JP2021124776A - Information processing apparatus, information processing system, and information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing program that, when a cooperation service composed of a plurality of services includes a service that is not permitted for acquisition of information from the service, can execute the cooperation service without stopping it halfway through.SOLUTION: A CPU of an image forming apparatus acquires the permission state for acquisition of information from each of a plurality of services included in a predetermined cooperation service composed of the services (100), and before the execution of the cooperation service, when the cooperation service includes a non-permitted service that cannot be executed if not permitted, performs processing of presenting an action for the non-permitted service by using the acquired permission state (102 to 114).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

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

In Patent Document 1, the instruction sheet is interpreted to predict the execution resources required for executing the service processing, the execution resources that are actually available are detected, these are compared, and whether or not the processing is possible from the comparison result. If it is a service that can be processed, the service is executed according to the instruction as it is, and if it is not possible, the processing is interrupted, the user is notified, and so on. An image processing device that executes the above has been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-293916

When a linked service consisting of multiple services includes a service that requires permission to acquire information from the service, and the linked service cannot be executed to the end without permission, and the service is stopped halfway. was there. Therefore, the present invention provides an information processing device and information that can be executed without stopping the linked service when the linked service composed of a plurality of services includes a service for which information acquisition from the service is not permitted. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing system and an information processing program.

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 includes a processor, and the processor acquires a permission status for information acquisition from each service included in a predetermined cooperation service composed of a plurality of services, and the cooperation service. Before executing, if the acquired license status is used to include an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless the linked service is licensed, a process of presenting a response to the unlicensed service is performed. conduct.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the processor presents a process of presenting a screen for setting consent for information acquisition, if the processor can permit it on its own device. Perform as a process to be performed.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the processor performs a process of presenting that it is not feasible if consent is not obtained for the screen.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processor executes the cooperation service once by consenting to the acquisition of information from the second time onward. When executing, the cooperation service is accepted without presenting the correspondence.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processor searches for and presents an alternative service when it cannot be licensed on its own device. , The process of presenting the correspondence is performed.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein the processor performs a process of presenting that it is not feasible in the absence of the alternative service.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the processor has an external system that holds the license status of each service of the executed cooperative service for each user. If so, the license status is obtained from the external system.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, when the processor agrees to acquire information from each service included in the linked service, or agrees. Later, the process of transferring the licensed content to the outside is further performed.

The information processing system according to claim 9 includes the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and a providing device that provides a service included in the linked service.

The information processing program according to claim 10 obtains a permission status for information acquisition from each service included in a predetermined cooperation service composed of a plurality of services on a computer, and before executing the cooperation service, the information processing program obtains the permission status for information acquisition. Using the acquired license status, when the linked service includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless it is licensed, a process of presenting a response to the unlicensed service is executed.

According to the information processing device according to claim 1, when the linked service composed of a plurality of services includes a service for which information acquisition from the service is not permitted, the linked service is executed without being stopped in the middle. A possible information processing device can be provided.

According to the invention of claim 2, even if the linked service composed of a plurality of services includes a service for which information acquisition from the service is not permitted, the linked service is stopped in the middle. It becomes possible to execute without.

According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to notify the user that the service cannot be used unless he / she consents to the acquisition of information from the service.

According to the invention of claim 4, every time the same cooperation service is executed, the operation can be simplified as compared with the case of presenting a screen for setting consent for information acquisition.

According to the invention of claim 5, even if the linked service composed of a plurality of services includes a service for which information acquisition from the service is not agreed, the linked service is stopped in the middle. It becomes feasible without.

According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to notify the user that it is not feasible without an alternative service.

According to the invention of claim 7, every time the service for which the consent for the information acquisition is executed is executed, the operation can be simplified as compared with the case where the screen for setting the consent for the information acquisition is presented. It becomes.

According to the invention of claim 8, it is possible to make it easier to confirm the licensed content as compared with the case where the licensed content is always presented to the own device.

According to the information processing apparatus according to claim 9, when the linked service composed of a plurality of services includes a service for which information acquisition from the service is not permitted, the linked service is executed without being stopped in the middle. It is possible to provide a possible information processing system.

According to the information processing apparatus according to claim 10, when the linked service composed of a plurality of services includes a service for which information acquisition from the service is not permitted, the linked service is executed without being stopped in the middle. It is possible to provide a possible information processing program.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the information processing system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main part structure of the electric system of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the main part structure of the electric system of the information processing terminal and the cloud server which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the case that the service cannot be used if the information acquisition from a service is not consented. Before executing the linked service, if the obtained license status is used to indicate the response to the unlicensed service when the linked service includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless it is licensed. It is a figure for demonstrating an example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of processing which is performed when the execution operation of the cooperation service is performed in the image forming apparatus of the information processing system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the permission screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which shows that the reception of a linked service is impossible. It is a figure which shows the modification of the permission screen.

Hereinafter, an example of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an information processing system in which a plurality of image forming devices, a plurality of information processing terminals, and a plurality of cloud servers are connected to each other via a communication line such as a network will be described as an example. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of image forming devices 12a, 12b, ..., A plurality of information processing terminals 14a, 14b, ..., And a plurality of cloud servers. 16a, 16b, ... If it is not necessary to distinguish between the image forming devices 12a, 12b, ..., the information processing terminals 14a, 14b ..., The cloud servers 16a, 16b, ..., The alphabet at the end of the code is omitted. May be described. Further, in the present embodiment, an example including a plurality of image forming devices 12a, 12b, ..., Information processing terminals 14a, 14b, ..., And a plurality of cloud servers 16a, 16b, ... Will be described. , The image forming apparatus 12, the information processing terminal 14, and the cloud server 16 may be at least one. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 12 is used as an example of the information processing apparatus will be described.

Each image forming apparatus 12, the information processing terminal 14, and the cloud server 16 are connected to each other via a communication line 18 such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, or an intranet. Each of the image forming apparatus 12, the information processing terminal 14, and the cloud server 16 can transmit and receive various data to and from each other via the communication line 18.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an electrical system of the image forming apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 20 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20B, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20C. ing. The CPU 20A controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 12. The RAM 20C is used as a work area or the like when executing various programs by the CPU 20A. Various control programs, various parameters, and the like are stored in advance in the ROM 20B. In the image forming apparatus 12, each part of the control unit 20 is electrically connected by the system bus 42.

On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment includes an HDD (hard disk drive) 26 that stores various data such as user information, setting parameters, and various information related to the linked service, application programs, and the like. .. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 is connected to the user interface 22 and includes a display control unit 28 that controls the display of various operation screens and the like on the display of the user interface 22. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 is connected to the user interface 22 and includes an operation input detection unit 30 that detects an operation instruction input via the user interface 22. In the image forming apparatus 12, the HDD 26, the display control unit 28, and the operation input detection unit 30 are electrically connected to the system bus 42. In the image forming apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment, the HDD 26 is applied as the storage unit, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a non-volatile storage unit such as a flash memory may be applied.

Further, the image forming apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment has a reading control unit 32 that controls an optical image reading operation by the document reading unit 44 and a document feeding operation by the document conveying unit, and an image forming unit 24 by the image forming unit 24. It includes an image forming control unit 34 that controls processing and transfer of paper to the image forming unit 24 by the conveying unit 25. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 is connected to the communication line 18 and is connected to the communication line I / F (interface) unit 36 that transmits / receives communication data to / from another external device such as a cloud server 16 connected to the communication line 18. , Is equipped. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 includes a facsimile I / F (interface) unit 38 connected to a telephone line (not shown) and transmitting and receiving facsimile data with the facsimile apparatus connected to the telephone line. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 includes a transmission / reception control unit 40 that controls transmission / reception of facsimile data via the facsimile I / F unit 38. Then, in the image forming apparatus 12, the transmission / reception control unit 40, the reading control unit 32, the image forming control unit 34, the communication line I / F unit 36, and the facsimile I / F unit 38 are electrically connected to the system bus 42. There is.

With the above configuration, the image forming apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment accesses the RAM 20C, the ROM 20B, and the HDD 26 by the CPU 20A, respectively. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 controls the display of information such as an operation screen and various messages on the display of the user interface 22 via the display control unit 28 by the CPU 20A. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 controls the operation of the document reading unit 44 and the document conveying unit via the reading control unit 32 by the CPU 20A. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 controls the operation of the image forming unit 24 and the conveying unit 25 via the image forming control unit 34 and controls the transmission / reception of communication data via the communication line I / F unit 36 by the CPU 20A. , Are executed respectively. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 executes control of transmission / reception of facsimile data via the facsimile I / F unit 38 by the transmission / reception control unit 40 by the CPU 20A. Further, the image forming apparatus 12 grasps the operation contents in the user interface 22 based on the operation information detected by the operation input detection unit 30 by the CPU 20A, and executes various controls based on the operation contents.

Subsequently, the configuration of the main parts of the electrical system of the information processing terminal 14 and the cloud server 16 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an electrical system of the information processing terminal 14 and the cloud server 16 according to the present embodiment. Since the information processing terminal 14 and the cloud server 16 basically have a general computer configuration, the cloud server 16 will be described here as a representative.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cloud server 16 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 16A, a ROM 16B, a RAM 16C, an HDD 16D, a keyboard 16E, a display 16F, and a communication line I / F (interface) unit 16G. The CPU 16A controls the overall operation of the cloud server 16. The ROM 16B stores various control programs, various parameters, and the like in advance. The RAM 16C is used as a work area or the like when executing various programs by the CPU 16A. The HDD 16D stores various data, application programs, and the like. The keyboard 16E is used to input various information. The display 16F is used to display various kinds of information. The communication line I / F unit 16G is connected to the communication line 18 and transmits / receives various data to / from another device connected to the communication line 18. Each part of the cloud server 16 is electrically connected to each other by the system bus 16H. In the cloud server 16 according to the present embodiment, the HDD 16D is applied as a storage unit, but the present invention is not limited to this, and another non-volatile storage unit such as a flash memory may be applied.

With the above configuration, the cloud server 16 according to the present embodiment uses the CPU 16A to access the ROM 16B, the RAM 16C, and the HDD 16D, acquire various data via the keyboard 16E, and display various information on the display 16F. Further, the cloud server 16 executes control of transmission / reception of communication data via the communication line I / F unit 16G by the CPU 16A.

In the information processing system 10 configured as described above, a cooperative service is possible. Here, the cooperation service is a combination of a plurality of various services provided by each of the image forming apparatus 12 and the cloud server 16. For example, a cooperative service that combines an image forming service provided by the image forming apparatus 12, a translation service provided by the cloud server 16, a character recognition service, and the like is possible. The information processing terminal 14 may further provide the service. Further, in the present embodiment, the cooperation service will be described as an example in which an operation such as an instruction to the cooperation service is performed by the user interface 22 of the image forming apparatus 12, but the cooperation service is operated via an application installed in the information processing terminal 14. You may. Alternatively, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1, the cooperation service may be operated via the application installed in the mobile terminal 19 connected via the wireless base station 17.

By the way, each service constituting the linked service may collect user information in order to grasp the usage status and the like. When collecting user information, it is against the privacy policy to obtain it without the consent of the user, so it is necessary to obtain the information after obtaining the consent of the user. In addition, some services require permission to acquire information as a condition of use of the service, and the service cannot be used unless you consent to the acquisition of information. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, if the image forming service provided by the image forming apparatus 12 has already agreed to the information acquisition, but the translation service provided by the cloud service has not agreed, the translation service cannot be used and the translation service cannot be used. The instructed cooperation service stops halfway and ends. Alternatively, it stops in the middle and is output without being translated.

Therefore, in the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment, permission information indicating whether or not there is consent for information acquisition is acquired from each service included in a predetermined cooperation service composed of a plurality of services. Then, before executing the linked service, if the linked service includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless it is licensed, the response to the unlicensed service is presented. Perform processing. In the present embodiment, the processing will be described as an example in which the CPU 20A of the image forming apparatus 12 performs the processing.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when instructing the image forming apparatus 12 for the cooperation service, the image forming apparatus 12 confirms the status of the permission required for implementation to the cloud service that provides each service. Do it against. The image forming apparatus 12 acquires the answer of the permission status necessary for executing the service, and if it has agreed, accepts and executes the linked service. On the other hand, if the consent has not been obtained and the permission can be granted by the image forming apparatus 12, the permission screen is displayed and the consent is obtained, and then the cooperation service is accepted and executed. In addition, if the consent is not agreed and the permission cannot be granted by the image forming apparatus, an alternative means is searched and proposed, and if there is no alternative means, the acceptance is displayed.

Subsequently, the specific processing of the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. In detail, a specific processing example performed when the execution operation of the cooperation service is performed in the image forming apparatus 12 of the information processing system 10 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed when the execution operation of the cooperative service is performed in the image forming apparatus 12 of the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. The process of FIG. 6 is started when, for example, a predetermined user authentication is performed and the execution operation of the linked service is performed via the user interface 22. As the user authentication, for example, general authentication such as card authentication is applied.

In step 100, the CPU 20A confirms the license status of each service of the linked service and proceeds to step 102. That is, the permission status for acquiring information from each service by the authenticated user is confirmed for each service. When saving the license status of each service of the linked service executed by another external server such as the authentication system in the past, the license status may be obtained from the other server such as the authentication system.

In step 102, the CPU 20A determines whether or not the user has consented to the acquisition of information from each service. If the determination is denied, the process proceeds to step 104, and if the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 114. The determination in step 102 may determine whether or not the linked service is executed for the second time. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the service is a linked service composed of services included in other linked services.

In step 104, the CPU 20A determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 12 can be licensed. If the determination is denied, the process proceeds to step 106, and if the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 116.

In step 106, the CPU 20A searches for an alternative service and proceeds to step 108. For example, search for a service that can be used without consent to obtain information from the service.

In step 108, the CPU 20A determines whether or not there is an alternative service. If the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 110, and if the determination is denied, the process proceeds to step 120.

In step 110, the CPU 20A proposes an alternative service and proceeds to step 112. For example, a screen asking whether to change to an alternative service is displayed.

In step 112, the CPU 20A determines whether or not the change to the alternative service has been agreed. The determination determines, for example, whether or not an operation for changing to the alternative service has been performed, and if the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 114. On the other hand, if it is denied, the process proceeds to step 120.

In step 114, the CPU 20A accepts the cooperation service and ends a series of processes. For example, if you have consented to the acquisition of information from all services, such as the second and subsequent linked services, you can accept the linked service without displaying the permission screen for information acquisition and confirming your consent. Run. Also, even if you do not agree, if you change to an alternative service, it will be changed to an alternative service and the linked service will be accepted and executed.

On the other hand, in step 116, the CPU 20A displays the permission screen and proceeds to step 118. For example, a permission screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed to request consent for information acquisition.

In step 118, the CPU 20A determines whether or not the user has consented to the acquisition of information from the service. The determination determines whether or not an operation that agrees with the displayed permission screen has been performed. If the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 114 described above, and if the determination is denied, the process proceeds to step 120.

In step 120, the CPU 20A displays that the linked service cannot be accepted and ends the series of processes. For example, a screen indicating that the cooperation service cannot be accepted as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

By the way, when the permission screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed, if the number of characters of the permission content is large, the detailed content cannot be displayed or is difficult to see on the user interface 22 of the image forming apparatus 12. Therefore, in order to confirm the details of the license content on another terminal such as a mobile terminal carried by the user, a two-dimensional bar code representing the license content link is displayed as shown in the license screen shown in FIG. May be good. In this case, by photographing the two-dimensional bar code representing the link address with the mobile terminal 19, the detailed contents are displayed on the mobile terminal 19 carried by the user. Alternatively, the detailed contents may be forwarded by e-mail to the contact information of the user registered in advance so that the details can be confirmed after consent. In this case, for example, by operating the "license content transfer" as shown in the permission screen shown in FIG. 9, the detailed license content may be transferred to the e-mail address registered in advance at the time of authentication, for example. Alternatively, you may enter information such as an e-mail address and forward it.

In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 12 performs a process of presenting a response to the unlicensed service when the unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless the linked service is licensed is included. However, it is not limited to this. For example, when another server such as a cloud server 16 or a print server includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless it is licensed to the linked service, a process of presenting a response to the unlicensed service is performed. You may. Alternatively, when the mobile terminal 19 carried by the user includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless the linked service is licensed, a process of presenting a response to the unlicensed service may be performed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the CPU has been described as an example of a processor, but the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, and is a general-purpose processor (for example, CPU) or a dedicated processor (for example, GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, etc.). ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

Further, the operation of the processor in the above embodiment may be performed not only by one processor but also by a plurality of processors existing at physically separated positions in cooperation with each other. Further, the order of each operation of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate.

Further, the process performed by the image forming apparatus 12 according to the above embodiment may be a process performed by software, a process performed by hardware, or a process in which both are combined. Further, the processing performed by the image forming apparatus 12 may be stored as a program in a storage medium and distributed.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified and implemented by omitting a part of the processing within a range not deviating from the gist thereof. be.

10 Information processing system 12 Image forming device 14 Information processing terminal 16 Cloud server 20A CPU
22 User interface

Claims (10)

A processor is provided, and the processor is
Obtain the permission status for information acquisition from each service included in the predetermined cooperation service composed of multiple services.
Before executing the linked service, using the acquired license status, if the linked service includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless it is licensed, a response to the unlicensed service is presented. An information processing device that performs processing. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the processor performs a process of presenting a screen for setting consent for information acquisition as a process of presenting the correspondence, if permission is granted on the own device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor performs a process of presenting that it cannot be executed if consent is not obtained for the screen. When the processor executes the linked service once executed by agreeing to the information acquisition from the second time onward, any of claims 1 to 3 that accepts the linked service without presenting the correspondence. The information processing apparatus according to item 1. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processor performs a process of searching for and presenting an alternative service as a process of presenting the correspondence when the permission cannot be granted on the own device. .. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein the processor performs a process of presenting that it cannot be executed in the absence of the alternative service. The processor according to any one of claims 1 to 6 for acquiring the license status from the external system when there is an external system that holds the license status of each service of the executed linked service for each user. Information processing equipment. The present invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processor further performs a process of transferring the licensed contents to the outside when or after consenting to the acquisition of information from each service included in the linked service. Information processing device. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
The providing device that provides the service included in the cooperation service and
Information processing system including. On the computer
Obtain the permission status for information acquisition from each service included in the predetermined cooperation service composed of multiple services.
Before executing the linked service, using the acquired license status, if the linked service includes an unlicensed service that cannot be executed unless it is licensed, a response to the unlicensed service is presented. An information processing program for executing the processing to be performed.

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