JP2011103526A - Information processor, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor for adding a function limitation to a comment to actually limit use of a function, and displaying a comment on the limitation. <P>SOLUTION: The information processor includes: a display control part 116 for displaying a button for executing a function of the information processor; a comment setting part 106 for setting a comment on a setting of the function input in response to an operation of a user; a function limit setting part 110 for setting limitation information of the function to the comment; and an execution function control part 114 for controlling a function to be executed in accordance with the limitation information. The display control part 116 displays the comment in accordance with the limitation information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of setting a function restriction for a comment related to function setting.

  A device that is shared and used by a plurality of users is basically left to individual users as to what kind of setting to use when using the device. However, there is a demand for the administrator of the apparatus to call attention to the function settings used by individual users.

  For example, it is assumed that a multifunction device having copy and printer functions is shared by a plurality of users in a certain office. In the function setting of the multifunction device, for example, using color setting and setting the density high increases the cost of toner. Also, setting to double-sided printing and using the aggregation function contributes to reducing the cost of paper. The more complex machines are used, the higher the cost for toner and paper. For this reason, the administrator of the multi-function peripheral may want to recommend settings that can reduce costs to individual users.

  Here, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an operation support system capable of displaying a comment associated with a function button for executing a function. If such a technique is used, the precautions when using the function buttons are displayed as comments, and the user can be alerted.

JP 2008-35921 A

  However, even if the technique described in Patent Document 1 is applied, there is a problem that the function cannot be actually limited, merely by displaying a comment to alert the user.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to add a function restriction to a comment and comment the contents after actually restricting the use of the function. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved information processing apparatus and information processing method capable of being notified by display.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, the display control unit that displays a button for executing a function of an information processing device, and the setting of the function input in response to a user operation A comment setting unit for setting a comment; a function restriction setting unit for setting restriction information on the function for the comment; and an execution function control unit for controlling a function to be executed in accordance with the restriction information. An information processing apparatus is provided, wherein the control unit displays the comment according to the restriction information.

  According to such a configuration, the administrator can set a comment related to the setting of the function to be notified to the user, and further sets information related to the function setting restriction related to the comment for the set comment. It will be possible. Then, the information processing apparatus controls a function to be executed according to the set restriction information, and further displays the set comment according to the restriction information. For this reason, the administrator can not only call the user attention regarding the function setting by the comment, but can also add a function restriction according to the comment.

  It further has a comment analysis unit that analyzes the comment and outputs an analysis result that is information for determining restriction information of the function to be set in the comment, and the function restriction setting unit is configured to perform the function according to the analysis result. The restriction information may be set.

  It further includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the user's operation violates the restriction information, and the display control unit is associated with the function being operated according to the determination result of the determination unit. The comment may be displayed.

  The display control unit is a button for displaying the comment according to the restriction information and changing the setting of the function when the user performs an operation for executing the function without setting the function. The execution function control unit may change the setting according to the restriction information when the user presses a button for changing the setting of the function.

  In order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a comment setting step for setting a comment related to function setting according to a user operation, and restriction information on the function for the comment are provided. There is provided an information processing method including a function restriction setting step to be set, an execution function control step for controlling a function to be executed according to the restriction information, and a comment display step for displaying the comment according to the restriction information.

  In order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a computer is input in accordance with a user's operation and a display control unit that displays a button for executing a function of the information processing apparatus. A comment setting unit for setting a comment regarding the setting of the function, a function restriction setting unit for setting restriction information on the function for the comment, an execution function control unit for controlling a function to be executed according to the restriction information, The display control unit displays a comment according to the restriction information, and a program for functioning as an information processing apparatus is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to add a function restriction to a comment and to notify the contents of the comment by displaying the comment after actually restricting the use of the function.

It is a functional block diagram of an information processor concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the function restriction setting of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the comment creation screen which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the function restriction | limiting setting confirmation screen which concerns on the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the function restriction | limiting setting screen which concerns on the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the function restriction change screen which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the function utilization of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the color setting screen which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a comment display at the time of the unusable setting which concerns on the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a comment display at the time of the recommendation setting which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a comment display at the time of the function restriction violation based on the embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

<Functional configuration>
First, the functional configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, it is assumed that the information processing apparatus is, for example, a multifunction machine having copy and printer functions.

  An information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an input unit 102, an output unit 104, a comment setting unit 106, a comment analysis unit 108, a function restriction setting unit 110, a determination unit 112, an execution function control unit 114, and display control. Unit 116, comment storage unit 118, and restriction information storage unit 120.

  The input unit 102 has a function for a user to input information to the information processing apparatus 100. It is mainly composed of an input means configured by a touch panel for a user to input information, and an input control circuit for generating an input signal based on an input by the user and outputting it to a control unit including a CPU. In the present embodiment, the input unit is configured by a touch panel, but is not limited thereto. For example, the input means may be composed of various input devices such as a mouse, a keyboard, a button, a microphone, a switch, and a lever. Or the input part 102 may be comprised from the interface for connecting with an input means only.

  The output unit 104 has a function of outputting information to the user. For example, it may be composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) device, and a display device such as a lamp. In the present embodiment, the output unit 104 includes a display device on which a touch panel as the input unit 102 is stacked.

  The comment setting unit 106 has a function of setting a comment to be displayed to the user in the output unit 104. The comment setting unit 106 has a function of setting a comment input by the user via the input unit 102 as a comment to be displayed on the output unit 104 and storing the comment in the comment storage unit 118.

  The comment analysis unit 108 has a function of analyzing the comment set in the comment setting unit 106. The comment analysis unit 108 analyzes the comment and outputs analysis information for determining what kind of function restriction information is set to the analyzed comment to the function restriction setting unit 110.

  The function restriction setting unit 110 has a function of setting restriction information for restricting the function of the information processing apparatus with respect to the comment set by the comment setting unit 106. The function restriction setting unit 110 may set restriction information based on the analysis result input from the comment analysis unit 108. Alternatively, the function restriction setting unit 110 may set restriction information based on user input information from the input unit 102. The function restriction setting unit 110 stores the set restriction information in the restriction information storage unit 120. Here, as the restriction information, information regarding restrictions on “usable”, “unusable”, and “recommended setting” may be added to the function. Alternatively, the function restriction setting unit 110 may set a comment display condition for a comment when the user selects not to set a function restriction. The setting of comment display conditions will be described later.

  The determination unit 112 has a function of determining whether the user operation violates the restriction information. The determination unit 112 determines whether the user operation violates the restriction information based on the user operation information input via the input unit 102 and the restriction information stored in the restriction information storage unit 120, Output the judgment result.

  The execution function control unit 114 controls the function to be executed based on the restriction information stored in the restriction information storage unit 120 and the function to be executed based on the determination result of the determination unit 112. Specifically, the execution function control unit 114 changes the settings in the information processing apparatus 100 so that the functions set as unavailable in the restriction information cannot be used. For example, when “unusable” is set for the color copy function, the execution function control unit 114 changes the setting in the information processing apparatus 100 so that the color copy function is unusable, and the color copy function The display control unit 116 may be instructed to display the copy function in a format that cannot be selected.

  The display control unit 116 has a function of controlling display of a screen output from the output unit 104. For example, the display control unit 116 displays an operation screen for operating the functions of the information processing apparatus 100. Further, the display control unit 116 has a function of displaying a comment stored in the comment storage unit 118 on the screen according to the restriction information stored in the restriction information storage unit 120.

  The comment storage unit 118 has a function of storing and holding comments input by the input unit 102. The comment storage unit 118 includes a data storage device, and includes a storage medium, a recording device that records data on the storage medium, a reading device that reads data from the storage medium, and a deletion device that deletes data recorded on the storage medium. Can be included.

  The restriction information storage unit 120 has a function of storing and holding restriction information set by the function restriction setting unit 110. The restriction information storage unit 120 includes a data storage device, and includes a storage medium, a recording device that records data on the storage medium, a reading device that reads data from the storage medium, and a deletion device that deletes data recorded on the storage medium. Etc. can be included.

  Further, the comment storage unit 118 and the restriction information storage unit 120 may be configured from the same storage device, or may be configured from separate storage devices. Here, examples of the storage medium include magnetic recording media such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive), EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), flash memory, MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory), FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access). Non-volatile memories such as Memory) and PRAM (Phase change Random Access Memory) are mentioned, but not limited to the above.

<Function restriction setting example>
Next, a function restriction setting flow of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a function restriction setting flow of the information processing apparatus 100. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a comment creation screen. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a function restriction setting confirmation screen. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a function restriction setting screen. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a function restriction change screen.

  First, when the administrator performs an operation for switching to the administrator mode using the input unit 102, the information processing apparatus switches to the administrator mode in accordance with the operation (S102). For example, the display control unit 116 displays an administrator management screen. Here, the management screen is a screen that cannot be used by a general user, and is a screen that displays a menu that can be operated only by some users such as an administrator, such as settings of the information processing apparatus 100.

  When the administrator selects a comment setting menu for displaying the management screen (S104) and selects a mode (S106), the display control unit 116 displays the comment setting screen. Here, the mode refers to, for example, a copy mode, a printer mode, a scanner mode, a fax mode, and the like, and is a form adapted to the function classification. Here, consider the case where the copy mode is selected. FIG. 3 shows an example of the comment creation screen. The comment creation screen is a screen for inputting a comment to be set, and mainly includes a comment input area 302, a soft button area 304 for inputting kana characters and the like, a save button 306, and a cancel button 308. For example, by using the soft button area 304, the administrator can set a comment “Please copy in monochrome, double-sided, and as much as possible” (S108). At this time, the comment setting unit 106 acquires a comment input using the input unit 102 (here, the soft button area 302) and stores the comment in the comment storage unit 118.

  Here, when the administrator presses the save button 306 on the comment creation screen 300, the comment analysis unit executes the analysis of the comment set in step S108 (S110). Here, for example, morphological analysis, syntax analysis, or the like may be used for comment analysis. As a specific example of the comment analysis in step S110, for example, when analyzing a comment “Please copy in monochrome, double-sided, and as much as possible”, “monochrome”, “double-sided”, The word “aggregation” is cut out and specified as a function-related word by matching with a dictionary not shown. Then, from the adverb “as much as possible” or the predicate “please”, the comment is interpreted as meaning recommendation. Also, as another example, if the comment is “Please make sure that the copy is monochrome”, the morphological analysis is performed in the same way as in the above example, and the word “monochrome” is cut out, and “ The word “monochrome” is specified as the word related to the function. Then, from the adverb “always” or the predicate “please”, the comment may be interpreted as meaning that color settings other than monochrome are unavailable.

  Then, the display control unit 116 displays a function restriction setting confirmation display 402 shown in FIG. By pressing one of the selection buttons “Yes” 404 and “No” 406 in the function restriction setting confirmation display 402, the administrator can select whether or not to set the function restriction on the set comment. (S112).

  When the administrator selects “Yes” 404 in the selection in step S112, the function restriction setting unit 110 sets a function restriction on the comment according to the analysis result of the comment executed in step S110 (S114). Here, the function restriction setting unit 110 sets “color setting” to “monochrome recommended” according to the analysis result of the input comment “Please copy in monochrome, double-sided, and aggregate as much as possible.” Is set to “Recommended for duplex setting” and “Recommended for aggregation setting”.

  For example, the result of the automatic setting in step S114 may be notified to the administrator by displaying it on the function restriction setting screen shown in FIG. The function restriction setting screen mainly includes, for example, automatic setting content 502, a change button 504, a save button 506, and a cancel button 508. The automatic setting content 502 is an area for displaying the automatic setting content in step S114, and the change button 504 is a button for changing the content of each item. The save button 506 is a button for saving the setting contents at that time, and the cancel button 508 is a button for canceling the setting contents.

  For example, when it is desired to change the automatically set contents, the function restriction change screen 600 shown in FIG. 6 may be changed by pressing the change button 504. The function restriction change screen 600 mainly includes a setting change area 602, a save button 604, and a cancel button 606. Here, it is assumed that the function restriction setting unit 110 sets “monochrome recommended” by automatic setting, and “usable” is set as an initial value for the color setting. If the administrator does not want to use the color copy, the administrator can change the color to “unusable” setting on this screen.

  When the administrator changes the desired setting on the function restriction change screen 600, the administrator presses the save button 604 and returns to the function restriction setting screen 500 of FIG. Here, when the administrator presses the save button 506, the function restriction setting unit 110 stores the restriction information set in the restriction information storage unit 120.

  On the other hand, if the administrator selects not to set a restriction on the comment in step S112, the function restriction setting unit 110 sets a comment display condition based on the comment analysis result (S116). Here, the comment display condition is determined based on which function the comment is associated with. Unlike the function restriction setting in step S114, no restriction is imposed on the use of the function, and the comment is displayed to the user. This is a condition for displaying a comment to call attention. For example, the function restriction setting unit 110 may select a function related to a comment as in the case of function restriction. However, the function restriction setting unit 110 needs to record the comment display condition in the restriction information storage unit in a form distinguishable from the function restriction.

<Operation example>
Next, with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 11, an operation example at the time of user operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of function use of the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a color setting screen according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a comment display at the time of unusable setting according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a comment display example at the time of recommended setting according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a comment display example when the function restriction is violated according to the embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 7, first, the user switches to the user mode when using the user mode function. If the user mode has already been set when the user starts the operation, the process of step S202 is omitted.

  Then, the display control unit 116 controls display based on the restriction information set in the above-described function restriction setting example. Here, an example of display based on the restriction information is shown in FIG. A color setting screen 800 shown in FIG. 8 mainly includes a color setting button 802, a monochrome setting button 804, a confirmation button 806, and a cancel button 808. At this time, the color setting button 802 is displayed in a format that is not selected based on the color setting unusable information in the restriction information. For example, the color setting button 802 may be displayed in a grayed out state so that the user can recognize that the color setting button 802 cannot be selected.

  Thus, the user performs an operation on the operation screen in which the restriction information is reflected. When the user performs an operation, the input unit 102 acquires input information operated by the user (S206).

  Based on the input information acquired in step S206, the determination unit 112 determines whether the setting that the user is trying to operate is a restriction violation setting (S208). In this determination, if it is determined that the restriction violation is set, the display control unit 116 displays a comment based on the input information and the restriction information.

  An example of such a comment display is shown in FIGS. FIG. 9 is a display example of the comment 902 when the user tries to press the color setting button 802 on the color setting screen 800 described above with reference to FIG. When the user tries to press the color setting button 802 that is set so that it cannot be selected, the display control unit 116 overlays the button display “Please copy in monochrome, double-sided, and as much as possible. The comment stored in advance in the comment storage unit 118 is displayed.

  Further, when the color setting function is “monochrome recommended” and “color available” is set, as shown in FIG. 10, when the color setting function button 1002 is pressed, the display control is performed in the same manner. The unit 116 displays a comment stored in advance in the comment storage unit 118, such as “Please copy in monochrome, double-sided, and consolidated as much as possible.”

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the color setting screen. However, since the restriction information is set for the color setting, the duplex setting, and the aggregation setting in this embodiment, a comment is similarly applied to the duplex setting screen and the aggregation setting screen. Is displayed. Here, in this embodiment, three functions are associated with one comment. Here, the three functions are a function associated with a comment as a result of analyzing one comment, or a function selected based on the judgment that the user relates to one comment. That is, the comment should include information regarding the setting of the associated function. Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, when a comment is displayed while performing an operation on the color setting screen, the user can know that the duplex setting and the aggregation setting are recommended at the same time. Probability is high. Of course, a comment for one function can be associated with one function using the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. However, in this case, the user cannot know what recommended settings are made for the information processing apparatus 100 as a whole, and receives a new attention every time a restriction violation operation is performed. The user may feel stressed.

  In addition, it may be considered that the user presses the start button without performing any setting. When a function restriction is set for a comment, a setting that satisfies the function setting content that is considered to be recommended or forcibly set from the comment is initially set. However, when the comment display condition is set and the function restriction is not given, the setting may not satisfy the comment content. Therefore, in this case, the comment display screen 1102 shown in FIG. 11 may be displayed, and a “print as it is” button 1104 and a “redo” button 1106 may be displayed together with the comment. In the comment display screen 1102, when the user wants to execute the copy with the setting as it is even after confirming the content of the comment, the user executes the copy with the setting as it is by pressing a “print as it is” button 1104. I can do it. In addition, when the user wants to change the setting after confirming the content of the comment, the user can change the setting by pressing a “redo” button 1106. At this time, for example, when the “redo” button 1106 is pressed, the recommended setting may be automatically set.

<Example of effects>
As described above, according to the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the administrator can not only notify the user of the setting content that the administrator wants to recommend but also can actually add a function restriction. become. Further, when the administrator sets a comment, the function comment setting unit analyzes the set comment and selects a function that is preferably associated with the comment, and associates the function with the set comment. For this reason, the administrator can associate the comment with the function by selecting only the comment and without selecting each function to which the restriction is to be added. This can greatly reduce the number of screen transitions in the function restriction setting operation and can reduce the amount of work for the administrator.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, three functions are associated with one comment, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, one, two, or four or more functions may be associated with one comment. Alternatively, a plurality of comments may be associated with one function.

  In this specification, the steps described in the flowcharts are executed in parallel or individually even if they are not necessarily processed in time series, as well as processes performed in time series in the described order. Including processing to be performed. Further, it goes without saying that the order can be appropriately changed even in the steps processed in time series.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 102 Input part 104 Output part 106 Comment setting part 108 Comment analysis part 110 Function restriction setting part 112 Judgment part 114 Execution function control part 116 Display control part 118 Comment memory part 120 Restriction information memory part

Claims (6)

A display control unit for displaying a button for executing a function of the information processing apparatus;
A comment setting unit for setting a comment related to the setting of the function input in response to a user operation;
A function restriction setting unit for setting restriction information of the function for the comment;
An execution function control unit that controls a function to be executed according to the restriction information;
With
The information processing apparatus, wherein the display control unit displays the comment according to the restriction information. A comment analysis unit that analyzes the comment and outputs an analysis result that is information for determining restriction information of the function set in the comment;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the function restriction setting unit sets restriction information on the function according to the analysis result. A determination unit for determining whether the user operation violates the restriction information;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the comment associated with the function being operated according to a determination result of the determination unit. The display control unit displays the comment according to the restriction information and displays a button for changing the function setting when the user performs an operation for executing the function without setting the function. Let
4. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the execution function control unit changes the setting according to the restriction information when the user presses a button for changing the setting of the function. 5. apparatus. A comment setting step for setting a comment related to the setting of the function according to a user operation;
A function restriction setting step for setting restriction information of the function for the comment;
An execution function control step for controlling a function to be executed according to the restriction information;
A comment display step of displaying the comment according to the restriction information;
An information processing method including: Computer
A display control unit for displaying a button for executing a function of the information processing apparatus;
A comment setting unit for setting a comment related to the setting of the function input in response to a user operation;
A function restriction setting unit for setting restriction information of the function for the comment;
An execution function control unit that controls a function to be executed according to the restriction information;
With
The program for causing the display control unit to function as an information processing apparatus displays the comment according to the restriction information.

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