Equipment control system and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To make an image forming apparatus available for use by a portable terminal device with satisfactory usability.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention (a) displays visible code with encoded network identification information of the image forming apparatus 1 and function code corresponding to the image forming apparatus 1, (b) transmits a function designation screen data to a portable terminal device 2 having connection with using the network identification information, (c) receives the function code input to a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the portable terminal device 2 through the network, (d) determines whether the received function code is matched with the displayed function code, (e1) if both of them are matched with each other, transmits an operation screen data corresponding to the function code through the network to the portable terminal device 2, and (e2) if both of them are not matched with each other, does not transmit the operation screen data to the portable terminal device 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] In one system, an image forming device displays a visible code (two-dimensional code) in which device-specific information is encoded, and a mobile terminal photographs the visible code, decodes it to obtain an IP address, user ID, and password, connects to the image forming device using the IP address, user ID, and password, and launches a remote panel application in accordance with user operations to display a remote panel that provides a user interface for the image forming device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-71620 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned system, a dedicated remote panel application must be installed in advance on the mobile terminal. If such an application is not installed, the image forming device 1 cannot be used immediately on the mobile terminal, resulting in low usability.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide a device control system and an image forming apparatus that enable a mobile terminal device to use the image forming apparatus with good usability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The device control system according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus connected to a network and a mobile terminal device connectable to the network, wherein the image forming apparatus (a) displays a visible code in which network identification information of the image forming apparatus in the network is encoded and a function code corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming apparatus, (b) transmits function designation screen data to the mobile terminal device connected using the network identification information, (c) receives a function code input to a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the mobile terminal device via the network, (d) executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code, (e1) transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the mobile terminal device via the network if the received function code matches the displayed function code, and (e2) does not transmit the operation screen data to the mobile terminal device if the received function code does not match the displayed function code. The portable terminal device (a) photographs the visible code to generate a photographed image, (b) decodes the visible code in the photographed image to obtain the network identification information, and connects to the image forming device via the network based on the network identification information, (c) receives the function designation screen data from the image forming device via the network, (d) displays a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data in a general-purpose browser, (e) identifies a function code input by a user on the function designation screen and transmits the function code to the image forming device via the network, (f) receives the operation screen data corresponding to the function code from the image forming device via the network, and (g) displays an operation screen based on the operation screen data. The image forming device further includes any one of the following configurations (A), (B), and (C): (A) the function code is a character having a predetermined number of digits; (B) when the received function code matches the displayed function code in the authentication process, the image forming device updates the function code to be displayed; (C) the image forming device includes a human sensor, and (a) when the operation mode is in a sleep mode and the human sensor detects a person, the operation mode is changed to a normal mode, the function code to be displayed is updated, and display of the visible code and the function code is started; and (b) when the human sensor no longer detects the person, the operation mode is changed to a sleep mode and display of the visible code and the function code is stopped.

[0007] The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a communication device connected to a network, a display device, a code management unit that displays on the display device a visible code in which network identification information of the image forming apparatus in the network is encoded and a function code corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming apparatus, a server processing unit that transmits function designation screen data to a mobile terminal device that has connected using the network identification information and receives a function code input to a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the mobile terminal device via the network, and an authentication processing unit that executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code. If the received function code matches the displayed function code, the server processing unit transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the mobile terminal device via the network, and if the received function code does not match the displayed function code, does not transmit the operation screen data to the mobile terminal device. Here, the function code is a character string of a predetermined number of digits. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a device control system and an image forming apparatus that enable an image forming apparatus to be used with a mobile terminal device with good usability.

[0009] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a device control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 appearing in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a visible code and two function codes displayed on the image forming apparatus 1 in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the mobile terminal device 2 appearing in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a photographed image 201 including a visible code photographed by the mobile terminal device 2 shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a function designation screen displayed by the mobile terminal device 2 shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the device control system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a device control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system shown in Fig. 1 includes an image forming device 1 and a mobile terminal device 2. The image forming device 1 is an electronic device such as a printer or a multifunction device, and includes an operation panel 11 and a human sensor 12. The mobile terminal device 2 is an electronic device such as a smartphone or a tablet PC carried by a user who uses the image forming device 1.

[0013] The image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a network such as the Internet, and the mobile terminal device 2 is connectable to the network via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a mobile phone communication network, or the like.

[0014] In this system, the image forming apparatus 1 is placed in a place where it can be used by an unspecified number of users, and the multiple users each carry a multiple number of mobile terminal devices 2.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 appearing in FIG.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes the above-mentioned operation panel 11 and human sensor 12, as well as a storage device 21, a processor 22, a printer 23, an image reader 24, a facsimile machine 25, a communication device 26, and the like.

[0017] The operation panel 11 is disposed on the front side of the housing of the image forming apparatus 1, and includes a display device 11a such as a liquid crystal display, and an input device 11b such as hard keys and a touch panel. The display device 11a displays various screens to the user. Soft keys are realized by the key images displayed on the display device 11a and the touch panel. The input device 11b accepts user operations on the hard keys or soft keys input by the user.

[0018] The human presence sensor 12 is a sensor (such as an infrared sensor) that detects a person within a predetermined range in front of the operation panel 11.

[0019] The storage device 21 is a non-volatile rewritable storage device such as a flash memory.

[0020] The arithmetic processing device 22 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and loads programs from the storage device 21 or the ROM into the RAM and executes them to operate as various processing units. The arithmetic processing device 22 operates as a controller 31, a code management unit 32, a server processing unit 33, and an authentication processing unit 34.

[0021] The printing device 23 prints an image specified by a print job request on a printing paper in accordance with a print job request based on a user operation. The image reading device 24 optically reads an original image from an original in accordance with a copy job request based on a user operation, and generates image data of the original image. The facsimile device 35 generates and transmits a facsimile signal of an image specified by a facsimile transmission job request in accordance with a facsimile transmission job request based on a user operation, and receives a facsimile signal from an external device and generates image data from the facsimile signal. The communication device 26 is a wireless or wired network interface or the like, and performs data communication with an external device (such as the mobile terminal device 2).

[0022] The controller 31 controls internal devices such as the printing device 23, the image reading device 24, the facsimile device 25, and the communication device 26 to execute a job specified in a job request. For example, when the controller 31 receives a print job request, it causes the printing device 23 to print an image specified in the print job request, and when the controller 31 receives a copy job request, it causes the image reading device 24 to scan an original image with the scan settings specified in the copy job request, and causes the printing device 23 to print the original image with the print settings specified in the copy job request.

[0023] When the image forming apparatus 1 is started up, the controller 31 sets the operation mode to the normal mode, and when a predetermined length of time of non-detection of a user occurs while the operation mode is the normal mode, the controller 31 changes the operation mode from the normal mode to the sleep mode, and when a user is detected by the operation panel 11 or the motion sensor 12 or a job request is received via the network while the operation mode is the sleep mode, the controller 31 changes the operation mode from the sleep mode to the normal mode. In the sleep mode, the display device 42 and the like are turned off and the power supply of certain internal devices is cut off, resulting in lower power consumption than in the normal mode.

[0024] In this embodiment, the above-mentioned job request is input based on a user operation on the operation panel 11 in the first panel operation mode, and is received from the portable terminal device 2 in the second panel operation mode. In the first panel operation mode, a user operation on a menu screen displayed on the operation panel 11 is accepted as a job request corresponding to a function desired by the user (print, copy, etc.). In the second panel operation mode, the menu screen etc. in the second panel operation mode is not displayed, and a job request based on an operation on an operation screen displayed on the portable terminal device 2 is received from the portable terminal device 2.

[0025] The first panel operation mode and the second panel operation mode are selected by controller 31 through system settings, user operations, etc. The following describes a processing section of image forming apparatus 1 that operates in the second panel operation mode.

[0026] The code management unit 32 generates function codes corresponding to one or more functions (print, copy, etc.) of the image forming device, and displays on the display device 11a a visible code (e.g., QR code (registered trademark)) in which network identification information unique to the image forming device 1 in the network (here, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) is encoded, and the generated function code. When multiple function codes are generated and displayed, the values ​​of these function codes are generated to be different from each other.

[0027] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a visible code and two function codes displayed on the image forming apparatus 1 in FIG. 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the display device 11a of the operation panel 11 displays the visible code 101 and two function codes 111 and 112 on one screen. The function code 111 is the function code for the copy function, and the function code 112 is the function code for the print function. The value of the function code 111 is set to 37, and the value of the function code 112 is set to 25. That is, here, the function codes 111 and 112 are specified by two-digit numbers. The number of digits (number of characters) and the type of characters of the displayed function codes are not particularly limited.

[0028] The server processing unit 33 has a web server function and receives requests transmitted via the network using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or the like.

[0029] In particular, the server processing unit 33 transmits function designation screen data (web page data written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)) via the network to the mobile terminal device 2 that has connected using the network identification information encoded in the above-mentioned visible code.

[0030] The server processing unit 33 also receives an authentication request via the network from the mobile terminal device 2 that is the destination of the function designation screen data, and if authentication for the authentication request is successful, transmits operation screen data (web page data written in HTML) corresponding to the function code designated by the authentication request.

[0031] The authentication processing unit 34 executes an authentication process to determine whether or not the function code received by the server processing unit 33 matches the function code displayed on the display device 11a.

[0032] If the received function code matches the displayed function code, as described above, operation screen data corresponding to the function code is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 2. On the other hand, if the received function code does not match the displayed function code, the operation screen data is not transmitted to the mobile terminal device 2, and an authentication error is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 2 as a response.

[0033] If the motion sensor 12 detects a person while the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 1 is in the sleep mode, the code management unit 32 updates the function codes to be displayed and starts displaying the visible code and the function codes when the controller 31 changes the operation mode to the normal mode. On the other hand, when the motion sensor 12 no longer detects a person, the controller 31 changes the operation mode to the sleep mode, and the code management unit 32 stops displaying the visible code and the function code.

[0034] Furthermore, if the function code is received a predetermined number of times (e.g., three times) and the received function code does not match the displayed function code, the authentication processing unit 34 prohibits the above-mentioned authentication process thereafter (i.e., prohibits the transmission of operation screen data), and (b) after the authentication process has been prohibited, when the operation mode of the image forming device 1 is changed from the sleep mode to the normal mode, the authentication processing unit 34 releases the prohibition of the authentication process.

[0035] The value of the function code is determined randomly, and is newly generated using random numbers or the like when updating.

[0036] Furthermore, in the above authentication process, if the received function code matches the displayed function code, the code management unit 32 may update the function code to be displayed.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the mobile terminal device 2 appearing in FIG.

[0038] The mobile terminal device 2 includes a wireless communication device 41, a display device 42, an input device 43, a photographing device 44, a storage device 45, an arithmetic processing device 46, and the like.

[0039] The wireless communication device 41 is a communication circuit that complies with a predetermined wireless communication standard. The wireless communication device 41 is a wireless LAN interface and / or a mobile phone communication network interface (RF interface, baseband section, etc.).

[0040] The display device 42 is a device such as a liquid crystal display arranged on the housing of the mobile terminal device 2, and displays various screens to the user. The input device 43 is a device that detects user operations, and includes a touch panel, hard keys, and the like arranged on the display device 42. The photographing device 44 includes an optical system and an image sensor, and detects an image of the field of view captured by the optical system with the image sensor and outputs it as image data.

[0041] The storage device 45 is a non-volatile storage device such as a flash memory, and stores programs and data. The storage device 45 stores an operating system program, a general-purpose web browser, a general-purpose visual code decoder program, and the like.

[0042] The arithmetic processing device 46 is a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and loads programs from the storage device 45 or ROM into the RAM and executes them to operate as various processing units. In this embodiment, the arithmetic processing device 46 operates as a general-purpose visible code decoder 46a and a general-purpose web browser 46b.

[0043] In this case, the visible code decoder 46a is a visible code decoder for a specific two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark). Also, the visible code decoder 46a and the web browser 46b may be included with the operating system and do not need to be installed separately.

[0044] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a captured image 201 including a visible code captured by the mobile terminal device 2 shown in Fig. 4. The visible code decoder 46a controls the photographing device 44 to photograph the visible code in accordance with a user operation on the input device 43, generates the captured image 201, decodes the visible code in the captured image 201, obtains the above-mentioned network identification information (here, the URL), and outputs it to the web browser 46b.

[0045] Web browser 46b uses wireless communication device 41 to connect to image forming apparatus 1 over the network based on the network identification information (here, according to HTTP), receives function designation screen data from image forming apparatus 1 over the network, and displays a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data on display device 42.

[0046] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a function designation screen displayed by the mobile terminal device 2 shown in Fig. 4. For example, as shown in Fig. 6, the function designation screen includes a function code input field 201, a soft keypad 202 used to input the function code, and a send key 203 for sending the function code.

[0047] Furthermore, the web browser 46b identifies the function code entered into the function designation screen by the user's operation on the input device 43 (i.e., the function code of the function selected by the user), and transmits the entered function code to the image forming device 1 via the network using the wireless communication device 41.

[0048] Thereafter, if operation screen data corresponding to that function code is transmitted from image forming device 1 via the network (i.e., if the entered function code is correct), web browser 46b receives the operation screen data and displays an operation screen based on the operation screen data (i.e., the operation screen for the function selected by the user).

[0049] Next, the operation of the device control system will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the device control system shown in Fig. 1.

[0050] When a display timing is detected (such as when the operating mode is changed to the normal mode or when the image forming device 1 is started), the code management unit 32 generates a new function code (step S1) and displays the visible code and the generated function code on the display device 42 (step S2).

[0051] The user operates the mobile terminal device 2 to have the mobile terminal device 2 capture a picture of the visible code. At this time, the visible code decoder 46a of the mobile terminal device 2 generates a captured image of the visible code (step S3), and decodes the visible code contained in the captured image to obtain network identification information (step S4). When the network identification information is obtained, the web browser 46b transmits a function designation screen data request to the image forming device 1 indicated by the network identification information (step S5). In other words, a request to transmit the web page indicated by the URL serving as the network identification information is transmitted by HTTP.

[0052] In the image forming device 1, when the server processing unit 33 receives the request using the communication device 26, it reads out from the storage device 21 the data file of the web page specified in the request (i.e., function specification screen data) and sends it as a response to the request using the communication device 26 (step S6).

[0053] In the mobile terminal device 2, the web browser 46b receives the function designation screen data in response to the function designation screen data request, and displays the function designation screen on the display device 42 based on the received function designation screen data (step S7).

[0054] The user operates the portable terminal device 2 to input a function code of a desired function from among one or more function codes displayed on the image forming apparatus 1, on the function designation screen displayed on the portable terminal device 2. At that time, the web browser 46b of the portable terminal device 2 identifies the function code inputted by the input device 43 (step S8) and transmits the function code to the image forming apparatus 1 (step S9).

[0055] In the image forming device 1, the server processing unit 33 receives the function code using the communication device 26, and when the function code is received, the authentication processing unit 34 obtains the displayed function code from the code management unit 32, obtains the received function code (entered by the user) from the server processing unit 33, and determines whether the received function code (entered by the user) matches any of the displayed function codes (step S10).

[0056] When the authentication processing unit 34 successfully identifies and authenticates the function desired by the user (i.e., when the function code entered by the user matches any of the displayed function codes), the server processing unit 33 reads out operation screen data for the function corresponding to the function code entered by the user from the storage device 21 and transmits it to the mobile terminal device 2 using the communication device 26 (step S11).

[0057] In the mobile terminal device 2, the web browser 46b receives the operation screen data, and displays an operation screen for a function desired by the user on the display device 42 based on the received operation screen data (step S12).

[0058] Thereafter, the user operates the portable terminal device 2 and uses the operation screen to cause the image forming apparatus 1 to execute the job of that function. At that time, the web browser 46b of the portable terminal device 2 transmits a command corresponding to the user operation detected by the input device 43 to the image forming apparatus 1, and upon receiving the command, the server processing unit 33 of the image forming apparatus 1 outputs the command to the controller 31, causing the image forming apparatus 1 to execute the process corresponding to the command.

[0059] On the other hand, if identification and authentication of the function desired by the user fails in step S10 (i.e., if the function code entered by the user does not match any of the displayed function codes), the server processing unit 33 transmits a response indicating an authentication error to the mobile terminal device 2 using the communication device 26. In the mobile terminal device 2, the web browser 46b receives the response and displays a message indicating that an authentication error has occurred on the display device 42. In this case, the operation screen is not displayed.

[0060] As described above, according to the above embodiment, the image forming device 1 (a) displays a visible code 101 encoded with the network identification information of the image forming device 1 and function codes 111, 112 corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming device 1, (b) transmits function designation screen data to the portable terminal device 2 that has connected using the network identification information, (c) receives a function code entered on the function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the portable terminal device 2 via the network, (d) executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code, (e1) if the received function code matches the displayed function code, transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the portable terminal device 2 via the network, and (e2) if the received function code does not match the displayed function code, does not transmit the operation screen data to the portable terminal device 2. The mobile terminal device 2 (a) captures the visible code to generate a captured image 201, (b) decodes the visible code in the captured image 201 to obtain network identification information, and connects to the image forming device 1 via the network based on the network identification information, (c) receives function designation screen data from the image forming device 1 via the network, (d) displays a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data on a general-purpose browser (web browser 46b), (e) identifies a function code input by the user on the function designation screen and transmits the function code to the image forming device 1 via the network, (f) receives operation screen data corresponding to the function code from the image forming device 1 via the network, and (g) displays an operation screen based on the operation screen data.

[0061] This allows the user to operate the image forming device 1 using a general-purpose browser, and the functions the user wants to use are identified and authenticated in one place based on a single function code, making it possible to use the image forming device 1 on the mobile terminal device 2 with good usability.

[0062] Furthermore, since the display of the visible code and the function code is controlled to be turned on / off using the motion sensor 12, the user can start operating the image forming apparatus 1 on his / her mobile terminal device 2 without touching the operation panel 11. This in turn prevents contact infection, which can cause viral infections, from occurring via the operation panel 11 of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0063] It should be noted that various changes and modifications to the above-described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. In other words, such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0064] The present invention is applicable to, for example, a device control system including an image forming apparatus. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1. Image forming device 2. Portable terminal device 11a Display device 26 Communication Equipment 32 Code Management Department 33 Server Processing Unit 34 Authentication processing section

Claims

1. an image forming apparatus connected to a network; A mobile terminal device connectable to the network, The image forming device (a) displays a visible code in which network identification information of the image forming device on the network is encoded and a function code corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming device, (b) transmits function designation screen data to the portable terminal device that has connected using the network identification information, (c) receives a function code input to a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the portable terminal device via the network, (d) executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code, (e1) if the received function code matches the displayed function code, transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the portable terminal device via the network, and (e2) if the received function code does not match the displayed function code, does not transmit the operation screen data to the portable terminal device. The portable terminal device (a) photographs the visible code to generate a photographed image, (b) decodes the visible code in the photographed image to obtain the network identification information, and connects to the image forming device via the network based on the network identification information, (c) receives the function designation screen data from the image forming device via the network, (d) displays a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data in a general-purpose browser, (e) identifies a function code input by a user to the function designation screen and transmits the function code to the image forming device via the network, (f) receives the operation screen data corresponding to the function code from the image forming device via the network, and (g) displays an operation screen based on the operation screen data. The function code is a character having a predetermined number of digits; An equipment control system comprising:

2. An image forming apparatus connected to a network; A mobile terminal device connectable to the network, The image forming device (a) displays a visible code in which network identification information of the image forming device on the network is encoded and a function code corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming device, (b) transmits function designation screen data to the portable terminal device that has connected using the network identification information, (c) receives a function code input to a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the portable terminal device via the network, (d) executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code, (e1) if the received function code matches the displayed function code, transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the portable terminal device via the network, and (e2) if the received function code does not match the displayed function code, does not transmit the operation screen data to the portable terminal device. The portable terminal device (a) photographs the visible code to generate a photographed image, (b) decodes the visible code in the photographed image to obtain the network identification information, and connects to the image forming device via the network based on the network identification information, (c) receives the function designation screen data from the image forming device via the network, (d) displays a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data in a general-purpose browser, (e) identifies a function code input by a user to the function designation screen and transmits the function code to the image forming device via the network, (f) receives the operation screen data corresponding to the function code from the image forming device via the network, and (g) displays an operation screen based on the operation screen data. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus updates the function code to be displayed when the received function code matches the displayed function code in the authentication process.

3. An image forming apparatus connected to a network; A mobile terminal device connectable to the network, The image forming device (a) displays a visible code in which network identification information of the image forming device on the network is encoded and a function code corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming device, (b) transmits function designation screen data to the portable terminal device that has connected using the network identification information, (c) receives a function code input to a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the portable terminal device via the network, (d) executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code, (e1) if the received function code matches the displayed function code, transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the portable terminal device via the network, and (e2) if the received function code does not match the displayed function code, does not transmit the operation screen data to the portable terminal device. The portable terminal device (a) photographs the visible code to generate a photographed image, (b) decodes the visible code in the photographed image to obtain the network identification information, and connects to the image forming device via the network based on the network identification information, (c) receives the function designation screen data from the image forming device via the network, (d) displays a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data in a general-purpose browser, (e) identifies a function code input by a user to the function designation screen and transmits the function code to the image forming device via the network, (f) receives the operation screen data corresponding to the function code from the image forming device via the network, and (g) displays an operation screen based on the operation screen data. The image forming device is equipped with a human presence sensor, and (a) when a human is detected by the human presence sensor while the operation mode is in a sleep mode, the operation mode is changed to a normal mode, the function code to be displayed is updated, and the display of the visible code and the function code is started, and (b) when the human is no longer detected by the human presence sensor, the operation mode is changed to a sleep mode and the display of the visible code and the function code is stopped.

4. The device control system according to claim 3, characterized in that the image forming device (a) prohibits the authentication process when the function code has been received a predetermined number of times and the received function code does not match the displayed function code, and (b) releases the prohibition of the authentication process when the operating mode is changed from a sleep mode to a normal mode after the authentication process has been prohibited.

5. In an image forming apparatus, A communication device connected to a network; A display device; a code management unit that displays, on the display device, a visible code in which network identification information of the image forming device in the network is encoded, and a function code corresponding to one or more functions of the image forming device; a server processing unit that transmits function designation screen data to the portable terminal device that has connected using the network identification information, and receives a function code input on a function designation screen based on the function designation screen data from the portable terminal device via the network; an authentication processing unit that executes an authentication process to determine whether the received function code matches the displayed function code; the server processing unit transmits operation screen data corresponding to the function code to the mobile terminal device via the network when the received function code matches the displayed function code, and does not transmit the operation screen data to the mobile terminal device when the received function code does not match the displayed function code; The function code is a character having a predetermined number of digits; An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images