JP3628397B2 - Terminal device operation procedure support method and host computer having terminal device operation procedure support function - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention promptly instructs an operation procedure or the like when an operation procedure or various functions of a facsimile machine, a copier, a composite OA apparatus, a multi-function telephone connected to a center computer via a line network are unknown. The present invention relates to a terminal device operation procedure support method and a host computer having a terminal device operation procedure support function .
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, various OA devices such as facsimile machines, copiers, composite OA apparatuses, and multi-function telephones have been equipped with many advanced functions simultaneously with digitization. When a user introduces such various OA devices, various functions of the OA device are carefully evaluated and verified, and the handling method is sufficiently taught when introduced.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, various types of OA devices are multi-functional, and their functions vary greatly from device to device. For this reason, in reality, OA equipment has been introduced, but it cannot be fully used. For example, even with basic functions such as holding a received telephone call and transferring it, or sending a document by facsimile, the operation method differs depending on the model of the device, and it may be confused in front of the model touched for the first time. As a result, despite the fact that the various advanced functions are installed, it is not clear what functions the introduced OA equipment provides, and the functions as an efficient tool for original paperwork are fully provided. The reality is not fulfilling.
In addition, various operation keys and the like are provided in the operation units of various OA devices, and various functions can be automatically exhibited as long as these operation keys can be fully used. However, it is not easy to understand various key operations of the multifunctional OA device only by the instruction manual, and therefore even if the OA device is adopted, the function is often hardly used.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in order to eliminate such disadvantages, and a terminal device operation procedure support method and a terminal that allow anyone to freely use advanced functions of various OA devices without feeling uneasy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a host computer having a device operation procedure support function .
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The terminal device operation procedure support method according to the present invention transmits help instructions input from a plurality of terminal devices connected to a host computer via a line network to the host computer via the line network using a predefined communication protocol. Then, the host computer confirms the operation procedure information and various function information stored in advance for each terminal device in accordance with the received help instruction, and the confirmed operation procedure and function description are mixed information of image, text, video or audio. Output to the terminal device that sent the help instruction in step S3, and when the operation key pressing information different from the output operation procedure is received from the terminal device, the operation procedure is output again to the terminal device. .
[0006]
A host computer having a terminal device operation procedure support function according to the present invention includes a multi-channel communication control device, a large-capacity recording device, and a central processing unit, and the multi-channel communication control device includes a plurality of devices connected via a line network. Control of transmission / reception with a terminal device, the large-capacity recording device stores operation function and operation procedure guidance information for each terminal device connected via a line network, the central processing unit, When the multichannel communication control device receives a help instruction from each connected terminal device, the operation procedure information and various functions stored for each terminal device stored in the large-capacity recording device according to the received help instruction Confirm the information and send the help instruction via the multi-channel communication control device with the confirmed operation procedure and function description as mixed information of image, text, video or voice. And output to the terminal device, when the depression information of different operating keys output by said operating procedure is received from the terminal device, and outputs again the operation procedure to the terminal device.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, various OA devices such as a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a composite OA device, and a multi-function telephone are connected to a host computer via a public line network or the like. The host computer stores operation procedures and various types of function information of each model such as a facsimile machine connected to the network together with identifiers. When the operation procedure of the facsimile apparatus or the various function information is unknown, the operator sends a help instruction such as an unknown operation procedure to the host computer. The host computer confirms the model of the facsimile machine or the like that has sent the help instruction, reads the operating procedure and various function information, and sends it to the apparatus that has sent the help instruction. The operator confirms this display, grasps the contents of the unknown operation procedure and various function information, and executes the processing of the facsimile machine or the like.
[0008]
【Example】
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, various OA devices (hereinafter referred to as terminal devices) 1a to 1n such as facsimile machines, copiers, composite OA devices, and multi-function telephones are connected to a host computer 3 via a public network 2. ing. As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, each of the terminal devices 1a to 1n includes a terminal device body 11 that performs various function processes, an operation panel 12 that inputs various operations and control procedures, a speaker, a liquid crystal display, and a touch panel. , A single or mixed configuration of plotters, an operation procedure output unit 13 for outputting operation procedures and function information from the host computer 3, and contents of help instructions for operation procedures and function information input from the operation panel 12. It has an operation procedure buffer 14 for storing, and a communication control unit 15 for transmitting / receiving information to / from the host computer 3.
[0009]
The operation panel 12 has various operation keys 121 for inputting various operations and control procedures, as well as a procedure instruction key 122 for inquiring about unknown operation procedures to the host computer 3 and a guidance for inquiring about functions of unknown operations. It has an instruction key-123. The operation procedure buffer 14 stores the specified operation command every time the operation switch 121 of the operation panel 12 is pressed, and clears the stored operation command when the execution of the operation is completed. When the procedure instruction key 122 or the guidance instruction key 123 is pressed, the operation command stored in the operation procedure buffer 14 is transmitted to the host computer 3 via the communication control unit 15. Further, when the link between the terminal devices 1a to 1n and the host computer 3 is established via the public line network 2, the operation stored in the operation procedure buffer 14 each time the operation key 121 is pressed. The command is transmitted to the host computer 3 via the communication control unit 15. The communication control unit 15 performs transmission / reception with the host computer 3 via the public network 2 using a predetermined communication protocol.
[0010]
The host computer 3 includes a central processing unit 31, a large capacity recording device 32, a multi-channel communication control device 33, and a plurality of modems 34a to 34i. The multi-channel communication control device 33 controls transmission / reception with the public network 2 via the modems 34a to 34i. The modems 34a to 34i have a function of converting digital voice information into analog voice and switching between three modes of text, image, and voice.
[0011]
The large-capacity recording device 32 stores operation function and operation procedure guidance information of the terminal devices 1a to 1n. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal attribute table 100 and the operation procedure table 200 are stored. And a file format storage unit 300. The terminal attribute table 100 includes an ID storage unit 100a that stores identifiers (IDs) of the terminal devices 1a to 1n, and an address that stores an address where the operation procedure manual table of each of the terminal devices 1a to 1n is stored. Unit 100b, and an output function storage unit 100c that identifies a speaker, a liquid crystal display, a touch panel, a plotter, and the like included in the operation procedure output unit 13 of each terminal device 1a to 1n. The operation procedure manual table 200 includes an operation command storage unit 200a for storing all operation commands installed in each of the terminal devices 1a to 1n, and an address at which an operation function manual for the operation command defined by the operation command is stored. It has the address part 200b to specify, and the address part 200c to specify the address where the operation guidance is stored. As shown in FIG. 4, the file format storage unit 300 stores the operation function manuals and operation procedure guidance files of the terminal devices 1a to 1n on the speed loading unit 13 of the terminal devices 1a to 1n. An output item section 300a that defines the type of hardware such as a card or a liquid crystal display, and an operation function manual and operation procedure guidance are stored with data corresponding to the hardware defined in the output item section 300a. It has a pointer part 300b for storing a file pointer, and a function content storage part 300c for storing the contents of an operation function manual and operation procedure guidance. The output item section 300a can define a plurality of pieces of hardware for a terminal device having a plurality of pieces of hardware installed in the operation procedure output section 13. In such a case, the output item section 300a corresponds to a plurality of pieces of hardware. Operation function manuals and the like can be stored in the function content storage unit 300c in a plurality of data formats. As shown in FIG. 5, the function content storage unit 300 c includes an attribute storage unit 300 ca that indicates an attribute of the data format for storing the operation function manual and the operation procedure guidance, and the contents of the operation function manual and the operation procedure guidance. And a content storage unit 300cb for storage. The attributes of the attribute storage unit 300ca indicate text, images, moving images, and sounds. When the operation function manual and the operation procedure guidance are composed of, for example, composite data such as voice and images, the attributes of the attribute storage unit 300ca and the contents of the content storage unit 300cb are defined along the stream.
[0012]
The terminal apparatus 1a to 1n configured as described above transmits a help instruction operation to the host computer 3, and the operation when the host computer 3 receives the operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG. The description will be given with reference.
[0013]
For example, when the operator makes an inquiry about the host computer 3 when he / she wants to operate the terminal device 1a or does not understand the operation procedure or operation function, he / she needs the operation key 12 on the operation panel 12. After pressing and specifying the operation procedure and operation function and inputting the help instruction and the operation command indicating the contents, the procedure instruction key 122 or the guidance instruction key-123 is pressed (step S1). When the procedure instruction key 122 or the guidance instruction key-123 is pressed, the communication control unit 15 sends an operation command stored in the operation procedure buffer 14 to the operator via the public line network 2 in accordance with a predefined communication protocol. The requested help instruction and the operation command indicating the contents are transmitted to the host computer 3 (step S2). When the central processing unit 31 of the host computer 3 receives the help instruction request from the terminal device 1a (step S), the central processing unit 31 stores the terminal attribute table 100 of the mass storage device 32 in order to determine the model of the terminal device 1a. By searching, an entry in which the identifier of the terminal device 1a requesting the help instruction matches the identifier stored in the ID storage unit 100a is detected (step S4), and the operation stored in the address unit 100b of the matched entry is detected. Based on the address of the procedure manual table, the operation procedure manual table 200 to which the help instruction is input is detected (step 5). In order to detect the entry of the operation procedure table 200 storing the requested operation command, the operation command transmitted from the terminal device 1a is offset to the acquired reference address, and the operation procedure table 200 is detected. Entry address is acquired (step S6). As the operation commands defined in the operation command storage unit 200a of the operation procedure manual table 200, all the operation commands supported for each model are set in order. An operation command that matches the operation input by the help instruction is detected by offsetting the operation command to the start address of the operation procedure manual table 200 specified by the address portion 100b, and the operation function description of the matching operation And the address where the operation guidance is stored. Next, the central processing unit 31 analyzes whether the request received from the terminal device 1a is a description of the operation procedure or a description of the function of the operation (step S7). As a result of this analysis, if an explanation of an operation procedure whose request for the terminal device 1a is unknown is entered, a procedure explanation process is entered (steps S8 and S9). Processing is started (steps S10 and S11). If any other request is received, an error status is transmitted to the terminal device 1a (step S12), and the help instruction request receiving process is terminated.
[0014]
Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 when there is a help request for explanation of an unknown operation procedure from the terminal device.
[0015]
When the central processing unit 31 of the host computer 3 receives a help request for explaining the procedure of an unknown operation from the terminal device 1a, for example, it is stored in the address part 200b of the operation procedure table 200 acquired during the reception process. Based on the address, the operation guidance corresponding to the operation command requested from the terminal device 1a is read into the memory of the central processing unit 31 (step S21). Then, based on the entry address of the terminal attribute table 100 acquired during the reception process, the type of hardware installed in the operation procedure output unit 13 of the terminal device 1a that requested the help instruction is acquired (step S22). Based on the previously read operation guidance, operation guidance data corresponding to the acquired hardware type is transmitted to the terminal device 1a (step S23). When the terminal device 1a receives the transmitted data (step S24), it sends the received data to the operation procedure output unit 13 via the communication control unit 15. The operation procedure output unit 13 outputs the received data in a format corresponding to the hardware provided in the operation procedure output unit 13 (step S25). That is, the output function storage unit 100c of the terminal attribute table 100 has a hardware configuration that determines the operation procedure output form of the operation procedure output unit 13 of the terminal devices 1a to 1n, such as a speaker, a liquid crystal display, a touch panel, When a flag indicating a plotter or the like is stored and the operation procedure output unit 13 of the terminal device 1a to which the help instruction is input is equipped with, for example, only a speaker, a voice operation procedure description is output to the terminal device 1a. When the terminal device 1a is equipped with a speaker or a liquid crystal display, the form of the output information is determined so as to output an operation procedure description by voice, text, image or moving image. The operator of the terminal device 1a presses a predetermined operation key 121 on the operation panel 12 in accordance with the output guidance (step S26). When the operation key 121 is pressed after the guidance is output, the terminal device 1a informs the host computer 3 which operation key 121 has been pressed (step S27). When the host computer 3 receives the pressing state of the operation key from the terminal device 1a, the host computer 3 verifies whether the same key as the operation key instructed by the guidance has been pressed (steps S28 and S29). If the operation key pressed by the terminal device 1a is different from the output operation key information, the operation guidance data is sent again (step S30), and the above operations and processes are repeated. When this process is repeated in sequence and all of the guidance instructions are completed, the line between the terminal device 1a and the host computer 3 is released and the process is terminated (step S31).
[0016]
Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 when there is a help request for explanation of the function of an unknown operation from the terminal device.
[0017]
When the central processing unit 31 of the host computer 3 receives a help request for explaining the function of an unknown operation from the terminal device 1a, it is stored in the address part 200b of the operation procedure manual table 200 acquired at the time of reception processing. The operation function manual corresponding to the operation command requested from the terminal device 1a is read into the memory of the central processing unit 31 based on the stored address (step S41). Then, based on the entry address of the terminal attribute table 100 acquired during the reception process, the type of hardware installed in the operation procedure output unit 13 of the terminal device 1a that requested the help instruction is acquired (step S42). The function manual data corresponding to the hardware type of the operation procedure output unit 13 of the terminal device 1a is transmitted to the terminal device 1a from the operation function manuals previously read into the memory (step S43). . When the communication control unit 15 of the terminal device 1a transmits the function manual data, it sends the received data to the operation procedure output unit 13 and outputs the data (step S45). When the operator confirms the output function manual data, the necessary function contents can be easily known.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when the operation procedure and various function information are unknown in the terminal device, a help instruction is sent to the host computer connected via the network, and the unknown operation procedure is sent from the host computer. Since information and various function information are transmitted and displayed as images, texts, videos, or sounds, it is equipped with many advanced functions to easily check the operation of complicated OA equipment without an operation manual. Can do. Therefore, even if the model is touched for the first time, it is possible to fully use the functions installed in OA equipment, and anyone can freely use the advanced functions provided by OA equipment without feeling uneasy. It is possible to improve the rationalization and improvement of the paperwork by sufficiently fulfilling the function as a processing efficiency tool.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a mass storage device of a host computer according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation function manual and an operation procedure guidance file of the mass storage device.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a function content storage unit of the file.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a help instruction transmission / reception operation;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing transmission and output operations of unknown operation procedure information.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing transmission and output operations of unknown function information.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 2 Public line network 3 Host computer 11 Terminal device main body 12 Operation panel 13 Operation procedure output unit 14 Operation procedure buffer 15 Communication control unit 31 Central processing unit 32 Large capacity recording device

Claims (2)

Help instructions input from a plurality of terminal devices connected to the host computer via the line network are transmitted to the host computer via the line network according to a predetermined communication protocol, and the host computer in advance follows the received help instructions. Check the operation procedure information and various function information stored for each terminal device, and output the confirmed operation procedure and function description to the terminal device that sent the help instruction with the mixed information of image, text, video or voice, A terminal device operation procedure support method, characterized in that, when information on pressing of an operation key different from the output operation procedure is received from the terminal device, the operation procedure is output again to the terminal device. A multi-channel communication control device, a large capacity recording device and a central processing unit;
  The multi-channel communication control device controls transmission / reception with a plurality of terminal devices connected via a network.
  The large-capacity recording device stores operation function and operation procedure guidance information for each terminal device connected via a network.
  When the central processing unit receives a help instruction from each connected terminal apparatus by the multi-channel communication control apparatus, the central processing unit is stored for each terminal apparatus stored in the large-capacity recording apparatus according to the received help instruction. Confirm the operation procedure information and various function information, and output the confirmed operation procedure and function description to the terminal device that sent the help instruction via the multi-channel communication control device as mixed information of image, text, video or voice. A host computer having a terminal device operation procedure support function, which outputs the operation procedure to the terminal device again when the operation key pressing information different from the output operation procedure is received from the terminal device.

Images