Image processing device and control method of image processing device

Abstract

The present invention discloses an image processing device and a control method for the image processing device. The image processing device communicates with a cloud service via a network, and the image processing device includes: a reading unit configured to read an image on a manuscript; a transmission unit configured to transmit the read image to the cloud service; a request unit configured to request the cloud service to generate information for downloading the transmitted image; a receiving unit configured to receive the transmitted information from the cloud service based on the request; and a notification unit configured to notify a user of the received information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing device and a control method of the image processing device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, shared offices and coworking spaces have attracted attention, and examples of devices used in shared offices and coworking spaces include image processing apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals. In addition, many companies are introducing cloud services.

[0003] A user of a cloud service needs to upload image data generated by reading a document using an image processing apparatus in a shared office or a collaborative workspace to a cloud service or business chat used by a company where the user works.

[0004] However, in consideration of security, it is not advisable to simply connect such an image processing device used by many unspecified users to a cloud service used by the company where the user works. Even if an attempt is made to connect the image processing device to the cloud service, there is no simple procedure to connect the two. Under the current circumstances, it is difficult to easily obtain image data generated by reading a manuscript using an image processing device in a shared office or collaborative workspace.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-188880 discusses an image reading device that communicates with a cloud server via a network.

[0006] Image processing apparatuses in shared offices or collaborative workspaces are used by many unspecified users, and therefore they are often able to use the image processing apparatuses therein without logging in. Therefore, to use cloud services, it is troublesome for users to register cloud service accounts in such image processing apparatuses.

[0007] In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-188880, a user logs in to a cloud service using a terminal such as a personal computer (PC) or a smartphone in advance, generates a ticket including data storage folder information and login information, and transmits the ticket to an image processing device. When the user logs in to the image processing device and operates the image processing device to scan, the image processing device reads the ticket associated with the logged-in user and uploads the data to the cloud. That is, the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-188880 is based on the premise that a cloud service account has been registered in the image processing device in advance.

[0008] At the same time, many cloud services and enterprise chats have a temporary sharing file function that allows even users who do not have a cloud service or enterprise chat account to share the above files. For example, in the Dropbox company In , the link sharing feature creates a link to a file or folder in Dropbox. A link is a unique uniform resource locator (URL) and allows the file contents to be displayed on a browser or downloaded via the URL. Summary of the invention

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing device, which communicates with a cloud service via a network, and includes: a reading unit, configured to read an image on a document; a transmission unit, configured to transmit the read image to the cloud service; a request unit, configured to request the cloud service to generate information for downloading the transmitted image; a receiving unit, configured to receive information transmitted from the cloud service based on the request; and a notification unit, configured to notify a user of the received information.

[0010] Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a hardware configuration diagram of an image processing device.

[0013] Figure 3 It is a software configuration diagram of the image processing device.

[0014] Figure 4 It is the hardware configuration diagram of the cloud.

[0015] Figure 5 It is the software configuration diagram of the cloud.

[0016] Figure 6 An example of a home screen of an image processing apparatus is shown.

[0017] Figure 7 An example of the sequence between the image processing device and the cloud is shown.

[0018] Figure 8 An example of a program executed by the image processing apparatus is shown.

[0019] Fig. 9 is a flowchart of the image processing apparatus when executing the Scan to Cloud function.

[0020] Fig.10 It is a flow chart of the cloud when performing the scan to cloud function. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this exemplary embodiment, a multifunction peripheral having a printing function and a scanning function is used as an example of an image processing device. However, this example does not limit the present invention according to the appended claims. In addition, not every combination of the features described in this exemplary embodiment is used to solve the problem in the present invention.

[0022] Figure 1 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an image processing system according to a first exemplary embodiment. An image processing apparatus 101 and a cloud 102 are connected to each other via a network 100 so that the image processing apparatus 101 and the cloud 102 can communicate with each other. A plurality of image processing apparatuses and servers (not shown) may be connected to the image processing apparatus 101 and the cloud 102.

[0023] The image processing apparatus 101 has a function of transmitting a file including image data obtained by scanning an original image to the cloud 102 via the network 100. The cloud 102 provides an online storage service function for storing files transmitted from the image processing apparatus 101, and various services. The cloud 102 may include a single cloud server or a plurality of cloud server groups. The image processing apparatus 101 and the cloud 102 may be included in a network.

[0024] Figure 2 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment. The image processing apparatus 101 has a reading function of reading an image on an original, and a printing function of printing an image on a sheet (printing sheet). In addition, the image processing apparatus 101 also has a file transmission function of converting image data into a file and transmitting the file to an external device.

[0025] The present exemplary embodiment is described using a multifunction peripheral as an example of the image processing apparatus 101. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, an image reading apparatus that does not have a printing function, such as a scanner, may be used.

[0026] A control unit 200 including a central processing unit (CPU) 201 controls the overall operation of the image processing apparatus 101 .

[0027] The CPU 201 reads a control program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 202 or a storage device 204 and performs various types of control such as reading control and printing control.

[0028] The ROM 202 stores control programs executable by the CPU 201 .

[0029] A random access memory (RAM) 203 is a main memory of the CPU 201 , and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area for loading various types of control programs stored in the ROM 202 and the storage device 204 .

[0030] The storage device 204 stores print data, image data, various types of programs, and various types of setting information. The storage device 204 may be a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). In the image processing device 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment, a single CPU 201 uses a single memory (RAM 203) to operate the processing shown in the flowchart described below. In some embodiments, other forms are adopted. For example, multiple CPUs, RAMs, ROMs, and storage devices cooperate to operate the processing shown in the flowchart described below. In other embodiments, some processing is operated using hardware circuits such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0031] An operation unit interface (I / F) 206 is connected to an operation unit 207. The operation unit 207 includes a touch panel having a function as a display unit. The operation unit 207 displays information to the user via the touch panel or detects input from the user. The operation unit 207 also includes hardware keys and detects input from the user.

[0032] The reading unit I / F 208 is connected to the reading unit 209. The reading unit 209 is a scanner. The reading unit 209 scans an image on a document, thereby generating image data. The generated image data is stored in the storage device 204 and transmitted to an external device via the network 100. Based on the storage device 204, the printing unit 211 prints an image of the generated image data on a sheet. The reading unit 209 may include an automatic document feeder that feeds a plurality of documents placed on the automatic document feeder one by one and reads images of the fed documents.

[0033] The printing unit I / F 210 is connected to the printing unit 211. Image data to be printed is transmitted to the printing unit 211 via the printing unit I / F 210. The printing unit 211 receives a control command and image data, and prints an image based on the image data on a sheet. The printing unit 211 may print an image by an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method. In the electrophotographic method, the printing unit 211 forms an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive member, then develops the electrostatic latent image using a toner, transfers the toner image to a sheet, and fixes the transferred toner image, thereby forming an image. On the other hand, in the inkjet method, the printing unit 211 ejects ink droplets, thereby printing an image on a sheet.

[0034] The image processing apparatus 101 is connected to the network 100 via a network I / F 205. The network I / F 205 is connected to the cloud 102 in the network 100 for the network I / F 205 to communicate with the cloud 102. The network I / F 205 transmits image data generated by the reading unit 209 to the cloud 102.

[0035] The print data received via the network I / F 205 is analyzed by the CPU 201 using a software module (a page description language (PDL) analysis unit (not shown)) for analyzing the print data, and is stored in the storage device 204 or the ROM 202. Based on the print data represented by one of various types of PDL, the PDL analysis unit generates data to be printed by the printing unit 211.

[0036] The image processing apparatus 101 may include a modem (not shown), and have a facsimile function of transmitting image data generated by reading a document by the reading unit 209 via the modem.

[0037] Figure 3 1 is a block diagram showing a software configuration of the image processing apparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment. Processing of blocks other than the storage unit 308 is operated by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the program. The processing of the storage unit 308 is operated by the storage device 204.

[0038] The control unit 301 controls other modules, and generally controls the operation of processing performed in the image processing apparatus 101 , such as scanning, transmission, printing, and display processing.

[0039] If the image processing apparatus 101 performs user management, the authentication processing unit 305 receives a login or logout request from the user. When the authentication processing unit 305 receives the login request, the authentication processing unit 305 performs authentication with reference to the user management information stored in the storage unit 308. If the authentication is successful, the authentication processing unit 305 instructs the user interface (UI) control unit 302 to display a home screen on the operation unit 207. The user management information may be managed by an external server (not shown). In this case, the authentication processing unit 305 transmits the authentication information to the external server and performs authentication.

[0040] The UI control unit 302 controls the operation unit 207 via the operation unit I / F 206. Specifically, the UI control unit 302 displays user notifications and options on the operation unit 207, receives user operations on the operation unit 207, and notifies other functional units of the contents of operations.

[0041] The scan processing unit 303 performs scanning using the reading unit 209 via the reading unit I / F 208 , and stores the read scanned image in the storage unit 308 .

[0042] The print processing unit 304 performs printing using the print unit 211 via the print unit I / F 210 .

[0043] The communication unit 306 performs communication such as transmission and reception of data with the cloud 102 or other devices in the network 100 via the network I / F 205 .

[0044] A Quick Response Code (QR Code, QR Code registered trademark) generation unit 307 converts numerical values ​​or text information into a QR code as an example of a predetermined code. The generated QR code is displayed on the operation unit 207 via the UI control unit 302 or printed by the print processing unit 304.

[0045] According to an instruction from another functional unit, the storage unit 308 stores designated data or reads stored data. In the present exemplary embodiment, the storage unit 308 stores and manages image data generated by reading a document, user management information, and data received by the communication unit 306.

[0046] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the cloud 102 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

[0047] The control unit 400 includes a CPU 401 to control the overall operation of the cloud 102 .

[0048] The CPU 401 includes an arithmetic circuit. The CPU 401 loads a program stored in the ROM 402 or the HDD 404 into the RAM 403, and operates various types of processing.

[0049] The ROM 402 stores a system program for controlling the cloud 102 .

[0050] The HDD 404 stores application programs for operating various types of processing and image data. The HDD 404 is an example of a storage device, and an SSD may be a storage device instead of the HDD.

[0051] The communication unit I / F 407 is an interface for connecting various devices to the cloud 102. Based on the control of the CPU 401, the communication unit I / F 407 communicates with the image processing apparatus 101 via the network 100.

[0052] In addition, the cloud 102 may include a keyboard, a touch panel, and a display unit.

[0053] Figure 5403. The processing of blocks other than the storage unit 506 is operated by the CPU 401 loading the program stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403 and executing the program. The storage unit 506 includes the HDD 404.

[0054] The authentication processing unit 501 processes a login or logout request to the cloud 102. If the authentication processing unit 501 receives a login authentication request from a user, the authentication processing unit 501 performs authentication processing and returns an authentication result.

[0055] The communication unit 503 performs communication such as data transmission and reception with the image processing apparatus 101 or other devices in the network 100 via the communication unit I / F 407. If the communication unit 503 receives a request from the image processing apparatus 101, the communication unit 503 transmits the content of the request to the control unit 502. When the communication unit 503 receives the result of processing the request and data by the control unit 502, the communication unit 503 transmits a response to the image processing apparatus 101.

[0056] According to the request content received via the communication unit 503, the control unit 502 instructs the file management unit 504 to perform a process of storing, deleting, moving, or updating the image data received from the image processing apparatus 101. If the request content is a request to generate a shared uniform resource locator (URL), the control unit 502 instructs the shared URL generation unit 505 to generate a URL.

[0057] According to an instruction from the control unit 502, the document management unit 504 stores the image data in the storage unit 506, or deletes, moves, or updates the stored image data.

[0058] The shared URL generation unit 505 generates a unique URL for the data stored in the storage unit 506 .

[0059] According to an instruction from another functional unit, the storage unit 506 stores designated data in the ROM 402, RAM 403, or HDD 404, or reads stored data. In the present exemplary embodiment, the storage unit 506 manages image data received via the communication unit 503 and information about the URL generated by the shared URL generation unit 505.

[0060] Figure 6is an example of the home screen 600 of the image processing apparatus 101 displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 207 according to the present exemplary embodiment. The home screen 600 displays buttons for functions (copy, fax, media print, and scan to cloud) that can be operated by the image processing apparatus 101. The user presses one of the buttons to select the function of the pressed button.

[0061] The image processing apparatus 101 has a login function. The login function is set to be enabled or disabled by the administrator through the operation unit 207. In the case where the login function is enabled, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display a login screen (not shown) in a state where no one is logged in to the image processing apparatus 101. Then, the CPU 201 receives authentication information from the user, and authenticates the user based on the received authentication information. If the authentication is successful, the CPU 201 causes the user to enter a state where the user has logged in to the image processing apparatus 101. Then, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display the home screen 600. It is assumed that only one user is in the login state at a time. In the case where another user is logging in to the image processing apparatus 101, the currently logged in user instructs logout via the operation unit 207 to log out from the image processing apparatus 101, and no one is currently logged in to the image processing apparatus 101. In this case, authentication information about another user is input on the login screen displayed on the operation unit 207, and the image processing apparatus 101 performs authentication based on the input authentication information for the user to log in to the image processing apparatus 101. The user inputs authentication information through the software keyboard displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 207, and the CPU 201 acquires the authentication information. As another method, the CPU 201 may acquire authentication information from a card held by the user on the card reader of the operation unit 207 through wireless communication. The CPU 201 uses the acquired authentication information to authenticate the user. If the authentication is successful, the CPU 201 causes the user to enter a state in which the user has logged in to the image processing apparatus 101. If an external server is used for authentication, the image processing apparatus 101 transmits the acquired authentication information to the external server, the external server performs authentication, and the image processing apparatus 101 receives the authentication result from the external server.

[0062] In the case where the login function is enabled, the image processing apparatus 101 is connected to the cloud 102 in advance, and an access token of the cloud 102 is stored in the storage unit 308 for each user. Specifically, the user logs in to the image processing apparatus 101 in advance, accesses the cloud 102 via a browser, and inputs a user name and a password to the cloud 102, thereby creating an account for the cloud 102. Then, the cloud 102 issues an access token, and the image processing apparatus 101 receives the access token. The access token is associated with the user in the logged-in state and stored in the storage unit 308.

[0063] Then, if the user presses the "Scan to Cloud" button on the home screen 600 in a state where the user has logged in to the image processing apparatus 101, the control unit 301 instructs the scan processing unit 303 to scan. After receiving the instruction, the scan processing unit 303 causes the reading unit 209 to start reading the original document. After the reading unit 209 reads the original document, image data representing the image on the original document is generated and saved in the storage unit 308. The control unit 301 instructs the communication unit 306 to transmit the image data stored in the storage unit 308 to the cloud 102. The communication unit 306 transmits the image data to the cloud 102 together with the access token of the user in the logged-in state. Based on the received access token, the cloud 102 identifies a storage area for the user in the storage unit 506, and stores the received image data in the identified storage area. Instead of setting the storage area identified based on the access token as the storage location of the image data, another method may be used to determine the storage location. For example, after a “Scan to Cloud” button is pressed, the image processing apparatus 101 may determine, in response to the pressing, a storage location of the image data in a folder hierarchy list of the cloud 102 received through communication with the cloud 102 .

[0064] On the other hand, when the login function is disabled, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display the home screen 600 after the image processing apparatus 101 is activated. In this state, even a user who has not registered authentication information in the image processing apparatus 101 can use the image processing apparatus 101 without logging in to the image processing apparatus 101.

[0065] On the image processing apparatus 101 in the office where the user works, the user can easily identify the file path of the image data transmitted by the scan to cloud function. On the other hand, if the scan to cloud function is performed using the image processing apparatus 101 in a shared office or collaborative workspace, the cloud pre-connected to the image processing apparatus 101 belongs to the company that manages the shared office or collaborative workspace. In this case, it is difficult for the user in the shared office or collaborative workspace to know the upload location of the image data. At the same time, when trying to connect the image processing apparatus 101 in the shared office or collaborative workspace to the cloud of the company where the user works, the user goes through a complicated procedure, and security issues such as recording access logs also arise.

[0066] In the present exemplary embodiment, if the scan to cloud function is performed with the login function disabled, the image processing apparatus 101 transmits the image data to the cloud 102, and then requests information indicating the image data storage location from the cloud 102. Then, the cloud 102 receiving the request issues a URL as the information indicating the image data storage location to notify the user of the URL. To notify the user of the URL, for example, the URL may be displayed on the operation unit 207 or the URL may be printed. By inputting the URL to a smartphone or a personal computer (PC), the user can easily download the image data stored in the cloud 102. In addition, the URL converted into a QR code may also be displayed. By capturing the displayed QR code using the camera in the smartphone, the user can easily download the image data stored in the cloud 102 to the smartphone. In addition, the URL converted into a QR code may also be printed on a sheet. By capturing the QR code printed on the sheet using the camera in the smartphone, the user can easily download the image data stored in the cloud 102 to the smartphone. After the image data is successfully transmitted to the cloud 102, the image processing apparatus 101 may receive an email address input from the user, and transmit an email including the URL to the received email address. The user can easily download the image data stored in the cloud 102 on the smartphone or PC that receives the e-mail.

[0067] According to the present exemplary embodiment, the above-described method enables the user to easily download the image data of a document read and transmitted to the cloud 102 using the user's PC or smartphone without logging into the image processing apparatus 101 .

[0068] Figure 7 This is an example of a sequence between the image processing device 101 and the cloud 102 when an instruction to perform the scan to cloud function is issued on the image processing device 101 in a shared office or collaborative workspace, while the login function is disabled. In this sequence, an example of converting a shared URL into a QR code and printing the QR code will be described. The CPU 201 of the image processing device 101 loads a program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and runs the program to operate. Figure 7 The image processing apparatus 101 performs the processing shown in the order in FIG. The CPU 401 of the cloud 102 loads the program stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403 and runs the program to operate. Figure 7 The processing of cloud 102 is shown in the order.

[0069] In step S701, the user instructs the image processing apparatus 101 to start up, so as to start up the image processing apparatus 101. The start up instruction may be an instruction to resume from a power saving state.

[0070] exist Figure 7In the example of , the login function is disabled, and the user of the shared office or coworking space is not registered in the image processing apparatus 101 . Therefore, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display the home screen 600 .

[0071] In step S703 , the user places a document on the document table or the automatic document feeder of the reading unit 209 , and presses a “Scan to Cloud” button on the home screen 600 .

[0072] In step S704, the CPU 201 causes the reading unit 209 to read the image of the document. In step S705, the reading unit 209 reads the document, thereby generating image data. The CPU 201 receives the generated image data from the reading unit 209 and stores the image data in the storage device 204.

[0073] In step S706, the CPU 201 controls the communication unit 306 to transmit the stored image data to the cloud 102. Connecting to the cloud 102 using the access token registered in advance in the storage device 204 for the visitor, the communication unit 306 transmits the image data generated in step S705 to the cloud 102.

[0074] The cloud 102 receives the image data from the image processing apparatus 101 via the communication unit 503. In step S707, the CPU 401 of the cloud 102 instructs the file management unit 504 to store the received image data in the HDD 404. The file management unit 504 stores the image data in the HDD 404. In step S708, the CPU 401 transmits information indicating that the image data has been stored in the HDD 404 and a file path indicating the storage location of the image data stored in step S707 to the image processing apparatus 101 via the communication unit 503.

[0075] The image processing apparatus 101 receives the information indicating that the image data has been stored and the file path via the communication unit 306 .

[0076] In step S709, the CPU 201 performs a transmission process of transmitting a request for generating a URL for downloading image data (also referred to as a "shared URL"), a file path, and setting information for generating the shared URL to the cloud 102. The setting information is, for example, the validity period of the shared URL. An expired shared URL makes it impossible to access the cloud 102 using the shared URL. The validity period may be a fixed period set in advance in the image processing device 101, or may be input via a screen displayed in response to the user pressing the "Scan to Cloud" button. Alternatively, this validity period may not be set. Another example of setting information is a password. In response to the shared URL being accessed, the cloud 102 requests the user who is accessing the cloud 102 using the shared URL to enter a password. If the correct password is transmitted, the CPU 401 allows the user to access the cloud 102. Otherwise, the CPU 401 prohibits the user from accessing the cloud 102. The password may also be input via a screen displayed in response to the user pressing the "Scan to Cloud" button. This password may not be included in the setting information.

[0077] The CPU 401 of the cloud 102 receives a request to generate a shared URL, a file path, and setting information from the image processing apparatus 101 via the communication unit 503 .

[0078] In step S710 , based on the received file path, the CPU 401 identifies the image data stored in the HDD 404 , and generates a shared URL for downloading the image data.

[0079] In step S711 , the CPU 401 transmits the generated shared URL to the image processing apparatus 101 via the communication unit 503 .

[0080] The CPU 201 of the image processing apparatus 101 receives the shared URL via the communication unit 306 .

[0081] In step S712 , the CPU 201 causes the QR code generation unit 307 to convert the shared URL into a QR code.

[0082] In step S713, the CPU 201 instructs the printing unit 211 to print the QR code obtained by the conversion in step S712 on a sheet. The printing unit 211 prints the QR code on a sheet in accordance with the instruction.

[0083] Figure 8 When the image processing device 101 is Figure 7 An example of a procedure when a request to generate a shared URL is transmitted to the cloud 102 in step S709 of . It is described as an example of cloud 102 .

[0084] The information 801 is an access token for connecting to the cloud 102 and is stored in the storage unit 308 in advance.

[0085] Information 802 specifies a file path indicating a storage location of the image data on the cloud 102. In the present exemplary embodiment, information 802 indicates that the image data is stored under the folder "images" with a file name "scan001.jpg". The CPU 401 of the cloud 102 determines the storage location of the file and the file name of the file according to a predetermined specification. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The storage location of the file and the file name of the file may be specified by the user via a screen on the operation unit 207 in the image processing apparatus 101. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which the storage location of the file is determined by the user selecting one of the hierarchies of the folders acquired from the cloud 102 displayed by the image processing apparatus 101.

[0086] Information 803 calls an application programming interface (API) for specifying image data (scan_file) obtained by scanning and for uploading the image data to the cloud 102 .

[0087] Information 804 sets the parameters specified when generating the shared URL. The parameters specified in information 804 mean that the generated shared URL is a URL that anyone can access without logging in.

[0088] Information 805 calls an API for generating a shared URL based on the parameters specified in information 804 .

[0089] Fig. 9 2 is an example of a flowchart of the image processing apparatus 101 when the image processing apparatus 101 performs the Scan to Cloud function according to the present exemplary embodiment. The image processing apparatus 101 is operated by the CPU 201 loading the program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the program. Fig. 9 2. The processing of the image processing device 101 in the flowchart in FIG.

[0090] After the image processing apparatus 101 is activated, in step S901 , the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display the home screen 600 .

[0091] In step S902 , the user presses the “Scan to Cloud” button displayed on the home screen 600 , whereby the CPU 201 receives a request to perform the Scan to Cloud function.

[0092] In step S903 , the CPU 201 issues an instruction to perform reading to the reading unit 209 via the reading unit I / F 208 , and causes the reading unit 209 to read the document.

[0093] In step S904 , the CPU 201 stores image data representing the image of the read document in the storage device 204 .

[0094] In step S905 , the CPU 201 operates an upload process (transmission process) for transmitting the image data stored in the storage device 204 to the cloud 102 .

[0095] In step S906 , the CPU 201 receives information indicating whether image data upload (transmission) succeeded or failed and a folder path indicating the image data storage location from the cloud 102 via the network I / F 205 .

[0096] In step S907, based on the information received in step S906, the CPU 201 determines whether the upload of the image data succeeded or failed. If the CPU 201 determines that the upload failed ("No" in step S907), the process proceeds to step S908. In step S908, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display an error message (Msg) indicating that the upload of the image data failed. Then, Fig. 9 The processing shown in the flowchart is completed.

[0097] If the CPU 201 determines that the image data upload is successful (YES in step S907), the process proceeds to step S909. In step S909, the CPU 201 operates a transmission process for transmitting the following to the cloud 102: generating a request for downloading a shared URL for the uploaded image data, the folder path received in step S906, and the setting information.

[0098] In step S910 , the CPU 201 receives the generation result of the shared URL transmitted from the cloud 102 in response to the generation request transmitted in step S909 .

[0099] In step S911, the CPU 201 determines whether the generation of the shared URL succeeded or failed. If the CPU 201 determines that the generation of the shared URL failed ("No" in step S911), then in step S912, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display an error Msg indicating that the generation of the shared URL failed. Then, Fig. 9 The processing shown in the flowchart is completed.

[0100] If the CPU 201 determines in step S911 that the shared URL generation is successful (YES in step S911 ), then in step S913 , the CPU 201 instructs the QR code generation unit 307 to convert the received shared URL into a QR code.

[0101] In step S914, the CPU 201 instructs the printing unit 211 to print the QR code generated by the QR code generating unit 307. The printing unit 211 prints the QR code on a sheet according to the instruction.

[0102] Fig.10 4 is an example of a flowchart of the cloud 102 when the image processing apparatus 101 performs the scan to cloud function. The cloud 102 is operated by the CPU 401 of the cloud 102 loading the program stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403 and running the program. Fig.10 The process is shown in the flowchart in .

[0103] In step S1001 , the CPU 401 receives a request to upload image data from the image processing apparatus 101 .

[0104] In step S1002 , according to the parameters specified in the document management unit 504 , the CPU 401 stores the received image data in the HDD 404 .

[0105] In step S1003 , the CPU 401 determines whether the storage of the image data in the HDD 404 is successful (whether the uploading of the image data to the cloud 102 is successful).

[0106] If the CPU 401 determines that storage of the image data in the HDD 404 is successful (YES in step S1003 ), then in step S1004 , the CPU 401 notifies the image processing apparatus 101 of information indicating that uploading of the image data is successful.

[0107] If storage of the image data in the HDD 404 fails (NO in step S1003 ), then in step S1005 , the CPU 401 notifies the image processing apparatus 101 of information indicating that uploading of the image data has failed.

[0108] In step S1006 , the CPU 401 receives a request to generate a shared URL from the image processing apparatus 101 .

[0109] In step S1007 , the CPU 401 generates a shared URL for downloading the stored image data.

[0110] In step S1008, the CPU 401 determines whether the generation of the shared URL is successful. If the CPU 401 determines that the shared URL generation is successful ("Yes" in step S1008), the process proceeds to step S1009. If the CPU 401 determines that the shared URL generation fails ("No" in step S1008), the process proceeds to step S1010.

[0111] In step S1009 , the CPU 401 operates a transmission process for transmitting the generated shared URL to the image processing apparatus 101 .

[0112] If the CPU 401 determines that the shared URL generation has failed, then in step S1010 , the CPU 401 notifies the image processing apparatus 101 of the shared URL generation failure.

[0113] Then, when the cloud 102 receives a request to download image data based on the URL, the cloud 102 transmits the image data stored at the URL indicated location to the device that has transmitted the download request. This allows the device to store the transmitted image data and display the stored image data on the browser or save the stored image data.

[0114] The above control enables image data generated by reading a manuscript and transmitted to a cloud server to be easily received by another device without a cloud server account. Specifically, a user can easily obtain image data generated by reading a manuscript on an image processing device 101 in a shared office and a collaborative office space via a URL generated by the cloud 102.

[0115] In addition, in response to receiving an instruction to read a document in a state where no one is logged in to the image processing apparatus 101, the image processing apparatus 101 requests the cloud 102 to generate a shared URL without separately instructing the cloud 102 to generate a shared URL. On the other hand, if someone is logged in to the image processing apparatus 101, the image processing apparatus 101 does not request the cloud 102 to generate a shared URL. This prevents the generation of redundant shared URLs in a case where a user easily accesses the user's cloud server and obtains image data later.

[0116] Other Exemplary Embodiments

[0117] In the present exemplary embodiment, the operation when performing the Scan to Cloud function while the login function of the image processing apparatus 101 is disabled is described. Figure 7 However, the present invention is not limited to this example. In some embodiments, if no one is logged into the image processing apparatus 101 with the login function enabled, the scan-to-cloud function is available and the Figure 7 Specifically, when the login function is enabled, even if no one is logged into the image processing apparatus 101, the CPU 201 causes the operation unit 207 to display Figure 6 The guest user operates the "Scan to Cloud" button on the home screen 600, thereby enabling the image on the original to be read and the image data generated by reading the image to be transmitted to the cloud 102. Then, the operation Figure 7 In other embodiments, the processing shown in FIG. 207 is displayed on the operation unit 207. Figure 6 , the image processing apparatus 101 causes the operation unit 207 to display the authentication screen by the user selecting the authentication screen call button (not shown). Then, the image processing apparatus 101 receives the authentication information from the user and authenticates the user based on the received authentication information. If the authentication is successful, the image processing apparatus 101 causes the user to enter a state where the user has logged in to the image processing apparatus 101. It is assumed that only one user is in the logged-in state at a time. In a case where another user is logging in to the image processing apparatus 101, the currently logged-in user instructs to log out via the operation unit 207 to log out from the image processing apparatus 101, and no one is currently logged in to the image processing apparatus 101. In this state, when the authentication screen is displayed on the operation unit 207 by the authentication screen call button, the other user inputs the authentication information. The image processing apparatus 101 performs the authentication based on the input authentication information, whereby the other user successfully logs in. On the other hand, the CPU 201 acquires the authentication information by the user inputting the authentication information using the software keyboard displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 207. In other embodiments, the user holds the card on the card reader of the operation unit 207, whereby the CPU 201 acquires authentication information from the card through wireless communication. The CPU 201 authenticates the user using the acquired authentication information. If the authentication is successful, the CPU 201 causes the user to enter a state where the user has logged into the image processing apparatus 101. If an external server performs authentication, the image processing apparatus 101 transmits the acquired authentication information to the external server, the external server performs authentication, and then the image processing apparatus 101 receives the authentication result from the external server. At this time, the authentication may not be performed. Figure 7 The processing of step S709 and subsequent steps shown in . At this time, in step S708, the file path may not be transmitted.

[0118] Furthermore, information on whether to instruct the cloud 102 to generate a shared URL may be stored as a setting of the image processing apparatus 101 .

[0119] The present invention can also be implemented by the following process: providing a program for performing one or more functions in the above exemplary embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and causing one or more processors of a computer of the system or device to read and run the program. The present invention can also be implemented by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) for performing one or more functions.

[0120] The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by providing software (program) for performing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer or a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0121] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An image processing device, the image processing device communicating with a cloud service via a network, the image processing device comprising: A reading unit, used for reading an image on an original document to generate image data; a receiving unit, configured to receive an instruction for using the reading unit to read the image on the original document; a transmission unit, configured to transmit the read image to the cloud service; A login unit, used to allow a user to log in to the image processing device; a requesting unit for requesting the cloud service to generate storage location information indicating a storage location of the image data based on the fact that the receiving unit has received the instruction in a state where no user has logged in to the image processing apparatus using the logging unit; as well as Notification unit, used to notify the user of code information, The code information is code information that enables other devices to acquire storage location information indicating the storage location of the image data by capturing the code information and receive the image data based on the storage location information, and After a period of time during which the other device receives the image data transmitted to the cloud service via the network expires, the other device is unable to receive the image data based on the storage location information.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein: When the receiving unit receives an instruction in a state where a user logs in to the image processing apparatus using the logging unit, the requesting unit does not request the cloud service to generate the storage location information indicating the storage location of the image data.

3. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The storage location information is a shared URL, and Wherein, based on the fact that the generated image data is successfully transmitted to the cloud service, the request unit requests the cloud service to generate the sharing URL.

4. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit, in, The notification unit notifies a user of the code information by displaying the code information on the display unit.

5. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit, in, The notification unit notifies a user of the code information by causing the printing unit to print the code information.

6. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The cloud service is a storage service for storing image data.

7. A method for controlling an image processing device, wherein the image processing device communicates with a cloud service via a network, the method comprising: reading an image on an original to generate image data; receiving an instruction to read the image on the original document; transmitting the read image to the cloud service; Allowing a user to log in to the image processing device; requesting the cloud service to generate storage location information indicating a storage location of the image data based on the fact that the instruction has been received in a state where no user is logged in to the image processing apparatus; as well as Notify the user of code information. The code information is code information that enables other devices to acquire storage location information indicating the storage location of the image data by capturing the code information and receive the image data based on the storage location information, and After a period of time during which the other device receives the image data transmitted to the cloud service via the network expires, the other device is unable to receive the image data based on the storage location information.

8. The method for controlling an image processing device according to claim 7, wherein: When an instruction is received in a state where a user is logged in to the image processing apparatus, the cloud service is not requested to generate the storage location information indicating the storage location of the image data.

9. The method for controlling an image processing device according to claim 7, wherein: The storage location information is a shared URL, and Wherein, based on the fact that the generated image data is successfully transmitted to the cloud service, the cloud service is requested to generate the sharing URL.

10. The method for controlling an image processing device according to claim 7, wherein: The user is informed of the code information by displaying the code information.

11. The method for controlling an image processing device according to claim 7, wherein: The cloud service is a storage service for storing image data.

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