JP2016099940A - File structure and information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A 3D image file having a file structure that can reduce the labor of a developer and an information processing apparatus using the 3D image file are provided.
A file structure of a 3D image file is described in XML format in which a 3D drawing for 3D rendering of the image forming apparatus and the state of the image forming apparatus is described on a program for monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus. An XML file, and a 3D drawing library that is called from the program and performs the 3D drawing using the 3D data.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that 3D-draws information of an image forming apparatus, and a file structure in which data and programs for 3D drawing are packaged.

  Conventionally, a printer driver on a PC (Personal Computer) used by a user, a status monitor, etc., for the user to remotely confirm the status of an image forming apparatus (MFP, Multifunction Peripheral) such as a printer or multifunction peripheral connected to a network Alternatively, it has been performed that a utility program acquires information of an image forming apparatus via a network.

  In addition, in order to display the state of the image forming apparatus in an easy-to-understand manner, the status monitor or the like displays the image forming apparatus, optional products such as a stapler and sorter added to the image forming apparatus, and the failure part by 3D drawing. Things have been done.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which a status monitor window 700 is displayed at the lower right of the Windows (registered trademark) desktop screen.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the toner cartridge is pulled out in a picture of the image forming apparatus that is 3D-drawn on the status monitor or the like.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the position of the tray in a picture of the image forming apparatus that is 3D drawn on the status monitor or the like.

  In the description here, the terms 3D drawing and 3D display are used separately. 3D drawing is a method of drawing a three-dimensional object on a plane such as a screen according to perspective, and the 3D display is based on the parallax of the left and right eyes of the person viewing the screen. It is displayed so that it can be seen from above the plane.

  Various improvements have been made in performing 3D drawing or 3D display as follows.

  For example, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, when the number of image forming apparatuses to be monitored is large, an image forming apparatus drawn in a monitor window on a PC (Personal Computer) screen is used. Addresses an issue that caused more icons to be displayed and had to enlarge the monitor window to display the icons at once.

  In the technique of Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, each icon of the image forming apparatus is arranged on a virtual circle, and the circle on which the icon is arranged is 3D-drawn in perspective to limit the number of icons. By drawing a circle and rotating the circle so that the icon of the image forming apparatus to be noticed comes to the front, a large number of image forming apparatuses can be monitored appropriately even in a monitor window of a limited area.

  Further, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 3, an autostereoscopic display that lifts a display object using binocular parallax is used on a display surface constituting a touch panel of an image forming apparatus. When the user touches the touch panel to select a display object on the touch panel, the display surface is switched from 3D display to normal 2D display, and thus the user can easily perform an operation using the touch panel.

  Here, the point of performing 3D drawing in the above-described status monitor or the like will be described.

  A status monitor or the like is provided by the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus. However, in order to reduce development man-hours, the manufacturer provides versatility to one status monitor and supports various types and configurations of image forming apparatuses. For this reason, a configuration such as a status monitor has been developed and provided to users by dividing it into a general-purpose part and a part specific to the image forming apparatus.

  Further, in order to make it easy to provide the user with a part unique to the image forming apparatus, 3D data (coordinate vertex information) necessary for 3D drawing and displaying the image forming apparatus and its state on a program such as a status monitor A package having a file structure in which a 3D drawing library for performing actual drawing using the 3D data is collected has been used.

  For example, in the package shown in FIG. 8, for each model of the image forming apparatus, 3D data 1 for 3D drawing of the parts constituting the image forming apparatus is prepared in a text format for each part (1a, 1b, and 1c).

  Further, as model specific information 2, option configuration information 2a indicating the addition status of the optional product to the image forming apparatus, alert information 2b regarding a problem occurring in the image forming apparatus, and animation for indicating the status of each part of the image forming apparatus Information 2c is prepared in a text format.

  Also, an alert definition 3 in which an alert definition common to the image forming apparatuses is described is prepared.

  Next, the 3D data 1, the model specific information 2, and the alert definition 3 are converted into binary data 5 and packaged together with a 3D drawing library 4 that is separately described in C language and includes a program code unique to the model. The 3D image file 6 is obtained. The 3D drawing library 4 is called from a higher-level program such as a status monitor and is used to perform 3D drawing using the 3D data 1.

  The 3D image file 6 is provided to the user of the image forming apparatus, and the user installs the 3D image file 6 and the utility program 7 on a PC that monitors the image forming apparatus.

  A utility program 7 having a message definition 8 in which a message common to each model is defined and described by C ++ or C # calls the 3D drawing library 4 acquired from the 3D image file 6. The 3D drawing library 4 By using binary data 5 that is 3D data, 3D drawing of the image forming apparatus is performed on the utility program 7.

  In the package shown in FIG. 9, 3D data 1 for 3D drawing of parts constituting the image forming apparatus is prepared in a text format for each part for each model of the image forming apparatus (1a, 1b, and 1c).

  Further, as model specific information 2, option configuration information 2a indicating what options have been added to the image forming apparatus, alert information 2b regarding problems occurring in the image forming apparatus, and the status of each part of the image forming apparatus Animation information 2c is prepared in a text format.

  Next, the 3D data 1 and the model specific information 2 are converted into binary data 5 ′, separately described in C language, packaged together with a 3D rendering library 4 ′ common to each model, and become a 3D image file 6 ′. .

  The 3D image file 6 ′ is provided to the user of the image forming apparatus, and the user installs the 3D image file 6 ′, the printer driver 9a, and the status monitor 9b on the PC that monitors the image forming apparatus.

  A status monitor 9b described in C ++ or C # has an alert definition 3 in which an alert definition common to each model of the image forming apparatus is described and a message definition 8 in which a message common to each model is defined. The 3D drawing library 4 ′ acquired from the file 6 ′ is called, and the 3D drawing library 4 ′ uses the binary data 5 ′ that is 3D data to perform 3D drawing of the image forming apparatus on the status monitor 9b. Is called.

  Also, the printer driver 9a described in C ++ or C # calls the 3D drawing library 4 ′ acquired from the 3D image file 6 ′, and the 3D drawing library 4 ′ uses the binary data 5 ′ that is 3D data. By using this, 3D drawing of the image forming apparatus is performed on the printer driver 9a.

JP 2010-117976 A JP 2010-117977 A JP 2012-238176 A

  As described above, the 3D image file 6 or 6 ′ for rendering the picture of the image forming apparatus in 3D on a status monitor or the like has been provided.

  However, when the 3D image file 6 or 6 ′ is used, if a text file of 3D data 1 in which 3D data for each part of the image forming apparatus is described or a text file in which the model specific information 2 is described is modified. The 3D image file 6 or 6 ′ had to be recreated by binary conversion.

  Further, when the 3D image file 6 or 6 ′ is created from the above-described file group, the text file relating to one model of the image forming apparatus is divided into a plurality of parts and is difficult to handle.

  Further, the binary-converted binary data 5 or 5 ′ was not readable.

  Further, when a 3D drawing library written in C language is called from a status monitor written in C ++ or C #, complicated code has to be written.

  As described above, the 3D image file 6 or 6 ′ that has been conventionally provided has room for various improvements.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a 3D image file having a file structure that can reduce the labor of a developer and an information processing apparatus that uses the 3D image file.

  In order to achieve the above object, a file structure of a 3D image file according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided for rendering the state of the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus in 3D on a program for monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus. An XML file in which the 3D data is described in the XML format, and a 3D drawing library that is called from the program and performs the 3D drawing using the 3D data. As a result, the effort of the developer can be reduced.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the file structure of a 3D image file according to an aspect of the present invention, the XML file includes animation information for displaying the state of the image forming apparatus and an option of the image forming apparatus. The configuration may further include optional configuration information indicating the addition status of the product.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the file structure of the 3D image file according to an aspect of the present invention, the 3D drawing library may be described in the same programming language as the program.

  To achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention provides 3D data for 3D rendering of the image forming apparatus and the state of the image forming apparatus on a program for monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus Stores the XML file extracted from the 3D image file including the XML file described in the XML format and the 3D drawing library that is called from the program and performs the 3D drawing using the 3D data. A storage unit; and a CPU that executes the 3D drawing library and the program extracted from the 3D image file.

  As described above, the 3D image file provided by the present invention can reduce the labor of the developer.

It is a figure which shows the file structure of the 3D image file concerning one Embodiment of this invention, and the utilization method of the file. 2 is a configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus 600. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example which described the call of the subroutine described in C language by C ++. It is a figure which shows the example which described the call of the subroutine described by C ++ by C ++. It is a figure which shows the example by which the window 700 of a status monitor is displayed on the lower right of the desktop screen of Windows (trademark). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a toner cartridge is pulled out in a picture of an image forming apparatus that is 3D-drawn on a status monitor or the like. It is a figure which shows the position of a tray in the picture of the image forming apparatus currently drawn in 3D on a status monitor or the like. It is a figure which shows the example of the file structure and utilization method of a 3D image file. It is a figure which shows the example of the file structure and utilization method of a 3D image file.

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

[File structure]
First, a file structure of a 3D image file and a method of using the file according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a file structure of a 3D image file and a method of using the file according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The 3D image file 200 shown in the center of the figure corresponds to the 3D image file 6 or 6 'described above, and the XML file 10 described in XML (Extensible markup Language) and the 3D described in the XML file 10 are included. A 3D drawing library 100 that performs 3D drawing based on the data 20 is packaged.

  The structure of the XML file 10 is shown on the left side of the figure. In the XML file 10, 3D data 20, an alert definition 30, a model name definition 40, option configuration information 50, and animation information 60 are structured and described by tagging.

  Note that the 3D data 20 is structured and described for each part constituting a specific model of the image forming apparatus.

  The alert definition 30, the option configuration information 50, and the animation information 60 correspond to the alert definition 2b, the option configuration information 2a, and the animation information 2c described above, respectively.

  The model name definition 40 is a part that defines a model name of a specific model of the image forming apparatus that is represented by the XML file 10.

  A 3D drawing library 100 to be packaged is shown in the lower center of the figure. Since the 3D drawing library 100 is described in C ++, when a main program that calls a subroutine in the 3D drawing library is written in the same C ++, the calling procedure can be described briefly. This point will be described later.

  As shown on the right side of the figure, the 3D image file 200 provided to the user is installed on the user's PC, and the 3D drawing library 100 is called from the printer driver 300, the status monitor 400, and the utility program 500 that are also installed. Used in form.

  The 3D drawing library 100 includes a parser for recognizing 3D data 20 described in the XML format. The 3D data 20 is used by a subroutine in the 3D drawing library 100 and is used as a status monitor. For example, 3D drawing of a picture showing the image forming apparatus is performed.

  The file structure according to the embodiment of the present invention and the method for using the file having the file structure have been described above.

[Configuration of information processing device]
Next, the configuration of the information processing apparatus 600 that uses the XML file 10 and the 3D drawing library 100 provided by the 3D image file 200 described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus 600. Note that the information processing apparatus 600 is typically the above-described PC.

  As shown in the figure, an information processing apparatus 600 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 601, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 602, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 603, an operation input unit 604, a network interface unit 605, and a display unit 606. And a storage unit 607, and these blocks are connected via a bus 608.

  The ROM 602 permanently stores a plurality of programs and data such as firmware for executing various processes. A RAM 603 is used as a work area of the CPU 601 and temporarily holds an OS (Operating System), various applications being executed, and various data being processed.

  The storage unit 607 is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or other nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 607 stores the XML file 10 extracted from the provided 3D image file 200 in addition to the OS, various applications, and various data.

  A network interface unit 605 exchanges information with an image forming apparatus (not shown) via a network.

  The CPU 601 expands a program corresponding to an instruction given from the operation input unit 604 among a plurality of programs stored in the ROM 602 and the storage unit 607 in the RAM 603, and the display unit 606 and the storage unit according to the expanded program. 607 is appropriately controlled.

  The operation input unit 604 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, and other operation devices.

  The display unit 606 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, a plasma display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, or the like. The display unit 606 may be built in the information processing apparatus 600 or may be externally connected.

  Next, functional blocks realized by executing a program in the CPU 601 will be described.

  Functional blocks implemented in the CPU 601 of the information processing apparatus 600 are a printer driver 300, a status monitor 400, and a utility program 500.

  A subroutine group included in the 3D drawing library 100 extracted from the provided 3D image file 200 is executed as a part of the printer driver 300 or the like.

  The configuration of the information processing apparatus 600 has been described above.

[Simplification of subroutine calls]
Next, as described above, when a subroutine of the 3D drawing library 100 written in the same language C ++ is called from a program such as the printer driver 300 written in C ++, the 3D drawing live written in the C language is called. The conciseness of how the source code can be described as compared with the case where the subroutine of Rally 4 is called will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a call to a subroutine described in C language is described in C ++.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a subroutine call described in C ++ is described in C ++.

  As can be seen by comparing FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, by describing the calling subroutine in the same programming language as the calling program, the calling procedure can be described in a concise manner, and the labor of the programmer can be reduced. I can do it.

[effect]
As described above, since the XML file 10 included in the 3D image file 200 having the file structure according to the embodiment of the present invention is described in the XML format, the XML file 10 is readable even when provided to the user.

  In addition, since conversion to binary data is not performed, the time and effort required for conversion can be reduced.

  In addition, since one XML file 10 corresponds to one model of the image forming apparatus, it is possible to save time and effort to refer to various files when acquiring or browsing information on a specific model. I can do it.

  In addition, since one model is one file, it is possible to reduce time and effort required for file management. Note that the 1 model 1 file here means that 3D data of each part constituting a specific model of the image forming apparatus is grouped, and that information of the image forming apparatus is displayed on a status monitor or the like. Necessary optional configuration information and animation information are also described together with 3D data.

  Further, since the 3D drawing library 100 is described in the same language as the calling program description language, the calling procedure can be described in a concise manner.

[Additional notes]
In addition, this invention is not limited only to the above-mentioned embodiment, Of course, various changes can be added within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 3D data 2 ... Model specific information 2a ... Option structure information 2b ... Alert information 2c ... Animation information 3 ... Alert definition 4, 4 '... 3D drawing library 5, 5' ... Binary data 6, 6 '... 3D image file 7 ... Utility program 8 ... Message definition 9a ... Printer driver 9b ... Status monitor 10 ... XML file 20 ... 3D data 30 ... Alert definition 40 ... Model name definition 50 ... Option configuration information 60 ... Animation information 100 ... 3D drawing library 200 ... 3D image file 300 ... Printer driver 400 ... Status monitor 500 ... Utility program 600 ... Information processing device 601 ... CPU
602 ... ROM
603 ... RAM
604 ... Operation input unit 605 ... Network interface unit 606 ... Display unit 607 ... Storage unit 608 ... Bus 700 ... Status monitor window

Claims (4)

An XML file in which 3D data for 3D rendering of the image forming apparatus and the state of the image forming apparatus is described in an XML format on a program for monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus;
A file structure of a 3D image file including a 3D drawing library that is called from the program and performs the 3D drawing using the 3D data. The file structure of the 3D image file according to claim 1,
The XML file is
Animation information for displaying an animation of the state of the image forming apparatus;
A file structure of a 3D image file further including optional configuration information indicating an addition status of an optional product of the image forming apparatus. The file structure of the 3D image file according to claim 1 or 2,
The 3D drawing library is
A file structure of a 3D image file described in the same programming language as the program. On the program for monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus and the XML file in which 3D data for 3D drawing of the state of the image forming apparatus are described in XML format are called from the program, and the 3D A storage unit for storing the XML file extracted from a 3D image file including a 3D drawing library that performs 3D drawing using data;
An information processing apparatus comprising: the 3D drawing library extracted from the 3D image file; and a CPU that executes the program.