Computer program and information processing method

Abstract

To reduce the operational burden on a user occurring in selecting a desired image forming apparatus in a user terminal.SOLUTION: A computer program includes: a step of acquiring information on an image forming apparatus used in the past; and a first display step of generating screen data of a history display screen including the information on the image forming apparatus used in the past, and displaying, on a display, information on an image forming apparatus that is currently usable and an image forming apparatus that is not currently usable in different modes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to a computer program and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, image formation jobs have been sent from a terminal device to an image forming device such as an MFP (multifunction peripheral) via a network. In an environment where multiple image forming devices are available, image forming devices that have been used in the past may be displayed preferentially rather than all image forming devices being displayed as selectable. This configuration eliminates the need for a user to select a desired image forming device from among all image forming devices each time the user sends an image formation job. This reduces the user's workload. However, if an image forming device that has been used in the past is unavailable, the user must again select an alternative image forming device from among all image forming devices. This may increase the user's workload. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-219879 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a computer program and an information processing method that can reduce the operational burden on a user when selecting a desired image forming apparatus on a user terminal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A computer program according to an embodiment is a computer program for causing a computer to execute the following control method. The control method includes an acquisition step and a first display step. In the acquisition step, information about image forming devices that have been used in the past is acquired. In the first display step, screen data for a history display screen including information about image forming devices that have been used in the past is generated, and information about currently available image forming devices and information about image forming devices that are not currently available are displayed on a display device in different formats. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an image forming system 500 according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a hardware block diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram of a user terminal 300. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a device search screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a specific example of a candidate display screen. [Figure 6] 10 is a sequence chart showing a specific example of the flow of processing in the image forming system 500. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A computer program and an information processing method according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system 500 according to an embodiment. The image forming system 500 includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100, a communication device 200, a user terminal 300, and a network 400. The image forming apparatus 100 is an apparatus that forms an image on a sheet. The image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral. The plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 are connected to the network 400 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0008] The communication device 200 is, for example, a device such as a wireless router (Wi-Fi router: Wi-Fi is a registered trademark). The communication device 200 is communicably connected to another information device (for example, a user terminal 300) and a network 400. The user terminal 300 is an information processing device that transmits jobs such as image formation to the image forming device 100. The image forming device 100 and the user terminal 300 are communicably connected to each other via the network 400. The network 400 is a communication path through which multiple devices can communicate with each other. The network 400 may be, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) or a wireless LAN. The network 400 may also be configured in other ways. Each device will be described in detail below.

[0009] Fig. 2 is a hardware block diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. First, the image forming apparatus 100 will be described in detail using Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image reading unit 10, a display 110, a control panel 120, an image forming unit 130, a sheet storage unit 140, a communication unit 150, a storage unit 160, and a control unit 170.

[0010] The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on a sheet using a developer such as toner or ink. The sheet may be any material on whose surface the image forming apparatus 100 can form an image.

[0011] The image reading unit 10 reads the image information of the reading target as brightness and darkness of light. The image reading unit 10 records the read image information. The recorded image information may be transmitted to another information processing device via the network 400. The recorded image information may be formed into an image on a sheet by the image forming unit 130.

[0012] The display 110 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, etc. The display 110 displays various information related to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0013] The control panel 120 includes an operating device such as a plurality of buttons. The control panel 120 accepts user operations. For example, the control panel 120 may accept input of numbers and letters. The control panel 120 outputs a signal to the control unit 170 in accordance with the operation performed by the user. The display 110 and the control panel 120 may be configured as an integrated touch panel.

[0014] The image forming unit 130 forms an image on a sheet based on image information generated by the image reading unit 10 or image information received via a communication path. The image forming unit 130 includes, for example, a photosensitive drum, an exposure unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, and a fixing unit.

[0015] The sheet storage section 140 stores sheets to be used for image formation in the image forming unit 130. A transport roller is provided in the sheet storage section 140. The transport roller transports the sheets stored in the sheet storage section 140 to a transport path leading to the image forming unit 130.

[0016] The communication unit 150 is configured using a communication interface and communicates with other devices (for example, the communication device 200 and the user terminal 300) via the network 400.

[0017] The storage unit 160 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 160 stores data required for operation of the image forming apparatus 100. The storage unit 160 may temporarily store data of an image formed by the image forming apparatus 100.

[0018] The control unit 170 is configured using a processor such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and a memory. The control unit 170 reads and executes programs pre-stored in the storage unit 160. The control unit 170 controls the operation of each device included in the image forming apparatus 100. For example, when the control unit 170 receives an image formation request from the user terminal 300, the control unit 170 may control the image forming apparatus 100 to form an image on a sheet in accordance with the received image formation request. For example, when the control unit 170 receives a status check request from the user terminal 300, the control unit 170 generates information indicating the status of the image forming apparatus 100 (status check result) and transmits the information to the user terminal 300.

[0019] 3 is a hardware block diagram of user terminal 300. Next, details of user terminal 300 will be described. User terminal 300 may be a portable information processing device such as a smartphone, tablet, or portable game device. User terminal 300 may also be a stationary information processing device such as a personal computer, workstation, stationary game device, or television set. User terminal 300 includes a communication unit 31, an operation unit 32, a display unit 33, a memory unit 34, and a control unit 35.

[0020] The communication unit 31 is configured using a communication interface. The communication unit 31 may be configured using, for example, a communication interface that performs wireless communication. In this case, the communication unit 31 performs wireless communication with the communication device 200. The communication unit 31 communicates with each image forming apparatus 100 via the communication device 200 and the network 400.

[0021] The operation unit 32 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), buttons, a touch panel, etc. The operation unit 32 is operated by a user when inputting user instructions to the user terminal 300. The operation unit 32 may be an interface for connecting an input device to the user terminal 300. In this case, the operation unit 32 inputs an input signal generated by the input device in response to a user input to the user terminal 300. The operation unit 32 may be configured using a microphone and a voice recognition device. In this case, the operation unit 32 recognizes words spoken by the user and inputs character string information of the recognition result to the user terminal 300. The operation unit 32 may only input voice, and the voice recognition may be performed by the control unit 35. The operation unit 32 may be configured in any way as long as it is capable of inputting user instructions to the user terminal 300.

[0022] The display unit 33 displays information in a form that can be recognized by the user. The display unit 33 may be an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 33 may also be an interface for connecting an image display device to the user terminal 300. In this case, the display unit 33 generates a video signal for displaying image data and outputs the video signal to the image display device connected to the display unit 33.

[0023] The storage unit 34 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 34 stores data required for the operation of the user terminal 300. The storage unit 34 stores program code of a predetermined application installed in the user terminal 300. The storage unit 34 stores, for example, identification information that identifies the device itself. Specific examples of such identification information include an IP address, a pre-assigned ID, and a terminal name used on the network 400. The storage unit 34 functions as a history information storage unit 341.

[0024] The history information storage unit 341 stores information (hereinafter referred to as "history information") related to image formation jobs executed on the device itself (user terminal 300). The history information may be, for example, information indicating the image forming device 100 used in the image formation job executed on the device itself. The history information may be, for example, information indicating the options used in the image formation job executed on the device itself.

[0025] An option is an additional function used in image formation. Specific examples of options include additional functions such as a process for forming images on both sides of a sheet (hereinafter referred to as "double-sided image formation"), a process for forming images in color (hereinafter referred to as "color image formation"), post-processing using staples (hereinafter referred to as "stapling"), and bookbinding. The history information storage unit 341 may discard old information that satisfies a predetermined condition. For example, the history information storage unit 341 may store only information about the most recently executed image formation job up to a predetermined number of jobs going back. For example, the history information storage unit 341 may store only information about the most recently used image forming apparatus 100 up to a predetermined number of jobs going back.

[0026] The control unit 35 is configured using a processor such as a CPU and a memory (main storage device). The control unit 35 functions when the processor executes a program. Note that all or part of the functions of the control unit 35 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of computer-readable recording media include portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and semiconductor storage devices (e.g., SSDs: Solid State Drives), as well as storage devices such as hard disks and semiconductor storage devices built into computer systems. The program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0027] The control unit 35 may execute, for example, an application that has been pre-installed on the user terminal 300. A specific example of such an application is an application provided to the user terminal 100 as a dedicated application for the image forming system 500. Another specific example of such an application is a web browser application. The control unit 35 operates according to the program of the application that is being executed. The control unit 35 operates, for example, as a printer control unit 351 and a screen control unit 352.

[0028] The printer control unit 351 transmits an image formation job to the image forming apparatus 100 in response to a user operation. The printer control unit 351 records information related to the transmitted image formation job in the history information storage unit 341. For example, the printer control unit 351 may record information indicating the destination of the transmitted image formation job (the image forming apparatus 100 used for image formation) and information indicating the options used in the transmitted image formation job in the history information storage unit 341.

[0029] The screen control unit 352 generates screen data to be displayed on the display unit 33 and displays it on the display unit 33. For example, when a user performs an operation to start a search for the image forming device 100, the screen control unit 352 generates screen data for a device search screen and displays it on the display unit 33. A specific example of the screen data for the device search screen will be described below.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a device search screen. The device search screen includes a history display screen, a network display screen, a two-dimensional code display screen, and an NFC display screen. In the example of Fig. 4, the history display screen is displayed. The history display screen displays information about the image forming device 100 that has been used in the past by the user of the device (user terminal 300).

[0031] The network display screen may display information about image forming apparatuses 100 that can communicate via network 400. For example, the screen control unit 352 of the user terminal 300 may search for image forming apparatuses 100 that can communicate via network 400, and the information obtained as a result of the search may be displayed on the network display screen. For example, the network display screen may display information about image forming apparatuses 100 that are registered in the storage unit 34 of the user terminal 300.

[0032] The two-dimensional code display screen displays a screen for reading a two-dimensional code that has been prepared in advance to connect to image forming apparatus 100 via network 400. Such a two-dimensional code may be provided in image forming apparatus 100, for example, or may be distributed to the user as a document. For example, when the two-dimensional code display screen is displayed, an imaging device provided in user terminal 300 may be put into operation, and a process may be performed to search for and decode the two-dimensional code from a captured image. When a two-dimensional code related to image forming apparatus 100 is read, information about the read image forming apparatus 100 is displayed on the two-dimensional code display screen.

[0033] When the NFC display screen is displayed, information exchange for establishing a communication connection with image forming apparatus 100 via network 400 is performed using NFC with image forming apparatus 100. Information indicating the progress of the exchange of information for establishing a communication connection is displayed on the NFC display screen. When the exchange using NFC with image forming apparatus 100 is completed, information related to image forming apparatus 100 with which the exchange has been completed is displayed on the NFC display screen.

[0034] A specific example of the history display screen will be described using Fig. 4. The history display screen displays an area (hereinafter referred to as the "history display area") that shows a list of image forming devices 100 that have been used by the user of the device (user terminal 300) in the past. In Fig. 4, the history display area is indicated by reference numeral 330. In the history display area 330, an area for displaying information about the status of each image forming device 100 (hereinafter referred to as the "status display area") is displayed. In Fig. 4, the status display area is indicated by reference numeral 331.

[0035] The status display area 331 displays an icon representing the image forming apparatus 100, the identifier of the image forming apparatus 100, information indicating the status of the image forming apparatus 100, and information indicating options that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 100. As a specific example of the identifier of the image forming apparatus 100, the name given to the image forming apparatus 100 is displayed in FIG. 4. "Printer 1" and "Printer 2" in FIG. 4 are specific examples of names given to the image forming apparatus 100. As a specific example of the identifier of the image forming apparatus 100, the name given to the image forming apparatus 100 is displayed in FIG. 4. "Printer 1" and "Printer 2" in FIG. 4 are specific examples of names given to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0036] The information indicating the status of the image forming apparatus 100 indicates, for example, whether the image forming apparatus 100 is in a usable state. The image indicated by the reference numeral 332 indicates that the image forming apparatus 100 is not in a usable state. If the image forming apparatus 100 is not in a usable state, the information indicating the status of the image forming apparatus 100 may indicate information regarding the cause of the unusable state. For example, if the image forming apparatus 100 is offline, the string "offline" may be displayed. For example, if an error has occurred in the image forming apparatus 100, this may be indicated, or the type of error that has occurred may be indicated. Types of errors include out of paper, out of toner, jam, etc.

[0037] The information indicating the status of the image forming apparatus 100 indicates the result of an inquiry made to each image forming apparatus 100 by the screen control unit 352 when displaying the history display screen, for example. That is, when displaying the history display screen, the screen control unit 352 inquires about and confirms the current status of each image forming apparatus 100 displayed in the history display area 330. Such confirmation may be performed by communication using a protocol such as WS Discovery or SNMP. Based on the confirmation result, the screen control unit 352 determines the information indicating the status to be displayed in the status display area of ​​each image forming apparatus 100.

[0038] In the example of FIG. 4, three images are displayed as information indicating options. Image 333 indicates double-sided image formation. The image forming apparatus 100 in which image 333 is displayed in the status display area 331 is capable of performing double-sided image formation. Image 334 indicates color image formation. The image forming apparatus 100 in which image 334 is displayed in the status display area 331 is capable of performing color image formation. Image 335 indicates stapling. The image forming apparatus 100 in which image 335 is displayed in the status display area 331 is capable of performing stapling.

[0039] On the history display screen, the user can select the image forming apparatus 100 to be used for the current image formation from among the image forming apparatuses 100 that the user has used in the past. For example, the user can select the image forming apparatus 100 by performing a selection operation (e.g., tapping) on ​​the status display area 331 of the image forming apparatus 100 that the user wants to use. The printer control unit 351 transmits the image formation job to the image forming apparatus 100 selected by the user on the history display screen.

[0040] When an image forming device 100 that is unavailable at that time is selected on the history display screen, a candidate display screen is displayed on the display unit 33. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the candidate display screen. The candidate display screen is displayed as one of the history display screens. The candidate display screen displays a reference display area 336 and a candidate display area 337. The reference display area 336 displays information in the status display area 331 related to the image forming device 100 that is unavailable at that time and that is selected by the user. The candidate display area 337 displays information in the status display area 331 related to the image forming device 100 that is available at that time and that satisfies predetermined candidate conditions.

[0041] The candidate condition is that all of the options (hereinafter referred to as "reference options") available for the image forming device 100 (the image forming device 100 selected by the user but not currently available) displayed in the reference display area 336 are available. In this case, all or only some of the image forming devices 100 that satisfy the candidate condition are displayed in the candidate display area 337.

[0042] The candidate condition may be that at least some of the options are available, rather than all of them. In this case, the candidate display area 337 assigns a priority to image forming apparatuses 100 that satisfy the candidate condition, and all or only some of the options are displayed in descending order of priority. For example, the more available options among the reference options, the higher the priority. Furthermore, weighting may be assigned to the type of reference option, and the higher the weighting assigned to a reference option, the higher the priority. The weighting of the type of option may be assigned a predetermined value. The weighting of the type of option may be assigned based on, for example, the number of times or frequency with which the user has actually used the option in the past. In this case, the more times or more frequently the user has actually used the option in the past, the higher the weighting. The type of option determined as a candidate condition may be user-configurable. For example, if the user has set only two options, double-sided image formation and color image formation, the reference options are determined based only on these two options.

[0043] The screen control unit 352 searches for available image forming devices 100 via the network 400. The screen control unit 352 selects an image forming device 100 to display on the candidate display screen from the searched image forming devices 100 based on the candidate conditions and priority order. The screen control unit 352 arranges information about the selected image forming device 100 in the candidate display area 337 and generates screen data.

[0044] 6 is a sequence chart showing a specific example of the processing flow of the image forming system 500. First, the user performs an operation on the user terminal 300 to display the history display screen (ACT101). In response to this operation, the screen control unit 352 reads the history information storage unit 341 and determines the image forming apparatuses 100 that should be displayed on the history display screen. The screen control unit 352 transmits a status check request to each of the determined image forming apparatuses 100 (image forming apparatus 1 and image forming apparatus 2 in the example of FIG. 6) (ACT102). Upon receiving the status check request, each image forming apparatus 100 generates a status check result, which is information indicating the status of its own apparatus, and transmits it to the user terminal 300 (ACT103).

[0045] When the screen control unit 352 of the user terminal 300 receives the status check result from each image forming apparatus 100, the screen control unit 352 generates screen data for a history display screen based on the received information. The screen control unit 352 causes the display unit 33 to display the generated screen data for the history display screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 4) (ACT104).

[0046] When the user selects an available image forming apparatus 100, the printer control unit 351 transmits a job, such as image formation, to the selected image forming apparatus 100. On the other hand, when the user selects an unavailable image forming apparatus 100 (ACT 105), the screen control unit 352 transmits a status check request to multiple image forming apparatuses 100 (ACT 106). The image forming apparatuses 100 to which the status check request is sent may be, for example, all communicable image forming apparatuses 100, or all communicable image forming apparatuses 100 excluding the image forming apparatus 100 that was already designated as the destination of the status check request in ACT 102. Furthermore, the image forming apparatuses 100 to which the status check request is sent may be only those that satisfy the candidate conditions. In this case, for example, the storage unit 34 may store information, such as which options are available, for all communicable image forming apparatuses 100. Upon receiving the status check request, each image forming apparatus 100 generates a status check result, which is information indicating its own status, and transmits it to the user terminal 300 (ACT 107).

[0047] When receiving the status check results from each image forming apparatus 100, the screen control unit 352 of the user terminal 300 generates screen data for a candidate display screen based on the received information. The screen control unit 352 causes the display unit 33 to display the generated screen data for the candidate display screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 5) (ACT108).

[0048] When the user selects an available image forming apparatus 100 on the candidate display screen, the printer control unit 351 transmits a job such as image formation to the selected image forming apparatus 100 (ACT110).

[0049] Image forming system 500 configured in this manner can reduce the operational burden on the user when selecting a desired image forming apparatus 100 on user terminal 300. Specifically, this is as follows.

[0050] The history display screen displays image forming devices 100 that the user has actually used in the past. Information indicating whether the device is in a usable state or not is displayed as part of the information about each image forming device 100. This allows the user to easily select an image forming device 100 that is currently usable from among the image forming devices 100 that the user has actually used in the past.

[0051] Furthermore, if an image forming device 100 that is currently unavailable is selected on the history display screen, a candidate display screen is displayed. On the candidate display screen, image forming devices 100 that can use all or some of the options (reference options) available to the selected image forming device 100 are displayed in order of priority. Therefore, even if the user is unable to use the desired image forming device 100, the user can easily find another image forming device 100 that has similar functions to replace it.

[0052] (Variation) A part of the configuration of the user terminal 300 may be implemented in another information processing device (e.g., a cloud system) that is communicably connected via a network such as the Internet. For example, the history information storage unit 341 may be implemented in the other information processing device. In this case, when referring to the information in the history information storage unit 341, the control unit 35 refers to the information by accessing the other information processing device via the network.

[0053] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 100...image forming apparatus, 10...image reading section, 110...display, 120...control panel, 130...image forming unit, 140...sheet storage section, 150...communication section, 160...storage section, 170...control section, 200...communication device, 300...user terminal, 31...communication section, 32...operation section, 33...display section, 34...storage section, 341...history information storage section, 35...control section, 351...printer control section, 352...screen control section, 400...network, 500...image forming system

Claims

1. acquiring information about a previously used image forming device; a first display step of generating screen data of a history display screen including information about image forming devices that have been used in the past, and displaying information about currently available image forming devices and information about currently unavailable image forming devices in different formats on a display device; a second display step of displaying, on the display device, information about an image forming device that is currently available and satisfies predetermined candidate conditions when the user selects an image forming device that is not currently available on the history display screen; A computer program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method including the steps of:

2. The computer program according to claim 1 , wherein the candidate condition is that all or some of the additional functions available in the image forming apparatus selected by the user are available.

3. The computer program product according to claim 1 , wherein the second display step displays information about image forming devices that satisfy the candidate conditions in descending order of priority.

4. acquiring information about a previously used image forming device; a first display step of generating screen data of a history display screen including information about image forming devices that have been used in the past, and displaying information about currently available image forming devices and information about currently unavailable image forming devices in different formats on a display device; a second display step of displaying, on the display device, information about an image forming device that is currently available and satisfies predetermined candidate conditions when the user selects an image forming device that is not currently available on the history display screen; An information processing method including:

Images