JP2010153980A - Image scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network scanner allowing a user to know whether printing is successful or unsuccessful even if the user returns to his/her seat when printing processing is performed from the network scanner to a network printer, and capable of reprinting without transmission of image data again even when an error occurs. <P>SOLUTION: Image data is transmitted to a printer on a network through the network. A printing result message is created based on the printing result obtained from the printer, and is transmitted to an address input upon setup. In a printing failure, compressed image data is attached to the printing result message. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads image information of a document, a method for controlling the image reading apparatus, and a program for executing the control method.

  In recent years, network scanners and network printers that can communicate on a network have become widespread. The network scanner can be shared by multiple users without changing the connection, reads image data from a document, and sends the acquired image data to a mail server, shared personal computer, FTP server, printer, etc. via the network be able to. The network printer can execute printing via a plurality of personal computers and workstations. As described above, these apparatuses are often installed in an office or the like and are often shared by a plurality of users.

When an error such as out of paper or paper jam occurs in the printer during printing, an error message is usually displayed on the main body panel of the network printer, and the printing process is interrupted. However, when the user scans a small amount of documents, he / she goes to the place where the printer is installed after the scanning process is completed, and thus cannot recognize a printing error immediately after reading.

In such an environment where multiple users share a network scanner or network printer, when a user performs a printing process from the network scanner, it can be recognized at the installation position of the network scanner that an error has occurred during the printing process. As described above, there is a technique for displaying an error on the network scanner (see, for example, Patent Document 1). With such a technique, a user who reads a small amount of a document can know the occurrence of a printing error on the display unit of the scanner immediately after scanning.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-088888

However, when the amount of originals to be read is large, it takes time until all the printing processes are completed. Thus, for the user who has left the installation location of the scanner and returned to his / her seat, the error is displayed on the network scanner in this way. Then, you can not notice the printing error. In addition, it is not known at the person's seat that the printing process has been completed, and it is necessary to wait for a while or wait until printing is completed at the printer installation location, resulting in unnecessary waiting time. Furthermore, when the printing process is performed again, the user needs to return to the network scanner installation location and retransmit the image data from the network scanner to the network printer. In order to enable such retransmission, the network scanner must hold the image data until the user confirms the error when an error occurs, and other users cannot use the network scanner.

The object of the present invention is to solve at least one of the above-mentioned problems.

In order to achieve the above object, an image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image from a document, a unit that transmits image data of the read image to a printer on the network, and an e-mail address. Address input means for input, e-mail transmission means for sending e-mail to the address input by the address input means through a network, print result acquisition means for acquiring a print result from the printer on the network, and the printing Print result message creating means for creating a print result message based on the print result obtained by the result obtaining means, and the image data is transmitted to the printer on the network, and then the print result is obtained and created. The print result message is sent by the address input means. And transmits the force address.

Further, the control method of the image reading apparatus of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image from a document,
A control method for controlling an image reading apparatus having means for transmitting image data of a read image to a printer on the network through the network, the address input step for inputting an e-mail address, and the address input step through the network An e-mail transmission step for sending an e-mail to the address input by the step, a print result acquisition step for acquiring a print result from the printer on the network, and a print result based on the print result acquired by the print result acquisition step A print result message creating step for creating a message, and after the image data is transmitted to the printer on the network, the print result message created by acquiring the print result is input by the address input step It is characterized by sending to an address .

The computer program of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image from a document,
A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling an image reading apparatus having means for transmitting image data of a read image to a printer on the network through a network, an address input step for inputting an e-mail address; An e-mail transmission step for transmitting an e-mail to the address input by the address input step through the network, a print result acquisition step for acquiring a print result from the printer on the network, and a print acquired by the print result acquisition step A print result message creating step for creating a print result message based on the result, and after sending the image data to the printer on the network, acquiring the print result and creating the print result message Input by input process And the address, and transmits by the electronic mail transmission process.
It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, when the image data is sent from the network scanner to the network printer for printing, an e-mail is created with the print result message from the printer as the mail text and sent to the user's personal computer. Therefore, even if the user returns to his / her seat, he / she can notice the end of the printing process, a printing error, etc., and there is no wasted time waiting until the printing is completed at the printer installation location. Can be improved.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic form of a network scanning system using a network scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network scanner 100 has a network interface, and 500 is a built-in local area network (simply called a network) such as the well-known Ethernet (registered trademark). A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 101 connected to the network 500 is used by individual users. The network printer 102 has a network interface, receives print data transmitted from a PC or workstation via a network, and prints on a sheet using a known printing technique. The mail server 103 has a network interface, and transmits and receives electronic mail via the network.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the network scanner 100. A CPU 201 controls the entire apparatus, and a ROM 202 stores a boot program, a BIOS, and the like. The RAM 203 is used for loading and executing the OS and applications executed by the CPU 201. It is also used as a work area. Furthermore, a touch panel 204, a liquid crystal display controller 205, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) 206 are provided. In this embodiment, the touch panel employs a pressure-sensitive type composed of a transparent sheet and is provided on the front surface of the LCD 206. From the touch panel 204, it is possible to input reading settings, an instruction to start reading, designation of a print printer, print settings, and the like. The network interface 200 is an interface for connecting to the network 500, and the hard disk device 207 can store an OS and a scanning application and can temporarily store images. An image reading unit 208 reads an image with a set value input using the touch panel 204.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of control performed by the CPU 201 in the present embodiment, FIG. 4 is an example of a user interface (UI) screen of the network scanner in the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an email notifying the printing result from the printer in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an example of a UI screen for confirming print settings in this embodiment.

First, the CPU 201 of the network scanner 100 performs a process of accepting display of the UI screen of FIG. 4 and input of various settings (step S300). The UI screen in FIG. 4 has a reading condition setting unit (400) and a printer setting unit (401). Using the touch panel 204, the user can input a reading condition setting unit (400) for reading settings such as black and white, gray, and color, and other reading settings such as paper size, reading surface, resolution, and file format. . Also, printer settings including whether to specify a printer to perform print processing and whether to send a print processing response message of the printer by e-mail can be input to the printer setting unit (401) using the touch panel 204 by a user operation. . When setting to notify the printer print processing response message by e-mail, the user sets the check box (402) of the printer setting section (401) to ON, and the destination address is also the edit box (403). The user inputs using the touch panel 204 or the like. CPU201 receives operation by the user who inputs such various settings at Step S300.

Thereafter, when the CPU 201 recognizes that an instruction to start reading by the user is input using the touch panel 204 or the like (YES in step S301), the CPU 201 instructs the image reading unit 208 to read a document in step S302. . If the image reading is normally performed (YES in step S303), it is determined whether reading of all the originals has been completed (step S304). If an error such as a paper jam occurs during image reading (NO in step S303), image reading is stopped (step S306) and an error message is displayed (step S307). When an operation indicating that the error message has been confirmed is input by the user using the touch panel 204 or the like (YES in step S308), the process returns to step S301, and the CPU 201 again enters a standby state for waiting for an image reading instruction.

If all the originals have not been read in step S304, the process returns to step S302, and the CPU 201 controls to repeat reading until all the images have been read. If all the images have been read, the process advances to step S305, and the CPU 201 performs control to end the image reading. When the CPU 201 determines that transmission to the printer is selected using the touch panel 204 or the like by the user who has confirmed that the read image is normal on the display screen after the network scanner 100 finishes reading all images (step S309). The CPU 201 of the network scanner 100 makes preparations for transmitting the read image data to the network printer 102 (step S310).

On the other hand, when the CPU 201 determines that the user who has confirmed the read image on the display screen has selected using the touch panel 204 or the like not to send the image to the printer for reasons such as not being read normally (NO in step S309), again. In order to be able to read an image of the same document or to read another document, the process returns to step S300, and a process for receiving a reading setting, a printer setting, and the like is performed again.

When the CPU 201 determines in step S309 that transmission of image data has been selected by the user, the user is prompted to confirm again the settings for whether to send the print result by mail and the printer settings including the mail destination address. The CPU 201 displays a UI screen as shown in FIG. 6 (step S310).

The UI screen in FIG. 6 displays a check box 601 for notifying the user of a response message for the printing process from the printer by e-mail, and an edit box 602 for inputting a destination address. In step S300, the input value when the user inputs from the touch panel or the like is displayed on the printer setting unit 401, and the user can confirm the transmission destination address of the image data for printing. If the user wishes to change the destination address, the user can enter the destination address in the edit box 602 by pressing the change button 603 on the screen displayed in step S310 so that the destination address can be changed.

If the CPU 201 of the network scanner 100 determines that the user who has confirmed the printer setting has pressed the OK button (YES in step S310a), the CPU 201 transmits image data for printing and waits until the print result from the network printer 102 can be acquired. (Step S311) When the print result is acquired, the process proceeds to Step S312.

When it is determined that the user has set to notify the print processing response message from the network printer 102 by e-mail (YES in step S312), and the print processing response message is an error notification (YES in step S313) The read image data is compressed (step S314), the compressed file is attached to the notification mail (step S315), and a message such as 502 in FIG. The notification mail is transmitted to the mail server 103 (step S317) with the body of the e-mail address input in step S310 as the address of the notification mail transmission destination (step S316). Thereafter, the read image data is deleted from the memory of the network scanner 100 (step S318), and the process ends.

If the print processing response message is not an error in step S313, the processing in steps S314 and S315 is skipped, and a message such as 501 in FIG. 5 created from the printer print processing response message in step S316 is notified. A notification mail is created with the destination of the e-mail input in step S310 as the transmission destination address, the notification mail is transmitted to the mail server 103 (step S317), and the read image data is stored in the memory of the network scanner 100. It deletes from inside (step S318), and complete | finishes a process.

On the other hand, if the CPU 201 determines in step S312 that the response message from the network printer 102 is not set by the user, the read image data is deleted from the memory of the network scanner 100 (step S318). The process is terminated as it is.

In the present embodiment, a printer connected directly to a network such as a LAN as an example of a printer on the network has been described as an example. However, as shown in FIG. 7, a personal computer connected to a network such as a LAN is used. It is assumed that the printer on the network includes a shared printer when the printer 104 is connected and the printer is set to be shared.

Further, the image reading apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a network scanner, and may be one in which a scanner is connected to a personal computer connected to a network such as a LAN. In this case, software executed on the personal computer corresponds to the program of the present invention.

In this way, in a system that performs printing processing from a network scanner to a network printer, even if an error occurs in printing processing by notifying a printing result message from the printer to the user's personal computer, the user who returns to his / her desk immediately Thus, it is possible to detect an error, prevent waiting for the end of printing unnecessarily, and improve the processing efficiency of the printing process from the network scanner.

Also, when sending image data to the printer is specified, if the address for sending the print result message from the printer is confirmed, sending the print result message to the wrong address is prevented. Can do. Further, when the print processing fails, if the configuration is such that the print result message from the printer is written in the body of the e-mail sent to the user's personal computer, how the print processing failed on which printer, etc. Can be clearly understood.

In addition, if the configuration is such that image data that has failed in the printing process is attached to the e-mail, the printing process may be executed again from the user's personal computer using the attached image data even when the user returns to his / her seat. it can. Furthermore, by using compressed image data as the image data attached to the e-mail, it is possible to prevent the attached file of the e-mail from becoming too large and to suppress the influence on the network traffic due to the transmission of the print result message. .

The figure which illustrates the image reading printing system containing the network scanner of this invention The block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the network scanner which is an Example of this invention Flow chart of control in network scanner of embodiment of the present invention The figure which illustrates UI screen in the network scanner of the Example of this invention The figure which illustrates the email which notifies the printing result from the printer in the network scanner of the Example of this invention 4 is a diagram illustrating a UI screen for confirming print settings in the network scanner according to the embodiment of this invention. FIG. The figure which illustrates other forms of the image reading printing system containing the network scanner of this invention

Explanation of symbols

100 Network Scanner 101 Personal Computer 102 Network Printer 113 Mail Server 500 Local Area Network 200 Network Interface 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 Touch panel 205 LCD controller 206 LCD
207 Hard disk device 208 Image reading unit 400 Reading condition setting unit 401 Printer setting unit 402 Mail notification selection check box 403 Mail address input edit box 601 Mail notification selection check box 602 Mail address input edit box 603 Address change button

Claims (6)

Image reading means for reading an image from a document;
Means for transmitting image data of a read image to a printer on the network via the network;
An address input means for inputting an e-mail address;
Email sending means for sending an email to the address input by the address input means through a network;
Print result acquisition means for acquiring a print result from the printer on the network;
Print result message creating means for creating a print result message based on the print result obtained by the print result obtaining means;
After sending the image data to the printer on the network,
An image reading apparatus that transmits the print result message created by acquiring the print result to an address input by the address input unit. Before sending the image data to the printer on the network,
2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for confirming an address for transmitting the print result message. Having a file attachment means for attaching image data as an attached file to an e-mail;
When the image data is transmitted to the printer on the network and the print result acquisition unit acquires a print result indicating a print error,
3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image data based on the transmitted image data is attached as an attached file to an e-mail for transmitting the print result message. Image compression means for compressing the read image data;
4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image data attached as the attached file is obtained by compressing image data based on the transmitted image data by the image compression unit. Image reading means for reading an image from a document;
A control method for controlling an image reading apparatus having means for transmitting image data of a read image to a printer on the network through a network,
An address input process for inputting an e-mail address;
An e-mail transmission step of transmitting an e-mail to the address input by the address input step through a network;
A print result acquisition step for acquiring a print result from the printer on the network;
A print result message creating step for creating a print result message based on the print result obtained by the print result obtaining step,
After sending the image data to the printer on the network,
A method for controlling an image reading apparatus, wherein the print result message created by acquiring the print result is transmitted to the address input by the address input step by the e-mail transmission step. Image reading means for reading an image from a document;
A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling an image reading apparatus having means for transmitting image data of a read image to a printer on the network through a network,
An address input process for inputting an e-mail address;
An e-mail transmission step of transmitting an e-mail to the address input by the address input step through a network;
A print result acquisition step for acquiring a print result from the printer on the network;
A print result message creating step for creating a print result message based on the print result obtained by the print result obtaining step,
After sending the image data to the printer on the network,
Causing the computer to execute a control method of the image reading apparatus, wherein the print result message created by acquiring the print result is transmitted to the address input by the address input step by the e-mail transmission step. program.

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