JP5387065B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus including a multifunction machine having functions of a facsimile machine, a printer, a scanner, a copying machine, a copy, a printer, a facsimile (FAX), and a scanner.

2. Description of the Related Art An image processing apparatus including a multifunction machine having functions of a facsimile machine, a printer, a scanner, a copying machine, a copy, a printer, a facsimile (FAX), and a scanner is widely used. Fax), a precision device that can be used by each scanner application, and stores an address book for the purpose of sending scanned images and documents to each user's email address in order to grasp the charging status of each user doing.
Conventionally, when address information such as a telephone number for identifying a destination data communication apparatus is updated, the necessary change is made to the stored address information, thereby reducing the burden of user operations that repeatedly attempt FAX transmission. There is an image processing apparatus (for example, see Patent Document 1).

However, in the conventional image processing apparatus described above, it is possible to synchronize the IP address and FAX number, which are information for specifying the apparatus, among a plurality of image processing apparatuses, but the user ID and mail in each apparatus There was a problem that registration information including addresses could not be synchronized.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and enables an administrator to synchronize registration information including user IDs and mail addresses in a plurality of image processing apparatuses without performing complicated operations. For the purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a holding means for holding a synchronization device list indicating other image processing devices on the network to be synchronized with registration information of the own device, and another image processing device of the synchronization device list. A setting for setting a synchronization rule that is a synchronization conditional expression in which a plurality of attributes constituting registration information including a user ID and an e-mail address are linked by an operator, which is synchronized with the registration information of the own device. And registration information after the change of the own apparatus with respect to other image processing apparatuses in the synchronization apparatus list when there is a change due to new creation, update, or deletion of the registration information of the own apparatus based on the synchronization rule means synchronized for synchronizing the synchronization rules set in the own device and sets to other image processing apparatus of the synchronizer list, all the other devices of the synchronous device list Until set of synchronization rules is completed New above registration information, updated to provide an image processing apparatus that includes a means to prevent or delete.

Further, when setting the synchronization rule, it is preferable to determine whether or not there is an error in the syntax of the synchronization rule requested to be set, and if there is an error, a means for notifying the administrator of the error may be provided.
Furthermore, it confirms whether or not the setting of the synchronization rule for the other image processing devices in the synchronization device list has been successful, and if successful, notifies the administrator that it has been successful, It is preferable to provide means for creating a retransmission list indicating the retransmission timing and the retransmission destination.
Further, when there is a request for addition or deletion of an image processing device to the synchronization device list, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the syntax of the destination of the image processing device to be added or deleted indicated in the request, It is advisable to provide means for notifying the administrator of an error when there is an error.
Furthermore, when there is a request for adding an image processing apparatus to the synchronization apparatus list, it is confirmed whether communication is possible with the destination of the image processing apparatus to be added indicated in the request, and it is confirmed that communication is possible. In such a case, a means for adding to the synchronization device list may be provided.

Also, if the above changes create new registration information , check whether the registration information related to the new creation has already been registered, and if it has already been registered, notify the administrator that it has already been registered. It is good to provide a means to do.
Further, when the registration information related to the newly created is not registered, a synchronization for registering the newly created registered information to another image processing device in the synchronized device list is executed, and whether or not the synchronization is successful If successful, the administrator is notified of the success, and if unsuccessful, means for creating a retransmission list indicating the failed contents, the retransmission timing, and the destination of the retransmission destination may be provided.
In addition, if the change is an update of registration information, it is checked whether the registration information related to the update is unregistered, and if not registered, means for notifying the administrator that it cannot be updated due to unregistration It is good to provide.

Further, when the registration information related to the update is not unregistered, the synchronization to the updated registration information is executed for the other image processing devices in the synchronization device list, and whether or not the synchronization is successful is determined. It is preferable to provide a means for notifying the administrator of the success when it is confirmed, and creating a retransmission list indicating the failed content, the retransmission timing, and the destination of the retransmission destination if it fails.
In addition, when the above change is a rewrite of an attribute used in the synchronization rule of the registration information, it is confirmed whether or not the rewrite of a user with administrator authority who can rewrite is performed. If rewriting, it is preferable to provide means for notifying the user that the attribute used in the synchronization rule cannot be rewritten.
In addition, if the above change is an update of registered information, it is confirmed whether the update is for a user with administrator authority that can be updated, and if it is an update for a user without administrator authority, the user is notified of an authority error. It is good to provide a means to do.

In addition, when the change is deletion of registration information, a means for checking whether or not the registration information related to the deletion is unregistered, and notifying the administrator that it cannot be deleted because of unregistration. It is good to provide.
Further, when the registration information related to the deletion is not unregistered, synchronization of the deletion of the registration information is executed with respect to the other image processing devices in the synchronization device list, and it is confirmed whether or not the synchronization is successful. If successful, the administrator is notified of the success, and if unsuccessful, means for creating a retransmission list indicating the failed contents, the retransmission timing, and the destination of the retransmission destination may be provided.
In addition, if the above change is deletion of registered information, it is confirmed whether it is deletion of a user with administrator authority who can delete it, and if the user without administrator authority is deleted, the user is notified of an authority error. It is good to provide a means to do.
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide means for retransmitting the synchronization rule or the registration information based on the retransmission list at a predetermined timing .

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention can synchronize registration information including user IDs and mail addresses in a plurality of image processing apparatuses even if the administrator does not perform complicated work.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure containing the WEB server implement | achieved by the WEB application shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the communication system of the Example of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the software of the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the setting process of the synchronization rule of registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

It is a flowchart figure which shows the resending process of the synchronization rule of registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process which adds the image processing apparatus which wants to synchronize with the synchronous apparatus list | wrist in the image processing apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the change process which newly registers the registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

It is a flowchart figure which shows the change process which updates the registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the change process which deletes the registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the response of HTTP communication. It is a figure which shows an example of a synchronization rule. It is a figure which shows an example of a synchronous apparatus list.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
〔Example〕
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In this communication system, a plurality of image processing devices (also referred to as “image input / output devices”) 1 to 3 are connected to each other via a network 4 so as to be capable of data communication. In FIG. 2, only three units are shown, and other image processing apparatuses are not shown.
Each of the image processing apparatuses is an image forming apparatus including a facsimile machine, a printing apparatus, an image reading apparatus, a multifunction machine having an image reading (scanner) function, a copying (copying) function, a printing (printing) function, and a facsimile communication function. And has a function of synchronizing user registration information according to the present invention.

The network 4 is configured by, for example, a local area network (LAN) and the Internet, and is not limited to a wired line but may be wireless.
In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the image processing apparatus 1 synchronizes user registration information between the image processing apparatus 2 and the image processing apparatus 2 and 3 with the user registration information synchronization function. Similarly, user registration information with other image processing apparatuses can be synchronized.

FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
The image processing apparatus 1 includes a controller 10, an operation display unit (operation panel) 11, a fax control unit 12, and an engine unit 13.
The controller 10 connects a RAM 21 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 22 to the ASIC 20 and also connects a CPU 23 and a RAM 25 via an NB 24 of a CPU chip set.
Here, the ASIC 20 and the NB 24 are connected not via the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus but via the AGP bus 28.

  The reason for the connection via the AGP bus 28 is that the image processing apparatus 1 executes and controls a plurality of processes forming the platform 32 and the application (application program) 34 in FIG. This is because performance decreases when a PCI bus having a low data communication speed is connected.

  The CPU 23 is responsible for overall control of the image processing apparatus 1, and specifically, a system resource management unit 51 and a system control service 52 that form the platform 32 on the operating system (OS) 50 in FIG. , An engine control service 53, a memory control service 54, an operation display unit control service 55, a fax (FAX) control service 56, and a network control service 57 are started and executed as processes, respectively, and a printer application program ( Hereinafter, abbreviated as “printer application”) 40, copy application program (hereinafter abbreviated as “copy application”) 41, fax application program (hereinafter referred to as “fax application”). 42, scanner application program (hereinafter abbreviated as “scanner application”) 43, WEB application program (hereinafter abbreviated as “WEB application”) 44, marking application program (hereinafter abbreviated as “marking application”) 45. Start and run it.

The NB 24 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 23 to the RAM 25, the serial bus 26, the ASIC 20, and the LAN port 27.
The RAM 25 is a system memory used as a work memory including a drawing memory of the image processing apparatus 1.
The serial bus 26 is a bridge that is connected to the NB 24 via the PCI bus 29 and connects the ASIC 20 and the CPU 23 to the PCI device and peripheral devices (not shown) via the NB 24.
The RAM 21 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer.
The ASIC 20 is an image processing application IC having hardware elements for image processing.

The LAN port 27 is connected to the NB 24 via the PCI bus 29, and an interface for connecting a LAN cable for communicating with the ASIC 20 and the CPU 23 and other image processing apparatuses 2 and 3 via the network 4 via the NB 24. (I / F).
The HDD 22 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.
Therefore, the ASIC 20 is provided with a RAM interface for connecting the RAM 21 and a hard disk interface for connecting the HDD 22. When inputting / outputting image data to / from these storage units, the input / output destination is Switching to a RAM interface or a hard disk interface.
The AGP bus 28 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for speeding up graphics processing. The AGP bus 28 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the system memory with high throughput.

The ASIC 20 connects the operation display unit 11 via the PCI bus 17 and connects the fax control unit 12 and the engine unit 13 via the PCI bus 18.
The operation display unit 11 is an operation panel that receives an input operation from an operator and displays the operation for the operator.
The fax control unit 12 includes a G3 fax communication control unit 12a and a G4 fax communication control unit 12b, and performs G3 or G4 fax transmission / reception between the own apparatus and another image processing apparatus via a communication line including a public line. Take control.
The engine unit 13 includes a plotter 14 serving as a printing unit, a scanner 15 serving as an image reading unit, and other hardware resources 16. The engine unit 13 prints image data using the plotter 14, reads images using the scanner 15, and other hardware resources. 16 control is performed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of software of the image processing apparatus 1. In the figure, functional units having a partial hardware configuration are also shown.
The image processing apparatus 1 includes, as a hardware configuration, a plotter 14, a scanner 15, and other hardware resources 16 including hardware related to facsimile communication, and includes an activation unit 30 and a software group 31 as a software configuration. ing.
The software group 31 has a platform 32, and the platform 32 includes a control service 33. The software group 31 further has an application 34.
The activation unit 30 is executed first when the image processing apparatus 1 is turned on to activate the platform 32. When there is an operation request for each application, each application of the application 34 is activated.

The platform 32 interprets a processing request from each application of the application 34 and generates a hardware resource acquisition request as described below, and manages one or a plurality of hardware resources. The system resource management unit 51 and the OS 50 function to arbitrate an acquisition request from the system.
The control service 33 is formed by a plurality of service modules. Specifically, the system control service 52, the engine control service 53, the memory control service 54, the operation display unit control service 55, the FAX control service 56, the network control service 57, There is.
The platform 32 has an application program interface that can receive a processing request from each application using a predefined function.

The OS 50 is an operating system including UNIX (registered trademark), and executes the software programs of the platform 32 and the application 34 in parallel as processes.
As described above, by using the open source UNIX (registered trademark) for the OS 50, the safety of the program can be secured, the network can be supported, and the source code can be easily obtained.
Furthermore, OS and TCP / IP royalties are unnecessary, and outsourcing becomes easy.
The system resource management unit 51 performs system control and resource management together with the system control service 52, and includes an engine unit for the plotter 14, the scanner 15, and other hardware resources 16, a memory, an HDD file, and a network I / F. It performs arbitration according to a request from a higher layer that uses hardware resources including

Specifically, the system resource management unit 51 determines whether or not the requested hardware resource is available (whether it is not used by another request). Tell the upper layer that the hardware resource is available.
Also, hardware resource utilization scheduling may be performed in response to requests from higher layers, and the requested contents (for example, paper conveyance and image forming operation by the plotter 14, memory allocation, file generation, etc.) may be directly implemented. .
The system control service 52 includes application management (function 1), operation display control (function 2), system screen display (job list screen, counter display screen, etc.) (function 3), LED display (function 4), resource management ( A plurality of functions such as function 5) and interrupt application control (function 6) are performed.
Specifically, in application management (function 1), processing for registering an application and notifying other applications of the information is performed.

In the operation display unit control (function 2), exclusive control of the operation display unit use right of the application is performed.
In the system screen display (function 3), a warning screen corresponding to the state of the engine unit is displayed in response to a request from an application having an operation display unit usage right.
In LED display (function 4), display control of system LEDs such as warning LEDs and application keys is performed.
Resource management (function 5) provides services for exclusive control of engine resources (scanners, staples, etc.) that must be excluded when an application (ECS) executes a job.
In the interrupt application control (function 6), control and service for preferential operation of a specific application are performed.
The engine control service 53 controls the engine unit of the plotter 14, the scanner 15, and other hardware resources 16, and performs image reading and printing operation, status notification, jam recovery, and the like.

The memory control service 54 performs memory control. Specifically, the memory control service 54 acquires and releases an image memory, uses an HDD, compresses and expands image data, and the like.
The operation display unit control service 55 is a module that controls an operation display unit (operation panel) serving as information transmission means between the operator and the main body control. The operation display unit control service 55 notifies the main body control of an operator's key operation event. A process for providing a library function for constructing the application, a process for managing the constructed GUI information for each application, a process for reflecting the display on the operation panel, and the like.
The FAX control service 56 transmits / receives facsimiles using communication networks (for example, PSTN network and ISDN network) from each application of the system controller, registration and citation of various facsimile data managed by BKM (backup SRAM), facsimile reading, An application program interface (API) for performing facsimile reception printing and fusion transmission / reception is provided.

The network control service 57 is a group of modules for providing a service that can be commonly used for applications that require network input output (I / O). Data received by each protocol from the network side is stored in each application. Or mediate when sending data from the app to the network side.
In this embodiment, the network control service 57 controls data communication with a network device connected via the Internet by HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Daemon) among a plurality of protocols, and makes an HTTP request. A Web service specified by the header is activated by a function call, and a processing result by the Web service is notified to the network device by an HTTP response.
For example, processing is performed according to a message described by XML (extensible Markup Language).

The application 34 includes a printer application 40 that is an application program for a printer having page description language (PDL), PCL, and postscript (PS), a copy application 41 that is a copy application program, and a fax that is a facsimile application program. The application 42 includes a scanner application 43 that is a scanner application program, a WEB application 44 that is a net file application program, and a marking application 45 that is a marking application program.
Since each of the applications 40 to 45 can execute an operation by using each process on the platform 32, a screen display control program for performing screen control, key operation control, job generation, and the like is the main component.

Note that a new application can also be installed via the network connected by the network control service 57.
Each application can be added or deleted for each application.
WEB application 44 is a web server and web service that processes HTTP requests by “GET METHOD” or “POST METHOD”, “PUT METHOD”, “DELETE METHOD”, and “HEAD METHOD”, and transmits an HTTP response including HTML. It has an application interface.
As described above, the image processing apparatus 1 performs centralized processing on the platform 32 for processing commonly required by each application.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration including a WEB server realized by the WEB application 44 shown in FIG.
In the figure, only main functional components of the functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 are illustrated, and other functional components are omitted.
The image processing apparatus 1 mainly includes a registration information synchronization WEB service provision processing unit 60, a service list acquisition service provision processing unit 67, another WEB service provision processing unit 68, and an HTTP request and an HTTP response as a WEB service provision processing unit. A WEB server 70 that controls message exchange and a WEB client 78 that generates and transmits an HTTP request are provided. In addition, as described above, the operation display unit 11, the plotter 14, the scanner 15, and the HDD 22 that stores registration information including the address book are included.
In the image processing apparatus 1, only the registration information synchronization WEB service provision processing unit 60 and the service list acquisition service provision processing unit 67 are shown for convenience of explanation, but a configuration having more WEB service provision processing units is provided. You can also

  The registration information synchronization WEB service provision processing unit 60 detects the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 that provides a service for executing new registration, reference, update, deletion, and search of registration information, and manages the synchronization device list by detecting the change of the registration information. A registration information synchronization management unit 62 that manages synchronization with a destination list of an image processing device that is synchronized based on a synchronization device list (synchronization device list) that is managed by the unit 64; and an image processing device that is based on the synchronization device list The registration information synchronization rule management unit 63 that holds a synchronization rule for synchronization and the retransmission control unit 65 that controls retransmission when communication with the synchronization target image processing apparatus cannot be performed are synchronized with the registration information. An access log memory unit 66 is provided for storing the date and time and the accessed user.

The WEB server 70 includes an HTTP PD 77 that performs communication control according to HTTP, an HTTP request processing unit 73 that processes an HTTP request received by the HTTP PD 77, and a dispatcher 72 that distributes the processing to an appropriate WEB service providing unit according to the HTTP request. An XML parser 71 that reads an XML document in the body of an HTTP request that is commonly used by all WEB service providing units, an XML serializer 74 that writes an XML document in the body of an HTTP response, and a module for encrypting communication It has an SSL module 75 and an HTTP response generation unit 76 that generates an HTTP response.
The WEB client 78 includes an HTTP request generation unit 79 that generates an HTTP request.

Next, registration information synchronization rule setting processing in the image processing apparatus 1 will be described.
The synchronization rule is a rule for making the contents of registration information of the image processing apparatuses 1 to 3 on the network 4 the same.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing registration information synchronization rule setting processing in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
First, the image processing apparatus 2 transmits a request for setting a synchronization rule for registration information to be set to the image processing apparatus 1.

In this embodiment, an example in which a registration information synchronization rule setting request is transmitted using the WEB client function of the image processing apparatus 2 used by the administrator is shown. From a PC on the network or another WEB client terminal apparatus You may request.
A specific example of the registration information synchronization rule is, as shown in FIG. 12, attribute information of registration information, for example, logical sum or logical product of attributes such as user ID (UID), domain name (DomainName), mail address (MailAddress), etc. It is expressed as a conditional expression for synchronization connected by an operator.

When the administrator transmits a request for a synchronization rule setting request to the image processing apparatus 1 by the image processing apparatus 2, the image processing apparatus 1 activates the registration information synchronization management unit 62 and performs synchronization as shown in FIG. A rule setting request is received (step (indicated by “S” in the figure) 1).
Next, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 performs a request analysis of the synchronization rule setting request (S2), and checks whether there is an error (error) in the syntax content of the synchronization rule requested to be set (S3). .
The registration information synchronization management unit 62 determines whether or not there is a syntax error in the synchronization rule based on the check result (S4). If there is a syntax error, the image processing apparatus 2 has a syntax error. Is sent (S9), and the process ends.
On the other hand, if there is no syntax error, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 executes the synchronization rule setting process for rewriting the internal synchronization rule, and the synchronization target image described in the synchronization device list managed by the synchronization device list management unit 64 A similar setting request is transmitted to the processing device (S5).

Next, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 receives and aggregates the results of the setting requests transmitted to the synchronization target image processing apparatus (S6), and all the synchronization rules have been successfully set based on the aggregation results. Whether partial failure or all failure is determined (S7).
If all the counting results are successful, the setting of the synchronization rule is completed and the image processing apparatus 2 is notified of the successful setting (S8).
On the other hand, when the setting of the synchronization rule has failed in some or all of the image processing apparatuses, the request contents for setting the destination of the failed image processing apparatus and the synchronization rule are added to the retransmission list (S10), and the management is performed. A resend list is sent as a resend notification to the user's image processing device 2 indicating that the setting of the synchronization rule has failed in some or all of the image processing devices and the standard timing and destination for obtaining the next result. (S11), this process ends.

A specific example of the response when the synchronization fails can be shown by a descriptive sentence shown in a broken line frame R12 in FIG.
In the descriptive text shown in the broken line frame R12, “30” in the “Retry-After” header indicates an indication of the time indicating the timing for obtaining the next result, and “http: //133.139.173” in the “Location” header. .72 / atom / addressbook / syncrule / 123456 ”indicates the destination from which the next result is obtained.

Next, a process of resending the registration information synchronization rule in the image processing apparatus 2 will be described. Since the image processing apparatus 2 also has the same internal configuration as the image processing apparatus 1, description will be made using the configuration example shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the registration information synchronization rule retransmission processing in the image processing apparatus 2 shown in FIG.
First, the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 activates the registration information synchronization management unit 62 when the retransmission control unit 65 detects a retransmission trigger, similarly to the setting of the synchronization rule (S21).
In this way, the retransmission control unit 65 controls the timing at which the registration information synchronization management unit 62 is activated. With respect to this control method, a schedule may be set and activated at a fixed period. If the synchronization rules do not match, the registration information may not be synchronized. Therefore, it is assumed that registration information cannot be newly created / updated / deleted when the synchronization rules do not match.

When the registration information synchronization management unit 62 is activated, the destination to be retransmitted and the request content are read from the retransmission list managed by the retransmission control unit 65 (S22).
The registration information synchronization management unit 62 transmits the read synchronization rule setting request to the destination of the retransmission list (S23).
The registration information synchronization management unit 62 receives the setting results from the retransmitted image processing apparatus and tallies the setting results again (S24).
It is determined whether or not all or part has succeeded from the above summation result (S25). If part or all has succeeded, the destination of the image processing apparatus and the requested content are deleted from the retransmission list ( S26), a setting total result is created (S27), and this process is terminated.

On the other hand, if all the aggregation results have failed, no information to be deleted from the retransmission list is generated, so that deletion is not performed, a setting aggregation result is created (S28), and this process ends.
In this way, when the image processing apparatus 2 acquires the setting result again from the image processing apparatus 1, the setting result created in S27 or S28 is acquired.

Next, a process for adding an image processing apparatus to be synchronized with the synchronized device list in the image processing apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing for adding an image processing device to be synchronized with the synchronized device list in the image processing device 1.
First, the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 transmits a request for adding the destination of the image processing apparatus 3 to the synchronized device list to the image processing apparatus 1.
In this embodiment, an example of transmitting a request for adding to the synchronized device list using the WEB client function of the image processing apparatus 2 used by the administrator is shown. However, a PC on the network and other WEB client terminal devices are shown. You may request from.

In the specific example of the synchronized device list, as shown in FIG. 13, the IP address of each image processing apparatus to be synchronized is described in a list format.
In the image processing apparatus 1, in order to receive a request for adding to the synchronized device list, the synchronized device list management unit 64 is activated to receive a request for adding to the synchronized device list (S31).
Next, the synchronous device list management unit 64 analyzes the request for the addition request to the synchronous device list (S32), and checks whether there is an error in the syntax of the destination of the image processing apparatus 2 that has requested the addition (S33). ).
The synchronous device list management unit 64 determines whether or not there is a syntax error based on the check result (S34), and if there is a syntax error, sends a syntax error response indicating the content of the syntax error to the image processing apparatus 2. In response to this (S39), this process is terminated.

On the other hand, if there is no syntax error, the synchronous device list management unit 64 executes a communication confirmation process for confirming that communication is possible for the image processing apparatus 3 to be added (S35).
As a result of confirming the communication from the image processing apparatus 3 in the above communication confirmation, it is determined whether the communication confirmation has been obtained, the communication confirmation has not been obtained, or has been rejected, and the communication confirmation has not been obtained or has been refused. Determines that the registration information cannot be synchronized, and the synchronized device list management unit 64 sends a communication error notification notifying that the synchronized device list addition has failed to the image processing apparatus 2 (S40), and ends this processing. .
On the other hand, if the communication confirmation result is obtained from the image processing apparatus 3 and permitted, the destinations are added to the synchronized apparatus list of the image processing apparatus 1 and the image processing apparatus 3 (S37), and the addition to the synchronized apparatus list is confirmed. The addition success notification shown is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 2 (S38), and this process ends.
Also, when an image processing apparatus is deleted from the synchronized device list, processing is performed in the same manner as described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Next, a change process for newly registering registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process for newly registering registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
First, the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 transmits a request for a new addition request, which is a request for newly registering newly created registration information, to the image processing apparatus 1.
In this embodiment, an example in which a request for new addition of registration information is transmitted using the WEB client function of the image processing apparatus 2 used by the administrator is shown. However, from a PC on the network or other WEB client terminal devices. You may request.
As shown in FIG. 8, the image processing apparatus 1 activates the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 to receive a request for a new addition request in order to receive a request for a registration information new addition request (S51).

Next, the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 performs a request analysis of the registration information new addition request (S52), and checks whether the registration information of the new addition request is not already registered based on the synchronization rule. Is registered to the registration information synchronization management unit 62, and the registration information synchronization management unit 62 checks (S53).
The registration information synchronization management unit 62 determines whether or not it is a new addition based on the check result (S54). If the registration information is already registered, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 determines that it is not a new addition and has already been registered. The registration information is received (S59), a registration notification indicating that the registration information has already been registered is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 2 (S60), and this process is terminated. At this time, registration information that has already been registered may be notified to the image processing apparatus 2.
On the other hand, if it is not already registered information in the above determination, it is determined that the information is newly added, and the registered information CRUD + S provider 61 requests the registered information synchronization management unit 62 to newly add registered information.

Upon receiving a request from the registration information CRUD + S provider 61, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 assigns a newly assigned registration number (at this time, assigning the registration number to be unique) and an image processing apparatus included in the synchronization device list. On the other hand, the newly added registration information is added with the newly assigned registration number and registration information as a set (S55).
For this process, if a server tool capable of managing thousands of image processing apparatuses at once is used, the address book of one or a small number of image processing apparatuses in a large number of image processing apparatuses is stored in a plurality of other images. It is already known that it can be reflected in a processing apparatus in a batch.
However, a conventional server tool can uniquely manage a user by assigning a registration number to each user inside the apparatus. However, in order to manage users of a plurality of image processing apparatuses, the server tool performs each image processing. There is a problem that it is necessary to confirm that the registration information of the same user is assigned to the apparatus and to assign the same registration number.

Therefore, by the above-described processing, it is possible to assign a uniform registration number among a plurality of image processing apparatuses without confirming that the server tool has the same user registration information for each image processing apparatus.
Therefore, in this embodiment, a synchronization rule is set between a plurality of image processing apparatuses to be synchronized, and a unified registration number is assigned and updated between the plurality of image processing apparatuses at the timing when registration information is newly created. -Since the information can be synchronized at the timing of deletion, the server tool does not confirm that the registration information of the same user is registered in each image processing apparatus, and a unified registration number is assigned to a plurality of image processing apparatuses. Can be allocated.

The registration information synchronization management unit 62 totalizes the newly added results that are the results of the new addition (S56), determines whether the total results are all successful, partially or all failed (S57), and all succeed. In this case, a new addition success notification indicating that the new addition has been successful is transmitted to the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 (S58), and this process ends.
On the other hand, if it is determined that some or all of the total results are unsuccessful, they are added to the retransmission list (S61), and the synchronization rule is set for some or all of the image processing apparatuses with respect to the image processing apparatus 2. A retransmission list describing the failure and the next timing for obtaining the result and the destination is transmitted as a retransmission notification (S62), and this process is terminated.
Note that the retransmission start timing and the processing flow are the same as the retransmission flow of other synchronization rules, except for whether a synchronization rule is set or registration information is newly added.

Next, a change process for updating registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing change processing for updating registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
First, the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 transmits a request for registration information update to the image processing apparatus 1.
In this embodiment, an example is shown in which a registration information update request is transmitted using the WEB client function of the image processing apparatus 2 used by the administrator, but the request is sent from a PC on the network or other WEB client terminal apparatus. May be.
As shown in FIG. 9, the image processing apparatus 1 activates the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 and receives an update request request in order to receive a registration information update request request (S71).

Next, the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 performs a request analysis of the registration information update request (S72), and checks whether the registration information of the update request is not unregistered information based on the synchronization rule. The registration information synchronization management unit 62 requests the management unit 62 to check (S73).
The registration information synchronization management unit 62 determines whether the registration information is already registered based on the check result (S74).
If it is determined that the information is not already registered, that is, if it is unregistered information, an unregistered information notification is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 2 to notify that it cannot be updated because it is unregistered information (S81). This process is terminated.
On the other hand, if it is already registered information in the above determination, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 checks whether it is a request to update the attribute used in the synchronization rule, and whether it is a violation of the synchronization rule. Is determined (S75).

In the above determination, in the case of a synchronization rule violation that is a request for updating the attribute used in the synchronization rule, the registration information synchronization management unit 62 sends a synchronization rule violation notification indicating the content that cannot be rewritten to the administrator's The data is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 2 (S82), and this process ends.
However, in the above process, it is determined whether it is a request to update the attribute used in the synchronization rule by a user with administrator authority. If it is determined to be a request by a user with administrator authority, it is used in the synchronization rule. The attribute that is being updated may be processed so as to be updated unconditionally.
If it is not a request to update the attribute used in the synchronization rule in the above determination, that is, if it is not a violation of the synchronization rule, the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 has the authority to rewrite the attribute requested to be updated. It is checked whether or not it has the authority (S76).

If it is determined that there is no authority, an authority error notification indicating that there is no authority is transmitted to the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 (S83), and this process ends.
On the other hand, if there is an authority in the above determination, the registration information of the own apparatus is updated, and a similar update request is transmitted to other image processing apparatuses registered in the synchronized device list (S77).
The registered information synchronization management unit 62 aggregates the updated results (S78), and determines whether all are successful, partially or all unsuccessful based on the aggregation results (S79).
If all the determinations are successful, an update success notification indicating that the update was successful is transmitted to the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 (S80), and this process ends.
If it is determined in the above determination that some or all of the failures have occurred, it is added to the retransmission list (S84), and the administrator's image processing device 2 is synchronized with some or all of the image processing devices. A retransmission list in which the rule setting has failed and a reference of the timing for obtaining the next result and the destination are described is transmitted as a retransmission notification (S85), and this process ends.
The resending start timing and the processing flow are the same as the resending flow of other synchronization rules only in the difference between setting a synchronization rule or updating registration information.

Next, a change process for deleting registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a change process for deleting registration information in the image processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
First, the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 transmits a request for registration information deletion request to the image processing apparatus 1.
In this embodiment, an example in which a registration information deletion request is transmitted using the WEB client function of the image processing apparatus 2 used by the administrator is shown. However, a PC on the network and other WEB client terminal apparatuses are used. You may request from.
As shown in FIG. 10, the image processing apparatus 1 activates the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 to receive a deletion request request in order to receive a registration information deletion request request (S91).

Next, the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 performs a request analysis of the registration information deletion request (S92), and determines whether the registration information of the deletion request is not unregistered information based on the synchronization rule. The registration information synchronization management unit 62 checks (S93).
The registration information synchronization management unit 62 determines whether the registration information is already registered based on the check result (S94).
If it is determined that the information is not already registered, that is, if it is unregistered information, an unregistered information notification is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 2 to notify that it cannot be deleted because it is unregistered information (S100). This process is terminated.
On the other hand, if it is already registered information in the above determination, the registration information CRUD + S provider 61 checks whether or not it has the authority to rewrite the attribute requested to be deleted, and determines the presence or absence of the authority (S95). .

If it is determined that there is no authority, an authority error notification indicating that there is no authority is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 2 of the administrator (S101), and this process ends.
On the other hand, if there is authority in the above determination, the registration information of the own apparatus is deleted, and a similar deletion request is transmitted to each image processing apparatus registered in the synchronized device list (S96).
The registered information synchronization management unit 62 aggregates the deleted results (S97), and determines whether all are successful, partially or all unsuccessful based on the aggregation results (S99).
If all the determinations are successful, a deletion success notification indicating that the deletion has been successful is transmitted to the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 (S99), and this process ends.
If it is determined in the above determination that some or all of the failures have occurred, it is added to the retransmission list (S102), and the synchronization rule is added to the administrator's image processing apparatus 2 by some or all of the image processing apparatuses. The retransmission list describing the failure of the setting and the indication of the timing for obtaining the next result and the destination is transmitted as a retransmission notification (S103), and the process is terminated.
Note that the retransmission start timing and the processing flow are the same as the retransmission flow of other synchronization rules, except for whether the synchronization rule is set or the registration information is deleted.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a response of HTTP communication.
A portion indicated by a broken line frame R11 in the figure is an example of a response when the processing is normally completed.
In the example, only the HTTP status code and the message are used, but an additional message may be added to the body.
Further, the portion indicated by the broken line frame R12 is an example of a response when the processing is continued but the request content is received, the “Retry-After” header specifies the timing for reacquiring the result, and the “Location” header is Specify the destination to reacquire the results.
Further, the portion indicated by the broken line frame R13 is a response when there is an error in the syntax or content of the request content. In this example, the reason for the error is indicated by XML, but the format may be HTML or any format. .
Furthermore, the portion indicated by the broken line frame R14 is a response when authentication fails, and the form of the body is arbitrary as is the case indicated by the broken line frame R13.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the synchronization rule.
The synchronization rule is a combination of attribute names or attribute access identifiers with logical operators. In this embodiment, the logical sum is “|” and the logical product is “&”. However, there is no particular description method, and other known description methods may be used.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the synchronized device list.
This example shows a case where the destination of the synchronization target image processing apparatus is an IP address, but in addition, it may be described in a URL format or a domain name may be used.

According to this embodiment, registration information including user IDs and mail addresses in a plurality of image processing apparatuses can be automatically synchronized via one image processing apparatus. Registration information can be changed without the administrator having to do complicated work.
In addition, since the administrator can freely set the synchronization rules as conditional expressions by combining the attributes that make up the registration information with operators, a method of synchronizing the registration information of multiple image processing devices on the administrator side by operating It becomes possible to change freely.
Furthermore, since it is not necessary for the administrator side to make a setting request to each of a plurality of image processing apparatuses that want to synchronize synchronization rules, it is only necessary to transmit to one image processing apparatus. The burden can be reduced.
In addition, the administrator can know that there is an error in the description of the synchronization rule.

Furthermore, even if the settings cannot be reflected to all the image processing apparatuses, the same request is not required again, and it is only necessary to retrieve the result at the timing when the retransmission process is completed. The burden of operation can be reduced.
In addition, an image processing apparatus that has failed to change the synchronization rule or registration information can be retransmitted at an arbitrary timing, and the retransmitted progress can be known one by one.
Furthermore, the administrator can know that there is an error in the description of the destination of the change destination of the synchronization rule or registration information.
Further, since the synchronization rule or registration information is added or deleted after communication is established, it is possible to prevent registration of a non-existing destination.
Furthermore, it is possible to know that registration information has already been registered in the image processing apparatus that has requested new registration.

In addition, even if new additions cannot be made to all image processing apparatuses, the same request is not required again, and it is only necessary to obtain the results at the timing when the retransmission process is completed. The burden of operation can be reduced.
Furthermore, it is possible to know that the registration information is not registered for the image processing apparatus.
In addition, since users other than those with administrator rights cannot change the attribute values applied to the rules, there is no need for the administrator to rewrite the attributes used in the synchronization rules by other users. .
Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the registration information from being updated by unintended users.

In addition, even if the update cannot be performed for all the image processing apparatuses, the same request is not necessary again, and it is only necessary to obtain the result at the timing when the retransmission process is completed. Can be reduced.
Furthermore, it is possible to prevent deletion of registration information from unintended users.
In addition, even if it is not possible to delete all image processing apparatuses, the same request is not necessary again, and it is only necessary to retrieve the result at the end of the retransmission process. Can be reduced.
Furthermore, registration information such as users and addresses can be synchronized between multiple image processing devices without installing a management server device, reducing the cost of introducing server devices and operating costs for that purpose. can do.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to all image forming apparatuses including a multifunction machine having functions of a facsimile machine, a printer, a scanner, a copying machine, a copy, a printer, a facsimile (FAX), and a scanner.

1-3: Image processing device 4: Network 10: Controller 11: Operation display unit 12: Fax control unit 12a: G3 fax communication control unit 12b: G4 fax communication control unit 13: Engine unit 14: Plotter 15: Scanner 16: Others Hardware resources 17, 18, 29: PCI bus 20: ASIC 21, 25: RAM 22: HDD 23: CPU 24: NB 26: Serial bus 27: LAN port 28: AGP bus 30: Start-up unit 31: Software group 32 : Platform 33: Control service 34: Application 40: Printer application 41: Copy application 42: Fax application 43: Scanner application 44: WEB application 50: S 51: System resource management unit 52: System control service 53: Engine control service 54: Memory control service 55: Operation display unit control service 56: FAX control service 57: Network control service 60: Registration information synchronization WEB service provision processing unit 61 : Registration information CRUD + S provider 62: Registration information synchronization management unit 63: Registration information synchronization rule management unit 64: Synchronization device list management unit 65: Retransmission control unit 66: Access log memory unit 67: Service list acquisition service provision processing unit 68: Others WEB service provision processing unit 70: WEB server 71: XML parser 72: Dispatcher 73: HTTP request processing unit 74: XML serializer 75: SSL module 76: HTT P response generator 77: HTTPD 78: WEB client 79: HTTP request generator

JP 2001-285520 A

Claims (15)

Holding means for holding a synchronization device list indicating other image processing devices on the network to be synchronized with registration information of the own device;
A synchronization rule for synchronizing other image processing devices with the registration information of the own device, wherein a plurality of attributes constituting registration information including a user ID and an email address are connected by an operator. A setting means for setting a synchronization rule that is a conditional expression of
Synchronization to synchronize with other registered image processing devices in the synchronization device list when the registration information of the own device is changed when there is a change due to new creation, update, or deletion of the registration information of the own device based on the synchronization rule Means,
The registration information is set until the synchronization rule set for the own device is set for the other image processing devices of the synchronization device list and the setting of the synchronization rule is completed for all other devices of the synchronization device list. An image processing apparatus comprising means for preventing new creation, update, and deletion of The means for determining whether or not there is an error in the syntax of the synchronization rule requested for setting when setting the synchronization rule, and when there is an error, means for notifying an administrator of the error is provided. the image processing apparatus according to 1. Check whether the setting of the synchronization rule for other image processing devices in the synchronization device list is successful, and if successful, notify the administrator of success, and if failed, the failed content and retransmission timing an image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a means for creating a retransmission list indicating retransmission destination of the destination. When there is a request for addition or deletion of an image processing device to the synchronization device list, it is determined whether or not there is an error in the syntax of the destination of the image processing device to be added or deleted indicated in the request. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising means for notifying an administrator of an error when there is one. When there is a request for adding an image processing device to the synchronization device list, it is confirmed whether communication with the destination of the image processing device to be added indicated in the request is possible, and when communication is confirmed the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a means for adding the synchronizing device list. When the change newly creates registration information, it is checked whether or not the registration information related to the new creation has already been registered, and if already registered, means for notifying the administrator that it has already been registered the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the provided. When the newly created registration information is not registered, a synchronization for registering the newly created registration information is executed with respect to another image processing apparatus in the synchronization apparatus list, and whether or not the synchronization is successful is determined. Claims are provided, and if successful, the administrator is notified of success, and if unsuccessful, means for creating a retransmission list indicating contents of failure, retransmission timing, and destination of the retransmission destination is provided. 6. The image processing apparatus according to 6 . If the change is an update of registration information, a means is provided for checking whether the registration information related to the update is unregistered and notifying the administrator that the registration information cannot be updated due to unregistration. the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the. When the registration information related to the update is not unregistered, the synchronization to the updated registration information is executed for other image processing devices in the synchronization device list, and it is confirmed whether or not the synchronization is successful. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising means for notifying the administrator of success when successful, and for creating a retransmission list indicating the failed contents, the retransmission timing, and the destination of the retransmission destination when failing. Image processing apparatus. If the change is a rewrite of an attribute used in the synchronization rule of the registration information, check whether the rewrite is for a user with administrator authority who can rewrite, and if it is a rewrite for a user without administrator authority the apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that a means for notifying that it is not possible to attribute used rewritten by the synchronization rules to play user. If the change is an update of registered information, a means for confirming whether or not the update is for a user with administrator authority who can perform the update, and if the update is for a user without administrator authority, means for notifying the user of an authority error the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the provided. When the change is deletion of registration information, a means is provided for checking whether the registration information related to the deletion is unregistered and notifying the administrator that it cannot be deleted because of unregistration. the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the. When the registration information related to the deletion is not unregistered, the synchronization of deletion of the registration information is executed with respect to the other image processing devices in the synchronization device list, and it is confirmed whether the synchronization is successful. 13. The image according to claim 12, further comprising means for notifying the administrator of success when the request is made, and creating a retransmission list indicating the failed contents, the retransmission timing, and the destination of the retransmission destination when the failure is made. Processing equipment. If the change is deletion of registered information, a means for confirming whether or not a user with administrator authority that can be deleted is deleted, and notifying the user of an authority error if deleting a user without administrator authority the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the provided. 14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for retransmitting the synchronization rule or the registration information based on the retransmission list at a predetermined timing. .

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