JP2011142572A - Information transmitting apparatus, information communication system, information transmitting method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate accelerating the generalization of an information communication system. <P>SOLUTION: A reception PC 20 determines a communication system with a control PC 50 on the basis of system configuration information 25a when a specified format of data in accordance with a minimal laboratory system 10 is obtained from a transmission-side processor 32, and converts the specified format of data into a communication format of data in accordance with the communication system to output it. Alternatively, when the communication format of data is obtained from the side of the control PC 50, it is converted into the specified format data to output it to the transmission-side processor 32. Through such processing, a transmission-side connection converter 33 and a reception-side connection converter 63 serve as the function of an abstracted interface, and the specified format of data predetermined in the system is transferred between an information transmitter and an information receiver. Further, as the specified format of data is circulated by the abstracted interface even when the communication system changes between the reception PC 20 and the control PC 50, no modification is required in the transmission-side processor 32 and a reception-side processor 62. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information transmission apparatus, an information communication system, an information transmission method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an information transmission apparatus, an information transmission apparatus that is used for a communication connection apparatus having a plurality of input / output port terminals that are interposed between a plurality of terminal apparatuses and to which a plurality of terminal apparatuses are respectively connected has been proposed (for example, Patent Literature 1). In this information transmission device, when a plurality of terminal devices connected to the input / output port terminal perform data transmission / reception according to different communication methods such as LAN, USB, RS232C, IEEE1394, etc., the information transmission device supports the connected input / output port terminal. The communication data is received and decoded according to the communication method, and the communication data is converted and transmitted according to the communication method corresponding to the connected input / output port terminal. This makes it possible to easily construct a network between a plurality of terminal devices regardless of the type of interface.

JP 2002-217936 A

  However, in the above-described devices, it is possible to perform communication between a plurality of terminals using a plurality of communication methods without being conscious of the communication method. However, in each terminal device, LAN, USB, RS232C, IEEE 1394, etc. Application software had to be adapted for each communication method. For this reason, depending on the communication method, it is sometimes necessary to confirm the operation of the entire communication system, such as the operation of the application on the transmission side and the reception side and the communication operation between the input and output ports. In addition, there is a need to develop an application corresponding to the communication method. In this way, efforts were required to generalize the system.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and mainly provides an information transmission apparatus, an information communication system, an information transmission method, and a program thereof that can make the information communication system more versatile. Objective.

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The information transmitting apparatus of the present invention is
The information transmission device provided in the information communication system that communicates between the information transmission device and the information reception device by any of a plurality of communication methods,
Storage means for storing system configuration information including a communication method of the information communication system;
When specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system is acquired from the transmission side processing unit, the system configuration information is read from the storage means, and the communication method with the information receiving device is determined based on the read system configuration information. The determined specific format data is converted into communication format data according to the determined communication method and the converted communication format data is output to the information receiving device side, while the information receiving device side outputs the information communication When communication format data converted according to the communication method of the system is acquired, the acquired communication format data is converted into specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system, and the converted specific format data is transmitted. Transmission side connection conversion means for outputting to the side processing unit.

  In this information transmitting device, when specific format data corresponding to the information communication system is acquired from the transmission side processing unit, the communication format with the information receiving device is determined based on the system configuration information, and the communication format data corresponding to this communication format The specific format data is converted to and output to the information receiving apparatus side. On the other hand, when communication format data is acquired from the information receiving apparatus side, the acquired communication format data is converted into specific format data corresponding to the information communication system, and is output to the transmission side processing unit. As described above, the transmission side connection conversion means converts the communication format data according to the communication configuration of the system, thereby exchanging the specific format data predetermined in the system between the information transmitting apparatus and the information receiving apparatus. To do. Here, for example, even when the communication line between the information transmission device and the information reception device is changed between the network line and the local line, or when a new communication method is developed, the system Since the specified specific format data is circulated between the information transmitting device and the information receiving device, it is only necessary to confirm the communication operation in the transmission side connection conversion means, and between the transmission side processing unit and the transmission side connection conversion means. It is possible to save the trouble of confirming the operation and modifying the transmission side processing unit. Therefore, generalization of the information communication system can be facilitated.

  In the information transmitting apparatus of the present invention, when the information receiving apparatus receives a specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system from the receiving side processing unit, the information receiving apparatus is based on system configuration information including a communication method of the information communication system. While determining the communication method with the information transmitting device, converting the received specific format data to the communication format data according to the determined communication method, and transmitting the converted communication format data to the information transmitting device side, When communication format data converted according to the communication system of the information communication system is received from the information transmitting apparatus side, the received communication format data is converted into specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system. Receiving side connection converting means for transmitting the converted specific format data to the receiving side processing unit may be provided. In this way, also in the information receiving device, the receiving side connection conversion means converts the communication format data corresponding to the communication configuration of the system into the specific format data predetermined by the system and the information transmitting device. Since it communicates with the device, it is only necessary to check the communication operation in the receiving side connection conversion means, and to check the communication operation between the receiving side processing unit and the receiving side connection conversion means and to modify the receiving side processing unit. It is possible to save time and effort. Therefore, generalization of the information communication system can be facilitated. In addition, since the information transmitting apparatus and the information receiving apparatus perform the same processing, the connection conversion means can be used without being conscious of the transmitting side and the receiving side, and the information communication system can be easily generalized. it can.

  In the information transmitting apparatus of the present invention, the transmission side connection converting means can be used in the information communication system when the information receiving apparatus cannot receive the communication format data after outputting the converted communication format data. Processing for converting the specific format data into data of another communication method and outputting the converted communication format data to the information receiving device side is performed for each communication method, and the communication format data is converted to the information receiving device. Can be received, the received communication method may be stored in the system configuration information and stored in the storage means. In this way, even when the communication system of the information communication system is changed, a separate process for changing the system configuration information can be omitted, so that the system configuration can be easily changed.

The information communication system of the present invention includes
The information transmission device according to any one of the above,
An information receiving apparatus included in an information communication system that communicates between an information transmitting apparatus and an information receiving apparatus by any one of a plurality of communication methods, wherein the system configuration information including the communication method of the information communication system is stored. And when the specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system is received from the reception-side processing unit, the system configuration information is read from the storage unit, and the information transmission device is based on the read system configuration information. While determining the communication method, converting the received specific format data to the communication format data according to the determined communication method, and transmitting the converted communication format data to the information transmitting device side, from the information transmitting device side When communication format data converted according to the communication method of the information communication system is received, the received communication format data is converted into the information format. A reception-side connection conversion means for transmitting the specific format data converted by the conversion to a specific format predetermined data according to a communication system to the receiving side processing unit, an information receiving apparatus having a,
It is equipped with.

  In this information communication system, the transmission side connection conversion means and the reception side connection conversion means convert the specific format data into the communication format data corresponding to the communication configuration of the system, so that the specific format data predetermined in the system is information. Exchange is performed between the transmitting device and the information receiving device. For this reason, it is only necessary to confirm the communication operation between the transmission side connection conversion means and the reception side connection conversion means, the communication operation between the transmission side processing unit and the transmission side connection conversion means, the reception side processing unit and the reception side. It is possible to save the trouble of examining the communication operation with the connection conversion means and the modification of the transmitting side processing unit and the receiving side processing unit. Therefore, generalization of the information communication system can be facilitated. In addition, you may employ | adopt the various aspects of the information transmitter mentioned above in this information communication system.

  In the information communication system of the present invention, the information transmission device is a client device that the transmission side connection conversion unit acquires processing data relating to an image as the specific format data from the transmission side processing unit, and the information reception device includes: The processing data may be received by the receiving-side processing unit as the specific format data from the receiving-side connection conversion unit, and the server device may cause the printing apparatus to print the image based on the received processing data. . In a system for printing an image, since data is often exchanged via a communication line, it is highly significant to apply the present invention.

  The information communication system may be configured such that the information transmitting apparatus and the information receiving apparatus can be recombined into either a network line or a local line.

The information transmission method of the present invention includes:
In an information communication system that communicates between an information transmission apparatus and an information reception apparatus by any one of a plurality of communication systems, an information transmission method using storage means that stores system configuration information including the communication system of the information communication system Because
When specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system is acquired from the transmission side processing unit, the system configuration information is read from the storage means, and the communication method with the information receiving device is determined based on the read system configuration information. The determined specific format data is converted into communication format data according to the determined communication method and the converted communication format data is output to the information receiving device side, while the information receiving device side outputs the information communication When communication format data converted according to the communication method of the system is acquired, the acquired communication format data is converted into specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system, and the converted specific format data is transmitted. Output to the side processing unit.

  In this information transmission method, similar to the information transmission device described above, specific format data determined by the system is distributed between the information transmission device and the information reception device, so the communication operation at the transmission side connection conversion means is considered. In other words, it is possible to save the trouble of examining the operation between the transmission side processing unit and the transmission side connection conversion means and modifying the transmission side processing unit. Therefore, generalization of the information communication system can be facilitated. In this information transmission method, various aspects of the information transmission device described above may be adopted, and steps for realizing each function of the information transmission device described above may be added.

  The program of the present invention is for causing one or more computers to realize the steps of the information transmission method described above. This program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium (for example, hard disk, ROM, FD, CD, DVD, etc.), or from a computer via a transmission medium (communication network such as the Internet or LAN). It may be distributed to another computer, or may be exchanged in any other form. If this program is executed by a single computer or if each step is shared and executed by a plurality of computers, each step of the information transmission method described above is executed, so that the same effect as the information transmission method can be obtained. It is done.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a minilab system 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the minilab system 10. Explanatory drawing which shows the state of each process and communication sequentially. The block diagram which shows the outline of a structure of another minilab system 110. FIG.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a minilab system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the minilab system 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the minilab system 10 of the present embodiment includes a reception personal computer (PC) 20 that processes data and displays the screen, a control PC 50 that receives data from the reception PC 20 and gives a print command to the printer 70, And a printer 70 that executes print processing. In this minilab system 10, a reception PC 20 and a control PC 50 are connected via a LAN 12 as a network line, and a control PC 50 and a printer 70 are connected via a USB as a local line. In addition to the receiving PC 20, a plurality of receiving PCs (not shown) such as a receiving PC 40 are connected to the LAN 12.

  The reception PC 20 is a personal computer configured as an image processing apparatus that receives a print request for image data. The receiving PC 20 is connected to the LAN 12, a CPU 22 that executes various controls, a ROM 23 that stores various control programs, a RAM 24 that temporarily stores data, an HDD 25 that is a large-capacity memory that stores various application programs and various data files, and the LAN 12. An I / F 34 capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from an external device (for example, the control PC 50). The HDD 25 stores system configuration information 25a in which information on the system configuration of the minilab system 10 is stored. The system configuration information 25a stores information on the communication method between the receiving PC 20 and the control PC 50, addresses of the receiving PC 20 and the control PC 50, and the like. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reception PC 20 includes an application unit 31, a transmission side processing unit 32, a transmission side connection conversion unit 33, and the like as functional configurations. The transmission side processing unit 32, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33, the HDD 25, and the like constitute the information transmission device 30 of the present invention (see FIG. 2). The application unit 31 has a function of inputting image data to be printed from a portable storage medium (such as a memory card) to the receiving PC 20 and converting the image data into print data that can be printed by the printer 70. The application unit 31 has a function of outputting the converted print data to the transmission side processing unit 32. The transmission side processing unit 32 has functions of a print library and a maintenance utility, and also has a function of a print client system that is connected to the application unit 31 and outputs input print data to the printer 70 side. The transmission side processing unit 32 has a function of outputting specific format data predetermined by the minilab system 10 such as print data to the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 or acquiring from the transmission side connection conversion unit 33. ing. The transmission side connection conversion unit 33 converts the specific format data determined by the minilab system 10 and the communication format data according to the communication method of the minilab system 10, and transmits / receives data between the reception PC 20 and the control PC 50. Has the function of abstraction interface. The transmission side connection conversion unit 33 is configured to determine the communication method between the receiving PC 20 and the control PC 50 based on the system configuration information 25a. The CPU 22, ROM 23, RAM 24, HDD 25, I / F 34, application unit 31, and the like are electrically connected by a bus 29 so that various control signals and data can be exchanged. Since the reception PC 40 has the same configuration as the reception PC 20, the description thereof is omitted.

  The control PC 50 is a personal computer configured as a print server device having a function of receiving print commands and print data from the receiving PC 20 and transmitting print data to the printer 70. The control PC 50 is connected to the LAN 12, a CPU 52 that executes various controls, a ROM 53 that stores various control programs, a RAM 54 that temporarily stores data, an HDD 55 that is a large-capacity memory that stores various application programs and various data files, and the LAN 12. And an I / F 64 capable of transmitting / receiving signals to / from an external device (for example, the receiving PC 20). The HDD 55 stores system configuration information 55a in which information similar to the system configuration information 25a is stored. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the control PC 50 has a reception side processing unit 62 and a reception side connection conversion unit 63 as functional configurations. The reception side processing unit 62, the reception side connection conversion unit 63, the HDD 55, and the like constitute the information reception device 60 of the present invention (see FIG. 2). The receiving-side processing unit 62 has a service support function such as grasping the status of the printer 70 in addition to a server function that holds the print data received from the receiving PC 20 side in the printing order. The receiving side processing unit 62 has a function of transmitting print data to the printer 70 side and transmitting information of the printer 70 to the receiving PC 20 side. The receiving side connection conversion unit 63 converts the communication format data according to the communication method of the minilab system 10 and the specific format data determined by the minilab system 10, and transmits / receives data between the reception PC 20 and the control PC 50. Has the function of abstraction interface. The receiving side connection conversion unit 63 is configured to determine the communication method between the receiving PC 20 and the control PC 50 based on the system configuration information 55a. The CPU 52, ROM 53, RAM 54, HDD 55, I / F 64, receiving side processing unit 62, and the like are electrically connected by a bus 59 so that various control signals and data can be exchanged.

  The printer 70 includes an I / F 71 that can transmit and receive signals to and from an external device (for example, the control PC 50), a CPU 72 that executes various controls, a ROM 73 that stores various control programs, and a RAM 74 that temporarily stores data. And a printing mechanism 75 for ejecting ink onto the recording paper. Although not shown, the printing mechanism 75 is an ink jet mechanism that applies pressure to each color ink and discharges the pressurized ink onto a recording sheet to execute a printing process. The mechanism for applying pressure to the ink may be due to deformation of the piezoelectric element or due to the generation of bubbles due to the heat of the heater. Alternatively, the printing mechanism 75 may be any one of a dot impact method, an electrophotographic method, a thermal transfer method, and the like.

  Next, the operation of the information communication system 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, particularly the operation of performing communication between the transmission side processing unit 32 and the reception side processing unit 62 will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram that sequentially shows the state of each process and communication. Here, as a specific example thereof, processing for receiving image data to be printed by the receiving PC 20 by the printer 70 via the receiving control PC 50 and processing for transmitting information related to the state of the printer 70 to the receiving PC 20 side via the control PC 50 Will be mainly described. First, when image data is input to the application unit 31, the CPU 22 of the receiving PC 20 converts the image data into print data that can be printed by the printer 70, and the converted print data is sent to the transmission side processing unit 32 as specific format data. Data is input (step S100) and output to the transmission side connection converter 33 (step S110). The transmission side connection conversion unit 33 that has acquired the specific format data reads the system configuration information 25a from the HDD 25 of the receiving PC 20 (step S200), and determines the communication method with the control PC 50 based on the read system configuration information 25a. (Step S210). Here, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 determines that the communication method with the control PC 50 side is LAN. The transmission side connection conversion unit 33 acquires the address of the control PC 50 that is the output destination based on the information stored in the read system configuration information 25a. Next, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 converts the acquired specific format data into communication format data corresponding to the determined communication method (step S220), and the converted communication format via the I / F 34 of the receiving PC 20 The data is output to the receiving side connection conversion unit 63 (step S230). Here, it is assumed that the communication format data is converted into a packet format corresponding to the LAN protocol and output. Thus, since the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 functions as an abstracted interface and determines the output destination and the communication method, the transmission side processing unit 32 is unaware of the communication protocol to the output destination. Data can be output to the reception processing unit 62 side.

  Next, the receiving side connection conversion unit 63 of the control PC 50 receives this communication format data via the I / F 64 of the control PC 50 (step S300). Then, the received communication format data is converted into specific format data determined according to the system (step S310), and the converted specific format data is transmitted to the receiving side processing unit 62 (step S320). The reception side processing unit 62 then transmits the received print data that is the specific format data together with the print command (step S400). In response to this, the printer 70 performs print processing. In the printing process, the CPU 72 of the printer 70 drives the drive motor to rotate the conveyance roller and the like to convey the recording paper, and controls the print head to eject ink onto the recording paper based on the print data. In this manner, the image data that has been accepted for printing is printed.

  When the printing process by the printer 70 is completed, the receiving-side processing unit 62 receives information about whether the printing result is good and information about the printer 70 such as the remaining ink amount from the printer 70 (step S410). The reception side processing unit 62 that has received the information from the printer 70 transmits the received data to the reception side connection conversion unit 63 as specific format data determined according to the system (step S420). The receiving side connection conversion unit 63 that has received the specific format data reads the system configuration information 55a from the HDD 55 of the control PC 50 (step S330), and determines the communication method with the receiving PC 20 based on the read system configuration information 55a. (Step S340). Here, the receiving side connection conversion unit 63 determines that the communication method with the control PC 50 side is LAN. The receiving side connection conversion unit 63 acquires the address of the receiving PC 20 that is the output destination based on the information stored in the read system configuration information 55a. Next, the receiving side connection conversion unit 63 converts the received specific format data into communication format data corresponding to the determined communication method (step S350), and converts this communication format data via the I / F 64 of the control PC 50. It transmits to the transmission side connection conversion part 33 (step S360). Here, it is assumed that the communication format data is transmitted after being converted into a packet format corresponding to the LAN protocol. In this way, since the reception side connection conversion unit 63 functions as an abstracted interface and determines the output destination and communication method, the reception side processing unit 62 is unaware of the communication protocol to the transmission destination. Data can be transmitted to the transmission processing unit 32 side.

  The transmission side connection conversion unit 33 of the reception PC 20 acquires this communication format data via the I / F 34 of the reception PC 20 (step S240). Then, the acquired communication format data is converted into specific format data determined according to the system (step S250), and the converted specific format data is output to the transmission side processing unit 32 (step S260). For example, the transmission side processing unit 32 performs processing such as displaying and outputting the content of data acquired on the display of the receiving PC 20 (for example, printing completion or printing error). As described above, the transmission side processing unit 32 and the reception side processing unit 62 do not perform the processing depending on the communication protocol, and conceal the processing depending on the communication protocol in the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 and the reception side connection conversion unit 63. I make them do it exclusively. In such a minilab system 10, even if the communication method between the information transmission device 30 and the information reception device 60 is changed, the transmission side connection conversion unit is not changed without changing the transmission side processing unit 32 or the reception side processing unit 62. Information can be transmitted and received by changing 33 and the receiving side connection conversion unit 63.

  Next, a configuration in which the communication method between the information transmitting device 30 and the information receiving device 60 is different from that of the minilab system 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of another minilab system 110. The minilab system 110 is configured as a system including a reception PC 120 in which the above-described reception PC 20 has the function of the control PC 50, for example, a system in which the reception PC 20 and the control PC 50 have a direct connection communication method. ing. That is, the configuration is smaller than that of the minilab system 10 having a plurality of reception PCs via the LAN 12. In addition, about the structure similar to the minilab system 10, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected here and the description is abbreviate | omitted. The reception PC 120 of the minilab system 110 stores in the HDD 25 system configuration information 25a that stores information that the transmission side processing unit 32 and the reception side processing unit 162 are directly connected. The reception PC 120 includes a reception-side processing unit 162 having the same function as the reception-side processing unit 62 and a reception-side connection conversion unit 163 having the same function as the reception-side connection conversion unit 63. The reception side processing unit 162 has a function of transmitting a print command and print data to the printer 70. Further, the reception side connection conversion unit 163 is configured to be able to transmit and receive data to and from the transmission side connection conversion unit 33. The reception side processing unit 162, the reception side connection conversion unit 163, the HDD 25, and the like constitute the information reception device 160 of the present invention.

  In the minilab system 110 configured as described above, an operation of performing communication between the transmission processing unit 32 and the reception processing unit 162 will be described with reference to FIG. After acquiring the specific format data in step S110 of FIG. 3, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 reads the system configuration information 25a in step S200, and determines the communication method of the minilab system 110 in step S210. Here, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 determines that the communication method with the reception side processing unit 162 is direct connection. Next, in step S220, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 converts the communication format data into communication method data corresponding to the direct connection, and outputs the converted communication method data to the reception side connection conversion unit 163 in step S230. Receiving this, the receiving side connection converting unit 63 converts the data into specific format data determined according to the minilab system 110 in step S310, and transmits the converted specific format data to the receiving side processing unit 162. As described above, the transmission side processing unit 32 and the reception side processing unit 162 do not perform processing depending on the communication protocol, and conceal the processing depending on the communication protocol in the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 and the reception side connection conversion unit 63. I make them do it exclusively. In such a minilab system 10, even if the communication method between the information transmission device 30 and the information reception device 160 is changed, the transmission side connection conversion unit is not changed without changing the transmission side processing unit 32 or the reception side processing unit 62. 33 and the receiving side connection conversion unit 163 need only be changed.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The information transmission device 30 realized by the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 and the HDD 25 of the minilab system 10 of the present embodiment corresponds to the information transmission device of the present invention, and the information reception device realized by the reception side connection conversion unit 63 and the HDD 55. Reference numeral 60 corresponds to an information receiving apparatus, and the HDD 25 and the HDD 55 correspond to storage means. In this embodiment, an example of the information transmission apparatus and the information transmission method of the present invention is also clarified by describing the operation of the information communication system.

  According to the minilab system 10 of the present embodiment described in detail above, the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 and the reception side connection conversion unit 63 convert the specific format data into communication format data, thereby converting the specific format data into the information transmitting device 30. And the information receiving apparatus 60. For this reason, for example, when the communication line between the information transmitting apparatus and the information receiving apparatus is changed between the network line and the local line as in the minilab system 110, or when a new communication method is developed. Even so, the communication operation between the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 and the reception side connection conversion unit 63 may be confirmed, and the communication operation and reception between the transmission side processing unit 32 and the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 may be performed. It is possible to save time and effort for checking the communication operation between the side processing unit 62 and the reception side connection conversion unit 63 and examining the modification of the transmission side processing unit 32 and the reception side processing unit 62. Therefore, generalization of the information communication system can be facilitated.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the transmission-side processing unit 32 is a client device that acquires print data based on image data as specific format data from the application unit 31, and the information reception device 60 converts the print data to reception-side connection conversion. The minilab system 10 is a server device that is received as specific format data from the unit 63 and prints an image on the printer 70 based on the received print data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information transmitting device and the information receiving device are not limited thereto. And it is sufficient. In the above-described embodiment, the minilab system 10 is used. However, any system may be used as long as it is an information communication system. The specific format data is not limited to print data, and may be in any format as long as it is determined in advance by the minilab system 10. Although the print data is transmitted / received as the specific format data, the specific format data not particularly related to the print data may be transmitted / received. Even in this case, the generalization of the information communication system can be facilitated.

  In the above-described embodiment, the system configuration information 25a is not particularly updated. However, the system configuration information 25a may be updated by communication between the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 and the reception side connection conversion unit 63. For example, if the information receiving device 60 cannot receive the communication format data after the transmission side connection conversion unit 33 outputs the converted communication format data, it is specified as data of another communication method that can be used in the minilab system 10. Processing for converting the format data and outputting the converted communication format data to the information receiving device 60 side is performed for each communication method. When the communication format data can be received by the information receiving device 60, the received communication method may be stored in the system configuration information 25a and 55a and stored in the HDD 25 or the HDD 55. In this way, even when the communication system of the information communication system is changed, a separate process for changing the system configuration information can be omitted, so that the system configuration can be easily changed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the minilab system 10 using the reception PC 20 and the control PC 50 has been described. However, the information transmission apparatus 30 may be used, the information transmission method may be used, and the information transmission program may be used.

10, 110 Minilab system, 12 LAN, 20, 40, 120 Accepting personal computer (PC), 22 CPU, 23 ROM, 24 RAM, 25 HDD, 25a System configuration information, 29 bus, 30 Information transmitting device, 31 Application section, 32 Transmission side processing unit, 33 Transmission side connection conversion unit, 34 interface (I / F), 50 control personal computer (PC), 52 CPU, 53 ROM, 54 RAM, 55 HDD, 55a system configuration information, 59 bus, 60, 160 Information receiving device, 62, 162 Receiving side processing unit, 63, 163 Receiving side connection conversion unit, 64 interface (I / F), 70 printer, 71 interface (I / F), 72 CPU, 73 ROM, 74 RAM, 75 Printing mechanism.

Claims (7)

The information transmission device provided in the information communication system that communicates between the information transmission device and the information reception device by any of a plurality of communication methods,
Storage means for storing system configuration information including a communication method of the information communication system;
When specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system is acquired from the transmission side processing unit, the system configuration information is read from the storage means, and the communication method with the information receiving device is determined based on the read system configuration information. The determined specific format data is converted into communication format data according to the determined communication method and the converted communication format data is output to the information receiving device side, while the information receiving device side outputs the information communication When communication format data converted according to the communication method of the system is acquired, the acquired communication format data is converted into specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system, and the converted specific format data is transmitted. Transmitting side connection conversion means for outputting to the side processing unit;
An information transmission device comprising:   The information receiving device receives a specific format data predetermined in accordance with the information communication system from the receiving-side processing unit, and then communicates with the information transmitting device based on system configuration information including a communication method of the information communication system. The received specific format data is converted into communication format data corresponding to the determined communication method, and the converted communication format data is transmitted to the information transmitting device side, while the information transmitting device side transmits the information When the communication format data converted according to the communication method of the communication system is received, the received communication format data is converted into specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system, and the converted specific format data is converted into the converted format data. The information transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a reception-side connection conversion unit that transmits to the reception-side processing unit.   The transmission side connection conversion means outputs the communication format data after the output of the converted communication format data to the data of another communication method that can be used in the information communication system when the information reception device cannot receive the communication format data. A process of converting specific format data and outputting the converted communication format data to the information receiving device side is performed for each communication method, and when the communication format data is received by the information receiving device, the reception The information transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a communication method that is made is stored in the system configuration information and stored in the storage unit. The information transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An information receiving apparatus included in an information communication system that communicates between an information transmitting apparatus and an information receiving apparatus by any one of a plurality of communication methods, wherein the system configuration information including the communication method of the information communication system is stored. And when the specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system is received from the reception-side processing unit, the system configuration information is read from the storage unit, and the information transmission device is based on the read system configuration information. While determining the communication method, converting the received specific format data to the communication format data according to the determined communication method, and transmitting the converted communication format data to the information transmitting device side, from the information transmitting device side When communication format data converted according to the communication method of the information communication system is received, the received communication format data is converted into the information format. A reception-side connection conversion means for transmitting the specific format data converted by the conversion to a specific format predetermined data according to a communication system to the receiving side processing unit, an information receiving apparatus having a,
An information communication system. The information transmission device is a client device that the transmission side connection conversion unit acquires processing data relating to an image as the specific format data from the transmission side processing unit,
The information receiving device receives the processing data from the receiving-side connection conversion means as the specific format data, and the receiving-side processing unit prints the image on a printing device based on the received processing data. The information communication system according to claim 4, wherein In an information communication system that communicates between an information transmission apparatus and an information reception apparatus by any one of a plurality of communication systems, an information transmission method using storage means that stores system configuration information including the communication system of the information communication system Because
When specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system is acquired from the transmission side processing unit, the system configuration information is read from the storage means, and the communication method with the information receiving device is determined based on the read system configuration information. The determined specific format data is converted into communication format data according to the determined communication method and the converted communication format data is output to the information receiving device side, while the information receiving device side outputs the information communication When communication format data converted according to the communication method of the system is acquired, the acquired communication format data is converted into specific format data predetermined according to the information communication system, and the converted specific format data is transmitted. Output to the side processing unit,
Information transmission method.   The program which makes each step of the information transmission method of Claim 6 implement | achieve in one or more computers.

Images