JP6699143B2 - Information processing system, electronic device and program - Google Patents

Description

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

  In recent years, the use of services such as online storage services provided via networks such as the Internet has become widespread in image forming apparatuses that execute jobs. By using such a service, the image forming apparatus that executes a job realizes provision of services such as a cloud scan service and a cloud print service.

  For example, an information processing system that allows an administrator to set a profile and executes a link with a service according to the profile in order to link a device such as an image forming apparatus and a service provided via a network has been conventionally known. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

  For example, in an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus that provides a service such as a cloud scan service or a cloud print service, it is necessary to set information (job setting, destination setting, etc.) necessary to execute a job for providing the service. .. Conventionally, setting of information necessary for executing a job has often been performed in an electronic device by a UI that is different for each service. Therefore, there is a problem that the user who sets the information necessary for executing the job must learn how to use the UI different for each service and set it in the electronic device.

  For example, in an electronic device such as a conventional image forming apparatus, information such as a destination has been used by registering it in an address book inside the electronic device or by cooperating with an address management system in a company. However, information such as external destinations such as business partners needs to be registered in an address book inside the electronic device, and information such as destinations must be double managed.

  Furthermore, in an electronic device such as a conventional image forming apparatus, when the electronic device is replaced, it is necessary to re-register information such as a destination in the internal address book.

  An embodiment of the present invention aims to provide an information processing system capable of easily setting information necessary for executing a job.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, claim 1 of the present application is an information processing system in which an electronic device and one or more information processing devices are connected via a network, and a setting necessary for executing a job in the electronic device. An acquisition source information management unit that receives registration of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which information is registered, and manages the acquisition source information of the spreadsheet in which setting information is registered; and acquisition from the acquisition source information management unit A setting information acquisition unit that acquires the setting information from the spreadsheet specified by the acquisition source information, and one or more reception units that receive a user instruction to use a job executed by the electronic device are acquired. The drawing means for drawing on the execution screen based on the contents of the setting information, and the contents of the setting information corresponding to the receiving unit that has received the usage instruction from the user among the acquired setting information are reflected in the job execution parameters. And a setting information reflecting unit for controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to easily set information necessary for executing a job.

It is a system configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system concerning this embodiment. It is a flow chart of an example of a Web service introduction procedure. It is a sequence diagram of an example of an initial setting process and a job setting process. It is a schematic diagram of an example of a Web service utilization process. It is a sequence diagram of an example of a Web service utilization process. It is a block diagram of an example of a utilization external service information table. FIG. 9 is an image diagram of an example of a spreadsheet in which job setting information is registered. FIG. 9 is an image diagram of an example of a button displayed on a job execution screen for allowing a user to select a job. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example of processing for reflecting job setting information on a parameter for job execution. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of an example of a Web service utilization processing in a 2nd embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example of an initial setting process and a job setting process in the third embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of an example of a Web service utilization processing in a 3rd embodiment. FIG. 9 is an image diagram of an example of a spreadsheet in which job setting information is registered. It is an image figure of an example of the job execution screen of Fax. It is an image figure of an example of processing which displays a button on a job execution screen from a plurality of spreadsheets.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. In the information processing system 1, a user environment 10, a web service providing environment 20, and one or more external service providing systems 30 are connected via a network N2 such as the Internet.

  The user environment 10 is a system of an organization such as a user company of the image forming apparatus 12. One or more image forming apparatuses 12 and a terminal device 14 are connected via a network N1 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). ing. The image forming apparatus 12 is an example of an electronic device. The electronic device according to the present embodiment includes an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral, a scanner, a printer, a facsimile, a projector, and an electronic blackboard, as well as various electronic devices that execute jobs according to job settings. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 performs image forming processing such as scanning, printing (output), and FAX.

  The terminal device 14 is a device operated by an administrator or a user of the image forming device 12 in the user environment 10. The terminal device 14 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or the like.

  The web service providing environment 20 is a system of an organization such as a service company that provides web services such as a cloud scan service and a cloud print service via the network N2, and includes a web service providing device 22. Although the present embodiment describes a Web service as an example, it can be applied to a service provided via the network N2 such as a service provided by an ASP (Application Service Provider) or a cloud service.

  The web service providing device 22 provides a web service such as a cloud scan service or a cloud print service to the image forming device 12 via the network N2. For example, the cloud scan service is a service that saves image data scanned by the image forming apparatus 12 of the user environment 10 in a preset storage destination (save area) such as an online storage service provided by the external service providing system 30. The cloud print service is a service for printing print data stored in a preset storage destination such as an online storage service provided by the external service providing system 30 in the image forming apparatus 12 of the user environment 10.

  The external service providing system 30 is a system that provides a service such as an online storage service via the network N2. In this embodiment, a service such as a cloud service provided by the external service providing system 30 is referred to as an external service in order to distinguish it from the web service provided by the web service providing device 22.

  The network N1 of the information processing system 1 in FIG. 1 may be a wired communication network or a wireless communication network. Further, the information processing system 1 of FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration, and for example, the Web service providing apparatus 22 of the Web service providing environment 20 may be distributed and configured in a plurality of computers.

<Hardware configuration>
"Computer"
The terminal device 14, the Web service providing device 22, and the external service providing system 30 are realized by, for example, a computer having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the computer according to the present embodiment.

  The computer 500 of FIG. 2 includes an input device 501, a display device 502, an external I/F 503, a RAM 504, a ROM 505, a CPU 506, a communication I/F 507, an HDD 508, etc., which are interconnected by a bus B. The input device 501 and the display device 502 may be connected and used when necessary.

  The input device 501 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and is used by the user to input each operation signal. The display device 502 includes a display and the like, and displays the processing result by the computer 500.

  The communication I/F 507 is an interface that connects the computer 500 to various networks. As a result, the computer 500 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 507.

  The HDD 508 is an example of a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS that is basic software that controls the entire computer 500, application software that provides various functions on the OS (hereinafter, simply referred to as an application), and the like. The computer 500 may use a drive device (for example, solid state drive: SSD) that uses a flash memory as a storage medium instead of the HDD 508.

  The external I/F 503 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 503a and the like. Accordingly, the computer 500 can read and/or write the recording medium 503a via the external I/F 503. The recording medium 503a includes a flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, USB memory and the like.

  The ROM 505 is an example of a non-volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 505 stores programs and data such as a BIOS executed when the computer 500 is started, OS settings, and network settings. The RAM 504 is an example of a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily holds programs and data.

  The CPU 506 is an arithmetic device that realizes control and functions of the entire computer 500 by reading programs and data from a storage device such as the ROM 505 and the HDD 508 onto the RAM 504 and executing processing.

  The terminal device 14, the Web service providing device 22, and the external service providing system 30 can realize various processes to be described later by the hardware configuration of the computer 500 shown in FIG. 3, for example.

<Image forming device>
The image forming apparatus 12 of FIG. 1 is realized by a computer having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. The image forming apparatus 12 in FIG. 3 includes a controller 601, an operation panel 602, an external I/F 603, a communication I/F 604, a printer 605, a scanner 606, and the like.

  The controller 601 includes a CPU 611, a RAM 612, a ROM 613, an NVRAM 614, an HDD 615, and the like. The ROM 613 stores various programs and data. The RAM 612 temporarily holds programs and data. The NVRAM 614 stores, for example, setting information and the like. Further, the HDD 615 stores various programs and data.

  The CPU 611 realizes control and functions of the entire image forming apparatus 12 by reading programs, data, setting information and the like from the ROM 613, NVRAM 614, HDD 615, etc. onto the RAM 612 and executing processing.

  The operation panel 602 includes an input unit that receives an input from a user and a display unit that displays. The external I/F 603 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 603a and the like. This allows the terminal device 14 to read and/or write to the recording medium 603a via the external I/F 603. The recording medium 603a includes an IC card, flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, USB memory and the like.

  The communication I/F 604 is an interface for connecting the image forming apparatus 12 to the network N1. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 12 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 604. The printer 605 is a printing device for printing print data on paper. The scanner 606 is a reading device for reading image data (electronic data) from a document.

<Software configuration>
The image forming apparatus 12, the Web service providing apparatus 22, and the external service providing system 30 according to this embodiment are realized by the processing blocks shown in FIG. 4, for example. FIG. 4 is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system according to the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 12 of FIG. 4 included in the information processing system 1 executes the program to realize the operation unit 50, the job setting drawing unit 52, the job setting reflecting unit 54, the job executing unit 56, and the job setting acquiring unit 58. is doing.

  The Web service providing apparatus 22 of FIG. 4 included in the information processing system 1 realizes the Web page management unit 60 and the external service management unit 62 by executing the program. The external service providing system 30 of FIG. 4 included in the information processing system 1 implements the job setting management unit 70.

  The operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 receives various instructions by a user operation. The operation unit 50 acquires job execution screen data from the Web service providing apparatus 22 and displays the job execution screen. The job setting drawing unit 52 performs drawing for allowing the user to select a job on the job execution screen based on the job setting. The job setting reflecting unit 54 reflects the job setting on the job execution parameter. The job execution unit 56 executes the job based on the job execution parameters that reflect the job settings. The job setting acquisition unit 58 acquires job setting information from the job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30.

  The web page management unit 60 of the web service providing device 22 provides the job execution screen data to the image forming device 12. The external service management unit 62 manages used external service information described later. The external service management unit 62 provides the used external service information based on the acquisition request from the Web page management unit 60. The job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 provides the job setting information based on the acquisition request from the image forming apparatus 12.

  The processing block of FIG. 4 can be implemented based on the web application of the browser. In this case, the image forming apparatus 12 is equipped with a browser. The browser installed in the image forming apparatus 12 can implement the processing block of FIG. 4 by executing JavaScript (registered trademark) embedded in the job execution screen data (HTML data) acquired from the Web service providing apparatus 22. For example, among the processing blocks of the image forming apparatus 12 in FIG. 4, the processing blocks other than the operation unit 50 function by executing JavaScript (registered trademark) embedded in the job execution screen data.

<Details of processing>
Hereinafter, details of the processing of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

<<Introduction of Web services>>
The introduction of the Web service is performed by the procedure shown in FIG. 5, for example. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of a Web service introduction procedure. In step S11, the administrator accesses the Web service providing device 22 with the terminal device 14 and performs initial setting. The initial setting is a setting for making the external service providing system 30 available, such as registration of an external service to be used.

  After the initial setting in step S11, the administrator or the user accesses the external service providing system 30 with the terminal device 14 in step S12 and sets the job. The job setting is a setting for causing the image forming apparatus 12 to execute a job. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, for example, a spreadsheet of the external service providing system 30 is used as a data source such as job setting input and address book. After setting the job in step S12, the user can use the web service in the image forming apparatus 12.

  In step S13, the user uses the web service in the image forming apparatus 12 based on the job setting in step S12. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job setting information from the external service providing system 30 and provides the Web service by using the job setting information.

<<Initial setting and job setting>>
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of an example of the initial setting process and the job setting process. In step S21, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 and gives an instruction to acquire a use external service registration screen for registering an external service to be used.

  In step S<b>22, the terminal device 14 accesses the Web service providing apparatus 22 and requests acquisition of the used external service registration screen, and acquires the used external service registration screen from the Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. The terminal device 14 displays a use external service registration screen on a browser, for example.

  In step S23, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 and inputs the serial information and the external service URL on the displayed use external service registration screen. In step S24, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 to instruct registration of the external service to be used.

  In step S25, the terminal device 14 accesses the Web service providing device 22 and makes a registration request for the external service to be used. The external service management unit 62 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 registers the serial information and the external service URL (used external service information) in association with each other. When the registration of the used external service information is completed, the external service management unit 62 returns registration completion to the terminal device 14.

  In steps S26 and S27, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 to access the external service providing system 30 and input job setting information. For example, the administrator inputs the job setting information into a spreadsheet managed by the external service providing system 30.

  The user may also input the job setting information. In steps S28 and S29, the user operates the terminal device 14 to access the external service providing system 30 and input job setting information. For example, the user inputs the job setting information into a spreadsheet managed by the external service providing system 30. Details of the job setting information will be described later. Thus, according to the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, the external service to be used can be managed by the Web service providing device 22.

《Use》
For example, the user uses the web service on the image forming apparatus 12 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example of a Web service utilization process. First, the user operates the image forming apparatus 12 and gives an instruction to acquire a job execution screen.

  In step S31, the image forming apparatus 12 specifies the serial information and requests the Web service providing apparatus 22 to acquire the job execution screen. The Web service providing device 22 manages the used external service information table 1000. The Web service providing apparatus 22 reads the external service URL (used external service information) corresponding to the serial information designated by the image forming apparatus 12 from the used external service information table 1000.

  In step S32, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job execution screen data and the used external service information from the Web service providing apparatus 22. The image forming apparatus 12 uses the used external service information to request the external service providing system 30 to acquire the job setting information.

  The external service providing system 30 reads the job setting information from the spreadsheet 1010 specified by the used external service information, and outputs the job setting information in, for example, a JSON (JavaScript (registered trademark) Object Notation) format which is an example of a data description language. It is provided to the image forming apparatus 12.

  In step S35, the image forming apparatus 12 draws a button or the like for allowing the user to select a job on the job execution screen based on the job setting information provided by the external service providing system 30. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 can display the job execution screen 1020 at the time of acquiring the job execution screen data in step S32. Since the job execution screen 1020 is before the job setting information is provided, a button or the like for allowing the user to select a job is not displayed.

  On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 12 can display the job execution screen 1030 when the job setting information in step S34 is acquired. Since the job execution screen 1030 is after the job setting information is provided, buttons and the like for allowing the user to select a job are displayed. When the job is selected by the user, the image forming apparatus 12 reflects the job setting information in the job execution parameters. The image forming apparatus 12 executes the job based on the job execution parameter in which the job setting information is reflected.

  FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of an example of the Web service utilization process. In step S51, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 receives a job execution screen acquisition instruction from the user. In step S52, the operation unit 50 specifies the serial information and requests the Web service providing apparatus 22 to acquire the job execution screen.

  The Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 specifies the serial information specified by the image forming apparatus 12 and requests the external service management unit 62 to acquire the used external service information. The external service management unit 62 manages the used external service information as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example of the used external service information table. In the use external service information table of FIG. 9, serial information and external service URL (use external service information) are registered in association with each other based on the above-described request for use external service registration. The use external service information table shown in FIG. 9 shows an example in which the serial information and the external service URL are associated with each other. For example, the information associated with the authenticated user and the external service URL are registered in association with each other. You may stay.

  The external service management unit 62 reads the external service URL corresponding to the serial information designated by the image forming apparatus 12 from the used external service information table of FIG. 9 and provides it to the Web page management unit 60. In step S54, the web page management unit 60 provides the job execution screen data and the external service URL to the image forming apparatus 12.

  In step S55, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 specifies the external service URL acquired from the Web service providing apparatus 22 and requests the job setting acquisition unit 58 to acquire job setting information. In step S56, the job setting acquisition unit 58 specifies the external service URL and requests the external service providing system 30 to acquire the job setting information.

  The job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 reads the job setting information from a spreadsheet specified by the external service URL, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an image diagram of an example of a spreadsheet in which job setting information is registered.

  The spreadsheet of FIG. 10 represents the job setting information of the scan-to-upload service (cloud scan service) for storing the scanned image data in a preset storage destination as an example. The spreadsheet of FIG. 10 shows labels, formats, colors, resolutions, OCRs, and storage destinations as items of job setting information.

  The label is the information displayed on the button of the job execution screen. For example, in the case of the job setting information of the spreadsheet shown in FIG. 10, the job setting drawing unit 52 displays buttons as shown in FIG. 11 on the job execution screen. FIG. 11 is an image diagram of an example of a button displayed on the job execution screen for allowing the user to select a job.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the format, color, and resolution are examples of scan settings necessary for the image forming apparatus 12 to perform scanning. OCR is a setting for whether or not to perform OCR (optical character reading) processing on image data read from a document. The storage destination is the setting of the storage destination of the image data read from the original.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 provides the job setting information read from the spreadsheet as shown in FIG. 10 specified by the external service URL to the image forming apparatus 12 in the JSON format, for example. ..

  In step S57, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 displays a button for allowing the user to select a job on the job execution screen based on the job setting information provided by the external service providing system 30, as shown in FIG. draw.

  In step S58, the user selects, for example, presses the button corresponding to the job whose execution is desired to be instructed from the job execution screen shown in FIG. When a job is selected by the user, the operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 requests the job setting reflection unit 54 to reflect the job setting information.

  The job setting reflecting unit 54 reflects the job setting information on the job execution parameters in the procedure shown in FIG. 12, for example. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an example of processing for reflecting the job setting information in the parameters for job execution.

  The job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 reads the job setting information from the spreadsheet 1010, for example. FIG. 12 illustrates the job setting information 1100 with the label “drawing” among the job setting information read from the spreadsheet 1010.

  Then, the job setting management unit 70 provides the job setting information read from the spreadsheet 1010 to the image forming apparatus 12 in the JSON format, for example. The operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 draws a button using the label of the job setting information provided from the external service providing system 30 on the job execution screen as shown in FIG. 11, for example.

  Then, when a job is selected by the user, the job setting reflecting unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 12 reflects the job setting information in the job execution parameters. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the job with the label “drawing” is selected. The job setting reflection unit 54 reflects the job setting information of the label “drawing” on the parameters of the scan setting information 1110 and the upload setting information 1120.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 12 requests the job execution unit 56 to execute the job in step S60. The job execution unit 56 executes the job, for example, based on the scan setting information 1110 and the upload setting information 1120 in which the job setting information of FIG. 12 is reflected in the parameters.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the job setting information can be registered in the external service providing system 30 that the user usually uses. The user can easily set the job from the UI (user interface) that the external service providing system 30 that is normally used is familiar. Further, by setting the job in the external service providing system 30, the user or the administrator can easily display the button for executing the set job on the job execution screen of the image forming apparatus 12.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the content of the job executed by the image forming apparatus 12 can be controlled based on the job setting information registered in the external service providing system 30 that the user usually uses.
[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job setting information directly from the external service providing system 30. In the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job setting information from the external service providing system 30 via the Web service providing apparatus 22. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for some parts, and therefore the description thereof will be appropriately omitted.

<Software configuration>
The image forming apparatus 12, the Web service providing apparatus 22, and the external service providing system 30 according to the second embodiment are realized by the processing blocks shown in FIG. 13, for example. FIG. 13 is a processing block diagram of an example of the information processing system according to the second embodiment.

  The processing block diagram of FIG. 13 differs from the processing block diagram of FIG. 4 in that the job setting acquisition unit 58 is not provided in the image forming apparatus 12 and the job setting acquisition unit 64 is added to the Web service providing apparatus 22. Here, differences from the processing block diagram of FIG. 4 will be described.

  The operation unit 50 of the image forming apparatus 12 acquires job setting information from the job setting acquisition unit 64 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. The external service management unit 62 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 provides the used external service information based on the acquisition request from the job setting acquisition unit 64.

  The job setting acquisition unit 64 acquires job setting information from the job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 and provides it to the image forming apparatus 12. The job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 provides the job setting information based on the acquisition request from the Web service providing apparatus 22.

<Details of processing>
Hereinafter, the details of the processing of the information processing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the differences from the first embodiment.

<<Introduction of Web services>>
In the second embodiment, the process of step S13 of FIG. 5 differs from that of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job setting information from the external service providing system 30 via the Web service providing apparatus 22 and uses the job setting information to provide the Web service.

《Use》
In the second embodiment, for example, the user uses the web service on the image forming apparatus 12 as shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an example of a Web service utilization process according to the second embodiment. First, the user operates the image forming apparatus 12 and gives an instruction to acquire a job execution screen.

  In step S81, the image forming apparatus 12 requests the Web service providing apparatus 22 to acquire the job execution screen. In step S82, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job execution screen data from the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  In step S83, the image forming apparatus 12 specifies the serial information and requests the Web service providing apparatus 22 to acquire the job setting information. The Web service providing device 22 manages the used external service information table 1000. The Web service providing apparatus 22 reads the external service URL (used external service information) corresponding to the serial information designated by the image forming apparatus 12 from the used external service information table 1000.

  In step S84, the Web service providing apparatus 22 uses the external service providing information to request the external service providing system 30 to acquire the job setting information. In step S85, the external service providing system 30 reads the job setting information from the spreadsheet 1010 specified by the used external service information and provides the job setting information to the Web service providing device 22 in the JSON format.

  In step S86, the web service providing device 22 provides the job setting information in the JSON format to the image forming device 12. In step S87, the image forming apparatus 12 draws a button or the like for allowing the user to select a job on the job execution screen based on the job setting information provided by the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  When the job is selected by the user, the image forming apparatus 12 reflects the job setting information in the job execution parameters. The image forming apparatus 12 executes the job based on the job execution parameter in which the job setting information is reflected.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 12 can acquire the job setting information from the external service providing system 30 via the Web service providing apparatus 22.
[Third Embodiment]
In the first and second embodiments, the external service (used external service) used for managing the job setting information is managed by the Web service providing device 22. In the third embodiment, the external service providing system 30 manages the used external service. The third embodiment is the same as the first and second embodiments except for some parts, and therefore the description thereof will be appropriately omitted.

<Software configuration>
The image forming apparatus 12, the Web service providing apparatus 22, and the external service providing system 30 according to the third embodiment are realized by the processing blocks shown in FIG. 15, for example. FIG. 15 is a processing block diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the third embodiment.

  In the processing block diagram of FIG. 15, the external service management unit 62 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 is replaced with a management external service management unit 66, and a job setting external service management unit 72 is added to the external service providing system 30. However, it differs from the processing block diagram of FIG. Here, differences from the processing block diagram of FIG. 4 will be described.

  The operation unit 50 acquires the management external service URL (management external service information) from the Web service providing apparatus 22. The job setting acquisition unit 58 uses the management external service URL to acquire the job setting external service URL (job setting external service information) from the job setting external service management unit 72 of the external service providing system 30. Further, the job setting acquisition unit 58 acquires the job setting information from the job setting management unit 70 of the external service providing system 30 using the job setting external service URL.

  Further, the management external service management unit 66 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 manages management external service information described later. The management external service management unit 66 provides management external service information based on the acquisition request from the Web page management unit 60. The job setting external service management unit 72 of the external service providing system 30 provides the job setting external service information based on the acquisition request from the image forming apparatus 12. The job setting management unit 70 provides job setting information based on the acquisition request from the image forming apparatus 12.

<Details of processing>
The details of the processing of the information processing system 1 according to the third embodiment will be described below.

<<Introduction of Web services>>
In the third embodiment, the management external service information and the job setting external service information are registered in step S11 of FIG. The administrator accesses the Web service providing apparatus 22 using the terminal device 14 and registers the management external service information in the management external service management unit 66 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. Further, the administrator accesses the external service providing system 30 with the terminal device 14 and registers the job setting external service information in the job setting external service management unit 72 of the external service providing system 30.

  After the initial setting in step S11, the administrator or the user accesses the external service providing system 30 with the terminal device 14 in step S12 and sets the job. In step S13, the user uses the web service in the image forming apparatus 12 based on the job setting in step S12. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job setting information from the external service providing system 30 using the management external service information and the job setting external service information registered in the initial setting, and uses the job setting information to execute the Web service. To provide.

<<Initial setting and job setting>>
FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram of an example of the initial setting process and the job setting process according to the third embodiment. Note that the sequence diagram of FIG. 16 is the same as the sequence diagram of FIG.

  In step S101, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 to instruct the acquisition of the management external service registration screen for registering the management external service information. In step S102, the terminal device 14 accesses the Web service providing apparatus 22 and requests acquisition of the management external service registration screen, and acquires the management external service registration screen from the Web page management unit 60 of the Web service providing apparatus 22. The terminal device 14 displays the management external service registration screen on the browser, for example.

  In step S103, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 and inputs the serial information and the management external service URL on the management external service registration screen. In step S104, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 and gives an instruction to register the management external service information.

  In step S105, the terminal device 14 accesses the Web service providing device 22 and makes a registration request for the management external service information. Then, the management external service management unit 66 of the Web service providing apparatus 22 registers the serial information and the management external service URL in association with each other. When the registration of the management external service information is completed, the management external service management unit 66 returns registration completion to the terminal device 14.

  In step S106, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 to access the job setting external service management unit 72 of the external service providing system 30 specified by the management external service URL to register the job setting external service URL. .

  In steps S107 and S108, the administrator operates the terminal device 14 to access the external service providing system 30 and input job setting information. For example, the administrator inputs the job setting information into the spreadsheet of the external service providing system 30 specified by the job setting external service URL.

  The user may input the job setting information as shown in steps S109 and S110. According to the sequence diagram of FIG. 16, the used external service can be managed by the external service providing system 30.

《Use》
In the third embodiment, for example, the user uses the web service on the image forming apparatus 12 as shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an example of a Web service utilization process according to the third embodiment. First, the user operates the image forming apparatus 12 and gives an instruction to acquire a job execution screen and an application selection screen.

  In step S121, the image forming apparatus 12 specifies the serial information and requests the Web service providing apparatus 22 to acquire the job execution screen and the application selection screen. The Web service providing device 22 manages the management external service information table 1200. The Web service providing apparatus 22 reads the management external service URL (management external service information) corresponding to the serial information designated by the image forming apparatus 12 from the management external service information table 1200.

  In step S122, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires the job execution screen data, the application selection screen data, and the management external service information from the Web service providing apparatus 22. In step S123, the image forming apparatus 12 uses the management external service information to request the external service providing system 30 to acquire the job setting external service information.

  The external service providing system 30 reads the label information and the job setting external service information from the spreadsheet 1210 specified by the management external service information. In step S124, the external service providing system 30 provides the read label information and job setting external service information to the image forming apparatus 12.

  The image forming apparatus 12 uses the label information provided by the external service providing system 30 to display the application selection screen 1220. The application selection screen 1220 displays buttons and the like for allowing the user to select scan or fax.

  When the user selects scan or fax in step S125, the image forming apparatus 12 proceeds to the process of step S126. In step S126, the image forming apparatus 12 uses the job setting external service information corresponding to the label information selected by the user to request the external service providing system 30 to acquire the job setting information.

  The external service providing system 30 reads the job setting information from the spreadsheet 1230 specified by the job setting external service information, and provides the job setting information to the image forming apparatus 12 in the JSON format.

  In step S127, the image forming apparatus 12 draws a button or the like for allowing the user to select a job on the job execution screen based on the job setting information provided by the external service providing system 30. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 can display the application selection screen 1220 when the label information and the job setting external service information in step S124 are acquired.

  The job execution screen 1030 has buttons and the like for allowing the user to select a job. When the job is selected by the user, the image forming apparatus 12 reflects the job setting information in the job execution parameters. The image forming apparatus 12 executes the job based on the job execution parameter in which the job setting information is reflected.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the external service providing system 30 can manage the used external service.
[Other Embodiments]
In the first to third embodiments, the example in which the job setting information is acquired from the external service providing system 30 and the scan-to-upload job is executed by the image forming apparatus 12 has been described. In the information processing system 1 of this embodiment, the fax job can be executed by the image forming apparatus 12 by acquiring the job setting information as shown in FIG. 18 from the external service providing system 30.

  FIG. 18 is an image diagram of an example of a spreadsheet in which job setting information is registered. The spreadsheet of FIG. 18 shows, as an example, job setting information of fax to be faxed to the selected fax number.

  The spreadsheet of FIG. 18 shows labels, readings, and FAX numbers as items of job setting information. The label is the name of the destination user displayed on the job execution screen. The FAX number is the destination displayed on the job execution screen.

  For example, in the case of the job setting information of the spreadsheet shown in FIG. 18, the job setting drawing unit 52 displays a job execution screen as shown in FIG. 19, for example. FIG. 19 is an image diagram of an example of a fax job execution screen. For example, the user can start the execution of the Fax job by selecting the destination user from the job execution screen of FIG. 19 and pressing the “start” button.

  In addition, in the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 12 can execute the following jobs. For example, the image forming apparatus 12 performs OCR at the time of fax transmission, and can execute a job of which transmission is stopped if a word described in the job setting information of the external service providing system 30 is included, such as confidential information.

  The image forming apparatus 12 can also execute a job of recording the transmission history after fax transmission in the calendar service described in the job setting information of the external service providing system 30.

  Further, in the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, a data source such as an address book or a file in a folder specified by the job setting information can be acquired from the external service providing system 30 to execute the job.

  For example, the image forming apparatus 12 can execute a job of downloading and printing a file in a folder specified by the job setting information of the external service providing system 30. The image forming apparatus 12 can also execute a job for performing scan-to-mail using the address book specified by the job setting information of the external service providing system 30.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 12 generates a metadata at the time of scanning according to the job setting information of the external service providing system 30, and executes a job of saving the metadata and the scan data in the storage destination designated by the job setting information. Can also

  In the information processing system 1 of this embodiment, an authentication unit can be added to the processing block diagrams of FIGS. 4, 13 and 15. For example, when accessing the external service providing system 30 from the image forming apparatus 12 as shown in FIG. 4 or 15, an authentication unit is added to the image forming apparatus 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, when accessing the external service providing system 30 from the Web service providing apparatus 22, an authentication unit is added to the Web service providing apparatus 22.

  In addition, in the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, when the login to the external service providing system 30 is required, the authentication by the existing OpenID Connect or the authentication using the OAuth token may be used.

  Further, the job execution screen of FIG. 11 shows an example in which a plurality of buttons are drawn from the job setting information of one spreadsheet, but as shown in FIG. 20, a button is displayed on the job execution screen from a plurality of spreadsheets. May be drawn.

  FIG. 20 is an image diagram of an example of processing for displaying buttons on a job execution screen from a plurality of spreadsheets. Note that the spreadsheet in FIG. 20 is acquired from a plurality of external service providing systems 30A and 30B. According to the job execution screen of FIG. 20, the user registers the scan setting and the storage destination as the job setting information in the spreadsheet of the external service providing system 30A or 30B, so that the scan setting and the storage destination are different for each button. Can execute jobs.

  In the first to third embodiments, the example in which the administrator makes various settings for the image forming apparatus 12 to acquire the job setting information has been described, but the spreadsheet of the external service providing system 30 that registers the job setting information. May be fixed. The administrator or the user can execute the job based on the job setting information only by inputting the job setting information into the fixed spreadsheet of the external service providing system 30 for registering the job setting information.

  Further, in the first to third embodiments, the job setting information is acquired from the external service providing system 30 after the user has instructed to acquire the job execution screen, but the timing is not limited to the timing instructed by the user. . For example, the image forming apparatus 12 may acquire the job setting information at every predetermined time or each time it is started.

  Further, in the first to third embodiments, the processing blocks included in the image forming apparatus 12 and the Web service providing apparatus 22 may be integrated in the image forming apparatus 12.

<Summary>
According to the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the job setting information necessary for executing the job is registered in the external service providing system 30, and the content of the job executed by the image forming apparatus 12 is controlled by the job setting information. it can.

  Further, according to the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the job setting information can be registered in the external service providing system 30 that the user usually uses, so that the job setting can be easily performed from the familiar UI. In this way, the user and the administrator can set the job from the familiar UI. Further, the provider who provides the Web service does not need to develop a UI for job setting.

  The present invention is not limited to the above specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

  The electronic device described in the claims corresponds to, for example, the image forming apparatus 12. The information processing device corresponds to the Web service providing device 22, for example. The acquisition source information management means corresponds to, for example, the external service management unit 62. The setting information acquisition unit corresponds to the job setting acquisition unit 58, for example. The setting information reflecting unit corresponds to, for example, the job setting reflecting unit 54.

  The first information processing device corresponds to the Web service providing device 22, for example. The second information processing device corresponds to, for example, the external service providing system 30. The first management means corresponds to, for example, the management external service management unit 66. The second management unit corresponds to, for example, the job setting external service management unit 72. The drawing means corresponds to the job setting drawing unit 52, for example.

1 Information Processing System 10 User Environment 12 Image Forming Device 14 Terminal Device 20 Web Service Providing Environment 22 Web Service Providing Device 30, 30A, 30B External Service Providing System 50 Operation Unit 52 Job Setting Drawing Unit 54 Job Setting Reflecting Unit 56 Job Execution Unit 58, 64 Job setting acquisition unit 60 Web page management unit 62 External service management unit 66 External service management unit for management 70 Job setting management unit 72 External service management unit for job setting 500 Computer 501 Input device 502 Display device 503 External I/F
503a recording medium 504 RAM
505 ROM
506 CPU
507 Communication I/F
508 HDD
601 Controller 602 Operation panel 603 External I/F
603a Recording medium 604 Communication I/F
605 Printer 606 Scanner 611 CPU
612 RAM
613 ROM
614 NVRAM
615 HDD
1000 use external service information table 1010, 1210, 1230 spreadsheet 1020, 1030 job execution screen 1100 job setting information 1110 scan setting information 1120 upload setting information 1200 management external service information table 1220 application selection screen B bus N1 to N2 network

JP, 2014-32659, A

Claims (14)

An information processing system in which an electronic device and one or more information processing devices are connected via a network,
Acceptance information management that accepts registration of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device is registered, and manages the acquisition source information of the spreadsheet in which the setting information is registered Means and
Setting information acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from the spreadsheet specified by the acquisition source information acquired from the acquisition source information management means,
Drawing means for drawing on the execution screen one or more reception units that receive a user's instruction to use the job executed by the electronic device, based on the contents of the acquired setting information,
Of the acquired setting information, the setting of controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device by reflecting the content of the setting information corresponding to the receiving unit that has received the usage instruction from the user in the job execution parameter Information reflection means,
An information processing system comprising: The acquisition source information management means is included in the one or more information processing devices, and has a first information processing device that provides a first service,
The setting information acquisition unit acquires the setting information from a second information processing device that provides a second service different from the first service specified by the acquisition source information. 1. The information processing system according to 1. The acquisition source information management means,
First management means for managing the acquisition source of the acquisition source information in a first information processing device that provides a first service, which is included in the one or more information processing devices,
Second management means for managing the acquisition source information by a second information processing device that provides a second service different from the first service specified by the acquisition source of the acquisition source information,
Has
The information according to claim 1, wherein the setting information acquisition unit acquires the acquisition destination information from the second management unit that is an acquisition destination of the acquisition destination information acquired from the first management unit. Processing system. The acquisition source information management unit manages the acquisition source information that has received a registration request from a terminal device connected via the network,
The spreadsheet specified by the acquisition source information manages the setting information received from the terminal device,
The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: A first information processing device that is included in the one or more information processing devices and that provides a first service;
A second information processing device that provides a second service different from the first service specified by the acquisition source information,
The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The setting information reflecting unit reflects the content of the setting information corresponding to the reception unit that has received a usage instruction from the user in the parameter of job execution, and the content of the image forming process executed by the electronic device and the image. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein a storage destination or a destination of the image data generated by the forming process is controlled. The setting information reflecting unit reflects the content of the setting information corresponding to the reception unit that has received a usage instruction from the user in the parameter of job execution, and the content of the image forming process executed by the electronic device and the image. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the acquisition destination of the image data output by the forming process is controlled. The spreadsheet specified by the acquired destination information, and Turkey provides a user interface from the user accepts the registration of the setting information, a storage area for storing the setting information received from the user interface, as a service The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The setting information acquisition means acquires a plurality of the setting information from a plurality of the spreadsheets specified by a plurality of the acquisition source information acquired from the acquisition source information management means. The information processing system according to any one of claims. Information in which an electronic device, a first information processing device that provides a first service, and a second information processing device that provides a second service different from the first service are connected via a network A processing system,
The first information processing device is
Acceptance information management that accepts registration of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device is registered, and manages the acquisition source information of the spreadsheet in which the setting information is registered Have means,
The electronic device is
Setting information acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from the spreadsheet of the second information processing device specified by the acquisition source information acquired from the acquisition source information management means,
Drawing means for drawing on the execution screen one or more reception units that receive a user's instruction to use the job executed by the electronic device, based on the contents of the acquired setting information,
Of the acquired setting information, the setting of controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device by reflecting the content of the setting information corresponding to the receiving unit that has received the usage instruction from the user in the job execution parameter Information reflection means,
An information processing system comprising: Information in which an electronic device, a first information processing device that provides a first service, and a second information processing device that provides a second service different from the first service are connected via a network A processing system,
The first information processing device is
Acceptance information management that accepts registration of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device is registered, and manages the acquisition source information of the spreadsheet in which the setting information is registered Means and
A setting information acquisition unit that acquires the setting information from the spreadsheet of the second information processing apparatus specified by the acquisition source information acquired from the acquisition source information management unit and provides the setting information to the electronic device,
Have
The electronic device is
Drawing means for drawing on the execution screen one or more reception units that receive a user's instruction to use the job executed by the electronic device, based on the contents of the acquired setting information,
Of the acquired setting information, the setting of controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device by reflecting the content of the setting information corresponding to the receiving unit that has received the usage instruction from the user in the job execution parameter Information reflection means,
An information processing system comprising: Information in which an electronic device, a first information processing device that provides a first service, and a second information processing device that provides a second service different from the first service are connected via a network A processing system,
The first information processing device is
A first management unit that manages an acquisition source of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for executing a job in the electronic device is registered ;
The second information processing device,
Second management for accepting registration of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device is registered, and managing the acquisition source information of the spreadsheet in which the setting information is registered Have means,
The electronic device is
The second information processing that acquires the acquisition destination information from the second information processing device that is the acquisition destination of the acquisition destination information acquired from the first management unit and that is specified by the acquired acquisition destination information Setting information acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from the spreadsheet of the device,
Drawing means for drawing on the execution screen one or more receiving units that receive a user's instruction to use the job executed by the electronic device, based on the contents of the acquired setting information,
Of the acquired setting information, the setting for controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device by reflecting the content of the setting information corresponding to the reception unit that has received the usage instruction from the user in the job execution parameter Information reflection means,
An information processing system comprising: An electronic device connected to one or more information processing devices via a network,
Acquisition information management that receives registration of acquisition information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device is registered, and manages the acquisition information of the spreadsheet in which the setting information is registered Means and
Setting information acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from the spreadsheet specified by the acquisition source information acquired from the acquisition source information management means,
Drawing means for drawing on the execution screen one or more receiving units that receive a user's instruction to use a job executed by the electronic device, based on the contents of the acquired setting information,
Of the acquired setting information, the setting for controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device by reflecting the content of the setting information corresponding to the reception unit that has received the usage instruction from the user in the job execution parameter Information reflection means,
An electronic device comprising: An electronic device connected to one or more information processing devices via a network,
Acceptance information management that accepts registration of acquisition source information that specifies a spreadsheet in which setting information necessary for execution of a job in the electronic device is registered, and manages the acquisition source information of the spreadsheet in which the setting information is registered means,
Setting information acquisition means for acquiring the setting information from the spreadsheet specified by the acquisition source information acquired from the acquisition source information management means,
Drawing means for drawing on the execution screen one or more receiving units that receive a user's instruction to use the job executed by the electronic device, based on the contents of the acquired setting information,
Of the acquired setting information, the setting of controlling the content of the job executed by the electronic device by reflecting the content of the setting information corresponding to the receiving unit that has received the usage instruction from the user in the job execution parameter Information reflection means,
Program to function as.

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