JP2018148419A - Information processing system and data transmission/reception method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the influence of fluctuation of network load on a response time in transmitting data via multiple networks.SOLUTION: When a gateway apparatus 200 receives a message addressed to an image processing apparatus 100 from a cloud server 300 via the Internet 5, the gateway apparatus 200 transmits the received message to the image processing apparatus 100 via a LAN 3 instead of the cloud server 300, but when the gateway apparatus 200 continuously receives a plurality of messages addressed to the image processing apparatus 100 from the cloud server 300, the gateway apparatus 200 does not transmit a second message received after a first message from among the received plural messages until a request signal is received from the image processing apparatus 100 after transmitting the first message to the image processing apparatus 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system and a data transmission / reception method, and more particularly, to an information processing system passing through two or more different networks and a data transmission / reception method executed in the information processing system.

  In some cases, a multifunction peripheral (hereinafter referred to as “MFP”) connected to a local area network (hereinafter referred to as “LAN”) is controlled using a service provided by a cloud server connected to the Internet. Communication between the cloud server and the MFP passes through a relay device that functions as a gateway connecting the Internet and the LAN. In the case of this connection mode, it is common to adopt an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) communication procedure in which the MFP requests data transmission to the cloud server and the cloud server transmits data in response to the request from the MFP. is there. In this communication procedure, the shorter the response time from when the MFP requests the data to when the data is received, the better the efficiency.

  In some cases, the data used by the MFP to execute one unit of processing includes a plurality of data. For example, the data for displaying one screen on the MFP includes fixed data as a background of the screen and variation data such as a setting value displayed on the screen. In this case, the MFP requests the fluctuation data from the cloud server after receiving the fixed data from the cloud server, and displays the screen based on the fixed data and the fluctuation data after receiving the fluctuation data from the cloud server. Since the cloud server can transmit the fixed data before generating the change data, the response time from when the MFP requests the fixed data until it is received can be made as short as possible. Further, since the cloud server can generate the fluctuation data while transmitting the fixed data, it is possible to shorten the time until the transmission after the request for the fluctuation data from the MFP is as short as possible. However, since variable data and fixed data pass through the Internet and the load on the Internet often fluctuates, there is a problem that the response time from when the MFP requests fixed data or fluctuating data until it is received may increase. There is.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-203236 discloses an in-vehicle control device configured to be capable of data communication with a diagnostic tool provided outside a vehicle and outputting specific diagnostic data in response to a request from the diagnostic tool. A vehicle data output device configured to be capable of data communication, a cache storage unit that stores the specific diagnosis data, and a cache storage unit that stores the specific diagnosis data output from the control device in the cache storage unit When the request from the diagnostic tool is a request for the specific diagnostic data, the specific diagnostic data stored in the cache storage unit is read, and the response to the diagnostic tool is performed based on the stored specific diagnostic data. There is described a vehicular data output device including a cache reading unit.

  However, the vehicle data output device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-203236 must store the specific diagnosis data requested by the diagnostic tool in the cache storage unit before the request. For this reason, in the notification procedure in which the cloud server transmits fixed data or variable data in response to a request from the MFP, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-203236, the cloud server receives the fixed data before the request from the MFP. And fluctuation data cannot be determined.

The cloud server may send fixed data and variable data to the MFP as a single data in response to a request from the MFP, but the cloud server requires time to generate fixed data and variable data. Therefore, there is a problem that the response time from the request of the MFP to the reception of the fixed data and the fluctuation data becomes long, and the response time may become long.
JP2013-203236A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is to reduce the influence of fluctuations in network load on the response time in data transmission via a plurality of networks. It is to provide a relay device.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission / reception method that reduces the influence of fluctuations in network load on response time in data transmission via a plurality of networks.

  According to an aspect of the present invention to achieve the above-described object, an information processing system includes a cloud server, an image processing device, and a relay device that relays communication between the cloud server and the image processing device. The cloud server and the relay device communicate via a first network, the relay device and the image processing device communicate via a second network, and the image processing device If the message received from the cloud server is a part of the input information and a process execution means for executing the process according to the input information received, a request signal for requesting a message of the other part of the input information is transmitted to the cloud server, Receiving control means for receiving messages of other parts from the cloud server, and the cloud server performs processing on the image processing apparatus. When the input information to be made up of a plurality of messages, a plurality of messages constituting the input information are continuously transmitted to the image processing device via the relay device without waiting until a request signal is received from the image processing device. When the relay device receives a message addressed to the image processing device from the cloud server via the first network, the relay device receives the received message from the cloud server on behalf of the cloud server. When the relay unit receives a plurality of messages addressed to the image processing apparatus from the cloud server continuously, the relay unit transmits the first message to the image processing apparatus. After the first message of the plurality of messages, a request signal is received from the image processing apparatus. Including standby means does not transmit the received second message.

  According to this aspect, when the input information includes a plurality of messages, the cloud server transmits a plurality of messages constituting the input information without waiting until a request signal is received from the image processing apparatus. For this reason, since a plurality of messages are continuously transmitted from the cloud server to the relay apparatus via the first network, the plurality of messages can be transmitted by one communication via the first network. For this reason, since a plurality of messages are transmitted by one communication, it is possible to reduce the influence of fluctuations in the load of the first network. Further, when the relay device continuously receives a plurality of messages from the cloud server, the relay device transmits the first message among the plurality of messages to the image processing device, and then receives the request signal from the image processing device. The second message received after one message is not transmitted. For this reason, the image processing apparatus can sequentially receive a plurality of messages constituting the input information through a plurality of communications via the second network. For this reason, the response time in the image processing apparatus can be shortened. As a result, it is possible to provide a relay apparatus that reduces the influence of fluctuations in the network load on the response time in data transmission via a plurality of networks.

  Preferably, the transmission means provided in the cloud server notifies that there is an unsent message when there is an unsent message that has not yet been sent in addition to the message to be sent among the plurality of messages. The relay unit included in the relay apparatus includes a determination unit that determines that a plurality of messages are transmitted from the cloud server when notified that an unsent message exists.

  According to this aspect, the relay device determines that a plurality of messages are transmitted when notified that there is a message that has not yet been transmitted, so the relay device receives all of the plurality of messages. be able to.

  Preferably, the notification means notifies that the communication path with the relay device is maintained.

  According to this aspect, since the communication path between the cloud server and the relay device is maintained, the number of times for establishing the communication path for transmitting and receiving a plurality of messages can be made once.

  Preferably, the notifying unit transmits a message to be transmitted using a persistent connection function defined by HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).

  According to this aspect, since the function defined by the general-purpose standard is used, the information processing system can be easily constructed.

  Preferably, temporary storage means for temporarily storing the second message received from the cloud server until a request signal is received from the image processing apparatus is further provided.

  According to this aspect, since the second message is temporarily stored, the time for communication with the cloud server can be shortened.

  Preferably, when an abnormality occurs in the communication path with the image processing apparatus, the relay apparatus notifies the cloud server that an abnormality has occurred, and an erasure unit that erases the temporarily stored second message, Further prepare.

  According to this aspect, since the cloud server is notified that an abnormality has occurred, it can be detected that the message transmission has failed in the cloud server. In addition, since the temporarily stored second message is deleted, it is possible to effectively use memory resources by avoiding storing unnecessary messages forever.

  Preferably, the transmission unit included in the cloud server transmits the input information to the image processing apparatus in response to a request from the image processing apparatus or an external apparatus different from the image processing apparatus.

  According to this aspect, the user who operates the image processing apparatus or the user who operates the external apparatus can cause the image processing apparatus to process input information.

  Preferably, the image processing apparatus further includes a management server arranged outside the firewall, the cloud server is arranged outside the firewall, the image processing apparatus is arranged inside the firewall, and the cloud server is connected to the image processing apparatus. In response to a request from another external device, the management server sends a connection request including address information predetermined in the cloud server as connection destination address information and address information of the image processing device as connection source address information. A connection request means for transmitting, and the management server establishes a constant connection session for communicating with the relay apparatus based on a request from the relay apparatus, and a connection request from the cloud server. Send connection request to relay device via always-on session in response to receipt A tunnel connection requesting means, and the relay device receives a connection request from the management server via the always-on connection session establishing means for establishing an always-on connection session with the management server. In response, the first session establishing means for establishing the first communication session with the cloud server using the address information of the connection destination included in the connection request, and the connection source included in the connection request received from the management server Second session establishing means for establishing a second communication session with the image processing apparatus specified by the address information, and the relay means uses the first communication session and the second communication session to And the transmission means transmits the input information to the image processing device via the first communication session. .

  According to this aspect, a message can be sent from a cloud server placed outside the firewall to an image processing device placed inside the firewall, and fluctuations in the network load outside the firewall The influence on the response time in the apparatus can be reduced.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a data transmission / reception method is executed by an information processing system including a cloud server, an image processing device, and a relay device that relays communication between the cloud server and the image processing device. In this method, the cloud server and the relay device communicate with each other via the first network, and the relay device and the image processing device communicate with each other via the second network. An information processing system comprising a device and a relay device that relays communication between a cloud server and an image processing device, wherein the cloud server and the relay device communicate via a first network, and the relay device And the image processing apparatus communicate with each other via the second network, and the image processing apparatus executes a process according to given input information. If the message received from the cloud server is part of the input information, a request signal is sent to the cloud server to request a message for the other part of the input information, and the message for the other part is received from the cloud server. When the input information for causing the cloud server to execute processing on the image processing apparatus includes a plurality of messages, without waiting until a request signal is received from the image processing apparatus. Causing the processing device to execute a transmission step of continuously transmitting a plurality of messages constituting the input information via the relay device, and causing the relay device to receive a message addressed to the image processing device from the cloud server via the first network. The received message is sent to the image processing apparatus on the second network on behalf of the cloud server. When the relay step receives a plurality of messages addressed to the image processing apparatus from the cloud server continuously, the relay step transmits the first message to the image processing apparatus. After the transmission, a waiting step is included in which the second message received after the first message among the plurality of messages is not transmitted until a request signal is received from the image processing apparatus.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a data transmission / reception method that reduces the influence of fluctuations in the network load on the response time in data transmission via a plurality of networks.

It is a figure showing an example of the whole outline of an information processing system in one of the embodiments of the invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the outline | summary of the hardware constitutions of a gateway apparatus. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an outline of a hardware configuration of an MFP. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the outline | summary of the hardware constitutions of the cloud server in this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the function of CPU with which a gateway apparatus is provided. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the function of CPU with which a cloud server is provided. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of a CPU included in an MFP. It is a 1st figure which shows an example of the flow of the information in an information system. It is a 2nd figure which shows an example of the flow of the information in an information system. It is a 1st flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a relay process. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a relay process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a service provision process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of an apparatus control process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall outline of an information processing system in one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an information processing system 1 includes a management server 400, a cloud server 300, a gateway (G / W) device 200 that functions as a relay device, and an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) that functions as an image processing device. 100, 100A, 100B. Each of the management server 400, the cloud server 300, and the gateway device 200 is connected to the Internet 5 and can communicate with each other via the Internet 5. Further, each of the management server 400, the cloud server 300, and the gateway device 200 can communicate with other computers connected to the Internet 5.

  The gateway device 200 is further connected to a local area network (LAN) 3, and MFPs 100, 100 A, and 100 B are connected to the LAN 3. The gateway device 200 can communicate with MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B connected to the LAN 3. Furthermore, each of gateway apparatus 200 and MFPs 100, 100 </ b> A, and 100 </ b> B can communicate with other computers connected to LAN 3.

  The gateway device 200 has a firewall function, and connects the LAN 3 inside the firewall and the Internet 5 outside the firewall. The gateway device 200 restricts access from the management server 400 and the cloud server 300 connected to the Internet 5 to the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B connected to the LAN 3. The firewall function of the gateway device 200 is not particularly limited, but is a packet filter type firewall function that determines whether communication is permitted or not based on an address included in a packet. Note that an application-type firewall function may be used in which communication with the outside is substituted and controlled at the protocol level of the application layer. In addition, the position where the gateway device 200 is arranged is inside the firewall.

  In the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the cloud server 300 connected to the Internet 5 outside the firewall controls any of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B connected to the LAN 3 inside the firewall. Enable. When the cloud server 300 is accessed from a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) connected to the LAN 3 inside the firewall and executes a process for providing a service in accordance with an instruction from a user operating the PC And a case where access is made from a PC connected to the Internet 5 outside the firewall and processing for providing a service is executed in accordance with an instruction from a user operating the PC. Here, as an example, a case will be described in which cloud server 300 executes processing based on a service provided by cloud server 300 and transmits a screen indicating the result to MFP 100 as an example. In this case, the cloud server 300 transmits fixed data that is the background of the screen indicating the result of the process and fluctuation data obtained as a result of the process.

  The gateway device 200 establishes a tunnel connection between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100 so that the fixed data and the variation data transmitted from the cloud server 300 to the MFP 100 pass through the firewall of the gateway device 200. There are various methods for establishing a tunnel connection. Here, a method in which the management server 400 supports a tunnel connection will be described as an example. The tunnel connection method is not limited to the case where the management server 400 is used, and other methods may be used.

  The gateway device 200 requests establishment of a communication session with the management server 400 using the network address of the management server 400 stored in advance. Since the gateway device 200 is inside the firewall and the management server 400 is outside the firewall, a communication session passing through the firewall is established. Hereinafter, this communication session is referred to as a constant connection session.

  When the gateway device 200 establishes a constant connection session with the management server 400, the gateway device 200 transmits device identification information for identifying each of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B connected to the LAN 3 to the management server 400 via the constant connection session. To do. The management server 400 recognizes the MFPs 100, 100A, 100B connected to the gateway device 200.

  Next, the cloud server 300 establishes a communication session with the management server 400. Here, a communication session established between the cloud server 300 and the management server 400 is referred to as a global session. Since the management server 400 receives the device identification information of each of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B received from the gateway device 200, the MFP 100, 100A is a device that can be tunnel-connected to the user who operates the cloud server 300. , 100B is selected. Here, a case will be described as an example where MFP 100 is selected as an apparatus to be tunnel-connected by a user who operates cloud server 300.

  When MFP 100 is selected as a device to be tunneled by the user who operates cloud server 300, cloud server 300 transmits a connection request including address information of MFP 100 and address information of cloud server 300 to management server 400. . The address information of MFP 100 includes device identification information of gateway device 200 and device identification information of MFP 100. The address information of the cloud server 300 includes the network address of the cloud server 300 and the job ID of the job executed by the cloud server 300. Here, the address information of the cloud server 300 is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for accessing the cloud server 300 from the MFP 100. As the URL, for example, “https://www.example.com/print_service?job_id=j00123:60001”, the network address (domain name) of the cloud server 300, the identifier of the web page, and the cloud server 300 execute A job identifier (job ID), a port number of a standby port, and the like are included. As the standby port, an unused port in a predetermined range is used. A unique ID is issued as the job ID. The job executed by the cloud server 300 is a job corresponding to a service designated by a user operating the cloud server 300 among services provided by the cloud server 300. Since the URL that is the address information of the cloud server 300 includes the job ID, the device that has accessed the URL can be associated with the job specified by the job ID. In other words, a job for executing a service designated by a user operating the cloud server 300 can be associated with the apparatus that has requested connection, in this case, the MFP 100.

  When the management server 400 receives a connection request from the cloud server 300, the management server 400 identifies the gateway device 200 based on the device identification information of the gateway device 200 included in the address information of the MFP 100 included in the connection request, and sends the connection request to the gateway device. 200 through a always-on session. In this case, the connection request is encapsulated and transmitted according to the protocol corresponding to the always-on session.

  Further, when receiving the connection request from the management server 400, the gateway device 200 establishes a communication session with the cloud server 300 based on the address information of the cloud server 300 included in the connection request. Here, a communication session established between the gateway device 200 and the cloud server 300 is referred to as a first communication session. This completes the tunnel connection through the firewall.

  Upon receiving the connection request from management server 400, gateway device 200 identifies MFP 100 based on the device identification information of MFP 100 included in the address information of MFP 100 included in the connection request, and establishes a communication session with MFP 100. . Here, a communication session established between gateway apparatus 200 and MFP 100 is referred to as a second communication session.

  Gateway device 200 relays communication between cloud server 300 and MFP 100 using the first communication session established with cloud server 300 and the second communication session established with MFP 100. To do. For example, the communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100 is relayed by connecting the first communication session and the second communication session.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an outline of a hardware configuration of the gateway device. Referring to FIG. 2, gateway device 200 in the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 for controlling the entire gateway device 200, and a ROM (Read) that stores a program and the like for CPU 201 to execute. (Only Memory) 202, RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 used as a work area of CPU 201, flash memory 204 for storing data in a nonvolatile manner, first communication unit 205, second communication unit 206, and external storage An apparatus 209.

  The first communication unit 205 is a communication interface (I / F) for connecting the gateway device 200 to the Internet 5. The second communication unit 206 is a communication interface (I / F) for connecting the gateway device 200 to the LAN 3.

  The flash memory 204 stores a program executed by the CPU 201 or data necessary for executing the program. The CPU 201 loads the program recorded in the flash memory 204 to the RAM 203 and executes it. The external storage device 209 is detachable from the gateway device 200, and a CD-ROM (Compact Disk ROM) 209A storing a program can be attached thereto. The CPU 201 can access the CD-ROM 209A via the external storage device 209. The CPU 201 can load the relay program recorded on the CD-ROM 209A attached to the external storage device 209 into the RAM 203 and execute it.

  Although the program recorded in the flash memory 204 or the CD-ROM 209A has been described as a program executed by the CPU 201, a program in which another computer connected to the Internet 5 rewrites the program stored in the flash memory 204, Alternatively, it may be a new program written additionally. Further, the gateway device 200 may be a program downloaded from another computer connected to the Internet 5. The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 201 but also a source program, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  The medium for storing the program executed by the CPU 201 is not limited to the CD-ROM 209A, but an optical disc (MO (Magnetic Optical Disc) / MD (Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), IC card, optical card, It may be a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or an EEPROM (Electrically EPROM).

  Since the hardware configurations and functions of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B are the same, the MFP 100 will be described as an example unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an outline of the hardware configuration of the MFP. Referring to FIG. 3, MFP 100 includes a main circuit 110, a document reading unit 130 for reading a document, an automatic document feeder 120 for transporting a document to document reading unit 130, and document reading unit 130. An image forming unit 140 for forming an image on a sheet or the like based on image data output by reading the image, a sheet feeding unit 150 for supplying the image to the image forming unit 140, and processing the sheet on which the image is formed A post-processing unit 155 and an operation panel 160 as a user interface.

  The post-processing unit 155 executes a sorting process for sorting and discharging one or more sheets on which images are formed by the image forming unit 140, a punching process for punch hole processing, and a staple process for driving staple needles.

  The main circuit 110 includes a CPU 111, a communication interface (I / F) unit 112, a ROM 113, a RAM 114, a hard disk drive (HDD) 115 as a mass storage device, a facsimile unit 116, and a CD-ROM 118. External storage device 117. CPU 111 is connected to automatic document feeder 120, document reading unit 130, image forming unit 140, paper feeding unit 150, post-processing unit 155, and operation panel 160, and controls the entire MFP 100.

  The ROM 113 stores a program executed by the CPU 111 or data necessary for executing the program. The RAM 114 is used as a work area when the CPU 111 executes a program. The RAM 114 temporarily stores read data (image data) continuously sent from the document reading unit 130.

  Operation panel 160 is provided on the upper surface of MFP 100 and includes a display unit 161 and an operation unit 163. The display unit 161 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic ELD (Electro-Luminescence Display), and displays an instruction menu for the user, information about acquired image data, and the like. The operation unit 163 includes a hard key unit 167 including a plurality of keys, and accepts input of various instructions, data such as characters and numbers by user operations corresponding to the keys. The operation unit 163 further includes a touch panel 165 provided on the display unit 161.

  Communication I / F unit 112 is an interface for connecting MFP 100 to LAN 3. The CPU 111 communicates with a device connected to the LAN 3 via the communication I / F unit 112 to transmit / receive data. Further, the communication I / F unit 112 can communicate with a computer connected to the Internet 5 via the gateway device 200, for example, the management server 400 and the cloud server 300.

  The facsimile unit 116 is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and transmits facsimile data to the PSTN or receives facsimile data from the PSTN. The facsimile unit 116 stores the received facsimile data in the HDD 115 or outputs it to the image forming unit 140. The image forming unit 140 prints the facsimile data received by the facsimile unit 116 on a sheet. Further, the facsimile unit 116 converts the data stored in the HDD 115 into facsimile data, and transmits the facsimile data to a facsimile machine connected to the PSTN.

  The external storage device 117 is loaded with a CD-ROM 118. The CPU 111 can access the CD-ROM 118 via the external storage device 117. The CPU 111 loads the program recorded on the CD-ROM 118 attached to the external storage device 117 to the RAM 114 and executes it. The medium for storing the program executed by the CPU 111 is not limited to the CD-ROM 118, and may be a semiconductor memory such as an optical disk (MO / MD / DVD), IC card, optical card, mask ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM. Good.

  Further, the CPU 111 may load a program stored in the HDD 115 into the RAM 114 and execute it. In this case, another computer connected to the LAN 3 or the Internet 5 may rewrite the program stored in the HDD 115 of the MFP 100 or may add a new program and write it. Further, MFP 100 may download a program from another computer connected to LAN 3 or Internet 5 and store the program in HDD 115. The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 111 but also a source program, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an outline of the hardware configuration of the cloud server according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, the cloud server 300 includes a CPU 301 for controlling the entire cloud server 300, a ROM 302 for storing a program to be executed by the CPU 301, a RAM 303 used as a work area for the CPU 301, and data Including a communication unit 305 for connecting the CPU 301 to the Internet 5, a display unit 306 for displaying information, an operation unit 307 for accepting user operation input, and an external storage device 309. .

  The external storage device 309 is loaded with a CD-ROM 309A. The CPU 301 can access the CD-ROM 309A via the external storage device 309. The CPU 301 loads the program recorded on the CD-ROM 309A mounted on the external storage device 309 into the RAM 303 and executes it. The medium for storing the program executed by the CPU 301 is not limited to the CD-ROM 309A, and may be a semiconductor memory such as an optical disk, an IC card, an optical card, a mask ROM, an EPROM, or an EEPROM.

  The program executed by the CPU 301 is not limited to the program recorded on the CD-ROM 309A, and the program stored in the HDD 304 may be loaded into the RAM 303 and executed. In this case, another computer connected to the Internet 5 may rewrite the program stored in the HDD 304 of the cloud server 300 or may add a new program and write it. Further, the cloud server 300 may download a program from another computer connected to the Internet 5 and store the program in the HDD 304. The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU 301 but also a source program, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the CPU provided in the gateway device. The functions shown in FIG. 5 are functions formed in the CPU 201 when the CPU 201 included in the gateway device 200 executes a relay program stored in the ROM 202, the flash memory 204, or the CD-ROM 209A. Referring to FIG. 5, CPU 201 provided in gateway device 200 includes a first communication control unit 250, a second communication control unit 260, and a relay unit 270.

  The first communication control unit 250 controls the first communication unit 205 and controls communication with a computer connected to the Internet 5. First communication control unit 250 includes a constant connection session establishment unit 251, a connection request reception unit 253, and a first session establishment unit 255.

  Second communication control unit 260 controls second communication unit 206 to control communication with MFPs 100, 100 A, and 100 B connected to LAN 3. Second communication control unit 260 includes an input information request receiving unit 261, a second session establishing unit 263, and an error detecting unit 265.

  The input information request receiving unit 261 receives an input information request from any of the MFPs 100, 100 A, and 100 B connected to the LAN 3 inside the firewall. For example, when the MFP 100 requests input information from the cloud server 300, the input information request is a signal for requesting the MFP 100 to establish a communication session with the cloud server 300, and the cloud server 300 has the connection destination address information. Contains a URL. Here, a case where an input information request is received from MFP 100 will be described as an example. For example, when a user who operates MFP 100 inputs an instruction for receiving a service provided by cloud server 300 to MFP 100, MFP 100 transmits an input information request. The input information request receiving unit 261 outputs connection identification information for identifying the input information request and connection destination address information included in the input information request to the first session establishing unit 255 to identify the input information request. The connection identification information and the connection source address information are output to the second session establishment unit 263. The connection source address information is the network address of the apparatus that has transmitted the input information request, and is apparatus identification information of the MFP 100 in this example.

  The always-on session establishment unit 251 controls the first communication unit 205 to transmit a communication session establishment request to the management server 400 and establish a communication session with the management server 400. The communication session established here is an always-on session that is always connected. The always-on session is not particularly limited, but is a message session based on, for example, XMPP (extensible messaging and presence protocol). The global IP address of the management server 400 is stored in the flash memory 204 in advance, and the always-on session establishment unit 251 sends a communication session establishment request to the management server 400 using the global IP address stored in the flash memory 204. And a constant connection session is established by performing a predetermined negotiation with the management server 400.

  The always-on session establishing unit 251 notifies the management server 400 of the device identification information of each of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B via the always-on session in order to notify the management server 400 of the devices connected to the LAN 3 inside the firewall. Send. As a result, the management server 400 recognizes that the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B are connected to the gateway device 200.

  The connection request receiving unit 253 receives a tunnel connection request from the management server 400 via a constant connection session. The tunnel connection request includes a connection request received from the cloud server 300 by the management server 400. The connection request received from the cloud server 300 by the management server 400 includes connection source address information and connection destination address information. Here, a case will be described as an example where the address information of the connection source is the address information of the MFP 100 and the address information of the connection destination is the address information of the cloud server 300. The address information of MFP 100 includes device identification information of gateway device 200 and device identification information of MFP 100. The address information of the cloud server 300 is a URL for accessing the cloud server 300 from the MFP 100.

  In response to receiving the tunnel connection request, the connection request reception unit 253 sends connection identification information for identifying the tunnel connection request and connection destination address information included in the tunnel connection request to the first session establishment unit 255. The connection identification information for identifying the tunnel connection request and the connection source address information are output to the second session establishing unit 263.

  The first session establishing unit 255 controls the first communication unit 205 in response to the connection identification information and the connection destination address information being input from the connection request receiving unit 253 or the input information request receiving unit 261. The establishment request is transmitted using the address information of the connection destination. The address information of the connection destination input from the connection request receiving unit 253 or the input information request receiving unit 261 is the address information of the cloud server 300 here. Specifically, the establishment request is a GET command including a URL that is address information of the cloud server 300. The first session establishing unit 255 establishes an HTTP tunnel communication session with the cloud server 300 specified by the URL by transmitting a GET command including a URL that is address information of the cloud server 300. The communication session established here is the first communication session. When establishing the first communication session, the first session establishing unit 255 outputs session identification information for identifying the first communication session and connection identification information to the relay unit 270.

  The second session establishing unit 263 controls the second communication unit 206 in response to the connection identification information and the connection source address information being input from the connection request receiving unit 253 or the input information request receiving unit 261. An establishment request is transmitted using the address information of the connection source. Here, the connection source address information from the connection request receiving unit 253 or the input information request receiving unit 261 is the address information of the MFP 100. Second session establishment unit 263 transmits an establishment request to MFP 100 and establishes a communication session with MFP 100. The communication session established here is the second communication session. The second communication session is not particularly limited, but may be a communication session that conforms to the communication protocol used in the LAN 3. Second session establishing section 263 outputs session identification information and connection identification information for identifying the second communication session to relay section 270.

  When the second communication session is established, the second session establishment unit 263 outputs session identification information for identifying the second communication session to the error detection unit 265. The error detection unit 265 monitors the state of the second communication session specified by the session identification information after the session identification information is input from the second session establishment unit 263, and whether or not an error has occurred in the second communication session. Determine whether. The error detection unit 265 outputs an error signal to the relay unit 270 when detecting an error that has occurred in the second communication session. The error occurs, for example, when the power of the MFP 100 is turned off or when a trouble that the MFP 100 cannot communicate with has occurred.

  The relay unit 270 receives the session identification information and connection identification information of the first communication session from the first session establishment unit 255, and receives the session identification information and connection identification information of the second communication session from the second session establishment unit 263. The The relay unit 270 uses the first communication session established by the first session establishment unit 255 and the second communication session established by the second session establishment unit 263 to perform communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100. Relay. The relay unit 270 associates the session identification information of the first communication session and the session identification information of the second communication session with the same connection identification information corresponding to each other, and is specified by the two associated session identification information. Communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100 is relayed using the first communication session and the second communication session. Thereby, even when a plurality of first communication sessions are established by the first session establishment unit 255 and a plurality of second communication sessions are established by the second session establishment unit 263, the address of the connection destination included in the tunnel connection request It becomes possible to relay communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100 identified by the information and the address information of the connection source, and the connection destination address included in the input information request and the MFP 100 that has transmitted the input information request. It becomes possible to relay communication between devices with the cloud server 300 specified by the information. Relay unit 270 associates the first communication session with the second communication session, transmits data received from cloud server 300 via the first communication session to MFP 100 via the second communication session, and performs second communication. Data received from MFP 100 via the session is transmitted to cloud server 300 via the first communication session.

  Here, functions of the cloud server 300 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the CPU provided in the cloud server. The functions shown in FIG. 6 are functions formed in the CPU 301 when the CPU 301 included in the cloud server 300 executes a service providing program stored in the ROM 302, the HDD 304, or the CD-ROM 309A. Referring to FIG. 6, the CPU 301 included in the cloud server 300 includes an external receiving unit 351, a service providing unit 353, a connection requesting unit 355, a server-side establishing unit 357, a transmitting unit 359, and an input information request receiving unit. 361.

  The service providing unit 353 provides a predetermined service. For example, when the service provided by the cloud server is a service that recognizes images, the result of the service is character data obtained as a result of character recognition of the input image. The service providing unit 353 generates a screen for displaying the character data, and outputs the fixed data serving as the background in the screen and the variation data composed of the character data to the transmission unit 359.

  The external reception unit 351 is connected to an external device that accesses the cloud server 300 and receives an operation from the external device. The external device is, for example, a PC operated by a user who uses a service provided by the cloud server 300 and is connected to the Internet 5 or the LAN 3. When the cloud server 300 is connected to an external device, the cloud server 300 receives an operation input to the external device by a user operating the external device from the external device. The external reception unit 351 causes the service providing unit 353 to execute processing according to an operation received from the external device, and specifies an output destination of the service result. The cloud server 300 has established a global session with the management server 400, and has received the device identification information of the gateway device 200 and the device identification information of each of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B from the management server 400. . For this reason, the user of the external device can specify one of the MFPs 100, 100A, and 100B as the output destination of the service result. Note that the device identification information of the gateway device 200 and the device identification information of each of the MFPs 100, 100 </ b> A, and 100 </ b> B may be received in advance from the management server 400 and stored in the HDD 404. In addition, the device identification information of the gateway device 200 and the device identification information of each of the MFPs 100, 100 A, and 100 B are input by an administrator who manages the cloud server 300 and stored in the HDD 304. Also good. Here, a case where MFP 100 is designated as the output destination of the service result will be described as an example. External reception unit 351 requests connection request unit 355 to connect to MFP 100.

  The connection request unit 355 controls the communication unit 305 to send a connection request including connection destination address information and connection source address information in response to a request for connection with the MFP 100 from the external reception unit 351. It transmits to the management server 400 via a global session. The connection source address information is output destination address information, and here is address information of the MFP 100. The address information of MFP 100 includes device identification information of gateway device 200 and device identification information of MFP 100. The address information of the connection destination is address information of the cloud server 300, and includes a job ID for identifying a job executed by the service providing unit 353 to provide a service. The address information of the cloud server 300 is a URL for accessing the cloud server 300 from the MFP 100. The URL includes the network address (domain name) of the cloud server 300, the web page identifier, the job ID included in the connection instruction, and the port number of the standby port. In response to transmitting the connection request, the connection request unit 355 outputs the connection destination address information and the connection source address information to the server side establishment unit 357.

  After the connection destination address information and the connection source address information are input from the connection request unit 355, the server side establishment unit 357 controls the communication unit 305 to include an establishment request including the same address information as the connection destination address information. Is established, a communication session is established with the device that has transmitted the establishment request. As described above, the establishment request is transmitted from the gateway device 200 that receives the connection request transmitted to the management server 400. Here, the address information of the connection destination is the address information of the cloud server 300, and the address information of the cloud server 300 is a URL including a job ID. The establishment request in this case is a GET command including a URL that is address information of the cloud server 300. The server-side establishing unit 357 establishes a communication session with the gateway device 200 that has transmitted the establishment request. Here, the communication session established with the gateway device 200 is the first communication session. Further, since the URL included in the GET command that is the establishment request includes the job ID, it is possible to determine which of the jobs being executed by the service providing unit 353 corresponds to the establishment request. is there. The server side establishing unit 357 sets a set of the session identification information of the first communication session established with the gateway device 200, the job ID included in the connection destination address information, and the connection source address information. The data is output to the transmission unit 359.

  The transmission unit 359 receives a set of the session identification information, the job ID, and the connection source address information of the first communication session from the server side establishment unit 357, and receives the service result from the service providing unit 353. . The transmission unit 359 receives the service result input from the service providing unit 353 from the set of the session identification information, the job ID, and the connection source address information of the first communication session input from the server side establishing unit 357. The group including the job ID corresponding to is specified, and the session identification information included in the specified group is specified. The transmission unit 359 controls the communication unit 305 to transmit the result of the service input from the service providing unit 353 to the gateway apparatus 200 via the first communication session specified by the specified session identification information. .

  The job transmitted to the gateway apparatus 200 by the transmission unit 359 via the first communication session is received by the gateway apparatus 200 via the first communication session and transmitted to the MFP 100 via the second communication session. In MFP 100, processing is executed based on the result of the service received from gateway device 200.

  The communication unit 305 may receive an input information request transmitted from the MFP 100 to the cloud server 300 from the gateway device 200. This is a case where a user operating MFP 100 inputs an instruction for receiving a service provided by cloud server 300 to MFP 100. In this case, the MFP 100 transmits an input information request to the cloud server 300, but the gateway device 200 receives the input information request transmitted from the MFP 100 and transmits the input information request to the cloud server 300. The input information request includes device identification information of MFP 100 as connection source address information. The server-side establishing unit 357 controls the communication unit 305 to establish a communication session with the gateway device 200 that has transmitted the input information request. Here, the communication session established with the gateway device 200 is the first communication session. The server side establishment unit 357 outputs a set of the session identification information of the first communication session established with the gateway device 200 and the address information of the connection source to the transmission unit 359 and the input information request reception unit 361. To do.

  The input information request accepting unit 361 controls the communication unit 305 in response to the input of the session identification information of the first communication session and the address information of the connection source from the server side establishing unit 357, and the session identification An operation input to MFP 100 by a user operating MFP 100 is accepted via the first communication session specified by the information. The input information request receiving unit 361 causes the service providing unit 353 to execute processing according to an operation received from the MFP 100 and specifies the output destination of the service result to the MFP 100. In response to causing the service providing unit 353 to execute the process, the input information request receiving unit 361 acquires a job ID for identifying a job to be executed by the service providing unit 353 to provide the service. The pair with the session identification information of the first communication session is output to the transmission unit 359.

  The transmission unit 359 receives a set of the session identification information and the job ID of the first communication session from the input information request reception unit 361, and receives a service result from the service providing unit 353. The transmission unit 359 selects a job ID corresponding to the service result input from the service providing unit 353 from the set of the session identification information and the job ID of the first communication session input from the input information request receiving unit 361. The group to be included is specified, and the session identification information included in the specified group is specified. The transmission unit 359 controls the communication unit 305 to transmit the result of the service input from the service providing unit 353 to the gateway apparatus 200 via the first communication session specified by the specified session identification information. .

  The result of the service transmitted by transmission unit 359 to gateway device 200 via the first communication session is received by gateway device 200 via the first communication session and transmitted to MFP 100 via the second communication session. . In MFP 100, processing is executed based on the result of the service received from gateway device 200.

  When the service result input from the service providing unit 353 includes a plurality of messages, the transmission unit 359 transmits the plurality of messages in order. For example, the plurality of messages include fixed data and variable data. Transmission unit 359 transmits the fixed data to MFP 100 via the first communication session in response to the fixed data input from service providing unit 353. When the variable message is input from the service providing unit 353, the transmitting unit 359 receives the variable message via the first communication session without receiving a request signal for requesting transmission of the message via the first communication session. Send to MFP 100.

  The transmission unit 359 includes a notification unit 371. When the transmission unit 359 transmits the fixed data to the gateway device 200 via the first communication session, the notification unit 371 notifies the gateway device 200 that there is a subsequent variation message. Specifically, it is notified that the first communication session is to be maintained. More specifically, the transmission unit 359 transmits a fixed message using a persistent connection function defined by HTTP. Preferably, the persistent connection function is a server push function defined by HTTP / 2 or a chunk transmission function defined by HTTP. Thereby, the transmission unit 359 transmits the fixed data to the gateway device 200 without receiving a request signal for requesting transmission of the variable data from the gateway device 200 after transmitting the fixed data to the gateway device 200 via the first communication session. 200 can be transmitted.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the relay unit 270 includes a message proxy reception unit 271, a determination unit 273, a standby unit 275, a request signal reception unit 277, a message proxy transmission unit 279, a temporary storage unit 281, and an erasure unit. 283. Message proxy receiver 271 receives a message transmitted from cloud server 300 on behalf of MFP 100 via the first communication session. When the message proxy reception unit 271 receives the message, the message proxy reception unit 271 notifies the determination unit 273 that the message has been received, and outputs a set of the received message and the device identification information of the device to which the message is transmitted to the standby unit 275. To do. The destination device is MFP 100.

  When the message proxy reception unit 271 receives a message, the determination unit 273 determines whether there is a subsequent message in the received message. The determination unit 273 determines that there is a subsequent message if the message received by the message proxy reception unit 271 is a message received using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP. Specifically, when the message proxy receiving unit 271 receives a message using the server push function defined by HTTP / 2, the determining unit 273 determines that there is a subsequent message. In addition, when the message proxy reception unit 271 receives a message with the chunk transmission function defined by HTTP, the determination unit 273 continues when the message until the data amount described in the header of the message is not received. Is determined to exist. If the determination unit 273 determines that there is a subsequent message, the determination unit 273 notifies the standby unit 275 that there is a subsequent message.

  When the determination unit 273 notifies the standby unit 275 of the message input from the message proxy reception unit 271 and the device identification information that the subsequent message exists, the message is received when the message is the first message. A first transmission instruction is output to proxy transmission unit 279, and if the message is not the first message, a set of the message and device identification information is output to temporary storage unit 281. The first transmission instruction includes a set of a message and device identification information input from the message proxy reception unit 271.

  Temporary storage unit 281 stores a set of a message input from standby unit 275 and device identification information in order. The temporary storage unit 281 outputs a set of a message and device identification information in a first-in first-out manner.

  In response to the input of the first transmission instruction from standby unit 275, message proxy transmission unit 279 sends the message included in the first transmission instruction to MFP 100 specified by the device identification information via the second communication session. When the message is transmitted on behalf of the server 300 and the transmission of the message is completed, the second communication session is disconnected.

  Request signal receiving unit 277 controls second communication unit 206 to receive a request signal from MFP 100. As described later, when MFP 100 determines that the message received from cloud server 300 is a part of input information for executing processing, MFP 100 requests cloud server 300 to transmit the remaining part of the input information. In addition, the request signal is transmitted to the cloud server 300. When the request signal receiving unit 277 receives the request signal, the standby unit 375 temporarily stores a message that is paired with the device that transmitted the request signal, here, the device identification information of the MFP 100. Therefore, request signal receiving unit 277 receives the request signal received from MFP 100 separately from the input information request received from MFP 100 by input information request receiving unit 261 described above.

  Request signal receiving unit 277 outputs an establishment instruction to second session establishing unit 263 in response to second communication unit 206 receiving a request signal from MFP 100. The establishment instruction includes device identification information of MFP 100 that has transmitted the request signal. Second session establishing unit 263 establishes a communication session with MFP 100 in response to the establishment instruction being input. Here, the established communication session is the second communication session. Second session establishing section 263 outputs a set of session identification information for identifying the second communication session and apparatus identification information of the connection destination apparatus to request signal receiving section 377 and identifies the second communication session. Session identification information is output to the error detection unit 265.

  The request signal receiving unit 277 outputs a connection instruction to the second session establishing unit 263, and then receives a set of session identification information and device identification information from the second session establishing unit 263, so that the standby unit 275 Output instruction to. The output instruction includes a set of session identification information and device identification information of the second communication session.

  In response to the output instruction input from the request signal receiving unit 277, the standby unit 275 includes the device identification information included in the output instruction from the message and device identification information stored in the temporary storage unit 281. The most recently stored set of the sets including the same device identification information is specified. Then, standby unit 275 outputs a second transmission instruction to message proxy transmission unit 279. The second transmission instruction includes a set specified from the message and device identification information stored in temporary storage unit 281 and session identification information included in the output instruction.

  The message proxy transmission unit 279 sends the message included in the transmission instruction to the MFP 100 specified by the device identification information included in the transmission instruction via the second communication session specified by the session identification information included in the second transmission instruction. When the message is transmitted on behalf of the cloud server 300 and the message transmission is completed, the second communication session is disconnected.

  For example, when receiving the fixed data from the cloud server 300 using the server push function defined by HTTP / 2, the relay unit 270 transmits the fixed data to the MFP 100 and receives the fixed data from the cloud server 300 following the fixed data. The fluctuation data to be received is received and temporarily stored. At this time, the relay unit 270 receives the variable data and the fixed data via the same first communication session.

  When the variable data and the fixed data are received in different communication sessions, after the variable data is received via the first communication session, the first communication session is disconnected, and then a connection request transmitted by the MFP 100 is issued. The input information request receiving unit 261 receives the data, and the first session establishing unit 255 establishes a new first communication session with the cloud server 300 and receives the first communication session via the first communication session. In this case, processing and time for establishing the first communication session are required between the gateway device 200 and the cloud server 300. In particular, when the load on the Internet 5 is large or the load on the cloud server 300 is large, the time for re-establishing the first communication session may be long. Since the relay unit 270 receives the fixed data and the variable data from the cloud server 300 via the same first communication session, compared to the case where the variable data and the fixed data are received in different communication sessions, It can be received in a short time.

  In response to the input of an error signal from the error detection unit 265, the deletion unit 283 outputs a deletion instruction to the temporary storage unit 281 and receives a message from the MFP 100 to the cloud server 300 via the first communication session. Notify that failed. The temporary storage unit 281 deletes the temporarily stored message in response to the input of the delete instruction. If an error occurs in the second communication session, the request signal cannot be received from the MFP 100 via the second communication session. Therefore, the message stored in the temporary storage unit 281 is deleted, and the temporary storage unit 281 is deleted. Avoid continuing message storage. In addition, since cloud server 300 detects that no message has been received by MFP 100, it can notify the user who has instructed the provision of the service that an error has occurred.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functions of a CPU included in the MFP. The functions illustrated in FIG. 7 are functions formed in the CPU 111 when the CPU 111 provided in the MFP 100 executes a device control program stored in the ROM 113, HDD 115, or CD-ROM 118. Referring to FIG. 7, CPU 111 provided in MFP 100 includes an input information request unit 51, a reception control unit 53, and a process execution unit 55. The input information request unit 51 transmits an input information request to the cloud server 300. For example, when a user operating the MFP 100 inputs an instruction for receiving a service provided by the cloud server 300 to the operation unit 163, the input information request unit 51 controls the communication I / F unit 112 to control the cloud server. An input information request is transmitted to 300. The input information request includes address information of the cloud server 300 that is the connection destination. The input information request transmitted from the MFP 100 to the cloud server 300 is received by the gateway device 200, and a second communication session is established with the gateway device 200. The input information request unit 51 outputs session identification information for identifying the second communication session established with the gateway device 200 to the reception control unit 53.

  The reception control unit 53 communicates with the gateway device 200 via the second communication session established with the gateway device 200. The second communication session established with the gateway device 200 may be established by the input information request unit 51 or may be established by the reception control unit 53.

  The reception control unit 53 includes a message reception unit 61 and a request signal transmission unit 63. The message receiving unit 61 receives a message from the cloud server 300 via the second communication session. The message reception unit 61 outputs the received message to the process execution unit 55. When the message receiving unit 61 completes the message reception, the second communication session is disconnected by the gateway device 200.

  The process execution unit 55 processes a message input from the message reception unit 61. For example, when the message is data for generating a screen, an image of the screen is generated and the generated image is displayed on the display unit 161. Further, the process execution unit 55 determines whether or not the message is a part of data for generating a screen. For example, when the screen is composed of fixed data and variable data, and the message is fixed data, the process execution unit 55 determines that the message is a part of data for generating the screen. When the process execution unit 55 determines that the message is a part of data for generating a screen, the process execution unit 55 outputs a request instruction to the request signal transmission unit 63.

  The request signal transmission unit 63 controls the communication I / F unit 112 in response to the input of a request instruction, and transmits a request signal to the cloud server 300. Actually, the request signal is received by the gateway device 200 on behalf of the cloud server 300. As described above, when gateway apparatus 200 receives the request signal, gateway apparatus 200 transmits an establishment request to establish a second communication session with MFP 100. The reception control unit 53 controls the communication I / F unit 112 to establish a second communication session with the gateway device 200 when receiving an establishment request from the gateway device 200. When the second communication session is established, MFP 100 transmits a message received from cloud server 300 on behalf of MFP 100 to MFP 100 via the second communication session. Here, the gateway device 200 transmits a message including variation data. When the message reception unit 61 controls the communication I / F unit 112 to receive a message of variable data via the second communication session, the message reception unit 61 outputs the received message to the process execution unit 55. Accordingly, the screen image generated based on the fixed data and the variation data is displayed on the display 161 by the process execution unit 55.

  FIG. 8 is a first diagram illustrating an example of information flow in the information system. FIG. 8 shows a flow of information when a user who operates MFP 100 receives a service provided by cloud server 300. Referring to FIG. 8, when MFP 100 transmits an input information request to the cloud server, the input information request is received by gateway device 200 on behalf of cloud server 300. Gateway device 200 transmits an establishment request to cloud server 300 on behalf of MFP 100. As a result, a first communication session is established between the gateway device 200 and the cloud server 300. In response to the establishment of the first communication session, gateway device 200 establishes a second communication session with MFP 100. In this state, the gateway device 200 can relay communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100.

  When the user who operates MFP 100 requests the cloud server 300 to provide a service, the cloud server 300 executes a process for providing the service to the MFP 100, and the result of executing the process is transmitted via the first communication session. Send to MFP 100. Here, the result of the process executed by the cloud server 300 to provide the service is transmitted on the screen. The screen data transmitted by the cloud server 300 includes fixed data as a background of the screen and variation data indicating the result of the processing. In this case, in order to shorten the response time after the service is requested, the cloud server 300 processes the transmission of the fixed data and the generation of the fluctuation data in parallel, and uses the fixed data before the fluctuation data is generated. Is first transmitted, and when the variation data is generated, the message composed of the variation data is transmitted. At this time, the cloud server 300 adds a subsequent signal for notifying that there is a message including the subsequent variable data to the message including the fixed data, and transmits the message via the first communication session. Specifically, a message composed of fixed data is transmitted using a persistent connection function defined by HTTP.

  When the gateway device 200 receives a message composed of fixed data from the cloud server 300 via the first communication session using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP, the gateway device 200 confirms that a message composed of subsequent variable data exists. Detect and do not disconnect the first communication session. When the gateway device 200 receives a message consisting of variable data following the message consisting of fixed data from the cloud server 300 via the first communication session, the gateway device 200 temporarily stores the received message consisting of variable data. In addition, since the gateway device 200 has not received the message including the variable data from the cloud server 300 via the first communication session using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP, there is no subsequent message. Is detected and the first communication session is disconnected.

  On the other hand, gateway device 200 transmits a message composed of fixed data received from cloud server 300 to MFP 100 on behalf of cloud server 300 via the second communication session, and disconnects the second communication session when the message transmission is completed. To do. When MFP 100 receives a message composed of fixed data via the second communication session, MFP 100 processes the fixed data. For example, an image of the background portion of the screen is generated using fixed data. In addition, when receiving fixed data, the MFP 100 determines that there is fluctuating data, and transmits a request signal for requesting fluctuating data to the cloud server 300. The request signal transmitted by MFP 100 is received on behalf of cloud server 300 by gateway device 200. When gateway apparatus 200 receives the request signal, it establishes a second communication session with MFP 100. In this state, the gateway device 200 can relay communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100.

  When the gateway apparatus 200 receives a request signal addressed to the cloud server 300 from the MFP 100, the gateway apparatus 200 transmits a message including the temporarily stored variable data via the second communication session on behalf of the cloud server 300, and the message transmission is completed. Then, the second communication session is disconnected. When MFP 100 receives a message composed of variable data via the second communication session, MFP 100 processes the variable data. For example, an image of the data portion of the screen is generated using the variation data, and an image of the screen in which the data portion is combined with the background portion is generated and displayed. Further, when receiving the variation data, the MFP 100 determines that all data has been received from the cloud server 300 and disconnects the second communication session.

  If the gateway apparatus 200 does not receive a request signal addressed to the cloud server 300 from the MFP 100 via the second communication session even after a predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting a message composed of fixed data, the gateway apparatus 200 receives the second communication session. It is determined that an abnormality has occurred, and the message composed of the temporarily stored variation data is deleted, and the cloud server 300 is notified that an error has occurred. For this reason, the first communication session may not be disconnected until it is possible to determine that an abnormality has occurred in the second communication session.

  FIG. 9 is a second diagram illustrating an example of the flow of information in the information system. FIG. 9 shows a flow of information when a user operating the PC 500 connected to the Internet 5 or the LAN 3 receives a service provided by the cloud server 300 and designates the MFP 100 as an output destination. Referring to FIG. 9, gateway device 200 establishes a constant connection session with management server 400. When the MFP 100 is designated as an output destination by the user of the PC 500, the cloud server 300 transmits a connection request to the management server 400. When receiving the connection request from the cloud server 300, the management server 400 transmits a tunnel connection request to the gateway device 200. The tunnel connection request includes address information of the cloud server 300 and address information of the MFP 100 as connection destination address information.

  Gateway device 200 establishes a first communication session with cloud server 300 and a second communication session with MFP 100 in accordance with the tunnel connection request. In this state, the gateway device 200 can relay communication between the cloud server 300 and the MFP 100.

  When the user operating the PC requests the cloud server 300 to provide a service, the cloud server 300 executes a process for providing the service to the MFP 100. Since the flow of data for transmitting a message composed of fixed data and a message composed of variable data from the cloud server 300 to the MFP 100 is the same as the flow shown in FIG. 8, the description thereof will not be repeated here.

  10 and 11 are flowcharts illustrating an example of the flow of relay processing. The relay process is a process executed by the CPU 201 when the CPU 201 included in the gateway device 200 executes a relay program stored in the ROM 202, the flash memory 204, or the CD-ROM 209A. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, CPU 201 provided in gateway device 200 controls first communication unit 205 to establish a constant connection session with management server 400 (step S01). A request for establishing a communication session is transmitted to the management server 400 using the global IP address of the management server 400 stored in the flash memory 204, and a constant connection session is established by performing a predetermined negotiation with the management server 400. The always-on session is not particularly limited, but is a message session based on XMPP, for example.

  In the next step S02, it is determined whether a tunnel connection request has been received from the management server 400 via the always-on session. If a tunnel connection request is received, the process proceeds to step S04; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S03. In step S03, it is determined whether an input information request addressed to cloud server 300 has been received. For example, when a user operating the MFP 100 inputs an operation to receive a service provided by the cloud server 300 to the MFP 100, the MFP 100 transmits an input information request to the cloud server 300. Receive input information request. If an input information request addressed to cloud server 300 is received, the process proceeds to step S04. If not, the process returns to step S02.

  In step S04, a second communication session is established. When the process proceeds from step S02, the connection source address information is extracted from the tunnel connection request received from the management server 400. Here, a case will be described as an example where the tunnel connection request includes the address information of MFP 100 as the address information of the connection source and the address information of cloud server 300 as the address information of the connection destination. In this case, the second communication unit 206 is controlled to establish a second communication session with the MFP 100 specified as the connection source device. When the process proceeds from step S03, the second communication unit 206 is controlled to establish a second communication session with the MFP 100 that has transmitted the input information request addressed to the cloud server 300.

  In step S05, a first communication session is established. When step S02 is executed, connection destination address information is extracted from the tunnel connection request received in step S02. Here, since the tunnel connection request includes the address information of the cloud server 300 as the address information of the connection destination, the address information of the cloud server 300 is extracted. Then, the first communication unit 205 is controlled to establish a first communication session with the cloud server 300 using the address information of the connection destination. On the other hand, when step S03 is executed, since the input information request addressed to the cloud server 300 is received, the first communication unit 205 is controlled to establish a first communication session with the cloud server 300.

  In the next step S06, relay of communication between MFP 100 and cloud server 300 is started using the first communication session and the second communication session. In step S07, it is determined whether a message addressed to MFP 100 is received from cloud server 300 or not. If the message is received, the process proceeds to step S08; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S08, it is determined whether there is a subsequent message in the message. When a message is received from the cloud server 300 using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP, it is determined that a subsequent message exists. If there is a subsequent message, the process proceeds to step S10; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S09. In step S09, the end flag is set to ON, and the process proceeds to step S10. The end flag is set to ON when it indicates that there is no subsequent message received from the cloud server 300.

  In step S10, it is determined whether the message received from the cloud server 300 is the first message. If the first message is received, the process proceeds to step S11. If not, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S11, the message received in step S07 is transmitted to MFP 100 via the second communication session, and the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the second communication session is disconnected, and the process returns to step S07. In step S13, the message received in step S07 is temporarily stored in RAM 203, and the process returns to step S07.

  In step S14, it is determined whether a message is stored in the RAM 203 or not. When the cloud server 300 transmits a plurality of messages, messages other than the first message are stored in the RAM 203 in step S12. If a message is stored in RAM 203, the process proceeds to step S15; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, it is determined whether or not the end flag is set to ON. If the end flag is set to ON, the process proceeds to step S24; otherwise, the process returns to step S07. This is because there is no message received from the cloud server 300 if the end flag is set to ON, and there is no message to be transmitted to the MFP 100 if no message is stored in the RAM 203.

  In step S15, it is determined whether a request signal is received from MFP 100 or not. After receiving the message, MFP 100 transmits a request signal when determining that there is a subsequent message. If a request signal is received from MFP 100, the process proceeds to step S16. If not, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S16, a second communication session is established with MFP 100 that has transmitted the request signal, and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the message stored first in the messages stored in RAM 203 is transmitted to MFP 100 via the second communication session, and the process proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the second communication session is disconnected, and the process proceeds to step S19. In step S19, the message transmitted to MFP 100 in step S17 is deleted from RAM 203, and the process returns to step S07.

  In step S20, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the last message transmission. In step S11 or step S17, the elapsed time from the last message transmission is counted to determine whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. If a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving a request signal since the last message transmission, the process proceeds to step S21. If not, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S21, an error is notified to the cloud server 300 via the first communication session, and the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, all the messages stored in RAM 203 in step S13 are deleted, and the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the first communication session established in step S05 is disconnected, and the relay process ends.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of service providing processing. The service providing process is a process executed by the CPU 301 when the CPU 301 included in the cloud server 300 executes a service providing program for providing a service. Here, a case where the cloud server 300 provides a service to the MFP 100 among the processes executed by the cloud server 300 will be described as an example. With reference to FIG. 12, CPU301 with which the cloud server 300 is provided identifies an access origin (step S301), and advances a process to step S302. The access source includes a case where the user who operates the cloud server 300 is a user who operates the MFP 100 and a case where the user operates the PC connected to the Internet 5 or the LAN 3. When the communication unit 305 receives an access from a PC connected to the Internet 5 or the LAN 3, the PC is specified as the access source. When communication unit 305 accepts access from MFP 100 via gateway device 200, MFP 100 is identified as the access source.

  In step S302, it is determined whether the access source is an MFP. If the access source is MFP 100, the process proceeds to step S303; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S306. In step S303, MFP 100 is set as the output destination, and the process proceeds to step S304. In step S304, service provision is started in accordance with an operation by the user operating MFP 100, and the process proceeds to step S305. For example, if the service is a process for recognizing image data, the image data received from MFP 100 is recognized and a screen image for displaying the result of character recognition is generated. In this case, the fixed data as the screen background is first generated for the screen image, and then the fluctuation data including the character data obtained by character recognition is generated. In step S305, a first communication session is established with access source MFP 100, and the process proceeds to step S312. Actually, the gateway device 200 establishes a first communication session with the cloud server 300 instead of the MFP 100.

  In step S306, the output destination is specified, and the process proceeds to step S307. The output destination is specified in accordance with the operation by the user who operates the accessed PC. Here, a case will be described as an example where MFP 100 is designated by the user operating the PC and MFP 100 is specified as the output destination. In step S307, a service is provided according to an operation by a user who operates the accessed PC, and the process proceeds to step S308. The service provision is the same as in step S304. Character data is received from image data received from the accessing PC, and a screen image for displaying the result of character recognition is generated.

  In step S308, the communication unit 305 is controlled to establish a global session with the management server 400 registered in advance, and the process proceeds to step S309. In step S309, a connection request is transmitted to the management server 400 via the global session. The connection request includes the output destination specified in step S306 as the connection source, here, the address information of the MFP 100 and the address information of the cloud server 300. The management server 400 that receives the connection request transmits a tunnel connection request to the gateway device 200. The gateway device 200 that receives the tunnel connection request transmits a communication session establishment request to the cloud server.

  In the next step S310, the communication unit 305 is controlled to enter a standby state until a communication session establishment request is received from the gateway apparatus 200. When a communication session establishment request is received from the gateway apparatus 200, the process proceeds to step S311. . In step S311, a first communication session is established with gateway apparatus 200, and the process proceeds to step S312.

  In step S312, a message to be transmitted is selected as a message to be transmitted from among the results of processing executed to provide the service, and the process proceeds to step S313. In step S313, it is determined whether there is an unsent message. It is determined whether or not the result of the process executed to provide the service includes a plurality of messages, and there is an unsent message that has not been sent to the MFP 100 that is the output destination other than the message to be sent. If there is an unsent message, the process proceeds to step S314; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S315. In step S314, the transmission target message is transmitted using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP via the first communication session, and the process returns to step S312. In step S315, the transmission target message is transmitted via the first communication session without using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP, and the process proceeds to step S316. In this case, the result of the process executed to provide the service includes fixed data and variable data, and the fixed data is generated before the variable data. If the fixed data is transmitted through the first communication session with the persistent connection function defined by HTTP and then the variable data is selected as the transmission target data, there is no unsent message, so the variable data It is transmitted via one communication session without using the persistent connection function defined by HTTP. Fixed data and variable data transmitted via the first communication session are received by the gateway device 200 in place of the MFP 100.

  In step S316, it is determined whether an error notification is received via the first communication session. If an error notification is received, the process proceeds to step S317. If not, step S317 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S318. In step S317, error processing is executed, and the process proceeds to step S318. The error process is a process executed when a result of executing a process for providing a service to an output destination cannot be transmitted. For example, when the access source is a PC, a message indicating that transmission of a result of executing a process for providing a service has failed is transmitted to the access source PC.

  In step S318, the first communication session established in step S305 or step S311 is disconnected, and the service providing process ends.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of device control processing. The device control process is a process executed by CPU 111 when CPU 111 provided in MFP 100 executes a device control program stored in ROM 113, HDD 115, or CD-ROM 118. Referring to FIG. 13, CPU 111 provided in MFP 100 determines whether an operation for selecting a service provided by cloud server 300 has been received (step S51). It is determined whether an operation input by the user to the operation unit 163 is an operation for selecting a service provided by the cloud server 300. If an operation for selecting a service provided by cloud server 300 is accepted, the process proceeds to step S52; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S53. In step S52, an input information request is transmitted to the cloud server 300, and the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, a second communication session is established, and the process proceeds to step S55. The input information request is transmitted to the cloud server 300 via the gateway device 200. The processing in the gateway apparatus 200 that receives the input information request from the MFP 100 establishes a second communication session with the MFP 100 as described in steps S03 to S06 in FIG. One communication session is established, and communication between MFP 100 and cloud server 300 is relayed using the first communication session and the second communication session.

  On the other hand, in step S53, it is determined whether or not a connection request is received from the cloud server 300. If a connection request is received from cloud server 300, the process proceeds to step S54; otherwise, the process returns to step S51. In step S54, a second communication session is established, and the process proceeds to step S55. As described in steps S306 to S309 in FIG. 12, when the cloud server 300 provides a service according to an instruction from a PC connected to the Internet 5 or the LAN 3, if the MFP 100 is designated as an output destination, the connection is established. The request is transmitted to the management server 400. The management server 400 transmits a tunnel connection request to the gateway device 200, and the gateway device 200 that receives the tunnel connection request performs second communication with the MFP 100 as shown in steps S02 and S04 to 06 in FIG. A session is established, a first communication session is established with the cloud server 300, and communication between the MFP 100 and the cloud server 300 is relayed using the first communication session and the second communication session.

  In step S55, it is determined whether a message has been received from the cloud server 300 via the second communication session. The process waits until a message is received (NO in step S55). If a message is received (YES in step S55), the process proceeds to step S56.

  In step S56, the message is processed, and the process proceeds to step S57. The process executed in step S56 is a process for generating and displaying a screen based on the message, although not limited thereto. In step S57, it is determined whether there is a subsequent message. As a result of processing the message in step S56, if it is determined that there is a subsequent message, the process proceeds to step S58. If not, the process proceeds to step S59. In step S58, a request signal for requesting a subsequent message is transmitted via the second communication session, and the process returns to step S55. On the other hand, in step S59, the result of processing the message in step S56 is output, and the device control process ends. For example, when the cloud server 300 outputs a screen as a result of processing executed to provide a service, a message composed of fixed data indicating the background of the screen and a message composed of variation data indicating the screen data. And may send. When the MFP 100 receives a message composed of fixed data, the MFP 100 determines that there is a message composed of variable data as a subsequent message, transmits a request signal to the cloud server 300, and determines the background of the screen based on the fixed data. Generate an image. The gateway device 200 that receives the request signal on behalf of the cloud server 300 transmits an establishment request. In the next step S59, the second communication session is established with the gateway apparatus 200 based on the establishment request received from the gateway apparatus 200, and the process returns to step S55. Then, when the MFP 100 next receives a message composed of variation data (step S55), the MFP 100 generates an image of screen data based on the variation data, and generates an image of one screen by combining the two images. Is displayed (step S56).

  As described above, in information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, cloud server 300 waits until a request signal is received from MFP 100 when input information for causing MFP 100 to execute processing includes a plurality of messages. If the gateway device 200 receives a message addressed to the MFP 100 from the cloud server 300 via the Internet 5, the message is received when the gateway device 200 continuously transmits a plurality of messages constituting the input information to the MFP 100 via the gateway device 200. The received message is transmitted to the MFP 100 via the LAN 3 in place of the cloud server 300. When a plurality of messages addressed to the MFP 100 are continuously received from the cloud server 300, the first message among the plurality of messages is sent to the MFP 10. After sending the up request signal from the MFP100 is received, it does not transmit the second message received after the first message. For this reason, since it is continuously transmitted from the cloud server 300 to the gateway device 200 via the plurality of message Internets 5, a plurality of messages can be transmitted via the first communication session established on the Internet 5. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to establish a plurality of communication sessions in order to transmit a plurality of messages, the influence of fluctuations in the load on the Internet 5 can be reduced. Further, when the gateway device 200 continuously receives a plurality of messages from the cloud server 300, the gateway device 200 transmits the first message from the plurality of messages to the MFP 100 and then receives the first message until the request signal is received from the MFP 100. Since the second message received later is not transmitted, MFP 100 can sequentially receive a plurality of messages constituting the input information through a plurality of communications via LAN 3. Therefore, the response time from when MFP 100 requests input information to when a message is received can be shortened.

  In addition, when there is an untransmitted untransmitted message in addition to the transmission target message to be transmitted among the plurality of messages, the cloud server 300 notifies that there is an untransmitted message, and the gateway device 200 Determines that a plurality of messages are transmitted when it is notified that there is an untransmitted message. Therefore, the gateway device 200 can receive all of the plurality of messages from the cloud server 300 so that the gateway device 200 does not disconnect the first communication session established with the cloud server 300.

  In addition, when transmitting the first message, the cloud server 300 notifies that the first communication session (communication path) established with the gateway device 200 is maintained. Specifically, the first message is transmitted using a persistent connection function defined by HTTP. For this reason, since the persistent connection function defined by a general-purpose standard is used, an information processing system can be easily constructed.

  Further, the gateway device 200 temporarily stores the second message received from the cloud server 300 until a request signal transmitted from the MFP 100 is received, so that processing for receiving a plurality of messages from the cloud server 300, and the MFP 100 Since the process of transmitting each of the plurality of messages can be executed independently, the time for communicating with the cloud server 300 can be shortened.

  Further, when an abnormality occurs in the second communication session established with MFP 100, gateway device 200 notifies cloud server 300 that the abnormality has occurred, and deletes the temporarily stored second message. . For this reason, it is possible to detect that the cloud server 300 has failed to transmit a message to the MFP 100. In particular, it is possible to notify the user who has operated cloud server 300 and instructed MFP 100 to output the result of the service, that the service has not been provided. Since the gateway device 200 deletes the second message temporarily stored, it is possible to effectively use memory resources by avoiding unnecessary messages from being stored indefinitely.

  Further, when the information processing system 1 includes the management server 400, even if the gateway device 200 has a firewall function, the cloud server 300 disposed outside the firewall is disposed inside the firewall. A message can be transmitted to the MFP 100, and the frequency at which the response time becomes long in the MFP 100 due to fluctuations in the load on the Internet 5 outside the firewall can be reduced.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

<Appendix>
(1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the persistent connection function is a server push function defined by HTTP / 2 or a chunk transmission function defined by HTTP.

  1 Information processing system, 5 Internet, 7 LAN, 100, 100A, 100B MFP, 200 gateway device, 300 cloud server, 400 management server, 110 main circuit, 111 CPU, 112 communication I / F unit, 113 ROM, 114 RAM, 115 HDD, 116 facsimile unit, 117 external storage device, 118 CD-ROM, 120 automatic document feeder, 130 document reading unit, 140 image forming unit, 150 paper feed unit, 155 post-processing unit, 160 operation panel, 161 display unit 163, operation unit, 165 touch panel, 167 hard key unit, 201 CPU, 202 ROM, 203 RAM, 204 flash memory, 205 first communication unit, 206 second communication unit, 209 external storage device, 301 CPU, 3 2 ROM, 303 RAM, 304 HDD, 305 communication unit, 306 display unit, 307 operation unit, 309 external storage device, 51 input information request unit, 53 reception control unit, 55 process execution unit, 61 message reception unit, 63 request signal Transmission unit, 250 communication control unit, 251 always connection session establishment unit, 253 connection request reception unit, 255 first session establishment unit, 260 communication control unit, 261 input information request reception unit, 263 session establishment unit, 265 error detection unit, 270 relay unit, 271 message proxy reception unit, 273 determination unit, 275 standby unit, 277 request signal reception unit, 279 message proxy transmission unit, 281 temporary storage unit, 283 deletion unit, 351 external reception unit, 353 service provision unit, 355 Connection request unit, 357 server side establishment unit, 359 Transmission unit, 361 input information request reception unit, 371 notification unit.

Claims (9)

An information processing system comprising a cloud server, an image processing device, and a relay device that relays communication between the cloud server and the image processing device,
The cloud server and the relay device communicate via a first network,
The relay device and the image processing device communicate via a second network,
The image processing apparatus includes: a process execution unit that executes a process according to given input information;
When the message received from the cloud server is a part of the input information, a request signal for requesting a message of another part of the input information is transmitted to the cloud server, and the message of the other part is transmitted to the cloud server. Receiving control means for receiving from,
When the input information for causing the image processing apparatus to execute processing includes a plurality of messages, the cloud server does not wait until the request signal is received from the image processing apparatus, and relays the image processing apparatus to the image processing apparatus. A transmission means for continuously transmitting a plurality of messages constituting the input information through a device;
When the relay device receives a message addressed to the image processing device from the cloud server via the first network, the relay device sends the received message to the image processing device instead of the cloud server. A relay means for transmitting via a network;
The relay means, when continuously receiving a plurality of messages addressed to the image processing device from the cloud server, after transmitting a first message to the image processing device among the plurality of received messages, An information processing system comprising standby means for not transmitting a second message received after the first message among the plurality of messages until the request signal is received from a processing device. The transmission means included in the cloud server includes the unsent message when there is an unsent message that has not yet been transmitted in addition to the transmission target message to be transmitted among the plurality of messages. Including a notification means for notification,
The relay unit included in the relay device includes a determination unit that determines that a plurality of messages are transmitted from the cloud server when it is notified that the unsent message exists. Information processing system.   The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit notifies that the communication path with the relay device is maintained.   The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the notification unit transmits the transmission target message using a persistent connection function defined by HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).   The information according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising temporary storage means for temporarily storing the second message received from the cloud server until the request signal is received from the image processing apparatus. Processing system.   The relay device notifies the cloud server that an abnormality has occurred and deletes the temporarily stored second message when an abnormality has occurred in the communication path with the image processing device. The information processing system according to claim 5, further comprising:   The transmission unit included in the cloud server transmits the input information to the image processing device in response to a request from the image processing device or an external device different from the image processing device. An information processing system according to any one of the above. A management server located outside the firewall,
The cloud server is arranged outside the firewall, and the image processing apparatus is arranged inside the firewall,
In response to a request from an external device different from the image processing device, the cloud server includes address information predetermined for the cloud server as connection destination address information and the image processing device as connection source address information. Connection request means for transmitting a connection request including the address information to the management server,
The management server, based on a request from the relay device, a server-side establishment means for establishing a constant connection session for communicating with the relay device;
Tunnel connection request means for transmitting the connection request to the relay device via the always-on session in response to receiving the connection request from the cloud server,
The relay device, always connection session establishment means for establishing the always connection session with the management server,
In response to receiving the connection request from the management server via the always-on connection session, a first communication session is established with the cloud server using the address information of the connection destination included in the connection request. First session establishing means for establishing;
Second session establishing means for establishing a second communication session with the image processing device specified by the address information of the connection source included in the connection request received from the management server,
The relay means relays communication between the cloud server and the image processing apparatus using the first communication session and the second communication session,
The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein the transmission unit transmits the input information to the image processing apparatus via the first communication session. A data transmission / reception method executed in an information processing system including a cloud server, an image processing device, and a relay device that relays communication between the cloud server and the image processing device,
The cloud server and the relay device communicate via a first network,
The relay device and the image processing device communicate via a second network,
An information processing system comprising a cloud server, an image processing device, and a relay device that relays communication between the cloud server and the image processing device,
The cloud server and the relay device communicate via a first network,
The relay device and the image processing device communicate via a second network,
A process execution step of executing a process in accordance with input information given to the image processing apparatus;
When the message received from the cloud server is a part of the input information, a request signal for requesting a message of another part of the input information is transmitted to the cloud server, and the message of the other part is transmitted to the cloud server. And a reception control step for receiving from
When the input information for causing the image processing apparatus to execute processing on the cloud server includes a plurality of messages, the relay to the image processing apparatus without waiting until the request signal is received from the image processing apparatus. Executing a transmission step of continuously transmitting a plurality of messages constituting the input information through a device;
When the relay device receives a message addressed to the image processing device from the cloud server via the first network, the second message is sent to the image processing device instead of the cloud server. Execute the relay step to send over the network,
When the relay step continuously receives a plurality of messages addressed to the image processing apparatus from the cloud server, after transmitting a first message to the image processing apparatus among the plurality of received messages, the image A data transmission / reception method including a standby step of not transmitting a second message received after the first message among the plurality of messages until the request signal is received from a processing device.

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