JP2001285569A - Image input / output system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] To provide an image input / output system that provides a dedicated menu module having various functions for each user of an image input / output device. A menu module according to the present invention includes a URL. That is, when receiving a web print instruction by designating a URL, the page acquisition unit 24 of the image server 20 acquires a web page from the URL, and the transmission processing unit 22 of the image server 20 executes the page acquisition The web page from the means 24 is transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 10 which has instructed the web printing. If you do this,
A predetermined web page can be printed by a simple operation of instructing "web printing" from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image input / output system, and more particularly, to an image input / output system using a digital multifunction peripheral as an image input / output device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A digital multifunction peripheral is an apparatus which is based on a digital copier and which integrates digital image equipment such as a scanner, a printer, a facsimile and the like to save space.

In recent years, as shown in FIG. 9, an image input / output system in which a plurality of digital multifunction peripherals 10 and an image server 20 for centrally managing these digital multifunction peripherals 10 are connected via a network 30 has also been proposed. ing. In such an image input / output system, the digital MFP 1
The image data input from the scanner (image input means) is stored in a hard disk or the like (storage means) of the image server 20 and, if necessary, the image data stored in the image server 20 is stored in the digital MFP 10. Printer (image output means).

The digital multifunction peripheral 10 is used by many users, and the functions required by each user are usually different. That is, FIG. 10 is a schematic external view of a control panel provided in a general digital multifunction peripheral 10, and the control panel 15b
Menu screen displayed on the touch panel P of the
It is preferable that the operation setting of the digital imaging device regarding the print density, the number of sheets, the presence / absence of sorting, the resolution, the fax number, and the like be set to contents exclusive for each user. In this way, not only can a menu screen without unnecessary options be provided, but also the labor for setting the operation of the digital imaging device described above can be omitted.

Therefore, recently, a program module and data (hereinafter, referred to as “menu module”) for determining the contents of the menu screen and the operation setting are prepared for each user and centrally managed by the image server 20, and the digital multifunction peripheral is provided. An image input / output system that provides a dedicated menu module for each of ten users is under study.

[0006]

However, at present, the conventional image input / output system cannot respond to various requests from users.

That is, a user wants to print a predetermined web page, such as an electronic newspaper, which is updated daily on the Internet from the digital multi-function peripheral, or wants to print an electronic mail or fax addressed to the user from the digital multi-function peripheral when necessary. Are various, and the appearance of an image input / output system that can meet these requirements is expected.

The present invention has been proposed based on the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and provides an image input / output system which provides a dedicated menu module having various functions for each user of the image input / output device. It is intended for.

[0009]

The present invention employs the following means to achieve the above object. That is, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG.
An image input / output system in which an image server 20 for providing a dedicated menu module for each user of the digital MFP 10 via a network is assumed.

[0010] Here, the menu module of the present invention is U
RL. That is, when receiving a web print instruction by specifying a URL, the page obtaining unit 24 of the image server 20 obtains a web page from the URL,
The transmission processing unit 22 of the image server 20 transmits the web page from the page acquisition unit 24 to the digital MFP 10 that has instructed the web printing. In this manner, a predetermined web page can be printed by a simple operation of instructing “web printing” from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

Further, the menu module of the present invention includes an electronic mail address. That is, the image server 2
The mail acquisition means 25 on the 0 side acquires the received mail addressed to this e-mail address when receiving an instruction to print the received e-mail by designating the e-mail address.
The transmission processing means 22 on the side transmits the received mail from the mail acquisition means 25 or a list of the received mails to the digital multifunction peripheral 10 instructed to print the received mail.
In this way, the e-mail addressed to the user can be printed by a simple operation of instructing "print received mail" from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

Further, the menu module of the present invention includes a fax number. That is, when the fax obtaining means 26 of the image server 20 receives the instruction of printing the received fax by designating the fax number, the fax obtaining means 26 obtains the received fax addressed to this fax number, and
The transmission processing means 22 on the side of
The received fax or the list of the received faxes is transmitted to the digital MFP 10 instructed to print the received fax. In this way, a fax addressed to the user can be printed by a simple operation of instructing “receive fax printing” from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of an image input / output system to which the present invention is applied, and its configuration and operation will be described below.

First, a user ID and a password are input from a control panel 15b (see FIG. 10) provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 10, and when a start button S included in the control panel 15b is pressed, the user authentication information is entered. (User ID and password) are stored in the panel control unit 15a and the communication units 19 and 21.
(Step S1 in FIG. 2).

In this way, the reception processing means 23 passes the user authentication information to a user authentication means (not shown), and if the user authentication means authenticates the user as a legitimate user, the reception processing means 23 includes the user authentication information contained in the user authentication information. ID
To the table management means 27 (FIG. 2, step S
2).

Here, the table management means 27 refers to the correspondence table 28b between the user ID and the menu module provided in the storage means 28 and specifies the storage location of the menu module 28a dedicated to the user. And instructs the transmission processing means 22 to read out the menu module 28a from the and send it to the digital MFP 10. As a result, the transmission processing unit 22 is activated, and when the menu module is stored in the memory 14 of the digital MFP 10, the panel control unit 15a displays a menu screen corresponding to the menu module on the touch panel P (FIG. 2, Step S3 → S4).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, a menu screen dedicated to the user is displayed on the touch panel P. Hereinafter, an operation when "web print" is instructed on this menu screen will be described. I do.

That is, when "web printing" is instructed, the panel control means 15a which has received this instruction transmits the URL included in the menu module to the image server 20, and the transmitted URL is the image It is passed to the page acquisition unit 24 via the reception processing unit 23 of the server 20 (FIG. 2, step S5).

Here, a URL (Uniform Resource Locat)
or) is an addressing technology for uniquely identifying resources on the Internet. That is, the page acquisition unit 24 receiving the URL as described above,
, And a web server (not shown) returns the requested web page to the image server 20 (FIG. 2, steps S6 → S7).

As a result, the web page is stored in the storage unit 28 of the image server 20, transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 10, and printed from the image output unit 11 of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 (FIG. 2, Step S8
→ S9 → S10).

As described above, according to the present invention, a predetermined web page can be printed by a simple operation of instructing "web printing" from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

Although the operation of storing a web page when “web printing” is instructed from the digital multifunction peripheral 10 is illustrated here, the timing of storing the web page is not limited to this. is not. That is, when a new URL is added to the menu module 28a, a web page is acquired from the new URL and stored, and when a URL included in the menu module 28a is updated, the updated The web page is obtained from the URL and stored. By doing so, it goes without saying that the response time to the digital MFP 10 can be reduced.

The transmission by the transmission processing means 22 to the digital MFP 10 is not limited to only the latest web page. For example, a web page up to a predetermined version from the latest web page, or all web pages that have not been transmitted to the user may be transmitted. Whether or not the web page has not been transmitted can be determined by managing the transmission history.

By the way, according to a web browser such as Internet Explorer, by clicking a predetermined text or image belonging to the web page with a mouse, it is possible to reach target information.
This is because URL information is embedded in the web page, such as "Which web page is requested when this text (or image) is clicked".

However, when a web page is printed, the link information is of course invalid, so that it is impossible to follow the link using this printed material. Therefore, in the present invention, when a web page is printed from the digital MFP 10 as described above, the following method is adopted so that the link information is not invalidated.

That is, when the web page from the image server 20 is stored in the memory 14, the digital multifunction peripheral 1
0 encodes the link information belonging to this web page into a link information mark M such as a two-dimensional bar code.
Encodes the _L passes the sheet generation unit 13, the sheet generation unit 13, the link information mark M _L, by combining the web page stored in the memory 14 to generate the web print instruction sheet. The link information mark M
_As shown in FIG. 6, it is preferable that the combining position of _L is near the text (or image) in which the link information is embedded.

Here, when it is desired to follow the link of the web print instruction sheet generated as described above, the web print instruction sheet is set on an automatic document feeder (hereinafter, referred to as "ADF") provided in the image input means 12. "Web printing" is instructed in the state.

As a result, the panel control means 15a
The image input means 12 is instructed to start reading, and the decoding means 17 is instructed to start decoding.
When the web print instruction sheet set in F is stored in the memory 14 as digital image data, and returns to decoding the link information mark M _L belonging to this digital image data to the link information to the panel control unit 15a.

Thereafter, the panel control means 15a transmits the link information to the image server 20, and a web page corresponding to the link information (for example, a web page relating to a “new product of a digital multifunction peripheral” or a web page relating to a “PC”) 2) are printed from the image output unit 11 of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 through the same procedure as steps S5 to S10 in FIG.

As described above, in the present invention, when a web page is printed from the digital multifunction peripheral 10, it is printed as a web print instruction sheet so that the link information is not invalidated.

Incidentally, the web print instruction sheet is not limited to the form shown in FIG. 6, but as shown in FIG.
It may form with a check box B corresponding to the link information mark M _L. That is, sheet generation means 1
3 generates a web page from the image server 20, and the link information mark M _L from the encoding means 16, the web printing instruction sheet by synthesizing the check box B corresponding to the link information mark M _L, decoding Means 17
Decodes of link information mark M _L belonging to the web print instruction sheet, check the box corresponding to only the link information mark M _L to B in the link information.
In this way, even when a plurality of links are provided on the web print instruction sheet, only desired links can be followed.

Further, the web print instruction sheet, as shown in FIG. 8, may be in the form provided with a text ID mark M _T for specifying a web page. That is, the transmission processing unit 22 of the image server 20, together with the web pages, send text ID identifying this web page, the encoding means 16 of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 encodes the text ID in the text ID mark M _T To the sheet generating means 13, and further, the sheet generating means 13
And the web page from the image server 20, and check boxes B corresponding to the link information belonging to this web page, generating a web printing instruction sheet obtained by synthesizing the text ID mark M _T from the encoding means 16.
By doing so, no matter how many pieces of link information belong to the web page, the number of marks is always one, so that the processing time for encoding and decoding can be reduced.

When using the web print instruction sheet of this embodiment, the position information of the check box B and the link information are associated with each text ID, and the
It is managed by the side. In this way, the text ID
And the position information of the checked box B,
The corresponding link information can be specified. (Second Embodiment) Hereinafter, the operation when "Received Mail Print" is instructed on the menu screen (see FIG. 5) will be described with reference to FIG. 3 only for the points different from the first embodiment.

That is, when "Print received mail" is instructed, the panel control means 15a which has received the instruction transmits the e-mail address included in the menu module to the image server 20, and the electronic mail transmitted in this manner. The mail address is passed to the mail acquisition unit 25 via the reception processing unit 23 of the image server 20 (FIG. 3, step S11).
To S15).

Next, the mail acquiring means 25 requests the received mail by designating the above-mentioned e-mail address, and the mail server (not shown) converts the received e-mail (received mail) to this e-mail address into the image server. 20 (FIG. 3, step S16 → S17).

As a result, the received mail is stored in the storage means 28 of the image server 20 and then transmitted to the digital multi-function peripheral 10, and printed from the image output means 11 of the digital multi-function peripheral 10 (FIG. 3, Step S18
→ S19 → S20).

As described above, according to the present invention, an electronic mail addressed to the user can be printed by a simple operation of instructing "print received mail" from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

Here, the received mail is printed immediately, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the panel control means 15a of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 transmits the contents of the received mail to the touch panel P
May be displayed.

Further, what is transmitted from the image server 20 is not limited to the received mail. For example, the transmission processing unit 22 of the image server 20 may transmit a list of received mails. In this way, since the panel control unit 15a of the digital multi-function peripheral 10 can display the list on the touch panel P, it is possible to instruct to print only a desired received mail from the list.

Further, the transmission from the image server 20 may be limited to only unopened received mails or a list of unopened received mails.

In addition, in the above description, the source of the e-mail is not particularly mentioned, but it may be limited to a specific source. Such limitation is possible if the menu module includes the electronic mail address of the transmission source.

By the way, ordinary e-mail software is, for example, Microsoft Excel or Word.
It has a function to attach files in the format used by specific application software.

That is, when a file is attached to the received mail, the attached file is developed into bitmap data that can be printed by the image output means 11 of the digital multifunction peripheral 10, and is then sent to the digital multifunction peripheral 10 together with the received mail. Is to be sent to Although a means (not shown) for performing such file expansion may be provided in each digital multifunction peripheral 10, it is preferable to provide one in the image server 20. (Third Embodiment) Hereinafter, the operation when "Received Fax Printing" is instructed on the menu screen (see FIG. 5) will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, when "Received fax printing" is instructed, the panel control means 15a receiving this instruction causes
The fax number included in the menu module is transmitted to the image server 20, and the transmitted fax number is transferred to the fax acquisition unit 26 via the reception processing unit 23 of the image server 20 (FIG. 4, step S21).
~ S25).

Next, the fax acquisition means 26 requests a received fax by designating the above fax number, and a fax server (not shown) receives the fax image data (received fax) addressed to this fax number.
Is returned to the image server 20 (FIG. 4, step S26 → S2).
7).

As a result, the received fax is stored in the storage means 28 of the image server 20 and then transmitted to the digital multifunction peripheral 10, and the digital multifunction peripheral 10
(Step S in FIG. 4).
28 → S29 → S30).

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to print a fax addressed to the user by a simple operation of instructing "receive fax printing" from the digital MFP 10.

Here, the operation when the fax server provided separately from the image server 20 receives a fax is illustrated, but the image server 20 directly transmits the fax without passing through the fax server. It may be configured to receive. By doing so, the reception processing means 2
Fax acquisition means 2 given a fax number from 3
No. 6 obtains the received fax addressed to the fax number from the storage means 28, so that the response time to the digital MFP 10 can be reduced. (Fourth Embodiment) Hereinafter, a menu screen (see FIG. 5)
In the following, the operation when “document distribution” is instructed will be described only for the points different from the first embodiment.

That is, the AD provided in the image input means 12
When "document distribution" is instructed with the paper document set in F, the panel control unit 15a that has received the instruction instructs the image input unit 12 to start reading and is included in the menu module. The e-mail address is passed to the distribution processing means 18.

Here, the distribution processing means 18 is provided with the ADF
The paper document set in the memory 1 is stored in the memory 1 as document image data.
4, the document image data is attached to an e-mail and distributed to the e-mail address.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to distribute document image data to a predetermined destination by a simple operation of instructing "document distribution" from the digital multifunction peripheral 10.

Here, the operation of attaching the document image data to the e-mail and distributing the document image data is illustrated, but the distribution form of the document image data is not limited to this.

For example, when the document image data is stored in the memory 14 as described above, the distribution processing unit 18 stores in the storage unit 28 provided in the image server 20 or the storage unit provided in the digital MFP 10 (not shown). Alternatively, after storing the document image data, a URL indicating the storage location may be described in an e-mail and distributed. With this configuration, the distribution destination user determines whether or not the distribution of the document image data is necessary by referring to the URL, and issues a distribution request by designating the URL only when determining that the distribution is necessary. Therefore, unnecessary document image data distribution can be prevented.

However, when such a distribution form is adopted, caution must be exercised for unauthorized access to document image data.
That is, the distribution processing unit 18 receiving the distribution request,
It is preferable that the document image data is obtained from the storage unit and distributed only when the user who has issued the distribution request is authenticated by a user authentication unit (not shown) that is a legitimate user (a user with access right). . This user authentication means may be provided in either the image server 20 or the digital multifunction peripheral 10, depending on the storage location of the document image data.

Further, the document image data may be distributed not by e-mail but by facsimile. Such fax distribution is possible if the fax number is included in the menu module.

However, when the URL is transferred via a fax line, the recognition accuracy of the URL image becomes a problem. To avoid this problem, a URL mark such as a two-dimensional barcode may be transferred instead of the URL image. That is, the encoding means 16
L into a URL mark and decode means 17
Decodes a URL mark into a URL. It is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained even if the URL is not directly encoded into the URL mark but the URL is associated with a numeral string and the numeral string is encoded into the URL mark.

As described above, according to the present invention, dedicated menu modules having various functions can be provided for each user.

Note that "copy" and "fax transmission" on the menu screen (see FIG. 5) are buttons for instructing operation settings at the time of copying and facsimile transmission. Since the function is included in the conventional digital multi-function peripheral 10, the description is omitted here.

In the above description, the digital multifunction peripheral 10 is exemplified as the image input / output device. However, the same effect can be obtained even with a personal computer provided with a printer, a scanner, and the like. Needless to say.

Further, the image output means 11 is not limited to a printer. For example, the image data may be transferred to electronic paper or a portable terminal and displayed on a display. There are various methods for transferring image data, such as wireless communication using infrared rays and wired communication through a telephone line.
The digital multifunction peripheral 10 itself may be provided with a display.

In addition, an image adjusting means (not shown) for adjusting the layout or image quality of Web pages, received mails, received faxes, and document image data (output target image data) may be provided.
This refers to reducing the size of a photographic image, removing margins, etc.). In this way, the toner used by the image output unit 11 of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 can be saved. Similarly, an additional unit (not shown) for adding predetermined header information or footer information to the output target image data may be provided.

In addition, the image input / output system to which the present invention is applied has various functions described below from the viewpoint of improving its convenience. [Menu Module] Some functions provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 10 cannot be used unless a license (software use right) is held. Conventionally, all digital multifunction peripherals 10 must register a license for each user. I had to.

In the present invention, the license information is included in the menu module. By doing so, it is sufficient to register the license only for the menu module in the image server 20, and the convenience is improved.
It goes without saying that the same applies to not only the license information but also the URL access right information.

Further, when the menu module is obtained from the image server 20 connected via the Internet, there is a problem that the languages used in the image server 20 and the digital MFP 10 are different. For example, a digital multifunction peripheral 10 installed in Japan displays a Japanese menu, while a digital multifunction peripheral 10 installed in the United States normally displays an English menu.

Therefore, in the present invention, by including language information in the menu module, the panel control means 15a displays the menu in the language specified by the user. In this way, a user who specifies Japanese can obtain a Japanese menu on the digital multifunction peripheral 10 installed in the United States. In addition,
The source code of characters in each language is
It may be stored on the 0 side or included in the menu module. [Customization of Menu Module] If each user can customize a menu module with a personal computer according to his / her preference, convenience is enhanced. Therefore, the present invention employs a configuration in which software for customizing the menu module is provided in the image server 20, and the personal computer acquires this software as needed. [Panel Control] When there is a change in the state of the hardware resources of the digital multifunction peripheral 10, it is preferable to display a menu screen reflecting this state change. For example, if the image input unit 12 fails, a paper document cannot be input as document image data.
a displays a menu screen excluding “document distribution”. [Information holding medium] The input of the user authentication information is not limited to the control panel 15b. That is, the user authentication information is stored in an information storage medium such as a magnetic card, an IC memory card, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, or an optical disk, and the information storage medium may be read by the digital MFP 10. Good.

Here, it is preferable that the user authentication information (password) held by the information holding medium is updated at the time of authentication. In this way, even if the contents of the information storage medium are copied by another person, the user authentication by the person does not succeed and no damage occurs. Further, in this case, when the user authentication succeeds next, it is preferable to display on the touch panel P that the unauthorized access has been performed.

In the above description, the history and the menu module of the transmission processing and the distribution processing are stored in the image server 2.
0 is stored, but such information may be stored in an information storage medium. By doing so, the standalone digital multifunction peripheral 10 can
The same effects as those of the digital MFP 10 connected to the network 30 can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of an image input / output system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of “web printing”.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of “print received mail”.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of “receiving fax printing”.

FIG. 5 is a state diagram of the touch panel when a menu screen is displayed.

FIG. 6 is an example of a web print instruction sheet.

FIG. 7 is an example of a web print instruction sheet.

FIG. 8 is an example of a web print instruction sheet.

FIG. 9 is a network configuration example of an image input / output system.

FIG. 10 is a schematic external view of a control panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital multifunction machine 11 Image output means 12 Image input means 13 Sheet generation means 14 Memory 15 Interactive operation means 15a Panel control means 15b Control panel 16 Encoding means 17 Decoding means 18 Distribution processing means 20 Image server 22 Transmission processing means 23 Reception processing Means 24 Page acquisition means 25 Mail acquisition means 26 Fax acquisition means 27 Table management means 28 Storage means on image server side

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) // H04L 12/28 (72) Inventor Kenji Hisatomi 1006 Ojidoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB42 AC04 AC22 AC24 AC29 AC60 AF03 AF07 AF12 AF16 BA00 BC01 BC06 BD09 5C075 BA08 CA15 CA90 CF02 EE02 FF03 FF90 5K030 GA17 HA05 HB02 JT02 LD20 5K033 AA03 BA13 DA01 DB10 9A001

Claims (43)

[Claims] 1. An image input / output system in which a plurality of image input / output devices and an image server providing a dedicated menu module for each user of the image input / output devices are connected via a network. A menu module including a resource identifier; a page acquisition unit for acquiring a resource on a network specified by the resource identifier when a resource printing instruction is received by designating the resource identifier; Transmission processing means for transmitting the resource to the image input / output device that instructed the resource printing. 2. The image input / output system according to claim 1, wherein the resource identifier is a URL, the resource printing is a web printing, and the resource is a web page. 3. The page acquisition means according to claim 1, wherein when the new URL is added to the menu module, the new URL is added to the menu module.
3. The image input / output system according to claim 2, wherein a web page is acquired from and stored. 4. The image input / output system according to claim 2, wherein said page acquisition means acquires and stores a web page from the updated URL when a URL included in the menu module is updated. 5. The image input / output system according to claim 2, wherein said transmission processing means transmits a web page up to a predetermined version from the latest version. 6. The image input / output system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission processing means transmits all untransmitted web pages to the user. 7. An image input / output device, comprising: encoding means for encoding link information belonging to a web page into a link information mark; and sheet generation for generating a web print instruction sheet by combining the web page and the link information mark. Means, decoding means for decoding a link information mark belonging to the web print instruction sheet into link information, and interactive operation means for designating web printing by designating link information from the decode means. 3. The image input / output system according to 2. 8. An image input / output device, comprising: encoding means for encoding link information belonging to a web page into a link information mark; and synthesizing a web page, a link information mark, and a check box corresponding to the link information mark. Sheet generating means for generating a web print instruction sheet by using the above-described method, decoding means for decoding only link information marks corresponding to the checked boxes among the link information marks belonging to the web print instruction sheet into link information, 3. The image input / output system according to claim 2, further comprising: interactive operation means for designating web printing by designating link information from the user. 9. The image server comprises the transmission processing means for transmitting a web page and a text ID for specifying the web page, and the image input / output device encodes the text ID into a text ID mark. Encoding means; sheet generating means for generating a web print instruction sheet in which a text ID mark, a web page and a check box corresponding to link information belonging to the web page are combined; and text ID mark belonging to the web print instruction sheet 3. The decoding apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: decoding means for decoding to a text ID; and interactive operation means for designating web printing by designating the text ID from the decoding means and positional information of the checked box. Image input / output system. 10. An image input / output system in which a plurality of image input / output devices and an image server providing a dedicated menu module for each user of the image input / output devices are connected via a network. An e-mail address, a menu module including an e-mail address, an e-mail acquisition means for acquiring an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address when an instruction to print an e-mail is received by specifying an e-mail address, Transmission processing means for transmitting the received mail or the list of the received mail to the image input / output device instructed to print the received mail. 11. The image input / output system according to claim 10, wherein said transmission processing means transmits an unopened received mail or a list of unopened received mails. 12. The image input / output system according to claim 10, further comprising a file expanding means for expanding a file attached to the received mail into bitmap data on the image server side. 13. An image input / output system in which a plurality of image input / output devices and an image server providing a dedicated menu module for each user of the image input / output devices are connected via a network. A menu module including a fax number; a fax acquisition unit for acquiring a received fax addressed to the fax number when receiving an instruction to print a received fax by designating the fax number; and a reception fax from the fax acquisition unit. Alternatively, transmission processing means for transmitting a list of the received faxes to the image input / output device instructing the received fax printing, and an image input / output system. 14. The image input / output system according to claim 13, wherein said transmission processing means transmits an untransmitted received fax or a list of untransmitted received faxes. 15. An image input / output system in which a plurality of image input / output devices and an image server providing a dedicated menu module for each user of the image input / output devices are connected via a network. The menu module including an e-mail address; image input means for inputting a paper document as document image data to the image input / output device; and receiving an instruction for document distribution by specifying the e-mail address. And a distribution processing means for distributing an e-mail attached with the document image data from the image input means to the e-mail address. 16. An image input / output system in which a plurality of image input / output devices and an image server which provides a dedicated menu module for each user of the image input / output devices are connected via a network. A menu module including a fax number, image input means for inputting a paper document as document image data to the image input / output device side, and receiving a document distribution instruction by designating the fax number. An image input / output system, comprising: delivery processing means for faxing the document image data from the image input means to a fax number. 17. An image input / output device comprising: an encoding unit that encodes a URL into a URL mark; a decoding unit that decodes a URL mark into a URL; The distribution processing means for distributing a URL mark indicating a storage location and acquiring document image data from the storage location and distributing the document image data to a request source when a distribution request is received by designating the URL mark. 17. The image input / output system according to 16. 18. The image input / output system according to claim 17, further comprising user authentication means for authenticating a user who can acquire said document image data. 19. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting the layout or image quality of any of the resource, received mail, received fax, and document image data.
17. The image input / output system according to any one of 3, 15, and 16. 20. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adding means for adding predetermined header information or predetermined footer information to any of the resource, received mail, received fax, and document image data. The image input / output system according to any one of the above. 21. The image input / output system according to claim 1, further comprising an interactive operation means for inputting user authentication information on the image input / output device side. 22. The image input / output system according to claim 21, wherein said interactive operation means changes the contents of a menu screen according to a change in the status of hardware resources. 23. The image input / output system according to claim 21, wherein said interactive operation means displays the contents of a menu screen in a designated language. 24. The image input / output device according to claim 1, further comprising a medium reading means for reading an information holding medium holding user authentication information and a menu module. Image input / output system as described. 25. The image input / output system according to claim 24, wherein the user authentication information stored in the information storage medium is updated at the time of the authentication. 26. The image input / output system according to claim 24, wherein the information holding medium or the image server holds predetermined license information or predetermined URL access right information. 27. The image input / output system according to claim 24, wherein the information holding medium or the image server holds a history of transmission processing or distribution processing. 28. The personal computer according to claim 1, wherein a personal computer for customizing said menu module is connected via a network.
The image input / output system according to any one of the above. 29. An image server which provides a dedicated menu module for each user of an image input / output device, wherein, when an instruction for resource printing is received by designating the menu module including a resource identifier and the resource identifier, the resource Page acquisition means for acquiring a resource on the network specified by the identifier; and transmission processing means for transmitting the resource from the page acquisition means to the image input / output device that has instructed the resource printing. Image server. 30. An image server for providing a dedicated menu module for each user of an image input / output device, wherein the menu module including an e-mail address and an instruction to print a received e-mail by specifying an e-mail address are received. Mail acquisition means for acquiring a received mail addressed to the e-mail address; and transmission processing means for transmitting the received mail or the list of the received mails from the mail acquisition means to the image input / output device instructed to print the received mail. An image server, comprising: 31. An image server for providing a dedicated menu module for each user of an image input / output device, wherein when the menu module including a fax number and an instruction to print a received fax are received by specifying a fax number. Fax acquisition means for acquiring a received fax addressed to the fax number; and transmission processing means for transmitting the received fax from the fax acquisition means or a list of the received faxes to the image input / output device instructed to print the received fax. An image server, comprising: 32. An image server for providing a dedicated menu module for each user of an image input / output device, comprising: the menu module including an e-mail address to which a document is to be distributed. 33. An image server for providing a dedicated menu module for each user of an image input / output device, the image server including the menu module including a fax number to which a document is to be distributed. 34. An image input / output device for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, wherein when a resource identifier is included in the menu module and resource printing is instructed, An image input / output device for acquiring a resource on a network specified by a resource identifier from the image server. 35. An image input / output device that obtains a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, wherein an instruction is given to print an incoming mail by specifying an e-mail address included in the menu module. An image input / output device for acquiring a received mail addressed to the e-mail address from the image server. 36. An image input / output device for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, wherein when a received fax print is instructed by specifying a fax number included in the menu module, An image input / output device for acquiring a received fax addressed to the fax number from the image server. 37. An image input / output device for obtaining a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, wherein when an e-mail address included in the menu module is designated and document distribution is instructed, An image input / output device for delivering an e-mail attached with document image data from an image input means to the e-mail address. 38. An image input / output device for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, wherein when a document distribution is instructed by designating a fax number included in the menu module, An image input / output device for delivering an electronic mail attached with document image data from an image input means to a fax number. 39. A process for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, a process for designating resource printing by specifying a resource identifier included in the menu module, and a process for instructing resource printing. Acquiring the resource on the network specified by the above from the image server. 40. A process for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, a process for designating an e-mail address included in the menu module and instructing reception mail printing, Acquiring an incoming e-mail addressed to the e-mail address from the image server. 41. A process for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, a process for designating a received fax by designating a fax number included in the menu module, Acquiring an incoming fax addressed to the number from the image server. 42. A process for acquiring a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, a process for designating a document distribution by designating an e-mail address included in the menu module, A process of delivering an e-mail attached with document image data from the image input means to a mail address. 43. A process for obtaining a dedicated menu module for each user from an image server connected via a network, a process for designating a fax number included in the menu module and instructing document distribution, and a process for faxing the fax number. Delivering an e-mail attached with document image data from the image input means to the destination.