Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program that allow a user to solve the problem related to color adjustment even if the user does not have a high professional knowledge and experience.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes a color adjustment system that executes color adjustment for an image forming apparatus, and a color adjustment assistance system that solves the problem related to color adjustment. The information processing system has: an acquisition unit that acquires first information on the operation of the image forming apparatus, and second information on color adjustment; a transmission unit that, according to an operation made by a user, transmits a request for assistance for the problem related to color adjustment to the color adjustment assistance system; a first display control unit that, of the first information and the second information, on the basis of information corresponding to the request, causes a first display unit used by a service provider to display an assistance screen; and a notification unit that, when the request is received, notifies the color adjustment system of a reply that is input by the service provider as a response to the request.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, known color adjustments for printing machines include color sample matching to match the color reproducibility of a printing machine that executes a print job to the colors of a print sample that already exists as a printed matter, and a process of reading a printed color chart with a colorimeter and adjusting the print output so that the color difference is a quality target. For such color adjustments, it is assumed that the user himself performs color adjustments using dedicated software or the like using the results of color measurement by the colorimeter, which requires high expertise and experience, and therefore there is a problem that the results of color adjustments will vary if performed by an operator with low expertise.

[0003] As a technology related to such color adjustment, an apparatus has been disclosed that includes a colorimetric value data acquisition unit that acquires colorimetric values ​​for each color patch of a color accuracy verification chart formed by multiple printers, a colorimetric value data storage unit that stores the colorimetric values ​​in chronological order for each of the multiple printers, a target printer setting unit that sets the target printer for which color accuracy verification is to be performed, a color accuracy verification unit that verifies color accuracy based on the colorimetric values ​​of the target printer stored in the colorimetric value data storage unit and a predetermined verification standard value, and a display unit that displays the verification results by the color accuracy verification unit for each target printer (for example, Patent Document 1). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 leaves it up to the user to decide what information to use to perform appropriate color adjustment, which requires specialized knowledge and experience, and there is a problem in that it is not easy to perform highly accurate color adjustment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program that enable even users who do not have high levels of specialized knowledge and experience to solve problems related to color adjustment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an information processing system including a color adjustment system that executes color adjustment for an image forming apparatus, and a color adjustment assistance system that provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, the information processing system including an acquisition unit that acquires first information related to an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information related to the color adjustment by the color adjustment system, a storage unit that stores the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a color adjustment assistance system that receives a request for assistance for a problem related to the color adjustment from the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation of an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus. a transmission unit that transmits the request to an assistance system; a first display control unit that, when the color adjustment assistance system receives the request, causes a first display device used by a service provider of the service to display an assistance screen that displays information to assist in solving the problem regarding the color adjustment based on information corresponding to the request among the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a notification unit that, when the request is received by the color adjustment assistance system, notifies the color adjustment system of a response entered by the service provider in response to the request. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, even a user who does not have a high level of specialized knowledge or experience can solve problems related to color adjustment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the color adjustment system 20 and the like according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of the information processing system according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the operation of the information processing system according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of color adjustment history information. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation history information. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment result screen displayed on the printing company side. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a job color adjustment result screen displayed on the printing company side. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an assistance request screen displayed on the printing company side. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (adjustment result tab) displayed on the service provider side. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (analysis tab) displayed on the service provider side. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (log tab) displayed on the service provider side. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (assist tab) displayed on the service provider side. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a job color adjustment assistance screen (adjustment result tab) displayed on the service provider side. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a job color adjustment assistance screen (assist tab) displayed on the service provider side. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the assistance request screen when a response is received from the service provider. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the entire operation of the information processing system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and the components in the following embodiment include those that a person skilled in the art can easily conceive, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalent. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the following embodiment.

[0010] (Overall configuration of information processing system) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1.

[0011] The information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that realizes two-way communication in which, when a printing company performs color adjustment using a print sample PS and a color chart CC, etc., a service provider requests assistance, and the service provider provides guidance, comments, etc. in response to the request. Here, assistance means help, support, and assistance. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes an image forming device 10, a color adjustment system 20, an image reading device 30, a color adjustment assistance system 40, a device management system 50, and a service provider terminal 60. Among these, the image forming device 10, the color adjustment system 20, the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 are capable of data communication with each other via a network N. Note that, in FIG. 1, one image forming device 10 is illustrated for the sake of simplicity, but the present invention is not limited to this, and multiple image forming devices 10 may be managed by the color adjustment system 20. Furthermore, the information processing system 1 is not limited to including systems of a single printing company (the image forming device 10, the color adjustment system 20, and the image reading device 30), and may include systems of a plurality of printing companies.

[0012] The image forming apparatus 10 is an image forming apparatus such as a commercial printing machine, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), or an electrophotographic or inkjet printing machine having a printer function as a main function, which is the subject of color adjustment. Here, the MFP is a multifunction machine having at least two functions among a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a fax function. Here, in the color adjustment, the image reading device 30 is made to read a print sample PS, which is a sample of color reproduction for each print job, and the read data is used to match the color of the print sample, which is called job color adjustment (second color adjustment), and the process of reading a color chart CC printed and output from the image forming apparatus 10 for each image forming apparatus 10 (or for each sheet of paper printed and output from the image forming apparatus 10) and reducing in-plane unevenness using the read data is called device color adjustment (first color adjustment). In job color adjustment, an input profile is generated for color conversion of the color values ​​of the original data included in the job into color values ​​in a device-independent color space (L*a*b* values, XYZ values, etc.), and in device color adjustment, an output profile is generated for color conversion from the device-independent color space into a color space for printing by the image forming apparatus 10. Note that the input profile and the output profile may be referred to collectively without distinction and simply as a profile.

[0013] The color adjustment system 20 is a system such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a workstation that performs color adjustment using data read by an image reading device 30 from a print sample PS of a job or a color chart CC printed out by the image forming device 10. The color adjustment system 20 also manages manuscript data to be printed by the image forming device 10. The color adjustment system 20 may be realized by a single information processing device, or may be realized by a system configured of multiple information processing devices.

[0014] Specifically, the color adjustment system 20 generates an input profile by executing job color adjustment using read data obtained by reading a print sample PS of a job with the image reading device 30, and transmits the input profile to the image forming device 10. The color adjustment system 20 also generates an output profile by executing device color adjustment using read data obtained by reading a color chart CC printed out by the image forming device 10 with the image reading device 30, and transmits the output profile to the image forming device 10. The image forming device 10 then prints out the manuscript data using the received input profile and output profile.

[0015] The image reading device 30 is a device that performs a reading process on the print sample PS and the color chart CC printed out by the image forming device 10, and generates read data consisting of colorimetric values ​​such as L*a*b* values, XYZ values, or RGB values. The image reading device 30 transmits the read data to the color adjustment system 20. The image reading device 30 may be, for example, an image scanner, a colorimeter, or other device, but is not limited to these, and refers to any device that can obtain read data of the print sample PS and the color chart CC. In addition, the colorimetric values ​​obtained from the reading process by the image reading device 30 are described as L*a*b* values ​​(hereinafter simply referred to as Lab values) in the L*a*b color system. In addition, the read data read by the image reading device 30 is not limited to colorimetric values ​​such as Lab values, and the image reading device 30 may transmit the data to the color adjustment system 20 as RAW data, and the RAW data may be converted to colorimetric values ​​on the color adjustment system 20 side.

[0016] The image reading device 30 also performs a reading process on a reproduced image printout RIP, which is a printout obtained by printing out the manuscript data of a job corresponding to the print sample PS by the image forming device 10. The read data of the reproduced image printout RIP is used for job color adjustment by the color adjustment system 20.

[0017] The color adjustment assistance system 40 is a system that collects the profile generated by the color adjustment system 20, the print sample PS read by the image reading device 30, the read data of the reproduced image printout RIP and the color chart CC, the manuscript data printed by the image forming device 10, the operation history of the image forming device 10 and the color adjustment system 20, the history of color adjustment by the color adjustment system 20, information on the image forming device 10 that is the target of color adjustment (target device information) (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as adjustment-related information) (second information), and when a request for assistance is received from the color adjustment system 20, it transmits a response to the request to the color adjustment system 20 via the service provider terminal 60 based on the adjustment-related information. Note that the color adjustment assistance system 40 may be realized by a single information processing device, or may be realized by a system configured of multiple information processing devices.

[0018] The device management system 50 is a system that collects information (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as device-related information) (first information) such as the operating status of the image forming apparatus 10, the history of errors that have occurred in the image forming apparatus 10, document data, and print setting information of the color chart CC, and provides the device-related information in response to a request from the color adjustment assistance system 40. The device management system 50 may be realized by a single information processing apparatus, or may be realized by a system configured of multiple information processing apparatuses.

[0019] The above-described color adjustment assistance system 40 and device management system 50 are systems realized on the cloud and managed by a service provider that provides a service of providing responses such as guidance in response to requests for assistance with color adjustment by the color adjustment system 20. Note that the color adjustment assistance system 40 and the device management system 50 do not have to be separate systems, and may be the same system.

[0020] The service provider terminal 60 is an information terminal through which a service provider with specialized knowledge about color adjustment inputs a response to a request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20 notified via the color adjustment assistance system 40, based on the adjustment-related information and device-related information provided by the color adjustment assistance system 40.

[0021] (Hardware configuration of image forming device) Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. The hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Note that, in Fig. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 is described as an MFP, but even if the image forming apparatus 10 is a commercial printing machine or an electrophotographic or inkjet printing machine having a printer function as its main function, the basic configuration is similar to the configuration shown in Fig. 2.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment includes a controller 700, an operation display unit 710, an FCU (Facsimile Control Unit) 720, a plotter 731 (printing device), and a scanner 732, all connected via a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus.

[0023] The controller 700 is a device that controls the entire image forming apparatus 10 , and controls drawing, communication, and input from the operation display unit 710 .

[0024] The operation display unit 710 is, for example, a touch panel, and is a device that accepts input to the controller 700 (input function) and displays the status of the image forming apparatus 10 (display function), and is directly connected to an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 706 described later.

[0025] The FCU 720 is a device that realizes a fax function, and is connected to the ASIC 706 via, for example, a PCI bus.

[0026] The plotter 731 is a device that realizes a printing function, and is connected, for example, by a PCI bus to the ASIC 706. The scanner 732 is a function that realizes a scanner function, and is connected, for example, by a PCI bus to the ASIC 706.

[0027] The controller 700 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 701, a system memory (MEM-P) 702, a north bridge (NB) 703, a south bridge (SB) 704a, a network I / F 704b, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) I / F 704c, a Centronics I / F 704d, an ASIC 706, a local memory (MEM-C) 707, and an auxiliary storage device 708.

[0028] A CPU 701 performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 10, and is connected to a chip set consisting of a system memory 702, a north bridge 703, and a south bridge 704a, and is connected to other devices via this chip set.

[0029] The system memory 702 is used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for expanding programs and data, a memory for printer drawing, etc., and has a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). Of these, the ROM is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM is a writable and readable memory used as a memory for expanding programs and data, a memory for printer drawing, etc.

[0030] The north bridge 703 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 701 with the system memory 702, the south bridge 704a, and an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 705, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the system memory 702, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

[0031] The south bridge 704a is a bridge for connecting the north bridge 703 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The south bridge 704a is connected to the north bridge 703 via a PCI bus, and a network I / F 704b, a USB I / F 704c, a Centronics I / F 704d, and the like are connected to the PCI bus.

[0032] The network I / F 704b is an interface for communicating data with an external device such as the color adjustment system 20 by using the network N. The network I / F 704b is compatible with, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark) and is capable of communication compliant with TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / IP (Internet Protocol) or the like. The network I / F 704b may be a wireless communication interface compliant with Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or the like.

[0033] The USB I / F 704c is an interface that enables communication with devices that comply with the USB standard.

[0034] The Centronics I / F 704d is an interface having parallel port specifications capable of transmitting multiple bits.

[0035] The AGP bus 705 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to accelerate graphic processing. The AGP bus 705 is a bus that accelerates the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the system memory 702 at high throughput.

[0036] The ASIC 706 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing purposes having hardware elements for image processing, and plays the role of a bridge connecting the AGP bus 705, the PCI bus, the auxiliary storage device 708, and the local memory 707. The ASIC 706 is composed of a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of the ASIC 706, a memory controller that controls the local memory 707, a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between the plotter 731 and the scanner 732 via the PCI bus. For example, the FCU 720, the plotter 731, and the scanner 732 are connected to the ASIC 706 via the PCI bus. The ASIC 706 is also connected to a host PC (Personal Computer) and a network (not shown).

[0037] The local memory 707 is a memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer.

[0038] The auxiliary storage device 708 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a secure digital (SD) card, or a flash memory, and is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms, etc.

[0039] The program for the image forming apparatus 10 described above may be distributed by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium (such as the auxiliary storage device 708) as a file in an installable or executable format.

[0040] Furthermore, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and it is not necessary for all of the components to be included, and other components may also be included.

[0041] (Hardware configuration of color adjustment system, etc.) Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the color adjustment system 20 according to the embodiment. The hardware configuration of the color adjustment system 20 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Note that the hardware configurations of the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 also conform to the configuration shown in Fig. 3.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 3, the color adjustment system 20 includes a CPU 801, a ROM 802, a RAM 803, an auxiliary storage device 805, a media drive 807, a display 808, a network I / F 809, a keyboard 811, a mouse 812, and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) drive 814.

[0043] The CPU 801 is a calculation device that controls the overall operation of the color adjustment system 20. The ROM 802 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs for the color adjustment system 20. The RAM 803 is a volatile storage device that is used as a work area for the CPU 801.

[0044] The auxiliary storage device 805 is a storage device such as an HDD or SSD that stores various data, programs, etc. The media drive 807 is a device that controls reading and writing of data from and to a recording medium 806 such as a flash memory under the control of the CPU 801.

[0045] The display 808 is a display device configured with liquid crystal or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) or the like, which displays various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, or an image.

[0046] The network I / F 809 is an interface for performing data communication with the image forming apparatus 10 and the image reading apparatus 30 via the printing company's internal network (such as a LAN (Local Area Network)) and for performing data communication with the color adjustment assistance system 40 and the device management system 50 via the network N. The network I / F 809 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) that supports Ethernet and is capable of communication compliant with TCP / IP or the like. The network I / F 809 may be a wireless communication interface compliant with Wi-Fi or the like. The interface for the internal network and the interface for the network N may be configured separately.

[0047] The keyboard 811 is an input device for selecting letters, numbers, and various instructions, moving the cursor, etc. The mouse 812 is an input device for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving the cursor, etc.

[0048] The DVD drive 814 is a device that controls reading and writing of data from and to a DVD 813, such as a DVD-ROM or a Digital Versatile Disk Recordable (DVD-R), which is an example of a removable storage medium.

[0049] The above-mentioned CPU 801, ROM 802, RAM 803, auxiliary storage device 805, media drive 807, display 808, network I / F 809, keyboard 811, mouse 812 and DVD drive 814 are communicatively connected to each other via a bus 810 such as an address bus and a data bus.

[0050] It should be noted that the hardware configuration of the color adjustment system 20 shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and it is not necessary for the color adjustment system 20 to include all of the components shown in FIG. 3, or other components may be included.

[0051] (Configuration and operation of functional blocks of information processing systems) Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of functional blocks of an information processing system according to an embodiment. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the operation of the information processing system according to an embodiment. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of color adjustment history information. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of operation history information. The configuration and operation of functional blocks of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a communication unit 101, a job acquisition unit 102, a print control unit 103, a profile acquisition unit 104, a device information transmission unit 105, and a storage unit 106.

[0053] The communication unit 101 is a functional unit that performs data communication with the color adjustment system 20 and the device management system 50. The communication unit 101 is realized by the network I / F 704b and the CPU 701 shown in FIG.

[0054] The job acquisition unit 102 is a functional unit that acquires a print job of the document data and the color chart CC from the color adjustment system 20. The job acquisition unit 102 also acquires a normal print job from an external device via the network N. The job acquisition unit 102 is realized, for example, by a program being executed by the CPU 701 shown in FIG.

[0055] The print control unit 103 is a functional unit that applies a profile generated by the color adjustment system 20 based on the print job of the manuscript data acquired by the job acquisition unit 102, and causes the plotter 731 to print out a reproduced image printout. Also, the print control unit 103 causes the plotter 731 to print out the color chart CC based on the print job of the color chart CC acquired by the job acquisition unit 102.

[0056] Furthermore, the print control unit 103 stores a history indicating the operation status of the image forming apparatus 10 in the storage unit 106 as operation history information shown in Fig. 7. The operation history information is a part of the device-related information described above. The operation history information shown in Fig. 7 as an example is history information that associates the standby time, printing time, stop time due to color adjustment or abnormality, and total operation time of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0057] The print control unit 103 is realized, for example, by the CPU 701 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

[0058] The profile acquisition unit 104 is a functional unit that acquires, via the communication unit 101, an input profile and an output profile generated by color adjustment in the color adjustment system 20. The profile acquisition unit 104 stores (registers) the acquired profile in the storage unit 106. The profile stored in the storage unit 106 is applied to the control of print output onto paper by the print control unit 103. The profile acquisition unit 104 is realized, for example, by the CPU 701 shown in FIG. 2 executing a program.

[0059] The device information transmission unit 105 is a functional unit that collects device-related information about the image forming apparatus 10 and transmits the information to the device management system 50 via the communication unit 101 as shown in Fig. 5. The device information transmission unit 105 is realized, for example, by the CPU 701 shown in Fig. 2 executing a program.

[0060] The storage unit 106 is a functional unit that stores the profile acquired by the profile acquisition unit 104, device-related information, various data, programs, etc. The storage unit 106 is realized by the auxiliary storage device 708 shown in FIG.

[0061] At least a portion of the functional units of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 that are implemented by software (programs) may be implemented by hardware circuits such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an ASIC.

[0062] Moreover, the functions of each functional unit of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 are conceptually shown, and the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the multiple functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 may be configured as one functional unit. On the other hand, the function of one functional unit in the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 may be divided into multiple units and configured as multiple functional units. Moreover, each functional unit of the image forming apparatus 10 does not need to be configured as a clear software module as the block shown in FIG. 4, and it is sufficient that the function of each functional unit as a whole is realized by executing a program in the image forming apparatus 10.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 4, the color adjustment system 20 includes a communication unit 201, a job transmission unit 202, a color information acquisition unit 203, a calculation unit 204, a color adjustment unit 205, a profile transmission unit 206, a color adjustment information transmission unit 207 (an example of a transmission unit), an input unit 208, a display control unit 209 (an example of a second control device), a memory unit 210, and a detection unit 211.

[0064] The communication unit 201 is a functional unit that performs data communication with the image forming apparatus 10, the image reading apparatus 30, and the color adjustment assistance system 40. The communication unit 201 is realized by the network I / F 809 and the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0065] The job sending unit 202 is a functional unit that sends document data and a print job of a color chart CC to be printed out in the image forming apparatus 10 to the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication unit 201. The job sending unit 202 is realized, for example, by a program being executed by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0066] The color information acquisition unit 203 is a functional unit that acquires read data consisting of colorimetric values ​​(Lab values, etc.) obtained by a reading process by the image reading device 30 for the reproduced image printout and color chart CC printed out by the image forming device 10, and the print sample, from the image reading device 30 via the communication unit 201, as shown in Fig. 5. The color information acquisition unit 203 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in Fig. 3 executing a program.

[0067] The calculation unit 204 is a functional unit that calculates the color difference between the image of the print sample and the reproduced image after color matching in the job color adjustment, and generates a color difference map. For example, the color difference calculation unit 208 calculates the color difference for each pixel value of the pixel of the print image with respect to the pixel value of the corresponding pixel in the reproduced image. Here, the image of the print sample is an image displayed based on the read data of the print sample, and the reproduced image is an image displayed based on the read data of the reproduced image printout. The color difference map is, for example, a map that displays a monochrome gradation changed according to the color difference value. The calculation unit 204 also calculates the color difference between the image of the print sample and the reproduced image (i.e., the reproduced image before color matching) in the job color adjustment, and generates a color difference map. The calculation unit 204 also calculates the color difference average that is the average value of these color differences (the one corresponding to before color matching may be called pre-adjustment ΔE, and the one corresponding to after color matching may be called post-adjustment ΔE).

[0068] Furthermore, in device color adjustment, the calculation unit 204 calculates the average color difference (average ΔE) and the maximum color difference (maximum ΔE) between the patches from the read data of the color chart CC.

[0069] The calculation unit 204 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0070] The color adjustment unit 205 is a functional unit that generates an input profile by adjusting the color of a reproduction image to match the color of a print sample image in job color adjustment. In addition, since the color values ​​of each patch of the color chart CC are known in device color adjustment, the color adjustment unit 205 creates an output profile by performing color adjustment processing using a known technique such that the colorimetric values ​​of each patch corresponding to the color adjustment patch CP reproduce the color values. The color adjustment unit 205 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 3 executing a program.

[0071] Furthermore, the calculation unit 204 and the color adjustment unit 205 store the results of the job color adjustment and the device color adjustment in the storage unit 210 as color adjustment history information shown in Fig. 6. The color adjustment history information is part of the adjustment-related information described above. The color adjustment history information shown in Fig. 6 as an example is history information of device color adjustment, and is history information that associates the date and time when the average ΔE was calculated by the calculation unit 204, the type of color chart CC (chart type) used in the device color adjustment, and the average ΔE calculated by the calculation unit 204.

[0072] The profile transmission unit 206 is a functional unit that transmits the profile generated by the color adjustment unit 205 to the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication unit 201 as shown in Fig. 5. The profile transmission unit 206 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in Fig. 3 executing a program.

[0073] The color adjustment information transmission unit 207 is a functional unit that collects adjustment-related information related to job color adjustment and device color adjustment for the image forming apparatus 10 and transmits the information to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201 as shown in FIG. 5. For example, when the detection unit 211 detects that a problem has occurred with job color adjustment or device color tone, and when a user (printing company) requests assistance on an assistance request screen 1200 shown in FIG. 10 described later, the color adjustment information transmission unit 207 transmits the adjustment-related information together with the assistance request to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. The user (printing company) corresponds to the "user" of the present invention. The color adjustment information transmission unit 207 is realized by, for example, executing a program by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 3.

[0074] The input unit 208 is a functional unit that accepts operational inputs from a user (printing company) to a device color adjustment result screen 1000 (to be described later) etc. The input unit 208 is realized by a keyboard 811 and a mouse 812 shown in FIG.

[0075] The display control unit 209 is a functional unit that controls the display of various screens (such as a device color adjustment result screen 1000 described later) and information on a display 808 (an example of a second display device) of the color adjustment system 20. The display control unit 209 is realized, for example, by a program being executed by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0076] The storage unit 210 is a functional unit that stores adjustment-related information such as document data, color chart CC data, and a profile generated by the color adjustment unit 205. The storage unit 210 is realized by the auxiliary storage device 805 shown in FIG.

[0077] The detection unit 211 is a functional unit that detects that the job color adjustment has been judged NG a predetermined number of times in succession, and that the device color adjustment has been judged NG a predetermined number of times in succession. For example, in the job color adjustment, the judgment is NG when the adjusted ΔE calculated by the calculation unit 204 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and in the device color adjustment, the judgment is NG when at least one of the average ΔE or the maximum ΔE calculated by the calculation unit 204 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Note that the detection unit 211 is not limited to detecting that the job color adjustment or the device color adjustment has been judged NG a predetermined number of times in succession as described above, but may also detect that a problem has occurred with respect to the job color adjustment or the device color tone by confirming that a predetermined condition is satisfied. The predetermined condition may be, for example, that the judgment is NG at a predetermined rate among the predetermined number of times of color adjustment, that the color difference calculated by the color adjustment shows an abnormal value exceeding an expected value, and the like.

[0078] At least a part of the functional units of the color adjustment system 20 shown in FIG. 4 that are realized by software (programs) may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an FPGA or an ASIC.

[0079] Moreover, each functional unit of the color adjustment system 20 shown in FIG. 4 is shown conceptually, and is not limited to such a configuration. For example, a plurality of functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the color adjustment system 20 shown in FIG. 4 may be configured as one functional unit. On the other hand, the function of one functional unit in the color adjustment system 20 shown in FIG. 4 may be divided into a plurality of functional units and configured as a plurality of functional units. Moreover, each functional unit of the color adjustment system 20 does not need to be configured as a clear software module as the block shown in FIG. 4, and it is sufficient that the function of each functional unit is realized as a whole by executing a program in the color adjustment system 20.

[0080] In the above description, the user (printer) performs operational input using the input unit 208 of the color adjustment system 20 on the device color adjustment result screen 1000 etc. displayed by the display control unit 209 of the color adjustment system 20, but this is not limiting. For example, the device color adjustment result screen 1000 etc. may be displayed on an information terminal used by the user (printer) that is capable of data communication with the color adjustment system 20, and operational input may be performed on the screen via the information terminal.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 4, the color adjustment assistance system 40 includes a communication unit 401, a UI (User Interface) unit 402 (an example of a first display control unit), an information acquisition unit 403 (an example of an acquisition unit), an information transmission unit 404, an analysis unit 405, a response acquisition unit 406, an information notification unit 407 (an example of a notification unit), and a memory unit 408.

[0082] The communication unit 401 is a functional unit that performs data communication with the color adjustment system 20, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60. The communication unit 401 is realized by the network I / F 809 and the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0083] The UI unit 402 is a functional unit that provides screen information for the printing company (user) to the color adjustment system 20 and screen information for the service provider to the service provider terminal 60 via the communication unit 401. Details of the screens provided by the UI unit 402 will be described later. The UI unit 402 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 3 executing a program.

[0084] The information acquisition unit 403 is a functional unit that acquires adjustment-related information from the color adjustment system 20 and device-related information from the device management system 50 via the communication unit 401. The information acquisition unit 403 acquires the adjustment-related information from the color adjustment system 20 periodically or when assistance is requested from the color adjustment system 20. The information acquisition unit 403 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 3 executing a program.

[0085] The information transmission unit 404 is a functional unit that transmits the adjustment-related information and device-related information acquired by the information acquisition unit 403 to the color adjustment system 20 and the service provider terminal 60 via the communication unit 401. The information transmission unit 404 is realized, for example, by a program being executed by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0086] The analysis unit 405 is a functional unit that analyzes problems with color adjustment for the adjustment-related information and device-related information acquired by the information acquisition unit 403. For example, the analysis unit 405 automatically generates a comment indicating the analysis result from the color adjustment history of the adjustment-related information, and automatically generates a comment indicating a proposed response to the user (printing company) based on the analysis result. The analysis unit 405 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 3 executing a program.

[0087] The answer acquisition unit 406 is a functional unit that acquires at least one of a comment, a profile created and adjusted by the service provider itself, and an attached file such as manuscript data, via the communication unit 401 as an answer to a request for assistance from the service provider via the service provider terminal 60, as shown in FIG. 5. Also, the answer acquisition unit 406 can provide, in cooperation with the information notification unit 407, remote operation or remote setting for the image forming device 10 or the color adjustment system 20 as the answer from the service provider via the service provider terminal 60, as shown in FIG. 5. Such remote operation or remote setting can be handled directly by the service provider, for example, when there is a problem with print settings. The answer acquisition unit 406 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG. 3 executing a program.

[0088] The information notification unit 407 is a functional unit that notifies the color adjustment system 20 of the answer acquired by the answer acquisition unit 406 via the communication unit 401. The information notification unit 407 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0089] The storage unit 408 is a functional unit that stores the adjustment-related information and device-related information acquired by the information acquisition unit 403, and the answers acquired by the answer acquisition unit 406. That is, the adjustment-related information acquired from the color adjustment system 20 and the device-related information acquired from the device management system 50 are collected in the storage unit 408, and as described later, the screens displayed on the color adjustment system 20 side and the service provider terminal 60 side are displayed based on this information, so that the user (printing company) and the service provider can share this information, and by collecting this information in the storage unit 408, it is constructed as a knowledge base, and it can also be used to solve problems in the future. The storage unit 408 is realized by the auxiliary storage device 805 shown in FIG. 3.

[0090] At least a part of the functional units of the color adjustment assistance system 40 shown in FIG. 4 that are realized by software (programs) may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an FPGA or an ASIC.

[0091] Moreover, the functions of each functional unit of the color adjustment assistance system 40 shown in FIG. 4 are conceptually shown, and the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the multiple functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the color adjustment assistance system 40 shown in FIG. 4 may be configured as one functional unit. On the other hand, the function of one functional unit in the color adjustment assistance system 40 shown in FIG. 4 may be divided into multiple functions and configured as multiple functional units. Moreover, each functional unit of the color adjustment assistance system 40 does not need to be configured as a clear software module as the block shown in FIG. 4, and it is sufficient that the functions of each functional unit are realized as a whole by executing a program in the color adjustment assistance system 40.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 4, the device management system 50 includes a communication unit 501, an information collection unit 502, an information provision unit 503, and a storage unit 504.

[0093] The communication unit 501 is a functional unit that performs data communication with the image forming apparatus 10 and the color adjustment assistance system 40. The communication unit 501 is realized by the network I / F 809 and the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0094] The information collecting unit 502 is a functional unit that, for example, periodically collects device-related information from the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication unit 501. The information collecting unit 502 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 illustrated in FIG.

[0095] The information providing unit 503 is a functional unit that provides device-related information on the image forming apparatus 10 indicated by the target device information to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 501 in response to a request from the color adjustment assistance system 40. The information providing unit 503 is realized, for example, by a program being executed by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0096] The storage unit 504 is a functional unit that stores the device-related information and the like collected by the information collection unit 502. The storage unit 504 is realized by the auxiliary storage device 805 shown in FIG.

[0097] At least a part of the functional units of the device management system 50 shown in FIG. 4 that are implemented by software (programs) may be implemented by hardware circuits such as FPGAs or ASICs.

[0098] Moreover, the functions of each functional unit of the device management system 50 shown in FIG. 4 are conceptually shown, and the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the multiple functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the device management system 50 shown in FIG. 4 may be configured as one functional unit. On the other hand, the function of one functional unit in the device management system 50 shown in FIG. 4 may be divided into multiple units and configured as multiple functional units. Furthermore, each functional unit of the device management system 50 does not need to be configured as a clear software module as the block shown in FIG. 4, and it is sufficient that the functions of each functional unit are realized as a whole by executing a program in the device management system 50.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 4, the service provider terminal 60 includes a communication unit 601, an input unit 602, and a display control unit 603 (an example of a first display control unit).

[0100] The communication unit 601 is a functional unit that performs data communication with the color adjustment assistance system 40. The communication unit 601 is realized by the network I / F 809 and the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0101] The input unit 602 is a functional unit through which the service provider inputs a response to a request for assistance on a device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 (described later) shown in Fig. 11. The input unit 602 is realized by the keyboard 811 and mouse 812 shown in Fig. 3.

[0102] The display control unit 603 is a functional unit that controls the display of various screens (such as a device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 described later) and information on the display 808 (an example of a first display device) of the service provider terminal 60. The display control unit 603 is realized, for example, by the CPU 801 shown in FIG.

[0103] At least a part of the functional units of the service provider terminal 60 shown in FIG. 4 that are realized by software (programs) may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an FPGA or an ASIC.

[0104] Moreover, each functional unit of the service provider terminal 60 shown in FIG. 4 is a conceptual representation of a function, and is not limited to such a configuration. For example, a plurality of functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the service provider terminal 60 shown in FIG. 4 may be configured as one functional unit. On the other hand, a function of one functional unit in the service provider terminal 60 shown in FIG. 4 may be divided into a plurality of functional units and configured as a plurality of functional units. Moreover, each functional unit of the service provider terminal 60 does not need to be configured as a clear software module as the block shown in FIG. 4, and it is sufficient that the function of each functional unit is realized as a whole by executing a program in the service provider terminal 60.

[0105] In addition, the functional units included in the image forming device 10, color adjustment system 20, color adjustment assistance system 40, device management system 50 and service provider terminal 60 in FIG. 4 are not limited to being included in these devices, and may be included in other devices.

[0106] (About the screen displayed by the printing company) Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment result screen displayed on the printing company side. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a job color adjustment result screen displayed on the printing company side. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an assistance request screen displayed on the printing company side. Screens displayed on the printing company side (color adjustment system 20) in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 8 to 10.

[0107] 8 via the input unit 208 of the color adjustment system 20, the printing contractor, who is the user, performs a display operation of a device color adjustment result screen 1000 as shown in FIG. 8 , and the display control unit 209 transmits a display request for the device color adjustment result screen 1000 to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the device color adjustment result screen 1000 to the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the device color adjustment result screen 1000 to the color adjustment system 20 together with the transmission of the screen information by the UI unit 402. The display control unit 209 then causes the display 808 to display the device color adjustment result screen 1000.

[0108] The device color adjustment result screen 1000 is a screen that displays the history of judgment results in device color adjustment performed by the color adjustment system 20. As shown in FIG 8, the device color adjustment result screen 1000 includes a color adjustment result display area 1001, a details display area 1002, an OK button 1011, an assistance request button 1012, and a load button 1021.

[0109] The color adjustment result display area 1001 is an area that displays the judgment result of the device color adjustment for each target device (image forming apparatus 10). In the example shown in FIG. 8, the color adjustment result display area 1001 displays the target device (image forming apparatus 10), the paper name, the judgment result, the average ΔE, the maximum ΔE, and the status in association with each other. In addition, a details button 1001a is arranged for each target device in the details column of the color adjustment result display area 1001. When the details button 1001a is pressed, the display control unit 209 selects the row of the corresponding target device and displays the details of the judgment result in the details display area 1002. The status may be, for example, "creating" when a comment such as a question to the service provider about the result of the judgment NG of the device color adjustment is being created, "requesting" when a request for assistance has been made by an assistance request screen 1200 described later, or "checking answer" when a reply to the request for assistance has been received from the service provider and the reply can be confirmed.

[0110] As described above, the details display area 1002 is an area for displaying details of the determination results of device color adjustment for the target device for which the details button 1001a has been pressed.

[0111] The OK button 1011 is a button for closing the device color adjustment result screen 1000. The assistance request button 1012 is a button for displaying an assistance request screen 1200 shown in Fig. 10 for requesting assistance for a target device that is judged NG among the judgment results of the target devices displayed in the color adjustment result display area 1001.

[0112] The read button 1021 is a button for causing the image reading device 30 to reread, for example, a color chart corresponding to the target device that is in a selected state in the color adjustment result display area 1001 .

[0113] 9 via the input unit 208 of the color adjustment system 20, the printing contractor, who is the user, performs a display operation of a job color adjustment result screen 1100 as shown in FIG. 9 , and the display control unit 209 transmits a display request for the job color adjustment result screen 1100 to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the job color adjustment result screen 1100 to the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the job color adjustment result screen 1100 to the color adjustment system 20 together with the screen information transmitted by the UI unit 402. The display control unit 209 then causes the display 808 to display the job color adjustment result screen 1100.

[0114] The job color adjustment result screen 1100 is a screen that displays a history of judgment results in job color adjustment performed by the color adjustment system 20. As shown in FIG. 9 , the job color adjustment result screen 1100 includes a color adjustment result display area 1101, a detail display area 1102, an OK button 1111, an assistance request button 1112, and a load button 1121.

[0115] The color adjustment result display area 1101 is an area that displays the judgment result of the job color adjustment for each target job (job of manuscript data). In the example shown in FIG. 9, the color adjustment result display area 1101 displays the target job (job of manuscript data), the paper name, the judgment result, ΔE before adjustment, ΔE after adjustment, and the status in association with each other. In addition, a details button 1101a is arranged for each target job in the details column of the color adjustment result display area 1101. When the details button 1101a is pressed, the display control unit 209 selects the row of the corresponding target job and displays the details of the judgment result in the details display area 1102. The status may be, for example, "creating" when a comment such as a question to the service provider about the result of the judgment NG of the job color adjustment is being created, "requesting" when a request for assistance has been made by an assistance request screen 1200 described later, or "checking answer" when a reply has been received from the service provider in response to the request for assistance and the reply can be confirmed.

[0116] As described above, the details display area 1102 is an area for displaying details of the determination result of the job color adjustment for the target job for which the details button 1101a has been pressed.

[0117] The OK button 1111 is a button for closing the job color adjustment result screen 1100. The assistance request button 1112 is a button for displaying an assistance request screen 1200 shown in Fig. 10 for requesting assistance for a target job that is judged NG among the judgment results of each target job displayed in the color adjustment result display area 1101.

[0118] The read button 1121 is a button for causing the image reading device 30 to re-read, for example, a print sample or a reproduced image printout corresponding to the target job that is in a selected state in the color adjustment result display area 1101 .

[0119] When the printing company, which is the user, presses the assistance request button 1012 on the device color adjustment result screen 1000 or the assistance request button 1112 on the job color adjustment result screen 1100 via the input unit 208 of the color adjustment system 20, the display control unit 209 transmits a display request for an assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment system 20 together with the transmission of the screen information by the UI unit 402. Then, the display control unit 209 causes the display 808 to display the assistance request screen 1200.

[0120] The assistance request screen 1200 is a screen for requesting assistance from the color adjustment assistance system 40 for a target device and a target job that have been judged NG in device color adjustment and job color adjustment. As shown in FIG. 10 , the assistance request screen 1200 includes a job color adjustment result display area 1201, a device color adjustment result display area 1202, a comment input area 1211, a file attachment button 1212, an attachment file display area 1213, a history display area 1221, and a send button 1231.

[0121] The job color adjustment result display area 1201 is an area that displays the result of the job color adjustment judgment NG for each target job (job of original data). In the example shown in Fig. 10, the job color adjustment result display area 1201 displays the target job (job of original data), paper name, judgment result, before adjustment ΔE, after adjustment ΔE, and status in association with each other. In the job color adjustment result display area 1201, the desired target job can be selected.

[0122] The device color adjustment result display area 1202 is an area that displays the result of the device color adjustment judgment of NG for each target device (image forming device 10). In the example shown in Fig. 10, the device color adjustment result display area 1202 displays the target device (image forming device 10), paper name, judgment result, average ΔE, maximum ΔE, and status in association with each other. In the device color adjustment result display area 1202, the desired target device can be selected.

[0123] In this way, by checking the display contents of the job color adjustment result display area 1201 and the device color adjustment result display area 1202, it is possible to grasp a list of target jobs and target devices for which the color adjustment has been judged as NG, and further, to check the status of the progress of two-way communication with the service provider regarding each NG judgment.

[0124] The comment input area 1211 is an area for inputting comments such as questions to be conveyed to the service provider by the user when requesting assistance from the color adjustment assistance system 40 for the target job or target device selected in the job color adjustment result display area 1201 or the device color adjustment result display area 1202. For example, when a comment is input in the comment input area 1211, the status of the selected target job or target device may be switched to "under creation".

[0125] The file attachment button 1212 is a button for selecting an attachment file to be sent when making an assistance request to the color adjustment assistance system 40 for a target job or target device selected in the job color adjustment result display area 1201 or device color adjustment result display area 1202. Examples of the attachment file include profile data generated by the color adjustment system 20, document data that is the subject of job color adjustment, and color chart data or scanned data thereof used in device color adjustment.

[0126] The attachment display area 1213 is an area for displaying the file name of the attachment file selected by operating the file attachment button 1212 .

[0127] History display area 1221 is an area that displays the user's comments that were entered in comment input area 1211 and transmitted as an assistance request to color adjustment assistance system 40, as well as the history of responses (guidance, comments, etc.) to the assistance request received from the service provider via color adjustment assistance system 40. By checking the history displayed in history display area 1221, the user can grasp the history of two-way communication with the service provider to date, and can easily solve color adjustment problems.

[0128] The send button 1231 is a button for sending the comment entered in the comment input area 1211 and the attached file attached by operating the file attachment button 1212, together with a request for assistance, to the color adjustment assistance system 40. When the send button 1231 is pressed, the color adjustment information sending unit 207 sends the comment entered in the comment input area 1211 and the attached file attached by operating the file attachment button 1212, together with the request for assistance, as adjustment-related information to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. That is, the above-mentioned two-way communication can send not only comments but also attached files prepared by the user (such as a profile, manuscript data, and scanned data of a color chart), making it easier to solve color adjustment problems. In addition to this information, the color adjustment information sending unit 207 may also send to the color adjustment assistance system 40 information about the image forming device 10 that is the target of the color adjustment (target device information) and the history of color adjustment by the color adjustment system 20 for the image forming device 10 as adjustment-related information.

[0129] (About the screen displayed by the service provider) FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (adjustment result tab) displayed on the service provider side. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (analysis tab) displayed on the service provider side. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (log tab) displayed on the service provider side. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a device color adjustment assistance screen (assist tab) displayed on the service provider side. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a job color adjustment assistance screen (adjustment result tab) displayed on the service provider side. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a job color adjustment assistance screen (assist tab) displayed on the service provider side. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an assistance request screen when a response is received from the service provider side. With reference to FIGS. 11 to 16, a description will be given of screens displayed on the service provider side (service provider terminal 60) in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment. With reference to FIG. 17, a description will be given of an operation in which the content of the response given on the service provider terminal 60 is displayed on the screen on the printing company side.

[0130] When the service provider performs a display operation of a device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 (an example of an assistance screen) as shown in FIG. 11 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 transmits a display request for the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 601. In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to the service provider terminal 60 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to the service provider terminal 60 together with the transmission of the screen information by the UI unit 402. Then, the display control unit 603 causes the display 808 to display the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 reflecting the adjustment information and device-related information. This allows the service provider to immediately use the information as reference when receiving a request for assistance to solve color adjustment problems.

[0131] The device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 is a screen that displays a history of judgment results in device color adjustment performed by the color adjustment system 20, an operating status of the target device, and comments related to an assistance request from the color adjustment system 20, and allows the service provider to input a response that the service provider deems appropriate to the assistance request. That is, the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 is a screen that displays information for assisting in solving problems related to device color adjustment. As shown in FIG. 11, the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 includes a device selection area 2001, a color chart selection area 2011, a color adjustment history display area 2012, an operation history display area 2013, an adjustment result tab 2020, an analysis tab 2030, a log tab 2040, and an assist tab 2050. The device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in FIG. 11 shows a state in which the adjustment result tab 2020 is selected.

[0132] The device selection area 2001 displays a list of target devices, and is an area for selecting a target device for displaying information based on adjustment-related information and device-related information in the color adjustment history display area 2012, the operation history display area 2013, the adjustment result tab 2020, the analysis tab 2030, the log tab 2040, and the assist tab 2050.

[0133] The color chart selection area 2011 is an area for selecting a color chart corresponding to the history of device color adjustment to be displayed in the color adjustment history display area 2012. The color adjustment history display area 2012 is an area for displaying the history of device color adjustment included in the adjustment-related information transmitted by the information transmission unit 404 and corresponding to the color chart selected in the color chart selection area 2011. In the color adjustment history display area 2012 shown in Fig. 11, a time-series graph of the color difference ΔE (average ΔE or maximum ΔE) is displayed as the history of device color adjustment. In addition, a desired color difference ΔE can be selected from the graphs displayed in the color adjustment history display area 2012, and the selected color difference ΔE is displayed as a selected object 2012a.

[0134] The operation history display area 2013 is an area that displays the operation status ("device operation history") that is included in the device-related information transmitted by the information transmission unit 404 and corresponds to the target device selected in the device selection area 2001.

[0135] The adjustment result tab 2020 is a tab for displaying details of the results of device color adjustment corresponding to the color difference ΔE selected by the selected object 2012a. Screen areas displayed by selecting the adjustment result tab 2020 include a color adjustment result display area 2021 and a print setting display area 2022. The color adjustment result display area 2021 includes a color chart display area 2021a, a file button 2021b, and a detailed data button 2021c.

[0136] The color chart display area 2021a is an area for displaying an image of the scanned data of the color chart used in the device color adjustment. The file button 2021b is a button for opening an output profile generated in the device color adjustment. The detailed data button 2021c is a button for displaying detailed data related to the device color adjustment.

[0137] The print setting display area 2022 is an area for displaying print setting information when a color chart used in the device color adjustment corresponding to the color difference ΔE selected in the selected object 2012a is printed.

[0138] The analysis tab 2030 is a tab for displaying analysis results and the like for device color adjustment for the target device selected in the device selection area 2001. The log tab 2040 is a tab for displaying various logs for the target device selected in the device selection area 2001. The assist tab 2050 is a tab for displaying an area where a service provider enters a response to a request for assistance for the target device selected in the device selection area 2001.

[0139] When the service provider selects and operates the analysis tab 2030 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 displays a device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in Fig. 12 on the display 808. That is, the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in Fig. 12 shows a state in which the analysis tab 2030 is selected.

[0140] The screen areas displayed by selecting the analysis tab 2030 include a start date input area 2031 , an end date input area 2032 , an execute button 2033 , an analysis result display area 2034 , a proposed answer display area 2035 , and a create answer button 2036 .

[0141] The start date input area 2031 is an area for inputting the start date of a period to be analyzed by the analysis unit 405 from the graph of device color adjustment displayed in the color adjustment history display area 2012. The end date input area 2032 is an area for inputting the end date of a period to be analyzed by the analysis unit 405 from the graph of device color adjustment displayed in the color adjustment history display area 2012. Note that the period to be analyzed by the analysis unit 405 is specified by inputting dates in the start date input area 2031 and the end date input area 2032. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the period to be analyzed can also be specified by a selection area 2012b selected by a drag operation or the like using the input unit 602 in the graph displayed in the color adjustment history display area 2012. The display control unit 603 may generate the graph in the color adjustment result display area 2021 specified by the selection area 2012b as a bitmapped image file, and store the file in the service provider terminal 60 or the color adjustment assistance system 40 (storage unit 408).

[0142] The execute button 2033 is a button for requesting an analysis from the color adjustment assistance system 40, using history information of device color adjustment corresponding to the period specified by the start date input area 2031 and the end date input area 2032 (or the period specified by the selection area 2012b). When the execute button 2033 is pressed and the history information for that period is sent together with the analysis request to the color adjustment assistance system 40, the analysis unit 405 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 analyzes problems with the device color adjustment using the history information, automatically generates comments indicating the analysis results, and displays them in the analysis result display area 2034. The analysis unit 405 also automatically generates comments indicating proposed answers to the user (printer), and displays them in the proposed answer display area 2035.

[0143] The answer creation button 2036 is a button for transcribing a comment indicating the proposed answer displayed in the proposed answer display area 2035 to a comment input area 2051 of an assist tab 2050 shown in Fig. 14 described later. This allows the service provider to easily create a comment by editing the transcribed comment in the comment input area 2051 described later, which is displayed by selecting the assist tab 2050, without having to create a comment for the answer from scratch.

[0144] When the service provider selects and operates the log tab 2040 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 causes the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in Fig. 13 to be displayed on the display 808. That is, the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in Fig. 13 shows a state in which the log tab 2040 is selected.

[0145] The screen area displayed by selecting the log tab 2040 includes a write button 2041 , a log display area 2042 , and a detailed log button 2043 .

[0146] The write button 2041 is a button for writing out to a file the log of the target device displayed in the log display area 2042. The log display area 2042 is an area for displaying as a log based on device-related information (operational status, error history) and adjustment-related information (device color adjustment history, operation history) transmitted by the information transmission unit 404. The detailed log button 2043 is a button for displaying details of the log.

[0147] When the service provider selects and operates the assist tab 2050 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 causes the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in Fig. 14 to be displayed on the display 808. That is, the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 shown in Fig. 14 shows a state in which the assist tab 2050 is selected.

[0148] Screen areas displayed by selecting the assist tab 2050 include a comment input area 2051 , a file attachment button 2052 , an attachment display area 2053 , a history display area 2054 , and a send button 2055 .

[0149] The comment input area 2051 is an area for inputting a comment indicating a measure and guidance for the determination NG of the device color adjustment of the target device selected in the device selection area 2001 by the service provider through operation input of the input unit 602 as a response to the request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20. For example, the comment may be a comment encouraging device color adjustment when there is a problem with the maintenance state of the image forming apparatus 10, or a comment indicating how to create a profile when there is a problem with the profile. Also, as described above, by pressing the answer creation button 2036, a comment indicating the answer proposal displayed in the answer proposal display area 2035 is transcribed into the comment input area 2051. In this case, in the comment input area 2051, the service provider may modify the comment or add to the comment through operation input of the input unit 602.

[0150] The file attachment button 2052 is a button for selecting an attachment such as a profile created by the service provider as a response to a request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20. In other words, if there is a problem with the profile, the service provider can create an appropriate profile or the like and respond as an attachment. Note that a bitmap file generated by selection in the above-mentioned selection area 2012b may be selected as an attachment by operating the file attachment button 2052. This enables the service provider to show the user specific information that is the cause of the color adjustment problem by using the bitmap file, making it easier to solve the color adjustment problem.

[0151] The attachment display area 2053 is an area for displaying the file name of the attachment file selected by operating the file attachment button 2052 .

[0152] The history display area 2054 is an area that displays the history of comments from the service provider that were entered in the comment input area 2051 and sent to the color adjustment system 20 as a response to the assistance request, and the history of comments (questions, etc.) received from the printing company as the assistance request via the color adjustment system 20. By checking the history displayed in the history display area 2054, the service provider can understand the history of two-way communication with the printing company to date, and can easily provide an appropriate response to resolve the color adjustment problem.

[0153] The send button 2055 is a button for transmitting the service provider's comment displayed in the comment input area 2051 and the attached file attached by operating the file attachment button 2052 as a response to the assistance request to the color adjustment assistance system 20 via the color adjustment assistance system 40. When the send button 2055 is pressed, the communication unit 601 transmits the service provider's comment displayed in the comment input area 2051 and the attached file attached by operating the file attachment button 2052 as a response to the assistance request to the color adjustment assistance system 40, and the response acquisition unit 406 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 acquires the comment and the attached file. In other words, the above-mentioned two-way communication not only transmits comments but also enables the service provider to transmit attached files (profiles, manuscript data, etc.) prepared and adjusted on the side of the service provider, making it easier to solve color adjustment problems. Then, the information notification unit 407 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 notifies the color adjustment system 20 of the answer acquired by the answer acquisition unit 406 via the communication unit 401 .

[0154] 15 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 transmits a display request for the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 601. In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 to the service provider terminal 60 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 to the service provider terminal 60 together with the screen information transmitted by the UI unit 402. Then, the display control unit 603 causes the display 808 to display the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 reflecting the adjustment information and device-related information. This allows the service provider to immediately use the information as reference when receiving a request for assistance to solve color adjustment problems.

[0155] The job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 is a screen that displays a history of judgment results in job color adjustment performed by the color adjustment system 20, comments related to an assistant request from the color adjustment system 20, and the like, and allows the service provider to input a response that is deemed appropriate to the assistance request. That is, the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 is a screen that displays information for supporting the solution of problems related to job color adjustment. As shown in FIG. 15, the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 includes a job selection area 2101, a manuscript data display area 2111, a print sample display area 2112, a reproduction screen display area 2113, a pre-color-matching average color difference display area 2113b, a post-color-matching reproduction image display area 2114, an adjustment result tab 2120, an analysis tab 2130, a log tab 2140, and an assist tab 2150. Moreover, the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 shown in FIG. 15 shows a state in which the adjustment result tab 2120 is selected.

[0156] The job selection area 2101 displays a list of target jobs, and is an area for selecting a target job to display information based on adjustment-related information and device-related information in the manuscript data display area 2111, print sample display area 2112, reproduction screen display area 2113, average color difference before color matching display area 2113b, reproduction image display area after color matching 2114, adjustment result tab 2120, analysis tab 2130, log tab 2140, and assist tab 2150.

[0157] The original data display area 2111 is an area for displaying an image of the original data of the target job selected in the job selection area 2101, and includes an open button 2111a. The open button 2111a is a button for opening the original data.

[0158] The print sample display area 2112 is an area that displays an image of a print sample based on the scanned data of the print sample corresponding to the target job selected in the job selection area 2101, and includes an Open button 2112a. The Open button 2112a is a button for opening the scanned data of the print sample.

[0159] The reproduction screen display area 2113 is an area for displaying a reproduction image based on the scanned data of a reproduction image printout corresponding to the target job selected in the job selection area 2101, and includes an Open button 2113a. The Open button 2113a is a button for opening the scanned data of the reproduction image printout.

[0160] The pre-color-matching average color difference display area 2113 b is an area that displays the pre-adjustment ΔE for the target job selected in the job selection area 2101 .

[0161] The color-matched reproduced image display area 2114 is an area that displays an image (color-matched reproduced image) after color matching has been performed on the reproduced image displayed in the reproduction screen display area 2113 for the target job selected in the job selection area 2101, and includes a post-color-matching average color difference display area 2114a. The post-color-matching average color difference display area 2114a is an area that displays the adjusted ΔE for the target job selected in the job selection area 2101.

[0162] The adjustment result tab 2120 is a tab for displaying details of the results of job color adjustment corresponding to the target job selected in the job selection area 2101. Screen areas displayed by selecting the adjustment result tab 2120 include a color adjustment result display area 2121 and a print setting display area 2122. The color adjustment result display area 2121 includes a color difference map button 2121a, a detailed data button 2121b, and a file button 2121c.

[0163] The color difference map button 2121a is a button for displaying a color difference map generated in the job color adjustment corresponding to the target job selected in the job selection area 2101. The detailed data button 2121b is a button for displaying detailed data related to the job color adjustment. The file button 2121c is a button for opening an input profile generated in the job color adjustment.

[0164] The print setting display area 2122 is an area for displaying print setting information when the document data of the target job selected in the job selection area 2101 is printed.

[0165] The analysis tab 2130 is a tab for displaying analysis results and the like for job color adjustment for the target job selected in the job selection area 2101. The log tab 2140 is a tab for displaying various logs for the target job selected in the job selection area 2101. The assist tab 2150 is a tab for displaying an area where a service provider inputs a response to a request for assistance for the target job selected in the job selection area 2101.

[0166] When the service provider selects the assist tab 2150 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 causes the display 808 to display a job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 shown in Fig. 16. That is, the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 shown in Fig. 16 shows a state in which the assist tab 2150 is selected.

[0167] Screen areas displayed by selecting the assist tab 2150 include a comment input area 2151 , a file attachment button 2152 , an attachment display area 2153 , a history display area 2154 , and a send button 2155 .

[0168] The comment input area 2151 is an area for inputting a comment indicating a measure and guidance for the judgment NG of the job color adjustment of the target job selected in the job selection area 2101 by the service provider through operation input of the input unit 602 as a response to the request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20. For example, the comment may be a comment indicating a method for creating a profile if there is a problem with the profile, or a comment providing guidance on a method for adjusting the manuscript data or print settings if there is a problem with the manuscript data. Note that, as in the case of the above-mentioned comment input area 2051, a comment indicating a proposed answer automatically generated by the analysis unit 405 may be transcribed into the comment input area 2151. In this case, in the comment input area 2151, the service provider may modify the comment or add to the comment through operation input of the input unit 602.

[0169] The file attachment button 2152 is a button for selecting an attachment such as a profile created by a service provider or manuscript data adjusted by the service provider as a response to a request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20. In other words, if there is a problem with the profile or manuscript data, the service provider can create an appropriate profile or adjust the manuscript data and respond as an attachment.

[0170] The attached file display area 2153 is an area for displaying the file name of the attached file selected by operating the file attachment button 2152 .

[0171] The history display area 2154 is an area that displays the history of comments from the service provider that were entered in the comment input area 2151 and sent to the color adjustment system 20 as a response to the assistance request, and the history of comments (questions, etc.) received from the printing company as the assistance request via the color adjustment system 20. By checking the history displayed in the history display area 2154, the service provider can understand the history of two-way communication with the printing company to date, and can easily provide an appropriate response to resolve the color adjustment problem.

[0172] The send button 2155 is a button for transmitting the comment of the service provider displayed in the comment input area 2151 and the attached file attached by operating the file attachment button 2152 as a response to the assistance request to the color adjustment system 20 via the color adjustment assistance system 40. When the send button 2155 is pressed, the communication unit 601 transmits the comment of the service provider displayed in the comment input area 2151 and the attached file attached by operating the file attachment button 2152 as a response to the assistance request to the color adjustment assistance system 40, and the response acquisition unit 406 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 acquires the comment and the attached file. Then, the information notification unit 407 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 notifies the color adjustment system 20 of the response acquired by the response acquisition unit 406 via the communication unit 401. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17, the answer content notified by the information notifying unit 407 is displayed as a history on an assistance request screen 1200 displayed on the color adjustment system 20.

[0173] 17 shows an example of an assistance request screen 1200 in which a response to a request for assistance regarding the target job "BookCover-102" has been notified from the color adjustment assistance system 40. As a result, the status corresponding to the target job "BookCover-102" in the job color adjustment result display area 1201 is updated to "Response being confirmed", and an attachment display area 1222, a download button 1223, an additional question button 1232, and a complete button 1233 are displayed on the assistance request screen 1200.

[0174] Specifically, the display control unit 209 adds the comment of the service provider included in the response notified by the information notification unit 407 to the history in the history display area 1221. Furthermore, the display control unit 209 causes the file name of the attachment of the service provider included in the response notified by the information notification unit 407 to be displayed in the attachment display area 1222. Furthermore, the user (printing company) can download the attachment with the file name displayed in the attachment display area 1222 by pressing the download button 1223.

[0175] Additional question button 1232 is a button for transmitting, in response to the answer notified from information notification unit 407, a comment entered by the user in comment input area 1211, and a file attached by operating file attachment button 1212, together with an additional question, to color adjustment assistance system 40. This enables the user to transmit a further response to the answer from the service provider, realizing repeated two-way communication between the user and the service provider and facilitating problem solving regarding color adjustment.

[0176] The Complete button 1233 is a button to be pressed when the user (printer) determines that the problem regarding color adjustment has been resolved based on the response from the service provider notified by the information notification unit 407. When the Complete button 1233 is pressed, the display control unit 209 updates the status of the corresponding target job or target device to "Complete".

[0177] In addition, when the analysis tab 2130 and the log tab 2140 are selected on the above-mentioned job color adjustment assistance screen 2100, information with the same content as when the analysis tab 2030 and the log tab 2040 on the above-mentioned device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 are selected is displayed.

[0178] (Overall operation flow of the information processing system) 18 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall operation flow of the information processing system according to the embodiment. The overall operation flow of the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0179] <Step S11> A user (printing company) performs an operation to execute device color adjustment or job color adjustment via the input unit 208 of the color adjustment system 20.

[0180] <Step S12> The color information acquisition unit 203 of the color adjustment system 20 acquires read data consisting of colorimetric values ​​(Lab values, etc.) obtained by reading processing by the image reading device 30 for the reproduced image printout and color chart CC printed out by the image forming device 10 in device color adjustment, and for the print sample in job color adjustment, from the image reading device 30 via the communication unit 201. In job color adjustment, the calculation unit 204 of the color adjustment system 20 calculates the color difference between the image of the print sample and the reproduced image before and after color matching. For example, the color difference calculation unit 208 calculates the color difference for each pixel value of the pixel of the printed image with respect to the pixel value of the corresponding pixel in the reproduced image before and after color matching. In addition, the calculation unit 204 calculates the average color difference of these color differences (the one corresponding to before color matching may be referred to as pre-adjustment ΔE, and the one corresponding to after color matching may be referred to as post-adjustment ΔE). In addition, in device color adjustment, the calculation unit 204 calculates the average color difference (average ΔE) and the maximum color difference (maximum ΔE) between the patches from the read data of the color chart CC. The judgment results for these color differences are stored in the storage unit 210 as a color adjustment history. In job color adjustment, the color adjustment unit 205 of the color adjustment system 20 generates an input profile by adjusting the color of the reproduced image to match the color of the image of the print sample. In device color adjustment, since the color values ​​of each patch of the color chart CC are known, the color adjustment unit 205 creates an output profile by performing color adjustment processing using a known technique such that the colorimetric value of each patch corresponding to the color adjustment patch CP reproduces the color value.

[0181] <Step S13> The profile transmission unit 206 of the color adjustment system 20 transmits the profile generated by the color adjustment unit 205 to the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication unit 201 .

[0182] <Step S14> The print control unit 103 of the image forming apparatus 10 applies the profile transmitted by the profile transmission unit 206 .

[0183] <Step S15> The device information transmission unit 105 of the image forming apparatus 10 periodically collects device-related information about the image forming apparatus 10 and transmits it to the device management system 50 via the communication unit 101. Then, the information collection unit 502 of the device management system 50 collects (acquires) the device-related information from the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication unit 501. The information collection unit 502 stores the collected device-related information in the storage unit 504.

[0184] <Step S16> The color adjustment information sending unit 207 of the color adjustment system 20 collects adjustment-related information regarding job color adjustment and device color adjustment for the image forming apparatus 10, and sends it to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. The information acquiring unit 403 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 acquires the adjustment-related information from the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. The information acquiring unit 403 stores the acquired adjustment-related information in the storage unit 408.

[0185] <Step S17> The printing company, which is the user, performs a display operation of the device color adjustment result screen 1000 (or the job color adjustment result screen 1100) via the input unit 208 of the color adjustment system 20.

[0186] <Step S18> The display control unit 209 of the color adjustment system 20 transmits a display request (color adjustment result screen request) for the device color adjustment result screen 1000 (or the job color adjustment result screen 1100) to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201.

[0187] <Step S19> In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the device color adjustment result screen 1000 (or the job color adjustment result screen 1100) to the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. In addition, together with the transmission of the screen information by the UI unit 402, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the device color adjustment result screen 1000 (or the job color adjustment result screen 1100) to the color adjustment system 20.

[0188] <Step S20> Then, the display control unit 209 causes the display 808 to display the device color adjustment result screen 1000 (or the job color adjustment result screen 1100).

[0189] <Step S21> When the user requests assistance for the color adjustment result that is displayed on the device color adjustment result screen 1000 (or the job color adjustment result screen 1100) and is judged as NG, the user presses the assistance request button 1012 (or the assistance request button 1112).

[0190] <Step S22> Then, the display control unit 209 transmits a display request for the assistance request screen 1200 (assistance request screen request) to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201.

[0191] <Step S23> In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment system 20 together with the transmission of the screen information by the UI unit 402.

[0192] <Step S24> Then, the display control unit 209 causes the display 808 to display the assistance request screen 1200 .

[0193] <Step S25> The user selects a target job or target device for which assistance is requested in a job color adjustment result display area 1201 or a device color adjustment result display area 1202 of the assistance request screen 1200. Then, the user inputs a comment such as a question or request for solving the problem regarding the color adjustment that was judged NG for the selected target job or target device in a comment input area 1211. If necessary, the user selects an attachment file by operating a file attachment button 1212. Then, the user presses a send button 1231.

[0194] <Step S26> When the user presses the send button 1231, the color adjustment information sending unit 207 sends the comment entered in the comment input area 1211 and the file attached by operating the file attachment button 1212, together with the request for assistance, as adjustment-related information to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. Note that the color adjustment information sending unit 207 may also send, together with this information, information on the image forming apparatus 10 that is the target of the color adjustment (target device information) and the history of color adjustment by the color adjustment system 20 for the image forming apparatus 10, as adjustment-related information to the color adjustment assistance system 40.

[0195] <Step S27> When the communication unit 401 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 receives a request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20, it notifies the service provider terminal 60 of the request. In this case, the communication unit 401 may notify the service provider terminal 60 or an information terminal owned by the service provider by email.

[0196] <Step S28> The service provider performs a display operation of the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 or the job color adjustment assistance screen 2100 depending on whether the request for assistance notified to the service provider terminal 60 is for device color adjustment or job color adjustment. Here, it is assumed that the request for assistance is for device color adjustment. When the service provider performs a display operation of the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 as shown in Fig. 11 via the input unit 602 of the service provider terminal 60, the display control unit 603 transmits a display request for the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 601.

[0197] <Step S29> In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits screen information of the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to the service provider terminal 60 via the communication unit 401. Furthermore, the information transmitting unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to the service provider terminal 60, together with the screen information transmitted by the UI unit 402. Then, the display control unit 603 causes the display 808 to display the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000.

[0198] <Step S30> The information acquisition unit 403 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 requests the device management system 50 via the communication unit 401 for device-related information about the image forming apparatus 10 indicated by the target device information in the adjustment-related information related to the assistance request.

[0199] <Step S31> In response to the request, the information providing unit 503 of the device management system 50 provides device-related information on the image forming apparatus 10 indicated by the target device information to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 501. The information acquiring unit 403 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 acquires the device-related information from the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 401.

[0200] <Step S32> The information transmitting unit 404 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transmits the adjustment-related information and device-related information acquired by the information acquiring unit 403 to the service provider terminal 60 via the communication unit 401. Then, the display control unit 603 of the service provider terminal 60 causes the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000 to reflect the adjustment-related information and the device-related information.

[0201] <Step S33> The service provider checks information related to adjustment and device-related information by selecting at least one of the adjustment result tab 2020, the analysis tab 2030, and the log tab 2040 on the device color adjustment assistance screen 2000. For example, the service provider specifies a period by inputting information into the start date input area 2031 and the end date input area 2032 in the screen area displayed by selecting the analysis tab 2030, and presses the execute button 2033. Then, a request for analysis is sent to the color adjustment assistance system 40 along with history information for the period. The analysis unit 405 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 uses the history information to analyze problems with device color adjustment, automatically generates comments indicating the analysis results, and displays them in the analysis result display area 2034. The analysis unit 405 also automatically generates comments indicating a proposed answer to the user (printer), and displays them in the proposed answer display area 2035. In addition, by pressing the answer creation button 2036, a comment indicating the answer plan displayed in the answer plan display area 2035 is transcribed into a comment input area 2051 of the assist tab 2050. Then, in the screen area displayed by selecting the assist tab 2050, the service provider inputs a comment indicating a measure and guidance for the judgment NG of the device color adjustment of the target device selected in the device selection area 2001 as a response to the request for assistance from the color adjustment system 20, in the comment input area 2051. As described above, when a comment indicating the answer plan displayed in the answer plan display area 2035 is transcribed into the comment input area 2051, the comment can be modified or added to. In addition, the service provider selects an attachment file such as a profile created by the service provider as a response to the request for assistance by operating the file attachment button 2052 as necessary.

[0202] <Step S34> Then, when the service provider presses send button 2055, communication unit 601 transmits, as a response to the assistance request, the comment from the service provider displayed in comment input area 2051 and the file attached by operating file attachment button 2052 to color adjustment assistance system 40. Then, response acquisition unit 406 of color adjustment assistance system 40 acquires the comment and the attached file.

[0203] <Steps S35 and S36> Then, the information notification unit 407 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 notifies the color adjustment system 20 of the answer (comment and attached file) acquired by the answer acquisition unit 406 via the communication unit 401. In this case, the information notification unit 407 may also notify an information terminal or the like owned by the user by email.

[0204] <Step S37> The user confirms that the status of the color adjustment results that have been judged NG and are displayed on the device color adjustment result screen 1000 has changed to “answer confirmation in progress” due to the notification, and presses the assistance request button 1012.

[0205] <Step S38> Then, the display control unit 209 transmits a display request for the assistance request screen 1200 (assistance request screen request) to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201.

[0206] <Step S39> In response to the display request, the UI unit 402 transmits screen information of the assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment system 20 via the communication unit 401. In addition, the information transmission unit 404 transmits adjustment-related information and device-related information used in displaying the assistance request screen 1200 to the color adjustment system 20 together with the transmission of the screen information by the UI unit 402.

[0207] <Step S40> Then, the display control unit 209 causes the display 808 to display an assistance request screen 1200. In this case, the display control unit 209 reflects the comment of the answer notified by the information notifying unit 407 in the history display area 1221, and reflects the attached file of the answer in the attached file display area 1222. Furthermore, the user (printing company) can download the attached file with the file name displayed in the attached file display area 1222 by pressing a download button 1223. Furthermore, the user can input a comment of an additional question in the comment input area 1211, or attach a new attached file by operating the file attachment button 1212, as necessary, and can transmit the comment and the attached file together with the additional question to the color adjustment assistance system 40 by pressing an additional question button 1232.

[0208] <Step S41> When the user (printer) determines that the problem regarding color adjustment has been resolved based on the response from the service provider notified by the information notification unit 407, the user presses the Complete button 1233. When the Complete button 1233 is pressed, the display control unit 209 updates the status of the corresponding target device to "Complete".

[0209] <Steps S42 and S43> As a result, the display control unit 209 transmits a completion notification to the color adjustment assistance system 40 via the communication unit 201. The communication unit 401 of the color adjustment assistance system 40 transfers the completion notification to the service provider terminal 60.

[0210] The overall operation of the information processing system 1 is performed according to the example of the flow illustrated by the above steps S11 to S43.

[0211] As described above, in the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the information acquisition unit 403 acquires device-related information related to the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 and adjustment-related information related to color adjustment by the color adjustment system 20, the storage unit 408 stores the device-related information and the device-related information acquired by the information acquisition unit 403, the color adjustment information transmission unit 207 transmits a request for assistance for a problem related to color adjustment to the color adjustment assistance system 40 in accordance with an operation on the input unit 208 by a user who owns the image forming apparatus 10, and the display control unit 603 (UI unit 402) notifies the color adjustment assistance system 40 of the request for assistance. When received, an assistance screen (device color adjustment assistance screen 2000, job color adjustment assistance screen 2100) displaying information for assisting in solving problems related to color adjustment is displayed on the display 808 of the service provider terminal 60 used by the service provider based on information corresponding to the request out of the device-related information and adjustment-related information acquired by the information acquisition unit 403, and when the request is received by the color adjustment assistance system 40, the information notification unit 407 notifies the color adjustment system 20 of the answer entered by the service provider in response to the request as a response to the request. This allows even users without high level of expertise and experience to solve problems related to color adjustment.

[0212] Furthermore, in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, the detection unit 211 detects that a problem regarding color adjustment has occurred when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the color adjustment information transmission unit 207 further transmits a request for assistance to the color adjustment assistance system 40 when the detection unit 211 detects that a problem regarding color adjustment has occurred. As a result, a request for assistance is automatically transmitted under certain conditions regardless of the user's knowledge, and therefore the problem regarding color adjustment can be communicated to the service provider early and the problem can be resolved early.

[0213] In the above-mentioned embodiment, when at least one of the functional units of the image forming apparatus 10, the color adjustment system 20, the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 is realized by executing a program, the program is provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the programs executed by the image forming apparatus 10, the color adjustment system 20, the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 may be provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in the form of an installable or executable file. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the programs executed by the image forming apparatus 10, the color adjustment system 20, the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 may be provided by being stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. In the above-described embodiment, the programs executed by the image forming apparatus 10, the color adjustment system 20, the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. In the above-described embodiment, the programs executed by the image forming apparatus 10, the color adjustment system 20, the color adjustment assistance system 40, the device management system 50, and the service provider terminal 60 are configured as modules including at least any of the above-described functional units, and as actual hardware, the CPU 701 (CPU 801) reads out and executes the programs from the above-described storage devices (e.g., the system memory 702, the auxiliary storage device 708, the auxiliary storage device 805, etc.), so that the above-described functional units are loaded and generated on the main storage device.

[0214] The aspects of the present invention are as follows. <1> An information processing system including: a color adjustment system that performs color adjustment on an image forming apparatus; and a color adjustment assistance system that provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, an acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information regarding the color adjustment by the color adjustment system; a storage unit that stores the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit; a transmission unit that transmits a request for assistance regarding the problem related to the color adjustment to the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation of an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus; a first display control unit that, when the color adjustment assistance system receives the request, causes a first display device used by a service provider of the service to display an assistance screen that displays information for assisting in solving the problem regarding the color adjustment, based on information corresponding to the request out of the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a notification unit that, when the request is received by the color adjustment assistance system, notifies the color adjustment system of a response input by the service provider in response to the request as a response to the request; It is an information processing system having the above configuration. <2> a detection unit that detects the occurrence of a problem related to the color adjustment when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the transmitting unit further transmits the request for assistance to the color adjustment assistance system when the detecting unit detects that a problem related to the color adjustment has occurred. <1> The information processing system is as described above. <3> the color adjustment system performs a first color adjustment for generating an output profile of the image forming device as the color adjustment; The detection unit detects that a problem has occurred regarding the first color adjustment. <2> The information processing system is as described above. <4> the color adjustment system performs, as the color adjustment, a second color adjustment for generating an input profile for each document data to be printed out by the image forming apparatus; The detection unit detects that a problem has occurred regarding the second color adjustment. <2> The information processing system is as described above. <5> an analysis unit that analyzes a problem regarding the color adjustment based on the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit, The first display control unit causes a result of the analysis by the analysis unit to be displayed on the assistance screen. <1> ~ <4> 1 is an information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <6> The analysis unit automatically generates a comment as a proposal for the answer based on the analysis result. <5> The information processing system is as described above. <7> a second display control unit that causes a second display device used by the user to display an assistance request screen that displays a result of the color adjustment based on the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit, the transmission unit transmits a comment input on the assistance screen together with the request to the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation of the input unit by the user; the first display control unit displays the comment input by the user and the answer input by the service provider on the assistance screen as a history of two-way communication between the user and the service provider; the second display control unit displays the comment input by the user and the answer input by the service provider on the assistance request screen as a history of two-way communication between the user and the service provider. <1> ~ <6> 1 is an information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <8> The first display control unit is displaying, on the assistance screen, a graph showing a time series of a result of the color adjustment based on the second information; generating a file of an image of a region of the graph designated by the service provider; The notification unit notifies the color adjustment system of the file as a part of the response. <1> ~ <7> 1 is an information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <9> The first information includes at least one of an operating status of the image forming apparatus, an error history that has occurred in the image forming apparatus, and print setting information of document data and a color chart that are printed out by the image forming apparatus. <1> ~ <8> 1 is an information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <10> The second information includes at least one of a profile generated by the color adjustment system, data read by an image reading device used for the color adjustment, document data to be printed by the image forming device, an operation history of the image forming device and the color adjustment system, a history of the color adjustment by the color adjustment system, and information on the image forming device to be subjected to the color adjustment. <1> ~ <9> 1 is an information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <11> 1. An information processing method for an information processing system including a color adjustment system that performs color adjustment on an image forming apparatus, and a color adjustment assistance system that provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring first information regarding an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information regarding the color adjustment by the color adjustment system; a storage step of storing the acquired first information and the acquired second information in a storage unit; a transmission step of transmitting a request for assistance regarding the problem regarding the color adjustment to the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation on an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus; a display control step of, when the color adjustment assistance system receives the request, displaying an assistance screen on a display device used by a service provider of the service, the assistance screen displaying information for assisting in solving the problem regarding the color adjustment, based on information corresponding to the request among the acquired first information and the acquired second information; a notification step of notifying the color adjustment system of a response input by the service provider to the request when the request is received by the color adjustment assistance system as a response to the request; The information processing method includes the steps of: <12> a computer of a color adjustment assistance system that communicates with a color adjustment system that executes color adjustment for an image forming apparatus and provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, an acquiring step of acquiring first information regarding an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information regarding the color adjustment by the color adjustment system; a storage step of storing the acquired first information and the acquired second information in a storage unit; a receiving step of receiving a request for assistance regarding the problem regarding the color adjustment from the color adjustment system in accordance with an operation on an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus; a display control step of, when the request is received, displaying, on a display device used by a service provider of the service, an assistance screen that displays information for assisting in solving the problem regarding the color adjustment, based on information corresponding to the request out of the acquired first information and the acquired second information; a notification step of notifying the color adjustment system of a response input by the service provider to the request when the request is received, as a response to the request; This is a program for executing the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0215] 1. Information Processing Systems 10 Image forming device 20 Information processing device 30 Image reader 40 Color Adjustment Assistance System 50 Device Management System 60 Service provider terminal 101 Communications Department 102 Job Acquisition Department 103 Printing control unit 104 Profile Acquisition Unit 105 Device information transmission unit 106 Storage section 201 Communications Department 202 Job sending unit 203 Color information acquisition section 204 Calculation section 205 Color adjustment section 206 Profile Transmitter 207 Color adjustment information transmission unit 208 Input section 209 Display control section 210 Storage section 211 Detection unit 401 Communications Department 402 UI section 403 Information Acquisition Department 404 Information Transmission Department 405 Analysis Department 406 Answer acquisition part 407 Information Notification Department 408 Storage section 501 Communications Department 502 Information Gathering Department 503 Information Provision Department 504 Storage section 601 Communications Department 602 Input section 603 Display control unit 700 Controller 701 CPU 702 System Memory (MEM-P) 703 Northbridge (NB) 704a South Bridge (SB) 704b Network I / F 704c USB I / F 704d Centronics I / F 705 AGP 706 ASIC 707 Local Memory (MEM-C) 708 Auxiliary storage 710 Operation display section 720 FCU 731 Plotter 732 Scanner 801 CPU 802 ROM 803 RAM 805 Auxiliary storage 806 Recording Media 807 Media Drive 808 Display 809 Network Interface 810 Bus 811 Keyboard 812 Mouse 813 DVD 814 DVD drive 1000 Device Color Adjustment Results Screen 1001 Color adjustment result display area 1001a Details button 1002 Detail display area 1011 OK button 1012 Request Assistance Button 1021 Load button 1100 Job color adjustment result screen 1101 Color adjustment result display area 1101a Details button 1102 Detail display area 1111 OK button 1112 Request Assistance Button 1121 Load button 1200 Assistance Request Screen 1201 Job color adjustment result display area 1202 Device color adjustment result display area 1211 Comment input area 1212 File attachment button 1213 Attachment display area 1221 History display area 1222 Attachment display area 1223 Download button 1231 Send button 1232 Add question button 1233 Complete button 2000 Device Color Calibration Assistance Screen 2001 Device Selection Area 2011 Color Chart Selection Area 2012 Color adjustment history display area 2012a Selected object 2012b Selection Area 2013 Operation history display area 2020 Adjustment Results Tab 2021 Color adjustment result display area 2021a Color chart display area 2021b File Button 2021c Detailed data button 2022 Print settings display area 2030 Analysis tab 2031 Start date input field 2032 End date input field 2033 Run button 2034 Analysis result display area 2035 Answer suggestion display area 2036 Answer creation button 2040 Log Tab 2041 Export button 2042 Log display area 2043 Detailed log button 2050 Assist Tab 2051 Comment input area 2052 File attachment button 2053 Attachment display area 2054 History display area 2055 Send button 2100 Job Color Adjustment Assistance Screen 2101 Job Selection Area 2111 Manuscript data display area 2111a Open button 2112 Print sample display area 2112a Open button 2113 Reproduced image display area 2113a Open button 2113b Average color difference display area before color matching 2114 Reproduced image display area after color matching 2114a Average color difference display area after color matching 2120 Adjustment Result Tab 2121 Color adjustment result display area 2121a Color Difference Map Button 2121b Detailed data button 2121c File button 2122 Print settings display area 2130 Analysis tab 2140 Log Tab 2150 Assist Tab 2151 Comment input area 2152 File attachment button 2153 Attachment display area 2154 History display area 2155 Send button CC Color Chart N Network PS print sample RIP Reproduction image print [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0216] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-30754 A

Claims

1. An information processing system including: a color adjustment system that performs color adjustment on an image forming apparatus; and a color adjustment assistance system that provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, an acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information regarding the color adjustment by the color adjustment system; a storage unit that stores the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit; a transmission unit that transmits a request for assistance regarding the problem regarding the color adjustment to the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation of an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus; a first display control unit that, when the color adjustment assistance system receives the request, causes a first display device used by a service provider of the service to display an assistance screen that displays information for assisting in solving the problem related to the color adjustment, based on information corresponding to the request out of the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a notification unit that, when the request is received by the color adjustment assistance system, notifies the color adjustment system of a response input by the service provider in response to the request as a response to the request; An information processing system having the above configuration.

2. a detection unit that detects the occurrence of a problem related to the color adjustment when a predetermined condition is satisfied, The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission unit further transmits the request for assistance to the color adjustment assistance system when the detection unit detects that a problem related to the color adjustment has occurred.

3. the color adjustment system performs a first color adjustment for generating an output profile of the image forming device as the color adjustment; The information processing system according to claim 2 , wherein the detection unit detects that a problem has occurred regarding the first color adjustment.

4. the color adjustment system performs, as the color adjustment, a second color adjustment for generating an input profile for each document data to be printed out by the image forming apparatus; The information processing system according to claim 2 , wherein the detection unit detects that a problem has occurred regarding the second color adjustment.

5. an analysis unit that analyzes a problem regarding the color adjustment based on the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit, 5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first display control unit causes a result of the analysis by the analysis unit to be displayed on the assistance screen.

6. The information processing system according to claim 5 , wherein the analysis unit automatically generates a comment as the proposed answer based on the analysis result.

7. a second display control unit that causes a second display device used by the user to display an assistance request screen that displays a result of the color adjustment based on the first information and the second information acquired by the acquisition unit, the transmission unit transmits a comment input on the assistance screen together with the request to the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation of the input unit by the user; the first display control unit displays the comment input by the user and the answer input by the service provider on the assistance screen as a history of two-way communication between the user and the service provider; The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second display control unit displays the comment entered by the user and the answer entered by the service provider on the assistance request screen as a history of two-way interaction between the user and the service provider.

8. The first display control unit is displaying, on the assistance screen, a graph showing a time series of the result of the color adjustment based on the second information; generating a file of an image of a region of the graph designated by the service provider; 5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the notification section notifies the color adjustment system of the file as a part of the response.

9. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first information includes at least one of the operating status of the image forming device, an error history that has occurred in the image forming device, and printing setting information of the original data and color chart that are printed out by the image forming device.

10. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second information includes at least one of a profile generated by the color adjustment system, data read by an image reading device used during the color adjustment, document data to be printed by the image forming device, an operation history for the image forming device and the color adjustment system, a history of the color adjustment by the color adjustment system, and information on the image forming device that is the subject of the color adjustment.

11. 1. An information processing method for an information processing system including a color adjustment system that performs color adjustment on an image forming apparatus, and a color adjustment assistance system that provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, comprising: acquiring first information regarding an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information regarding the color adjustment by the color adjustment system; a storage step of storing the acquired first information and the acquired second information in a storage unit; a transmission step of transmitting a request for assistance regarding the problem regarding the color adjustment to the color adjustment assistance system in accordance with an operation on an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus; a display control step of, when the color adjustment assistance system receives the request, displaying, on a display device used by a service provider of the service, an assistance screen that displays information for assisting in solving the problem regarding the color adjustment based on information corresponding to the request out of the acquired first information and the acquired second information; a notification step of notifying the color adjustment system of a response input by the service provider to the request when the request is received by the color adjustment assistance system as a response to the request; An information processing method comprising the steps of:

12. a computer of a color adjustment assistance system that communicates with a color adjustment system that executes color adjustment for an image forming apparatus and provides a service for solving a problem related to the color adjustment, acquiring first information regarding an operation of the image forming apparatus and second information regarding the color adjustment by the color adjustment system; a storage step of storing the acquired first information and the acquired second information in a storage unit; a receiving step of receiving a request for assistance regarding the problem regarding the color adjustment from the color adjustment system in accordance with an operation on an input unit by a user who owns the image forming apparatus; a display control step of, when the request is received, displaying, on a display device used by a service provider of the service, an assistance screen that displays information for assisting in solving the problem regarding the color adjustment, based on information corresponding to the request out of the acquired first information and the acquired second information; a notification step of notifying the color adjustment system of a response input by the service provider to the request when the request is received, as a response to the request; A program for executing the above.

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