JP2004086611A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of easily changing a usage language to be displayed on a display part by utilizing Web environment. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming device 100 has a Web server function and a PC 200 or PC 300 or a cell phone 400 has a Web browsing function. The PC 200 or PC 300 or the cell phone 400 accesses a personal information registering Web page held by the image forming device 100 and registers personal information, and the image forming device changes the usage language to be displayed on the operation display part depending on the registered personal information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a copier, a facsimile apparatus, a printer apparatus, which has at least one of a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function, and functions as a Web server on a network. And an image forming apparatus such as a digital multifunction peripheral.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copy, facsimile, and printer, one or a plurality of types of language data are incorporated in a main body such as a ROM, depending on an installation area. The user can switch the language displayed on the operation display unit by operating the operation display unit. However, in this conventional technique, there is a problem that the user needs to switch the language displayed on the operation display unit by operating the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus, and the operation is troublesome.
[0003]
On the other hand, with the recent spread of the Internet, an image forming apparatus compatible with a network has been proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-195128, a PDL printer receives information such as a document from a personal computer via a network in a page description language, creates a Web page from a raster image created from data in the page description language, The technology disclosed and provided through a network is disclosed. As described above, Web-compatible image forming apparatuses are becoming widespread, and Web-compatible image forming apparatuses are desired.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily change a language used on a display unit using a Web environment.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 has at least one of a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function, and functions as a Web server on a network. Communication means for performing data communication with a terminal over a network, storage means for storing personal information, and personal information for registering personal information including a language used from a terminal via the network in the storage means Registration means, operation means having a display screen for a user to input an operation instruction, and display for changing a language used on the display screen of the operation means in accordance with personal information registered in the storage means Changing means.
[0006]
According to the above invention, the personal information registration means registers personal information including a language used from a terminal via a network in the storage means, and in accordance with the personal information registered in the storage means, the personal information registration means Change the language used on the display screen.
[0007]
Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the personal information registration unit provides a home page for registering the personal information, and the personal terminal registers on the home page. And registering the personal information input from the storage means in the storage means.
[0008]
According to the invention, the personal information registering means provides a homepage for registering personal information, and registers personal information input from a terminal on the homepage in the storage means.
[0009]
According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, in the image processing apparatus of the first or second aspect, the personal information registration unit registers the personal information in the storage unit in association with a user ID. The display change unit changes a language used on the display screen of the operation unit according to personal information registered in the storage unit corresponding to a user ID input by a user from the operation unit. It is characterized by.
[0010]
According to the above invention, the personal information registration means registers personal information in the storage means in association with the user ID, and the display change means is registered in the storage means corresponding to the user ID input by the user from the operation means. The language used on the display screen of the operation means is changed according to the personal information.
[0011]
According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, in the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to third aspects, the personal information is a size of a character displayed on a display screen of the operation unit. Wherein the display change means changes the size of characters displayed on the display screen of the operation means in accordance with the personal information registered in the storage means.
[0012]
According to the invention described above, the personal information registering means registers, as personal information, information relating to the size of characters to be displayed on the display screen of the operating means, and the display changing means, in accordance with the personal information registered in the storage means, Change the size of characters displayed on the display screen of the operation unit.
[0013]
According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, in the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the personal information relates to a display format displayed on a display screen of the operation unit. Information, and wherein the display change unit changes a display format displayed on the display screen of the operation unit in accordance with the registered personal information.
[0014]
According to the invention, the personal information registering means registers information relating to a display format to be displayed on the display screen of the operating means as personal information, and the display changing means displays the information of the operating means in accordance with the registered personal information. Change the display format displayed on the screen.
[0015]
According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, in the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fifth aspects, a voice generating unit for performing voice guidance and a storage unit are further provided. Voice guidance changing means for changing a language used for voice guidance of the voice generating means in accordance with the registered personal information.
[0016]
According to the above invention, the voice guidance changing means changes the language used for the voice guidance of the voice generating means according to the personal information registered in the storage means.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is described as [network system], [image forming apparatus], [registration of personal information to image forming apparatus], [image forming apparatus] Switching of display of operation display section].
[0018]
[Network system]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a network system to which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is connected. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes the Internet, 2 denotes a gateway for connecting the Ethernet (R) 3 to the Internet, and 3 denotes an Ethernet (R) connected to the Internet via the gateway 2. An image forming apparatus 100, a PC (personal computer) 200, and the like are connected to the Ethernet (R) 3. Also, a PC (personal computer) 300,..., A mobile phone 400,.
[0019]
The image forming apparatus 100 has a function as a Web server. The PC 200,..., The PC 300,..., And the cellular phone 400,... Are equipped with Web browser application software, and can browse Web pages held by the image forming apparatus 100. . The image forming apparatus 100 holds a Web page for registering personal information, and the PCs 200, PC 300, and mobile phone 400. Access and register personal information. Then, image forming apparatus 100 switches the display of the operation display unit according to the registered personal information.
[0020]
[Image forming apparatus]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus of FIG. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is a digital multifunction peripheral having a copy function, a printer function, and a facsimile function. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a CPU 101 that controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus in accordance with an operation instruction or the like input from an operation display unit 109, a ROM 102 that stores a program for operating the CPU 101, and A RAM 103 used as a work area of the CPU 101, an image memory 104 for temporarily storing image data read by the scanner unit 110 or image data input from the outside, and personal information in which personal information is registered. A memory 105, a language memory 106 in which data for displaying a display screen on the operation display unit 109 are stored, a LAN / IF 107 for connecting to the Ethernet (R) 3, and a Web page are stored. And an operation display unit 109 for the user to give an operation instruction. A scanner unit 110 for reading image data of a document, an image processing unit 111 for performing various image processing on the image data read by the scanner unit 110, and a printer unit for printing the image data on paper in an electrophotographic system 112, a facsimile unit 113 for transmitting and receiving facsimile data, and a speaker 114 for outputting voice guidance. Each unit is connected to each other via a bus.
[0021]
The CPU 101 is a unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus, and controls the image forming apparatus using the RAM 103 as a work area according to a program stored in the ROM 102. The ROM 102 stores various control programs and various data used by the CPU 101. The RAM 103 is used as a work memory of the CPU 101.
[0022]
The CPU 101 receives, via a bus, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, an image memory 104, a personal information memory 105, a language memory 106, a LAN / IF 107, an HDD 108, an operation display unit 109, a scanner unit 110, an image processing unit 111, a printer unit 112, The facsimile unit 113 and the speaker 114 are connected, and control image reading, printing, display, and data communication.
[0023]
Further, the CPU 101 executes Web server software stored in the ROM 102 to publish and provide a Web page stored in the HDD 108 on a network. The Web page is described in HTML, which is a language that can be browsed by the Web application software described above.
[0024]
In the personal information memory 105, personal information input from the PC 200,..., The PC 300,. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory configuration example of the personal information memory 105. In the personal information memory 105, as shown in FIG. 3, a name, a language used for display on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 and voice guidance from the speaker 114, corresponding to the user ID issued by the CPU 101. (Japanese, English, French, Chinese, etc.), font sizes (large, medium, small) displayed on the operation display unit 109, and display formats (simple, normal, detailed) displayed on the operation display unit 109 Format) is registered. The CPU 101 registers personal information input from the PC 200,..., The PC 300,.
[0025]
The language memory 106 includes language data (Japanese data, English data, French data, and Chinese data) for displaying display data on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109, and font data (large font data, Font data, small font data), display format data (simple format data, normal format data, detailed format data), and voice data for voice guidance (Japanese voice data, English voice data, French voice data, Chinese voice data) is stored.
[0026]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a memory configuration example of the language memory 106. As shown in FIG. 4, the language memory 106 has a language data (Japanese data, English data, French data, Chinese data) storage area 121 and a font data (large font data, medium font data, small font data) storage area. 122, display format data (simple format data, normal format data, detailed format data) storage area 123, and voice data (Japanese voice data, English voice data, French voice data, Chinese voice data) for performing voice guidance ) A storage area 124 is provided. The data stored in the language memory 106 may be pre-recorded in the language memory 106 or downloaded and stored via a communication line, and the data may be added to the language memory 106. It has become. The CPU 101 creates display data using the data stored in the language memory 106, and displays the created display data on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109.
[0027]
The operation display unit 109 is a user interface for a user to give various operation instructions to the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of the operation display unit 109. The operation display unit 109 includes a key operation unit 130 and a liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 as shown in FIG. The liquid crystal touch panel display section 140 is used to display various messages (for example, “copy is possible” or “number of copies”) and perform various settings by operating function keys (soft keys). . The key operation unit 130 includes operation keys (hard keys) used to input various settings such as the number of copies. In the figure, reference numeral 131 denotes a start key for giving a copy operation start instruction, 132 denotes a stop key for giving a copy operation stop instruction, and 133 denotes a numeric keypad for inputting numbers and the like.
[0028]
[Registration of personal information of image forming apparatus]
Next, a process for registering personal information by accessing the personal information application Web page of the image forming apparatus 100 from the PC 200..., The PC 300. This will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, the PCs 200,..., PCs 300,... FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process of registering personal information by accessing a Web page for personal information application of image forming apparatus 100 from a terminal, and FIG. FIG. 8 shows a display example of a registration completion page sent from the image forming apparatus 100 to the terminal. In the following description, the processing will be described assuming that a terminal is connected to the image forming apparatus 100, and the description of the connection procedure will be omitted.
[0029]
6, when a terminal is connected to image forming apparatus 100, in image forming apparatus 100, CPU 101 transmits HTML data for displaying personal information registration page 150 shown in FIG. It is sent (step S1).
[0030]
When the terminal receives the HTML data (step T1), the terminal combines the image data of the personal information registration page 150 shown in FIG. 7 with the terminal and displays it on the display unit (step T2). The personal information registration page 150 shown in FIG. 7 includes a name input field 151, a password input field 152, an E-Mail Address input field 153, a language (Japanese, English, French, Chinese, etc.) selection field 154, a font, and the like. A (large, medium, small) selection field 155, a display format (simple display, normal display, detailed display, etc.) selection field 156, and a "register" button 157 are displayed.
[0031]
In the terminal, the personal information registration page is used to input a name, a password, and an E-Mail Address in a name input field 151, a password input field 152, and an E-Mail Address input field 153, respectively. Language, font, display format in the selection field 154, font (large, medium, small) selection field 155, display format (simple display, normal display, detailed display, etc.) selection field 156 Is selected (step T3), and the "registration" button 157 is selected, the input and selected contents are notified to the image forming apparatus 100 (step T4).
[0032]
In the image forming apparatus 100, when the CPU 101 receives the content input and selected from the terminal (step S2), it generates a user ID (step S3), and associates the notified name and password with the generated user ID. , E-Mail Address, language (Japanese, English, French, Chinese), font (large, medium, small), and display format (simple display, normal display, detailed display) are registered in the personal information memory 105 ( Step S4). Thereafter, the CPU 101 sends HTML data for displaying the registration completion page 160 shown in FIG. 8 describing the generated user ID and password to the terminal (step S5).
[0033]
When the terminal receives the HTML data (step T5), the terminal combines the image data of the registration completion page 160 shown in FIG. 8 and displays it on the display unit (step T6). In this manner, the user of the terminal registers personal information in image forming apparatus 100 and registers a desired language, font, and display format to be displayed on liquid crystal touch panel display section 140 of operation display section 109 of image forming apparatus 100. It is possible to do.
[0034]
[Switch display of operation display unit of image forming apparatus]
The switching of the display on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a process of switching the display of the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 100. FIGS. 10 and 11 are tables of the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109. An example is shown.
[0035]
9, when the image forming apparatus 100 is powered on (step S10), the CPU 101 displays a user ID input screen on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 (step S11). When the user inputs a user ID on the user ID input screen (step S12), the CPU 101 determines whether or not the input user ID is registered in the personal information memory 105 (step S13). If the entered user ID is not registered in the personal information memory 105, a warning that "the input user ID is not registered" is displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display section 140 (step S17).
[0036]
On the other hand, when the input user ID is registered in the personal information memory 105, the CPU 101 reads the language, font, and display format corresponding to the input user ID (step S14), and stores the language memory 106. The display data is created based on the corresponding language data, font data, and display format data stored in (step S15) and displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 (step S16). For example, when the use language “English”, the font “medium”, and the display format “normal format” are registered in the personal information memory 105 in association with the user ID, the English language stored in the language memory 106 is used. Based on the data, the font medium size data, and the normal format data, display data in a normal format in which the font is described in English and the font is a medium size is created and displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140.
[0037]
Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the CPU 101 provides voice guidance from the speaker 114 using voice data in the language used corresponding to the input user ID stored in the language memory 106. . For example, if the language “English” is registered in the personal information memory 105 in association with the user ID, the speaker 114 uses English voice data stored in the language memory 106 to output English voice. Provide guidance.
[0038]
FIG. 10 shows a display example of the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 when the font size is changed when the language used is “Japanese” and the display format is “simple format”. FIG. 7A shows the case of the font “small”, FIG. 8B shows the case of the font “medium”, and FIG. 9C shows the case of the font “large”.
[0039]
FIG. 11 shows a display example of the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 when the display format is changed when the language used is “Japanese” and the font is “medium”. ) Shows the display format “simple display”, FIG. (B) shows the display format “normal display”, and FIG. (C) shows the display format “detailed display”.
[0040]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, image forming apparatus 100 registers personal information including a language used from a terminal via a network in personal information memory 105, and registers the registered personal information. Since the language used to be displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 is changed according to the (language used), the language used to be easily displayed on the display screen is changed using the Web environment. It becomes possible.
[0041]
Further, the image forming apparatus 100 provides a homepage for registering personal information, and registers personal information input from the terminal on the homepage in the personal information memory 105. Information can be registered, and personal information can be easily registered from the terminal.
[0042]
Further, image forming apparatus 100 registers personal information in personal information memory 105 in correspondence with the user ID, and registers personal information in personal information memory 105 corresponding to the user ID input by the user from operation display unit 109. The user can change the language displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 in response to the user's request. Can be displayed.
[0043]
Further, image forming apparatus 100 changes the size of characters displayed on liquid crystal touch panel display section 140 of operation display section 109 according to personal information (font size) registered in personal information memory 105. Thus, the size of the characters displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 can be easily changed.
[0044]
Further, since the image forming apparatus 100 changes the display format displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 according to the personal information (display format) registered in the personal information memory 105, it is easy. The display format displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel display unit 140 of the operation display unit 109 can be changed.
[0045]
Further, since the image forming apparatus 100 changes the language used for the voice guidance emitted from the speaker 114 according to the personal information (display format) registered in the personal information memory 105, the language used for the voice guidance can be easily changed. Can be changed.
[0046]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified without changing the gist of the invention.
[0047]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, a digital multifunction peripheral having a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function has been described as an example of the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It can be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a facsimile apparatus, a printer apparatus, and the like. Further, in the above-described embodiment, a PC and a mobile phone have been described as terminals, but other terminals such as a PDA and a PHS may be used.
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the image forming apparatus includes at least one of a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function, and functions as a Web server on a network. Communication means for performing data communication with a terminal over a network, storage means for storing personal information, and personal information for registering personal information including a language used from a terminal via the network in the storage means Registration means, operation means having a display screen for a user to input an operation instruction, and display for changing a language used on the display screen of the operation means in accordance with personal information registered in the storage means And changing means, so that the language used for display on the display screen can be easily switched using the Web environment. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus.
[0049]
Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the personal information registration unit provides a home page for registering the personal information, and the personal terminal registers on the home page. Is registered in the storage means. In addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, personal information can be registered from the terminal on the home page, and the personal information can be registered from the terminal. It becomes possible to register easily.
[0050]
According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, in the image forming apparatus of the first or second aspect, the personal information registration unit registers the personal information in the storage unit in association with a user ID. The display change unit changes a language used on the display screen of the operation unit according to personal information registered in the storage unit corresponding to a user ID input by a user from the operation unit. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, the user can display a desired language on the display screen of the operation means only by inputting the user ID.
[0051]
According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, in the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to third aspects, the personal information is a size of a character displayed on a display screen of the operation unit. Wherein the display change means changes the size of the characters displayed on the display screen of the operation means according to the personal information registered in the storage means. In addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the third aspects, it is possible to easily change the size of the character displayed on the display screen.
[0052]
According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, in the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the personal information relates to a display format displayed on a display screen of the operation unit. Information, and the display change unit changes the display format displayed on the display screen of the operation unit in accordance with the registered personal information, so that the display format displayed on the display screen is easily changed. It becomes possible.
[0053]
According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, in the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fifth aspects, a voice generating unit for performing voice guidance and a storage unit are further provided. A voice guidance changing means for changing a language used for voice guidance of the voice generating means in accordance with the registered personal information, so that it is provided with any one of claims 1 to 5. In addition to the effects of the invention, it is possible to easily change the language used for voice guidance.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a network system to which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is connected.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory configuration example of a personal information memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a memory configuration example of a language memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of an operation display unit in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for accessing a personal information application Web page of an image forming apparatus from a terminal to register personal information.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a personal information registration page transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the terminal.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a registration completion page transmitted from the image forming apparatus to the terminal.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process for switching the display of the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a liquid crystal touch panel display unit of the operation display unit.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a liquid crystal touch panel display unit of the operation display unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Internet
2 Gateway
3 Ethernet
100 Image forming apparatus
101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 Image memory
105 Personal information memory
106 languages memory
107 LAN / IF
108 HDD
109 Operation display section
110 Scanner unit
111 Image processing unit
112 Printer section
113 Facsimile part
114 speakers
130 key operation unit
140 LCD touch panel display
200, 300 PC (personal computer)
400 mobile phone

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus having at least one of a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function, and functioning as a web server on a network,
A communication means for performing data communication with the terminal on the network;
Storage means for storing personal information;
Personal information registration means for registering personal information including a language used from a terminal via the network in the storage means,
Operating means having a display screen for a user to input an operation instruction;
Display changing means for changing a language used on the display screen of the operation means according to the personal information registered in the storage means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The personal information registration unit according to claim 1, wherein the personal information registration unit provides a homepage for registering the personal information, and registers the personal information input from the terminal on the homepage in the storage unit. Image forming apparatus. The personal information registration unit registers the personal information in the storage unit in association with a user ID,
The display change unit changes a language used on the display screen of the operation unit according to personal information registered in the storage unit corresponding to a user ID input by a user from the operation unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The personal information includes information on a size of a character displayed on a display screen of the operation unit,
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display change unit changes a size of a character displayed on a display screen of the operation unit according to the personal information registered in the storage unit. An image forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. The personal information includes information on a display format to be displayed on a display screen of the operation unit,
5. The display change unit according to claim 1, wherein the display change unit changes a display format displayed on a display screen of the operation unit according to personal information registered in the storage unit. 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. further,
Voice generating means for providing voice guidance;
Voice guidance changing means for changing the language used for voice guidance of the voice generating means according to the personal information registered in the storage means,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

Images