JP2005086736A - Scanner system and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scanner system that is suitable to be used through a network. <P>SOLUTION: A client PC 3 requests a scanner server 2 for a scan job, and the scanner server 2 returns request identification information of the requested scan job to the client PC 3. The client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 to transmit a scan job status including the request identification information. The scanner server 2 transmits the scan job status to the client PC 3. The client PC 3 receives and displays the scan job status and shows it for a user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a scanner system and a method for performing scan processing on an object according to a request and generating image data of the object.

For example, Patent Literatures 1 to 4 disclose a method in which a client device uses a scanner device via a network.
These documents disclose a method using an HTTP protocol for communication between a scanner device and a client device.

When the methods disclosed in these documents are used, if a large number of originals are scanned, it may take a long processing time to finish.
In such a case, it is difficult for the user of the client device to determine whether the reason why the processing does not end easily is because an abnormality such as a communication abnormality has occurred or because the scanning process has been prolonged. There is a possibility that the user actually performs an operation of canceling the scan process even though no abnormality has occurred.

Also, if it takes a long time to complete the image data generation after the scan process is requested, communication is interrupted due to the occurrence of a timeout in communication control, and the image data obtained as a result of the scan process is There is also a possibility that a problem that the data is not normally transferred to the client device occurs.
JP-A-9-325925 JP-A-10-326288 JP 2000-285403 A JP 2001-299955 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a scanner system and method suitable for using a scanner device from a client device via a network.

[Scanner system]
In order to achieve the above object, a scanner system according to the present invention is a scanner system including a scanner device and a client device, and the client device includes a scan job including a scan process for an object with respect to the scanner device. And the scanner device performs a scan process on the object in response to a request for the scan job to generate image data of the object, and a scan process for the object. Processing time estimating means for estimating the time; and notifying means for notifying the client apparatus of the estimated processing time.

[Scanner device]
The scanner device according to the present invention is a scanner device that executes a scan job including a scan process for an object in response to a request, and performs the scan process for the object in response to a request for the scan job. Scan processing means for generating image data of the object, processing time estimation means for estimating the processing time required for the scan processing on the object, and notification means for notifying the estimated processing time to the outside Have

  Preferably, the scanner device executes the requested scan job in response to the request for the scan job from the client device via a communication connection with the client device, and the notification unit includes: The estimated processing time is notified to the client apparatus that has requested the scan job.

  Preferably, the object is a sheet-like document, and further includes document feeding means on which the sheet-like document is set, and the set document is sent for the scanning process, The processing time estimation unit estimates the processing time required for the scanning process based on the number of documents set on the document feeding unit and the scanning processing time per document.

  Preferably, the client device receives the generated image data from the scanner device, and the scanner device stores image data storage means for storing the generated image data, and the estimated processing. Image data transmitting means for transmitting the generated image data or the stored image data to the client device via the communication connection based on time.

Preferably, the image data transmission means determines whether the client device is capable of receiving the generated image data at the end of the scanner process based on the estimated processing time. The client device transmits the generated image data to the client device when the generated image data can be received after completion of the scanner process,
In other cases, the client device transmits the stored image data to the client device when the generated image data can be received at the end of the scanner process.

  Preferably, communication between the scanner device and the client device is performed by the HTTP protocol via the communication connection.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus further includes status management means for managing each status of the requested scan job, and the notification means indicates the status of each of the managed scan jobs in response to a request from the client device. Further notice.

[Scan Method]
The first scanning method according to the present invention is a scanning method including a scanner device and a client device, and the client device requests the scanner device for a scan job including a scan process for an object. The scanner device estimates a time required for a scan process for the object, notifies the client device of the estimated processing time, and performs a scan process for the object in response to a request for the scan job. And generating image data of the object.

  Further, a second scanning method according to the present invention is a scanning method for executing a scan job including a scanning process for an object according to a request, estimating a processing time required for the scanning process for the object, The estimated processing time is notified to the outside, and the object is scanned in response to a request for the scan job to generate image data of the object.

[program]
A first program according to the present invention is a program for performing a scan job including a scan process on an object by a scanner device and a client device, wherein the scan job is performed on the scanner device in the client device. A step of causing the computer to execute a request, estimating a time required for a scan process for the object in the scanner device, notifying the client device of the estimated processing time, and the scan job In response to the request, the computer performs a scan process on the object to generate image data of the object.

  Further, a second program according to the present invention is a program for executing a scan job including a scan process for an object in response to a request, the step of estimating a processing time required for the scan process for the object, Informing the computer of the estimated processing time, and causing the computer to execute a scan process on the object and generate image data of the object in response to a request of the scan job .

  The scanner system and method according to the present invention are suitable for using a scanner device from a client device via a network.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
In the scanner system according to the present invention described below, the following devices are devised.
(Convention 1) In the scanner system according to the present invention, a time (scan processing time) from when a scan process is requested until image data can be transmitted to the client apparatus is a predetermined time, for example, When it becomes longer than the time that causes communication disconnection due to a timeout in communication control, the scanning device stores the generated image data once, and the client device is ready to receive the image data. Later, the stored image data is transmitted.
(Invention 2) In the scanner system according to the present invention, the scanner apparatus estimates the scan processing time and notifies the client apparatus in response to the request.
(Convention 3) In the scanner system according to the present invention, the scanner device sends the requested scan processing status (unprocessed, executing, processed, no request, etc.) to the client device according to the request. Notification is made so that the user can grasp the status of each scanning process on the client device side.

The scan service is realized by the following procedure.
Hereinafter, these procedures are also referred to as scan jobs.
(A) Parameter setting for scanning (reading) an image (may include instructions for image processing and cooperation with other services).
(B) A document to be scanned is set on a scanner server.
(C) Document image scan processing and digital image data generation.
(D) Transfer of image data to the client device.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a scanner system 1 according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the scanner system 1 includes one or more scanner servers 2, one or more client devices (client personal computers (PC) 3-1 to 3-3), and an operator PC 118. A configuration is adopted in which the devices are connected via a network 120 such as a LAN / WAN or the Internet.
In the scanner system 1, a scan job request is requested to the scanner server 2 from each of one or more client PCs 3 at an arbitrary timing, and the requested scan jobs are sequentially transmitted by the scanner server 2. Executed.
Note that the scan process and the transfer of the image data generated thereby are performed in parallel. When the image data is generated, it is for the client that sequentially requested the scan job without waiting for the end of the scan job. Transferred to PC3.
Hereinafter, when a plurality of components such as the client PCs 3-1 to 3-3 are indicated without being specified, they are also simply referred to as a client PC3.

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the scanner server 2, the client PC 3, and the operator PC 118 illustrated in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the scanner server 2, the client PC 3, and the operator PC 118 (hereinafter collectively referred to as a node) include a main body 100 including a CPU 102 and a memory 104, a display device, a keyboard, a speaker, and the like. The input / output device 106 includes a communication device 108, and a recording device 110 such as an HDD / CD device.
That is, the client PC 3 and the operator PC 118 have components as computers that can communicate with other nodes via the network 120.

Further, a speaker and a display panel are added to the input / output device 106 of the operator PC 118 as necessary.
Further, the operator PC 118 receives an e-mail from another node such as the scanner server 2 and indicates it to the operator of the scanner server 2 (the operator and the user of the client PC 3 may be the same person). Functions are added.

A scanner device 114 is added to the scanner server 2, and a document feeder 116 (processing means) is further added as necessary.
In the scanner server 2, the document feeder 116 sends documents set by the operator (ready for scanning processing) one by one to the scanner device 114, and the scanner device 114 scans the sent documents. And output to the main body 100 as digital image data.

That is, the scanner server 2 has a component as a network scanner device.
Note that the document set on the document feeder 116 does not necessarily have to be a paper medium (paper document) with an image attached thereto. However, for the sake of specific description and clarification, the document feeder 116 will be described below. A specific example is a case where a paper document is set.
The document feeder 116 may have a mechanism for setting and receiving a document placed on a document shelf, for example, in addition to receiving a document set by an operator.

[software]
Hereinafter, software that operates on the scanner server 2 and the client PC 3 of the scanner system 1 will be described.

[Client program 30]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the client program 30 that operates on the client PC 3 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the client program 30 includes a user interface unit (UI unit) 300, a communication control unit 302, a web browser 306, an image processing unit 310, and an image database (image DB) 308.
The client program 30 is supplied to the client PC 3 via, for example, the recording medium 112 (FIG. 2), loaded on the scanner device 114, and executed (the same applies to the following programs).

With these components, the client program 30 issues various requests such as a scan job request, a scan processing start request, and an image data transfer request to the scanner server 2.
Also, the client program 30 receives and stores the image data transferred from the scanner server 2 by these components.
The client program 30 performs various processes on the stored image data.

[Scanner program 20]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the scanner program 20 that operates on the scanner server 2 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the scanner program 20 includes an operator interface unit 200, a communication control unit 202, a scan job management unit 22, a time estimation unit 220, a scanner control unit 24, a response control unit 26, an image data management unit 28, and an image. It consists of DB280.

The scanner program 20 communicates with the client PC 3 via the network 120 using these components, for example, using the HTTP protocol, and executes a scan job in response to a request from the client PC 3.
In addition, the scanner program 20 estimates the processing time required for the scanning process, and notifies the client PC 3 of the estimated processing time.

The scanner program 20 stores the generated image data once according to the processing time and transmits it to the client PC 3 or stores the generated image data in the client PC 3 without storing the generated image data. Send to.
The scanner program 20 manages the execution status of the requested scan job, and notifies the client PC 3 in response to the request.

In the scanner program 20, the operator interface unit 200 accepts an operation on the input / output device 106 of the scanner server 2 by the operator.
The operator interface unit 200 displays information to be displayed to the operator on the input / output device 106 of the scanner server 2.

The communication control unit 202 performs communication control necessary for communication using the HTTP protocol with the client PC 3.
The time estimation unit 220 (FIG. 4) estimates the processing time required for the scan process in response to a request from the scan job management unit 22, and the scan job processing unit 22 calculates the processing time of the scan process obtained as a result of the estimation. And output to the response control unit 26.

[Scan Job Management Unit 22]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the scan job management unit 22 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the scan job management unit 22 includes a request table 222, a table management unit 224, a request control unit 226, and an identification information generation unit 228.
The scan job management unit 22 receives and executes a scan job request from the client PC 3 using these components.
Further, the scan job management unit 22 manages the execution status of the requested scan job and outputs it to the client PC 3 and other components of the scanner program 20 in response to the inquiry.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the contents of the request table 222 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the request table 222 includes an index, request identification information used for identifying the scan job requested from the client PC 3, status information indicating the execution status of each scan job, and scan job information. A parameter indicating the content and communication connection identification information indicating a communication connection corresponding to each scan job are registered in association with each other.

As shown in FIG. 6, the scan job parameters include scan parameters set for the scanner device 114 (paper size (A4, etc.), type of color scan or monochrome scan (Color / Gray, etc.), Scan resolution (such as 400 dpi).
The scan job parameters indicate which format image data (Tiff, Jpeg, etc.) is to be processed by processing the bitmap format image data generated as a result of the scan processing by the scanner device 114. Post-processing parameters.

The identification information generation unit 228 generates request identification information (FIG. 6) for each requested scan job in response to a request from the request control unit 226, and returns the request identification information to the request control unit 226.
The table management unit 224 stores the data input from the request control unit 226 in the request table 222 and manages it.

The request control unit 226 receives a scan job request via the communication control unit 202 and manages execution of the requested scan job.
That is, the request control unit 226 receives the request identification information of each scan job returned from the identification information generation unit 228, the execution state of each scan job, the parameters of each scan job, and the communication connection identification information of each scan job. The information is output to the table management unit 224, and the table management unit 224 stores and manages these pieces of information.

Further, the request control unit 226 causes the time estimation unit 220 (FIG. 4) to estimate the processing time required for the requested scan processing.
Further, the request control unit 226 reads information necessary for the scan process from the request table 222 via the table management unit 224 and outputs the information to the scanner control unit 24 to execute the scan process and the subsequent process.
Further, the request control unit 226 responds to the request from each component of the scanner program 20 with the processing time obtained as a result of estimation, the contents of the request table 222 read out via the table management unit 224, and the like. Return to the requested component.

The processing of the scan job management unit 22 will be further described with reference to FIGS.
FIGS. 7 to 10 are first to fourth flowcharts showing the processing (S10 to S16) of the scan job management unit 22 shown in FIGS.
Note that, in each of the following flowcharts, a process shown to be executed endlessly is executed in parallel with other processes after being activated.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the scanner program 20 is activated in step 100 (S100), the identification information generation unit 228 initializes the request identification information.
In step 102 (S102), the table management unit 224 initializes the request table (FIG. 6).
In step 104 (S104), the request control unit 226 determines whether a scan job is requested from the client PC 3 via the communication control unit 202.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S106 when a scan job is requested, and stays in the process of S104 otherwise.

In step 106 (S106), the request control unit 226 causes the identification information generation unit 228 to generate request identification information of the requested scan job.
In step 108 (S108), the request control unit 226 outputs data to be registered in the request table 222 (FIG. 6) such as parameters included in the request to the table management unit 224, and stores the data in the request table 222. Register a scan job.
The table management unit 224 moves the write pointer indicating the write position with respect to the request table 222 to the entry in which the scan job is newly registered.

As shown in FIG. 8, the request control unit 226 searches the request table 222 (FIG. 6) via the table management unit 224.
In step 120 (S120), the request control unit 226 moves the read pointer to the table management unit 224 to read the status information of each entry in the request table 222, and the status information is awaiting execution. Determine if there are jobs.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S122 when there is a scan job waiting to be executed, and remains in the process of S120 otherwise.

In step 122 (S122), the request control unit 226 determines whether there is a scan job being executed.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S124 when there is no scan job being executed, and returns to the process of S120 otherwise.
In step 124 (S124), the request control unit 226 moves the read pointer to the entry in the request table that is determined in the processing of S120.
The request control unit 226 outputs the parameter included in this entry to the scanner control unit 24, and causes the scan process included in the scan job corresponding to this entry to be executed.

As shown in FIG. 9, in step 140 (S140), the request control unit 226 determines whether or not there is a notification to change the status of the scan job registered in the request table 222.
This notification includes, for example, a notification that the requested scan job from the communication control unit 202 has been canceled or a notification from the scanner control unit 24 that the scanning process being executed has been completed. It is.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S142 when such notification is received, and remains in the process of S140 otherwise.

In step 142 (S142), the request control unit 226 searches the request table 222 via the table management unit 224, and there is actually an entry determined to have received a notification whose state should be changed in the processing of S140. Judge whether to do.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S144 when the entry actually exists, and returns to the process of S140 otherwise.
In step 144 (S144), the request control unit 226 accesses the request table 222 via the table management unit 224 and changes the state requested by the notification.
The request control unit 226 deletes the scan job entry corresponding to the notification when the status change notification indicates the end of the scan job.

As shown in FIG. 10, in step 160 (S160), the request control unit 226 searches for the scan job status from the other components of the scanner program 20 or the client PC 3 via the communication control unit 202. Determine if there was a request.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S162 when this request is made, and proceeds to the process of S164 otherwise.

In step 162 (S162), the request control unit 226 searches the request table 222 via the table management unit 224, and whether or not there is actually an entry determined to have been requested for status search in the processing of S160. Judge whether or not.
The request control unit 226 proceeds to the process of S164 when the entry actually exists, and returns to the process of S160 otherwise.
In step 164 (S164), the request control unit 226 accesses the request table 222 via the table management unit 224, reads the status of the scan job from this entry, and enters the requested part of the client PC 3 or the scanner program 20 into the requested part. return.

[Scanner control unit 24]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of the scanner control unit 24 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the scanner control unit 24 includes an image processing unit 240 and an image generation unit 242.
In the scanner control unit 24, the image generation unit 242 sets the scan parameters (FIG. 6) received from the scan job management unit 22 in the scanner device 114 (FIG. 2), and scans the document set on the document feeder 116. To generate digital image data in a bitmap format.
The image processing unit 240 processes the image data generated by the scan processing in accordance with the post-processing parameter (FIG. 6) received from the scan job management unit 22, and sets the image data in the format specified by the post-processing parameter.

The processing of the scanner control unit 24 will be further described with reference to FIGS.
12 and 13 are first and second flowcharts showing the processing (S18, S20) of the scanner controller 24 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, when the scanner program 20 is activated in step 180 (S180), the image generation unit 242 initializes the scanner device 114 (FIG. 2).

In step 182 (S182), the image generation unit 242 determines whether or not the scan parameter is set from the scan job management unit 22 and execution of the scan process is requested.
The image generation unit 242 proceeds to the process of S184 when execution of the scan process is requested, and stays in the process of S182 otherwise.
In step 184 (S184), the image generation unit 242 controls the scanner device 114 according to the set scan parameter, and generates image data of the document set on the document feeder 116.

In step 186 (S186), the image generation unit 242 outputs the generated image data to the image processing unit 240 or the image data management unit 28.
In step 188 (S188), when the output of the image data is completed, the image generation unit 242 passes the message to the image processing unit 240 or the image data management unit 28.

As shown in FIG. 13, in step 200 (S <b> 200), the image processing unit 240 determines whether image data is input from the image generation unit 242.
In step 202 (S202), the image processing unit 240 performs image processing on the image data input from the image processing unit 240 in accordance with the post-processing parameters set from the scan job management unit 22, and the designated format. Image data is generated.

In step 204 (S204), the image processing unit 240 outputs the image data obtained as a result of the image processing to the image data management unit 28.
In step 206 (S206), when the output of the image data is completed, the image processing unit 240 notifies the scan job management unit 22 and the image data management unit 28 to that effect.

[Response control unit 26]
The response control unit 26 receives the image data generated and processed by the scanner control unit 24 and outputs it, and creates a response message.
Further, the response control unit 26 obtains the communication connection identification information to the requesting client PC 3 corresponding to the request identification information from the scan job management unit 22, and the communication control unit 202 corresponds to the communication connection identification information. A response message is transmitted to the communication connection to the requesting client PC 3.
Further, the response control unit 26 causes the scan job management unit 22 to update the scan job information corresponding to the request identification information.

The processing of the response control unit 26 will be further described with reference to FIGS.
14 to 18 are first to fifth flowcharts showing the processes (S22 to S34) of the response control unit 26 and the time estimation unit 220 shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 shows a process for transmitting image data from the scanner server 2 to the client PC 3 without transmission control using the estimated scan processing time and no transmission method designation.
In FIGS. 17 and 18, the transmission control using the estimated scan processing time is performed, the image data is transmitted from the scanner server 2 to the client PC 3, and the image data is specified by specifying the transmission method. The process of transmitting from the scanner server 2 to the client PC 3 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 14, in step 220 (S220), the response control unit 26 determines whether image data has been received from the scanner control unit 24 via the communication control unit 202.
In step 222 (S222), the response control unit 26 creates a response including the received image data.

In step 224 (S224), the response control unit 26 sends to the scan job management unit 22 the communication connection identification information (FIG. 6) of the client PC 3 that has made the image data transmission request that was determined in the processing of S220. Request and get.
In step 226 (S226), the response control unit 26 outputs the response created by the process of S222 and the communication connection identification information acquired by the process of S224 to the communication control unit 202, and the requested client PC 3 Is transmitted with a response including the requested image data.
In step 228 (S228), the response control unit 26 notifies the scan job management unit 22 that a response including the requested image data has been made.
Further, the response control unit 26 causes the scan job management unit 22 to update the scan job information corresponding to the request identification information.

  When the image data transfer method in the scanner system 1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 14 is employed, it is possible to avoid a problem such as communication disconnection due to a timeout before the transmission of the image data is completed.

As shown in FIG. 15, in step 260 (S260), the response control unit 26 determines whether or not a scan processing request is received from the client PC 3 via the client PC 3.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S262 when there is a request for the scan process, and stays in the process of S260 otherwise.
In step 262 (S262), the response control unit 26 reads the state of the document feeder 116 (FIG. 6) via the scanner control unit 24 and the scan job management unit 22, and reads the document reading portion of the scanner device 114 or It is determined whether a document is set on document feeder 116.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S266 when a document is set on the scanner device 114 or the document feeder 116, and proceeds to the process of S264 otherwise.

In step 264 (S264), the response control unit 26 determines that the processing time required for the scanning process cannot be estimated.
In step 266 (S266), the response control unit 26 requests and acquires the requested scan processing parameters (FIG. 6) from the scan job management unit 22.
The time estimation unit 220 scans one original from the scan parameters input from the response control unit 26, and obtains a time F1 required for generating bitmap format image data.
In addition, the time estimation unit 220 performs image processing on the image data obtained as a result of the scan processing based on the post-processing parameters input from the response control unit 26, and generates image data in a desired format. Time F2 required for this is obtained.

For these times F1 and F2, for example, various combinations of scan parameters and post-processing parameters are set for the scanner device 114 and the document feeder 116, and in each combination, scan processing and bitmap format image data are set. The time (F1) required to create the image data and the time (F2) required to generate the image data in the desired format are obtained in advance by experiment and stored in a table format, and the time estimation unit 220 determines these parameters. And can be obtained by referring to the table.
The time estimation unit 220 calculates the scan processing time T (T = F1 + F2) per document by adding the times F1 and F2.

In step 268 (S268), the response control unit 26 determines whether or not the scanning process is executed using the document feeder 116 (ADF).
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S270 when the scan process is executed using the document feeder 116 (ADF), and proceeds to the process of S272 otherwise.

In step 270 (S 270), the response control unit 26 sets the number N of documents as the maximum number of documents that can be set in the document feeder 116, and sets N in the time estimation unit 220.
In step 272 (S272), the response control unit 26 sets the number of documents N to 1 and sets it in the time estimation unit 220.

In step 274 (S274), the time estimation unit 220 multiplies the processing time T per sheet by the number N of originals to calculate the processing time T (T = T × N).
In step 276 (S276), the time estimation unit 220 notifies the response control unit 26 of a response including the processing time T (estimation result) input from the time estimation unit 220.

As shown in FIG. 16, in step 300 (S300), the response control unit 26 determines whether or not the estimation result of the scan processing time is notified from the time estimation unit 220.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S302 when the estimate is notified, and remains in the process of S300 otherwise.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S302 when an estimate is requested, and stays in the process of S300 otherwise.
In step 302 (S302), the response control unit 26 creates a response including the processing time T (time estimation) notified from the time estimation unit 220.
In step 304 (S304), the response control unit 26 transmits the response created in the processing of S302 to the requested client PC 3 via the communication control unit 202.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the response control unit 26 performs transmission control of image data using the estimated scan processing time, the response control unit 26 estimates the scan processing time in step 320 (S320). It is determined whether or not the result is received from time estimation unit 220.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the processing of S322 when there is an estimation result received from the time estimation unit 220, and proceeds to the processing of S328 otherwise.

In step 322 (S322), the response control unit 26 can estimate whether the scan processing time cannot be estimated by the time estimation unit 220, that is, the time estimation unit 220 can estimate the scan processing time. It is determined whether or not.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S324 when the scan time can be estimated, and proceeds to the process of S328 otherwise.

In step 324 (S324), the response control unit 26 determines whether the scan processing time estimated by the time estimation unit 220 is shorter or longer than the reference time.
When the estimated scan processing time is shorter than the reference time, the response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S326 (Method A). When the estimated scan processing time is longer than the reference time, the response control unit 26 proceeds to S328 (Method B). Proceed to processing.
Here, the reference time may be a value given from the client device at the time of requesting a scan job, or may be a value set in the scan server.
As a specific example of the reference time, a timeout time used for determining whether the client device is in communication failure or normal when there is no communication can be cited.

In step 326 (S 326), the response control unit 26 receives the image data output from the scanner control unit 24 via the image data management unit 28, and sends it to the requested client PC 3 via the communication control unit 202. (Method A).
In step 328 (S328), the response control unit 26 causes the image data management unit 28 to store and manage the image data input from the scanner control unit 24.
The response control unit 26 has requested the image data to be transmitted after the estimated processing time has elapsed from the start of the scanning process or again from the client PC 3 for the image data stored and managed in this way. Sometimes, the image data is acquired from the image data management unit 28 and transmitted to the client PC 3 via the communication control unit 202 (method B).

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 18, when the image data transmission method can be designated from the client PC 3, in step 340 (S340), the response control unit 26 determines that the client PC 3 determines the image data transmission method. Judge whether specified.
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S342 when the client PC 3 designates the transmission method, and proceeds to the process of S22 or S32 (FIGS. 14 and 17) otherwise.

In step 342 (S342), the response control unit 26 determines whether the designated transmission method is the transmission method A (S366; FIG. 17) or the transmission method B (S368).
The response control unit 26 proceeds to the process of S344 when the designated method is the method A, and transmits the image data to the client PC 3 by the method A. Otherwise, the process proceeds to the process of S346. The image data is transmitted to the client PC 3 by the method B.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration of the image data management unit 28 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 19, the image data management unit 28 includes an image data table 282, a table management unit 284, and an image DB management unit 286.
With these components, the image data management unit 28 stores and manages the image data input from the scanner control unit 24 in the image DB 280 (FIG. 4).
Further, the image data management unit 28 outputs image data input from the scanner control unit 24 or image data stored in the image DB 280 to the response control unit 26 in response to a request.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the image data table 282 illustrated in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 20, the image data table 282 includes scan job request identification information (FIG. 6) corresponding to image data input from the scanner control unit 24, and image data storage location (image data object address). ) Are registered in association with the index.
The table management unit 284 manages the image data table 282 shown in FIG. 20 in response to a request from the image DB management unit 286.

The image DB management unit 286 outputs the image data input from the scanner control unit 24 to the response control unit 26 in response to a request.
Alternatively, the image data management unit 286 reads the image data stored in the image DB 280 with reference to the image data table 282 and outputs it to the response control unit 26 in response to a request.

With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, the processing of the image data management unit 28 will be further described.
FIGS. 21 and 22 are flowcharts showing the processing (S36, S38) of the image data management unit 28 shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 21, in step 360 (S360), the image data table 282 initializes the image DB 280 when the scanner program 20 is activated.
In step 362 (S362), the image DB management unit 286 determines whether image data is input from the scanner control unit 24 or not.
The image data management unit 28 proceeds to the process of S364 when the image data is input, and stays in the process of S362 otherwise.

In step 364 (S364), the image DB management unit 286 stores the image data in the image DB 280.
Further, the image DB management unit 286 acquires request identification information corresponding to the input image data from the scan job management unit 22, and outputs it to the table management unit 284 together with the storage position of the image data in the image DB 280. Request registration of image data.
In response to this request, the table management unit 284 associates the request identification information corresponding to the image data with the storage position of the image data and registers them in the image data table 282.

As shown in FIG. 22, in step 380 (S380), the image DB management unit 286 determines whether an image data transmission request from the client PC 3 has occurred.
The image DB management unit 286 proceeds to the process of S382 when there is an image data transmission request, and stays in the process of S380 otherwise.

In step 382 (S382), the image DB management unit 286 requests the image DB management unit 286 to search the image data table 282, and based on the search result, the entry corresponding to the image data requested to be transmitted. Is in the image data table 282.
The image DB management unit 286 proceeds to the process of S384 when there is an entry in the image data table 282, and returns to the process of S380 otherwise.

In step 384 (S384), the image DB management unit 286 acquires the storage position of the image data via the table management unit 284, reads out the image data from the image DB 280, and outputs it to the response control unit 26.
When the output of the image data is finished, in step 386 (S386), the image DB management unit 286 notifies the scan job management unit 22 that the output of the image data is finished.

Further, the table management unit 284 is requested to delete the entry of the image DB 280 corresponding to the image data, and the table management unit 284 deletes the entry of the image DB 280 in response to this request.
In response to this notification, the scan job management unit 22 also deletes the entry in the request table 222 corresponding to this image data.

[Overall operation]
Hereinafter, the overall operation of the scanner system 1 will be described.

[Estimation of scan processing, etc.]
23 to 26 are first to fourth communication sequences showing the overall operation (S40 to S48) of the scanner system 1 shown in FIG.
In these drawings, substantially the same processes are denoted by the same reference numerals.
As shown in FIG. 23, in step 400 (S400), the client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 to estimate the processing time for the scan job and the scan process.
The scan job is started or queued when the request in S400 is received.
In step 402 (S402), the scanner server 2 estimates the processing time and returns it to the client PC 3 together with the request identification information (FIG. 6).
The client PC 3 receives the estimate of the processing time from the scanner server 2 and displays it on the input / output device 106 (FIG. 2) of the client PC 3 to indicate to the user.

In step 406 (S406), the client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 to transmit image data.
Note that the transmission of the image data in the process of S406 is performed only when the method B shown in FIG. 7 is executed.
When the method A is executed, image data is transmitted as a response to the scan job request, and thus such exchange does not occur between the client and the server.

[Send status]
As shown in FIG. 24, in step 440 (S440), the client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 for a scan job.
In step 442 (S442), the scanner server 2 returns the request identification information (FIG. 6) of the requested scan job and the estimated result of the scan processing time to the client PC 3.

In step 444 (S 444), the client PC 3 sends a scan job status transmission request including request identification information to the scanner server 2.
In step 446 (S446), the scanner server 2 transmits the scan job status to the client PC 3.
The client PC 3 receives the status of the scan job, displays it on the input / output device 106 (FIG. 2) of the client PC 3 and shows it to the user.

[Specify transmission method]
Here, a specific example is a case where the client side selects an image data reception method in accordance with the estimated scan processing time.
As shown in FIG. 25, as shown in step 460 (S460), the client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 for a scan job.
The scan job is started or queued when the request in the process of S460 is received.
In step 462 (S462), the scanner server 2 returns the request identification information (FIG. 6) and the estimated scan processing time to the client PC 3.

In step 464 (S464), the client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 to execute scan processing.
In response to this request, the scanner server 2 executes a scanning process.
In step 466 (S466), the client PC 3 designates the method A (FIGS. 17 and 18) and requests transmission of image data.
In step 468 (S468), the scanner server 2 transmits the image data to the client PC 3 by the designated method A (in response to S466).

Also, as shown in FIG. 26, the processing shown as S460 to S464 in FIG. 25 is executed between the scanner server 2 and the client PC 3.
In step 480 (S480), the client PC 3 designates method B (FIGS. 17, 18, and 23).
In the method B, the client PC 3 requests the scanner server 2 to transmit image data after an estimated time, and the scanner server 2 has the corresponding image data at that time. Then, it is transmitted as a response, or if there is no image data, a response to that effect is made, and further, the client PC 3 performs an operation of requesting transmission again after a predetermined time.
In step 482 (S482), the scanner server 2 transmits image data to the client PC 3 by the designated method B.

  The present invention can be used to use a scanner device from a client device via a network.

It is a figure which illustrates the composition of the scanner system concerning the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the scanner server, client PC, and operator PC which were shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the client program which operate | moves with PC for clients shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the scanner program which operate | moves with the scanner server shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a scan job management unit illustrated in FIG. 4. It is a figure which illustrates the content of the request | requirement table shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a first flowchart showing processing (S10) of the scan job management unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 6 is a second flowchart showing processing (S12) of the scan job management unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 6 is a third flowchart showing a process (S14) of the scan job management unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 6 is a fourth flowchart showing a process (S16) of the scan job management unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a scanner control unit illustrated in FIG. 4. 12 is a first flowchart showing a process (S18) of the scanner control unit shown in FIG. 12 is a second flowchart showing processing (S20) of the scanner control unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a first flowchart showing a process (S22) of a response control unit and a time estimation unit shown in FIG. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the process (S26) of the response control part and time estimation part which were shown in FIG. It is a 3rd flowchart which shows the process (S30) of the response control part and time estimation part which were shown in FIG. It is a 4th flowchart which shows the process (S32) of the response control part and time estimation part which were shown in FIG. It is a 5th flowchart which shows the process (S34) of the response control part and time estimation part which were shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the image data management part shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the image data table shown in FIG. FIG. 21 is a first flowchart showing a process (S36) of the image data management unit shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. FIG. FIG. 21 is a second flowchart showing a process (S38) of the image data management unit shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. FIG. It is a 1st communication sequence which shows the whole operation | movement (S40) of the scanner system shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a second communication sequence showing an overall operation (S44) of the scanner system shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a third communication sequence showing an overall operation (S46) of the scanner system shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a fourth communication sequence showing an overall operation (S48) of the scanner system shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Scanner system,
2 ... Scanner server,
100 ... body,
102 ... CPU,
104: Memory,
108: Communication device,
110 ... Recording device,
112 ... Recording medium,
114... Scanner device,
116: Document feeder,
20 ... Scanner program,
200 ... operator interface part,
202... Communication control unit,
22: Scan job management unit,
222 ... request table,
224 ... Table management unit,
226... Request control unit,
228... Identification information generation unit.
24 ... Scanner control unit,
240... Image processing unit,
242 ... an image generator,
26 ... Response control unit,
28: Image data management unit,
282 ... Image data table,
284 ... Table management unit,
286 ... Image DB management unit,
220 ... time estimation part,
280 ... Image DB,
3 ... Client PC
30 ... Client program,

Claims (12)

A scanner system including a scanner device and a client device,
The client device requests the scanner device for a scan job including a scan process for an object,
The scanner device includes:
Scan processing means for performing scan processing on the object in response to a request of the scan job to generate image data of the object;
Processing time estimation means for estimating the time required for the scanning process on the object;
A scanner system comprising: notification means for notifying the client apparatus of the estimated processing time. A scanner device that executes a scan job including a scan process on an object in response to a request,
Scan processing means for performing scan processing on the object in response to a request of the scan job to generate image data of the object;
A processing time estimation means for estimating a processing time required for the scan processing on the object;
A scanner device comprising: notification means for notifying the estimated processing time to the outside. A scanner device that executes the requested scan job in response to a request for the scan job from the client device via a communication connection with the client device,
The scanner device according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit notifies the estimated processing time to a client device that has requested the scan job. The object is a sheet-like document,
A document feeding unit configured to send the set document to the scan process after the sheet document is set;
The processing time estimation means is:
4. The scanner device according to claim 2, wherein a processing time required for the scanning process is estimated based on the number of the originals set on the original feeding unit and a scanning processing time per one original. The client device receives the generated image data from the scanner device;
Image data storage means for storing the generated image data;
And further comprising: image data transmission means for transmitting the generated image data or the stored image data to the client device via the communication connection based on the estimated processing time. Item 5. The scanner device according to Item 3 or 4. The image data transmission means includes
Based on the estimated processing time, the client device determines whether the generated image data can be received at the end of the scanner processing,
When the client device is capable of receiving the generated image data at the end of the scanner process, the generated image data is transmitted to the client device;
6. In other cases, the client device transmits the stored image data to the client device when the generated image data can be received after completion of the scanner process. The scanner device described in 1. The scanner device according to claim 3, wherein communication between the scanner device and the client device is performed by the HTTP protocol via the communication connection. A status management means for managing each status of the requested scan job;
The scanner device according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit further notifies the status of each of the managed scan jobs in response to a request from the client device. A scanning method including a scanner device and a client device,
The client device requests the scanner device for a scan job including a scan process for an object,
The scanner device includes:
Estimating the time required for the scanning process for the object,
Notifying the client device of the estimated processing time;
A scan method for generating image data of the object by performing a scan process on the object in response to a request of the scan job. A scanning method for executing a scan job including a scanning process on an object according to a request,
Estimating the processing time required for the scanning process on the object,
Notifying the outside of the estimated processing time,
A scan method for generating image data of the object by performing a scan process on the object in response to a request of the scan job. A program for performing a scan job including scan processing on an object by a scanner device and a client device,
In the client device,
Causing the scanner device to request the scan job to be executed by a computer;
In the scanner device,
Estimating the time required for the scanning process for the object;
Notifying the client device of the estimated processing time;
A program that causes a computer to execute a scan process on the object in response to a request for the scan job and generate image data of the object. A program that executes a scan job including a scan process on an object in response to a request,
Estimating a processing time required for a scanning process on the object;
Notifying the estimated processing time to the outside;
A program for causing a computer to execute a scan process on the object in response to a request for the scan job to generate image data of the object.

Images