Electronic device, restoration program, and restoration method

Abstract

To provide an electronic device, a restoration program, and a restoration method for restoring a setting value immediately before a setting value input by a specific operator in an electronic device that is expected to be operated by a plurality of operators.SOLUTION: An electronic device comprises: a log file management unit configured to generate a log file linking log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values for at least some of a plurality of setting items with a type of operator who has performed the operation, and store the plurality of log files with execution order thereof being specified; and a setting restoration unit configured to receive a restoration command to cancel an operation having performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator, and restore, for the specific setting item, a setting value immediately preceding the setting value having been input by the specific operator through the operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, a restoration program, and a restoration method for restoring a setting value immediately before a setting value input by an operator. [Background technology]

[0002] At printing companies that print flyers, books, newspapers, etc., when a problem occurs with an image forming device (printing machine), users (employees of the printing company) may perform maintenance themselves to quickly restore the device. If the problem cannot be resolved, a maintenance technician may visit the site to investigate, or an engineer from the image forming device (printing machine) manufacturer may provide remote support to resolve the problem. In this way, multiple parties may work together to change the settings of the image forming device (printing machine), and if a user wants to return the device to a state before the operation performed by each party, it can be cumbersome and time-consuming to record the operation history and then retrace the steps in reverse. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-173679 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-203815 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 1 proposes a method for transferring setting data to multiple devices in a batch, but even if multiple operators are involved, it can only return all settings to the time when the setting data was saved. Patent Document 2 also proposes a method for returning settings to the settings with the most accumulated operation time or number of operations when a problem occurs. This method requires a certain amount of time to accumulate settings, and is not suitable for use in environments where operation details are frequently changed.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device, a restoration program, and a restoration method that restores the setting value immediately before the setting value entered by a specific operator in an electronic device that is expected to be operated by multiple operators. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a log file management unit that generates a log file that associates log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values ​​for at least some of the setting items with the type of operator who performed the operation, and stores the plurality of log files by specifying the order of execution; receiving a restoration command to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator; A setting value immediately before the setting value input by the specific operator for the specific setting item through the operation is restored for the setting item. Configuration restore section and It is equipped with:

[0007] A restoration program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: Electronic equipment computers, a log file management unit that generates a log file that associates log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values ​​for at least some of the setting items with the type of operator who performed the operation, and stores the plurality of log files by specifying the order of execution; receiving a restoration command to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator; A setting value immediately before the setting value input by the specific operator for the specific setting item through the operation is restored for the setting item. Settings Restore Operate as.

[0008] A restoration method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: Electronic equipment computers, generating a log file that associates log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values ​​for at least some of the setting items with the type of operator who performed the operation, and storing the plurality of log files by specifying the order of execution; receiving a restoration command to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator; The setting value immediately before the setting value input by the specific operator for the specific setting item through the operation is restored for the setting item. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, in an electronic device that is expected to be operated by multiple operators, it is possible to restore a setting value immediately before a setting value input by a specific operator.

[0010] The effects described here are not necessarily limited to those described herein, and may be any of the effects described in this disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 shows a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 shows a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] 3 shows an operation flow of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] An example of a log file and restoration is shown below. [Figure 5] An example of a log file and restoration is shown below. [Figure 6] An example of a log file and restoration is shown below. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the electronic device will be described as an image forming apparatus 10 (printing machine, MFP, multifunction peripheral).

[0013] 1. Hardware configuration of image forming device

[0014] FIG. 1 shows the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The image forming apparatus 10 includes a control circuit 100 that constitutes a computer. The control circuit 100 is composed of a processor, such as a CPU 11a (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 11b (Random Access Memory), a ROM 11c (Read Only Memory), and dedicated hardware circuits, and is responsible for overall operational control of the image forming apparatus 10. The CPU 11a loads an information processing program stored in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b and executes it to perform the operations described in the operational flow below and control the display and operational input of the touch panel 17. The ROM 11c permanently stores the programs and data executed by the CPU 11a. The ROM 11c is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.

[0016] The control circuit 100 is connected to an image reading unit 12 (image scanner), an image processing unit 14 (including a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)), an image memory 15, an image forming unit 16 (printer), a touch panel (front panel) 17 which is an operation unit equipped with a display unit 17a, a large-capacity non-volatile storage device 18 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), a facsimile communication unit 19, and a network communication interface 13 (communication unit). The control circuit 100 controls the operation of each of the above-mentioned connected units and transmits and receives signals or data to and from each unit. The operation unit of the touch panel 17 is one form of input device, and a voice input device including a microphone may be provided as the input device.

[0017] 2. Functional configuration of image forming device

[0018] FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus.

[0019] In the control circuit 100 constituting the computer of the image forming device 10, the CPU 11a operates as an operation management unit 110, a log file management unit 120, and a setting restoration unit 130 by loading a restoration program recorded in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b and executing it.

[0020] 3. Operation flow of image forming device

[0021] FIG. 3 shows the operation flow of the image forming apparatus.

[0022] As a premise, the operation management unit 110 creates and updates an operator management list 111. The operator management list 111 is a list of the types of operators who have performed operations on the image forming apparatus 10. The operator type is the type of operator identified, for example, by user authentication (front panel user A, front panel user B) at the time of logging in to the image forming apparatus 10 and / or the type of device (PC, mobile) used to remotely operate the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, the operator type may be distinguished from individual users by the login means even if the means of accessing the image forming apparatus 10 is the same. The operator type (front panel user A, front panel user B, PC, mobile) is uniquely identified by identifiers (U001, U002, U003, U004).

[0023] A user accesses the image forming apparatus 10 via the front panel 17 or a terminal device 20 (such as a personal computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone) and operates the image forming apparatus 10 (step S1). The operation management unit 110 determines the type of operator who performed the operation based on the operator management list 111. Specifically, the operation management unit 110 determines the type of operator based on user authentication at the time of logging in to the image forming apparatus 10 and / or the type of device used to operate the image forming apparatus 10 (step S2).

[0024] The log file management unit 120 generates a log file 121 that links log information with the type of operator who performed the operation. The log information may be an operation log, a job log, an operation log, etc. The log information indicates an operation to input setting values ​​for at least some of the multiple setting items in the image forming apparatus 10. The setting values ​​may be numerical values ​​or binary values ​​such as on / off. The log file management unit 120 stores multiple log files 121 that indicate a series of log information for the image forming apparatus 10 in a specified order of execution (step S3).

[0025] A user accesses the image forming apparatus 10 via the front panel 17 or a terminal device 20 (such as a personal computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone) and inputs a restoration command by operating the image forming apparatus 10. The restoration command is a command for canceling an operation performed by a specific operator, who is an operator of a specific type.

[0026] When the setting restoration unit 130 receives a restoration command (step S4, Yes), it refers to the plurality of log files 121 stored in a specified execution order (step S5), and restores the setting values ​​based on the restoration conditions 131 (step S6).

[0027] FIG. 4 shows an example of a log file and restoration.

[0028] As shown in (A), the initial values ​​are "setting value A=0 / setting value B=0 / setting value C=0." First, an operator identified by type U001 changes setting value A from 0 to 99. Second, an operator identified by type U002 changes setting value B from 0 to 1. Third, an operator identified by type U003 changes setting value A from 99 to 32. After performing operations 1 to 3 in order, the final values ​​are "setting value A=32 / setting value B=1 / setting value C=0."

[0029] A restoration command is input to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is an operator of a specific type U002. The setting restoration unit 130 restores the setting item (setting value B) to the setting value (0) immediately before the setting value (1) input for a specific setting item (setting value B) by the specific operator (operator identified by type U002) through an operation (second operation). In other words, because the specific operator (operator identified by type U002) last changed setting value B (setting value B was not changed in the third operation), the setting restoration unit 130 resets (restores) setting value B from 1 to 0 to return it to the state it was in immediately before the second operation.

[0030] As a result, as shown in (B), the first operation (changing setting value A from 0 to 99) remains, the second operation (changing setting value B from 0 to 1) is canceled, and the third operation (changing setting value A from 99 to 32) remains. As a result, the final values ​​are "setting value A = 32 / setting value B = 0 / setting value C = 0". In particular, if the second operation had not been canceled, "setting value B = 1" would have been the case, but it is restored to "setting value B = 0".

[0031] FIG. 5 shows an example of a log file and restoration.

[0032] As shown in (A), the initial values ​​are "set value A=0 / set value B=0 / set value C=0." First, an operator identified by type U001 changes set value A from 0 to 99. Second, an operator identified by type U002 changes set value B from 0 to 1. Third, an operator identified by type U003 changes set value A from 99 to 32. Fourth, an operator identified by type U003 changes set value B from 1 to 5. After performing the first to fourth operations in order, the final values ​​are "set value A=32 / set value B=5 / set value C=0."

[0033] A restoration command is input to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator of a specific type U002. Meanwhile, after the specific operator (the operator identified by type U002) inputs a setting value (1) for a specific setting item (setting value B) through an operation (second operation), an operator of a different type (an operator identified by type U003) from the specific operator (the operator identified by type U002) inputs a different setting value (5) for the same setting item (setting value B) through a fourth operation. In this case, the setting restoration unit 130 does not restore the setting value (0) for the setting item (setting value B) immediately before the second operation, but maintains the different setting value (5) input through the 45th operation. In other words, the setting restoration unit 130 determines that the specific operator (the operator identified by type U002) is not the one who last changed setting value B (setting value B was further changed in the fourth operation), and therefore there is no need to reset the setting to the state immediately before the second operation.

[0034] As a result, as shown in (B), the first operation (changing setting value A from 0 to 99) remains, the second operation (changing setting value B from 0 to 1) is canceled, the third operation (changing setting value A from 99 to 32) remains, and the fourth operation (changing setting value B from 1 to 5) remains. As a result, the final values ​​are "setting value A = 32 / setting value B = 5 / setting value C = 0". In particular, regardless of whether the second operation (changing setting value B from 0 to 1) is canceled or not, "setting value B = 5" is maintained.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows an example of a log file and restoration.

[0036] As shown in (A), the initial values ​​are "Setting value A = 0 / Setting value B = 0 / Setting value C = 0." First, an operator identified by type U001 changes setting value A from 0 to 99. Second, an operator identified by type U002 changes setting value B from 0 to 1. Third, an operator identified by type U003 changes setting value A from 99 to 32. Suppose there is a process in which "setting value A is copied to setting value C under the condition that setting value B is 1 and the value of setting value A has been changed." Since the third operation satisfies this condition, setting value C is changed from 0 to 32. The final values ​​after operations 1 to 3 are performed in order are "setting value A = 32 / setting value B = 1 / setting value C = 32."

[0037] A restoration command is input to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is an operator of a specific type U002. The setting restoration unit 130 has a restoration condition 131 shown in Fig. 2, which is "if setting value B is changed to 1 in the log to be restored and the value of setting value A is changed in subsequent processing, restore setting value C to its original value."

[0038] In this case, if the setting value (32) of another setting item (setting value C) is automatically changed in association with the operation (second operation) specified in the restoration command, the setting restoration unit 130 restores the setting value (setting value B=0) immediately before the setting value (setting value B=1) input by the operation (second operation) specified in the restoration command for the setting item (setting value C). Furthermore, the setting restoration unit 130 restores the setting value (setting value C=0) immediately before the operation (second operation) specified in the restoration command for the other setting item (setting value C) whose setting value (32) was automatically changed, in accordance with the restoration condition 131.

[0039] As a result, as shown in (B), the first operation (changing setting value A from 0 to 99) remains, the second operation (changing setting value B from 0 to 1) is canceled, the third operation (changing setting value A from 99 to 32) remains, and in accordance with restoration condition 131, the automatic change associated with the third operation (changing setting value C from 0 to 32 by copying setting value A=32 to setting value C) is canceled. As a result, the final values ​​become "setting value A=32 / setting value B=0 / setting value C=0." In particular, if the automatic change due to the condition related to the second operation (changing setting value B from 0 to 1) had not been canceled, the value would have been "setting value C=32," but in accordance with restoration condition 131, it is restored to "setting value C=0."

[0040] 4. Conclusion

[0041] At printing companies that print flyers, books, newspapers, etc., when a problem occurs with an image forming device (printing machine), users (employees of the printing company) may perform maintenance themselves to quickly restore the device. If the problem cannot be resolved, a maintenance technician may visit the site to investigate, or an engineer from the image forming device (printing machine) manufacturer may provide remote support to resolve the problem. In this way, multiple parties may work together to change the settings of the image forming device (printing machine), and if a user wants to return the device to a state before the operation performed by each party, it can be cumbersome and time-consuming to record the operation history and then retrace the steps in reverse.

[0042] In contrast, according to this embodiment, log information (operation log / job log / operation log, etc.) is acquired, and the operator is identified from the operation means (front panel, remote operation device, etc.) or user authentication means, and log information distinguished for each operator is created, and setting values, etc. can be restored to the state before the operation from the log information. Furthermore, the operation contents of multiple operators may be restored collectively, and if there is dependency in the order of operations, this can be taken into consideration when performing restoration.

[0043] According to this embodiment, by using the operator management list, a log file is generated in a format that allows the operator to be identified, and the device can be reset (restored) to the state before the operation by a specific operator. The operator in the operator management list may be identified by user authentication at the time of login. Alternatively, the operator may be determined by the operating means. The operating means may be the type of device used for the operation. When resetting (restoring), the resetting may be performed according to preset restoration conditions.

[0044] Although the embodiments and modified examples of the present technology have been described above, the present technology is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present technology. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] Image forming apparatus 10 Operation management department 110 Log file management unit 120 Setting restoration unit 130

Claims

1. a log file management unit that generates a log file that associates log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values ​​for at least some of the setting items with the type of operator who performed the operation, and stores the plurality of log files by specifying the order of execution; receiving a restoration command to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator; A setting value immediately before the setting value input by the specific operator for the specific setting item through the operation is restored for the setting item. Configuration restore section and An electronic device comprising:

2. 10. The electronic device according to claim 1, The setting restoration unit When the specific operator inputs a setting value for a specific setting item by the operation and then an operator of a type different from the specific operator inputs a different setting value for the same setting item, For the setting item, the different setting value is maintained without restoring the previous setting value. electronic equipment.

3. 10. The electronic device according to claim 1, The setting restoration unit If the setting value for another setting item is automatically changed in conjunction with the operation specified in the restoration command, Restoring the setting value immediately before the setting value input by the operation specified in the restoration command for the setting item; For the other setting item whose setting value was automatically changed, the setting value immediately before the operation specified in the restoration command is restored. electronic equipment.

4. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, an operation management unit that creates and updates an operator management list that is a list of types of operators who have performed the operation, and determines the type of operator who has performed the operation based on the operator management list; The electronic device further comprises:

5. 5. The electronic device according to claim 4, The operation management unit determines the type of operator based on user authentication at the time of login to the electronic device and / or the type of device used to operate the electronic device. electronic equipment.

6. Electronic equipment computers, a log file management unit that generates a log file that associates log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values ​​for at least some of the setting items with the type of operator who performed the operation, and stores the plurality of log files by specifying the order of execution; receiving a restoration command to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator; A setting value immediately before the setting value input by the specific operator for the specific setting item through the operation is restored for the setting item. Settings Restore A recovery program that acts as a

7. Electronic equipment computers, generating a log file that associates log information indicating an operation of inputting setting values ​​for at least some of the setting items with the type of operator who performed the operation, and storing the plurality of log files by specifying the order of execution; receiving a restoration command to cancel an operation performed by a specific operator who is a specific type of operator; A setting value immediately before the setting value input by the specific operator for the specific setting item through the operation is restored for the setting item. How to restore.

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