Image processing apparatus, document management server, document management system, and document management control method

• US 7,984,027 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2007
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tamura, Makiya
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby; Frantz
• Application Number:
  US11/621,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20070185885A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 707/687, 707/694, 707/10, 715/200, 715/202, 715/209, 715/229, 709/201, 709/203, 358/1.1, 358/401, 358/403
• US Class Current: 707/694
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

An image processing apparatus communicates with a document management server and a client apparatus. The image processing apparatus receives document entity data and document property information required for determining accessibility to the document entity data stores the received document entity data in a storage unit. The image processing apparatus transmits document property information to the document management server and requests the document management server to perform document registration. The image processing apparatus sends, to the document management server, an inquiry about accessibility to the stored document entity data, if the document entity data is requested by the client apparatus, based on information obtained from the client apparatus. The image processing apparatus controls transmission of the requested document entity data to the client apparatus based on an obtained inquiry result received from the document management server.

Claims

1. A document management server configured to communicate with an image processing apparatus and a client apparatus via a communication medium, and manage a document read by the image processing apparatus, the document management server comprising:

a management unit configured to manage a first document of which document entity data and document property information are stored in the document management server, wherein the entity data and the property information are managed in correlation with each other, and a second document of which document entity data is not stored in the document management server but stored in the image processing apparatus that reads the document and of which document property information and information indicating a place where the entity data is stored are stored in the document management server, wherein the property information and the information indicating a place where the entity data is stored are managed in correlation with each other by discriminating each other;

a receiving unit configured to receive a document registration request for requesting registration of the document read by the image processing apparatus as an object managed by the management unit, the document registration request including at least the document property information;

a registration unit configured to register the property information and the document entity data such that the document, which is registered as an object managed by the management unit according to the document registration request, is managed by the management unit as the first document when the document entity data, in addition to the document property information, is included in the registration request, and to register the property information, information indicating the storage destination of the document entity data in the image processing apparatus where the document entity data is stored, and information for determining authority to the document entity data such that the document, which is registered as the object managed by the management unit according to the document registration request, is managed by the management unit as the second document when the document entity data is not included in the document registration request;

a first reply unit configured to receive a request from the client apparatus that requires the document entity data of the second document registered in the registration unit and transmit information indicating a storage destination of the document entity data to the client apparatus; and

a second reply unit configured to receive, from the image processing apparatus storing the document entity data of the document, inquiry information about authority to the document entity data of the second document registered in the registration unit, and determine authority to the document entity data of the second document with reference to information for determining authority to the registered document based on the inquiry information, and transmit the determined authority to the image processing apparatus.

2. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein the information required for determining authority to the document entity data of the second document is access right information of each user, wherein the second reply unit determines authority to the document entity data of the second document with reference to information for determining authority to the registered document based on the user information included in the inquiry information and transmits the determined authority to the image processing apparatus.

3. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein the information required for determining authority to the document entity data of the second document is password information, wherein the second reply unit determines authority to the document entity data of the second document with reference to information for determining authority to the registered document based on the password information included in the inquiry information and transmits the determined authority to the image processing apparatus.

4. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein the first reply unit transmits, to the client apparatus, the information indicating the storage destination of the requested document entity data of the second document, and controls the client apparatus to execute an inquiry to the storage destination of the requested document entity data of the second document.

5. The document management server according to claim 1, further comprising an obtaining unit configured to obtain, from address information of a transmission source of the document registration request, identification information for identifying the image processing apparatus storing the document entity data requested in the document registration request, wherein the registration unit registers the identification information in addition to the information included in the document registration request when the document entity data is not included in the document registration request, and wherein the first reply unit transmits the identification information in addition to the information indicating the storage destination of the document entity data to the client apparatus.

6. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein if the document entity data of the second document is requested by the client apparatus, the first reply unit transmits the information indicating the storage destination of the document entity data to the client apparatus, and if the document entity data of the second document is requested by the client apparatus, the first reply unit transmits the document entity data of the first document to the client apparatus.

7. A method performed in a document management server that is configured to communicate with an image processing apparatus and a client apparatus via a communication medium, and manage a document read by the image processing apparatus, the method comprising:

managing a first document of which document entity data and document property information are stored in the document management server, wherein the entity data and the property information are managed in correlation with each other, and a second document of which document entity data is not stored in the document management server but stored in the image processing apparatus that reads the document and of which document property information and information indicating a place where the entity data is stored are stored in the document management server, wherein the property information and the information indicating a place where the entity data is stored are managed in correlation with each other by discriminating each other;

receiving a document registration request for requesting registration of the document read by the image processing apparatus as an object managed by the management unit, the document registration request including at least the document property information;

registering the property information and the document entity data such that the document, which is registered as an object managed by the management unit according to the document registration request, is managed by the management unit as the first document when the document entity data, in addition to the document property information, is included in the registration request, and to register the property information, information indicating the storage destination of the document entity data in the image processing apparatus where the document entity data is stored, and information for determining authority to the document entity data such that the document, which is registered as the object managed by the management unit according to the document registration request, is managed by the management unit as the second document when the document entity data is not included in the document registration request;

receiving a request from the client apparatus that requires the document entity data of the second document and transmitting information indicating a storage destination of the document entity data to the client apparatus; and

receiving, from the image processing apparatus storing the document entity data of the document, inquiry information about accessibility to the registered document entity data of the second document corresponding to the registered property information, and determining accessibility to the document entity data of the second document with reference to information for determining accessibility to the registered document based on the inquiry information, and transmitting the determined accessibility to the image processing apparatus.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that when executed by a document management server that is configured to communicate with an image processing apparatus and a client apparatus, and manage a document read by the image processing apparatus, causes the document management server to perform operations comprising:

managing a first document of which document entity data and document property information are stored in the document management server, wherein the entity data and the property information are managed in correlation with each other, and a second document of which document entity data is not stored in the document management server but stored in the image processing apparatus that reads the document and of which document property information and information indicating a place where the entity data is stored are stored in the document management server, wherein the property information and the information indicating a place where the entity data is stored are managed in correlation with each other by discriminating each other;

receiving a document registration request for requesting registration of the document read by the image processing apparatus as an object managed by the management unit, the document registration request including at least the document property information;

registering the property information and the document entity data such that the document, which is registered as an object managed by the management unit according to the document registration request, is managed by the management unit as the first document when the document entity data, in addition to the document property information, is included in the registration request, and to register the property information, information indicating the storage destination of the document entity data in the image processing apparatus where the document entity data is stored, and information for determining authority to the document entity data such that the document, which is registered as the object managed by the management unit according to the document registration request, is managed by the management unit as the second document when the document entity data is not included in the document registration request;

receiving a request from the client apparatus that requires the document entity data of the second document and transmitting information indicating a storage destination of the document entity data to the client apparatus; and

receiving, from the image processing apparatus storing the document entity data of the document, inquiry information about accessibility to the registered document entity data of the second document corresponding to the registered property information, and determining accessibility to the document entity data of the second document with reference to information for determining accessibility to the registered document based on the inquiry information, and transmitting the determined accessibility to the image processing apparatus.