JP2017118456A - Information management system, control program for information management system, and control method for information management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dynamically control arrangement of an icon of an application to be displayed on an operation screen.SOLUTION: A control method for an information management system that includes an operation terminal, on which an application for implementing a function mounted on an image processing device is mounted, and an information processing device for managing a utilization situation of the application and manages a utilization situation of the function mounted on the image processing device includes: in the operation terminal, controlling activation of the application before reporting the application having been activated; in the operation terminal, controlling display of a screen; in the information processing device, updating information on the utilization situation of the application when receiving a report, and transmitting the information on the utilization situation of the application to the operation terminal when the operation terminal is activated; and, in the operation terminal, determines arrangement of graphic information to be displayed on the screen for activating the application, on the basis of the information on the utilization situation of the application.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management system, a control program for the information management system, and a control method for the information management system.

  In recent years, there has been a tendency to digitize information, and image processing apparatuses such as printers and facsimiles used for outputting digitized information and scanners used for digitizing documents have become indispensable devices. Such an image processing apparatus is configured as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) that can be used as a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, and a copier by providing an imaging function, an image forming function, a communication function, and the like. Many.

  In such an image processing apparatus, in recent years, a touch panel type LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is often used as an operation unit. In the touch panel type operation unit, soft keys that are input units reproduced by software and icons for starting applications are arranged on the operation screen, and various processes are executed in response to user operation of the soft keys. . Furthermore, various applications can be added and used by installing the Android OS as the OS (Operation System) of the operation unit.

  In addition, a user screen management technique is known in which user management is performed on a server to which an image processing apparatus is connected, and a preset operation screen is displayed for each user who has logged into the MFP (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In the technique of Patent Literature 1, user information is managed on a server, and an icon for starting an application can be arranged on the operation unit in accordance with the usage frequency of the user. Then, command information for executing the job and setting information for setting the job are transmitted from these applications to the image processing apparatus.

  However, when the same user logs in to an image processing apparatus of a different model, the number of icons that can be displayed differs depending on the screen size and display setting of each operation unit. It may not be displayed on the operation screen.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to dynamically control the arrangement of application icons displayed on an operation screen.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an aspect of the present invention is an information management system for managing the usage status of functions installed in an image processing apparatus, in order to realize the functions installed in the image processing apparatus. An operation terminal on which the application is installed, and an information processing device that manages the usage status of the application. The operation terminal includes an application activation unit that controls activation of the application, and that the application is activated. An application activation notifying unit for notifying, and a screen display control unit for controlling display of a screen on the operation terminal, and the information processing apparatus updates information on the usage status of the application when the notification is received Including an information control unit, wherein the information control unit provides information on the usage status of the application when the operation terminal is activated. The screen display control unit transmits to the operation terminal, and determines the arrangement of the graphic information for starting the application to be displayed on the screen based on the usage status information of the application. .

  In the present invention, the arrangement of application icons displayed on the operation screen can be dynamically controlled.

The figure which shows the operation | use form of the information management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The functional block diagram which shows the function structure of the operating terminal and server which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrated the composition of user setting information concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrated the home screen displayed on the operation terminal concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrated the home screen displayed on the operation terminal concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the process which manages the information of the application which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which changes arrangement | positioning of the icon which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the process which displays the user's login process which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the operation screen according to a user. The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which determines arrangement | positioning of the icon which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which determines arrangement | positioning of the icon which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrated the dialog displayed on the screen display part concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the structure of the user setting information to which the information of the folder icon which concerns on embodiment of this invention was added. The figure which shows the structure of the application information in a folder which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which determines arrangement | positioning of the icon which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, as a user interface for a user to input an operation, information management in which an MFP, which is an image processing apparatus including a touch panel and a keyboard, and a server are connected via a network or USB (Universal Serial Bus). The system will be described as an example.

  First, the overall configuration of the information management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation mode of the information management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the information management system according to the present embodiment, image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b, operation terminals 2a and 2b that are operation units for operating the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b, and a server 3 are connected to a network. Connected through. It is also possible to connect to the network from the operation terminals 2a and 2b.

  The image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b are MFPs that can be used as printers, facsimiles, scanners, and copiers by providing an imaging function, an image forming function, a communication function, and the like. The operation terminals 2a and 2b are terminals operated by the user, and are terminals that transmit print job executions and job settings to the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b, respectively, based on user operations. Applications for using printers, facsimiles, scanners, and copiers are installed on the operation terminals 2a and 2b. Using these applications, print jobs can be executed and jobs can be performed on the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b, respectively. Send settings. The operation terminals 2a and 2b can be used as an operation unit of the MFP such as a touch panel and a keyboard by being configured to be detachable from the MFP as the image processing apparatus.

  The server 3 is a user for performing login processing for authenticating that the user can use the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b via the operation terminals 2a and 2b, and information indicating the usage status of the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b. An information processing apparatus that manages authentication information. Information indicating the usage status of the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b of the user authenticated by the server 3 is stored in the server 3 as user setting information associated with the user authentication information. Details of the user setting information will be described later.

  In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b, they are referred to as the image processing apparatus 1. Similarly, the operation terminals 2a and 2b are also referred to as operation terminals 2 when it is not necessary to distinguish them.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 and the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 and the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation terminal 2 is configured as a device that realizes an input / output function in the image processing apparatus 1. Note that a configuration in which the operation terminal 2 is attached to the image processing apparatus 1 in FIG. 2 will be described as an example.

  The image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as an information processing apparatus such as a general PC (Personal Computer) or a server. That is, the image processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30, a storage medium 40 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like. / F50 is connected via the bus 90. In addition, a display device 60 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and an operation device 70 are connected to the I / F 50. The image processing apparatus 1 also includes an engine 80 for realizing a scanner, a printer, and the like.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation unit and controls the operation of the entire image processing apparatus 1. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The storage medium 40 is a non-volatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs (hereinafter, applications), and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 90 and various hardware and networks. The display device 60 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the image processing device 1. The operation device 70 is a user interface for a user to input information to the image processing device 1, and is configured by a touch panel, a hard key, and the like in the present embodiment. Further, the operation terminal 2 connected to the image processing apparatus 1 functions as a display device 60 and an operation device 70.

  In such a hardware configuration, the CPU 10 performs an operation according to a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program read to the RAM 20 from a storage medium 40 or a recording medium such as an optical disk (not shown), whereby the controller 100 shown in FIG. Internal functions are configured. A functional block that realizes the function of the image processing apparatus 1 is configured by a combination of the internal function of the controller 100 configured as described above and hardware.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 10, a RAM 20, a ROM 30, a storage medium 40 such as a flash memory, and an I / F 50 connected via a bus 90. In addition, it is connected to the image processing apparatus 1 and a network via the I / F 50 to transmit and receive information. Furthermore, the input / output device 71 is an example of an operation reception unit, and includes a soft key such as an icon displayed on the touch screen and the operation screen. The external connection I / F 51 is an interface for connecting to a peripheral device such as an IC card reader.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation unit and controls the operation of the entire image processing apparatus 1. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The storage medium 40 is a non-volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information, and stores an OS, various control programs, application programs (hereinafter referred to as applications), and the like. Note that, based on the operation of the application on the operation terminal 2, it is possible to instruct execution of functions mounted on the image processing apparatus 1, such as execution of a print job or execution of scanning.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 90 and various hardware and networks. As described above, the input / output device 71 is a user interface for the user to input information to the image processing device 1 in which the user confirms the state of the image processing device 1 received via the I / F 50. In the present embodiment, the input / output device 71 is configured by a touch panel, and a resistive film method, a surface acoustic wave method, a capacitance method, or the like can be used as an operation principle method.

  In such a hardware configuration, the CPU 10 performs an operation according to a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program read to the RAM 20 from a storage medium 40 or a recording medium such as an optical disk (not shown), whereby the controller 200 shown in FIG. Internal functions are configured. A functional block that realizes the function of the image processing apparatus 1 is configured by a combination of the internal function of the controller 200 configured as described above and hardware.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the server 3 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the server 3 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the server 3 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 10, a RAM 20, a ROM 30, a storage medium 40 such as an HDD, and an I / F 50 connected via a bus 90. Further, a display device 60 such as an LCD and an operation device 70 may be connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation unit and controls the operation of the entire image processing apparatus 1. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The storage medium 40 is a nonvolatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS, various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 90 and various hardware and networks. The display device 60 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the server 3. The operation device 70 is a user interface for a user to input information to the server 3 and is configured with a touch panel, a hard key, and the like in the present embodiment.

  In such a hardware configuration, the software control unit is configured by the CPU 10 performing calculations in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 30 or a program read to the RAM 20 from a storage medium 40 or a recording medium such as an optical disk (not shown). The A functional block for realizing the function of the server 3 is configured by a combination of the software control unit configured as described above and the hardware of the server 3.

  Next, the functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 100, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 101, a scanner unit 102, a paper discharge tray 103, a paper feed table 105, and a print engine. 106, a paper discharge tray 107, and a network I / F 108. In the present embodiment, an example in which the operation terminal 2 is attached to the image processing apparatus 1 and processing is executed based on information input from the operation terminal 2 will be described.

  The controller 100 includes a main control unit 110, an engine control unit 120, an image processing unit 130, an operation display control unit 140, and an input / output control unit 150. As shown in FIG. 4, the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as a multifunction machine having a scanner unit 102 and a print engine 106. In FIG. 4, the electrical connection is indicated by solid arrows, and the flow of paper is indicated by broken arrows.

  The operation terminal 2 is an output interface that visually displays the state of the image processing apparatus 1, and the user directly operates the image processing apparatus 1 as a touch panel or inputs information to the image processing apparatus 1. It is also an input interface. That is, the operation terminal 2 includes a function for displaying an image for receiving an operation by the user.

  The network I / F 108 is an interface for the image processing apparatus 1 to communicate with other devices via the network, and an Ethernet (registered trademark) or a USB interface is used. The network I / F 108 can communicate using the TCP / IP protocol. The network I / F 108 also functions as an interface for executing facsimile transmission when the image processing apparatus 1 functions as a facsimile. For this reason, the network I / F 108 is also connected to a telephone line. The network I / F 108 is realized by the I / F 50 shown in FIG.

  The controller 100 is configured by a combination of software and hardware. Specifically, a program stored in a ROM 30, a nonvolatile memory, and a nonvolatile storage medium such as a storage medium 40 or an optical disk is loaded into a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as a memory) such as a RAM 20, and the CPU 10 follows the program. The controller 100 is configured by a software control unit configured by performing an operation and hardware such as an integrated circuit. The controller 100 functions as a control unit that controls the entire image processing apparatus 1.

  The main control unit 110 plays a role of controlling each unit included in the controller 100, and gives a command to each unit of the controller 100. The engine control unit 120 serves as a driving unit that controls or drives the print engine 106, the scanner unit 102, and the like. The image processing unit 130 generates drawing information based on image information to be printed out under the control of the main control unit 110. The drawing information is information for drawing an image to be formed in the image forming operation by the print engine 106 as an image forming unit.

  The image processing unit 130 processes image data input from the scanner unit 102 to generate image data. This image data is information stored in the storage area of the image processing apparatus 1 as a result of the scanner operation or transmitted to another information processing terminal or storage device via the network I / F 108.

  The operation display control unit 140 requests the operation terminal 2 to display information or notifies the main control unit 110 of information input via the operation terminal 2. The input / output control unit 150 inputs information input via the network I / F 108 to the main control unit 110. The main control unit 110 also controls the input / output control unit 150 to access the network I / F 108 and other devices connected to the network via the network.

  When the image processing apparatus 1 operates as a printer, first, the input / output control unit 150 receives a print job via the network I / F 108. The input / output control unit 150 transfers the received print job to the main control unit 110. When receiving the print job, the main control unit 110 controls the image processing unit 130 to generate drawing information based on document information or image information included in the print job.

  When drawing information is generated by the image processing unit 130, the engine control unit 120 controls the print engine 106 to form an image on the paper conveyed from the paper feed table 105 based on the generated drawing information. Let it run. That is, the image processing unit 130, the engine control unit 120, and the print engine 106 function as an image formation output unit. As a specific aspect of the print engine 106, an image forming mechanism using an ink jet method, an image forming mechanism using an electrophotographic method, or the like can be used. A document on which image formation has been performed by the print engine 106 is discharged to a discharge tray 107.

  When the image processing apparatus 1 operates as a scanner, the operation display control unit 140 or input / output control is performed in accordance with a user operation on the operation terminal 2 or a scan execution instruction input from another terminal via the network I / F 108. The unit 150 transfers the scan execution signal to the main control unit 110. The main control unit 110 controls the engine control unit 120 based on the received scan execution signal.

  The engine control unit 120 drives the ADF 101 and conveys the document to be imaged set on the ADF 101 to the scanner unit 102. In addition, the engine control unit 120 drives the scanner unit 102 and images a document conveyed from the ADF 101. If no original is set on the ADF 101 and the original is set directly on the scanner unit 102, the scanner unit 102 images the set original according to the control of the engine control unit 120. That is, the scanner unit 102 operates as an imaging unit, and the engine control unit 120 functions as a reading control unit.

  In the imaging operation, an imaging element such as a contact image sensor (CIS) or a charge-coupled device (CCD) included in the scanner unit 102 optically scans a document, and imaging information generated based on the optical information is generated. Is done. The engine control unit 120 transfers the imaging information generated by the scanner unit 102 to the image processing unit 130. The image processing unit 130 generates image information based on the imaging information received from the engine control unit 120 according to the control of the main control unit 110.

  The image information generated by the image processing unit 130 is acquired by the main control unit 110, and the main control unit 110 stores the image information in a storage medium attached to the image processing apparatus 1 such as the storage medium 40. That is, the scanner unit 102, the engine control unit 120, and the image processing unit 130 work together to function as an image input unit. The image information generated by the image processing unit 130 is stored as it is in the storage medium 40 or the like according to a user instruction, or is transmitted to an external device via the input / output control unit 150 and the network I / F 108.

  Further, when the image processing apparatus 1 operates as a copying machine, the image processing unit 130 generates drawing information based on imaging information received by the engine control unit 120 from the scanner unit 102 or image information generated by the image processing unit 130. To do. Based on the drawing information, the engine control unit 120 drives the print engine 106 as in the case of the printer operation. When the information format of the drawing information and the imaging information is the same, the imaging information can be used as the drawing information as it is.

  Hereinafter, characteristic functions of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of the operation terminal 2 and a functional block diagram of the server 3 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the overall operation of the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment is controlled by a controller 200. The controller 200 includes an operation reception unit 210, an authentication control unit 220, a communication control unit 230, a screen display control unit 240, and an application activation unit 250. The input / output device 71 includes an operation unit 711 and a screen display unit 712.

  The operation reception unit 210 receives a user operation on the operation unit 711 configured by a touch panel or the like, and transmits command information for controlling the operation of each function of the controller 200 based on the operation.

  Based on the command information transmitted from the operation accepting unit 210, the authentication control unit 220 makes an execution request for a login process for authenticating that a user who intends to use the operation terminal 2 is a user who can use the operation terminal 2. . The login process execution request from the authentication control unit 220 is transmitted to the server 3 via the communication control unit 230 together with information for specifying the user.

  The communication control unit 230 transmits information in the controller 200 to the server 3 and transmits information received from the server 3 to each unit included in the controller 200.

  The screen display control unit 240 controls the configuration of the display screen in the input / output device 71. Specifically, processing for changing the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen is performed based on user setting information described later. The screen display control unit 240 displays a screen on a screen display unit 712 configured by a display such as an LCD.

  The application activation unit 250 activates various applications that are installed in the operation terminal 2 and realize a FAX function, a copy function, a printer function, and the like. In addition, a notification indicating that the application has started when each application is started is transmitted to the server 3 via the communication control unit 230.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the server 3 according to the present embodiment includes a communication control unit 310, a user information control unit 320, and a user information storage unit 330. The communication control unit 310 transmits information in the server 3 to the controller 200, and transmits information received from the controller 200 to various places in the server 3.

  The user information control unit 320 refers to information stored in the user information storage unit 330 based on information for specifying a user received from the communication control unit 310. If the information for identifying the received user is included in the referenced information, the user who intends to use the operation terminal 2 returns authentication information for authenticating that the user can use the operation terminal 2. Perform login process. Then, user setting information in which information on the situation when the logged-in user uses the operation terminal 2 is tabulated is acquired from the user information storage unit 330 and transmitted to the operation terminal 2 via the communication control unit 310.

  The user information storage unit 330 is configured by the storage medium 40 or the like, and as shown in FIG. 6, is a home screen (screen for selecting an icon of an application to be activated) when the user logs in the operation terminal 2, and FIG. User setting information including icon arrangement information, which is information related to application icon arrangement in the screen illustrated in FIG. 8, and application usage information, which is information related to the usage status of the application by the user, is stored. Stored is user setting information, which is information on a situation when a user who has logged into the operation terminal 2 uses the operation terminal 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of user setting information stored in the user information storage unit 330 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the user setting information according to the present embodiment includes icon arrangement information and application usage information. The icon arrangement information includes, for example, “ID” of the application, “application name” that is information of the name of the application, and information on a page on which an icon that is graphic information of a shortcut for starting the application is displayed. "Page number", "x coordinate" where the application icon is arranged, and "y coordinate" where the application icon is arranged.

  In addition, the application usage information includes, for example, “start count” that is information indicating the number of times the application is started, “placement date” that is information on the date and time when the application icon is placed at the current coordinates, and finally the application. “Activation date and time” that is information on the date and time of activation is included.

  In the operation terminals 2a and 2b according to the present embodiment as described above, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. The number of icons displayed on the home screen to be operated may be different. For example, the number of icons that can be displayed on the home screen of the operation terminal 2a shown in FIG. 7 is twelve, but the number of icons that can be displayed on the home screen of the operation terminal 2b shown in FIG. 8 is six. .

  Therefore, when the user of the operation terminal 2a uses the operation terminal 2b, the number of icons displayed on the home screen is different, so that an application icon that realizes the function that the user wants to use is not displayed. To do. For example, the copy function icon is displayed in FIG. 7, but the copy function icon is not displayed in FIG. In such a case, it is one of the gist of the present invention to arrange icons on the home screen of the operation terminal 2 so as not to impair user convenience.

  In the present embodiment, the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen of the operation terminal 2 is controlled based on the user setting information as shown in FIG. First, a process of managing the number of activations of an application activated on the operation terminal 2 in the server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing for managing information on applications started up on the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the operation unit 711 detects that an icon displayed on the screen display unit 712 is touched by the user, detection information indicating that the icon is operated is transmitted from the operation unit 711 to the operation reception unit 210. (S901). At this time, the operation unit 711 transmits the coordinate information on the screen display unit 712 touched by the user to the operation reception unit 210 together with the detection information.

  The operation reception unit 210 transmits the coordinate information and detection information on the screen display unit 712 received from the operation unit 711 to the application activation unit 250. Based on the coordinate information, the application activation unit 250 activates the application assigned to the icon arranged at the coordinate (S902).

  The application activation unit 250 notifies the server 3 of information (for example, ID, application name, activation date and time) of the application activated in the process of S1002 via the communication control unit 230 (S903). Therefore, the communication control unit 230 functions as an application activation notification unit that notifies the server 3 that an application has been activated.

  Upon receiving the application information, the communication control unit 310 transfers the application information to the user information control unit 320. The user information control unit 320 updates the user setting information stored in the user information storage unit 330 based on the application information (S904). Specifically, when the “copy” application is activated in S902, the number of activations of the “copy” application is incremented from “10” and updated to “11” in the user setting information shown in FIG. . Also, the activation date / time of the “copy” application is updated from 2015/9/10 to the date / time when the “copy” application was activated.

  In this way, information on the application started on the operation terminal 2 is transmitted to the server 3 and managed as user setting information in the user information storage unit 330.

  Next, a process of changing the icon arrangement on the operation screen of the operation terminal 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for changing the arrangement of icons on the operation screen of the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the operation unit 711 detects that the icon displayed on the screen display unit 712 has been pressed and held by the user, the operation reception unit 210 has been operated to change the icon arrangement. Is detected. The operation reception unit 210 transmits the detected operation information to the screen display control unit 240. When the screen display control unit 240 receives operation information for changing the icon arrangement, the screen display control unit 240 changes the icon arrangement on the screen to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 to a changeable state (S1001).

  At this time, the icon on the screen displayed on the screen display unit 712 is displayed in a display form different from that when the application is started. For example, a display in a state where the icon is transparently processed or a boundary line between the icon and another icon is displayed. In such a case, the icon arrangement can be changed by sliding and moving the icon whose arrangement is desired to be changed.

  When the arrangement of icons displayed on the screen display unit 712 is changed by the user (S1002), the screen display control unit 240 performs processing as described below. The screen display control unit 240 checks the arrangement of the icons on the same page number in the page number and coordinates occupied by the icon slid by the user, and determines whether or not to permit the arrangement change (S1003).

  When the coordinates of the range indicating the respective display areas overlap in the slide-moved icon and other different icons, the screen display control unit 240 does not change the arrangement of the slide-moved icon (S1003 / No). In addition, when the coordinates of the range indicating the respective display areas do not overlap in the slide-moved icon and other different icons (S1003 / Yes), the screen display control unit 240 executes the layout change of the slide-moved icon. (S1004).

  The information on the page number of the icon displayed on the screen display unit 712 after the icon layout is changed and the information on the coordinates at which the icon is displayed are transmitted by the screen display control unit 240 via the communication control unit 230. It is transmitted to the server 3 (S1005). The user information control unit 320 that has received the information of the page number of the icon displayed on the screen display unit 712 and the information of the coordinates where the icon is displayed via the communication control unit 310 stores the user information based on the information. The user setting information stored in the unit 330 is updated.

  Specifically, the “x coordinate”, “y coordinate”, and “arrangement date / time” are updated in the user setting information of the application whose arrangement has been changed based on the information on the page number of the icon and the information on the coordinates at which the icon is displayed. Is done.

  In this way, when the process of changing the icon arrangement is executed in the operation terminal 2, information indicating the changed application coordinates is transmitted to the server 3 and managed as user setting information in the user information storage unit 330. To do.

  The process for starting the application and the process for changing the icon arrangement described above may be executed when the user operating the operation terminal 2 is authenticated as a user who can use the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b. It is possible processing. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 11, a flow of a user login process and a process of displaying an operation screen corresponding to the user will be described. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of processing for displaying a user login process and an operation screen according to the user.

  First, the user inputs “user name” and “password” for using the operation terminal 2 in the operation unit 711. The operation reception unit 210 generates information based on a user input operation and transmits the information to the authentication control unit 220. The authentication control unit 220 is authentication information that is information for authenticating that the user operating the operation terminal 2 is a user who can use the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b based on the information received from the operation receiving unit 210. Is transmitted to the server 3 via the communication control unit 230 (S1101).

  The communication control unit 310 transfers the received authentication information to the user information control unit 320. The user information control unit 320 executes login processing and user authentication based on the transferred authentication information. Specifically, the user information control unit 320 performs login processing based on whether or not the “password” matches a predetermined password, and the user setting information corresponding to the “user name” included in the authentication information is stored in the user information storage unit 330. The user operating the operation terminal 2 authenticates that the user can use the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b (S1102).

  The user information control unit 320 notifies the operation terminal 2 that the user operating the operation terminal 2 has authenticated the user who can use the image processing apparatuses 1a and 1b in a format in response to the received authentication information. .

  When the user who operates the operation terminal 2 receives a notification indicating that the user who can use the image processing apparatus 1 is authenticated from the server 3, the screen display control unit 240 is authenticated to the server 3. Request information for acquiring user setting information of the user is transmitted (S1103). The processing in S1103 is performed so that the screen display control unit 240 displays an operation screen corresponding to the authenticated user on the screen display unit 712.

  The user information control unit 320 that has received the request information for acquiring the user setting information of the authenticated user from the screen display control unit 240 via the communication control units 230 and 310 receives the user setting information of the authenticated user as the user. Extracted from the information storage unit 330. Then, the user information control unit 320 transmits the extracted user setting information to the operation terminal 2 via the communication control unit 310 (S1104).

  The communication control unit 230 transmits the user setting information transmitted from the server 3 to the screen display control unit 240. The screen display control unit 240 determines the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 based on the user setting information as shown in FIG. 6 (S1105). Specifically, the screen display control unit 240 determines the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 based on “application name”, “x coordinate”, and “y coordinate” included in the user setting information.

  The screen display control unit 240 causes the screen display unit 712 to display an operation screen based on the icon arrangement determined in the process of S1105 (S1106). As described above, in the information management system according to the present embodiment, the operation screen can be displayed by changing the arrangement of icons according to the user of the operation terminal 2.

  However, depending on the operation terminal 2 used by the user, the size of the display constituting the screen display unit 712 may be different, or the number of icons that can be displayed on the screen of one page varies depending on the setting of the screen display. There is. In the present embodiment, even when the number of icons that can be displayed is different, processing for dynamically controlling the arrangement of icons is performed so as not to impair the convenience of the user.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 12, the flow of processing for determining the arrangement of icons according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the screen display control unit 240 according to the present embodiment determines the icon arrangement. The process illustrated in FIG. 12 corresponds to the process of S1105 performed by the login process described in FIG. 11 being performed and the screen display control unit 240 acquiring user setting information from the server 3.

  When the screen display control unit 240 acquires the user setting information from the server 3 (S1201), based on the number of icons per page that can be arranged on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2, the application information included in the user setting information is displayed. It is determined whether all icons can be arranged on one page (S1202). For example, when the user is using the operation terminal 2b, the number of icons that can be arranged on one page is six as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, in the user setting information, the number of icons is set in ascending order of ID. If there are more than six icons, a process of displaying several icons on the next page is performed in the subsequent processes.

  When all the icons cannot be arranged on one page (S1202 / No), the screen display control unit 240 calculates the number of icons to be hidden (S1203). Taking the user setting information of FIG. 10 as an example, since there are IDs up to “10”, the number of icons displayed is “10”. The screen display control unit 240 calculates the number of icons that are hidden on the first page from the difference between the number of icons “6” that can be displayed on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2 b and the largest ID. In the present embodiment, the number of icons that are not displayed is “4”.

  Next, the screen display control unit 240 executes a process of assigning a display priority to be referred to when displaying each icon based on the user setting information (S1204). The screen display control unit 240 refers to, for example, when assigning the display priority to each value of “start count”, “arrangement date / time”, and “last start date / time” in the application usage information in the user setting information. It is used as information.

  In the process of S1204, for example, when the display priority is assigned to an icon with reference to “start count” that is information on the start count of the application assigned to the icon, the application having a large “start count” value is assigned. Display priority can be assigned so that the icons are displayed in order of priority 1, 2,.

  Further, in the process of S1204, when assigning a display priority to an icon with reference to “arrangement date / time” that is the last change date / time of the icon arrangement, an application icon whose value of “arrangement date / time” is close to the current time Display priority may be assigned so that display is given priority in the order of 1, 2,.

  In the process of S1204, when assigning a display priority to an icon with reference to “last activation date and time”, the value of “last activation date and time” is 1, 2, in order from the icon of the application closer to the current time. Display priority may be assigned so as to display with priority.

  When the display priority is assigned to the icon, the screen display control unit 240, based on the number of non-displayed icons calculated in S1203, increases the assigned number in descending order of display priority (for example, 10 , 9, 8, and 7), four icons are selected. Then, the screen display control unit 240 performs a process of setting the screen display so that the selected icon is displayed on the second page (S1205).

  Then, the screen display control unit 240 determines the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2b (S1206). The screen display control unit 240 performs icon arrangement using the priority assigned in the process of S1204. For example, the screen display unit 712 is arranged from the upper left in the order of priority (for example, 1, 2, 3, 4,...). Note that the order in which the icons are arranged according to the priority assigned to the icons may be set in the operation terminal 2 or the image processing apparatus 1.

  When all the icons can be arranged on one page (S1202 / Yes), the screen display control unit 240 determines the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2b (S1206). Subsequent processing is the same as the processing in S1206 described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, the operation terminal 2 according to the present embodiment can dynamically change the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the touch panel according to the usage status of the application of the user of the operation terminal 2. By doing in this way, at least the application frequently used by the user of the operation terminal 2, the application used last, and the application just changed in arrangement are displayed on the first page on the touch panel of the operation terminal 2. Therefore, even when the size of the touch panel of the operation terminal 2 is changed, the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the touch panel can be dynamically changed without impairing user convenience.

  In FIG. 12, the process of arranging an icon that cannot be displayed on one page on the second page has been described. In the screen display control unit 240 according to the present embodiment, a folder that can store a plurality of icons is arranged on the first page, and icons that cannot be displayed on one page are stored and displayed therein. It can be made. Therefore, the folder that can store a plurality of icons functions as a graphic information storage unit that stores icons as graphic information.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 13, the flow of processing for determining the arrangement of icons according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the screen display control unit 240 according to the present embodiment determines the icon arrangement. In the process shown in FIG. 13, similarly to FIG. 12, the log-in process described in FIG. 11 is performed, and this corresponds to S <b> 1105 performed when the screen display control unit 240 acquires user setting information from the server 3. Processing is performed.

  When the screen display control unit 240 acquires the user setting information from the server 3 (S1301), based on the number of icons per page that can be arranged on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2, the application information included in the user setting information is displayed. It is determined whether all icons can be arranged on one page (S1302). For example, when the user is using the operation terminal 2b, the number of icons that can be arranged on one page is six as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, in the user setting information, the number of icons is set in ascending order of ID. If there are more than six icons, a process of displaying several icons on the next page is performed in the subsequent processes.

  Note that the number of icons that can be arranged on one page may be detected by the screen display control unit 240 of the operation terminal 2 determining the display performance of the screen display unit, or at the same time as setting the resolution. You may comprise so that a user may set beforehand.

  When all the icons cannot be arranged on one page (S1302 / No), the screen display control unit 240 calculates the number of icons stored in the folder (S1303). Taking the user setting information in FIG. 10 as an example, IDs up to “10” exist. Therefore, the number of icons displayed is “11” by adding the folder icon equivalent to “10”. The screen display control unit 240 calculates the number of icons that are hidden on the first page from the difference between the number of icons “6” that can be displayed on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2 b and the largest ID. In the present embodiment, the number of icons that are not displayed is “5”.

  Next, the screen display control unit 240 performs setting so that the folder icon is arranged and displayed on the first page of the operation screen of the screen display unit 712 (S1304). Then, the screen display control unit 240 executes a process of assigning a priority to each icon based on the user setting information (S1305). For example, the screen display control unit 240 uses the values of “start count”, “arrangement date / time”, and “last start date / time” in the user setting information as information to be referred to when assigning priorities to icons. The processing for assigning priority in S1305 is the same as that in S1204, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  When the priority is assigned to the icon, the screen display control unit 240 determines the order of priority (for example, 10, 9, 8, 7) based on the number of non-displayed icons calculated in S1203. In step S1306, five icons are selected for (priority), and the screen display is set so that the selected icons are stored and displayed in the folder icons.

  Then, the screen display control unit 240 determines the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2b (S1206). Subsequent processing is the same as the processing in S1206 described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  When all the icons can be arranged on one page (S1302 / Yes), the screen display control unit 240 determines the arrangement of icons to be displayed on the screen display unit 712 of the operation terminal 2b (S1206). Subsequent processing is the same as the processing in S1206 described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Note that the user can select whether an icon that cannot be displayed on the first page is to be placed on the second page or stored in a folder icon. FIG. 14 shows a dialog displayed on the screen display unit 712 by the screen display control unit 240 in order to select whether an icon that cannot be displayed on the first page is arranged on the second page or stored in the folder icon. FIG.

  In FIG. 14, when the operation receiving unit 210 determines that “place on the second page” is selected by the user's operation, the screen display control unit 240 executes the processing described in FIG. 12. On the other hand, when the operation reception unit 210 determines that “place in folder” is selected by the user's operation in FIG. 14, the screen display control unit 240 performs the processing described in FIG. 13.

  14, when “place in folder” is selected by the user's operation, the screen display control unit 240 adds additional information for adding folder icon information to the user setting information, the communication control unit 230, The information is transmitted to the user information control unit 320 via 310. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of user setting information to which folder icon information is added.

  As shown in FIG. 15, since folder icon information is added to the first page, the ID included in the user setting information is increased by one. When the information on the folder icon is received, the information on the application assigned to the icon selected in S1306 is stored with the user setting information as the application information in the folder as shown in FIG. At this time, information indicating the storage location of the application information in the folder may be described together with the “application name” of the folder in FIG.

  Further, the screen display control unit 240 may delete an application icon whose activation count is less than a predetermined number based on the user setting information, and place the icon on the operation screen of the screen display unit 712. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 17, the flow of processing for determining the arrangement of icons according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the screen display control unit 240 according to the present embodiment determines the icon arrangement. In the process shown in FIG. 17 as well, the log-in process described with reference to FIG. 11 is performed and the screen display control unit 240 corresponds to S1105 that is performed by acquiring the user setting information from the server 3 as in FIG. Processing is performed.

  When acquiring the user setting information from the server 3 (S1701), the screen display control unit 240 determines whether or not the number of times the application included in the user setting information has reached a predetermined number (S1702). At this time, the screen display control unit 240 determines “page number”, “x coordinate”, and “user information” from the user setting information referred to when displaying the operation screen for the application whose activation count has not reached the predetermined count (S1702 / Yes). Delete “y-coordinate”. By doing this, the icon of the application whose number of activations has not reached the predetermined number is deleted from the operation screen of the screen display unit 712 (S1703).

  Note that when there is no application whose number of activations has not reached the predetermined number of times, and the processing after S1703 is the same as the processing after S1202 in FIG.

  As described above, in the information management system according to the present embodiment, the arrangement of icons displayed on the screen of the operation terminal can be dynamically controlled according to the usage status of the user's application. Therefore, it is possible to provide an information management system in which an instruction for using the image processing apparatus is input from the operation terminal without losing convenience regardless of the operation terminal used by the user.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 Operation terminal 3 Server 10 CPU
11 RAM
30 ROM
40 storage medium 50 interface 60 display device 70 operation device 71 input / output device 80 engine 90 bus 100 controller 101 ADF
102 Scanner unit 103 Paper discharge tray 104 Display panel 105 Paper feed table 106 Print engine 107 Paper discharge tray 108 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 200 Controller 210 Operation reception part 220 Authentication control part 230 Communication control part 240 Screen display control part 250 Application starting part 310 Communication control part 320 User information control part 330 User information storage part 711 Operation part 712 Screen display part

JP 2004-110592 A

Claims (7)

An information management system for managing the usage status of functions installed in an image processing apparatus,
An operation terminal on which an application for realizing a function installed in the image processing apparatus is mounted; and an information processing apparatus that manages a usage status of the application;
The operation terminal is
An application launcher that controls the launch of the application;
An application launch notification unit for notifying that the application has been launched;
A screen display control unit for controlling display of a screen in the operation terminal,
The information processing apparatus includes:
An information control unit that updates information on the usage status of the application when the notification is received;
The information control unit
When the operation terminal is activated, information on the usage status of the application is transmitted to the operation terminal,
The screen display control unit
An information management system for determining an arrangement of graphic information for activating the application to be displayed on the screen based on information on the usage status of the application. The screen display control unit
Based on the usage status information of the plurality of applications, a process of assigning a priority to be referred to when determining the arrangement of the graphic information to each of the applications is performed, and assigned to each of the applications The information management system according to claim 1, wherein an arrangement of the graphic information to be displayed on the screen is determined according to priority. The screen display control unit
When assigning the priority to each of the applications, information on the number of activations of each of the plurality of applications, information on the last modification date and time of the arrangement of the plurality of applications, information on the last activation date and time of each of the plurality of applications Among them, the process of assigning the priority to each of the applications based on any one information is executed, and the arrangement of the graphic information to be displayed on the screen according to the priority assigned to each of the applications The information management system according to claim 2, wherein the information management system is determined. The screen display control unit
The graphic information for storing the application is included, and the arrangement of graphic information for starting the application to be displayed on the screen is determined according to the priority assigned to the application. The information management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The screen display control unit
Determining the arrangement of the graphic information to be displayed on the screen by deleting the graphic information for starting the application whose activation count is less than a predetermined number based on information on the usage status of the application; 5. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information management system is characterized in that: The usage status of the function installed in the image processing apparatus includes an operation terminal installed with an application for realizing the function installed in the image processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus that manages the usage status of the application. A control program for an information management system to be managed,
The operation terminal is
An application launcher that controls the launch of the application;
An application launch notification unit for notifying that the application has been launched;
A screen display control unit for controlling display of a screen in the operation terminal,
The information processing apparatus includes:
An information control unit that updates information on the usage status of the application when the notification is received;
When the operation terminal is activated, transmitting information on the usage status of the application to the operation terminal;
A control program for an information management system, which causes a computer to execute an arrangement of graphic information for activating the application to be displayed on the screen based on information on the usage status of the application. The usage status of the function installed in the image processing apparatus includes an operation terminal installed with an application for realizing the function installed in the image processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus that manages the usage status of the application. A control method of an information management system to be managed,
In the operation terminal,
Control the launch of the application,
Notifying that the application has been launched,
Control the display of the screen in the operation terminal;
In the information processing apparatus,
When the notification is received, update the usage status information of the application,
When the operation terminal is activated, information on the usage status of the application is transmitted to the operation terminal,
In the operation terminal,
An information management system control method, comprising: determining an arrangement of graphic information for activating the application to be displayed on the screen based on information on a usage status of the application.