JP6426911B2 - IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program.

  When maintaining the image forming apparatus, a service manual for each model is required. In the case of a large image forming apparatus, a large number of service manuals are required because the number of connected optional devices is wide and the type is also wide. Bound manuals are not portable and it is not practical to carry them. Therefore, recent service manuals are computerized and can be viewed on a personal computer (PC) or the like. However, there are cases where service personnel are not allowed to bring PCs to customers due to security issues.

  Also, although it is possible to prepare an electronic manual on an external web server and refer to it via a web browser, the external web server may not be accessible depending on the customer's network environment and security settings. Therefore, it is possible to prepare electronic manuals and the like in the image forming apparatus, and use the Web server function of the image forming apparatus to refer to the customer's PC and the Web browser installed in the controller manufactured outside. Conceivable. Moreover, in the case of a large model to which an externally manufactured controller such as a POD machine is connected, Patent Document 1 proposes a technology in which the externally manufactured controller is provided with a Web server function and operated using the Web server function. There is.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-53515

  However, the above prior art has the problems described below. For example, there are cases where it is not possible to load manual content data due to security problems of an external controller, problems in hardware specifications, or convenience of the external controller. In addition, when there are multiple external controllers, it is necessary to prepare manual contents in accordance with the specifications of the Web server function equipped with the external controllers. Furthermore, there is a problem that it can not cope with non-large-sized models to which an externally manufactured controller is not connected. Therefore, it is assumed that the web server function provided in the image forming apparatus itself is used.

  However, among the maintenance work of the image forming apparatus, there are items such as parts replacement of the image forming apparatus that require powering off the image forming apparatus. Therefore, in the maintenance work while the power of the image forming apparatus is turned off, the computerized manual in the image forming apparatus can not be accessed from the customer's PC, and the manual can not be referred to. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and when powering off the image forming apparatus during maintenance, the data held in the image forming apparatus is cached in the local environment, thereby a manual. The purpose is to provide a mechanism to continue maintenance work in a state where it is possible to view etc.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a Web server, and storing means for storing manual data, and a selection screen capable of selecting a part of manual data stored in the storage means to a Web browser of an external terminal. Selection means for displaying a part of the manual data according to the operator's input, and part of the manual data selected by the selection means before the shutdown, in a cache area provided in the external terminal Control means for storing the data , wherein the control means generates a cache instruction file instructing the Web browser to store a part of the selected manual data in the cache area, and transmits the cache instruction file to the external terminal It is characterized by

  According to the present invention, when the power of the image forming apparatus is turned off, the maintenance operation is continued in a state where a manual etc can be viewed by caching data held in the image forming apparatus in the local environment during maintenance. can do.

1 is an overall view of an information processing system 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an MFP 101 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a software configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. The manual displayed on the web browser in one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing screen transition displayed on the web browser in one embodiment. The sequence diagram of the web browser web server in one embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the cash | cache instruction | indication file in one Embodiment. The figure which shows the example which reads the cache instruction | indication file in one Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a screen of a web browser displayed when the power of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment is off. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when reflecting the device state at the time of replacement part selection in one embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the cacheable content reference table in one Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. .

<Configuration of Information Processing System>
First, the configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment, an MFP 101, an external server 104, and an external terminal (information processing apparatus) 105 are connected by a network configured by a LAN (local area network) 102 or the Internet 103.

  The client terminal 105 connects to an external web service and has a web browser function capable of operating a web application. Further, it can communicate with the MFP 101 as an image forming apparatus, and has a virtual network computing (VNC) function for displaying an operation panel-like screen. The MFP 101 has a copy function of scanning a paper medium, forming an image on a sheet based on the scan data, and printing. Further, the MFP 101 includes a web server having a web server function capable of providing an application that can be accessed and operated from the client terminal 105. Similarly, the external server 104 also includes a web server having a web server function capable of providing an application that can be accessed and operated from the client terminal 105.

<Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus>
Next, the configuration of the MFP 101 as an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The MFP 101 includes a controller unit 200 capable of connecting the scanner 213 and the printer 214 and connecting the operation display unit 211, the operation input unit 212, and the LAN 102. The controller unit 200 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, an HDD 204, an operation unit output I / F 205, an operation unit input I / F 206, a network I / F 207, a scanner I / F 208, and a printer I / F 209. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 executes various control programs. The CPU 201 starts the system based on a boot program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203. Then, the control program stored in the HDD (hard disk drive) 204 is read out on this system, and predetermined processing is executed using a random access memory (RAM) 202 as a work area. The HDD 204 stores various control programs. The HDD 204 also stores scan data read from the scanner 213 and data acquired from outside the apparatus via the network I / F 207.

  The operation unit output I / F 205 performs data output communication control to the operation display unit 211. The operation unit input I / F 206 controls data input communication from the operation input unit 212. A network I / F 207 is connected to the LAN 102 and performs input / output control of information via the LAN 102. The scanner I / F 208 inputs image data from the scanner 213 and inputs and outputs scanner control data. The printer I / F 209 outputs output image data to the printer 214 and also inputs and outputs printer control data. Each component 201-209 is disposed on the system bus 210.

  The operation input unit 212 is an instruction input interface from a user (operator) including an input device such as a touch panel or a hard key. The operation display unit 211 is a display interface for a user including a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED). The scanner 213 includes an optical reader such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and has a function of optically operating a paper medium and reading it as electronic image data. The printer 214 has a function of forming electronic image data as an image on a recording medium such as paper.

  Subsequently, a control configuration of the MFP 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Each functional unit illustrated in FIG. 3 is realized by the CPU 201 in the MFP 101 reading out and executing a control program stored in the ROM 203 or the HDD 204. Here, since the external server 104 can also have the same software configuration, the description of the external server 104 is omitted.

  The MFP 101 includes a web server 301 and the network I / F 207 described above. The network I / F 207 communicates to provide a web service to the client terminal 105. Also, in order to provide a screen operation on the operation panel of the MFP 101 to the VNC, communication with the client terminal 105 is performed.

  Here, the client terminal 105 has a web browser 150 to receive provision of a web service. Furthermore, in order to receive provision of a screen operation service on the operation panel of MFP 101, VNC 151 and a cache area 152 for caching content data are provided. VNC is VIRTUAL NETWORK COMPUTING, and is remote desktop software using an RFB protocol for remotely controlling a remote computer on a network.

  Specifically, the web server 301 sends a request message to the web server 301 that provides the web service, and receives a response message sent from the web server 301 and displays a screen on the web browser 150. The web browser 150 of the client terminal 105 can use the web service of these applications to display a manual stored in the MFP 101 having the web server 301. In addition, it is possible to operate the MFP 101 having the web server 301. Further, the VNC 151 requests a screen to be displayed on the operation panel of the MFP 101 via the input / output control unit 320 or receives a screen to be displayed on the operation panel transmitted from the MFP 101, and the operation panel of the MFP 101 on the VNC 151 You can display the screen to be displayed on the top.

  Next, the configuration of the web server 301 will be described. The web server 301 includes a web service processing unit 310, an HTML screen generation unit 311, and a CGI processing unit 312. The web service processing unit 310 has a function as an HTTP service that receives a request message from the web browser 150 that is a client, and determines which web application service to communicate with according to the request message. Specifically, the URL and the parameter are received as the request message, the received URL and the parameter are analyzed, and the request is specified. Then, the processing is executed according to the specified request, and the response is returned to the Web browser 150 which is the client.

  The CGI processing unit 312 is called from the Web service processing unit 310 described above, and receives a request message from the Web service processing unit 310. Thereafter, in order to provide the Web service, a screen generation instruction process described later and the like are performed based on the above-mentioned request message.

  The HTML screen generation unit 311 generates an HTML screen which is called from the above-described Web service processing unit 310 and instructed by the Web browser 150. Specifically, when there is a request for displaying a manual from the web browser 150, the HTML source of the corresponding manual data portion is read out from the manual data 314, the corresponding screen is formed, and the screen is transmitted to the web browser 150. Here, the manual data 314 is stored in advance in the above-described RAM 202 or HDD 204 area.

  In response to the request from the CGI processing unit 312, the screen generation instructing unit 313 constructs information for generating an operation screen to be displayed on the VNC 151. Specifically, based on the tag name notified from the CGI processing unit 312, the item name to be displayed on the operation screen is specified. Then, the screen ID and the button ID of the operation screen in which the item name is present are specified, and information necessary for display is set. The information is notified to the screen generation unit 321, and an operation screen generation instruction is issued.

  The input / output control unit 320 transmits the generated operation screen to the operation panel of the MFP 101 or the VNC 151, and receives an operation instruction of the operation screen. Specifically, a screen to be displayed on the operation panel of MFP 101 is displayed on operation display unit 211 via operation unit output I / F 205. At the same time, when there is a connection request of the VNC 151, it is displayed on the VNC 151 via the network I / F 207. Also, the user's operation instruction in the operation input unit 212 is received via the operation unit input I / F 206. Furthermore, the user's operation instruction in the VNC 151 is received via the network I / F 207.

  The screen generation unit 321 receives a request from the input / output control unit 320 or the screen generation instruction unit 313 and generates a screen to be displayed on the operation panel. Specifically, the screen generation unit 321 reads a screen corresponding to the requested screen ID from the screen resource, arranges a button or the like, generates a screen, and transmits the screen to the screen output unit 322. Alternatively, the screen generation unit 321 specifies the button ID of the corresponding item from the requested screen ID and the item name, generates a new screen, and transmits the new screen to the screen output unit 322. The screen resources are desirably stored in advance in a memory area of the RAM 202 or the HDD 204. The screen output unit 322 transmits the screen to be displayed on the operation panel generated by the above-described screen generation unit 321 to the input / output control unit 320.

<Operation manual>
Next, an example of a manual displayed by the web browser 150 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 400 shows the content displayed on the web browser. Here, an example is shown where a title bar, an icon menu, etc. are displayed at the top. Further, as an example, the content display unit of the Web browser 150 displays a manual indicating an operation instruction regarding “adjustment after component replacement”.

  An item name 401 is an example in which "drum unit" is displayed here. This item can be operated by the user. For example, clicking on the item displays or collapses the explanation part 403 on the "method of part replacement" following it. Is possible.

  Two menu names 404 and 405 of "COPIER> FUNC> DPC> ITEM-01" and "COPIER> FUNC> DCP> ITEM-02" are described as an example in the explanation portion 403 regarding "method of parts replacement". It is done. These are specific item names of the screen displayed on the VNC 151 or the operation display unit 211. In the example of the description of this manual, the user calls up the screen on which these menus are displayed, and performs an operation of setting the corresponding menu.

Further, the above-mentioned tag name may be set in the "drum unit". In that case, in the content displayed on the web browser 150, the "drum unit" portion can be described as follows.
<Div id = ”TAG-MENU-01”> Drum unit </ div>
In this case, when the “drum unit” which is a part of the content described above is clicked, the web browser 150 transmits a request to the web server 301 with id = “TAG-MENU-01” as a parameter.

First Embodiment
<Screen transition>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11. First, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, when displaying manual data 314 in image forming apparatus 101 on Web browser 150 on client terminal 105, a screen when power of image forming apparatus 101 is turned off. The transition and the processing sequence will be described.

  First, in step S601, the web browser 150 on the client terminal 105 requests the web server 301 for screen information of the manual top screen. In step S602, the web server 301 returns the screen information of the manual top screen (selection screen) 501 to the web browser 150. In step S603, when the link 502 to the parts replacement screen is selected on the manual top screen 501, the web browser 150 requests the web server 301 for screen information of the parts replacement screen 503. In step S604, the web server 301 returns the screen information of the component replacement screen 503 to the web browser 150.

  Here, the parts replacement screen 503 acquires items 505, 506, and 507 that allow selection of a plurality of parts to be replaced and manual data 314 for replacing the selected parts from the image forming apparatus 101 as offline content. And a button 504. In S605, the part to be replaced is selected on the part replacement screen 503. When the offline content acquisition button 504 is pressed (operated) in step S606, the Web server 301 is notified of that.

  Next, in step S607, the web server 301 generates a cache instruction file 701 for causing the web browser 150 to cache the manual content corresponding to the selected component. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the cache instruction file 701 is a file for designating content to be cached from the Web server 301 to the client terminal 105. Specifically, in the cache instruction file 701, the content to be cached is designated in 702.

  Although it is not limited here which content is added to the cache instruction file 701 according to the selection of the part to be replaced in S605, for example, the replace part 1102 prepared in advance in the HDD 204 as shown in FIG. And the cache content 1103 may be referred to. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the table 1101 associates and defines a replacement part 1102 and information indicating the cache content 1103 corresponding to the replacement part. That is, in the table 1101, for example, as the replacement part 1102, information indicating manual data necessary when drum replacement is selected is defined in the cache content 1103.

  In step S608, the Web server 301 generates the cache instruction file 701 and, at the same time, generates information of an offline menu screen for displaying manual content corresponding to the selected component. Here, the information of the offline menu screen is screen information of the menu screen for displaying the manual related to the component selected on the component replacement screen 503 offline as shown in FIG. When the screen is displayed on the web browser 150 using the screen information shown in FIG. 9, the offline menu screen 513 of FIG. 5 is displayed. In 902, an instruction for displaying a button for selecting manual data displayed on the offline menu screen 513 is defined.

  When the cache instruction file 701 and the offline menu screen are generated, the web server 301 returns the screen information of the shutdown execution screen 508 to the web browser 150 in S609. In the shutdown execution screen 508, it is possible to cache the target content at the time of page reading by specifying the cache instruction file 701 as shown in 0802 in FIG. In FIG. 8, 801 indicates screen information for generating the shutdown execution screen 508.

  The web browser 150 can check the cache instruction file in step S610, and can request the web server 301 to cache the corresponding content in the cache area 152 in the client terminal 105 according to the check result in step S611. Thereafter, the Web server 301 caches the target content in the cache area 152 of the client terminal 105 in accordance with the request in S612. As a method of caching content data in the local environment so that content can be accessed offline, for example, there is an "application cache" function of HTML5. Here, it is based on the "application cache" of HTML5, but the content cache method is not limited to this.

  When the shutdown button 510 is pressed on the shutdown execution screen 508, the process advances to step S613, and the web browser 150 requests the web server 301 to execute shutdown. That is, when operated, the shutdown button 510 is a button for notifying the Web server 301 of a shutdown instruction. In step S614, when the web server 301 receives a shutdown execution request from the web browser 150, the web server 301 returns the shutdown completion screen 511 to the web browser 150, and then executes shutdown of the image forming apparatus 101 in step S615.

  Next, in step S616, when the Web browser 150 receives pressing of the off-line menu display button 512 on the shutdown completion screen 511, the web browser 150 requests the off-line menu screen 513 cached in the cache area 152. Thereafter, in step S617, the web browser 150 acquires screen information of the offline menu screen 513 and displays the screen information. When the links 514 and 515 corresponding to the part to be replaced are pressed through the offline menu screen 513 in S618, the web browser 150 requests the corresponding content cached in the cache area 152 in S618. Thereafter, in step S619, the web browser 150 acquires and displays the cache content 516, 517 corresponding to each.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment determines the manual data to be used during the shutdown, and part of the determined manual data is stored in the cache area provided in the external terminal before the shutdown. Let it be stored. As a result, even if the image forming apparatus is shutting down (offline), the serviceman (operator) can view a manual necessary for maintenance. Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, if the service person designates parts replacement to be performed during shutdown before shutting down, manual data is cached in the external terminal, and whether the image forming apparatus is in operation or not. You can refer to the manual without worrying about

Second Embodiment
Next, with reference to FIG. 10, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, when selecting a part to be replaced in the part replacement screen 503 of FIG. 5, the state of the device of the image forming apparatus 101 is acquired, and the part that needs to be replaced is selected in advance. Display the screen. The sequence is shown in FIG. Since S1001 to S1003 and 1004 to 1019 in FIG. 10 are the same as S601 to 603 and S604 to S619 in FIG. 6, the description will be omitted.

  When the screen information of the parts replacement screen 503 is requested from the web browser 150 in S1003, the web server 301 refers to the RAM 202 of the image forming apparatus 101 in S1020, acquires device status information, and needs replacement in S1021. Check the parts. Here, the device state information is a count value for counting the degree of wear of components held in the image forming apparatus 101. When the count value exceeds a predetermined value, the Web server 301 determines that the part needs to be replaced.

  Next, in step S1004, the web server 301 returns the screen information of the component replacement screen 503 to the web browser 150 in a state where the component that needs to be replaced is selected. After that, in step S1005, the web browser 150 receives a selection of a part that the user wants to exchange additionally, and the same processing (processing in step S1006 and subsequent steps) as the processing described using FIG. 6 is performed.

<Other Embodiments>
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to execute.

  101: MFP, 104: external server, 105: client terminal, 301: Web server unit

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus having a web server,
Storage means for storing manual data;
Selecting means for displaying a selection screen capable of selecting a part of the manual data stored in the storage means on the Web browser of the external terminal and selecting the part of the manual data according to the input of the operator;
Control means for storing a part of the manual data selected by the selection means in a cache area provided in the external terminal before shutting down ;
The image forming apparatus characterized in that the control means generates a cache instruction file instructing the Web browser to store a part of the selected manual data in the cache area, and transmits the cache instruction file to the external terminal. . 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the Web browser acquires a part of the selected manual data from the image forming apparatus according to the cache instruction file, and stores the part in the cache area. . It further comprises generation means for generating screen information of an offline menu screen for displaying the manual data while the image forming apparatus is shut down.
The control means
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the screen information of the offline menu screen generated by the generation unit is transmitted to the external terminal together with the cache instruction file. The generation unit may further include a button for notifying a shutdown instruction to the image forming apparatus when a part of the manual data is stored in the cache area by the web browser. Generate information,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit further transmits screen information of the shutdown execution screen to the external terminal. The storage means further comprises:
Storing in advance a table defined by associating each of a plurality of parts of the image forming apparatus with manual data for replacing the parts;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit generates the cache instruction file with reference to the table. The selection unit further displays, as the selection screen, a component replacement screen capable of selecting at least one of the plurality of components of the image forming apparatus on the web browser
The control means follows the information of the part selected by the operator via the part replacement screen.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein manual data required to replace the part is stored in a cache area provided in the external terminal. The selection means is
Claim 6 acquires status information of a device of the image forming apparatus, and displaying the part replacement screen indicating a plurality of items which must be replaced in part of the image forming apparatus to the Web browser The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A control method of an image forming apparatus including a web server and storage means for storing manual data, the control method comprising:
A selection step of displaying on the Web browser of the external terminal a selection screen capable of selecting a part of the manual data stored in the storage means, and selecting the part of the manual data according to the operator's input; ,
The control means executes a control step of storing a part of the manual data selected in the selection step in a cache area provided in the external terminal before shutting down .
In the control step, a cache instruction file instructing the Web browser to store a part of the selected manual data in the cache area is generated and transmitted to the external terminal. Control method. A computer readable program for causing a computer to function as the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 .

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