Information processing system, information processing device, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system capable of notifying sound selected by a user as voice similar to occurred noise.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes an information processing device and an image processing device. The information processing device retrieves occurrence place candidate information indicated by a received inquiry and sound information associated with timing candidate information from a plurality of pieces of sound information in the case of receiving the inquiry indicating the occurrence place candidate information and the timing candidate information from the image processing device, and transmits retrieval result information indicating a retrieved result to the image processing device. The image processing device transmits an inquiry indicating object place candidate information and object timing candidate information to the information processing device in the case of receiving place candidate selection operation and timing candidate selection operation through a first image, and generates failure information including the object place candidate information with the sound indicated by received retrieval result information in the case of receiving the retrieval result information as a response to the transmitted inquiry.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an image processing apparatus that notifies of the occurrence of a problem when a problem occurs is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, when a problem occurs in an image processing apparatus as described in Patent Document 1, abnormal noise often occurs from the image processing apparatus. An operator who performs maintenance work on the image processing apparatus uses this abnormal noise to identify the cause of the problem that has occurred in the image processing apparatus. However, the image processing apparatus cannot notify the operator of information indicating a sound close to the abnormal noise or information indicating the abnormal noise itself. For this reason, it is not uncommon for the operator to try to record this abnormal noise. However, in the installation location of the image processing apparatus, recording is often not permitted for security reasons. As a result, the operator may take time to identify the cause of the problem that has occurred in the image processing apparatus. [[ID= thirty-six ]] [[ID= thirty-seven ]]

[0005] [[ID= thirty-eight ]] [[ID= thirty-nine ]]

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The image processing apparatus of this embodiment includes an operation reception unit and a control unit. The operation reception unit receives an operation. The control unit transmits to another device at least one of a plurality of sound pieces of sound information, each representing a different sound and including information indicating an abnormal sound that may be generated from the image processing apparatus, which is a first sound piece corresponding to the first operation received by the operation reception unit and a first sound identification piece that identifies the first sound piece. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is an external view showing an example of the overall configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of an image processing device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the process flow for transmitting the first voice information selected by the user to another device. [Figure 4] This diagram shows an example of the process flow for transmitting the first voice information selected by the user to another device. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a report image displayed on the screen. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a search image displayed on the screen. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a selected image displayed on the screen. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of a report image that includes audio information selected by the user. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to a modified embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of a second-choice image. [Figure 11] This figure shows another example of the second selected image. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The image processing apparatus of the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the following description, the image processing apparatus 100 will be given as an example of the image processing apparatus of the embodiment.

[0009] (Details of the image processing device) The details of the image processing device 100 will be described below with reference to Figure 1.

[0010] Figure 1 is an external view showing an example of the overall configuration of the image processing device 100 according to the embodiment. The image processing device 100 is a device that performs image processing, such as a multifunction printer, scanner, or fax (facsimile). Image processing refers to processing related to images. Examples of image processing include forming an image on a sheet, reading image information to be read, recording (storing) image information, and transmitting an image to another device.

[0011] The image processing device 100 comprises a display 110, a control panel 120, a printer unit 130, a sheet storage unit 140, and an image reading unit 150. The printer unit 130 of the image processing device 100 may be a device for fixing toner images or an inkjet type device.

[0012] The image processing device 100 reads the image displayed on the sheet, generates digital data, and creates an image file. The sheet can be, for example, a document or a piece of paper on which text, images, etc. The sheet can be anything that the image processing device 100 can read.

[0013] The display 110 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The display 110 displays various information related to the image processing device 100. The display 110 is an example of a display unit.

[0014] The control panel 120 has a plurality of buttons. The control panel 120 receives the operations of the user. The control panel 120 outputs a signal corresponding to the operation performed by the user to the control unit of the image processing apparatus 100. Note that the display 110 and the control panel 120 may be configured as an integrated touch panel. The control panel 120 is an example of an operation reception unit.

[0015] The printer unit 130 forms an image on a sheet based on the image information generated by the image reading unit 150 or the image information received via the communication path. The printer unit 130 forms an image by, for example, the following processing. The image forming unit of the printer unit 130 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum based on the image information. The image forming unit of the printer unit 130 forms a visible image by attaching a developer to the electrostatic latent image. A specific example of the developer is toner. The transfer unit of the printer unit 130 transfers the visible image onto the sheet. The fixing unit of the printer unit 130 fixes the visible image onto the sheet by heating and pressing the sheet. Note that the sheet on which the image is formed may be a sheet accommodated in the sheet accommodating unit 140 or a sheet pointed at by a finger.

[0016] The sheet accommodating unit 140 accommodates sheets used for image formation in the printer unit 130.

[0017] The image reading unit 150 reads the image information of the reading target as the brightness and darkness of light. The image reading unit 150 records the read image information. The recorded image information may be transmitted to other information processing apparatuses via a network. The recorded image information may be formed into an image on a sheet by the printer unit 130.

[0018] (Functional Configuration of Image Processing Apparatus) The functional configuration of the image processing device 100 will be described below with reference to Figure 2. The following description will focus on the processing performed by the image processing device 100 using sound. Sound includes speech, acoustics, etc. Therefore, the following description will explain the case where the sound is speech. For this reason, all instances of "speech" below may be read as "sound" or all instances of "acoustics."

[0019] Figure 2 shows an example of the functional configuration of the image processing device 100.

[0020] The image processing device 100 includes a display 110, a control panel 120, a printer unit 130, a sheet storage unit 140, and an image reading unit 150. The image processing device 100 also includes a control unit 300, a network interface 310, a storage unit 320, a memory 330, and an audio output unit 340. These functional units of the image processing device 100 are connected via a system bus for communication.

[0021] The display 110, control panel 120, printer unit 130, sheet storage unit 140, and image reading unit 150 will be described in the same way as above, so their descriptions will be omitted. The control unit 300, network interface 310, storage unit 320, memory 330, and audio output unit 340 will be described below.

[0022] The control unit 300 is an example of a control unit of the image processing device 100. The control unit 300 includes the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the image processing device 100. The control unit 300 controls the operation of each functional part of the image processing device 100. The control unit 300 performs various processes by executing a program. The control unit 300 obtains instructions entered by the user from the control panel 120. In other words, the control unit 300 accepts operations from the user via the control panel 120. The control unit 300 performs control processing based on the acquired instructions.

[0023] Here, an image processing device different from the image processing device 100 often emits an abnormal sound corresponding to the malfunction when it experiences a problem. A worker performing maintenance on the image processing device uses this abnormal sound to identify the cause of the malfunction. However, the image processing device was unable to notify the worker of information indicating a sound similar to the abnormal sound, or information indicating the abnormal sound itself. Therefore, the worker often attempts to record this abnormal sound. However, recording is often not permitted at the installation location of the image processing device for security reasons. As a result, the worker sometimes has to spend a considerable amount of time identifying the cause of the malfunction in the image processing device. Furthermore, such abnormal sounds often occur only once in the image processing device. In such cases, the worker is unable to record the abnormal sound at all.

[0024] Therefore, the control unit 300 transmits to other devices at least one of the following: a first audio information corresponding to the first operation received by the control panel 120, and a first audio identification information that identifies the first audio information, from among a plurality of audio pieces indicating different sounds. This means that the user can select audio information indicating a sound similar to the abnormal sound generated in the image processing device 100, and the image processing device 100 can notify other devices of the selected audio information. Thus, the image processing device 100 can notify other devices of the sound selected by the user as a sound similar to the abnormal sound that occurred. In particular, if each of the plurality of audio pieces indicates an abnormal sound that may be generated from the image processing device 100, the image processing device 100 can more reliably notify other devices of a sound similar to the abnormal sound that occurred. Furthermore, even if each of the plurality of audio pieces is a sound different from an abnormal sound that may be generated from the image processing device 100, the image processing device 100 can notify other devices of a sound that the user thinks is similar to the abnormal sound that occurred. The first voice identification information may be any information that can identify the first voice information, such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating the location where the first voice information is stored on the internet. Alternatively, the first voice identification information may be, for example, the file name of the first voice information. Below, as an example, we will describe a case in which the control unit 300 transmits the first voice information corresponding to the first operation received by the control panel 120 to another device, from among multiple voice information items that represent different voices.

[0025] The network interface 310 transmits and receives data with other devices. It operates as an input interface, receiving data transmitted from other devices. It also operates as an output interface, transmitting data to other devices.

[0026] The memory unit 320 is, for example, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The memory unit 320 stores various types of information. For example, the memory unit 320 stores programs executed by the control unit 300. These programs are, for example, firmware or applications.

[0027] In the example shown in Figure 2, the memory unit 320 stores n pieces of audio information, namely audio information S1 to audio information Sn. n can be any integer greater than or equal to 2. These n pieces of audio information are an example of multiple pieces of audio information that represent different sounds from each other. It is desirable that some or all of the audio information S1 to audio information Sn represent abnormal sounds that may be generated from the image processing device 100. This is because it makes it easier for the user to select audio information that represents a sound similar to the abnormal sound from among the n pieces of audio information. However, it is also possible to select a sound that is similar to the abnormal sound from among sounds that are different from abnormal sounds that may be generated from the image processing device 100. For this reason, some or all of the audio information S1 to audio information Sn may be configured to represent sounds that are different from abnormal sounds that may be generated from the image processing device 100.

[0028] Memory 330 is, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory). Memory 330 temporarily stores information used by each functional unit of the image processing device 100. Memory 330 may also store image information read by the image reading unit 150, programs for operating each functional unit, etc.

[0029] The audio output unit 340 is, for example, a speaker. The audio output unit 340 outputs sound corresponding to the audio signal output from the image processing device 100. Note that the audio output unit 340 may be separate from the image processing device 100. In this case, the audio output unit 340 is an external speaker.

[0030] (Process to transmit the first audio information selected by the user to another device) As mentioned above, the image processing device 100 can transmit the first audio information selected by the user to another device. Therefore, the following describes the process performed by the image processing device 100 that transmits the first audio information selected by the user to another device.

[0031] Figures 3 and 4 show an example of the processing flow for transmitting first audio information selected by the user to another device. Below, as an example, we will describe a case where the control unit 300 receives an operation to display a report image at a time before the processing of ACT 110 shown in Figure 3 is performed. The report image is an image for which the image processing device 100 receives an operation from the user. The report image is also an image for which the image processing device 100 receives malfunction information from the user. The malfunction information is information indicating a malfunction that occurred in the image processing device 100. This operation may also be performed by a button on the control panel 120. Alternatively, if the control panel 120 is configured as a touch panel integrated with the display 110, this operation may also be performed by a software key displayed on the display 110.

[0032] The control unit 300 displays the report image on the display 110 (ACT110). The report image will now be described. Figure 5 shows an example of a report image displayed on the display 110.

[0033] Image P1 shown in Figure 5 is an example of a reported image. Image P1 includes, for example, images CB1 to CB3, as well as images B1 and B2.

[0034] Image CB1 is an image showing a checkbox. Furthermore, image CB1 is associated with paper jam information indicating that a paper jam has occurred in the image processing device 100. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 5, the text "Paper jam" is drawn next to image CB1. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image CB1, a check image is superimposed on the check box indicated by image CB1. The check image is an image that indicates that a selection operation has been performed on an image that shows a check box, such as image CB1. In this example, the check image is not superimposed on the check box indicated by image CB1. In this case, the control unit 300 identifies the paper jam occurrence information associated with image CB1 as one of the pieces of information to be included in the malfunction information indicating a malfunction that has occurred in the image processing device 100. Note that image CB1 may be an image that shows another input form with the same function as a check box instead of an image that shows a check box.

[0035] Image CB2 is an image representing a checkbox. Furthermore, error information indicating that an error occurred in the image processing device 100 is associated with Image CB2. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 5, the text "An error occurred" is drawn next to Image CB2. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on Image CB2, a checked image is superimposed on the checkbox represented by Image CB2. In this example, the checked image is not superimposed on the checkbox represented by Image CB2. In this case, the control unit 300 identifies the error information associated with Image CB2 as one of the pieces of information to be included in the malfunction information indicating a malfunction in the image processing device 100. Note that Image CB2 may represent another input form with similar functionality to a checkbox instead of an image representing a checkbox.

[0036] Image CB3 is an image representing a checkbox. Furthermore, image CB3 is associated with noise generation information indicating that an abnormal noise occurred in the image processing device 100. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 5, the text "Abnormal noise occurred" is drawn next to image CB3. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image CB3, a checked image is superimposed on the checkbox represented by image CB3. In this example, a checked image is superimposed on the checkbox represented by image CB3. Image CK shown in Figure 5 is an example of a checked image. In this case, the control unit 300 identifies the noise generation information associated with image CB3 as one of the pieces of information to be included in the malfunction information indicating a malfunction in the image processing device 100. Note that image CB2 may represent another input form with similar functionality to a checkbox instead of the image representing the checkbox.

[0037] Image B1 is an image representing a button. Image CB3 is associated with Image B1. Specifically, when a checkmark image is superimposed on Image CB3, Image B1 becomes selectable. Conversely, when the checkmark image superimposed on Image CB3 is removed, Image B1 becomes unselectable.

[0038] Furthermore, if a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image B1, the control unit 300 displays a search image on the display 110 instead of the report image. The search image is the image on which the image processing device 100 accepts an operation from the user. The search image is also the image on which the image processing device 100 accepts an operation from the user to search for a candidate of audio information desired by the user from among multiple audio information. Note that image B1 may be an image that shows another input form with the same function as a button instead of an image showing a button.

[0039] Image B2 is an image representing a button. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on Image B2, the control unit 300 generates malfunction information. The process by which the control unit 300 generates malfunction information will be described later. In this case, after generating the malfunction information, the control unit 300 transmits the generated malfunction information to another device. Such other devices may be, for example, an information processing terminal of a person performing maintenance work on the image processing device 100, a server of a company that provides such maintenance work as a service, or a server of the vendor of the image processing device 100. Note that such other devices may be other information processing devices instead. Also, instead of an image representing a button, Image B1 may represent an image representing another input form that has the same function as a button.

[0040] After ACT110 displays the report image on the display 110, the control unit 300 waits until it receives an operation via the report image (ACT120).

[0041] If the control unit 300 determines that it has received an operation via the reported image (ACT120-YES), it determines whether the received operation is a selection operation for image B2 (ACT130). In Figure 3, the process of ACT130 is indicated as "Send button pressed?".

[0042] If the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT120 is a selection operation for image B2 (ACT130-YES), it performs the processing of ACT260. The processing of ACT260 will be described later.

[0043] On the other hand, if the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT120 is not a selection operation for image B2 (ACT130-NO), it performs the process of ACT140. That is, in this case, the control unit 300 determines whether or not the operation is a selection operation for image B1 (ACT140). Note that in Figure 3, the process of ACT140 is indicated as "Select button pressed?".

[0044] If the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT120 is not a selection operation for image B1 (ACT140-NO), it performs processing corresponding to that operation (ACT230). More specifically, in this case, the operation is a selection operation for one of images CB1 to CB3. Therefore, the control unit 300 performs processing corresponding to the image selected from images CB1 to CB3.

[0045] For example, if the image selected by the control unit 300 is image CB1, the control unit 300 identifies the paper jam information as one of the pieces of information to be included in the malfunction information. In this case, the control unit 300 superimposes the check image onto image CB1. However, even in this case, if the check image is already superimposed on image CB1, the control unit 300 re-identifies the paper jam information as information not to be included in the malfunction information. Then, the control unit 300 deletes the check image that has been superimposed on image CB1.

[0046] For example, if the image selected is image CB2, the control unit 300 identifies the error information as one of the pieces of information to be included in the defect information. In this case, the control unit 300 superimposes the check image onto image CB2. However, even in this case, if the check image is already superimposed on image CB2, the control unit 300 re-identifies the error information as information not to be included in the defect information. Then, the control unit 300 deletes the check image that has been superimposed on image CB2.

[0047] For example, if the image selected by the control unit 300 is image CB3, the control unit 300 identifies the abnormal noise generation information as one of the pieces of information to be included in the defect information. In this case, the control unit 300 superimposes the check image onto image CB3. The control unit 300 also makes image B1 selectable. However, even in this case, if the check image is already superimposed on image CB3, the control unit 300 re-identifies the abnormal noise generation information as information not to be included in the defect information. The control unit 300 then deletes the check image superimposed on image CB3. The control unit 300 also makes image B1 unselectable.

[0048] After the processing of ACT230 is completed, the control unit 300 transitions to ACT120 and waits again until it receives an operation via the reported image.

[0049] On the other hand, if the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT120 is a selection operation for image B1 (ACT140-YES), it displays the aforementioned search image on the display 110 (ACT150). The search image will now be explained. Figure 6 shows an example of a search image displayed on the display 110.

[0050] Image P2, shown in Figure 6, is an example of a search image. Image P2 includes, for example, images PM1, PM2, and B3.

[0051] Image PM1 is an image representing a pull-down menu. Image PM1 is associated with multiple candidate locations of the image processing device 100, indicating possible locations where a malfunction occurred. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 6, the text "Location" is displayed next to Image PM1. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on Image PM1, the control unit 300 displays a list of the multiple candidate locations associated with Image PM1 on the display 110. The user can then select a candidate location from the list displayed on the display 110 that indicates the location in the image processing device 100 where the user suspects a malfunction occurred. If one of the multiple candidate locations is selected by the user, the control unit 300 displays the selected candidate location on Image PM1. In the example shown in Figure 6, the control unit 300 displays "Main Unit" as the selected candidate location on Image PM1.

[0052] Here, the locations indicated by each of the multiple candidate locations are, for example, the main unit of the image processing device 100, the finisher, the document feeder, the external paper cassette, etc., but are not limited to these. Note that "main unit" shown in image PM1 in Figure 6 refers to the main unit of the image processing device 100. Also, instead of an image showing a pull-down menu, image PM1 may show an image showing another input form that has the same function as a pull-down menu.

[0053] Image PM2 is an image representing a pull-down menu. Image PM2 is associated with multiple timing candidate pieces of information indicating possible timings when a malfunction occurred in the image processing device 100. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 6, the text "Occurrence Timing" is displayed next to Image PM2. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on Image PM2, the control unit 300 displays a list of the multiple timing candidate pieces of information associated with Image PM2 on the display 110. The user can then select a timing candidate piece of information from the list displayed on the display 110 that indicates the timing at which the user suspects a malfunction occurred in the image processing device 100. When one of the multiple timing candidate pieces of information is selected by the user, the control unit 300 displays the selected timing candidate piece of information on Image PM2. In the example shown in Figure 6, the control unit 300 displays "Printing" as the selected timing candidate piece of information on Image PM2.

[0054] Here, the locations indicated by each of the multiple timing candidate pieces of information are, for example, always, during image reading, during printing, after printing, at startup, etc., but are not limited to these. Note that image PM2 may be an image that shows another input form with similar functionality to a pull-down menu, instead of an image that shows a pull-down menu.

[0055] Image B3 is an image showing a button. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image B3, the control unit 300 performs a search for audio information. More specifically, in this case, the control unit 300 searches for one or more audio pieces from n audio pieces according to the candidate source location information displayed in image PM1 and the candidate timing information displayed in image PM2. For this reason, each of the n audio pieces is associated with one or more candidate source location information and one or more candidate timing information. This allows the control unit 300 to perform the search. Alternatively, the control unit 300 may perform the search by comparing the audio learned by a machine learning model (e.g., neural network, deep learning, etc.) with the audio represented by each of the multiple audio pieces. In this case, each of the multiple audio pieces does not necessarily need to be associated with candidate source location information and candidate timing information. For example, in this case, after a selection operation is performed on image B3, the control unit 300 may input all the audio pieces into the model and extract one or more audio pieces according to the candidate source location information and candidate timing information. Furthermore, image B3 may represent an image of another input form with similar functionality to a button, instead of an image representing a button. Also, the voice information search may be performed by a search server that is communicatively connected to the image processing device 100. In this case, n pieces of voice information are stored in the search server.

[0056] In ACT150, after displaying the search image on the display 110, the control unit 300 waits until it receives an operation via the search image (ACT160).

[0057] If the control unit 300 determines that it has received an operation via the search image (ACT160-YES), it determines whether the received operation is a selection operation for image B3 (ACT170). In Figure 4, the process of ACT170 is indicated as "Search button pressed?".

[0058] If the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT160 is not a selection operation for image B3 (ACT160-NO), it performs processing corresponding to that operation (ACT240). More specifically, in this case, the operation is a selection operation for either image PM1 or image PM2. Therefore, the control unit 300 performs processing corresponding to the image that was selected from image PM1 or image PM2.

[0059] For example, if the image selected by the control unit 300 is image PM1, it displays a list of multiple potential occurrence location information associated with image PM1 on the display 110. Furthermore, if one of the multiple potential occurrence location information included in the list is selected by the user, the control unit 300 displays the selected potential occurrence location information on image PM1. For the sake of explanation, in the following, the potential occurrence location information displayed on image PM1 will be referred to as the target potential occurrence location information.

[0060] For example, if the image selected by the control unit 300 is image PM2, the control unit 300 displays a list of multiple timing candidate information associated with image PM2 on the display 110. Furthermore, if one of the multiple timing candidate information included in the list is selected by the user, the control unit 300 displays the selected timing candidate information on image PM2. For the sake of explanation, in the following, the timing candidate information displayed on image PM2 will be referred to as the target timing candidate information.

[0061] After the processing of ACT240 is completed, the control unit 300 transitions to ACT160 and waits again until it receives an operation via the searched image.

[0062] On the other hand, if the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT 160 is a selection operation for image B3 (ACT 170-YES), it performs a search for audio information. That is, in this case, the control unit 300 searches for one or more audio pieces of information from the n audio pieces of information stored in the storage unit 320, according to the target occurrence location candidate information and the target timing candidate information. Then, it displays a selected image on the display 110 according to the result of the search (ACT 180). The selected image is an image in which the image processing device 100 receives an operation from the user to select the desired audio information from the results of the search. The selected image will now be explained. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a selected image displayed on the display 110.

[0063] Image P3 in Figure 7 shows an example of a selected image. Image P3 displays one or more audio pieces extracted from n audio pieces as a result of the audio information search performed by the control unit 300. As an example, Figure 7 shows Image P3 when four audio pieces extracted from n audio pieces are displayed. In the example shown in Figure 7, these four audio pieces are audio pieces S1 to S4, respectively.

[0064] Here, the arrows shown in Figure 7 indicate the right and left directions in Figure 7. In the example shown in Figure 7, image SB1 is displayed to the right of the audio information S1. Image SB1 is an image representing a button associated with audio information S1. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image SB1, the control unit 300 identifies audio information S1 as the audio information desired by the user. Note that image SB1 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button in question instead of the image representing the button.

[0065] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image PB1 is displayed to the left of audio information S1. Image PB1 represents a button associated with audio information S1. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image PB1, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal based on audio information S1 to the audio output unit 340, causing the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by audio information S1. This allows the user to hear what the audio indicated by audio information S1 displayed as a search result sounds like. Note that image PB1 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button instead of the image representing the button.

[0066] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image SB2 is displayed to the right of audio information S2. Image SB2 is an image representing a button associated with audio information S2. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image SB2, the control unit 300 identifies audio information S2 as the audio information desired by the user. Note that image SB2 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button instead of the image representing the button.

[0067] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image PB2 is displayed to the left of audio information S2. Image PB2 represents a button associated with audio information S2. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image PB2, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal based on audio information S2 to the audio output unit 340, causing the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by audio information S2. This allows the user to hear what the audio indicated by audio information S2 displayed as a search result sounds like. Note that image PB2 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button in question instead of the image representing the button.

[0068] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image SB3 is displayed to the right of audio information S3. Image SB3 is an image representing a button associated with audio information S3. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image SB3, the control unit 300 identifies audio information S3 as the audio information desired by the user. Note that image SB3 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button instead of the image representing the button.

[0069] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image PB3 is displayed to the left of audio information S3. Image PB3 represents a button associated with audio information S3. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image PB3, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal based on audio information S3 to the audio output unit 340, causing the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by audio information S3. This allows the user to hear what the audio indicated by audio information S3 displayed as a search result sounds like. Note that image PB3 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button in question instead of the image representing the button.

[0070] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image SB4 is displayed to the right of audio information S4. Image SB4 is an image representing a button associated with audio information S4. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image SB4, the control unit 300 identifies audio information S4 as the audio information desired by the user. Note that image SB4 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button instead of the image representing the button.

[0071] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 7, image PB4 is displayed to the left of audio information S4. Image PB4 represents a button associated with audio information S4. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image PB4, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal based on audio information S4 to the audio output unit 340, causing the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by audio information S4. This allows the user to hear what the audio indicated by audio information S4 displayed as a search result sounds like. Note that image PB4 may represent another input form with a similar function to the button in question instead of the image representing the button.

[0072] As described above, in the selection image, the user can select the desired audio information from one or more audio information displayed as search results. That is, the user can select from the one or more audio information that is similar to the abnormal sound generated by the image processing device 100, or the abnormal sound itself. Hereafter, for the sake of explanation, unless it is necessary to distinguish between images SB1 to SB4, they will be collectively referred to as selection buttons. Note that in the selection image, the user may be able to select multiple audio information. Below, as an example, we will explain the case in the selection image where the user can select only one audio information.

[0073] In ACT180, after displaying the selected image on the display 110, the control unit 300 waits until it receives an operation via the selected image (ACT190).

[0074] If the control unit 300 determines that it has received an operation via the selected image (ACT190-YES), it determines whether the received operation is a selection operation on the selection button (ACT200). In Figure 4, the process of ACT200 is indicated as "Selection button pressed?".

[0075] If the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT190 is not a selection operation for a selection button (ACT200-NO), it performs processing corresponding to that operation (ACT250). More specifically, in this case, the operation is a selection operation for one of images PB1 to PB4. Therefore, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal to the audio output unit 340 that corresponds to the audio information associated with the image selected from among images PB1 to PB4. As a result, the control unit 300 causes the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by the audio information.

[0076] For example, if the image selected is image PB1, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal corresponding to the audio information S1 associated with image PB1 to the audio output unit 340. In this way, the control unit 300 causes the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by the audio information S1.

[0077] Furthermore, for example, if the image selected is image PB2, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal corresponding to the audio information S2 associated with image PB2 to the audio output unit 340. In this way, the control unit 300 causes the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by the audio information S2.

[0078] Furthermore, for example, if the image selected is image PB3, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal corresponding to the audio information S3 associated with image PB3 to the audio output unit 340. In this way, the control unit 300 causes the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by the audio information S3.

[0079] Furthermore, for example, if the image selected is image PB4, the control unit 300 outputs an audio signal corresponding to the audio information S4 associated with image PB4 to the audio output unit 340. In this way, the control unit 300 causes the audio output unit 340 to output the audio indicated by the audio information S4.

[0080] After the processing of ACT250 is completed, the control unit 300 transitions to ACT190 and waits again until it accepts an operation via the selected image.

[0081] On the other hand, if the control unit 300 determines that the operation received in ACT200 is a selection operation on a selection button (ACT200-YES), it identifies the audio information (ACT210). In other words, in this case, the control unit 300 identifies the audio information associated with the selection button on which the selection operation was performed as the audio information desired by the user. A selection operation performed on a selection button is an example of the first operation.

[0082] For example, if the image selected is image SB1, the control unit 300 identifies the audio information S1 associated with image SB1 as the audio information desired by the user.

[0083] Furthermore, for example, if the image selected is image SB2, the control unit 300 identifies the audio information S2 associated with image SB2 as the audio information desired by the user.

[0084] Furthermore, for example, if the image selected is image SB3, the control unit 300 identifies the audio information S3 associated with image SB3 as the audio information desired by the user.

[0085] Furthermore, for example, if the image selected is image SB4, the control unit 300 identifies the audio information S4 associated with image SB4 as the audio information desired by the user.

[0086] After identifying the audio information desired by the user in ACT210, the control unit 300 displays a report image containing the identified audio information (ACT220). Here, Figure 8 shows an example of a report image containing the audio information selected by the user. As shown in Figure 8, the control unit 300 displays the audio information identified as desired by the user to the right of image B1. In the example shown in Figure 8, the audio information identified by the control unit 300 as desired by the user is audio information S1.

[0087] After displaying the report image in ACT220, the control unit 300 transitions to ACT130 and determines again whether the operation received via the report image is a selection operation for image B2.

[0088] Then, if the control unit 300 determines that the operation received via the reported image is a selection operation on image B2, it transitions to ACT260 as described above and generates malfunction information. Now, the processing of ACT260 will be explained.

[0089] In ACT260, the control unit 300 identifies one or more images from images CB1 to CB3 on which a selection operation was performed. For example, the control unit 300 identifies an image from images CB1 to CB3 on which an image indicating that a selection operation was performed is superimposed. Then, the control unit 300 identifies the information associated with the identified image as information to be included in the malfunction information.

[0090] For example, if the control unit 300 identifies image CB1 as the image on which a selection operation was performed, it identifies image CB1 as an image to include the paper jam occurrence information associated with it in the malfunction information.

[0091] Furthermore, for example, if the control unit 300 identifies image CB2 as the image on which the selection operation was performed, it identifies it as the image to include the error occurrence information associated with image CB1 in the defect information.

[0092] Furthermore, for example, if the control unit 300 identifies image CB3 as the image on which the selection operation was performed, it identifies image CB1 as the image to include in the malfunction information, along with the abnormal sound generation information associated with image CB1. In this case, the control unit 300 also identifies the audio information displayed in the reported image as information to include in the malfunction information. In the example shown in Figure 8, the control unit 300 identifies audio information S1 as information to include in the malfunction information.

[0093] In this way, the control unit 300 identifies the information to be included in the defect information. Then, the control unit 300 generates defect information that includes the identified information.

[0094] After generating malfunction information in ACT260, the control unit 300 transmits the malfunction information to the aforementioned other device (ACT270) and terminates the process.

[0095] As described above, the control unit 300 transmits to other devices the audio information corresponding to the operation received by the control panel 120 from among n audio information pieces (i.e., audio information S1 to audio information Sn) that represent different sounds from each other. This means that the user can select audio information that represents a sound similar to the abnormal sound generated by the image processing device 100, and the image processing device 100 can notify other devices of the selected audio information. Therefore, the image processing device 100 can notify the sound selected by the user as a sound similar to the abnormal sound that occurred. In particular, if each of the n audio information pieces represents information that represents an abnormal sound that may be generated from the image processing device 100, the image processing device 100 can more reliably notify other devices of a sound similar to the abnormal sound that occurred. Furthermore, even if each of the multiple audio information pieces is a sound different from an abnormal sound that may be generated from the image processing device 100, the image processing device 100 can notify other devices of a sound that the user thinks is similar to the abnormal sound that occurred.

[0096] Furthermore, when the control unit 300 described above transmits the first voice identification information to another device, the ACT260 performs the following processing. That is, in this case, the control unit 300 generates information that identifies the voice information identified as information to be included in the malfunction information as the first voice identification information to be included in the malfunction information. Then, the control unit 300 generates malfunction information that includes the generated first voice identification information. At this time, the control unit 300 may generate malfunction information that does not include the voice information, or it may generate malfunction information that includes the voice information.

[0097] (Modified version of the embodiment) The following describes some variations of the embodiment.

[0098] Figure 9 shows an example of the configuration of an information processing system 500 according to a modified embodiment.

[0099] The information processing system 500 comprises the image processing device 100 and the information processing device 200 described above.

[0100] In this modified embodiment, the storage unit 320 of the image processing device 100 does not store each of the n audio information S1 to Sn. Instead, in this modified embodiment, each of the n audio information S1 to Sn is stored in the information processing device 200.

[0101] The information processing device 200 is an example of the search server described above. The information processing device 200 only needs to have the functionality of a search server; it may be replaced by another information processing device such as a desktop PC (Personal Computer). The information processing device 200 outputs audio information corresponding to a request from the image processing device 100 to the image processing device 100.

[0102] The information processing device 200 performs, for example, the processing related to the retrieval of audio information among the processing of ACT150 shown in Figure 3. More specifically, in response to a request from the image processing device 100, the information processing device 200 searches for audio information from n pieces of audio information that is associated with the target occurrence location candidate information and the target timing candidate information, respectively. The information processing device 200 then outputs information indicating the search result to the image processing device 100.

[0103] Furthermore, the information processing device 200, for example in the ACT250 shown in Figure 4, outputs audio information indicated by a request from the image processing device 100 to the image processing device 100. For example, when a selection operation is performed on the image PB1 shown in Figure 7, the image processing device 100 outputs a request to the information processing device 200 to acquire audio information S1. The information processing device 200 outputs the audio information S1 to the image processing device 100 in response to this request. As a result, the image processing device 100 can output the audio indicated by the audio information S1 to the audio output unit 340.

[0104] Furthermore, the information processing device 200 may be configured to perform the processing of ACT260 and ACT270 shown in Figure 3, for example, instead of the image processing device 100.

[0105] <Other variations> Furthermore, the control unit 300 described above may be configured to allow the user to select candidate location information via a second selection image, as shown in Figure 10, instead of the configuration shown in Figure 6, which allows the user to select candidate location information via the image PM1. The second selection image is the image on which the image processing device 100 receives candidate location information from the user.

[0106] Figure 10 shows an example of a second-selection image. Image P4 shown in Figure 10 is an example of a second-selection image. Image P4 contains, for example, five images TB1 to TB5. Note that Image P4 may also contain other images in place of some or all of these five images, or in addition to all of these five images.

[0107] Image TB1 is an image showing a button. Image TB1 is associated with information indicating a location above the image processing device 100 as candidate location information. The location above the image processing device 100 is, for example, the location between the top of the image processing device 100 and the printer unit 130, but is not limited to this. Furthermore, the location above the image processing device 100 may include at least one of the top of the image processing device 100 and the printer unit 130, or it may not include either the top of the image processing device 100 or the printer unit 130. In Figure 10, the location above the image processing device 100 is shown as "the location above the image processing device".

[0108] When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image TB1, the control unit 300 changes the display mode of image TB1 (e.g., color, size, etc.) to indicate that a selection operation has been performed on image TB1. In this case, the control unit 300 also receives information indicating a location located above the image processing device 100 as candidate location information selected by the user.

[0109] Image TB2 is an image showing a button. Image TB2 is associated with information indicating a location below the image processing device 100 as candidate location information. The location below the image processing device 100 is, for example, the location between the printer unit 130 and the bottom of the image processing device 100, but is not limited to this. Furthermore, the location below the image processing device 100 may include at least one of the printer unit 130 and the bottom of the image processing device 100, or it may not include either the printer unit 130 or the bottom of the image processing device 100. In Figure 10, the location below the image processing device 100 is shown as "location below the image processing device".

[0110] When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image TB2, the control unit 300 changes the display mode of image TB2 (e.g., color, size, etc.) to indicate that a selection operation has been performed on image TB2. In this case, the control unit 300 also receives information indicating a location located below the image processing device 100 as candidate location information selected by the user.

[0111] Image TB3 is an image showing a button. Image TB3 is associated with information indicating a location on the right side of the image processing device 100 as candidate location information. The location on the right side of the image processing device 100 is, for example, the location between a virtual center line that divides the image processing device 100 into left and right halves when viewed from the front of the image processing device 100, and the right edge of the image processing device 100 in that case, but is not limited to this. Here, the front of the image processing device 100 is the surface of the image processing device 100 on which the sheet storage section 140 is provided. Note that the location on the right side of the image processing device 100 may include the right edge of the image processing device 100 in that case, or it may not include the right edge of the image processing device 100 in that case. In Figure 10, the location on the right side of the image processing device 100 is shown as "the location on the right side when facing the front of the image processing device".

[0112] When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image TB3, the control unit 300 changes the display mode of image TB3 (e.g., color, size, etc.) to indicate that a selection operation has been performed on image TB3. In this case, the control unit 300 also receives information indicating a location located to the right of the image processing device 100 as candidate location information selected by the user.

[0113] Image TB4 is an image showing a button. Image TB4 is associated with information indicating a location on the left side of the image processing device 100 as candidate location information. The location on the left side of the image processing device 100 is, for example, the location between a virtual center line dividing the image processing device 100 into left and right halves when the image processing device 100 is viewed from the front, and the left edge of the image processing device 100 in that case, but is not limited to this. The location on the left side of the image processing device 100 may include the left edge of the image processing device 100 in that case, or it may not include the left edge of the image processing device 100 in that case. In Figure 10, the location on the left side of the image processing device 100 is shown as "the location on the left side when facing the front of the image processing device".

[0114] When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image TB4, the control unit 300 changes the display mode of image TB4 (e.g., color, size, etc.) to indicate that a selection operation has been performed on image TB4. In this case, the control unit 300 also receives information indicating a location located to the left of the image processing device 100 as candidate location information selected by the user.

[0115] Image TB5 is an image representing a button. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image TB5, the control unit 300 removes the display of image P4 from the display 110 and displays image P2. In this case, image P2 includes a display area that displays one or more candidate location information identified by the control unit 300 via image P4, instead of image PM1. That is, in this case, the control unit 300 displays one or more candidate location information identified by the control unit 300 via image P4 in the display area of ​​image P2. In this way, the user can select candidate location information. Any method may be used by the control unit 300 to display image P4 on the display 110.

[0116] Furthermore, the control unit 300 described above may be configured to allow the user to select candidate location information via a second selection image, as shown in Figure 11, instead of the configuration that allows the user to select candidate location information via the image PM1 shown in Figure 6.

[0117] Figure 11 shows another example of the second selection image. Image P5 shown in Figure 11 is another example of the selection image for the publication information of the location of occurrence. Image P5 includes, for example, two images, image TB6 and image TB7. Note that image P5 may also include other images in place of one or both of these two images, or in addition to both of these two images.

[0118] Image TB6 is an image showing the appearance of the image processing device 100. The area of ​​the display area of ​​the display 110 in which image TB6 is displayed is divided into multiple areas. Each of these multiple areas is associated with one of several different parts of the image processing device 100. For example, the area in the display area of ​​image TB6 that corresponds to the appearance of the printer unit 130 is associated with the printer unit 130 as a part of the image processing device 100. That is, a certain part X of the image processing device 100 is associated with the area in the display area of ​​image TB6 that corresponds to the appearance of part X. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on one of these multiple areas, the control unit 300 receives information indicating the part of the image processing device 100 that corresponds to the tapped area as candidate location information selected by the user. This makes it easier for the user to select candidate location information for the image processing device 100.

[0119] Image TB7 is an image representing a button. When a selection operation (click, tap, etc.) is performed on image TB7, the control unit 300 removes the display of image P5 from the display 110 and displays image P2. In this case, image P2 includes a display area that displays the candidate location information identified by the control unit 300 via image P5, instead of image PM1. That is, in this case, the control unit 300 displays the candidate location information identified by the control unit 300 via image P5 in the display area of ​​image P2. In this way, the user can select the candidate location information. Any method may be used by the control unit 300 to display image P5 on the display 110.

[0120] Furthermore, the malfunction information described above may include at least one of the following: location candidate information, timing candidate information, and log information. Here, log information refers to information indicating logs about the image processing device 100 during the period prior to the timing at which the malfunction occurred in the image processing device 100. The log information includes, for example, some or all of the following: job information for that period, information indicating self-diagnosis codes diagnosed by the image processing device 100 during that period, information indicating error codes output by the image processing device 100 during that period, firmware version change history during that period, and power on / off history of the image processing device 100 during that period. The job information is, for example, information indicating a job to cause the image processing device 100 to print 5 copies with a color double-sided 2-in-1 setting. The self-diagnosis code is, for example, a code indicating various setting values ​​of the image processing device 100. If the malfunction information includes location candidate information, the control unit 300, for example, when a selection operation for image P3 is performed in image P2, identifies the location candidate information displayed in image PM1 as location candidate information to be included in the malfunction information. Furthermore, if the malfunction information includes timing candidate information, the control unit 300 identifies the timing candidate information displayed in image PM2 as timing candidate information to be included in the malfunction information, for example, when a selection operation for image P3 is performed in image P2. Also, if the malfunction information includes log information, the control unit 300 identifies the log information within the relevant period from among the log information stored in the storage unit 320 as log information to be included in the malfunction information. Note that the method by which the control unit 300 stores log information in the storage unit 320 may be a known method or a method to be developed in the future. Here, the relevant period is, for example, the period from the timing when a selection operation for image P3 is performed in image P2 up to 10 minutes before, but is not limited to this.

[0121] Furthermore, the term "abnormal sound" in the above explanation refers more precisely to sounds generated by the image processing device 100 that differ from sounds generated when the image processing device 100 is operating normally; in other words, abnormal sounds. In other words, abnormal sounds are sounds generated from the image processing device 100 when an abnormality occurs in the image processing device 100. Specifically, for example, abnormal sounds include sounds generated in addition to sounds generated when the image processing device 100 is operating normally, sounds generated in place of sounds generated when the image processing device 100 is operating normally, and sounds generated when the image processing device 100 is operating normally but with some or all of the sound sequence missing.

[0122] As described above, the image processing device (in this example, the image processing device 100) comprises an operation reception unit (in this example, the control panel 120) that receives operations, and a control unit (in this example, the control unit 300) that transmits a first audio information (in this example, audio information S1) corresponding to a first operation (in this example, a selection operation for each of images SB1 to SB4) received by the operation reception unit from among a plurality of audio information (in this example, n audio information items S1 to Sn) that indicate different sounds to another device. As a result, the image processing device can notify the user of an audio selected by the user as an audio similar to the abnormal sound that has occurred.

[0123] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents.

[0124] Furthermore, a program for realizing the functions of any component in the devices described above (for example, the image processing device 100 and the information processing device 200) may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as the OS (Operating System) and peripheral devices. "Computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD (Compact Disk)-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Moreover, "computer-readable recording medium" also includes volatile memory (RAM) inside computer systems that act as servers or clients when programs are transmitted via networks such as the Internet or communication lines such as telephone lines, which retain programs for a certain period of time.

[0125] Furthermore, the above program may be transmitted from a computer system that stores the program in a memory device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves within the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" used to transmit the program refers to a medium that has the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) like the Internet or a communication line (communication line) like a telephone line. Furthermore, the above program may be intended to implement only a portion of the functions described above. In addition, the above program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0126] 100…Image processing unit, 110…Display, 120…Control panel, 130…Printer unit, 140…Sheet storage unit, 150…Image reading unit, 200…Information processing unit, 300…Control unit, 310…Network interface, 320…Storage unit, 330…Memory, 340…Audio output unit, 500…Information processing system

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising an information processing device and an image processing device, The aforementioned information processing device is When a malfunction occurs in the image processing device, sound information representing each of the multiple sounds generated by the image processing device is stored in association with candidate location information indicating a candidate location where the malfunction occurred in the image processing device, and candidate timing information indicating a candidate timing when the malfunction occurred in the image processing device. When an inquiry indicating the aforementioned candidate location information and the aforementioned candidate timing information is received from the image processing device, the sound information corresponding to the aforementioned candidate location information and the aforementioned candidate timing information indicated in the received inquiry is searched from among the multiple sound information, and search result information indicating the search result is transmitted to the image processing device. The aforementioned image processing device is The display and A network interface that communicates with the aforementioned information processing device, The control unit generates a first image to be displayed on the display that accepts a location candidate selection operation to select one of the multiple occurrence location candidate information as target location candidate information, and a timing candidate selection operation to select one of the multiple timing candidate information as target timing candidate information, and when the location candidate selection operation and the timing candidate selection operation are accepted via the first image, it transmits the query indicating the target location candidate information and the target timing candidate information to the information processing device, and when the search result information is received as a response to the transmitted query, it generates malfunction information including the target location candidate information together with the sound information indicated by the received search result information, Equipped with, Information processing system.

2. The aforementioned plurality of candidate location information includes information indicating the main body of the image processing device, information indicating the finisher, information indicating the document feeder, and information indicating the external paper feed cassette. The aforementioned plurality of timing candidate information includes information indicating "always," information indicating "image reading in progress," information indicating "printing in progress," information indicating "after printing," and information indicating "startup." The information processing system according to claim 1.

3. The control unit transmits the generated defect information to another device different from the information processing device. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The control unit generates a second image that accepts an operation to select the sound information to be included in the malfunction information from the sound information indicated by the received search result information. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. It is connected to the image processing device in a communicative manner, When a malfunction occurs in the image processing device, sound information representing each of the multiple sounds generated by the image processing device is stored in association with candidate location information indicating a candidate location where the malfunction occurred in the image processing device, and candidate timing information indicating a candidate timing when the malfunction occurred in the image processing device. When an inquiry indicating the aforementioned candidate location information and the aforementioned candidate timing information is received from the image processing device, the sound information corresponding to the aforementioned candidate location information and the aforementioned candidate timing information indicated in the received inquiry is searched from among the multiple sound information, and search result information indicating the search result is transmitted to the image processing device. The search result information includes information for generating an image that accepts an operation in the image processing device to select the sound information to be included in the malfunction information indicating a malfunction that occurred in the image processing device from among the sound information indicated by the received search result information. Information processing device.

6. In the computer of the information processing device that is communicatively connected to the image processing device, When a malfunction occurs in the image processing device, sound information indicating each of the multiple sounds generated by the image processing device is stored in association with location candidate information indicating a candidate location where the malfunction occurred in the image processing device, and timing candidate information indicating a candidate timing when the malfunction occurred in the image processing device. A program that, upon receiving an inquiry from the image processing device indicating the aforementioned candidate location information and the aforementioned candidate timing information, searches for the sound information corresponding to the aforementioned candidate location information and the aforementioned candidate timing information indicated in the received inquiry from among a plurality of sound information, and transmits search result information indicating the search result to the image processing device, The search result information includes information for generating an image that accepts an operation in the image processing device to select the sound information to be included in the malfunction information indicating a malfunction that occurred in the image processing device from among the sound information indicated by the received search result information. program.

Images