Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To ensure security and input accuracy in inputting a voice instruction by uttering voice.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus (1) comprises: a receiving unit (103) that receives a manual input instruction through an operating unit (47) and a voice instruction through a microphone (22); and a control unit (100) that executes a job on the basis of settings received by the receiving unit (103). The control unit (100) switches between a manual input dedicated mode in which only the manual input instruction is received by the receiving unit and a voice input possible mode in which the voice input and the manual input instruction are received by the receiving unit. When an operating screen (SC3) for receiving input of information, the input of which by the voice instruction is prohibited in advance, is displayed on a display (101) by a display control unit (SC2), the control unit switches to the manual input dedicated mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of voice instruction.

Background Art

[0002] Some image forming apparatuses such as copiers and multifunction devices are equipped with an operation panel for users to perform manual input operations. By operating via the operation panel, a user can select one function from a plurality of functions (for example, a copying function, a scanner function, a facsimile function), or can perform settings for the functions.

[0003] In addition, various image forming apparatuses that enable voice instruction have been proposed and put into practical use. For example, Patent Document 1 below describes reflecting the content of voice instruction in job settings, and Patent Document 2 below describes narrowing down job history information intended by a user from among a plurality of job history information based on keywords included in the user voice.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0005] However, during voice input, the content uttered by the user is likely to be transmitted to the surroundings. If the operation content is merely function selection or setting, there is no problem even if it is transmitted to the surroundings, but it is not preferable in terms of security that personal information such as user ID and password is transmitted to the surroundings. Also, in voice input, the accuracy of the input may not be maintained, and there may be cases where accurate instructions cannot be input. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 above do not disclose any means for solving the problem during voice input.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to ensure security and input accuracy when voice for voice instructions is uttered and input.

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, a display unit, a display control unit that causes the display unit to display an operation screen, an operation unit that receives a manual input instruction by a user's manual operation, a voice input unit that receives voice input from the user, a reception unit that receives a voice instruction based on the voice input to the voice input unit and the manual input instruction, and a control unit that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus based on the manual input instruction and the voice instruction received by the reception unit and executes a job. The control unit switches between a manual input only mode in which only the manual input instruction is received by the reception unit and a voice input enabled mode in which the voice instruction and the manual input instruction are received by the reception unit. When the operation screen for receiving input of information for which input by the voice instruction is prohibited in advance is displayed on the display unit by the display control unit, the control unit switches to the manual input only mode. When the display control unit displays both an input item that receives the voice instruction and an input item that receives only the manual input instruction on the operation screen, the display control unit adds and displays an image or a message indicating that voice input is not received for the input item that receives only the manual input instruction. The control unit switches to the voice input enabled mode in advance, and the reception unit does not receive the voice instruction indicating information for which input by the voice instruction is prohibited in advance, and receives the voice instruction indicating information other than the information for which input by the voice instruction is prohibited in advance.

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to ensure security and input accuracy when voice for voice instructions is uttered and input.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function, and includes a document feeder 6, a document reader 5, an image forming unit 12, a fixing unit 13, a paper feeding unit 14, a storage unit 8, a human sensor 21, an operation unit 47, a facsimile communication unit 71, a network interface unit 91, a microphone 22, and a speaker 23.

[0011] The original document feeding unit 6 is configured to be openable and closable by hinges (not shown) on the upper surface of the original document reading unit 5. When reading the original document placed on the platen glass (not shown), the original document feeding unit 6 functions as an original document pressing cover. Further, the original document feeding unit 6 is what is called an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) or a DP (Document Processor), includes an original document placement tray 61, and feeds the original documents placed on the original document placement tray 61 one by one to the original document reading unit 5.

[0012] A case where an original document reading operation is performed in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The original document reading unit 5 optically reads the image of the original document supplied to the original document reading unit 5 by the original document feeding unit 6 or the original document placed on the platen glass, and generates image data. The image data generated by the original document reading unit 5 is stored in an image memory (not shown) or the like.

[0013] A case where an image forming operation is performed in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. Based on the image data generated by the original document reading operation and the image data received from a computer as an external device (for example, a personal computer) connected to the network, the image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on the recording paper as a recording medium fed from the paper feeding unit 14.

[0014] The fixing unit 13 heats and presses the recording paper on which the toner image is formed by the image forming unit 12 to fix the toner image on the recording paper, and the recording paper subjected to the fixing process is discharged to the discharge tray 151. The paper feeding unit 14 includes a plurality of paper feeding cassettes 141.

[0015] The storage unit 8 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various control programs and the like.

[0016] The human presence sensor 21 detects a person approaching the image forming apparatus 1. As the human presence sensor 21, for example, a sensor that detects infrared rays emitted by a human body is used.

[0017] The operation unit 47 receives instructions such as an image forming operation execution instruction from the operator regarding various operations and processes that the image forming apparatus 1 can execute. The operation unit 47 includes a display unit 473 that displays operation guidance and the like to the operator. Further, the operation unit 47 receives an input of an instruction from the user based on an operation (touch operation) by the user on the operation screen displayed on the display unit 473 or an operation by the user on a physical key via the touch panel provided in the display unit 473.

[0018] The display unit 473 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like. The display unit 473 is provided with a touch panel. When the operator performs an operation of touching a button or a key displayed on the screen, an instruction associated with the touched position is received by the touch panel.

[0019] The facsimile communication unit 71 includes an encoding / multiplexing, modulation / demodulation unit and an NCU (Network Control Unit), which are not shown in the figure, and performs facsimile transmission and reception using a public telephone network or the like.

[0020] The network interface unit 91 is a communication interface that performs transmission and reception of various data with an external device (for example, a personal computer) within a local area or on the Internet.

[0021] The microphone 22 collects sounds around the image forming apparatus 1 and converts them into electrical signals (voice data). Note that the microphone 22 is provided at an appropriate location where it is easy to collect the voice of the user speaking, for example, on the operation unit 47.

[0022] The speaker 23 outputs various sounds such as an operation sound and an effect sound when operating the operation unit 47, a guidance voice explaining the operation method, and a warning sound when a trouble occurs in the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the speaker 23 is provided at a location where it cannot be seen from the outside of the image forming apparatus 1, for example, inside the operation unit 47.

[0023] The control unit 10 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 10 includes a control section 100, a display control section 101, a voice analysis section 102, and a reception section 103.

[0024] The control unit 10 functions as the control section 100, the display control section 101, the voice analysis section 102, and the reception section 103 by the operation of the processor according to the control program stored in the storage section 8. However, these control sections 100, etc. can also be configured by hardware circuits respectively without depending on the operation according to the control program by the control unit 10. The same applies to each embodiment hereinafter unless otherwise particularly mentioned.

[0025] The control section 100 is in charge of the overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 1. The control section 100 is connected to the document feeder 6, the document reading section 5, the image forming section 12, the fixing section 13, the paper feeding section 14, the storage section 8, the human sensor 21, the operation section 47, the facsimile communication section 71, the network interface section 91, the microphone 22, and the speaker 23, and performs drive control and the like of these sections. For example, the control section 100 controls the operation of the image forming section 12 and the like to form the document image obtained by reading by the document reading section 5 on the recording paper as the recording medium.

[0026] In addition, when the presence sensor 21 detects an approaching person, the control unit 100 controls the microphone 22 to turn it on, enabling voice input to the microphone 22. When a predetermined time (e.g., 30 seconds) elapses after the presence sensor 21 stops detecting an approaching person, the control unit 100 controls the microphone 22 to turn it off. Note that the control unit 100 can also switch the microphone 22 on and off according to an instruction input to the operation unit 47.

[0027] The display control unit 101 controls the display on the display unit 473. For example, the display control unit 101 displays a selection screen on the display unit 473 for allowing the user to select a function to be executed from among a plurality of functions executable by the image forming apparatus 1, and also displays a setting screen on the display unit 473 for receiving an input related to the setting of each function, which is at a lower hierarchical level than the selection screen.

[0028] FIGS. 3(A) and (B) are diagrams showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 473. The operation screen SC1 shown in FIG. 3(A) is a selection screen for allowing the user to select a function to be executed from among a plurality of functions executable by the image forming apparatus 1. Buttons such as a "Copy" button, a "Send (Scanner Function)" button, and a "Fax (Facsimile Function)" button are displayed on the operation screen SC1. Note that the operation screen SC1 as the selection screen is also the "Home" screen. When the user presses the "Copy" button, a copy function selection instruction is received by the operation unit 47, and the control unit 100 causes the operation screen SC2 shown in FIG. 3(B) to be displayed on the display unit 473 according to this instruction.

[0029] The operation screen SC2 is displayed on the display unit 473 as a lower hierarchical level than the "Home" screen. The operation screen SC2 is a setting screen for receiving an input related to the setting of the "Copy" function. Six buttons marked "Paper Selection", "Color Selection", "Page Aggregation", "Reduce / Enlarge", "Double-Sided / Split", and "Staple / Punch" are displayed in the central part of the setting screen for the "Copy" function. These buttons are images for receiving settings related to the "Copy" function.

[0030] On the operation screen SC1 shown in FIG. 3(A) and the operation screen SC2 shown in FIG. 3(B) (in the upper left in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B)), a symbol G1 with a design of a microphone is displayed. The display of the symbol G1 indicates that voice input to the microphone 22 is possible. That is, when the control unit 100 turns on the microphone 22 and makes the microphone 22 in a state where voice input is possible, the control unit 100 causes the symbol G1 to be displayed on the operation screen SC2.

[0031] On the other hand, when the control unit 100 turns off the microphone 22 and makes the microphone 22 in a state where voice input is impossible, as shown in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) as an example, on the operation screen SC1 and the operation screen SC2 (in the upper left in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B)), a symbol G2 in which an image of "×" is superimposed on the symbol G1 with a design of a microphone is displayed.

[0032] The voice analysis unit 102 converts the electrical signal (voice data) converted by the microphone 22 into text data using an existing voice recognition technology, and analyzes the text data using an existing natural language processing technology, thereby recognizing a voice instruction by the user.

[0033] The reception unit 103 receives, as an instruction from the user, an instruction input by a manual input operation via the operation unit 47 (including a touch panel) for the currently displayed screen on the display unit 473, and a voice instruction (analysis result by the voice analysis unit 102) recognized by the voice analysis unit 102 via the microphone 22. The control unit 100 executes a job according to the content of the instruction received by the reception unit 103.

[0034] The display control unit 101 displays on the display unit 473 a setting screen that shows the content indicated by the instruction input by manual operation or the voice instruction. For example, when the operation screen SC2 as the setting screen shown in FIG. 3(B) is displayed on the display unit 473, the user inputs an instruction to set "paper selection" to "A4", "color selection" to "black and white", and "page collation" to "2in1" via the operation unit 47, and the reception unit 103 receives these instructions. At this time, the display control unit 101 displays on the display unit 473 an operation screen SC2 (setting screen) that switches the setting of "paper selection" from "automatic" to "A4", the setting of "color selection" from "full color" to "black and white", and "page collation" from "off" to "2in1" and is displayed as shown in FIG. 5.

[0035] When the operation screen SC1 shown in FIG. 3(A) is displayed on the display unit 473 and the user utters the keyword "black and white copy" and the reception unit 103 receives these voice instructions via the speaker 23 and the voice analysis unit 102, the display control unit 101 displays the operation screen SC2 as shown in FIG. 6 on the display unit 473.

[0036] The control unit 100 switches between a manual input exclusive mode in which only the manual input instruction input by the operation of the operation unit 47 is received by the reception unit 103, and a voice input enabled mode in which the voice instruction and the manual input instruction are received by the reception unit 103. Here, as a method for the control unit 100 to prevent the reception unit 103 from receiving a voice instruction in the manual input exclusive mode, (i) turning off the microphone 22 so that only the manual input instruction is received by the reception unit 103, or (ii) preventing the reception unit 103 from receiving a voice instruction obtained by analyzing the voice input to the turned-on microphone 22 by the voice analysis unit 102 may be either one. When an operation screen for receiving an input of information for which input by voice instruction is prohibited in advance is displayed on the display unit 473 by the display control unit 101, the control unit 100 switches to the manual input exclusive mode. The information for which input by the above voice instruction is prohibited in advance is, for example, predetermined voice input prohibited information such as inappropriate phrase content that is not preferable to leak (for example, user ID or password, etc.), and / or instruction content for which the accuracy of input cannot be maintained by voice input and an accurate instruction cannot be input (for example, email address as an email transmission destination, IP address as a data transmission destination, etc.). The information for which input by the above voice instruction is prohibited in advance is hereinafter referred to as voice input prohibited information.

[0037] When switched to the voice input enabled mode, the display control unit 101 displays an image or a message indicating that a voice instruction is received on the operation screen displayed on the display unit 473. On the other hand, when switched to the manual input exclusive mode, the display control unit 101 displays an image or a message indicating that a voice instruction is not received on the operation screen displayed on the display unit 473.

[0038] As shown in the example of FIG. 7, when the authentication screen SC3 for requesting the input of the user ID and password is displayed on the display unit 473, the control unit 100 switches the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 to the manual input only mode, and the reception unit 103 is set to a state where it does not accept voice instructions for the user ID and password and accepts only manual input operations. Further, the display control unit 101 displays, on the authentication screen SC3, a symbol G2 in which an "x" is superimposed on the icon of the microphone, indicating that these operation targets do not accept voice instructions. The authentication screen SC3 may be displayed when performing system settings other than at the time of login. Also, when performing private printing, the input of the password is requested, and in this case as well, the same authentication screen SC3 is displayed.

[0039] Next, an example of the processing performed by the control unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 8. This processing is processing performed when the operation screen displayed on the display unit 473 is switched. As an initial setting, the control unit 100 switches the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 to the voice input enabled mode.

[0040] When the operation screen of the display unit 473 is switched by the display control unit 101, the control unit 100 determines whether the switched operation screen is an operation screen for accepting the input of the voice input prohibition information (S1).

[0041] Here, when the control unit 100 determines that the switched operation screen is an operation screen for accepting the input of the voice input prohibition information (S1 "Yes"), the control unit 100 switches the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 to the manual input only mode (S2), and the reception unit 103 is set to a state where it does not accept voice instructions for the user ID and password and accepts only manual input operations.

[0042] At this time, as shown in the example of FIG. 7, the display control unit 101 causes an image or a message indicating that voice instructions cannot be accepted to be displayed on the operation screen (S3).

[0043] On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that the operation screen after switching is not an operation screen for receiving input of the voice input prohibition information (S1 “No”), the control unit 100 keeps the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 in the voice input enabled mode (S4). After that, the process ends.

[0044] As described above, according to the above embodiment, when an operation screen for receiving input of the voice input prohibition information, for example, private information (confidential information) such as a user ID or a password, is displayed on the display unit 473, the reception unit 103 does not receive a voice instruction and receives only a manual input instruction. Therefore, the user does not voice personal information such as a user ID or a password, and it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information and ensure security. Further, when an operation screen for receiving, as the voice input prohibition information, destination information for data transmission, such as an e-mail address as an e-mail transmission destination or an IP address as a data transmission destination, is displayed on the display unit 473, the reception unit 103 does not receive a voice instruction and receives only a manual input instruction. Therefore, the user manually operates the operation unit 47 to input the destination information, and the accuracy of the input of the destination information (instruction content) is maintained, and the information (instruction) can be accurately input.

[0045] Furthermore, a further embodiment will be described. The display control unit 101 may display both an input item for receiving a voice instruction and an input item for receiving only a manual input instruction on the operation screen of the display unit 473 (for example, the operation screen SC1 shown in FIG. 3(A)). When the display control unit 101 displays such an operation screen on the display unit 473, for the input item for receiving only a manual input instruction, an image or a message indicating that voice input is not received is added and displayed.

[0046] For example, as shown in FIG. 9 which shows an example of the operation screen SC4, the display control unit 101 causes the operation screen SC4 to display a symbol of a microphone G1 on the buttons of "Copy", "Send", "Fax", and "User Box" that accept voice instructions. On the other hand, for the buttons of "System Settings" and "Internet" that do not accept voice instructions, a symbol G2 in which an "×" is superimposed on the microphone symbol is displayed as an image indicating that voice input is not accepted.

[0047] When such an operation screen SC4 is displayed, the control unit 100 switches the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 to a voice input enabled mode. Based on the content of the voice information input from the voice analysis unit 102, the reception unit 103 performs a process of not receiving a voice instruction indicating voice input prohibition information and receiving a voice instruction other than the voice input prohibition information.

[0048] Subsequently, a further embodiment will be described. The control unit 100 stores the total number of received voice instructions and manual input instructions received by the reception unit 103. Then, when the operation screen serving as the initial screen is displayed on the display unit 473 by the display control unit 101, the control unit 100 switches the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 to the mode in which the total number of received instructions is larger between the manual input only mode and the voice input enabled mode. However, also in this case, the reception unit 103 does not receive a voice instruction for the input of voice input prohibition information and receives only a manual input instruction. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve the convenience by switching to the mode that the user frequently uses when the initial screen is displayed, while ensuring the security and input accuracy of the information to be input.

[0049] Note that the case where the voice data collected and converted by the microphone 22 is analyzed by the voice analysis unit 102 in the image forming apparatus 1 has been described so far. As a further embodiment, a speaker having an AI (artificial intelligence) assistant function with a built-in microphone, called a smart speaker, may be adopted to collect the user's voice with the speaker, and the image forming apparatus 1 may use the speaker as a voice input unit so that the reception unit 103 receives the voice analysis result from the speaker.

[0050] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. Further, in the above embodiment, the configurations and processes shown by the above embodiment using FIGS. 1 to 9 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the configurations and processes.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, A display unit; A display control unit that displays an operation screen on the display unit; an operation unit into which a manual input instruction is input by a user's manual operation; a voice input unit for inputting voice from a user; a reception unit that receives a voice instruction based on the voice input to the voice input unit and the manually input instruction; a control unit that controls an operation of the image forming apparatus based on the manual input instruction and the voice instruction received by the reception unit to execute a job, The control unit is switching between a manual input only mode in which only the manual input instruction is accepted by the accepting unit and a voice input enabled mode in which both the voice instruction and the manual input instruction are accepted by the accepting unit; When the operation screen for receiving input of information for which input by voice instruction has been prohibited in advance is displayed on the display unit by the display control unit, the image forming apparatus switches to the manual input only mode.

2. When the control unit switches to the manual input only mode, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display control unit causes the operation screen to display an image or a message indicating that the voice instruction cannot be accepted.

3. when displaying both the input item that accepts the voice instruction and the input item that accepts only the manual input instruction on the operation screen, the display control unit displays the input item that accepts only the manual input instruction with an image or a message indicating that voice input is not accepted; The control unit switches to the voice input enabled mode, 2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the accepting unit does not accept the voice instruction indicating information that is prohibited in advance from being input by the voice instruction, and accepts the voice instruction indicating information other than information that is prohibited in advance from being input by the voice instruction.

4. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores a total number of received voice instructions and manual input instructions received by the receiving unit, and when the operation screen to be used as an initial screen is displayed on the display unit by the display control unit, the control unit switches to either the manual input only mode or the voice input enabled mode, whichever has the greater total number of received instructions.

5. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information that is prohibited from being input by voice instruction in advance is private information necessary for authentication, or information on a destination of data transmission.

Images