JP2004260272A - Image processing system and data management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operation efficiency of an image processing system by reducing the burden of the centralized management of information by a server. <P>SOLUTION: In the information processing system 100, operation setting data of image forming devices 10a-10c are classified into data which are indispensable for operations and optional data which are the data additional to the indispensable data. The indispensable data are stored and registered in a memory 17 of each of the devices 10a-10c, and the optional data are stored and registered in a memory 51 of the server 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing system in which a server is connected to a facsimile machine, a printer, a copier, or a multifunction machine thereof (hereinafter, referred to as an image forming apparatus) via a communication network, and a data management method in the image processing system. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the development of communication technology in recent years, an image processing system has been realized in which a server and a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected via a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and each of these image forming apparatuses is managed by the server. ing. In such an image processing system, the server collectively manages operation setting data set and registered by the user such as user information, printing conditions, and speed dial settings in each of the image forming apparatuses, so that information is shared. (For example, see Patent Document 1). The image forming apparatus operates by acquiring operation setting data from the server memory when the power is turned on.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-15898
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, centrally managing information of many image forming apparatuses in the server places a heavy burden on the server, and when information requests from the image forming apparatuses are duplicated, increases the communication load and causes the processing efficiency in the image processing system to increase. Will decrease. Further, when the server cannot be connected due to a server failure or a connection error, the image forming apparatus cannot acquire the operation setting data from the memory of the server, and the image forming apparatus may not operate. Was.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden of centralized management of information by a server and improve the operation efficiency of an image processing system.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is
In an image processing system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a server that manages the plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected via a communication network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A control unit that classifies operation setting data of the image forming apparatus into essential data indispensable for operation and optional data that is additional information of the essential data;
A memory for storing the classified essential data,
The server comprises:
The image forming apparatus further includes a memory for storing arbitrary data registered in the image forming apparatus.
[0007]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first aspect,
The image forming apparatus acquires arbitrary data stored in a memory of the server when power is turned on, and operates using the arbitrary data and essential data stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus.
[0008]
The invention according to claim 5 is
A data management method in an image processing system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a server that manages the plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected via a communication network,
A classification process of classifying operation setting data of the image forming apparatus into essential data indispensable for the operation and optional data that is additional information of the essential data;
A first storing step of storing the classified essential data in a memory provided in the image forming apparatus;
A second storing step of storing the classified arbitrary data in a memory provided in the server;
It is characterized by including.
[0009]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data management method according to the fifth aspect,
The image forming apparatus includes an operation step of acquiring arbitrary data stored in a memory of the server when power is turned on, and operating using the arbitrary data and essential data stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus. Features.
[0010]
According to the first, third, fifth and seventh aspects of the present invention, essential data among operation setting data of the image forming apparatus is stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus, and arbitrary data is stored in a memory of the server. When the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on, arbitrary data is obtained from the memory of the server and operates, so that the amount of data stored in the image forming apparatus can be reduced and the burden of centralized information management by the server can be reduced. Therefore, the operation efficiency of the image processing system can be improved.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first aspect,
If the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server at the time of storing the arbitrary data, the memory of the image forming apparatus stores the arbitrary data.
[0012]
The invention according to claim 6 is a data management method according to claim 5,
If the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server at the time of storing the arbitrary data, the second storing step stores the arbitrary data in a memory of the image forming apparatus.
[0013]
According to the second and sixth aspects of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server, arbitrary data is stored in the memory of the image forming apparatus, so that the operation of the image forming apparatus is not hindered. When connection becomes possible, arbitrary data can be stored again in the memory of the server.
[0014]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the third aspect,
If the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server when the power is turned on, the image forming apparatus operates using only the essential data stored in the memory of the image forming apparatus.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 8 is a data management method according to claim 7, wherein
In the operation process, when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server when the power is turned on, the image forming apparatus operates only with the essential data stored in the memory of the image forming apparatus.
[0016]
According to the fourth and eighth aspects of the invention, even when the image forming apparatus cannot be connected to the server when the power is turned on, the image forming apparatus can operate only with the essential data, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the image processing system. be able to.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, the operation setting data of the image forming apparatus is classified and registered as essential data essential for operation and optional data which is additional information of the essential data, and the essential data is stored in a memory provided in the image forming apparatus. An example of an image processing system in which arbitrary data is stored in a memory provided in a server will be described.
[0018]
First, the configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of an image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the image processing system 100, image forming apparatuses 10 a to 10 c and a server 50 are connected via a communication network 80. Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which three image forming apparatuses and one server are connected, the number and location of each apparatus are not particularly limited.
[0019]
The communication network 80 is a communication network constructed using a dedicated line or an existing general public line, and various line forms such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), and the Internet can be applied. It is.
[0020]
The image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c are a facsimile machine, a printer, a copier, or a composite machine thereof. Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c will be described. Since the functional configurations of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c are the same, the image forming apparatus 10a will be described as a representative.
[0021]
FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10a.
As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10a includes a control unit 11, an input unit 12, a display unit 13, a printing unit 14, a communication unit 15, a program memory 16, and a memory 17.
[0022]
The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like. In addition to the system programs stored in the program memory 16, the data registration processing program according to the present invention (see FIG. 7) and the data reading processing program (FIG. 9) ) Is developed in a work area (not shown), and the processing operation is comprehensively controlled in cooperation with the program.
[0023]
Specifically, in the data registration process, the control unit 11 classifies the operation setting data into essential data and optional data.
[0024]
The input unit 12 includes a cursor key, a number key, various function keys, and a touch panel integrated with the display unit 13 for inputting a user's operation instruction. The input unit 12 transmits a pressing signal corresponding to the pressed key. Output to the control unit 11.
[0025]
The display unit 13 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and includes a registration screen 131 for operation setting data (see FIG. 8), a FAX transmission screen 132 and 133 (see FIGS. 10A and 10B), and the like. Various operation screens and various display information such as processing results by the control unit 11 are displayed.
[0026]
The printing unit 14 includes a scanner, a paper feeding unit that feeds printing paper, and the like. The printing unit 14 outputs image data read by the scanner to the control unit 11, and outputs the image data based on the image data input by the control unit 11. Prints on the specified printing paper.
[0027]
The communication unit 15 includes a network interface card, a modem or a terminal adapter, and transmits and receives various information such as image information, control information, and operation setting data to and from the server 50.
[0028]
The communication unit 15 includes a FAX modem or the like and has a FAX communication function. The communication unit 15 converts data input from the control unit 11 into analog data for facsimile transmission (hereinafter, referred to as FAX data) and is designated. To the recipient of the phone number you sent. Further, when receiving the FAX data via the communication network 80, it converts it into digital data and outputs it to the control unit 11.
[0029]
The program memory 16 is configured by a magnetic or optical storage medium or a semiconductor memory, and stores a data registration processing program and a data reading processing program in addition to the system program of the image forming apparatus 10a.
[0030]
In addition, the program memory 16 stores a data attribute file 161 in which operation setting data belongs to essential data or arbitrary data. Hereinafter, the data attribute file 161 will be specifically described with reference to reduced dial data in which a reduced dial number is set as operation setting data.
[0031]
The abbreviated dial data includes the abbreviated number “abbreviated No.”, the dialed telephone number “dial No.”, the dialed “name”, the “search character” for searching the dialed destination, and the dial Setting items such as “document setting” for setting a document to be applied when dialing first and “application communication mode setting” for setting a communication mode to be applied are included.
As shown in FIG. 3, the data attribute file 161 includes operation setting data (for example, “shortened No.”) and data attributes (for example, “abbreviated No.”) indicating whether the operation setting data is essential data or optional data. “Required”) are stored in association with each other.
[0032]
The memory 17 includes a nonvolatile memory 171 composed of a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a volatile memory 172 composed of a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory).
[0033]
The nonvolatile memory 171 is a memory for storing essential data in operation setting data, and the volatile memory 172 is a memory for storing arbitrary data in operation setting data. Explaining the above-described shortened dial data as an example, the nonvolatile memory 171 stores the operation setting data of “short No.” and “dial No.” belonging to the essential data among the shortened dial data as shown in FIG. . Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the volatile memory 172 stores operation setting data of “name”, “search character”, “document setting”, and “applied communication mode setting” belonging to arbitrary data among the shortened dial data. .
[0034]
Next, the server 50 will be described.
The server 50 is a terminal device that manages each of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c connected via the communication network 80. The server 50 includes a nonvolatile memory 51 therein, and stores arbitrary data of operation setting data set and registered in each of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c in the memory 51. Taking the abbreviated dial setting data as an example, as shown in FIG. 6, the memory 51 stores, for each "image forming apparatus No." which is the identification number of the image forming apparatus, "name", "search character", The optional data of “original setting” and “applied communication mode setting” are stored.
[0035]
When receiving the request information of the arbitrary data from the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c, the server 50 reads out the arbitrary data corresponding to the requesting image forming apparatus from the memory 51 and transmits the read data to the image forming apparatus.
[0036]
Next, the operation in the present embodiment will be described.
Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10a will be described as a representative, but the same operation is performed in the other image forming apparatuses 10b and 10c.
[0037]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a data registration process performed by the image forming apparatus 10a. In this data registration process, the operation setting data is classified into essential data and optional data, and the essential data is saved and registered in the nonvolatile memory 171 of the image forming apparatus 10a, and the optional data is saved and registered in the memory 51 of the server 50.
[0038]
In the data registration process shown in FIG. 7, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not an instruction to register operation setting data has been input from the user via the input unit 12. When an instruction to register operation setting data is input (step S1; Y), a registration screen 131 (see FIG. 8) for setting and registering operation setting data is displayed on the display unit 13, and data is set by the user. When the registration is instructed, the operation setting data is registered by the control unit 11 (step S2).
[0039]
In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which abbreviated dial data is set and registered as operation setting data. As shown in FIG. 8, on the registration screen 131, each setting item of “abbreviated No.”, “dial No.”, “name”, “search character”, “document setting”, and “applied communication mode setting” is displayed. It is displayed together with the input area for item data.
[0040]
The user inputs item data to the setting items to be registered on this registration screen 131. At this time, if no item data is input to the setting items of “abbreviated No.” and “dial No.” set in the essential data, an input error message is displayed on the display unit 13.
[0041]
When the entry of the item data by the user is completed and registration is instructed on the registration screen 131, request information for requesting registration of operation setting data is transmitted from the communication unit 15 to the memory 51 of the server 50 in step S3. Then, whether or not the server 50 has been detected is determined based on the presence or absence of the response information from the server 50.
[0042]
When it is determined that the server 50 cannot be connected and the server 50 has not been detected (step S3; N), the operation setting data registered on the registration screen 131 is indispensable by the control unit 11 based on the data attribute file 161. Classified into data and arbitrary data. Then, the essential data is stored in the non-volatile memory 171 and the optional data is stored in the volatile memory 172 (step S4), and the process ends. The arbitrary data stored in the volatile memory 172 can be stored again in the memory 51 of the server 50 when it becomes possible to connect to the server 50. If the image forming apparatus 10a is turned off before being stored in the memory 51 of the server 50, only arbitrary data is edited from the registration screen 131 for setting and registering operation setting data displayed on the display unit 13. And register it.
[0043]
On the other hand, if the server 50 transmits response information of registration permission in response to the operation setting data registration request information and it is determined that the server 50 has been detected (step S3; Y), the operation setting registered on the registration screen 131 After the data is classified into essential data and optional data by the control unit 11 based on the data attribute file 161, the optional data is transmitted to the server 50 via the communication unit 15. In the server 50, the arbitrary data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10a is stored in the memory 51 in association with the “image forming apparatus No.” corresponding to the image forming apparatus 10a (Step S5).
[0044]
Next, in step S6, the essential data classified from the operation setting data is stored in the nonvolatile memory 171 and the process ends. Incidentally, the arbitrary data may be stored in the volatile memory 172 in step S6. In that case, any data can be used immediately after data registration.
[0045]
Next, referring to FIG. 9, a data reading process executed when the power of the image forming apparatus 10a is turned on will be described. The data reading process requests the server 50 for the arbitrary data stored in the memory 51 of the server 50, and when the arbitrary data can be acquired from the memory 51 of the server 50, the acquired arbitrary data and the acquired arbitrary data are stored in the memory 17. The operation is performed using the essential data, and when the arbitrary data cannot be obtained from the memory 51 of the server 50, the operation is performed using only the essential data stored in the memory 17.
[0046]
In the data reading process illustrated in FIG. 9, first, in step S101, request information for data reading is transmitted to the server 50 by the communication unit 15. Then, whether or not the server 50 has been detected is determined based on the presence or absence of the response information from the server 50. If it is determined that the server 50 cannot be connected and the server 50 has not been detected (step S101; N), the process proceeds to step S104.
[0047]
On the other hand, in response to the data read request information, read permission response information is transmitted from the server 50, and when it is determined that the server 50 has been detected (step S101; Y), the communication unit 15 is transmitted from the memory 51 of the server 50 to the communication unit 15. Arbitrary data is obtained via the CPU (step S102), and the obtained arbitrary data is stored in the volatile memory 172 (step S103).
[0048]
Next, in step S104, it is determined whether or not an instruction to read operation setting data has been input from the user via the input unit 12, for example, an instruction to read a speed dial has been input. When an instruction to read the operation setting data is input (Step S104; Y), it is determined whether or not the optional data of the operation setting data for which the reading instruction has been issued exists in the volatile memory 172 (Step S105).
[0049]
When the arbitrary data is present in the volatile memory 172 (step S105; Y), the essential data of the operation setting data instructed to be read is read from the nonvolatile memory 171 and the optional data is read from the volatile memory 172 (step S106). The operation is started using the essential data and the optional data (step S108).
[0050]
On the other hand, if the arbitrary data does not exist in the volatile memory 172 (step S105; N), the essential data of the operation setting data instructed to be read is read from the nonvolatile memory 171 (step S107), and the operation is performed using only the essential data. It is started (step S108).
[0051]
For example, when the operation is performed using the essential data and the optional data of the abbreviated dial data, a facsimile transmission screen 132 using the abbreviated dial as shown in FIG. 10A is displayed on the display unit 13 and only the essential data of the abbreviated dial data is displayed. When the operation is performed by using the FAX transmission screen 133 shown in FIG. On the FAX transmission screen 132, the dial No. The name of the dial destination is displayed in place of, and the display is easy for the user to operate. On the FAX transmission screen 133, the minimum required display for the FAX transmission operation is displayed.
[0052]
As described above, the operation setting data registered in each of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c is divided into essential data and optional data, the essential data is stored in the memory 17 of each of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c, and the optional data is stored in the server 50. Since the data is stored in the memory 51, the amount of data stored in the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c can be reduced, and the burden on the server 50 for centrally managing information can be reduced.
[0053]
Further, even when the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c cannot connect to the server 50 when the power is turned on and cannot obtain arbitrary data from the memory 51 of the server 50, they operate only with the essential data. Even when the connection to the server 50 is not possible, the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c can be used, and the operation efficiency of the image processing system 100 can be improved.
[0054]
When the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c cannot connect to the server 50 and cannot store arbitrary data in the memory 51 of the server 50, the arbitrary data is stored in the memory 17 of the image forming apparatus. It is possible to take measures such as transmitting arbitrary data again when the connection with the server 50 becomes possible without hindering the operation of.
[0055]
Note that the description in the present embodiment is a preferred example of the image processing system 100 to which the present invention is applied, and the present invention is not limited to this.
[0056]
For example, in the above description, the arbitrary data is stored in the memory 51 of the server 50 for each image forming apparatus, and the arbitrary data corresponding to the image forming apparatus that has requested the arbitrary data is read. Any data registered in each of the devices 10a to 10c may be stored in the memory 51 as common arbitrary data in the image processing system 100, and the arbitrary data may be shared. Thereby, the arbitrary data common to each of the image forming apparatuses 10a to 10c can be shared, and the operation of registering duplicate operation setting data performed for each image forming apparatus can be omitted.
[0057]
In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0058]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first, third, fifth and seventh aspects of the present invention, essential data among operation setting data of the image forming apparatus is stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus, and arbitrary data is stored in a memory of the server. When the image forming apparatus is powered on, any data is acquired from the memory 51 of the server to operate, so that the amount of data stored in the image forming apparatus can be reduced and the burden of centralized management of information by the server can be reduced. Therefore, the operation efficiency of the image processing system can be improved.
[0059]
According to the second and sixth aspects of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server, arbitrary data is stored in the memory of the image forming apparatus, so that the operation of the image forming apparatus is not hindered. When connection becomes possible, arbitrary data can be stored again in the memory of the server.
[0060]
According to the fourth and eighth aspects of the present invention, even when the image forming apparatus cannot be connected to the server when the power is turned on, the image forming apparatus can operate only with the essential data, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the image processing system. be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a nonvolatile memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a volatile memory in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of a data attribute file of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a memory included in the server of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a data registration process performed by the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a registration screen for setting and registering operation setting data.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a data reading process performed by the image forming apparatus.
10A is a diagram illustrating a FAX transmission screen when operating using essential data and arbitrary data, and FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a FAX transmission screen when operating using only essential data. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10a to 10c Image forming apparatus 11 Control unit 12 Input unit 13 Display unit 14 Printing unit 15 Communication unit 16 Program memory 161 Data attribute file 17 Memory 171 Non-volatile memory 172 Volatile memory 50 Server 51 Memory 80 Communication network 100 Image processing system

Claims (8)

In an image processing system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a server that manages the plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected via a communication network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A control unit that classifies operation setting data of the image forming apparatus into essential data indispensable for operation and optional data that is additional information of the essential data;
A memory for storing the classified essential data,
The server comprises:
An image processing system comprising a memory for storing arbitrary data registered in the image forming apparatus. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server when storing the arbitrary data, the memory of the image forming apparatus stores the arbitrary data. The image forming apparatus acquires arbitrary data stored in a memory of the server when power is turned on, and operates using the arbitrary data and essential data stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus. Item 2. The image processing system according to Item 1. 4. The image according to claim 3, wherein, when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server when the power is turned on, the image forming apparatus operates using only essential data stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus. Processing system. A data management method in an image processing system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a server that manages the plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected via a communication network,
A classification process of classifying operation setting data of the image forming apparatus into essential data indispensable for the operation and optional data that is additional information of the essential data;
A first storing step of storing the classified essential data in a memory provided in the image forming apparatus;
A second storing step of storing the classified arbitrary data in a memory provided in the server;
A data management method comprising: 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server at the time of storing the arbitrary data, the arbitrary data is stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus in the second storing step. Data management method. The image forming apparatus includes an operation process of acquiring arbitrary data stored in a memory of the server when power is turned on, and operating using the arbitrary data and essential data stored in a memory of the image forming apparatus. The data management method according to claim 5, wherein: 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein in the operation process, when the image forming apparatus cannot connect to the server when the power is turned on, the image forming apparatus operates only with the essential data stored in the memory of the image forming apparatus. Data management methods.

Images