JP6204538B2 - Image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system including a portable terminal that transmits an operation instruction and an image forming apparatus that is controlled in operation based on the operation instruction from the portable terminal.

  In recent years, a plurality of image forming apparatuses such as MFPs (Multifunction Printers) may be arranged in an office. These image forming apparatuses often have a unique user interface with a different operation method and design for each model.

  Since it is difficult to learn the operation method of the user interface for each model, techniques for operating each image forming apparatus using a common operation device have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for operating an image forming apparatus wirelessly using a mobile terminal owned by a user.

  In Patent Document 2, the remote controller measures the electric field strength of a plurality of electronic devices, and automatically selects and operates the electronic device having the largest electric field strength among the plurality of electronic devices, that is, the closest electronic device from the remote controller. Techniques to do this have been proposed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-045308 JP 2003-259466 A

  However, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example, when there are a plurality of portable terminals that operate the image forming apparatus, it is not known which portable terminal should accept the operation instruction from which portable terminal. Challenges remained and another technique was sought.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for solving the above problems.

An image forming system of the present invention is an image forming system including a portable terminal that transmits an operation instruction and an image forming apparatus that is controlled in operation based on the operation instruction from the portable terminal. When operated, the image forming apparatus includes an authentication request unit that transmits an authentication request to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a holding unit that holds the portable terminal, and a portable terminal that transmits the authentication request to the holding unit. Authentication processing means for authenticating whether the portable terminal is held, and control means for controlling operation based on the operation instruction transmitted from the portable terminal authenticated by the authentication processing means, or authentication processing means, every time the operation instruction from the authenticated portable terminal is transmitted, is the portable terminal in a state in which the portable terminal transmitting the operation instruction is held in the holding portion And wherein the proving.
In addition, the image forming apparatus includes a vibration detection unit that detects vibration of the holding unit, and the authentication processing unit authenticates the timing at which the vibration of the holding unit is detected by the vibration detection unit and the portable terminal. If the timing of receiving the request matches may certify that a mobile terminal that has transmitted the authentication request is a mobile terminal in a state of being held by the holding portion.
In addition, the portable terminal has portable side inclination detecting means for detecting the inclination angle of the own terminal, and when the authentication request means is operated, the inclination angle of the own terminal detected by the portable side inclination detecting means. Is included in the authentication request and transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus includes an apparatus-side inclination detecting unit that detects an inclination angle of the holding unit, and the authentication processing unit is configured to detect the apparatus-side inclination. wherein when the tilt angle of the portable terminal matches with the received inclination angle of the holding unit detected by means that a mobile terminal has transmitted the authentication request is a mobile terminal in a state of being held by the holding portion You may authenticate.
In addition, the portable terminal has a magnetic detection unit that detects ambient magnetism, and the authentication request unit detects a change in magnetism when the magnetic detection unit detects that the surrounding magnetism has changed. To the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus has a magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field in the holding unit, and the authentication processing means receives the authentication request from the portable terminal, the magnetic field generating means When the mobile terminal that has transmitted the authentication request receives the fact that a magnetic change has been detected from the mobile terminal within a predetermined time after the magnetic field is generated in the holding unit by the You may authenticate that it is the portable terminal of the state currently hold | maintained at the part.
Further, when an operation for starting an application program for operating the image forming apparatus is performed, the authentication request unit transmits a start notification indicating that the application program has started as an authentication request to the image forming apparatus. May be.
The holding unit may be an operation table on which the portable terminal is placed.
Further, the authentication request and the operation instruction may each include identification information of the mobile terminal.
Further, when the mobile terminal is authenticated by the authentication processing means, the control means is in an occupied state for receiving the operation instruction only from the authenticated mobile terminal for a preset authentication valid time. Also good.
Further, the control unit may release the occupied state when the mobile terminal that has transmitted the operation instruction fails to authenticate even within the authentication valid time by the authentication processing unit.

  According to the present invention, the mobile terminal that operates the image forming apparatus can be authenticated.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the portable terminal shown in FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the image forming system shown in FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the image forming system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus and portable terminal in the image forming system of Embodiment 2 which concerns on this invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 7. It is a flowchart of the image forming system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image forming apparatus and portable terminal in the image forming system of Embodiment 3 which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the image forming system shown in FIG. 10.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, three embodiments will be described as an example of authentication processing of the image forming apparatus and the portable terminal. An image forming system according to the following embodiments includes a mobile terminal that transmits an operation instruction and an image forming apparatus that is controlled in accordance with the operation instruction transmitted from the mobile terminal. The portable terminal is preinstalled with an operation APP, which is an operation application program for the image forming apparatus, and when the operation APP is activated, an activation notification indicating that the operation APP has been activated is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. To do. The image forming apparatus has an operation table (an example of a holding unit) on which a portable terminal is placed. When an activation notification is received from the portable terminal, the image forming apparatus authenticates whether the portable terminal is a portable terminal placed on the operation table. An operation instruction from the authenticated portable terminal is accepted.

  Note that, in the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to configurations showing similar functions. In the following, “authentication” means that the image forming apparatus operates the image forming apparatus by confirming the relationship between the portable terminal and the operating table based on the state of the operating table provided in the own apparatus. This means proving that the terminal is a portable terminal placed on the operation console of the own device.

<Embodiment 1>
The portable terminal of the image forming system according to the first embodiment activates the operation APP installed in advance according to the user's operation in a state where the portable terminal is placed on the operation table of the image forming apparatus. An activation notification is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a vibration detection unit that detects vibration of the operation table. When the timing at which the activation notification is received coincides with the timing at which the vibration of the operation table is detected, the mobile terminal that has transmitted the activation notification operates. It authenticates that it is a portable terminal mounted on a table, and accepts an operation from the authenticated portable terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 1000 includes an image forming apparatus 1, a PC (Personal Computer) 3, an AP (Access Point) 4, and a portable terminal 5. The image forming apparatus 1, the PC 3, and the AP 4 are connected by a wired network 2 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) cable, and the AP 4 and the mobile terminal 5 are connected by a wireless network 9 such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). . Here, an example is shown in which one image forming apparatus 1 and one portable terminal 5 are illustrated, but a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 and portable terminals 5 may be provided.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is an MFP, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a document reading unit 101, a storage unit 102, an image processing unit 103, a printing unit 104, a communication unit 105, an operation unit 106, and an operation table 107. A vibration detection unit 108, an authentication processing unit 109, a facsimile transmission / reception unit 110, and a control unit 111 are provided.

  The document reading unit 101 irradiates a document fed by a document feeder (not shown) or a document placed on a platen glass by a user and receives reflected light or the like to form a document image. It is a scanner that reads.

  The storage unit 102 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores the image data read by the document reading unit 101 or the image data from the PC 3 received by the communication unit 105. Means.

  The image processing unit 103 is means for performing predetermined image processing on the image data. In the image processing unit 103, for example, image improvement processing such as enlargement / reduction processing, density adjustment, and gradation adjustment is performed.

  The printing unit 104 is a printing unit that prints image data stored in the storage unit 102. For example, the printing unit 104 forms a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum based on the image data read from the storage unit 102, performs image formation using the latent image as a toner image with toner, and records from the photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred onto the paper, and the toner image is fixed onto the recording paper and discharged.

  The communication unit 105 has a function of transmitting / receiving various data to / from the PC 3 and the mobile terminal 5 via the wired network 2 and the wireless network 9.

  The facsimile transmission / reception unit 110 includes a modem, generates a facsimile signal from the image data read by the document reading unit 101 and the image data stored in the storage unit 102, and sends the generated facsimile signal to the public line network 6. And a facsimile receiving function for receiving a facsimile signal via the public line network 6.

  The operation unit 106 includes a display unit provided with a transparent pressure sensor on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, a touch panel that functions as an input unit, a numeric keypad for inputting numerical values such as the number of prints, and an instruction to initialize setting information. Reset key for input, stop key for stopping copying operation or deleting input numerical value, interrupt key for instructing interrupt copying, start key for inputting output instruction for starting printing operation It is a user interface provided with various operation keys.

  The operation table 107 is a table provided on which the portable terminal 5 is placed. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation table 107 is disposed next to the operation unit 106 and has a structure protruding to the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. . The user operates the portable terminal 5 with the portable terminal 5 placed on the operation console 107 to start an application program for operating the image forming apparatus 1.

  By the way, when the image forming apparatus 1 is remotely operated from a place away via the portable terminal 5, it cannot be understood that the image forming apparatus 1 is used from a distance. However, if the portable terminal 5 is operated on the operation console 107 in this way, a user who wants to use the image forming apparatus 1 has already been remotely operated by another user. It is possible to prevent the user from setting the original in the image forming apparatus 1 and going to the front of the image forming apparatus 1 in order to use the copy function, the scanner function, the facsimile function, etc. without noticing that it is being used. That is, by operating the image forming apparatus 1 via the portable terminal 5 with the portable terminal 5 placed on the operation console 107, the situation where the image forming apparatus 1 is used becomes clear even from a distance.

  In addition, the operation console 107 is provided with a vibration detection unit 108 that detects and outputs the vibration of the operation console 107. The vibration detection unit 108 includes an acceleration sensor or the like. When the user performs an operation such as touching a button on the mobile terminal 5 placed on the operation console 107, vibration (impact) accompanying the operation is transmitted to the operation console 107 via the mobile terminal 5. , Detected by the vibration detector 108.

  When the authentication processing unit 109 receives a startup notification indicating that the application program for operating the image forming apparatus 1 has been started from the mobile terminal 5, the mobile terminal 5 that has transmitted the start notification is placed on the operation console 107. The terminal 5 is authenticated. When the authentication processing unit 109 succeeds in authentication, the control unit 111 controls the entire image forming apparatus 1 based on the operation instruction from the authenticated mobile terminal 5. In other words, the control unit 111 does not accept an operation instruction from the mobile terminal 5 that has not been authenticated by the authentication processing unit 109. Whether or not the mobile terminal 5 is authenticated may be determined, for example, by storing the identification information of the authenticated mobile terminal 5 and determining the identification information included in the received data when the operation instruction is received.

  The control unit 111 is connected to the document reading unit 101, the storage unit 102, the image processing unit 103, the printing unit 104, the communication unit 105, the operation unit 106, the vibration detection unit 108, the authentication processing unit 109, and the facsimile transmission / reception unit 110, respectively. Operation control of the entire image forming apparatus 1 is executed in accordance with predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 106. The control unit 111 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 111 reads the control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 106. The control unit 111 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 based on an operation instruction transmitted from the mobile terminal 5 authenticated by the authentication processing unit 109.

  The mobile terminal 5 is a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or the like, and includes an operation unit 51, a storage unit 52, a communication unit 53, and a control unit 54 as shown in FIG. I have.

  The operation unit 51 is a user interface including a touch panel that functions as display means and input means provided with a transparent pressure-sensitive sensor on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, and various operation keys.

  The storage unit 52 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD, and stores an operation APP 521. The operation APP 521 is an application program for enabling the image forming apparatus 1 to be operated by the mobile terminal 5 and is installed in the mobile terminal 5.

  The communication unit 53 has a function of transmitting / receiving various data to / from the image forming apparatus 1 via the wireless network 9, the AP 4, and the wired network 2.

  The control unit 54 is connected to the operation unit 51, the communication unit 53, and the storage unit 52, and executes operation control of the entire mobile terminal 5 according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 51. The control unit 54 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer provided with a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 5. The control unit 54 reads the control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire terminal according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 51.

  When the control unit 54 detects that an operation for starting the operation APP 521 is performed via the operation unit 51, the control unit 54 reads the operation APP 521 stored in the storage unit 52, expands it in the RAM, and operates the operation APP 521. The APP 521 is activated. Accordingly, the control unit 54 functions as an authentication request unit 541 and an image forming apparatus operation processing unit 542 that realize the function of the operation APP 521. The image forming apparatus operation processing unit 542 can perform operations such as a print function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and a scanner function in the image forming apparatus 1. However, the copy function, the facsimile function, and the scanner function are set so that the portable terminal 5 cannot be used unless it is authenticated by the image forming apparatus 1 via the authentication request unit 541 via the operation console 107.

  Authentication control of the image forming apparatus 1 and the portable terminal 5 in the image forming system 1000 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the control unit 54 of the portable terminal 5 determines whether or not the operation APP 521 is activated through the operation unit 51 (step S101). When the activation operation of the operation APP 521 is performed (Yes in Step S101), the control unit 54 activates the operation APP 521 (Step S102). As a result, the operation APP 521 is read from the storage unit 52 by the control unit 54 and expanded in the RAM, and the control unit 54 functions as the authentication request unit 541. The authentication request unit 541 transmits an activation notification indicating that the operation APP 521 is activated to the image forming apparatus 1 via the communication unit 53, including the identification information of the portable terminal 5 (step S103). The activation notification is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 via the wireless network 9, the AP 4, and the wired network 2.

  On the other hand, the authentication processing unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 1 determines whether the vibration of the operation console 107 is detected via the vibration detection unit 108 (step S104). When vibration of the operation console 107 is detected (Yes in step S104), the authentication processing unit 109 determines whether there is an activation notification interrupt signal within a predetermined time a (for example, 3 seconds) before and after vibration detection. (Step S105). If there is no activation notification interrupt signal even after the predetermined time a has elapsed (No in step S105), the authentication processing unit 109 returns to the process of detecting the vibration of the operation console (step S104).

  On the other hand, if there is an activation notification interrupt signal within the predetermined time a (Yes in step S105), the authentication processing unit 109 determines that the activation notification reception timing matches the vibration detection timing, and passes the communication unit 105. Then, an authentication success notification is transmitted to the portable terminal 5 via the wired network 2, the AP 4 and the wireless network 9 (step S106). In addition, if the difference between the activation notification reception timing and the vibration detection timing is within a predetermined time a including the case where the activation notification reception timing is reversed, the activation notification reception timing and the vibration detection timing coincide with each other as an allowable error range. Is determined.

  When the portable terminal 5 receives the authentication success notification, the image forming apparatus operation processing unit 524 accepts an operation instruction from the user to the image forming apparatus 1 (step S107), and the wireless network 9, AP4, and wired network are communicated via the communication unit 53. 2, an operation instruction including the identification information of the portable terminal 5 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 (step S108).

  The authentication processing unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 1 determines whether an operation instruction from the portable terminal 5 has been received based on the identification information within a preset authentication valid time (for example, 3 minutes) (step S109). When the operation instruction is not received within the authentication valid time (No in step S109), this process ends. On the other hand, when the operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (Yes in step S109), the authentication processing unit 109 determines whether vibration is detected within the predetermined time a before and after receiving the operation instruction via the vibration detection unit 108. (Step S110). If no vibration is detected within the predetermined time a (No in step S110), the process ends. On the other hand, when the vibration is detected within the predetermined time a, the authentication processing unit 109 determines that the operation instruction reception timing and the vibration detection timing coincide with each other, and the portable terminal 5 that has transmitted the operation instruction is in the operation console 107. It authenticates that the mobile terminal is placed and extends the authentication valid time (step S111). Subsequently, the authentication processing unit 109 performs operation control based on the operation instruction from the portable terminal 5 (step S112), and returns to the process of determining whether the operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (step S109). Then, the user's operation instruction is accepted by the portable terminal 5 (step S113), and the processing from step S109 to step S112 is repeated every time the operation instruction is transmitted (S114).

  As described above, in the above processing, the operation APP 521 is activated by placing the portable terminal 5 on the operation console 107 and activating the operation APP 521, and the activation notification is sent from the portable terminal 5 to the image forming apparatus 1. Sent. The image forming apparatus 1 detects the vibration of the operation console 107 accompanying the activation operation of the operation APP 521 via the vibration detection unit 108. If the timing at which the vibration of the operation console 107 is detected coincides with the reception timing of the activation notification transmitted from the portable terminal 5, the image forming apparatus 1 places the portable terminal 5 that has transmitted the activation notification on the operation console 107. The mobile terminal 5 is authenticated, and an operation instruction from the authenticated mobile terminal 5 is accepted. According to this, since the operation for placing the mobile terminal 5 on the operation console 107 and activating the operation APP 521 is the authentication operation, the user can authenticate the mobile terminal 5 to the image forming apparatus 1 with a simple operation. Further, since the image forming apparatus 1 performs authentication using the vibration detection timing of the operation console 107 and the activation notification reception timing transmitted from the portable terminal 5, the authentication processing of the portable terminal 5 can be performed easily and reliably. it can.

  In the above process, the timing at which the image forming apparatus 1 detects vibration and the timing at which the activation notification is received are substantially the same. Therefore, it may be determined whether the image forming apparatus 1 has detected vibration within a predetermined time a after receiving the activation notification. This will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

  First, the control unit 54 of the portable terminal 5 determines whether the activation operation of the operation APP 521 has been performed via the operation unit 51 (step S201). When the activation operation of the operation APP 521 is performed (Yes in Step S201), the control unit 54 activates the operation APP 521 (Step S202). As a result, the operation APP 521 is read from the storage unit 52 by the control unit 54 and expanded in the RAM, and the control unit 54 functions as the authentication request unit 541. The authentication request unit 541 transmits an activation notification indicating that the operation APP 521 is activated to the image forming apparatus 1 via the communication unit 53, including the identification information of the portable terminal 5 (step S203). The activation notification is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 via the wireless network 9, the AP 4, and the wired network 2.

  When the activation notification is received, the authentication processing unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 1 determines whether vibration of the operation console 107 has been detected within a predetermined time a before and after the activation notification via the vibration detection unit 108 (step S204). If the vibration of the operation console 107 is not detected within the predetermined time a, the authentication processing unit 109 transmits an authentication failure notification to the mobile terminal 5 via the communication unit 105 via the wired network 2, the AP 4, and the wireless network 9. (Step S205). In response to this, the portable terminal 5 displays a message indicating that the authentication has failed (step S206). In this case, the user cannot operate the image forming apparatus 1 via the portable terminal 5. The user performs the activation operation of the operation APP 521 again (step S201), and re-authenticates.

  On the other hand, if the vibration of the operation console is detected within the predetermined time a (Yes in step S204), the authentication processing unit 109 determines that the activation notification reception timing and the vibration detection timing coincide with each other, and passes through the communication unit 105. An authentication success notification is transmitted to the portable terminal 5 via the wired network 2, the AP 4 and the wireless network 9 (step S207).

  When the portable terminal 5 receives the authentication success notification, the image forming apparatus operation processing unit 524 receives an operation instruction for the user from the image forming apparatus 1 (step S208), and the wireless network 9, AP4, and wired network are communicated via the communication unit 53. 2, an operation instruction including the identification information of the portable terminal 5 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 (step S209).

  The authentication processing unit 109 of the image forming apparatus 1 determines whether an operation instruction from the portable terminal 5 has been received based on the identification information within the authentication valid time (step S210). When the operation instruction is not received within the authentication valid time (No in step S210), this process ends. On the other hand, if an operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (Yes in step S210), the authentication processing unit 109 determines whether vibration has been detected within a predetermined time a before and after receiving the operation instruction via the vibration detection unit 108. (Step S211). If no vibration is detected within the predetermined time a (No in step S211), this process ends. On the other hand, when the vibration is detected within the predetermined time a, the authentication processing unit 109 determines that the operation instruction reception timing and the vibration detection timing coincide with each other, and the portable terminal 5 that has transmitted the operation instruction is in the operation console 107. It authenticates that the mobile terminal is placed and extends the authentication valid time (step S212). Subsequently, the authentication processing unit 109 performs operation control based on the operation instruction from the portable terminal 5 (step S213), and returns to the process of determining whether the operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (step S210). Then, the user's operation instruction is accepted by the portable terminal 5 (step S214), and the processing from step S210 to step S213 is repeated every time the operation instruction is transmitted (S215).

<Embodiment 2>
The image forming apparatus 71 and the portable terminal 72 in the image forming system 7000 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about the structure similar to Embodiment 1, and a different structure is demonstrated. The image forming apparatus 71 includes an operation table 707 (an example of a holding unit) instead of the operation table 107, an inclination detection unit 708 instead of the vibration detection unit 108, and an authentication processing unit 709 instead of the authentication processing unit 109. However, it differs from the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. Further, the portable terminal 72 is different from the portable terminal 5 of the first embodiment in that an authentication request unit 723 is provided instead of the authentication request unit 521 and a new inclination detection unit 721 is provided.

  When the mobile terminal 72 of the image forming system 7000 according to the second embodiment starts up the operation APP 521 installed in advance, the authentication request unit 723 detects the inclination angle of the mobile terminal 72 and notifies the startup notification together with the identification information of the mobile terminal 72. Including them and transmitting them to the image forming apparatus 71. When the authentication processing unit 709 of the image forming apparatus 71 receives the activation notification from the mobile terminal 72, the authentication processing unit 709 detects the tilt angle of the operation console 707 via the tilt angle detection unit 708, and detects the tilt angle of the operation console 707 and the mobile terminal 72. Authentication is performed using the inclination angle.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 71 is provided with an inclination detection unit 721 that detects an inclination angle of an operation console 707 configured to be movable. The inclination detection unit 721 includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, an actuator, and the like. In addition, the portable terminal 72 is provided with an inclination detection unit 721 that detects an inclination angle of the own terminal. The inclination detection unit 721 includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the operation table 707 has a movable shaft 771 and is configured to be movable in the vertical direction of the image forming apparatus 71 and to be fixed at an arbitrary movable position. In addition, the operation console 707 is provided with a support portion 772 that supports the portable terminal 72 placed on the operation console 707 so as not to fall.

  The authentication control of the image forming apparatus 71 and the portable terminal 72 in the image forming system 7000 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the control unit 54 of the portable terminal 72 determines whether the activation operation of the operation APP 521 has been performed via the operation unit 51 (step S701). When the activation operation of the operation APP 521 is performed (Yes in Step S701), the control unit 54 activates the operation APP 521 (Step S702). As a result, the operation APP 521 is read from the storage unit 52 by the control unit 54 and expanded in the RAM, and the control unit 54 functions as the authentication request unit 723 and the image forming apparatus operation processing unit 524. The authentication request unit 723 detects and acquires the inclination angle of the terminal itself via the inclination detection unit 721 (step S703), and activation indicating that the operation APP 521 is activated in the image forming apparatus 71 via the communication unit 53. The notification is transmitted including the tilt angle information and the identification information of the portable terminal 72 (step S704). The activation notification is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 71 via the wireless network 9, the AP 4, and the wired network 2.

  Upon receiving the activation notification, the authentication processing unit 709 of the image forming apparatus 71 detects the tilt angle of the operation console 707 via the tilt detection unit 708 (step S705).

  Subsequently, the authentication processing unit 709 determines whether the tilt angle of the operation console 707 matches the tilt angle of the mobile terminal 72 received from the mobile terminal 72 (step S706). If the tilt angle of the operation console 707 and the tilt angle of the mobile terminal 72 do not match (No in step S706), the authentication processing unit 709 notifies the mobile terminal 72 of the authentication failure via the wireless network 9, the AP4, and the wired network 2. Is transmitted (step S707). In response to this, the portable terminal 72 displays a message indicating that the authentication has failed (step S708). In this case, the user cannot operate the image forming apparatus 71 via the portable terminal 72. The user performs the activation operation of the operation APP 521 again (step S701) and re-authenticates.

  On the other hand, when the tilt angle of the operation console 707 matches the tilt angle of the portable terminal 72 (Yes in step S706), the authentication processing unit 709 passes the wired network 2, the AP4, and the wireless network 9 via the communication unit 105. An authentication success notification is transmitted to the portable terminal 72 (step S709). When the portable terminal 72 receives the authentication success notification, the image forming apparatus operation processing unit 524 receives an operation instruction for the image forming apparatus 71 from the user (step S710), and detects the inclination angle of the own terminal via the inclination detecting unit 721. Then (step S711), and via the wireless network 9, AP4, and wired network 2 via the communication unit 53, the operation instruction is transmitted including the tilt angle and identification information of the terminal itself (step S712).

  The authentication processing unit 709 of the image forming apparatus 71 determines whether an operation instruction from the mobile terminal 72 has been received within the authentication valid time based on the identification information (step S713). If the operation instruction is not received within the authentication valid time (No in step S713), this process ends. On the other hand, when an operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (Yes in step S713), the authentication processing unit 709 detects the tilt of the operation console 707 via the tilt detection unit 708 (step S714). Subsequently, the authentication processing unit 109 determines whether or not the inclination angle of the operation console 707 and the inclination angle of the mobile terminal 72 match (step S715). If they do not match (No in step S715), the process ends. When the tilt angle of the operation console 707 matches the tilt angle of the mobile terminal 72 (Yes in step S715), the authentication processing unit 709 is a mobile terminal on which the mobile terminal 72 that has transmitted the operation instruction is placed on the operation console 707. And the authentication valid time is extended (step S716). Subsequently, the authentication processing unit 709 performs operation control based on the operation instruction from the portable terminal 72 (step S717), and returns to the process of determining whether the operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (step S713). Thereafter, the user's operation instruction is received by the portable terminal 72 (step S718), the inclination angle of the portable terminal 72 is detected (step S719), and the operation instruction is transmitted (S720), the above-described steps S713 to S717 are performed. The process is repeated.

  As described above, in the above process, the operation APP 521 is activated by placing the portable terminal 72 on the operation table 707 to activate the operation APP 521, the inclination angle of the portable terminal 72 is detected, and the activation notification is performed. Is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 71. When receiving the activation notification, the image forming apparatus 71 detects the tilt angle of the operation console 707. When the inclination angle of the operation console 707 matches the inclination angle of the mobile terminal 72, the image forming apparatus 71 authenticates that the mobile terminal 72 that transmitted the activation notification is the mobile terminal 72 placed on the operation console 707, and performs authentication. The operation instruction from the mobile terminal 72 is accepted. According to this, since the operation for placing the portable terminal 72 on the operation console 707 and starting up the operation APP 521 is the authentication operation, the user can authenticate the portable terminal 72 to the image forming apparatus 71 with a simple operation. Further, since the image forming apparatus 71 performs authentication using the tilt angle of the operation console 707 and the tilt angle of the mobile terminal 72, the authentication process can be performed easily and reliably.

<Embodiment 3>
The image forming apparatus 81 and the portable terminal 82 in the image forming system 8000 of Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about the structure similar to Embodiment 1, and a different structure is demonstrated. The image forming apparatus 81 is different from the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment in that a magnetic field generator 808 is provided instead of the vibration detection unit 108 and an authentication processing unit 809 is provided instead of the authentication processing unit 109. The portable terminal 82 is different from the portable terminal 5 of the first embodiment in that an authentication request unit 823 is provided instead of the authentication request unit 521 and a magnetic detection unit 821 is newly provided.

  In the image forming system 8000, when the mobile terminal 82 activates the preinstalled operation APP 521, the authentication request unit 823 transmits an activation notification including the identification information of the mobile terminal 82 to the image forming apparatus 81. Upon receiving the activation notification from the portable terminal 82, the authentication processing unit 809 of the image forming apparatus 81 causes the operation console 107 to generate a magnetic field via the magnetic field generator 809. When the magnetic detection unit 821 detects a change in magnetism, the authentication request unit 823 transmits a message to that effect including the identification information of the portable terminal 82 to the image forming apparatus 81. When the authentication processing unit 809 receives a notification indicating that a change in magnetism has been detected from the mobile terminal 82 within a predetermined time b after the magnetic field is generated in the operation console 107, the mobile terminal 82 that has transmitted the activation notification receives the operation console 107. The mobile terminal 82 is authenticated, and an operation instruction from the authenticated mobile terminal 82 is accepted.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the image forming apparatus 81 includes a magnetic field generator 808 that generates a magnetic field around the operation console 107. The magnetic field generator 808 has, for example, a coil, and generates a magnetic field around the operation console 107 by passing a current through the coil. The magnetic detection unit 821 of the mobile terminal 82 is configured by a geomagnetic sensor or the like, and detects the magnetism around the mobile terminal 82.

  The authentication control of the image forming apparatus 81 and the portable terminal 82 in the image forming system 8000 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the control unit 54 of the portable terminal 82 determines whether the activation operation of the operation APP 521 has been performed via the operation unit 51 (step S801). When the activation operation of the operation APP 521 is performed (Yes in Step S801), the control unit 54 activates the operation APP 521 (Step S802). As a result, the operation APP 521 is read from the storage unit 52 by the control unit 54 and expanded in the RAM, and the control unit 54 functions as the authentication request unit 823 and the image forming apparatus operation processing unit 524. Subsequently, the authentication request unit 823 transmits an activation notification indicating that the operation APP 521 has been activated to the image forming apparatus 81 via the communication unit 53, including the identification information of the portable terminal 82 (step S803). The activation notification is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 81 via the wireless network 9, the AP 4, and the wired network 2.

  Upon receiving the activation notification, the authentication processing unit 809 of the image forming apparatus 81 generates a magnetic field on the operation console 107 via the magnetic field generator 808 (step S804).

  When a magnetic field is generated on the operation console 107, the authentication request unit 823 of the mobile terminal 82 detects a change in magnetism via the magnetic detection unit 821 (step S805). Subsequently, the authentication request unit 823 includes a magnetic change detection notification indicating that a magnetic change has been detected via the communication unit 53 via the wireless network 9, the AP 4, and the wired network 2. The data is transmitted to the forming apparatus 81 (step S806).

  On the other hand, the authentication processing unit 809 of the image forming apparatus 81 determines whether or not there is a magnetic change detection notification interrupt signal within a predetermined time b (for example, 5 seconds) after the magnetic field is generated on the operation console 107 (step S807). ).

  If the predetermined time b elapses without receiving the magnetic change detection notification (No in step S807), the authentication processing unit 809 fails to authenticate the mobile terminal 82 via the communication unit 105 via the wired network 2, the AP 5, and the wireless network 9. A notification is transmitted (step S808). In response to this, the portable terminal 82 displays a message indicating that the authentication has failed (step S809). In this case, the user cannot operate the image forming apparatus 81 via the mobile terminal 82. The user performs the activation operation of the operation APP 521 again (step S801), and re-authenticates.

  On the other hand, when the magnetic change detection notification is received from the mobile terminal 82 based on the identification information (Yes in step S807), the authentication processing unit 809 transmits the mobile terminal 82 via the communication unit 105 via the wired network 2, AP5, and the wireless network 9. An authentication success notification is transmitted to (step S810). When the portable terminal 82 receives the authentication success notification, the image forming apparatus operation processing unit 524 receives an operation instruction for the user with respect to the image forming apparatus 81 (step S811), and the wireless network 9, AP4, and wired network are communicated via the communication unit 53. 2 to transmit the operation instruction including the identification information of the portable terminal 82 (step S812).

  The authentication processing unit 809 of the image forming apparatus 81 determines whether an operation instruction from the portable terminal 82 has been received within the authentication valid time based on the identification information (step S813). When the operation instruction is not received within the authentication valid time (No in step S813), this process ends.

On the other hand, when an operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (Yes in step S813), the authentication processing unit 809 causes the operation console 107 to generate a magnetic field via the magnetic field generator 808 (step S814). When the authentication request unit 823 of the mobile terminal 82 detects a magnetic change via the magnetic detection unit 821 (step S815), the authentication request unit 823 transmits a magnetic change detection notification including the identification information of the mobile terminal 82 (step S816).

  If the authentication processing unit 809 of the image forming apparatus 81 fails to receive the magnetic change detection notification within the predetermined time b based on the identification information (No in step S817), the process ends. On the other hand, when receiving the magnetic change detection notification within a predetermined time b based on the identification information, the authentication processing unit 809 authenticates that the mobile terminal 82 that transmitted the operation instruction is a mobile terminal placed on the operation console 107, and performs authentication. The valid time is extended (step S818). Subsequently, the authentication processing unit 809 performs operation control based on the operation instruction from the portable terminal 82 (step S819), and returns to the process of determining whether the operation instruction is received within the authentication valid time (step S813). Thereafter, the user's operation instruction is received by the portable terminal 82 (step S820), and the above-described processing from step S813 to step S819 is repeated every time the operation instruction is transmitted (S821). The mobile terminal 82 also transmits a magnetic change detection notification including the identification information of the mobile terminal 82 every time a magnetic change is detected (step S822) (step S823).

  As described above, in the above process, the operation APP 521 is activated by placing the portable terminal 82 on the operation console 107 and activating the operation APP 521, and the activation notification is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 81. Upon receiving the activation notification, the image forming apparatus 81 causes the operation console 107 to generate a magnetic field via the magnetic field generator 808. When the mobile terminal 82 detects a change in the magnetic field via the magnetic detection unit 821, the mobile terminal 82 transmits a magnetic change detection notification to the image forming apparatus 81. When the image forming apparatus 81 receives the magnetic change detection notification within a predetermined time “b” after the magnetic field is generated in the operation console 107, the mobile terminal 82 that transmitted the activation notification is the mobile terminal 82 placed on the operation console 107. And an operation instruction from the authenticated portable terminal 82 is received. According to this, since the operation for placing the mobile terminal 82 on the operation console 107 and starting up the operation APP 521 is the authentication operation, the user can authenticate the mobile terminal 82 to the image forming apparatus 81 with a simple operation. Further, since the image forming apparatus 81 performs authentication depending on whether the mobile terminal 82 has detected the magnetic field generated on the operation console 107, the mobile terminal 82 can be identified easily and securely.

  As described above, in Embodiments 1 to 3, the activation notification and the operation instruction transmitted from the mobile terminals 5, 72, and 82 function as authentication requests for the image forming apparatuses 1, 71, and 81. The authentication request units 541, 723, and 823 send an authentication request to the image forming apparatus 1 when detecting some user operation (for example, pressing an authentication button) on the portable terminals 5, 72, and 82 via the operation unit 51. , 71, 81 to authenticate that the portable terminals 5, 72, 82 that transmitted the authentication request are the portable terminals 5, 72, 82 mounted on the operation consoles 107, 707.

  In the first to third embodiments, when the authentication processing units 109, 709, and 809 transmit authentication success notifications to the mobile terminals 5, 71, and 81, the image forming apparatuses 1, 71, and 81 The authentication effective time is occupied by 72 and 82, and the operation is controlled based on the operation instruction transmitted from the authentication effective time mobile terminals 5, 72, and 82, and operations from other mobile terminals and the operation unit 106 are not accepted. It becomes a state. Then, when the authentication valid time has elapsed, the image forming apparatuses 1, 71, 81 release the occupied state by the mobile terminals 5, 72, 82. In addition, even if it is within the authentication valid time, if the mobile terminal 5, 72, 82 that has transmitted the operation instruction fails in authentication, the occupation state of the image forming apparatuses 1, 72, 82 by the mobile terminal 5, 72, 82 is released. Is done.

  In addition, as described above, after successful initial authentication without performing authentication for each operation instruction, if the identification information of the portable terminal matches without receiving subsequent authentication, the operation instruction may be accepted. good. If it carries out like this, after hold | maintaining at a holding | maintenance part and authenticating a portable terminal first, a user will be able to operate with a portable terminal in hand.

  Further, the operation console may be configured to be retractable so as not to get in the way when the portable terminal is not placed.

Further, in this embodiment, the operation table has been described as an example of the configuration for holding the mobile terminal. However, any configuration may be used as long as it can be held for operating the mobile terminal, for example, a clip is inserted. It may be a configuration (another example of the holding unit) held by

  The image forming systems 1000, 7000, and 8000 may be configured by combining one or more of the first to third embodiments.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1, 71, 81 Image forming apparatus 2 Wired network 3 PC
4 AP
6 Public network 5, 72, 82 Mobile terminal 9 Wireless network 51 Operation unit 52 Storage unit 53 Communication unit 54 Control unit 101 Document reading unit 102 Storage unit 103 Image processing unit 104 Printing unit 105 Communication unit 106 Operation units 107, 707 Stand (holding part)
108 Vibration detection unit 109, 709, 809 Authentication processing unit 110 Facsimile transmission / reception unit 111 Control unit 521 APP for operation
541, 723, 823 Authentication request unit 542 Image forming apparatus operation processing unit 708 Inclination detection unit 721 Inclination detection unit 771 Movable shaft 772 Support unit 808 Magnetic field generator 821 Magnetic detection unit 1000, 7000, 8000 Image forming system

Claims (9)

An image forming system comprising: a mobile terminal that transmits an operation instruction; and an image forming apparatus that is operation-controlled based on the operation instruction from the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal is
When operated, the image forming apparatus includes an authentication request unit that transmits an authentication request,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A holding unit for holding the mobile terminal;
Authentication processing means for authenticating whether the portable terminal that has transmitted the authentication request is a portable terminal held in the holding unit;
Control means for controlling the operation based on the operation instruction transmitted from the portable terminal authenticated by the authentication processing means,
The authentication processing means includes
From the authenticated portable terminal each time the operation instruction is transmitted, the portable terminal transmitting the operation instruction, characterized in that the authenticating whether said mobile terminal in a state of being held by the holding portion Image forming system. The image forming apparatus includes:
Having vibration detection means for detecting the vibration of the holding portion;
The authentication processing means includes
When the timing at which the vibration of the holding unit is detected by the vibration detecting unit coincides with the timing at which the authentication request is received from the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal that has transmitted the authentication request is in a state of being held by the holding unit . The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system authenticates the mobile terminal. The portable terminal is
It has portable side inclination detection means for detecting the inclination angle of its own terminal,
The authentication request means includes
When operated, the inclination angle of the terminal detected by the portable side inclination detecting means is included in the authentication request and transmitted to the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A device-side inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination angle of the holding portion;
The authentication processing means includes
When the inclination angle of the portable terminal which has received the tilt angle of the holding unit detected by the device-side inclination detection means coincide, portable state that a portable terminal which has transmitted the authentication request is held in the holding portion The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system authenticates the terminal. The portable terminal is
Having magnetic detection means for detecting ambient magnetism;
The authentication request means includes
When it is detected by the magnetic detection means that the surrounding magnetism has changed, the fact that the change in magnetism has been detected is transmitted to the image forming apparatus,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field in the holding unit,
The authentication processing means includes
When receiving an authentication request from the portable terminal, the magnetic field generating means generates a magnetic field in the holding unit, and receives a notification that a change in magnetism has been detected from the portable terminal within a predetermined time after being held in the holding unit. when the image of any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that to authenticate the mobile terminal transmitting the authentication request is a mobile terminal in a state of being held by the holding portion Forming system. The authentication request means includes
The activation notification indicating that the application program has been activated is transmitted as an authentication request to the image forming apparatus when an operation for activating the application program for operating the image forming apparatus is performed. 5. The image forming system according to any one of items 1 to 4. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the holding unit is an operation table on which the portable terminal is placed. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the authentication request and the operation instruction each include identification information of the portable terminal. The control means includes
2. When the mobile terminal is authenticated by the authentication processing unit, the mobile terminal enters an occupied state in which the operation instruction is received only from the authenticated mobile terminal for a preset authentication valid time. 8. The image forming system according to any one of items 1 to 7. The control means includes
9. The image formation according to claim 8, wherein the occupied state is canceled when the mobile terminal that has transmitted the operation instruction fails to authenticate even within the authentication valid time by the authentication processing unit. system.

Images