JP6222011B2 - Display method and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal device and a display method, for example, a terminal device connectable to an image forming apparatus and a display method in such a terminal device.

  In the image forming apparatus, various methods are employed to inform the user of the state. For example, there is a technique for notifying the status of an image forming apparatus by changing the lighting mode of an LED or the like provided in the image forming apparatus. In recent years, the cost of liquid crystal display panels has been reduced, and in many image forming apparatuses, liquid crystal display panels with high resolution have been installed. Detailed statuses and the like are displayed on the liquid crystal display panels. Many devices are also being introduced to the market.

  Conventionally, a technique for easily recognizing the status of the image forming apparatus with a portable terminal has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Specifically, there is a technique for determining the device state from the state of the LED provided in the image forming apparatus and displaying it on a mobile phone as another terminal.

JP 2013-29980 A

  By the way, in the image forming apparatus, depending on the mounted display panel, there may be a case where only very limited information or abbreviated expressions that are omitted can be displayed. Extension panels using external devices have also been proposed, but it may be necessary for each model, and it may take some time and effort to connect external devices. It was done. With the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operation status of the image forming apparatus can be grasped based on the light emission status of the LED, but the technology using the LED has little information amount and kind of information, and grasps a more detailed status. There was a need for display technology.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and it aims at providing the technique which can solve the said subject.

The display method of the present invention includes a panel photographing step of photographing a display panel of an image forming apparatus and a model name of the image forming apparatus described on the display panel side with a mobile terminal , and based on the photographed image. the an analysis step of analyzing the readable content that appears to have visual display panel, based on the result of the analysis step, readable contents by the naked eye that is displayed in the display panel of the image forming apparatus the details of, and a detailed display step of displaying on said mobile terminal further comprises at least, and icons and text indicating the status information and the operation information about the image forming apparatus, and displaying on the display panel, at least Displaying the abbreviation of the paper size used in the image forming apparatus on the display panel as the text; A step of storing a database of detailed status information and detailed operation information associated with the icon and the text for each model of the image forming apparatus, and based on the captured image of the model name of the image forming apparatus A step of specifying a model of the image forming apparatus, and a step of specifying the detailed status information and the detailed operation information corresponding to the model based on the database based on the captured icon and the text image And displaying the specified detailed status information and the detailed operation information on the mobile terminal together with the image of the specified image forming apparatus of the model, and the paper size used in the image forming apparatus specified based official name in the database, and Ru and a step of displaying on the mobile terminal.
Furthermore, you may provide the process of displaying the text which carried out language conversion of the said text displayed on the said display panel on the said mobile terminal .
The image forming system of the present invention is an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes an imaging unit, a display panel of the image forming apparatus captured by the imaging unit, and a side of the display panel. The analysis unit for analyzing the visually readable content displayed on the display panel of the image forming apparatus based on the image with the model name of the image forming apparatus described in the above, and the result of the analyzing unit A display unit for displaying details of the visually readable contents displayed on the display panel on a mobile terminal, and the display panel includes at least status information about the image forming apparatus and An icon and text indicating operation information are displayed, and the text includes at least an abbreviation of a paper size used in the image forming apparatus. The mobile terminal stores a database of detailed status information and detailed operation information associated with the icon and the text for each model of the image forming apparatus, and the analysis unit further includes the captured image formation Based on the image of the model name of the apparatus, the model of the image forming apparatus is specified, the detailed status information corresponding to the model based on the database based on the captured icon and the text image, and The detailed operation information is specified, and the mobile terminal displays the specified detailed status information and the detailed operation information together with the image of the specified image forming apparatus of the model, and further the image formation that displays specified based on said database the full name of the paper size to be used in the device.
The image forming system of the present invention is an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a mobile terminal, and a server. The mobile terminal includes an imaging unit, a display panel of the image forming apparatus captured by the imaging unit, and the display panel. An analysis unit for analyzing visually readable content displayed on the display panel of the image forming apparatus based on an image with a model name of the image forming apparatus described on the side of the image forming apparatus; And a detail display unit for displaying details of the visually readable contents displayed on the display panel on a mobile terminal based on the result of the display panel, and the display panel includes at least a status relating to the image forming apparatus Icons and text indicating information and operation information are displayed, and the text is abbreviated for paper size used in the image forming apparatus. The server stores a database of detailed status information and detailed operation information associated with the icon and the text for each model of the image forming apparatus, and the analysis unit further captures the captured image Based on the image of the model name of the image forming apparatus, the model of the image forming apparatus is specified, and the detailed status corresponding to the model is based on the database based on the captured icon and the text image. Specifying the information and the detailed operation information, the mobile terminal displays the specified detailed status information and the detailed operation information together with the image of the specified image forming apparatus of the model, and The official name of the paper size used in the image forming apparatus is specified and displayed based on the database.
In addition, the mobile terminal may display text obtained by language-converting the text displayed on the display panel.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which expands the display content to a mobile terminal with respect to the image forming apparatus which has a display panel with which display capability is restrict | limited can be provided.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a detailed screen of the operation status displayed on the display panel of a mobile terminal based on embodiment. . 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a display panel of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a table showing an example of information omitted when displayed on the display panel of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system 1 of the present embodiment. As illustrated, the image forming system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 10 and a mobile terminal 50. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a display panel 41 that displays an operation status and the like. In some cases, the size of the display panel 41 is small or the amount of information that can be displayed is small because the resolution is low. Therefore, the mobile terminal 50 captures and acquires the content displayed on the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 and displays a more detailed display mode on its own display panel 52.

  Examples of the image forming apparatus 10 include a printer and a multifunction peripheral. Examples of the mobile terminal 50 include a tablet terminal, a smartphone, and a notebook PC.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming system 1 including the image forming apparatus 10 and the mobile terminal 50. Here, the detailed display process of the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 by the mobile terminal 50 is shown and the configuration relating to other processes is omitted as appropriate.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 20, a communication processing unit 22, a print execution processing unit 30, a scan execution processing unit 32, and a user interface unit 40.

  The communication processing unit 22 is a communication interface such as a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or USB communication, and is communicably connected to an external terminal. The mobile terminal 50 may be included as an external terminal.

  The control unit 20 includes an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and performs a print output process, a document reading process, and other various processes. Further, in order to notify the user of the operation status, the operation status is displayed on the display panel 41 of the user interface unit 40 in a predetermined manner.

  The print execution processing unit 30 has a general print execution function, and executes a printing operation according to an instruction from the control unit 20. The scan execution processing unit 32 has a general configuration and includes a scanner, a platen glass, a document reading slit, and the like.

  The user interface unit 40 (denoted as a user IF unit 40 in the figure) includes a display panel 41 and an operation button unit 42. The display panel 41 displays status information and operation information regarding the image forming apparatus 10. The operation button unit 42 receives a user operation on the image forming apparatus 10.

  The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a notebook PC. The mobile terminal 50 includes a main control unit 51, a display panel 52, a communication control unit 53, a camera 54, and a panel display analysis unit 60.

  The main control unit 51 comprehensively controls the components. The display panel 52 is a liquid crystal display panel having a touch function, for example. The communication control unit 53 is, for example, a wireless LAN interface or a Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface.

  The panel display analysis unit 60 acquires an image such as an operation status displayed on the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 and displays it on the display panel 52 with more detailed contents. In order to realize the function, the panel display analysis unit 60 includes a panel analysis unit 61, a detailed display processing unit 62, and a reference data unit 63.

  The panel analysis unit 61 controls the camera 54 to capture an operation status displayed on the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10, analyzes the captured image, and specifies the displayed content.

  The detail display processing unit 62 displays an operation status or the like displayed in a more detailed form than the form displayed on the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the specified content.

  The reference data unit 63 stores various data necessary for analyzing an image captured by the panel analysis unit 61. In this data, displayed contents (icons and text) are associated with detailed information. Further, this data may be associated with the model of the image forming apparatus 10. In this case, it can be displayed together with an image of the actual model at the time of detailed display. Note that the model name of the image forming apparatus 10 is often described on the display panel 41 side, and in this case, it can be determined from the image on the status display screen. When it is difficult to acquire an image once, an image acquisition process for specifying the model may be added.

The data in the reference data unit 63 can be updated via the communication control unit 53, for example. The function of the reference data unit 63 may be provided in an external server or the like. In this case, the panel analysis unit 61 accesses the external server via the communication control unit 53 and refers to necessary data.

  FIG. 3 shows a detailed screen example of the operation status displayed on the display panel 52 of the mobile terminal 50. Since the high-performance image forming apparatus 10 is equipped with a high-performance display panel and arithmetic unit, such a detailed image (extended display mode) can be displayed. Further, a detailed image can be displayed on a personal computer in which a printing driver of the image forming apparatus 10 is introduced. However, in the case of the low price range or the very small image forming apparatus 10, the amount of information that can be displayed on the display panel 41 to be mounted is small as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display panel 41 having a small amount of information that can be displayed. FIG. 4A shows the paper status. FIG. 4B shows the toner status. FIG. 4C shows a predetermined warning display. Here, a warning is given that the envelope mode switch and the paper type do not match.

  For such users and managers who frequently use the image forming apparatus 10, what this information means can be easily understood. However, if the size of the display panel 41 is small, the displayed characters may not be clearly recognized for a user with poor vision such as an elderly person. Even such users can understand the status. In addition, language conversion may be performed when displaying on the mobile terminal 50. That is, when the text on the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 is in English, it may be converted into Japanese text when displayed on the mobile terminal 50.

  FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of information omitted when displayed, and shows the formal names of general paper sizes and their abbreviations. For example, in the case of the paper size “Envelope Monarch”, “MO” is abbreviated and displayed on the display panel 41.

  FIG. 4A shows an example in which the sheet statuses of the manual feed tray and the first to fifth sheet feeding trays are displayed. Here, for example, the state of the fourth paper feed tray is shown in the icon in the middle of the second row, and the letters “LT” are displayed on the right side of the icon. As shown in FIG. 5, this is an abbreviation for the paper size “Letter”.

  For a user who is not frequently used or a user who is not familiar with electronic devices, it may not be possible to grasp what is meant or what should be done. In general, a correspondence table as shown in FIG. 5 is described in an instruction manual or the like, but it is troublesome to search and refer to it. Therefore, as described above, the mobile terminal 50 having the camera 54 captures the operation status of the display panel 41 of the image forming apparatus 10 and displays the details on the display panel 52 of the mobile terminal 50 in an expanded manner. This makes it easier to understand the operating status.

  In particular, in recent years, mobile terminals 50 such as smartphones and tablet terminals have become common, and there are many cases where mobile terminals 50 are carried at hand, and application startup is also fast. For this reason, it is possible to realize from the photographing to the graphical detail display at a speed that can be satisfied practically. In particular, the processing itself can be completed only by the mobile terminal 50, and communication processing with the image forming apparatus 10 is not necessary, so that processing can be performed in a short time.

  The image acquired by the camera 54 can be a moving image or a still image. If it is a video, it can be converted and displayed in real time even if the screen changes. In addition, once a still image is taken, the detailed display can be viewed even if the mobile terminal 50 is moved.

  In a situation where the model of the image forming apparatus 10 can be specified and an error has occurred, the mobile terminal 50 accesses a predetermined web page, downloads the instruction manual, and displays the page of the error that is occurring now. You can also open and display the procedure.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of these components, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system 10 Image forming apparatus 20 Control part 22 Communication process part 30 Print execution process part 32 Scan execution process part 40 User interface part 41 Display panel 42 Operation button part 50 Mobile terminal (terminal device)
51 Main Control Unit 52 Display Panel 53 Communication Control Unit 54 Camera 60 Panel Display Analysis Unit 61 Panel Analysis Unit 62 Detailed Display Processing Unit 63 Reference Data Unit (Internal Database)

Claims (5)

A panel photographing step of photographing a display panel of the image forming apparatus and a model name of the image forming apparatus described on the display panel side with a mobile terminal ;
Based on the photographed image, an analysis step of analyzing visually readable contents displayed on the display panel of the image forming apparatus;
Wherein based on the result of the analysis process, the details of the readable contents displayed the visual and the display panel, and a detailed display step of displaying on the mobile terminal,
further,
Displaying at least icons and text indicating status information and operation information related to the image forming apparatus on the display panel;
Displaying at least an abbreviation of a paper size used in the image forming apparatus on the display panel as the text;
Storing a database of detailed status information and detailed operation information associated with the icon and the text for each model of the image forming apparatus;
Identifying the model of the image forming apparatus based on the image of the model name of the captured image forming apparatus;
Identifying the detailed status information and the detailed operation information corresponding to the model based on the database based on the captured icon and the text image;
Displaying the specified detailed status information and the detailed operation information on the mobile terminal together with the image of the specified image forming apparatus of the model;
Display method wherein the full name of the paper size specified based on said database, and wherein the Rukoto and a step of displaying on the mobile terminal used in the image forming apparatus. The display method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of displaying, on the mobile terminal, text obtained by language-converting the text displayed on the display panel . In an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and a mobile terminal,
The mobile terminal
An imaging unit;
The display panel of the image forming apparatus is displayed based on images of the display panel of the image forming apparatus photographed by the imaging unit and the model name of the image forming apparatus described on the display panel side . An analysis unit for analyzing visually readable contents;
Based on the result of the analysis unit, a detailed display unit that displays the details of the visually readable content displayed on the display panel on a mobile terminal, and
The display panel displays at least icons and text indicating status information and operation information related to the image forming apparatus,
The text includes at least an abbreviation of a paper size used in the image forming apparatus,
The mobile terminal stores a database of detailed status information and detailed operation information associated with the icon and the text for each model of the image forming apparatus,
The analysis unit further specifies a model of the image forming apparatus based on an image of a model name of the photographed image forming apparatus, and based on the database based on the photographed icon and the text image. , Specifying the detailed status information and the detailed operation information corresponding to the model,
The mobile terminal displays the specified detailed status information and the detailed operation information together with the image of the specified type of image forming apparatus, and further displays the paper size used in the image forming apparatus. the image forming system according to claim you to view specified based official name in the database. In an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a mobile terminal, and a server,
The mobile terminal
An imaging unit;
The display panel of the image forming apparatus is displayed based on images of the display panel of the image forming apparatus photographed by the imaging unit and the model name of the image forming apparatus described on the display panel side. An analysis unit for analyzing visually readable contents;
Based on the result of the analysis unit, a detailed display unit that displays the details of the visually readable content displayed on the display panel on a mobile terminal, and
The display panel displays at least icons and text indicating status information and operation information related to the image forming apparatus,
The text includes at least an abbreviation of a paper size used in the image forming apparatus,
The server stores a database of detailed status information and detailed operation information associated with the icon and the text for each model of the image forming apparatus,
The analysis unit further specifies a model of the image forming apparatus based on an image of a model name of the photographed image forming apparatus, and based on the database based on the photographed icon and the text image. , Specifying the detailed status information and the detailed operation information corresponding to the model,
The mobile terminal displays the specified detailed status information and the detailed operation information together with the image of the specified type of image forming apparatus, and further displays the paper size used in the image forming apparatus. An image forming system characterized in that an official name is specified and displayed based on the database . The image forming system according to claim 3 , wherein the mobile terminal displays text obtained by language-converting the text displayed on the display panel .

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