Information processing system, method for controlling information processing system, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system, a method for controlling an information processing system, and a program with which scan processing can be quickly executed with a simple operation, and scan data obtained through the scan processing can be transmitted to an external site.SOLUTION: A cloud browser system 1000 comprises an image forming apparatus 10 and an image forming system 100. The image forming system 100 includes: area securing means (browser engine 252) that secures a data storage area 108; server-side notification means (browser engine 252) that notifies the image forming apparatus 10 of information on the position of the data storage area 108; and server-side transmission means (browser processing unit 250) that transmits image data in the data storage area 108 to an external site 105. The image forming apparatus 10 includes scan means (scanner 370) that acquires image data, and apparatus-side transmission means (network I / F 310) that transmits the image data to a transmission destination of the position information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a control method for an information processing system, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, image processing devices that are communicably connected to external devices such as servers via a network have been known. Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing device equipped with a web browser module and capable of scanning. This web browser module reads and displays information from various websites (homepages) on the Internet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-149320 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, some image processing devices, depending on their configuration, may not start the execution of a scan process simply by a user selecting a file on a browser, etc. Also, some image processing devices can transfer scan data obtained by a scan process to a server, but cannot subsequently upload the scan data to, for example, an external site.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to provide an information processing system, a control method for the information processing system, and a program that enable quick execution of a scan process with a simple operation and transmit scan data obtained by the scan process to an external site. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the information processing system of the present invention comprises an image forming device capable of forming image data by a scan process, and a server communicatively connected to the image forming device and an external site, and is an information processing system capable of transmitting the image data from the image forming device to the external site via the server, wherein the server comprises an area allocation means for allocating a storage area in which the image data is stored when transmission of the image data is selected on the image forming device, a server-side notification means for notifying the image forming device of location information of the storage area allocated by the area allocation means, and a server-side transmission means for transmitting the image data to the external site when the image data is stored in the storage area, and wherein the image forming device comprises a scanning means for performing the scan process and acquiring the image data when notified of the location information from the notification means, and a device-side transmission means for transmitting the image data acquired by the scanning means to a destination based on the location information and storing it in the storage area. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly execute a scan process with a simple operation, and to transmit the scan data obtained by the scan process to an external site. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a cloud browser system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a virtual machine. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of a virtual machine. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a software configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a home screen displayed on an operation unit of the image forming apparatus. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a browser screen displayed on an operation unit of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 6] 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed between a browser control unit of the image forming apparatus, a browser processing unit of a virtual machine, and an external site. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of Web content displayed on an operation unit of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 8A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an inquiry screen displayed on an operation unit. [Figure 8B] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating modified examples of an inquiry screen displayed on the operation unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a scanning screen displayed on the operation unit. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a file selection process executed by a browser processing unit. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart showing a scan process executed by a browser control unit. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for maintaining an application layer connection during a job executed by a browser control unit. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of application layer connection confirmation during a job executed by a browser processing unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the configurations described in each of the following embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the configurations described in each embodiment. For example, each part constituting the present invention can be replaced with any configuration that can exert a similar function. In addition, any configuration may be added. In addition, any two or more configurations (features) of each embodiment can be combined.

[0010] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a cloud browser system according to the first embodiment. The cloud browser system 1000 shown in FIG. 1 is an information processing system capable of processing various types of information. The cloud browser system 1000 has a plurality of image forming apparatuses 10 and an image forming system 100, which are communicatively connected to each other. The cloud browser system 1000 is communicatively connected to an external site 105 and an authentication site 110 via the Internet 111. The cloud browser system 1000 can transmit image data (scan data) acquired by execution of a scan process by the image forming apparatus 10 from the image forming apparatus 10 to the external site 105 via the image forming system 100. In addition, each image forming apparatus 10 is connected to the Internet 111 via a proxy server 104.

[0011] In this embodiment, the cloud browser system 1000 has three image forming apparatuses 10, but the number of the image forming apparatuses 10 is not limited to this and may be, for example, one, two, or four or more. In the following, each image forming apparatus 10 is referred to as an "image forming apparatus 101", an "image forming apparatus 102", and an "image forming apparatus 103", and among these image forming apparatuses 10, the image forming apparatus 101 is represented. In addition, the cloud browser system 1000 has one image forming system 100, but the number of the image forming systems 100 is not limited to this and may be, for example, two or more. In addition, it is preferable that the number of the image forming systems 100 is less than the number of the image forming apparatuses 10. In addition, the proxy server 104 may be omitted in the cloud browser system 1000. For example, it is assumed that a user who uses the image forming apparatus 101 is viewing a screen displayed on the image forming apparatus 101. In this case, the user operates the image forming apparatus 101 to input a viewing request for the external site 105 that the user wants to view. As a result, the image forming apparatus 101 transmits the address (URL) of the external site 105 to the image forming system 100 via the proxy server 104. Note that the external site 105 is an HTTP server that returns an HTTP response to an HTTP request, but the configuration thereof is not particularly limited.

[0012] The image forming system 100 includes a gateway 106, a virtual machine 107, and a storage 109. A browser engine, which is a software module, runs on the virtual machine 107. The browser engine receives the URL of the external site 105 transmitted from the image forming apparatus 101 via the gateway 106. The browser engine then accesses the external site 105 corresponding to this URL via the gateway 106 and receives Web content such as HTML from the external site 105. Thereafter, a rendering result of this Web content is generated by a software module that performs rendering. The rendering result is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 101 via the gateway 106. The image forming apparatus 101 receives the rendering result transmitted from the image forming system 100 and displays the rendering result. This allows the user to check the content of the external site 105.

[0013] The storage 109 stores user data such as cookies obtained by the browser engine running on the virtual machine 107 interpreting the Web content received from the external site 105. The cloud browser system 1000 is configured to be able to communicate with the authentication site 110. The authentication site 110 can identify a user who is using the image forming apparatus 10 (the image forming apparatuses 101 to 103). The image forming system 100 obtains user authentication based on user information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10. The image forming system 100 then manages user data stored in the storage 109 for each authenticated user. In this embodiment, the image forming system 100 has one virtual machine 107, but the number of virtual machines 107 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, multiple. In this case, it is preferable to place a load balancer between the gateway 106 and each virtual machine 107. It is also preferable to select one virtual machine 107 from the multiple virtual machines 107 depending on the load situation. The storage 109 is preferably used together with the multiple virtual machines 107.

[0014] FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a virtual machine. As shown in FIG. 2A, the virtual machine 107 has a CPU 201, an internal storage 202, a RAM 203, an interface 204, and a communication interface 205 as hardware, which are connected via a bus 206. The CPU 201 executes various processes using computer programs and data stored in the internal storage 202. This allows the CPU 201 to control the operation of the entire virtual machine 107. The internal storage 202 stores setting data for the virtual machine 107, computer programs and data related to the startup of the virtual machine 107, computer programs and data related to the basic operation of the virtual machine 107, and the like. The RAM 203 has an area for storing computer programs and data loaded from the internal storage 202, data received via the communication interface 205, and the like. The RAM 203 also has a work area used when the CPU 201 executes various processes. In this way, the RAM 203 can provide various areas (storage areas) as appropriate. The interface 204 is an interface including a display unit for displaying the processing results by the CPU 201 as images, characters, etc., and an operation unit operated by a user to perform various operational inputs. The display unit includes, for example, a liquid crystal screen or a touch panel screen. The operation unit includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel screen, etc. The communication interface 205 is an interface for performing data communication with an external device.

[0015] 2A, for example, a memory device or the like may be further connected to the bus 206. The memory device is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a hard disk drive, a USB memory, a magnetic card, an optical card, an IC card, a memory card, and an optical disk drive device such as a flexible disk (FD) or a compact disk (CD). The virtual machine 107 can be configured by a virtualization technology, and various resources constituting a computer system can be organized into logical units independent of the physical configuration.

[0016] FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing an example of a software configuration of a virtual machine. As shown in FIG. 2B, the virtual machine 107 has a browser processing unit 250 and a NW (Network) control unit 254 as software. The browser processing unit 250 has an overall control unit 251, a browser engine 252, and a drawing control unit 253. The browser processing unit 250 is a module that handles the overall processing related to the browser executed on the image forming system 100 side, which is a cloud. The overall control unit 251 is a module that controls the entire browser processing unit 250 that operates on the virtual machine 107. When a user operates the image forming apparatus 101 to input a request to view an external site 105 that the user wants to view, the URL of the external site 105 is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10 to the image forming system 100 via the proxy server 104.

[0017] The overall control unit 251 collectively receives various requests transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10. The overall control unit 251 also distributes the requests received from the image forming apparatus 10 to the browser engine 252 and the drawing control unit 253 as appropriate. The browser engine 252 accesses the external site 105 via the NW control unit 254 based on the URL transmitted from the overall control unit 251. This makes it possible to obtain the Web content of the external site 105. The browser engine 252 includes a client function of the HyperText Transfer Protocol (http) required to obtain the Web content. The browser engine 252 can analyze the Web content and appropriately store information such as cookies in the storage 109, or refer to information such as cookies previously stored in the storage 109. When the analysis of the Web content is completed, the browser engine 252 requests the drawing control unit 253 to perform rendering processing. The drawing control unit 253 renders the Web content based on the rendering request from the browser engine 252. Furthermore, the drawing control unit 253 transmits the rendering result to the image forming apparatus 10, which is the request source of the URL, via the NW control unit 254. The NW control unit 254 is a module that relays between the browser processing unit 250 and external devices such as the external site 105 and the authentication site 110 by controlling the communication interface 205. Furthermore, the NW control unit 254 has a protocol stack for HTTP communication required for accessing the external site 105, and the like.

[0018] As described above, in the cloud browser system 1000, a user can input a request to view an external site 105 that the user wants to view by operating the image forming apparatus 101. As a result, the URL of the external site 105 is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10 to the image forming system 100 via the proxy server 104. The overall control unit 251 accepts the URL of the external site 105 and transfers it to the browser engine 252. As a result, the browser engine 252 accepts this URL. Then, the browser engine 252 requests the NW control unit 254 to access the external site 105 indicated by the URL in order to obtain the Web content indicated by the URL. The NW control unit 254 that has received the access request controls the communication interface 205 to access the external site 105 via the gateway 106 and the Internet 111. The NW control unit 254 acquires the Web content from the external site 105 and transfers it to the browser engine 252.

[0019] The browser engine 252 transmits and receives user data such as cookies between the storage 109 as necessary based on the Web content transferred from the NW control unit 254, and analyzes the Web content. The browser engine 252 also requests the rendering control unit 253 to render the Web content in accordance with the analysis of the Web content. The rendering control unit 253, which has received this request, executes rendering of the Web content. Then, when the rendering is completed, the rendering control unit 253 notifies the overall control unit 251 of the completion. The overall control unit 251 notifies the image forming apparatus 10, which is the URL request source, of the completion of the rendering via the NW control unit 254. The image forming apparatus 10, which has received the completion of the rendering, requests the image forming system 100 to obtain the rendering result. This request is transmitted to the overall control unit 251 via the NW control unit 254, and is transferred to the rendering control unit 253 by the overall control unit 251. Then, the rendering control unit 253, which has received the request to obtain the rendering result, notifies the image forming apparatus 10, which is the request source, of the rendering result via the NW control unit 254. This allows the image forming apparatus 10 to display the rendering result, and the user can view the content of the desired external site 105 on the image forming apparatus 10.

[0020] FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3A, the image forming apparatus 10 has a controller unit 300, an operation unit 312, a scanner (scanning means) 370, and a printer 395 as hardware. The controller unit 300 has a CPU 301, a RAM 302, a ROM 303, a storage 304, an image bus I / F 305, an operation unit I / F 306, a network I / F 310, a USB host I / F 313, and an RTC 315. These are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a system bus 307. The controller unit 300 also has a device I / F 320, a scanner image processing unit 380, and a printer image processing unit 390. These are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an image bus 308. The system bus 307 and the image bus 308 are also connected to each other via an image bus I / F 305.

[0021] The controller unit 300 performs control to realize a copy function, etc., for printing out image data read by a scanner 370 (scanning process) which is an image input device, by a printer 395 which is an image output device. The CPU 301 starts up an OS (Operating System) 351 (see FIG. 3B) by a boot program stored in a ROM 303. The CPU 301 executes a program stored in a storage 304 on this OS. A RAM 302 is used as a working area for the CPU 301. The RAM 302 provides a working area and also provides an image memory area for temporarily storing image data. For example, a program and image data are stored in the storage 304. The program is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a control program for causing a computer to execute each part and each means (a control method of an information processing system) of the cloud browser system 1000. Note that this control program may be stored in the internal storage 202 of the image forming system 100, or may be stored in a distributed manner between the storage 304 of the image forming apparatus 10 and the internal storage 202 of the image forming system 100.

[0022] The operation unit I / F 306 is an interface that connects to the operation unit 312, and outputs image data to the operation unit 312. This allows the image data to be displayed on the operation unit 312. The operation unit I / F 306 also transmits information input by a user via the operation unit 312 to the CPU 301. The network I / F 310 (apparatus side transmission means) is an interface for connecting the image forming apparatus to a LAN. This allows the network I / F 310 to transmit image data acquired by the scanner 370 to an external device (apparatus side transmission step). In addition, the network I / F 310 (apparatus side notification means) can also notify the image forming system 100 of transmission completion information when the transmission of the image data is completed (apparatus side notification step). The USB host I / F 313 is an interface for communicating with the USB storage 314. In addition, the USB host I / F 313 can transmit data stored in the USB storage 314 to the CPU 301. The USB host I / F 313 also functions as an output unit for storing data stored in the storage 304 in a USB storage 314. The USB storage 314 is an external storage device that stores data, and is detachable from the USB host I / F 313. A plurality of USB storages 314 can be connected to the USB host I / F 313. The RTC 315 controls the current time. Time information controlled by the RTC 315 is used for recording the time a job is input, etc.

[0023] The image bus I / F 305 is a bus bridge that connects the system bus 307 and an image bus 308 that transfers image data at high speed and converts the data format. The image bus 308 is composed of a PCI bus or the like. The device I / F 320 is connected to a scanner 370 and a printer 395. The device I / F 320 performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. The scanner image processing unit 380 performs, for example, correction, processing, editing, etc. on the input image data. The printer image processing unit 390 performs, for example, correction, resolution conversion, etc. according to the printer 395 on the print output image data.

[0024] FIG. 3B is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3B, the image forming apparatus 10 has a browser control unit 360, a UI control unit 352, a job execution control unit 353, a NW control unit 354, and a storage control unit 355 as software. The browser control unit 360 has an image data acquisition unit 361, a browser operation unit 362, a browser display unit 363, a command IF unit 364, and a proxy processing unit 365. Each unit surrounded by a solid line in FIG. 3B is a software module realized by the CPU 301 executing a main program loaded in the RAM 302. The main program manages and controls the execution of each module by the OS 351. The UI control unit 352 displays a screen on the operation unit 312 and accepts operations from the user on the operation unit 312 via the operation unit I / F 306. The UI control unit 352 can also perform notifications between other modules and control screen updates by receiving drawing instructions from other modules. The job execution control unit 353 is a module that receives a job execution instruction from the UI control unit 352 and controls job processing such as copying, scanning, and printing. In this embodiment, when a file selection operation is requested via the browser operation unit 362, the browser operation unit 362 instructs the job execution control unit 353 to execute a scan job via the UI control unit 352. The NW control unit 354 receives a communication request from another module and controls the network I / F 310 to control communication with an external device. The NW control unit 354 can also receive a notification from an external device and notify other modules of the contents of the notification. The storage control unit 355 records and manages the setting information and job information recorded in the storage 304. Each module located in the hierarchy of the OS 351 accesses the storage control unit 355 to refer to and set a setting value.

[0025] The browser control unit 360 is a submodule included in the OS 351. When the browser operation unit 362 receives a notification of a user's operation from the UI control unit 352, it notifies the command IF unit 364 or the proxy processing unit 365 of the user's operation content. The proxy processing unit 365 receives the notification from the browser operation unit 362 and requests the storage control unit 355 to obtain proxy setting information. If the proxy setting is valid based on the proxy setting information obtained from the storage control unit 355, the proxy processing unit 365 requests communication to the proxy server 104 via the NW control unit 354. The proxy processing unit 365 also receives a response to the communication request via the NW control unit 354. The proxy processing unit 365 notifies the browser display unit 363 or the command IF unit 364 of the result of processing the content of the response.

[0026] The command IF unit 364 receives notifications from the browser operation unit 362 and the proxy processing unit 365, and requests communication with the image forming system 100 via the NW control unit 354. The communication request at this time may include information notified from the browser operation unit 362 and the proxy processing unit 365. This information also includes user operation information such as text input, pressing a link button, scrolling, and zooming. The text input also includes, for example, a URL. Pressing a link button includes pressed coordinates on the operation unit 312. Scrolling and zooming include character strings and the like associated with each operation. The command IF unit 364 also receives communication from the image forming system 100 via the NW control unit 354. The command IF unit 364 processes the communication contents from the image forming system 100 and notifies the image data acquisition unit 361 or the browser display unit 363. The image data acquisition unit 361 receives a completion notification of the rendering result from the command IF unit 364. When the image data acquisition unit 361 receives the completion notification, it requests the image forming system 100 to acquire an image. The image acquisition request is transmitted to the drawing control unit 253 operating on the virtual machine 107 of the image forming system 100. Thereafter, the image is sent, and the rendering result is transmitted to the image data acquisition unit 361. When the image data acquisition unit 361 receives the rendering result, it transfers the image, which is the rendering result, to the browser display unit 363. The browser display unit 363 receives the image from the image data acquisition unit 361, and instructs the UI control unit 352 to draw the image. In addition, the browser display unit 363 receives a notification from the command IF unit 364 and the proxy processing unit 365, and instructs the UI control unit 352 to display a message corresponding to the notification.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen displayed on the operation unit of the image forming apparatus. The home screen 400 shown in FIG. 4 includes buttons 401, 402, 403, and 404. By operating, i.e., pressing, the button 401, a state in which e-mail can be sent to, for example, cloud A (not shown) is achieved. By operating the button 402, a state in which e-mail can be sent to, for example, cloud B (not shown) is achieved. By operating the button 403, the browser control unit 360 is started. By operating the button 404, a state in which fixed-form printing can be performed by the printer 395 is achieved. Thus, the home screen 400 includes four buttons for the user to instruct functions executable by the image forming apparatus 10. Note that the number of buttons included in the home screen 400 is not limited to four and can be changed as appropriate.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a browser screen displayed on the operation unit of the image forming apparatus. The browser screen 500 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed by starting the browser control unit 360 by operating the button 403 on the home screen 400. The browser screen 500 includes a back button 501, a forward button 502, an address bar 503, a setting button 504, and a content area 505. The browser control unit 360 in the running state can be forcibly terminated by operating a HOME key (not shown) provided on the operation unit 312. The address bar 503 displays the URL "https: / / ***.***.***.*** / ". This URL is the address of the external site 105. The content area 505 displays the result of rendering the Web content acquired from the external site 105. The content area 505 is configured so that the rendering result and the like are not displayed from the time the browser control unit 360 is started until the URL is input to the address bar 503. Furthermore, on browser screen 500, a default URL can be registered using an item included in setting button 504, and the result of rendering the Web content of that URL may be displayed in content area 505 simultaneously with startup of browser control unit 360.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed between the browser control unit of the image forming apparatus, the browser processing unit of the virtual machine, and an external site. The process from step S601 to step S607 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6 is a process from when the user requests access to the URL of the external site 105 until the rendering result is displayed on the operation unit 312 of the image forming apparatus 101. As shown in FIG. 6, in step S601, the browser control unit 360 of the image forming apparatus 101 requests the browser processing unit 250 of the virtual machine 107 (image forming system 100) to access the URL indicating the external site 105. The method of requesting access is not particularly limited, and examples of the method include a method in which the user directly inputs the URL of the access destination on the operation unit 312, and a method in which the access destination is selected from a bookmark list held by the browser. As another method, a method in which a button indicating the access destination is displayed on the home screen 400 shown in FIG. 4 in addition to the button 403, and the access destination is selected by operating the button, can be mentioned. The access request in step S 601 is distributed from the overall control unit 251 , which is a sub-module of the browser processing unit 250 , to the browser engine 252 .

[0030] In step S602, the browser engine 252 of the browser processing unit 250 sends an HTTP request to the external site 105 whose URL was requested to be accessed in step S601.

[0031] In step S603, the external site 105 accepts the http request from the browser engine 252. Then, the external site 105 transmits the web content to the browser engine 252 in the form of an http response (res data).

[0032] In step S604, the browser engine 252 accepts the Web content from the external site 105. Then, the browser engine 252 requests rendering of the Web content from the drawing control unit 253. The drawing control unit 253 performs a rendering process to render the Web content.

[0033] In step S605, after the rendering process is completed, the drawing control unit 253 notifies the browser control unit 360 of the access result (image URL) via the overall control unit 251.

[0034] In step S606, browser control unit 360 receives a notification of the access result from drawing control unit 253 (overall control unit 251). Browser control unit 360 then requests browser processing unit 250 to obtain a rendering result (image URL).

[0035] In step S607, browser processing unit 250 distributes the request for obtaining the rendering result from overall control unit 251 to drawing control unit 253. Then, browser processing unit 250 transmits the rendering result (image) to browser control unit 360. As a result, browser control unit 360 accepts the rendering result from browser processing unit 250, and displays the rendering result on operation unit 312 by image data acquisition unit 361 and browser display unit 363. In this manner, the Web content of external site 105, the access destination requested in step S601, is displayed on operation unit 312.

[0036] The processes from step S608 to step S610 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6 are processes when file selection button 701 of Web content 700 shown in FIG. 7 is operated. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of Web content displayed on the operation unit of an image forming apparatus. Web content 700 shown in FIG. 7 is the result of rendering processing in step S604, and browser control unit 360 accepts the result in step S607. Web content 700 includes file selection button 701, send button 702, and text box 703. By operating file selection button 701, it is possible to cause the browser to select a file. By operating send button 702, it is possible to send the selected file to external site 105. The file name is displayed in text box 703.

[0037] In step S608, browser control unit 360 notifies browser processing unit 250 of the pressed coordinates caused by clicking on Web content 700. After browser processing unit 250 receives this coordinate information, it is distributed to browser engine 252 from overall control unit 251, which is a submodule of browser processing unit 250. Browser engine 252 identifies, based on the coordinate information, that the pressed position is file selection button 701. Furthermore, by operating file selection button 701, transmission of image data (send button 702) becomes selectable on image forming apparatus 10 thereafter.

[0038] In step S609, the overall control unit 251 secures on the storage 109 the data storage area 108 (see FIG. 1) in which the image data scanned by the image forming apparatus 10 is stored (area securing step). Thus, in this embodiment, the overall control unit 251 also functions as an area securing unit that secures the data storage area 108. The storage 109 is configured to be able to read and write general-purpose data via the Internet 111 by accessing a specific URL using the HTTP GET and POST methods. This makes it possible to omit providing a section in the browser processing unit 250 that executes a process for receiving and storing the image data scanned by the image forming apparatus 10. A section that executes a process for receiving and storing the image data may be provided.

[0039] Furthermore, in the case of a normal browser, the browser engine 252 causes the OS or the like to display a file selection screen, but in this embodiment, the browser engine 252 notifies the browser control unit 360 of element information via the overall control unit 251. Here, the "element information" refers to information including information indicating the type of the element pressed on the Web content 700. In step S610, the overall control unit 251 notifies the browser control unit 360 of element information including "file selection" as the type of the element pressed on the Web content 700. Furthermore, the overall control unit 251 notifies the location information of the data storage area 108, that is, the URL indicating the data storage area 108, as additional information to be added to the element information (server-side notification step). Thus, in this embodiment, the overall control unit 251 also functions as a location information notification means (server-side notification means) that notifies the location information (URL) of the data storage area 108.

[0040] In step S611, if the element information includes "file selection", the browser display unit 363 of the submodule of the browser control unit 360 displays the inquiry screen 800 shown in FIG. 8A on the operation unit 312. The inquiry screen 800 is a screen for inquiring of the user as to whether scanning is possible. The inquiry screen 800 includes an OK button 801, a Cancel button 802, and a message 803. In this embodiment, the message 803 displays "Do you want to scan and send the document instead of selecting a file?". By operating the OK button 801, it is possible to execute the operation as displayed in the message 803. In contrast, by operating the Cancel button 802, it is possible to cancel the execution as displayed in the message 803. Note that the display of the inquiry screen 800 may be omitted. In this case, scanning is executed without inquiring of the user as to whether scanning is possible.

[0041] Also, in step S611, instead of the inquiry screen 800 shown in FIG. 8A, an inquiry screen 805 shown in FIG. 8B may be displayed on the operation unit 312. The inquiry screen 805 includes a file selection button 806, a scan button 807, an OK button 808, and a Cancel button 809. By operating the file selection button 806, it is possible to select execution of file selection. By operating the scan button 807, it is possible to select execution of scan. By operating the file selection button 806 and the OK button 808, it is possible to determine execution of file selection. By operating the scan button 807 and the OK button 808, it is possible to determine execution of scan. By operating the Cancel button 809, it is possible to cancel the selection of the file selection button 806 or the scan button 807.

[0042] When the OK button 801 is selected on the inquiry screen 800, step S612 or steps S613 and S614 are executed. As a result, image data is acquired. In step S612, scanning of the document is executed in the ADF. In steps S613 and S614, scanning of the document is executed in the platen. In this embodiment, when the document is placed on the ADF, scanning is switched to be executed in the ADF, and when the document is placed on the platen, scanning is switched to be executed in the platen. In addition, scanning in the ADF or scanning in the platen may be selected on the operation unit 312.

[0043] In step S615, when the scan is completed, the browser control unit 360 transmits all image data acquired by the scan together with its name to the URL notified in step S610, i.e., the destination of the image data (apparatus side transmission step). As a result, all image data is stored in the data storage area 108. In this way, in this embodiment, the browser control unit 360 also functions as an apparatus side transmission means for transmitting the image data to the data storage area 108. In addition, when the transmission of the image data is completed, the browser control unit 360 determines the name of the image data based on the current time, i.e., the image data transmission completion time. For example, if the current time (image data transmission completion time) is 18:35 on May 10, 2023, and the image data is PDF data, the browser control unit 360 determines the name of the image data to be "scan202305101835.PDF". This makes it possible to distinguish the image data from other image data. In this way, in this embodiment, the browser control unit 360 also functions as a determination means for determining the name of the image data based on the current time. The name of the image data may be determined arbitrarily by the user or may be a preset name, for example.

[0044] In step S616, browser control unit 360 notifies browser processing unit 250 of the name of the image data determined in step S615 together with transmission completion information indicating that transmission of the image data has been completed in step S615. This notification information, i.e., the transmission completion information and the name of the image data, are linked to the image data stored in data storage area 108. In this manner, in this embodiment, browser control unit 360 also functions as a notification means (apparatus-side notification means) that notifies of the transmission completion information and the name of the image data.

[0045] As described above, in step S608, Web content 700 is displayed. This display state is maintained in step S617. In step S617, when send button 702 of Web content 700 is pressed (clicked), browser control unit 360 notifies browser processing unit 250 of the coordinates of send button 702. After browser processing unit 250 receives this coordinate information, it is distributed to browser engine 252 from overall control unit 251, which is a submodule of browser processing unit 250. Browser engine 252 specifies that the pressed position is send button 702 based on the coordinate information. Also, in step S617, browser control unit 360 executes processing of a so-called submit input tag. This processing creates content for sending file data in step S619. Note that the operation of pressing send button 702 (step S617) may be omitted. In this case, it is preferable that a processing equivalent to submit can be executed if a file is specified by file selection button 701.

[0046] In step S618, the browser engine 252 of the browser processing unit 250 reads from the data storage area 108 the image data that was stored in the data storage area 108 in step S615.

[0047] In step S619, the browser processing unit 250 transmits the image data read in step S618 to the external site 105 as file data together with the name of the image data linked in step S616 (server-side transmission step). Thus, in this embodiment, the browser processing unit 250 also functions as a server-side transmission means for transmitting the image data and the name of the image data to the external site 105. Note that in step S619, the image data read in step S618, i.e., the image data for which reading has been completed, is transmitted to the external site 105, but this is not limiting, and for example, the image data may be transmitted to the external site 105 while being read.

[0048] In step S620, when the transmission of the image data in step S619 is completed, the overall control unit 251 of the browser processing unit 250 releases the data storage area 108. This makes it possible to prevent the image data in the data storage area 108 from being erroneously transmitted to another external site, etc., thereby ensuring security. Thus, in this embodiment, the overall control unit 251 of the browser processing unit 250 also functions as an area release unit that releases the data storage area 108.

[0049] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a file selection process executed by the browser processing unit. With reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 10, detailed processing in the browser processing unit 250 for the processes from step S609 to step S620 in the sequence diagram shown in Fig. 6 will be described. A program based on the flowchart shown in Fig. 10 is executed by the CPU 201 of the virtual machine 107 when it is specified that the file selection button 701 has been pressed based on the coordinate information notified in step S608. As shown in Fig. 10, in step S1001, the browser processing unit 250 secures the data storage area 108 for storing image data transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10 on the storage 109.

[0050] In step S1002, the browser processing unit 250 notifies the image forming apparatus 10 of an event that a file has been selected. As described above, the event "file selection" is included in the element information (see step S610). In addition, the URL indicating the data storage area 108 secured in S1001 is notified as additional information of the element information.

[0051] In step S1003, the browser processing unit 250 judges whether the file selection has been cancelled. This judgment is made based on whether the Cancel button 802 on the inquiry screen 800 has been selected. If the Cancel button 802 has been selected, it is judged that the file selection has been cancelled, and if the Cancel button 802 has not been selected, it is judged that the file selection continues and has not been cancelled. It should be noted that even if the browser control unit 360 is forcibly terminated, it is judged that the file selection has been cancelled. Then, if it is judged that the file selection has been cancelled as a result of the judgment in step S1003, the process proceeds to step S1010. On the other hand, if it is judged that the file selection has not been cancelled as a result of the judgment in step S1003, the process proceeds to step S1004.

[0052] In step S1004, browser processing unit 250 determines whether or not a notification that all image data has been sent has been received from image forming apparatus 10. If it is determined in step S1004 that a completion notification has been received, processing proceeds to step S1005. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1004 that a completion notification has not been received, processing returns to step S1003, and subsequent steps are executed in sequence. In step S1004, browser engine 252, which is a submodule of browser processing unit 250, displays the notified file name in text box 703 (see FIG. 7) of Web content 700.

[0053] In step S1005, browser processing unit 250 determines whether or not Web content 700 includes send button 702. Note that a case in which send button 702 is not included may be, for example, a case in which content is configured to automatically execute a process equivalent to "submit" when a file is specified by file selection button 701, as described above. If it is determined in step S1005 that send button 702 is included, the process proceeds to step S1006. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1005 that send button 702 is not included, the process proceeds to step S1008.

[0054] In step S1006, similarly to step S1003, browser processing unit 250 determines whether file selection has been canceled. Examples of cases where file selection is canceled include when browser control unit 360 is simply forcibly terminated, and when communication (session) between image forming apparatus 10 (browser control unit 360) and virtual machine 107 (browser processing unit 250) is disconnected. Then, if it is determined in step S1006 that file selection has been canceled, the process proceeds to step S1010. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1006 that file selection has not been canceled, the process proceeds to step S1008.

[0055] In step S1007, browser processing unit 250 determines whether or not send button 702 of Web content 700 has been pressed. This determination is made based on whether or not browser control unit 360 has notified browser processing unit 250 of the pressed coordinates of send button 702. If it is determined in step S1007 that send button 702 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1008. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1007 that send button 702 has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1006, and the subsequent steps are executed in sequence.

[0056] In step S1008, the browser processing unit 250 reads the image data stored in the data storage area from the data storage area .

[0057] In step S1009, the browser processing unit 250 transmits the image data read in step S1008 to the external site 105 as file data.

[0058] In step S1001, browser processing unit 250 releases data storage area 108 when the transmission of file data is completed or when an instruction to stop transmitting file data is received.

[0059] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a scan process executed by the browser control unit. With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, detailed processing in the browser control unit 360 for the processing from step S611 to step S616 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6 will be described. A program based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is called when the element information notified in step S610 includes a file selection. This program is executed by the CPU 301 of the controller unit 300. As shown in FIG. 11, in step S1101, the browser control unit 360 causes the operation unit 312 to display a query screen 800 (see FIG. 8A). Note that instead of the query screen 800, a query screen 805 (see FIG. 8B) may be used.

[0060] In step S1102, browser control unit 360 determines whether or not OK button 801 on inquiry screen 800 has been pressed. If it is determined in step S1102 that OK button 801 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1103. On the other hand, if it is determined that OK button 801 has not been pressed, that is, that Cancel button 802 has been pressed, the process ends. Note that if it is determined that OK button 801 has not been pressed, browser control unit 360 notifies browser processing unit 250 that file selection has been canceled.

[0061] In step S1103, browser control unit 360 determines whether or not a document is placed on the ADF of image forming apparatus 10. If it is determined in step S1103 that a document is placed on the ADF, the process proceeds to step S1104. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1103 that a document is not placed on the ADF, the process proceeds to step S1107.

[0062] Steps S1104 to S1106 correspond to detailed processing in step S612 in the sequence diagram shown in Fig. 6. In step S1104, browser control unit 360 scans one page of the document placed on the ADF.

[0063] In step S1105, the browser control unit 360 judges whether or not a request to stop scanning by the ADF has been made. This judgment is made based on whether or not a STOP key (not shown) arranged on the operation unit 312 has been pressed. If the STOP key has been pressed, it is judged that a request to stop scanning has been made, and if the STOP key has not been pressed, it is judged that a request to stop scanning has not been made. Alternatively, it is also possible to check the job status from a status confirmation button on the screen and stop any job. Then, if it is judged that a request to stop scanning has been made as a result of the judgment in step S1105, the process ends. Note that if it is judged that a request to stop scanning has been made, the browser control unit 360 notifies the browser processing unit 250 of the stop of file selection. On the other hand, if it is judged that a request to stop scanning has not been made as a result of the judgment in step S1105, the process proceeds to step S1106.

[0064] In step S1106, browser control unit 360 determines whether the next page remains on the document on the ADF. If it is determined in step S1106 that the next page remains, the process returns to step S1104, and the subsequent steps are executed in sequence. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1106 that the next page does not remain, scanning of all pages of the document is completed, and the process proceeds to step S1111.

[0065] Steps S1107 to S1110 are detailed processes of steps S613 and S614 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6. In step S1107, the browser control unit 360 scans one page of the document placed on the platen. At this time, it is preferable to display a scan in progress screen 900 shown in FIG. 9 on the operation unit 312. The scan in progress screen 900 includes a stop button 901, a scan button 902, a start transmission button 903, and a message 904. By operating the stop button 901, it is possible to stop the execution of the scan. By operating the scan button 902, it is possible to execute the scan of the next document placed on the platen. By operating the start transmission button 903, it is possible to start the transmission of image data obtained by the scan. The message 904 displays, for example, that the scan by the platen is being executed.

[0066] In step S1108, browser control unit 360 determines whether or not Stop button 901 on scanning screen 900 has been pressed. If it is determined in step S1108 that Stop button 901 has been pressed, the process ends. If it is determined that a request to stop scanning has been made, browser control unit 360 notifies browser processing unit 250 of the cancellation of file selection, as in step S1105. On the other hand, if it is determined that Stop button 901 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1109.

[0067] In step S1109, browser control unit 360 determines whether or not start sending button 903 has been pressed on scanning screen 900. If it is determined in step S1109 that start sending button 903 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1111. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1109 that start sending button 903 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1110.

[0068] In step S1110, browser control unit 360 determines whether or not scan button 902 on scanning screen 900 has been pressed. If it is determined in step S1110 that scan button 902 has been pressed, the process returns to step S1107, and the subsequent steps are executed in sequence. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1110 that scan button 902 has not been pressed, the process returns to step S1108, and the subsequent steps are executed in sequence.

[0069] In step S1111, browser control unit 360 transmits the image data obtained in steps S1104 to S1106 or steps S1107 to S1110 to the URL of data storage area 108. For this transmission, the HTTP POST method is used.

[0070] In step S1112, when the transmission of the image data in step S1111 is completed, browser control unit 360 determines the name of the image data to be "scan202305101835.PDF" as described above.

[0071] In step S1113, browser control unit 360 notifies browser processing unit 250 of the name of the image data determined in step S1112.

[0072] As described above, the cloud browser system 1000 is configured such that the browser engine (browser processing unit 250) is offloaded from the image forming apparatus 10 to the image forming system 100. This allows the image forming apparatus 10 to quickly execute the scan process by simply operating the operation unit 312 to transmit image data acquired by the scan process to the external site 105. The image data acquired by this scan process can then be quickly transmitted to the external site 105 via the image forming system 100.

[0073] <Second embodiment> Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12 and Fig. 13, focusing on the differences from the above-mentioned embodiment, and the description of the similar matters will be omitted. In the first embodiment, scanning is triggered by an operation on the file selection button 701 of the Web content 700. Then, the image data obtained by this scanning is uploaded as file data. In this case, it is preferable that a communication connection (session) is sufficiently maintained between the image forming apparatus 10 (browser control unit 360) which is the client and the virtual machine 107 (browser processing unit 250) which is the server.

[0074] In this embodiment, a communication method using a session ID is used to maintain communication between the image forming apparatus 10 and the virtual machine 107. Specifically, the virtual machine 107 issues a session ID when communication starts. The session is managed by including the session ID issued in the HTTP header in the HTTP communication after the issuance. When communication ends, the virtual machine 107 is requested to release the session ID. In order to maintain communication between the image forming apparatus 10 and the virtual machine 107, keep-alive packets are sent and received at predetermined intervals of several seconds until communication ends.

[0075] In this embodiment, in addition to maintaining the session, the connection of the application layer is also managed and maintained. Specifically, if no operation is performed on the operation unit 312 of the image forming apparatus 10 for a predetermined few minutes (hereinafter referred to as "time Ta") even during a session, the image forming apparatus 10 requests the virtual machine 107 to release the session ID. Then, the application layer is also disconnected and terminated. On the other hand, if no processing request is made from the image forming apparatus 10 during time Ta, the virtual machine 107 voluntarily invalidates the session ID. Then, the session is terminated and the application layer is disconnected. Here, the "processing request" refers to an access request in step S601, a click on the file selection position in step S608, a click on the transmission position in step S617, and the like in the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6. Also, the reason for terminating the session when no processing request is made during time Ta is to prevent the resources of the image forming system 100 from being occupied by the image forming apparatus 10 that has started the session once the session has started. The "application layer" is a layer above the session layer, and is a layer for operating a browser system made up of browser processing unit 250 and browser control unit 360. The "session layer" is a layer that handles the actual communication between browser processing unit 250 and browser control unit 360 from start to finish.

[0076] Assume that the following problem occurs. For example, assume that the scan process is not completed within the time Ta. If the time Ta is one minute and it is necessary to scan 10 pages of a book as a manuscript on the platen while turning the pages, it takes 6 seconds or less per page to scan and perform the operations related thereto. This is very inconvenient for the user. The cloud browser system 1000 of this embodiment is configured to be able to reduce such a situation. The configuration and operation will be described below.

[0077] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process of maintaining the application layer connection during a job executed by the browser control unit. When the scan process is called, a program based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 is started as a thread separate from the scan process. This program is executed by the CPU 301 of the controller unit 300. As shown in FIG. 12, in step S1201, the browser control unit 360 reads out the time Ta from the storage 304 as a disconnection time for disconnecting the application layer. The time Ta (interval) can be set (adjusted) to any time within a range of 1 minute to 5 minutes on a setting screen (not shown), and is stored in the storage 304 after this setting. Note that the range in which the time Ta is set is not limited to 1 minute to 5 minutes. The time Ta may be a fixed value. The browser control unit 360 can notify the browser processing unit 250 of the time Ta at the start of a session.

[0078] In step S1202, browser control unit 360 determines whether or not a command transmitting a processing request has been issued during time Ta'. Here, "time Ta'" refers to a time slightly shorter than time Ta. If it is determined in step S1202 that a command has been issued, processing proceeds to step S1204. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1202 that a command has not been issued, processing proceeds to step S1203.

[0079] In step S 1203 , browser control unit 360 issues an application layer connection maintain command to browser processing unit 250 .

[0080] In step S1204, browser control unit 360 determines whether the job, i.e., the scan process in this case, has ended. If it is determined in step S1204 that the job has ended, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1204 that the job has not ended, the process returns to step S1202, and the subsequent steps are executed in sequence.

[0081] 13 is a flowchart showing the process of application layer connection confirmation during a job executed by the browser processing unit. A program based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is started as one of the threads when a session is started. This program is also executed by CPU 201 of virtual machine 107. As shown in FIG. 13, in step S1301, browser processing unit 250 obtains application layer time Ta from browser control unit 360.

[0082] In step S1302, browser processing unit 250 determines whether the session layer is maintained normally. For example, if keep-alive packets are discontinued or if browser control unit 360 requests the release of the session ID, it is determined that the session layer is not maintained normally. If it is determined that the session layer is maintained normally as a result of the determination in step S1302, the process proceeds to step S1303. On the other hand, if it is determined that the session layer is not maintained normally as a result of the determination in step S1302, the process proceeds to step S1304.

[0083] In step S1303, the browser processing unit 250 judges whether the application layer is normally maintained. For example, if the time Ta acquired in step S1301 has not elapsed since the previous reception of the processing request or the application layer connection maintain command, it is judged that the application layer is normally maintained. Also, if the time Ta has elapsed since the previous reception of the processing request or the connection maintain command, it is judged that the application layer is not normally maintained. Then, if it is judged that the application layer is normally maintained as a result of the judgment in step S1303, the process returns to step S1302, and the subsequent steps are executed in sequence. On the other hand, if it is judged that the application layer is not normally maintained as a result of the judgment in step S1303, the process proceeds to step S1304.

[0084] In step S1304, the browser processing unit 250 invalidates the session ID, ends the session, and disconnects the application layer.

[0085] As described above, in this embodiment, the cloud browser system 1000 can maintain the communication connection between the image forming apparatus 10 and the virtual machine 107 without excess or deficiency (at least during execution of the scan process) (connection maintenance process). The browser control unit 360 and the browser processing unit 250 function as a connection maintenance means for maintaining this connection. This can reduce the above-mentioned state that is very inconvenient for the user. In addition, the communication connection is not limited to being maintained based on the time Ta, and may be maintained based on, for example, the current time. When the communication connection is maintained based on the current time, for example, the operation of setting the time Ta can be omitted, which contributes to reducing the state that is very inconvenient for the user.

[0086] <Other embodiments> In the first embodiment, image data obtained by scanning is transmitted after scanning is completed. This determines the size of the image data, so that even if the storage 109 does not support a divided transmission protocol such as chunked mode, the image data can be transmitted by the HTTP POST method. On the other hand, if the storage 109 supports a divided transmission protocol such as chunked mode, for example, one page of a document can be scanned in step S1104, while the image data can be transmitted sequentially in step S1101. This makes it possible to transmit as many pages of image data as possible, even if the capacity of the storage 304 that stores the image data is relatively small.

[0087] In the second embodiment, a communication method using a session ID is used to maintain a session from the start to the end of communication between the image forming apparatus 10 and the virtual machine 107. In addition to this method, for example, sticky session management that links a request from a specific image forming apparatus 10 to a specific virtual machine 107 can also be used.

[0088] In the second embodiment, in order to maintain the connection of the application layer during a scan job, a connection maintenance command is issued at intervals of time Ta' that is slightly shorter than the time Ta. In contrast, for example, the time Ta may be changed at the start of a job so that the time Ta during job execution is sufficient to meet the job execution time. In addition, if a connection maintenance command is issued at intervals of time Ta', for example, when no operation is performed on the scanning screen 900, the resources of the virtual machine 107 may continue to be occupied. To prevent this, it is preferable that the browser control unit 360 requests the virtual machine 107 to release the session ID if no operation is performed for the time Ta on the scanning screen 900. Furthermore, when a time sufficiently longer than the time Ta has passed, it is preferable that the browser processing unit 250 voluntarily invalidates the session ID, terminates the session, and disconnects the application layer.

[0089] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-mentioned embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and having one or more processors of a computer in the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0090] The disclosure of each embodiment includes the following configurations, methods, and programs. (Configuration 1) An information processing system including an image forming device capable of forming image data by a scan process, and a server communicably connected to the image forming device and an external site, the image data being transmitted from the image forming device to the external site via the server, The server, an area allocating means for allocating a storage area in which the image data is stored when transmission of the image data is selected in the image forming apparatus; a server side notifying means for notifying the image forming apparatus of position information of the storage area secured by the area securing means; a server-side transmitting means for transmitting the image data to the external site when the image data is stored in the storage area, The image forming apparatus includes: a scanning means for executing the scan process and acquiring the image data when the location information is notified from the server side notifying means; an apparatus-side transmitting means for transmitting the image data acquired by the scanning means to a destination based on the position information, and storing the image data in the storage area. (Configuration 2) In the information processing system according to configuration 1, the image forming apparatus includes a connection maintaining unit that maintains a connection to the server at least during execution of the scan process. (Configuration 3) The information processing system according to configuration 2, wherein the connection maintaining means maintains the connection between the image forming apparatus and the server at intervals. (Configuration 4) The information processing system according to configuration 3, wherein the connection maintaining means is configured to be able to adjust the interval. (Configuration 5) The information processing system according to configuration 2, wherein the connection maintaining unit maintains the connection between the server and the image forming apparatus based on a time. (Configuration 6) The information processing system described in any one of configurations 1 to 5, wherein the image forming device is provided with a device-side notification means for notifying the server of completion of transmission of the image data when the transmission of the image data is completed by the device-side transmission means. (Configuration 7) The information processing system according to configuration 6, wherein the device side notifying means notifies the server of the name of the image data together with the transmission completion information. (Configuration 8) The information processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 7, wherein the device-side transmitting means transmits a name of the image data together with the image data. (Configuration 9) The information processing system according to configuration 8, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a determination unit that determines a name of the image data based on a time. (Configuration 10) The information processing system according to configuration 8 or 9, wherein the server-side transmitting means transmits the name of the image data together with the image data. (Configuration 11) The information processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 10, wherein the server-side notifying means notifies a URL as the location information. (Configuration 12) An information processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 11, characterized in that the server is provided with an area clearing means for clearing the storage area secured by the area securing means when transmission of the image data by the server-side transmission means is completed. (Method 1) A method for controlling an information processing system including an image forming device capable of forming image data by a scan process, and a server communicably connected to the image forming device and an external site, the information processing system being capable of transmitting the image data from the image forming device to the external site via the server, the method comprising: The steps performed on the server include: an area allocating step of allocating a storage area in which the image data is stored when transmission of the image data is selected in the image forming apparatus; a server side notifying step of notifying the image forming apparatus of position information of the storage area secured in the area securing step; a server-side transmission step of transmitting the image data to the external site when the image data is stored in the storage area; The steps performed by the image forming apparatus include: a scanning step of executing the scan process and acquiring the image data when the location information is notified from the server side notifying step; A control method for an information processing system, comprising: an apparatus-side transmission step of transmitting the image data acquired in the scanning step to a destination based on the location information and storing the image data in the storage area. (Method 2) A method for controlling an information processing system according to Method 1, characterized in that the steps executed by the image forming device include a connection maintenance step of maintaining a connection to the server at least while the scan process is being executed. (Method 3) The method for controlling an information processing system according to Method 2, wherein in the connection maintaining step, the connection between the image forming apparatus and the server is maintained at intervals. (Method 4) The method for controlling an information processing system according to Method 3, wherein in the connection maintaining step, the interval is adjusted to be adjustable. (Method 5) The method for controlling an information processing system according to Method 2, wherein in the connection maintaining step, the connection between the server and the image forming apparatus is maintained based on time. (Method 6) A control method for an information processing system described in any one of Methods 1 to 5, characterized in that the processes executed by the image forming device include an apparatus-side notification process of notifying the server of completion of transmission information when the transmission of the image data in the apparatus-side transmission process is completed. (Method 7) The method for controlling an information processing system according to Method 6, wherein the device side notifying step notifies the server of the name of the image data together with the transmission completion information. (Program 1) A program for causing a computer to execute each of the means of the information processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 10 Image forming device 100 Image forming system 105 External Sites 107 Virtual Machines 108 Data Storage Area 250 Browser processing section 252 Browser Engine 360 Browser control section 370 Scanner 1000 Cloud Browser System (Information Processing System)

Claims

1. An information processing system including an image forming apparatus capable of forming image data by a scan process, and a server communicably connected to the image forming apparatus and an external site, the information processing system being capable of transmitting the image data from the image forming apparatus to the external site via the server, The server, an area allocating means for allocating a storage area in which the image data is stored when transmission of the image data is selected in the image forming apparatus; a server side notifying means for notifying the image forming apparatus of position information of the storage area secured by the area securing means; a server-side transmitting means for transmitting the image data to the external site when the image data is stored in the storage area, The image forming apparatus includes: a scanning means for executing the scan process and acquiring the image data when the location information is notified from the server side notifying means; an apparatus-side transmitting means for transmitting the image data acquired by the scanning means to a destination based on the position information, and storing the image data in the storage area.

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises a connection maintaining unit that maintains a connection with the server at least during execution of the scan process.

3. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the connection maintaining means maintains the connection between the image forming apparatus and the server at intervals.

4. 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the connection maintaining means is configured to be able to adjust the interval.

5. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the connection maintaining unit maintains the connection between the server and the image forming apparatus based on time.

6. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus includes an apparatus-side notifying means for notifying the server of completion of transmission of the image data when the apparatus-side transmitting means has completed transmission of the image data.

7. 7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein said device side notifying means notifies said server of the name of said image data together with said transmission completion information.

8. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said device side transmitting means transmits a name of said image data together with said image data.

9. 9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises a determination unit that determines a name of the image data based on a time.

10. 9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein said server side transmitting means transmits the name of the image data together with the image data.

11. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the server side notifying means notifies a URL as the location information.

12. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the server further comprises an area clearing means for clearing the storage area secured by the area securing means when the server-side transmission means has completed transmission of the image data.

13. A method for controlling an information processing system including an image forming device capable of forming image data by a scan process, and a server communicably connected to the image forming device and an external site, the information processing system being capable of transmitting the image data from the image forming device to the external site via the server, the method comprising: The steps performed on the server include: an area allocating step of allocating a storage area in which the image data is stored when transmission of the image data is selected in the image forming apparatus; a server side notifying step of notifying the image forming apparatus of position information of the storage area secured in the area securing step; a server-side transmission step of transmitting the image data to the external site when the image data is stored in the storage area; The steps performed by the image forming apparatus include: a scanning step of executing the scan process and acquiring the image data when the location information is notified from the server side notifying step; A control method for an information processing system, comprising: an apparatus-side transmission step of transmitting the image data acquired in the scanning step to a destination based on the location information and storing the image data in the storage area.

14. 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the steps executed by the image forming apparatus include a connection maintaining step of maintaining a connection to the server during at least the execution of the scan process.

15. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the connection maintaining step, the connection between the image forming apparatus and the server is maintained at intervals.

16. 16. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 15, wherein in said connection maintaining step, said interval is adjustable.

17. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the connection maintaining step, the connection between the server and the image forming apparatus is maintained based on a time.

18. The control method for an information processing system according to claim 13, characterized in that the processes executed by the image forming device include a device-side notification process of notifying the server of completion of transmission information when the transmission of the image data in the device-side transmission process is completed.

19. 20. The method according to claim 18, wherein said device side notifying step notifies said server of the name of said image data together with said transmission completion information.

20. 2. A program for causing a computer to execute each of the means of the information processing system according to claim 1.

Images