JP2005333682A - Copy machine and backup method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily store and manage data by backing up data to be handled, which need not be intentionally operated, by automatically acquiring and storing the same data as data to be processed at the time of the processing. <P>SOLUTION: According to a processing instruction, desired data processing is performed on document data, these document data are then encoded and next, the encoded document data are backed up in a large capacity storage devices 12 and 15 connected via a network such as an intranet or the Internet. Furthermore, an IC card is read by an operating section 23 and a user ID stored in this IC card is sent to the large capacity storage devices 12 and 15 together with the encoded document data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a copying machine and a backup method, and more particularly, to a copying machine and a backup method that can perform backup without being conscious of data to be handled.

  Documents such as documents that are stored because they are important (documents with images and characters) and documents that may be used in the future are filed on paper shelves and recorded on paper. It was organized. However, in offices with a large number of documents, a place for storage is taken, and it takes time to search for a desired document.

  For this reason, in recent years, along with the advancement and speed of data processing technology and the reduction in the price of storage devices, documents that need to be stored can be read by a scanner device and stored in a mass storage device. In other words, a so-called file system has appeared, and this file system has been introduced not only in offices with a large number of documents.

  However, in such a conventional file system, it is necessary to read a document with a scanner device anyway, so that in each case, when it cannot be organized, it is put in a postponed state and stacked. End up. Also, in order to organize such documents, after confirming the necessity of storage, it is necessary to perform an input operation to individually read and classify the documents that need to be stored by the scanner device. However, even if the file work is performed collectively, there is a problem that it is easy to fall into a situation where the cornered file system cannot be used effectively because the work is complicated.

  In addition, since documents stored in the file system are organized according to whether they are stored, documents discarded without being stored cannot be obtained even if they are needed later.

  For this reason, when checking whether or not a document needs to be stored, it is not always easy to make a determination, so that the work takes time. Also, at that time, some documents that are clearly unnecessary are needed later.

  By the way, a document stored in the file system is a document copied for use in a meeting, a document transmitted / received with a business partner or a facsimile machine, a workstation (WS), a personal computer (PC), or the like. This is a document that was created and printed out. In short, a document to be stored is one that has been converted into an electrical signal at least once and recorded on paper.

  Accordingly, the present inventor has made extensive efforts to solve the problems in the conventional file system, thereby extracting the course of the document until it is stored in the file system, and using this document data. As a result, the inventors have intensively developed the present invention.

  In other words, the present invention automatically acquires and accumulates the same data as the data to be processed at the time of the processing, thereby realizing the backup of the handled data that does not need to be consciously operated, and the storage management of the data. It is intended to make it easier.

  A copying machine according to the present invention is a copying machine for processing document data connected to a storage device via a network, processing means for performing desired data processing on document data in accordance with a processing instruction, and encoding the document data And a sending means for sending the document data encoded by the encoding means to the storage device.

  With this configuration, the document data that has undergone the desired data processing is automatically stored in the storage device without requiring the user to perform another special input operation (regardless of whether or not the storage command is input). The Therefore, the document data can be backed up in the storage device without the user being aware of it, and the storage management of the document data can be facilitated. The stored document data can be used by setting the storage device to another reading device and reading it.

Further, the sending means of the copying machine of the present invention is configured to be executed together with the processing means.
With this configuration, the document data is transmitted simultaneously with the desired data processing on the document data in accordance with the processing instruction. Therefore, the document data that has undergone the desired data processing is subjected to other special input operations for the user. It is automatically stored in the storage device without request.

  The copying machine of the present invention further comprises reading means for reading an IC card, and the sending means includes a user ID stored in the IC card read by the reading means together with the encoded document data. It consists of what is sent to the storage device.

  With this configuration, the document data stored in the storage device can be managed together with the user ID. In addition, when reading document data from the storage device, it is possible to easily read document data that matches the user ID.

  The backup method of the present invention is a backup method for backing up the document data to a storage device connected via a network together with the processing of the document data, and performing desired data processing on the document data in accordance with a processing instruction. And encoding the document data, and sending the encoded document data to the storage device for storage.

  With this method, the document data that has undergone the desired data processing is automatically stored in the storage device without requiring the user to perform another special input operation (regardless of whether or not the storage command is input). The Therefore, the document data is backed up in the storage device without the user being aware of it.

  The present invention automatically acquires and accumulates the same data as the data to be processed at the time of the processing, thereby realizing the backup of the handled data that does not need to be consciously operated and facilitates the storage management of the data A copying machine and a backup method can be provided.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a copying machine and a backup method according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a backup system including the copying machine. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the processing apparatus in a backup system.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a data management system constructed for effective use of data. The data management system 10 functions as a data backup system that backs up data handled by the user, and also meets the needs of the user. Accordingly, a large-function digital copier (MFP) 11 constructed so as to function as a file system so that data can be reused and connected on the intranet in the user's office, A mass storage device of a service provider that provides services described later on the Internet, together with a capacity storage device (IMS) 12, a personal computer (PC) 13, and a connection device (MFB: Multi Function Box) 14. (WebIMS) 15.

  The copying machine 11 is configured such that a control unit 21 performs overall control of each unit, and the control unit 21 has a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit) from a ROM (Read Only Memory). According to the read control program, various information such as drive conditions and management data of each part of the apparatus are stored and various functions of the present invention are used together with various functions described later using a RAM (Random Access Memory) that stores data necessary for operation. Execute the process.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 21 includes an ID card together with a display unit 22 for displaying various information such as driving conditions, apparatus states, and input information, and a port for performing input operations such as settings and commands by the user. An operation unit (reading means) 23 provided with a slot for setting the NCU and an NCU which is connected to a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and executes a predetermined line control at the time of outgoing / incoming calls to connect or disconnect the line. Unit (network control device) 24 and a modem device that incorporates image data and various procedure signals, performs facsimile communication (transmission / reception) via the NCU unit 24, and connects to the intranet by an I / F (interface) (not shown). A communication control unit 25 that is connected to execute transmission / reception (transmission) of document data such as image data and character data, and an original image to be transmitted / copied A reading device 26 that reads image data, a recording device 27 that records and outputs an image on a sheet using a recording medium based on the read / received image data, an image memory unit 28 that stores the read / received image data, and While compressing and encoding the image data to be transmitted, it functions as a DCR (Data Compression and Reconstraction) unit that decompresses and decodes the received image data, and also performs image data scaling processing and character data (code data). Is connected to an image processing unit 29 that performs a conversion process or the like in the image memory unit 28 to develop image data into image data in response to a request.

  Accordingly, the copying machine 11 has a transmission function for performing facsimile communication for transmitting image data, data communication for transmitting document data between PCs 13 and the like, a copying function for recording and outputting read image data, and a received document. A processing apparatus having a recording function for recording and outputting data is configured, and can be used not only as a copying machine but also as a facsimile apparatus, a printer apparatus, and a scanner apparatus.

  On the other hand, the large-capacity storage device 12 on the intranet and the large-capacity storage device 15 on the Internet store the transmitted data as they are, and the large-capacity storage device 12 is stored in the copier 11 via the intranet. While being used in an externally attached format, the mass storage device 15 can be used as another mass storage device provided on the Internet by a user registered with a service provider.

  In the present embodiment, the image memory unit 28 is only used as a storage means for temporarily storing the document data to be processed. The latest document data is accumulated in the previous stage of the storage device 12 and may be transferred from the old document data to the large-capacity storage device 12 when the capacity exceeds a certain capacity. The mass storage device 12 is connected to the copying machine 11 via an intranet. However, the mass storage device 12 may be directly attached and used.

  The PC 13 includes a CPU (a central processing unit different from the CPU of the control unit 21), a memory (ROM, RAM, etc.), an I / O circuit, and the like. By performing arithmetic processing according to an application program read from the illustrated hard disk device (storage medium), it can be used as a system for performing various processing such as creation of documents and images. By using the various functions of the copying machine 11 to send processing instructions (instructions) together with the user ID, it is possible to print out or send it to the input destination by facsimile, and the copying machine 11 receives the facsimile. Image data received from the image data or read by the copier 11 It is possible to and receive data.

  The connection device 14 functions as a network hub for terminal devices such as the copying machine 11, the mass storage device 12, and the PC 13, and constructs a local area network (LAN) environment by relaying data communication between them, as well as the Internet. The intranet environment is constructed by functioning so that various information can be used by accessing a service provider on the Internet from the copying machine 11 or the PC 13.

  Further, in order to receive a backup service of the service provider, the control unit 21 of the copier 11 has a registration ID (for receiving a service) corresponding to each address and user ID of the service provider in the built-in nonvolatile RAM. And the data necessary for connecting to the Internet and receiving a service such as a password are stored, and the mass storage device 15 on the Internet is stored. When the service is received, the processing instruction is transmitted after the data is transmitted and the access is completed.

  The mass storage device 15 is connected to the Internet via a communication control device (not shown) of the service provider, and the communication control device receives a message from a registered user in accordance with a control program read from the recording medium by the CPU. The mass storage device 15 is opened to be writable and readable by access, and when there is a subsequent backup processing instruction, additional data (processing date and time), which will be described later, is stored together with document data sent. Following the access, when there is a reference instruction for the document data to be stored, the additional data is read for each reference instruction together with the first page of the document data of a fixed capacity, and repeatedly transmitted. When it is sent, the document data for one corresponding document is read and returned. That.

  Specifically, the control unit 21 of the copying machine 11 processes a document data to be processed by a function provided by a user (including a processing command from the PC 13 and a recording output command of read document data to be copied in the own machine). At the same time as the desired data processing is performed, if there is no instruction input other than the processing command (such as an accumulation avoidance command by the “Un · Do” button described later), the data is transmitted or recorded by a function corresponding to the processing command. The document data is encoded and compressed by the image processing unit 29, and then sent to the mass storage device 12 on the intranet for storage.

  At this time, the used capacity (accumulation capacity) of the mass storage device 12 is confirmed, and when the capacity exceeds a preset capacity, access to a service provider on the Internet is performed before or after the transmission / accumulation is executed. The document data having a capacity is sequentially read out from the oldest and transferred, and then stored in the mass storage device 15. In the present embodiment, the control unit 21 constitutes a processing unit, the image processing unit 29 constitutes an encoding unit, and the communication control unit 25 constitutes a sending unit.

  The copier 11 can easily use various functions by reading processing conditions together with the telephone number of the facsimile communication destination and the address of the PC 13 written on the ID card set in the operation unit 23, and at the same time, the user The management information such as the processing function and the number of processed sheets read out from the IC card or received from the PC 13 is stored in the RAM of the control unit 21 for each user ID so that it can be used for billing processing. It has become.

  When executing a backup process for sending and storing document data in the mass storage device 12, the control unit 21 sends at least the user ID and the processing date and time to the document data. That is, the control unit 21 constitutes an accumulation management unit.

  When the copying machine 11 is operated without input of a user ID, a shared ID (user ID) allocated in advance to the copying machine 11 used as a common expense at the time of billing processing is read out from the nonvolatile RAM, and the document is read. It is added to the data and accumulated in the mass storage devices 12 and 15.

  The PC 13 selects a menu for requesting reference / transfer of the document data processed by the copying machine 11 on the display and inputs a user ID necessary for using the copying machine 11, thereby processing the processed document data. The user ID is sent to the copying machine 11 together with the reference instruction command.

  Then, the copier 11 that has received this instruction command returns the first page of the plurality of document data having the same user ID together with the additional data from the latest one with the latest processing date and time. The calendar view format 30 screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed so as to be scrolled at high speed and low speed by the scroll button 31 so that the processing date and time is located at the lower right, and the thumbnail image of the document data (the decoded image data of the first page) Image) 32 can be displayed and output for each processing date and time, and when it is desired to check the contents of a document such as characters, the thumbnail image 32 is clicked with the mouse or the display portion of the touch panel is pressed. The document data selected on the entire display can be displayed and output in a scrollable manner.

  Further, by selecting the search button 34 in the display screen, other additional data can be displayed in a list in order of the processing date and time for each document, and the narrow down button 35 is selected. By inputting the processing date and time and other additional data for an arbitrary period, the thumbnail image 32 of unnecessary document data that is not applicable is omitted from the calendar view 30, or the corresponding thumbnail image 32 is flashed red in the calendar view 30. The number of documents to be confirmed can be reduced by displaying in reverse video.

  Then, when there is desired document data, the thumbnail image 32 is selected with a mouse or a touch panel and the call button 33 is selected, thereby giving a transfer instruction command of document data for one document corresponding to the document data. The document data that has been sent out and processed can be reacquired and displayed on the display, and can be processed by various functions such as being sent to the copier 11 and printed out.

  In addition, the document data processed without the input of the user ID is considered to be less confidential, and the shared ID is assigned to the user on the condition that the user ID is input and a reference / transfer instruction for the shared document data is input. By using it as an ID, the document data to which the shared ID is added can be read from the mass storage devices 12 and 15 and processed in the same manner. If the processing date / time is input at this time, the communication control device of the service provider may be configured to read / transfer only the document data from before the processing date / time. Data can be obtained easily and quickly.

  On the other hand, upon receiving this instruction command, the control unit 21 of the copying machine 11 reads the first page of the document data having the same user ID in the mass storage device 12 from the latest processing date (additional data) and reads the image. After being decrypted and restored by the processing unit 29, it is returned to the PC 13, and when one of the selected transfer instructions is received, the corresponding document data for one document is read from the mass storage device 12 and restored to the PC 13. Forward.

  At this time, when an instruction command is input so as to refer to data whose processing date is older than that stored in the mass storage device 12 (the command may be changed to scrolling further), the built-in nonvolatile RAM The service provider's address, registration ID and password for each user ID are read out, the service provider on the Internet is accessed, and a document data reference instruction is sent out. The document data for one document selected from the mass storage device 15 is transferred to the PC 13.

  That is, the control unit 21 also constitutes an output management means. The display means of the output management means is a display of the PC 13, and the operation means is a touch panel of the PC 13. Further, the PC 13 inputs a service provider's address, registration ID, and password, thereby directly accessing without passing through the copying machine 11 and requesting a menu for requesting reference / transfer of document data in the mass storage device 15. In this case, the PC 13 constitutes output management means connected to the copier 11 via a network. Needless to say, the copying machine 11 may be configured to execute similar processing by an input operation from the display unit 22 and the operation unit 23 included in the copying machine 11.

  Therefore, the same document data processed by the copying machine 11 is automatically stored in the mass storage devices 12 and 15 on the intranet or the Internet without requiring a special input operation and backed up. Later, if necessary, the user inputs a reference / transfer instruction from the PC 13 or the like, so that the first page of the document data can be confirmed and selected by the thumbnail image 32 and the additional data in the calendar view 30 and easily reused. can do. Therefore, the document data to be processed by the copying machine 11 can be reused by making a file (backup) without making the user aware of it, and recording and outputting it again by the copying machine 11.

  As described above, in this embodiment, after desired data processing is performed on document data in accordance with a processing instruction, this document data is encoded, and then the encoded document data is connected via a network such as an intranet or the Internet. Therefore, the mass storage device is automatically backed up without requiring the user to perform another special input operation (regardless of whether or not an accumulation command is input). 12 and 15 can be accumulated. Therefore, the document data can be backed up to the large-capacity storage devices 12 and 15 without the user being aware of it, and the document data storage management can be facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, document data is sent simultaneously with desired data processing on the document data in accordance with the processing instruction. Therefore, the document data on which the desired data processing has been performed is not limited to the user. The data can be automatically stored in the mass storage devices 12 and 15 without requiring an input operation.

  In the present embodiment, the IC card is read by the operation unit 23, and the user ID stored in the IC card is sent to the mass storage devices 12 and 15 together with the encoded document data. The document data stored in the mass storage devices 12 and 15 can be managed together with the user ID. In addition, when document data is read from the mass storage devices 12 and 15, document data that matches the user ID can be easily read.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when backing up document data, if the mass storage device 12 on the intranet becomes full, it is stored in the mass storage device 15 on the Internet using the service of the service provider. The copying machine 11 can be used without preparing an extremely large mass storage device for each user and without worrying about overflow.

  Then, even if a document processed once using the function of the copying machine 11 is lost or discarded, it is referred to from the latest one when necessary, and the mass storage device 12 is used. , 15 can be re-acquired by recording and outputting, and can be easily used as a file system.

  At this time, necessary document data can be easily selected using the thumbnail image 32 displayed on the calendar view 30 in the order of the processing date and the additional data, and the processing date is specified, so that reference can be made from before the processing date. The desired document data can be made available quickly.

  As another aspect of the present embodiment, the “Un · Do” button or the like is pressed before or after the document data is processed by the function of the copying machine 11 (before or after the start key is input). By inputting a storage avoidance command, it may be possible to instruct not to perform only the backup operation of the document data. In this case, the control program is activated by the storage avoidance command by inputting the “Un · Do” button. It suffices to continue the processing of the function provided by skipping the backup processing step.

  At this time, if document data accumulation is started, the additional data of the corresponding accumulated data is erased so that the accumulated data is unreadable. As a result, in this other aspect, it is possible to avoid accumulating unnecessary data or data that requires security in the backup, eliminating the adverse effects of automatic backup and improving usability. Can be improved.

  As described above, the copying machine and the backup method according to the present invention automatically backs up handled data that does not need to be consciously operated by automatically acquiring and storing the same data as the data to be processed during the processing. Is effective for facilitating the storage management of data, and is useful as a copying machine and a backup method that can back up data without being conscious of the data to be handled.

1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a copying machine and a backup system according to the present invention, and is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a backup system including the copying machine Block diagram of a copying machine according to an embodiment The figure which shows the display screen at the time of the reference of the filed data which concerns on the copying machine of one embodiment Partial enlarged view of the display screen of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

11 Copier 12, 15 Mass storage device (storage device)
21 Control unit (processing means)
23 Operation part (reading means)
25 Communication control unit (transmission means)
29 Image processing unit (encoding means)

Claims (4)

A copying machine that processes document data connected to a storage device via a network,
Processing means for performing desired data processing on the document data in accordance with the processing instructions;
Encoding means for encoding the document data;
A copying machine comprising: sending means for sending the document data encoded by the encoding means to the storage device.   2. The copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the sending unit is executed together with the processing unit. Comprising reading means for reading an IC card;
3. The sending means sends a user ID stored in the IC card read by the reading means to the storage device together with the encoded document data. The copier described in 1. A backup method for backing up the document data together with processing to the document data to a storage device connected via a network,
Performing desired data processing on the document data in accordance with the processing instructions;
Encoding the document data;
A backup method comprising: sending the encoded document data to the storage device for storage.

Images