JP4337612B2 - Data sharing system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a data sharing system that shares data in multiple MFP or the terminal device connected to a network.

  Conventionally, many data sharing systems for sharing data between a plurality of terminals connected via a network have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a communication device that transmits and receives information between a plurality of communication devices connected via a network. This includes negotiation means for communicating with a receiving communication device to determine whether the receiving communication device has the same resource when transmitting information to the receiving communication device. In addition, when the communication device on the reception side does not have a resource that can process the data to be transmitted by the negotiation unit, the conversion unit converts the data into data that can be processed by the communication device on the reception side. Yes. According to this, only the information according to the resource of the communication partner can be transmitted in advance, and useless communication can be prevented. In addition, in order to convert the data to be transmitted into information that can be processed by the resource of the communication partner, the data capacity itself can be reduced and the communication load can be reduced.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a peer-to-peer file exchange system having a peer machine authentication function. This includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected via a network and a management server that manages the information processing apparatuses. The management server manages the transmission capability of the information processing apparatus (peer server) on the transmission side, and sends more transfer requests than necessary. It is not generated. This prevents excessively loaded communication.

JP-A-8-204703 JP 2003-178028 A

  However, the communication device of Patent Document 1 cannot always be converted into a data format corresponding to the resource of the communication device on the receiving side, and when converted, the data capacity may be increased in some cases. In that case, the communication load is increased. Further, Patent Document 1 has a problem that it cannot be applied to data transmission / reception beyond a firewall.

  In the technique of Patent Document 2, data transmission / reception is possible beyond the firewall, but the capacity of the data itself to be transmitted / received is not reduced. Therefore, the communication load cannot be reduced as a whole. In particular, when data is shared between multifunction devices, the types of data that can be handled by each multifunction device are often different, so simply managing the transmission capability cannot prevent wasteful communication, and consequently It is difficult to reduce the communication load.

Therefore, in the present invention, an object to provide a data sharing system that can further reduce the communication load.

The data sharing system of the present invention is a data sharing system comprising a relay server, a plurality of multifunction peripherals connected to the relay server via a network, and a multifunction peripheral control means for controlling the multifunction peripheral. The relay server includes a registration accepting unit that accepts registration of data to be disclosed by storing a list of data to be disclosed from the multifunction peripheral, and a multifunction peripheral that stores multifunction peripheral information including capability information of each connected multifunction peripheral A restriction list that provides the multifunction device with a restriction list that lists only data that is determined to be handled by the multifunction device of the delivery destination based on the capability information of the multifunction device among the information storage means and the registered data. Providing means and data providing means for providing the data related to the acquisition request to the multifunction peripheral in response to an acquisition request from the multifunction peripheral. Displayed together to store target data in the storage device of the MFP, a registration unit to perform a registration of data by sending a list of the data to the relay server, the MFP, a limited list provided from the relay server Selection means for accepting a user's selection of data acquired from the restriction list, and causing the multi-function peripheral to perform request polling for requesting acquisition of the data until the selected data is provided from the relay server. an acquisition unit for acquiring the data from the relay server, the MFP, polling to perform the polling to the relay server in order to confirm the presence or absence of acquisition request from another MFP to data stored If it is confirmed that there is an acquisition request by means of confirmation polling for the means and the MFP, Includes and uploading means for uploading over data to the relay server, the further data providing means of the relay server stores the acquisition request from the MFP to the data that is registered, holds data relating to the acquisition request In response to confirmation polling from other multifunction devices, request polling means for returning the presence or absence of a stored acquisition request, and request polling for requesting acquisition of the data when the data related to the acquisition request is uploaded by the upload means Transmission means for transmitting the data to the multi-function peripheral as a response to the above.

  In a preferred aspect, the restriction list also includes data that can be handled by the multifunction peripheral of the provision destination by performing data conversion, and when the data providing means of the relay server receives a data acquisition request from the multifunction peripheral, Based on the capability information of the MFP, the data converted into a form that can be handled by the MFP is provided to the MFP. Desirably, the acquisition unit of the MFP control unit causes the MFP to notify the relay server of usage information that is a use of the data together with the data acquisition request to the relay server. When a data acquisition request is received, the data related to the acquisition request is converted to data and provided to the multifunction device based on the capability information of the multifunction device and the notified usage information.

  In another preferred aspect, the multifunction device control means causes the multifunction device to obtain multifunction device information from the relay server, and the multifunction device receives the identification information of the multifunction device stored in the multifunction device information. And a multifunction device selection means for accepting a selection of a multifunction device for displaying and publishing data from the user, and publishes data only to the selected multifunction device.

  Here, the multi-function peripheral refers to all multi-function printers having at least a printing function and a communication function. Further, the multifunction device control means may be one or more programs that exist in either the multifunction device or the relay server. Further, some may exist in the relay server and some in the multifunction peripheral. Furthermore, the OS of the multifunction machine itself may be used. Further, the multifunction device or the terminal device may be provided with one or more means that exhibit functions equivalent to the multifunction device control means.

  The network may be an area-limited network such as a LAN or WAN in addition to the Internet. The restriction list may be created by either the multifunction peripheral or the relay server.

  According to the present invention, since only the data that can be handled by the multifunction peripheral of the providing destination is disclosed, useless data exchange can be prevented, and the communication load can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a data sharing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The data sharing system 10 includes a relay server 12 and a plurality of multifunction devices 14 (composite printers). The multifunction device 14 functions as a terminal device that exchanges data with the relay server in the data sharing system. Each multifunction device 14 is arranged in the local area network 16 at the installation location, and is connected to the relay server 12 via the Internet 20. The local area network 16 is connected to the Internet 20 via a firewall 18 to prevent unauthorized access from the outside. Therefore, the relay server 12 and each multifunction device 14 are connected via the firewall 18. The firewall 18 can pass only predetermined communication from the outside. Examples of the predetermined communication include a response to an HTTP communication request and an e-mail message.

  The relay server 12 is connected to the plurality of multifunction devices 14 via the Internet 20. The relay server 12 manages various information and provides functions to the multifunction device 14 in order to share data among the multifunction devices 14. Hereinafter, the data sharing system 10 will be described in detail.

  First, the relay server 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the relay server 12. The relay server 12 includes two Web service server applications 22 and 24 (hereinafter referred to as “WebSSA”), a plurality of storage units 26, 28 and 30, and a communication interface 25 (hereinafter referred to as “communication I / F 25”). And.

  The communication I / F 25 includes an HTTP or HTTPS protocol, and provides a communication function with the multifunction device 14. The communication I / F 25 further includes an authentication function, and authenticates the message sender based on MFP authentication information 50 attached to a communication message from the MFP 14 described later.

  The Web SSA includes a multifunction machine information processing Web SSA 22 and a data sharing Web SSA 24. The two WebSSAs 22 and 24 both provide a predetermined service to the multifunction device 14 in response to a request from the multifunction device 14. The MFP information processing WebSSA 22 is an application that provides each MFP 14 with information on other MFPs. Specifically, the MFP information DB 26 described later is managed, and the MFP information stored in the MFP information DB 26 is provided in response to a request from the MFP 14. Each multifunction device 14 creates a registration list to be described later based on the provided multifunction device information.

  The data sharing Web SSA 24 is a Web SSA for realizing transmission / reception of data between the multifunction devices 14. As described above, since the multi-function devices 14 are connected to each other via the firewall 18, they cannot directly exchange data. Therefore, the data sharing WebSSA 24 of the relay server 12 is used to transmit and receive data between the multifunction devices 14. The data sharing Web SSA 24 provides the relay server 12 with functions corresponding to the registration processing unit 32, the list provision processing unit 34, and the data acquisition processing unit 36.

  The registration processing unit 32 performs processing related to registration of data to be disclosed. Specifically, a registration list transmitted from the multifunction device 14 is received and stored in the registration list DB 28. Here, the registration list is a list of data held in each multifunction device 14 that is disclosed to other multifunction devices 14. The registration list stores access authority information such as to which MFP 14 the data is to be disclosed, in addition to access information such as data identification ID, data name, and storage location. This access authority is determined based on the selection of the user of each multifunction device 14 and the capability of the disclosure target multifunction device 14. This will be described in detail later.

  The list provision processing unit 34 performs processing related to provision of a restriction list to each multifunction device 14. The restriction list is created based on the registration list transmitted from each multifunction device 14 stored in the registration list DB 28, and is a list of data published to the multifunction device 14. . Therefore, if there is a restriction list acquisition request from the multifunction device 14, the list provision processing unit 34 accesses the registration list DB 28 to create a restriction list, and transmits this restriction list to the multifunction device 14.

  The data acquisition processing unit 36 performs processing related to data transmission / reception between the multifunction devices 14. Specifically, the acquisition request from the acquisition-side multifunction device 14 that requests acquisition of data is stored, and is notified to the providing-side multifunction device 14 that holds the data. When the data is transmitted from the providing side multifunction device 14, the data is temporarily stored in the data spool unit 30 and then provided to the obtaining side multifunction device 14. The notification of the acquisition request and the provision of data are performed using polling from each multifunction device 14 as will be described in detail later.

  Further, the relay server 12 includes a multifunction machine information DB 26, a registration list DB 28, and a data spool unit 30. The multifunction device information DB 26 manages information of a plurality of multifunction devices 14 connected, and multifunction device information. The MFP information includes the identification ID, model, machine configuration, etc. of each MFP 14. From the model and machine configuration, it is possible to determine the capabilities of each MFP 14, such as the format and number of colors of images that can be handled, the resolution, the capacity of the storage device 44, and the types of files that can be stored. Therefore, it can be said that the information on the model and the machine configuration is capability information of each multifunction device 14.

  The registration list DB 28 stores a list of data to be disclosed and a registration list transmitted from each multifunction device 14. The data spool unit 30 is a storage unit for temporarily storing data transmitted from the providing multifunction device 14. The data held here is deleted if it is provided to the acquisition-side multifunction device 14 that requests acquisition of the data.

  Next, the multifunction device 14 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction machine 14. However, the multifunction device 14 described below is an example, and each multifunction device 14 has a different configuration and performance depending on the model and the machine configuration.

  The multi-function device 14 is a multi-function printer having functions such as a printer, FAX, and copy, and is used for a user interface (hereinafter referred to as “U / I 40”), a basic function unit 42, a storage device 44, and communication. Communication I / F 48, authentication information 50, and the like. In addition, a Web service client that functions as a WebSSA client of the relay server 12 is included.

  The configuration of the basic function unit 42 varies depending on the model and machine configuration of each multifunction device 14. For example, a printer unit 58 that performs printing, a copying unit 56 that performs copying, a FAX unit 60 that performs facsimile transmission / reception, and the like. I have. The performance of each functional unit constituting the basic functional unit 42 also varies depending on the model of the multifunction machine 14 and the machine configuration. Therefore, for example, the contents of printing that can be performed by the printer unit 58, the availability of color printing, the resolution, the image format, and the like vary depending on the model.

  The U / I 40 provides an interface between the user and the multi-function peripheral 14, and includes an operation panel 52 that receives a user operation and a display panel 54 that presents information to the user. The specifications of the operation panel 52 and the display panel 54 also vary depending on the model of the multifunction machine 14 and the like. Therefore, for example, the resolution and the number of colors of images that can be displayed on the display panel 54, the form and the number and types of operation buttons on the operation panel 52, and the like vary depending on the model.

  The storage device 44 is composed of a hard disk or the like built in the multifunction machine 14 and can store images read by a reading device (not shown) of the copying unit 56, printing data, and the like. Further, general-purpose data such as a document file can be stored depending on the model of the multifunction device 14. The storage device 44 is divided into several storage areas 44a, and an identification ID is assigned to each storage area 44a. When publishing data to other multi-function devices 14, it is possible to select whether or not to publish for each storage area 44 a. Note that the data type, format, capacity, and the like that can be stored in the storage device 44 also differ depending on the model of the multifunction device 14.

  The communication I / F 48 is an interface for communicating with the relay server 12 and includes an HTTP or HTTPS protocol. The authentication information 50 is identification information that is assigned to each MFP 14 and is transmitted when communicating with the relay server 12. The relay server 12 reads the transmitted authentication information 50 and prevents unauthorized access.

  The Web service client (hereinafter referred to as “WebSC 46”) functions as a WebSSA client of the relay server 12. This calls a Web service of a URL specified in advance (WebSSA of the relay server 12), and provides the MFP 14 with a registration unit, a selection unit, an acquisition unit, a confirmation polling unit, and an upload unit. Hereinafter, each means will be described. However, each unit described below is not realized only by a service provided by WebSSA, but is partially realized in cooperation with the OS and communication software of the multifunction machine 14 itself. In this embodiment, the function described below is exhibited as a service provided from WebSSA. However, the MFP 14 may be provided with means for exhibiting the function described below.

  The registration unit registers data to be disclosed in the relay server 12. This registration is performed by creating a registration list in which data to be registered is listed and transmitting it to the relay server 12. The registration list is created by the following procedure. First, data to be disclosed by the user or the storage area 44a is designated. The registration unit requests the multifunction machine information from the relay server 12 and acquires it. Then, the MFP information is read, and a list of MFPs 14 connected via the relay server 12, in other words, MFPs 14 that can release data, is displayed on the display panel 54.

  The user selects the multifunction machine 14 for which data is to be disclosed from the displayed list of multifunction machines 14. If the multifunction machine 14 to be published is selected, the registration unit registers only the data determined to be handled by the selected multifunction machine 14 (the multifunction machine 14 to be published) among the data to be published. Create a list. The determination as to whether or not it can be handled is made based on the model and machine configuration of the multifunction machine 14 to be disclosed, in other words, based on the capability information of the multifunction machine 14 to be published.

  For example, when the multifunction device 14 to be published can handle only monochrome image data, it determines that color image data is data that cannot be handled by the multifunction device 14. The registration list is a list of only data excluding data that is determined not to be handled by the multifunction machine 14 to be disclosed. Then, by transmitting this registration list to the relay server 12, the data to be disclosed is registered.

  The selection means is means for selecting data to be acquired. This requests the relay server 12 to acquire a restriction list, and displays the restriction list acquired by this acquisition request on the display panel 54. As described above, the restriction list is a list of data disclosed to the multifunction machine 14. The restriction list is created based on a registration list in which only data that can be handled by the multifunction machine 14 to be disclosed is listed. Therefore, it can be said that this restriction list is a list of only data that is disclosed to the multifunction device 14 and that can be handled by the multifunction device 14. If the user selects data to be acquired from the restriction list via the operation panel 52, the selection unit accepts this and notifies the acquisition unit of the selected content.

  The acquisition unit is a unit that acquires selected data from the relay server 12. This is done by making an acquisition request for the selected data to the relay server 12. If there is data related to the acquisition request, the relay server 12 returns the data. If there is no data related to the acquisition request, the other MFP 14 holding the data is notified that there is an acquisition request. When the data is transmitted from another multifunction device 14 to the relay server 12, the relay server 12 transmits the data to the multifunction device 14 that requests acquisition. The MFP 14 that has made the acquisition request continues to transmit the acquisition request to the relay server 12 at a predetermined polling interval until the data is transmitted from the relay server 12.

  The confirmation polling means and the uploading means are means for providing the data held by itself to other multifunction devices 14. The confirmation polling means performs confirmation polling with respect to the relay server 12 in order to confirm whether or not there is an acquisition request from another multifunction device 14 for the data held by itself. Further, when it is confirmed by confirmation polling that there is an acquisition request from another multifunction device 14, the upload unit uploads data related to the acquisition request to the relay server 12.

  Next, the flow of data sharing in the data sharing system 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 are sequence diagrams showing the flow of data sharing in the data sharing system 10.

  When sharing data with another multifunction device 14, first, data to be disclosed to the other multifunction device 14 is registered. In the registration, first, the data that the user wants to disclose or the storage area 44a is designated. If the data or storage area 44 a is selected, the WebSC 46 acquires a list of multifunction peripherals 14 that can be disclosed from the relay server 12 and displays the list on the display panel 54. The user selects a multifunction device 14 for which data is to be disclosed from the displayed multifunction device 14 list. If the multifunction device 14 to be disclosed is selected, the WebSC 46 acquires the multifunction device information of the multifunction device 14 from the relay server 12 and creates a registration list based on the multifunction device information.

  The registration list is a list of only data that is determined to be handled by the selected multifunction device 14 among the data to be disclosed. This can be determined based on the capability of the selected multifunction device 14, for example, whether or not a color image can be handled, and the resolution that can be handled. If the registration list is created, it is transmitted to the relay server 12. The relay server 12 stores the transmitted registration list in the registration list DB 28.

  Next, when the user wants to acquire data stored in another multifunction device 14, the user instructs the start of data acquisition (see FIG. 5). When receiving an instruction to start data acquisition, the WebSC 46 requests the relay server 12 to acquire a restriction list. The relay server 12 accesses the registration list DB 28, creates a restriction list that lists only data that is permitted to be disclosed to the multifunction device 14, and provides this to the multifunction device 14.

  The WebSC 46 displays the provided restriction list on the display panel 54. The user looks at the displayed data and selects data to be acquired. Here, the restriction list to be displayed is created based on the registration list. The registration list is a list in which only data that can be handled by the multifunction machine 14 to be disclosed is listed. Therefore, the data included in the restriction list is only data that can be handled by the multifunction device 14. For example, when the multi-function device 14 cannot handle general-purpose data, data other than general-purpose data is displayed, and when only the monochrome image data can be handled, data other than color image data is displayed. For this reason, the data displayed on the display panel 54 is only data that can be handled by the multifunction device 14, and the user does not select data that cannot be handled by the multifunction device 14 by mistake. Thereby, transmission / reception of unnecessary data can be prevented, and the communication load in the entire data sharing system 10 can be reduced.

  The WebSC 46 transmits an acquisition request for the selected data to the relay server 12. Here, the relay server 12 stores that there is an acquisition request for the data, and returns NG as a response to the multifunction device 14. That is, the relay server 12 normally holds only data access information (registration list), and there is no data entity. Therefore, when there is an initial acquisition request for data from the multi-function device 14, the data cannot be returned, so NG is returned.

  Upon receiving NG, the multifunction device 14 repeats the data acquisition request at a predetermined polling interval. On the other hand, the other MFP 14 that holds the data checks whether there is an acquisition request for the data held by the MFP 14 by confirmation polling. The relay server 12 returns the presence / absence of an acquisition request as a response to this confirmation polling. When it is confirmed that there is an acquisition request as a response, the other multifunction device 14 uploads data related to the acquisition request to the relay server 12. The relay server 12 stores the uploaded data in the data spool unit 30. If there is an acquisition request polling from the MFP 14 that requests acquisition of the data, the data is returned as a response.

  The MFP 14 that has acquired the data related to the acquisition request performs processing such as saving it in the storage area 44a or printing it directly.

  Through the above flow, the data sharing between the multifunction machines 14 is performed. Here, since only the data that can be handled by the capability of the multifunction device 14 is disclosed, there is no need to make an acquisition request for data that cannot be handled by mistake. Therefore, unnecessary transmission / reception of data can be prevented, and the communication load can be reduced as a whole. In addition, since each data is exchanged via the relay server 12, data can be shared between the multifunction machines 14 across the firewall 18. In addition, since polling is used, it is not necessary to transmit the data entity at the time of registering the data to be disclosed, and it is only necessary to transmit the data entity when there is a data acquisition request from another multifunction device 14. Therefore, the communication load can be reduced as a whole.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the communication load can be reduced. In this embodiment, the data that can be handled by the multifunction device 14 is only data that can be handled as it is by the multifunction device 14, but data that can be handled by data conversion may also be included. For example, even if it is color image data, it can be handled by the multi-function device 14 that can only perform monochrome printing if converted to monochrome image data. Data that can be handled by such conversion may also be included in the restriction list as “data that can be handled”, and when the data is provided, the data may be converted by the relay server 12 or the multifunction device 14 and passed. . As a result, a larger number of data can be shared. In particular, if data conversion is performed by the relay server 12, a larger number of data can be shared with the multi-function device 14 that does not have a data conversion function.

  When data conversion is performed, it is desirable that the multi-function peripheral also notifies the relay server of the use of the acquired data. That is, the data conversion form differs depending on whether the acquired data is printed or displayed on the display panel. Therefore, when making a data acquisition request, it is desirable to notify the use of the data and to convert the data into appropriate data according to the use and the capability of the multifunction device.

  In the present embodiment, only data that can be handled by the multifunction machine 14 to be disclosed is registered, but all data may be registered. When providing the restriction list to the multifunction machine 14 to be disclosed, a restriction list in which only data that can be handled by the relay server 12 according to the capability of the multifunction machine 14 may be created and provided.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, various functions are provided to the multifunction device 14 by the WebSC 46 in response to the provision of services from the WebSSA of the relay server 12, but the multifunction device 14 itself may have these functions.

  Further, only the access information (registration list) is transmitted when registering data in the relay server 12, but actual data may be transmitted. Further, by always managing the actual data with the relay server 12, the time for exchanging data can be shortened. However, in this case, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the data spool unit 30.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the data sharing system which is embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a relay server. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral. FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of data sharing. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of data sharing.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Data sharing system, 12 Relay server, 14 MFP, 16 Local area network, 18 Firewall, 20 Internet, 22 MFP information processing WebSSA, 24 Data sharing processing WebSSA, 26 MFP information DB, 28 Registration list DB, 30 data spool section, 42 basic function section, 44 storage device, 46 WebSC, 52 operation panel, 54 display panel.

Claims (4)

A data sharing system comprising a relay server, a plurality of multifunction peripherals connected to the relay server via a network, and a multifunction peripheral control means for controlling the multifunction peripheral,
The relay server
Registration acceptance means for accepting registration of the data made by storing a list of data to be disclosed from the multifunction peripheral;
MFP information storage means for storing MFP information including capability information of each connected MFP;
A restriction list providing means for providing, to the multifunction device, a restriction list that lists only data that is determined to be handled by the recipient multifunction device based on capability information of the multifunction device among the registered data;
In response to an acquisition request from the multifunction device, data providing means for providing the data related to the acquisition request to the multifunction device;
With
The MFP control means
A registration unit that causes the MFP to store data to be disclosed in the storage device of the MFP, and to register the data by causing the relay server to transmit a list of the data ;
A selection means for causing the MFP to display a restriction list provided from the relay server and to accept a user's selection for data acquired from the restriction list;
Acquisition means for causing the MFP to perform request polling to request acquisition of the data until the selected data is provided from the relay server, and acquiring the data from the relay server;
Confirmation polling means for causing the multifunction device to perform confirmation polling to the relay server to confirm whether there is an acquisition request from another multifunction device for the stored data;
When the MFP can confirm that there is an acquisition request by confirmation polling, upload means for uploading data related to the acquisition request to the relay server;
Equipped with a,
Furthermore, the data providing means of the relay server includes:
Request notification means for storing an acquisition request for registered data from a multi-function peripheral and returning the presence / absence of a stored acquisition request in response to confirmation polling from another multi-function peripheral holding the data related to the acquisition request When,
When the data related to the acquisition request is uploaded by the upload means, a transmission means for transmitting the data to the MFP as a response to request polling for requesting acquisition of the data;
Having
A data sharing system characterized by that. The data sharing system according to claim 1,
The restriction list also includes data that can be handled by the multifunction device provided by the data conversion,
When the data providing means of the relay server receives a data acquisition request from the multifunction device, the data converted into a form that can be handled by the multifunction device based on the capability information of the multifunction device is sent to the multifunction device. A data sharing system characterized by providing. The data sharing system according to claim 2,
The acquisition unit of the MFP control unit causes the MFP to notify the relay server of usage information that is the usage of the data together with a data acquisition request to the relay server.
When the data providing means of the relay server receives a data acquisition request from the MFP, the data providing means converts the data related to the acquisition request based on the capability information of the MFP and the notified usage information, and A data sharing system characterized by being provided to a machine. The data sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The MFP control means
MFP information acquisition means for causing the MFP to acquire MFP information from the relay server;
A multifunction device selection means for causing the multifunction device to display the identification information of the multifunction device stored in the multifunction device information, and to accept the selection of the multifunction device for which data is disclosed from the user;
A data sharing system characterized in that the data is disclosed only to the selected multifunction device.

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