JP2009075451A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain a screen not intended by a user from being displayed at first, for enhancing convenience for the user. <P>SOLUTION: A customization information storage part 73 stores a function using history (customization information) in the last log-in period in every user of the plurality users, while correlated with identification information of each user, and a display control part 77 reads out initial screens concerned in functions included in the function using history as the customization information of the corresponding user, from the customization information storage part 73, and list-displays the read-out initial screens on a touch panel part 53. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including, for example, a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a complex machine thereof, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of displaying an appropriate initial screen for a logged-in user.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in an image forming apparatus including, for example, a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a complex machine of these, the same apparatus is often shared among a plurality of users. In such a usage mode, it would be convenient if operability customized for each of a plurality of users could be provided.

  In order to respond to such a request, as an example of an image forming apparatus having a customization function, the applicant of the present application is registered in advance based on user authentication means that reads user identification information and performs user authentication, and the user identification information. The customization information including the user's customization screen data is read out, the customization screen is displayed on the display unit, and the customization information is sent to the image forming means, and the image information is based on the customization information from the customization means. Image forming means for performing image forming processing such as printing, and the customization means displays the customization screen instead of the default screen on the display unit based on the customization information. It has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). According to the technique of Patent Document 1, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which a user-specific customization screen is displayed immediately after user authentication and the user can set customization information.

  By the way, according to the research of the present inventors, in providing a list of initial screens customized for each of a plurality of users, it is extremely important to consider the function use history at the time of past login for each user. It turned out to be. That is, for example, if the function usage history at the time of the previous login of a certain user is two of the copy function and the fax transmission function, the user will generally display the initial screen when considering that there is a tendency to repeat the same function usage mode. The two screens relating to the copy function and the fax transmission function are preferable. On the other hand, for example, a configuration in which a function last used by a user is stored and held, and a screen related to the stored function is displayed as a single list as an initial screen when the user accesses the next time. If the last used function is the fax transmission function and the function intended by the user is the copy function, the screen related to the fax transmission function that does not conform to the user's intention is the first. Will be displayed. This can lead to the unfortunate result that the corner screen customization function does not provide convenience to the user.

JP 2007-55099 A

  The problem to be solved is that providing an initial screen that is uniformly customized for each of a plurality of users without considering the function usage history at the time of past login for each user. There is a possibility that it may not bring convenience.

  The present invention provides a display means capable of displaying various types of information on a display screen for the purpose of contributing to convenience for users when providing an initial screen customized for each of a plurality of users with a list display mode, and a user Each time a user accesses, an authentication unit that performs user authentication based on whether or not the user is a regular user, and a determination that the user is a regular user as a result of user authentication by the authentication unit The user identification information acquisition means for acquiring the identification information related to the login user and the customization information related to the initial screen to be displayed on the display means at the time of login are associated with the identification information for each of a plurality of users. Customization information storage means to be stored, and when it is determined that the user is a regular user, Display control means for reading out the image information from the customization information storage means and causing the display means to display a list of initial screens based on the read customization information, wherein the customization information storage means The function use history at the time of the previous login for each of a plurality of users is stored in association with the identification information for each user, and the display control means is included in the function use history as customization information of the corresponding user. The main feature is that the initial screen relating to the function to be read is read from the customization information storage means, and the read initial screen is displayed as a list on the display means.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the customization information storage means stores the function use history at the previous login for each of a plurality of users in association with the identification information for each user, and the display control means Since the initial screen related to the function included in the function usage history as the customization information of the corresponding user is read from the customization information storage unit, the read initial screen is displayed as a list on the display unit. Considering the function usage history at the time of the previous login for each user, it is possible to provide an initial screen appropriately customized for each user with a list display mode. As a result, there is a screen that does not match the user's intention. The situation displayed first can be suppressed in advance, which can contribute to the improvement of convenience for the user.

  Functions included in the function usage history at the previous login as the user's customization information, with the purpose of suppressing the initial display of a screen that does not conform to the user's intention and contributing to convenience for the user The initial screen is read from the customization information storage unit, and the read initial screen is displayed on the display unit as a list.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Schematic configuration around the image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the image forming apparatus.

  This device can use various functions including, for example, a copy job, a fax transmission job, a print job, or a network transmission (email transmission or data transmission) job, and includes a microcomputer and a dedicated hardware circuit. It is controlled by the main control unit 11. As an input / output device connected to the main control unit 11 and responsible for various functions, this apparatus includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 31, an engine unit 41, an operation panel unit 51, a facsimile communication unit 61, and an HDD (hard disk drive) 63. A network I / F (interface) unit 65, and an IC card communication unit 67.

  The main control unit 11 includes a scanner controller 13 that performs operation control for realizing a scanner function, a facsimile controller 15 that performs operation control for realizing a facsimile function, and a printer controller that performs operation control for realizing a printer function. 17 and a copy controller 19 for controlling the operation for realizing the copy function are incorporated, and the overall operation of the apparatus is controlled.

  The scanner unit 21 includes an image irradiation lamp 23 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 25 constituting a scanner (not shown). The scanner unit 21 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 23, receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 25, reads an image from the document, and outputs image data corresponding to the read image to the image processing unit 31. .

  The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 33, an image processing unit 35, and an image memory 37. The image processing unit 31 processes the image data read by the scanner unit 21 with the correction unit 33 and the image processing unit 35 as necessary, and stores the processed image data in the image memory 37, the engine unit 41, Output to the facsimile communication unit 61 or the like. The correction unit 33 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and Y correction on the image data read by the scanner unit 21. The image processing unit 35 performs various types of processing such as image data compression or expansion processing and enlargement or reduction processing.

  The engine unit 41 includes a sheet conveying unit 43 including a sheet feeding cassette and a sheet feeding roller (not illustrated), an image forming unit 45 including a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a developing device, and the like (not illustrated), a transfer roller (not illustrated), and the like. And a fixing unit 49 including a fixing roller (not shown). The engine unit 41 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21, image data transmitted from a client PC (personal computer) or the like by a LAN (Local Area Network) via the network I / F unit 65, and a facsimile communication unit 61. The image is printed on a sheet using image data such as fax data received from an external facsimile machine. Specifically, the paper transport unit 43 transports the paper to the image forming unit 45, the image forming unit 45 forms a toner image corresponding to the image data, the transfer unit 47 transfers the toner image to the paper, The fixing unit 49 fixes the toner image on a sheet to form an image.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation panel unit 51 includes a touch panel unit 53 and an operation key unit 55. The operation panel unit 51 is used for a user to perform operations related to a scanner function, a facsimile function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like, and gives an operation command and the like by the user to the main control unit 11.

  The touch panel unit 53 functioning as a display means in the present invention is composed of a touch panel unit that combines a touch panel and a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and various operation screens, for example, when executing a copy function, a document size and a copy size. In addition to displaying information relating to the number of copies, etc., operation buttons for inputting various operation commands when the user touches the corresponding part are displayed. The touch panel unit 53 is used when displaying a list of initial screens appropriately customized for each user by taking into account the function usage history at the time of the previous login for each of a plurality of users.

  The operation key unit 55 includes a plurality of operation keys for receiving user operation inputs. For example, a key input operation of a required function can be performed from various functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. This is used when the user selectively executes, or when the user inputs a copy number or a copy execution command.

  The facsimile communication unit 61 includes an encoding / decoding unit (not shown), a modem unit (not shown), and an NCU (Network Control Unit) (not shown). The facsimile communication unit 61 transmits image data of a document read by the scanner unit 21 to a facsimile apparatus or the like via a telephone line, or receives image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus or the like.

  The HDD (hard disk drive) 63 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21 and various data such as an output format set in the image data. The image data stored in the HDD is not only used inside the image forming apparatus, the program, and the recording medium, but also can be confirmed from a client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 65 if necessary. It is transferred to a predetermined folder such as a PC or FTP server.

  The network I / F unit 65 uses a network interface (10 / 100Base-TX) or the like to control transmission / reception of various data to / from a user terminal 67 such as a client PC connected via a LAN.

  The IC card communication unit 67 has a function of detecting the access of the card key 69 such as an IC tag possessed by the user, reading the user identification information stored in the card key 69, and transferring it to the main control unit 11. I have.

  By the way, in consideration of the function use history at the time of the previous login for each of a plurality of users, the main control unit 11 provides the initial screen appropriately customized for each user with a list display mode. A user authentication unit (corresponding to the “authentication unit” of the present invention) 70 that performs user authentication according to whether or not the user is a regular user every time the user accesses, and a result of user authentication in the user authentication unit 70, A user identification information acquisition unit (corresponding to “user identification information acquisition means” of the present invention) 71 that acquires identification information related to the login user when it is determined that the user is a regular user; A function usage history (customized information) during the previous login period for each of a plurality of users is stored in association with identification information for each of the plurality of users. When the customization information storage unit (corresponding to the “customization information storage unit” of the present invention) 73 and the determination that the user is a regular user are made, the customization information of the user is obtained from the customization information storage unit 73. A display for performing a control to display a list of the initial screen determined by the display screen determination unit 75 and the initial screen determined by the display screen determination unit 75 for reading and determining the initial screen to be displayed as a list based on the read customization information. And a control unit (corresponding to “display control means” of the present invention) 77.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus According to Present Invention]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram related to customization information stored in the customization information storage unit 73, and FIGS. 5 (1) and 5 (2) are for each user. Shows an example of the initial screen that displays a list of customized functions.

  Prior to the description of this operation, the presupposed configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described. The image forming apparatus performs a card key authentication mode for permitting use of the apparatus through data exchange related to authentication information with a card key 69 possessed by the user, and a key input operation for user identification information and a personal identification number (authentication information). There are two panel authentication modes that allow the use of the device by requesting the user, and in principle, the card key authentication mode is operated. In the following embodiment, the operation of the image forming apparatus in the card key authentication mode, which is a process according to the principle, will be described.

  First, the IC card communication unit 67 constantly monitors the access of the IC card key 69. At this time, when the user sets the IC card key 69 at a predetermined position in the image forming apparatus, the IC card communication unit 67 detects the access of the IC card key 69 (step S11) and is stored in the IC card key 69. The user identification information of the IC card key 69 thus read is transferred to the main control unit 11.

  The main control unit 11 accesses through the card key authentication by collating the user identification information transferred from the IC card communication unit 67 with the user identification information registered in the customization information storage unit 73 in advance. User authentication relating to whether or not the user is a regular user is performed (step S12). Note that a login management function based on a password may be added for user authentication. As a result of the user authentication in step S12, when it is determined that the access user is a regular user, the main control unit 11 acquires identification information relating to the login user, and based on the user identification information, The customization information of the corresponding user is read from the customization information storage unit 73 (step S13), and an initial screen to be displayed as a list is determined based on the read customization information (step S14). Then, the main control unit 11 causes the touch panel unit 53 to display a list of the initial screen determined in step S14 (step S15).

  Here, in order to provide an initial screen appropriately customized for each user in a list display form by considering the function use history at the previous login for each of a plurality of users, the customization information storage unit 73 includes For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the function use history during the previous login period for each of a plurality of users is stored in association with the identification information for each user. In the example of FIG. 4, for user A, “copy” is used in the first order and “Fax transmission” is used in the second order. For user B, “document box” is used in the first order, and in the second order. For each user, “Fax transmission” is used for user C, “scan” for the first rank, “document box” for the second rank, and “Fax transmission” for the third rank. Is stored in association with the identification information. Then, the main control unit 11 reads from the customization information storage unit 73 an initial screen related to the function included in the function usage history (see FIG. 4) as the customization information of the corresponding user. Next, the main control unit 11 determines that the read initial screen is to be displayed as a list, and causes the touch panel unit 53 to display the determined initial screen as a list.

  Here, the list display mode of the initial screen customized for each user will be described based on the example of FIG.

  First, for user A, an initial screen in which a “copy” function screen and a “fax transmission” function screen are arranged with a display area having substantially the same area is displayed as a list (see FIG. 5A). In this case, when the user A wants to execute the copy function under the condition such as “select A4 vertical cassette and three 92% reduced copies” by looking at the initial screen thus displayed. A required job can be executed by operating the “start key” after setting the above conditions from the “copy” function screen shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, for the user C, an initial screen in which three of a “scan” function screen, a “document box” function screen, and a “fax transmission” function screen are arranged is displayed as a list (see FIG. 5B). When displaying these three function screens as a list, the “scan” function screen is used as the main screen, and the other “document box” function screen and “fax transmission” function screen are used as sub-screens for the entire display area. A display area having a width of about 2/3 is allocated for the main screen, while another display area having a width of about 1/3 is allocated for the sub screen. In addition, on function screens that are assigned as sub-screens, the function items that are used less frequently are thinned out, and only the function items that are used frequently are selectively displayed, which can reduce the usability due to the narrow display area. You may employ | adopt the structure which suppresses as much as possible. In this case, the user C looks at the initial screen displayed as a list in this manner, for example, on the condition that “three A4 originals are output in the PDF format with a resolution of 300 DPI using the original feeder in the vertical direction”. In order to execute the scan function, a necessary job can be executed by operating the “start key” after setting the above conditions from the “scan” function screen shown in FIG.

  By the way, in order to appropriately update and manage the function usage history for each of the plurality of users, in steps S16 to S18, the contents stored in the customization information storage unit 73 are updated each time the plurality of users log in. I have to. That is, the main control unit 11 accepts a user's panel operation related to a function displayed on the initial screen or a function different from the function until the user logs out (steps S16 to S17). After the corresponding user logs out, the main control unit 11 stores the function usage history (customized information) during the previous login period of the corresponding user in association with the identification information of the corresponding user (step S18). At this time, the number of functions included in the function usage history of the corresponding user is, for example, a predetermined number such as three (this predetermined number can be appropriately changed according to the user's preference). The main control unit 11 may refer to the function usage history of the user and preferentially select the one with higher usage frequency when it is determined that the number of usage is exceeded. The “function usage history” referred to here is different from the function usage history stored in the customization information storage unit 73. For example, the function usage history for each of a plurality of users within a predetermined period such as the past one year is used. It means what is stored separately.

[Effect of Example]
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the customization information storage unit 73 stores the function usage history (customization information) during the previous login period for each of a plurality of users. The display control unit 77 reads the initial screen related to the function included in the function usage history as the customization information of the user from the customization information storage unit 73 and stores the read initial screen. Are displayed on the touch panel unit 53 as a list, thereby providing an initial screen appropriately customized for each user in a list display mode by considering the function use history at the previous login for each of a plurality of users. As a result, it is possible to suppress the situation where a screen that does not meet the user's intention is displayed first. , It can contribute to improved convenience for the user.

  In addition, since the contents stored in the customization information storage unit 73 are updated each time a plurality of users log in, even if the function usage status of each user changes from moment to moment. As a result, it is possible to provide an initial screen appropriately customized for each user in a list display manner by flexibly following changes, and thus it is possible to bring about a real convenience improvement for the user.

[Others]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention read from the claims and the entire specification or the technical idea, and image formation accompanied by such changes The apparatus is also included in the scope of the technical scope of the present invention.

  That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus operating in the card key authentication mode has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the user identification information and the password It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus that is operating in a panel authentication mode in which use of the apparatus is permitted by requesting a user to perform a key input operation.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an external view of an operation panel unit in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which concerns on the customization information memorize | stored in the customization information storage part. FIGS. 5A and 5B are examples of an initial screen on which functions customized for each user are displayed in a list.

Explanation of symbols

11 Main control unit 53 Touch panel unit (display means)
70 User authentication part (authentication means)
71 User identification information acquisition unit (user identification information acquisition means)
73 Customized information storage unit (customized information storage means)
75 Display screen determination unit 77 Display control unit (display control means)

Claims (4)

Display means capable of displaying various types of information on the display screen; authentication means for performing user authentication regarding whether or not the user is a regular user each time the user accesses; and a result of user authentication in the authentication means, When it is determined that the user is a regular user, user identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information related to the login user, and customization related to an initial screen to be displayed on the display means at the time of login Customization information storage means for storing information in association with identification information for each of a plurality of users, and when it is determined that the user is an authorized user, the customization information storage means Display control means for reading from the display means, and causing the display means to display a list of initial screens based on the read customization information; An image forming apparatus having a,
In the customization information storage means,
Function usage history at the time of the previous login for each of a plurality of users is stored in association with identification information for each user,
The display control means includes
Reading out the initial screen relating to the function included in the function usage history as the customization information of the corresponding user from the customization information storage means, and causing the display means to display a list of the read initial screen;
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The contents stored in the customization information storage means are:
It is updated at each login of multiple users.
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
In the customization information storage means,
Among the function usage histories at the time of previous login for each of a plurality of users, function usage histories within a predetermined number are stored in association with identification information for each user.
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
Among the function usage histories at the time of the previous login for each of the plurality of users, when selecting a function usage history within a predetermined number, refer to the function usage history for the user, and the one with higher usage frequency is given priority. Selected,
An image forming apparatus.

Images