JP2007221709A - Network image input/output system and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide voice data or moving image data to be transferred on a VoIP network in a portable telephone whose diffusion is high in a system where data transfer and charging management is easily performed under a network environment where VoIP infrastructure is aligned by operating data communications by using an SIP calling method. <P>SOLUTION: This network image input/output system is provided with: an interface to be connected to an LAN line under an IP network environment; a call connecting means for communicating on a VoIP network; a communication means for performing data communications with a WWW portal site; a display; and a means for dealing with information for performing charging management and user authentication. The data stored in a WWW portal site is used for performing user authentication and charging management so that the browsing and output of data and the storage of data in the WWW portal site can be performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network image input / output system and an image forming apparatus capable of data communication with an IP network, a VoIP network (especially SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)), a WWW portal site, billing and user authentication management, an IP phone, and the like. About.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a home information network in which an information device group such as a printer and a scanner is connected to a home server via a wireless IF such as Bluetooth (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-31268 A

  Patent Document 1 is not an invention of a system in which a printer uses the degree of freedom of a communication protocol via various communication protocols, and has little relevance.

  With the recent widespread use of WWW browsers, PULL-type (type of browsing information extracted from a server, etc.) has become common, and such PULL-type communication infrastructure has real-time properties such as SIP. By adopting a call connection protocol, it has become possible to realize PUSH type communication (a type capable of transmitting information). With the spread of VoIP networks, attention has been focused on lowering communication costs. Billing management and user authentication are performed using prepaid cards, FeliCa cards, etc., and information can be browsed and input / output. It is becoming possible to handle personal information of a plurality of users on a terminal. The present invention has been made under such circumstances.

  An object of the present invention is to perform data transfer easily in a network environment where a VoIP (Voice over IP) infrastructure is prepared, for example, by performing data communication using a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) call connection. . In addition, unlike mail-attached transfer, it has real-time characteristics, and it is possible to confirm delivery of data transfer and exchange capabilities between terminals, so it is intended to perform more reliable communication adapted to the communication infrastructure. To do.

  In addition, the present invention conventionally outputs text data and image data to a recording medium such as paper, such as a facsimile or a printer. On the other hand, voice data, moving image data, and the like are also used in a network today. The present invention has been increasing the number of exchanges, and the present invention is capable of storing voice data and video data exchanged on a VoIP network in a mobile phone having a high penetration rate in a charge-managed system. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a network image input / output system according to claim 1 communicates on an interface for connecting to a LAN line in an IP (Internet Protocol) network environment and on a VoIP (Voice over IP) network. Providing a call connection means, a communication means for data communication with the WWW portal site, a display, and a means for handling information capable of charging management and user authentication, and storing data stored in the WWW portal site It is characterized in that data can be browsed, output, and stored in a WWW portal site by performing user authentication and billing management.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the network image input / output system according to the first aspect, the call connection means is call connection means compliant with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), and storage of browsed data and image output are performed. Without being output to the designated destination image output terminal.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the network image input / output system according to the first or second aspect, further comprising means capable of data communication with a mobile terminal including a mobile phone and a PDA, and voice data and moving image data with the VoIP network. It is possible to browse and store data in the mobile terminal.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus usable in the network image input / output system according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein data transmitted based on a request from a user is managed. Before or after the job for notifying the user terminal that the request from the user has been accepted when the user is authenticated from the SIP server. It has a function of executing a process of charging the user with a reward for executing the job.

  According to the network image input / output system according to claim 1, a user who has registered a service in advance performs user authentication and billing management using information such as a prepaid card or a FeliCa card. For example, a convenience store or the like By using this terminal that can temporarily use the multifunction device installed in the terminal as a user-dedicated terminal, it is possible to easily and safely perform browsing, output, transfer, storage, etc. of personal data.

  According to the network image input / output system according to claim 2, since the SIP used for the communication protocol is used, the network image input / output system has real-time characteristics and performs communication using the infrastructure of the IP telephone network. As a result, the safety of transactions with communication partners can be ensured.

  According to the network image input / output system according to claim 3, since audio data and moving image data can be stored in a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA, even if the data format cannot be output to paper. It is possible to perform billing management and distribute data to individuals.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it can be used as a data storage server for the user or a server that can be taken out at any time without carrying around while securing a supply destination such as a catalog. Costs that are reasonable for the global environment can also be expected.

  The network image input / output system of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in an IP network environment, an SIP server 2 that performs address resolution, access control, bandwidth management, registration processing, etc. of a VoIP network, and a VoIP gateway 3 that mediates between the network and a public line A WWW portal site (database) 4 for storing data is connected. As a communication terminal, a network image input / output device 1 that can be suitably used in the system of the present invention, and a PC (Personal Computer) 5, a mobile phone 6, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) 7, and the like can communicate with each other. It is a connected configuration.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention has a function of managing and storing, transferring, or printing out data transmitted based on a request from a user. Preferably, the user authentication is performed from a SIP server. If the request is received from the user, the user terminal is notified via the user terminal, the data is saved, the data is transferred, or the data is printed in response to the user request. It has a function of executing a process of charging a user with a reward for executing a job before or after the job.

  A network image input / output device 1 that can be suitably used in the system of the present invention has a function capable of communicating with the server 2 via a network, and purchases a prepaid card and replenishes a non-contact IC card including a FeliCa card. Thus, it is possible to register in the server (SIP server 2) in advance preferably as a user. When the user inputs an ID such as a prepaid card or a FeliCa card into the device, the device is the network image input / output device 1, SIP-compatible multifunction device 1 ', IP mobile phone, which is the current registration location with respect to the server (SIP server 2). 6. At least an IP address and a user name are registered from a model capable of performing a communication function via a VoIP network such as PDA7.

  In this registration process, it is preferable that digest authentication or the like is performed so that a user who has been registered in the server in advance can use it.

  When the user authentication is successful, information (text data, still image, etc.) addressed to the user is displayed on a display or the like equipped in the network image input / output device. In addition, at the time of service registration, a mobile phone or PC (Personal Computer) e-mail address or the like is registered in advance when data is delivered to the user, and a notification (notification email) is sent to the registered mobile phone or PC. Is notified of this.

  By the means described above, the user can browse information addressed to individuals. The browsing may be a thumbnail display or may be displayed in full size. Also, browsing may be either paid or free. FIG. 3 shows an example of such browsed information displayed on the display, and the user can transfer or save such browsed data.

  The system configuration of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment. The server registered by the network image input / output device is a SIP server (including a SIP server) compliant with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). When the network image input / output device registers a user, the SIP REGISTER method is used. It is possible to register an IP address dynamically. In addition, when the user logs off, it is also possible to perform control so that the user registration is deleted and data is not disclosed to the terminal that has been used in accordance with SIP call control. For data transfer, a data transfer channel is established by SIP call control, and a destination can be specified by at least a numerical input (such as a telephone number). Further, a SIP-URI user name may be used.

  As described in the first and second embodiments, the data to be handled is text data or still images. However, in this embodiment, even the voice data by the IP phone is used for the moving image data. Can be used in addition to other data. Further, as a means for outputting audio data or moving image data, a file once stored in a mobile phone, a PDA, or the like may be used. In order to store these data, the data may be transferred via an interface cable as a data transfer means, or may be transferred using Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like. In this case, it is assumed that charging is performed according to the data size or the packet size, and the charging amount is calculated as appropriate.

  The system of the present invention is a system connected via a communication form such as LAN or WAN or a communication network of a general public line. However, a prepaid card or the like such as FeliCa (registered trademark) with a low risk of billing processing is used. By using a card system with high transaction safety with a contactless card, user authentication and billing processing can be performed safely.

  In the system of the present invention, processing is performed according to the processing procedure shown in the flowchart as shown in FIG. That is, the user registers data in the destination image forming apparatus for which the user registration has been performed through a terminal or the like (step S201). Then, when necessary, that is, when the user wants to output registered data, the user inputs necessary items and requests data output to an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus determines whether or not the requested data to be output is registered or sent, and sends the determination result to the user terminal (PDA or IP mobile phone) (step S202). A user opens a mail or a file that is a result sent from a specific image forming apparatus, and if printing is possible, inputs necessary data by a reader via a prepaid card or a card such as FeliCa. (Step 203). The input data from the user is confirmed on the image forming apparatus side that the user authentication is performed via the SIP server and the user authentication is performed via the VoIP network (step S204). In addition, for the confirmed user, the image forming apparatus prints data from the user, notifies the user through the user terminal that the printing has been performed, and executes a billing process (step). S205). On the image forming apparatus side, the user side also has a function as a storage base for storing data from the user or a server base such as a mail server.

  In the system configuration shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus is configured to include the SIP-compatible MFP 1 ′ and the network image input / output device 1, but an example in which this is operated as one MFP is shown in FIG. It was shown to.

  In addition, the relationship between the SIP-compatible multifunction peripheral 1 ′ and the network image input / output device 1 can be a sub relationship with the host. For example, unless the SIP-compatible multifunction peripheral 1 ′ is set as the host, the network image input / output device 1 is set as the sub, and the notification indicating whether the user authentication is possible is not received by the host-side SIP-compatible multifunction peripheral 1 ′, the sub network image is displayed. The host may control the input / output device 1 so that the data cannot be transmitted or output. Then, either the host or the sub can be separated from the user terminal, and the system can be kept as a safe system from cyber terrorism.

  In the present invention, the SIP compatible multifunction peripheral 1 ′ and the network image input / output apparatus 1 may adopt a work sharing method. For example, when one of the SIP-compatible multifunction peripheral 1 ′ and the network image input / output device 1 is difficult to use, the user terminal confirms whether it is possible to instruct other devices to perform data management and data output. It is also possible to have a function to execute this after obtaining the confirmation. For example, in this case, the request from the user is managed by scheduling, and it can be controlled by either device that it has a function of confirming whether or not the time zone to be executed is already filled. It may be.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of this invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention and a user. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state of an operation screen sent to a user terminal by the image forming apparatus of the present invention or a state of an operation screen on the image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network image input / output device 1 'SIP compatible multifunction device 2 SIP server 3 VoIP gateway 4 Portal site 5 Personal computer 6 IP mobile phone 7 PDA (Personal Digital Assistance)

Claims (4)

  An interface for connecting to a LAN line under an IP (Internet Protocol) network environment, a call connection means for communicating on a VoIP (Voice over IP) network, a communication means for data communication with a WWW portal site, A display and means for handling information capable of charging management and user authentication. By managing user authentication and charging of data stored in the WWW portal site, data browsing, output, and access to the WWW portal site are performed. A network image input / output system characterized by enabling data storage.   The call connection means is a call connection means compliant with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), and can be output and transmitted to an image output terminal of a specified destination without storing browsed data and outputting an image. The network image input / output system according to claim 1.   2. A means capable of data communication with a mobile terminal including a mobile phone and a PDA, wherein voice data and moving image data with a VoIP network can be browsed and stored in the mobile terminal. Or the network image input / output system according to 2;   4. An image forming apparatus usable in the network image input / output system according to claim 1, wherein data transmitted based on a request from a user is managed, stored, transferred, and printed. A function to output, and when the user is authenticated from the SIP server, a reward for executing the job is given to the user before or after the job that notifies the user terminal that the request from the user has been accepted. An image forming apparatus having a function of executing a process for charging a fee.

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