JP2021105849A - Print control system and its control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printing function according to a user in an environment where voice recognition can be used.SOLUTION: A print control system communicatively connected to a voice control device capable of receiving a voice instruction issued by a user and a printing device, includes first management means for managing setting information regarding a print target for each user, first determination means for determining whether or not the print target corresponding to the user can be identified based on the voice instruction issued by the user that is received via the voice control device and the setting information of the user managed by the first management means, and identification means for identifying print contents of the print target when the first determination means determines that the print target can be identified.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a print control system, a control method thereof, and a program.

In recent years, it is known to control a device by voice recognition. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining an output to a user in a dialogue system based on information about the user acquired from a system other than the dialogue system.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-151931

Conventionally, printing devices have been used in various situations, and there has been a demand for a technique for further improving operability related to printing. In particular, it is required to perform an operation related to printing according to the user. However, Patent Document 1 is only an interactive system and does not consider a printing device.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to provide a printing function according to a user in an environment where voice recognition can be used.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a voice control device capable of receiving voice instructions by a user, a print control system communicatively connected to the printing device, and a first management means for managing setting information regarding a print target for each user, Based on the voice instruction received by the user via the voice control device and the setting information of the user managed by the first management means, it is determined whether or not the print target corresponding to the user can be specified. When it is determined by the first determination means and the first determination means that the print target can be specified, the print content of the print target specified corresponding to the user used in the printing device. Has a specific means for identifying.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing function according to the user.

The figure which shows the structural example of the printing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the hardware composition of the voice control device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the hardware configuration of the server which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the hardware composition of the MFP which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The sequence diagram which shows the process which associates the voice control device and the MFP which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows the process of the printing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows the process of the printing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the table which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the table which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the table which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the display message which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows the authentication process of the printing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the table which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the table which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the table which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows the authentication process of the printing system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and that all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are essential for the means for solving the present invention. Not exclusively. The same components are given the same reference numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted.

<First Embodiment>
[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the printing system 100 according to the present embodiment. The printing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a voice control device 101, a voice control device management server 102, a relay server 103, and an MFP 104. The MFP 104 is an example of a printing device including a printing function, and is described as a multifunction printer in the present embodiment. In the printing system 100, the user can give a printing instruction by voice. That is, the user can control various devices connected to the voice control device 101 via the network by giving the voice instruction by utterance to the voice control device 101. The voice control device 101 can recognize the voice of the user input to the microphone and transmit the voice data via the network 105, and can output the voice data received via the network 105 by the speaker. be. Various devices can be applied as the voice control device 101, and for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a wearable terminal, an audio device such as a smart speaker, or the like may be used. The voice control device management server 102 manages the voice control device 101, and for example, associates the voice control device 101 with the MFP 104. Further, the voice control device management server 102 performs a predetermined process described later according to, for example, the contents of the voice data received from the voice control device 101. The network 105 is, for example, the Internet.

The voice control device management server 102 and the relay server 103 are connected to each other via a network 106 such as the Internet. The relay server 103 functions as a print control system that controls the MFP 104. For example, the relay server 103 generates print data in response to a request from the voice control device management server 102 and transmits the print data to the MFP 104. Further, the relay server 103 and the MFP 104 are connected to each other via a network 107 such as the Internet, and the relay server 103 instructs the MFP 104 to print via the network 107. The MFP 104 is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by a predetermined recording method, and as the recording method, for example, an inkjet recording method or an electrophotographic method is adopted. The relay server 103 may be in a form of specifying the print content data used for generating the print data. In that case, the relay server 103 further transmits the print content data and the print data generation instruction to another server. Then, another server may generate print data based on the print content data.

[Hardware configuration]
(Voice control device)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the voice control device 101 according to the present embodiment. The voice control device 101 includes a speaker 201, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, a microphone 204, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 205, an external storage device 206, a communication unit 207, and a short-range wireless communication. It has a part 208. The components shown in FIG. 2 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other using, for example, an internal bus. The operation of the voice control device 101 according to the present embodiment is realized, for example, by the CPU 202 loading the program stored in the ROM 203 into the RAM 205 and executing the program.

The speaker 201 outputs audio based on the audio data. The CPU 202 is configured on, for example, a system control board (not shown) and controls the voice control device 101 in an integrated manner. The ROM 203 stores fixed data such as a control program and a data table executed by the CPU 202, and an embedded OS (Operating System) program. In the present embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 203 is subject to software execution control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 203. Software execution control is, for example, scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing. The microphone 204 receives the voice around the voice control device 101, for example, the voice uttered by the user.

The RAM 205 is composed of, for example, an SRAM (StaticRAM) or the like that requires a backup power supply. Since the data is held in the RAM 205 by a primary battery for data backup (not shown), the data such as program control variables can be held without being volatilized. The RAM 205 is also provided with a memory area for storing the setting information, management data, and the like of the voice control device 101. The RAM 205 is also used as the main memory and the work memory of the CPU 202. The external storage device 206 is a non-volatile storage area, and stores, for example, application programs that provide various functions.

The communication unit 207 is configured to include a circuit and an antenna for performing communication according to a predetermined wireless communication method. For example, the communication unit 207 can wirelessly connect to the access point. Further, the communication unit 207 can temporarily operate as an access point. The wireless communication used in the present embodiment may have the ability to operate according to the wireless communication method of the wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard series, or may have the ability to operate according to another wireless communication method. Is also good. The short-range wireless communication unit 208 performs short-range wireless communication with the voice control device 101 and other devices existing within a certain short-range range. The short-range wireless communication unit 208 communicates by a wireless communication method different from that of the communication unit 207. In the present embodiment, the short-range wireless communication unit 208 operates according to the Bluetooth® standard, but short-range wireless communication may be performed based on other standards.

The voice recognition / voice output unit 209 recognizes the voice input via the microphone 204 and generates voice data. Further, the voice recognition / voice output unit 209 converts the voice data received from the outside or the message data held in advance into a voice signal and outputs the voice from the speaker 201.

(server)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the voice control device management server 102 and the relay server 103 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a configuration common to the server devices according to the present embodiment, and the voice control device management server 102 will be described below as an example.

The CPU 301 is a central processing unit for comprehensively controlling the voice control device management server 102. The disk device 302 is a secondary storage device, and stores various files and data in addition to the application 312, the database 313, and the OS. The external storage medium reading device 303 is a device for reading information such as a file stored in an external storage medium such as an SD card. The memory 304 is a temporary storage device, which is composed of a RAM or the like, and the CPU 301 temporarily stores data, buffers, or the like as needed.

The display unit 305 is composed of, for example, an LCD and displays various types of information. The operation unit 306 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like for the user to perform various input operations, and can receive instructions and operations from the user. The network communication unit 307 is connected to a network such as the Internet via the network connection unit 308 to perform various communications. The network connection unit 308 corresponds to a network medium such as a wired LAN or a wireless LAN, and is a connector for connecting a wired LAN cable, for example, in the case of the wired LAN, and an antenna, for example, in the case of the wireless LAN. Is. The network connection unit 308 may support both a wired LAN and a wireless LAN. The USB communication unit 310 is connected to various peripheral devices via the USB connection unit 311 to perform various communications.

The components shown in FIG. 3 are communicably connected to each other via the bus 309. Further, the operation of the voice control device management server 102 (or the relay server 103) in the present embodiment is realized by, for example, the CPU 301 loading the program required for processing from the disk device 302 into the memory 304 and executing the operation. .. Further, the voice recognition function of the voice recognition / voice output unit 209 shown in FIG. 2 may be included in the configuration of FIG. In that case, the device including the component of FIG. 3 can, for example, perform voice recognition of the voice signal transmitted from the voice control device 101 to recognize and extract a predetermined word. Further, the device including the component of FIG. 3 can identify and identify the speaker of the voice by voice-recognizing the voice signal transmitted from the voice control device 101, for example. In the present embodiment, the voice control device management server 102 and the relay server 103 will be described as separate devices, but they may be configured as a print control system in which the server functions of both are integrated.

(MFP)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the MFP 104 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the multifunction device will be described as an example of the MFP 104, but a device having a printing function may be used instead of the multifunction device. For example, an image processing device, a copying machine, a facsimile, a single-function printing device, or the like may be used. In the MFP 104, the printing function is realized by the printer unit 401, the scanner function is realized by the scanner unit 402, and the storage function is realized by the memory card mounting unit 403 and the memory card 404. The above-mentioned components are connected to each other by a bus 414 so as to be communicable with each other.

The printer unit 401 records image data received from the outside, image data stored in the memory card 404, and the like on a recording medium such as printing paper by a recording method such as an inkjet recording method or an electrophotographic method. Further, the printer unit 401 manages information on consumable members, for example, ink information including the remaining amount of ink and paper information such as the number of sheets to be loaded.

The scanner unit 402 optically reads the document set on the platen (not shown), converts it into electronic data, and further transmits the image data converted into the specified file format to an external device via the network, or It is stored in a storage area such as HDD 416. In the copy service, the scanner unit 402 reads the original placed on the platen and the image data generated by the scanner unit 402 is transferred to the printer unit 401, and the printer unit 401 transfers the image data to a recording medium such as printing paper based on the image data. It is realized by printing. Various file data are stored in the memory card 404 mounted on the memory card mounting unit 403. The file data may be read from an external device via a network and edited. In addition, file data may be stored in the memory card 404 from an external device.

Further, the MFP 104 includes a CPU 405, a program memory 406, a work memory 407, a display unit 408, an operation unit 409, a network communication unit 410, a network connection unit 411, and a flash memory 412. The CPU 405 is a central processing unit for comprehensively controlling each part in the MFP 104. The program memory 406 is composed of a ROM or the like, and stores various program codes and an application 415 for communicating with an external server. The application 415 can also access the printer unit 401 to acquire information on consumables such as ink and paper. The work memory 407 is composed of a RAM or the like, and temporarily stores or buffers image data or the like when each service is executed. The display unit 408 is composed of, for example, an LCD and displays various information such as a user interface screen. Further, the operation unit 409 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a switch, and the like, and can receive instructions and operations from the user. The network communication unit 410 connects the MFP 104 to the network via the network connection unit 411 to perform various communications.

The network connection unit 411 is compatible with network media such as a wired LAN and a wireless LAN. In the case of a wired LAN, it is a connector for connecting a wired LAN cable, for example, and in the case of a wireless LAN, it is an antenna, for example. be. The network connection unit 411 may support both a wired LAN and a wireless LAN. The flash memory 412 is a non-volatile memory for storing image data and the like received by the network communication unit 410. Then, the above-mentioned components are connected to each other by a bus 413 so as to be able to communicate with each other. Further, there may be a block that performs data conversion between the bus 414 and the bus 413. The operation of the MFP 104 in the present embodiment is realized, for example, by the CPU 405 reading a program required for processing from the program memory 406 into the work memory 407 and executing the program.

The configuration of each device shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is an example, and each device may include hardware other than those shown in the drawings. Further, in FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of blocks may be combined into one block, or one block may be divided into two or more blocks. That is, the components of each device shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 may have other configurations as long as the processing of the present embodiment described later can be executed.

[Operation example]
(Association sequence)
Next, a process of associating the voice control device 101 with the MFP 104 in order for the user to use the service of the printing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence showing a process of associating the voice control device 101 with the MFP 104. Each step in this processing sequence is realized by the CPU to be processed reading and executing the program stored in the ROM or the like.

In S501, a user terminal such as a mobile terminal or a PC associated with the voice control device 101 in advance transmits a print service registration request to the voice control device management server 102 based on an instruction from the user. This registration request may be executed, for example, on a local application installed on a user terminal, or may be executed from a Web page via a Web browser. The user terminal may be the voice control device 101 itself. The method of associating the voice control device 101 with the user terminal is not particularly limited, and for example, the voice control device 101 and the user terminal may be associated with each other by using the user information.

In S502, when the voice control device management server 102 receives the registration request to the print service, the voice control device management server 102 requests the user terminal to access the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for authenticating with the relay server 103. I do. It is assumed that the URL information is registered and held in the voice control device management server 102 in advance. The voice control device management server 102 may be configured to redirect to the corresponding URL when receiving the registration request to the print service.

In S503, when the user terminal receives the access request from the voice control device management server 102, the user terminal transmits the authentication request to the relay server 103 based on the authentication URL indicated by the access request.

Upon receiving the authentication request in S504, the relay server 103 transmits the authentication screen data to the user terminal as a response. The configuration of the authentication screen is not particularly limited, but it is assumed that the authentication information can be input.

In S505, when the user terminal acquires the authentication screen data, the user terminal displays the authentication screen based on the authentication screen data. Then, the user terminal accepts the input of the authentication information from the user via the displayed authentication screen. The authentication information here is the authentication information necessary for using the service of the relay server 103, and is assumed to have been issued in advance. The authentication information corresponds to, for example, a user ID and a password registered for the user to log in to the relay server 103. When the authentication information is input from the user, the user terminal transmits the input authentication information to the relay server 103.

In S506, the relay server 103 executes the authentication process based on the authentication information received from the user terminal in S505. When this authentication process is completed normally, the relay server 103 issues an access information identifier and sends a callback request to the voice control device management server 102 together with the access information identifier to the user terminal. The access information identifier issued here is managed in association with the authentication information used in the authentication process.

In S507, the user terminal transmits a callback to the voice control device management server 102, including the access information identifier indicated by the callback request, based on the callback request received from the relay server 103.

Upon receiving the callback in S508, the voice control device management server 102 requests the relay server 103 for access information together with the access information identifier included in the callback.

In S509, the relay server 103 transmits the access information to the voice control device management server 102 based on the access information identifier received in S508. The access information includes an access token, a refresh token, and the like for accessing the relay server 103.

In S510, the voice control device management server 102 acquires an access token and a refresh token from the access information. The voice control device management server 102 can access the relay server 103 by using the acquired access token. Further, the relay server 103 can identify the MFP 104 registered by the user by specifying the login user based on the access token. The voice control device management server 102 stores the acquired information such as the access token and the refresh token together with the information of the voice control device 101 associated with the user terminal.

In S511, the voice control device management server 102 transmits a screen indicating that the print service registration is completed to the user terminal. In the present embodiment, the expiration date of the access token or the refresh token is described as infinite (or a finite period that can be regarded as infinite in actual use), but the expiration date is not limited to this. Then, this processing sequence is terminated.

In the above, the user authentication operation is given as an example of the method of associating the voice control device 101 with the MFP 104, but other methods may be used as long as the voice control device 101 and the MFP 104 can be associated with each other.

(Print sequence)
Next, the flow from the user instructing the printing to be printed by voice and executing the printing by the MFP 104 associated with the voice control device 101 will be described. 6 and 7 are sequences showing the printing process according to the present embodiment. It is assumed that the processing sequence shown in FIG. 5 is performed before the main processing sequence is started. Each process in this processing sequence is realized by the CPU to be processed reading and executing the program stored in the ROM or the like.

In S601, the voice control device 101 receives an utterance from the user for calling a function for executing printing using the MFP 104 via the microphone 204. As the content of the utterance here, for example, a keyword such as "start the printer" may be used.

In S602, the voice control device 101 transmits a request including the utterance content received in S601 to the voice control device management server 102. The request here may be transmitted by including the voice data corresponding to the received utterance content as it is, or by converting the voice data into text data in the voice control device 101 and transmitting it by including it in the request. Is also good.

In S603, the voice control device management server 102 makes a request according to the keyword to the request destination associated with the keyword included in the received request. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the keyword indicated in the utterance content is registered in advance in the voice control device management server 102 as a keyword for instructing the execution of various functions. Specifically, the utterance content (keyword) of "starting the printer" is registered in the voice control device management server 102 as a keyword for calling a function for executing printing using the MFP 104. And. The keyword may be defined by a combination of words and the like included in the utterance content, and the method here is not particularly limited. In addition, it is assumed that the information of the request destination for executing various functions is registered in association with the keyword. In the present embodiment, the information of the relay server 103 that manages the MFP 104 is managed by the voice control device management server 102 as the request destination of the keyword "start the printer". In the following series of flows, the transmission destination of the request by the voice control device management server 102 will be described as the relay server 103.

Further, the voice control device management server 102 can identify the speaker based on the voice data of the keyword acquired from the voice control device 101. FIG. 10 is an example of the table 1000 held by the voice control device management server 102, and is held by, for example, the disk device 302. Item 1001 indicates identification information for identifying the voice control device 101 connected to the voice control device management server 102. When the speaker holds a plurality of voice control devices 101, they are collectively expressed as, for example, "D2" and "D3". Item 1002 indicates a feature amount obtained from the voice data of the keyword. In addition, "-" is shown for the part where the feature amount does not exist. The feature amount may be specified by the analysis result of the past voice data by each speaker. Item 1003 indicates identification information for identifying the speaker.

By using the table 1000 shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to identify the speaker who matches the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the keyword for each voice control device 101. For example, when the voice control device "D1" receives an utterance of a certain keyword and the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the keyword is "K11", the speaker of the keyword is specified as "U11". Further, for example, when the voice control device "D1" accepts the utterance of a certain keyword, if the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the keyword is not "K11", the speaker of the keyword is not characterized. Identify as the registered speaker "U1". Further, for example, when the voice control device "D4" accepts an utterance of a certain keyword, since the feature of the keyword is not registered in the table 1000, all the speakers are regarded as the speaker "U4" whose feature amount is not registered. Be identified. The identified speaker information is included in the request of S603 and transmitted from the voice control device 101 to the relay server 103.

In S604, when the relay server 103 receives the request from the voice control device management server 102, the relay server 103 acquires a list of printable matter types that can be printed by the MFP 104 (hereinafter, referred to as "printable list"). The printable list according to this embodiment is held by the relay server 103 as a fixed value.

FIG. 8 is an example of the table 800 held by the relay server 103, and is held by, for example, the disk device 302. Item 801 indicates the type of printed matter that can be printed by the MFP 104 as a print target. In this example, "news", "coloring", and "number place" are listed as a list of types of printed matter. Item 802 indicates a settable item for each type of printed matter, and a settable value candidate is associated with the item 802. In the example shown in FIG. 8, categories such as "economy", "entertainment", "sports", and "technology" are associated with "news". The type of print target and the classification of settable items shown in item 801 are examples, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a different print target may be selected depending on the voice control device 101, the MFP 104, and the like.

The relay server 103 holds image data for each type of printed matter of item 801 of the table 800 in, for example, a disk device 302. The CPU 301 of the relay server 103 may periodically acquire information to be printed from a network such as the Internet and update the image data held in the disk device 302. By using this image data, it is possible to constantly provide a printed matter with new contents to the user. Further, when acquiring information to be printed from the Internet, the CPU 301 may also acquire and hold related information such as heading information related to the information. In the present embodiment, with reference to the table 800 of FIG. 8, information such as "news", "coloring book", and "number place" is acquired as a printable list. The information to be printed may be managed by an external server other than the relay server 103. In this case, the relay server 103 acquires the image data from the external server based on the information in the table 800.

In S605, the relay server 103 generates a message (simply also referred to as message A) for voice output by the speaker 201 of the voice control device 101. The content of this message A is an explanation that guides the user's next possible work, for example, "You can print news, coloring pages, and number places. Which one do you want to print?" As described above, the message may be a message having a content asking the user to select the print target acquired in S604.

In S606, the relay server 103 transmits the generated message A to the voice control device management server 102.

In S607, the voice control device management server 102 transmits the message A received in S606 to the voice control device 101. At this time, the message A may be transmitted as voice data or text data. When transmitted as text data, it is converted into voice data on the voice control device 101 side.

In S608, the voice control device 101 reproduces the message A to the user by outputting the message A received in S607 by the speaker 201.

Subsequently, the operation after the processing sequence of FIG. 6 is performed will be described. In the case of the example of the present embodiment, the user can select one from the types of printable printed matter presented in the message A reproduced in S608.

In S701, the voice control device 101 receives an utterance as a selection operation from the user via the microphone 204. As the utterance content here, for example, a keyword such as "print XX" may be used. “○○” shown here is one of the print targets presented in the message A, and an utterance such as “print news” is performed.

In S702, the voice control device 101 includes the utterance content received in S701 in the request and transmits it to the voice control device management server 102. The transmission method here may be voice data or text data, as in S602 of FIG.

In S703, the voice control device management server 102 requests the relay server 103 to call the function for printing "○○". At this time, the voice control device management server 102 also identifies the speaker who made the utterance in S701. For example, when the speaker specified in S603 of FIG. 6 and the speaker specified in S703 are different, the information of the speaker specified in S703 may be preferentially used in the subsequent processing. That is, the request of S703 includes information for specifying the print target and identification information for the specified speaker (for example, "U11").

Upon receiving the request in S703, the relay server 103 in S704 determines whether or not there is an additional inquiry for the designated print target. For this determination, for example, a table 900 as shown in FIG. 9 is used. The table 900 is a table for managing favorite setting values for each type of printed matter for each user, and is held in, for example, the disk device 302 of the relay server 103. The relay server 103 determines whether or not there is a favorite setting value of the user who has instructed printing with respect to the setting item for the type of the print target by checking the table 900. If it exists, the favorite setting value is set as the setting value for the print target, it is determined that no additional inquiry is necessary, and the process proceeds to S712. That is, in this case, the print target can be specified without any additional question. On the other hand, if it does not exist, it is determined that an additional inquiry is necessary because there is no set value for the print target, and the process proceeds to S705.

-When there is no need for additional inquiries In S712, the relay server 103 sends a message for confirming the print execution to the user to the voice control device management server 102. For example, when the speaker "U11" utters "print news" to the voice control device D1 in S701, "sports" is saved as a favorite setting value of "U11" in the table 900 of FIG. There is. Therefore, the message content of S712 is, for example, a message such as "Print sports news. Are you sure?". The message here may be held and managed by the relay server 103, for example, as a message template.

In S713, the voice control device management server 102 transmits the print execution confirmation message received in S712 to the voice control device 101. At this time, the print execution confirmation message may be transmitted as voice data or text data. When transmitted as text data, it is converted into voice data on the voice control device 101 side.

In S714, the voice control device 101 confirms the print execution by voice to the user by playing back the print execution confirmation message received in S713 using the speaker 201.

In S715, the voice control device 101 receives an utterance (for example, "yes") that permits the user to execute printing via the microphone 204.

In S716, the voice control device 101 transmits the utterance content received in S715 to the voice control device management server 102. The transmission method here may be voice data or text data, as in S602 of FIG.

In S717, the voice control device management server 102 makes a request to the relay server 103 to execute printing in response to receiving the utterance content regarding the permission to execute printing in S716.

Upon receiving the print execution request in S718, the relay server 103 identifies the print content based on the information of the "printed matter type" and the "set value" acquired through the series of dialogues so far. For example, the print content may be specified by acquiring the content of sports news on the day of utterance from a predetermined server. Then, the relay server 103 generates print data based on the specified print content. In the series of dialogues, it is assumed that at least the exchange of messages from S601 is managed by the relay server 103. Further, from the image data managed by the relay server 103, the image data to be printed is specified based on a series of dialogues.

In S719, the relay server 103 instructs the MFP 104 to execute printing using the print data generated in S718. If the user makes an utterance (for example, "No") that does not permit the execution of printing in S715, the process from S705 may be performed after the request for calling the function of S717. Alternatively, in S715, if any of the utterance contents of the instruction (permission or refusal) for printing execution cannot be received, the printing execution confirmation message may be played again, or a message indicating that printing execution is stopped (a message indicating that printing execution is stopped. (Not shown) may be reproduced.

-When an additional inquiry is required In S705, the relay server 103 generates a message (also simply referred to as message B) indicating the content to be voice-output to the user by the voice control device 101. The content of this message B is an explanation for giving guidance for clarifying the print target, and is a content for presenting the print target in more detail. For example, when a user different from the speaker "U11" utters "Print news" to the voice control device "D1" in S701, the favorite setting value of "U1" is saved in the table 900 of FIG. It has not been. The table 800 shown in FIG. 8 has detailed categories of "economy", "entertainment", "sports", and "technology". In that case, message data such as "News includes economy, entertainment, sports, and technology. Which one do you want to print?" May be generated as the content of message B. The message here may be held and managed by the relay server 103, for example, as a message template.

In S706, the relay server 103 transmits the message B generated in S705 to the voice control device management server 102.

In S707, the voice control device management server 102 transmits the message B received in S706 to the voice control device 101. At this time, the message B may be transmitted as voice data or text data. When transmitted as text data, it is converted into voice data on the voice control device 101 side.

In S708, the voice control device 101 reproduces the message B to the user by outputting the message B received in S707 by the speaker 201. The user can select one of the settable values for the additional setting items presented in the message B reproduced in S708.

At S709, the voice control device 101 receives utterances regarding additional settings from the user via the microphone 204. In the case of the message B related to the above-mentioned news setting, the utterance is made, for example, "sports".

In S710, the voice control device 101 transmits the utterance content received in S709 to the voice control device management server 102. The transmission method here may be voice data or text data, as in S602 of FIG.

In S711, the voice control device management server 102 requests the relay server 103 to call a function for executing printing with additional settings. After that, the processes of S712 to S719 are performed.

(Regarding the judgment of additional inquiries (S704))
The data in the table 900 as shown in FIG. 9 used in S704 may be updated each time with the print instruction data (“printed matter type” and “set value”) of the data of the user who has given the print instruction after the print instruction in S719. .. Alternatively, the contents of the table 900 may be updated when the same print instruction is executed several times in succession. Further, the contents of the table 900 in FIG. 9 may be configured so as to be changeable by the user. For example, the user of the relay server 103 may be able to change (edit) the contents of each item in the table 900 on the UI screen displayed on the display unit 305. Further, the detailed print settings used at the time of printing may be further associated with the print target and managed.

Further, in S704, instead of the information acquired from the table 800 of FIG. 8, even if the determination is made by using the data associated with the user such as the attribute information such as the user's gender, interest, and age, and the history information such as the print history. good. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, "coloring", which is one of the print targets, is associated with "for adults" and "for children" as setnable items. At this time, when "Coloring" is instructed as the print target, and if it can be specified that the age of the user (speaker) is less than or equal to the predetermined age, "for children" is automatically set as the print target. You may choose as. In this case, S705 to S711 are omitted, and the processing after S712 is performed.

In addition, in S704, the continuation of processing may be determined based on the data associated with the user. For example, when "news" is instructed to be printed, if the age of the user (speaker) is less than or equal to a predetermined age, the voice control device 101 may be made to say that printing is not to be performed and the process may be stopped. good. Alternatively, a step for obtaining approval from the administrator user as described in the second implementation form described later may be added, and the process may be similarly stopped when the approval by the administrator user cannot be obtained.

In the above, the configuration in which only voice output is performed for the user's utterance is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, when the voice control device 101 has a display unit, supplementary information may be displayed on the display unit as text data as needed. Alternatively, the supplementary information may be transmitted to the user terminal associated with the user. For example, in S714, the voice control device 101 reproduces the received print execution confirmation message using the speaker 201. At this time, if the voice control device 101 has a display unit, the display control may be performed so that the text data of the supplementary information to be printed is displayed on the display unit of the voice control device 101 separately from the message. When the print target is "news" and the setting item is "sports", the headline of the news may be displayed as shown in the screen 1100 of FIG. By referring to this screen 1100, the user can give a print instruction only when there is an article of interest. In addition, as a method of displaying the text data of supplementary information, there are a method of sending a text message on a local application installed on the user terminal, a method of sending text to the user using a function such as e-mail, and the like. May be used.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the print target in which it is necessary to specify the setting items of the type of printed matter in order to specify the print content, it is suitable for each user only by specifying only the "type of printed matter" by voice input. Printed content can be printed. The type of printed matter is, for example, news or a coloring book, and the printed content is, for example, sports news or a coloring book for adults. That is, each user does not need to input additional setting items by voice each time. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience of printing by the user via the voice recognition device.

Although the example of printing the content is shown above, it may be applied to other than printing. For example, instead of printing the content, the content may be read aloud, or if the voice control device 101 has a display unit, the content may be displayed.

<Second embodiment>
As a second embodiment of the present invention, a mode of performing printing based on authority will be described. That is, when a print instruction from a speaker who is a general authority user is received, a mode in which the print operation is performed after obtaining the approval of the print authority by the administrator user will be described. It should be noted that the description of the configuration overlapping with the first embodiment will be omitted, and the description will be given focusing on the difference. Here, when a user utters, for example, "print news" in S701 of FIG. 7, the uttered user is described as a general authority user, and "print news" in the utterance is described as an authorization target.

[Processing sequence]
In the present embodiment, after the call request for the function of S703 of FIG. 7, the process of FIG. 12 is performed. Each process in this processing sequence is realized by the CPU to be processed reading and executing the program stored in the ROM or the like.

When the relay server 103 receives the request in S703 in S1201, it determines whether or not the user (speaker) has the printing authority for the specified printed matter. For this determination, for example, the disk device 302 of the relay server 103 holds the table 1300 as shown in FIG. 13, and confirms whether or not there is authorization for the print target in the authorization list of the user (speaker) who has given the print instruction. It is done by doing. Here, as described above, the user who has given the print instruction is a general authority user, the voice control device management server 102 can identify the speaker, and the identified speaker information is provided to the relay server 103. ..

In the table 1300 of FIG. 13, item 1301 indicates identification information of a general authority user, item 1302 indicates identification information of an administrator user, and here, a general authority user managed by the administrator user is associated. A plurality of administrator users may be associated with one general authority user, or one administrator user may be associated with a plurality of general authority users. Item 1303 is an authorization list, and indicates a list that requires authorization of an administrator user when a general authority user uses a function. Functions that are not on the authorization list are functions that do not require authorization from the administrator user. Here, it is assumed that the administrator user can use all the functions provided by the MFP 104. Item 1304 indicates whether or not the authorization target has been approved.

For example, in FIG. 13, the general authority user “U21” is registered and the administrator user “U22” is associated with it. Further, the target for which the general authority user "U21" is authorized by the administrator user "U22" is "printing of number places", and "printing for coloring" is "unauthorized". The information in the table 1300 of FIG. 13 may be configured to be changeable by the administrator user of the voice control device 101. For example, the user of the voice control device 101 may be able to change (edit) the contents of each item in the table 1300 on the UI screen (not shown) provided by the relay server 103. The UI screen provided by the relay server 103 may be displayed by an information processing terminal (not shown) such as a PC or tablet. Further, each function to be authorized may have an expiration date, the function whose authorization has expired may be invalidated, and the authorization may be requested when the function is used again.

If it is determined in the determination step of S1201 that the user has authority, the process proceeds to the determination process of S704 of FIG. 7 and the subsequent steps are continued. On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination step of S1201 that there is no authority, the process proceeds to the processing after S1202. For example, the speaker "U21" utters "print the number place" to the voice control device D2 in S701. In this case, the request of S703 includes information for identifying the number place and "U21" as the speaker identification information. Based on this request and the table 1300 of FIG. 13, the relay server 103 determines that the speaker "U21" has the print authority to print the number place. Therefore, S704 is executed following S1201. On the other hand, for example, the speaker "U21" utters "print a coloring book" to the voice control device "D2" in S701. In this case, the request of S703 includes information for identifying the coloring book and "U21" as the speaker identification information. Based on this request and the table 1300 of FIG. 13, the relay server 103 determines that the speaker "U21" does not have the printing authority to print the coloring book. Therefore, S1202 is executed following S1201. When a print target that is not saved in the authorization list is specified, the relay server 103 determines that the authority is in S1201. For example, when the speaker "U21" utters "print news" to the voice control device "D2" in S701, the relay server 103 determines that the authority is in S1201. Further, for example, when a user different from the speaker "U21" requests the voice control device "D2" to print some content in S701, the relay server 103 determines that S1201 does not have the authority.

In S1202, the relay server 103 generates a message (also simply referred to as message C) representing the content to be voice-output to the user by the voice control device 101. The content of this message C is such that the administrator user is requested to approve the execution of the print instruction (“printing XX”) by the general authority user who is the speaker this time. For example, if "news" is specified as the print target, the content of message C will be "You cannot print. Mr. XX, administrator, are you sure you want to print the news?" Message data such as is generated. The message here may be held and managed by the relay server 103, for example, as a message template.

In S1203, the relay server 103 transmits the generated message C to the voice control device management server 102.

In S1204, the voice control device management server 102 transmits the message C received in S1203 to the voice control device 101. At this time, the message C may be transmitted as voice data or text data. When transmitted as text data, it is converted into voice data on the voice control device 101 side.

In S1205, the voice control device 101 reproduces the message C to the user by outputting the message C received in S1204 by the speaker 201.

In S1206, the voice control device 101 receives an utterance from the administrator user via the microphone 204 in response to an inquiry for approval for printing the news presented in the reproduced message C. For example, the administrator user utters the keyword "OK" for authorization for printing. It is assumed that the utterance content here is registered in advance on the voice control device management server 102 as a keyword (authorization phrase) for authorization.

In S1207, the voice control device 101 transmits the utterance content received in S1206 to the voice control device management server 102. The transmission method here may be voice data or text data, as in S602 of FIG. As described above, the voice control device management server 102 can identify the speaker from the voice data of the authorization keyword received from the voice control device 101.

FIG. 14 is an example of the table 1400 held by the voice control device management server 102, and is held by, for example, the disk device 302. Table 1400 in FIG. 14 is an extension of table 1000 in FIG. 10, and items 1401 to 1403 are the same as items 1001 to 1003 in FIG. Item 1404 shows the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the authorization keyword. In addition, "-" is shown for the part where the feature amount does not exist. From the table 1400 of FIG. 14, a speaker who matches the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the authorized keyword is specified for each voice control device. For example, when the user speaks the authorization keyword to the voice control device "D1", if the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the authorization keyword is "NK11", the speaker is specified as "U11". Further, for example, when the user utters an authorized keyword to the voice control device "D1", if the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the authorized keyword is not "NK11", the feature amount is "NK11" as an unregistered speaker. Specify as "U1". Even if the user utters a word that is not an authorized keyword such as "No" to the voice control device "D1", the feature amount obtained from the voice data is not "NK11", so the speaker is "U1". Be identified. For example, when the speaker "U21" utters "print a coloring book" in S701, the processes after S1202 are executed as described above, and the speaker U22 utters "OK" in S1206. Then, the voice control device management server 102 identifies the speaker "U22" by obtaining "NK22" from the voice data of "OK".

In S1208, the voice control device management server 102 requests the relay server 103 to call a function for executing printing. At this time, the information of the speaker who made the authorized utterance specified in S1207 is also transmitted to the relay server 103. That is, the request transmitted in S1208 includes information for identifying the coloring book and information for identifying the speaker "U22".

In S1209, the relay server 103 matches the administrator user of the general authority user who utters the authorization keyword based on the information in the table 1300 of FIG. 13 to obtain the authorization for the print target this time. Judge whether or not. For example, when the speaker "U21" utters "print a coloring book" in S701, the relay server 103 determines that the speaker U21 is not authorized in S1201. Then, the relay server 103 can identify that printing of the coloring book is permitted by the speaker "U22" from the request of S1208. Then, referring to FIG. 13, the relay server 103 identifies that "not yet" is set for the "coloring book" of the general authority user "U21", and identifies that the administrator user is "U22". do. As a result, the relay server 103 determines that the speaker "U22" of the authorization keyword matches the administrator user "U22" of the general authority user "U21" who seeks authorization. If they do not match, message data for notifying the user by voice is generated and supplied to the voice control device 101 via the voice control device management server 102. For example, if a general-authorized user is trying to obtain approval for "printing news", a message stating "The news cannot be printed because the administrator's approval is not obtained" is created. Then, the voice control device 101 instructs the voice control device 101 to utter the created message, and ends the present processing sequence. In this case, the relay server 103 may update the item 1304 in the table 1300 from "not yet" to "no". If it is updated to "No" here, it is determined in S1201 that there is no authority, and it is possible to omit inquiries after S1203. On the other hand, if they match, the contents of Table 1300 in FIG. 13 are updated based on the information approved this time. That is, in the item 1304 of the table 1300, the value (“completed”) indicating that the approval has been performed is updated. As a result, the authorized general-authorized user can perform the steps after S704 in FIG. 7 as described in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the printing operation can be performed according to the user's authority. Further, even if the printing instruction is given by a general authority user, an appropriate printing operation can be performed by obtaining approval from the administrator user.

Although the authorization has been obtained by the voice of the voice control device 101 by the administrator user, the authorization may be obtained from the terminal owned by the authorized user. For example, a message with an authorization button may be sent on a local application installed on the terminal of an administrator user, or a message with an authorization button may be sent to the user by using a function such as e-mail. As a result, the administrator user can perform authorization by performing a user operation such as pressing an authorization button displayed on the received message.

Although the example of printing the content is shown above, it may be applied to other than printing. For example, in item 1303 of FIG. 13, "shopping" may be added to the authorization list, and voice "shopping" using the voice control device 101 may be performed based on the authority of the speaker. That is, the "shopping" of the speaker who is a general authority user may be performed after obtaining the approval of "shopping" from the administrator user.

<Third embodiment>
As a third embodiment of the present invention, another embodiment of the authorization described in the second embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, when authorization is performed by an administrator user, authorization is performed by presenting a dynamically generated irregular number string to the administrator user as an authorization keyword and having the administrator user speak it.

[Processing sequence]
In the present embodiment, instead of the processing sequence of FIG. 12 described in the second embodiment, the processing sequence of FIG. 16 is performed after the call request of the function of S703 of FIG. Each process in this processing sequence is realized by the CPU to be processed reading and executing the program stored in the ROM or the like.

S1601 is the same as S1201 in FIG. 12, and determines whether or not the user (speaker) has printing authority for the designated printed matter. If it is determined that the user does not have the print authority, the process after S1602 is performed, and if it is determined that the user has the print authority, the process after S704 in FIG. 7 is performed.

In S1602, the relay server 103 dynamically generates an authorization keyword. For example, "1, 5, 8" is dynamically generated as a number string of authorization keywords. Although an example in which a number string is used as an authorization keyword is shown here, other keywords such as an alphabet or a predetermined character string may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the number of characters used for the authorization keyword is three is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In S1603, the relay server 103 creates a message including the authorization keyword generated in S1602. For example, "You cannot print. Mr. XX, administrator, are you sure you want to print the news? If you like, please say 1, 5, 8" is created as message D. .. The message here may be held and managed by the relay server 103, for example, as a message template.

In S1604, the relay server 103 transmits the message D generated in S1603 to the voice control device management server 102.

In S1605, the relay server 103 transmits the message D received in S104 to the voice control device 101. At this time, the message D may be transmitted as voice data or text data. When transmitted as text data, it is converted into voice data on the voice control device 101 side.

In S1606, the voice control device 101 reproduces the message D to the user by outputting the message D received in S1605 by voice through the speaker 201.

In S1607, the voice control device 101 utters the number strings "1", "5", and "8" which are the authorization keywords presented in the reproduced message D from the administrator user via the microphone 204. accept.

In S1608, the voice control device 101 transmits the utterance content received in S1607 to the voice control device management server 102. The transmission method here may be voice data or text data, as in S602 of FIG. The voice control device management server 102 can identify the speaker from the voice data of each number in the number string included in the received utterance content.

FIG. 15 is an example of the table 1500 held by the voice control device management server 102, and is held by, for example, the disk device 302. The table 1500 of FIG. 15 is an extension of the table 1000 of FIG. 10, and the items 1501 to 1503 are the same as the items 1001 to 1003 of FIG. Item 1504 indicates a feature amount obtained from the voice data of the number “1”. Similarly, items 1505 to 1512 indicate feature quantities obtained from voice data corresponding to the numbers "2" to "9". In addition, "-" is shown for the part where the feature amount does not exist. For example, suppose that the user speaks the number strings "1, 5, 8" to the voice control device "D1". In this case, the feature amount "NK111" obtained from the voice data of the number "1" part, the feature amount obtained from the voice data of the number "5" part is obtained from the voice data of "NK115", and the number "8" part. When the feature amount is "NK118", the speaker is specified as "U11". If any of the feature amounts obtained from the voice data of the numbers "1", the number "5", and the number "8" is different from the feature amount of "U11", the feature amount is "U1" as an unregistered speaker. To identify. At this time, if the arrangement of the number strings indicated as the authorization keywords is different from the arrangement of the utterance contents, it may be specified as an unregistered speaker "U1".

In S1609, the voice control device management server 102 requests the relay server 103 to call a function for executing printing. At this time, the information of the speaker who made the authorized utterance specified in S1608 is also transmitted to the relay server 103.

In S1610, the relay server 103 verifies the authorization information. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the number string uttered by the administrator user matches the number string used by the relay server 103. Further, based on the information in Table 1300 of FIG. 13, it is determined whether or not the speaker who utters the authorization keyword matches the administrator user of the general authority user in order to obtain authorization for the print target this time. .. If they do not match, message data for notifying the user by voice is generated and transmitted to the voice control device 101 via the voice control device management server 102. For example, if a general-authorized user is trying to obtain approval for "printing news", a message stating "The news cannot be printed because the administrator's approval is not obtained" is created. Then, the voice control device 101 instructs the voice control device 101 to utter the created message, and ends the present processing sequence. On the other hand, if they match, the contents of Table 1300 in FIG. 13 are updated based on the information approved this time. That is, in item 1304 of the table 1300, the value indicating that the approval has been performed is updated. As a result, the authorized general-authorized user can perform the steps after S704 in FIG. 7 as described in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the dynamically generated authorization keyword is presented to the administrator user, and the administrator user is made to speak it, thereby further improving the security in addition to the effect of the second embodiment. Can be made to.

<Other Embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. But it is feasible. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, a claim is attached to make the scope of the invention public.

100 ... Printing system, 101 ... Voice control device, 102 ... Voice control device management server, 103 ... Relay server, 104 ... MFP

Claims (14)

A voice control device capable of receiving voice instructions from a user, and a print control system communicatively connected to a printing device.
The first management means for managing the setting information regarding the print target for each user,
Whether or not the print target corresponding to the user can be specified based on the voice instruction received by the user via the voice control device and the setting information of the user managed by the first management means. The first determination means for determination and
A print control system characterized by having a specific means for specifying a print content to be printed when it is determined by the first determination means that the print target can be specified. When it is determined by the first determination means that the print target cannot be specified, it further has a transmission means for transmitting the first message data for specifying the print target to the voice control device.
The first determination means further determines whether or not the print target corresponding to the user can be specified as a response to the first message data based on the voice instruction received by the user via the voice control device. The print control system according to claim 1, wherein the determination is made. When it is determined that the print target can be specified by the first determination means, the voice control of the second message data for confirming the permission to execute printing of the print target specified corresponding to the user. It also has a confirmation means to send to the device
As a response to the second message data, the specific means identifies the print content to be printed to be specified corresponding to the user when the permission for print execution received via the voice control device is received. The print control system according to claim 1 or 2. The first management means is characterized in that, when the permission to execute printing is received, the setting information regarding the printing target of the user is updated based on the content of the printing target specified corresponding to the user. The print control system according to claim 3. When it is determined by the first determination means that the print target cannot be specified, the display control means for displaying information for specifying the print target on the display unit included in the voice control device is further provided. The print control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The print control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first management means manages print settings according to a print target for each user. A second management means for associating and managing the user and the administrator user who manages the print authority for each print target, and
Whether or not the user has the print authority of the print target specified based on the voice instruction by the user received via the voice control device and the setting information of the user managed by the first management means. A second determination means for determining whether or not
When it is determined by the second determination means that the user does not have the print authority, the request means for requesting the administrator user associated with the print target of the user for printing authorization, and the request means.
With more
The specific means according to claim 1 to 6, wherein the specific means identifies the print content of the print target when the approval for printing execution of the print target is received in response to the request by the request means. The print control system according to any one of the following items. The requesting means makes the request by transmitting a third message data for requesting the administrator user to approve the printing execution of the print target to the voice control device.
The specific means is characterized in that, as a response to the third message data, when a print execution authorization by a voice instruction received via the voice control device is received, the print content to be printed is specified. The print control system according to claim 7. The authorization for printing execution is according to claim 8, wherein the character string included in the third message data is uttered by the administrator user and is based on a voice instruction received by the voice control device. Print control system. The requesting means makes the request by transmitting data for requesting the administrator user to approve the printing execution of the print target to the user terminal associated with the administrator user.
7. The identification means is characterized in that, as a response to the request, the print content to be printed is specified when the authorization for printing execution by the user operation received via the user terminal is received. The print control system described. The print control system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a user who utters the voice instruction is specified by using the voice instruction received by the voice control device. The printing according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an instruction means for causing the printing apparatus to execute printing using print data based on the print content specified by the specific means. Control system. A control method for a voice control device capable of receiving voice instructions from a user and a print control system communicatively connected to a printing device.
The print control system has a first management means for managing setting information regarding a print target for each user.
In the print control system
Whether or not the print target corresponding to the user can be specified based on the voice instruction received by the user via the voice control device and the setting information of the user managed by the first management means. The first determination step to determine and
A control method of a print control system, which comprises a specific step of specifying a print content to be printed when it is determined in the first determination step that the print target can be specified. Computer,
The first management means for managing the setting information regarding the print target for each user,
Based on the voice instruction received by the user via the voice control device and the setting information of the user managed by the first management means, it is determined whether or not the print target corresponding to the user can be specified. First determination means to
A program for functioning as a specific means for specifying a print content to be printed when it is determined by the first determination means that the print target can be specified.

Images