JP4626297B2 - Image forming apparatus and image processing program - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an image forming equipment Contact and image processing program, an image forming equipment Contact and image processing program suitable particularly for sending and receiving e-mail.

  In recent years, information has been transmitted and received by electronic mail with the spread of networks. Application data created by an application program, electronic data obtained by reading a paper document with a scanner, and the like can be included in an attached file of an e-mail and transmitted (for example, Patent Document 1). This e-mail includes a header part, a body, and an attached file, and the header part includes information necessary for transmission / reception of the e-mail, for example, a source e-mail address and a destination e-mail address. When sending an e-mail, the header part must be set.

However, when the recipient who received the e-mail forms an image of the text or attached file on a recording medium such as paper, the header portion is not image-formed, so the text or attached file is separated from the header portion. For this reason, it is not possible to specify the sender of the electronic mail or the delivery destination only from the recording medium on which the text or the attached file is formed as an image. In addition, when a recording medium on which a body text or an attached file is formed is read by a scanner and the obtained electronic data is attached to an electronic mail and transmitted, the address of the transmission destination must be set.
No. 2000-12568

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one object of the present invention is to provide data and information related to the data even when the medium on which the data is recorded changes. It is an object to provide an image forming apparatus capable of managing and associating.

  Still another object of the present invention is to perform image processing capable of associating and managing data and information related to the data even when a medium on which data received from another computer is recorded changes. Is to provide a program.

According to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above-described object, communication means for communicating via a network, reading means for reading a document and outputting image data, and image data are inputted and inputted. Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the image data, a storage means for storing the data, and a control means for controlling the communication means, the reading means , the image forming means and the storage means. means, if the e-mail with an attachment by the communication means is received, and acquisition means you get the header information of the received electronic mail, the coded data by coding the header information obtained output image data producing and encoding means, which synthesizes the code data to generate combined image data in a received e-mail text or attachments, and outputs to the image forming means for Means and the data relating to the body of the email and attachments that are received, read and storage control means for storing in the storage means in association with the header information, a recording medium reading means is an image formed by the image forming means outputs to create an e-mail by using a decryption unit that Gosu recover the code data included in the output image data to the header information, stored in the storage means in association with the decoded header information, the data relating to body or attachment Email creation means .
Preferably, the mail creating means creates the body of the e-mail based on the body stored in association with the decrypted header information.

  According to the present invention, when data received from another computer is image-formed on a recording medium, code data obtained by encoding related information related to the data is image-formed on the recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to form an image on a recording medium by associating data received from another computer and information related to the data without separating them. Further, when the recording medium on which the image data is formed is read, the image data is transmitted to the transmission destination determined by the related information. Therefore, if the recording medium is read, the image data can be transmitted without inputting the transmission destination. As a result, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of managing data and information related to the data in association with each other even when the medium on which the data received from another computer is recorded changes. it can.

Preferably, the control means may read an output image data outputted by means preparative differential region extracting hand to extract a differential region based on the data about the attached file which is stored in association with the header information decoded by the decoding means further look at including the stage, mail creation means, attached to the e-mail that created the image data of the extracted difference region.

  According to the present invention, before the recording medium on which the image is formed is read, the image added to the recording medium is extracted as the difference area. Therefore, information added after image formation can be associated with data received from another computer.

Preferably, the control unit further includes a display unit that displays an email address included in the decrypted header information , and a selection reception unit that receives selection of at least one email address from the displayed email addresses. The mail creating means sets the selected e-mail address as the e-mail transmission destination address .
Preferably, the mail creation means creates the title of the electronic mail based on the title included in the decrypted header information.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, an image processing program includes: a communication unit for communicating via a network; a reading unit for reading a document and outputting image data; Image forming means comprising image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on image data, storage means for storing data, and control means for controlling communication means, reading means , image forming means and storage means An image processing program executed by the apparatus, wherein when an e-mail attached with a file is received by a communication means, a step of acquiring header information of the received e-mail and encoding the acquired header information turned into and generating and outputting encoded data, the synthesized code data to the received e-mail body or attachment synthetic image data And outputting the image forming means, and data related to the received e-mail body and attached file, and the step of storing in the storage means in association with the header information, recording the reading means is an image formed by the image forming means electronic using the steps that Gosu condensate header information code data included in the output image data output by reading a medium, stored in the storage means in association with the decoded header information, the data relating to body or attachment The control means executes the step of creating the mail .
Preferably, in the step of creating an electronic mail, the image processing program creates a body of the electronic mail based on the body stored in association with the decrypted header information.
Preferably, the image processing program further executes a step of extracting a difference area based on the output image data output by the reading unit and the data regarding the attached file stored in association with the decoded header information, and the electronic mail In the step of creating the image, the extracted image data of the difference area is attached to the created e-mail.
Preferably, the image processing program further executes a step of displaying an email address included in the decrypted header information, and a step of accepting selection of at least one email address from the displayed email addresses. In the step of creating an e-mail, the selected e-mail address is set as the e-mail destination address.
Preferably, the image processing program creates a title of the email based on the title included in the decrypted header information in the step of creating the email.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an image processing program capable of managing data in association with information associated with the data even when the medium on which the data received from another computer is recorded changes. can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of an image processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an image processing system includes mail servers 3 and 3A, multi-function peripherals (hereinafter referred to as “MFPs”) 1 and 1A, user computers 2 and 2A to 2C, and a network 4 that connects them. 4A and the Internet 5. E-mail transmission / reception is performed between the MFP 1, 1 A and the user computers 2, 2 A to 2 C on the Internet 5 or the network 4 according to a predetermined protocol.

  The mail server 3 can communicate with the MFP 1 and the plurality of user computers 2 and 2A via the network 4, and collect and distribute electronic mail to the MFP 1 and the plurality of user computers 2 and 2A. Perform service. The mail server 3 is not limited to the MFP 1 and the plurality of user computers 2 and 2A in the network 4 to which the mail server 3 belongs. The mail server 3 is not limited to the MFP 1A and the user computers 2B and 2C in the other network 4A. It also functions as a mail transfer protocol (POS) server, a POP (post office protocol) 3 server corresponding to a reception request from a user, and an IMAP (internet messaging access protocol) 4 server.

  The mail server 3A can communicate with the MFP 1A and the plurality of user computers 2B and 2C via the network 4A, and collect and distribute electronic mail to the MFP 1A and the plurality of user computers 2B and 2C. Perform service. The mail server 3A is not limited to the MFP 1A in the network 4A to which it belongs and the plurality of user computers 2B and 2C, but is also an SMTP server that transmits e-mails to the MFP 1 and the user computers 2 and 2A in other networks 4. , It also functions as a POP3 server, an IMAP4 server, etc. corresponding to a reception request from a user.

  As the user computers 2 and 2A to 2C, general computers can be used. Since its configuration and function are well known, description thereof will not be repeated here.

  Here, the networks 4 and 4A may be, for example, a local area network (LAN) such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, or fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), or a WAN in which several LANs are connected to each other. (Wide area network). It does not matter whether it is wired or wireless.

  An MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 1, 1A forms an image on a recording medium such as paper based on an image reading unit for reading a document, a network controller for communicating with other devices connected to a network, and image data. An image forming unit, a facsimile, and a hard disk unit, and an image reading function, an electronic mail transmission / reception function, a file transfer function, a copying function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, a data printing function, and a file storage function.

  MFPs 1 and 1A have the same functions, and therefore MFP 1 will be described unless otherwise specified. The number of MFPs 1, 1A and user computers 2, 2A to 2C is not limited to the number shown in FIG.

  The image processing system according to the present embodiment is suitable for forming an image of the body of an email or a file attached thereto with the MFP 1 when sending and receiving email between the user computers 2 and 2A to 2C. is there. The e-mail includes a header part in addition to a text as information to be sent to a destination and an attached file. The header part includes information indicating the source and destination of the e-mail. The header portion is related information related to the text or the attached file in order to indicate the transmission source, the transmission destination, etc.

  In the image processing system according to the present embodiment, even when the body or attached file included in the e-mail is image-formed on a recording medium such as paper by the MFP 1, the body or attached file included in the e-mail and the header portion Can be managed in association with each other. The e-mail received by the user computer 2 is stored in a hard disk built therein. In this state, since the body text, the attached file, and the related information included in the electronic mail are stored together, they are associated with each other. However, when the MFP 1 forms an image on a recording medium such as paper with the MFP 1, the association between the text or the attached file and the related information disappears. Although it is possible to form an image of related information and text using characters, even if it is read by the image reading unit 116 of the MFP 1, the MFP 1 only recognizes the related information as image data. I can't.

  In the image processing system according to the present embodiment, when the MFP 1 forms an image of the text or attached file included in the electronic mail received by the user computer 2, the related information included in the electronic mail is encoded into a barcode. Then, the data obtained by expanding the text or attached file into an image and the barcode of related information are combined, and the combined data is formed on a sheet of paper.

  Since the image of the body text or the attached file and the barcode of the related information are formed on the paper, the barcode portion is extracted from the image data obtained by reading such paper with the image reading unit of the MFP 1, If it is decoded, related information is acquired. In this way, the association between the text or attached file and the related information is restored. More specific description will be given below.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the MFP in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, MFP 1 controls CPU 101 for controlling MFP 1 as a whole, bus bridge 103 connected to CPU 101 via CPU bus 102, ROM 105 and RAM 107 connected to bus bridge 103, bus An image control unit 110, an operation panel interface (IF) 121, a network interface (IF) 123, and a memory interface (IF) 125 are connected to the bridge 103 via the general-purpose bus 104.

  The operation panel IF 121 is connected to the operation panel 122, the network IF 123 is connected to the network 4, and the flash ROM 126 can be attached to the memory IF 125.

  An image memory 113, a scanner interface (IF) 115, a printer interface (IF) 117, and a hard disk unit 119 are connected to the image control unit 110 via an image bus 111. The scanner IF 115 is connected to the image reading unit 116, and the printer IF 117 is connected to the image forming unit 118.

  The network IF 123 is connected to the network 4. The network IF 123 sends the data input from the CPU 101 to the network 4 and outputs the data received from the network to the CPU 101.

  The image control unit 110 is controlled by the CPU 101 and controls input / output of image data. Image data received from another computer via the network IF 123, image data input from the scanner IF, or image data read from the hard disk is output to the image forming unit 118 or the hard disk unit 119. Further, when outputting the image data to the image forming unit 118, the image control unit 110 performs a process of converting the image data into print data that can be formed by the image forming unit 118.

  Operation panel 122 includes an input unit for receiving an input of an operation by a user and a display unit for displaying information.

  The hard disk unit 119 stores data input to the MFP 1 such as image data read by the image reading unit 116 and image data received from another computer via the network IF 123.

  A flash ROM 126 is attached to the memory IF 125. The image processing program stored in the flash ROM 126 is read into the RAM 107 and executed by the CPU 101. Note that the program may be stored in an EEPROM (electrically erasable / programmable read only memory) instead of being read from the flash ROM 126. An image processing program stored in the EEPROM is read into the RAM 107 and executed by the CPU 101. Since this EEPROM can rewrite or additionally write the stored contents, other computers connected to the network 4, 4A or the Internet 5 can rewrite the program stored in the EEPROM of the MFP 1, An additional program may be added and written. Further, the MFP 1 may download a program from another computer connected to the networks 4 and 4A or the Internet 5 and store the program in the EEPROM.

  The image processing program executed in the MFP 1 is shown as an example of being stored in the flash ROM 126 and distributed, but other recording media such as a flexible disk, a cassette tape, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), Fixing hard disks, optical disks (MO (Magnetic Optical Disc) / MD (Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), IC cards (including memory cards), optical cards, semiconductor memories such as mask ROM, EPROM, and EEPROM Alternatively, it may be a medium carrying a program. Further, it may be downloaded from another device via a network.

  In addition, the program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 101 but also a program in a source program format, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the operation panel. Referring to FIG. 3, operation panel 122 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 130, a numeric keypad 131, a clear key 132 for returning a set numerical value to an initial value, and an interrupt key 133 for executing an interrupt copy. A start button 134 for instructing start of image reading is provided. The liquid crystal touch panel 130 is formed by loading a touch panel made of a transparent member on a liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display device corresponds to a display unit. The touch panel, the numeric keypad 131, the clear key 132, and the start button 134 correspond to the input unit. By displaying an instruction button on the liquid crystal display device and detecting the instruction of the button on the touch panel, various operations can be input.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of the functions of the CPU of MFP 1 in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, the CPU 101 creates a communication control unit 151 connected to the network IF 123, a scan processing unit 153 connected to the scanner IF 115, a print processing unit 155 connected to the printer IF 117, and creation of an e-mail. An e-mail processing unit 157 that controls editing, transmission, and reception; an encoding / restoration processing unit 159 that encodes related information and restores the related information from the barcode; and a text stored in the hard disk unit 119 or A comparison unit 161 that compares the attached file and the image read by the image reading unit 116, and an intermediate image generation unit for generating an intermediate image obtained by synthesizing the body text or attached file image included in the e-mail and the barcode. 163.

  The email processing unit 157 is connected to the operation panel IF 121 and the hard disk unit 119. The email processing unit 157 creates an email according to the user's email creation instruction input from the operation panel 122, and transmits the email created according to the transmission instruction. Creation of an e-mail includes designation of a destination, creation or editing of a body, and designation of an attached file.

  Further, the e-mail processing unit 157 outputs a signal requesting the mail server 3 to download an e-mail to the communication control unit 151 in accordance with a user's e-mail receiving instruction input from the operation panel 122. As a result, the e-mail transmitted from the mail server 3 is received by the communication control unit 151. The e-mail processing unit 157 receives the e-mail received by the communication control unit 151.

  The CPU 101 executes a reception print process for receiving and printing an electronic mail, and a reading and transmission process for reading an original and transmitting an electronic mail. Hereinafter, functions of the CPU 101 will be described for each of these two processes.

<Receive print processing>
When the e-mail received by the communication control unit 151 is input, the e-mail processing unit 157 stores the input e-mail in the hard disk unit 119 and extracts and extracts a header portion from the e-mail. The header part is output to the encoding / restoration processing unit 159. Further, the e-mail processing unit 157 extracts a text from the e-mail and outputs the extracted text to the intermediate image generation unit 163. Furthermore, if an attached file exists from the email, the email processing unit 157 extracts the attached file and outputs the extracted attached file to the intermediate image generating unit 163.

  When the header part is input from the e-mail processing unit 157, the encoding / restoration processing unit 159 encodes the header portion into a barcode. The encoded barcode (hereinafter also referred to as “code data”) is in a bitmap format. The encoding / restoration processing unit 159 outputs the barcode to the intermediate image generation unit 163.

  The intermediate image generation unit 163 receives the body text and the attached file from the e-mail processing unit 157, and receives the barcode obtained by encoding the header from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159. The intermediate image generation unit 163 synthesizes the data in the two bitmap formats by converting the text into the bitmap format and overwriting a barcode on a predetermined area of the converted bitmap data. The synthesized data is called an intermediate image. In addition, the intermediate image generation unit 163 synthesizes the two bitmap data by converting the attached file into a bitmap format and overwriting a barcode on a predetermined area of the converted bitmap data. The predetermined position may be determined in advance or may be a blank portion. The intermediate image generation unit 163 stores the generated intermediate image in the hard disk unit 119 and outputs the intermediate image to the print processing unit 155.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the intermediate image. Referring to FIG. 5, the barcode 201 is overwritten on the image 200 of the attached file. Although the barcode 201 is shown here as a two-dimensional barcode, it may be a one-dimensional barcode. Furthermore, the position to which the barcode is attached is not limited to the position shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the print processing unit 155 outputs the input intermediate image to the printer IF 117 via the image control unit 110. As a result, the image forming unit 118 forms an image of the body text or the attached file itself on a sheet, and forms a bar code that encodes the header portion of the e-mail at a predetermined position on the sheet.

<Reading transmission process>
When the image reading unit 116 reads a document, the scan processing unit 153 receives image data output from the image reading unit 116 from the scanner IF 115. The scan processing unit 153 outputs the input image data to the encoding / restoration processing unit 159 and the comparison unit 161. The image data output by the scan processing unit 153 is in a bitmap format.

  The encoding / restoration processing unit 159 extracts a predetermined region in the image data, and when the barcode is included in the region, decodes the barcode to restore the header portion. As a result, the barcode formed on the paper by the above-described reception print processing is decoded, and the header portion is restored. The encoding / restoration processing unit 159 outputs the restored header part, body text, and image data to the email processing unit 157 and the comparison unit 161.

  When the header portion and the image data are input from the encoding / restoration processing portion 159, the email processing portion 157 outputs the email address included in the header portion to the operation panel IF 121. As a result, the e-mail address is displayed on the operation panel 122.

  When an instruction for specifying an e-mail address is input from the operation panel 122, the e-mail processing unit 157 creates an e-mail in which the e-mail address specified by the input instruction is set as a destination address. Further, the e-mail processing unit 157 sets the image data input from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159 as an attached file to be attached to the e-mail. Further, as the transmission source address, an e-mail address input by the user from the operation panel 122 may be set, or an e-mail address assigned to the MFP 1 may be set. Further, the e-mail processing unit 157 may use a predetermined title and body as the title and body of the e-mail, or may use the title and body included in the header part as they are, and is created based on them. A thing may be used.

  The e-mail processing unit 157 displays an e-mail setting screen on the operation panel 122 in order to create an e-mail. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an e-mail setting screen. Referring to FIG. 6, the e-mail setting screen includes an area for setting a destination address, an area for setting a title, an area for setting a text, and an area for setting an attached file. Including. In the area for setting the transmission destination address, all e-mail addresses included in the header portion are displayed as options. Further, the title included in the header portion is displayed in the area for setting the title. In the area for setting the text, the text included in the bed portion is displayed. In the area for setting the attached file, the file name attached to the image data output by the image reading unit 116 is displayed. The area for setting the title and the area for setting the text can be edited by operating the operation panel 122 by the user. Also, other files can be added to the area for setting the attached file.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the header part and the image data are input from the encoding / restoration processing part 159 and the email address of the transmission destination is included in the header part, the email processing part 157 is included in the header part. The e-mail having the image data set as an attached file is automatically created and transmitted without outputting the e-mail address to be output to the operation panel IF 121. In this case, the e-mail setting screen is not displayed on the operation panel 122, and the body and title of the e-mail are set as they are, or the title and body created based on them are set as they are. The body is set.

  When the header unit and the image data are input from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159, the comparison unit 161 uses the header unit to search for a combination of the header unit and the intermediate image stored in the hard disk unit 119. An intermediate image stored in association with the header portion is extracted. Then, the extracted intermediate image is compared with the image data input from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159. Specifically, a difference image is generated by subtracting the intermediate image extracted from the image data input from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159. Then, a difference area having a difference is extracted from the image data input from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159 and stored in the hard disk unit 119 in association with the header portion. This difference area is a drawing area added to a sheet on which an intermediate image is formed. The drawing area is, for example, a character or line drawing drawn by hand, or a character or line drawing printed in an overlapping manner with a printer or the like.

  Alternatively, the difference area extracted from the image data may be output to the e-mail processing unit 157 and transmitted as an e-mail added as an attached file to the e-mail described above.

  Here, e-mail will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the e-mail. Referring to FIG. 7, the electronic mail includes a header portion, a body text, and an attached file. The header part includes an e-mail address of the transmission source following the character string “From:”, an e-mail address of the transmission destination following the character string “TO:”, and character strings of “CC:” and “BCC:” Followed by other destination email addresses.

  When the header part is input from the encoding / restoration processing unit 159, the e-mail processing unit 157 described above analyzes the destination address information. That is, the character strings of “TO:”, “CC:”, and “BCC:” in the header part are searched, and the contents (character strings) described following the searched character strings are extracted as e-mail addresses.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the user computer of the image processing system according to this embodiment. Here, the flow of processing executed by the user computer 2 will be described as an example, but the same processing can be executed by the other user computers 2A to 2C.

  Referring to FIG. 8, in user computer 2, it is determined whether or not an electronic mail has been received (step S01). The reception of the e-mail is detected by a normal mailing program if it is executed on the user computer 2. If an e-mail is received, the process proceeds to step S02. It becomes standby information until an e-mail is received. In other words, the user computer 2 executes processing in response to the reception of the electronic mail. For this reason, in step S01, an interrupt may be generated when an e-mail is received.

  In step S02, it is determined whether or not the output image forming apparatus has a function of receiving an e-mail. If it is determined that the image forming apparatus has such a function, the process proceeds to step S03, and if not, the process proceeds to step S04. Since MFP 1 in the present embodiment has an e-mail receiving function, the process proceeds to step S03.

  In step S03, the electronic mail received in step S01 is transferred to the image forming apparatus. That is, the user computer 2 stores an e-mail address previously assigned to the MFP 1, and the e-mail address assigned to the MFP 1 is set as a transfer destination address and an e-mail is transmitted. Then, the process ends.

  When the process proceeds to step S04, the image forming apparatus that does not have the e-mail receiving function forms an image of the body of the e-mail and, if the attached file is attached to the e-mail, the attached file is image-formed. In this case, the header part is extracted from the email received in step S01. Then, the header part is encoded into a barcode (step S05). The encoded barcode is in bitmap format.

  Then, it is determined whether or not an attached file exists in the electronic mail received in step S01 (step S06). If there is an attached file, the process proceeds to step S07, and if not, the process skips steps S07 to S09 and proceeds to step S10. In step S07, an attached file is extracted from the e-mail, and the extracted attached file is developed into an image. Expansion to an image is performed by converting the attached file into a bitmap format.

  Then, by overwriting the barcode encoded in step S05 in a predetermined area of the converted bitmap data, the data in the two bitmap formats is synthesized (step S08). The synthesized data is an intermediate image. The predetermined position may be determined in advance or may be a blank portion. Then, the synthesized intermediate image is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (step S09). As a result, the image forming apparatus prints out an intermediate image including the attached file and the barcode.

  In step S10, the text is extracted from the e-mail, and the extracted text is developed into an image. Expansion into an image is performed by converting the text into a bitmap format.

  Then, by overwriting the barcode encoded in step S05 in a predetermined area of the converted bitmap data, two bitmap format data are synthesized (step S11). The synthesized data is an intermediate image. The predetermined position may be determined in advance or may be a blank portion. Then, the synthesized intermediate image is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (step S12). Thereby, in the image forming apparatus, an intermediate image including the text and the barcode is printed out.

  Here, an example is shown in which both the attached file and the text are printed out, but either one may be printed out according to the user's designation.

  Although an example in which an intermediate image obtained by combining the bitmap data of the attached file and the barcode is transmitted to the image forming apparatus has been shown, depending on the image forming apparatus, the barcode, the bitmap data of the attached file, and two bits Job data including a command for combining map data may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus. Similarly, job data including a barcode, text bitmap data, and a command for combining two bitmap data may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of reception print processing executed by the MFP in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 9, MFP 1 determines whether or not an e-mail has been received (step S21). If the e-mail is received, the process proceeds to step S22. It becomes standby information until an e-mail is received. That is, the reception print process is a process that is executed in response to receipt of an electronic mail. For this reason, in step S21, an interrupt may be generated when an e-mail is received.

  In step S22, a header part is extracted from the email received in step S21. Then, the header part is encoded into a barcode. The encoded barcode is in bitmap format.

  Then, it is determined whether or not an attached file exists in the e-mail received in step S21 (step S23). If an attached file exists, the process proceeds to step S24. If not, the process skips steps S24 to S27 and proceeds to step S28. In step S24, the attached file is extracted from the e-mail, and the extracted attached file is developed into an image. Expansion to an image is performed by converting the attached file into a bitmap format.

  Then, by overwriting the barcode encoded in step S22 in a predetermined area of the converted bitmap data, two bitmap format data are synthesized (step S25). The synthesized data is an intermediate image. The predetermined position may be determined in advance or may be a blank portion.

  Then, the synthesized image is stored in the hard disk unit 119 in association with the header part extracted in step S22 (step S26). Further, the synthesized image is printed by the image forming unit 118 (step S27). As a result, the image forming unit 118 prints out an intermediate image including the attached file and the barcode.

  In step S28, the text is extracted from the e-mail, and the extracted text is developed into an image. Expansion into an image is performed by converting the text into a bitmap format.

  Then, by overwriting the barcode encoded in step S22 in a predetermined area of the converted bitmap data, two bitmap format data are synthesized (step S29). The synthesized data is an intermediate image. The predetermined position may be determined in advance or may be a blank portion.

  Then, the synthesized image is stored in the hard disk unit 119 in association with the header part extracted in step S22 (step S30). Further, the synthesized image is printed by the image forming unit 118 (step S31). As a result, the image forming unit 118 prints out an intermediate image including the text and the barcode.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reading and transmitting process executed by the MFP in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 10, when the document is read by image reading unit 116 (step S41), a predetermined area in the image data obtained by reading is extracted, and whether or not a barcode is included in the area is determined. Judgment is made (step S42). The predetermined area may be determined in advance, or may be detected as a barcode area from the image data. If a bar code is detected, the process proceeds to step S43, and if not detected, the process ends. That is, the reading / transmission process is a process executed when a bar code is included in image data obtained by reading a document.

  In step S43, a barcode is extracted from the image data, and in the next step S44, the barcode is restored (decoded). Thereby, the barcode is decoded and the header portion is restored.

  Then, using the restored header portion, a pair of the header portion and the intermediate image stored in the hard disk unit 119 is searched, and it is determined whether or not there is a matching pair of the restored header portion. (Step S45). If such a pair of header part and intermediate image exists, the process proceeds to step S46, and if not, step S46 and step S47 are skipped and the process proceeds to step S48. In step S46, a pair of intermediate images having the same header portion restored is read from the hard disk unit, and the intermediate image is subtracted from the image data obtained by reading the original in step S41 to generate a difference image. From the difference image, a difference area having a difference between the image data obtained in step S41 and the intermediate image is obtained. Then, the difference area is extracted from the image data obtained in step S41 and stored in the hard disk unit 119 in association with the header portion (step S47).

  In step S48, it is determined whether an e-mail transmission destination is set. If it is set, the process proceeds to step S52. If it is not set, the process proceeds to step S49. When the transmission destination is set, for example, a transmission destination address (an electronic mail address following the character string “TO:”) and an electronic address following the transmission source address (“FROM:” character string) are included in the header portion. In the case where only a mail address is included, a transmission source address (an electronic mail address following the character string “FROM:”) is automatically set as a transmission destination address.

  In step S49, the e-mail address included in the header portion restored in step S44 is displayed. Specifically, an e-mail setting screen is displayed on the operation panel 122, and an e-mail address included in the header portion restored in step S44 is displayed as an option. In the e-mail setting screen, an area for setting the title and an area for setting the text display the title and text included in the bed portion. The title and text can be edited by the user operating the operation panel 122. In the area for setting the attached file, the file name attached to the image data obtained by reading the document in step S41 is displayed. The file name can be changed, and other files can be added.

  Then, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to select at least one of the displayed e-mail addresses (step S50). If so, the process proceeds to step S51, and if not, the process returns to step S49. The setting of the e-mail address is not limited to the displayed e-mail address, but may be an e-mail address directly input by the user from the operation panel 122. In step S51, the selected e-mail address is set as the destination address.

  In step S52, an e-mail is created. When the step S49 is executed and the e-mail setting screen is displayed on the operation panel 122, the text or title edited by the user using the operation panel 122 is displayed in accordance with the e-mail setting screen. Is set. If there is image data obtained by reading the document in step S41 and a file added by the user using the operation panel, the attached file is also set as the attached file. In addition, when the e-mail setting screen is not displayed, a predetermined title and text may be used, or the title and text included in the header part may be used as they are, and a title created based on them may be used. Also good. As the attached file, a file name attached to the image data obtained by reading the document in step S41 is set.

  In the next step S53, the created electronic mail is transmitted to the mail server 3.

  Note that the difference area extracted from the image data may be transmitted as an attached file attached to an e-mail.

  In the image processing system according to the present embodiment, the header portion may be embedded as watermark information in the image 200, in which the header portion is the barcode 201.

  As described above, in the image processing system according to the present embodiment, when the text or attached file included in an e-mail is imaged on a sheet by MFP 1, a bar code that encodes the header of the e-mail is also printed on the sheet. An image is formed. For this reason, it is possible to form an image on a sheet by associating the text or attached file included in the e-mail with information such as the transmission source and destination of the e-mail and related information such as transmission / reception date and time without separating them.

  Furthermore, when the MFP 1 reads a document with a barcode, the barcode is decrypted to obtain an e-mail header, and the e-mail address included in the header is used as the transmission destination, and the read image is attached. An e-mail file is sent. Therefore, if the document is read, the image data can be transmitted without inputting the transmission destination. This makes it easier to create an e-mail.

  As described above, even when the text or attached file included in the e-mail is recorded on the paper, it can be managed in association with the information of the header portion of the e-mail.

  Further, since the intermediate image before image formation by the MFP 1 is stored and the difference between the image read from the original and the intermediate image is extracted, information added by handwriting or the like after the image formation can be extracted.

  Although the image processing system has been described in the present embodiment, it goes without saying that the invention can be understood as a program and a method for causing a computer to execute the processes shown in FIGS.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of an image processing system in one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the MFP in the present embodiment. FIG. It is a top view of an operation panel. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an outline of functions of a CPU of an MFP according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an intermediate image. It is a figure which shows an example of an email setting screen. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the email. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process performed with the computer for users of the image processing system in this Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of reception print processing executed by the MFP in the present embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of reading and transmitting processing executed by the MFP in the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  1, 1A MFP, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C User computer, 3, 3A mail server, 4, 4A network, 5 Internet, 110 Image control unit, 116 Image reading unit, 118 Image forming unit, 119 Hard disk unit, 122 Operation panel, 151 communication control unit, 153 scan processing unit, 155 print processing unit, 157 email processing unit, 159 encoding / restoration processing unit, 161 comparison unit, 163 intermediate image generation unit.

Claims (6)

A communication means for communicating via a network;
Reading means for reading a document and outputting image data;
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the image data;
Storage means for storing data;
Control means for controlling the communication means, the reading means, the image forming means and the storage means,
The control means includes
When an e-mail with a file attached is received by the communication means, an acquisition means for acquiring header information of the received e-mail;
Encoding means for encoding the acquired header information and outputting code data;
Image data generating means for generating the composite image data by combining the code data with the body text or the attached file of the received e-mail, and outputting to the image forming means;
Storage control means for associating the generated composite image data with the header information and storing them in the storage means;
Decoding means for decoding the code data included in the output image data output by the reading means reading and outputting the recording medium image-formed by the image forming means;
A difference area is extracted based on the output image data output by the reading means and the synthesized image data stored in association with the header information decoded by the decoding means, and the image data of the extracted difference area is extracted. And an e-mail creating means for creating an e-mail attached with an image. The control means includes
Display means for displaying an email address included in the decrypted header information;
Selection receiving means for receiving selection of at least one e-mail address from among the displayed e-mail addresses;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mail creating unit sets the selected electronic mail address as an electronic mail transmission destination address. The mail creation means, based on the title contained in the decoded header information, to create an e-mail title, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A communication means for communicating via a network;
Reading means for reading a document and outputting image data;
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the image data;
Storage means for storing data;
An image processing program executed by an image forming apparatus including the communication unit, the reading unit, the image forming unit, and a control unit for controlling the storage unit,
When an email with a file attached is received by the communication means, obtaining header information of the received email;
Encoding the obtained header information and outputting code data;
Synthesizing the code data with the text or attached file of the received e-mail to generate composite image data, and outputting to the image forming means;
Storing the generated composite image data and the header information in association with each other in the storage unit;
Decoding the code data included in the output image data output by the reading unit reading and outputting the recording medium on which the image is formed by the image forming unit;
A difference area is extracted based on the output image data output by the reading unit and the composite image data stored in association with the header information decoded by the decoding step, and the image of the extracted difference area An image processing program causing the control means to execute an e-mail with data attached thereto. Displaying an email address included in the decrypted header information;
Receiving a selection of at least one email address from the displayed email addresses; and
The image processing program according to claim 4 , wherein in the step of creating the e-mail, the selected e-mail address is set as an e-mail destination address. 6. The image processing program according to claim 4 , wherein, in the step of creating the electronic mail, a title of the electronic mail is created based on the title included in the decrypted header information.

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