JP2004007347A - Image forming apparatus having web service function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a Web service function by installing standard Web service corresponding software without installing a plurality of pieces of driver software for using a plurality of image forming functions into a computer terminal to be used by a user or without depending on the type of the computer terminal or operating system. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming device is provided with: a means which processes image formation or internal information associated with the image formation processing in response to a processing request and which generates a processing response indicating a processing result; and a means which processes the internal information by executing processing units configuring the Web service provision processing means and which generates the processing response corresponding to the processing request by carrying out additional processing by using the processing result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention does not require installing a plurality of driver software to use a plurality of image forming functions on a computer terminal used by a user, but only installing standard Web service compatible software. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which can provide a Web service without depending on a model or an operating system of the computer terminal and can uniformly process processing requests from other devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming apparatus in which functions of respective apparatuses such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and a scanner are housed in one housing is generally known. Such a composite type image forming apparatus includes a display unit, a printing unit, an imaging unit, and the like in one housing, and provides three types of applications corresponding to a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine, respectively. The apparatus operates as a printer, copier, scanner or facsimile apparatus.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional composite image forming apparatus, when functions such as a printer, a copy, a facsimile, and a scanner are used from a plurality of PCs (personal computers) connected via a network, each image forming function is provided to each PC. It was necessary to install software such as drivers according to the requirements. The software installed on the PC must be compatible with the model and operating system of the PC. In addition, similar requests may be requested between devices such as a server, but since the required processing protocol and processing unit are different, it is necessary to satisfy both requests at the time of mounting. Further, in the conventional use mode, there is a limitation that only a process determined by the driver can be performed.
[0004]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a computer terminal used by a user without installing a plurality of driver software for using a plurality of image forming functions, without depending on a model or an operating system of the computer terminal. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can use the functions of the image forming apparatus as programmable application components that can be accessed via a network using various Internet standard Web protocols. Further, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that realizes a distributed environment in which a Web service exchanges with another Web service within the image forming apparatus or between the image forming apparatus and another apparatus.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a network communication control unit for controlling communication of a processing request from a device connected via a network and a processing response to the device, as described in claim 1. Based on a message described in accordance with a predetermined message exchange protocol in the processing request, processing at least one Web service providing processing unit configured to process internal information regarding the image forming apparatus and generate the processing response indicating the processing result; The internal information is processed by executing at least one or more processing units constituting the Web service providing processing means, and the processing response corresponding to the processing request is performed by performing additional processing using the processing result. To have a composite Web service providing processing means for generating It is made.
[0006]
In such an image forming apparatus, since a device can process internal information regarding the image forming device via a Web browser, the device is provided with a plurality of driver software to use a plurality of image forming functions. It is only necessary to install standard Web service compatible software without installing. Further, the device can cause the image forming apparatus to execute the image forming process without depending on the model or the operating system. Furthermore, since the composite Web service provision processing unit controls the processing by combining a plurality of processing units of the Web service provision processing unit required to provide the Web service, the device is aware of the function of each Web service. Without a single processing request, only the final processing results of a plurality of Web services can be obtained. Therefore, the number of times of communication between the image forming apparatuses and the control processing can be significantly reduced.
[0007]
The predetermined message exchange protocol is, for example, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).
[0008]
The internal information indicates image information, status information about the image information, and information such as control parameters for changing settings of the device body and changing the network IP.
[0009]
In view of the fact that the image forming apparatus provides a Web service, the present invention provides an application including the Web service providing processing unit and the composite Web service providing processing unit, A control service that manages hardware resources used in the processing and controls use of the hardware resources in response to a use request from the application; and an operating system that controls the application and the control service. Can be configured.
[0010]
Since such an image forming apparatus has a function as a computer device, it can provide a Web service to a device connected via a network.
[0011]
In view of executing a plurality of processing units in combination, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 3, the composite Web service provision processing unit is a processing unit in the composite Web service provision processing unit, The Web service providing processing means may be configured to include at least one composite processing executing means for executing the processing units in combination.
[0012]
In such an image forming apparatus, the composite Web service providing processing unit includes a composite processing execution unit that combines processing units of other Web service providing processing units that are processing units themselves. With the combination, it is possible to provide a Web service different from the other Web service provision processing means while significantly reducing the number of new development steps.
[0013]
From the viewpoint of providing a web service in the image forming apparatus, the present invention provides the above-described composite processing execution unit in response to an internal event occurring in the image forming apparatus. It can be configured to have an internal Web service providing processing unit to execute.
[0014]
Further, from the viewpoint of providing a Web service equivalent to the Web service provided in the image forming apparatus to a device connected via a network, the present invention provides the above-described composite system. The processing execution unit obtains the internal event from the internal Web service providing processing unit, and executes the combined processing unit of the Web service providing processing unit based on the internal event, thereby executing the processing request. It can be configured to generate the above processing response.
[0015]
In view of executing a plurality of Web service providing processing means in combination, the present invention includes a plurality of the Web service providing processing means having at least one of the processing units, as described in claim 6. The composite processing execution means may be configured to process the internal information by combining a plurality of the processing units of the plurality of Web service providing processing means.
[0016]
In view of sharing a process according to a message exchange protocol, the present invention as described in claim 7, is capable of being shared by the plurality of Web service providing processing means and the composite Web service providing processing means, And a protocol processing means for controlling the message according to the predetermined message exchange protocol.
[0017]
In such an image forming apparatus, for example, control of message exchange by SOAP can be shared by a plurality of Web service providing processing units.
[0018]
In view of sharing the processing of the message, the present invention as defined in claim 8, is capable of being shared by the plurality of Web service providing processing means and the composite Web service providing processing means, It can be configured to have message processing means for processing.
[0019]
In such an image forming apparatus, for example, the processing of a message described in XML (Extensible Markup Language) can be shared by a plurality of Web service providing processing units.
[0020]
From the viewpoint of distributing processing so that a Web service is provided in accordance with the request type of the processing request, the present invention provides the processing request received by the network communication control means as described in claim 9. The request type is analyzed in accordance with the predetermined message exchange protocol, and based on the analysis result, the composite Web service providing processing means or the composite Web service providing processing means is provided with a distribution means for distributing the processing request to the composite Web service providing processing means. can do. Further, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 10, specific information for specifying a Web service in the processing request is analyzed in accordance with the predetermined message exchange protocol, and based on the analysis result, a characteristic is determined by the specific information. And a distributing means for distributing the processing to the composite processing executing means for executing the Web service to be performed.
[0021]
In such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to appropriately analyze the processing request based on the request type of the processing request received from the device and the specific information for specifying the Web service.
[0022]
From the viewpoint of managing a document file in an image forming apparatus, the present invention provides a document storage unit for storing a document file, and a storage unit for storing the document file as one of the Web service providing processing units. Document management Web service providing processing means for providing information on the document file stored in the means.
[0023]
In such an image forming apparatus, a document file can be stored and information on the document file can be provided as a Web service.
[0024]
In view of providing information on a document file by a combination of a plurality of processing units, according to the present invention, the document management Web service providing processing unit identifies the document file from the storage unit. And a second processing unit for obtaining bibliographic information corresponding to the specified document ID from the storage means. Further, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 13, the composite processing execution means executes the first processing unit based on the internal information, and obtains a predetermined document ID. A second processing unit that executes the second processing unit based on the document ID obtained by the first processing unit, and obtains bibliographic information corresponding to the document ID; and a bibliographic information obtained by the second processing unit. And a third processing means for creating a document list based on the third processing.
[0025]
In such an image forming apparatus, the composite Web service execution unit has a first processing unit and a second processing unit that execute the first processing unit and the second processing unit of the Web service providing processing unit, and further includes a document list. Since the third processing unit for generating the processing unit is provided, a plurality of processing units can be executed, and the result can be generated by a predetermined processing.
[0026]
In view of providing a document list to the operation unit of the image forming apparatus, the present invention provides a user with operation information and an instruction for the internal information from the user. Operating unit control Web service providing processing means for providing a list of documents stored in the document storage means to the operating means via the composite processing executing means as the internal Web service providing processing means as the internal Web service providing processing means Can be configured to have:
[0027]
In such an image forming apparatus, the composite Web service executing unit creates a document list by combining a plurality of processing units, so that the document list can be provided to the operating unit provided in the image forming apparatus.
[0028]
In view of providing the display of the operation means to a device connected via a network, according to the present invention, the composite Web service provision processing means requests the display of the operation means. The display information displayed on the operation unit is acquired from the operation unit control Web service providing processing unit based on the internal information to be performed, and a document list corresponding to the display information is created by the composite processing execution unit. It can be configured to be.
[0029]
In such an image forming apparatus, since the display of the operation unit can be provided to the device by combining a plurality of processing units, the device generates the processing request only once and displays the display on the display unit. Can be done.
[0030]
The present invention can also be an image forming method for performing processing in the image processing device.
[0031]
Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides, according to a nineteenth aspect, a method according to a predetermined message exchange protocol with an image forming apparatus which provides a Web service connected via a network. Message exchange control means for generating a processing request indicating a processing request related to a Web service, and analyzing a processing response indicating a response to the processing request;
Request response control means may be provided for performing control processing for generating the processing request and generating screen information for displaying on the display unit the analysis result of the response by the message exchange control means.
[0032]
Such a user terminal can receive a desired Web service from an image forming apparatus that provides a plurality of Web services without depending on a model or an operating system. That is, the processing result of the Web service executed by the image forming apparatus can be displayed on the display unit.
[0033]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In FIG. 1, a multifunction peripheral 1200 includes a plotter 1201, a scanner 1202, a hardware resource 1203 such as a facsimile, etc., and a software group 1210 including a platform 1220 and an application 1230; It has.
[0034]
The multifunction peripheral activation unit 1240 is executed first when the multifunction peripheral 1200 is powered on, and activates the platform 1220 and the application 1230.
[0035]
The platform 1220 interprets the processing request from the application 1230 and generates a hardware resource acquisition request as described below. The platform 1220 manages one or more hardware resources and obtains the hardware resource acquisition request from the control service 1250. It has a system resource manager (SRM (System Resource Manager) 1223) for arbitrating requests and an OS 1221.
[0036]
The control service 1250 is formed by a plurality of service modules. More specifically, the SCS (System Control Service) 1222, the ECS (Engine Control Service) 1224, the MCS (Memory Control Service) 1225, and the OCS (Operation) There are a panel control service (FAC) 1227, an FCS (FAX Control Service) 1227, a network control service (NCS) 1228, and an imaging memory handler (IMH) 1229. The platform 1220 is defined in advance by the platform function 1220. Can receive processing requests from applications Having an application program interface that.
[0037]
The OS 1221 is an operating system such as UNIX (registered trademark), and executes each software of the platform 1220 and the application 1230 as a process in parallel. By using the open source UNIX (registered trademark), the security of the program can be ensured, the network can be supported, and the source code can be easily obtained. Furthermore, royalties for OS and TCP / IP are not required, and outsourcing is also facilitated.
[0038]
The SRM 1223 controls the system and manages resources together with the SCS 1222. The SRM 1223 includes an engine unit such as the scanner 1202 and the plotter 1201, a memory, an HDD file, a host I / O (Centro I / F, a network I / F, an IEEE 1394 I / F). F, RS232CI / F, etc.) and performs arbitration in accordance with a request from an upper layer using hardware resources, and controls execution.
[0039]
Specifically, the SRM 1223 determines whether the requested hardware resource is available (whether the requested hardware resource is not used by another request), and if the requested hardware resource is available, the requested hardware resource is Communicate availability to upper layers. In addition, hardware resource use scheduling may be performed in response to a request from an upper layer, and the content of the request (for example, paper conveyance and image forming operation by a printer engine, memory reservation, file generation, etc.) may be directly implemented. .
[0040]
The SCS 1222 includes application management (function 1), operation unit control (function 2), system screen display (job list screen, counter display screen, etc.) (function 3), LED display (function 4), resource management (function 5), Performs a plurality of functions such as interrupt application control (function 6). Specifically, in the application management (function 1), processing for registering an application and notifying the information to another application is performed. In the operation unit control (function 2), exclusive control of the operation unit use right of the application is performed. In the system screen display (function 3), a warning screen corresponding to the state of the engine unit is displayed according to the request content from the application having the operation unit use right. In the LED display (function 4), display control of system LEDs such as a warning LED and an application key is performed. In the resource management (function 5), when an application (ECS) executes a job, a service is provided for exclusive control of engine resources (scanners, staples, etc.) that must be excluded. In the interrupt application control (function 6), control and service for causing a specific application to operate preferentially are performed.
[0041]
The ECS 1224 controls an engine unit such as a plotter 1201, a scanner 1202, and other hardware resources 1203, and performs image reading and printing operation, status notification, jam recovery, and the like.
[0042]
The MCS 1225 performs memory control, and specifically performs acquisition and release of an image memory, use of a hard disk device (HDD), compression and decompression of image data, and the like.
[0043]
The OCS 1226 is a module that controls an operation panel serving as information transmission means between the operator and the main body control. The OCS 1226 provides processing for notifying the main body control of key operation events of the operator, and provides a library function for each application to construct a GUI. Processing, processing for managing the constructed GUI information for each application, processing for reflecting the display on the operation panel, and the like are performed.
[0044]
The FCS 1227 performs facsimile transmission / reception using PSTN / ISDN from each application layer of the system controller, registration / quotation of various facsimile data managed by BKM (backup SRAM), facsimile reading, facsimile reception printing, and fusion transmission / reception. API (Application Program Interface).
[0045]
The NCS 1228 is a group of modules for providing services that can be used in common to applications that require network I / O. The NCS 1228 distributes data received from the network according to each protocol to each application, and distributes data from an application. Mediates transmission to the network side.
[0046]
In the present embodiment, for example, the NCS 1228 controls data communication with a network device connected via the Internet by HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Daemon) among a plurality of protocols using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), and performs an HTTP request. The processing unit corresponding to the Web service specified by the header may be started by a function call, and the processing result of the Web service may be notified to the network device by an HTTP response. The Web service is provided, for example, according to a message described by XML (extensible Markup Language).
[0047]
The IMH 1229 maps image data from a virtual memory area (user virtual space) to a physical memory. In response to the activation of the process, a system call is performed to map a virtual memory area for the process, to release the mapped virtual memory area at the end of the process, and the like.
[0048]
The application 1230 includes a printer application 1211 that is a printer application having a page description language (PDL), PCL, and PostScript (PS), a copy application 1212 that is a copy application, and a fax application 1213 that is a facsimile application. , A scanner application 1214 as a scanner application, a web service processing application 1215 as a net file application, and a process inspection application 1216 as a process inspection application. Since each of the applications 1211 to 1216 can perform an operation using each process on the platform 1220, a screen display control program that performs screen control, key operation control, job generation, and the like is mainly performed. Note that a new application can be installed via the network connected by the NCS 1228. Further, each application can be added or deleted for each application.
[0049]
The web service processing application 1215 performs a predetermined process using a SOAP processing unit 70 that exchanges messages according to a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and a control service 1250 via an API (Application Program Interface), and processes the processing result. A Web service function (WSF) 1400 provided as a Web service via a WS-API (Web Service Application Program Interface).
[0050]
In this way, the multifunction peripheral 1200 unifies the processing commonly required by the applications on the platform 1220.
[0051]
Next, the hardware configuration of the MFP 1200 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the MFP 1200 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 1200 includes an operation panel 1310, a FAX control unit 1530, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 1330, an IEEE13941340, and an engine unit 1350 (to which a printer 1201, a scanner 1202, and the like are connected) and a controller 1300. Is connected to the ASIC 1301 via a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus or the like.
[0052]
The controller 1300 connects the ASIC 1301 with a MEM-C 1302, a hard disk drive (HDD) 1303, and the like, and connects the ASIC 1301 with the CPU 1304 via the NB 1305 of a CPU chipset. The reason for connecting via the NB 1305 is that the interface of the CPU 1304 itself is not disclosed.
[0053]
Here, the ASIC 1301 and the NB 1305 are not simply connected via the PCI, but are connected via the AGP 1308. The reason for the connection via the AGP 1308 is that the MFP 1200 controls execution of a plurality of processes forming the platform 1220 and the application 1230 shown in FIG. Doing so will reduce performance.
[0054]
The CPU 1304 performs overall control of the multi-functional peripheral 1200. Specifically, the SCS 1222, the SRM 1223, the ECS 1224, the MCS 1225, the OCS 1226, the FCS 1227, and the NCS 1228 which form the platform 1220 on the OS 1221 are started and executed as processes. At the same time, a printer application 1211, a copy application 1212, a fax application 1213, a scanner application 1214, a web service processing application 1215, and a process inspection application 1216, which form the application 1230, are activated and executed.
[0055]
An NB 1305 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 1304 to the MEM-P 1306, the SB 1307, and the ASIC 1301. The MEM-P 1306 is a system memory used as a drawing memory of a multifunction peripheral, and the SB 1307 is an NB 1305, a ROM, a PCI device , A bridge for connecting peripheral devices. The MEM-C 1302 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer, and the ASIC 1301 is an IC for image processing having a hardware element for image processing.
[0056]
The HDD 1303 is a storage for storing image data, storing programs, storing font data, and storing forms. The operation panel 1310 receives an input operation from an operator and performs display for the operator. An operation unit.
[0057]
Therefore, the ASIC 1301 is provided with a RAM interface for connecting the MEM-C 1302 and a hard disk interface for connecting the HDD 1303. When inputting and outputting image data to and from these storage units, The destination is switched to the RAM interface or the hard disk interface.
[0058]
The AGP 1308 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphics processing, and speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the system memory at high throughput.
[0059]
Hereinafter, a functional configuration example in which the MFP 1200 having the above-described functional configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 and the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 provides a Web service will be described. Here, the Web service means that the MFP 1200 performs predetermined processing in response to a service request based on an HTTP request from a network device, and provides the processing result to the network device as an HTTP response. The body of the HTTP request and the HTTP response is described in XML.
[0060]
A description will be given of a multifunction peripheral 1200 having a composite Web service provision processing unit that combines and executes a plurality of methods of one Web service provision processing unit. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a first functional configuration example for describing an example of a multifunction peripheral having a composite Web service. In FIG. 3, the MFP 1200 mainly includes httpd2 for performing communication control according to HTTP, a distributor (Distributor) 30 for distributing processing to a Web service providing processing unit corresponding to an HTTP request, and a plurality of Web services. Described in XML shared by the file management Web service providing processing unit 40, the other Web service providing processing unit 49, the composite Web service providing processing unit 90, and the plurality of Web service providing processing units 40, 49, and 90 as the providing processing unit S that controls message exchange in accordance with the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) between the XML processing unit 50 that processes the received message and the network device 10 that is shared by the plurality of Web service providing processing units 40, 49, and 90. Having an AP processing unit 70, a scanner 1202, a HDD 1303, a plotter 1201, an operation panel 1310, and a FAX control unit 1530 and the like.
[0061]
The file management Web service providing processing unit 40 obtains a document ID list obtaining method 401 for obtaining a document ID list for specifying a document stored in the HDD 1303, and bibliographic information on the document stored in the HDD 1303 corresponding to the document ID. And a bibliographic information acquisition method 402 for acquiring The method indicates a unit of Web service processing in the file management Web service provision processing unit 40. The file management Web service provision processing unit 40 configures the Web service function 1400 illustrated in FIG. Web service is provided in response to a request from 10. In the case of the first functional configuration example shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of methods are not limited to the document ID list acquisition method 40 and the bibliographic information acquisition method 402, and a plurality of methods may be configured in addition to these methods. Is also possible.
[0062]
The document list creation compound method 800 of the complex Web service provision processing unit 90 uses a document ID list acquisition unit 801 that acquires a list of document IDs using the document ID list acquisition method 401 and a bibliographic information acquisition method 402. A bibliographic information acquisition unit 802 that acquires bibliographic information corresponding to the document ID, and a document list creation unit 803 that creates a document list based on the acquired bibliographic information. Since the document list creation composite method 800 uses the document ID list acquisition method 401 and the bibliographic information acquisition method 402, it does not have the substance of these methods. Therefore, the part developed to implement the document list creation composite method 800 is mainly only the document list western part 803. Therefore, development efficiency can be significantly reduced. The composite Web service providing processing unit 90 configures an aggregate having a plurality of processing units such as the document list creation composite method 800 and a plurality of processing units by a method having the substance of the method as the Web service function 1400 shown in FIG. .
[0063]
The SOAP processing unit 70 further includes dispatchers (Dispatchers) 60 and 68 that distribute processing to each Web service providing processing unit. For example, the SOAP processing unit 70 sends processing to each method 401 or 402 of the file management Web service providing processing unit 40. It has a dispatcher 60 for distributing and a dispatcher 68 for distributing processing to the document list creation composite method 800 of the composite Web service provision processing unit 90. In the multifunction peripheral 1200, only the file management Web service provision processing unit 40 and the other Web service provision processing unit 49 are shown as a plurality of Web service provision processing units for convenience of description, but more Web service provision processing units are shown. May be provided. Further, the XML processing unit 50 and the SOAP processing unit 70 are shared by the plurality of Web service providing processing units.
[0064]
Further, the network device 10 connected to the MFP 1200 via the network 15 controls an input data from an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and controls an output data to be displayed on the monitor 9. 11, a SOAP processing unit 12 that controls message exchange in accordance with SOAP, and a request / response processing unit 14 that analyzes request generation and response in accordance with HTTP. The SOAP processing unit 12 includes an XML processing unit 13 that processes the processing contents of the Web service for the MFP 1200 and the processing result of the Web service from the MFP 1200 by XML. Further, here, the HTTP request indicates that a Web service is requested by data communication in accordance with HTTP, and the HTTP response indicates a response for notifying a processing result of the Web service.
[0065]
As shown in FIG. 3, a user using such a network device 10 requests the MFP 1200 from a screen for requesting a desired Web service to the MFP 1200 (step S1). For example, it is assumed that the user has requested a Web service for providing a list of documents stored in the HDD 1303 of the MFP 1200 from the screen of the monitor 9. In response to the user's request for the Web service, the input / output control unit 11 notifies the request / response processing unit 14 of the request data (step S2). The request / response processing unit 14 generates a request based on the request data from the input / output control unit 11 (Step S3), and notifies the generated request to the SOAP processing unit 12 (Step S4). The SOAP processing unit 12 describes the processing contents of the Web service desired by the XML processing unit 13 user by describing the body part of the HTTP request using XML, and generates an HTTP request according to the SOAP. Then, the HTTP request is transmitted to the MFP 1200 via the network 15 (step S4).
[0066]
Upon receiving the HTTP request, the httpd2 of the MFP 1200 distributes the received HTTP request to the Web service providing processing unit specified by the HTTP request header by the distributor 30 (step S5). For example, when the composite Web service provision processing unit 90 is specified in the header portion of the HTTP request, the distributor 30 executes the composite Web service provision processing unit 90.
[0067]
The composite Web service provision processing unit 90 notifies the SOAP processing unit 70 of the received HTTP request in order to process the HTTP request according to the SOAP (step S6). The SOAP processing unit 70 processes the HTTP request according to the SOAP, and the dispatcher 68 distributes the processing to the document list creation compound method 800 specified in the header part of the HTTP request, and executes the XML processing unit 50 according to the HTTP method. Execute (step S7). The XML processing unit 50 converts the message indicating the processing content in the body part of the HTTP request described in XML into a description that can be interpreted by the document list creation composite method 800 and notifies the document list creation composite method 800 (step S8).
[0068]
In the document list creation composite method 800, first, the document ID list acquisition unit 801 calls a function of the document ID list acquisition method 401 of the file management Web service provision processing unit 40 (step S9). The document ID list acquisition method 401 acquires a document ID for identifying a document managed by the HDD 1303 and creates a document ID list. In this case, assuming that the document ID list acquisition method 401 (listID (docIDList)) has acquired the document IDs “101”, “102”, and “103”, the document ID list (docIDList) is set to docIDList = {101, 102, 103, 0} ("0 (zero)" indicates the end) and notifies the document ID list acquisition unit 801 (step S10).
[0069]
The document list creation composite method 800 subsequently makes a function call to the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 of the file management Web service provision processing unit 40 by the bibliographic information acquisition unit 802 (step S11). The bibliographic information acquisition method 402 inquires bibliographic information of the document managed by the HDD 1303 using the document ID notified from the bibliographic information acquiring unit 802, and creates bibliographic information. For example, when bibliographic information is acquired for the document ID “101”, the bibliographic information acquiring unit 802 makes a function call to the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 (getProps (docID, props)) as in getProps (101, props).
[0070]
The called bibliographic information acquisition method 402 inquires of the HDD 1303 for bibliographic information with the specified document ID, and notifies the bibliographic information to the bibliographic information acquiring unit 802 (step S12). That is, the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 acquires bibliographic information from the HDD 1303 with the document ID “101” notified from the bibliographic information acquisition unit 802. Then, the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 creates bibliographic information for notifying the bibliographic information acquiring unit 802. For example, bibliographic information is created as prop = {document ID, document name, number of pages, owner, 0} (“0 (zero)” indicates the end of bibliographic information). In this case, prop = {101, This is set for the document ID “101”, such as “storage document 1”, 3, “user 1”, 0}. The bibliographic information acquisition method 402 notifies the bibliographic information acquisition unit 802 of the document list creation composite method 800 of the bibliographic information creation result for the specified document ID.
[0071]
The bibliographic information acquisition unit 802 of the document list creation composite method 800 repeats the same process as described above for other document IDs “102” and “103” to acquire all document information.
[0072]
The document list creation composite method 800 further creates a document list by the document list creation unit 803, and notifies the XML processing unit 50 to describe the document list in XML (step S13). That is, the document list creation unit 803 converts the document list into, for example, docList = {101, “storage document 1”, 3, “user 1”, 0}, $ 102, “storage document 2”, 10, “user 2 ", 0}, {103," storage document 3 ", 1," user 1 ", 0}, 0}. The created document list (docList) is notified to the XML processing unit 50. Upon receiving the document list (docList), the XML processing unit 50 describes the document list (docList) in XML and notifies the SOAP processing unit 70 (step S14). Upon receiving the document list described in XML, the SOAP processing unit 70 sets the document list described in the received XML in the body part of the HTTP response, and generates an HTTP response according to the SOAP (step S15).
[0073]
In such a first functional configuration example, the composite Web service provision processing unit 90 combines a plurality of methods using the document list creation composite method 800 without providing the document ID list acquisition method 401 and the bibliographic information acquisition method 402. To perform a series of Web service processes. Therefore, the network device 10 can receive a series of Web services by one HTTP request without being aware of the Web service units that can be provided by the MFP 1200.
[0074]
The XML processing unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 3 describes the document list (docList) in, for example, XML as illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document list described in XML by the XML processing unit. 4, the description 53 indicates the bibliographic information of the document ID “101”, the description 54 indicates the bibliographic information of the document ID “102”, and the description 55 indicates the bibliographic information of the document ID “103”. For example, in the description 53, the bibliographic information of the document ID “101” indicates that the document name is “storage document 1”, the number of pages is “3” pages, and the owner is “user 1”.
[0075]
An HTTP request created by the SOAP processing unit 12 of the network device 10 and transmitted to the MFP 1200 is described, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTTP request by SOAP. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTTP request by SOAP. In the HTTP header 73 of the HTTP request shown in FIG. 5, the URI 74 indicates a URI to which the HTTP request is transmitted by the POST method, and is, for example, "netdoc". Further, a URI indicating the purpose of the request is indicated in the SOAPAction 75, and the “document list” is specified by, for example, “http://foo.bar.com/netdoc/documentList”. The httpd2 of the MFP 1200 receives the HTTP request, and the SOAP processing unit 70 analyzes the HTTP header 75. The SOAP processing unit 70 analyzes </ SOAP-ENV: Envelope> from <SOAP-ENV: Envelope>, and indicates a message indicating processing contents described in XML from <ns: documentList> to </ ns: documentList>. To get. In the XML message, for example, when “1” set in <listtype> indicates that a list is created for all documents in the XML message, the document list creation composite method 800 uses the instruction of the message. Then, the document ID list acquisition unit 801, bibliographic information acquisition unit 802, and document list creation unit 803 acquire a list of all documents managed by the MFP 1200.
[0076]
The document list is described in XML by the XML processing unit 50, and then an HTTP response is created by the SOAP processing unit 70, for example, to generate an HTTP response as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTTP response by SOAP. In the example of the HTTP response shown in FIG. 6, the SOAP processing unit 70 creates an HTTP header 78, and further creates an HTTP body 79. As the HTTP body part 79, </ SOAP-ENV: Envelope> is created from <SOAP-ENV: Envelope>. A message 91 shown from <ns: documentListResponse> to </ ns: documentListResponse> is a message in which the XML processing unit 50 describes the document list from the document list creation composite method 800 in XML.
[0077]
Such an HTTP response is notified to the network device 10, and the SOAP processing unit 12 extracts the message 91 from <SOAP-ENV: Body> to </ SOAP-ENV: Body>, and the extracted message 91 is subjected to the XML processing. The document list information to be displayed on the monitor 9 is extracted by the unit 13 and notified to the request / response processing unit 14. Further, the document list information is processed as screen data by the request / response processing unit 14, and is displayed on the monitor 9 by the input / output control unit 11, for example, as shown in FIG.
[0078]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the network device side. In FIG. 7, a screen 92 displays a list of information such as a document name, the number of pages, and an owner for each document.
[0079]
Further, in FIG. 3, the Web service can be provided by the file management Web service provision processing unit 40 itself. That is, when the httpd2 receives the HTTP request from the network device 10 (step S4), the distributor 30 performs the file management Web service providing process in response to the Web service request for bibliographic information acquisition specified in the header of the HTTP request. The received HTTP request is distributed to the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 of the unit 40 (step S5-3).
[0080]
The file management Web service providing processing unit 40 notifies the received HTTP request to the SOAP processing unit 70 in order to process the HTTP request according to the SOAP (step S6-3). The SOAP processing unit 70 processes the HTTP request according to the SOAP, and the dispatcher 60 distributes the processing to the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 specified in the header part of the HTTP request, and executes the XML processing unit 50 according to the HTTP method. (Step S7-3). The XML processing unit 50 converts the message indicating the processing content in the body part of the HTTP request described in XML into a description that can be interpreted by the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 and notifies the bibliographic information acquisition method 402 (step S8-). 3).
[0081]
The bibliographic information acquisition method 402 queries a document managed by the HDD 1303 for bibliographic information with a document ID specified by a message processed by the XML processing unit 50, and writes the bibliographic information in XML. It notifies the XML processing unit 50 (step S13-3). Further, the SOAP processing unit 70 sets bibliographic information described in XML in the body of the HTTP response, generates an HTTP response according to the SOAP (step S15-3), and transmits the HTTP response from the httpd2 to the network device 10 (step S15-3). S16-3 and S17).
[0082]
As described above, the MFP 1200 can execute the actual bibliographic information acquisition method 402 in response to the HTTP request for providing the bibliographic information from the network device 10. Similarly, it is also possible to execute the document ID list acquisition method 401 itself.
[0083]
Therefore, the MFP 1200 can provide a wide range of Web services by using a plurality of methods for forming an image and performing a process for actually providing the Web services, and a combination thereof.
[0084]
In the above-described first functional configuration example, the functional configuration and the processing flow of the MFP 1200 having the composite Web service providing processing unit that combines and executes a plurality of methods of one Web service providing processing unit have been described. A case in which the composite Web service provision processing unit executes a combination of a plurality of methods of one Web service provision processing unit and another Web provision processing unit will be described.
[0085]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second functional configuration example of the multifunction peripheral that provides the composite Web service. 8, the same components as the components shown in FIG. 3 and the steps similar to the steps shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. 8, the multifunction peripheral 1200 further includes an operation unit Web service provision processing unit 48 that provides the information displayed on the operation panel 1310 to the network device 10 in addition to the components in the first functional configuration example illustrated in FIG. .
[0086]
In the second functional configuration example, a case where a document list is displayed on the operation panel 1310 in response to a request from the operation panel 1310 will be described. In response to a request from the operation panel 1310, the composite Web service provision processing unit 90 executes the document list creation composite method 800 in response to an event that requests a document list generated inside (step S1-5). As described above, the document list creation composite method 800 acquires the document ID list from the document ID list acquisition method 401 by the document ID list acquisition unit 801 (steps S9 and S10), and the bibliographic information acquisition method Bibliographic information corresponding to each document ID is obtained from 402 (steps S11 and S12). Then, the document list created by the document list creation unit 803 is notified to the operation unit control Web service provision processing unit 48 (step S12-5). Then, the operation unit control Web service providing processing unit 48 notifies the operation panel 1310 of a document list as display information. A document list is displayed on the operation panel 1310.
[0087]
Next, a case in which a list of documents currently displayed on the operation panel 1310 is displayed on the monitor 9 in response to a request from the network device 10 will be described. Upon receiving a notification from the XML processing unit 50 of the processing content whose message has been changed to a description that can be interpreted by the document list creation composite method 800, the document list creation composite method 800 sends an operation panel from the operation unit control Web service providing processing unit 48. 1310 (step S8-7), and based on the display information, the document ID list acquisition unit 801 acquires the document ID list from the document ID list acquisition method 401 as described above (step S8-7). S9 and S10), bibliographic information acquisition unit 802 acquires bibliographic information corresponding to each document ID from bibliographic information acquisition method 402 (steps S11 and S12).
[0088]
Then, the document list created by the document list creation unit 803 is notified to the XML processing unit 50 (step S13). The document list described in XML is, for example, a description as shown in FIG. 4, and the description in XML is notified to the SOAP processing unit 70 (step S14). The SOAP processing unit 70 further forms the document list described in XML in the form of an HTTP response as shown in FIG. 6 (step S15), and transmits it from the httpd2 to the network device 10 (steps S16 and S17). ).
[0089]
In the network device 10, a screen 92 as shown in FIG. This screen 92 can be displayed in the same configuration as the operation panel 1310.
[0090]
In such a second functional configuration example, the XML processing unit 50 and the SOAP processing unit 70 may be configured to be included in the composite Web service provision processing unit 90.
[0091]
In the first and second functional configuration examples, the configuration in which the MFP 1200 having the composite Web service provision processing unit 90 provides the Web service to one network device 10 has been described. In this case, a desired Web service can be provided to each network device 10.
[0092]
In addition, the processing content to the multifunction peripheral 1200 can be described in XML, and the message exchange procedure is set to SOAP, so that the network device 10 can operate on the Web without depending on the model or operating system of the network device 10. Service can be provided.
[0093]
Further, by providing the compound Web service providing processing unit 90 of the multi-functional apparatus 1200 with the document list creation compound method 800, it is possible to provide a Web service combining a plurality of methods in one Web service providing processing unit, It is possible to provide a Web service combining a Web service provision processing unit. Therefore, the network device 10 does not need to generate a plurality of HTTP requests for requesting the MFP 1200 in response to a request from the user. Therefore, it is only necessary to process one HTTP response for one HTTP request, and it is not necessary to perform special processing in response to a user request on the network device 10.
[0094]
Further, the user can use the Internet standard various Web protocols via a network without installing a plurality of driver software for using a plurality of image forming functions in a computer terminal to be used. It can be used as a programmable application component that can be accessed and used.
[0095]
In addition, a distributed environment in which a Web service exchanges with another Web service can be realized within the MFP 1200 or between the MFP 1200 and another device.
[0096]
According to the above-described embodiment, the MFP 1200 that forms an image processes various internal information related to image processing, such as operation panel control, print processing, file management, and scanner control, and provides the processing result to a request source. Service can be realized. The term "internal information" used herein refers to image information, status information about the image information, image processing such as information such as control parameters for changing settings of the device main body and changing the network IP, and various types of the MFP 1200. Various kinds of information are shown, and a predetermined process is performed on the internal information, and the processing result is provided as a Web service, which can be realized by the above-described embodiment.
[0097]
In the above embodiment, httpd2 corresponds to the network communication control unit, and the file management Web service provision processing unit 40 corresponds to the Web service provision processing unit, and each of the document ID list acquisition method 401 and the bibliographic information acquisition method 402. Corresponds to the processing unit. The composite Web service provision processing unit 90 corresponds to composite Web service provision processing means, and the document list creation composite method 800 corresponds to composite processing execution means. The operation unit control Web service provision processing unit 48 corresponds to an internal Web service provision processing unit. Further, the SOAP processing unit 70 corresponds to a protocol processing unit, and the XML processing unit 50 corresponds to a message processing unit.
[0098]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, without installing software such as a driver in order to use a plurality of image forming functions in a computer terminal used by a user, the model of the computer terminal or It is possible not only to issue a processing request from a user to a multifunction device having a plurality of image forming functions without depending on an operating system, but also to uniformly process a processing request from another device. . Furthermore, by controlling a combination of a plurality of Web services configured in fine units by the composite Web service, services can be provided in various variations. Further, the same Web service can be reused between different services.
[0099]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a multifunction peripheral that fuses various image forming functions according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the MFP 1200 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration for describing an example of a multifunction peripheral having a composite Web service.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document list described in XML by an XML processing unit.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTTP request by SOAP.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTTP response by SOAP.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the network device side.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second functional configuration example of a multifunction peripheral that provides a composite Web service.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 httpd (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Daemon)
30 Distributor
40-49 Web service provision processing unit
50 XML processing unit, 60, 68 dispatcher
70 SOAP processing section 800 Document list creation compound method
90 Composite Web Service Provision Processing Unit
1200 fusion machine,
1201 Plotter 1202 Scanner
1210 Software group
1230 application, 1220 platform
1221 OS, 1222 SCS
1223 SRM, 1224 ECS
1225 MCS, 1226 OCS
1227 FCS, 1228 NCS
1229 IMH, 1240 MFP starter
1300 controller, 1301 ASIC
1302 MEM-C, 1303 HDD
1304 CPU, 1305 NB
1306 MEM-P, 1307 SB
1308 AGP, 1310 Operation Panel
1330 USB, 1340 IEEE 1394
1350 engine section, 1500 network I / F section
1530 FAX control unit

Claims (19)

Network communication control means for controlling communication of a processing request from a device connected via a network and a processing response to the device;
Based on a message described in accordance with a predetermined message exchange protocol in the processing request, at least one Web service providing processing unit that processes internal information regarding the image forming apparatus and generates the processing response indicating the processing result;
The internal information is processed by executing at least one or more processing units constituting the Web service providing processing means, and the processing response corresponding to the processing request is performed by performing additional processing using the processing result. An image forming apparatus comprising: a composite Web service providing processing unit that generates the composite Web service. An application having the Web service providing processing means and the composite Web service providing processing means;
A control service that manages hardware resources used in the image forming process, and controls use of the hardware resources in response to a use request from the application;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operating system that controls the application and the control service. The composite Web service providing processing means is a processing unit in the composite Web service providing processing means, and has at least one composite processing executing means that executes the combined processing unit of the Web service providing processing means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an internal Web service providing processing unit that executes the composite processing executing unit in response to an internal event that has occurred in the image forming apparatus. The composite processing execution means acquires the internal event from the internal Web service provision processing means, and executes the combination of the processing units of the Web service provision processing means based on the internal event to thereby execute the processing request. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing response is generated according to the response. A plurality of the Web service providing processing means having at least one processing unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the composite processing execution unit processes the internal information by combining a plurality of the processing units of the plurality of Web service providing processing units. 7. The image according to claim 6, further comprising protocol processing means sharable by said plurality of Web service provision processing means and said composite Web service provision processing means, and for controlling said message in accordance with said predetermined message exchange protocol. Forming equipment. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a message processing unit that can be shared by the plurality of Web service providing processing units and the composite Web service providing processing unit, and that processes the message. The request type of the processing request received by the network communication control means is analyzed according to the predetermined message exchange protocol, and based on the analysis result, the composite Web service provision processing means or the composite Web service provision processing means performs the processing. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a distribution unit that distributes the request. The specific information for specifying the Web service in the processing request is analyzed according to the predetermined message exchange protocol, and based on the analysis result, the processing is distributed to the complex processing executing means for executing the Web service characterized by the specific information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a distribution unit. Document storage means for storing document files;
11. The document management Web service provision processing means for providing information on document files stored in the storage means as one of the Web service provision processing means. The image forming apparatus as described in the above. The document management Web service providing processing means includes:
A first processing unit for acquiring a document ID for identifying a document file from the storage unit;
12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a second processing unit for acquiring bibliographic information corresponding to the designated document ID from the storage unit. The composite processing execution means includes:
A first processing unit that executes the first processing unit based on the internal information and acquires a predetermined document ID;
A second processing unit that executes the second processing unit based on the document ID obtained by the first processing unit and obtains bibliographic information corresponding to the document ID;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a third processing unit that creates a document list based on the bibliographic information acquired by the second processing unit. Operating means for providing operation information to the user and receiving an instruction for the internal information from the user;
The internal Web service provision processing means includes an operation unit control Web service provision processing means for providing a document list stored in the document storage means to the operation means via the composite processing execution means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein: The composite Web service provision processing means acquires display information displayed on the operation unit from the operation part control Web service provision processing means based on the internal information requesting display of the operation means, and 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the composite processing execution unit is configured to create a document list corresponding to information. A network communication control procedure for controlling communication of a processing request from a device connected via a network and a processing response to the device,
Based on a message described in accordance with a predetermined message exchange protocol in the processing request, at least one Web service providing processing procedure for processing internal information regarding the image forming apparatus and generating the processing response indicating the processing result;
The internal information is processed by executing at least one or more processing units constituting the Web service providing processing procedure, and the processing response corresponding to the processing request is performed by performing additional processing using the processing result. A composite Web service providing process for generating the image. The composite Web service provision processing procedure includes at least one composite processing execution procedure which is a processing unit of the composite Web service provision processing means and is executed in combination with the processing unit of the Web service provision processing means. The image forming method according to claim 14, wherein: Having a plurality of the Web service providing processing procedures,
16. The image forming method according to claim 15, wherein in the composite processing execution procedure, the internal information is processed by combining the plurality of Web service providing processing procedures. Generation of a processing request indicating a processing request related to the Web service according to a predetermined message exchange protocol with an image forming apparatus that provides a Web service connected via a network, and the processing response indicating a response to the processing request Message exchange control means for analyzing the
A user terminal, comprising: a request response control unit that performs control processing for generating the processing request and generating screen information for displaying a result of the analysis of the response by the message exchange control unit on a display unit.

Images