JP2005129976A - Network connection type scanner apparatus and network system employing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network connection type scanner apparatus capable of providing a large-size, high performance scanner functions to many individual users, and to provide a network system employing the same. <P>SOLUTION: The Internet is connected to a digital copying machine via gateways and a firewall 2, and external personal computers 3a, 3b and a web server 4 are connected to the digital copying machine 1 via the Internet. The digital copying machine 1 can transmit read image data of an original to the web server 4 in the network system above. Further, the digital copying machine 1 transmits a URL of the storage destination of the transmitted image to the personal computers 3a, 3b via the Internet, in the form of mail. Users of the personal computers 3a, 3b, receiving the mail from the digital copying machine 1, can browse an image read by the digital copying machine 1 and download the image to the personal computers 3a, 3b by accessing the URL designated by mail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a scanner device capable of providing a high-quality, high-speed, large-size scanned image to a personal computer user via the Internet, and a network system using the scanner device.

  With the recent spread of digital cameras, there is an increasing demand for image scanners that read color original images when inputting background images. Currently, image scanners for individual users have the largest A4 size, and in order to scan a B4 or A3 size document, a large size high performance scanner must be used. However, such a large-size scanner is generally difficult to be owned by an individual user because it is expensive and the apparatus is large and it is difficult to secure an installation location.

  Therefore, a method for providing a network system that satisfies the demand for a high-performance scanner of a personal computer user using a large color copier introduced in a convenience store has been proposed. A push-type scanner device that sends a scanned image as an attached file to a registered e-mail address is disclosed. In Patent Document 2, after a user accumulates a scanned image on a predetermined homepage, the image is displayed on the user's personal computer by accessing an Internet address (hereinafter referred to as URL) of the homepage. A system for providing a network scanner service is disclosed.

However, in the network system of Patent Document 1, since image data is sent as an attached file, transmission may be difficult depending on the amount of image data due to restrictions on the mailbox capacity of an individual user. In recent years, attachments sent for PC virus countermeasures are often refused to be received, which is not suitable for a system having a large number of unspecified users, such as a convenience store, and is not practical. Further, in the system of Patent Document 2, since it is not possible to notify a third party only by accumulating scanned images on a web server, handling is difficult when considering providing services to an unspecified number of individual users, And it was insufficient.
JP 2002-77504 A JP 2000-78328 A

  In view of the above problems, the present invention has a function of storing a scanned image on a web server at the same time as the scanner device itself, and simultaneously sending a URL of the image to a designated user by e-mail. It is an object of the present invention to provide a network-connected scanner device capable of providing functions to an unspecified number of individual users and a network system using the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a network-connected scanner device capable of transmitting image data via the Internet, and reads a set original and outputs an image described in the original as image data. Document reading means, Internet connection means for connecting the scanner device to the Internet, first transmission means for transmitting the image data to a web server, address specifying means for specifying a mail address, and transmitted image And a second transmission means for transmitting the URL of the web server storing data to the mail address designated by the mail address designation means.

  According to the present invention, in the network-connected scanner device having the above-described configuration, a display unit that displays an image read by the document reading unit is provided, and the read image is transmitted to the web server by the first transmission unit. Before being displayed, it is displayed on the display means.

  The present invention is also a network system using the network-connected scanner device having the above-described configuration, and is characterized in that a password is required for browsing image data stored on a web server.

  Further, the present invention is a network system using the network-connected scanner device having the above-described configuration, and includes a mirror server having the same content as a web server in which image data is stored, and when the web server is in a stopped state, The connection to the URL of the web server is transferred to the URL of the mirror server.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, when the scanned image is transmitted to the web server and stored, and only the URL of the image is transmitted to the designated user, the image data is transmitted as an attached file. In comparison with the above, the user's mailbox capacity is not limited, and attachments sent for PC virus countermeasures are not rejected. Therefore, a large-sized image can be delivered to an individual user safely and reliably.

  In addition, according to the second configuration of the present invention, since the scanned image can be stored on the web server after being confirmed by the display means, it is possible to prevent the storage of an erroneous image or an image that has failed to be scanned.

  According to the third configuration of the present invention, since a password is required for browsing image data stored on the web server, a third party other than the designated user browses the image without permission. Can be prevented.

  According to the fourth configuration of the present invention, the mirror server having the same content as the web server in which the image data is stored is provided, and when the web server is in a stopped state, the access to the URL of the web server is the mirror server. By transferring to the URL, the user can access the requested image even when the web server is stopped.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network system including a network-connected scanner device of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a color digital copying machine 1 is used as a network connection type scanner device. The digital copying machine 1 is connected to the Internet via a gateway and a firewall 2, and external personal computers 3 a and 3 b and a web server 4 are connected via the Internet. In such a network system, the digital copying machine 1 can transmit the read image data of the document to the web server 4 (arrow A). This transmission can be performed only by operating the digital copying machine 1.

  Further, the digital copying machine 1 can transmit the URL of the web server 4 in which transmitted images are stored to the personal computers 3a and 3b in the mail format via the Internet (arrow B). This transmission can also be performed only by operating the digital copying machine 1. The users of the personal computers 3a and 3b that have received the mail from the digital copying machine 1 can browse the images read by the digital copying machine 1 or download them to the personal computers 3a and 3b by accessing the URL specified by the mail. (Arrow C).

  Further, in this system, a mirror server 5 is provided separately from the web server 4. When image data is transmitted to the web server 4, image data having the same content is automatically transferred to the mirror server 5. It has become. When the web server 4 stops, access to the URL of the web server 4 is automatically transferred to the URL of the mirror server 5 (arrow D). Although it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the mirror server 5 is not provided, by providing the mirror server 5 as in the present embodiment, the user makes a request from the mirror server 5 even when the web server 4 is stopped. It is more preferable because images can be viewed and downloaded.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by operating the digital copying machine 1, various image data are transmitted from the digital copying machine 1 to the web server via the network and stored, and the URL of the storage destination is stored. By sending the message by e-mail, the image on the web server can be accessed from an external personal computer. In addition, when accessing the URL of the image storage location from an external computer, if the specified password is not entered so that the image cannot be viewed, a third party other than the specified user can view the image without permission. Since browsing or downloading can be prevented, it is more preferable.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the color digital copying machine 1 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, in the digital copying machine 1, when performing a copying operation, in the image forming unit 7 in the multifunction machine main body 6, a small-diameter photosensitive drum 9 that is rotated in the direction A in the drawing by the charging unit 8 is uniformly formed. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 9 by a laser beam from an exposure unit (laser scanning unit or the like) 11 based on the original image data that is charged and read by the image reading unit 10, and electrostatically developed by the developing unit 12. A developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) is attached to the latent image to form a toner image. The toner is supplied to the developing unit 12 from the toner container 13.

  A sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding mechanism 14 to the image forming unit 7 via the sheet conveying path 15 and the registration roller pair 16 toward the photosensitive drum 9 on which the toner image is formed as described above. 7, the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer roller 17 (image transfer unit). The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 9 and conveyed to a fixing unit 18 having a fixing roller pair 18a to fix the toner image. The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 18 is sent to a sheet conveyance path 19 that branches in a plurality of directions, and is routed by path switching mechanisms 25, 26, and 27 having a plurality of path switching guides provided at branch points of the sheet conveyance path 19. The transport direction is sorted, and the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge section of the first discharge tray 21a, the second discharge tray 21b, or the third discharge tray 21c as it is (or after being sent to the sheet transfer path 20 and copied on both sides). .

  Although not shown, a static eliminator that removes residual charges on the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 is provided on the downstream side of the cleaning device 22. Further, the paper feed mechanism 14 is detachably attached to the multifunction machine main body 6 and includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 14a and 14b for storing paper and a stack bypass (manual feed tray) 14c provided above the paper feed cassettes 14a and 14b. These are connected to the image forming section 7 including the photosensitive drum 9 and the developing unit 12 by the paper transport path 15.

  Specifically, the sheet conveyance path 19 first branches into a left and right fork on the downstream side of the fixing roller pair 18a, and one path (a path branched in the right direction in FIG. 2) communicates with the first discharge tray 21a. It is configured as follows. The other path (the path that branches in the left direction in FIG. 2) branches into the upper and lower forks via the conveying roller pair 23, and the other path (the path that branches in the upward direction in FIG. 2) is the second discharge. It is configured to communicate with the tray 21b. On the other hand, the other path (the path that branches downward in FIG. 2) is bifurcated immediately below the branch point, and one path passes through the discharge roller pair 24 to the third discharge tray 21c. The other path is configured to communicate with the sheet conveyance path 20.

  Next, the configuration of the digital copying machine used in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the color digital copying machine 1 shown in FIG. The digital copying machine 1 includes an image reading unit 10, an image forming unit 7, a control unit 30, an image memory 31, an operation unit 32, a display unit 33, an address memory 34, and a network interface 35.

  The image reading unit 10 is constituted by a scanner or the like that reads image data of a document at the time of copying and converts it into an image signal. The image signal read by the image reading unit 10 is sent to the control unit 30, and image processing such as gradation processing is appropriately performed to convert the image signal into image data. The image forming unit 7 forms a latent image on the photoconductor based on the image data converted by the control unit 30, and transfers the toner image onto the paper after development.

  The control unit 30 generally controls the image reading unit 10, the image forming unit 7, an image memory 31, a display unit 33, an address memory 34, and a network interface 35 to be described later according to the set program. The image memory 31 stores the image data read by the image reading unit 10 and converted by the control unit 30.

  The digital copying machine 1 is provided with an operation unit 32 for the user to perform various operations. By operating the operation unit 32, the copying function or the scanner function is selected, the read image is transmitted to the web server, or the mail address for transmitting the URL of the web server as the image storage destination is input. can do. A signal input from the operation unit 32 is sent to the control unit 30, and the control unit 30 receives the image reading unit 10, the image forming unit 7, the image memory 31, the display unit 33, the address memory 34, and the network interface 35 based on this signal. To control.

  The display unit 33 displays operation data and other contents input from the operation unit 32 under the control of the control unit 30. In addition, if the image read by the image reading unit 10 is displayed on the display unit 33 as a pre-scanned image so that the image can be confirmed before the image is transmitted to the web server, an erroneous image or scanning has failed. It is more preferable because it is possible to prevent transmission of an image. The address memory 34 stores a plurality of mail addresses input from the operation unit 32. For example, by storing the mail address of the subscriber of the network system in advance in the address memory 34 in association with the registration number, the image data sender can enter the registration number without having to input the mail address one by one using the operation unit 32. You can easily specify the destination mail address of the URL of the web server simply by entering it. Of course, the address memory 34 may not be provided.

  The digital copying machine 1 is connected to the Internet via a network interface 35, and an image read by the image reading unit 10 is transmitted to a web server via the network interface 35, and then stored on the web server. The URL of the storage destination is sent to the designated user via the network interface 35 by e-mail. Image data and mail can be transmitted using various public communication lines such as telephone lines and optical communication lines. However, since image data has a large amount of data, for example, high-speed communication lines such as optical communication lines. It is preferable to transmit using. It should be noted that the mail transmission can be performed using a communication line different from the image data transmission.

  Next, the control operation of the network connection type scanner device of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the control unit 30 shown in FIG. Here, as an example, a usage example of a coin-insertion type digital copying machine in a convenience store or the like is shown. In this control procedure, first, when a user inserts a coin from the coin insertion slot of the digital copying machine 1 and starts an operation (step S1), it is determined whether or not the scanner function is selected by the operation unit 32 (step S1). Step S2). If the selected function is not the scanner function, the copying function is selected, so it is determined whether or not a document is set on the image reading unit 10 (step S3). “Please set” is displayed on the display unit 33 to prompt the user to set (step S4). When the document is set, the user operates the operation unit 32 to copy in the image forming unit 7 based on the image data read by the image reading unit 10 (step S5), and the process is terminated.

  If the scanner function is selected in step S2, it waits for an address to be input from the operation unit 32 (step S6). Next, it is determined whether or not a document is set in the image reading unit 10 (step S7). If no document is set, a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit 33 (step S8). Next, the original set on the image reading unit 10 is read (step S9), and the image data of the read original is displayed on the display unit 33 as a prescan image for image confirmation (step S10). After confirming the image, the image data is transmitted to the web server via the network interface 35 (step S11). Then, the URL of the image stored on the web server is mailed to the address designated in Step 6 via the network interface 35 (Step S12).

  Next, FIG. 5 shows a control operation in the case where the same mirror server as the web server that stores images is provided. In this example, the image data is transmitted to the web server via the network interface 35 (step S11), and the same image is automatically transferred to the mirror server (step S12). Other control operations are the same as those in FIG. With this configuration, if the original web server stops for some reason, the user can automatically transfer the access to the URL of the original web server to the URL of the mirror server with the same contents. The target image can be browsed.

  Here, a coin-insertion type digital copying machine that can be used by inserting coins has been described. However, for example, a personal ID card is issued to a user who has a contract for use of the apparatus in advance, and the user installs the apparatus in the apparatus. The device can be used by causing the card reader to read the ID card, and the system can be billed all at a later date. According to this configuration, since the apparatus can be used even when the user does not have coins, convenience is improved. Further, the coin insertion method and the ID card system may be used in combination.

  In the above embodiment, the color digital copying machine is used as a scanner device. However, a scanner device without a copying function may be used, or a facsimile device capable of high-speed reading may be used. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the object of the present invention.

  The present invention relates to a network-connected scanner device capable of transmitting image data via the Internet, a document reading unit that reads a set document and outputs an image described in the document as image data, and a scanner device Internet connection means for connecting the Internet to the Internet, first transmission means for transmitting image data to a web server, address designation means for designating a mail address, and the web server in which transmitted image data is stored Second transmission means for transmitting the URL to the mail address designated by the address designation means. As a result, compared to sending image data as an attachment file, the user's mailbox capacity is not limited, and attachment files sent for PC virus countermeasures are not rejected. It is possible to provide a network-connected scanner device that safely distributes high-quality images to individual users.

  In addition, by providing a display unit that displays the scanned image as a pre-scanned image, the scanned image can be sent to the web server after confirmation, so that an erroneous image or an image that has failed to be scanned can be transmitted. And the transmission efficiency of image data to the web server is improved.

  Also, by requiring a password to view the image data stored on the web server, it is possible to prevent third parties other than the specified user from viewing the image without permission, such as at convenience stores, etc. A network system with high security can be provided even when there are a large number of users.

  In addition, a mirror server having the same content as the web server storing the image data is provided. When the original web server is in a stopped state, access to the URL of the web server is transferred to the URL of the mirror server. It is possible to provide a highly convenient network system that can access a requested image even when the server is stopped.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network system including a network-connected scanner device of the present invention. These are the schematic diagrams which show the whole structure of the network connection type scanner apparatus of this invention. These are the block diagrams which show the structure of the network connection type scanner apparatus of this invention. These are the flowcharts which show an example of control operation of a scanner apparatus. These are the flowcharts which show the other example of control operation of a scanner apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital copier 3a, 3b External personal computer 4 Web server 5 Mirror server 6 Main body 7 Image formation part 8 Charging unit 9 Photosensitive drum 10 Image reading part 11 Exposure unit 12 Developing unit 13 Toner container 14 Paper feed mechanism 15, 19, 20 Sheet transport path 16 Registration roller pair 17 Transfer roller 18 Fixing section 18a Fixing roller pair 21a, 21b, 21c Discharge tray 22 Cleaning device 23 Transport roller pair 24 Discharge roller pair 25, 26, 27 Path switching mechanism 30 Control section 31 Image memory 32 Operation unit 33 Display unit 34 Address memory 35 Network interface

Claims (4)

A network-connected scanner device capable of transmitting image data via the Internet,
A document reading unit that reads a set document and outputs an image described in the document as image data;
Internet connection means for connecting the scanner device to the Internet;
First transmission means for transmitting the image data to a web server;
An address specifying means for specifying an email address;
A network connection type scanner comprising: a second transmission unit configured to transmit an address on the Internet of the web server in which the transmitted image data is stored to an e-mail address designated by the address designation unit. apparatus.   Display means for displaying an image read by the document reading means, and the read image is displayed on the display means before being transmitted to the web server by the first transmission means. The network-connected scanner device according to claim 1.   3. A network system using the network-connected scanner device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a password is required to view image data stored on a web server.   3. A network system using the network-connected scanner device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a mirror server having the same content as a web server in which image data is stored, wherein the web server is in a stopped state. The network system, wherein the connection to the address of the web server is transferred to the address of the mirror server.

Images