Image forming system, method for controlling image forming system, and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To solve a problem in which an important function of an image forming apparatus may be inappropriately executed.SOLUTION: An image forming system comprises an image forming apparatus that has executable functions, a management device that sets approval information related to approval of execution of the functions to the image forming apparatus, and a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that can demand an approval request related to execution of the functions from the image forming apparatus. When the approval information includes information in which, for the first information processing apparatus, the number of approvals, and one of the management device and the second information processing apparatus excluding the first information processing apparatus are approved, the image forming apparatus, when the approval request is demanded by the first information processing apparatus, sends the approval request to designated one of the management device and the second information processing apparatus on the basis of the approval information, and executes functions, on condition that the number of replies indicating that execution of the functions are approved in response to the approval request is equal to or more than the number of approvals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming system, a control method for an image forming system, and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, a system has been disclosed in which a management server as a management device notifies an administrator when settings of an important function for an image forming device are changed for execution. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-33529 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-described system, there is a risk that important functions of the image forming device may be improperly performed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The image forming system includes an image forming device having an executable function, a management device that sets approval information related to approval of the execution of the function in the image forming device, and a first information processing device and a second information processing device that can request an approval request for the execution of the function from the image forming device.When the approval information includes, for the first information processing device, an approval number and information designated as being approved by either the management device excluding the first information processing device or the second information processing device, when the image forming device receives the approval request from the first information processing device, the image forming device requests approval from the designated one of the management device and the second information processing device based on the approval information, and executes the function on the condition that the number of replies indicating approval in response to the approval request is equal to or greater than the approval number.

[0006] The image forming system comprises an image forming device having an executable function, a management device that sets approval information related to approval of execution of the function in the image forming device, and at least a first information processing device and a third information processing device that can request the image forming device to execute the function, and when the approval information includes information designated as being approved by at least one of the management device and the first information processing device excluding the third information processing device, when the image forming device is requested to execute the function by the third information processing device, the image forming device requests approval from the designated one of the management device and the first information processing device based on the approval information, and executes the function when the designated one replies to the approval request indicating that it has been approved.

[0007] A control method for an image forming system comprising an image forming device having an executable function, a management device that sets approval information related to approval of execution of the function in the image forming device, and a first information processing device and a second information processing device that can request an approval request for execution of the function from the image forming device, wherein when the approval information includes, for the first information processing device, an approval number and information designated as being approved by either the management device excluding the first information processing device or the second information processing device, when the approval request is requested from the first information processing device, the image forming device makes an approval request to the designated one of the management device and the second information processing device based on the approval information, and executes the function on the condition that the number of replies indicating approval in response to the approval request is equal to or greater than the approval number.

[0008] The image forming device is capable of communicating with a management device, a first information processing device, and a second information processing device, and is equipped with a memory unit and a control unit capable of executing a specified function. The control unit stores approval information in the memory unit regarding approval of the management device's execution of the specified function. When the approval information targets the first information processing device and includes an approval number and information designated as being approved by at least one of the management device and the second information processing device excluding the first information processing device, when the first information processing device requests execution of the specified function or an approval request, the image forming device makes an approval request to the management device or the specified second information processing device based on the approval information stored in the memory unit, and when the number of replies indicating approval in response to the approval request becomes equal to or exceeds the approval number, the image forming device executes the specified function. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system. [Figure 2] FIG. 3 is a state transition diagram showing control according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a first screen of the management device when making settings according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a state transition diagram showing control according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a second screen of the management device when making settings according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] 1. Image formation system configuration As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 1 according to the embodiment includes a first information processing device 10, a second information processing device 20, a third information processing device 30, a management device 40, and an image forming device 50. The first information processing device 10, the second information processing device 20, and the third information processing device 30 are managed by respective administrators who use the image forming device 50. Hereinafter, the administrators of the first information processing device 10, the second information processing device 20, and the third information processing device 30 will be referred to as the first administrator, the second administrator, and the third administrator, respectively. Hereinafter, the administrator of the management device 40 will be referred to as the upper-level administrator. The upper-level administrator can use the management device 40 to manage the image forming device 50 with priority over other administrators and other information processing devices.

[0011] These devices that make up the image forming system 1 are connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) 2, which is a communication network within a limited range, such as within a company, and are capable of communicating with each other. The LAN 2 may be a WAN (Wide Area Network), such as the Internet. Each of these devices is assigned a unique communication address, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address, and can communicate by specifying the IP address of the communication destination. These devices can communicate using protocols such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).

[0012] The first information processing device 10 includes a first control unit 11, a first communication unit 12, a first storage unit 13, and a first input / output unit . The first control unit 11 comprehensively controls each unit of the first information processing device 10. The first control unit 11 is configured to include a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU is also called a processor.

[0013] The first storage unit 13 includes a memory such as a flash ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a volatile memory. The first control unit 11 reads out a program stored in the flash ROM of the first storage unit 13, and executes the program using the RAM of the first storage unit 13 as a working area. The first storage unit 13 of the first information processing device 10 also stores a web browser and the like. The first control unit 11 can read out the web browser from the first storage unit 13 and execute it.

[0014] The first communication unit 12 of the first information processing device 10 includes a circuit that can communicate with the LAN 2 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The first communication unit 12 is capable of communicating with other devices constituting the image forming system 1 via the LAN 2. Although the first information processing device 10 transmits and receives data to and from a communication destination through the first communication unit 12, in the following description, for the sake of simplicity, the transmission and reception through the first communication unit 12 will be omitted. Furthermore, although the first communication unit 12 communicates via the LAN 2, in the following description, the transmission and reception through the LAN 2 will be omitted.

[0015] The first input / output unit 14 of the first information processing device 10 is a user interface for the first administrator. The first input / output unit 14 is, for example, a touch panel display. The first input / output unit 14 includes a display panel as an output unit that displays various information, and a detection panel as an input unit. The detection panel is configured to be overlaid on the display panel, and detects the operation of a person's finger using a method such as a capacitance method, a resistive film method, or an optical method. In the first input / output unit 14, the input unit may be a keyboard or a mouse, and the output unit may be a stand-type liquid crystal display.

[0016] The second information processing device 20 includes a second control unit 21, a second communication unit 22, a second storage unit 23, and a second input / output unit 24. These components of the second information processing device 20 are almost the same as those of the first information processing device 10, and therefore, a description of the components will be omitted. When the second information processing device 20 sends and receives data to and from a communication destination, it does so via LAN2 using the second communication unit 22. However, as in the case of the first information processing device 10, the following description will omit the sending and receiving via LAN2 using the second communication unit 22.

[0017] The third information processing device 30 includes a third control unit 31, a third communication unit 32, a third storage unit 33, and a third input / output unit 34. These components of the third information processing device 30 are almost the same as those of the first information processing device 10, and therefore, description of the components will be omitted. When the third information processing device 30 sends and receives data to and from a communication destination, it does so via LAN2 using the third communication unit 32. However, as in the case of the first information processing device 10, the following description will omit the sending and receiving via LAN2 using the third communication unit 32.

[0018] The management device 40 includes a fourth control unit 41, a fourth communication unit 42, a fourth storage unit 43, and a fourth input / output unit 44. These components of the management device 40 are almost the same as those of the first information processing device 10, and therefore a description of the components will be omitted. When the management device 40 sends and receives data to and from the communication destination, it does so via LAN2 using the fourth communication unit 42. However, as in the case of the first information processing device 10, the following description will omit the sending and receiving via LAN2 using the fourth communication unit 42.

[0019] The image forming device 50 includes a fifth control unit 51, a fifth communication unit 52, and a fifth storage unit 53. These components of the image forming device 50 are almost the same as those of the first information processing device 10, and therefore, description of the components will be omitted. When the image forming device 50 sends and receives data to and from a communication destination, it does so via LAN2 using the fifth communication unit 52. However, as in the case of the first information processing device 10, the following description will omit the sending and receiving via LAN2 using the fifth communication unit 52.

[0020] Furthermore, the image forming device 50 is equipped with a printing unit 54 including a head and a transport mechanism, and is capable of printing on a medium. The head may be of any type, such as an inkjet type, a thermal type, or a laser type. The image forming device 50 is also equipped with an image acquisition unit 55 having an image sensor such as a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and is capable of acquiring an image of the medium.

[0021] Furthermore, the fifth storage unit 53 of the image forming apparatus 50 also stores firmware that controls the printing unit 54 and the image acquisition unit 55. The fifth control unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 50 can read and execute the firmware from the fifth storage unit 53 to control the printing unit 54 and the image acquisition unit 55. The image forming device 50 can have the functions of a scanner, a copier, a fax, etc. in addition to the function of a printer by including the printing unit 54 and the image acquisition unit 55. Such an image forming device 50 is also called a multifunction device. The image forming apparatus 50 may include an input / output unit such as a touch panel display.

[0022] The fifth storage unit 53 of the image forming apparatus 50 also stores various web pages. The fifth control unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 50 can read and provide web pages from the fifth storage unit 53 in response to requests from other devices. In this way, the fifth control unit 51 also functions as a so-called web server 51a. In this case, the other devices function as so-called web clients. The fifth storage unit 53 also stores the IP addresses of other devices. The fifth control unit 51 can read the IP addresses of other devices from the fifth storage unit 53 and not only send and receive emails but also act as an intermediary between the other devices to send and receive emails. In this way, the fifth control unit 51 also functions as a so-called mail server 51b.

[0023] As described above, each device constituting the image forming system 1, including the image forming device 50, can execute a web browser. These devices can then send and receive web pages and various information input to web pages. In the following description, it will be omitted that these devices execute a web browser and perform each process.

[0024] The image forming apparatus 50 also has various executable functions. The fifth storage unit 53 of the image forming apparatus 50 stores various functions, such as a print function, a network function, a copy function, and a scan function, which can be read and executed by the fifth control unit 51. Specifically, based on a request from another device, the fifth control unit 51 of the image forming device 50 can refer to the fifth memory unit 53 and execute the requested function, such as by rewriting and changing parameters corresponding to the request.

[0025] Incidentally, some of these functions, such as the network function, are important functions for the image forming device 50, and if a change to parameters is made, the image forming device 50 may be unable to communicate depending on the content of the change. Also, among the print functions, there are important functions, such as a function to initialize parameters. When an initialization function is executed in the image forming device 50, for example, the paper size may change, and the administrator using the image forming device 50 may not be able to print as intended.

[0026] Suppose a higher-level administrator who manages the image forming apparatus 50 grants the first administrator the authority to execute the important function described above. In this case, there is a risk that the first administrator may execute this important function by mistake. There is also a risk that a third party who does not have the authority to use the image forming apparatus 50 or execute the function may somehow obtain the authority granted to the first administrator and execute the important function.

[0027] Therefore, the image forming apparatus 50 performs an approval process before executing the predetermined function. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 50 stores predetermined approval information 53a in the fifth storage unit 53, reads it out, and performs the predetermined approval process. The predetermined approval information 53a is information related to approval of the execution of the predetermined function. The fifth control unit 51 of the image forming device 50 refers to predetermined approval information 53a corresponding to the predetermined function stored in the fifth storage unit when it receives a request to execute a predetermined function or a request for predetermined approval from another device such as the first information processing device 10. The fifth control unit 51 can perform predetermined approval processing based on the predetermined approval information 53a.

[0028] The fifth control unit 51 executes a predetermined function when the condition of the predetermined approval information 53a is satisfied as a result of the predetermined approval process. On the other hand, the fifth control unit 51 does not execute a predetermined function when the condition of the predetermined approval information 53a is not satisfied. In this way, the fifth control unit 51 can prevent a third party or the first administrator from mistakenly executing an important function by using the approval information 53a.

[0029] In the following description, the storage of approval information 53a in fifth storage unit 53 by fifth control unit 51 of image forming apparatus 50 under the control of management device 40 is also referred to as setting approval information 53a. As described above, the administrator who can set the approval information 53a in the image forming device 50 is called a higher-level administrator. On the other hand, the first administrator, second administrator, and third administrator who cannot set the approval information 53a in the image forming device 50 are also called lower-level administrators. Similarly, the management device 40 that can set the approval information 53a in the image forming device 50 is also referred to as a higher-level management device. On the other hand, the first information processing device 10, the second information processing device 20, and the third information processing device 30 that cannot set the approval information 53a in the image forming device 50 are also referred to as lower-level management devices.

[0030] 2. Control of the image forming system of the first embodiment 2 and 3, the control of the image forming system 1 of the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, first, a higher-level manager designates a lower-level manager and sets the approval information 53a for the image forming device 50. That is, the higher-level manager designates a lower-level manager and sets the approval information 53a for the image forming device 50. In the following description, the first control unit 11 of the first information processing device 10, the second control unit 21 of the second information processing device 20, the third control unit 31 of the third information processing device 30, the fourth control unit 41 of the management device 40, and the fifth control unit 51 of the image forming device 50, which includes the functions of the web server 51a and the mail server 51b, actually execute the respective processes. However, for the sake of simplicity, the following description will omit the execution of each control unit.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, first, the upper manager operates the management device 40 to request the image forming device 50 to set the approval information 53a related to the lower management device corresponding to the lower manager (S101). For example, the upper-level administrator operates the fourth input / output unit 44 of the management device 40 to access a portal site provided by the image forming device 50 and acquire a web page. The management device 40 displays the acquired web page via the fourth input / output unit 44.

[0032] 3 shows an example of a web page for setting approval information 53a, which is acquired and displayed by management device 40 from image forming device 50. A higher-level administrator can input approval information 53a into the web page shown on first screen S1 using fourth input / output unit 44. The approval information 53a entered on the first screen S1 is information related to the approval of the lower management device corresponding to the lower manager. In the example of the first screen S1, the lower manager is the "first manager" and the corresponding lower management device is the first information processing device 10. The management device 40 can transmit the input approval information 53a to the image forming device 50 and request the image forming device 50 to set the approval information 53a.

[0033] As shown in the first screen S1 of FIG. 3, first, the upper-level administrator specifies, as approval information 53a, the items of the target person who is going to execute the function. Next, the upper level administrator inputs items such as the function of the image forming device 50, whether the approval setting is enabled / disabled, whether an approver is designated / all, whether a specific approver is designated if an approver is designated as described above, and the number of approvers, which is the number of approvals, as approval information 53a related to this target person.

[0034] The upper level administrator inputs the approval information 53a by checking and selecting each item or by inputting characters. In addition, when the first administrator, second administrator, third administrator, or higher-level administrator is specified as the target or approver, the corresponding first information processing device 10, second information processing device 20, third information processing device 30, and management device 40 are also specified.

[0035] In the example of the first screen S1 in Figure 3, the approval information 53a is entered for each item as follows: the target person is "first administrator," the function of the image forming device 50 is "function A," the approval setting is "enabled," the approver is "specified," the specifically designated approvers are "senior administrator" and "second administrator," and the number of approvers is "2." Examples of functions that can be entered include print function, network function, copy function, scan function, etc. Furthermore, it is also possible to add items subordinate to each of these functions, and for example, in the details of the print function, it is possible to include items of detailed functions such as an initialization function. The management device 40 transmits the approval information 53a entered on the web page to the image forming device 50, and requests the image forming device 50 to set the approval information 53a.

[0036] In the example of the first screen S1 in Fig. 3, the target of the approval information 53a is the "first administrator." The upper-level administrator does not necessarily need to designate the "first administrator" who is requesting the execution of "function A" as the approver. When "first administrator" is checked as a target person item, the check box can be hidden so that "first administrator" is not specified as an approver item, as in the first screen S1 of Fig. 3. In this way, the target "first administrator" and the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the "first administrator" can be excluded from the approvers of the approval information 53a.

[0037] Also, if you check "All" as the approver, "Supervisor Administrator," "First Administrator," "Second Administrator," and "Third Administrator" will all be automatically checked in the approver field, and designated all at once. In other words, the management device 40 can specify, as approval information 53a, all of the components that make up the image forming system 1, including the management device 40, the first information processing device 10, the second information processing device 20, and the third information processing device 30, which correspond to each approver, except for the image forming device 50. In this case, too, the "first administrator" who is the target of the approval information 53a and the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the "first administrator" may not be designated.

[0038] In addition, in the approval information 53a, the number of approvers is set to be equal to or less than the number of approvers specified in the approver field. In the above example, the number of approvers is "2," which is the same as the number of "upper manager" and "second manager" specifically specified in the approver field. On the first screen S1 of FIG. 3, if an attempt is made to enter more than "2" as the number of approvers, the web page may display an error message and prevent the entry. In this way, in the approval information 53a, the number of approvers can be specified as being equal to or less than the number of approvers specified in the approver item as those who will approve.

[0039] The fifth storage unit 53 of the image forming apparatus 50 stores names such as a higher-level manager, a first manager, a second manager, and a third manager, in association with their respective IDs (Identifications). Furthermore, the fifth memory unit 53 stores the IDs of the higher-level administrator, the first administrator, the second administrator, and the third administrator, in correspondence with the IP addresses of the management device 40, the first information processing device 10, the second information processing device 20, and the third information processing device 30.

[0040] The image forming device 50 can refer to the fifth storage unit 53 to identify the devices and IP addresses corresponding to the target person and approver shown on the first screen S1 of FIG. For example, when the first administrator is designated, the image forming apparatus 50 refers to the fifth storage unit 53, identifies the corresponding first information processing apparatus 10, and can also identify the corresponding IP address. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 can communicate with the first information processing apparatus 10 using the identified IP address.

[0041] 2, the image forming apparatus 50 executes the setting in response to the setting request of the approval information 53a from the management apparatus 40 (S102). That is, the image forming apparatus 50 stores the received approval information 53a in the fifth storage unit 53, and can execute the setting. Next, the first administrator wishes to execute "function A" on the image forming apparatus 50 and operates the first information processing apparatus 10. The first information processing apparatus 10 requests the image forming apparatus 50 to execute "function A" (S103).

[0042] Specifically, the first administrator operates the first input / output unit 14 of the first information processing device 10, accesses the portal site provided by the image forming device 50, acquires a Web page, and makes a predetermined input. The first information processing device 10 can request the execution of "function A" based on a predetermined input to a web page related to the execution of "function A."

[0043] Based on receiving the execution request for "function A" from the first information processing device 10, the image forming device 50 can determine that the target person is the "first administrator" corresponding to the first information processing device 10. The image forming device 50 can also determine that the target function is "function A." Then, the image forming device 50 reads out the above-mentioned approval information 53a corresponding to the "first administrator" and also corresponding to "function A" from the fifth storage unit 53. The image forming device 50 may notify the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the "first administrator" of the read approval information 53a by email (S104). The first information processing device 10 can display the approval information 53a using the first input / output unit 14, so that the "first administrator" can visually confirm it.

[0044] Based on the read approval information 53a, the image forming device 50 can determine that the approval setting is "valid" and that the approvers are designated as the "upper administrator" and the "second administrator." In this way, the approval information 53a includes the approval setting, which is information that validates or invalidates an approval request to the management device 40 or the second information processing device 20, whichever is designated.

[0045] The image forming device 50 requests approval from the management device 40 corresponding to the designated "superordinate administrator" (S105). The approval request includes a web page related to the approval. The management device 40 receives the approval request and acquires the web page from the image forming device 50. The management device 40 replies with information indicating the approval entered by the "superordinate administrator" via the acquired web page (S106). The approval request may be sent by email. The management device 40 can also acquire a web page from the image forming device 50 using a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) linked to the email. The following approval requests may also be sent by email.

[0046] Similarly, the image forming apparatus 50 requests approval from the second information processing apparatus 20 corresponding to the "second administrator" (S107). The second information processing apparatus 20 replies with approval via a web page acquired from the image forming apparatus 50 (S108). In this way, the image forming device 50 receives replies of approval from the management device 40 corresponding to the "upper manager" and the second information processing device 20 corresponding to the "second manager" who are designated as approvers. The image forming device 50 can determine that approval has been received from these approvers designated in the approval information 53a.

[0047] Furthermore, the image forming device 50 can determine that it has received approval from the "higher-level administrator" and the "second administrator," and that the number of approvers is "2," which is equal to or greater than the number of approvers specified in the approval information 53a. The image forming device 50 can then determine that the conditions in the approval information 53a related to "function A" requested for execution by the "first administrator," including the number of approvers, are met. When the image forming apparatus 50 determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are satisfied, it can determine that the execution of "function A" requested by the first information processing apparatus 10 is approved (S109).

[0048] The image forming device 50 notifies the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the "first administrator" that it approves the execution of "function A" (S110). The notification may include information indicating whether or not to execute "function A." The notification here is information indicating that "function A" will be executed. The notification may be sent by email. The first information processing device 10 can display the information of approval contained in the received notification via the first input / output unit 14, so that the "first administrator" can visually confirm it. In this way, the image forming device 50 can notify the first information processing device 10 of information including whether or not to execute "Function A" based on the result of comparing the number of replies indicating approval for the approval request with the number of approvers in the approval information 53a. When the image forming apparatus 50 determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are satisfied, it executes "function A" (S111).

[0049] In this way, the image forming device 50 has multiple functions, and the management device 40 can set the approval information 53a to include information specifying "function A," which is one important function among the multiple functions. When the image forming apparatus 50 determines that any of the conditions in the approval information 53a is not satisfied, the image forming apparatus 50 can not approve or execute the execution of "function A," which is an important function requested by the first information processing apparatus 10. Note that the notification in this case is information indicating that "function A" will not be executed.

[0050] For example, if the execution request is made by someone other than the "first administrator" or by someone other than "function A," the image forming device 50 determines that the conditions in the approval information 53a are not met. Also, if there is no approval reply from at least one of the "higher-level administrator" and the "second administrator," or if the number of approvers is less than "2," the image forming device 50 determines that the conditions in the approval information 53a are not met. In these cases, the image forming apparatus 50 does not approve or execute the execution of "function A." The image forming apparatus 50 issues a notification indicating that "function A" will not be executed.

[0051] In the above description, the first information processing device 10 requests the image forming device 50 to execute "function A" (S103). At this time, the first information processing device 10 may request an approval request for the execution of "function A" instead of the request for the execution of "function A." As described below, the first information processing device 10 may request an approval request for the execution of "function A" and then request the execution of "function A."

[0052] In this case, similarly to the above, the image forming device 50 that has received the approval request requests approval from the management device 40 and the second information processing device 20. The image forming device 50 receives replies indicating approval from the management device 40 and the second information processing device 20 and determines that the conditions in the approval information 53a have been met. The image forming device 50 determines whether to approve the execution of "function A" requested by the first information processing device 10, and notifies the first information processing device 10. The notification may be by email. The first administrator can know that the execution of "function A" has been approved. The first administrator can also know whether or not "function A" can be executed. If the image forming apparatus 50 determines that any of the conditions in the approval information 53a is not satisfied, it does not approve or execute the execution of "function A."

[0053] Here, the first information processing device 10 that has received the notification requests the image forming device 50 to execute "function A." The image forming apparatus 50 that has received the request to execute "function A" determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are satisfied, and is therefore able to execute "function A." For example, focusing on the number of approvers in the approval information 53a, when the image forming device 50 determines that the number of replies indicating approval in response to an approval request is equal to or greater than the number of approvers in the approval information 53a, the image forming device 50 can notify the first information processing device 10 that execution of "function A" is possible. Next, when the image forming device 50 is requested by the first information processing device 10 to execute "function A," the image forming device 50 can execute "function A." The same applies when the conditions of other approval information 53a are satisfied.

[0054] Note that the image forming device 50 can process in the same way even if any item other than the above-mentioned approval information 53a is set. For example, in the above description, the image forming device 50 can process in the same way even if a target other than "first administrator" is specified in the approval information 53a. The same is true if a function other than "function A" is specified in the approval information 53a. The same is true if multiple functions are specified. The same is true if another approver is specified as the approver in the approval information 53a, and the same is true if the number of approvers is specified as other than "2". The image forming device 50 can also process any combination of these in the same way as described above.

[0055] On the other hand, if "invalid" is specified as the approval setting in the approval information 53a or if the number of approvers is set to "0," the image forming device 50 does not request approval. When the image forming device 50 receives a request to execute "function A" from any device, it executes "function A" without determining whether the conditions in the approval information 53a are met.

[0056] As described above, the image forming device 50 can not execute a function if the conditions of the set approval information 53a are not met. This is useful when there is an important function. As described above, the image forming device 50 can not execute this important function even if requested by the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the "first administrator." For example, if there is not approval from the number of approvers equal to or greater than the number specified by the approval information 53a, the image forming device 50 determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are not met. The image forming device 50 may not execute the requested function even if a request is made from the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the specified "first administrator," for example. Similarly, when a request is made from a device other than the first information processing device 10, the image forming device 50 determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are not met, and does not execute the requested function.

[0057] For example, in the first embodiment, among the items of the approval information 53a shown on the first screen S1 of Figure 3, the target item and the function item related to the request to execute a function are, in other words, items that specify the target for execution of the function. On the other hand, among the items of the approval information 53a shown on the first screen S1, items related to the approval request of the image forming device 50, such as whether the approval setting is enabled / disabled, whether an approver is specified / all, the specification of a specific approver if an approver is specified, and the number of approvers, are, in other words, items that specify the conditions for approval.

[0058] 3. Control of the image forming system of the second embodiment Control of the image forming system 1 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In the second embodiment, first, the upper-level manager specifies the functions of the image forming device 50 and sets the approval information 53a. That is, the upper-level manager specifies the functions of the image forming device 50 and sets the approval information 53a. In the following description of the second embodiment, the same content as in the first embodiment will be omitted, and the description will focus on the content that is different from the first embodiment.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 4, first, the upper-level administrator operates the management device 40 to request the image forming device 50 to set the approval information 53a related to the functions of the image forming device 50 (S201). 5 shows an example of a web page for setting approval information 53a, which is acquired and displayed by management device 40 from image forming device 50. Management device 40 inputs approval information 53a into the web page shown in second screen S2 and transmits it to image forming device 50, requesting that approval information 53a be set. The input approval information 53a is information related to approval of functions of image forming device 50.

[0060] 5, first, the upper-level administrator specifies, as approval information 53a, the function items of the image forming apparatus 50. Next, the upper-level administrator inputs, as approval information 53a related to the function, the items specified by the approver. In the example of the second screen S2, the approval information 53a is entered by specifying the function of the image forming device 50 as "Function A" and the approver as "Supervisor Administrator," "First Administrator," and "Second Administrator" for each item. The management device 40 transmits the approval information 53a entered on the web page to the image forming device 50, and requests the image forming device 50 to set the approval information 53a.

[0061] 4, the image forming apparatus 50 executes the setting in response to the setting request of the approval information 53a from the management apparatus 40 (S202). That is, the image forming apparatus 50 stores the received approval information 53a in the fifth storage unit 53 and executes the setting. Next, the third administrator wishes to execute "function A" on the image forming apparatus 50 and operates the third information processing apparatus 30. The third information processing apparatus 30 requests the image forming apparatus 50 to execute "function A" (S203).

[0062] The image forming apparatus 50 can determine that the target function is "function A" based on receiving the execution request for "function A" from the third information processing apparatus 30. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 reads out the above-mentioned approval information 53a corresponding to "function A" from the fifth storage unit 53. The image forming apparatus 50 may notify the third information processing apparatus 30, which has requested the execution of "function A," of the read approval information 53a by email (S204). The third information processing apparatus 30 can display the approval information 53a by the third input / output unit 34, so that the third administrator can visually confirm it.

[0063] Based on the approval information 53a, the image forming apparatus 50 can determine that the approver is designated as a "superior manager," a "first manager," or a "second manager." The image forming device 50 requests approval from the management device 40 corresponding to the "superordinate administrator" (S205). The management device 40 replies with the approval entered by the "superordinate administrator" via a web page acquired from the image forming device 50 (S206). The approval request may be sent by email. The management device 40 can obtain a web page from the image forming device 50 using a URL linked to the email. The following approval requests may also be sent by email.

[0064] Similarly, the image forming apparatus 50 requests approval from the first information processing apparatus 10 corresponding to the "first administrator" (S207). The first information processing apparatus 10 replies with approval via a web page acquired from the image forming apparatus 50 (S208). Similarly, the image forming apparatus 50 requests approval from the second information processing apparatus 20 corresponding to the "second administrator" (S209). The second information processing apparatus 20 replies with approval via a web page acquired from the image forming apparatus 50 (S210).

[0065] The image forming device 50 has received replies of approval from all of the management device 40 corresponding to the "higher-level administrator," the first information processing device 10 corresponding to the "first administrator," and the second information processing device 20 corresponding to the "second administrator," who are designated as approvers. The image forming device 50 can determine that approval has been received from all approvers specified in the approval information 53a. The image forming device 50 can determine that the conditions in the approval information 53a related to "function A" requested to be executed by the "third administrator" have been met. When the image forming apparatus 50 determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are satisfied, it can determine that the execution of "function A" requested by the third information processing apparatus 30 is approved (S211).

[0066] The image forming device 50 notifies the third information processing device 30 corresponding to the "third administrator" that it approves the execution of "function A" (S212). The notification may include information on whether or not to execute "function A." The notification here is information including the execution of "function A." The notification may be sent by email. The third information processing device 30 can display the information of approval contained in the received notification via the third input / output unit 34, so that the "third administrator" can visually confirm it. If the image forming apparatus 50 determines that the conditions in the approval information 53a are satisfied, it executes "function A" (S213).

[0067] Furthermore, for example, the approver of the approval information 53a may be specified as at least one of the "higher-level administrator" excluding the "third administrator" who makes the execution request and the "first administrator." In this case, the approval information 53a may also include information specified as the device corresponding to the approver to be approved by at least one of the management device 40 excluding the third information processing device 30 and the first information processing device 10. When the image forming device 50 is requested by the third information processing device 30 to execute "function A," the image forming device 50 requests approval from the management device 40 and a designated one of the first information processing device 10 based on the approval information 53a. When the designated one replies in response to the approval request that approval has been granted, the image forming device 50 executes "function A."

[0068] In this way, the image forming device 50 has a plurality of functions, and the management device 40 can include, as the approval information 53a, information specifying "function A," which is one important function among the plurality of functions. If the image forming device 50 determines that any of the conditions in the approval information 53a is not met, it will not approve or execute the important function "Function A" requested by the third information processing device 30. For example, if the image forming apparatus 50 does not receive a reply from any of the designated people indicating that they have been approved in response to the approval request, the image forming apparatus 50 will not approve or execute the execution of "function A."

[0069] In the above description, the third information processing device 30 requests the image forming device 50 to execute "function A" (S203). At this time, the third information processing device 30 may request an approval request for the execution of "function A" instead of the request for the execution of "function A." As described below, the third information processing device 30 may request an approval request for the execution of "function A" and then request the execution of "function A."

[0070] In this case, similarly to the above, the image forming device 50 that has received the approval request requests approval from the management device 40, the first information processing device 10, and the second information processing device 20. The image forming device 50 receives replies of approval from the management device 40, the first information processing device 10, and the second information processing device 20, respectively, and determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a have been met. The image forming device 50 determines that it approves the execution of "function A" for which approval has been requested by the third information processing device 30, and notifies the third information processing device 30. The third administrator can know that the execution of "function A" has been approved. The third administrator can also know whether or not "function A" can be executed.

[0071] Here, the third information processing device 30 that has received the notification requests the image forming device 50 to execute "function A." The image forming apparatus 50 that has received the request to execute "function A" determines that the conditions of the approval information 53a are satisfied, and is therefore able to execute "function A."

[0072] In the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the approval information 53a does not specify the item of the target person who is going to execute the function. Therefore, even if the "first administrator" and the "second administrator" other than the "third administrator" request the execution of "function A," the image forming device 50 processes the request in the same way as in the case of the "third administrator" described above. In the above description, the target function of the image forming device 50 is described as "function A" in the approval information 53a, but the image forming device 50 can process the same if a function other than "function A" is specified. The same applies when multiple functions are specified. The same applies when another approver is specified as the approver in the approval information 53a. In addition, the image forming apparatus 50 can perform the same processing in the case of these combinations.

[0073] On the other hand, for function B, which is not specified in the approval information 53a, the image forming device 50 does not determine whether the conditions in the approval information 53a are met, and executes function B when it receives a request to execute function B from any device.

[0074] For example, in the second embodiment, among the items of the approval information 53a shown on the second screen S2 of Figure 5, the item specifying a specific function related to a request to execute a function is, in other words, also an item specifying the target of the function to be executed. On the other hand, among the items of the approval information 53a shown on the second screen S2, the item specifying the specific approver related to the approval request of the image forming device 50 is, in other words, an item specifying the conditions for approval.

[0075] As described above, the image forming system 1 of the embodiment includes an image forming device 50 having executable functions, a management device 40 that sets approval information 53a related to approval of execution of the function in the image forming device 50, and a first information processing device 10 and a second information processing device 20 that can request approval for execution of the function from the image forming device 50. The approval information 53a is intended for the first information processing device 10 and includes the number of approvals and information designated as being approved by either the management device 40 excluding the first information processing device 10 or the second information processing device 20.

[0076] In this case, when the image forming apparatus 50 receives an approval request from the first information processing apparatus 10, the image forming apparatus 50 sends an approval request to the management apparatus 40 or the second information processing apparatus 20, whichever is specified, based on the approval information 53a. The image forming apparatus 50 executes the requested function on the condition that the number of replies indicating that approval has been given to the approval request is equal to or greater than the number of approvals in the approval information 53a.

[0077] In this way, in the image forming system 1, if the image forming device 50 has an important function, the image forming device 50 will not execute the function in response to a request from the first information processing device 10 unless approval is obtained from the number of approved information processing devices specified, such as the second information processing device 20. It is possible to prevent the first information processing device 10 from mistakenly causing the image forming device 50 to execute an important function. It is also impossible for a third party's information processing device to cause the image forming device 50 to execute a function.

[0078] As described above, the present embodiment has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and may be changed, replaced, deleted, etc. as long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. For example, the image forming system 1 may be configured to include one or more of the first information processing device 10, the second information processing device 20, and the third information processing device 30, in addition to the management device 40 and the image forming device 50. The image forming system 1 may include only one of these information processing devices, or may include any combination of two of these information processing devices. Furthermore, the image forming system 1 may be configured to include four or more information processing devices, including yet another information processing device.

[0079] In the above example, each device is managed by a different administrator. The image forming device 50 may store the login information of each administrator, such as the administrator name, user name, and password, in the fifth storage unit 53. Each piece of login information may be stored in association with the approval information 53a. That is, the image forming device 50 can refer to the corresponding approval information 53a based on the login information of a lower-level administrator who has logged in from a web page and determine whether to execute a function requested by the lower-level administrator.

[0080] In this case, the image forming device 50 makes a decision based on the login information of the lower-level administrator, so each device does not need to be linked to each administrator, and each device does not need to correspond one-to-one to each administrator. The image forming device 50 does not need to be specified as the first information processing device 10, the third information processing device 30, etc. The first information processing device 10 to the third information processing device 30 may be any combination, and the lower-level administrator may log in to any information processing device.

[0081] For example, there may be only one first information processing device 10, and multiple lower-level administrators may log in to the image forming device 50 using the same first information processing device 10 at different times to request the execution of a function. Furthermore, the lower-level administrator may directly log in to the image forming apparatus 50 using an input / output unit such as a touch panel display of the image forming apparatus 50 and request the execution of a function. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1...image forming system, 2...LAN, 10...first information processing device, 11...first control unit, 12...first communication unit, 13...first memory unit, 14...first input / output unit, 20...second information processing device, 30...third information processing device, 40...management device, 50...image forming device, 51...fifth control unit, 51a...web server, 51b...mail server, 52...fifth communication unit, 53...fifth memory unit, 53a...approval information, 54...printing unit, 55...image acquisition unit, S1...first screen, S2...second screen.

Claims

1. an image forming device having an executable function; a management device that sets approval information related to approval of execution of the function in the image forming device; an image forming system including a first information processing device and a second information processing device capable of requesting approval for execution of the function from the image forming device, When the approval information includes, for the first information processing device, the number of approvals, and information designated as approvals by any of the management device excluding the first information processing device and the second information processing device, the image forming apparatus, When the approval request is received from the first information processing device, an approval request is sent to a designated one of the management device and the second information processing device based on the approval information; The image forming system executes the function on the condition that the number of replies indicating that the approval has been given in response to the approval request is equal to or greater than the number of approvals.

2. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein in the approval information, the number of approvals is equal to or less than a number designated as approvals.

3. The image forming apparatus has a plurality of the functions, The image forming system according to claim 1 , wherein the management device includes, as the approval information, information specifying one of the plurality of functions.

4. The image forming system of claim 1, wherein the image forming device notifies the first information processing device of information including whether or not to execute the function based on the result of comparing the number of replies indicating approval for the approval request with the number of approvals.

5. The image forming system of claim 1, wherein the management device includes, as the approval information, information that allows all of the components of the image forming system to be specified at once, including the management device, the first information processing device, and the second information processing device, excluding the image forming device.

6. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the management device includes, as the approval information, information for validating or invalidating the approval request to a specified one of the management device and the second information processing device.

7. 5. The image forming system of claim 4, wherein the image forming device notifies the first information processing device when the number of replies indicating approval for the approval request exceeds the approval number, and when the first information processing device requests the execution of the function, the image forming device executes the function.

8. an image forming device having an executable function; a management device that sets approval information related to approval of execution of the function in the image forming device; an image forming system including at least a first information processing device and a third information processing device capable of requesting the image forming device to execute the function, When the approval information includes information designated as being approved by at least one of the management device excluding the third information processing device and the first information processing device, the image forming apparatus, When the execution of the function is requested from the third information processing device, an approval request is made to the management device and a designated one of the first information processing device based on the approval information; The image forming system executes the function when a reply indicating approval is received from the designated person in response to the approval request.

9. A control method for an image forming system including an image forming device having an executable function, a management device that sets approval information related to approval for execution of the function in the image forming device, and a first information processing device and a second information processing device that are capable of requesting approval for execution of the function from the image forming device, When the approval information includes, for the first information processing device, the number of approvals, and information designated as approvals by any of the management device excluding the first information processing device and the second information processing device, the image forming apparatus, When the approval request is received from the first information processing device, an approval request is sent to a designated one of the management device and the second information processing device based on the approval information; The control method for an image forming system executes the function on the condition that the number of replies indicating that the approval request has been approved is equal to or greater than the number of approvals.

10. capable of communicating with the management device, the first information processing device, and the second information processing device; A memory unit; a control unit capable of executing a predetermined function, The control unit storing approval information related to approval of the execution of the predetermined function by the management device in the storage unit; When the approval information is targeted at the first information processing device and includes the number of approvals and information designated as approvals by at least one of the management device excluding the first information processing device and the second information processing device, When the first information processing device requests execution of the predetermined function or an approval request, the first information processing device requests approval from a designated one of the management device and the second information processing device based on the approval information stored in the storage unit; The image forming apparatus executes the predetermined function when the number of replies indicating that the approval request has been approved reaches or exceeds the number of approvals.

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