Setting Classification for Multifunction Peripheral Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of configuring setting items for digital multifunction peripherals during initial installation or replacement is cumbersome due to the need for manual determination of importable settings, especially when dealing with unique items like IP addresses, which are not easily transferable between devices.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus with a user interface that classifies settings into common and apparatus-specific items, allowing users to input and display specific settings accordingly, thereby automating the importation of common settings and prompting users for apparatus-specific settings, reducing the workload for administrators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If setting items are displayed hierarchically or on different screens, then the organization of settings is improved, but the user operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments setting items into two categories: common setting items (which can be imported from reference apparatus) and apparatus-specific setting items (which require manual configuration). This segmentation is implemented through a classification unit that automatically categorizes setting items, allowing common settings to be imported in bulk while only requiring manual input for apparatus-specific items, thereby reducing the number of screens users need to navigate through.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts common setting items from the overall setting process and handles them separately through automatic import. The extraction unit identifies and separates common settings (such as network configurations, paper tray settings) from apparatus-specific settings, importing only the common ones from reference apparatus. This extraction reduces the manual configuration workload by removing repetitive common settings from the user's manual input tasks.
2Loss of time
If all setting items are imported from reference apparatus, then the setup time is reduced, but the reliability decreases due to incorrect settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments setting items into common settings (safe to import) and apparatus-specific settings (require manual configuration). This segmentation ensures that only appropriate settings are imported automatically, maintaining reliability while reducing setup time. The classification unit automatically determines which settings fall into each category based on their nature and applicability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a classification unit as an intermediary between the setting import process and the final configuration. This intermediary automatically analyzes each setting item, determines its category (common or apparatus-specific), and directs it to the appropriate handling process. This intermediary ensures that common settings are imported correctly while apparatus-specific settings are flagged for manual review, maintaining both efficiency and accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If apparatus-specific setting items are identified and displayed separately, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the setting management process into distinct functional units: a classification unit that categorizes settings, an extraction unit that separates common from apparatus-specific items, and a display control unit that presents only apparatus-specific items for manual input. This segmentation improves ease of operation by streamlining the user interface to show only relevant manual input fields, while the backend complexity is managed through automated classification and extraction processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus that lightens the workload for a serviceman or an administrator who imports setting information into the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes an operation section via which the user can input data. The apparatus stores setting information containing a plurality of settings required for operation control and discriminating information on each setting for discriminating whether the setting is of a common setting item or of an apparatus-specific setting item, changes the discriminating information on each setting of the setting information, according to a specific instruction given by the user via the user interface, and externally outputs the stored setting information.