JP2011109596A - Image reading condition setting program and image reading condition setting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reading condition setting program that prevents a situation where image data acquired by reading a document image by an image reader are not properly input to software, to enable efficient user operation. <P>SOLUTION: The image reading condition setting program makes a computer execute: a procedure for recognizing the software to receive data acquired by reading the document image by the image reader; a procedure for reading information on the size of the image data which are stored in a memory associated with the recognized software and input to the software; and a procedure for limiting the range of the value to be set by the user to the setting items for setting the image reading condition of the image reader so that the size of the image data acquired by reading the document image by the image reader satisfies the size to be input to the software, based on the information on the data size. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading condition setting program and an image reading condition setting device. The present invention particularly relates to an image reading condition setting program and an image reading condition setting device used for setting an image reading condition of an image reading apparatus.

  When a paper document is read by a scanner, the read image is displayed by specific application software (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) running on the PC. In the image reading process, an original image data is generated by reading an original image by a scanner, and the generated image data is input to an application.

  However, the data size of image data that can be received by the application is limited. For this reason, when the data size of the image data obtained by reading the original image with the scanner is larger than the data size of the image data that can be received by the application, there is a problem that the image data is not normally input to the application. For example, image data obtained by a scanner reading a document image at a reading resolution of 1200 dpi is normally input to a specific application, but the image data obtained by the scanner reading a document image at a reading resolution of 2400 dpi is the same. Is not entered correctly in other applications.

  If the image data is not correctly input to the application, the user needs to change the image reading condition of the scanner so that image data with a smaller data size can be obtained, and cause the scanner to read the original image again. The work efficiency becomes worse.

  Therefore, in the operation of reading a document image using a scanner, it is possible to prevent a situation in which image data obtained by reading a document image from the scanner is not normally input to the application, thereby improving the user's work efficiency. It is hoped that.

  In Patent Document 1 below, from the viewpoint of improving user work efficiency, image data obtained by reading a document image with a scanner is temporarily stored in a storage device, and the data size of the image data is adjusted. Technology is disclosed. However, these techniques adjust the data size of the image data obtained by reading the original image with the scanner, and prevent the situation that the image data is not normally input to the application. It is not a thing.

JP 2002-330249 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent a situation in which image data obtained by reading an original image from an image reading apparatus from being normally input to software, and to enable an efficient operation of a user. An image reading condition setting program and an image reading condition setting device are provided.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  (1) A procedure (a) for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading an original image by an image reading device, and a storage unit associated with the software recognized in the procedure (a). A procedure (b) for reading out the stored information on the data size of the image data that can be input to the software, and the image reading device based on the information on the data size read out in the procedure (b) The user can set the setting items for setting the image reading conditions of the image reading device so that the data size of the image data obtained by reading the original image by the above becomes the data size that can be input to the software Image reading condition setting characterized by causing a computer to execute the step (c) for limiting a range of various setting values Program.

  (2) The image reading condition setting program according to (1) above, wherein the software is application software that starts the image reading condition setting program.

  (3) The image reading condition setting program according to (1) or (2), wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.

  (4) The image reading condition setting program according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the image reading condition setting program is a scanner driver.

  (5) A computer-readable recording medium on which the image reading condition setting program according to any one of (1) to (4) is recorded.

  (6) A procedure (a) for transferring image data obtained by reading an original image by an image reading device to software as an input destination of the image data, and the image data transferred in the procedure (a) The image reading by the user so that the data size of the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device becomes the data size that can be input to the software based on the success or failure of the input to the software. A procedure (b) for setting information relating to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, which is read when setting image reading conditions of the apparatus, and an image that can be input to the software set in the procedure (b) Information related to the data size of data is associated with the software in the storage unit from which the information is read Image reading condition setting program and instructions to be stored (c), characterized by causing a computer to execute the.

  (7) When the input of the image data to the software fails, in the step (b), based on the information regarding the data size of the image data that failed to be input to the software, Information regarding the data size of image data that can be input is set. The image reading condition setting program described in (6) above.

  (8) Step (d) of storing the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device in an image data storage unit, and when the input of the image data to the software fails, A procedure (e) for performing image processing on the image data stored in the image data storage unit to create image data having a data size smaller than the image data, and the image created in the procedure (e) The image reading condition setting program according to (6) or (7), further causing the computer to execute a step (f) of inputting data to the software.

  (9) A procedure (g) for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading a document image by the image reading device, and the storage associated with the software recognized in the procedure (g) The procedure (h) for reading out information relating to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, and the information relating to the data size read out in the procedure (h) (6), further causing the computer to execute a procedure (i) for restricting a range of setting values that can be set by a user for a setting item for setting an image reading condition of the reading device. The image reading condition setting program according to any one of to (8).

  (10) The image reading condition setting program according to (9), wherein the software is application software that starts the image reading condition setting program.

  (11) The image reading condition setting program according to (9) or (10), wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.

  (12) The image reading condition setting program according to any one of (6) to (11), wherein the image reading condition setting program is a scanner driver.

  (13) A computer-readable recording medium on which the image reading condition setting program according to any one of (6) to (12) is recorded.

  (14) A recognition unit for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading an original image by an image reading device, and the software recognized by the recognition unit and stored in the storage unit A reading unit that reads out information related to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, and a document image that is read by the image reading device based on the information related to the data size read out by the reading unit. Limiting the range of setting values that can be set by the user for the setting items for setting the image reading conditions of the image reading apparatus so that the data size of the image data becomes a data size that can be input to the software And an image reading condition setting device.

  (15) The image reading condition setting device according to (14), wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.

  (16) A transfer unit that transfers image data obtained by reading an original image by the image reading device to software that is an input destination of the image data, and the software of the image data transferred by the transfer unit Based on the success or failure of the input to the image, the user reads the image of the image reading device so that the data size of the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device becomes a data size that can be input to the software. A setting unit that sets information related to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, which is read when setting conditions, and information related to the data size of image data that can be input to the software set by the setting unit, A storage system for storing the information in association with the software in a storage unit from which the information is read Image reading condition setting apparatus and having a part, a.

  (17) If the input of the image data to the software fails, the setting unit can input to the software based on information on the data size of the image data that failed to be input to the software. The apparatus according to (16), wherein information relating to the data size of the correct image data is set.

  (18) An image data storage unit for storing the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device; and when the input of the image data to the software fails, the image data storage unit A creation unit that performs image processing on the stored image data and creates image data having a data size smaller than the image data; and the transfer unit is created by the creation unit The image reading condition setting device according to (16) or (17), wherein the image data is transferred to the software.

  (19) A recognition unit for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading an original image by the image reading device, and associated with the software recognized by the recognition unit and stored in the storage unit A reading unit that reads out information related to a data size of image data that can be input to the software, and sets image reading conditions of the image reading device based on the information related to the data size read out by the reading unit The image reading apparatus according to any one of (16) to (18), further including a restriction unit that restricts a range of setting values that can be set by a user with respect to setting items for Condition setting device.

  (20) The image reading condition setting device according to (19), wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.

  According to the present invention, the range of setting values that can be set by the user for the setting items for setting the image reading conditions of the image reading apparatus is limited according to the software that is the input destination of the image data. The image data having a data size larger than the data size that can be input to the software is prevented from being generated by the image reading device reading the document image. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the situation that the image data is not normally input to the software, and the user can change the image reading condition of the image reading device and perform the operation of causing the image reading device to read the original image again. Is prevented. In other words, the waste of the user's work in the original image reading work using the image reading apparatus is omitted, and the user's efficient work becomes possible.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the scanner shown by FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of PC shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the content of the hard disk shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the scan setting screen displayed on the display shown by FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the scanning condition restriction | limiting process in PC shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the reading condition setting part of the scan setting screen shown by FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a case where the data size of image data is limited by combining a plurality of setting items included in a reading condition setting unit of the scan setting screen illustrated in FIG. 5. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the scan setting information storage process in PC shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a 1st message dialog. It is a figure which shows an example of a 2nd message dialog.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading system according to the present embodiment includes a scanner 1 as an image reading device that reads a document image and generates image data, and an image reading condition setting device that sets image reading conditions of the scanner 1. As a PC 2. The scanner 1 and the PC 2 are connected via a network 3 so that they can communicate with each other.

  The network 3 includes various networks such as a LAN in which computers and network devices are connected according to standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI, or a WAN in which LANs are connected by a dedicated line. The type and number of devices connected to the network 3 are not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the scanner shown in FIG. The scanner 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an operation panel unit 14, a document reading unit 15, and a communication interface 16, which are connected to each other via a bus 17 for exchanging signals.

  The CPU 11 executes control of each part and various arithmetic processes according to a program. The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs and data as a work area.

  The operation panel unit 14 includes elements such as a touch panel, a numeric keypad, a start button, and a stop button, and is used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions.

  The document reading unit 15 applies light to a document set at a predetermined reading position with a light source such as a fluorescent lamp, photoelectrically converts the reflected light with a light receiving element such as a CCD image sensor or CIS, and converts the electric signal into an image. Data (bitmap data) is generated. In addition, the document reading unit 15 may include an automatic document feeder (ADF), whereby a plurality of documents can be transported one by one to a predetermined reading position by the ADF and sequentially read.

  The communication interface 16 is an interface for communicating with other devices such as the PC 2 via the network 3. In addition to a network interface based on standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI, a serial such as USB and IEEE1394. Various local connection interfaces such as interfaces, parallel interfaces such as SCSI and IEEE1284, wireless communication interfaces such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), IEEE802.11, HomeRF, and IrDA, and telephone line interfaces for connecting to telephone lines can be used. .

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the PC shown in FIG. The PC 2 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a hard disk 24, a display 25, an input device 26, and a communication interface 27, which are connected to each other via a bus 28 for exchanging signals. Of the parts of the PC 2, the parts having the same functions as those of the parts of the scanner 1 are not described in order to avoid duplication.

  The hard disk 24 stores various programs including an operating system and various data. The display 25 is a CRT or LCD, for example, and displays various information. The input device 26 is a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to perform various inputs.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of the hard disk shown in FIG. The hard disk 24 of the PC 2 is installed with a scanner driver for controlling the scanner 1 and various applications as input destinations of image data obtained by reading an original image by the scanner 1. The applications include a document creation application, an image processing application, and the like, and the data size of image data that can be received from the scanner 1 by each application is different for each application.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a scan setting screen displayed on the display shown in FIG. The scan setting screen is displayed on the display 25 of the PC 2 when the scanner driver is activated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the scan setting screen 100 is provided with a reading condition setting unit 110 for setting image reading conditions of the scanner 1. The reading condition setting unit 110 is provided with setting items such as a document size (reading size), a scan type (number of colors), a reading resolution, and a scale (magnification). The data size of the image data obtained by the scanner 1 reading the original image changes according to the setting value set for the setting item. For example, the larger the setting value of the reading resolution, the larger the data size of the image data. In addition, the color image has a larger data size than the monochrome image, and the larger the document size, the larger the data size of the image data. The larger the scale, the larger the data size of the image data.

  The scanner 1 and the PC 2 may each include a component other than the above components, or some of the above components may not be included.

  According to the image reading system of the present embodiment configured as described above, setting values that can be set by the user of the PC 2 for the setting items displayed on the scan setting screen 100 in accordance with the application that has activated the scanner driver. The options are limited. The operation of the image reading system according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of scan condition restriction processing in the PC shown in FIG. Note that the algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is stored as a program in the hard disk 24 of the PC 2 and executed by the CPU 21.

  As shown in FIG. 6, first, application information is acquired (step S101). In the present embodiment, based on a user operation, a scanner driver is invoked by a specific application (for example, Microsoft Word (registered trademark)) activated on the PC 2, and the scanner driver is activated. At this time, application information specifying the application that called the scanner driver is acquired. Note that the process itself of acquiring the application information of the application that has activated the scanner driver is a general application information acquisition process, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Subsequently, the registry information is read (step S102). In the present embodiment, the registry information of the hard disk 24 is read in order to determine whether or not the same application information as the application information acquired in the process shown in step S101 is included in the registry information. The registry stores a plurality of pieces of application information and a plurality of pieces of scan setting information associated with each piece of application information. The scan setting information includes resolution information indicating a resolution value of image data that cannot be input to the application.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the same application information exists in the registry (step S103). In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the registry information read in the process shown in step S102 includes the same application information as the application information acquired in the process shown in step S101.

  If it is determined that there is no identical application information in the registry (step S103: NO), the process proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is the same application information in the registry (step S103: YES), a setting value that can be set for a setting item on the driver user interface (hereinafter referred to as UI) is selected ( Step S104). Specifically, the scan setting information stored in the registry in association with the application information is read, and based on the read scan setting information, there are setting value options that can be set by the user for the setting item. Selected. The setting value options are selected so that the data size of the image data obtained by reading the original image with the scanner 1 is the data size that can be input to the application in which the scanner driver is activated. In the present embodiment, based on the resolution information included in the scan setting information, setting value options that can be set by the user for the reading resolution when the scanner 1 reads the document image are selected.

  Then, the driver UI is displayed (step S105), and the process is terminated. In the processing shown in step S103, if it is determined that there is no identical application information in the registry, it is determined that the scan setting information is not stored in the registry, and a setting value option that can be set by the user for the reading resolution A scan setting screen 100 that is not restricted is displayed on the display 25. On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing shown in step S103 that the same application information exists in the registry, the reading resolution is set based on the resolution information included in the scan setting information stored in the registry in association with the application. On the other hand, a scan setting screen 100 in which choices of setting values that can be set by the user are restricted is displayed on the display 25.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reading condition setting unit on the scan setting screen. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a case where the setting value options that can be set by the user with respect to the reading resolution are not limited, and FIG. 7B is a diagram in which the user can set the reading resolution. It is a figure which shows the case where the choice of a setting value is restrict | limited.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, on the scan setting screen 100 in which choices of setting values that can be set by the user with respect to the reading resolution are not limited, for example, the user sets all setting values of 4800 × 4800 dpi or less. It is possible to select.

  With such a configuration, for an application that cannot receive image data with a resolution of 2400 × 2400 dpi or higher, when the user scans an original image with the reading resolution of the scanner 1 set to 4800 × 4800 dpi, the original image is read by the scanner 1. The image data obtained by reading is not correctly input to the application. Therefore, the user needs to reset the reading resolution and repeat the operation of causing the scanner 1 to read the original image again, resulting in poor work efficiency.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, a setting value of 2400 × 2400 dpi or more can be selected on the scan setting screen 100 in which choices of setting values that can be set by the user with respect to the reading resolution are limited. In other words, the user can select only a set value of 1200 × 1200 dpi or less.

  According to such a configuration, for an application that cannot receive image data with a resolution of 2400 × 2400 dpi or higher, the options of the setting value of the reading resolution displayed on the scan setting screen 100 are limited in advance, so that the user can Selection of 2400 × 2400 dpi or 4800 × 4800 dpi as the set value is prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which image data is not normally input to the application due to an incorrect setting value selection by the user.

  As described above, according to the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the application that is the input destination of the image data is recognized, and according to the recognized application, the reading resolution when the scanner 1 reads the document image is determined. Options for setting values that can be set by the user are limited. Therefore, image data having a data size larger than the data size that can be input to the application is prevented from being generated by the scanner 1 reading the document image. As a result, the situation where the image data is not normally input to the application is prevented from occurring, and the user can perform efficient work.

  In the embodiment described above, the data size of the image data is limited by limiting the options of setting values that can be set by the user for the reading resolution in accordance with the application. However, the setting item for limiting the data size of the image data is not limited to the reading resolution, and may be another setting item.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a case where the data size of the image data is limited by combining a plurality of setting items included in the reading condition setting unit of the scan setting screen. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a case where the data size is limited by combining the reading resolution and the number of colors, and FIG. 8B is a case where the data size is limited by combining the reading resolution and the reading size. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the data size of the image data is reduced by changing the scan type of the scan setting screen 100 from color (True Color) to monochrome (B / W). On the other hand, options of setting values that can be set for the reading resolution are expanded. In this case, the prohibition process is performed so that the data size of the image data obtained by the combination of the setting values set for these setting items becomes the data size of the image data that can be input to the application. According to such a configuration, the data size of the image data can be set to a data size that can be input to the application without significantly reducing the resolution of the image data.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, changing the document size of the scan setting screen 100 from A4 to A5 can also change the data size of the image data without significantly reducing the resolution of the image data. The data size can be input to the.

  As described above, in the PC 2 according to the present embodiment, the setting value options that the user can set for the setting items displayed on the scan setting screen 100 are limited based on the scan setting information stored in the registry in advance. The processing is described. Hereinafter, the process of storing the scan setting information in the registry in the PC 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of scan setting information storage processing in the PC shown in FIG. The algorithm shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is stored as a program in the hard disk 24 of the PC 2 and is executed by the CPU 21.

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, image data is temporarily stored (step S201). In the present embodiment, image data is generated by the scanner 1 reading a document image, and the generated image data is temporarily stored in the RAM 23 of the PC 2.

  Subsequently, the image data is transferred to the application (step S202). In the present embodiment, the image data temporarily saved in the RAM 23 in the process shown in step S201 is transferred to the application that has activated the scanner driver.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether an error has occurred on the application side (step S203). If the data size of the image data transferred to the application in the process shown in step S202 is larger than the data size of the image data that can be input to the application, the image data is not normally input to the application and an error occurs.

  When it is determined that no error has occurred on the application side (step S203: NO), the process proceeds to step S208. On the other hand, when it is determined that an error has occurred on the application side (step S203: YES), a first message dialog is displayed (step S204). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, a first message dialog 200 that prompts the user to select whether to reduce the resolution and transfer the image data to the application again is displayed on the display 25.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the resolution of the image data is reduced and transferred to the application (step S205). When “Yes” in the first message dialog 200 is selected, it is determined that the resolution of the image data is lowered and transferred to the application. On the other hand, if “No” in the first message dialog 200 is selected, it is determined that the resolution of the image data is lowered and not transferred to the application.

  When it is determined that the resolution of the image data is reduced and not transferred to the application (step S205: NO), the process proceeds to step S208. On the other hand, when it is determined that the resolution of the image data is lowered and transferred to the application (step S205: YES), a resolution lower than the resolution of the current image data is selected (step S206). For example, when the resolution of the current image data is 2400 × 2400 dpi, a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi that is one step lower than 2400 × 2400 dpi is selected.

  Then, image data having a small data size is created (step S207), and the process returns to step S201. Specifically, the image data is subjected to image processing so that the resolution of the image data stored in the RAM 23 in the process shown in step S201 becomes the resolution selected in the process shown in step S206, and the data size is set. Small image data is created. Then, the image data having a small data size is transferred again to the application. For example, image processing is performed on image data with a resolution of 2400 × 2400 dpi, and image data with a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi is created. Then, image data with a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi is transferred again to the application.

  As described above, according to the processing shown in steps S201 to S207, image data obtained by reading a document image by the scanner 1 is stored in the RAM 23 and then transferred to the application. When an error occurs on the application side, the resolution of the image data stored in the RAM 23 is lowered, and image data with a small data size is created. Image data with a small data size is transferred again to the application. The above processing is repeated until the data size of the image data reaches a data size that can be input to the application, whereby the image data is input to the application.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that no error has occurred in the process shown in step S203 (step S203: NO), or if it is determined in the process shown in step S205 that the resolution of the image data is reduced and not transferred to the application (Step S205: NO), it is determined whether or not the resolution of the image data has been lowered (Step S208). In the present embodiment, the image data input to the application without an error or the image data that has not been input to the application due to an error and is determined not to be transferred again to the application is processed in step S207. It is determined whether or not the image data has a reduced resolution.

  If it is determined that the resolution of the image data has not been lowered (step S208: NO), the process proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, when it is determined that the resolution of the image data has been lowered (step S208: YES), a second message dialog is displayed (step S209). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the resolution of image data when an error occurs (for example, 2400 × 2400 dpi) cannot be selected as an option for the setting value of the reading resolution displayed on the scan setting screen 100. A second message dialog 300 that prompts the user to make a selection as to whether or not to do so is displayed on the display 25.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the resolution information is updated (step S210). When “Yes” in the second message dialog 300 is selected, it is determined to update the resolution information. On the other hand, when “No” in the second message dialog 300 is selected, it is determined that the resolution information is not updated.

  When it is determined not to update the resolution information (step S210: NO), the process proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, when it is determined to update the resolution information (step S210: YES), the resolution information is updated (step S211). Specifically, the resolution information is updated, and the resolution of the image data when an error occurs (for example, 2400 × 2400 dpi) is set as the resolution of the image data that cannot be input to the application.

  Subsequently, information is stored in the registry (step S213). In the present embodiment, the scan setting information including the resolution information updated in the process shown in step S211 and the color number information, the read size information, and the scale information is stored in the registry of the hard disk 24 in association with the application information. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the process shown in step S208 that the resolution of the image data has not been lowered (step S208: NO), or if the resolution information is determined not to be updated in the process shown in step S210 ( Step S210: NO), it is determined whether there is application information in the registry (step S212). In this embodiment, in order to determine whether or not the application is the first to start the scanner driver, it is determined whether or not there is application information in the registry.

  If it is determined that there is application information in the registry (step S212: YES), the application that has activated the scanner driver is assumed to be the application that has previously activated the scanner driver, and the process proceeds to step S214.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no application information in the registry (step S212: NO), the application that activated the scanner driver is stored in the registry as the first application that activated the scanner driver this time (step S212). S213). In this embodiment, scan setting information including resolution information in which a resolution value of image data that cannot be input to an application is not set, color number information, reading size, and scale information is associated with application information. And stored in the registry of the hard disk 24.

  Then, the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 23 is deleted (step S214), and the process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the processing shown in steps S209 to S214, scan setting information including resolution information is stored in association with application information for specifying an application. At this time, the resolution of the image data that failed to be transferred to the software is set as resolution information indicating the value of the resolution of the image data that cannot be input to the application. Therefore, after that, when the user starts the scanner driver from the application, the user can set the reading resolution when the scanner 1 reads the document image based on the resolution information included in the scan setting information. The choices for various setting values are limited.

  Specifically, when the resolution 2400 × 2400 dpi is set as the resolution information, the user cannot select 4800 × 4800 dpi and 2400 × 2400 dpi as the setting values for the reading resolution on the scan setting screen 100 thereafter, and 1200 × 1200 dpi. Only the following values can be selected:

  As a result, the image data obtained by reading the original image by the scanner 1 is prevented from becoming larger than the data size that can be input to the application, and the situation that the image data is not normally input to the application is prevented. Is done. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from changing the image reading condition of the scanner 1 and causing the scanner 1 to read the original image again. That is, the waste of the user's work in the document image reading work using the scanner 1 is omitted, and the user's efficient work becomes possible.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, image data obtained by the scanner 1 reading a document image is temporarily stored in the RAM 23 of the PC 2, and when the image data is not normally input to the application, the data size of the image data is Be lowered. Therefore, even when the image data is not normally input to the application, the user does not need to cause the scanner 1 to read the original image again, and the time for the user to occupy the scanner 1 is shortened.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the input of image data to the application fails, the resolution information is information about the data size of the image data that can be input to the application based on the resolution of the image data that has failed to be input to the application. Was set. However, information regarding the data size of image data that can be input to the application may be set based on image data that has been successfully input to the application.

  In the above embodiment, the scan setting information stored in association with the application information is stored in the hard disk of the PC as registry information. However, the storage destination of the scan setting information is not limited to the inside of the PC, and may be stored in the storage unit of an external server or a scanner.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the image data obtained by the scanner 1 reading the original image is temporarily stored in the RAM 23 of the PC 2. However, the image data may be stored in the hard disk 24.

  The means and method for performing various processes in the image reading condition setting apparatus according to the present embodiment can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk and a CD-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is normally transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of the apparatus as one function of the image reading condition setting apparatus.

1 scanner,
11, 21 CPU,
12,22 ROM,
13,23 RAM,
14 Operation panel section
15 image reading unit,
16, 27 network interface,
17,28 bus,
2 PC,
24 hard disk,
25 display,
26 input devices,
3 network,
100 Scan setting screen.

Claims (20)

A procedure (a) for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading an original image by an image reading device;
A procedure (b) for reading out information relating to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, stored in a storage unit in association with the software recognized in the procedure (a);
Based on the information regarding the data size read in the step (b), the data size of the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device becomes a data size that can be input to the software. A procedure (c) for limiting the range of setting values that can be set by the user with respect to setting items for setting image reading conditions of the image reading apparatus;
An image reading condition setting program which causes a computer to execute the above.   2. The image reading condition setting program according to claim 1, wherein the software is application software that starts the image reading condition setting program.   3. The image reading condition setting program according to claim 1, wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.   The image reading condition setting program according to claim 1, wherein the image reading condition setting program is a scanner driver.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the image reading condition setting program of any one of Claims 1-4. A procedure (a) of transferring image data obtained by reading an original image by an image reading apparatus to software that is an input destination of the image data;
Based on the success or failure of input of the image data transferred in the step (a) to the software, the data size of the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device can be input to the software. A procedure (b) for setting information on the data size of image data that can be input to the software, which is read when the image reading condition of the image reading device is set by the user so as to be the data size;
A procedure (c) for storing information relating to the data size of the image data that can be input to the software set in the procedure (b) in association with the software in a storage unit from which the information is read;
An image reading condition setting program which causes a computer to execute the above.   When the input of the image data to the software fails, the software can be input to the software based on information on the data size of the image data that failed to be input to the software in the step (b). 7. The image reading condition setting program according to claim 6, wherein information relating to the data size of the image data is set. A step (d) of storing the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device in an image data storage unit;
A procedure for performing image processing on the image data stored in the image data storage unit to create image data having a data size smaller than the image data when input of the image data to the software fails (E) and
The image reading condition setting program according to claim 6 or 7, further causing the computer to execute a step (f) of inputting the image data created in the step (e) to the software. . A step (g) of recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading an original image by the image reading device;
A step (h) of reading information relating to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, stored in the storage unit in association with the software recognized in the step (g);
A procedure for restricting a range of setting values that can be set by the user with respect to setting items for setting image reading conditions of the image reading device based on the information on the data size read in the step (h). The image reading condition setting program according to claim 6, further causing the computer to execute (i).   10. The image reading condition setting program according to claim 9, wherein the software is application software that starts the image reading condition setting program.   11. The image reading condition setting program according to claim 9, wherein the setting items include any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.   The image reading condition setting program according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the image reading condition setting program is a scanner driver.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the image reading condition setting program of any one of Claims 6-12. A recognition unit for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading a document image by an image reading device;
A reading unit that reads out information related to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, stored in a storage unit in association with the software recognized by the recognition unit;
Based on the information on the data size read by the reading unit, the data size of image data obtained by reading a document image by the image reading device is a data size that can be input to the software. A limiting unit that limits a range of setting values that can be set by the user with respect to setting items for setting image reading conditions of the image reading apparatus;
An image reading condition setting device comprising:   15. The image reading condition setting apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification. A transfer unit that transfers image data obtained by reading an original image by an image reading device to software that is an input destination of the image data;
Based on the success or failure of input of the image data transferred by the transfer unit to the software, the data size of image data obtained by reading a document image by the image reading device is a data size that can be input to the software A setting unit for setting information regarding the data size of image data that can be input to the software, which is read when the image reading condition of the image reading apparatus is set by the user;
A storage control unit that stores information related to the data size of image data that can be input to the software set by the setting unit in association with the software in a storage unit that is a source of the information;
An image reading condition setting device comprising:   When the input of the image data to the software has failed, the setting unit can input image data that can be input to the software based on information on the data size of the image data that has failed to be input to the software. The image reading condition setting device according to claim 16, wherein information regarding the data size of the image is set. An image data storage unit for storing the image data obtained by reading the document image by the image reading device;
Creation of image data having a data size smaller than the image data by performing image processing on the image data stored in the image data storage unit when input of the image data to the software fails And further comprising
18. The image reading condition setting device according to claim 16, wherein the transfer unit transfers the image data created by the creation unit to the software. A recognition unit for recognizing software as an input destination of image data obtained by reading a document image by the image reading device;
A reading unit that reads out information related to the data size of image data that can be input to the software, stored in the storage unit in association with the software recognized by the recognition unit;
A limiting unit that limits a range of setting values that can be set by a user with respect to a setting item for setting an image reading condition of the image reading device based on information on the data size read by the reading unit; The image reading condition setting device according to claim 16, further comprising:   The image reading condition setting device according to claim 19, wherein the setting item includes any one of reading resolution, number of colors, reading size, and magnification.