JP4802691B2 - Image forming apparatus and data print program for data access - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a data access data print program, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that acquires and outputs data from a server connected to a network and a data access data print program executed by the image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, a web page stored in a WWW (World Wide Web) server (hereinafter referred to as “Web server”) can be downloaded and displayed by causing a computer connected to the Internet to execute a browsing program. The Web page is described in a markup language such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and includes a hyperlink to moving image data or sound data.

  On the other hand, when an image forming apparatus typified by an MFP is connected to the Internet, even if a Web page is downloaded, it does not have a large display, so it is not suitable for displaying the Web page and allowing the user to browse it. It is. Even when the MFP forms an image of a web page on a sheet, when a hyperlink is described in the web page, it is only possible to form an image separately for the linked data, and the hyperlink relationship cannot be expressed. Further, when a hyperlink to moving image data or sound data is described on the Web page, it is impossible to cause the MFP to output moving image data or sound data as a link destination.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-242087, a moving image management apparatus starts a moving image registration system upon request of a user, uploads a moving image selected by a user from a user's computer, registers the moving image in a moving image management database, and a postcard printing system. , The user selects a still image of a selected moving image from the uploaded moving images, and prints the selected still image and a URL for displaying the moving image on a postcard with a printer connected to the computer. When the user who receives the postcard activates and inputs the URL described in the postcard by starting the browser of the computer, the video management device activates the video screening system and acquires the file name of the video included in the URL parameter. A technique for distributing and displaying moving images to a computer is described.

However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-242087, it is necessary to see and select a moving image in order to print a still image of a moving image and a URL for displaying the moving image on a postcard. You need a computer with a video viewing program installed. In addition, the user who has received the postcard has to input a URL with a keyboard in order to access the moving image, which is complicated.
JP 2004-242087 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of image forming data so that link data linked to the data can be accessed, and It is to provide a data access print program.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a data access print program which enable image formation so that link data linked to data can be accessed and which can identify the contents of the link data.

In order to achieve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes a data acquisition unit that acquires data from a server connected to a network, and a network included in the data from the acquired data. Extraction means for extracting the position information on the network of the moving image data linked by the upper position information, position information conversion means for converting the extracted position information into an image code, and acquiring a still image of the moving image data as image data Image data acquisition means for associating with the acquired image data and the associated image data obtained by associating the converted image code with the converted image code, and associated data generation means for generating association data different from the acquired data And image forming means for forming an image of the generated association data.

According to this aspect, the position information of the moving image data linked by the data is converted into the image code, and the association data in which the image data that is the still image of the moving image data and the image code are associated with each other is acquired. It is generated separately from the data and imaged. For this reason, it is possible to inform the user of the contents of the moving image data by image data using association data different from the acquired data. In addition, when an image code can be read by an apparatus capable of reading an image code, moving image data of position information obtained by converting the image data can be acquired and moving image data can be output. As a result, the moving image data to be accessible to image formation are linked to the data, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus which can identify the content of the video data.
Preferably, the association data generation unit includes the acquired image data so that the image of the image data acquired when the image is formed by the image forming unit and the image of the image code are physically arranged. The image code is arranged side by side in the associated data.
Preferably, the associated data generation unit synthesizes the acquired image data and the image code.

Preferably, the data acquisition unit acquires a plurality of data associated with each other in a hierarchical structure, and the extraction unit extracts, from each of the plurality of data, position information on the network of the video data linked by the data, The attached data generation means converts the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and the image code converted by the position information conversion means into a plurality of data based on the position information extracted from each of the plurality of data by the extraction means. Includes position determining means for arranging according to a hierarchical structure with which the items are associated.

According to this aspect, a plurality of data associated with each other in a hierarchical structure is acquired, and from each of the plurality of data, position information on the network of the moving image data linked by the data is extracted and extracted from each of the plurality of data. The image data associated with the position information and the image code obtained by converting the position information are arranged according to a hierarchical structure in which a plurality of data is associated. For this reason, an image of a plurality of position information is provided so that it can be understood from which of a plurality of pieces of data associated with the hierarchical structure the plurality of pieces of position information extracted from the plurality of pieces of data associated with the hierarchical structure. Code can be placed. As a result, a desired image code can be easily selected from a plurality of image codes included in the related data.

Preferably, the association data generation means includes a plurality of image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and a plurality of image codes converted by the position information conversion means when a plurality of position information is extracted by the extraction means. Includes position determining means for classifying and arranging the video data based on the attribute of the moving image data specified by each of the plurality of position information.

According to this aspect, when a plurality of pieces of position information are extracted, a plurality of pieces of image data associated with the plurality of pieces of position information and an image code obtained by converting the plurality of pieces of position information are specified by the plurality of pieces of position information. Sort and arrange based on video data attributes. For this reason, a plurality of image codes can be arranged so that the attribute of the data specified by the position information of the image code can be known from the plurality of image codes included in the related data.

Preferably, the extracting unit does not extract the position information of the moving image data that is not permitted to be read by the security information included in the attribute.

According to this aspect, since position information of moving image data that is not permitted to be read is not extracted, unnecessary moving image data can be eliminated, and an unnecessary operation by the user can be prevented in advance. .

Preferably, a storage unit that preliminarily stores permission attribute data including an attribute of data, which is a condition for permitting output after the associated data is image-formed by the image forming unit, and the extraction unit stores the data in the storage unit. Position information of moving image data having an attribute different from the attribute included in the stored permission attribute data is not extracted.

According to this aspect, the position information of the video data with the attribute that is not permitted to be output is not extracted, so unnecessary link data can be eliminated, and an unnecessary operation by the user can be prevented in advance. Can do.

Preferably, the attribute of the moving picture data is the extension included in the file name for identifying the video data.

Preferably, the attribute of the video data, frame rate, a size or amount of data of the frame.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a data access data print program is a data access data print program executed by a computer connected to a network, and acquires data from a server connected to the network. If, from the obtained data, and converting and extracting the positional information of the moving image data linked by the position information on a network included in the data, the extracted positional information to the image code, the video data A step of acquiring a still image as image data, and a step of generating association data different from the acquired data, which is association data in which the acquired image data and the converted image code are arranged in association with each other And image forming the generated association data. To be executed by the data.

According to this aspect, together with the moving image data to be accessible to image formation are linked to the data, it is possible to provide a data access for data printing program that enables identify the contents of the moving image data.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a data access data printing method is a data access data printing method executed by a computer connected to a network, and acquires data from a server connected to the network. Extracting the position information of the moving image data linked by the position information on the network included in the data from the acquired data, converting the extracted position information into an image code, and moving image data obtaining a still image as image data, a association data arranged in association with the image code converted and the obtained image data, generates another association data from the acquired data And forming an image of the generated association data.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of a network system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in a network system, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) 100, a Web server 101, and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 102 are connected to a network 103, respectively. The MFP 100 is an image forming apparatus having a scanner function, a copy function, a print function, and a facsimile transmission / reception function. The Web server 101 is a computer having a WWW (World Wide Web) server function. The Web server 101 assigns and stores a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to a Web page that is a document file described in HTML (HyperText Markup Language), and publishes the Web page on the network as a WWW server. That is, when the Web server 101 receives a request for transmitting a Web page from a client, the Web server 101 transmits the requested Web page to the requesting client. The web page is SGML (Standard Generalized Markup).
_Language), T E X, may be a document file written in a markup language such as XHTML (eXtensible HTML). HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is used for communication between the Web server 101 and the client. The MFP 100 and the PC 102 can be clients. The network 103 includes a public network such as a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Networks), an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), a packet switching network, or a computer network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. Since the hardware configuration and functions of the PC 102 are well known, description thereof will not be repeated here.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the MFP. Referring to FIG. 2, MFP 100 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 17, an image reading unit 13, an image forming unit 14, and a paper feeding unit 18. The ADF processes a plurality of documents placed on the document table one by one in order and conveys them to the image reading unit 13. The image reading unit 13 optically reads image information such as photographs, characters, pictures and the like from a document and acquires image data. When image data is input, the image forming unit 14 prints an image on a recording sheet such as paper based on the image data. The paper supply unit 18 stores recording sheets, and supplies the stored recording sheets one by one to the image forming unit 14. In addition, MFP 100 includes operation panel 11 on the top surface thereof.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the MFP. Referring to FIG. 3, MFP 100 includes information processing unit 301, facsimile unit 302, communication control unit 303, image reading unit 13, image forming unit 14, paper feeding unit 18, ADF 17, and speaker 322. Including. The information processing unit 301 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 311, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 311 a used as a work area of the CPU 311, an image memory 312, and a hard disk drive (HDD) for storing data in a nonvolatile manner. ) 321, timer 320, display unit 313, operation unit 310, data communication control unit 309, and data input / output unit 308. The CPU 311 is connected to the data input / output unit 308, the data communication control unit 309, the operation unit 310, the image memory 312, and the display unit 313, and controls the entire information processing unit 301. CPU 311 is connected to facsimile unit 302, communication control unit 303, image reading unit 13, image forming unit 14, paper feeding unit 18, ADF 17, and speaker 322, and controls the entire MFP 100. The image memory 312 includes a bitmap memory 312 a for storing image data expanded in a bitmap format for printing by the image forming unit 14. The timer 320 measures time and outputs the time measured to the CPU 311.

  The display unit 313 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic ELD (Electro Luminescence Display), and displays an instruction menu for the user, information about acquired image data, and the like. The operation unit 310 includes a plurality of keys, and accepts input of various instructions, data such as characters and numbers by user operations corresponding to the keys. The operation unit 310 includes a touch panel provided on the display unit 313. The display unit 313 and the operation unit 310 constitute the operation panel 11.

  The data communication control unit 309 is connected to the data input / output unit 308. The data communication control unit 309 controls the data input / output unit 308 according to an instruction from the CPU 311 and transmits / receives data to / from an external device connected to the data input / output unit 308. The data input / output unit 308 includes a LAN terminal 314 that is an interface for communication using TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal 315, a Centronics terminal 316, and an RS-232C (Recommended Standard 32). A serial interface terminal 317 such as Version C) and a JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) terminal 318.

  In the MFP 100, when a LAN cable for connecting to the network 103 is connected to the LAN terminal 314, the data communication control unit 309 controls the data input / output unit 308 to connect to the Web server connected via the LAN terminal 314. 101 and the PC 102 communicate. When the data communication control unit 309 controls the data input / output unit 308 and a device is connected to any one of the USB terminal 315, the Centronics terminal 316, the serial interface terminal 317, and the JTAG terminal 318, the data communication control unit 309 Communicate with connected devices to input / output data. A USB memory 319 incorporating a flash memory is connected to the USB terminal 315. The USB memory 319 stores a data access data print program which will be described later. The control unit 311 controls the data communication control unit 309 to read the data access data print program from the USB memory 319 and read it. A data print program for data access is stored in the RAM 311a and executed.

  The recording medium for storing the data access data print program is not limited to the USB memory 319, but is a flexible disk, cassette tape, optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) / MO (Magnetic Optical Disc / MD). (Mini Disc) / DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)), IC card (including memory card), optical card, mask ROM, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), semiconductor memory such as EEPROM (Electronically EPROM), etc. The program here is a program that can be directly executed by the CPU 311. As well as programs in the source program format, compressed programs, encrypted programs, and the like.

  The facsimile unit 302 is connected to the PSTN and transmits facsimile data to the PSTN or receives facsimile data from the PSTN. The facsimile unit 302 converts the received facsimile data into print data that can be printed by the image forming unit 14 and outputs the print data to the image forming unit 14. As a result, the image forming unit 14 prints the facsimile data received by the facsimile unit 302 on a recording sheet.

  The communication control unit 303 is a modem for connecting the CPU 311 to the PSTN. The communication control unit 303 communicates with other computers connected to the PSTN. As a result, the CPU 311 can transmit / receive data to / from another computer via the PSTN. A communication control unit 303 is used when the MFP 100 is connected to the Web server 101 or the PC 102 via the PSTN.

  The speaker 322 is controlled by the CPU 311 and emits various message sounds to notify the user of various states of the MFP 100.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the operation panel of the MFP. Referring to FIG. 4, operation panel 11 includes a display unit 313 and an operation unit 310. The operation unit 310 includes a plurality of keys 201 to 205 and 210 to 213, and a touch panel 215 attached to the surface of the display unit 313. A start key 201 is a key for accepting an instruction to start an operation such as copying or facsimile transmission. The numeric keypad 202 is a key for accepting input of numerical values such as the number of copies. A clear key 203 is a key for receiving an instruction to clear an input numerical value and discard data stored in the HDD 321. A stop key 204 is a key for accepting an instruction to stop the copy operation or the scan operation. A panel reset key 205 is a key for accepting an instruction to discard the set mode and job.

  A copy key 210, a scan key 211, a facsimile transmission key 212, and a URL print key 213 are selection keys for switching the MFP 100 to any one of a copy mode, a scanner mode, a facsimile mode, and a URL print mode. When the user presses the copy key 210, the MFP 100 acquires an instruction to switch to the copy mode and switches to the copy mode. MFP 100 functions as a copier in the copy mode. When the user presses the scan key 211, the MFP 100 acquires an instruction to switch to the scanner mode and switches to the scanner mode. MFP 100 functions as a scanner in the scanner mode. When the user presses facsimile transmission key 212, MFP 100 obtains an instruction to switch to facsimile mode and switches to facsimile mode. MFP 100 functions as a facsimile in the facsimile mode. When the user presses URL print key 213, MFP 100 obtains an instruction to switch to URL print mode and switches to URL print mode. Processing executed by the MFP 100 in the URL print mode will be described later. Note that the copy key 210, the scan key 211, the facsimile transmission key 212, and the URL print key 213 can be exclusively selected. When one key is selected, the other keys are automatically unselected.

  The display unit 313 is controlled by the CPU and displays a plurality of screens simultaneously. In FIG. 4, an example in which a mode display screen 206 for displaying various modes of MFP 100, a job information screen 208 for displaying job information, and a setting screen 207 for displaying a setting screen are displayed. Show. The display unit 313 can switch a plurality of screens independently. When the user designates a button key displayed on the display unit 313, the position of the button key is detected by the touch panel 215. When the position of the button key is detected by the touch panel 215, the CPU 311 acquires an instruction corresponding to the button key. Therefore, the user can input instructions and setting information to MFP 100 by specifying button keys displayed on display unit 313.

  Display unit 313 displays job information currently set in MFP 100 on job information screen 208 in the order of jobs to be executed. The job information screen 208 includes a job operation button 209. When the user designates the job number button to be operated after instructing the job operation button 209, the MFP 100 obtains an instruction for specifying the job, and obtains the instruction instead of displaying the job information screen 208 on the display unit 313. Displays the job operation screen for displaying detailed job information. As a result, the user can confirm detailed information of the designated job. Moreover, you may make it accept the change of the content of a job as needed.

  Display unit 313 displays a screen for setting a copy operation on setting screen 207 when MFP 100 is in the copy mode. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a screen for setting a copy operation is displayed on the setting screen 207. The screen for setting the copy operation includes a basic screen for inputting basic settings or an application screen for inputting application settings. In the figure, an example in which a basic screen is displayed is shown. The screen for setting the copy operation includes a switching button for switching between the basic screen and the application screen. When the user designates the switching button, the display unit 313 displays the screen on the screen corresponding to the designated switching button. Switch. When the user finishes the various settings according to the screen for setting the copy operation and then sets the document and presses the start key 201, the MFP 100 starts the copy operation according to the set contents.

  Display unit 313 displays a screen for setting a scan operation on setting screen 207 when MFP 100 is in the scan mode. When the user finishes the various settings according to the screen for setting the scan operation and then sets the document and presses the start key 201, the MFP 100 starts the scan operation according to the set contents. Display unit 313 displays a screen for performing various settings for the facsimile transmission operation on setting screen 207 when MFP 100 is in the facsimile mode. After the user completes the various settings, when the document is set and the start key 201 is pressed, the MFP 100 starts a facsimile transmission operation according to the set contents. When the MFP is in the URL print mode, the display unit 313 displays a URL setting screen for performing various settings for the URL print operation on the setting screen 207. When the user presses the start key 201 after completing the various settings, the MFP 100 starts execution of a data access data print process described later.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a URL setting screen displayed on the setting screen 207 when the MFP is in the URL print mode. The URL setting screen shown in FIG. 5 is a screen displayed on the display unit 313 when the user presses the URL print key 213. Referring to FIG. 5, the URL setting screen displayed on setting screen 207 includes a switching button 220 for instructing switching to the display of the detailed setting screen, and a URL input area 221 for inputting the URL. When the user inputs a URL indicating the position on the network of the Web page stored in the Web server 101 in the URL input area 221, the URL is received by the operation unit 310 and output to the control unit 311. When the URL is input, the control unit 311 stores the acquired URL in the HDD 321. Here, the Web page to which the URL stored in the HDD 321 is assigned is called a main page. At least one URL may be stored in the HDD 321, but a plurality of URLs may be stored in the HDD 321. The control unit 311 may receive the setting information for the URL print operation from an external device and store the URL, or read the setting information stored in the USB memory 319 and store the URL. May be.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing an overview of the functions of the CPU when the MFP is in the URL print mode. Referring to FIG. 6, the CPU 311 acquires a main page acquisition unit 151 that acquires a main page from the Web server 101 and a link page acquisition that acquires a Web page linked to the acquired main page (hereinafter referred to as “link page”). Unit 161, link data URL extracting unit 152 that extracts the URL of data linked to the main page or link page (hereinafter referred to as “link data”), and an image code generating unit that converts the URL of the link data into an image code 153, an image code embedding unit 154 for embedding an image code in a Web page, a related page generating unit 162 for generating a related page, and a bit for converting a main page or a related page in which the image code is embedded into bitmap data Map data generator 155 and bitmap data as an image And a print data generating unit 156 generates print data for forming.

  The main page acquisition unit 151 reads the URL from the HDD 321 and outputs a signal requesting transmission of the main page to which the URL is assigned to the data communication control unit 309 or the communication control unit 303 to acquire the main page. The data communication control unit 309 or the communication control unit 303 transmits a signal requesting transmission of the main page to which the URL is assigned to the Web server 101. When Web server 101 receives a signal requesting transmission of a main page to which a URL is assigned, it transmits the corresponding main page to MFP 100. When receiving the main page from the Web server 101, the data communication control unit 309 or the communication control unit 303 outputs the received main page to the main page acquisition unit 151. The main page acquisition unit 151 outputs the acquired main page to the link data URL extraction unit 152 and the link page acquisition unit 161.

  When the main page is input from the main page acquisition unit 151, the link page acquisition unit 161 extracts the URL of the hyperlinked link page from the main page, and transmits the link page to which the extracted URL is assigned. The requested signal is output to the data communication control unit 309 or the communication control unit 303, and a link page is acquired. The data communication control unit 309 or the communication control unit 303 transmits a signal requesting transmission of a link page to which a URL is assigned to the Web server 101. When the Web server 101 receives a signal requesting transmission of a link page to which a URL is assigned, the Web server 101 transmits the corresponding link page to the MFP 100. When receiving the link page from the Web server 101, the data communication control unit 309 or the communication control unit 303 outputs the received link page to the link page acquisition unit 161. The link page acquisition unit 161 outputs the acquired link page to the link data URL extraction unit 152 and the related page generation unit 162. If the acquired link page includes a link page that is hyperlinked, the link page acquisition unit 161 further acquires a link page that is hyperlinked to the link page.

  The link data URL extraction unit 152 receives a main page or a link page. The link data URL extraction unit 152 extracts URLs such as moving image data or sound data that are hyperlinked from the main page or the link page. Here, the moving image data or sound data is referred to as link data. Specifically, since the main page or the link page is described in HTML, an extension (avi, rm, amc, swf, mpg, mpeg, etc.) or audio data indicating moving image data from the main page or the link page is used. When the extension (mid, wav, mp3, dvf, dss, wma, etc.) indicated is searched and such extension is detected, the video from “http: //” to the detected extension Extracted as URL of data or audio data. Then, the link data URL extraction unit 152 outputs the URL of the extracted link data to the image code generation unit 153. When the link data URL extraction unit 152 extracts URLs of a plurality of link data, the link data URL extraction unit 152 outputs all the extracted URLs to the image code generation unit 153.

  The HDD 321 stores permission attribute data 321A. The permission attribute data 321A is an attribute of data that is permitted to be output among link data. The permission attribute data 321 </ b> A is obtained by inputting an attribute of data permitted to be output to the MFP 100 by operating the operation unit 310 by the user. The data attributes include comment information, security information, data type, and data size described in the header or footer of moving image data or sound data. The type of data may distinguish moving image data and sound data, or may distinguish application programs that reproduce moving image data or sound data. In the case of moving image data, the data attributes may further include a frame rate and a frame size. The sound data may include a bit rate. The permission attribute data defines an attribute of data that the user wants to output.

  The link data URL extracting unit 152 extracts the URL of the link data from the main page or the link page, but extracts the URL of the link data of the attribute defined in the permission attribute data and is not defined in the permission attribute data. The URL of attribute link data is not extracted. Further, the link data URL extraction unit 152 acquires the attribute of the link data even if the link data has the attribute defined in the permission attribute data, and when reading is prohibited by the security information included in the attribute, If no security certificate is attached, the URL is not extracted.

  The image code generation unit 153 receives the URL of the link data, converts the URL of the link data into a two-dimensional code including a two-dimensional graphic pattern such as a QR code (Quick Response Code), and generates an image code. To do. Then, the image code generation unit 153 outputs the image code generated from the URL of the link data to the image code embedding unit 154 and the related page generation unit 162.

The image code embedding unit 154 receives the main page, the link page, and the image code. The image code embedding unit 154 embeds an image code in each of the main page and the link page. The embedding of the image code in the main page and the embedding of the image code in the link page are the same except that the Web page to be handled is different, and here, an example in which the image code is embedded in the main page will be described. The image code embedding unit 154 includes an image data extraction unit 171, an image code insertion unit 172, and a synthesis unit 173. The image data extraction unit 171 extracts image data related to the URL corresponding to the image code to be embedded from the main page. The image data related to the URL is, for example, a thumbnail obtained by reducing a still image of the moving image data when the link data specified by the URL is moving image data. Therefore, both the image data and the image code are related to one link data . Images data extraction unit 171, the position in the main page of the file name of the extracted image data is output to the image code inserting unit 172, and outputs the file name of the extracted image data to the combining unit 173.

  The image code insertion unit 172 adds and rewrites the file name of the image code to the main page so that the image code is arranged around the position where the file name of the image data is arranged on the main page. As a result, the image code is inserted into the main page. The image code insertion unit 172 outputs the main page in which the image code is inserted to the bitmap data generation unit 155. The synthesizing unit 173 reads the image data from the file name of the image data, synthesizes the image data and the image code, and embeds the image code in the image data. Then, the image code inserting unit 172 updates the image data in which the image code is embedded. Since the file names are the same, when the main page is displayed, the image data in which the image code is embedded is read and displayed.

  The related page generation unit 162 includes an image data extraction unit 171, a hierarchy arrangement unit 174, and an attribute arrangement unit 175. The related page generation unit 162 receives an image code corresponding to the URL of the link data extracted from the main page and an image code corresponding to the URL of the link data extracted from the link page. A related page that associates image data associated with the link data with the link data is generated. When a plurality of image codes are input, the image data extraction unit 171 extracts image data corresponding to each of the plurality of image codes from the main page or the link page. Each of the hierarchical arrangement unit 174 and the attribute arrangement unit 175 associates an image code and image data. This association may be performed by arranging the image code and the image data side by side, or the image data and the image code may be associated with each other. May be combined by embedding an image code in the image data.

  The hierarchical arrangement unit 174 generates a related page in which a plurality of sets of image data and image code are arranged according to the hierarchical structure of the main page and the link page. As a result, the user can understand whether the set of the image data and the image code belongs to the main page or the link page. The layer arrangement unit 174 outputs the generated related page to the bitmap data generation unit 155.

  The attribute arrangement unit 175 generates a related page in which a plurality of sets of associated image data and image codes are classified and arranged according to the attribute of link data related to them. For example, as an example of classification by data type attribute, groups related to link data of moving image data are arranged together in one group, and groups related to link data of attribute data are arranged together in another group. To do. As an example of classification based on the data size attribute, groups related to link data having a size of 1 Mbyte or less are arranged in one group, and groups related to link data having a size of 1 M to 10 Mbyte are separated. A group related to link data having a size exceeding 10 Mbytes is further arranged in another group. The arrangement method of a plurality of sets of image data and image code may be set in advance by the user. The attribute arrangement unit 175 outputs the generated related page to the bitmap data generation unit 155.

  When a main page or a link page is input from the image code embedding unit 154, the bitmap data generation unit 155 generates bitmap data based on the input main page or link page, and generates the generated bitmap data Is stored in the bitmap memory 312a. When a related page is input from the related page generation unit 162, the bitmap data generation unit 155 generates bitmap data based on the input related page and stores the generated bitmap data in the bitmap memory 312a. To do. The print data generation unit 156 reads the bitmap data from the bitmap memory 312a, generates print data, and outputs the print data to the image forming unit 14. As a result, the main page, link page, or related page is image-formed on a recording medium such as paper. Since the image code is embedded in the main page or the link page, the image code of the URL of the link data is printed in association with the image data related to the link data.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Web page in which an image code is inserted. Referring to FIG. 7, the image code 402 of the URL of the link data is arranged in a blank portion between the image data 401 related to the link data and the information 403 not related to the link data. If there is no margin part, the information 403 may be moved downward.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Web page in which an image code is embedded in image data. Referring to FIG. 8, image code 402 is combined with image data 401 related to link data. At this time, it is preferable to synthesize the image code 402 into a single color area of the image data 401. Since there is no shape information in a single color region, it is possible to synthesize an image code with minimal loss of information provided to the user. When a single color area cannot be found in the image data 401, a single color area is forcibly generated and an image code is synthesized. This is to ensure reading of the image code.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a main page. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link page. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related page generated according to the hierarchical structure of the Web page. Referring to FIGS. 9 to 11, as shown in FIG. 9, the name “NEWS” is assigned to the main page 404. The main page 404 includes a link object 405 to a link page 410 named “Sports”, a link object 406 to a link page named “Society”, and a link named “Entertainment”. There is a link object 407 to the page. The link page 410 with the name “sports” includes an object 411 indicating a date, a link object 412 to the movie data of rugby NEWS, and a link object 413 to the movie data of baseball NEWS. Exists. The link objects 412 and 413 are image data, and the moving image data is link data. Referring to FIG. 11, link objects 405, 411, 411 A, 421, and 423 are arranged in related pages 420 generated based on the hierarchical structure of main pages and link pages according to the hierarchical structure of main pages and link pages. Furthermore, link objects 421 and 423 to the link data and image data 422 and 424 corresponding to the URL of the link data are arranged.

  By arranging the image codes 422 and 424 corresponding to the URL for accessing the link data in association with the image data 421 and 423 in accordance with the hierarchical structure of the main page and the link page, the user can intuitively understand the hierarchical structure of the link data. Can understand and improve cognition.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related page generated by classification according to the attribute of link data. FIG. 12 shows an example classified by the size of link data. In the figure, in the related page 420A, link objects 421 and 423 to link data and image data 422 and 424 corresponding to the URL of the link data are arranged together in a group in which the data size of the link data is 10 Mbytes or less. Yes. It is possible to confirm whether or not the playback function and memory of the external device used by the user to access the link data are sufficient or the file capacity is reproducible before actually playing back.

  FIG. 13 is a first flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of data access data generation processing executed by the control unit of the MFP according to the present embodiment. This data access data generation process is executed by the control unit 311 when the control unit 311 reads and executes the data access data generation program stored in the ROM. Referring to FIG. 13, control unit 311 receives a URL and transmits a signal requesting transmission of a web page to which the given URL is assigned to web server 101 (step S01). Here, the URL given to the control unit 311 may be the URL of the main page stored in the HDD 321 or the URL of the link page hyperlinked in the main page. Further, it may be a URL input from the operation unit 310 by the user. Then, the web page to which the URL is assigned is received from the web server 101 (step S02).

  Next, the control unit 311 determines whether or not the URL of the hyperlinked link data exists in the received Web page (step S03), and if the URL of the hyperlinked link data exists. The process proceeds to step S04, and if not, the process proceeds to step S12. Specifically, the control unit 311 has an extension (mov, rm, amc, swf, mpg, mpeg, etc.) indicating link data of moving image data from a web page, or an extension (mid, wav, mp3, dvf, dss, wma, etc.) and if such an extension is detected, the URL of the video data or sound data from “http: //” to the detected extension Detect as.

  In step S04, the control unit 311 determines whether or not link data can be output. If output is possible, the process proceeds to step S05. If output is not possible, the process proceeds to step S11. The control unit 311 reads the permission attribute data 321A stored in the HDD 321 and determines whether the attribute of the link data is an attribute defined by the permission attribute data 321A. For example, in the permission attribute data 321A, if the moving image data attribute is permitted and the sound data attribute is not permitted, the URL extension of the link data detected in step S03 is avi, rm, amc, swf, If any of mpg, mpeg, etc., it is determined that output is possible, but if the extension is not an extension of moving image data, it is determined that output is impossible. Further, the control unit 311 acquires the link data attribute even if the link data has the attribute defined in the permission attribute data, and if the reading is prohibited by the security information included in the attribute, the security certificate is issued. If it is not attached, it is determined that output is impossible. In step S05, the control unit 311 extracts the URL of the link data determined to be output. Then, the control unit 311 generates an image code such as a QR code based on the extracted URL (step S06).

  Then, the control unit 311 acquires related image data related to the URL extracted in step S05 (step S07). The related image data is, for example, thumbnail image data obtained by reducing a still image of the moving image data when the link data specified by the URL is moving image data. Since the file name of the related image data is described in the Web page, the control unit 311 acquires the related image data by extracting and reading the file name of the related image data. If the related image data is stored in another computer, it is acquired by receiving the related image data from the other computer.

  Next, the control unit 311 determines an embedding method (step S08). The embedding method includes a synthesizing method and an insertion method, and is set in advance as one of the embedding methods by the user. Control unit 311 advances the process to step S09 if MFP 100 is set to the composition method, and advances the process to step S10 if the setting is set to the insertion method. In step S09, the control unit 311 synthesizes the related image data acquired in step S07 and the image code generated in step S06, and embeds the image code in the related image data. Then, the control unit 311 stores the related image data after synthesis without changing the file name, and advances the process to step S11. In step S10, the control unit 311 inserts and arranges an image code near the related image data in the Web page. Specifically, the file name of the image code is inserted around the position where the file name of the related image data is arranged in the Web page, the Web page is rewritten, and the process proceeds to step S11.

  The control unit 311 determines whether there is other link data in the Web page received in step S02 (step S11). If there is, the process returns to step S04, and if not, the process proceeds to step S12. Proceed to Thereby, the process of step S04-step S10 is performed with respect to all the link data described in the web page.

  In step S12, the control unit 311 converts the web page into bitmap data. When MFP 100 is set to the composition method, the image code is embedded in the related image data in the Web page, and therefore the bitmap data includes the image code in the related image data. When MFP 100 is set to the insertion method, since the image code is inserted in the vicinity of the related image data on the Web page, the bitmap data includes the image code. Then, the control unit 311 forms an image of bitmap data (step S13). As a result, the bitmap data is image-formed on a recording sheet such as paper. Since the bitmap data includes the image code, the image code is formed on the paper. If the MFP 100 is set to the composition method, the Web page is formed with the image shown in FIG. 8, and if the MFP 100 is set to the insertion method, the Web page is formed with the image shown in FIG. .

  FIG. 14 is a second flowchart showing an example of the flow of data access data generation processing executed by the control unit of the MFP according to this embodiment. This data access data generation process is executed by the control unit 311 when the control unit 311 reads and executes the data access data generation program stored in the ROM. Referring to FIG. 14, the control unit 311 reads the URL of the main page stored in the HDD 321 and transmits a signal requesting transmission of the main page to which the URL is assigned to the Web server 101 (step S21). Then, the control unit 311 receives the main page from the Web server 101 (step S22).

  Next, although the control part 311 performs step S23-step S28, since these processes are the same as the process of step S3-step S11 shown in FIG. 13, respectively, description is not repeated here. In step S29, the control unit 311 determines whether or not the URL of the hyperlinked link page exists in the main page received in step S22, and if the URL of the hyperlinked link page exists. The process proceeds to step S30, and if not, the process proceeds to step S39.

  In step S <b> 30, the control unit 311 transmits a signal requesting transmission of a link page to which a URL is assigned to the Web server 101. Then, the control unit 311 receives a link page from the Web server 101 (step S31). In step S32 to step S37, the control unit 311 extracts the URL of the link data hyperlinked in the link page in the same manner as in step S23 to step S28 in the main page (step S34). The URL of the link data is converted into an image code (step S35), and related image data related to the link data is acquired (step S36).

  In step S38, the control unit 311 determines whether or not link data exists. If the link data exists, the control unit 311 returns the process to step S30, and if not, advances the process to step S39. Here, the link page is not limited to the link page hyperlinked in the main page, but includes a link page hyperlinked to the link page. In step S39, the control unit 311 generates a related page from the image code generated in step S26 or step S35 and the related image data acquired in step S27 or step S36. The generation of the related page will be described later. Then, the control unit 311 converts the related page into bitmap data (step S40), and forms an image of the bitmap data (step S41).

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of related page generation processing executed in step S39 of FIG. When the processing in steps S21 to S38 in FIG. 14 is executed, a plurality of sets of image codes and related image data are generated for one link data from each of the main page and the link page. In the related page generation process, a related page in which an image code and related image data are associated and arranged is generated for each of the plurality of sets. There are two related page generation methods, a page hierarchy structure method and an attribute classification method, depending on the group arrangement method, and the user sets in advance one of the generation methods.

  Referring to FIG. 15, control unit 311 determines the related page generation method (step S51). If MFP 100 is set to the page hierarchical structure method, the process proceeds to step S52, and the attribute classification method is set. If so, the process proceeds to step S53. In step S52, the control unit 311 generates a related page in which a plurality of sets of image data and image code are arranged according to the hierarchical structure of the main page and the link page. As a result, the related page is formed with the image shown in FIG. 11, and the user can understand whether the set of the image data and the image code belongs to the main page or the link page.

  In step S53, the control unit 311 generates a related page in which a plurality of sets of image data and image code are classified and arranged according to the attribute of link data related to them. The classification based on the attribute includes, for example, a classification based on the attribute of the type of link data and a classification based on the attribute of the size of the link data. Which classification is selected is set in advance by the user. For example, the related page is image-formed with the image shown in FIG. 12, and image data and image code pairs are classified and formed according to the size of the link data. For this reason, a user who tries to access a link page using a related page should check whether the playback function and file memory of the device to be used are sufficient or whether the file format is reproducible. Can be confirmed.

  As described above, the MFP 100 according to the present embodiment converts the URL of link data linked by a Web page into an image code such as a QR code, embeds it in the Web page, converts it into bitmap data, Etc. to form an image. For this reason, if the image code formed on the paper is read by an apparatus capable of reading the image code, the link data to which the URL converted from the image code is assigned can be acquired and the link data can be output.

  Further, since the position where the image code is embedded in the web page is determined based on the position in the web page of image data such as a thumbnail associated with the URL of the link data by the web page, the image of the URL associated with the link data respectively. An image can be formed by arranging the code and the image data in association with each other.

  In addition, since image data such as a thumbnail associated with the URL of the link data and the image code are synthesized by the Web page, it is possible to form an image by associating the image data with the image code.

  Further, the URL of the link data linked by the main page or the link page is converted into an image code, and a related page in which the image data associated with the URL of the link data is associated with the URL by the main page or the link page is generated. Then, an image is formed. For this reason, the user can be notified of the contents of the link data by image data. In addition, when an image code can be read by an apparatus capable of reading an image code, the link data of the URL obtained by converting the image data can be acquired and the link data can be output.

  The related page includes an image code obtained by converting the URL of link data extracted from each of the main page and link page, and image data associated with link data extracted from each of the main page and link page. Arrange according to the hierarchical structure with which the pages are associated. For this reason, URLs of multiple link data are converted so that multiple link data extracted from the main page and link page associated in a hierarchical structure can be identified from either the main page or link page. Thus, it is possible to arrange the image code, to suppress wasteful consumption of paper, and to provide information that can be easily recognized by the user.

  In addition, since a related page in which a plurality of sets of image data and image code are classified and arranged based on the attribute of link data is generated, a plurality of image codes can be arranged so that the attribute of link data can be understood. it can.

  In addition, when the link data is not permitted to be read by the security information or the URL of the link data that is not permitted to be output by the user is not extracted, the image data and the image code corresponding to the unnecessary link data are converted into the image. Do not form. For this reason, it is possible to reduce wasteful paper consumption, and to confirm whether the playback function and file memory of the external terminal used by the user are sufficient or whether the file format is reproducible before actually playing back. It is possible to prevent unnecessary operations from being performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the MFP 100 has been described. However, the data access data print method for causing the image forming apparatus to execute the processes illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 15 or the processes illustrated in FIGS. It goes without saying that the present invention can be grasped as a data access data print program for causing the image forming apparatus to execute processing.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a figure showing the whole network system outline in one of the embodiments of the invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an MFP. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an MFP. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an operation panel of the MFP. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a URL setting screen displayed on a setting screen when the MFP is in a URL print mode. FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an overview of functions of a CPU when an MFP is in a URL print mode. It is a figure which shows an example of the web page which inserted the image code. It is a figure which shows an example of the web page which embedded the image code in the image data. It is a figure which shows an example of a main page. It is a figure which shows an example of a link page. It is a figure which shows an example of the related page produced | generated according to the hierarchical structure of the web page. It is a figure which shows an example of the related page classified and produced | generated by the attribute of link data. 6 is a first flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of data access data generation processing executed by the control unit of the MFP according to the present embodiment. 10 is a second flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of data access data generation processing executed by the control unit of the MFP according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the related page production | generation process performed by FIG.14 S39.

Explanation of symbols

  11 operation panel, 13 image reading unit, 14 image forming unit, 17 ADF, 18 paper feeding unit, 100 MFP, 101 server, 102 PC, 103 network, 151 main page acquisition unit, 152 extraction unit, 153 image code generation unit, 154 Image code embedding unit, 155 bitmap data generation unit, 156 print data generation unit, 161 link page acquisition unit, 162 related page generation unit, 171 image data extraction unit, 172 image code insertion unit, 173 composition unit, 174 layers Arrangement unit, 175 attribute arrangement unit, 301 information processing unit, 302 facsimile unit, 303 communication control unit, 308 data input / output unit, 309 data communication control unit, 310 operation unit, 311 control unit, 312 image memory, 312a bitmap memory 313 Display unit 319 SB memory, 321 HDD, 321A permission attribute data.

Claims (11)

Data acquisition means for acquiring data from a server connected to the network;
Extracting means for extracting the position information of the moving image data linked by the position information on the network included in the data from the acquired data;
Position information conversion means for converting the extracted position information into an image code;
Image data acquisition means for acquiring still images of the moving image data as image data;
Association data that associates and arranges the acquired image data and the converted image code, and generates association data that is different from the acquired data; and
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image of the generated association data.   The associated data generation unit is configured to arrange the acquired image so that the image of the acquired image data and the image of the image code are physically arranged when the image is formed by the image forming unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data and the image code are arranged side by side in the association data.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the association data generation unit synthesizes the acquired image data and the image code. The data acquisition means acquires a plurality of data associated in a hierarchical structure,
The extraction means extracts, from each of the plurality of data, position information on a network of moving image data linked by the data,
The associating data generation means is based on the position information extracted from each of the plurality of data by the extraction means and image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and an image converted by the position information conversion means The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position determination unit that arranges a code according to a hierarchical structure in which the plurality of pieces of data are associated. The association data generation means includes a plurality of image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and a plurality of image codes converted by the position information conversion means when a plurality of position information is extracted by the extraction means. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a position determining unit that classifies and arranges the image data based on the attribute of the moving image data specified by each of the plurality of position information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit does not extract position information of moving image data that is not permitted to be read out by security information included in the attribute. A storage unit that preliminarily stores permission attribute data including a data attribute, which is a condition for permitting output after the association data is image-formed by the image forming unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit does not extract position information of moving image data having an attribute different from an attribute included in the permission attribute data stored in the storage unit. Said moving picture data attribute is extension included in the file name for identifying the moving image data, the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 7. It said moving picture data attributes are frame rate, a size or amount of data of the frame, the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 7. A data access data print program executed on a computer connected to a network,
Obtaining data from a server connected to the network;
Extracting the position information of the moving image data linked by the position information on the network included in the data from the acquired data;
Converting the extracted position information into an image code;
Obtaining a still image of the moving image data as image data;
Generating association data that is association data in which the acquired image data and the converted image code are associated with each other and are different from the acquired data;
A data access data print program for causing a computer to execute the step of forming an image of the generated association data. A data access data printing method executed by a computer connected to a network,
Obtaining data from a server connected to the network;
Extracting the position information of the moving image data linked by the position information on the network included in the data from the acquired data;
Converting the extracted position information into an image code;
Obtaining a still image of the moving image data as image data;
Generating association data that is association data in which the acquired image data and the converted image code are associated with each other and are different from the acquired data;
Forming an image of the generated association data; and a data access data printing method.

Images