Patent ID: 8294931
Filing Date: 2012-10-23
Classification: G06F,H04N

Abstract:
1. In a network system that includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses, which are coupled to each other through a network, and each of which comprises: a communication section to bilaterally communicate information with other image forming apparatuses; an authenticating section to authenticate whether or not a specific user resides in a peripheral area of an image forming apparatus concerned; and a voice outputting section to output guidance for the specific user by generating audible voice, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer executable program to be executed in either one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the program being executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a process comprising: making a first image forming apparatus, implement a print job instructed by the specific user; transmitting request information to a second image forming apparatus, being another one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, so as to request for authenticating whether or not the specific user resides in a peripheral area of the second image forming apparatus, in such a case that the guidance should be announced to the specific user who currently resides out of such a range that the first image forming apparatus can authenticate a location of the specific user by itself; authenticating whether or not the specific user resides in the peripheral area of the second image forming apparatus that has received the request information; making the voice outputting section of the second image forming apparatus that has detected the specific user residing within the peripheral area of the second image forming apparatus, output the guidance for the specific user by generating audible voice; suspending the output process when a suspension command to suspend the output process is received; judging whether or not the suspension command is given by the specific user when the suspension command is received after a lapse of a predetermined time period, re-authenticating whether or not the specific user resides in the peripheral area of the second image forming apparatus, in case that the judgment is that the suspension command has not been given by the specific user; and making the voice outputting section of the second image forming apparatus that has re-authenticated the specific user residing within the peripheral area of the second image forming apparatus, output the guidance for the specific user by generating audible voice again.