Abstract:
An apparatus including: a reception section to receive operation information from an operation terminal; a display section; and a controller that selectively executes a first control to display in the display section an operation screen corresponding to the operation information received by the reception section, and a second control not to display the operation screen.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2005-186563 and, 2006-074585 respectively filed on Jun. 27, 2005, and 2 Mar. 17, 2006 with Japanese Patent office.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to apparatus that are targets of operation control, and to operation terminals that control the operations of such apparatus.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, facsimile apparatus, or printers have been known as operation target apparatus. In image forming apparatuses, various technologies have been proposed for improvement of convenience to users and of ease of operation. One typical of such technologies is an operation panel that is formed with the display device and a touch panel formed in an integral manner, and has been realized in a large number of image forming apparatuses. When the user operates the operation parts of the touch panel or of the operation keys, and changes the settings of the density or the contrast etc. during image forming, images are formed on the recording medium according to the details of those settings and recording sheet is output.  
         [0006]     Further, systems have been proposed in which the image forming apparatus can be operated remotely via a network. In concrete terms, there is one proposed system in which the operation keys are displayed on a work station, and by transmitting via a network to the image forming apparatus the commands corresponding to the operation keys operated using a mouse cursor, the operations of that image forming apparatus is controlled remotely (see, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 6-326797), and there is another system in which the information of the coordinates of the position in the computer display at which the mouse was clicked is transmitted to the copying machine, and the operation is carried by the copying machine judging the operation instructed in the computer from the received coordinates information (see, for example Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 5-121424).  
         [0007]     In systems such as the above, it is also possible to reflect in the display section of the image forming apparatus the contents of the operation instructions made in the remote operation terminal that carries out remote operation of the image forming apparatus. In this case, although it becomes possible to teach the method of operating the image forming apparatus to the user from a remote location, when carrying out operations that are to be carried out from a remote terminal only by maintenance personnel or system managers, there are times when the contents of such operations are not to be disclosed to the general users. In addition, while remote operation is being done from a remote operation terminal, if the user of the image forming apparatus makes operation inputs from the operation section of the image forming apparatus without knowing that it is currently being operated remotely, there will be the problem that the operation instructs conflict with each other.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     The present invention was made with the above problems in the conventional technology in view, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can avoid, if and when necessary, the display of the contents of operations in the operation display of the apparatus when the operations are being made from an operation terminal.  
         [0009]     Further, another object of the present invention is to provide an operation terminal that can know in the operation terminal the contents being displayed in actually in the apparatus that is the target of operation.  
         [0010]     An apparatus according to an embodiment reflecting one aspect of the present invention to solve the above object includes: a reception section that receives operation information from an operation terminal; a display section; and a controller that selectively executes a first control to control the display section to display an operation screen corresponding to the operation information received by the reception section, and a second control to control the display section not to display the operation screen.  
         [0011]     An operation terminal according to an embodiment reflecting another aspect of the present invention, connected to an apparatus provided with a first display section, for controlling the apparatus, the operation terminal including: a reception section which receives from the apparatus a first image corresponding to an image displayed in a first display section of the apparatus and a second image corresponding to an image of the operation screen for carrying out an operation of the apparatus; a second display section; and a controller which controls the second display section to display the first image and the second image.  
         [0012]     A monitoring method, reflecting another aspect of the present invention, to monitor a plurality of image forming apparatuses from an operation terminal, including the steps of: registering a second image forming apparatus as a target of monitoring, among the plurality of image forming apparatuses, on a first image forming apparatus which functions as a server among the plurality of image forming apparatus; and providing, from the first image forming apparatus which functions as a server to the operation terminal, necessary information to monitor the second image forming apparatus as the target of monitoring. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is an outline configuration diagram of an image forming system  1  according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a remote operation screen  400  according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming system  1 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of the memory bank;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an example of the service mode screen;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing the remote controlling process;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a diagram showing a remote operation screen  400  according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming system  2  according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a script data  175 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart showing the script reproduction processing;  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is a system configuration diagram of the image forming system  3  according to a third preferred embodiment;  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  is a diagram showing an example of a frame data  500 ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 13  is a diagram showing examples of the different operation states of a copying machine displayed in the display section  330  of the remote operation terminal  300 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 14  is a diagram showing another example of an alternative screen;  
         [0028]      FIG. 15  is a diagram showing an example of web utility screen;  
         [0029]      FIG. 16  is a diagram showing an example of Remote Panel Settings screen;  
         [0030]      FIG. 17  shows a setting example in the fourth preferred embodiment;  
         [0031]      FIG. 18  shows an example of correspondence table between each status and the background color; and  
         [0032]      FIG. 19  is a diagram showing an example of the display in the first sub screen display area.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     First Preferred Embodiment  
       [0033]     To begin with, referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 6 , an image forming system  1  according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below.  
         [0000]     (Outline of Image Forming System  1 )  
         [0034]      FIG. 1  is an outline configuration diagram of an image forming system  1 . As is shown in  FIG. 1 , the image forming system  1  is configured by connecting a copying machine  100  as an apparatus that is the target of remote operation to a remote operation terminal  300  so that they can communicate with each other via communication lines N. Here, in the present preferred embodiment, although the discussions have been applied to a copying machine which is an example of an image forming apparatus which is the operation target apparatus, it is possible to apply suitably as long as it is an apparatus that carries out image formation on a recording medium as an image forming apparatus, and can, for example, be a printer or a facsimile apparatus, etc.  
         [0035]     As is showing in  FIG. 1 , the copying machine  100  is provided with hard keys  122  and a display section  130  on which a touch panel  124  is superimposed. The user carries out modifications of various types of settings of the copying machine  100  or gives the copy start instruction, etc., by pressing the hard keys  122  or by touching the touch panel  124 . The display section  130  displays the main operation screen  200  that shows the setting items or the operating states etc. of the copying machine  100 .  
         [0036]     Further, the copying machine  100  also possesses the function as a web server  180 , and when connected to communication lines N using a communication protocol such as TCP/IP, it is possible to make external accesses to this web server  180 . The web server  180 , transmits the remote operation screen data  172  (see  FIG. 3 ) in response to the requests from the accessing remote operation terminal  300 .  
         [0037]     The remote operation terminal  300  is a client terminal apparatus for remotely operating the operation of the copying machine  100 , and is configured using, for example, a personal computer or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc. As is shown in  FIG. 1 , the remote operation terminal  300  is provided with a key board or mouse  322 , a display section  330 , etc.  
         [0038]     Further, the remote operation terminal  300  is provided with the functions of a web server, and when connected to communication lines N using a communication protocol such as TCP/IP, it can access the copying machine  100 , and based on the remote operation screen data  172  (see  FIG. 3 ) that has been transmitted, it can display the remote operation screen  400  such as the one shown in  FIG. 2  in the display section  330 .  
         [0039]     As is shown in  FIG. 2 , the remote operation screen  400  displayed in the remote operation terminal  300  includes a remote setting panel screen  410  and a hard key panel screen  430 . The remote setting panel screen  410  of the remote operation screen  400  includes the same contents of display as that in the main operation screen  200  that is being displayed in the copying machine  100 , and the display is updated by the remote operation terminal  300  making a transmission request of the remote operation screen data  172  to the web server  180 .  
         [0040]     The remote setting panel screen  410  is configured to have the tab buttons  412 , the operating status display area  414 , and the item-wise settings area  416 . The tab buttons  412  are the buttons for selecting the display of setting items that have been classified according to each of the functions of the copying machine. The operation status display area  414  is the area for displaying the details of the operation currently being executed by the copying machine, the status of its usage, etc. The item-wise settings area  416  is the area in which settings are made for the setting items for the function that has been selected by the tab buttons  412 .  
         [0041]     In  FIG. 2 , the copying function has been selected by the corresponding tab button  412 , and hence, the original settings button  418  for setting the orientation of the images in the original document, etc., the image quality setting button  420  for setting the image density, the magnification setting button  422  for setting the magnification to be used during copying, the application setting button  424  for selecting the application, the output settings button  426  for setting the method of sheet finishing at the time of outputting the recording sheet, and the double-side setting button  428  for setting double-sided (duplex) printing function are displayed in the item-wise settings area  416 . When the user moves the mouse cursor MC to any one of these setting buttons and then clicks the mouse  322 , a settings screen corresponding to the selected item is displayed in a window format, and detailed settings can then be made by the user in those setting screens.  
         [0042]     The hard key panel screen  430  is a set of display buttons that replicate the operation keys in the hard keys  122  of the copying machine  100 , and is configured to include the numerical buttons  432 , the reset button  434  for resetting the contents of settings, the interrupt button  436  for carrying out interrupt processing during copying, the stop button  438  for stopping the copying operation, the confirmation copy button  440  for giving a confirmation copy of the contents of the settings, and the start button  442  for starting the copying.  
         [0043]     By touching the different buttons on the main operation screen  200  on the copying machine  100 , the user makes the settings to be used during copying, and starts the copying or resets the settings by pressing the hard keys  122 . Further, on the other hand, the user at the remote operation terminal  300  can carry out remote operation of the copying machine  100  from the remote operation terminal  300  by clicking remote settings panel screen  410  or the hard key panel screen  430  in the remote operation screen  400 . In specific terms, when the different buttons in the remote operation screen  400  are clicked, at the copy machine side, the same operations will be made as when the corresponding touching operation on the main operation screen  200  or the pressing operation of the hard keys  122  in the copying machine itself.  
         [0044]     Further, a reload button  470  and a close button  472  are displayed in the remote operation screen  400 . When the reload button  470  is clicked by the user, the remote operation terminal  300  issues to the copying machine  100  a transmission request for the latest remote operation screen data  172 , and then carries out updating of the display of the remote operation screen  400 . The close button  472  is a button for closing the remote operation screen  400 .  
         [0045]     When the user clicks the mouse  322  on the remote operation screen  400 , the operation information indicating the contents of that operation is transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300  to the copying machine  100 .  
         [0000]     (Configuration of Remote Operation Terminal  300 )  
         [0046]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming system  1 .  
         [0047]     To begin with, the functional configuration of the remote operation terminal  300  is explained here. The remote operation terminal  300 , as is shown in  FIG. 3 , is configured using an ordinary personal computer to include a controller  310 , an operation section  320 , a display section  330 , an interface section  340 , and a memory section  350 .  
         [0048]     The controller  310  is a functional section that carries out processing based on a prescribed program according to the instruction that is input, comprehensively manages and controls the remote operation terminal  300  by carrying out input and output of instructions or data to the different functional sections, and is configured to have a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.  
         [0049]     In specific terms, the CPU reads out the program stored in the ROM or the memory section  350  according to the operation signal that has been input from the operation section  320 , and carries out the processing according to that program. Further, it displays the result of processing in the display section  330 .  
         [0050]     The operation section  320  is provided with a key board having cursor keys, ten keys, and various types of function keys, and a pointing device such as a mouse  322  etc., and outputs to the controller  310  the key depression signals of the operated keys and the position signals of the mouse  322 .  
         [0051]     The display section  330  is configured from a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., and carries out display output of various types of screens based on the display data input from the controller  310 .  
         [0052]     The interface section  340  is a functional section for carrying out data communication by connecting to communication lines N, and is configured to have a modem or a LAN interface, a USB interface, etc.  
         [0053]     The memory section  350  is a functional section that carries out data read and write to storage media such as, for example, a CD-ROM, a memory card, or a hard disk, etc. The storage medium is configured from a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, or semiconductor memories, etc., and stores the application programs and the data processed by different programs.  
         [0054]     The controller  310  functions as a web browser and displays the remote operation screen in the display section  330 . Further, the when the position signals of the mouse are output from the operation section  320 , the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate are obtained of the mouse cursor MC in the remote operation screen  400  that is displayed in the display section  330 . The obtained data of the coordinates is transmitted to the copying machine  100  via the interface section  340 , thereby making a request for transmission of the remote operation screen data  172 . Upon obtaining the remote operation screen data  172  transmitted from the web server  180  of the copying machine  100 , the controller  310  updates the display of the remote operation screen  400  based on that remote operation screen data  172 . Because of this, the remote operation terminal  300  displays the remote operation screen  400  based on the remote operation screen data  172  transmitted by the web server  180 .  
         [0000]     (Configuration of the Copying Machine  100 )  
         [0055]     Next, the functional configuration of the copying machine  100  is described here. As is shown in  FIG. 3 , the copying machine  100  is provided with a controller  110 , an operation section  120 , a display section  130 , a scanner section  140 , a printer section  150 , an interface section  160 , and a memory section  170 .  
         [0056]     The controller  110  is a functional section that carries out processing based on a prescribed program according to the instruction that is input, comprehensively manages and controls the copying machine  100  by carrying out input and output of instructions or data to the different functional sections, and is configured to have a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.  
         [0057]     The operation section  120  is provided with hard keys  122  having various types of keys such as numeric keys, a start key, a reset key, etc., and outputs to the controller  110  the key depression signals of the operated hard keys  122 . Further, the operation section  120  is provided with a touch panel  124  that is formed integrally with the display section  130 , detects the position in the touch panel  124  that was touched by the user with a finger or a touch pen, and outputs the position signals to the controller  110 .  
         [0058]     The display section  130  is configured from a CRT, or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., on which a touch panel has been superimposed. The display section  130  carries out display output of various types of screens based on the display data input from the controller  110 . In particular, in this preferred embodiment, the display section  130  displays the main operation screen  200  based on the main operation screen data  172  stored in the memory section  170 , and also displays the alternate screen based on the alternate screen data  173  stored in the memory section  170 .  
         [0059]     The scanner section  140  is a functional section that reads out as image data the original document placed on the document loading table. In concrete terms, after conveying the document placed on the document loading table is conveyed to the contact glass, the light reflected from the document which is illuminated by light from a light source is made to impinge on a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor via a mirror unit and a focusing lens and is read out as image data.  
         [0060]     The printer section  150  is a functional section that forms images on the transfer sheet, exposes and scans the photoreceptor drum using a laser beam emitted from an exposure section, and forms an electrostatic latent image based on the image data read out from the scanner section  140 . Next, the developing material is made to get adhered to the photoreceptor drum by the developing section and transfers it on to the transfer sheet. Finally, the toner on the transfer sheet is fixed thermally in the fixing section thereby forming the image.  
         [0061]     The interface section  160  is a functional section for carrying out data communication by connecting to communication lines N, and is configured to have a modem or a LAN interface, a USB interface, etc.  
         [0062]     The memory section  170  is a functional section that carries out data read and write to storage media such as, for example, a VRAM (Video RAM), a CD-ROM, a memory card, or a hard disk, etc. The storage medium is configured from a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, or semiconductor memories, etc., and stores the application programs and the data processed by different programs.  
         [0063]     Further, the memory section  170 , as is shown in  FIG. 3 , stores the main operation screen data  171 , the remote operation screen data  172 , the alternate screen data  173 , and the screen code data  174 .  
         [0064]     The main operation screen data  171  is an image data in the HTML format for displaying the main operation screen  200 . When the different types of buttons in the main operation screen  200  are touched or when some click operations are made in the remote operation screen  400  of the remote operation terminal  300  by the user, the settings screens for carrying out detailed settings corresponding to those operations are displayed in a window format in an overlapping manner. Further, in the main operation screen data  171 , screen codes are allocated according to the screen to be displayed based on that data. This screen code is determined by the screen being displayed in the top-most layer in the main operation screen  200 .  
         [0065]     The remote operation screen data  172  is an image data for displaying the remote operation screen  400  in the remote operation terminal  300 . The controller  110  generates the image data for displaying the hard key panel screen  430 , and by synthesizing this image data and the main operation screen data  171 , it generates the remote operation screen data  172  for displaying the remote operation screen  400  as is shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0066]     The controller  110  realizes the web server  180  shown in  FIG. 1  due to the cooperation between the CPU and the program stored in the ROM. Upon receiving the coordinates data transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300  functioning as a web browser, that data is compared with the x-coordinate and y-coordinate values of the coordinates data of the remote operation screen data  172 , and a judgment is made as to at which position in the remote operation screen  400  was the click operation made. Next, if a button in the remote settings panel screen  410  is judged to have been clicked, the controller  110  not only generates and updates the main operation screen data  171  for displaying the settings screen corresponding to that button, but also updates the remote operation screen data  172  based on that main operation screen data  171 .  
         [0067]     As a result, while on the one hand, the copying machine  100  displays the main operation screen  200  based on the main operation screen data  171 , on the other hand, the remote operation terminal  300  can display the remote operation screen  400  that includes the remote settings panel screen  410  identical to the main operation screen  200  based on the remote operation screen data  172 .  
         [0068]     Further, when it is judged that a button displayed in the hard keys panel screen  430  has been clicked, the controller  110  judges that it is equivalent to a depression of the hard key  122  corresponding to that button, and carries out the processing (for example, start of copying) corresponding to that hard key  122 .  
         [0069]     The alternate screen data  173 , in the display section  130  of the copying machine  100 , is the data for displaying a screen other than the main operation screen  200 , and can be stored beforehand in the memory section  170 , or the data can be transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300 .  
         [0070]     The memory of the memory section  170  has been divided into a plurality of memory banks, and, as is shown in  FIG. 4 , in the initial setting, the main operation screen data  171  is allocated to the memory bank MB 0 , and the alternate screen data  173  is allocated to the memory bank MB 1 .  
         [0071]     The screen code data  174 , which is the judgment standard information in the present preferred embodiment, is the data establishing correspondence between the screen codes corresponding to each operation screen and the information indicating whether or not that operation screen is a service mode screen. A service mode screen is, as is shown in  FIG. 5 , a screen displayed at the time a service personnel carries out special settings such as altering the adjustment values or counter values, etc., and is an example of special screens that should not be displayed to the common user and in which operations by the common user are to be prohibited.  
         [0072]     The controller  110 , referring to the screen code data  174 , judges whether or not the screen indicated by the main operation screen data  171  is a service mode screen, and, if that screen is a service mode screen, the controller  110  displays the alternate screen in the display section  130 .  
         [0000]     (Operation of the Image Forming System  1 )  
         [0073]     Next, the operation of the image forming system  1  is described below.  
         [0074]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing the remote controlling process executed in the copying machine  100 . However, the remote control process of  FIG. 6  is a process executed based on remote control programs, and although these programs would have been stored in the ROM or the memory section  170  of the controller  110 , they have not been shown in the figure here.  
         [0075]     In the display section  130  of the copying machine  100 , the main operation screen  200  is displayed based on the main operation screen data  171  stored in the memory bank MB 0 .  
         [0076]     To begin with, when the user clicks any button in the remote operation terminal  300 , the user event is received by the copying machine  100  via the interface section  160 , and the processing enters the user event receiving loop (Step S 1 ). Here, a user event is an event (phenomenon) generated by the user, and is, in concrete terms, the reception of the coordinate data transmitted by the remote operation terminal  300  due to a clicking operation of the mouse  322 .  
         [0077]     Next, based on that received coordinates data, the content is judged (Step S 2 ) of the operation made by the user in the remote operation terminal  300 . In specific terms, a judgment is made as to which button was clicked in the remote operation screen  400 , and also, the screen code of the next screen to be displayed in the main operation screen  200  due to this clicking operation.  
         [0078]     Next, the screen code data  174  of the memory section  170  is referred to, and a judgment is made as to whether the next screen is a service mode screen or not (Step S 3 ).  
         [0079]     If the next screen is a service mode screen (YES in Step S 3 ), the controller  110  switches the data to be displayed in the display section  130  to the memory bank MB 1 , and displays the alternate screen based on the alternate screen data  173  (Step S 4 ). Thereafter, until the service mode screen ends, the main operation screen data  171  and the remote operation screen data  172  are updated based only on the operation information transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300 , and the operations from the operation section  120  will not be accepted (locked).  
         [0080]     If the next screen is not a service mode screen (NO in Step S 3 ), the controller  110  displays in the display section  130  the main operation screen  200  as usual based on the main operation screen data  171  (Step S 5 ). Here, when the display is switched from a service mode screen to a screen that is not a service mode screen, the data displayed in the display section  130  is switched from the memory bank MB 1  to the memory bank MB 0 , and also, the main operation screen data  171  and the remote operation screen data  172  are updated based also on the operations from the operation section  120  (unlocked).  
         [0081]     Next, updating of the main operation screen data  171  and issuing of operation instructions to the different functional sections are made according to the user generated event (Step S 6 ). If the displayed screen is a service mode screen, since the alternate screen is displayed in the display section  130 , although it is not possible to see the main operation screen  200  in the copying machine  100 , in the remote operation terminal  300 , it is possible to continue to carry out the operations because even the remote operation screen data  172  will be updated along with the updating of the main operation screen data  171 .  
         [0082]     Next, a judgment is made as to whether or not to the remote operation is ended, and if it is judged that the remote operation is to be ended (YES in Step S 7 ), the remote control process is ended.  
         [0083]     On the other hand, if it is judged that the remote operation is not to be ended (NO in Step S 7 ), after waiting for the generation of the next user event (Step S 8 ), the processing of the user event reception loop Steps S 1  to S 8  is repeated.  
         [0084]     As has been explained above, according to the image forming system  1  of the first preferred embodiment, at the time of remotely operating the copying machine  100  from the remote operation terminal  300 , it is possible to avoid the display of the service mode screen in the copying machine  100 . In addition, while the alternate screen is being displayed in the display section  130 , since the operation information from the operation section  120  is not accepted, it is possible to prevent contention of operation information.  
         [0085]     Further, in the first preferred embodiment, although the explanations were given above for the example of a service mode screen that is a special screen whose display is to be inhibited, it is not necessary to limit to this case and it is also possible to set (register) beforehand the screens whose display is to be inhibited. In that case, the registration can be made either in the remote operation terminal  300  or in the copying machine  100 . In addition, it is also possible to control the display enable/disable in the copying machine  100  based on the user rights of the user of the remote operation terminal  300 . For example, the screens that are displayed at the time a system manager makes settings may not be displayed but an alternate screen can be displayed.  
       Second Preferred Embodiment  
       [0086]     Next, referring to FIGS.  7  to  10 Q a second preferred embodiment applying the present invention is described below.  
         [0087]     In the image forming system  2  shown in the second preferred embodiment, identical numerical symbols are assigned to the same constituent parts as those shown in the first preferred embodiment and explanations of those configuration parts will be omitted. In the following, the configuration parts and processing special to the second preferred embodiment are described below.  
         [0088]     In the image forming system  2 , the operation information of the sequence of remote operations that were made in the remote operation terminal  300  are recorded and reproduced. When the user makes a click operation of the mouse  322  in the remote operation screen  400 , the operation information indicating the content of that operation is transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300  to the copying machine  100 , and that operation information is recorded in the copying machine  100  in a temporal sequence. This operation information that is accumulated and stored is called a script in the present preferred embodiment. Based on this stored script, it is possible to reproduce different types of settings by reproducing the sequence of operations carried out once by the user previously.  
         [0089]      FIG. 7  is a diagram showing a remote operation screen  400  of the remote operation terminal  300 . The remote operation screen  400  shown in  FIG. 7  has a configuration similar to that of the remote operation screen  400  shown in  FIG. 2  except that the script panel screen  450  and a lock button  474  have been added to its configuration.  
         [0090]     The script panel screen  450  is an operation panel for managing scripts, and has a script display area  452  for displaying the content of the script, a record button  454 , a read out button  456 , and an execute button  458 , and a clear button  460 .  
         [0091]     The user, after clicking the record button  454 , carries out various settings by clicking the remote settings panel screen  410  and the hard key panel screen  430 . Every time this clicking is done, the operation information is successively recorded and is displayed in the script display area  452 . Next, when the user clicks the start button, the recording of the script is ended, and the completed script is stored in the memory section  170  of the copying machine  100 . Next, when the user clicks the read out button  456  and selects the desired script, the desired script stored in the memory section  170  is read out by the controller  110 , and thereafter, when the user clicks the execute button  458 , a sequence of operations are reproduced by the controller  110  based on the operation information in the script. The clear button  460  is a button for erasing a script already stored in the copying machine  100  or a script being recorded.  
         [0092]     The lock button  474  is a button for giving an instruction not to display the main operation screen  200  in the display section  130  of the copying machine  100  but to display only the alternate screen. The lock button differs from other buttons in that it is a command button provided on the web browser screen, and when this button is clicked, the controller  310  of the remote operation terminal  300  generates a lock command and sends that command to the copying machine  100 . Upon receiving this lock command, the controller  110  of the copying machine  100  carries out control so as to display the alternate screen in the display section  130 . As another form, it is also possible to handle the lock button in a manner similar to the other buttons. In other words, when the lock button is clicked, the controller  310  can transmit the coordinates of the position of the click operation to the copying machine  100  via the interface section  340 . In this case, the controller  110  of the copying machine  100  can detect that the lock button was clicked based on the coordinates data transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300 , and can carry out control so as to display the alternate screen in the display section  130 . In other words, at the time of carrying out remote operation of the copying machine  100  from the remote operation terminal  300 , the coordinate data indicating the position of the lock button  474  becomes the specification information.  
         [0093]     After the lock button  474  has been clicked, the unlock button will be displayed in the position of the lock button  474 . In other words, the lock button  474 , in appearance, constitutes a lock/unlock toggle button. If the unlock button is clicked in this state, the controller  310  of the remote operation terminal  300  transmits the lock release instruction as a command to the copying machine  100  via the interface section  340 . Upon receiving this lock release instruction, the controller  110  of the copying machine  100  carries out control so as to display the main operation screen  200  in the display section  130 . Further, after the lock button  474  has been clicked until the unlock button has been clicked, the locked condition will be maintained and operations from the operation section  120  of the copying machine  100  will not be accepted. However, although explanation was given here taking the example of a toggle switch form for the lock button  474 , it is not necessary to restrict to this form, but it is possible, for example, to provide a lock button and an unlock button side by side.  
         [0094]      FIG. 8  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming system  2 .  
         [0095]     The controller  110  generates the image data for displaying respectively the hard key panel screen  430  and the script panel screen  450 , and the remote operation screen data  172  for displaying the remote operation screen  400  is generated by synthesizing this image data and the main operation screen data  171 .  
         [0096]     The memory section  170  stores the main operation screen data  171 , the remote operation screen data  172 , the alternate screen data  173 , and the script data  175 .  
         [0097]     The script data  175 , which is information of the operational procedure, is a data table for storing in time-series the information of the series of operations made by the user in the remote operation terminal  300 . The controller  110 , based on the position coordinates data received from the remote operation terminal  300 , judges at which position in the remote operation screen  400  was the clicking operation made, and stores the result of that judgment accumulating sequentially as operation information in the form of “command arguments”.  
         [0098]      FIG. 9  is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of a script data  175 . For example, the operation information  10  indicates that the mouse  322  was clicked at the position with an x-coordinate of “86” and a y-coordinate of “26” in the remote settings panel screen  410 . Further, the operation information  20  indicates that the lock button  474  was clicked, and the operation information  30  indicates that the unlock button was clicked.  
         [0099]     By reading out successively the operation information within in the script data  175  stored in this manner and by carrying out the processing according to the operation expressed by that operation information, it is possible to reproduce the series of operations by the user stored in that script data  175 , and because of this, it is possible to reproduce the operations that have been carried out previously by the user.  
         [0100]     Next, referring to  FIG. 10 , the script reproduction processing is explained below. When the controller  11  of the copying machine  100  judges from the coordinates data transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300  that, for example, the read out button  456  was clicked in the script panel screen  450  and that a script data  175  was selected from among a plurality of script data  175  and the execute button  458  was pressed, it reads out the script reproduction program, and starts the script reproduction processing based on that program.  
         [0101]     To begin with, the reading out loop of the script data  175  is entered, and the operation information is read out one by one from the beginning of the script data  175  (Step T 1 ), and a judgment is made as to whether or not that operation information is a user event or not (Step T 2 ).  
         [0102]     When the command in the operation information is either “key” or “pushpanel”, the operation information is judged to be a user event (YES in Step T 2 ), and the content of the operation made by the user at the remote operation terminal  300  is judged (Step T 3 ). In more concrete terms, a judgment is made as to which button in the remote operation screen  400  was clicked.  
         [0103]     On the other hand, when the operation information is judged not to be a user event (NO in Step T 2 ), a judgment is made as to whether the command in the operation information is “hidepanel” or “showpanel” (Step T 4 ).  
         [0104]     When the command in the operation information is “hidePanel” (HIDE in Step T 4 ), the data displayed in the display section  130  is switched from the memory bank MB 0  to the memory bank MB 1 , and the alternate screen is displayed based on the alternate screen data  173  (Step T 5 ). Thereafter, until a “showpanel” command is read out, the alternate screen will be displayed in the display section  130 . In addition, the main operation screen data  171  and the remote operation screen data  172  are updated based only on the operation information transmitted from the remote operation terminal  300 , and also, the operations from the operation section  120  will not be accepted (locked state).  
         [0105]     When the command in the operation information is “showpanel” (SHOW in Step T 4 ), the data displayed in the display section  130  is switched from the memory bank MB 1  to the memory bank MB 0 , and the main operation screen is displayed based on the main operation screen data  171  (Step T 6 ). In addition, the main operation screen data  171  and the remote operation screen data  172  are updated based also on the operations from the operation section  120  (unlocked state). In other words, in the present preferred embodiment, at the time of reproducing the script data  175 , the commands “hidepanel” and “showpanel” become the specification information.  
         [0106]     After carrying out the processings of Step T 3 , Step T 5 , and Step T 6 , the updating of the main operation screen data  171  and the giving of the operation instructions to the different functional sections are made according to the command that has been received (Step T 7 ). In concrete terms, if the command was “key”, the same processing operations are reproduced as those made when the hard key  122  indicated by the argument of the command has been pressed, and if the command was “pushPanel”, the same processing operations are reproduced as those made when the button in the main operation screen  200  indicated by the argument of the command has been touched.  
         [0107]     Next, a judgment is made as to whether or not the read out operation information is the end of the script data  175  (Step T 8 ), and if it is not the end (NO in Step T 8 ), the next operation information is read out (Step T 9 ), and the processing of Step T 1  to Step T 9  is repeated. Further, if it was the end of the script data  175  (YES in Step T 8 ), the script reproduction processing is ended.  
         [0108]     As has been explained so far, according to the image forming system  2  of the second preferred embodiment, it is possible to avoid displaying the main operation screen  200  in the copying machine  100  when a lock instruction has been output as a command after the lock button  474  has been clicked in the remote operation terminal  300  and this lock command has been received by the copying machine  100 , or, when the command “hidepanel” was read out from the script data  175 .  
       Third Preferred Embodiment  
       [0109]     Next, referring to FIGS.  11  to  13 , a third preferred embodiment applying the present invention is described below.  
         [0110]      FIG. 11  shows the system configuration of the image forming system  3  according to the third preferred embodiment. As has been shown in  FIG. 11 , the image forming system  3  has a configuration in which the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d , and the remote operation terminal  300  are connected via communication lines N so that they can communicate with each other.  
         [0111]     Since the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d  all have configurations that are similar to the configuration of the copying machine  100  described in the second preferred embodiment, like configuration parts have been assigned like numeric symbols with the letters a, b, c, and d suffixed to them, and their indication in the figure and their explanations have been omitted. In addition, since the remote operation terminal  300  has roughly been configured in the same manner as the remote operation terminal  300  shown in the second preferred embodiment, like configuration parts have been assigned like numeric symbols, and explanation of the configuration has been omitted here. In the following, the configuration parts and processing characteristic of the third preferred embodiment are described below.  
         [0112]     In the image forming system  3 , when any one of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d  is being operated remotely by the remote operation terminal  300 , even regarding the copying machines other than the copying machine that is currently being the target of remote operation, the same screen is displayed in the remote operation terminal  300  as the screens displayed in the display sections  130   a ,  130   b ,  130   c , and  130   d  of each of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d.    
         [0113]     The memory section  350  of the remote operation terminal  300  has stored in it the frame data to be displayed in the display section  330  at the time of remotely operating the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d . An example of the frame data  500  has been shown in  FIG. 12 . The URLs of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d  have each been entered in the frame data  500 , and the controller  310  obtains the screen data respectively from the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d , and displays them in the display section  330  after carrying out resizing operation on each of them.  
         [0114]     In the frame displayed based on the frame data  500  are provided the display screen area  510  that displays the same screen as the screen being displayed in the display section  130   a  of the copying machine  100   a , the display screen area  520  that displays the same screen as the screen being displayed in the display section  130   b  of the copying machine  100   b , the display screen area  530  that displays the same screen as the screen being displayed in the display section  130   c  of the copying machine  100   c , the display screen area  540  that displays the same screen as the screen being displayed in the display section  130   d  of the copying machine  100   d , and the remote operation screen area  550  that displays the remote operation screen of the copying machine being operated.  
         [0115]     When the main operation screen is being displayed in the display section  130   a  of the copying machine  100   a , the same screen as the main operation screen based on the main operation screen data  171   a  is displayed in the display screen area  510 . When the alternate screen is being displayed in the display section.  130   a  of the copying machine  100   a , the same screen as the alternate screen based on the alternate screen data  173   a  is displayed here. The same is true for the display screen area  520 , the display screen area  530 , and the display screen area  540 .  
         [0116]     When the copying machine  100   a  is the copying machine being operated remotely, the remote operation screen based on the remote operation screen data  172   a  is displayed in the remote operation screen area  550 . By clicking the buttons in this remote operation screen, it is possible to transmit operation information to the copying machine  100   a.    
         [0117]      FIG. 13  shows examples of the different operation states of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d  displayed in the display section  330  of the remote operation terminal  300 . Here, remote operation is being made on the copying machine  100   a , and the alternate screen is being displayed in the display section  130   a  of the copying machine  100   a . Therefore, the remote operation screen for the copying machine  100   a  is displayed in the remote operation screen area  550 , and the same screen as the alternate screen is displayed in the display screen area  510 .  
         [0118]     In this state, if a clicking operation is made in the display screen area  520 , the target of operation becomes the copying machine  100   b , and the remote operation screen corresponding to the copying machine  100   b  is displayed in the remote operation screen areas  550 .  
         [0119]     As has been explained so far, according to the image forming system  3  of the third preferred embodiment, it is possible to avoid displaying the operation screens in the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d  during remote operation by displaying the alternate screens in the display sections  130   a ,  130   b ,  130   c , and  130   d  of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d . In addition, since it is possible to display in the remote operation terminal  300  the same display screen as the operation screen of the copying machine  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , or  100   d  that is the target of operation, and since it is possible to display the same screen as the main operation screen or the alternate screen that is being displayed in the display sections  130   a ,  130   b ,  130   c , and  130   d  of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d , it is possible for the user to grasp the status of operation of each of the copying machines  100   a ,  100   b ,  100   c , and  100   d.    
         [0120]     However, although in the third preferred embodiment the frame data was taken to be stored in the remote operation terminal  300 , it is also possible to store the frame data in the copying machines. In that case, the remote operation terminal  300  first obtains the frame data stored in the copying machines, and then obtains the screen data at the URL destinations indicating each of the copying machines described in the frame data.  
         [0121]     The descriptions in each of the above preferred embodiments are merely some examples of realization of the apparatus and operation terminals according to the present invention, and the present invention shall not be construed to be restricted to these examples given here. It is possible to modify appropriately the detailed configurations and the detailed operations of the different apparatuses without deviating from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0122]     For example, at the time of displaying the alternate screen in the display section  130  of the copying machine  100 , as has been shown in  FIG. 14 , it is also possible to display the fact that a remote operation is being made while displaying the screen transitions associated with the operation information. Even in this case, it is desirable that the operation instructions from the operation section  120  are not accepted during the period that a remote operation is in progress.  
         [0123]     Further, instead of displaying an alternate screen, it is also possible not to display the operation screen by turning off the display section  130 . In addition, when a transmittance type LCD is applied as the display section, it is also possible resultantly not to display the operation screen by switching off the back light while carrying out the drive of the LCD based on the data of the operation screen.  
       Fourth Preferred Embodiment  
       [0124]     Next, the image forming system in a fourth embodiment is explained below referring to  FIG. 15  to  FIG. 19 . The image forming system according to the fourth preferred embodiment is similar to the image forming system  3  according to the third preferred embodiment in that the remote operation terminal  300  is connected via communication lines N to a plurality of copying machines  100   a  to  100   d , and these plural copying machines can be monitored and operated remotely. However, the present preferred embodiment is different from the third preferred embodiment in that in this case, any one of the plurality of copying machines  100   a  to  100   d  (for example, the copying machine  100   a ) is accessed from the web browser of the remote operation terminal  300 , the copying machine that is the target of display in the display section  330  of the remote operation terminal  300  corresponding to this copying machine is registered.  
         [0125]     To begin with, when the copying machine  100   a  is accessed by specifying the IP address of the copying machine  100   a  in the web browser of the remote operation terminal  300 , the copying machine  100   a  functions as a web server and returns to the web browser of the remote operation terminal  300  the web utility screen  600  shown in  FIG. 15 . In this web utility screen  600  are displayed a hypertext HT 100  for linking to the Remote Monitor Screen for remotely monitoring the copying machine  100   a  that is currently being accessed, a hypertext HT 200  for linking to the Remote Panel screen for remotely operating the copying machine  100   a  that is currently being accessed, a hypertext HT 300  for linking to the Multi-Monitor Screen for remotely monitoring and operating the copying machine  100   a  that is currently being accessed and the other copying machines  100   b  to  100   d  that have been registered, and a hypertext HT 400  for linking to the Remote Panel Settings Screen for carrying out various settings during remote operation, and other hypertexts.  
         [0126]     In order to monitor and operate a plurality of copying machines from the remote operation terminal  300 , the operation of registering the target copying machines is necessary, and various types of settings including this registration operation are made in the Remote Panel Settings screen. In other words, when the operator of the remote operation terminal  300  selects the hypertext HT 400 , the copying machine  100   a  returns the Remote Panel Settings screen  610  to the remote operation terminal  300 , and that screen is displayed in the display section  330 . In this screen are displayed—the user label field  611  for inputting the setting label as the individual information of the copying machine in the Remote Monitor screen or in the Multi-Monitor screen, the monitoring target registration field  614  for registering the IP address of the copying machine (MFP) for monitoring and operating in the Remote Monitor screen or in the Multi-Monitor screen, and the buttons  617 ,  618  etc., for registering or resetting the settings in that screen.  
         [0127]     The user label field  611  includes the two input fields  612   a  and  612   b  for registering copying machine identification information (label) assigned to one or a plurality of copying machines displayed in the Remote Monitor screen or in the Multi-Monitor screen, and the pull down menu  613  for setting the time interval of updating the remote monitor, etc. Although the user can assign any arbitrary label to the copying machines, the serial number and the IP address of the copying machine would have been input beforehand as the initial setting in the input fields  612   a  and  612   b.    
         [0128]     The monitoring target registration field  614  includes five input fields  615   a  to  615   e  for registering the IP address of the copying machine (MFP) for monitoring and registering, and the pull down menu  616  for setting the display modes of the sub screens. The IP address of the copying machine  100   a  that is currently being accessed has been input as the initial value in the first input field  615   a  among the five input fields, and if there are any other copying machines that need to be monitored apart from this copying machine  100   a , their IP addresses are to be entered and registered in the second and subsequent input fields. However, after a plurality of copying machines have been registered in the input fields  615   a  to  615   e , if a Remote Monitor screen for remotely monitoring and operating a single copying machine has been selected from the web utility screen  600 , the copying machine whose IP address has been registered in the first input field  615   a  will be monitored and operated.  
         [0129]     When the setting and input in that Remote Panel Settings screen  610  have been completed and the user has clicked the Register button  617 , the different settings input in that screen are transmitted to the copying machine  100   a  and registered there. The copying machine  100   a , after storing the different settings in the memory section  170  which is a non-volatile memory (see  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 8 ), returns the web utility screen  600  to the remote operation terminal  300 .  
         [0130]     With the above operation, the registration of one or a plurality of copying machines to be monitored is completed. In the following explanations, the discussion is continued along the example in which the conditions shown in  FIG. 17  have been set in the Remote Panel Settings screen  610 .  
         [0131]     The Multi-Monitor screen is displayed when the operator of the remote operation terminal  300  selects the hyper text HT 300  from the web utility screen  600 . In this Multi-Monitor screen, although the information of the copying machines  100   a  to  100   d  are displayed in accordance with the settings in the Remote Panel Settings screen  610 , since their display mode is the same as the screen described in  FIG. 12  and  FIG. 13  excepting the items described below, repeated explanations will be omitted here.  
         [0132]     In the Multi-Monitor screen of this example, the copying machine  100   a  that has been set in the input field of the IP Address  1  in the multi-monitor display of the Remote Panel Settings screen is not only displayed in the main screen area (corresponds to the remote operation screen area  550  in  FIG. 13 ), but also the copying machines  100   a  to  100   d  set in the input fields of IP Address  1  to  4  are displayed in the sub screen area (corresponding to the display areas  510  to  540  in  FIG. 13 ). In more concrete terms, the Multi-Monitor screen is reproduced in the display section  330  of the remote operation terminal  300  according to the following scheme.  
         [0133]     Firstly, each of the copying machines  100   a  to  100   d  has a configuration in which the thumbnail image data obtained by reducing in size the remote operation screen data prepared based on the main operation screen data being displayed in the main operation screen of that copying machine itself and that remote operation screen data is stored in the memory section. In addition, each of the copying machines  100   a  to  100   d  has a configuration in which the status information of that copying machine, as shown in  FIG. 18 , as the table information of establishing correspondence between each status and the background color are stored in the memory section.  
         [0134]     The copying machine  100   a  that is the target of access transmits html data specifying one main screen and four sub screens to the remote operation terminal  300 . This html data includes the URL information of the remote operation screen data of the copying machine  100   a  to be displayed as an object in the main screen display area, the URL information of the thumbnail image data of the copying machine  100   a  to be displayed as an object in first sub screen display area and the URL information of the status information of the copying machine  100   a  that determines the background color of that sub screen display area, the URL information of the thumbnail image data of the copying machine  100   b  to be displayed as an object in second sub screen display area and the URL information of the status information of the copying machine  100   b  that determines the background color of that sub screen display area, the URL information of the thumbnail image data of the copying machine  100   c  to be displayed as an object in third sub screen display area and the URL information of the status information of the copying machine  100   c  that determines the background color of that sub screen display area, and the URL information of the thumbnail image data of the copying machine  100   d  to be displayed as an object in fourth sub screen display area and the URL information of the status information of the copying machine  100   d  that determines the background color of that sub screen display area. In addition, this html data includes the information of the background colors corresponding to the different types of statuses.  
         [0135]     The remote operation terminal  300  that has received the above html data requests the copying machine  100   a  for the remote operation screen data, the thumbnail image data, and the status information, requests the copying machine  100   b  for the thumbnail image data and the status information, requests the copying machine  100   c  for the thumbnail image data and the status information, and requests the copying machine  100   d  for the thumbnail image data and the status information. When the data corresponding to the requests are received from the copying machines  100   a  to  100   d , the remote operation terminal  300  not only reproduces the received image data in the main display area and in the sub screen display areas, but also displays the above Multi-Monitor screen in the display section  330  with the background colors in accordance with the status information of the copying machine corresponding to each sub screen display area. Although the screens displayed according to the above scheme are similar to those shown in  FIG. 12  and  FIG. 13 , the display modes of the sub screen display areas are different from those shown in  FIG. 12  and  FIG. 13 .  FIG. 19  shows an example of the mode of display in the first sub screen display area. In  FIG. 19 , the five items of information of the serial number, status, thumbnail images of the operation screen, and the current reservation status of the copying machine  100   a  are being displayed sequentially from the top in the first sub screen display area, and the background color of the areas in which these five items of information are displayed has become green in accordance with the status (idling) of this copying machine  100   a.    
         [0136]     In the thumbnail image of the operation screen, a correspondence has been established with the link information to the remote operation screen data corresponding to that thumbnail image, and when the operator clicks this thumbnail image, this linked remote operation screen data is read out into and displayed in the main screen display area.  
         [0137]     Further, according to the example of settings ( FIG. 17 ) of the Remote Panel Settings screen  610  described above, the contents displayed in the main operation screen of the copying machine  100   a  are reproduced in the remote operation terminal  300  when the hyper text HT 100  is selected in the web utility screen  600  described above. In this case, its display mode can be the same mode as that of the first sub screen display area of  FIG. 19 , or else, it is possible to change to the Remote Panel screen when the operator clicks the thumbnail image.  
         [0138]     In the above fourth preferred embodiment, since the status of the copying machine that is the target of monitoring and operation from the remote operation terminal is being reproduced with a background color corresponding to that status, it is possible to grasp easily and visually the status of the target copying machine. In particular, when monitoring and operating a plurality of copying machines as in the Multi-Monitor screen in the fourth preferred embodiment, it is possible to reduce the load on the operator because the operator can grasp easily and visually the status of the target copying machine. Further, although the status of the monitor target copying machine is being expressed by color in the present preferred embodiment, in stead of this, it is also possible to assign different icons for different statuses (for example, a rain mark for paper jamming) and to express the status of each copying machine by an icon.