Web Server Interface for Remote Image Processing Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing apparatuses require complex software and cumbersome operations to manage multiple functions, necessitating different software for each device, leading to user difficulty in monitoring and controlling status across a network.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a Web server function in the image processing apparatus, allowing general-purpose Web client software to manage and control multiple devices from a host computer, using HTTP protocol for communication, enabling remote UI for status monitoring and operation through a Web browser.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple dedicated application software are installed in the host computer to control different image processing apparatuses, then each apparatus can be controlled independently, but the software complexity and load on the host computer increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal Web browser-based interface that can control multiple types of image processing apparatuses (copiers, facsimiles, printers) through a single application. The apparatuses themselves provide Web server functions, allowing any Web browser to access and control them without requiring device-specific software, thus achieving multi-functionality and reducing host computer load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a Web server function as an intermediary layer between the image processing apparatus and the user. This Web server translates device-specific control commands into standard Web protocols (HTTP/HTML), allowing general-purpose Web browsers to control specialized devices without requiring specialized software, thereby simplifying the system architecture.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different operation methods are required for each image processing apparatus, then each device can be optimized for its specific function, but the user learning curve increases and ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The Web browser interface provides a unified operation method for controlling different image processing apparatuses. Users interact with copiers, facsimiles, and printers through the same Web-based commands and display formats, eliminating the need to learn device-specific operation methods while preserving each device's specialized functions through the standardized Web interface.
3Loss of information
If complicated application software is designed to display apparatus status on the host computer, then comprehensive status monitoring is achieved, but the software development effort and complexity increase enormously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the Web server function as an intermediary to transfer apparatus status information to the host computer in standard Web formats (HTML). This eliminates the need for complicated proprietary software to display status, as any Web browser can automatically render the status information provided by the apparatus's Web server, significantly reducing software development effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs standard Web protocols and HTML formatting to represent apparatus status information, creating a universal copy of the status data that can be displayed by any Web browser without requiring device-specific software. This standardization allows comprehensive status monitoring using simple, widely-available Web browsing technology.
Data Source
AI summary
A Web server function is provided for an image processing apparatus including a scanner for reading an image on a document, a printer for printing an image, an E-mail transmission/reception function, a FAX transmission/reception function, and the like to make the image processing apparatus generate a list of information about the status of various jobs and image data stored in a storage unit as a Web page. A user can browse and operate this Web page by using the Web browser of a computer connected to the apparatus through a LAN. The user of the computer can therefore grasp and manipulate information about a plurality of jobs executed by the image processing apparatus and information about image data at a remote place from the image processing apparatus.