Image forming system and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To prevent the occurrence of an adverse effect on the operation of an image forming apparatus even when the image forming apparatus executes remote display control in a situation in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses can access the image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: A controller 11 provided in an MFP 10 executes remote display control of displaying a remote screen on one of a plurality of PCs 30, 50, 51. When a request for starting the remote display control is issued by one of the plurality of PCs 30, 50, 51 and it is not determined that the remote display control has already been executed in response to the past request, the controller 11 executes the remote display control for the PC that has issued the request for starting the remote display control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for displaying a screen displayed on a user interface of an image forming apparatus on a remote information processing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus. In the image forming system, a screen displayed on a user interface of the image forming apparatus can be displayed on a remote information processing apparatus. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-10265 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a situation where an image forming apparatus can access a plurality of information processing apparatuses, there is a concern that the operation of the image forming apparatus may be adversely affected if the user interface of the image forming apparatus is remotely operated from the plurality of apparatuses.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to prevent adverse effects on the operation of an image forming device even when the user interface of an image forming device is remotely displayed in a situation where it is accessible from multiple information processing devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention relates to an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a plurality of information processing apparatuses, and a judgment processing unit. A controller included in the image forming apparatus executes remote display control for displaying a remote screen on any one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses. The remote screen is a screen corresponding to an operation screen displayed on a user interface of the image forming apparatus. When a request to start the remote display control is made, the judgment processing unit judges whether or not the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request. The request to start the remote display control is a request from any one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses. When a start request is made by any one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses and the judgment processing unit does not judge that the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request, the controller executes remote display control for the information processing apparatus that has requested the start of the remote display control, and when a start request is made by any one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses and the judgment processing unit judges that the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request, the controller does not execute remote display control for the information processing apparatus that has requested the start of the remote display control.

[0007] In the above configuration, when remote display control is being executed by any of the multiple information processing devices, even if a start request is made to the remote display control by a new information processing device, the controller of the image forming device does not execute remote display control for the information processing device that made the start request. This prevents one image forming device from executing remote display control for multiple devices, and can prevent adverse effects on the operation of the image forming device.

[0008] The present invention can be realized in various forms, and can be realized not only as an invention of an image forming system, but also as an invention of an image forming apparatus constituting an image forming system. Effect of the Invention

[0009] This makes it possible to prevent one image forming apparatus from executing remote display control for a plurality of apparatuses, thereby preventing adverse effects on the operation of the image forming apparatuses. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system. [Diagram 2] 6 is a timing chart illustrating a process when starting remote display control. [Diagram 3] 6 is a timing chart illustrating a process when starting remote display control. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the EWS screen. [Diagram 5] 3 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the process executed in S17 of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating a screen displayed on a PC when remote display control cannot be executed. [Figure 7] 3 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the process executed in S21 of FIG. 2. [Figure 8] A diagram explaining the screen displayed on a PC. [Figure 9] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining screens displayed on a user interface of the MFP. [Figure 10] 13 is a diagram illustrating a screen displayed on a PC when remote display control is prohibited by an administrator. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a remote screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] (First embodiment) An image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The image forming system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an MFP 10 and PCs 30, 50, and 51. MFP is an abbreviation for multifunction peripheral. The MFP 10 and the PCs 30, 50, and 51 are connected to a network 200 and are capable of communicating with each other through the network 200. The network 200 is a LAN or the Internet. In this embodiment, the MFP 100 is an example of an image forming apparatus. The PCs 30, 50, and 51 are examples of information processing apparatuses.

[0012] Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the MFP 10. The MFP 100 includes a controller 11, a memory 12, a printer unit 13, a scanner unit 14, a FAX unit 15, a communication IF 16, a user IF 17, and a bus 18. IF is an abbreviation for interface.

[0013] The communication IF 16 connects the MFP 10 to the network 200 in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol. The user IF 17 is an interface between a user who directly operates the MFP 10 and the controller 11, and has, for example, a touch panel or operation keys which are physical keys.

[0014] The printer unit 13 executes a printing operation to print an image on a recording medium such as a sheet or a disk. The recording method of the printer unit 13 may be an inkjet method, an electrophotographic method, or the like. The scanner unit 14 executes a scanning operation to read an image recorded on an original and generate image data. The FAX unit 15 executes a FAX operation to transmit and receive image data in a method conforming to a FAX protocol. The MFP 10 may also be capable of executing a composite operation that combines a plurality of operations. A copy operation that combines a print operation by the printer unit 13 and a scan operation by the scanner unit 14 is an example of a composite operation.

[0015] The controller 11 is configured with a CPU, an ASIC (abbreviation of Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc., and controls the operations of the printer unit 13, the scanner unit 14, the FAX unit 15, the communication IF 16, and the user IF 17. The memory 12 has a data storage area. The data storage area is an area for storing data necessary for executing programs, etc. The memory 12 is configured by combining RAM, ROM, SSD, HDD, etc. A buffer provided in the controller 11 and used when executing various programs may also be considered as part of the memory 12. The memory 12 may be a storage medium readable by the controller 11. The storage medium readable by the controller 11 is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, the non-transitory medium also includes recording media such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM. The non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, electrical signals carrying programs downloaded from a server on the Internet, for example, are computer-readable signal media, which is a type of computer-readable medium, but are not included in non-transitory computer-readable storage media.

[0016] The memory 12 stores a control program and an EWS (embedded web server) program 20 as programs executable by the controller 11. In the following description, the controller 11 that executes the programs may be described simply by the program name. For example, the description "the EWS" is used to mean "the controller 11 that executes the EWS program 20". In this embodiment, the description mainly refers to the processing of the controller 11 according to the instructions written in the program. That is, the processing of "judging", "extracting", "selecting", "calculating", "deciding", "identifying", "obtaining", "accepting", "controlling" and the like in the following description represent the processing of the controller 11. Note that "obtaining" is used as a concept that does not require a request. In other words, the processing of the controller 11 receiving data without a request is also included in the concept of "the controller 11 obtaining data". In addition, "data" in this specification is represented by a bit string that can be read by the controller. Data that has the same substantial meaning but different formats is treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in this specification.

[0017] Management information 25 is stored in the data storage area of ​​the memory 12. In the management information 25, a login name and a password, which are authentication information, are recorded in association with a PC that can access the MFP 10.

[0018] Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the PC 30. The PC 30 includes a communication IF 31, a memory 32, a controller 33, a display 34, and a user IF 35. The units 31, 32, 33, and 35 included in the PC 30 have the same configuration as the controller 11, memory 12, communication IF 16, and user IF 17 included in the MFP 30, and therefore descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0019] The memory 32 stores an OS 40 and a browser 41. The browser 41 is a program that causes the controller 33 to display on the display 34 an image corresponding to Web page data transmitted from the EWS 20. The PCs 50 and 51 have the same configuration as the PC 30, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0020] Next, the procedure of the process executed between the MFC 10 and the PC 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0021] In step 10 (hereinafter, simply referred to as S10) of FIG. 2, the MFP 10 displays an operation screen on the user IF 17, and changes the display of the operation screen according to an operation via the user IF 17, the operating status of the MFP 10, and the like. The process of changing the operation screen is executed in parallel with the process of FIG. 2. The operation screen includes an execution screen indicating that a process such as printing or scanning is being executed, an instruction screen for receiving an execution instruction such as copying or scanning, a setting screen for changing various settings, a status screen indicating the state of the MFP 10, an execution instruction screen, a standby screen for waiting for a display instruction such as a setting screen, and the like. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which a standby screen is displayed on the user IF 17, and the standby screen is displayed in a remote screen, which will be described later. Information indicating various operations via the user IF 35 on the display screen displayed in the remote screen is notified to the MFP 10. The MFP 10 that receives the information indicating the operation executes a process according to the operation, in the same manner as when the operation screen displayed on the user IF 17 is operated. For example, when the MFP 10 receives information indicating an operation on the Copy button, the MFP 10 executes copy processing including displaying a screen indicating that copy is in progress. For example, when the MFP 10 receives information indicating an operation on the Setting button, the MFP 10 executes processing for setting parameters of the MFP 10 including displaying a Setting screen.

[0022] Here, if the remote screen of the MFP10 is displayed on the PC30 and another PC30' at the same time, this may adversely affect the operation of the MFP10. For example, the users of the PCs 30 and 30' may be confused because the processing of the MFP10 is affected by the operations of the users other than the user's own operations. Specifically, if the user of the PC30' operates the setting button on the remote screen of the PC30' immediately before the user of the PC30 operates the setting button on the remote screen, the setting screen is displayed on the remote screens of both the PC30 and the PC30', and the operation by the user of the PC30 is accepted as an operation on the setting screen. As a result, there is a concern that the MFP10 may execute a process that is not expected by the user of the PC30 or the PC30'.

[0023] In S11, the browser 41 of the PC 30 transmits a request for EWS screen data to the MFP 10. The EWS screen data is Web page data for displaying the home screen of the EWS screen. For example, when the browser 41 receives input of a URL specifying the EWS 20 from the user, the browser 41 transmits the request to the EWS 20. Communication between the browser 41 and the EWS 20 is performed according to the http(s) protocol.

[0024] In S12, the EWS 20 transmits the EWS screen data to the PC 30. In S13, upon receiving the EWS screen data, the browser 41 causes the display 34 to display the home screen of the EWS screen indicated by the received EWS screen data.

[0025] When an operation to log in to the EWS is performed on the home screen of the EWS screen 300, the browser 41 transmits the login password and the like to the EWS 20. When a response of login permission is received from the EWS, the browser 41 causes the display 34 of the PC 30 to display an administrator screen 302 shown in Fig. 4. The administrator screen 302 includes an item display area 303 and a function display area 304.

[0026] When a selection operation of "remote display control" included in the item display area 303 is accepted via the user IF 35 in S14, the browser 41 transmits a request to start remote display control to the EWS 20 in S15. When the EWS 20 receives the request to start remote display control, it transmits EWS screen data for updating the EWS screen 300 in S16. This EWS screen data includes a determination program and an execution program that can be interpreted by the browser 41. The determination program and the execution program are script programs, such as JavaScript. The browser 41 executes a determination process in S17 according to the determination program. The controller 33 that executes the determination process is an example of a determination processing unit. The processes from S17 to S34 below are executed by the browser 41 interpreting the determination program.

[0027] 5 shows the procedure of the determination process executed in S17. In S40, the browser 41 requests information indicating the current execution state of the remote display control from the MFP 10. The information indicating the execution state of the remote display control is information indicating whether or not remote display control for another device has already been executed by a previous start request, and in this embodiment, is information indicating either "executing" or "not executed". When information indicating the permission state is stored in the memory 12, the EWS 20 replies with information indicating "executing", and otherwise replies with information indicating "not executed". The information indicating the permission state will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0028] In S41, the browser 41 determines whether the information indicating the execution state returned from the EWS 20 indicates a state of "executing" or "not executed." If the browser 41 determines in S41 that the information indicating the execution state of the remote display control indicates "executing," the process proceeds to S42, where it sets the execution state determination flag to a value indicating that the remote display control targeted at another device is already being executed. On the other hand, if the browser 41 determines in S41 that the information indicating the execution state of the remote display control indicates "not executed," the process proceeds to S43, where it sets the execution state determination flag to a value indicating that the remote display control targeted at another device is not being executed. After completing the process of S42 or S43, the process proceeds to S18.

[0029] 2, the browser 41 determines whether or not remote display control targeting another device is already being executed based on the value of the execution state determination flag. If an affirmative determination is made in S18, the process proceeds to S19.

[0030] In S19, a screen indicating that remote display control of the PC 30, which is the own device, cannot be executed is displayed on the display 34. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a text image 310 indicating that remote display control of another device is currently being executed and that remote display control of the own device cannot be executed is displayed in the function display area 304 of the EWS screen 300. For example, the text image 310 is included in the EWS screen data. In this embodiment, the EWS screen 300 displayed on the display 34 by the processing of S19 by the browser 41 is an example of the second screen. When the processing of S19 ends, the browser 41 returns to S14 and continues to display the home screen of the EWS screen. Then, when the user performs a selection operation of the remote display control, the result of S14 is determined to be positive, and the processing of S15 and thereafter is executed again.

[0031] On the other hand, if the browser 41 makes a negative determination in S18 based on the value of the execution state determination flag, the process proceeds to S20. In S20, the browser 41 requests the EWS 20 to issue a token.

[0032] When the EWS 20 of the MFP 10 receives a token issuance request from the PC 30, it performs authentication processing in S21. Fig. 7 shows detailed steps of the authentication processing executed in S21. The EWS 20 receives authentication information from the browser 41 in S50. Specifically, the EWS 20 transmits data to the browser 41 for displaying a login form 320 for inputting the authentication information, as shown in Fig. 8. The browser 41 displays the EWS screen 300 with the login form 320, as shown in Fig. 8, superimposed thereon, based on the transmitted data. The browser 41 transmits the authentication information (i.e., user name and password) input via the login form to the MFP 10. The EWS 20 receives the authentication information.

[0033] In S51, it is determined whether or not the authentication information of a user (e.g., an administrator) who is permitted to execute remote display control and stored in the MFP 10 matches the authentication information transmitted from the browser 41 based on the management information 25 stored in the memory 12. If the authentication information does not match, a negative judgment is made in S51, and the process returns to S50. On the other hand, if the authentication information matches, an affirmative judgment is made in S51, and the process proceeds to S52.

[0034] In S52, it is determined whether or not a token has not been issued. The token is information for authenticating the PC 30, and in this embodiment, it is a one-time token created based on the authentication information. The EWS 20 determines that the token has not been issued if information indicating that the token has been issued is stored in the memory 12. If the token has not been issued (S52: YES), in S54, a token is issued based on the authentication information, and the issued token is transmitted to the PC 30, and information indicating that the token has been issued is stored in the memory 12. On the other hand, if the token has been issued (S52: NO), an error notification is sent to the PC 30 (S53), and the process of S21 is terminated. Note that the information indicating that the token has been issued, which is stored in S54, is deleted from the memory 12 when the remote display control is terminated. In this embodiment, the token is an example of an access ID.

[0035] 2, in S22, the browser 41 determines whether or not an error notification associated with the fact that a token has already been issued has been received from the EWS 20. If a positive determination is made in S22, an error has occurred in response to the request to start remote display control, and therefore the process returns to S14 and the display of the home screen continues.

[0036] If the browser 41 makes a negative judgment in S22, in S23, it transmits a permission request for executing remote display control together with the issued token. When the EWS 20 receives the permission request for executing remote display control from the browser 41, it judges whether or not the token transmitted together with the permission request is correct in S24. Specifically, the EWS 20 judges that the token is incorrect if too much time has passed since the token was issued or if the token is a forged token. If the EWS 20 judges that the transmitted token is incorrect, it transmits a rejection response to the permission request to the browser 41 in S25. If the browser 41 receives the rejection response from the EWS 20, it returns to S14. For example, the browser 41 may return to S14 after displaying on the display 34 that remote display control targeting the own device cannot be executed.

[0037] On the other hand, if the EWS 20 determines that the token transmitted from the PC 30 is correct, it makes a positive judgment in S24 and proceeds to S26. The EWS 20 causes the user IF 17 to display an inquiry screen 400 shown in FIG. 9. The inquiry screen 400 includes a text image 401 indicating that a permission request for execution of remote display control has been received from the PC 30, and icons 402 and 403. When an operation on the icon 402 on the inquiry screen 400 is accepted via the user IF 17, the EWS 20 stores information indicating the permitted state in the memory 12. On the other hand, when an operation on the icon 403 on the inquiry screen 400 is accepted via the user IF 17, the EWS 20 stores information indicating the prohibited state in the memory 12. The EWS 20 erases the information indicating the permitted state or the prohibited state stored in the memory 12 when the remote display control ends.

[0038] In S30, the browser 41 of the PC 30 inquires of the EWS 20 about the availability of remote display control.

[0039] If the EWS 20 has neither information indicating a permitted state nor information indicating a prohibited state stored in memory, then in S31 it notifies the browser 41 of information indicating an undetermined state in response to an inquiry from the browser 41. When the browser 41 of the PC 30 is notified of the information indicating the undetermined state, it waits for a predetermined period of time, then returns to S30 and again inquires of the EWS 20 about the permission state.

[0040] If information indicating the prohibited state is stored in memory 12, EWS 20 notifies browser 41 of the information indicating the prohibited state in S32. Upon receiving notification of the prohibited state, browser 41 displays a prohibition screen on user IF 35 in S33. As shown in Fig. 10, browser 41 superimposes text image 335 indicating that execution of remote display control has been prohibited by MFP 30 on function display area 304 of EWS screen 300 in S33. This allows the user of PC 30 to determine that remote display control has been prohibited by MFP 10 by viewing text image 335 displayed on display 34.

[0041] In this embodiment, the screen that the browser 41 displays on the display 34 by the process of S33 is an example of the first screen. In this embodiment, the screen displayed on the display 34 in S33 and the screen displayed on the display 34 in S19 are made different from each other, so that the user of the PC 30 can easily understand the reason why the remote display control for the PC 30 cannot be executed.

[0042] If the information indicating the permission state is stored in the memory, the EWS 20 transmits remote screen data for displaying a remote screen on the browser 41 to the PC 30 in S34. In this embodiment, the remote image data is data including data indicating an operation screen currently being displayed on the user IF 17. Specifically, in addition to the data indicating the operation screen, the data includes data indicating operation keys that are physical keys of the user IF 17 and data indicating an end button (reference numeral 333 in FIG. 11 ), which will be described later. The EWS 20 creates remote image data and transmits the created remote screen data to the browser 41. In the browser 41, the execution program interprets the remote screen data and causes the display 34 to display the remote screen in S35.

[0043] The data indicating the operation screen, the operation keys, and the end button included in the remote image data may be in the same data format, such as raster data, or in other data formats. The data indicating the operation screen, the operation keys, and the end button may be in different data formats. Furthermore, the EWS 20 may transmit only data indicating the operation screen to the browser 41 as the remote image data in S34, and the browser 41 may interpret the execution program in S35 to superimpose data indicating the operation keys and the end button on the remote image data to display the remote screen. In addition to the above, the EWS 20 may transmit data indicating the operation screen and the operation keys to the browser 41 as the remote image data in S34, and the browser 41 may interpret the execution program in S35 to superimpose data indicating the end button on the remote screen data. In this embodiment, the remote screen data is an example of screen data. Furthermore, the EWS 20 may transmit Web page data for displaying the entire EWS screen including the remote screen data to the browser 41 instead of transmitting the remote screen data to the browser 41 in S34.

[0044] The browser 41 executes the execution program to periodically request the EWS 20 to send remote screen data for displaying a remote screen, and reflects the screen currently displayed on the user IF 17 on the remote screen. For example, when the browser 41 receives an operation input on the remote screen 330 via the user IF 35, the browser 41 executes the execution program to send a request corresponding to the received operation input to the EWS 20. At this time, the browser 41 sends a token issued by the EWS 20 together with the request corresponding to the operation input. For example, if the operation input on the remote screen 330 is an operation related to updating the screen, the browser 41 requests the EWS 20 to send remote screen data for displaying the updated remote screen together with the token. When the EWS 20 receives the request for remote screen data, it creates remote screen data for displaying the updated remote screen 330 on condition that the token is correct, and sends the data to the browser 41.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 11, the remote screen 330 is displayed in the function display area 304 on the EWS screen 300. The remote screen 330 includes a screen display area 331 and an operation key display area 332. The screen display area 331 displays the same screen as the operation screen currently displayed on the user IF 17 of the MFP 10. In Fig. 11, as an example, a standby screen is displayed in the screen display area 331. The operation key display area 332 displays icon images that imitate the operation keys that are physical keys provided on the user IF 17.

[0046] The remote screen displayed on display 34 of PC 30 is also updated when the user of MFP 10 operates user IF 17. In this case, when EWS 20 receives an operation to change the display screen via user IF 17, it may transmit remote screen data relating to the updated remote screen to browser 41 without waiting for a request from the execution program.

[0047] The remote screen 330 also includes an end button 333 that is an end indicator. The end button 333 is a button that accepts an operation to end the remote display control when remote display control for the own device is being executed. When the browser 41 accepts an operation input to the end button 333 by the user, the browser 41 requests the EWS 20 to end the remote display control together with the token. When the EWS 20 accepts the end request from the PC, it ends the remote display control on condition that the token is correct. When the EWS 20 ends the remote display control, various pieces of information stored in the memory 12, such as information indicating the execution state of the remote display control, information indicating that the token has been issued, and information indicating the permission state of the remote display control, are deleted. The EWS 20 may end the remote display control after deleting these pieces of information, or another program may delete these pieces of information triggered by the end of the remote display control.

[0048] If there is no access from the browser 41 executing the execution program for a certain period of time after the remote display control is started, the EWS 20 ends the remote display control in the same manner as when the end button is pressed.

[0049] The present embodiment described above can provide the following advantages. If a request to start remote display control has been made by any of multiple PCs and it has been determined that remote display control has already been executed by a previous request, remote display control is not executed for the PC that has issued the start request. This makes it possible to prevent multiple PCs from executing remote display control on one MFP 10 and to prevent adverse effects on the operation of the MFP 10.

[0050] If it is determined that remote display control is already being executed by a previous request, the EWS 20 does not transmit the remote screen data to the PC that issued the start request. This makes it possible to prevent an increase in processing load while not executing remote display control for the PC that issued the start request when remote display control is already being executed.

[0051] If the PC determines that remote display control is already being executed by a previous request, it does not request transmission of remote screen data from the EWS 20. This prevents an increase in the processing load on the EWS 20, since the PC is not requested to transmit remote screen data when remote display control is already being executed.

[0052] The browser 41 executes the determination process when a request to start remote display control is made to the EWS 20. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the processing load of the browser 41 of the PC.

[0053] The PC performs the determination process by executing the determination program transmitted by the EWS 20. This eliminates the need to install the determination program in advance on the PC, improving convenience for the PC user.

[0054] Since the EWS 20 transmits the determination program to the PC while it is included in the Web page data, the processing required for transmission can be simplified compared to when the determination program is transmitted separately from the Web page data.

[0055] The determination program is transmitted to the browser 41 by utilizing the configuration for transmitting an execution program, which is a script program for executing processing related to the remote display control, to the browser 41. This allows the determination program for executing the determination processing and the execution program for executing the remote display control to be transmitted in the same transmission format, thereby preventing the transmission format of the programs between the PC and MFP 10 from becoming complicated.

[0056] By operating the end button displayed on the remote screen 330, remote display control can be performed immediately in response to a start request from a new PC, thereby improving convenience for users of the image forming system.

[0057] (Modification of the first embodiment) In the first embodiment, the browser 41 of the PC determines whether or not remote display control has already been executed by a previous request. Alternatively, the EWS 20 of the MFP 10 may determine whether or not remote display control has already been executed by a previous request. In this case, in FIG. 2, when a request to start remote display control is transmitted from the browser 41 in S15, the EWS 20 executes the process of S17 to determine whether or not remote display control is currently being executed for a PC other than the PC that made the start request. Then, when the EWS 20 determines in the process of S17 that remote display control for another device is being executed, it notifies the PC that made the start request that remote display control for this PC is not possible. In addition, when the browser 41 requests the EWS 20 to start remote display control in S15, the EWS 20 may not execute the process of transmitting EWS screen data including the determination program in S16 to the browser 41 if the EWS 20 determines in the process of S17 that remote display control for another device is being executed. That is, in this embodiment, the EWS 20 functions as a determination processing unit.

[0058] In the first embodiment, in S14, the EWS 20 of the MFP 10 transmitted the determination program to the browser 41 by a script program included in the EWS screen data. Alternatively, the EWS 20 may transmit the determination program to the browser 41 separately from the EWS screen data. In this case, after a start request is transmitted from the browser 41 in S15 of Fig. 2, the EWS 20 transmits the determination program separately from the EWS screen data in S16.

[0059] In the first embodiment, the browser 41 executes the process of S35 by executing an execution program included in the remote screen data. Alternatively, the browser 41 may execute the processes from S18 to S35 by executing an execution program. The browser 41 may also execute the processes from S13 to S35, excluding S17, by executing an execution program.

[0060] In the first embodiment, the browser 41 of the PC performs the determination process by executing a determination program included in the EWS screen data, which is Web page data. Alternatively, the browser 41 may have a function for performing the determination process in advance. Even in this case, the browser 41 inquires of the EWS 20 in S15 about information indicating the current execution state of the remote display control together with a request to start the remote display control. Furthermore, the EWS 20 may transmit EWS screen data that does not include an execution program to the browser 41 in S16 of FIG. 2.

[0061] (Other embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the MFP 10 is used as an example of an image forming apparatus, but the image forming apparatus may be a printer, a scanner, or a copier. Although the PC is used as an example of an information processing apparatus, the image forming apparatus may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone.

[0062] In the above-described embodiment, when the browser 41 makes a request to the EWS 20 to start remote display control, the browser 41 determines whether or not remote display control has already been executed by a previous request. Alternatively, the browser 41 may determine whether or not remote display control has already been executed prior to making a request to start remote display control. In this case, in FIG. 2, the browser 41 receives EWS screen data from the EWS 20 in S12, and executes the process of S15 according to a determination program included in the EWS screen data before making the start request in S13. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10...MFC, 11...controller, 12...memory, 17...user IF, 20...EWS, 30, 50, 51...PC, 100...image forming system

Claims

1. An image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a plurality of information processing apparatuses, and a determination processing unit, a controller provided in the image forming apparatus executes a remote display control for causing any one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses to display a remote screen, the remote screen being a screen corresponding to an operation screen displayed on a user interface of the image forming apparatus; the determination processing unit, when a request to start the remote display control is made, determines whether or not the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request, the start request being a request from any one of the plurality of information processing devices; The controller: When the start request is made by any one of the plurality of information processing devices and the determination processing unit has not determined that the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request, the remote display control is executed for the information processing device that has made the start request; An image forming system that does not execute the remote display control targeted at the information processing device that made the start request when the start request has been made by any of the multiple information processing devices and the judgment processing unit determines that the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request.

2. The controller: When the remote display control is executed, screen data for displaying the remote screen on a browser of the information processing device is created, and the created screen data is transmitted to the information processing device; An image forming system as described in claim 1, wherein when the judgment processing unit determines that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request, the screen data is not sent to the information processing device that made the start request, thereby not executing the remote display control targeted at the information processing device.

3. the controller transmits the image data to the information processing device in response to a request from the information processing device; 3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the information processing device does not request the controller to transmit the screen data if the judgment processing unit judges that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request.

4. The image forming system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the judgment processing unit determines whether the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request when the information processing device makes the start request to the image forming device.

5. The determination processing unit: inquiring of the controller as to whether the remote display control is currently being executed; 5. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising: a controller for determining whether or not the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request in response to a reply from the controller accompanying the inquiry.

6. The information processing device includes: requesting the image forming apparatus to issue an access ID when the determination processing unit has not determined that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request; making the initiation request together with the access ID issued by the controller; The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the controller executes the remote display control for the information processing device when authentication of the information processing device is successful based on the access ID.

7. 7. The image forming system according to claim 6, wherein the controller does not issue the access ID to the information processing device when the determination processing unit determines that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request.

8. The controller transmits a determination program to the information processing device; The image forming system according to claim 7 , wherein the information processing device functions as the determination processing unit by executing the determination program transmitted by the controller.

9. the controller creates web page data to be displayed on a browser of the information processing device, and transmits the web page data to the browser, the determination program being included in the web page data; The image forming system according to claim 8 , wherein the information processing device functions as the determination processing unit by interpreting the determination program by the browser.

10. The image forming system of claim 9, wherein the controller transmits an execution program to the information processing device for causing the information processing device to execute processing related to the remote display control, and the information processing device executes the execution program transmitted by the controller to receive screen data from the image forming device for displaying the remote screen in a browser of the information processing device, and displays the remote screen in the browser of the information processing device.

11. the remote screen includes an exit indicator; when an operation input for the end indicator is received during execution of the remote display control, the information processing device issues a request to the image forming device to end the remote display control; When the controller receives the termination request, the controller terminates the remote display control; The determination processing unit: determining that the remote display control is already being executed by the previous request until the end indicator is operated to end the remote display control; An image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein when the end indicator is operated to end the remote display control, it is not determined that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request.

12. The controller: a control unit for controlling the remote display control based on the start request is operable to receive an operation for prohibiting the execution of the remote display control via the user interface when the start request is made; when it has not been determined by the determination processing unit that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request and an operation for prohibiting execution of the remote display control has been accepted, causing the information processing device to display a first screen, the first screen being a screen for notifying that the remote display control will not be executed; An image forming system as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein when the judgment processing unit determines that the remote display control has already been executed by the previous request, the information processing device is caused to display a second screen, the second screen being a screen different from the first screen and notifying that the remote display control will not be executed.

13. A controller and a user interface, the controller executes a remote display control for causing any one of a plurality of information processing devices to display a remote screen, the remote screen being a screen corresponding to an operation screen displayed on the user interface; the controller determines whether or not the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request when a request to start the remote display control is made, the request to start being a request from any one of the plurality of information processing devices; The controller: When it is determined that the start request has been made by any one of the plurality of information processing devices and that the remote display control has not already been executed by a previous request, the remote display control is executed for the information processing device that has made the start request; An image forming device that does not execute the remote display control targeted at the information processing device that made the start request when the start request has been made by any of the multiple information processing devices and it is determined that the remote display control has already been executed by a previous request.

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