP that has shifted to the scanner mode is displayed, it is clear that this is the MFP that the user is going to use, so the selection operation can be performed as it is. The user's MF in S807
If a P selection operation is detected, a user interface for scan setting is displayed in step S808. FIG. 12 shows an example of a user interface for scan setting. After performing the scan setting, the user operates the scanner unit of the MFP in accordance with the scan instruction to perform reading, and obtains image data on the computer. The scanner driver ends by an end operation on the scan setting user interface.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The user operates the MFP to be used as a scanner to shift to the scanner mode, and the MFP notifies the shift to the scanner mode on the network, and the user's computer receives the notification, and the user receives the notification. This reduces the burden on the scanner selection operation and prevents conflicts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a host computer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an MFP according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a block diagram of an MFP according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram when the host computer uses a scan function of the MFP via a network.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a scanner driver according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration inside a controller.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a processing procedure of a scanner driver according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a processing procedure of a supervisor according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of a display on an operation panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display of an MFP that has shifted to a scanner mode on a user interface.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of display of scan settings on a user interface.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Host computer 102 MFP 103 MFP 104 Ethernet (R) 201 CPU 202 RAM 203 ROM 204 mouse 205 Hard Disk 206 Network Interface 207 keyboard 208 Display 209 bus line 301 CPU 302 RAM 303 ROM 304 hard disk 305 Scanner unit 306 Printer unit 307 network interface 308 Operation panel 309 bus line 401 controller 402 Network Interface 403 hard disk 404 Operation panel 405 Printer unit 406 Scanner unit 501 Host computer 502 Scanner Driver 503 Network Interface 504 MFP 505 network interface 506 controller 507 Scanner unit 601 network interface 602 network interface driver 603 TCP / IP packet processing unit 604 command interpreter / generator 605 image handler 606 User Interface 701 Network Interface 702 Network Interface Driver 703 TCP / IP packet processing unit 704 Command Interpreter / Generator 705 Supervisor 706 Print Job Manager 707 Copy Job Manager 708 Scan Job Manager 709 Printer controller 710 Scanner Controller 711 File Manager 712 Disk Driver 713 Window Manager 714 Display Driver 715 hard disk 716 Printer unit 717 Scanner unit 718 Operation panel

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image input method controlled via a network, comprising: means for switching between valid / invalid of an image readable state; and notifying means for notifying the network of valid / invalid switching of the image readable state. An image reading device that can be connected to a network, a detection unit that detects whether the image readable state is enabled or disabled, and a display unit that displays a result of the detection unit, and a display unit that is displayed by the display unit. Selecting means for selecting an image reading device based on the detected result. 2. An image input apparatus controlled via a network, comprising: means for switching between valid / invalid of an image readable state; and notification means for notifying the network of valid / invalid switching of the image readable state. An image reading device that can be connected to a network, a detection unit that detects whether the image readable state is enabled or disabled, and a display unit that displays a result of the detection unit, and a display unit that is displayed by the display unit. Selecting means for selecting an image reading device based on the detected result.