JP2003018348A - Scanner system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scanner system, with which can make the scan data exceeding the memory of the scanner system seem as if stored in the scanner system. SOLUTION: In a scanner system 10 for temporarily holding scan data provided by scan operation and transferring the scan data to a host server 30 in response to a data acquisition request from the host server 30, this scanner system 10 has a scan means 1 for providing the scan data by performing the scan operation, a scan data storage means 2 for storing the scan data provided by the scan means 1, a capacity judging means 3 for judging the empty capacity of the scan data storage means 2, a data transfer means 4 for transferring the scan data to a first storage means 20 provided separately from the scan data storage means 2 when the absence of empty capacity is judged by the capacity judging means 3, a data list means 5, on which the scan data are related with storage places, and an acquisition request receiving means 6 for receiving the acquisition request of the scan data from the host server 30 and transferring the relevant scan data to the host server 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scanner device, and more particularly to a scanner that temporarily holds scan data obtained by performing a scan operation and transfers the scan data to the host server in response to a data acquisition request from the host server. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Scanner devices that obtain scan data by performing a scan operation are of two types depending on how the scan data is processed.

The first type is called a push type scanner, which is a type that sequentially performs a flow of obtaining scan data by performing a scan operation and transferring the scan data to a host server. , A pull-type scanner, which temporarily stores scan data obtained by performing a scan operation in the scanner device itself, and when a request from the host server is made,
This type transfers scan data to the host server.

By the way, the push-type scanner has a memory or the like for temporarily storing the scan data. However, if the scan data is excessively accumulated, the capacity of the memory is exceeded. There is a problem that the scanner device cannot be used any more unless it is deleted.

Also, when acquiring scan data,
When a plurality of host servers simultaneously request acquisition of the same scan data, there is a problem that the scanner device causes an access denial and data transfer cannot be performed well due to the limitation of the processing capacity.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a scanner device which can make scan data as large as the memory of the scanner device is stored in the scanner device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a scanner device capable of smoothly transferring data even when there are acquisition requests for the same scan data from a plurality of host servers at the same time.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, the scan data obtained by performing the scan operation is temporarily held, and the data is requested by a host server. In a scanner device that transfers scan data to a host server, a scan unit that performs a scan operation to obtain scan data, a data storage unit that stores the scan data obtained by the scan unit, and a free space of the data storage unit are determined And a data transfer means for transferring scan data to a first storage means provided separately from the data storage means when the capacity determination means determines that there is no free space. Data list means in which data and storage location are associated with each other, and acquisition of the scan data from the host server A scanner apparatus characterized by having an acquisition request receiving means for transferring the scanned data to the host server accepts determined.

According to a second aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, the scan data obtained by performing the scan operation is temporarily held, and the scan data is sent to the host server in response to a data acquisition request from the host server. In a scanner device for transfer, a scanning unit that performs a scanning operation to obtain scan data, a data storage unit that stores the scan data obtained by the scanning unit, and a capacity determination unit that determines the free space of the data storage unit,
If the capacity determination means determines that there is no free space,
Data transfer means for transferring scan data to a first storage means provided separately from the data storage means, data list means for associating the scan data with the storage location, and acquisition of the scan data from a host server. Acquisition request receiving means for receiving the request and transferring the scan data to the host server, acquisition request number determination means for determining the number of acquisition requests for the scan data, and acquisition of a predetermined number or more by the acquisition request number determination means Regarding the scan data determined to have been requested, the first
And a mirror link means for transferring data to a second storage means provided separately from the above-mentioned storage means.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

First, a scanner device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view for explaining a first mode of the scanner device of the present invention.

In the figure, 10 is a scanner device of the present invention, which comprises a scanning means 1, a data storage means 2, a capacity determination means 3, a data transfer means 4, a data list means 5 and an acquisition request acceptance means 6. Reference numeral 20 denotes a first storage unit provided to be connected to the scanner device, and 30 denotes a host server for exchanging a scan job and scan data with the scanner device.

The scanning means 1 takes in a scan target image by performing a scan operation based on a scan job, and converts the scan target image into scan data.

The data storage unit 2 stores the scan data obtained by the scanning unit 1, and can use a readable / writable recording medium such as a RAM or a flash ROM.

The capacity determination means 3 is a free space of the data storage means 2 for storing scan data, and the scan means 1
Compare the size of the scan data newly generated in
The scan data is sent to the data transfer means 4 when the free space of the data storage means 2 is larger than the capacity of the newly generated scan data.

The data transfer means 4 transfers the scan data to the first storage means 20.

The data list means 5 plays a role of a database for grasping the location of the scan data, and, for example, a database in which information identifying the scan data and information identifying the place where the scan data is stored are associated with each other. And a readable / writable recording medium such as a RAM or a flash ROM can be used.

Now, the database structure of the data list means 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 showing an example of the database structure of the data list means 5.

In FIG. 2, a scan file name that is information that specifies scan data and a storage location name that is information that specifies a location where scan data is stored are associated with each other.

According to such a configuration, for example, it is understood that the scan data having the scan file name "PC1-JOB2" is stored in the "data storage means".

Since the location of the scan data can be easily determined in this way, when the acquisition request means 6 shown in FIG. From the viewpoint of the server, it is possible to make the user feel as if the scan data is in the scanner device itself.

The acquisition request receiving means 6 is a host server 30.
When a scan data acquisition request is received from the device, the data list means 5 is inquired about the location of the scan data, and the scan data is acquired from the location of the acquired scan data and transferred to the host server 30.

The first storage means 20 is a data recording server provided separately from the scanner device of the present invention, and a so-called file server or the like can be used, but any one can read and write scan data. There is no particular limitation.

The host server 30 is a server provided separately from the scanner device of the present invention, sends a scan job that is the basis for generating scan data to the scanner device of the present invention, and makes a data acquisition request. By
Scan data is acquired from the scanner device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a processing flow in the scanner device of FIG.

The flow of the scanner device of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The scanning means 1 scans a scan job (S1). When scan data is obtained, the volume of the scan data is determined by the data storage means 2. Whether or not the data can be stored is determined by the capacity determination unit 3 (S2), and if it is determined that the data can be stored, scan data is stored in the data storage unit 2 ( S3).

The criterion in S2 for judging whether or not the data can be stored in the storage means is that if the scan data is judged to be larger than the free space of the storage means, it is judged that the storage is impossible and the scan data is stored. If it is determined that is not larger than the free space of the storage means, it can be determined that storage is possible.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S2 that the data cannot be stored, the capacity determination means 3 sends the scan data to the data transfer means 4 (S4), and the data transfer means 4 to which the scan data is sent is the first data transfer means. The scan data is transferred to the storage means 20 (S5).

When the scan data is stored in a predetermined place in S3 and S5, the information indicating the scan data and the information regarding the storage destination of the scan data are registered in the data list means 5 (S6).

Next, in the acquisition request receiving means 6, it is judged whether or not there is a request for acquisition of scan data from the host computer until there is an acquisition request (S7). If there is a request, the scan related to the request is made. Information on the data storage location is acquired from the data list means 5 (S
8) According to the information of the storage destination, the scan data is acquired and transferred to the requested host computer 30 (S9).

With respect to the scan data stored in the first storage means provided separately from the scanner device, the host computer 30 only makes an acquisition request to the scanner device, and the scan data related to the acquisition request is sent from the scanner device. Therefore, the scan file having the capacity larger than that of the storage means 2 can be stored as if stored in the scanner device.

Next, a scanner device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining the second mode of the scanner device of the present invention.

The scanner device shown in FIG. 4 has a configuration in which an acquisition request number determination means 7 and a mirror link means 8 are added to the scanner device of FIG. 1, and 40 is a second device provided separately from the first storage device. Is a storage means.

The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same components, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The acquisition request number determination means 7 plays the role of a database for grasping the number of acquisition requests for each scan data. Further, when the number of acquisition requests exceeds a certain value, the mirror link means 8 is informed. An instruction to transfer the scan data to the second storage unit 40 is issued.

The setting of the number of acquisition requests, which is the basis for transferring the scan data to the second storing means 40, is not particularly limited as long as it is an integer of 2 or more, but the smaller the setting, the smaller the second storing means. It is preferable to set the number of scans to 40 or more because the amount of scan data transferred to 40 becomes large and as a result the transfer speed becomes poor.

Examples of the acquisition request number determination means 7 include a recording medium recording a database in which information indicating each scan data and the acquisition request number for the scan data are recorded, and a control device for controlling the recording medium. For example, a readable / writable recording medium such as a RAM or a flash ROM and a CPU that controls the recording medium can be used.

Here, the database structure of the acquisition request number judging means 7 will be described with reference to the diagram of FIG. 5 showing an example of the database structure of the acquisition request number judging means 7.

In FIG. 5, a scan file name, which is information for specifying scan data, is associated with the number of acquisition requests for the scan data.

When the scan data requested for acquisition is transferred to the host server, the number of acquisition requests for the scan data is incremented by "+1".

At this time, if the information for specifying the scan data is not yet present in the database, the acquisition frequency is incremented by "+1" after the information for specifying the scan data is registered by being recorded in the database.

The mirror link means 8 transfers the scan data to the second storage means 40 when the acquisition request count judging means 7 receives an instruction to transfer the scan data to the second storage means 40. Let

According to this structure, for example, it is understood that the scan data having the scan file name "PC3-JOB2" is requested only "once".

The second storage means 40 is a server for data recording which is provided separately from the scanner device of the present invention and is different from the first storage means 20, and a so-called file server or the like may be used. However, there is no particular limitation as long as the scan data can be read and written.

Next, the processing flow of the scanner device shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

The processing flow for storing and acquiring the scan data is basically the same as the processing flow shown in FIG. 3, but according to the scanner device of the second embodiment, the acquisition request receiving means 6 scans. After the process of transferring the data (S9), the acquisition number judging means 7 judges whether or not the scan data related to the acquisition request has already been registered due to the acquisition request (S10). If it is determined that the data has not been registered in the acquisition request number determination unit 7, the acquisition number determination unit 7 registers the information for specifying the scan data (S11).

When it is determined in S10 that the registration has been completed, or after registration is performed in S11, the number of times of acquisition of scan data is incremented by "+1" by the acquisition number determination means 7 (S12), and as a result, the acquisition number determination means 7 In step S13, it is determined whether the number of acquisitions has reached a predetermined number. If it is determined that the number of acquisitions has reached a predetermined number, the acquisition number determination means 7 transfers the scan data to the second storage means 40. Processing is performed (S14), and the storage location of the scan data is registered in the data list means 5 as the second storage means 40 (S15).

As described above, in the scanner device of the present invention,
Scan data that is frequently requested to be acquired can be transferred to the second storage unit that functions as a mirror server to reduce the load on the scanner device. Therefore, there are acquisition requests for the same scan data from a plurality of host servers. Even in such a case, it is possible to provide a scanner device that can transfer data smoothly.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the scan data stored in the memory of the scanner device as if it were stored in the scanner device, and at the same time, the same scan is performed from a plurality of host servers. Even when there is an acquisition request for data, it is possible to provide a scanner device that can transfer data smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a first mode of a scanner device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a database structure of data list means of the scanner device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the scanner device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a second mode of the scanner device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a database structure of acquisition request frequency determination means of the scanner device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of a processing flow of another scanner device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Scanning means 2: Data storage means 3: Capacity determination means 4: Data transfer means 5: Data list means 6: Acquisition request receiving means 7: means for determining the number of acquisition requests 8: Mirror link means 10: Scanner device 20: First storage means 30: Host server 40: Second storage means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A scanner device that temporarily holds scan data obtained by performing a scan operation and transfers the scan data to the host server in response to a data acquisition request from the host server, performs the scan operation to obtain scan data. Scan means, data storage means for storing scan data obtained by the scan means, capacity determination means for determining the free capacity of the data storage means, and when the capacity determination means determines that there is no free capacity To
Data transfer means for transferring scan data to a first storage means provided separately from the data storage means, data list means for associating the scan data with the storage location, and acquisition of the scan data from a host server. A scanner device, comprising: an acquisition request receiving unit that receives a request and transfers the scan data to the host server. 2. A scanner device, which temporarily holds scan data obtained by performing a scan operation and transfers the scan data to the host server in response to a data acquisition request from the host server, performs the scan operation to obtain scan data. Scanning means, data accumulating means for accumulating scan data obtained by the scanning means, capacity judging means for judging the free capacity of the data accumulating means, and the case where the capacity judging means judges that there is no free capacity To
Data transfer means for transferring scan data to a first storage means provided separately from the data storage means, data list means for associating the scan data with the storage location, and acquisition of the scan data from a host server. An acquisition request receiving unit that receives a request and transfers the scan data to the host server, an acquisition request number determination unit that determines the number of acquisition requests for the scan data, and an acquisition request number determination unit that acquires a predetermined number of times or more. A scanner device, comprising: mirror link means for transferring the scan data determined to be requested to a second storage means provided separately from the first storage means.