JP2011155676A - Peripheral device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a peripheral device in which, when a user causes the peripheral device to implement a predetermined function, the same operating conditions as operating conditions in past implementation is easily designated. <P>SOLUTION: A multifunction device 100 (peripheral device)implements a predetermined function in response to an instruction sent from a terminal via a network. The multifunction device 100 operates on the basis of a communication program 122a and a function control program 122b. The multifunction device 100 receives a setting file with operating conditions described therein from a terminal 150. The multifunction device 100 sets the operating conditions described in the received setting file and implements the predetermined function. The multifunction device 100 stores, in a file, the operating conditions described in the received setting file. The user utilizes again the file stored by the multifunction device 100 to easily designate the same operating conditions as the operating conditions in the past implementation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a peripheral device that executes a predetermined function in response to an instruction from a terminal sent via a network.
The “peripheral device” referred to in this specification means a printer, a scanner, a facsimile, or a complex machine in which these are integrated.

A printer that prints a document file sent from a terminal via a network is known. When causing the printer to execute the printing function, it is necessary to set the printer operating conditions for executing the printing function, such as setting the paper size and margins. In the case of a conventional printer, the user sets printer operating conditions using a user interface installed in the terminal.
In order to reduce the load on the user who sets the operating conditions, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a printer that can include information on operating conditions in a document file to be printed.

JP 2002-373064 A

When the printer can set various operating conditions, the user may change the operating conditions to execute the printing function. When the operating conditions are changed, information on past operating conditions is lost. Therefore, when the printing function is to be executed again under the operating conditions that have been set in the past, it is necessary to reset the operating conditions. Also in the printer of Patent Document 1, when it is desired to print a new document file with a past operation condition after changing the operation condition, when adding information on the operation condition to the new document file, the past The operating conditions had to be specified again.
The operation for setting the operation condition is not limited to the printer, and is an operation that is commonly required for peripheral devices such as a scanner and a multifunction peripheral. Since the peripheral device has various functions related to images such as a printing function, an image reading function, a copying function, and a facsimile function, these functions are collectively referred to as “predetermined functions” in this specification.
An object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device that allows a user to easily specify the same operating condition as the operating condition when the user has executed a predetermined function in the past.

The present invention can be embodied in a peripheral device that executes a predetermined function in response to an instruction from a terminal sent via a network. This peripheral device includes receiving means, executing means, and backup means.
The receiving means receives a setting file describing operating conditions for executing a predetermined function from the terminal based on the file sharing protocol. The execution means sets an operation condition described in the received setting file and executes a predetermined function. The backup means saves the operating conditions described in the received setting file in a file.
The file sharing protocol is a protocol for facilitating transmission / reception of files between a terminal and a peripheral device. Peripheral devices can communicate based on a file sharing protocol. Therefore, the terminal can easily send the file to the peripheral device and can easily acquire the file of the peripheral device. An example of the file sharing protocol is WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning).

When the peripheral device of the present invention receives the setting file describing the operating condition, the peripheral device executes a predetermined function based on the operating condition described in the setting file and stores the operating condition described in the setting file.
When the user wants to execute a predetermined function again under the same operating conditions described in the setting file, the user can reuse the file saved by the peripheral device. When the user wants the peripheral device to execute a predetermined function, the user can easily specify the same operating condition as the operating condition when executed in the past.

  A peripheral device may be provided with a plurality of setting items for which operating conditions are to be set. In that case, the peripheral device of the present invention preferably has the following technical features. The peripheral device includes storage means for storing default operating conditions for each of a plurality of setting items for which operating conditions are to be set. The execution means executes a predetermined function by setting a default operation condition for a setting item for which no operation condition is described when a setting item for which the operation condition is not described exists in the received setting file. . The backup unit adds the default operation condition set by the execution unit to the operation condition described in the received setting file and stores the operation condition.

According to the above technical feature, the user does not need to describe the operating conditions in the setting file for the setting items whose default operating conditions are acceptable. The load on the user who creates the configuration file can be reduced.
On the other hand, the default operating conditions stored in the storage device may be changed. According to the above technical feature, the backup unit adds the default operation condition set by the execution unit to the operation condition described in the received setting file and stores the operation condition. For the setting items for which no operating condition is described in the setting file, it is possible to store all the operating conditions when the execution means executes a predetermined function with supplementing the default operating conditions. Even when the default operating condition is changed, the same operating condition as when a predetermined function has been executed in the past can be easily specified by using a file stored by the backup means.

The peripheral device of the present invention preferably further has the following technical features. The predetermined function executed by the peripheral device is an image data output function for outputting image data. The backup unit stores a file in which the operating conditions and the image data output by the image data output function executed based on the operating conditions are integrated.
The image data output function is, for example, a scan function that reads a document and outputs the read data as image data.

  The image data added to the operation condition stored by the backup unit becomes a sample of the result executed based on the operation condition stored. The user can confirm the state of the function execution result based on the stored operation condition in advance by looking at the sample before designating the stored operation condition again.

  The backup unit of the peripheral device according to the present invention preferably switches whether to save a file in which the operation condition and the image data are integrated, based on a user instruction. When the stored operation condition is designated again, it is not necessary to update the image data added to the stored operation condition with the output result of the newly executed image data output function. There is no need to change the image data saved as a sample.

  According to the present invention, when the user causes the peripheral device to execute a predetermined function, it is possible to realize a peripheral device that can easily specify the same operating condition as the operating condition that has been executed in the past.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The peripheral device according to this embodiment is a multifunction peripheral 100 that can execute a printing function, a scanning function, a facsimile function, and a copying function.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the multifunction machine 100. The multi-function device 100 is communicably connected to the terminal 150 via the network 102.
The multi-function device 100 includes a CPU 110, a printer unit 112, a scanner unit 114, a facsimile unit 116, a timer 118, and a storage device 120.
The printer unit 112 is a device that prints documents and images. The scanner unit 114 is a device that reads characters and images printed on a sheet. The facsimile unit 116 is a device that transmits and receives data via a telephone line (not shown).
The printer unit 112 can print document file and image file data sent from the terminal 150. The printer unit 112 can print data read by the scanner unit 114 and data received by the facsimile unit 116.
The facsimile unit 116 can transmit the document file and image file data sent from the terminal 150 or the data read by the scanner unit 114 by facsimile to a partner apparatus having a predetermined telephone number.
A printing function is realized by operating the printer unit 112. The scan function is realized by operating the scanner unit 114. A facsimile function is realized by operating the facsimile unit 116. The data read by the scanner unit 114 is printed by the printer unit 112, thereby realizing a copy function.
The timer 118 acquires the current date and time.

The printer unit 112, the scanner unit 114, and the facsimile unit 116 are controlled by the CPU 110. The printer unit 112, the scanner unit 114, and the facsimile unit 116 can change operating conditions. The operation condition is, for example, the paper size in the printer unit 112. In the case of the scanner unit 114, the resolution is, for example, image reading. For the facsimile unit 116, for example, the resolution at the time of data transmission / reception. The operating conditions of the printer unit 112 and the like are changed by the CPU 110.
The storage device 120 stores a program 122, folder attribute information 124, and a file 126.
The CPU 110 executes various processes according to the program 122 stored in the storage device 120. The main programs include a communication program 122a and a function control program 122b. The communication program 122a is a program for transmitting / receiving data to / from the terminal 150. The function control program 122b is a program for controlling the printer unit 112 and the like. Note that the letters “PGM” in FIG. 1 mean “program”.

The file 126 and folder attribute information 124 stored in the storage device 120 will be described.
The file 126 is various electronic files stored in the multifunction device 100. The multi-function device 100 stores a file (default setting file) in which default operating conditions for each of the printing function, the scanning function, the copying function, and the facsimile function are described.
For example, a file describing default operating conditions of the scan function is a file named DefaultScanParam.txt. An example of DefaultScanParam.txt is shown in FIG. DefaultScanParam.txt describes the following operating conditions for each setting item. The left side of the equal sign represents a setting item, and the right side of the equal sign represents a default operation condition set for the setting item.
・ Resolution = 300dpi (resolution = 300dpi)
-Reading mode = monochrome (color = mono)
-Output format = gif (imgformat = gif)
-Output folder = output folder (folder = \ output)
・ Brightness = 50 (brightness = 50)
・ Contrast = 60 (contrast = 60)
For other functions such as the print function, a file describing the same default operating conditions is stored in the storage device 120. A file with an extension “txt” represents a text file that can be directly rewritten by the user.
A file describing default operating conditions such as DefaultScanParam.txt is stored in an output folder set in the storage device 120.

  The folder attribute information 124 is data for hierarchically managing folders (file storage areas) set in the storage device 120. Several folders are set in the storage device 120 of the multi-function peripheral 100, and the folder attribute information 124 records the hierarchical relationship between folders and the information of files stored in each folder. In the storage device 120, a ScanStart folder, a CopyStart folder, a Copy folder, a Facsimile folder, and an output folder are set.

  The terminal 150 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The terminal 150 is a general personal computer. The terminal 150 includes a CPU 152 and a storage device 154. Although not shown, the terminal includes a display. The storage device 154 stores a program 156 and a file 158. The CPU 152 executes various processes based on the program 156. The main programs include a communication program 156a and a display program 156b. The communication program 156a is a program for transmitting / receiving data to / from the multifunction device 100. The display program 156b is a program for displaying information such as files and folders and error messages received from the multi-function peripheral 100.

A communication program based on WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is described in the communication program 122a of the MFP 100 and the communication program 156a of the terminal 150. WebDAV is a standardized protocol for exchanging file and folder information between terminals (or between terminals and peripheral devices). The MFP 100 and the terminal 150 can exchange file and folder information with each other by the communication programs 122a and 156a based on WebDAV.
WebDAV, a type of file sharing protocol, defines several commands (called requests) that are sent and received between terminals. The specified commands include, for example, a PROPFIND request, a GET request, and a PUT request.
The MFP 100 and the terminal 150 can transmit and receive folder attribute information and files by transmitting and receiving these “requests”.

With reference to FIG. 1, “request” and data transmitted / received between the MFP 100 and the terminal 150 are illustrated.
The terminal 150 transmits a PROPFIND request to the MFP 100 ((1) shown in FIG. 1). Upon receiving this request, the MFP 100 transmits the folder attribute information 124 stored in the storage device 120 to the terminal 150 ((2) shown in FIG. 1). The terminal 150 that has received the folder attribute information 124 displays the folder of the multifunction peripheral 100 on the screen.
The terminal 150 designates a predetermined file name and folder name and transmits a PUT request to the multi-function device 100 ((3) shown in FIG. 1). Upon receiving this request, the multi-function device 100 stores the specified file in the specified folder. If the PUT request transmitted by the terminal 150 designates a specific folder and a specific file that are determined in advance, the multifunction peripheral 100 not only stores the specified file in the specified folder. The print function and the scan function are executed according to the designated file and the designated folder. That is, the multi-function device 100 can execute a plurality of image-related functions (printing function, scanning function, etc.), and upon receiving a request to store a specific file in a specific folder, A specific image related function associated in advance with the “request to store” is executed. This point will be described later.
The terminal 150 designates a predetermined file name and transmits a GET request to the multifunction device 100. Upon receiving this request, the multi-function device 100 transmits the specified file to the terminal 150.

The procedure when the user operates the terminal 150 to cause the multifunction peripheral 100 to execute a predetermined function will be outlined. In order to cause the multifunction device 100 to execute a desired function, it is necessary to instruct the multifunction device 100 of operating conditions for executing the predetermined function. The operating conditions of the multifunction device 100 can be set by describing them in a file called a setting file and sending the setting file to the multifunction device 100. The configuration file may be in a text format or a format other than a text format. The above-described DefaultScanParam.txt file is an example of a text format setting file.
A text file can be rewritten directly by the user. The user can obtain a DefaultScanParam.txt file from the multi-function peripheral 100 and rewrite the contents to create a setting file in which desired operation conditions are described.
A setting file in a format other than the text format will be described later.
The user who created the setting file operates the terminal 150 to store the setting file in a specific folder included in the multifunction peripheral 100. More specifically, the setting file is dragged and dropped onto an icon indicating a specific folder (a folder set in the storage device 120 of the multifunction peripheral 100) displayed on the terminal screen. In response to a user operation, the terminal 150 transmits a PUT request for storing the setting file in a specific folder to the multifunction peripheral 100. Upon receiving the “PUT request to store the setting file in a specific folder”, the MFP 100 sets the operation condition described in the setting file as its own operation condition and is associated with the “specific folder” in advance. Perform the function. That is, the user of the terminal 150 can execute a specific function under a desired operating condition by dragging and dropping the setting file onto an icon indicating a predetermined folder set in the multifunction peripheral 100.

Examples of user operations at the terminal 150 when causing the multifunction peripheral 100 to execute a specific function are illustrated. FIG. 3 shows an example of the screen display of the terminal 150.
As an example, a case where the user of the terminal 150 causes the multifunction peripheral 100 to execute a scan function will be described.
In the screen display 200 of FIG. 3, an icon 202 of the ScanStart folder and an icon 204 of the output folder are displayed. The screen display 200 shows a state in which the ScanParam.txt file 206 (setting file) is opened by a text editor. In addition, illustration of the icon of another folder is abbreviate | omitted in the screen display 200 shown in FIG. The ScanStart folder icon 202, the output folder icon 204, and other folder icons (not shown) are displayed on the screen of the terminal 150 as a result of the MFP 100 transmitting the folder attribute information 124 in response to the PROPFIND request. Is done.
As mentioned above, DefaultScanParam.txt file is stored in the output folder. The user acquires the DefaultScanParam.txt file from the output folder, rewrites the operating conditions described in the file to the desired operating conditions, and changes the name of the file from DefaultScanParam.txt to ScanParam.txt. Create a configuration file that describes the operating conditions.
The ScanParam.txt file 206 shown in FIG. 3 describes the following operating conditions. The left side of the equal sign represents a setting item, and the right side of the equal sign represents an operating condition for the setting item.
・ Resolution = 600dpi (resolution = 600dpi)
-Reading mode = color (color = color)
-Output format = jpeg (imgformat = jpeg)
-Output folder = user1 folder under the output folder (folder = \ output \ user1)
Note that the symbol [panel] described in ScanParam.txt shown in FIG. 3 means that the following lines are commented out. That is, the multi-function device 100 is programmed to ignore the description after [panel] when receiving ScanParam.txt and importing its contents.
Therefore, the descriptions of “brightness = 20” and “contrast = 30” shown in FIG. 3 are merely comments for the user, and the MFP 100 ignores these descriptions and describes them in the DefaultScanParam.txt file. The scan is executed based on the operating conditions regarding these items ("brightness" and "contrast").

As indicated by a thick arrow in FIG. 3, when the user drags and drops the ScanParam.txt file 206 onto the ScanStart folder icon 202, the terminal 150 stores the ScanParam.txt file 206 in the ScanStart folder according to the user's operation. PUT request to MFP 100
Send to. Upon receiving this PUT request, the MFP 100 sets the operation conditions described in the ScanParam.txt file 206 as its own operation conditions, and executes the scan function associated with the ScanStart folder in advance.

A process executed by the multifunction peripheral 100 based on the “request” sent from the terminal 150 will be described. The following processing is described in the communication program 122a and the function control program 122b that the multi-function device 100 has.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of main processing executed by the multifunction peripheral 100. Hereinafter, the scan function will be described as an example. The description of the execution of other functions will be omitted, but will be described in the basically same procedure as the case of executing the scan function.
The multi-function device 100 always monitors whether or not a “request” has been received from the terminal 150 (step S100).
When the “request” is received from the terminal 150 (step S100: YES), the multi-function device 100 executes a process according to the type of the received “request”. If the “request” is a PROPFIND request (step S102: YES), the folder attribute information is transmitted to the terminal 150 (step S104). If the received “request” is a GET request for the DefaultScanParam.txt file (step S110: YES), the DefaultScanParam.txt file is transmitted to the terminal 150 (step S112). When the received “request” is a PUT request to the ScanStart folder (step S118: YES), a scan process (scan function) is executed (step S120). If the received “request” is not any of the above “requests”, other processing corresponding to the “request” is executed (step S122).

Next, the scanning process (scanning function) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the scanning process.
In the scanning process, first, it is checked whether or not the terminal 150 that has transmitted the PUT request has the right to write data to the ScanStart folder (step S600). If there is no write right (step S600: NO), the multi-function device 100 transmits an error message to the terminal 150 that has transmitted the PUT request (step S604).
If there is a write right (step S600: YES), the multi-function device 100 checks whether the file specified by the PUT request is a setting file (step S602 and step S603). Note that “parameter file” shown in FIG. 5 has the same meaning as “setting file”. The multi-function device 100 is programmed to recognize a file including the character string “ScanParam” in the file name as a parameter file (setting file).
Here, the MFP 100 is programmed to accept a parameter file in text format and a parameter file in jpeg format as parameter files (setting files). The text format parameter file is the “ScanParam.txt” file described above. A jpeg format parameter file is a file in which operating conditions are described in a preliminary data area (more specifically, an area called a “MakerNote tag”) of a jpeg file defined in the jpeg standard. The parameter file in jpeg format will be described later.
The multi-function device 100 is programmed to receive a text format parameter file preferentially over a jpeg format parameter file. That is, the multi-function device 100 first determines whether or not the file specified by the PUT request is a text parameter file (step S602). When the file specified by the PUT request is not a text format parameter file (step S602: NO), the multi-function device 100 determines whether the file specified by the PUT request is a jpeg format parameter file (step S603). .
When the file specified by the PUT request is not a parameter file (setting file) of any format (text format or jpeg format) (step S602: NO and step S603: NO), the multi-function device 100 transmits the PUT request. An error message is transmitted to the terminal 150 (step S604).
The parameter file (configuration file) in which the file specified by the PUT request is in any format
(Step S602: YES or step S603: YES), the multi-function device 100 opens the setting file specified by the PUT request and scan parameters described in the file (operation conditions for executing the scan function) Is read (step S606). Hereinafter, the scan parameter is simply referred to as a parameter.
Next, the multifunction device 100 checks whether or not the read parameter is normal (step S608). In other words, the multi-function device 100 determines whether or not the read parameters are suitable for itself. If the read parameter is not suitable for itself (step S608: NO), the multi-function device 100 transmits an error message to the terminal that transmitted the PUT request (step S604). The case where the read parameter is not suitable for itself is, for example, the case where the parameter (operation condition) described in the parameter file (setting file) cannot be identified, or the numerical value indicated by the parameter is a numerical value allowed by the MFP 100. This is the case when the range is exceeded. As described above, when the parameter file is a text file named ScanParam.txt, the MFP 100 is programmed to ignore the description after the character string “panel” described in the file.
If the read parameter is suitable for itself (step S608: YES), the multi-function device 100 returns OK to the terminal 150 that has transmitted the PUT request (step S610).
Next, the multifunction peripheral 100 executes parameter setting processing (step S614). The parameter setting process is a process for setting a read parameter (operation condition) as its own operation condition. The parameter setting process will be described later.
Next, the MFP 100 scans the document set in the scan unit 114 (step S614), and then executes output processing for outputting the read scan result (image data) (step S616). The output process will be described later.
Thus, upon receiving the parameter file (setting file), the multi-function device 100 sets the operating conditions described in the parameter file and executes the scan function (image related function).

Next, the parameter setting process (step S612 shown in FIG. 5) will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the parameter setting process.
First, the parameters read in step S606 in FIG. 5 are set in their respective setting items (step S700).
Next, it is checked whether or not there is an unset setting item in the process of step S700 (step S702). The case where there is an unset setting item is a case where there is a setting item in which an operating condition is not described in the parameter file (setting file) received by the multifunction device 100.
For example, when the parameter file is the ScanParam.txt file 206 shown in FIG. 3, the setting items “brightness” and “contrast” are commented out. Therefore, the multifunction machine 10
When 0 receives this ScanParam.txt file 206, in the process of step S700,
The setting items for “brightness” and “contrast” are not set.
If there are unset setting items (step S702: YES), the default parameters (operating conditions) corresponding to the unset setting items are read from the DefaultScanParam.txt file stored in the storage device 120. The read parameter is set as an unset setting item (step S704). In the example described above, the setting items of “brightness” and “contrast” are not set. Therefore, the MFP 100 reads “brightness = 50” and “contrast = 60” from the DefaultScanParam.txt shown in FIG. 2, sets the default operating condition “50” for the setting item brightness, Set the default operating condition “60” for the setting item “contrast”. In this way, operating conditions are set for all setting items.

Next, the output process (step S616 shown in FIG. 5) will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the output process.
First, the multifunction device 100 creates a new text file named ScanParam_time.txt, and outputs all the parameters set by the multifunction device 100 through the parameter setting process to the new file (step S800). That is, the multi-function device 100 stores all parameters set by the multi-function device 100 by the parameter setting process.
It should be noted that the current date and time acquired by the timer 118 (see FIG. 1) provided in the multi-function peripheral 100 is substituted for the character string “time” in the name “ScanParam_time.txt”. For example, if the current date and time is yy year mm year dd date tt time ss, the newly created setting file is named “ScanParam_yymmddttss.txt”.
In the newly created file, the default operating condition set in step S704 of FIG. 6 is added to the operating condition described in the received ScanParam.txt file 206. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the ScanParam_time.txt file includes the operation described in the DefaultParam.txt file shown in FIG. 2 in accordance with the operation conditions described in the ScanParam.txt file 206 shown in FIG. The operating conditions for all the setting items are described with “brightness = 50” and “contrast = 60” being replaced. ScanParam.txt shown in Fig. 3
The character string [panel] described in the file 206 is stored as it is.
When the operation condition for all setting items is described in the parameter file (setting file) received by the MFP 100, the newly created ScanParam_time.txt file has the same contents as the received parameter file. Become.

Next, the multi-function device 100 checks whether or not to add all the parameters set in the parameter setting process to the scan result (image data) read by executing the scan function (step S802). That is, it is checked whether to output a file in which all parameters and image data are integrated. In other words, it is checked whether to save a file in which all parameters and image data are integrated. Whether or not to output a file in which all parameters and image data are integrated is instructed in advance by the user. This instruction may be given by an operation switch (not shown) of the multi-function device 100 or may be specified in a parameter file (setting file).
If the determination in step S802 is NO, the multi-function device 100 executes the scan function and outputs the image data read to the output destination folder described in the parameter file (step S804). When the parameter file is the ScanParam.txt file 206 shown in FIG. 3, the output destination folder is “\ output \ user1”.
If the determination in step S802 is YES, the multi-function device 100 outputs a file in which all parameters and image data are integrated to the output destination folder described in the parameter file (step S806).
In both cases of step S804 and step S806, the output file is a jpeg format file. In the case of step S806, all parameters (operating conditions) are described in the preliminary data area of the jpeg format file. Specifically, the spare data area is an area called “MakerNote tag” of a jpeg file defined by the jpeg standard. Hereinafter, a file in which all parameters and image data are integrated is referred to as an image file with operation conditions.
The user can use the jpeg file as a parameter file by adding the character string “ScanParam” to the name of the image file with operating conditions. When the parameter file is an image file with operation conditions in the jpeg format in step S606 of FIG. 5, the multi-function device 100 is programmed to read the operation conditions from the “MakerNote tag” area of the file.

As described above, the MFP 100 according to the embodiment described in the embodiment has the following advantages. (1) By the output processing shown in FIG. 7, all operating conditions when the scan function is executed are described in a file named “ScanParam_time.txt”, and further, an image file with operating conditions, and stored in the MFP 100. It is stored in the output folder in the device 120. The user can acquire “ScanParam_time.txt” or an image file with an operation condition saved from the multi-function peripheral 100 using a file sharing protocol. By using the acquired file, the user can execute the scan function under the same operating conditions as those specified in the past. The user does not need to newly create a setting file describing operating conditions specified in the past.
(2) The multi-function device 100 stores the default operating conditions for executing the scan function in the DefaultScanParam.txt file. When there is a setting item in which no operation condition is described in the setting file received by the user from the terminal 150, the multi-function device 100 sets a default operation condition for the setting item in which the operation condition is not described. Perform the scan function. The user does not need to describe setting items that may have the default operating conditions in the setting file.
(3) When there is a setting item in which the operating condition is not described in the setting file received from the terminal 150, the multifunction peripheral 100 sets the operating condition described in the received setting file when the scan function is executed. Add default operating conditions and save.
The DefaultScanParam.txt file describing the default operating conditions is a text file stored in the output folder of the multifunction peripheral 100. Therefore, the user can rewrite the DefaultScanParam.txt file. When the MFP 100 sets the default operating condition and executes the scan function, the MFP 100 stores the operating condition at the time of execution including the set default operating condition. Therefore, even when the default operation condition is changed, the operation condition when executed before the change can be easily specified again.
(4) When the scan function is executed, the multi-function device 100 can save a file (the above-described image file with an operation condition) in which the operation conditions at the time of execution and the image data that is the execution result are integrated. . Specifically, according to the output process shown in FIG. 7, all the operating conditions when the scan function is executed are added to the image file of the scan function execution result and stored. The user can confirm the state of the execution result of the scan function based on the operation condition described in the file by viewing the image data of the image file with the operation condition. Before the operation conditions specified in the past are specified again, it is possible to grasp what kind of execution result the operation conditions bring about.
(5) When the MFP 100 saves the operating conditions in a file, the MFP 100 adds the saved date and time to the file name. Thus, the user can easily know the date and time when the operating condition is used from the file name.

In the multi-function device 100, the CPU 110 that executes the process of step S100 shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to “reception means” in the claims. The CPU 110 when executing the scan processing shown in FIG. 5 and the parameter setting processing shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to “execution means” in the claims.
The CPU 110 when executing step S800 or step S806 shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to “backup means” in the claims. Note that, in the processing of step S804 or step S806, the location where “ScanParam_time.txt” or an image file with operating conditions is stored need not be the storage device 120 of the multifunction peripheral 100. The multi-function device 100 may store “ScanParam_time.txt” or an image file with operating conditions in a storage device of another terminal connected to the network.

  In the above embodiment, the scan function has been described as an example. The predetermined function executed by the peripheral device of the present invention is not limited to the scan function. The present invention can be applied even to a printing function or a facsimile function.

Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.
The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology illustrated in the present specification or the drawings achieves a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical utility by achieving one of the objects.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multifunction peripheral (peripheral device). FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a setting file in which default operating conditions are described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of the terminal. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of main processing executed by the multifunction machine. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of scan processing executed by the multifunction machine. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of parameter setting processing executed by the multifunction machine. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of output processing executed by the multifunction machine. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a file describing operating conditions stored in the multifunction peripheral.

100: MFP 102: Network 110: CPU
112: Printer unit 114: Scanner unit 116: Facsimile unit 118: Timer 120: Storage device 122: Program 124: Folder attribute information 126: File 150: Terminal 152: CPU
154: Storage device

Claims (4)

A peripheral device that performs a predetermined function in response to an instruction from a terminal sent via a network;
Receiving means for receiving a setting file describing operating conditions when executing a predetermined function from a terminal based on a file sharing protocol;
Execution means for setting the operating conditions described in the received setting file and executing a predetermined function;
Backup means for saving the operating conditions described in the received configuration file to a file;
A peripheral device comprising: Storage means for storing default operating conditions for each of a plurality of setting items for which operating conditions should be set;
The execution means executes a predetermined function by setting a default operation condition for a setting item for which no operation condition is described when a setting item for which the operation condition is not described exists in the received setting file. ,
2. The peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the backup unit adds the default operation condition set by the execution unit to the operation condition described in the received setting file and stores the operation condition. The predetermined function is an image data output function for outputting image data;
3. The peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the backup unit stores a file in which the operation condition and the image data output by the image data output function executed based on the operation condition are integrated. .   4. The peripheral device according to claim 3, wherein the backup unit switches whether to save a file in which the operation condition and the image data are integrated based on a user instruction.

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