JP2013089017A - Information providing system, information providing method, program and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change display contents of an operation procedure according to display frequency.SOLUTION: In an information providing system 1, an electronic apparatus, a terminal device and an information distribution device are connected to one another. The electronic apparatus has a transmission part for transmitting information including abnormality. The terminal device has a transmission part for transmitting information on the own device. The information distribution device has a transmission part for transmitting at least a part of operation procedure information to at least one of the electronic apparatus and the terminal device. At least one of the electronic apparatus and the terminal device has an operation display part for displaying the operation procedure received from the information distribution device, and a control part for determining a degree of a display frequency on the basis of a display history of the operation procedure information stored in a desired storage area by the electronic apparatus, or the terminal device, or the information distribution device and causing the operation display part to display operation procedure information which is simpler than the operation procedure information regarding the operation procedure information whose display frequency is low in accordance with the determination result.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system, an information providing method, a program, and a terminal device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system for connecting an electronic device having a communication function, such as an image forming apparatus, to an information distribution server using a communication line such as a public line or the Internet, and providing information necessary for the electronic device from the information distribution server. Proposed.

  In the above system, for example, when an abnormality such as a paper set or a printing jam occurs in the image forming apparatus, an operation procedure for canceling the abnormality is requested to the information distribution server, and guidance information on the operation procedure is obtained from the information distribution server. .

  In recent years, with respect to work performed by users such as paper setting and jam removal of an image forming apparatus, enhancement of guidance display for the work has been promoted. For example, in order to remove a set of paper and a jam, a method has been proposed in which guidance on a work procedure is displayed on an operation unit and the completion of the operation is displayed on the operation unit.

  In Patent Document 1, when an abnormality occurs in the image forming apparatus, a detailed operation procedure according to the type and error status of the image forming apparatus is provided for the purpose of displaying a guidance of an appropriate operation procedure for canceling the abnormality. A method of obtaining guidance from an information distribution server and displaying a guidance is disclosed.

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the image forming apparatus acquires a detailed operation procedure from the information distribution server and displays a guidance, information unnecessary for the user may be displayed. For example, in a conventional guidance display showing a work procedure, the same work procedure is displayed for any user, so it is a complicated guidance display for a user who is used to work or a user who is not used to work. Has a problem that the user's convenience is lowered due to insufficient guidance display.

  In addition, even if the operation procedure is the same, an operation for obtaining the procedure from the information distribution server occurs every time an abnormality occurs, and there is a problem that the convenience of the user is lowered in this respect as well.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information providing system, an information providing method, a program, and a terminal device that can change operation procedure information to be displayed according to display frequency.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing system in which an electronic device, a terminal device, and an information distribution device are connected via a network,
The electronic device is
A transmission unit for transmitting information including abnormality of the electronic device;
The terminal device
A transmission unit for transmitting information of the terminal device;
The information distribution apparatus includes:
A transmitting unit that transmits at least a part of the operation procedure information for canceling the abnormality to at least one of the electronic device and the terminal device specified based on information transmitted from each of the transmitting units; Prepared,
At least one of the electronic device and the terminal device is:
A receiving unit for receiving operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution device;
An operation display unit for displaying the received operation procedure information;
The display history of the operation procedure information is stored in a desired storage area by any of the electronic device, the terminal device, or the information distribution device, and the display frequency of the operation procedure information for the abnormality based on the stored display history And a control unit that displays, on the operation display unit, operation procedure information that is simpler than the operation procedure information for the operation procedure information with a lower display frequency as a result of the determination. An information providing system is provided.

  According to the present invention, the present invention can improve user convenience by changing the operation procedure information to be displayed according to the display frequency.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information providing system according to an embodiment. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information providing system according to an embodiment. The internal block diagram of the smart phone which concerns on one Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the information delivery server which concerns on one Embodiment. The detailed block diagram of the information delivery server which concerns on one Embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the information delivery server which concerns on one Embodiment. The detailed block diagram of the information delivery server which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the operation display part at the time of error generation. The flowchart which showed the operation procedure display process which concerns on one Embodiment. The flowchart which showed the operation procedure display process which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the frame display at the time of imaging | photography. The figure which showed the hierarchical structure of the operation procedure. The figure which showed the internal data structure of the operation procedure. The figure which showed the hierarchical structure of the operation procedure for every work classification. The figure which showed the hierarchy transfer conditions for every work classification. The figure which showed the management state of the operation procedure. The flowchart which showed the operation procedure request process which concerns on one Embodiment. The flowchart which showed the work record management process which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed an example of the work record. The figure which showed an example of the operation procedure display. The flowchart which showed the frequency | count measurement process of the request which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed an example of the measurement result of the request frequency. The figure for demonstrating the update of an operation procedure. The flowchart which showed the operation procedure update process which concerns on one Embodiment. The lineblock diagram of the information distribution server concerning one embodiment. The lineblock diagram of the information distribution server concerning one embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

[System overall configuration]
First, an overall configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the information providing system according to the present embodiment.

  The information providing system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 100, a smartphone 300 with a camera, an information distribution server 200, and a base station 400 for communication of the smartphone 300. Here, since the image forming apparatus 100 and the smartphone with camera 300 are managed by an IP address, a unique ID number registered in a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module card) card, etc., there may be a plurality of units in the system. .

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes a control unit 101, a document reading unit 102, an image processing unit 103, a printing unit 104, an image storage unit 105, a detection unit 106, an operation display unit 107 such as an operation display unit, and a communication unit. 108.

  In this embodiment, an image forming apparatus will be described as an example of an electronic apparatus having a communication function. However, an electronic apparatus having a communication function includes a printer, a facsimile apparatus, a digital copying machine, and a scanner apparatus having a communication function. Electronic devices with communication functions such as digital multifunction devices, network home appliances, vending machines, medical equipment, power supplies, air conditioning systems, gas / water / electric metering systems, etc. Also good.

  In the present embodiment, the smartphone 300 will be described as an example of the terminal device. However, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a PHS (Personal Handyphone System), a PDA that can have a camera function and a network communication function. (Personal Data Assistance) and a handy personal computer, a music player, an ebook reader (electronic book terminal), a digital camera, and the like may be used.

  The control unit 101 has a storage area such as a main CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc., not shown, and is written in the ROM in advance. Each input / output device is controlled in accordance with the program, and data input / output during this time is temporarily stored in a predetermined memory area of the RAM.

  An original reading unit 102 reflects light emitted from a light source lamp (not shown) by an original, converts the reflected light from the original into electrical information by a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD or CIS, and outputs image data as image data. To 103. The image processing unit 103 performs image processing such as density conversion and color conversion to convert the input image data into data suitable for print output, and outputs the image data to the print unit 104.

  The printing unit 104 transfers a toner image onto a recording sheet based on the input image data and performs printout. The image storage unit 105 is a memory that stores the image data processed by the image processing unit 103.

  The detection unit 106 includes various sensors that detect the state of the image forming apparatus 100, and outputs information detected by the sensors to the control unit 101. For example, a paper jam is detected based on the result that there is no paper using paper sensors provided in various places in the paper conveyance path. In addition, the presence or absence of recording paper is detected by a sensor provided in the paper feed cassette. Further, based on the output of the toner density sensor, it is detected whether or not the toner out has been resolved. The detection unit 106 detects whether various consumables have been used after a predetermined period.

  The operation display unit 107 includes input means such as input keys and switches, and display means such as a liquid crystal display panel. The operation display unit 107 displays the status of the apparatus, available paper size, copy magnification, and the like. Can accept operations. The display means may be a liquid crystal touch panel that allows input by touching the liquid crystal screen.

  The communication unit 108 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) line by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like. The communication unit 108 is connected to an information distribution server (corresponding to an information distribution apparatus) 200 via a network, and has a function for the image forming apparatus 100 and the information distribution server 200 to communicate. The communication unit 108 is connected to the mobile phone 300 through the base station 400 so as to be communicable.

  The communication unit 108 includes a reception unit 108a and a transmission unit 108b. The transmission unit 108b transmits information including abnormality of the image forming apparatus 100. The information including the abnormality includes, for example, abnormality information such as a jam error of the image forming apparatus 100, out of toner, paper shortage, and information (IP address) for specifying one image forming apparatus from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100. And product information). The receiving unit 108a can receive the operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution server 200.

  The information distribution server 200 is composed of a normal computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and other peripheral devices (not shown), and is communicably connected to the image forming apparatus 100 via a network. The information distribution server 200 is connected to the mobile phone 300 via the base station 400 so as to be communicable.

  The information distribution server 200 receives information on the image forming apparatus 100 including an abnormality from the image forming apparatus 100, receives information on the smartphone 300, a request for operation procedure information, and a request for operation part information from the smartphone 300, and sends the information to the smartphone 300. Operation procedure information and operation part information are transmitted.

  The smartphone 300 can communicate with the base station 400 via the mobile phone network, and requests the information distribution server 200 for operation procedure information and operation site information of the image forming apparatus 100, or is sent from the information distribution server 200. The received operation part information is received, and based on the received operation part information, a frame display (see FIG. 11) is displayed on the target part on the image captured by the camera, and the operation procedure information is received and displayed. .

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, square frame displays W1, W2, and W3 are performed as display methods for specifying a part or the like as an error location, but the user looks at the operation display unit of the smartphone 300. As long as the location of the target part can be known, the display method may be any form, such as displaying a round frame, hatching display or blinking display, or displaying an arrow.

  In addition, the function of performing frame display may be provided in the information distribution server 200 instead of the smartphone 300. The smartphone 300 transfers the captured image to the information distribution server 200, and detects the part and displays the frame-displayed image in the smartphone 300. You may make it forward to.

  Furthermore, the smartphone 300 captures a barcode (two-dimensional code, QR code (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted)) or the like described on the display unit of the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100, and the captured image represents the captured image. It is assumed to have a function of converting to code information.

  The image processing function for specifying a part and displaying a frame described in the present embodiment is performed by photographing the barcode described on the display unit of the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100 with the camera of the smartphone 300. The smartphone 300 can specify the image forming apparatus 100. Since the shape of the image forming apparatus 100, the shape and color of the operation part, and the position of the operation part with respect to the image forming apparatus 100 are known, the image recognition technology has been improved recently. It is possible to display.

  The method for identifying the image forming apparatus 100 is identified by photographing and reading a QR (Quick Response) code displayed on the operation display unit 107 by the smartphone 300 in this embodiment. For example, the user can directly input information (IP address, serial number, presence / absence of peripheral device) that the user can recognize as the specific image forming apparatus 100 using the smartphone 300, or the like. Alternatively, a method may be used in which the image forming apparatus 100 connected to the network is specified by being displayed in a list on the smartphone 300 and allowing the user to select it. For the operation procedure information displayed on the smartphone 300, any method of moving image data (actual shooting, animation), still image data, and voice guidance may be used.

[Modification of overall system configuration]
In FIG. 1, the information distribution server 200 is provided as a separate computer from the image forming apparatus 100 as a normal computer. However, the information distribution server may be built in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 shows a system configuration example in which the information distribution server 109 is built in the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus B 500 has the same internal configuration as the image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 1 that does not include the information distribution server 109, and is connected to the image forming apparatus A 100 and the smartphone 300 via a network.

[Internal configuration of smartphone]
Next, the internal configuration of the smartphone 300 will be described with reference to FIG. The smartphone 300 communicates with the base station 400 shown in FIG. 1 via a mobile phone network, and can be connected to the network via the base station 400. The smartphone 300 has a control unit 301, an input unit 302, an operation display unit (operation panel) 303, a communication unit 304, an operation procedure management unit 305, and a work record holding unit 306, as well as a well-known mobile phone configuration, and not shown. A speaker, a microphone, and the like are provided.

  The control unit 301 can be configured with a CPU, a ROM, and a memory such as a RAM (not shown). The input unit 302 has a camera function. The operation display unit (operation panel) 303 includes input means such as input keys and switches, and display means such as a liquid crystal display panel.

  The communication unit 304 includes a reception unit 304a and a transmission unit 304b. The transmission unit 304 b transmits an operation procedure information distribution request to the information distribution server 200 in response to an abnormality in the image forming apparatus 100. The receiving unit 304a can receive the operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution server 200.

  The operation procedure management unit 305 stores operation procedure information for each work type performed by the user in the form of images, moving images, and sounds. The work record holding unit 306 records a display history of operation procedure information displayed by the operation display unit 303 for each type of work performed by the user. The work record holding unit 306 may record a display history of operation procedure information displayed on the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100.

  The smartphone 300 captures a barcode (two-dimensional code, QR code) or the like described in the display unit of the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus 100 with the camera of the input unit 302, and displays the code information represented by the captured image. It shall have the function to convert.

  Furthermore, the smartphone 300 preferably includes an application of a camera function that can capture an image of the image forming apparatus 100 with a camera and detect a specific operation site and display the frame on the captured image. When not provided, the information distribution server 200 has a function of receiving an image from the smartphone 300, detecting a specific operation site, displaying a frame, and returning the result to the smartphone 300 via the communication unit 304. In this way, a specific operation site can be displayed in a frame.

  The image forming apparatus 100 or the smartphone 300 receives the operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution server 200, and the received operation procedure information is displayed on the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100 or the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300. Can be displayed.

[Outline of internal configuration of information distribution server]
Next, an outline of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. The information distribution server 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, a state information registration unit 203, an operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204, and an operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205. The communication unit 202 includes a reception unit 202a and a transmission unit 202b.

  The control unit 201 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a memory such as a RAM (not shown). The receiving unit 202a receives information including abnormality of the image forming apparatus 100, information for specifying the smartphone 300, and the like.

  The status information registration unit 203 receives from the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 202 abnormality information such as a jam error or toner out of the image forming apparatus, or is recognized as a specific image forming apparatus from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100. Possible information (IP address and product information) and peripheral device (ARDF, sorter, folding machine) information connected as an option to each device are stored in the storage area of the information distribution server 200. The receiving unit 202a also receives a distribution request for an operation procedure from the smartphone 300. The transmission unit 202b transmits at least part of the operation procedure information to at least one of the image forming apparatus 100 and the smartphone 300 in response to the distribution request.

  The operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information (abnormal information) of the image forming apparatus 100, and determines an operation procedure for solving the error and a part to be operated for solving the error.

  The operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 is configured by a memory such as a RAM, and holds data for displaying an operation procedure such as an image, a moving image, and sound, and information on a part to be operated to solve an error. .

[Details of internal configuration of information distribution server]
Next, the details of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the information distribution server 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, a state information registration unit 203, an operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204, and an operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205.

  The control unit 201 controls the entire information distribution server 200. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication unit 202 receives status information regarding an abnormality of the image forming apparatus 100 and information for specifying the image forming apparatus 100 from the communication unit 108 of the image forming apparatus 100 via the network. .

  The state information registration unit 203 registers the state information received by the communication unit 202 in the information distribution server 200. The operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information (abnormal information) of the image forming apparatus 100 from information in the state information registration unit 203, and an operation procedure for solving the error and an error. The part to be operated is determined.

  The communication unit 202 is connected to the communication unit 304 of the smartphone 300 via a network, and receives a request for operation part information from the smartphone 300. Upon receiving this request, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from the state information of the state information registration unit 203, and from the determination result of the operation procedure for solving the error, Determine the part to be operated to resolve the error. The control unit 201 retrieves necessary operation part information from the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 and transmits the operation part information to the smartphone 300 via the communication unit 202.

  Further, when receiving the operation procedure information distribution request from the smartphone 300, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus from the state information of the state information registration unit 203, and solves the error. The operation procedure is determined. The control unit 201 retrieves necessary operation procedure information from the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 and transmits the operation procedure information to the smartphone 300 via the communication unit 202.

[Modification of internal configuration of information distribution server]
Next, a modified example of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200.

  The information distribution server 200 according to the modification includes an image processing unit 206 in addition to the control unit 201, the communication unit 202, the state information registration unit 203, the operation procedure / operation site determination unit 204, and the operation procedure / operation site storage unit 205. Have.

  The control unit 201 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a memory such as a RAM (not shown). The status information registration unit 203 can identify information such as a jam error or toner out of the image forming apparatus 100 received from the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 202, and can identify one image forming apparatus from a plurality of image forming apparatuses. Information (IP address and product information) and peripheral device (ARDF, sorter, folding machine) information connected as an option to each device are stored in the storage area of the information distribution server 200.

  The operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 and determines an operation procedure for solving the error and a part to be operated to solve the error. The operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 is configured by a memory such as a RAM, and holds data for displaying an operation procedure such as an image, a moving image, and sound, and information on a part to be operated to solve an error. .

  The image processing unit 206 can obtain information on the image forming apparatus 100 that matches the image from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 on the network from the operation procedure / operation part determining unit 204, and operates using image processing. Detect the part that should be.

[Details of modification of internal configuration of information distribution server]
Next, details of a modification of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of a modified example of the internal configuration of the information distribution server 200.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the information distribution server 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, a state information registration unit 203, an operation procedure / operation site determination unit 204, an operation procedure / operation site storage unit 205, and an image processing unit 206. Have

  The control unit 201 controls the entire information distribution server 200. The communication unit 202 receives information regarding the state of the image forming apparatus 100 from the communication unit 108 of the image forming apparatus 100 via the network as illustrated in FIG.

  The status information registration unit 203 registers the status information received by the communication unit 202 in the storage area of the information distribution server 200. The operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information (abnormal information) of the image forming apparatus 100 from information in the state information registration unit 203, and an operation procedure for solving the error and an error. The part to be operated is determined.

  The communication unit 202 is connected to the communication unit 304 of the smartphone 300 via a network, and receives the operation part information distribution request from the smartphone 300. At this time, the data transmitted from the smartphone 300 includes information (such as an IP address and a serial number of the image forming apparatus) that can identify the image forming apparatus 100 acquired by the smartphone 300.

  When the communication unit 202 receives the image, it passes the image to the image processing unit 206. The image processing unit 206 acquires information on a part to be operated from the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 and detects a part that matches the information and the image sent from the smartphone 300.

  At this time, information specifying the image forming apparatus 100 is sent together with the image data transmitted by the smartphone 300, and from this information, the model name of the image forming apparatus 100 and the presence / absence of optional installation are known. Therefore, the image processing unit 206 can acquire information on parts to be operated that are different for each model of the image forming apparatus 100. In addition, the image processing unit 206 can obtain information on the image forming apparatus 100 that matches the image from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 on the network from the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204. As a result, it is possible to detect a site to be operated using image processing.

  In addition, upon receiving an operation procedure delivery request from the smartphone 300, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from information in the state information registration unit 203, and solves the error. Determine the operating procedure. The control unit 201 extracts necessary operation procedure information from the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 based on the determination result, and transmits the operation procedure information to the smartphone 300 via the communication unit 202.

  Also at this time, information specified by the image forming apparatus 100 is sent together with the distribution request for the operation procedure, and from this information, the model name of the image forming apparatus 100 and the presence / absence of optional installation are known. Therefore, the image processing unit 206 can acquire information on different operation procedures for each model, and transmits a model-specific operation procedure photographed by the smartphone from among a plurality of operation procedures of the image forming apparatus 100 on the network. Is possible.

[Display example when an error occurs]
Next, the function of the operation display unit 107 when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100 when an error occurs.

  The operation display unit 107 includes a display unit 601 and input units 602 and 603. When a paper jam occurs, the image forming apparatus 100 displays an image as shown in FIG. 8 on the display unit 601 of the operation display 107, for example.

  At this time, the operation display 107 displays the product information display 604 on the display unit 601. The product information display 604 is displayed with a QR code, and describes information for specifying the image forming apparatus 100 such as an IP address of the image forming apparatus 100, a serial number, a model number, and the presence / absence of a peripheral device.

  The user reads this QR code by using a camera function that is an input means of the smartphone 300. Thereby, the smartphone 300 can recognize the image forming apparatus 100 to be photographed as a unique image forming apparatus 100.

  Although the product information display 604 is a QR code here, the IP address, serial number, presence / absence of a peripheral device, etc. may be displayed as long as the image forming apparatus 100 in operation can be identified. In this case, the smartphone 300 may directly input an IP address, a serial number, and the presence / absence of a peripheral device.

  When there is no product information display, a method of specifying the image forming apparatus 100 by displaying a list of the image forming apparatuses 100 connected to the network on the smartphone 300 and allowing the user to select the image forming apparatus 100 may be used. .

  Further, when the smartphone 300 can identify the image forming apparatus 100 by reading the QR code once, the smartphone 300 stores the unique information of the image forming apparatus 100 that identifies the information, so that an error occurs. A configuration in which the QR code is not required to be read every time may be employed.

  Although not shown in FIG. 8, an indication of the shooting direction and position such as “Please shoot the right side of the image forming apparatus” is first displayed on the display unit 601 of the operation display unit 107 with the camera of the smartphone 300. May be.

[Operation procedure processing on smartphones]
Next, operation procedure processing in the smartphone according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing operation procedure processing in the smartphone. Here, the operation procedure of the image forming apparatus 100 is displayed using the camera function of the input unit 302 of the smartphone 300. The smartphone 300 can identify the image forming apparatus 100 to be photographed by reading the QR code displayed on the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100 in advance.

  First, when imaging of the image forming apparatus 100 is started with the camera of the input unit 302 of the smartphone 300 in S100 of FIG. 9, the smartphone 300 transmits an operation part information request to the information distribution server 200 (S101). At this time, the smartphone 300 transmits the unique information (IP address, serial number, information on the presence / absence of peripheral devices, etc.) of the image forming apparatus 100 being photographed, which is read in advance from a QR code or the like.

  When receiving the operation part information request (S102), the information distribution server 200 determines the operation part information from the unique information of the image forming apparatus 100 and the state information of the image forming apparatus 100 (S103). When the determination of the operation part information ends, the information distribution server 200 transmits the operation part information to the smartphone 300 (S104).

  When the smartphone 300 acquires the operation part information (S105), the smartphone 300 searches the image of the image forming apparatus 100 photographed by the camera for a match with the operation part information. When the smartphone 300 detects a matching part from the operation part information and the image of the image forming apparatus 100 captured by the camera (S106), the smartphone 300 displays the operation part of the image forming apparatus 100 displayed on the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300. A frame display is performed (S107).

  As a result, even if there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 on the network, the user can surely know the part to be operated that is suitable for the specified state of the image forming apparatus 100.

  In the smartphone 300, when a user selects a specific operation part by touching an image of the operation part displayed in a frame with the input unit in the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300 (S <b> 108), an operation procedure distribution request is issued. The information is transmitted from the smartphone 300 to the information distribution server 200 (S109).

  When receiving the operation procedure distribution request from the smartphone 300 (S110), the information distribution server 200 determines the operation procedure from the unique information of the image forming apparatus 100, the state information of the image forming apparatus 100, and the operation part information (S111). When the determination of the operation procedure ends, the information distribution server 200 transmits desired operation procedure information to the smartphone 300 (S112).

  The smartphone 300 acquires operation procedure information from the information distribution server 200 (S113), and displays the acquired operation procedure information on the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300 (S114). The smartphone 300 can also display the acquired operation procedure information on the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100.

  Thereby, the user can perform an operation for canceling the error while viewing the operation procedure information. If the user wants to acquire more detailed operation procedure information, the user can further request operation procedure information (S115).

  In addition, in the part selection in S108, when the user does not select a part displayed in a frame within a predetermined period, the smartphone 300 continues photographing, continues to acquire operation part information, and displays a state in which the frame is displayed. maintain. For example, when the user operates the part (opens the cover or the like) without looking at the operation procedure of the part displayed in the frame, the image forming apparatus 100 causes the information distribution server 200 to update the state information (the cover is empty). Information) is transmitted, so that the information distribution server 200 also changes the determination result of the operation part due to the change of the state information. In this case, the smartphone 300 acquires new operation part information and displays a frame of the new operation part, that is, the part of the next procedure (see FIG. 11).

  With this method, the user can check the parts to be operated for canceling errors in the image forming apparatus 100 for each operation procedure, one by one, in response to errors such as paper jams or out of toner. You can operate while watching the procedure.

  Moreover, the display which does not need to see the operation procedure can be skipped by not selecting in S108. When one operation is completed, the frame display moves to the next part, so there is no need for the user to operate and skip the operation procedure, and the operation procedure display that the user does not need to see can be skipped without being aware of it. it can.

[Modified example of operation procedure processing on smartphone]
Next, a modification of the operation procedure process in the smartphone according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a modified example of the operation procedure display process according to an embodiment. In FIG. 10, the operation procedure of the image forming apparatus 100 is displayed using the camera function of the input unit 302 of the smartphone 300.

  The difference from the operation procedure process shown in FIG. 9 is that the operation site is detected on the information distribution server side in this modification.

  As described above, the smartphone 300 can identify the image forming apparatus 100 to be photographed by reading the QR code displayed on the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100 in advance.

  When the photographing of the image forming apparatus 100 is started by the camera of the input unit 302 of the smartphone 300 in S200 of FIG. 10, the smartphone 300 transfers the image to the information distribution server 200 (S201).

  At this time, the smartphone 300 transmits together with the unique information (IP address, serial number, presence / absence information of peripheral devices, etc.) of the image forming apparatus that has been read, read in advance from a QR code or the like.

  The information distribution server 200 receives an image from the smartphone 300 (S202), and determines and acquires operation site information from the received unique information of the image forming apparatus 100 and the state information of the image forming apparatus 100 (S203). Then, the operation part information is detected by comparing the image of the image forming apparatus 100 with the operation part information (S204). When the operation part is detected, the information distribution server 200 displays a frame on the operation part (S205), and transfers the frame-displayed image to the smartphone 300 (S206).

  The smartphone 300 receives and displays an image in which the operation part is displayed as a frame from the information distribution server 200 (S207). As a result, even if there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 on the network, the user can surely know the part to be operated that is suitable for the specified state of the image forming apparatus 100.

  When the user selects a specific operation part by touching an image of the operation part displayed in a frame with the input means in the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300 (S208), the smartphone 300 receives a distribution request for the operation procedure. It transmits to the distribution server 200 (S209).

  When receiving the operation procedure distribution request from the smartphone 300 (S210), the information distribution server 200 determines the operation procedure from the unique information of the image forming apparatus 100, the state information of the image forming apparatus 100, and the operation part information (S211). When the determination of the operation procedure ends, the information distribution server 200 transmits the operation procedure information to the smartphone 300 (S212).

  The smartphone 300 acquires operation procedure information from the information distribution server 200 (S213), and displays the acquired operation procedure information on the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300 (S214). The user can perform an operation while viewing the operation procedure information. If the user wants to obtain more detailed operation procedure information, the user can further request operation procedure information (S215).

  Further, in the part selection in S208, when the user does not select the part displayed in the frame within the predetermined period, the imaging is continued, the operation part information is continuously acquired, and the state where the frame is displayed is maintained. For example, when the user operates the operation part (opens the cover, etc.) without looking at the operation procedure of the operation part displayed in the frame, the image forming apparatus displays new status information (information that the cover is empty) on the information distribution server. ) Is transmitted, the information distribution server 200 also changes the determination result of the operation part due to the change of the state information, and the smartphone 300 acquires new operation part information, so the new operation part, that is, the part of the next procedure Is displayed (see FIG. 11).

  With this method, the user can check the parts to be operated for canceling errors in the image forming apparatus 100 for each operation procedure, one by one, in response to errors such as paper jams or out of toner. Recovery operation can be performed while watching the procedure.

  In addition, it is possible to skip the display of items that do not need to see the operation procedure, and when one operation is completed, the frame display moves to the next part. It is not necessary, and the operation procedure display that the user does not need to see without being aware of it can be skipped. Note that the frame display of the part indicates that the part is a selection target for guidance display of the operation procedure.

[Example of frame display during shooting]
The configuration and operation of each device according to an embodiment have been described above with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a diagram in which a part to be operated when the image forming apparatus 100 is photographed with the smartphone 300 is displayed in a frame. The smartphone 300 is connected to the information distribution server 200 and the image forming apparatus 100 via a network, and by photographing the image forming apparatus 100, an operation site corresponding to the state of the image forming apparatus 100 is shown in FIG. A frame can be displayed on the display screen.

  In FIG. 11, an example of the frame display is described. However, if the target part can be understood by looking at the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300, a round frame display, a hatching display, a blinking display, an arrow, and the like are displayed. Any form may be used regardless of the display method. For example, assuming that the imaging diagram 310 shown on the left is the operation procedure 1 and the imaging diagram 311 shown on the right is the operation procedure 2, when the user images the front at the start of imaging, the operation site is imaged. There is no frame display. In that case, the user can shoot until the frame display W1 appears on the operation display unit 303 of the smartphone 300 by shooting the image forming apparatus 100 in different directions, such as from the top or from the left or right, until the frame display is displayed. The site to be operated in the operation procedure 1 can be found. Then, when the user touches the area displayed in the frame with a finger or a touch pen, the smartphone 300 can acquire the operation procedure from the information distribution server 200 and display it.

  Further, for example, when the radiograph 310 is the procedure 1 and the radiograph 311 is the procedure 2, if the operation is continued without selecting the portion indicated by the frame W1 in the radiograph 310, the video is the radiograph 311. Then, the parts of the procedure 2 are displayed as frames W2 and W3. Thereby, the user can skip the display of the operation procedure 1 without being conscious. Further, even if the operation procedure of the image forming apparatus 100 proceeds, the operation parts W2 and W3 suitable for the state of the image forming apparatus 100 can be displayed in a frame.

[Hierarchical structure of operation procedure data]
Next, a hierarchical structure of data indicating an operation procedure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a data structure diagram of operation procedure information stored in the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 included in the information distribution server 200 and the operation procedure management unit 305 included in the smartphone 300.

  The operation procedure information 701 includes a plurality of work operation procedures 702. The work operation procedure 702 is information for displaying the operation procedure, and is data such as an image, a moving image, and sound. The operation procedure information 701 is classified into a plurality of hierarchies, and a lower level work operation procedure 702 is displayed each time the progress of work performed by the user proceeds.

  In addition, work operation procedures connected by arrows represent operation procedure information that is related to each other. When the work displayed by the operation procedure of the hierarchy 1 progresses, the operation procedure and the relevance are next displayed. It is possible to display the operation procedure of level 2 with When there is a relationship with a plurality of operation procedure information in the lower layer, which work operation procedure 702 is displayed next differs depending on the type of work. The configuration of the operation procedure in each operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  The work operation procedure information becomes more detailed guidance information in units of parts as the level advances. In the example of FIG. 12, the hierarchy is described from level 1 to level 4, but the number of levels is not limited to four.

  The function of the operation procedure management unit 305 included in the smartphone 300 may be provided in the image forming apparatus 100 and the operation procedure information 701 may be stored in the image forming apparatus 100. Therefore, the work operation procedure information can be stored by at least one of the image forming apparatus 100, the smartphone 300, and the information distribution server 200. The storage area to be stored may be an internal storage area of at least one of the image forming apparatus 100, the smartphone 300, and the information distribution server 200, or may be a storage area of another device connected via a network. Good.

[Internal data structure of operation procedure]
Next, the internal data structure of the work operation procedure will be described with reference to FIG. The work operation procedure 702 includes an outline operation procedure 703 and one or more detailed operation procedures 704. The outline operation procedure 703 is operation procedure information for representing an outline of the operation procedure. The outline operation procedure 703 is a simpler operation procedure than the detailed operation procedure 704, and mainly represents rough information of the procedure. The outline operation procedure 703 is information preferable for displaying a user who is used to work as a target.

  The detailed operation procedure 704 is operation procedure information for representing details of the operation procedure. The detailed operation procedure 704 is information for explaining the operation procedure with respect to the same work content as the overview operation procedure 703. However, the detailed operation procedure 704 mainly represents detailed information of the procedure, and is displayed for a user who is not familiar with the operation. This is preferable information. Three detailed operation procedures 704 are provided here, but the number is not limited to this, and a plurality of detailed operation procedures 704 may be provided to explain the details of the procedure described in the work operation procedure 702.

[Data structure of operation procedure for each work type]
Next, the data structure of the operation procedure for each work type will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a data structure in which operation procedures are hierarchized for each work type.

  The work type 801 is classified for each type of abnormality such as an identifier for each work content, for example, an error code. FIG. 14 shows the arrangement of work operation procedures 702 displayed at each level for each work type, and each work operation procedure 702 can be used to display operation procedures for a plurality of work types.

  When receiving the operation procedure distribution request, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 of the information distribution server 200 refers to the work type and hierarchy, and transmits the target work operation procedure 702 as operation procedure information to be transmitted. .

  The number of hierarchies and hierarchy transition conditions differ depending on the work type. As the work type, the state of the image forming apparatus 100 transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100 is received by the communication unit 202 of the information distribution server 200, and the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 that has received the condition satisfies the transition condition. If it is determined, the process moves to another hierarchy. An example of the transition condition is shown in FIG.

  That is, the hierarchy indicates the degree of work progress of the user, and has a structure in which operation procedure information to be displayed is switched according to the work progress. Further, the user can arbitrarily display an operation procedure of another hierarchy.

[Example of hierarchy transition conditions for each work type]
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the hierarchy transition condition for each work type. For each work type, information detected by the detection unit 106 of the image forming apparatus 100 when the user's work progresses is set in advance in the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 of the information distribution server 200. The operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 of the information distribution server 200 moves the hierarchy of the operation procedure to another hierarchy according to the conditions shown in FIG.

[Example of management status of operation procedure]
FIG. 16 shows an example of work operation procedures held by the operation procedure / operation part recording unit 205 of the information distribution server 200 and the operation procedure management unit 305 of the smartphone 300.

  A table 705 is a work operation procedure for each work type held by the operation procedure / operation part recording unit 205. “Outline” in the table 705 is an abbreviation for the outline operation procedure 703, and “Detail” is an abbreviation for the detailed operation procedure 704.

  “Hold” in the table 705 indicates that the corresponding operation procedure is held, and “-” (hyphen) indicates that it is not held. The operation procedure / operation part recording unit 205 holds an outline operation procedure 703 and a detailed operation procedure 704 in all work types and levels.

  On the other hand, a table 706 is a work operation procedure for each work type held by the operation procedure management unit 305. The symbols in Table 706 are the same as in Table 705. The operation procedure management unit 305 holds only some work operation procedures. Further, for each work type, there are two types of holding states: a holding state in which no work operation procedure is held, a general operation procedure 703 for all layers, and a detailed operation procedure 704 for some or all layers. It becomes.

  As described above, the work operation procedure information is information such as an image, a moving image, and sound, and the capacity of the recording medium is required to hold all information of all work types. FIG. 16 shows an example of a work operation procedure held by the operation procedure management unit 305 of the smartphone 300 by a holding method in consideration of the recording capacity of the mobile terminal.

  Whether the work operation procedure is held or not is determined by the work record holding unit 305, details of which will be described later. In addition, although the operation procedure management unit 305 of the smartphone 300 is described in FIG. 16, the image forming apparatus 100 may include an operation procedure management unit instead of the smartphone 300 or together with the smartphone 300.

[Smartphone operation]
Next, the operation centering on the smartphone 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 17 showing an operation procedure request process according to an embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of the operations from the operation procedure request to the end shown in S109 of FIG. 9 and from the operation procedure request to the end shown in S209 of FIG.

  When this flow is used, the user can first see the display of the outline operation procedure 703 during the first work, and if necessary, obtain the detailed operation procedure 704 from the information distribution server 200 and see the detailed operation procedure 704. Can do.

  When the user performs the second and subsequent operations, if the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704 is high in the previous operation procedure display, the operation procedure management unit 305 of the smartphone 300 is not acquired from the information distribution server 200. The detailed operation procedure 704 held in is automatically displayed.

  Further, when the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704 is low at the time of displaying the operation procedure up to the previous time, the outline operation procedure 703 is displayed. If necessary, the detailed operation procedure 704 is acquired from the information distribution server 200. Thus, the detailed operation procedure can be displayed. Further, the user can select to discard the detailed operation procedure 704 so that the detailed operation procedure 704 is not displayed at the same time of the next work. The above can be performed for each level of the operation procedure information 701.

  The display of these operation procedures can be arbitrarily terminated by the user. The management of the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure will be described later. The detailed operation of this flow will be described below.

  When the operation procedure request S109 of FIG. 9 is started (S300), the smartphone 300 determines the work type and operation procedure information to be displayed. In step S105 in FIG. 9 and step S207 in FIG. 10, the smartphone 300 acquires work type information from the information distribution server 200. In addition, the smartphone 300 acquires information that can determine the hierarchy of the operation procedure information in steps S109 and S207 (S301).

  Next, the smartphone 300 adds up the total display count of the operation procedure for each work type managed by the work record holding unit 306 (S302). This number is used in the work record management in S323. It is determined whether or not the outline operation procedure 703 in the determined work type is held in the operation procedure management unit 305 of the smartphone 300 (S303). If not, the outline operation procedure 703 is transmitted to the outline operation procedure 703. A request is made to the distribution server 200 (S304), an outline operation procedure 703 is acquired, and held in the operation procedure management unit 305 (S309). According to this flow, the summary operation procedure 703 is requested and acquired only when the first operation procedure display (of the user who operates the smartphone 300) of the smartphone 300 is displayed.

The information distribution server 200 receives the distribution request of the outline operation procedure 703 (S305), reads out the corresponding operation procedure information held in the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 (S306), and stores the corresponding operation procedure information in the smartphone 300. Send to. (S307)
When the outline operation procedure 703 is held (YES in S303), this means that the operation procedure of the same work was previously displayed. At this time, the work record holding unit 306 of the smartphone 300 checks whether the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704 is low, that is, whether the user has completed the operation without displaying the detailed operation procedure (S308). ). The display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704 is managed by the work record holding unit 306 and is sequentially updated by work record management (S323).

  When the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure is low, or when the outline operation procedure 703 is acquired (in the case of the first operation procedure display), the overview operation procedure is displayed on the operation display unit 303 (S310), and the operation procedure display is displayed by the user. It is confirmed whether or not there is a re-request (S322). The presence / absence of the re-request is confirmed by, for example, whether or not the user has selected a message for prompting the end of the guidance display, or whether or not the button has been pressed.

  If it is selected not to make a re-request, the smartphone 300 performs work record management (S323) and ends the operation procedure display. Details of work record management will be described later.

  When it is not selected that the re-request is not performed, the control unit 301 of the smartphone 300 determines whether or not the detailed operation procedure 704 has been displayed (S311). (S322) A loop state is entered.

  If not displayed, the control unit 301 confirms whether or not acquisition of a detailed operation procedure has been selected (S312). If not selected, the control unit 301 confirms whether or not a re-request is present (S322), and enters a loop state. The presence / absence of selection of acquisition of the detailed operation procedure is confirmed, for example, by whether or not a message for determining whether or not to acquire detailed operation information is selected by the user or a button is pressed.

  When acquisition of the detailed operation procedure is selected, the smartphone 300 requests the information distribution server 200 for the detailed operation procedure 704 (S313), acquires the detailed operation procedure 703, and holds it in the operation procedure management unit 305 (S317). ).

  The information distribution server 200 receives the request for the detailed operation procedure 704 (S314), reads out the corresponding operation procedure information held in the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 (S315), and transmits it to the smartphone 300 ( S316).

  When the update frequency of the detailed procedure is high, or when the detailed operation procedure is acquired, the detailed operation procedure 704 held in the operation procedure management unit 305 of the smartphone 300 is displayed by the operation display unit 303 (S318). It is confirmed whether or not discarding has been selected by the user (S319). Whether or not to discard the detailed operation procedure is checked, for example, by whether or not a message for determining whether or not to discard the detailed operation information is selected by the user or a button is pressed.

  When discarding the detailed operation procedure is not selected, the display count of the detailed operation procedure is added by one (S320), and whether or not there is a re-request is confirmed (S322). When the discard of the detailed operation procedure is selected, the number of display of the detailed operation procedure is set to 0 (S321), and the presence / absence of a re-request is confirmed (S322). The display count of the detailed operation procedure is used for managing the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure, and is used in the work record management (S323).

  As described above, the operation procedure display is repeatedly performed a plurality of times, so that only the necessary operation procedure according to the user's work level is displayed.

  Further, the transmission unit of the information distribution server 200 transmits operation procedure information that is not stored in the storage area of the smartphone 300 or the image forming apparatus 100 as at least a part of the operation procedure information for canceling the abnormality. Can do.

  In the present flow, the embodiment using the smartphone 300 has been described, but this includes replacing the smartphone 300 with the image forming apparatus 100 by providing the image forming apparatus 100 with the operation procedure management unit 305, or a work record holding unit of the smartphone 300. Obviously, it can also be arranged with 306.

[Work Record Management]
Next, management of work records executed by the work record holding unit 306 of the smartphone 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 shows a flow of work record management.

  The work record holding unit 306 starts the work record management process at the end of the display of the operation procedure information (S400), confirms and sets the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704, and the details recorded in the operation procedure management unit 305. The operation procedure 704 is deleted.

  The work record holding unit 306 determines the work type of the current operation procedure display and the hierarchy of the displayed work operation procedure 702 (S401), and acquires the display count of the detailed operation procedure 704 stored in the work record holding unit 306. Similarly, the total display count of the work type stored in the work record holding unit 306 is referred to (S402), and it is determined whether the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704 is 80% or more (S403).

  When the display frequency is 80% or more, the work record holding unit 306 sets the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure of the current hierarchy in the current work to be high (S406), and ends the work record management. On the other hand, when the display frequency is less than 80%, the work record holding unit 306 deletes the detailed operation procedure of the current hierarchy in the current work from the work record holding unit 306 (S404), and the display frequency of the detailed operation procedure is low. The setting is made (S405), and the work record management is terminated.

  In this flow, the threshold value for setting the display frequency is set to 80%, but this is merely an example, and can be made variable depending on the user or service. Moreover, it can be made variable according to the memory capacity value of the smartphone 300. Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrated embodiment using the smart phone 300, this is replaced with the image forming apparatus 100 by providing the image forming apparatus 100 with a work record holding unit, or arranged together with the work record holding unit 306 of the smartphone 300. Obviously, it is also possible.

  From the above, as shown in FIG. 16, it is possible to manage the retention / non-retention of operation procedure information for each hierarchy of each work type, and it is possible to retain only the minimum necessary information in the operation procedure management unit 305. It becomes.

[Example of work record]
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work record result recorded in the work record holding unit 306 of the smartphone 300. The result of the work record is recorded for each work type. The total number of displays in the table represents the total number of displays for each work type, the number represents the number of displays of the detailed operation procedure 704 in each layer, and the frequency represents the level of display frequency of the detailed operation procedure 704. In the work type “0000”, the total number of times of display is 10, the number of times of display at levels 1, 2, 3, 4 is 10, 8, 0, 2, and the frequency of display at levels 1, 2, 3, 4 is high. , High, low, low.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, for each user and each error type, the user side acquires the operation procedure of the part to be operated from the information distribution server 200 until the error is canceled from the time of the work occurrence. Or a record of whether or not it has been acquired is stored in the smartphone 300 as a “display count”. These work records may be held in a desired storage area not only by the smartphone 300 but also by the image forming apparatus 100 and the information distribution server 200. Here, the desired storage area is not limited to the internal storage area provided in each of the smartphone 300, the image forming apparatus 100, and the information distribution server 200, but an external apparatus connected to these apparatuses via a network. It may be a storage area.

  The operation procedure with a high reference frequency of the user is displayed in detail on the operation display unit of the smartphone 300 or the image forming apparatus 100, and the operation procedure with a low reference frequency is displayed in detail unless the user side obtains it from the information distribution server 200. The operation procedure is displayed so that only the summary is displayed without displaying it in the section.

[Example of operation procedure display on smartphone]
FIG. 20 is a conceptual diagram when an operation procedure is displayed on the smartphone 300. An operation procedure 800 illustrated on the left side is a conceptual diagram when the outline operation procedure 703 is displayed, and a rough work procedure is displayed on the operation display unit 303. Further, when the user touches a portion described as the end of the operation procedure display as indicated by the display portion 801, the display can be terminated and a request for the next procedure display portion can be requested. When the display location 801 detects that the user has touched the display location 801 upon confirming the presence / absence of the re-request of the flow shown in FIG. 17 (S322), it can be determined that there is no re-request. .

  A display location 802 is a display for selecting whether or not the detailed operation procedure 704 is acquired. When the user touches the display location 802, the detailed operation procedure can be displayed on the operation display unit 303.

  The display location 802 corresponds to whether or not to acquire the detailed operation procedure of the flow shown in FIG. 17 (S312). When the user touches the display location 802, the detailed operation procedure 704 is acquired from the information distribution server 200.

  An operation procedure 803 illustrated on the right side is a conceptual diagram when the detailed operation procedure 704 is displayed, and a more detailed work procedure is displayed on the operation display unit 303. When there are a plurality of detailed operation procedures 704 in the work operation procedure, another detailed operation procedure can be referred to by touching a location as shown in the display location 804 by the user. Further, when the user touches the display location 805, it can be selected that the next detailed operation display is not performed. This corresponds to whether or not the detailed operation procedure is discarded in FIG. 17 (S319). 29 may be displayed on the operation display unit 107 of the image forming apparatus 100. The work procedure shown in the left and right diagrams of FIG.

[Total number of distribution requests]
FIG. 21 shows a method of measuring (counting) the number of requests for the detailed operation procedure 704 in the information distribution server 200, and FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the measurement result. The information distribution server 200 can acquire information such as a model code that classifies the image forming apparatus 100 and a serial number that classifies an individual image forming apparatus from the communication unit 108 of the image forming apparatus 100. The information distribution server 200 records the number of requests for the detailed operation procedure 704 and also records the status information of the image forming apparatus 100 together.

  When this process starts (S500), the information distribution server 200 determines the operation procedure as shown in S306 of FIG. 17 (S315), and acquires model information such as the model code and serial number of the image forming apparatus 100. (S501). The model information can be acquired from the communication unit 108 of the image forming apparatus 100. When the information distribution server 200 has already acquired the model information, the information distribution server 200 refers to the acquired model information. The information distribution server 200 records the determined number of operation procedure requests and the status information of the image forming apparatus 100 (S502).

  A measurement result of the number of requests is shown in a table 900 of FIG. For each operation procedure request, the work type and hierarchy are recorded, and model information such as model code and serial number is also recorded.

  According to this, the service provider of the detailed operation procedure 704 can grasp the request count of the detailed operation procedure 704 for each work type, each model, or each individual from the recording of the measurement result.

[Update operation procedure]
Next, update of the operation procedure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the update of the operation procedure information stored in the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205 provided in the information distribution server 200. The operation procedure information is managed by a plurality of work operation procedures 702 and work types 801 as shown in FIGS. When updating the work operation procedure, it can be performed by the following method.

  When replacing any one of the operation procedures 702, for example, as shown in FIG. 23, the work operation procedure 2B is replaced with another work operation procedure 2B ′, or a new identifier is assigned to the work type 801 and displayed in an arbitrary operation. This can be realized by making the operation procedure an operation procedure of a newly added work type.

  As described above, it is possible to easily update the operation procedure information only by updating a part of the operation procedure 702 or adding the work type 801.

[Operation procedure update process]
Next, the operation procedure update process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a flow describing the processing when the detailed operation procedure 704 is updated on the information distribution server 200.

  If the smartphone 300 has already acquired the detailed operation procedure 704, information such as the previous acquisition date and time is received from the smartphone 300. If the information has been updated since the acquisition of the detailed operation procedure 704, the information is replaced. To the smartphone 300. In FIG. 24, the following procedure is added to the flow described in FIG.

  When it is determined that the update frequency of the detailed operation procedure is high (S308), the smartphone 300 transmits the date and time information obtained for the detailed operation procedure 704 in the current hierarchy of the current work to the information distribution server 200 (S324).

  The information distribution server 200 receives the acquisition date / time information of the detailed operation procedure (S325), and determines whether or not the detailed operation procedure is the latest (S326). The determination can also be made based on whether or not the acquisition date and time information is before the update date and time of the detailed operation procedure in the server.

  If it is the latest, the smartphone 300 performs processing according to the display of the detailed operation procedure (S318) and the subsequent processing flow. If the information distribution server 200 is not up-to-date, it is assumed that a normal detailed operation procedure request has been received (S314), the operation procedure determination (S315), and the operation procedure transmission (S316) are performed. The transmitted detailed operation procedure is acquired (S317), and the detailed operation procedure 704 is updated to the latest information.

  As described above, the detailed operation procedure information can be kept up-to-date.

[effect]
As described above, according to the information providing system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is displayed in accordance with the user's work progress when displaying the operation procedure for the error removal work such as jam removal. The operation procedure is displayed on each operation display unit of the smartphone 200. At that time, a detailed operation procedure for each part can be acquired from the information distribution server 200, the acquired operation procedure is displayed on the operation display unit, and each operation procedure information is stored in a storage area inside and outside each device. At that time, for each user and each error type, whether or not the user has acquired the operation procedure of the component to be operated from the information distribution server 200 until the error is canceled from the time of the work occurrence, Is stored in the portable terminal such as the smartphone 200 or the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 and the information distribution server 200.

  Then, only an operation procedure with a high reference frequency of the user is displayed on a terminal device such as the smartphone 300, and an operation procedure with a low reference frequency is not displayed on the operation display unit unless the user acquires it from the information distribution server 200. Is displayed. Specifically, based on the display history stored in a desired storage area such as the image forming apparatus 100, the smartphone 200, the information distribution server 200, or the like, the display frequency of the operation procedure information for the abnormality is determined, and the display frequency is high. If it is determined, the operation procedure information (detailed operation procedure 704) with a more detailed description of the operation procedure than that determined when it is determined to be lower is displayed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the display frequency is low, the operation procedure information (summary operation procedure 703) whose explanation of the operation procedure is simpler than that when it is determined that the display frequency is high is displayed.

In this way, for operation procedure information that is displayed less frequently, by displaying operation procedure information that is simpler than the operation procedure information on the operation display unit, detailed guidance is displayed for users unfamiliar with work, By displaying simple guidance for users who are used to work, user convenience can be improved. In addition, by changing the operation procedure information displayed according to the display frequency in a simplified or detailed manner, it becomes possible to manage the operation procedure display for each individual user.
<Supplement 1>
Below, it supplements, referring FIG. 25 about the information delivery server 200 shown in FIG. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication unit of the information distribution server 200 shown in FIG. 5 in more detail. In FIG. 25, the receiving unit and transmitting unit of the communication unit 202 are illustrated in more detail than FIG.

  The information distribution server 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, a state information registration unit 203, an operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204, and an operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205. The control unit 201 controls the entire information distribution server 200. The communication unit 202 includes a state information receiving unit 212, an operation part information request receiving unit 218, an operation part information transmitting unit 217, an operation procedure information transmitting unit 216, and an operation procedure request receiving unit 215.

  The status information receiving unit 212 in the communication unit 202 receives information such as a jam error or toner out of the image forming apparatus 100 via the network from the communication unit 108 of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. Information that can be recognized as a specific image forming apparatus (IP address and product information) and peripheral device (ARDF, sorter, and folding machine) information that is optionally connected to each apparatus are received from the apparatus 100.

  The status information registration unit 203 registers the information received by the status information reception unit 212 in the storage area of the information distribution server 200.

  The operation procedure / operation site determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from information in the state information registration unit 203, and should be operated to solve the error and the operation procedure for solving the error. Determine the site.

  The information transmission server 200 is connected to the communication unit 304 of the smartphone 300 via a network, receives the operation part distribution request from the smartphone 300 by the operation part information request reception unit 218, and sends the operation procedure distribution request to the operation procedure. The request is received by the request receiving unit 215.

  When the operation part information request is received by the operation part information request reception unit 218, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from the information of the state information registration unit 203, and resolves the error. From the determination result of the operation procedure for performing the determination, a part to be operated to resolve the error is determined, the necessary operation part information is extracted from the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205, and the operation part information transmission unit 217 is operated. The part information is transmitted to the smartphone 300.

  When the operation procedure information reception unit 215 receives the operation procedure information request, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from the information in the state information registration unit 203 and determines the error. An operation procedure for solving is determined, necessary operation procedure information is extracted from the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205, and operation procedure information is transmitted from the operation procedure information transmission unit 216 to the smartphone 300.

The operation procedure information transmission unit 216 is an example of a transmission unit that transmits at least part of the operation procedure information to the smartphone 300.
<Supplement 2>
Next, it supplements about the information delivery server 200 shown in FIG. 7, referring FIG. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the information distribution server 200 shown in FIG. In FIG. 26, the receiving unit and the transmitting unit of the communication unit 202 are illustrated in more detail than in FIG.

  The information distribution server 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, an operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205, a state information registration unit 203, an operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204, and an image processing unit 221. The communication unit 202 includes a state information receiving unit 212, an operation procedure request receiving unit 215, an operation procedure information transmitting unit 216, and an image transmitting / receiving unit 220.

  The status information receiving unit 212 in the communication unit 202 receives information such as a jam error or toner out of the image forming apparatus 100 via the network from the communication unit 108 of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. Information that can be recognized as a specific image forming apparatus 100 (IP address and product information) and peripheral device (ARDF, sorter, and folding machine) information that is optionally connected to each apparatus are received from the apparatus 100.

  The status information registration unit 203 registers the information received by the status information reception unit 212 in the information distribution server 200.

  The operation procedure / operation site determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from information in the state information registration unit 203, and should be operated to solve the error and the operation procedure for solving the error. Determine the site.

  The information transmission server 200 is connected to the communication unit 304 of the smartphone 300 via the network, receives the transmitted image from the smartphone 300 by the image transmission / reception unit 220, and sends an operation procedure distribution request to the operation procedure request reception unit 215. Receive.

  At this time, the data transmitted from the smartphone 300 includes information (such as an IP address and a serial number of the image forming apparatus) that can identify the image forming apparatus 100 acquired by the smartphone 300.

  When the image transmission / reception unit 210 receives the image, the information transmission server 200 acquires the information on the part to be operated from the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204, and the information and the information sent from the smartphone 300. A matching part is detected in the image.

  At this time, the information specified by the image forming apparatus 100 is sent together with the image data transmitted from the smartphone 300. From this information, the model name of the image forming apparatus 100 and the presence / absence of optional installation can be known, and different types of operations are performed for each model. Information on the parts to be acquired can be acquired. The image processing unit 221 can obtain information on the image forming apparatus 100 that matches the image from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 100 on the network from the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204, and operates using image processing. It is possible to detect a region to be detected.

  When the operation procedure information reception unit 215 receives the operation procedure information request, the operation procedure / operation part determination unit 204 determines error information of the image forming apparatus 100 from the information in the state information registration unit 203 and determines the error. An operation procedure for solving is determined, necessary operation procedure information is extracted from the operation procedure / operation part storage unit 205, and operation procedure information is transmitted from the operation procedure information transmission unit 216 to the smartphone 300.

  Also in this case, information specified by the image forming apparatus 100 is sent together with the operation procedure request receiving unit 215, and from this information, the model name of the image forming apparatus 100 and the presence / absence of optional installation can be known, and the operation procedure differs for each model. Information can be acquired. The operation procedure information transmission unit 216 can transmit a model-specific operation procedure photographed by the smartphone 300 from among a plurality of operation procedures of the image forming apparatus 100 on the network.

  The operation procedure information transmission unit 216 is an example of a transmission unit that transmits at least part of the operation procedure information to the smartphone 300.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, instead of the image forming apparatus 100, the smartphone 300 may notify the information distribution server 200 of an abnormality in the image forming apparatus 100.

  Each part which implement | achieves each function of the electronic device which concerns on this invention, a terminal device, and an information delivery apparatus may be implement | achieved by the software which consists of a program group which performs each function. Each unit that realizes each function of the electronic device, the terminal device, and the information distribution device according to the present invention may be realized by hardware as a semiconductor device such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) chip including the above functional blocks, It may be realized using both software and hardware.

  Such a program for executing each function of each device may be stored in a storage means such as a ROM or HDD provided in the computer from the beginning, or a CD-ROM or flexible disk as a recording medium, A program recorded in a nonvolatile recording medium (memory) such as SRAM, EEPROM, or memory card and recorded in the memory is installed in the computer and executed by the CPU, or the program is read from the memory and executed by the CPU. As a result, the above-described procedures may be executed. Furthermore, it is also possible to download the program from an external device that is connected to the network and has a recording medium that records the program, or from an external device that stores the program in the storage means, and execute the above-described procedures.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information provision system 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Control part 106 Inspection part 107 Operation display part 108 Communication part 108a Reception part 108b Transmission part 109, 200 Information distribution server 201 Control part 202 Communication part 202a Reception part 202b Transmission part 203 Status information registration part 204 Operation procedure / operation site determination unit 205 Operation procedure / operation site storage unit 206 Image processing unit 300 Smartphone 301 Control unit 303 Operation display unit 304 Communication unit 304a Reception unit 304b Transmission unit 305 Operation procedure management unit 306 Work record holding unit 702 Work Operation procedure 703 Outline operation procedure 704 Detailed operation procedure 801 Work type

Japanese Patent No. 4362578

Claims (9)

An information providing system in which an electronic device, a terminal device, and an information distribution device are connected via a network,
The electronic device is
A transmission unit for transmitting information including abnormality of the electronic device;
The terminal device
A transmission unit for transmitting information of the terminal device;
The information distribution apparatus includes:
A transmitting unit that transmits at least a part of the operation procedure information for canceling the abnormality to at least one of the electronic device and the terminal device specified based on information transmitted from each of the transmitting units; Prepared,
At least one of the electronic device and the terminal device is:
A receiving unit for receiving operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution device;
An operation display unit for displaying the received operation procedure information;
The display history of the operation procedure information is stored in a desired storage area by any of the electronic device, the terminal device, or the information distribution device, and the display frequency of the operation procedure information for the abnormality based on the stored display history And a control unit that displays, on the operation display unit, operation procedure information that is simpler than the operation procedure information for the operation procedure information with a lower display frequency as a result of the determination. Information providing system. An information providing system in which an electronic device and an information distribution device are connected via a network,
The electronic device is
A transmission unit for transmitting information including abnormality of the electronic device;
The information distribution apparatus includes:
A transmission unit that transmits at least a part of the operation procedure information for canceling the abnormality to the electronic device specified based on the information transmitted from the transmission unit;
The electronic device is
A receiving unit for receiving operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution device;
An operation display unit for displaying the received operation procedure information;
The display history of the operation procedure information is stored in a desired storage area by either the electronic device or the information distribution device, and the display frequency of the operation procedure information for the abnormality is determined based on the stored display history Then, as a result of the determination, the operation procedure information having a lower display frequency is provided with a control unit that causes the operation display unit to display operation procedure information that is simpler than the operation procedure information. system. A plurality of electronic devices are connected to the information providing system,
The information distribution apparatus includes:
3. The number of distribution requests of the operation procedure information that is made when an abnormality occurs in each electronic device, for all of the plurality of electronic devices, is totaled. Information providing system described in 1.   4. The information providing system according to claim 3, wherein the information distribution apparatus counts the number of distribution requests for each model of the electronic device and each type of abnormality.   The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operation procedure information has a data structure that can be updated in part or in whole according to a user instruction.   When the operation procedure information is updated and the same information as the operation procedure information is stored in the terminal device and the information distribution device, the other operation is performed with one updated operation procedure information. 6. The information providing system according to claim 5, wherein the procedure information is updated.   The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit skips a part of the display of the operation procedure based on whether or not a region to be selected is selected. An information providing system in which an electronic device, a terminal device, and an information distribution device are connected via a network,
The electronic device transmitting information including abnormality of the electronic device;
The terminal device transmitting information of the terminal device;
The information distribution device transmitting at least a part of the operation procedure information for canceling the abnormality to at least one of the electronic device and the terminal device specified based on the transmitted information; ,
At least one of the electronic device and the terminal device is
Receiving operation procedure information transmitted from the information distribution device;
Displaying the received operation procedure information on an operation display unit;
Storing a display history of the operation procedure information in a desired storage area by any of the electronic device, the terminal device, or the information distribution device;
Based on the stored display history, it is determined whether or not the display frequency of the operation procedure information for the abnormality is high, and as a result of the determination, the operation procedure information with a lower display frequency is simpler than the operation procedure information. Displaying on the operation display section. An information providing method comprising: A terminal device that supports electronic devices connected via a network,
A transmitter for requesting operation procedure information for canceling the abnormality that has occurred in the electronic device;
A receiving unit for receiving at least a part of the operation procedure information from the information distribution device based on the request;
An operation display unit for displaying the received operation procedure information on the electronic device or displaying on the terminal device;
The display history of the operation procedure information is stored in a desired storage area by any of the electronic device, the terminal device, or the information distribution device, and the display frequency of the operation procedure information for the abnormality based on the stored display history A control unit that displays the operation procedure information that is simpler than the operation procedure information for the operation procedure information with a lower display frequency as a result of the determination. Characteristic terminal device.