JP2017065013A - Information processing system, electronic apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing system capable of easily setting information necessary to execute a job.SOLUTION: An information processing system in which an electronic apparatus is connected to an information processing apparatus via a network, and can address the problem by comprising: means that identifies a setting information file acquisition destination of acquiring a file of setting information necessary to execute a job in the electronic apparatus from information representing a hierarchical relation of files stored in a servicing system; means that acquires the setting information from the setting information file acquisition destination; means that displays a screen for causing a user to select setting information on the electronic apparatus; means that stores storage destination information for accessing the setting information used to display the screen; means that reflects a content of the setting information selected by the user on the screen in a content of the job executed in the electronic apparatus; and means that receives from the user a request to transmit the storage destination information for accessing the setting information on the screen and transmits the storage destination information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system, an electronic device, and a program.

  In recent years, in an image forming apparatus that executes a job, use of a service such as an online storage service provided via a network such as the Internet is becoming widespread. By using such a service, an image forming apparatus that executes a job realizes a service such as a cloud scan service or a cloud print service.

  For example, in order to link a device such as an image forming apparatus and a service provided via a network, an information processing system that allows an administrator to set a profile and execute the link with the service based on the profile has been known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  For example, in an electronic apparatus such as an image forming apparatus that provides services such as a cloud scan service and a cloud print service, it is necessary to set information (job setting, destination setting, etc.) necessary for executing a job for providing the service. . Conventionally, setting of information necessary for job execution has often been performed by different UIs for each service in an electronic device. Therefore, there is a problem in that a user who sets information necessary for job execution has to learn how to use a different UI for each service and set it in an electronic device.

  An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an information processing system capable of easily setting information necessary for job execution.

  In order to achieve the above object, claim 1 of the present application is an information processing system in which an electronic device and one or more information processing apparatuses are connected via a network, and a service providing system for providing a file storage service Means for identifying the acquisition destination of a file of setting information necessary for job execution in the electronic device from information representing the hierarchical relationship of files stored in the file, and setting information required for job execution in the electronic device A setting acquisition unit that acquires the setting information from a file acquisition source, an operation unit that displays a screen for allowing the user to select the setting information on the electronic device, and the setting information used to display the screen. Storage location information storage means for storing the storage location information, and the contents of the setting information selected by the user from the screen, Setting reflection means for reflecting the contents of a job executed in the child device, and storage location information for receiving a transmission request for storage location information for accessing the setting information from the screen and accessing the setting information Storage location information transmitting means for transmitting the data.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, information necessary for job execution can be easily set.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart of an example of the information processing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of the directory structure in an external service provision system. It is a block diagram of an example of the sheet | seat for application list setting. It is a block diagram of an example of the sheet | seat for application settings. It is the schematic of an example of a profile list acquisition process. It is the schematic of a directory information acquisition process. It is the schematic of a profile information acquisition process. It is the schematic of an example of an application list acquisition process. It is the schematic of an example of an application screen acquisition process. It is a sequence diagram of an example of authentication information acquisition processing. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a profile list acquisition process. It is a sequence diagram of an example of an application list acquisition process. It is a sequence diagram of an example of an application screen acquisition process. It is a block diagram of an example of the location information which an external service location storage part memorize | stores. It is the flowchart showing an example of the edit process of the application list setting sheet and the application setting sheet. It is an image figure of an example of a transmission destination mail address input dialog. It is a sequence diagram showing an example of the edit process of the application list setting sheet and the application setting sheet. It is a block diagram of an example of the location information utilized from a terminal device. It is an image figure of an example of the edit process using location information.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. In the information processing system 1, a user environment 10, a Web service providing environment 20, and an external service providing system 30 are connected via a network N2 such as the Internet.

  The user environment 10 is a system of an organization such as a user company of the image forming apparatus 12, and one or more image forming apparatuses 12 and a terminal device 14 are connected via a network N1 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). ing.

  The image forming apparatus 12 is an example of an electronic device. The electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment includes various electronic apparatuses that execute jobs according to job settings, in addition to image processing apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals, scanners, printers, facsimiles, projectors, and electronic blackboards. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 performs image forming processing such as scanning, printing (output), and FAX.

  The terminal device 14 is a device operated by an administrator or user of the image forming apparatus 12 in the user environment 10. The terminal device 14 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or the like.

  The Web service providing environment 20 is a system of an organization such as a service company that provides a Web service such as a cloud scan service or a cloud print service via the network N2, and includes a Web service providing device 22. The first embodiment will be described using a Web service as an example, but can be applied to a service provided via the network N2, such as a service provided by an ASP (Application Service Provider) or a cloud service.

  The Web service providing apparatus 22 provides Web services such as a cloud scan service and a cloud print service to the image forming apparatus 12 via the network N2. For example, the cloud scan service is a service that stores image data scanned by the image forming apparatus 12 in the user environment 10 in a preset storage location (storage area) such as an online storage service provided by the external service providing system 30. The cloud print service is a service for printing print data stored in a preset storage destination such as an online storage service provided by the external service providing system 30 in the image forming apparatus 12 of the user environment 10.

  The external service providing system 30 is a system that provides a service such as an online storage service via the network N2. In the first embodiment, a service such as a cloud service provided by the external service providing system 30 is referred to as an external service in order to distinguish it from a Web service provided by the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  The network N1 of the information processing system 1 in FIG. 1 may be a wired communication network or a wireless communication network. Further, the information processing system 1 in FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration. For example, the Web service providing apparatus 22 of the Web service providing environment 20 may be configured to be distributed among a plurality of computers. Further, in the information processing system 1 of FIG. 1, the terminal device 14 is connected to the network N1 of the user environment 10, but may be connected to a network N2 such as the Internet.

<Hardware configuration>
"Computer"
The terminal device 14, the Web service providing device 22, and the external service providing system 30 are realized by, for example, a computer having a hardware configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer according to the first embodiment.

  A computer 500 in FIG. 2 includes an input device 501, a display device 502, an external I / F 503, a RAM 504, a ROM 505, a CPU 506, a communication I / F 507, an HDD 508, and the like. Note that the input device 501 and the display device 502 may be connected and used when necessary.

  The input device 501 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and is used by a user to input each operation signal. The display device 502 includes a display and the like, and displays a processing result by the computer 500.

  A communication I / F 507 is an interface for connecting the computer 500 to various networks. Thereby, the computer 500 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 507.

  The HDD 508 is an example of a nonvolatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS, which is basic software for controlling the entire computer 500, and application software (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) that provides various functions on the OS. The computer 500 may use a drive device (for example, a solid state drive: SSD) that uses a flash memory as a storage medium instead of the HDD 508.

  The external I / F 503 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 503a. Accordingly, the computer 500 can read and / or write the recording medium 503a via the external I / F 503. Examples of the recording medium 503a include a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The ROM 505 is an example of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 505 stores programs and data such as BIOS, OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the computer 500 is started up. The RAM 504 is an example of a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 506 is an arithmetic device that realizes control and functions of the entire computer 500 by reading a program and data from a storage device such as the ROM 505 and the HDD 508 onto the RAM 504 and executing processing.

  For example, the terminal device 14, the Web service providing device 22, and the external service providing system 30 can realize various processes as will be described later with the hardware configuration of the computer 500 shown in FIG.

<Image forming apparatus>
The image forming apparatus 12 in FIG. 1 is realized by a computer having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 12 in FIG. 3 includes a controller 601, an operation panel 602, an external I / F 603, a communication I / F 604, a printer 605, a scanner 606, and the like.

  The controller 601 includes a CPU 611, a RAM 612, a ROM 613, an NVRAM 614, an HDD 615, and the like. The ROM 613 stores various programs and data. The RAM 612 temporarily stores programs and data. The NVRAM 614 stores setting information, for example. The HDD 615 stores various programs and data.

  The CPU 611 implements control and functions of the entire image forming apparatus 12 by reading programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 613, the NVRAM 614, the HDD 615, and the like onto the RAM 612 and executing the processing.

  The operation panel 602 includes an input unit that receives input from the user and a display unit that performs display. An external I / F 603 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 603a. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 12 can read and / or write the recording medium 603a via the external I / F 603. Examples of the recording medium 603a include an IC card, a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The communication I / F 604 is an interface for connecting the image forming apparatus 12 to the network N1. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 12 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 604. A printer 605 is a printing device for printing print data on a transported object. For example, the object to be conveyed is not limited to paper such as paper, coated paper, cardboard, OHP, plastic film, prepreg, and copper foil. A scanner 606 is a reading device for reading image data (electronic data) from a document.

<Software configuration>
The image forming apparatus 12, the terminal apparatus 14, the Web service providing apparatus 22, and the external service providing system 30 according to the first embodiment are realized by, for example, processing blocks illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 12 of FIG. 4 included in the information processing system 1 has image processing functions such as scanning, printing, copying, and FAX, and other embedded applications. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 has a browser as an embedded application.

  By executing the program, the image forming apparatus 12 operates the operation unit 50, the setting drawing unit 52, the setting reflection unit 54, the job execution unit 56, the external service location conversion unit 57, the external service location storage unit 58, and the external service location transmission unit. 59 is realized.

  4 implements a Web page management unit 60, an authentication information acquisition unit 62, a setting acquisition unit 64, and a profile information acquisition unit 66 by executing a program. Also, the external service providing system 30 of FIG. 4 implements an authentication management unit 70, a sheet management unit 78, and an external service location management unit 80 by executing a program. The external service providing system 30 stores directory information 72, an application list setting sheet 74, and an application setting sheet 76, which will be described later. Further, the terminal device 14 of FIG. 4 realizes an operation unit 90, a sheet editing unit 92, and an external service location receiving unit 94 by executing a program.

  The operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 receives various instructions through user operations. The operation unit 50 acquires various screen data from the Web service providing apparatus 22 and displays the screen. The setting drawing unit 52 performs drawing on various screens for allowing the user to select a setting. The setting reflection unit 54 reflects the job setting on the job execution parameter. The job execution unit 56 executes the job based on the job execution parameters reflecting the job settings.

  The external service location conversion unit 57 converts the location information of the external service as described later. The external service location storage unit 58 stores external service location information. The external service location transmission unit 59 transmits the location information of the external service to the terminal device 14.

  The web page management unit 60 of the web service providing apparatus 22 provides various screen data to the image forming apparatus 12. The authentication information acquisition unit 62 acquires authentication information from the external service providing system 30. The setting acquisition unit 64 acquires directory information 72, an application list setting sheet 74, and an application setting sheet 76, which will be described later, from the external service providing system 30. The profile information acquisition unit 66 acquires profile information described later from the directory information 72.

  Further, the authentication management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 manages the authentication process using the user information, and returns authentication information when the authentication using the user information is successful. The sheet management unit 78 receives a request for changing the application list setting sheet 74 or the application setting sheet 76 and changes the application list setting sheet 74 or the application setting sheet 76. The sheet management unit 78 provides the directory information 72, the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 to the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  If the location information for acquiring the application list setting sheet 74 or the application setting sheet 76 is different from the location information for editing, the external service location management unit 80 converts the mutual location information as necessary. To do. Therefore, when the location information for acquiring the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 is the same as the location information for editing, the external service location management unit 80 can be omitted.

  In addition, the operation unit 90 of the terminal device 14 receives various instructions through user operations. The sheet editing unit 92 has a function of editing the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 stored in the external service providing system 30. The external service location receiving unit 94 receives location information of the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 stored in the external service providing system 30 from the image forming apparatus 12. For example, when the location information of the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 is received from the image forming apparatus 12 by e-mail, the external service location receiving unit 94 is e-mail software that receives e-mail.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the information processing system 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment is demonstrated.

<Operation flow>
For example, the user operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. 5 to execute the job. FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of an example of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. The application of the image forming apparatus 12 activated by the user displays an authentication screen 1000. Note that the authentication screen 1000 is not displayed when the directory information 72 used by the activated application, the application list setting sheet 74, and the application setting sheet 76 are set so as to be accessed without authentication.

  The user makes a login request by entering a user name and password, which are examples of user information, on the authentication screen 1000. The user name and password used here may be those of the user who operates the image forming apparatus 12, or may be shared and used by the users who operate the image forming apparatus 12. The user information input on the authentication screen 1000 may include information used for authentication other than the user name and password, such as an email address.

  If the authentication is successful, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires profile list information from the Web service providing apparatus 22 using the authentication information, and displays a profile list screen 1010. Here, the profile is a group of a plurality of application settings. For example, the profile list screen 1010 displays a list of profile names such as “profile 1”, “profile 2”, or “profile 3”.

  The profile list displayed on the profile list screen 1010 is defined by the user based on the directory structure of the external service providing system 30. The profile list information includes a profile name and application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name.

  When the user selects one profile name from the profile list screen 1010, the image forming apparatus 12 specifies the application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name selected by the user, and acquires the application list setting sheet 74. Then, the image forming apparatus 12 displays an application list screen 1020. The application list displayed on the application list screen 1020 is defined by the user using the application list setting sheet 74.

  When the user selects one application name from the application list screen 1020, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the application setting sheet 76 corresponding to the application name selected by the user, and displays the application screen 1040. Note that the job setting name such as an estimate, order or contract displayed on the application screen 1040 is defined by the user using the application setting sheet 76.

  When the user selects one job setting name from the application screen 1040, the image forming apparatus 12 reads job setting information corresponding to the job setting name selected by the user from the application setting sheet 76, and executes the job according to the job setting information. To do. As described above, the user can execute a job based on the job setting information selected from the application screen 1040. The application screen 1040 is provided with a “send setting information” button 1041. The user can transmit location information to the terminal device 14 as described later by pressing a “send setting information” button 1041.

  Note that the operation flow shown in FIG. 5 does not need to be performed from the beginning each time. For example, the authentication information 1000 and the profile list screen 1010 can be stored in the image forming apparatus 12 by storing the authentication information and the profile name selection result. The display may be omitted. In this case, when the application is started by the user, the image forming apparatus 12 omits the display of the authentication screen 1000 and the profile list screen 1010 and displays it from the application list screen 1020.

<< Directory structure in external service providing system >>
The external storage provided by the external service providing system 30 has, for example, a directory structure shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a directory structure in the external service providing system.

  The directory structure of FIG. 6 includes an application folder “application folder” having a designated name immediately below the root of the external storage provided by the external service providing system 30. Further, in the directory structure of FIG. 6, when a spreadsheet with a specified name “spread for application list” exists in a folder with an arbitrary name in an application folder, the folder with the arbitrary name is the profile name. It becomes a folder. The folder name of a folder with an arbitrary name becomes the profile name.

  Accordingly, in FIG. 6, the folders with the names “profile 1”, “profile 2”, and “profile 3” in which the “application list spreadsheet” exists are profiles. The profile folder names “profile 1”, “profile 2”, and “profile 3” are the profile labels (profile names) displayed on the profile list screen 1010.

  Further, by using the directory structure as shown in FIG. 6, the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment can control the disclosure range of folders and spreadsheets, and can easily limit the use of profiles and application settings. .

《Application list setting sheet》
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an example of an application list setting sheet. For example, an application list spreadsheet, which is an example of the application list setting sheet 74 of FIG. In the application list spreadsheet in FIG. 7, the value of the label column is the label (application name) of the application list displayed on the application list screen 1020. The application URL indicates the URL of the application setting sheet 76 corresponding to the application name.

《Application setting sheet》
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an example of an application setting sheet. The application setting spreadsheet, which is an example of the application setting sheet 76 in FIG. 8, has a job setting of one job per line. In the application setting spreadsheet of FIG. 8, the value of the label column is the job setting label (job setting name) displayed on the application screen 1040.

  The application setting spreadsheet in FIG. 8 represents job setting information of a scan-to-upload service (cloud scan service) that stores scanned image data in a preset storage location as an example. The application setting spreadsheet shown in FIG. 8 represents a label, format, reading color, resolution, OCR, and storage destination as items of job setting information.

  The format, reading color, and resolution are examples of settings necessary for the image forming apparatus 12 to perform scanning. OCR is a setting for whether or not to perform OCR (optical character reading) processing on image data read from a document. The storage destination is a setting of the storage destination of the image data read from the document. As described above, the application setting spreadsheet includes settings specific to the application.

<< Summary of profile list acquisition process >>
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 displays the profile list screen 1010 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a profile list acquisition process. First, the user operates the image forming apparatus 12 to start an application.

  In step S <b> 11, the image forming apparatus 12 makes a profile list screen acquisition request to the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S 12, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires screen data of the profile list screen 1010 a from the Web service providing apparatus 22. The image forming apparatus 12 that has acquired the screen data of the profile list screen 1010a displays the profile list screen 1010a.

  In step S13, the image forming apparatus 12 designates authentication information and makes a profile list information acquisition request to the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S 14, the Web service providing apparatus 22 designates authentication information and makes a directory information acquisition request to the external service providing system 30. In step S 15, the external service providing system 30 transmits directory information to the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  The directory information acquisition process shown in steps S14 and S15 is performed as shown in FIG. 10, for example. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of directory information acquisition processing.

  In step S14, the Web service providing apparatus 22 makes a directory information acquisition request for the hierarchy necessary for profile determination. For example, in the case of the directory structure of FIG. 6, a directory information acquisition request for three layers is made. In step S <b> 15, the Web service providing apparatus 22 acquires directory information for the hierarchy necessary for profile determination from the external service providing system 30.

  Depending on the external service providing system 30, directory information of a plurality of layers may not be acquired at once. In this case, the Web service providing apparatus 22 may obtain directory information for each layer from the external service providing system 30.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the Web service providing apparatus 22 acquires profile information from directory information. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the profile information acquisition process.

  For example, the Web service providing apparatus 22 acquires directory information as illustrated in FIG. 11A from the external service providing system 30. The Web service providing apparatus 22 acquires profile information as shown in FIG. 11B from the directory information in FIG. 11A based on the definition of the directory structure described with reference to FIG.

  Note that the directory information shown in FIG. 11A and the profile information shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the Web service providing apparatus 22 can acquire profile information from directory information representing the directory structure of the external service providing system 30.

  Returning to step S <b> 16 of FIG. 9, the Web service providing apparatus 22 returns profile list information to the image forming apparatus 12 based on the acquired profile information. The profile list information includes a profile name and application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name. The image forming apparatus 12 displays a profile list screen 1010 based on the profile list information.

<Outline of application list acquisition processing>
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 displays the application list screen 1020 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an application list acquisition process.

  First, in step S21, the user operates the image forming apparatus 12 and selects one profile name from the profile list screen 1010. In step S22, the image forming apparatus 12 stores application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the selected profile name.

  In step S 23, the image forming apparatus 12 makes an application list screen acquisition request to the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S24, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires screen data of the application list screen 1020a from the Web service providing apparatus 22. The image forming apparatus 12 that has acquired the screen data of the application list screen 1020a displays the application list screen 1020a.

  In step S <b> 25, the image forming apparatus 12 designates authentication information and application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name selected by the user, and makes an application list information acquisition request to the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S26, the Web service providing apparatus 22 designates authentication information and application list spreadsheet information and makes an application list information acquisition request to the external service providing system 30.

  In step S27, the external service providing system 30 provides the application list information to the Web service providing apparatus 22. The application list information includes application setting spreadsheet information. In step S28, the Web service providing apparatus 22 returns the acquired application list information to the image forming apparatus 12. The image forming apparatus 12 displays an application list screen 1020 based on the application list information.

<Outline of application screen acquisition processing>
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 displays the application screen 1040 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an application screen acquisition process.

  First, in step S31, the user operates the image forming apparatus 12 to select one application name from the application list screen 1020. In step S32, the image forming apparatus 12 stores application setting spreadsheet information corresponding to the selected application name.

  In step S33, the image forming apparatus 12 sends an application screen acquisition request to the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S 34, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires screen data of the application screen 1040 a from the Web service providing apparatus 22. The image forming apparatus 12 that has acquired the screen data of the application screen 1040a displays the application screen 1040a.

  In step S35, the image forming apparatus 12 designates authentication information and application setting spreadsheet information corresponding to the application name selected by the user, and makes an application setting information acquisition request to the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S 36, the Web service providing apparatus 22 specifies authentication information and application setting spreadsheet information and makes an application setting information acquisition request to the external service providing system 30.

  In step S 37, the external service providing system 30 provides application setting information to the Web service providing apparatus 22. The application setting information includes an application setting spreadsheet. In step S38, the Web service providing apparatus 22 returns the acquired application setting information to the image forming apparatus 12. The image forming apparatus 12 displays an application screen 1040 based on the application setting information.

《Authentication information acquisition processing》
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the authentication information of the external service providing system 30 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the authentication information acquisition process.

  In step S <b> 51, the user operates the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 and makes an authentication screen acquisition request for displaying the authentication screen 1000. In step S <b> 52, the operation unit 50 makes an authentication screen acquisition request to the Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 and acquires screen data of the authentication screen 1000. The operation unit 50 displays an authentication screen 1000.

  In step S53, the user inputs user information such as a user name and password on the authentication screen 1000 and makes a login request. In step S54, the operation unit 50 designates user information input by the user, and makes an authentication information acquisition request to the authentication information acquisition unit 62 of the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  In step S55, the authentication information acquisition unit 62 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 designates user information and makes an authentication information acquisition request to the authentication management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30. If the authentication management unit 70 succeeds in authentication with the specified user information, the authentication management unit 70 returns the authentication information to the authentication information acquisition unit 62 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S56, the authentication information acquisition unit 62 returns authentication information to the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12.

  With the authentication information acquisition process shown in FIG. 14, the image forming apparatus 12 can acquire the authentication information of the external service providing system 30.

<< Profile list acquisition process >>
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires and displays the profile list screen 1010 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a profile list acquisition process.

  In step S61, the user operates the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 to make a profile list screen acquisition request for displaying the profile list screen 1010. In step S62, the operation unit 50 makes a profile list screen acquisition request to the Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22, and acquires screen data of the profile list screen 1010a. The operation unit 50 displays a profile list screen 1010a.

  In step S63, the operation unit 50 designates authentication information and makes a profile list information acquisition request to the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S64, the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 designates authentication information and requests the external service providing system 30 to acquire the directory information 72. The external service providing system 30 transmits, for example, the directory information illustrated in FIG. 11A to the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  In step S65, the setting acquisition unit 64 makes a profile information acquisition request to the profile information acquisition unit 66. For example, the profile information acquisition unit 66 acquires the profile information shown in FIG. 11B from the directory information shown in FIG. The profile information acquisition unit 66 returns the acquired profile information to the setting acquisition unit 64.

  In step S 66, the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 returns profile list information to the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 based on the profile information acquired from the profile information acquisition unit 66. The profile list information includes a profile name and application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name. In step S67, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 makes a profile setting drawing request to the setting drawing unit 52 based on the profile list information, and displays the profile list screen 1010.

《App list acquisition processing》
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires and displays the application list screen 1020 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of an example of the application list acquisition process.

  In step S <b> 71, the user operates the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 and selects one profile name from the profile list screen 1010 to make an application list screen acquisition request. In step S72, the operation unit 50 stores the application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name selected by the user in the external service location storage unit 58 as location information.

  In step S73, the operation unit 50 makes an application list screen acquisition request to the Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22, and acquires screen data of the application list screen 1020a. The operation unit 50 displays an application list screen 1020a.

  In step S74, the operation unit 50 designates the authentication information and the application list spreadsheet information corresponding to the profile name selected by the user, and sends the application list information to the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. Make an acquisition request. The setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 proceeds to step S75 and designates the authentication information and the application list spreadsheet information, and issues an acquisition request for the application list setting sheet 74 to the external service providing system 30. . The external service providing system 30 transmits the application list setting sheet 74 to the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  In step S76, the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 returns the acquired application list setting sheet 74 to the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12. The operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 makes an application list drawing request to the setting drawing unit 52 based on the acquired application list setting sheet 74 and displays the application list screen 1020.

《App screen acquisition processing》
For example, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires and displays the application screen 1040 according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram of an example of the application screen acquisition process.

  In step S <b> 81, the user operates the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 and makes an application screen acquisition request by selecting one application name from the application list screen 1020. In step S82, the operation unit 50 stores the application setting spreadsheet information corresponding to the application name selected by the user in the external service location storage unit 58 as location information.

  In step S83, the operation unit 50 makes an application screen acquisition request to the Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22, and acquires screen data of the application screen 1040a. The operation unit 50 displays an application screen 1040a.

  In step S84, the operation unit 50 specifies the authentication information and the application setting spreadsheet information corresponding to the application name selected by the user, and sends the application setting information to the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. Make an acquisition request. In step S85, the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 designates authentication information and application setting spreadsheet information, and requests the external service providing system 30 to acquire the application setting sheet 76. The external service providing system 30 provides application setting information to the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  In step S 86, the setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 returns the acquired application setting information to the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12. In step S87, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 displays the application screen 1040 based on the application setting information.

  In step S88, the user operates the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 and selects one job setting name from the application screen 1040, thereby giving a selected job execution instruction. In step S89, the operation unit 50 reads job setting information corresponding to the job setting name selected by the user from the application setting sheet 76. Then, the operation unit 50 makes a job setting reflection request to the setting reflection unit 54 to reflect the job setting information read from the application setting sheet 76 in the job execution parameters. In step S <b> 90, the operation unit 50 makes a job execution request to the job execution unit 56, and causes the job to be executed based on job execution parameters reflecting the job setting information.

《Location information stored in external service location storage unit》
FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of an example of location information stored in the external service location storage unit. For example, the location information in FIG. 18 includes a sheet type and a URL as items. The sheet type is information for identifying the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76. The URL indicates the URL of the application list setting sheet 74 or application setting sheet 76 stored in the external service providing system 30.

  The location information of the application list setting sheet 74 is stored by the process of step S72 in FIG. Further, the location information of the application setting sheet 76 is stored by the process of step S82 in FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 12 can store the URL of the application list setting sheet 74 used for displaying the application list screen 1020 in step S77 in the external service location storage unit 58.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 12 can store the URL of the application setting sheet 76 used for displaying the application screen 1040 in step S87 in the external service location storage unit 58.

<< Summary of editing process of application list setting sheet and application setting sheet >>
In the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, for example, the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 are edited according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the editing process of the application list setting sheet and the application setting sheet.

  A user who is using the image forming apparatus 12 presses the “send setting information” button 1041 on the application screen 1040 in FIG. 5 in step S101 to set the application used for displaying the application screen 1040 on the operation unit 50. The editing process of the sheet 76 can be started.

  Similarly, a user who is using the image forming apparatus 12 presses the “send setting information” button 1041 on the application screen 1040 in FIG. 5 to display an application list used to display the application list screen 1020 on the operation unit 50. The editing process of the setting sheet 74 can be started.

  In step S 102, the external service location transmission unit 59 of the image forming apparatus 12 transmits the location information of FIG. 18 stored in the external service location storage unit 58 to the terminal device 14. The location information transmitted here includes location information of the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 and location information for displaying the application screen 1040 on the terminal device 14.

  In step S <b> 103, the external service location receiving unit 94 of the terminal device 14 receives location information from the image forming apparatus 12. In step S104, the user can use the received location information to display the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 and perform editing processing. Further, the user can check the application screen 1040 displayed on the terminal device 14 by using the received location information.

  For example, when the “send setting information” button 1041 on the application screen 1040 is pressed in step S101, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 displays a transmission destination mail address input dialog 1050 as shown in FIG. The user can send the location information of FIG. 18 to the terminal device 14 by inputting a mail address that can be received by the terminal device 14 in the destination mail address input dialog 1050.

  FIG. 20 shows an example in which the user inputs the email address. For example, if the user information of the authenticated user includes the email address, the location information of FIG. 18 is transmitted to the email address. Also good.

<Editing process of application list setting sheet and application setting sheet>
For example, in the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 are edited according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing an example of editing processing of the application list setting sheet and the application setting sheet.

  In step S121, the user who is using the image forming apparatus 12 presses the “send setting information” button 1041 on the application screen 1040 in FIG. Then, the user inputs a mail address that can be received by the terminal device 14 in the transmission destination mail address input dialog 1050 and presses the OK button.

  By such processing, the user can start editing processing of the application setting sheet 76 used for displaying the application screen 1040 on the operation unit 50 and the application list setting sheet 74 used for displaying the application list screen 1020.

  When the user presses the “send setting information” button 1041, the operation unit 50 acquires location information as shown in FIG. 18 stored in the external service location storage unit 58. In step S123, the operation unit 50 requests the external service location conversion unit 57 to convert the location information stored in the external service location storage unit 58 into location information used from the terminal device 14.

  The external service location conversion unit 57 designates the location information stored in the external service location storage unit 58 and requests the external service providing system 30 to acquire location information used from the terminal device 14. The external service location management unit 80 of the external service providing system 30 returns the location information used from the terminal device 14 to the external service location conversion unit 57 of the image forming apparatus 12.

  Note that the conversion by the external service location management unit 80 is a process performed because the location information used from the image forming apparatus 12 and the location information used from the terminal apparatus 14 may be different. Here, an example of location information for the image forming apparatus 12 to acquire the application setting sheet 76 and an example of location information for the terminal apparatus 14 to edit the application setting sheet 76 are shown.

This is the location information “http://a.sheet.com/api/appSheet1” for the image forming apparatus 12 to acquire the application setting sheet 76.

Location information for the terminal device 14 to edit the application setting sheet 76 "http://a.sheet.com/browser/appSheet1"
21 shows an example in which location information used from the image forming apparatus 12 is converted into location information used from the terminal apparatus 14 by the external service providing system 30. In the sequence diagram of FIG. 21, for example, by defining a conversion rule for each service in the image forming apparatus 12, the location information used from the image forming apparatus 12 becomes the location information used from the terminal apparatus 14 in the image forming apparatus 12. It may be converted.

  In step S <b> 125, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 returns the location information used from the terminal device 14 from the external service location conversion unit 57. In step S 126, the operation unit 50 requests the external service location transmission unit 59 to transmit location information used from the terminal device 14.

  In step S127, the external service location transmission unit 59 transmits the location information used from the terminal device 14 to the external service location reception unit 94 of the terminal device 14. As a method for transmitting the location information used from the terminal device 14 to the terminal device 14, for example, an e-mail may be used.

  The location information used from the terminal device 14 transmitted in step S127 is as shown in FIG. 22, for example. FIG. 22 is a configuration diagram of an example of location information used from a terminal device.

  The location information used from the terminal device shown in FIG. 22 includes location information of the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 and location information for displaying the application screen 1040 on the terminal device 14. It is.

  The reason why location information for displaying the application screen 1040 on the terminal device 14 is included in the location information used from the terminal device 14 transmitted in step S127 is that the terminal device 14 can confirm the result of the editing process. It is to make it. If the image forming apparatus 12 confirms the result of the editing process, the location information for displaying the application screen 1040 on the terminal device 14 is deleted from the location information used from the terminal device 14 transmitted in step S127. Also good.

  For example, a user who has received location information to be used from the terminal device 14 by e-mail performs an editing process as shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is an image diagram illustrating an example of an editing process using location information.

  The user who has received the electronic mail 1060 including the contents of the location information used from the terminal device 14 displays the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 using an application such as a browser, and performs an editing process. be able to.

  Further, the user can check the application screen 1040 displayed on the terminal device 14 by using location information for displaying the application screen 1040 on the terminal device 14 included in the received e-mail 1060.

  As described above, the user who uses the application screen 1040 in the image forming apparatus 12 can easily access the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 used for displaying the currently displayed application screen 1040. .

  Therefore, in the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce time and effort for editing the application list setting sheet 74 and the application setting sheet 76 by the user. For example, when there are a large number of application list setting sheets 74 and application setting sheets 76, it is difficult to find the target application list setting sheet 74 and application setting sheet 76. According to the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, it is easy to access a target application list setting sheet 74 and application setting sheet 76 from a large number of application list setting sheets 74 and application setting sheets 76. It becomes.

  In the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the example in which the “send setting information” button 1041 is provided on the application screen 1040 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a “send setting information” button may be provided on the application list screen 1020.

  For example, when the “send setting information” button on the application list screen 1020 is pressed, the location information used from the terminal device 14 does not include the location information of the application setting sheet 76.

<Summary>
In the first embodiment, application list information and application setting information can be acquired from the external service providing system 30 by using profile information specified from the directory structure of the external service providing system 30.

  Therefore, according to the first embodiment, even if the acquisition destination of the application list information and the application setting information is not set using a different UI for each application of the image forming apparatus 12, the configuration shown in FIG. Just set it up. Further, according to the first embodiment, a plurality of profile folders can be provided under the application folder of the external service providing system 30, and a plurality of application settings can be performed for each profile.

  Further, according to the information processing system 1 of the first embodiment, setting of profile information, application list information, and application setting information can be easily performed from a familiar UI of the external service providing system 30 that the user normally uses. it can.

  Furthermore, according to the information processing system 1 of the first embodiment, the relationship between the screen displayed on the image forming apparatus 12 and the settings of the application list information and application setting information used to display the screen is determined by the user. Can be presented. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the editing process of the settings of the application list information and the application setting information stored in the external service providing system 30 is facilitated.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 is an example of an electronic apparatus described in the claims. The Web service providing apparatus 22 is an example of an information processing apparatus.

  The profile information acquisition unit 66 is an example of a specifying unit. The setting acquisition unit 64 is an example of a setting acquisition unit. The operation unit 50 is an example of an operation unit. The external service location storage unit 58 is an example of a storage location information storage unit. The setting reflection unit 54 is an example of a setting reflection unit. The external service location transmission unit 59 is an example of storage location information transmission means. The external service location conversion unit 57 is an example of a storage location information conversion unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 10 User environment 12 Image forming apparatus 14 Terminal device 20 Web service provision environment 22 Web service provision apparatus 30 External service provision system 50 Operation part 52 Setting drawing part 54 Setting reflection part 56 Job execution part 57 External service location conversion part 58 External service location storage unit 59 External service location transmission unit 60 Web page management unit 62 Authentication information acquisition unit 64 Setting acquisition unit 66 Profile information acquisition unit 70 Authentication management unit 72 Directory information 74 Application list setting sheet 76 Application setting sheet 78 Sheet management unit 80 External service location management unit 90 Operation unit 92 Sheet editing unit 94 External service location reception unit 500 Computer 501 Input device 502 Display device 503 External I / F
503a Recording medium 504 RAM
505 ROM
506 CPU
507 Communication I / F
508 HDD
601 Controller 602 Operation panel 603 External I / F
603a Recording medium 604 Communication I / F
605 Printer 606 Scanner 611 CPU
612 RAM
613 ROM
614 NVRAM
615 HDD
1000 Authentication Screen 1010 Profile List Screen 1020 Application List Screen 1040 Application Screen 1041 “Send Setting Information” Button B Bus N1 to N2 Network

JP 2014-32659 A

Claims (7)

An information processing system in which an electronic device and one or more information processing apparatuses are connected via a network,
A specifying means for specifying a file acquisition destination of setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device, from information representing a hierarchical relationship of files stored in a service providing system that provides a file storage service;
Setting acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from an acquisition destination of a file of setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device;
Operation means for displaying on the electronic device a screen for allowing the user to select the setting information;
Storage location information storage means for storing storage location information for accessing the setting information used for displaying the screen;
A setting reflecting means for reflecting the contents of the setting information selected by the user from the screen to the contents of a job executed by the electronic device;
Storage location information transmission means for receiving a storage location information transmission request for accessing the setting information from the screen from a user and transmitting storage location information for accessing the setting information. Processing system. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the storage location information transmission unit transmits storage location information for accessing the setting information to the terminal device of the user using an electronic mail. Storage location information conversion for converting storage location information for accessing the setting information from the electronic device stored in the storage location information storage means into storage location information for accessing the setting information from the terminal device Further comprising means,
The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the storage location information transmitting unit transmits storage location information for accessing the setting information from the converted terminal device to the user terminal device.   4. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the storage location information transmitting unit further transmits storage location information of information for displaying the screen on the terminal device. The specifying unit is configured to set the folder with an arbitrary name necessary for executing a job in the electronic device when a file with the specified name exists in the folder with an arbitrary name in the folder with the specified name. 5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the information processing system is specified as an information file acquisition source. A specifying unit for specifying a file acquisition destination of setting information necessary for executing a job in an electronic device from information representing a hierarchical relationship of files stored in a service providing system that provides a file storage service;
Setting acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from an acquisition destination of a file of setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device;
An electronic device connected to one or more information processing apparatuses having a network via a network,
Operation means for displaying a screen for allowing the user to select the setting information;
Storage location information storage means for storing storage location information for accessing the setting information used for displaying the screen;
A setting reflecting means for reflecting the contents of the setting information selected by the user from the screen to the contents of the job to be executed;
An electronic device comprising: storage location information transmitting means for receiving a storage location information transmission request for accessing the setting information from the screen and transmitting storage location information for accessing the setting information. machine. A specifying unit for specifying a file acquisition destination of setting information necessary for executing a job in an electronic device from information representing a hierarchical relationship of files stored in a service providing system that provides a file storage service;
Setting acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from an acquisition destination of a file of setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device;
An electronic device connected to one or more information processing apparatuses having a network via a network,
Operation means for displaying a screen for allowing the user to select the setting information;
Storage location information storage means for storing storage location information for accessing the setting information used for displaying the screen;
A setting reflecting means for reflecting the contents of the setting information selected by the user from the screen to the contents of the job to be executed;
Storage location information transmitting means for receiving a transmission request for storage location information for accessing the setting information from the screen from a user and transmitting storage location information for accessing the setting information;
Program to function as.

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