JP2002197008A - Image data communication device and its control method, medium, and iip server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an application such as plug-in software which is activated by a Web browser to access image data to easily obtain a URL(Uniform Resource Locator) at a low cost. SOLUTION: An IIP(Internet Imaging Protocol) server sends a URL that the Web browser used when requesting the image data back to a client as a URL that the application such as plug-in software activated by the Web browser of the client uses when accessing the image data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication technique for communicating image data via a network according to the IIP protocol.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, on the Internet, Web
(Word Wide Web)
By accessing the server b, browsing document data, image data, and the like is actively performed. This browsing mechanism is based on the Web that publishes information on the Internet.
There is a server b and a client computer (hereinafter referred to as a client) for browsing the information, and the client uses a Web browser to browse the information on the Web server.

[0003] In other words, the Web server uses HTML (H
hyper Text MarkupLanguage)
Holds a document called a Web page in which public information is described, and the Web browser on the client side accesses and displays the Web page. Then, by sequentially following the link embedded in the Web page by the Web browser on the client side, it becomes possible to browse necessary information.

[0004] The Web browser and the Web server are:
HTTP (HyperText Transfer P
protocol is used for communication, and this HT
The TP protocol operates as follows.

For example, while a Web browser on a client side is displaying a certain Web page,
When the link information embedded in page b is clicked, the Web browser decodes the clicked link information, and the URL (Unif) corresponding to the link information.
Open a Web page specified by "orm Resource Locator". This open is
This is to request the Web server to issue a Web page.

[0006] The Web server receiving this request,
The corresponding Web page is returned to the client. This Web page is composed of header information and a document body.

[0007] The Web browser on the client side is a Web browser.
The header information of the Web page sent from the server b is analyzed. Specifically, MIME (Mu) in the header information
ltipurose Internet Mail
(Extensions) -Identify an application that opens the document body following the header information based on the TYPE. Thereafter, the specified application is started, and the document body is passed to this application and displayed.

As described above, in the HTTP protocol, basically, a certain U is transmitted from a client to a Web server.
When a request to open a Web page corresponding to the RL is made, the Web server sends a document body of the Web page related to the request to the client.

[0009]

On the other hand, an IIP (Internet) used when displaying an image data file is used.
Imaging Protocol)
Basically, the same operation as in the case of using the HTTP protocol is performed, image data and the like are received from the Web server using the IIP protocol, and processing such as display is performed.

However, according to the IIP protocol, the image data to be displayed is a partial image of the image data stored in the Web server, and the client requests a request for enlargement, reduction, panning, or the like as necessary. Do it for the server. As described above, in the IIP protocol, when browsing image data corresponding to a certain URL, it is necessary to make a plurality of requests without ending with one request.

In this case, the first request is a Web request
The browser makes the request, but the second and subsequent requests need to be made by an application such as a plug-in activated according to MIME-TYPE as described above.

However, a Web browser can make a request to the Web server because, for example, the HTML document of the link destination contains the URL of the Web server.
Of the data (image data, etc.) sent from the Web server as a result of the first request by the browser, only the document itself is received from the Web browser, so that there is a problem that the URL of the Web server of the request destination cannot be known.

In order to solve this problem, a method of embedding operation information or request information in an HTML document has been considered, but this method complicates the operation of creating the HTML document.

[0014] In addition, a method has been considered in which the plug-in software of the Web browser inquires which Web server has made a request to the Web browser to obtain the URL.

However, in this method, a step of inquiring the URL to the Web browser is required for the plug-in software, and the processing of the plug-in software becomes complicated, and the inquiry method is different for each Web browser. Software development costs increase.

Furthermore, a dedicated application can be created separately from the Web browser, and the user can input the URL of the Web server using a dialog or the like. However, this method
It is necessary to develop a dedicated application, which increases costs, increases the number of operations by the user, and deteriorates operability.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and a problem thereof is that an application such as plug-in software which is activated by a Web browser to access image data can acquire a URL easily and inexpensively. Is to do so.

[0018]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an IIP (Internet Protocol) via a network.
In an image data communication device that distributes image data from an IIP server to a client in accordance with the Internet Imaging Protocol (rnet Imaging Protocol), the IIP server uses a URL (Uniform Res) used by the client application to access the image data.
source Locator) to the client.

Also, the present invention provides an I / O
IP (Internet Imaging Proto)
col), the IIP server distributes image data from the IIP server to the client, wherein the IIP server uses a URL used by the client application to access the image data.
(Uniform Resource Locato
r) to the client.

Also, the present invention provides an I
IP (Internet Imaging Proto)
col), a computer-readable medium applicable to an image data communication device that distributes image data from an IIP server to a client, wherein the IIP server uses a URL (URL) used by the client application to access the image data. Uniform Res
source Locator) to the client.

Also, the present invention provides a method for controlling
IP (Internet Imaging Proto)
col), an IIP server that distributes image data to a client in a URL (U) used by the client application to access the image data.
and a transmission unit for transmitting a client resource locator to the client.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a data communication system to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, 100 is a network represented by the Internet, 101 and 103 are servers,
A computer (hereinafter, referred to as a server), which includes an IIP server function for transmitting image data.
Executes software required for the web server function. Also, a large amount of image data is stored. 102a, 1
02b denotes a client computer (hereinafter, referred to as a client), which executes software such as a Web browser.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the servers 101 and 103 and the clients 102a and 102b in FIG.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU, which controls the entire apparatus. Reference numeral 202 denotes a keyboard, which is used together with the mouse 202a for inputting data and commands. Reference numeral 203 denotes a display unit, which includes a CRT display device and a liquid crystal display device. Reference numeral 208 denotes a printer.

204 is a ROM, 205 is a RAM,
It functions as an internal storage device and stores various software and data. A hard disk device 206 and a floppy (registered trademark) disk device 207 function as an external storage device and store a large amount of software and data.

More specifically, the hard disk device 206 of each of the servers 101 and 103 has an OS and an IIP server function,
Software corresponding to a Web server function or the like is stored.
Will be expanded to. The hard disk device 206 of each of the servers 101 and 103 also stores image data (FlashPix file) as a Web page.

The hard disk device 206 of each of the clients 102a and 102b stores software such as an OS, a Web browser (including plug-in software), and various applications. These software are loaded on the RAM 205 when executed.

[First Embodiment] Next, a FlashPix file is stored as image data in the server 101, and the communication operation when this FlashPix file is accessed by the client 102a will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. explain.

First, the Web browser of the client 102a displays a home page 300 in which link information to the FlashPix file is entered on the display unit 203 of the client 102a, and clicks the link information portion with the mouse 202a or the like.

In the link information to the FlashPix file, a command for the IIP server of OBJ = URL is written, and when the link information is clicked, the Web browser of the client 102a transmits the command OBJ = URL. The request signal including the request is transmitted to the server 101.

The server 101 determines whether or not the command OBJ = URL is included in the received request signal. If the command is included, the server 101 transmits the URL to the client 102a together with the document corresponding to the URL. A reply is sent (see 301 in FIG. 3).

FIG. 4 shows the specific contents of the document 301. As shown in FIG.
01 is a header part 301a and a document body 301b
The header section 301a includes
t-type is stored.

On the other hand, the document body 301b is originally composed of only the document body, but if the command OBJ = URL is included in the request signal, the client 102a sends the request to the document body 301b. The URL used at the time of issuance, that is, the URL of the server 101 that received the request is inserted as it is. Command O during request signal
When BJ = URL is not included, the URL is not inserted into the document body 301b.

The command OBJ is included in the request signal.
= If the URL is included, the server 101
It functions as an IIP server that communicates image data in accordance with the protocol.
It is referred to as IP server 101.

Upon receiving the document 301, the Web browser of the client 102a analyzes the header portion 301a in the document 301, and reads the Content in the header portion 301a.
-Type, the application or the plug-in software corresponding to the content-type is started, and the document body 301b is passed to the application or the plug-in software.

Here, since the link for displaying the FlashPix file is clicked, the activated plug-in software receives and displays the FlashPix file stored in the server (IIP server 101) via the network. It becomes plug-in software, and the activated plug-in software includes the IIP server 10
The document body 301b into which the URL 1 is inserted is W
It will be delivered from the web browser. Therefore, the activated plug-in software of the client 102a is:
The URL of the IIP server 101 to the document body 301
a, and thereafter, based on this URL,
Communication with the IP server 101 can be performed.

Next, the activated FlashPix file display plug-in software provides the IIP server 101 with image information of the FlashPix file to be displayed this time, that is, the image data such as the color space, the image size, and the number of layers. Command 3 for attribute information about
02 to the IIP server 101.

Then, the attribute information relating to the request is
When received from the server 101 (303), the plug-in software calculates which image data of which resolution and which tile number is to be displayed, and sends a request command 304 for requesting the image data of that tile number and resolution to the IIP server 10.
Send to 1.

Thereafter, in response to a user operation, for example, an operation such as enlargement, reduction, scrolling, etc., the IIP server 101 requests the IIP server 101 for a portion of the image data corresponding to the tile number required for the current display. Then, the operation of receiving and displaying the image data according to the request is repeated.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the Web
U which is used when an application such as plug-in software started by a browser accesses image data.
As the RL, the URL used when the web browser requests the image data is returned from the IIP server to the client.

Therefore, there is no need to perform a complicated HTML document creation operation such as embedding operation information and a request in the HTML document. Alternatively, it is not necessary to add a step for inquiring a URL to plug-in software of a Web browser, and it is not necessary to create a dedicated application for a user to input a URL. It becomes possible.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment,
The IIP server that has received the image data from the client returns its own URL to the client as it is. However, in the second embodiment, the IIP server that has received the request transmits the same image data when it is busy. The URL of another IIP server holding data is returned.

Next, the operation of communicating image data in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, it is assumed that the same FlashPix file is stored in the IIP servers 101 and 103.

First, using the Web browser of the client 102a, the home page of the IIP server 101 (FIG. 5)
It is assumed that the user accesses the file 300) and clicks on the link information portion for the FlashPix file in the file. Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the Web browser of the client 102a transmits the command OBJ = UR
A request signal including L is transmitted to the server 101.

The IIP server 101 returns the URL to the client 102a together with the document corresponding to the URL included in the received request signal (301 in FIG. 5).

Upon receiving the document 301, the Web browser of the client 102a analyzes the header portion 301a (see FIG. 4) in the document 301, and
Looking at content-type, this Content-
The plug-in software for displaying the FlashPix file corresponding to the type is activated, and the document body 301b (see FIG. 4) is passed to the plug-in software.

Next, the activated plug-in software is W
UR from the document body received from the web browser
L, and based on this URL, the IIP server 10
1 requesting image information of the FlashPix file to be displayed this time, that is, attribute information on the image data such as the color space, the image size, and the number of layers (302 in FIG. 5).

Then, the attribute information relating to the request is
When received from the server 101 (303 in FIG. 5), the plug-in software calculates which image data of which resolution and which tile number is to be displayed, and requests the image data of that tile number and resolution from the IIP server 101 ( 5 in FIG.
04).

The IIP server 101 determines which URL is to be returned according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 every time a request is made from the client 102a. That is, the IIP server 101 is currently
It is determined whether the load on the PU 201 is heavy (step S60 in FIG. 6). As a result, if the load on the own CPU 201 is not heavy, the own URL is returned to the client 102a (step S61).

On the other hand, if the load on the CPU 201 is heavy, the URL of the IIP server 103 holding the same FlashPix file is returned to the client 102a (step S62).

The criterion for determining whether the load is heavy is arbitrary. For example, if the CPU is executing another process, it may be immediately determined that the load is heavy, or the CPU is in a job queue. The load may be determined to be heavy in consideration of the number of jobs in the job waiting state, the processing time of those jobs, and the like.

In the sequence of FIG. 5, when it is determined that the load of the CPU 201 of the IIP server 101 is heavy when the request for tile data of 304 is received,
The server 101 sends the URL of the IIP server 103 together with the tile data related to the request to the client 102a.
(305 in FIG. 5).

In this case, when the IIP servers 101 and 103 hold the same FlashPix file under the same conditions, it is desirable to return the URL of the IIP server 103 in consideration of the file position. The URL of the IIP server 103 that takes into account the location of this file is:
Only the server name part needs to be changed to the server name of the IIP server 103.

After that, the client 102a
The plug-in software repeatedly communicates with the IIP server 103 based on the newly received URL to obtain and display desired tile data according to user operations such as enlargement, reduction, and scrolling. (306, 307 in FIG. 5).

As described above, in the second embodiment, when the IIP server receiving the request for the image data is in a busy state, the IIP server changes the URL of another IIP server having a function of distributing the same image data. Since the image data is transmitted to the client, the client can quickly access the desired image data.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Applications such as plug-in software that is started by a Web browser to access image data are inexpensive,
In addition, the URL can be easily acquired.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a data communication system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a client and a server in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of accessing image data according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of reply data corresponding to a request by a Web browser.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of accessing image data according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a return URL according to the second embodiment of this invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 network 101, 103 server (IIP server) 102a, 102b client 201 CPU 203 display unit 204 ROM 205 RAM 206 hard disk 207 floppy disk

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. An IIP (Integer) via a network
In an image data communication apparatus that distributes image data from an IIP server to a client in accordance with an Internet Protocol (Rnet Imaging Protocol), the IIP server uses a URL (Uni) used by the client application to access the image data.
An image data communication apparatus, comprising: transmitting means for transmitting a (form Resource Locator) to the client. 2. The image data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application of the client accesses the tile data based on the URL transmitted by the transmission unit. 3. The client device according to claim 2, wherein
3. The image data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the URL used in requesting image data by an eb (Word Wide Web) browser is returned to the client. 4. The transmitting means of the IIP server transmits, when the IIP server is in a busy state, a URL of another IIP server having a function of distributing the same image data as the IIP server to the client. The image data communication device according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The URL of the another IIP server, if the other IIP server holds the same image data under the same conditions, the URL considering the position of the image data.
5. The image data communication device according to claim 4, wherein L is L. 6. The image data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application of the client is plug-in software of the Web browser. 7. The image data according to claim 1, wherein the image data is image data conforming to FlashPix.
7. The image data communication device according to any one of 6. 8. An IIP (Intenet) via a network
In a method of controlling an image data communication device that distributes image data from an IIP server to a client in accordance with an Internet Protocol (Rnet Imaging Protocol), the IIP server uses a URL (Uni) used by the client application to access the image data.
A method for controlling an image data communication device, comprising: transmitting a form resource locator to the client. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the client application accesses the tile data based on the URL transmitted in the transmitting step. 10. The image according to claim 8, wherein in the transmitting step, a URL used at the time of requesting image data by a Web (Word Wide Web) browser of the client is returned to the client. A method for controlling a data communication device. 11. The transmitting step of the IIP server,
When the IIP server is in a busy state, another IIP having a function of distributing the same image data as the IIP server is provided.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the URL of the server is transmitted to the client. 12. The URL of the other IIP server is, if the other IIP server holds the same image data under the same conditions, a URL considering the position of the image data.
The control method for an image data communication device according to claim 11, wherein the control method is RL. 13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the application of the client is plug-in software of the Web browser. 14. The image data according to claim 1, wherein said image data is a FlashPix.
9. The image data according to claim 8, wherein
14. The control method for an image data communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 13. 15. An IIP (Int) via a network
A computer-readable medium applicable to an image data communication device that distributes image data from an IIP server to a client in accordance with an Internet Imaging Protocol (Imaging Protocol), wherein the IIP server is used by an application of the client to access image data. URL (Uni
A medium having a transmission routine for transmitting a form resource locator to the client. 16. The medium according to claim 15, wherein the client application accesses the tile data based on the URL transmitted by the transmission routine. 17. The transmission routine according to claim 15, wherein the URL used in requesting image data by a Web (Word Wide Web) browser of the client is returned to the client.
Or the medium according to 16; 18. The transmission routine of the IIP server, wherein when the IIP server is in a busy state, another IIP server having a function of distributing the same image data as the IIP server.
18. The medium according to claim 15, wherein a URL of an IP server is transmitted to the client. 19. The URL of the another IIP server is, if the other IIP server holds the same image data under the same condition, a URL considering the position of the image data.
19. The medium according to claim 18, wherein the medium is RL. 20. The medium according to claim 15, wherein the client application is plug-in software of the Web browser. 21. The image data is a FlashPix.
2. The image data according to claim 1, wherein
21. The medium according to any one of 5 to 20. 22. IIP (Int) via a network
In an IIP server that distributes image data to a client in accordance with Internet Imaging Protocol (URL), a URL (Uniform Resource) used by the client application to access the image data is provided.
An IIP server having transmission means for transmitting a received locator to the client. 23. The IIP server according to claim 22, wherein the client application accesses the tile data based on the URL transmitted by the transmission unit. 24. The client device according to claim 22, wherein the transmission unit returns a URL used in a request for image data by a Web (Word Wide Web) browser of the client to the client. IIP server. 25. The transmitting means of the IIP server,
When the IIP server is in a busy state, another IIP having a function of distributing the same image data as the IIP server is provided.
The IIP server according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein a URL of a server is transmitted to the client. 26. When the other IIP server holds the same image data under the same condition, the URL of the other IIP server is a U.S.C.
The IIP server according to claim 25, wherein the IIP server is an RL. 27. The IIP according to claim 22, wherein the client application is plug-in software of the Web browser.
server. 28. The image data, wherein FlashPix
3. The image data according to claim 2, wherein
28. The IIP server according to any one of 2 to 27.