JP2007193470A - Image processor and image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor and an image processing system which are satisfactory in usability for recording an acquisition information of an operation relevant information for acquiring operation relevant information necessary for executing an operation in an attachable/detachable recording medium, and for making a host device easily acquire operation relevant information on the basis of the acquisition information of the operation relevant information, and for easily acquiring operation relevant information without installing any recording medium for recording operation relevant information itself necessary for executing operations. <P>SOLUTION: In an image formation system 1, when portable recording media is mounted on a recording media mounting part so as to be attachable/detachable, an image formation apparatus 20 writes the acquisition information of the operation relevant information for acquiring the operation relevant information through the Internet INT, from an operation relevant information providing device for providing the operation relevant information necessary for an external host device 10 connected through a network NW to use the image information apparatus 20, in the portable recording media. Consequently, it is possible for the host device 10 to use the image processor 20 by easily acquiring the necessary operation relevant information from the operation relevant information providing device on the basis of the acquisition information of the operation relevant information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing system, and more specifically, records operation-related information acquisition information for acquiring operation-related information necessary for executing an operation on a detachable recording medium, and performs the operation on a host device. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing system capable of easily acquiring operation related information based on related information acquisition information.

  In order to connect a host device such as a computer and an image processing device (peripheral device) such as a printer device or a scanner device and use the image processing device from the host device, a printer driver corresponding to the printer device, the scanner device Must be installed on the host device and the image processing device must be operated using the software. Also, the image processing device should be set appropriately, especially on the network, etc. When the host apparatus and the image processing apparatus are connected and used via the communication line, it is necessary to appropriately perform communication settings via the network.

  Conventionally, such software for an image processing apparatus is provided on a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) bundled with the image processing apparatus, or a company that provides an image processing apparatus via the Internet. It has come to be obtained by downloading from a software provider device.

  When software is provided on a recording medium, this can be dealt with by setting the recording medium on the host device and installing the recording medium software on the host device, but it is necessary to prepare the recording medium. At the same time, it is necessary to prepare an instruction manual for the recording medium, and there is a problem that the cost is high. In addition, when the image processing apparatus is temporarily used to connect to another host apparatus or to a new host apparatus instead of the host apparatus that normally uses the image processing apparatus, When the attached recording medium in which the driver software is recorded is lost, there is a problem that it is necessary to find and install the necessary driver software from the Internet, and the usability is poor.

  On the other hand, when downloading and obtaining software via the Internet, it is necessary to search for information for identifying the network address of the software providing device and where the corresponding software is located on the home page of the software providing device. There is a problem of being bad. In particular, when updating software such as printer drivers and utilities, it is necessary to check the model of the corresponding image processing device, find the corresponding software on the Internet, download it, and install it. There's a problem. Also, when there are multiple image processing devices to be used or when a specific image processing device is temporarily used, check the model of the corresponding image processing device, find the corresponding software on the Internet, download it It is necessary to install, workability is poor, and usability is poor.

  Then, the applicant first stores the driver and utility software in the storage device of the peripheral device, and when the software of the storage device is designated by the user interface of the host device connected to the peripheral device, A software update improved information processing system is proposed in which software of a device is installed in a host device, and update or addition of software updates from the host device is performed on a storage device of a peripheral device (see Patent Document 1).

  That is, according to this conventional technology, the peripheral device is connected to the host device, so that the software of the storage device of the peripheral device can be easily installed using the user interface.

JP 11-296469 A

  However, in the prior art described in the above publication, software can be easily installed using a user interface by connecting a peripheral device such as an image processing device to the host device. It is necessary to connect the device to the host device and perform communication settings.For software updates, the host device obtains updated software and writes it to the storage device of the peripheral device. It was necessary to check the model of the corresponding peripheral device, find the corresponding software on the Internet, download it, and improve the usability.

  Further, in order to store the driver and utility software in the peripheral device, a recording medium having a considerable capacity is required, and the cost is high.

  Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to easily and easily obtain operation-related information without providing a recording medium for recording operation-related information itself necessary for operation execution, and an image processing apparatus and an image processing system with high usability. The purpose is to provide.

  An image processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention performs predetermined image processing on image data inputted from the outside, and the recording medium is mounted in the image processing apparatus in which the recording medium is detachably mounted. Then, the operation-related information is sent from the operation-related information providing apparatus that provides the operation-related information necessary for the external host device connected by the predetermined communication line to use the image processing apparatus. The above-mentioned object is achieved by writing operation-related information acquisition information for acquisition through the recording medium as write information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing system for executing predetermined image processing on image data inputted from the outside, an image processing apparatus in which a recording medium is detachably mounted, and the image processing apparatus An image processing system including a host device connected via a predetermined communication line and configured to perform image processing by passing image data to the image processing device; and when the recording medium is mounted, the image processing device Writes motion related information acquisition information for acquiring the motion related information via a predetermined communication line from the motion related information providing device that provides the motion related information necessary for the host device to use the image processing device. The information is written in the recording medium as information, and the host device receives the operation-related information from the recording medium when the recording medium in which the writing information is written is loaded. Reads information, by obtaining the motion related information from said operation-related information providing apparatus based on the operation-related information acquired information, have achieved the above objects.

  In each of the above cases, for example, as described in claim 3, the image processing apparatus also includes communication setting information for the host apparatus to use the image processing apparatus via the communication line. May be written on the recording medium.

  For example, as described in claim 4, the image processing apparatus may write operation history information of the image processing apparatus as the writing information to the recording medium.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 5, the image processing device acquires the motion related information from the motion related information providing device via a predetermined communication line based on the motion related information acquisition information, The acquired motion related information may be written as the write information on the recording medium.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 6, the image processing apparatus may write the write information in the recording medium in a data format in which the content can be read.

  Further, for example, as described in claim 7, the image processing apparatus may encrypt the writing information by a predetermined encryption method and write the information on the recording medium.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, when a recording medium is detachably mounted, an external host device connected via a predetermined communication line provides operation-related information necessary for using the image processing apparatus. Since the operation related information acquisition information for acquiring the operation related information from the operation related information providing apparatus via a predetermined communication line is written in the recording medium, a CD or the like in which the operation related information such as driver software is recorded is recorded. Even if it is lost, the host device operates the necessary operation-related information based on the operation-related information acquisition information of the recording medium without providing a large-capacity storage means for storing the operation-related information itself. The image processing apparatus can be used simply and easily obtained from the related information providing apparatus, and the usability can be improved easily at low cost.

  According to the image processing system of the present invention, when an image processing apparatus is detachably loaded with a recording medium, an operation necessary for an external host device connected via a predetermined communication line to use the image processing apparatus The operation related information acquisition information for acquiring the operation related information from the operation related information providing apparatus that provides the related information via a predetermined communication line is written in the recording medium, and the host device performs the operation of the recording medium. Since the operation related information is acquired from the operation related information providing device based on the related information acquisition information, the host device can be used even when the CD on which the operation related information such as driver software is recorded is lost. Therefore, it is possible to easily and easily obtain necessary motion related information from the motion related information providing apparatus without using a large-capacity storage means for storing the motion related information itself. It can be, can be improved inexpensively and easily availability.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, since the Example described below is a suitable Example of this invention, various technically preferable restrictions are attached | subjected, However, The scope of the present invention limits this invention especially in the following description. As long as there is no description of the effect, it is not restricted to these aspects.

  1 to 6 are diagrams showing an embodiment of an image processing apparatus and an image processing system according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an image processing to which an embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing system according to the present invention is applied. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a system 1. FIG.

  In FIG. 1, in an image processing system 1, a host apparatus 10 and an image forming apparatus (image processing apparatus) 20 are connected to a network (communication line) NW, and the network NW is connected to the Internet (communication line) INT. Yes. Although not shown, the Internet INT includes an operation related information providing apparatus that provides software such as a printer driver and a utility necessary for the host apparatus 10 to operate the image forming apparatus 20 and other necessary information as operation related information. It is connected.

  The host device 10 uses, for example, a personal computer having an input unit such as a display, a keyboard, and a mouse in a normal hardware configuration, and includes a portable recording medium recording control unit 11. The software configuration includes a printer driver 12, an application 13, an OS (Operating System) 14, and the like.

  The host device 10 has various applications (application software) 13 such as document creation software, graphic creation software, spreadsheet software, database software, etc. mounted on the OS 14, and documents (image data) created by these applications 13. ) Is issued from the application 13, the image data is transferred to the printer driver 12 through the OS 14.

  As the printer driver 12, a driver corresponding to each image forming apparatus 20 connected to the network NW is installed. The printer driver 12 is a print suitable for the image forming apparatus 20 that prints image data from the application 13. The data is converted into data and transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20.

  As will be described later, the printer driver 12 is downloaded and installed from the operation related information providing apparatus based on the operation related information acquisition information.

  That is, in the host device 10, when a portable recording medium in which operation-related information acquisition information is written by an image forming apparatus 20 to be described later is loaded into the portable recording medium loading unit, the portable recording medium recording control unit 11 Reads the operation related information acquisition information recorded on the recording medium, downloads the operation related information from the operation related information providing device based on the operation related information acquisition information, installs the downloaded operation related information, and sets the setting processing. Do.

  The image forming apparatus 20 includes a system operation control unit 21, a host I / F unit 22, an operation panel input control unit 23, an operation panel display control unit 24, a portable recording medium recording control unit 25, a device specific information holding unit 26, a device setting. An information holding unit 27, an apparatus log information holding unit 28, and the like, a print engine unit, an operation panel, and the like, and a recording medium mounting unit on which a portable recording medium (not shown) is detachably mounted Is provided. Examples of portable recording media include card types such as smart media, compact flash (CF: registered trademark), multimedia card (MMC), SD card (Secure Digital: SD), and memory stick (Memory Stick: MS). USB memory such as a stick-type memory, DVD (Digital Video Disk), CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), and CD-RW (Compact Disc Rewritable), and a portable hard disk (HDD) are used.

  In the image forming apparatus 20, under the control of the system operation control unit 21, the host I / F unit 22 receives a print request and print data from the network NW, and the print engine unit actually performs print processing. The print engine unit uses, for example, an electrophotographic print engine, and is a component necessary for recording and outputting an image on a recording paper by an electrophotographic method using a laser, such as a photoconductor and an optical writing unit. , A developing unit, a charging unit, a cleaning unit, and the like. The print engine unit operates the optical writing unit based on the print data received from the print control unit to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor, and the developing unit supplies toner to the photoconductor for development. To form a toner image. The print engine unit feeds a recording sheet from the sheet feeding unit between the photosensitive member and the transfer unit, transfers the toner image on the photosensitive member to the recording sheet, and transfers the recording sheet on which the toner image is transferred. The image is formed by conveying to the fixing unit and fixing the toner image on the recording paper by heating and pressing in the fixing unit.

  An operation panel is connected to the operation panel input control unit 23 and the operation panel display control unit 24, and the operation panel performs various operations such as a numeric keypad and a start key, which are necessary for the image forming apparatus 20 to perform various operations. It has a key and a display (for example, a liquid crystal display).

  The operation panel input control unit 23 monitors various input operations on the operation panel under the control of the system operation control unit 21 and notifies the system operation control unit 21 of the input operation result.

  The operation panel display control unit 24, under the control of the system operation control unit 21, information corresponding to various operation contents input and operated on the operation panel and various information notified from the image forming apparatus 20 to the operator, particularly operations described later. Various types of information related to the process of writing the related information acquisition information to the portable recording medium and the update process of the operation related information are displayed on the display of the operation panel.

  Under the control of the system operation control unit 21, the portable recording medium recording control unit 25 reads information recorded on the portable recording medium mounted on the recording medium mounting unit and writes information on the portable recording medium. Do.

  The device unique information holding unit 26 stores information unique to the image forming apparatus 20, for example, information unique to the image forming apparatus 20 such as the name and model number of the image forming apparatus 20 as a device. The apparatus 10 is connected to an operation related information providing apparatus that provides various software such as a printer driver and utility software necessary for using the image forming apparatus 20 via the network NW and other necessary information as operation related information. Operation related information acquisition information such as URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information for downloading the operation related information from the operation related information providing apparatus, printer driver name, utility software name, printer driver and utility software download page information, etc. It is recorded.

  The device setting information holding unit 27 performs various setting states in operation of the image forming apparatus 20 (for example, setting information when using the image processing apparatus 20 such as paper feed tray destination information, paper discharge tray destination information, and image quality). System initial setting information, version information of driver software set in the image processing apparatus 20, particularly various setting information of network setting information necessary for the host apparatus 10 to use the image forming apparatus 20 via the network NW Is remembered.

  In the device log information holding unit 28, log information (history information) indicating the operation state of the image forming apparatus 20 is written by the system operation control unit 21, and the written log information is read as necessary.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the image processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, when a portable recording medium is mounted on the recording medium mounting unit of the image forming apparatus 20 and an operation to write writing information is instructed from the operation panel, the image forming apparatus 20 Necessary for the apparatus 10 to acquire operation-related information including software such as a printer driver and utility and other necessary information necessary for using the image forming apparatus 20 via the network NW from the operation-related information providing apparatus. The operation related information acquisition information or the like is written as write information on the portable recording medium.

  That is, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires operation-related information including software such as a printer driver and a utility necessary for the host apparatus 10 to use the image forming apparatus 20 via the network NW and other necessary information. Operation-related information acquisition information necessary for the image forming apparatus 20 is stored in advance in the device-specific information holding unit 26, and various setting states in operation of the image forming apparatus 20 and the host apparatus 10 are connected to the image forming apparatus 20 via the network NW. Network setting information necessary for use is stored in the device setting information holding unit 27, and log information of the image forming apparatus 20 is accumulated in the device log information holding unit 28. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the system operation control unit 21 is instructed to write the write information from the operation panel (step S <b> 101), the system operation control unit 21 checks whether the portable recording medium is mounted on the recording medium mounting unit. (Step S102).

  In step S102, when the portable recording medium is not attached to the recording medium attachment unit, the system operation control unit 21 cannot write the writing information such as the operation related information acquisition information to the portable recording medium. Therefore, a guidance display is displayed on the display of the operation panel via the operation panel display control unit 24, such as prompting the user to prepare for the portable recording medium or not installing the portable recording medium, and the process is terminated (step S103). ).

  When the portable recording medium is loaded in the recording medium loading unit in step S102, the system operation control unit 21 holds the device unique information of the device unique information holding unit 26, particularly the operation related information acquisition information and the device setting information. The device setting information of the unit 27 and / or the operation log information (operation history information) of the device log information holding unit 28 is acquired as writing information (step S104), and the acquired writing information is converted into text data ( In step S105, writing is performed on the portable recording medium via the portable recording medium recording control unit 25, and the process ends (step S106).

  As the writing information, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the IP address of the operation-related information providing device that provides the driver and utility, the ID (Identity) of the image forming device 20, the download page information of the driver and utility software, etc. The operation-related information acquisition information consisting of the above is converted into text data in a data format in which the contents can be read, and written into a portable recording medium as IPaddress.txt and PCsoft.txt. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, not only the IPaddress.txt and PCsoft.txt which are the operation related information acquisition information of FIG. 3, but also the setting information and log information of the image forming apparatus 20 can be read. Convert to text data as the data format and write it to the portable recording media as Config.txt and Log.txt.

  As described above, in the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 20 is detachably mounted on the recording medium mounting unit, the external host apparatus 10 connected via the network NW. Motion-related information acquisition information for acquiring the motion-related information via the Internet INT from the motion-related information providing device that provides the motion-related information necessary for the user to use the image forming apparatus 20 on the portable recording medium. I am writing.

  Therefore, even when a CD or the like on which operation-related information such as driver software is recorded is lost, the image forming apparatus 20 does not include a large-capacity memory (storage means) that stores the operation-related information itself. The host device 10 can easily and easily acquire necessary operation-related information from the operation-related information providing device based on the operation-related information acquisition information of the portable recording medium, and can use the image processing device 20 at a low cost. And the usability can be improved easily.

  Further, in the image forming system 1 of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 carries setting information such as communication setting information for the host apparatus 10 to use the image forming apparatus 20 via the network NW as writing information. Writing on the mold recording media.

  Accordingly, settings for using the image forming apparatus 20 can be performed easily and easily, and usability can be further improved.

  Furthermore, in the image forming system 1 of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 writes the operation history information (operation log information) of the image forming apparatus 20 as write information on the portable recording medium.

  Therefore, when a trouble such as a failure occurs in the image forming apparatus 20, the cause of the trouble can be analyzed appropriately and easily based on the operation log information of the portable recording medium.

  Further, in the image forming system 1 of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 writes the write information on the portable recording medium in a text format that is a data format whose contents can be read.

  That is, normally, since it is not intended for disclosure, writing to the portable recording medium is performed in a data format in a free format according to the intention of the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 20. And just believe that it does not contain inappropriate data.

  Therefore, by writing the writing information in a portable recording medium in a text format that is a user-readable data format, the user can browse and recognize the contents of the writing information, and there is inappropriate information In the case, it can respond appropriately.

  In writing the write information to the portable recording medium, the write information is written in a data format that can be read by the user. However, the write information may be encrypted and written. In this case, the image forming apparatus 20 may read the writing information such as operation-related information from the device specific information holding unit 26 and the like and encrypt it when writing it on the portable recording medium. The written write information may be encrypted, or the encrypted write information may be decrypted.

  Hereinafter, the case where the write information already written on the portable recording medium is encrypted will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the image forming apparatus 20 is instructed to encrypt / restore the writing information from the operation panel (step S <b> 201), is the portable recording medium attached to the recording medium attachment unit? Check (step S202).

  In step S202, when the portable recording medium is not attached to the recording medium attachment unit, the system operation control unit 21 cannot encrypt / decrypt related information of the portable recording medium. A guidance display for prompting the preparation of the portable recording medium is displayed on the display of the operation panel via the control unit 24, and the process is terminated (step S203).

  In step S202, when the portable recording medium is mounted on the recording medium mounting unit, the system operation control unit 21 displays a message for instructing password input on the display of the operation panel via the operation panel display control unit 24. (Step S204), it is checked whether an appropriate password has been input (Step S205).

  If an appropriate password is not input in step S205, it is determined that the operation is not performed by a person having an appropriate authority, and the system operation control unit 21 appropriately displays the operation panel display via the operation panel display control unit 24. A password is not input and guidance information indicating that the writing information cannot be encrypted / decrypted is displayed, and the process is terminated (step S206).

  When an appropriate password is input in step S205, the system operation control unit 21 operates the portable recording medium recording control unit 25 to write information (recording) from the portable recording medium attached to the recording medium attachment unit. Data) is read (step S207), the read write information is encrypted or decrypted by a predetermined encryption method / decryption method (step S208), and the encrypted or decrypted write information is portable. The processing is terminated after writing on the recording medium (step S209). In the case of encryption, for example, in the case of write information consisting of four files of IPaddress.txt, PCsoft.txt, Config.txt and Log.txt shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. Encrypt all files in one file.

  When the write information is introduced into the host device 10, the encrypted write information of the portable recording medium is decrypted by the encryption / decryption process and then introduced into the host device 10. .

  In the above description, the authority for encryption / decryption of write information is confirmed by a password. However, the authority for encryption / decryption of write information is not limited to a password. Any method can be used as long as it can confirm the authority appropriately.

  When the writing information is encrypted and written to the portable recording medium in this way, for example, leakage of the writing information or falsification of the writing information in the transport route of the portable recording medium can be prevented. Can be improved. In particular, not only the setting information of the image forming apparatus 20 as a device, but also log information that is a favorable material for analysis when a device trouble occurs is important for acquiring device information, but such information leaks. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the leakage properly by encrypting the writing information and recording it on the portable recording medium as described above.

  In addition, since the password is confirmed at the time of encryption / decryption of the write information, it is possible to more reliably prevent the write information from being leaked or tampered with by a third party, Safety can be further improved.

  In each of the above descriptions, the motion related information acquisition information for acquiring motion related information is written on the portable recording medium. However, the image forming apparatus 20 downloads the motion related information itself from the motion related information providing device. Thus, it may be written as write information on a portable recording medium.

  In this way, it is possible to save the trouble of the host device 10 downloading the motion related information from the motion related information providing device, and the usability can be further improved.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  The present invention can be applied to general image processing apparatuses and image processing systems such as printers, facsimile machines, and scanners that can appropriately and easily set operation-related information necessary for operation execution.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an image processing system to which an embodiment of an image processing apparatus and an image processing system of the present invention is applied. 3 is a flowchart showing write information writing processing by the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. The figure which shows an example of the write information written by the write-information write process of FIG. The figure which shows an example of the writing information written in a text format by the writing information writing process of FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing write information encryption / decryption processing by the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. The figure which shows an example of the write information encrypted by the write information encryption / decryption processing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing system 10 Host apparatus 11 Portable recording media recording control part 12 Printer driver 13 Application 14 OS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Image forming apparatus 21 System operation control part 22 Host I / F part 23 Operation panel input control part 24 Operation panel display control part 25 Portable recording medium recording control part 26 Equipment specific information holding part 27 Equipment setting information holding part 28 Equipment log information Holding unit NW network INT Internet

Claims (7)

  In an image processing apparatus that executes predetermined image processing on image data input from the outside and is detachably mounted with a recording medium, when the recording medium is mounted, the image data is connected via a predetermined communication line. Operation-related information acquisition information for acquiring the operation-related information via a predetermined communication line from an operation-related information providing apparatus that provides operation-related information necessary for an external host device to use the image processing apparatus. An image processing apparatus, wherein writing information is written to the recording medium.   Performs predetermined image processing on image data input from the outside, and an image processing apparatus in which a recording medium is detachably mounted, and is connected to the image processing apparatus through a predetermined communication line. An image processing system comprising: a host device that delivers image data to perform image processing; and when the recording medium is loaded, the image processing device uses the image processing device when the recording device is loaded. The operation related information acquisition information for acquiring the operation related information from the operation related information providing device that provides the necessary operation related information via a predetermined communication line is written in the recording medium as write information. When the recording medium on which the write information is written is loaded, the operation related information acquisition information is read from the recording medium to acquire the operation related information. Image processing system and acquires the operation-related information from the operation-related information providing apparatus based on the broadcast.   2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the host apparatus also writes communication setting information for using the image processing apparatus via the communication line as the write information on the recording medium. An image processing apparatus or an image processing system according to claim 2.   The image processing apparatus or image processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image processing apparatus writes operation history information of the image processing apparatus as the write information in the recording medium. system.   The image processing device acquires the motion related information from the motion related information providing device via a predetermined communication line based on the motion related information acquisition information, and uses the acquired motion related information as the write information. 5. The image processing apparatus or image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus or the image processing system is written on a recording medium.   6. The image processing apparatus or image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus writes the write information in the recording medium in a data format in which the contents can be read. . 6. The image processing apparatus or image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus encrypts the writing information using a predetermined encryption method and writes the encrypted information on the recording medium. .

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