JP7283492B2 - Program, information processing device, information processing system, and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for obtaining parameters necessary for wireless communication from an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip has been known (see Patent Document 1, for example). As an application of such technology, when using various functions such as printing and scanning of an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (MultiFunction Peripheral) from a mobile terminal, IP (Internet Protocol) required to communicate with this image forming apparatus A technique for acquiring parameters such as a protocol address from an NFC chip has been conventionally known.

However, the above-described conventional technique poses a problem when, for example, the IP address of the image forming apparatus is dynamically assigned by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). That is, in such a case, the IP address obtained from the NFC chip may differ from the IP address assigned to the image forming apparatus for which functions such as printing and scanning are to be used. function execution.

An embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to prevent a processing request from being made to an unintended device.

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides an information processing apparatus connected to one or more devices via a network, comprising first address information and any one of the one or more devices. a first acquisition means for acquiring first device-specific information for identifying the device via short-range wireless communication ; connecting to the device indicated by the first address information acquired by the first acquisition means; second acquisition means for acquiring second device-specific information for identifying a device indicated by the first address information via wireless communication different from the short- range wireless communication; The first device-specific information obtained via wireless communication and the second device-specific information obtained by the second obtaining means via wireless communication different from the short-range wireless communication are identical to each other. determination means for determining whether or not a device is indicated , and if the determination means determines that the same device is not indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information, the information processing device It is characterized by functioning as screen control means for displaying a warning screen on the screen .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a processing request from being made to an unintended device.

1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a printing system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus and an information medium according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an example of a printing system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of print processing according to the first embodiment; 4 is a sequence diagram of an example of print processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a warning screen. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an example of a printing system according to a second embodiment; FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example of print processing according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of an example of print processing according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus and an information medium according to a third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an example of a printing system according to a third embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of power states of an operation panel and a main body; FIG.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[First embodiment]
<System configuration>
First, the system configuration of the printing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a printing system according to the first embodiment. In the printing system 1 of FIG. 1, a mobile terminal 10 and one or more image forming apparatuses 20 are connected to a network N1 by wire or wirelessly. In particular, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 10 is wirelessly connected to the network N1. An information medium 30 is attached to the housing of the image forming apparatus 20, and the mobile terminal 10 and the information medium 30 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via short-range wireless communication.

The mobile terminal 10 is a terminal device such as a smartphone operated by a user. The mobile terminal 10 may be a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a game machine, a PDA, a digital camera, or the like. The mobile terminal 10 is installed with an application (printing application) that can issue a print instruction to print target data, and the mobile terminal 10 generates a print job including the print target data related to the print instruction, It is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 .

The mobile terminal 10 also includes a short-range wireless communication device such as an NFC chip, as will be described later. The user acquires the IP address and the like of the image forming apparatus 20 by holding the mobile terminal 10 over the information medium 30 attached to a predetermined position on the housing of the image forming apparatus 20 . By transmitting the generated print job to the obtained IP address, the mobile terminal 10 can cause the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the IP address to execute the print job and print the data to be printed.

Note that the print application is an application such as a browser, document creation software, or viewer that can issue a print instruction to print target data.

The image forming apparatus 20 is an image processing apparatus such as a printer that receives a print job from the mobile terminal 10 and prints data to be printed. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 may be a multifunction device such as an MFP having multiple functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, and a FAX function in addition to the print function.

Further, the image forming apparatus 20 may be, for example, a projector, an electronic blackboard, an output device such as a digital signage, or an audio output device such as a speaker device. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a printing system will be described as an example of an information processing system, but the present invention is not limited to this. A sound output system using a speaker device instead of 20 may be used. In other words, the present invention can be applied to various systems using the mobile terminal 10 that generates a given job and equipment that executes the given job received from the mobile terminal 10 .

The information medium 30 is a short-range wireless communication device such as an NFC chip attached to a predetermined position of the housing of the image forming apparatus 20 . That is, the information medium 30 is an NFC tag or the like. The information medium 30 stores information such as the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 to which the information medium 30 is attached, and device unique information for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus 20 . The mobile terminal 10 can acquire these pieces of information stored in the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication. That is, the information medium 30 storing at least the IP address and device-specific information of the image forming apparatus 20 is attached to the image forming apparatus 20, and the portable terminal 10 transmits this information through short-range wireless communication. can be obtained from the information medium 30 via Then, as described above, the portable terminal 10 transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the IP address obtained from the information medium 30, and the image forming apparatus 20 executes the print job.

Note that the printing system 1 described above may have a configuration including, for example, a print server that accumulates print jobs transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 . Also, the printing system 1 may be configured to have any number of portable terminals 10, one or more.

<Hardware configuration>
≪Mobile terminal≫
The mobile terminal 10 according to this embodiment is realized by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 2, for example. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a mobile terminal according to the first embodiment. The mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. , an SSD (Solid State Drive) 108, a short-range wireless communication device 109, and the like, which are interconnected by a bus B, respectively.

The input device 101 is, for example, a touch panel, and is used to input each operation signal to the mobile terminal 10 . Note that the input device 101 may be a keyboard, a mouse, or the like. The display device 102 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays the processing result by the mobile terminal 10 .

The external I/F 103 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 103a and the like. The storage medium 103a can store a program that implements the embodiment. Via the external I/F 103, the mobile terminal 10 can read and/or write to the recording medium 103a.

The recording medium 103a is, for example, a recording medium such as an SD memory card. The recording medium 103a may be a recording medium such as a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a CD (Compact Disk), a flexible disk, or the like.

A RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily holds programs and data. The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores programs and data such as a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) executed when the mobile terminal 10 is started, OS settings, and network settings.

The CPU 106 is an arithmetic unit that realizes control and functions of the mobile terminal 10 as a whole by reading programs and data from a storage device such as the ROM 105 and the SSD 108 onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

Communication I/F 107 is an interface for connecting mobile terminal 10 to a mobile phone network, the Internet, or the like. Thereby, the mobile terminal 10 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 107 .

The SSD 108 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include, for example, an OS (Operating System), which is basic software that controls the entire mobile terminal 10, and application software that provides various functions on the OS. The SSD 108 manages stored programs and data using a predetermined file system and/or DB (database). Note that the information processing apparatus 1 may include an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like instead of the SSD 108 or in combination with the SSD 108 .

The short-range wireless communication device 109 is, for example, an NFC chip. Thereby, the mobile terminal 10 can perform data communication via the short-range wireless communication device 109 .

The mobile terminal 10 according to the present embodiment can implement various types of processing described later with the hardware configuration described above.

<<Image forming apparatus and information medium>>
The image forming apparatus 20 and the information medium 30 according to this embodiment are realized by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus and an information medium according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 3 has a controller 201, an operation panel 202, an external I/F 203, a communication I/F 204, a printer 205, and the like. A short-range wireless communication device 301 is attached to the outside (housing) of the image forming apparatus 20 as a configuration for realizing the information medium 30 .

The controller 201 has CPU211, RAM212, ROM213, NVRAM214, and HDD215. The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. A RAM 212 temporarily holds programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores, for example, setting information. Various programs and data are stored in the HDD 215 .

The CPU 211 reads out programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 213, the NVRAM 214, the HDD 215, and the like onto the RAM 212, and executes processing, thereby realizing overall control and functions of the image forming apparatus 20. FIG.

The operation panel 202 includes an input section for receiving input from the user and a display section for displaying. An external I/F 203 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 203a and the like. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 20 can read and/or write data on the recording medium 203a via the external I/F 203. FIG. The recording medium 203a includes a flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, USB memory, and the like.

A communication I/F 204 is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus 20 to the network N1. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 20 can perform data communication via the communication I/F 204 . A printer 205 is a printing device (image processing engine) for printing and outputting data to be printed.

The short-range wireless communication device 301 is, for example, an NFC chip. The information medium 30 can perform data communication with the mobile terminal 10 via the short-range wireless communication device 301 . The short-range wireless communication device 301 is configured outside the image forming apparatus 20 , for example, by attaching an NFC chip to a predetermined position of the housing of the image forming apparatus 20 . In this case, the NFC chip is preferably attached to a position where short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 10 is easy.

Note that the short-range wireless communication device 301 is not configured outside the image forming device 20, but is configured inside the image forming device 20 within a range where short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 10 is possible. may

The image forming apparatus 20 and the information medium 30 according to the present embodiment can implement various types of processing described later with the hardware configuration described above.

<Software configuration>
The printing system 1 according to this embodiment can be represented by functional blocks as shown in FIG. 4, for example. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an example of the printing system according to the first embodiment.

The mobile terminal 10 of the printing system 1 includes an overall control unit 11, an information acquisition unit 12, an information storage unit 13, a device-specific information acquisition unit 14, a device-specific information collation unit 15, a UI display unit 16, a processing request unit 17, and the like. . The image forming apparatus 20 of the printing system 1 also has a print function unit 21 and the like.

The overall control unit 11 is implemented by the CPU 106 or the like, and requests processing from other units in response to an operation performed by the user via the input device 101 or a request from each unit of the mobile terminal 10, for example.

The information acquisition unit 12 is implemented by the CPU 106, the short-range wireless communication device 109, etc., and acquires information such as an IP address and device-specific information from the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication. Hereinafter, the device-specific information acquired from the information medium 30 by the information acquisition unit 12 will be referred to as "first device-specific information" in order to distinguish it from the device-specific information acquired by the device-specific information acquisition unit 14, which will be described later. show. Also, the IP address acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 is an example of the first address information.

Here, the device-specific information is information that uniquely identifies the image forming apparatus 20 as described above. The device unique information is, for example, a manufacturing unique number (serial number) of the image forming apparatus 20, a MAC (Media Access Control) address, or a combination thereof. Further, the device-specific information may be a value (hash value) obtained by inputting, for example, a manufacturer's unique number (serial number), MAC address, or a combination thereof into a hash function of a predetermined algorithm.

The information storage unit 13 is realized by the ROM 105, the SSD 108, etc., and stores the first device-specific information acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 and the device-specific information acquired by the device-specific information acquisition unit .

The device-specific information acquisition unit 14 is realized by the CPU 106, the communication I/F 105, etc., and based on the IP address acquired from the information medium 30 by the information acquisition unit 12, acquires the device-specific information from the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by this IP address. get. Hereinafter, the device-specific information acquired by the device-specific information acquisition unit 14 will be referred to as "second device-specific information" in order to distinguish it from the first device-specific information.

The device-specific information matching unit 15 is realized by the CPU 106 or the like, and checks whether the first device-specific information stored in the information storage unit 13 and the second device-specific information acquired by the device-specific information acquisition unit 14 are the same. Determine whether or not there is

The UI display unit 16 is realized by the CPU 106, the display device 102, etc., and generates and displays a UI (user interface) screen.

The processing request unit 17 is implemented by the CPU 106 or the like, and requests the image forming apparatus 20 to execute a print job.

The print function unit 21 is implemented by the printer 205 or the like, and prints data to be printed included in a print job whose execution is requested by the process request unit 17 of the mobile terminal 10 . In addition to the print function unit 21, the image forming apparatus 20 includes a scan function unit for generating image data (electronic data) from a read document, a copy function unit for duplicating the read document, and a read document or electronic data. It may have a FAX function unit for FAX transmission of data via a telephone line or the like.

The information medium 30 is realized by the short-range wireless communication device 301, and stores information such as the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 to which the information medium 30 is attached and device-specific information. In addition, the information medium 30 transmits information such as an IP address and device-specific information stored in itself to the mobile terminal 10 via short-range wireless communication in response to a request from the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10. Send.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. First, the flow of print processing of the print system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of print processing according to the first embodiment.

In step S51, the user selects data to be printed from the print application installed in the mobile terminal 10 and issues a print instruction. Then, on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10, for example, a screen prompting the user to hold the mobile terminal 10 over the image forming apparatus 20 to be printed is displayed.

In step S52, the user holds the portable terminal 10 over the NFC chip (information medium 30) attached to the desired image forming apparatus 20 on which the data to be printed is to be printed.

In step S<b>53 , the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the IP address and device-specific information (first device-specific information) from the information medium 30 .

In step S<b>54 , the device-specific information acquisition unit 14 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires second device-specific information from the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the IP address based on the IP address acquired from the information medium 30 .

In step S55, the device-specific information matching unit 15 of the mobile terminal 10 determines whether the first device-specific information obtained from the information medium 30 and the second device-specific information obtained based on the IP address obtained from the information medium 30 are matched. Determine whether they are the same. If the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are the same, the process proceeds to step S56. If the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are different, the process proceeds to step S57.

In other words, when the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 to which the NFC chip (information medium 30) is attached to which the user holds up the mobile terminal 10 in step S52 is changed, the process proceeds to step S57. On the other hand, if it is not changed, it can be said that the process proceeds to step S56.

In step S56, if the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are the same, the processing request unit 17 of the mobile terminal 10 sends a request to the image forming device 20 indicated by the IP address obtained from the information medium 30. to send a print job. Upon receiving the print job from the mobile terminal 10, the print function unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 prints the print target data included in the print job.

In step S57, if the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are not the same, the UI display unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10 displays, for example, a warning on the display device 102 indicating that the IP address has been changed. display the screen. As a result, for example, when the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 is assigned using DHCP, the user can specify the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 (when the IP address is written to the information medium 30). ) can be known to have been changed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from sending a print job to an unintended image forming apparatus 20 and printing the print target data.

Next, a detailed flow of print processing of the print system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of an example of print processing according to the first embodiment.

In step S<b>61 , the user selects desired print target data from the print application installed in the mobile terminal 10 via the UI display unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10 and issues a print instruction.

In step S<b>62 , the UI display unit 16 of the portable terminal 10 notifies the overall control unit 11 of execution of the print job upon receiving the print instruction from the print application. Also, the UI display unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10 causes the display device 102 to display, for example, a screen prompting the mobile terminal 10 to be held over the information medium 30 (NFC chip) of the image forming apparatus 20 to be printed.

In step S63, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the information acquisition unit 12 to acquire an IP address, first device-specific information, and the like via short-range wireless communication. As a result, the portable terminal 10 is ready for short-range wireless communication with the information medium 30, and the state in which the screen in step S62 is displayed is maintained until the user holds the portable terminal 10 over the information medium 30. maintain.

In step S64, the user holds the portable terminal 10 over the NFC chip (information medium 30) attached to the desired image forming apparatus 20 for which the print target data is to be printed. Then, the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the IP address and the first device-specific information from the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication. At this time, the information acquisition unit 12 acquires, for example, an SSID (Service Set Identifier), information about an encryption method, a password for using a network, and an HTTP (HyperText) used when using functions of the image forming apparatus 20. Transfer Protocol) or HTTPS (HTTP over SSL/TLS) port number or the like may be acquired.

In the above description, the information acquiring unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the IP address, the first device-specific information, and the like from the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a QR code (registered trademark) is attached as the information medium 30 to the outside of the image forming apparatus 20, and the user uses a camera device (not shown) of the mobile terminal 10 to read the QR code. , the IP address, the first device-specific information, and the like may be obtained from the information medium 30 .

In step S65, the information acquisition unit 12 of the portable terminal 10 notifies the overall control unit 11 that information such as the IP address and the first device-specific information has been acquired from the information medium 30. FIG.

In step S66, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 causes the information storage unit 13 to store the first device-specific information acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 in step S64.

In step S67, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the device-specific information acquisition unit 14 to acquire the second device-specific information.

In step S68, based on the IP address acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 in step S64, the device-specific information acquisition unit 14 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the device-specific information (second device-specific information).

Note that the device-specific information described above can be acquired using MIB (Management Information Base), for example, when the device-specific information is a manufacturer's unique number (serial number) or MAC address of the image forming apparatus 20 . Also, for example, it is possible to acquire using a Web API provided by the image forming apparatus 20 . Further, for example, when the device unique information is the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 20, it can be acquired using ARP (Address Resolution Protocol).

In step S69, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 causes the information storage unit 13 to store the second device-specific information acquired by the device-specific information acquisition unit 14 in step S68.

In step S70, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the device unique information matching unit 15 to determine whether or not the first device unique information and the second device unique information are the same.

In step S<b>71 , the device-specific information matching unit 15 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information from the information storage unit 13 .

In step S72, the device-specific information matching unit 15 of the mobile terminal 10 determines whether or not the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information acquired from the information storage unit 13 are the same. is returned to the overall control unit 11 . Then, if the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are not the same according to the determination result received from the device-specific information collation unit 15, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 performs the process of step S73. On the other hand, if the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are the same, the process of step S75 is performed.

In step S73, the general control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 displays a warning screen indicating that the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 for which the user desires to print (desires to execute the print job) has been changed. A request is made to the UI display unit 16 .

In step S<b>74 , the UI display unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10 generates a warning screen and causes the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10 to display it. The warning screen displayed here is, for example, a warning screen 1000 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a warning screen.

A warning screen 1000 shown in FIG. 7 displays a message indicating that the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 may have been changed, along with device-specific information of the image forming apparatus 20 that the user is attempting to execute a print job. It is Thereby, for example, when the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 is assigned using DHCP, the user can know that the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 for printing has been changed. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from sending a print job to an unintended image forming apparatus 20 and printing the print target data.

When the user presses, for example, the OK button 1001 on the warning screen 1000 shown in FIG. 7, the print job is executed in the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the IP address acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 in step S64. Therefore, in this case, another image forming apparatus 20 (an image forming apparatus indicated by the IP address obtained by the information obtaining unit 12) different from the image forming apparatus 20 to which the information medium 30 to which the user holds the mobile terminal 10 is attached. The print job is executed in the device 20) and the data to be printed is printed. On the other hand, if the user presses, for example, a Cancel button 1002 on the warning screen 1000, execution of the print job is cancelled.

Alternatively, when the user presses a manual output destination setting button 1003, for example, on the warning screen 1000 shown in FIG. 7, an arbitrary IP address may be manually input. As a result, even when the warning screen 1000 is displayed, the user can input the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 to cause the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the input IP address to execute the print job. can be done.

In step S75, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the processing request unit 17 to execute the print job including the print target data selected in step S61.

In step S76, when the processing request unit 17 of the portable terminal 10 receives the print job execution request from the general control unit 11, the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the IP address acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 in step S64 is sent to the image forming apparatus 20. A print job is sent to and a request for execution of this print job is made.

In step S77, upon receiving the print job from the mobile terminal 10, the print function unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 executes the received print job and prints the print target data included in the print job. Thereby, the user can print the desired print target data with the desired image forming apparatus 20 .

[Second embodiment]
Next, a printing system 1 according to a second embodiment will be described. In the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment, when the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are not the same, the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 is obtained by sending an e-mail. . Therefore, even when the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 for which printing is to be performed has been changed, the user can cause the desired image forming apparatus 20 to execute the print job. Further, in the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment, when the mobile terminal 10 acquires the changed IP address, it writes this IP address to the information medium 30 to update the IP address. Note that, hereinafter, portions having substantially the same functions and portions performing the same processing as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

<Software configuration>
The printing system 1 according to this embodiment can be represented by functional blocks as shown in FIG. 8, for example. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an example of a printing system according to the second embodiment. The functional blocks of the image forming apparatus 20 and the information medium 30 are the same as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, the mobile terminal 10 has an information updating unit 18 and a mail transmitting/receiving unit 19 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.

The information update unit 18 is realized by the CPU 106 and the near field communication device 109 and updates information stored in the information medium 30 .

Mail transmitting/receiving unit 19 is implemented by CPU 106 and communication I/F 107 , and transmits mail for obtaining an IP address to image forming apparatus 20 according to the determination result of device-specific information collating unit 15 . Also, the mail transmission/reception unit 19 receives mail returned from the image forming apparatus 20 .

<Details of processing>
Next, details of processing of the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. First, the flow of printing processing of the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example of print processing according to the second embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the processing of steps S91 to S93. Therefore, only these processes will be described, and descriptions of other processes will be omitted.

In step S91, the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the IP address, device-specific information (first device-specific information) from the information medium 30, and the image forming apparatus 20 to which the information medium 30 is attached. Get an email address. In the following description, the IP address obtained by the information obtaining section 12 from the information medium 30 is referred to as a "first IP address" in order to distinguish it from the IP address obtained by the mail transmitting/receiving section 19. FIG.

In step S92, the mail transmission/reception unit 19 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits an e-mail requesting acquisition of an IP address to the e-mail address acquired in step S91, and acquires the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20. . Hereinafter, the IP address obtained by the mail transmission/reception unit 19 will be referred to as a "second IP address" in order to distinguish it from the first IP address. Such a second IP address is an example of third address information.

Then, the information updating unit 18 of the mobile terminal 10 updates (rewrites) the first IP address stored in the information medium 30 with the second IP address. As a result, the information of the first IP address becomes the same as the information of the second IP address.

In step S<b>93 , the processing request unit 17 of the mobile terminal 10 selects the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the first IP address or the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the second IP address according to the determination result of the device-specific information matching unit 15 . Send a print job to either Upon receiving the print job from the mobile terminal 10, the print function unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 prints the print target data included in the print job. As described above, in the second embodiment, even when the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 is changed, the desired image forming apparatus 20 can be used by sending an e-mail and acquiring the changed IP address. A print job can be executed.

Next, a detailed flow of print processing of the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram of an example of print processing according to the second embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the processing of steps S101 to S108. Therefore, only these processes will be described, and descriptions of other processes will be omitted.

In step S101, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the information acquisition unit 12 to acquire the first IP address, the first device-specific information, and the mail address via short-range wireless communication. Here, the e-mail address to be acquired is the e-mail address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 . Such an e-mail address is an example of the second address information.

As a result, the mobile terminal 10 is ready for short-range wireless communication with the information medium 30, and the screen displayed in step S62 is maintained until the user holds the mobile terminal 10 over the information medium 30. .

In addition, although the e-mail address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 is obtained in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the IP address of each image forming apparatus 20 included in the printing system 1 is assigned by DHCP, the mail address of the DHCP server may be obtained. In this case, the mail transmission/reception unit 19 of the mobile terminal 10 can acquire the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 from the DHCP server in the process of step S105, which will be described later. By doing so, the same e-mail address (the e-mail address of the DHCP server) can be written on the information medium 30 attached to each image forming apparatus 20 included in the printing system 1. can be reduced.

In step S102, the user holds the portable terminal 10 over the NFC chip (information medium 30) attached to the desired image forming apparatus 20 for which the user wants to print the data to be printed. Then, the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires the first IP address, the first device-specific information, and the mail address from the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication. At this time, the information acquisition unit 12 acquires, for example, information about the SSID and encryption method, a password for using the network, an HTTP or HTTPS port number used when using the functions of the image forming apparatus 20, and the like. What may be done is the same as in the first embodiment. Further, for example, a QR code is pasted as an information medium 30 on the outside of the image forming apparatus 20, and the user reads the QR code using a camera device (not shown) of the mobile terminal 10 to obtain information. Similarly to the first embodiment, the IP address, the first device-specific information, the mail address, etc. may be obtained from the medium 30 .

In step S103, the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 determines that the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are not the same as the determination result by the device-specific information collation unit 15, the mail transmission/reception unit 19 request to send an email to

In step S104, the mail transmitting/receiving unit 19 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a mail requesting acquisition of the IP address (second IP address) to the mail address acquired by the information acquiring unit 12 in step S102. do. The mail requesting acquisition of the second IP address may be directly sent by the mail transmitting/receiving unit 19, or may be processed in cooperation with mail software installed in the mobile terminal 10, for example. may send the mail. Alternatively, the mail transmission/reception unit 19 may simply display the mail address on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10 to prompt the user to send mail to the mail address.

In step S<b>105 , when the image forming apparatus 20 receives the mail requesting acquisition of the IP address from the mobile terminal 10 , the image forming apparatus 20 replies to the mobile terminal 10 with an email containing its own IP address (second IP address). Then, upon receiving the mail sent back from the image forming apparatus 20 (reply mail), the mail transmission/reception unit 19 of the mobile terminal 10 notifies the overall control unit 11 that the second IP address has been acquired.

It should be noted that, for example, when the mail software installed in the mobile terminal 10 receives a reply mail, the mail software and the mail transmission/reception unit 19 perform processing in cooperation, and the mail software sends the mail transmission/reception unit 19 the second IP address. may be sent. Alternatively, the second IP address may be sent to the mail transmitting/receiving unit 19 when the user opens the reply mail using mail software and clicks (selects) a predetermined link or the like described in the reply mail. .

On the other hand, when the mail transmitting/receiving section 19 receives a reply mail, the second IP address described in the reply mail may be automatically acquired. In this case, the image forming apparatus 20 transmits an SMS (Short Message Service) containing the second IP address to the mobile terminal 10, for example. That is, in step S<b>104 described above, the mail transmitting/receiving unit 19 acquires the telephone number of the mobile terminal 10 and transmits to the image forming apparatus 20 an email containing the acquired telephone number. The image forming apparatus 20 then transmits an SMS describing the second IP address to this telephone number.

In step S<b>106 , the overall control unit 11 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the information updating unit 18 to update the first IP address stored in the information medium 30 .

In step S107, when the information updating unit 18 of the mobile terminal 10 receives an update request for the information medium 30 from the overall control unit 11, the first IP address stored in the information medium 30 is obtained in step S105. The information is updated to the same information as the second IP address. As a result, the first IP address stored in the information medium 30 is updated to the IP address assigned to the image forming apparatus 20 with which the user desires to print. When the update of the information medium 30 is completed, the information update section 18 of the portable terminal 10 notifies the overall control section 11 of the completion of the update.

When the information updating unit 18 of the mobile terminal 10 receives an update request for the information medium 30 from the overall control unit 11, the information updating unit 18 causes the display device 102 to display a screen prompting the user to hold the mobile terminal 10 over the information medium 30 to be updated. may After that, when the user holds the mobile terminal 10 over the information medium 30, the first IP address stored in the information medium 30 is updated to the second IP address through short-range wireless communication. may

Note that updating of the IP address stored in the information medium 30 may be permitted only to a user who has administrator authority of the printing system 1, for example.

In step S108, the process requesting unit 17 of the mobile terminal 10 receives the print job execution request from the overall control unit 11, and then the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the first IP address acquired by the information acquiring unit 12 in step S64. Alternatively, the print job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the second IP address acquired by the mail transmission/reception unit 19 in step S105, and a request for execution of this print job is made. That is, when the determination result by the device unique information collating unit 15 indicates that the first device unique information and the second device unique information are the same, the processing request unit 17 receives the first IP address. transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by . On the other hand, if the determination result by the device-specific information matching unit 15 indicates that the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are different, the processing request unit 17 determines whether the second IP address indicates A print job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 . This allows the user to print with the intended image forming apparatus 20 even if the IP address of the desired image forming apparatus 20 has been changed.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a printing system 1 according to a third embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus 20 according to the third embodiment, the operation panel and the main unit independently control power. Note that, hereinafter, portions having substantially the same functions and portions performing the same processing as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

<Hardware configuration>
The image forming apparatus 20 according to the third embodiment is implemented by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 11, for example. FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus and an information medium according to the third embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 according to the third embodiment differs in that an operation panel 202A has a CPU 206 and a storage device 207. FIG. Here, the storage device 207 is, for example, RAM, ROM, or the like.

Also, in the third embodiment, the controller 201, the external I/F 203, the communication I/F 204, and the printer 205 are referred to as a main unit 208 for convenience. That is, the image forming apparatus 20 includes an operation panel 202A that is a user interface, and a main unit 208 that performs processing related to image formation.

<Software configuration>
The printing system 1 according to the third embodiment can be represented by functional blocks as shown in FIG. 12, for example. FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of an example printing system according to the third embodiment.

An image forming apparatus 20 according to the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that it has a power control section 22 .

The power control unit 22 is realized by the CPU 211, the CPU 206, etc., and controls the power states of the operation panel 202A and the main unit 208. FIG. Here, power states of the operation panel 202A and the main unit 208 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of power states of the operation panel and the main body.

As shown in FIG. 13, the power state of the operation panel 202A includes "power ON" indicating a state in which power is supplied to the operation panel 202A and "power OFF" indicating a state in which power is not supplied to the operation panel 202A. ”. On the other hand, the power state of the main unit 208 includes a "standby state" indicating a state in which power is supplied to the entire main unit 208, and a state in which power is supplied to each unit of the main unit 208 excluding the image processing engine such as the printer 205. There is "Engine OFF" indicating the state that the engine is turned on. The power state of the main unit 208 includes "STR (Suspend To RAM)" indicating a state in which power is not supplied to each unit of the main unit 208 except for the RAM 212 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the power state of the operation panel 202A is "power ON", the power state of the main unit 208 is one of "standby state", "engine OFF", and "STR". Obtainable. Similarly, when the power state of operation panel 202A is "power OFF", the power state of main unit 208 can be "standby state", "engine OFF", or "STR".

As described above, the power control unit 22 of the image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment can independently control the power states of the operation panel 202A and the main unit 208 . As a result, in the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 20 can be reduced, and the user's waiting time for print processing can be reduced.

That is, as described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the print processing in the image forming apparatus 20 is performed by the user operating the mobile terminal 10 . Therefore, by setting the power state of the operation panel 202A of the image forming apparatus 20 to "power off" and the power state of the main unit 208 to "standby state" or "engine off", the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 20 can be reduced. Electric power can be reduced. In other words, when the user uses the mobile terminal 10 as a user interface of the image forming apparatus 10, power is supplied to the main unit 208 while power is not supplied to the operation panel 202A. Electric power can be reduced.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the power state of the operation panel 202A is set to "power off", while the power state of the main unit 208 is set to "standby state" or "engine power state." OFF". Therefore, compared to when power is not supplied to the entire image forming apparatus 20, the user's waiting time in print processing (that is, the time required to supply power to the main unit 208) can be reduced.

Here, for example, when the user performs print processing via the operation panel 202</b>A, if a predetermined time elapses without any operation or input being made on the operation panel 202 , the power control unit 22 causes the main unit 208 may be set to "STR". That is, when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the last operation or input was performed on the operation panel 202A, the power control unit 22 keeps the power state of the operation panel 202A as "power ON", The power state of the unit 208 may be "STR".

Thereby, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus 20 can be reduced. Further, since the power state of the operation panel 202A remains "power ON", the user's waiting time is also reduced. When the power state of main unit 208 is "STR", if any operation or input is performed on operation panel 202A, power control unit 22 changes the power state of main unit 208 to "standby state". do it.

Also, the power control unit 22 may control the power states of the main unit 208 and the operation panel 202A in conjunction with the mode of the image forming apparatus 20, for example. Here, the mode includes, for example, a mode in which the portable terminal 10 described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment issues a print job execution request based on the IP address acquired from the information medium 30 . Modes include, for example, a mode that requires login when requesting execution of a print job, a mode that does not require login when requesting execution of a print job, and the like.

At this time, the power control unit 22 sets the power state of the main unit 208 to “STR” in the mode of requesting execution of a print job based on the IP address acquired by the mobile terminal 10 and in the mode requiring login, for example. ”, and the power state of the operation panel 202A is set to “power ON”.

Further, for example, in a mode in which a print job execution request is made based on the IP address acquired by the mobile terminal 10 and a mode in which login is not required, the power control unit 22 changes the power state of the main unit 208 to the "standby state." ”, and the power state of the operation panel 202A is set to “power OFF”.

Further, for example, when the mobile terminal 10 is in a mode in which an IP address is not obtained from the information medium 30 and a mode in which login is required, the power control unit 22 sets the power state of the main unit 208 to "STR", and the power state of the operation panel 202A to "STR". The power state is set to "power ON".

Further, for example, when the portable terminal 10 is in a mode in which an IP address is not obtained from the information medium 30 and a mode in which login is not required, the power control unit 22 sets the power state of the main unit 208 to "STR", and the power state of the operation panel 202A to "STR". The power state is set to "power OFF".

<Summary>
As described above, in the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the first device-specific information obtained from the information medium 30 and the second device-specific information obtained based on the IP address obtained from the information medium 30 are are the same. If it is determined that they are not the same, it is assumed that the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 intended to execute the print job by the user has been changed, and execution of the print job is stopped. As a result, it is possible to prevent the print job from being executed in the image forming apparatus 20 not intended by the user.

Further, in the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment, when it is determined that the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are not the same, an e-mail is sent to a predetermined e-mail address so that the user can Obtain the IP address of the desired image forming device 20 intended to execute the print job. Accordingly, even if the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 has been changed, the user can cause the desired image forming apparatus 20 to execute the print job.

Furthermore, in the printing system 1 according to the third embodiment, the operation panel 202A and the main unit 208 of the image forming apparatus 20 are independently controlled in power. Therefore, it is possible to reduce power consumption of the image forming apparatus 20 and reduce user waiting time in print processing.

The information acquisition unit 12 is an example of first acquisition means. The device unique information acquisition unit 14 is an example of a second acquisition unit. The device-specific information matching unit 15 is an example of determination means. The processing requesting unit 17 is an example of processing requesting means. The UI display unit 16 is an example of display means. The mail transmission/reception unit 19 is an example of a third acquisition unit. The information updating unit 18 is an example of updating means.

The invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments above, but various modifications and changes are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

1 printing system 10 mobile terminal 11 overall control unit 12 information acquisition unit 13 information storage unit 14 device unique information acquisition unit 15 device unique information collation unit 16 UI display unit 17 processing request unit 18 information update unit 19 mail transmission/reception unit 20 image forming apparatus 21 print function unit 30 information medium

Patent No. 5121212

Claims (15)

An information processing device connected to one or more devices via a network,
connecting the information processing device to the information medium by bringing the information processing device close to the information medium; first address information; a first acquisition means for acquiring via short-range wireless communication,
The short-range wireless communication is the second device-specific information that connects to the device indicated by the first address information acquired by the first acquisition means and uniquely identifies the device indicated by the first address information. a second acquisition means for acquiring via different wireless communication;
The first device-specific information obtained by the first obtaining means from an information medium in close proximity to the information processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication, and the first address information by the second obtaining means. Determination means for determining whether or not the same device is indicated by the second device-specific information acquired from the device indicated by through wireless communication different from the short-range wireless communication,
displaying a warning screen on the screen of the information processing device in proximity to the information medium when the determining means determines that the same device is not indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information; screen control means,
A program to function as the information processing device,
A request for requesting the device indicated by the first address information to execute a process when the determining means determines that the same device is indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information. means,
2. The program according to claim 1, for functioning as a The warning screen
2. The program according to claim 1, further comprising a display indicating that the address of the device identified by said first device-specific information may have been changed. The warning screen
3. The program according to claim 2, further comprising a display for selecting whether or not to continue the processing request to the device indicated by said first address information. The determination means is
2. The program according to claim 1, determining that the same device is indicated when the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information are the same. The warning screen
3. The program according to claim 2, further comprising a display for accepting input of an address of a device to which said processing is requested. The first acquisition means further acquires second address information for acquiring the address of the device identified by the first device unique information,
The information processing device is
If the determination means determines that the same device is not indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information, the first device-specific information based on the second address information a third acquisition means for acquiring third address information indicating the address of the device to be identified;
function as
3. The program according to claim 2, wherein said requesting means requests the device indicated by the third address information acquired by said third acquiring means to execute processing. The information processing device is
updating means for updating the first address information stored in a predetermined information medium with the third address information acquired by the third acquiring means;
8. The program according to claim 7, for functioning as The short-range wireless communication is communication using an NFC chip,
The first acquisition means is
2. The program according to claim 1, which acquires the first address information and the first device-specific information via an NFC chip configured outside any one of the one or more devices. . 10. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said second acquisition means acquires said second device-specific information from an MIB of a device indicated by said first address information. 10. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said second acquisition means acquires said second device-specific information via a WebAPI provided by a device indicated by said first address information. 12. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said information medium is a near field communication device using an NFC chip. An information processing device connected to one or more devices via a network,
connecting the information processing device to the information medium by bringing the information processing device close to the information medium; first address information; a first acquisition means for acquiring via short-range wireless communication;
The short-range wireless communication is the second device-specific information that connects to the device indicated by the first address information acquired by the first acquisition means and uniquely identifies the device indicated by the first address information. a second acquisition means for acquiring via different wireless communication;
The first device-specific information obtained by the first obtaining means from an information medium in close proximity to the information processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication, and the first address information by the second obtaining means. Determination means for determining whether or not the same device is indicated by the second device-specific information acquired from the device indicated by through wireless communication different from the short-range wireless communication,
displaying a warning screen on the screen of the information processing device in proximity to the information medium when the determining means determines that the same device is not indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information; screen control means;
Information processing device having An information processing system having one or more devices and an information processing device connected to the one or more devices via a network,
connecting the information processing device to the information medium by bringing the information processing device close to the information medium; first address information; a first acquisition means for acquiring via short-range wireless communication;
The short-range wireless communication is the second device-specific information that connects to the device indicated by the first address information acquired by the first acquisition means and uniquely identifies the device indicated by the first address information. a second acquisition means for acquiring via different wireless communication;
The first device-specific information obtained by the first obtaining means from an information medium in close proximity to the information processing apparatus via the short-range wireless communication, and the first address information by the second obtaining means. means for determining whether or not the same device is indicated by the second device-specific information acquired from the device indicated by through wireless communication different from the short-range wireless communication;
displaying a warning screen on the screen of the information processing device in proximity to the information medium when the determining means determines that the same device is not indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information; screen control means;
An information processing system having An information processing method used in an information processing apparatus connected to one or more devices via a network,
connecting the information processing device to the information medium by bringing the information processing device close to the information medium; first address information; a first acquisition procedure for acquiring via short-range wireless communication;
The short-range wireless communication is the second device-specific information that connects to the device indicated by the first address information acquired by the first acquisition procedure and uniquely identifies the device indicated by the first address information. a second acquisition procedure for acquiring via a different wireless communication;
The first device-specific information obtained through the short-range wireless communication from the information medium in proximity to the information processing device by the first obtaining procedure, and the first address information by the second obtaining procedure. A determination procedure for determining whether or not the same device is indicated by the second device-specific information acquired from the device indicated by through wireless communication different from the short-range wireless communication;
When it is determined by the determination procedure that the same device is not indicated by the first device-specific information and the second device-specific information, a warning screen is displayed on the screen of the information processing device in proximity to the information medium. a screen control procedure;
An information processing method comprising:

Images