Network scanner

• US 20040093386A1
• Filed: 11/05/2003
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sakiyama, Masahiro, Nagai, Yusuke
• Granted Patent: US 8,892,655 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00236 using an image reading or reproducing device, e.g. a facsimile reader or printer, as a local input to or local output from a computer image input to or image output from a computer via a network H04N1/00209
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00241 using an image reading device as a local input to a computer input via network, e.g. network scanners H04N1/00225
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32368 Functions of a still picture terminal memory associated with transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3204 of data relating to a user, sender, addressee, machine or electronic recording medium H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3216 of a job size, e.g. a number of images, pages or copies, size of file, length of message
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3295 Deletion of stored data; Preventing such deletion

Abstract

A network scanner for transmitting image data as read from a document, which has been stored in a predetermined memory includes: a transmission part specifying means for specifying a part of the image data to be transmitted to said terminal(s); and specified data transmission means for transmitting the part of the image data as specified by the transmission part specifying means to the terminal(s). According to the foregoing structure, the load on communicating can be significantly reduced.

Claims

1. A network scanner for transmitting to one or a plurality of terminal(s), image data obtained by reading from a document, which have been stored in a predetermined memory means, comprising:

transmission part specifying means for specifying a part of the image data to be transmitted to said terminal(s); and

specified data transmission means for transmitting the part of the image data as specified by said transmission part specifying means to said terminal(s).

2. The network scanner as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said transmission part specifying means specifies the transmission part of the image data by page(s) of the document.

3. The network scanner as set forth in claim 2, wherein:

said transmission part specifying means specifies the transmission part of the image data by specifying a predetermined number of pages from the first page of the document.

4. The network scanner as set forth in claim 2, wherein:

said transmission part specifying means automatically sets a page with an image in a largest number of colors among all the pages of the scanned data, as the transmission part of the image data.

5. The network scanner as set forth in claim 2, wherein:

said transmission part specifying means automatically sets a page with an image of a largest data size as the transmission part of the image data.

6. The network scanner as set forth in claim 2, wherein:

said transmission part specifying means automatically sets data in a predetermined amount from the top of the image data as the transmission part of the image data.

7. The network scanner as set forth in claim 2, wherein:

said transmission part specifying means automatically sets data on page(s) from the first page, in which an amount of scanned data as specified can be stored, as the transmission part of the image data.

8. The network scanner as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the specified data transmission means transmits the part of the image data as specified by said transmission part specifying means only when the image data are to be transmitted to a plurality of terminals of the receiving ends, more than a predetermined pages of the image data are to be transmitted, or the volume of the entire image data is more than a predetermined amount, and otherwise transmits all the image data to the terminal(s).

9. The network scanner as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

terminal request processing means for selectively executing a transmission of the remaining scanned image data, a transmission of all the image data, or a deletion of the scanned image data, according to a predetermined request from the terminal of a receiving end of the image data as transmitted by said specified data transmission means.

10. The network scanner as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

storage limit setting means for setting the storage limit of the image data; and

deletion means for deleting the image data from the memory means after the data storage limit.

11. The network scanner as set forth in claim 5, further comprising:

process execution means for transmitting either the remaining scanned data or all the scanned data before the image data are deleted by said deletion means.

12. The network scanner as set forth in claim 1, which communicates with said terminal(s) by e-mail.

13. The network scanner as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said memory means is provided in an external device which is capable of communicating with said network scanner.