Image processing apparatus, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a setting screen related to functions such as OCR and encryption PDF in a scan application, on the basis of the functional state of an image processing apparatus.SOLUTION: Provided is an MFP 101 that is an image processing apparatus comprising a scanner 205, and has: a network I / F 209 that is receiving means that receives a capability request from an information processing apparatus through a network line 103; and a network I / F 209 that is transmission means that transmits, to the information processing apparatus, a reply with capability information including information on functions provided through scan processing that is executed by using the scanner 205 of the image processing apparatus. Data related to a character recognition function and an encryption function is included in the capability information on the basis of the situation of the image processing apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for an image processing apparatus that executes a scan process in response to a request from a client terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a user operates the operation panel of an image processing device equipped with a scanner, and the image processing device scans a document and generates a file containing image data, which is then sent by email or to a file server. There are functions that perform character recognition (hereinafter referred to as "OCR (Optical Character Recognition)") on the image data and incorporate the character recognition results into the file as text data, as well as functions that encrypt the file. Hereinafter, the function that encrypts a PDF file containing image data will be referred to as "encrypted PDF."

[0003] Furthermore, a scan application (hereinafter referred to as a scan app) can be installed as a software program on a smartphone, which is an example of a client terminal. In Patent Document 1, the scan app installed on the smartphone provides a setting screen according to the scanner capabilities acquired from the MFP. Then, a scan request is sent from the smartphone to the MFP according to the settings made by the user on the setting screen. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-65129 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When making a scan request from a scan application, the user may also want to use functions such as OCR, encrypted PDF, etc. In such cases, the MFP will notify the scan application of its scanner capabilities, which indicate that it supports functions such as OCR and encrypted PDF.

[0006] For functions such as OCR and encrypted PDF, there are detailed settings that must be configured to use these functions, and these settings should be specified appropriately depending on the status of the image processing device. Conventional scanner capability notifications did not notify the scanning application of the status of the image processing device related to functions such as OCR and encrypted PDF. Furthermore, it was not expected that the scanning application would provide an appropriate settings screen when it received the status of the image processing device related to functions such as OCR and encrypted PDF. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image processing device equipped with a scanner, comprising: a receiving means for receiving a capability request from an information processing device via a network; and a transmitting means for transmitting a capability information response to the information processing device, the capability information including information regarding functions provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device; wherein the image processing device includes data related to the character recognition function in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of a license for a character recognition function of image data in the image processing device, the activation status of the character recognition function, and setting values ​​related to supported languages. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism by which a setting screen for functions such as OCR and encrypted PDF in a scan application can be appropriately provided based on the functional status of an image processing device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] System configuration diagram for Example 1 [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an MFP [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a client terminal. [Figure 4] MFP software structure diagram [Figure 5] Client terminal software structure diagram [Figure 6] Scan app setting screen in Example 1 [Figure 7] Scan completion screen of the scan app in Example 1 [Figure 8] OCR setting screen for scan processing of MFP in Example 1 [Figure 9] Sequence of processing performed by the MFP and client terminal in the first embodiment [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by a client terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing communication contents of pull scan in the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing communication content for acquiring scanner status in the first embodiment. [Figure 13] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the MFP according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] A flowchart showing details of the setting process for the OCR function executed by the MFP [Figure 15] Scan completion screen of the scan app in Example 2 [Figure 16] Encryption PDF setting screen during pull scan of MFP in Example 2 [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing communication contents of pull scan in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] Flowchart of the image processing device in the second embodiment [Figure 19] Flowchart showing details of encryption PDF capability setting in FIG. 16 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Example 1 As a first embodiment, a method is described in which a scan application (scan app) is executed on an information processing device that can be a client terminal such as a smartphone, and a settings screen for scanning that is appropriate for the state of the image processing device that is the request destination of the scan app is provided.

[0012] Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a system including an image processing device in Example 1. In the system shown in Fig. 1, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 101 as an image processing device and a client terminal 102 are connected via a network line 103. The client terminal 102 is a general information processing device such as a PC or a smartphone.

[0013] Here, the scan application in this embodiment is assumed to be a software program for using the scan function of the MFP 101, which is installed in the client terminal 102. Note that the scan application may be realized as a software program that is built into or added to the operating system of the client terminal 102.

[0014] The MFP 101 is an image processing apparatus equipped with a print engine and a scanner, and has copy and print functions. The MFP 101 also has a transmission function that accepts a scan request via a network line 103 and transmits, via the network, a file containing data obtained by scanning an original in response to the request. In addition to the MFP, the image processing apparatus to which this embodiment can be applied may also be a single-function scanner device having the transmission function.

[0015] An example of the hardware configuration of the MFP 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The MFP 101 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an operation unit 204, a scanner 205, a printer 206, an image processing circuit 207, a hard disk 208, and a network I / F 209. The CPU 201 is a control circuit that controls the entire system using programs stored in the ROM 202 and memory in the RAM 203. The operation unit 204 is a circuit that executes user operations. The scanner 205 reads images on a document and outputs the read images page by page. The printer 206 prints the images on a recording medium. The image processing circuit 207 includes a large-capacity image memory, an image rotation circuit, a resolution scaling circuit, and an encoding / decoding circuit for MH, MR, MMR, JBIG, JPEG, etc., and can also perform various image processing such as shading, trimming, and masking. The hard disk 208 is a large-capacity recording medium connected via an I / F such as a SCSI or IDE. The network I / F 209 is a circuit for connecting to the network line 103. The scanner 205, printer 206, and image processing circuit 207 are connected by a high-speed video bus separate from the CPU 201 bus from the CPU 201, and are configured to be able to transmit images at high speed. The MFP 101 processes images read by the scanner 205 in the image processing circuit 207.

[0016] Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the client terminal 102 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The CPU 301 is connected to a DRAM 302 via a bus. The DRAM 302 is used by the CPU 301 as a working memory for temporarily storing program data representing arithmetic instructions and data to be processed during the CPU 301's calculations. The CPU 301 is connected to an I / O controller 303 via a bus. A network I / F 304 is connected to the I / O controller 303. A wired LAN device, a wireless LAN device, or a data communication device is connected to the network I / F 304. The CPU 301 realizes communication on the network 103 by controlling the wired LAN device, the wireless LAN device, or the data communication device via the network I / F 304. The I / O controller 303 performs input and output to and from various devices according to instructions from the CPU 301. A SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) I / F 305 is connected to the I / O controller 303, and a flash ROM 306 is connected thereto. A large-capacity storage device such as an HDD may be connected instead of a flash ROM. The CPU 301 uses the Flash ROM 306 to permanently store the program body such as a scan application, setting values, etc. A panel I / F 307 is connected to the I / O controller 303, and the CPU 301 performs input and output for the user to an operation unit 308 of the connected client terminal 102 via the panel I / F 307. An example of the operation unit 308 is a touch panel. A display device such as a display for displaying data and an input device such as a keyboard for inputting data may be connected to the panel I / F 307.

[0017] Next, a software configuration diagram of the MFP 101 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Each software module is stored in the hard disk 208 shown in Fig. 2, and is loaded into the RAM 203 by the CPU 201 for execution.

[0018] The transmitting / receiving unit 401 processes communications with terminals on the network 103, such as the client terminal 102, and transmits and receives data. The control unit 402 executes processing in accordance with requests received by the transmitting / receiving unit 401. The setting management unit 403 stores information about the main body settings of the MFP 101 in a setting DB 404 and performs control. Here, the main body settings refer to multiple setting values ​​related to multiple functions that can be provided by the MFP 101. For example, these include the installation status of licenses for each function that can be provided, the activation status of the functions, setting values ​​related to the destination and display language of the character recognition function (hereinafter referred to as the OCR function), and setting values ​​for the version and algorithm related to encryption processing for the file encryption function (encrypted PDF function).

[0019] A job management unit 405 controls various jobs such as scanning and printing in accordance with instructions from the control unit 402. Information about jobs including scan data and print data is stored in a job DB 406.

[0020] Next, a software configuration diagram of the client terminal 102 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Each software module is stored in the Flash ROM 306 shown in Fig. 3, and is loaded into the DRAM 302 by the CPU 201 for execution.

[0021] A transmission / reception unit 501 processes communication with terminals on the network 103, such as the MFP 101, and transmits and receives data. An application control unit 402 controls various applications, and communicates with external terminals using the transmission / reception unit 501 as needed, and stores data in a general-purpose DB 503.

[0022] Next, an example of a scan setting screen provided by the scan application in the client terminal 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0023] Buttons 601 to 608 are used for setting scan settings, and the current setting value is displayed on each button. The user presses the button for which they want to change the setting and changes it using a pull-down menu or by entering text. In addition, the display / hide status of multiple buttons (setting items) corresponding to multiple functions related to scan processing and the values ​​that can be specified using a pull-down menu are displayed based on scan capability information notified by the MFP 101. Buttons corresponding to functions not supported by the MFP 101 may be displayed grayed out rather than hidden.

[0024] The "Reading target setting" button 601 is a button for setting the reading target (pressure plate or feeder). The "Paper size setting" button 602 is a button for setting the paper size to be read (A4 size, A3 size, etc.). The "Color mode setting" button 603 is a button for setting the color mode (color, black and white, etc.) during scanning. The "Resolution setting" button 604 is a button for setting the resolution during scanning (300 dpi, 600 dpi, etc.). The "Feed direction setting" button 605 is a button for setting the feed direction of the original (portrait feed or landscape feed). The "File format setting" button 406 is a button for setting the file format (JPEG, PDF, etc.) of the image to be sent.

[0025] The "OCR" button 607 is a button (setting item) for setting a setting value that indicates whether the OCR function for image data is enabled or disabled. The "OCR" button 607 is operable only when the setting of the "File Format Settings" button 606 is an OCR-compatible file format (such as PDF). The "OCR Language" button 608 is a button for selectively setting the language of characters to be recognized during OCR as a setting value. The "OCR Language" button 608 is operable only when the setting value of the "OCR" button 607 is set to "enabled."

[0026] The "Start Scan" button 609 is a button for starting the scan process. The "Cancel" button 610 is a button for closing the scan application.

[0027] Next, an example of the reception completion screen of the scan application will be described with reference to Fig. 7. A reception completion area 701 displays a message indicating that reception has been completed. If a reception error occurs, an error message or error code is displayed in this area. A "Complete" button 702 is a button for closing the scan application.

[0028] Next, an example of a setting screen for making OCR settings for scan processing provided by the MFP 101 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In this embodiment, the MFP 101 displays an example of a setting screen related to settings used when performing pull scanning from a scan application installed on the client terminal 102. However, it is also possible to provide a setting screen for making common settings that can be used for various applications that can make other scan requests.

[0029] 8 can be displayed only if the administrator has installed in advance a license (OCR license) for enabling the MFP 101 to use the OCR function.

[0030] The "Enable" button 801 is a button for enabling the OCR function. The "Disable" button 802 is a button for disabling the OCR function. The "Enable" button 801 and the "Disable" button 802 are mutually exclusive, and if the "Disable" button 802 is selected, the OCR function will not be available when a pull scan request is made from the scan application, even if an OCR license has already been installed on the MFP 101.

[0031] When the "Enable" button 801 is pressed, supported language settings shown in 803 to 806 are displayed. When the "All supported languages" item 803 is selected, the MFP 101 responds with all languages ​​supported by the MFP 101 as supported language information for the OCR function in response to a scan capability request from the client terminal 102. Furthermore, when the "All supported languages" item 803 is selected, by setting a language in the "Default language" item 804, it is possible to notify the scan application of the language to be displayed as the default from among multiple supported languages ​​in response to the scan capability request. As another setting, it may be possible to set the MFP 101 to respond with only some of the supported languages.

[0032] When "Display language only" item 805 is selected, only the display language currently set in MFP 101 is returned as the supported language information for the OCR function that responds to the scan capability request. When "Destination language only" item 806 is selected, only the destination language that is set in MFP 101 is returned as the supported language information for the OCR function that responds to the scan capability request. A "Back" button 807 is a button for closing this setting screen.

[0033] The setting management unit 403 of the MFP 101 stores the setting values ​​according to the input operation received via the setting screen shown in FIG. 8 in the setting DB 404 as the main body settings of the MFP 101.

[0034] Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a sequence of processes performed by the MFP 101 and the client terminal 102 in this embodiment will be described.

[0035] The client terminal 102 requests the MFP 101 for scan capabilities, and the MFP 101 responds to the request with scan capability information supported by the MFP 101 (S901). At this time, the OCR-related scan capabilities that the MFP 101 responds with as part of the scan capability information include information based on the settings in FIG. 8, as described above.

[0036] Based on the contents of the response, the scan application of the client terminal 102 displays a scan setting screen as shown in FIG. 6 (S902).

[0037] The scan application of the client terminal 102 accepts an input operation of setting values ​​from the user via the scan setting screen (S903). The scan application of the client terminal 102 detects that the "Start Scan" button 609 has been pressed by the user (S904). In response to this detection, the client terminal 102 transmits a pull scan request to the MFP 101. The MFP 101 transmits a response to the client terminal 102 indicating that it has accepted the request (S905).

[0038] In response to the pull scan request in S905, the MFP 101 uses the scanner to scan the document placed on the platen (S906). In this scanning process, image data and a file containing the image data are generated in accordance with the multiple setting values ​​received in S903.

[0039] The client terminal 102 sends a request to the MFP 101 to obtain the status of the scan process, and the MFP 101 responds to the request by sending a response containing the status of the scan process (S907). The status of the scan process includes at least one of a value indicating progress, a value indicating completion, and a value indicating failure. The client terminal 102 switches processing depending on whether the scan process is complete. This sequence further describes the case where the scan process has been completed successfully.

[0040] If the scan process is complete, the client terminal 102 requests the image data generated as a result of the scan process from the MFP 101. Then, in response to the request, the MFP 101 transmits a file including the image data generated as a result of the scan process to the client terminal 102 (S908). Then, the scan application of the client terminal 102 displays a reception completion screen as shown in FIG. 7 (S909).

[0041] Next, a process that is realized by executing the scan application on the client terminal 102 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 10. In this embodiment, it is assumed that HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is used for each communication, and that the IP address of the MFP 101 is "192.168.1.100".

[0042] The client terminal 102 transmits a scan capability request to the MFP 101 (S1001). The request is made by using the GET method to the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) ​​"httpS192.168.1.100 / ScannerCapabilities."

[0043] Subsequently, the client terminal 102 receives a scan capability response from the MFP 101 (S1002).

[0044] Figure 11(a) shows an example of a portion of the response to a successful HTTPS GET request.

[0045] Details of the scanning capabilities are described under the ScannerCapabilities element in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) in the message body. The InputSources element is an element that lists the specifiable read sources and has one or more InputSource elements as child elements. The InputSource element indicates the specifiable read source. "Platen" indicates the pressure platen, and "Feeder" indicates the feeder. The ScanSizes element is an element that lists the specifiable scan sizes and has one or more ScanSize elements as child elements. The ScanSize element indicates the specifiable scan size, such as "A4" or "B5". The DocumentFormats element is an element that lists the specifiable file formats and has one or more DocumentFormat elements as child elements. The DocumentFormat element indicates the specifiable file formats as MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) types, with "application / pdf" indicating PDF format and "image / jpeg" indicating JPEG format.

[0046] The OCRSupport element indicates whether the OCR function can be specified. "true" indicates that it can be specified, and "false" indicates that it cannot be specified. OCR cannot be specified if the OCR element is not included in the scan capability response.

[0047] The OCRLanguage element is an element that lists the languages ​​that can be specified for the OCR function, and has one or more Language elements as child elements. The Language element indicates the languages ​​that can be specified for the OCR function with a specific language code. If necessary, you can also add "default="true"" to the attribute of a specific Language element to indicate the initial value of the OCR language on the settings screen of the scan application.

[0048] The client terminal 102 displays a scan setting screen as shown in Fig. 6 (S1003). The setting items and setting values ​​of the scan setting screen displayed at this time are based on the scan capability response received from the MFP 101 in S1002. For example, if the OCRSupport element is "false" in the scan capability response received from the MFP 101, 607 and 608 will not be displayed.

[0049] The client terminal 102 receives an operation from the user (S1004). The client terminal 102 determines whether the received operation is a read setting (S1005). If any of the read setting buttons 601 to 608 is pressed, it determines that the operation is a read setting. If the operation is a read setting, the client terminal 102 updates the corresponding read setting (S1006). Then, the process proceeds to S1004.

[0050] If the setting is not a read setting, the client terminal 102 determines whether the received operation is to start scanning (S1007). If the "Start scanning" button 609 is pressed, it is determined that the operation is to start scanning. If the operation is not to start scanning, the process ends.

[0051] If it is the start of scanning, the client terminal 102 transmits a pull scan request to the MFP 101 (S1008).

[0052] Figure 11(b) shows an example of part of a pull scan request. The request is made using the POST method to the URI "httpS192.168.1.100 / ScanJob". The settings are written under the ScanJob element in XML format in the message body. The InputSource element indicates the read target, with "Feeder" indicating that the read target is a feeder. The ScanSize element indicates the paper size to be read, with "A4" indicating that the paper size to be read is A4. The DocumentFormat element indicates the file format, with "application / pdf" indicating that the file format is PDF. The OCR element indicates whether the OCR function is enabled, with "true" indicating that it is enabled. The OCRLanguage element indicates the OCR language, with "ja" indicating Japanese.

[0053] The client terminal 102 receives the pull scan response from the MFP 101 (S1009).

[0054] 11C is an example of a successful response to the HTTPS POST request in S907. "Location:httpS192.168.1.100 / ScanJob / 1" indicates the URI for obtaining the scanned image of the requested pull scan.

[0055] The client terminal 102 checks the contents of the pull scan response and determines whether it was successful (S1010). If it was successful, the process proceeds to S1011, and if it was not successful, the reception completion screen of Fig. 7 is displayed on the operation unit 308 (S1021), and then the process ends. At this time, a message informing that an error has occurred is displayed in the reception completion area 701.

[0056] The client terminal 102 sends a scanner status acquisition request to the MFP 101 (S1011). The request is sent using the GET method to the URI "httpS192.168.1.100 / ScannerStatus."

[0057] In response to this request, the MFP 101 sends a response as shown in FIG. 12(a) or FIG. 12(b), which is received by the client terminal 102 (S1012).

[0058] Details of the scanner status are described below the ScannerStatus element in XML format in the message body. The State element indicates the status of the scan job, with "Scanning" indicating scanning in progress and "Idle" indicating waiting. The ScanPage element indicates the number of pages that have been scanned. The JobStatus element indicates the status of the scan job, with "Processing" indicating processing in progress and "Completed" indicating completion. The JobResult element indicates the result of the scan job, with "Success" indicating successful completion.

[0059] The client terminal 102 determines whether the scan status response was successfully received (S1013). If successful, the process proceeds to S1014. If not successful, the reception completion screen of Fig. 7 is displayed on the operation unit 308 (S1015), and the process ends. At this time, a message informing that an error has occurred is displayed in the reception completion area 701.

[0060] The client terminal 102 determines whether the scan job requested in S1008 is complete (S1014). If the JobStatus element is "Completed", it is determined to be complete. If the scan job is not complete, the process proceeds to S1011.

[0061] If it is determined that the scan job is completed, the client terminal 102 requests the image data obtained by the scan process from the MFP 101 (S1016). This request is made by using the GET method to the URI returned in S1009, and the MFP 101 returns binary data (file) including the image data obtained by the scan process in response to this request, which is received by the client terminal 102 (S1017). At this time, the received image data is stored in the general-purpose DB 503 of the client terminal.

[0062] The client terminal 102 determines whether or not the binary data (file) including the image data obtained by the scan process has been successfully received (S1018). If successful, the process proceeds to S1019, where the client terminal 102 displays the reception completion screen of Fig. 7 (S1019) and ends the process. At this time, a message informing the user that reception has been completed is displayed in the reception completion area 701.

[0063] If reception of the binary data (file) including image data has failed, a screen indicating a reception error is displayed on the operation unit 308 (S1020), and the process ends.

[0064] Next, the processing executed by the MFP 101 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0065] The transmitting / receiving unit 401 of the MFP 101 receives a request from a client terminal via the network (S1301).

[0066] The control unit 402 of the MFP 101 determines whether the request is a scan capability request (S1302). If the request is a GET method to "httpS192.168.1.100 / ScanerCapabilities", it is determined to be a scan capability request. If the request is not a scan capability request, the process proceeds to S1305.

[0067] If the request is for scan capability, the control unit 402 sets the OCR function to be included in the capability response (S1303). Details of this process will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0068] 11(a) based on the setting values ​​contained in the setting DB 404. Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 401 transmits the response to the client terminal that made the request (S1304). After that, the process returns to S1301, and the control unit 402 waits for the next request.

[0069] The control unit 402 determines whether the request is for a pull scan (S1305). If the request is for a POST method to "httpS192.168.1.100 / ScanJob", it is determined to be for a pull scan. If the request is not for a pull scan, the process proceeds to S1308.

[0070] The transmission / reception unit 401 transmits a pull scan response as shown in Fig. 11C to the request source (S1306). The job management unit 405 executes the scan using the read settings included in the scan request (S1307). After that, the process returns to S1301, and the control unit 402 waits for the next request.

[0071] In S1308, the control unit 402 determines whether the request received in S1301 is a request to acquire the status of the scan process. If this request is a GET method to "httpS192.168.1.100 / ScannerStatus", it is determined to be a request to acquire the status of the scan process. If it is not a request to acquire the status of the scan process, the process proceeds to S1310.

[0072] If the request is for scanner status acquisition, the transmission / reception unit 401 sends a response to the request source as shown in FIG. 12(a) or FIG. 12(b) according to the progress and processing status of the scan processing (S1309). If the scan processing is in progress, a response like that shown in FIG. 12(a) is sent. If the scan job has been completed, a response like that shown in FIG. 12(b) is sent. Thereafter, the process returns to S1301, and the control unit 402 waits for the next request.

[0073] In S1310, the control unit 402 determines whether the request received in S1301 is a request to acquire image data. If this request is a GET method to the URI specified in the Location field of the pull scan response sent in S1306, it is determined to be a request to acquire a scanned image. If the request is not a request to acquire a scanned image, the process proceeds to S1312.

[0074] If the request is for image data, the transmission / reception unit 401 responds to the requestor with a file including the image data generated by the scan process (S1311). If the request for image data cannot be processed normally, an error response may be returned. Thereafter, the process returns to S1301, and the control unit 402 waits for the next request. In S1312, the control unit 402 determines that it has received a request that it cannot handle, and the transmission / reception unit 401 responds with an error to the requestor. Thereafter, the process returns to S1301, and the control unit 402 waits for the next request.

[0075] Next, the details of the process of S1303 in FIG. 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0076] The control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines whether the license for OCR is valid (S1401). If the license for OCR is not valid, the process proceeds to S1404, and if the license is valid, the process proceeds to S1402.

[0077] In S1404, the control unit 402 adds data indicating that the OCR function is not supported to the capability information to be responded to the scan capability request. Specifically, this indicates the addition of an element with the OCRSupport element set to "false." If the scan application of the client terminal 102 is configured to hide the OCR setting items when it receives a response without the OCRSupport element, the control unit 402 can also avoid including the OCRSupport element itself in the capability information. Then, the processing returns to FIG. 13.

[0078] In S1402, the control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines whether the OCR function setting is enabled. Specifically, if the "Enabled" button 801 is set in the OCR setting of the scan application shown in FIG. 8, it is determined that the OCR function setting is enabled. If the OCR function setting is disabled, the process proceeds to S1404 described above. If the OCR function setting is enabled, the control unit 402 adds data indicating that OCR is supported to the capability information (S1403). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11(a), an element is added in which the OCRSupport element of the capability information is set to "true." Note that the "Enabled" button 801 is not essential in the process of S1402 or in the OCR setting, and it is also possible to determine that the OCR function setting is enabled if an OCR license has been installed.

[0079] The control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines the supported languages ​​of the OCR to be included in the capability information (S1405). Specifically, this determination is made based on the setting values ​​(803, 805, 806) of the supported languages ​​set on the setting screen shown in FIG.

[0080] 8, the control unit 402 adds all supported languages ​​to the capability information as supported languages ​​for OCR (S1406). Specifically, the control unit 402 adds data indicating "all supported languages" to the OCRLanguages ​​element and its child Language element shown in FIG. 11(a).

[0081] Next, the control unit 402 adds information indicating the default language selected in 804 of FIG. 8 as a supported language for OCR to the capability information (S1407). Here, the control unit 402 adds the default language information specified by the user using the "default="true"" element shown in FIG. 11(a). Note that the method for adding information indicating the default language to the capability information differs depending on the specifications of the scan application, and there is a method of placing the default language at the beginning of multiple Language elements. The control unit 402 can set the default language to the capability information in accordance with the specifications of the scan application. Thereafter, the processing returns to FIG. 13.

[0082] 8, the control unit 402 adds the display language to the capability information as a supported language for OCR (S1408). Specifically, the control unit 402 adds data indicating the language information as the "display language" as the OCRLanguages ​​element and its child element, the Language element, shown in FIG. 11(a). Thereafter, the processing returns to FIG. 13.

[0083] 8, the control unit 402 adds the destination language to the capability information as a supported language for OCR (S1409). Specifically, the control unit 402 adds data indicating language information as the "destination language" to the OCRLanguages ​​element and its child Language element shown in FIG. 11(a). Thereafter, the processing returns to FIG. 13.

[0084] <Example 2> In addition to the functions of the first embodiment, the second embodiment will explain an encrypted PDF function that can be provided by the MFP. Note that the second embodiment explains a case in which the encrypted PDF function is supported in addition to the OCR function of the first embodiment, but it is also applicable to a case in which the MFP supports the encrypted PDF function without the OCR function.

[0085] The system configuration, MFP, and client terminal hardware configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, so please refer to Figures 1, 2, and 3. The software configurations of the MFP and client terminals are the same as those in the first embodiment, so please refer to Figures 4 and 5.

[0086] 9 of the first embodiment is executed between the MFP 101 and the client terminal 102. A description of this will also be omitted.

[0087] Next, an example of a scan setting screen provided by the scan application in the client terminal 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0088] Buttons 1501 to 1510 and 1521 to 1524 are used for setting up the scan, and the current setting value is displayed on each button. Whether each button is displayed or not and the settings that can be specified when it is displayed are based on the scan capability information notified from the MFP 101. Buttons 1501 to 1510 are the same as buttons 601 to 610 in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment, and therefore a description of each will be omitted.

[0089] The "Encrypt PDF" button 1521 is a button for setting whether encrypted PDF is valid or invalid. The "Encrypt PDF" button 1521 is operable only when the "File format setting" button 1506 is set to PDF.

[0090] The "Password" button 1522 is a button for setting an encryption password for the encrypted PDF. Here, to conceal the characters entered as the encryption password, the entered characters are displayed replaced with "*". Furthermore, the "Password" button 1522 is only operable when the setting for the "Encrypt PDF" button 1521 is enabled.

[0091] The "Encrypted PDF Version" button 1523 is a button for setting the version of the encrypted PDF specifications. The "Encrypted PDF Version" button 1523 is operable only when the setting of the "Encrypted PDF" button 1521 is valid.

[0092] The "Encryption Algorithm" button 1524 is a button for setting the algorithm to be used when encrypting the encrypted PDF. The "Encryption Algorithm" button 1524 is operable only when the setting of the "Encrypt PDF" button 1521 is valid.

[0093] As an application of this embodiment, it is also possible to realize an embodiment in which the buttons 1507 and 1508 themselves are not displayed on the screen in the scan setting screen provided by the scan application in cases where the MFP 101 does not support the OCR function, etc. The scan application of this embodiment can also provide a reception completion screen similar to that shown in FIG. 7 of the first embodiment.

[0094] 16, an example of a setting screen for making settings related to encrypted PDF for scan processing provided by the MFP 101 will be described. In this embodiment, an example of a setting screen for making settings used when the MFP 101 performs pull scanning from a scan application installed on the client terminal 102 is displayed. However, it is also possible to provide a setting screen for making common settings that can be used for various applications that can make other scan requests.

[0095] 16 can be displayed only if the administrator has installed in advance a license (encrypted PDF license) for enabling the MFP 101 to use the encrypted PDF function.

[0096] The "Enable" button 1601 is a button for enabling the encrypted PDF function. The "Disable" button 1602 is a button for disabling the encrypted PDF function. The "Enable" button and the "Disable" button are mutually exclusive, and if the "Disable" button 1602 is selected, the encrypted PDF function will not be available when a pull scan request is made from the scan application, even if an encrypted PDF license has already been installed on the MFP 101.

[0097] Pressing the "Enable" button 1601 displays the supported language settings shown in 1603 to 1608. Based on these settings, the MFP 101 includes the selected encrypted PDF version and encryption algorithm when responding to a scan capability request.

[0098] When the "PDF Version 2.0" item 1603 is selected, PDF Version 2.0 is returned as the supported version information of the encrypted PDF that is returned in response to the scan capability request. Also, when the "PDF Version 2.0" item 1603 is selected, at least one of "AES148" 1604 and "AES256" 1605 is selected as the supported encryption algorithm.

[0099] When the "PDF Version 1.0" item 1606 is selected, PDF Version 1.0 is returned as the supported version information of the encrypted PDF that is returned in response to the scan capability request. Also, when the "PDF Version 1.0" item 1606 is selected, at least one of "AES148" 1607 or "AES256" 1608 is selected as the supported encryption algorithm. The "Back" button 1609 is used to close this setting screen.

[0100] The setting management unit 403 of the MFP 101 stores the setting values ​​according to the input operation received via the setting screen shown in FIG. 16 in the setting DB 404 as the main body settings of the MFP 101.

[0101] Here, in the second embodiment, the client terminal 102 executes processing that is almost the same as that shown in Fig. 10 of the first embodiment. However, the difference is that the read setting button referenced when determining whether the operation accepted in S1005 is a read setting is the item shown in Fig. 15. Furthermore, the scan capability request referenced in S1002 and the response content of the pull scan request referenced in S1008 are also different, and will be described later.

[0102] FIG. 17(a) is an example showing part of the content of the response regarding the scanning capability referenced in S1002 in this embodiment.

[0103] The InputSources element, InputSource element, ScanSizes element, and ScanSize element are the same as those in FIG. 11(a), and therefore will be omitted for brevity.

[0104] The EncryptedPDFSupport element indicates whether or not an encrypted PDF can be specified. "true" indicates that it can be specified, and "false" indicates that it cannot. Not including the EncryptedPDFSupport element in the scan capability response may indicate that an encrypted PDF cannot be specified. Also, not including the EncryptedPDFSupport element and having the EncryptedPDFs element (described below) may indicate that an encrypted PDF can be specified.

[0105] The EncryptedPDFs element indicates a list of PDF versions and encryption algorithms supported for encrypted PDFs, and has one or more EncryptedPDF elements as child elements. The EncryptedPDF element indicates the variations of encrypted PDF that can be specified, and has one EncryptedPDFVersion element and one EncryptAlgorithms element as child elements. The EncryptedPDFVersion element indicates the versions of encrypted PDF that can be specified. The EncryptAlgorithms element indicates a list of encryption algorithms that can be specified, and has one or more EncryptAlgorithm elements as child elements. The EncryptAlgorithm element indicates the encryption algorithms that can be specified.

[0106] FIG. 17B is an example showing part of the content of the response to the pull scan request referenced in S1008 in this embodiment.

[0107] The InputSource element, ScanSize element, and DocumentFormat element are the same as those in Figure 11(b), so we will refer to them and omit their explanation. The EncryptedPDF element indicates whether to generate an encrypted PDF, and "true" indicates that it will be generated.

[0108] The EncryptedPDFVersion element represents the version of the encrypted PDF, and "2.0" indicates version 2.0.

[0109] The EncryptedPDFAlgorithm element represents an encryption algorithm, and "AES256" indicates that a 256-bit encryption key of the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is used.

[0110] The EncryptedPDFPassword element represents the encryption password, and "0101" indicates that the encryption password is 0101.

[0111] Next, processing executed by the MFP 101 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 18. Note that steps S1801 to S1812 are similar to steps S1301 to S1312 in Fig. 13 of the first embodiment, and therefore their description will be omitted.

[0112] 18, processing in step S1820 by the control unit 402 is added. The control unit 402 of the MFP 101 sets the encrypted PDF capabilities to be included in the capabilities response. Details of this processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0113] Next, the details of the process of S1820 in FIG. 18 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0114] The control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines whether the license for the encrypted PDF is valid (S1901). If the license for the encrypted PDF is not valid, the process proceeds to S1904, and if the license is valid, the process proceeds to S1902.

[0115] In S1904, the control unit 402 adds data indicating that the encrypted PDF function is not supported to the capability information to be returned in response to the scan capability request. Specifically, this indicates the addition of an element in which the EncryptedPDFSupport element is set to "false." In accordance with the specifications of the scan application of the client terminal 102, the EncryptedPDFSupport element may not be included in the capability information. Thereafter, the processing returns to FIG. 18.

[0116] In S1902, the control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines whether the encrypted PDF function setting is valid. Specifically, it is determined that the encrypted PDF function setting is valid if the "Valid" button 1601 is set in the encrypted PDF setting of the scan application shown in FIG. 16. If the encrypted PDF function setting is invalid, the process proceeds to S1904. Note that the process of S1902 and the "Valid" button 1601 in the encrypted PDF setting are not essential, and it is also possible to determine that the encrypted PDF setting is valid if a license related to encrypted PDF has been installed.

[0117] If the encrypted PDF function setting is enabled, the control unit 402 adds encrypted PDF support to the capability information (S1903). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17(a), this indicates adding an element in which the EncryptedPDFSupport element is set to "true." There are cases where a scan application is designed to display encrypted PDF settings on the setting screen by including an EncryptedPDFs element rather than an EncryptedPDFSupport element. In such cases, the capability information may include only the EncryptedPDFs element, without including the EncryptedPDFSupport element.

[0118] The control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines whether encrypted PDF version 2.0 is valid (S1905). Specifically, this determination is made based on whether the "PDF Version 2.0" item 1603 shown in FIG. 16 has been selected. If selected, it is determined to be valid. If encrypted PDF version 2.0 is invalid, the process proceeds to S1908.

[0119] If Encrypted PDF Version 2.0 is valid, the control unit 402 references the setting DB 404 and acquires the encryption algorithm supported by Encryption Version 2.0 (S1906). Specifically, the control unit 402 acquires the encryption algorithm selected in "AES148" 1604 or "AES256" 1605 shown in FIG. 16. The control unit 402 adds Encrypted PDF Version 2.0 support and the encryption algorithm acquired in S1906 to the capability information (S1907). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17(a), an EncryptedPDFs element is added, and an EncryptedPDF element is added as a child element of the EncryptedPDFs element in accordance with the encryption version 2.0 setting.

[0120] The control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and determines whether encrypted PDF version 1.0 is valid (S1908). Specifically, this determination is made based on whether the "PDF Version 1.0" item 1606 shown in FIG. 16 has been selected. If selected, it is determined to be valid. If encrypted PDF version 1.0 is invalid, the process returns to FIG. 18.

[0121] If encrypted PDF version 1.0 is valid, the control unit 402 refers to the setting DB 404 and acquires the encryption algorithm supported by encryption version 1.0 (S1909). Specifically, the control unit 402 acquires the encryption algorithm selected in "AES148" 1607 or "AES256" 1608 shown in FIG. 16.

[0122] The control unit 402 adds "Encrypted PDF version 1.0 support" and the encryption algorithm acquired in S1906 to the capability information (S1910). Specifically, as shown in Fig. 17(a), if the determination in S1905 is invalid, an EncryptedPDFs element is added, and an EncryptedPDF element is added as a child element of the EncryptedPDFs element in accordance with the encryption version 1.0 setting. Thereafter, the processing returns to Fig. 18.

[0123] (Other Examples) The present invention also includes an apparatus or system configured by appropriately combining the above-described embodiments, and a method thereof.

[0124] Here, the present invention is a device or system that executes one or more pieces of software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-described embodiments. Also, a method for implementing the above-described embodiments executed by the device or system is also one aspect of the present invention. The program is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and is read into one or more memories and executed by one or more computers (CPUs, MPUs, etc.) of the system or device. In other words, the present invention also includes the program itself, or various storage media that store the program and are readable by a computer. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0125] 101 MFP 102 client terminals

Claims

1. An image processing device including a scanner, a receiving means for receiving a capability request from an information processing device via a network; a transmitting means for transmitting a response of capability information including information about functions provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device to the information processing device, In the image processing device, data related to the character recognition function is included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the character recognition function of image data in the image processing device, the activation status of the character recognition function, and the setting values ​​for supported languages.

2. The image processing device described in claim 1, characterized in that if a license for the character recognition function is not installed in the image processing device, or if the license is installed but the character recognition function is set to disabled, a response indicating that the character recognition function cannot be used is sent to the information processing device as the capability information.

3. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of language information usable in the character recognition function and default language information is included in the capability information as data relating to the character recognition function as a setting value relating to the supported languages.

4. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the language information available for the character recognition function includes information indicating a display language or a destination language of the image processing apparatus.

5. The image processing device described in claim 1, characterized in that in the image processing device, data related to the encryption function is further included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the file encryption function in the image processing device, the activation status of the encryption function, and the setting values ​​related to encryption.

6. An image processing device including a scanner, a receiving means for receiving a capability request from an information processing device via a network; a transmitting means for transmitting a response of capability information including information about functions provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device to the information processing device, In the image processing device, data related to the encryption function is included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the file encryption function in the image processing device, the activation status of the encryption function, and the setting values ​​related to encryption.

7. The image processing device according to claim 6, characterized in that if a license for the encryption function is not installed in the image processing device, or if the license is installed but the encryption function is set to disabled, a response indicating that the encryption function cannot be used is sent to the information processing device as the capability information.

8. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein at least one of version information and encryption algorithm information supported by the encryption function is included in the capability information as data related to the encryption function as the setting value related to the encryption.

9. a setting screen for the scan processing provided by a software program for the scan processing of the information processing device is configured according to the content of the capability information included in the response; the receiving means receives a scan request from the information processing device, the scan request including a setting value based on a user's specification via a setting screen for the scan process; The transmission means transmits a file including image data generated by the scan process executed based on the scan request to the information processing device.

10. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing device is a computer.

10. A control method for an image processing device having a scanner, comprising: a receiving step of receiving a capability request from the information processing device via a network; a transmitting step of transmitting a response of capability information including information about functions provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device to the information processing device, A control method characterized in that, in the image processing device, data related to the character recognition function is included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the character recognition function of image data in the image processing device, the activation status of the character recognition function, and setting values ​​related to supported languages.

11. A control method for an image processing device equipped with a scanner, comprising: a receiving step of receiving a capability request from the information processing device via a network; a transmitting step of transmitting a response of capability information including information about functions provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device to the information processing device, A control method characterized in that, in the image processing device, data related to the encryption function is included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the file encryption function in the image processing device, the activation status of the encryption function, and the setting values ​​related to encryption.

12. A computer as an image processing device equipped with a scanner, a receiving step of receiving a capability request from the information processing device via a network; a transmitting step of transmitting a capability information response including information about a function provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device to the information processing device, In the image processing device, the program is characterized in that data related to the character recognition function is included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the character recognition function of image data in the image processing device, the activation status of the character recognition function, and the setting values ​​for supported languages.

13. A computer as an image processing device equipped with a scanner, a receiving step of receiving a capability request from the information processing device via a network; a transmitting step of transmitting a capability information response including information about a function provided in a scan process executed using the scanner of the image processing device to the information processing device, In the image processing device, the program is characterized in that data related to the encryption function is included in the capability information based on at least one of the installation status of the license for the file encryption function in the image processing device, the activation status of the encryption function, and the setting values ​​related to encryption.

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