JP2010263396A - Image forming system, image forming device, display method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system, an image forming device, and a display method for the same, which can simply carry out settings peculiar to a user who sets via an operation panel based on the user's use performances. <P>SOLUTION: A print job from the user is received and processed by a print job processing section 23, and also the print job is analyzed for each user about data of setting items common to the setting upon a copy job by a print job analyzing section 24. A user peculiar information rewriting section 25 rewrites the data of setting items appearing frequently in the print job as peculiar setting data of the applicable user. Thereafter, when the user is authenticated to carry out the copy job in an image forming device 2, the data of setting items pertaining to the copy job is replaced with data of the corresponding print job for display. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of switching and displaying a multilingual language on an operation panel, and in particular, improving convenience of switching a language on an operation panel frequently used by a user and setting contents such as a copy job. It is related to the technology.

  An image forming apparatus having various functions such as copy, fax, printer, box function, and network connection, that is, a multi-function machine called a multi-function machine or MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) is used in offices such as companies. Used by the user.

  As internationalization progresses, multiple users operate the MFP directly in a multilingual environment such as Japanese, English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, etc. There is an increasing need for jobs such as printing.

  When the MFP is used in an environment in which a plurality of languages are mixed, a computer used by each individual user is set up with a system of a language normally used by the user. However, in the MFP, displaying a plurality of languages on the operation panel serving as a user interface simultaneously reduces the characters of the displayed language and makes it difficult to read, resulting in a significant loss of operability. Furthermore, it is often impossible to display all the required number of languages simultaneously.

  In addition, when performing operations such as copying by directly operating the MFP, coupled with the above problems of the language displayed on the operation panel, for example, single-sided / double-sided copying, page allocation, enlarged / reduced copying, color / monochrome copying There are various setting items. Therefore, it is difficult to use. As described above, there is a problem in that settings such as language and function cannot be easily set to a setting desired by the user on the operation panel of the MFP.

  Therefore, the user ID, the language used by the user, the font size, and the display format (simple, normal, and detailed display) are input to the web page of the web browser that runs on the computer connected to the image forming apparatus via the communication line. An image forming apparatus capable of registering display settings for each user in advance is disclosed in Patent Document 1. When the user wants to directly operate the image forming apparatus, the user ID is input via the operation panel of the image forming apparatus. Then, the language, font size, and display format corresponding to the input user ID are displayed on the operation panel.

  In the information processing apparatus connected to the printer, a plurality of print setting information frequently used by individual users is registered in the information processing apparatus in advance, and one is selected from the print setting information registered at the time of actual printing. An information processing apparatus capable of performing printing in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 is disclosed.

JP 2004-086611 A JP 2006-085253 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to previously register a display form desired by the user on the image forming apparatus via a computer. For this reason, there is a possibility that a registration error may occur due to management problems to be thoroughly enforced by all users and complicated operations. Also, if the user's language environment changes, re-registration is required. The registration according to Patent Document 1 relates to the language on the operation panel and its display form. For example, it is not possible to set a copy job that is unique or frequently used for each user.

  The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 can simplify the print settings performed on the information processing apparatus, but does not improve the convenience of operations performed on the image forming apparatus such as an MFP.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus and method capable of easily performing user-specific settings related to an operation panel of the image forming system and the image forming apparatus. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming system according to an aspect of the present invention performs an image forming unit that performs a job by direct operation of a user and receives a print job data via a communication line. And an identification means for identifying a user who performs direct operation, a storage means for storing a default language for each user, and a user in the print job data when the image forming means performs the print job. Rewriting means for analyzing the data to be used and language specifying data, determining the language used by the user, and storing the language used as the default language of the user in the storage means based on the determination result; and the identification And an operation display means for displaying in the default language of the user identified by the means.

  An image forming system according to an aspect of the present invention includes an image forming unit that performs a copy job by a direct operation of a user and receives a print job data via a communication line and performs the direct operation. Identifying means for identifying a user to be performed, storage means for storing the contents of the user's default setting items for each user, and specifying the user in the print job data when the image forming means performs the print job Analyzing means for analyzing data and contents of the print setting item of the user, and contents of the default setting item of the user stored in the storage means according to the analysis result, contents of the print setting item of the user The rewriting means for rewriting by the user and the user who directly operates the image forming means to perform the copy job Once identified, comprising an operation display unit that performs display by reflecting the contents of the default setting items identified user.

  According to the present invention, the copy setting for each user can be automatically performed based on the print job for each user. Therefore, the burden on the administrator is greatly reduced, and the setting according to the user's work mode is automatically performed, and the user's work efficiency is improved.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an image forming system using an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is an external view illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an MFP. FIG. It is an example of the screen displayed on an operation panel in order for a user to input processing conditions. It is a block diagram which shows the example of a functional structure of an authentication server authentication server and a language data server. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of items set during a copy job of an MFP. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the specific setting information of a user. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a preparation process when the MFP is directly operated. It is a figure which shows the example of the input screen of user authentication. An example of a print setting screen displayed on a user terminal in which an English OS and an application are installed is shown. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of PJL sent from a user terminal to an MFP for printing. FIG. 3 is a block diagram functionally illustrating a print job process performed by an MFP and a process of analyzing items of user specific setting information included in the print job. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing for rewriting user-specific setting information by analyzing a print job. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the number of appearances of each data item of a setting item included in a print job and a predetermined threshold value.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration example of an image forming system 1 using an image forming apparatus 2 of the present embodiment.

  The image forming system 1 includes an MFP 2, an authentication server 3, a language data server 4, and a user terminal 5 that are image forming apparatuses connected via a communication line 6.

  The MFP 2 is generally called a multifunction peripheral and is an apparatus that integrates functions such as a copy function, a fax function, a network printing function, a scanner function, and a box function.

  The authentication server 3 is a server device having a function of determining whether a user who intends to use the MFP 2 is a user who is permitted to use the MFP 2.

  The language data server 4 stores, for example, language data of a message displayed on the operation panel of the MFP 2 and a message transmitted from the MFP 2 to, for example, the user terminal 5 in a plurality of languages, and the language requested by the MFP 2 is requested. Is a server device having a function of passing the language data to the MFP 2.

  The user terminal 5 is, for example, a personal computer that performs a terminal function, and is a terminal device that includes an interface such as a display, a keyboard, and a mouse and has a normal function such as transmitting a print job to the MFP 2.

  Although not shown, either one or both of the authentication server 3 and the language data server 4 shown in FIG. 1 can be built in the MFP 2.

  FIG. 2 is an external view showing an example of the image forming apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 2 includes a document transport unit 2a, a scanner unit 2b, a printer unit 2c, and a paper feed unit 2d.

  The user can cause the image forming apparatus 2 to execute a desired copy job or the like by a direct operation. An operation panel 20f including a display unit 2e and an operation unit 2f is disposed as a user interface for operation. The display unit is configured by a liquid crystal display device or the like, and the operation unit 2f is configured by a touch panel or the like superimposed on the front surface of the display of the display unit 2e.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the MFP 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the MFP 2.

  The MFP 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20c, a hard disk 20d, a control circuit 20e, an operation panel 20f, a communication interface 20g, a printing device 20h, and the like. .

  The control circuit 20e is a circuit for controlling devices such as the hard disk 20d, the operation panel 20f, the communication interface 20g, the printing device 20h, and the scanner 20i.

  The operation panel 20f displays a screen for giving a message or an instruction to the user, a screen for inputting a processing type and processing conditions desired by the user, a screen showing a result of processing executed by the CPU 20a, and the like. This is displayed on the part 2e. Further, the user can give an instruction to the MFP 2 or specify processing conditions by touching a predetermined position of the operation unit 2f of the operation panel 20f. As described above, the operation panel 20f serves as a user interface of the user who operates the MFP 2.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a screen displayed on the operation panel 20f for the user to input processing conditions and the like. (A) is a screen 20fa for a user who uses Japanese, and (b) is in English. It is the screen 20fb for the user to use. In addition, for example, one language is selected and displayed from a plurality of languages such as French, German, Chinese, and Korean. Such a language desired by the user can be selected by the user after the user is authenticated by the MFP 2, set by the administrator for each user, or by implementing this embodiment as will be described later. .

  As will be described later, by implementing this embodiment, the default settings of the user in the copy job are reflected and displayed. In FIG. 4, items indicated by hatching in the background of the display character indicate that the user's default setting is reflected.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, the communication interface 20g communicates with other devices such as the authentication server 3 and the language data server 4 via the communication line 6 using a predetermined protocol, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). It is a NIC (Network Interface Card) or a modem for performing communication.

  The printing apparatus 20h is an apparatus that prints an image based on image data included in a print job transmitted from the user terminal 5, or an image based on image data of a document read by the scanner 20i. The former case corresponds to a so-called print function, and the latter case corresponds to a so-called copy function.

  The scanner 20 i is a device that reads a document placed on a document table (not shown) of the MFP 2 and converts it into image data.

  Hereinafter, the authentication server 3 and the language data server 4 constituting the image forming system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of the authentication server 3 and the language data server 4.

  The authentication server 3 includes a user information registration unit 31, a user authentication unit 32, a user information storage unit 33, and a user information transmission unit 34. The function of each part of the authentication server 3 described below is realized by executing a program stored in the memory of the authentication server 3 by a CPU (not shown) of the authentication server 3. When the authentication server 3 is built in the MFP 2, the functions of each unit of the authentication server 3 may be realized by the CPU 20a of the MFP 2 or a program.

  The user information registration unit 31 of the authentication server 3 includes authentication information used for authenticating a user who uses the MFP 2, user specific setting information used for a copy job performed by the user in the MFP 2, and other information of the user (hereinafter referred to as “user information”). , Collectively referred to as user information), a registration process for storing these pieces of information in the user information storage unit 33 is performed.

  The user information is usually input by the administrator of the MFP 2 through the operation panel 20f of the MFP 2 using the administrator authority. The input user information is sent to the user information registration unit 31 of the authentication server 3 via the communication interface 20g of the MFP 2, and registration processing is performed. By using the administrator authority, the administrator can also register by sending user information to the user information registration unit 31 of the authentication server 3 from the administrator terminal (not shown) via the MFP 2 or directly. . The administrator may input user information via an operation panel (not shown) of the authentication server 3.

  The user information storage unit 33 has a function of storing user information based on instructions from the user information registration unit 31. The stored user information is information about a user who is authorized by the administrator to use the MFP 2.

  In addition, when the user who uses the MFP 2 is requested to authenticate by the MFP 2, the MFP 2 transmits the authentication information input to the MFP 2 to the user authentication unit 32 of the authentication server 3. In that case, the user authentication unit 32 determines whether the user is a valid user by collating with the user authentication information stored in the user information storage unit 33 and returns the result to the MFP 2. A configuration in which the MFP 2 receives the authentication information of the corresponding user from the authentication server 3 and determines whether or not the user is a valid user is also possible.

  In response to a request from MFP 2, user information transmission unit 34 transmits user information including user-specific setting information stored in user information storage unit 33 to MFP 2.

  The language data server 4 includes a language data request reception unit 41, a language data transmission unit 42, and a language data storage unit 43. The function of each part of the language data server 4 described below is realized by executing a program stored in the memory of the language data server 4 by a CPU (not shown) of the language data server 4. When the language data server 4 is built in the MFP 2, the functions of the respective units of the language data server 4 may be realized by the CPU 20a of the MFP 2 or a program.

  In order to make the explanation easy to understand, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the MFP 2 uses only the Japanese language data for display on the operation panel 20f in Japanese as the default language data as the ROM 20c. Alternatively, it is assumed that it is built in the hard disk 20d. Whenever language data other than the default language is required, the language data server 4 is requested to acquire language data of a necessary language from the language data server 4 each time.

  The language data request receiving unit 41 of the language data server 4 receives a request for language data other than the default language, for example, English from the MFP 2. The language data storage unit 43 stores language data of languages other than the default language. The language data transmission unit 42 acquires language data that matches the language data request received by the language data request reception unit 41 from the language data storage unit 43 and transmits it to the MFP 2.

  Next, items set at the time of a copy job performed by directly operating the MFP 2 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of items that are set by default during a copy job of the MFP 2 and can be changed by a user input operation.

  In the state where the MFP 2 is not set separately by the administrator, the function and operation items are set to the factory default state. Referring to the default data 100 of the MFP 2 in FIG. 6, for example, as the item group 101, the default language item of the apparatus is set to Japanese. The item group 102 is an example of initial data of the copy function. In the color / monochrome item, the copy is set to black.

  Hereinafter, as another item, single-sided / double-sided copying is reduced to one or more sheets on one side, page layout to be laid out is 1 in 1, that is, one page is copied onto one sheet. Is set to 100%, the size of the paper to be used is A4, and the date and time of copying at the time of copying is set to have no time stamp for printing on the edge of the paper.

  In addition, although the data of these items can be changed by the administrator, the following description will be based on a state where the data has not been changed by the administrator. The initial data 100 is stored in the MFP 2, for example, in the ROM 20c or the hard disk 20d.

  In the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, default values for each user regarding some of the items indicated in the initial data 100 are stored in the authentication server 3 together with user authentication information as user specific setting information. It is a configuration that can be kept.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user specific setting information 200.

  The user ID is an ID of each user used for authentication. The language used corresponds to the item group 101 of the initial data 100. The copy function corresponds to the item group 102 of the initial data 100 and each item also corresponds to each item of the item group 101. The setting change of each item of the user specific setting information 200 can be performed by an administrator, but is automatically performed by implementing this embodiment as described later. The example shown in FIG. 7 shows a state that has not been changed by the administrator. Therefore, as the data of each item, the initial data 100 of the MFP 2 shown in FIG. 6 is inherited as it is.

  Also, the items of the user specific setting information 200 are configured from items that may be changed by the user at the time of a copy job. Therefore, not all items of the initial data 100 of the MFP 2 are supported. That is, even if the item of the user's unique setting information 200 becomes valid, the data of the item of the initial data 100 is automatically applied to the item that is not included in the unique setting information 200. Details will be described later.

Next, processing when the user performs operations by directly operating the MFP 2 in order to perform copying, faxing, scanning, and the like will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing preparation processing when the MFP 2 is directly operated, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a user authentication input screen. When the MFP 2 is activated, the MFP 2 is initialized based on the initial data 100. . When the user tries to operate the MFP 2 using the operation panel 20f, a user authentication screen 300 is displayed on the operation panel 20f as shown in step S1 of FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the user who wants to directly use the MFP 2 inputs his / her ID in the user ID input box 301 of the user authentication screen 300 and then inputs the password in the password box 302. When input is complete, press the OK button. To cancel the input, press the Cancel button.

  As described above, it is assumed that the language of the MFP 2 is set to Japanese as the default language. In this case, since the user cannot read Japanese, the main part of the user authentication screen 100 is written in English as well as Japanese.

  When the input of the user ID and password is completed (S2), the MFP 2 inquires of the authentication server 3 whether or not the input user ID matches the authentication information stored in the user information storage unit 33. If they match (Yes in S3), it is determined whether the password input together with the user ID matches the password of the user ID stored in the authentication server 3 (S4).

  If the user IDs do not match (No in S3) or the passwords do not match (No in S4), the authentication process is performed again. When the passwords match (Yes in S4), the MFP 2 requests the authentication server 3 to acquire the user specific setting information 200 corresponding to the user ID from the user information storage unit 33 via the user information transmission unit 34. (S5). Then, using the user language included in the unique setting information 200, the operation screen of the MFP 2 is displayed on the operation panel 20f (S6).

  In the above example, if the user with the user ID “A01” shown in FIG. 7 authenticates, the MFP 2 is set to Japanese as the default language at startup, but after the process of S6, the language of the MFP 2 is the user ID. It is replaced with the language used by the user “A01”. However, in this example, since the language used by the user ID “A01” has not been changed by the administrator, it remains the default language Japanese. As a result, the language of MFP 2 remains Japanese.

  As described above, normally, the data remains the same as the corresponding item of the initial data 100 of the MFP 2 unless the administrator changes the data of the item of the unique setting information of each user. However, when the image forming system 1 is used by a large number of users, changing the data of the item of the unique setting information for each user is an enormous work for the administrator, and setting errors are likely to occur. In addition, even if the administrator changes the item data, it may often occur that the item data is desired to be changed depending on the contents of the work in the process in which the user uses the image forming system 1.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, attention is paid to setting items common to the case where the user uses the user terminal 5 to send a print job to the MFP 2 for remote operation and the case where the MFP 2 performs a copy job via the operation panel 20f. To do. In the common setting items for print jobs and copy jobs. Often the same settings are used. For example, the user specific setting information 200 shown in FIG. A method for automatically setting these common setting items so as to follow the user's work history and orientation will be described below.

  A method for automatically rewriting user specific setting information by analyzing a print job will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a print setting screen 500 displayed on the user terminal 5 in which an English OS (Operating System) and applications are installed.

  The item data set on the print setting screen 500 is incorporated into a print job, specifically, PJL (Print Job Language), transmitted to the MFP 2 together with image data, and printed. For example, Paper Size (paper size) is A4, Color (printing color) is black, Single / Duplex (single / double-sided printing) is on both sides, Time Stamp (date printing) is present, and Number of Sets (number of copies) ) Is set to 1 part, Page Layout is set to 2 pages / sheet, and Scaling is set to 100%. When printing, the PRINT button 501 is pressed, and when canceling, the CANCEL button 502 is pressed.

  Although the details will be described later, the portion displayed as “MFP Display Language” is an operation panel language selection box 503 for directly specifying and changing the display language on the operation panel 20f of the MFP 2 at the time of printing.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of PJL sent from the user terminal 5 to the MFP 2 for printing.

  For example, the command of line number 11 is for causing the MFP 2 or the authentication server 3 to validate the authentication process for the print job. Line number 8 indicates the language of the print driver installed in the user terminal 5 and generating the print job, that is, the language of the print setting screen 500.

  Line number 9 indicates the language selected in operation panel language selection box 503 shown in FIG. In this example, since it is “NONE”, the language of the operation panel 20f is not forcibly changed when this PJL is executed. Line number 12 is a command for notifying the user ID. Line number 16 is an instruction relating to color, line number 17 is an instruction relating to page allocation, and line number 19 is an instruction relating to single-sided / double-sided printing. Note that. The print settings shown in FIG. 10 are all reflected in this PJL, but explanations of other commands are omitted.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram functionally showing a print job process by the MFP 2 and a process of analyzing items of the user's unique setting information included in the print job.

  The MFP 2 analyzes the content of a print job, a communication unit 21 that communicates with the outside, a control unit 22 that performs overall control, a print job processing unit 23 that processes a print job transmitted from the user terminal 5, and A print job analysis unit 24 that performs the user specific setting information rewriting unit 25 that rewrites the user specific setting information based on the analysis result of the print job analysis unit 24. These functional units are realized by the CPU 20a executing a program stored in advance in the ROM 20c or the hard disk 20d of the MFP 2.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing for rewriting user-specific setting information by analyzing a print job.

  When a print job is transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the MFP 2 (S22), authentication is performed based on authentication information included in the print job (S23). As described above, the authentication process at the time of printing is performed in the same manner as the authentication process via the operation panel 20f. However, even if the authentication is successful, the display on the operation panel 20f based on the unique setting information 200 of the user is performed. Is not done. If the authentication is unsuccessful (No in S24), a warning message is sent to the user terminal 5 that is the transmission source of the print job.

  On the other hand, if the authentication is successful (Yes in S24), the print job is sent to the print job processing unit 23 via the control unit 22 in FIG. 12, the print job is processed, and printing is performed. At the same time, the print job analysis unit 24 analyzes the data of items included in the print job that match the items of the user-specific setting information 200 for each user (S26).

  The analysis is performed by comparing the user-specific setting information stored in the authentication server 3 when the frequency of the same setting content exceeds the predetermined threshold value in the same setting item as compared with the past print job for each user. It is determined that 200 needs to be rewritten (Yes in S26).

  Details of this determination will be described later. At that time, the determination result is sent from the print job analysis unit 24 of FIG. 12 to the user-specific setting information rewriting unit 25, and the user-specific setting information rewriting unit 25 passes the control unit 22 and the communication unit 21 to The user information registration unit 31 of the authentication server shown is caused to rewrite the unique setting information of the corresponding user (S27). On the other hand, when it is determined that rewriting is not necessary (No in S26), past performance data for each user is accumulated in the print job analysis unit 24 (S29).

  Next, an example of determination by the print job analysis unit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the number of appearances of each data item of a setting item included in a print job and a predetermined threshold value.

  The example shown in FIG. 14 is a result of analyzing a print job so far related to the user with the user ID “A01”. Such an analysis is performed for each user registered in the authentication server 3 and starts simultaneously with the registration. Is done. According to this example, the user has printed 71 times with the MFP 2 so far. Looking at the print driver language whose item name corresponds to the language used in the user's unique setting information 200, the user terminal 5 used the English print driver 50 times, Japanese 5 times, French 1 time, Others are 0.

  70% is set as a predetermined threshold for the language used. If the user performs the most recent print job using an English printer driver, the number of English appearances will be 50, and at the same time, the total number of prints, that is, the ratio of 71 times will have exceeded just 70%. Become. Therefore, at this point, the user-specific setting information 200 of the user stored in the authentication server 3 is rewritten.

  At this time, as in this example, only the data of items exceeding the threshold value, that is, the data of the language used may be rewritten. In the data of other items, data having the highest appearance frequency may be rewritten at the same time. In that case, the paper size item is set to A4, and the single-sided / double-sided item is set to double-sided.

  Also, a method in which no threshold value is set is possible. In this case, the determination is performed at a predetermined timing for each user or for all users. At that time, the user-specific setting information 200 of the user may be rewritten with data having the highest appearance frequency for each item.

  In FIG. 14, a threshold value of 70% is set for all items, but the set value can be changed for each item. For example, since the language used is specific to the user, it is not often changed once determined. For this reason, by setting the threshold of the language used low, if the English print driver is used several times after user registration, the language of the user-specific setting information 200 is automatically set to English. Being convenient.

  Furthermore, as a threshold value, it is possible to set a uniform number of times for all items, or a separate number for each item, instead of a ratio to the total number of printing times. In this way, in the case of the above-mentioned language used, the same language as the print driver language used in the first print job of the user is set as the language used by setting the threshold value to once. .

  As described above, whether the number of appearances of all items shown in FIG. 14 is reset or only the number of appearances of the rewritten item is reset after the user-specific setting information 200 is rewritten by exceeding the threshold. May be determined according to the actual use state of the image forming system 1.

  As another means for immediately registering only the language used for such a user as item data of the user-specific setting information 200, a desired language is displayed in the operation panel language selection box 503 shown in the print setting screen 500 of FIG. It is also possible to select.

  In the example of FIG. 10, None is selected in the language selection box 503 of the operation panel 20f, that is, nothing is selected. For example, when English is selected, an instruction to change the language of the operation panel 20f to English is issued to the PJL. When the print job is sent to the MFP 2, the command is immediately executed.

  For example, assume that the user is using an English print driver. The user selects German (German) in the language selection box 503 and causes the MFP 2 to perform a print job. Thereafter, when the user directly operates the MFP 2 to perform a copy job or the like, various displays are performed in German on the operation panel 20f.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13, once a print job is performed such that the appearance frequency of the item data of the user-specific setting information 200 exceeds the threshold, the user stored in the authentication server 3 The unique setting information 200 is automatically changed to data suitable for the actual print job of the user.

  Furthermore, the items of the user-specific setting information 200 are items common to copy jobs. Therefore, when the user performs a copy job and performs the authentication operation S2 described with reference to FIG. 8 by operating the MFP 2, the process S5 of acquiring the user specific setting information 200 is performed, and the setting of the MFP 2 is performed. Including the language used, it is automatically set to be convenient for the user's copy job.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the burden on the administrator is greatly reduced, and the setting according to the user's work mode is automatically performed, so that the efficiency of the user work is improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention may be as follows not only the said form.

  In the embodiment, the setting items used in common for the print job and the copy job have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such setting items, and a document scanning job performed by directly operating the MFP 2 and a remote document performed from the user terminal 5 are described. The present invention can also be applied to other combinations such as setting items commonly used for scan jobs.

  The present invention can be applied to a case where the language displayed on the display of an MFP or the like and the user default setting at the time of a copy job are automatically changed.

2 MFP (image forming apparatus, image forming means)
20a CPU (analysis means)
20f Operation panel (operation display means)
23 Print Job Processing Unit 24 Print Job Analysis Unit 25 User Specific Setting Information Rewriting Unit (Rewriting Unit)
3 Authentication server 31 User information registration part (rewriting means)
32 User authentication unit (identification means)
33 User information storage unit (storage means)
34 User information transmission unit 4 Language data server 41 Language data request reception unit 42 Language data transmission unit 43 Language data storage unit 5 User terminal 6 Communication line

Claims (12)

Image forming means for performing a job by direct operation of a user and receiving a print job data via a communication line;
An identification means for identifying a user performing direct operation;
Storage means for storing a default language for each user;
When the image forming unit performs the print job, it analyzes data specifying the user and language specifying data in the data of the print job, determines the language used by the user, and based on the determination result Rewriting means for storing the used language in the storage means as the default language of the user;
Operation display means for displaying in the default language of the user identified by the identification means;
An image forming system comprising: When the appearance frequency of the same language specifying data included in the print job data of the same user exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the rewriting means sets the language indicated in the language specifying data as the language used by the user. Determining and storing the language used in the storage means as the default language of the user;
The image forming system according to claim 1. A display method used in an image forming apparatus including a display unit that performs display in one language among a plurality of languages,
Analyzing the data specifying the user and the language specifying data in the data of the print job received by the image forming apparatus, and determining the language used by the user;
A storage step of storing the language used as a default language of the user in a storage unit according to the analysis result;
An identification step for identifying a user who directly operates the image forming apparatus;
A language acquisition step of acquiring a default language of the identified user from the storage means;
A display step of displaying the display unit according to the acquired default language;
A display method for operation, characterized by comprising: In the analysis step, it is analyzed whether or not the appearance frequency of the same language specific data included in the print job data of the same user exceeds a predetermined threshold,
In the storing step, when it is determined that the appearance frequency of the same language specifying data has exceeded a predetermined threshold, the language used is stored as the default language of the user.
The display method according to claim 3. A computer program for a computer that is provided in the image forming apparatus and that performs display on the display unit for operation of the image forming apparatus,
Analyzing the data specifying the user and the language specifying data in the print job data received by the image forming apparatus, and determining the language used by the user;
According to the analysis result, the language used is stored in the storage means as the default language of the user,
Identify users who perform direct operations on image forming devices,
Obtaining a default language of the identified user from the storage means;
Display the display unit according to the acquired default language;
A computer program characterized by the above. An image forming unit that performs a copy job by a user's direct operation, and that receives a print job data via a communication line and performs the print job;
An identification means for identifying a user performing direct operation;
Storage means for storing the contents of user default setting items for each user;
When the image forming unit performs the print job, an analysis unit that analyzes data specifying the user in the print job data and the contents of the print setting item of the user;
Rewriting means for rewriting the content of the user's default setting item stored in the storage means with the content of the user's print setting item according to the analysis result;
When a user who performs a copy job by directly operating the image forming unit is identified by the identifying unit, an operation display unit that reflects and displays the content of the default setting item of the identified user;
An image forming system comprising: The analysis by the analysis unit is performed for each item of the print setting item included in the print job data of the same user,
When the appearance frequency of the same content included in the same print setting item exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the rewriting means sets only the print setting item exceeding the predetermined threshold value and the content as a rewrite target, and the user Rewrite the contents of the default setting item of
The image forming system according to claim 6. The analysis by the analysis unit is performed for each item of the print setting item included in the print job data of the same user,
Regarding the print setting item, the content having the highest appearance frequency for each item at a predetermined timing is rewritten, and the content of the default setting item of the user is rewritten.
The image forming system according to claim 6. The print setting item exceeding the predetermined threshold and its content are at least the language used in the data of the print job, and the operation display means uses the language as the default language as the content of the default setting item. Display,
The image forming system according to claim 6. The default setting item is a setting item used in common for the copy job and the print job.
The image forming system according to claim 6. A display method for an operation used in an image forming apparatus including a display unit that is displayed in one type of display language selected from a plurality of languages,
Storing the contents of the user's default setting items for each user;
An analysis step of analyzing data specifying a user and contents of print setting items of the user in print job data received by the image forming apparatus;
Rewriting the content of the stored default setting item of the user with the content of the print setting item of the user according to the analysis result;
An identification step for identifying a user who directly operates the image forming apparatus;
When the user is recognized, the display step of displaying the display unit reflecting the content of the recognized default setting item of the user;
A display method for operation, characterized by comprising: A computer program for a computer that is provided in the image forming apparatus and that performs display on the display unit for operation of the image forming apparatus,
Store the contents of user default setting items for each user,
In the print job data received by the image forming apparatus, the data for specifying the user and the contents of the print setting item of the user are analyzed,
According to the analysis result, the stored contents of the user's default setting items are rewritten with the contents of the user's print setting items,
Identifying a user who directly operates the image forming apparatus;
When the user is recognized, the content of the recognized default setting item of the recognized user is reflected and the display unit is displayed.
A computer program characterized by the above.

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