JP5083626B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of storing image processing history information in a management server.

  In general, in addition to image data processing, a multi-function peripheral has various input / output processes for inputting and outputting image data, such as a scanner function, a facsimile communication function, an e-mail transmission / reception function, and a data communication function with a user terminal It has a printer function. If the history information of the image processing executed in such an image processing apparatus is accumulated and can be confirmed later, even if there is leakage of confidential information, the content and the leakage destination can be specified. Can also be used to prevent leakage.

  However, when history information is stored in the image processing apparatus, a storage capacity problem and a security problem occur. Therefore, it is conceivable to connect the image processing apparatus to a management server having a large storage capacity and accumulate history information in the image processing apparatus in the management server.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing apparatus that transmits image data attached and received to an e-mail to a management server together with header information of the e-mail and stores the image data in the management server. . Also disclosed is an image processing apparatus in which image data transmitted and received by facsimile is transmitted to a management server together with communication management information and stored in the management server. That is, the image data input / output by the image processing apparatus is stored in the management server together with the attribute information.

An administrator of such an image processing apparatus checks the image data and attribute information held in the management server, and thereby the image data input / output by the image processing apparatus, its transmission source, transmission destination, and transmission Transmission / reception information such as date / time and reception date / time can be confirmed later.
JP 2006-203893 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, the image information input / output by the image processing apparatus is only stored in the management server together with the attribute information indicating the input / output processing, and the stored image data is associated with each other. It is not done. Accordingly, when two or more image processes are performed on specific image data, it is not possible to track the process for the image data even if the image data and attribute information accumulated for each of these image processes are examined. There was a problem that I could not.

  For example, when certain image data is input to the image processing apparatus, processed, and then output, these processes are stored in the management server as individual processes and are not associated with each other. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is impossible to track what kind of processing has been performed and what kind of output processing has been performed on specific image data input to the image processing apparatus.

  In general, since image data has a large capacity, if the image data is frequently transmitted from the image processing apparatus to the management server, the load on the communication network is increased, the communication time becomes longer, and the management server having a larger storage capacity. There was a problem that would be necessary.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of tracking a series of image processing when two or more image processing are sequentially performed on one image data. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of reducing the amount of data transmitted to the management server and suppressing the storage capacity required for the management server.

  The image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes an image processing unit capable of executing any of image data input processing, output processing, and processing processing as image processing, and each time the image processing is performed, the image processing Attribute information generating means for generating attribute information indicating the contents of the information, identification information generating means for generating identification information unique to the image processing each time the image processing is performed, the attribute information and the identification information Storage means for storing the image data in association with the image data after image processing and transmission means for transmitting the image data to the management server together with the attribute information and the identification information are provided. Furthermore, in the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the identification information generation unit corresponds to the image data before the image processing when the image processing is performed on the image data associated with the identification information. The identification information that has been attached is associated with the image data after the image processing as history information, and the transmission means includes the image processing content when the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing. The attribute information, the identification information, and the history information are transmitted to the management server without transmitting the image data after the image processing to the management server.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention associates identification information associated with the image data before image processing with the image data after the image processing as history information. Then, according to the contents of the image processing, the attribute information, the identification information, and the history information are transmitted without transmitting the image data after the image processing to the management server. By transmitting the history information to the management server, the attribute information held in the management server can be associated with each other via the history information. For this reason, two or more image processes performed sequentially on one image data can be traced afterwards. For example, the history of the image data from the time of input to the image processing device to the time of output can be grasped based on the identification information given for each process and the history information, and the history survey can be easily performed. .

  Further, by transmitting the attribute information and the identification information together with the history information to the management server, it can be associated with the image data transmitted in advance stored in the management server. Accordingly, since transmission of image data that has been subjected to image processing to the management server can be omitted, the number of times image data is transmitted from the image processing apparatus to the management server can be reduced. Such omission of transmission of image data is performed based on the contents of image processing. For example, when the image contents of the image data before the image processing and the image data after the image processing are substantially the same, the transmission of the image data to the management server is omitted.

  In addition to the above configuration, the image processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention transmits the history information to the management server, and stores image data corresponding to the history information in the management server. Management server inquiry means for making an inquiry, and the transmission means transmits the image data after the image processing to the management server based on the inquiry result by the management server inquiry means, without sending the image data after the image processing, The identification information and the history information are transmitted.

  With such a configuration, the image processing apparatus of the present invention allows the management server to store the image before image processing corresponding to the history information when the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing. Even if the data is not stored, the management server inquiry means can inquire whether the image data corresponding to the history information is stored in the management server, so that the attribute information, The image data can be reliably stored together with the identification information and the history information.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the identification information generating means merges two or more pieces of image data associated with the identification information as new image data as the image processing. Is generated, the two or more pieces of identification information associated with the image data before the image processing are associated with the image data after the image processing as history information.

  With this configuration, the image processing apparatus of the present invention associates identification information corresponding to a plurality of the image data before merging with the merge image data, and therefore stores the merge image data in the management server. Even if it does not, based on the said historical information corresponding to the said merge image data, the said several image data before merging can be confirmed in the said management server.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the identification information associated with the image data before the image processing is associated with the image data after the image processing as the history information, so that it is stored in the management server via the history information. Attribute information can be associated with each other. As a result, two or more image processes sequentially performed on one image data can be traced later, and a history survey can be easily performed.

  In the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the attribute information, the identification information, and the history information are associated with the image data, and the image data after image processing is transmitted to the management server according to the content of the image processing. Without transmitting the attribute information, the identification information, and the history information, it is possible to omit transmission of image data that has been subjected to image processing to the management server. As a result, the number of times image data is transmitted from the image processing apparatus to the management server can be reduced.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image processing system including an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A multifunction machine is shown as an example of the image processing apparatus. The multifunction device 1 can read an image from a paper document using a scanner, can perform various processing processes on image data, and prints an image on a paper medium using a printer. be able to.

  Further, the multifunction device 1 is connected to a management server 2 and a plurality of terminal devices 3 via a LAN (Local Area Network) 4 and can perform data communication with the management server 2 and the terminal devices 3. For example, image data can be transmitted from the multifunction device 1 to the management server 2, and image data can be transmitted and received between the multifunction device 1 and the terminal device 3.

  The multifunction machine 1 is further connected to a PSTN (Public Telephone Switched Network) 5 and can perform facsimile transmission / reception of image data to / from another facsimile machine (not shown). The multifunction device 1 is also connected to a mail server (not shown) via a WAN (Wide Area Network) 6 and can send and receive e-mails through the mail server.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the multifunction machine 1 of FIG. The multifunction device 1 includes a scanner device 11, a printer 12, a control unit 13, a facsimile transmission / reception unit 14, a mail transmission / reception unit 15, a memory 16, and a LAN communication unit 17.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the control unit 13 of FIG. The control unit 13 of the multifunction machine 1 includes an image processing unit 71, an attribute information generation unit 72, an identification information generation unit 73, and a management server transmission unit 76, as shown in the block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 13 in FIG. Has been. The image data storage unit 74 and the management data storage unit 75 are provided in the memory 16.

  The scanner device 11 is a device that generates image data from image information recorded on a paper medium. For example, an optical reading device that irradiates a paper medium with light and reads the reflected light using a line sensor or the like to generate image data is used as the scanner device 11.

  The printer 12 is a printing apparatus that prints image data on a paper medium. For example, a laser printer or an ink jet printer is used.

  The control unit 13 can perform input / output processing by controlling the scanner device 11, the printer 12, the facsimile transmission / reception unit 14, the mail transmission / reception unit 15, and the LAN communication unit 17. It is also possible to perform image data processing.

  The facsimile transmission / reception unit 14 is connected to the PSTN 5 and performs facsimile transmission / reception. At the time of facsimile transmission, the image data is encoded and transmitted to the PSTN 5 as facsimile communication information. At the time of facsimile reception, image data is received via the PSTN 5, and the received image data is stored in the image data storage unit 74.

  The mail transmission / reception unit 15 is connected to a mail server via the WAN 6 and transmits / receives electronic mail. The mail transmission / reception unit 15 is means for attaching the image data to the e-mail and transmitting the e-mail, and sends the e-mail with the image data attached to the mail server. When receiving an e-mail, an e-mail attached with image data is received via a mail server. The image data attached to the received e-mail is stored in the image data storage unit 74.

  The memory 16 is configured by a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). The LAN communication unit 17 performs communication between the management server 2 and the terminal device 3. The image data processed by the MFP 1 can be transmitted from the LAN communication unit 17 to the management server 2 or each terminal device 3 via the LAN 4, and the image data stored in each terminal device 3 is the LAN 4. Via the LAN communication unit 17.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing unit 71 of the control unit 13 includes an input processing unit 71a, an output processing unit 71b, and a processing processing unit 71c. The input processing unit 71 a performs control for receiving image data by the facsimile transmission / reception unit 14 and the mail transmission / reception unit 15, performs control for reading image data using the scanner device 11, and receives image data from the terminal device 3. Control. The image data input to the multifunction device 1 is stored in the image data storage unit 74.

  The output processing unit 71 b performs control for transmitting image data from the facsimile transmission / reception unit 14 and the mail transmission / reception unit 15, performs control for printing image data using the printer 12, and outputs image data to the terminal device 3. Control the transmission.

  The processing unit 71 c performs control to process the image data received from the facsimile transmission / reception unit 14 and the mail transmission / reception unit 15, the image data read by the scanner device 11, and the image data received from the terminal device 3. Processing at this time includes processing for enlarging, reducing, and rotating the original image data, processing for merging multiple image data, processing for changing to a predetermined file format, image data This refers to processing for deleting image data stored in the storage unit 74. The image data that has undergone the process excluding the deletion of the image data is stored in the image data storage unit 74.

  The process of merging a plurality of image data refers to a process of generating new image data by combining two or more image data by merging. In the present embodiment, merging means that when two image data are combined to generate merge image data, the first page of one image data is a page that follows the last page of the other image data. This is a process of combining these image data. When three or more image data are combined by merging, the page following the last page of one image data becomes the first page of another image data, and the page following the last page of another image data is further separated. The synthesis is performed so that the whole becomes a series of pages so as to become the first page of the image data.

  The attribute information generation unit 72 generates attribute information related to the processed image data every time image processing such as scanning processing, print processing, facsimile transmission / reception, and mail transmission / reception is performed on the image data in the image processing unit 71. To do. The attribute information is information indicating the contents of the image processing. The date and time when the image processing was performed, the person who performed the image processing, the location where the image processing was performed, the file name at the time of image generation, the number of pages of image data, the output method Output destination and output result.

  The identification information generation unit 73 generates identification information unique to the image processing every time image processing such as scanning processing, printing processing, facsimile transmission / reception, and mail transmission / reception is performed on the image data in the image processing unit 71. ing. This identification information is held in association with the image data after the image processing.

  For example, unique identification information indicating that the scanning process has been performed is added to the image data when the image is captured by the scanner device 11. The image data output from the printer 12 is given unique identification information indicating that the printing process has been performed. The image data received by the facsimile transmitting / receiving unit 14 is given unique identification information indicating that the facsimile has been received. The image data transmitted by the facsimile transmission / reception unit 14 is given unique identification information indicating that the facsimile transmission has been performed. In addition, when the mail is transmitted / received by the mail transmitting / receiving unit 15, unique identification information regarding the processing is added to the image data. Even with image data having the same image content, it is possible to identify the image data for each individual process based on these identification information.

  As described above, the identification information generation unit 73 generates unique identification information every time the image data is subjected to the image processing as described above. Therefore, even if the image data is the same, the identification information is generated according to the image processing. Is different. Accordingly, the image data can be managed for each image processing by each identification information.

  Further, when image processing is performed on the image data associated with the identification information, the identification information generation unit 73 uses the identification information associated with the image data before the image processing as the history information as an image. A process of associating with the processed image data is performed.

  Therefore, when the image processing is performed on the image data having the identification information, the identification information generation unit 73 generates the identification information of the image processing at that time for the image data after the image processing. The identification information of the image data before image processing is generated as history information. Based on the identification information of the history information, derivation source image data that is image data before image processing can be identified.

  For example, when the identification information of the scanning process is associated with the image data when the image is captured by the scanner device 11, if the facsimile transmission is performed on the image data having the identification information of the scanning process, the facsimile is performed. Identification information for facsimile transmission processing is newly generated for the transmitted image data, and identification information for scanning processing is also generated as history information.

  In addition, when new image data is generated by merging two or more pieces of image data, the identification information generation unit 73 creates new identification information indicating that merge processing has been performed on the merged image data. Is generated, and identification information associated with a plurality of image data before merging is generated as history information. Therefore, new identification information indicating that merge processing has been performed and history information are associated with the merge image data.

  The image data storage unit 74 is provided in the memory 16 and stores image data subjected to image processing. Specifically, image data obtained by reading image information recorded on a paper medium by the scanner device 11, image data output by the printer 12, image data transmitted / received by the facsimile transmission / reception unit 14 or the mail transmission / reception unit 15, and a terminal device 3 is stored in the image data storage unit 74.

  The image data stored in the image data storage unit 74 is an image file composed of one or more pages, for example, a single page file or a multipage file in a TIFF (Tag Image File Format) format.

  The management data storage unit 75 is provided in the memory 16, and the attribute data generated for the image data processed by the attribute information generation unit 72 and the image data processed by the identification information generation unit 73. The identification information and history information generated in this way are stored. These attribute information, identification information, and history information are stored in association with image data stored in the image data storage unit 74 for each image processing.

  The management server transmission unit 76 performs control to transmit image data to the management server 2 together with identification information and attribute information every time image processing such as scanning processing, printing processing, facsimile transmission / reception, and mail transmission / reception is performed on the image data. Do. When history information is associated with image data, the management server transmission unit 76 also transmits this history information to the management server 2 together with the image data. The image data, identification information, and attribute information are transmitted from the management server transmission unit 76 to the management server 2 via the LAN communication unit 17.

  Furthermore, the management server transmission unit 76 includes an image transmission determination unit 77, and the image transmission determination unit 77 includes a history information determination unit 77a and a management server inquiry unit 77b.

  The image transmission determination unit 77 determines whether to transmit image data that has undergone image processing to the management server 2. This determination is performed when the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing, and the image data corresponding to the identification information included in the history information is stored in the management server 2. It is determined that the processed image data is not transmitted to the management server 2.

  Such a determination is performed in the history information determination unit 77a and the management server inquiry unit 77b. When the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing, the history information determination unit 77a does not transmit the image data after the image processing based on the contents of the image processing, and the attribute information, the identification information And the determination which transmits log | history information to the management server 2 is performed.

  Here, the determination based on the processing content of the image data is based on whether the image data after the image processing and the image data before the image processing corresponding to the identification information of the history information have substantially the same image content. To judge. The substantially same image content is, for example, a case where image data after image processing is simply reduced, enlarged or rotated image data before image processing, or a file format such as PDF, GIF, TIFF, etc. The case where it is only the thing which changed is mentioned.

  Therefore, when the history information determination unit 77a determines that the image contents of the image data after the image processing and the image data before the image processing are substantially the same, the management server transmission unit 76 is newly generated. The attribute information, the identification information, and the history information are determined to be transmitted to the management server 2.

  By the way, there is a possibility that image data before image processing is not stored in the management server 2. For example, when the MFP 1 and the management server 2 are not connected due to poor LAN connection, image processing is performed in the MFP 1, and image data is not stored in the management server 2, or the management server 2 The server administrator has deleted the image data.

  In this embodiment, in consideration of the case where the image data before image processing is not stored in the management server 2 in this way, in the present embodiment, the management server inquiry unit 77b sends the image data after image processing to the management server 2. Is sent to the management server 2 to inquire whether the image data corresponding to the history information is stored in the management server 2.

  When the management server inquiry unit 77b determines that the image data corresponding to the history information is stored in the management server 2, the attribute information, the identification information, and the history are transmitted without transmitting the image data after the image processing. It is determined to transmit information to the management server 2. In addition, when the management server inquiry unit 77b determines that the image data corresponding to the history information is not stored in the management server 2, the management server inquiry unit 77b performs post-image processing even if the history information is associated with the image data. It is determined that the image data, attribute information, identification information, and history information are transmitted to the management server 2. The determination result by the management server inquiry unit 77b has priority over the determination result by the history information determination unit 77a.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the history information determination unit 77a of the image transmission determination unit 77 first determines whether or not history information is associated with image data after image processing, and has history information. In this case, the management server inquiry unit 77b further inquires of the management server 2 whether image data corresponding to the history information is stored in the management server 2.

  When the image transmission determination unit 77 determines that the history information is not associated with the image data after the image processing, the management server transmission unit 76 displays the image data and attribute information after the image processing. And the identification information are transmitted to the management server 2.

  For example, this is the case of the image data A shown in FIG. The image data A is image data scanned by the scanner device 11 and is associated with identification information A-ID, but is not associated with history information. In FIG. 4, the description of the attribute information association with the image data A is omitted, but the attribute information is generated together with the identification information A-ID. Therefore, the management server transmission unit 76 transmits attribute information and identification information to the management server 2 together with the image data A with respect to the image data A.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when facsimile transmission is performed on the scanned image data A, the image data A is processed into image data A ′ for facsimile transmission. At this time, as shown in the dotted frame in FIG. 4 (case 1), only the attribute information and the identification information A′-ID are generated in the image data A ′, and the history information is not associated. The image data A ′, attribute information, and identification information A′-ID are stored in the management server 2.

  Next, the image transmission determination unit 77 determines that the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing, but the image data corresponding to the history information is not stored in the management server 2. In this case, the management server transmission unit 76 transmits the image data after image processing, attribute information, and identification information to the management server 2.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the scanned image data A is image-processed into image data A ′ for facsimile transmission. At this time, even if attribute information, identification information A′-ID, and history information (identification information A-ID) are associated with the image data A ′, the image data A is not stored in the management server 2. Therefore, the image data A ′, the attribute information, and the identification information A′-ID shown in the dotted line frame (case 1) in FIG. In this case, the management server transmission unit 76 transmits the image data A ′ after image processing, attribute information, identification information A′-ID, and history information (identification information A-ID) to the management server 2. Also good.

  In addition, the image transmission determination unit 77 determines that the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing, and that the image data corresponding to the history information is stored in the management server 2. In this case, the management server transmission unit 76 transmits attribute information, identification information, and history information to the management server 2 without transmitting the image data after the image processing.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when scanned image data A is processed into image data A ′ for facsimile transmission, attribute information and identification information A′-ID are associated with each other for image data A ′. In addition, history information (identification information A-ID) is also associated. At this time, since the image data A is stored in the management server 2, for the image data A ′, the attribute information, identification information A′-ID, and history information shown in the solid line frame (case 2) in FIG. Are stored in the management server 2, and the image data A ′ is not stored in the management server 2.

  When new image data is generated by merging two or more pieces of image data, identification information of a plurality of pieces of image data before merging is associated with the merge image data as history information. In the case of merged image data, the history information determination unit 77a determines that the history information is included, and the management server inquiry unit 77b stores image data corresponding to the history information in the management server 2. If it is determined, the management server transmission unit 76 transmits the attribute information, identification information, and history information corresponding to the merge image data to the management server 22 without transmitting the merge image data to the management server 2.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when performing facsimile transmission by merging image data A and image data B that are scanned and associated with identification information A-ID and B-ID, image data A and image data B is merged to generate image data C. The image data C is associated with attribute information and identification information C-ID, and with history information (identification information A-ID, B-ID). Therefore, when the image data A and the image data B are stored in the management server 2 for the image data C, the attribute information, the identification information C-ID, and the history information (identification) shown in the dotted frame in FIG. Information A-ID, B-ID) is stored in the management server 2, and the image data C is not stored in the management server 2. Further, when either the image data A or the image data B is not stored in the management server 2, the image data C, the attribute information, the identification information C-ID, and the history information (identification information A-ID, B-ID) ) Is stored in the management server 2.

  Thus, in this embodiment, when history information is associated with image data after image processing, if the image data corresponding to this history information is stored in the management server 2, The image data after image processing is not stored in the management server 2, but only the attribute information, identification information, and history information corresponding to the image data after image processing is stored in the management server 2.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to store image data after image processing in the management server 2 for image data having history information, so that the amount of image data stored in the management server 2 can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, by associating the identification information of the image data before the image processing with the image data after the image processing as the history information, it is possible to easily grasp the history from the input to the output of the multifunction device 1 for the predetermined image data. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not to transmit image data that has undergone image processing to the management server 2 based on the determination results by the history information determination unit 77a and the management server inquiry unit 77b. However, the determination may be made only by the history information determination unit 77a. In this case, if the history information determination unit 77a determines that there is history information, the management server 2 assumes that image data before image processing is already stored, and the image data after image processing is It is controlled not to transmit to the management server 2.

  Further, image processing for generating attribute information, identification information, and history information includes the following image processing. Processing to input image data from a multifunction device scanning device. Processing to input image data from the terminal device to the multifunction device. A process of generating new merged image data by combining a plurality of image data stored in the image data storage unit of the multifunction peripheral by an operation from the terminal device. Processing to output image data stored in the image data storage unit of the multifunction machine by facsimile transmission. Processing to output image data stored in a terminal device by facsimile transmission using a multifunction device. Processing to print out image data stored in the image data storage unit of the multifunction device. Processing to print out the image data stored in the terminal device using a multifunction device.

  The attribute information, identification information, and history information generated when such image processing is performed are displayed on the display screen of the multifunction machine with the following items listed. In the present embodiment, the identification information includes an item as “ID of image data”, and the attribute information includes “processing date and time”, “processing place”, “processing person” in the case of input processing, “File name” and “number of processed pages” are listed as items. In the case of output processing, the attribute information includes “output type”, “processing date / time”, “processed location”, “processed person”, “number of processed pages”, “output destination”, “output result” As an item. The history information includes an item as “identification information of derivation source”.

  As for the identification information, the MFP generates arbitrary identification information each time image processing is performed.

  “Processing date / time” includes the date / time when image processed image data was stored in the image data storage unit of the multifunction device, the date / time when image data was output from the multifunction device, or merged image data generated by an operation on the terminal device Displays the date and time when the merged image data was generated.

  In “Processed location”, the registered installation location (multifunction device number) of the multifunction device when multiple multifunction devices are installed, and the IP address of the terminal device that has input image data into the multifunction device + Host name, the IP address of the terminal device that generated the merged image data, the IP address of the terminal device that performed the output operation of the image data, and the like are displayed.

  “Processor” generates the user name that logged in to the MFP before performing the input / output operation, the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the terminal device that input the image data to the MFP, and merged image data The MAC address of the selected terminal device, the MAC address of the terminal device storing the image data, and the like are displayed.

  “File name” includes a file name input at the time of input / output, a file name output at the terminal device, a file name such as TIFF, PDF, GIF, JPEG, or the file input when the merge image data is generated The name etc. are displayed.

  In the “number of processed pages”, when the image data can be counted by page, the number of pages subjected to image processing is displayed.

  In [Output Type], facsimile transmission or printing is displayed. In “output destination”, a facsimile transmission destination or an installation location (multifunction machine number) of a multifunction machine to be printed is displayed. In the “output result”, the transmission result OKorNG is displayed in the case of facsimile transmission, and the number of copies is displayed in the case of blind processing.

In [Derivation source identification information], when image data scanned by the multifunction peripheral is output using the multifunction peripheral, the identification information of the scanned image data is displayed, and the image stored in the terminal device is displayed. When data is output using a multi-function peripheral, identification information of image data stored in this terminal device is displayed. In addition, when merge image data is generated, identification information of the original image data is displayed. The identification information of the merging source of the merge image data corresponds to the identification information of the original image data 1 from page 1 to page n when the merged page, for example, the merge image data is composed of 10 pages, It is displayed so that it can be seen that pages n + 1 to 10 correspond to the identification information of the original image data 2.

  Next, when image data is subjected to input processing, output processing, or processing in the multifunction device 1, attribute information and identification information are generated for the image data subjected to image processing, and the image data and each information Will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When image processing is performed on the image data in the image processing unit 71 (step S101), the image data on which the image processing has been performed performs image processing on image data that already exists before the image processing (derived image data). It is determined whether the data is image data (step S102).

  If the image data after image processing is image data obtained by image processing of the derivation source image data (Yes in step S102), attribute information, identification information, and history information are included in the image data after image processing. It is generated (step S103). If the image data after image processing is not image data obtained by image processing of the derivation source image data (No in step S102), attribute information and identification information are generated for the image data after image processing. (Step S104).

  Then, the image data after image processing is stored in the image data storage unit 74, and management data such as attribute information and identification information is stored in the management data storage unit 75 (step S105).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the image data after image processing is stored in the management server 2. First, it is determined whether or not history information has been generated for image data after image processing (step S106).

  If history information has not been generated for the image data (No in step S106), the image data, attribute information, and identification information are transmitted to the management server 2 (step S107).

  If history information has been generated for the image data (Yes in step S106), the management server inquires whether or not the image data corresponding to the derivation source identification information of the history information is stored in the management server 2 next. The unit 77b inquires (step S108).

  If the derivation source image data is not stored in the management server 2 (No in step S108), the image data, attribute information, and identification information are transmitted to the management server 2 (step S107). If the derivation source image data is stored in the management server 2 (Yes in step S108), it is next determined whether the image processed image data is substantially the same as the derivation source image data. Is performed (step S109).

  If the image processed image data and the derivation source image data are different (No in step S109), the image data, attribute information, and identification information are transmitted to the management server 2 (step S107). If the image processed image data and the derivation source image data are substantially the same (Yes in step S109), the image processed image data is not transmitted to the management server, and the attribute information, identification Information and history information are transmitted to the management server 2 (step S110).

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a multifunction peripheral that performs facsimile transmission and electronic mail transmission is used as the image processing apparatus has been described. However, the image processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a multifunction peripheral, and image data The present invention can be applied to various image processing apparatuses that perform input / output processing. The image processing apparatus of the present invention not only transmits facsimile transmission image data by facsimile and electronic mail, but also includes FTP (File Transfer Protocol), HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol), IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), and the like. It can also be configured as an image processing apparatus that transmits to a specified transmission destination using a protocol.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system including a multifunction peripheral that is an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control unit of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing at the time of performing image processing for the facsimile transmission of the image data scanned using the multifunctional device by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing at the time of merging two image data scanned using the multifunctional machine by embodiment of this invention, and newly producing merge image data. 5 is a flowchart illustrating control for generating attribute information and identification information for image data that has been subjected to image processing using the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention, and storing the attribute information and identification information in a management server.

Explanation of symbols

1 MFP 2 Management Server 3 Terminal 4 LAN (Local Area Network)
5 PSTN (public telephone switched network)
6 WAN (Wide Area Network)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Scanner apparatus 12 Printer 13 Control part 14 Facsimile transmission / reception part 15 Mail transmission / reception part 16 Memory 17 LAN communication part 71 Image processing part 71a Input processing part 71b Output processing part 71c Processing processing part 72 Attribute information generation part 73 Identification information generation part 74 Image Data storage unit 75 Management data storage unit 76 Management server transmission unit 77 Image transmission determination unit 77a History information determination unit 77b Management server inquiry unit

Claims (3)

Image processing means capable of executing any of image data input processing, output processing, and processing as image processing;
Attribute information generating means for generating attribute information indicating the contents of the image processing each time the image processing is performed;
Each time the image processing is performed, identification information generating means for generating identification information unique to the image processing;
Storage means for storing the attribute information and the identification information in association with the image data after the image processing;
Transmission means for transmitting the image data to the management server together with the attribute information and the identification information,
When the image processing is performed on the image data associated with the identification information, the identification information generation unit uses the identification information associated with the image data before the image processing as history information. Corresponding to the image data after the image processing,
The transmission means transmits the image data after the image processing to the management server based on the content of the image processing when the history information is associated with the image data after the image processing. And transmitting the attribute information, the identification information, and the history information. Management server inquiry means for sending the history information to the management server and inquiring that image data corresponding to the history information is stored in the management server,
The transmission means transmits the attribute information, the identification information, and the history information to the management server based on the inquiry result by the management server inquiry means without transmitting the image data after the image processing. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The identification information generation means responds to the image data before the image processing when the image processing merges two or more image data associated with the identification information to generate new image data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two or more identification information attached is associated with the image data after the image processing as history information.

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