JP7484510B2 - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

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

There is a technology that notifies users that a program has been installed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an installation notification device that notifies a specific user when a new program is installed on the recording medium of an electronic device such as a multifunction device.

JP 2012-141814 A

However, for example, when installing or uninstalling application programs simultaneously on multiple terminals that are not associated one-to-one with a user, the user may not notice what has changed on the screen that accepts the launch of the application programs.

The purpose of the present invention is to make the user aware of changes that occur in the arrangement of images representing functions on a screen that accepts operations to select functions to be executed by the terminal.

The information processing device of claim 1 of the present invention has a processor, which acquires a screen that accepts user operations to select a function to be executed by the terminal, and when a change occurs in the arrangement of images indicating each of the functions on the acquired screen, determines a user to be notified of information regarding the change based on the frequency of past use of the terminal, and notifies the notification destination indicating the determined user of information regarding the change .

The information processing device according to claim 2 of the present invention is an information processing device in the aspect described in claim 1, in which the processor notifies the user of information about the function when any of the functions is added or deleted from the terminal and a change occurs.

An information processing device according to claim 3 of the present invention is an information processing device in an aspect described in claim 1 or 2 , wherein the processor re-notifies the information if the user to whom the information was notified does not use the terminal within a predetermined period of time.

An information processing device according to claim 4 of the present invention is an information processing device in an aspect described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the processor re-notifies the information if there is no response from the user to whom the information was notified within a predetermined period of time.

The program of claim 5 of the present invention is a program that causes a computer having a processor to execute the following steps: acquiring a screen that accepts user operations for selecting a function to be executed by the terminal; when a change occurs in the arrangement of images indicating each of the functions on the acquired screen, determining a user to be notified of information regarding the change based on the frequency with which the user has used the terminal in the past; and notifying the determined notification destination indicating the user of information regarding the change .

According to the invention as set forth in claims 1 and 5 , the user can notice a change that occurs in the arrangement of images representing functions on a screen that accepts an operation to select a function to be executed by the terminal.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the user can notice that any of the functions has been added or deleted.
According to the third aspect of the present invention , a user who has not used a terminal within a set period of time is notified again of changes on the screen of the terminal.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, a user who is notified of a change on the screen of the terminal and who does not respond to the notification within a determined period of time is notified of the change again.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system 9. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a user DB 121. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a terminal DB 122. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a cache DB 123. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a usage registration DB 124. FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a terminal 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an application DB 221. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen displayed on terminal 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a server device 4; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an icon DB 421. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an information processing device 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation flow of the information processing device 1. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a generated UI screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device 1 according to a modified example. FIG. 4 shows an example of a history DB 125. FIG. 4 shows an example of a seat DB 126. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of seats indicated by a seat DB 126.

<Embodiment>
<Configuration of Information Processing System>
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system 9. The information processing system 9 shown in Fig. 1 is a system that monitors user operations and manages documents used by the user in a workflow. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 9 has an information processing device 1, a terminal 2, a communication line 3, a server device 4, and a communication line 5.

The information processing device 1 is a device that monitors updates to a user interface screen (hereinafter also referred to as a "UI screen") on the terminal 2 and notifies the user. The UI screen is a screen that accepts user operations to select a function to be executed by the terminal 2. The information processing device 1 is, for example, a computer.

The terminal 2 is a terminal device that receives operations from a user and performs image-related processing. The terminal 2 shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, an image forming device, an image reading device, a facsimile, a copier, etc. Note that the terminal 2 may also be a terminal device that is carried and operated by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet PC, and performs processing according to the operation.

The server device 4 is a device that stores data (hereinafter also referred to as "icon data") indicating icons of application programs (hereinafter also referred to as "apps") installed on the terminal 2. The server device 4 provides the above-mentioned icon data in response to a request from the information processing device 1, for example. An app is software that is activated by a user operating the terminal 2 to provide the user with a predetermined function. The server device 4 is, for example, a computer.

An "icon" is an image that allows a user to recognize an app on the UI screen described above. When the UI screen includes an icon, the user recognizes that the app associated with that icon is installed on terminal 2. Furthermore, when terminal 2 receives an operation by the user on the icon, such as clicking, tapping, or dragging, it launches the app associated with that icon and changes its placement on the UI screen or deletes it.

The communication line 3 is a line that connects the information processing device 1 and the terminal 2 so that they can communicate with each other. The communication line 5 is a line that connects the communication line 3 and the server device 4 so that they can communicate with each other. The communication line 3 and the communication line 5 may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, or a combination of these. Furthermore, the communication line 3 and the communication line 5 may include a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), or the like.

The number of information processing devices 1, terminals 2, communication lines 3, server devices 4, and communication lines 5 in the information processing system 9 is not limited to those shown in FIG. 1. For example, the information processing device 1 may be configured as a cluster system in which multiple devices share functions.

<Configuration of information processing device>
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 shown in Fig. 2 has a processor 11, a memory 12, and an interface 13. These components are connected to each other via, for example, a bus so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The processor 11 controls each part of the information processing device 1 by reading and executing programs stored in the memory 12. The processor 11 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

The interface 13 is a communication circuit that communicatively connects the information processing device 1 to the terminal 2 via the communication line 3, either wired or wirelessly. The interface 13 is also a communication circuit that communicatively connects the information processing device 1 to the server device 4 via the communication line 3 and the communication line 5.

Memory 12 is a storage means for storing an operating system, various programs, data, etc., that are loaded into processor 11. Memory 12 has a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory). Note that memory 12 may also have a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, etc. Memory 12 also stores a user DB 121, a terminal DB 122, a cache DB 123, and a usage registration DB 124.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of user DB 121. User DB 121 shown in Figure 3 is a database that stores user IDs that identify each user of information processing system 9 and notification destination IDs that identify the notification destination of that user in association with each other. The notification destination ID is, for example, an email address. In the example shown in Figure 3, for example, the notification destination ID stored in association with user ID "U01" is "u01@xyz.com". Note that the notification destination ID is not limited to an email address, and may be an SNS (Social Networking Service) account, a telephone number, an SMS (Short Message Service) number, etc.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the terminal DB 122. The terminal DB 122 is a database that stores an arrangement of icons indicating apps on a UI screen for each of the terminals 2 managed by the information processing device 1. The terminal DB 122 shown in FIG. 4 has a terminal ID list 1221 and an arrangement table 1222.

The terminal ID list 1221 is a table that stores, in association with each other, a terminal ID, which is identification information for identifying each terminal 2, the hardware or software of the terminal 2, a type ID, which is identification information for identifying the type of the terminal 2 determined by a combination of these, and an update date and time indicating the date and time when the UI screen was updated. For example, in the terminal ID list 1221 shown in FIG. 4, the type of the terminal 2 identified by the terminal ID "T11" is the type identified by the type ID "V8".

In the terminal ID list 1221, each listed terminal ID is associated with one array table 1222. The array table 1222 is a table that stores information on a UI screen that is displayed to a user and accepts operations from the user on the terminal 2 identified in the associated terminal ID list. The array table 1222 shown in FIG. 4 is associated with the terminal ID "T11" described in the terminal ID list 1221. This array table 1222 stores the items of the array ID, app ID, app name, and update information in association with each other.

The array ID described in the array table 1222 is identification information that identifies the position at which the icons are arranged on the UI screen described above. The app ID is identification information that identifies the app whose corresponding icon is arranged at the position identified by the associated array ID in this array table 1222. The app name is the name of the app identified by the corresponding app ID. The update information is information related to the update of the icon arrangement on the UI screen.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of cache DB 123. Cache DB 123 is a database that stores icon data of icons representing apps installed on terminal 2 in association with the type of terminal 2. This cache DB 123 has a type ID list 1231 and an icon data table 1232.

The type ID list 1231 is a list that lists type IDs, which are identification information that identify the types of the terminals 2 described above. In addition to type IDs, the type ID list 1231 shown in FIG. 5 stores arrangement rule information, which is information that defines the rules for arranging icons (called arrangement rules), in association with each type identified by the type ID.

Each of these type IDs listed in the type ID list 1231 is associated with an icon data table 1232. The icon data table 1232 is a table that stores, for each app ID, icon data of an icon displayed on the UI screen for each app identified by that app ID. This icon data table 1232 functions as a cache that stores icon data acquired by the information processing device 1 from the server device 4.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the usage registration DB 124. The usage registration DB 124 is a database that stores (i.e., registers) for each terminal ID, the terminal 2 identified by that terminal ID, in association with a user ID indicating a user who should be notified of changes that occur on the UI screen of that terminal 2 in order to use that terminal 2. The usage registration DB 124 has a terminal ID list 1241 and a user ID list 1242.

In the usage registration DB 124 shown in FIG. 6, the terminal ID list 1241 is a list that lists the terminal IDs of the terminals 2 managed by the information processing device 1. Each terminal ID described in the terminal ID list 1241 is stored in association with a user ID list 1242. The user ID list 1242 is a list that lists user IDs that identify each user who is to be notified of a change in the arrangement of icons that occurs on the UI screen of the terminal 2 identified by the corresponding terminal ID. The usage registration DB 124 is edited, for example, by the administrator of the information processing device 1. In this case, the users and the terminals 2 are associated with each other according to the administrator's intentions.

<Device configuration>
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal 2. The terminal 2 shown in Fig. 7 includes a processor 21, a memory 22, an interface 23, an operation unit 24, a display unit 25, and an image processing unit 26. These components are connected to each other via, for example, a bus so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The processor 21 controls each part of the terminal 2 by reading and executing the programs stored in the memory 22. The processor 21 is, for example, a CPU.

The interface 23 is a communication circuit that connects the terminal 2 and the information processing device 1 so that they can communicate with each other via the communication line 3, either wired or wirelessly.

The operation unit 24 has various operators such as operation buttons, a keyboard, and a mouse for issuing various instructions, and receives operations and sends signals corresponding to the contents of the operations to the processor 21. The operation unit 24 shown in FIG. 7 has a touch panel 241 as one of the operators described above.

The display unit 25 displays the specified image under the control of the processor 21. The display unit 25 shown in FIG. 7 has a liquid crystal display 251 which is a display screen for displaying the above-mentioned image. The transparent touch panel 241 of the operation unit 24 is disposed on top of this liquid crystal display 251.

The image processing unit 26 executes image-related processing under the control of the processor 21. The image processing unit 26 shown in FIG. 7 has a forming unit 261 and a reading unit 262. The forming unit 261 forms a specified image on a medium such as paper, for example, by electrophotography or the like. The reading unit 262 has, for example, an irradiation device such as an LED (light emitting diode), an optical system such as a lens, and an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and reads the image formed on the medium and generates image data representing the image.

The memory 22 is a storage means for storing the operating system, various programs, data, etc., that are loaded into the processor 21. The memory 22 includes a RAM and a ROM. The memory 22 may also include a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, etc. The memory 22 also stores an app DB 221.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the app DB 221. The app DB 221 is a database that stores information indicating the arrangement of icons on the UI screen of the terminal 2. The app DB 221 stores the following items in association with each other: an arrangement ID, an app ID, an app name, app data, and icon data.

In the app DB 221 shown in FIG. 8, the array ID is identification information that identifies the position where the icons are arranged on the UI screen of the terminal 2. The app ID is an app ID that identifies the app, and the app name is the name of the app. The app data is binary data that indicates the content of the app itself. And the icon data is data that indicates the icon that shows the corresponding app on the UI screen.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen displayed on terminal 2. This UI screen is displayed, for example, on the liquid crystal display 251 of the display unit 25 of terminal 2. The processor 21 of terminal 2 draws icons indicated by icon data associated with an array ID stored in the app DB 221 in an array identified by that array ID, according to the array rules defined for the type to which the terminal 2 belongs.

For example, the UI screen shown in FIG. 9(a) is displayed for a type identified by type ID "V8". For this type, the number of icons that the UI screen can display on one page is six, with two rows and three columns, and the icons are arranged with the column direction (i.e., vertical direction) as the main scanning direction and the row direction (i.e., horizontal direction) as the sub-scanning direction. Also, for this type, buttons B1 and B2 are arranged to the left and right of the six icons on the UI screen.

For example, when the user clicks buttons B1 and B2, the user's field of view moves left and right, respectively. The unit of this movement is, for example, a page. As shown in FIG. 9(a), there are no icons for array IDs "L3" and "L5", and icons are drawn for the others.

For example, the UI screen shown in FIG. 9(b) is displayed for a type identified by type ID "V9". For this type, the number of icons that the UI screen can display on one page is nine, with three rows and three columns, and the icons are arranged with the rows as the main scanning direction and the columns as the sub-scanning direction. For this type, buttons B3 and B4 are arranged above and below the nine icons on the UI screen.

For example, when the user clicks buttons B3 and B4, the user's field of view moves up and down, respectively. The unit of this movement is, for example, a line.

<Configuration of Server Device>
Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server device 4. The server device 4 shown in Fig. 10 includes a processor 41, a memory 42, and an interface 43. These components are connected to each other via, for example, a bus so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The processor 41 controls each part of the server device 4 by reading and executing the programs stored in the memory 42. The processor 41 is, for example, a CPU.

The interface 43 is a communication circuit that connects the server device 4 and the information processing device 1 so that they can communicate with each other via the communication line 5 and the communication line 3, either wired or wirelessly.

The memory 42 is a storage means for storing the operating system, various programs, data, etc., that are loaded into the processor 41. The memory 42 includes a RAM and a ROM. The memory 42 may also include a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, etc. The memory 42 also stores an icon DB 421.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of icon DB 421. Icon DB 421 is a database that stores icon data of icons representing all apps installed on terminal 2, in association with each type of terminal 2. This icon DB 421 has a type ID list 4211 and an icon data table 4212.

The type ID list 4211 shown in FIG. 11 is a list that lists all type IDs. Each type ID listed in the type ID list 4211 is associated with an icon data table 4212. The icon data table 4212 is a table that stores, for all apps that can be installed on a terminal 2 of a type identified by the associated type ID, the app ID and the icon data of the icon that represents the app on the UI screen in association with each other.

<Functional configuration of information processing device>
12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing device 1. The processor 11 of the information processing device 1 executes a program stored in the memory 12 to function as a first acquisition unit 111, a second acquisition unit 112, a generation unit 113, and a notification unit 114.

When a change occurs in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen, the terminal 2 notifies the information processing device 1 of information related to the change. The first acquisition unit 111 acquires information related to the above-mentioned change from the terminal 2 via the interface 13. For example, the terminal 2 notifies the information processing device 1 that the UI screen has been updated when an app is newly installed or uninstalled (also called deleted), when the arrangement of icons representing apps on the UI screen has been changed, etc. The first acquisition unit 111 updates the terminal DB 122 based on the acquired information.

For example, the terminal DB 122 shown in FIG. 4 indicates that terminal 2 identified by terminal ID "T11" has performed the following three updates to the UI screen. The first is an update to newly install an app identified by app ID "A22", whose icon is arranged in a position identified by array ID "L2". The second is an update to delete an app whose icon is arranged in a position identified by array ID "L3". The third is an update to move an icon arranged in a position identified by array ID "L5" to a position identified by array ID "L9".

The app indicated by this moved icon is the app identified by app ID "A24". The first acquisition unit 111 stores in the terminal DB 122 the changes caused by these updates to the arrangement of icons on the UI screen. As a result, the contents of the updates are stored in the terminal DB 122 as update information.

The second acquisition unit 112 shown in FIG. 12 acquires icon data indicating icons constituting the updated UI screen from the cache DB 123. Furthermore, when the icon data stored in the cache DB 123 is insufficient to generate the updated UI screen, the second acquisition unit 112 requests the icon data from the server device 4 via the interface 13 and acquires it. The second acquisition unit 112 stores the icon data acquired from the server device 4 in the cache DB 123.

The generation unit 113 generates the above-mentioned changed UI screen using information regarding the change in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen of the terminal 2 acquired by the first acquisition unit 111 and the icon data acquired by the second acquisition unit 112. By functioning as the first acquisition unit 111, the second acquisition unit 112, and the generation unit 113, the processor 11 acquires a UI screen that accepts a user's operation to select one of the functions of an app to be executed by the terminal 2. In other words, this processor 11 is an example of a processor that acquires a screen that accepts a user's operation to select one of the functions to be executed by the terminal.

The notification unit 114 refers to the usage registration DB 124 and the user DB 121 to identify the notification destination ID of the user to be notified of the change that has occurred in the UI screen, and notifies the user indicated by the identified notification destination ID of the UI screen generated by the generation unit 113. The notification unit 114 shown in FIG. 12 notifies the user by superimposing a guide based on the update information stored in the terminal DB 122 on the UI screen generated by the generation unit 113. This allows the user to know the details of the change that has occurred in the UI screen along with the changed UI screen. The processor 11 functioning as this notification unit 114 is an example of a processor that notifies the user of information regarding a change when a change occurs in the arrangement of images showing each of the functions on the screen of the terminal 2 that accepts the user's operation to select a function.

<Operation of the information processing device>
13 is a flow diagram showing an example of the flow of operations of the information processing device 1. The processor 11 of the information processing device 1 judges whether or not a notice that a UI screen has been updated (also called an update notice) has been received from any of the terminals 2 via the interface 13 (step S101). While it is judged that an update notice has not been received (step S101; NO), the processor 11 continues this judgment.

On the other hand, when it is determined that an update notification has been received from any of the terminals 2 (step S101; YES), the processor 11 identifies all icon data representing each of the apps that will be selected on the updated UI screen based on the contents of the update notification. The processor 11 then determines whether or not there is any icon data among the identified icon data that is not stored in the cache DB 123, that is, whether or not there is any app for which there is no icon data in the cache DB 123 (step S102).

If it is determined that there is an application for which there is no icon data (step S102; YES), the processor 11 requests icon data indicating an icon corresponding to that application from the server device 4 (step S103) and obtains that icon data from the server device 4 (step S104).

Then, the processor 11 judges whether the acquisition of the icon data in step S104 was successful (step S105). If it is judged that the acquisition of the icon data was not successful (step S105; NO), the processor 11 generates icon data (referred to as alternative icon data) to replace the icon data (step S106).

If it is determined in step S102 that there is no app that does not have icon data in cache DB 123 (step S102; NO), and if it is determined in step S105 that acquisition of icon data was successful (step S105; YES), processor 11 advances the process to step S107.

The processor 11 generates a UI screen after the arrangement of the icons has changed (step S107). At this time, the processor 11 further adds an annotation to the generated UI screen indicating the content of the change.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a generated UI screen. The processor 11 of the information processing device 1 generates the UI screen shown in Fig. 14 using the update notification acquired from the terminal 2 and the icon data acquired from the server device 4. On this UI screen, annotations M1, M2, M3, and M4 are drawn on top of the UI screen after it has been updated on the terminal 2, explaining the arrangement of the icons that has changed due to the update.

For example, annotation M1 includes the character string "new." When this annotation M1 is drawn over an icon, it indicates that the app represented by the icon has been newly installed.

For example, annotation M2 includes the character string "Deleted." This lets the user know that some icon that was displayed in the upper right corner of the UI screen shown in FIG. 14 has disappeared due to the deletion of the app. Note that annotation M2 may also inform the user of the name of the deleted app (i.e., the app name). In this case, memory 12 may store information about the deleted app, such as the app ID and app name, as update information in terminal DB 122, along with the fact that the app was deleted.

In this case, therefore, processor 11 is an example of a processor that notifies the user of information about a function when a change occurs due to the addition or deletion of any of the functions to the terminal.

For example, annotation M3 includes the character string "Moved," and annotation M4 includes an arrow extending from annotation M3 to the lower right. This allows the user to know that the icon associated with the app named "Scanner," which was displayed in the center of the UI screen shown in FIG. 14, has moved to the lower right.

The processor 11, for example, identifies the notification destination ID of the user associated with the terminal 2 that sent the update notification from the user registration DB 124 (step S108), and notifies the user of the generated annotated UI screen using this notification destination ID (step S109).

As a result, information regarding the change in the arrangement of icons indicating apps that has occurred on the UI screen of terminal 2 is notified to the user associated with this terminal 2 by the usage registration DB 124. That is, in this case, processor 11 is an example of a processor that notifies a user associated with a terminal of information regarding the change in the arrangement of icons that has occurred on the UI screen of the terminal.

By the above-mentioned operation, the information processing device 1 of the information processing system 9 can make the user aware of a change that has occurred in the arrangement of icons (i.e., images representing those functions) on the UI screen that accepts user operations to select the functions of the app to be executed by the terminal 2.

<Modification>
The above is a description of the embodiment, but the contents of this embodiment may be modified as follows. In addition, the following modifications may be combined with each other.

＜1＞
In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 1 has the processor 11 configured as a CPU, but the control means for controlling the information processing device 1 may have other configurations. For example, the information processing device 1 may have various processors other than a CPU.

Here, processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, including general-purpose processors (such as the CPU mentioned above) and dedicated processors (such as GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

＜2＞
The operations of the processor in the above-described embodiments may be performed not only by a single processor, but also by a plurality of processors located at physically separate locations working together.

In addition, the order of each operation of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiment, but may be changed as appropriate.

＜3＞
In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 1 may have the functions of the terminal 2. In this case, the information processing device 1 may have configurations corresponding to the operation unit 24, the display unit 25, and the image processing unit 26 of the terminal 2.

＜4＞
In the above-described embodiment, the usage registration DB 124 is edited by the administrator of the information processing device 1 , but it may be edited based on the history of the user who actually uses the terminal 2 .

Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device 1 in a modified example. The information processing device 1 shown in Figure 15 stores a history DB 125 in the memory 12. Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of the history DB 125. The history DB 125 is a database that stores, for each terminal ID, a user ID that is identification information of a user who used the terminal 2 identified by that terminal ID, together with the date and time of use as history. The history DB 125 has a terminal ID list 1251 and a history table 1252.

The terminal ID list 1251 is a list that lists all terminal IDs of the terminals 2 owned by the information processing system 9. A history table 1252 is assigned to each terminal ID described in the terminal ID list 1251. This history table 1252 is a table that stores the history of the use of the terminal 2 identified by the corresponding terminal ID. The history table 1252 stores each item of date and time and user ID in association with each other. The date and time is information that indicates the date and time when the terminal 2 identified by the corresponding terminal ID was used. The user ID is a user ID that identifies the user who used the above-mentioned terminal 2 at the corresponding date and time.

Each time a terminal 2 is used by a user, the processor 11 acquires from the terminal 2 a user ID that indicates the user and information on the date and time of use. The processor 11 then stores the acquired user ID and date and time information in the history table 1252 that is assigned to each terminal ID that indicates the terminal 2.

Processor 11 may store users who have used terminal 2 in the past in user registration DB 124 based on the stored history DB 125. In this case, processor 11 is an example of a processor that notifies any of the users who have used terminal 2 in the past of information regarding changes in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen of terminal 2.

＜5＞
In this case, the processor 11 may store a user determined according to the frequency of using the terminal 2 in the usage registration DB 124 in association with the terminal 2 based on the history DB 125. For example, the processor 11 may store a user ID indicating a user who has used the terminal 2 with a frequency exceeding a threshold in association with the terminal 2 in the usage registration DB 124. In this case, the processor 11 is an example of a processor that notifies a user determined according to the frequency of using the terminal 2 in the past of information regarding a change in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen of the terminal 2.

＜6＞
Furthermore, the processor 11 may determine the user to whom the information regarding the above-mentioned change is to be notified based on the location of the user and the location of the terminal 2, instead of the history DB 125.

For example, in this case, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 15, the memory 12 stores a seat DB 126. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the seat DB 126. The seat DB 126 has a terminal arrangement table 1261 and a user arrangement table 1262.

The terminal placement table 1261 stores, for each terminal ID, information (called placement information) on the placement of the terminal 2 identified by that terminal ID. The user placement table 1262 stores, for each user ID, the placement information of the user identified by that user ID. The placement information of the terminal 2 is, for example, identification information of the room in which the terminal 2, which is an image processing device, is installed, and information indicating the placement of the terminal 2 in that room, such as by a window or by a hallway. The placement information of the user is, for example, the seat of each user.

Figure 18 is a diagram showing an example of seats indicated by the seat DB 126. The seats of the users identified by the user IDs "U01", "U03", and "U05" are all installed in room R1. A terminal 2 identified by a terminal ID "T11" is installed in this room R1. Therefore, the processor 11 refers to this seat DB 126, interprets the respective arrangement information, and associates the terminal 2 installed in the common room R1 with the user. The processor 11 then stores the correspondence between the terminal 2 and the user described above in the usage registration DB 124. As a result, the processor 11 identifies users whose seats are installed near the location where the terminal 2 is installed (for example, the distance is less than a determined threshold value) as users who should be notified of changes in the UI screen of the terminal 2.

In other words, in this case, processor 11 is an example of a processor that identifies one of multiple users based on the locations of the multiple users and the location of the terminal, and notifies the identified user of information.

＜７＞
Furthermore, if a user who has previously been notified of information regarding changes in the UI screen of terminal 2 has not used terminal 2 within a predetermined period of time, processor 11 may re-notify the user of the information. In this case, processor 11 monitors history DB 125 in the above-mentioned modified example. Then, processor 11 extracts users who are associated with terminal 2 in usage registration DB 124 and have not used terminal 2 within a predetermined period of time. Processor 11 may re-notify the extracted users of the above-mentioned information.

This allows the information processing device 1 to prompt a user who has not yet checked the change in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen to check the change. In this case, the processor 11 is an example of a processor that re-notifies a user who has already been notified of information regarding a change in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen of the terminal if the user does not use the terminal within a set period of time.

＜8＞
Furthermore, the processor 11 may re-notify a user of information regarding changes in the UI screen of the terminal 2 if the user to whom the processor 11 has notified the user does not respond to the notification within a set period of time. In this case, the processor 11 checks whether or not there is a reply to the email sent using the notification destination ID, and if there is no reply within the set period of time, the processor 11 may send the email again. In this case, the processor 11 is an example of a processor that re-notifies a user of information regarding changes in the arrangement of icons on the UI screen of the terminal if there is no response from the user to whom the processor 11 has already notified the user within a set period of time.

＜9＞
In the above-described embodiment, the program executed by the processor 11 of the information processing device 1 is an example of a program that causes a computer having a processor to execute the steps of acquiring a screen that accepts user operations to select one of the functions to be executed by the terminal, and, if a change occurs in the arrangement of images showing each of the functions on the acquired screen, notifying the user of information related to the change.

This program may be provided in a state where it is stored on a recording medium that can be read by a computer device, such as a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic tape or a magnetic disk, an optical recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. This program may also be downloaded via a communication line such as the Internet.

1...information processing device, 11...processor, 111...first acquisition unit, 112...second acquisition unit, 113...generation unit, 114...notification unit, 12...memory, 121...user DB, 122...terminal DB, 1221...terminal ID list, 1222...arrangement table, 123...cache DB, 1231...type ID list, 1232...icon data table, 124...usage registration DB, 1241...terminal ID list, 1242...user ID list, 125...history DB, 1251...terminal ID list, 1252...history table, 126...seat DB, 1261...terminal layout table, 1262...user layout table, 13...interface 2... terminal, 21... processor, 22... memory, 221... application DB, 23... interface, 24... operation unit, 241... touch panel, 25... display unit, 251... liquid crystal display, 26... image processing unit, 261... formation unit, 262... reading unit, 3... communication line, 4... server device, 41... processor, 42... memory, 421... icon DB, 4211... type ID list, 4212... icon data table, 43... interface, 5... communication line, 9... information processing system, B1, B2, B3, B4... button, M1, M2, M3, M4... annotation, R1, R2, R3... room.

Claims (5)

a processor, the processor comprising:
Obtaining a screen for receiving a user's operation for selecting a function to be executed by the terminal;
when a change occurs in the arrangement of the images showing each of the functions on the acquired screen, determining a user to be notified of information related to the change in accordance with a frequency of the user having used the terminal in the past;
The information processing device notifies information regarding the change to a notification destination indicating the determined user . The processor,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when any of the functions is added to or deleted from the terminal and the change occurs, information on the function is notified to the user. The processor,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a step of re-notifying the user of the information when the user to whom the information has been notified does not use the terminal within a predetermined period of time. The processor,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: if there is no response from the user to whom the information has been notified within a predetermined period of time, the information is notified again. A computer having a processor,
acquiring a screen for receiving a user's operation for selecting a function to be executed by the terminal;
determining, when a change occurs in an arrangement of images showing each of the functions on the acquired screen, a user to be notified of information related to the change in accordance with a frequency of past use of the terminal;
notifying a notification destination indicating the determined user of information regarding the change ;
A program that executes the following.

Images