Image reading device, image reading method, and image reading program

Abstract

To increase the opportunities of using editing operation for a read document.SOLUTION: An information processing system connected to a reading unit includes: a data operation unit 22 which transmits multiple pieces of page data corresponding to pages included in a document to an external storage, the data operation unit 22 being configured to start transmitting the page data to the external storage before all the pages are completely read; and an instruction receiving unit 26 which can receive an editing instruction for the page data having been transmitted to the external storage. The data operation unit 22 transmits, to the external storage, edit data for reflecting the content of the editing instruction in the content displayed when the page data is read from the external storage for display, thereby causing the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instruction for editing the transmitted page data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for editing a read document. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various techniques have been proposed for editing data of a document read by a reading device (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-148591 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2001-352404 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2009-124316 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Various technologies have been proposed in the past for editing scanned documents, but in systems that transmit scanned document data to external storage, opportunities to edit the document have been limited to editing the document on the reading device before transmission to the external storage, or reading the document from the external storage and editing it after transmission to the external storage.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to increase opportunities for using editing operations on a read document. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One example of the present disclosure is an information processing system connected to a reading unit capable of reading a document having multiple pages, comprising: a data manipulation means for transmitting multiple page data corresponding to each page included in the document to an external storage, thereby storing the multiple page data in the external storage, the data manipulation means starting to transmit the multiple page data to the external storage before reading of all pages included in the document is completed; an instruction receiving means for receiving editing instructions regarding the multiple page data, the instruction receiving means being capable of receiving the editing instructions regarding the page data among the multiple page data that has already been transmitted to the external storage; and the data manipulation means for transmitting editing data to the external storage for reflecting the content of the editing instructions in the display content when the multiple page data is read out from the external storage and displayed, thereby causing the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instructions regarding the page data that has already been transmitted.

[0007] The present disclosure can be understood as an information processing device, a system, a method executed by a computer, or a program executed by a computer. The present disclosure can also be understood as a program recorded on a recording medium readable by a computer or other device, machine, etc. Here, a recording medium readable by a computer, etc. refers to a recording medium that stores information such as data and programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read by a computer, etc. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to increase the opportunities for using editing operations on a read document. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2]1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a functional configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a structure of a multi-page file in the embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a document storage process according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence data (read list) according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a document editing process according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a deletion preparation process according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of a rotation preparation process according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] 11 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of an insertion preparation process according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of replacement preparation processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of an edit execution process according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a file update process according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing device, a system, a method, and a program according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is an example of an embodiment, and the information processing device, a system, a method, and a program according to the present disclosure are not limited to the specific configuration described below. In carrying out the present disclosure, a specific configuration according to the embodiment may be appropriately adopted, and various improvements and modifications may be made.

[0011] In this embodiment, an information processing device, a system, a method, and a program according to the present disclosure are described in a case where the information processing device, the system, the method, and the program according to the present disclosure are implemented in a system that stores and manages document data obtained using a scanner device in an external storage. However, the information processing device, the system, the method, and the program according to the present disclosure can be widely used in a technology for editing a scanned document, and the application of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples shown in the embodiment.

[0012] Conventionally, document management has been made more efficient by using a reading device that can digitize paper documents, and some reading devices provide a function to check the read image as a thumbnail after reading. However, even with such a reading device, if an unnecessary page is mixed in or the page orientation is incorrect, the reading must be restarted from the beginning. In addition, unnecessary data remains in external storage, and unnecessary pages are displayed when viewing documents, hindering the efficiency of document management.

[0013] In addition, conventionally, there have been provided reading devices capable of automatically saving scanned document files in external storage connected via a network, and such reading devices generate file names according to a predetermined naming rule and save scanned electronic data files in the external storage. However, when multiple users save scanned data using one or multiple reading devices in the same external storage, the files of each user are mixed in the same shared folder, making it difficult for users to identify the desired file from the shared folder. In addition, when the transmitted file is a multi-page file, a separate editing tool must be used to delete or edit a specific page, which is time-consuming.

[0014] For this reason, in the system described in this embodiment, the efficiency of document management work is improved by deleting unnecessary document data from external storage or not displaying it, and adding a function that allows the user to edit the scanned document without accessing the external storage. However, when implementing the technology according to the present disclosure, it is not necessary to solve all of the problems described above by adopting all of the configurations described below. When implementing the technology according to the present disclosure, some of the problems described above may be solved by adopting some of the configurations described below.

[0015] <System configuration> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a system according to this embodiment. In the system according to this embodiment, a scanner device 1 is connected to an external storage 9, such as a cloud server, a file server, or an online storage, so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network or other communication means. In this embodiment, a mode in which the technology according to this disclosure is implemented in a so-called network scanner having a reading unit and a communication function in the same housing is described. However, the system according to this embodiment may be an information processing system connected to a reading unit capable of reading a document having multiple pages. For example, the technology according to this disclosure can be applied to a system in which a scanner device having a reading unit and an information processing device having a communication function with an external storage are connected via a communication means such as a network or a peripheral device connection interface.

[0016] The scanner device 1 is a computer (information processing device) including a reading unit 3, a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a read only memory (ROM) 12, a random access memory (RAM) 13, a storage device 14 such as an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM) or a hard disk drive (HDD), an input device 15 such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, an output device 16 such as a display, and a communication unit 17. However, the specific hardware configuration of the scanner device 1 can be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment. In addition, the scanner device 1 is not limited to a device consisting of a single housing. The scanner device 1 may be realized by multiple devices using so-called cloud or distributed computing technology.

[0017] The reading unit 3 is a device that captures image data by capturing an image of a document, such as a document, a business card, a receipt, or a photo / illustration, set by a user. In this embodiment, the reading unit 3 is a scanner with a so-called sheet feeder as an example of a device for capturing an image of an object, but the device used for capturing an image is not limited to a so-called scanner. For example, a digital camera or a camera sensor built into a smartphone / tablet may be used to capture an image of an object to obtain an image.

[0018] The scanner device 1 according to this embodiment has a function of transmitting data obtained by imaging to an external storage 9 via a network. The scanner device 1 may further have a user interface, such as a touch panel display or a keyboard, for enabling character input / output and item selection, as well as a web browsing function and a server function. The communication means and hardware configuration of a scanner capable of employing the method according to this embodiment are not limited to those exemplified in this embodiment.

[0019] 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the functional configuration of the scanner device 1 according to this embodiment. The scanner device 1 functions as an information processing device including an internal storage unit 21, a data operation unit 22, a correspondence relationship storage unit 23, a deletion unit 24, a display unit 25, and an instruction acceptance unit 26, by a program recorded in the storage device 14 being read into the RAM 13 and executed by the CPU 11, which controls each piece of hardware included in the scanner device 1. Note that in this embodiment and other embodiments described later, each function included in the scanner device 1 is executed by the CPU 11, which is a general-purpose processor, but some or all of these functions may be executed by one or more dedicated processors.

[0020] The internal storage unit 21 stores page data corresponding to the page read by the reading unit 3 in the RAM 13 and / or the storage device 14 of the scanner device 1.

[0021] The data operation unit 22 transmits a plurality of page data corresponding to each page included in the document to an external storage 9 (in the present embodiment, an online storage is taken as an example for explanation), thereby causing the plurality of page data to be stored in the external storage 9. The page data is data for displaying a corresponding page, and in the present embodiment, the page data includes image data. However, the page data may be any data capable of displaying the content included in the page read by the reading unit 3, and is not limited to image data including so-called pixel information. The page data may be data for displaying the content included in the page based on data including character codes obtained by OCR, outlined drawing information, ruled line information, and the like (i.e., drawing data not based on pixel information), for example.

[0022] In this embodiment, the data manipulation unit 22 starts transmitting multiple page data to the external storage 9 before reading of all pages included in the document is completed. Note that, in this embodiment, a mode in which multiple page data corresponding to each page is transmitted in the reading order will be described, but the transmission order is not limited to the reading order. Then, the data manipulation unit 22 transmits editing data to the external storage 9 for reflecting the contents of the editing instructions in the display contents when the multiple page data are read from the external storage 9 and displayed, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute processing corresponding to the editing instructions regarding the transmitted page data.

[0023] In the system according to the present embodiment, as a method for saving page data relating to a document in the external storage 9, a method for saving as one file per document (hereinafter referred to as a "multi-page file") and a method for saving as one file per page (hereinafter referred to as a "single-page file") can be selected according to a setting made by a user. Hereinafter, saving page data relating to a document in the external storage 9 as one file per document (multi-page file) is referred to as "multi-page saving", and saving page data relating to a document in the external storage 9 as one file per page (single-page file) is referred to as "single-page saving". The data operation unit 22 determines editing data for reflecting the contents of the editing instruction depending on whether the saving setting is multi-page saving or single-page saving. The editing data includes identification information of a page relating to the editing instruction. The identification information used here is a file identifier in the case of a single-page file, and a file identifier and a page identifier in the case of a multi-page file.

[0024] In this embodiment, a unit of content that a user wants to manage as a whole is treated as a "document." Therefore, in this embodiment, when two or more documents are combined into one, the combined documents are treated as a single new document. If multi-page saving is selected in the above-mentioned save settings, one document is managed as one multi-page file. On the other hand, if single-page saving is selected in the above-mentioned save settings, one document is managed as one single-page file with the same number of pages as the number of pages contained in the document.

[0025] For this reason, when the save setting is single-page save, the data operation unit 22 transmits edited data including information capable of identifying a file corresponding to a page related to the edit instruction. When the save setting is multi-page save, the data operation unit 22 transmits edited data including information capable of identifying a file and a page corresponding to the page related to the edit instruction, and / or page display information relating to a file created in response to the edit instruction, to the external storage 9, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of a multi-page file in this embodiment. In this embodiment, a file in Portable Document Format (PDF) format is used as the multi-page file. PDF allows one document having multiple pages to be managed in one file, and the file has, from the beginning, a header, page data of each page, and a footer. The footer also includes page information related to each page. An information processing device that displays the PDF file refers to this page information to determine whether each page included in the PDF file is displayed, the display order, etc. However, the file format that can be adopted for the multi-page file is not limited to the PDF format.

[0027] Even if the save setting is single-page save, the file format that can be used for the single-page file is not limited. Examples of file formats that can be used for the single-page file include the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format, and the PDF format.

[0028] The correspondence storage unit 23 stores correspondence data (a reading list storing data identifiers) indicating the correspondence between the page data or document transmitted to the external storage 9 and the files saved in the external storage 9. Then, the data operation unit 22 described above specifies the file to be edited based on the correspondence data.

[0029] The deletion unit 24 deletes the page data transmitted to the external storage 9 from the internal memory unit 21 before reading of all pages included in the document is completed. Although the timing of deletion is not limited, the deletion unit 24 deletes the page data already transmitted to the external storage 9 in a timely manner so that the available storage area of ​​the internal memory unit 21 does not become insufficient during reading by the reading unit 3.

[0030] The display unit 25 displays thumbnails related to pages included in the document. The display unit 25 creates thumbnail data based on the page data read by the reading unit 3 and stored in the internal storage unit 21, and outputs the thumbnail data to a display device such as a touch panel display of the scanner device 1 as a thumbnail showing an overview of the target page.

[0031] The instruction receiving unit 26 receives an editing instruction for the page data. In this embodiment, the instruction receiving unit 26 can receive an editing instruction for not only page data that has not been transmitted to the external storage 9 but also page data that has already been transmitted to the external storage 9 among a plurality of page data corresponding to the displayed thumbnail. Furthermore, the instruction receiving unit 26 according to this embodiment can receive an editing instruction for page data that has already been transmitted to the external storage 9 even after the page data affected by the editing instruction is deleted from the internal storage unit 21. At this time, the instruction receiving unit 26 receives the page to be edited by having the user select a thumbnail, and receives the editing instruction by having the user press an editing instruction button displayed together with the thumbnail. In this embodiment, the options of the editing instruction include an instruction to delete a page, an instruction to rotate a page, an instruction to insert a page, and an instruction to replace a page. Here, the instruction to insert a page is an instruction to insert a page to be inserted that has been read by the reading unit 3 as a supplement in a document into a predetermined position. Also, the instruction to replace a page is an instruction to replace two pages in a document.

[0032] <Processing flow> Next, a flow of processing executed by the scanner device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. Note that the specific contents and processing order of the processing described below are an example for implementing the present disclosure. The specific contents and processing order may be appropriately selected according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of a document storage process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is executed when the scanner device 1 receives an instruction from a user to start reading.

[0034] In steps S101 to S103, page data of the pages included in the document is created. When a user's instruction to start reading is accepted, the data operation unit 22 checks the connection with the external storage 9 (step S101), and the reading unit 3 starts reading the document set in the sheet feeder. In this embodiment, the reading unit 3 obtains read data for each page by capturing an image of each page included in the document set in the sheet feeder while conveying the pages. When one page's worth of read data is obtained from the reading unit 3 (step S102), the data operation unit 22 creates page data of the page (including image data of the target page in this embodiment) based on the read data (step S103), and stores the page data in the internal storage unit 21. After that, the process proceeds to step S104.

[0035] In step S104, the save setting is confirmed. The data operation unit 22 refers to the setting data of the scanner device 1 and confirms whether the save setting is multi-page save or single-page save. If the save setting is multi-page save, the process proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, if the save setting is single-page save, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0036] In step S105, it is determined whether the page data is page data relating to the first page of the document. If the save setting is multi-page save, data operation unit 22 determines whether the read page data is page data relating to the first page of the document set in the sheet feeder. This determination can be made by referring to a counter acquired from reading unit 3. If the read page data is page data relating to the first page of the document set in the sheet feeder, the process proceeds to step S106. On the other hand, if the read page data is page data relating to the second or subsequent page of the document set in the sheet feeder, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0037] In steps S106 to S108, a file name is determined. When the save setting is multi-page save and the read page data is page data related to the first page of the document set in the sheet feeder, or when the save setting is single-page save, the data operation unit 22 determines a file name based on a preset naming rule (step S106). The file name may include at least one of, for example, date and time information related to reading, device information related to reading, user information related to reading, and text information within the page. The text information within the page can be obtained by performing an optical character recognition (OCR) process on the page data of the first page, and the data operation unit 22 can set a character string that is estimated as the title of the target document from the obtained text information as the file name. When the date and time information related to reading is adopted, for example, a file related to a document read at 9:00 on August 13, 2020 can include the file name "202008130900". Furthermore, in the case of single page save, the page number of the target page in the document that contains the target page (for example, "_001") is added to the end of the file name. In other words, when the save setting is single page save, a file is created for each page, and a file name in the format "(document name)_(page number)" is assigned.

[0038] The data operation unit 22 also checks whether a file with the same name already exists in the folder of the external storage 9 of the transmission destination by specifying the folder path and inquiring of the external storage 9 (step S107), and if the file name is duplicated, changes the file name of the file to be transmitted (step S108). Specifically, in this embodiment, the file name is changed by adding a serial number (e.g., "_001") to the end of the file name to avoid duplication, but other rules may be adopted for changing the file name. After that, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0039] In step S109, data relating to the document is transmitted to the external storage 9. After the file name is determined, the data operation unit 22 reads out the page data created in step S103 from the internal storage unit 21 and transmits it to the external storage 9 (step S109). Here, if the save setting is multi-page save, the data operation unit 22 transmits the file header and the page data of the first page when transmitting page data relating to the first page, and transmits the page data of the page when transmitting page data relating to the second page and subsequent pages. If the save setting is single-page save, the data operation unit 22 transmits the entire file including the page data of the page. In addition, the page data transmitted to the external storage 9 is appropriately deleted from the internal storage unit 21 by the deletion unit 24. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S110.

[0040] In step S110, a record related to the transmitted page data is added to the correspondence data. The correspondence storage unit 23 stores the correspondence data in which the data identifier is stored as the correspondence data indicating the correspondence between the page data or document transmitted to the external storage 9 in step S109 and the file saved in the external storage 9.

[0041] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence data (read list) according to the present embodiment. The example shown in this figure is an example of the correspondence data in single-page saving, and the correspondence between the page number of a page included in a read document and the file name of a file including the corresponding page data is saved. Note that the correspondence data in multi-page saving saves the correspondence between a read document and the file name of a file including the page data related to the document. Once the addition to the correspondence data has been made, the process proceeds to step S111.

[0042] In step S111, whether or not to repeat the process is determined depending on whether or not there is a next sheet. The scanner device 1 checks whether or not there is a next sheet in the sheet feeder, and if there is, the process returns to step S102. That is, in this embodiment, when a document including multiple pages is placed on the sheet feeder and reading is started, the processes from step S102 to step S111 are executed each time one page is read. Here, if it is determined that there is no next sheet in the sheet feeder, the process shown in this flowchart ends. As can be understood from the above description, in the case of single-page storage, when all the sheets set in the sheet feeder are read and the process up to step S111 is completed, a file for each page is created on the external storage 9. On the other hand, in the case of multi-page storage, when all the sheets set in the sheet feeder are read and the process up to step S111 is completed, the file header and page data for each page are stored in the external storage 9, but the creation of the multi-page file is not completed.

[0043] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of document editing processing according to this embodiment. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed when the document saving processing described with reference to Fig. 4 is completed. However, the document saving processing and the document editing processing may be partially executed in parallel by starting the document editing processing in the middle of the document saving processing (for example, when the generation of a thumbnail of a read page is completed).

[0044] In steps S201 to S203, an editing screen is displayed and editing operations by the user are accepted. When reading is completed, the display unit 25 displays an editing screen including thumbnails related to the read page data on a touch panel display mounted on the scanner device 1 (step S201), and allows the user to check the scan results. Furthermore, the instruction accepting unit 26 accepts operations by the user via the editing screen displayed on the touch panel display.

[0045] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an editing screen according to the present embodiment. On the editing screen, thumbnails relating to each page included in the read document and operation elements of "delete", "rotate", "insert", "replace" and "complete" are displayed. The user can select a thumbnail displayed on this editing screen and operate one of the operation elements of "delete", "rotate", "insert" and "replace" (in this embodiment, a button image displayed on the touch panel display) to specify a page and give an editing instruction (an instruction to delete a page, an instruction to rotate a page, an instruction to insert a page, an instruction to replace a page). In addition, the user can complete the editing operation by operating the operation element of "complete" displayed on this editing screen (in this embodiment, a button image displayed on the touch panel display).

[0046] For example, if the user decides that page 5 of the scanned document is unnecessary, he or she can touch the thumbnail image of page 5 on the editing screen displayed on the touch panel display to select it (at this time, the target thumbnail image may be displayed surrounded by a thick line as shown in the figure, or may be displayed with an animation, grayed-out, or other color mask), and press the delete button to mark that page for deletion.

[0047] When an editing instruction including the designation of the page to be edited and the editing content is accepted (YES in step S202), the data operation unit 22 judges the content of the accepted editing instruction (step S203), and then the process proceeds to step S204.

[0048] In steps S204 to S208, preparation processing is executed according to the contents of the editing instruction. If the editing instruction accepted in step S203 is an instruction to delete a page, deletion preparation processing (step S204) is executed. If the editing instruction accepted is an instruction to rotate a page, rotation preparation processing (step S205) is executed. If the editing instruction accepted is an instruction to insert a page, insertion preparation processing (step S206) is executed. If the editing instruction accepted is an instruction to replace a page, replacement preparation processing (step S207) is executed. Details of these processes will be described later with reference to other flowcharts. Thereafter, the process returns to step S202.

[0049] If an edit instruction has not been accepted in step S202 (NO in step S202), the data operation unit 22 judges whether or not a completion instruction (in this embodiment, pressing the "Complete" button) has been accepted (step S208). If it is judged here that a completion instruction has not been accepted, the process returns to step S202. That is, in the process shown in this flowchart, the processes from step S202 to step S208 are repeatedly executed until a completion instruction is accepted. On the other hand, if it is judged that a completion instruction has been accepted, the process proceeds to step S209.

[0050] In step S209, the editing prepared by the preparation process is executed. The editing execution process (step S209) is executed. Details of the editing execution process will be described later with reference to other flowcharts. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0051] 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the deletion preparation process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to step S204 of the document editing process described with reference to FIG.

[0052] In step S301, the save setting is confirmed. The data operation unit 22 refers to the setting data of the scanner device 1 and confirms whether the save setting is multi-page save or single-page save. If the save setting is multi-page save, the process proceeds to step S303. On the other hand, if the save setting is single-page save, the process proceeds to step S302.

[0053] In step S302, a deletion flag for a single page file is set. If the save setting is single page save, the data operation unit 22 sets a deletion flag for a single page file for the transmitted file corresponding to the page specified as the page to be deleted in the correspondence data. Here, the deletion flag for a single page file is a flag for sending a delete command for deleting the file of the page to be deleted and a rename command for changing the page number added to the file name of the file of the page after the page to be deleted in the edit execution process described later. Then, the process proceeds to step S304.

[0054] In step S303, a deletion flag for the multi-page file is set. If the save setting is multi-page save, the data operation unit 22 sets a deletion flag for the multi-page file for the transmitted page data corresponding to the page specified as the page to be deleted in the correspondence data. Here, the deletion flag for the multi-page file is a flag for creating footer data for the multi-page file to set the page to be deleted as hidden in the edit execution process described later. Then, the process proceeds to step S304.

[0055] In step S304, a display is made to indicate that the delete instruction has been accepted. The display unit 25 gives an indication that the delete instruction has been accepted (for example, a mark indicating a deleted state or changing the color tone of the thumbnail to be deleted) to the thumbnail of the page designated as the page to be deleted among the thumbnails displayed on the editing screen, and displays it on the display. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0056] 9 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the rotation preparation process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to step S205 of the document editing process described with reference to FIG.

[0057] In step S401, the save setting is confirmed. The data operation unit 22 refers to the setting data of the scanner device 1 and confirms whether the save setting is multi-page save or single-page save. If the save setting is multi-page save, the process proceeds to step S403. On the other hand, if the save setting is single-page save, the process proceeds to step S402.

[0058] In step S402, a rotation flag for a single page file is set. When the save setting is single page save, the data operation unit 22 sets a rotation flag for a single page file for a transmitted file corresponding to a page designated as a rotation target in the correspondence data. Here, the rotation flag for a single page file is a flag for creating a file including rotated page data by obtaining a file of a page to be rotated from the external storage 9 and applying an edit to rotate the file in an edit execution process described later, and for transmitting the file including the rotated page data to the external storage 9. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S404.

[0059] In step S403, a rotation flag for the multi-page file is set. If the save setting is multi-page save, data operation unit 22 sets a rotation flag for the multi-page file for the transmitted page data corresponding to the page specified as the page to be rotated in the correspondence data. Here, the rotation flag for the multi-page file is a flag for obtaining page data corresponding to the page to be rotated from external storage 9 in an edit execution process described later, creating rotated page data, and transmitting the rotated page data to external storage 9. Then, the process proceeds to step S404.

[0060] In step S404, a display is made to indicate that the rotation instruction has been accepted. The display unit 25 gives an indication that the rotation instruction has been accepted (for example, a mark indicating a rotated state, or a thumbnail in an actually rotated state, etc.) to the thumbnail of the page designated as the target for rotation among the thumbnails displayed on the editing screen, and displays it on the display. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0061] 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the insertion preparation process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to step S206 of the document editing process described with reference to FIG.

[0062] In steps S501 to S503, page data of the page to be inserted is created. The data operation unit 22 transitions the reading unit 3 to a reading standby state (step S501), the display unit 25 presents a "Start Scan" button on the touch panel display of the scanner device 1, and the instruction reception unit 26 waits for the user to set the paper to be inserted and press the "Start Scan" button. When the user presses the "Start Scan" button, the reading unit 3 starts reading the page to be inserted that has been set in the sheet feeder by the user. When the read data of the page to be inserted is obtained from the reading unit 3 (step S502), the data operation unit 22 creates page data of the page to be inserted based on the read data (step S503). After that, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0063] In step S504, a file name of the page to be inserted is determined. In the case of single page saving, data operation unit 22 refers to the correspondence data to determine a file name of the page to be inserted. As described above, the page number of the target page in the document containing the target page (e.g., "_001") is added to the end of the file name, but the file name of the page to be inserted is determined by adding a page number that does not overlap with any of the existing pages (e.g., the page number of "existing last page number + 1"). For example, if 10 pages have already been read and one additional page is to be read and inserted, the file name is given as the 11th page. Then, the process proceeds to step S505.

[0064] In step S505, the insertion position is determined. The instruction receiving unit 26 inquires of the user on the editing screen as to between which pages the insertion target page is to be inserted, and the data operating unit 22 determines the insertion position according to the instruction from the user. Here, the insertion position of the insertion target page may be determined by having the user select a thumbnail, so that the position immediately before or immediately after the selected thumbnail is designated as the insertion position, or by having the user select or input a page number, so that the position immediately before or immediately after the selected or input page number is designated as the insertion position. After that, the process proceeds to step S506.

[0065] In step S506, a display is made to indicate that the insertion instruction has been accepted. Display unit 25 displays the thumbnail of the page to be inserted between the thumbnails of the page specified as the insertion position among the thumbnails displayed on the editing screen, and further adds an indication indicating that the page is to be inserted (for example, a mark indicating that the page is to be inserted) to the thumbnail of the page to be inserted, and displays it on the display. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0066] 11 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of replacement preparation processing according to this embodiment. The processing shown in this flowchart corresponds to step S207 of the document editing processing described with reference to FIG.

[0067] In step S601, the designation of the exchange target page is accepted. The first exchange target page is the page designated as the edit target page by the user in step S202 of the document editing process described with reference to FIG. 6, but two exchange target pages need to be selected. For this reason, here, the designation of the second exchange target page is accepted. The instruction accepting unit 26 inquires of the user on the editing screen as to which page is to be the second exchange target page, and the data operating unit 22 determines the second exchange target page according to the instruction from the user. Here, the exchange target page may be determined as the page corresponding to the selected thumbnail by having the user select a thumbnail. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S602.

[0068] In step S602, a display is made to indicate that the swap instruction has been accepted. The display unit 25 gives a display indicating that the thumbnails are to be swapped (for example, a mark indicating that the thumbnails are to be swapped, or a display showing that the thumbnails have actually been swapped) to the thumbnails of the two swap target pages designated as the swap target among the thumbnails displayed on the editing screen, and displays them on the display. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0069] 12 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the edit execution process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to step S209 of the document edit process described with reference to FIG.

[0070] In step S701, the save setting is confirmed. The data operation unit 22 refers to the setting data of the scanner device 1 and confirms whether the save setting is multi-page save or single-page save. If the save setting is multi-page save, the process proceeds to step S706. On the other hand, if the save setting is single-page save, the process proceeds to step S702.

[0071] Steps S702 to S705 show the contents of the edit execution process corresponding to the deletion preparation process, rotation preparation process, insertion preparation process, and replacement preparation process, respectively, when single page saving is set. Note that, for convenience, these processes are described in the order of deletion, rotation, insertion, and replacement, but the actual processing order is not limited to this order.

[0072] In step S702, a page deletion process for a single-page file is executed. When a deletion preparation process has been performed in the single-page storage setting (when a deletion flag for a single-page file has been set), the data operation unit 22 refers to the correspondence data to identify a folder path in the external storage 9 in which a file corresponding to the page is saved. Then, the data operation unit 22 generates and transmits a deletion command (editing data including a file deletion command) for specifying the folder path and deleting the file saved in the external storage 9, and editing data including a rename command for a file saved in the external storage 9 and corresponding to a page subsequent to the page to be deleted that is included in the target document, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the editing instruction and deleting the target page data (file).

[0073] Here, the data operation unit 22 performs a renaming process to ensure consistency when a file name has a consecutive number. For example, for a 10-page document named in the format of "(document name)_(page number)", files with file names "(document name)_001.pdf" to "(document name)_010.pdf" are stored in the external storage 9. If the page to be deleted is the third page, after deleting "(document name)_003.pdf", the files "(document name)_004.pdf" to "(document name)_010.pdf" must be renamed from "(document name)_003.pdf" to "(document name)_009.pdf". For this reason, the external storage 9 performs renaming like a domino effect while adjusting the renaming order so that file names do not overlap during the renaming process.

[0074] In step S703, a page rotation process for a single-page file is executed. When a rotation preparation process has been performed in the single-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 first refers to the correspondence data to identify a folder path in which a file corresponding to the page is saved in the external storage 9, and acquires the file saved in the external storage 9 by specifying the folder path. Then, the data operation unit 22 performs editing to rotate the page included in the file corresponding to the acquired page related to the rotation instruction to a desired angle. Here, the page may be rotated by converting the page data to generate new page data, or may be rotated by attaching metadata such as a rotation tag to the file if the image format allows the rotation angle to be specified by metadata (e.g., JPEG). When the image is rotated, the data operation unit 22 transmits editing data (edited file and file update command) including the result of the editing (edited file including rotated page data) to the external storage 9, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the editing instruction, and updates the pre-edited file corresponding to the page in the external storage 9 with the edited file.

[0075] In step S704, a page insertion process for a single-page file is executed. When an insertion preparation process has been performed in the single-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 causes the external storage 9 to store page data related to the page to be inserted, and generates and transmits edit data including a rename command for a file related to at least one of the multiple pages and the page to be inserted so that the page to be inserted is displayed in a state where it is inserted before or after the page, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction.

[0076] More specifically, the data manipulation unit 22 transmits a file including the page data of the page to be inserted to the external storage 9 with a temporary file name (the file name named as the 11th page in the example shown in step S504), and causes the file to be stored in the external storage 9. Then, the data manipulation unit 22 performs a renaming process to ensure consistency in the case where a serial number is attached to the file name.

[0077] For example, when file names are given in the format of "(document name)_(page number)", when the 10th page is read, files with file names "(document name)_001.pdf" to "(document name)_010.pdf" are saved in the external storage 9. The file name of the page to be inserted becomes "(document name)_011.pdf". If the page to be inserted is to be inserted as the 5th page, the previously saved files "(document name)_005.pdf" to "(document name)_010.pdf" must be renamed from "(document name)_006.pdf" to "(document name)_011.pdf", and the file name of the page to be inserted must be renamed to "(document name)_005.pdf". For this reason, the external storage 9 performs renaming like a domino effect, adjusting the renaming order so that file names do not overlap during the renaming process.

[0078] As described above, in page deletion and page insertion in the single page save setting, the renaming process is also performed on files other than the file that was the subject of deletion or insertion. Here, the scanner device 1 itself may instruct the external storage 9 to perform the renaming process, but if the amount of files to be renamed is greater than a predetermined standard (for example, if there are 100 or more files to be renamed), the renaming process may be performed in cooperation with another information processing device on the same network (which may be another scanner device of the same model as the scanner device 1, or may be another information processing device).

[0079] Here, it is preferable that the other information processing device connected to the network and in a standby state (an idle state in which no user operation such as scanning is performed) is used for the cooperation. The scanner device 1 transmits a cooperation request to the other information processing device in a standby state on the same network, and when the information processing device that has received the cooperation request accepts the cooperation request, the scanner device 1 transmits a rename processing request to the information processing device that has accepted the request. When the rename processing request is completed, each of the requested information processing devices accesses the external storage 9 to perform the rename processing of the portion that it is responsible for, and performs the rename processing. That is, the data operation unit 22 may cause the other information processing device to transmit edit data including at least a part of the rename command instead of the information processing system, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute processing according to the rename command. For example, when an insertion is made on the 50th page, the own device may be in charge of renaming pages 50 to 79, and the other information processing device may be in charge of renaming pages 80 to 101, and so on, and the work may be shared through cooperation.

[0080] In step S705, a page swap process for a single-page file is executed. If a swap preparation process has been performed in the single-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 generates and transmits edit data including a rename command for the files corresponding to the two pages stored in the external storage 9 so that the two pages are swapped and displayed, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction.

[0081] More specifically, the data operation unit 22 performs a renaming process so as to swap the file names of the files to be replaced. For example, if the file names of the files to be replaced are "(document name)_006.pdf" and "(document name)_013.pdf", the files already sent and saved in the external storage 9 are swapped by sending a rename command to the external storage 9 so as to swap the file names to "(document name)_013.pdf" and "(document name)_006.pdf".

[0082] Steps S706 to S709 show the contents of the edit execution process corresponding to the deletion preparation process, rotation preparation process, insertion preparation process, and replacement preparation process, respectively, when multi-page saving is set. Note that, for convenience, these processes are described in the order of deletion, rotation, insertion, and replacement, but the actual processing order is not limited to this order.

[0083] In step S706, a page deletion process for the multi-page file is executed. When the deletion preparation process has been performed in the multi-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 transmits edit data including page display information related to the multi-page file, which is created so that the pages to be deleted are hidden, to the external storage 9, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction. Here, the edit data including page display information is the footer of the multi-page file including display related information. At the time of this process, the header and the read page data of the multi-page file have been transmitted to the external storage 9, but the footer of the multi-page file has not been transmitted, and the external storage 9 is in a state of waiting for the continuation of the data of the multi-page file to be received from the scanner device 1. Therefore, the data operation unit 22 can add a display related instruction to the footer here.

[0084] Specifically, when a deletion flag for a multi-page file is set, the data manipulation unit 22 uses the structure of the multi-page file (in this embodiment, a PDF file) to add an instruction to hide the pages to be deleted in the footer (not yet transmitted) of the multi-page file. This makes it possible for a computer attempting to display a document related to the file to treat the pages to be deleted, which are included as data in the file, as hidden (to be excluded from display). More specifically, the data manipulation unit 22 deletes the page information of the pages to be deleted, which are not to be displayed, from the page display object included in the footer of the multi-page file.

[0085] In step S707, a page rotation process for the multi-page file is executed. If a rotation preparation process has been performed in the multi-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 transmits edit data including page display information related to the multi-page file, which is created so that the page to be rotated is displayed rotated at a desired angle, to the external storage 9, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction. Here, the edit data including page display information is copy data, which will be described later, and / or an unsent footer of the multi-page file including display-related information, and the data operation unit 22 can add a display-related instruction to the footer here.

[0086] Specifically, the data operation unit 22 creates copy page data of the rotation target page (page data relating to the same page as the page to be rotated) that has already been stored in the external storage 9. Note that at this time, if the page data of the rotation target page has already been deleted from the internal storage unit 21 of the scanner device 1, the data operation unit 22 acquires the page data of the rotation target page from the external storage 9 by specifying the file path obtained by referring to the correspondence data.

[0087] Then, the data manipulation unit 22 adds to the footer (not yet transmitted) of the multi-page file (in this embodiment, a PDF file) an instruction to hide the pages to be rotated that have already been stored in the external storage 9, and an instruction (display page position information, rotation tag, etc.) to rotate and display the copy page data to be additionally sent to the external storage 9 at the desired angle in place of the pages to be rotated that have already been stored.

[0088] In the above, an example is described in which a method of rotating and displaying a desired page by combining copy page data and a rotation instruction is adopted, but the rotation may be realized by other methods. For example, the data operation unit 22 may rotate and display a desired page by transmitting to the external storage 9 edit data including page data related to a rotated page obtained by rotating copy page data (page data related to the same page as the page to be rotated) of a page to be rotated that has already been stored in the external storage 9 at a desired angle, and a footer (page display information) including an instruction for displaying the rotated page instead of the page to be rotated.

[0089] In step S708, a page insertion process for a multi-page file is executed. When an insertion preparation process has been performed in the multi-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 transmits edit data to the external storage 9, including page display information related to a file created so that the page to be inserted is displayed at a predetermined position, and page data of the page to be inserted, to the external storage 9, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction.

[0090] More specifically, the data operation unit 22 adds an instruction (display page position information) to the footer (not yet transmitted) of the multi-page file (in this embodiment, a PDF file) for displaying the inserted page to be additionally transmitted to the external storage 9 at a predetermined position. At this time, since the page numbers of the pages after the position where the inserted page is inserted are shifted, an instruction is added taking into consideration the pages whose page numbers will be shifted.

[0091] In step S709, a page replacement process for a multi-page file is executed. When a replacement preparation process has been performed in the multi-page save setting, the data operation unit 22 transmits edit data including page display information related to a file created so that two pages are displayed in a swapped order to the external storage 9, thereby causing the external storage 9 to execute a process corresponding to the edit instruction.

[0092] More specifically, data operation unit 22 adds an instruction (display page position information) for displaying the replaced page in the position after replacement to the footer (not yet transmitted) of the multi-page file (in this embodiment, a PDF file).

[0093] In steps S710 and S711, the unsent data is transmitted, and the multi-page file is completed. When the operation of the footer is completed in the processes of steps S706 to S709, the data operation unit 22 transmits the unsent data, including the footer, remaining in the internal storage unit 21 of the scanner device 1 to the external storage 9, and causes the entire file to be stored in the external storage 9 (step S710). That is, the multi-page file is completed in the external storage 9 at the time when the unsent data, including the footer, is received.

[0094] Here, the unsent data transmitted together with the footer includes the copy page data of the page to be rotated (if any) and / or the page data of the page to be inserted (if any). In this way, the unsent data and the footer are transmitted, and the multi-page file is completed. When a page rotation instruction is accepted, the computer attempting to display the document related to the file can treat the page to be rotated, which is included as data in the file, as hidden, and rotate and display the copy page data additionally saved at the end of the file in place of the hidden page to be rotated. Also, when a page insertion instruction is accepted, the computer attempting to display the document related to the file can display the page data of the page to be inserted, which is additionally saved at the end of the file, at a specified insertion position. Also, when a page swap instruction is accepted, the computer attempting to display the document related to the file can display the page data of the page to be replaced at the swapped position.

[0095] Furthermore, if a page has been deleted and / or rotated from a multi-page file in the processes from step S706 to step S710 described above, data operation unit 22 records the file from which the page has been deleted and / or rotated in the update target list so that the file becomes a target for processing in the file update process described below (step S711). After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0096] 13 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of file update processing according to this embodiment. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed periodically (for example, a time such as 4:00 a.m. every day) at a timing when a preset designated time arrives when the scanner device 1 is connected to the network and is in a standby state (an idle state in which no user operation such as scanning is being performed). The processing shown in this flowchart may also be executed on the condition that an automatic deletion function for deleting hidden portion data of a multi-page file in which some pages are set to hidden is enabled.

[0097] In steps S801 and S802, the update target list is referred to, and a connection to the external storage 9 is confirmed. The data operation unit 22 judges whether or not there is a file to be updated in the transmitted multi-page file by referring to the update target list stored in the scanner device 1 or the external storage 9 (step S801). Here, the update target list is a list in which the multi-page files that have been transmitted to the external storage 9 and are the targets of the file update process shown in this flowchart are recorded. If there is a file to be updated in the update target list and the file is a file that may be edited by the scanner device 1, the data operation unit 22 confirms the connection to the external storage 9 (step S802). After that, the process proceeds to step S803.

[0098] In step S803, the file is updated so that the display contents (deletion and / or rotation of pages) controlled by the settings in the footer are reflected in the actual page data. When it is confirmed that communication with the external storage 9 is possible, the data operation unit 22 requests the external storage 9 to delete, from the file, the page data corresponding to the hidden page to be deleted. In addition, the data operation unit 22 replaces the page to be rotated with the added page, and then requests the external storage 9 to delete the page data corresponding to the page to be rotated.

[0099] Specifically, the data operating unit 22 acquires multi-page data stored in the external storage 9 based on the update target list. Then, when performing a file update process for deleting a page, the data operating unit 22 updates the multi-page file by deleting page data that is set to hidden within the acquired multi-page file.

[0100] Furthermore, when performing file update processing for page rotation, data operation unit 22 edits the page information in the acquired multi-page file to switch the display positions (page numbers) of the rotation target page that is not actually displayed because it is set to hidden, and the copy page that is added to the end of the file and used for the actual rotation display, and deletes the page data of the rotation target page that is set to hidden from the file. For example, if the rotation target page is the third page, and a copy page that has been rotated and edited for this rotation target page has been added to the end of the file, the display positions of the third page and the last page are switched, and the page data that was the third page is deleted.

[0101] Then, the data operation unit 22 transmits the updated multi-page file to the external storage 9 and replaces the multi-page file before the update, thereby updating the multi-page file on the external storage 9. This makes it possible to delete from the file the data of the page that was hidden by the footer setting but whose data remained in the file. Note that the multi-page file on the external storage 9 may be updated by temporarily saving the updated file as a temporary file and then deleting the pre-update file, or by overwriting the pre-update file with the updated file. Then, the process proceeds to step S804.

[0102] In step S804, the update target list is updated. When the file update is completed, the data operation unit 22 deletes the completed update target from the update target list. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0103] 13 can also be executed by an information processing device other than the scanner device 1 that has transmitted the target multi-page file to the external storage 9. That is, the data operation unit 22 of the scanner device 1 can cause another information processing device to execute at least a part of the process of requesting the external storage 9 to delete page data at a predetermined timing, instead of the information processing system.

[0104] To explain in more detail, if another information processing device connected to the same external storage 9 (which may be another scanner device of the same model as the scanner device 1, or may be another information processing device) is in standby mode at the specified time and can access the external storage 9, it searches for a multi-page file saved in the external storage 9 by the scanner device 1 or a scanner device of the same model, and if hidden data or edit flag data is present in the retrieved multi-page file, it is able to delete or edit unnecessary data from the multi-page file.

[0105] With this mechanism, even if the scanner device 1 itself that saved the file in the external storage 9 cannot execute the file update process because the power of the scanner device 1 is turned off, the scanner device 1 is being used by a user (not in standby mode), etc., another information processing device can refer to the job information, and if the job destination has an update target list, it can delete the page data that remains hidden in the target multi-page file based on the update target list. Even if the file update process is executed by another information processing device, the flow of the file update process is roughly similar to the file update process described with reference to Fig. 13, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0106] <Effects> According to the technology disclosed above, a user can specify a page to be edited from the thumbnail display after scanning and issue editing instructions such as deletion or rotation, thereby reducing the time and effort required for editing by the user and improving the efficiency of document management work. Furthermore, since the workability of page editing work is improved, scanning can be started easily and it is also easy to recover from mistakes such as the inclusion of unnecessary pages. As a result, the discomfort felt by the user during the scanning work is reduced and the user experience is improved.

[0107] Furthermore, according to the disclosed technology, various editing operations are possible in the thumbnail display after scanning, and it is not necessary to complete the editing process before saving the file, which results in speeding up the scanning process by the scanner. Also, the renaming process can be speeded up by linking with other information processing devices.

[0108] <Variations> In the embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the technology according to the present disclosure is implemented in a scanner device 1 in which the save setting can be selected between single-page save and multi-page save, but the information processing device to which the technology according to the present disclosure can be applied is not limited to a device in which single-page save and multi-page save can be selected. The technology according to the present disclosure can be applied to both an information processing device that is only capable of single-page save and an information processing device that is only capable of multi-page save.

[0109] In the above-described embodiment, a mode of cooperation with external storage such as a cloud server, a file server, or online storage is described using a network protocol such as file sharing or FTP. However, the type of external storage and the type of protocol used for cooperation with the external storage are not limited to the above-described example. For example, a USB memory or an external drive connected via a peripheral device connection interface such as a USB interface, or the storage device 14 of the scanner device 1 itself may be adopted as the external storage.

[0110] In the embodiment described above, an editing screen including thumbnails is displayed on a touch panel display provided in the scanner device 1 and user operations are accepted, but the display of the editing screen and the acceptance of user operations may be performed by other means. For example, an editing screen including thumbnails may be displayed on a display of a computer via an application running on a computer connected to a scanner device serving as a reading unit and controlling the scanner device, and user operations may be accepted via an input device of the computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1. Information processing device

Claims

1. 1. An image reading device that receives a plurality of page data corresponding to each page included in a document from a reading unit that reads the document having a plurality of pages, a data operation means for transmitting the plurality of page data to an external storage, thereby storing the plurality of page data in the external storage, the data operation means starting to transmit the plurality of page data to the external storage before the reading unit completes reading of all pages included in the document; a display means for displaying thumbnails relating to the plurality of pages included in the document; an instruction receiving means for receiving an editing instruction for the plurality of page data, the instruction receiving means being capable of receiving an operation on one or more of the thumbnails corresponding to the page data to be edited as an editing instruction for the page data among the plurality of page data that has already been transmitted to and stored in the external storage; the data manipulation means transmits to the external storage editing data for causing the external storage to edit the already-saved page data in accordance with the editing instruction so that the edited content by the external storage is reflected in the display content displayed based on the plurality of page data; Image reading device.

2. an internal storage means for storing the page data corresponding to the page read by the reading unit; a deletion unit that deletes the page data transmitted to the external storage from the internal storage unit before reading of all pages included in the document is completed, the instruction receiving means receives an edit instruction regarding the page data that has already been transmitted to the external storage even after the page data that is affected by the edit instruction has been deleted from the internal storage means; 2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

3. The method further comprises: storing correspondence data indicating a correspondence between the page data or the document transmitted to the external storage and a file stored in the external storage; the data manipulation means specifies the file to be edited based on the correspondence data.

2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

4. the data manipulation means determines editing data for reflecting the content of the editing instruction depending on whether the page data relating to the document is stored in the external storage as one file per page or one file per document.

2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

5. the data manipulation means transmits, as the edit data, edit data including identification information of the page related to the edit instruction; 2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

6. When a plurality of page data relating to the document are stored in the external storage as one file per page, the data manipulation unit transmits the edited data including information capable of identifying a file corresponding to the page relating to the edit instruction.

2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

7. When the editing instruction is an instruction to delete a page, the data manipulation means causes the external storage to execute a process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting the editing data including an instruction to delete the file corresponding to the page and an instruction to rename files related to other pages included in the document to the external storage.

7. The image reading device according to claim 6.

8. When the editing instruction is an instruction to rotate a page, the data manipulation means performs editing to rotate the page included in the file corresponding to the page related to the rotation instruction by a desired angle, and transmits the edited data including the result of the editing to the external storage, thereby causing the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instruction.

7. The image reading device according to claim 6.

9. When the editing instruction is an instruction to insert a page to be inserted that has been additionally read by the reading unit from the document into a predetermined position, the data manipulation means causes the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instruction by storing page data relating to the page to be inserted in the external storage, and transmitting the editing data including an instruction to rename a file relating to at least one of the plurality of pages and the page to be inserted so that the page to be inserted is displayed in a state where it is inserted before or after the page.

7. The image reading device according to claim 6.

10. When the editing instruction is an instruction to swap two pages in the document, the data manipulation means causes the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting the editing data including an instruction to rename files corresponding to the two pages stored in the external storage so that the two pages are displayed swapped.

7. The image reading device according to claim 6.

11. the data manipulation unit causes another image reading device to transmit the edited data including at least a part of the rename instruction instead of the image reading device, thereby causing the external storage to execute processing in accordance with the rename instruction; 10. The image reading device according to claim 7 or 9.

12. When a plurality of page data relating to the document is stored in the external storage as one file per document, the data manipulation means transmits the edited data including information capable of identifying the file and page corresponding to the page relating to the edit instruction.

2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

13. When page data relating to the document is stored in the external storage as one file per document, the data manipulation means transmits the edited data including page display information relating to the file created in response to the edit instruction to the external storage, thereby causing the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the edit instruction. The image reading device according to claim 12.

14. When the editing instruction is an instruction to delete a page, the data manipulation means causes the external storage to execute a process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting the editing data, which is created so that the page to be deleted is not displayed, and which includes page display information related to the file, to the external storage. The image reading device according to claim 13.

15. the data manipulation means requests the external storage to delete, at a predetermined timing, page data corresponding to the page to be deleted that is hidden from the file; The image reading device according to claim 14.

16. When the editing instruction is an instruction to rotate a page, the data manipulation means transmits to the external storage the editing data including page display information created so that the page is displayed rotated at a desired angle, thereby causing the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instruction. The image reading device according to claim 13.

17. the data manipulation means transmits to the external storage the edited data, which includes page data relating to the same page as the page to be rotated, and the page display information created to rotate the same page at the desired angle and display it instead of the page to be rotated; 17. The image reading device according to claim 16.

18. the data manipulation means transmits to the external storage the edited data, which includes page data relating to a page obtained by rotating the same page as the page to be rotated at the desired angle, and the page display information created to display the page obtained by rotating it instead of the page to be rotated; 17. The image reading device according to claim 16.

19. the data manipulation means, at a predetermined timing, swaps the page to be rotated with the added page, and then requests the external storage to delete page data corresponding to the page to be rotated.

19. The image reading device according to claim 17 or 18.

20. When the editing instruction is an instruction to insert a page to be inserted that has been additionally read by the reading unit from the document into a predetermined position, the data manipulation means causes the external storage to execute processing corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting the editing data to the external storage, the editing data including page display information relating to the file created so that the page to be inserted is displayed at the predetermined position, and page data of the page to be inserted. The image reading device according to claim 13.

21. When the editing instruction is an instruction to swap two pages in the document, the data manipulation means causes the external storage to execute a process corresponding to the editing instruction by transmitting the editing data including page display information related to the file created so that the two pages are displayed swapped, to the external storage. The image reading device according to claim 13.

22. the data manipulation unit causes another image reading device to perform at least a part of the process of requesting the external storage to delete page data at the predetermined timing, instead of the image reading device; The image reading device according to claim 15.

23. the data manipulation unit causes another image reading device to perform at least a part of the process of requesting the external storage to delete page data at the predetermined timing, instead of the image reading device; 20. The image reading device according to claim 19.

24. The data manipulation means stores the plurality of page data in the external storage as a single file.

2. The image reading device according to claim 1.

25. a computer of an image reading device that receives a plurality of page data corresponding to each page included in a document from a reading unit that reads the document having a plurality of pages, a data operation step of transmitting the plurality of page data to an external storage to store the plurality of page data in the external storage, the data operation step starting transmission of the plurality of page data to the external storage before the reading unit completes reading of all pages included in the document; a display step of displaying thumbnails relating to the plurality of pages included in the document; an instruction receiving step of receiving an editing instruction for the plurality of page data, the instruction receiving step being capable of receiving an operation on one or more of the thumbnails corresponding to the page data to be edited as the editing instruction for the page data among the plurality of page data that has already been transmitted to and saved in the external storage; In the data manipulation step, editing data for causing the external storage to edit the already-saved page data in accordance with the editing instruction so that the edited content by the external storage is reflected in the display content displayed based on the plurality of page data is transmitted to the external storage. Image reading method.

26. In the data manipulation step, the plurality of page data are stored in the external storage as a single file.

26. The image reading method according to claim 25.

27. a computer of an image reading device that receives a plurality of page data corresponding to each page included in a document from a reading unit that reads the document having a plurality of pages; a data operation step of transmitting the plurality of page data to an external storage to store the plurality of page data in the external storage, the data operation step starting transmission of the plurality of page data to the external storage before the reading unit completes reading of all pages included in the document; a display step of displaying thumbnails relating to the plurality of pages included in the document; an instruction receiving step of receiving an editing instruction regarding the plurality of page data, the instruction receiving step being capable of receiving an operation on one or more of the thumbnails corresponding to the page data to be edited as the editing instruction regarding the page data among the plurality of page data that has already been transmitted to and saved in the external storage; In the data manipulation step, editing data for causing the external storage to edit the already-saved page data in accordance with the editing instruction so that the edited content by the external storage is reflected in the display content displayed based on the plurality of page data is transmitted to the external storage. Image reading program.

28. In the data manipulation step, the plurality of page data are stored in the external storage as a single file.

28. The image reading program according to claim 27.

Images