JP2015118519A - Error release support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assist a user to release an error of an apparatus by oneself.SOLUTION: An error release support device 2 comprises: an imaging device 21 for imaging an error screen displayed on a display device 473 of an apparatus 1 which is a support object for error release; a display device 22 for displaying a guidance screen showing an error release method of the apparatus 1; a communication device 23 for communicating with a maintenance system 4 of the apparatus 1; and a control unit 26 for reading an error code 474 in image data imaged by the imaging device 21 to identify an error occurring on the apparatus 1 and, notifying the maintenance system 4 of a repair request through the communication device 23 when the error is a system error requiring the repair request, and displaying a guidance screen showing a release method for the error on the display device 22 when the error is not a system error.

Description

  The present invention relates to an error cancellation support apparatus that supports cancellation of an error that has occurred in a device, and more particularly to an error cancellation support apparatus that is suitable for canceling an error that has occurred in an image forming apparatus.

  If an error occurs during operation of an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral, an error screen is displayed on the display device and the user is notified. There are various types of errors. For example, when a JAM error (paper jam in the MFP main body) occurs, guidance for the error canceling method (for example, a paper jam clearing method) is displayed. However, depending on the error, the content may be displayed in a word of about one line and the guidance may not be displayed, which impairs user convenience. If a fatal system error occurs, it is necessary to contact the support desk to request repairs. The user needs to grasp an appropriate coping method according to the error content.

  Conventionally, a computer support system using a camera-equipped mobile phone has been known, such as when a computer problem occurs, the camera screen with a camera is used to take a picture of the computer screen and send it to a supporter, and receive support instructions from the supporter. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2003-319088 A

  However, in the case of the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user determines whether the error can be solved by himself or should receive specialized support, and when specialized support is required, the user can take a picture of the above personal computer screen. In addition, since the transmission must be performed, the work burden on the user is large. Further, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires a staffing role as a supporter. However, supporters are not always available and there is no guarantee that support will be available at any time. In addition, the service cost due to the staffing is high.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and reduces the burden on the user required to cancel the error. If the user can cancel the device error by himself, the user can cancel the error himself. The purpose is to support

An error cancellation support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an imaging device capable of capturing an error screen displayed on a display device of a device to be an error cancellation support target,
A display device for displaying a guidance screen indicating an error canceling method of the device;
A communication device that communicates with the maintenance system of the equipment;
An error code in the image data captured by the imaging device is read to identify an error that has occurred in the device. If the error is a system error that requires a repair request, the error is detected via the communication device. A control unit that notifies the maintenance system of a repair request, and when the error is other than a system error, displays a guidance screen on the display device indicating a method for canceling the error;
Correspondence between the error of the device and an error type indicating whether or not the error is the system error, correspondence between the error of the device and a page related to error cancellation in the operation manual of the device, and the operation A storage unit for storing a manual,
The control unit refers to error type information indicating a correspondence relationship between the error of the device and the error type, and determines that the error of the device is other than a system error, the error of the device and the device The corresponding page in the operation manual is displayed on the display device as the guidance screen with reference to related page information representing the correspondence relationship with the page related to error cancellation in the operation manual.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user required for error cancellation and to assist the user himself / herself to cancel the error when the user can cancel the error of the device by himself / herself.

1 is an overall view of a system including an error cancellation support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and an image forming apparatus that is a target device thereof. It is a functional block diagram which shows roughly the main internal structures of an image forming apparatus. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error screen of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows roughly the main internal structures of an error cancellation assistance apparatus. It is a flowchart of an error cancellation support process by the error cancellation support device.

  Hereinafter, an error cancellation support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of an error cancellation support system including an error cancellation support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and an image forming apparatus that is a target device thereof.

  The error cancellation support system 10 includes an image forming apparatus 1, an error cancellation support apparatus 2, and a maintenance system 4.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. An operation unit 47 is disposed on the front surface of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 47 receives instructions such as an image forming operation execution instruction and a document reading operation execution instruction from the operator regarding various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 47 includes a display device 473 that displays an operation guide for an operator, an error screen, and the like.

  The error cancellation support apparatus 2 is, for example, a camera-equipped mobile phone or a smartphone. When an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 1, the user uses the error cancellation support apparatus 2 to photograph the error screen displayed on the display device 473. The error cancellation support device 2 can be connected to a public network such as 3G or LTE, or a communication network 3 such as the Internet, and the maintenance connected to the communication network 3 according to the type of error of the image forming apparatus 1. A maintenance call is sent to the system 4.

  The maintenance system 4 is, for example, a server installed in a maintenance company for the image forming apparatus 1. When receiving the maintenance call, the maintenance system 4 detects that a failure (error) requiring repair has occurred in the maintenance target device (the image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment). As a result, maintenance personnel are dispatched from the maintenance company, and the image forming apparatus 1 is repaired.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10. The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM, a ROM, a dedicated hardware circuit, and the like, and controls overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image reading unit 5 includes a reading mechanism having a light irradiation unit, a CCD sensor, and the like under the control of the control unit 10. The image reading unit 5 irradiates the document with the light irradiating unit and receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor, thereby reading the image from the document.

  The image processing unit 31 performs image processing on the image data of the image read by the image reading unit 5 as necessary. For example, the image processing unit 31 performs predetermined image processing such as shading correction in order to improve the quality after the image read by the image reading unit 5 is formed by the image forming unit 12.

  The image memory 32 is an area for temporarily storing document image data obtained by reading by the image reading unit 5 and temporarily storing data to be printed by the image forming unit 12.

  The image forming unit 12 performs image formation such as print data read by the image reading unit 5 and print data received from the computer 200 connected to the network.

  The operation unit 47 receives instructions from the operator regarding various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 47 includes a touch panel display device 473 made of a liquid crystal display.

  The display device 473 displays various displays such as an operation screen, a preview screen, and a print job status confirmation screen when the image forming apparatus 1 is in the normal operation mode. The display device 473 displays an error screen when an error such as a paper jam or out of toner occurs in the image forming apparatus 1.

  The facsimile communication unit 71 includes an unillustrated encoding / decoding unit, modulation / demodulation unit, and NCU (Network Control Unit), and performs facsimile transmission using a public telephone network.

  The network interface unit 91 includes a communication module such as a LAN board, and transmits / receives various data to / from the computer 200 in the local area via a LAN connected to the network interface unit 91.

  The HDD 92 is a large-capacity storage device that stores document images and the like read by the image reading unit 5.

  The drive motor 70 is a drive source that applies a rotational drive force to each rotary member of the image forming unit 12.

  The control unit 100 includes an image reading unit 5, a document feeding unit 6, an image processing unit 31, an image memory 32, an image forming unit 12, an operation unit 47, a facsimile communication unit 71, a network interface unit 91, and an HDD (hard disk drive) 92. Etc., and drive control of these parts is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error screen of the image forming apparatus 1. The error screen is an example of an error screen that the control unit 100 displays on the display device 473 when a paper jam occurs in the image forming apparatus 1. The error screen includes an error code 474 representing the error along with the content of the error. As the error code 474, for example, a matrix type two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) can be used. As a result, as will be described later, the error cancellation support apparatus 2 can easily read the error code 474 in the image data obtained by photographing the error screen, and can embed a lot of information in the error code 474.

  The error code 474 can be embedded with various types of information for supporting error cancellation such as error contents such as a paper jam or out of toner, and corresponding page information of an operation manual related to error cancellation. Further, the device ID and model information may be embedded in the error code 474.

  Next, the configuration of the error cancellation support apparatus 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the main internal configuration of the error cancellation support apparatus 2.

  The error cancellation support apparatus 2 includes an imaging device 21, a display device 22, a communication device 23, a position detection unit 24, a control unit 25, and a storage unit 26.

  The imaging device 21 is a device composed of an optical system and semiconductor elements such as CMOS and CCD. The imaging device 21 converts the optical image of the subject into an electrical signal and generates image data.

  The display device 22 is a display device having a screen size of several inches, and is made of a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, or the like. A touch sensor is arranged on the surface of the display device 22, and the user can touch the screen displayed on the display device 22 to perform various operations. Further, the display device 22 displays a guidance screen indicating an error canceling method of the image forming apparatus 1 under the control of the control unit 26.

  The communication device 23 is an interface connected to a public network such as 3G or LTE or a communication network 3 such as the Internet. The error cancellation support device 2 can communicate with the maintenance system 4 via the communication device 23 and the communication network 3 to send a maintenance call to the maintenance system 4.

  The position detection unit 24 is a device for detecting the current position of the error cancellation support device 2, and for example, a GPS system is employed.

  The storage unit 25 is a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory. The storage unit 25 stores an operation manual 251 of the image forming apparatus 1, error type information 252, and related page information 253.

  The error type information 252 is information representing the correspondence between the error of the image forming apparatus 1 and the error type. The error types include normal errors (errors that are not system errors) that can be resolved by the user, such as paper jams or out of toner, and system errors that require repair by maintenance personnel, such as fixing unit replacement.

  The related page information 253 is information indicating a correspondence relationship between an error of the image forming apparatus 1 and a page (page number) related to error cancellation in the operation manual 251.

  The device installation information 254 is information representing a correspondence relationship between the model (serial number or the like) of the image forming apparatus 1 and the installation position of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The control unit 26 performs overall operation control of the error cancellation support apparatus 2. The control unit 26 is connected to the imaging device 21, the display device 22, the communication device 23, the position detection unit 24, and the like and controls them. The control unit 26 is constituted by a CPU, for example, and reads out a program stored in the storage unit 25 and executes various controls.

  Next, the operation by the error cancellation support apparatus 2 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the error cancellation support process of the image forming apparatus 1 by the error cancellation support apparatus 2.

  First, the imaging device 21 of the error cancellation support apparatus 2 captures an error screen displayed on the display device 473 of the image forming apparatus 1 in which an error has occurred (S1). The control unit 26 of the error cancellation support apparatus 2 reads the error code 474 in the image data captured by the imaging device 21 and identifies an error occurring in the image forming apparatus 1 based on the error code 474 ( S2). If a QR code (registered trademark) is used as the error code 474, the control unit 26 can easily recognize the error code 474.

  The control unit 26 refers to the error type information 252 stored in the storage unit 25 and determines whether the error occurring in the image forming apparatus 1 is a normal error or a system error (S3). If the error occurring in the image forming apparatus 1 is a normal error (NO in S4), the control unit 26 displays the corresponding page in the operation manual 151 on the display device 22 with reference to the related page information 253. (S5). As a result, a guidance screen indicating the error canceling method of the image forming apparatus 1 is displayed on the display device 22, so that the user can cancel the error according to the guidance.

  In step S5, the control unit 26 may also display the contact information for the support desk. In the case of an error such as out of toner, the control unit 26 may display a toner purchase screen on the display device 22. Thereby, the convenience of the user can be improved.

  On the other hand, if the error occurring in the image forming apparatus 1 is a system error (YES in S4), the control unit 26 notifies the maintenance system 4 of a repair request via the communication device 23, that is, issues a maintenance call. Make a call (S6).

  If the image forming apparatus 1 can communicate with the maintenance system 4 via the communication network 3, the system log may be transmitted to the maintenance system 4 in step S6.

  If there are a plurality of target devices and the model information of the image forming apparatus 1 is not embedded in the error code 474, it is not known in step S5 which model operation manual 251 should display the corresponding page. Therefore, when there are a plurality of target devices, the position detection unit 24 detects the position when the error screen of the image forming apparatus 1 is captured by the imaging device 21, and the control unit 26 refers to the device installation information 254. Then, the model of the target device may be specified, and the corresponding page in the operation manual 251 for that model may be displayed on the display device 22.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to assist the user so that the error of the device can be canceled by himself. Further, when repair is necessary, it is possible to notify the maintenance system 4 of a repair request without requiring the user to determine whether the error requires a repair request or an error that can be resolved by himself. In this way, by eliminating the need for the above determination, it is possible to reduce the user's work burden required when canceling the error.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the operation manual 251, error type information 252, related page information 253, and device installation information 254 may be arranged in the maintenance system 4 instead of the storage unit 25 of the error cancellation support apparatus 2. Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, a multifunction device is used as an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. However, this is only an example, and other electronic devices such as a printer and a copier are used. Other image forming apparatuses such as a facsimile machine may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the structure and process which were shown by the said embodiment using FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 5 are only one Embodiment of this invention, and are not the meaning which limits this invention to the said structure and process.

1 Image forming device (device targeted for error cancellation support)
473 Display device (device display device)
474 Error code 2 Error cancellation support device 21 Imaging device 22 Display device 23 Communication device 24 Position detection unit 26 Control unit 251 Operation manual 252 Error type information 253 Related page information 254 Equipment installation information 4 Maintenance system

Claims (3)

An imaging device capable of photographing the error screen displayed on the display device of the device targeted for error cancellation;
A display device for displaying a guidance screen indicating an error canceling method of the device;
A communication device that communicates with the maintenance system of the equipment;
An error code in the image data captured by the imaging device is read to identify an error that has occurred in the device. If the error is a system error that requires a repair request, the error is detected via the communication device. A control unit that notifies the maintenance system of a repair request, and when the error is other than a system error, displays a guidance screen on the display device indicating a method for canceling the error;
Correspondence between the error of the device and an error type indicating whether or not the error is the system error, correspondence between the error of the device and a page related to error cancellation in the operation manual of the device, and the operation A storage unit for storing a manual,
The control unit refers to error type information indicating a correspondence relationship between the error of the device and the error type, and determines that the error of the device is other than a system error, the error of the device and the device An error cancellation support apparatus that displays the corresponding page in the operation manual as the guidance screen on the display device with reference to related page information representing the correspondence relationship with the page related to error cancellation in the operation manual. A position detection unit that detects a position when the error screen is captured by the imaging device;
The storage unit further stores device installation information representing a correspondence relationship between a device model and an installation position,
The control unit refers to device installation information representing a correspondence relationship between the model of the device and the installation position, identifies the model of the device installed at the position detected by the position detection unit, and identifies the identified model The error cancellation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a corresponding page in the operation manual is displayed on the display device.   The error cancellation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is capable of specifying the error by reading a matrix type two-dimensional code as the error code.

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