JP4774356B2 - Image forming apparatus, display control method, and display control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a display control method, and a display control program.

  In recent years, the contents displayed on operation panels provided in devices such as image forming apparatuses have been abundant. For example, the liquid crystal panel in the operation panel is enlarged to display an expressive screen, and the operation method of the device, the status of the device, and the like are displayed in an easy-to-understand manner for the user.

In such an operation panel, it is convenient if display control by a Web browser is possible. In general, content displayed by a web browser is created as HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data or XML (eXtensible Markup Language) data. These data are text-based data. Therefore, by performing display control of the operation panel using a Web browser, for example, display content change due to functional enhancement (for example, addition of a new menu or button) can be easily performed by rewriting text data. Can do.
JP 2000-127503 A JP 2002-152458 A

  However, the Web browser changes the display content by performing HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) communication with the Web server. With a request / response type protocol such as HTTP communication, the user can change the display content within the device. There is a problem that it is not necessarily suitable for handling various events (for example, occurrence of abnormality) that occur asynchronously with the operation instruction.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus, a display control method, and a display control program capable of appropriately performing display control of an operation panel using a Web browser. And

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus including a Web browser that performs display control of an operation panel and a control unit that controls hardware resources, and is plugged into the Web browser. , Having content display means for displaying content on the operation panel, wherein the content display means receives information indicating an event detected by the control means, and displays the content according to the event indicated by the received information. It is characterized by updating.

  In such an image forming apparatus, display control of the operation panel can be appropriately performed using a Web browser.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus, a display control method, and a display control program capable of appropriately performing display control of an operation panel using a Web browser.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows main hardware in the image forming apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is roughly divided into an operation unit 10 and a controller unit 20. The operation unit 10 includes a ROM 101, a RAM 102, a CPU 103, an operation panel 104, and the like, and executes display control of a display screen on the operation panel 104. The ROM 101 stores a program for executing display control and the like, data used by the program, and the like. The RAM 102 is used as a storage area for loading the program and the like when the program is executed. The CPU 103 executes a display process of the operation panel 104 by executing a program loaded in the RAM 102. The operation panel 104 is hardware for an operator to input to the image forming apparatus 1 and hardware for an operator to obtain an output from the image forming apparatus 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation panel. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 104 includes a touch panel 311, a numeric keypad 312, a start button 313, a reset button 314, a function key 315, and an initial setting button 316. The touch panel 311 is hardware (touch operation unit) for inputting by a touch operation and hardware (screen display unit) for obtaining an output by screen display. The numeric keypad 312 is hardware for inputting numbers by operating keys (buttons). The start button 313 is hardware for performing a start operation by a button operation. The reset button 314 is hardware for performing a reset operation by a button operation. The function key 315 is hardware for displaying various operation screens by key (button) operation. The initial setting button 316 is hardware for displaying an initial setting screen by button operation.

  Returning to FIG. The controller unit 20 includes a ROM 201, a RAM 202, a CPU 203, a scanner 204, a plotter 205, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 206, and the like, and is a part that mainly executes control of hardware resources of the image forming apparatus 1. The ROM 201 stores a program for realizing the functions of the controller unit 20, data used by the program, and the like. The RAM 202 is used as a storage area for loading the program and the like when the program is executed. The CPU 203 executes the function of the controller unit 20 by executing a program loaded in the RAM 202. The scanner 204 is a device (hardware resource) for reading image data from a paper document. The plotter 205 is a device (hardware resource) for outputting (printing) image data on printing paper. The HDD 206 provides a large-scale storage area for storing various types of information, and is used, for example, for storing image data read by the scanner 204.

  The operation unit 10 and the controller unit 20 are connected by a bus or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable. An input to the operation panel 104 is notified to the controller unit 20 as an event. The controller unit 20 executes processing according to the event. On the other hand, an event detected by the controller unit 20 (for example, an event generated by the scanner 204, the plotter 205, or the like) is notified to the operation unit 10. The operation unit 10 executes display processing according to the notified event.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration example of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 3, the operation unit 10 includes an OS 11, a window system 12, a Web browser 13, a content display plug-in 14, a content 15, and the like. These function by the CPU 103 of the operation unit 10 executing the programs related thereto.

  The OS 11 is a general OS such as Linux. The window system 12 implements a GUI (Graphical User Interface) environment on the OS 11. A specific example of the window system 12 is, for example, X Window System. The Web browser 13 is a general Web browser, and performs display control of the touch panel 311 based on HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data, XML (eXtensible Markup Language) data, and the like. The content display plug-in 14 is a plug-in for the Web browser 13 and displays or reproduces the content 15 configured in a predetermined format (for example, a format unique to the content display plug-in 14). For example, the content 15 is display data or a display program that can provide an expressive user interface that is difficult to express with HTML data or XML data. Therefore, the content display plug-in 14 is plugged into the web browser 13, so that the display function of the web browser 13 is expanded, and the display screen displayed on the touch panel 311 can be more expressive.

  In FIG. 3, the controller unit 20 includes an OS 21, a Java (registered trademark) VM (Virtual Machine) 22, an OSGi (Open Services Gateway Initiative) framework 23, and a bundle 24. These function by the CPU 203 of the controller unit 20 executing the programs related thereto.

  The OS 11 is a general OS such as Linux. The Java (registered trademark) VM 22 is a so-called Java (registered trademark) virtual machine that interprets and executes a program based on an intermediate code (Java (registered trademark) bytecode) generated by a Java (registered trademark) compiler. The OSGi framework 23 realizes a software execution environment based on open software componentization technology (standardization technology by OSGi Alliance) based on Java (registered trademark). Software executed on the OSGi framework 23 is mounted as a component called “bundle”. The bundle 24 indicates the “bundle”.

  Incidentally, the Web browser executes HTTP communication with the Web server as is well known. In the present embodiment, the Web browser 13 performs HTTP (or including HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Security)) communication with a bundle corresponding to a Web server. This HTTP communication is used to notify the controller unit 20 of an event that occurs in the operation unit 10 (that is, an input event to the operation panel 104). Hereinafter, the HTTP communication is also referred to as “synchronous communication”.

  Further, the content display plug-in 14 can perform socket communication with the bundle 24. This socket communication is used in the controller unit 20 to notify the operation unit 10 of an event that occurs asynchronously with the input to the operation panel 104. Hereinafter, the socket communication is also referred to as “asynchronous communication”.

  That is, since HTTP communication (synchronous communication) includes a request from a Web client and a response from the Web server in response to the request, the Web client (operation unit 10) is actively from the Web server side (controller unit 20). Information cannot be sent to. Therefore, in synchronous communication, an event detected asynchronously by the controller unit 20 cannot be notified to the operation unit 10 (Web browser 13). That is, the display content of the Web browser 13 cannot be updated according to the event detected by the controller unit 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the content display plug-in 14 can receive an event that occurs in the controller unit 20, thereby updating the display content according to the event.

  The configuration for realizing the above asynchronous communication and synchronous communication will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication function between the operation unit and the controller unit.

  In FIG. 4, a UI bundle 241 is a bundle 24 for performing processing control based on asynchronous communication in the controller unit 20. The UI bundle 241 opens a socket (server socket 2411) for performing asynchronous communication.

  The HTTP server bundle 242 is a bundle as a Web server, and the controller unit 20 performs processing control based on synchronous communication. The HTTP server bundle 242 includes a servlet (servlet 2421) for performing synchronous communication.

  On the other hand, the content display plug-in 14 opens a socket (socket 141) for asynchronous communication. That is, asynchronous communication is performed between the socket 141 and the server socket 2411. The Web browser 13 opens a socket (HTTP socket 131) for performing HTTP communication. That is, synchronous communication is performed between the HTTP socket 131 and the servlet 2421.

  Based on such a mechanism, an input event to the operation panel 104 including the content 15 reproduced by the content display plug-in 14 is notified to the HTTP server bundle 242 via the HTTP socket 131. On the other hand, the asynchronous event detected in the controller unit 20 is notified to the content display plug-in 14 by being transmitted to the socket 141 via the server socket 2411.

  The content display plug-in 14, the UI bundle 241, and the HTTP server bundle 242 will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a class diagram of the content display plug-in. In FIG. 5, the content display plug-in 14 includes a socket class 1401, a connection class 1402, an XML conversion class 1403, a display control class 1404, an intermediate data class 1405, and the like.

  The socket class 1401 is a class that realizes the socket 141 for executing socket communication (asynchronous communication) with the server socket 2411 of the UI bundle 241. The socket class 1401 has a transmission method. The transmission method is a method for transmitting data specified as an argument to the server socket 2411 by socket communication. An instance of the socket class 1401 is hereinafter referred to as a “socket object 1401A”.

  The connection class 1402 is a class that realizes synchronous communication using the HTTP socket 131 of the Web browser 13. The connection class 1402 inherits the socket class 1401 and has a transmission method and an event method. The transmission method is a method for outputting the XML data designated by the argument to the HTTP socket 131. The event method is a method for receiving return data from the HTTP socket 131. An instance of the connection class 1402 is hereinafter referred to as “connection object 1402A”.

  The display control class 1404 is a class that realizes content display control in the content display plug-in 14. The display control class 1404 has an event method, a screen transition method, a display method, and the like. The event method is a method for receiving data returned or transmitted from the controller unit 20 during synchronous communication or asynchronous communication. The screen transition method is a method for acquiring the content that is the transition destination when the content 15 to be displayed is updated. The display method is a method for displaying the acquired content on the content display plug-in 14 (that is, on the Web browser 13). An instance of the display control class 1404 is hereinafter referred to as “display control object 1404A”.

  The XML conversion class 1403 is a data format (XML) exchanged in synchronous communication or asynchronous communication with data in a data format interpretable by the display control class 1404 (hereinafter, data in the data format is referred to as “intermediate data”). Is a class that realizes the conversion process. Due to the presence of the XML conversion class 1403, the display control class 1404 can be implemented without depending on the data format used for communication. The XML conversion class 1403 has an XML conversion method and an event method. The XML conversion method is a method for converting intermediate data into XML data. The event method is a method for receiving XML data returned or transmitted from the controller unit 20. An instance of the XML conversion class 1403 is hereinafter referred to as an “XML conversion object 1403A”.

  The intermediate data class 1405 is a class that represents the above-described intermediate data. An instance of the intermediate data class 1405 is hereinafter referred to as “intermediate data object 1405A”.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a class diagram of a UI bundle and an HTTP server bundle.

  In FIG. 6, the UI bundle 241 includes a standby server class 2412, a server socket class 2413, an asynchronous event controller class 2414, and the like.

  The standby server class 2412 is a class for waiting for a request for opening a socket for asynchronous communication from the content display plug-in 14. The standby server class 2412 has a connection method. The connection method is a method for accepting a request for opening a socket for asynchronous communication. An instance of the standby server class 2412 is hereinafter referred to as a “standby server object 2412A”.

  The server socket class 2413 is a class that realizes a socket 2411 for executing socket communication (asynchronous communication) with the socket 141 of the content display plug-in 14. The server socket class 2413 has a transmission method. The transmission method is a method for transmitting data specified by the argument to the socket 141 by socket communication. An instance of the server socket class 2413 is hereinafter referred to as “server socket object 2413A”.

  The asynchronous event controller class 2414 is a class that realizes processing control based on an event detected by the control unit 20. The asynchronous event controller class 2414 has event methods. The event method is a method for receiving notification of an event from the logic unit (the part that controls or monitors the hardware in a layer closer to the hardware than the bundle 24). As an example of processing control, the asynchronous event controller class 2414 notifies the content display plug-in 14 of the event using the server socket 2411 (server socket class 2413) when the event notification is received. An instance of the asynchronous event controller class 2414 is hereinafter referred to as “asynchronous event controller object 2414A”.

  The HTTP server bundle 242 includes an HTTP servlet class 2422, a servlet class 2423, a synchronous event controller class 2424, and the like.

  The HTTP servlet class 2422 is a class that implements a servlet 2421 for executing HTTP communication with the Web browser 13.

  The servlet class 2423 is a concrete class that inherits the HTTP servlet class 2422. That is, the servlet class 2423 substantially implements the servlet 2421. The servlet class 2423 has a transmission method. The transmission method is a method for transmitting data specified as an argument to the Web browser 13 by HTTP communication (HTTP response). The instance of the servlet class 2423 is hereinafter referred to as “servlet object 2423A”.

  The synchronous event controller class 2424 is a class that realizes processing control based on an event detected by the operation unit 10. The synchronous event controller class 2424 has an event method. The event method is a method for receiving an event detected by the operation unit 10. The instance of the synchronous event controller class 2424 is hereinafter referred to as “synchronous event controller object 2424A”.

  In FIG. 6, a logic class 25 is a class that represents the above-described logic part. The logic class 25 has a processing method. The processing method is a method for executing processing according to the event.

  Hereinafter, the processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram for explaining asynchronous communication processing between the operation unit and the controller unit.

  For example, when the image forming apparatus 1 is activated, the socket object 1401A in the operation unit 10 makes a connection request for socket communication (asynchronous communication) by calling the connection method of the standby server object 2412A (S101). The standby server object 2412A instantiates the server socket object 2413A and the asynchronous event controller object 2414A in response to the connection method call (S102, S103). As described above, a socket for asynchronous communication is established between the content display plug-in 14 and the UI bundle 241. The socket object 1401A in the content display plug-in 14 is in a reception waiting state.

  Thereafter, for example, when a change in the state of the scanner 204 or the plotter 205 or the occurrence of an abnormality is detected, the event notification method of the asynchronous event controller object 2414A is called by the module that detected the event (asynchronous event) (S111). . As an argument of the event notification method, XML data indicating the contents of the asynchronous event (hereinafter referred to as “event XML”) is designated. The asynchronous event controller object 2414A requests the server socket object 2413A to transmit the event XML by designating the event XML as an argument and calling the transmission method of the server socket object 2413A (S112). The server socket object 2413A transmits the event XML to the socket object 1401A by socket communication in response to the calling of the transmission method (S113).

  When the event XML is received, the socket object 1401A specifies the event XML as an argument and calls the event method of the XML conversion object 1403A (S114). In response to the event method call, the XML conversion object 1403A generates an intermediate data object 1405A corresponding to the content of the event XML specified as the argument (S115). Therefore, the intermediate data object 1405A generated here indicates the contents of the asynchronous event in the controller unit 20. Subsequently, the XML conversion object 1405A specifies the generated intermediate data object 1405A (event object) as an argument and calls an event method of the display control object 1404A (S116).

  The display control object 1401A analyzes the content of the intermediate data object 1405A designated as an argument in response to the call of the event method, and executes processing according to the content (asynchronous event) (S117). For example, an asynchronous event is notified to the content 15 or the content 15 to be displayed is updated (transition of the display screen). As a result, the content displayed by the Web browser 13, that is, the content displayed on the touch panel 311 is updated.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, the display content of the Web browser 13 can be updated in accordance with an event that occurs asynchronously or independently of the Web browser 13.

  Next, synchronous communication processing will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram for explaining synchronous communication processing between the operation unit and the controller unit.

  For example, when an input is made to the content 15 via the touch panel 311 or various buttons on the operation panel 104 are operated, the event (hereinafter referred to as “operation event”) is notified to the display control object 1404A (S201). ). The display control object 1404A designates the intermediate data object 1405A (event object) corresponding to the event as an argument and calls the XML conversion method of the XML conversion object 1403A (S202). In response to the calling of the XML conversion method, the XML conversion object 1403 converts the event object specified as the argument into XML data (event XML) (S203). Subsequently, the XML conversion object 1403 designates the event XML generated by the conversion as an argument and calls the transmission method of the connection object 1402A (S204). In response to the call of the send method, the connection object 1402A designates the data indicating the content of the event XML designated as the argument (hereinafter referred to as “event data”) as the argument, and calls the send method of the HTTP socket object 1301A (S205). ). The HTTP socket object 1301A transmits an HTTP request including event data to the servlet object 2423A (S206).

  Upon receiving the HTTP request, the servlet object 2423A converts the event data included in the HTTP request into XML data, specifies the XML data (event XML) as an argument, and calls the event notification method of the synchronous event controller object 2424A. (S207). The event notification method of the synchronous event controller 2424A calls the processing method of the logic object 25A according to the operation event indicated in the event XML (S208). The logic object 25A controls processing according to the operation event (S209). For example, when the operation event is a copy execution instruction, the scanner 204 reads an image of a document and controls processing for outputting the image from the plotter 205. Data indicating the execution result of the processing control (result data) is returned to the synchronous event controller object 2424A as a return value of the processing method (S210). The synchronization event controller object 2424A determines whether screen transition is necessary based on the result data (S211). If the synchronous event controller object 2424A determines that there is a need for screen transition, the servlet object 2423A uses event data including identification information (for example, URL) of the content 15 related to the transition destination screen as a return value of the event notification method. Return to The servlet object 2423A transmits an HTTP response including the event data to the HTTP socket object 1301A (S213).

  When receiving the HTTP response, the HTTP socket object 1301A designates the event data included in the HTTP response as an argument and calls the event method of the connection object 1402A (S214). In response to the call of the event method, the connection object 1402A specifies the XML data indicating the contents of the event data as an argument and calls the event method of the XML conversion object 1403A (S215).

  In response to the call to the event method, the XML conversion object 1403A generates an intermediate data object 1405A corresponding to the content of the XML data designated as the argument (S216). Therefore, the intermediate data object 1405A generated here includes the identification information of the content 15 at the transition destination. Subsequently, the XML conversion object 1405A specifies the generated intermediate data object 1405A (event object) as an argument and calls an event method of the display control object 1404A (S217).

  In response to the call of the event method, the display control object 1404A analyzes the content of the event object specified as the argument. If it is determined as a result of the analysis that screen transition is necessary, the display control object 1404A calls its screen transition method (S218). When the screen transition method is called, the display control object 1404A requests the content server 26 to obtain a transition destination content 15 (S219). Here, the content server 26 is software for managing the content 15. The content server 26 retrieves the requested content 15 and transmits the content 15 to the display control object 1404A (S220). The content server 26 may be implemented in the image forming apparatus 1 or may be implemented in a computer connected to the image forming apparatus 1 via a network.

  When the display control object 1404A receives the content 15, the display control object 1404A executes display processing of the content 15 by calling its own display method (S221). As a result, the content 15 is displayed or reproduced by the content display plug-in 14.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, the display content of the Web browser 13 can be updated in accordance with an input to the operation panel 104 or the like.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the operation unit 10 and the controller unit 20 are mounted in one image forming apparatus 1 has been described. However, the operation unit 10 may be another image connected via a network. You may communicate with the controller part 20 mounted in the forming apparatus or the computer. In this case, since the HTTPS communication by the Web browser 13 can be used in the synchronous communication, the security of the synchronous communication can be ensured without implementing the process for performing encryption again.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation・ Change is possible.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation panel. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the communication function of an operation part and a controller part. It is an example of a class diagram of a content display plug-in. It is an example of the class diagram of UI bundle and HTTP server bundle. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the asynchronous communication process of an operation part and a controller part. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the synchronous communication process of an operation part and a controller part.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming apparatus 10 Operation unit 11 OS
12 Window system 13 Web browser 14 Content display plug-in 15 Content 20 Controller unit 21 OS
22 Java (registered trademark) VM
23 OSGi framework 24 Bundle 25 Logic class 25A Logic object 101 ROM
102 RAM
103 CPU
104 Operation panel 131 HTTP socket 141 Socket 201 ROM
202 RAM
203 CPU
204 Scanner 205 Plotter 206 HDD
241 UI bundle 242 HTTP server bundle 311 Touch panel 312 Numeric keypad 313 Start button 314 Reset button 315 Function key 316 Initial setting button 1401 Socket class 1402 Connection class 1403 XML conversion class 1404 Display control class 1405 Intermediate data class 2411 Server socket 2412 Standby server class 2413 Server socket class 2414 Asynchronous event controller class 2421 Servlet 2422 HTTP servlet class 2423 Servlet class 2423
2424 synchronous event controller class 1401A socket object 1402A connection object 1403A XML conversion object 1404A display control object 1405A intermediate data object 2411A server socket 2412A standby server object 2413A server socket object 2414A asynchronous event controller object 2421A servlet 2422A HTTP servlet object 2423A servlet object 2423
2424A Synchronous event controller object

Claims (12)

An image forming apparatus comprising a Web browser that performs display control of an operation panel and a control unit that controls hardware resources,
Having content display means plugged into the web browser and displaying content on the operation panel;
The content display means receives information indicating an event detected by the control means asynchronously with an input to the operation panel, and updates the content according to the event indicated by the received information. Image forming apparatus. The content display unit, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving information indicative of a pre-Symbol event by the socket communication. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Web browser transmits an HTTP request to the control unit in response to an input to the operation panel. The control means executes processing according to the HTTP request, and returns an HTTP response instructing updating of display contents of the operation panel to the Web browser according to a result of the processing. 3. The image forming apparatus according to 3. A display control method in an image forming apparatus comprising a Web browser for controlling display of an operation panel and a control means for controlling hardware resources,
A content display procedure for displaying the content by a content display unit that is plugged into the Web browser and displays the content on the operation panel;
A content update procedure in which the content display means receives information indicating an event detected by the control means asynchronously with an input to the operation panel, and updates the content according to the event indicated by the received information; A display control method comprising: Wherein the content update procedure, the display control method according to claim 5, wherein the receiving information indicative of a pre-Symbol event by the socket communication. The display control method according to claim 5, wherein the Web browser has a procedure of transmitting an HTTP request to the control unit in response to an input to the operation panel. The control means includes a procedure of executing a process according to the HTTP request and returning an HTTP response instructing an update of display contents of the operation panel to the Web browser according to a result of the process. The display control method according to claim 7. An image forming apparatus including a Web browser that performs display control of an operation panel and a control unit that controls hardware resources.
Plugged into the web browser and functioning as content display means for displaying content on the operation panel,
The content display means receives information indicating an event detected by the control means asynchronously with an input to the operation panel, and updates the content according to the event indicated by the received information. Display control program to be executed. The content display means, the display control program according to claim 9, wherein the receiving information indicative of a pre-Symbol event by the socket communication. The display control program according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the Web browser transmits an HTTP request to the control unit in response to an input to the operation panel. The control means executes processing according to the HTTP request, and returns an HTTP response instructing updating of display contents of the operation panel to the Web browser according to a result of the processing. 11. The display control program according to 11.

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