Image processing apparatus, control method, and program

Abstract

To allow a user to easily check the details of an error by seeing an error record.SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus has: first execution means that executes a copying function by using a first setting value set on a setting screen for the copying function displayed on a display unit; first storage means that stores the first setting value used by the first execution means; second execution means that executes a scanning function by using a second setting value set on a setting screen for the scanning function displayed on the display unit; second storage means that stores the second setting value used by the second execution means; and display control means that does not display a first object for displaying the setting screen for the copying function reflecting the first setting value stored in the first storage means and a second object for displaying the setting screen for the scanning function reflecting the second setting value stored in the second storage means, on the setting screen for the copying function and the setting screen for the scanning function, but displays the objects on the home screen of the display unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a job processing apparatus that executes jobs and stores a history of executed jobs.

[0003] For example, there is a job processing apparatus that displays such a job history on a home screen for selecting a copy function or a transmission function (see Patent Document 1).

[0004] By displaying a list of histories in this way, the user can easily check the history of recently executed jobs.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the prior art, the execution history of jobs is displayed on the home screen, but it is not possible to confirm until an error has occurred. Therefore, if the job history is selected without noticing that an error has occurred, the selected job history will be set as a new job setting even though an error has occurred.

[0007] In that state, even if an execution instruction for a job is received, the job execution may be interrupted due to an error.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a job processing apparatus capable of easily confirming that an error has occurred together with a job history on a screen where a copy function or a transmission function can be selected.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] An image processing apparatus having a copy function and a scan function and a display unit, comprising: first execution means for executing a copy function using a first set value set on a copy function setting screen displayed on the display unit; first storage means for storing the first set value used by the first execution means; second execution means for executing a scan function using a second set value set on a scan function setting screen displayed on the display unit; second storage means for storing the second set value used by the second execution means; a first object for displaying a copy function setting screen reflecting the first set value stored in the first storage means; and a second object for displaying a scan function setting screen reflecting the second set value stored in the second storage means, and display control means for displaying the first object and the second object on a home screen of the display unit without displaying them on the copy function setting screen and the scan function setting screen.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] A user can easily confirm that an error has occurred together with a job history on a screen where a copy function or a transmission function can be selected.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims. Also, not all combinations of the features described in this embodiment are essential for the solution means of the present invention.

[0013] [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 which is an example of a job processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] The image processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a display / operation unit 12, an image processing unit 13, a scanner 120, and a printer 121.

[0015] The control unit 10 controls the operations of the respective units of the image processing apparatus 1. The control unit 10 includes a CPU 100, a communication unit 101, a RAM 102, an HDD 103, a ROM 104, a timer 105, a FAX unit 106, a scanner I / F 108, and a printer I / F 109.

[0016] The CPU 100 controls the entire control unit 10. The RAM 102 functions as a work memory for the CPU 100. The HDD 103 stores application programs and image data. The HDD 103 may be, for example, a storage medium such as an optical medium or a flash memory. The ROM 104 stores programs read by the CPU 100, such as a boot program. Also, the HDD 103 may be configured to be detachable from the image processing apparatus 1 as an external storage device.

[0017] The timer 105 manages the clock, is referenced by the CPU 100, and time information is acquired.

[0018] The communication unit 101 is connected to the LAN 11 and controls the transmission and reception of data performed via the LAN 11. The FAX unit 106 is connected to the telephone line 14 and controls the transmission and reception of data performed via the telephone line 14.

[0019] The operation unit 12 includes a display unit 120 with a touch panel sheet attached thereto and an input unit 121 such as hardware keys, and is configured to display a screen and receive operations from the user. In the present embodiment, a liquid crystal display is described as an example of the display unit 120, but other types of displays may also be used. In the present embodiment, a touch panel is described as an example of the input unit 121, but operations by the user may also be received through other interfaces such as a mouse, voice input, and keyboard.

[0020] The image processing unit 13 is controlled by the control unit 10 and includes an image analysis unit 130, an image generation unit 131, and an image output unit 132. The image analysis unit 130 analyzes the structure of the document image and extracts necessary information from the analysis result. The image generation unit 131 reads the document by the scanner 120, digitizes the image of the document, and generates image data. The generated image data is stored in the HDD 103. Also, the image generation unit 131 can generate document image data in another format using the information analyzed by the image analysis unit 130.

[0021] The image processing apparatus 1 has a copy function, a scan function, and a print function. The copy function is a function for executing a copy job of reading a document by the scanner 120 and printing an image on a sheet by the printer 121 based on the image data of the read document. The scan function is a function for executing a transmission job of transmitting the image data generated by reading a document by the scanner 120 by the communication unit 101. The print function is a function for executing a print job of printing an image on a sheet based on print data received from an information processing apparatus such as an external PC via the communication unit 101.

[0022] FIG. 2 is an overview diagram of the operation unit 12 in FIG. 1.

[0023] The touch panel 200 has a touch panel sheet attached to the liquid crystal display here. It displays an operation screen and soft keys, and when a displayed key is selected, it transmits the position information to the CPU 100. Therefore, in this case, the touch panel 200 can be said to function as the display unit 120 in FIG. 1 and also as the input unit 121.

[0024] Next, various keys and buttons operated by the user will be described. The start key 201 is used when instructing the start of the document reading operation by the scanner 120. In the center of the start key 201, there are two-color LEDs 202 in green and red, which indicate whether the start key 201 is available according to their colors. The stop key 203 is used to stop the operating operation. The numeric keypad 204 is composed of number and symbol keys and is used to set the number of copies and to instruct the screen switching of the touch panel 200. The user mode key 205 is used to call the user mode. The user mode is a mode for setting the image processing apparatus 1.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the user login process according to the present embodiment. The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 3 is realized by the CPU 100 reading out the program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 102 and executing it. This flowchart is started according to the startup of the image processing apparatus 1. It is also started when the user logs out from the image processing apparatus 1.

[0026] In S301, the CPU 100 causes the operation unit 12 to display an authentication screen. The screen 200 in FIG. 4 is an example of an authentication screen. The screen in FIG. 4 includes a user name input field 401, a password input field 402, and an OK button.

[0027] In S302, the CPU 100 receives a username and a password from the user via the operation unit 12. When the username is entered in the username input field 401 and the password is entered in the password input field 402, and then OK 403 is pressed, the CPU 100 stores the entered username and password in the HDD 103 and proceeds to S303. In addition to, or instead of, the form of receiving the username and password entered by the user, the username and password may be read from a card.

[0028] In S303, the CPU 100 compares the username and password registered in advance in the HDD 103 for each user with the username and password received in S302, and determines whether they match.

[0029] In S304, if the CPU 100 determines that they match, the CPU 100 determines that the authentication is OK and proceeds to S306. If it determines that they do not match, it proceeds to S305.

[0030] In S305, the CPU 100 causes the operation unit 12 to display an error and proceeds to S301.

[0031] In S306, if the CPU 100 determines in S304 that they match, it proceeds to S306.

[0032] In S307, the CPU 100 allows the user to log in to the image processing apparatus 1.

[0033] In S308, the CPU 100 stores the currently logged-in user.

[0034] In S309, the CPU 100 causes the operation unit 12 to display the screen of the logged-in user.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a home screen for displaying an object for selecting a copy function and an object for selecting a transmission function, which are displayed according to the user logging in to the image processing apparatus 1.

[0036] The home screen includes a menu 500 and an integrated history 509 for each user.

[0037] In the menu 500, function selection buttons (copy button 501, send button 502, FAX button 503) for selecting each function and custom buttons for calling up the settings previously set by the user are displayed. Examples of the custom buttons include a contract document button 504, a request document button 505, and a send-to-self button 506.

[0038] These buttons are displayed in a layout customized by the user based on the information of the user logged in to the image processing apparatus 1. Also, among the buttons, there are my buttons that are displayed only on the home screen of an individual user and shared buttons that are commonly displayed on the home screens of other users.

[0039] The slider bar 507 is a bar that is operated to display buttons that cannot be displayed at once, indicating that this menu 500 can slide and move. By sliding this slider bar, pressing an arrow, or flicking the menu 500, the CPU 100 receives the operation and calls and displays application buttons and custom buttons registered in the next area from the HDD 103.

[0040] Currently, the user name of the user logged in to the image processing apparatus 1 is displayed in the area 508 that displays the user name in the upper right. FIG. 5 shows a state where "User A" is logged in to the image processing apparatus 1.

[0041] The integrated history 509, which will be described in detail later, is an area that automatically registers the execution history of jobs of multiple applications executed by this image processing apparatus 1 together with the job settings, and displays the jobs as history records in chronological order of execution time. The further down in the integrated history 509, the older the execution time of the job, and the further up, the newer the execution time of the job. That is, since the history records of the most recently executed jobs are displayed as one goes up, the user can easily check the history records of the most recently executed jobs without operating the slider bar 507.

[0042] When the user logs in to the image processing apparatus 1, only the history of jobs executed by the logged-in user in the past is displayed in this area of the integrated history 509. If the user has never executed a job, or if the records on the integrated history 509 have been deleted, the display of the area of the integrated history 509 will be empty as shown in Fig. 5(A).

[0043] The control of the subsequent display of the integrated history 509 is to be executed by the CPU 100 based on an application (hereinafter referred to as the integrated history or integrated history application) for displaying the integrated history stored in the HDD 103. Also, the data used in the integrated history is to be stored in the HDD 103.

[0044] Fig. 9 is a flowchart at the time of job execution according to this embodiment. The processing of the flowchart in Fig. 9 is realized by the CPU 100 reading out the program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 102 and executing it. This flowchart starts according to the selection of the copy button 501 of the image processing apparatus 1.

[0045] In S601, the CPU 100 causes the operation unit 12 to display a copy screen. The user makes settings such as the number of copies, monochrome / color setting, single-sided / double-sided reading setting, magnification setting, printing paper setting, etc. via the copy screen. The CPU 100 stores the received settings in the HDD 103. FIG. 10(A) shows the copy screen 200. The copy screen 200 includes a color selection button 703, a magnification setting button 704, a paper selection button 705, a finishing button 706, a double-sided button 707, a density button 708, an original type button 709, and an ID card copy button 710. Also, the copy screen 200 has other function buttons 711, a setting history button 712, and a frequently used setting button 713. The color selection button 703 is a button for setting whether to read the original in color or monochrome. The magnification setting button 704 is a button for performing magnification setting for reading the original and magnifying or reducing the image of the original for printing. The paper selection button 705 is a button for selecting the printing paper. The finishing button 706 is a button for setting whether to sort and print in order from the first page and output without stapling, or to sort and print in order from the first page and staple and output. The double-sided button 707 is a button for setting whether to read only one side of the original or both sides of the original. The density button 708 is a button for setting the density of the printed image. The original type button 709 is a button for selecting whether the type of the original is text, text / photo, or photo. The ID card copy button 710 is a button for setting the ID card copy mode in which the images on the front and back of the original are read and printed side by side on the same side of one printing paper.

[0046] The other function buttons 711 are buttons for setting functions other than the functions described above (for example, a punching function, a background printing function, etc.). The setting history button 712 is a button for displaying the history of copy settings executed in the past. The frequently used setting button 713 is a button for registering, editing, and calling up a screen for displaying the settings frequently used by the user in advance. The home button 714 is a button for returning to the home screen.

[0047] The setting confirmation button 702 is a button for displaying a list in string form of the currently set copy settings.

[0048] In the screen of FIG. 10(A), it can be seen from the area 701 that displays the set values and the displays on each button that the color is black and white, the magnification is 100%, the paper size is automatic, the number of copies is 1, and sorting is set.

[0049] The user makes copy settings in this way, places the original on the scanner 120, and presses the start key 201.

[0050] In S602, the CPU 100 determines whether the start key 201 has been pressed.

[0051] In S603, the CPU 100 reads out the settings received via the copy screen of FIG. 10(A) from the HDD 103, and executes a copy job according to the read settings.

[0052] In S604, the CPU 100 stores the set contents of the executed copy job in the HDD 103 as the execution history of the job. Here, the CPU 100 stores the time information acquired by referring to the timer 105 as the execution history of that job.

[0053] FIG. 12(A) shows an example of the data stored in the memory area of the copy function of the HDD 103 in S604. As shown in the header 801 of the data table in FIG. 12(A), this table records the set values of the application. In the row of the default setting 802 in the first row, the default set values of the copy function are stored, and in the row of the current setting 803 in the second row, the settings of the job executed this time are additionally stored.

[0054] FIG. 13 shows a flow for generating the name of a button to be displayed in the integrated history 509 on the application side. The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 13 is realized by the CPU 100 reading out the program stored in the ROM 104 and executing it in the RAM 102. This flowchart is executed according to the completion of job execution in S604 of FIG. 6.

[0055] After the job in S604 of FIG. 6 ends, in S901, the CPU 100 acquires the data of the integrated history 509 stored in the HDD 103. FIG. 14(A) is a data table stored for the integrated history 509. As shown in the header 1001 of the data table, the button ID, application ID, and data type are stored. Also, the data of the setting values set in the application, or the situation type of the device itself or individual jobs detected in the application, and the text data of the date and time and the setting values or occurrence situations are stored.

[0056] The button ID is an ID for uniquely identifying the history registered in the integrated history 509. The application ID is an ID for identifying which application the job registered in the integrated history 509 was executed by. This application ID is determined in advance for each application, such as "100" for the device's own management application, "101" for copy, "201" for transmission, etc.

[0057] The data type is for identifying the type of the data body described later. "Setting" represents job setting data, and "Situation" represents the situation information data of the device itself or individual jobs.

[0058] The data is the data of the job settings executed by the application. For example, in the copy application, all the functions and setting values set in the application, such as the number of copies, color, paper size, etc., are included.

[0059] The display text consists of a date / time and a set value. The set value is the setting content used in the job or the information necessary for the application to manage the state of the apparatus. As the state of the apparatus, there are the status type of the apparatus itself and the status type of the job. The status type of the apparatus itself is information about the apparatus itself, such as when there is a fault in the fax line as shown in line 1006 of FIG. 15(A). The status type of the job is the status type related to a specific job, such as when an error occurs in the transmission of an e-mail as shown in line 1007 of FIG. 15(B).

[0060] The formats of these various types of data are stored in a format that can be read by the application that registered the data. The date / time of the display text is the date / time when the job was executed or when the application detected the state of the apparatus itself or the job individually, and is the text data displayed on the button of the integrated history 509. The set value of the display text is the text data that picks up the characteristic settings in the settings of the executed job, or the characteristic message representing the state of the apparatus itself or the job individually detected by the application, and this is also displayed on the button of the integrated history 509. This text of the date / time and the set value allows the user to look at the integrated history 509 and remember which job history was executed with which settings.

[0061] When acquiring the data of the integrated history 509 in S901, in S906, the CPU 100 determines whether the state in the image forming apparatus 1 has changed.

[0062] If it is determined that the situation has not changed, next, in S902, the CPU 100 compares the acquired data with the data of the job settings executed this time, and checks whether there is a history of the same setting data in the integration history 509. The reason for comparing the data in the integration history 509 with the setting data executed this time is to avoid duplication of history. If there is duplication, it is conceivable that the limited display area of the integration history 509 will be filled with the same settings. For users who reuse the history, having more variations of settings listed rather than the same settings lined up increases the range of choices. Since there is no data to compare this time, the CPU 100 determines that the current setting data is not in the existing history data. If there is no data with the same history in the integration history 509, in S903, the CPU 100 starts the process of generating the text of the setting value to be displayed in the history.

[0063] Figure 16 is a flow for generating the text of the setting value. The processing of the flowchart in Figure 16 is realized by the CPU 100 reading the program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 102 and executing it.

[0064] First, in S1107, the CPU 100 determines whether the name 1802 of the custom button has been notified from the menu 500 to the application. The name is one of the information to be notified to the application when one of the custom buttons (504 to 506) is selected in the menu 500 and the job is executed, which is explained by the operation of the custom button. If the CPU 100 determines that the name 1802 has been notified, in S1109, the CPU 100 compares the custom setting value with the current setting value. If it is determined that there is no difference, in S1108, the CPU 100 replaces the TXT data with the notified name 1802 and ends the flow. If it is determined in S1107 that the name has not been notified, or if the name has been notified in S1109 but the setting content of the job has been changed from the custom settings, the process proceeds to S1109.

[0065] Also, when the process proceeds from S1107 to S1101, the CPU 100 compares the set value of the job executed this time with the set value of the default setting. Specifically, the CPU 100 makes comparisons in order from the left of the set value items in FIG. 12(A). In the case of this example, the CPU 100 starts comparing from the number of copies. As a result of the comparison, if there is one or more differences, the CPU 100 obtains the text of the set value at S1102. The reason for picking up the differences from the default setting is that it can be assumed that the items where the user intentionally changed the set value are more impressive. In this case, first, since there is a difference in the number of copies, the text of the set value that the CPU 100 first obtains is 2 copies. Next, at S1103, the CPU 100 obtains the length of the text. Since the buttons displayed in the integrated history 509 have limitations on the displayable character strings, at S1104, the CPU 100 checks whether the display upper limit has been reached. If, at this time, the CPU 100 determines that it has exceeded the display upper limit, the text data is not added and the process of generating the display text ends. If the upper limit has not been reached, at S1105, the CPU 100 adds the read text data as the text data of the set value to be displayed in the integrated history 509. If there are still differences in the settings, the process proceeds from S1106 to S1102, and the CPU 100 repeats the processes of S1102 to S1105. Even if there is no more differential setting data before reaching the display upper limit, the generation of the text data ends. In this case, since the duplex setting is the last difference, "2 copies, color, duplex" is generated as the text data, and since there are no more differences, that is the data of the set value text up to that point. Finally, the application ID on the application side executed by the CPU 100 and the current setting data saved in the HDD 103 at S604 in FIG. 6 are saved as data1.xml. Along with that, the generated set value text, the text of the job execution date and time, and the presence / absence of existing data are saved in the HDD 103, and at S904, the CPU 100 transmits their contents to the integrated history 509. The presence / absence of existing data is the result of the comparison at S902.

[0066] In this way, the object to be displayed in the integrated history is registered.

[0067] Next, the case where the process proceeds to S907 in the determination of S906 will be described. For example, when a failure in the fax line is detected, the process proceeds from S906 to S907. The image processing apparatus 1 has a "status monitoring application" for monitoring the status of its own apparatus. The status monitoring application is stored in the HDD 103, read into the RAM 102 by the CPU 100, and executed.

[0068] In S901, the CPU 100 acquires the data of the integrated history 509 stored in the HDD 103. The data table stored for the integrated history 509 is in the state of FIG. 14(E).

[0069] In S906, when the CPU 100 determines that the situation of the image processing apparatus 1 has changed, in S907, the CPU 100 determines whether a new situation has occurred. When it is determined that a new line disconnection has occurred, according to the situation description table shown in FIG. 19(A), from the detected situation type, the status type and the explanatory text to be displayed are acquired. The CPU 100 acquires the status type = "warning" (1404) and the explanation ID = "MSG_ID_FAX_LINEOFF" (1405) with the situation type = "line" (1402) and the status = "disconnection" (1403). The status type = "warning" indicates a state in which the use of the apparatus or an application affected by it is stopped.

[0070] Next, the CPU 100 refers to the correspondence table of the description ID and the display language string shown in FIG. 20 by executing the status monitoring application. Then, according to the obtained description ID = "MSG_ID_FAX_LINEOFF", in S908, the CPU 100 acquires the status TXT = "Please check the fax line." (1503) according to the display language of the operation unit 12. Finally, in S909, the CPU 100 sends the obtained status type = "warning" (1402) and the display string = "Please check the fax line." (1503) as the status TXT to the integrated history. Here, the CPU 100 sends these, together with the application ID, data type, status TXT, date and time TXT, no existing data, and the status type and status, to the integrated history as the status information data = "FAXLINE_ERROR.xml". As a result, the data table stored for the integrated history 509 becomes the state shown in FIG. 15(A), and the screen becomes as shown in FIG. 8(A). In FIG. 8(A), the error record 517 is displayed above the history records 514 to 516 with priority over the other history records 514 to 516. Also, the error record 517 includes an icon prompting attention on the left side.

[0071] Furthermore, if it is detected here that the disconnection of the fax line has disappeared, the CPU 100 generates "line" as the status type and "normal" as the status. Since the status type = "line" already exists in the integrated history 509, the status monitoring application determines that it is not a newly generated status. In S910, the CPU 100 requests the integrated history 509 to delete the information. In S911, it is then determined whether the status has been resolved. If it is not the case in the determination S911 that a status other than the status type = "normal" has been resolved, the same processing as when the new status occurred as described above in S908 is performed. As a result, the status information of the new status will be displayed in the integrated history 509. Since the status type corresponding to the current status type = "line" and status = "normal" is "normal", the CPU 100 determines in S911 that the status has been resolved and ends the processing as it is. As a result, the status display that was being shown in the integrated history 509 also disappears.

[0072] The above has been described in the case where the CPU 100 detects a situation of disconnection of a line. Similarly, it operates in the same manner when an application that inputs a job detects a state that should be notified to the user.

[0073] For example, assume that a copy application is instructed to execute a job with a staple setting that exceeds the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be stapled by the device. Since the operation when the user executes a copy job has already been described, here, only the operation when some situation that should be notified to the user occurs regarding the execution of the copy job will be described.

[0074] First, the copy application reads the original document installed by the user under the set conditions and calculates the total number of sheets to be output. In this example, assume that the copy application determines that the total number of output sheets exceeds the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be stapled. According to this situation, the copy application generates a situation type = "Execution", a status = "Staple count exceeded", and a status type = "Attention". The status type = "Attention" is a status type that does not stop the execution but alerts the user. As a result, in S906, the copy application executed by the CPU 100 determines that the situation has changed. Next, the copy application determines in S907 whether a new situation has occurred. If the status monitoring application determines that the situation type = "Execution" is a newly occurred situation, the copy application obtains the status type and the explanatory text to be displayed from the situation type detected by the copy application according to the situation description table shown in FIG. 19(B). The copy application obtains an explanation ID = "MSG_ID_COPY_STAPLEOVER" (1407) for the situation type = "Execution" (1409) and the status = "Staple count exceeded" (1406). Next, based on the correspondence table of the explanation ID and the display language string shown in FIG. 20, the copy application obtains a situation TXT = "The staple count exceeded." (1505) according to the obtained explanation ID = "MSG_ID_COPY_STAPLEOVER" (1504) to match the display language of the operation panel (S908). Finally, in S909, the copy application sends the obtained status type = "Attention" and the display string = "The staple count exceeded." (1505) as the situation TXT to the integrated history. Here, the copy application sends them to the integrated history as the situation information data = "STAPLEOVER.xml" together with the information of the application ID, data type, situation TXT, date and time TXT, and no existing data (S909). As a result, the data table stored for the integrated history 509 becomes the state shown in FIG. 15(B), and the screen becomes as shown in FIG. 8(B). In FIG. 8(B), the error record 518 is displayed above the history records 514 to 516 with higher priority than the other history records 514 to 516. Also, the error record 517 includes an icon indicating an error in the left part.

[0075] FIG. 17 shows the flow until the integrated history 509 that has received the above setting information data or status information data displays the history.

[0076] In S1201, from the application side executed by the CPU 100, the integrated history 509 executed by the CPU 100 receives the value stored in the HDD 103 in S904 of FIG. 9. Next, in S1202, the CPU 100 determines whether the received data is setting data. If it is determined to be setting data, in S1203, the CPU 100 then checks for the presence / absence of existing data. Since there is no existing data this time, in S1204, the CPU 100 newly adds the data received from the application side to the data table of the integrated history 509. The data received from the application side is added to the data table as shown in FIG. 14(B). If there is existing data, in S1205, the CPU 100 updates only the date.

[0077] If it is determined that the received data is not setting data, in S1206, the CPU 100 then checks for the presence / absence of existing data. If it is determined that there is no existing data, in S1207, the CPU 100 newly adds the data received from the application side to the data table of the integrated history 509. The data received from the application side is added to the data table like the button ID 1003 in FIG. 14(E). If there is existing data, in S1208, the CPU 100 updates only the date.

[0078] Since the screen of the operation unit 12 is still the copy screen, when the home button 714 is selected, the CPU 100 displays the home screen of FIG. 5(B). As shown in FIG. 5(B), the home screen of user A is displayed with the button 510 of the current history displayed in the integrated history 509. In the current history 510, an icon 511 of the application identified from the application ID, a job execution date and time 512, and a text 513 representing the difference from the default settings are displayed. The icon 511 of the application is the icon of the copy job. Note that the icon of the transmission job is displayed like the icon of the history record 515 in FIG. 6(B). This information is important information that helps the user remember what the settings were when viewing the current history 510. When the user wants to execute a job with the same settings, if the user presses this history 510, the CPU 100 performs a process of calling the application with the same settings reflected.

[0079] The flow of calling an application from the integrated history 509 will be described with reference to FIG. 18. The flowchart of FIG. 18 is realized by the CPU 100 reading the program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 102 and executing it.

[0080] When the user selects the history record 510 (also called a history record or an object) of the integrated history 509 in FIG. 5(B) at S1301, the data of the history with the selected button ID is read from the data table of the integrated history 509 stored in the HDD 103. The integrated history 509 determines the target application from the application ID of the read history data, and at S1302, transmits the setting data to that application. Since it is a copy this time, the copy application is called by the CPU 100. At S1303, the copy application operating on the CPU 100 reads the setting values of various settings from the received data, and displays the application screen on the operation unit 12 with the settings reflected. FIG. 10(B) is the copy screen displayed with the settings of the history 510 reflected.

[0081] In this way, by using the integrated history 509, the user can call and use the settings that have been executed once with one touch.

[0082] Next, regarding the case where a job is executed after changing some settings from the settings called from the integrated history 509, an explanation will be given.

[0083] This time, for the previous settings, it is assumed that in S602, only the number of copies is changed to 5 copies, and the user presses the start key 201. In S603, the application operating on the CPU 100 executes a job according to the content of the settings. In S604, the CPU 100 overwrites and saves the settings at the time of job execution as shown in the line 804 of the current settings in the second line of FIG. 12(B). After that, similar to the above description, in the flow of FIG. 13, the data already in the integrated history 509 is compared with the current setting data. Since the current settings are not in the existing data, the text of the setting difference is generated in the flow of FIG. 16, and various data is sent to the integrated history 509. Then, a new setting history is added in the flow of FIG. 17. FIG. 14(C) represents the history in which line 1003 is newly added to the data table. FIG. 6(A) is a screen in which the history 514 is newly displayed in the integrated history 509 of the home. Since the integrated history 509 is sorted in descending order by the execution date and time of the job and displayed side by side, the history of the newly added job is added first in the list as shown in FIG. 6(A).

[0084] In this way, by diverting the job settings once used by the user, the labor of the user's job settings can be reduced.

[0085] In FIG. 6(A), when the history 510 of the first executed copy is selected and the job is executed without changing the settings, it is determined in the determination in S902 of FIG. 13 as to whether there is existing data in the integrated history 509. Therefore, the process of S903 for generating text is not executed. Accordingly, in S905, the date and time text, the information with an existing ID, and the data indicating which button ID in the integrated history 509 it was are sent from the application side to the integrated history 509. Since there is an existing ID, in the process of determining whether there is an existing ID in the process of saving the data of the integrated history 509 in FIG. 17 of S1202, it is determined that there is an existing ID. In S1204, only the date of the data whose button ID matches in FIG. 14(D) is updated and saved by the CPU 100.

[0086] FIG. 14(E) shows the data 1005 whose date has been updated. Since the integrated history 509 displays the history in descending order by date, the history 516 of the previously executed copy becomes the first in the setting history as shown in FIG. 7(A).

[0087] Next, the case where the setting content of the corresponding job is called by selecting the transmission history 515 in FIG. 7(A) and the home screen is returned without executing the job will be described. In this case, since the job has not been executed, the processes after the process of saving the settings in S604 of FIG. 9 are not performed. Therefore, in particular, the update process of the history data is not performed, and the display remains as in FIG. 7(A).

[0088] Next, the flow of calling the application from the integrated history 509 will be described with reference to FIG. 18.

[0089] Assume that the screen is as shown in FIG. 8(A) and the data of the integrated history 509 is as shown in FIG. 15(A).

[0090] When the user presses the error record 517 of the integrated history 509, the integrated history 509 operating on the CPU 100 reads the history data of the button ID = 1004 pressed from the data table shown in FIG. 15(A) of the integrated history 509 stored in the HDD 103. The integrated history 509 determines that the target application is a status monitoring application from the application ID = 100 of the read history data, and in S1302, it sends the situation information data = “FAXLINE_ERROR.xml” to the status monitoring application. The status monitoring application operating on the CPU 100 reads the situation type and status from the received situation information data = “FAXLINE_ERROR.xml”. Then, it checks the current situation of this situation type = “line”, and in S1303, it displays on the touch panel 200 a screen showing guidance for eliminating the situation. FIG. 21 is the status monitoring application screen displayed reflecting the situation of the error record 517.

[0091] In this way, the integrated history 509 allows the user to display the desired situation with a single-touch button.

[0092] Similarly, the user can also display the information of the copy application in the states of FIG. 8(B) and FIG. 15(B) with a single button. This will be described below.

[0093] When the user presses the error record 518 of the integrated history 509, the integrated history 509 operating on the CPU 100 reads the history data of the pressed button ID = 1004 from the data table shown in FIG. 15(B) of the integrated history 509 stored in the HDD 103. The integrated history 509 determines that the target application is a copy application from the application ID = 101 of the read history data, and in S1302, it sends the situation information data = "STAPLEOVER.xml" to the copy application. The copy application operating on the CPU 100 reads the situation type and status from the received situation information data = "STAPLEOVER.xml", and in S1303, it displays on the operation unit 12 a screen corresponding to the situation where the situation type = "execution" and the status = "staple count over". FIG. 21 is the status monitoring application screen displayed reflecting the situation of the error record 518.

[0094] If the copy job is interrupted without paper, the copy application generates a situation type = "execution", a status = "no paper", and a status type = "interruption" (1408), and the integrated history data becomes as shown in FIG. 15(C), and the display becomes as shown in FIG. 8(C). In FIG. 8(C), the error record 519 is displayed above the history records 514 - 516 with priority over the other history records 514 - 516. Also, the error record 519 includes an icon indicating an error on the left side. When the user selects this error record 519, the copy application displays a paper feed stage selection screen as shown in FIG. 11(B). Here, when the user designates a paper feed stage with paper or replenishes paper to the designated paper feed stage, the copy application determines that the no-paper state has been released and starts the interrupted copy job. At the same time, as already explained, since the copy application that detected this change in S907 because the no-paper situation has been resolved requests the integrated history 509 to delete the situation information, and since the situation has been resolved, the process ends as it is. As a result, the integrated history data becomes as shown in FIG. 14(E), the home screen becomes as shown in FIG. 7(A), and the user can see that there is no situation to be processed.

[0095] Next, registration and deletion in the menu of the integrated history 509 will be explained.

[0096] The button displayed in the integrated history 509 displays a context menu 580 for operations on the button itself, as shown in FIG. 7(B), when the user long-presses the button in the history. Regarding the user operation to display the context menu 580, although long-pressing was taken as an example, the method of calling the context menu 580 is not limited to long-pressing, such as double-tapping or arranging a call button. The context menu 580 has context menus such as execute 581, register in menu 582, and delete 583 as operations on the button of the integrated history 509.

[0097] When execute 581 is selected in FIG. 7(B), as already described with reference to FIG. 18, the CPU 100 performs the application call process. When register in menu 582 is selected in FIG. 7(B), the CPU 100 performs a process of registering a custom button as a new button in the left menu 500. Here, processes such as placing the button at a blank in the menu 500 or allowing the user to select the position can be considered for the button to be registered.

[0098] When the user presses delete 583 in FIG. 7(B), the CPU 100 executes a process of deleting the selected history. The CPU 100 deletes the target from the data table of the history order and the data table of the integrated history 509 in FIG. 14, and executes a sorting process based on the date and time of the remaining history.

[0099] When the CPU 100 determines that the button of the selected history 509 is a button for situation information rather than a setting, only execute 581 and delete 583 are displayed without displaying register in menu 582.

[0100] Next, the case where the history records or error records on the integrated history 509 reach the upper limit will be described.

[0101] When job executions with different settings are repeatedly performed and the upper limit of the number of saved integration histories 509 is reached, the CPU 100 performs a process of deleting the old histories from the data table in order. This upper limit is the upper limit of the storage area and is not necessarily the same as the upper limit of the display area. This is because the upper limit of the display area is variable depending on settings such as button size and layout, and whether it is scrollable with a slider bar or flick.

[0102] According to this embodiment, on a screen where the user can select a copy function or a transmission function, the user can check the job history as a history record and easily confirm that an error has occurred based on the error record. Also, since the error record is given priority over the history record and is displayed above the history record, the user can easily notice the error when it occurs. Further, since the error record is displayed together with the date and time when the error occurred, the user can easily check when the error occurred from the error record.

[0103] [Second Embodiment] In the second embodiment, the process when sharing the above-described integrated history data among image processing apparatuses will be described.

[0104] Fig. 22 schematically shows the relationship among image processing apparatuses.

[0105] The image processing apparatus 1, the image processing apparatus 2, and the image processing apparatus 3 are image processing apparatuses each having the functions described so far, and are interconnected by a LAN as shown in the figure.

[0106] The authentication described with reference to Fig. 3 is also interlinked, and a user who can be authenticated by the image processing apparatus 1 can also be authenticated as the same user by the image processing apparatus 2 and the image processing apparatus 3. Assume that the image processing apparatus 1 also has an authentication server function.

[0107] User A is viewing Fig. 8(A) on image processing apparatus 1, and the integrated history data is in the state of Fig. 15(A). When User A logs in to image processing apparatus 2 in this state, if the setting for identifying the user on image processing apparatus 2 is ON, after the main body of image processing apparatus 2 is activated, CPU 100 displays an authentication screen on touch panel 200 (S301). Fig. 4 is the authentication screen displayed on image processing apparatus 2. There are areas for entering the user name 401 and password 402 on the authentication screen. After image processing apparatus 2 displays the authentication screen, it enters a state of waiting for the input of the user name and password (S302). When the user enters the pre-registered user name and password respectively and presses OK button 403, CPU 100 sends this information to image processing apparatus 1. Image processing apparatus 1 compares whether the user name and password stored in HDD 103 match the input user name and password (S303). If the user name and password do not match, image processing apparatus 1 returns an authentication error to image processing apparatus 2 (S304). When CPU 100 of image processing apparatus 2 receives the authentication error, it displays an error message on touch panel 200 and displays the authentication screen again (S305). When image processing apparatus 1 determines that the user name and password match, CPU 100 of image processing apparatus 1 calls the information associated with the user stored in HDD 103 and sends it to image processing apparatus 2 (S306). At that time, when sending the history information data to other devices, the transmission data is generated according to the flow shown in Fig. 18. First, the read position [i] of the history information data and the write position [j] of the transmission data are initialized to 0 (S1801). Next, it is confirmed whether the data [i] of the history information data exists (S1802). If the data [i] exists, the data [i] is read (S1803), and it is confirmed whether the data type is "setting" (S1804). If the data type is "setting", the read data [i] is set in the transfer data [j] (S1805), and the read position [i] of the history information data and the write position [j] of the transmission data are advanced one by one (S1806). If the data type is not "setting", the read position [i] of the history information data is advanced one by one (S1807).After that, it is confirmed whether there is data [i] corresponding to the read position [i] of the updated history information data (S1802). If it is determined that there is no data [i] to be read, the transmission data is transmitted (S1808). When the calling of the information associated with the user is completed in the image processing apparatus 2, the CPU 100 permits the user to log in (S307) and stores it in the HDD 103 of the image processing apparatus 2 as the currently logged-in user (S308). After that, the CPU 100 of the image processing apparatus 2 displays a home screen reflecting the information of the called login user on the touch panel 200 (S309). At this point, the history information data regarding the user A of the image processing apparatus 2 is as shown in FIG. 14(E), and the home screen of the user A is displayed as shown in FIG. 7(A).

[0108] When the user A logs out from the image processing apparatus 2, the user information is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 1 and the user information is updated.

[0109] According to the present embodiment, since the integrated history data described above can be shared between image processing apparatuses, even when using another image processing apparatus, it is possible to check the history records and error records.

[0110] [Third Embodiment] In the above-described embodiment, both the setting data and the situation information data were managed in the same way and distinguished by data type. In the third embodiment, an example in which all the situation information data is deleted when the user logs out is shown.

[0111] Only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[0112] Upon receiving a logout instruction, the CPU 100 first initializes the read position [i] of the history information data and the write position [j] of the saved data to 0 (S1901). Next, it checks whether the data [i] of the history information data exists (S1902). If the data [i] exists, the data [i] is read (S1903), and it is checked whether the data type is "setting" (S1904). If the data type is "setting", the read data [i] is set to the saved data [j] (S1905), and the read position [i] of the history information data and the write position [j] of the saved data are incremented one by one (S1906). If the data type is not "setting", the read position [i] of the history information data is incremented one by one (S1907). After that, it checks whether the data [i] corresponding to the updated read position [i] of the history information data exists (S1902). If it is determined that the data [i] to be read does not exist, the data is overwritten and saved in the saved data (S1908). Thus, if the history information data performs the logout-time integrated history data process in the state of FIG. 15(B) or FIG. 15(C), the data 1006 whose data type is other than setting is not saved. As a result, the history information data is saved in the state of FIG. 14(E).

[0113] When logging in again, the status managed by each application is registered in the integrated history 509. If the history information data before logout is as shown in FIG. 15(A) and the status has not changed, the device-wide status monitoring application registers data similar to the data 1006 as the newly occurred status at that time in the same manner as described in the first embodiment. However, the date and time are the date and time detected as the new status.

[0114] Also, if the history information data before logout is as shown in FIG. 15(B), since the occurrence of the copy job exceeding the staple count has not occurred, the copy application does not register the status, so the history information data starts in the state of FIG. 15(B).

[0115] According to this embodiment, since all situation information data is deleted when the user logs out, it is not necessary to redisplay the situations that the user has once confirmed.

[0116] Also, the object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium recording a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or a CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0117] 100 CPU 102 RAM 103 HDD

Claims

1. An image processing device having a copy function and a scan function and a display unit, a first execution means for executing a copy function using a first setting value set on a setting screen of the copy function displayed on the display unit; a first storage means for storing the first setting value used by the first execution means; a second execution means for executing the scan function using a second setting value set on a setting screen of the scan function displayed on the display unit; a second storage means for storing the second setting value used by the second execution means; an image processing device comprising: a display control means for displaying a first object for displaying a setting screen for a copy function reflecting the first setting value stored in the first storage means, and a second object for displaying a setting screen for a scan function reflecting the second setting value stored in the second storage means, on a home screen of the display unit, but not on the setting screen for the copy function or the setting screen for the scan function.

2. An image processing device having a copy function and a scan function and a display unit, a display control means for displaying a copy object for displaying a setting screen for the copy function and a scan object for displaying a setting screen for the scan function on a predetermined screen of the display unit; a first execution means for executing a copy function using a first setting value set on a setting screen of the copy function displayed on the display unit in response to the copy object; a first storage means for storing the first setting value used by the first execution means; a second execution means for executing the scan function using a second setting value set by a user on a setting screen of the scan function displayed on the display unit in response to the scan object; a second storage means for storing the second setting value used by the second execution means; The image processing device is characterized in that the display control means displays a first object for displaying a setting screen of a copier reflecting the first setting value stored in the first storage means and a second object for displaying a setting screen of a scan function reflecting the second setting value stored in the second storage means on the specified screen, but not on the setting screen of the copy function and the setting screen of the scan function.

3. 3. The image processing device according to claim 2, wherein the copy object is an object that displays a setting screen for a copy function that reflects default setting values, and the scan object is an object that displays a setting screen for a scan function that reflects default setting values.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display control means further displays a third object on the home screen, the third object indicating that there is no paper.

5. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting screen for the copy function accepts color setting, single-sided / double-sided setting, magnification setting, density setting, and paper setting.

6. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first setting values ​​include setting values ​​corresponding to the number of copies, color setting, single-sided / double-sided setting, magnification setting, and paper setting.

7. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means controls display so that a first object displaying a setting screen for a copy function reflecting the same setting value is not displayed multiple times.

8. The image processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the third object includes an icon unique to the third object.

9. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the third object is selected, a screen is displayed to notify the user that there is no paper.

10. The image processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the first object and the second object are deleted from the home screen by a user operation.

11. An image processing device as claimed in any one of claims 4, 8 and 9, characterized in that the first object and the second object are objects for executing a job using an image processing function, and the third object is not an object for executing a job using an image processing function.

12. 12. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays the first object and the second object as a first object group so as to be distinguishable from objects of a second object group.

13. 13 . The image processing device according to claim 1 , wherein a first area in which the first object and the second object are displayed is an area in which the object to be displayed is changed by a user operation.

14. 14. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the copy function is a function of printing an image on paper based on image data of a read document, and the scan function is a function of transmitting image data generated by reading a document.

15. 5 . The image processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the first object and the second object are displayed adjacent to each other, and the third object is displayed above the first object and the second object.

16. An image processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that when the first object is selected, a setting screen for a copy function reflecting the first setting value stored in the first storage means is displayed, and the image processing device executes the copy function when the user gives an execution instruction, and when the second object is selected, a setting screen for a scan function reflecting the second setting value stored in the second storage means is displayed, and the image processing device executes the scan function when the user gives an execution instruction.

17. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the image processing apparatus performs a display that prompts the user to replenish paper based on the selection of the third object.

18. 18. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting screen for the copy function includes an object for executing the copy function, and the setting screen for the scan function includes an object for executing the scan function.

19. A control method executed by an image processing apparatus having a copy function and a scan function and a display unit, comprising: a first execution step of executing a copy function using a first setting value set on a setting screen of the copy function displayed on the display unit; a first storage step of storing the first setting value used in the first execution step; a second execution step of executing the scan function using a second setting value set on a setting screen of the scan function displayed on the display unit; a second storage step of storing the second setting value used in the second execution step; a display control process for displaying a first object for displaying a setting screen for a copy function reflecting the first setting value stored in the first storage process and a second object for displaying a setting screen for a scan function reflecting the second setting value stored in the second storage process on a home screen of the display unit, without displaying the first object on the setting screen for the copy function and the setting screen for the scan function.

20. A control method executed by an image processing apparatus having a copy function and a scan function and a display unit, comprising: a display control step of displaying a copy object for displaying a setting screen for the copy function and a scan object for displaying a setting screen for the scan function on a predetermined screen of the display unit; a first execution step of executing a copy function using a first setting value set on a setting screen of the copy function displayed on the display unit in response to the copy object; a first storage step of storing the first setting value used in the first execution step; a second execution step of executing the scan function using a second setting value set by a user on a setting screen of the scan function displayed on the display unit corresponding to the scan object; a second storage step of storing the second setting value used in the second execution step, The display control process is a control method characterized in that a first object for displaying a setting screen for a copy function reflecting the first setting value stored in the first storage means and a second object for displaying a setting screen for a scan function reflecting the second setting value stored in the second storage means are displayed on the specified screen, but not on the setting screen for the copy function and the setting screen for the scan function.

21. A program for causing a computer to execute each of the means according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

Images