Job Management for Shared Image Processing Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing systems face issues with user-friendliness and security when multiple users share the same fax machine, as the availability of document reading-and-transmission jobs is determined by the use state of the fax machine by other users, and simultaneous jobs from different clients can lead to unintended transmission of image data.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus with a receiving unit for document reading-and-transmission jobs, a storage unit for job management, a job list display unit for user instructions, and an execution unit that allows users to confirm and execute jobs independently of other users' states, ensuring secure and intended transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the fax machine determines job availability based on its current use state by another user, then the system operates with simple control logic, but user-friendliness deteriorates because users cannot reliably execute jobs regardless of other users' states
Solution Approach 1:
The system receives and stores document reading-and-transmission jobs in advance before the user needs to execute them. The receiving unit accepts jobs from information processing apparatus even when the fax machine is currently being used by another user, and the storage unit preserves these jobs for later execution. This preliminary storage of jobs allows users to submit their document reading-and-transmission requests ahead of time, improving ease of operation while the system manages multiple jobs through structured control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The fax machine separates the job management process into distinct functional units: a receiving unit that accepts jobs, a storage unit that holds jobs, a job list display unit that presents available jobs to users, and an execution unit that carries out selected jobs. This segmentation allows the system to handle multiple user requests independently and systematically, improving user-friendliness while maintaining organized control through specialized components.
2Reliability
If the fax machine executes the first received job when multiple jobs are received simultaneously, then processing is simple and fast, but security deteriorates because image data may be transmitted to unintended destinations
Solution Approach 1:
The job list display unit presents the list of stored jobs to the user, allowing the user to review which jobs are available and select the intended job for execution. This feedback mechanism ensures that the user confirms the correct destination and parameters before transmission, preventing erroneous transmissions to unintended destinations. The execution unit then processes only the job selected by the user through this feedback loop, maintaining high transmission accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The job list display unit acts as an intermediary between the storage unit (which holds multiple jobs) and the execution unit (which processes jobs). Instead of directly executing the first received job, the system presents all available jobs to the user through this intermediary, allowing the user to mediate the selection process. This ensures that the correct job is executed with the intended destination, improving reliability while the intermediary manages the complexity of multiple job options.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus for reading a document to generate image data using a reading unit performs, receiving a job including a document reading-and-transmission job for causing the reading unit to read a document to generate image data and then transmitting the image data to a specified destination, from an information processing apparatus communicable via a network, storing the received job, displaying a list of the stored jobs in response to a user instruction, displaying a confirmation screen related to transmission setting contents of a document reading-and-transmission job selected from the list of jobs, and executing, in a case where execution of the selected document reading-and-transmission job is instructed via the confirmation screen, the document reading-and-transmission job.