Image reading device and control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To allow an image reading device to transmit image data of a read image to a terminal device even if a session with the terminal device is disconnected during execution of a reading process.SOLUTION: In an image reading device, when a terminal management application receives access from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, the terminal management application generates a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and an individual URL unique to the session ID. The terminal management application manages the session ID and the individual URL in association with each other. A scan application performs a read process to read an image of a document and generate image data of the read image according to a read instruction received via the established session. The scan application continues to execute the read process while receiving access to the individual URL at a preset time interval.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] By reading an image of a document using an image reading device and generating image data of the read image, it becomes possible to electronically store image data corresponding to the image of the document or to perform information processing using the image data. In addition, when a document reading device equipped with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) is used, it is possible to read images of a large number of documents more efficiently and generate image data. The image data of the read image obtained by the image reading process (scanning process) can be transferred to a terminal device (information processing device) such as a PC or a mobile terminal, and can be viewed or used for data processing.

[0003] An image reading device that has a Web server implemented to enable access from an external device via a Web browser can accept a scan instruction via an operation screen provided to the Web browser without requiring a dedicated application or driver. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which an image reading device starts a scan process in response to a scan instruction received via a setting screen provided to the Web browser, transitions to a scanning status, and provides image data via the Web browser as long as the status does not change. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-011307 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, if a session between a terminal device, such as a mobile terminal or a PC, and an image reading device is unintentionally disconnected during execution of a scan process, the image reading device will be unable to identify (distinguish) the terminal device that sent the scan instruction. The session (connection) may be disconnected, for example, when the terminal device goes into a power saving mode or the display screen of the web browser is changed to another screen. If it becomes impossible to identify the terminal device that sent the scan instruction, it may become impossible to transmit image data of the read image obtained by the scan process to the terminal device.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides a technique that enables an image reading device to transmit image data of a read image to a terminal device even if a session with the terminal device is disconnected during execution of a reading process (scanning process). [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image reading device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a management means for generating, upon receiving access from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and a URL unique to the session ID, and managing the session ID and the URL in association with each other; and a processing means for performing a reading process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of a read image in accordance with a reading instruction received via the session, wherein the processing means continues to execute the reading process while receiving access to the URL at a preset time interval. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, even if a session with a terminal device is disconnected during a reading process (scanning process), the image reading device can transmit image data of the read image to the terminal device. This reduces the possibility that the image data of the read image will be lost due to the session being disconnected, and improves user convenience. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration example of an image reading device 100. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration example of an image reading unit 104. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the image reading apparatus 100. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image reading system. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the image reading apparatus 100. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for scan settings displayed on the terminal 200. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for terminal discrimination processing in the image reading device 100. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a management table used for managing terminals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0011] <Image reader> 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration example of an image reading device 100 according to the present embodiment. The image reading device 100 includes a platen 102 on which a document 101 to be read is placed. The document on the platen 102 is detected by a document detection sensor 110. The documents on the platen 102 are separated one by one by a paper feed roller 106 and sent to a conveying path 108. The document 101 sent to the conveying path 108 and conveyed through the conveying path 108 is detected by a registration sensor 109. When the registration sensor 109 detects the document 101, the image reading unit 104 starts reading an image of the document 101 (an image formed on the document) being conveyed through the conveying path 108.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading device 100 of this embodiment includes two image reading units 104 on both sides of a transport path 108. One image reading unit 104 is configured to read an image on a first side (front side) of an original 101, and the other image reading unit 104 is configured to read an image on a second side (back side) of the original 101. A background plate 105 is disposed at a position facing each image reading unit 104 across the transport path 108. The background plate 105 is, for example, a black member. The image reading device 100 may be configured to include only one image reading unit 104.

[0013] The original 101, whose image has been read by the image reading unit 104, is transported along the transport path 108 by transport rollers 107 toward the discharge section 103, and is finally discharged to the discharge section 103 and stacked there. An original detection sensor 111 provided in the discharge section 103 is used to detect the original 101 that has been discharged to and stacked on the discharge section 103. An original detection sensor 112 provided near the discharge opening of the transport path 108 is used to detect the original 101 remaining on the transport path 108. By using the original detection sensors 111 and 112, it is possible to detect whether the original 101 remains on the transport path 108 or has been discharged to the discharge section 103.

[0014] The image reading device 100 further includes a multi-feed detection sensor 120 at a position between the feed roller 106 and the registration sensor 109 along the conveying path 108. The multi-feed detection sensor 120 is used to detect a multi-feed when a plurality of overlapping originals (a state in which a plurality of originals are in close contact with each other due to static electricity or the like) are conveyed along the conveying path 108. The multi-feed detection sensor 120 is configured, for example, with an ultrasonic sensor including an ultrasonic transmitter and receiver. When an ultrasonic sensor is used, it is possible to detect a multi-feed based on the amount of attenuation of ultrasonic waves when the originals (original sheets) pass through the conveying path 108.

[0015] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration example of the image reading unit 104. The image reading unit 104 includes a housing 1041 and a glass plate 1042 provided facing the transport path 108. The inside of the image reading unit 104 is sealed by the housing 1041 and the glass plate 1042. An image sensor 1043 and a pair of light emitting units 1044a and 1044b are provided inside the image reading unit 104.

[0016] The image sensor 1043 is composed of a line image sensor, for example, a CCD line sensor or a contact image sensor, and is arranged along a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction of the original 101. The image sensor 1043 reads the image of the original 101 being conveyed line by line in the main scanning direction, and outputs an image signal.

[0017] The light emitting unit 1044a has a light source arranged upstream of the image sensor 1043 in the transport direction of the original 101. The light emitting unit 1044b has a light source arranged downstream of the image sensor 1043 in the transport direction of the original 101. The image sensor 1043 is arranged at a position sandwiched between the light emitting units 1044a and 1044b. The light emitting units 1044a and 1044b are each arranged in parallel with the image sensor 1043 along the main scanning direction and are composed of an LED array including a plurality of LEDs. As shown in FIG. 2, the image sensor 1043 reads an image on the original 101 by receiving reflected light of light irradiated onto the original 101 by the light emitting units 1044a and 1044b.

[0018] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the image reading device 100 according to this embodiment. The control unit 10 of the image reading device 100 includes a CPU 11, a RAM (random access memory) 12, a storage unit 13, an input / output I / F (interface) 14, and a communication I / F 15.

[0019] The CPU 11 is composed of one or more processors. The CPU 11 controls the entire image reading device 100 by reading out a program stored in the storage unit 13 into the RAM 12 and executing it. The RAM 12 is used as a working area by the CPU 11. The storage unit 13 is configured to store various programs (e.g., control programs) executed by the control unit 10, and various information or data used in processing by the control unit 10. For example, image data obtained by reading an image of a document by the image sensor 1043 is stored in the storage unit 13. The storage unit 13 is composed of one or more storage devices (memories), such as a ROM (read only memory), a HDD (hard disk drive), and an SSD (solid state drive).

[0020] A driving circuit 24 and an image processing circuit 26 are connected to the input / output I / F 14. The driving circuit 24 drives the light emitting parts 1044a and 1044b of the image reading unit 104. The image processing circuit 26 is connected to the image sensor 1043 via the ADC 25. The image sensor 1043 reads the image of the document 101 being conveyed line by line in the main scanning direction and outputs an image signal. The ADC (analog / digital converter) 25 converts the analog image signal output from the image sensor 1043 into digital image data and outputs it. The image processing circuit 26 performs image processing such as shading correction on the image data output from the ADC 25. The CPU 11 acquires the image data output from the image processing circuit 26.

[0021] The communication I / F 15 is an interface for communicating with an external device, and may be configured as a wired communication interface, a wireless communication interface for wireless LAN communication or Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, a USB interface, a SCSI interface, or the like. In the present embodiment, as an example, the communication I / F 15 is a wired communication interface connected to a wired LAN (local area network). Note that the image reading device 100 may include a plurality of communication I / Fs 15 connected to individual external devices or networks. For example, the image reading device 100 may include, as the plurality of communication I / Fs 15, a USB or SCSI interface directly connected to an external device, and a wired communication interface connected to a wired LAN.

[0022] The communication I / F 15 can communicate with an external device according to any communication protocol and can communicate with the external device via any communication path. When multiple external devices are connected, different communication protocols and communication paths may be used for each external device. For example, the communication I / F 15 may be configured to communicate with the terminal 200 (FIG. 4) using the HTTP protocol and to communicate with the terminal 300 (FIG. 4) using the FTP protocol. The image reading device 100 of this embodiment has a Web server 500 (FIG. 5) that can communicate with the external device according to the HTTP protocol. Therefore, the external device can access the Web server 500 of the image reading device 100 by a Web browser running on the external device.

[0023] The image reading device 100 includes an operation unit 130 connected to the control unit 10. The operation unit 130 includes an input unit and an output unit. The input unit includes a touch panel, hard keys, etc., and receives various operations from the user. The output unit (display unit) includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and outputs (displays) various information to the user. The input unit and the output unit may be realized as a single module, such as a touch panel display.

[0024] The operation unit 130 may display a screen showing the current state (status) of the scanner (image reading device 100) by the CPU 11. The scanner state may include, for example, a state where a document (sheet) is jammed on the conveying path, a state where a double feed is detected and conveying of the document is intentionally stopped, a cover open state where the cover of the image reading device 100 is open and the document cannot be conveyed, a scanning in progress state where a document is conveyed and scanned, a state where image processing is being performed on image data obtained by scanning an image of the document, and the like. On the screen displayed on the operation unit 130, the above-mentioned scanner state may be indicated by a character string or an icon. The operation unit 130 may also indicate the above-mentioned scanner state by a sound or a blinking state of an LED. The operation unit 130 may also be provided with a display device configured of a segment LED.

[0025] <Image reading process> In the image reading device 100, the control unit 10 (CPU 11), for example, upon receiving an instruction to start reading an original (reading instruction) by operating the operation unit 130 or from an external device, starts image reading processing for the original 101 set on the original table 102. In the image reading processing, the CPU 11 first drives the paper feed roller 106 to start transporting the original 101 from the original table 102. When multiple sheets of the original 101 are set on the original table 102, the originals are separated one by one and transported through the transport path 108. Thereafter, when the original 101 is detected by the registration sensor 109, the CPU 11 controls the image reading unit 104 for reading the image of the original 101 based on the timing of the detection.

[0026] Specifically, the CPU 11 controls the emission of light-emitting units 1044a and 1044b and drives the image sensor 1043 to read the image of the original 101. The image reading unit 104 reads the image of the original 101 using the image sensor 1043, generates image data of the read image, and outputs the generated image data to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 stores the obtained image data in the storage unit 13 of the image reading device 100. The image data may be stored in an external device (server device) capable of communicating with the image reading device 100.

[0027] <Configuration and operation of image reading system> 4 shows an example of the configuration of an image reading system according to this embodiment. The image reading system includes an image reading device 100, and terminal devices (terminals) 200 and 300 that can communicate with the image reading device 100 via a network. The network includes a wired LAN and a wireless LAN. In this embodiment, the communication I / F 15 of the image reading device 100 is connected to the terminals 200 and 300 via the network so as to be able to communicate with them. The network may include a mobile network, the Internet, a public wireless line, and the like.

[0028] The terminals 200 and 300 are configured as information processing devices such as, for example, a personal computer (PC) or a mobile terminal. For example, when the terminal 200 or 300 is configured as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, the terminal may communicate with the image reading device 100 by wirelessly connecting to a wireless access point for wireless LAN communication and connecting to a wired LAN via the wireless access point.

[0029] In this embodiment, the terminal 200 is a terminal device used by a user (operating user) who operates the image reading device 100. The terminals 200 and 300 are used by different users. The following mainly describes the terminal 200, but the same applies to the terminal 300.

[0030] A Web browser 210 is pre-installed in the terminal 200. A user operates the image reading device 100 via the Web browser 210 running on the terminal 200. The terminal 200 accesses a Web server 500 of the image reading device 100 via the Web browser 210 in accordance with a user's operation. As a result, the Web browser 210 acquires HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) data from the Web server 500 as screen data corresponding to an operation screen for operating the image reading device 100, and displays the operation screen based on the acquired HTML data. When the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) accepts an instruction to start reading a document (scan instruction) from the user via the displayed operation screen, it transmits the scan instruction to the image reading device 100.

[0031] The image reading device 100 performs the image reading process (scanning process) as described above in accordance with the scan instruction received from the terminal 200. The image reading device 100 starts conveying the document 101, reads the document using the image reading unit 104, and stores image data of the obtained read image in the storage unit 13. In parallel with the scanning process, the image reading device 100 executes a terminal discrimination process, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, using the Web server 500 (FIG. 5). The stored image data is then transmitted (downloaded) to an external device such as the terminal 200 via the network.

[0032] As described below, while the image reading device 100 of this embodiment is executing a scan process in accordance with a scan instruction from the terminal 200, the image reading device 100 accepts access from the terminal 200 using an individual URL (individual URL for acquiring status) generated by a terminal discrimination process. By accessing the individual URL, the terminal 200 can acquire status information indicating the status of the image reading device 100 (scanning, scan completed, error occurring, etc.). In addition, the terminal 200 can receive an operation screen (status screen) including a display of the status, and display the operation screen by the Web browser 210.

[0033] When the scan process is completed, the image reading device 100 transmits HTML data of an operation screen for downloading (obtaining) the image data stored in the storage unit 13 to the terminal 200 in response to access to the individual URL. The HTML data describes a URL for referencing (receiving) the image data. The user of the terminal 200 can instruct the download of the image data by using a link for accessing the above URL, which is included in the operation screen displayed by the web browser 210 based on the HTML data.

[0034] Furthermore, the image reading device 100 may guide (i.e., redirect) the terminal 200 to change the access destination from the individual URL for status acquisition to an individual URL for downloading in response to the completion of the scan process. As a result, the image reading device 100 may perform display control to transition the display screen of the Web browser 210 from a status screen provided in response to access to the individual URL to a download screen where the image data can be downloaded. After the terminal 200 acquires the image data of the scanned image stored in the storage unit 13, the image reading device 100 performs a process to delete (discard) the image data from the storage unit 13.

[0035] After starting a scan process in accordance with a scan instruction from the terminal 200, the image reading device 100 of this embodiment operates so as not to provide a scan setting screen (FIG. 7) to another terminal (terminal 300, etc.) until the terminal 200 acquires image data of the scanned image. In this case, even if the Web browser of the terminal 300 accesses the Web server 500 of the image reading device 100, it cannot acquire the screen data of the scan setting screen, and therefore cannot display the scan setting screen.

[0036] <Functional configuration of the image reading device> 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration (example of a software configuration) of the image reading device 100. The image reading device 100 has a Web server 500 as an application that runs on the OS. When the image reading device 100 is started, the CPU 11 starts the OS and then starts the Web server 500. The Web server 500 runs as a process that resides on the CPU 11 and waits until it receives a request via the network. In response to receiving the request, the Web server 500 returns a response according to the request.

[0037] The image reading device 100 has a UI display application (UI display application) 501, a scan application (scan application) 502, and a terminal management application (terminal management application) 503 as applications that operate on a Web server 500. The UI display application 501, the scan application 502, and the terminal management application 503 are started in response to the start of the Web server 500, and operate on the Web server 500.

[0038] The UI display application 501 controls the display of a screen on the operation unit 130. The scan application 502 performs image reading processing (scan processing) by controlling the image reading unit 104 via a scanner driver (not shown) in accordance with an instruction to start image reading processing (scan instruction) received by the Web server 500. The terminal management application 503 generates a session ID and a URL unique to the session ID for a terminal accessing the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) by a terminal discrimination process described later, and uses them to manage the terminal and discriminate (identify) the terminal.

[0039] <Image reading process procedure> In the procedure described below, the image reading process (scan process) is executed according to a reading instruction (scan instruction) transmitted from the terminal 200 to the image reading device 100. The user of the terminal 200 operates the terminal 200 to start the Web browser 210, and inputs a URL (in this embodiment, "http: / / 192.168.0.2 / ") indicating the Web server 500 of the image reading device 100 into a URL input field on the browser screen displayed by the Web browser 210. As a result, the Web browser 210 of the terminal 200 accesses the Web server 500 to establish communication with the Web server 500 of the image reading device 100.

[0040] When the Web server 500 accepts access from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), it establishes communication with the terminal 200. The communication between the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) and the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) is performed using, for example, the HTTP protocol. Note that the communication between the image reading device 100 and the terminal 200 may be realized using an application other than the Web server 500 of the image reading device 100 and the Web browser of the terminal 200.

[0041] When communication (connection) between Web server 500 and Web browser 210 is established, Web browser 210 acquires HTML data (screen data) of a setting screen for reading settings (scan setting screen) from Web server 500. Based on the HTML data acquired from Web server 500, Web browser 210 displays a scan setting screen 600, an example of which is shown in FIG. 6, on the display unit of terminal 200.

[0042] As an example, the scan setting screen 600 allows the user to set a reading color mode and resolution for reading an image. The user inputs reading settings (scan settings) using an operation unit (e.g., a touch panel) of the terminal 200. When the operating user presses the scan button on the scan setting screen 600, the Web browser 210 transmits the scan settings and a scan instruction to the Web server 500.

[0043] It should be noted that, if image reading device 100 receives a scan instruction from another terminal (terminal 300, etc.) and starts scanning while operating scan setting screen 600, Web server 500 operates so as not to accept a scan instruction from Web browser 210. Web server 500 also operates so as not to accept a scan instruction from Web browser 210 when the started scanning process is stopped due to an error. In this case, Web browser 210 displays a screen including a message indicating that it is necessary to wait until a scan instruction can be sent (for example, "Another user is scanning. Please wait") based on the HTML data transmitted from Web server 500.

[0044] When the Web server 500 receives the scan settings and the scan instruction from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), it passes the scan settings and the scan instruction to the scan application 502. The scan application 502 starts executing the scan process in accordance with the scan settings and the scan instruction received from the terminal 200.

[0045] The scan application 502 controls the scan process so that the documents set on the platen 102 are conveyed one by one in order and the image reading unit 104 reads the images of the documents. The scan process continues until all the documents set on the platen 102 are gone. Note that a set number of documents may be set as the scanning target, or the number of documents to be read may be set in the scan settings received from the terminal 200. In this case, the number of documents to be read may be added as a setting item in the scan setting screen 600. The scan application 502 saves the image data generated by the image reading unit 104 in the storage unit 13. When the saving of the image data is completed, the scan application 502 notifies the terminal management application 503 of the completion of the scan process and ends the execution of the scan process.

[0046] When the scan process is interrupted due to the occurrence of an error, the scan application 502 displays a message indicating the occurrence of the error on the operation unit 130 (via the UI application 501) and interrupts the scan process while retaining the session ID. When the scan application 502 confirms that the error has been resolved, it displays a button for instructing the restart of the scan process on the operation unit 130, and when an instruction to restart is given using the button, it reconnects with the same session ID as before the interruption and restarts the scan process.

[0047] <Terminal identification process> 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the terminal discrimination process executed in the image reading device 100. The terminal discrimination process is executed by the terminal management application 503. The process according to this procedure is started when the Web server 500 receives an HTTP request including scan settings and a scan instruction from the Web browser 210 of the terminal 200 and passes the HTTP request to the terminal management application 503. As described above, the terminal discrimination process is executed in parallel with the scan process by the scan application 502.

[0048] In S701, the terminal management application 503 (CPU 11) receives the HTTP request from the scan application 502, thereby acquiring scan settings and a scan instruction, and proceeds to S702. In S702, the terminal management application 503 records the IP address of the terminal 200 acquired from the received HTTP request as the source IP address of the scan instruction, and proceeds to S703.

[0049] In S703, the terminal management application 503 issues (generates) a session ID (associated with the source IP address) to the terminal 200. The scan application 502 receives a scan instruction (read instruction) via a session established with the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), and performs scanning processing according to the received scan instruction. The issued session ID identifies the session established with the terminal 200 (Web browser 210). Furthermore, in S704, the terminal management application 503 issues an individual URL to the terminal 200. The individual URL is a URL that can be accessed by the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), which is the terminal device that transmitted the scan instruction, and is a URL unique to this session ID (terminal 200).

[0050] Next, in S705, the terminal management application 503 sets a status response. Using the issued individual URL, the terminal 200 can transmit a status acquisition request for checking status information indicating the status of the scan process being executed by the scan application 502 (for example, scanning in progress, scan completed, or an error has occurred). When a status acquisition request is received using the individual URL, the terminal management application 503 sets the status response so that a response to the request can be made.

[0051] Then, in S706, the terminal management application 503 notifies the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) of access information including the individual URL issued in S703. The notification including the access information is transmitted to the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) as a response to the HTTP request received in S701.

[0052] The terminal management application 503 manages the scan settings and scan instructions received from the terminal 200 in association with the session ID generated in S703, the source IP address, and the individual URL. FIG. 8 shows an example of a management table used by the terminal management application 503 to manage the terminals accessing the image reading device 100. The management table is stored in, for example, the storage unit 13. As shown in FIG. 8, the management table stores the source IP address, the session ID, and the individual URL in association with each other. Although not shown in FIG. 8, information indicating the scan settings and the scan instructions may be further managed in association with these, or may be managed in association with the session ID in a separate table. In this way, when the terminal management application 503 accepts an access from the terminal 200, it acquires the IP address of the terminal 200 as the source, and manages the session ID and the individual URL in association with the source IP address.

[0053] In the example of FIG. 8, when the IP address of the terminal 200 is "192.168.0.3", a session ID "1" and an individual URL "9d29d426-4cfd-4bf9-b0b7-e02b1e007c61" are issued to the terminal 200. The individual URL actually used to access the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) is expressed as "http: / / 192.168.0.2 / scan / 9d29d426-4cfd-4bf9-b0b7-e02b1e007c61 / ". In S706, the terminal management application 503 notifies the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) of the access information including this individual URL. As the format of the data included in the response transmitted to the terminal 200, for example, the JSON format is used. In this case, the access information included in the response sent to terminal 200 is expressed as follows: { "IP_ADDRESS": "192.168.0.3", "SESSIONID": "1", "uniqueURL":" http: / / 192.168.0.2 / scan / 9d29d426-4cfd-4bf9-b0b7-e02b1e007c61 / "}.

[0054] In S707, the terminal management application 503 determines whether or not the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) has accessed the individual URL notified in S706. The terminal management application 503 checks whether or not the terminal 200 has accessed the individual URL at a predetermined time interval (for example, every second). This time interval is generally called a polling interval. The polling interval may be changeable by a user operation. The polling interval may be changed, for example, via an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 130 by the UI application 501, or via a setting application available in a terminal device such as the terminal 200. Setting data indicating the polling interval is stored in the storage unit 13.

[0055] The terminal management application 503 advances the process from S707 to S709 if there is access from the terminal 200, and advances the process to S708 if there is no access. In S708, the terminal management application 503 determines whether a timeout has occurred by checking that the timeout time has elapsed since the last access time from the terminal 200.

[0056] The timeout time is preset, and the setting data is stored in the storage unit 13. When the last access time is not recorded, the terminal management application 503 may regard the current time as the last access time and treat it as if a timeout has not occurred. The timeout time generally depends on the setting of the Web server 500 when the browser session is lost, but is desirably set to several minutes from the viewpoint of saving memory. In this embodiment, it is set to 30 minutes, which is longer than the timeout time. The timeout time may be changeable by a user operation. For example, the timeout time may be changed via an operation screen displayed on the operation unit 130 by the UI application 501.

[0057] If the timeout time has not elapsed, the terminal management application 503 returns the process to S707, and if the timeout time has elapsed, the terminal management application 503 ends the process according to the procedure in Fig. 7. When ending the process, the terminal management application 503 causes the scan application 502 to end (stop) the scan process and delete (discard) the image data of the read image stored in the storage unit 13. If an error occurs in the scan process by the scan application 502 and the error state is not resolved, the terminal management application 503 also ends the process according to the procedure in Fig. 7. Even if the error state is resolved when the process by the terminal management application 503 has ended, the scan application 502 displays a message indicating that the scan instruction has timed out on the operation unit 130, ends the scan process, and deletes the image data acquired by the scan process from the storage unit 13.

[0058] If a timeout occurs in S708 while the transport of the document has not been resumed due to an error state, the terminal management application 503 may display an error message such as "XX (JAM, multiple feed, open cover, etc.) error has occurred. The scan operation has been canceled because no user operation was performed for a certain period of time. At this time, it is possible to instruct scanning if the error is resolved" on the operation unit 130. Similarly, before the timeout occurs, the terminal management application 503 may display an error message such as "XX (JAM, multiple feed, open cover, etc.) error has occurred. The scan operation is being continued by user operation. At this time, it is possible for the user currently scanning to obtain an image if the error is resolved" on the operation unit 130.

[0059] On the other hand, when the process proceeds from S707 to S709, the terminal management application 503 updates the last access time stored in the storage unit 13 to the current time in response to the access to the individual URL, and proceeds to S710. In S710, it is determined whether or not a scan completion notification has been received from the scan application 502. If the terminal management application 503 has received the scan completion notification, the process proceeds to S711. On the other hand, if the terminal management application 503 has not received the scan completion notification, the terminal management application 503 communicates with the scan application 502 to obtain the current status of the scan process. Furthermore, the terminal management application 503 transmits status information indicating the status of the scan process to the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) in response to the HTTP request issued from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) to the individual URL, and returns the process to S707.

[0060] If an error occurs during scanning, the terminal management application 503 transmits status information indicating the error state to the terminal 200. In this case, the Web browser 210 displays a message on the browser screen urging the user to resolve the error state, such as "An error occurred during scanning. Please resolve the error by following the display on the main screen."

[0061] In S711, the terminal management application 503 first notifies the terminal 200 of the completion of the scan process by a response to the HTTP request issued from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) to the individual URL. Furthermore, in S712, the terminal management application 503 transmits HTML data (screen data) of a scan completion screen to the terminal 200 so that the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) can acquire image data of the read image obtained by the scan process, and ends the process. The scan completion screen includes a link for accessing an individual URL for downloading the image data, and the user of the terminal 200 can instruct the download of the image data using the link. Alternatively, the terminal management application 503 may guide (i.e., redirect) the Web browser 210 to change the access destination from the individual URL for status acquisition to the individual URL for downloading in response to the completion of the scan process, and display the scan completion screen.

[0062] The terminal management application 503 may release the management state of the terminal 200 using the management table according to a predetermined condition. For example, when a scan instruction is received from a terminal device other than the terminal 200, the terminal management application 503 may delete the session ID and individual URL corresponding to the terminal 200 from the management table. Alternatively, when image data of a scanned image is acquired (downloaded) by the terminal 200, the terminal management application 503 may delete the session ID and individual URL corresponding to the terminal 200 from the management table. This allows the terminal management application 503 to release the management state of the terminal 200 using the management table at an appropriate timing.

[0063] As described above, in the image reading device 100 of the present embodiment, when the terminal management application 503 (CPU 11) receives an access from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, it generates a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and an individual URL unique to the session ID. The terminal management application 503 manages the session ID and the individual URL in association with each other. The scan application 502 performs a scan process (read process) of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the read image according to a read instruction received via the established session. The scan application 502 continues to execute the scan process while it receives an access to the individual URL at a preset time interval (polling interval).

[0064] According to this embodiment, even if the session with the terminal device is disconnected during the execution of the scan process, the terminal management application 503 can identify (discriminate) the terminal device based on the access to the individual URL. When the terminal management application 503 accepts the access to the individual URL after the completion of the scan process (even after the session is disconnected), it provides the terminal device with an operation screen for acquiring image data of the read image. This makes it possible for the image reading device 100 to transmit image data of the read image to the terminal device even after the session is disconnected. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the image data of the read image will be lost due to the session being disconnected, and improve the convenience for the user.

[0065] On the terminal device side, for example, the session with the image reading device 100 may be disconnected by switching to a power saving mode or by changing the display screen of the web browser to another screen. Even in this case, as long as the session ID and the individual URL associated with the IP address of the terminal device are held by the terminal management application 503, the image data of the scanned image can be obtained by accessing the individual URL.

[0066] The above-described embodiments can be variously modified. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the image reading apparatus 100 performs storage of image data of the read image and access control to the image data, but these may be performed by a server apparatus (information processing apparatus) external to the image reading apparatus 100. In that case, the image reading apparatus 100 transmits the image data obtained by the scanning process to the server apparatus, and the server apparatus performs management of the received image data and access control to the image data.

[0067] For example, although the example in which the timeout time used for the determination in S708 is 30 minutes has been described, the first timeout time T1 can be set to several minutes, and when this is exceeded, the session can be configured to be temporarily disconnected. Then, the second timeout time T2 (T1 < T2. For example, T2 = 30 minutes) is set, and after the elapse of the first timeout time T1, the terminal 200 or its user is notified that the polling has been interrupted, and after the elapse of the second timeout time T2, it may be processed as a timeout (Yes in S708).

[0068] For example, a message may be displayed on the operation unit 130 of the image reading apparatus 100, or information that can identify the terminal 200 may be stored in the management table of FIG. 8, and based on that information, a notification using push notification, short-range wireless communication, or the like may be executed.

[0069] Also, at this time, after the elapse of the first timeout time T1, when the disconnected terminal 200 attempts to access using the same session ID, it may be configured to be re-connectable. That is, when the terminal management application 503 receives an access using the same session ID from the terminal 200 after the elapse of the first timeout time T1, the session with the terminal 200 may be re-established using the session ID. Further, at that time, in order to re-connect, authentication information may be exchanged by additional processing (authentication processing of the terminal 200). For example, it may be configured to acquire and transmit authentication information by having the QR code (registered trademark) displayed on the operation unit 130 of the image reading apparatus 100 read.

[0070] Also, after the first timeout period T1 has elapsed, the terminal management application 503 may be configured to be connectable by other terminals such as the terminal 300. That is, when the terminal management application 503 receives access from a terminal device other than the terminal 200 after the first timeout period T1 has elapsed, the terminal management application 503 may operate to establish a new session with the terminal device. At this time, the scan process being executed in the terminal 200 may be finalized at that point, and the terminal 200 may be configured to only be able to download image data acquired up to that point.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the system always checks whether access to the individual URL has timed out during the scan process, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the system may be configured to start counting the time from the completion of the scan and discard the session after the timeout period has elapsed since the completion of the scan. Even in this case, only the terminal 200 that knows the individual URL can access the image data from the scan, which improves user convenience while maintaining security.

[0072] The disclosure of this specification includes the following image reading apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program. (Item 1) a management means for, when an access is received from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, generating a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and a URL unique to the session ID, and managing the session ID and the URL in association with each other; a processing unit that performs a reading process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the read image in accordance with a reading instruction received via the session, the processing means continues to execute the reading process while an access to the URL is being accepted at a preset time interval. 1. An image reading apparatus comprising: (Item 2) and providing means for providing, when an access to the URL is accepted after the reading process is completed, an operation screen for acquiring the image data to the terminal device. 2. The image reading device according to claim 1, (Item 3) when the providing means accepts an access to the URL after the reading process is completed, the providing means redirects the terminal device so as to change the access destination to a URL for acquiring the image data. 3. The image reading device according to item 2, (Item 4) the providing means provides the operation screen to the terminal device when an access to the URL is accepted even after the session is disconnected. 4. The image reading device according to item 2 or 3. (Item 5) when the providing means receives a request for checking a status of the reading process from the terminal device via the URL, the providing means transmits a response indicating a status of the reading process to the terminal device, and further provides the operation screen to the terminal device when the reading process is completed. 5. The image reading device according to any one of items 2 to 4, (Item 6) the providing means provides the operation screen to the terminal device when an access to the URL is accepted before a timeout time has elapsed since the last access time to the URL. 6. The image reading device according to any one of items 2 to 5, (Item 7) The image data generated by the reading process is stored in a storage device. the providing means deletes the image data from the storage means when the timeout period has elapsed since the last access time. 7. The image reading device according to item 6, (Item 8) the management means temporarily disconnects the session established with the terminal device when a first timeout period has elapsed since the last access time to the URL; the processing means suspends execution of the reading process when a second timeout time longer than the first timeout time has elapsed from the last access time. 6. The image reading device according to any one of items 1 to 5, (Item 9) The image data generated by the reading process is stored in a storage device. the processing means deletes the image data from the storage means when the second timeout period has elapsed from the last access time. 9. The image reading device according to item 8, (Item 10) a notification means for notifying a user of the terminal device that access to the URL for the time interval has been interrupted after the first timeout period has elapsed; 10. The image reading device according to item 8 or 9, (Item 11) the notification means performs notification using a message displayed on a display unit of the image reading device, or notifies the terminal device using short-range wireless communication. 11. The image reading device according to item 10, (Item 12) when the management means receives an access from the terminal device using the session ID after the first timeout period has elapsed, the management means re-establishes the session with the terminal device using the session ID. 12. The image reading device according to any one of items 8 to 11, (Item 13) the management means performs an authentication process for the terminal device when re-establishing the session with the terminal device. 13. The image reading device according to item 12, (Item 14) the management means operates to establish a new session with a terminal device other than the terminal device when the management means accepts access from the terminal device other than the terminal device after the first timeout period has elapsed. 14. The image reading device according to any one of items 8 to 13, (Item 15) the management means disconnects the session with the terminal device when a timeout period has elapsed since the reading process was completed. 8. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein: (Item 16) when the management means receives an access from the terminal device, the management means acquires an IP address of the terminal device as a source IP address, and manages the session ID and the URL in association with the source IP address. 16. The image reading device according to any one of items 1 to 15, (Item 17) The management means includes: The session ID and the URL are stored in a management table, when a read instruction is received from a terminal device other than the terminal device, the session ID and the URL are deleted from the management table. 17. The image reading device according to any one of items 1 to 16, (Item 18) The management means includes: The session ID and the URL are stored in a management table, When the image data is acquired by the terminal device, the session ID and the URL are deleted from the management table. 18. The image reading device according to any one of items 1 to 17, (Item 19) a management step of, when an access is received from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, generating a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and a URL unique to the session ID, and managing the session ID and the URL in association with each other; a processing step of performing a reading process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the read image in accordance with a reading instruction received via the session, In the processing step, execution of the reading process is continued while access to the URL is being accepted at a preset time interval. 23. A method for controlling an image reading device comprising the steps of: (Item 20) 20. A program for causing a computer of an image reading device to execute the control method of the image reading device described in item 19.

[0073] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 100: image reading device, 104: image reading unit, 10: control unit, 11: CPU, 13: storage unit, 130: operation unit, 210: web browser, 500: web server, 502: scan application, 503: terminal management application

Claims

1. a management means for, when an access is received from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, generating a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and a URL unique to the session ID, and managing the session ID and the URL in association with each other; a processing unit that performs a reading process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the read image in accordance with a reading instruction received via the session, the processing means continues to execute the reading process while an access to the URL is being accepted at a preset time interval; 1. An image reading apparatus comprising:

2. a providing unit that provides the terminal device with an operation screen for acquiring the image data when the access to the URL is accepted after the reading process is completed, 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

3. when the providing means accepts an access to the URL after the reading process is completed, the providing means redirects the terminal device so as to change the access destination to a URL for acquiring the image data.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

4. the providing means provides the operation screen to the terminal device when accepting an access to the URL after the reading process is completed, even after the session is disconnected.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

5. when the providing means receives a request for checking the status of the reading process from the terminal device via the URL, the providing means transmits a response indicating the status of the reading process to the terminal device, and when the reading process is completed, further provides the operation screen to the terminal device.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

6. the providing means, after the reading process is completed, when an access to the URL is accepted before a timeout time has elapsed from a last access time to the URL, provides the operation screen to the terminal device.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

7. The image data generated by the reading process is stored in a storage device. the processing means deletes the image data from the storage means when the timeout period has elapsed since the last access time.

7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6,

8. the management means temporarily disconnects the session established with the terminal device when a first timeout period has elapsed since the last access time to the URL; the processing means suspends execution of the reading process when a second timeout time, which is longer than the first timeout time, has elapsed from the last access time; 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

9. The image data generated by the reading process is stored in a storage device. the processing means deletes the image data from the storage means when the second timeout period has elapsed from the last access time.

9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8,

10. a notification means for notifying a user of the terminal device that access to the URL for the time interval has been interrupted after the first timeout period has elapsed; 10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image reading apparatus is a digital camera.

11. the notification means performs notification using a message displayed on a display unit of the image reading device, or notifies the terminal device using short-range wireless communication.

11. The image reading device according to claim 10,

12. when the management means receives an access from the terminal device using the session ID after the first timeout period has elapsed, the management means re-establishes the session with the terminal device using the session ID.

10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image reading apparatus is a digital camera.

13. the management means performs an authentication process for the terminal device when re-establishing the session with the terminal device.

13. The image reading apparatus according to claim 12.

14. the management means operates, when accepting an access from a terminal device other than the terminal device after the first timeout period has elapsed, to establish a new session with the terminal device.

10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image reading apparatus is a digital camera.

15. the management means disconnects the session with the terminal device when a timeout period has elapsed since the reading process was completed.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus is a scanning apparatus.

16. when the management means receives an access from the terminal device, the management means acquires an IP address of the terminal device as a source IP address, and manages the session ID and the URL in association with the source IP address.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus is a scanning apparatus.

17. The management means includes: The session ID and the URL are stored in a management table and managed. when a read instruction is received from a terminal device other than the terminal device, the session ID and the URL are deleted from the management table.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus is a scanning apparatus.

18. The management means includes: The session ID and the URL are stored in a management table and managed. When the image data is acquired by the terminal device, the session ID and the URL are deleted from the management table.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus is a scanning apparatus.

19. a management step of, when an access is received from a terminal device capable of communicating via a network, generating a session ID of a session established with the terminal device and a URL unique to the session ID, and managing the session ID and the URL in association with each other; a processing step of performing a reading process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the read image in accordance with a reading instruction received via the session, In the processing step, execution of the reading process is continued while access to the URL is being accepted at a preset time interval.

23. A method for controlling an image reading device comprising the steps of:

20. 20. A program for causing a computer of an image reading device to execute the method for controlling an image reading device according to claim 19.

Images