Term management system, image forming apparatus, and term management method

A term management system includes a term management portion and a plurality of image forming apparatuses. The term management portion stores term management information in which terms are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. The plurality of image forming apparatuses each include an acquiring processing portion. The acquiring processing portion is configured to acquire one or more terms from the term management information so that the one or more terms are displayed on a display portion based on corresponding one or more term IDs.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-148573 filed on Jul. 28, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a term management system for managing terms displayed on a display portion of an image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a term management method.

In two image forming apparatuses that differ, for example, in model or release date, a same function may be represented by different terms on a display portion of an operation panel. More specifically, a function to print an enlarged image on a plurality of paper sheets may be called “enlargement consecutive printing” in one image forming apparatus, and “poster” in the other. Such a disunity of terms induces confusion in the user, thus the terms should be unified as much as possible.

However, to modify the terms displayed on the display portion, it is, in general, necessary to modify the firmware of the image forming apparatus. As a result, after the shipment of the image forming apparatus, it is not easy to modify the terms displayed on the display portion.

SUMMARY

A term management system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a term management portion and a plurality of image forming apparatuses. The term management portion stores term management information in which terms are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. The plurality of image forming apparatuses each include an acquiring processing portion. The acquiring processing portion is configured to acquire one or more terms from the term management information so that the one or more terms are displayed on a display portion based on corresponding one or more term IDs.

An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a communication portion and an acquiring processing portion. The communication portion communicates with a term management portion storing term management information in which terms are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. The acquiring processing portion is configured to acquire one or more terms from the term management information via the communication portion so that the one or more terms are displayed on a display portion based on corresponding one or more term IDs.

A term management method according to a further aspect of the present disclosure includes a communication step and an acquiring processing step. The communication step communicates with a term management portion storing term management information in which terms are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. The acquiring processing step acquires one or more terms from the term management information so that the one or more terms are displayed on a display portion based on corresponding one or more term IDs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings for the understanding of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example of a specific embodiment of the present disclosure and should not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

As shown inFIG. 1, a term management system1according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses10(10A1,10B1, and10A2) and a term management server90. The image forming apparatus10is a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function. It is noted that the present disclosure is not limited to a multifunction peripheral, but is applicable to image forming apparatuses such as a copier, a printer, and a facsimile apparatus. The term management server90is an example of the term management portion of the present disclosure.

Here, as one example, a case where three image forming apparatuses10A1,10B1, and10A2are included in the term management system1is described. The image forming apparatus10A1is the first mass production version of a model A, the image forming apparatus10B1is the first mass production version of the model B, and the image forming apparatus10A2is a design change version of the model A.

Each image forming apparatus10is configured to connect to the term management server90via a communication line80such as the Internet. The term management server90stores a term management table41(seeFIG. 9) that associates terms with term IDs. The term management table41is an example of the term management information of the present disclosure. In the term management server90, a term set information management table42(seeFIG. 10) is also stored, wherein a plurality of pieces of term set information50are registered in the term set information management table42. Details of the term management table41and the term set information management table42are described below.

Next, a configuration of the image forming apparatus10is described with reference toFIG. 2. The image forming apparatus10includes an operation/display portion11, an ADF12, an image reading portion13, an image forming portion14, a communication interface15, a control portion17, and a storage portion16.

The operation/display portion11includes a display portion and an operation portion, wherein the display portion is, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays information, and the operation portion includes a touch panel and operation buttons for receiving user operations. The touch panel is provided on a display surface of the display portion.

The ADF12is an automatic document feeding device including a document sheet setting portion, conveyance rollers, a document sheet pressing, and a sheet discharge portion, and conveys a document sheet so that it is read by the image reading portion13.

The image reading portion13includes a document sheet table, a light source, a mirror, an optical lens, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and is configured to read an image from a document sheet and output the image as image data.

The image forming portion14is configured to execute a printing process by the electrophotography or the inkjet method to form an image on a sheet based on image data. As one example, when the image forming portion14is an electrophotographic image forming portion, the image forming portion14includes a photoconductor drum, a charger, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a fixing device. The image forming portion14forms an image on a sheet based on a user operation performed on the operation/display portion11.

The communication interface15is configured to execute a communication process to communicate with an external information processing apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus or a personal computer via a communication network such as a telephone line, the Internet, or a LAN, in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol. The communication interface15is an example of the communication portion of the present disclosure.

The storage portion16is a nonvolatile storage portion such as a hard disk or an EEPROM™. The storage portion16stores various control programs to be executed by the control portion17, and a term reference table20(seeFIG. 5) that is described below

The control portion17includes control equipment such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various calculation processes. The ROM is a nonvolatile storage portion in which various information such as control programs for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or nonvolatile storage portion that is used as a temporary storage memory (working area) for the various processes executed by the CPU.

Specifically, the control portion17includes a display control portion171and an acquiring processing portion172. It is noted that the control portion17functions as these processing portions when it executes various processes in accordance with the control programs. In addition, the control portion17may include an electronic circuit that implements part or all of processing functions of the processing portions.

The display control portion171displays, on the operation/display portion11, various types of screens such as a print setting screen31(seeFIG. 6) and a help screen32that are described below. The display control portion171displays the various screens based on control programs (for example, firmware) stored in the ROM.

The various screens displayed on the operation/display portion11by the display control portion171are generated based on screen configuration information that is defined in advance. The screen configuration information is defined by using term IDs. For example, as shown inFIG. 3, two term IDs [term0001] and [term0002] are used to define the screen configuration information of the print setting screen31. In addition, as shown inFIG. 4, the two term IDs [term0001] and [term0002] are also used to define the screen configuration information of the help screen32that is displayed on the operation/display portion11when the help button is selected on the print setting screen31.

On the other hand, terms corresponding to the term IDs are defined in the term reference table20stored in the storage portion16. The display control portion171refers to the term reference table20, replaces the term IDs used in the screen configurations shown inFIG. 3andFIG. 4with corresponding terms, and displays, on the operation/display portion11, the screens in the state where the term IDs have been replaced with the corresponding terms.

Meanwhile, in two image forming apparatuses that differ in model or release date, a same function may be represented by different terms on a display portion of an operation panel. More specifically, a function to print an enlarged image on a plurality of paper sheets may be called “enlargement consecutive printing” in one image forming apparatus, and “poster” in the other. Such a disunity of terms induces confusion in the user, thus the terms should be unified as much as possible. However, to modify the terms displayed on the display portion, it is, in general, necessary to modify the firmware of the image forming apparatus. As a result, after the shipment of the image forming apparatus, it is not easy to modify the terms displayed on the display portion.

It is noted that there is known an image forming apparatus in which terms or sentences that are written in a plurality of languages are stored in advance, and the language displayed on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus can be changed in response to a user operation. However, with a configuration where a plurality of terms corresponding to a same term ID are stored in each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses in advance, it is not easy to change a term that is used in the plurality of image forming apparatuses.

On the other hand, in the term management system1according to the present embodiment, a term that can be used in each image forming apparatus10can be acquired from the term management server90. This makes it possible to easily change terms used in the plurality of image forming apparatuses10.

FIG. 5shows a term reference table20A1that is stored in the storage portion16of the image forming apparatus10A1(namely, the first mass production version of the model A) at the time of the shipment. In the term reference table20A1, a term “collective printing” is defined in association with a term ID “term0001”, and a term “enlargement consecutive printing” is defined in association with a term ID “term0002”. Accordingly, [term0001] and [term0002] included in the screen configuration information shown inFIG. 3are respectively replaced with “collective printing” and “enlargement consecutive printing”, and the print setting screen31shown inFIG. 6is displayed on the operation/display portion11of the image forming apparatus10A1.

FIG. 7shows a term reference table20B1that is stored in the storage portion16of the image forming apparatus10B1(namely, the first mass production version of the model B) at the time of the shipment. In the term reference table20B1, a term “page collective printing” is associated with a term ID “term0001”, and a term “enlargement consecutive printing” is associated with a term ID “term0002”. That is, in the image forming apparatus10B1, “page collective printing” is displayed at a place where “collective printing” is displayed in the image forming apparatus10A1.

FIG. 8shows a term reference table20A2that is stored in the storage portion16of the image forming apparatus10A2(namely, the design change version of the model A) at the time of the shipment. In the term reference table20A2, a term “page collective printing” is associated with a term ID “term0001”, and a term “poster” is associated with a term ID “term0002”. That is, in the image forming apparatus10A2, “page collective printing” is displayed at a place where “collective printing” is displayed in the image forming apparatus10A1, and “poster” is displayed at a place where “enlargement consecutive printing” is displayed in the image forming apparatus10A1.

Such a disunity of terms may be caused by various factors. A disunity of terms between different models may be caused if the models are developed by different development teams, and the development teams do not use a unified set of terms. In addition, even in a same model, a design change version may be released several years after a first mass production version is released. In that case, the terms may be revised, and terms that have become old-fashioned and not used often may be replaced with new terms.

However, such a disunity of terms induces confusion in the user. For example, for a user who is accustomed to the term “enlargement consecutive printing” may feel difficult to understand the term “poster” used in the image forming apparatus10A2that has been bought newly. In addition, for example, in a company that uses all of the three types of image forming apparatus10, when an operation manual of the image forming apparatus10is created, if different terms are used among the three types of image forming apparatuses10, it is necessary to describe correspondence relationship in the operation manual, which takes time and effort.

In view of the above-described problem, the term management system1according to the present embodiment is provided with the term management server90such that a term displayed on the image forming apparatus10can be easily changed.

The term management server90stores the term management table41shown inFIG. 9and the term set information management table42shown inFIG. 10.

As shown inFIG. 9, the term management table41shows correspondence between term IDs and terms of different term versions. More specifically, in the term management table41, each term ID is associated with a plurality of terms that respectively belong to different term versions and have the same meaning. The term versions are identified by term version IDs such as “term version1” and “term version2” shown inFIG. 9. For example, in the example shown inFIG. 9, two terms “collective printing” and “page collective printing” are associated with a term ID “term0001” assigned to a term that means printing a plurality of pages on one paper sheet. In addition, two terms “enlargement consecutive printing” and “poster” are associated with a term ID “term0002” assigned to a term that means printing one page over a plurality of paper sheets. In this way, the term management table41associates a plurality of terms with a plurality (for example, hundreds to thousands) of term IDs. It is noted that an arbitrary number of terms may be associated with each term ID. For example, four terms may be associated with a certain term ID, two terms may be associated with another term ID, and only one term may be associated with a further term ID.

As shown inFIG. 10, a plurality of pieces of term set information50are registered in the term set information management table42, wherein each piece of term set information50indicates, for each term ID, one of the plurality of terms having the same meaning. The plurality of pieces of term set information50may include some pieces of term set information50that correspond to the models of the image forming apparatus10, such as a piece of term set information50corresponding to the model A, a piece of term set information50corresponding to the model B, and a piece of term set information50corresponding to the model C. Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 10, the plurality of pieces of term set information50may include a plurality of pieces of term set information50that correspond to different versions of each model of the image forming apparatus10. For example, the term set information management table42shown inFIG. 10includes a piece of term set information50corresponding to the first mass production version of the model A (hereinafter referred to as “model A1”), a piece of term set information50corresponding to the first mass production version of the model B (hereinafter referred to as “model B1”), and a piece of term set information50corresponding to the design change version of the model A (hereinafter referred to as “model A2”).

InFIG. 10, in a piece of term set information50corresponding to the model A1, terms defined in the term reference table20(for example, the term reference table20A1shown inFIG. 5) stored in the model A1at the time of the shipment, are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. Specifically, in the piece of term set information50, a term of the term version1(namely, term “collective printing” indicated in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9in association with the term version1), is defined in association with “term0001”. In addition, in the piece of term set information50, a term of the term version1(namely, term “enlargement consecutive printing” indicated in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9in association with the term version1), is defined in association with “term0002”.

Similarly, in a piece of term set information50corresponding to the model B1, terms defined in the term reference table20(for example, the term reference table20B1shown inFIG. 7) that is stored in the model B1at the time of the shipment, are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. Specifically, in the piece of term set information50, a term of the term version2(namely, term “page collective printing” indicated in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9in association with the term version2), is defined in association with “term0001”. In addition, in the piece of term set information50, a term of the term version2(namely, term “enlargement consecutive printing” indicated in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9in association with the term version1), is defined in association with “term0002”.

Similarly, in a piece of term set information50corresponding to the model A2, terms defined in the term reference table20(for example, the term reference table20A2shown inFIG. 8) that is stored in the model A2at the time of the shipment, are defined in association with corresponding term IDs. Specifically, in the piece of term set information50, a term of the term version2(namely, term “page collective printing” indicated in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9in association with the term version2), is defined in association with “term0001”. In addition, in the piece of term set information50, a term of the term version2(namely, term “poster” indicated in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9in association with the term version2), is defined in association with “term0002”.

The acquiring processing portion172of the image forming apparatus10is configured to acquire a term that is to be displayed on the operation/display portion11based on a term ID, from the term management table41stored in the term management server90. For example, the acquiring processing portion172is configured to acquire, in a batch, a plurality of terms that are to be displayed on the operation/display portion11based on term IDs, from the term management table41stored in the term management server90.

In the present embodiment, the acquiring processing portion172is configured to acquire, in a batch, a plurality of terms that are to be displayed on the operation/display portion11based on term IDs, from the term management table41stored in the term management server90, based on a piece of term set information50selected from a plurality of pieces of term set information50stored in the term management server90. For example, the acquiring processing portion172acquires, in a batch, the plurality of terms from the term management table41, based on a piece of term set information50selected by the user on a term change screen33shown inFIG. 11, displayed on the operation/display portion11. More specifically, for example, when “term set of model B1” is selected by the user on the term change screen33shown inFIG. 11, the acquiring processing portion172acquires, in a batch, a plurality of terms from the term management table41, based on a piece of term set information50associated with the model B1.

It is noted that the acquiring processing portion172may acquire, in a batch, a plurality of terms of the latest term version for each term ID from the term management table41stored in the term management server90. For example, when the user has selected a button B4to select a “term set of latest terms” on the term change screen33shown inFIG. 11displayed on the operation/display portion11, the acquiring processing portion172acquires, in a batch, a plurality of terms of the latest term version for each term ID from the term management table41. For example, in a case where a new term version is added in sequence and the latest term version changes in the term management table41shown inFIG. 9, as term version1->term version2->term version3-> . . . , a term having the highest term version ID for each term ID is acquired as the term of the latest term version.

In the following, an example of the procedure of a term change process executed by the control portion17is described with reference toFIG. 12. Here, steps S1, S2, . . . represent numbers assigned to the processing procedures (steps) executed by the control portion17. It is noted that the term change process is started in response to input of a term change instruction via the operation/display portion11by the user.

First, in step S1, the control portion17is connected to the term management server90via the communication interface15.

In step S2, the control portion17acquires term set identification information from the term management server90. The term set identification information is used to identify each piece of term set information50registered in the term set information management table42shown inFIG. 10, by, for example, a term set name such as the “term set of model A1”. The term set identification information is stored in the term management server90in association with the term set information50registered in the term set information management table42.

In step S3, the control portion17displays, on the operation/display portion11, the term change screen33shown inFIG. 11, based on the term set identification information acquired in step S2. For example, the control portion17displays buttons B1to B4, wherein the buttons B1to B3correspond to three pieces of term set identification information acquired in step S2, and the button B4is used to acquire, in a batch, a term of the latest term version for each term ID.

In step S4, the control portion17determines whether or not any of the term sets has been selected by the user. For example, the control portion17determines whether or not any of the buttons B1to B4displayed on the term change screen33has been selected. When it is determined that any of the term sets has been selected (S4: Yes), the process moves to step S5. On the other hand, when it is determined that any of the term sets has not been selected (S4: No), the process of step S4is repeated until it is determined that any of the term sets has been selected.

In step S5, the control portion17acquires the term set selected by the user, from the term management server90. More specifically, the control portion17, based on a piece of term set information50associated with the term set selected by the user, acquires, in a batch, a plurality of terms indicated by the piece of term set information50, from the term management table41.

In step S6, the control portion17updates the term reference table20stored in the storage portion16, based on the term set acquired in step S5. As a result, the terms associated with the term IDs defined in the term reference table20are replaced with the term set acquired in step S5, and the terms displayed on the operation/display portion11are changed based on the term reference table20after the replacement.

It is noted that the communication with the term management server90in the steps S1and S5is executed by the control portion17via the communication interface15. In addition, the process of step S5(acquiring processing step) is executed by the acquiring processing portion172of the control portion17.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, terms that can be used in the image forming apparatus10can be acquired from the term management server90. As a result, it is possible to easily change the terms that are used in a plurality of image forming apparatuses10.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus10is configured to acquire, in a batch, a plurality of terms from the term management server90based on the term set information50. As a result, if, for example, the user would like to change the terms displayed on the model A1or A2to the terms displayed on the model B1, the user can change the terms only by selecting “term set of model B1”.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, when, for example, a new model is released in which a term set that is different from those used in the old models is used, it is possible to easily change any term set used in an old model to the term set used in the new model, by adding the new terms used in the new model into the term management table41, and registering a piece of term set information50of the new model in the term set information management table42.

It is noted that the present embodiment describers a case where terms displayed on the image forming apparatus10are changed. However, by using the term management server90, it is possible to change terms displayed on an apparatus other than the image forming apparatus10. For example, in a computer in which a management software program for managing the image forming apparatus10has been installed, when the management software program has been configured to display terms on the display portion of the computer based on term IDs, it is possible to easily change the terms defined in the term reference table20that is referenced by the management software program. This makes it possible to easily integrate the terms displayed on the image forming apparatus10, and the terms displayed on the computer for managing the image forming apparatus10. This also applies to a computer in which a printer driver for giving a print instruction to the image forming apparatus10has been installed.

It is noted that in the present embodiment, a plurality of pieces of term set information50associated with a plurality of versions of models of the image forming apparatus10are included in the term set information management table42. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. As another embodiment, a plurality of pieces of term set information50associated with a plurality of clients may be included in the term set information management table42. For example, suppose that a client A who manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses10in a company, would like to integrate terms for “term0001” into “collective printing”, and terms for “term0002” into “poster”. In this case, it is possible to meet the client A's demand by registering a piece of term set information50associated with the client A, as shown inFIG. 13, in the term set information management table42.

In addition, in the present embodiment, for example, the term change process is started in response to input of the term change instruction by the user via the operation/display portion11. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. As another embodiment, for example, the image forming apparatus10may be provided with an automatic update function for automatically acquiring, on a regular basis, a term set associated with latest terms from the term management server90.