JP6082063B2 - Image transmitting apparatus and image transmitting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image transmission apparatus and an image transmission method, and more particularly to a technique for dividing and transmitting an image file to be transmitted.

  Conventionally, an image file obtained by reading a document with a scanner device or the like, or an image file received from an external device such as a PC (Personal Computer) is attached to an e-mail and transmitted to a desired destination via a network. Technology is known. At this time, the problem is the size of the image file. In a mail server, it is common to limit the size of an attached file. If an image file is unconditionally attached to an e-mail, the e-mail itself may not be delivered due to this limitation.

  For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a communication device that, when an image file composed of a plurality of pages is attached to an e-mail and transmitted, divides the image file into pages and transmits it to the other party. Has been.

  In Patent Document 2 described later, when an image file is converted into an electronic mail format and transmitted, when the data amount of the image file exceeds the limit data amount set by the mail server, the image file is stored. An image communication apparatus is disclosed that divides the data so that the data amount is smaller than the limit data amount, converts the data amount into a mail format, and transmits the data.

  By dividing and transmitting the image file as described above, it is possible to avoid problems such as a transmission error caused by a limitation on the network system such as a mail server capacity limitation and network traffic congestion avoidance.

JP 2004-23501 A JP 2004-194080 A

  In the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, an image file is divided by a line for each page or a line immediately before exceeding the limit data amount. As a result, for example, when the image file is document data, sentences included in the same chapter may be included in different image files. When confirming, there is a possibility that it is difficult to find a portion to be referred to. Further, there is a possibility that the user needs to redo and re-divide the image file on the PC, and there is a problem that it is not convenient for the user.

  As described above, in the conventional technique, the image file is often divided at a position not intended by the user, and there is a problem that inconvenience is likely to occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image transmission apparatus and an image transmission method that are capable of transmitting an image file without causing problems such as a transmission error and that are excellent in user convenience.

  An image transmission device according to a first aspect of the present invention divides a display unit for displaying a preview image based on an image file to be transmitted and an image file of the preview image displayed on the display unit in units of pages. Therefore, an input receiving unit for receiving a user input designating a delimiter position of the image file, a dividing unit for dividing the image file at the delimiter position received by the input receiving unit, and an image divided by the dividing unit Transmitting means for transmitting the file. As described above, since the image file is divided and transmitted at the delimiter position, the image file can be transmitted without causing problems such as a transmission error. Further, since the user can designate a desired separation position by the input receiving means, it is easy to confirm the contents of the divided image file. Furthermore, it is possible to save the user from having to re-divide and synthesize image files after division on the PC. Therefore, user convenience is improved.

  Preferably, the input receiving unit includes a user input receiving unit for receiving a user input for a portion other than the preview image as a user input for designating a separation position. Accordingly, the user can easily specify a desired break position, and thus the user convenience is further improved.

  More preferably, the display unit displays a page number of the preview image together with the preview image based on the image file to be transmitted, and the user input reception unit is displayed on the display unit as a user input for designating a separation position. Accept user input for existing page numbers. Accordingly, the user can more easily specify a desired break position, and thus the user convenience is further improved.

  More preferably, the dividing unit divides the image file to be transmitted in units of pages immediately before the preview image corresponding to the received page number in response to the user input receiving unit receiving the user input for the page number. Including file dividing means. More preferably, the dividing unit divides the image file to be transmitted in units of pages immediately after the preview image corresponding to the received page number in response to the user input receiving unit receiving the user input for the page number. Including file dividing means.

  An image transmission method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a display step of displaying a preview image based on an image file to be transmitted on a display device, and an image file of the preview image displayed on the display device in the display step in units of pages. In order to divide the image file, a reception step for accepting a user input specifying a separation position of the image file, a division step for dividing the image file at the separation position received in the reception step, and an image file divided in the division step are transmitted. And a transmitting step.

  According to the present invention, since the image file is transmitted after being divided at the delimiter position, the image file can be transmitted without causing problems such as a transmission error. Further, since the user can designate a desired separation position by the input receiving means, it is easy to confirm the contents of the divided image file. Furthermore, it is possible to save the user from having to re-divide and synthesize image files after division on the PC. Therefore, user convenience is improved.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the network system which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating the dividing method of an image file. It is a flowchart which shows the control structure of the computer program for implement | achieving an image file division | segmentation process. It is a flowchart which shows the control structure of the computer program for implement | achieving a division | segmentation position designation | designated process. It is a figure which shows an example of the transmission setting screen for performing various settings in an email transmission process. It is a figure which shows an example of an image file. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a preview image. It is a figure which shows the image transmission screen when a special function key is pressed down. It is a figure which shows the image transmission screen when the division | segmentation designation | designated key is pressed down. It is a figure which shows the image transmission screen when a division | segmentation position is determined. It is a figure which shows the image transmission screen when a division | segmentation position is determined. It is a figure which shows the image transmission screen when the determined division | segmentation position is cancelled | released. It is a figure which shows the image transmission screen when a completion key is pressed down.

  In the following description and drawings, the same reference numerals and names are assigned to the same components. Their functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  Referring to FIG. 1, network system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes client PCs 101, 102 and 103, image forming apparatuses 104, 105 and 106, and a mail server 107. These devices are connected to each other via a network 108 formed of a LAN (Local Area Network) line or the like, and can transmit and receive various data to and from each other. The numbers of client PCs and image forming apparatuses are not limited to the three shown in FIG.

  The client PCs 101, 102, and 103 are terminal devices that are operated by general users to use the image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106 and the mail server 107. The client PCs 101, 102, and 103 are installed with application programs such as a graphic drawing tool and a word processor, and a printer driver for realizing a print job of image data. The client PCs 101, 102, and 103 create application data for outputting an image including characters, graphics, and the like according to an instruction from a user who uses the application program, and the created application data is generated by a printer driver using a PDL (Page It is converted to (Description Language) data and transmitted to the image forming apparatuses 104, 105 and 106 as an image file.

  Further, the client PCs 101, 102 and 103 confirm with the mail server 107 whether or not there is an e-mail addressed to itself, and if there is an e-mail addressed to itself, the client PC 101, 102 and 103 receives the e-mail addressed to the self from the mail server 107. be able to.

  The image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106 are MFPs (Multifunction Printers) having a scanner function, a copy function, a printer function, an e-mail transmission function, and the like. The detailed configuration of the image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106 will be described later.

  The mail server 107 is a server device for sending and receiving electronic mail within the network 108. The mail server 107 stores e-mails sent to the users of the client PCs 101, 102, and 103, and in response to a user's reception request, the stored e-mails are sent to the requesting client PCs 101, 102, or 103. Send to.

  In the present embodiment, mail server 107 limits the amount of e-mail data to a predetermined capacity (hereinafter referred to as “first limited capacity”). In other words, the mail server 107 does not receive an e-mail when the amount of e-mail data exceeds the first limit capacity.

  In the network system 1, the image forming apparatus 104, 105, or 106 converts an image file generated based on a document image by the scanner function or an image file received from the client PC 101, 102, or 103 into an e-mail format. Attached to the e-mail, the client PC 101, 102 or 103 is sent to the mail server 107 as the destination. The mail server 107 stores the received electronic mail for each of the client PCs 101, 102, and 103. The client PC 101, 102, or 103 confirms with the mail server 107 whether or not there is an e-mail addressed to itself, and if there is an e-mail addressed to itself, receives the e-mail addressed to the self from the mail server 107.

[Image forming apparatuses 104, 105 and 106]
The image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106 have the same configuration. Hereinafter, as a representative example, the configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus 104 will be described.

<Hardware configuration>
Referring to FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 104 includes a control unit 110, an operation panel 112, an image reading unit 114, an image processing unit 116, an image forming unit 118, a mail generation unit 120, and a communication unit 124.

  The control unit 110 is substantially a computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 130, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 132, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 134, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 136, and a flash memory 138. Including. A bus line 122 is connected to the CPU 130, and a ROM 132, a RAM 134, an HDD 136, and a flash memory 138 are electrically connected to the bus line 122. The CPU 130 executes various computer programs in response to instructions from an external device such as the client PCs 101, 102, and 103, or the operation panel 112, thereby performing operations of each unit of the image forming apparatus 104 and communication with the external device. Perform the desired process. The various computer programs are stored in advance in the ROM 132 or the HDD 136, and are read from the ROM 132 or the HDD 136 and transferred to the RAM 134 when desired processing is executed. The CPU 130 reads and interprets a program instruction from an address in the RAM 134 specified by a value stored in a register called a program counter (not shown) in the CPU 130. CPU 130 also reads data necessary for the operation from the address specified by the read instruction, and executes an operation corresponding to the instruction on the data. The execution result is also stored at an address specified by the instruction, such as a register in the RAM 134, HDD 136, and CPU 130.

  The HDD 136 and the flash memory 138 store various data such as image data. The HDD 136 stores a computer program for realizing general operations of the image forming apparatus 104 and a computer program for realizing image file division processing and division position designation processing described later.

  Further, an operation panel 112, an image reading unit 114, an image processing unit 116, an image forming unit 118, a mail generation unit 120, and a communication unit 124 are electrically connected to the bus line 122.

  The operation panel 112 includes a display unit 140 formed of a liquid crystal display and an operation unit 142 formed of various hardware keys and a touch panel. The operation panel 112 provides an interactive operation interface to the user, which is configured by overlapping a liquid crystal display and a touch panel. The interactive operation interface receives a user instruction from the touch panel, displays the contents of the instruction on the liquid crystal display, and sends a control signal corresponding to the instruction to the MPU (Micro Processing) of the control unit 110 or the image processing unit 116. (Unit). The operation unit 142 includes, as various hardware keys, a power button for inputting a power-on instruction and a power-off instruction, and a start key for starting various processes such as a printing process and an e-mail transmission process.

  In the present embodiment, the administrator of the image forming apparatus 104 can perform various settings in the e-mail transmission process by an input operation on the operation panel 112. For example, the administrator can set the data amount of the e-mail to be transmitted to be limited to a predetermined capacity (hereinafter referred to as “second limited capacity”). The administrator can further set the image file dividing method to one of a first dividing method and a second dividing method to be described later. Further, the administrator can set the transmission error notification method to one of a method for displaying an error message and a method for notifying an error message by electronic mail.

  In the present embodiment, the user of the image forming apparatus 104 can perform various settings for special functions to be described later by an input operation on the operation panel 112.

  The image reading unit 114 is a scanner device including a document scanning unit including a light source, a reflection mirror, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) line sensor (none of which is shown). The document scanning unit irradiates light from a light source onto an image surface of a document placed on a document placement table (not shown) manually by a user or by an automatic document feeder (not shown). Thus, a reflected light image is obtained. The reflection mirror and the optical lens form the resulting reflected light image on the CCD line sensor. The CCD line sensor sequentially photoelectrically converts the formed reflected light image to generate an image file.

  The image processing unit 116 includes an MPU (not shown). The image processing unit 116 performs predetermined image processing such as rasterization processing on the image file input from the image reading unit 114 to generate print data of a predetermined gradation, and the image forming unit 118 Output.

  The image processing unit 116 further divides an image file input from the image reading unit 114 or an image file received from the client PC 101, 102, or 103 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110. ). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the image processing unit 116 divides an image file by one of the first division method and the second division method described below.

  Referring to FIG. 3, for example, an image file 150 including a page where a chapter heading “2.1 setting” is provided in the middle of the page (hereinafter referred to as “division target page”) is divided immediately before the chapter heading. And divided into a first image file and a second image file.

  In the first division method, the image file 150 is divided so that the page to be divided becomes the last page 152 of the first image file, and the page to which the page to be divided is copied becomes the first page 154 of the second image file. Is done. When the image file is divided by the first division method, the pages 152 and 154 include portions where the contents overlap. As a result, the user can easily grasp the context of the contents of the first image file and the second image file.

  In the second division method, first, the image file 150 is set such that the page to be divided becomes the last page 156 of the first image file, and the page obtained by copying the page to be divided becomes the first page 158 of the second image file. Is divided. Further, on page 156, the portion after the dividing position (ie, immediately before the chapter heading) (ie, the beginning of the second chapter) is deleted by inserting blank data, and on page 158, the portion before the dividing position is deleted. (Ie, the end of Chapter 1) is deleted by inserting blank data. When divided by the second division method, the page 156 and the page 158 do not include a portion where the contents overlap. As a result, the user can save the trouble of deleting overlapping parts when organizing and storing image files.

  The image forming unit 118 includes an image memory and a printing unit (both not shown). The image memory includes a RAM and temporarily stores print data in units of pages. The image memory receives the print data input from the image processing unit 116 or the print data (image file) transmitted from the client PCs 101, 102, 103, and the like for transmission to the printing unit in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110 or the like. Are temporarily stored in units of pages, and the stored print data is output to the printing unit in synchronization with image formation by the printing unit. The printing unit is detachably attached to the photosensitive drum, the charger, the LSU (Laser Scanning Unit), the developing device, the transfer device, the cleaning device, the fixing device (none of which is shown), and the image forming apparatus 104. A toner cartridge. The printing unit further includes a manual paper feed tray, a first paper feed tray, and a second paper feed tray (none of which are shown) that are detachably attached to the image forming apparatus 104. These paper feed trays are installed so as to be lined up and down in this order, hold the recording paper, and feed the recording paper to a paper transport unit (not shown). The manual paper feed tray is a tray for a user to manually place desired recording paper, and the first paper feed tray and the second paper feed tray are trays for holding recording papers of different sizes. . The printing unit prints an image based on the print data transmitted from the image memory on a recording sheet conveyed from one of the paper feed trays via the sheet conveying unit in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110 or the like. .

  The mail generation unit 120 performs compression encoding processing on the image file to be transmitted in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110 to convert the image file into a predetermined email format, and attaches the converted data to the email. Generate email. The format of the compression encoding process of the image file is not particularly limited, but a TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format or the like can be used.

  The communication unit 124 interfaces with the network 108. The image forming apparatus 104 can perform data communication according to a predetermined communication protocol with the client PCs 101, 102, and 103 and the mail server 107 on the network 108 via the communication unit 124. For example, the communication unit 124 can transmit the electronic mail created by the mail generation unit 120 to the mail server 107 through, for example, a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) connection.

  The image forming apparatus 104 operates each unit described above to read and print a document image on a recording sheet in accordance with an instruction based on a user input operation on the operation panel 112 or an instruction from the client PCs 101, 102, and 103. A copy mode, a printer mode in which print data (image file) transmitted from the client PCs 101, 102, 103, etc. is received and recorded on recording paper, a scanner mode in which an original image is read and transmitted to the client PCs 101, 102, 103, etc., and Then, any one of various modes such as an e-mail transmission mode in which the read image file or the received image file is converted into an e-mail format and attached to the e-mail and transmitted to the mail server 107 is executed.

<Software configuration>
(Image file division processing)
The computer program for realizing the image file division processing is generated when the image reading unit 114 generates an image file to be transmitted by e-mail or when the communication unit 124 receives the image file to be transmitted by e-mail. It is activated. At the start of execution of the program, the display unit 140 displays an image transmission screen for designating the transmission mode of the image file (for example, division position, page deletion, page insertion, etc.). Shall.

  Referring to FIG. 4, this program reads step S101 for reading an image file, step S102 for causing display unit 140 to display a preview image based on the read image file on the image transmission screen, and the image transmission screen. Step S103 that waits until the displayed special function key is pressed.

  Here, the special function indicates a function for designating an image file transmission mode. In the present embodiment, as a subordinate function (submenu) of the special function, a page deletion function for determining a page to be deleted, a division position specifying function for determining a division position of an image file, and an insertion target There is a page insertion function for determining the page and the insertion position. When the special function key is pressed by the user, a window including various keys (a page delete key, a division designation key, and a page insertion key) for selecting a special function submenu is displayed in the vicinity of the special function key. Is displayed. When one of various keys displayed on the window is pressed by the user, the window display ends.

  This program is further executed in step S103 when it is determined that the special function key is pressed (in the case of YES), and waits until the division designation key displayed in the window is pressed. Step S104 is executed when it is determined that the division designation key is pressed (in the case of YES), and includes Step S105 for executing division position designation processing described later.

  This program is further executed in steps S106 for waiting until the start key displayed on the image transmission screen is pressed, and if it is determined in step S106 that the start key is pressed (in the case of YES) The generation unit 120 includes step S107 for generating an e-mail for each of the divided image files.

  The program further determines whether or not any of the generated e-mails exceeds the second capacity limit in steps S108 and S108, and exceeds the second capacity limit. Step S109 is executed when it is determined that there is nothing (NO), and the generated electronic mail is transmitted to the mail server 107 with the client PC 101, 102 or 103 as the destination.

  This program is further executed when it is determined in step S108 that there is one exceeding the second capacity limit (in the case of YES), and the e-mail to be transmitted exceeds the capacity limit. A step S110 of notifying an error message to be shown.

(Division position specification processing)
Referring to FIG. 5, the computer program for realizing the division position designation process uses a division key for designating a division position on display unit 140 instead of the special function key, and the determined division position. Step S201 for displaying a release key for canceling and Step S202 for determining whether or not the split key is pressed are included.

  This program is further executed when it is determined in step S202 that the split key has been pressed (in the case of YES), and step S203 for determining whether or not a part of the preview image has been touched, and step S203. Step S204 is executed when it is determined that a part of the preview image has been touched (in the case of YES), and the touched part is determined as a division position.

  The program further determines that the split key is not pressed in step S202 (in the case of NO), or if it is determined in step S203 that a part of the preview image is not touched ( Step S205 for determining whether or not the release key has been pressed, and if it is determined in Step S205 that the release key has been pressed (in the case of YES) Step S206 for determining whether or not the division position has been touched. When it is determined in step S206 that the division position to be released has been touched (in the case of YES), the division position that has been touched is determined. And step S207 for releasing from the divided position.

  This program is further processed after step S204, after step S207, when it is determined in step S205 that the release key is not pressed (in the case of NO), or in step S206, the division position to be released. Step S208 is executed when it is determined that the touch button is not touched (in the case of NO), and it is determined whether or not a completion key (a completion key 510 described later) displayed on the image transmission screen has been pressed. If it is determined in step S208 that the completion key has not been pressed (NO), the control returns to step S202.

  This program is further executed when it is determined in step S208 that the completion key has been pressed (in the case of YES), and causes the display unit 140 to display a special function key instead of the split key and the release key. Step S209 is included.

<Operation>
1 to 14, image forming apparatus 104 according to the present embodiment operates as follows. Except for the following operations, the general operation of the image forming apparatus 104 is the same as that of the conventional image forming apparatus. In the following operation, it is assumed that the client PC 101 and the image forming apparatus 104 are in a power-on state.

  The administrator of the image forming apparatus 104 issues an instruction by an input operation on the operation panel 112 in order to perform various settings in the e-mail transmission process, and causes the display unit 140 to display a transmission setting screen 160 (see FIG. 6). Referring to FIG. 6, the administrator checks check boxes 162 and 164 displayed on transmission setting screen 160 by an input operation on operation panel 112. As a result, a process for dividing and transmitting the image file is selected, and a process for blanking the remaining part of the previous chapter, that is, the above-described second dividing method is selected as the image file dividing method. When the check box 162 is checked by the administrator and the check box 164 is unchecked, the first division method described above is selected as the image file division method. When the check box 162 is unchecked, processing for transmitting an image file without dividing it is selected.

  The administrator further checks the check box 166 by an input operation on the operation panel 112, inputs the character string “2 MB” into the text field 168, and clears the check box 170. As a result, a process for limiting the amount of data of the e-mail to be transmitted is selected, the upper limit value of the second limit capacity is set to 2 MB, and an error message is displayed as a transmission error notification method. A method is selected. Note that the administrator sets a value that does not exceed the first limit capacity as the upper limit value of the second limit capacity. When the check box 170 is checked by the administrator, a method of notifying an error message by e-mail is selected as a transmission error notification method. When the check box 166 is unchecked, processing that does not limit the amount of data of the e-mail to be transmitted is selected.

  After performing the various settings described above, the administrator presses the OK button 172 by an input operation on the operation panel 112. When the OK button 172 is pressed, the display of the transmission setting screen 160 ends, and the selected process and method and the input numerical value are confirmed and reflected in the setting.

  The user of the image forming apparatus 104 sets the operation mode to the image transmission mode by an input operation on the operation panel 112. When the image transmission mode is set, the image transmission screen is displayed on the display unit 140.

  A user places a plurality of (in the present embodiment, five) documents on an automatic document feeder (not shown), and an input operation on the operation panel 112 causes a mail of the client PC 101 that is a transmission destination. After inputting the address, the start key of the operation unit 142 is pressed to issue an instruction to request transmission of scan data by e-mail (hereinafter referred to as “scan data transmission instruction”).

  When a scan data transmission instruction is given, the image reading unit 114 sequentially reads five documents placed on the automatic document feeder, and converts the read image information into an image file. Referring to FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, the created image file 200 is assumed to be composed of document data 202 to 210 for five pages.

  When the image file 200 to be sent as an e-mail is generated by the image reading unit 114, the CPU 130 reads the created image file 200 (step S101), and the display unit 140 displays a preview image based on the read image file 200. Is displayed on the image transmission screen (step S102).

  Referring to FIG. 8, four pages of preview images 304 to 310 based on document data 204 to 210 are displayed at the center of image transmission screen 300. In the present embodiment, the preview image based on all the document data 202 to 210 cannot be displayed at the same time in the center of the screen 300. The user can change the preview image to be displayed by pressing the wavy line marks 312 and 314 displayed at the right end and the left end of the screen 300, respectively. For example, when the user presses the wavy mark 314 while the preview images 304 to 310 are displayed, four pages of preview images based on the document data 202 to 208 are displayed in the center of the screen 300. The On the screen 300, together with the preview images 304 to 310, a special function key 316, a completion key 511 for instructing the end of the preview image confirmation screen, and a start key 512 for instructing the start of e-mail transmission processing. Is displayed.

  The user confirms the displayed preview image and presses the special function key 316 displayed on the screen 300. When special function key 316 is pressed (YES in step S103), display unit 140 displays window 400 (see FIG. 9) in the vicinity of special function key 316. Referring to FIG. 9, window 400 displays page delete key 402, division designation key 404, and page insertion key 406 for selecting a special function submenu.

  The user presses a division designation key 404 to designate the division position of the image file 200. When division designation key 404 is pressed (YES in step S104), display of window 400 ends and division position designation processing is executed (step S105).

  Referring to FIG. 10, when the division position designation process is started, a division key 502 and a release key 504 are displayed on the screen 300 in place of the special function key 316 (step S201). A screen 300 when the split key 502 and the cancel key 504 are displayed is a screen for allowing the user to specify a split position. At this time, a completion key 510 for instructing the screen 300 to transition to the confirmation screen for the preview image is displayed on the screen 300. When the preview images 308 and 310 for which the division positions are desired are not displayed on the screen 300, the user presses the wavy marks 312 and 314 to display the preview images 308 and 310 in the center of the screen 300. After that, the division key 502 is pressed. When division key 502 is pressed (YES in step S202), image forming apparatus 104 shifts to a division mode.

  The user touches a part on the preview image 308. When a part of preview image 308 is touched (YES in step S203), CPU 130 determines the touched part as a division position (step S204). Referring to FIG. 11, when the division position is determined, a line 506 indicating the determined division position is displayed in a portion touched by the user (in this case, a portion immediately before the chapter heading “3. Conclusion”). Is displayed.

  The user further touches a part on the preview image 310 to determine another division position. When a part of preview image 310 is touched (YES in step S203), CPU 130 determines the touched part as a division position (step S204). Referring to FIG. 12, when the division position is determined, a line 508 indicating the determined division position is displayed on the part touched by the user (in this case, the middle part of the text of Chapter 3). The

  After confirming the line 508, the user desires to release the determined division position and presses the release key 504. If cancel key 504 is pressed (YES in step S205), image forming apparatus 104 transitions to a cancel mode.

  The user touches the position of the line 508 in the preview image 310. When the position of line 508 is touched, CPU 130 determines that the division position to be released has been touched (YES in step S206), and releases the touched division position from the determined division position (step S207). ). Referring to FIG. 13, when the touched split position is released, display of line 508 indicating the determined split position is terminated (inside reference to broken line circle 509 in FIG. 13).

  After confirming the determined division position (that is, line 506), the user presses the completion key 510 (see FIG. 13). When complete key 510 is pressed (YES in step S208), special function key 316 is displayed on screen 300 in place of split key 502 and release key 504 as shown in FIG. 14 (step S209). ). As a result, the screen 300 transitions to a preview image confirmation screen.

  Further, in response to the completion key 510 being pressed, the image processing unit 116 divides the image file 200 at the determined division position (that is, the position of the line 506) according to the second division method. Referring to FIG. 14, the image file 200 is divided at the position of a line 506 (see FIG. 13), and thereby two image files 600 and 602 are created. In the preview image 604 based on the document data 208, which is the last page of the image file 600, the contents after the division position (that is, the beginning of Chapter 3) are deleted. In the preview image 606 based on the copy data of the document data 208, which is the first page of the image file 602, the content before the division position (that is, the end of Chapter 2) is deleted.

  When the image file 200 is divided by the image processing unit 116, a mark 514 and a line 516 indicating the separation position of the image files 600 and 602 are displayed at the center of the screen 300 together with a preview image based on the divided image files 600 and 602. Is displayed.

  After determining the division position of the image file, the user presses the special function key 316 again when desiring to determine the page to be deleted or the page to be inserted and the insertion position. The user presses the page deletion key 402 or the page insertion key 406 on the window 400 displayed in response to pressing of the special function key 316, and performs setting corresponding to the pressed key. When the corresponding setting is made, the image processing unit 116 performs image processing (page deletion or page insertion) on the image file 200 based on the setting content. In the center of the screen 300, a preview image that reflects the setting contents is displayed.

  The user confirms the setting contents by looking at the preview image, and presses the start key 512. When start key 512 is pressed (YES in step S106), mail generation unit 120 generates an e-mail for each of divided image files 600 and 602 (step S107). That is, the mail generation unit 120 converts each of the divided files 600 and 602 into a predetermined electronic mail format, and generates an electronic mail with the converted data attached thereto. CPU 130 determines whether any of the two generated e-mails exceeds the second limit capacity (here, 2 MB) (step S108).

  If no two e-mails exceed the second limit capacity (NO in step S108), CPU 130 sends the two e-mails to mail server 107 with client PC 101 as the destination. (Step S109). The mail server 107 stores the received mail in association with the client PC 101. The client PC 101 confirms with the mail server 107 that there is an e-mail addressed to itself, and receives the e-mail addressed to itself from the mail server 107.

  If any of the two e-mails exceeds the second limit capacity (YES in step S108), the display unit 140 indicates that the e-mail to be transmitted exceeds the limit capacity. Is displayed (step S110).

  When the user wants to divide the image file 200 in the middle of the page, the user may touch the desired portion in the preview image to be divided after pressing the division key 502 as described above. When it is desired to divide and divide by page position (that is, to divide immediately before (or immediately after) a page), the page number (for example, “p.4”) of the preview image to be divided may be touched.

  The user can also transmit without dividing the image file by pressing the start key 512 without designating the division position.

  In addition, when a method for notifying an error message by e-mail is set as a transmission error notification method, the e-mail including the error message described above is sent to the client PC 101 that is the transmission source of the e-mail transmission instruction. It is transmitted to the mail server 107 as a destination. The mail server 107 stores the received mail in association with the client PC 101. The client PC 101 confirms with the mail server 107 that there is an e-mail addressed to itself, and receives the e-mail addressed to itself from the mail server 107.

<Action and effect>
According to the above embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 104, the operation panel 112 accepts user input for setting a separation position (that is, a division position) in an image file to be transmitted, and the image processing unit 116 is operated by the operation panel 112. The mail generation unit 120 transmits the image file divided by the image processing unit 116. As described above, since the image file is divided and transmitted at the delimiter position, the image file can be transmitted without causing problems such as a transmission error. In addition, since the user can set a desired separation position using the operation panel 112, it is easy to check the contents of the divided image file. Furthermore, it is possible to save the user from having to re-divide and synthesize image files after division on the PC. Therefore, user convenience is improved.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 104, the display unit 140 displays a preview image based on the image file to be transmitted, and the operation panel 112 receives a user input for designating a separation position on the preview image. By accepting, a user input for setting a separation position in the image file is accepted. Accordingly, the user can set a desired break position more easily, and thus the usability of the user is further improved.

  Further, according to the embodiment, the display unit 140 displays a preview image based on the image file divided by the image processing unit 116 in response to the image processing unit 116 dividing the image file. Accordingly, the user can check the contents of the divided image file, and thus the user convenience is further improved.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 104, the CPU 130 determines whether or not there is an image file divided by the image processing unit 116 that exceeds a predetermined data amount. When the CPU 130 determines that there is an amount exceeding the predetermined data amount, the display unit 140 displays an error message, or the communication unit 124 transmits an e-mail including the error message. The occurrence of an error is notified. Thereby, the user can easily know that the divided image file does not satisfy the limit such as the capacity limit of the mail server. Therefore, problems such as transmission errors can be easily avoided.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 104, the image reading unit 114 reads an image of a document and converts the read image information into an image file to be transmitted. Thus, the user can divide an image file read by a scanner device or the like at a desired separation position. Therefore, the user convenience is further improved.

<Modification>
According to the above embodiment, when the user changes the determined division position, the user needs to once cancel the determined division position and then determine the division position again. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment. For example, the determined division position may be changed by dragging and dropping the determined division position.

  In the above embodiment, an image file based on an original image read by the image reading unit 114 of the image forming apparatus 104 is used as an image file to be subjected to image file division processing. The form is not limited. For example, an image file (PDL data) converted by a printer driver based on application data created by the client PCs 101, 102, and 103 may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the image file division process is executed when a scan data transmission instruction is issued. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the image file division process may be executed when an instruction is given to send an e-mail of scan data simultaneously with the copy process.

  In the above embodiment, the administrator of the image forming apparatus 104 performs various settings in the e-mail transmission process, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, a user who has performed user authentication with a user ID may perform various settings in the e-mail transmission process, and the settings may be registered for each user ID.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when there is an e-mail that exceeds the second capacity limit, the e-mail transmission process is not executed. The form is not limited. For example, only e-mails exceeding the limit capacity may not be transmitted, and other e-mails not exceeding the limit capacity may be transmitted.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 104 is exemplified as the image transmitting apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and may be a scanner apparatus, for example.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. The scope of the present invention is indicated by each claim in the scope of claims after taking into account the description of the detailed description of the invention, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the wording described therein are included. Including.

1 Network system 101, 102, 103 Client PC
104, 105, 106 Image forming apparatus 107 Mail server 112 Operation panel 114 Image reading unit 116 Image processing unit 118 Image forming unit 120 Mail generating unit 124 Communication unit 130 CPU
140 display

Claims (6)

Display means for displaying a preview image based on the image file to be transmitted for each page ;
An input receiving unit for receiving a user input for designating a delimiter position of the image file in order to divide the image file of the preview image displayed on the display unit in units of pages;
A dividing unit for dividing the image file at a separation position received by the input receiving unit;
An image transmission apparatus comprising: transmission means for transmitting the image file divided by the dividing means.   The image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input receiving unit includes a user input receiving unit for receiving a user input for a portion other than a preview image as a user input for designating the separation position. The display means displays a page number of the preview image together with a preview image based on the image file to be transmitted,
The image transmission apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the user input reception unit receives a user input for a page number displayed on the display unit as a user input designating the separation position.   The dividing unit divides the image file to be transmitted in units of pages immediately before the preview image corresponding to the received page number in response to the user input receiving unit receiving a user input for the page number. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a file dividing unit.   The dividing unit divides the image file to be transmitted in page units immediately after the preview image corresponding to the received page number in response to the user input receiving unit receiving a user input for the page number. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a file dividing unit. A display step of displaying a preview image based on an image file to be transmitted on a display device for each page ;
An accepting step of receiving a user input designating a delimiter position of the image file in order to divide the image file of the preview image displayed on the display device in the display step in units of pages;
A dividing step of dividing the image file at the dividing position received in the receiving step;
A transmission step of transmitting the image file divided in the division step.

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