JP4970980B2 - Information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and program, and more particularly to a Web user interface technology. In particular, it is a user interface technology related to usability and accessibility.

  In recent built-in information processing apparatuses (for example, an image forming apparatus and a multi-function multifunction peripheral), there are some that dynamically change the number of functions to be provided. In such an apparatus, menu display of functions that cannot be used by the user is a problem. Therefore, there is a demand for an information processing apparatus that dynamically generates a menu from which functions that cannot be used or functions that cannot be used depending on user authority are deleted.

  As a conventional invention that responds to the above problems, there is an information processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. This is because menu information corresponding to all functions provided by a plurality of operating applications is registered in advance in the menu information storage unit according to the template, and the menu information stored in the menu information storage unit is transmitted from the terminal. The menu information is reconfigured according to the user information, and the menu information is converted into a menu format that can be displayed on the terminal by referring to the conversion rules, and a menu suitable for the user is dynamically generated. Is.

On the other hand, in an embedded information processing apparatus, there is a case in which adoption of a so-called screen reader that reads a menu by voice is required from the viewpoint of accessibility (for example, see Patent Document 2). However, many screen readers do not omit reading aloud when alternative text is set for terms such as menus due to specifications.
JP 2004-185464 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-272992

  However, the above prior art has the following problems.

  In an interface that presents output to the user, including not only a screen reader but also a page that visually displays a menu or the like by an image, the alternative text for the user is read without omission. It is troublesome to be displayed or displayed one by one. Therefore, the prior art has a problem that unnecessary descriptions cannot be omitted.

  In addition, the conventional technology for dynamically generating a menu suitable for the user omits unnecessary descriptions, but there is a problem that no consideration is given to a technology for adding necessary descriptions. It was.

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention adds a description necessary for the user by switching display / non-display of the alternative text attached to a certain element or switching the contents of the text, and is unnecessary. The purpose is to omit simple descriptions.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an information processing system comprising: an arithmetic device that functions as a Web application; a storage device that stores term output settings and term data corresponding to each user; and a network interface. When the network interface receives a request from a client on the network, the arithmetic unit is configured to authenticate a user who issued the request, and a user authenticated by the authentication unit from the storage device Means for acquiring a term output setting corresponding to the term, term extracting means for extracting only the term and alternative text required for the user by the term output setting from the term data in the storage device, and the term extracting means Hypertext using terms and alternative text extracted by It possesses the final output means to generate a preparative output page return output page as a response; wherein the term output settings for a single user, the terms in the field there is no need alternative text suppressed fields or A data structure in which a term explicit field, which is a field requiring alternative text, is associated, and the term data is a data structure in which a term field is associated with a certain term, and the term extracting means includes: An information processing apparatus that extracts alternative text of a term corresponding to a user's term suppression field or term explicit field .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, an external storage device stores term output settings and term data corresponding to each user instead of the storage device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the term output setting is a data structure in which a language used is associated with one user, and the term data is It is a data structure in which a translation and an alternative text for each language used by a user are associated with a certain term, and the term extraction means extracts a translation and an alternative text according to the language used by the user. Features.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the term output setting is associated with at least one of a role and a knowledge level for a certain user. The term data is a data structure in which a difficulty level is associated with a certain term, and the term extracting means is a term having a difficulty level corresponding to at least one of a user role and a knowledge level. The alternative text is extracted.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the Web application includes an interface for the user to edit the term output setting corresponding to each user. And

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the Web application includes an interface for a user to edit the term data.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the web application downloads the term output setting corresponding to each user to the client; And a means for executing a process of uploading after editing on the client.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the web application downloads the term data to the client, and a user edits the client on the client. And a means for executing a process of uploading later.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arithmetic device of an information processing apparatus comprising a storage device for storing term output settings and term data corresponding to each user, and a network interface. Upon receipt of the request, an authentication means for authenticating the user who issued the request, a means for obtaining a term output setting corresponding to the user authenticated by the authentication means from the storage device, and the term data of the storage device the generated and terminology extraction means for extracting required terminology and alternative text to the user, the output page of hypertext by using a term term extraction means has extracted and alternative text by the term output setting from within to function as the final output means that returns the output page as a response, The term output setting is a data structure in which a term suppression field that is a field that does not require alternative text or a term explicit field that is a field that requires alternative text is associated with one user, and the term data Is a data structure in which a term field is associated with a certain term, and the term extracting means extracts an alternative text of a term according to the term suppression field or term explicit field of the user. It is a program.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to add a description necessary for the user and omit an unnecessary description. As a result, usability and accessibility are improved in the user interface technology.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus equipped with a Web application corresponding to this embodiment. Although the present invention is not particularly limited, the information processing apparatus has a function as an image forming apparatus. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus is taken as an example, but the present invention may be realized by a general-purpose server or the like on which a Web application is operating.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 includes a network interface 7, a Web application 2, an authentication unit 3, user information 4, term output settings 5, and multilingual term data 6, and can be operated using the Web application 2 from the network. It can be done.

  The Web application 2 has a function of interpreting a request transmitted from a client or the like via a network, acquiring term data, and outputting HTML.

  The authentication unit 3 authenticates the requesting user.

  The user information 4 has a user ID, a user name, a user term setting, and the like.

  The term output setting 5 has a setting of how the term is output in the image forming apparatus 1.

  The multilingual term data 6 has a translated term of each language corresponding to the term ID, and further has an abbreviation and an alternative word thereof.

  Next, the hardware configuration and network configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration and network configuration diagram of the present embodiment. First, the network configuration will be described. Here, a personal computer 8 and a personal computer 9 are arranged in the same segment and connected by a network 8b. For example, the personal computer 8 is used by the user A, and the personal computer 9 is used by the user B. .

  Next, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described. The image forming apparatus 1 controls the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 and also executes a calculation device 1a that executes necessary calculations based on the program, and a storage device that stores a program for causing the image forming apparatus 1 to function as the Web application 2. 1b. The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment executes information processing in which the software illustrated in FIG. 1 performs each function in cooperation with the above hardware resources.

  Next, the user information 4 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows a list of user information 4 (user account information). Referring to FIG. 3, the user information 4 of the present embodiment includes a use language, a role, a term level, and a term suppression field corresponding to the user name. In addition to these, it may be held as user information, or a part thereof may be lacking.

  Here, the language used is a language that the user wants to display. Basically, the Web page is displayed using the language used.

  A role is a role of a user, and has a setting such as an administrator or a general user. In general, network administrators are familiar with the network and are often familiar with network terminology.

  The term level is a level of knowledge about general terms, and it can be shown that items below the level shown here may not be displayed. Here, one level is described as a whole, but a level can be determined for each term field.

  The term suppression field indicates a term field that does not require detailed explanation. Here, only the suppression field is listed, but conversely, it may be explicitly output.

  Next, the multilingual term data 6 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a list of the multilingual term data 6.

  FIG. 4A shows a correspondence between a term ID and each language. As a result, it is possible to support multiple languages when generating a page without creating a page for each language in advance.

  FIG. 4B shows a term and alternative text corresponding to the term. Here you can see that there are alternative texts for both Japanese and English. The field and difficulty shown in the figure correspond to the term suppression field and term level described with reference to FIG. Here, alternative texts are prepared for all languages for terms, but there are languages that are not supported, and there is no problem if they are left blank.

  Next, a method for storing the multilingual term data 6 in the storage device will be described. FIG. 5 shows the multilingual term data 6 in the XML format. Here, the term data is not limited to the XML format, and may be in any format. The storage location may be inside the apparatus or a file server outside the apparatus. The storage method may also be a database or a file format.

  Next, the output page obtained by this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is an example of HTML of a page output using the term output setting 5 and the multilingual term data 6. In FIG. 6, corresponding to the term “IP” and the term “DMZ”, the contents in the case where the terms are not omitted are written. As shown in FIG. 6, it may be expressed using HTML tags or supplemented using parentheses.

  Next, a screen displayed on the Web browser operated by the user will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a screen displayed on the browser of the client. FIG. 7 illustrates four types of screens 1 to 4 in FIG. Each will be described below.

  Referring to FIG. 7, an output example of a page corresponding to multiple languages (here, examples of Japanese and English are shown) is shown.

  Referring to FIG. 7-2, there is shown an output example of a page in which the meaning of a term is displayed only by bringing the mouse pointer over the term by using the HTML tag shown in FIG.

  Referring to 3 of FIG. 7, an output example of a page that can be omitted depending on the user's term level, field, and language is shown.

  Referring to FIG. 7-4, there is shown an example of a page output by a display method that does not use HTML tags, instead of the display method that uses HTML tags as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7-2. . Of course, there are cases where parentheses are used.

  Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram when outputting a page according to a request from a user who requires authentication in the present embodiment. Here, when the authentication is successful, the user information is acquired, and the individual user information regarding the term output included therein is used. The term output setting (default setting) of the image forming apparatus 1 is overwritten with information specific to each user, thereby generating an output page.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  A page output request sent from the web browser 8a to the image forming apparatus 1 that also functions as a web server (step S801), the web application 2 first sends the user information sent together with the request to the authentication unit 3. Then, an authentication request is made (step S802).

  The authentication unit 3 performs a check with reference to the user information 4 (step S803), and if successful, performs a login process (step S804). Then, the result is returned to the Web application 2 (in this case, the operation is permitted, Step S805), and in response, the Web application 2 acquires the term output setting 5 (Step S806).

  The Web application 2 also acquires term output user individual information from the user information 4 (step S807), and acquires term data from the multilingual term data 6 based on the individual information (step S808).

  Then, the web application 2 overwrites the term output setting with the term data for each user to generate an output page (step S809), and returns the generated output page to the web browser 8a as a response (step S810). ).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8, when the user browses a page that does not require authentication, instead of outputting a page according to a request from a user that requires authentication, the entire embodiment of the present embodiment The operation will be described. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram when browsing a page that does not require login in the present embodiment. A user who is not logged in generates a request for the page, and uses only the term setting (default setting) of the image forming apparatus 1 to output the page.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  When an authentication unnecessary page is requested from the web browser 8a (step S901), the web application 2 acquires the term output setting 5 and the multilingual term data 6 (steps S902 and S903). Based on these, an output page is generated (step S904), and the output page is returned as a response to the web browser 8a (step S905).

  Next, the operation of the Web application of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the Web application 2. An outline of the operation flow shown in FIG. 10 will be described.

  The Web application 2 performs the request processing (step S1001, step S1002), authenticates the user (step S1003), and uses the term output setting information for each user (step S1004 / required, step S1005). Otherwise, the setting of the image forming apparatus 1 is used (step S1004 / unnecessary). Using the term output setting (default setting) (steps S1006 to S1009), the alternative text corresponding to the term is acquired (steps S1010 and S1011), HTML is generated from the data, and a response is transmitted (step S1012). Step S1013). If user authentication fails, an error is generated, an error response is transmitted, and the process ends (steps S1014 and S1015).

  Next, regarding the operation of the Web application of the present embodiment, in particular, the processing of “adding alternative text based on term output setting” will be described in detail. FIG. 11 details the processing of “adding alternative text based on term output setting” shown in FIG. Here, while the alternative text remains on the page (step S1101), whether or not the alternative text is displayed is repeated (step S1102 to step S1107). In this process, if there is a setting that requires at least one display using the difficulty level (step S1103), the field (step S1104), and the language (step S1105) (step S1106), an alternative text is added. (Step S1107).

  Here, the determination method is shown in FIG. 11, such as a determination that the determination criterion is displayed when it is necessary to display two or more, or a case where there is one that is not required. It is not limited to what has been described.

  Next, a setting screen that can be set by the user will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a setting screen that can be set by the user. FIG. 12 illustrates four types of setting screens 1 to 4 in FIG. Each will be described below.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 12 is a setting for the entire image forming apparatus 1 and is normally set only by an administrator.

  12 in FIG. 12 is a setting for each user, and can be set by each user or by an administrator. The example illustrated in 2 of FIG. 12 is where the user A is set.

  3 of FIG. 12 illustrates a setting screen for setting the user F. In this screen example, “network” and “paper type” are selected as the term suppression fields.

  Reference numeral 4 in FIG. 12 illustrates a setting screen for adding, deleting, and correcting terms. According to this screen example, even if the user customizes to create a new screen or adds setting items to the screen, it is possible to add terms that the user thinks necessary. This is because it provides the user with an interface for creating terms. Also, if you want to add an explanation to an existing term, you can set it naturally. This is because the user is provided with an interface for adding explanations to registered terms.

  Next, effects of the above embodiment will be described.

  The present embodiment is configured to add a description necessary for the user and omit an unnecessary description by switching display / non-display of the alternative text attached to a certain element or switching the content of the text. Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, all users can browse a page with an appropriate explanation. In particular, when the user uses a screen reader, reading may not be skipped depending on the type of screen reader, so the configuration of the above embodiment in which the description is deleted when generating a page is useful.

  Further, even when necessary information differs for each user, according to the embodiment, it is possible to add a description necessary for the user and omit an unnecessary description.

  Further, even if the necessity or the necessity is different depending on the difficulty level such as an abbreviation, according to the embodiment, it is possible to add a description necessary for the user and omit an unnecessary description.

  Further, even when necessary or unnecessary differs depending on the user's expertise, according to the embodiment, it is possible to add a description necessary for the user and omit an unnecessary description.

  Further, even when necessary or unnecessary differs depending on the language used by the user, according to the above embodiment, it is possible to add a description necessary for the user and omit an unnecessary description.

  Even when it is difficult to determine whether a single condition is necessary or unnecessary, according to the embodiment, the accuracy of determination can be improved by combining the conditions.

  In addition, even if the accuracy of determination is improved, even if only the user can indicate whether or not the above alternative text is really necessary for the user, according to the above embodiment, the user can make adjustments. Therefore, it can be reliably determined whether or not it is necessary.

  In addition, according to the above embodiment, since the user can set and register the above alternative text and the like, it is possible to deal with terms that are not yet registered in the device, and as a result, customization by the user. Even if items are added in, it can be flexibly handled.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. This embodiment is to further refine the functional configuration and operation of the Web application 2 in the first embodiment. In addition, a menu screen for printing or FAX transmission is output as the output of the Web application 2 in particular. The configuration and operation of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a module configuration of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 and the client 8c are communicably connected via a network 8b. The image forming apparatus 1 is roughly divided into two functions, a Web server 7a and a Web application 2. It is configured. Hereinafter, each module will be described, but the description overlapping with the first embodiment will be omitted to avoid complication.

  The Web server 7 a provides the image forming apparatus 1 with basic I / O with the network 8 b and server-application communication function with the Web application 2 that are well known to those skilled in the art.

  The web application 2 includes a web framework 20, an HTML content generation unit 21, a menu edit screen processing unit 22, a menu data UL / DL screen processing unit 23, a menu screen processing unit 24, a login authority determination unit 25, and a menu data I / O 26. The menu data storage unit 27 is included.

  The login authority determination unit 25 corresponds to the authentication unit 3 of the first embodiment.

  The menu data storage unit 27 stores “multilingual menu and menu data including alternative text” output using the term output setting 5 and the multilingual term data 6 of the first embodiment.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the above-described “data of a menu including a multilingual menu and alternative text” is downloaded by a client request and uploads the data edited by an edit request.

  This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 14, in the first embodiment, menu data can be downloaded and uploaded with respect to XML-format menu data corresponding to the multilingual term data 6 shown in FIG.

  First, the download operation of this embodiment will be described.

  The menu data download request (step S1401) sent by the user from the web browser of the client 8c to the web server 7a is transferred to the menu UL / DL screen processing unit 23 via the web framework 20 (step S1402) (or Request dispatch) (step S1403).

  The menu UL / DL processing unit 23 reads the menu data in the XML format from the menu data storage unit 27 via the menu data I / O 26 (step S1403, step S1404, step S1405). Data is transmitted to the client 8c, and the process is terminated (steps S1406, S1407, and S1408).

  Next, the upload operation of this embodiment will be described.

  The user edits the XML format menu data downloaded according to the usage form and the management form by using an arbitrary editor or the like on the client 8c, and transmits an upload request to the image forming apparatus 1 again (step S1409). ). The request is again delegated (or request dispatched) to the menu UL / DL screen processing unit 23 via the Web framework 20 (step S1410) (step S1411).

  The menu UL / DL screen processing unit 23 checks the validity of the received XML format menu data (step S1412), and if there is no abnormality, reflects it in the menu data storage unit 27 (steps S1413 and S1414). If all the processes are successful (steps S1415 and S1416), a completion screen or the like is created by the HTML content generation unit 21 (steps S1417 and S1418) and transmitted to the client, and the process ends (steps S1419 and S1419). Step S1420).

  The effect of this embodiment will be described. According to the present embodiment, in the first embodiment, display settings such as menu data that can be edited by the user are set on the server side using a Web application. After the data is downloaded and edited locally Since the uploading configuration is provided, the menu can be edited using an environment and tools familiar to the user. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a means for changing the setting on the Web application side, it is possible to avoid the enlargement of the Web application program.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions and network structure of suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user information of this embodiment by a list. It is a figure which shows an example of the multilingual term data of this embodiment by a list, (a) is what matched term ID and each language, (b) is a term, and the alternative text corresponding to it. It is a figure which shows an example of the multilingual term data of this embodiment in an XML format. It is a figure which shows an example of the HTML of the output page of this embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the screen displayed on the browser of the client of this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram (the 1) which shows the whole operation | movement of this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram (the 2) which shows the whole operation | movement of this embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of the Web application of this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing in detail a process of “adding alternative text based on term output setting” shown in FIG. 10. It is a figure which illustrates the setting screen which the user of this embodiment can set. It is a block diagram which shows the module structure of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation | movement of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1a Arithmetic apparatus 1b Storage apparatus 2 Web application 3 Authentication part 4 User information 5 Term output setting 6 Multilingual term data 7 Network interface 7a Web server 8, 9 Personal computer 8a Web browser 8b Network 8c Client (Web browser)

Claims (9)

An information processing apparatus comprising: an arithmetic device that functions as a Web application; a storage device that stores term output settings and term data corresponding to each user; and a network interface;
The arithmetic unit is:
When the network interface receives a request from a client on the network, an authentication unit that authenticates a user who issued the request;
Means for acquiring a term output setting corresponding to a user authenticated by the authentication means from the storage device;
A term extraction means for extracting required terminology and alternative text to the user by the term output setting from the terms data of the storage device,
Using the terms term extracting means has extracted and alternative text possess a final output unit that returns the output pages and generate output pages of hypertext as a response, a
The term output setting is a data structure in which a term suppression field that is a field that does not require alternative text or a term explicit field that is a field that requires alternative text is associated with a user.
The term data is a data structure in which a term field is associated with one term,
The information processing apparatus is characterized in that the term extracting means extracts an alternative text of a term corresponding to a user's term suppression field or term explicit field .   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an external storage device stores a term output setting and term data corresponding to each user instead of the storage device. The term output setting is a data structure in which a language used is associated with one user,
The term data is a data structure in which a translation for each language used by the user and alternative text are associated with one term.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the term extraction unit extracts a translated word and an alternative text according to a language used by a user. The term output setting is a data structure in which at least one of a role and a knowledge level is associated with one user.
The term data is a data structure in which a difficulty level is associated with one term,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the term extraction unit extracts an alternative text of a term having a difficulty level corresponding to at least one of a user role and a knowledge level.   5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Web application includes an interface through which a user edits the term output setting corresponding to each user.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the web application includes an interface for a user to edit the term data.   The said Web application is provided with the means to perform the process which downloads the said term output setting corresponding to every user to the said client, and the process which a user edits on the said client and uploads it. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6.   The said Web application is provided with the means to perform the process which downloads the said term data to the said client, and the process which a user edits on the said client and uploads it, The one of Claim 1 to 7 characterized by the above-mentioned. 1. An information processing apparatus according to item 1. A computing device of an information processing device comprising a storage device for storing term output settings and term data corresponding to each user, and a network interface.
When the network interface receives a request from a client on the network,
An authentication means for authenticating the user who issued the request;
Means for acquiring a term output setting corresponding to a user authenticated by the authentication means from the storage device;
A term extraction means for extracting required terminology and alternative text to the user by the term output setting from the terms data of the storage device,
Using the term extracted by the term extraction means and the alternative text, generate a hypertext output page and function as a final output means for returning the output page as a response ,
The term output setting is a data structure in which a term suppression field that is a field that does not require alternative text or a term explicit field that is a field that requires alternative text is associated with a user.
The term data is a data structure in which a term field is associated with one term,
The term extracting means extracts an alternative text of a term corresponding to a user's term suppression field or term explicit field .

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