Information processing system, image forming apparatus, and remote control program

Abstract

The goal is to ensure that, while maintaining the convenience of an image forming system shared by multiple users, each user can reliably obtain the output results that match the specifications of the jobs they request via remote operation. [Solution] The terminal-side display unit 221 of the electronic terminal 2 displays an operation screen for remotely operating the image forming apparatus 1, and the terminal-side input receiving unit 22 receives input from the user for setting a reserved job to be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. Once the reserved job setting is complete, the terminal-side communication unit 24 transmits the reserved job to the image forming apparatus 1. When the image forming apparatus 1 receives the reserved job, it stores it in the storage unit 16. The operation unit 12 does not accept changes to the reserved job settings received from the electronic terminal 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an image forming apparatus, and a remote operation control program in which a plurality of electronic terminals can remotely operate an image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] There is known an information processing system capable of executing a desired printing job by remotely operating an image forming apparatus from a plurality of electronic terminals. Patent Document 1 describes a method of giving priority to the instructions of a user who logged in first by restricting logins from other users after the user logged in to the image forming apparatus through the remote panel connection of the electronic terminal.

[0003] Further, Patent Document 2 describes a method of preventing an image forming apparatus to be used next from being used by other users first when a user wants to continuously use a plurality of different image forming apparatuses.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in a configuration where simultaneous logins to an image forming apparatus by a plurality of users are restricted, the utilization efficiency of the image forming apparatus decreases. On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus that is logged in and used jointly by a plurality of users, when executing each job received from a plurality of electronic terminals, if the image forming apparatus allows changes to the content of each received job without restriction, there is a risk that each user who requested each job will obtain an output result different from the requested content.

[0006] The present invention aims to ensure that, while maintaining the convenience of an image forming apparatus used jointly by multiple users, each user can reliably obtain output results that match the specifications of the jobs they remotely request. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A printing system according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing system comprising a plurality of electronic terminals and an image forming apparatus that can be remotely operated by the plurality of electronic terminals, wherein each electronic terminal comprises a terminal-side input receiving unit that receives input for setting a reserved job to be executed by the image forming apparatus and a terminal-side communication unit that transmits the reserved job to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus comprises an apparatus-side communication unit that receives the reserved job from the electronic terminal, a job execution control unit that executes the reserved job received by the apparatus-side communication unit, an operation unit that receives instructions from a user and an apparatus-side input receiving unit that receives instructions input to the operation unit, and when the job execution control unit receives a change instruction from the apparatus-side input receiving unit to change the content of the reserved job, it changes the reserved job set in the image forming apparatus based on the instructions input to the operation unit according to the content indicated by the change instruction, but does not change the reserved job received from the electronic terminal according to the content indicated by the change instruction.

[0008] An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that can be remotely operated by a plurality of electronic terminals, comprising: an apparatus-side communication unit that receives reserved jobs to be executed by the image forming apparatus from the electronic terminals; a job execution control unit that executes the reserved jobs received by the apparatus-side communication unit; an operation unit that receives instructions from a user; and an apparatus-side input receiving unit that receives instructions input to the operation unit, wherein when the apparatus-side input receiving unit receives a change instruction to change the content of the reserved job, the job execution control unit changes the reserved job set in the image forming apparatus based on the instructions input to the operation unit according to the content indicated by the change instruction, but does not change the reserved job received from the electronic terminal according to the content indicated by the change instruction.

[0009] A remote operation control program according to one aspect of the present invention is a remote operation control program for controlling a computer provided in an image forming apparatus that can be remotely operated by a plurality of electronic terminals, wherein the remote operation control program causes the computer to function as a job execution control unit that executes reserved jobs received from the electronic terminals, and an apparatus-side input receiving unit that receives instructions input to the operation unit, and when the job execution control unit receives a change instruction to change the content of the reserved job from the apparatus-side input receiving unit, the computer is configured to change the reserved job set in the image forming apparatus based on the instructions input to the operation unit according to the content indicated by the change instruction, but not to change the reserved job received from the electronic terminal according to the content indicated by the change instruction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, while maintaining the convenience of an image forming apparatus used jointly by multiple users, it is possible to reliably obtain output results that match the content of the job requested by each user via remote operation. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an information processing system. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus and electronic terminals that constitute the information processing system. [Figure 3] This diagram shows an example of the display on the display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of an information processing system. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of an information processing system. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart illustrating the process for creating the user interface. [Figure 7] This diagram shows an example of the display on the display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 8] This diagram shows an example of the display on the display unit of an electronic terminal. [Figure 9] This diagram shows an example of the display on the display unit of an electronic terminal. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, an information processing system, an image forming apparatus, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a remote operation control program according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an information processing system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 100 comprises an image forming apparatus 1 and an electronic terminal 2.

[0013] The image forming apparatus 1 prints images read from a document or images transmitted from an electronic terminal 2 onto paper. The electronic terminal 2 is a personal computer (PC) 2a or a mobile terminal 2b such as a smartphone or tablet. The network N is a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, which is capable of transmitting and receiving data. The image forming apparatus 1 and the electronic terminal 2 transmit and receive data via the network N.

[0014] In the information processing system 100, the user remotely operates the image forming apparatus 1 from the electronic terminal 2. Specifically, the electronic terminal 2 displays the same operation screens D2 and D3 as the operation screen D1 displayed on the operation panel (apparatus-side display unit 121) of the image forming apparatus 1. The user performs setting inputs for various jobs to be executed by the image forming apparatus 1 via this operation screen D1 or D2. That is, even when the user is at a location away from the image forming apparatus 1, the user performs the settings for various jobs with the same feeling as when operating in front of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 and the electronic terminal 2 that constitute the information processing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, an image reading unit 13, an image forming unit 14, an image processing unit 15, a storage unit 16, an apparatus-side communication unit 17, and the like. Note that the image forming apparatus 1 may be a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or the like, or a multifunction machine having these functions.

[0016] The operation unit 12 includes hard keys such as a decision key and a start key for performing determination operations for various operations and settings, and an apparatus-side display unit 121. The apparatus-side display unit 121 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like and displays an operation screen, a message, and the like. The apparatus-side display unit 121 may be integrally configured with a touch panel. Various instructions are input to the operation unit 12 according to the operation of each key by the user.

[0017] The image reading unit 13 includes a scanner or the like, reads the image of the document, and acquires image data. The image forming unit 14 includes, for example, an electrophotographic image forming mechanism, and prints an image on a sheet based on the image data read by the image reading unit 13 or the image data transmitted from the electronic terminal 2. The image processing unit 15 is an image processing circuit that performs image processing on the image data acquired by the image reading unit 13 or the image data transmitted from the electronic terminal 2. The image processing unit 15, as a preview image creation unit 151, performs a process of creating a preview image of a printed matter obtained by executing a reservation job in response to a request from the electronic terminal 2.

[0018] The storage unit 16 is a large-capacity storage device composed of an SSD (Solid State Drive) or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores image data, various programs, data tables, etc., and stores a remote operation control program 161. The remote operation control program 161 is an example of the remote operation control program in the claims, and executes remote operation processing on the image forming apparatus 1 from the electronic terminal 2. The device-side communication unit 17 is a communication module that exchanges various data with external devices such as the electronic terminal 2 via a network N such as the Internet.

[0019] The control unit 11 is composed of a processor, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or the like. The control unit 11 functions as a control unit 111, an operation screen creation unit 112, a job execution control unit 113, a login authentication unit 114, and a communication control unit 115 by the processor executing the remote operation control program stored in the ROM or the like.

[0020] The control unit 111 is responsible for the overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 1. Regarding the basic control of the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 11 functions as a control unit 111 by having the processor execute a control program stored in ROM or the like. Regarding remote operation control of the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 11 functions as a control unit 111 by having the processor execute the remote operation control program.

[0021] The operation screen creation unit 112 creates an operation screen corresponding to each of the electronic terminals 2. This operation screen is for receiving remote operations of the image forming apparatus 1 from the electronic terminals 2. Figure 3 shows an example of an operation screen created by the operation screen creation unit 112. When the operation screen creation unit 112 creates operation screen D11, the apparatus-side communication unit 17 transmits display data indicating operation screen D11 to the electronic terminal 2, the terminal-side communication unit 24 of the electronic terminal 2 receives this display data, and the terminal-side display unit 221 displays operation screen D11 based on this display data. The user inputs instructions to set the job content to the terminal-side input reception unit 22 while viewing operation screen D11. The control unit 211 sets the job to be executed by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the content indicated by the instructions. This job, once received by the image forming apparatus 1, enters a queue for execution and will therefore be referred to as a reserved job from now on.

[0022] The operation screen creation unit 112 creates an operation screen individually for each of the multiple electronic terminals 2. In other words, the operation screen creation unit 112 creates an operation screen for each electronic terminal 2 according to the settings of the reservation jobs received from the multiple electronic terminals 2.

[0023] The content of the operation screen created by the operation screen creation unit 112 (the operation screen displayed by the terminal-side display unit 221) and the operation screen displayed by the device-side display unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 1 may be the same or different. For example, the operation screen creation unit 112 may create an operation screen that omits the display of setting items for content that cannot be remotely operated from the electronic terminal 2.

[0024] Next, the electrical configuration of the electronic terminal 2 will be described. The electronic terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, a terminal-side input receiving unit 22, an imaging unit 23, and a terminal-side communication unit 24, etc. The electronic terminal 2 is, for example, a personal computer or a mobile terminal.

[0025] The terminal-side input receiving unit 22 is a pointing device such as a keyboard or mouse. The terminal-side display unit 221 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and the terminal-side display unit 221 may have a touch panel (terminal-side input receiving unit 22) integrated into it.

[0026] The imaging unit 23 is a camera that captures images of a subject, using an image sensor such as a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The terminal-side communication unit 24 is a communication module that exchanges various data with external devices such as the image forming apparatus 1 via a network N such as the Internet.

[0027] The control unit 21 consists of a processor, RAM, ROM, etc. The processor is a CPU, MPU, or ASIC, etc. The control unit 21 functions as a control unit 211 when the processor executes a control program stored in the ROM, etc. The control unit 211 is responsible for the overall operation control of the electronic terminal 2.

[0028] Figures 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the processing flow of the information processing system 100 in this embodiment. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the operation screen creation process.

[0029] Referring to Figure 4, in the electronic terminal 2, when the terminal-side input receiving unit 22 receives user identification information (user ID and password) (S11; YES), the terminal-side communication unit 24 transmits the user identification information received by the terminal-side input receiving unit 22 to the image forming apparatus 1 (S12). In the image forming apparatus 1, when the device-side communication unit 17 receives the user identification information via the device-side communication unit 17 (S21; YES), the login authentication unit 114 performs user login authentication (S22).

[0030] After the login authentication unit 114 approves the user indicated by the user identification information through login authentication, the control unit 111 starts the operation screen creation process (S23). The operation screen creation process will be explained with reference to Figure 6. First, the operation screen creation unit 112 creates an operation screen for remote operation by the electronic terminal 2 (S51). Processes S52 to S54 will be explained in detail later. The device-side communication unit 17 transmits the display data of the created operation screen to the electronic terminal 2 (S55).

[0031] Refer to Figure 4. When the terminal-side communication unit 24 of the electronic terminal 2 receives display data for the operation screen, the terminal-side display unit 221 displays the operation screen using the display data (S13). Figure 3 shows an example of the operation screen D11 displayed by the terminal-side display unit 221. After this, when the terminal-side input receiving unit 22 receives an instruction via the touch panel to specify the settings for a reservation job based on the pressing of each button displayed on the operation screen D11 (S14; NO), the terminal-side communication unit 24 transmits the settings indicated by the instruction to the image forming apparatus 1 (S15).

[0032] When the device-side communication unit 17 of the image forming apparatus 1 receives the settings for a reserved job from the electronic terminal 2 (S24; job setting), the control unit 111 executes the operation screen creation process (S23). In other words, when the control unit 111 executes the operation screen creation process, the operation screen creation unit 112 creates the next operation screen to be displayed on the terminal-side display unit 221, according to the above settings for the reserved job. The device-side communication unit 17 transmits this operation screen to the electronic terminal 2.

[0033] In this case, the image forming apparatus 1 may receive such remote operations from multiple electronic terminals 2 at the same time. In this case, the operation screen creation unit 112 will create an operation screen corresponding to the various information received from each electronic terminal 2 (such as the settings for a reserved job) at the same time for each electronic terminal 2. Therefore, if multiple electronic terminals 2 perform remote operations simultaneously, the processing load on the operation screen creation unit 112 will increase, reducing the processing speed and leading to a decrease in performance.

[0034] Therefore, when predetermined communication restriction conditions are met, the communication control unit 115 controls the number of communications related to remote operation between the image forming apparatus 1 and the electronic terminal 2. This reduces the increased processing load on the image forming apparatus 1 due to remote operation.

[0035] This will be explained in detail using Figure 6. After the operation screen creation unit 112 creates the operation screen (S51), the communication control unit 115 determines whether predetermined communication restriction conditions are met (S52). Examples of communication restriction conditions include when the number of electronic terminals 2 simultaneously performing remote operations on the image forming apparatus 1 is greater than or equal to a predetermined number, or when the control unit 111 or other components of the image forming apparatus 1 are busy (under excessive processing load).

[0036] If the communication restriction conditions are not met (S52; NO), the communication control unit 115 transmits the operation screen created by the operation screen creation unit 112 to the electronic terminal 2 via the device-side communication unit 17 (S55).

[0037] On the other hand, if the communication restriction conditions are met (S52; YES) and the logged-in user does not have predetermined privileges (S53; NO), the communication control unit 115 restricts communication between the device-side communication unit 17 and the multiple electronic terminals 2 to a predetermined level (S54). For example, the communication control unit 115 controls the device-side communication unit 17 to send the operation screens for each electronic terminal created by the operation screen creation unit 112 to each electronic terminal 2 at predetermined intervals (S55). As a result, the interval between receiving operation screens sent from the image forming apparatus 1 to the electronic terminals 2 becomes longer (i.e., the transition time to the next operation screen becomes longer), and the time interval between sending the settings of a reserved job to the image forming apparatus 1 also increases. Consequently, the concentration of remote operations on the image forming apparatus 1 is alleviated, and the processing burden on the operation screen creation unit 112 to create operation screens is also reduced.

[0038] Furthermore, if the logged-in user has predetermined privileges (S53; YES), the communication control unit 115 will perform the process in S55 without imposing the above communication restrictions on the electronic terminal 2 to which the user is logged in. A user with predetermined privileges is, for example, a system administrator or a user predetermined by the system administrator, etc. This prevents inconvenience to the system administrator, etc. Information indicating such privileges is included in the user identification information.

[0039] Returning to Figure 4, when the operation screen D11 is displayed on the terminal-side display unit 221 of the electronic terminal 2, and the terminal-side input receiving unit 22 receives a confirmation instruction in response to the operation of the job confirmation button 91 via the operation unit 12 and its touch panel (S14; YES), the terminal-side communication unit 24 transmits the reserved job consisting of the settings accepted at this time to the image forming apparatus 1 (S16).

[0040] In the image forming apparatus 1, when the apparatus-side communication unit 17 receives a reserved job (S24; reserved job), the storage unit 16 stores the received reserved job (S25). When the image forming apparatus 1 is logged in, the storage unit 16 stores the reserved job in association with the user identification information corresponding to that reserved job.

[0041] Then, the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 1 determines whether it has received an instruction to create a preview image for the reserved job (S26). If the control unit 111 determines that it has received an instruction to create a preview image (S26; YES), the preview image creation unit 151 creates a preview image, and the apparatus-side communication unit 17 sends the preview image to the electronic terminal 2 that sent the reserved job (S27).

[0042] In the electronic terminal 2, when the terminal-side communication unit 24 receives a preview image (S17; YES), the terminal-side display unit 221 displays the preview image (S18). Figure 7 shows an example of the operation screen D12 when the terminal-side display unit 221 displays the preview image.

[0043] Here, we will explain preview images in detail. For example, if a scheduled job involves printing a color image in monochrome, it can be difficult for the user to visualize the print quality that will result from monochrome printing. Therefore, when setting up a scheduled job on electronic terminal 2, the user can configure the system to include (or set together with) the instruction to create a preview image in the scheduled job.

[0044] In the image forming apparatus 1, when the control unit 111 determines that the above creation instruction is included in the reserved job, or that the above creation instruction has been received along with the reserved job, the preview image creation unit 151 creates a preview image of the printed material to be obtained by executing the reserved job. The apparatus-side communication unit 17 then transmits this preview image to the electronic terminal 2. When the terminal-side communication unit 24 of the electronic terminal 2 receives the preview image, the terminal-side display unit 221 displays the preview image. This allows the user to view a preview image of the printed material to be obtained by executing the reserved job.

[0045] Furthermore, if the content of the reserved job is copying, the user will not know what kind of image will be obtained by copying unless they go to the image forming apparatus 1, set the original document in the image reading unit 13 and perform the scan. Therefore, the user takes a picture of the original document using the imaging unit 23 of the electronic terminal 2, and when setting the reserved job, the image of the original document taken by the imaging unit 23 is included or attached to the reserved job, which consists of, for example, a copy or scan job, along with the creation instructions. The terminal-side communication unit 24 transmits (i) the reserved job including the creation instructions and the image of the original document, or (ii) the reserved job, the creation instructions and the image of the original document to the image forming apparatus 1.

[0046] In the image forming apparatus 1, in response to instructions to create such a preview image and the reception of the original image, the preview image creation unit 151 creates a preview image of the printed material obtained by executing the reserved job using the original image. The apparatus-side communication unit 17 then transmits this preview image to the electronic terminal 2, and the terminal-side display unit 221 displays the preview image. As a result, even before setting the original material for copying in the image forming apparatus 1 and before the original material is read by the image reading unit 13, the preview image of the printed material can be easily viewed on the electronic terminal 2.

[0047] After sending a reservation job from the electronic terminal 2, the user can operate the operation unit 12 of the image forming apparatus 1 to display a list of the reservation jobs they have sent. Specifically, when the device-side input reception unit 116 receives a list display instruction and user identification information via the operation unit 12, the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 1 displays a list of reservation jobs for the user indicated by the user identification information on the device-side display unit 121. Figure 8 shows an example of a display screen D13 displaying the reservation job list shown on the device-side display unit 121. When the user touches a desired reservation job, the control unit 111 displays the contents of the reservation job on the device-side display unit 121.

[0048] Here, after S27, if the user operates the operation unit 12 in the image forming apparatus 1 to specify a reserved job and inputs a modification instruction for the reserved job (deletion or modification of the reserved job), and the modification instruction is received by the apparatus-side input reception unit 116 (S28; YES), the job execution control unit 113 determines whether the specified reserved job was received from the electronic terminal 2 or set in the image forming apparatus 1 (S29).

[0049] When the job execution control unit 113 determines that the specified reserved job has been set up in the image forming apparatus 1 (in S29, "set up in the image forming apparatus"), it changes the content of the specified reserved job to the content indicated by the change instruction (S30).

[0050] On the other hand, when the job execution control unit 113 determines that the information was received from the electronic terminal 2 (received in S29), it does not change the contents of the specified reserved job to the contents indicated by the change instruction, and the control unit 111 displays an error message on the device-side display unit 121 (S31). Figure 9 shows an example of the display screen D14 with the error message 92 displayed.

[0051] In other words, when the change instruction is received by the device-side input receiving unit 116, the job execution control unit 113 modifies the reserved jobs set in the image forming apparatus 1 based on the instructions input to the operation unit 12 according to the content indicated by the change instruction, but does not modify the reserved jobs received from the electronic terminal 2 according to the content indicated by the change instruction.

[0052] In this way, the image forming apparatus 1 does not accept setting changes for reserved jobs transmitted from the electronic terminal 2. By restricting changes to the content of each reserved job received from the electronic terminal 2, the risk of each user who requested a reserved job obtaining an output result different from what they requested is reduced.

[0053] In addition, in S29, the following process may be performed instead of the above process. When a user operates the operation unit 12 to specify a reserved job and inputs a modification instruction for the reserved job (deletion or modification of the reserved job), and the modification instruction is received by the device-side input reception unit 116 (S28; YES), the job execution control unit 113 determines whether the user identification information of the user logged into the image forming apparatus 1 at the time of receiving the modification instruction matches the user identification information of the user who set the specified reserved job (S29).

[0054] If the job execution control unit 113 determines that the user identification information of the user logged into the image forming apparatus 1 at the time of receiving the change instruction matches the user identification information of the user who set the specified reserved job (YES in S29), it changes the content of the specified reserved job to the content indicated by the change instruction (S30).

[0055] On the other hand, if the job execution control unit 113 determines that the two user identification pieces mentioned above do not match (YES in S29), it does not change the contents of the specified reserved job to the contents indicated by the change instruction, and the control unit 111 causes an error message to be displayed on the device-side display unit 121 (S31).

[0056] If the above-mentioned reserved job designation and modification instructions have not been received by the device-side input reception unit 116 (S28; NO), or after processing in S30 or S31, the job execution control unit 113 determines whether the pre-set job execution conditions are satisfied (S32). The job execution conditions are, for example, that the login authentication unit 114 has approved the user indicated by the user identification information through login authentication, based on the user identification information (user identification information of the user who set the reserved job) received by the device-side input reception unit 116 via the operation unit 12, or the user identification information (user identification information of the user who set the reserved job) obtained by the card reader (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus 1 reading the IC card storing the user identification information and received by the device-side input reception unit 116, and that the login is completed. In other words, one example of a job execution condition is whether the user who set the reserved job to be executed is logged into the image forming apparatus 1.

[0057] Furthermore, if the content of the scheduled job to be executed is scanning, in addition to the above login completion, the condition that the original document is set in the image reading unit 13 may also be included as a job execution condition. If the content of the scheduled job to be executed is copying, in addition to the above login completion, the condition that the original document is set in the image reading unit 13 may also be included as a job execution condition that paper is set in the paper feed cassette (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0058] When the job execution control unit 113 determines that the above job execution conditions have been met (YES in S32), it determines whether multiple reserved jobs that satisfy the above job execution conditions are stored in the storage unit 16 (S33). When the job execution control unit 113 determines that multiple reserved jobs that satisfy the above job execution conditions are stored in the storage unit 16 (YES in S33), the control unit 111 causes the device-side display unit 121 to display a display screen D13 showing a list of the multiple reserved jobs, as shown in Figure 8 as an example. The job execution control unit 113 waits for an instruction to be input to the device-side input reception unit 116 specifying whether or not to execute the reserved jobs or the order of execution (S34).

[0059] For example, when the user operates the control unit 12 and the device-side input receiving unit 116 receives an execution order specification instruction specifying the execution order for each of the multiple reserved jobs shown in the list above (YES in S34), the control unit 111 displays a number indicating the execution order of the reserved jobs in column 93 on the display screen D13, and the job execution control unit 113 sets the execution order for each reserved job (S35).

[0060] Furthermore, when the user operates the operation unit 12 and the device-side input receiving unit 116 receives an execution permission to execute or not execute one of the multiple reserved jobs shown in the list above (YES in S34), the control unit 111 displays an image indicating whether or not to execute the execution permission, such as a check mark, adjacent to the image of each reserved job shown on the display screen D13, in the column for each reserved job, and the job execution control unit 113 sets the content of the execution permission for each reserved job (S35).

[0061] When the device-side input receiving unit 116 receives both instructions to specify whether or not to execute the reserved jobs and the execution order (YES in S34), the control unit 111 displays a number indicating the execution order of the reserved jobs in column 93 adjacent to the image of each reserved job in the list shown on the display screen D13, and also displays an image indicating whether or not to execute the job as indicated by the execution permission in the column of each reserved job, and the job execution control unit 113 sets the execution order for each reserved job (S35). ru.

[0062] After the processing in S35, the job execution control unit 113 executes each reserved job that satisfies the above job execution conditions in order according to the settings set by the instructions specifying whether or not to execute and the order of execution (S36). For reserved jobs for which the order of execution has not been specified, or reserved jobs for which only execution has been accepted, the job execution control unit 113 executes them in order from the earliest time the job was accepted.

[0063] Furthermore, if the job execution control unit 113 determines that there is only one reserved job in the storage unit 16 that satisfies the above job execution conditions (NO in S33), it executes that one reserved job (S36). Also, if the job execution control unit 113 determines that neither an execution order specification instruction nor an execution feasibility instruction has been received by the device-side input reception unit 116 for any of the multiple reserved jobs shown in the above list (NO in S34), it executes all of the multiple reserved jobs shown in the above list, for example, in order from the earliest time the job was received (S36).

[0064] As explained above, according to this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 does not accept setting changes for reserved jobs transmitted from the electronic terminal 2. This ensures that the convenience of the image forming apparatus 1, which is used jointly by multiple users, is maintained, while each user can reliably obtain output results that match the content of the reserved job requested via remote operation.

[0065] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when predetermined communication restriction conditions are met, the communication control unit 115 restricts communication related to remote operation between the image forming apparatus 1 and the electronic terminal 2 to a predetermined level, thereby reducing the increased processing load on the image forming apparatus 1 due to remote operation. On the other hand, when a user with predetermined privileges is logged into the image forming apparatus 1, the communication control unit 115 does not impose the above communication restriction even if predetermined communication restriction conditions are met. This prevents inconvenience to system administrators and others.

[0066] Furthermore, the preview image creation unit 151 creates a preview image of the printed material obtained by executing the reserved job, and the device-side communication unit 17 transmits this preview image to the electronic terminal 2, allowing the user to easily view the preview image of the printed material obtained by executing the reserved job on the terminal-side display unit 221.

[0067] Then, the user takes a picture of the original document using the imaging unit 23 of the electronic terminal 2, and sends the captured image along with an instruction to create a preview image from the electronic terminal 2 to the image forming apparatus 1. This allows the user to easily view a preview image of the printed material on the electronic terminal 2 before setting the original document for copying or scanning in the image forming apparatus 1, or before reading the original document with the image reading unit 13. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 1. Image forming apparatus 111 Control Unit 112 Operation Screen Creation Section 113 Job Execution Control Unit 114 Login Authentication Section 115 Communication Control Unit 116 Device-side input reception unit 12 Control section 121 Device side display section 151 Preview Image Creation Section 161 Remote Control Program 17. Device-side communication unit 2 Electronic terminals 211 Control Unit 22 Terminal-side input reception unit 221 Terminal-side display unit 23 Imaging Unit 24 Terminal-side communication unit 100 Information Processing Systems N Network

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising multiple electronic terminals and an image forming apparatus that can be remotely operated by the multiple electronic terminals, The aforementioned electronic terminal is A terminal-side input receiving unit that receives input for setting a reserved job to be executed by the image forming apparatus, The system includes a terminal-side communication unit that transmits the reserved job to the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus is A device-side communication unit that receives the aforementioned reserved job from the electronic terminal, A job execution control unit that executes the reserved job received by the device-side communication unit, A control unit where user instructions are input, The device includes an input receiving unit that receives instructions input to the aforementioned operating unit, An information processing system in which, when a change instruction to change the content of the reserved job is received by the device-side input receiving unit, the job execution control unit changes the reserved job according to the content indicated by the change instruction for reserved jobs set in the image forming apparatus based on the instructions input to the operation unit, but does not change the reserved job according to the content indicated by the change instruction for reserved jobs received from the electronic terminal.

2. The image forming apparatus is The authentication unit performs user login authentication, The system further comprises a storage unit for storing the reserved jobs, The terminal-side input receiving unit of the electronic terminal receives user identification information necessary for logging into the image forming apparatus, and the terminal-side communication unit transmits the user identification information along with the reserved job to the image forming apparatus. If the authentication unit of the image forming apparatus permits the login of the user indicated by the user identification information received by the apparatus-side communication unit, the reserved job and the user identification information are stored in association in the storage unit. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the input receiving unit on the device side of the image forming apparatus receives the input of user identification information, and the authentication unit permits the login of the user indicated by the received user identification information, the job execution control unit executes a reserved job stored in the storage unit in association with the received user identification information stored therein.

3. The image forming apparatus further comprises an image reading unit for reading an image of a document, The information processing system according to claim 2, in which the authentication unit of the image forming apparatus permits the login of the user indicated by the user identification information, and a reserved job stored in association with the user identification information stored in the storage unit includes the operation of the image reading unit reading a document image, the job execution control unit executes the reserved job after the document has been placed in the image reading unit.

4. The information processing system according to claim 2, in which the authentication unit of the image forming apparatus permits the login of the user indicated by the user identification information, and there are multiple reserved jobs stored in association with the user identification information stored in the storage unit, the device-side input receiving unit receives input from the user regarding the execution order of the reserved jobs, and the job execution control unit executes the reserved jobs according to the execution order received by the device-side input receiving unit.

5. The image forming apparatus is An operation screen creation unit that creates an operation screen to be displayed on the display unit of the electronic terminal which is the source of the remote operation, The device further comprises a communication control unit that controls communication of the device-side communication unit, The operation screen creation unit then creates an operation screen to be displayed on the display unit of the electronic terminal, according to the settings for the reserved job transmitted from the electronic terminal. The device-side communication unit transmits the operation screen created by the operation screen creation unit to the electronic terminal. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein when predetermined communication restriction conditions are met in the image forming apparatus, the communication control unit restricts communication between the apparatus-side communication unit and the plurality of electronic terminals to a predetermined level.

6. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined communication restriction condition is a state in which a predetermined number or more of the electronic terminals are simultaneously performing remote operations on the image forming apparatus.

7. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined communication restriction condition is that the image forming apparatus is in a predetermined busy state.

8. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the authentication unit of the image forming apparatus determines whether or not to restrict the communication according to the user identification information of the user who has been permitted to log in.

9. The image forming apparatus further comprises a preview image creation unit that creates a preview image of the printed material obtained when the job execution control unit executes the reserved job, The device-side communication unit transmits the preview image to the electronic terminal which is the source of the reserved job. The aforementioned electronic terminal further comprises a terminal-side display unit, The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal-side display unit of the electronic terminal displays the preview image received by the terminal-side communication unit.

10. The electronic terminal further comprises an imaging unit that photographs a subject and acquires image data, and the terminal-side communication unit transmits the image data captured by the imaging unit to the image forming apparatus along with a reserved job that uses the image data as the subject for image formation. The information processing system according to claim 9, wherein when the device-side communication unit of the image forming apparatus receives the reserved job and the image data, the preview image creation unit creates the preview image using the image data.

11. An image forming apparatus that can be remotely operated by multiple electronic terminals, A device-side communication unit that receives a reserved job to be executed by the image forming apparatus from the electronic terminal, A job execution control unit that executes the reserved job received by the device-side communication unit, A control unit where user instructions are input, The device includes an input receiving unit that receives instructions input to the aforementioned operating unit, The job execution control unit, when the device-side input receiving unit receives a change instruction to change the content of the reserved job, changes the reserved job set in the image forming apparatus based on the instruction input to the operation unit according to the content indicated by the change instruction, but does not change the reserved job received from the electronic terminal according to the content indicated by the change instruction, in the image forming apparatus.

12. A remote control program for controlling a computer installed in an image forming apparatus that can be remotely operated by multiple electronic terminals, The remote control program controls the computer, A job execution control unit that executes a reserved job received from the aforementioned electronic terminal. It functions as a device-side input receiving unit that receives instructions entered into the control unit. A remote operation control program that causes the computer to function such that when the job execution control unit receives a change instruction from the device-side input receiving unit to change the content of the reserved job, the reserved job set in the image forming apparatus based on the instruction input to the operation unit is changed according to the content indicated by the change instruction, but the reserved job received from the electronic terminal is not changed according to the content indicated by the change instruction.

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