JP2007065965A - Network device with web server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for appropriately generating a thumb nail image file as necessary in response to a request from a browser. <P>SOLUTION: When receiving the display request of a Web page for displaying a thumb nail image from a browser 11, a Web server 100 adds thumb nail information indicating a thumb nail image to be displayed to a thumb nail display Web page description file in which a Web page is described, and transmits it to a browser 11. When the display of the thumb nail image is requested from the thumb nail information from the browser 11, the Web server 100 extracts thumb nail image data from an image file, and generates a thumb nail image file including the thumb nail image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network device including a Web server.

  Conventionally, processing for displaying an image on a computer monitor is performed based on image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera. In Patent Document 1, it is proposed to display a list of a plurality of images with a browser. In the list display, thumbnail images obtained by reducing the main image are displayed. The thumbnail image is displayed based on thumbnail image data having a smaller size than the main image data for displaying the main image. In Patent Document 1, in order to display a thumbnail image, a thumbnail image file including thumbnail image data is generated in advance.

JP 2000-357169 A

  In Patent Document 1, thumbnail image files of all thumbnail images are generated regardless of whether or not the user requests display. However, the user does not necessarily request to display all thumbnail images, and the processing for generating thumbnail image files may be wasted. In addition, the capacity of the memory for storing the thumbnail image file may be limited, and it is not always possible to store all the thumbnail image files in the memory.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for appropriately generating a thumbnail image file in response to a request from a browser.

In order to solve at least a part of the above problems, a network device including a Web server according to the present invention includes:
A network device comprising a web server,
An image data file storage unit that stores in advance an image data file in which main image data representing a main image and thumbnail image data representing a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image are embedded;
The web server
A thumbnail display Web page description file storage unit that stores in advance a thumbnail display Web page description file in which a thumbnail display Web page that is a Web page for displaying the thumbnail image is described in a markup language;
When a display request for the thumbnail display Web page is received from a browser, thumbnail information for indicating thumbnail image data embedded in the image data file stored in the image data file storage unit is displayed in the thumbnail display Web page description file. A thumbnail display Web page description file transmission unit that transmits the thumbnail display Web page description file to the browser;
Upon receiving an image display request with the thumbnail information from the browser, the thumbnail image data is extracted from the image data file based on the thumbnail information and a thumbnail image file including the thumbnail image data is generated. A file generator,
A thumbnail image file transmission unit for transmitting the thumbnail image file to the browser;
With
The thumbnail information is information that combines a URI of an image data file in which the thumbnail image data is embedded and information indicating that the thumbnail image data in the image data file is indicated.

  According to the present invention, a thumbnail image file including thumbnail image data is generated when an image display request is received from the browser based on thumbnail information. Therefore, a thumbnail image file can be appropriately generated in response to a request from the browser. It is.

  Further, upon receiving a print request with the thumbnail information from the browser, the URI of the image data file is extracted from the thumbnail information, and the main image is printed based on the main image data embedded in the image data file. It is good also as a thing provided with the printing part to perform.

  According to this, when a print request is received from the browser, the main image can be printed.

The thumbnail image file generation unit stores the generated thumbnail image file in a memory in the Web server,
The thumbnail image file generation unit further includes:
A determination unit that determines whether the thumbnail image file indicated by the thumbnail information is stored in the memory when receiving an image display request with the thumbnail information;
If it is determined that the thumbnail image file is stored in the memory, generation of the thumbnail image file by the thumbnail image file generation unit is omitted, and the thumbnail image file transmission unit is stored in the memory. The thumbnail image file may be acquired and transmitted.

  According to this, when a thumbnail image file including thumbnail image data is stored in the memory, the thumbnail image file in the memory can be transmitted without generating the thumbnail image file.

  The thumbnail image file generation unit further receives an image display request from the browser for thumbnail image data to be displayed on another thumbnail display Web page associated with the thumbnail display Web page that has received a display request from the browser. Before receiving, a thumbnail image file may be generated in advance and stored in the memory.

  According to this, a thumbnail image file can be generated in advance for thumbnail image data to be displayed on another thumbnail display Web page associated with the thumbnail display Web page that has received the display request.

Each of the thumbnail image files is stored in the memory in response to image display requests from a plurality of browsers,
The determination unit includes a thumbnail image file indicated by the thumbnail information among thumbnail image files stored in response to an image display request from a browser other than the browser that has requested the image display with the thumbnail information. If it exists, it may be determined that the thumbnail image file is stored in the memory.

  According to this, a thumbnail image file stored in response to an image display request from one browser among a plurality of browsers can be transmitted to another browser.

  The present invention can be realized in various forms. For example, a transmission method for transmitting a thumbnail image file to a browser, a computer program for realizing the function of the method or apparatus, a recording medium on which the program is recorded, and the like It can be realized in the form of.

A. First embodiment:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing system 10000 provided with a printer 1000 and digital television (hereinafter referred to as DTV) 10-30. The printer 1000 and the DTVs 10 to 30 are connected via a network. The printing system 10000 is a system in which the Web server 100 displays a Web page on the DTV 10-30 in response to a request from the DTV 10-30, and the printer 1000 prints an image in response to a request from the DTV 10-30. The DTVs 10 to 30 include browsers 11, 21, and 31, respectively. In the first embodiment, the DTV 10 will be described among the three DTVs 10 to 30, but the DTVs 20 and 30 also have the same functions as the DTV 10. Further, the number of DTVs 10 to 30 is not limited to three and may be one or more.

  The printer 1000 includes a printing unit 200, a memory card drive 320, and the Web server 100. The memory card 300 is attached to the memory card drive 320 by the user. The memory card 300 stores a plurality of image files 310. As shown in FIG. 2A, the image file 310 includes main image data Gd for displaying the main image and thumbnail image data SGd for displaying a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image. The thumbnail image data SGd is smaller in size than the main image data Gd. The memory card 300 corresponds to the image data file storage unit of the present invention.

  The Web server 100 includes a memory 110, a thumbnail image file generation unit 120, a communication unit 130, and a control unit 140. The memory 110 includes a markup language file storage unit 111. The markup language file storage unit 111 stores a markup language file written in a markup language such as HTML or XML in order to display various Web pages requested from the browser 11. The markup language file includes a thumbnail display Web page description file that describes a thumbnail display Web page that is a Web page for displaying a list of thumbnail images. Details of the thumbnail display Web page will be described later. The markup language file storage unit 111 corresponds to the thumbnail display Web page description file storage unit of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing processing of the thumbnail image file generation unit 120. When the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 receives a request to display a thumbnail image from the browser 11, the thumbnail image file SGd extracts the thumbnail image data SGd from the image file 310, adds header information, and the thumbnail image file 111a in FIG. Is generated. The header information includes, for example, the file name of the original image file 310 that contained the thumbnail image data SGd and the generation time of the thumbnail image file 111a.

  The communication unit 130 performs communication with the DTV 10 such as transmitting the thumbnail image file 111 a generated by the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 to the browser 11. The control unit 140 performs overall control of processing of each unit of the Web server 100. The control unit 140 and the communication unit 130 correspond to a thumbnail display Web page description file transmission unit of the present invention. The control unit 140 further corresponds to at least a part of the thumbnail image file generation unit and the printing unit of the present invention. The communication unit 140 further corresponds to a thumbnail image file transmission unit of the present invention. The printing unit 200 prints the main image in response to a print request from the browser 11. Details of the processing of the printing unit 200 will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the browser 11 and the Web server 100 when the thumbnail display Web page is displayed by the browser 11. When the user desires to display the image of the image file 310 on the browser 11, the browser 11 requests the home page of the printer 1000 (step S10). In response to a request from the browser 11, the Web server 100 stores a markup language file for displaying the home page of the printer 1000 among the markup language files stored in the markup language file storage unit 111. Transmit (step S20).

  The browser 11 displays the home page of the printer 1000 based on the received file. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing how the browser 11 displays the home page 400 of the printer 1000. The home page 400 includes a “memory card image display / print” command button 401 and a “maintenance” command button 402. In order to display the image of the image file 310 on the browser 11, the user selects a “memory card image display / print” command button 401. Thereby, the browser 11 requests a thumbnail display Web page (step S30).

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a thumbnail display Web page 410. When requested by the thumbnail display Web page 410, the control unit 140 selects a plurality of image files stored in the memory card 300 in order to select thumbnail images to be displayed on the thumbnail image display units S1 to S3 in FIG. Three image files 310 are selected from 310. The three image files 310 may be selected in order according to the time at which the image file 310 was generated, or may be selected in the order of the sound of the file name. Here, it is assumed that selection is made in order according to the time when the image file 310 is generated. Then, the control unit 140 uses the URI (Uniform Resource Identifiers) of the selected image file 310 to generate thumbnail information for designating the thumbnail image file 111a.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing thumbnail information. If the URI of the selected image file 310 is as shown in FIG. 6A, the thumbnail information is the thumbnail information A1 in FIG. 6B. That is, the control unit 140 generates thumbnail information by adding “S” (underlined for emphasis) before the extension at the end of the URI of the image file 310. Although the thumbnail information A1 is used here, thumbnail information having other configurations can also be used. For example, the thumbnail information A2 is obtained by adding “? THM” indicated by an underline to the end of the URI of the image file 310. The thumbnail information A3 is obtained by designating the URI of the image file 310 as an argument of a program called THM.EXE that is activated by CGI (Common Gateway Interface) at the IP address “133.154.23.10” of the DTV 10.

  Incidentally, each of the thumbnail information A1 to A3 includes a URI of the image file 310 and an identification display indicating that it points to the thumbnail image file 111a. The identification information of the thumbnail information A1 is “S”. The identification information of the thumbnail information A2 is “? THM” at the end. In the thumbnail information A3, starting the program THM..EXE by CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is an identification display.

  The control unit 140 generates thumbnail information U1 to U3 from the URIs of the three selected image files 310 according to the method of generating the thumbnail information A1 of FIG. 6B from the URI of FIG. Then, the control unit 140 describes the thumbnail information U1 to U3 in the image display tags of the thumbnail image display units S1 to S3 in FIG. 5 in the thumbnail display Web page description file described above (step S40). In the parentheses of FIG. 5, the thumbnail information U1 to U3 is described in the tag for image display of the thumbnail image display sections S1 to S3. In the communication unit 130, the control unit 140 transmits a thumbnail display Web page description file describing the thumbnail information U1 to U3 to the browser 11 (step S50).

  The browser 11 that has received the thumbnail display Web page description file displays the thumbnail display Web page 410 of FIG. However, at this time, no image is displayed on the thumbnail image display sections S1 to S3. The browser 11 extracts the thumbnail information U1 from the image display tag of the thumbnail image display unit S1 (step S60), attaches the thumbnail information U1, and transmits a request for the image file to the Web server 100 (step S70).

  When receiving the thumbnail information U1, the control unit 140 of the Web server 100 derives the URI of the image file 310 from the thumbnail information U1. Specifically, the “S” at the end (before the extension) is removed from the thumbnail information U1 to obtain the URI of the image file 310. Then, it instructs the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 to generate the thumbnail image file 111a from the image file 310. The thumbnail image file generation unit 120 generates a thumbnail image file 111a according to the instruction (step S80), and the communication unit 130 transmits the generated thumbnail image file 111a to the browser 11 (step S90).

  The browser 11 displays the thumbnail image on the thumbnail image display unit S1 based on the thumbnail image file 111a (step S100). The browser 11 and the Web server 100 repeat the same processing as the steps S60 to S100 for the thumbnail image display units S2 and S3 (steps S110 to S140).

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a thumbnail display Web page 410 displaying thumbnail images on the thumbnail image display units S1 to S3. The user refers to the displayed thumbnail image, and selects any one of the thumbnail image display units S1 to S3, that is, an image to be printed, using the check boxes 412 to 414. Then, print conditions (MediaSize, MediaType, PrintQuality) are selected, and the printer 1000 is instructed to print an image using the print button 411.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing print processing in the browser 11 and the printer 1000. As described above, when the user selects an image and instructs printing of the image (step S200), a print request with thumbnail information U1 to U3 of the selected thumbnail image display units S1 to S3 and other printing conditions is sent to the printer. 1000 (step S210). Here, it is assumed that the thumbnail image display unit S2 is selected by the user and the thumbnail information U2 is transmitted.

  The control unit 140 of the Web server 100 derives the URI of the image file 310 from the thumbnail information U2 (step S220), and instructs the printing unit 200 to print the image file 310. The printing unit 200 executes printing according to the instruction.

  After starting printing, the Web server 100 transmits to the browser 11 a markup language file for displaying a Web page for notifying the printing status (hereinafter referred to as a print execution status page) (step S230). The browser 11 displays a print execution status page based on the received markup language file (step S240). The print execution status page is, for example, a page for notifying the user of what percentage of printing is completed at the present time. By the way, the Web server 100 attaches a refresh specification of 5 seconds to the markup language file for displaying the print execution status page. In accordance with the refresh specification of 5 seconds, the browser 11 requests the print execution status page from the Web server 100 again after 5 seconds (step S250). In accordance with the request, the Web server 100 transmits a markup language file for displaying the print execution status page to the browser 11 with a refresh specification of 5 seconds (step S260). The processes in steps S230 to S260 are repeated until printing is completed (steps S270 and S280).

  When the printing is completed, the Web server 100 transmits a markup language file of the Web page indicating the completion of printing to the browser 11 (Step S290). Upon receiving this markup language file, the browser 11 displays a Web page indicating completion of printing in accordance with the markup language file, and stops requesting the Web server 100 for a print execution status page.

  According to the printing system 10000 of the first embodiment described above, when the Web server 100 receives an image display request with the thumbnail information U1 to U3 from the browser 11, the thumbnail image data corresponding to the thumbnail information U1 to U3. Since the thumbnail image file 111a including SGd is generated, it is possible to appropriately generate the thumbnail image file 111a in response to a request from the browser 11. Furthermore, the printer 1000 can print the main image when receiving a print request from the browser 11.

  In the printing system 10000 of the first embodiment, the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 has not yet generated the thumbnail image file 111a from the image file 310 at the time of generating the thumbnail information U1 to U3. That is, prior to the generation of the thumbnail image file 111a, only the thumbnail information U1 to U3 for specifying the thumbnail image file 111a is generated first.

  As described above, the user accesses the Web server 100 of the printer 1000 from the browsers 11 to 31 of the DTVs 10 to 30, and makes an image display request based on the image file 310 in the memory card 300 attached to the memory card slot. be able to. However, the number of photographing pixels of recent digital cameras is large, and the size of the main image data Gd in the memory card 300 is also large. Therefore, it may take time to display the main image depending on the performance of the browsers 11 to 31. According to the printing system 10000 of the present embodiment, the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image data SGd having a smaller size than the main image data Gd is transmitted to the browsers 11 to 31. Therefore, the processing burden on the browsers 11 to 31 can be reduced. it can. Furthermore, the time required for transmission of the thumbnail image file 111a can be shortened.

B. Second embodiment:
FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating a printing system 10000a according to the second embodiment. The printing system 10000a of the second embodiment is obtained by adding a thumbnail image file storage unit 112, an access management table 113, an erasing unit 150, and a determination unit 121 to the printing system 10000 of the first embodiment.

  The thumbnail image file storage unit 112 stores the thumbnail image file 111a generated by the thumbnail image file generation unit 120. The access management table 113 is a table for managing the access times when the DTVs 10 to 30 request the thumbnail display Web page 410 from the Web server 100 for each DTV 10 to 30.

  When there is no request to display the thumbnail display Web page 410 from any of the DTVs 10 to 30 for a predetermined time or longer, the deletion unit 150 deletes the thumbnail image file 111a stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 for the DTV 10 to 30. To do.

  The determination unit 121 determines whether the thumbnail image file 111a to be generated is already stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 before generating the thumbnail image file 111a.

  By the way, when the user selects the previous page display instruction unit 415 on the thumbnail display Web page 410 of FIG. 7 described in the first embodiment, the browser 11 transmits a previous page display request to the Web server 100. Upon receiving the previous page display request, the Web server 100 transmits a thumbnail display Web page description file for displaying another thumbnail display Web page 410 to the browser 11. For the thumbnail display Web page description file, the control unit 140 selects the three image files 310 with the previous generation time of the image file 310 from the three image files 310 displayed on the current thumbnail display Web page 410. Then, the generated thumbnail information U1 to U3 is described.

  On the other hand, when the user selects the next page display instruction unit 416 on the thumbnail display Web page 410, the browser 11 transmits a next page display request to the Web server 100. Upon receiving the next page display request, the Web server 100 transmits a thumbnail display Web page description file for displaying another thumbnail display Web page 410 to the browser 11. For the thumbnail display Web page description file, the control unit 140 selects, from the three image files 310 displayed on the current thumbnail display Web page 410, the three image files 310 whose generation time is later. Then, the generated thumbnail information U1 to U3 is described.

  The thumbnail image file generation unit 120 of the second embodiment generates a thumbnail image file 111a of a thumbnail image displayed on the current thumbnail display Web page 410 in response to an image display request from the browser 11, and then further displays FIG. The thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image to be displayed on the pages before and after the thumbnail display Web page 410 is also generated in advance. That is, from the three image files 310 that are generated earlier than the three image files 310 displayed on the current thumbnail display Web page 410 and the three image files 310 that are generated later, respectively. A thumbnail image file 111a is generated. The thumbnail image file generation unit 120 stores the generated thumbnail image file 111a in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112. However, since the thumbnail image file 111a of the previous page is usually created, only the thumbnail image file 111a of the next page is newly created.

  Hereinafter, the currently displayed thumbnail display Web page 410 is referred to as a current thumbnail display Web page 410, and the thumbnail display Web page 410 displayed when the previous page display instruction unit 415 is selected is referred to as a previous thumbnail display Web page 410be. The thumbnail display Web page 410 displayed when the next page display instruction unit 416 is selected is referred to as a next thumbnail display Web page 410ne.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the thumbnail image file storage unit 112. The thumbnail image file storage unit 112 includes three thumbnail image files 111a displayed on the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be (shown as n-1 page in the figure) and a current thumbnail display Web page 410 (shown as n page in the figure). And the three thumbnail image files 111a displayed on the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne (shown as n + 1 page in the figure) are stored. The file names of the thumbnail image file 111a are thumbnail information U1 to U3. When the thumbnail image file 111a is stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112, the identifier DTV-ID of the DTVs 10 to 30 that output the thumbnail image display request (step S70 in FIG. 3) and the save time are also stored. The identifier DTV-ID is a number individually determined in advance for the DTVs 10 to 30.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing display processing of the thumbnail display Web page 410 according to the second embodiment. However, since the processing up to step S70A is the same as the processing up to step S70 of the display processing of the thumbnail display Web page 410 of the first embodiment, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Further, it is assumed that the DTV that has output the thumbnail image display request in step S70A is the DTV 10.

  When receiving the image display request together with the thumbnail information U1 to U3, the control unit 140 of the Web server 100 derives the URI of the image file 310 from the thumbnail information U1 to U3, and sends it to the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 from the image file 310. An instruction to generate the thumbnail image file 111a is given. When the determination unit 121 of the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 receives the instruction, it determines whether the thumbnail image file 111a to be generated is already stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 or not (file name of the thumbnail image file 111a ( (Same as thumbnail information U1 to U3) (step S75A). The determination unit 121 sets not only the thumbnail image file 111a stored for the DTV 10 that has output the thumbnail image display request in step S70A but also the thumbnail image file 111a stored for the other DTVs 20 and 30 as a search target. To do. Note that the thumbnail image files 111a stored for the other DTVs 20 and 30 may not be searched.

  If the necessary thumbnail image file 111a is not stored, the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 generates the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image currently displayed on the thumbnail display Web page 410 (shown as page n in the figure) ( Step S80A). If it is stored, the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 acquires the thumbnail image file 111a from the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 (step S85A). The communication unit 130 transmits the generated or acquired thumbnail image file 111a to the browser 11 (step S90A).

  The browser 11 displays a thumbnail image based on the received thumbnail image file 111a (step S100A). Although the description has been made collectively here, to be precise, similarly to the first embodiment, the processes of steps S70A to S100A are performed for each of the thumbnail image display portions S1 to S3.

  Next, the determination unit 121 of the thumbnail image file generation unit 120 displays the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be (shown as n-1 page in the figure) and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne (shown as n + 1 page in the figure). It is determined whether the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image is stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 (step S150A). Specifically, from the three image files 310 for which the generation instruction for the thumbnail image file 111a has been issued from the control unit 140, the three image files 310 with the generation time of the previous image file 310 and the three image files with the generation time later. Whether the thumbnail image file 111a generated from the image file 310 exists is checked by the file name of the thumbnail image file 111a (same as the thumbnail information U1 to U3). When the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image displayed at least one of the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne is not stored, the thumbnail image file 111a is generated (step S160A).

  Next, the control unit 140 of the Web server 100 checks whether there is an empty area in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 (step S170A in FIG. 11). If there is no free space, the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 in FIG. 10 is deleted in order from the thumbnail image file 111a with the earlier save time (step S180A), and the thumbnail image file generated in steps S80A and S160A. 111a is stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 (step S190A). The identifier DTV-ID of the DTVs 10 to 30 that output the image display request in step S70A and the storage time are also stored.

  The Web server 100 according to the second embodiment further manages the access time when the DTVs 10 to 30 request the thumbnail display Web page 410 from the Web server 100 using the access management table 113. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the access management table 113. The access management table 113 stores an identifier DTV-ID and access time. The identifier DTV-ID and access time are saved by the control unit 140 when a display request for the thumbnail display Web page 410 is received (step S30 in FIG. 3).

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing of the erasing unit 150. The erasing unit 150 executes the process shown in FIG. 14 every predetermined time T1. The erasure unit 150 checks the most recent access time for each identifier DTV-ID in the access management table 113, and checks whether or not the most recent access time has exceeded a predetermined time T2 (step S300). If there is an identifier DTV-ID that has passed the predetermined time T2 from the most recent access time, all thumbnail image files 111a stored in association with the identifier DTV-ID in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 are all stored. Erasing is performed (step S320). In this embodiment, the processing of FIG. 14 is executed by the erasing unit 150, but this processing may be omitted.

  According to the printing system 10000a of the present embodiment, in the previous page (previous thumbnail display Web page 410be) and the next page (next thumbnail display Web page 410ne) of the current thumbnail display Web page 410 that has received a display request from the browser 11. A thumbnail image file 111a can be generated in advance for thumbnail images to be displayed. The previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne correspond to other thumbnail display Web pages 410 associated with the thumbnail display Web page 410 that has received a display request from the browser 11. The other thumbnail display Web pages 410 associated with the thumbnail display Web page 410 that has received a display request from the browser 11 are not limited to the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne, and are currently Any thumbnail display Web page 410 associated with the thumbnail display Web page 410 may be used.

  If the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image requested to be displayed by the browser 11, 21, 31 is stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112, the thumbnail image file storage unit is not generated without generating the thumbnail image file 111a. The thumbnail image file 111a in 112 can be transmitted. That is, the thumbnail image file 111a of the current thumbnail display Web page 410 is stored in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112, and the thumbnail image file 111a of the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne is generated in advance. By storing in the storage unit 112, it is possible to quickly respond to requests from the browsers 11, 21, and 31. In particular, since there is a high possibility that the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne are requested to be displayed by the user, it is useful to generate the thumbnail image file 111a in advance. Further, it is also possible to use a thumbnail image file 111a stored for the DTVs 20 and 30 other than the DTV 10 that has requested display of thumbnail images.

  Further, according to the printing system 10000a of this embodiment, when the predetermined time T2 or more has elapsed from the access time, the thumbnail image file 111a in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 is deleted, so that the thumbnail image file 111a is stored. The capacity of the memory can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, the thumbnail image file 111a of the current thumbnail display Web page 410 is generated in step S80A, and the thumbnail image file 111a of the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne is generated in step S150A. At the same time as generating the thumbnail image file 111a of the current thumbnail display Web page 410, the thumbnail image file 111a of the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne may be generated.

  In this embodiment, the access time is the time when the DTVs 10 to 30 request the thumbnail display Web page 410 from the Web server 100. However, the DTVs 10 to 30 request the thumbnail image display in step S70A to the Web server 100. It is good also as what is the time which output.

  In this embodiment, the thumbnail image file 111a of the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne associated with the current thumbnail display Web page 410 is generated in advance in step S160A, but the generation is not executed. It is good as a thing. Alternatively, in the present embodiment, when the thumbnail image file 111a of the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410ne does not exist in the thumbnail image file storage unit 112 (step S150A), the previous thumbnail display Web page 410be and the next thumbnail display Web page 410be Although the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail display Web page 410ne is generated (step S160A), the determination in step S150A may be omitted and the thumbnail image file 111a may be generated without fail.

  In this embodiment, the identifier DTV-ID is used to identify the DTVs 10 to 30, but the IP address and port number of the DTVs 10 to 30 may be used.

Other examples:
(1) The Web server 100 of the above embodiment generates the thumbnail image file 111a after receiving the thumbnail image display request in steps S70 and S70A, but transmits the thumbnail display Web page description file in step S50. Immediately after that, the thumbnail image file 111a of the thumbnail image displayed on the thumbnail display Web page 410 may be generated.

(2) In the above embodiment, the web server 100 and the browsers 11 to 31 are provided in the printer 1000 and the DTVs 10 to 30, respectively. It may be equipped with the device of

  As described above, the Web server, the thumbnail image file transmission method, and the program for realizing these functions according to the present invention have been described based on the embodiments. However, the above embodiments of the present invention make it easy to understand the present invention. The present invention is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing system 10000 provided with a printer 1000 and a digital television (hereinafter referred to as DTV) 10-30. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of the thumbnail image file generation part. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the browser 11 and the Web server 100 when displaying a thumbnail display Web page on the browser 11. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing how a browser 11 displays a home page 400 of a printer 1000. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a thumbnail display Web page 410. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows thumbnail information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the thumbnail display Web page 410 which displayed the thumbnail image on thumbnail image display part S1-S3. 4 is a flowchart illustrating print processing in a browser 11 and a printer 1000. It is a functional block diagram which shows the printing system 10000a of 2nd Example. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a thumbnail image file storage unit 112. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the display process of the thumbnail display Web page 410 of 2nd Example. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a display process of the thumbnail display Web page 410 according to the second embodiment and a process subsequent to FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the access management table 113. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of an erasing unit 150.

Explanation of symbols

10,20,30 ... DTV
11, 21, 31 ... Browser 110 ... Memory 111 ... Markup language file storage unit 111a ... Thumbnail image file 112 ... Thumbnail image file storage unit 113 ... Access management table 120 .. Thumbnail image file generation unit 121 ... determination unit 130 ... communication unit 140 ... control unit 150 ... erasing unit 200 ... printing unit 300 ... memory card 310 ... image file 320. ..Memory Card Drive 400 ... Home Page 401 ... "Memory Card Image Display / Print" Command Button 402 ... "Maintenance" Command Button 410 ... Thumbnail Display Web Page 411 ... Print Button 412, 413, 414 ... check box 415 ... previous page display instruction section 416 ... next page display instruction section 1000 ... printer 10000, 10000a ... print page System A1 to A3, U1 to U3 ... Thumbnail information A2 ... Thumbnail information A3 ... Thumbnail information Gd ... Main image data S1, S2, S3 ... Thumbnail image display part SGd ... Thumbnail image data

Claims (6)

A network device comprising a web server,
An image data file storage unit that stores in advance an image data file in which main image data representing a main image and thumbnail image data representing a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image are embedded;
The web server
A thumbnail display Web page description file storage unit that stores in advance a thumbnail display Web page description file in which a thumbnail display Web page that is a Web page for displaying the thumbnail image is described in a markup language;
When a display request for the thumbnail display Web page is received from a browser, thumbnail information for indicating thumbnail image data embedded in the image data file stored in the image data file storage unit is displayed in the thumbnail display Web page description file. A thumbnail display Web page description file transmission unit that transmits the thumbnail display Web page description file to the browser;
Upon receiving an image display request with the thumbnail information from the browser, the thumbnail image data is extracted from the image data file based on the thumbnail information and a thumbnail image file including the thumbnail image data is generated. A file generator,
A thumbnail image file transmission unit for transmitting the thumbnail image file to the browser;
With
The thumbnail information is information obtained by combining a URI of an image data file in which the thumbnail image data is embedded and information indicating that the thumbnail image data in the image data file is indicated.
Network device. The network device according to claim 1, further comprising:
When a print request with the thumbnail information is received from the browser, the URI of the image data file is extracted from the thumbnail information, and the main image is printed based on the main image data embedded in the image data file Network device comprising a unit. The network device according to claim 1, wherein
The thumbnail image file generation unit stores the generated thumbnail image file in a memory in the Web server,
The thumbnail image file generation unit further includes:
A determination unit that determines whether the thumbnail image file indicated by the thumbnail information is stored in the memory when receiving an image display request with the thumbnail information;
If it is determined that the thumbnail image file is stored in the memory, generation of the thumbnail image file by the thumbnail image file generation unit is omitted, and the thumbnail image file transmission unit is stored in the memory. Obtain and send the thumbnail image file,
Network device. The network device according to claim 3, wherein
The thumbnail image file generation unit further receives an image display request from the browser for thumbnail image data to be displayed on another thumbnail display Web page associated with the thumbnail display Web page that has received a display request from the browser. Before receiving a thumbnail image file and storing it in the memory,
Network device. The network device according to claim 3, wherein
Each of the thumbnail image files is stored in the memory in response to image display requests from a plurality of browsers,
The determination unit includes a thumbnail image file indicated by the thumbnail information among thumbnail image files stored in response to an image display request from a browser other than the browser that has requested the image display with the thumbnail information. If it exists, it is determined that the thumbnail image file is stored in the memory.
Network device. A transmission method for transmitting a thumbnail image file including thumbnail image data for displaying a thumbnail image obtained by reducing a main image to a browser,
Storing in advance a thumbnail display Web page description file in which a thumbnail display Web page that is a Web page for displaying the thumbnail image is described in a markup language;
When a display request for the thumbnail display Web page is received from a browser, thumbnail information for indicating the thumbnail image data is attached to the thumbnail display Web page description file, and the thumbnail display Web page description file is transmitted to the browser. And a process of
When receiving an image display request with the thumbnail information from the browser, the thumbnail image data is extracted from the image data file in which the thumbnail image data is embedded based on the thumbnail information, and includes the table thumbnail image data Generating a thumbnail image file;
Sending the thumbnail image file to the browser;
With
The thumbnail information is information obtained by combining a URI of an image data file in which the thumbnail image data is embedded and information indicating that the thumbnail image data in the image data file is indicated.
Transmission method.

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