JP5723605B2 - Image information processing server - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method, an imaging terminal, an information terminal, a display terminal, and a server, in which an imaging terminal, an information terminal, a display terminal, and a server cooperate to provide functions for organizing, storing, printing, and sending image information.

With the widespread use of digital cameras, the number of images taken by one user has increased dramatically compared to the time when silver salt film cameras were the mainstream. This is because the cost per image shot is low. Further, in recent years, with the miniaturization of semiconductor technology, the storage capacity of a storage device such as a flash memory used in a digital camera has increased remarkably, which causes an increase in the number of captured images. Camera users can now select and leave only high-quality images by taking a large number of images and organizing them afterwards without worrying about cost and storage capacity constraints. .

In recent years, an imaging element has been mounted on a portable information terminal other than a camera, such as a portable personal computer, a cellular phone, and a portable music player. Thus, it is possible to take an image using a portable information terminal. Many of these information terminals can be connected to the Internet, and not only store captured images in storage means in the terminal, but also transfer them to a server via the Internet, and capture captured images in various web services. Can be used.

Recently, many mobile phones have an imaging function. There are not many people who always carry a camera, but most people always carry a mobile phone, so that a larger amount of images can be taken compared to the time when image shooting was exclusively based on a dedicated camera. became. Since many mobile phones have a function of connecting to the Internet, many of the images taken with the mobile phone are used in various services on the Internet.

Patent 4251757 Patent 3664203 Patent Publication 2003-283900 Patent Publication 2010-178360

In this way, the number of images taken by one user is drastically due to the widespread use of digital cameras, the increase in the capacity of storage devices, the incorporation of imaging functions in various portable terminals, and the connection to the Internet. Increased. As already mentioned, this allows the user to enjoy various advantages. On the other hand, since one user captures a large number of images using a plurality of imaging terminals, there is a new problem that it is difficult to manage and maintain the captured images. The following 7 problems are to be solved by the photographer regarding the management and maintenance of a large amount of images.

The first problem is that copying from an imaging terminal to an information terminal that manages and maintains image information is complicated. In general, image information captured by a camera or information terminal is stored in a removable storage medium. As a storage medium, an SD memory card, a compact flash card, or the like is often used. After taking an image, the user removes these storage media from the imaging terminal, connects to an information terminal for managing and maintaining the image, and then copies the information to the information terminal. A personal computer is often used as an information terminal for managing and maintaining images. For general users, it is troublesome to copy a large amount of image information from a storage medium to a personal computer or the like.

The second problem is that it is difficult for a single user to centrally manage the location of images because a plurality of imaging terminals such as cameras and mobile phones are used. Image information of a user who has a plurality of imaging terminals is distributed and stored in a storage medium associated with each imaging terminal. In order to centrally manage captured image information, it is necessary to sequentially copy the image information of each storage medium to a personal computer or the like for managing and maintaining the image information. Not only is this operation complicated, but if the format of image information differs for each imaging terminal, it is necessary to perform batch management with a personal computer or the like after converting the format of the image information. Again, such processing is difficult when there is a large amount of image information.

Third, since there are various methods for one user to use the image information, it is necessary to copy the image information and to convert the image format for each of the various usage methods. For example, when uploading information captured by a camera to a SNS (Social Networking Service) server on the Internet, the user first copies the image information from the camera storage medium to the personal computer, and then the resolution or It requires complicated processing such as image format conversion and uploading to the SNS server. When printing image information, the image information is copied from a storage medium of the camera to a personal computer, and the image information is further copied to a disk and brought to a print service provider. In order to use an image browsing device such as a digital photo frame that has become widespread in recent years, after copying image information to another storage medium via a personal computer, the storage medium is connected to the image browsing device. Requires operations such as In particular, using images taken by a plurality of imaging terminals for various purposes further increases the complexity, and there are not many users who can manage all pieces of image information taken anymore.

Fourth, backup is difficult. In addition to users taking a large number of images with a plurality of imaging terminals, the storage capacity per image is increasing with the recent improvement in performance of imaging devices. Due to these synergistic effects, the total capacity of image information taken by one user has increased remarkably. In many cases, the total capacity of all images exceeds the storage capacity of a personal computer as well as a memory card and storage disk. For this reason, it is more difficult to back up in order not to lose photographed image information. When the capacity of image information to be backed up exceeds that of a normal storage medium, a large capacity external storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is used as a backup means, or a backup service by a server connectable via the Internet is used. There is a case. However, these are not only costly but also take a lot of time to transfer large amounts of data.

The above-mentioned first to third problems and the fourth problem are in a reverse relationship. Since it is difficult to organize a large number of images, a large-capacity storage means is required to maintain most image information without being able to organize the images. Further, since all the image information is stored in a large-capacity storage means, it becomes more difficult to organize the image information, and more image information is not organized. Many users are in such a vicious circle.

Attempts have been made to solve these problems using the Internet. Many mobile phones and personal computers can already be connected to the Internet. Further, proposals have been made to directly connect a storage medium used for a camera, a portable music player, or a camera to the Internet (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3). Furthermore, a proposal has been disclosed in which it is possible to select or set whether captured image information is stored in a memory card of an imaging terminal or directly uploaded to a server on a network (Patent Document 4). However, in such an attempt using the Internet, the following fifth to seventh problems newly occur. For this reason, the management and maintenance of image information utilizing the Internet is not widely used, and therefore, the first to fourth problems are not solved.

A fifth problem is that a large amount of image information captured by a plurality of imaging terminals is expensively managed in a centralized manner by the storage device of the Web server. Many services that store image information on servers on the Internet offer free services, but they do not accept more than the upper limit storage capacity, or charge for storing information that exceeds the upper limit storage capacity. Such an upper limit storage capacity is lower than the storage capacity required for centralized storage of all image information by most users. Many users dislike paying costs and do not use such services. For this reason, the first to fourth problems are not solved.

The sixth problem is that there is a problem of maintaining privacy, and convenience cannot be improved. If the image information taken by the user is centrally managed by the storage device of the Web server, at least the Web service provider can specify the image information taken by each user. In addition, most current photo storage services mainly assume that image information is disclosed on the Internet or viewed by acquaintances on the Internet. May be disclosed. Moreover, by associating information that uniquely identifies the imaging terminal on the Internet and information that can uniquely identify the user with image information captured by a plurality of imaging terminals, each image information is determined by who, It is possible to specify which imaging terminal was used to capture the image. If this is possible, the convenience of the Web service for storing image information can be greatly improved. However, as long as the image information is information that may be disclosed on the Internet, it is difficult to associate information about the imaging terminal and the user with the image information.

The seventh problem is that there are many web services related to image storage, sharing, and sending on the Internet, and image information taken by a single user is scattered in various web services. It is a point. In general, one user uses many web services. For example, a user mainly uses the storage service Z on the Internet for backup of image information, uses the print service U on the Internet for printing image information, and exchanges diaries including image information with acquaintances. Therefore, it is common to use various image-related Web services such as using the service V on the Internet and using e-mail to send image information to an acquaintance. In this case, even if all images taken by a single user are stored on a server on the Internet, they are distributed and managed in various services, so that the first to third problems described above are used. The problem of difficulty in organizing is not solved at all.

The invention of the present application is made in view of such a situation, and image information captured by a user at various imaging terminals through a gateway service on the Internet and distributed and stored in various servers and terminals. Provided are a server, an imaging terminal, an information terminal, a display terminal, and a system capable of uniformly organizing, managing, and maintaining a group. Further, according to the present invention, image information can be distributed and stored in various storage media without increasing the complexity of organizing, managing, and maintaining, so the cost of storing a large amount of image information on the server And the problem of backup difficulty.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a server that provides a network service includes a first image information group including a plurality of pieces of image information from a first imaging terminal of a first user, and the first imaging terminal. A first image ID that uniquely identifies the first image information that uniquely identifies first image information that is one piece of image information in the first image information group; One imaging terminal ID and the first image information are associated with each other and stored in the first storage unit, and another one image in the first image information group sent from the first imaging terminal The second image ID that uniquely identifies the second image information that is information, the first imaging terminal ID, and the second image information are associated with each other and stored in the first storage unit, Among the users of the network service from the first information terminal of one user Receiving a first user ID specifying the first user and the first imaging terminal ID, and associating the first user ID and the first imaging terminal ID with a second storage means; And the second storage means is searched using the first user ID as a search key, the first imaging terminal ID is extracted as a search result, and the extracted first imaging terminal ID is used as the search result. The first storage means is searched as a search key, the first image information and the second image information are extracted as a search result, the extracted first image information is represented and the first image is extracted. Generating a first summary image having a smaller information amount than information, generating a second summary image representing the extracted second image information and having a smaller information amount than the second image information, and A summary image of the first imaging terminal ID and the first image Storing the second summary image in association with the image ID and storing the second summary image in the third storage unit in association with the first imaging terminal ID and the second image ID; A server is provided that sends the first summary image and the second summary image to the first information terminal.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a server providing a network service, the first image information group including a plurality of pieces of image information from the first information terminal of the first user, and the first image The first information terminal ID that uniquely identifies the first imaging terminal of the first reasoner from which the information group was photographed is received and is one image information in the first image information group. The first image ID that uniquely identifies the first image information, the first imaging terminal ID, and the first image information are associated with each other and stored in the first storage unit, and the first image is stored. A second image ID that uniquely identifies second image information that is another piece of image information in the information group, the first imaging terminal ID, and the second image information are associated with each other. 1 in the storage means, and the network service is utilized from the first information terminal. A first user ID that identifies the first user among the users and the first imaging terminal ID are received, and the second storage means is used with the first user ID as a search key. Searching, extracting the first imaging terminal ID as a search result, searching the first storage means using the extracted first imaging terminal ID as a search key, and searching for the first image information as a search result And extracting the second image information, generating a first summary image representing the extracted first image information and having a smaller information amount than the first image information, and extracting the second image information Generating a second summary image representing image information and having a smaller amount of information than the second image information, associating the first summary image with the first imaging terminal ID and the first image ID; And storing the second summary image in the third storage means. Storing in the third storage means in association with one imaging terminal ID and the second image ID, and sending the first summary image and the second summary image to the first information terminal. A feature server is provided.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a server that provides a network service includes a first image information group including a plurality of pieces of image information from a first imaging terminal of a first user, and the first imaging terminal. A first image ID that uniquely identifies the first image ID that uniquely identifies the first image information that is one piece of image information in the first image information group, and the other The second image information that uniquely identifies the second image information that is one of the image information and the first imaging terminal ID are sent to the server of the bridge service, and the first scramble PID is sent from the bridge service server. And the second scramble ID are received, the first scramble PID and the first image information are associated and stored in the first storage means, and the second scramble PID and the second image information are associated with each other. And a first user ID for identifying the first user among the users of the network service from the first information terminal of the first user, and The first imaging terminal ID is received, the first user ID and the first imaging terminal ID are associated with each other and stored in a second storage unit, and the first user ID is used as a search key to store the first imaging ID. The second storage means is searched, the first imaging terminal ID is extracted as a search result, the extracted first imaging terminal ID is sent to the bridge service server, and the bridge service server 1 scramble PID and 2 scramble PID are received, the first storage means is searched using the received first scramble PID as a search key, and the first image information is extracted as a search result Then, the first storage means is searched using the received second scramble PID as a search key, the second image information is extracted as a search result, the extracted first image information is represented, and the Generating a first summary image having a smaller amount of information than the first image information, and generating a second summary image representing the extracted second image information and having a smaller amount of information than the second image information; , Storing the first summary image in association with the first scrambled PID in a third storage means, and associating the second summary image with the second scrambled PID in the third storage means. And sending the first summary image and the second summary image to the first information terminal.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a server providing a network service, the first image information group including a plurality of pieces of image information from the first information terminal of the first user, and the first image The first imaging terminal ID that uniquely identifies the first imaging terminal of the first user from which the information group was photographed is received, and is one image information in the first image information group. A first image ID that uniquely identifies first image information, a second image ID that uniquely identifies second image information that is another piece of image information, and the first imaging terminal ID The first scramble PID and the second scramble ID are received from the bridge service server, and the first scramble PID and the first image information are associated with each other in the first storage means. Remember and said A second scrambled PID and the second image information are associated with each other and stored in the first storage means, and the first information terminal identifies the first user among the users of the network service. 1 user ID and said 1st imaging terminal ID are received, the said 1st user ID and said 1st imaging terminal ID are linked | related, and it memorize | stores in a 2nd memory | storage means, The said 1st user The second storage means is searched using an ID as a search key, the first imaging terminal ID is extracted as a search result, the extracted first imaging terminal ID is sent to the server of the bridge service, and the bridge The first scramble PID and the second scramble PID are received from a service server, the first storage means is searched using the received first scramble PID as a search key, and a search is performed. As a result, the first image information is extracted, the first storage means is searched using the received second scrambled PID as a search key, and the second image information is extracted and extracted as a search result. A first summary image that represents the first image information and has a smaller information amount than the first image information is generated, and represents the extracted second image information and the information amount from the second image information. Second summary image is generated, the first summary image is associated with the first scrambled PID, stored in a third storage means, and the second summary image is stored in the second scrambled PID. A server is provided that stores the first summary image and the second summary image to the first information terminal in association with the third storage means.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a first imaging terminal of a first user uniquely identifies a first image information group composed of a plurality of pieces of image information and the first imaging terminal. An ID is sent to a network service server, and the network service server uniquely identifies first image information that is one piece of image information in the first image information group; and The second image ID that uniquely identifies the second image information that is another one of the image information and the first imaging terminal ID are sent to the server of the bridge service, and the bridge server sends the first image. A first scramble PID obtained by performing an irreversible operation on the ID and the first imaging terminal ID, and a second scramble obtained by performing an irreversible operation on the second image ID and the first imaging terminal ID PID And stores the first imaging terminal ID, the first scramble PID, and the second scramble PID in association with each other in a fifth storage unit, and the first scramble PID and the second scramble PID. To the network service server, and the network service server stores the first scramble PID and the first image information in association with each other in the first storage means, and the second scramble PID and the first scramble PID. Second image information is associated and stored in the first storage means, and the first information terminal of the first user identifies the first user among the users of the network service. 1 user ID and the first imaging terminal ID are sent to the network service server, and the network service server Storing the received first user ID and the first imaging terminal ID in association with each other in the second storage means, searching the second storage means using the first user ID as a search key, The first imaging terminal ID is extracted as a search result, the extracted first imaging terminal ID is sent to the server of the bridge service, and the bridge server receives the received first imaging terminal ID as a search key. The fifth storage means is searched for, and the first scramble PID and the second scramble PID extracted as search results are sent to the network service server, and the network service server The first storage means receives the scramble PID and the second scramble PID, and uses the received first scramble PID as a search key. Search, extract the first image information as a search result, search the first storage means using the received second scramble PID as a search key, and extract the second image information as a search result Generating the first summary image representing the extracted first image information and having a smaller information amount than the first image information, representing the extracted second image information and the second image Generating a second summary image having a smaller amount of information than information, storing the first summary image in association with the first scrambled PID in a third storage means, and storing the second summary image in the first The second summary image is stored in the third storage means in association with the second scramble PID, the first summary image and the second summary image are sent to the first information terminal, and the display means of the first information terminal Received the first summary There is provided a system and displaying the image and the second summary image.

As one embodiment of the present invention, a first imaging terminal of a first user sends a first image information group consisting of a plurality of image information to the first information terminal of the first user, The first information terminal sends a first imaging terminal ID for uniquely identifying the first image information group and the first imaging terminal to a network service server, and the network service server includes: The first image ID that uniquely identifies the first image information that is one image information in the first image information group and the second image information that is the other one image information are uniquely identified. The second image ID to be identified and the first imaging terminal ID are sent to the server of the bridge service, and the bridge server performs an irreversible operation on the first image ID and the first imaging terminal ID. Generate the first scrambled PID A second scramble PID is generated by performing an irreversible operation on the second image ID and the first imaging terminal ID, and the first imaging terminal ID, the first scramble PID, and the second scramble are generated. PID is associated and stored in a fifth storage means, and the first scramble PID and the second scramble PID are sent to the network service server, and the network service server sends the first scramble PID and the The first image information is associated and stored in the first storage means, the second scramble PID and the second image information are associated and stored in the first storage means, and the first user's The first information terminal includes a first user ID for identifying the first user among the users of the network service, and the first information terminal. The imaging terminal ID is sent to the network service server, and the network service server stores the received first user ID and the first imaging terminal ID in association with each other in the second storage unit, and The second storage means is searched using one user ID as a search key, the first imaging terminal ID is extracted as a search result, and the extracted first imaging terminal ID is stored in the server of the bridge service. The bridge server searches the fifth storage means using the received first imaging terminal ID as a search key, and uses the first scramble PID and the second scramble PID extracted as a search result. The network service server sends the first task to the network service server from the bridge service server. The first scramble PID is received as a search key, the first storage means is searched, the first image information is extracted as a search result, and the received the scramble PID is received. The first storage means is searched by using the second scramble PID as a search key, the second image information is extracted as a search result, the extracted first image information is represented, and the first image information is extracted. Generating a first summary image with a smaller amount of information, generating a second summary image representing the extracted second image information and having a smaller amount of information than the second image information, and A summary image is associated with the first scramble PID and stored in a third storage means, and the second summary image is associated with the second scramble PID and stored in the third storage means. The first summary image and the second summary image are sent to the first information terminal, and the display means of the first information terminal receives the received first summary image and the second summary image. Is displayed.

According to the present invention, a user can uniformly organize and manage image information captured by various imaging terminals and stored in various storage devices regardless of a server or an information terminal through a gateway service on the Internet. , And an maintainable server, information terminal, and system. Further, according to the present invention, image information can be distributed and stored in various storage media without increasing the complexity of organizing, managing, and maintaining, so the cost of storing a large amount of image information on the server And the problem of backup difficulty.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic block diagram of the server X of the image information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The schematic block diagram of the server Y of the image information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The schematic block diagram of the server Y and the server U of the image information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The schematic block diagram of the server V of the image information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an imaging terminal of an image information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information terminal of an image information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a display terminal of an image information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information terminal of an image information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. An example figure of a user registration screen concerning one embodiment of the present invention. An example figure of a user information table concerning one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a summary image group list display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. An example figure of a list display screen updated by processing concerning one embodiment of the present invention The flowchart of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. An example figure of the storage service table which server Y concerning one embodiment of the present invention has. An example figure of the storage service selection screen which server Y concerning one embodiment of the present invention provides. An example figure of an authentication screen which server Z concerning one embodiment of the present invention provides. The example figure of the updated list display screen which the server X which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention provides. The sequence diagram of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is an example of an authentication screen in a print service according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. An example figure of a display terminal ID acquisition screen which server X concerning one embodiment of the present invention provides. The flowchart of the process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Web service table included in a server Y according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an example of a Web service selection screen displayed on an information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example figure of an authentication screen displayed on an information terminal concerning one embodiment of the present invention. An example figure of a user table which server V concerning one embodiment of the present invention has. An example figure of an image sending place selection screen displayed on an information terminal concerning one embodiment of the present invention. An example figure of a message displayed on an information terminal concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

The best mode currently conceivable for carrying out the present invention will be described below. Since the scope of the present invention is clearly defined by the appended claims, this description should not be construed in a limiting sense, but merely to illustrate the general principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image information processing system as an example of an embodiment of the present invention. An image information processing system as an example of an embodiment of the present invention includes an image gateway service X server 100, a bridge service Y server 120, a storage service Z server 140, a print service U server 150, and a Web service V server 160. , Storage service W server 137, print service T server 138, Web service S server 139, user A's imaging terminal 170, user A's second imaging terminal 115, user C's imaging terminal 116, user The information terminal 180 of A, the display terminal 190 of user A, the information terminal 195 of user B, and the information terminal 117 of user C, all these servers, information terminals, and display terminals are connected by a network 199. Has been.

In the following description and accompanying figures, the server 100 of the image gateway service X is the server X, the server 120 of the bridge service Y is the server Y, the server 140 of the storage service Z is the server Z, and the server of the print service U150 is the server U. The server 160 for the web service V, the server 137 for the storage service W, the server W for the print service U, the server 138 for the print service U, and the server 139 for the web service S may be abbreviated. User A's imaging terminal 170 is imaging terminal A, user A's information terminal 180 is information terminal A, user's display terminal 190 is display terminal A, and user B's display terminal 195 is information terminal B. Each may be abbreviated. The image in this specification may be a still image or a moving image.

FIG. 2 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the server X100. Server X includes transmission / reception means 101, temporary entity storage means 102, summary image storage means 103, user information table 105, temporary image storage means 109, authentication means 104, HTML generation means 106, summary image generation means 107, and search means 108. And image sending URL generation means 111.

FIG. 3 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the server Y120. The server Y includes transmission / reception means 121, storage means 122, SPID table 123, storage service table 124, Web service table 125, destination temporary storage area 126, search means 131, SPID generation means 133, and HTML generation means 134.

FIG. 4A is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the server Z140. The server Z includes a transmission / reception unit 141, an HTML generation unit 142, an authentication unit 143, an image information storage unit 144, a search unit 145, and a user information table 146. FIG. 4B is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the server U150. The server U includes a transmission / reception unit 151, an HTML generation unit 152, an authentication unit 153, an image information storage unit 154, a search unit 155, and a user information storage unit 156. The server U150 is connected to the printing apparatus 157 through the network 119. The network 119 may be the same network as the network 199 or a different network.

FIG. 5 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the server V160. The server V includes a transmission / reception unit 161, an HTML generation unit 162, a search unit 163, a user table 164, and an authentication unit 168.

FIG. 6 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the imaging terminal A170. The imaging terminal A includes a transmission / reception unit 171, an imaging unit 172, an image storage unit 173, a CID storage unit 174, and an input unit 175. The imaging terminal A may or may not have the transmission / reception means 171.

FIG. 7 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the information terminal A180. The information terminal A includes a transmission / reception unit 181, an HTML analysis unit 182, a display unit 183, an input unit 184, an image storage unit 185, and a search unit 186.

FIG. 8 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the display terminal A190. The display terminal A includes transmission / reception means 191, HTML analysis means 192, display means 193, input means 194, image storage means 149, and HID storage means 148.

FIG. 9 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the information terminal B195. The information terminal B includes transmission / reception means 196, message analysis means 197, display means 198, input means 158, and image storage means 159.

Note that the schematic configurations of the second imaging terminal 115 of the user A and the imaging terminal of the user C shown in FIG. 1 are the same as those of the imaging terminal of the user A shown in FIG. Further, the schematic configuration diagram of the information terminal 117 of the user C shown in FIG. 1 is the same as the information terminal of the user A shown in FIG.

In the present specification, the image information captured by the imaging terminal and stored in the image storage unit of the imaging terminal is referred to as a source image. An image obtained by processing a certain source image is called a processed image of the source image. When two images are compared in a certain source image or processed image thereof, an image with a large amount of information is called an entity image, and an image with a small amount of information is called a summary image. For example, when a source image in the RAW format is converted into a JPEG format (Joint Photographic Experts Group) with smaller information, the source image is an entity image, and the processed image of the source image is a summary image. Further, when two processed images are generated from one source image, a processed image having a large amount of information is a substantial image, and a processed image having a small amount of information is a summary image. As long as the actual image is image information stored in the image storage means of the imaging terminal, for example, a so-called RAW format, JPEG format, TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format, etc., specific to each imaging terminal, GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) Such an image format may be used. The summary image may be any image format such as JPEG format, RAW format, PNG (Portable Network Graphic) format, TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format, GIF format, and the like.

In the following, three embodiments of the present invention are illustrated. First, in the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 10, 14, and 16, the entity image captured by the user A with the imaging terminal A is distributed and stored in the server X, the information terminal A, and the server X. At this time, regardless of the storage location of the entity image, the user A can handle the image uniformly with the image gateway service X as the only window. The processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 10, 14, and 16 are common to the three embodiments, and the process of each embodiment is executed following step S1613 of FIG. In the first embodiment described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 22, the user A executes print processing of the image selected by the print service U using the server X as a window regardless of the storage location of the entity image. In the second embodiment described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 24, the user A displays the selected image on the display terminal A using the server X as a window regardless of the storage location of the entity image. In the third embodiment described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 26, the image selected by the user A to the information terminal of the user B who is an acquaintance in the Web service V is sent regardless of the storage location of the entity image.

First, the description of the present invention is started using the flowchart of FIG. When the user A operates the input unit 175 of the imaging terminal A, the imaging unit 172 captures images, and a plurality of captured entity image groups are stored in the image storage unit 173. At this time, each entity image is stored in the image storage unit 173 in an associated state with an ID for uniquely identifying the image in the entity image group captured by the imaging terminal A (step S1001). ). In the present specification, an ID for uniquely specifying an image among entity images captured by the imaging terminal A is referred to as a PID. In this example, a PID for specifying each of the individual entity images taken by the user A is stored in association with each other. The transmission / reception means 171 may or may not be connected to the network 199 at the time of shooting and storing the entity image.

Next, the transmission / reception means 171 of the imaging terminal A is connected to the network 199 (step S1002). The transmission / reception unit 171 sends the entity image group stored in the image storage unit 173 to the server X100 through the network 199 in a state where each PID is associated. Further, at this time, the transmission / reception means 171 sends an ID that can identify the imaging terminal A among all the imaging terminals to the server X100 in a state associated with each entity image and PID (step S1003). In this specification, an ID for identifying a certain imaging terminal among all the imaging terminals is referred to as a CID. Further, the CID of the imaging terminal A is set to CIda. CIDa is stored in the CID storage unit 174 of the imaging terminal A.

In this example, the imaging terminal A has the transmission / reception means 171 and is connected to the network 199 in step S1002. In the present invention, one of the following two processes may be executed instead of steps S1002 and S1003. One method is to directly connect the transmission / reception unit 171 of the imaging terminal A and the transmission / reception unit 181 of the information terminal A without using the network 199, and the entity image group stored in the image storage unit 173 and the PID of each entity image are obtained. This is a method of sending to the server X100 through the information terminal A. The second method is a method that can also be applied to an imaging terminal that does not have means for transmitting and receiving with a network. In this method, the user A takes out the image storage unit 173 from the imaging terminal A170 and connects it to the input unit 184 of the information terminal A. Thereafter, the information terminal A extracts the entity images from the image storage means 173, and sends these entity images and their respective PIDs to the server X100. As in these two methods, the entity image stored in the image storage means 173 of the imaging terminal A may be sent to the server X100 through the information terminal A.

In addition, when sending the entity image group from the imaging terminal A170 or the information terminal A180 to the server X100, the entity image is sent in association with the PID. However, the PID may be generated by the server X after sending the entity image to the server X100 without associating the PID from the imaging terminal A or the information terminal A.

Next, when the transmission / reception unit 101 of the server X receives these entity image groups, the PID and CIda associated with each group, the temporary image storage unit 102 stores them. That is, each entity image is associated with a PID and CIda that specify the entity image and stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 (step S1004). The image gateway service X is used by a plurality of users. One user of the image gateway service X can use a plurality of imaging terminals. For this reason, entity images taken by a plurality of imaging terminals of different users are stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102. However, all entity images stored in the temporary entity storage means 102 are stored in association with PID and CID, respectively. Therefore, all the entity images stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 can be uniquely specified if a combination of PID and CID is given.

However, according to this method, the operator of the image gateway service X knows the entity image captured by the user A by searching the entity image stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 using CIda as a search key. Can do. This may not be desirable from a privacy protection perspective. In order to prevent the operator of the image gateway service X from searching for an entity image taken by each user, the following method is used.

First, the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X sends CIda and the PID group associated with the entity image sent from the imaging terminal A in step S1003 to the bridge server Y120 via the network 199. When the transmission / reception unit 121 of the server Y receives these, the SPID generation unit 133 combines each of the received PID groups with CIDi, and derives a scrambled PID by the following expression by an irreversible calculation F. Hereinafter, the scrambled PID is expressed as SPID.
SPIDn = F (PIDn, CIda)
Here, the subscript n is a number for identifying individual entity images in the entity image group captured by the imaging terminal A. Here, the calculation F satisfies F (x1, y1) ≠ F (x2, y2) when x1 ≠ x2 or y1 ≠ y2. Due to this property, the SPID can be used as an ID for specifying individual entity images in the entity image group stored in the temporary entity storage means. The generated SPID group is stored in the SPID table in the storage unit 122 of the server Y in association with CIda. The transmission / reception means 121 sends the generated SPID group to the server X through the network 199. When the transmission / reception unit 101 of the server X receives the SPID group, each entity image sent from the imaging terminal A in step S1003 is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 in association with the SPID instead of the PID (step S1004). ). Since F is an irreversible operation, the operator of the image gateway service X cannot derive the SPID from CIda. For this reason, the operator of the image gateway service X cannot search the entity image taken by the user A from CIDi.

Next, the user A registers the user of the image gateway service X using the information terminal A180. The information terminal A may be any information terminal such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, a camera, and a music playback terminal. The information terminal A may be an information terminal having an imaging function. User A operates input means 184 to input information for identifying server X100 to information terminal A. As information for specifying the server X100, for example, there is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Next, the transmission / reception means 181 sends this information to the server X through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives this information, the HTML generation means 106 generates an HTML code for the user information registration screen or authentication screen. The transmission / reception means 101 sends this HTML code to the information terminal A 180 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 181 receives this HTML code, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes it and displays it on the display means. Next, the user A uses the input means 184 to input information necessary for user registration of the image gateway service X. If the HTML code is for an authentication screen, the user A uses the input means 184 to input information necessary for authentication. In the following, the case of user registration will be described.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a user registration screen. The display means 183 has an image gateway service X user registration screen window 1101. Further, a window 1101 is a display 1102 indicating that this is a screen of the image gateway service X, a user ID input unit 1111, a password input unit 1112, a camera ID1 input unit 1121, a camera ID2 input unit 1122, a camera ID3 input unit 1123, And a user registration button 1130. The user ID here is an ID for uniquely identifying each user among the users of the image gateway service X. Any number of camera IDs may be input. In this specification, the user ID in the image gateway service X is represented as UIDx. Further, the UID in the image gateway service X of the user A is represented as UIDxa. In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, “hoge@example.com” is input as the UIDxa, and “12345” is input as the password. However, in the example of FIG. 11, the display in the password input unit 1112 is displayed in hidden characters. Further, the camera ID input unit inputs a CID for uniquely specifying the imaging terminal owned by the user A. In the example of FIG. 11, “N12345678” is input as CIda. As shown in the example of FIG. 11, in the present invention, a plurality of CIDs can be registered for one user ID. That is, in this example, the user A can use a plurality of imaging terminals. Any number of CIDs may be registered in association with one UID.

Further, the user A moves the cursor 1103 displayed on the display unit 183 by the input unit 184 and selects the user registration button 1130. The transmission / reception means 181 sends the UIDxa, password, and CIda to the server X100 via the network 199 (step S1005). When the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives these pieces of information, the user information table 105 stores the UIDxa, the password, and CIda in association with each other (step S1006).

FIG. 12 shows an example of the user information table 105. The user information table includes a user ID column 1201, a password column 1202, a CID column 1203, and an HID column 1204. Although not shown in FIG. 12, the user information table may have a column for storing user attribute information such as a name and an address stored in association with the user ID. Further, the user information table may be composed of a plurality of tables. In FIG. 12, the information stored in step S1006 is stored in the user ID 1211, the password 1212, and the CID 1213. In the user table 105, a plurality of CIDs can be associated with one user ID and stored. In the user table 105, a plurality of HIDs can be associated with one user ID and stored. The user table stores an association between the user ID of the image gateway service X and the CID of the imaging terminal held by the user. In step S1006, a plurality of CIDs can be associated with one UID and stored in a column of the user table 1203. This is a case where one user uses a plurality of imaging terminals. When the user A has already registered the user of the image gateway service X, the authentication information may be sent to the server X.

Next, the retrieval unit 108 retrieves the entity image group captured by the imaging terminal A from the temporary entity storage unit 102 that stores the entity image group captured by the plurality of users with the plurality of imaging terminals. In step S1004, if the entity image and the CID are stored in association with each other in the temporary entity storage unit 102, the search unit 108 searches the temporary entity storage unit 102 using CIDa as a search key, and is captured by the imaging terminal A. A real image group is obtained (step S1007). If the entity image and the SPID are stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 in association with each other in step S1004, a group of entity images photographed by the imaging terminal A is obtained by the following procedure. First, the transmitting / receiving means 101 sends CIda to the server Y120 via the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives this, the search means 131 searches the SPID table to obtain the SPID group associated with CIDi. The transmission / reception means 121 sends this SPID group to the server X100 through the network 199. The search means 108 of the server X searches the temporary entity storage means 102 using this SPID group as a search key (step 2007).

Next, the summary image generation unit 107 of the server X generates a summary image group of the entity image group searched in step S1007. Next, the HTML generation means 106 of the server X generates an HTML code for displaying a list of summary image groups of images taken by the imaging terminal A using the generated summary image group. Each summary image is associated with a PID or SPID. The transmission / reception means sends this HTML code to the information terminal A120 through the network 199 (step S1008). When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes it and displays it on the display means 183 (step S1009).

In this description, storage of the summary image in the summary image storage unit 103 in the server X100 is executed in step S1405 described later. However, after step S1008, the summary image generated in step S1008 may be stored in the summary image storage unit 103 in association with CIDi and PID or SPID.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a summary image group list display screen. The display means 183 has a window 1300 for a list display screen. The list display screen window 1300 has a display 1301 indicating that it is the image gateway service X and a display 1302 of authenticated user information. The list display window 1300 further includes a summary image display area 1310, a storage destination selection button area 1320, and a destination selection button area 1330. The storage destination selection button area 1320 includes an information terminal A button 1321 and a storage service button 1323. The destination selection button area 1330 includes a print service button 1331, a display terminal button 1332, and an acquaintance button 1333 for other services. The summary image display window 1310 displays the summary image of the entity image retrieved from the temporary entity storage unit 102 in step S2005. In the example of FIG. 13, a “T” mark is displayed along with each summary image. The “T” mark indicates that the entity image that is the basis of each summary image is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102. In FIG. 13, for example, the “T” mark 1312 is displayed accompanying the summary image 1311 because the entity image that is the basis of the summary image 1311 is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102. Represents. It is not necessary to add the “T” mark to the display means 183 to indicate that the entity image is stored in the temporary storage means 102. What kind of image, color, character description, separation by area, etc. Anything is fine. What is displayed in the summary image display area may be a summary image of individual entity images or a so-called folder summary image indicating that a plurality of entity images are combined, and a “T” mark May be attached to a folder.

The processing for storing the entity image group captured by the imaging terminal A170 in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X has been described above using the flowchart shown in FIG. The entity image group captured by the second imaging terminal 115 of the user A can also be stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X by the same processing, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. In this case, when the HID of the second imaging terminal 115 of the user A is input on the user registration screen or the authentication screen displayed on the information terminal of the information terminal A shown in FIG. 12 is stored in association with the user ID 1211 of the user A in the CID column 1204 of the user information table 105 shown in FIG. In addition, the entity image captured by the second imaging terminal of the user A is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 in a state in which the PID and the CID of the second imaging terminal of the user A or the SPID are associated with each other. The In the present invention, the entity images taken by the user A's second imaging terminal and stored in the temporary entity storage means of the server X are shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 16, FIG. 22, FIG. The same processing is possible. In the following, detailed description of the processing of the entity image taken by the second imaging terminal of user A is omitted.

In addition, since the entity image group captured by the imaging terminal 116 of the user C can be stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X by the same processing, detailed description thereof is omitted. In this case, when the HID of the image terminal 116 of the user C is input on the user registration screen or the authentication screen displayed on the information terminal C117 and sent to the server X, the user information table shown in FIG. 105 is stored in the CID column 1204 in association with the user ID of the user C. In addition, the entity image captured by the imaging terminal 117 of the user C is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 in a state where the PID and the CID of the imaging terminal of the user C or the SPID are associated with each other. Further, in the present invention, the entity images taken by the user C's imaging terminal and stored in the temporary entity storage means of the server X are the same as those shown in FIGS. 14, 16, 22, 24, and 26. Can be processed. In the following, detailed description of the processing of the entity image captured by the user C's imaging terminal is omitted.

Next, processing subsequent to the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 13 again, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183 and selects an arbitrary summary image. In the example of FIG. 13, summary images 1313, 1314, 1315, and 1316 are selected. In the example of FIG. 13, the summary image surrounded by a double line represents the summary image selected here. Next, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183, and the button 1321 of the information terminal A is selected as the storage destination (step S1401).

Then, the transmission / reception means of the information terminal A sends the PID and CIda or SPID associated with the selected summary image and information for specifying the information terminal A to the server X100 through the network 199. The transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives these (step S1402). Here, PID and CIDi or SPID are associated with each summary image in step S1008 and sent to information terminal A, and the PID and CIDe or SPID of the summary image selected in step S1401 is sent to server X. explained. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is not necessary for the information terminal A to associate the PID and CIda or SPID with each summary image, and the server X selects the PID and the summary image selected in step S1401. Any method may be used as long as CIDA or SPID can be obtained.

Next, the search unit 108 searches the temporary entity storage unit using the combination of PID and CIda received in step S1402 as a search key or SPID as a search key (step S1403). Next, the transmission / reception means 101 sends the entity image group to the information terminal A 180 in a state where PID and CIda or SPID are associated with each entity image group obtained as a result of this search. When the transmission / reception unit 101 of the information terminal A receives the entity image group, the image storage unit 185 stores the PID and CIDi or SPID in association with each other (step S1404).

Next, the server X summarizes the summary image group by associating each of the summary image groups of the image selected in step S1401 with PID and CIda or SPID and information that uniquely identifies the information terminal A as storage destination information. The image is stored in the image storage unit 103 (step S1405). In the example shown in this embodiment, the summary image group stored in step S1405 is the summary image group generated by the summary image storage unit 103 for the HTML code of the list display screen in step S1008. However, in the present invention, the summary image stored in step S1405 may be generated by a process different from step S1008. The summary image stored in step S1405 may be generated by the imaging terminal A and sent to the server X together with the entity image group. If the summary image selected in step S1401 is already stored in the summary image storage unit 103 in step S1008, it may not be stored in step S1405. Next, the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X deletes the entity image group sent to the information terminal A in step S1404 from the temporary entity storage unit 102 (step S1406).

Through the above processing, the entity image group temporarily stored in the server X and captured in the imaging terminal A moves from the temporary entity storage unit of the server X to the information terminal A. By such processing, it is possible to prevent an increase in the amount of image information stored in the image gateway service X.

Next, at an arbitrary time after step S1405 is executed, the HTML generation unit of the server X generates an HTML code for the updated list display screen. The transmission / reception means 101 sends this HTML code to the information terminal A 180 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes it and displays it on the display means 183 (step S1407).

FIG. 15 shows an example of the updated list display screen. The screen shown in FIG. 15 is the same as the display in FIG. 13 except for the summary image display area 1310. Through the processing of steps S1401 to S1406, the entity images represented by the summary images 1313, 1314, 1315, and 1316 in FIG. 13 are moved from the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X to the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A. Comparing FIG. 13 and FIG. 15, the display accompanying the summary image representing these four entity images has changed from the “T” mark to the “L” mark. The “L” mark indicates that the entity information corresponding to each summary image is stored in the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A. The method of representing this need not be the addition of the “L” mark, and the distinction between the entity image stored in the temporary entity storage means 102 and the entity image stored in the storage means 185 of the information terminal A can be made. If it attaches, what kind of image, color, description by character, separation by area, etc. may be used. What is displayed in the summary image display area may be a summary image representing an individual entity image or a summary image of a folder in which a plurality of entity images are collected. The “L” mark is attached to the folder. You may do it.

Next, using the flowchart shown in FIG. 16, the user A stores the entity image of the image selected by the user A from the entity image group captured in step S1001 and stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102. After copying to the image information storage unit 144 of the service Z, only the summary image group is stored in the summary image storage unit of the server X, and further, the selected entity image group is deleted from the temporary storage unit 102. To do. Referring to FIG. 15 again, input means 184 of information terminal A moves cursor 1303 displayed on display means 183 and selects an arbitrary summary image. In the example of FIG. 15, summary images 1515, 1516, 1517, and 1518 were selected. In FIG. 15, the summary image surrounded by a double line represents the summary image selected here. Further, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183, and the storage service button 1323 is selected as the storage destination (step S1601).

Next, the transmission / reception means 181 sends information indicating that the PID and CIda or SPID of each of the selected summary images 1515, 1516, 1517, and 1518 and the storage service button 1323 have been selected via the network 199. To the server X100. The transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives these (step S1402). In this method, PID and CIDi or SPID are associated with each summary image in step S1407 and sent to the information terminal A, and the PID and CIDe or SPID of the summary image selected in step S1601 is sent to the server X. explained. However, the present invention is not limited to this method. For example, it is not necessary for the information terminal A to associate the PID and CIda or SPID with each summary image, and the server X can obtain the PID and CIda or SPID of the summary image selected in step S1601. Any method may be used. Next, the search unit 108 searches the temporary entity storage unit using the received combination of PID and CIda as a search key or SPID as a search key (step S1603). However, in this example, the summary image 1515 is accompanied by an “L” mark as shown in FIG. This indicates that it has been deleted from the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X in step S1406, and the entity image represented by this summary image is stored in the image storage unit 184 of the information terminal A. Therefore, the server X 100 needs to acquire the entity image indicated by the summary image 1515 from the information terminal A by sending its PID and CIda or its SPID to the information terminal A 180. As described above, when the entity image does not exist in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X, the server X acquires the entity image from the information terminal or the server that stores the entity image. Since this process has been described in detail in steps S2204 to S2206, steps S2404 to S2406, and steps S2604 to S2606, which will be omitted here.

Next, the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X redirects the connection between the information terminal A 180 and the server X 100 to the server Y 120 based on the information received in step S 1602 and indicating that the storage service button 1323 has been selected. Next, using the storage service information stored in the storage service table 124 of the server Y, the HTML generation unit 134 generates an HTML code for generating a storage service selection screen. FIG. 17 shows an example of the storage service table 124. The storage service table 124 includes a storage service name column 1701, an authentication URL column 1702, and a transmission URL column 1703. In an example of the first embodiment, the bridge service Y provides the user with a bridge service to two storage services, the storage service Z and the storage service W. The storage service Y and the storage service Z may be anything as long as they provide an image information storage function. For example, services that mainly provide photo storage and browsing functions (for example, FLICKR), SNS (Social Networking Service) and other diary exchange functions (for example, FACEBOOK), e-mail (for example, GMIL), etc. The service to be performed is also a storage service in the present invention as long as it provides a storage function of image information.

Next, the transmission / reception means 121 sends this HTML code to the information terminal A through the network 199 (step S1604). When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HMTL analysis means 182 analyzes this, and the display means 183 displays a storage service selection screen. FIG. 18 shows an example of the storage service selection screen. The storage service selection screen window 1801 has a display 1802 indicating that the service is a bridge service Y service, a storage service Z selection check box 1811, a storage service W selection check box 1812, and a selection completion button 1804. The storage service selection screen may or may not have the bridge service display 1802. The check boxes 1811 and 1812 may be anything as long as each storage service can be selected. Further, only one storage service can be selected, or a plurality of storage services can be selected at the same time. In this example, when the storage service selection screen is displayed, the connection of the information terminal A is redirected from the server X100 to the server Y120, and the HTML generation means of the server Y generates an HTML code and sends it to the information terminal A. In addition, a code such as a script (for example, Java script) for receiving information from the server Y is added to the HTML code sent from the server X to the information terminal A, and the image gateway service X is displayed on the screen. A method of directly displaying a storage service selection screen distributed by the server Y may be used. Further, the server X may have a function corresponding to the storage service table, and the server X may send a storage service selection screen to the information terminal A.

Next, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1803 displayed on the display unit 183 and selects the storage service selection check box. In the example of FIG. 18, a check box 1811 is selected. Thereafter, the input unit 184 moves the cursor 1803 and selects the selection completion button 1804. The transmission / reception means 181 sends information indicating that the check box 1811 has been selected to the server Y120 via the network 199 (step S1605). When the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives this, the search means 131 searches the storage service table 124 for the authentication URL 1712 stored in association with the storage service Z. The transmission / reception means 121 redirects the connection between the terminal A and the server Y to the server Z140 according to the authentication URL 1712.

When the transmission / reception unit 141 of the server Z establishes a connection with the information terminal A, the HTML generation unit 142 generates an HTML code for generating the authentication screen of the storage service Z, and the transmission / reception unit 141 transmits this information via the network 191. The data is sent to terminal A (step S1606). When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes and displays the authentication screen of the storage service Z on the display means 183. FIG. 19 shows an example of an authentication screen for the storage service Z. The authentication screen for the storage service Z has an authentication screen window 1901. The authentication screen window 1901 has a display 1902 indicating that it is a screen of the storage service Z, a user ID input column 1911, a password input column 1912, and an authentication button 1904. In the example of FIG. 19, the input unit 184 moves the cursor 1903 to the user ID input field 1911, the user ID “hoge@ServiceZ.com” 1921 in the service Z of the user A, and the password input field 1912. The password 1922 is input after the movement. Here, the user ID of the storage service Z is represented as UIDz. The UID in the storage service Z of the user A is represented as UIDza. In the example of FIG. 19, the password 1922 is displayed in hidden characters. Next, when the input unit 184 moves the cursor 1903 and selects the authentication button 1904, the transmission / reception unit 181 sends the user ID 1921 and the password 1922 to the server Z through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means of the server Z receives them, the authentication means 143 performs authentication by searching the user A's UIDza and password information stored in advance in the user table (step S1607). Here, it is assumed that the UIDza and password of user A are stored in the user information table 146 in advance. That is, the user A is a user of the image gateway service X and a user of the storage service Z. If the user A is not a user of the storage service Z when the step 1606 is executed, the UIDza and password are registered in the server Z140 at this point.

Next, the transmission / reception means 141 of the server Z sends information indicating that the user A has been authenticated to the server Y120 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives this, the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y sends the server X100 with information necessary for transmitting the entity image of the user A selected in step S1601 to the server Z140. This information includes, for example, an ID for uniquely identifying the server Z140 as the transmission destination on the network 199, the reception address and port number of the server Z when the server Z140 receives the entity image group, and the server Y of this transmission The session information generated for this purpose, the negotiation information between the server X and the server Z, the digest information of the image information for ensuring the security and the accuracy of the entity image group, etc. can be considered. Any information may be used as long as it is used for transmitting the entity image group selected in step S1601. Furthermore, the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y sends the server Z140 information necessary for receiving the entity image group of the image selected in step S1601 from the server X100. This information includes, for example, an ID for uniquely identifying the server X100 that is a transmission source on the network 199, a transmission address and a port number when the server X100 transmits a substantial image group, and a server Y generated for this reception. Session information, negotiation information between the server X and the server Z, digest information of image information for ensuring security and ensuring the accuracy of the entity image group, etc. can be considered. In step S1601 from the server X100 to the server Z140 Any information may be used as long as it is used for receiving the selected entity image group (step S1608). In this example, the server Y is in charge of negotiation for transmission / reception of the entity image group between the server X and the server Z, and the server X and the server Z directly transmit / receive the entity image group via the network 199. Y may relay transmission / reception of the entity image group. Further, the server X and the server Z may directly perform the negotiation without the server Y taking charge of the negotiation.

Next, the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X and the transmission / reception means 141 of the server Z each receive information sent from the server Y120 in step S1608. Next, the transmission / reception unit 101 of the server X and the transmission / reception unit 141 of the server Z establish a session for transmission / reception of the entity image group selected in step S1601. The transmission / reception unit 101 of the server X sends the entity image of the image selected in step S1601 to the server Z through the network 199 in a state where each PID and CIda or each SPID is associated (step S1609). The transmission / reception means 141 of the server Z receives these entity image groups, and stores them in the image information storage means 144 in a state in which they are associated with each PID and CIda or each SPID (step S1610).

Next, the server X associates each of the summary image groups of the images selected in step S1601 with PID and CIda, or each SPID, and information that uniquely identifies the storage service Z as storage destination information, and The group is stored in the storage means 103 (step S1611). In the example shown here, the summary image storage means 103 generates the summary image group stored in step S1611 for the HTML code of the list display screen in step S1008. However, in the present invention, the summary image stored in the summary image storage unit 103 in step S1611 may be generated independently of step S1008. If the summary image selected in step S1601 is already stored in the summary image storage unit 103 in step S1008, it may not be stored in step S1611. The summary image stored in the summary image storage unit in step S1611 may be generated by the imaging terminal A and sent to the server X together with the entity image group. Next, the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X deletes the entity image group sent to the information terminal A in step S1609 from the temporary entity storage unit 102 (step S1612).

At an arbitrary time after step S <b> 1611 is executed, the HTML generation unit of the server X generates an HTML code for the updated image information list screen. The transmission / reception means 101 sends this HTML code to the information terminal A 180 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes it and displays it on the display means 183 (step S1613).

FIG. 20 shows an example of the updated list display screen. The screen shown in FIG. 20 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 13 and 15 except for the summary image display area 1310. The entity images represented by the summary images 1516, 1517, and 1518 of FIG. 15 are moved from the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X to the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z by the processing of steps S1601 to S1613. 15 is copied from the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A to the image information storage unit of the server Z. Comparing FIG. 15 and FIG. 20, among these images, the display accompanying the summary images 1516, 1517 and 1518 is changed from the “T” mark to the “S” mark. In addition to the “L” mark, an “S” mark is newly attached to the summary image 1515. The “S” mark indicates that the entity image or the summary image represented by each summary image is stored in the image storage unit 144 of the server Z. The method for indicating this need not be the addition of the “S” mark, but the entity image stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X and the entity image stored in the storage unit 185 of the information terminal A; As long as the entity image or the summary image stored in the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z can be distinguished, any image, color, description by character, separation by region, etc. may be used. A summary image displayed in the summary image display area may be a summary image of individual image information or a summary image of a folder in which a plurality of pieces of image information are collected. An “S” mark or an “L” mark may be displayed. May be attached to a folder. Further, regarding the summary image 1515, in addition to the “L” mark 1515 indicating that the entity image is stored in the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A, the entity image or the summary image is the image storage unit 144 of the server Z. The “S” mark 2014 stored in FIG. This expresses that the image represented by the summary image 1515 is stored in both the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A and the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z.

Note that the SPID generation and storage function in the server Y120 and the other bridge function provided by the server Y may be realized by different servers. Moreover, these different servers may be operated by different operators.

In the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 21, the processes of the embodiment of the present invention shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 10, 14, and 16 are collectively displayed. FIG. 21 illustrates which imaging terminal, information terminal, or server processes each step described in the above flowcharts. Through the above processing, the summary images of all the images taken by the imaging terminal A are stored in the summary image storage unit 103 of the server X. On the other hand, the entity image of the summary image is distributed and stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X, the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A, and the image information storage unit 144 of the storage service Z. In this state, the user A can use various services such as printing an image, displaying an image on a display terminal, or sending image information to another user by using the image gateway service X as an entrance.

In the following, the process shown in FIG. 21 is assumed to be a common process, and after execution of step S1613, an image print process using the print service U will be described as a first embodiment, and an image display on the display terminal A will be described as an embodiment. The process of sending image information to the user B who is acquainted with the Web service V will be described as a third embodiment. Embodiments 1, 2, and 3 below all start from step S1613. That is, in each of Embodiments 1, 2, and 3, the process starts from the state where the summary image list display screen shown in FIG. 20 is displayed on the display unit 183 of the information terminal A.
(Embodiment 1: Printing by the print service U)

Next, a process for collectively printing a plurality of images in which actual images are stored in different terminals or servers through the image gateway service X using the print service U will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 20 again, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183 and selects an arbitrary summary image. In the example of FIG. 20, summary images 2051, 2052 and 2054 have been selected. In FIG. 20, the summary image surrounded by a double line represents the summary image selected at this point. In the example of FIG. 20, the summary image 2052 is accompanied by a “T” mark 2053, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X. Similarly, the summary image 2054 is accompanied by an “L” mark 2055, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A. Further, the summary image 2051 is accompanied by an “S” mark 2011, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z. Next, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183, and the print service button 1331 is selected as the destination (step S2201).

Next, the transmission / reception means 181 sends information indicating that the selected summary images 2051, 2052 and 5024, PID and CIda, or SPID, and the print service button 1331 have been selected, via the network 199. Send to server X100. Here, instead of the PID and CIDi of the selected summary image or SPID, any information indicating that the summary images 2051, 2052 and 2054 are selected may be sent. The transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives these (step S2202). Here, PID and CIDi or SPID are associated with each summary image in step S1613 and sent to information terminal A, and the PID and CIDe or SPID of the summary image selected in step S2201 is sent to server X. explained. The present embodiment is not limited to using this method. For example, in the information terminal A, it is not necessary that the PID and CIDi or SPID is associated with each summary image, and the server X can obtain the PID and CIda or SPID of the summary image selected in step S2201. Any method may be used.

Next, the search unit 108 of the server X searches the temporary entity storage unit 102 using the PID and CIda or SPID associated with the summary image 2052 as a search key to obtain an entity image corresponding to the summary image 2052. This entity image is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 in association with the UIDxa (step S2203). Further, the transmission / reception means of the server X stores the PID and CIda or SPID of the summary image 2054 in the information terminal A based on the storage destination information of the entity image represented by the summary image 2054 stored in the summary image means in step S1405. By sending the request, acquisition of the entity image represented by the summary image 2054 is requested. When the transmission / reception unit 181 of the information terminal of the user A receives this request, the search unit 186 searches the image storage unit 185 using the received PID and CIda or SPID as a search key, and the entity image represented by the summary image 2054 Get. This search is possible because the entity image represented by the summary image 2054 is stored in association with PID and CIda or SPID in step S1404. The transmission / reception means 181 sends this entity image to the server X100 through the network 199. The transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives this entity image. This entity image is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 in association with the UIDxa (step S2204).

Further, the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X redirects the connection with the information terminal A to the server Z. The transmission / reception unit 141 of the server Z sends an HTML code for generating an authentication screen of the storage service Z generated by the HTML generation unit 142 to the information terminal A 180 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes it, and the display means displays the authentication screen of the storage service Z shown as an example in FIG. Next, the user A inputs the user ID 1921 and the password 1922 using the input means 184 that is authentication information, and further selects the authentication button 1904. Next, the transmission / reception means 181 sends the authentication information to the server Z140 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 141 of the server Z receives this, the authentication means 143 authenticates the user A. After this processing, the connection between the information terminal A and the server Z is redirected to the server X again.

Next, information indicating that the search unit 141 of the server Z has authenticated the user A is sent to the server X through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives this, the entity image acquisition request represented by the summary image 2051 is sent to the server Z140 through the network 199 together with the PID and CIda or SPID of the entity image (step S2205). When the transmission / reception unit 141 of the server Z receives this, the search unit 145 searches the PID and CIda or SPID of the requested entity image using the search key. This search is possible because the entity image represented by the summary image 2051 is stored in association with PID and CIda or SPID in step S1610. The entity image represented by the summary image 2052 obtained as a result of this search is sent to the server X100 through the network 199 by the transmission / reception means 141. The transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives this. This entity image is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 in association with the UIDxa (step S2206). Note that the order of the three processes of step S220, step S2204, and steps S2205 to 2206 may be switched.

Through the processes in steps S2203 to S2206, the entity image represented by the summary images 2052, 2054, and 2051 selected by the user A in step S2201 in the server X is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 in association with the UIDxa. Next, the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X redirects the connection between the information terminal A180 and the server X100 to the server U150. The HTML generation unit 152 of the server U generates an HTML code for generating the authentication screen of the print service U, and the transmission / reception unit 151 transmits the HTML code to the information terminal A through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 180 of the information terminal A receives this, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes this and displays an authentication screen on the display means 183.

FIG. 23 shows an example of an authentication screen for the print service U. The authentication screen of the print service U includes a display 2302 indicating that the window 2301 is the screen of the print service U, a user ID input field 2311, a password input field 2312, a destination name input field 2313, a destination address input field 2314, And an authentication button 2304. In the example of FIG. 23, the input unit 184 moves the cursor 1903 to the user ID input field 2311, the user ID “hoge@ServiceU.com” 2321 in the print service U of the user A, and the password input field 2312. The passwords 2322 are entered respectively. Here, the user ID of the print service U is represented as UIDu. User A's UIDu is represented as UIDua. In the example of FIG. 23, the password 1922 is displayed in hidden characters. Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 23, a name 2323 is input in the destination name input field 2313, and an address 2324 is input in the destination address input field 2314. Next, when the input unit 184 moves the cursor 1903 and selects the authentication button 2304, the input / output unit sends the profit UIDua 2321 and the password 2322 to the server U150 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 151 of the server U receives these, the authentication means 153 authenticates (step S2207). It should be noted that the destination name and the destination address may be input by the user A using the input unit 184 on the authentication screen of the print service U as shown here. Alternatively, the user information storage unit 156 of the print service U stored in advance may be displayed in FIG. Alternatively, what is stored in advance in the user information table 105 of the server X may be sent to the server U via the network 199 and used by the server U. In this case, the user table 105 of the server X needs to have columns for storing user information such as names and addresses in addition to the columns shown in FIG. Further, the authentication of user A by the server U may be omitted, and the authentication process of step S2207 may be replaced with the authentication of user A by the server X in step S1005. In this case, step S2207 is omitted.

Next, the server U sends information indicating that the user A has been authenticated to the server X through the network 199. When the server X receives this, the transmission / reception means 101 sends the entity image group that has been stored in the temporary image storage means 109 in steps S2203, 2204, and 2206 to the server U150 via the network 199 (step S2008). When the transmission / reception unit 151 of the server U receives these entity image groups, the image information storage unit 154 stores them in association with the user ID (UIDua) in the print service U of the user A. Next, the transmission / reception unit 151 sends these entity image groups to the printing apparatus 157 via the network 119 (step S2009), and the printing apparatus 157 prints them (step S2010). The entity image group stored in the image information storage unit 154 is deleted from the image information storage unit 154 when step S2009 is completed and the delivery process of the printed entity image is completed and becomes unnecessary in the service U. The Note that the image gateway service X may support a plurality of print services. For example, when the image of the summary image selected in FIG. 20 is sent to the server of the print service T shown in FIG. The same processing is executed.
(Embodiment 2: Display of image by display terminal A)

Next, processing for displaying a plurality of entity images distributed and stored in the terminal or server through the image gateway service X on the display terminal A will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The display terminal A 190 may be an image display dedicated terminal such as a so-called digital photo frame, and may be any information terminal provided with display means such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, a camera, a television, and a music player. Further, the display terminal A 190 may be an information terminal for outputting to other media such as paper such as a so-called printer. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the process starts after the process of step S1613 is executed.

Referring to FIG. 20 again, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183 and selects an arbitrary summary image. In the example of FIG. 20, summary images 2051, 2052 and 2054 have been selected. In FIG. 20, the summary image surrounded by a double line represents the summary image selected at this point. In the example of FIG. 20, the summary image 2052 is accompanied by a “T” mark 2053, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X. Similarly, the summary image 2054 is accompanied by an “L” mark 2055, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A. Further, the summary image 2051 is accompanied by an “S” mark 2011, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z. Next, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183, and the button 1332 of the display terminal is selected as the destination (step S2401).

Next, the entity image of the summary image group selected in step S2401 is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 of the server X by a series of processing from step S2402 to step S2406 in the flowchart of FIG. This series of processing is exactly the same as the processing from step S2202 to step S2206 in the first embodiment except for the following one point. In step S2202 in the first embodiment, the information terminal A indicates that the print service selection button 1331 has been selected in addition to the summary image group selected in step S2201, the PID and CIDo associated with each, or the SPID. Information was sent to server X. In step S2402 in the second embodiment, the information terminal A indicates that the display terminal selection button 1332 has been selected in addition to the summary image group selected in step S2401, the PID and CIDo associated with each, or the SPID. Send information to server X. Here, instead of the PID and CIDi of the selected summary image or SPID, any information indicating that the summary images 2051, 2052 and 2054 are selected may be sent. Except for this point, the processing from step S2202 to step S2206 in the first embodiment and the processing from step S2402 to step S2406 in the second embodiment are the same, and the description thereof is omitted. Note that the order of the three processes of step S2403, step S2404, and steps S2405 to 2206 may be switched. Through these processes, the entity image represented by the summary images 2052, 2054, and 2051 selected by the user A in step S2401 is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 in association with the UIDxa.

Next, the HTML generation unit 106 of the server X generates an HTML code for generating a display terminal ID acquisition screen, and the transmission / reception unit 101 sends this to the information terminal A 180 via the network 199. The transmission / reception means 180 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes it, and the display means 183 displays the display terminal ID acquisition screen. FIG. 25 shows an example of the display terminal ID acquisition screen. The display means 183 has an image gateway service X window 2501. Further, the window 2501 has a display 2502 indicating that this is the screen of the image gateway service X, information 2503 for specifying the user A, display terminal ID input fields 2521, 2522, and 2523, and a registration button 2504. The display terminal ID is an ID for uniquely specifying a display terminal connected to the network 199. Here, the display terminal ID is denoted as HID. Further, the HID of the display terminal A190 is denoted as HIDa. In the present invention, a plurality of HIDs can be registered for one user ID. That is, in this example, the user A can use a plurality of display terminals.

Next, the user A operates the input unit 184 to input HIDa 2531, and the registration button 2504 is selected. The transmission / reception means 181 sends HIDa to the server X through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives this, it stores it in the user information table 105 (step S2407). An example of FIG. 12 represents a state in which the HIDa 1214 is stored in association with the UIDxa 1211 of the user A by this step. HIDa may be acquired in the authentication information acquisition screen shown in FIG. 11 and stored in the user information table during the process of step S1005.

The display terminal A 190 is connected to the network 199 at an arbitrary time after the HIDa is stored in the user information table 105 in association with the UIDxa. Next, the transmission / reception means 191 of the display terminal A sends the HIDa of the display terminal A to the server X100 through the network 199. This HIDa may be the one stored in the HID storage means 148 at the time of manufacture of the display terminal A or the one input by the user A using the input means 194. When the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives HIDa from the display terminal A (step S2408), the search means 108 searches the user table 105 using HIDa as a search key to obtain the UIDxa of the user A. Further, the search means 108 searches the temporary image storage means 109 using the UIDxa as a search key, and obtains the entity image group stored in steps S2403, S2404, and S2406.

The transmission / reception means 101 sends the actual image group obtained here to the display terminal A 190 via the network 199 (step S2409). When the transmission / reception unit 191 of the display terminal A receives the entity image group, the entity image group is stored in the image storage unit 159, and the display unit 198 displays the entity image group (step S2410).
(Embodiment 3: Display of image on display terminal of user B)

Next, a process of displaying a plurality of entity images distributed and stored in the terminal or server through the image gateway service X on the information terminal 195 of the user B will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. . In the above-described second embodiment, the display terminal A190 is that of the user A. Therefore, the user A can send the HIDa that uniquely identifies the display terminal A190 to the server X through the information terminal A180 (step S2407). It was. In the third embodiment, the information terminal B 195 is not for the user A, and the user A does not know the HID of the information terminal B. Therefore, the information terminal B 180 cannot send the HID of the information terminal B to the server X. Further, in an example of the third embodiment, the user B is an acquaintance of the user A through the Web service V, for example.

The information terminal B195 may be an image display dedicated terminal such as a so-called digital photo frame, and may be any information terminal provided with display means such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, a camera, a television, and a music player. The information terminal B195 may be an information terminal for outputting to other media such as paper such as a so-called printer. In the third embodiment, similarly to the first and second embodiments described above, the processing starts after the processing in step S1613 is executed.

Referring to FIG. 20 again, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183 and selects an arbitrary summary image. In the example of FIG. 20, summary images 2051, 2052 and 2054 have been selected. In FIG. 20, the summary image surrounded by a double line represents the summary image selected at this point. In the example of FIG. 20, the summary image 2052 is accompanied by a “T” mark 2053, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X. Similarly, the summary image 2054 is accompanied by an “L” mark 2055, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A. Further, the summary image 2051 is accompanied by an “S” mark 2011, and the entity image represented by the summary image is stored in the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z. Next, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 1303 displayed on the display unit 183, and the acquaintance button 1333 of another service is selected as the destination (step S2601).

Next, the entity image of the summary image group selected in step S2601 is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 of the server X by a series of processing from step S2602 to step S2606 in the flowchart of FIG. This series of processing is exactly the same as the processing from step S2402 to step S2406 in the second embodiment described above except for the following one point. In step S2402 in the second embodiment, information indicating that the display terminal 1332 has been selected in addition to the summary image group selected in step S2401, the PID and CIDo associated with each, or SPID. , Sent to server X. On the other hand, in step S2602 in the third embodiment, the information terminal A selects the acquaintance selection button 1333 of another service in addition to the summary image group selected in step S2601, the PID and CIDo associated with each, or the SPID. Information indicating this is sent to the server X. Here, instead of the PID and CIDi of the selected summary image or SPID, any information indicating that the summary images 2051, 2052 and 2054 are selected may be sent. Except for this point, the processing from step S2402 to step S2406 of the above-described first embodiment and the processing from step S2602 to step S2606 of the third embodiment are the same, and thus description thereof will be omitted. Note that the order of the three processes of step S2603, step S2604, and steps S2605 to 2606 may be switched. Through these processes, the entity image represented by the summary images 2052, 2054, and 2051 selected by the user A in step S2601 is stored in the temporary image storage unit 109 in association with the UIDxa.

Next, the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X redirects the connection between the information terminal A 180 and the server X 100 to the server Y 120 based on the information received in step S 2602 and indicating that the acquaintance selection button 1333 for other services has been selected. Next, using the Web service information stored in the Web service table 125 of the server Y, the HTML generation unit 134 generates an HTML code for generating a Web service selection screen. FIG. 27 shows an example of the Web service table 125. The Web service table 125 includes a Web service name column 2701, an authentication URL column 2702, an acquaintance list acquisition URL column 2703, and a message transmission URL column 2704. In an example of the third embodiment, the bridge service Y provides a user with a bridge service to two web services, the web service V160 and the web service S139. Here, the Web service V and the Web service S may be anything as long as they are services that store the user A's acquaintance list. For example, for example, services that mainly provide photo storage and browsing functions (for example, FLICKR), SNS (Social Networking Service) (for example, FACEBOOK), e-mail (for example, GMIL), chat and voice calls, etc. A so-called messenger service (for example, SKYPE) and a product sales service (for example, AMAZON) to be provided are Web services in the present invention if the ID list of a user's acquaintance is stored in each server.

Next, the transmission / reception means 121 sends an HTML code for generating the Web service selection screen to the information terminal A through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this HTML code, the HMTL analysis means 182 analyzes this, and the display means 183 displays the Web service selection screen.

FIG. 28 shows an example of the Web service selection screen. The window 2801 of the Web service selection screen has a display 2802 indicating that the service is a bridge service Y, a Web service V selection button 2811, a Web service S selection button 2812, and a selection completion button 2804. The web service selection screen may or may not have the bridge service display 2802. Further, the buttons 2811 and 2812 do not need to be buttons as long as each Web service can be selected. In this example, when displaying the Web service selection screen, the connection of the information terminal A is redirected from the server X100 to the server Y120, and the HTML generation means of the server Y generates an HTML code and sends it to the information terminal A. In addition, a code such as a script (for example, Java script) for receiving information from the server Y is added to the HTML code sent from the server X to the information terminal A, and the server is displayed on the screen of the image gateway service X. A method of directly displaying a Web service selection screen distributed by Y may be used. Further, the server X may have a function corresponding to the Web service table, and the server X may send a Web service selection screen to the information terminal A.

Next, the input unit 184 of the information terminal A moves the cursor 2803 displayed on the display unit 183 and selects the Web service selection button. In the example of FIG. 28, the button 2811 is selected. Thereafter, the input unit 184 moves the cursor 2803 and selects the selection completion button 2804. The transmission / reception means 181 sends information indicating that the check box 2811 has been selected to the server Y120 via the network 199 (step S2607). When the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives this, the search means 131 searches the Web service table 125 using the Web service name V as a search key, and obtains an authentication URL 2712 stored in association with the Web service V. The transmission / reception means 121 redirects the connection between the terminal A and the server Y to the server V160 according to the authentication URL 2712.

When the transmission / reception means 161 of the server V establishes a connection with the information terminal A, the HTML generation means 162 generates an HTML code for generating the authentication screen of the Web service V, and the transmission / reception means 161 transmits this information via the network 191. Send to terminal A. When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes and displays the authentication screen of the Web service V on the display means 183. FIG. 29 shows an example of an authentication screen for the Web service V. The authentication screen for the Web service V has an authentication screen window 2901. The authentication screen window has a display 2902 indicating that it is a screen of the Web service V, a user ID input field 2911, a password input field 2912, and an authentication button 2904. In the example of FIG. 29, the input unit 184 moves the cursor 2903 to the user ID input field 2911. Then, the user ID “hoge@svcV.com” 2921 in the Web service V of the user A is moved to the password input field 2912 and the password 2922 is input. Here, an ID for uniquely identifying a user in the Web service V is represented as UIDv. The ID of the user A's Web service V is represented as UIDva. In the example of FIG. 29, the password 2922 is displayed in hidden characters. Next, when the input unit 184 moves the cursor 2903 and selects the authentication button 2904, the transmission / reception unit 181 sends the user ID 2921 and the password 2922 to the server V160 via the network 199. When the transmission / reception means of the server V receives these, the authentication means 168 authenticates (step S2608). In the example shown here, the user A is a user of the image gateway service X and a user of the Web service V, and the UIDva and password are stored in the user table 164 of the server V in advance. In step S2608, the user A may send the UIDva and password to the server V160 through the information terminal A180, and perform user registration in the user table 164.

Next, the search means 163 of the server V searches the user table 164 using the UIDva as a search key. FIG. 30 shows an example of the user table. In this example, the user table 164 includes a user ID column 3001, a user display name column 3003, and an acquaintance ID column 3004. In column 3004, UIDv of a plurality of acquaintances may be stored in association with one UIDv. In the example of FIG. 30, two UIDs “foo@svcV.com” 3014 and “bar@svcV.com” 3015 are stored in association with the UIDva 3011. The search means 163 searches the UIDva to obtain the UIDv of these acquaintances, and further obtains the display names “Betti” 3023 and “Fred” 3033 using the UIDv of these acquaintances as search keys. Next, the transmission / reception means 161 of the server V sends the UID of the acquaintance obtained by this search and each display name to the server Y through the network 199. The server Y stores the IDs of these acquaintances and the respective display names in the temporary destination storage area 126 (step S2609). In addition, the UIDv of each acquaintance or additional information of each acquaintance may be sent to the server Y.

When the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives this, the HTML generation means 134 generates an HTML code for generating an image destination selection screen. The transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y sends this HTML code to the information terminal A 180 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 181 of the information terminal A receives this, the HTML analysis means 182 analyzes and displays an image destination selection screen on the display means 183. FIG. 31 shows an example of the image destination selection screen. A window 3101 of the image destination screen is a display 1302 indicating that it is a screen of the bridge service Y, a display 3103 indicating that it is an image destination selection screen, and display names 3121 and 3122 of acquaintances in the Web service V of the user A. , Each acquaintance's selection check boxes 3111 and 3112, and a selection completion button 3105. In the image destination selection screen 3101, the display 1302 is a display indicating that it is a screen of the bridge service Y, a display indicating that it is a screen of the Web service V, or a display indicating that it is a screen of the image gateway service X. But you can. Here, the image destination selection screen is generated by the server Y120 and sent to the information terminal A180, but may be generated by the server V160 and sent to the information terminal A180. In step S2609, the display name of the acquaintance is sent to the server Y. The server X 100 may send it to the information terminal A180 after creating the image destination selection screen after sending it to the server X.

Next, the user A uses the input unit 184 of the information terminal A to move the cursor 3104 displayed on the display unit 183, and selects the user B “Better” who is an acquaintance of the user A check box 3111. And the selection completion button 3105 is selected (step S2610). Here, “Better” is the display name of the user B, and “foo@svcV.com” 3021 is the UIDvb of the ID. Next, the transmission / reception means 181 sends the fact that “Better” has been selected to the server Y through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives this notification, the ID of the acquaintance selected by the user A in step S2610 in the acquaintance list of the user A stored in the destination temporary storage area 126 in step S2609. , Information indicating that it has been selected is stored in association with each other. Alternatively, the ID of an acquaintance other than the acquaintance selected in step S2610 may be deleted from the destination temporary storage area 126. Next, the transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y sends the request for the image sending URL of the entity image group stored in association with the UIDxa in steps S2603, S2604, and S2606 to the server X through the network 199 (step S2611). When the transmission / reception unit 101 of the server X receives this request, the image transmission URL generation unit 111 generates image transmission URLs of these entity image groups. Next, in steps S2603, S2604, and S2606, the generated image sending URL is stored in association with the entity image group stored in the temporary image storage unit in association with UIDxa. Further, the image sending URL generated by the transmitting / receiving means 101 is sent to the server Y120 via the network 199 (step S2612).

The transmission / reception means 121 of the server Y receives the image sending URL from the server X. Next, the transmission / reception means 121 stores the UIDva, which is the ID of the acquaintance selected by the user A in step S2610, and the image transmission URL received from the server X in step S2609 in FIG. The message transmission URL 2711 shown is sent to the server V160 through the network 199 (step S2613).

The transmission / reception means 161 of the server V receives these. Next, the transmission / reception means 161 of the server V transmits the image sending URL received from the server Y to the information terminal B 195 through the network 199 using the UIDvb of the user B “Betty” received from the server Y as a receiving address (step 195). S2614). Therefore, the image transmission URL to “Better” 3023 selected as the transmission destination by user A is included in the message to “foo@svcV.com” 3021. UIDv may generally be the ID of a message sending means such as an e-mail, and may be the ID of any message sending means. The electronic mail to the information terminal B may include information other than the image sending URL.

When the transmission / reception means 196 of the information terminal B receives the e-mail message including the image sending URL from the server V, the message analysis means 197 analyzes and displays it on the display means 198. FIG. 32 shows an example of a message displayed on the information terminal B. The display means 198 has a window 3201 for displaying messages. The window 3201 has a display 3202 representing the Web service V that is the provider of this message, a display 3203 representing the user A who is the image sending source, and a display 3204 of the image sending URL. User B operates input means 158 to move cursor 3205 displayed on display means 198 and select image URL display 3204.

Next, the transmission / reception means 196 sends an acquisition request for the image sent by the user A to the user B to the server X100 indicated by the image sending URL via the network 199 (step S2615). When the transmission / reception means 101 of the server X receives this, the temporary image storage means is searched using the received image sending URL as a search key, and the entity image group stored in the temporary image storage means in association with UIDxa is obtained in step S2612. Next, the transmission / reception means 101 sends this group of entity images to the information terminal B195 through the network 199. When the transmission / reception means 196 of the information terminal B receives this entity image group, it is stored in the image storage means 159 and displayed by the display means 158 (step S2616). The message transmission from the server V160 to the information terminal B195 is not an electronic mail but may be anything such as an HTML code. In addition, the user B's acceptance of image browsing at the information terminal B may be, for example, selection of a button instead of selection of a URL. The image gateway service X may correspond to a plurality of Web services. For example, when the user A sends the summary image selected in step S2601 to the acquaintance of the web service S through the web service S server shown in FIG. 1, the same processing as described in FIG. 26 is executed. .

In the present invention, the summary image of the image captured by the user A is stored in the summary image storage unit 103 of the server X. On the other hand, the entity image of the image taken by the user A is distributed and stored in the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A and the image information storage unit 144 of the server Z in addition to the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X. For example, when the user A deletes the entity image from the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A, the summary image is stored in the server X, but there is no entity image corresponding to the summary image. May be born. Referring to FIG. 20 again, in such a state, the “X” mark 2060 indicates that the entity image corresponding to the summary image 2061 stored in the server X is deleted from the information terminal A and does not exist anywhere. ing. The display indicating this is not the “X” mark, and any display method may be used.

Next, the operational effects according to the present invention will be specifically described using the above-described first, second, and third embodiments. According to the server, information terminal, imaging terminal, display terminal, method, and system of the present invention, the following nine effects can be obtained.

The first effect is that the complexity of copying from the information terminal to the information terminal that manages and maintains the image information can be reduced. In step S1003, when the imaging terminal A is connected to the network, all entity images are sent to the server X and stored in the temporary entity storage means. At this time, the user A does not have to execute any management process. According to the conventional method, it is necessary to select at least in advance which image information to be uploaded to the server via the network. According to the present invention, since all the entity images are once uploaded to the server X, the complexity of copying to the information terminal is greatly reduced.

As described above, in the present invention, the imaging terminal A may upload the entity image to the server X through the information terminal A. In addition, the imaging terminal A does not have a transmission / reception means, and uploads the entity image stored in the storage medium of the imaging terminal A to the server X via the information terminal A by connecting the storage medium to the information terminal A. May be. Even in such a case, the user A does not need to set which entity image is copied to the information terminal A or the server X, and may automatically upload all the entity images to the server X. . For this reason, even in such a case, the first effect is effective.

A second effect is that a user can collectively manage a group of image information captured by a plurality of imaging terminals. According to the present invention, a plurality of CIDs can be associated with the UIDxa of the user A of the image gateway service X as shown in FIG. All entity images captured by a plurality of imaging terminals are stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 of the server X. When user A uses a plurality of imaging terminals, the temporary entity storage unit is searched with all CIDs and PIDs or SPIDs associated with UIDxa. As a result, on the list display screen of the image gateway service X as shown in FIG. 15, the image information captured by all the imaging terminals can be handled in a unified manner, and the image information by the user A compared to the conventional method. The management effort is greatly reduced.

A third effect is that a user can collectively manage entity images that are distributed and stored in a plurality of storage destinations. According to the present invention, the plurality of storage destinations of the entity images may be servers or information terminals. The plurality of storage locations of the entity images may be servers of different network services. For example, the entity image group captured by the user A with the imaging terminal A is all stored in the temporary entity storage unit of the server X in step S1003. However, after that, a part of the entity image is moved to the storage means of the information terminal A in step S1404, and a part of the entity image is moved to the storage means of the server Z in step S1609. Accordingly, in step S1613, at the time when the screen of FIG. 20 is displayed on the information terminal A, the actual image captured by the imaging terminal A is distributed and stored in the server X, the information terminal A, and the server Z. . However, as is clear from the description of the first, second, and third embodiments, the user A can execute printing, backup, sending to an acquaintance, and the like without being aware of the location of the entity image. One of the important effects of the present invention is that even if there are a plurality of storage destinations, the trouble of image management by the user does not increase.

The fourth effect is that a large amount of image information can be easily backed up. In the present invention, it is possible to easily copy or move all entity images taken by all imaging terminals used by a user to any information terminal or server through the image gateway service X. Therefore, the image information can be easily backed up by copying the entity image to a plurality of information terminals or servers. For example, in FIG. 20, the summary image 1515 is displayed with an “L” mark 1511 and an “S” mark 2014 attached thereto. This indicates that the entity image represented by the summary image 1515 is stored in both the image storage unit 185 of the information terminal A and the image information storage unit 141 of the server Z. This means that the entity image can be used through the screen of the image gateway service X even if the entity image stored in either storage destination is lost.

A fifth effect is that the cost for centrally managing and storing a large amount of entity information photographed by a plurality of imaging terminals with a Web server can be reduced. Regarding costs, it is necessary to consider the costs of the following three parties. The cost of the operator of the image gateway service X, the cost of the operator of the storage service Z, and the cost of the user A.

First, the cost of the operator of the image gateway service X is examined. Up to now, a Web service or storage service that stores entity images on a server has to store all the entity images in a storage unit in the service server. For this reason, unless there is a limit on the capacity of the entity image to be deposited from the user or the storage of image data larger than the upper limit capacity is not charged, the cost of the service provider increases and the maintenance and operation of the service becomes impossible. It was. However, according to the present invention, in the server X, all the entity images are temporarily stored in the temporary entity storage means 102. Thereafter, the entity images are moved to the information terminal and other storage services, and then the summary image storage means In 103, only the summary image is stored. Usually, since the capacity of the summary image is significantly smaller than that of the entity image, the amount of information per person stored in the server X can be reduced as compared with the conventional method. For this reason, the image gateway service X can reduce costs despite providing the user with an interface that handles all image information in a unified manner.

Next, the cost of the storage service Z operator will be considered. Most of the storage services on the Internet realize revenue by displaying advertisements on the screen in return for providing users with a screen for browsing image information and exchanging with acquaintances. In the conventional method, the cost for providing the storage capacity required per user often exceeds the advertising revenue. For this reason, the use of the storage service is limited to publishing photos on the Internet and introducing to acquaintances, and the number of visits by users has not increased, and revenue opportunities have been lost. According to the present invention, since the operator of the storage service Z can accept the entity image within a range commensurate with the advertising revenue, the frequency of visits to the storage service Z by the user is improved, and an increase in revenue can be expected.

Finally, consider the cost of user A. Until now, it has been complicated for a user to store an entity image in a plurality of storage destinations, and in reality, the entity image is often stored in one information terminal or one storage service. However, according to the present invention, a substantial image can be stored in an arbitrary storage destination without requiring a complicated operation. For this reason, for example, a large number of entity images can be stored in an empty storage unit among a plurality of information terminals. Alternatively, a plurality of Web storage services on the Internet can be used, and the entity images can be easily stored in a distributed manner so that each storage service can be used free of charge. As a result, compared with the conventional method, the cost for the user A to store a large number of substantial images is greatly reduced.

The sixth effect is the protection of privacy when storing image information with an Internet service. According to a conventional method, in all Internet services, when image information taken by a user is stored in a server, the image information is stored in association with the user ID of the Internet service. For this reason, at least the operator of the Internet service can specify all the entity images taken by individual users by searching the image information stored in the server from the user ID. In the method of the present invention, the image gateway service X is such that the entity images are only temporarily stored in the temporary entity storage means 102, and all the summary images are stored in association with the user UIDa. . Therefore, there are few privacy problems compared with the conventional method. Furthermore, when the entity image group is stored in the temporary entity storage unit 102 in association with the SPID, not the combination of PID and CIda, in step S1004, even if the operator of the image gateway service X uses it. There is no method for specifying an image taken by the person A with the imaging terminal A. This is realized because the SPID is expressed by the following equation, the calculation F is irreversible, and the association between CIDi and SPID is not stored in the server X.
SPIDn = F (PIDn, CIda)

The seventh effect is to perform various operations such as backup, printing, sending to acquaintances, displaying on information terminals and display terminals in a unified manner for all images taken by one user with multiple imaging terminals. This is a possible point. In the first, second, and third embodiments, the user A selects the image that the user wants to operate on the screen of the image gateway service X shown in FIG. I was able to print and send it to an acquaintance. At this time, the user A does not need to be aware of which imaging terminal each image was shot at and the storage location of the real image. In addition, it is not necessary to be aware of whether the image destination is a Web service or a display terminal or an information terminal.

The eighth effect is that the user of the image gateway service X can easily share and share image information by using the acquaintance relationship of other web services uniformly in the image gateway service X. This is a possible point. Most Internet users use various Web services and have acquaintances with each service. For example, a user has a list of recipients in an e-mail service, a list of acquaintances for exchanging diaries in an SNS service, a list of contacts in a messenger service such as chat or voice call, and exchange of photos in a photo sharing service May have a list of acquaintances. In the system according to the present invention, image information can be easily transmitted by selecting the acquaintance selection button 1333 of another service shown in FIG. 20 and selecting a web service that the bridge service Y wants to use the acquaintance list.

The ninth effect is that service expandability is high. As described above, in the present invention, the image gateway service X, the display terminal, the information terminal, and various web services cooperate to backup, display, print, and share information with other web services. Sending can be performed easily. In reality, there are many storage services on the Internet, image browsing services, print services, Web services having an acquaintance list, and the like. The method of the present invention can be realized even if the server X provides the functions provided by the server Y described so far. However, the server Y is responsible for the bridge function that links the image gateway service X with various terminals and servers, so that the server X does not need to be changed, and the corresponding storage service, print service, and web service having an acquaintance list can be provided. Can be added or deleted. For example, in step S1604 and step S2607, the server Y provides the information terminal A with the storage service selection screen shown in FIG. 19 and the Web service selection screen shown in FIG. Even if the storage service, print service, and Web service corresponding to the image gateway service X increase, according to the method of the present invention, only the bridge service Y needs to be supported, and the server X needs to be changed. There is no.

Furthermore, in the present invention, there may be a plurality of image gateway services X. For example, an image gateway service R is further connected to the network 199 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and this cooperates with storage services Z and W, print services U and T, and Web services V and S, respectively. Think about the situation. Even in such a case, only the mechanism corresponding to the image gateway service R is added to the server Y, and without changing the Z, W, U, T, V, and S servers, the first described above. To the eighth effect can also be provided to the user of the image gateway service R.

Claims (1)

A server that provides network services,
From the first imaging device of the first user, it receives the first imaging terminal ID uniquely specifying the first image data group and the first imaging device comprising a plurality of image information,
A first image ID that uniquely identifies first image information that is one piece of image information in the first image information group, the first imaging terminal ID, and the first image information. Store in association with the first storage means,
A second image ID for uniquely identifying second image information, which is another piece of image information in the first image information group sent from the first imaging terminal, and the first imaging terminal Storing the ID in association with the second image information in the first storage means;
Receiving the first user ID and the first imaging terminal ID for identifying the first user among the users of the network service from the first information terminal of the first user;
Storing the first user ID and the first imaging terminal ID in association with each other in a second storage unit;
Search the second storage means using the first user ID as a search key, extract the first imaging terminal ID as a search result,
The first storage means is searched using the extracted first imaging terminal ID as a search key, and the first image information and the second image information are extracted as search results,
Generating a first summary image representing the extracted first image information and having a smaller amount of information than the first image information;
Generating a second summary image representing the extracted second image information and having a smaller amount of information than the second image information;
Storing the first summary image in a third storage means in association with the first imaging terminal ID and the first image ID;
Storing the second summary image in the third storage means in association with the first imaging terminal ID and the second image ID;
Sending the first summary image and the second summary image to the first information terminal;
Receiving information indicating that the first user has selected the second summary image from the first information terminal;
Redirecting the connection with the first information terminal to a server of a bridge service that displays a storage service selection screen on the first information terminal;
Receiving information indicating that a storage service server has been selected as a storage destination from the bridge service server ;
Searching the first storage means using the first imaging terminal ID and the second image ID as a search key, and extracting the second image information;
The second image information, sends the second image ID, and the first image pickup device ID to the server before Symbol selected storage services,
Receiving from the first information terminal information indicating that an acquaintance of the Web service has been selected as the destination;
Receiving from the storage service server information indicating that the storage service server has authenticated the first user through the first information terminal;
For the search in the storage service server, the second image ID and the first imaging terminal ID are sent to the storage service server,
Receiving the second image information from the storage service server;
The server of the bridge service, and requests to send the Web service selection request screen to the first information terminal,
An image sending URL is generated, and the image sending URL is associated with the second image information received from the storage service server and stored in a fourth storage means,
Sending the image sending URL to the information terminal of the first user and a third user who is an acquaintance of the Web service via the Web service server;
According to the request to the image sending URL from the third user of the information terminal, the second image information stored in said fourth storage means, sending to said third user of the information terminal Feature server.