Patent Publication Number: US-11394838-B2

Title: Image forming apparatus allowing voice operation, control method therefor, storage medium storing control program therefor, and image forming system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus allowing a voice operation, a control method therefor, a storage medium storing control program therefor, and an image forming system. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     An image forming apparatus like a multifunction apparatus changes a setting content according to a user&#39;s operation to an operation unit so as to form an image that a user intends. Since image quality enhancement and high functionalization of an image forming apparatus are improved in recent years, the number of setting items of an image forming apparatus increases in response, which complicates setting operations through an operation unit. As a result, when a user will use an image forming apparatus, the user has to change a setting content of every setting item after understanding functions and specifications of the image forming apparatus, which may increase a burden on the user. 
     In order to respond to such a present situation of an image forming apparatus, there is a technique that uses an interaction agent that allows an instruction and an operation by voice in a natural language for a setting operation to an image forming apparatus (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2014-222513 (JP 2014-222513A)). Thereby, a user is able to expect that setting contents of various setting items of the image forming apparatus are easily changed by voice in the natural language. However, if an interaction agent function is simply added to an existing image forming apparatus, a setting change process by a manual operation to an operation unit and a setting change process by the natural language become executable in synchronization. 
     In such an image forming apparatus, a setting content of the image forming apparatus may be changed against user&#39;s intention. That is, a setting content may be changed according to an operation to the operation unit while a user is going to change the setting content by the natural language using the interaction agent. In the meantime, if an input method is selected by a user in order to avoid such a situation, the number of the setting items increases on the contrary. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an image forming apparatus, a control method therefor, a storage medium storing a control program therefor, and an image forming system, which are capable of changing a setting content without putting an excessive burden on a user. 
     Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides an image forming apparatus including an operation unit that is operated by a user to change a setting content of the image forming apparatus, a memory device that stores a set of instructions, and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to obtain a command that is generated based on a natural language process for changing the setting content of the image forming apparatus, change the setting content of the image forming apparatus according to an operation to the operation unit and the command obtained, and prohibit the image forming apparatus from changing the setting content according to the operation to the operation unit in a case where the command based on the natural language process is obtained. 
     Accordingly, a second aspect of the present invention provides a control method for an image forming apparatus having an operation unit that is operated by a user for changing a setting content of the image forming apparatus, the control method including obtain a command that is generated based on a natural language process for changing the setting content of the image forming apparatus, change the setting content of the image forming apparatus according to an operation to the operation unit, change the setting content of the image forming apparatus according to the command obtained, and prohibit the image forming apparatus from changing the setting content according to the operation to the operation unit in a case where the command based on the natural language process is obtained. 
     Accordingly, a third aspect of the present invention provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program causing a computer to execute the control method of the second aspect. 
     Accordingly, a fourth aspect of the present invention provides an image forming system including a voice input device that has a microphone that obtain voice in a natural language, and an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes an operation unit that is operated by a user to change a setting content of the image forming apparatus, a memory device that stores a set of instructions, and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to obtain one of voice that is obtained by the microphone and a command obtained by applying a natural language process to the voice to change a setting content of the image forming apparatus, change the setting content of the image forming apparatus according to an operation to the operation unit and the command obtained, and prohibit the image forming apparatus from changing the setting content according to the user&#39;s operation to the operation unit in a case where the command based on the natural language process is obtained. 
     The image forming apparatus of the present invention allows a user to change a setting content without putting an excessive burden on a user. 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an explanatory view showing an image forming system including the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an explanatory view showing an example of a setting process sequence of the image forming system in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4A  through  FIG. 4D  are explanatory views showing examples of display screens displayed on a touch panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus in the setting process in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing an example of a process of the image forming apparatus corresponding to the setting process in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is an explanatory view showing an image forming system according to a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a mobile terminal in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is an explanatory view showing an example of a setting process sequence of the image forming system in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail by referring to the drawings. Configurations described in the following embodiments are only examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the configurations described in the embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus  100  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1  is a multifunction apparatus (MFP) equipped with a plurality of functions, such as copy and facsimile. The image forming apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1  has a ROM  106 , a RAM  107 , a storage unit  108 , a printer unit  102 , a scanner unit  103 , an operation unit  104 , a LAN communication unit  105 , a USB-device communication unit  109 , a USB-host communication unit  110 , and a speaker/microphone unit  111 . These units of the image forming apparatus  100  are connected to an SOC  101 . 
     The printer unit  102  has a photoconductive drum, laser generator, toner fixing device, and motor, for example. The printer  102  prints an image on a sheet. The scanner unit  103  has an original detection sensor, a reading sensor, and a motor, for example. The scanner unit  103  reads an image of a document. The operation unit  104  has a touch panel and keys, for example. The operation unit  104  displays a display data on the touch panel. The operation unit  104  outputs an operation signal corresponding to a user&#39;s operation in response to the user&#39;s operation. 
     The LAN communication unit  105  has a network controller and a wired LAN interface, for example. The LAN communication unit  105  is connected with an external device via a LAN cable that constitutes a network. The LAN communication unit  105  performs data communication with the external device. The USB-device communication unit  109  has a USB-device interface of the type B, for example. The USB-device communication unit  109  is connected with an external device, such as a personal computer, via a USB cable. The USB-device communication unit  109  performs data communication with a connected external device. 
     The USB-host communication unit  110  has a USB host interface of the type A and a power supply IC, for example. The USB-host communication unit  110  is connected with an external device, such as a personal computer, via a USB cable. The USB-host communication unit  110  supplies electric power to the connected external device, and performs data communication with the external device. 
     The speaker/microphone unit  111  has a microphone  112  that obtains user&#39;s voice in a natural language and a speaker that outputs a sound response to a user. The ROM  106  is a memory that stores a program for activating the SOC  101  and information about various setting items. The storage unit  108  is a nonvolatile memory that saves big-size programs and data. The storage unit  108  may consist of an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory, for example. The RAM  107  is a work memory used for working the SOC  101 . 
     The SOC  101  has a CPU, an interface for controlling the above-mentioned units, and a controller, for example. The CPU of the SOC  101  develops programs stored in the ROM  106  and storage unit  108  to the RAM  107  and runs them. Thereby, the SOC  101  functions as a main unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus  100 . The CPU of the SOC  101  saves arithmetic processing results, image data used in a print process and a scan process, etc. into the RAM  107  or the storage unit  108  during a process based on a program. The CPU of the SOC  101  executes image forming processes, such as print and scan, according to a signal from the operation unit  104  etc. 
     Incidentally, the SOC  101  in the image forming apparatus  100 , such as a multifunction apparatus, displays setting contents of the image forming apparatus  100  on the touch panel of the operation unit  104 , and changes the setting contents of the image forming process according to user&#39;s operations to the operation unit  104 , for example. Thereby, the image forming apparatus  100  forms an image that the user intends. 
     The image forming apparatus  100  uses an interaction agent that enables an instruction and operation by voice in the natural language for a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  using the speaker/microphone unit  111 . 
       FIG. 2  is an explanatory view showing an image forming system  200  according to the first embodiment including the image forming apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1 . The image forming system  200  in  FIG. 2  has the image forming apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1  and a cloud server  201 . The cloud server  201  has a LAN communication unit, ROM, storage unit, RAM, and CPU as with the image forming apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1 . The CPU of the cloud server  201  develops programs stored in the ROM and storage unit, and runs them. Thereby, an analysis server module  202  and a setting server module  203  are achieved by the cloud server  201 . 
     The analysis server module  202  analyzes voice data received by the LAN communication unit using a natural language process about voice, and outputs an analysis result to the setting server module  203 . In the natural language process, the analysis server module  202  extracts phonemes included in voice waveform data and outputs a list of the phonemes as the analysis result, for example. The list of the phonemes corresponds to a list of terms. The setting server module  203  selects a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  using the analysis result obtained from the analysis server module  202 . 
     The setting server module  203  compares the list of the phonemes of the analysis result with a list of phonemes associated with each of the setting operations beforehand, and selects a setting operation corresponding to the list of the phonemes that exhibits the highest matching degree. The setting server module  203  generates a command for giving the selected setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100 , and makes the LAN communication unit send the command. 
       FIG. 3  is an explanatory view showing an example of a setting process sequence of the image forming system  200  in  FIG. 2 . When obtaining voice data about a setting operation by user&#39;s voice from the microphone  112  in S 401  in  FIG. 3 , the SOC  101  of the image forming apparatus  100  sends the voice data to the LAN communication unit of the cloud server  201  from the LAN communication unit  105 . In S 402 , the analysis server module  202  of the cloud server  201  analyzes the voice data, which is received by the LAN communication unit, by the natural language process. 
     In S 403 , the analysis server module  202  outputs an analysis result to the setting server module  203 . In S 404 , the setting server module  203  selects a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  using the analysis result obtained from the analysis server module  202  and converts the selected setting operation into a command. In S 405 , the setting server module  203  sends the command about the selected setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  to the LAN communication unit  105  of the image forming apparatus  100  from the LAN communication unit of the cloud server  201 . 
     In S 406 , the SOC  101  of the image forming apparatus  100  obtains the command about the setting operation selected by the cloud server  201  from the LAN communication unit  105 . That is, the SOC  101  obtains the command about the setting operation obtained by applying the natural language process to the voice data that the microphone  112  of the image forming apparatus  100  obtained. After obtaining the command, the SOC  101  locks the operation unit  104  in S 407  so as to prohibit change of a setting content (hereinafter referred to as “setting change”) of the image forming apparatus  100  by a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104 . Thereby, the SOC  101  detects a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  but does not execute a process according to the operation. Moreover, the SOC  101  changes a setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to the obtained command. 
     That is, the SOC  101  executes a setting process corresponding to the obtained command in S 408 . In a case of the copy operation, setting contents include designation of the number of printing copies, and designation of printing image quality, for example. Thereby, the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  is changed according to the setting operation by the user&#39;s voice. The changed setting content is recorded in the RAM  107  together with the other setting contents. In S 409 , the SOC  101  detects a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104 . In S 410 , the SOC  101  clears the setting content changed according to the command so as to restore to a default content in response to the detection of the operation to the operation unit  104 . In S 411 , the SOC  101  unlocks the operation unit  104  and enables the setting change based on an operation to the operation unit  104 . After that, the SOC  101  changes the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to the operation to the operation unit  104 . 
       FIG. 4A  through  FIG. 4D  are explanatory views showing examples of display screens displayed on the touch panel of the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100  in the setting process in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 4A  is a selection screen of functions of the image forming apparatus  100  displayed when a setting content is changed according to an operation to the operation unit  104 . The SOC  101  displays the screen of  FIG. 4A  on the touch panel of the operation unit  104 , when the image forming apparatus  100  is activated and when the operation unit  104  is unlocked in S 411 , for example. 
       FIG. 4B  is a screen showing that the operation unit  104  is locked and that voice input is acceptable. The SOC  101  displays the screen of  FIG. 4B  on the touch panel of the operation unit  104 , when the voice input is accepted and the setting change by the operation to the operation unit  104  is prohibited in S 407 , for example.  FIG. 4C  is a screen showing that the voice input is stopped and that the operation unit  104  is unlocked. The SOC  101  displays the screen of  FIG. 4C  on the touch panel of the operation unit  104 , when the setting content is cleared and the operation unit  104  is unlocked in S 409 , S 410 , or S 411 , for example.  FIG. 4D  is a screen showing that the operation unit  104  is unlocked and that the voice input starts. The SOC  101  displays the screen of  FIG. 4D  on the touch panel of the operation unit  104 , when the command corresponding to the voice data is obtained in S 406 , for example. 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing an example of a process of the image forming apparatus  100  corresponding to the setting process in  FIG. 3 . The CPU of the SOC  101  of the image forming apparatus  100  executes the process in  FIG. 5 , when changing a setting content of the image forming apparatus  100 . In S 601  in  FIG. 5 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines whether a command is received from the setting server module  203 . When no command is received, the CPU of the SOC  101  proceeds with the process to S 610 . 
     In S 610 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines whether a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  is detected. When a user&#39;s operation is not detected, the CPU of the SOC  101  returns the process to S 601 . Thus, the CPU of the SOC  101  waits for both of a command and a user&#39;s operation. 
     When determining that a command is received in S 601 , the CPU of the SOC  101  proceeds with the process to S 602 . In S 602 , the CPU of the SOC  101  locks the operation unit  104 . In S 603 , the CPU of the SOC  101  displays the voice input accepting screen of  FIG. 4B  on the touch panel. The CPU of the SOC  101  executes the setting change according to the command in a setting process by the command in S 604 . 
     In S 605 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines whether an operation to the operation unit  104  is detected. When no operation to the operation unit  104  is detected, the CPU of the SOC  101  returns the process to S 601  and waits for the following command or operation. When an operation to the operation unit  104  is detected, the CPU of the SOC  101  displays the confirmation screen of  FIG. 4C  about stop of the voice input on the touch panel in S 606 . That is, the CPU of the SOC  101  displays a message for confirming whether the prohibition of the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by an operation to the operation unit  104  is released. 
     In S 607 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines an operation to the confirmation screen about stop of the voice input on the operation unit  104 . The CPU of the SOC  101  determines whether the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the command based on the natural language process is continued when the operation unit  104  is operated in the state where the touch panel displays that the setting change by an operation to the operation unit  104  is prohibited. When the operation (“NO” in S 607 ) that does not stop the voice input is given, the CPU of the SOC  101  returns the process to S 601  and waits for the following command or operation. When the operation (“YES” in S 607 ) that stops the voice input is given, the CPU of the SOC  101  unlocks the operation unit  104  in S 608 . 
     In S 609 , the CPU of the SOC  101  clears the setting content changed according to the command so as to restore to a default content. Thus, the CPU of the SOC  101  clears the setting content changed according to the command, when the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the command based on the natural language process is not continued. After that, the CPU of the SOC  101  returns the process to S 601  and waits for the following command or operation. 
     When determining that a user&#39;s operation is detected in S 610 , the CPU of the SOC  101  proceeds with the process to S 611 . In a setting process by the operation in S 611 , the CPU of the SOC  101  changes a setting content according to the user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104 . 
     In S 612 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines whether a command is received from the setting server module  203 . When no command is received, the CPU of the SOC  101  returns the process to S 601  and waits for the following command or operation. When a command is received, the CPU of the SOC  101  displays the confirmation screen of  FIG. 4D  about start of the voice input on the touch panel. The CPU of the SOC  101  displays a message on the touch panel for confirming whether the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the command based on the natural language process is started. 
     In S 614 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines the operation to the confirmation screen about start of the voice input on the operation unit  104 . When receiving a command based on the natural language process after changing the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to the operation to the operation unit  104 , the CPU of the SOC  101  determines whether the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the command based on the natural language process is started. When the operation (“NO” in S 614 ) that does not start the voice input is given, the CPU of the SOC  101  returns the process to S 601  and waits for the following command or operation. 
     When the operation (“YES” in S 614 ) that starts the voice input is given, the CPU of the SOC  101  proceeds with the process to S 602 . The CPU of the SOC  101  locks the operation unit  104  and executes the setting change according to the obtained voice input command. When starting the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the command based on the natural language process, the CPU of the SOC  101  prohibits the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104 . 
     As mentioned above, the image forming apparatus  100  in this embodiment is able to change a setting content according to not only a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  but also an obtained command generated by the natural language process. The user is able to change the setting contents of various kinds of setting items of the image forming apparatus  100  using voice in the natural language. 
     A user&#39;s burden is reduced in this embodiment. Moreover, in this embodiment, when a command based on the natural language process is obtained, the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  is prohibited in response to the obtainment. Accordingly, even if the operation unit  104  is operated while changing the setting content by the natural language, the setting content is not changed according to the operation to the operation unit  104 . It becomes difficult to change the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  against intention of the user who is going to change the setting content by the natural language. 
     Moreover, the CPU of the SOC  101  has prohibited the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  on the basis of obtainment of the command based on the natural language process. Accordingly, the user does not need to select or set an input method in addition to the setting operation by the natural language. Thus, in this embodiment, even if the operation unit  104  is operated while operating the image forming apparatus  100  by the natural language, the setting change by the screen operation is prohibited, which prevents the setting change that the user does not intend. 
     In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus  100  displays that the setting change by an operation to the operation unit  104  is prohibited on the touch panel of the operation unit  104 , when the command based on the natural language process is obtained. This prevents the user from operating the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100 , when the image forming apparatus  100  changes the setting content according to the command based on the natural language process. 
     Moreover, when the operation unit  104  is operated in the displaying state, the image forming apparatus  100  determines whether the setting change by the command based on the natural language process is continued. Then, when the setting change by the command is not continued, the image forming apparatus  100  clears the setting content that has been already changed according to the command. 
     At this time, the CPU of the SOC  101  displays a message on the touch panel for confirming whether the prohibition of the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by an operation to the operation unit  104  is released, for example, and may determine whether the setting change by the command is continued in accordance with the operation to the operation unit  104 . Thereby, the user who is going to operate the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100  is able to change the setting content from a state that is not affected by the setting change by the previous commands. 
     The user is able to change a setting content from a state that does not include unintentional changes. When receiving a command based on the natural language process after changing the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to the operation to the operation unit  104 , the image forming apparatus  100  of this embodiment determines whether the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the command based on the natural language process is started. Then, when starting the setting change by the command based on the natural language process, the image forming apparatus  100  prohibits the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by the user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104 . This disables the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by an operation to the operation unit  104  after the image forming apparatus  100  starts the setting change by the command based on the natural language process. 
     Moreover, the CPU of the SOC  101  displays a message on the touch panel of the operation unit for confirming whether the setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by a command based on the natural language process is started, and determines whether the setting change by the command is started in accordance with the operation to the operation unit  104 . Thereby, the image forming apparatus  100  is able to start the setting change by the command based on the natural language process according to the user&#39;s intention. In this embodiment, the speaker/microphone unit ill of the image forming apparatus  100  has the microphone  112  that obtains voice in the natural language, and the command is generated by applying the natural language process to the voice obtained by the microphone  112 . Accordingly, the user is able to change a setting content using voice in the natural language in the state where the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100  is operatable. 
     Next, the image forming apparatus  100  and the image forming system  200  according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment shows an example that inputs voice for changing a setting content to a mobile terminal  301 . In the following description, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. 
       FIG. 6  is an explanatory view showing the image forming system  200  according to the second embodiment. The image forming system  200  in  FIG. 6  has the mobile terminal  301 , the image forming apparatus  100  of which setting contents are changeable, and the cloud server  201 . The mobile terminal  301  communicates with the analysis server module  202  of the cloud server  201  via an access point (not shown). The image forming apparatus  100  communicates with the setting server module  203  of the cloud server  201  through the LAN communication unit  105 . In this case, the mobile terminal  301  receives a user&#39;s voice operation in the natural language and sends it as voice data to the analysis server module  202 . 
     When receiving the voice data from the mobile terminal  301 , the analysis server module  202  executes the natural language process and analyzes extracted terms. The setting server module  203  selects a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  using the analysis result obtained from the analysis server module  202 . The setting server module  203  compares a list of phonemes of the analysis result with a list of phonemes associated with each of the setting operations beforehand, and selects a setting operation corresponding to the list of the phonemes that exhibits the highest matching degree. The setting server module  203  generates a command for giving the selected setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100 , and makes the LAN communication unit send the command to the image forming apparatus  100 . 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal  301  in  FIG. 6 . The mobile terminal  301  of  FIG. 7  has a controller  800 , a display unit  807 , an operation unit  809 , a telephone call unit  813 , a voice antenna  816 , and a wireless-LAN antenna  818 . The controller  800  has a CPU  801 , a RAM  802 , a ROM  803 , a storage unit  804 , a display-unit controller  806 , an operation-unit controller  808 , a telephone-call-unit controller  812 , a wireless-LAN controller  817 , and a system bus  805 . 
     The display-unit controller  806  sends image data etc. to the display unit  807  by a communication protocol of the display unit  807 . The display unit  807  displays image data etc. The operation unit  809  has a touch panel  810  and a key pad  811 . The operation-unit controller  808  receives an input from the touch panel  810  or the key pad  811 , and converts it into digital data that is usable by the CPU  801 . The telephone call unit  813  has a microphone  814  that obtains voice in the natural language and a speaker  815 . 
     The telephone-call-unit controller  812  converts a voice signal input from the microphone  814  into voice data, codes, and superimposes the coded data on transmit radio wave of the voice antenna  816 . The telephone-call-unit controller  812  outputs the voice data decoded from received radio wave of the voice antenna  816  to the speaker  815 . The wireless-LAN controller  817  exchanges communication data with the cloud servers  201  via the above-mentioned access point through the wireless-LAN antenna  818 . 
     The ROM  803  is a memory that stores a boot program for the CPU  801  and information about various setting items. The storage unit  804  is a nonvolatile memory that saves big-size programs and data. The storage unit  804  is a built-in flash memory or a semiconductor memory card connected to an external I/F, for example. The RAM  802  is a work memory used for working the CPU  801 . The CPU  801  develops programs stored in the ROM  803  and storage unit  804  to the RAM  802  and runs them. Thereby, the CPU  801  functions as a main unit that controls the entire mobile terminal  301 . 
       FIG. 8  is an explanatory view showing an example of a setting process sequence of the image forming system  200  of  FIG. 6 . When obtaining voice data about a setting operation by user&#39;s voice from the microphone  814  in S 501  in  FIG. 8 , the CPU  801  of the mobile terminal  301  sends the voice data to the LAN communication unit of the cloud server  201  from the LAN communication unit  817 . 
     In S 502 , the analysis server module  202  of the cloud server  201  analyzes the voice data, which is received by the LAN communication unit, by the natural language process. In S 503 , the analysis server module  202  outputs an analysis result to the setting server module  203 . In S 504 , the setting server module  203  selects a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  using the analysis result obtained from the analysis server module  202  and converts the selected setting operation into a command. 
     In S 505 , the setting server module  203  sends the command about the selected setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  to the LAN communication unit  105  of the image forming apparatus  100  from the LAN communication unit of the cloud server  201 . In S 506 , the SOC  101  of the image forming apparatus  100  obtains the command about the setting operation selected by the cloud server  201  from the LAN communication unit  105 . 
     That is, the SOC  101  obtains the command about the setting operation obtained by applying the natural language process to the voice data that the microphone  814  of the mobile terminal  301  obtained. After obtaining the command, the SOC  101  locks the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100  in S 507  so as to prohibit setting change of the image forming apparatus  100  by a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104 . Thereby, the SOC  101  detects a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  but does not execute a process according to the operation. Moreover, the SOC  101  changes a setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to the obtained command. 
     That is, the SOC  101  performs the setting operation corresponding to the obtained command in S 508 . In a case of the copy operation, the setting contents include designation of the number of printing copies, and designation of printing image quality, for example. Thereby, the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  is changed according to the setting operation by the user&#39;s voice. The changed setting content is recorded in the RAM  107  together with the other setting contents. 
     In S 509 , the SOC  101  detects a user&#39;s operation to the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100 . In S 510 , the SOC  101  clears the setting content changed according to the command so as to restore to a default content in response to the detection of the operation to the operation unit  104 . In S 511 , the SOC  101  unlocks the operation unit  104  and enables the setting change based on an operation to the operation unit  104 . After that, the SOC  101  changes the setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to the operation to the operation unit  104 . 
     In this case, the flow of the process of the image forming apparatus  100  is the same as that in  FIG. 5 . Thus, in this embodiment, even if the operation unit  104  is operated while the user is operating the image forming apparatus  100  by the natural language, the setting change by the screen operation is prohibited, which prevents the setting change that the user does not intend. 
     As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the user speaks in the natural language to the microphone  814  of the mobile terminal  301  as a voice input device that is separated from the image forming apparatus  100 . Thereby, the image forming apparatus  100  is able to change a setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  according to a command obtained by applying the natural language process to voice data. Accordingly, even if the user cannot operate the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100  because the user is apart from the image forming apparatus  100 , for example, the user is able to change a setting content of the image forming apparatus  100  using the mobile terminal  301  and is able to use the image forming apparatus  100 . 
     In this embodiment, the analysis server module  202  of the cloud server  201  obtains and analyzes the voice data that the microphone  814  of the mobile terminal  301  obtained, and the setting server module  203  obtains the analysis result and selects a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  using the analysis result. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus  100  itself does not need to implement the function to analyze voice data and the function to select a setting operation to the image forming apparatus  100  according to the analysis result. That is, the image forming apparatus does not need to implement the function corresponding to various natural languages. 
     Although the present invention has been described in detail on the basis of the suitable embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments and includes various configurations that do not deviate from the gist of this invention. 
     In the above-mentioned embodiments, the analysis server module  202  and the setting server module  203  are provided in the cloud server  201  that is separated from the image forming apparatus  100 . However, at least one of the analysis server module  202  and the setting server module  203  may be mounted in the image forming apparatus  100 . 
     Although the details are not described in the above-mentioned embodiments, the voice input may be used to change a setting content of one setting item of the image forming apparatus  100  or may be used to change setting contents of a plurality of setting items. In the case where the setting contents of the plurality of setting items are changed by the voice input, a plurality of commands may be generated for the respective setting items or a command that changes the setting contents of the setting items all at once may be generated. 
     In the setting processing of the above-mentioned embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the image forming apparatus  100  is able to obtain a setting operation by a command based on voice during a setting operation by an operation to the operation unit  104  of the image forming apparatus  100 . That is, the image forming apparatus  100  gives priority to a setting operation by voice over a setting operation by a manual operation in  FIG. 5 . 
     In addition, the image forming apparatus  100  may prohibit one of a setting operation by a manual operation and a setting operation by voice after starting the other setting operation in the setting process of the image forming apparatus so as to treat both the setting operations equally. Moreover, the image forming apparatus  100  may give priority to a setting operation by a manual operation over a setting operation by voice in the setting process. 
     OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-150506, filed Aug. 9, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.