JP2017158078A - Image formation system, communication terminal device, image forming apparatus, display program, and information transmission program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notify a user of positional information set to an image forming apparatus and its likelihood.SOLUTION: An image formation system comprises: an information collection unit 71 for collecting positional information on a plurality of image forming apparatuses and reliability relationship information; a reliability determination unit 73 for determining the reliability of the positional information on the image forming apparatuses on the basis of the reliability relationship information collected by the information collection unit 71; a display control unit 76 for generating two-dimensional information on the positional relation of the plurality of image forming apparatuses reflecting the determination result by the reliability determination unit 73 and the positional information on the image forming apparatuses; and a display unit 67 for displaying the generated two-dimensional information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system that displays positions of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on a communication terminal apparatus, a communication terminal apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a display program, and an information transmission program.

  In recent years, the latitude, longitude, and altitude information (hereinafter also referred to as “position information”) of an image forming apparatus is set on an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material. Use methods such as displaying an arrangement map and performing specific processing based on the installation position of the image forming apparatus are considered.

  Conventionally, as a technique for estimating the position of an image forming apparatus, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 acquires user information of a user who is authenticated by an image forming apparatus, acquires apparatus information of an image forming apparatus whose user information is authenticated, and based on the acquired user information and apparatus information. An image forming apparatus management apparatus for specifying an installation place of an image forming apparatus is disclosed. The management apparatus of the image forming apparatus specifies the user's belonging department signature based on the user information, and specifies the installation location of the image forming apparatus based on the belonging department signature and the apparatus information.

JP 2008-186455 A

  However, if the image forming apparatus is moved after the position information is set in the image forming apparatus, the position information set in the image forming apparatus and the position information where the image forming apparatus is actually installed are different. . In this case, it is necessary to set position information in the image forming apparatus again, but incorrect position information is transmitted to the user until new position information is set in the image forming apparatus. Further, there is no way for the user to notice that the position information of the image forming apparatus that transmitted the job is different from the position information of the actual installation location.

  As described above, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is a technique for specifying an approximate installation location of an image forming apparatus when a job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. The possibility that the forming apparatus has been moved cannot be determined.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it informs a user of position information set in an image forming apparatus and its certainty (reliability).

An image forming system according to an aspect of the present invention is an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a communication terminal device that communicates with the image forming apparatus.
Each of the image forming apparatuses includes a position information setting unit that sets the input position information as the position information of the image forming apparatus, and a reliability that calculates reliability relationship information related to the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus. A degree-related information calculation unit, a first communication unit that communicates with the communication terminal device, and the position information and the reliability-related information of the image forming apparatus via the first communication unit. An information transmission unit for transmitting to the apparatus.
The communication terminal device collects, via the second communication unit, a second communication unit that communicates with the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and the position information and the reliability relationship information of the plurality of image forming devices. And a reliability determination unit that determines the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus based on the reliability relationship information collected by the information collection unit, and a determination by the reliability determination unit A display control unit that generates two-dimensional information related to the positional relationship of the plurality of image forming apparatuses reflecting the result and the position information of the image forming apparatus, and the two-dimensional information generated by the display control unit is displayed. A display unit.

  The communication terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention relates to a communication unit that communicates with a plurality of image forming apparatuses, position information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus. The information collection unit that collects the reliability relationship information via the communication unit, and the reliability relationship information collected by the information collection unit are compared with a determination criterion, so that the position information of the image forming apparatus A reliability determination unit for determining reliability, and a display for generating two-dimensional information related to the positional relationship of the plurality of image forming apparatuses reflecting the determination result by the reliability determination unit and the position information of the image forming apparatus A control unit; and a display unit that displays the two-dimensional information generated by the display control unit.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes: a position information setting unit that sets input position information as position information of the own apparatus; and reliability relationship information related to the reliability of the position information of the own apparatus. Information for calculating a reliability relationship information calculation unit to be calculated, a communication unit that communicates with a communication terminal device, and the position information and the reliability relationship information of the device itself to the communication terminal device via the communication unit A transmission unit.

  The display program of one embodiment of the present invention includes a process of collecting position information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses and reliability relationship information related to reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus, and the collected reliability A process for determining the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus, a determination result of the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus, and the determination result of the position of the image forming apparatus. A display program that causes a computer included in a communication terminal device to execute a process of generating two-dimensional information relating to a positional relationship among a plurality of the image forming apparatuses reflecting the position information and a process of displaying the two-dimensional information.

  In addition, the position information transmission program according to one aspect of the present invention calculates a process of setting the input position information as the position information of the own apparatus and reliability related information related to the reliability of the position information of the own apparatus. An information transmission program for causing a computer included in an image forming apparatus to execute a process and a process of transmitting the position information and the reliability relationship information of the apparatus to the communication terminal apparatus.

At least one aspect of the present invention determines the likelihood (reliability) of position information set in the image forming apparatus and notifies the user of the determination result. Therefore, the user can select the image forming apparatus to be used after knowing the certainty of the position information of the image forming apparatus. For this reason, the user can select an image forming apparatus with more reliable position information and execute printing. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience that the user does not know where the image forming apparatus is installed.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of embodiments.

It is explanatory drawing of the method of setting position information to an image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing in case a portable terminal acquires positional information and reliability related information from a some image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st connection form of an image forming apparatus and a portable terminal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd connection form of an image forming apparatus and a portable terminal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd connection form of an image forming apparatus and a portable terminal. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a functional block diagram of a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of contents of an image forming apparatus position information table according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of the reliability related information table which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of the portable terminal which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the control part of the portable terminal which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of the evaluation point table which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of the determination result table which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission process of position information and reliability relationship information by a control unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the display process by the control part of the portable terminal which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the two-dimensional information (positional relationship figure) displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the scale change process by the control part of the portable terminal which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the two-dimensional information (positional relationship figure) displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 19A is the two-dimensional information before a scale change, FIG. 19B is after a scale change. 2D information is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the display process by the control part of the portable terminal which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the two-dimensional information (floor map) displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 21A is the two-dimensional information before a scale change, FIG. 21B is the scale after a scale change. Indicates two-dimensional information. It is a flowchart which shows the display process by the control part of the portable terminal which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus in a portable terminal. It is explanatory drawing of the two-dimensional information (floor map) displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus in a portable terminal based on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st modification of the printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus in a portable terminal based on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd modification of the printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus in a portable terminal based on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. 14 is a flowchart illustrating job execution processing by a control unit of an image forming apparatus according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting updated position information by a control unit of an image forming apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, about the component which has the substantially same function or structure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

<1. First Embodiment>
[Outline of the present invention]
In describing the first embodiment in detail, first, an outline of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present invention, since the image forming apparatus 1 does not include positioning means such as a receiver of a global positioning system (GPS) and obtains position information from the outside (external device), image formation is performed. It is assumed that the apparatus 1 is moved and the actual position may be different from the position information held inside.

The present invention has the following three steps.
(1) Position information is set in the image forming apparatus 1.
(2) The portable terminal 2 acquires the position information and reliability relationship information of the image forming apparatus 1.
(3) The mobile terminal 2 determines the reliability of the position information from the reliability relationship information.

(1) FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a method for setting position information in an image forming apparatus.
In the first setting method, the user U operates the operation panel 16 provided in the image forming apparatus 1 to set position information in the image forming apparatus 1 (the left diagram in FIG. 1). Alternatively, the user U operates the portable terminal 2 to set position information in the image forming apparatus 1. Alternatively, the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 may be set from the client terminal P (see FIG. 4) which is a personal computer or the server SV.

  In the second setting method, the image forming apparatus 1 transmits a position information request command to the portable terminal 2 existing near the image forming apparatus 1 (position information request), and inquires about the current position information of the portable terminal 2. The portable terminal 2 has positioning means for measuring the current position such as a GPS receiver. When the portable terminal 2 receives the position information request transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1, the portable terminal 2 measures the current position by the positioning means, and returns this current position as the position information of the portable terminal 2 (position information notification). The image forming apparatus 1 sets the position information of the portable terminal 2 to the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 (the right diagram in FIG. 1).

  The mobile terminal 2 is an example of a communication terminal device, and is a communication terminal that can be carried by a user, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook PC (Personal Computer). The communication terminal device may be a stationary PC (Personal Computer).

(2) FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram in a case where the mobile terminal acquires position information and reliability relationship information from a plurality of image forming apparatuses. The reliability related information is information related to the reliability of the position information, that is, information necessary for determining the reliability of the position information. The portable terminal 2 acquires position information and information necessary for determination of reliability from the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C on the same network. The reason for limiting to the same network is to perform multicast transmission to the image forming apparatus 1 on the same network, and it is not necessarily limited to the same network. In the following description, when the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C are not distinguished, they are referred to as the image forming apparatus 1.

About (3)
The mobile terminal 2 determines the reliability of the position information set in the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C based on the acquired reliability relationship information. Then, the mobile terminal 2 generates two-dimensional information (positional relationship diagram, floor map, etc.) representing the positions of the image forming apparatuses 1A to 1C according to the determination result, and displays it on the display screen.

Here, an example of a connection form between the image forming apparatus and the portable terminal will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 shows a first connection form between the image forming apparatus and the portable terminal.
In the image forming system 3A of FIG. 3, the portable terminal 2 is directly connected to the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B by radio. The image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B and the portable terminal 2 include short-range wireless communication means. As the short-range wireless communication means, for example, a communication means conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series communication standard such as WiFi is used.

FIG. 4 shows a second connection form between the image forming apparatus and the portable terminal.
In the image forming system 3B of FIG. 4, image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B, a wireless router R1, a server SV, and a client terminal P are connected to a network N by wires. The portable terminal 2 can perform data communication with the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B by connecting to the network N through the wireless router R1. The client terminal P is a personal computer.

FIG. 5 shows a third connection configuration between the image forming apparatus and the portable terminal.
In the image forming system 3C of FIG. 5, wireless routers R1 and R2, a server SV, and a client terminal P are connected to a network N by wires. The portable terminal 2 is connected to the network N through the wireless router R1, and the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B are connected to the network N through the wireless router R2. That is, the portable terminal 2 can perform data communication with the image forming apparatuses 1A and 1B via the wireless router R1, the network N, and the wireless router R2.

  The configuration of the network is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, and it is needless to say that the configuration shown in FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 1 and the portable terminal 2 perform data communication with each other through the network N of the image forming system 3B illustrated in FIG.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is a so-called multi-function printer (MFP) having a copy function, a scan function, a print function, and the like. The copy function is a function for optically reading a document, forming a duplicate image on a sheet, and outputting the image. The scan function is a function of saving image data of a read original as a file, or transmitting image data to the mobile terminal 2 or the client terminal P through the network N. The printing function is a function that forms and outputs a document or an image on a sheet based on a print job received from the outside through the network N or the like. The image forming apparatus 1 desirably has at least a printing function.

  The image forming apparatus 1 employs an electrophotographic system in which an image is formed using static electricity. For example, four color toner images of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) are used. It is possible to form a color image in which the images are superimposed. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 15, an operation panel 16, a paper feeding unit 17, an image forming unit 20, an intermediate transfer belt 21 (image carrier), and a secondary transfer unit. 22 and a fixing unit 23.

  The automatic document feeder 15 automatically feeds a document when the document is read. A scanner 45 (see FIG. 7 described later) provided in the automatic document feeder 25 is automatically conveyed by a document placed on the upper platen glass of the image forming apparatus 1 or by the automatic document feeder 15. The image of the original can be read.

  The operation panel 16 has a function as an operation unit that instructs the start of a job such as an image forming process. The operation panel 16 is provided with an LCD. A touch panel is stacked on the LCD, and an operation by the user U and display of various types of information are possible. That is, the operation panel 26 serves as both the operation unit 41 and the display unit 42 as shown in FIG.

  The paper feed unit 17 includes a plurality of paper storage units according to the size and type of paper. In the paper feeding unit 17, when a corresponding paper storage unit is selected based on an instruction from the image forming apparatus 1, the paper is taken out from the paper storage unit and sent to the conveyance path C.

  The image forming unit 20 includes four image forming units 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K in order to form toner images of each color of Y, M, C, and K. The image forming unit 20 controls the operations of the image forming units 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K of the image forming unit 20 to form Y, M, C, and K toner images. Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a plurality of rollers (conveyance rollers) for conveying the sheet to the conveyance path C. These rollers are usually constituted by a pair of rollers.

  In the image forming mode, the image forming apparatus 1 charges the photosensitive member included in the image forming units 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K, erases the charge, exposes it, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member. Then, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent images on the Y, M, C, and K photoconductors using a developing unit to form toner images of the respective colors. Next, the toner images formed on the Y, M, C, and K photoconductors are sequentially primary-transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 that rotates in the direction of the arrow.

  Next, the toner images of the respective colors primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the secondary transfer unit 22 (secondary transfer roller) are secondarily applied to a sheet supplied from the paper supply unit 17 and conveyed by the roller. Transcript. Each color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 21 is secondarily transferred to a sheet to form a color image. The secondary transfer unit 22 conveys the sheet on which the color toner image is formed to the fixing unit 23.

  The fixing unit 23 is a device that performs a fixing process on a sheet on which a color toner image is formed. The fixing unit 23 pressurizes and heats the conveyed paper, and fixes the transferred toner image on the paper. The fixing unit 23 includes, for example, an upper fixing roller and a lower fixing roller that are fixing members. The upper fixing roller and the lower fixing roller are arranged in pressure contact with each other, and a fixing nip portion is formed as a pressing portion between the upper fixing roller and the lower fixing roller.

  A heating unit (not shown) is provided inside the fixing upper roller. The roller part at the outer peripheral part of the fixing upper roller is heated by the radiant heat from the heating part. The sheet is conveyed to the fixing nip so that the surface on which the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer unit 22 (fixing target surface) faces the fixing upper roller. The sheet passing through the fixing nip is subjected to pressure by the upper fixing roller and the lower fixing roller, and heating by the heat of the upper fixing roller. The paper on which the fixing process has been performed by the fixing unit 23 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 24.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 that forms a color image is illustrated, but an image forming apparatus that forms a monochrome image may be used.

Next, a control system of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 stores a job issued from the mobile terminal 2. Then, the image forming apparatus 1 sets the position information of the portable terminal 2 when the portable terminal 2 is in the immediate vicinity of the image forming apparatus 1 as its own position information.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 30 that comprehensively controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 30 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 31, a read only memory (ROM) 32, and a random access memory (RAM) 33, and the CPU 31 executes various processes.

  In addition to the ROM 32 and the RAM 33, the CPU 31 is connected to a nonvolatile memory 34, a hard disk device 35, a network controller 36, a short-range wireless communication unit 37, an operation panel 16, a print interface 43, a reading interface 44, and the like. The image forming unit 20 is connected to the print interface 43. A scanner 45 is connected to the reading interface 44.

  The CPU 31 is based on an OS (Operating System) program and executes programs such as middleware and application programs. The processing of each unit executed by the CPU 31 will be described later.

  Various programs are stored in the ROM 32, and each function of the portable terminal 2 is realized by the CPU 31 executing processes according to these programs.

  The RAM 33 is used as a work memory for temporarily storing various data when the CPU 31 executes a program. The RAM 33 temporarily stores a job acquired by the image forming apparatus 1.

  As the nonvolatile memory 34, for example, a semiconductor memory is used, and various setting information and the like are stored. As an example, the nonvolatile memory 34 stores an image forming apparatus position information table 53 (FIG. 9) and a reliability relationship information table 56 (see FIG. 9), which will be described later.

  The hard disk device 35 is a large-capacity storage device, and the hard disk device 35 stores job output settings, image data, and the like received by the network controller 36. The image forming apparatus position information table 53 may be stored in the hard disk device 35.

  The network controller 36 (an example of a first communication unit) communicates with the network N through a wire under the control of the control unit 30.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 37 communicates with the mobile terminal 2 through the wireless router R2 by short-range wireless communication using WiFi or the like via the antenna 37a (see FIG. 5).

The operation panel 16 includes an operation unit 41 and a display unit 42.
The operation unit 41 includes various operation switches such as a start button, a touch panel provided on the display surface of the display unit 42, and the like. The user U uses the operation unit 41 to give an instruction (print instruction or the like) to the image forming apparatus 1. The touch panel detects a coordinate position pressed with a touch pen or a finger. As the operation unit 41, operation keys may be used in addition to the touch panel.
The display unit 42 is configured by a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, and fulfills a function of displaying various operation screens, setting screens, and the like.

The image forming unit 20 is connected to the print interface 43, and the image data of the job created by the control unit 30 is transmitted to the image forming unit 20.
The image forming unit 20 performs image forming processing for forming an image on a sheet based on the received job under the control of the control unit 30. The job executed by the image forming unit 20 may be transmitted from the portable terminal 2 and stored in the image forming apparatus 1 (for example, the hard disk device 35), or may be stored in the server SV.

Connected to the reading interface 44 is a scanner 45 that functions to optically read a document and acquire image data.
The scanner 45 includes, for example, a line image sensor, a moving unit, an optical path, a data conversion unit, and the like. The line image sensor reads a document for one line in the width direction by receiving a light source for irradiating light to the document and the reflected light. The moving unit sequentially moves the reading position in units of lines in the length direction of the document. The optical path is composed of a lens, a mirror, or the like that forms an image by guiding the reflected light from the document to the line image sensor. The data converter converts the analog image signal output from the line image sensor into digital image data.

  The power supply 46 supplies power to each unit of the image forming apparatus 1. The main switch 47 is a power switch that is provided at an arbitrary position on the outer periphery of the image forming apparatus and that turns the power supply 46 on and off.

Next, functions of the control unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 1. The CPU 31 of the control unit 30 executes the program stored in the ROM 32, thereby realizing the functions of the respective units of the control unit 30 shown in FIG.

  The control unit 30 includes a position information setting unit 51, a clock unit 52, an image forming apparatus position information table 53, a reliability relationship information calculation unit 54, a power supply detection unit 55, a reliability relationship information table 56, and an information transmission unit 57. . The image forming apparatus position information table 53 and the reliability relationship information table 56 are temporarily expanded on the RAM 33 constituting the control unit 30.

  The position information setting unit 51 outputs a position information request command to the portable terminal 2 to inquire about the position information, receives the position information notified from the portable terminal 2, and temporarily stores it in the RAM 33. At this time, in addition to the position information, the mobile terminal 2 transmits at least information for identifying the transmission source (for example, the name of the image forming apparatus 1 and the MAC address). The inquiry about the position information by the position information setting unit 51 is performed, for example, when a predetermined event (such as a user operation such as job execution) occurs in the image forming apparatus 1. Then, the position information setting unit 51 records the acquired position information of the portable terminal 2 together with the set date and time in an image forming apparatus position information table 53 (see FIG. 9 described later), and sets the information as position information of the image forming apparatus 1. . Such a method of setting position information corresponds to the right diagram of FIG.

  In the setting method in the left diagram of FIG. 1, the position information setting unit 51 sets position information input from the operation panel 16 by the operation of the user U as position information of the image forming apparatus 1. The same applies when the user U inputs the position information to the image forming apparatus 1 by operating the portable terminal 2 or the like.

  The clock unit 52 counts the date and time, and outputs the current date and time to the position information setting unit 51 and the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54. For the clock unit 52, for example, an RTC (Real Time Clock) is used. The position information setting unit 51 records the position information of the portable terminal 2 in the image forming apparatus position information table 53 together with the set date and time, with the current date and time notified from the clock unit 52 as the set date and time.

  The image forming apparatus position information table 53 stores the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 set by the position information setting unit 51 (see FIG. 9 described later). The image forming apparatus position information table 53 is constructed in the nonvolatile memory 34 or the hard disk device 35. Details of the image forming apparatus position information table 53 will be described later.

  The reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 calculates reliability relationship information related to reliability indicating the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 and records it in the reliability relationship information table 56 (see FIG. 10 described later). . The reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 uses the set date and time of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1, the current date and time output from the clock unit 52, and the detection result of the power supply detection unit 55, to show each reliability shown in FIG. Calculate and record responses related to degree related information.

  The power supply detection unit 55 detects the on state or the off state of the power supply 46 and notifies the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 of the detection result.

  The reliability relationship information table 56 stores reliability relationship information (see FIG. 10 described later) calculated by the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54. The reliability relationship information table 56 is constructed in the nonvolatile memory 34 or the hard disk device 35. Details of the reliability relationship information table 56 will be described later.

  When the information transmission unit 57 receives an acquisition request for the position information and reliability relationship information of the image forming apparatus 1 from the portable terminal 2, the information transmission unit 57 transmits the position information and reliability relationship information of the image forming apparatus 1 to the short-range wireless communication. It transmits to the portable terminal 2 via the part 37.

(Image forming apparatus position information table)
Here, the image forming apparatus position information table 53 will be described. FIG. 9 shows an example of the contents of the image forming apparatus position information table 53.
The image forming apparatus position information table 53 includes fields for the name, position information, and setting date and time of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The name field stores the name of the image forming apparatus 1 that transmitted the position information. The identification information only needs to be able to uniquely identify the image forming apparatus 1 that transmitted the position information on the network N. In addition to the name, the MAC address, the IP address of the IP (Internet Protocol) network, the telephone number, the e-mail address, etc. May be the identification information.

  The position information set in the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 is stored in the image forming apparatus position information field. The mobile terminal location information field includes subfields of latitude, longitude, and altitude.

  The date and time when position information is set in the image forming apparatus 1 is stored in the set date field. In the present embodiment, the date and time when the position information setting unit 51 sets the position information is set as the set date and time, but is not limited thereto. The set date / time is the date / time when the portable terminal 2 measured the position information (measurement date / time), the date / time when the portable terminal 2 transmitted the position information (transmission date / time), or the date / time when the image forming apparatus 1 acquired the position information of the portable terminal 2. (Acquisition date) may be used.

  The first record in FIG. 9 stores “MFP1” as the name of the image forming apparatus 1, “Latitude A1, longitude B1, altitude C1” as the portable terminal position information, and “D1” as the set date and time. The second record has a record of the image forming apparatus 1 with the name “MFP2”, the third record has the record of the image forming apparatus 1 with the name “MFP3”, and the fourth record has the image of the name “MFP4”. Records of the forming apparatus 1 are recorded.

(Reliability relationship information table)
Here, the reliability relationship information table 56 will be described. FIG. 10 shows an example of the content of the reliability relationship information table 56.
The reliability relationship information table 56 includes fields for the name of the image forming apparatus 1 and reliability relationship information. In FIG. 10, the reliability information includes a first information field 56a, a second information field 56b, and a third information field 56c.

  The first information field 56a records first information indicating whether or not the position information of the image forming apparatus has been updated since the power of the image forming apparatus was turned on. When the position information is updated after the power supply detection unit 55 detects that the power supply 46 has changed from the off state to the on state, the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 sets “YES” in the first information field 56a. If not, record “NO”.

  In the second information field 56b, second information indicating the length of time elapsed since the position information of the image forming apparatus was last updated is recorded. If the time (update elapsed time) from the set date and time when the previous position information was updated to the current date and time is shorter than a predetermined time (threshold value), the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 uses the second information field. Record 'short' in 56b, otherwise record 'long'.

  The third information field 56c records third information indicating whether or not the most recent power-on time is a preset time. Based on the detection result of the power supply detection unit 55, the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 determines whether or not the time when the state of the latest power supply 46 is switched from off to on is a predetermined daily time set in advance. judge. When the time when the state of the latest power supply 46 is switched from OFF to ON is a preset time, the reliability relationship information calculation unit 54 records “YES” in the third information field 56c, and so on. If not, record “NO”.

  The reason for reflecting the power on / off state in the reliability relationship information is as follows. As long as the power supply including the sleep state is turned on, it is estimated that the image forming apparatus 1 is not moved because at least the outlet is connected. However, when the “power is turned off”, the image forming apparatus 1 may be moved before the power is turned on next time, so it is considered that the reliability is low. For this reason, if the position information is updated after the power is turned on, it may be immediately determined that the reliability is high (the priority of the first information field 56a is set higher than the others).

  In the example of FIG. 10, in the record whose name of the image forming apparatus 1 is “MFP1”, the first information is “NO”, the second information is “short”, and the third information is “YES”. In the record of the image forming apparatus 1 named “MFP2”, the first information is “NO”, the second information is “short”, and the third information is “NO”. In the record in which the name of the image forming apparatus 1 is “MFP3”, the first information is “YES”, the second information is “short”, and the third information is “NO”. In the record in which the name of the image forming apparatus 1 is “MFP4”, the first information is “NO”, the second information is “long”, and the third information is “YES”.

  The contents of the first information, the second information, and the third information of the reliability relationship information are compared with the determination criteria stored in the portable terminal 2 to determine the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus. . In FIG. 10, three types of information are acquired as the reliability relationship information, but it is sufficient that at least one or more pieces of information are included among these three types. For example, only the first information in the first information field 56a, or the first information in the first information field 56a and the second information in the second information field 56b may be acquired.

[Configuration of mobile terminal]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the mobile terminal 2.
The mobile terminal 2 includes a control unit 60, a nonvolatile memory 64, a wireless communication unit 65, an antenna 65a, a short-range wireless communication unit 66, an antenna 66a, a display panel 67, a touch panel 68, a position measurement unit 69, and an altimeter 70.

  The control unit 60 includes a CPU 61, a ROM 62, and a RAM 63, and comprehensively controls the operation of the mobile terminal 2. The control unit 60 executes various processes by the CPU 61. The control unit 60 also functions as a job generation unit that generates a job to be executed by the image forming apparatus 1.

  The CPU 61 is based on an OS (Operating System) program and executes programs such as middleware and application programs. The processing of each unit executed by the CPU 61 will be described later.

  Various programs are stored in the ROM 62, and each function of the portable terminal 2 is realized by the CPU 61 executing processing according to these programs.

  The RAM 63 is used as a work memory that temporarily stores various data when the CPU 61 executes a program.

  For example, a semiconductor memory is used as the nonvolatile memory 64, and various settings are stored in the nonvolatile memory 64.

  The wireless communication unit 65 is connected to a wireless base station such as a mobile phone network via the antenna 65a, and communicates with the wide area network via the wireless base station.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 66 (an example of a second communication unit) communicates with a communication device within a certain range centered on the mobile terminal 2 via the antenna 66a. The short-range wireless communication unit 66 is connected to a wireless router R1 connected to the network N by short-range wireless communication compliant with a communication standard such as WiFi, and is connected to the image forming apparatus 1 on the network N via the wireless router R1. Communicate with each other. The short-range wireless communication unit 66 is configured using a wireless local area network (LAN) chip, for example, and is assigned a MAC (Media Access Control address) address for uniquely identifying a communication device on the network. The MAC address is also called a physical address, and the mobile terminal 2 is identified by the MAC address. When transmitting data to an external communication device, the short-range wireless communication unit 66 adds a MAC address as transmission source information to the transmission data and transmits the transmission data.

  The display panel 67 (an example of a display unit) is configured by a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like and has a function of displaying various operation screens, setting screens, and the like.

  The touch panel 68 is provided on the display surface of the display panel 67, and detects a coordinate position pressed with a touch pen, a finger, or the like. The touch panel 68 detects a flick operation, a drag operation, an operation on a scroll bar, and the like.

  The position measurement unit 69 is a GPS receiver that receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites and measures the current latitude, longitude, and altitude of the mobile terminal 2. The position measurement unit 69 obtains the time (measurement date and time) when the current position is measured from the time data included in the radio wave transmitted by the GPS satellite.

  The altimeter 70 is a device for measuring the altitude (altitude) of the location where the mobile terminal 2 is currently located, and a barometric altimeter is used as an example. The altimeter 70 is also an example of a position measurement unit. Note that if the position measuring unit 69 can measure altitude with sufficient accuracy using radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites, the altimeter 70 can be dispensed with.

  In response to a position information request from the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 60 of the portable terminal 2 uses the short-range wireless communication unit 66 to send the MAC address of the short-range wireless communication unit 66 together with the position information and the measurement date and time to the image forming apparatus 1. Notice. In the following description, the notification of the location information, the measurement date and time, and the MAC address by the mobile terminal 2 is referred to as “notify location information”.

  In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 2 is connected to the network N via the wireless router R1 by the short-range wireless communication unit 66, but the mobile terminal 2 is connected to the network N via the wireless base station and the network N by the wireless communication unit 65. The image forming apparatus 1 may be connected. In this case, the mobile terminal 2 notifies the MAC address of the wireless communication unit 65 together with the position information and the measurement date / time. In the present embodiment, the image forming system 3B is assumed. However, when the system configuration is the image forming system 3A, the portable terminal 2 directly and wirelessly issues jobs and position information with the image forming apparatus 1. Requests, position information notifications, and the like may be performed.

  Note that the client terminal P and the server SV, which are also examples of communication terminal apparatuses, have the same configuration as the mobile terminal 2. However, unnecessary blocks can be deleted from the block configuration of FIG. 11 in each device.

Next, functions of the control unit 60 of the mobile terminal 2 will be described.
FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 60 of the mobile terminal 2. The CPU 61 of the control unit 60 executes the program stored in the ROM 62, thereby realizing the functions of the respective units of the control unit 60 shown in FIG.

  The control unit 60 includes an information collection unit 71, a reliability determination unit 73, an evaluation score table 74, a determination result table 75, a display control unit 76, an image data memory 77, and a job generation unit 78.

  The information collecting unit 71 performs control to collect the position information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 and the reliability relationship information of the position information via the short-range wireless communication unit 66.

  The reliability determination unit 73 determines the reliability of the position information set in the image forming apparatus 1 based on the reliability relationship information collected by the information collection unit 71. More specifically, the reliability determination unit 73 includes the contents of each reliability relationship information field of the reliability relationship information table 56 (FIG. 10) and each evaluation score field of the evaluation score table 74 (see FIG. 13 described later). Based on the result, an evaluation score is calculated for each reliability relation information field. Then, the reliability determination unit 73 records the evaluation score as a determination result in the determination result table 75.

Here, the evaluation score table 74 will be described. FIG. 13 shows an example of the contents of the evaluation score table 74.
The evaluation score table 74 stores evaluation score information that is given according to the content of the reliability relationship information. In the first evaluation score field 74a, evaluation scores corresponding to the first information field 56a of the reliability relationship information table 56 are stored. Here, when the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 is updated after the power of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on (in the case of YES), 70 points are given as high reliability.

  The second evaluation score field 74b stores an evaluation score corresponding to the second information field 56b of the reliability relationship information table 56. Here, when the time elapsed since the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 was last updated is shorter than a predetermined time, 20 points are given as high reliability.

  In the third evaluation score field 74c, evaluation scores corresponding to the third information field 56c of the reliability relationship information table 56 are stored. Here, when the most recent power-on time is a preset time (in the case of YES), 10 points are given as high reliability.

  Then, the total of the evaluation points in the first to third evaluation point fields 74a to 74c is recorded in the reliability field. The higher the evaluation score recorded in the reliability field, the higher the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 to be evaluated. That is, it can be said that the positional information of the image forming apparatus 1 is highly reliable.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the contents of the determination result table 75.
In the determination result table 75, the determination result by the reliability determination unit 73 is recorded for each image forming apparatus 1. The determination result table 75 has a name field and a reliability field.
In the reliability field, for each name of the image forming apparatus 1, the sum of evaluation points for each reliability relationship information is recorded as the reliability.

  The reliability determination unit 73 determines the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 based on one or more pieces of information included in the reliability relationship information table 56 transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1. You may do it. That is, it is not necessary to evaluate the reliability of all the collected reliability related information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1. For example, as described above, if the position information is updated after the power is turned on, it is possible to immediately consider that the reliability is high. In this case, only the first evaluation point field 74a is used to determine the reliability. Make a decision.

  The display control unit 76 generates at least two-dimensional information (display data) regarding the positional relationship of the image forming apparatus 1 reflecting the determination result by the reliability determination unit 73 and the positional information of the image forming apparatus 1, and displays the display panel 67. Output to. That is, the display control unit 76 acquires the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 from the information collecting unit 71, reads the evaluation score for each image forming apparatus 1 from the determination result table 75, and further stores the evaluation score in the image data memory 77. Using the image data, two-dimensional information including information on the position of the image forming apparatus 1 and its reliability is created. Further, the display control unit 76 changes the display mode (scale as an example) of the two-dimensional information based on the determination result by the reliability determination unit 73.

  The display panel 67 displays the two-dimensional information supplied from the display control unit 76 on the display screen.

  The image data memory 77 stores image data used when the display control unit 76 creates two-dimensional information. As the image data memory 77, a nonvolatile memory 64 is used. The image data memory 77 stores, for example, image data of a positional relationship diagram (see FIG. 17 described later) indicating the positional relationship between the mobile terminal 2 and the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1. Further, the image data memory 77 stores, for example, image data of a floor map (see FIG. 21 to be described later) that is a map showing a part or all of the floor where the image forming apparatus 1 in the building is installed. The positional relationship diagram and the floor map stored in the image data memory 77 are default settings.

  In the present embodiment, two-dimensional information is synonymous with two-dimensional data. With two-dimensional data, when two observation values (information) are given to one observation object, such data is called two-dimensional data. In the two-dimensional information (display data) according to the present embodiment, two pieces of information such as position information and reliability are given to the image forming apparatus 1 to be observed. Therefore, as shown in a printer selection screen (see FIGS. 25 to 27) described later, information including position information and reliability of the image forming apparatus 1 is two-dimensional information.

  The job generation unit 78 generates a job based on an operation signal from the touch panel 68. The job generation unit 78 generates a job for the image forming apparatus selected on the printer selection screen (see FIG. 23 and the like) and outputs the job to the image forming apparatus 1 via the short-range wireless communication unit 66. The image forming apparatus 1 instructed to execute the job executes processing for forming an image based on output data included in the job on a sheet in accordance with the output setting included in the job.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus (Control Unit)]
Next, the operation of the control unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission process of position information and reliability relationship information by the control unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 1. The CPU 31 of the control unit 30 executes the program stored in the ROM 32, thereby realizing the processing shown in FIG.

  First, the position information setting unit 51 of the control unit 30 determines whether or not an acquisition request for position information and reliability relationship information has been received from the mobile terminal 2 (S1). If the acquisition request has not been received, the position information setting unit 51 continues to monitor the acquisition request (NO in S1).

  Next, when the acquisition request is received (YES in S1), the information transmission unit 57 relates the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 (own apparatus) recorded in the image forming apparatus position information table 53 and the reliability relationship. The reliability relationship information recorded in the information table 56 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2 via the network controller 36 (S2). After this process is completed, the control unit 40 ends the flowchart of FIG.

[Operation of mobile terminal (control unit)]
Next, operation | movement of the control part 60 of the portable terminal 2 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing display processing by the control unit 60 of the portable terminal. The processing shown in FIG. 16 is realized by the CPU 61 of the control unit 60 executing the program stored in the ROM 62.

  First, the information collection unit 71 of the control unit 60 requests position information and reliability relationship information (reliability relationship information table 56) from the image forming apparatuses 1 on the same network N (S11).

  Next, the information collection unit 71 determines whether position information and reliability relationship information have been received from the image forming apparatus 1 (S12). Here, when the position information and the reliability relationship information are not received, the information collecting unit 71 continues monitoring the reception of these information (NO in S12).

  Next, when the positional information and the reliability relationship information are received from the image forming apparatus 1 (YES in S12), the reliability determination unit 73 determines the reliability of the position information from the reliability relationship information (S13). . The determination result is recorded in the determination result table 75.

  Then, the display control unit 76 displays two-dimensional information including position information and reliability information of the image forming apparatus 1 on the same network N on the display panel 67 based on the determination result of the reliability determination unit 73. (S14). After this process is completed, the control unit 60 ends the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the two-dimensional information (positional relationship diagram 85) displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 2.
On the display screen 80 of the display panel 67 of the portable terminal 2, a plane coordinate instruction screen in a display form called a PPI scope (Plan Position Indicator scope) used in a radar display is displayed as two-dimensional information. In this plane coordinate instruction screen, the determination result of the reliability is represented by color intensity. For example, a symbol representing the position of an image forming apparatus with high reliability (probability) is displayed in a dark color, and a symbol representing the position of an image forming apparatus with low reliability is displayed in a light color. Here, it is assumed that the default scale is a scale at which a symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus with high reliability of position information is displayed on the display screen.

  In FIG. 17, the current position of the mobile terminal 2 is set as a base point 86 (predetermined position: for example, the center of the screen), and the image forming apparatus 1 is displayed around it. In FIG. 17, the MFP 1 is disposed at a position 84 that is substantially equidistant on the opposite side of the MFP 1 with the MFP 1 at the position 81, the MFP 2 at the position 82 close to the MFP 1, and the portable terminal 2. The MFP 3 at the position 83 has a higher reliability than the other MFPs 1, 2, 4 and is displayed in a dark color, but is farthest from the mobile terminal 2.

  The display of the positional relationship diagram 85 showing the positional relationship between the mobile terminal 2 and the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 based on the position of the mobile terminal 2 as shown in FIG. 17 is provided with the position measuring unit 69. Or it is limited to when there is an alternative method for estimating the position of the mobile terminal 2. If the portable terminal 2 is equipped with the position measuring unit 69, it can be seen how far the image forming apparatus exists in which direction as viewed from the portable terminal 2 without the map information.

  It should be noted that the symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus based on the reliability is expressed by characters such as “high / medium / low” instead of the color density, and numerical values (for example, evaluation points) of the reliability. Also good. For example, if the evaluation score in the evaluation value field of the determination result table 75 is 80 points or higher, the reliability is high, and if it is 79 to 21 points, the reliability may be set so that the reliability is 20 or lower.

According to the first embodiment described above, the probability (reliability) of the position information set in the image forming apparatus 1 is determined, and the determination result is notified to the user U. Accordingly, the user U can select the image forming apparatus 1 to be used after knowing the certainty of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1. For this reason, the user U can select the image forming apparatus 1 whose position information is more reliable and execute printing.
Further, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience that the user U does not know where the image is printed by the image forming apparatus 1 installed.

  In the present embodiment, a plane coordinate instruction screen having a display form called a PPI scope used in a radar display is displayed as two-dimensional information. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, a floor map as shown in FIG. 21, which will be described later, may be displayed at a certain default scale.

<2. Second Embodiment>
The second embodiment is an example in which the mobile terminal 2 changes and displays the display mode (for example, scale) of the two-dimensional information based on the determination result by the reliability determination unit 73. That is, the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 is determined, and the image forming apparatus 1 having a high probability is included in the search result of the image forming apparatus 1.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the scale change process by the control unit 60 of the mobile terminal 2.
First, the display control unit 76 of the control unit 60 uses the position of the mobile terminal 2 itself as the center of the screen, and for the image forming apparatus 1 on the same network N, the symbol indicating the position of the highly reliable image forming apparatus 1 is a dark color, A symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus 1 with low reliability is developed in a light color on the RAM 63 (S21).

  Next, the image information (positional relationship diagram) developed on the RAM 63 is changed to a scale displayed on the display screen 80 of the display panel 67 by the highly reliable image forming apparatus 1 and displayed on the display screen 80 ( S22). After this process is completed, the control unit 60 ends the flowchart of FIG.

19 is an explanatory diagram of two-dimensional information (positional relationship diagram) displayed on the display screen 80 of the mobile terminal 2, FIG. 19A is a positional relationship diagram before the scale change, and FIG. 19B is a positional relationship diagram after the scale change. Indicates.
In the positional relationship diagram 85 ′ of FIG. 19A, the MFP 1, 2, 4 with low reliability is displayed on the display screen 80 because the scale is large, but the MFP 3 with high reliability is not displayed. The MFP 3 is also displayed on the display screen 80 by the display control unit 76 reducing the scale of the positional relationship diagram 85.

  According to the above-described second embodiment, the user U can change the scale of the positional relationship diagram 85 so that the image forming apparatus 1 with high probability of positional information is displayed on the display screen 80, so that the user U can display it. Printing can be executed by selecting the image forming apparatus 1 with more reliable position information. Accordingly, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience that the user U does not know where the image is printed by the installed image forming apparatus 1.

<3. Third Embodiment>
The third embodiment is an example in which two-dimensional information is displayed on the mobile terminal 2 that is not equipped with the position measurement unit 69. In the present embodiment, for example, a floor map that is a map showing a part or all of the floor where the image forming apparatus 1 in the building is installed is displayed. Position information is embedded in the image data of the floor map. The position information embedded in the image data of the floor map has the same coordinate system (geographic coordinate system: latitude, longitude, altitude) as the position information set in the image forming apparatus 1.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing display processing by the control unit 60 of the mobile terminal 2.
First, the display control unit 76 of the control unit 60 reads the floor map from the image data memory 77 and develops it on the RAM 63 (S31).

  Next, the display control unit 76 puts a symbol (mark) at a position where the image forming apparatus 1 exists on the floor map (S32).

  Then, the display control unit 76 changes the floor map developed on the RAM 63 to a scale displayed on the display screen 80 of the display panel 67 by the image forming apparatus 1 with high reliability and displays the floor map on the display screen 80 ( S33). After this process is completed, the control unit 60 ends the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of the two-dimensional information (floor map) displayed on the display screen 80 of the mobile terminal 2. FIG. 21A shows the floor map before the scale change, and FIG. 21B shows the floor map after the scale change.
In the floor map 95 ′ of FIG. 21A, because the scale is large, the low-reliability MFPs 1 and 2 existing at the positions 91 and 92 are displayed on the display screen 80, but the high-reliability MFP 3 is not displayed. As the display control unit 76 reduces the scale of the floor map 95, the MFP 3 is also displayed on the display screen 80.

  According to 3rd Embodiment mentioned above, there exists an effect similar to 2nd Embodiment. Further, according to the third embodiment, two-dimensional information representing only the positional relationship of the image forming apparatus 1 such as a floor map is displayed, and the two-dimensional information based on the mobile terminal 2 is not displayed. Therefore, even on the mobile terminal 2 that does not include the position measurement unit 69, the user U can check the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 and its certainty.

[Modification of Third Embodiment]
In the above-described third embodiment, the floor maps 91 and 91 ′ representing only the positional relationship of the image forming apparatus 1 as the two-dimensional information have been described, but the symbols indicating the position of the mobile terminal 2 on the floor maps 91 and 91 ′. May be arranged. For example, when the portable terminal 2 includes the position measuring unit 69 or there is an alternative method for estimating the position of the portable terminal 2, the floor maps 91 and 91 ′ are based on the position information measured by the portable terminal 2. A symbol indicating the position of the mobile terminal 2 is displayed. Here, the display based on the position of the mobile terminal 2 is not performed, but the position of the mobile terminal 2 can be displayed at the base point (center of the screen).

  As a method of estimating the position of the mobile terminal 2, there is a method of estimating the position of the mobile terminal 2 using short-range wireless communication such as WiFi (registered trademark). The image forming system has a position information database in which SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers) such as a plurality of wireless routers (access points) connected to the network N are associated with position information. Then, using the position information database, the approximate position (range) of the mobile terminal 2 within the range where radio waves reach from the access point is specified from the SSID name of the access point. Further, the access point measures the strength of the radio wave output from the mobile terminal 2 (received radio wave strength), and based on the received radio wave intensity measured at a plurality of access points and the position information database, the location where the mobile terminal exists is determined. Presumed.

  With such a display mode, the user U can not only confirm the positional relationship of the image forming apparatus 1 in the floor, but can also confirm the positional relationship between the portable terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 1.

[Modifications of Second and Third Embodiments]
By the way, in the second embodiment and the third embodiment described above, the scale of the two-dimensional information (positional relationship diagram, floor map) is reduced until the highly reliable image forming apparatus 1 is displayed on the display screen 80. The direction was changed. However, even if the image forming apparatus 1 displayed on the display screen 80 is only the image forming apparatus 1 with low reliability, the image forming apparatus 1 may be displayed without changing the scale.
For example, when there is no image forming apparatus 1 with high reliability or when an image forming apparatus with high reliability is extremely far away, only the image forming apparatus 1 with low reliability is displayed without changing the scale. By doing so, it is possible to meet the demands of a user who wants to know an image forming apparatus in the immediate vicinity, or who wants to perform printing using the nearby image forming apparatus 1 even if the reliability is low. it can.

[Modifications of First to Third Embodiments]
In the first to third embodiments, the image forming apparatus 1 with high reliability is displayed. However, if the image forming apparatus 1 with medium reliability is displayed on the display screen 80, The image forming apparatus 1 with high reliability may not be displayed. In other words, the display control unit 76 does not change the scale to be smaller if the image forming apparatus 1 having a medium reliability is displayed on the display screen 80.
This is because the image forming apparatus 1 does not move frequently and hardly moves, so that it is determined that there is no problem in practical use even at an intermediate level.

<4. Fourth Embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, when the user U selects the image forming apparatus 1 from the printer selection screen before displaying the two-dimensional information, the probability of the position information of the selected image forming apparatus 1 is low. This is an example of displaying the position of an image forming apparatus that is more likely to be near.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing display processing by the control unit 60 of the mobile terminal 2.
First, the display control unit 76 of the control unit 60 controls to display a list of image forming apparatuses on the display panel 67 in the job creation mode (S41). FIG. 23 shows an example of a printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus 1 in the portable terminal 2. In this example, MFP2 is selected.

  Next, the display control unit 76 refers to the determination result table 75 and determines whether or not the reliability of the image forming apparatus 1 selected by the touch panel 68 is low (S42).

  When the reliability of the selected image forming apparatus 1 is low (YES in S42), the scale of the two-dimensional information is high in reliability (or higher in reliability) closest to the selected image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 changes the scale to be displayed on the display screen 80 and displays the two-dimensional information (S43).

  Next, the display control unit 76 displays a display screen 80 that introduces the image forming apparatus 1 with higher reliability (S44).

  On the other hand, when the reliability of the selected image forming apparatus 1 is high (NO in S42), the position of the selected image forming apparatus 1 is displayed on the display screen 80 (step S45). After the process of step S44 or step S45 is complete | finished, the process of the flowchart of FIG. 22 is complete | finished.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of two-dimensional information (floor map) displayed on the display screen 80 of the mobile terminal 2.
The MFP 2 is selected on the printer selection screen (FIG. 23), but the floor map 101 displays the highly reliable MFP 3 installed near the MFP 1 and MFP 2. In addition to the floor map 101, the display screen 80 displays a warning message 102, “What is the location information of the MFP 3 more reliable, what do you do?” And the print button 103 of the MFP 2 and the MFP 3. Print buttons 104 are displayed side by side.

  According to the fourth embodiment described above, the user U can select the image forming apparatus 1 to be used after knowing the certainty of the position information of the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, it is possible to reselect an image forming apparatus with high reliability different from the once selected image forming apparatus, and the convenience of the user U is improved. FIG. 24 shows an example of a floor map, but it can also be applied to a positional relationship diagram as shown in FIG.

<5. Fifth Embodiment>
The fifth embodiment is an example of a display mode (two-dimensional information) reflecting high and low reliability of position information on the printer selection screen as shown in FIG.

FIG. 25 shows an example of a printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus 1 in the portable terminal 2.
On the printer selection screen of the display screen 80, radio buttons for selecting the MFP1 to MFP4 are displayed. In this example, since the radio button of MFP 2 is highlighted, MFP 2 is selected. Then, the selection column of the MFP 3 with high reliability of the position information is highlighted. That is, on this printer selection screen, an MFP with high reliability of position information (in this example, MFP 3) is displayed separately from other MFPs. With such a display mode, the user U can check which image forming apparatus 1 has high reliability of position information on the printer selection screen.

[First Modification of Fifth Embodiment]
FIG. 26 shows a first modification of a printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus 1 in the portable terminal 2.
On the printer selection screen of the display screen 80, the MFP 2 is selected because the radio button of the MFP 2 is highlighted among the MFPs 1 to 4. In the selection column of the MFP 3 with high reliability, “high” indicating that the reliability is high is displayed. With such a display mode, the user U can check which image forming apparatus 1 has high reliability of position information on the printer selection screen.

[Modification 2 of Fifth Embodiment]
FIG. 27 shows a second modification of the printer selection screen for selecting the image forming apparatus 1 in the portable terminal 2.
The selection fields of MFP1 to MFP4 on the display screen 80 are displayed in descending order of reliability. That is, the reliability is high in the order of MFP3, MFP1, MFP2, and MFP4 from the top. In addition, in the selection fields (next to the names) of MFP1 to MFP4 on the display screen 80, distance guidelines such as (far), (normal), and (near) are displayed as text. The standard of the distance may be based on the portable terminal 2 provided with the position measuring unit 69 or may be based on a predetermined position (such as the center of the floor) on the floor map. With such a display mode, the user U can confirm which image forming apparatus 1 is closer in addition to which image forming apparatus 1 has high reliability of position information on the printer selection screen.

  According to the fifth embodiment and the modification thereof described above, the selection column for the image forming apparatus with high reliability is displayed differently from the selection column for the other image forming apparatuses on the printer selection screen. As a result, the user U selects and prints the image forming apparatus 1 with more probable position information without displaying the two-dimensional information indicating the position of the image forming apparatus 1 as shown in FIGS. Can be executed. Further, in the example of FIG. 27, on the printer selection screen, in addition to the image forming apparatus 1 whose position information is more sure, the closer image forming apparatus 1 can be selected and printing can be executed.

<6. Sixth Embodiment>
In the sixth embodiment, when the reliability of the position information of the selected image forming apparatus 1 is low, the image forming apparatus 1 and the portable terminal 2 are stored in association with each other, and the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 with low reliability is stored. When updated, the mobile terminal 2 that has been stored in association is notified that the location information has been updated.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating job execution processing by the control unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 1.
First, the control unit 30 determines whether or not a job has been issued (S51), and if the job has not been issued, continues monitoring the job issue (NO in S51).

  Next, when the job is issued (YES in S51), the control unit 30 determines whether or not the reliability of the position information of the own apparatus is low (S52). When the reliability is low (YES in S52), the identification information (MAC address or the like) of the portable terminal 2 that has submitted the job is stored in the nonvolatile memory 34 or the like (S53). In addition, in order to process the determination step of S52, it is necessary to provide the function of the reliability determination unit 73 of the portable terminal 2 also on the image forming apparatus 1 side.

  After the process of step S53 is completed or when it is determined NO in step S52, the control unit 30 executes the job (S54). After this process ends, the process of the flowchart of FIG. 28 ends.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting the updated position information by the control unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 1.
First, the position information setting unit 51 of the control unit 30 determines whether or not position information has been input (S61). If there is no position information input, monitoring of the position information input is continued (NO in S61).

  Next, the position information setting unit 51 updates the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 with the input position information (S62).

  Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the reliability of the position information before the update of the own device is low (S63).

  Next, when the reliability of the position information is low (YES in S63), the control unit 30 determines whether or not a job is submitted while the reliability of the position information is low (S64).

  If the job is input while the reliability of the position information is low (YES in S64), the control unit 30 causes the mobile terminal 2 (in FIG. 28) to input the job while the reliability of the position information is low. The updated position information is transmitted to the portable terminal 2) stored in S53 (S65). When the mobile terminal 2 receives the updated position information from the image forming apparatus 1, it is desirable to notify the user U that the position information of the image forming apparatus 1 has been updated.

  After the process of step S65 is completed, if it is determined NO in step S63, or if it is determined NO in step S64, the control unit 30 ends the process of the flowchart of FIG.

  According to the above-described sixth embodiment, since the image forming apparatus 1 having low position information accuracy has been instructed to print, even if it is not possible to know where it was printed, If the location information of the image forming apparatus 1 is updated, the updated location information can be notified to the portable terminal 2 that has input the print job so that the printed location can be known.

  Note that the notification that the position information in the portable terminal 2 has been updated is a flashing symbol representing the corresponding image forming apparatus, only the image forming apparatus with the updated position information displayed on the display screen, or a printer selection screen May indicate that the location has been changed.

<7. Other>
In the above-described first to sixth embodiments and modifications, the positions of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 are represented in the two-dimensional information displayed on the display screen 80 of the mobile terminal 2. It may be set to display only the position. For example, only the position of the image forming apparatus 1 having the highest reliability of the position information among the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 connected to the network N may be displayed. With this display mode, it is possible to present information to a user who places importance on the reliability of the position information while focusing on the position of the image forming apparatus 1 with the highest reliability of the position information.

  Further, only the position of the image forming apparatus 1 closest to the user among the image forming apparatuses 1 whose reliability exceeds the reference value may be displayed. Alternatively, regardless of the level of reliability, only the position of the image forming apparatus 1 that is closest to the current position of the user (mobile terminal 2) or the specified position may be displayed. With this display mode, it is possible to present information focused on the closest position of the image forming apparatus 1 to a user who places importance on the distance to the image forming apparatus 1. Here, when the position of the image forming apparatus 1 cannot be displayed with the default scale, the scale of the two-dimensional information is changed.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other application examples and modifications can be taken without departing from the gist of the present invention described in the claims. is there.

  For example, the above-described exemplary embodiments are detailed and specific descriptions of the configuration of the apparatus and the system in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described above. . Further, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment. In addition, the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment. Moreover, it is also possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each exemplary embodiment.

  Each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, and the like may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Each of the above-described configurations, functions, and the like may be realized by software by interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function by the processor. Information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing each function can be stored in a recording device such as a memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

  Further, the control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all the control lines and information lines on the product are necessarily shown. Actually, it may be considered that almost all the components are connected to each other.

  Further, in this specification, the processing steps describing time-series processing are not limited to processing performed in time series according to the described order, but are not necessarily performed in time series, either in parallel or individually. The processing (for example, parallel processing or object processing) is also included.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A, 1B, 1C ... Image forming apparatus 1 ... Portable terminal, 3A, 3B, 3C ... Image forming system, 16 ... Operation panel, 20 ... Image forming part, 30 ... Control part, 31 ... CPU, 36 ... Network controller 37 ... Short-range wireless communication unit 46 ... Power source 47 ... Main switch 51 ... Position information setting unit 52 ... Clock unit 53 ... Image forming apparatus position information table 54 ... Reliability relationship information calculation unit 55 ... Power supply detection unit 56 ... Reliability level information table 57 ... Information transmission unit 71 ... Information collection unit 72 ... Storage unit 73 ... Reliability determination unit 74 ... Evaluation score table 75 ... Determination result table 76 ... Display control unit 77 ... Image data 60 ... Control part 61 ... CPU 65 ... Wireless communication part 66 ... Short-range wireless communication part 67 ... Display panel 6 8: Touch panel, 69: Position measuring unit, 70: Altimeter, 80 ... Screen, 81, 82, 83, 84 ... Position, 85, 85 '... Position relation diagram, 91, 92, 93 ... Position, 95, 95' ... Floor map, 101 ... Floor map, 102 ... Alert message, 103 ... MFP2 print button, 104 ... MFP3 print button, N ... Network, R1, R2 ... Wireless router, SV ... Server

Claims (14)

In an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a communication terminal apparatus that communicates with the image forming apparatus,
Each of the image forming apparatuses includes:
A position information setting unit for setting the input position information as the position information of the image forming apparatus;
A reliability relationship information calculation unit that calculates reliability relationship information related to the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus;
A first communication unit that communicates with the communication terminal device;
An information transmission unit that transmits the position information and the reliability relationship information of the image forming apparatus to the communication terminal device via the first communication unit;
The communication terminal device
A second communication unit that communicates with the plurality of image forming apparatuses;
An information collection unit that collects the position information and the reliability relationship information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses via the second communication unit;
A reliability determination unit that determines the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus by comparing the reliability relationship information collected by the information collection unit with a determination criterion;
A display control unit that generates two-dimensional information related to the positional relationship of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that reflects the determination result by the reliability determination unit and the positional information of the image forming apparatus;
A display unit that displays the two-dimensional information generated by the display control unit. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit of the communication terminal device changes a display mode of the two-dimensional information based on a determination result by the reliability determination unit. The display control unit generates two-dimensional information regarding a positional relationship between the communication terminal device and the plurality of image forming apparatuses, reflecting the determination result by the reliability determination unit and the position information of the image forming apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 2. The display control unit of the communication terminal device generates a positional relationship diagram indicating the positional relationship between the communication terminal device and a plurality of the image forming devices based on the position of the communication terminal device as the two-dimensional information, The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein the scale of the positional relationship diagram is changed so that at least a symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus with high reliability of the position information is displayed on the display screen of the display unit. The communication terminal device further includes a storage unit that stores a floor map that is a map showing a part or all of a floor where the image forming apparatus is installed in a building.
The display control unit of the communication terminal apparatus generates, as the two-dimensional information, the floor map in which a symbol representing the position of the communication terminal apparatus and a symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus are arranged, and at least the position information The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein the scale of the floor map is changed so that a symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus with high reliability is displayed on the display screen of the display unit. The communication terminal device further includes a storage unit that stores a floor map that is a map showing a part or all of a floor where the image forming apparatus is installed in a building.
The display control unit of the communication terminal apparatus generates the floor map in which symbols representing the position of the image forming apparatus are arranged as the two-dimensional information, and at least the position of the image forming apparatus with high reliability of the position information The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the scale of the floor map is changed so that a symbol representing “” is displayed on the display screen of the display unit. The display control unit of the communication terminal apparatus displays the selectable image forming apparatus on the display unit, and when the reliability of the position information of the selected image forming apparatus is low, The symbol representing the position of the image forming apparatus with high reliability is displayed on the display screen of the display unit, and the positional relationship diagram or the floor map is displayed on the display screen of the display unit. The image forming system according to claim 6. When the communication terminal apparatus transmits a job to the image forming apparatus with low reliability of the position information, the position information set by the position information setting unit is changed in the image forming apparatus that has received the job. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the changed position information is transmitted to the communication terminal device that has transmitted the job by the first communication unit. The reliability relationship information includes first information indicating whether or not the position information of the image forming apparatus has been updated since the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on, and the position information of the image forming apparatus is the last. It includes at least one or more information among second information indicating the length of the elapsed time since the update and third information indicating whether or not the most recent power-on time is a preset time. Item 9. The image forming system according to any one of Items 1 to 8. The reliability determination unit of the communication terminal apparatus determines the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus based on one or more pieces of information included in the reliability relationship information. Image forming system. A communication unit for communicating with a plurality of image forming apparatuses;
An information collecting unit that collects position information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses and reliability related information related to reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus via the communication unit;
A reliability determination unit that determines the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus by comparing the reliability relationship information collected by the information collection unit with a determination criterion;
A display control unit that generates two-dimensional information related to the positional relationship of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that reflects the determination result by the reliability determination unit and the positional information of the image forming apparatus;
And a display unit that displays the two-dimensional information generated by the display control unit. A position information setting unit that sets the input position information as the position information of the own device;
A reliability relationship information calculation unit that calculates reliability relationship information related to the reliability of the position information of the device;
A communication unit that communicates with the communication terminal device;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an information transmission unit configured to transmit the position information and the reliability relationship information of the own device to the communication terminal device via the communication unit. Processing for collecting position information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses and reliability relationship information related to reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus;
A process for determining the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus by comparing the collected reliability relationship information with a determination criterion;
A process of generating two-dimensional information related to the positional relationship of the plurality of image forming apparatuses reflecting the determination result of the reliability of the position information of the image forming apparatus and the position information of the image forming apparatus;
A process of displaying the two-dimensional information;
A display program to be executed by a computer included in a communication terminal device. A process of setting the input location information as the location information of the own device;
Processing to calculate reliability related information related to the reliability of the position information of the device;
A process of transmitting the position information and the reliability relationship information of the own device to a communication terminal device,
An information transmission program to be executed by a computer included in the image forming apparatus.

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