JP2000115446A - Server terminal, client terminal, network system, method for utilizing device on network and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user, using a terminal connecting to an image reader, to unnecessarily interrupt a job conducted at present. SOLUTION: The server terminal is provided with an image reader 1B, that connects locally to a terminal connecting to a network, a device control means that controls the operation of the image reader 1B to acquire read data and sets a read parameter to the image reader 1B, and a server extension means that communicates data with the read device control means, to control the image reader 1B and transfers the data read by the image reader 1B to a client terminal connecting to the network so that the image reader 1B is shared in common on the network.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a server terminal device, a client terminal device, a network system, a network device utilization method, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional image reading apparatus is locally connected to a terminal device and cannot be shared by a plurality of terminal devices connected to a network. Therefore, the user goes to the terminal device to which the image reading device is connected, directly gives an image reading instruction using the image reading device, and stores the obtained image data in a desired place. Had to be done.

[0003]

As described above, since the image reading device is not shared on the network,
There is a problem that a user using the terminal device connected to the image reading device for another purpose has to temporarily suspend the work and give it to a user who wants to read the image.

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present invention enables a user who is using a terminal device to which the image reading device is connected to be able to share the image reading device over a network so that the user can now perform the work. It is a first object of the present invention to prevent any interruption of the process and to enable any user in the network to effectively use the resources of the image reading device on the network.

Further, by using a general-purpose interface with the image reading control function, it is possible to share any image reading device on a network without depending on a specific image reading device. Second
The purpose of.

Further, by using a network server function that can be converted into a general-purpose network protocol, control of image reading devices shared on a network can be controlled by a general browser or the like without being limited to a specific client. A third object is to make it possible to perform the above-mentioned operations.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a server terminal device comprising: an image reading device which is locally connected to a terminal device connected to a network; Acquisition and control of the image reading device by exchanging data between the reading device control means for setting reading parameters to the image reading device and the reading device control means, and reading by the image reading device. Server extension means for transferring the data to a client terminal device connected on the network. Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that the server terminal device includes a network server unit that converts data exchanged with the server extension unit into a general-purpose network protocol. Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that data exchange between the reading device control unit and the server extension unit is performed using a general-purpose interface. Features. Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that TWAIN is used as the protocol for controlling the image reading device. Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that the network is a public line. Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that image data obtained from the image reading device and the reading device control means is converted into image data designated by a client terminal device connected to the network. The image reading device and the reading device control unit can be shared on the network. Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that the server terminal device includes a parameter switching unit that dynamically switches a read setting parameter that can be set on the client terminal device according to the capability of the image reading device. It is characterized by: Another feature of the server terminal device of the present invention is that the server terminal device includes a failure information notifying unit that notifies the client terminal device of the failure information when any failure occurs in the image reading device. It is characterized by.

A client terminal device according to the present invention is a terminal device connected to a network, has a client application corresponding to a general-purpose network protocol, and performs a reading operation of an image reading device shared on the network. And acquires image data from the image reading device.

A network system according to the present invention comprises: an image reading device locally connected to a terminal device connected to a network; an operation of the image reading device; A reading device control unit for setting a reading parameter to a device, and exchanges data between the reading device control unit to control the image reading device, and transmits the data read by the image reading device to a client terminal device. A server terminal device having server extension means for transferring, and a terminal device connected to the network, having a client application corresponding to a general-purpose network protocol,
And a client terminal device for controlling a reading operation of the image reading device shared on the network and acquiring image data from the image reading device. Another feature of the network system of the present invention is that the network system further comprises a network server means for converting data exchanged with the server extension means into a general-purpose network protocol. Another feature of the network system of the present invention is that data exchange performed between the reading device control unit and the server extension unit is performed using a general-purpose interface. And Another feature of the network system of the present invention is that TWAIN is used as a protocol for controlling the image reading device. Another feature of the network system of the present invention is that the network is a public line. Another feature of the network system of the present invention is that the image processing apparatus further includes data conversion means for converting the image data obtained from the image reading device and the reading device control means into image data designated by the client terminal device. The image reading device and the reading device control means can be shared on a network. Another feature of the network system of the present invention is that the network system further comprises parameter switching means for dynamically switching read setting parameters that can be set on the client terminal device side according to the capability of the image reading device. Features. Other features of the network system of the present invention include:
It is characterized in that it comprises a failure information notifying means for notifying the client terminal device of the failure information when any failure occurs in the image reading device.

[0010] The method of using a network device according to the present invention comprises:
While controlling the operation of the image reading device locally connected to the terminal device connected to the network to acquire the read data, the predetermined reading parameter instructed from the client terminal device connected to the network is read. It is characterized in that a reading device control process to be set in the image reading device and a server extension process to transfer data read by the image reading device to the client terminal device are performed. Another feature of the network device utilization method of the present invention is that data is exchanged with the image reading device using a general-purpose interface. Another feature of the network device utilization method of the present invention is that the image reading device is controlled using a general-purpose network protocol obtained by using a network server function. .

[0011] The storage medium of the present invention is characterized in that a program for causing a computer to function as each of the above means is stored so as to be readable from the computer.
Another feature of the storage medium of the present invention is that a program for causing a computer to execute the procedure of the above-described network device utilization method is stored so as to be readable from the computer.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a server terminal device of the present invention,
An embodiment of a client terminal device, a network system, a network device utilization method, and a storage medium will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram showing the configuration of the image reading apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a system bus, and each constituent block to be described below is connected to the system bus. Reference numeral 2 denotes a CPU (Centrtal Processing Unit).

Reference numeral 3 denotes a program memory (referred to as PMEM), which stores a program for the image reading apparatus of this embodiment to perform a reading process on the hard disk 10 as appropriate.
, And is executed by the CPU 2.

Data input from the keyboard 12 is stored as code information in the PMEM 3 which is also a text memory. Reference numeral 4 denotes a communication control unit, and a communication port 5
Control of input / output data in.

The signal output from the communication port 5 is transmitted via the communication line 6 to the communication port of another terminal device on the network. Communication with the printer 18 and the image reading device 1B shared on the network is performed via the communication control unit 4.

In this embodiment, a network such as a LAN will be described. However, the present invention is applicable even if the communication port 5 and the communication line 6 connected to the communication control unit 4 are general public lines. Needless to say.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an external storage device control unit, and 9 and 10 are disks for data files. For example, 9 is a floppy disk.
A disk (referred to as FD) and 10 is a hard disk (referred to as HD).

Reference numeral 11 denotes an input control unit, which is a keyboard 1
2. An input device 13 such as a mouse is connected. The operator operates the keyboard 11 to issue a system operation command or the like. Reference numeral 13 as an input device is a pointing device (referred to as PD) for processing and instructing image information on the CRT 16, and a mouse is used in the present embodiment.

Thus, the cursor on the CRT 16 is arbitrarily moved in the X and Y directions to select a command icon on the command menu to give an instruction for processing, as well as an instruction for an edit target and an instruction for a drawing position. 14 is a video image memory (referred to as VRAM), 15 is a display output control unit, and 16 is a CRT. The data displayed on the CRT 16 is developed on the VRAM 11 as bitmap data.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a printer control unit, which controls output of data to the connected printer 18. 1
A is an image reading device control unit that controls the connected image reading device 1B. An external device control unit 19 controls an external device connected to a network.

In the present embodiment, the image reading server device requires the components of the image reading device control section 1A and the image reading device 1B, but the client terminal device has the communication control as described above. The same components that are shared on the server terminal device side via the unit 4 and the communication port 5 can be used.

Further, the configuration of FIG.
B and the image reading device are physically separate components, but the image reading device has the same function even if it is a single component including the image reading device 1B.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of each function in the image reading server terminal device of the present embodiment. here,
A description will be given on the assumption that a TWAIN device having a general-purpose interface is used as an image reading device, and an HTTP protocol is used as a general-purpose network protocol for controlling the exchange of read image data.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes an HTTP server module, which transmits data created on the server terminal device side to the client terminal device using the HTTP protocol. Alternatively, a process of passing information specified by the client terminal device to the server extension module 22 is performed.

The server extension module 22 analyzes the information passed from the HTTP server module and performs TWAI
N control the STUB module 23, the OCR module 24, and the image data format conversion module 25, and finally use the HTTP server module 21 to send the data read by the TWAIN device connected to the server terminal device to the client. Transfer to terminal device.

The STUB module for TWAIN control is
A list processing of a plurality of connected TWAIN drivers 26, a selection processing of a TWAIN driver from the list processing in accordance with a client instruction, a parameter setting for the driver, and image data obtained as a result. To the server extension module.

The OCR module 24 is called from the server extension module 22 when the client terminal device requests to convert the image data read by the TWAIN device 27 into document data.

The image data format conversion module is T
This is a module for converting the format of image data obtained from the WAIN device 27 into the image data format specified by the client terminal device. The TWAIN driver includes a plurality of TWs connected to the server terminal device.
This is a module for performing individual control on the AIN device 27.

The STUB module for TWAIN control is
Since these drivers are exchanged using a general-purpose TWAIN interface, by using this module group, an arbitrary TWAIN device 27 (and a corresponding TWAIN driver) can be shared on a network. .

FIG. 3 shows an example of a setting screen of the image reading device in the client terminal device according to the present embodiment. As described above, in the present embodiment, HTTP is used as the network protocol and TWAIN is used as the protocol for controlling the image reading device. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the client terminal device uses general browser software. , TWAIN device 27 can be controlled. Even for individual client applications that support the HTTP protocol other than the browser, similarly, the TWAIN device 27 on the server terminal device side can be used.
Can be controlled.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes URL information for specifying the operation of the server extension function module in the image reading server terminal device. When the user of the client terminal device designates this URL with the browser, the server extension module is activated in the image reading device, and after selecting a desired TWAIN device 27, a TWAIN parameter setting screen as shown in FIG. Is done.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a selected TWAIN device 2
7 is an input BOX of settable parameters in FIG.
Reference numeral 33 denotes a control for instructing a process of transmitting the set parameters to the server terminal device side, and reference numeral 34 denotes a control for instructing to cancel the set parameters and not transmit the parameter to the server terminal device side.

FIG. 4 shows a preview display of a read image on the client terminal device side of the present embodiment. The preview image is read from an image reading device connected to the server terminal device according to the reading parameters specified in FIG. 3, and then transferred from the server terminal device.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 denotes URL information for designating the operation of the server extension function module for displaying the reading result in the image reading server terminal device. When the parameter setting of FIG. 3 is completed and an image is read according to the value, the URL information is automatically set, and a screen as shown in FIG. 3 is generated.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a read preview image. This image is for preview and can be exchanged on the network without any load. Alternatively, it is in an image data format that can be easily displayed on a browser or the like (for example, JPEG).

Reference numeral 43 denotes a control for instructing output of image data read according to the parameters designated in FIG. 3 from the instruction printer. Reference numeral 44 denotes a control for instructing a process of transmitting the image data to the designated destination. Reference numeral 45 denotes a control for instructing storage of the image data in a designated location.

Reference numeral 46 denotes a hyperlink character string for instructing to return to the screen shown in FIG. By instructing this, it is possible to instruct the user to re-read the image by setting the read parameters again.

FIG. 5 shows an outline of a network system constituting this embodiment. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 denotes a network line connecting the network systems, and reference numerals 52 and 55 denote client terminal devices in the present embodiment.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a server terminal device having an image reading device and a printing device which are set to be shared on the network. Reference numeral 54 denotes an image reading server terminal device set to be shared on the network. Reference numeral 56 denotes a print server terminal device that is set to be shared on the network. However, the sharing process of the printing apparatus is outside the scope of the present invention. 57 is a shared image reading device. 5
8 is a shared printing device.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 54 denotes an image reading device directly connected to the network;
The image reading device is locally connected to a device having general-purpose functions. Although the physical configuration is different,
As described in the description of FIG. 1, both have similar functions by having similar internal components.

In FIG. 6, a list for selecting a desired one from the connected image reading devices is obtained from the client terminal device to the image reading server terminal device of the present embodiment. 9 shows a flowchart of an example of the internal processing of the server terminal device at the time.

In the following description, it is assumed that the image reading device follows the TWAIN interface. The procedure of the flowchart of FIG.
This is realized by the CPU 2 executing the program stored in M3.

First, in the first step S61, a request from the client terminal device is sent in the form of the HTTP protocol, and is analyzed by the server extension module 22. As a result of this analysis, if it is determined that a list of TWAIN drivers has been requested, the process moves to step S62, where the TWAIN control STUB module required to access the TWAIN device 27 is loaded and is ready for use. To

Next, in step S63, the TWAIN control STUB module acquires the registered TWAIN driver list information using the general-purpose TWAIN interface, and stores the list information in the area on the memory.

Next, in step S64, since the access to the TWAIN driver has been completed, the TUB module for STWAIN control is released. Next, step S65
Then, the server extension module executes step S63.
Based on the information obtained in step (1), data in an HTML format that can be displayed on the client terminal device side is created, this information is transmitted using an HTTP server, and the process ends.

Next, when the client terminal device instructs the image reading server terminal device of the present embodiment to display a parameter setting screen of a desired TWAIN device 27, the server terminal device-side internal processing is performed. An example flowchart is shown in FIG.

Here, it should be noted that S
It is necessary to confirm with each TWAIN driver whether each function item desired to be set on the TUB side can be set. This is because the functions that can be set differ for each TWAIN driver.

When the process is started, first, in the first step S701, a request from the client terminal device is set to H
Since it is sent in the form of the TTP protocol, it is analyzed by the server extension module 22. Then, when it is determined that the setting of the read parameter of the designated TWAIN device 27 is designated, first, the information of the designated TWAIN driver is obtained on the client terminal device side.

In the next step S702, the TWAIN control STUB module required to access the TWAIN device 27 is loaded to make it usable.

Next, in step S703, TWAIN
The control STUB module loads a TWAIN driver that controls the corresponding TWAIN device 27 using a general-purpose TWAIN interface.

At step S704, the variable N is set to S
The number of function items that the TUB module wants to list is set. In addition, the variable i for loop counter management is set to 0 and initialized.

Next, in step S705, TWAIN
Using the interface, the i-th function item is
Inquires whether the setting can be made by the WAIN driver.

Next, in step S706, it is determined whether the setting can be performed. If it is determined that the setting can be made, the process branches to step S707; otherwise, the process skips step S707 and proceeds directly to step S708.

In step S707, the function is set in the information buffer as a settable item. Also,
In step S708, the loop counter i is incremented and compared with N to check whether the confirmation of all the function items has been completed.

As a result of this check, if it is determined that they are equal, the determination loop is terminated and the flow branches to S709.
If it is determined that they are not equal, the determination loop is continued, and the flow branches to step S705.

Next, in step S709, since the process of acquiring the settable function items has been completed, the loaded TWAIN driver is released. Further, the next step S
Similarly, at step 710, the TWAIN control STUB module is released.

Next, in step S711, the server extension module creates a client terminal device display parameter setting screen according to the function items that can be set in the TWAIN driver obtained as a result of step S707. Then, this information is transmitted using the HTTP server, and the present process ends.

Next, an example of the internal processing on the server terminal device side when the client terminal device instructs the image reading server terminal device of the present embodiment to read image data from the desired TWAIN device 27. 8 is shown in FIG. Here, a case of pre-scan and a case of main scan (formal image reading) will be described. Also, in view of the load of the transmission data amount on the network, in this example, the format of the image data obtained as a result of the prescan will be described as JPEG.

When the process is started, first, in a first step S801, a request from the client terminal device is set to H
Since it is sent in the form of the TTP protocol, it is analyzed by the server extension module 22. Instructed TWA
If it is determined that reading of the image data from the IN device 27 has been requested, the parameters set on the client terminal device side are obtained, and the next step S802 is performed.
Move on to

In step S802, the TWAIN device 2
TWAIN control S required for accessing
Load the TUB module to make it usable.

In step S 803, the TWAIN control STUB module loads a TWAIN driver that controls the corresponding TWAIN device 27 using a general-purpose TWAIN interface.

Next, in step S804, the read parameter specified on the client terminal side is
Set for the WAIN driver. In the processing up to this point, the TWAIN device 2 connected to the server terminal device
7 is ready for reading, so step S
805, the TWAIN device 27 (general-purpose TW
Read the image data (using the AIN interface).

Next, in step S806, since the acquisition of the image data has been completed, the loaded TWAI
Release N driver.

Further, similarly in step S807, TW
Release the AIN control STUB module. In step S808, it is determined whether the designated reading mode is pre-scanning or not. If it is determined that the scanning mode is pre-scanning, the flow branches to step S811. If it is determined that the scan is a main scan, the process proceeds to step S809.
Branch to

Since step S809 is the main scan mode, the image data format obtained from the TWAIN device 27 is converted into the image data format specified by the user. This is realized by the image data format conversion module 25 of FIG.

Next, at step S810, the server extension module converts the converted image data into HT
This information is transmitted to the client terminal device side by using the TP server function, and the present process ends.

On the other hand, the processing after step S811 is for creating a prescan result display screen. Here, in step S811, it is determined whether or not the data format of the acquired image is JPEG, and if so, the flow branches to step S813. If not, the flow branches to step S812.

In step S 812, the TWAIN device 2
7 is converted into JPEG format data.

Next, in step S813, using the JPG format image data obtained in the previous step,
A preview screen for display on the client terminal device side is created in the server extension module. Then, this information is transmitted using the HTTP server, and the present process ends.

In the description of FIGS. 6 to 8, the STUB is loaded / released for each session.
This is for the purpose of preventing a certain module from staying for a long time, and thereby squeezing the memory or disk resources of the server terminal device.

<Second Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, the image reading apparatus assumes only one image data at a time. Here, an embodiment in the case where the image reading device has a function of reading a plurality of image data will be described.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a display screen on the client terminal device side in the present embodiment. Basically, the function of this screen is extended based on the screen shown in FIG. 4, and therefore, the control of the overlapping functions will not be described.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 91 denotes a control for instructing reading of the previous image, 92 denotes a control for instructing skipping of the next image and skipping, 9
3 is a control for instructing reading of the next image,
Reference numeral 94 denotes a control for instructing a change of the current TWAIN reading parameter.

When this control is instructed, a TWAIN parameter setting screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, and the setting of each parameter can be changed. Here, it should be noted that whether or not controls 91 to 94 are displayed on the screen data created on the server terminal side is determined in S704 to S704 in FIG.
In step S708, it is necessary to obtain information indicating whether the image reading apparatus is compatible with a plurality of image data reading processes.

Further, if it corresponds, detailed information such as whether the previous image can be read or whether the next image can be skipped and read can be confirmed. If any of these detailed functions is not supported by the TWAIN device 27, the corresponding control is not displayed in FIG. For example, when the function of reading the previous image is not supported, the control of “return” is not displayed. FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example of the internal processing of the server terminal device side in response to the input instruction on the screen of FIG.

When the process is started, first, in the first step S1001, a request from the client terminal device is issued.
Since it is sent in the HTTP protocol format, it is analyzed by the server extension module 22. Judge the contents of the input control.

In the next step S1002, it is determined whether or not the designated command is a setting of a reading parameter. If it is determined that the command is a setting of a reading parameter, the process proceeds to step S1003. Branches, if not, step S10
Branch to 04.

In step S1003, if the settable function item is held in the buffer in step S707 of the flowchart of FIG.
The process branches to 11 and if not held, the process branches to the start process in FIG. 7 to acquire the settable function item again.

If it is determined in step S1002 that the read parameter is not set, the flow branches to step S1004. In step S1004, T
TW required to access WAIN device 27
The AIN control STUB module is loaded to make it usable.

Next, in step S1005, the TWAI
The N-control STUB module loads a TWAIN driver that controls the corresponding TWAIN device 27 using a general-purpose TWAIN interface.

Next, in step S1006, a read parameter specified on the client terminal side is set for the TWAIN driver. Next, in step S1007, the image data of the image number corresponding to the “return”, “skip”, and “next” commands is
Request to IN driver.

Next, in step S1008, the TW
The image data is read from the AIN device 27 (using a general-purpose TWAIN interface). here,
Since the image data of the designated image number is to be acquired as a sample image, the subsequent processing step S100
The processing in steps 9 to S1010 corresponds to the processing in steps S811 to S813 in the flowchart of FIG.

<Third Embodiment> In the above embodiments, the power of the image reading device on the server terminal device side is not turned on, or any one of the client terminal devices is in use and other No error processing has been performed when the image reading device cannot be used, such as when a request cannot be accepted from the client terminal device. In the present embodiment, an embodiment having a function of notifying the error information to the client terminal device will be described.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing. The above processing is, for example, in FIG.
This step is performed in place of steps S802 and S803. If the processing is completed normally, then step S804 is performed.
If the processing ends in an error, an error information screen is transmitted to the client terminal device side, and FIG.
Ends the processing itself.

First, in the first step S1101, a TWAIN STUB module is loaded. After that, the TWAI specified by the client terminal device side
The driver loading status on the N device 27 is checked.

Next, in step S1102, the load state of the designated TWAIN driver is checked. Next, in the determination processing of step S1103, if it is determined that the data is already loaded, it is determined that one of the client terminal devices is occupied, and step S1109 is performed.
Branch to

On the other hand, in the judgment processing of step S1103,
If it is determined that the data has not been loaded yet, the process branches to step S1104.

In step S1104, the designated TW
The AIN driver is loaded. Next, step S
In step 1105, the state of the TWAIN device 27 is confirmed using the TWAIN driver. This status check means that the cable is connected and the power is on
It is to check whether the device is operable or not.

Next, if it is determined in step S1106 that some trouble has occurred, the process proceeds to step S11.
The process branches to 07, and if not, it is determined that it is in a normally operable state, and the process ends.

In step S1107, error information of the TWAIN device 27 is obtained using the general-purpose interface of TWAIN. Then, in step S1108, the process exits as an error process, so that the TWAIN driver is released.

On the other hand, in step S1109, the TW
Acquires user information while using the AIN driver. In step S1110, the process exits as an error process as in step S1108, and thus TWAINSTUB is released.

Next, in step S1111, based on the error information obtained in step S1107 or S1109, the server extension module creates display screen data indicating the error information and sends it to the client terminal device.

The error here may be, for example, “The user who is xxx is in use.”
Please check the power supply of the device. " After the above processing is completed, information that an error has occurred is returned as a result of this processing, and the processing ends.

(Other Embodiments of the Present Invention) The present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but is also applicable to an apparatus composed of one device. You may.

Further, in order to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments, a device connected to the above-described various devices or a computer in a system is operated so as to operate various devices so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments. The present invention also includes programs implemented by supplying the program code of the software described above and operating the various devices according to programs stored in a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus.

In this case, the program code itself of the software realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer,
For example, a storage medium storing such a program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for storing such a program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM,
A magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) or other operating system running on the computer. Needless to say, even when the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized in cooperation with application software or the like, such program codes are included in the embodiments of the present invention.

Further, after the supplied program code is stored in the memory provided on the function expansion board of the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or the function expansion unit is specified based on the instruction of the program code. It is needless to say that the present invention also includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the first embodiment performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0100]

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to share an image reading device on a network.
It is possible to prevent a user using the terminal device connected to the image reading device from interrupting the work currently being performed. Also, any user in the network can effectively use the resources of image reading devices on the network.

According to another feature of the present invention, since a general-purpose interface is used for the image reading control function, an arbitrary image reading device can be used without depending on a specific image reading device. The reading device can be sharable on a network.

According to another feature of the present invention, a network server function that can be converted into a general-purpose network protocol is used. It is possible to control the shared image reading device by using the browser or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of each function in the image reading server terminal device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen of an image reading device on the client terminal device side according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preview display of a read image on the client terminal device side according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a network system constituting the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example of an internal process of the server terminal device side when acquiring a list of image reading devices set to be shared;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an internal process of a server terminal device when a parameter setting screen of a selected shared TWAIN device is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of internal processing of the server terminal device when reading of image data from a desired TWAIN device is instructed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on the client terminal device side when the image reading device has a function of reading a plurality of image data.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of internal processing of the server terminal device side of the embodiment in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of internal processing of the server terminal device according to the embodiment having a function of notifying error information of the server terminal device to the client terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 System bus 2 CPU 3 Program memory 4 Communication control unit 5 Communication port 6 Communication line 7 Other device on network 8 External storage device control unit 9, 10 Disk for data file 11 Input control unit 12 Keyboard 13 Mouse, etc. Input device 14 video image memory 15 display output control unit 16 CRT 17 printer control unit 18 printer 19 external device control unit 1A image reading device control unit 1B image reading device

Claims (22)

[Claims] An image reading device locally connected to a terminal device connected on a network, an operation of the image reading device is controlled to acquire read data, and a reading parameter is transmitted to the image reading device. A reading device control unit to be set, and a client terminal connected to the network by controlling data transfer between the reading device control unit and the image reading device. A server terminal device comprising: a server extension unit for transferring the data to the device. 2. The server terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising network server means for converting data exchanged with the server extension means into a general-purpose network protocol. 3. The server according to claim 1, wherein the exchange of data between the reading device control unit and the server extension unit is performed using a general-purpose interface. Terminal device. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein TWAIN is used as a protocol for controlling the image reading device.
The server terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The server terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the network is a public line. 6. An image reading device, comprising: data conversion means for converting image data obtained from the image reading device and the reading device control means into image data designated by a client terminal device connected to the network. And reading device control means can be shared on the network.
6. The server terminal device according to claim 5. 7. According to the capability of the image reading device,
The server terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising parameter switching means for dynamically changing a read setting parameter that can be set on the client terminal device side. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a failure information notifying means for notifying the client terminal device of the failure information when any failure occurs in the image reading device. Item 2. The server terminal device according to item 1. 9. A terminal device connected to a network, having a client application corresponding to a general-purpose network protocol, controlling a reading operation of an image reading device shared on the network, A client terminal device for acquiring image data from an image reading device. 10. An image reading device locally connected to a terminal device connected to a network, controlling operation of the image reading device to acquire read data, and reading a read parameter to the image reading device. Server extension means for exchanging data between the reading device control means to be set and the reading device control means to control the image reading device and transferring data read by the image reading device to the client terminal device And a terminal device connected to the network, comprising a client application corresponding to a general-purpose network protocol, and performing a reading operation of an image reading device shared on the network. Control the above image reading device Network system characterized by comprising a client terminal device to acquire the image data. 11. The network system according to claim 10, further comprising network server means for converting data exchanged with said server extension means into a general-purpose network protocol. 12. The network according to claim 10, wherein the exchange of data between the reading device control unit and the server extension unit is performed using a general-purpose interface. system. 13. The network system according to claim 10, wherein TWAIN is used as a protocol for controlling the image reading device. 14. The network system according to claim 10, wherein the network is a public line. 15. A data conversion unit for converting image data obtained from the image reading device and the reading device control unit into image data designated by a client terminal device, wherein the image reading device and the reading device control unit are provided. The network system according to claim 10, wherein the network system can be shared on a network. 16. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a parameter switching unit that dynamically switches a reading setting parameter that can be set on the client terminal device according to the capability of the image reading device. 1
The network system according to the section. 17. A fault information notifying means for notifying fault information to a client terminal device side when a fault occurs in the image reading device. The network system according to the section. 18. Controlling the operation of an image reading device locally connected to a terminal device connected to a network to acquire read data, and instructing from a client terminal device connected to the network. A device utilization method for a network, comprising: performing a reading device control process of setting predetermined reading parameters in the image reading device; and a server extension process of transferring data read by the image reading device to the client terminal device. . 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein data exchange with the image reading device is performed using a general-purpose interface. 20. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the control of the image reading device is performed using a general-purpose network protocol obtained by using a network server function.
How to use the network device described in. 21. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each of the means according to claim 1 so as to be readable from the computer. 22. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the procedure of the network device utilization method according to any one of claims 18 to 20 so as to be readable from the computer.