Image processing apparatus, control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To provide a mechanism which can easily submit image data generated by reading a document to an education management system.SOLUTION: An image processing device comprises: reading means which reads a document; designation means which designates an assignment; reception means which receives storage destination information indicating a storage destination of a second server corresponding to the assignment designated by the designation means from a first server; transmission means which transmits image data generated by reading the document by the reading means to the storage destination indicated by the storage destination information received by the reception means; and notification means which notifies the first server of identification information for identifying the image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method for an image processing apparatus, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a method of submitting a submission by having a scanner read a paper submission created by a student, transmitting the generated image data to a PC (personal computer), and uploading the image data from the PC to an education management system.

[0003] With such an education management system, it is possible to submit an assignment without mailing the assignment written on paper. Also, an examiner for the assignment can perform grading and feedback on the submitted submission on the education management system.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a method of collecting images of collected documents and updating the progress status corresponding to the types of the collected documents.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the conventional method, the user has to once transmit the image data read by the scanner to the PC and then operate the PC to upload the image data to the data management server. In particular, in an education management system, the education management server for managing the submission status of assignments and the like and the data management server for storing the submitted image data may be separate. In such a case, the education management server needs to be able to identify the image data stored in the data management server for each assignment so that the grader can later refer to the submissions for the assignments from the education management server.

[0007] Patent Document 1 transmits the document image read by the scanner to a computer device once, and the user has to operate the computer device to submit the document image.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a mechanism that can read a manuscript and easily submit the generated image data to an education management system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] The present invention includes a reading means for reading a manuscript, a specifying means for specifying an assignment, a receiving means for receiving from a first server storage destination information indicating a storage destination of a second server corresponding to the assignment specified by the specifying means, a transmitting means for transmitting the image data generated by reading the manuscript by the reading means to the storage destination indicated by the storage destination information received by the receiving means, and a notifying means for notifying the first server of identification information for identifying the image data.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, a manuscript can be read and the generated image data can be easily submitted to an education management system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are essential for the solution means of the invention.

[0013] <First Embodiment> The first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system including an image forming apparatus 101 which is an example of an image processing apparatus in the present invention.

[0015] In the system of this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 101, the educational management server 104, and the data management server 105 can communicate with each other via the network 102 and the Internet 103.

[0016] The image forming apparatus 101 has a transmission function of reading a document by a scanner, generating image data by reading the document, and transmitting the generated image data.

[0017] The educational management server 104 is a server that manages student information and problems.

[0018] The data management server 105 is a server that stores image data and other data.

[0019] Note that the educational management server 104 and the data management server 105 together are called an educational management system.

[0020] The image forming apparatus 101 optically scans an image of a paper document to generate image data, and transmits the generated image data to a data management server 105 via a network 102 or the Internet 103. The network 102 may be a wireless network as long as it is configured to be able to transmit image data, not limited to a wired network.

[0021] The image data to be transmitted is not limited to bitmap data, and may be data (file) converted into a predetermined image format such as TIFF or JPEG, or data (file) in PDF format.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 101.

[0023] A control unit 110 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 101.

[0024] The CPU 111 reads a control program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112 or a storage 114, and performs various controls such as reading control, printing control, display control, and communication control.

[0025] The ROM 112 stores a control program executable by the CPU 111. The ROM 112 also stores a boot program, font data, and the like.

[0026] A RAM (Random Access Memory) 113 is a main memory of the CPU 111, and is used as a temporary storage area for expanding various control programs stored in a work area, the ROM 112, and the storage 114.

[0027] Storage 114 stores image data, address books, shortcuts, various programs, and various setting information. In this embodiment, a flash memory is assumed as the storage 114, but an SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard), etc. may also be used.

[0028] Note that in the image forming apparatus 101, it is assumed that one CPU 111 executes each process shown in the flowchart described later using one memory (RAM 113), but other modes may also be acceptable. For example, a plurality of CPUs, RAMs, ROMs, and storages may cooperate to execute each process shown in the flowchart described later. Also, a hardware circuit such as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) may be used to execute some processes.

[0029] The operation unit I / F (interface) 115 connects the operation unit 116 and the control unit 110. The operation unit 116 displays an operation screen and various information to the user and detects operations by the user. For example, the operation unit 116 includes a touch panel and hard keys. The touch panel has a display that functions as a display unit and a touch panel sheet that functions as an operation unit. The display is used to display an operation screen and various information. The touch panel sheet and the hard keys are used to receive operations by the user.

[0030] The reading unit I / F 117 connects the reading unit 118 and the control unit 110. The reading unit 118 is a scanner that reads an image of a document and generates image data by converting the image into image data such as binary data. The image data generated by the reading unit 118 is transmitted to an external device or stored in an external recording device.

[0031] The printing unit I / F 119 connects the printing unit 120 and the control unit 110. The CPU 111 transfers the image data to be printed to the printing unit 120 via the printing unit I / F 119. The printing unit 120 prints an image on a sheet such as recording paper fed from a paper feed cassette using toner supplied from a cartridge. This printing unit 120 is a print engine. The printing unit 120 can also print an image based on the image data generated by the reading unit 118, or can print an image based on the image data received via the network 102.

[0032] The external storage I / F 121 connects the external storage device 122 and the control unit 110. The CPU 111 stores the image data in the external storage device 122 via the external storage I / F 121. In this embodiment, a USB interface is assumed as the external storage I / F 121 and a USB memory is assumed as the external storage device 122. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the external storage device 102 may be an SD card.

[0033] The control unit 110 is connected to the network 102 via the communication unit I / F 123.

[0034] The communication unit I / F 123 connects to the data management server 105 via the network 102 and the Internet 103 to perform authentication, transmission and reception of image data, and acquisition of data management information. Also, the communication unit I / F 123 connects to the education management server 104 via the network 102 and the Internet 103 to perform authentication and transmission and reception of various data.

[0035] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the operation unit 116. The operation unit 116 is composed of a touch panel 300, hard keys 305, a DataLED 306, and an ErrorLED 307.

[0036] In Figure 3, the home screen is displayed. The home screen is a screen for selecting each function of the image forming apparatus 101. In the example of Figure 3, buttons for each function executed by the image forming apparatus 101 such as copy, fax, scan, menu, and address book are displayed on the home screen.

[0037] Also, in the example of FIG. 3, a problem submission function button 303 for starting a problem submission function for submitting problems to the education management system is displayed.

[0038] The hard key 305 is a key for returning the display of a screen other than the home screen to the home screen.

[0039] The DataLED 306 and the ErrorLED 307 notify the user of the state of the image forming apparatus 101. The DataLED 306 lights up while the image forming apparatus 101 is executing a job, and the ErrorLED 307 lights up when any error occurs in the image forming apparatus 101.

[0040] FIG. 4 is an example of a screen used when accessing the education management server 104 in the problem submission function. This screen is displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit 116. On the screen of FIG. 4, the user inputs a user ID 401 and a password 402 registered in advance for using the education management service 104. The input user ID 401 and password 402 are stored in the RAM 113. On the screen of FIG. 4, the input user ID is displayed, and the input password 402 is displayed in asterisks.

[0041] When the login button 404 is selected by touch, user authentication processing is performed in the sequence shown in FIG. 13. When the user authentication is successful, the image forming apparatus 101 displays the screen shown in FIG. 6 on the operation unit 116 and acquires problem information that the user can submit from the education management server 104. When the login fails, the image forming apparatus 101 displays the screen shown in FIG. 5 on the operation unit 116.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a screen showing the processing in progress while the image forming apparatus 101 has acquired problem information that an authenticated user who has logged in to the image forming apparatus 101 can submit from the education management server 104 and is being displayed on the operation unit 116. When the processing is completed, the image forming apparatus 101 displays the screen shown in FIG. 7 on the operation unit 116.

[0043] FIG. 7 is a problem submission destination selection screen for a user to specify which problem to submit. In FIG. 7, problem submission button icons (objects) (702, 703, 704) with the lecture name (course information) to be submitted, the text representing the problem name, and an icon indicating the submission status, which are obtained from the education management server 104, are displayed. Further, when the submission status of the problem is "not submitted", a non-submission mark 707 indicating that it is not submitted is added to and displayed on the icon. With this non-submission mark 707, the user can easily recognize which problems are not submitted by looking at the operation unit 116 of the image forming apparatus 101.

[0044] When an error occurs during acquisition of problem information or when there is no problem information that can be displayed, the image forming apparatus 101 causes a message to that effect to be displayed on the operation unit 116. Further, the image forming apparatus 101 causes a screen in a state where problem submission button icons such as icons (702, 703, 704) are not displayed to be displayed on the operation unit 116.

[0045] When the update button 705 is pressed, the image forming apparatus 101 re-acquires problem information from the education management server 104 and changes the displayed problem submission buttons according to the acquired problem information. When the "display only non-submitted" button 706 is pressed, the image forming apparatus 101 switches the screen of FIG. 7 to the screen of FIG. 8.

[0046] The screen of FIG. 8 is a screen in which problem submission button icons are displayed only for problems whose submission status is "not submitted". Also, similar to FIG. 7, when the submission status of the problem is "not submitted", a non-submission mark 808 indicating that it is not submitted is added to and displayed on the icon.

[0047] The operation when the update button 805 is pressed is the same as that of the update button 705.

[0048] When the "display all problems" button 806 is pressed, the image forming apparatus 101 switches the screen shown in FIG. 8 to the screen shown in FIG. 7.

[0049] Press the logout buttons 601, 701, 802 shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, or return to the home screen, then the user ID and password stored in the RAM 113 are cleared. If authentication fails, the screen shown in FIG. 5 appears, and pressing the close button 501 returns to FIG. 4.

[0050] The screen in FIG. 9 is an example of a screen displayed when the assignment submission button icon 802 for the "Sine Law" related to the "Mathematics I" course is selected. On the screen of FIG. 9, a message prompting to place the manuscript and start reading, and a start button 901 for instructing to start reading are displayed. Also, a return button 902 for returning to FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 without starting reading is displayed.

[0051] FIG. 10 is an example of a screen displayed on the operation unit 116 while the start key 901 is selected and the manuscript is being read by the reading unit 118. FIG. 11 is an example of a screen displayed during the process of submitting the image data generated by reading the manuscript by the reading unit 118 to the education management system after the reading of the manuscript by the reading unit 118 is completed.

[0052] FIG. 12 is an example of a screen displayed on the operation unit 116 when the submission process is completed normally. When the close button 1201 is pressed, the image forming apparatus 101 changes the display to FIG. 7 or FIG. 8.

[0053] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the sequence from when the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 101 until the assignment registration button is displayed on the operation unit 116. The processing of the image forming apparatus 101 in FIG. 13 is performed by the CPU 111 reading the program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it. The processing of the education management server 104 in FIG. 13 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading the program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it.

[0054] The user presses the task submission function button 303 on the operation unit 116 of the image forming apparatus 101 to access the education management server 104 with the image forming apparatus 101 (S1301).

[0055] The CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 causes the system login screen in FIG. 4 to be displayed on the operation unit 116 (S1302).

[0056] The user inputs the user ID 401 and the password 402 into the system login screen in FIG. 4, and when the input is completed, presses the login button 404 (S1303).

[0057] When the login button 404 is pressed, the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 notifies the education management server 104 of a token request including the user ID and password received from the user (S1304).

[0058] The education management server 104 compares with the list of user IDs and passwords for each pre-registered user to authenticate the user. If the user ID and password in the token request are in the list, the authentication based on the user ID and password in the token request is successful. On the other hand, if the user ID and password in the token request are not in the list, the authentication based on the user ID and password in the token request fails. Then, the education management server 104 notifies the image forming apparatus 101 of the authentication result in a token request response (S1305).

[0059] The CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 receives a token request response (S1305) and causes the operation unit 116 to display a screen according to the authentication result included in the token request response (S1306). That is, if the authentication result is a failure, the CPU 111 causes the operation unit 116 to display the screen shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand, if the authentication result is a success, the CPU 111 saves the access token in the token request response in the storage 114 of the image forming apparatus 101, associating it with the user ID of the authenticated user, and causes the operation unit 116 to display the screen shown in FIG. 6. Then, the image forming apparatus 101 uses the access token stored in the storage 114 to send a course information acquisition request to the education management server 104 (S1307). In this course information acquisition request, acquisition of currently valid course information is requested using the user ID and the access token.

[0060] The education management server 104 returns a course information response to the image forming apparatus 101 as a response to the course information acquisition request (S1308). The course information response includes course information indicating currently valid courses among the list of course information to which the user indicated by the user ID corresponding to the transmitted access token belongs, according to the course information acquisition request. The course information response includes zero or more course information. In the present embodiment, the course information includes information on "course ID" and "course name".

[0061] When the image processing apparatus 101 can acquire the course information, it further uses each course ID to send a task information acquisition request for each course to the education management server 104 (S1309).

[0062] The education management server 104 returns a list of task information associated with each course ID to the image forming apparatus 101 as a response to the task information acquisition request (S1310). The task information response includes zero or more task information. In the present embodiment, the task information includes "task ID" and "task name". When the image processing apparatus 101 can acquire the task information, it further makes a request for acquisition of task submission information for each task using each "course ID", "task ID", and "user ID" (S1311).

[0063] As a response to the task information acquisition request, the education management server 104 transmits task submission information specified by "course ID", "task ID", and "user ID" (S1312).

[0064] The task submission information includes a "task submission information ID" and a "submission status". The CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 stores "course ID", "course name", "task ID", "task name", "task submission information ID", and "submission status" in the storage 114 in association with the task submission button as task submission button information. Further, the image processing apparatus 101 causes the operation unit 116 to display the screens of FIGS. 7 and 8 described above based on the acquired "course name", "task name", and "submission status" (S1313).

[0065] Specifically, the CPU 111 causes the operation unit 116 to display a button with the acquired "task name" for each task. In FIG. 7, a button icon 702 with the name of the task "Mathematics I Sine Theorem", a button icon 703 with the name of the task "Modern Literature A April", and a button icon 704 with the name of the task "English Home Study" are displayed. The user selects a button icon of the task to be submitted from among these button icons. Further, when displaying the button icon, the CPU 111 adds an unsubmitted mark 707 indicating that it is unsubmitted to the button icon of the task whose "submission status" of the acquired task is "unsubmitted" and then displays the button icon.

[0066] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a sequence when a user presses a task submission button and performs a task submission process to the education management server 104 from reading a manuscript. The processing of the image forming apparatus 101 in FIG. 14 is performed by the CPU 111 reading a program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it. The processing of the education management server 104 in FIG. 14 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading a program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it. The processing of the data management server 105 in FIG. 14 is performed by the CPU of the data management server 105 reading a program stored in the ROM of the data management server 105 into the RAM of the data management server 105 and executing it.

[0067] The user selects a task submission button (any one of the buttons 702 to 704 and 802 to 803) (S1401).

[0068] When the task submission button is selected, the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 causes the confirmation screen shown in FIG. 9 to be displayed on the operation unit 116 (S1402). The confirmation screen in FIG. 9 includes a message prompting to place the manuscript and a start button 901.

[0069] When the user presses the start button 901 in FIG. 9 (S1403), the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 causes the reading unit 118 to start reading the manuscript and causes the screen shown in FIG. 10 to be displayed on the operation unit 116 (S1404).

[0070] Then, when the manuscript reading is completed, the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 causes the screen shown in FIG. 11 to be displayed on the operation unit 116 (S1405). Further, the image processing apparatus 101 uses the course ID associated with the pressed task submission button and the user ID to request the education management server 104 for acquisition of storage destination information of submission data, which is a data storage area managed by the data management server 105 (S1406).

[0071] The education management server 104 returns, as a response, the submission data storage destination information (URL) corresponding to the course ID and user ID included in the received acquisition request (S1407).

[0072] The image processing apparatus 101 uploads the read image data to the submission data storage destination obtained from the acquired submission data storage destination information (S1408).

[0073] The data management server 105 stores the received image data in association with identification information (file ID) that uniquely identifies the data, and returns the data storage result and the file ID to the image forming apparatus 101 (S1409).

[0074] When the image forming apparatus 101 receives the file ID from the data management server, it transmits the "assignment submission information ID" and "file ID" to the education management server 104, and requests the education management server 104 to perform an association process for the assignment submission information and the file ID (S1410). By executing the association process, the education management server 104 can be made to recognize which file with which file ID in the data management server 105 is the file of which assignment submission information. As a result, later, for example, when a grader accesses the education management server from a PC or the like to the education management server 104 to specify an assignment, and the education management server 104 acquires and displays the submission for that assignment, the grader can easily refer to the submission.

[0075] The education management server 104 executes an association process for the assignment submission information and the file ID, and returns the result (S1411).

[0076] The image forming apparatus 101 further makes a submission process request to the education management server 104 using the "course ID", "assignment ID", and "assignment submission information ID" (S1412).

[0077] When the education management server 104 receives a submission processing request, it sets the assignment submission information to the submitted state. As a result, in each course, a user with an account having teacher authority is permitted to access the file ID associated with the assignment.

[0078] When the submission processing is completed, the education management server 104 returns the submission processing result as a response to the image forming apparatus 101 (S1413). When the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 receives the submission processing result, it causes the operation unit 116 to display the screen shown in FIG. 12 (S1414).

[0079] FIG. 16 shows a data structure related to the present invention managed by the education management server 104. The education management server 104 has a plurality of course information 1601. A plurality of assignment information 1602, assignment submission information 1603, course student information 1604, and course teacher information (not shown) are associated with one piece of course information 1601.

[0080] The course information 1601 is information for each course of education such as a "mathematics course" or an "English course". The course information 1601 includes a course ID for uniquely identifying the course, a course name, and information on the course state indicating the state of the course.

[0081] The assignment information 1602 is information for each assignment such as "Mathematics I Sine Theorem" or "Modern Literature A April". The assignment information 1602 includes a course ID for identifying which course the assignment belongs to, an assignment ID for uniquely identifying the assignment, the type of assignment data, the file storage destination of the assignment data, the file ID of the assignment data, and the state information of the assignment.

[0082] The assignment submission information 1603 is information regarding the submission of assignments for each student that can be specified from the assignment information and the student information. The assignment submission information 1603 includes a course ID, an assignment ID, an assignment name, a user ID, and the submission state of the assignment.

[0083] The course student information 1604 is information on students belonging to each course. The course system and information 1604 include a course ID, a user ID, and storage destination information for submitted data.

[0084] FIG. 15 is a processing flowchart of the problem submission function in the image forming apparatus 101. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 is performed by the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 reading a program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 starts when the problem submission button 303 in FIG. 3 is pressed.

[0085] In S1502, the CPU 111 checks whether it has logged in to the education management system 104. If not logged in, in S1501, the CPU 111 causes the operation unit 106 to display the login screen in FIG. 4 and performs the user authentication process shown in S1303 to S1305 in FIG. 13.

[0086] If logged in, in S1503, the CPU 111 performs the problem information acquisition process described in FIG. 13. Specifically, the CPU 111 sequentially makes a course information acquisition request (S1307), a problem information acquisition request (S1309), and a problem submission information acquisition request (S1311) to the education management server 104. Note that the problem submission information acquisition request (S1311) is sequentially executed for all problem IDs acquired in the problem information acquisition request (S1309).

[0087] Here, the processing on the education management server 104 side when each request is made will be described.

[0088] FIG. 17 is a processing flowchart in the education management server 104 when the education management server 104 receives a course information acquisition request (S1307). The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading a program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it.

[0089] Note that the course information acquisition request (S1307) notified from the image processing apparatus 101 includes the user ID.

[0090] When the education management server 104 receives the course information acquisition request (S1307), it returns to the image processing apparatus 101 the currently valid course information among the course information to which the received user ID belongs (S1701).

[0091] FIG. 18 is a processing flow when the education management server 104 receives the task information acquisition request (S1309). The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 18 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading the program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it.

[0092] Note that the task information acquisition request (S1307) notified from the image processing apparatus 101 includes the course ID.

[0093] When the education management server 104 receives the task information acquisition request (S1307), it returns to the image processing apparatus 101 the task information in which the task status is "valid" among the task information to which the received course ID belongs (S1801).

[0094] FIG. 19 is a processing flow when the education management server 104 receives the task submission information acquisition request (S1311). The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 19 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading the program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it.

[0095] Note that the task submission information acquisition request (S1311) notified from the image processing apparatus 101 includes the course ID, user ID, and task ID. When the education management server 104 receives the task submission information acquisition request (S1311), it returns to the image processing apparatus 101 the task submission information specified from the received course ID, user ID, and task ID (S1901).

[0096] Return to the flowchart of FIG. 15. When the task information acquisition process is completed in S1503, the CPU 111 causes the operation unit 116 to display the screen shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 based on the task submission information received in S1312 (S1504).

[0097] When the task submission button is pressed in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 (YES in S1505), the CPU 111 causes the operation unit 116 to display the screen shown in FIG. 9 (S1506).

[0098] In FIG. 9, when the start button 901 is pressed (YES in S1507), the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 causes the reading unit 118 to start reading the original document. The reading settings for reading the original document may be the default reading settings of single-sided, 600 dpi × 300 dpi, color reading, or may be set in advance by the user via the operation unit 116 as the settings used when the task submission button 303 is pressed. Then, the CPU 111 converts the image data generated by reading the original document into a predetermined format and creates submission data (S1508). The predetermined format is, for example, PDF. It may be possible to set in advance via the operation unit 116 which format to use as the predetermined format. Also, in S1508, addition of predetermined meta information to the image data and conversion of the resolution may be performed. Further, when the image data is generated, the CPU 111 executes the submission process (S1509).

[0099] In the submission process (S1509), the submission data storage destination information acquisition request (S1405), submission data upload (S1407), data association request (S1409), and submission process request (S1411) described in FIG. 14 are performed. Also, when the submission status of the issue already included in the issue submission information is "submitted", before the submission data upload (S1407) is performed, a submission status change request (not shown) is sent to the education management server 104. When the education management server 104 receives the submission status change request, for the issue submission information specified by the course ID, issue ID, and user ID included in the received submission status change request, the teacher user's reference authority to the registered submission data is deleted. Then, the education management server 104 adds write authority to the student user. The submission status of the issue in the issue submission information 1603 is changed to "not submitted".

[0100] FIG. 20 is a processing flow when the education management server 104 receives a submission data storage destination information acquisition request (S1405). Note that the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading the program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it. The submission data storage destination information acquisition request (S1405) notified from the image processing apparatus 101 includes a course ID and a user ID.

[0101] When the education management server 104 receives a submission data storage destination information acquisition request (S1405), it returns the student information 1604 of the course specified by the received course ID and user ID to the image processing apparatus 101 (S2001).

[0102] The image processing apparatus 101 refers to the storage destination information of the submission data included in the student information 1604 of the course. The image processing apparatus 101 uploads the submission data to the submission data storage destination managed by the data management server 105 based on the storage destination information of the submission data (S1408).

[0103] When the storage process of the submission data is completed, the data management server 105 returns the submission data upload result (S1408) to the image processing apparatus 101. The submission data upload result (S1408) includes file ID information, which is an ID for managing the submission data on the data management server.

[0104] FIG. 21 is a processing flow when the education management server 104 receives a data association request (S1409). The processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21 are performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading a program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it.

[0105] When the education management server 104 receives a data association request (S1409), it registers the received file ID information in the assignment submission information 1603 specified by the received course ID, assignment ID, and user ID (S2101). Further, after registering the file ID information, the assignment submission information 1603 is returned to the image processing apparatus 101 (S2102).

[0106] FIG. 22 is a processing flow when the education management server 104 receives a submission process request (S1411). The processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22 are performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading a program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it.

[0107] Note that the data association request (S1411) notified from the image processing apparatus 101 includes a course ID, an assignment ID, and a user ID.

[0108] When the education management server 104 receives a data association request (S1411), it changes the submission status of the assignment in the assignment submission information 1603 specified by the received course ID, assignment ID, and user ID to "submitted" (S2201). Furthermore, it requests the data management server 104 to change the access rights of the submitted data registered in the assignment submission information 1603, making the submitted data non-writable and accessible only to users with the course teacher ID (S2202).

[0109] In S2023, as processing result information, it notifies the image forming apparatus 101 of whether it is successful or failed, and if it is failed, information indicating the cause (S1412, S2203). If it is failed, the assignment submission information and the access rights of the submitted data changed in S2201 and S2202 are restored to the state before the start of the processing in S2201.

[0110] In the submission result display process (S1510), if the submission processing result received from the education management server 104 in S1412 is successful, the CPU 111 of the image forming apparatus 101 causes the operation unit 116 to display the screen of FIG. 12, and if it is failed, causes the operation unit 116 to display a screen indicating failure.

[0111] Through the above processing, the manuscript can be read and the generated image data can be easily submitted to the education management system.

[0112] In such an image forming apparatus 101, it may be possible to download and print the assignments stored in the education management server 104. In that case, an assignment printing function button may be displayed on the home screen or the like of the image forming apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 3, and the assignment can be printed by pressing the assignment printing function button.

[0113] FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram that operates when a problem printing function button (not shown) displayed on the operation unit 116 is pressed. The processing of the image forming apparatus 101 in FIG. 23 is performed by the CPU 111 reading a program stored in the ROM 112 into the RAM 113 and executing it. The processing of the education management server 104 in FIG. 23 is performed by the CPU of the education management server 104 reading a program stored in the ROM of the education management server 104 into the RAM of the education management server 104 and executing it. The processing of the data management server 105 in FIG. 23 is performed by the CPU of the data management server 105 reading a program stored in the ROM of the data management server 105 into the RAM of the data management server 105 and executing it.

[0114] Since the processing of S2302 to S2312 is the same as the processing of S1302 to S1312 shown in FIG. 13, detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0115] The image processing apparatus 101 determines whether a problem is printable based on the problem type included in the problem information acquired from the education management server in S2309 and S2310. If the problem is printable, the CPU 111 causes the operation unit 116 to display a screen based on the "course name", "problem name", and "submission status" acquired from the education management server 104 for the problem printing button icon that instructs problem printing (S2313).

[0116] When the user presses the problem printing button icon (S2314), the CPU 111 acquires the storage destination information of the problem file and the problem file ID included in the problem information acquired from the education management server in S2309 and S2310. Then, the image forming apparatus 101 receives the print problem data specified by the acquired storage destination information of the problem file and the problem file ID from the data management server 105 (S2315, S2316). When the image processing apparatus 101 receives the print problem data, it prints the problem based on the received print problem data (S2317).

[0117] Through such processing, the user can easily print a problem to be printed by operating the image forming apparatus 101.

[0118] <Other Embodiments> In this embodiment, an example is given in which course information and task information are acquired without the user's selection, and a plurality of button icons are displayed to allow the user to select a submission destination therefrom. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a step-by-step selection format may be adopted in which the user is allowed to select course information, only the task information of the selected course is received, and the user is allowed to select task information from the received task information.

[0119] Also, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the education management server 104 and the data management server 105 are communicably connected via the Internet 103, but they may be arranged on the same network as the image forming apparatus 101, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0120] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0121] 101 Image forming apparatus 104 Education management server 105 Data management server 111 CPU 112 ROM 113 RAM 114 Storage 118 Reading unit

Claims

1. a reading means for reading a manuscript; a specifying means for specifying a task; a receiving means for receiving, from a first server, storage destination information indicating a storage destination of a second server corresponding to the task specified by the specifying means; a transmitting means for transmitting image data generated by reading the manuscript by the reading means to the storage destination indicated by the storage destination information received by the receiving means; an image processing apparatus, comprising: a notifying means for notifying the first server of identification information for identifying the image data.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notifying means receives, from the second server, identification information for identifying the image data, and notifies the first server.

3. further comprising an acquiring means for acquiring task information; The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the specifying means specifies the task based on the task information acquired by the acquiring means.

4. further comprising a display means for displaying an object for each task based on the task information acquired by the acquiring means; The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the specifying means specifies the task from among the objects for each task.

5. the acquiring means further acquires task submission information indicating whether a task has been submitted; The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display means is capable of displaying an object corresponding to an unsubmitted task and an object corresponding to a submitted task based on the task submission information acquired by the acquiring means.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display means displays information recognizable by a user as being unsubmitted, together with the object corresponding to the unsubmitted task, based on the task submission information.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the display means is capable of displaying an object corresponding to an unsubmitted task without displaying an object corresponding to a submitted task.

8. a requesting means for requesting user authentication; The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the acquiring means acquires task information corresponding to a user authenticated based on a request by the requesting means.

9. further comprising a printing means The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it receives task data for printing a task selected by a user from the second server and causes the printing means to perform printing.

10. A reading step of reading a document, A specifying step of specifying a task, A receiving step of receiving storage destination information indicating a storage destination of a second server corresponding to the task specified in the specifying step from a first server, A transmitting step of transmitting image data generated by reading the document in the reading step to the storage destination indicated by the storage destination information received in the receiving step, A control method for an image processing apparatus, comprising: a notifying step of notifying the first server of identification information for identifying the image data.

11. The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that in the notifying step, identification information for identifying the image data is received from the second server and notified to the first server.

12. Further comprising an obtaining step of obtaining task information, The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that in the specifying step, the task is specified based on the task information obtained in the obtaining step.

13. Further comprising a displaying step of displaying an object for each task based on the task information obtained in the obtaining step, The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that in the specifying step, the task is specified from among the objects for each task.

14. In the obtaining step, task submission information indicating whether a task has been submitted is further obtained, The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that in the displaying step, based on the task submission information obtained in the obtaining step, an object corresponding to an unsubmitted task and an object corresponding to a submitted task can be displayed.

15. The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that in the displaying step, information that allows the user to recognize that a task is unsubmitted is displayed together with the object corresponding to the unsubmitted task based on the task submission information.

16. The control method for an image processing apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that in the displaying step, the object corresponding to the unsubmitted task can be displayed without displaying the object corresponding to the submitted task.

17. A requesting step of requesting user authentication, The control method of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein in the acquisition step, problem information corresponding to a user authenticated based on the request in the request step is acquired.

18. The control method of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 17, further comprising a printing step of receiving and printing problem data for printing a problem selected by a user from the second server.

19. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method of the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

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