Patent ID: 7940408

Claim:
A job distribution apparatus comprising: a frontend interface for communication with one or more image capture devices through a data communication network; a backend interface for communication with backend devices; and a job communication controller configured to control said frontend interface and said backend interface for bi-directional status and control between image capture devices on the one hand and backend devices on the other hand, wherein said job communication controller controls said frontend interface to receive a document processing job from an image capture device through a first connection between said image capture device and said job distribution apparatus through said data communication network, and controls said backend interface to route said document processing job to a specified backend device, and wherein said job communication controller controls said frontend interface to terminate the first connection without waiting for acknowledgement or completion of the document processing job by the specified backend device, and transmit status information of said document processing job to said image capture device through a second connection between said image capture device and said job distribution apparatus, after said first connection is terminated.