Information processing device, control method and program for information processing device

Abstract

To reset a time without confusing a user when a time setting is deleted.SOLUTION: An information processing device compares time zone settings before and after upgrade after software upgrade; and determines whether a setting value before upgrade has been deleted after upgrade. When determining that the value has been deleted, the information processing device sets an appropriate setting value. For example, it generates and sets a setting value to allow the same time calibration to be continuously performed also after upgrade.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method for an information processing device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Recent multifunction devices and printers have a variety of functions and settings. For example, by setting the time on a printer, you can automatically start the printer at a certain time or manage the time when printing is performed. Some devices with time setting functions also have a time zone setting function that corrects for deviations from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) due to latitude. This time zone setting function generally displays the region name and the deviation time. The user can set the time zone by selecting the region where the device is installed or the nearest region. There is a technology that automatically sets the time zone to reduce the burden on users when setting the time zone. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that acquires location information and time information from a web server on the same network and sets the appropriate time zone. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-14515 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The names of regions where time zones are set may change based on global standards, and devices must keep up with these changes. To keep up with these changes, existing device software must be updated, but this can cause the previously set time zone to no longer exist. This can leave users perplexed and confused, as they suddenly find that their time zones have not been set. Furthermore, the method described in Patent Document 1 cannot reset the time zone if the device is not connected to a network, so users must still reset the time zone themselves, which can also cause confusion.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has an object to enable a user to reset the time without being confused when the time setting is deleted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device of the present invention is characterized by having a detection means for detecting that a setting value related to time has been deleted, and a setting means for, when the detection means detects that a setting value related to time has been deleted, generating a new option corresponding to the deleted setting value and setting the option as a new setting value related to the time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, when the time setting is deleted, the time can be reset so as not to confuse the user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an example of the external configuration of an operation display unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time zone setting screen. [Figure 4]10 is a flowchart showing an example of a correction process related to the setting of a time zone in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen after correction relating to the setting of a time zone in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a correction process related to the setting of a time zone in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen after correction relating to the setting of a time zone in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a correction process related to the setting of a time zone in the third embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen after correction relating to the setting of a time zone in the third embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a correction process related to the setting of a time zone in the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] (First embodiment) The following describes embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1, image forming apparatus 100 is an example of an information processing apparatus, and includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a printer 104, and an operation display unit 105. Image forming apparatus 100 also includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus) I / F 106 and a network I / F 107 as communication interfaces with the outside.

[0010] The CPU 101 is a system control unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus 100 . ROM 102 stores a control program for CPU 101. The control program is a control program for executing the processes of the flowcharts described below. ROM 102 is available in various types, such as a rewritable flash ROM, and stores setting values ​​and management data registered by the user of image forming apparatus 100. The time zone settings in this embodiment are saved in ROM 102. This control program can be updated by external input, and in this embodiment, this update process is called a software upgrade. When the software is upgraded, the content of control over CPU 101 changes before and after the upgrade.

[0011] The RAM 103 stores execution programs, program control variables, various work buffers, some setting values ​​registered by the user of the image forming apparatus 100, management data, and the like. The printer 104 records the received image and file data on recording paper. The operation display unit 105 is composed of a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a touch panel, an LCD, an LED, etc., and receives various operations from the user, displays an operation screen, and notifies the user.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the operation display unit 105. As shown in FIG. The operation display unit 105 has a display unit 201 and a direction key 202 . The display unit 201 displays the device status, the results of each input and output, etc. The directional keys 202 are operation keys for operating the image forming apparatus 100. The directional keys 202 are mainly assigned functions such as moving the selection cursor up and down on the selection screen and transitioning the display screen to the previous screen or the next screen. In this embodiment, the time can also be set by operating the directional keys 202.

[0013] The USB_I / F 106 connects to a USB device to communicate with it and supply power to it. Network I / F 107 transmits and receives data to and from each unit of image forming apparatus 100 via LAN 109. In particular, it receives print jobs from terminal 108 and receives control information for image forming apparatus 100 using a remote UI function. Note that LAN 109 includes a wired LAN for wired communication and a wireless LAN for wireless communication. Software upgrades in this embodiment are performed, for example, by CPU 101 downloading new software from the Internet via network I / F 107. The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 4, which will be described later, may be performed in a state where no connection is made to other devices such as the terminal 108 via a network.

[0014] Next, an example of a time zone setting screen according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. A setting screen 300 shown in Fig. 3 is displayed on the operation display unit 105. Settings screen 300 displays a title in title section 301 indicating which setting value the screen is for, and it can be seen in Fig. 3 that it displays the time zone setting screen. Options for the time zone setting value are displayed in option group 302, and the currently selected item is displayed in inverse video to indicate that it is selected. Next, a correction process related to the time zone setting in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. The process of this flowchart starts when CPU 101 receives an instruction to upgrade the software. In S401, the CPU 101 upgrades the software version and restarts the image forming apparatus 100. In step S402, the CPU 101 compares the options for the time zone setting value before and after the version upgrade to detect whether the options have been updated.

[0015] Here, an example of the process of detecting an update of the options for the time zone setting value in S402 will be described with reference to FIG. 10(a). The management table 1000 is a management table of the time zone settings immediately after the software version is updated, and is stored in the ROM 102. The CPU 101 compares the time zone setting options before and after the upgrade in the management table according to the predetermined internal value. As a result of the comparison, it is found that the option "(UTC-05:00) Panama" before the upgrade in item 1001 in Figure 10(a) is no longer present after the upgrade. In this case, the CPU 101 determines that the options have been updated because the number of options before and after the upgrade do not match. The method of determining whether or not a time zone setting has been updated is not limited to the method described above, and any method may be used as long as it can determine whether or not there has been an update to the options for the time zone setting. For example, even if the number of options is the same before and after the upgrade, the content of the options for the time zone setting may have changed. In anticipation of such a case, CPU 101 may compare the content of the options before and after the upgrade, and if there is an option whose content is different, determine that the options have been updated.

[0016] If the CPU 101 determines that the options have been updated, the process proceeds to step S403. On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that the options have not been updated, the process of this flow ends. In S403, the CPU 101 determines whether the current setting value (before the version upgrade) has been deleted by the update. Here, if the current setting value is "(UTC-05:00) Panama" as shown in Fig. 3, the item 1001 in the example of Fig. 10(a) has been deleted after the version upgrade, and therefore the CPU 101 determines that the current setting value has been deleted. If the CPU 101 determines that the current setting value has been deleted by updating, the process proceeds to step S404. On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that the current setting value has not been deleted by updating, the process of this flow ends. In step S404, CPU 101 generates a new option that has the same offset time as the current setting value but does not include the region name, and sets this option as the newly selected setting value. By setting the option corresponding to the current setting value as the newly selected setting value, image forming apparatus 100 performs the same time-related operations before and after the software upgrade.

[0017] Here, the correction process when setting the time zone in S404 will be described with reference to Fig. 10(b). Management table 1010 is a management table after correction related to the time zone setting has been made to management table 1000 in Fig. 10(a), and is stored in ROM 102. The CPU 101 generates an item 1011 with the same offset time as the current setting and with the region name blank, "(UTC-05:00)." If this internal value 13 was set in the device before the upgrade, the item 1011 with the same internal value 13 will be set even after the upgrade.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the time zone setting screen when the time zone setting correction has been performed in S404. When the currently set time zone setting value is lost due to a version upgrade, the CPU 101 generates an option 501 that has the same offset time as the currently set value and does not include a region name, and sets the option 501 as a new time zone. Although an option without a region name is created in S404, it may be possible to create an option with the same region name as the current setting value. In other words, an option with the same offset time and region name as the current setting value may be created and used as a new setting value. As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to set an appropriate setting value without requiring the user to go through the trouble of resetting the time zone.

[0019] (Second embodiment) In the first embodiment, a method for setting a time zone by generating a new option has been shown, but a method for setting a time zone from among options that already exist may also be used. In the second embodiment, a process of selecting from existing options and setting them will be described using the flowchart of Fig. 6. The process of this flowchart is started when the CPU 101 receives a software version upgrade instruction. Note that in the following embodiment, explanations of parts that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted, and only parts that differ from the first embodiment will be described. In steps S601 to S603, the CPU 101 performs the same processes as in steps S401 to S403 in the first embodiment. In step S604, the CPU 101 newly sets the option with the closest time difference from among the options for the time zone setting value, that is, sets the option with the smallest time difference before and after the version upgrade.

[0020] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the time zone setting screen when the time zone setting has been corrected in S604. If the currently set time zone value is lost due to a version upgrade, the CPU 101 sets the time zone to the set value 701 that indicates the same offset time. As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to set an appropriate setting value without increasing the number of options for setting the time zone.

[0021] (Third embodiment) In the first and second embodiments, the CPU 101 sets appropriate setting values, but a method may be used in which the user is notified that setting is necessary and prompted to set the value manually. In the third embodiment, a process of displaying a time zone setting screen to the user after a software version upgrade will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 8. The process of this flowchart starts when CPU 101 receives a software version upgrade instruction. In steps S801 to S803, the CPU 101 performs the same processes as those in steps S401 to S403 in the first embodiment. In S804, the CPU 101 displays a time zone setting screen on the operation display unit 105. This allows the user to know that it is necessary to set the time zone.

[0022] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen when setting the time zone in S804. Because the currently set time zone value no longer exists due to the version upgrade, CPU 101 preferentially displays the time zone setting screen on operation display unit 105 and prompts the user to set it. In the example of Figure 9, no value is focused to indicate that the time zone setting is in an undefined state. At this time, the CPU 101 may display a message on the setting screen to the effect that the time zone setting value has been deleted by the software upgrade and that the time zone needs to be set. As described above, according to this embodiment, the user is prompted to reset the time zone, and an appropriate setting value can be set even if, for example, the installation location of the image forming apparatus has changed before and after the version upgrade.

[0023] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program.The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 101 CPU

Claims

1. a detection means for detecting that a setting value relating to time has been deleted; a setting means for, when the detection means detects that a setting value related to time has been deleted, generating a new option corresponding to the deleted setting value and setting the option as a new setting value related to time; An information processing device comprising:

2. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said setting means generates a new option for the same time as the deleted setting value.

3. the setting value relating to the time includes information about a region corresponding to the time, 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the setting means generates a new option that has the same time as the deleted setting value and does not include information about the area corresponding to the deleted time.

4. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means detects that a setting value relating to time has been deleted as a result of a software version upgrade.

5. a detection step of detecting that a setting value related to time has been deleted; a setting step of, when it is detected in the detection step that a setting value related to time has been deleted, generating a new option corresponding to the deleted setting value and setting the option as a new setting value related to the time; 1. A method for controlling an information processing device, comprising:

6. a detection step of detecting that a setting value related to time has been deleted; a setting step of, when it is detected in the detection step that a setting value related to time has been deleted, generating a new option corresponding to the deleted setting value and setting the option as a new setting value related to the time; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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