Information processing device, terminal device, and information processing program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device and an information processing program that enable a user to change settings of a user interface without manually adding setting information of the information processing device to job information.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes a processor, and the processor receives setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in a terminal device connected to use the own device, and reflects the received setting information to the settings related to the user interface of the own device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The technology of the present invention relates to an information processing device, a terminal device, and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a technique for adding settings related to notification sounds to job information.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses an image forming device that executes a job, which is an execution command generated by a terminal device, and has a speaker that outputs an alarm sound, and outputs the alarm sound based on alarm information, which is information about the alarm sound that is assigned to the job by the terminal device, and executes the job. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-010116 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] There is a technique for transmitting job information to which setting information relating to a user interface is added to the information processing apparatus, and for reflecting the settings of the setting information in the output of the user interface of the information processing apparatus.

[0006] However, the user must manually assign the setting information each time he or she submits a job. If the user forgets to assign the setting information, the output mode in the user interface of the information processing apparatus will not be changed to the mode desired by the user.

[0007] The disclosed technique aims to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing program that allow a user to change the settings of a user interface without manually adding the setting information of the information processing apparatus to job information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An information processing device according to a first aspect includes a processor, and the processor receives setting information including settings related to a user interface that are reflected in a terminal device connected to use the device, and reflects the received setting information in settings related to the user interface of the device.

[0009] In the information processing device of the second aspect, in the information processing device of the first aspect, the processor reflects the setting information in settings related to the user interface of the device based on a conversion table that pre-associates the setting information with settings related to the user interface of the device.

[0010] In the information processing device of the third aspect, in the information processing device of the second aspect, the settings related to the user interface include setting items and setting values, and the processor reflects the setting values ​​determined by the conversion table for each setting item based on the conversion table that pre-associates setting values ​​in the terminal device with setting values ​​in the device itself for each setting item.

[0011] In the information processing device of the fourth aspect, in the information processing device of the second or third aspect, the setting information includes a model number of the model, and the processor reflects the setting information in settings related to the user interface of the device based on the conversion table that pre-associates the model number of the model with settings related to the user interface of the device.

[0012] An information processing device according to a fifth aspect is an information processing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the processor receives the setting information when receiving a connection request to start use by the terminal device.

[0013] An information processing device according to a sixth aspect is an information processing device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the processor reflects the setting information in settings related to the user interface of the device before outputting the setting information on the user interface of the device.

[0014] An information processing device according to a seventh aspect is an information processing device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the processor reflects the setting information in settings related to the user interface of the device before receiving job information that executes a function of the device from the terminal device.

[0015] An information processing device according to an eighth aspect is the information processing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the processor temporarily reflects the received setting information in settings related to a user interface of the information processing device itself.

[0016] In an information processing device according to a ninth aspect, in the information processing device according to the eighth aspect, the processor stores the current setting values ​​before reflecting the setting information in the settings related to the user interface of the device itself, and when the connection with the terminal device is terminated, returns the settings related to the user interface of the device itself to the stored setting values.

[0017] An information processing device according to a tenth aspect is an information processing device according to the ninth aspect, wherein the processor restores the settings related to the user interface of the device to the stored setting values ​​when a predetermined period of time has elapsed without any use from the terminal device.

[0018] A terminal device according to an eleventh aspect includes a processor, and the processor transmits setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in the terminal device itself to be reflected in an external information processing device.

[0019] The information processing program according to the twelfth aspect causes a computer to receive setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in a terminal device connected to use the computer, and reflect the received setting information in settings related to the user interface of the computer.

[0020] An information processing program according to a thirteenth aspect causes a computer to transmit setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in the computer's own device in order to reflect the settings in an external information processing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] According to the first and twelfth aspects, the user can change the settings of the user interface without manually adding the setting information of the information processing apparatus to the job information.

[0022] According to the second aspect, the setting information can be converted into settings related to the user interface.

[0023] According to the third aspect, the setting information can be converted into a value associated in advance with each setting item.

[0024] According to the fourth aspect, the setting information can be converted into settings relating to the user interface according to the model number of the device.

[0025] According to the fifth aspect, the settings of the user interface can be changed before the process for starting use is executed.

[0026] According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to output in a display mode in which the settings of the user interface have been changed.

[0027] According to the seventh aspect, the settings of the user interface can be changed before an output including an error related to the execution of a job is output.

[0028] According to the eighth aspect, the changed user interface settings can be restored.

[0029] According to the ninth aspect, the settings of the user interface can be changed only while the user is using the device.

[0030] According to the tenth aspect, when there is no use by the user, the settings relating to the user interface can be restored.

[0031] According to the eleventh and thirteenth aspects, the user can change the settings of the user interface of the external information processing apparatus without manually adding the setting information of the external information processing apparatus to the job information. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the smartphone according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a transmission process of the smartphone according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a reflection process of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of a conversion table for the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is an example showing a display screen of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] An example of an embodiment of the technology of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are used to designate identical or equivalent components and parts in each drawing. Also, the dimensional proportions in the drawings are exaggerated for the sake of explanation and may differ from the actual proportions.

[0034] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing system according to the present disclosure. The information processing system includes a terminal device and an information processing device. In this embodiment, a case where a smartphone is used as the terminal device will be described, and the smartphone will be designated by reference numeral 10. Similarly, in this embodiment, a case where an image forming device is used as the information processing device will be described, and the image forming device will be designated by reference numeral 20.

[0035] The smartphone 10 is a device for using the image forming apparatus 20. The smartphone 10 has a user interface. The user interface is, for example, an input unit, a display unit, or a speaker. The smartphone 10 transmits setting information including settings related to the user interface to the image forming apparatus 20. The settings related to the user interface include setting items and setting values. The settings related to the user interface are, for example, notification sound settings for the speaker, language settings for the display language, brightness settings for the display brightness, or character size settings for characters displayed on the display screen. The setting information is, for example, the type of OS (Operating System) of the smartphone 10, the version of the OS, or the model number of the device.

[0036] The image forming apparatus 20 is an image forming apparatus capable of performing processes such as printing, copying, scanning, and facsimile. The image forming apparatus 20 receives setting information of the smartphone 10.

[0037] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the smartphone 10. The smartphone 10 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, a communication interface (communication I / F) 17, and a speaker 18. Each component is connected to each other via a bus 19 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0038] The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each component. That is, the CPU 11 reads programs from the ROM 12 or the storage 14 and executes the programs using the RAM 13 as a work area. The CPU 11 controls the above components and performs various arithmetic processing in accordance with the programs recorded in the ROM 12 or the storage 14. In this embodiment, the ROM 12 or the storage 14 stores an information processing program for transmitting setting information.

[0039] The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 14 is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs including the operating system and various data.

[0040] The input unit 15 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to perform various inputs.

[0041] The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information. The display unit 16 may also function as the input unit 15 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0042] The communication interface 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices such as a database, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0043] The speaker 18 outputs a sound. When the notification sound setting is ON, the speaker 18 outputs a notification sound when an operation input is received or an error occurs.

[0044] 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 20. The image forming apparatus 20 has a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a storage 24, an input unit 25, a display unit 26, a communication interface (communication I / F) 27, a speaker 28, and an image forming unit 29. Each component is connected to each other via a bus 30 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0045] The CPU 21 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each component. That is, the CPU 21 reads programs from the ROM 22 or the storage 24 and executes the programs using the RAM 23 as a work area. The CPU 21 controls the above components and performs various arithmetic processing in accordance with the programs recorded in the ROM 22 or the storage 24. In this embodiment, the ROM 22 or the storage 24 stores an information processing program that reflects setting information.

[0046] The ROM 22 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 23 serves as a working area and temporarily stores programs or data. The storage 24 is configured with an HDD or SSD and stores various programs including the operating system and various data.

[0047] The input unit 25 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to perform various inputs.

[0048] The display unit 26 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information. The display unit 26 may function as the input unit 25 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0049] The communication interface 27 is an interface for communicating with other devices such as a database, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0050] The speaker 28 outputs a sound. When the notification sound setting is ON, the speaker 28 outputs a notification sound when an operation input is received or when an error occurs.

[0051] The image forming unit 29 forms print data on a recording medium such as paper, etc. The image forming method may be a toner method, an inkjet method, or the like.

[0052] Next, the operation of the smartphone 10 will be described. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the transmission process by the smartphone 10. The CPU 11 reads out a transmission program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14, loads it into the RAM 13, and executes it, thereby performing the transmission process.

[0053] In step S101, the CPU 11 transmits setting information together with a connection request. That is, the CPU 11 transmits a connection request for starting use of the image forming apparatus 20, which is an external information processing apparatus. When transmitting the connection request, the CPU 11 also transmits setting information including settings related to the user interface reflected in the smartphone 10, which is its own device. The connection request is, for example, a request for establishing communication via near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or the like. The CPU 11 proceeds to step S102.

[0054] In step S102, the CPU 11 establishes a connection based on the connection request, and then the CPU 11 proceeds to step S103.

[0055] In step S103, the CPU 11 transmits job information. The job information is information for executing the functions of the image forming apparatus 20. The CPU 11 proceeds to step S104.

[0056] In step S104, the CPU 11 terminates the established connection and ends the transmission process.

[0057] As described above, through the processes of steps S101 to S103, the smartphone 10 transmits setting information including the settings related to the user interface reflected in the smartphone 10 to be reflected in the image forming apparatus 20. Here, the user of the smartphone 10 does not need to manually determine the settings to be reflected in the image forming apparatus 20.

[0058] Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 20 will be described. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reflection process by the image forming apparatus 20. The CPU 21 reads out a reflection program from the ROM 22 or the storage 24, loads it into the RAM 23, and executes it, thereby performing the reflection process.

[0059] In step S201, the CPU 21 receives setting information along with a connection request. That is, the CPU 21 receives a connection request for starting use by the smartphone 10. When receiving the connection request, the CPU 21 also receives the setting information. The CPU 21 proceeds to step S202.

[0060] In step S202, the CPU 21 stores the current setting values ​​of the settings related to the user interface in the ROM 22 or the storage 24. The CPU 21 proceeds to step S203.

[0061] In step S203, the CPU 21 reflects the setting information in the settings related to the user interface based on the conversion table, and then the CPU 21 proceeds to step S204. An example of the conversion table is shown in FIG. 6. The conversion table is a table that associates setting information with settings related to the user interface of the image forming apparatus 20 in advance. The conversion table includes, for example, a setting item, a setting value for the smartphone 10, and a setting value for the image forming apparatus 20. The setting items include, for example, an alarm sound, brightness, and font size. Setting items may be prepared for each OS type or version. The CPU 21 reflects the setting value calculated from the conversion table for each setting item in the image forming apparatus 20. The CPU 21 converts the setting value for the smartphone 10 to the setting value for the image forming apparatus 20 using a predetermined process. The predetermined process may be, for example, multiplying the setting value by a predetermined value or converting the setting value to a predetermined associated value. For example, for brightness, if the OS type is OS1, the CPU 21 multiplies the setting value for the smartphone 10 by 10 to obtain the setting value for the image forming apparatus 20. As a specific example, if the brightness setting for the smartphone 10 is 2, the CPU 21 sets the brightness setting for the image forming apparatus 20 to 20. For example, regarding font size, when the OS type is OS1, if the font size of the smartphone 10 is large, medium, or small, the CPU 21 changes the setting value of the image forming apparatus 20 to 36, 24, and 12 in that order.

[0062] In step S204, CPU 21 determines whether an error has occurred. The type of error does not matter. The error may be, for example, an insufficient supply of recording media, a power shortage in the power supply, or an operation error by the user. The error may also be an interface malfunction that occurs when the setting information is reflected in the user interface in step S203. If it is determined that an error has occurred (step S204: YES), CPU 21 proceeds to step S205. If it is determined that an error has not occurred (step S204: NO), CPU 21 proceeds to step S206.

[0063] In step S205, CPU 21 notifies the user of the error via the user interface. That is, CPU 21 notifies the user of the error based on the settings related to the user interface reflected in step S203. For example, if the notification sound setting is set to ON in step S203, CPU 21 notifies the user of the error by an notification sound output from speaker 28. CPU 21 proceeds to step S206. Note that if the error is an interface malfunction caused by reflecting the setting information in the user interface in step S203, the error occurrence may be notified while a malfunction exists in part of the interface. Alternatively, if the error is an interface malfunction caused by reflecting the setting information in the user interface in step S203, the error may be notified via the interface while the setting value that caused the error is restored to the value before the reflection.

[0064] In step S206, the CPU 21 establishes a connection based on the connection request, and then the CPU 21 proceeds to step S207.

[0065] In step S207, the CPU 21 receives the job information, and then proceeds to step S208.

[0066] In step S208, the CPU 21 starts executing the job. That is, the CPU 21 executes the job based on the job information received in step S207. The CPU 21 proceeds to step S209.

[0067] In step S209, the CPU 21 displays the progress of the job, and then the CPU 21 proceeds to step S210. 7 shows an example of a display screen on the display unit 26 of the image forming apparatus 20, showing the progress of a job. For example, the CPU 21 displays a message in accordance with the language setting of the display language of the display unit 26. Also, for example, the CPU 21 displays the display screen at a brightness in accordance with the brightness setting of the display unit 26. Also, for example, the CPU 21 displays characters in accordance with the character size setting of the characters to be displayed on the display unit.

[0068] In step S210, the CPU 21 ends the execution of the job, and then proceeds to step S211.

[0069] In step S211, the CPU 21 terminates the established connection, and then the process proceeds to step S212.

[0070] In step S212, the CPU 21 returns the settings relating to the user interface to the stored setting values, and then ends the reflection process.

[0071] As described above, by executing the process of step S203 before the processes of step S205 and step S209, CPU 21 reflects the setting information in the settings related to the user interface of image forming apparatus 20, which is its own apparatus, before outputting the information on the user interface. Note that steps S205 and S209 are merely specific examples of output on the user interface, and output on the user interface is not limited to these.

[0072] Furthermore, by executing the processing of step S203 before the processing of step S207 or step S208, the CPU 21 reflects the setting information in the settings related to the user interface of the image forming device 20, which is the CPU 21's own device, before receiving the job information or before executing the job.

[0073] Furthermore, by the processes of steps S202, S203, and S212, the CPU 21 temporarily reflects the received setting information in the settings related to the user interface of the image forming apparatus 20. Note that the CPU 21 may return the settings related to the user interface to the stored setting values ​​when a predetermined period of time has elapsed without any use from the smartphone 10.

[0074] The process of step S204 may be performed at any time between steps S203 and S212. For example, the error may be an error resulting from a failure in the process of establishing a connection in step S206. Furthermore, for example, the error may be an error caused by the execution of a job in step S208. Furthermore, the error may be an error caused by the process of starting use that is executed after receiving a connection request to start use. The process of starting use may be, for example, a process of establishing a connection, a process of recovering from a power saving mode, or a user login process.

[0075] [Variations] The smartphone 10 or the image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment has been described above. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment. Various improvements or modifications are possible.

[0076] The terminal device may be a personal computer or a tablet terminal equipped with a user interface, etc. The information processing device may be an automated teller machine, a POS (Point of Sales), a vending machine, etc. equipped with a user interface.

[0077] 4, CPU 11 may convert the setting information based on a conversion table into settings related to the user interface of image forming apparatus 20 and transmit the converted setting information. The conversion table is prepared for each OS type, OS version, or model number of image forming apparatus 20. In this case, CPU 21 does not execute step S203 in FIG.

[0078] In step S201 of Fig. 5, CPU 21 may receive a connection request only if there is no user currently using the device. CPU 21 determines that there is no user currently using the device if there is no user who has logged in or if there has been no user operation for a certain period of time. Furthermore, in steps S201 to S212 of Fig. 5, CPU 21 stops accepting operations by other users. This allows image forming device 20 to prevent other users from interfering with the processing of the current user.

[0079] figure 6 In the conversion table, the model number of the smartphone 10 may be associated in advance with settings related to the user interface of the image forming apparatus 20. For example, if the model of the smartphone 10 is a model for elderly people, the conversion table may be associated so that the font size is converted to a value larger than the initial setting.

[0080] The above processing can also be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit, in which case it may be executed by a single piece of hardware or by multiple pieces of hardware.

[0081] In the above embodiment, 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.).

[0082] Furthermore, the operations of the processors in the above embodiments may not only be performed by a single processor, but may also be performed by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. Furthermore, the order of the operations of the processors is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate.

[0083] The program for operating the smartphone 10 or the image forming apparatus 20 may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a universal serial bus (USB) memory, a flexible disk, or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is typically transferred and stored in a memory or storage device. The program may be provided as standalone application software, or may be incorporated into the software of the smartphone 10 or the image forming apparatus 20 as a function of the device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 10. Smartphones 20 Image forming device

Claims

1. a processor; The processor: receiving setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in a terminal device connected to use the device itself; Before receiving job information for executing a function of the terminal device from the terminal device, the received setting information is reflected in settings relating to a user interface of the terminal device. Information processing device.

2. The processor: The setting information is reflected in the setting related to the user interface of the device based on a conversion table in which the setting information and the setting related to the user interface of the device are previously associated with each other. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The settings related to the user interface include setting items and setting values, The processor: Based on the conversion table in which the setting values ​​in the terminal device and the setting values ​​in the device itself are previously associated for each of the setting items, a setting value determined by the conversion table is reflected for each of the setting items. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. The setting information includes a model number of the model, The processor: The setting information is reflected in the setting related to the user interface of the device itself based on the conversion table in which the model number of the device and the setting related to the user interface of the device itself are previously associated with each other.

4. The information processing device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The processor: When receiving a connection request for starting use by the terminal device, the setting information is received. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The processor: Before outputting the setting information on the user interface of the device, the setting information is reflected in the setting on the user interface of the device. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The processor: The received setting information is temporarily reflected in the setting related to the user interface of the device. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The processor: storing current setting values ​​before reflecting the setting information in settings related to the user interface of the device itself; When the connection with the terminal device is terminated, the settings relating to the user interface of the device are returned to the stored setting values. The information processing device according to claim 7 .

9. The processor: When a predetermined period of time has elapsed without any use from the terminal device, the settings relating to the user interface of the terminal device are returned to the stored setting values. The information processing device according to claim 8 .

10. a processor; The processor: Before transmitting job information for executing a function to an external information processing apparatus, setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in the apparatus itself is transmitted in order to be reflected in the information processing apparatus. Terminal device.

11. receiving setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in a terminal device connected to use the device itself; Before receiving job information for executing a function of the terminal device from the terminal device, the received setting information is reflected in settings relating to a user interface of the terminal device. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute a process.

12. Before transmitting job information for executing a function to an external information processing device, setting information including settings related to a user interface reflected in the device itself is transmitted in order to be reflected in the information processing device. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute a process.

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