JP2010020223A - Information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus for displaying and providing related information to a user, while a job is processed. <P>SOLUTION: A composite machine accepts a log-in operation from the user, to perform personal authentication (S102), while a copy job is processed (S101) and obtains the personal information of the user from an external server, etc. (S107) and displays the personal information on a display part (S109), when the authentication is permitted (S103;Yes). The user can view the personal information of himself/herself displayed on the display part of the composite machine, while the copy job is processed, so that the user can effectively spend the waiting time until the processing of the copy job is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that displays predetermined information and provides it to a user during job processing.

  In a copying machine, a display unit is used to display and provide predetermined information to a user waiting in front of the copying machine, such as a waiting time until completion of copy printing of a document requested by the user. There is something. For example, in Patent Document 1, a copier displays and provides advertisement information during a waiting time until copying printing is completed to a customer who uses a copying service at a convenience store, and the length of the waiting time. A technique is disclosed that selectively acquires and displays advertisement information suitable for the advertisement, or appropriately edits and displays the advertisement information according to the length of the waiting time (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-230390 A

  The above technique provides advertisements to unspecified customers who use the copy service in order to improve the profits of the service provider. However, since customer preferences vary, it is not always possible to provide advertisements with contents desired by customers or contents useful for customers. When an advertisement with such inappropriate contents is provided, the customer cannot effectively spend time waiting for the copy printing to be completed in front of the copying machine.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an information processing apparatus that can display and provide relevant information to a user during job processing.

  The gist of the present invention for achieving the object lies in the inventions of the following items.

[1] An input unit for receiving input of authentication information for performing user authentication;
A processing unit for processing jobs;
A display unit;
During the job processing by the processing unit, user authentication is performed based on the authentication information received by the input unit, and when authenticated, the user's personal information is acquired from a predetermined storage unit to process the job. A control unit for displaying on the display unit,
An information processing apparatus comprising:

  In the above invention, user authentication is performed based on authentication information input during job processing, personal information of the authenticated (identified) user is acquired and displayed during job processing. The user's personal information to be acquired and displayed includes various types of information related to the user. For example, notification information sent to the user, registration information registered in advance by the user, update information associated with the user and updated as needed are included. This allows the user to view his personal information during job processing.

[2] An input unit for receiving input of authentication information for performing user authentication;
A processing unit for processing a job requested by a user;
A display unit;
User authentication is performed based on the authentication information received by the input unit, and when authenticated, the personal information of the user is acquired from a predetermined storage unit, and processing by the processing unit for a job requested by the user A control unit for displaying the personal information on the display unit,
An information processing apparatus comprising:

  In the above invention, user authentication is performed based on the input authentication information, personal information of the authenticated (identified) user is acquired and displayed during processing of a job requested by the user. As a result, the user can browse his / her personal information while processing the job he / she requested.

[3] The information according to [1] or [2], wherein the control unit processes the personal information according to a remaining time of processing of the job by the processing unit and displays the personal information on the display unit. Processing equipment.

  In the above invention, the personal information acquired from the predetermined storage unit is processed and displayed according to the remaining time of job processing. For example, processing of personal information can be performed to display information in a simplified or detailed manner according to the remaining time, or to extract and display new or important information, It can be processed so that information and important information are displayed preferentially. Thereby, it is possible to display and provide information suitable for the user to browse within the remaining time.

[4] A selection unit that accepts selection of the personal information displayed on the display unit,
The control unit displays, on the display unit, more detailed content than the content displayed before the selection is received for the personal information received by the selection unit. 3]. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 3).

  In the above invention, when the displayed personal information of the user is selected, more detailed content than the content displayed before the selection is displayed. For example, the detailed contents can be displayed in addition to the contents before selection, or replaced with the contents before selection. As a result, the user can confirm the detailed contents of the desired personal information, and the convenience for displaying and providing the personal information to the user is improved.

[5] The control unit terminates the display of the personal information on the display unit when the processing of the job by the processing unit is completed. [1] to [4] Information processing device.

  In the above invention, the display of the personal information automatically ends when the processing of the job requested by the user is completed. Since the personal information is not witnessed by another user who visits the information processing apparatus after the completion of the job processing, the confidentiality of the personal information can be ensured.

[6] An operation unit for receiving a predetermined operation is provided,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the control unit ends the display of the personal information on the display unit when a predetermined operation is received by the operation unit. .

  In the above invention, even when the job requested by the user is being processed, the display of the personal information ends when a predetermined operation is performed through the operation unit. For example, when the user leaves the information processing apparatus during job processing, the user can leave after displaying personal information. In this way, personal information is not witnessed by other users who visit the information processing device when the job request is being processed but the user who requested the processing is absent. Can be secured.

[7] A communication unit that communicates with an authentication device that performs user authentication based on the authentication information,
The control unit requests the user authentication by transmitting the authentication information received by the input unit to the authentication device through the communication unit, and sends the requested user authentication result from the authentication device to the communication. The information processing apparatus according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the information processing apparatus receives the information through a unit.

  In the above-described invention, the information processing apparatus transmits the input authentication information to an external authentication apparatus to request user authentication, and performs user authentication by receiving the requested user authentication result from the authentication apparatus.

[8] The personal information includes at least one of e-mail information, schedule information, and My Page information. [1] to [7], Printing system.

  In the above invention, at least one of e-mail information, schedule information, and my page information is displayed as personal information of the user during job processing. The user can view his / her own e-mail information, his / her schedule information, and his / her own page information displayed during job processing.

  According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to display and provide relevant information to the user during job processing. Therefore, a user who waits for job processing to be completed in front of the information processing apparatus can spend the waiting time effectively while browsing information related to him / her.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration example of an information processing system 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 5 is a system used in an office or the like, and includes an arbitrary number of multifunction peripherals (MFPs) 10, an arbitrary number of client terminals 11, a mail server 12, and a schedule server. 13 and my page server 14 are connected to a network 2 such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The multifunction machine 10 is an apparatus (information processing apparatus) having a document copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, and the like. Also, a function of performing user authentication based on the input authentication information (user authentication function), a function of acquiring personal information of the authenticated user, and a function of displaying the acquired personal information during job processing are provided.

  The client terminal 11 is a device that accesses the multifunction device 10 via the network 2 and requests various operations such as print jobs and requests for operations. For example, the client terminal 11 is connected to a personal computer (PC). A driver program is built in.

  The mail server 12 has a function of sending / receiving and managing electronic mail. The schedule server 13 has a function of registering and managing a schedule of a user who uses the client terminal 11 for each user, and a function of releasing a schedule corresponding to the user to a user who requests browsing of the schedule through the client terminal 11. It has.

  In this embodiment, an organization such as a company or a department that has introduced the information processing system 5 provides a My Page service to a member (affiliated user). The My Page service is a service that creates a home page dedicated to users (including semi-dedicated) on a website and publishes it with access restrictions. My page is a user-specific home page created on a website that provides a My Page service.

  This My Page includes a dedicated area where users can register, update, and delete information, and is open to only those users, and administrators can register, update, and delete information and all information that belongs to the organization. A non-dedicated area (administrator area) that is open to only the user or some designated target users is provided. Furthermore, a public area may be provided in which information that the user registers, updates, deletes, etc. is open to all users in the organization to which the user belongs or only some specified target users.

  With such a My Page service, users create their own My Page, register and browse information related to their work in a dedicated area, and various information displayed in a non-dedicated area, such as an organization You can browse information such as newsletters and news (topics) delivered to your users. Furthermore, when a public area is provided, information such as items to be transmitted can be registered in the public area to allow other users to browse or exchange information with other users.

  The My Page server 14 provides the above My Page service on the website, and registers and manages a My Page (user-specific home page) for each user who uses the client terminal 11. A function for publishing a My Page corresponding to the user to the user who requests browsing of the user is provided.

  The details of the personal information acquired by the multifunction machine 10 are e-mail information, schedule information, and my page information. When the multifunction machine 10 acquires e-mail information of the authenticated user, it accesses the mail server 12 and acquires e-mail information corresponding to the user. When acquiring information on the schedule of the authenticated user, the schedule server 13 is accessed, and information on the schedule corresponding to the user is acquired. When acquiring the information of the authenticated user's my page, the user accesses the my page server 14 and acquires the information of the my page corresponding to the user.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the multifunction machine 10. The multifunction machine 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 serving as a control unit, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, a nonvolatile memory 25, and a hard disk device 26 (via a bus 22). In the drawing, “HDD” (indicated as “Hard Disk Drive”), operation display unit 27, facsimile communication unit 28, network communication unit 29, document feeder control unit 30, scanner unit 31, and image processing unit. 32, a printer unit 33, and a user authentication input unit 34 are connected.

  The CPU 21 controls the operation of the multifunction machine 10 based on a program stored in the ROM 23. The RAM 24 is used as a work memory for temporarily storing various data when the CPU 21 executes a program, and is also used for an image memory for temporarily storing image data.

  The nonvolatile memory 25 is a memory that retains memory even when the power is turned off, and stores device-specific information, various setting information, user authentication information, and the like. The hard disk device 26 stores various types of saved data, and also saves image data for scanning and copying originals, image data for printing requested by the client terminal 11 (print data), and the like.

  The operation display unit 27 has a function as a display unit that displays various screens and a function as an operation unit that receives various operations performed on the multifunction machine 10 by a user or the like. Here, the operation display unit 27 includes a liquid crystal display, a touch panel (touch screen) provided on the screen, and various buttons.

  The facsimile communication unit 28 performs a function of communicating with an external device having a facsimile function through a public line. The network communication unit 29 functions to communicate with external devices such as the client terminal 11, the mail server 12, the schedule server 13, and the mypage server 14 through the network 2.

  The document feeder controller 30 functions to control the operation of an automatic document feeder (ADF) (not shown). The automatic document feeder has a function of automatically feeding a document to a reading position by the scanner unit 31. For example, a document tray on which documents are stacked, a transport path for guiding and ejecting documents stacked on the document tray to the reading position of the scanner unit 31, and a document stacked on the document tray one by one in the transport path. A plurality of conveyance rollers that feed and pass through the reading position of the scanner unit 31 and discharge from the conveyance path, and a discharge tray that discharges a document read by the scanner unit 31 from the conveyance path, and the like.

  The scanner unit 31 performs a function of optically reading a document and acquiring image data. For example, a light source that irradiates light on a document, an image sensor that receives reflected light from the document and reads the document for one line in the width direction, and a lens or mirror that guides the reflected light from the document to the image sensor to form an image. It consists of an optical path consisting of

  The image processing unit 32 functions to perform various types of image processing such as image correction, rotation, enlargement / reduction, compression (compression encryption) / decompression (expansion / decryption) on image data. Also, it performs a rasterizing process on print data (vector format image data) in printing requested from the client terminal 11.

  The printer unit 33 functions to print and output an image corresponding to the input image data on a sheet. For example, it is equipped with a paper transport device, photosensitive drum, charging device, laser unit, developing device, transfer separation device, cleaning device, fixing device, etc., and forms an image on the paper by an electrophotographic process Configured as a laser printer.

  The user authentication input unit 34 functions as an input unit that receives input of authentication information for performing user authentication. As user authentication, for example, general-purpose various authentication technologies such as card authentication technology, biometric authentication technology, and password authentication technology can be used alone or in combination.

  Card authentication technology is pre-registered by reading authentication data stored in an IC (Integrated Circuit) card or ID (Identification) card owned by a user with a contact or non-contact card reader or the like. This is an authentication technology that performs personal authentication by verifying with authentication information. The biometric authentication technique is an authentication technique in which biometric information such as a user's fingerprint or finger vein is read as authentication data by a biometric authentication unit or the like and collated with previously registered authentication information for personal authentication. The password authentication technique is an authentication technique in which a user inputs an authentication password from the operation display unit 27 and collates with authentication information registered in advance to perform personal authentication.

  The user authentication input unit 34 is configured by a card reader or the like when using card authentication technology. When biometric authentication technology is used, it is composed of a biometric authentication unit. When the password authentication technique is used, it is configured by being incorporated in the operation display unit 27.

  By executing the program, the CPU 21 collates authentication information such as authentication data and an authentication password received by the user authentication input unit 34 with authentication information stored in the nonvolatile memory 25 and performs user authentication (personal authentication). ), A function of acquiring personal information of the authenticated user, and a function of displaying the acquired personal information on the operation display unit 27 during job processing. Furthermore, the function for processing and displaying personal information according to the remaining time of job processing and the detailed information about the personal information received by the operation display unit 27 than the content displayed before the selection is received , A function to end the display of personal information when the job processing is completed, and a function to end the display of personal information when a predetermined operation is accepted by the operation display unit 27.

  The personal information displayed during job processing includes at least one of e-mail information, schedule information, and my page information for the authenticated user. With regard to the display of personal information, selection of display type, selection of display format, prioritization of display, and the like may be set. The setting may be initially set or may be set by the user.

  The selection of the display type is to select the type of actual display from a plurality of types (three types in the present embodiment) of personal information (selection of display / non-display).

  The selection of the display format is selection such as displaying the contents of information in a simplified or detailed manner (selection of simplified display / detailed display).

  Prioritization of display includes prioritization of display format for multiple types of personal information, and display format and display / non-display for multiple display items when personal information includes multiple display items For example, prioritization. In the former case, for example, the type of information with higher priority displays the details of the information than the type of lower priority, or the type of information with lower priority displays the contents of the information more simply than the types of higher priority. In the latter case, for example, a display item with a high priority displays information content in detail than a display item with a low priority, or a display item with low priority displays a content of information in a simpler manner than a display item with high priority, or For example, display items are displayed in descending order of priority.

  The setting information regarding the display of the personal information is stored in the nonvolatile memory 25. When the user makes settings, a configuration in which the user performs settings through the operation display unit 27 of the multifunction machine 10 or accesses the multifunction machine 10 through the client terminal 11 to perform settings can be possible. The setting information regarding the display of the personal information set by the user by these operations is stored in the nonvolatile memory 25 in association with the identification information of the user.

  Next, the operation of the multifunction machine 10 will be described.

  As described above, the multifunction machine 10 has a function of displaying the user's personal information during job processing. Here, a copy job will be described as an example. In addition, the user can set the copy job or start the process by the user authentication function after accepting the user authentication (login). However, here, the user authentication is performed without performing the user authentication. A case will be described where an operation is accepted and user authentication is performed during the processing of a copy job. In addition, while a copy job is being processed, the user who requested the copy job can log in, as well as other users can log in. Here, the case where the user who requested the copy job logs in will be described. To do. In addition, it is assumed that user settings relating to the display of personal information are possible and the settings are made by the user in advance.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process flow of a copy job by the multifunction machine 10. When copying with the multifunction machine 10, for example, the user sets a document on the automatic document feeder and performs various settings relating to copying (copy job settings) as necessary. Then, a copy start operation is performed by pressing a start button or the like. The CPU 21 starts this processing (Start), and upon receiving the above operation from the user, starts the copy job processing (step S101).

  Specifically, the CPU 21 controls the automatic document feeder through the document feeder control unit 30 and starts feeding the document. The scanner unit 31 optically reads a document sent to a reading position by an automatic document feeder and acquires and outputs image data. The CPU 21 stores the image data output from the scanner unit 31 in the RAM 24 or the hard disk device 26. Further, the image processing unit 32 performs various types of image processing on the image data and inputs the image data to the printer unit 33. The printer unit 33 prints and outputs an image corresponding to the input image data on a sheet.

  When the CPU 21 receives a login operation from the user during the processing of the copy job, that is, when the user authentication input unit 34 receives an input of authentication information, the CPU 21 stores the input authentication information and the nonvolatile memory 25. Personal authentication is performed by collating the authentication information that has been registered (step S102).

  When the authentication is not permitted (step S103; No), the CPU 21 displays the fact on the operation display unit 27, switches the display to the authentication screen (step S104), and proceeds to step S110. In the case of authentication permission (step S103; Yes), the CPU 21 reads setting information related to display of personal information corresponding to the user from the nonvolatile memory 25 based on the authenticated user identification information (step S105) and copies it. The remaining time for job processing is calculated (step S106). The details of the remaining time are the time required from the current time (login time) to the completion of the copy job processing. The remaining time is calculated based on the copying capability (continuous copying speed) of the multifunction machine 10 and the remaining number of printed sheets.

  For example, when there are 10 documents and the number of copies is 20, the number of copies is 200, and this number of prints is determined when reading of the document is completed. If the continuous copying speed of the multifunction device 10 is 60 sheets / minute and the user logs in to the multifunction device 10 when printing is performed up to 20/200 sheets, the remaining time for processing the copy job is 180 (sheets) / 60 (sheets / minute) is calculated as approximately 3 minutes.

  The CPU 21 acquires personal information of the authenticated user from the mail server 12, the schedule server 13, and the my page server 14 (step S107). In acquiring the personal information, the CPU 21 acquires only necessary information based on the setting information read from the nonvolatile memory 25 and the calculated remaining time of the copy job processing.

  Subsequently, the CPU 21 processes the acquired personal information based on the setting information and the remaining time (step S108), displays the processed personal information on the operation display unit 27 (step S109), and proceeds to step S110. .

  In step S110, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the processing of the copy job is completed, that is, whether or not copying and printing of the document are completed. If the copy job processing has not been completed (step S110; No) and the user is not being authenticated (logged in) (step S111; No), the process returns to step S103. In this case, the display of the authentication screen is continued (Step S104) until the copy job processing is completed (Step S110; Yes).

  Although the user is being authenticated (logged in) (step S111; Yes), if a logout operation is accepted from the user through the operation display unit 27 (step S112; Yes), the process returns to step S103. In step S103 in this case, since the user is not authenticated (step S103; No), the CPU 21 switches the display of the operation display unit 27 to the authentication screen (step S104), and proceeds to step S110. As described above, when the user performs a logout operation, the display of the personal information of the user by the operation display unit 27 is finished and the display is switched to the authentication screen. Until the copy job processing is completed (step S110; Yes), the display of the authentication screen is continued (step S104).

  When the copy job processing is completed (step S110; Yes), if the authentication screen is displayed on the operation display unit 27, the CPU 21 ends the display of the authentication screen (step S113). This process ends (End). If the user's personal information is displayed on the operation display unit 27, the display of personal information is displayed and the display of personal information is terminated (step S113s), and the process is terminated ( End).

  4 to 6 show examples of user personal information displayed on the operation display unit 27 of the multifunction machine 10.

  FIG. 4 is an example of the case where the personal information to be displayed is set as e-mail information. The operation display unit 27 includes a touch panel display 50 and various hard buttons including a start button 51. The touch panel display 50 displays a progress status 52 and remaining time 53 in the copy job processing, and next job information 54 indicating information on the next job.

  For example, when the print output is finished up to 2 out of 4 copies, the progress status 52 is displayed as “Job 2/4”. When the remaining time for processing the copy job is 1 minute, the remaining time 53 is displayed as “1 minute remaining”. Further, on the touch panel display 50, the user's personal information (e-mail information of the user (authenticated user) acquired by the multifunction machine 10 (CPU 21) from the mail server 12) is displayed.

  When the remaining time is as short as 1 minute as in this example, the CPU 21 extracts a new arrival (unread) mail addressed to the user, performs a process of displaying the subject matter in the order of reception date and time, and displays the operation. Displayed on the unit 27. For example, the subject 55 of the new mail 1, the subject 56 of the new mail 2, the subject 57 of the new mail 3, the subject of the new mail 4...

  New mail (subject) displayed on the touch panel display 50 is selected by pressing the display area. When the CPU 21 accepts selection of new mail, the CPU 21 displays a summary of the new mail under the subject. The summary can be created, for example, by excerpting several lines of the mail text. In addition, when a space is provided in the extracted sentence, the space may be eliminated and characters may be filled. This example shows a state in which the latest new mail 1 is selected (hatched notation), and a summary 58 of the new mail 1 is displayed side by side under the subject 55 of the new mail 1.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the case where the personal information to be displayed is set as e-mail information and schedule information. The touch panel display 50 of the operation display unit 27 displays a progress status 52, remaining time 53, and next job information 54 in the copy job processing, as in FIG. Further, as the user's personal information, the user's e-mail information acquired from the mail server 12 by the multifunction machine 10 (CPU 21) and the user's schedule information acquired from the schedule server 13 are displayed.

  When the remaining time is relatively long as 5 minutes as in this example, the CPU 21 displays the user's schedule for one week in detail, and also extracts newly arrived mail and important schedules and displays the information in a simplified manner. Processing to be performed is displayed on the operation display unit 27.

  For example, this week's weekly schedule 60 registered in advance by the user is displayed in detail as a daily unit schedule 61. Below that, the new mail information 62 and the important schedule information 63 are arranged in that order from top to bottom, and are simply displayed as selectable menus. The new mail information 62 may display the number of newly arrived (unread) mails, for example. The important schedule information 63 may display, for example, a schedule title and date / time that the user has previously set to “important”.

  The individual daily schedule 61, new mail information 62, and important schedule information 63 in the weekly schedule 60 displayed on the touch panel display 50 are selected by pressing the display area. When the selection of the daily unit schedule 61 is accepted, the CPU 21 switches the personal information display screen to a detailed screen showing detailed schedule information of the daily unit schedule 61. When the selection of the new mail information 62 is accepted, the personal information display screen is switched to a detailed screen showing the detailed information of the new mail, for example, the new mail information screen shown in FIG. When the selection of the important schedule information 63 is accepted, the personal information display screen is switched to a detailed screen showing the detailed information of the important schedule.

  FIG. 6 is an example in the case where the personal information to be displayed is set as e-mail information and My Page information. The touch panel display 50 of the operation display unit 27 displays a progress status 52, remaining time 53, and next job information 54 in the copy job processing, as in FIGS. Further, as the user's personal information, the user's e-mail information acquired from the mail server 12 by the multifunction machine 10 (CPU 21) and the user's My Page information acquired from the My Page server 14 are displayed.

  In this example, the remaining time is relatively long as 5 minutes as in the case of FIG. 5. In such a case, the CPU 21 displays the user's My Page in detail and also displays the new mail and the important schedule. The extracted information is processed in a simplified manner and displayed on the operation display unit 27.

  For example, a plurality of items in My Page 70 are displayed, and below that, new mail information 62 and important schedule information 63 are simply displayed as selectable menus as in the case of FIG. The items of My Page 70 include, for example, an index 71 of information (business information) related to the user's own work registered in advance by the user, and communication items distributed from the department to which the user belongs to users in the department. The title 72 and internal news topics 73 distributed from the company to which the user belongs to the users in the company.

  Each item of My Page 70 displayed on the touch panel display 50, new mail information 62, and important schedule information 63 are selected by pressing the display area. When the selection of the new mail information 62 or the important schedule information 63 is received, the CPU 21 switches to the detailed screen described with reference to FIG. When selection of an item on My Page 70 is accepted, the personal information display screen is switched to a detailed screen showing detailed information on the selected item.

  For example, when the selection of the index 71 is accepted, the personal information display screen is switched to a detailed screen showing detailed information regarding the user's own work. When the selection of the title 72 is accepted, the display screen of the personal information is switched to a detailed screen showing the contact items distributed from the user's department. When the selection of topics 73 is accepted, the display screen of personal information is switched to a detailed screen showing in-house news delivered from the user's affiliated company.

  As described above, the MFP 10 according to the present embodiment performs user authentication during copy job processing, acquires personal information of the authenticated (identified) user from a predetermined server, and requests a copy requested by the user. Displayed during job processing. Thereby, during the processing of the copy job requested by the user, the user's own personal information, which is information relevant to the user, can be displayed and provided. The user can effectively spend the waiting time until the copy job processing requested by the user is completed while browsing his / her personal information.

  Further, in this embodiment, by processing and displaying the acquired personal information according to the remaining time of the copy job processing, it is possible to display and provide information suitable for the user to view within the remaining time. it can.

  Specifically, when the remaining time is short, extraction of new mail described in FIG. 4 and the subject thereof are displayed preferentially in the order of new mail reception date and time, from new information, and Information is displayed in a simplified manner. As a result, the user can easily grasp the latest information with a high degree of interest in a short time. When the remaining time is long, information is displayed in detail, such as displaying the weekly schedule described in FIG. 5 in detail or displaying the my page described in FIG. 6 in detail. . As a result, the user can check the detailed information carefully (sufficiently) by effectively using a long time.

  In addition, when the personal information of the displayed user is selected, the detailed contents are displayed more than the contents displayed before the selection.

  Specifically, as described with reference to FIG. 4, when the subject (55-57) of a new mail displayed as the user's personal information is selected, a summary (58) of the new mail is additionally displayed. Further, as described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the individual daily schedule 61 in the weekly schedule 60 displayed as the personal information of the user, the business information index 71 in the My Page 70, the title 72 of the message, When the internal news topics 73, new mail information 62 in the menu format, and important schedule information 63 are selected, the display is switched to the detailed screen. As a result, the user can confirm the detailed contents of the desired personal information, and the convenience for displaying and providing the personal information to the user is improved.

  The displayed personal information of the user automatically ends when the copy job processing requested by the user is completed. Since the personal information is not witnessed by another user who visits the multifunction peripheral 10 after the completion of the copy job processing, the confidentiality of the personal information can be ensured.

  Further, even when the copy job requested by the user is being processed, the display of the personal information ends when the logoff operation is performed. For example, when the user leaves the multi-function device 10 during the processing of a copy job, the user can leave after finishing the display of personal information. In this way, when the copy job is being processed but the user who requested the processing is absent, personal information is not witnessed by other users who have visited the multifunction machine 10, and therefore the confidentiality of the personal information. Can be secured.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to that shown in the embodiment, and there are changes and additions within the scope of the present invention. Are also included in the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment, the multi-function device 10 has a user authentication function, and the CPU 21 of the multi-function device 10 performs user authentication (personal authentication). May be performed by the authentication server 15 connected to the server (server authentication).

  In this case, the multifunction device 10 transmits the authentication information received by the user authentication input unit 34 from the network communication unit 29 to the authentication server 15 through the network 2 and requests user authentication. The authentication server 15 performs user authentication (personal authentication) by collating the authentication information received from the multi-function device 10 with pre-registered authentication information and requesting the result (authentication permission / authentication non-permission) via the network 2. To the MFP 10. When the result of user authentication received by the network communication unit 29 from the authentication server 15 through the network 2 is authentication permission, the multifunction machine 10 performs the operation described in the embodiment, that is, acquisition of personal information of the authenticated user. The personal information may be displayed during job processing.

  Further, as described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3, user authentication is performed during the processing of the copy job, but may be performed before the start of the processing. For example, in order to manage the use of the multifunction device 10 (for example, the number of printed sheets and the amount of money) for each user or each department, the application target is the case where the use of the multifunction device 10 is not permitted unless the user logs in.

  In this way, when a user logs in and accepts a copy job setting or a process start operation and starts the process, the user's personal information is triggered by a process start operation (such as pressing the start button 51). Or other manual operations accepted during copy job processing. In the case of other manual operations, buttons (personal information display buttons) for displaying personal information are provided, for example, provided as hard buttons on the operation display unit 27, or displayed as soft buttons on the touch panel display 50. This can be achieved. Before accepting the manual operation, the touch panel display 50 indicates that the user's personal information can be displayed and browsed during job processing by performing a predetermined manual operation such as pressing a personal information display button. You may make it display.

  The configuration for realizing the above functions is covered by the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to [Claim 2] described in [Claims]. Further, if the configuration for realizing the above functions is clarified, it can be expressed as follows.

Information processing device
An input unit for receiving input of authentication information for performing user authentication;
A processing unit for processing a job requested by a user;
A display unit;
User authentication is performed based on the authentication information received by the input unit, and if authenticated, a job request is received from the user, and the user is processing the job requested by the user during the processing by the processing unit. A control unit that obtains personal information from a predetermined storage unit and displays the personal information on the display unit during processing of the job;
Is provided.

  The configuration for realizing the function of performing user authentication during job processing described in the embodiment is described in [Claims 1] and [Claim 2] described in [Claims]. It is covered by the structure of. If the configuration for realizing the functions described in this embodiment is clarified, it can be expressed as follows.

Information processing device
An input unit for receiving input of authentication information for performing user authentication;
A processing unit for processing a job requested by a user;
A display unit;
During processing by the processing unit for a job requested by a user, user authentication is performed based on the authentication information received by the input unit from the user, and when the user is authenticated, the personal information of the user is stored in a predetermined memory. A control unit acquired from the unit and displayed on the display unit during processing of the job;
Is provided.

  Note that it may be configured to check whether the user who requested the job being processed matches the user who logged in during the processing of the job, and to display the personal information of the logged-in user only when there is a match. Alternatively, it may be configured to display the personal information of the logged-in user regardless of coincidence.

  Further, in the embodiment, when the user logs off during the processing of the copy job, an authentication screen is displayed so that another user can log in. This also allows other users to log in and receive their personal information.

  This is because the processing unit for processing a job, for example, the facsimile communication unit 28, the network communication unit 29, the document feeder control unit 30, the scanner unit 31, the printer unit 33, etc. in the embodiment processes the previous user's job. Although the job processing of the next user cannot be started immediately, if the operation display unit 27 is open, the operation display unit 27 can be used by the next user.

  For example, a user who visits to use the multifunction device 10 cannot request and start processing his job immediately during the processing of a copy job requested by a previous user, so that a waiting time occurs. In such a case, the user can spend the waiting time effectively by logging in to the multifunction machine 10 and receiving his / her personal information. The configuration for realizing this function is covered by the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to [Claim 1] described in [Claims].

  When user B logs in during processing of user A's job, the time related to the display of personal information of user B (the display time of personal information) is (1) the remaining time of job of user A or (2 ) The display content may be controlled as the remaining time of the job of user A + the processing time of the job reserved by user B.

  In addition, the display (viewing) of personal information is terminated when the copy job processing (copying and printout) is completed, but the display of personal information is continued under predetermined conditions. May be.

  For example, if the job to be processed next is also a job requested by the same user, the display is continued, or the display is continued for a certain period of time (for example, several seconds to several tens of seconds) after the job processing is completed You may make it do. Even if the display is continued for a certain period of time, if processing of the next job requested by another user is started within the certain period of time, it is displayed at that time to ensure the confidentiality of personal information. It is desirable to end.

  In addition, the case where the display of personal information is terminated when the user performs a logout operation has been described. In addition to this, a timeout occurs when a certain period of time elapses while the user is logging in and processing a job. To automatically log out and terminate the display of personal information.

  In addition to logout operations, for example, when a pressing operation of a button for terminating the display of personal information (personal information display end button) or a pressing operation of a button for selecting another job is received, the personal information The display may be terminated.

  In addition, when the display of personal information ends automatically instead of a manual operation by the user, the time elapses when the time until the display ends is below a predetermined threshold (for example, 10 seconds or less). Then, it may be displayed on the touch panel display 50 that the display of the personal information is finished. Thereby, the user can grasp in advance the display end timing of the personal information, and can prevent the display from being unexpectedly ended during browsing.

  In the embodiment, a plurality of types of personal information (e-mail information, schedule information, my page information) displayed by the multifunction machine 10 are stored in a plurality of external storage units (mail server 12, schedule server 13, my page). The server 14) manages the configuration, but it is managed by a single external storage unit (such as a multi-function server) or managed by a storage unit (such as the hard disk device 26) provided inside the multifunction machine 10. It is good also as a structure.

  A job for displaying personal information is not limited to a copy job. The present invention can also be applied to a print job requested by the user from the multifunction peripheral 10 through the client terminal 11.

  For example, when a user requests confidential printing to the multifunction device 10 through the client terminal 11, the requested multifunction device 10 authenticates the user and starts output upon receiving the requested confidential printing operation. To do. The user's personal information may be displayed during the processing of such a print job.

  Further, in the MFP 10 according to the embodiment, the touch panel type operation display unit 27 has the functions of the operation unit (selection unit) and the display unit. However, the operation unit and the display unit are configured separately. May be. The printer unit 33 in the multifunction machine 10 may be a printer of another type such as an LED printer that scans and exposes a photosensitive drum with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) instead of a laser beam.

  The present invention is not limited to the multi-function device described in the embodiment, but can be applied to other information processing apparatuses such as a copying machine and a printer.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the information processing system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multifunction machine as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing copy job processing by the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example by which the information of the email was displayed on the operation display part of the multifunctional device which concerns on embodiment of this invention as a user's personal information. It is a figure which shows an example by which the information of an email and a schedule was displayed as a user's personal information on the operation display part of the multifunctional device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example by which the information of the electronic mail and my page was displayed on the operation display part of the multifunctional device which concerns on embodiment of this invention as a user's personal information.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Network 5 ... Information processing system 10 ... Multifunction peripheral (MFP)
11 ... Client terminal (PC)
12 ... Mail server 13 ... Schedule server 14 ... My page server 15 ... Authentication server 21 ... CPU
22 ... Bus 23 ... ROM
24 ... RAM
25 ... Non-volatile memory 26 ... Hard disk drive (HDD)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 27 ... Operation display part 28 ... Facsimile communication part 29 ... Network communication part 30 ... Document feeder control part 31 ... Scanner part 32 ... Image processing part 33 ... Printer part 34 ... User authentication input part 50 ... Touch panel display 51 ... Start button 52 ... Progress 53 ... Remaining time 54 ... Next job information 55 to 57 ... Subject 58 ... Summary 60 ... Weekly schedule 61 ... Daily schedule 62 ... New mail information 63 ... Important schedule information 70 ... My page 71 ... Index (business information) Index)
72 ... Title (Title of the message)
73 ... Topics (In-house News Topics)

Claims (8)

An input unit for receiving input of authentication information for performing user authentication;
A processing unit for processing jobs;
A display unit;
During the job processing by the processing unit, user authentication is performed based on the authentication information received by the input unit, and when authenticated, the user's personal information is acquired from a predetermined storage unit to process the job. A control unit for displaying on the display unit,
An information processing apparatus comprising: An input unit for receiving input of authentication information for performing user authentication;
A processing unit for processing a job requested by a user;
A display unit;
User authentication is performed based on the authentication information received by the input unit, and when authenticated, the personal information of the user is acquired from a predetermined storage unit, and processing by the processing unit for a job requested by the user A control unit for displaying the personal information on the display unit,
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit processes the personal information according to a remaining time of processing of the job by the processing unit and displays the personal information on the display unit. A selection unit that accepts selection of the personal information displayed on the display unit;
The said control part displays more detailed content on the said display part than the content currently displayed before accepting the selection about the personal information which received the selection in the said selection part. The Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit ends the display of the personal information on the display unit when the processing of the job by the processing unit is completed. An operation unit for receiving a predetermined operation is provided,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit ends the display of the personal information by the display unit when a predetermined operation is received by the operation unit. A communication unit that communicates with an authentication device that performs user authentication based on the authentication information,
The control unit requests the user authentication by transmitting the authentication information received by the input unit to the authentication device through the communication unit, and sends the requested user authentication result from the authentication device to the communication. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus receives the information through a unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the personal information includes at least one of e-mail information, schedule information, and My Page information.

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