JP6762264B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a help system.

As a conventional image forming apparatus having a help system, there is one that provides dynamically generated help information using HTML. In such an image forming apparatus, there is one that dynamically generates and provides a help page that matches the user attribute and the option mounting status of the apparatus in response to the request of the help page by the client terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP-A-2007-206999 (page 5, FIG. 1)

However, in the conventional device, the help page suitable for the user or the device is obtained by excluding the non-applicable part from the entire manual based on the user authority of the client terminal such as a general personal computer and the option installation status of the device. It was limited to providing, and did not provide help information according to mobile usage or the type of operating system.

In particular, when a mobile terminal such as a smartphone is wirelessly connected as a client terminal for the purpose of using an image forming apparatus, the user understands the difference in operating system between mobile terminals and correctly selects an application or service specific to the operating system. , It is necessary to use the functions and services of the image forming apparatus. However, if the user is unfamiliar with using the image forming device from the mobile terminal, he / she may not be able to fully use the functions and services due to lack of knowledge of the dedicated application or service specific to the operating system of the mobile terminal, or the image forming device may be used. There was a burden of having to refer to the necessary information from the manuals for all types of client terminals used.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus having a wireless connection function for directly connecting to an information communication terminal.
It depends on the specific means for connecting to the information communication terminal by the wireless connection function and specifying the operating system of the information communication terminal based on an arbitrary HTTP request from the information communication terminal and the operating system that can be specified by the specific means. , A help page containing help information of the image forming apparatus, a storage device capable of storing the help page in advance, a Web server for transmitting and receiving data using HTTP, and a system of the image forming apparatus. It has a system management department to manage
The Web server is characterized in that it reads the help page containing the help information suitable for the operating system specified by the specific means from the storage device and responds to the information communication terminal via the wireless connection function. To do.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a help page suitable for the operating system of the information communication terminal, and it becomes easy for the user to use the function of the information communication terminal.

It is a block diagram of the main part of the communication system composed of the image forming apparatus of Embodiment 1 by this invention, and a mobile terminal. It is an overview diagram which shows the basic structure of the help page provided to a user. (A) shows an example of a help page for a mobile terminal compatible with Android (registered trademark) , and (b) shows an example of a help page for an iOS compatible mobile terminal. It is a hierarchical diagram which shows an example of the hierarchical structure of the hyperlink of the Web page stored in the Web server of the image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of providing a help page.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of a communication system composed of an image forming apparatus 100 and a mobile terminal 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 110 which has a printing function and a scanning function as a multifunction device, and has a wireless connection function for network communication with another terminal. The communication unit 110 is provided with a wireless LAN module 111 for performing wireless network communication in particular. Similarly, the mobile terminal 200 as an information communication terminal is provided with a communication unit 210 for performing network communication with another terminal, and the communication unit 210 is particularly provided with a wireless LAN module 211 for wireless network communication. Has been done.

The wireless LAN module 111 of the image forming apparatus 100 and the wireless LAN module 211 of the mobile terminal 200 are network-connected by the wireless LAN 90, so that they communicate with each other. Here, regarding the wireless LAN 90, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 100 operates in the same manner as the wireless LAN access point and acts as a wireless LAN host to directly connect to the mobile terminal 200 without going through a router or the like. .. The function in which the image forming apparatus 100 plays the role of a wireless LAN host by performing the same operation as the wireless LAN access point may be hereinafter referred to as "AP (Access Point) mode".

When configuring the AP mode, the AP mode function provided in the image forming apparatus 100 is used here. For example, it is configured by setting the AP mode in the item for setting the AP mode included in the function setting screen displayed on the panel (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 100.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a print unit 120 for realizing a print function, a scan unit 130 for realizing a scan function, a DNS server 150 for performing redirect processing, an OS identification unit 160, a MAC address processing unit 170, and the like. A storage device 180, a Web server 190 that provides a Web page, and a system management unit 140 are provided.

The OS specifying unit 160 as an OS specifying means analyzes an HTML (HyperText Transfer Protocol) request from a mobile terminal 200 connected in AP mode, determines the type of operating system from user agent information, and determines the operating system. It has a function of designating a Web page (HTML: HyperText Markup Language) file to be responded to the Web server 190 so as to respond to a help page according to the above. The Web server 190 has a function of transmitting a designated Web page (HTML) file to the communication unit 110. The MAC address processing unit 170 has a function of acquiring the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 connected in the AP mode and writing / reading to the storage device 180.

The storage device 180 has a function of storing and utilizing the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 acquired by the MAC address processing unit 170. The system management unit 140 is a system that manages the processing / device configuration of the image forming apparatus 100, and includes a communication unit 110, a DNS server 150, an OS identification unit 160, a MAC address processing unit 170, a storage device 180, and a Web server 190. to manage.

The mobile terminal 200 includes a Web browser 220 for browsing a general Web page, and a display unit 230 provided with a screen for displaying various applications and contents including the Web browser 220 on the mobile terminal 200 to the user. Is what you do. The HTTP response received by the communication unit 210 is received by the Web browser 220, and the help page is provided to the user by the user browsing through the display unit 230.

FIG. 2 is an overview diagram showing a basic configuration of a help page provided to a user. Based on the help page 300 of the figure, as shown in FIG. 3, a help page corresponding to each operating system is configured. FIG. 3A shows an example of a help page for an Android compatible mobile terminal, and FIG. 3B shows an example of a help page for an iOS compatible mobile terminal. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to specify the operating system, the help page 300 will be used for explanation.

The help page will be described with reference to an overview diagram showing the basic configuration of the help page of FIG. The help page 300 in the figure is created as a Web page that can be interpreted by a general Web browser, and can be accessed by specifying a URL in the address bar 301, which is one of the components of the Web browser, and making a request. In FIG. 2, a maintenance content banner 310 and content switching buttons 311 and 312 for accessing arbitrary maintenance information are provided at the upper part of the screen, and the content designer needs the content and number of contents from time to time. It is possible to edit according to it.

In addition, the help page 300 is configured by arbitrarily using general designs such as buttons, banners, and texts that can be used on the Web page. In the middle of the screen of the help page 300 of FIG. 2, the operation procedure of the application dedicated to the manufacturer, which has the content title 320 for introducing the help information of the print function for the mobile terminal 200 and the function of becoming the client of the print function, is described. A button 321 for explaining and a button 322 for explaining the operation procedure of the application provided by another company are provided.

Further, the content title 330 for introducing the help information of the scan function for the mobile terminal 200 and the button 331 for transitioning to the help information page of the print function for the mobile terminal 200 are also provided in the same manner.

At the bottom of the help page 300, the help page 300 is displayed when the mobile terminal 200 having the same identification information connects to the image forming apparatus 100 from the next time onward, as indicated by the phrase "will not be displayed from the next time". A button 340 is provided for the user to express an intention not to do so. The user can access the help information by tapping or the like any content on the help page 300.

FIG. 3A shows a help page 400 for an Android-compatible mobile terminal, and FIG. 3B shows a help page 500 for an iOS-compatible mobile terminal.

In this embodiment, Android and iOS are exemplified as operating systems of mobile terminals. When targeting these two types of operating systems, the storage device 180 of FIG. 1 includes two types of help pages depending on the target operating system. The help pages 400 and 500 have the same screen configuration based on the help page 300 here.

The help pages 400 and 500 shown in FIG. 3 have the same configuration except for the banner 410 and banner 510, the button 421 and button 521, and the button 431 and button 531. Due to differences in operating systems such as Android and iOS, the procedures for using functions and services that can be used in image forming devices such as printing and scanning and the applications to be used differ. Therefore, buttons 421 and 521, and buttons 431 and 531 There is a difference between the applications that can be used and the content that provides help information for the procedure. As described above, the help pages 400 and 500 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B are created in advance as Web pages and stored in the storage device 180 of the image forming apparatus 100.

FIG. 4 is a hierarchical diagram showing an example of a hierarchical configuration of hyperlinks of Web pages stored in the storage device 180 of the image forming apparatus 100 in the present embodiment.

The device top page 600 shows the top page of the image forming apparatus 100 that can be accessed by inputting the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100 into the Web browser. The device top page 600 includes contents such as confirmation and change of various setting values of the image forming apparatus 100 and maintenance information. In the image forming apparatus 100, consumables information 610, printer setting 620, and network setting 630 are included. Common contents about various functions such as, and their setting values, and contents other than these are also posted in a wide variety.

As this common content, common content that does not depend on the terminal type is posted, and more detailed content and information can be acquired each time the user follows a link on a Web page. The help pages 400 and 500 corresponding to the operating system of the mobile terminal 200 of FIG. 3 are as child contents having the mobile content 640 of FIG. 4 as the parent content, such as the help page 641 for Android and the help page 642 for iOS. It is organized in the hierarchy of.

The contents of these help pages 641 and 642 depend on the operating system type of the mobile terminal 200, and in this embodiment, the contents related to Android and iOS are posted. For example, desktop type and notebook type Windows other than mobile terminals (registration). (Trademark) Help pages 641 and 642 can be browsed as needed on a PC or the like. In this case, the user can browse the Web page of the image forming apparatus 100 by following the link starting from the top page using the Web browser of the Windows PC.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 100 is accessed from Android or iOS in AP mode, the operating system is automatically determined and the help page is displayed. The device top page 600 and the common content groups 610, 620, 630, and 640 are skipped, and the help page 641 or the help page 642 is responded to the user's Web browser.

In the above configuration, the procedure of the process of providing the help page will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 based on the flowchart of FIG.

As a precondition for processing, the wireless LAN of the communication unit 110 indicates that the mobile terminal 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 are directly connected wirelessly without going through a router or the like by using the AP mode. Determined by module 111 (step S101). When the connection is not made in the AP mode (step S101: No), the process of presenting the help page 300 is not performed, and the user makes an HTTP request from the Web browser 220 (FIG. 1) to the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100. The device in FIG. 4 shifts to a standby state waiting for an explicit request to the Web page of the image forming apparatus 100 to be made (step S110: No), and when the request is made (step S110: Yes). A top page 600 (FIG. 4) is provided (step S110).

When it is determined in step S101 that the connection is made in the AP mode (step S101: Yes), the setting of the DNS server 150 used by the mobile terminal 200 is automatically set to the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100 (step S101). S102). By setting in this way, when the user accesses an arbitrary URL using the Web browser 220 of the mobile terminal 200, the setting of the DNS server 150 used by the mobile terminal 200 becomes the IP address of the image forming apparatus 100. Therefore, the DNS server 150 performs a redirect process in which the mobile terminal 200 forcibly inquires of the image forming apparatus 100 based on the name resolution of the URL (step S103). As a result, the Web server 190 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives the HTTP request from the mobile terminal 200 (step S104).

As a response to this HTTP request, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to a process for responding the help page 300 (FIG. 2) to the mobile terminal 200. First, since the help page 300 has a "Do not display from next time" button 340, it is confirmed whether or not the terminal currently connected in AP mode has previously selected the "Do not display from next time" button 340. To do. Therefore, in the MAC address processing unit 170, the list of MAC addresses stored in the storage device 180 of the image forming apparatus 100 and the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 currently connected in the AP mode are collated and determined ( Step S105).

The "Do not display from next time" button 340 gives an instruction to not display the help page 300 from the next time onward when the mobile terminal 200 connects to the image forming device 100 in AP mode and browses the help page. It is a button and processing having a role of transmitting to 100, and when the button 340 is selected, the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 is stored in the storage device 180 of the image forming apparatus 100.

Here, when the saved MAC address and the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 connected in the AP mode match (step S105: Yes), the MAC address processing unit 170 determines that the help page 300 is not displayed. End the process. On the other hand, when it is determined that the stored MAC address and the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 connected in the AP mode do not match, that is, the MAC address of the mobile terminal 200 is not stored in the image forming apparatus 100 (step S105). : No), the process shifts to the process of determining the operating system of the mobile terminal 200 connected in the AP mode.

Here, the user agent (USER_AGENT) information that can be extracted from the header of the HTTP request is used as the operating system information. The user agent information received from the mobile terminal 200 in step S104 is extracted by the OS specifying unit 160 of the image forming apparatus 100, and the operating system of the mobile terminal 200 is specified. The association between the user agent information and each operating system is realized by holding it in the OS specifying unit 160, the storage device 180, or the like in advance and referring to it.

Further, the number of types of operating systems to be determined may be arbitrarily determined, but in the present embodiment, two types of Android and iOS are illustrated as targets, and the Android page 400 shown in FIG. 3 (the same figure (a)). )) Or iOS page 500 ((b) in the figure) is responded. The Android page 400 and the iOS page 500 in FIG. 3 exemplify AirPrint as a function dedicated to iOS and Google Cloud Print as a function common to Android and iOS.

Here, first, the OS specifying unit 160 of the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether or not the operating system of the mobile terminal 200 is Android. If it is Android (step S106, Yes), the help page 400 for Android is responded to the mobile terminal 200 (step S107). At this time, the OS specifying unit 160 specifies the Web server 190 to respond to the help page 400 for Android, reads it from the storage device 180 by the Web server 190, passes it to the communication unit 110 of the image forming device 100, and moves it as an HTTP response. Respond to terminal 200.

The user can browse the responded help page 400 by the Web browser 220 of the mobile terminal 200. As a result, the user can obtain help information for using the image forming apparatus 100 from the mobile terminal 200.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S106 that the operating system is not Android (step S106, No), it is subsequently determined whether or not the operating system is iOS (step S108). Here, too, the OS specifying unit 160 determines whether or not the operating system of the mobile terminal 200 is iOS by using the user agent information. If it is iOS (step S108, Yes), the help page 500 for iOS is responded to the mobile terminal 200 (step S109). At this time, the OS specifying unit 160 specifies the Web server 190 to respond to the help page 500 for iOS, reads it from the storage device 180 by the Web server 190, passes it to the communication unit 110 of the image forming device 100, and moves it as an HTTP response. Respond to terminal 200.

When it is determined in step S108 that the operating system is not iOS (step S106, No), the help page 300 is not returned to the mobile terminal 200, and an explicit request to the Web page of the image forming apparatus 100 is made. The device top page 600 in FIG. 4 is provided (step S110) when the state shifts to the waiting state (step S110: No) and a request is made (step S110: Yes).

The processes of steps S110 and S111 described above are processes for the mobile terminal 200 illustrated in the present embodiment to have only two types of operating systems, Android and iOS. Here, as a mobile terminal other than Android and iOS, for example, when a mobile terminal 200 whose operating system is Windows is connected in AP mode, the image forming apparatus 100 is dedicated to introduce an operation procedure of a Windows-dependent application. The help page 300 is not provided, and it is assumed that the device has a Web server 190 that returns the Web page of the device only when requested by the user, and is supported by a general operation method.

In the present embodiment, Android and iOS are assumed as the operating systems of the mobile terminal 200, but the present invention is not limited to these, and other operating systems and arbitrary versions can be targeted. is there.

Further, in the present embodiment, the help page has the same screen configuration and content configuration in different operating systems, but it is also possible to create a help page with different screens and content configurations for each type of operating system and present it to the mobile terminal. It is possible.

Further, in the present embodiment, a button or the like is specified as the Web content of the help page, but if the same function is performed, the user can operate the check box and the [Send] button, or use a pull-down menu or other other design / procedure. It can also be replaced with an interface.

Further, the help page is not limited to the content group shown in FIG. 2, and the type, structure, and expression of the content may be added as needed, and the present invention can take various aspects.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 200 simply connects to the image forming apparatus 100 in the AP mode, and determines the help page 300 according to the operating system of the mobile terminal. Since it can be presented, the user can easily grasp and use the function of the image forming apparatus 100 that can be used from the mobile terminal 200 without being aware of the difference in the operating system of the mobile terminal 200.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is adopted in a multifunction device is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be used for other printers, facsimiles, label making machines, copiers, and the like.

90 wireless LAN, 100 image forming device, 110 communication unit, 111 wireless LAN module, 120 printing unit, 130 scanning unit, 140 system management unit, 150 DNS server, 160 OS specific unit, 170 MAC address processing unit, 180 storage device, 190 Web server, 200 mobile terminal, 210 communication unit, 211 wireless LAN module, 220 Web browser, 230 display unit, 300 help page, 301 address bar, 310 maintenance content banner, 311, 312 content switching button, 320 content title, 321 Buttons explaining the operation procedure of the application dedicated to the manufacturer, 322 Button explaining the operation procedure of the application provided by other companies, 330 Content title, 331 Button for transitioning to the help information page of the print function, 340 Help page 300 Buttons for users to express their unwillingness to display, 400 help pages, 500 help pages.

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus having a wireless connection function that directly connects to an information communication terminal
A specific means for connecting to the information communication terminal by the wireless connection function and specifying the operating system of the information communication terminal based on an arbitrary HTPP request from the information communication terminal.
A help page containing help information for the image forming apparatus, depending on the operating system that can be identified by the specific means, and
A storage device that can save the help page in advance,
A web server that sends and receives data using HTTP,
It has a system management unit that manages the system of the image forming apparatus.
The Web server is characterized in that it reads the help page containing the help information suitable for the operating system specified by the specific means from the storage device and responds to the information communication terminal via the wireless connection function. Image forming device. An identification means for uniquely identifying the information communication terminal connected by the wireless connection function and storing the identification information of the information communication terminal in a storage device as needed is provided.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after saving the identification information, the help page is not responded to the information communication terminal corresponding to the saved identification information. The image according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage device stores in advance a plurality of patterns of the help page corresponding to the number of types of operating systems of the information communication terminal to be responded to. Forming device. 4. Image forming device.

Images