Communication device, method for controlling communication device, and program

Abstract

To provide a control device, a control method, and a program that improve operability of a display screen, while ensuring security.SOLUTION: A control device with a display has: display control means that switches between a plurality of menu screens to display, on the display, one menu screen of the plurality of menu screens; control means that sets authentication to a first menu screen of the plurality of menu screens; and setting means that sets information necessary for the authentication of the first menu screen. On the basis of lock settings and password preservation (S1017) indicating that the setting means has set or changed the information necessary for the authentication of the first menu screen in a state where the first menu screen has been authenticated, the control means displays a main body setting menu for changing the first menu screen from the authenticated state to a state before the authentication (S1019).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device, a control method for a communication device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a multifunction device that displays a shortcut list screen in tab format. The multifunction device displays a shared tab in general mode when a registered user is not logged in, and displays the shared tab and a personal tab corresponding to the logged-in user in personal mode when a registered user is logged in. The personal tab is managed so that it can be opened by password authentication or card authentication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-52972 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, for example, when a user switches between multiple tabs, there may be a case where authentication is performed again for a tab for which authentication was successful once, which may impair operability.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the operability of a display screen while ensuring security. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a control device having a display unit, and includes a display control means for switching between multiple menu screens and displaying one of the multiple menu screens on the display unit, a control means for setting authentication for a first menu screen of the multiple menu screens, and a setting means for setting information required for authentication of the first menu screen, wherein, when the first menu screen is in an authenticated state and the setting means sets or changes the information required for authentication of the first menu screen, the control means changes the first menu screen from an authenticated state to a pre-authentication state. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the operability of a display screen while ensuring security. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an MFP. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a standard home screen displayed on the operation display unit. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a custom home screen displayed on the operation display unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a lock screen of a custom home displayed on the operation display unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a customized home screen displayed on the operation display unit after unlocking. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a custom home screen unlock sequence. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a sequence for locking the custom home screen by a tab operation. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating screen transitions on a display screen. [Figure 9] 11 is a flowchart showing a custom home screen lock sequence when the backlight is off. [Figure 10]11 is a flowchart showing a sequence for setting an unlock password for a custom home screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen when setting an unlock password for the custom home screen. [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart showing a characteristic sequence when the power is turned off. [Figure 13] 1 is a flowchart showing a characteristic sequence when the power is turned on. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment does not limit the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the present embodiment are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention. Note that the same components will be described with the same reference numerals.

[0010] <<Embodiment 1>> <Block diagram> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an MFP 100 according to the present embodiment. The MFP 100 is a type of information processing device. The MFP 100 is also a type of electronic device. The MFP 100 according to the present embodiment has an information processing function for generating, storing, or transmitting device information including log information and status information. The MFP 100 also has an image forming function for forming an image on a recording medium by a recording control unit 113 and a recording unit 114, which will be described later.

[0011] The MFP 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, an image memory 104, a data conversion unit 105, a reading control unit 106, a reading unit 107, an operation display unit 108, an LCD 109, a communication control unit 110, and a resolution conversion unit 111. The MFP 100 also includes an encoding / decoding unit 112, a recording control unit 113, a recording unit 114, a USB function control unit 115, a USB host control unit 116, a bus 117, and a non-volatile memory 118.

[0012] The CPU 101 is a system control unit and controls the entire MFP 100. The ROM 102 is a non-volatile memory that stores fixed data such as control programs and data tables executed by the CPU 101, and an embedded operating system (OS). In this embodiment, software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing is performed for each control program stored in the ROM 102 under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 102. The ROM 102 stores information indicating a permission state indicating whether device information is to be provided to the outside. The RAM 103 is composed of a static random access memory (SRAM) that requires a backup power source, and power supply to the RAM 103 is guaranteed by a primary battery for data backup (not shown). The RAM 103 stores program control variables and the like. The image memory 104 is composed of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and the like, and can accumulate image data. In addition, a part of the area of ​​the image memory 104 is reserved as a work area for executing software processing. A data conversion unit 105 can convert image data, such as analyzing a page description language (PDL) or converting character data into computer graphics (CG).

[0013] The reading unit 107 optically reads the document using a CIS image sensor and converts it into an electrical image signal. The reading control unit 106 performs various image processing such as binarization or halftoning on this image signal, and outputs high-definition image data. The method for optically reading the document may be either a sheet reading control method in which a fixed CIS image sensor reads the document, or a book reading control method in which a moving CIS image sensor reads the document fixed on a document table.

[0014] The operation display unit 108 is composed of the minimum necessary keys such as numeric input keys, mode setting keys, a decision key, and a cancel key, and an LED (light emitting diode) or a 7-segment display unit. The above various keys are realized as so-called soft keys displayed on the LCD 109, and can accept operations from the user. If no operation is performed by the user for a certain period of time, the LCD 109 switches off the backlight (backlight function) of the LCD 109 to reduce power consumption.

[0015] The communication control unit 110 controls communication between the MFP 100 and the communication network 300, and connects to an Internet service provider or communicates various data with the service management server 200. The communication control unit 110 can determine whether the MFP 100 is connected to the Internet or only to a LAN. The connection between the communication control unit 110 and the communication network 300 is made by a known method such as HTTP or XMPP. The resolution conversion unit 111 performs resolution conversion processing such as mutual conversion between millimeter-based image data and inch-based image data. The resolution conversion unit 111 can also perform enlargement / reduction processing of image data.

[0016] The encoding / decoding unit 112 performs encoding / decoding processing and enlargement / reduction processing on image data (uncompressed, MH, MR, MMR, JBIG, JPEG, etc.) handled by the MFP 100. The recording control unit 113 performs various image processing such as smoothing processing, recording density correction processing, and color correction on the image data to be printed, converting it into high-definition image data, and outputs it to the recording unit 114. The recording control unit 113 also plays a role in periodically acquiring status information data of the recording unit 114. The recording unit 114 is composed of a laser beam printer or an inkjet printer, etc., and prints the image data generated by the recording control unit 113 on a recording medium such as paper.

[0017] The USB function controller 115 performs protocol control in accordance with the USB communication standard. The USB host controller 116 is a controller for performing communication in accordance with the protocol defined by the USB communication standard. This USB communication standard is a standard for two-way high-speed data communication, and this USB communication standard defines that multiple hubs or functions (slaves) can be connected to one host (master). In other words, the USB host controller 116 provides the host function in USB communication. The components other than the reading unit 107 and the LCD 109 are connected to each other via a bus 117.

[0018] <Operation display section> The operation display unit 108 according to this embodiment has a tab-format screen.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a standard home screen displayed on the operation display unit 108. Tab 201 is a tab corresponding to the standard home screen. Tabs 202, 203, and 204 are tabs corresponding to the custom home screens. The user can switch home screens by pressing a tab. Also, by changing the color of tab 201 from the colors of the other tabs, it is indicated that the screen of tab 201 (i.e., the standard home screen) is currently displayed. The standard home screen has a copy menu button 205, a scan menu button 206, a print menu button 207, a LAN button 208, a wireless connect button 209, a setting button 210, and a hint button 211. When the user presses each button, the screen transitions to a screen corresponding to each button. Specifically, for example, when the copy menu button 205 is pressed, an area for inputting copy settings and a screen for instructing execution of copying are displayed. Unlike a custom home screen described later, the standard home screen displays predetermined buttons without the user's arbitrary selection. However, the present invention is not limited to this form. The buttons displayed on the standard home screen may also be in a form that allows the user to arbitrarily select or change them.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the custom home screen of the tab 202 displayed on the operation display unit 108. By changing the color of the tab 202 from the colors of the other tabs, it is indicated that the custom home screen of the tab 202 is currently displayed. The custom home screen of the tab 202 has custom menus 305, 306, and 307, each of which is a menu that can be customized by the user, and the user can specify the function to be displayed at each menu position. In this figure, "standard copy" is set in the custom menu 305, "double-sided copy" is set in the custom menu 306, and "save document to PC" is set in the custom menu 307. Note that, unlike the standard home screen, the custom home screen can register a menu linked to the setting of the process executed from each menu. That is, for example, in a copy executed from the copy menu button 205, whether the copy is a double-sided copy or a single-sided copy needs to be separately set after the copy menu button 205 is pressed. However, in a copy executed from the custom menu 306, whether the copy is a double-sided copy or a single-sided copy does not need to be separately set after the custom menu 306 is pressed. Furthermore, login information and cookie information may be associated with and stored for each home screen. Furthermore, a lock can be set for each customized home screen. In this embodiment, lock refers to control for preventing the customized home screen from being displayed unless the correct password is entered into a password (authentication information) entry screen. For a customized home screen for which lock is not set, when a tab corresponding to that customized home screen is operated, that customized home screen is displayed without displaying the password entry screen. Custom menu settings and lock settings for the customized home screen can be performed using the setting button 210 in FIG. 2.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a lock screen of tab 202 displayed on operation display unit 108. When a user selects tab 202, which is a tab corresponding to a locked custom home screen, the custom home screen is not displayed, and the screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. When a user presses unlock button 401, a password input screen is displayed, and if the input password matches the correct password, the custom home screen of tab 202 is displayed. Note that the correct password is set for each tab. In this embodiment, the locked state is a state in which user operations on a menu screen corresponding to a selected tab (target tab) are restricted. For example, it is a state in which the menu screen corresponding to the selected tab is not displayed as shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, it may be a state in which the menu screen corresponding to the selected tab is displayed, but the displayed content cannot be changed.

[0022] In this embodiment, when tab 202 is pressed again after displaying a menu of another tab from the custom home screen of the currently displayed tab 202, the lock screen is not displayed and the custom home screen of tab 202 is displayed without the user having to enter a password.

[0023] Fig. 5 shows a customized home screen in an unlocked state displayed on operation display unit 108. Unlocked icon 501 indicates that the lock setting of the customized home screen corresponding to the currently displayed tab 202 has been released. Note that unlocked icon 501 may be any display indicating that the lock setting of the customized home screen corresponding to the currently displayed tab 202 has been released, and may be an icon as shown in Fig. 5 or an icon (lock icon) as shown in tab 812 of screen 830 in Fig. 8, which will be described later.

[0024] In this embodiment, the user can lock a tab by pressing an unlocked icon (i.e., tab 202 in this figure). Note that the unlocked icon 501 is not displayed on tabs for which the lock setting is disabled, and the lock process is not performed even if the tab of the currently displayed custom home screen is pressed. Note that it is assumed that the setting of whether to enable or disable the tab lock setting is set in advance for each tab. The setting of whether to enable or disable the tab lock setting may be set from the setting button 210, for example.

[0025] <Flowchart> FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the unlock sequence of this embodiment. The flow of processing in which a user unlocks a tab will be explained using this diagram. A series of processing shown in this flowchart is performed by CPU 101 of MFP 100 expanding program code stored in ROM 102 into RAM 103 and executing it. Note that "S" in the following description of each process means a step in the flowchart, and this also applies to the following embodiments. This processing is executed when the user presses a tab on the custom home screen. This processing is also started when screen display unit 108 detects a user operation such as a touch.

[0026] First, in S601, CPU 101 detects a tab pressed by the user. In S602, CPU 101 determines whether the tab lock flag is ON. A tab lock flag is prepared for each tab, and is set ON when the tab is locked. Details regarding the tab lock operation will be described later. If the lock flag is OFF, CPU 101 displays the tab menu (for example, a custom home screen) in S607. Note that the lock flag of a tab for which the lock setting is disabled is always OFF. As explained above, it is assumed that the setting of whether to enable or disable the tab lock setting is set in advance for each tab.

[0027] If the lock flag is ON, in S603, CPU 101 displays a lock screen as shown in Fig. 4. When CPU 101 detects a password input by the user in S604, it determines whether the password matches in S605. If the password does not match, the lock screen is displayed again in S603. If the password matches, the lock flag is set to OFF in S606, and then the tab menu is displayed in S607.

[0028] If the user switches to another tab in S608, CPU 101 maintains the lock flag for the tab before the switch, for which the lock flag was set to OFF in S606. As a result, when pressing the tab again is detected in S601, the lock flag is determined to be OFF in S602, and the user can display the tab menu without entering a password. This is the flow of processing when unlocking a tab.

[0029] Next, the process when the user locks a tab will be described.

[0030] 7 is a flowchart for explaining the processing sequence when a user locks a tab. The series of processes shown in this flowchart is performed by CPU 101 of MFP 100 by loading program code stored in ROM 102 into RAM 103 and executing it. This process is started when the tab is put into the unlocked state by a unlocking operation such as password authentication by the user.

[0031] In S701, the CPU 101 displays a menu of the tab on the operation display unit 108. In S702, the CPU 101 determines whether pressing of the tab currently displaying the menu on the operation display unit 108 has been detected. In this step, if the CPU 101 determines that pressing of the tab has not been detected until a predetermined time has elapsed, for example, the process ends. On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that pressing of the tab has been detected within the time, the process determines whether the lock setting of the tab is enabled in S703. As described above, it is assumed that the setting of whether to enable or disable the tab lock setting is set in advance for each tab. If the lock setting of the tab is disabled, the process ends. If the tab lock setting is enabled, a lock confirmation screen is displayed in S704. The lock confirmation screen is, for example, the display screen 850 in FIG. 8. On the other hand, in the lock confirmation screen, the user selects whether to lock the tab. If the CPU 101 detects a selection of not locking by a user operation in the lock confirmation screen, the process returns to S701. When a selection to lock is detected in S705, the CPU 101 sets the lock flag to ON in S706, and ends the processing after displaying the lock screen in S707. The above is the flow of processing when a tab is locked by the user.

[0032] Next, a series of steps for locking and unlocking the tabs shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described with reference to screens displayed on the operation display unit 108.

[0033] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the transition of display screens when locking and unlocking a tab. First, a display screen 810 is a display screen when a user presses a tab 812 whose lock flag is ON. This display screen corresponds to S601 to S603 in the flowchart of FIG. 6. When a user presses an unlock button 813 on this display screen 810, a display screen 820 that is a password input screen is displayed. When a user enters a correct password, a display screen 830 is displayed. This display screen 830 is a display screen that corresponds to the tab 812, and corresponds to S607 in FIG. 6. Furthermore, on the display screen 830, a mark indicating that the tab 812 is in an unlocked state is displayed on the tab 812.

[0034] When the user presses the tab 811, which is the standard tab, on the display screen 830 of the tab 812, the standard home screen 804 is displayed. At this time, the tab 812 in the unlocked state remains unlocked. When the operation on the display screen 840 is completed and the user presses the tab 812 again, the display screen 830 is displayed without performing an unlock operation. Here, when the user presses the tab 812 on which a mark indicating the unlocked state is displayed, the display screen 850 is displayed. That is, in this embodiment, when the tab is pressed while the menu of the tab is displayed, the menu screen corresponding to the tab is locked again. Note that the above (that is, the screen transition from the display screen 830 to the display screen 850) is a screen transition corresponding to S702 to S704 in FIG. 7. The display screen 850 is a display screen for selecting whether or not to lock the screen, and when the user presses the Yes button 851, the tab 812, which is the tab, is switched to the locked state. When the No button 852 is pressed, the display screen 830 is displayed. The above is a description of how to lock and unlock a tab using the display screen displayed on the operation display unit 108.

[0035] Next, a method will be described for locking all tabs for which the lock setting is enabled when the backlight of the operation display unit 108 is turned off. The backlight of the operation display unit 108 is turned on when the user operates the operation display unit 108, and is turned off in order to reduce power consumption if no operation by the user is detected for a certain period of time while the backlight is on.

[0036] 9 is a flowchart for explaining a lock processing sequence when the backlight is off. A series of processes shown in this flowchart is performed by CPU 101 of MFP 100 by loading program code stored in ROM 102 into RAM 103 and executing it.

[0037] When CPU 101 detects expiration of the backlight off timer in S901, CPU 101 initializes index i to 1 in S902. In S903, CPU 101 determines whether index i is less than or equal to the number of custom tabs. If index i is less than or equal to the number of custom tabs in S903, CPU 101 determines whether the lock setting of the i-th custom tab is enabled in S904. If the lock setting of the i-th custom tab is enabled, CPU 101 sets the lock flag of the i-th custom tab to ON in S905.

[0038] If the lock setting of the ith custom tab is invalid in S904, and after the lock flag of the ith custom tab is set to ON in S905, the CPU 101 adds 1 to the index i in S906. After performing S906, it is determined again in S903 whether the index i is equal to or smaller than the number of custom tabs. If the index i is greater than the number of tabs in S903, the CPU 101 ends this process. This allows the tabs to be locked in order from the smallest tab number until the index i becomes equal to the number of custom tabs. That is, all tabs with an effective lock setting can be locked at the timing of turning off the backlight. With this process, even if the user forgets to perform an operation such as logging out when the user finishes the operation, the tabs that should be locked can be locked after a certain period of time has passed. As described above, according to this embodiment, the purpose is to improve the operability of the display screen. Specifically, when a transition is made from the screen of a currently displayed unlocked tab to the screen of another tab, the unlocked state of the tab before the transition is maintained. This can eliminate the need to perform the unlock operation multiple times when performing an operation such as switching between multiple tabs, thereby improving operability. Note that, although the present embodiment has been described taking the display screen of the MFP 100 as an example, the present invention may be applied to any device having an operation display unit. Also, for example, the above-mentioned screens for setting the MFP 100 or for causing the MFP 100 to execute various processes may be displayed on another device (such as a smartphone or a PC) that communicates with the MFP 100. The present invention may be applied to the screen displayed on the other device.

[0039] Next, a process when a user sets a password for locking a tab (processing during a lock operation) will be described. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a sequence for setting an unlock password for a custom home screen. A series of processes shown in this flowchart is performed by CPU 101 of MFP 100 expanding program code stored in ROM 102 into RAM 103 and executing it. The process of this flowchart is started when a user selects setting button 210 for the standard home screen shown in Fig. 2.

[0040] Figure 11 is a diagram showing a screen image when setting an unlock password for the custom home screen. Each screen in Figure 11 is displayed according to the flowchart shown in Figure 10. The password setting flow will be explained below according to the flowchart in Figure 10.

[0041] 11 includes print settings 1102, LAN settings 1103, home screen editing by scene 1104, and PictBridge settings 1105. Note that descriptions of the print settings 1102, LAN settings 1103, and PictBridge settings 1105 will be omitted.

[0042] In S1002, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the scene-specific home screen editing 1104 has been selected. If the determination in S1002 is YES, the CPU 101 proceeds to S1003, and if the determination is NO, the CPU 101 repeats the processing of S1002.

[0043] In S1003, the CPU 101 displays a scene selection menu screen 1106.

[0044] A scene selection menu 1106 in Fig. 11 is a menu for selecting a scene to edit. A tab 1107 indicates a first scene (tab) "Work", a tab 1108 indicates a second scene (tab) "Study", and a tab 1109 indicates a third scene (tab) "Life".

[0045] In S1004, CPU 101 determines whether or not the user has selected any one of scenes (tabs) from tabs 1107 to 1109. If CPU 101 determines YES in S1004, it proceeds to S1005, and if it determines NO in S1004, it repeats the processing of S1004.

[0046] In S1005, the CPU 101 displays the editing content selection menu screen 1110.

[0047] 11 includes settings 1111 to 1115. Setting 1111 indicates an option for "swapping items," setting 1112 indicates an option for "rearranging items," setting 1113 indicates an option for "changing the scene name," setting 1114 indicates an option for "setting a password," and setting 1115 indicates an option for "returning to the initial settings."

[0048] In S1006, CPU 101 determines whether or not setting 1114 ("Password setting") has been selected. If CPU 101 determines YES in S1006, it proceeds to S1007, and if CPU 101 determines NO in S1006, it repeats the process of S1006.

[0049] In S1007, the CPU 101 displays a password setting confirmation screen 1116.

[0050] A screen 1116 in FIG. 11 shows a screen image of a password setting confirmation screen, and includes a “Yes” button 1117 and a “No” button 1118.

[0051] In S1008, CPU 101 determines whether the user selected "Yes" button 1117 or "No" button 1118. If CPU 101 determines in S1008 that "Yes" was selected, it proceeds to S1009, and if CPU 101 determines in S1008 that "No" was selected, it returns to S1003.

[0052] In S1009, the CPU 101 displays a password entry screen 1119.

[0053] A password entry screen 1119 in FIG. 11 includes an "enter password" button 1120 for displaying a soft keyboard screen for entering a password setting, and a "confirm" button 1121 for confirming the password.

[0054] In S1010, CPU 101 determines whether or not the "Confirm" button 1121 has been pressed on password entry screen 1119. If CPU 101 determines YES in S1010, it proceeds to S1014, and if CPU 101 determines NO in S1010, it proceeds to S1011.

[0055] In S1011, CPU 101 determines whether or not the user has selected the “Enter Password” button 1120. If CPU 101 determines YES in S1011, it proceeds to S1012, and if CPU 101 determines NO in S1011, it repeats the process of S1011.

[0056] In S1012, the CPU 101 displays the soft keyboard screen 1122 and accepts input of a character string or a number sequence to be set as a password.

[0057] A soft keyboard screen 1122 in FIG. 11 includes an "OK" button 1123 indicating the end of soft keyboard input, and a group of keys 1124 for inputting a password character string.

[0058] In S1013, CPU 101 determines whether or not "OK" button 1123 has been selected. If CPU 101 determines YES in S1013, it returns to S1009, and if CPU 101 determines NO in S1013, it repeats the process of S1013. Note that if CPU 101 determines YES in S1013 and returns to S1009, it displays password entry screen 1119 again. At this time, a character string or number sequence indicating the password entered by the user is displayed on password entry button 1120 (not shown).

[0059] In S1014, which is the process that follows when S1010 is judged as YES, CPU 101 judges whether the length of the input password is equal to or longer than the prescribed length. The prescribed length is the minimum number of characters that is recognized as usable as a password. If S1014 is judged as YES, CPU 101 proceeds to S1015, and if S1014 is judged as NO, CPU 101 returns to S1010. Note that if S1014 is judged as NO, a screen may be displayed indicating that the input password is not equal to or longer than the prescribed length.

[0060] In S1015, CPU 101 displays a screen indicating that the input character string or number sequence is set as the password. For example, CPU 101 displays screen 1125 in Fig. 11. Screen 1125 shows a screen image during password setting, and is a screen indicating to the user that the input password is currently set.

[0061] In S1016, CPU 101 enables the lock setting for the selected scene (tab) and sets the lock flag to ON. As a result, after the password is changed, when CPU 101 detects pressing of the tab selected in S1003 in S601 of Fig. 6, even if the scene (tab) for which the password was set is in an unlocked state, it is immediately locked because it is determined as YES in S602 of Fig. 6. (The unlocked state of other scenes (tabs) is maintained.)

[0062] In S1017, CPU 101 stores the lock setting for the scene (tab) selected by the user and the entered password in non-volatile memory 118. Note that CPU 101 starts a timer for displaying the main body setting menu in S1017 in order to display main body setting menu 1101 after a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0063] In S1018, CPU 101 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the lock setting and the password were saved. For example, CPU 101 determines whether two seconds have elapsed since the lock setting and the password were saved. If CPU 101 determines YES in S1018, it proceeds to S1019, and if CPU 101 determines NO in S1018, it repeats the process of S1018.

[0064] In S1019, the CPU 101 ends the display of the password setting screen 1125, and displays the main body setting menu 1101 again.

[0065] As a result, even if the scene (tab) selected by the user is in an unlocked state (lock flag OFF), the scene (tab) can be immediately returned to a locked state (lock flag ON) based on the password setting or change being made to that scene (tab).

[0066] As a result, even if the user does not perform the tab operation shown in Figure 7 or the backroutine off operation shown in Figure 9, the scene (tab) for which a password has been set can be locked based on the detection of the press of the scene (tab) for which a password has been set after the password has been set or changed, thereby providing a display screen with higher security.

[0067] In this embodiment, the lock flag of the target scene (tab) is set to ON by setting a password, but if the password set is the same as a password that has already been set, the lock flag may not be set to ON.

[0068] Next, a description will be given of FIG. 12, which shows a flow chart showing the control when a power OFF operation is performed on the device in the power ON state of this embodiment.

[0069] In S1201, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a power-off operation has been detected on the operation display unit 108. If the determination in S1201 is YES, the process proceeds to S1202, and if the determination in S1201 is NO, the process of S1201 is repeated.

[0070] In S1202, CPU 101 saves information indicating which scene (tab) was last displayed among the scenes (tabs) of the standard home screen and the custom home screen in non-volatile memory 118, and ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0071] Next, a description will be given of FIG. 13, which shows a flow chart showing the control when the power is turned on in the device of this embodiment in the power-off state.

[0072] In S1301, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a power-on operation has been detected for the operation display unit 108. If the determination in S1301 is YES, the process proceeds to S1302, and if the determination in S1301 is NO, the process of S1301 is repeated.

[0073] In S1302, the CPU 101 acquires from the non-volatile memory 118 the information, which is saved in S1202 of FIG.

[0074] In S1303, CPU 101 determines whether the last home screen displayed was the standard home screen based on the saved information indicating which scene (tab) was last displayed. If the result of the determination in S1303 is YES, the process proceeds to S1306, and if the result of the determination in S1303 is NO, the process proceeds to S1304.

[0075] In S1306, CPU 101 displays the standard home screen shown in FIG.

[0076] In step S1304, the CPU 101 reads from the non-volatile memory 118 the lock setting and password for the custom home screen corresponding to the last displayed scene (tab).

[0077] In S1305, the CPU 101 determines whether the read lock setting is valid or not. If the determination in S1305 is YES, the process proceeds to S1308, and if the determination in S1305 is NO, the process proceeds to S1307.

[0078] In S1307, CPU 101 displays the custom home screen corresponding to the last displayed scene (tab) in the normal state (unlocked state) as shown in FIG.

[0079] In S1308, CPU 101 displays the customized home screen in the locked state as shown in FIG.

[0080] By performing the above-described control, the home screen last displayed before the power was turned off can be automatically restored when the power is turned on, reducing the number of times tabs are operated and improving operability. Also, based on information on whether the lock setting for the home screen last displayed before the power was turned off is enabled, it is possible to switch whether or not to display the home screen in a locked state.

[0081] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, the lock flag is turned OFF by inputting a password and the menu screen corresponding to the tag is displayed, but this is not limited to this. In other words, it is not necessary to be limited to inputting a password, and the lock flag may be turned OFF by, for example, biometric authentication. Or, the lock flag may be turned OFF by IC card authentication.

[0082] The above-mentioned embodiment can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment are supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program. The program may be executed by one computer, or may be executed by multiple computers in cooperation with each other. It is not necessary to realize all of the above-mentioned processes by software, and some or all of the processes may be realized by hardware such as ASIC. The CPU is also not limited to one that performs all processes by one CPU, and multiple CPUs may perform processes in cooperation with each other as appropriate.

[0083] In addition, the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are not only realized by a computer reading and executing the program code, but also include cases where an OS running on a computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code, and the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are realized by the processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 100 MFP 101 CPU 108 Operation display section

Claims

1. A control device having a display unit, a display control means for switching among a plurality of menu screens and displaying one of the plurality of menu screens on the display unit; a control means for setting authentication for a first menu screen among the plurality of menu screens; a setting means for setting information required for authentication of the first menu screen; having a control device characterized in that, based on the setting means setting or changing information necessary for authentication of the first menu screen when the first menu screen is in an authenticated state, the control means changes the first menu screen from an authenticated state to a pre-authentication state.

2. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the information required for the authentication is a password.

3. the plurality of menu screens includes a second menu screen different from the first menu screen, The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the first menu screen is in the authenticated state and an operation is performed to switch from the first menu screen to the second menu screen, the display control means displays the second menu screen, and when the first menu screen is selected again, the display control means displays the first menu screen in the authenticated state.

4. 4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein when a predetermined operation is performed on the first menu screen in the authenticated state, the first menu screen is displayed in the pre-authentication state.

5. 5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined operation is an operation of pressing a tab provided on the first menu screen on which the authentication has been performed.

6. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means switches between validity and invalidity of the authentication based on authentication settings individually set on the plurality of menu screens.

7. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means controls the first menu screen to a state before authentication based on the backlight function of the display unit being turned off when the first menu screen is in an authenticated state.

8. 8. The control device according to claim 7, wherein the backlight function is a function that is turned on when a screen is displayed on the display unit and is turned off if no operation by a user on the screen is detected for a predetermined period of time.

9. The control device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the setting means sets a password for the first menu screen in the authenticated state, the control means changes the first menu screen to a state before authentication based on a mismatch between the password before and after setting.

10. a storage unit for storing information on a last displayed menu screen among the plurality of menu screens when the control device is turned off; 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays, when the power supply of the control device is turned on, a menu screen that was last displayed when the power supply of the control device was turned off.

11. The control device according to claim 10, characterized in that, when the last displayed menu screen was in a state before authentication, the display control means displays the last displayed menu screen in a state before authentication when the control device is powered on.

12. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is a printing device.

13. A control method for a control device having a display unit, comprising: a display control step of switching a plurality of menu screens and displaying one of the plurality of menu screens on the display unit; a control step of setting authentication for a first menu screen among the plurality of menu screens; a setting step of setting information required for authentication of the first menu screen; having a control step of changing the first menu screen from an authenticated state to a pre-authentication state based on setting or changing information necessary for authentication of the first menu screen in the setting step when the first menu screen is in an authenticated state.

14. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the control device according to claim 1.

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