JP2017108338A - Information processing device, information processing device control method, mobile terminal, mobile terminal control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device and an information processing device control method that do not require a user to perform return destination setting via an operation unit of an MFP while looking at a mail address displayed on a mobile terminal when the user wants to set a mail address registered with the mobile terminal in a return destination of an email in a scene in which the email is transmitted by the MFP.SOLUTION: In a process of receiving transmission setting information indicating transmission setting of a mail transmission process to be executed by an MFP from a mobile terminal, the MFP receives information including a mail address of a return destination as transmission setting. The MFP then sets the mail address of the return destination included in the transmission setting as a return destination of the mail transmission process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for linking an information processing apparatus and a mobile terminal.

  In recent years, an increasing number of companies are trying to use mobile terminals in business places, such as introducing a BYOD (Bring your own device) system or preparing an MDM (Mobile Device Management) environment. This is due to the fact that mobile terminals are becoming more sophisticated, and that it is possible to expect the effect of improving business efficiency by using mobile terminals that are familiar to the user in business.

  Along with this movement, a function to link an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) and a mobile terminal has appeared. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following technique. That is, when access information (for example, an e-mail address) stored in the mobile terminal is transmitted to the MFP, the MFP uses the access information as a communication destination of the job of the MFP (for example, an e-mail transmission destination). A technique for initiating communication is disclosed.

JP 2003-319093 A

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is inconvenient in a scene in which e-mail (hereinafter simply referred to as e-mail) is transmitted from the MFP, for example. This is because when the MFP and the mobile terminal are linked, the user may desire to reply to the email transmitted from the MFP to the mobile terminal that is usually used. In the technique of Patent Document 1, in the scene where mail is transmitted from the MFP, the mail address of the MFP can be set by the mail address transmitted from the mobile terminal, but the mail address of the reply destination cannot be set. For this reason, the user needs to set a reply destination via the operation unit of the MFP while looking at the mail address displayed on the mobile terminal. This places a heavy burden on the user and is not user friendly.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that cooperates with a mobile terminal, and includes transmission setting information indicating a transmission setting of a mail transmission process executed by the information processing apparatus, including a reply destination mail address. Receiving means for receiving from a mobile terminal; and setting means for setting a reply destination mail address included in the transmission setting as a reply destination of the mail transmission process.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to set from the mobile terminal a reply mail address when mail transmission processing is performed in the MFP.

1 is a diagram showing a system configuration including a mobile terminal and an MFP according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an MFP according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile terminal concerning embodiment. It is a figure which shows the screen which performs mail transmission setting in the mobile terminal concerning embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a transmission screen in the MFP according to the embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating a screen in which a reply destination is set on a transmission screen in the MFP according to the embodiment. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process which transmits transmission setting information with the mobile terminal concerning embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for receiving transmission setting information in the MFP according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration applied in the present embodiment. The system in this embodiment includes a mobile terminal 101, an MFP 102, and an access point 103. The mobile terminal 101, the MFP 102, and the access point 103 can communicate with each other through corresponding communication media. Of course, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example of a general configuration. Therefore, the mobile terminal used by the general user may be another information device. The MFP may be an information processing apparatus having a mail transmission function for transmitting data obtained by the function of the apparatus by mail. Note that the mail transmission function is a function of transmitting a document image obtained by reading a document, for example, by attaching it to a mail. In the following, a job for sending mail using the mail sending function is called a mail sending job.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the MFP 102 according to the present embodiment. The MFP 102 includes a CPU 201 that executes software stored in the ROM 202 or, for example, the hard disk 213, and the CPU 201 generally controls each device connected to the system bus 216. Note that the HDD 213 may also be used as a temporary storage location for images depending on circumstances.

  The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. An operation unit controller 208 controls various buttons provided on the MFP or a user interface such as an operation panel 209 and a display 211. The disk controller 212 controls the HDD 213.

  The network I / F 207 exchanges data bidirectionally with other network devices or file servers via the network 220.

  When the wireless communication module 206 operates in the infrastructure mode, the wireless communication module 206 is connected to the network 220 via the access point 103 and bidirectionally exchanges data with other network devices such as the mobile terminal 101 or a file server. When operating in the soft AP (access point) mode, the MFP may operate as an access point and be able to establish a Wi-Fi direct connection with the mobile terminal.

  The printer 214 is a paper printing unit realized by an electrophotographic method. The printing method may be an electrophotographic method, an inkjet method, or any other method.

  The scanner 215 is an image reading unit for reading an image printed on paper. In many cases, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) (not shown) is attached to the scanner 215 as an option, and a plurality of documents can be automatically read.

  The MFP 102 can also exchange data with various peripheral devices including the mobile terminal 101 via the NFC reader / writer 204 and the Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 205.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 101 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, although the mobile terminal 101 of this embodiment assumes terminal devices, such as a smart phone and a tablet PC, it is not restricted to this, As long as it is an information processing apparatus which has a function to communicate with another apparatus, Form may be sufficient.

  The CPU 307 reads out the control program stored in the ROM 308 and executes various processes for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 101. The ROM 308 stores a control program. The RAM 309 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory or work area for the CPU 307. The HDD 310 stores various data such as photographs and electronic documents.

  The operation panel 301 has a touch panel function that can detect a user's touch operation, and is a user interface that displays various screens provided by the OS and the mail transmission application. The user can input a desired operation instruction to the mobile terminal 101 by inputting a touch operation on the operation panel 301. Note that the mobile terminal 101 may include a hardware key (not shown), and the user may input an operation instruction to the mobile terminal 101 using the hardware key.

  The speaker 302 and the microphone 303 are used when a user makes a call with another mobile terminal or a fixed phone. The camera 304 captures an image according to a user's imaging instruction. A photograph taken by the camera 304 is stored in a predetermined area of the HDD 310.

  The mobile terminal 101 can exchange data with various peripheral devices including the MFP 102 via the NFC communication I / F 305, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 306, and the wireless LAN communication I / F 311.

  Next, cooperation between the mobile terminal 101 and the MFP 102 will be described. In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 101 exchanges information by performing wireless communication with the MFP 102. That is, the mobile terminal 101 transmits transmission setting information indicating a mail transmission setting to the MFP 102 using wireless communication. The identification of the MFP 102 with which the mobile terminal 101 is a communication partner on the wireless network is hereinafter referred to as pairing. In order to perform pairing, the mobile terminal 101 may need to acquire Wi-Fi connection information of a desired MFP 102. With Wi-Fi connection information, for example, in the case of Wi-Fi direct connection, information on the SSID in which the MFP 102 operates as a soft access point and the KEY for connecting to the network specified by the SSID is required. It becomes. In the case of infrastructure mode connection, since the mobile terminal 101 and the MFP 102 are connected to the network in the same access point, for example, the IP address of the MFP 102 is required. There are a plurality of acquisition methods when the mobile terminal 101 acquires information necessary for such pairing from the MFP 102. For example, for example, the mobile terminal 101 may acquire Wi-Fi connection information from a two-dimensional code displayed on the MFP 102, or the NFC I / F 305 of the MFP 102 touches the mobile terminal 101 and Wi-Fi connection information is obtained by NFC communication. May be obtained. Alternatively, the mobile terminal 101 may acquire the Wi-Fi connection information by performing BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication with the Bluetooth I / F of the MFP 102. Furthermore, data such as a destination can be transmitted as it is to the MFP 102 to which the mobile terminal 101 has already been connected by Wi-Fi and is paired without performing an operation such as a two-dimensional code.

  The mobile terminal 101 can register transmission settings including a mail transmission destination, a reply destination, and the like for the MFP 102 that has been paired or will be paired in this way. That is, transmission setting information indicating transmission settings is transmitted from the mobile terminal 101 to the MFP 102 via wireless communication, and the MFP 102 that has received the transmission setting transmits to the destination, reply destination, and the like used in the mail transmission job using the received information. The process that reflects is performed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, setting items for mail transmission used for the transmission setting of the mail transmission job of the MFP 102 performed on the mobile terminal 101 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI screen of the mobile terminal.

  The user uses the email transmission setting screen 406 of the mobile terminal 101 to input information necessary for email transmission processing executed by the MFP 102. The user can select and input an address in the address book stored in the mobile terminal 101 in the mail address field 401 and the reply destination mail address field 407. The mail address field 401, the subject field 402, the body text field 403, the file name field 404, and the reply destination mail address field 407 can be input by the user using a soft keyboard of the mobile terminal. These fields may be input not only by a soft keyboard but also by voice recognition or the like. In addition, the reply mail address field 407 may display the mail address of the user set in the mobile terminal 101 by default. Further, when a plurality of mail addresses are set in the mobile terminal 101, any of them may be selected. Further, the reply destination email address does not necessarily have to be the user's email address set in the mobile terminal 101, and an arbitrary reply destination email address can be set.

  When the completion button 405 is pressed, each item is determined and the mail transmission setting is completed, and setting information indicating the mail transmission setting is transmitted from the mobile terminal 101 to the MFP 102. Note that the transmission timing from the mobile terminal 101 to the MFP 102 may be transmitted immediately after the operation panel 301 detects that the completion button 405 is pressed. Alternatively, as described above, the transmission setting may be transmitted after pairing with the MFP 102. Note that “pressing” includes touching the touch panel screen in addition to pressing a physical button. The same applies hereinafter.

  Next, the screen of the MFP 102 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the UI screen of the MFP 102. The MPF can perform a plurality of functions. Here, a transmission screen 501 used when executing the above-described mail transmission job is shown. As described above, the mail transmission job is a job in which the MFP 102 transmits a document image of a document read by the scanner to a desired destination by mail. A transmission screen 501 in FIG. 5 is a screen on which the user performs destination setting, scan setting, and the like.

  The destination list 502 displays a list of destinations set as transmission destinations. The destination is an address such as e-mail, FAX, or server. The destination list 502 shown in FIG. 5 shows a state where no transmission destination is set. The scan setting button 503 can change the scan setting. When the detailed information button 505 is pressed, the screen changes to a screen for displaying detailed information of the selected destination. When the delete destination button 506 is pressed, the selected destination is deleted. When the other setting button 507 is pressed, a screen (not shown) of a menu list for changing the contents of transmission is displayed. For example, editing of the mail text or the like can be performed on a screen where the other setting button 507 is pressed. In addition, a reply destination mail address can also be set via the operation panel 209 of the MFP 102 on the screen where the other setting button 507 is pressed.

  When a destination designation button 509 is pressed, a destination can be set from the address book of the MFP 102 or the like. Note that the MFP 102 is often shared, and the address book includes addresses used by other users, and setting a destination from the address book of the MFP 102 may be troublesome. Further, the display 211 of the MFP 102 is usually a small screen, and the operability of the operation panel 209 may be difficult to use compared to a PC or the like, and it may be troublesome to directly input the destination mail address to the MFP 102. Therefore, in this embodiment, the MFP 102 and the mobile terminal 101 are linked to each other, and the transmission setting from the mobile terminal 101 is applied to the MFP 102. When the address designation button 508 is pressed from the mobile, the screen transits to a mail transmission setting information reception screen and enters a standby state for pairing with a mobile terminal (not shown). When pairing is performed with the mobile terminal in this standby state and mail transmission settings are received from the mobile terminal, the received transmission settings are reflected in the mail transmission job. For example, transmission settings such as a destination, a subject, a body text, a file name of an attached file, and a reply destination are reflected in a mail transmission job of the MFP 102. Accordingly, when the transmission setting is received, the received content is reflected in the mail body displayed by pressing the above destination list 502 and other setting buttons 507.

  Next, a screen in which a reply destination is set on the transmission screen of the MFP 102 will be described with reference to FIG. A reply destination setting screen 611 is a screen for setting a reply destination (Reply-To) of a mail transmission job by the user via the operation panel 209 of the MFP 102. In the reply destination setting screen 611, as described above, the reply destination setting content change button present on the screen of the content change menu list displayed when the other function button 507 in FIG. 5 is pressed is pressed. Is displayed on the operation panel 209 of the MFP 102.

  When the OK button 612 is pressed, the reply destination mail address set in the reply destination input field 614 is set as the reply destination of the mail transmission job. When the cancel setting button 613 is pressed, nothing is set as the reply destination of the mail transmission job even if the mail address is set in the reply destination input field 614.

  When the reply destination input field 614 is pressed, the address book registered in the MFP 102 is opened and a mail address can be set. In addition, an e-mail address that is not registered in the address book can be set using a soft keyboard displayed on the operation panel 209 of the MFP 102.

  When the transmission setting including the reply destination is received from the mobile terminal 101, the mail address set in the mobile terminal 101 is reflected in the reply destination input field 614 in the reply destination setting screen 611. Note that even after the user sends the reply destination setting from the mobile terminal 101, the user can send the reply destination setting again from the mobile terminal 101, or correct the reply destination setting from the operation panel 209 of the MFP 102. Is possible.

  Next, an example of a use case viewed from the user in the present embodiment will be described. The user is located in an area where both the MFP 102 and the mobile terminal 101 can be used. Note that the mobile terminal 101 and the MFP 102 are in a state where wireless communication is not established (a state where pairing is not possible).

  First, the user displays an operation screen for setting a mail transmission job of the MFP 102 and makes necessary settings as appropriate. Then, the user presses a destination designation button 508 from the mobile. The MFP 102 prepares for pairing with the mobile terminal 101 in response to pressing of the destination designation button 508 by the mobile. For example, when performing pairing using NFC, the MFP 102 writes information necessary for wireless communication with the MFP 102 in the NFC tag in response to pressing of the destination designation button 508 from the mobile.

  On the other hand, the user activates an application corresponding to the mail transmission job of the MFP 102 of the mobile terminal 101 on the mobile terminal 101. When the input of data as shown in FIG. 4 is completed, the completion button 405 is pressed. Thereafter, the user touches the reader / writer 204 of the MFP 102 with the NFC I / F 305 of the mobile terminal 101, whereby the information necessary for wireless communication written in the NFC tag of the MFP 102 is acquired by the mobile terminal 101. The mobile terminal 101 establishes wireless communication with the MFP 102 using the acquired information, and transmits the transmission settings input by the user as shown in FIG. In response to this, the MFP 102 performs processing for reflecting the transmission setting.

  In the above example, the example in which the user operates the MFP 102 first has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user may operate the MFP 102 after performing the input on the mobile terminal 101 first. Moreover, the example of pairing is not restricted to this. Further, the MFP 102 and the mobile terminal 101 may be connected in the infrastructure mode via the access point 103, and the communication partner MFP 102 may be identified on the network. In such a case, the transmission setting may be transmitted from the mobile terminal 101 to the MFP 102 without performing the NEC communication.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing for transmitting transmission settings used in a mail transmission job executed by the MFP 102 in the mobile terminal 101 and transmitting the input transmission settings to the MFP 102 using wireless communication. The operation of FIG. 7 is realized by the CPU 307 inside the mobile terminal 101 executing the control program. In the example of FIG. 7, the mobile terminal 101 acquires information necessary for pairing from the MFP 102.

  The process of FIG. 7 shows a process when the operation screen 406 of the mobile terminal 101 shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. In step 701, the CPU 307 of the mobile terminal 101 accepts input of transmission settings from the user on the operation screen 406. The user selects a destination from the address book or inputs a text using a software keyboard. In addition, the user inputs a reply destination email address using a software keyboard or the like, or confirms that the user's own email address set in the mobile terminal 101 is input as a reply destination by default. . Step S701 is a process of accepting input of each item of transmission setting from such a user.

  In step S <b> 702, the CPU 307 accepts pressing of the completion button 505 from the user. Then, the mobile terminal 101 enters a short-range wireless communication standby state. In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 101 acquires information necessary for wireless communication with the MFP 102 by communication using NFC. Here, it is assumed that the MFP 102 operates in the access point mode, and information necessary for wireless communication, specifically, a network name (SSID) and a password are prepared in the NFC tag of the MFP 102 as described above. And

  In step S703, the CPU 307 detects an NFC touch in the NFC I / F 305 by the user. That is, when the user touches the NFC reader / writer 204 of the MFP 102 with the mobile terminal 101, the mobile terminal 101 performs near field communication with the MFP 102.

  In step S <b> 704, the CPU 307 reads information stored in the NFC tag of the MFP 102 via the NFC I / F 305. Then, wireless communication with the MFP 102 is started using the read information. Specifically, the CPU 307 acquires the SSID and password used for wireless communication with the MFP 102 from the NFC tag of the MFP 102. Then, the CPU 307 establishes wireless communication with the MFP 102 using the acquired SSID and password.

  In step S <b> 705, the CPU 307 transmits transmission setting information indicating the transmission setting accepted in step S <b> 701 to the MFP 102.

  In step S706, the CPU 307 associates the connection information read from NFC with the MFP 102 communicated in step S704, and saves it in the ROM 308. In addition to NFC, triggers for starting near field communication include, but are not limited to, a two-dimensional code, BlueTooth, and the like.

  Next, processing on the MFP 102 side will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing processing in a state in which an application for realizing a mail transmission function is executed in the MFP 102 and a screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. The operation in FIG. 8 is realized by the CPU 201 in the MFP 102 executing an application control program that realizes a mail transmission function.

  In step S801, the CPU 201 detects that the user has pressed the destination designation button 508 from the mobile. In step S <b> 801, the CPU 201 activates the NFC reader / writer 204 of the MFP 102 and writes information necessary for wireless communication with the MFP 102 in the NFC tag of the MFP. Thereafter, in step S <b> 803, the CPU 201 establishes wireless communication with the mobile terminal 101 and receives a transmission setting from the mobile terminal 101. In step S804, the CPU 201 reflects the transmission setting received in step S803 in the mail transmission job.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the reply destination of the email sent from the MFP is set from the mobile terminal in the scene where the email transmission setting from the mobile terminal is sent to the MFP as the setting of the email sending job of the MFP. be able to. As a result, for example, the e-mail address of the mobile terminal can be easily set.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Claims (15)

An information processing apparatus that cooperates with a mobile terminal,
Receiving means for receiving, from the mobile terminal, transmission setting information indicating a transmission setting of mail transmission processing executed by the information processing apparatus, including a reply destination mail address;
A setting means for setting the reply destination email address included in the transmission setting as a reply destination of the email transmission process;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The transmission setting includes, in addition to the reply destination email address, at least one item of a destination email address, a body of the email, a subject of the email, and a file name of the attached file,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets an item included in the transmission setting as an item used in the mail transmission process. The information processing apparatus further includes reading means for reading a document,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mail transmission process is a process of attaching a document image obtained by reading the document with the reading unit and transmitting the document image to a mail. It further has an interface means for inputting each item of the mail transmission setting through the UI screen,
The setting means changes the reply address mail address set by the setting means to the mail address entered by the interface means when an input is made to the reply address mail address item in the interface means. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: It further has an interface means for inputting each item of the mail transmission setting through the UI screen,
The setting means, when the transmission means information is received by the receiving means after input to the reply destination mail address field in the interface means, the reply destination mail address inputted by the interface means, The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information is changed to a reply destination mail address included in the transmission setting. The receiving means receives the mail transmission setting from the mobile terminal by wireless communication,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising providing means for providing information necessary for wireless communication with the mobile terminal. A mobile terminal that transmits transmission setting information indicating transmission settings of mail transmission processing executed by an information processing device,
Determining means for determining a mail address used as a reply destination in the mail transmission process executed by the information processing apparatus;
A mobile terminal, comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the mail address determined by the determination unit as a mail address used as a reply destination by being included in the transmission setting information.   The transmission means transmits transmission setting information including at least one item of a destination mail address, a mail body, a mail subject, and a file name of an attached file in addition to the reply destination mail address. The mobile terminal according to claim 7.   The mobile terminal according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the determining unit determines a user's mail address registered in the mobile terminal as a mail address used as the reply destination. Interface means for accepting the input of the transmission setting through a UI screen;
9. The mobile terminal according to claim 7, wherein the determining unit determines an e-mail address received by the interface unit as an e-mail address used as the reply destination.   11. The transmission unit according to claim 10, wherein when the interface unit receives an input completion instruction, the transmission unit establishes wireless communication with the mobile terminal, and transmits the transmission setting information through wireless communication. mobile computer. A control method in an information processing apparatus linked with a mobile terminal,
A reception step of receiving from the mobile terminal transmission setting information indicating a transmission setting of a mail transmission process executed by the information processing apparatus, including a reply destination mail address;
A setting step of setting the reply destination email address included in the transmission setting as a reply destination of the email transmission process;
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising: A control method in a mobile terminal that transmits transmission setting information indicating transmission setting of mail transmission processing executed in an information processing device,
A determination step of determining a mail address used as a reply destination in a mail transmission process executed by the information processing apparatus;
And a transmission step of transmitting the mail address determined in the determination step as a mail address used as a reply destination in the transmission setting information.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the information processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 6.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the mobile terminal as described in any one of Claims 7-11.