JP5972246B2 - Image forming apparatus, image forming system, and image forming method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, and an image forming method, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, and an image forming method capable of displaying status information.

Conventionally, there are image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals (MFPs) capable of printing documents and images.
Some of these image forming apparatuses can display status information indicating an operation state or the like.

  With reference to Patent Document 1, a technique of an image forming apparatus that displays a menu screen of a function customized for each user on a display unit is described.

JP 2008-104143 A

  However, the technique of Patent Literature 1 confirms at a glance the setting value of a menu that each user calls through the operation panel and browses frequently or changes the setting, and status information such as the remaining amount of consumables. There was a problem that I could not.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus that solves the above-described problems.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus capable of displaying status information indicating an operation status and the like, and a user selection information acquiring unit that acquires user selection information in which the displayed status information is selected by a user, and the user It is characterized by comprising status information display control means for displaying status information included in the user selection information acquired by the selection information acquisition means and status information selected according to the operation state on one screen. To do.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the status information included in the user selection information is the same as the status information selected in accordance with the operation state, the status information display control unit converts both status information into other information. It is characterized by being displayed in a highlighted manner or with a higher priority than the status information.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the status information display control unit causes the status information included in the user selection information and the status information selected according to the operation state to be displayed in a list from a basic screen by a predetermined operation. It is characterized by.
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the status information display control means selects the status information to be displayed and the priority order according to the operation state of each unit.
The image forming system according to the present invention includes the image forming apparatus and a server that acquires and shares the user selection information and the status information displayed on the image forming apparatus.
In the image forming method of the present invention, in the image forming method executed by the image forming apparatus capable of displaying the status information indicating the operation status and the like, the user selection information in which the displayed status information is selected by the user is logged in It is acquired according to a user, and status information included in the acquired user selection information and status information selected according to an operation state are displayed together on one screen.

  According to the present invention, the user selection information is acquired according to the logged-in user, and displayed on a single screen together with the status information displayed according to the operation state, so that an image with good listability of the status information is displayed. A forming apparatus can be provided.

1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the status display process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an example of a screen of the standard status information display process shown in FIG. It is an example of a screen of the user selection information acquisition process and user selection information change process shown in FIG. It is an example of a screen of the emphasis or priority change process shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

<Embodiment>
[Overall Configuration of Image Forming System X]
First, the overall configuration of the image forming system X including the image forming apparatus 1, the server 2, and the terminal 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus 1 is an image forming apparatus such as an MFP capable of displaying a status.
The server 2 is a server such as a PC / AT compatible machine that performs login and accumulation of status information 400 (FIG. 1) as will be described later.
The terminal 3 is a PC such as a PC / AT compatible machine capable of transmitting print data 300 created by the user, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, or the like.
The image forming apparatus 1, the server 2, and the terminal 3 are connected to a network 5 such as a LAN, a wireless LAN, a WAN, and a mobile phone network.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image processing unit 11, a document reading unit 12, a document feeding unit 13, a conveyance unit (a paper feed roller 42 b, a conveyance roller pair 44, a discharge roller pair 45), a network transmission / reception unit 15, and an operation panel unit 16. The image forming unit 17 (image forming unit), the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 18 (FAX transmitting / receiving unit), the storage unit 19 and the like are connected to the control unit 10. The operation of each unit is controlled by the control unit 10.

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), and an application specific processor (ASIC). Information processing means such as a processor for a specific application)
The control unit 10 reads out a control program stored in the ROM or HDD of the storage unit 19, develops the control program in the RAM, and executes it to operate as each unit of a functional block described later. Further, the control unit 10 controls the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the input unit 20 of the operation panel unit 16 or the terminal 3.

The image processing unit 11 is control arithmetic means such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The image processing unit 11 is a unit that performs predetermined image processing on image data, and performs various types of image processing such as enlargement / reduction, density adjustment, gradation adjustment, and image improvement.
The image processing unit 11 stores the image read by the document reading unit 12 as print data 300 in the storage unit 19. At this time, the image processing unit 11 can also convert the print data 300 into file units of a format such as PDF or TIFF.

The document reading unit 12 is a (scan) unit that reads a set document.
The document feeding unit 13 is a unit that transports a document read by the document reading unit 12.
The image forming unit 17 is a unit that performs image formation on recording paper from data stored in the storage unit 19 and read by the document reading unit 12 or acquired from the terminal 3 according to a user output instruction.
The transport unit transports the recording paper from the paper feed cassette 42a (FIG. 7), causes the image forming unit 17 to form an image, and then transports the recording paper to the stack tray 50.
The operations of the document reading unit 12, the document feeding unit 13, the transport unit, and the image forming unit 17 will be described later.

The network transmission / reception unit 15 is a network connection unit including a LAN board for connecting to the network 5 and a wireless transceiver.
The network transmission / reception unit 15 transmits / receives data on a data communication line and transmits / receives voice signals on a voice telephone line.
The network transmission / reception unit 15 can be connected to the server 2 and the terminal 3 via the network 5.

  The operation panel unit 16 acquires instructions for various jobs of the image forming apparatus 1 by the user. Further, information on each user is input and changed in accordance with user instructions acquired from the operation panel unit 16.

The operation panel unit 16 includes an input unit 20 and a display unit 21.
The input unit 20 is a button for switching operation modes such as a numeric keypad, start, cancel, copying, FAX transmission, and scanner, and an instruction for executing a job related to printing, transmission, storage, recording, and the like of the selected document. Buttons and touch panels.
The display unit 21 is a display unit such as an LCD or an organic EL panel. The display unit 21 performs a preview display of the print data 300.
The operation panel unit 16 displays various status information 400 (FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus 1 on the display unit 21 according to a user instruction from the input unit 20.

The FAX transmission / reception unit 18 is a part that performs facsimile transmission / reception, and is connected to a normal telephone line, ISDN line, or the like.
Further, the FAX transmission / reception unit 18 stores the received facsimile image in the storage unit 19 as print data 300 (FIG. 1).
Further, the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 18 may perform facsimile transmission instead of displaying the status information 400 on the display unit 21.

The storage unit 19 is a storage unit that uses a semiconductor memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a recording medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).
Even if the RAM of the storage unit 19 is in a power saving state, the stored contents are held by a function such as self-refresh.
A control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stored in the ROM and HDD of the storage unit 19. The storage unit 19 may include a storage folder area for each user.

In the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 10 and the image processing unit 11 may be integrally formed, such as a CPU with a built-in GPU or a chip-on-module package.
The control unit 10 and the image processing unit 11 may include a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, and the like.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus 1]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The document reading unit 12 is arranged on the upper part of the main body unit 14, and the document feeding unit 13 is arranged on the upper side of the document reading unit 12. The stack tray 50 is disposed on the recording paper discharge port 41 side formed in the main body unit 14, and the operation panel unit 16 is disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1.

The document reading unit 12 includes a scanner 12a, a platen glass 12b, and a document reading slit 12c. The scanner 12 a includes an exposure lamp, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) imaging sensor, and the like, and is configured to be movable in the document transport direction by the document feeder 13.
The platen glass 12b is an original table made of a transparent member such as glass. The document reading slit 12 c has a slit formed in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction by the document feeding unit 13.

When reading a document placed on the platen glass 12b, the scanner 12a is moved to a position facing the platen glass 12b, and reads the document while scanning the document placed on the platen glass 12b to obtain image data. The acquired image data is output to the control unit 10 (FIG. 6) provided in the main body unit 14.
When reading the document conveyed by the document feeding unit 13, the scanner 12a is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 12c, and the document feeding unit 13 conveys the document through the document reading slit 12c. The document is read in synchronization with the operation to acquire image data, and the acquired image data is output to the control unit 10 provided in the main body unit 14.

The document feeding unit 13 includes a document placement unit 13a, a document discharge unit 13b, and a document transport mechanism 13c. The originals placed on the original placement unit 13a are sequentially fed out one by one by the original conveyance mechanism 13c, conveyed to a position facing the original reading slit 12c, and then discharged to the original discharge unit 13b.
The document feeding unit 13 is configured to be retractable, and the upper surface of the platen glass 12b can be opened by lifting the document feeding unit 13 upward.

The main body unit 14 includes the image forming unit 17, and includes a paper feeding unit 42, a paper conveyance path 43, a conveyance roller pair 44, and a discharge roller pair 45. The paper feed unit 42 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 42 a that store recording papers of different sizes or orientations, and a paper feed roller 42 b that feeds the recording papers one by one from the paper feed cassette 42 a to the paper transport path 43. Yes. The paper feed roller 42b, the transport roller pair 44, and the discharge roller pair 45 function as a transport unit. The recording paper is conveyed by this conveyance unit. The transport unit also includes a sensor that detects the amount of recording paper in each paper feed cassette 42a.
The recording paper fed to the paper transport path 43 by the paper feed roller 42 b is transported to the image forming unit 17 by the transport roller pair 44. Then, the recording paper on which recording is performed by the image forming unit 17 is discharged to the stack tray 50 by the discharge roller pair 45.

  The image forming unit 17 includes a photosensitive drum 17a, an exposure unit 17b, a developing unit 17c, a transfer unit 17d, and a fixing unit 17e. The exposure unit 17b is an optical unit including a laser device, a mirror, a lens, an LED array, and the like. The exposure unit 17b outputs light or the like based on image data to expose the photosensitive drum 17a, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 17a is statically exposed. An electrostatic latent image is formed. The developing unit 17c is a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 17a using toner, and forms a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 17a. The transfer unit 17d transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 17a by the developing unit 17c to a recording sheet. The fixing unit 17e heats the recording paper on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 17d to fix the toner image on the recording paper.

[System Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 1 and Server 2]
A system configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 and the server 2 according to the embodiment of the image forming system X of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus 1 is an MFP or the like that can display status information 400 relating to the operation status.
The server 2 stores status information 400. In this embodiment, the server 2 is also used for login.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a print data acquisition unit 100 (print data acquisition unit), a user selection information acquisition unit 110 (user selection information acquisition unit), and a status information display control unit 120 (status information display control unit). .

The print data acquisition unit 100 acquires the print data 300 from the document reading unit 12, the FAX transmission / reception unit 18, the server 2, the terminal 3, another image forming apparatus (not shown), or an external recording medium, and stores the print data 300 in the storage unit 19. save.
Further, the print data acquisition unit 100 acquires an instruction to perform status display by the user from the input unit 20, the external server 2, the terminal 3, or the like.
Further, the print data acquisition unit 100 acquires the user ID (Identification) and password of the user and performs user authentication with the server 2.

  The user selection information acquisition unit 110 acquires user selection information 500 from the server 2 and stores it in the storage unit 19. This user selection information 500 is acquired corresponding to the user ID of the logged-in user.

The status information display control unit 120 selects the status information 400A displayed according to the operation state, and displays the status information 400B displayed by the user selection information 500 acquired by the user selection information acquisition unit 110 on one screen. Display.
In addition, when the status information 400B included in the user selection information 500 is the same as the status information 400A selected according to the operation state, the status information display control unit 120 displays the information with emphasis or higher priority.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 stores print data 300, device settings 310, operation state information 320, and user selection information 500 in the storage unit 19.

  The print data 300 is image and / or document data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 100. The image data of the print data 300 and / or the data of the document includes image data such as a bitmap read by the document reading unit 12 or the FAX transmission / reception unit 18, PDL (Page It may be document data in Description Language, document data such as PDF (Portable Document Format), image data in a format such as jpg, GIF, or TIFF. The print data 300 may include data such as the creator's user ID and password, the created device 3 of the terminal 3, the type of application, and the IP address.

The device setting 310 is data included in various settings of the image forming apparatus 1. As the data included in the device setting 310, the default (default) display setting of whether or not to display the status information 400 of the operation state information 320 when the status display is instructed, the default display priority setting of the status display, and the operation state This includes state change display settings for display selection of status information 400 due to changes. Also, the device setting 310 includes setting of a default paper cassette 42a, setting of a default paper type of each paper cassette 42a, setting of whether to perform color or monochrome output by default, billing setting, etc. May also be included.
Each setting of the device setting 310 can be set and changed from the input unit 20 (FIG. 6) of the operation panel unit 16, the server 2, the terminal 3, or the like by an administrator user or the like.
Further, the device setting 310 may include information that is not normally changed, such as a model name and a device unique ID.

  The operation state information 320 is data indicating the operation state of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation state information 320 includes status information 400 regarding each operation state (status).

The status information 400 is data indicating an operation state or the like. The status information 400 includes, for example, a printable state, an error state such as a failure or a paper jam or out of recording paper, a power saving mode, a network connection, a remaining amount of each color toner, a remaining amount of paper in each paper cassette 42a, and a paper It includes various types of operation state information such as the type (hereinafter referred to as “recording paper type”) and the paper feed cassette 42a (hereinafter referred to as “recording paper source”) used in printing. The status information 400 includes various types such as a color or monochrome output type, an IP address of the transmission source of the image forming apparatus 1 or the print data 300, a file name or file type of the print data 300, preview data, or a created user ID. Information may also be included.
The status information display control unit 120 selects which operation state of the status information 400 is displayed.
Further, the status information 400 includes status information 400A that is selected and displayed by the control unit 10 according to the operation state, and status information 400B that is indicated by the user selection information. When indicating either status information 400A or status information 400B, it is simply referred to as status information 400. The status information 400A and the status information 400B may include the same type of status information.

The user selection information 500 is data indicating the type of status information 400B selected and displayed by the user. In this embodiment, the user selection information 500 is acquired from the server 2 by the user selection information acquisition unit 110 for each logged-in user.
Further, the user selection information 500 includes additional status information data indicating status information 400B to be additionally displayed in the case of the same user as the user of the acquired print data 300. As this additional status information, for example, data such as a file name of print data, a file type, preview data, or the like that it is preferable for security not to be browsed directly by another person may be designated.

  The server 2 includes an account setting 200 and a status information DB 210.

  The account setting 200 is a database for user authentication. The account setting 200 includes information such as a user ID, a password, user selection information 500, authority information, address information, and billing information for each user account. The user ID is information such as a user ID (Identification) and a user name. The password or the like is a password at the time of user authentication, and is used for a password for changing various settings, an authentication code, a password, or the like. The authority information is information related to the authority of an administrator, a general user, a guest user, or the like. The address information includes the user's e-mail address, IP address, address book, telephone number, FAX number, document box address, and the like. The charging information is information for charging for each page of monochrome printing and color printing. The billing information may include information such as billing at a store and information such as network printing in addition to page billing.

The status information DB 210 is a database for sharing the status information 400 acquired from the image forming apparatus 1.
The status information DB 210 may store information such as the user ID of the user who displayed the status, the IP address of the image forming apparatus 1 that acquired the status, the device unique ID, the display time, and the status display history.

Here, the control unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 executes the control program stored in the storage unit 19 to function as the print data acquisition unit 100, the user selection information acquisition unit 110, and the status information display control unit 120. To do.
The control unit (not shown) of the server 2 executes various processes by executing a control program stored in a storage unit (not shown).
Each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 or the server 2 described above becomes a hardware resource for executing the image forming method of the present invention.

[Status Display Processing by Image Forming Apparatus 1]
Next, status display processing by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the status display processing of this embodiment, frequently used menu setting values and setting status information to be confirmed before use are selected for each user, and a list is displayed on a single screen by a predetermined operation from the basic screen. . At this time, in addition to the list of items set for each user, the status information 400A corresponding to the operation state of the device is selected and added to the list display for display. At the time of this addition, if it overlaps with the status information 400B selected by the user, highlighting, changing the display order, etc. are performed. If the user who created the print data 300 is the same as the user who displayed the status, a status to be displayed is added.
In the status display process of the present embodiment, mainly, the control unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 and the control unit of the server 2 cooperate with each unit to execute a program stored in the storage unit 19 and the storage unit of the server 2. Execute using hardware resources.
Hereinafter, the details of the status display process will be described step by step with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(Step S100)
First, the control unit 10 performs print data acquisition processing by the print data acquisition unit 100.
The control unit 10 causes the document reading unit 12 to read the document set on the document feeding unit 13, acquires the image data as print data 300, and stores it in the storage unit 19.
Further, the control unit 10 may acquire image data such as a document received by facsimile from the FAX transmission / reception unit 18 as the print data 300 and store it in the storage unit 19.
In addition, the control unit 10 receives the print data 300 output from the various application software of the terminal 3 by the device driver, the print data 300 stored in the server 2, and the like at the network transmission / reception unit 15 via the external network, It may be stored in the storage unit 19.
Further, the control unit 10 may acquire the print data 300 from a connected external recording medium (not shown) and store it in the storage unit 19.

(Step S101)
Next, the control unit 10 performs login processing by the print data acquisition unit 100.
The control unit 10 causes the user to input a user ID and password from the input unit 20 of the operation panel unit 16, the server 2, or the terminal 3, and obtains the user ID and performs user authentication. At this time, the control unit 10 transmits the input user ID and password to the server 2.
The control unit of the server 2 performs authentication by referring to the account setting 200 from the acquired user ID and password, and returns the result to the image forming apparatus 1.
When the control unit 10 receives the result of the user authentication, the control unit 10 stores the result in the storage unit 19.

(Step S102)
Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the print data acquisition unit 100 has instructed status display. The control unit 10 determines Yes when there is an instruction from the input unit 20, the server 2, or the terminal 3 by a predetermined operation of status display by the user on the basic screen. In other cases, the control unit 10 determines No.
For example, the screen example 600 of FIG. 3A shows a basic screen for instructing status display displayed on the display unit 21 of the operation panel unit 16. In this screen example 600, the control unit 10 determines Yes when it is detected as a predetermined operation that the user has pressed the “status display” button 700 on the touch panel.
In the case of Yes, the control part 10 advances a process to step S103.
In No, the control part 10 complete | finishes a status display process.

(Step S103)
When there is an instruction to display status by the user, the control unit 10 performs display status information selection processing by the status information display control unit 120.
The control unit 10 selects the status information 400 </ b> A that is displayed according to the operation state of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1.
First, the control unit 10 reads out the device setting 310 and selects which status information 400A is to be displayed in which order by default display setting and display priority setting. Further, the control unit 10 changes the status information 400A to be displayed and the priority order when the operation state of each unit changes due to the state change display setting in the device settings 310. For example, in the case of an error state, the control unit 10 may display the status information 400A if it is set to be displayed in the state change display setting even if it is set by the user not to display in the default setting. Select to display. That is, for example, when the remaining amount of recording paper or toner is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 10 selects the status of the location of the paper feed cassette 42a, the remaining amount of toner of the color, and the like. Also good.

(Step S104)
Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the login is successful by the user selection information acquisition unit 110. The control unit 10 reads out information on the result of user authentication stored in the storage unit 19 by the print data acquisition unit 100 and determines Yes when the user authentication at the time of login is successful. In other cases, the control unit 10 determines No when the user ID is not logged in or user authentication has failed.
In the case of Yes, the control part 10 advances a process to step S106.
In No, the control part 10 advances a process to step S105.

(Step S105)
If the user is not logged in or has failed, the control unit 10 causes the user selection information acquisition unit 110 to perform standard status information display processing.
The control unit 10 displays the selected status information 400A on the display unit 21 of the operation panel unit 16 as standard status information.
In the screen example 610 of FIG. 3B, as the status information 400A selected by the control unit 10, “recording paper source”, “recording paper type”, and “IP address of the image forming apparatus 1” are displayed on one screen in order from the top. The example displayed by is shown. Here, although “recording paper source” and “recording paper type” are normally selected as default display settings, since the print data 300 is network printing, “IP address of image forming apparatus 1” is also selected and displayed. An example is shown. As described above, in this embodiment, when the user is not logged in, the status information 400A selected by the default display setting and the display priority setting is displayed. In the example of FIG. 3B, the control unit 10 displays “(Remaining amount)” indicating that the amount of recording paper in the paper cassette 42 a of “Recording paper source” is small. . As described above, the status information 400A can be added and displayed according to the device state and the operation state.
In addition, the control unit 10 transmits the status information 400 </ b> A displayed to the server 2. The server 2 acquires the status information 400A, adds the time to the status information DB 210, and stores it.
Thereafter, the control unit 10 ends the status display process.

(Step S106)
If the login is successful, the control unit 10 causes the user selection information acquisition unit 110 to perform user selection information acquisition processing.
The control unit 10 requests the server 2 to acquire the user selection information 500 based on the user ID. The server 2 searches the user selection information 500 of the user ID stored in the account setting 200 and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 1.
The control unit 10 acquires the user selection information 500 and stores it in the storage unit 19.

(Step S107)
Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the status information 400A already selected by the status information display control unit 120 is included in the status information 400B displayed by the user selection information 500. When the control unit 10 is set to display the same type of status information 400A selected by the control unit 10 according to the operation state of each unit in the acquired user selection information 500 in step S103 Is determined as Yes. In other cases, that is, when there is no overlap between the selected status information 400A and the status information 400B displayed by the user selection information 500, the control unit 10 determines No.
In the case of Yes, the control part 10 advances a process to step S108.
In No, the control part 10 advances a process to step S109.

(Step S108)
When status information 400B of the same type as the selected status information 400A is set in the user selection information 500, the control unit 10 performs an emphasis or priority change process by the status information display control unit 120.
The control unit 10 displays the same status information 400B set in the user selection information 500 as that selected according to the operating state with emphasis or priority.
For example, the control unit 10 highlights the status information 400B by, for example, bold, underline, frame line, blinking, color change, or the like, or displays the status information 400B with a higher priority on the screen display order.

(Step S109)
Here, the control unit 10 determines whether the print data 300 of the same user is obtained by the status information display control unit 120. The control unit 10 refers to the print data 300 and determines Yes if the user ID of the creator of the print data 300 is the same as the user ID of the logged-in user. In other cases, the control unit 10 determines No.
In the case of Yes, the control part 10 advances a process to step S110.
In No, the control part 10 advances a process to step S111.

(Step S110)
If they are the same user, the control unit 10 causes the status information display control unit 120 to perform status information addition processing.
In the case of the same user, the control unit 10 selects additional status information included in the user selection information 500 to be displayed. Thus, by displaying the status only for the same user who logged in, it is possible to display the status in consideration of security and the like.

(Step S111)
Here, the control unit 10 performs a change status information display process by the status information display control unit 120.
The control unit 10 displays the status information 400 changed by the user selection information 500 on the display unit 21 of the operation panel unit 16. That is, the control unit 10 displays the status information 400A selected according to the operation state and the status information 400B included in the user selection information 500 acquired by the user selection information acquisition unit 110 together on one screen. . In addition, in the case of the same user, the control unit 10 also displays the additional status information.
FIG. 4 shows an example in which the changed status information 400 is displayed.
A screen example 620 in FIG. 4A shows an example in which the print data 300 is acquired and the state where the user A has successfully logged in is displayed. When the control unit 10 detects that the button 700 is pressed, the control unit 10 displays the changed status.
A screen example 630 in FIG. 4B shows an example in which the changed status is displayed. Here, in addition to “recording paper source”, “recording paper type”, and “IP address” previously selected by the control unit 10, “toner remaining amount” of each color included in the user selection information 500 is displayed. .
As described above, it is possible to display the status information 400B of the user selection information 500 selected by the user in a list in addition to the status information 400A selected according to the operation state by the control unit 10 from the default setting. In the example of FIG. 4B, since the status display selected by the control unit 10 and the status display included in the user selection information 500 do not match, an example in which the status display is simply displayed on the same screen is shown.
In addition, the control unit 10 transmits the displayed status information 400 to the server 2. The server 2 records this status information 400 in the status information DB 210 together with the time and user ID.

(Step S112)
Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the status information display control unit 120 instructs to change the user selection information 500. The control unit 10 determines Yes when there is an instruction to change the status information 400B included in the user selection information 500 from the input unit 20, the server 2, the terminal 3, or the like. In other cases, the control unit 10 determines No.
For example, in the case of FIG. 4B, the control unit 10 determines Yes when the pressing of the “user selection setting” button 710 is detected. In other cases, the control unit 10 determines No.
In the case of Yes, the control part 10 advances a process to step S113.
In No, the control part 10 complete | finishes a status display process.

(Step S113)
Here, the control unit 10 performs a user selection information change process by the status information display control unit 120.
The control unit 10 changes the user selection information 500 by the user. Then, the control unit 10 transmits the changed user selection information 500 to the server 2 together with the user ID. The server 2 stores the updated user selection information 500 in the account setting 200 in association with the user ID.
According to the screen example 640 in FIG. 4C, the user can select the type of status information 400B to be displayed by a pull-down menu or the like for each display priority. At this time, the user can also select additional status information.
Here, an example is shown in which the status information 400B to be displayed is selected by the user in the priority order of “cassette 1 remaining amount”, “toner remaining amount”, “creation user name”, “file name”, and “IP address”. The “file name” also indicates that it is additional status information displayed when the user ID is the same.
For example, when detecting that the completion button 720 is pressed, the control unit 10 can update and change the user selection information 500 according to the type of the status information 400B selected by the user.

Thereafter, the control unit 10 displays the status information 400 using the changed user selection information 500.
FIG. 5 shows an example in which the status information 400 changed by the changed user selection information 500 is displayed after the control unit 10 first selects the same status information 400 as in FIG.
In the screen example 650 in FIG. 5A, when the user A is logged in and the button 700 is pressed in the same manner as in FIG. 4, the control unit 10 performs the above-described processes and displays the status information 400 displayed. change.
A screen example 660 in FIG. 5B is an example in which the changed status information 400 is displayed. Here, since the “IP address” in the user selection information 500 is the same as the status information 400 previously selected by the control unit 10, it is displayed in bold and underlined and highlighted at the top. . Also, since “cassette 1 remaining amount” is the same, here, the display is changed from “(small)” indicating low to a more detailed percentage display and highlighted. Further, in this example, since the user ID of the creator included in the print data 300 matches the user ID of the logged-in user, “file name” is also displayed. Even in this screen, the user selection information 500 can be changed by pressing the button 710.
Thus, the status display process according to the embodiment of the present invention is completed.

With the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained.
Conventionally, since the technique of Patent Document 1 merely calls a menu screen for customized functions, it is impossible to display a list of statuses that the user wants to browse and statuses of devices.
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can display the status information 400, and the user selection information for acquiring the user selection information 500 in which the displayed status information 400B is selected by the user. Status information to be displayed on one screen together with the status information 400B included in the user selection information 500 acquired by the acquisition unit 110 and the user selection information acquisition unit 110 by selecting the status information 400A displayed according to the operation state The display control unit 120 is provided.
By configuring in this way, for each user, a setting value of status information to be browsed frequently or status information to be checked before use is selected and combined with information selected from the default status information 400A. , Can be displayed with good list.
As a result, the convenience of the user can be improved and the maintenance of the service person can be facilitated. Therefore, the service cost can be reduced.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the status information display control unit 120 has the same status information 400B included in the user selection information 500 and the status information 400A selected according to the operation state. In this case, the status information 400A and the status information 400B are highlighted or displayed with higher priority than other status information.
With this configuration, the user can easily determine the status information 400 that the user particularly wants to know the situation. Therefore, user convenience is improved, maintenance is facilitated, and costs can be reduced.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the status information display control unit 120 includes the status information 400B included in the user selection information 500, the status information 400A selected according to the operation state, and the basic screen. A list is displayed by a predetermined operation.
By configuring in this way, it is possible to select a menu item or device state to be checked frequently for each user and display a list with a small number of steps. At this time, the display of the status information 400 can be easily performed by, for example, a predetermined key operation from the basic screen in the print state.

In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the status information display control unit 120 selects the status information to be displayed and the priority order according to the operation state of each unit.
With this configuration, it is possible to add and display appropriate information among the status information 400A corresponding to the operation status of the device. That is, in addition to the status information 400B selected for each user, optimum status information corresponding to the device state can be added.
For this reason, it is possible to display and confirm information that requires attention when browsing the status display of the image forming apparatus 1 and information that the user needs to browse on a single screen.

The image forming system X according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the image forming apparatus 1 and the server 2 that acquires and shares the user selection information 500 and the status information 400 displayed on the image forming apparatus. It is characterized by.
By configuring in this way, the data of the displayed status information 400 is accumulated, and it becomes easy to grasp the state of the device. Therefore, maintenance can be performed quickly and service costs can be reduced.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the user selection information 500 is described as being stored in the server 2. However, the account setting 200 may be stored in the storage unit 19 of the image forming apparatus 1, and the user setting information 500 for each user ID may be included in the account setting 200. In this case, user authentication may be performed by the image forming apparatus 1.
With this configuration, even if there is no server 2, the status display selected according to the operation status of the image forming apparatus 1 and the status information 400 for each user can be displayed on a single screen. it can.

The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment may include a magnetic card reader or an IC card reader that performs user authentication wirelessly or by wire, and may perform user authentication using the magnetic card reader or the IC card reader.
In this case, the user selection information 500 may be stored in a magnetic card or IC card which is a recording medium read by the magnetic card reader or IC card reader.
Thereby, even if the image forming apparatus 1 is not connected to the network 5, the status display for each user can be performed. Further, since the user selection information 500 is stored in the magnetic card or the IC card, the service person can easily display the necessary status information 400 at the maintenance destination.

In the above-described embodiment, the status information 400 is displayed on the display unit 21. However, this status display may be performed on the display unit of the server 2 or the terminal 3.
As a result, the status information 400 can be easily confirmed even by an external device.

In the above-described embodiment, the user selection information 500 is changed after being displayed from the basic screen for status display. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the configuration may be such that the user selection information 500 is set and displayed from another menu. Further, the selection information may be set or displayed on the server 2 or the terminal 3.
As a result, the status information 400 required by the user can be easily created and changed by a user other than the image forming apparatus 1 and the usability can be improved.

  The present invention can also be applied to an information processing apparatus other than the image forming apparatus. That is, a configuration using a network scanner, a 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 Image forming apparatus 2 Server 3 Terminal 5 Network 10 Control part 11 Image processing part 12 Original reading part 12a Scanner 12b Platen glass 12c Original reading slit 13 Original feeding part 13a Original placing part 13b Original discharge part 13c Original conveyance mechanism 14 Main body Unit 15 network transmission / reception unit 16 operation panel unit 17 image forming unit 17a photoconductor drum 17b exposure unit 17c development unit 17d transfer unit 17e fixing unit 18 FAX transmission / reception unit 19 storage unit 20 input unit 21 display unit 41 discharge port 42 paper feed unit 42a Paper cassette 42b Paper feed roller 43 Paper transport path 44 Transport roller pair 45 Discharge roller pair 50 Stack tray 100 Print data acquisition unit 110 User selection information acquisition unit 120 Status information display control unit 200 Account setting 210 Status information DB
300 Print Data 310 Device Setting 320 Operation Status Information 400, 400A, 400B Status Information 500 User Selection Information 600, 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, 660 Screen Example 700, 710, 720 Button X Image Forming System

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus capable of displaying status information indicating an operation status, etc.
User selection information acquisition means for acquiring user selection information whose status information displayed is selected by the user;
Status information display control means for displaying the status information included in the user selection information acquired by the user selection information acquisition means and the status information selected according to the operation state on a single screen. An image forming apparatus. The status information display control means includes
When the status information included in the user selection information is the same as the status information selected according to the operation state, both status information is highlighted or displayed with higher priority than the other status information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The status information display control means includes
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein status information included in the user selection information and status information selected according to an operation state are displayed in a list by a predetermined operation from a basic screen. The status information display control means includes
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the status information to be displayed and the priority order are selected according to an operation state of each unit. 5. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An image forming system comprising: a server that acquires and shares the user selection information and status information displayed on the image forming apparatus. In an image forming method executed by an image forming apparatus capable of displaying status information indicating an operation state or the like,
The user selection information that the status information displayed is selected by the user is obtained according to the logged-in user,
An image forming method comprising: displaying status information included in the acquired user selection information and status information selected according to an operation state on one screen.

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