Information providing device, information providing method, and information providing program

Abstract

An information providing device is provided that can automatically provide information on how to deal with errors in electrical equipment and / or how to handle electrical equipment. [Solution] The information providing device 1 includes a device information acquisition unit 11 that acquires device information from an electrical device 30 in which the device information is stored, an error information acquisition unit 13 that acquires error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device 30, and a desired information acquisition unit 14 that acquires desired information desired by the user for the electrical device 30 based on the device information and the error information.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing device, an information providing method, and an information providing program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a method has been known in which an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral and a mobile communication terminal device are provided with a short-range wireless communication means and data is transmitted and received using the short-range wireless communication. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a method of forming an image using a mobile terminal equipped with a short-range wireless communication means.

[0003] In the image forming method of Patent Document 1, an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag provided in an image forming apparatus contains an application identifier and a device identifier as tag information. In this image forming method, a mobile application corresponding to the application identifier is launched on a mobile terminal, and job data to be executed by the image forming apparatus is created via the mobile application. The created data is then sent to the image forming apparatus identified by the device identifier, causing the job to be executed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2077824 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, errors may occur when using an image forming device. Furthermore, as image forming devices become more multifunctional, an instruction manual may be required when using the image forming device. However, while the image forming method of Patent Document 1 transmits and receives data between the image forming device and a mobile terminal, it does not take into consideration how to deal with errors in the image forming device and / or how to transmit and receive information related to the operation of the image forming device. Therefore, when dealing with errors in the image forming device and / or checking how to operate the image forming device, there is still a problem in that the only way to deal with errors in the image forming device and / or how to check the operation of the image forming device is to manually input and search for the model number of the image forming device and keywords for the desired information.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an information providing device, an information providing method, and an information providing program that can automatically provide information regarding how to deal with errors in electrical equipment and / or how to handle electrical equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The information providing device of the present invention includes a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information from an electrical device in which the device information is stored, an error information acquisition unit that acquires error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device, and a desired information acquisition unit that acquires desired information desired by a user for the electrical device based on the device information and the error information.

[0008] In addition, the information providing method of the present invention includes a device information acquisition step of acquiring device information from an electrical device in which the device information is stored, an error information acquisition step of acquiring error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device, and a desired information acquisition step of acquiring desired information desired by the user for the electrical device based on the device information and the error information.

[0009] In addition, the information provision program of the present invention causes a computer to execute processing including a device information acquisition step of acquiring device information from an electrical device in which the device information is stored, an error information acquisition step of acquiring error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device, and a desired information acquisition step of acquiring desired information desired by the user for the electrical device based on the device information and the error information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the information providing device, the information providing method, and the information providing program of the present invention, it is possible to automatically provide information on how to deal with errors in electrical devices and / or how to handle electrical devices. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram showing functions of an information providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference characters and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0013] An information providing device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a network system according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the functions of the information providing device 1 according to this embodiment.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, an information providing device 1 is connected to an electric device 30 and a server device 40 via a computer network 2 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network).

[0015] The electrical device 30 is, for example, an image forming device such as a printer, scanner, facsimile, copier, or multifunction device. An NFC tag 31 is attached to the electrical device 30, storing device information about the electrical device 30. The electrical device 30 also includes a display unit 32 that allows the user to check the operation details and operating status of the electrical device 30. The device information stored in the electrical device 30 is information that identifies the type of electrical device 30. The device information is, for example, the manufacturer name, model, and model number of the electrical device 30.

[0016] 1, the NFC tag 31 is exaggeratedly drawn on the surface of the electrical device 30 for ease of understanding, but the NFC tag 31 is not limited to being attached to the surface of the electrical device 30, and may be attached inside the electrical device 30. Furthermore, the electrical device 30 is not limited to an image forming device, and may be any electrically driven machine, and may not be connected to the computer network 2.

[0017] The server device 40 is, for example, a server computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and storage. The server device 40 is owned by the manufacturer of the electrical device 30, and stores an instruction manual containing information on how to handle errors in the electrical device 30 and how to use the electrical device 30.

[0018] 2, the information providing device 1 includes a device information acquiring unit 11, a type information acquiring unit 12, an error information acquiring unit 13, a desired information acquiring unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a control unit 16. The information providing device 1 also includes an input unit 21 for a user to instruct an operation, a display unit 22 for displaying information output from the information providing device 1 to the user, and an imaging unit 23 for capturing and acquiring an image. The information providing device 1 also includes a short-range wireless communication function using NFC and a network communication function via a computer network 2.

[0019] The information providing device 1 is configured, for example, by a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet computer carried by a user who uses the electrical device 30. Specifically, the information providing device 1 is constructed by installing an information providing program in the user's mobile communication terminal.

[0020] The input unit 21, the display unit 22, and the imaging unit 23 are respectively an input device, a display device, and an imaging device that are provided in a typical mobile communication terminal. That is, the input unit 21 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a microphone, etc. The display unit 22 is a display device such as a display. The imaging unit 23 is an imaging device such as a camera.

[0021] The device information acquisition unit 11 acquires device information from the electrical device 30. In this embodiment, the device information acquisition unit 11 has a short-range wireless communication function using NFC, and acquires device information from the NFC tag 31 via short-range wireless communication.

[0022] The type information acquisition unit 12 acquires type information indicating the type of desired information desired by the user for the electrical appliance 30. The desired information is information regarding how to deal with errors in the electrical appliance 30 and how to handle the electrical appliance 30. If the desired information is information regarding how to deal with errors in the electrical appliance 30, the type information becomes error handling indicating how to handle errors in the electrical appliance 30. If the desired information is information regarding how to handle the electrical appliance 30, the type information becomes device handling indicating how to handle the electrical appliance 30. The type information acquisition unit 12 acquires type information specified by the user using the input unit 21 of the information providing device 1.

[0023] The error information acquisition unit 13 acquires error information indicating the content of an error in the electric device 30. In this embodiment, the error information acquisition unit 13 has an image recognition function and acquires the error information by performing image recognition on the error information displayed on the display unit 32 of the electric device 30. The error information is information indicating the content of an error that has occurred in the electric device 30. In general, manufacturers of the electric device 30 design the electric device 30 so that the content of the error can be determined by an error number. Therefore, the error information is generally the error number displayed on the display unit 32 of the electric device 30.

[0024] Specifically, the error information acquisition unit 13 captures an image of the display unit 32 of the electrical device 30 captured by the imaging unit 23 of the information providing device 1. The image shows an error number indicating the content of the error. The error information acquisition unit 13 recognizes the error number shown in the captured image by image recognition and acquires the error information.

[0025] The desired information acquisition unit 14 acquires desired information desired by the user for the electrical device 30 based on the device information and error information. In this embodiment, the desired information acquisition unit 14 has a network communication function and performs an internet search via the computer network 2 to acquire the desired information.

[0026] Specifically, when the type information indicates how to deal with an error in the electrical device 30, the desired information acquiring unit 14 performs an internet search based on the device information and error information, using the manufacturer name, model and model number of the electrical device 30, and the error number as keywords. Then, the desired information acquiring unit 14 acquires, as desired information, an instruction manual indicating information on how to deal with the error in the electrical device 30 from the server device 40 of the manufacturer of the corresponding electrical device 30.

[0027] Furthermore, when the type information indicates the handling of the electrical appliance 30, the desired information acquiring unit 14 performs an internet search based on the device information using the manufacturer name, model, and model number of the electrical appliance 30 as keywords. Then, the desired information acquiring unit 14 acquires, as desired information, an instruction manual showing information on the handling of the electrical appliance 30 from the server device 40 of the manufacturer of the relevant electrical appliance 30.

[0028] The storage unit 15 stores various programs. The storage unit 15 is configured by a storage device and a semiconductor memory. The storage device is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The semiconductor memory is, for example, a read only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM). The storage unit 15 stores an information provision program.

[0029] The control unit 16 is configured by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 16 reads and executes an information provision program stored in the storage unit 15 of the information provision device 1, thereby controlling the operations of the device information acquisition unit 11, the type information acquisition unit 12, the error information acquisition unit 13, and the desired information acquisition unit 14. The control unit 16 also controls the operations of the input unit 21, the display unit 22, and the imaging unit 23.

[0030] Next, an information providing method for providing desired information based on the information providing device 1 according to this embodiment will be described using a flowchart with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the information providing method according to this embodiment. Each process of the information providing method is executed by an information providing program stored in the storage unit 15 of the information providing device 1.

[0031] When an error occurs in the operation of the electrical device 30 or when the user wants to check how to handle the electrical device 30, the user activates an information provision program on the user's mobile communication terminal, causing the mobile communication terminal to operate as an information provision device 1. After activating the information provision device 1, the user brings the information provision device 1 close to the electrical device 30. When the information provision device 1 approaches the NFC tag 31 of the electrical device 30, the device information acquisition unit 11 performs short-range wireless communication with the NFC tag 31 and executes a device information acquisition step to acquire device information stored in the NFC tag 31 (step S10). The acquired device information is sent to the desired information acquisition unit 14.

[0032] When the device information is acquired, the control unit 16 displays a screen on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1, asking the user what information he or she desires. The user selects the type of desired information on the screen of the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1. When the user selects the type of desired information, the type information acquiring unit 12 executes a type information acquiring step of acquiring type information indicating the type of desired information desired by the user for the electrical device 30 (step S12). The acquired type information is sent to the error information acquiring unit 13 and the desired information acquiring unit 14.

[0033] Specifically, in this embodiment, first, the control unit 16 asks the user whether they need information on how to deal with an error in the electrical device 30, and displays a screen for selecting Yes or No. If the user needs information on how to deal with an error in the electrical device 30, the user selects Yes on the screen displayed on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1. When Yes is selected, the type information acquisition unit 12 determines that the user desires error handling and acquires the error handling as type information.

[0034] On the other hand, if No is selected, the control unit 16 asks the user whether they need information about the handling of the electrical appliance 30, and displays a screen for selecting Yes or No. If the user needs information about the handling of the electrical appliance 30, the user selects Yes on the screen displayed on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1. If Yes is selected, the type information acquisition unit 12 assumes that the user desires to handle the appliance and acquires the appliance handling as type information.

[0035] When the type information is acquired, the control unit 16 determines whether the type information is error handling (step S14). If the type information is error handling (Yes in step S14), the error information acquisition unit 13 executes an error information acquisition step of acquiring error information of the electric device 30 (step S16).

[0036] Specifically, the error information acquisition unit 13 displays a screen on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 to read the display unit 32 of the electrical device 30. The user follows the screen display on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 and holds the imaging unit 23 of the information providing device 1 over the display unit 32 of the electrical device 30 to capture an image of the display unit 32 of the electrical device 30. The error information acquisition unit 13 captures the image of the display unit 32 of the electrical device 30 captured by the imaging unit 23 of the information providing device 1, and acquires error information by image recognition. The acquired error information is sent to the desired information acquisition unit 14.

[0037] On the other hand, if the type information is not error handling (No in step S14), the control unit 16 determines whether the type information is device handling or not (step S18). If the type information is device handling (Yes in step S18), the control unit 16 notifies the desired information acquisition unit 14 that the user desires information regarding device handling. If the type information is not device handling (No in step S18), there is no other information that can be provided to the user, so the information provision process is terminated.

[0038] Upon receiving the device information and, if necessary, the error information, the desired information acquisition unit 14 executes a desired information acquisition step of acquiring desired information desired by the user for the electric device 30 (step S20). Specifically, upon receiving the error information, the desired information acquisition unit 14 determines that the user desires information regarding how to deal with the error in the electric device 30, and acquires, as the desired information, an instruction manual indicating information regarding how to deal with the error in the electric device 30, based on the device information and the error information. Furthermore, upon receiving an instruction from the control unit 16 that the user desires information regarding how to handle the electric device 30, the desired information acquisition unit 14 acquires, as the desired information, an instruction manual indicating information regarding how to handle the electric device 30, based on the device information.

[0039] When the desired information acquisition unit 14 acquires the desired information, the control unit 16 displays the desired information acquired by the desired information acquisition unit 14 on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 (step S22). Then, the information providing process ends. The user checks the instruction manual displayed on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 and operates the electrical appliance 30.

[0040] As described above, in the information providing device 1 of the present invention, the device information acquiring unit 11 automatically acquires device information stored in the electric device 30, and the error information acquiring unit 13 automatically acquires error information displayed on the electric device 30. Then, based on the acquired device information and error information, the information providing device 1 acquires information such as an instruction manual on how to deal with the error desired by the user or how to handle the electric device 30, and displays it to the user. In this way, information on how to deal with the error in the electric device 30 and how to handle the electric device 30 is automatically provided to the user.

[0041] Furthermore, because a method for dealing with errors in the electrical device 30 is automatically provided, even if an error occurs in the operation of the electrical device 30, the user does not need to look up the manufacturer name, model, or model number of the electrical device 30, confirm the error number, and manually input these as keywords to look up how to deal with the error. Similarly, when checking how to use the electrical device 30, the user does not need to look up the manufacturer name, model, or model number of the electrical device 30, and manually input these as keywords to look up how to use the electrical device 30. As a result, the user does not need to be unable to smoothly refer to desired information due to the hassle of manually inputting keywords or inputting incorrect device information and error information about the electrical device 30, and can easily and quickly resolve errors in the electrical device 30 and check how to use the electrical device 30.

[0042] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, the components shown in the above embodiments are merely examples and are not particularly limited, and various modifications are possible within a range that does not substantially deviate from the configuration of the present invention.

[0043] For example, in the above embodiment, the control unit 16 first asks whether the user wants information on how to deal with an error in the electrical device 30, and then asks whether the user wants information on how to handle the electrical device 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration such as that shown in Fig. 4 is also possible. Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] Specifically, when the device information is acquired, the control unit 16 displays a screen on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 asking the user what information he or she desires. That is, the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 displays options for selecting whether the user desires error handling, equipment handling, or neither. The user selects the type of desired information on the screen of the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1, and the type information acquisition unit 12 acquires the type of desired information selected by the user (step S12).

[0045] In this information providing method, when type information is acquired, the control unit 16 determines whether the type information is error handling, device handling, or neither (step S24). If the type information is error handling (error handling in step S24), the error information acquiring unit 13 executes an error information acquiring step to acquire error information about the electrical device 30 (step S16). If the type information is device handling (device handling in step S24), the control unit 16 notifies the desired information acquiring unit 14 that the user desires information about device handling. If the type information is neither (neither in step S24), there is no other information that can be provided to the user, so the information providing process is terminated. Thereafter, the desired information is acquired and displayed, as in the above embodiment.

[0046] With this configuration, the user only needs to select the type of desired information once, and can resolve errors in the electric device 30 or check how the electric device 30 is being handled more easily and quickly.

[0047] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the information providing device 1 includes the type information acquisition unit 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if only information regarding how to deal with an error in the electrical device 30 is to be provided, the information providing device 1 does not need to include the type information acquisition unit 12. In this case, the desired information is only information regarding how to deal with an error in the electrical device 30. Furthermore, when the device information is acquired, the error information acquisition unit 13 automatically displays a screen on the display unit 22 of the information providing device 1 to cause the display unit 32 of the electrical device 30 to read the information.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the NFC tag 31 is attached to the electrical device 30 and device information is stored in the NFC tag 31, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a QR code (registered trademark) may be displayed on the surface of the electrical device 30, and the device information may be stored in the QR code (registered trademark).

[0049] In the above embodiment, the desired information acquisition unit 14 acquires the desired information by searching the Internet, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to link files of main instruction manuals to the NFC tag 31. In this case, if an instruction manual showing information on how to use the electrical device 30 or information on how to deal with frequently occurring errors is needed, the corresponding instruction manual may be acquired directly from the NFC tag 31. [Industrial Applicability]

[0050] The present invention can be used in the field of information providing devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1 Information provision device 11 Device information acquisition section 12 Type information acquisition unit 13 Error information acquisition section 14 Desired information acquisition unit 30 Electrical Equipment 31 NFC tags 32 Display of electrical equipment

Claims

1. a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information from an electrical device in which the device information is stored; an error information acquisition unit that acquires error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device; a desired information acquisition unit that acquires desired information desired by a user for the electrical device based on the device information and the error information; An information providing device comprising:

2. an NFC tag in which device information of the electrical device is stored is attached to the electrical device; The information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the device information acquiring unit acquires the device information from the NFC tag through short-range wireless communication.

3. The information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the error information acquiring unit acquires the error information by performing image recognition on the error information displayed on a display unit of the electrical device.

4. The information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the desired information acquiring unit acquires the desired information by performing an internet search.

5. a type information acquiring unit that acquires type information indicating a type of desired information desired by a user for the electrical device; The desired information acquisition unit If the type information indicates how to deal with an error in the electrical device, the desired information is obtained based on the device information and the error information; 5. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein when the type information indicates handling of the electrical appliance, the desired information is acquired based on the device information.

6. a device information acquisition step of acquiring device information from an electrical device in which the device information is stored; an error information acquisition step of acquiring error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device; a desired information acquisition step of acquiring desired information desired by a user for the electrical device based on the device information and the error information; An information providing method comprising:

7. a device information acquisition step of acquiring device information from an electrical device in which the device information is stored; an error information acquisition step of acquiring error information indicating the content of an error in the electrical device; a desired information acquisition step of acquiring desired information desired by a user for the electrical device based on the device information and the error information; An information providing program that causes a computer to execute processing including the above.

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