JP2005328137A - Data processor, system, method, and program for data processing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data processor, a data processing system, a data processing method and a data processing program which utilize other information concerning address information stored in an external data server for processing data. <P>SOLUTION: The data processor MFP detects address information of data under process (S103), receives other information concerning the detected address information from an LDAP server (S104), and determines the processing contents of the data based on the other information concerning the detected address information (S105). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a data processing device, a data processing system, a data processing method, and a data processing program.

  In recent years, multi-function peripherals (MFPs) equipped with functions of devices such as copiers, facsimiles, scanners, and printers have become widespread.

Such an MFP can register in advance destination information such as a facsimile number and an e-mail address used at the time of data transmission according to a communication device as a transmission destination. When registering the destination information, a technique has been proposed in which address information suitable for a destination communication device can be selectively fetched from groupware and registered (see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-223397

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, only address information acquired from an external data server equipped with groupware is registered in the MFP as destination information, and this is used as a fixed setting value.

  That is, the external data server can manage information on the user's company name, affiliation, job title, etc., as well as information on schedules such as business trip destinations, in addition to the data destination information for the user. Data has not been dynamically processed according to various information managed by an external data server.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to utilize other information related to destination information stored in an external data server for data processing. A data processing apparatus, a data processing system, a data processing method, and a data processing program are provided.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) A data processing apparatus capable of communicating with an external data server, wherein destination information detecting means for detecting destination information of data to be processed and other information related to the detected destination information are sent from the external data server A data processing apparatus comprising: destination related information receiving means for receiving; and processing content determining means for determining the content of data processing based on other information related to detected destination information.

  (2) The data processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the data processing includes data storage.

  (3) The data processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the data processing includes data printing.

  (4) The data processing apparatus according to (3), wherein the printing of the data includes printing of at least a part of other information related to the detected destination information.

  (5) The data processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the data processing includes data transfer.

  (6) The data processing apparatus according to (5), wherein the data transfer includes data transfer by facsimile.

  (7) The data processing apparatus according to (5), wherein the data transfer includes data transfer by network communication.

  (8) The data processing apparatus according to (7), wherein the data transfer by the network communication includes data transfer by an HTTP communication.

  (9) The data processing apparatus according to (7), wherein the data transfer by the network communication includes data transfer by FTP communication.

  (10) The data processing apparatus according to (7), wherein the data transfer by the network communication includes data transfer by SMB communication.

  (11) The data processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the information stored in the external data server is updated based on information for managing a user schedule corresponding to the destination information.

  (12) A data processing system having an external data server and a data processing device capable of communicating with the external data server, wherein the external data server includes destination information of data to the user and other information related to the destination information The data processing device receives destination information detecting means for detecting destination information of data to be processed and other information related to the detected destination information from the external data server. A data processing system comprising: destination related information receiving means for processing; and processing content determination means for determining the content of data processing based on other information related to the detected destination information.

  (13) A destination information detecting step for detecting destination information of data to be processed, a destination related information receiving step for receiving other information related to the detected destination information from an external data server, and a detected destination information A data processing method comprising: a processing content determination step for determining the content of data processing based on other information.

  (14) A destination information detecting step for detecting destination information of data to be processed, a destination related information receiving step for receiving other information related to the detected destination information from an external data server, and a detected destination information A data processing program for causing a computer to execute a processing content determination step for determining the content of data processing based on other information.

  (15) A computer-readable recording medium on which the data processing program according to (14) is recorded.

  The data processing apparatus of the present invention detects the destination information of the data to be processed, receives other information about the detected destination information from the external data server, and based on the other information, details of the data processing Therefore, other information related to the destination information stored in the external data server, such as the user's name, company name, affiliation, job title, business trip destination, memo, etc., can be used for data processing. it can.

  This makes it possible to change the operation content of the data processing device (data processing content), such as changing the data transmission destination or adding the data printing content, and flexibly meet the diverse needs of users. Can respond.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a data processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The data processing system shown in FIG. 1 includes MFPs 100A and 100B as data processing devices, a mail server 200, an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server 300 as an external data server, and a PC (personal computer) 400. These devices are connected to each other via a communication network 500 so that they can communicate with each other. Note that the types and number of devices connected to the communication network 500 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the MFP shown in FIG. MFPs 100A and 100B shown in FIG. 2 include a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, an operation unit 103, an image reading unit 104, a printing unit 105, a facsimile (FAX) processing unit 106, and a network interface 107, which exchange signals. Are connected to each other via a bus 108.

  The control unit 101 is composed of a CPU, and performs control of each unit and various arithmetic processes according to a program. The storage unit 102 includes, for example, a ROM, a RAM, and a hard disk, and stores various programs and various data, and can be temporarily used as a work area for executing the programs.

  The operation unit 103 is used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions. The operation unit 103 includes, for example, a touch panel on which various information is displayed, a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies, a start key for instructing start of operation, a stop key for instructing stop of operation, and a reset for initializing various setting conditions. Keys are provided.

  The image reading unit 104 obtains image data by reading a document. The image reading unit 104 includes a light receiving element such as a CCD for irradiating light on a document with a light source and photoelectrically converting the reflected light, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) for transporting the document to a predetermined reading position. ing. The printing unit 105 prints various data on a recording material such as paper using a known image forming process such as an electrophotographic process.

  The FAX processing unit 106 performs processing for transmission / reception of FAX data. The network interface 107 is composed of, for example, a network interface card (NIC) and is an interface for transmitting and receiving data via the network.

  Such MFPs 100A and 100B have a function of reading a document and converting it into electronic data, and a function of printing, storing, or transmitting received or generated electronic data.

  The mail server 200 is a server computer that can provide a communication service for sending and receiving e-mail, and uses, for example, SMTP and POP.

  The LDAP server 300 is a server computer that can provide a service (directory service) for managing information related to an e-mail address and environment of a user who uses a communication network. The LDAP server 300 stores hierarchical structure information related to users. Therefore, the LDAP server 300 can search for user information corresponding to the e-mail address from, for example, a user name or an e-mail address. The user information includes various types of information such as the user's company name, affiliation, title, telephone number, FAX number, e-mail address, and business trip FAX number. The user name is information for identifying the user. As the user name, for example, the name of the user can be used.

  The PC 400 is a computer used by a specific user, and can send and receive e-mails via the mail server 200.

  The communication network 500 includes a public network such as a telephone network, ISDN, and a packet switching network, and a network such as a LAN, WAN, and the Internet.

  Next, data processing in the MFP will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 are stored as programs in the storage units 102 of the MFPs 100A and 100B, and are executed by the control unit 101. Hereinafter, an operation in MFP 100A will be described.

  In step S101, MFP 100A receives the data. This data includes e-mail, print data (print job), FAX data, and scan data.

  Subsequently, the type of the received data is determined (S102). The data type is determined based on, for example, a data reception port, a port number included in the data header, and a protocol used for data communication. Specifically, when a port number unique to an e-mail is included in the header of the data received via the network interface 107, it is determined that the received data is an e-mail. Further, when a protocol that is received via the network interface 107 and is specific to data communication with the printer is used, it is determined that the received data is print data. Further, when received from the FAX processing unit 106, it is determined that the received data is FAX data. When received from the image reading unit 104, it is determined that the received data is scan data. However, the type of data may be determined by analyzing the received data, for example, based on a specific command or data structure.

  Subsequently, destination information of the received data is detected (S103). For example, when the received data is an e-mail, the e-mail address of the destination as the destination information is detected. The detected destination information is stored in the storage unit 102. In this case, the destination e-mail address is a To address located in the “To” column in the header of the e-mail. However, in addition to the To address, all e-mail addresses such as a From address located in the “From” field and a Cc address located in the “Cc” field may be detected and stored in the storage unit 102. Good.

  When the received data is FAX data, the FAX number received through the FAX processing unit 106 or the FAX number of the MFP 100A itself is detected. When the received data is print data, owner information in the header of the print data, that is, information on the creator of the print job is detected. If the received data is scan data, user authentication information is detected. The user authentication is authentication that the user (in this case, MFP 100A) is “the person who is permitted to use”. The user authentication information includes a user name. The user authentication information is detected from information input through the operation unit 103. However, the user authentication information may be acquired from the management information stored in the storage unit 102 based on the information input through the operation unit 103, and further, an authentication (not shown) provided outside the MFP 100A. It may be acquired from a server.

  Subsequently, other information regarding the detected destination information is acquired from the LDAP server 300 (S104). In other words, based on the destination information detected in step S103, MFP 100A inquires LDAP server 300 about additional information that is other information about the detected destination information, and receives the additional information from LDAP server 300.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of specific contents 510 of user information registered in the LDAP server 300, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of additional information 610 received from the LDAP server 300. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the additional information 610 may include the destination information detected in step S103.

  Specifically, the MFP 100A makes an inquiry to the LDAP server 300 according to LDAP, and acquires additional information 610 as LDIF (Ldap Interchange Format) data as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, processing according to LDAP will be described.

  For example, if the received data is an e-mail, MFP 100A inquires LDAP server 300 for a mail object corresponding to the To address that is the detected destination information. The mail object is an object indicating the user's e-mail address located in the “mail:” column. The LDAP server 300 searches for a corresponding mail object from user information registered in a storage unit (not shown) in the LDAP server 300, and adds additional information 610 including all objects related to the searched mail object. Send back to MFP 100A. When the received data is data other than e-mail, MFP 100A inquires LDAP server 300 about an object such as a cn object corresponding to the detected destination information. The cn object is an object indicating a user name that is located in the column “cn:”.

  The user information as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 managed by the LDAP server 300 can be periodically updated by the administrator. Such user information may be newly registered, updated, or deleted at any time by the user. Further, such user information may be updated based on information for managing the user's schedule. More specifically, it is desirable that the user information is automatically updated in conjunction with, for example, an application having a schedule function. Here, the application having the schedule function may be installed in the LDAP server 300 or may be installed in a dedicated server that performs schedule management. In this case, for example, in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a business trip destination telephone number (custom1 object located in the column “custom1:”), a business trip FAX number (custom2 object located in the column “custom2:”), and The information (value) of the memo (description object located in the “description:” column) is updated promptly after a predetermined time corresponding to the information for managing the schedule.

  In step S105, the content of the data processing is determined based on the additional information 610 acquired in step S104.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the data processing content determination processing in step S105 will be described.

  First, it is determined whether or not there is any information (value) in the “custom2:” column of the additional information 610 (S201). If there is information in the column “custom2:” (YES in S201), the data processing content is determined to be data transfer (FAX transmission) by FAX to a business trip destination (S202). Here, when the information in the column “custom2:” is “001-0000-0001” (see FIG. 6), such information is set as the business trip FAX number.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that there is no information in the “custom2:” column (NO in S201), whether or not there is any information (value) in the “description:” column of the additional information 610. It is judged (S203). If there is information in the “description:” column (YES in S203), it is determined whether or not there is a character string “http” in the information (S204). If the information includes the character string “http” (YES in S204), the data processing content is determined to be data transfer (HTTP transmission) by HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) communication (S208). ). Here, when the information in the “description:” column is, for example, “http://www.example.net/ttanaka/” (see FIG. 7), such information is stored in the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the HTTP transmission destination. Is set.

  When it is determined in step S204 that “http” does not exist in the information (NO in S204), it is determined whether or not there is a character string “ftp” in the information (S205). If the information includes the character string “ftp” (YES in S205), the data processing content is determined to be data transfer (FTP transmission) by FTP (File Transfer Protocol) communication ( S209). Here, when the information in the “description:” column is, for example, “ftp: // xxxxxxxx (FTP server name)”, such information is set in the URL of the FTP transmission destination.

  If it is determined in step S205 that the character string “ftp” does not exist in the information (NO in S205), it is determined whether or not there is a directory name in the information (S206). If the information includes a directory name (YES in S206), the data processing content is determined to be data transfer (SMB transmission) by SMB (Server Message Block) communication (S209). Here, when the information in the “description:” column is “¥¥ ttanakapc ¥ inbox”, for example, such information is set in the file sharing directory of the SMB transmission destination.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the directory name does not exist in the information (NO in S206), it is determined whether or not there is a character string “Local” in the information (S207). If the information includes the character string “Local” (YES in S207), the data processing content is determined to be stored in the storage unit 102 of the MFP 100A (S211).

  If it is determined in step S207 that the character string “Local” does not exist in the information (NO in S206), the data processing content is determined to be other processing (S211). Arbitrary processing can be set as other processing. For example, when there is a character “@” in the information, it is determined that the data processing content is data transfer by electronic mail.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S203 that there is no information in the “description:” column (NO in S203), the data processing content is determined to be printing (S213).

  Returning to FIG. 3, in step S <b> 106, any one of FAX transmission, HTTP transmission, FTP transmission, SMB transmission, storage processing, printing processing, and other processing is performed according to the processing content determined in step S <b> 105. Data processing is performed.

  More specifically, when the data received in step S101 is e-mail, for example, the data processing in step S106 is performed as follows. That is, when the data processing content is a saving process, the e-mail and its attached file are saved in storage unit 102 of MFP 100A. Further, when the data processing content is FAX transmission, the additional information 610 acquired from the LDAP server 300, the e-mail, and the attached file are transmitted based on the business trip FAX number via the FAX processing unit 106. . Further, when the data processing content is printing processing, the additional information 610 acquired from the LDAP server 300, the e-mail, and its attached file are printed by the printing unit 105.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print content 710 in the header portion of the received electronic mail. As shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the additional information related to the mail object corresponding to the To address, the print content 710 preferably reflects the additional information related to the mail object corresponding to the From address and the Cc address. The In FIG. 8, the part indicated by the symbol “◯” is based on the additional information acquired from the LDAP server 300.

  Further, when the data processing content is HTTP transmission, the electronic mail and its attached file are uploaded to a Web server (not shown) via the network interface 107 according to HTTP. Further, when the data processing content is FTP transmission, the electronic mail and its attached file are transmitted according to FTP via the network interface 107. When the data processing content is SMB transmission, the e-mail and its attached file are transmitted according to SMB via the network interface 107.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the MFP 100A detects the destination information of the data to be processed, and receives other information about the detected destination information from the LDAP server 300. Then, MFP 100A determines the content of the data processing based on the other information regarding the detected destination information.

  Therefore, other information related to the destination information stored in the LDAP server 300, such as the user's name, company name, affiliation, job title, business trip destination, and memo, can be used for data processing. This makes it possible to change the operation content (data processing content) of the MFP 100A, for example, by changing the data transmission destination or adding the data print content, and flexibly respond to various needs of the user. be able to.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the LDAP server 300 is used as the external data server. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another external data server such as a Web server may be used. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the additional information 620 received from the Web server. Here, the additional information 620 from the Web server can be acquired as XML (extensible Markup Language) data, for example, as shown in FIG. Also, an external data server that handles CSV (Comma Separated Value) data may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the MFP is used as the data processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other data processing apparatuses such as a digital copying machine, a printer, and a computer are used. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the data processing content is determined based on the information in the “custom2:” column and the “description:” column in the additional information 610, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the processing content of the data may be determined based on other information in the additional information 610.

  The means and method for performing various processes in the data processing system according to the present invention can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of the device as one function of the data processing device.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a data processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the MFP illustrated in FIG. 1. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing procedure in the MFP. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the processing content of data. It is a figure which shows an example of the specific content of the user information registered into the LDAP server. It is a figure which shows an example of the additional information received from an LDAP server. It is a figure which shows the other example of the additional information received from an LDAP server. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing content of the header part of the received email. It is a figure which shows an example of the additional information received from a web server.

Explanation of symbols

100A, 100B MFP,
101 control unit,
102 storage unit,
103 operation unit,
104 image reading unit,
105 printing section,
106 FAX processing unit,
107 network interface,
108 buses,
200 mail server,
300 LDAP server,
400 PC,
500 communication network,
510 Specific content of user information,
610,620 Additional information,
710 Print content.

Claims (15)

A data processing device capable of communicating with an external data server,
Destination information detecting means for detecting destination information of data to be processed;
Destination related information receiving means for receiving other information related to the detected destination information from the external data server;
Processing content determination means for determining the processing content of the data based on other information relating to the detected destination information;
A data processing apparatus comprising:   The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing includes data storage.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing includes data printing.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the printing of the data includes printing of at least a part of other information related to the detected destination information.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing includes data transfer.   6. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data transfer includes data transfer by facsimile.   6. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data transfer includes data transfer by network communication.   8. The data processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the data transfer by network communication includes data transfer by HTTP communication.   8. The data processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the data transfer by the network communication includes data transfer by FTP communication.   8. The data processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the data transfer by network communication includes data transfer by SMB communication.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the external data server is updated based on information for managing a user schedule corresponding to the destination information. A data processing system having an external data server and a data processing device capable of communicating with the external data server,
The external data server is
Storage means for storing destination information of data to the user and other information related to the destination information;
The data processing device includes:
Destination information detecting means for detecting destination information of data to be processed;
Destination related information receiving means for receiving other information about the detected destination information from the external data server;
A data processing system comprising processing content determination means for determining the content of data processing based on other information relating to detected destination information. A destination information detection step for detecting destination information of data to be processed;
A destination-related information receiving step of receiving other information related to the detected destination information from the external data server;
A processing content determination step for determining the processing content of the data based on other information relating to the detected destination information;
A data processing method characterized by comprising: A destination information detection step for detecting destination information of data to be processed;
A destination-related information receiving step of receiving other information related to the detected destination information from the external data server;
A processing content determination step for determining the processing content of the data based on other information relating to the detected destination information;
Data processing program for causing a computer to execute.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the data processing program of Claim 14.

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