# US 2008/0187345 A1 · Image history storage method, image history storage system, image history storage program, and recording medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2008/0187345 A1 - Document ID: US20080187345A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 12/012,078 - Filed: 2008-01-31 - Published: 2008-08-07 - Earliest claimed: 2007-02-01 - Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Toru Sorihashi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20080187345A1 ## CPC - G03G 15/161: {with means for handling the intermediate support, e.g. heating, cleaning, coating with a transfer agent} - G03G 15/5008: {Driving control for rotary photosensitive medium, e.g. speed control, stop position control} - G03G 2215/00156: by controlling drive mechanism - G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY ## Abstract In one embodiment of an image history storage system, an image history storage computer accesses an image forming apparatus based on image forming apparatus identification information, requests image data attribute information from the image forming apparatus, receives the attribute information from the image forming apparatus, judges, with filtering information, whether or not to request sending of the image data corresponding to the attribute information, and requests the image data for which the sending request is judged necessary from the image forming apparatus, receives the image data from the image forming apparatus, and accumulates and stores the received image data. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image history storage method that accumulates and stores image data to at least two image history storage computers among a plurality of computers connected via a network to one or a plurality of image forming apparatuses that accumulate the image data and attribute information related to that image data, the method comprising: a step of requesting identification information in which, using identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses that exist on the network, the at least two image history storage computers access an image forming apparatus corresponding to the identification information via the network, and request the attribute information accumulated in the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus; a step of sending attribute information in which the attribute information accumulated in the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer that requests the attribute information is sent from the image forming apparatus via the network to the image history storage computer; a step of filtering attribute information in which, using filtering information that exists on the network, which is filtering information for judging whether or not to request sending of the image data, in the image history storage computer that requests the attribute information, based on the attribute information from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer, and the filtering information, a judgment is performed of whether or not to make a request to the image forming apparatus to send image data corresponding to the attribute information; a step of requesting image data in which, when judged in the image history storage computer that requests the attribute information that it is necessary to request sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer, the image history storage computer that judged that the sending request is necessary requests to the image forming apparatus, via the network, for image data corresponding to target attribute information that is the target for which the sending request was judged necessary among the attribute information accumulated in the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer; a step of sending image data in which, from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer that requests image data corresponding to the target attribute information, image data that is accumulated in the image forming apparatus and corresponds to the target attribute information is sent to the image history storage computer via the network; and a step of accumulating and storing image data in which, in the image history storage computer that requests image data corresponding to the target attribute information, image data corresponding to the target attribute information from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer is received, and accumulated and stored. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of storing filtering information in which, in each of the at least two image history storage computers, the filtering information is stored and maintained; wherein in the step of filtering attribute information, filtering information that is stored and maintained in the image history storage computer that requests the attribute information is used as the filtering information. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image history storage method according to claim 2, further comprising: a step of editing filtering information in which, in at least one of the at least two image history storage computers, the filtering information is edited; and a step of updating filtering information in which filtering information in all of the image history storage computers other than an image history storage computer in which the filtering information has been edited is updated via the network to the edited filtering information. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of storing filtering information in which, in a single settings management computer among the plurality of computers, the filtering information is stored and maintained; and a step of reading out filtering information in which, in each of the at least two image history storage computers, the filtering information stored and maintained in the single settings management computer is read out from the single settings management computer via the network; wherein in the step of filtering attribute information, filtering information that has been read out from the single settings management computer is used as the filtering information. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The image history storage method according to claim 4, further comprising: a step of editing filtering information in which, in the single settings management computer, the filtering information is edited. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The image history storage method according to claim 4, wherein one among the at least two image history storage computers serves also as the single settings management computer. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of storing identification information in which, in each of the at least two image history storage computers, identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses is stored and maintained; wherein in the step of requesting identification information, identification information that is stored and maintained in the image history storage computer that requests the attribute information is used as the identification information. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The image history storage method according to claim 7, further comprising: a step of editing identification information in which, in at least one of the at least two image history storage computers, the identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses is edited; and a step of updating identification information in which identification information in all of the image history storage computers other than an image history storage computer in which the identification information has been edited is updated via the network to the edited identification information. ### Claim 9 (depends on 4) The image history storage method according to claim 4, further comprising: a step of storing identification information in which, in the single settings management computer, the identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses is stored and maintained; and a step of reading out identification information in which, in each of the at least two image history storage computers, the identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses that is stored and maintained in the single settings management computer is read out from the single settings management computer via the network; wherein in the step of requesting identification information, identification information that has been read out from the single settings management computer is used as the identification information. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The image history storage method according to claim 9, further comprising: a step of editing identification information in which, in the single settings management computer, the identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses is edited. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include one collected information image history storage computer and another other collected information image history storage computer; the filtering information includes a predetermined type of collected information; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when judged that the attribute information is collected information in the filtering information, the collected information image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information, and when judged that the attribute information is not collected information in the filtering information, the other collected information image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The image history storage method according to claim 11, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include one user image history storage computer and another other user image history storage computer; the attribute information includes user information for the image data; the collected information includes a user information list made up of the user information; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when user information in the attribute information exists in the user information list in the filtering information, the user image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information, and when user information in the attribute information does not exist in the user information list in the filtering information, the other user image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include a plurality of collected information image history storage computers whose collected information differs from each other; the filtering information includes a predetermined plurality of types of collected information that respectively correspond to the plurality of collected information image history storage computers; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when judged that the attribute information matches collected information in the filtering information corresponding to the collected information image history storage computer, the collected information image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The image history storage method according to claim 13, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include a plurality of user group image history storage computers whose user information groups differ from each other; the attribute information includes user group information for the image data; the filtering information includes a group information list made up of user group information that respectively corresponds to the plurality of user group image history storage computers; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when user group information in the attribute information matches user group information of the group information list in the filtering information corresponding to the user group image history storage computer, the user group image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The image history storage method according to claim 13, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include a plurality of image forming class image history storage computers whose image forming classes of the image forming apparatus differ from each other; the attribute information includes image forming class information for the image forming apparatus; the filtering information includes image forming class information for the image forming apparatus that respectively corresponds to the plurality of image forming class image history storage computers; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when image forming class information in the attribute information matches image forming class information in the filtering information corresponding to the image forming class image history storage computer, the image forming class image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The image history storage method according to claim 15, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include one copy image history storage computer, another facsimile image history storage computer, and another print image history storage computer; the attribute information includes copy, facsimile, and print class information; the filtering information includes copy, facsimile, and print class information that respectively corresponds to the copy image history storage computer, the facsimile image history storage computer, and the print image history storage computer; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when image forming class information in the attribute information is copy class information in the corresponding filtering information, the copy image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information, and when image forming class information in the attribute information is facsimile class information in the corresponding filtering information, the facsimile image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information, and when image forming class information in the attribute information is print class information in the corresponding filtering information, the print image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The image history storage method according to claim 13, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include a plurality of image format image history storage computers whose image formats for the image data differ from each other; the attribute information includes image format information for the image data; the filtering information includes image format information for the image data that respectively corresponds to the plurality of image format image history storage computers; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when image format information in the attribute information matches image format information in the filtering information corresponding to the image format image history storage computer, the image format image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The image history storage method according to claim 17, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include one TIFF image history storage computer and another PDF user image history storage computer; the attribute information includes TIFF and PDF image format information for the image data; the filtering information includes TIFF and PDF image format information for the image data that respectively corresponds to the TIFF image history storage computer and the PDF image history storage computer; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when the image format information for the image data in the attribute information is TIFF image format information in the corresponding filtering information, the TIFF image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information, and when the image format information for the image data in the attribute information is PDF image format information in the corresponding filtering information, the PDF image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 19 (depends on 13) The image history storage method according to claim 13, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include one text-attached image history storage computer and another no-text image history storage computer; the attribute information includes text presence or absence information of text-attached image and no-text image for the image data; the filtering information includes the text presence or absence information of text-attached image and no-text image for the image data that respectively corresponds to the text-attached image history storage computer and the no-text image history storage computer; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when the text presence or absence information in the attribute information is text-attached image information in the corresponding filtering information, the text-attached image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information, and when the text presence or absence information in the attribute information is no-text image information in the corresponding filtering information, the no-text image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 20 (depends on 13) The image history storage method according to claim 13, wherein: the at least two image history storage computers include a plurality of restriction image history storage computers whose restriction levels for the image data differ from each other; the attribute information includes restriction level information for the image data; the filtering information includes restriction level information for the image data that respectively corresponds to the plurality of restriction image history storage computers; and in the step of filtering attribute information, when restriction level information for the image data in the attribute information matches restriction level information for the image data in the filtering information corresponding to the restriction image history storage computer, the restriction image history storage computer that requests the attribute information requests sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of requesting image data deletion in which, after accumulating and storing image data corresponding to the target attribute information in the step of accumulating and storing image data, the image history storage computer that requests image data corresponding to the target attribute information requests, to the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer, via the network, to delete the image data; and a step of deleting image data in which it is deleted the image data corresponding to the target attribute information that is accumulated in the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer from the image history storage computer that requests deletion of the image data. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of accumulating and storing attribute information in which, in the image history storage computer that requests the attribute information, it is accumulated and stored the attribute information that has been sent from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request in the step of sending attribute information. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The image history storage method according to claim 22, further comprising: a step of requesting attribute information deletion in which, after accumulating and storing image data corresponding to the target attribute information in the step of accumulating and storing image data, the image history storage computer that requests image data corresponding to the target attribute information requests, to the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer, via the network, to delete the target attribute information; and a step of deleting attribute information in which the target attribute information that is accumulated in the image forming apparatus that responded to the request of the image history storage computer is deleted from the image history storage computer that requests deletion of target attribute information. ### Claim 24 (depends on 1) The image history storage method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of requesting identification information, the attribute information that is accumulated in the image forming apparatus corresponding to the identification information is requested from the image forming apparatus according to a time schedule, other than when network communications are concentrated. ### Claim 25 An image history storage system that accumulates and stores image data to at least two image history storage computers among a plurality of computers connected via a network to one or a plurality of image forming apparatuses that accumulate the image data and attribute information related to that image data, wherein: each of the at least two image history storage computers, using identification information for the one or the plurality of image forming apparatuses that exist on the network, accesses an image forming apparatus corresponding to the identification information via the network, and requests the attribute information accumulated in the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus; the attribute information accumulated in the image forming apparatus that responded to the request is sent from the image forming apparatus via the network to the image history storage computer; using filtering information that exists on the network, which is filtering information for judging whether or not to request sending of the image data, based on the attribute information from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request, and the filtering information, a judgment is performed of whether or not to make a request to the image forming apparatus to send image data corresponding to the attribute information; when judged that it is necessary to request sending of image data corresponding to the attribute information from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request, via the network, image data is requested from the image forming apparatus corresponding to target attribute information that is the target for which the sending request was judged necessary among the attribute information accumulated in the image forming apparatus that responded to the request; image data that is accumulated in the image forming apparatus and corresponds to the target attribute information is sent from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request to the image history storage computer via the network; and the image data corresponding to the target attribute information from the image forming apparatus that responded to the request is received, and accumulated and stored. ### Claim 26 (depends on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) An image history storage program for allowing a computer to execute each step of the image history storage method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) A computer-readable recording medium on which an image history storage program according to claim 26 is recorded.