JP6582860B2 - Device control system, device, server, and device control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a device control system including a device and a server, a device, a server, and a device control method.

  Some devices such as a printer, a scanner, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine that combines these devices receive and output content such as images from a Web server. Such a device has a client function of receiving and outputting content when a web browser is executed. For example, when the device requests a Web page from the Web server by the client function, the server transmits a Web page corresponding to the request to the device, and the received device displays the Web page on a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that the image forming apparatus itself, which is a device, has a function as a Web server for the client terminal.

JP 2014-63355 A

In a system including the above-described device having a client function and a Web server, a request for content from the device is unilaterally notified to the Web server. For this reason, the Web server can determine the content necessary for the device only within the range of the notified information, and can cope with differences in device specifications, device states, and the like. It is necessary to provide general-purpose content. General-purpose content has a large data size, leading to an increase in network communication load and a decrease in responsiveness in a low-performance device. Patent Document 1 only shows an image forming apparatus that functions as a Web server, and there is no suggestion for solving the above-described problems.
It should be noted that the above problems similarly exist for various systems.

  In view of the above, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of efficiently performing processing until transmission / reception of content is completed.

To achieve one of the above objects, the present invention provides a device control system including a device having a first client function realized by a Web browser, and a server having a first response function as a Web server for the device. Because
The device has a second response function implemented by an application programming interface (API);
The server has a second client function as a Web client for the device,
The device requests content from the server by the first client function,
The server requests the device for additional information to be used for transmission of the content by the second client function in response to a request for content from the device,
The device transmits additional information according to a request from the server to the server by the second response function,
The server has a mode in which content based on additional information from the device is transmitted to the device by the first response function.

Further, the present invention is a device having a client function realized by a web browser,
A response function realized by an application programming interface (API);
Request the content by the client function to the server functioning as a Web server,
When additional information used to transmit the content is requested from the server, additional information corresponding to the request is transmitted to the server by the response function,
The content based on the additional information is received from the server by the client function.

Furthermore, the present invention is a server having a response function as a Web server for a device,
A client function as a Web client for the device;
In response to a request for content from the device, the client function requests additional information to be used for transmission of the content from the device,
When the additional information is received from the device, the content based on the additional information is transmitted to the device by the response function.

  Furthermore, this invention has the aspect of the device control method using a device and a server.

  In the aspect described above, when content is requested from the device to the server, additional information used for transmission of the content is requested from the server to the device. When additional information corresponding to a request from the server is transmitted from the device to the server, content based on the additional information from the device is transmitted from the server to the device. Since the content transmitted to the device is based on the additional information from the device, the content more tailored to the device can be transmitted from the server. Therefore, the above aspect can provide a technique that can efficiently perform processing until transmission / reception of content is completed.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a control method performed by the device, a control method performed by the server, a device control program executed by the device control system, a control program executed by the device, a control program executed by the server, The present invention can be applied to a computer-readable medium on which these programs are recorded. The aforementioned device may be composed of a plurality of distributed parts, and the aforementioned server may be composed of a plurality of distributed parts.

The block diagram which shows the example of a device control system typically. The figure which shows the example of the content memorize | stored in the non-volatile memory of a server typically. The figure which shows the example of the additional information memorize | stored in the non-volatile memory of a device typically. The flowchart which shows the example of a process of a device control system. The figure which shows the example of a content request typically. The figure which shows the example of another content request typically. The figure which shows the example of list information typically. The figure which shows the example of an additional information request typically. The figure which shows the example of the optimization process of a content typically. The figure which shows typically the example of the optimization process which replaces content according to the state of a device. The flowchart which shows the example of another process of a device control system.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Of course, the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and all the features shown in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the means for solving the invention.

(1) Overview of this technology:
First, an overview of the present technology will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 are schematic diagrams, and the drawings may not be consistent.

[Aspect 1]
A device control system SY1 illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like is a device 100 having a first client function F11 realized by a Web browser 11 and a Web server (for example, an HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) server 21) for the device 100. And a server 200 having a first response function F21. The device 100 has a second response function F22 realized by an application programming interface (API) 22. The server 200 has a second client function F12 as a Web client (for example, HTTP client 12) for the device 100. Here, the device 100 requests the server 200 for the content C1 by the first client function F11. On the other hand, the server 200 sends additional information D2 used for transmission of the content C1 to the device 100 by the second client function F12 in response to a request for content C1 from the device 100 (for example, content request R1). Request. On the other hand, the device 100 transmits additional information D2 corresponding to a request (for example, additional information request R2) from the server 200 to the server 200 by the second response function F22. On the other hand, the server 200 transmits the content C1 based on the additional information D2 from the device 100 to the device 100 by the first response function F21.

  In the first aspect, when the content C1 is requested from the device 100 to the server 200, the device 100 requests additional information D2 used for transmission of the content C1. When the additional information D2 corresponding to the request (R2) from the server 200 is transmitted from the device 100 to the server 200, the content C1 based on the additional information D2 from the device 100 is transmitted from the server 200 to the device 100. Since the content C1 transmitted to the device 100 is based on the additional information D2 from the device 100, the content C1 more suitable for the device 100 can be transmitted from the server 200. Therefore, this aspect can provide a device control system that can efficiently perform processing until transmission / reception of content is completed.

Here, the device includes a printer, a scanner, a copier, a facsimile, a multi-function machine combining two or more of these, and the like.
The Web server and the Web client have a meaning of the device and a meaning of the software, but the Web server and the Web client described in the claims are the meaning of the device.

[Aspect 2]
Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the server 200 determines whether or not the request (R2) for the additional information D2 is necessary based on the request (R1) for the content C1 from the device 100. Also good. When the server 200 determines that the request (R2) for the additional information D2 is necessary, the server 200 may request the device 100 for the additional information D2 by the second client function F12. When the server 200 determines that the request (R2) for the additional information D2 is not necessary, the server 200 does not request the device 100 for the additional information D2 and sends the content C1 based on the request (R1) from the device 100. You may transmit to the said device 100 by the 1st response function F21. This aspect is also included in the above aspect 1.

In aspect 2, when there is no need to request additional information D2 from server 200 to device 100, content C1 is transmitted from server 200 to device 100 without requesting additional information D2. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to perform the processing until the content transmission / reception is completed more efficiently.
The present technology also includes a case where the server always requests additional information from the device and the device transmits the additional information to the server.

[Aspect 3]
As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the device 100 transmits an HTTP request for requesting the content C1 and including the device information D1 related to the device 100 to the server 200 by the first client function F11. May be. The server 200 may determine whether the request (R2) for the additional information D2 is necessary based on the device information D1 included in the HTTP request. In this aspect, it is possible to perform processing until transmission / reception of content is completed with a simple configuration in which an HTTP request is used.
Note that determining whether or not a request for additional information is necessary without using an HTTP request is also included in the present technology.

[Aspect 4]
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the server 200 stores, in addition to information related to the device 100, a storage unit (for example, a nonvolatile memory) that stores list information L <b> 1 that associates whether to request the additional information D <b> 2 from the device 100. A memory 213) may be provided. As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the content C1 is requested from the device 100, the server 200 requests the device 100 for the additional information D2 before transmitting the content C1 to the device 100. May be performed according to the list information L1. In this aspect, the processing can be divided according to the list information L1, so that it is possible to more efficiently perform the processing until the transmission / reception of the content is completed.

[Aspect 5]
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the server 200 may determine whether or not to optimize the content C <b> 1 based on the additional information D <b> 2 from the device 100. When the server 200 determines to perform the optimization process, the server 200 may transmit the content C1 obtained by performing the optimization process based on the additional information D2 to the device 100 by the first response function F21. .

In the aspect 5, the optimization process is performed when it is better to perform the optimization process of the content C1. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to further transmit / receive content suitable for the device.
Here, the content optimization process may be a process for matching the content to the device, such as a process for matching the content to the specifications of the device and a process for matching the content to the device state. Specifically, processing to change the number of pixels of the image or video (number of pixels) according to the performance of the device display, processing to change the font size or font according to the performance of the device display, A process of deleting audio data when the function is not included is included. The device specifications represent device performance and include the number of display dots in the vertical and horizontal directions (also referred to as screen resolution), the presence or absence of audio output, and the like. The device status includes a standby status, a printing status, a scanning status, a copying status, a facsimile communication status, and the like.

[Aspect 6]
The additional information D2 may include a plurality of pieces of division information D3 including first division information (for example, division information D31) and second division information (for example, division information D32). In this case, the server 200 may request the first division information (D31) from the device 100 by the second client function F12. The device 100 may transmit the first division information (D31) to the server 200 by the first client function F11. When the server 200 receives the first division information (D31), the server 200 may request the device 100 for the second division information (D32) by the second client function F12. The device 100 may transmit the second division information (D32) to the server 200 by the first client function F11.

In the above aspect 6, the additional information D2 is divided into two or more times and transmitted from the device 100 to the server 200. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to perform the processing until the content transmission / reception is completed more efficiently.
Here, the additional information may include three or more pieces of division information.

[Aspect 7]
The additional information D2 may include at least one of a specification and a state of the device 100. In this aspect, since the content C1 based on at least one of the specification and state of the device 100 is transmitted from the server 200 to the device 100, it is possible to transmit the content more suitable for the device from the server. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to perform the processing until the content transmission / reception is completed more efficiently.

[Aspect 8]
The device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like has a client function (F11) realized by the Web browser 11. The device 100 has a response function (F22) realized by an application programming interface (API) 22, and requests the server 200 functioning as a Web server (21) for the content C1 by the client function. When the additional information D2 used for transmission of the content C1 is requested from 200, the additional information D2 corresponding to the request is transmitted to the server 200 by the response function (F22), and the additional information D2 is transmitted from the server 200. Is received by the client function (F11). In this aspect, since the content C1 that is more suitable for the device 100 can be received from the server 200, it is possible to provide a device that can efficiently perform processing until the reception of the content from the server is completed. .

[Aspect 9]
The server 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like has a response function (F21) as a Web server (21) for the device 100. The server 200 has a client function (F12) as a Web client (12) for the device 100, and the content C1 is transmitted by the client function (F12) in response to a request (R1) of the content C1 from the device 100. When the device 100 is requested for additional information D2 to be used for transmission, and the additional information D2 is received from the device 100, the content C1 based on the additional information D2 is transmitted to the device 100 by the response function (F21). To do. In this aspect, since the content C1 that is more suitable for the device 100 can be transmitted to the device 100, it is possible to provide a server that can efficiently perform processing until the transmission of the content to the device is completed. .

[Aspect 10]
In the control method illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like, when the device 100 requests the content C1 from the server 200 by the first client function F11, the server 200 responds to the request (R1) of the content C1 from the device 100. Then, the second client function F12 requests the device 100 for additional information D2 used for transmission of the content C1. When the device 100 transmits the additional information D2 corresponding to the request (R2) from the server 200 to the server 200 by the second response function F22, the content based on the additional information D2 from the device 100 is transmitted to the server 200. C1 is transmitted to the device 100 by the first response function F21. This aspect can provide a control method capable of efficiently performing processing until content transmission / reception is completed.

(2) Specific example of device control system configuration:
FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration example of a device control system. A device control system SY1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a device 100 having a first client function F11 realized by a Web browser 11, and a server 200 having a first response function F21 as an HTTP server (Web server) 21 for the device 100. And including. A plurality of devices 100 may be provided in the device control system SY1. As the network NW1 that connects the device 100 and the server 200, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a network in which LANs are connected by a WAN (Wide Area Network), and the like can be used.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a multifunction peripheral as the device 100. A scanning unit 120, a printing unit 130, an operation unit 150, and the like are connected to the control unit 110 of the device 100. The device 100 can execute processing for realizing a printing function, an image reading function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like. That is, the device 100 is a device with a printing function, a device with an image reading function, a device with a copy function, and a device with a facsimile function.

  In the control unit 110, a clock circuit 111, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 112, a nonvolatile memory 113, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 114, a communication interface (I / F) 116, a FAX control unit 117, and the like are connected to one another. Yes. The non-volatile memory 113 stores a control program or the like developed in the RAM 114. This control program includes a Web browser 11 and an API 22. The non-volatile memory 113 may be a rewritable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a rewritable magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk, and the like, and may include a non-rewritable ROM (Read Only Memory). The communication I / F 116 is connected to the network NW1 and performs processing for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device (for example, the server 200 or a client computer (not shown)) connected to the network NW1. The FAX control unit 117 is connected to the telephone line 140 and performs facsimile communication with a facsimile apparatus connected to the telephone line 140.

  The scanning unit 120 is an image reading device that reads a document image. For example, the scan unit 120 applies light from a light source to a document to read a document image, and forms corresponding image data. As the scanning unit 120, a flatbed scanner that places a document between a platen glass and a document cover, a scanner with a document feeder, and the like can be used.

  The printing unit 130 is a printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing material such as copy paper. For example, the printing unit 130 forms an image corresponding to the image data on a printing material with a color material (for example, toner or ink). As the printing unit 130, an electrophotographic printer such as a laser printer, an inkjet printer, or the like can be used.

  The operation unit 150 includes a hard key 160 and a display panel 170 that is a display unit. The hard key 160 detects whether or not it is pressed and outputs a corresponding detection signal. As the display panel 170, a liquid crystal display panel or the like can be used, and various screens are displayed. When a touch panel is attached to the surface of the display panel 170, the display panel 170 accepts an operation of touching with a finger (a touch pen or the like is also possible).

  As shown in the lower part of FIG. 1, when the Web browser 11 is read into the RAM 114 and executed, the first client function F <b> 11 for the server 200 is realized in the device 100. When the API 22 is read into the RAM 114 and executed, the second response function F22 for the server 200 is realized in the device 100.

  A server 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a computer in which a clock circuit 211, a CPU 212, a nonvolatile memory 213, a RAM 214, a communication I / F 216, and the like are connected to each other. The nonvolatile memory 213 stores a control program or the like developed in the RAM 214. This control program includes an HTTP server (Web server) 21 as software and an HTTP client (Web client) 12 as software. As the nonvolatile memory 213, a rewritable magnetic recording medium, a rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory, or the like can be used, and a non-rewritable ROM may be included. The communication I / F 216 is connected to the network NW1, and performs processing for transmitting and receiving data to and from the device 100 connected to the network NW1.

  As shown in the lower part of FIG. 1, when the HTTP server 21 is read into the RAM 214 and executed, the first response function F <b> 21 for the device 100 is realized in the server 200. When the HTTP client 12 is read into the RAM 214 and executed, the second client function F12 for the device 100 is realized in the server 200.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of content stored in the nonvolatile memory 213 of the server 200. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a folder structure in which the lower folders “AAA”, “BBB”,... Are stored in the upper folder “home” is shown. The folder “AAA” stores images A1, A2, A3,. In the folder “BBB”, images without sound B1, B2, B3,... Are stored. The pixel number Px indicates the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the image, and the pixel number Py indicates the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image. These images A1, A2, A3, ..., B1, B2, B3, ... are examples of the content C1. Specific examples of the image include a login screen for user authentication, a screen for setting the size and resolution (unit: dpi) of the original to be read, a screen for setting the number of copies, etc., and the size and resolution of the facsimile original (unit: dpi) and the like, a screen displaying the state of the device 100, and the like. The image is not limited to a still image but includes a moving image.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of additional information stored in the nonvolatile memory 113 of the device 100. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a folder structure in which the lower folder “aaa”,... Is stored in the upper folder “home” is shown. In the folder “aaa”, the number of screen dots of the display panel 170 (Nx × Ny) (split information D31 indicating specifications), presence / absence of voice support (split information D32 indicating specs), and the state of the device 100 (split information indicating the state) D33), etc. are stored. These pieces of information (D31, D32, D33,...) Are examples of the additional information D2. The number of screen dots means the number of display dots on the screen, the number of dots Nx indicates the number of dots in the vertical direction of the display panel 170, and the number of dots Ny indicates the number of dots in the horizontal direction of the display panel 170. The number of screen dots on the display panel is also called resolution. The presence / absence of voice support means that voice support is provided or voice support is not provided. The scan state shown in FIG. 3 means the state of the device when the device 100 is a scanner, and includes standby, scan execution, and the like.

Next, an example of processing of the device control system SY1 that implements the device control method will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the device 100 and the server 200 execute a plurality of processes in parallel by multitasking.
First, in step S102 (hereinafter, “step” is omitted), the device 100 transmits a content request R1 to the server 200 by the first client function F11 realized by the Web browser 11 (requests the content C1). ). For the content request R1, the HTTP request illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be used.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of an HTTP request using the GET method. The HTTP request has a request line 501, a message header 502, a blank line 503, and a message body 504. The request line 501 includes information on a GET method, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), and an HTTP version. The message header 502 includes information such as the data type, language, data compression method, browser type, and the like supported by the Web browser 11. The User-Agent field included in the message header 502 includes information such as the browser type, version, and platform. In this User-Agent field, device information D1 related to a device such as a device name can be included. Depending on the HTTP server (server software), the maximum size of the User-Agent field is approximately 256 to 512 characters. A blank line 503 is used to signal the end of the message header. In the case of the GET method, the message body 504 does not exist.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of an HTTP request using the POST method. The request line 501 includes information on the POST method, URI, and HTTP version. The message header 502 including the User-Agent field and the blank line 503 are the same as in the GET method. Message body 504 is used to send data to the server.
The device 100 of this specific example transmits a content request R1 including device information D1 in the User-Agent field as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 to the server 200 by the first client function F11.

However, since the User-Agent field can only handle character strings, complicated information, files, etc. cannot be notified to the server with only an HTTP request. The User-Agent field is unilaterally notified from the device to the server. For this reason, without the API 22 and the HTTP client 12, even if the information required by the server is insufficient, the server cannot inquire about the insufficient information from the server.
For the above reasons, the server may be able to provide only general-purpose content that does not match the device specifications. If only large-sized content can be provided, the network load increases, and a device with low performance deteriorates responsiveness due to processing of large-sized content.

  In this specific example, since the API 22 causes the device 100 to implement the second response function F22 and the HTTP client 12 causes the server 200 to implement the second client function F12, the server 200 receives the content request R1 from the device 100. However, the additional information D2 of the device 100 can be acquired. For example, the server 200 can know the specifications of the device 100, what state the device 100 is in at that time, and the like. The server 200 can prepare content suitable for the device 100 based on the acquired additional information D2.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the description will be continued. The server 200 that has received the content request R1 from the device 100 (requested the content C1) determines whether to request the device 100 for additional information D2 in addition to the device information D1 in order to transmit the final content C1. The processing is branched with reference to the attached list information L1 (S202). The list information L1 is stored in, for example, a nonvolatile memory (an example of a storage unit) 213 of the server 200. By the process of S202, an increase in communication load caused by an inquiry to the device every time can be suppressed.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of list information. The list information L1 shown in FIG. 7 includes information indicating additional information D2 requested for each content (for example, each of the images A1, A2, A3,..., B1, B2, B3,. It is stored in association with D1 (device name in FIG. 7). For example, the content A is associated with the device name “scanner a” and stores information indicating that the additional information D2 requested from the device 100 is the number of screen dots on the display panel, the presence / absence of audio support, the scan state, and the like. Has been. Further, for the content A, when the device name is “projector c”, it is indicated that information indicating additional information requested from the device 100 is not stored. The information indicating the requested additional information D2 may be information indicating a storage location in the nonvolatile memory 113 of the device 100, for example, information indicating a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). For example, in the nonvolatile memory 113 shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that there is a file “a1.info” in which the number of screen dots is stored in the lower folder “aaa” of the upper folder “home”. In this case, information “home / aaa / a1.info” corresponding to the URL of the number of screen dots may be stored in the list information L1 illustrated in FIG.

  The server 200 performs processing of whether to request additional information D2 from the device 100 before transmitting the content C1 to the device 100 according to the list information L1. In effect, the server 200 determines whether or not the additional information request R2 (request for the additional information D2) is necessary based on the device information D1 included in the HTTP request (content request R1) from the device 100. become. If it is determined that the additional information request R2 is not necessary, the server 200 advances the process to S206 without performing the transmission process of the additional information request R2 in S204. When it is determined that the additional information request R2 is necessary, the server 200 transmits the additional information request R2 to the device 100 by the second client function F12 realized by the HTTP client 12 as software (S204). The additional information request R2 is a request for additional information D2 used for transmission of the content C1.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, when the device name “projector c” is included in the content request R1 for requesting the content A, the list information L1 referred to represents additional information corresponding to “projector c”. Information is not stored. In this case, the additional information request R2 is not transmitted, and the process proceeds to S206. Also, the device name “scanner a” is included in the content request R1 of the content requesting the content A, and the information “home / aaa / a1.info” corresponding to “scanner a” is stored in the referenced list information L1. Suppose that In this case, for example, an HTTP request including a URL combining the domain name of the device “scanner a” and the information “home / aaa / a1.info” may be generated as in the additional information request R2 illustrated in FIG. Then, the file “a1.info” stored in the lower folder “aaa” of the upper folder “home” is read from the nonvolatile memory 113 of the device 100 and transmitted to the server 200.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the description will be continued. The device 100 that has received the additional information request R2 from the server 200 (requested the additional information D2) transmits the additional information D2 corresponding to the additional information request R2 to the server 200 by the second response function F22 realized by the API 22. (S104). For example, the device 100 that has received the additional information request R2 shown in FIG. 8 reads the file “a1.info” stored in the lower folder “aaa” of the upper folder “home” from the nonvolatile memory 113 and transmits it to the server 200. Will do.

  Note that, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the additional information D2 request process in S204 and the additional information D2 transmission process in S104 are not limited to one time, and may be performed twice or more times. In the list information L1 as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that two or more types of information indicating the requested additional information D2 are stored. In this case, the server 200 may request the device 100 for the additional information D2 twice or more, and the device 100 may transmit the division information D3 (see FIG. 3) of the additional information D2 to the server 200 for each request. .

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the additional information D2 includes a plurality of pieces of division information D3 including first division information D31, second division information D32, and third division information D33. In this case, the server 200 may first request the first division information D31 from the device 100 by the second client function F12. The additional information request R2 can be, for example, an HTTP request including a URL that combines the domain name of the device 100 and the storage location of the number of screen dots (for example, “home / aaa / a1.info” shown in FIG. 7). The device 100 that has received the additional information request R2 transmits the first division information D31 (for example, the file “a1.info” storing the number of screen dots) to the server 200 by the first client function F11. Next, the server 200 may request the device 100 for the second division information D32 by the second client function F12. The additional information request R2 can be, for example, an HTTP request including a URL indicating a storage location for voice support presence / absence shown in FIG. The device 100 that has received the additional information request R2 transmits the second division information D32 (for example, a file storing the presence / absence of voice support) to the server 200 by the first client function F11. Finally, the server 200 may request the device 100 for the third division information D33 by the second client function F12. The additional information request R2 can be, for example, an HTTP request including a URL indicating the storage location of the scan state illustrated in FIG. The device 100 that has received the additional information request R2 transmits the third division information D33 (for example, a file storing the scan state) to the server 200 by the first client function F11.

Of course, the number of times the processes of S204 and S104 are repeated may be two times or four or more times.
By dividing the transmission of the additional information D2, the processing until the content transmission / reception is completed is efficiently performed.

In S206 of FIG. 4, the server 200 determines whether or not to optimize the content C1 based on the additional information D2 from the device 100. As described above, the optimization process of the content C1 includes various processes for matching the content C1 to the device 100.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the number of pixels (Px × Py) of an image (including moving images) is changed according to the number of screen dots (Nx × Ny) of the display panel 170 as necessary. When Nx ≧ Px and Ny ≧ Py, the image displayed on the display panel 170 does not protrude from the display panel 170 even if the image is transmitted to the device 100 as it is. In this case, the server 200 may determine not to perform the optimization process. On the other hand, when Nx <Px or Ny <Px, when the image is transmitted to the device 100 as it is, the image displayed on the display panel 170 protrudes from the display panel 170. When a scroll bar is displayed on the display panel 170, an image can be scrolled by an operation, but this scroll operation is necessary. In such a case, the server 200 may determine to perform an optimization process.

  Further, it is assumed that the device 100 does not have an audio output function. When the content prepared in the server 200 includes audio data, no audio is output even if the content is transmitted to the device 100. In this case, the server 200 may determine that the optimization process for deleting the audio data is performed. On the other hand, when there is no audio data in the content prepared in the server 200, the server 200 may determine that the optimization process is not performed.

  If the server 200 determines not to perform the optimization process, the server 200 advances the process to S210 without performing the optimization process of S208. On the other hand, when the server 200 determines to perform the optimization process, the server 200 performs the optimization process of the content C1 based on the additional information D2 (S208). For example, when the additional information D2 includes the number of screen dots (Nx × Ny) of the display panel 170, an optimization process may be performed to reduce the number of pixels of the image so that the image fits on the display panel 170. Further, when the additional information D2 includes information indicating no voice support, an optimization process for deleting the voice data from the voice-attached image may be performed. In the optimization process, different contents may be used depending on the language or the like included in the message header 502 shown in FIG. For example, if the language included in the message header 502 is JP (Japanese), Japanese content may be used. If the language included in the message header 502 is English, English content may be used.

FIG. 9 schematically shows an optimization process when the content C10 is an image with sound (including a moving image) as an example of the optimization process. The content C10 includes image content C10i having a pixel number Px × Py and audio content C10s that is audio data. When the additional information D2 received from the device 100 includes the screen dot number Nx × Ny of the display panel 170, the server 200 may perform the following optimization process.
When Nx <Px, the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image is reduced to Nx / Px.
When Ny <Py, the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the image is reduced to Ny / Py.
In the server 200 shown in FIG. 9, the image content C10i in which the number of pixels in the horizontal direction is reduced from Px to Nx and the number of pixels in the vertical direction is reduced from Py to Ny is generated from the image content C10i. . Further, it is shown that the audio content C10s is deleted and the content C11 without the audio content C10s is generated. The contents C10 and C11 are both included in the contents C1.

The generated content C11 is transmitted to the device 100 via the network NW1. The device 100 that has received the content C11 can display the entire image having the pixel number Nx × Ny on the display panel 170 having the screen dot number Nx × Ny.
In the case where the horizontal reduction ratio and the vertical reduction ratio are made to coincide, when the reduction ratios are adjusted to the smaller of Nx / Px and Ny / Py, the image fits on the display panel 170.

Note that the image reduction ratio may be set in stages. For example, if the image reduction ratio is set to 25%, 50%, and 75%, the number of pixels is set to 75% vertically and horizontally if Nx ≧ 0.75 × Px and Ny ≧ 0.75 × Py. If Nx ≧ 0.5 × Px and Ny ≧ 0.5 × Py, the number of pixels is reduced by 50% vertically and horizontally, and if Nx <0.5 × Px or Ny <0.5 × Py, the number of pixels May be reduced by 25% vertically and horizontally.
Further, the image may be trimmed so that the image fits on the display panel 170 without reducing the image or without reducing the image. Trimming is to delete pixels at the edge of an image.

  Furthermore, at least one of the character size and the font may be changed according to the number of screen dots Nx × Ny of the display panel 170. For example, assuming that the thresholds for the number of screen dots Nx and Ny are Tx and Ty, if Nx ≧ Tx and Ny ≧ Ty, a character with a size of 16 × 16 pixels is used, and if Nx <Tx or Ny <Ty, 8 A character having a size of x8 pixels may be used.

  Furthermore, a process of replacing the content requested from the device 100 with the content when it is inappropriate to transmit the content from the server 200 as requested is also included in the optimization process. FIG. 10 shows an example in which the copy setting screen is replaced with the printing display screen because the device 100 requests the copy setting screen but the copy status of the device 100 is printing (copy function is operating). . Such a situation occurs because, for example, printing processing of a facsimile document or printing processing by another user starts immediately after the user operates the operation unit 150 for copying. 10 is matched with the code | symbol shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, when the device 100 requests the server 200 for a copy setting screen (content C1) (S102), the server 200 requests the device 100 for a copy status (additional information D2) (S204). When the device 100 transmits “printing” as the copy status to the server 200 (S104), the server 200 replaces the content C1 with the “printing” display screen based on “printing” included in the additional information request R2 (S208). ).

  Returning to FIG. 4, the description will be continued. In S210 of FIG. 4, the server 200 transmits the final content C1 to the device 100 by the first response function F21 realized by the HTTP server 21 as software. The final content C1 is content based on the device information D1 from the device 100, and is content based on the additional information D2 from the device 100 when the additional information D2 is transmitted and received. When the additional information D2 is not transmitted / received, the server 200 acquires the content (for example, for each language) from the nonvolatile memory 213 based on the device information D1, and performs the optimization process when the optimization process is necessary. To send the content to the device 100. When transmission / reception of the additional information D2 is performed but the optimization process is not performed, the server 200 acquires the content (for example, for each language) from the nonvolatile memory 213 based on the device information D1 and the additional information D2, and the device To 100.

  The device 100 receives the final content C1 by the first client function F11 realized by the web browser 11. If the content C1 includes images (including moving images), the device 100 displays them on the display panel 170. If the content C1 includes audio data, the device 100 having an audio output function outputs audio based on the audio data.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the content C11 from which the image content C10i is reduced and the audio content C10s is deleted is transmitted from the server 200 to the device 100 and displayed on the display panel 170. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the server 200 transmits a “printing” display screen to the device 100 (S210), and the device 100 displays the “printing” display screen on the display panel 170.

  As described above, since the content C1 transmitted to the device 100 is based on the additional information D2 from the device 100, the content C1 that is more suitable for the device 100 is compared with the case based on the information of only the content request R1. It can be transmitted from the server 200. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently perform processing until the transmission / reception of content is completed. For example, since unnecessary content does not flow on the network, an effect of reducing the load on the network can be obtained. Further, since content suitable for the specifications of the device 100 is provided from the server 200, the time until the content is displayed on a low-performance device is shortened, and an effect of improving responsiveness is expected.

(3) Modification:
Various modifications can be considered for the present invention.
For example, the device may be a printer-dedicated machine, a scanner-dedicated machine, a copy-only machine, a facsimile-only machine, or the like in addition to the multifunction machine.

  The additional information D2 transmitted from the device to the server may be only the device specifications (for example, the information D31 and D32 shown in FIG. 3) without the device state, or the device state (for example, FIG. 3) without the device specification. Only the information D33) shown in FIG. These cases are also included in the present technology.

  In the control process shown in FIG. 4, when the optimization process of S208 is always performed, the determination process of S206 may be omitted. When the optimization process of S208 is not always performed, the processes of S206 and S208 may be omitted. When the request process for the additional information D2 in S204 is always performed, the list information reference process in S202 may be omitted. These cases are also included in the present technology.

  For example, FIG. 11 shows a control process that omits the processes of S202, S206, and S208. In this case, when the device 100 requests the server 200 for the content C1 (S102), the server 200 requests the device 100 for additional information D2 used for transmission of the content C1 in response to the content request R1 (S204). When the device 100 transmits additional information D2 corresponding to the additional information request R2 to the server 200 (S104), the server 200 transmits content C1 based on the additional information D2 from the device 100 to the device 100 (S210). Also in this case, the basic effect of the present technology can be obtained.

(4) Conclusion:
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique or the like that can efficiently perform processing until transmission / reception of content is completed according to various aspects. Needless to say, the above-described basic actions and effects can be obtained even with a technique that does not have the constituent requirements according to the dependent claims but includes only the constituent requirements according to the independent claims.
In addition, the configurations disclosed in the above-described examples are mutually replaced or the combination is changed, the known technology and the configurations disclosed in the above-described examples are mutually replaced or the combinations are changed. The configuration described above can also be implemented. The present invention includes these configurations and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Web browser, 12 ... HTTP client (Web client), 21 ... HTTP server (Web server), 22 ... API, 100 ... Device, 110 ... Control part, 113 ... Non-volatile memory, 120 ... Scan part, 130 ... Print 150, operation unit, 170, display panel, 200, server, 213, nonvolatile memory (example of storage unit), C1, C10, C10i, C10s, C11, content, D1, device information, D2, additional information, D3, D31, D32, D33 ... division information, F11 ... first client function, F12 ... second client function, F21 ... first response function, F22 ... second response function, L1 ... list information, R1 ... content request, R2 ... Additional information request, NW1 ... Network, SY1 ... Debye Control system.

Claims (10)

A device control system including a device having a first client function realized by a web browser and a server having a first response function as a web server for the device,
The device has a second response function implemented by an application programming interface (API);
The server has a second client function as a Web client for the device,
The device requests content from the server by the first client function,
The server requests the device for additional information to be used for transmission of the content by the second client function in response to a request for content from the device,
The device transmits additional information according to a request from the server to the server by the second response function,
The device control system, wherein the server transmits content based on additional information from the device to the device by the first response function.   The server determines whether or not the request for the additional information is necessary based on a request for content from the device, and determines that the request for the additional information is necessary. When the additional information is requested from the device and it is determined that the request for the additional information is not necessary, the content based on the request from the device is requested by the first response function without requesting the additional information from the device. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the device control system transmits to a device. The device sends an HTTP request for requesting content to the server by the first client function including an HTTP request including device information related to the device,
The device control system according to claim 2, wherein the server determines whether or not the request for the additional information is necessary based on device information included in the HTTP request.   The server includes a storage unit that stores, in addition to information about the device, list information that associates whether to request the additional information from the device, and when content is requested from the device, The device control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a process for determining whether to request the additional information from the device is performed according to the list information before transmitting content.   The server determines whether or not to perform content optimization processing based on additional information from the device, and performs the optimization processing based on the additional information when determining whether to perform optimization processing. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the obtained content is transmitted to the device by the first response function. The additional information includes a plurality of pieces of division information including first division information and second division information,
The server requests the first division information from the device by the second client function,
The device transmits the first division information to the server by the first client function,
When the server receives the first division information, the server requests the second division information from the device by the second client function,
The device control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the device transmits the second division information to the server by the first client function.   The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the additional information includes at least one of a specification and a state of the device. A device having a client function realized by a web browser,
A response function realized by an application programming interface (API);
Request the content by the client function to the server functioning as a Web server,
When additional information used to transmit the content is requested from the server, additional information corresponding to the request is transmitted to the server by the response function,
A device that receives content based on the additional information from the server by the client function. A server having a response function as a Web server to the device,
A client function as a Web client for the device;
In response to a request for content from the device, the client function requests additional information to be used for transmission of the content from the device,
A server that, upon receiving the additional information from the device, transmits content based on the additional information to the device by the response function. A device control method using a device having a first client function realized by a web browser and a server having a first response function as a web server for the device,
The device is provided with a second response function realized by an application programming interface (API),
The server is provided with a second client function as a Web client for the device,
The device requests content from the server by the first client function;
In response to a request for content from the device, the server requests additional information to be used for transmitting the content by the second client function to the device,
The device sends additional information in response to a request from the server to the server by the second response function,
The device control method, wherein the server transmits content based on additional information from the device to the device by the first response function.

Images