JP2005167357A - Image reading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reading apparatus capable of easily confirming a folder sharing of which is permitted by an information storage device and preventing image data of a read original from being copied to an unintended folder by surely designating a folder being a desirable copy destination. <P>SOLUTION: A facsimile composite apparatus 20 as the image reading apparatus disclosed herein uses a browse function in compliance with the CIFS protocol to access PCs 30a, 30b, ..., acquires identification information including a folder name and displays the acquired identification information on a display section 4. Then an operation section 5 accepts the entry of an object destination folder to which a Scan To Folder processing is applied, and a file copy function in compliance with the CIFS protocol copies the image data read by a read section 2 to the object destination folder. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that sends image data generated by reading a document to an information storage device connected via a network.

  Facsimile multifunction devices equipped with various functions such as printer function, copying function, scanning function and facsimile function are connected to multiple PCs, workstations, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as PCs) via a network such as a LAN and the Internet. It is used for document input / output work in the office. In such a network scan system in which a plurality of PCs and a facsimile combined apparatus are connected, an original is read by the facsimile combined apparatus as an image reading apparatus via the network in response to a PC scan request. Data is sent to the requested PC.

Also, a function (scan To folder) that designates a folder of an information storage device (magnetic disk device, semiconductor memory, etc.) included in a PC connected to the network from the image reading device side and sends the read image data to the designated folder. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). With such a scan To folder function, it is possible to directly specify a folder to which scanned image data is to be sent and store (copy) the image data in the folder without issuing a scan request by operating the PC. Become.
JP 2002-10011 A

  However, when the above-described image reading apparatus directly designates a folder to which image data is to be transmitted, if the folder is mistakenly designated, the image data is copied to a folder not intended by the user, Alternatively, when the designated folder does not exist, there is a possibility that the processing ends without the image data being copied. Therefore, there is a problem that the user cannot find the image data that should have been copied, that is, the location of the image data is unknown.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can easily check a folder that is permitted to be shared by an information storage device, and can reliably specify a folder to be copied, thereby reading a read original. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus that can prevent the image data from being copied to an unintended folder.

  The present invention also provides an image reading apparatus capable of eliminating the burden of re-converting image data on the information storage device side by converting the read image data of the document into a data format suitable for the information storage device to be transmitted. For the purpose of provision.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus capable of reducing the storage capacity of an image memory or the like for storing image data by compressing and storing the image data of the read original.

  An image reading apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an image reading apparatus that reads an original to generate image data, and sends the generated image data to an information storage device connected via a network. Means for acquiring folder information relating to one or more folders permitted to be shared, means for displaying the acquired folder information, and means for designating at least one of the displayed folder information The generated image data is sent to the information storage device based on the designated folder information.

  In the first invention, folder information relating to one or a plurality of folders permitted to share data is obtained from an information storage device connected via a network, and the folder information is displayed and displayed. Specify at least one of the selected folder information. Then, the image data generated by reading the document is sent to the information storage device based on the designated folder information. Therefore, the user can easily confirm the folder that the information storage device permits sharing. In addition, since the folder information is designated, the folder to which the image data is to be copied can be surely designated, and there is no possibility that the image data is sent to an unintended folder.

  An image reading apparatus according to a second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the image reading apparatus comprises means for designating a data format of the image data, and means for converting the image data of the read original into a designated data format. To do.

  In the second aspect of the invention, the data format of the image data to be sent to the information storage device is designated, and the read image data of the original is converted into the designated data format and sent to the information storage device. Therefore, by converting the image data into a data format suitable for the information storage device to be transmitted, the burden of converting the image data again on the information storage device side can be eliminated.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first invention, the means for designating the data format of the image data, the means for compressing and storing the image data of the read original, and the compressed image data are designated. Means for converting to a data format.

  In the third aspect of the invention, the data format of the image data to be sent to the information storage device is designated. Then, when the image data of the read original is compressed and stored and sent to the information storage device, the compressed and stored image data is converted into a designated data format and sent to the information storage device. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the storage capacity of an image memory for storing image data.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily confirm a folder that is permitted to be shared by the information storage device, and by reliably specifying the folder to be copied, the image data of the read original is transferred to an unintended folder. It can be prevented from being copied.

  Further, according to the present invention, by converting the image data of the read original into a data format suitable for the information storage device to be sent out, it is possible to eliminate the burden of converting the image data again on the information storage device side.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the compressed image data of the read original is stored, so that it is possible to reduce the storage capacity of the image memory for storing the image data, and so on, and so on.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a communication network configuration in which a facsimile multifunction apparatus as an image reading apparatus of the present invention is connected. The LAN 50 is connected to the facsimile composite apparatus 20 according to the present invention, personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs) 30a, 30b,. Needless to say, the facsimile composite apparatus 20 can also be used as a conventional facsimile function using a public switched telephone network (PSTN). In FIG. The mode of connection with is omitted. In the following, a case where the image reading apparatus is applied to a facsimile composite apparatus will be described. However, the form of the apparatus is not limited as long as it is a network-compatible apparatus.

  The facsimile multifunction device 20 includes a control unit 1, a reading unit 2, a recording unit 3, a display unit 4, an operation unit 5, a ROM 6, a RAM 7, an image memory 8, a codec unit 9, a data format conversion unit 14, a modem 10, an NCU (Network Control Unit) 11, a LAN interface unit (hereinafter referred to as LANIF) 12, and the like. Specifically, the control unit 1 is configured by a CPU, and is connected to the hardware units as described above of the facsimile multifunction peripheral 20 via the bus 13. The control unit 1 controls them and is stored in the ROM 6. Various software functions are executed according to the control program.

  The reading unit 2 reads a document using a CCD image sensor, for example, and outputs the read image data. The optical unit irradiates and scans the original fed to the platen glass, and the reflected light from the original is taken into the CCD image sensor via a mirror, a lens, etc., and the scanned original image data is read. The read image data is output after being subjected to shading processing or the like. The recording unit 3 is an electrophotographic printer, and includes image data of a document read by the reading unit 2, image data received by facsimile communication, image data received and obtained from external PCs 30a, 30b,. The image corresponding to is printed on the recording paper.

  The display unit 4 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a CRT display, displays the operating state of the facsimile multifunction device 20, displays a screen prompting the user to input an operation, or reads an image of a document read to be sent out. Data, image data acquired from another facsimile machine, or image data received and acquired from a PC are displayed. Although details will be described later, it is configured to display information related to the scan To folder function.

  The operation unit 5 includes character keys, numeric keys, abbreviated dial keys, one-touch dial keys, various function keys, and the like necessary for operating the facsimile composite apparatus 20. The operation unit 5 includes, as function keys, a scan To folder key 5a for setting whether or not to perform scan To folder processing, and a scan key 5b for executing reading. In addition, it is also possible to substitute a part or all of the various keys of the operation unit 5 by using the display unit 4 as a touch panel system.

  The ROM 6 stores in advance various software programs necessary for the operation of the facsimile composite apparatus 20. The RAM 7 is composed of SRAM, flash memory, or the like, and stores temporary data generated when software is executed.

  The data format conversion unit 14 has a function of converting the image data read by the reading unit 2 into a format such as a TIFF format, a PDF format, or a JPEG format in response to an instruction from the operation unit 5. The image memory 8 stores image data converted by the data format conversion unit, image data acquired from other facsimile machines, image data received and acquired from a PC, and the like. The codec unit 9 accesses the image data stored in the image memory 8 and, when the image data is encoded, decodes the encoded image data and prints the image data. (Rasterized) and output to the recording unit 3.

  The modem 10 is connected to the bus 13 and is composed of a facsimile modem capable of facsimile communication. Similarly, the modem 10 is directly connected to the NCU 11 connected to the bus 13. The NCU 11 is hardware that performs operations for closing and opening the line 51 with the PSTN, and connects the modem 10 to the PSTN as necessary. The facsimile composite apparatus 20 is connected to other facsimile apparatuses by PSTN so that normal facsimile communication can be performed.

The LANIF 12 is connected to the external PCs 30a, 30b,... Via the LAN 50, and exchanges data with the PCs 30a, 30b,. The PCs 30a, 30b,... Have a storage unit 31 and a LANIF 32. In the storage unit 31, various image data files are stored in folders. Various image data created and edited by the PCs 30a, 30b,... Are sent to the facsimile composite apparatus 20 via the LAN 50, and an image corresponding to the sent image data is recorded by the facsimile composite apparatus 20 (recording unit 3). It is designed to be printed on paper.
Further, the LANIF 12 can perform communication control conforming to, for example, the CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol, and can be configured to allow remote file access from the facsimile composite apparatus 20 to the PCs 30a, 30b,. Has been. In other words, the LANIF 12 has a function of being controlled by the control unit 1 to access a folder in the storage unit 31 of the PCs 30a, 30b,... Via the LAN 50 and to copy the image data read by the reading unit 2 as a file. ing.

Next, operations performed by the facsimile multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to flowcharts. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing processing procedures performed by the facsimile multifunction apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The control unit 1 determines whether or not the scan To folder process is set based on whether or not the scan To folder key 5a is pressed (step S1). If the scan To folder process is not set (S1: NO), the process returns to S1. When the scan To folder process is set (S1: YES), the control unit 1 acquires host information of the PCs 30a, 30b,... Connected to the LAN 50 (Step S2). The host information is, for example, an IP address or the like, and is automatically updated when the facsimile composite apparatus is turned on or the system configuration is changed.

  The control unit 1 accesses the PCs 30a, 30b,... Based on the host information by the browsing function of the CIFS protocol, and each PC includes an identification including a folder name and a file name permitted to be shared with the facsimile composite apparatus 20. Information is acquired (step S3). The CIFS protocol is a protocol related to remote file access. The file information of the PCs 30a, 30b,... Is mounted on the file system of the facsimile multifunction device 20, and the identification information of the files held by the PCs 30a, 30b,. The file is read / written.

  As shown in the table of FIG. 4, the file identification information includes the name of the folder storing the file and the file name. By associating these identification information with the host name for identifying the PC, a network All files shared above can be uniquely identified. Therefore, by using this identification information, a file can be sent to a PC connected to the network.

  The control unit 1 displays identification information including the folder name and file name acquired in S3 on the display unit 4 (step S4). In this way, the user can visually confirm the file name held by each PC together with the folder name in which the file is stored on the display unit 4. Here, an input of a keyword may be received by the operation unit 5, and only identification information including or matching the received keyword may be selected and displayed on the display unit 4.

  Then, the control unit 1 accepts the designation of the target folder when performing the scan To folder process in the operation unit 5 (step S5) and accepts the input of the scan file name in the operation unit 5 (step S6). In addition, the control unit 1 receives the designation of the file format of the scan file (image data obtained by scanning) to be sent to the target folder designated in S5 in the operation unit 5 (Step S7). The file format to be specified may be any format, but will be described below as being any one of the TIFF format, the PDF format, and the JPEG format.

  As a concrete display and reception method in S4 to S7, a display screen 40 as shown in FIG. The display screen 40 includes a host name of a PC connected via the network, a folder name held by the PC identified by the host name, and a file stored in the folder identified by the folder name. The name is displayed in window 41. The display method is hierarchical (a tree) so that the user can easily confirm which file is stored in which folder on which host. The icon relating to the designated folder is colored or patterned so that the user can know the host name and folder name of the folder. By doing so, the user can specify the desired folder with certainty, and there is no possibility of sending the scan file to an unintended folder.

  In addition, a scan file name input box 42 is displayed on the display screen 40 so that the user can confirm the scan file name input by the operation unit 5. Furthermore, an input box 43 in a pull-down format is displayed on the display screen 40, so that a file format for sending a scan file can be designated and the file format can be confirmed. FIG. 5 shows a case where the scan file name is designated as file A and the file format is designated as TIFF format. When the user presses the setting button 44, the designated target folder, scan file name, and file format are set. As shown in FIG. 5, the file format may be determined from the extension of the file name and displayed. Further, if a file having the same file name already exists in the folder, a warning can be notified to prevent a file that already exists from being rewritten by mistake.

  The control unit 1 determines whether or not to execute reading based on whether or not the scan key 5b is pressed (step S8). When the scan key 5b is pressed (S8: YES), the control unit 1 requests the reading unit 2 to read the document, and the reading unit 2 reads the image data of the document (step S9).

  The control unit 1 determines whether or not the specification of the file format accepted in S7 is the TIFF format (step S10), and determines that the specification of the file format is the TIFF format (S10: YES), the control The unit 1 requests the data format conversion unit 14 to convert the image data read in S9 into the TIFF format, and the data format conversion unit 14 converts the image data into the TIFF format and stores it in the image memory 8. (Step S11).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S10 that the file format designation is not the TIFF format (S10: NO), the control unit 1 determines whether the file format designation accepted in S7 is the PDF format ( In step S12), when it is determined that the file format is specified in the PDF format (S12: YES), the control unit 1 requests the data format conversion unit 14 to convert the image data read in S9 into the PDF format. Then, the data format conversion unit 14 converts the image data into the PDF format and stores it in the image memory 8 (step S13).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S12 that the file format is not specified in PDF format (S12: NO), the control unit 1 causes the data format conversion unit 14 to convert the image data read in S9 into the JPEG format. In response to the request, the data format conversion unit 14 converts the image data into the JPEG format and stores it in the image memory 8 (step S14).

  The control unit 1 determines whether or not there is a document to be read next (step S15). If it is determined that there is a next document (S15: YES), the operation returns to S9, and the next document is scanned. Read. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no next document (S15: NO), the image data converted into a predetermined file format is read from the image memory 8 and is set as a file with the scan file name received in S6. The file is copied by the CIFS protocol file copy function to the target folder whose designation is accepted in S5 (step S16). The control unit 1 deletes various types of image data stored in the image memory 8 as appropriate.

  As described above, in the facsimile composite apparatus 20 of the present invention, the user can easily confirm the folders that the PCs 30a, 30b,. Further, since the folder information (folder name) is specified, the folder to which the image data is to be copied can be specified with certainty, and there is no possibility that the image data is copied to an unintended folder. .

(Embodiment 2)
The configuration of the facsimile composite apparatus as the image reading apparatus of the present embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. The data format conversion unit 14 converts the image data read by the reading unit 2 into a facsimile encoding format (MH, MR, MMR, JBIG, etc.) and stores the converted data in the image memory 8. When data is transmitted, it may be converted into a file format according to an instruction from the operation unit 5, and this is the second embodiment.

An operation performed by the facsimile multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure performed by the facsimile multifunction apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
The control unit 1 determines whether or not to execute reading based on whether or not the scan key 5b is pressed (step S21). When the scan key 5b is pressed (S21: YES), the control unit 1 requests the reading unit 2 to read the document, and the reading unit 2 reads the image data of the document (step S22).

  The control unit 1 requests the data format conversion unit 14 to convert the image data read in S22 into a facsimile encoding format (MH, MR, MMR, JBIG, etc.). The data format conversion unit 14 Data is converted into a facsimile encoding format and stored in the image memory 8 (step S23). The control unit 1 determines whether or not there is a document to be read next (step S24). If it is determined that there is a next document (S24: YES), the operation returns to S22 and the next document is scanned. Read. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no next original (S24: NO), the control unit 1 reads the image data in the facsimile encoding format from the image memory 8 (step S25), and the read image data in the facsimile encoding format. The data is transmitted to the destination facsimile machine (step S26). The transmission destination is set in advance by the user or the like from the operation unit 5 before the scan key 5b is pressed.

  Then, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the scan To folder process is set based on whether or not the scan To folder key 5a is pressed (step S27). If the scan To folder process is not set in S27 (S27: NO), the process ends. On the other hand, when the scan To folder processing is set (S27: YES), the control unit 1 acquires the host information of the PCs 30a, 30b,... Connected to the LAN 50 (step S28). Then, the control unit 1 accesses the PCs 30a, 30b,... Based on the host information by the browsing function of the CIFS protocol, and sets the folder name and file name that each PC permits the facsimile multifunction apparatus 20 to share. The included identification information is acquired (step S29).

  The control unit 1 displays identification information including the folder name and file name acquired in S29 on the display unit 4 (step S30). In this way, the user can visually confirm the file name held by each PC together with the folder name in which the file is stored on the display unit 4.

  Then, the control unit 1 accepts the designation of the target folder when performing the scan To folder process in the operation unit 5 (step S31), and accepts the input of the scan file name in the operation unit 5 (step S32). In addition, the control unit 1 receives designation of the file format of the scan file (image data obtained by scanning) to be sent to the target folder designated in S31 in the operation unit 5 (step S33). The file format to be specified may be any format, but it will be described as being any one of the TIFF format, the PDF format, and the JPEG format as in the first embodiment.

  The control unit 1 determines whether or not the specification of the file format accepted in S33 is the TIFF format (step S34), and determines that the specification of the file format is the TIFF format (S34: YES), the control The unit 1 requests the data format conversion unit 14 to convert the image data read from the image memory 8 in S25 into the TIFF format, and the data format conversion unit 14 converts the image data into the TIFF format (step S35). ).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S34 that the file format designation is not the TIFF format (S34: NO), the control unit 1 determines whether or not the file format designation accepted in S33 is the PDF format ( If it is determined in step S36) that the file format is specified in the PDF format (S36: YES), the control unit 1 converts the image data read from the image memory 8 in S25 into the PDF format in the data format conversion unit 14. The data format conversion unit 14 converts the image data into the PDF format (step S37).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S36 that the file format is not specified in the PDF format (S36: NO), the control unit 1 causes the data format conversion unit 14 to convert the image data read from the image memory 8 in S25 to the JPEG format. The data format conversion unit 14 requests the conversion to convert the image data into the JPEG format (step S38).

  The control unit 1 sets the image data converted into the predetermined file format in S35, S37, or S38 as a file having the scan file name accepted in S32, and transfers the CIFS protocol to the target folder accepted in S31. The file is copied by the file copy function (step S39). The controller 1 deletes the image data in the facsimile encoding format stored in the image memory 8 as appropriate.

  As described above, in the facsimile composite apparatus 20 of the present invention, once scanned image data of a document is compressed and stored in the storage memory 8, and the compressed and stored image data is converted into a designated data format. To the PCs 30a, 30b,. Therefore, the storage capacity of the image memory 8 that stores image data can be reduced. For example, if image data in the facsimile encoding format is stored in the image memory 8, the effect is great when performing the facsimile transmission process and the scan To folder process as in this flow.

  Further, it is easily assumed that the image data stored in the image memory 8 is sent out later. In the facsimile composite apparatus 20 according to the present invention, the accumulation of image data can be made efficient, so that there is a high probability that desired image data exists in the image memory 8. Therefore, if the image data exists in the image memory 8, it is not necessary to read the document again, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiments, the remote file access to the information storage devices (PCs 30a, 30b,...) Connected via the network (LAN 50) by the CIFS protocol has been described. The file may be accessed by the HTTP protocol or the like, and the communication protocol is not limited. For example, in the case of FTP, identification information including a folder name and a file name that the information storage device permits sharing is acquired with the ls command, and the identification information is specified with the put (mput) command to the information storage device. Send the file.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a communication network configuration in a mode in which a facsimile multifunction apparatus as an image reading apparatus of the present invention is connected. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure performed by the facsimile multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure performed by the facsimile multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a table figure which shows the content of the identification information of a file. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display screen at the time of the display of a file, and reception. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which the facsimile compound apparatus based on Embodiment 2 of this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which the facsimile compound apparatus based on Embodiment 2 of this invention performs.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Reading part 3 Recording part 4 Display part 5 Operation part 5a Scan To folder key 5b Scan key 6 ROM
7 RAM
8 Image memory 12 LANIF
14 Data format converter 20 Facsimile multifunction device 30a, 30b PC
31 Storage unit 50 LAN

Claims (3)

  In an image reading apparatus that reads a document to generate image data, and sends the generated image data to an information storage device connected via a network, the information storage device permits one or more data sharing A means for acquiring folder information relating to the folder; a means for displaying the acquired folder information; and means for specifying at least one of the displayed folder information, and generating based on the specified folder information An image reading apparatus characterized in that the processed image data is sent to the information storage device.   2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for designating a data format of the image data; and means for converting image data of the read document into a designated data format.   A means for designating a data format of the image data, a means for compressing and storing image data of a read document, and means for converting the compressed image data into a designated data format. Item 2. The image reading apparatus according to Item 1.

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