Scanner and computer program for the scanner

Abstract

To provide a novel technique capable of suppressing erroneous transmission of scan data.SOLUTION: A scanner may also comprise: a first receiver unit which receives scan executing operation wherein the scan executing operation includes designation of related information relating to terminal identification information; a specific processing execution unit which executes specific processing for transmitting notification screen data to a terminal device identified by the terminal identification information, when the scan executing operation can be accepted, wherein a first notification screen represented by the notification screen data is a screen notifying a user about that transmitting operation should be executed with respect to the scanner; a second receiver unit which receives the transmitting operation after the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal device; and a scan data transmitter unit which transmits target scan data to the outside in a case where the transmitting operation is received wherein the target scan data is acquired by the terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This specification discloses a technique for suppressing erroneous transmission of scan data. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an image processing device capable of executing a scan function. In this image processing device, after a user logs in to the image processing device, when an operation for causing the image processing device to execute a scan is accepted, the image processing device executes a scan and uploads the scan data to a server. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-156777 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] This specification provides a novel technique that can suppress erroneous transmission of scan data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The scanner disclosed in the present specification may include an operation unit, a scan execution unit, a first reception unit that receives a scan execution operation from a user via the operation unit, the scan execution operation including specification of related information related to terminal identification information that identifies a terminal device, a specific process execution unit that executes a specific process for transmitting notification screen data to the terminal device identified by the terminal identification information related to the specified related information when the scan execution operation is received, the specific process execution unit notifying the user that a transmission operation for transmitting scan data to an external device should be performed on the scanner represented by the notification screen data, a scan control unit that causes the scan execution unit to scan an original when the scan execution operation is received, a second reception unit that receives the transmission operation from the user via the operation unit after the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal device, and a scan data transmission unit that transmits target scan data obtained by scanning the original to an external device when the transmission operation is received, the target scan data being acquired by the terminal device.

[0006] According to the above configuration, when the scanner receives a scan execution operation including the designation of related information related to the terminal identification information, the scanner executes a specific process for transmitting notification screen data to a terminal device identified by the terminal identification information. As a result, a first notification screen is displayed on the terminal device identified by the terminal identification information related to the designated related information. Therefore, a user who sees the first notification screen can recognize that the correct related information related to the correct identification information that identifies the correct terminal device has been designated in the scan execution operation. In other words, erroneous transmission of the target scan data to an incorrect terminal device can be suppressed.

[0007] The computer program for the scanner, the computer-readable recording medium storing the computer program, and the method executed by the scanner are also novel and useful. Also, a communication system including a scanner and a server is novel and useful. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 shows the configuration of a communication system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 shows a sequence diagram for registering information related to a scan. [Diagram 3] 1 shows a sequence diagram of case A of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] The sequence diagram continues from Figure 3. [Diagram 5] 13 shows a sequence diagram of case B of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 13 shows a sequence diagram of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (First embodiment) (Communication system configuration; Figure 1) As shown in Fig. 1, communication system 2 includes two terminals 10A, 10B, a scanner 100, and an intermediary server 200. Each of terminals 10A, 10B and scanner 100 is connected to a LAN (abbreviation of Local Area Network) 4, and can communicate with each other via the LAN 4. LAN 4 is connected to the Internet 6, and intermediary server 200 is installed on the Internet 6. Therefore, each of terminals 10A, 10B and scanner 100 can communicate with intermediary server 200 via the Internet 6. Hereinafter, intermediary server 200 will be referred to as "server 200".

[0010] (Configuration of terminal 10A) The terminal 10A may be a portable terminal such as a smartphone, a notebook PC, or a tablet PC, or may be a stationary terminal such as a desktop PC. The terminal 10A includes an operation unit 12, a display unit 14, a communication interface 20, and a control unit 30. In the following, the interface is referred to as "I / F".

[0011] The operation unit 12 is a button, a touch panel, or the like that is operated by a user. The user can input various instructions to the terminal 10 by operating the operation unit 12. The display unit 14 is a display for displaying various information. The communication I / F 20 is connected to the LAN 4.

[0012] The control unit 30 includes a CPU 32 and a memory 34. The CPU 32 executes various processes in accordance with programs 40, 42A stored in the memory 34. The memory 34 is configured with a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, etc., and stores an OS (abbreviation of Operating System) program 40 and an application 42A. Hereinafter, the application will be referred to as an "app."

[0013] The OS program 40 is a program for controlling the basic operations of the terminal 10A. The application 42A is a program for causing a scanner (e.g., the scanner 100) to execute a scan. The application 42A is installed in the terminal 10A from a server on the Internet 6 provided by the vendor of the scanner 100, for example. The application 42A is assigned an application ID "111" that is information for identifying the application 42A. It can also be said that the application ID "111" is information for identifying the terminal 10A in which the application 42A is installed.

[0014] (Configuration of terminal 10B) The configuration of terminal 10B is similar to the configuration of terminal 10A, except that the application ID assigned to application 42B installed on terminal 10B is “222.” Application 42B is the same as application 42A, except for the different application ID.

[0015] (Configuration of scanner 100) Scanner 100 is a peripheral device (e.g., a peripheral device of terminals 10A and 10B) capable of executing a scan function. In a modified example, scanner 100 may be a multi-function device capable of executing a print function, a FAX function, etc. in addition to the scan function. Scanner 100 includes an operation unit 112, a display unit 114, a scan execution unit 116, a communication I / F 120, and a control unit 130.

[0016] The operation unit 112 is a button, a touch panel, or the like that is operated by a user. The user can input various instructions to the scanner 100 by operating the operation unit 112. The display unit 114 is a display for displaying various information. The scan execution unit 116 is equipped with a scan mechanism such as a CCD or a CIS. The communication I / F 120 is connected to the LAN 4.

[0017] The control unit 130 includes a CPU 132 and a memory 134. The CPU 132 executes various processes in accordance with a program 140 stored in the memory 134. The memory 134 is composed of a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, etc. The memory 134 further stores a setting table 142 and a scanner ID "AAA" that is information for identifying the scanner 100.

[0018] The setting table 142 is a table that stores information about the settings of the scanner 100. The setting table 142 stores an application ID, a user name, a resolution, a number of colors, and a status in association with each other. The user name is the name of the user of the application (i.e., the terminal on which the application is installed) identified by the application ID, and is specified by the user. The resolution and the number of colors are scan settings used when scanning is performed. Note that the scan settings are not limited to the above combination of resolution and number of colors, and may be either the resolution or the number of colors, or may include other setting items (e.g., file format, etc.). The status indicates either "possible" indicating that the scan data is in a state in which it is possible to transmit the scan data to the outside, or "impossible" indicating that the scan data is in a state in which it is not possible to transmit the scan data to the outside. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, when a scan execution operation including the specification of the user name User1 is accepted, the scanner 100 executes a color scan at a resolution of 200 dpi.

[0019] (Configuration of Server 200) The server 200 is a server that mediates various communications for causing the scanner 100 to execute a scan. The server 200 includes a communication I / F 220 and a control unit 230. The communication I / F 220 is connected to the Internet 6.

[0020] The control unit 230 includes a CPU 232 and a memory 234. The CPU 232 executes various processes in accordance with a program 240 stored in the memory 234. The memory 234 is composed of a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, etc. The memory 234 further stores a scanner table 242 and an application table 244.

[0021] The scanner table 242 is a table that stores information about one or more scanners. The scanner table 242 stores a scanner ID and an access token in association with each other. The access token is information used for authentication to execute communication between the scanner identified by the associated scanner ID and the server 200. In the example of Fig. 1, the scanner ID "AAA" and the access token AT are stored in association with each other in the scanner table 242.

[0022] The application table 244 is a table that stores various information related to one or more applications. The application table 244 stores an application ID and a scanner ID in association with each other. In the example of Fig. 1, the application table 244 stores an application ID "111" and a scanner ID "AAA" in association with each other.

[0023] (Registration sequence; Figure 2) Next, referring to FIG. 2, a process for registering information related to scanning (i.e., scanner ID, access token, application ID, user name, resolution, and number of colors) in the scanner 100 and the server 200 will be described. In the following, for ease of understanding, when describing a process executed by the CPU (e.g., 32, 132, 232) of each device, the CPU will not be described as the subject, but each device (e.g., terminals 10A, 10B, scanner 100, server 200) will be described as the subject. Also, when describing a process executed by the CPU 32 of a terminal (e.g., 10A, 10B), instead of describing the terminal (e.g., 10A, 10B) as the subject, an application (e.g., 42A, 42B) may be described as the subject. Also, unless otherwise specified, communication between each device is executed via a communication I / F (e.g., 20, 120, 220). Therefore, when describing communication between each device below, the expression "via a communication I / F" will be omitted.

[0024] When the scanner 100 accepts a scanner registration operation for registering the scanner 100 in the server 200 from the user at T10 in FIG. 2, the scanner 100 transmits a scanner registration request to the server 200 at T12.

[0025] When the server 200 receives a scanner registration request from the scanner 100 in T12, the server 200 generates a scanner ID "AAA" and an access token AT in T14, associates them, and stores them in the scanner table 242. That is, information about the scanner 100 is registered in the server 200. Thereafter, the server 200 transmits the generated scanner ID "AAA" and the generated access token AT to the scanner 100 in T16.

[0026] Scanner 100 receives scanner ID "AAA" and access token AT from server 200 in T16, and stores them in memory 134 in T17. Then, scanner 100 displays completion screen SC1 on display unit 114 in T18. Completion screen SC1 includes a message indicating that registration of scanner 100 to server 200 has been completed.

[0027] Furthermore, when the scanner 100 stores the access token AT in T17, in T19, it establishes a so-called constant connection with the server 200. By using the constant connection, the server 200 can transmit a signal to the scanner 100 across the firewall of the LAN 4 to which the scanner 100 belongs, even if the server 200 does not receive a request from the scanner 100. In other words, the constant connection is a connection that can execute server push type communication. The constant connection is, for example, a connection that complies with XMPP (short for eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol).

[0028] Next, a description will be given of a process for registering information about the application 42A in the server 200. When the application 42A accepts an application registration operation for registering the application 42A in the server 200 from the user in T20, the application 42A transmits an application registration request to the server 200 in T22.

[0029] When the server 200 receives an application registration request from the terminal 10A in T22, the server 200 generates an application ID "111" in T24, and transmits the application ID "111" to the terminal 10A in T26.

[0030] When the application 42A receives the application ID "111" from the server 200 at T26, the application 42A stores the application ID "111" in the memory 34 at T28.

[0031] Next, in T30, the application 42A broadcasts a search signal to the LAN 4. The search signal is a signal for searching for a scanner within the LAN 4 that has been registered in the server 200 (in other words, a scanner that has stored a scanner ID).

[0032] In T30, scanner 100 receives a search signal from terminal 10A. Since scanner 100 has already been registered with server 200 (see T10 to T19), in T32, scanner 100 transmits a search response including the stored scanner ID "AAA" (see T17) to terminal 10A. If scanner 100 has not already been registered with server 200 (i.e., the processes of T10 to T19 have not been executed), scanner 100 does not execute the process of T32.

[0033] When the application 42A receives a search response from the scanner 100 in T32, it causes the display unit 114 to display a screen showing the scanner ID included in the received search response (not shown). After accepting the selection of the scanner ID "AAA" on the screen in T34, the application 42A accepts the input of the user name User1 and the input of scan settings (specifically, the input of the resolution "200" and the number of colors "color"). In this case, the application 42A transmits a scan setting registration request to the server 200 in T36. The scan setting registration request includes the application ID "111" (see T28), the selected scanner ID "AAA", the entered user name User1, and the entered scan settings.

[0034] When the server 200 receives a scan setting registration request from the terminal 10A in T36, the server 200 associates the information included in the scan setting registration request (ie, the application ID "111" and the scanner ID "AAA") and registers them in the application table 244 in T38.

[0035] After registering the various pieces of information in the application table 244 in T38, the server 200 transmits a completion notification to the terminal 10A in T40.

[0036] When the application 42A receives a completion notification from the server 200 in T40, in T42, the application 42A causes a completion screen SC2 to be displayed on the display unit 14. The completion screen SC2 includes a message indicating that the registration of the application 42A in the server 200 has been completed.

[0037] Furthermore, in T44, the server 200 uses the established constant connection (see T19) to send a registration request to the scanner 100. The registration request includes each piece of information included in the received scan setting registration request (i.e., the application ID "111", the user name User1, and the scan settings).

[0038] When scanner 100 receives a registration request from server 200 in T44, scanner 100 associates each piece of information included in the registration request with each other and registers it in setting table 142 in T46. Furthermore, scanner 100 stores the status "impossible" in association with each piece of registered information.

[0039] (Case A; Figures 3 and 4) Next, with reference to Figs. 3 and 4, a specific case A in which the scanner 100 executes a scan will be described. In case A, the user of the terminal 10A operates the scanner 100 after selecting an OK button on a notification screen SC4 described later, and scan data is transmitted to the server 200. In the initial state of Fig. 3, the setting table 142 stores the application ID "111", the user name User1, the scan setting (i.e., the resolution "200" and the number of colors "color"), and the status "impossible" in association with each other, and also stores the application ID "222", the user name User2, the scan setting (i.e., the resolution "150" and the number of colors "monochrome"), and the status "impossible" in association with each other. The scanner table 242 stores the scanner ID "AAA" and the access token AT in association with each other. The application table 244 stores the application ID "111" and the scanner ID "AAA" in association with each other, and also stores the application ID "222" and the scanner ID "AAA" in association with each other. That is, the initial state in FIG. 3 is a state after the processing in FIG. 2 has been executed, and further, after processing similar to T20 to T46 in FIG. 2 has been executed between the devices 10B, 100, and 200.

[0040] 3, the user of terminal 10A places a document to be scanned on scan execution unit 116 of scanner 100. Thereafter, scanner 100 accepts a scan execution operation from the user in T102. The scan execution operation includes designation of user name User1. Specifically, scanner 100 displays on display unit 114 a screen showing a list of user names registered in setting table 142 (not shown). In this case, two user names User1 and User2 are displayed on the screen. The user of terminal 10A designates his / her own user name, User1, on the screen.

[0041] When scanner 100 receives a scan execution operation including the specification of user name User1 in T102, scanner 100 identifies application ID "111" associated with the specified user name User1 from setting table 142. Then, scanner 100 transmits a notification transmission request including scanner ID "AAA" of scanner 100 and the specified application ID "111" to server 200 in T104. The notification transmission request is a signal for requesting server 200 to transmit notification screen data to terminal 10A in which application 42A corresponding to the application ID "111" included in the notification transmission request is installed.

[0042] Furthermore, when the scanner 100 accepts a scan execution operation in T102, in T106, the scanner 100 displays a notification screen SC3 on the display unit 114. The notification screen SC3 includes a message indicating that a notification will be sent to the application 42A corresponding to the identified application ID "111." By looking at the notification screen SC3, the user of the terminal 10A can know that he or she should check his or her own terminal 10A.

[0043] When the server 200 receives a notification transmission request from the scanner 100 in T104, the server 200 transmits notification screen data to the terminal 10A in T108. Although T108 in FIG. 3 illustrates a state in which the notification screen data is directly transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 10A, specifically, the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal 10A as follows. That is, when the server 200 receives a notification transmission request from the scanner 100 in T104, the server 200 transmits a transmission request for the notification screen data to a server (not shown) different from the server 200. The different server is, for example, a server that provides the application 42A to the terminal 10A, and transmits the notification screen data to the terminal 10A when the transmission request is received from the server 200. As a result, the application 42A receives the notification screen data from the server 200 via the different server in T108. The notification screen data includes the scanner ID "AAA" included in the notification transmission request.

[0044] When the application 42A receives the notification screen data from the server 200 in T108, in T110, the application 42A displays the notification screen SC4 on the display unit 14. The notification screen SC4 includes the scanner ID “AAA” included in the received notification screen data, a message indicating that the scanner 100 identified by the scanner ID “AAA” is about to upload the scan data, a message indicating an operation to be performed by the user to make the scanner 100 upload the scan data, an OK button, and a Cancel button. In particular, the message indicating the operation to be performed by the user includes a message indicating that the OK button in the notification screen SC4 should be selected, and a message indicating that an operation should be performed on the scanner 100. The user of the terminal 10A who has viewed the notification screen SC3 (see T106) displayed on the scanner 100 can confirm the operation to be performed to make the scanner 100 identified by the scanner ID “AAA” upload the scan data by viewing the notification screen SC4 displayed on the terminal 10A.

[0045] When the application 42A accepts selection of the OK button in the notification screen SC4 from the user of the terminal 10A in T112, the application 42A transmits OK selection information indicating that the OK button has been selected to the server 200 in T114. The OK selection information includes the application ID "111".

[0046] When the server 200 receives the OK selection information from the terminal 10A in T114, in T116, the server 200 transfers the OK selection information to the scanner 100 by utilizing the established constant connection (see T19 in FIG. 2).

[0047] (Continuation of Figure 3; Figure 4) When scanner 100 receives OK selection information from server 200 in T116 of Fig. 3, scanner 100 changes the status stored in application table 244 in association with application ID "111" included in the OK selection information from "impossible" to "possible" in T120 of Fig. 4. Then, scanner 100 displays notification screen SC5 on display unit 114 in T122. Notification screen SC5 includes a message indicating that the status has been changed to "possible", i.e., the status has been changed to one in which scan data can be transmitted to the outside.

[0048] At T130, scanner 100 accepts an upload operation from the user of terminal 10A who has viewed notification screen SC5, via operation unit 112. The upload operation is an operation for causing scanner 100 to transmit scan data to an external device (server 200 in this case). The upload operation includes the specification of a user name User1.

[0049] When the scanner 100 accepts an upload operation from the user of the terminal 10A in T130, the scanner 100 identifies the state associated with the user name User1 specified in the upload operation from the setting table 142. In this case, the state "possible" is identified. In this case, the scanner 100 first identifies the scan settings associated with the user name User1 from the setting table 142 (i.e., the resolution "200" and the number of colors "color"). Then, in T140, the scanner 100 executes a scan of the document (see T100 in FIG. 3) placed on the scan execution unit 116 according to the identified scan settings to generate scan data SD1. Next, in T142, the scanner 100 transmits the generated scan data SD1 and the application ID "111" to the server 200. Note that when the state "impossible" is identified, that is, when the upload operation is accepted in T130 before the OK button is selected in T112 in FIG. 3, the scanner 100 does not execute the process after T140.

[0050] In this way, when the status associated with the user name already specified in the upload operation is "impossible", scanner 100 does not transmit scan data to server 200 even if the upload operation is accepted. That is, scanner 100 does not transmit scan data to server 200 even if an upload operation is accepted from a user (e.g., the user of terminal 10A) before OK selection information (see T116 in FIG. 3) is received. For this reason, scan data is prevented from being transmitted to server 200 by the user of terminal 10A executing an upload operation on scanner 100 without looking at notification screen SC4. That is, erroneous transmission of scan data can be more effectively prevented.

[0051] When server 200 receives scan data SD1 and application ID “111” from scanner 100 in T142, server 200 associates these with each other and stores them in T144. In this manner, scan data SD1 generated by scanner 100 is uploaded to server 200.

[0052] After that, the application 42A receives a completion notification from the server 200 in T146. Note that, although T146 in FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which the completion notification is directly transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 10A, specifically, the completion notification is transmitted to the terminal 10A as follows. That is, when the server 200 associates the application ID "111" with the scan data SD1 and stores it in T144, it transmits a transmission request for the completion notification to the different server. When the different server receives the transmission request from the server 200, it transmits the completion notification to the terminal 10A. As a result, in T146, the application 42A receives the completion notification from the server 200 via the different server.

[0053] When the application 42A receives a completion notification from the server 200 in T146, in T148, the application 42A causes a completion screen SC6 to be displayed on the display unit 114. The completion screen SC6 includes a message indicating that the upload of the scan data SD1 to the server 200 has been completed.

[0054] In addition, when the scanner 100 transmits the scan data SD1 and the application ID “111” to the server 200 in T142, in T149, the scanner 100 changes the status stored in the setting table 142 in association with the application ID “111” from “enabled” to “disabled.”

[0055] When the application 42A accepts, in T150, a scan data request operation for requesting transmission of stored scan data to the server 200 from the user who has viewed the completion screen SC6, in T152, the application 42A transmits a scan data request to the server 200. The scan data request includes the application ID "111".

[0056] When the server 200 receives the scan data request from the terminal 10A in T152, the server 200 identifies the scan data SD1 (see T144) that is stored in association with the application ID “111” included in the scan data request. Then, the server 200 transmits the identified scan data SD1 to the terminal 10A in T154.

[0057] When the application 42A receives the scan data SD1 from the server 200 in T154, in T156, the application 42A causes the display unit 14 to display the scan image represented by the scan data SD1. This allows the user to view the scan image scanned by the scanner 100.

[0058] (First Example Case B: Figure 5) Next, a first embodiment case B will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Case B is a case where the user of the terminal 10A mistakenly specifies another user name User2 when performing a scan execution operation (see T102 in Fig. 3) instead of specifying his / her own user name User1. The initial state in Fig. 5 is the same as the initial state in Fig. 3.

[0059] The process of T200 is the same as the process of T100 in FIG. 3. The process of T202 is the same as the process of T102 in FIG. 3, except that the specified user name is User2. The process of T204 is the same as the process of T204 in FIG. 3, except that the application ID included in the notification transmission request is the application ID "222" associated with the specified user name User2 and stored in the setting table 142. The process of T206 is the same as the process of T204 in FIG. 3. The processes of T208 and T210 are the same as the processes of T108 and T110 in FIG. 3, except that the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal 10B and the notification screen SC4 is displayed on the terminal 10B. In this way, the notification screen data is not transmitted to the terminal 10A.

[0060] (Effects of the first embodiment) According to the above configuration, when the scanner 100 receives a scan execution operation including the specification of the user name User1 associated with the application ID "111" (T102 in FIG. 3), it executes a specific process for transmitting notification screen data to the terminal 10A identified by the application ID "111" (T104 and T106). As a result, the notification screen SC4 is displayed (T110) on the terminal 10A in which the application 42A identified by the application ID "111" associated with the specified user name User1 is installed. Therefore, the user of the terminal 10A who sees the notification screen SC4 can recognize that the correct user name User1 associated with the correct application ID "111" that identifies the correct terminal 10A is specified in the scan execution operation. That is, it is possible to prevent the erroneous transmission of the scan data SD1 to an incorrect terminal (for example, the terminal 10B).

[0061] Also, if the user of the terminal 10A mistakenly specifies the user name User2 in the scan execution operation (see T202 in FIG. 5), the notification screen data is transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 10B (T208). That is, the notification screen SC4 is not displayed on the terminal 10A. Therefore, the user of the terminal 10A can recognize that the user may have specified an incorrect user name in the scan execution operation due to the notification screen SC4 not being displayed on the terminal 10A. Also, if the user of the terminal 10B selects the OK button on the notification screen SC4 displayed on the terminal 10B, the notification screen SC5 (see T122 in FIG. 4) is displayed on the scanner 100. Therefore, although the notification screen SC4 is not displayed on the terminal 10A, the notification screen SC5 is displayed on the scanner 100, and the user of the terminal 10A can recognize that the user has specified an incorrect user name in the scan execution operation.

[0062] Also, a comparative example is assumed in which the scanner 100 immediately scans an original when it receives a scan execution operation from a user (T102 in FIG. 3). In this comparative example, the scanner 100 stores the scan data obtained by the scan in association with the user name already specified in the scan execution operation. Then, when an upload operation is received (T130 in FIG. 4) and the state associated with the user name specified in the upload operation is "possible," the scanner 100 transmits the scan data stored in association with the user name to the server 200 (T142). As described above, at the stage when the scanner 100 receives a scan execution operation from a user, the user may have specified an incorrect user name. In this case, even if the scanner 100 immediately executes a scan in response to receiving the scan execution operation, the scanner 100 is unlikely to receive an upload operation from the user. That is, in such a situation, the scanner 100 generates and stores unnecessary scan data. On the other hand, in this embodiment, when an upload operation is accepted (T130) and the status associated with the user name specified in the upload operation is "possible," the document is scanned (T140) and the scanned data is transmitted (T142). Therefore, scanner 100 does not scan the document before the upload operation is accepted, and therefore does not need to generate and store unnecessary scanned data as described above.

[0063] (Correspondence) The terminal 10A, the scanner 100, and the intermediation server 200 are examples of a "terminal device," a "scanner," and a "server," respectively. The application ID "111," the user name User1, and the scanner ID "AAA" are examples of "terminal identification information," "related information," and "scanner identification information," respectively. The notification screens SC4, SC5, and SC3 are examples of a "first notification screen," "second notification screen," and "third notification screen," respectively. The scan data SD1 is an example of "target scan data." The scan execution operation of T102 in FIG. 3, the OK selection information of T116, and the upload operation of T130 in FIG. 4 are examples of a "scan execution operation," "specific notification," and "send operation," respectively. The OK selection of T112 in FIG. 3 is an example of a "specific operation." The processes of T104 and T106 in FIG. 3 are examples of a "specific process."

[0064] The process of T102 in FIG. 3 is an example of a process executed by a "first reception unit." The processes of T104 and T106 are examples of a process executed by a "specific process execution unit." The processes of T106 and T116 are examples of a process executed by a "second display control unit" and a "specific notification receiving unit," respectively. The processes of T122, T130, T140, and T142 in FIG. 4 are examples of a process executed by a "first display control unit," a "second reception unit," a "scan control unit," and a "scan data transmission unit," respectively.

[0065] (Second embodiment; Figure 6) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the setting table 142 does not store the state. Therefore, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the scan data can be sent to the outside even if no operation (i.e., selection of the OK button in the notification screen SC4 (see T112 in FIG. 3)) is performed on the terminal (e.g., 10A). The initial state of FIG. 6 is the same as the initial state of FIG. 3, except that the setting table 142 does not store the state.

[0066] The processes of T300 to T308 in Fig. 6 are the same as the processes of T100 to T108 in Fig. 3. In T310, the application 42A displays a notification screen SC7 on the display unit 14. The notification screen SC7 includes the scanner ID "AAA" included in the received notification screen data, and a message indicating an operation that the user should perform on the scanner 100 in order to cause the scanner 100 identified by the scanner ID "AAA" to upload the scan data. The user of the terminal 10A who has viewed the notification screen SC3 (see T306) displayed on the scanner 100 can confirm the operation that should be performed on the scanner 100 in order to cause the scanner 100 to upload the scan data by viewing the notification screen SC7.

[0067] The processing from T330 to T348 is similar to the processing from T130 to T148 in Fig. 4. Moreover, the processing from T350 to T356 is similar to the processing from T150 to T156 in Fig. 4.

[0068] (Effects of the second embodiment) In the second embodiment, like the first embodiment, erroneous transmission of scan data SD1 to an incorrect terminal (e.g., terminal 10B) can be prevented. Also, compared to the first embodiment, the user of terminal 10A does not need to select the OK button on terminal 10A to cause scanner 100 to transmit scan data. That is, compared to the first embodiment, the number of operations to be performed to cause scanner 100 to transmit scan data is reduced, improving user convenience. Notification screen SC7 is an example of a "first notification screen."

[0069] Although specific examples of the technology disclosed in this specification have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples exemplified above. Modifications of the above embodiments are listed below.

[0070] (Variation 1) Instead of an app ID that identifies an app, the setting table 142 may store a terminal ID that identifies the terminal itself (e.g., the serial number of the terminal). In this variation, the terminal ID is an example of "terminal identification information." In another variation, the setting table 142 may not store a user name. In this case, for example, at T102 in FIG. 3, the user of the terminal 10A may execute a scan execution operation on the scanner 100 that includes specifying the app ID "111" instead of specifying the user name User1. In this variation, the app ID is an example of "related information."

[0071] (Variation 2) When scanner 100 accepts a scan execution operation from a user in T102 of Fig. 3, scanner 100 may transmit notification screen data to terminal 10A instead of the process of T104. In this case, the process of T108 is not executed. In this variation, the transmission of notification screen data by scanner 100 to terminal 10A is an example of a "specific process".

[0072] (Variation 3) When scanner 100 receives a scan execution operation from a user (T102 in FIG. 3), it may immediately execute scanning of a document (see T140 in FIG. 4). In this case, scanner 100 stores the scan data in association with the application ID "111" associated with the user name User1 already specified in the scan execution operation. Then, when scanner 100 receives an upload operation from the user including the specification of the user name User1 in T130, it may transmit the stored scan data in association with the application ID "111" associated with the user name User1 to server 200 (see T154). Generally speaking, the timing of the process executed by the "scan control unit" of the "scanner" is not limited to the form of the above embodiment.

[0073] 3, when the application 42A receives a selection of OK on the notification screen SC4 from the user of the terminal 10A, the application 42A may transmit the OK selection information to the scanner 100 instead of transmitting it to the server 200. In this modification, the process of receiving the OK selection information from the terminal 10A is an example of a process executed by a “specific notification receiving unit”.

[0074] (Variation 5) Notification screen SC4 may include the serial number of scanner 100 instead of scanner ID "AAA". In this variation, the serial number is an example of "scanner identification information". Generally speaking, "scanner identification information" may be any information that identifies a "scanner". In another variation, notification screen SC4 may not include scanner ID "AAA" that identifies scanner 100. Generally speaking, the "first notification screen" may not include "scanner identification information".

[0075] (Variation 6) Scanner 100 does not need to execute the process of T106 in Fig. 3. In this variation, the "second display control unit" can be omitted.

[0076] (Variation 7) When scanning of an original is performed in T140 of FIG. 4, scanner 100 may not transmit scan data SD1 to server 200. In this case, scanner 100 may store scan data SD1 in association with application ID "111". Then, when scanner 100 receives a scan data request including application ID "111" from terminal 10A, scanner 100 may transmit the stored scan data SD1 in association with the application ID "111" to terminal 10A. In this variation, the processes of T142 to T148 of FIG. 4 can be omitted. Also, in this variation, the process of scanner 100 transmitting scan data SD1 to terminal 10A is an example of a process executed by the "scan data transmission unit".

[0077] (Variation 8) In the above embodiment, regardless of whether the status of scanner 100 is "possible" or "impossible," it is possible to accept an upload operation from the user (see T130 in FIG. 4). In a variation, scanner 100 may be unable to accept an upload operation from the user when the status is "impossible." For example, scanner 100 may display a notification screen including a button for executing an upload operation (hereinafter, referred to as an "upload operation button") on display unit 114 in T106 in FIG. 3. The upload operation button is grayed out at the stage of T106 and cannot be selected by the user. When scanner 100 receives OK selection information and the status is changed to "possible" (T116 in FIG. 3, T120 in FIG. 4), the upload operation button in the notification screen may become selectable.

[0078] (Modification 9) In each of the above embodiments, the processes in FIGS. 2 to 6 are realized by software (for example, applications 42A, 42B, programs 140, 240), but at least one of these processes may be realized by hardware such as a logic circuit.

[0079] The technical elements described in this specification or drawings have technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of these objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 2: communication system, 4: LAN, 6: Internet, 10A, 10B: terminal, 12, 112: operation unit, 14, 114: display unit, 20, 120, 220: communication I / F, 30, 130, 230: control unit, 32, 132, 232: CPU, 34, 134, 234: memory, 40: OS program, 42A, 42B: application, 100: scanner, 116: scan execution unit, 140, 240: program, 142: setting table, 242: scanner table, 244: application table

Claims

1. 1. A scanner comprising: An operation unit; A scan execution unit; a first reception unit that receives a scan execution operation from a user via the operation unit, the scan execution operation including designation of associated information related to terminal identification information that identifies a terminal device; a specific process execution unit that executes a specific process for transmitting notification screen data to the terminal device identified by the terminal identification information related to the specified related information when the scan execution operation is accepted, the specific process execution unit being a screen that notifies a user that a transmission operation for transmitting scan data to the scanner should be executed; a scan control unit that causes the scan execution unit to scan an original when the scan execution operation is accepted; a second reception unit that receives the transmission operation from the user via the operation unit after the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal device; a scan data transmission unit that transmits target scan data obtained by scanning the document to an external device when the transmission operation is accepted, the target scan data being acquired by the terminal device; A scanner comprising:

2. The scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the scan control unit causes the scan execution unit to execute the scan of the document when the transmission operation is accepted from the user.

3. The scanner further comprises: a specific notification receiving unit that receives a specific notification after the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal device, the specific notification being a notification indicating that a specific operation has been performed by the user on the first notification screen; the scan data transmission unit transmits the target scan data to an external device when the transmission operation is accepted from the user after the specific notification is received; The scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the target scan data is not transmitted even if the transmission operation is accepted from the user before the specific notification is received.

4. The scanner further comprises: A display unit; and a first display control unit that, when the specific notification is received from the terminal device, causes the display unit to display a second notification screen indicating that the operating state of the scanner has changed from a state in which the target scan data cannot be transmitted to a state in which the target scan data can be transmitted.

5. The scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the second accepting unit accepts the sending operation from the user after the notification screen data is sent to the terminal device, without receiving a notification from the terminal device.

6. The scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first notification screen includes scanner identification information for identifying the scanner.

7. The scanner further comprises: A display unit; 7. The scanner according to claim 1, further comprising: a second display control unit that, when the scan execution operation is accepted, causes the display unit to display a third notification screen indicating that the notification screen data will be transmitted to the terminal device.

8. The scan data transmission unit transmits the target scan data to a server different from the terminal device, The scanner of claim 1 , wherein the object scan data is transmitted from the server to the terminal device.

9. 1. A computer program for a scanner, comprising: The scanner includes: An operation unit; A scan execution unit; A computer, The computer program causes the computer to operate in the following manner: a first reception unit that receives a scan execution operation from a user via the operation unit, the scan execution operation including designation of associated information related to terminal identification information that identifies a terminal device; a specific process execution unit that executes a specific process for transmitting notification screen data to the terminal device identified by the terminal identification information related to the specified related information when the scan execution operation is accepted, the specific process execution unit being a screen that notifies a user that a transmission operation for transmitting scan data to the scanner should be executed; a scan control unit that causes the scan execution unit to scan an original when the scan execution operation is accepted; a second reception unit that receives the transmission operation from the user via the operation unit after the notification screen data is transmitted to the terminal device; a scan data transmission unit that transmits target scan data obtained by scanning the document to an external device when the transmission operation is accepted, the target scan data being acquired by the terminal device; A computer program that functions as a

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