JP2005101855A - Information processor, image forming device, image data management system, information processing method, image processing method, information processing program and record medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor where a network load, when the editing result of image data is reflected on server managing image data, is reduced; and to provide an image forming device and an image data management system. <P>SOLUTION: In the information processor, the image forming device accumulating image data performs a prescribed image editing processing. The processor is provided with an editing instruction means for acquiring low resolution data having resolution lower than that of image data and causing the image forming device, to perform the prescribed image editing processing corresponding to an editing instruction to image data based on the editing instruction to low resolution data. The editing instruction means transmits a first structure where image data identification information for identifying image data as the object of the editing instruction and editing operation information showing the content of the editing instruction are mentioned as elements. Thus, the image forming device is caused to perform the prescribed image editing processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, an image data management system, an information processing method, an image processing method, an information processing program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus for performing image data editing operations and image data. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus to be stored, an image data management system having the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus, an information processing method in the information processing apparatus, an information processing program and a recording medium, and an image processing method in the image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses have become more multifunctional, and some of them are equipped with a plurality of functions such as FAX, scanner, copying, and printing. Some of these apparatuses have a function of storing information received by FAX, information read at the time of scanning or copying, and the like as image data together with the bibliographic information on a hard disk or the like.

Software (hereinafter referred to as “image editing software”) for editing such image data from a terminal such as a PC (Personal Computer) connected to the image forming apparatus via a network has already been provided. The software is installed on the terminal side, and downloads and displays image data stored in the image forming apparatus based on an instruction from the user. The user can perform various editing operations such as removal of noise included in the image data, pasting of other image data, and addition of graphics while referring to the displayed image data. The edited image data is written back to the download source image forming apparatus.
JP 2001-218137 A

  However, in recent years, it is expected that the amount of data per image data will increase with the color correspondence of image forming apparatuses and the correspondence of documents with large paper sizes.

  For example, the data size of A0 size color data is about 1.6 Gbytes. If this is transferred by a LAN of 100 Mbps, it takes about 160 seconds as a theoretical value. Considering that the actual network speed is about one fifth of the theoretical value, it takes about 800 seconds. If such a time is generated during downloading and writing back, it causes a great deal of stress on the user and is hardly a practical function.

  Note that Patent Document 1 describes an invention related to a system that transmits editing information indicating an image data editing operation in a client to a server that manages image data. The purpose is to reduce the communication fee when using it. Therefore, it is not disclosed clearly what the editing information is, and the graphic processing (graphic input etc.) supported by the present invention is not targeted for the editing operation. It is considered a thing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is an information processing apparatus capable of reducing a network load when an image data editing result is reflected on a server that manages the image data. An object is to provide a forming apparatus and an image data management system.

  Accordingly, in order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus that causes an image forming apparatus that accumulates image data to execute a predetermined image editing process via a network. And acquiring low resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image data based on the image data acquisition request, and responding to the editing instruction to the image data based on the editing instruction for the low resolution data Editing instruction means for causing the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing processing, wherein the editing instruction means includes image data identification information for identifying image data that is an object of editing instructions for the low resolution data; By transmitting a first structure in which editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low resolution data is described as an element Characterized in that to execute the predetermined image editing processing corresponding to the editing instruction to the image forming apparatus.

  In such an information processing apparatus, the information indicating the content of the editing instruction can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus so that the editing instruction in the information processing apparatus can be reflected in the stored image data. It is not necessary to flow the accumulated actual data on the network, and the network load can be reduced.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides, as described in claim 8, image data in response to an execution request for predetermined image editing processing transmitted from an information processing apparatus connected to a network. An image forming apparatus that executes editing processing, and that performs image management service providing means for managing read image data, and performs predetermined image editing on image data managed by the image management service providing means An image editing service providing means, and the image management service providing means has a low resolution lower than the resolution of the read image data based on an acquisition request for the image data transmitted from the information processing apparatus. The resolution editing data is transmitted, and the image editing service providing means sends an editing instruction for the low resolution data transmitted by the information processing apparatus. The image data editing process is executed based on the first structure indicating the content, and the first structure includes image data identification information for identifying the image data targeted for the editing instruction, The editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction is described as an element.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the accumulated image data can be edited based on the information indicating the content of the editing instruction transmitted from the information processing apparatus, and therefore the accumulated image data is sent over the network. There is no need, and the network load can be reduced.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing method in the information processing apparatus, an information processing program for causing the information processing apparatus to execute the information processing method, or a recording medium on which the information processing program is recorded. It is good.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention may be an image processing method in the information image forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problem, the present invention may be an image data management system including the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image data management system capable of reducing a network load when an image data editing result is reflected on a server managing the image data. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image data management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image data management system 1 in the present embodiment is configured by connecting a client apparatus 10 and an image forming apparatus 20 via a network 30.

  The client device 10 is a computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) in which a display function and an editing function for image data stored in the image forming apparatus 20 are mounted. In this embodiment, image data editing is realized in a general image data editing application such as adding a new figure to the image data, filling a predetermined area, or pasting a bitmap. In addition to possible functions, image data composed of a plurality of pages means functions such as page replacement, addition, and deletion.

  The image forming apparatus 20 is a so-called multi-function machine or multi-function machine in which a multi-service such as a printer, a copy, a scanner, or a facsimile is mounted. The image forming apparatus 20 can also store the information read by the copy function and the scanner function and the information received by the facsimile function as image data, and the image data and the image can be stored in response to a request from the client apparatus 10. Bibliographic information of data is provided to the client device 10.

  Next, details of the client device 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the client device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, an arithmetic processing device 104, and a network I / F (interface) device 105, which are connected to each other via a bus B. The input device 106 and the display device 107 are configured.

  An image data editing program for realizing processing in the client device 10 is provided by a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 in which the image data editing program is recorded is set in the drive device 100, the image data editing program is installed from the recording medium 101 into the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed image data editing program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 103 reads the image data editing program from the auxiliary storage device 102 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the image data editing program. The arithmetic processing device 104 executes functions related to the client device 10 in accordance with the image data editing program stored in the memory device 103. The network I / F device 105 includes, for example, a modem and a router, and is used for connecting to the network 30 in FIG.

  The input device 106 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used to input various operation instructions. The display device 107 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like by an image data editing program.

  Next, the functional configuration of the image data management system 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of the image data management system in the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an image data editing program 11 is installed in the client device 10. The image data editing program 11 is a program in which functions such as display of image data stored in the image forming apparatus 20, reception of an image data editing instruction by a user, and reflection of an editing result on the image forming apparatus 20 are implemented. And includes a processing control unit 111, an image processing unit 112, an image data cache 113, a device management unit 114, a document management DB (database) 115, a SOAP proxy 116, and the like.

  The processing control unit 111 is a part that controls the flow of the entire processing by the image data editing program 11, and uses the image processing unit 112, the device management unit 114, and the like based on instructions from the user made on the display device 107. To realize the function of the image data editing program.

  The image processing unit 112 is a function group for executing processing such as displaying the editing result of image data on the display device 107. The image processing unit 112 also executes processing for storing image data downloaded from the image forming apparatus 20 in the image data cache 113. The image data cache 113 is a storage area for storing image data downloaded from the image forming apparatus 20.

  The device management unit 114 is a function group for making various requests such as an image data transmission request and an edit result reflection request to the image forming apparatus 20 (device). The document management DB 115 is a database that manages bibliographic information of image data downloaded from the image forming apparatus 20.

  The SOAP proxy 116 is a module in which a method for transparently calling the function of the image forming apparatus 20 by SOAP RPC is implemented. That is, the SOAP proxy 116 serializes the method call information in the image forming apparatus 20 corresponding to the method into XML format data (structure) based on the method call by the device management unit 114, and converts the XML format data into the XML format data. It transmits to the image forming apparatus 20 as a SOAP message (SOAP request). The SOAP proxy 116 also receives a SOAP message (SOAP response) returned from the image forming apparatus 20 as a response to the SOAP request, deserializes method return information included in the SOAP response as data in XML format, Return to the device management unit 114.

  On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 20 includes a SOAP processing unit 21, a document management unit 22, a document storage unit 23, an image editing unit 24, an output processing unit 25, an operation panel unit 26, a scanner unit 27, and the like.

  The SOAP processing unit 21 interprets (deserializes) the method call information included in the SOAP message (SOAP request) transmitted from the client device 10, and the document management unit 22 or the image editing unit 24 corresponding to the call information. It is a module for calling the method. The SOAP processing unit 21 serializes return information such as a return value of the called method into XML format data, and transmits the XML format data to the client device 10 as a SOAP message (SOAP response).

  The document management unit 22 is a module in which a function (document management function) for centrally managing image data stored in the document storage unit 23 and bibliographic information of the image data is implemented. The document management function is provided as a Web service (document management service) to the client device 10 or the like. The document storage unit 23 is a storage area in which image data read by a copy function and a scanner function in the image forming apparatus 20 and bibliographic information of the image data are stored.

  The image editing unit 24 is a module in which an editing function (image data editing function) for the image data stored in the document storage unit 23 is implemented, and the image data editing function is provided via the SOAP processing unit 21 as a Web service. Provided to the client device 10 or the like as an (image editing service).

  The output processing unit 25 is a part where a function for printing image data on paper is mounted. The operation panel unit 26 is an operation panel (operation panel: operation panel) that displays information for receiving input from the user. A user can operate the image forming apparatus 20 via the operation panel unit 26. The scanner unit 27 is a portion on which a function for reading a document as image data when copying or scanning is requested.

  Hereinafter, the processing procedure of the image data management system 1 in FIG. 3 will be described. First, a process when downloading image data stored in the image forming apparatus 20 to the client apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining processing when image data is downloaded to the client device.

  On the GUI (Graphical User Interface) of the image data editing program 11 displayed on the display device 107 of the client device 10, the user downloads image data to be edited among the image data stored in the image forming device 20. When instructed, the processing control unit 111 requests the device management unit 114 to acquire from the image forming apparatus 10 image data designated as an editing target (hereinafter referred to as “target data”) based on the instruction. (S101).

  Progressing to step S102 following step S101, the device management unit 114 requests the SOAP proxy 116 to transmit a target data acquisition request to the image forming apparatus 10 by calling an image data acquisition method of the SOAP proxy 116. .

  Progressing to step S103 following step S102, the SOAP proxy 116 serializes the call information for the image data acquisition method of the document management unit 22 into XML format data (XML data), and a SOAP message (SOAP request) including the XML data. ) To the image forming apparatus 20.

  Progressing to step S104 following step S103, the SOAP processing unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 that has received the SOAP request calls the image data acquisition method of the document management unit 22 based on the information included in the SOAP request.

Progressing to step S105 following step S104, when the document management unit 22 acquires the target data from the document storage unit 23, the resolution is lower than the resolution when the target data is read by the scanner unit 27 based on the target data. (For example, resolution of about several tens of dpi)
(S106), and the generated low resolution data is output to the SOAP processing unit 21 as return information of the image data acquisition method (S107).

  Progressing to step S108 following step S107, the SOAP processing unit 21 transmits a SOAP message including the low-resolution data output from the document management unit 22 to the client device 10 as a SOAP response.

  Progressing to step S109 following step S108, the SOAP proxy 116 that has received the SOAP response extracts the low resolution data from the SOAP response, and uses the low resolution data as return information of the image data acquisition method called by the device management unit 114. The data is output to the device management unit 114.

  Progressing to step S110 following step S109, when the device management unit 114 outputs the low resolution data to the processing control unit 111, the processing control unit 111 requests the image processing unit 112 to save the low resolution data. (S111).

  Progressing to step S112 following step S111, when the image processing unit 112 stores the low-resolution data in the image data cache 113, the image processing unit 112 notifies the processing control unit 111 of the normal storage (S113).

  As described above, the low resolution data for editing is downloaded to the client device 10. As is clear from the above, in the image data management system 1 according to the present embodiment, the image data downloaded as an editing target is not real data with high resolution but a resolution generated based on the actual data. Since the data is low, the amount of information transferred from the image forming apparatus 20 to the client apparatus 10 during downloading can be reduced.

  Next, processing when an editing operation is performed on the downloaded image data (low resolution data) will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining editing processing for image data.

  When the downloaded low-resolution data is displayed on the GUI by the image data editing program as an editing target, the user can edit the image data, for example, draw a figure or paste a pre-registered bitmap. When appending or the like is performed, the processing control unit 111 performs an editing operation on actual data (referred to as data stored in the document storage unit 23 of the image forming apparatus 20) corresponding to the low resolution data to be edited. Is reflected to the device management unit 114 (S121).

  Progressing to step S122 following step S121, the device management unit 114 requests the SOAP proxy 116 to transmit an edit request for actual data by calling an edit method of the SOAP proxy 116.

  Progressing to step S123 following step S122, the SOAP proxy 116 serializes the call information for the editing method of the image editing unit 24 into XML data, and sends a SOAP message (SOAP request) including the XML data to the image forming apparatus 20. To send.

  For example, when the editing operation here is an operation (white painting) of filling a predetermined area with white, a SOAP message as shown in FIG. 6 is transmitted.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a SOAP message for requesting whitening. In the SOAP message 310 shown in FIG. 6, the Body element enclosed by the <s: Body> tag is the call information of the edit method. That is, the description 311 shows the method name “addFigure” of the editing method, and the description 312 shows the argument information of the editing method.

  As argument information of the editing method, a session ID for identifying a session between the client apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 (description 313) surrounded by a <sessionId> tag, and an object to be edited surrounded by an <objectId> tag The document ID for identifying the actual data is described (description 314). A description 315 surrounded by <propList> tags is argument information indicating the contents of the editing operation.

  In the description 315, one editing operation is expressed as an item element surrounded by <item> tags. In addition, various attribute information for specifying the content of the editing operation includes a propName element (element surrounded by <propName> tag) for identifying the attribute and a propVal element (<propVal>) indicating the value of the attribute Element surrounded by tags).

  Specifically, in the description 316, “figure” is designated as the value of the opeType attribute. The opeType attribute is an attribute indicating the type of editing operation, and “figure” indicates a graphic operation. In the description 317, “rectangle” is specified as the value of the opeModel attribute. The opeModel attribute is an attribute for identifying a graphic element (input graphic) as an input target, and “rectangle” indicates a rectangle.

  In the descriptions 318 and 319, “12” or “100” is designated as the value of the xOffset attribute or the yOffset attribute. The xOffset attribute and the yOffset attribute are attributes indicating the position of the input figure (here, a rectangle) by an offset value in the X direction or Y direction from the upper left vertex of the image data to be edited.

  In the descriptions 320 and 321, “100” or “50” is designated as the value of the xWidth attribute or the yWidth attribute. The xWidth attribute and the yWidth attribute are attributes indicating the width or height of a rectangle that is an input figure.

  In the description 322, “30” is designated as the value of the angle attribute. The angle attribute is an attribute indicating the inclination of the input figure.

  In the descriptions 323 and 324, “0x000000” is designated as the value of the “boardColor” attribute or the “foreColor” attribute. The “boardColor” attribute and “forColor” attribute are attributes indicating the color of the boundary line of the input graphic or the foreground color of the input graphic, and “0x000000” indicates white. Therefore, the rectangular area is filled with white.

  In the description 325, “100” is designated as the value of the transparency attribute. The transparency attribute is an attribute indicating the transparency of the input figure, and “100” indicates that it is not transparent at all.

  In the description 315, ten attributes are specified, and this is shown as a subscript of the array of the description 327. In addition, when the image data is composed of a plurality of pages, attribute information for identifying the page to be edited is included, but here, it shows the case where all the pages are targeted. Such attribute information is omitted.

  On the other hand, when the editing operation here is, for example, pasting a bitmap representing a logo mark, a SOAP message as shown in FIG. 7 is transmitted.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a SOAP message for requesting the pasting of a logo mark. Since the SOAP message 330 in FIG. 7 has almost the same configuration as the SOAP message 310 described above, only differences will be described.

  The description 331 indicates that “marklogo” is designated as the value of the opeModel attribute, thereby indicating that the input graphic element is a bitmap displaying a logo mark. In the description 332, “1” is specified as the value of the index attribute. The index attribute is an attribute for identifying a logo mark. That is, the logo mark is registered in advance in the image forming apparatus 20 in association with a number that uniquely identifies the logo mark, and the value of the number that uniquely identifies the logo mark is designated as the value of the index attribute.

  The description 335 specifies “0x000000” as the value of the backColor attribute. “backColor” is an attribute indicating a background color. The logo mark is arranged so as to fit in the rectangular area indicated by the xWidth attribute (description 333) and the yWidth attribute (description 334), but the color applied to the area (background) that is not the logo mark in the rectangular area is the background. Color.

  Progressing to step S124 following step S123, the SOAP processing unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 that has received the SOAP request calls the editing method of the image editing unit 24 based on the information included in the SOAP request.

  Progressing to step S125 following step S124, when the image editing unit 24 requests the document management unit 22 to access the actual data using the document ID as an argument, the document management unit 22 is stored in the document storage unit 23. Information (position information) for identifying the storage position of the actual data, such as the path name of the actual data, is notified to the image editing unit 24 (S126). Here, the document management unit 22 may notify the path name by copying the actual data, not the actual data stored in the document storage unit 23.

  Progressing to step S127 following step S126, the image editing unit 24 performs editing processing on the actual data based on the information included in the SOAP message, that is, rectangular drawing (white painting), logo mark pasting, and the like. Execute. When the editing process is completed and the image editing unit 24 notifies the document management unit 22 that the access to the actual data is finished (S128), a response to the response is made by the document management unit 22 (S129). When the actual data is image data composed of a plurality of pages, the editing process is repeated for all pages.

  Progressing to step S130 following step S129, the image editing unit 24 outputs information indicating success or failure of the editing process (hereinafter referred to as “editing result”) to the SOAP processing unit 21 as return information of the editing method ( S130).

  Progressing to step S131 following step S130, the SOAP processing unit 21 transmits a SOAP message representing the editing result output from the image editing unit 24 to the client device 10 as a SOAP response.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a SOAP message transmitted when the editing process is successful. In the SOAP message 340 of FIG. 8, the Body element 341 is return information of the editing method. Although there is a returnValue element for which no value is specified in the description 342, the SOAP message 340 indicates that the editing process has been successful due to the absence of a Fault element described later.

  On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a SOAP message transmitted when an error occurs in the editing process. The SOAP message 350 in FIG. 9 has a configuration conforming to the specification of SOAP 1.1, and indicates that an error has occurred due to the presence of a SOAP Fault element 351 surrounded by <s: Fault> tags. Error information is shown in a Fault element 351.

  The cause of the error is indicated by a faultcode element 352 and a faultstring element 353. That is, in the fault code element 352, “s: Server” indicating that an error has occurred on the server (image forming apparatus 20) side is shown as its value. In the faultstring element 353, the type of error is indicated by a character string that can be understood by the user.

  The detail element 354 shows detailed information on the error. That is, in the errorCode element (description 355), a character string that uniquely identifies the content of the error is shown. Note that “REPOSITARY_OBJECT_BUSY” indicates that the actual data to be edited cannot be used because it is being accessed by another user in the present embodiment.

  Progressing to step S132 following step S131, the SOAP proxy 116 that has received the SOAP response extracts the editing result from the SOAP response, and uses the editing result as return information of the editing method called by the device management unit 114. Output for.

  Progressing to step S133 following step S132, the device management unit 114 outputs the editing result to the processing control unit 111. If the editing result indicates that the editing is successful, the processing control unit 111 requests the image processing unit 112 to reflect the editing operation on the display (S134).

  Progressing to step S135 following step S134, the image processing unit 112 executes display of a newly input white rectangle or logo mark, and notifies the processing control unit 111 of normal display ( S136). By displaying the white-painted rectangle, it appears to the user that the specified area is painted white.

  In FIG. 5, the example in which the reflection process to the actual data is executed every time the editing operation is performed has been described. However, for example, the reflection of the editing operation on the GUI by the image data editing program is explicitly shown to the user. A button to be designated may be arranged, and when the button is clicked, the editing operations so far may be collectively notified to the image forming apparatus 20. Further, every time a certain time elapses, the editing operations up to that time may be automatically collected and notified to the image forming apparatus 20. In this case, the SOAP message transmitted as a SOAP request from the client device 10 can be configured as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for example.

  10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating examples of SOAP messages when a plurality of editing operations are notified collectively. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 represent one SOAP message. The SOAP message 360 in FIG. 10 or the like has the same configuration as the SOAP message 310 (FIG. 6) and the SOAP message 330 (FIG. 7), and basically, an item element corresponding to one editing operation is displayed. It is an enumeration of only minutes. The SOAP message 360 is an example in a case where white painting and logo mark pasting are collectively requested. The white painting is indicated in the item element of the description 361, and the logo mark pasting is described in the description 362 ( It is shown in the item element of FIG.

  However, if the area to be edited in multiple editing operations, in this case the white area and the logo mark pasting area, overlaps, it is finally obtained depending on which editing process is performed first. The resulting image will be different. Therefore, each item element has a <priority> tag as an attribute indicating the order of editing processing so that the order of operations performed by the user on the client device 10 is correctly reproduced in the editing processing in the image forming apparatus 20. An enclosed priority attribute is added.

  That is, in the description 363 (FIG. 10), “1” is specified for the priority attribute, and in the description 364 (FIG. 11), “2” is specified for the priority attribute. Therefore, it is shown that the logo mark is pasted after white painting.

  Note that the array of the description 365 (FIG. 10) is a two-dimensional array unlike the array of the description 327 of the SOAP message 310. This indicates that there are a plurality of item elements. When the number of elements of a two-dimensional array is specified, it indicates that only that number of item elements are valid, and when the number of elements is not specified (that is, [] is described as in the description 365). Indicates that all item elements are valid. In the description 365, the number of elements of the one-dimensional array is 11. This is because the number of attributes is 11 because the priority attribute is added as an element constituting the item element. It is.

  The image editing unit 24 of the image forming apparatus 20 that has received the SOAP message 360 executes editing processing corresponding to the editing operation indicated by each item element in the order indicated by the priority attribute.

  In this way, by notifying a plurality of editing operations through a single communication, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of communication at each editing operation, thereby reducing the network load and improving the operability of the editing operation. be able to. The SOAP message returned as a SOAP response to the SOAP message 360 is the same as the SOAP message 340 (FIG. 8) or the SOAP message 350 (FIG. 9).

  As described above, according to the image data management system 1 in the present embodiment, when the editing result of the image data in the client device 10 is reflected in the image forming device 20, the editing operation is performed instead of the edited image data itself. Is sent to the image forming apparatus 20 and the image forming apparatus 20 is caused to execute an editing process based on the SOAP message. Here, as shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the SOAP message is simple text data and has a small amount of data. Therefore, compared with the case where the image data itself is distributed on the network, the network load is significantly reduced. Can do.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image data management system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the client apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the image data management system in embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the process at the time of downloading image data to a client apparatus. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the edit process with respect to image data. It is a figure which shows the example of the SOAP message for requesting white painting. It is a figure which shows the example of the SOAP message for requesting affixing a logo mark. It is a figure which shows the example of the SOAP message transmitted when an edit process is successful. It is a figure which shows the example of the SOAP message transmitted when an error generate | occur | produces in an edit process. It is a figure which shows the example of a SOAP message in the case of reporting several edit operation collectively. It is a figure which shows the example of a SOAP message in the case of reporting several edit operation collectively.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image data management system 10 Client apparatus 11 Image data editing program 20 Image forming apparatus 21 SOAP processing part 22 Document management part 23 Document storage part 24 Image editing part 25 Output processing part 26 Operation panel part 27 Scanner part 30 Network 100 Drive apparatus 101 Recording Medium 102 Auxiliary storage device 103 Memory device 104 Arithmetic processing device 105 Network I / F device 106 Input device 107 Display device 111 Processing control unit 112 Image processing unit 113 Image data cache 114 Device management unit 115 Document management DB
116 SOAP proxy B bus

Claims (20)

An information processing apparatus that causes an image forming apparatus that accumulates image data to execute predetermined image editing processing via a network,
Based on the image data acquisition request, low-resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image data is acquired, and the editing instruction for the image data corresponding to the editing instruction for the low-resolution data Editing instruction means for causing the image forming apparatus to execute predetermined image editing processing;
The editing instruction means includes, as elements, image data identification information for identifying image data that is an object of an editing instruction for the low resolution data, and editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low resolution data. An information processing apparatus that causes the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting a first structure. In the first structure, graphic type information indicating the type of graphic element added by the editing instruction, graphic size information indicating the size of the graphic element, and an arrangement position of the graphic element in the image data The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graphic position information shown is described as an element constituting the editing operation information. In the first structure, when the graphic element is data registered in advance in the image forming apparatus, data identification information for identifying the data is described as an element constituting the editing operation information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The information processing apparatus, as a response to the first structure transmitted by the editing instruction unit, includes a second structure indicating whether or not the predetermined image editing process for the image data in the image forming apparatus is successful. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is received from an image forming apparatus. In the second structure, when an abnormality occurs in the predetermined image editing process in the image forming apparatus, information indicating the cause of the abnormality and information indicating the details of the abnormality are described as elements. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the editing operation information for a plurality of the editing instructions is described as an element in the first structure. In the first structure, when each of the editing operation information for a plurality of the editing instructions is described as an element, information indicating the order of the plurality of the editing instructions constitutes the editing operation information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the information processing apparatus is described as an element. An image forming apparatus that executes an image data editing process in response to a predetermined image editing process execution request transmitted from an information processing apparatus connected to a network,
Image management service providing means for managing the read image data;
Image editing service providing means for executing predetermined image editing on the image data managed by the image management service providing means,
The image management service providing means transmits low-resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the read image data based on the acquisition request for the image data transmitted from the information processing apparatus,
The image editing service providing means executes an editing process of the image data based on a first structure indicating the content of an editing instruction for the low resolution data transmitted by the information processing apparatus,
In the first structure, image data identification information for identifying image data that is a target of the editing instruction and editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction are described as elements. Image forming apparatus. In the first structure, graphic type information indicating the type of graphic element added by the editing instruction, graphic size information indicating the size of the graphic element, and an arrangement position of the graphic element in the image data 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the graphic position information shown is described as an element constituting the editing operation information. In response to the first structure transmitted from the information processing apparatus, the image forming apparatus displays a second structure indicating whether or not the image data editing process by the image editing service providing unit is successful. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus transmits the image to the apparatus. When an abnormality occurs in the image data editing process by the image editing service providing unit, the second structure includes information indicating the cause of the abnormality and information indicating the details of the abnormality. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the information processing apparatus is described. In the first structure, each editing operation information for a plurality of the editing instructions is described as an element,
12. The image editing service providing means executes an editing process of the image data corresponding to a plurality of the editing instructions based on the first structure. Image forming apparatus. In the first structure, when each of the editing operation information for a plurality of the editing instructions is described as an element, information indicating the order of the plurality of the editing instructions constitutes the editing operation information. Is described as an element,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the image editing service providing unit executes the editing process of the image data corresponding to a plurality of the editing instructions in the order indicated by the information indicating the order. The image editing service providing means requests the image management service providing means to provide the image data to be subjected to the image data editing process;
The image management service providing means notifies the image editing service providing means of the position information of the image data managed by the image management service providing means in response to a request from the image editing service providing means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8. The image editing service providing means requests the image management service providing means to provide the image data to be subjected to the image data editing process;
In response to a request from the image editing service providing means, the image management service providing means generates duplicate data that is a copy of the image data managed by the image management service providing means, and obtains position information of the duplicate data. 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image editing service providing unit is notified. An image data management system comprising: an image forming apparatus that stores image data; and an information processing apparatus that causes the image forming apparatus to execute a predetermined image editing process.
The information processing apparatus acquires low resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image data based on the image data acquisition request, and edits the low resolution data based on an editing instruction for the low resolution data An editing instruction for transmitting, to the image forming apparatus, a structure in which image data identification information for identifying image data to be instructed and editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low resolution data are described as elements Having means,
The image forming apparatus executes the predetermined image editing process on the image data based on the structure transmitted from the editing instruction unit. An information processing method in an information processing apparatus for causing an image forming apparatus that accumulates image data to execute predetermined image editing processing via a network,
A data acquisition procedure for acquiring low resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image data based on the acquisition request of the image data;
An editing instruction procedure for causing the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction for the image data based on an editing instruction for the low resolution data;
The editing instruction procedure includes, as elements, image data identification information for identifying image data that is an object of editing instruction for the low resolution data, and editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low resolution data. An information processing method comprising causing the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting a first structure. An image processing method in an image forming apparatus that executes an image data editing process in response to a predetermined image editing process execution request transmitted from an information processing apparatus connected to a network,
A data transmission procedure for transmitting low resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the read image data based on the acquisition request of the image data transmitted from the information processing apparatus;
An editing procedure for executing editing processing of the image data based on a structure indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low-resolution data transmitted by the information processing apparatus,
Image processing characterized in that image data identification information for identifying image data that is the target of the editing instruction and editing operation information indicating the contents of the editing instruction are described in the structure as elements. Method. An information processing apparatus that executes predetermined image editing processing via a network for an image forming apparatus that stores image data.
A data acquisition procedure for acquiring low resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image data based on the acquisition request of the image data;
An information processing program for executing an editing instruction procedure for causing the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction for the image data based on an editing instruction for the low resolution data,
The editing instruction procedure includes, as elements, image data identification information for identifying image data that is an object of editing instruction for the low resolution data, and editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low resolution data. An information processing program that causes the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting a first structure. An information processing apparatus that executes predetermined image editing processing via a network for an image forming apparatus that stores image data.
A data acquisition procedure for acquiring low resolution data having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image data based on the acquisition request of the image data;
An information processing program for executing an editing instruction procedure for causing the image forming apparatus to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction for the image data based on an editing instruction for the low resolution data,
The editing instruction procedure includes, as elements, image data identification information for identifying image data that is an object of editing instruction for the low resolution data, and editing operation information indicating the content of the editing instruction for the low resolution data. A computer-readable recording medium on which an information processing program is recorded, wherein the image forming apparatus is caused to execute the predetermined image editing process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting a first structure.

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