Abstract:
A document processing system includes a controller for controlling at least one part of the document processing system, a user interface for allowing a user to interact with the document processing system, and a mobile device capable of communicating with the controller in the document processing system via a wireless link. A locating function is provided for locating the mobile device. The user interface has a hierarchical structure with at least three levels each of which is associated with a class of local entities each of which contains at least a part of the document processing system. The local entities are nested such that each lower level entity is contained in an entity associated with a superior level in the hierarchy. A selection function is provided for automatically selecting one of the hierarchical levels dependent upon the local entities in which the mobile device is located.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to Application No. 16171306.0, filed in Europe on May 25, 2016, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the invention 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a document processing system comprising a controller for controlling at least one part of the document processing system, a user interface for allowing a user to interact with the document processing system, and a mobile device capable of communicating with the controller in the document processing system via a wireless link, wherein a locating function is provided for locating the mobile device. 
       2. Background of the Invention 
       [0003]    It is known that a mobile device such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone can be used as a user interface or at least as a component of a user interface for a printing system or other document processing systems. It is also known that the contents and layout of the user interface as presented on the display of the mobile device may vary dynamically as a function of the current status of the controlled system and/or the current location of the mobile device as detected with the locating function. For example, US 2010/317371 A1 describes a cell phone with a user interface that adapts automatically to the detected location of the cell phone. 
         [0004]    It is an object of the invention to provide a document processing system that improves on assisting the user in navigating through the system. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In order to achieve this object, the document processing system according to the invention has a user interface with a hierarchical structure with at least three levels each of which is associated with a class of local entities each of which contains at least a part of the document processing system, the local entities being nested such that each low level entity is contained in an entity associated with a superior level in the hierarchy, and a selection function is provided for automatically selecting one of the hierarchical levels dependent upon the local entities in which the mobile device is located. 
         [0006]    In this user interface, the selection function will always select the hierarchical level that is best adapted to the current location of the user and his mobile device in the document processing system and provides the information and options that are most useful for the user in the current situation. 
         [0007]    For example, when the document processing system comprises several print rooms and a number of printers are installed in each print room, the top level of the hierarchical structure may represent only the print rooms without showing any particular details inside the print rooms. The local entity associated with this level may be the “outside world” outside of any of the print rooms. Thus, as long as the user is not in a print room, the selection function will select this top level of the hierarchical structure in order to give the user a general overview as to which print rooms are available and where they might be found. 
         [0008]    The next lower level in the hierarchical structure may be the level of individual print rooms, and the print rooms will be the local entities associated with that level. Thus, when the user enters a particular print room, his mobile device will switch to the second hierarchical level and show the printers that are available in that print room, but without showing any particular details of the printers. 
         [0009]    A lowest level in the hierarchy may be constituted by the individual printers, and the associated local entities will be the individual printers and their respective immediate neighborhood. Thus, when the user approaches one of the printers with his mobile device, the selection function will switch to the lowest level and show the details of the printer he is just approaching, along with control and setting options for controlling the operation of that particular printer. 
         [0010]    More specific optional features of the invention are indicated in the dependent claims. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment or mode of operation, the selection function may be configured to select always the lowest hierarchical level for which there exists a local entity in which the mobile device is located. In this embodiment, the selection function will operate like an auto-zoom function which focuses increasingly on the details of a particular object when the user approaches that object. 
         [0012]    There may however be other embodiments or modes of operation in which the selection of the hierarchical level is determined (also) by other factors. 
         [0013]    It will be understood that the document processing system may comprise a plurality of controllers which control different components of the system. Thus, the mobile device will preferably be capable of communicating with each of these controllers, e.g. with the controllers of each printer. The program software for the user interface may reside mainly in the mobile device or mainly in the controllers or may be distributed over the mobile device and the controllers. 
         [0014]    The wireless link between the mobile device and the controllers may be based on any known wireless communication technology such as a mobile telephone network, WLAN (WiFi), Bluetooth, contact technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC), Infrared Communication, and the like. In addition, even wired technology (e.g. USB) may be used at the lowest level. 
         [0015]    The locating function may for example be formed by a GPS system implemented in the mobile device or by the known locating functions provided by mobile telephone networks. However, the different ranges of the various communication channels provide also implicit location information and may therefore also be utilized for establishing or assisting the locating function. For example, if a short range technology such as Bluetooth is available and utilized for communication with a controller, this implies that the location of the mobile device is not too far away from that controller, so that it can be concluded that the mobile device is present in the same print room as the controller. Similarly, when communication is possible via NFC or USB, this implies that the mobile device is located in the immediate vicinity of the printer in which the controller is installed. 
         [0016]    Preferably, at least some levels of the user interface include graphical objects showing for example a map of the print rooms or other relevant locations, a plan of an individual print room or an image of an individual printer. When the graphical interface is displayed on a touch screen, the user may select and activate the local entities by touching them on the screen and may then actively switch the user interface to any of the hierarchy levels that are associated with the selected entity. 
         [0017]    Conversely, the controller or controllers may be capable of sending messages or alerts to the user interface. In that case, the selection function of the mobile device will automatically switch to a level that is high enough to show the origin of the message. 
         [0018]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    An embodiment example will now be described in conjunction with the drawings, wherein: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a printing system with a user interface according to the invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  illustrates a hierarchical structure of the user interface, and 
           [0022]      FIGS. 3 to 5  are schematic representations of a mobile device displaying a graphical user interface according to the invention in different operational states. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    As an example of a document processing system to which the invention is applicable,  FIG. 1  shows a printing system distributed over three print rooms PR 1 , PR 2  and PR 3 , which are located for example on a common floor of an office building  10 . Three printers P 1 . 1 , P 1 . 2  and P 1 . 3  are installed in print room PR 1 , and each printer has a local controller  12 . Similarly, printers P 2 . 1 -P 2 . 3  and P 3 . 1 -P 3 . 3  are installed in the print rooms PR 2  and PR 3 , respectively. 
         [0024]    A component of a user interface for the entire printing system is constituted by a mobile device  14 , e.g. a smartphone, which is capable of communicating with the controllers  12  of each printer via a wireless link  16 . To that end, the mobile device  14  has several communication channels  18  (WiFi),  20  (Bluetooth) and  22  (NFC) which support different wireless communication techniques and differ from one another in particular in their range. Further, the mobile device  14  has a USB socket  24  for optional wireline communication with any of the controllers  12 . 
         [0025]    A GPS system  26  is implemented in the mobile device  14  for providing a self-locating function. 
         [0026]    As is generally known in the art, the mobile device  14  has a touch screen  26  ( FIG. 3 ) for displaying graphical information that may form part of the user interface. 
         [0027]    The graphical contents of the user interface and the related options and functions have a hierarchical structure, as has been shown in  FIG. 2 . A lowermost level LP of the hierarchical structure is the level of the individual printers P 1 . 1 -P 3 . 3 . A next higher level LR is the level of print rooms PR 1 -PR 3 . The topmost level LG (global) is the level of the entire printing system. 
         [0028]    Each of the levels LP, LR and LG is associated with a certain class of spatial entities  28 ,  30  and  32  that have symbolically been shown in  FIG. 1 . The spatial entities  28  associated with the lowest level LP are the immediate neighborhoods of the individual printers. The spatial entities  30  associated with the level LR are the individual print rooms (or spatial areas that essentially coincide with the print rooms). The spatial entity  32  associated with the top level LG can be considered to be the outside world outside of any of the print rooms. 
         [0029]    The control software of the mobile device  14  implements a selection function  34  for selecting one of the hierarchical levels shown in  FIG. 2 , dependent upon the location where the mobile device has been detected by the locating function. When the mobile device is detected to be in the “outside world”, i.e. outside of any of the print rooms PR 1 -PR 3 , the selection function  34  selects the top level LG. In this level, the graphical user interface shown on the touch screen  26  may for example have an appearance as in  FIG. 3 . Here, the screen shows, in the top part, a map of the office building floor with the print rooms PR 1 , PR 2  and PR 3 . A position mark  36  shows the current position of the mobile device on this map. In this way, the user is advised which print rooms are available and where he has to go in order to enter a specific print room. Further, the user may select one of the print rooms on the touch screen. The contour of that print room will then the highlighted on the map, and more detailed information on that print room will be displayed in a window  38  in the bottom part of the touch screen  26 . 
         [0030]    When the resolution of the GPS system and the resolution of location services provided by the mobile telephone network are not sufficient for accurately detecting the exact location of the mobile device, the locating function may be assisted by the other communication channels  18 ,  20  and  22  of the mobile device. For example, when communication is possible via the communication channel  18  (WiFi) which has a relatively long range, this means that the mobile device is located not too far away from the print rooms or possibly within one of the print rooms. On the other hand, if communication is not possible via the communication channel  20  (Bluetooth) which has a shorter range, this means that the distance between the mobile device and the closest one of the controllers  12  is larger than the Bluetooth range, so that it can be inferred that the mobile device is not inside any of the print rooms, and this will result in the top level LG being selected. 
         [0031]    Optionally, the scale of the map shown in the top part of the screen in  FIG. 2  may be varied depending on the detected distance of the mobile device from the print rooms. For large distances (outside of the range of the communication channel  18 ), the map may also turn into a city map in which the print rooms or the building in which they are located is marked. Optionally, a three-dimensional map may be shown, for example in order to indicate the locations of print rooms on different floors of a building. 
         [0032]    On the other hand, when communication between the mobile device  14  and a controller of one of the printers is established via the communication channel  20  (Bluetooth) but no communication is possible via the channel  22  (NFC), it can be concluded that the mobile device is within one of the print rooms or at least very close to the print room, but still remote from the printers therein. For example, when communication is established with the controller of the printer  2 . 2  in print room PR 2 , the selector  34  switches to the level LR, and the image displayed on the touch screen  26  changes to what is shown in  FIG. 4 . There, the top part of the screen shows a plan of the print room PR 2  in which the mobile device has been located, and the positions and contours of all the printers P 2 . 1 -P 2 . 3  in that room are shown along with relevant information on the statuses and properties of these printer. The user may accordingly select one of the printers in order to retrieve more detailed information on that printer, which information will be displayed in the window  38  in the bottom part of the screen. 
         [0033]    Finally, when the user approaches a particular printer, e.g. the printer P 2 . 2 , communication will be established via the channel  22  (NFC), and the selector  34  switches to the level LP. As a result, the display image on the screen changes to what is shown in  FIG. 5 , i.e. an image of the printer P 2 . 2  including details of that printer such as paper trays  40 , and the like. The status information, available setting options and command buttons will then be displayed in the window  38  in the bottom part of the screen so that a user may make the appropriate settings for a print job he wants to have printed. 
         [0034]    It shall now be assumed that the user has started a print job on the printer P 2 . 2  and then leaves the print room PR 2  in order to fetch printed copies from another printer, e.g. the printer P 1 . 1  in print room PR 1 . Consequently, the selector  34  will switch temporarily to the level LR and then to the level LG when the user leaves the print room PR 2 , and will then switch back to the level LP when the user approaches the printer P 1 . 1 . The touch screen  26  will accordingly show an image of that printer, similar to the image shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0035]    It shall now further be assumed that, meanwhile, the printer  2 . 2  runs out of paper. Consequently, the controller  12  of the printer sends an alert to the mobile device  14  to alert the user that the printer P 2 . 2  in the print room PR 2  needs his attention. Then, although the user is still present in the immediate vicinity of the printer P 1 . 1 , the display will switch to the image shown in  FIG. 3 , with the print room PR 2  highlighted, and a message “Refill paper tray in printer P 2 . 2  in print room PR 2 ” will be displayed in the window  38 . When the user reacts and returns to the print room PR 2 , the image changes to what is shown in  FIG. 4 , with the contour of the printer P 2 . 2  being highlighted. The message in the window  38  may change to “Refill paper tray in printer  2 . 2 ”. Finally, when the user has reached the printer  2 . 2 , the image changes to what is shown in  FIG. 5 , and the message in the window  38  changes to “Refill paper tray  2 ”, and the pertinent paper tray  40  is highlighted in the image of the printer. 
         [0036]    In this way, the hierarchical user interface guides the user to the place where his activity is required. 
         [0037]    The present invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.