JP2005079886A - Image processor, image forming apparatus, image processing method, computer program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute a user-liking image by sufficiently considering follow-up after a failure in transmission for the safe of a user, when whole transmission to the transmission destination or transfer destination of the user fails. <P>SOLUTION: When the user α is selected and a start key 34 is depressed (S1-2), it is checked whether the first transmission destination is connected or not (S1-3) and an original image is transmitted to the first transmission destination in the case of being connected (S1-4). When the first transmission destination is not connected, it is checked whether the second transmission destination (distribution server) is connected or not (S1-5) and the original image is transmitted to the second transmission destination in the case of being connected (S1-4). When the second transmission destination is not connected, it is inspected whether a free capacity is present in an HDD 75 or not (S1-6). When the free capacity is present, read data are temporarily preserved (S1-7). When the free capacity is not present, the read data are printed (S1-8). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for distributing image information connected to a network, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile equipped with the image processing apparatus, and an image forming method for executing the image forming method on a computer. The present invention relates to a computer program and a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

  As this kind of invention, for example, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. It is an object of the present invention to save time and effort for inputting a transmission destination each time transmission is made to an individual, and to enable a user to easily and efficiently set a transmission destination. When information processing is performed by an information processing system in which an information input device and an information output device are connected by a transmission medium, a destination corresponding to a plurality of transmission means such as e-mail and facsimile is registered in the destination table, Select the destination from the destination table, register a plurality of types of registered destinations as one, and select and register one or more destinations to be transmitted during transmission among the registered destinations It is what you do.

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 is also known. An object of the present invention is to eliminate the inconvenience that even if an e-mail containing an urgent message or an important message arrives, the recipient cannot receive for a certain period of time, such as going out or on a business trip. A user information database storing a user's e-mail address and a mail transfer destination designated by the user, and a client device used by the user from the e-mail address in the user information database. A network monitoring unit for identifying and determining whether the client device is connected to the network; and when receiving an e-mail addressed to an arbitrary user, the client device used by the user by the network monitoring unit is a network Is determined not to be connected to , By referring to the user information database, the received electronic mail is one having a mail transfer means for transferring the mail forwarding.
JP 2001-358864 A JP 2002-305551 A

  In the current scanner distribution, after selecting a transmission means (E-Mail, distribution server etc.), a destination for the transmission means is displayed and a transmission destination is selected. In this method, destination information to be registered when sending to the same partner must be registered for each transmission means. For example, the invention disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a solution to the complexity of these operations. However, in this invention, when a user and a transmission destination thereof are registered and transmitted, By specifying the destination, the transmission means can be automatically specified. However, here, the user and the transmission means are one set, and when the same user has a transmission destination different from the transmission destination, the transmission destination must be reselected again.

  Further, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the network monitoring unit determines that the client device used by the user is not connected to the network, the received electronic mail is transferred by mail with reference to the user information database. Although transfer is performed first, sufficient consideration is not given until all the transmission means registered by the user registration means fail.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable user-like image distribution with sufficient consideration for subsequent follow-up to the user when transmission fails to all of the transmission destination or transfer destination of the user who transmits the image information. Is to make it.

  In order to achieve the object, in the image processing apparatus that distributes image information to a desired user via a network, the first means registers the transmission destination of the user with priority, and the registration Transmitting means for transmitting the image information to the first transmission destination having a high priority of the user registered by the means and transmitting the image information to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the priority; And a control unit that stores the image information in a storage unit that retains the stored contents even when the power is not supplied when transmission to all the transmission destinations registered in the registration unit fails. And

  The second means is characterized in that, in the first means, the control means causes the printing means to output the image information to be stored when the storage means has reached a storage capacity limit.

  The third means is characterized in that, in the second means, the printing means is provided in the image processing means.

  The fourth means is characterized in that, in the second means, the printing means comprises a printer connected to a network.

  According to a fifth means, in the first means, when the control means fails to transmit to all of the transmission destinations, and thereafter becomes capable of transmission, the image information stored in the storage means is displayed. It is characterized by retransmitting.

  Sixth means includes: an image processing apparatus that distributes image information to a desired user via a network; a registration means that registers the transmission destination of the user with a priority order; and the user registered by the registration means If the image information is transmitted to the first transmission destination having a higher priority and the transmission cannot be performed, the transmission unit transmits the image information to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the priority order. Adds the number of transmission failures for each destination, and if transmission is successful, the transmission history storage means clears the number of transmission failures for each destination, and the number of transmission failures for each destination exceeds a predetermined number And a control means for notifying the corresponding transmission destination to a management user connected to the network.

  The seventh means is characterized in that, in the sixth means, the notification is performed by displaying on the operation unit of the management user.

  An eighth means is the sixth means, wherein the notification is a report transmission to the management user.

  A ninth means is the sixth to eighth means, wherein the notification is a user name and a mac address.

  A tenth means is characterized in that in the first to ninth means, the image information is image information read by an image reading means.

  The eleventh means is characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth means. .

  In a twelfth means, in the image processing method for distributing image information to a desired user via a network, the image information is transmitted to the first destination having a high priority set in advance by the user, and cannot be transmitted. In the case of transmission to the second transmission destination of the next candidate in accordance with the preset priority, and in the case where transmission to all the transmission destinations could not be performed, the storage means that retains the stored contents even when the power is off The image information is stored.

  The thirteenth means retransmits the image information stored in the storage means in the twelfth means when transmission to all the transmission destinations has failed, and when transmission becomes possible thereafter. Features.

  In a fourteenth aspect, in the image processing method for distributing image information to a desired user via a network, the image information cannot be transmitted to the first destination having a high priority set in advance by the user. If the number of transmission failures for each destination exceeds a predetermined number, the corresponding destination is connected to the network. The management user is notified.

  The fifteenth means is characterized in that the computer program includes a procedure for causing the computer to execute the function of the control means in the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth means.

  The sixteenth means is characterized in that a computer program has a procedure for executing the processing method according to any one of the twelfth to fifteenth by a computer.

  The seventeenth means is characterized in that the computer program according to the fifteenth or sixteenth means is read by a computer and recorded on a recording medium so as to be executable.

  In the following embodiments, the registration means is in the destination edit key 79 and the NV-RAM 74, the selection means is in the destination edit key 79, the transmission means is in the transmission / reception unit 640, the storage means is in the hard disk (HDD) 75, and the transmission history. The storage means is the NV-RAM 74, the control means is the CPU 68 and the main controller 20, the printing means is the writing unit 57, the management user is the administrator's PC, and the display device is the display 701a of the distribution server 701 and the liquid crystal of the operation unit 30. The display 31 and the image reading means correspond to a reading unit (scanner) 50, respectively.

  With this configuration, when transmission fails for all of a plurality of transmission destinations or transfer destinations for the selected user, it becomes possible to follow the user sufficiently thereafter. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described together with the operation.
In the figure, a document bundle placed on the document table 2 in the automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 1 with the image surface of the document facing upward is most marked when the print key 34 on the operation unit 30 is pressed. The document is pulled out from the lower document by the feeding roller 3 and fed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feeding belt 4. The ADF 1 has a count function that counts up the number of documents every time one document is fed. The document fed on the contact glass 6 is scanned by the reading unit (hereinafter also referred to as a scanner) 50 for image data on the document. The document that has been read is discharged from the contact glass 6 by the feeding belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, when it is detected by the document set detection sensor 7 that there is a next document on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6 similarly to the previous document, and the same operation is repeated. The feeding roller 3, the feeding belt 4, and the discharging roller 5 are driven by a conveyance motor 26.

  On the other hand, transfer sheets as recording media stacked on the first tray 8, the second tray 9, and the third tray 10 are respectively transferred by the first paper feeding device 11, the second paper feeding device 12, and the third paper feeding device 13. The sheet is fed and conveyed by the vertical conveyance unit 14 to a position where it abuts on the photoreceptor 15. The image data read by the reading unit 50 is written onto the photoconductor 15 by the laser light from the writing unit 57 to form a latent image. The latent image passes through the developing unit 27 and is developed with toner, thereby being toner. An image is formed. Then, the toner image on the photoconductor 15 is transferred onto the transfer paper conveyed by the conveyance belt 16 at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15. Thereafter, the image on the transfer paper is fixed by the fixing unit 17, and the transfer paper on which the image is fixed is discharged by the paper discharge unit 18 to the finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus.

  The finisher 100 as a post-processing device can guide the transfer paper conveyed by the paper discharge roller of the main body toward the normal paper discharge roller 102 and toward the staple processing unit. A switching plate 101 is provided for switching the transport direction. The switching plate 101 discharges the transfer sheet to the normal discharge tray 104 side via the conveyance roller 103 by switching in the upward direction in the figure, and passes through the conveyance rollers 105 and 107 by switching downward. Thus, the conveyance path can be set so as to convey the transfer sheet to the staple table 108.

  Each time a sheet of transfer paper loaded on the staple table 108 is discharged, the paper end surface is aligned by the paper alignment jogger 109, and is bound by the stapler 106 upon completion of a partial copy. The group of transfer sheets bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the staple completion discharge tray 110 by its own weight. On the other hand, the normal paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth. The paper discharge tray section 104 that can be moved back and forth moves back and forth for each original or each copy section sorted by the image memory, and sorts the copy paper that is simply discharged.

  When images are formed on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer paper fed from each of the paper feed trays 8 to 10 is not guided to the paper discharge tray 104 side, and the branching claw for switching the path is on the upper side. In this case, the paper is once stocked from the conveyance path 113 to the duplex feeding unit 111. Thereafter, the transfer paper stocked in the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 is reversed by the reversing unit 112 and re-fed from the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 in order to transfer the toner image formed on the photoreceptor 15 again. A branching claw for switching is set on the lower side and guided to the paper discharge tray 104. In this way, the duplex feeding unit 111 is used when creating images on both sides of the transfer sheet. When the paper is simply reversed and discharged without being re-fed, the transfer paper is reversed by the reversing unit 112 and discharged from the transport path 114 to the finisher 100 side.

The photoreceptor 15, the transport belt 16, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharge unit 18, and the development unit 27 are driven by a main motor 25, and the paper feeding devices 11 to 13 drive the main motor 25 by paper feeding clutches 22 to 24, respectively. Driven by transmission. The vertical conveyance unit 14 is driven to transmit the drive of the main motor 25 by the intermediate clutch 21.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation unit 30. The operation unit 30 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32, a clear / stop key 33, a start key 34, a preheat key 35, a reset key 36, an initial setting key 37, a copy key 38, a copy server key 39, and a scanner key 87. The liquid crystal touch panel 31 displays function keys, the number of copies, a message indicating the state of the image forming apparatus, and the like.

  By pressing the initial setting key 37, it is possible to arbitrarily customize the initial state of the machine. The paper size stored in the machine can be set, or the state set when the mode clear key of the copy function is pressed can be arbitrarily set. Also, select applications that are preferentially selected when there is no operation for a certain period of time, set the transition time to low power according to the International Energy Star Plan, and set the transition time to auto-off / sleep mode. It is possible to set.

  When the preheating key 35 is pressed, the machine shifts from a standby state to a power reduction state, lowers the fixing temperature, or turns off the display on the operation unit. The preheating state means a low power state as referred to in the International Energy Star Program. In order to cancel the preheating state, the off state / sleep state, and shift to the standby state, the preheating key 35 is pressed again. By pressing the copy key 38, the copy function can be used. The copy server key 39 is used to edit existing stored image data (copy mode setting, printing, deleting).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of display on the display screen 40 of the liquid crystal touch panel (liquid crystal display) 31 of the operation unit 30. This is displayed when the copy key 38 is pressed.

  When the operator touches a key displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31, the key indicating the selected function is inverted in black. When the details of the function must be designated (for example, stamp printing), the detailed function setting screen is displayed by touching the key. Thus, since the liquid crystal touch panel 31 uses a dot display, it is possible to graphically perform an optimal display at that time.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control device of the image forming apparatus. The main controller 20 controls the entire image forming apparatus. The main controller 20 includes image processing for performing display for an operator, an operation unit 30 for performing function setting input control from the operator, control for a scanner, control for writing a document image into an image memory, control for image formation from the image memory, and the like. A distributed control device such as a unit (IPU) 49 and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 1 is connected. Each distributed controller and the main controller 20 exchange machine status and operation commands as necessary. A main motor 25 and various clutches 21 to 24 necessary for paper conveyance are also connected.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a process from reading an original of the image forming apparatus to writing an image will be described.

  The reading unit 50 includes a contact glass 6 on which an original is placed and an optical scanning system. The optical scanning system includes an exposure lamp 51, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, a CCD image sensor 54, and the like. Yes. The exposure lamp 51 and the first mirror 52 are fixed on a first carriage (not shown), and the second mirror 55 and the third mirror 56 are fixed on a second carriage (not shown). When reading a document image, the first carriage and the second carriage are mechanically scanned at a relative speed of 2: 1 so that the optical path length does not change. This optical scanning system is driven by a scanner drive motor (not shown). The document image is read by the CCD image sensor 54, converted into an electrical signal, and processed.

The writing unit 57 includes a laser output unit 58, an imaging (fθ) lens 59, and a mirror 60. Inside the laser output unit 58, a polygon mirror that rotates at a constant speed at high speed by a laser diode and a motor as a laser light source. (Polygon mirror) is provided. Then, the laser beam output from the writing unit 57 is applied to the image forming photoconductor 15. Although not shown, a beam sensor for generating a main scanning synchronization signal is disposed at a position where laser light near one end of the photoconductor 15 is irradiated.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the image processing unit (IPU) 49.
The reflection of light emitted from the exposure lamp 51 is photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 54 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 61. The image signal converted into the digital signal is subjected to shading correction 62 and then subjected to MTF correction, γ correction and the like in the image processing unit 63. Thereafter, the image data input via the selector 64 and the print composition unit 71 is supplied to the scaling circuit 77 or switched to the image memory controller 65 by the selector 64, and the image signal via the scaling circuit 77 is supplied. Are enlarged / reduced according to the variable magnification and sent to the writing unit 57.

  On the other hand, the image memory controller 65 and the selector 64 are configured to be able to input and output image signals in both directions. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 4, the IPU 49 has image data supplied from the outside via the I / O port 67 in addition to the image data input from the reading unit 50, for example, a data processing device such as a personal computer. It has a function of selecting input / output of a plurality of data so that data inputted from can be processed. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus is connected to the network via the transmission / reception unit 640 and the I / O port 67, and the TCP / IP communication protocol that is widely used as the Internet standard protocol is used as the communication means.

  In this embodiment, the network configuration as shown in FIG. 7 is used, and the machine configuration information and operation status of each image forming apparatus connected to the network, or a control command such as a remote output command, a setting command, or image data with an external server. Sending and receiving. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, a transmission / reception unit 640 is provided and connected to the Ethernet (registered trademark) NT from the I / O port 67.

  In the network configuration shown in FIG. 7, an image forming apparatus PR, a distribution server 701, an FTP server 702, an SMTP server 703, and a plurality of client PCs 704 are connected to Ethernet (registered trademark) NT, and a fax 705 is distributed. A general server connected to the server 701 via a modem 701b. Further, a display 701 a is connected to the paper discharge server 701.

  Further, a CPU 68 for setting the image memory controller 65 and the like and controlling the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57, and a ROM 69, a RAM 70, and an NV-RAM 74 for storing programs and data thereof are provided. Further, the CPU 68 writes and reads data in the image memory 66 via the memory controller 65. The image sent to the image memory controller 65 as a document image is sent to the image memory 66 after the image data is compressed by an image compression device in the image memory controller 65. The reason for compressing the image is to use the memory capacity effectively, and it is possible to directly write the data of 256 gradations corresponding to the maximum image size into the image memory 66 as it is. Therefore, the memory capacity of the image memory is very much used. However, by performing image compression, the limited memory capacity of the image memory can be used effectively. In addition, since a large amount of original image data can be stored at one time, the stored original image data can be output in page order as a sorting function. In this case, when the image is output, the data in the image memory 66 is output while being sequentially expanded by the expansion device in the memory controller 65. Such a function is generally called “electronic sort”.

  Further, by using the function of the image memory 66, it is possible to sequentially read a plurality of document images into an area obtained by dividing the area of one transfer sheet of the image memory 66. For example, four original images are sequentially written in a four-divided area of one transfer paper in the image memory 66, so that the four originals are combined into a single transfer paper image and combined into a copy output. Can be obtained. Such a function is generally called “aggregate copy”.

  The image stored in the image memory 66 can be accessed from the CPU 68. Therefore, the contents of the image memory can be processed, and for example, image thinning processing, image clipping processing, and the like can be performed. In the processing, the image memory can be processed by writing data into the register of the memory controller 65. The processed image is again held in the image memory. The image memory 66 is divided into a plurality of areas according to the size of the image data to be processed, and the image data can be input / output simultaneously. In order to make it possible to execute input and output of image data in parallel in each divided area, the interface with the memory controller 65 is connected by two sets of address and data lines for reading and writing. As a result, an operation of outputting (reading) an image from the area 2 while inputting (writing) the image to the area 1 becomes possible.

  For writing and reading, the image memory 66 is temporarily stored and processed in order to absorb the difference in processing speed with respect to image formation on the main body and image writing from the scanner 50. When data from the image storage device (HD (hard disk) 75-HDD (also referred to as hard disk device)) is sent to the writing unit 57, it is temporarily stored in the image memory 66 and sent to the writing unit 57. Become. In this way, the image controller 66 determines the image path for the image memory 66, HD 75, scanner image, and input / output of the image to be sent to the writing unit.

  Further, at the time of distribution by the scanner 50, the image data is temporarily stored and processed in the image memory 66 at the time of encoding the image data when performing e-mail transmission.

  As described above, the CPU 68 determines the input and output of the image data, so that the memory controller 65 connected to the CPU 68 can switch the image flow.

Here, the image signal for one page in the selector 64 will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG.
/ FGATE represents a valid period in the sub-scanning direction of one page of image data. / LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal for each line, and the image signal becomes valid at a predetermined clock after this signal rises. A signal indicating that the image signal in the main scanning direction is valid is / LGATE. These signals are synchronized with the pixel clock VCLK, and data of 8 bits per pixel (256 gradations) is sent for one cycle of VCLK. In this embodiment, the writing density on the transfer paper is 400 dpi, and the maximum number of pixels is 4800 pixels for main scanning and 6800 pixels for sub-scanning. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the closer the image data is to 255, the more white the image becomes. As shown in FIG. 5, a printing function is provided at the subsequent stage of the image memory 66 (print combining unit 71), and printing is performed for each transfer sheet. The print composition unit 71 can output or synthesize not only the read image data but also the created print data.

  The functions for starting document reading and designating the transmission destination of the scanned document image exist as a scanner application (application-application abbreviation, hereinafter the same) 601 as shown in FIG. 603, which are activated in the same row as the printer application 604 and operate independently of each other. The operation unit 30, which is a shared resource, a peripheral device, an image forming apparatus, an image reading apparatus (scanner 50), and a memory (image memory-HD75) are provided by a system controller 600 (the main controller 20 has a function of a system controller depending on the device). Mediated. Each application can write each operation screen information on a virtual screen provided by the operation unit 30. The operation unit 30 expands the screen information of the virtual screen of the operation unit owner application instructed from the system controller 600 on the real screen. The system controller 600 communicates with an operation unit controller 610, a peripheral device controller 611, an image forming device controller 612, an image reading device controller 613, a memory unit 614, and a transmission / reception unit (unit) 640 connected to the input / output control unit 620. In addition to obtaining information necessary for control, it controls each unit and each device. The input / output control unit 620 and the memory unit 614 are connected to the SCSI controller 630.

  When performing scanner distribution, when the scanner key 87 is depressed in FIG. 2, the touch panel 31 becomes as shown in FIG. A reading condition change key 71 is a key for determining a reading condition of the scanner. When this key is pressed, a reading condition changing screen (not shown) is displayed, and reading conditions such as resolution and density can be changed.

  When the other setting key 76 is pressed, a sender name, subject / text, and file format setting screen is displayed, and the sender name, subject / text, and file format can be set.

  A list of users that can be set as destinations is displayed in an area 73 for selecting a destination user. The transmission destination information of each user can be changed and a new user can be set by pressing the destination edit key 77. When the destination edit key 77 is pressed, a screen as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. The user who wants to edit is selected from the users lined up in the edit target list 78. If a new user is set, “unset” is selected. Then, a transmission mail address (transmission address) possessed by the selected user is displayed in the transmission destination list 79. When the address change button 80a is pressed, an edit screen (not shown) is displayed, and the address can be changed. The changed address is reflected in the transmission means list 79.

  Further, when the delete 80b is pressed, the corresponding transmission means can be deleted. When a new transmission means is to be added, a new addition can be performed by an addition screen (not shown) by pressing a new addition key 82. The added transmission means is reflected in the transmission means list 79. When the number of transmission means increases, the forward / backward key 81 is displayed, and a plurality of displays can be performed by scrolling. Here, a plurality of transmission means are set, and priority is assigned to them, and the first registered transmission means is set as the transmission means with the highest priority, and is displayed in the user selection area 73 in FIG.

  The destination setting information related to the user described above is stored in the NV-RAM 74 of FIG. 5 and continues to be stored even when the main power is turned off.

  When the transmission history key 72 is pressed, a transmission history screen as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. The transmission history list screen 83 displays the transmission history up to now. In the transmission date and time display area 84, the date and time when transmission is accepted is displayed. In the destination display area 85, the transmitted destination is displayed. The transmission result is displayed in the transmission result display area 86. The transmission results include “transmission complete”, “transmission failure”, and “waiting for retransmission”. In the case of “waiting for retransmission”, a retransmission cancel key 87 is displayed. When this key is pressed, Delete stored data and cancel transmission. When the transmission history cannot be displayed on one page, the page is switched by pressing the transmission history page break key 88.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  The flowchart of FIG. 12 shows a control procedure for storing image information in the storage device when all the transmission destinations displayed in the editing target list 78 registered by the user registration unit have failed to be transmitted.

  When this processing is started (step S1-1), the user α (= “Suzuko Suzuki” in FIG. 10) is selected, a document is placed on the document table 2, and the start key 34 is pressed (step S1-2). It is checked whether or not the first transmission destination (= the mail server “suzuki@suzuki.com” in FIG. 10) is connected (step S1-3), and if it is connected, the original image is sent to the first transmission destination. Transmit (step S1-4). If the first destination is not connected, it is checked whether the second destination (= distribution server 701) is connected (step S1-5). The document image is transmitted to the transmission destination (step S1-4). If it is not possible to connect to the second transmission destination, it is checked whether there is free space in the HDD 75 (step S1-6). If there is free space, the read data is temporarily stored (step S1-7). If there is no free space, the read data is printed and the process ends (step S1-8).

  The flowchart of FIG. 13 shows a processing procedure of processing performed in parallel with the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, and this flowchart is executed at regular time intervals.

  In this process, when the process is started (step S2-1), first, it is checked whether there is temporarily saved data (step S2-2). If there is no temporarily saved data, the process ends. If there is temporarily saved data, it is checked whether the first destination (= mail server of “suzuki@suzuki.com” in FIG. 10) is connected (step S2-3). The original image is transmitted to one transmission destination (step S2-4). If the first destination is not connected, it is checked whether the second destination (= distribution server 701) is connected (step S2-6). The document image is transmitted to the transmission destination (step S2-4). Then, after the transmission is completed, the temporarily stored data is deleted and the process ends (step S2-5).

  Further, when viewing the detailed information of the transmission result at the time of the “transmission complete” or “transmission failure”, the detailed information key 89 shown in FIG. 14 is pressed. When the transmission history cannot be displayed on one page, the page is switched by pressing the transmission history page break key 88.

The process at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15 and FIGS.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for changing processing according to the number of errors. In FIG. 15, this process is started (step S3-1), the user α (= “Suzuko Suzuki” in FIG. 10) is selected, the document is placed on the document table 2, and the start key 34 is pressed (step S3-2). ), It is checked whether or not the first transmission destination (= mail server of “suzuki@suzuki.com” in FIG. 10) is connected (step S3-3), and if connected, the NV-RAM 74 in FIG. Is cleared (step S3-4), and the original image is transmitted to the first destination (step S3-5). If the first transmission destination is not connected, the error counter of the first transmission destination of the user α is incremented (step S3-6), and the error counter of the first transmission destination of the user α is set to a constant value. Compare (step S3-7). This fixed value may be a fixed value depending on the model or a value that can be changed by the user. If the error counter of the first transmission destination of the user α is larger than a certain value, the first transmission destination error notification process of the user α is performed (step S3-8).

  Further, when the user and the transmission means are displayed on the operation (display) unit of the management user for notification, or when the report is transmitted to the management user registered in advance, the details of FIG. When the information key 89 is pressed, a transmission destination error notification detailed information screen 90 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed. When the transmission destination error notification detailed information screen confirmation key 91 is pressed, the screen transits to the transmission history screen of FIG. The management user corresponds to the administrator's PC that has been set in advance, and the operation (display) unit of the management user corresponds to the display of the administrator's PC.

  When the number of transmission failures for each user's transmission destination exceeds a certain value, the transmission destination error notification report 92 shown in FIG. 17 is transmitted to the management user's transmission destination.

  Next, it is checked whether or not the second transmission destination (= distribution server 701) is connected (step S3-9). If connected, the error counter of the second transmission destination of the user α stored in the NV-RAM 74 of FIG. 5 is cleared (step S3-10), and the document image is transmitted to the second transmission destination (step S3-10). S3-5). If connection to the second destination cannot be established, the error counter of the second destination of the user α is incremented (step S3-11), and the error counter of the second destination of the user α is compared with a certain value ( Step S3-12). If the error counter of the second transmission destination of the user α is larger than a certain value, the second transmission destination error notification process of the user α is performed (step S3-13). Since this process is equivalent to the first transmission destination error notification process (step S1-8) of the user α, the detailed description is omitted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, image information is transmitted to a first transmission destination having a high priority of a desired user, and when the transmission cannot be performed, the second transmission destination of the next candidate is determined according to the priority. If the transmission fails for all the transmission destinations registered in the registration means, the image information is stored in the storage means that retains the stored contents even when power is not supplied. Even if transmission to the destination fails, the read image will not be lost.

  When the storage means has reached the limit of storage capacity, the image information to be stored is output from the printing means, so transmission to all destinations failed, and the read image could not be temporarily stored in the storage device Even in this case, the loaded image will not be lost.

  When transmission to all of the transmission destinations fails, the image information stored in the storage means is automatically retransmitted when transmission becomes possible after that, so it is possible to reliably do not rely on user operations. Images can be distributed.

  When the image information is transmitted to the first transmission destination having a higher priority of the desired user and the transmission is not possible, the image information is transmitted to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the priority order. Add the number of transmission failures for each destination, and if the transmission is successful, clear the number of transmission failures for each destination, and if the number of transmission failures for each destination exceeds the specified number, the corresponding transmission Since the destination is notified to the management user connected to the network, it is possible to avoid noticing that the transmission destination of priority 1 always fails.

  Since the corresponding transmission destination is displayed on the display device connected to the management user, it is possible to notify the corresponding user that the transmission destination of the priority order 1 has always failed. At this time, if the notification is a user name and a transmission address, the user can surely grasp whether or not he / she corresponds.

  When displayed on a display device connected to the management user, not only the administrator but also a general user can see it. Then, the destination mail address is known to unspecified users, and security is not satisfied. Therefore, by displaying the user name and e-mail address as a report transmission to a pre-registered management user (administrator), it is possible to manage without informing the general user that the destination of priority 1 always fails. The user can be notified.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of the liquid crystal touch panel of the operation part in FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control device of the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an image processing unit of the control device in FIG. 4. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a software system configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the network in the Example of this invention. 6 is a timing chart illustrating an output state of an image signal for one page of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the display state of the reading condition change screen of the touchscreen of the image forming apparatus in the Example of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display state of a destination selection screen on the touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the display state of the transmission history screen of the touchscreen of the image forming apparatus in the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure which memorize | stores image information in a memory | storage device, when all the transmission destinations displayed on the edit object list registered by the user registration means fail in transmission. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a temporarily stored data erasure processing procedure executed at regular time intervals in parallel with the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 12. It is a figure which shows the display state of the detailed information of the transmission result of the touchscreen of the image forming apparatus in the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure which changes a process according to the frequency | count of an error. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display state of detailed information for transmission destination error notification on the touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display state of a transmission destination error notification report on the touch panel of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

20 Main controller 30 Operation unit 50 Reading unit (scanner)
68 CPU
74 NV-RAM
75 Hard disk (HDD)
79 Destination Edit Key 640 Transmission / Reception Unit 701 Distribution Server 701a Display PR Image Forming Device

Claims (17)

In an image processing apparatus that distributes image information to a desired user via a network,
Registration means for registering the user destinations with priorities;
Transmission means for transmitting image information to a first transmission destination with a high priority of the user registered by the registration means, and transmitting to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the priority when the transmission is not possible When,
A control unit that stores the image information in a storage unit that retains stored contents even when power is not supplied, when transmission fails for all of the transmission destinations registered in the registration unit;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the printing unit to output image information to be stored when the storage unit has reached a storage capacity limit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing unit is provided in the image processing unit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing unit includes a printer connected to a network.   2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, when transmission to all of the transmission destinations has failed, the image information stored in the storage unit is retransmitted when transmission is possible thereafter. Image processing apparatus. In an image processing apparatus that distributes image information to a desired user via a network,
Registration means for registering the user destinations with priorities;
Transmission means for transmitting image information to a first transmission destination with a high priority of the user registered by the registration means, and transmitting to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the priority when the transmission is not possible When,
A transmission history storage means for adding the number of transmission failures for each destination when transmission was not possible, and clearing the number of transmission failures for each destination when transmission was possible;
When the number of transmission failures for each transmission destination is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, a control unit that notifies the management user connected to the network of the corresponding transmission destination;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the notification is performed by displaying the notification on a display device of the management user.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the notification is a report transmission to the management user.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the notification is a user name and a mac address.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information is image information read by an image reading unit.   An image forming apparatus comprising the image processing apparatus according to claim 1. In an image processing method for distributing image information to a desired user via a network,
When the image information is transmitted to the first transmission destination having a high priority set in advance by the user and cannot be transmitted, the image information is transmitted to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the preset priority.
An image processing method characterized by storing the image information in a storage unit that retains stored contents even when power is not supplied when transmission to all transmission destinations has failed.   13. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein, when transmission to all the transmission destinations has failed, when the transmission becomes possible after that, the image information stored in the storage means is retransmitted. In an image processing method for distributing image information to a desired user via a network,
When the image information is transmitted to the first transmission destination having a high priority set in advance by the user and cannot be transmitted, the image information is transmitted to the second transmission destination of the next candidate according to the preset priority.
An image processing method comprising: notifying a management user connected to a network of a corresponding transmission destination when the number of transmission failures for each transmission destination is equal to or greater than a predetermined number.   11. A computer program comprising a procedure for causing a computer to execute the function of the control means in the image processing apparatus according to claim 1.   15. A computer program comprising a procedure for executing the processing method according to claim 12 on a computer. 17. A recording medium, wherein the computer program according to claim 15 is read by a computer and recorded so as to be executable.

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