Image reading system, server device and image reading device, method for controlling the system and devices, and program

Abstract

To provide an image reading system that appropriately controls an access to image data generated by an image reading device and stored in a server device without increasing a burden on a user.SOLUTION: An image reading device 100 performs scanning processing according to a scanning instruction received from a terminal 200. The image reading device 100 transmits, to an image server 400, image data of a scanned image created through the scanning processing together with key information (information for authentication of the terminal 200). The image server 400 stores the image data and the key information received from the image reading device 100 in a storage of the image server 400 in association with each other. Upon receiving, from the terminal 200, a request for acquiring image data including the key information of the terminal 200, the image server 400 permits the terminal 200 to access image data associated with the key information included in the acquisition request, of the image data stored in the storage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Image data of a read image (scanned image) of a document read by an image reading device may be transmitted to a server device (image server) that provides a storage service and stored electronically. In such a case, it is required to appropriately control access to the image data stored in the image server by terminal devices such as portable terminals (mobile terminals) or PCs. In one example of such control, a management server that manages user information is provided, and use of the image reading device and access to the image data stored in the server device may be permitted based on user authentication by the management server.

[0003] In the above example, the user information needs to be registered in the management server, which increases the user's workload. Patent Document 1 describes a cloud printing system in which an authentication management server is provided to prevent unauthorized use of the multifunction printer by a mobile terminal, and the authentication management server controls print output by the multifunction printer without managing user information. In the system of Patent Document 1, the mobile terminal transmits request information indicating identification information to the authentication management server, and the multifunction printer transmits request information indicating identification information extracted from print instruction information received from the mobile terminal to the authentication management server. The authentication management server transmits print data to the multifunction printer when the identification information included in the request information received from each device matches. In addition, the mobile terminal needs to install an application for print output using the multifunction printer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-114904 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned system, it is not assumed that image data of a scanned image generated by a multifunction device (image reading device) is transmitted to a server device and that access control of a terminal device to the image data stored in the server device is performed. Also, in order for a mobile terminal to use the multifunction device, it is necessary to install a special application, which causes a workload for a user of the mobile terminal.

[0006] The present invention provides a technique for appropriately controlling access to image data generated by an image reading device and stored in a server device in an image reading system, without increasing the burden on a user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image reading system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an image reading system including an image reading device and a server device capable of communicating with the image reading device, wherein the image reading device comprises a processing means for performing a scan process that reads an image of an original document and generates image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device capable of communicating with the image reading device and the server device, and a transmission means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with authentication information of the terminal device, and the server device comprises a storage means for correlating the image data received from the image reading device with the authentication information and storing them in a storage of the server device, and a control means for, when a request to obtain the image data including the authentication information is received from the terminal device, permitting the terminal device to access image data stored in the storage that is associated with the authentication information included in the obtainment request.

[0008] A server device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a server device capable of communicating with an image reading device that performs a scan process that reads an image of a document and generates image data of a scanned image, and is characterized in that it comprises: a storage means that associates the image data of the scanned image generated by the image reading device performing the scan process in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device with authentication information of the terminal device and stores the associated image data in a storage of the server device; and a control means that, when a request to obtain the image data including the authentication information is received from the terminal device, allows the terminal device to access image data stored in the storage that is associated with the authentication information included in the obtainment request.

[0009] An image reading device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having storage, and includes a generation means for generating authentication information for a terminal device, a display control means for displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device, a processing means for performing a scan process for reading an image of a document and generating image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device, and a transmission means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process together with the authentication information to the server device, wherein the terminal device is permitted to access the image data stored in the storage of the server device in response to receiving a request to obtain the image data including the authentication information.

[0010] An image reading device according to another aspect of the present disclosure is an image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having storage, and is characterized in that it comprises: a request means for requesting authentication information for a terminal device from the server device; a display control means for, upon receiving the authentication information from the server device, displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; a processing means for performing a scan process for reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; and a transmission means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, in an image reading system, it is possible to appropriately control access to image data generated by an image reading device and stored in a server device, without increasing the burden on a user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [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. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal 200. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed in the image reading system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed in the image reading system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed in the image reading system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed in the image reading system (fourth embodiment). [Figure 11] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen provided from the image server 400 to the terminal 200. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] 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.

[0014] [First embodiment] First, a configuration example of an image reading device (original transport device) according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0015] <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.

[0016] 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.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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 RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), a HDD (hard disk drive), and an SSD (solid state drive).

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 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 one terminal according to the HTTP protocol and communicate with another terminal according to the FTP protocol. The image reading device 100 of this embodiment has a Web server 500 (FIG. 5) that can communicate with an 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.

[0027] 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.

[0028] <Image reading process> In the image reading device 100, the control unit 10 (CPU 11) starts image reading processing for the original 101 set on the original table 102, for example, when the control unit 10 receives an instruction to start reading the original (scan instruction) by operating the operation unit 130 or from an external device. 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.

[0029] 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 temporarily stores the obtained image data in the RAM 12 or 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.

[0030] <Image reading system configuration> 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 capable of communicating with the image reading device 100 via a network. The image reading system further includes an image server 400 capable of communicating with the image reading device 100 and the terminals 200 and 300 via the network. The network includes a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, and the like. In this embodiment, the communication I / F 15 of the image reading device 100 is connected to the terminals 200, 300, and the image server 400 via the network so as to be able to communicate with them.

[0031] 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 and the image server 400 by wirelessly connecting to a wireless access point for wireless LAN communication and connecting to a wired LAN via the wireless access point.

[0032] In this embodiment, the terminal 200 is a terminal device used by a user (operation user) who operates the image reading device 100. The terminal 300 is an example of a terminal operated by a user different from the operation user, and has the same configuration as the terminal 200. The terminal 200 has a Web browser 210 pre-installed. The operation 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 (see FIG. 5) of the image reading device 100 through the Web browser 210 according to the operation of the operation user. 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 operation user via the displayed operation screen, it transmits the scan instruction to the image reading device 100.

[0033] The control unit 10 (CPU 11) of the image reading device 100 performs the image reading process as described above in accordance with the scan instruction received from the terminal 200. The CPU 11 starts conveying the document 101, reads the document, and temporarily stores image data of the read image obtained by the reading in the RAM 12 or the storage unit 13. The stored image data is then transmitted to the image server 400 via the network. The image server 400 is a server device (file server) that stores image data received from the image reading device 100 and shares the image data with terminal devices such as the terminal 200. The terminal 200 can access the image server 400 via the network and download image data of the read image from the image server 400.

[0034] <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.

[0035] The image reading device 100 has a UI display application (UI display application) 501 and a scan application (scan application) 502 as applications that operate on the Web server 500. The UI display application 501 is started in response to the start of the Web server 500, and controls the display of a screen on the operation unit 130. The scan application 502 is started by the Web server 500 when the Web server 500 receives an instruction to start an image reading process (a scan instruction). The scan application 502 performs an image reading process (scan process) by controlling the image reading unit 104 via a scanner driver (not shown) in accordance with the received scan instruction.

[0036] In this embodiment, the scan application 502 functions as an example of a processing means for performing a scan process that reads an image of a document and generates image data of a scanned image (read image) according to a scan instruction received from a terminal device. The Web server 500 functions as an example of a transmission means for transmitting the image data of the scanned image generated by the scan process to the image server 400 together with authentication information (e.g., key information) of the terminal device.

[0037] <Terminal device configuration> 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal 200 according to this embodiment. The terminal 200 includes a control unit 220, and a storage unit 202, a communication unit 203, an operation unit 204, and a camera 205, all of which are connected to the control unit 220. The control unit 220 includes a CPU 201 that controls the overall operation of the terminal 200. The configuration of the terminal 300 may be the same as that of the terminal 200.

[0038] The terminal 200 of this embodiment is configured as a mobile terminal having at least a wireless LAN communication function. The communication unit 203 is configured with one or more communication I / Fs including at least a communication I / F for wireless LAN communication. In addition to the communication I / F for wireless LAN communication, the communication unit 203 may include, for example, a communication I / F for wireless communication corresponding to a mobile communication standard such as the 4G or 5G standard, and a communication I / F for Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication.

[0039] The storage unit 202 is composed of one or more storage devices (memories), such as a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), and an SSD (solid state drive). The CPU 201 controls the entire terminal 200 by reading and executing programs stored in the storage unit 202. The operation unit 204 includes a touch panel, hard keys, and the like, and receives various operations from the user. The camera 205 is an image capturing device controlled by the CPU 201.

[0040] As described above, the Web browser 210 is pre-installed in the terminal 200. The terminal 200 can access the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) and the image server 400 using the Web browser 210. A program corresponding to the Web browser 210 is pre-stored in the storage unit 202. When a user of the terminal 200 operates the operation unit 204 to start up the Web browser 210, the CPU 201 reads out the corresponding program from the storage unit 202 and executes it to start up the Web browser 210. The Web browser 210 operates as one of the processes on the CPU 201.

[0041] A two-dimensional code reader is installed in the terminal 200. The two-dimensional code reader is an application that analyzes a two-dimensional code included in an image captured by using the camera 205, and extracts information (character string information) included in the two-dimensional code. A program corresponding to the two-dimensional code reader is stored in advance in the storage unit 202. When a user of the terminal 200 operates the operation unit 204 to start up the two-dimensional code reader, the CPU 201 reads out the corresponding program from the storage unit 202 and executes it to start up the two-dimensional code reader. The two-dimensional code reader runs as one of the processes on the CPU 201.

[0042] The image reading device 100 of this embodiment displays a two-dimensional code obtained by encoding a uniform resource locator (URL) of the Web server 500 on the operation unit 130 (display unit). This URL can be used to access the image reading device 100 (Web server 500). The user of the terminal 200 operates the operation unit 204 to cause the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130 to be read by a two-dimensional code reader.

[0043] The two-dimensional code reader photographs the two-dimensional code using the camera 205 in accordance with a user's operation, thereby reading the two-dimensional code. The two-dimensional code reader analyzes the two-dimensional code included in the captured image obtained by photographing, and extracts (acquires) character string information included in the two-dimensional code. If the character string acquired from the two-dimensional code indicates a URL, the two-dimensional code reader starts the Web browser 210 and transfers the URL to the Web browser 210. As a result, the Web browser 210 accesses the URL transferred from the two-dimensional code reader, thereby accessing the image reading device 100 (Web server 500). It is also possible to start the two-dimensional code reader from the Web browser 210 side. In this case, the URL acquired by the two-dimensional code reader is also transferred from the two-dimensional code reader to the Web browser 210, and the Web browser 210 accesses the URL.

[0044] Furthermore, the Web browser 210 may be configured to be able to operate the camera 205. Specifically, when a user issues an instruction to start the camera 205 on a browser screen displayed by the Web browser 210, the CPU 201 starts the camera 205. The CPU 201 further displays an operation screen (not shown) for the camera 205 on the operation unit 204 (touch panel) and accepts user operations via the operation screen. When a capture button arranged on the operation screen is pressed by the user, the CPU 201 captures an image with the camera 205. As a result, the captured image obtained, or a URL obtained from a two-dimensional code included in the captured image, is input to the Web browser 210.

[0045] <Processing sequence> 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processes executed by the terminal 200, the image reading device 100, and the image server 400 in the image reading system of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 7, in the image reading system of this embodiment, each process is executed in the order of connection process, authentication process, scan process, and image acquisition process.

[0046] (Connection processing) The connection process is a process for establishing a connection between the terminal 200 and the image reading device 100.

[0047] First, in S101, the operating user (user of terminal 200) uses operation unit 130 of image reading device 100 to perform an operation to display on operation unit 130 a two-dimensional code obtained by encoding the URL (scan URL) of Web server 500.

[0048] In S102, the image reading device 100 displays a two-dimensional code (code image) obtained by encoding the URL of the Web server 500 on the operation unit 130 in accordance with the operation of the operating user so that the terminal 200 can read it. The two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130 is configured with, for example, a QR code (registered trademark). Note that, instead of the two-dimensional code, a one-dimensional code such as a barcode may be used. Note that, the two-dimensional code may be displayed in a part of the display area of ​​the operation unit 130, or the operation unit 130 may be provided with a display unit dedicated to displaying the two-dimensional code, separate from a display unit for displaying a screen such as a message screen or an operation screen. In this embodiment, the two-dimensional code displayed in S102 is an example of a second code image including a URL for accessing the image reading device 100.

[0049] Next, in S103, the operating user uses the operation unit 204 of the terminal 200 to perform an operation to start the two-dimensional code reader and a reading operation to have the two-dimensional code reader read the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130 of the image reading device 100. In S104, the terminal 200 (CPU 201) starts the two-dimensional code reader according to the operation of the operating user, and performs a code reading process using the two-dimensional code reader. In the code reading process, the two-dimensional code reader captures the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130 with the camera 205, and extracts (obtains) the URL of the Web server 500 from the captured image. In the code reading process, the two-dimensional code reader displays the image captured by the camera 205 on the operation unit 204. The operating user moves the position of the terminal 200 closer to the operation unit 130 of the image reading device 100 so that the two-dimensional code is captured by the camera 205.

[0050] When the code reading process is completed, in S105, the terminal 200 accesses the acquired URL. Specifically, the two-dimensional code reader starts the Web browser 210, and the Web browser 210 accesses the acquired URL via the network to which both the terminal 200 and the image reading device 100 are connected. This establishes a connection between the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) and the image reading device 100 (Web server 500).

[0051] In response to the establishment of a connection with the terminal 200, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) transmits screen data of a home screen (scan setting screen) to the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) in S106. The terminal 200 (Web browser 210) displays the home screen as a browser screen on the operation unit 204 based on the screen data received from the Web server 500. In this manner, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) provides the scan setting screen to the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) in response to access to a URL included in the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130. As will be described later, the image reading device 100 accepts a scan instruction from the terminal 200 via the scan setting screen provided to the terminal 200 (S131, S132).

[0052] (Authentication process) After the above-mentioned connection process is completed, the image reading system performs an authentication process for authenticating the terminal 200 that accesses the image server 400.

[0053] First, in S111, the image reading device 100 generates key information as authentication information for the terminal 200 with which a connection has been established by the connection process. The authentication information for the terminal 200 is used by the image server 400 to authenticate the terminal 200. The key information is generated so that it does not overlap, or is unlikely to overlap, with key information generated for a terminal device other than the terminal device to be authenticated (terminal 200 in this example). In this embodiment, as an example, the key information is composed of a character string of a predetermined length (for example, a random character string consisting of 64 characters).

[0054] Next, in S112, the image reading device 100 transmits the generated key information to the image server 400. In this embodiment, information required for transmitting the key information to the image server 400, such as the address of the image server 400, is set in advance in the image reading device 100. Upon receiving the key information from the image reading device 100, the image server 400 stores the received key information in a memory unit (storage) in S113.

[0055] The image server 400 may request the image reading device 100, which is the sender of the key information, to log in to the image server 400. In this case, the image reading device 100 logs in to the image server 400 before transmitting the key information, and transmits the key information to the image server 400 if the login is successful. Information required for logging in (e.g., ID and password) is set in advance in the image reading device 100. Note that the information required for logging in to the image server 400 may be managed by the image server 400 or may be managed by a separate management server. An authentication protocol such as OAuth2.0 may be used for authentication for logging in.

[0056] When the transmission of the key information to the image server 400 is completed, in S114, the image reading device 100 displays a two-dimensional code (code image) obtained by encoding the key information on the operation unit 130 so that the code image can be read by the terminal 200. The display of this two-dimensional code may be performed according to an operation by an operating user using the operation unit 130. In this embodiment, the two-dimensional code displayed in S114 is an example of a first code image including the generated authentication information (key information).

[0057] In S115, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) accesses the image server 400. For example, the image server 400 may be accessed according to an operation of an operating user performed using a home screen. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a URL for accessing the image server 400, which is required to access the image server 400, is stored in advance in the terminal 200 (storage unit 202). The terminal 200 accesses the image server 400 using the previously stored URL.

[0058] For example, a destination URL designation menu for designating the URL of the image server 400 to which the image data of the read image from the image reading device 100 is to be sent is provided on the home screen displayed by the Web browser 210 based on the screen data received from the Web server 500 in S106. In this case, the operating user selects the destination URL designation menu provided on the home screen and designates the URL of the image server 400. As a result, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) uses the designated URL to access the image server 400 for authentication. At this time, the destination URL (URL of the image server) may be designated by selecting information such as favorites (bookmarks) held by the Web browser 210, or may be acquired from another application installed on the terminal 200.

[0059] Next, in S116, the image server 400 transmits screen data of a notification screen that prompts the user to read the two-dimensional code including the key information and that is displayed on the operation unit 130 of the image reading device 100, as a response to the access from the terminal 200. Fig. 11 shows an example of a notification screen (notification screen 1100) provided from the image server 400 to the terminal 200 in S116. In this way, upon receiving an access from the terminal 200, the image server 400 provides the terminal 200 with an operation screen (notification screen) for reading the two-dimensional code including the key information, that is displayed on the display unit (operation unit 130) of the image reading device 100.

[0060] In S117, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) displays the notification screen 1100 on the operation unit 204, and accepts the operation of the button 1101 by the operating user. In S118, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) starts up the two-dimensional code reader in accordance with the operation of the button 1101 on the notification screen 1100, and performs a code reading process using the two-dimensional code reader. In the code reading process, the two-dimensional code reader photographs the two-dimensional code being displayed on the operation unit 130 with the camera 205, and extracts (obtains) key information from the obtained photographed image. When the code reading process is completed, the two-dimensional code reader passes the obtained key information to the Web browser 210. In response to this, in S119, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) transmits the key information obtained by reading the two-dimensional code to the image server 400.

[0061] When the image server 400 receives the key information from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), in S120, it performs authentication processing for the terminal 200. Specifically, the image server 400 performs authentication processing by comparing the key information (first key information) received from the image reading device 100 in S112 with the key information (second key information) received from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) in S119. In the authentication processing, if the first key information and the second key information match, the image server 400 determines that the authentication of the terminal 200 has been successful, and if they do not match, it determines that the authentication of the terminal 200 has failed.

[0062] If authentication of the terminal 200 is successful, in S121 the image server 400 indicates the success of authentication and transmits an instruction to create Cookie information including key information to the terminal 200 (Web browser 210). In accordance with the creation instruction received from the image server 400, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) creates Cookie information including the key information in S122 and stores it in the storage unit 202. Note that in this example, the image server 400 determines the authentication status of the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) using the Cookie information, but a method other than the method using Cookie information may be used as long as it is a method capable of determining the authentication status of the terminal 200.

[0063] If authentication of the terminal 200 fails, the cookie information is not created and saved, and the processing according to the sequence of Fig. 7 ends. In this case, the terminal 200 cannot access the image server 400 to obtain the image data of the scanned image.

[0064] (Scanning) After the above authentication process is completed, the image reading system performs a scan process to read the image of the document and generate image data of the scanned image. When the authentication of the terminal 200 by the image server 400 is successful and the creation of Cookie information (S122) is completed, the display screen of the operation unit 204 is returned to the home screen (scan setting screen).

[0065] First, in S131, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) accepts settings related to image reading and an operation for issuing an instruction to start a scan process (scan instruction) from the operating user via a scan setting screen displayed on the operation unit 204. The scan setting screen is configured to be able to accept settings for setting items such as color mode (e.g., color, gray, or black and white), document (paper) size (e.g., A4 or letter), resolution (e.g., 100 or 300 DPI), reading side (e.g., single-sided or double-sided), and output file format (e.g., PDF or JPEG). In S132, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) transmits the scan setting and the scan instruction to the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) according to the operation of the operating user.

[0066] When the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) receives the scan settings and a scan instruction from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), in S133, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) causes the scan application 502 to start execution of a scan process according to the received scan settings.

[0067] 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 read. A predetermined number of documents may be set as the document to be read, or the number of documents to be read may be set in the scan settings received from the terminal 200. The scan application 502 stores image data of the read image (scanned image) generated by the image reading unit 104 in the RAM 12 or the storage unit 13. The scan application 502 may perform predetermined image processing, such as brightness correction, color correction, deletion of marginal areas, or deletion of blank images, on the image data of the read image, and store the image data after the image processing. The scan application 502 notifies the Web server 500 that the execution of the scan process has been completed, and ends the scan process.

[0068] When the Web server 500 receives a completion notification from the scan application 502, in S134, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) transmits image data of the scanned image to the image server 400. At this time, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) adds the key information (generated in S111) to the image data and transmits the image data. In this manner, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) transmits the image data generated by the scan process to the image server 400 together with the authentication information (key information) of the terminal 200. Furthermore, in S135, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) notifies the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) of the completion of the scan process.

[0069] When the image server 400 receives the image data with the key information added from the image reading device 100, in S136, the image server 400 associates the received image data with the key information and stores them in the storage (storage unit) of the image server 400. This enables the image server 400 to appropriately determine whether the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) can acquire the image data (i.e., whether the terminal 200 is permitted to access the image data). Note that the information stored in the storage in association with the image data may include information other than the key information. For example, the information may be stored together with device information included in the command transmitted from the image reading device 100, the IP address of the image reading device 100, the time of reception, and the like.

[0070] (Image acquisition processing) After the above-mentioned scanning process is completed, the image reading system performs an image acquisition process in which the terminal 200 acquires (downloads) the image data of the scanned image stored in the image server 400.

[0071] When the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) receives the completion notification of the scan process (S135), in S141 it transmits a read image acquisition request (image data acquisition request) to the image server 400 in order to acquire image data of the read image generated by the scan process. At that time, if the authentication of the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) by the image server 400 has been successful, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) adds the Cookie information created in S122 to the acquisition request and transmits the acquisition request to the image server 400.

[0072] When the image server 400 receives an acquisition request for a scanned image from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), in S142 it performs a process of checking the Cookie information added to the received acquisition request. Specifically, the image server 400 determines whether or not authentication of the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) that transmitted the acquisition request has been successful based on the Cookie information. If appropriate Cookie information is added to the received acquisition request, the image server 400 determines that authentication of the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) that transmitted the acquisition request has been successful. In other cases, the image server 400 determines that authentication has failed.

[0073] When the image server 400 determines that the authentication of the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) that transmitted the acquisition request has been successful, the image server 400 performs a process of transmitting image data to the terminal 200 in S143. Specifically, the image server 400 extracts key information from Cookie information from the image data of the scanned image stored in the storage, and identifies image data associated with the extracted key information. The image server 400 transmits the identified image data to the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) as a response to the acquisition request. In this way, when the image server 400 receives an acquisition request including key information from the terminal 200, it permits the terminal 200 to access image data associated with the key information included in the acquisition request from among the image data stored in the storage.

[0074] When the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) receives image data of the scanned image from the image server 400 in response to the request to obtain the scanned image, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) stores the received image data in the storage unit 202. In this manner, in the image reading system of this embodiment, the connection process, the authentication process, the scan process, and the image acquisition process are performed.

[0075] As described above, in the image reading system of this embodiment, the image reading device 100 performs a scan process (S133) to read an image of a document and generate image data of a scanned image according to a scan instruction (S132) received from the terminal 200 that can communicate with the image reading device 100 and the image server 400. The image reading device 100 transmits the image data generated by the scan process to the image server 400 together with key information (authentication information for the terminal 200) (S134). The image server 400 stores the image data and the key information received from the image reading device 100 in the storage of the image server 400 in association with each other (S136). When the image server 400 receives a request for acquiring a scanned image (S141) including the key information from the terminal 200, it permits the terminal 200 to access the image data stored in the storage that is associated with the key information included in the acquisition request (S142).

[0076] In this embodiment, it is possible to perform access control for image data stored in the image server 400 by using key information (authentication information for the terminal 200) generated by the image reading device 100, without the need to manage user information in the image server 400. In this way, no load is generated due to user management in the image server 400. In addition, since no special application needs to be installed for processing in the terminal 200, no load is generated due to the installation. Therefore, according to this embodiment, in the image reading system, it is possible to appropriately perform access control (management of authority to obtain image data) for image data generated by the image reading device 100 and stored in the image server 400, without increasing the load on the user.

[0077] In this embodiment, the image server 400 authenticates the terminal 200 (and the image reading device 100) before the start of the scan process, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the image server 400 may authenticate the terminal 200 (and the image reading device 100) after the scan process is completed.

[0078] Also, an example has been described in which key information displayed on image reading device 100 is read by code reading processing, transferred to Web browser 210, and transmitted to image server 400, but the present invention is not limited to this. As described above, regardless of when authentication processing is performed, the user may manually input the information into Web browser 210.

[0079] In this embodiment, the image data is sent together with the key information in S134, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, by sending some kind of "device information", the image server 400 can identify the image reading device 100 or the terminal 200, and by linking the "device information" with the key information sent in S112, authentication using the key information can be performed in response to a request from the terminal 200 to obtain a scanned image.

[0080] [Second embodiment] In the first embodiment, an example was described in which the terminal 200 holds a URL for accessing the image server 400 in advance, and accesses the image server 400 using the URL. In this example, the URL for accessing the image server 400 needs to be set in advance in the terminal 200 according to, for example, an operation by an operating user. Therefore, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, an example will be described in which the URL for accessing the image server 400 is provided from the image reading device 100 to the terminal 200. In the following, the same reference numerals are used for parts common to the first embodiment, and their description will be omitted.

[0081] Fig. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the terminal 200, the image reading device 100, and the image server 400 in the image reading system of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 8, in the image reading system of this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment (Fig. 7), each processing is executed in the order of connection processing, authentication processing, scanning processing, and image acquisition processing. Of these processing, in this embodiment, the procedure of the authentication processing is different from that in the first embodiment.

[0082] In the authentication process of this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment (FIG. 7), the image reading device 100 generates key information as authentication information for the terminal 200 with which a connection is established by the connection process in S111, and transmits the generated key information to the image server 400 in S112. Upon receiving the key information from the image reading device 100, the image server 400 stores the received key information in a memory unit (storage) in S113.

[0083] When the transmission of the key information to the image server 400 is completed, in S201, the image reading device 100 displays a two-dimensional code including a URL for accessing the image server 400 and including the key information (a two-dimensional code obtained by encoding the URL including the key information) on the operation unit 130 so as to be readable by the terminal 200. For example, the key information is added as a URL parameter to the URL for accessing the image server 400.

[0084] The terminal 200 performs a code reading process of the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130, and accesses the image server 400 using a URL acquired from the two-dimensional code. Specifically, in S202, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) accepts an operation for starting the two-dimensional code reader and for code reading process by the two-dimensional code reader from the operating user. The operation for starting the two-dimensional code reader can be performed, for example, using a button provided on the home screen (scan setting screen).

[0085] In S203, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) starts the two-dimensional code reader and performs a code reading process using the two-dimensional code reader. In the code reading process, the two-dimensional code reader captures the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130 with the camera 205, and extracts (obtains) a URL including the key information from the captured image. When the code reading process is completed, the two-dimensional code reader passes the acquired URL to the Web browser 210. In response, in S204, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) accesses the image server 400 using the URL acquired from the two-dimensional code. This causes the image server 400 to be accessed and the key information to be transmitted to the image server 400.

[0086] Thereafter, in S120, the image server 400 performs authentication processing for the terminal 200 using the key information received from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) and the key information (first key information) received from the image reading device 100 in S112, similar to the first embodiment. In the sequence of Fig. 8, the processing from S121 onwards is similar to that of the first embodiment.

[0087] As described above, in this embodiment, the terminal 200 can access the image server 400 using a URL provided by the image reading device 100 using a two-dimensional code, without the need for an operating user to set a URL for accessing the image server 400 in the terminal 200. Also, by using the two-dimensional code, key information (authentication information for the terminal 200) can be provided from the image reading device 100 to the terminal 200 together with the URL. This makes it possible to further reduce the burden on the user associated with the authentication process in the image reading system, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.

[0088] In this embodiment, the image reading device 100 provides the key information to the terminal 200 together with the URL for accessing the image server 400 using a two-dimensional code, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other information may be provided. For example, if the image server 400 requires login, information required for logging in to the image server 400 may be provided together with the URL for accessing the image server 400.

[0089] [Third embodiment] In the first and second embodiments, an example has been described in which the image reading device 100 generates key information (authentication information for the terminal 200) and transmits the generated key information to the image server 400. In the third embodiment, an example will be described in which the image server 400, rather than the image reading device 100, generates key information in response to a request from the image reading device 100 and transmits the generated key information to the image reading device 100. In the following, a description of parts common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0090] Fig. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the terminal 200, the image reading device 100, and the image server 400 in the image reading system of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 9, in the image reading system of this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment (Fig. 7), each processing is executed in the order of connection processing, authentication processing, scanning processing, and image acquisition processing. Of these processing, in this embodiment, the procedure of the authentication processing is different from that in the first embodiment.

[0091] In the authentication process of this embodiment, first, in S301, the image reading device 100 requests the image server 400 to generate authentication information (key information) for the terminal 200 with which a connection has been established by the connection process. Note that the request to the image server 400 can be executed in response to the reception, in S105, of an access to a URL included in the two-dimensional code displayed on the operation unit 130 in S102 from the terminal 200.

[0092] In response to the request received from the image reading device 100, the image server 400 generates key information in S302. The image server 400 transmits the generated key information to the image reading device 100 in S303.

[0093] Upon receiving the key information generated by the image server 400, the image reading device 100, in S114, displays a two-dimensional code obtained by encoding the key information on the operation unit 130 so that it can be read by the terminal 200.

[0094] Thereafter, in S115, the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) accesses the image server 400 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In the sequence of Fig. 9, the processes from S116 onwards are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0095] As described above, in this embodiment, the image server 400 authenticates the terminal 200 using key information generated by the image server 400. According to this embodiment, it is possible to perform access control to image data stored in the image server 400 using key information generated by the image server 400, without the need to manage user information in the image server 400. Therefore, similar to the first embodiment, in the image reading system, it is possible to appropriately perform access control (management of authority to obtain image data) to image data generated by the image reading device 100 and stored in the image server 400, without increasing the burden on the user.

[0096] In the above-described first to third embodiments, the URL and key information for accessing the Web server 500 are provided to the terminal 200 by encoding them into a two-dimensional code, but this is merely an example. For example, the URL may be displayed as a character string on the operation unit 130 of the image reading device 100. In this case, the user operating the terminal 200 may input the URL or key information displayed on the operation unit 130 via a browser screen displayed on the operation unit 204 by the Web browser 210. The URL or key information may be transmitted from the image reading device 100 to the terminal 200 by using short-distance wireless communication (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication). As in these examples, it is desirable to use a method that makes it easy for the user who uses the image reading device 100 to obtain the key information and difficult for other users to obtain it, in that it reduces the possibility of the key information being stolen.

[0097] In the first and second embodiments, the image reading device 100 generates the key information, and in the third embodiment, the image server 400 generates the key information. As a modification of these embodiments, the terminal 200 may be configured to generate the key information. Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the key information is generated before the start of the scanning process, but the key information may be generated after the scanning process is completed.

[0098] [Fourth embodiment] In the above-mentioned embodiments, examples of executing authentication processing before starting scanning processing in an image reading system are described with reference to Fig. 7 to Fig. 9. In the fourth embodiment, an example of executing authentication processing in parallel with scanning processing is described. In the following, the same reference numerals are used for parts common to the first and third embodiments, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0099] 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the terminal 200, the image reading device 100, and the image server 400 in the image reading system of this embodiment. In the image reading system of this embodiment, each processing is executed in the order of connection processing, scanning processing, and image acquisition processing, and after completion of connection processing, scanning processing and authentication processing are executed in parallel.

[0100] The terminal 200 (Web browser 210) displays (S106) a home screen (scan setting screen) on the operation unit 204 based on the screen data received from the image reading device 100 (Web server 500), and then performs processes of S131 and S132. In S131, the terminal (Web browser 210) accepts an operation by the operating user via the home screen (scan setting screen), and in S132, transmits scan settings and a scan instruction to the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) according to the operation by the operating user.

[0101] When the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) receives the scan settings and a scan instruction from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), in S133a, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) causes the scan application 502 to start the execution of the scan process according to the received scan settings. In this embodiment, the execution of the authentication process is started in parallel with the start of the execution of the scan process. As shown in FIG. 10, the authentication process is executed in the same procedure as in the first embodiment (S111 to S122 in FIG. 7) or the same procedure as in the third embodiment (S301 to S303, S114 to S122 in FIG. 9).

[0102] The image reading system of this embodiment is further configured to provide a URL for accessing the image server 400 from the terminal 200 to the image reading device 100. Specifically, a destination URL designation menu for designating the URL of the image server 400 to which image data of a read image from the image reading device 100 is to be transmitted is provided on the home screen displayed on the operation unit 204. When the operating user selects the destination URL designation menu provided on the home screen and designates the URL of the image server 400, the designated URL is transmitted from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) to the image reading device 100 (Web server 500). The URL of the image server 400 may be transmitted together with the scan settings in S132, or may be transmitted before the transmission of the scan settings.

[0103] The URL of the image server 400 may be specified by, for example, inputting the URL into an input field, or may be specified using a favorite (bookmark) stored in the Web browser 210. Alternatively, the URL of the image server 400 may be made obtainable from another application installed in the terminal 200.

[0104] When the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) receives a scan instruction (S132) from the terminal 200 (Web browser 210), it starts the execution of authentication processing in parallel with the start of execution of the scan processing. In the image reading system of this embodiment, the generation of key information may be performed by the image reading device 100 (S111 in FIG. 7) as in the first embodiment, or may be performed by the image server 400 (S302 in FIG. 9) as in the third embodiment.

[0105] If an error occurs in the authentication process (e.g., an authentication error due to a mismatch in key information), the image reading device 100 stops the scan process. For example, if an error occurs in the image server 400, the image server 400 notifies the image reading device 100 (Web browser 210) of the occurrence of the error, and the image reading device 100 stops the scan process in accordance with the notification from the image server 400.

[0106] Alternatively, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) may notify the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) of the occurrence of an error after completing the scanning process of all documents to be read (for example, all documents loaded on the document table 102) without stopping the scanning process midway. In this case, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) is preferably configured to provide the terminal 200 (Web browser 210) with an operation screen that enables the URL of the destination of the image data of the read image to be reset, and to accept the resetting of the URL. When the resetting of the URL is accepted via such an operation screen, the authentication process is performed again, and if the authentication by the image server 400 is successful, the image acquisition process is performed.

[0107] When the scan process by the scan application 502 is completed in S133b, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) transmits image data of the read image to the image server 400. Note that, although FIG. 10 shows an example in which the scan process is completed after the authentication process is completed, the authentication process may be completed after the scan process is completed. In that case, the image reading device 100 (Web server 500) may wait for the authentication process to be completed (for example, in response to receiving a notification from the image server 400 indicating successful authentication) before transmitting the image data of the read image to the image server 400.

[0108] As described above, in the image reading system of this embodiment, a URL for accessing the image server 400 is provided from the terminal 200 to the image reading device 100, and authentication processing is executed in parallel with the scan processing. According to this embodiment, it is possible to perform access control for image data stored in the image server 400 by using key information generated by the image reading device 100 or the image server 400, without requiring management of user information in the image server 400. Therefore, in the image reading system, it is possible to appropriately perform access control (management of authority to obtain image data) for image data generated by the image reading device 100 and stored in the image server 400, without increasing the burden on the user.

[0109] The disclosure of this specification includes the following image reading apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program. (Item 1) An image reading system including an image reading device and a server device capable of communicating with the image reading device, The image reading device includes: a processing unit that performs a scan process of reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device that is capable of communicating with the image reading device and the server device; a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with authentication information of the terminal device, The server device includes: a storage unit that stores the image data received from the image reading device and the authentication information in a storage unit of the server device in association with each other; a control means for permitting, when receiving from the terminal device an acquisition request for the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; 1. An image reading system comprising: (Item 2) The image reading device includes: A generating means for generating the authentication information; a display control means for displaying a first code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the first code image can be read by the terminal device; 2. The image reading system according to item 1, further comprising: (Item 3) The generating means further transmits the generated authentication information to the server device, the terminal device transmits the authentication information obtained by reading the first code image to the server device; The server device includes: an authentication unit that authenticates the terminal device based on authentication information received from the terminal device and authentication information received from the image reading device, and when authentication of the terminal device is successful, instructs the terminal device to create Cookie information including the authentication information; When the control means receives the acquisition request including the Cookie information from the terminal device, the control means permits the terminal device to access the image data stored in the storage in association with the authentication information included in the Cookie information. 3. The image reading system according to item 2, (Item 4) the terminal device holds a URL for accessing the server device, and accesses the server device using the URL; The server device includes: a providing unit that provides the terminal device with an operation screen for reading the first code image displayed on the display unit of the image reading device when the terminal device receives an access from the terminal device, 4. The image reading system according to item 2 or 3, (Item 5) The display control means displays the first code image on the display unit, the first code image including a URL for accessing the server device, the URL including the generated authentication information; the terminal device accesses the server device using the URL acquired from the first code image. 4. The image reading system according to item 2 or 3, (Item 6) The display control means further displays a second code image including a URL for accessing the image reading device on the display unit so that the second code image can be read by the terminal device; the generating means generates the authentication information when receiving, from the terminal device, an access to a URL for accessing the image reading device, which is included in the second code image. 6. The image reading system according to any one of items 2 to 5, (Item 7) the display control means provides a setting screen to the terminal device in response to access to the URL included in the second code image, and receives the scan instruction from the terminal device via the setting screen. 7. The image reading system according to item 6, (Item 8) the setting screen is configured to be capable of accepting designation of a URL for accessing the server device; 8. The image reading system according to item 7, (Item 9) The image reading device includes: a requesting means for requesting the authentication information from the server device; a display control means for, when receiving authentication information generated by the server device, displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; The server device includes: a generating unit that generates the authentication information and transmits the authentication information to the image reading device, 2. The image reading system according to item 1, (Item 10) The display control means further displays a second code image including a URL for accessing the image reading device on the display unit so that the second code image can be read by the terminal device; the request means, when receiving an access from the terminal device to a URL for accessing the image reading device included in the second code image, requests the server device to generate authentication information for the terminal device. 10. The image reading system according to item 9, (Item 11) the display control means provides a setting screen to the terminal device in response to access to a URL for accessing the image reading device included in the second code image, and receives the scan instruction from the terminal device via the setting screen. 11. The image reading system according to item 10, (Item 12) the setting screen is configured to be capable of accepting designation of a URL for accessing the server device; 12. The image reading system according to item 11, (Item 13) The processes by the generating means, the display control means, and the authentication means are executed in parallel with the scanning process. 4. The image reading system according to item 3, (Item 14) The authentication information is key information composed of a character string of a predetermined length. 14. The image reading system according to any one of items 1 to 13, (Item 15) A server device capable of communicating with an image reading device that performs a scan process of reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image, a storage unit that stores image data of a scanned image generated by executing the scan process in the image reading device in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device in a storage of the server device in association with authentication information of the terminal device; a control means for permitting, when receiving from the terminal device an acquisition request for the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; A server device comprising: (Item 16) An image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, A generating means for generating authentication information for the terminal device; a display control means for displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; a processing unit that performs a scan process to read an image of a document and generate image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; and in response to receiving a request for acquiring the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device is permitted to access the image data stored in a storage device of the server device. 1. An image reading apparatus comprising: (Item 17) An image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, a requesting means for requesting authentication information for a terminal device from the server device; a display control means for displaying, upon receiving the authentication information from the server device, a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; a processing unit that performs a scan process to read an image of a document and generate image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; An image reading device comprising: (Item 18) A method for controlling an image reading system including an image reading device and a server device capable of communicating with the image reading device, comprising: a step of performing a scan process by the image reading device to read an image of an original document and generate image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device capable of communicating with the image reading device and the server device; a step of transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with authentication information of the terminal device by the image reading device; a step of storing the image data received from the image reading device and the authentication information in a storage device of the server device in association with each other; when the server device receives an acquisition request for the image data including the authentication information from the terminal device, the server device permits the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; 2. A method for controlling an image reading system comprising: (Item 19) A method for controlling a server device capable of communicating with an image reading device that performs a scan process of reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image, comprising: a step of storing image data of a scanned image generated by executing the scan process in the image reading device in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device in a storage device of the server device in association with authentication information of the terminal device; receiving, from the terminal device, a request to acquire the image data including the authentication information, permitting the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among image data stored in the storage; 23. A method for controlling a server device, comprising: (Item 20) A method for controlling an image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, comprising the steps of: generating authentication information for the terminal device; displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; performing a scan process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; and in response to receiving a request for acquiring the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device is permitted to access the image data stored in a storage device of the server device. 23. A method for controlling an image reading device comprising the steps of: (Item 21) A method for controlling an image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, comprising the steps of: a step of requesting authentication information for the terminal device from the server device; a step of displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device when the authentication information is received from the server device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; performing a scan process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; 2. A method for controlling an image reading apparatus comprising: (Item 22) A program for causing a computer of a server device to execute the server device control method according to item 19. (Item 23) 22. A program for causing a computer of an image reading device to execute the method for controlling an image reading device according to item 20 or 21.

[0110] 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]

[0111] 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

Claims

1. An image reading system including an image reading device and a server device capable of communicating with the image reading device, The image reading device includes: a processing unit that performs a scan process of reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device that is capable of communicating with the image reading device and the server device; a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with authentication information of the terminal device, The server device includes: a storage unit that stores the image data received from the image reading device and the authentication information in a storage unit of the server device in association with each other; a control means for permitting, when receiving from the terminal device an acquisition request for the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; 1. An image reading system comprising:

2. The image reading device includes: A generating means for generating the authentication information; a display control means for displaying a first code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the first code image can be read by the terminal device; 2. The image reading system according to claim 1, further comprising:

3. The generating means further transmits the generated authentication information to the server device, the terminal device transmits the authentication information obtained by reading the first code image to the server device; The server device includes: an authentication unit that authenticates the terminal device based on authentication information received from the terminal device and authentication information received from the image reading device, and when authentication of the terminal device is successful, instructs the terminal device to create cookie information including the authentication information; When the control means receives the acquisition request including the cookie information from the terminal device, the control means permits the terminal device to access the image data stored in the storage in association with the authentication information included in the cookie information.

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

4. the terminal device holds a URL for accessing the server device, and accesses the server device using the URL; The server device includes: a providing unit that provides, when an access is received from the terminal device, an operation screen for reading the first code image displayed on the display unit of the image reading device to the terminal device.

4. The image reading system according to claim 2, wherein the image reading system is a digital camera.

5. The display control means displays the first code image on the display unit, the first code image including a URL for accessing the server device, the URL including the generated authentication information; the terminal device accesses the server device by using the URL acquired from the first code image; 4. The image reading system according to claim 2, wherein the image reading system is a digital camera.

6. The display control means further displays a second code image including a URL for accessing the image reading device on the display unit so that the second code image can be read by the terminal device; the generating means generates the authentication information when receiving, from the terminal device, an access to a URL for accessing the image reading device, which is included in the second code image.

4. The image reading system according to claim 2, wherein the image reading system is a digital camera.

7. the display control means provides a setting screen to the terminal device in response to access to the URL included in the second code image, and receives the scan instruction from the terminal device via the setting screen.

7. The image reading system according to claim 6,

8. the setting screen is configured to be capable of accepting designation of a URL for accessing the server device; 8. The image reading system according to claim 7,

9. The image reading device includes: a requesting means for requesting the authentication information from the server device; a display control means for, when receiving authentication information generated by the server device, displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; The server device includes: a generating unit that generates the authentication information and transmits the authentication information to the image reading device, 2. The image reading system according to claim 1, wherein the image reading system comprises:

10. The display control means further displays a second code image including a URL for accessing the image reading device on the display unit so that the second code image can be read by the terminal device; the request means, when receiving an access from the terminal device to a URL for accessing the image reading device included in the second code image, requests the server device to generate authentication information for the terminal device.

10. The image reading system according to claim 9,

11. the display control means provides a setting screen to the terminal device in response to an access to a URL for accessing the image reading device included in the second code image, and receives the scan instruction from the terminal device via the setting screen.

11. The image reading system according to claim 10,

12. the setting screen is configured to be capable of accepting designation of a URL for accessing the server device; 12. The image reading system according to claim 11 .

13. The processes by the generating means, the display control means, and the authentication means are executed in parallel with the scanning process.

4. The image reading system according to claim 3,

14. The authentication information is key information composed of a character string of a predetermined length.

4. The image reading system according to claim 1, wherein the image reading system is a digital camera.

15. A server device capable of communicating with an image reading device that performs a scan process of reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image, a storage unit that stores image data of a scanned image generated by executing the scan process in the image reading device in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device in a storage of the server device in association with authentication information of the terminal device; a control means for permitting, when receiving from the terminal device an acquisition request for the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; A server device comprising:

16. An image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, A generating means for generating authentication information for the terminal device; a display control means for displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; a processing unit that performs a scan process to read an image of a document and generate image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; and in response to receiving a request for acquiring the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device is permitted to access the image data stored in a storage device of the server device.

1. An image reading apparatus comprising:

17. An image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, a requesting means for requesting authentication information for a terminal device from the server device; a display control means for displaying, upon receiving the authentication information from the server device, a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; a processing unit that performs a scan process to read an image of a document and generate image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; An image reading device comprising:

18. A method for controlling an image reading system including an image reading device and a server device capable of communicating with the image reading device, comprising: a step of performing a scan process by the image reading device to read an image of an original document and generate image data of a scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device capable of communicating with the image reading device and the server device; a step of transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with authentication information of the terminal device by the image reading device; a step of storing the image data received from the image reading device and the authentication information in a storage device of the server device in association with each other; when the server device receives an acquisition request for the image data including the authentication information from the terminal device, the server device permits the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; 2. A method for controlling an image reading system comprising:

19. A method for controlling a server device capable of communicating with an image reading device that performs a scan process of reading an image of an original document and generating image data of a scanned image, comprising: a step of storing image data of a scanned image generated by executing the scan process in the image reading device in accordance with a scan instruction received from a terminal device in a storage device of the server device in association with authentication information of the terminal device; receiving, from the terminal device, a request to acquire the image data including the authentication information, permitting the terminal device to access image data associated with the authentication information included in the acquisition request, among the image data stored in the storage; 23. A method for controlling a server device, comprising:

20. A method for controlling an image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, comprising the steps of: generating authentication information for the terminal device; displaying a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so that the code image can be read by the terminal device; performing a scan process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; and in response to receiving a request for acquiring the image data including the authentication information, the terminal device is permitted to access the image data stored in a storage of the server device.

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

21. A method for controlling an image reading device capable of communicating with a server device having a storage, comprising the steps of: a step of requesting authentication information for the terminal device from the server device; a step of displaying, upon receiving the authentication information from the server device, a code image including the authentication information on a display unit of the image reading device so as to be readable by the terminal device; performing a scan process of reading an image of a document and generating image data of the scanned image in accordance with a scan instruction received from the terminal device; transmitting the image data generated by the scan process to the server device together with the authentication information; 2. A method for controlling an image reading apparatus comprising:

22. A program for causing a computer of a server device to execute the server device control method according to claim 19.

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

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