Image forming apparatus and information processing system

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing program that enable a user to confirm an image forming apparatus capable of printing even in a case where the user approaches an image forming apparatus that cannot perform printing with print settings, without searching for the image forming apparatus capable of printing by the user himself / herself.SOLUTION: When executing printing with print settings using a predetermined function, from an image forming apparatus within a predetermined first distance, information stored in the image forming apparatus on a function executable by an image forming apparatus different from the image forming apparatus is received and stored, and an image forming apparatus capable of printing with the print settings is notified based on the information on the function.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a system comprising a portable terminal having wireless communication means and an image forming device, wherein the image forming device has a means for broadcasting information for connecting to the portable terminal and information regarding the functions of the image forming device, and the portable terminal has a discrimination means for discriminating the image forming device from information received from the image forming device, and a judgment means for discriminating whether the settings of a print job to be executed can be executed on the image forming device from the information received from the image forming device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-014006 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A system has been proposed in which an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus communicate with each other to determine whether printing is possible according to print settings set in a print job held by the information processing apparatus.

[0005] However, this system only determines whether printing is possible with the print settings, and cannot determine which image forming devices are capable of printing with those print settings. Therefore, if a user approaches an image forming device that is not capable of printing with the print settings and attempts to use it, the user will know that printing is not possible with that image forming device, and will have to search for another image forming device that is capable of printing.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide an information processing device, an image forming device, an information processing system, and an information processing program that enable a user to check an image forming device that is capable of printing even when the user approaches an image forming device that is not capable of printing using print settings, without the user having to search for an image forming device that is capable of printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An information processing device according to a first aspect includes a processor, which, when performing printing with print settings using a predetermined function, receives and stores information about functions that can be executed on an image forming device other than the image forming device that is within a predetermined first distance from the image forming device, and notifies the user of an image forming device that can print with the print settings based on the information about the functions.

[0008] In the information processing device of the second aspect, when printing is performed with print settings using a predetermined function, the processor receives and stores information regarding location information of multiple image forming devices stored in an image forming device from an image forming device that is within a predetermined first distance, and notifies the image forming device that is capable of printing with the print settings based on the information on the function and the information regarding the location information.

[0009] In the information processing device according to a third aspect, the processor is capable of acquiring location information of the own device, and transmits the location information of the own device to an image forming device that is within a second distance that is shorter than the first distance.

[0010] In the information processing device of the fourth aspect, the processor determines whether or not it is within the first distance based on whether or not it is within range of radio waves output from the image forming device, and determines whether or not it is within the second distance based on whether or not the information processing device and the image forming device have come into contact.

[0011] In an information processing device according to a fifth aspect, the processor notifies the information processing device of an image forming device that has location information closest to the information processing device, among image forming devices capable of printing with the print settings.

[0012] In the information processing device according to a sixth aspect, when notifying the image forming device having the closest location information, the processor notifies information on a distance to the image forming device having the closest location information.

[0013] In the information processing device of the seventh aspect, the processor updates the information regarding the function and the location information stored each time information regarding the function and the location information is received from the image forming device, and stores the information regarding the function and the location information of multiple image forming devices.

[0014] An image forming device according to an eighth aspect includes a processor that detects an information processing device within a predetermined first distance, and when the processor detects an information processing device within the first distance, transmits information regarding functions that can be executed by each image forming device that is stored in a memory unit to the information processing device, and when the processor detects an information processing device within a second distance that is shorter than the first distance, receives the information stored in the information processing device.

[0015] An information processing system according to a ninth aspect includes the information processing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, and the image forming device according to the eighth aspect.

[0016] An information processing program according to a tenth aspect causes a computer to, when printing is performed with print settings using a predetermined function, receive and store information about functions that can be executed on an image forming device other than the image forming device that is stored in the image forming device from an image forming device that is within a predetermined first distance, and to execute a process of notifying an image forming device that can print with the print settings based on the information about the functions. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the first aspect, even if a user approaches an image forming apparatus that cannot print using the print settings, it is possible to confirm an image forming apparatus that can print without the user having to search for the image forming apparatus by himself / herself.

[0018] According to the second aspect, compared to a case where the image forming apparatus stores only the location information of its own apparatus, an advantage is achieved in that the user can confirm the location of an image forming apparatus capable of printing without having to search for it himself.

[0019] According to the third aspect, compared to the case where the image forming apparatus is capable of acquiring location information, it is not necessary to provide the image forming apparatus with a device for acquiring location information, and therefore costs can be reduced.

[0020] According to the fourth aspect, an effect is achieved in that the user can be notified of the image forming device capable of printing without having to go directly in front of the image forming device.

[0021] According to the fifth aspect, there is an advantage that the movement of the user can be minimized.

[0022] According to the sixth aspect, there is an effect that it can be used as a guide for travel time when the user moves.

[0023] According to the seventh aspect, even if the image forming apparatus is changed, it is possible to keep the information on the functions and the position information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses up to date.

[0024] According to the eighth aspect, even if a user approaches an image forming apparatus that cannot print using the print settings, it is possible for the user to check for an image forming apparatus that can print without having to search for the image forming apparatus by himself / herself.

[0025] According to the ninth aspect, it is possible to provide an information processing system that allows a user to check an image forming device that is capable of printing, even if the user approaches an image forming device that is not capable of printing with the print settings, without the user having to search for an image forming device that is capable of printing, by himself / herself.

[0026] According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to provide an information processing program that enables a user to check an image forming device that is capable of printing, even if the user approaches an image forming device that is not capable of printing using the print settings, without the user having to search for an image forming device that is capable of printing, by himself / herself. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a smartphone according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation of the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the information processing system subsequent to FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6 is a sequence diagram showing another example of the operation of the information processing system subsequent to FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of an installation state of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14]FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printer information list according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or equivalent components and parts are given the same reference numerals. In addition, the dimensional ratios of the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0029] An example of an information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. 1, an information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment includes a smartphone 20 and a plurality of image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. The smartphone 20 is an example of an information processing apparatus.

[0030] A smartphone 20 and a plurality of image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 are connected via a network N. This network N allows connection via BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) and NFC (Near field communication). Here, BLE and NFC are communication methods with different communication distances between the smartphone 20 and the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50, BLE being an example of a communication method capable of communication at a first distance, and NFC being an example of a communication method capable of communication at a second distance shorter than the first distance. Note that an example of a communication method capable of communication at the second distance is not limited to BLE, and may be another communication method. Also, an example of a communication method capable of communication at the first distance is not limited to NFC, and may be another communication method. Here, whether or not the smartphone 20 is within the first distance is determined based on whether or not the smartphone 20 is within the range of radio waves output from the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. Also, whether or not the smartphone 20 is within the second distance is determined based on whether or not the smartphone 20 and the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 are in contact (touch). Furthermore, the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 may be connected to each other via a network, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, etc. Furthermore, a PC (Personal Computer) may be connected to the information processing system 10 via a network.

[0031] The smartphone 20 is a portable terminal carried by a user. The user prints data stored in the smartphone 20 using the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the smartphone 20 according to this embodiment.

[0033] 2, the smartphone 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, which is an example of a processor, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, a storage 24, an input unit 25, a display unit 26, a BLE I / F 27, an NFC I / F 28, and a location information acquisition unit 29. Each component is connected to each other via a bus so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0034] The CPU 21 is a central processing unit, and executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 21 reads a program from the ROM 22 or the storage 24, and executes the program using the RAM 23 as a working area. The CPU 21 controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing according to the program recorded in the ROM 22 or the storage 24. In this embodiment, the program is stored in the ROM 22 or the storage 24.

[0035] The ROM 22 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 23 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 24 is configured with an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, etc., and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

[0036] In this embodiment, the storage 24 also stores a printer information list that lists the image forming devices 30, 50. The printer information list is transmitted to and received from the image forming devices 30, 50 as described below. The printer information list includes information regarding the ID of each image forming device, functions executable by each image forming device, location information (latitude, longitude, altitude) of each image forming device, and the update time of the printer information list. Note that the printer information list may include other information. In this embodiment, the storage 24 also stores a printing application program for printing data from the smartphone 20 using the image forming devices 30, 50.

[0037] The input unit 25 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to perform various inputs. As will be described later, the input unit 25 is used for print settings, instructions to start printing, and the like. In this embodiment, the touch panel type display unit 26 functions as the input unit 25.

[0038] The display unit 26 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display unit 26 displays various information under the control of the CPU 21. In this embodiment, the display unit 26 also functions as the input unit 25 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0039] The BLE I / F 27 has a function of performing wireless communication by BLE with the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. The BLE I / F 27 includes an antenna for wireless communication, and functions as a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data with the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50.

[0040] The NFC I / F 28 has a function of performing wireless communication by short-range wireless communication with the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. The NFC I / F 28 includes an antenna for wireless communication, and functions as a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50.

[0041] The location information acquisition unit 29 acquires location information of the smartphone 20. For example, this is GPS (Global Positioning System).

[0042] The multiple image forming devices 30, 50 are capable of printing, copying, facsimile, scanning, etc. Each image forming device 30, 50 has a function capable of executing printing with the print settings of a print application program of the smartphone 20. In this embodiment, the functions of each image forming device 30, 50 are different, and depending on the print settings of the print application program of the smartphone 20, printing may or may not be possible.

[0043] Next, a description will be given of the hardware configuration of the multiple image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. Note that the hardware configuration common to the multiple image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 will be described by taking the image forming apparatus 30 as an example.

[0044] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 30 according to this embodiment. 3, the image forming device 30 includes a CPU 31 which is an example of a processor, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a storage 34 which is an example of a memory unit, an input unit 35, a display unit 36, a document reading unit 37, an image forming unit 38, a communication I / F 39, a BLE I / F 40, and an NFC I / F 41. Each component is connected to each other via a bus so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0045] The CPU 31 is a central processing unit, and executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 31 reads a program from the ROM 32 or the storage 34, and executes the program using the RAM 33 as a working area. The CPU 31 controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing according to the program recorded in the ROM 32 or the storage 34. In this embodiment, the program is stored in the ROM 32 or the storage 34.

[0046] The ROM 32 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 33 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 34 is configured with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various programs including an operating system, and various data.

[0047] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the storage 34 stores a printer information list that lists the image forming apparatus 30 itself and other image forming apparatuses 50. The printer information list is transmitted to and received from the smartphone 20 as described below. The printer information list includes information regarding the ID of each image forming apparatus, functions executable by each image forming apparatus, location information (latitude, longitude, altitude) of each image forming apparatus, and the update time of the printer information list. Note that the printer information list may include other information.

[0048] The input unit 35 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to perform various inputs. The input unit 35 is used to give instructions to start printing, etc. In this embodiment, the touch panel type display unit 36 ​​functions as the input unit 35.

[0049] The display unit 36 ​​is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display unit 36 ​​displays various information under the control of the CPU 31. The display unit 36 ​​also functions as the input unit 35 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0050] The document reading unit 37 takes in documents placed on a paper feed tray of an automatic feeder (not shown) provided on the top of the image forming apparatus 30, one sheet at a time, and optically reads the documents to obtain image information. Alternatively, the document reading unit 37 optically reads a document placed on a tray such as a platen glass to obtain image information.

[0051] Here, the image information of the document read by the document reading unit 37 is stored in the storage 34 of the image forming device 30, printed by the image forming unit 38 described later, or transmitted to another image forming device having a FAX (Facsimile) function via the communication I / F 39 described later.

[0052] The image forming unit 38 forms, i.e., prints, an image based on the print data contained in the print job obtained from the smartphone 20 connected via the network N or the image information obtained by reading by the document reading unit 37 onto a recording medium such as paper.

[0053] The communication I / F 39 connects the image forming apparatus 30 to a public line, and transmits and receives image information obtained by reading with the document reading unit 37 to and from other image forming apparatuses having a FAX function.

[0054] The BLE I / F 40 has a function of performing BLE wireless communication with the smartphone 20. The BLE I / F 40 includes an antenna for wireless communication, and functions as a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from the smartphone 20.

[0055] The NFC I / F 41 has a function of performing wireless communication by short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 20. The NFC I / F 41 includes an antenna for wireless communication, and functions as a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from the smartphone 20.

[0056] Although not shown, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 50 is equipped with a stapler and a duplex printing device that are not equipped in the image forming apparatus 30. The stapler is a device that staples paper. The duplex printing device is a device that allows printing on both sides of paper. In this embodiment, the image forming unit 38 of the image forming apparatus 30 is capable of printing only in monochrome, while the image forming unit 58 of the image forming apparatus 50 is capable of printing in both color and monochrome.

[0057] Next, an example of the operation of the information processing system 10 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the information processing system 10. As shown in FIG.

[0058] First, as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 are installed. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 30 is an apparatus with an ID of "001", an installation location of "latitude 35.463569, longitude 139.627638, altitude 75 m", and functions of "monochrome", "no stapling", and "no double-sided printing", and the image forming apparatus 50 is an apparatus with an ID of "002", an installation location of "latitude 35.463561, longitude 139.627634, altitude 75 m", and functions of "color / monochrome", "with stapling", and "with double-sided printing". The installation location is not determined when the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 are installed, and is obtained from the smartphone 20 at the time of printing, as described later. Here, a state in which there is no data in the printer information list of the user's smartphone 20 and there is no data in the printer information list of the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 other than information on the functions of the apparatus itself, that is, a state in which printing is performed for the first time, is described.

[0059] 4, the print settings determined by the user on the smartphone 20 are set in the printing application program. For example, a case will be described where "color", "single-sided printing", and "with staples" are set as the print settings.

[0060] Here, the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 act as peripherals in BLE and periodically transmit BLE advertisement packets in preparation for connection with the smartphone 20.

[0061] In step S101, the user issues a print instruction on the smartphone 20. Upon receiving the print instruction, the smartphone 20 starts scanning to search for the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 within the BLE communication range.

[0062] In step S102, the user moves around with the smartphone 20. Then, the smartphone 20 receives an advertising packet output from, for example, the image forming apparatus 50 among the multiple image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. That is, the smartphone 20 enters within the range (communication range) of the BLE radio waves of the image forming apparatus 50.

[0063] In step S103, the smartphone 20 transmits a scan request to the image forming apparatus 50. The image forming apparatus 50, which has received the scan request, updates the printer information list as shown in Fig. 8. Here, the image forming apparatus 50 writes its own information in the storage area of ​​the printer information list. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 transmits the updated printer information list to the smartphone 20 as a scan response.

[0064] In step S104, the smartphone 20 updates its own printer information list stored in the storage 24 with the received printer information list. Specifically, the smartphone 20 writes the ID, function, and update time of the image forming device 50 as shown in Fig. 9(B) to a storage area for the printer information list in the storage 24 as shown in Fig. 9(A).

[0065] In step S105, the smartphone 20 searches for an image forming device that satisfies the print settings in the updated printer information list. In this example, since only the image forming device 50 is registered in the printer information list, it is determined whether the print settings of "color", "single-sided printing", and "with staples" can be printed by the image forming device 50. Since the image forming device 50 is capable of printing "color", "single-sided printing", and "with staples", a display is displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20 indicating that printing is possible by the image forming device 50. In this case, the location information of the image forming device 50 and the distance information to the image forming device 50 are notified to the user. Here, the location information of the image forming device 50 may be information such as latitude and longitude as the location information of the image forming device 50 on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20, or the direction may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20.

[0066] In step S106, the user who has approached the image forming apparatus 50 causes the smartphone 20 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 50 using NFC. That is, by bringing the smartphone 20 into contact (touching) with the image forming apparatus 50, the NFC I / F 28 of the smartphone 20 and the NFC I / F 61 of the image forming apparatus 50 communicate with each other.

[0067] In step S107, the smartphone 20 detects that it is in close proximity to the image forming apparatus 50, triggered by the communication between the smartphone 20 and the image forming apparatus 50 using NFC in step S106.

[0068] In step S108, the smartphone 20 acquires its own location information by the location information acquisition unit 29, and updates the printer information list by adding the location information to the printer information list as shown in FIG. 10. Here, the location information acquired by the smartphone 20 by the location information acquisition unit 29 is the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the smartphone 20. The smartphone 20 and the image forming device 50 communicate with each other by NFC, and the communication range of NFC is so short that the communication devices need to be in contact with each other to communicate. Therefore, the location information of the image forming device 50 and the location information of the smartphone 20 are almost the same. Therefore, the location information of the image forming device 50 is acquired by the location information acquisition unit 29 of the smartphone 20. In this example, the image forming devices 30 and 50 do not have a location information acquisition unit, so the location information is acquired by the location information acquisition unit 29 that is often included in the smartphone 20. However, if the image forming devices 30 and 50 have a location information acquisition unit, the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit of the image forming devices 30 and 50 may be stored in the printer information list.

[0069] In step S109, the smartphone 20 transmits the printer information list (see FIG. 10) stored in the storage 24 to the image forming apparatus 50. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 updates the printer information list stored in the storage 54. In this case, the printer information list stored in the image forming apparatus 50 becomes equivalent to the printer information list stored in the smartphone 20 shown in FIG.

[0070] In step S110, the smartphone 20 transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 50 using the NFC I / F 28. Note that the transmission of the print job is not limited to being performed using the NFC I / F 28, and may be performed using the BLE I / F 27. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 executes printing according to the set print settings.

[0071] Here, steps S107 to S110 are desirably performed while the user is touching the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 50 in step S106. If steps S107 to S110 are not performed while the user is touching the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 50 in step S106, the user touches the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 50 again.

[0072] Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation subsequent to the example of the operation of the information processing system 10 shown in Fig. 4. Specifically, this is an example of an operation when printing is performed for the first time by the image forming apparatus 30.

[0073] 5, the print settings determined by the user on the smartphone 20 are set in the printing application program. For example, a case will be described in which "monochrome", "single-sided printing", and "no stapling" are set as the print settings.

[0074] Here, the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 act as peripherals in BLE and periodically transmit BLE advertisement packets in preparation for connection with the smartphone 20.

[0075] In step S201, the user issues a print instruction on the smartphone 20. Upon receiving the print instruction, the smartphone 20 starts scanning to search for the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 within the BLE communication range.

[0076] In step S202, the user moves around with the smartphone 20. Then, the smartphone 20 receives an advertising packet outputted, for example, from the image forming apparatus 30 among the multiple image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. That is, the smartphone 20 enters within the range (communication range) of the BLE radio waves of the image forming apparatus 30.

[0077] In step S203, the smartphone 20 transmits a scan request to the image forming apparatus 30. The image forming apparatus 30 that receives the scan request updates the printer information list as shown in Fig. 11. Here, the image forming apparatus 30 updates its own information in the printer information list. Then, the image forming apparatus 30 transmits the updated printer information list to the smartphone 20 as a scan response.

[0078] In step S204, the smartphone 20 updates its own printer information list stored in the storage 24 with the received printer information list. Specifically, the ID, function, and update time of the image forming device 30 as shown in Fig. 12(B) are written to a storage area of ​​the printer information list of the storage 24 as shown in Fig. 12(A). In addition, since the printer information of the image forming device 50 is also stored in the printer information list stored in the smartphone 20, the printer information of the image forming device 30 is added.

[0079] In step S205, the smartphone 20 searches for an image forming apparatus that satisfies the print settings in the updated printer information list. In this example, since the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50 are registered in the printer information list, it is determined whether the print settings of "monochrome", "single-sided printing", and "no stapling" can be printed by the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50. Since both the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50 are capable of printing "monochrome", "single-sided printing", and "no stapling", the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20 notifies the closest image forming apparatus 30 out of the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50. In this case, the position information of the image forming apparatus 30 and the distance information to the image forming apparatus 30 are notified to the user. Here, the position information of the image forming apparatus 30 may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20 as the position information of the image forming apparatus 30, such as latitude and longitude information, or the direction may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20. In addition to the case where the nearest image forming apparatus 30 is notified, all image forming apparatuses 30, 50 capable of printing may be displayed, and the nearest image forming apparatus 30 may be highlighted to make it stand out.

[0080] In step S206, the user who has approached the image forming apparatus 30 causes the smartphone 20 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 30 using NFC. That is, by bringing the smartphone 20 into contact (touching) with the image forming apparatus 30, the NFC I / F 28 of the smartphone 20 and the NFC I / F 41 of the image forming apparatus 30 communicate with each other.

[0081] In step S207, the smartphone 20 detects that it is in close proximity to the image forming apparatus 30, triggered by the communication between the smartphone 20 and the image forming apparatus 30 using NFC in step S206.

[0082] In step S208, the smartphone 20 acquires its own location information by the location information acquisition unit 29, and updates the printer information list by adding the location information to the printer information list, as shown in Fig. 13. Here, the location information acquired by the smartphone 20 by the location information acquisition unit 29 is the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the smartphone 20. The smartphone 20 and the image forming device 30 communicate by NFC, and the communication range of NFC is so short that the communication devices need to be in contact with each other, so the location information of the image forming device 30 and the location information of the smartphone 20 are almost the same, and therefore the location information of the image forming device 30 is acquired by the location information acquisition unit 29 of the smartphone 20 on its behalf.

[0083] In step S209, the smartphone 20 transmits the printer information list (see FIG. 13) stored in the storage 24 to the image forming apparatus 30. Then, the image forming apparatus 30 updates the printer information list stored in the storage 34. In this case, the printer information list stored in the image forming apparatus 30 becomes equivalent to the printer information list stored in the smartphone 20 shown in FIG.

[0084] In step S210, the smartphone 20 transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 30 using the NFC I / F 28. Note that the transmission of the print job is not limited to being performed using the NFC I / F 28, and may be performed using the BLE I / F 27. Then, the image forming apparatus 30 executes printing according to the set print settings.

[0085] Here, steps S207 to S210 are desirably performed while the user is touching the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 30 in step S206. If steps S207 to S210 are not performed while the user is touching the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 30 in step S206, the user touches the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 30 again.

[0086] In this way, as the user prints using the image forming apparatus 30, 50, the installed image forming apparatus 30, 50 is registered in the printer information list, eliminating the need to set up a newly introduced smartphone or image forming apparatus individually. In other words, there is no need to register a newly introduced smartphone to an image forming apparatus, and there is no need to register a newly introduced image forming apparatus to a smartphone. Moreover, the users in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 may be the same person or different people, and the smartphones 20 may be the same terminal or different terminals.

[0087] Furthermore, if there is no image forming device capable of printing according to the print settings, a message such as "There is no printer capable of printing" or "Please find another printer" is displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20. In addition, when there is no image forming device capable of printing with the print settings, this includes cases where printing is not possible with all of the installed image forming devices, as well as cases where an image forming device capable of printing is installed but has not yet been registered in the printer information list because it has not yet been used.

[0088] In other words, the information processing system 10 of this embodiment is a system that stores information about the image forming devices 30, 50 that have been used for printing in the past as a printer information list, and updates the printer information list between the smartphone 20 and the image forming devices 30, 50, thereby notifying the user of the image forming devices that can be used for printing.

[0089] Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation subsequent to the example of the operation of the information processing system 10 shown in Fig. 5. That is, printing has been performed in the past by all the installed image forming devices 30, 50, and all the image forming devices 30, 50 are registered in the printer information list.

[0090] 6, the print settings determined by the user on the smartphone 20 are set in the printing application program. For example, a case will be described in which "color", "double-sided printing", and "no stapling" are set as the print settings.

[0091] Here, the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 act as peripherals in BLE and periodically transmit BLE advertisement packets in preparation for connection with the smartphone 20.

[0092] In step S301, the user issues a print instruction on the smartphone 20. Upon receiving the print instruction, the smartphone 20 starts scanning to search for the image forming apparatuses 30 and 50 within the BLE communication range.

[0093] In step S302, the user moves around with the smartphone 20. Then, the smartphone 20 receives an advertising packet outputted, for example, from the image forming apparatus 30 among the multiple image forming apparatuses 30 and 50. That is, the smartphone 20 enters within the range (communication range) of the BLE radio waves of the image forming apparatus 30.

[0094] In step S303, the smartphone 20 transmits a scan request to the image forming apparatus 30. The image forming apparatus 30 that receives the scan request updates the printer information list as shown in Fig. 14. Here, the image forming apparatus 30 updates its own information in the printer information list. Then, the image forming apparatus 30 transmits the updated printer information list to the smartphone 20 as a scan response.

[0095] In step S304, the smartphone 20 updates its own printer information list stored in the storage 24 with the received printer information list. Specifically, the ID, function, and update time are updated as shown in FIG.

[0096] In step S305, the smartphone 20 searches for an image forming apparatus that satisfies the print settings in the updated printer information list. In this example, since the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50 are registered in the printer information list, it is determined whether the print settings of "color", "double-sided printing", and "no stapling" can be printed by the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50. Since the image forming apparatus 30, which is within the communication range of BLE, cannot print "color", "double-sided printing", and "no stapling", and the image forming apparatus 50 can print, the location information of the image forming apparatus 50 is notified to the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20. Here, the location information of the image forming apparatus 50 may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20 as the location information of the image forming apparatus 50, such as latitude and longitude information, or the direction may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20. In addition, distance information to the image forming apparatus 50 may be notified.

[0097] In step S306, the user who has been notified of the location information of the image forming apparatus 50 moves to the location where the image forming apparatus 50 is installed. Then, the smartphone 20 receives an advertising packet output from the image forming apparatus 50. That is, the smartphone 20 enters within the range (communication range) of the BLE radio waves of the image forming apparatus 50.

[0098] In step S307, the smartphone 20 transmits a scan request to the image forming apparatus 50. The image forming apparatus 50 that receives the scan request updates the printer information list as shown in Fig. 16. Here, the image forming apparatus 50 updates its own information in the printer information list. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 transmits the updated printer information list to the smartphone 20 as a scan response.

[0099] In step S308, the smartphone 20 updates its own printer information list stored in the storage 24 with the received printer information list. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 17, the ID, function, and update time are updated. In addition, since the printer information list stored in the smartphone 20 also stores the printer information of the image forming device 30, the printer information of the image forming device 50 is updated.

[0100] In step S309, the smartphone 20 searches for an image forming apparatus that satisfies the print settings in the updated printer information list. In this example, since the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50 are registered in the printer information list, it is determined whether or not the print settings of "color", "double-sided printing", and "no stapling" can be printed by the image forming apparatus 30 and the image forming apparatus 50. Since the image forming apparatus 50 within the communication range of BLE can print with "color", "double-sided printing", and "no stapling", the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20 displays a message indicating that printing is possible by the image forming apparatus 50. In this case, the position information of the image forming apparatus 50 and the distance information to the image forming apparatus 50 are notified to the user. Here, the position information of the image forming apparatus 50 may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20 as the latitude and longitude information of the image forming apparatus 50, or the direction may be displayed on the display unit 26 of the smartphone 20.

[0101] In step S310, the user who has approached the image forming apparatus 50 causes the smartphone 20 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 50 using NFC. That is, by bringing the smartphone 20 into contact (touching) with the image forming apparatus 30, the NFC I / F 28 of the smartphone 20 and the NFC I / F 61 of the image forming apparatus 50 communicate with each other.

[0102] In step S311, the smartphone 20 detects that it is in close proximity to the image forming apparatus 50, triggered by the smartphone 20 and the image forming apparatus 50 communicating with each other using NFC in step S310.

[0103] In step S312, the smartphone 20 acquires its own location information by the location information acquisition unit 29, and updates the printer information list by adding the location information to the printer information list as shown in FIG. 18. Even if the image forming device 50 has moved, the location information is updated, and information on where the image forming device 50 is located is stored in the printer information list. Here, the location information acquired by the smartphone 20 by the location information acquisition unit 29 is the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the smartphone 20. The smartphone 20 and the image forming device 50 communicate with each other by NFC, and the communication range of NFC is so short that the communication devices need to be in contact with each other to communicate, so the location information of the image forming device 50 and the location information of the smartphone 20 are almost the same, and therefore the location information of the image forming device 50 is acquired by the location information acquisition unit 29 of the smartphone 20 on its behalf.

[0104] In step S313, the smartphone 20 transmits the printer information list (see FIG. 18) stored in the storage 24 to the image forming apparatus 50. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 updates the printer information list stored in the storage 54 as shown in FIG.

[0105] In step S314, the smartphone 20 transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 50 using the NFC I / F 28. Note that the transmission of the print job is not limited to being performed using the NFC I / F 28, and may be performed using the BLE I / F 27. Then, the image forming apparatus 50 executes printing according to the set print settings.

[0106] Here, steps S311 to S314 are desirably performed while the user is touching the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 50 in step S310. If steps S311 to S314 are not performed while the user is touching the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 50 in step S310, the user touches the smartphone 20 to the image forming apparatus 50 again.

[0107] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0108] In the above embodiment, the program is pre-stored (installed) in a ROM or storage, but the present invention is not limited to this. The program may be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. The program may also be downloaded from an external device via a network.

[0109] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0110] In addition, the operations of the processor in the above-mentioned embodiments may be performed not only by one processor but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 10. Information Processing Systems 20 Smartphone 30, 50 Image forming device N Network

Claims

1. A processor is provided. The processor, Detecting an information processing device within a predetermined first distance; When the information processing device within the first distance is detected, information about functions executable by each image forming device stored in a storage unit is transmitted to the information processing device; When an information processing device is detected within a second distance that is shorter than the first distance, the image forming device receives the information stored in the information processing device.

2. An information processing device, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ; An information processing system comprising: The information processing device includes a processor, The processor, When printing is performed with print settings using a predetermined function, information on a function that can be executed by an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus is received from the image forming apparatus that is within a predetermined first distance and is stored in the image forming apparatus, and the information is stored; notifying an image forming apparatus capable of printing with the print settings based on the function information; Information processing system.

3. The processor, When printing is performed with print settings using a predetermined function, information regarding location information of a plurality of image forming devices stored in the image forming device is received from the image forming device that is within a predetermined first distance, and the information is stored; The information processing system according to claim 2 , further comprising: notifying an image forming apparatus capable of printing with the print settings based on the information regarding the functions and the information regarding the location.

4. The processor, The location information of the own device can be acquired, The information processing system according to claim 3 , wherein the image forming apparatus transmits position information of the image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus comes within a second distance that is shorter than the first distance.

5. The processor, determining whether the image forming apparatus is within the first distance based on whether the image forming apparatus is within a range of radio waves output from the image forming apparatus; The information processing system according to claim 4 , wherein whether or not the information processing device and the image forming device are within the second distance is determined based on whether or not the information processing device and the image forming device are in contact with each other.

6. The processor, 6. The information processing system according to claim 3, further comprising: a notification of an image forming apparatus having location information that is closest to the information processing apparatus, among image forming apparatuses that are capable of printing with the print settings.

7. The processor, The information processing system according to claim 6 , wherein when notifying the image forming apparatus with the closest position information, information on a distance to the image forming apparatus with the closest position information is notified.

8. The processor, An information processing system according to any one of claims 3 to 7, which updates the information on the function and the location information stored each time information on the function and the location information is received from the image forming device, and stores information on the function and the location information of multiple image forming devices.

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