JP2013256061A - Image processor, job setting method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor able to shorten occupancy time per user.SOLUTION: An image processor 100 for performing a set job includes: communication means 11 that wirelessly receives setting of a job using a document from a mobile terminal 300; a first table in which unique job identification information and the mobile terminal identification information of a mobile terminal are linked to a job; a second table in which setting information for a job is recorded for each job identification information; job setting means that when the communication means receives the key identification information of a key depressed by the mobile terminal, reads from the first table, the job identification information linked to the mobile terminal identification information of the mobile terminal which has transmitted the key identification information; and key countermeasure processing means 15 that, on the basis of the key identification information, updates the set information for the job identification information read by the job setting means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that executes a set job.

  Image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers often have an operation panel and a communication function for communicating with a terminal via a network. For example, the user can start a browser on the terminal and communicate with the image forming apparatus, and can perform stored document operations of the image forming apparatus, job setting for the printer, or job execution from a remote location.

  However, when a conventional image forming apparatus is used as a scanner or a copier, the user operates the operation unit provided in the apparatus main body to execute settings and execute a job. The time to occupy tends to be longer. In particular, in the case of a remote TWAIN scanner (TWAIN scanner directly connected to the network), the image forming apparatus is occupied from the start of setting to the start of job.

  Also, if settings and job execution are performed using a terminal from a remote location, a device driver that operates on the terminal is necessary, and there is no need to go back and forth between the device body and the terminal to place a document or clear a paper jam. Occur.

  With regard to this point, a technique for sharing a screen between an operation panel of a printing apparatus main body and a terminal connected via a network using a technique called VNC (Virtual Network Computing) has been considered (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.). According to this technology, if there is a setting mistake such as designation of a document stored in the terminal, the terminal can be operated from the printing apparatus without returning to the terminal, so that it is possible to reduce the trouble of going back and forth between the device body and the terminal. .

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 still has a problem that a job using a document does not change that a single user occupies the image forming apparatus in a certain period of time. For this reason, the effect of shortening the occupation time of the image forming apparatus per user is not so great.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus that can reduce the occupation time per user.

  The present invention is an image processing apparatus that executes a set job, a communication unit that receives a setting of a job that uses a document wirelessly from a portable terminal, job identification information unique to the job, and a portable terminal of the portable terminal A first table associated with identification information; a second table in which job setting information is recorded for each job identification information; and key identification information of a key pressed on the portable terminal. Received from the first table, the job setting means that reads the job identification information associated with the portable terminal identification information of the portable terminal that transmitted the key identification information, and the job setting means And key correspondence processing means for updating the setting information of the job identification information based on the key identification information.

  It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus that can reduce the occupation time per user.

1 is an example of a diagram illustrating schematic features of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. 1 is an example of a system configuration diagram of a communication system. It is an example of the hardware block diagram of a portable terminal. 1 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of user information etc. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block of UI management part. It is a figure which shows an example of a job management table. It is an example of the schematic functional block diagram of a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of a key ID table. FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the mobile terminal performs setting for an application of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which a plurality of portable terminals make settings for an application of the image forming apparatus. 3 is an example of a diagram illustrating job execution determination by the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure for determining whether or not an image forming apparatus can execute a job. It is a figure which shows an example of the job management table etc. which show that it is under reservation.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram illustrating schematic features of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 corresponds to the image processing apparatus recited in the claims.

  The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment uses the mobile terminal 300 as a job setting receiving unit. As shown in the figure, each of the users A to C carries a portable terminal 300 and can communicate with the image forming apparatus 100 individually.

  For example, when the users A to C optically read a document with the image forming apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as scanning), the user places the document on the image forming apparatus 100 and reads a reading condition (including color settings) from the operation panel provided. Generally, the document type, document surface, resolution, document size, and edit) are set. In such an operation procedure, it takes a long time for one user to occupy the image forming apparatus 100.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, before the users A to C place a document on the image forming apparatus 100, the reading conditions are set in the image forming apparatus 100 as setting information from the portable terminal 300. Thus, each user can set the reading conditions in the image forming apparatus 100 with almost no occupation of the image forming apparatus. In addition, each user can operate the portable terminal 300 during the overlapping time period and set different reading conditions in the image forming apparatus 100.

  When the user transmits the reading conditions to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 assigns a job ID and registers it as a separate job in the job management table. Jobs and users are associated with each other in the user job verification table.

  Users A to C place a document on the image forming apparatus 100 at a desired timing, and press a start key displayed on the portable terminal 300. The image forming apparatus 100 estimates the distance to the user (hereinafter, not distinguished from the distance to the mobile terminal), identifies the user whose distance is less than the threshold, calls the reading condition of the user, and scans the document. Therefore, it is not necessary to operate the operation panel of the image forming apparatus 100 even when a job is executed, so that the time for one user to occupy the image forming apparatus 100 can be shortened.

  In the following, a scan job will be described as an example, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a job using a document such as a copy job.

[Configuration example]
FIG. 2 shows an example of a system configuration diagram of the communication system. The communication system 500 includes a mobile terminal 300, an image forming apparatus 100, and a PC (Personal Computer) 200 connected via the network 20. The portable terminal 300 may be any information processing apparatus that can operate the image forming apparatus 100 via the network 20. For example, a smart phone, a tablet, a straight PC, a notebook PC, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and the like may be used. The portable terminal 300 communicates with the image forming apparatus 100 by wireless communication such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or IC communication, for example.

  The PC 200 is an information processing apparatus that can operate the image forming apparatus 100 via a network. The PC 200 is mainly a desktop PC, but may be a portable information processing apparatus, and a notebook PC or tablet PC may be the PC 200 in some cases. The PC 200 communicates with the image forming apparatus 100 via, for example, a wireless LAN or a wired LAN.

  The network 20 is mainly a LAN, but may have a plurality of LANs (subnets) by connecting a plurality of LANs via a router as shown in the figure. In the latter case, the network may include the Internet. Further, for example, when communicating one-on-one, it can be said that “communication via a network”.

  The image forming apparatus 100 is an apparatus having one or more functions such as a printer, a copy, a scanner, a document box, and transmission (FAX transmission, Scan To E-mail). Sometimes called MFP (Multifunction Peripheral).

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the mobile terminal 300. The portable terminal 300 includes a wireless LAN communication unit 108 connected to a wireless LAN, a short-range wireless communication unit 111 such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and a mobile terminal 300 that does not have a carrier communication unit 109. In the present embodiment, the carrier communication unit 109 may or may not be provided. The illustrated mobile terminal 300 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a flash ROM 104, a display unit 105, an operation unit 106, a media I / F unit 107, a wireless LAN communication unit 108, a carrier communication unit 109, a camera 110, and a short-range wireless. A communication unit 111 is included.

  The CPU 101 executes the program 112 stored in the flash ROM 104 and controls the overall operation of the portable terminal 300. The ROM 102 stores IPL (Initial Program Loader) and static data. The RAM 103 is used as a work area when the CPU 101 executes the program 112.

  The flash ROM 104 stores a program 112 executed by the CPU 101. The program 112 includes an OS (for example, Android (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark)), middleware, and an application that provides the following functions of the mobile terminal 300.

  The display unit 105 displays a UI screen such as liquid crystal or organic EL. A graphic control unit (not shown) interprets a drawing command written in the video RAM by the CPU 101 and displays various information such as a window, a menu, a cursor, a character, or an image on the display unit 105. Note that the display unit 105 integrally has a touch panel and displays soft keys.

  The operation unit 106 is a hard key or button that accepts a user operation, and a touch panel. The CPU 101 is notified of the operation contents of the hard keys and soft keys.

  The media I / F 107 controls reading or writing (storage) of data with respect to a recording medium such as a flash memory.

  The program 112 is a file in an installable or executable format, and is distributed on a computer-readable recording medium. The program 112 is distributed to the portable terminal 300 in a file that can be installed or executed from a server (not shown).

  The wireless LAN communication unit 108 transmits and receives data by controlling the modulation method, transmission speed, frequency, and the like based on IEEE802.11b / 11a / 11g / 11n. When data is received, the received radio wave is converted into a digital signal, and when data is transmitted, data requested to be transmitted from the CPU 101 is modulated according to a communication standard and transmitted as a radio wave. The IP address of the portable terminal 300 is given from a wireless LAN access point.

  The carrier communication unit 109 performs various communications by a telecommunications carrier contracted by the user of the mobile terminal 300. The telecommunications carrier is, for example, a mobile phone carrier, a WiMax carrier, or the like that communicates with a communication standard such as CDMA or LTE. The carrier communication unit 109 is equipped with a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module Card) card. The SIM card is an IC card that stores contractor information issued by a telecommunications carrier to a contractor, and mainly stores a unique number called IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), a mobile phone number, and the like. .

  The carrier communication unit 109 performs modulation or the like according to a communication method determined by a telecommunications carrier and communicates with a base station (not shown) connected to the Internet. The base station is connected to the carrier server of the telecommunications carrier, and the carrier server gives the mobile terminal 300 a temporary IP address. The portable terminal 300 can also communicate with the image forming apparatus 100 via the Internet.

  The camera 110 is a color image pickup unit including a CCD or CMOS photoelectric conversion element. The short-range wireless communication unit 111 is a short-range wireless communication device such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), IC communication, or UWB (Ultra Wide Band).

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a controller 240, an operation panel 13, an FCU (facsimile control unit) 23, a scanner engine 22, and a plotter engine 21.

  The controller 240 includes a CPU 201, an ASIC 205, an NB (North Bridge) 202, an SB (South Bridge) 206, a MEM-P (System Memory) 203, a MEM-C (Local Memory) 204, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). ) 218, memory card slot 216, network adapter (network interface controller) 11, USB device 208, IEEE 1394 device 209, and Centronics device 210.

  The CPU 201 is an IC for executing various types of information processing, and executes programs for providing applications and services in parallel on a process basis by an OS such as UNIX (registered trademark) or Linux (registered trademark). The ASIC 205 is an image processing IC. The NB 202 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 201 and the ASIC 205. The SB 206 is a bridge for connecting the NB 202 and peripheral devices. The ASIC 205 and the NB 202 are connected via an AGP (accelerated Graphics Port).

  The MEM-P 203 is a memory connected to the NB 202. The MEM-C 204 is a memory connected to the ASIC 205. The HDD 220 is a storage connected to the ASIC 205, and is used to perform image data accumulation, document data accumulation, program accumulation, font data accumulation, form data accumulation, and the like.

  The memory card slot 216 is connected to the SB 206 and is used for setting (inserting) the memory card 217. The memory card 217 is a flash memory such as a USB memory, and is used for distributing the program 220.

  The network adapter 11 is a controller for performing data communication via a wireless LAN or a wired LAN using a MAC address as identification information. Mainly, processing of Layer 1 and 2 is performed, and communication control of higher layers is handled by the OS, middleware or application. When communicating with the mobile terminal 300 via Bluetooth (registered trademark), the network adapter 11 is a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication module. Further, in the case of communication using IC communication (for example, NFC: Near Field Communication), an IC communication device corresponds.

  In the case of a wireless LAN, the communication mode includes an infrastructure mode in which the image forming apparatus 100 and the portable terminal 300 communicate via an access point, and an ad hoc mode in which the portable terminal 300 communicates directly with the image forming apparatus 100. In the ad hoc network, the mobile terminal 300 and the image forming apparatus 100 form a one-to-one network. The connection procedure in the infrastructure mode or ad hoc mode is, for example, as follows. The access point or the image forming apparatus 100 periodically transmits beacons (channel (frequency range), ESSID, supported transmission speed, security method, time stamp, QoS, etc.) as an access point. . When the mobile terminal 300 enters the beacon reach range, the probe request is made by receiving the beacon (the ESSID set in the own device is transmitted). Thereafter, when the image forming apparatus 100 authenticates the portable terminal 300 using either an open system authentication method or a common key authentication method, communication becomes possible. In the case of common key authentication, the mobile terminal 300 has an encryption key in advance.

  In the case of Bluetooth (registered trademark), if a PIN code is set in the mobile terminal 300, communication starts when the mobile terminal 300 enters the communicable range with the image forming apparatus 100.

  The USB device 208 is a device for providing a serial port compliant with the USB standard. The IEEE 1394 device 209 is a device for providing a serial port compliant with the IEEE 1394 standard. The Centronics device 210 is a device for providing a parallel port conforming to the Centronics specification. The network adapter 11, the USB device 208, the IEEE 1394 device 209, and the Centronics device 210 are connected to the NB 202 and the SB 206 via a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus.

  The program 220 includes an OS, middleware, and programs (various applications) that provide the following functions. The program 220 is a file in an installable or executable format, and is distributed by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The program 220 is distributed in a file that can be installed or executed from a server (not shown).

  The operation panel 13 is hardware (operation unit) for the user to input to the image forming apparatus 100, and a display unit 215 that is hardware for the image forming apparatus 100 to provide various screens to the user. Have. The operation panel 13 is connected to the ASIC 205. In the present embodiment, since the user operates the image forming apparatus 100 from the portable terminal 300, the operation panel 13 is not necessarily required, but there is no problem even if the image forming apparatus 100 has the operation panel 13.

  The FCU 23, the scanner engine 22, and the plotter engine 21 are connected to the ASIC 205 via the PCI bus.

  The scanner engine 22 optically scans the document placed on the contact glass, A / D converts the reflected light, performs image processing, and digital data with a predetermined resolution (hereinafter referred to as image data). Generate.

  The plotter engine 21 has, for example, a tandem photosensitive drum, modulates a laser beam based on image data, and scans the photosensitive drum to form a latent image. The image is transferred to the paper with heat and pressure for each page developed with toner attached to the latent image. It is not limited to such an electrophotographic plotter, but may be an ink jet type plotter engine that discharges droplets to form an image.

  The FCU 23 is connected to the network via the network adapter 11 and connected to the network according to, for example, T.37, T.38 standards, or connected to the public communication network, for example, according to G3 and G4 standards. Send and receive data. Even if image data is received when the image forming apparatus 100 is powered off, the plotter engine 21 can be activated to print the image data on paper.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the function of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. 2 that are the same as those in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. In FIG. 2, the distance detection unit 14 and the job management unit 15 are connected to a memory management unit 17, an engine management unit 18, and a user management unit 19 via an API (Application Interface) 16. Note that the structure shown in the figure is schematic and it is only necessary to be able to communicate with a function required by a certain function.

  The UI management unit 12 manages the UI (User Interface) of the image forming apparatus 100 and the mobile terminal 300. The UI management unit 12 will be described later.

  The distance detection unit 14 detects the distance between the mobile terminal 300 and the image forming apparatus 100. The distance detection method uses, for example, a response time when communicating by Bluetooth (registered trademark). For example, the distance is measured from the response time from when the distance detection unit 14 transmits data to the mobile terminal 300 via the network adapter 11 until the data is received from the mobile terminal 300.

  A wireless LAN may be used. In the ad hoc mode, since the portable terminal 300 communicates with the image forming apparatus 100 without accessing the access point, the distance detection unit 14 can measure the distance as in the case of Bluetooth. Further, when communication with the portable terminal 300 is possible through IC communication, it may be determined that the distance is short, and when communication is not possible, it may be determined that the distance is long.

  Further, the distance from the PC 200 connected by wire is measured using, for example, a Ping command. When the Ping command is executed by designating the IP address of the mobile terminal, the average response time can be obtained, so the distance is measured from the response time. In addition, it is preferable to be able to compare the distances even if the measurement methods are different by multiplying each measurement method by a correction constant.

In this embodiment, for example, when the distance is estimated to be less than 1 m, it is determined that the distance is close,
When the distance is 1 m or more, it is determined that the distance is long. The threshold value “1 m” is an example, and may be “50 cm” or “2 m”, for example.

  Note that the distance detection unit 14 may be included in the mobile terminal 300 instead of the image forming apparatus 100. In this case, the distance detection unit 14 of the mobile terminal 300 transmits the measured distance to the image forming apparatus 100. The distance detection unit 14 may calculate the distance from the position information. In this case, both the portable terminal 300 and the image forming apparatus 100 can measure the position information by measuring the position information using, for example, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), and transmitting the position information to the other.

  The job management unit 15 accepts an operation from the mobile terminal 300 or the operation panel 13 and registers job setting information. The job includes a print job, a copy job, a scan job, a transmission job, and the like according to the function of the image forming apparatus 100. The job management unit 15 receives a job type and setting information (reading conditions, copy conditions, etc.) that can be set according to the job from the mobile terminal 300, the PC 200, or the operation panel 13. The job management unit 15 executes the job based on the registered job setting information. In addition, the job management unit 15 collects the status of the image forming apparatus 100 (whether each function is operable, the remaining amount of consumables, and error contents) and the job status of each job from the entire image forming apparatus 100, and the UI. Provided to the management unit 12.

  The engine management unit 18 manages each engine such as the plotter engine 21 and the scanner engine 22. When managing the scanner engine 22, image processing such as ADF, moving speed of the line sensor, and γ correction of the captured image is performed. When the plotter engine 21 is managed, image formation, paper supply / discharge, fixing temperature, and the like are controlled.

  The memory management unit 17 performs memory management such as securing or releasing memory according to the job to be executed. The user management unit 19 manages user information. The user management unit 19 has user information registered in advance.

  FIG. 5A shows an example of user information. The user information has a “password” associated with the “user ID”. “User ID” is identification information for uniquely identifying a user. In addition to the user ID (or instead of the user ID), a user name may be set. The “password” is a number, alphabet, symbol, or a combination thereof for the image forming apparatus 100 to authenticate the user (for the user to log in to the image forming apparatus 100).

[UI management department]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the UI management unit 12. The UI management unit 12 includes a network server 121, a network UI reception management unit 122, a network transmission management unit 125, an operation panel input management unit 123, a job setting unit 126, a UI configuration state management unit 127, an operation panel display management unit 128, a user A job collation table 129 and an operation panel driver 124 are included.

  The network server 121 controls communication with the mobile terminal 300 according to a protocol stack such as TCP / IP or a protocol such as HTTP as a server. At the time of data transmission, the network server 121 stores data acquired from the network transmission management unit 125 in a communication buffer (packet) according to the communication standard, stores it in a transmission buffer of the network adapter 11, and transmits it to the network adapter 11. Request. At the time of data reception, for example, using a mechanism such as an interrupt, the communication frame stored in the reception buffer of the network adapter 11 is read and sent to the network UI reception management unit 122. In this embodiment, “key press notification” is received as data.

  The network UI reception management unit 122 extracts the key ID of the key operated by the user from the key press notification received by the network server 121 from the mobile terminal 300 or the PC 200 and outputs the key ID to the job setting unit 126.

  The job setting unit 126 interprets the key input operated by the user based on the key ID. In addition, since an arbitrary user transmits a key ID from the mobile terminal 300, the job setting unit 126 specifies the user who has operated the key ID based on the user ID transmitted from the mobile terminal 300. As a job setting procedure by the user, a procedure for transmitting all setting information for one job at a time, and setting information corresponding to the key each time the user presses one key of the portable terminal 300 (in this case, the key ID). In this embodiment, the job setting information may be transmitted by either procedure. However, in both procedures, it is necessary to link the user and the job. Therefore, the job setting unit 126 has a user job collation table 129 that associates a user with a job.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a user job verification table. “Job ID” is associated with “User ID”. The job ID is a number, alphabet, symbol, or a combination thereof unique within the image forming apparatus. The job setting unit 126 refers to the user job verification table 129 every time a user ID and a key ID are acquired, and generates a job ID in association with the user ID when the user ID is not registered. Alternatively, the job ID may be generated by the job management unit 15 and notified to the job setting unit 126. The job setting unit 126 registers the user ID in association with the job ID.

  When the user ID is registered when the user job matching table 129 is referred to, the job is specified by the job ID associated with the user ID.

  Further, the job setting unit 126 converts the analyzed key input content into an MFP key ID and notifies the job management unit 15 of the converted key input content. The MFP key ID is obtained by converting the contents of the key input into key contents in a format that is uniformly used by the image forming apparatus 100. The MFP key ID is, for example, “KI_SIZE_B4”. The MFP key ID is notified to the job management unit 15 together with the job ID. The MFP key ID includes an attribute of setting information and its attribute value. When the MFP key ID is “KI_SIZE_B4”, the attribute is the document size and the attribute value is B4.

  The job management unit 15 updates the job setting information of each user with the job ID and the MFP key ID. Therefore, the job management unit 15 has a job management table 130. The job management unit 15 newly generates a job management table 130 when a new job ID is notified.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the job management table 130. The job management table 130 is generated for each job ID, for example, and has “color”, “original surface”, “original size”, “density”, and the like as attributes of setting information. The job management unit 15 sets an attribute value for each attribute. Note that when the job management unit 15 generates the job management table 130, initial values are set for the respective attributes, so the user does not need to set all the attributes (attributes that are not set remain the initial values). .

  In response to the notification from the job management unit 15, the UI configuration state management unit 127 controls the key state of the screen of the mobile terminal 300. That is, the job management unit 15 specifies the MFP key state on the screen based on the job management table 130 and notifies the UI configuration state management unit 127 of the MFP key state. Note that this MFP key state is a key state of a format that is used uniformly in the image forming apparatus 100. The UI configuration state management unit 127 notifies the mobile terminal 300 of the key state so that the MFP key state is reflected on the screen of the mobile terminal 300.

  When a job ID that is not registered in the job management table 130 is notified, the job management unit 15 notifies the UI configuration state management unit 127 of a state in which an initial value is set for each attribute as a key state. Therefore, the soft key on the screen of the mobile terminal 300 is in a key selection state corresponding to the state where the initial value is set in the attribute, and the user can determine the initial setting information.

  The network transmission management unit 125 transmits the key state notified from the UI configuration state management unit 127 to the network server 121. Sending the key status is called "key status notification".

  The operation panel driver 124, the operation panel input management unit 123, and the operation panel display management unit 128 operate when the user operates the operation panel 13. The operation panel driver 124 notifies the operation panel input management unit 123 of the user's operation position. The operation panel input management unit 123 converts the operation position input from the operation panel driver 124 into a key ID and notifies the job setting unit 126 of it. The job setting unit 126 converts the key ID into an MFP key ID and notifies the job management unit 15 of the key ID. The job management unit 15 notifies the UI configuration state management unit 127 of the MFP key state. The UI configuration state management unit 127 converts the MFP key state into a key state and notifies the operation panel display management unit 128 of it. The operation panel display management unit 128 notifies the operation panel driver 124 of the key state notified from the UI configuration state management unit 127. The operation panel driver 124 displays a screen based on the key state. Therefore, the user can similarly set a job from the operation panel 13.

[Function of mobile terminal]
FIG. 8 shows an example of a schematic functional block diagram of the mobile terminal 300. The mobile terminal 300 includes a screen display unit 301, a key ID determination unit 302, a key ID transmission unit 303, and a key ID table 304.

  The screen display unit 301 reflects the key state received from the image forming apparatus 100 on the screen configuration information stored in advance and displays it on the display unit 105. Note that the screen configuration information is information that configures the screen, and includes information such as the size, color, and placement position of the figure that constitutes the screen, characters, symbols, character size, and placement position displayed in the figure. Have.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the mobile terminal 300. When the user registers a job in the image forming apparatus 100, an application (included in the program 112) installed in advance is activated. FIG. 9A shows an example of a screen displayed immediately after startup. The user logs in to the image forming apparatus 100 by inputting a user ID and a password immediately before or immediately after the screen displayed immediately after activation in FIG.

  As soft keys for designating each application, a “copy” soft key 511, a “document box” soft key 512, and a “scanner” soft key 513 are displayed. The user can select a desired application. For example, when the “scanner” soft key 513 is selected, the scanner screen of FIG. 9B is displayed.

  More specifically, for example, the mobile terminal 300 transmits the user ID and the selected application to the image forming apparatus 100 when any soft key is pressed (tapped). Since the user ID is not registered in the user job matching table 129, the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a key state corresponding to the initial value of each attribute in the application to the mobile terminal 300. As a result, the screen display unit 301 reflects the key state received from the image forming apparatus 100 on the screen configuration information stored in advance on the scanner screen and displays it on the display unit 105.

  In this way, instead of receiving the initial key state from the image forming apparatus 100, the mobile terminal may have initial setting information of the image forming apparatus 100 in advance. Since the user of the portable terminal is assumed to use the image forming apparatus 100, it is possible to acquire initial setting information of the image forming apparatus 100 in advance.

  The scanner screen of FIG. 9B has a “document type” tab 501, a “resolution” tab 502, a “read size” tab 503, and an “edit” tab 504. Each tab is an attribute that can be set on the scanner screen, and an attribute value is selectable for each tab. For example, in the attribute of “original type”, “black and white / character”, “black and white / character / chart”, “black and white / character / photo”, “black and white / photo”, “grayscale”, “full color / character / photo”, “full color / printing paper” -The attribute value "Photo" "Automatic color selection" is displayed.

  If the initial value of the attribute value “document type” is “monochrome / character / chart”, “monochrome / character / chart” is displayed in reverse video. The same applies to the “resolution” tab, the “read size” tab, and the “edit” tab. When the user selects the tab, the initial value of the attribute value is inverted and displayed. The display state of the inverted soft key is called a selected state, and the soft key that is not inverted is called a normal display state. In addition, the display state includes a non-selectable state and a non-display state.

  For example, in the state of FIG. 9B, the user starts an operation. The key ID determination unit 302 in FIG. 8 acquires position information from the touch panel of the display unit 105, and specifies the soft key tapped by the user with the key ID. For this reason, the key ID determination unit 302 has a key ID table 304.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the key ID table 304. In the key ID table 304, “position information” and “key ID” are registered in association with each other. Note that “key input” is shown for reference, and the portable terminal 300 may not have. “Position information” is the coordinates of the upper left vertex and the lower right vertex when each soft key is displayed as a rectangle. The key ID determination unit 302 identifies “position information” corresponding to the tap position acquired from the display unit 105, and reads the key ID associated with the position information from the key ID table 304. Thereby, the soft key tapped by the user can be specified. For example, when the user taps inside the rectangle of (10, 10) (100, 200), the key ID is “Key — 3001”.

  The key ID transmission unit 303 transmits the key ID determined by the key ID determination unit 302 to the image forming apparatus 100. When communicating via Bluetooth (registered trademark), communication can be performed via a common profile if pairing is completed. Further, when communicating via a wireless LAN, communication is possible if the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100 is known. Since the application that operates on the mobile terminal 300 is created assuming the image forming apparatus 100, a profile and the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100 are registered in the application. If the IP address is known, the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 100 can be acquired by a protocol such as ARP (Address Resolution Protocol).

  In the case of a screen having a plurality of tabs, different soft keys are displayed at the same position on the display unit 105. Therefore, the key ID table 304 is prepared for each tab.

  On the image forming apparatus side, the job setting unit 126 has a conversion table so that the key input can be identified from the key ID. In the conversion table, “key ID” and “key input” are associated with each other. When the key ID is “Key_3001”, it is understood that “key input” is “resolution 100”.

  Since the screen of the portable terminal 300 and the job setting value of the image forming apparatus 100 do not always have to be synchronized, the key ID transmission unit 303 does not have to transmit the key ID for each soft key tap of the user. Good. In this case, the screen display unit 301 highlights the soft key according to the user's operation, and transmits the key ID to the image forming apparatus 100 periodically or at the timing when the user taps the “OK” button 506. . By doing so, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable with the response of the soft key.

[Operation procedure]
FIG. 11 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the mobile terminal performs setting for the application of the image forming apparatus. Description will be made assuming that the scanner screen of FIG. 9B has already been displayed.

  S1: A user (for example, user A) taps a soft key of the mobile terminal 300. Accordingly, the key ID determination unit 302 determines the key ID, and the key ID transmission unit 303 transmits a key press notification to the network adapter 11 with the user ID and the key ID as arguments. For example, the user ID: “userA” and the key ID: “key_3001” are transmitted, and the key input at this time is “original size B4”.

  S1.1: The network adapter 11 outputs a key press notification (user ID, key ID) to the network server.

  S1.1.1: The network server outputs a key press notification (user ID, key ID) to the network UI reception management unit 122.

  S2: The network UI reception management unit 122 outputs a key press notification (user ID, key ID) to the job setting unit 126.

  S3: The job setting unit 126 analyzes the key ID and identifies the key input. Further, the job setting unit 126 converts the key input into an MFP key ID which is a key ID format used in the image forming apparatus 100.

  S4: Also, the job setting unit 126 performs a collation process between the user ID and the job ID. That is, it is determined whether or not the user ID is registered in the user job verification table 129. If the user is not registered, the user ID is added to the user job verification table 129 and a non-overlapping job ID is generated. If registered, the job ID of the user job verification table 129 is acquired.

  S5: The job setting unit 126 outputs a job setting value notification to the job management unit 15 with the MFP key ID and job ID as arguments.

  S6: The job management unit 15 identifies the job management table 130 corresponding to the job ID, converts the MFP key ID into an attribute value, and sets the attribute value in the job management table 130. Since an initial value is set for each attribute, the initial value is updated with the attribute value.

  S7: Next, the job management unit 15 requests the image forming apparatus 100 to display a soft key. First, the job management unit 15 outputs a setting value state notification to the UI configuration state management unit 127 using the job ID and the MFP key state as arguments. The MFP key state is information in a format that specifies the display state of the soft key uniformly in the image forming apparatus.

  S8: The UI configuration state management unit 127 interprets the MFP key state and converts it into a key state that can be used by the portable terminal 300.

  S8.1: Also, the UI configuration state management unit 127 performs a collation process between the user ID and the job ID. The UI configuration state management unit 127 specifies the user ID associated with the job ID from the user job verification table 129. The user ID is specified in order to specify the mobile terminal 300 that transmits the key state.

  S9: The UI configuration state management unit 127 outputs a key state notification to the network transmission management unit 125 using the job ID and the key state as arguments.

  S10: The network transmission management unit 125 outputs a key status notification to the network server.

  S11: The network server outputs a key status notification to the network adapter 11.

  S11.1: The network adapter 11 transmits a key state notification to the portable terminal 300.

  With the above processing, when the user taps the soft key of the portable terminal 300, the key ID is notified to the image forming apparatus 100, and the job setting value is set. Further, since the image forming apparatus 100 transmits the key state to the mobile terminal 300, the mobile terminal 300 can reflect the key state on the display state of the soft key. Thereby, the user can operate the image forming apparatus 100 from the portable terminal 300.

[Setting up jobs from multiple mobile devices]
FIG. 12 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which a plurality of portable terminals make settings for an application of the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 12, functional blocks of the image forming apparatus 100 are described in a simplified manner. The overall flow is the same as in FIG. In FIG. 12, two mobile terminals 300 set a job, but three or more mobile terminals 300 can also set a job.

  S1: The mobile terminal 300 carried by the user A transmits a key press notification to the UI management unit 12 with the user ID (for example, the user A) and the key ID as arguments.

  S2: The UI management unit 12 interprets the key input from the key ID. The key input is converted into an MFP key ID (for example, document size B4).

  S3: The UI management unit 12 refers to the user job verification table 129 and performs a verification process between the user ID and the job ID. Thereby, for example, the job ID “3001” is specified.

  S4: The UI management unit 12 outputs a job setting value notification to the job management unit 15 with the job ID and MFP key ID as arguments.

  S5: The job management unit 15 converts the MFP key ID into an attribute value and sets it in the job management table 130. As a result, the attribute value “B4” is set to the attribute “original size” of the job management table 130 set by the user A.

  S6: The mobile terminal 300 carried by the user B transmits a key press notification to the UI management unit 12 with the user ID (for example, the user B) and the key ID as arguments.

  S7: The UI management unit 12 interprets the key input from the key ID. Key input is converted into an MFP key ID (for example, full color).

  S8: The UI management unit 12 refers to the user job collation table 129 and performs collation processing between the user ID and the job ID. Thereby, for example, the job ID “3002” is specified.

  S9: The UI management unit 12 outputs a job setting value notification to the job management unit 15 with the job ID and MFP key ID as arguments.

  S10: The job management unit 15 converts the MFP key ID into an attribute value and sets it in the job management table 130. Thus, the attribute value “full color” is set to the attribute “color” of the job management table 130 set by the user B.

  S11: The job management unit 15 outputs a setting value status notification with the job ID (for example, 3001) and the MFP key status as arguments. The MFP key status is “selected”, for example. The MFP key state of the attribute that has been selected by default is changed to the normal display state.

  S12: The UI management unit 12 interprets the MFP key state and converts it into a key state.

  S13: The UI management unit 12 refers to the user job collation table 129 and identifies the user ID (for example, user A) associated with the job ID.

  S14: The UI management unit 12 transmits a key state notification to the mobile terminal 300 of the user A using the user ID and the key state as arguments.

  S15: The job management unit 15 outputs a setting value status notification with the job ID (for example, 3002) and the MFP key status as arguments. The MFP key status is “selected”, for example. The MFP key state of the attribute that has been selected by default is changed to the normal display state.

  S16: The UI management unit 12 interprets the MFP key state and converts it into a key state.

  S17: The UI management unit 12 refers to the user job collation table 129 and identifies a user ID (for example, user B) associated with the job ID.

  S18: The UI management unit 12 transmits a key state notification to the mobile terminal 300 of the user B using the user ID and the key state as arguments.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 processes the key press notifications transmitted from the plurality of mobile terminals 300 in parallel (in a state where the processes from the key press notification to the key status notification overlap in time). it can.

[Operation procedure during job execution]
After setting the job, each user executes the job. In the case of a job (for example, a scanner job or a copy job) that requires the image forming apparatus 100 to be placed on a document, the user should be in the immediate vicinity of the image forming apparatus 100 (for example, within reach). In other words, when the user is not in the immediate vicinity of the image forming apparatus 100, the necessity for executing the job is low.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not the distance from the user (mobile terminal) is less than the threshold, and determines whether or not to allow the user to execute the job.

  FIG. 13 is an example of a diagram illustrating job execution determination by the image forming apparatus 100. The distance between the image forming apparatus 100 and the user A is less than 1 m, and the distance between the image forming apparatus 100 and the user B is 1 m or more. User A and user B carry the portable terminal 300, but user C communicates with the image forming apparatus 100 via the PC 200. The distance between the user C and the image forming apparatus 100 is 1 m or more.

  For example, the job management unit 15 determines whether or not to permit job execution based on whether or not the distance to the user who requested the job execution is less than a threshold. The threshold is 1 [m], for example, but may be set to 50 [cm] or 2 [m].

  In the example of FIG. 13, only the user A exists at a distance less than the threshold. Therefore, when the job management unit 15 receives a job execution request from the user A, the job management unit 15 executes the job. When a job execution request is received from users B and C, the job is not executed, for example, an error notification is returned.

  If there are a plurality of users at a distance less than the threshold, the image forming apparatus 100 permits the user with the smallest distance to execute the job.

  FIG. 14 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether a job can be executed.

  When the portable terminal 300 executes a job, the portable terminal 300 presses a soft key start key 505. The key ID of the start key 505 is notified to the image forming apparatus 100 as an argument of a key press notification. The job setting unit 126 converts the key ID of the start key 505 into an MFP key ID and notifies the job management unit 15 of it.

  The job management unit 15 interprets the MFP key ID and determines whether the start key 505 has been pressed (S10).

  If the start key 505 has not been pressed (No in S10), it is determined that the job setting key is pressed. The job management unit or the like sets job setting information according to the procedure described with reference to FIG. 11 (S20).

  When the start key 505 is pressed (Yes in S10), the job management unit 15 compares the distance from the mobile terminal 300 detected by the distance detection unit 14 with a threshold (S30).

  If the distance is less than the threshold value (Yes in S30), the job management unit 15 identifies a job based on the job ID and performs job start processing (S50).

  If the distance is not less than the threshold (No in S30), the job management unit 15 notifies the user of an error (S40).

  Note that when the user is executing a job from the operation panel 13, the image forming apparatus 100 cannot execute the job requested to be executed by the mobile terminal 300 (the user operating the operation panel 13 and the mobile terminal 300 are operated. The same user may be the same person). In this case, the job management unit 15 registers that the job is being reserved in the job management table 130, holds the execution, and the job requested to be executed by the mobile terminal 300 upon completion of the job executed from the operation panel 13. Start running.

  FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating an example of the job management table 130 indicating that the job with the job ID 3001 is being reserved. When the job executed from the operation panel 13 is completed, the job management unit 15 refers to the job management table 130 to search for a reserved job, and starts execution if there is a reserved job. Since a plurality of jobs may be reserved, it is effective for the job management unit 15 to record the reserved time. The job management unit 15 executes the job first from the job with the oldest reserved time.

  When the job management unit 15 registers that the job is being reserved in the job management table 130, the job management unit 15 notifies the portable terminal 300 that has requested execution of the job of the reservation.

  FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on the mobile terminal 300. The display unit 105 of the portable terminal 300 displays “Job reserved because MFP is in use”. Thereby, the user of the portable terminal 300 can grasp the reason why the job is not executed.

  It is also effective for the job management unit 15 that determines that the start key has been pressed to notify the portable terminal 300 of the document reading time. Since the reading time varies depending on the number of pages of the document, a guide for the reading time per page is notified. Attributes affecting the reading time include “color”, “original surface”, “original size”, “resolution”, and the like. The job management unit 15 weights them, calculates a guideline for reading time per page, and notifies the mobile terminal 300 of it.

  FIG. 15C is a diagram illustrating an example of the reading time displayed on the mobile terminal 300. On the display unit 105 of the mobile terminal 300, “Reading time is about 0.5 seconds per page” is displayed. Since the user of the portable terminal 300 knows at least almost the number of pages of the document, the reading time can be predicted by multiplying the reading time per page by the number of pages. Since some ADFs can detect the document stacking amount, in this case, a value obtained by multiplying the reading time per page by the document stacking amount is transmitted to the portable terminal 300 as the reading time.

  As described above, since the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can accept job settings from the mobile terminal 300 operated by the user, it is possible to reduce the time for which one user occupies the image forming apparatus 100. In addition, since job settings can be received from a plurality of portable terminals 300 in parallel, it is possible to reduce the situation in which one user waits until the other user finishes setting.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Network adapter 12 UI management part 13 Operation panel 14 Distance detection part 15 Job management part 100 Image forming apparatus 121 Network server 122 Network UI reception management part 123 Operation panel input management part 124 Operation panel driver 125 Network transmission management part 126 Job setting part 127 UI configuration state management unit 128 Operation panel display management unit 129 User job collation table 130 Job management table 200 PC
300 Mobile terminal

JP 2006-238199 A

Claims (9)

An image processing apparatus that executes a set job,
A communication means for receiving a setting of a job using a document wirelessly from a portable terminal;
A first table in which unique job identification information and portable terminal identification information of the portable terminal are associated with the job;
A second table in which job setting information is recorded for each job identification information;
When the communication means receives key identification information of a key pressed on the portable terminal, the job identification information associated with the portable terminal identification information of the portable terminal that has transmitted the key identification information is Job setting means to read from the table,
Key correspondence processing means for updating the setting information of the job identification information read by the job setting means based on the key identification information;
An image processing apparatus comprising: A distance estimating means for estimating a distance from the mobile terminal;
When the key identification information received by the communication means instructs to start execution of the job using a document,
The key correspondence processing means starts execution of the job only when the distance is less than a threshold value.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. When there are a plurality of the mobile terminals below the threshold,
The key correspondence processing means starts executing the job of the mobile terminal with the shortest distance among the mobile terminals with the distance less than the threshold.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2. When the key identification information received by the communication means instructs the execution of the job, but the distance is not less than a threshold, the key correspondence processing means notifies the mobile terminal that the distance is not less than the threshold. To
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus. When the communication means receives the key identification information instructing the start of execution of the job, when executing the job received from the operation panel provided in the image forming apparatus,
The key correspondence processing means suspends job execution of the mobile terminal that has transmitted the key identification information instructing start of execution of the job, and executes the job execution received from the operation panel,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. When the key handling processing unit suspends job execution of the job, it notifies the portable terminal that has transmitted the key identification information instructing start of execution of the job that job execution has been suspended,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 5. The key correspondence processing means estimates the execution time of the job based on the setting information, and notifies the mobile terminal that has transmitted the key identification information instructing start of execution of the job.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. A first table in which unique job identification information and portable terminal identification information of a portable terminal are linked to a job;
A second table in which setting information of a job using a document for each job identification information is recorded, and a job setting method of an image processing apparatus that executes a set job,
A step of receiving a setting of the job wirelessly from a mobile terminal;
When the communication means receives key identification information of a key pressed on the portable terminal, the job identification information associated with the portable terminal identification information of the portable terminal that has transmitted the key identification information is set as a job setting. Reading means from said first table;
A key correspondence processing unit updating the setting information of the job identification information read by the job setting unit based on the key identification information;
A job setting method characterized by comprising: A first table in which unique job identification information and portable terminal identification information of a portable terminal are linked to a job;
A second table in which setting information of a job that uses a document for each job identification information is recorded, and an image processing apparatus that executes the set job,
A communication step of receiving job settings wirelessly from a mobile terminal using a communication means;
When the communication means receives key identification information of a key pressed on the portable terminal, the job identification information associated with the portable terminal identification information of the portable terminal that has transmitted the key identification information is A job setting step to read from one table;
A key corresponding processing step of updating the setting information of the job identification information read in the job setting step based on the key identification information;
A program that executes