JP2018174368A - Image formation system, management server, image formation device, and image formation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation system capable of accessing a corporate content easily from an image formation device.SOLUTION: An image formation system X includes a management server 1 for managing content, and an image formation device 2 capable of acquiring information from the management server 1. A unit type specification part 100 of the management server 1 acquires unit type specification information 400 for specifying the unit type of the image formation device 2. An operation panel specification part 110 specifies the type of operation panel 26 of the image formation device 2, by the unit type specification information 400 thus acquired. A display operation data creation part 120 creates display operation data 320, i.e., the display and operation data for browsing a content, optimized for the specified operation panel 26. A display operation data transmission part 130 transmits the display operation data 320, created by the display operation data creation part 120, to the image formation device 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, a management server, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming method, and more particularly to an image forming system, a management server, and an image forming system for managing contents for enterprises such as ECM (Enterprise Content Management). The present invention relates to an apparatus and an image forming method.

Conventionally, there are image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals (MFPs) capable of printing documents and images.
On the other hand, a tool for executing ECM (Enterprise Content Management) and a server for executing the same have become widespread as management of contents for enterprises.
A management server that executes ECM is capable of storing and distributing content including document files related to operations in an organization such as a company.

  Here, with reference to Patent Document 1, there is described an image forming apparatus that requests a server to transmit a page suitable for a changed state even when the state of the apparatus changes. The apparatus of Patent Literature 1 includes a display unit that displays an image, a request unit that transmits a page transmission request to request transmission of a page described in a markup language to the server, and a response to the transmission of the page transmission request. Interpreting the page received from the server to generate a screen, displaying the generated screen on the display means, a state detecting unit for detecting the state of the device, a first type of user agent, An agent selecting unit that selects a type of user agent corresponding to the detected state from the two types of user agents; The request unit includes a setting unit that sets the user agent selected for the page transmission request.

JP 2014-38378 A

However, the apparatus of Patent Document 1 simply has a configuration in which a “user agent” of a web browser is simply changed to acquire different types of web pages from a web server.
For this reason, it has been difficult to display a screen for display and operation in the ECM or the like in accordance with the “characteristics of the operation panel unit” for each type of image forming apparatus.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming system that solves the above-described problems.

The image forming system of the present invention is an image forming system including a management server that manages content and an image forming apparatus that can acquire information from the management server, and the management server includes: The model specifying information acquisition unit for acquiring model specifying information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus, and the type of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus based on the model specifying information acquired by the model specifying information acquiring unit A display operation for creating display operation data which is display and operation data optimized for the operation panel specified by the operation panel specifying unit and the operation panel specified by the operation panel specifying unit A display operation data for transmitting the display operation data generated by the data generation unit and the display operation data generation unit to the image forming apparatus; The image forming apparatus includes a model specifying information transmitting unit that transmits the model specifying information to the management server, and the display corresponding to the model specifying information transmitted by the model specifying information transmitting unit. The operation data is received from the display operation data transmission unit of the management server, and the display operation data received by the display operation data reception unit is interpreted and displayed on the operation panel unit. A display operation acquisition unit that acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the display operation data, and an input process execution unit that executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the display operation acquisition unit.
In the image forming system according to the aspect of the invention, the display operation data creation unit of the management server may have a configuration of a resolution and a color gamut of the specified display unit of the operation panel unit, and an input unit of the specified operation panel unit. The display operation data is created by performing corresponding optimization.
In the image forming system according to the aspect of the invention, the display operation data creation unit of the management server may include a touch operation within an area displayed on the display unit when the input unit of the identified operation panel unit includes a touch panel. The operation information that can be input by the key is assigned, and when the input unit of the identified operation panel unit includes a hard key, the operation information that can be input by pressing the hard key is assigned.
The management server of the present invention is a management server that manages content, and includes a model specifying information acquisition unit that acquires model specifying information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus, and the model specifying With the model specifying information acquired by the information acquisition unit, the operation panel specifying unit for specifying the type of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus and the operation panel unit specified by the operation panel specifying unit are optimized. A display operation data creating unit that creates display operation data that is display and operation data for browsing the content, and the display operation data created by the display operation data creating unit is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. And a display operation data transmission unit.
An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that can acquire information from a management server that manages content, and model specifying information for transmitting model specifying information for specifying the model of the own apparatus to the management server. Display operation for receiving display operation data, which is display and operation data for browsing the content, corresponding to the model specifying information transmitted by the transmitting unit and the model specifying information transmitting unit from the management server A data reception unit, a display operation acquisition unit that interprets the display operation data received by the display operation data reception unit, displays the operation operation unit on the operation panel unit, and acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the display operation data; And an input process execution unit that executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the display operation acquisition unit.
The image forming method of the present invention is an image forming method executed by an image forming system including a management server for managing content and an image forming apparatus capable of acquiring information from the management server. Transmits model specifying information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus to the management server, the management server acquires the model specifying information from the image forming apparatus, and the management server is acquired. The type identifying information identifies the type of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus, and the management server optimizes the identified operation panel unit for display and operation for browsing the content. Display operation data which is data is created, and the management server transmits the created display operation data to the image forming apparatus, and the image formation The display receives the transmitted display operation data from the management server, and the image forming apparatus interprets the received display operation data and displays it on the operation panel unit, and corresponds to the display operation data. The input by the operation to acquire is acquired, and the image forming apparatus executes a process corresponding to the acquired input.

  According to the present invention, the type specifying information identifies the type of the operation panel unit itself of the image forming apparatus, and creates display operation data that is display and operation data optimized for this. By doing so, it is possible to provide an image forming system capable of displaying a display with high operability in ECM or the like and a screen for operation in accordance with the characteristics of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of an operation panel unit shown in FIG. 1. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the display operation screen display process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the display operation screen display process shown in FIG.

<Embodiment>
[System configuration of image forming system X]
First, a system configuration of an image forming system X according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming system X of the present embodiment includes a management server 1 and an image forming apparatus 2 that can output content from the management server 1, and these apparatuses are connected via a network 5.

The management server 1 is an ECM (Enterprise Content Management) server or the like that manages contents for enterprises (enterprise contents).
In the present embodiment, the management server 1 may be a general-purpose machine, a PC (Personal Computer) server, a NAS (Network Attached Storage), or the like.

The image forming apparatus 2 is an image forming apparatus such as an MFP, a network scanner, a document scanner, a network FAX, or a printer. The image forming apparatus 2 may execute application software (hereinafter simply referred to as “application”) for connecting to the management server 1.
In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 2 executes a control program including a content acquisition application for managing content in cooperation with the management server 1. As a result, the image forming apparatus 2 can acquire content from the management server.

  In this embodiment, the network 5 is a local area network (LAN) such as an intranet, a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet (registered trademark) or a mobile phone network, and the like. When the network 5 is a WAN, it may be connectable to another management server via a router or a gateway. The network 5 may constitute a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

  In addition, the management server 1 includes a control unit 10, a network transmission / reception unit 15, and a storage unit 19.

The control unit 10 includes a general purpose processor (GPP), a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific processor (ASIC). An information processing unit such as a processor for a specific application).
The control unit 10 reads out a control program stored in the ROM, SSD, or HDD of the storage unit 19 and expands and executes the control program in the RAM, whereby the control unit 10 is operated as each unit of functional blocks to be described later. .
Note that the control unit 10 may incorporate a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, or the like. In addition, the control unit 10 may include an accelerator that speeds up database management and search speed.

  The network transmission / reception unit 15 is a network connection unit including a LAN board for connecting to the network 5 and a wireless transmission / reception unit.

The storage unit 19 is a non-temporary recording medium. The storage unit 19 may include a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like as a main storage unit. The storage unit 19 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), an eMMC (embedded Multi Media Card), a semiconductor recording medium such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) as an auxiliary storage unit. May be. In this case, a control program for performing operation control of the management server 1 is stored in the auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 19.
Further, the storage unit 19 may include an area for a document box (storage folder, shared folder) for each user.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit 19 is a content storage unit for storing content.

  The image forming apparatus 2 includes an image processing unit 21, a document reading unit 22, a document feeding unit 23, a sheet feeding unit 24, a network transmission / reception unit 25, an operation panel unit 26, an image forming unit 27 (image forming unit), a FAX. A transmission / reception unit 28, a storage unit 29, and the like are included. Each unit is connected to the control unit 20 and controlled in operation by the control unit 20.

The control unit 20 is an information processing unit such as GPP, CPU, MPU, DSP, GPU, ASIC.
The control unit 20 reads out a control program stored in the ROM or HDD of the storage unit 29, expands and executes the control program in the RAM, and is operated as each unit of functional blocks described later. The control unit 20 controls the entire apparatus in response to a predetermined instruction input from an external terminal (not shown) or the operation panel unit 26.

The image processing unit 21 is an information processing unit such as a DSP or a GPU. The image processing unit 21 performs predetermined image processing on the image data. The image processing unit 21 performs various types of image processing such as enlargement / reduction, density adjustment, gradation adjustment, and image improvement.
The image processing unit 21 stores the image read by the document reading unit 22 in the storage unit 29 as document data. At this time, the image processing unit 21 can also convert the print data into a file unit of a format such as PDF or TIFF.

The document reading unit 22 reads (scans) the set document. The document reading unit 22 is disposed on the upper part of the main body of the image forming apparatus 2.
The document reading unit 22 includes a scanner, a platen glass, and a document reading slit. When reading a document placed on the platen glass, the document reading unit 22 moves the scanner to a position facing the platen glass and reads the document placed on the platen glass while scanning to obtain image data. The acquired image data is stored in the storage unit 29.

  Further, when reading the document fed from the document feeding unit 23, the document reading unit 22 moves the scanner to a position facing the document reading slit. Then, the document reading unit 22 reads the document in synchronization with the document feeding operation by the document feeding unit 23 through the document reading slit, and acquires image data. The document reading unit 22 stores the acquired image data in the storage unit 29.

The document feeding unit 23 conveys the document read by the document reading unit 22. The document feeding unit 23 is disposed on the upper part of the document reading unit 22.
The document feeding unit 23 includes a document placing unit and a document transport mechanism. The document feeding unit 23 sequentially feeds the documents placed on the document placing unit one by one by the document transport mechanism and feeds them to the document reading unit 22.

  The paper feed unit 24 is a unit that feeds the recording sheets one by one toward the image forming unit 27. The paper feed unit 24 is provided in the main body unit.

The network transmission / reception unit 25 is a network connection unit including a LAN board for connecting to the network 5 and a wireless transmission / reception unit.
The network transmission / reception unit 25 transmits / receives data on a data communication line and transmits / receives an audio signal on a voice telephone line.

The operation panel unit 26 is a user interface unit that is disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 2 and performs various displays to acquire user operations.
Details of the operation panel unit 26 will be described later.

The image forming unit 27 stores the content acquired from the management server 1, is stored in the storage unit 29, is read by the document reading unit 22, or forms an image on recording paper such as document data acquired from an external terminal. Make it.
The image forming unit 27 includes a photosensitive drum, an exposure unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, a fixing unit, and the like. The image forming unit 27 records a toner image on a recording sheet by executing an image forming process including charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing.

The FAX transmission / reception unit 28 is a means for performing facsimile transmission / reception. The FAX transmission / reception unit 28 can receive a facsimile from another FAX apparatus (not shown) via a voice line, store it in the storage unit 29, and cause the image forming unit 27 to form an image.
Further, the FAX transmission / reception unit 28 converts the content acquired from the management server 1, the document read by the document reading unit 22 and the data of the network FAX transmitted from an external terminal into image data, and transmits it to another FAX device. Facsimile transmission to a voice line is possible.

The storage unit 29 is a semiconductor recording medium such as ROM or RAM, or a non-temporary recording medium such as HDD.
A control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 2 is stored in the ROM and HDD of the storage unit 29. In addition to this, the storage unit 29 also stores user account settings. The storage unit 29 may also include a document box area for each user.

Here, the details of the operation panel unit 26 will be described with reference to FIG.
The operation panel unit 26 includes an input unit 46 and a display unit 47.

The input unit 46 is input means such as a button (hard key) or a touch panel for acquiring an instruction to the image forming apparatus 2 by the user.
The hard keys include a numeric keypad including numeric keys, an arrow key, a function assignment button, a start button (decision key), a cancel button, an operation mode switching button, and a button for giving an instruction related to job execution. This operation mode may include types of modes such as copy, printer, scanner, and FAX transmission. The job includes printing, transmission, storage, recording, and the like of the selected document.
The touch panel of the input unit 46 includes an electrostatic induction touch panel, a resistive touch panel, a touch position detection mechanism using infrared rays, laser, ultrasonic waves, or the like. This touch panel may be capable of detecting coordinates at a plurality of positions on the display unit 47. In addition, the touch panel may be able to detect the coordinates of places other than the display area of the display unit 47.
In addition, the input unit 46 can make selections to be described later in the present embodiment. In addition, it is also possible to input and change information of each user according to user instructions acquired from the input unit 46.

The display unit 47 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Organic EL, Organic Light-emitting Diode), an FED (Field Emission Display), a flat display panel such as a fluorescent display tube, a projector, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), or the like. It is.
The display unit 47 can display various operation screens of GUI (Graphical User Interface).
Further, the display resolution of the display unit 47, the range in which the color can be expressed, the color temperature and the gradation (hereinafter simply referred to as “color gamut”) vary depending on the display method used in the display unit 47 and the type of panel. Yes. For example, in a specific display panel, a high color gamut panel that can be expressed in an sRGB color gamut or higher on an organic EL display having a high resolution of 600 ppi (pixel per inch) or higher may be integrally formed with the touch panel. In another specific display panel, the touch panel may be an LCD panel with a narrow color gamut capable of displaying only 16 gradations. Further, there may be a difference in that a specific display panel is a monochrome two-tone LCD and does not include a touch panel. In general, the display unit 47 may have a higher display resolution and a wider color gamut as the image forming apparatus 2 is more expensive, higher performance, and newer. Further, the minimum display resolution and color gamut may be set regardless of the model.

Note that the input unit 46 and the display unit 47 of the external recording medium may be integrally configured, such as a display with a touch panel.
Further, even if the model of the image forming apparatus 2 is different, the same input unit 46 and / or display unit 47 may be mounted.

In the image forming apparatus 2, the control unit 20 and the image processing unit 21 may be integrally formed, such as a CPU with a built-in GPU or a chip-on-module package.
The control unit 20 and the image processing unit 21 may incorporate a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, or the like.

[Functional configuration of image forming system X]
Here, the functional configuration of the image forming system X will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit 10 of the management server 1 includes a model specification information acquisition unit 100, an operation panel specification unit 110, a display operation data creation unit 120, and a display operation data transmission unit 130.
The storage unit 19 of the management server 1 stores a model operation panel DB 300, a content DB 310, display operation data 320, and model identification information 400.
The control unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 2 includes a model specifying information transmission unit 200, a display operation data reception unit 210, a display operation acquisition unit 220, and an input processing execution unit 230.
The storage unit 29 of the image forming apparatus 2 stores display operation data 320 and model specifying information 400.

  The model specifying information acquisition unit 100 acquires the model specifying information 400 from the image forming apparatus 2 and stores it in the storage unit 19. For this reason, the model specifying information acquisition unit 100 may be implemented as a module or the like embedded in a web server.

  The operation panel specifying unit 110 specifies the type of the operation panel unit 26 of the image forming apparatus 2 based on the model specifying information 400 acquired by the model specifying information acquiring unit 100.

The display operation data creating unit 120 creates display operation data 320 optimized for the operation panel unit 26 specified by the operation panel specifying unit 110.
Further, the display operation data creation unit 120 performs optimization corresponding to the resolution and color gamut of the specified display unit 47 of the operation panel unit 26 and the configuration of the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26, Display operation data 320 is created.
In addition, when the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26 includes a touch panel, the display operation data creation unit 120 allocates operation information that can be input by a touch operation in an area displayed on the display unit 47. In addition, when the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26 includes a hard key, the display operation data creation unit 120 assigns operation information that can be input by pressing the hard key.

  The display operation data transmission unit 130 transmits the display operation data 320 created by the display operation data creation unit 120 to the image forming apparatus 2. For this reason, the display operation data transmission unit 130 may be implemented as a module or the like embedded in a web server.

  The model specifying information transmitting unit 200 transmits the model specifying information 400 stored in the storage unit 29 to the management server 1.

  The display operation data receiving unit 210 receives the display operation data 320 from the display operation data transmission unit 130 of the management server 1 and stores it in the storage unit 29. The display operation data 320 corresponds to the model specifying information 400 transmitted by the model specifying information transmitting unit 200.

The display operation acquisition unit 220 interprets the display operation data 320 received by the display operation data reception unit 210 and causes the display unit 47 of the operation panel unit 26 to display the display operation data 320. At this time, the display operation acquisition unit 220 may perform interpretation corresponding to a specific display framework, display the display information appropriately, and enable input corresponding to the operation information.
Further, the display operation acquisition unit 220 acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the display of the display operation data 320 from a touch panel, a hard key, or the like of the input unit 46.

The input process execution unit 230 executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the indication operation acquisition unit. This process may relate to, for example, content selection, acquisition, browsing, and output. More specifically, the input process execution unit 230 may execute processes such as selection, download, display, and output of content displayed on the display unit 47.
The input process execution unit 230 can also execute other processes such as content upload.

  The model operation panel DB 300 is a database including the type of the operation panel unit 26 corresponding to the model specifying information 400 of the image forming apparatus 2. The model operation panel DB 300 includes, for example, information on the presence / absence of the touch panel of the operation panel unit 26, particularly the input unit 46, the configuration of the hard keys, the type, display resolution, and color gamut of the display panel of the display unit 47 for each model. Is stored. The hard key configuration may include information such as the ID of each key. As for the ID of each key, for example, what is commonly provided, such as a numeric keypad or an arrow key, may be assigned so as to be shared among models as much as possible.

The content DB 310 is a database that stores content. This content may be a document for various companies, numerical data, a binary file, or the like. In addition to these data, the content may include data such as a title that can be viewed by the user, creation, update date and time, a history of the viewed user, and the like.
Further, the content DB 310 may include icons, layout data, script data, and the like, which are original data of a display operation screen on which content is arranged.

  The display operation data 320 is data for rendering a display for browsing content and a screen for operation (display operation screen). That is, the display operation data 320 is display and operation data related to content selection, acquisition, browsing, output, and the like. The display operation data 320 may include, for example, text data and binary data corresponding to a specific display framework as display information and operation information. This specific display framework may be based on HTML (HyperText Markup Language) or XML (Extensible Markup Language) to which specific tags and commands for the operation and processing of the image forming apparatus 2 are added. . The specific display framework may be capable of calling various functions of the image forming apparatus 2. Further, this specific display framework may arrange images and characters for display according to layout data. The specific display framework may include an execution environment such as a script language interpreter such as a Java (registered trademark) script or a compiler. The display information of the display operation data 320 may include markup language text data including layout data, image binary data including icons, backgrounds, and other objects, and content data. Further, the operation information of the display operation data 320 may be, for example, information describing a relationship between an ID of each key of a touch panel or a hard key and an input, and a process to be called when it is input.

  The model specifying information 400 is information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus 2. Specifically, the model specifying information 400 may be the model name, model ID, serial number, specification data, etc. of the image forming apparatus 2. The model specifying information 400 may also include information such as configuration features such as model names and specification data of each unit, presence / absence of optional devices, and the like. The model specifying information 400 may be written in a ROM or the like when the image forming apparatus 2 is shipped from the factory. The model specifying information 400 may include the model name, device ID, specification data, and the like of each part after the replacement when each part including the operation panel unit 26 is replaced.

Here, the control unit 10 of the management server 1 executes the control program stored in the storage unit 19, so that the model specification information acquisition unit 100, the operation panel specification unit 110, the display operation data creation unit 120, and the display operation It is made to function as the data transmission unit 130.
In addition, the control unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 2 executes a control program stored in the storage unit 29, so that the model specifying information transmission unit 200, the display operation data reception unit 210, the display operation acquisition unit 220, and the input processing are performed. It is made to function as the execution unit 230.
Each unit of the management server 1 and the image forming apparatus 2 described above is a hardware resource for executing the image forming method of the present invention.
Note that a part or any combination of the above-described functional configurations may be configured in hardware by an IC, programmable logic, or the like.

[Display operation screen display processing by image forming system X]
Next, display operation screen display processing by the image forming system X according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the display operation screen display process of the present embodiment, the model specifying information 400 is acquired from the image forming apparatus 2 and received by the management server 1. In the management server 1, display operation data 320 corresponding to the type of the operation panel unit 26 specified by the model specifying information 400 is created and transmitted to the image forming apparatus 2. The image forming apparatus 2 receives and displays the display operation data 320, acquires an input by the operation, and executes a process corresponding to the input.
In the display operation screen display process of the present embodiment, the control unit 10 of the management server 1 mainly stores the program stored in the storage unit 19, and the control unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 2 stores the program stored in the storage unit 29. Execute in cooperation with each part using hardware resources.
Hereinafter, the details of the display operation screen display process will be described step by step with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(Step S201)
First, the model specifying information transmitting unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2 performs model specifying information transmitting processing.
For example, the user activates a content acquisition application from the operation panel unit 26 or the like of the image forming apparatus 2. Then, the model specifying information transmission unit 200 executes the content acquisition application and connects to the management server 1. At this time, user authentication or the like may be performed.
After confirming the connection, the model specifying information transmitting unit 200 transmits the model specifying information 400 stored in the storage unit 29 to the management server 1.

(Step S101)
Here, the model specifying information acquisition unit 100 of the management server 1 performs model specifying information acquisition processing.
The model specifying information acquisition unit 100 receives the model specifying information 400 transmitted by the model specifying information transmitting unit 200 of the image forming apparatus 2 and stores it in the storage unit 19.

(Step S102)
Next, the operation panel specifying unit 110 performs an operation panel specifying process.
The operation panel specifying unit 110 searches the model operation panel DB 300 based on the acquired model specifying information 400 and specifies the model of the image forming apparatus 2. Then, the operation panel specifying unit 110 further refers to the model operation panel DB 300 and the operation panel unit 26 corresponding to the model specifying information 400, particularly the presence / absence of the touch panel of the input unit 46, the configuration of the hard keys, and the display unit 47 Information about the type of display panel, display resolution, color gamut, etc. is specified.

(Step S103)
Next, the display operation data creation unit 120 performs display operation data creation processing.
The display operation data creation unit 120 creates display operation data 320 optimized for the specified operation panel unit 26.

  Specifically, the display operation data creation unit 120 creates display operation data 320 corresponding to the resolution and color gamut of the display unit 47 of the specified operation panel unit 26. For example, when the display unit 47 is a high-resolution, high-color gamut organic EL display or the like, the display operation data creation unit 120 displays an image such as a color icon with high-definition and rich gradation expression. The display operation data 320 including a light-colored background image is generated. Further, for example, when the display unit 47 is an LCD or the like that can display only 16 gradations and has a high color temperature (blue), the display operation data creation unit 120 has a clear color, no background image, and color The display operation data 320 that makes the display easy to see may be created by adjusting the palette to increase the red color. For example, if the display operation data creation unit 120 is an LCD having a low resolution and only two gradations of black and white, the display operation data generation unit 120 uses an image such as an icon or the like dithered in black and white and specifies a reduced character as a font. Data 320 may be created.

In addition, the display operation data creation unit 120 creates the display operation data 320 by performing optimization corresponding to the configuration of the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26. When the input unit 46 includes a touch panel, the display operation data creation unit 120 assigns operation information that can be input by a touch operation in an area displayed on the display unit 47. For example, the display operation data creation unit 120 sets markup of the display operation data 320 using, as operation information, a “link” that can call a specific process when an icon or a character displayed in the display area is input. Embed with language tags. In addition, when the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26 includes a hard key, the display operation data creation unit 120 assigns operation information that can be input by pressing the hard key. For example, when the ID of each key of the hard key is pressed and input, the display operation data creation unit 120 embeds operation information indicating processing to be called up with a tag or the like.
The embedded tag or the like may not be directly displayed on the display unit 47.

(Step S104)
Next, the display operation data transmission unit 130 performs display operation data transmission processing.
The display operation data transmission unit 130 transmits the display operation data 320 created by the display operation data creation unit 120 to the image forming apparatus 2.
Thereby, the process in the management server 1 of the display operation screen display process is completed.
The display operation data transmission unit 130 transmits an error to the image forming apparatus 2 even if the display operation data 320 is not transmitted, for example, when the operation panel unit 26 cannot be specified by the operation panel specifying process. Also good. In this case, the display operation data transmission unit 130 may transmit display operation data 320 for a general model or display operation data 320 corresponding to the minimum display resolution and color gamut.

(Step S202)
Here, the display operation data reception unit 210 of the image forming apparatus 2 performs display operation data reception processing.
The display operation data receiving unit 210 receives the display operation data 320 from the display operation data transmission unit 130 of the management server 1 and stores it in the storage unit 29. At this time, the display operation data receiving unit 210 may receive each unit of an image included in the display operation data 320 or text data in a markup language.

(Step S203)
Next, the display operation acquisition unit 220 performs display operation acquisition processing.
The display operation acquisition unit 220 interprets the display operation data 320. At this time, the display operation acquisition unit 220 uses, for example, a specific tag or command for operation or processing of the image forming apparatus 2 suitable for content acquisition or browsing as a specific display framework by a content acquisition application. May be interpreted. The display operation acquisition unit 220 displays the display information of the interpreted display operation data 320 on the display unit 47 of the operation panel unit 26. At this time, the display operation acquisition unit 220 appropriately displays the display information.
Further, the display operation acquisition unit 220 performs setting so that input corresponding to the operation information of the display operation data 320 is possible. The display operation acquisition unit 220 may acquire an input of each link by a touch operation on the touch panel, or may acquire an input from a hard key. That is, the display operation acquisition unit 220 acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the operation information from a touch panel, a hard key, or the like of the input unit 46.
Note that the display operation acquisition unit 220 may assign operations corresponding to the touch panel and the hard keys, respectively.

The screen example 500 of FIG. 5A is a content acquisition list of the management server 1 corresponding to the operation panel unit 26 including the input unit 46 and the display unit 47 integrated with the touch panel with a high resolution and a high color gamut. This is an example in which display operation data 320 is displayed. In this case, icons of “close (×)”, “print”, “send”, “menu”, and “return” that have a background image and can be touch-input are drawn. Also, a link is attached to each content under the content name, and by pressing this, it is possible to input a download instruction or the like. In addition, a scroll bar for inputting an instruction to scroll the list by drag and drop is displayed at the right end.
The screen example 501 in FIG. 5B is a content acquisition list similar to that in FIG. 5A corresponding to the operation panel unit 26 including the display unit 47 of two-tone black and white and the input unit 46 having only hard keys. This is an example in which display operation data 320 is displayed. In this case, no touch panel link or icon is displayed. In addition, a cursor like a square frame for selecting content with the arrow keys is displayed. In addition, an instruction can be input to select the content at the cursor position and download the content using the enter key. Further, a triangle mark or the like indicating that scrolling is performed when the arrow key is further pressed may be displayed. In addition, a circle number is written on the left side of each content, and an instruction to select the content may be input by pressing the same number with the numeric keypad.

(Step S204)
Next, the input process execution unit 230 performs an input process execution process.
The input process execution unit 230 executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the indication operation acquisition unit. This processing may be selection, download, upload, output, or the like of content displayed on the display unit 47. These processes may differ depending on the display operation data 320. Further, the input processing execution unit 230 can output the downloaded content by outputting it by the image forming unit 27, by facsimile transmission by the FAX transmission / reception unit 28, or by transmission by e-mail or FTP. . At the time of these outputs, the control unit 20 can perform output corresponding to the content management rules in the management server 1.
The input processing execution unit 230 may store the content in an external recording medium (not shown) such as a user's document box or a connected flash memory.
Thus, the display operation screen display process according to the embodiment of the present invention is completed.

With the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained.
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a technical demand to successfully cooperate with an image forming apparatus when developing a management server and management tool for content such as ECM.
However, conventionally, the technique of Patent Document 1 cannot transmit the display operation screen of the operation panel unit that is optimal for browsing content by ECM or the like simply by transmitting a web page.
On the other hand, an image forming system X according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an image including a management server 1 that manages corporate content and the like, and an image forming apparatus 2 that can acquire information from the management server 1. The forming system has the following characteristics. The management server 1 includes a model specifying information acquisition unit 100 that acquires model specifying information 400 for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus 2 from the image forming apparatus 2, and model specifying information acquired by the model specifying information acquiring unit 100. 400, an operation panel specifying unit 110 that specifies the type of the operation panel unit 26 of the image forming apparatus 2, a display for viewing content optimized for the operation panel unit 26 specified by the operation panel specifying unit 110, and A display operation data creation unit 120 that creates display operation data 320 that is operation data, and a display operation data transmission unit 130 that sends the display operation data 320 created by the display operation data creation unit 120 to the image forming apparatus 2. Is provided. The image forming apparatus 2 receives the model specifying information transmitting unit 200 that transmits the model specifying information 400 to the management server 1 and the display operation data 320 corresponding to the model specifying information 400 transmitted by the model specifying information transmitting unit 200. The display operation data receiving unit 210 received from the one display operation data transmitting unit 130 and the display operation data 320 received by the display operation data receiving unit 210 are interpreted and displayed on the operation panel unit 26. A display operation acquisition unit 220 that acquires an input by a corresponding operation, and an input process execution unit 230 that executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the display operation acquisition unit 220.
With this configuration, it is possible to draw a display operation screen using the display operation data 320 optimized for the operation panel unit 26 that is different for each model of the image forming apparatus 2. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 2 selects, acquires, browses, and outputs content by ECM or the like, the operability can be greatly improved compared to a normal web browser or the like.

In addition, in the image forming system X according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display operation data creation unit 120 of the management server 1 uses the resolution and color gamut of the display unit 47 of the specified operation panel unit 26 and the specified operation. The display operation data 320 is created by performing optimization corresponding to the configuration of the input unit 46 of the panel unit 26.
With this configuration, even if the characteristics of the display panel of the display unit 47 of the image forming apparatus 2 and the presence or absence of the touch panel of the input unit 46 are different, the content can be selected and acquired by ECM or the like with optimal operability. You can browse, output, etc.

In addition, in the image forming system X according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display operation data creation unit 120 of the management server 1 displays on the display unit 47 when the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26 includes a touch panel. The operation information that can be input by the touch operation is assigned to the area to be operated, and if the input unit 46 of the specified operation panel unit 26 includes the hard key, the operation information that can be input by pressing the hard key is assigned. It is characterized by.
With this configuration, even when the image forming apparatus 2 has no touch panel in the input unit 46, operability can be improved when content is selected, acquired, viewed, output, or the like by ECM or the like.

[Other Embodiments]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the example in which the display operation data 320 is changed by the model specifying information 400 of the image forming apparatus 2 has been described.
However, the display operation data 320 may be optimized by acquiring environmental information such as the user's environment as well as information that simply identifies the model. In addition, when the user uses a specific color system or display theme, the display operation screen may be optimized according to this. For example, when the user has set a GUI of a light color (low contrast) background in the image forming apparatus 2, the display operation data 320 may be optimized to be light color according to this setting.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an example in which content is acquired from the management server 1 by the image forming apparatus 2 has been described.
However, instead of simple output, it is also possible to scan the actual document or the like with the image forming apparatus 2, replace it, edit it, and store the corresponding part in the management server 1.

  The present invention can also be applied to an information processing apparatus other than the image forming apparatus. In other words, a configuration using a network server, a management server in which the scanner is separately connected by a USB, or the like may be used.

  Further, the configuration and operation of the above-described embodiment are examples, and it goes without saying that they can be appropriately modified and executed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Management server 2 Image forming apparatus 5 Network 10, 20 Control part 15, 25 Network transmission / reception part 19, 29 Storage part 21 Image processing part 22 Original reading part 23 Original feeding part 24 Paper feeding part 26 Operation panel part 27 Image forming part 28 FAX transmission / reception unit 46 Input unit 47 Display unit 100 Model specific information acquisition unit 110 Operation panel specification unit 120 Display operation data generation unit 130 Display operation data transmission unit 200 Model specification information transmission unit 210 Display operation data reception unit 220 Display operation acquisition unit 230 Input processing execution unit 300 Model operation panel DB
310 Content DB
320 Display operation data 400 Model specific information 500, 501 Screen example

Claims (6)

An image forming system including a management server for managing content and an image forming apparatus capable of acquiring information from the management server,
The management server is
A model specifying information acquisition unit for acquiring model specifying information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus;
An operation panel specifying unit that specifies the type of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus based on the model specifying information acquired by the model specifying information acquiring unit;
A display operation data creating unit that creates display operation data that is data for display and operation for browsing the content, optimized for the operation panel unit identified by the operation panel identifying unit;
A display operation data transmission unit that transmits the display operation data created by the display operation data creation unit to the image forming apparatus;
The image forming apparatus includes:
A model specifying information transmitting unit for transmitting the model specifying information to the management server;
A display operation data receiving unit for receiving the display operation data corresponding to the model specifying information transmitted by the model specifying information transmitting unit from the display operation data transmitting unit of the management server;
A display operation acquisition unit that interprets the display operation data received by the display operation data reception unit, displays the display operation data on the operation panel unit, and acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the display operation data;
An image forming system comprising: an input process execution unit that executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the display operation acquisition unit. The display operation data creation unit of the management server is
The display operation data is generated by performing optimization corresponding to the resolution and color gamut of the specified display unit of the operation panel unit and the configuration of the input unit of the specified operation panel unit. The image forming system according to claim 1. The display operation data creation unit of the management server is
When the input unit of the identified operation panel unit includes a touch panel, operation information that can be input by a touch operation is assigned to an area displayed on the display unit,
The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein when the input unit of the identified operation panel unit includes a hard key, operation information that can be input by pressing the hard key is assigned. A management server that manages content,
A model specifying information acquisition unit for acquiring model specifying information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus;
An operation panel specifying unit that specifies the type of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus based on the model specifying information acquired by the model specifying information acquiring unit;
A display operation data creating unit that creates display operation data that is data for display and operation for browsing the content, optimized for the operation panel unit identified by the operation panel identifying unit;
A management server, comprising: a display operation data transmission unit that transmits the display operation data created by the display operation data creation unit to the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus capable of acquiring information from a management server that manages content,
A model specifying information transmitting unit for transmitting model specifying information for specifying the model of the own device to the management server;
A display operation data receiving unit that receives display operation data corresponding to the model specifying information transmitted by the model specifying information transmitting unit, which is display and operation data for browsing the content, from the management server; ,
A display operation acquisition unit that interprets the display operation data received by the display operation data receiving unit and displays the display operation data on an operation panel unit, and acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the display operation data;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an input process execution unit that executes a process corresponding to the input acquired by the display operation acquisition unit. An image forming method executed by an image forming system including a management server for managing content and an image forming apparatus capable of acquiring information from the management server,
The image forming apparatus transmits model specifying information for specifying the model of the image forming apparatus to the management server,
The management server acquires the model specifying information from the image forming apparatus,
The management server specifies the type of the operation panel unit of the image forming apparatus based on the acquired model specifying information,
The management server creates display operation data that is data for display and operation for browsing the content, optimized for the specified operation panel unit,
The management server transmits the created display operation data to the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus receives the transmitted display operation data from the management server;
The image forming apparatus interprets the received display operation data and displays it on the operation panel unit, acquires an input by an operation corresponding to the display operation data,
The image forming apparatus executes a process corresponding to the acquired input.

Images