Image Forming Apparatus Personal Common Setting Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Image forming apparatuses face challenges in managing user settings, as conventional customize functions allow users to freely customize settings, leading to unintended usage configurations, which administrators want to restrict without impairing general user usability.

Innovation Solution

The apparatus includes a setting unit to determine whether to use personal or common setting information, reflecting changes made by authenticated users, allowing administrators to restrict customization and ensure desired usage configurations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If users are enabled to freely customize setting values, then user convenience and adaptability are improved, but system control and security are worsened due to unintended usage configurations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomization capabilityVSAvoidusage control

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments setting information into two distinct types: personal setting information (user-specific) and common setting information (shared). This segmentation allows the system to provide customization freedom to individual users while maintaining centralized control over common settings, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by allowing different levels of customization authority at different scopes. Individual users can customize personal settings freely, while administrators maintain control over common settings. This creates a differentiated quality of customization control tailored to the specific needs of different user roles.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Ease of operation

If personal setting information is stored for each user, then user-specific customization is improved, but system complexity increases due to dual setting information management

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser-specific settingVSAvoidsetting information management

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges personal and common setting information into a unified setting management system with a single database structure. Both setting types are stored using the same data structures and access methods, eliminating the need for separate management systems and reducing overall system complexity despite supporting user-specific customization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The setting information management system is designed with universality to handle both personal and common settings through the same framework. The system uses universal data structures, storage mechanisms, and access control policies that work for both setting types, thereby avoiding duplication of functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Device complexity

If common setting information is shared by multiple users, then system simplicity is improved, but user-specific customization is worsened due to setting conflicts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesetting structureVSAvoidcustomization flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments settings into personal and common categories, allowing users to access and modify personal settings for customized experience while sharing common settings across the user base. This segmentation enables both simplicity in the overall structure and flexibility in user-specific customization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces personal setting information as an intermediary layer between users and common settings. Users interact with personalized settings that are derived from common settings, allowing customization without directly modifying the shared common settings, thus avoiding conflicts while maintaining simplicity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10168967B2Image forming apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium

Publication Date: 2019.01.01 CANON KK

AI summary

An image forming apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set whether to use personal setting information stored for each user, and a reflection unit configured to reflect a setting value changed by an authenticated user to personal setting information of the authenticated user, in a case where using the personal setting information has been set by the setting unit, and to reflect the setting value changed by the authenticated user to common setting information shared by a plurality of users, in a case where not using the personal setting information has been set by the setting unit.