JP7148392B2 - Image processing device and image data transmission method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, techniques have been proposed for transmitting image data of a document read by a scanner connected to a network to an information processing apparatus connected to the same network. For example, a technology has been proposed in which a scanner transmits a broadcast to a network to which the scanner is connected, and determines the destination of image data based on the response of the information processing device (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2003-100000 and 2004-100000). 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-127298 JP 2002-232637

However, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are mainly applicable to LANs (Local Area Networks) in offices. In an environment where the image processing apparatus is installed in a convenience store and used by unspecified users, the application of the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is difficult from the viewpoint of security, It is difficult to consider the trouble of connecting to the LAN by the user.

In addition, devices used by unspecified users, such as image processing devices installed in convenience stores, are equipped with a function as an access point for wireless communication. Communication is performed with In this case, it is necessary to connect using a password or PIN (Personal Identification Number) code that is shared with the communication target device in order to enable communication between devices appropriately and to ensure communication security. There is For example, when data is transmitted from an image processing device to a terminal device, an operation of displaying a PIN code on the terminal device and inputting the displayed PIN code into the image processing device occurs. The user of the image processing device needs to go back and forth between the terminal device and the image processing device, move the viewpoint, and input the PIN code into the image processing device, which is troublesome. There is

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-described problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and the like capable of appropriately transmitting image data to a terminal device based on terminal device information displayed on a display unit.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the image processing device of the present invention includes:
An image processing device comprising a storage unit for storing image data, a communication unit connectable to a terminal device, a display unit, and a control unit,
The control unit
displaying the information of the terminal device when there is one connected terminal device, and displaying the information of the nearest terminal device when there are a plurality of the terminal devices connected,
transmitting the image data via the communication unit to a terminal device corresponding to the displayed information;
It is characterized by

The image data transmission method of the present invention includes:
An image data transmission method in an image processing device comprising a communication unit connectable to a terminal device, a display unit, and a control unit,
displaying the information of the terminal device when there is one connected terminal device, and displaying the information of the nearest terminal device when there are a plurality of the terminal devices connected,
transmitting image data via the communication unit to a terminal device corresponding to the displayed information;
It is characterized by

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately transmit image data to a terminal device based on the information of the terminal device displayed on the display unit.

1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of an image data transmission system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining functional configurations of an image processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of a received signal strength list in the first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of a process in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of a process in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for explaining the flow of terminal name display processing in the first embodiment; It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 1st embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flow diagram for explaining the flow of terminal name display processing in the second embodiment; It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure for explaining an example of operation in a 3rd embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as an example, a system including the image processing apparatus of the invention will be described.

[1. First Embodiment]
[1.1 Overall configuration]
[1.1.1 System Configuration]
The overall configuration of the system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 includes a processing device 10, an image forming device 20, and a terminal device 30. As shown in FIG. Although FIG. 1 shows one terminal device 30 connected to the processing device 10 , a plurality of terminal devices 30 may be connected to the processing device 10 . Further, the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 may be configured as a device (for example, the image processing device 25) including the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20. FIG.

The processing device 10 is a device connected to the image forming device 20 . The image forming apparatus 20 is a device that outputs an image by forming an image on a recording sheet or the like from image data input from the outside, and is a so-called multifunction device. In this embodiment, the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 are connected by wire so that they can communicate with each other. The processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 are connected by a connection method based on the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard, for example. The processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 may be connected by a connection method based on known standards such as IEEE 1394 and RS-232, or may be connected by a LAN (Local Area Network). Also, the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 may be wirelessly connected.

Further, the processing device 10 may charge for the services provided to the user. In this case, the processing device 10 may be connected to a toll collection device having a coin slot for collecting tolls in cash, a banknote slot, a return button, a coin return slot, and a bill return slot.

The terminal device 30 is a portable information processing terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet. The terminal device 30 can be wirelessly connected to another device via a wireless LAN. In the present embodiment, the processing device 10 also functions as a wireless LAN access point (parent device), and also serves as a connection destination of the terminal device 30, which is a wireless LAN terminal (child device).

[1.1.2 Outline of image transmission/reception service]
In this embodiment, the image processing device 25 provides an image transmission/reception service. The image transmission/reception service is a service for transmitting/receiving image data between the image processing device 25 and the terminal device 30 . In this embodiment, a service for transmitting image data from the image processing device 25 to the terminal device 30 will be mainly described.
The terminal device 30 can receive image data from the processing device 10 by executing an application (image data reception application) for using the image transmission/reception service.

In the present embodiment, the service is provided by the image processing device 25 (processing device 10) executing a program. The image transmission/reception service may be executed, for example, by a server device that provides other services via the image processing device 25 (processing device 10).

The image transmission/reception service transits the following states.
(1) Scanning (2) Connection/confirmation of terminal device 30 (3) Billing process (4) Transmission of image data Hereinafter, transition states will be briefly described.

(1) Scan The image sending/receiving service is set to read the document. In this state, the user of the image transmission/reception service causes the image processing device 25 (image forming device 20) to read the document.

(2) Connection/Confirmation of Terminal Device 30 Next, the image transmission/reception service connects the terminal device 30 to the image processing device 25 . The user operates the terminal device 30 to start the image data reception application. Information of the terminal device such as the terminal name is displayed on the display section of the terminal device 30 by the image data reception application. The terminal name is also displayed on the display section of the image processing device 25 . When the terminal name displayed on the image processing device 25 and the terminal name displayed on the terminal device 30 are the same, the user of the image transmission/reception service can connect his terminal device 30 to the image processing device 25. can confirm that

When the confirmation operation is performed by the user, the image processing device 25 may display information regarding the image data to be transmitted on the display unit. For example, the image processing device 25 displays the file name and file capacity of the image data transmitted by the image processing device 25 on the display unit. Thereby, the user can confirm the information about the image data to be received.

(3) Billing process When the user of the image transmission/reception service confirms that the information regarding the image data is correct, the image transmission/reception service makes a payment. At this time, the billing amount is displayed on the processing device 10 . The user of the image transmission/reception service inserts cash to meet the displayed billing amount. In addition to cash, for example, electronic money may be used, or a payment slip may be printed and the user may settle the payment at the cash register after processing is completed. Billing processing refers to processing from the display of a screen for starting payment to the completion of payment.

(4) Transmission of image data When the user of the image transmission/reception service puts in cash to meet the billing amount, the image transmission/reception service performs settlement processing and sets the state for transmission/reception of image data. At this time, the display unit of the processing device 10 and the display unit of the terminal device 30 display that the image data is being transmitted and received. A user of the image transmission/reception service waits until transmission/reception of image data is completed. When the image data transmission/reception is completed, the image transmission/reception service terminates the image transmission/reception service.

[1.2 Functional configuration]
With reference to FIG. 2, functional configurations of the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 constituting the image processing device 25 of the present embodiment, and the terminal device 30 will be described. A case where the processing device 10 of the image processing device 25 provides the service will be described below.

[1.2.1 Image processing device]
The processing device 10 includes a control section 100 , a display section 110 , an operation input section 120 , an access point section 130 , a communication section 140 and a storage section 150 .

The control unit 100 is a functional unit for controlling the entire processing device 10 . The control unit 100 implements various functions by reading and executing various programs, and is configured by, for example, one or a plurality of arithmetic units (CPUs (Central Processing Units)).

The display unit 110 is a functional unit for displaying various types of information to the user, and is configured by, for example, an LCD (Liquid crystal display). Further, the operation input unit 120 is a functional unit for receiving an operation instruction from the user, and is configured by a device or the like that detects an input by contact. The display unit 110 and the operation input unit 120 may be configured by an integrally formed touch panel. A general detection method such as a resistive film method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, or an electrostatic capacitance method may be used as a method for detecting an input to the touch panel. Also, the display unit 110 and the operation input unit 120 may be provided in the image forming apparatus 20 .

The access point unit 130 is a functional unit that enables the processing device 10 to function as an access point. For example, the access point unit 130 functions as an access point that provides a wireless LAN network such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n. A wireless LAN network provided by the access point unit 130 is identified by an SSID (Service Set Identifier). The terminal device 30 can connect to the processing device 10 by designating the SSID of the wireless LAN provided by the access point unit 130 as a network connection destination.

The communication unit 140 is a functional unit for the processing device 10 to perform wired or wireless communication with an external device. The communication unit 140 includes, for example, an input/output terminal such as a USB terminal. In addition, it may be connected to an external device by wireless communication, and NIC (Network Interface Card) used in wireless LAN, LTE (Long Term Evolution) / LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) / LAA (License- Assisted Access use LTE)/5G line.

The storage unit 150 is a functional unit that stores various programs and various data necessary for the operation of the processing device 10 . The storage unit 150 may be configured by a semiconductor memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like, or may be configured by a small recording medium that is detachable from the processing device 10 . good too.

The storage unit 150 has an image data storage area 152, which is an area for storing image data, and stores a received signal strength list 154, which is a list of received signal strengths of the terminal device 30. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the received signal strength list 154 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the received signal strength list 154 includes a terminal name (for example, "Taro Yamada's smart phone"), which is information about the terminal device 30, and a session for identifying a session in wireless communication with the terminal device 30. An ID (eg, “1234567890”) and a received signal strength (eg, “−44 dBm”), which is a value representing the strength of a signal (received signal) received by the terminal device 30 from the processing device 10, are stored in the terminal device 30. remember each time.

Here, the information about the terminal device 30 is information about the terminal device 30 . The information of the terminal device 30 includes, for example, the following information.
・Inherent information of the terminal device 30 (for example, serial number, MAC address, terminal name, etc. of the terminal device 30)
- Unique information related to the terminal device 30 (for example, IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identifier) and phone number associated with the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card attached to the terminal device 30)
・Information of the user who uses the terminal device 30 (for example, user name, account name, e-mail address, etc.)
・Information based on the operation of the terminal device 30 (for example, the remaining battery level, the name of the OS (Operation System) that operates on the terminal device 30, etc.)

Among the information of the terminal device 30, information that can uniquely identify the terminal device 30 is called a terminal identifier. The terminal identifier may be information set by the user of the terminal device 30 or information prestored in the terminal device 30 . The terminal identifier set by the user of the terminal device 30 includes, for example, a terminal name, which is the name of the terminal device 30, a user name, an e-mail address, a telephone number, an address such as an IP address. The terminal identifier stored in advance in the terminal device 30 includes information that can uniquely identify the terminal device, such as the terminal device 30 serial number, IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identifier), and MAC address.

A session is a unit of communication between the processing device 10 and the terminal device 30 performed for each image transmission/reception service. A session in this embodiment refers to a unit of communication in which the processing device 10 transmits one or a plurality of image data stored in the image data storage area 152 to one terminal device 30 . That is, the processing device 10 generates a session for one terminal device 30 each time the user uses the image transmission/reception service, and sends one or more Send multiple image data. Note that the processing device 10 identifies a session by a session ID.

A session ID is information for uniquely identifying a session. A session ID is generated by the image data reception application 354 stored in the terminal device 30 . The session ID only needs to be able to identify the session, and is composed of, for example, randomly extracted 10-digit numbers. The session ID may include symbols such as alphabets and hyphens, and the number of digits (the number of characters) does not have to be 10 digits.

In the present embodiment, establishing a session means that the processing device 10 generates a session and becomes ready to transmit image data to the terminal device 30 to which image data is to be transmitted.

[1.2.2 Image forming apparatus]
The image forming apparatus 20 includes a control section 200 , a communication section 210 , a document reading section 220 , an image processing section 230 , an image forming section 240 and a storage section 250 . In addition, a display unit may be further provided.

The control unit 200 is a functional unit for controlling the image forming apparatus 20 as a whole. The control unit 200 implements various functions by reading and executing various programs, and is configured by, for example, one or a plurality of arithmetic units (CPUs).

The communication unit 210 is a functional unit for the image forming apparatus 20 to perform wired or wireless communication with an external device. The communication unit 210 includes, for example, an input/output terminal such as a USB terminal. Further, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 can be connected to the processing apparatus 10 via the communication section 210 .

The document reading unit 220 is a functional unit for reading a document placed on the image forming apparatus 20 as image data. For example, the document reading unit 220 is configured by a scanner.

The image processing unit 230 is a functional unit that performs various image processing on image data to generate print data that the image forming unit 240 uses to form an image. As image processing, for example, image data sharpening processing and color conversion processing are performed. The image processing unit 230 also stores the generated print data in the storage unit 250 .

The image forming unit 240 is a functional unit for forming print data on a recording medium (for example, recording paper). For example, the image forming unit 240 is configured by a laser printer or the like using an electrophotographic method.

The storage unit 250 is a functional unit that stores various programs necessary for the operation of the image forming apparatus 20 and various data such as print data generated by the image processing unit 230 . The storage unit 250 is configured by, for example, a semiconductor memory such as an SSD, an HDD, or the like.

[1.2.3 Terminal device]
The terminal device 30 includes a control section 300 , a wireless communication section 310 , a display section 320 , an operation input section 330 , a received signal strength measurement section 340 and a storage section 350 .

The control unit 300 is a functional unit for controlling the terminal device 30 as a whole. The control unit 300 implements various functions by reading and executing various programs, and is configured by, for example, one or a plurality of arithmetic units (CPUs).

Wireless communication unit 310 is a functional unit that connects to access point unit 130 . For example, it is composed of a NIC capable of communicating using any wireless LAN communication method such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n.

The display unit 320 is a functional unit for displaying various information to the user, and is configured by, for example, an LCD (Liquid crystal display). Further, the operation input unit 330 is a functional unit for receiving an operation instruction from the user, and is configured by a device or the like for detecting an input by contact. The display unit 320 and the operation input unit 330 may be configured by an integrally formed touch panel, and the touch panel input detection method is, for example, a capacitive method.

Received signal strength measuring section 340 is a functional section for measuring the strength of a received signal received from processing device 10 as an access point in wireless communication realized by wireless communication section 310 . The measured received signal strength is represented by a dBm value, for example, based on the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value.

Received signal strength measuring section 340 measures the received signal strength of the received frame or packet when receiving a frame or packet such as a beacon transmitted from access point section 130 . Further, when an application calls an API (Application Programming Interface) for acquiring the value of the strength of the received signal, the received signal strength measuring unit 340 sends the received signal strength to the application that called the API. return a value. In this manner, the application executed by the control unit 300 can obtain the received signal strength value measured by the received signal strength measuring unit 340 .

The storage unit 350 is a functional unit that stores various programs and various data necessary for the operation of the terminal device 30 . The storage unit 350 is configured by, for example, an SSD that is a semiconductor memory, a flash memory, or the like.

The storage unit 350 secures an image data storage area 352, which is an area for storing image data, and stores an image data reception application 354, which is an application for receiving image data from the processing device 10, and a terminal device, which is information about the terminal device. Device information 356 is stored.

Image data reception application 354 implements a function for receiving image data from processing device 10 by being read and executed by control unit 300 . Specifically, the functions realized by the image data reception application 354 are as follows.

(1) Session ID generation function This function generates a session ID. The control unit 300 generates a session ID using random numbers, for example. It should be noted that the control unit 300 may generate a session ID by performing a predetermined operation on the time and terminal identifier information.

(2) Transmitting function of terminal name/session ID/received signal strength value Transmits the generated session ID, the terminal name stored in the terminal device information 356, and the received signal strength value to the processing device 10 It is a function to Note that the terminal name is information displayed on the processing device 10 . Therefore, as already explained, the information of the terminal device 30 should be transmitted to the processing device 10 . Instead of the terminal name, the control unit 300 may transmit a terminal identifier other than the terminal name, or may transmit information on the terminal device 30 other than the terminal identifier. Also, the value of the intensity of the received signal may be acquired by the control unit 300 calling an API for acquiring the intensity of the received signal. The strength value of the received signal may be transmitted each time the terminal name and session ID are transmitted to the processing device 10, or may be transmitted at predetermined intervals (for example, once every three times). good too.

The strength value of the received signal of the terminal device 30 may be realized by a method other than the above-described method, as long as the processing device 10 can acquire it. For example, the control unit 300 may transmit the intensity value of the received signal to the processing device 10 at a timing different from the timing at which the signal containing the terminal name and session ID is transmitted. Also, the processing device 10 may measure or acquire the strength value of the received signal of the terminal device 30 . As a method for the processing device 10 to acquire the strength of the received signal, for example, a method of estimating the strength value of the received signal of the terminal device 30 from the received signal received by the processing device 10 from the terminal device 30 can be considered. When the processing device 10 acquires the received signal strength value of the terminal device 30 , the terminal device 30 does not have to transmit the received signal strength value to the processing device 10 .

(3) Receiving Status of Image Transmission/Reception Service and Screen Display Function The control unit 300 transmits a request for acquisition of the status of the image transmission/reception service to the processing device 10 , thereby enabling transmission/reception of the image transmitted from the processing device 10 . This is a function of receiving the service status and displaying a display screen corresponding to the status of the image transmission/reception service on the display unit 320 . As for the screen display function, for example, when the state of the image transmission/reception service is the state determined by the terminal device that transmits the image data, the control unit 300 prompts the display unit 320 to operate the processing device 10. display the screen. Note that the control unit 300 may automatically switch the display screen based on the device status received from the processing device 10 without the user operating the terminal device 30, or may switch the display screen according to the user's operation. You can switch screens.

In the present embodiment, when the control unit 300 transmits the session ID and the terminal name to the processing device 10 by the function (2), the processing device 10 transmits the state of the image transmission/reception service as a response. I will explain as a thing. In other words, it is assumed that the transmission of the session ID and the terminal name from the control unit 300 to the processing device 10 constitutes a request to acquire the status of the image transmission/reception service. Therefore, the function of receiving the status of the image transmission/reception service, which is part of the function (3), is realized by receiving the response transmitted from the processing device 10 in the function (2). Note that the control unit 300 may implement the function (2) and the function (3) separately. In this case, when the terminal device 30 receives the status of the image transmission/reception service from the processing device 10 , the control unit 300 transmits the status of the image transmission/reception service such as the IP address of the terminal device 30 to the processing device 10 . All you have to do is send information that can identify the destination.

(4) Image data storage function This is a function to store image data transmitted from the processing device 10 in the image data storage area 352 . Also, when storing the image data, the image data may be subjected to a predetermined process. For example, as attributes of the image data, the date and time when the image data was received, and the installation location of the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 (for example, the name of the store where the processing device 10 where the user received the service is installed) are added. The image data may then be stored. Further, when image data is received from the processing device 10 as a compressed file, a process of decompressing the compressed file may be performed.

The terminal device information 356 stores information about the terminal device 30 such as a terminal identifier such as a terminal name and a serial number of the terminal device 30, an account name, a telephone number, and an e-mail address. As already explained, some information stored in the terminal device information 356 may be configurable by the user of the terminal device 30 .

Note that the terminal name and account name may be stored in the image data reception application 354 . By doing so, it is possible for the user to use a name different from the terminal name set in the terminal device 30 as the terminal name when using the image transmission/reception service.

[1.3 Flow of processing]
The flow of processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 and 5 are sequence diagrams for explaining the flow of processing in the processing device 10 and the terminal device 30. FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of terminal name display processing executed by the processing device 10. As shown in FIG. Also, in FIGS. 4 and 5, the two terminal devices 30 are assumed to be present, and are described as a terminal device 30a and a terminal device 30b, respectively. Furthermore, the terminal device 30 will be described assuming that the SSID of the access point unit 130 is specified in advance as the connection destination of the wireless communication unit 310 by the user.

First, with reference to FIG. 4, the flow of processing until the terminal device 30 connects to the processing device 10 and establishes a session will be described. First, control unit 100 receives image data of a document read by document reading unit 220 via communication unit 210 and communication unit 140 . Then, the control unit 100 stores the received image data in the image data storage area 152 (S102). Subsequently, the control unit 100 displays a screen (activation guidance screen) for prompting the activation of the image data reception application 354 on the display unit 110 (S104). The activation guidance screen may include an icon of the image data reception application 354 and a description of operations performed by the user after the image data reception application 354 is activated.

Subsequently, the terminal device 30a activates the image data reception application 354 based on the user's operation (S106). Thereby, the control unit 300 can execute the functions realized by the image data reception application 354 . The control unit 300 uses the function of the image data reception application 354 to generate a session ID to be used for connection with the processing device 10 (S108). Further, the control unit 300 displays the terminal name, which is the terminal identifier of the terminal device 30a, on the display unit 320 (S110).

Subsequently, the control unit 300 connects to the processing device 10 and transmits a signal including the terminal name and the session ID to the processing device 10 (S112). After receiving the terminal name and the session ID, the control unit 100 transmits device state information indicating the states of the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 to the terminal device 30a that is the transmission source (S114).

The device state is information indicating in which state the image transmission/reception service is in the processing device 10 . In this embodiment, the control unit 100 transmits the following states to the terminal device 30 as device states.

(1) Waiting
Indicates that the terminal device 30 is in a waiting state in the image transmission/reception service. The processing device 10 and the terminal device 30 are connected, but the processing device 10 has not established a session with any terminal device 30 . In this state, the terminal device 30 cannot receive image data from the processing device 10 . Therefore, the control unit 100 transmits "Waiting" as the device state to the terminal device 30 until the session is established. Note that, when a certain terminal device 30 has established a session, the control unit 100 may transmit “Waiting” to another terminal device 30 with which no session has been established. By doing so, the control unit 100 can indicate to the user of the terminal device 30 that has received "Waiting" as the device state that the image data cannot be transmitted.

(2) Ready
In the image transmission/reception service, this indicates that the terminal device to which image data is to be transmitted has been determined. A session between the processing device 10 and the terminal device 30 is established, and the terminal device 30 is shown to be able to receive image data from the processing device 10 . The control unit 100 generates a session, and until the user of the image transmission/reception service confirms that the information regarding the image data is correct, the control unit 100 sets the device state to "Ready" for the terminal device 30 with which the session has been established. Send.

(3) Charging
Indicates that payment is to be made in the image transmission/reception service. The control unit 100 transmits "Charging" as the device status until it is confirmed that the information regarding the image data is correct and the settlement process is completed.

(4) Sending
Indicates that the image transmission/reception service is in a state where image data is transmitted/received. The control unit 100 transmits "Sending" as the device state to the terminal device 30 with which the session has been established until the transmission of the image data is completed.

(5) Finished
In the image transmission/reception service, indicates that the image transmission/reception service is to be terminated. Specifically, it indicates a state in which the transmission of image data from the processing device 10 to the terminal device 30 is completed, and the settlement processing is completed in the processing device 10 . In this state, communication (connection) between the processing device 10 and the terminal device 30 may be disconnected. The control unit 100 transmits "Finished" as the device status until the user confirms the end of the image transmission/reception service.

Note that when the image transmission/reception service is in the state of reading a document, the control unit 100 may transmit "Waiting" as the device state to the terminal device 30, or the device state ( For example, "Scanning") may be transmitted.

After generating the session ID, the control unit 300 periodically (for example, every second) transmits the terminal name and the session ID to the processing device 10, and the processing device 10 reports the device state. Poll to get. By doing so, the terminal device 30 can determine whether or not a session has been established based on the device state. In addition, the processing device 10 can acquire information on the number of terminal devices 30 to be connected, terminal names, and session IDs.

Here, in S<b>114 , the processing device 10 has not established a session with any terminal device 30 . Therefore, the processing device 10 transmits "Waiting" as the device state to the terminal device 30a.

Also, when the image data reception application 354 is activated in the terminal device 30b, which is a terminal device 30 different from the terminal device 30a (S116), the same processing as in the terminal device 30a is performed. That is, the control unit 300 of the terminal device 30b generates a session ID (S118) and displays the terminal name of the terminal device 30b on the display unit 320 (S120). Also, the control unit 300 of the terminal device 30b transmits a signal including the terminal name and the session ID to the processing device 10 (S122). After receiving the signal including the terminal name and the session ID from the terminal device 30b, the processing device 10 transmits "Waiting" as the device state to the terminal device 30b (S124).

Subsequently, the control unit 100 executes terminal name display processing (S126). Terminal name display processing will be described with reference to FIG. The terminal name display process is a process in which the processing device 10 displays on the display unit 110 the terminal name, which is information about the terminal device 30 with which a session is to be established.

First, the control unit 100 determines whether or not a signal including the terminal name and the session ID has been received from the terminal device 30 (step S182). When receiving a signal including the terminal name and session ID from the terminal device 30, the control unit 100 generates the received signal strength list 154 based on the received terminal name and session ID (step S184). Specifically, the control unit 100 receives a signal including the strength value of the received signal from the terminal device 30 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), thereby determining the strength value of the received signal of the terminal device 30. Perform the processing to acquire. Then, the control unit 100 generates the received signal strength list 154 based on the received signal strength values of the terminal device 30 acquired within a predetermined period of time. When the processing device 10 measures and acquires the value of the strength of the signal received by the terminal device 30, for example, the processing device 10 determines the strength of the signal received from the terminal device 30 at a predetermined time. It is sufficient to measure and acquire the strength value of the received signal of .

By providing the time for acquiring the strength value of the received signal, when there are a plurality of terminal devices 30 or when the processing device 10 acquires the value of the strength of the received signal at a timing different from that in S182, The control unit 100 can appropriately acquire the strength value of the received signal of the terminal device 30 . In addition, when the received signal strength value is obtained from the same terminal device 30 two or more times, the control unit 100 uses the last obtained received signal strength value as the received signal strength value of the terminal device 30. Alternatively, the average value may be used as the received signal strength value of the terminal device 30 .

Subsequently, in step S186, if the received signal strength list 154 stores information for only one terminal device 30, the control unit 100 The terminal name is displayed on the display unit 110 (step S186; Yes→step S188).

Here, the state in which the information for only one device is stored means the state in which the received signal strength list 154 stores the information for one terminal device 30 with which the processing device 10 can communicate. Therefore, it suffices to store the information of only one terminal device 30 capable of communication. The case where the number of terminals is one is also included.

On the other hand, when the information of a plurality of terminal devices 30 is stored in the received signal strength list 154, the control unit 100 extracts the terminal name of the terminal device 30 closest to the processing device 10 (step S186; No → step S190).

Here, the terminal device 30 closest to the processing device 10 is considered to have the strongest received signal of the signal containing the terminal name and the session ID compared to the other terminal devices 30 . Therefore, the control unit 100 compares the received signal strength values stored in the received signal strength list 154, or rearranges the received signal strength list 154 in the order of received signal strength, so that the received signal strength is the highest. The terminal name of the strong terminal device 30 is extracted. Then, the control unit 100 displays the extracted terminal name of the terminal device 30 on the display unit 110 (step S192). In this manner, the terminal name of one terminal device 30 can be displayed on the display unit 110 even when signals including the terminal names and session IDs of a plurality of terminal devices 30 are received.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the user confirms the terminal name via the operation input unit 120 (S128), the control unit 100 responds to the terminal name displayed on the display unit 110. A session is established with the terminal device 30 (S130). The confirmation operation of the terminal name is, for example, the case where the control unit 100 displays an "OK" button together with the terminal name, and the "OK" button is selected by the user.

Subsequently, when the control unit 100 receives a signal including the terminal name and the session ID from the terminal device 30 that has established the session, it transmits "Ready" as the device state to the terminal device 30 (S132→ S134). Note that, in this embodiment, "Waiting" is transmitted as the device status to the terminal device 30 that has not established a session to indicate that the image transmission/reception service cannot be used (S136→S138).

In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the processing device 10 has established a session with the terminal device 30b in S130. In this case, the processing device 10 transmits "Ready" as the device status to the terminal device 30b (S134). On the other hand, the processing device 10 transmits "Waiting" as the device state to the terminal device 30a that has not established a session (S138). By doing so, the processing device 10 can use the terminal device 30b as a terminal device to which image data is to be transmitted. Also, the terminal device 30b can determine that a session has been established with the processing device 10 .

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the process of transmitting image data to the terminal device 30 by the processing device 10 will be described. In the following description, as in FIG. 4, the terminal device 30 that has established a session with the processing device 10 will be described as the terminal device 30b. Also, in the following description, the functional unit of the terminal device 30 is described as the functional unit of the terminal device 30b (for example, the control unit 300 indicates the control unit 300 of the terminal device 30b).

First, the control unit 300 transmits a session ID to the processing device 10 (S142). The control unit 100 compares the session ID received from the terminal device 30 with the session ID of the terminal device 30 that established the session, that is, the session ID of the terminal device 30b. As a result of the comparison, if the session ID received from the terminal device 30 and the session ID of the terminal device 30b match, the control unit 100 transfers the image data stored in the image data storage area 152 to the terminal with which the session has been established. It is transmitted to the device 30b (S144). By doing so, the processing device 10 can transmit image data to the terminal device 30b in the background while the user confirms the content of transmission and the fee.

Subsequently, the control unit 100 displays a transmission content confirmation screen, which is a screen for displaying information about the image data transmitted to the terminal device 30b, on the display unit 110 (S146). The user can confirm information about the image data transmitted from the processing device 10 based on the transmission content confirmation screen. In addition, the transmission content confirmation screen includes the file name of the image data transmitted by the control unit 100 in S144, the file size, the file path (folder name) of the image data storage area 352 to which the file is to be saved, and the like.

Subsequently, the control unit 100 displays a charge confirmation screen, which is a screen for displaying information regarding the usage charge of the image transmission/reception service, on the display unit 110 (S148). The user pays the fee for using the image transmission/reception service based on the fee confirmation screen. When the control unit 100 receives a signal including the terminal name and the session ID from the terminal device 30b when the user has paid the fee, the control unit 100 sets the device state to "Charging" for the terminal device 30b. It transmits (S150→S152). In addition, the control unit 100 performs settlement processing for the charge for the image transmission/reception service based on the user's operation of paying the fee (S154).

After the settlement process is completed, the control unit 100 displays a transmission confirmation screen, which is a screen for notifying the user that the image data is being transmitted to the terminal device 30b (S156). Since the transmission confirmation screen is displayed by the processing device 10, the user of the image transmission/reception service can know that the payment of the fee has been completed and that all that is necessary is to wait until the reception of the image data is completed.

Subsequently, when the control unit 100 receives a signal including the terminal name and the session ID from the terminal device 30b, it transmits "Sending" as the device state to the terminal device 30b (S158→S160). By receiving "Sending" as the device status from the processing device 10, the control unit 300 can determine that the payment of the fee has been completed and the image data is to be sent.

Then, the control unit 100 displays the image data transmitting screen indicating that the image data is being transmitted on the display unit 110 until the transmission of the image data to the terminal device 30b is completed (S162). Further, the control unit 300 displays an image data receiving screen indicating that the image data is being received on the display unit 320 until the image data reception from the processing device 10 is completed (S164).

When the control unit 100 receives a signal including a terminal name and a session ID from the terminal device 30b that has established a session when transmission of image data to the terminal device 30b is completed, the control unit 100 notifies the terminal device 30b of the device status and "Finished" is transmitted (S166→S168). When the controller 300 receives "Finished" as the device status from the processing device 10, the controller 300 displays a reception completion screen indicating that the reception of the image data is completed on the display 320 (S170). Further, the control unit 300 transmits reception completion information, which is information indicating that reception has been completed, to the processing device 10 (S172).

After receiving the reception completion information from the terminal device 30b, the control unit 100 displays a screen indicating that the image transmission/reception service has ended on the display unit 110, and confirms the end of the service with the user (S174). When the end of the service is confirmed by the user, the control unit 100 disconnects the session with the terminal device 30b (S176). Note that in S176, the control unit 100 may disconnect the terminal device 30b. Further, when the end of the service is confirmed by the user, for example, when an "OK" button is included in the screen indicating that the image transmission/reception service has ended and the "OK" button is selected by the user. be.

[1.4 Operation example]
An operation example will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11 . 7 to 9 are diagrams showing display screens displayed on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10 and the display unit 320 of the terminal device 30, arranged in chronological order. The upper part of the figure shows the display screen displayed on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10 , and the lower part of the figure shows the display screen displayed on the display unit 320 of the terminal device 30 . Also, in the upper and lower stages, the display screens shown in the same horizontal position are the display screens displayed on the respective display units at the same timing.

A display screen W100 in FIG. 7 is a screen displayed on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10, and is a screen for previewing the image data of the document read by the image forming device 20. FIG. When the user selects the “next” button B100 included in the display screen W100, the processing device 10 displays an activation guidance screen W102 of the image data reception application 354 on the display unit 110. FIG.

When the image data reception application 354 is activated in the terminal device 30 by the user's operation, the terminal device 30 displays the display screen W104 of the image data reception application 354 on the display unit 320 . Here, when the user selects the “scan” button B104, the terminal device 30 generates a session ID and transmits the terminal name and the session ID to the processing device 10. FIG.

After generating the session ID, the terminal device 30 displays a display screen W110 on the display unit 320 for prompting confirmation of the display unit 110 of the processing device 10 (FIG. 8). After executing the terminal name display process, the processing device 10 displays, on the display unit 110, a display screen W112 displaying the terminal name, which is the information of the terminal device 30 with which the session is to be established. After determining the terminal device 30 with which the session is to be established, the processing device 10 may automatically switch the screen displayed on the display unit 110 from the startup guidance screen W102 to the display screen W112. This eliminates the need for the user of the image transmission/reception service to input information such as a PIN code and a password to the processing device 10, thereby improving operability.

On the other hand, the terminal device 30 displays, on the display unit 320, a display screen W114 that displays the terminal name, which is information about the terminal device 30 operated by the user. The terminal device 30 may display the display screen W114 when the display screen W110 is tapped by the user of the image transmission/reception service. The display screen W<b>114 may also include a message for confirming that the information of the terminal device 30 is displayed on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10 . Further, as shown in the display screen W112 and the display screen W114, the terminal name, which is the information of the terminal device 30, may be displayed in a larger size than the characters displaying other information. In this manner, the terminal name, which is the information of the terminal device 30, is displayed on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10 and the display unit 320 of the terminal device 30. FIG. By looking at the display unit 110 and the display unit 320, the user can confirm that the terminal device 30 for which a session is to be established (connected to the processing device 10) is the terminal device 30 operated by the user. can be done. The display screen W112 and the display screen W114 may display information of the terminal device 30, and may display a terminal identifier other than the terminal name or information of the terminal device 30 other than the terminal identifier.

After confirming that the terminal name displayed on the display screen W112 and the terminal name displayed on the display screen W114 match, the user selects the "OK" button B112a. When the button B112a is selected by the user, the processing device 10 establishes a session with the terminal device 30 corresponding to the terminal name displayed on the display section 110. FIG. After confirming that the terminal name displayed on the display screen W112 and the terminal name displayed on the display screen W114 do not match, the user selects the "search other terminal" button B112b. When the button B112b is selected by the user, the processing device 10 executes the terminal name display process again and displays the terminal name of the terminal device 30 closest to the processing device 10 again.

Subsequently, the processing device 10 displays a transmission content confirmation screen W116 on the display unit 110. FIG. After confirming that the transmission contents are correct, the user selects the "Next" button B116. When the button B116 is selected by the user, the processing device 10 displays a screen prompting payment for the image transmission/reception service.

The processing device 10 displays a charge confirmation screen W120 on the display unit 110 in order to perform the settlement process (FIG. 9). The fee confirmation screen W120 may include, for example, buttons for selecting a payment method, whether or not to issue a receipt, etc., in addition to displaying the fee for the service. When the user completes payment of the fee, the processing device 10 displays an image data transmitting screen W122 on the display unit 110. FIG. In addition, the terminal device 30 displays an image data receiving screen W124 on the display unit 320 .

When the transmission of the image data to the terminal device 30 is completed, the processing device 10 displays an end confirmation screen W126 on the display unit 110. FIG. In addition, the terminal device 30 displays a screen W128 on the display unit 320 indicating that the reception of the image data has been completed. By doing so, the user can confirm that the image data of the document scanned by the image forming apparatus 20 has been stored in the image data storage area 352 .

In this embodiment, in the terminal name display process, when the control unit 100 receives a signal containing a plurality of terminal names and session IDs, the terminal name of the terminal device 30 with the strongest received signal strength is displayed. However, other indications may be used. For example, when a signal containing multiple terminal names and session IDs is received, the terminal names of the multiple terminal devices 30 may be displayed as a list, as shown in FIG. 10(a). At this time, the display may be based on the strength of the received signal, or the terminal names may be rearranged and displayed in descending order based on the strength of the received signal. By doing so, it becomes easy for the user to select from the list items having the same terminal name as the terminal device 30 operated by the user. As a display based on the strength of the received signal, an image showing the strength of the received signal (for example, an antenna icon) is displayed, or the background color of the item is changed (for example, the stronger the received signal, the more the background color is displayed). is displayed darker), and the font size and font color may be changed.

Also, the case where the control unit 100 receives a signal containing the names of multiple terminals and the session IDs means that the image data reception application 354 is activated by the multiple terminal devices 30 . In this case, the terminal name of the terminal device 30 is displayed on the display section 320 of each terminal device 30 . The user operating the processing device 10 selects an item having the same terminal name as the terminal name displayed on the display unit 320 from the display screen W130. The processing device 10 establishes a session with the terminal device 30 corresponding to the selected terminal name.

For example, it is assumed that the display screen W132 of FIG. 10B and the display screen W134 of FIG. It is also assumed that the display screen W132 is displayed on the display unit 320 of the user who operates the terminal device 30 closest to the processing device 10 . At this time, the user of the terminal device 30 whose display screen W132 is being displayed on the display unit 320 can select from the list displayed on the display unit 110, from the list displayed on the display screen W130 shown in FIG. , item B130. By doing so, a session can be established between the processing device 10 and the terminal device 30 closest to the processing device 10 .

FIG. 11(a) is an example of a display screen W140 displayed instead of the display screen W112 of FIG. The display screen W112 of FIG. 8 displays the terminal name, which is information indicating the terminal device 30. However, as shown in FIG. An area E140 displaying the same screen as the screen is included. By displaying the display screen W140 instead of the display screen W112 on the display unit 110, the processing device 10 makes it easier for the user to visually understand whether or not the terminal device 30 that transmits the image data is appropriate. can determine whether

When the button B140 indicating that the screen displayed in the area E140 of the display screen W140 of the processing device 10 and the display screen W142 displayed on the display unit 320 of the terminal device 30 are the same is selected, the processing device 10 , the process of transmitting the image data should be started. Further, when a button B142 indicating that the screen displayed in the area E140 of the display screen W140 of the processing device 10 is different from the display screen W142 displayed on the display unit 320 of the terminal device 30 is selected, the processing device 10 , the terminal name display process may be executed again.

When the same screen is displayed on the processing device 10 and the terminal device 30, icons may be displayed, characters on the screen may be emphasized, and a background color may be used. By doing so, it is possible to visually indicate to the user that the same screen is being displayed in an easy-to-understand manner, regardless of characters or the like. For example, FIG. 11C is an example of a display screen W144 displayed on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10, and FIG. For example. The same screen as the display screen W146 is displayed in the area E144 of the display screen W144. At this time, in the screen displayed in the area E144 and the display screen W146, the terminal name is emphasized by underlining or by displaying a picture in the lower right of the display screen. The user can determine whether the terminal device 30 to which the image data is transmitted is the appropriate terminal device 30 based on the display mode of the screen.

It goes without saying that the above-described processing may be changed within a range without contradiction. For example, the terminal name display processing device may extract the terminal name of the closest terminal device by a method that does not generate a received signal strength list. As a specific example, the control unit 100 temporarily stores the value of the maximum received signal strength, and compares the terminal name, the received signal strength value, and the maximum received signal strength value from the terminal device 30. Extract the terminal name of the nearest terminal device. First, the control unit 100 stores a small value such as -100 dBw in the storage unit 150 as the maximum received signal strength. Then, when a signal containing the terminal name and the received signal strength value is received from the terminal device 30 within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), the received received signal strength value and the maximum received signal strength value are received. Compare with If the received signal strength value received from the terminal device 30 is greater than the maximum received signal strength value, the received signal strength value received from the terminal device 30 and the terminal name are combined. Stored (updated) in the storage unit 150 . After a predetermined time has passed, the terminal name stored in the storage unit 150 is extracted as the terminal name closest to the processing device 10 . By doing so, the terminal name of the terminal device 30 closest to the processing device 10 can be extracted based on the signals received from the terminal device 30 within the predetermined time.

In S<b>134 , control unit 100 may transmit a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for acquiring image data stored in image data storage area 152 together with the device status “Ready”. At this time, the session ID may be included in the URL. By doing so, in S142, the control unit 300 can request the processing device 10 to acquire the resource indicated by the URL including the session ID. Since the control unit 100 can acquire the session ID from the URL, it is possible to exclude acquisition of image data from the terminal device 30 that has not established a session.

In S144, instead of transmitting the image data as it is, the control unit 100 may combine a plurality of image data into one data or compress the data before transmitting. By doing so, it is possible to improve the transmission efficiency of the image data.

Also, in the above description, the terminal name of the terminal device 30 is used as information of the terminal device 30 for establishing a session, but information other than the terminal name may be used. For example, as information indicating the terminal device 30, information such as the account name of the user of the terminal device 30, a terminal identifier other than the terminal name (the ID or serial number of the terminal device 30), the name, the telephone number, and the e-mail address is used. good too. The terminal device 30 transmits information indicating the terminal device 30 together with the session ID to the processing device 10 . Also, the control unit 100 associates the session ID with the information indicating the terminal device 30 to generate the received signal strength list 154 . Then, in steps S<b>186 and S<b>192 , the information (for example, the account name) used as the information indicating the terminal device 30 is displayed on the display unit 110 . It is conceivable that the user of the terminal device 30 often uses the account name, name, telephone number, and e-mail address information as compared to the terminal name. In such a case, it is possible for the user to more easily understand whether the terminal device 30 to establish a connection is appropriate. In addition, since the ID and serial number of the terminal device 30 are not information related to the privacy of the user, it is possible to suppress the resistance given to the user as compared with the case where the terminal name and account name are displayed. The information used to establish a session may be determined by an administrator or the like of the system 1 based on the attributes of the user who uses the image transmission/reception service, the installation location of the processing device 10, and the like.

Further, the image processing apparatus 25 of the above-described embodiment has been described as an example in which the processing apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are configured as different apparatuses. The image processing device 25 may be configured by integrating the processing device 10 and the image forming device 20 .

According to this embodiment, it is possible to display the terminal name of the terminal closest to the image processing apparatus. Therefore, the user of the image processing device can establish a session between the image processing device and the terminal device simply by confirming the terminal name displayed on the image processing device, and can receive image data from the image processing device. becomes. In addition, since the operation can be simplified, usability can be improved. On the other hand, since the user can specify the terminal device that transmits the image data by the terminal name, it is possible to obtain confirmation that the image data will be transmitted to the terminal device owned by the user. Since the terminal name displayed on the image processing device can be redisplayed by the user's operation, it is possible to easily deal with the case where the image processing device is not displayed.

Also, the image processing device extracts a terminal device to establish a session based on the strength of the signal received from the terminal device. Therefore, even if a plurality of users are lined up at the image processing device, it is possible to reduce the possibility of establishing a session with a terminal device of a user other than the user who operates the image processing device. Therefore, it is possible to ensure security while realizing simplification of the operation.

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the trouble of having the user input the PIN code when connecting the terminal device and the image processing device. This makes it possible to specify the destination terminal device in a simpler manner than when using a PIN code.

[2. Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an embodiment in which, in terminal name display processing, transmission of image data is interrupted when a plurality of terminal devices 30 having the same information as terminal device 30 information are connected. This embodiment replaces FIG. 6 of the first embodiment with FIG. Note that the same functional units and processes are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

Terminal name display processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the description of the process, the terminal name is used as the information about the terminal device 30, but the user's account name or a terminal identifier other than the terminal name may be used as the information about the terminal device 30. FIG.

In step S186, if the received signal strength list 154 stores information about a plurality of terminal devices 30, then the control unit 100 stores a plurality of pieces of information with the same terminal name in the received signal strength list 154. It is determined whether or not it exists (step S186; No→step S282). If there are multiple pieces of information with the same terminal name, the control unit 100 transmits error information to all the terminal devices 30 connected to the processing device 10 (step S282; Yes→step S284). Note that the terminal device 30 that has received the error information displays a screen indicating that an error has occurred on the display unit 320 .

Also, the control unit 100 disconnects the terminal device 30 that has transmitted the error information (step S286). Then, control unit 100 displays an error screen on display unit 110 indicating that the operation cannot be continued due to the existence of a plurality of pieces of information with the same terminal name (step S288).

When the error screen is confirmed by the user performing a predetermined operation, the control unit 100 suspends the image transmission/reception service and displays the initial screen on the display unit 110 (step S290). The initial screen is a screen for selecting services provided by the processing device 10 . After displaying the initial screen, the control unit 100 deletes the information of the operations performed by the user up to that point and the image data acquired from the image forming apparatus 20 . Further, the processing after step S128 in FIG. 4 is not executed.

An operation example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. After displaying the display screen W<b>200 showing the terminal name on the display unit 320 , the terminal device 30 transmits a signal including the terminal name and the session ID to the processing device 10 . When the same terminal name is included in the terminal names received from a plurality of terminal devices 30, the processing device 10 transmits error information to the terminal device 30 and displays an error screen on the display unit 110. Display W202. At this time, a plurality of terminal names may be displayed on the error screen W202. Further, when the terminal device 30 receives error information from the processing device 10, the terminal device 30 displays an error screen W204 indicating that an error has occurred on the display unit 320. FIG.

The processing device 10 displays an initial screen W206 on the display unit 110 when the user selects the "OK" button B202 included in the error screen W202. Further, when the user selects the “OK” button B204 included in the error screen W204, the terminal device 30 displays the initial screen W208 of the image data reception application 354 on the display unit 320. FIG.

According to this embodiment, when a plurality of pieces of information with the same terminal name are received, the user's operation can be discarded. Therefore, the image processing apparatus may erroneously transmit image data to a user other than the user operating the image processing apparatus, or the image data may be intercepted by a user other than the user operating the image processing apparatus. can be prevented.

[3. Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is an embodiment in which session-specific information is displayed together with the information of the terminal device 30 in the terminal name display process. For example, part of the session ID (specifically, the first four characters of the session ID) is displayed as the identification number. By doing so, the user can confirm the terminal device 30 with which the session is to be established by the terminal name and the identification number.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an operation example of this embodiment. In steps S188 and S192 of the terminal name display process, the control unit 100 displays the terminal name and session-specific information on the display unit 110 as shown in the display screen W300 of FIG. 14(a). In addition, in S110 or S120, the control unit 300 displays session-specific information together with the terminal name, as shown in the display screen W302 of FIG. 14(b).

The session-specific information may be information based on the session ID as described above, or may be data generated when the terminal device 30 connects to the processing device 10 . The information displayed on the display units 110 and 320 may include information other than the terminal name and the identification number.

In addition, even when a plurality of terminal devices 30 having the same information are connected, by displaying session-specific information, it is possible to check whether the terminal device 30 to establish a session is correct or not. It can be determined by the user. Therefore, unlike the second embodiment, even when a plurality of terminal devices 30 having the same information are connected, operation can be performed without discarding user's operations.

According to this embodiment, it is possible for the user of the image processing device to more accurately confirm the terminal device to which the image data is to be sent.

[4. Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. The fourth embodiment describes a case where image data cannot be stored correctly in the terminal device 30 . The operation of this embodiment is the same as that of the above-described first to third embodiments, and only different parts will be described.

If the terminal device 30 cannot properly receive and store the image data, the terminal device 30 executes suspension processing. When the terminal device 30 executes the interruption process, the display unit 110 of the terminal device 30 displays "failure to receive image data", "failure to store image data", or the like.

In addition, the terminal device 30 notifies the image processing device 25 (processing device 10) that the image data cannot be processed properly (processing stop). When the image processing device 25 receives a processing stop notification from the terminal device 30, the image processing device 25 stops each process.

For example, the image processing device 25 erases the image data from the image data storage area 152 . Also, the information of the terminal device 30 stored in the received signal strength list 154 is erased. Also, if the billing process is being executed, the process of canceling the billing process is performed.

Here, when the terminal device 30 cannot appropriately receive and store the image data, the following cases can be considered.
・When the received image data cannot be stored because the storage unit 350 (image data storage area 352) of the terminal device 30 does not have enough free space (remaining capacity) ・Because the battery of the terminal device 30 is low When the processing cannot be completed immediately ・When communication cannot be performed properly because the reception strength of the terminal device 30 is below the threshold ・In addition, when there is an interruption to stop the processing from the user or system

[5. Modification]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible. That is, the technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately modified within the scope of the present invention.

In addition, although the above-described embodiments are described separately for convenience of explanation, it is of course possible to combine them within the technically possible range.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the processing device 10 of the image processing device 25 executes processing and displays on the display unit 110 of the processing device 10 has been described. For example, the image forming apparatus 20 may include the functions of the processing apparatus 10, and the image forming apparatus 20 may perform each process. Also, the processing device 10 may perform display on a display unit (not shown) of the image forming device 20 .

In addition, the program that operates in each device in the embodiment is a program that controls the CPU and the like (a program that causes the computer to function) so as to implement the functions of the above-described embodiments. Information handled by these devices is temporarily stored in a temporary storage device (for example, RAM) during processing, and then stored in storage devices such as various ROMs (Read Only Memory) and HDDs. The data is read, corrected, and written by the CPU.

Here, as recording media for storing programs, semiconductor media (eg, ROM, non-volatile memory cards, etc.), optical recording media/magneto-optical recording media (eg, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), MO (Magneto Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), CD (Compact Disc), BD (Blu-ray Disc) (registered trademark), etc.), magnetic recording media (e.g., magnetic tape, flexible disc, etc.), etc. . By executing the loaded program, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized. In some cases, inventive features are realized.

When distributed to the market, the program can be stored in a portable recording medium for distribution, or transferred to a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet. In this case, of course, the storage device of the server computer is also included in the present invention.

1 system 10 processing device 100 control unit 110 display unit 120 operation input unit 130 access point unit 140 communication unit 150 storage unit 152 image data storage area 154 received signal strength list 20 image forming apparatus 200 control unit 210 communication unit 220 document reading unit 230 Image processing unit 240 Image forming unit 250 Storage unit 25 Image processing device 30 Terminal device 300 Control unit 310 Wireless communication unit 320 Display unit 330 Operation input unit 340 Received signal strength measurement unit 350 Storage unit 352 Image data storage area 354 Image data reception application 356 terminal device information

Claims (9)

An image processing device comprising a storage unit for storing image data, a communication unit connectable to a terminal device, a display unit, and a control unit,
The control unit
displaying the information of the terminal device when there is one connected terminal device, and displaying the information of the nearest terminal device when there are a plurality of the terminal devices connected,
transmitting the image data via the communication unit to a terminal device corresponding to the displayed information;
When a plurality of terminal devices are connected, if a terminal device having the same information as terminal device information is connected, disconnecting communication with the plurality of terminal devices .
An image processing apparatus characterized by: An image processing device comprising a storage unit for storing image data, a communication unit connectable to a terminal device, a display unit, and a control unit,
The control unit
When the number of connected terminal devices is one, the information of the terminal device is displayed on the display unit, and when the number of the terminal devices connected is plural, the information of the nearest terminal device is displayed on the display unit;
transmitting the image data via the communication unit to a terminal device corresponding to the displayed information;
When a plurality of terminal devices are connected, if a terminal device having the same information as terminal device information is connected, the process of transmitting image data via the communication unit is interrupted.
An image processing apparatus characterized by: The control unit
3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a terminal device having the strongest received signal from said terminal device is set as the nearest terminal device. The control unit
4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein information based on the intensity of said received signal is displayed on said display unit. The control unit
2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the communication with the terminal device is disconnected, a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information on the terminal device is a terminal identifier for uniquely identifying the terminal device. 7. The terminal identifier according to claim 6 , wherein the terminal identifier is at least one of a terminal name of the terminal device, a serial number of the terminal device, an address of the terminal device, a user name, an e-mail address, and a telephone number. image processing device. An image data transmission method in an image processing device comprising a communication unit connectable to a terminal device, a display unit, and a control unit,
When the number of connected terminal devices is one, the information of the terminal device is displayed on the display unit, and when the number of the terminal devices connected is plural, the information of the nearest terminal device is displayed on the display unit, and the displayed information Transmitting image data via the communication unit to a terminal device corresponding to
When a plurality of terminal devices are connected, if a terminal device having the same information as terminal device information is connected, disconnecting communication with the plurality of terminal devices .
An image data transmission method characterized by: An image data transmission method in an image processing device comprising a communication unit connectable to a terminal device, a display unit, and a control unit,
When the number of connected terminal devices is one, the information of the terminal device is displayed on the display unit, and when the number of the terminal devices connected is plural, the information of the nearest terminal device is displayed on the display unit, and the displayed information Transmitting image data via the communication unit to a terminal device corresponding to
When a plurality of terminal devices are connected, if a terminal device having the same information as terminal device information is connected, the process of transmitting image data via the communication unit is interrupted.
An image data transmission method characterized by:

Images