JP2019193135A - Program and control device - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a control device for providing an information processing device with an operation screen for operating an external scanner to acquire transfer destination information in the information processing device.SOLUTION: A control device 30 controls a scanner 20 existing outside a compound machine 10. The compound machine 10 displays an operation screen of the scanner 20 provided by the control device 30, and receives an operation instruction to the scanner 20 from a user. The compound machine 10 has transfer destination information of an address book or the like in which candidates for a transfer destination of an image scanned by a built-in scanner are enumerated. As long as appropriate authority information is not presented, the compound machine 10 does not output the transfer destination information to the outside. Therefore, when instructed to use the scanner 20 from the user operating the compound machine 10, the control device 30 provides the compound machine 10 with an authentication screen to input authentication information for acquiring the transfer destination information, transfers the authentication information inputted from the user to the compound machine 10 to receive the transfer destination information, generates a selection screen of the transfer destination, and provides the compound machine 10 with the selection screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a program and a control device.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a system that controls each of a plurality of scanners connected to a network via a management server on the same network. In this system, an image can be acquired by causing a remote scanner to read by an instruction via the management server.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a system for controlling a second image forming apparatus different from the first image forming apparatus as a client via a server apparatus. In this system, the first image forming apparatus includes a Web browser and accesses a Web server included in the server apparatus. The server apparatus generates a setting screen for operating the second image forming apparatus, and transmits information on the setting screen from the Web server to the Web browser of the first image forming apparatus. A user who operates the first image forming apparatus makes settings on a setting screen displayed by the Web browser, and instructs the start of processing execution. The contents of this setting and the instruction to start execution are transmitted from the Web browser to the Web server of the server device. The server device transmits the received setting content to the second image forming apparatus and instructs execution of processing according to the setting content.

JP 2001-34583 A JP 2006-203869 A

  Some information processing apparatuses such as image forming apparatuses have a function of transferring an image read by a scanner included in the information processing apparatus to another apparatus via a communication line such as a network. This type of information processing apparatus holds transfer destination information indicating a list of transfer destinations frequently used by the user in order to reduce the burden of an operation for specifying an image transfer destination, and presents the list to the user. The transfer destination selection is accepted from the user. Even when an external scanner outside the information processing apparatus is operated from an information processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus via a control apparatus such as a server as in the system exemplified in Patent Document 2, the information processing is performed. It is desired that a transfer destination can be selected using transfer destination information in the apparatus.

  However, the transfer destination information in the information processing apparatus is a kind of confidential information, and the transfer destination information cannot be taken out from the information processing apparatus unless it has a predetermined authority.

  The present invention provides a mechanism by which a control device that provides an information processing device with an operation screen for operating an external scanner can acquire transfer destination information in the information processing device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an information information input screen for accessing a transfer destination information in an information processing apparatus connected to a scanner and connected to the information processing apparatus via a network is displayed on the information processing apparatus. Input screen providing means for providing to the information processing apparatus, the authority information input to the input screen is acquired from the information processing apparatus, and the transfer destination information is acquired from the information processing apparatus using the acquired authority information. Acquisition means, means for providing an operation screen for receiving an operation instruction to the scanner to the information processing apparatus, an operation instruction input to the operation screen is acquired from the information processing apparatus, and the scanner is operated according to the acquired operation instruction Means for acquiring an image read by the scanner, and the scanner reads the transfer destination candidates indicated by the transfer destination information. Means for providing a selection screen for accepting selection of an image transfer destination to the information processing apparatus; information on the transfer destination selected on the selection screen is acquired from the information processing apparatus; On the other hand, it is a program for functioning as means for transferring an image read by the scanner.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the input screen providing means, when an operation instruction for saving the image read by the scanner in a predetermined storage location is input to the operation screen, the input screen providing means 2. The input screen is provided to the information processing apparatus when an operation instruction for transferring the image is input to the operation screen without providing the information processing apparatus with a screen. It is the program described.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus is a multifunction peripheral, and the transfer destination information is address book information indicating transfer destination candidates of an image read by a scan function of the multifunction peripheral. 2. The program described in 2.

In the invention according to claim 4, the information processing apparatus holds the transfer destination information corresponding to each user, and the input screen displays the user in the information processing apparatus as the authority information. Is a screen that accepts input of authentication information,
The program according to claim 3, wherein the transfer destination information acquisition unit acquires the transfer destination information corresponding to the user from the information processing apparatus using the authority information acquired from the information processing apparatus.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the information processing apparatus is a multifunction peripheral, and the transfer destination information is a list of storage areas for images read by the scanning function of the multifunction peripheral provided in the multifunction peripheral. A program according to claim 1 or 2.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a control device connected to the scanner and connected to the information processing device via a network, wherein an input screen for authority information for accessing transfer destination information in the information processing device is displayed. An input screen providing means for providing to the information processing device, and the authority information input on the input screen is acquired from the information processing device, and the transfer destination information is acquired from the information processing device using the acquired authority information. Transfer destination information obtaining means, means for providing an operation screen for accepting an operation instruction to the scanner to the information processing apparatus, and operation obtained by obtaining the operation instruction input to the operation screen from the information processing apparatus. Means for operating the scanner according to an instruction and acquiring an image read by the scanner; and the scanner is selected from among transfer destination candidates indicated by the transfer destination information. Means for providing the information processing apparatus with a selection screen for accepting selection of the transfer destination of the captured image, and information on the transfer destination selected on the selection screen is acquired from the information processing apparatus, and the information indicates Means for transferring an image read by the scanner to a transfer destination.

  According to the first, third, fifth, or sixth aspect of the invention, the control device that provides the information processing apparatus with an operation screen for operating an external scanner can acquire transfer destination information in the information processing apparatus. it can.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the scanned image is stored in a predetermined storage location, it is not necessary to input authority information, and the operation burden on the user can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the information corresponding to the user who instructed scanning is acquired from the control device among the transfer destination information held for each user by the information processing device, and the selection based on the transfer destination information is performed. A screen can be provided to the user.

It is a figure which shows the example of the system configuration | structure of embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the function structure of a control apparatus. It is a figure which illustrates the flow of processing of the system of an embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a main menu screen of a multifunction machine. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an authentication screen displayed on a multifunction peripheral by a control device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scan screen displayed on a multifunction peripheral by a control device. It is a figure which shows another example of the main menu screen of a multifunction device.

  An example of the system configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  This system includes a multifunction device 10, a scanner (a scanner external to the multifunction device 10) 20 that is separate from the multifunction device 10, and a control device 30 that controls the scanner 20. The multifunction machine 10 and the control device 30 can communicate with each other via a network 40 such as a local area network. The scanner 20 is connected to the control device 30 via an interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus). The multifunction machine 10 is an apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a printer, a scanner, a copier, a facsimile machine, and network communication.

  The multifunction device 10 is provided with an operation unit 12 that is a UI (user interface) of the multifunction device 10. The operation unit 12 includes a display device that displays various operation screens for operating the multifunction machine 10 and an input device that receives input from the user for the operation screens. The operation unit 12 may include a touch panel in which a display device and an input device are integrated.

  The multifunction machine 10 has a built-in scanner. However, the scanner of the multifunction machine 10 is for reading a plain paper document having a size of about A4, which is generally used in an office, with a mechanism having a limited size, and has a sharp curve in the document transport path. . For this reason, it is not suitable for reading relatively hard originals such as business cards and postcards. There are scanners on the market that are designed to read hard originals. However, such a scanner can be operated from the operation unit 12 of the multifunction machine 10, and the scanned image is an image scanned with the built-in scanner of the multifunction machine 10. Similarly, it is convenient that data can be transferred using transfer destination information such as an address book in the multifunction device 10 or stored in a confidential box in the multifunction device 10. In addition, there is a need to control from the multifunction device 10 an external scanner (that is, the scanner 20) that provides a scan function that is inconvenient for the built-in scanner of the multifunction device 10. The system of this embodiment provides a mechanism for this purpose.

  The control device 30 is a device that provides an interface between the multifunction machine 10 and the external scanner 20. The control device 30 provides an operation screen for operating the scanner 20 to the operation unit 12 of the multifunction machine 10 via the network 40. The control device 30 holds information on various scan parameter options (for example, selectable resolution types, monochrome reading or color reading, etc.) that can be selected by the scanner 20, and uses this information to operate the operation screen. (Or holding operation screen data incorporating this information). For example, the operation screen may be configured as a web page. Further, the control device 30 controls the scanner 20 in accordance with an operation instruction from the user on the operation screen. Further, the control device 30 transfers image data read by the scanner 20 under the control (hereinafter referred to as a scanned image) in accordance with a user operation instruction.

  In the illustrated example, the scanner 20 is directly connected to the control device 30 instead of via the network 40, but the scanner 20 may be connected to the network 40 and controlled from the control device 30 via the network 40. .

  For example, if the scanner 20 and the control device 30 are installed next to the multifunction device 10, an operation instruction to the scanner 20 is input via the operation unit 12 of the multifunction device, and a document is set on the scanner 20. Work is easy.

  Now, when the control device 30 provides the operation screen for the scanner 20 to the operation unit 12 of the multi-function device 10, the acquisition of the transfer destination information for the selection screen for the transfer (save) destination of the scan result is obtained. It is. The MFP 10 holds transfer destination information such as an address book showing a list of transfer destinations and a list of confidential boxes opened in the MFP 10, and these transfer destination information includes personal information. In many cases, it is confidential information and is set so that it cannot be freely taken out from the multifunction machine 10. For example, in order to access and edit the address book in the multifunction device 10 from an external personal computer, it is necessary to log in to the multifunction device 10 with an account of the administrator of the multifunction device 10. In addition, when a user who has an account in the multifunction device 10 registers a personal address book in the multifunction device 10, it is necessary to log in to the multifunction device 10 with the account to access the address book.

  In order to generate the transfer destination selection screen using the transfer destination information in the multifunction device 10, the control device 30 needs to acquire the transfer destination information from the multifunction device 10. For this acquisition, it is necessary to input authority information for certifying the access authority to the transfer destination information to the multifunction machine 10.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a mechanism is provided for the control device 30 to obtain such authority information and use it to obtain transfer destination information from the multifunction machine 10.

  An example of the functional configuration of the control device 30 including this mechanism is shown in FIG. The control device 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a web server 300, a transfer destination information acquisition unit 306, a scan screen generation unit 308, a scanner control unit 310, a data format conversion unit 312, and a data transfer processing unit 314.

  The web server 300 provides a web page representing the operation screen of the scanner 20 to the multifunction device 10. Further, the web server 300 receives user input information for the operation screen displayed on the operation unit 12 of the multifunction peripheral 10 and supplies the input information to a processing unit such as the transfer destination information acquisition unit 306 or the scanner control unit 310. To do.

  The web page group provided to the multifunction machine 10 by the web server 300 includes an authentication screen page 302 and a scan screen page 304. The authentication screen page 302 is a web page for accepting input of user authentication information (for example, a combination of a user ID and a password). The authentication information input to the authentication screen page 302 is an example of authority information that proves access authority to the transfer destination information in the multifunction machine 10. The scan screen page 304 is a web page for accepting input of various setting information for operating the scanner 20. A selection field for accepting selection of the transfer destination of the scan result image in the scan screen page 304 is dynamically generated based on the transfer destination information acquired from the multifunction machine 10.

  The transfer destination information acquisition unit 306 acquires transfer destination information from the multifunction machine 10 using the authentication information input by the user on the authentication screen page 302.

  The scan screen generation unit 308 generates a scan screen page 304 and registers it in the web server 300. For example, the scan screen generation unit 308 has a template of the scan screen page 304, and by applying dynamically supplied information (for example, transfer destination information acquired from the MFP 10) to the template. A scan screen page 304 is generated. A portion of the scan screen that does not change dynamically (for example, a column for selecting the data format of the scan image) may be included in the template.

  The scanner control unit 310 acquires information on an instruction input by the user with respect to the scan screen page 304, controls the scanner 20 according to the information, and executes scan processing. Then, the scanner control unit 310 acquires a scanned image from the scanner 20.

  The data format conversion unit 312 converts the scanned image acquired from the scanner 20 into a data format designated by the user.

  The data transfer processing unit 314 transfers (saves) the scanned image file after the data format conversion to the transfer destination designated by the user. The transfer destination candidates include a storage area in the control device 30, a confidential box in the multifunction machine 10, a folder in a file server accessible via the network 40, an e-mail address, and the like.

Next, an example of a processing flow in the system of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this description, examples of the operation screens shown in FIGS.
(1) When the user wants to use the external scanner 20 from the operation unit 12 of the multifunction device 10, the user can use the external scanner on the main menu screen (also referred to as home screen) of the multifunction device 10 displayed on the operation unit 12. Select the menu item to be used. On the main menu screen, menu items indicating functions provided to the user by the multifunction machine 10 are displayed, for example, in the form of GUI (graphical user interface) buttons.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the main menu screen 400 of the multifunction machine 10. In this example, the main menu screen 400 includes the scanner 20 in addition to buttons for instructing the use of functions such as copy, scan, and fax of the multifunction machine 10 such as a copy button 402, a scan button 404, and a FAX button 406. An external scanner button 408 for instructing the use of is displayed. The operation of the multifunction machine 10 when the user presses the copy button 402, the scan button 404, and the FAX button 406 is within the scope of the prior art. The external scanner button 408 is linked to the control device 30. In this embodiment, the control device 30 provides an operation screen of the scanner 20 from the web server 300 by web technology, and the external scanner button 408 is set to a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a web page provided by the web server 300. Is associated.
(2) In the example of the processing flow of FIG. 3, the URL of the authentication screen page 302 is associated with the external scanner button 408, and when the user presses the external scanner button 408, the web browser in the MFP 10 is A GET request for the URL is sent to the web server 300 (external access from the multifunction device 10 to the control device 30).
(3) Upon receiving the request, the web server 300 of the control device 30 performs processing for responding to the authentication screen page 302 corresponding to the request.
(4) The authentication screen page 302 is sent from the control device 30 to the multifunction device 10.

An example of an authentication screen 500 displaying this authentication screen page 302 is shown in FIG. In this example, the address book possessed by the multifunction device 10 is only shared by the user group of the multifunction device 10 (for example, the organization in which the multifunction device 10 is installed or the staff of the department). . To output the shared address book from the multifunction device 10 to the outside, the authority of the administrator of the multifunction device 10 is required. Therefore, the illustrated authentication screen 500 displays a message for requesting the administrator's user ID and password, and a user ID and password input field.
(5) The web browser in the multifunction machine 10 generates an image of the authentication screen 500 from the received authentication screen page 302 and displays it on the display device of the operation unit 12.
(6) The user inputs the administrator's authentication information (user ID and password in the illustrated example) to the authentication screen page 302 displayed on the operation unit 12, and issues a transmission instruction.
(7) In response to this instruction, the input authentication information is sent to the web server 300 of the control device 30.
(8) The web server 300 passes the received authentication information to the transfer destination information acquisition unit 306. The transfer destination information acquisition unit 306 sends a transfer destination information request to the multifunction device 10. This transfer destination information request includes a value indicating that transfer destination information (address book data or the like) is requested, and authentication information received from the web server 300. In order to protect the authentication information, the transfer destination information request or the authentication information in the transfer destination information request may be encrypted by using a key agreed with the multifunction device 10 in advance.
(9) Upon receiving the transfer destination information request, the multifunction machine 10 determines whether the authentication information included in the request is registered correct authentication information (authentication process). In this example, it is assumed that the authentication information is correct.
(10) In this case, the multifunction machine 10 takes out the forwarding destination information (address book, etc.) that it holds. The transfer destination information includes, for example, the name of the transfer destination and address information for transmitting data to the transfer destination (for example, a mail address or URL of the transfer destination) for each transfer destination.
(11) The multifunction device 10 sends the transfer destination information to the control device 30.
(12) The control device 30 passes the received transfer destination information to the scan screen generation unit 308. The scan screen generation unit 308 generates a scan screen page 304 by embedding information on each transfer destination included in the transfer destination information in a selection field for transfer destination selection in the scan screen page template, and the scan screen page 304 is supplied to the web server 300.
(13) The web server 300 transmits the scan screen page 304 to the web browser of the multifunction machine 10.
(14) The web browser displays the scan screen page 304 on the display device of the operation unit 12 of the multifunction machine 10. The scan screen page 304 includes, for example, a screen for setting scan parameters such as resolution, a transfer destination selection screen, a scan image data format selection screen, and the like. Although not shown in the figure, the transfer destination selection screen includes the transfer destinations indicated in the transfer destination information acquired from the multifunction machine 10 as options.
(15) The user appropriately sets each setting item on the scan screen page 304 displayed on the operation unit 12. Here, settings such as the scan parameters such as resolution, the output data format of the scan image, and the transfer destination (save destination) of the scan image are performed. When the setting is completed, a scan execution instruction is issued. Note that the user has set a document to be read on the scanner 20 before and after the instruction on the operation unit 12.
(16) The web browser of the multifunction machine 10 sends a scan instruction including the data of the setting contents input on the scan screen page 304 to the web server 300 of the control device 30.
(17) The scan instruction received by the web server 300 is passed to the scanner control unit 310. The scanner control unit 310 converts scan parameters for controlling the scanner 20 out of the setting contents included in the scan instruction into commands conforming to an interface standard (for example, SANE or TWAIN) supported by the scanner 20. .
(18) The scanner control unit 310 sends a command obtained by the conversion to the scanner 20 and causes the scanner 20 to execute scanning.
(19) The scanner 20 executes a scanning process in accordance with a command from the scanner control unit 310 and reads a set original.
(20) The scanner 20 sends the scan image obtained by reading to the control device 30.
(21) In the control device 30 that has received the scan image, the data format conversion unit 312 converts the data of the scan image into the data format selected by the user on the scan screen page 304. Then, the converted scanned image file is transferred to the transfer destination selected by the user on the transfer destination selection screen on the scan screen page 304. In this transfer, for example, the scan image file is sent to the address indicated by the address information by a protocol (for example, electronic mail, FTP, SMB) indicated by the address information associated with the transfer destination selected by the user.

  The processing flow of the present embodiment has been described above. As described above, in the system of the present embodiment, the control device 30 displays a screen for inputting authentication information of a user (an administrator in the above example) who has the authority to read transfer destination information in the multifunction device 10. 10 on the operation unit 12 to receive authentication information from the user. Then, the control device 30 acquires transfer destination information from the multifunction device 10 using the authentication information input by the user, generates a transfer destination selection screen using the transfer destination information, and provides it to the multifunction device 10. By such a mechanism, a transfer destination selection screen based on the transfer destination information of the multifunction device 10 is generated by the control device 30 outside the multifunction device 10 and provided to the multifunction device 10 together with the setting screen of the scanner 20. Is possible.

  In the above description with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the example in which the address book data shared by all users in the multifunction machine 10 is acquired from the control device 30 has been described, but this is only an example. When the multifunction device 10 holds a personal address book for each user, on the authentication screen (see FIG. 5) provided from the control device 30 to the operation unit 12, the user inputs his / her own authentication information. You may make it prompt. In this case, the control device 30 sends a transfer destination information request including the authentication information input by the user to the multifunction device 10, and the multifunction device 10 authenticates the authentication information. If this authentication is successful, the control device 30 responds to the authentication information. The user's personal address book data is provided to the control device 30.

  In the above example, the address book is used as the main example of the transfer destination information. Another example of the transfer destination information is a list of confidential boxes provided in the multifunction machine 10. The confidential box is a data storage area provided in the storage system of the multifunction machine 10. A plurality of confidential boxes can be created in the multifunction machine 10. The user can create a confidential box in the multifunction machine 10 for himself or for himself and his friends. It is also possible to set a password in the confidential box so that only the person who knows the password can use the confidential box (for example, read out stored data and / or save data). In addition, it is possible to set the access right of each user to the confidential box, and control so that only the user who has the access right to the confidential box can use the confidential box. By providing such a list of confidential boxes as transfer destination information from the multi-function peripheral 10 to the control device 30, the control device 30 displays a selection screen showing these confidential boxes as options for storing (transferring) scan images. Can be provided to the operation unit 12 of the multifunction machine 10.

  In this case, when the user inputs the authentication information of the administrator on the authentication screen 500 (see FIG. 5), the multifunction device 10 lists all confidential boxes provided in the multifunction device 10 with respect to the control device 30. I will provide a. In this case, a list of all confidential boxes in the multifunction machine 10 is shown on the transfer destination selection screen displayed on the operation unit 12 from the control device 30, and the user selects a scan image storage destination from the list. When a password is set in the confidential box selected by the user, the control device 30 displays a password input screen on the operation unit 12, accepts the input of the password from the user, and receives the input password. The scanned image can be saved in the confidential box.

  When the user inputs his / her authentication information on the authentication screen 500, the multi-function peripheral 10 extracts a confidential box to which the user has access rights, and sends the extracted confidential box list to the control device 30. provide. In this case, the confidential box that can be accessed by the user is not displayed as an option on the confidential box selection screen displayed on the operation unit 12 from the control device 30.

  In the above example, when the user instructs the use of the external scanner, the authority information indicating the acquisition authority of the transfer destination information is always input (in the above example, the user authentication information), but this is only an example. Absent. The user may be requested to input authority information only when the transfer destination information needs to be used for selecting the transfer destination of the scanned image.

  For example, when the user selects the use of the external scanner in the procedure of FIG. 3 (Steps (1) and (2)), the control device 30 displays the authentication screen page 302 in Steps (3) and (4). Instead of providing a scan screen page 304 is provided. However, the scan screen page 304 includes a designation screen for roughly specifying the classification of the transfer destination of the scanned image instead of the transfer destination selection screen based on the transfer destination information such as the address book. FIG. 6 illustrates this designation screen 600. On the designation screen 600, buttons 602, 604, 606, and 608 indicating a USB memory, a shared address book, a personal address book, and a confidential box are displayed as transfer destination classifications. The classification “USB memory” is a button for instructing to save a scan image in the USB memory pointed to the USB connector of the multifunction machine 10. The “shared address book” is a button for instructing to select a transfer destination from the address book shared by all users held by the multifunction machine 10, and the “personal address book” is a transfer destination from the user's personal address book. This is a button for instructing selection. The “confidential box” is a button for instructing to select a transfer destination from among confidential boxes to which the user has access rights.

  Among these buttons, the “shared address book”, “personal address book”, and “confidential box” buttons hold transfer destination information such as address book information and confidential box list in the multi-function peripheral 10. A transfer destination is selected from a selection screen based on the transfer destination information. Therefore, when any of these three buttons is selected, the control device 30 provides an authentication screen to the operation unit 12 and requests the user to input authentication information. For example, when “Shared Address Book” is selected, an authentication screen is displayed requesting the administrator's authentication information. When “Personal Address Book” is selected, the user's own authentication information is entered. Provide an authentication screen requesting

  On the other hand, when the “USB memory” button is selected, the transfer destination of the scanned image is determined by the USB memory connected to the connector of the multifunction machine 10, so that it is not necessary to select the transfer destination based on the transfer destination information. In this case, the control device 30 does not provide the authentication screen to the multi-function peripheral 10, and performs scan processing and scan image format conversion according to the scan parameters and data format designation contents input on the other screens of the scan screen page 304. Then, the obtained scanned image file is sent to the multifunction device 10 with the USB memory as the output destination. The multifunction device 10 stores the received file in the USB memory according to the designation. In addition to the USB memory, when the user selects a predetermined storage location in the multifunction device 10 or the control device 30 as the storage location of the scan image, the transfer device information is unnecessary, and thus the control device 30 authenticates. The screen is not provided to the multifunction device 10.

  The example of FIG. 6 is an example when the use of “external scanner” is selected on the main menu screen 400 illustrated in FIG. That is, when the use of “external scanner” is selected, the user selects a rough classification of the transfer destination on the scan screen, and the classification selected by the user selects the transfer destination based on the transfer destination information. In some cases, the user was prompted for authentication information. On the other hand, as another example, the user may select a menu item that reflects the classification of the transfer destination on the main menu screen. The main menu screen 700 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes buttons 704 to 710 for using an external scanner in addition to buttons for selecting a built-in function of the multifunction machine 10 such as a copy button 702. A button 704 is a button that is selected when an image scanned by the external scanner 20 is transferred to a server or PC on the network. When this button 704 is selected, the control device 30 displays an authentication screen on the operation unit 12 and accepts input of authentication information from the user. The input authentication information and a value indicating “save to PC / server” are sent to the multi-function device 10, and the multi-function device 10 sends a list of transfer destinations using a data transfer protocol such as FTP or SMB ( (Address book) is acquired, and a transfer destination selection screen generated based on the list is provided to the operation unit 12. A button 706 is a button for instructing storage in the confidential box. When the button 706 is selected, the control device 30 displays an authentication screen on the operation unit 12 and accepts input of authentication information from the user. Then, the input authentication information and a value indicating “send confidential box” are sent to the multifunction device 10, and a list of confidential boxes to which the user indicated by the authentication information has access rights is acquired from the multifunction device 10. A transfer destination selection screen generated based on the list is provided to the operation unit 12. A button 708 is a button for instructing to transfer the scanned image by e-mail. When this button 708 is selected, the control device 30 displays an authentication screen on the operation unit 12, accepts input of authentication information from the user, and inputs the authentication information and a value indicating “e-mail transfer” To the multifunction device 10, obtains an e-mail address book usable by the user indicated by the authentication information from the multifunction device 10, and provides the operation unit 12 with a transfer destination selection screen generated based on the address book. To do. A button 710 is a button for instructing to save a scan image in a USB memory attached to the multifunction machine 10. When this button 710 is selected, the control device 30 does not provide an authentication screen to the operation unit 12 but provides a scan screen and receives an instruction such as a scan parameter from the user.

  In the above example, transfer destination information such as an address book used in the multifunction device 10 is held in the multifunction device 10, but the transfer destination information is a network accessible from the multifunction device 10. It may be held in the server above. In this case, the multifunction machine 10 acquires transfer destination information from the server and generates a transfer destination selection screen, but the control device 30 similarly acquires the transfer destination information from the server. In this case, similarly to the above-described example, the control device 30 receives input of authority information such as authentication information from the user, sends a request with the authority information to the server, and acquires transfer destination information.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The control device 30 exemplified above may be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program representing the function of each functional module of the control device 30. Here, the computer includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU, a memory (primary storage) such as a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM), an HDD controller that controls an HDD (hard disk drive), and the like as hardware. A network interface that performs control for connection to a network such as an I / O (input / output) interface or a local area network has a circuit configuration connected via a bus, for example. Also, portable non-volatile recording of various standards such as a disk drive and a flash memory for reading and / or writing to a portable disk recording medium such as a CD or a DVD via the I / O interface, for example. A memory reader / writer for reading from and / or writing to a medium may be connected. A program in which the processing contents of each functional module exemplified above are described is stored in a fixed storage device such as a hard disk drive via a recording medium such as a CD or DVD, or via a communication means such as a network, and stored in a computer. Installed. The program stored in the fixed storage device is read into the RAM and executed by a processor such as a CPU, whereby the functional module group exemplified above is realized.

10 MFP, 12 Operation unit, 20 Scanner, 30 Control device, 40 Network, 300 Web server, 302 Authentication screen page, 304 Scan screen page, 306 Transfer destination information acquisition unit, 308 Scan screen generation unit, 310 Scanner control unit, 312 Data format conversion unit, 314 Data transfer processing unit.

Claims (6)

A computer connected to the scanner and connected to the information processing apparatus via the network,
Input screen providing means for providing the information processing device with an input screen of authority information for accessing transfer destination information in the information processing device;
Transfer destination information acquiring means for acquiring the authority information input on the input screen from the information processing apparatus, and acquiring the transfer destination information from the information processing apparatus using the acquired authority information;
Means for providing the information processing apparatus with an operation screen for receiving an operation instruction to the scanner;
Means for acquiring an operation instruction input on the operation screen from the information processing apparatus, operating the scanner according to the acquired operation instruction, and acquiring an image read by the scanner;
Means for providing the information processing apparatus with a selection screen for accepting selection of a transfer destination of an image read by the scanner from among transfer destination candidates indicated by the transfer destination information;
Means for acquiring information on a transfer destination selected on the selection screen from the information processing apparatus and transferring an image read by the scanner to a transfer destination indicated by the information;
Program to function as.   The input screen providing means provides the input screen to the information processing apparatus when an operation instruction for saving an image read by the scanner to a predetermined storage location is input to the operation screen. The program according to claim 1, wherein, when an operation instruction for transferring the image is input to the operation screen, the input screen is provided to the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus is a multifunction peripheral;
The transfer destination information is address book information indicating transfer destination candidates of an image read by the scanning function of the multifunction device.
The program according to claim 1 or 2. The information processing apparatus holds the transfer destination information corresponding to the user for each user,
The input screen is a screen that accepts input of authentication information of the user in the information processing apparatus as the authority information,
The transfer destination information acquisition means acquires the transfer destination information corresponding to the user from the information processing apparatus using the authority information acquired from the information processing apparatus.
The program according to claim 3. The information processing apparatus is a multifunction peripheral;
The transfer destination information is a list of storage areas of images read by the scanning function of the multifunction device provided in the multifunction device.
The program according to claim 1 or 2. A control device connected to the scanner and connected to the information processing device via a network,
Input screen providing means for providing the information processing device with an input screen of authority information for accessing transfer destination information in the information processing device;
Transfer destination information acquisition means for acquiring the authority information input on the input screen from the information processing apparatus, and acquiring the transfer destination information from the information processing apparatus using the acquired authority information;
Means for providing an operation screen for receiving an operation instruction to the scanner to the information processing apparatus;
Means for acquiring an operation instruction input to the operation screen from the information processing apparatus, operating the scanner according to the acquired operation instruction, and acquiring an image read by the scanner;
Means for providing the information processing apparatus with a selection screen for accepting selection of a transfer destination of an image read by the scanner from among transfer destination candidates indicated by the transfer destination information;
Means for acquiring information on a transfer destination selected on the selection screen from the information processing apparatus, and transferring an image read by the scanner to a transfer destination indicated by the information;
Control device including.

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