JP2016178502A - Information processing device, information processing system, image processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a mobile terminal device, held by a user of an electronic apparatus, to effectively transmit information according to the state of the electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: In a management server 10, a user information management unit 121 manages the attribute of a user of an image processing apparatus 20 and information on the information transmission capability of a mobile terminal device 30 owned by the user. In response to an event and the notification of a user currently using the image processing apparatus 20 from the image processing apparatus 20, a transmission information determination unit 125 determines what information is to be transmitted from the mobile terminal device 30, on the basis of the attribute of the notified event, the attribute of the notified user and the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device 30 owned by the notified user. According to the determination of the transmission information determination unit 125, a transmission information transmission unit 126 transmits information to cause the mobile terminal device 30 to transmit the determined information to the image processing apparatus 20 of the notification source of the notification.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an image processing apparatus, and a program.

Conventionally, when a user uses an electronic device such as an MFP (digital multifunction peripheral) or the like, a part of a screen for displaying the state of the electronic device or accepting an operation is carried by the user. Display on a portable terminal device.
For example, in Patent Document 1, an operation instruction that is difficult to execute while referring to the operation panel is displayed on a portable terminal device held by the user, and an operation instruction that can be executed while referring to the operation panel is displayed on the operation panel. Is displayed.
In addition to this, a technique is also known in which the screen displayed on the operation panel varies depending on the usage status of the device.

  By the way, some recent mobile terminal devices have a variety of information transmission functions such as telephones, e-mails, and web browsers, such as smartphones. However, in the above-described conventional technology, the display on the operation panel is merely substituted for the portable terminal device as necessary, and the function of the portable terminal device cannot be sufficiently activated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and enables the mobile terminal device held by the user of the electronic device to effectively transmit information according to the state of the electronic device. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in an information processing apparatus, information management means for managing information on a user's attribute of an electronic device and information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user, In response to the notification of the event and the user who is using the electronic device from the device, the notified event attribute, the notified user attribute, and the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user Determining means for determining what kind of information transmission is to be performed by the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user based on the information transmitting capability of the electronic device, and in accordance with the determination by the determining means, the electronic device that is the notification source of the notification On the other hand, there is provided transmission means for transmitting information for causing the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user to perform information transmission determined by the determination means.

  According to the said structure, according to the state of an electronic device, the portable terminal device which the user of an electronic device has can be made to perform effective information transmission.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the information processing system which is 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the management server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the function structure of each apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a user information table. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example of each apparatus at the time of an image processing apparatus acquiring the information which should be registered into the table of FIG. 5 from a portable terminal device. It is a figure which shows the other example. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen which a portable terminal device displays. It is a figure which shows the example of a transmission information table. It is a figure which shows the example of a transmission destination table. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating operations of the devices when the image processing device detects an event to be notified to the management server. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by FIG.11 S143 in detail. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen when a portable terminal device performs a telephone call. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen when a portable terminal device performs mail transmission. It is a functional block diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the transmission destination table in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process corresponding to FIG. 12 in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the change information table used in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process corresponding to FIG.12 and FIG.17 in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the apparatus capability table used in 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process corresponding to FIG. 12 in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the transmission information table in 5th Embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment: FIGS. 1 to 14]
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a management server 10 and a plurality of image processing apparatuses 20a to 20c (use a code “20” when it is not necessary to distinguish between individuals) via a communication path 50. Connected and configured. The mobile terminal device 30 is a terminal device owned by a user who uses the image processing device 20, and can communicate with the image processing device 20 through the wireless communication path 60.

Of these, the management server 10 is a device that provides a function for teaching the image processing device 20 what information should be transmitted in response to an event, the details of which will be described later. 1 is an embodiment of an apparatus.
For information transmission here, content such as web pages, videos, sounds, documents, etc. is output in the form of display, etc., communication by telephone or e-mail, etc. All information output to the outside of the apparatus in a form that can be recognized by the user.

  An event is an arbitrary state change that occurs in the image processing apparatus 20. The management server 10 does not need to handle all of them. However, it indicates that trouble has occurred in the operation of the image processing apparatus 20 such as occurrence of a malfunction (there may be a temporary malfunction such as a paper jam, or a malfunction that requires repair such as replacement of parts), or out of consumables. It is desirable that an event that needs to be instructed to the user when it occurs can be handled. Further, handling of events other than those indicating that the operation of the image processing apparatus 20 has been hindered, such as job execution completion, is naturally not hindered.

  The image processing apparatus 20 is an example of an electronic apparatus, and can be configured as, for example, an MFP (digital multifunction peripheral) having functions such as copying, printing, scanning, facsimile communication, and document storage. When the occurrence of an event is detected, the image processing apparatus 20 notifies the management server 10 of the event, acquires information on what kind of information should be transmitted in accordance with the event, and acquires the information. Send information according to the information. However, some of this information transmission should be executed by the mobile terminal device 30 owned by the user using the image processing device 20. Information transmission using this portable terminal device 30 is one of the features of this embodiment.

  The portable terminal device 30 is a portable terminal device possessed by a user, and can be configured as, for example, a smartphone or a tablet computer. Further, any other portable computer can be used as the portable terminal device 30. The mobile terminal device 30 has at least a function of transmitting information in accordance with a request from the image processing device 20.

The communication path 50 is, for example, a LAN (local area network) or the Internet, but any standard can be adopted regardless of wired radio. Further, network communication or peer-to-peer communication may be used.
The wireless communication path 60 can employ any standard. It may be the same as or different from the communication path 50.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the management server 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, the management server 10 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, an HDD (hard disk drive) 104, a communication I / F (interface) 105, an operation unit 106, and a display unit 107. Connected configuration.

Then, the CPU 101 controls the entire management server 10 by executing programs stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD 104 using the RAM 103 as a work area, and implements various functions including those described later with reference to FIG. .
The ROM 102 and the HDD 104 are non-volatile storage media (storage means) and store various programs executed by the CPU 101 and various data described later.

The communication I / F 105 is an interface for communicating with an external apparatus such as the image processing apparatus 20 via the communication path 50. What is necessary is just to provide the thing according to the specification of the communication path to be used.
The operation unit 106 is an operation means for accepting an operation from a user, and can be configured with a touch panel, buttons, and the like.
The display unit 107 is a display unit for displaying the operation state and setting contents of the management server 10 and can be configured by a liquid crystal display or the like.

  Note that the operation unit 106 and the display unit 107 may be externally attached. Further, when the management server 10 does not need to directly receive an operation from the user (the operation unit may accept an operation or present information by an external device connected via the communication I / F 105). 106 and the display unit 107 need not be provided.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 20.
As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing apparatus 20 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an HDD (hard disk drive) 204, a communication I / F (interface) 205, an NFC I / F 206, an operation unit 207, a display unit 208, an engine I / F. F209 is provided, and these are connected by a system bus 211. Further, an engine unit 210 is provided in connection with the engine I / F 209.

Among these, components having the same names as those shown in FIG. 2 may not have the same individual performance and shape, but have the same functions as those shown in FIG.
The NFC I / F 206 is an interface for communicating with other devices including the NFC I / F such as the mobile terminal device 30 by NFC (Near Field Communication).
The engine I / F 209 is an interface for connecting the engine unit 210 to the system bus 211 so that the CPU 201 can control it. The engine unit 210 is hardware such as an image forming unit and an image reading unit for realizing functions such as image formation and image reading.

  Moreover, the portable terminal device 30 may be configured as a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, communication I / F, NFC I / F, operation unit, and display unit having the same concept as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. it can. Also, depending on the model, a network control unit for connecting to a mobile communication network is also provided.

  Next, FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration of functions included in the management server 10, the image processing device 20, and the mobile terminal device 30. FIG. 4 mainly illustrates the function for realizing the above-described function of teaching what kind of information should be transmitted to the image processing apparatus 20 according to an event. The function of each unit shown in FIG. 4 is realized by the CPU of each device executing a required program and controlling the operation of the required hardware.

As shown in FIG. 4, the management server 10 includes a user information management unit 121, a transmission information management unit 122, a device capability management unit 123, an event notification reception unit 124, a transmission information determination unit 125, and a transmission information transmission unit 126. .
Among these, the user information management unit 121 includes a function of an information management unit that manages information regarding a user's attribute and the capability of the mobile terminal device 30 possessed by the user for a user who has the authority to use the image processing apparatus 20. The information managed by the user information management unit 121 is as shown in FIG. 5, for example, and the contents will be described in detail later. The storage means for storing this information may be inside or outside the management server 10. The same applies to other information described below.

The transmission information management unit 122 has a function of a transmission information management unit that manages information to be transmitted in accordance with an event received from the image processing apparatus 20 with a priority order for each attribute of the user, in a plurality of ways. The information managed by the transmission information management unit 122 is as shown in FIG. 9, for example, and the contents will be described in detail later.
The device capability management unit 123 has a function of managing information related to the information transmission capability of each image processing device 20. The information managed by the device capability management unit 123 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 20, and the contents will be described later. In addition, since it is not necessary to use the information shown in FIG. 20 in 1st Embodiment, the apparatus capability management part 123 is shown with the broken line in this meaning.

The event notification receiving unit 124 has a function of receiving event notifications from the image processing apparatus 20. This notification includes the contents of the event and the identification information of the user who was using the image processing apparatus 20 when the event occurred.
The transmission information determination unit 125 uses the notified information and information managed by the user information management unit 121 and the transmission information management unit 122 to transmit information to be executed in response to the occurrence of the event received by the event notification reception unit 124. The function of the determination means to determine based is provided. Details of the determination method will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The transmission information transmission unit 126 causes the information transmission determined by the transmission information determination unit 125 to be performed by the event processing source image processing device 20 or the mobile terminal device 30 held by the user using the image processing device 20. A function of a transmission unit that transmits information to the image processing apparatus 20 that is the event notification source is provided.

Next, the image processing apparatus 20 includes a user authentication unit 221, a terminal information acquisition unit 222, an event detection unit 223, an event notification transmission unit 224, a transmission request unit 225, and a transmission execution unit 226.
Among these, the user authentication unit 221 has a function of authenticating a user who has the authority to use the image processing apparatus 20 by comparing authentication information such as the input user ID and password with authority information prepared in advance. . In addition, a function of logging in the authenticated user and permitting use of the image processing apparatus 20 is also provided. Note that the authentication information can be input by the user operating the operation unit 207 of the image processing apparatus 20, or can be transmitted from the portable terminal device 30 owned by the user using NFC. It can also be input by other methods such as using an IC card or biological information.

The terminal information acquisition unit 222 has a function of acquiring information related to the capability of the mobile terminal device 30, particularly information related to the information transmission capability, from the mobile terminal device 30 of the logged-in user. The acquired information is also transmitted to the management server 10 together with the identification information of the owner user and registered in the user information management unit 121.
The event detection unit 223 has a function of detecting various events that occur during the operation of the image processing apparatus 20.

The event notification transmission unit 224 notifies the event notification reception unit 124 of the management server 10 of the events detected by the event detection unit 223 that need to cause the management server 10 to determine information transmission to be performed in accordance with the event. It has a function to do. At the time of this notification, the identification information of the user who is using (logging in) the image processing apparatus 20 is also notified.
Based on the information transmitted from the transmission information transmission unit 126 of the management server 10, the transmission request unit 225 is a request unit that requests an apparatus that should perform information transmission to execute information transmission according to the transmitted information. It has a function. The request destination may be the case of the image processing apparatus 20 itself or the case of the portable terminal apparatus 30 held by a user who is logged in to the image processing apparatus 20.

The transmission execution unit 226 has a function of transmitting information to the outside of a user or the like in accordance with a request from the transmission request unit 225. The image processing apparatus 20 includes a moving image reproduction unit 226a that reproduces a designated moving image and displays it on a display as a specific transmission unit. The function of the video playback unit 226a can be realized by causing the CPU 201 to execute a video playback application and controlling the display of the display unit 208. When the moving image includes audio data and the image processing apparatus 20 includes sound generation means such as a speaker, audio output may be performed together.
The specific transmission means provided in the transmission execution unit 226 differs depending on the model of the image processing apparatus 20 and installed applications, and the one shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example.

The mobile terminal device 30 also includes an authentication request unit 321, a device capability providing unit 322, a request receiving unit 323, and a transmission executing unit 324.
Among these, the authentication request unit 321 has a function of transmitting authentication information registered in advance of the owner user to the image processing apparatus 20 and requesting the user to be authenticated.
The device capability providing unit 322 has a function of providing information related to the capability of the mobile terminal device 30 in response to a request from the terminal information acquisition unit 222 of the image processing device 20.
The request reception unit 323 has a function of receiving an information transmission execution request from the transmission request unit 225 of the image processing apparatus 20 and causing the transmission execution unit 324 to execute information transmission according to the request.

The transmission execution unit 324 has a function of transmitting information to the outside of a user or the like in accordance with a request from the request reception unit 323. The mobile terminal device 30 includes a moving picture reproduction unit 324a, a browser 324b, a mail transmission unit 324c, and a telephone call unit 324d as specific transmission means.
The moving image reproduction unit 324a has a function similar to that of the moving image reproduction unit 226a included in the image processing apparatus 20.
The browser 324b has a function of acquiring web page data from a designated web server or local storage and displaying the data on a display.

The mail transmission unit 324c has a function of starting an e-mail application and transmitting an e-mail with a text specified as a specified destination. “Information transmission” may be performed in such a manner that a screen in a state where transmission is possible when the user presses a transmission button is displayed on the display.
The telephone calling unit 324d has a function of starting a telephone function and making a call to a designated telephone number. “Information transmission” may be performed in such a manner that a screen in a state in which the user can press the transmission button is displayed on the display.

Note that the information to be transmitted and “designation” of the acquisition destination for each of these units are determined by the transmission information determination unit 125 of the management server 10 and then transmitted to the transmission execution unit 324 through each unit.
The specific transmission means provided in the transmission execution unit 324 differs depending on the model of the mobile terminal device 30 and the installed application, and the one shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example. Information on which specific transmission means can be used in the portable terminal device 30 is provided to the device capability providing unit 322 and is provided to the image processing device 20 as necessary.

  Of the functions of the mobile terminal device 30 described above, the function of the request receiving unit 323 is preferably realized by a part of an application program for using the function of the image processing device 20. The request receiving unit 323 has a function of accepting a request from the outside and performing an e-mail or a telephone call according to the request. Therefore, it is not desirable to keep the request valid at all times, and only while the image processing apparatus 20 is used. This is because it is desirable to be able to make it effective. Further, when the function of the request receiving unit 323 is always enabled, it is desirable to set so that only a request from a specific image processing apparatus 20 is received.

Next, the data handled by each of the above units and the specific contents of the processing to be executed will be described.
First, FIG. 5 shows an example of a user information table managed by the user information management unit 121.
This user information table is a table for managing user attributes and information on the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user for the user of the image processing apparatus 20. This table may be provided individually for each of the image processing apparatuses 20a to 20c, but may be a table common to all three units. In this case, the registered user does not necessarily have usage authority for all three. Information on a user who has logged in to any of the image processing apparatuses 20a to 20c may be registered as needed.
In addition, when providing a user information table for each device or group of devices, the transmission information determination unit 125, when determining information transmission to be executed in response to the occurrence of an event, the user corresponding to the event transmission source Use information tables.

In this user information table, user ID, user name, attribute, terminal identification information, terminal capability, and model information are registered for each user.
Among these, “user ID” is identification information for uniquely identifying a user.
“User name” is the name of the user. It is not always necessary to register.
“Attribute” is an attribute of the user. Here, attributes are classified based on the degree to which the user is familiar with the handling of the image processing apparatus 20, such as an administrator, a general user, and a trained user. However, the attribute setting standard is not limited to this. This attribute may reflect user information stored in the image processing apparatus 20 or an authentication server used by the image processing apparatus 20. In addition, one user may have a plurality of attributes defined by different criteria.

The “terminal identification information” is identification information for specifying the mobile terminal device 30 possessed by the corresponding user. Here, an apparatus ID and an IP (Internet Protocol) address are used as terminal identification information.
“Terminal capability” is information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device 30 possessed by the corresponding user. In the example of FIG. 5, OK (with ability) or NG (without ability) is registered for each of the four types of functions “mail transmission”, “phone call”, “web browsing”, and “video playback” that are assumed to be used. . However, it is not limited to this format, and for example, the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device 30 may be listed.

Note that “application installation” at the bottom indicates whether or not an application program that realizes the function of the request reception unit 323 is installed. If this is “completed”, the information transmission function displayed as “OK” can be used. However, if it is “not yet”, the information transmission request from the image processing apparatus 20 is not accepted, and therefore “OK”. It cannot be used even with the information transmission function that is displayed.
“Model” is the model of the mobile terminal device 30 possessed by the corresponding user. When it is desired to know information related to the hardware of the mobile terminal device 30, it can be obtained from information outside the table of FIG.

Next, FIG. 6 shows an operation example of each device when the image processing device 20 acquires information to be registered in the table of FIG. 5 from the mobile terminal device 30. FIG. 6 shows an example in which authentication information is transmitted from the mobile terminal device 30 to the image processing device 20 to request login.
In the operation of FIG. 6, first, the user brings his mobile terminal device 30 close to the NFC I / F 206 of the image processing apparatus 20, sends authentication information by NFC to the image processing apparatus 20, and requests login (S <b> 101). . In response to this, the image processing apparatus performs an authentication process. Here, it is assumed that the authentication is successful and the login is permitted (S102). These operations correspond to the functions of the authentication request unit 321 and the user authentication unit 221.

Next, the image processing apparatus 20 determines whether the terminal information is registered in the user information table for the user authenticated this time (S103). This determination can be made by storing the user who registered the information of the terminal device within a certain period in the past without necessarily referring to the table itself, and whether or not the user authenticated this time is included therein. it can.
In the case of No in step S103, the image processing device 20 requests the portable terminal device 30 for device information that is information on items to be registered in the user information table (S104). In response to this, the portable terminal device 30 transmits device information to the image processing device 20 (S105). Note that the mobile terminal device 30 may transmit step S105 only when a specific application for using the image processing device 20 is activated.

  In any case, the image processing apparatus 20 that has received the device information transmits it to the management server 10 together with the user ID of the user who has been authenticated this time (S106). The operations in steps S103 to S106 so far correspond to the functions of the terminal information acquisition unit 222 and the device capability provision unit 322.

The management server 10 that has received the information transmitted in step S106 registers the information in the user information table (S107). This operation corresponds to the function of the user information management unit 121.
In addition, after step S106 or if Yes in step S103, the image processing apparatus 20 performs a normal operation after user authentication (S108).
As described above, the information of the mobile terminal device 30 held by the user who has logged into the image processing device 20 can be registered in the user information table.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an example of an operation corresponding to FIG. 6 when the user manually inputs authentication information to the image processing apparatus 20 and requests login.
In the operation of FIG. 7, first, the user operates the operation unit 207 of the image processing apparatus 20 to input authentication information, and requests login (S121). In response to this, the image processing apparatus performs an authentication process. Here, it is assumed that the authentication is successful and the login is permitted (S122). This operation corresponds to the function of the user authentication unit 221.

Next, the image processing apparatus 20 determines whether the terminal information is registered in the user information table for the user who has been authenticated this time (S123). This determination is the same as step S103 in FIG.
In the case of No in step S123, the image processing device 20 searches for a nearby mobile terminal device 30 (S124). This search can be performed, for example, by transmitting a response request by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and finding a device that has returned a response to the request. Here, it is assumed that the mobile terminal device 30 returns a response (S125). Since the logged-in user is near the image processing apparatus 20, it is assumed that the mobile terminal apparatus 30 possessed by the user is also nearby.

  Next, the image processing device 20 requests device information, which is information on items to be registered in the user information table, from the mobile terminal device 30 that has returned the response (S126). Receiving this request, the mobile terminal device 30 displays a confirmation screen 400 as shown in FIG. 8 on the display and asks the user to confirm whether or not transmission is possible (S127).

  When the user operates the OK button 401, the portable terminal device 30 transmits device information to the image processing device 20 (S129), assuming that a transmission OK instruction has been detected (S128). Subsequent steps S130 to S132 are the same as steps S106 to 108 in FIG. When the NG button 402 is operated on the confirmation screen 400, the mobile terminal device 30 does not transmit device information, and the information is not registered in the management server 10.

The operations in steps S124 to S129 correspond to the functions of the terminal information acquisition unit 222 and the device capability provision unit 322. Further, the mobile terminal device 30 may perform the operations of steps S127 to S129 only when a specific application for using the image processing device 20 is activated.
As described above, the information of the mobile terminal device 30 held by the user who has manually logged into the image processing apparatus 20 can be registered in the user information table after receiving the user's confirmation.

Next, FIG. 9 shows an example of a transmission information table managed by the transmission information management unit 122.
This transmission information table is a table for managing a plurality of candidates for information to be transmitted for each combination of event attributes and user attributes (first attributes) with priorities.

  As with the user information table, this table may be a common table for all three units. However, it is conceivable that the description of the operation to be displayed differs depending on the model, so it may be provided for each device or group of devices. In this case, the transmission information determination unit 125 uses a transmission information table corresponding to the transmission source of the event when determining information transmission to be executed in response to the occurrence of the event.

In this transmission information table, a plurality of transmission content candidates and their priorities are registered for each combination of event type and user attribute.
The “event” column indicates the type of event. In this example, the event type itself is considered to be an attribute of the event.

The column of “general user information transmission” indicates the content of transmission to a user having the attribute of “general user”. The column of “transmission of information for managers and trained users” indicates the content of transmission to users having the attribute of “manager” or “trained users”.
In each column, “transmission content” indicates a plurality of candidates for information transmission to be executed, and “priority” indicates the priority of each candidate.

Among the candidates, “Web page display” and “Video display” are URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) or file names as acquisition destination addresses of information to be displayed, such as “AAA” and “XXX”. Have been identified. On the other hand, no specific destination is shown in FIG. 9 for candidates indicating contact with the device manager or the support window.
This specific destination can be acquired by referring to the destination table shown in FIG. This destination table registers telephones, e-mails, and web pages for each person in charge as contacts related to maintenance of the image processing apparatus 20. This content may be input by the administrator of the management server 10.

Next, FIG. 11 shows the operation of each apparatus when the image processing apparatus 20 detects an event to be notified to the management server 10.
The image processing apparatus 20 sets an event to be notified to the management server 10 (the event handled by the management server 10 described in the description of FIG. 1 and which event corresponds to this event is set in the image processing apparatus 20 in advance. (S141), the management server 10 is notified together with the ID of the logged-in user (S142). This operation corresponds to the functions of the event detection unit 223 and the event notification transmission unit 224.

  Receiving the notification in step S142, the management server 10 determines information transmission to be executed according to the event by the process of FIG. 12 described later (S143). Then, a command for causing the mobile terminal device 30 held by the user of the notified user ID to perform the determined information transmission is generated (S144) and transmitted to the image processing device 20 (S145). These operations correspond to the functions of the transmission information determination unit 125 and the transmission information transmission unit 126.

  FIG. 12 shows a criterion for making the mobile terminal device 30 always transmit information. Therefore, the subsequent processing is also for sending commands to the portable terminal device 30. Judgment criteria in consideration of causing the image processing apparatus 20 to transmit information will be described separately as another embodiment.

The image processing apparatus 20 that has received the command in step S145 transmits it to the mobile terminal apparatus 30 (S146). This operation corresponds to the function of the transmission request unit 225.
The mobile terminal device 30 that has received this command executes information transmission according to the command (S147). This operation corresponds to the functions of the request reception unit 323 and the transmission execution unit 324.

  FIG. 13 shows an example in which the mobile terminal device 30 executes a telephone call. In this case, the mobile terminal device 30 enables the telephone function, and inputs the number designated by the command as a destination number as indicated by reference numeral 301. Thereafter, the call may be automatically sent, or the user may stand by in a state where the user can make a call simply by operating the call button 302.

FIG. 14 shows an example in which the mobile terminal device 30 executes e-mail transmission. In this case, the mobile terminal device 30 activates an e-mail application, generates data for transmitting the text message specified by the command to the destination specified by the command, and displays the data on the screen. FIG. 14 shows an example of creating an e-mail addressed to the person in charge of ordering. Thereafter, the transmission may be performed automatically, or the user may wait in a state where transmission can be performed simply by operating the transmission button 311.
Note that, in step S144, the management server 10 generates a command in such a form that the image processing apparatus 20 transfers it as it is and delivers it to the portable terminal device 30 in consideration of the ID and address registered in the user information table. Good.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of processing for determining information transmission according to an event, which is executed by the management server 10 (the CPU 101 thereof).
When the management server 10 detects that an event and a user ID have been notified from any of the image processing apparatuses 20 as in step S142 of FIG. 11, the management server 10 starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, the attribute and terminal capability corresponding to the notified user ID are acquired from the user information table shown in FIG. 5 (S11). Next, the management server 10 acquires from the transmission information table shown in FIG. 9 the transmission content candidates corresponding to the notified event and the attribute acquired in step S11 (S12). Then, it is determined whether or not the acquired candidates can be executed with the terminal capability acquired in step S11 in descending order of priority (S13).
For example, if the candidate is “display web page”, it can be executed if a web browsing function is provided.
Then, the management server 10 determines to perform the information transmission that is initially determined to be executable in step S13 (S14), and ends the process (proceeds to step S144 in FIG. 11).

  As a result of the above processing, the management server 10 is notified of the event and the user who is using the image processing apparatus 20, the attribute of the notified event, the attribute of the notified user, and the notification Based on the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user, it is possible to determine what information transmission is to be performed by the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user.

Therefore, even when the capability of the portable terminal device possessed by the user is different, appropriate information transmission can be performed. Moreover, even when the information to be transmitted differs depending on the user's attributes, effective information transmission can be performed.
For example, when the image processing apparatus 20 is operated in accordance with an operation policy in which a general user first contacts a device administrator in the event of a failure and the device administrator takes action, the following measures are taken: Is possible. That is, automatically provide a means to contact the administrator if a general user breaks down during use, and a method to contact the support or support desk if the administrator breaks down during use. Can do. In addition, these means can be provided by utilizing various functions provided in the mobile terminal device 30.

[Second Embodiment: FIGS. 15 to 17]
Next, an information processing system according to a second embodiment of this invention will be described.
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the management server 10 determines information transmission according to the event in consideration of the current time. Since other points are common to the above-described first embodiment, only matters relating to this difference will be described. Moreover, about the structure which is common or corresponds to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol as what was used in 1st Embodiment is used. This also applies to the following embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows a functional configuration of each device corresponding to FIG. 4 in the second embodiment.
In the second embodiment, a timer unit 127 is provided in the management server 10 as shown in FIG. The time measuring unit 127 functions as a time measuring means for measuring the current time.
And the transmission information determination part 125 determines the information transmission which should be performed according to an event based on the present | current time which the time measuring part 127 measures in the process of step S143 of FIG.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a destination table in the second embodiment.
The transmission destination table of FIG. 16 corresponds to that shown in FIG. 10, but an available time zone is set for the telephone number. For example, the telephone number of the device manager can be used from 9:00 to 12:00 from Monday to Friday, from 13:00 to 17:00, and otherwise it cannot be used. It is also possible to set different phone numbers depending on the time of day like a support window.
Since the outgoing call contents shown in FIG. 9 are defined using the outgoing call destination table, setting the available time zone in the outgoing call destination table of FIG. The usable time zone will be set to.

Next, FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of processing corresponding to FIG. 12 in the second embodiment.
In the process of FIG. 17, step SA is added between step S12 and step S13, and based on the current time, a call to a contact that is not currently available (out of the usable time zone) is sent to the contact information acquired in step S12. The point excluded from the candidates is different from the process of FIG.
Step S13 ′ is different from step S13 in FIG. 12 only in that the candidate remaining after the exclusion of step SA is determined.
Other points are common to the processing of FIG.

  According to the configuration of the second embodiment described above, when there is a contact that cannot be used depending on the time of day, the management server 10 can determine information transmission to be executed from other candidates. For this reason, it is possible to transmit information appropriately according to the time zone without making a call to a telephone that is not connected outside the corresponding time.

[Third Embodiment: FIGS. 18 and 19]
Next, an information processing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the third embodiment, the information transmission candidates to be executed can be changed according to user attributes (second attributes) other than those considered in the transmission information table of FIG. And different. Since other points are common to the second embodiment described above, only matters relating to this difference will be described.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the change information table used in the third embodiment.
This change information table defines changes to be applied to the transmission information table of FIG. 9 for each user attribute. The change includes specification of an item and specification of change contents. Note that the attributes shown in FIG. 18 and the attributes shown in FIG. 9 can be set simultaneously for one user.

  In the example of FIG. 18, for a user who has an optional support contract for extending support time, it is specified that a telephone number for extension support and its usable time zone are added to the telephone number of the support window. . As a result, when a user who has an optional support contract is using the image processing apparatus 20, the mobile terminal device 30 can be connected to a telephone number for extension support even outside the normal support time. You can make outgoing calls.

For users with hearing impairments, it is stipulated that telephone calls be excluded from candidates. Since a user with hearing impairment is difficult to respond by telephone, such information transmission is not performed.
Further, it is stipulated that a user with a visual impairment is excluded from candidates other than a telephone call. A user with a visual disability is not allowed to send such information because it is difficult to deal with the screen display. If there is a voice guidance, a mail reading function, etc., options other than outgoing calls may be left as candidates by utilizing them.

Next, FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of processing corresponding to FIGS. 12 and 17 in the third embodiment.
The process of FIG. 19 adds step SB between step S12 and step S13, and applies the change according to a change information table to the candidate acquired by step S12 based on a user's attribute. This is different from 17 processing.

Step S13 ″ differs from Step S13 in FIG. 12 and Step S13 ′ in FIG. 17 only in that the candidate after applying the change in Step SB is determined.
The points other than these are the same as the processes in FIGS.
According to the configuration of the third embodiment described above, it is possible to determine information transmission to be executed flexibly according to the user's attributes. For this reason, appropriate information transmission can be performed with respect to various users.

[Fourth Embodiment: FIGS. 20 and 21]
Next, an information processing system according to a fourth embodiment of this invention will be described.
In the fourth embodiment, in consideration of the information transmission capability of the image processing apparatus 20 that is the event notification source, the information transmission according to the event is determined including options for causing the image processing apparatus 20 to perform information transmission. This is different from the first embodiment. Since other points are common to the above-described first embodiment, only matters relating to this difference will be described.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a device capability table used in the fourth embodiment.
This device capability table is a table managed by the device capability management unit 123, and is a table for managing the information transmission capability for each image processing apparatus 20 using the function of the management server 10.
In this device capability table, device ID and information transmission capability information are registered for each device.

Among these, “apparatus ID” is identification information for uniquely specifying the image processing apparatus.
“Information transmission capability” is the information transmission capability of the corresponding image processing apparatus 20. Basically, it has the same format as the terminal capability in the user information table of FIG. 5, but “application install” information is unnecessary. In addition, when the item whose capability changes depending on the hardware is “OK”, information on the capability according to the hardware is also included.

  In the example of FIG. 20, “video playback” and “web browsing” have different capabilities depending on the size of the display, and it can be said that the larger the size, the easier it is to see and the higher the capability. Therefore, the display size is roughly indicated by “large panel size” and “small panel size”. Similarly, information on resolution and color display availability may be included, but it is only necessary to express whether it is higher or lower than the capability of a general mobile terminal device 30. In the example of FIG. 20, “large panel size” is higher than the capability of the mobile terminal device 30, and “small panel size” is conversely low.

Next, FIG. 21 shows a flowchart of processing corresponding to FIG. 12 in the fourth embodiment.
As in the case of FIG. 12, when the management server 10 detects that an event and a user ID have been notified from any of the image processing apparatuses 20, the management server 10 starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the attribute and terminal capability corresponding to the notified user ID are acquired from the user information table shown in FIG. 5 (S21). Next, the management server 10 acquires the information transmission capability of the image processing apparatus 20 that is the event notification source from the device capability table of FIG. 20 (S22). Further, a candidate for the content of transmission corresponding to the notified event and the attribute acquired in step S21 is acquired from the transmission information table shown in FIG. 9 (S23). Then, it is determined whether the acquired candidates can be executed in descending order of priority with the terminal capability acquired in step S21 or the information transmission capability of the notification source device acquired in step S22 (S24). The standard is the same as in step S13 of FIG.

  Then, the management server 10 determines to perform the information transmission that is initially determined to be executable in step S24 (S25), and the notification source image processing device 20 has a mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user. It is determined whether or not the determined information transmission capability is higher than 30 (S26). Then, it is determined that information transmission is to be executed by one having higher ability (S27, S28), and the process is terminated.

If only one of the devices can execute information transmission in the determination in step S26, it is determined that the device has higher capability. When both devices can be executed, it is possible to determine which capability is higher with reference to hardware information in the information transmission capability of the image processing apparatus 20.
Through the processing described above, the management server 10 can determine what information should be transmitted to which device in consideration of the image processing device 20 that is the event notification source. In this way, more effective information transmission using the hardware of the image processing apparatus 20 can be performed.

[Fifth Embodiment: FIG. 22]
Next, an information processing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that event attributes are determined not for each type but for each rough characteristic. Since other points are common to the above-described first embodiment, only matters relating to this difference will be described.

FIG. 22 shows an example of a transmission information table corresponding to FIG. 9 in the fifth embodiment.
In the transmission information table shown in FIG. 22, events are classified into attributes according to the characteristics of the event such as “low recovery difficulty”, “high recovery difficulty”, “consumable out of service”, and “emergency”. The candidate of the information which should be managed is managed. Which event has which attribute is specified separately.
Then, in step S12 in FIG. 12, candidates for transmission contents corresponding to the notified event attributes and the user attributes acquired in step S11 are acquired from the transmission information table shown in FIG.

  In the table of FIG. 22, for example, for a failure with a low recovery difficulty, a general user displays a manual with a high priority and tries recovery, while for a failure with a high recovery difficulty, I try to make phone calls and emails. On the other hand, for managers and trained users, it seems that they can deal with failures that have a high degree of difficulty in recovery, so the manual is displayed with high priority.

In addition, for failures that require urgent response, the priority of outgoing calls that can immediately communicate with the other party is increased, and for other failures, the priority of mail transmission that can be easily recorded is increased.
Thus, according to the structure of 5th Embodiment, the effective information transmission according to the property of an event can be performed.

This is the end of the description of the embodiment.In this invention, the number of devices constituting the system, the specific configuration of the devices, the specific processing procedure, the data configuration, the type of information transmission to be executed, etc. It is not restricted to what was demonstrated by each embodiment.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, one of the image processing device 20 and the mobile terminal device 30 executes information transmission. However, a mode in which both of them execute may be provided. For example, the mobile terminal device 30 makes a call, while the image processing device 20 displays the destination.

  In the embodiment described above, the event is notified to the management server 10 by the image processing apparatus 20, but may be any other electronic device. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of devices having different functions and applications as well as the models notify the management server 10 of an event and request the decision of information transmission to be executed according to the event.

In addition, the functions of the management server 10 or the image processing apparatus 20 are provided in a distributed manner in a plurality of apparatuses, and these systems cooperate to form a system having the same functions as the management server 10 or the image processing apparatus 20. You can also. In particular, it is not necessary to provide a storage destination of data used by each device in the device, and it is not impeded to provide a file server or the like in a cloud environment.
Further, an image processing apparatus having both the function of the management server 10 and the function of the image processing apparatus 20 may be configured. That is, it is also possible to realize an apparatus that has both a function of notifying an event and requesting determination of information transmission to be executed in accordance with the event, and a function of the determination side.

The embodiment of the program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to control required hardware to realize the functions of the management server 10 or the image processing apparatus 20 in the above-described embodiment.
Such a program may be stored in a ROM or other nonvolatile storage medium (flash memory, EEPROM, etc.) provided in the computer from the beginning. However, it can also be provided by being recorded on an arbitrary nonvolatile recording medium such as a memory card, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disc. Each procedure described above can be executed by installing the program recorded in the recording medium in a computer and executing the program.

Furthermore, it is also possible to download from an external device that is connected to a network and includes a recording medium that records the program, or an external device that stores the program in a storage unit, and install and execute the program on a computer.
In addition, it is needless to say that the configurations of the embodiments and modifications described above can be arbitrarily combined and implemented as long as they do not contradict each other.

1: Information processing system, 10: Management server, 20, 20a to 20c: Image processing device, 30: Mobile terminal device, 50: Communication channel, 60: Wireless communication channel, 101, 201: CPU, 102, 202: ROM, 103, 203: RAM, 104, 204: HDD, 105, 205: Communication I / F, 106, 207: Operation unit, 107, 208: Display unit, 108, 211: System bus, 121: User information management unit, 122 : Transmission information management unit, 123: device capability management unit, 124: event notification reception unit, 125: transmission information determination unit, 126: transmission information transmission unit, 127: timing unit, 206: NFC I / F, 209: engine I / F, 210: engine unit, 221: user authentication unit, 222: terminal information acquisition unit, 223: event detection unit, 224: event notification transmission unit, 225 Transmission request unit, 226: transmission execution unit, 226a: video playback unit, 302: transmission button, 311: transmission button, 321: authentication request unit, 322: device capability provision unit, 323: request reception unit, 324: transmission execution unit 324a: moving image playback unit, 324b: browser, 324c: mail transmission unit, 324d: telephone call unit, 400: confirmation screen

JP 2010-288068 A

Claims (13)

Information management means for managing the attributes of the user of the electronic device and the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user;
In response to notification of an event and a user who is using the electronic device from any of the electronic devices, the attribute of the notified event, the attribute of the notified user, and the notified user A determination means for determining what kind of information transmission is to be performed by the mobile terminal device possessed by the user, based on the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device having;
Transmitting means for transmitting to the electronic device that is the notification source of the notification, information for causing the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user to perform the information transmission determined by the determining means, according to the determination by the determining means; An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
For each combination of the event attribute and the first attribute of the user, a plurality of information candidates to be transmitted, comprising transmission information management means for managing priorities,
The determination means is information managed by the transmission information management means regarding the combination of the attribute of the notified event and the attribute of the notified user, and a mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user An information processing apparatus that determines to transmit information having the highest priority among information that can be transmitted to a mobile terminal device held by the notified user. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The information management means also manages the information transmission capability information of the electronic device;
The determination means is also based on the information transmission capability information of the electronic device that is the notification source of the event,
Decide what kind of information should be transmitted to the mobile terminal device of the notified user and the electronic device of the event notification source,
The transmission means is information for causing the electronic device that is the notification source of the notification to transmit information determined by the determination means to the mobile terminal device held by the notified user and the electronic device that is the notification source, respectively. An information processing apparatus characterized by transmitting An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
It has timekeeping means to keep the current time,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines what information is transmitted to the mobile terminal device held by the notified user based on the current time. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
It has timekeeping means to keep the current time,
A usable time zone is set in at least a part of the information to be transmitted managed by the transmission information management means,
The determination means causes the mobile terminal device of the notified user to make a call out of candidates managed by the transmission information management means excluding information whose current time is outside the usage time zone. An information processing apparatus characterized by determining information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, 3 or 5,
In association with the second attribute of the user, the contents of change to the candidate of information to be transmitted managed by the transmission information management means, which should be applied when the notified user has the second attribute, are managed Equipped with change content management means,
When determining the information to be transmitted to the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user, the determining means applies the change corresponding to the notified second attribute of the user to the candidate information to be transmitted An information processing apparatus characterized by determining information to be transmitted. An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The information transmitted by the transmission means is data of a request for causing a predetermined program to transmit information determined by the determination means. An information processing system comprising one or more image processing devices and an information processing device,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Information management means for managing attributes of a user having authority to use at least one of the one or a plurality of image processing apparatuses, and information on information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user;
In response to notification of an event and a user who is using the electronic device from any of the image processing devices, the notified event attribute, the notified user attribute, and the notified user Based on the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user, determining means for determining what information transmission is to be performed by the mobile terminal device possessed by the user,
A transmission means for transmitting information for causing the mobile terminal device held by the notified user to perform the information transmission determined by the determination means to the image processing apparatus that is the notification source of the notification in accordance with the determination by the determination means And
Each of the image processing devices
Authentication means for authorizing use of the image processing apparatus after authenticating the user;
Means for notifying the information processing device of the event and the user in use when a predetermined event is detected while allowing the user to use;
An information processing system comprising request means for requesting a mobile terminal device possessed by the user in use to execute information transmission according to information transmitted from the information processing device. The information processing system according to claim 8,
In each of the image processing devices,
The authentication means is means for acquiring authentication information from a mobile terminal device possessed by the user and authenticating the user,
Each of the image processing devices
When the authentication is successful, the information transmission capability information of the portable terminal device is acquired from the portable terminal device from which the authentication information is acquired, and is associated with the identification information of the authenticated user to the information processing device. Means for transmitting,
The information processing apparatus includes:
An information processing system comprising means for registering the information transmission capability of the portable terminal device transmitted from the image processing apparatus in the information management means. The information processing system according to claim 8,
Each of the image processing devices
When authentication by the authentication means is successful, a mobile terminal device in the vicinity of the image processing device is searched for, and after receiving the confirmation of the user of the mobile terminal device from the discovered mobile terminal device, the mobile terminal Means for acquiring information on the information transmission capability of the apparatus and transmitting the information to the information processing apparatus in association with the identification information of the user authenticated by the authentication means;
The information processing apparatus includes:
An information processing system comprising means for registering the information transmission capability of the portable terminal device transmitted from the image processing apparatus in the information management means. An information processing system,
Information management means for managing user attributes and information of the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user;
In response to the notification of the event and the user, the notification is based on the attribute of the notified event, the attribute of the notified user, and the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user. Determining means for determining what kind of information is transmitted to the mobile terminal device possessed by the user;
In accordance with the determination by the determination unit, a transmission unit that transmits information for causing the mobile terminal device of the notified user to perform the information transmission determined by the determination unit to the notification source of the notification;
An authentication means for authorizing use of the information processing system after authenticating the user;
Means for notifying the determining means of the event and the user in use when a predetermined event is detected while allowing the user to use;
An information processing system comprising: requesting means for requesting execution of information transmission according to information transmitted from the transmitting means to a portable terminal device possessed by the user in use. An image processing apparatus,
Information management means for managing the attribute of the user of one or a plurality of electronic devices including the image processing device, and the information transmission capability information of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user;
In response to notification of an event and a user who is using the electronic device from any of the electronic devices, the attribute of the notified event, the attribute of the notified user, and the notified user A determination means for determining what kind of information transmission is to be performed by the mobile terminal device possessed by the user, based on the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device having;
Transmitting means for transmitting to the electronic device that is the notification source of the notification, information for causing the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user to perform the information transmission determined by the determining means, according to the determination by the determining means; ,
Authentication means for authorizing use of the image processing apparatus after authenticating the user;
Means for notifying the determining means of the event and the user in use when a predetermined event is detected while allowing the user to use;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a requesting unit that requests execution of information transmission according to information transmitted from the transmitting unit to a portable terminal device held by the user in use. Computer
Information management means for managing the attributes of the user of the electronic device and the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device possessed by the user;
In response to notification of an event and a user who is using the electronic device from any of the electronic devices, the attribute of the notified event, the attribute of the notified user, and the notified user A determination means for determining what kind of information transmission is to be performed by the mobile terminal device possessed by the user, based on the information transmission capability of the mobile terminal device having;
In accordance with the determination by the determination means, as a transmission means for transmitting information for causing the electronic device that is the notification source of the notification to transmit the information determined by the determination means to the mobile terminal device possessed by the notified user A program to make it work.