JP2007274268A - Portable terminal device, device for forming image and management server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a device for forming image by rapidly conducting a desired setting without occupying the device for forming the image for a prolonged term in the case of the use even in the device for forming the image not accustomed to the use. <P>SOLUTION: An image-forming set information is input and stored previously by a portable terminal 3 with a built-in noncontact IC module prior to the use of the device 1 for forming the image. An operator proceeds to the place of the installation of the device 1 and transfers the stored image-forming set information to the device 1 for forming the image from the portable terminal 3 when the device 1 for forming the image is utilized, and automatically sets the image-forming set information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and further relates to a portable terminal device and a management server for performing various settings for the image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and facsimile machines can make various settings for image formation. Examples of setting various image forming conditions include image forming size, number of copies, double-sided copying, 2 in 1 (contained by reducing two pages on one page), sorting, stapling, and the like. In recent years, it has become possible to perform image formation settings using a display panel or a touch panel on an image forming apparatus.

  As a conventional method for simplifying the setting of image forming conditions in an image forming apparatus, there are the following methods. For example, a technique for automatically setting image forming conditions by registering frequently used image forming conditions and selecting desired conditions is known. As a result, the registered image forming conditions need not be set again each time they are used.

  Furthermore, a technique for registering a menu shortcut so that a menu item in a deep hierarchy can be reached immediately is also known. This technique shortens the setting time.

  In Patent Document 1, when a user who has an ID card embedded with an IC tag (RF-ID) approaches the image forming apparatus, the ID code stored in the IC tag is read by the image forming apparatus in advance. There is disclosed a technique for calling a setting mode stored in a personal setting file corresponding to a set user and automatically changing the setting of the image forming apparatus.

  In Patent Document 2, a display screen memory is provided in a control unit that controls the content displayed on the liquid crystal display unit of the image forming apparatus, and a plurality of function setting screen data and function explanation screen data are provided in the display screen memory. At the same time, by storing help display data in each of these, a description is displayed about the setting items, and a technique for making it easy to understand what is set is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-228561 discloses a technique that makes it easy to understand the setting contents by providing a display unit for each mode in the image forming apparatus and displaying, for example, a copy setting screen and a facsimile setting screen on separate display units. Yes.
JP 2000-321938 A JP 2002-221877 A JP 2003-069770 A

  As described above, various setting operations for image formation have become easier than before due to various technologies, but the operation is still complicated for the operator, and standing in front of the image forming apparatus. There is a problem that the same operator occupies the image forming apparatus for a long time.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to prepare a personal setting file in the image forming apparatus in advance as a premise of using an ID code by an IC tag. In addition, in the case of a usage mode in which the setting contents are frequently changed even by the same person, it is necessary to go to the image forming apparatus each time to perform the setting, and the setting operation can be performed directly without using the personal setting file. There is no big difference from the case of doing.

  The functions described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 are functions of the image forming apparatus alone. With this technique, when a user continues to use a familiar image forming apparatus, it is possible to easily set functions that are relatively frequently used. However, when using other unfamiliar image forming devices, the specifications that the operator desires may be because the specifications are unknown, the operation procedure is different, the menu name is different, or there is no manual nearby. May not always be quick. That is, in such a case, it takes time to set desired image forming conditions.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and even an image forming apparatus that is not familiar to the user can quickly set and use the desired setting without occupying the image forming apparatus for a long time. The purpose is to be able to.

  A portable terminal device according to the present invention is a portable terminal device that performs wireless communication with an image forming apparatus, and stores an input unit that inputs image formation setting information of the image forming apparatus, and the input image formation setting information. And non-contact communication means for performing data communication with an external device by wireless communication, and control means for transferring the image formation setting information to the image forming apparatus via the non-contact communication means. And

  Prior to using the image forming apparatus, the operator inputs the image formation setting information to the portable terminal device without going to the installation place of the image forming apparatus, and then goes to the installation position of the image forming apparatus and contactlessly. The image forming setting information is transferred to the image forming apparatus by the communication means. The image forming apparatus receives the image formation setting information and automatically makes settings based on the image formation setting information.

  The portable terminal device further stores storage means for storing information and image formation setting information stored in a storage area in the non-contact communication means in the storage means, and stores the information according to an operation of an operator. The information in the means may be edited, and the edited information may be written back to the storage area in the non-contact communication means. Thereby, in the mobile terminal device, the once-input image formation setting information can be corrected and used in the mobile terminal device.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus in a network system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management server are connected to each other via a network, and operating means for inputting image formation setting information from the menu; A communication unit that communicates with the management server; and a control unit that controls registration and use of the image formation setting information in the management server. When registering in the management server, the image formation setting information is transmitted to the management server, a registration ID for identifying the registration is received from the management server, and the image formation setting information registered in the management server is used. At this time, a desired registration ID is inputted from the operation means and notified to the management server, and image formation setting information corresponding to the registration ID is received, And performing set based on the received image formation setting information.

  The information processing apparatus further includes display means for displaying a menu and a message, and the control means preferably displays the image formation setting information corresponding to the registration ID received from the management server on the display means. Thereby, the operator can recognize registration ID immediately.

  The control unit may output a report of the registered image formation setting information together with the registration ID when receiving a registration ID for identifying the registration from the management server. As a result, a printed matter in which the registration content is recorded together with the registration ID is obtained, so that when the same image formation setting information is used at a later date, it can be used based on this report even if the registration content is forgotten.

  A management server according to the present invention is a management server in a network system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management server are connected to each other via a network, and stores information and communication means for communicating with each image forming apparatus Storage means, and control means for controlling registration and use of image formation setting information by the plurality of image forming apparatuses. The control means stores the image formation setting information received from the arbitrary image forming apparatus by the communication means in the storage means together with the registration ID, and notifies the image forming apparatus of the registration ID by the communication means. In response to the registration ID received from the arbitrary image forming apparatus by the communication unit, the image forming setting information corresponding to the registration ID is read from the storage unit and transmitted to the image forming apparatus by the communication unit.

  When the data received from the image forming apparatus is the registration ID, the control means searches for the received registration ID from the code registration IDs stored in the storage means, and the registration ID is not found. The error message is returned to the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the image formation setting information is input to the portable terminal device without going to the installation place of the image forming apparatus, and then the information is transmitted to the image forming apparatus by wireless communication at the installation place of the image forming apparatus. By transferring and setting, even if the image forming apparatus is unfamiliar, it can be used by quickly making desired settings without occupying the image forming apparatus for a long time.

  In addition, the image forming setting information is registered in the management server from the image forming apparatus, and then the image forming setting information is acquired from the other image forming apparatus based on the registered ID and used. Even in the case of an image forming apparatus, desired settings can be quickly made and used without occupying the image forming apparatus for a long time.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the wireless communication system of the present embodiment. In the image forming system of the present embodiment, a copying machine will be described as an example of the image forming apparatus.

  In this wireless communication system, image forming setting information is transmitted and received between the copying machine 1 and the portable terminal of the operator 2 by wireless communication. Here, the image formation setting information is information on various settings related to the image formation conditions such as the image formation size, the number of copies, double-sided copy, 2 in 1, sort, and stapling described above. In addition, regarding an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral, “image formation setting information” includes setting information of functions related to FAX transmission / reception when the image forming apparatus has a FAX function in addition to the image forming function.

  In the present embodiment, a wireless communication device is incorporated in the copying machine 1 and a non-contact IC module incorporated in a portable terminal (electronic device) 3 such as a cellular phone held by an operator 2 and the wireless communication device. Wireless communication with each other.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the internal control hardware of the copying machine 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine 1 includes a wireless communication unit 10 that constitutes the wireless communication device, and includes an image reading unit 4 and an image forming unit 5, and the wireless communication unit 10 and the image reading unit 4. And a control unit 6 for driving and controlling the image forming unit 5. Further, although not used in the present embodiment, an external interface (IF) unit 9 used in a second embodiment to be described later is provided. The external IF unit 9 is a part that controls a communication interface with an external device via a network such as a LAN.

  The control unit 6 is constituted by a microcomputer (including a CPU), executes a control operation in accordance with an operation program stored in the ROM 7 of the microcomputer, and forms image formation stored in the RAM 8 as a work storage area as image formation settings. Various control operations are executed according to the setting information. For example, an image reading operation by the image reading unit 4 and an image forming operation such as a reading operation by the image forming unit 5 are executed. The operation unit 11 is a part for the operator 2 to input operation information to the copying machine 1. Such an image reading operation and an image forming operation are executed under the control of the microcomputer by using a start button (not shown) in the operation unit 11 of the copying machine 1 as a trigger.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a schematic hardware configuration of a mobile terminal 3 incorporating a non-contact IC module as an example of the mobile terminal. With the control unit 20 as the center, the display unit 12, the operation unit 13, and the non-contact IC module unit 18 are connected. Although not shown, the control unit 20 is connected to a digital signal processing unit, an external I / F unit, a power supply unit, a voice input / output unit, and the like for realizing the basic functions of the mobile terminal 3. The control unit 20 is a main unit for realizing the functions of the mobile terminal 3, and is configured by a CPU, an EEPROM, a Flash ROM, an SRAM, and the like (not shown). In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 further includes a non-contact IC interface module 14 that reads / writes information from / to the non-contact IC module unit 18.

  The display unit 12 is a part that displays and outputs information to the operator 2, and includes a display device such as an LCD.

  The operation unit 13 is a part for the operator 2 to input operation information to the mobile terminal 3 and includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a control key.

  The non-contact IC module unit 18 is configured by connecting a wireless communication interface circuit 19 to a control circuit 17 to which a flash ROM 16 as a rewritable nonvolatile memory is connected. The wireless communication interface circuit 19 is an analog circuit for realizing wireless communication, and the control circuit 17 is a digital circuit that processes data transmitted and received via the wireless communication interface circuit 19.

  Hereinafter, an example in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the image formation setting screen 40 displayed on the display unit 12 of the mobile terminal 3. The operator 2 designates a desired image formation setting using the operation unit 13 from such an image formation setting screen. The control unit 20 of the portable terminal 3 creates image formation setting information based on the designated image formation setting, and writes it in a predetermined area in the FlashROM 16 of the non-contact IC module unit 18. After this setting, the operator 2 goes to the installation place of the image forming apparatus such as the copying machine 1 and performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus in the vicinity thereof. As a result, the image formation setting information stored in the flash ROM 16 of the non-contact IC module unit 18 of the portable terminal 3 is transferred to the wireless communication interface circuit 19 of the non-contact IC module unit 18 and the wireless communication unit 11 of the copier 1. To the RAM 8 in the control unit 6 of the copying machine 1. The image forming unit 5 of the copying machine 1 performs image formation setting based on the image formation setting information in the RAM 8. If the image formation setting information is a desired image formation condition of the copying machine 1, the operator 2 presses a start button on the operation unit 11 to obtain a printed material on which an image is formed under the image formation condition.

  Further, if the image formation setting information is used many times, the operator 2 stores the image formation setting information in the control unit 20 of the portable terminal 3, preferably in the nonvolatile work storage area 15. Reusable.

  The image formation setting information that has already been set in the copying machine 1 and stored in the RAM 8 of the copying machine 1 is carried via the wireless communication unit 10 of the copying machine 1 and the wireless communication interface circuit 19 of the non-contact IC module unit 18. It is also possible to write in a predetermined area in the flash ROM 16 of the non-contact IC module unit 18 of the terminal 3. The data in the predetermined area can be further transferred and stored in the work storage area 15 in the control unit 20 of the portable terminal 3, and can be reused later as image formation setting information.

  The operator 2 can edit the image formation setting information stored in the work storage area 15 by operating the operation unit 13 of the mobile terminal 3.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform necessary settings without performing an operation directly on the operation unit when setting the copying machine 1. Further, even if the user is unfamiliar with the operation of the operation unit of the copying machine 1, it is sufficient if he / she is familiar with the operation of the portable terminal. Therefore, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a situation in which it takes time to set the copying machine 1 and occupies the front for a long time.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1A, 1B and a management server 200 for managing them are connected to each other by a network 205 such as a LAN to constitute a network system. Yes.

  The configuration of each image forming apparatus is the same as that of the copier 1 in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 shows a schematic hardware configuration example of the management server 200. The management server 200 mainly includes a CPU 201 that controls the entire server, an external IF unit 202 that controls a communication interface with the image forming apparatus, a program executed by the CPU 201, and fixed data used for controlling the program. And a data storage unit 204 including a memory that provides a temporary data storage area as a work area for the CPU 201.

  7 and 8 are external views of examples of the operation units 11A and 11B of the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B, respectively. As described above, since each image forming apparatus has the appearance of the operation unit unique to the model, generally, the appearance of the operation unit differs depending on the model, and the detailed operation method and operability also differ. For example, the operation unit 11A in FIG. 7 includes a display unit 301 such as an LCD, a start key 302 for starting copying, an operation key 303 for performing operations associated with the display contents of the display unit, various functions, and the like. A selection key 304 for selecting, a numeric keypad 306 for inputting various numerical values, and the like are provided.

  On the other hand, the operation unit 11B in FIG. 8 is used to input various numerical values such as a tag ID input key 801 for selecting the input prior to the input of the tag ID according to the present embodiment, the number of copies, and the tag ID. A numeric keypad 802, a display unit 804 such as an LCD, a touch key 803 that is displayed on the display unit and receives a touch operation, a selection key 806 for selecting a function, a start key 805 for starting copying, and the like. The touch key 803 operates as a so-called soft key to which various functions are assigned in various operation scenes.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of registration of image formation setting information in this embodiment.

  FIG. 9A shows registered contents of image formation setting information after the confidential timer transmission is performed by the operator of the image forming apparatus as Registration Example 1. Whether or not to perform the registration is determined by, for example, inquiring on the display unit whether or not to register the image formation setting information to the operator after the transmission is completed, and a response that the operator performs to this. When there is an instruction to register, image formation setting information as shown in FIG. 9A is once formed in the RAM. When the registration contents in the RAM are further registered in the management server, the image formation setting information is transferred to the management server in accordance with an instruction from the operator. The “confidential” of “confidential timer transmission” shown here means that the received data cannot be displayed unless the confidential password is included in the FAX transmission contents and the receiver does not enter the password on the receiving side device. To do. “Timer transmission” is a mode in which an original read by an operator is stored in a temporary memory and is fax-transmitted to a destination at a set time. The image formation setting information set here is “confidential box number”, “confidential password”, “timer time”, and “destination”, and in order to request the management server to register these data at the top of these data "Registration request header" and "registration number" are added.

  Registration example 2 in FIG. 9B shows image formation setting information in the case of application copying. In this example, designation of “double-sided copy”, “2 in 1”, “binding margin”, “document conveyance direction width”, and “document conveyance direction length” is included. As in the case of FIG. 9A, “registration request header” and “registration number” are added to the head of these data. When this image formation setting information is registered according to the operator's instruction after the copy is completed, it is registered in the RAM as shown in FIG. When the registration contents in the RAM are further registered in the management server, the image formation setting information is transferred to the management server in accordance with an instruction from the operator.

  Next, a specific operation in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 10 shows a flow of processing relating to transmission / reception of information (instructions and data) between the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B and the management server 200 on the network in the present embodiment. In this example, setting information is registered in the management server 200 in the image forming apparatus 1A that the operator is accustomed to using, and when another image forming apparatus 1B that the operator is not accustomed to using is used, the image is received from the management server 200. By receiving the formation setting information, the same image formation setting is automatically set and used. The numbers added to the processes in the figure indicate the order of the processes. Hereinafter, the processing steps (1) to (11) will be described in this order.

(1) Registration number selection When the operator wants to register the image formation setting information registered in the image forming apparatus 1A in the management server, the operator designates the registration number of the setting information through the operation from the operation unit 11A (FIG. 7). To do. For example, the registration number of the setting information is selected from a menu displayed on the display unit 301 by operating the operation key 303 of the operation unit 11A, and a transfer instruction is issued.
(2) In response to this transfer instruction (that is, registration instruction), the setting information as shown in FIG. 9 is transferred from the image forming apparatus 1A to the management server 200 as an encoded code.
(3) The management server 200 detects the request header data from the received code, determines that it is a registration request, and registers the received code with a tag ID as shown in FIG. 11, for example. In the present embodiment, the tag ID is arbitrary identification information added to the setting information in order for the management server 200 to uniquely identify the setting information to be registered. For example, an arbitrary number such as a number, alphabet, symbol, etc. Information.
(4) The management server 200 replies to the image forming apparatus 1A that requested the registration, together with the tag ID added to the registration setting information, that the registration has been completed.
(5) The image forming apparatus 1A displays the returned tag ID on the display unit 301. Thereby, the operator can recognize the tag ID added to the setting information registered in the management server 200. The operator stores or records (memos) the tag ID. A report may be output by the image forming apparatus so that the registered contents can be understood.
(6) After that, when using the image forming apparatus 1B, the user wants to use the same setting information as the setting information previously registered from the image forming apparatus 1A. Even if the operation can be performed, if the setting is troublesome, the management server 200 is requested for registered setting information. For this purpose, the tag ID is input to the image forming apparatus 1B.
(7) The image forming apparatus 1B transmits the tag ID to the management server 200 in accordance with an instruction from the operator.
(8) The management server 200 determines whether the transmitted data is a tag ID. This determination can be made based on the header data added to the tag ID transmission data as shown in FIG. Further, it is checked whether there is a registration of a tag ID corresponding to the detected tag ID.
(9) If the tag ID corresponding to the detected tag ID is registered, the management server 200 sends the registered setting information corresponding to the tag ID to the image forming apparatus 1B as a code. If there is no corresponding tag ID, an error message is sent to the image forming apparatus B.
(10) The image forming apparatus 1B automatically sets the image formation setting information according to the received code.
(11) The image forming apparatus 1B displays automatically set image formation setting information. The operator can confirm that the desired image formation setting has been performed by viewing the displayed content.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for registering image formation setting information in the management server 200 by the image forming apparatus 1A. This process is realized by the CPU of the control unit 6 reading and executing a program in the ROM.

  The image forming apparatus 1A transmits, to the management server, a code representing the image formation setting information corresponding to the registration number selected by the operator as described above in accordance with the operator's instruction input from the operation unit 11A (S11). ). If the tag ID is received from the management server in response to this (S12, Yes), this tag ID is displayed on the display unit 301 (S13). If the tag ID is not received within a predetermined time (S14, Yes), it is determined that some kind of error has occurred, an error is displayed (S15), and this process is terminated.

  When the tag ID is displayed, the operator is also inquired whether to output a report of the registered contents (S16). This report output is performed by print output by the image forming unit. If the operator inputs an instruction to output a report, the tag ID and the image formation setting information registered in the management server are output (S17).

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of automatic setting of image formation setting information by the image forming apparatus 1B. This process is realized by the CPU of the control unit 6 reading and executing a program in the ROM.

  When receiving the input of the tag ID from the operation unit 11B (S21), the image forming apparatus 1B transmits the tag ID to the management server (S22). As a method of inputting the tag ID, for example, after pressing the tag ID input key 801, the tag ID is input with the ten key 802 and the set key of the touch panel 803 is instructed. If an error message is received from the management server in response to this (S24, Yes), an error is displayed (S26), and this process is terminated. If there is no response from the management server for a predetermined time, it is determined that a timeout has occurred (S25, Yes), an error is displayed (S26), and this process is terminated.

  When the code representing the image formation setting information is received from the management server (S23, Yes), the image formation setting information is automatically set according to the code (S27). Therefore, the set contents are displayed on the display unit 804 (S28). Thereafter, if there is a job execution instruction by the start key 805 from the operator (S29, Yes), the image forming operation is executed in accordance with the contents of the image forming setting (S30).

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for realizing the operation of the management server. This process is realized by the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 6 reading and executing the program in the program storage unit 203.

  When the management server receives data via the network (S31, Yes), the management server proceeds to step S33, and otherwise waits in a standby state (S32).

  In step S33, it is checked whether the received data is a registration request. If it is a registration request, a tag ID is added and the received code is stored in the data storage unit 204 (S38). Further, this tag ID is transmitted to the image forming apparatus that has issued the registration request (S39).

  When the received data is a tag ID (S34, Yes), it is checked whether or not there is a tag ID that matches this tag ID (S36). If it does not exist, an error message is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (S35). If stored, the code of the image formation setting information corresponding to the tag ID is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (S37).

  If the received data is neither a registration request nor a tag ID, an error message is transmitted to the image forming apparatus (S35).

  According to the present embodiment, the image formation setting information once set in the management server can be set by simply taking the image formation setting information from the management server and setting it when setting the image forming apparatus. It becomes possible. Further, even if the user is unfamiliar with the operation of the operation unit of the copying machine 1, it is sufficient if he / she is familiar with the operation of the portable terminal. Therefore, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a situation in which it takes time to set the copying machine 1 and occupies the front for a long time.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made.

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the outline | summary of the radio | wireless communications system of embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of internal control hardware of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the rough hardware constitutions of the portable terminal which incorporated the non-contact IC module as an example of the portable terminal in the radio | wireless communications system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the image formation setting screen displayed on the display part of the portable terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the network system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 2 shows a schematic hardware configuration example of a management server 200. FIG. 6 is an external view of an example of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus 1A in the system of FIG. FIG. 6 is an external view of an example of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus 1B in the system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of registration of the image formation setting information in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing relating to transmission / reception of information (instructions and data) between an image forming apparatus and a management server on a network according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the format in which the management server registers the received code in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for registering image formation setting information in the management server by the image forming apparatus 1A in the second embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for automatic setting of image formation setting information by the image forming apparatus 1B in the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the format of tag ID transmission data which a management server receives in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the process sequence for implement | achieving the operation | movement of the management server in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Copier 1A, 1B ... Image forming apparatus 2 ... Operator 3 ... Portable terminal 4 ... Image reading part 5 ... Image forming part 6 ... Control part 9 ... External IF part 10 ... Wireless communication part 11 ... Operation part 11A ... Operation Section 11B ... Operation section 12 ... Display section 13 ... Operation section 14 ... Non-contact IC interface module 15 ... Work storage area 17 ... Control circuit 18 ... Non-contact IC module section 19 ... Wireless communication interface circuit 20 ... Control section 40 ... Image formation Setting screen 200 ... management server 202 ... external IF unit 203 ... program storage unit 204 ... data storage unit 205 ... network 301 ... display unit 804 ... display unit

Claims (7)

A portable terminal device that performs wireless communication with an image forming apparatus,
Input means for inputting image formation setting information of the image forming apparatus;
Non-contact communication means for storing the input image formation setting information and performing data communication by wireless communication with an external device;
And a control means for transferring the image formation setting information to the image forming apparatus via the non-contact communication means. Storage means for storing information;
The image formation setting information stored in the storage area in the non-contact communication unit is stored in the storage unit, the information in the storage unit is edited according to an operation by an operator, and the edited information is stored in the non-contact type. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising means for writing back to a storage area in the communication means. An image forming apparatus in a network system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management server are connected to each other via a network,
Operation means for inputting image formation setting information from the menu;
Communication means for communicating with the management server;
Control means for controlling registration and use of image formation setting information in the management server,
This control means
When registering the image formation setting information in the management server, the image formation setting information is transmitted to the management server, and a registration ID for identifying the registration is received from the management server,
When using the image formation setting information registered in the management server, a desired registration ID is input from the operation means to notify the management server, and the image formation setting information corresponding to the registration ID is received. An image forming apparatus configured to perform settings based on the received image formation setting information.   The display unit for displaying a menu or a message is further provided, and the control unit displays the image formation setting information corresponding to the registration ID received from the management server on the display unit. Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit outputs a report of the registered image formation setting information together with the registration ID when receiving a registration ID for identifying the registration from the management server. . A management server in a network system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a management server are connected to each other via a network,
Communication means for communicating with each image forming apparatus;
Storage means for storing information;
Control means for controlling registration and use of image formation setting information by the plurality of image forming apparatuses,
This control means
The image forming setting information received from any image forming apparatus by the communication unit is stored in the storage unit together with the registration ID, and the registration ID is notified to the image forming apparatus by the communication unit,
According to a registration ID received from an arbitrary image forming apparatus by the communication unit, image formation setting information corresponding to the registration ID is read from the storage unit and transmitted to the image forming apparatus by the communication unit. Management server.   When the data received from the image forming apparatus is the registration ID, the control means searches for the received registration ID from the code registration IDs stored in the storage means, and the registration ID is not found. The management server according to claim 6, wherein an error message is returned to the image forming apparatus.