Patent Publication Number: US-2022232134-A1

Title: Method for controlling image forming system and wireless operation unit

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a method for controlling an image forming system including an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, or the like) and a wireless operation unit that controls the image forming apparatus via wireless communication, and a wireless operation unit. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Conventionally, it is widely known that an image forming apparatus has a display portion for displaying an image and an operation portion for inputting information. In this image forming apparatus, a user can set a setting relating to image formation, such as the size of paper, by operating the operation portion, or can display the status of the image forming apparatus on the display portion. 
     Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366287, an operation display portion in which the above-mentioned display portion and the operation portion are integrated is used as a remote control portion that is detachable from the image forming apparatus, and a configuration including the image forming apparatus and the remote control portion that controls the image forming apparatus via wireless communication is disclosed. In the configuration described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366287, information input by the user from the remote control portion at a position away from the image forming apparatus is transmitted to the image forming apparatus via wireless communication, and the status of the image forming apparatus is displayed on the remote control portion. 
     However, in the field of commercial printing or the like, one user may operate a plurality of image forming apparatuses. In this case, in the configuration in which the display portion and the operation portion are installed in each image forming apparatus, even when the status of the image forming apparatus is displayed on the display portion, the user needs to check the display portion for each image forming apparatus. 
     On the other hand, as in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-366287, even when the status of the image forming apparatus displayed on the remote control portion can be confirmed at a position away from the image forming apparatus, the remote control portion needs to be confirmed for each image forming apparatus. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method for controlling an image forming system including 
     a first image forming apparatus that has a first wireless communication unit configured to perform wireless communication and that is configured to form an image on a sheet based on image data, 
     a second image forming apparatus that has a second wireless communication unit configured to perform wireless communication and that is configured to form an image on a sheet based on image data, and 
     a wireless operation unit having a third wireless communication unit capable of wirelessly communicating with the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit, an acquiring unit configured to acquire, via wireless communication, status information, which is information on a status of the first image forming apparatus and a status of the second image forming apparatus, and a display configured to display the status information acquired by the acquiring unit, the method including: 
     a connection process in which the third wireless communication unit connects individually to each of the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit via wireless communication without a wireless LAN router; 
     a first acquisition process in which the acquiring unit acquires the status information of the first image forming apparatus in a state in which the third wireless communication unit and the first wireless communication unit are connected to each other via wireless communication; 
     a second acquisition process in which the acquiring unit acquires the status information of the second image forming apparatus in a state in which the third wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit are connected to each other via wireless communication; and 
     a display process in which the display displays, side by side on a screen, the status information of the first image forming apparatus acquired in the first acquisition process and the status information of the second image forming apparatus acquired in the second acquisition process. 
     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 schematic perspective view of an image forming system; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming system; 
         FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C  are schematic perspective views of a remote control panel; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming apparatus; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of the remote control panel; 
         FIG. 6A  is a diagram illustrating communication transition between the image forming apparatus and the remote control panel, and  FIG. 6B  is a diagram in which coordinates are displayed on a touch panel of the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on a display of the remote control panel; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart of a process of collectively displaying statuses on the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 11A and 11B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 12A and 12B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel. 
         FIGS. 13A and 13B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 14A and 14B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 15A and 15B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 16A and 16B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; 
         FIG. 17  is a flowchart of a process of collectively displaying statuses on the remote control panel; 
         FIGS. 18A and 18B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display of the remote control panel; and 
         FIG. 19  is a table diagram illustrating operation modes of the image forming apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified in detail with reference to the drawings. However, dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of components described in the following embodiments should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of an apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to those only. 
     First Embodiment 
     An image forming system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3C .  FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of the image forming system.  FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming system.  FIGS. 3A to 3C  are schematic perspective views of a remote control panel. 
     &lt;Image Forming System&gt; 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the image forming system A includes an image forming apparatus  1  that forms an image on a sheet S, and the remote control panel  50  (wireless operation unit) that controls the image forming apparatus  1 . 
     &lt;Image Forming Apparatus&gt; 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , an upper portion of the image forming apparatus  1  is provided with a reader  14  that optically reads an image of an original placed on a glass surface (not illustrated) and converts the image into image data. Further, the image forming apparatus  1  is provided with a processing device  16  that performs processes such as a stapling process, a punching process, and a bookbinding process on the sheet S on which the image is formed. The processing device  16  is an example of an optional device connected to the image forming apparatus  1 . In addition to the processing device  16  provided as an example of the present embodiment, as an optional device, a cooling device may be used, which cools the sheet S on which the image is formed. That is, the optional devices referred to here refer to all devices that can be retrofitted to the image forming apparatus  1 . 
     Further, the image forming apparatus  1  includes a seesaw type or tactile type main power switch  79  that switches a main power supply on and off. Further, the image forming apparatus  1  includes a display panel  71  that displays a lamp or an error code to notify a user of the status of the image forming apparatus  1 , such as the image forming process being performed, stopped due to an error, or in the standby state. Further, the image forming apparatus  1  includes a tower type lamp  72  that notifies the user at a distant position of the status of the image forming apparatus  1  by turning on and off and blinking a light source. 
     Further, the image forming apparatus  1  includes a panel mounting portion  73  to which the remote control panel  50  (wireless operation unit) is detachably attachable. The remote control panel  50  will be described later. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus  1  includes an image forming unit  15  that forms an image on the sheet S based on input image data. The image forming unit  15  includes a photosensitive drum  9 Y,  9 M,  9 C,  9 K, a charging device  2 Y,  2 M,  2 C,  2 K, and a developing device  4 Y,  4 M,  4 C,  4 K. The image forming unit  15  includes a primary transfer roller  5 Y,  5 M,  5 C,  5 K, a laser scanner unit  3 Y,  3 M,  3 C,  3 K, an intermediate transfer belt  6 , a secondary transfer roller  7 , and a secondary transfer counter roller  8 . 
     In the case where an image is formed by the image forming apparatus  1 , an image forming job is first input to a controller  10  (see  FIG. 4 ). As a result, the sheet S stored in either a sheet cassette  75   a  or  75   b  is conveyed to a transport path  94 . After that, the sheet S passes through the transport path  94  and is conveyed to a secondary transfer portion formed by the secondary transfer roller  7  and the secondary transfer counter roller  8 . 
     On the other hand, in the image forming unit  15 , first, the surface of the photosensitive drum  9 Y is charged by the charging device  2 Y. After that, the laser scanner unit  3 Y irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum  9 Y with laser light according to the image data of the original read by the reader  14  or the image data transmitted from an external device (not illustrated) via a network, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum  9 Y. The image data sent from the external device is sent to a network connection portion  84 , which will be described later, via a wireless LAN router. 
     Thereafter, yellow toner is caused to adhere to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum  9 Y by the developing device  4 Y to form a yellow toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum  9 Y. The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum  9 Y is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt  6  by applying a primary transfer bias to the primary transfer roller  5 Y. 
     By a similar process, magenta, cyan, and black toner images are also formed on the photosensitive drums  9 M,  9 C, and  9 K. By applying the primary transfer bias to the primary transfer rollers  5 M,  5 C, and  5 K, these toner images are transferred and superimposed on the yellow toner image on the intermediate transfer belt  6 . As a result, a full-color toner image is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt  6 . 
     After that, the intermediate transfer belt  6  moves around to convey the full-color toner image to the secondary transfer portion. In the secondary transfer portion, a secondary transfer bias is applied to the secondary transfer roller  7 , whereby the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt  6  is transferred to the sheet S. The sheet S to which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to a fixing device  70  by a conveying belt  95 . Then, the fixing device  70  heats and pressurizes the toner image to fix the toner image onto the sheet S. 
     Next, the sheet S on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to the processing device  16  through a discharge path  97 . When the user specifies a process such as the stapling process, the punching process, or the bookbinding process, the sheet S conveyed to the processing device  16  is discharged to a discharge tray  16   a  after the specified process is performed. If the user does not specify the process, the sheet S conveyed to the processing device  16  is discharged to a discharge tray  16   b  without being processed as it is. 
     &lt;Wireless Operation Unit&gt; 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3C , the remote control panel  50  (remote control portion) is detachably attachable to the panel mounting portion  73  of the image forming apparatus  1 . The remote control panel  50  is configured to wirelessly communicate information with the image forming apparatus  1 . Since the remote control panel  50  is not connected via a cable (wired connection), the user can freely carry it around and can control the image forming apparatus  1  at a position away from the image forming apparatus  1 . In this case, the remote control panel  50  according to the present embodiment is an operation unit that issues an instruction to perform image formation to the image forming apparatus  1 . That is, the image data of the original is not sent from the remote control panel  50  to the image forming apparatus  1 . The image data is sent from an external terminal to the image forming apparatus  1  via the wireless LAN router, or is generated in the image forming apparatus  1  by reading the original by the reader  14 . In this way, the external terminal and the image forming apparatus  1  are connected to each other via the wireless LAN router, whereas the remote control panel  50  is connected to the image forming apparatus  1  without a wireless LAN router. When the remote control panel  50  is mounted on the panel mounting portion  73 , a charging connector  55  (see  FIG. 3B ) of the remote control panel  50  is connected to a power supply connector  73   a  (see  FIG. 5 ) of the panel mounting portion  73 . As a result, the image forming apparatus  1  detects the connection of the remote control panel  50 , and the image forming apparatus  1  charges a battery  57  (see  FIG. 5 ) of the remote control panel  50 . 
     Although the configuration in which the remote control panel  50  (remote control portion) is detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus  1  is exemplified, the remote control panel  50  (remote control portion) may not be detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus  1  and may be separate from the image forming apparatus  1  and configured to control the image forming apparatus  1  via wireless communication. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the remote control panel  50  includes a power switch  52  for switching a power supply of the remote control panel  50  on and off, and a speaker portion  53  for outputting a sound. Further, the remote control panel  50  has a status display portion  54  that is turned on and off and blink to notify the user of the status of the remote control panel  50  In this case, the status display portion  54  includes an LED, but is not limited to this configuration. 
     Further, the remote control panel  50  has a touch panel type display  51  (display portion) in which a display portion capable of displaying information based on image data and an operation portion for detecting a touch operation from a user are integrated. By touching a key displayed on the display  51  with a finger to perform inputting, the user can set a setting relating to image formation, such as a setting for the number of sheets on which an image is to be formed and a setting for the size of the sheet S, and can set a setting relating to image reading, such as a setting for the size of the original. Further, the remote control panel  50  has a collective status display button  66  (acquisition icon, see  FIG. 7A ) for instructing to acquire statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses including the image forming apparatus  1 . The collective status display button  66  is displayed on the display  51 . The user touches the collective status display button  66  (see  FIG. 7A ) displayed on the display  51  with a finger to collectively display the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50 . The collective status display by the remote control panel  50  will be described in detail later. 
     Further, in the present embodiment, as an operation display portion included in the remote control panel  50 , the touch panel type display  51  in which the display portion and the operation portion are integrated is exemplified. That is, the configuration in which the touch panel type display  51  is mounted on the remote control panel  50  is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the remote control panel  50  may have a configuration in which a hardware key such as a numeric keypad or a reset key is provided as a key operation input portion separately from the display  51  (operation display portion) described above. 
     Further, the remote control panel  50  may have a configuration in which a collective status display key  68  (input portion, hardware key, or key operation input portion) is independently provided on the display  51  described above in addition to the collective status display button  66  ( FIG. 3C ). Further, the remote control panel  50  can be provided with the independent collective status display key  68  (input portion, hardware key, key operation input portion) without displaying the collective status display button on the display  51  (see  FIG. 7B ). 
     &lt;System Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus&gt; 
     Next, a system configuration of the image forming apparatus  1  will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the system configuration of the image forming apparatus  1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the image forming apparatus  1  includes a controller  10  having a CPU  11 , a ROM  12 , and a RAM  13 . The reader  14 , the image forming unit  15 , the processing device  16 , the display panel  71 , and the like are connected to the controller  10 . Further, the controller  10  is connected to the network connection portion  84  that connects to the external device (not illustrated) via the network. 
     The ROM  12  (storage portion) stores various programs and various image data relating to the control of the image forming apparatus  1 . The CPU  11  performs various arithmetic processing based on a control program stored in the ROM  12 . The RAM  13  temporarily stores data. That is, the CPU  11  controls the reader  14 , the image forming unit  15 , the processing device  16 , and the like connected to the controller  10  to perform the above-mentioned image forming operation while using the RAM  13  as a work area based on the control program stored in the ROM  12 . 
     Although the configuration in which the controller  10  has the ROM  12  as the storage portion is exemplified, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the controller  10  may have storage separate from the ROM  12  as the storage portion. The storage is, for example, an HDD or an SSD, and is used for storing various data. The data stored in the storage is, for example, an image to be displayed on the remote control panel  50 , print data, or the like. 
     The network connection portion  84  is used to receive a print instruction and print data for the image forming apparatus via the network. The network connection portion  84  is also used to receive user instructions to change a setting of the image forming apparatus and turn off the power supply from a remote location via the network by using the remote control panel  50 , a PC, or a tablet. In this case, the network to which the network connection portion  84  is connected may be wired connection or wireless connection. 
     Further, the controller  10  is connected to a panel connection portion  80  that connects to the remote control panel  50 . The panel connection portion  80  has a wireless communication portion  81  (first wireless communication unit, second wireless communication unit) that performs wireless communication between the panel mounting portion  73 , which has the power supply connector  73   a  and to which the remote control panel  50  is connected, and the remote control panel  50 . The charging connector  55  of the remote control panel  50  is connected to the power supply connector  73   a  of the panel mounting portion  73 . 
     The wireless communication portion  81  includes a command communication portion  82  and an image transmitting portion  83 . The CPU  11  reads an image stored in the ROM  12  (or storage) and transmits the image to the remote control panel  50  via the image transmitting portion  83  of the wireless communication portion  81 . Further, the CPU  11  generates an instruction for the remote control panel  50  and transmits the instruction to the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portion  82 . Further, the CPU  11  receives a notification generated by the remote control panel  50  and an instruction generated by the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portion  82 . In the present embodiment, the command communication portion  82  and the image transmitting portion  83  are configured separately, but may be combined into one communication line. 
     The network connection portion  84  and the wireless communication portion  81  may be shared, but in that case, the Wi-Fi direct method, which is a communication mode for directly connecting the image forming apparatus and the remote control panel, cannot be used. Furthermore, the connection will be via a normal network (via an access point), and print data, command communication and screen data will be communicated via the same route. Therefore, since the amount of communication data increases, the response of the screen display on the remote control panel may become slow, and it may take time to receive the print data of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the network connection portion  84  and the wireless communication portion  81  are configured separately. 
     A power supply device  17  is connected to the controller  10 . The power supply device  17  receives power from a commercial power supply via an outlet plug  19 , converts the power into electric power to be used by each device, and supplies the electric power to each device. Specifically, first, the power supply device  17  supplies power to the controller  10  when the main power switch  79  is switched from off to on. After that, the power supply device  17  supplies, based on an instruction of the controller  10 , power to the reader  14 , the image forming unit  15 , the processing device  16 , the display panel  71 , the remote control panel  50  mounted on the panel mounting portion  73 , the wireless communication portion  81 , the network connection portion  84 , and the like. In this case, a line connecting the power supply device  17  and the controller  10  illustrated in  FIG. 4  is a signal line. Through this signal line, the controller  10  instructs the power supply device  17  which unit to supply power to. Further, in  FIG. 4 , a line connecting the power supply device  17  to the image forming unit  15  is a power supply line, and power is supplied from the power supply device  17  to the image forming unit  15  through this power supply line. Power supply lines are connected to units such as the reader  14 , the processing device  16 , and the display panel  71  from the power supply device  17 , but are not illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     The power supply line extending from the power supply device  17  to the image forming unit  15  is connected to a drive source of the image forming unit  15 . That is, a “state in which power is supplied from the power supply device  17  to the image forming unit  15 ” means that power is supplied to the drive source of the image forming unit  15 , for example, a motor for rotating the photosensitive drum  9 , a motor for rotating a charging roller of the charging device  2 , a motor for rotating a developing roller of the developing device  4 , a motor for rotating the primary transfer roller  5 , a motor for rotating the intermediate transfer belt  6 , a motor for rotating the secondary transfer roller  7 , and the like. In a standby mode described later, power is supplied from the power supply device  17  to these drive sources. On the other hand, in a sleep mode described later, power is not supplied from the power supply device  17  to these drive sources. 
     Further, when the main power switch  79  is turned off, the power supply device  17  stops the supply of power based on an instruction of the controller  10  (CPU  11 ). Further, even when the main power switch  79  is not turned off, the power supply device  17  can turn off the main power switch  79  by stopping the supply of power based on an instruction from the controller  10  (CPU  11 ). The case where the main power switch  79  is turned off based on the instruction from the controller  10  (CPU  11 ) is, for example, when an abnormality occurs or when a power off instruction is received from the user via the network connection portion  84 . 
     The image forming apparatus  1  can shift to a normal mode and a power saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode, and the controller  10  (CPU  11 ) performs control to reduce the power consumption. Specifically, when the user selects image reading, power is supplied to the reader  14 , but power is not supplied to the image forming unit  15  and the processing device  16 . When the image forming apparatus is not used, unnecessary power supply is stopped even in the controller  10 . The case where the image forming apparatus is not used means, for example, the case where the image forming apparatus is not used for a certain period of time or the case where the image forming apparatus receives, from the user via the remote control panel  50 , an instruction to shift to the power saving mode. Then, when the mode shifts to the power saving mode, power is supplied only to user-input portions such as the network connection portion  84  and the panel connection portion  80 . In order to reduce the power consumption, the supply of power to the panel connection portion  80  may be stopped to limit user input to input from the network connection portion  84 . In that case, it is necessary to change the control such that the network connection portion  84  and the remote control panel  50  communicate with each other. When input from the user is detected in the power saving mode, the image forming apparatus  1  is returned from the power saving mode to the normal mode via the controller  10  (CPU  11 ). 
     &lt;Various Power Modes of Image Forming Apparatus&gt; 
       FIG. 19  is a table diagram summarizing the types of components to which the power supply device  17  supplies power in the image forming apparatus  1  for each of the modes. The power modes of the image forming apparatus will be described below with reference to  FIG. 19 . 
     When the power mode of the image forming apparatus is the “normal mode”, the status of the image forming apparatus described later is “standby”. Further, when the power mode of the image forming apparatus is the “power saving mode”, the status of the image forming apparatus described later is “sleep”. 
     &lt;Normal Mode (Standby Mode)&gt; 
     When the image forming apparatus is in the normal mode, the power supply device  17  supplies power to the controller  10 . After that, the power supply device  17  supplies power to, for example, the drive source of the image forming unit  15  based on an instruction of the controller  10 . When the remote control panel  50  is mounted on the panel mounting portion  73 , the power supply device  17  supplies power to the remote control panel  50  mounted on the panel mounting portion  73 . 
     &lt;Power Saving Mode (Sleep Mode)&gt; 
     On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus shifts from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the power supply device  17  supplies power to the wireless communication portion  81  and the network connection portion  84  based on an instruction of the controller  10 . However, the power supply device  17  stops, based on an instruction of the controller  10 , supplying power to the drive source of the image forming unit  15  to which power was supplied in the normal mode. When the remote control panel  50  is mounted on the panel mounting portion  73 , the power supply device  17  supplies power to the remote control panel  50  mounted on the panel mounting portion  73 . That is, in the power saving mode, the power supply device  17  does not supply power to the drive source of the image forming unit  15 , while in the normal mode, the power supply device  17  supplies power to the drive source of the image forming unit  15 . 
     &lt;System Configuration of Remote Control Panel&gt; 
     Next, the system configuration of the remote control panel  50  will be described with reference to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating the system configuration of the remote control panel  50 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the remote control panel  50  includes a panel controller  20  having a CPU  21  (controller), a ROM  22 , a RAM  23 , and a timer  24 . The timer  24  clocks when the panel controller  20  performs various processes. 
     The ROM  22  (storage portion) stores data such as various programs relating to the control of the remote control panel  50 . The CPU  21  performs various arithmetic processing based on a control program stored in the ROM  22 . RAM  23  temporarily stores data. That is, the CPU  21  (controller) controls the display  51 , the speaker portion  53 , the status display portion  54 , and the like connected to the panel controller  20  while using the RAM  23  as a work area based on the control program stored in the ROM  22 . 
     The ROM  22  can also store an SSID (identification information) and a password that are used to connect the remote control panel  50  to each image forming apparatus via wireless communication. For example, before the remote control panel  50  and the image forming apparatus are connected to each other via wireless communication for the first time, the user operates the remote control panel  50  and stores the SSID and the password in the ROM  22  in advance. Alternatively, the ROM  22  may automatically store the aforementioned information at the first wireless connection. The memory  22  stores, for example, a password (first password) required for wirelessly connecting the remote control panel  50  to a first image forming apparatus and an SSID (first identification information) of the first image forming apparatus in association with each other. Similarly, the memory  22  stores, for example, a password (second password) required for wirelessly connecting the remote control panel  50  to a second image forming apparatus and an SSID (second identification information) of the second image forming apparatus in association with each other. 
     Further, the remote control panel  50  includes a connection portion  90  for connecting to the image forming apparatus  1 . The connection portion  90  includes a charging connector  55  connected to the power supply connector  73   a  of the image forming apparatus  1  and a wireless communication portion  91  (third wireless communication unit) that performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus  1 . The remote control panel  50  in the present embodiment can perform wireless communication with a plurality of image forming apparatuses. For example, an image forming system is assumed, which includes a certain image forming apparatus (first image forming apparatus), another image forming apparatus (second image forming apparatus), and the remote control panel  50 . In this image forming system, the wireless communication portion  91  (third wireless communication unit) of the remote control panel  50  performs wireless communication individually with each of a first wireless communication unit of the first image forming apparatus and a second wireless communication unit of the second image forming apparatus. Specifically, direct communication is performed in order using the Wi-Fi direct communication method. However, the direct communication referred to here refers to wireless communication performed without a wireless LAN router, and is not limited to the Wi-Fi direct communication method. 
     The wireless communication portion  91  has a command communication portion  92  connected to the CPU  21  and an image receiving portion  93  connected to the display  51 . The CPU  21  generates an instruction and a notification for the image forming apparatus  1  and transmits the instruction and the notification to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  via an antenna (not illustrated) of the command communication portion  92 . Further, the CPU  21  receives an instruction and information transmitted from the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  via the command communication portion  92 . 
     The image receiving portion  93  receives image data transmitted from the image transmitting portion  83  of the image forming apparatus  1  via the antenna (not illustrated), converts the image data into image data to be displayed on the display  51 , and displays the image data on the display  51 . In the present embodiment, the command communication portion  92  and the image receiving portion  93  have been described as portions separate from each other, but may be combined into one communication line. 
     Further, the wireless communication portion  91  performs wireless communication via the wireless communication portion  81  of the image forming apparatus  1  by Wi-Fi direct communication, which is a communication mode for directly connecting the image forming apparatus to the remote control panel. Miracast, which is a display transmission technology that applies this Wi-Fi direct communication method, is used in, for example, mobile phones, displays, projectors, and the like. The communication mode for directly connecting the image forming apparatus  1  to the remote control panel  50  may be a mode in which wireless communication is performed by another method such as Bluetooth or NFC instead of wireless communication by Wi-Fi. Further, the wireless communication portion  91  performs wireless communication via the network connection portion  84  of the image forming apparatus that can be connected via an access point (for example, a Wi-Fi router) in a communication mode that connects the image forming apparatus to the remote control panel  50 . Based on an instruction of the CPU  21 , the wireless communication portion  91  switches between a communication mode in which the image forming apparatus and the remote control panel are connected directly to each other and a communication mode in which the image forming apparatus and the remote control panel are connected to each other via the access point, and performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus. 
     The display  51  is a display portion capable of displaying information based on image data received from the image forming apparatus via the wireless communication portion  91 . Therefore, the display  51  outputs an image received from the image forming apparatus via the wireless communication portion  91 . 
     Further, as described above, the display  51  is a touch panel type display (operation display portion) in which the display portion and the touch panel  59 , which is an operation portion for detecting a touch operation from the user, are integrated. The display  51  is arranged such that the touch panel  59  overlaps the display  51 , and the user operates the display  51  by touching the display  51  via the touch panel  59  with a finger. 
     In this case, when the user operates the touch panel  59 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits information of the operation of the touch panel  59  to the image forming apparatus  1  as coordinate information. This will be described below.  FIG. 6B  is a diagram in which coordinates are displayed on the touch panel  59  of the remote control panel  50 . As illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the touch panel  59  is divided in an X direction and a Y direction. Although the number of divided sections depends on the touch panel method or the like, the resistance type touch panel of the present embodiment is divided into 2048 sections in the X direction and 1024 sections in the Y direction. 
     Coordinates are represented by (X, Y) according to the distance from the origin with reference to the origin (0, 0). For example, a position P illustrated in  FIG. 7B  is expressed as coordinates (1024, 512) since the position P is 1024 away from the origin in the X direction and 512 away from the origin in the Y direction. The coordinate data is transmitted from the touch panel  59  (see  FIG. 5 ) to the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50 , and is transmitted from the command communication portion  92  to the image forming apparatus  1  according to an instruction of the CPU  21 . In the present embodiment, data that is communicated between the image forming apparatus  1  and the remote control panel  50  has an 8-bit length, and the numerical values of the coordinate data are converted into ⅛ of the values and transmitted. That is, when the coordinates are (1024, 512), the coordinates are converted into (128, 64) and transmitted. 
     Further, the remote control panel  50  includes a panel power supply portion  56 . The panel power supply portion  56  includes a battery  57  and a power generation portion  58 . The battery  57  is a main power supply of the remote control panel  50  and is a rechargeable battery. When the charging connector  55  is connected to the power supply connector  73   a  of the image forming apparatus  1 , power is supplied from the power supply device  17  of the image forming apparatus  1  to the battery  57 , and the battery  57  is charged. Further, the power generation portion  58  adjusts the power of the battery  57  to a voltage that can be used by each device included in the remote control panel  50 . When the power supply of the power switch  52  is switched from off to on, the power adjusted by the power generation portion  58  is supplied to the panel controller  20 , the display  51 , the speaker portion  53 , the status display portion  54 , and the connection portion  90 . 
     Further, the remote control panel  50  includes a key operation input portion  26  in addition to the touch panel type display  51 . The key operation input portion  26  is a hardware key provided in an area other than the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 . The key operation input portion  26  has the power switch  52  that switches the power of the remote control panel  50  on and off as a hardware key. Further, the key operation input portion  26  may be provided with a collective status display key  68  (input portion) as a hardware key for inputting to acquire statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50 . In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the collective status display button  66  (see  FIG. 7A ) is displayed on the display  51  is exemplified. Therefore, in addition to the configuration in which the collective status display button  66  (see  FIG. 7A ) is displayed on the display  51 , the collective status display key  68  may be separately provided independently. Alternatively, the remote control panel  50  may be provided with the collective status display key  68 , which is a hardware key, without displaying a collective status display key on the display  51  (see  FIG. 7B ). The operation of the collective status display key  68  and the collective status display button  66  will be described later with reference to  FIG. 9 . 
     &lt;Wireless Communication Between Image Forming Apparatus and Remote Control Panel&gt; 
     Next, the wireless communication between the image forming apparatus  1  and the remote control panel  50  will be described with reference to  FIG. 6A .  FIG. 6A  is a diagram illustrating communication transition between the image forming apparatus  1  and the remote control panel  50 . 
     To perform wireless communication between the image forming apparatus  1  and the remote control panel  50 , the user first operates the main power switch  79  to activate the image forming apparatus  1  (S 11 ), and then operates the power switch  52  to activate the remote control panel  50  (S 21 ). 
     When the remote control panel  50  is activated, the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  sends a negotiation request to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  (S 22 ). Next, the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  transmits a response signal to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  (S 12 ). When the remote control panel  50  receives the response signal, the connection sequence ends and the wireless communication is established. 
     Next, conditions for wireless communication, such as a communication speed and an image compression rate, are mutually set in the image forming apparatus  1  and the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portions  82  and  92  (S 13 , S 23 ). 
     The remote control panel  50  can establish wireless communication not only with one image forming apparatus but also with a plurality of image forming apparatuses via the transmission and reception described above for each image forming apparatus, and perform the wireless communication described below. 
     When this setting is completed, the image data stored in the ROM  12  of the image forming apparatus  1  is transferred from the image transmitting portion  83  of the image forming apparatus  1  to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  in response to an instruction of the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  (S 14 ). 
     Next, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  converts the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  into an image, and displays the image on the display  51 . For example, a main menu screen including the collective status display button  66  and illustrated in  FIG. 7A  or a main menu screen not including the collective status display button  66  and illustrated in  FIG. 7B  is displayed on the display  51 . 
     After that, when the user operates the touch panel  59 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits the operation information of the touch panel  59  to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  via the command communication portion  92  (S 24 ). In this case, the CPU  21  transmits the operation information of the touch panel  59  to the image forming apparatus  1  as coordinate information. As described above, the touch panel  59  is arranged so as to overlap the display  51 , and the user touches the display  51  with a finger to operate the touch panel  59 . 
     The CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  determines which position the user has touched on the touch panel  59  of the remote control panel  50  based on input coordinate data. Then, according to the touched position, the remote control panel  50  is instructed to transmit the image data, control lighting of a lighting unit  25 , and instruct the speaker portion  53  to turn on and off the sound output (S 15 ,  16 ). 
     Then, when the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  receives the image data via the image receiving portion  93 , the CPU  21  displays the image data on the display  51 . For example, a screen showing the status of one image forming apparatus or a collective status display screen for collectively displaying statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses is displayed on the display  51 . 
     In addition to the case where the image forming apparatus  1  receives the operation information of the touch panel  59  from the remote control panel  50 , the image forming apparatus  1  gives the above-mentioned instructions to the remote control panel  50  according to the status of the image forming apparatus  1  and the status of the remote control panel  50 . 
     &lt;Collective Status Display Screen of Remote Control Panel  50 &gt; 
     Next, screen transition when the touch panel  59  of the remote control panel  50  is operated to collectively display statuses will be described using  FIGS. 7A and 7B .  FIGS. 7A and 7B  are diagrams illustrating examples of an image displayed on the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 . 
     The display  51  of the remote control panel  50  first displays the main menu screen, which is the image illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B , by default. The image (main menu screen) illustrated in  FIG. 7A  or  FIG. 7B  is transmitted from the image transmitting portion  83  to the image receiving portion  93  in the process of S 14  illustrated in  FIG. 6A  described above. 
     On this main menu screen, a scan button  61  for setting the reader  14 , a copy button  62  for setting the image forming unit  15 , a fax button  63  for setting a facsimile, a display status button  64 , and an arrow button  65  for switching the screen to the next page are displayed. Further, on the main menu screen, the name (MFP1 in this case)  69  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated and a set button  67  are displayed. Further, on the main menu screen, the collective status display button  66  (input unit) for inputting (instructing) to acquire statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50  is displayed. 
     In the configuration in which the collective status display button  66  is displayed on the display  51 , the main menu screen including the collective status display button  66  is displayed on the display  51  as illustrated in  FIG. 7A . The CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  reads the image data stored in the ROM  12  and transmits the image data of the main menu screen including the collective status display button  66  to the remote control panel  50 . The transmitted image data is received by the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  and displayed on the display  51 . 
     Alternatively, in a configuration in which the collective status display button  66  is not displayed on the display  51  and the collective status display key  68  (key operation input portion) is provided on the remote control panel  50 , an image of the main menu screen that does not include the collective status display button  66  is displayed as illustrated in  FIG. 7B . The CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  reads the image data stored in the ROM  12  and transmits the image data of the main menu screen not including the collective status display button  66  to the remote control panel  50 . The transmitted image data is received by the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  and displayed on the display  51 . 
     Alternatively, although not illustrated, in addition to the configuration in which the collective status display button  66  is displayed on the display  51 , the remote control panel  50  may be provided with the hardware key of the collective status display key  68 . In this case, as illustrated in  FIG. 7A , the main menu screen including the collective status display button  66  is displayed on the display  51 . 
     When the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  determines that the user has selected the copy button  62  from the coordinate data transmitted from the remote control panel  50 , the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  transmits an image (not illustrated) of a copy instruction screen to the image receiving portion  93  via the image transmitting portion  83 . As a result, the image (not illustrated) of the copy instruction screen is displayed on the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 . In this way, the user operates the image forming apparatus  1  from the remote control panel  50 . 
     When the user wants to change the image forming apparatus to be operated by the remote control panel  50 , the user can change the image forming apparatus by operating the set button  67 . The set button  67  on the main menu screen is selected to display a connection destination setting screen (not illustrated) on the display  51 . On the connection destination setting screen (not illustrated), a list of image forming apparatuses that are wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50  is displayed. For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , it is assumed that four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  whose names are “MFP1” to “MFP4” are wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50 . On the connection destination setting screen (not illustrated), one of the image forming apparatuses with the names “MFP1” to “MFP4” displayed in the list is selected as an image forming apparatus to be operated. When “MFP4” is selected as an apparatus to be operated, the name  69  of the image forming apparatus illustrated in  FIG. 7A  is changed to “MFP4”, and MFP4 can be operated. In this way, one remote control panel  50  can switch the connection destination to operate a plurality of image forming apparatuses. 
     The establishment of wireless connection with a plurality of image forming apparatuses by the remote control panel  50  and the acquisition of the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses with the established wireless connection will be described later. 
     &lt;Control of Collective Status Display&gt; 
     Next, the control of the collective status display for collectively displaying statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses by one remote control panel will be described with reference to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating a process procedure for the collective status display by the CPU  21  (controller) of the remote control panel  50 . 
     In the following case, as the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 ,  144  having the names “MFP1” to “MFP4” are exemplified as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  are in a state in which their main power switches  79  are operated and activated, and are in a state in which the image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  can be wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50 . 
     Then, the user operates the power switch  52  of the remote control panel  50  to activate the remote control panel  50 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  is started, and proceeds to S 151  illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
     In S 151 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  initializes the inside of the remote control panel  50 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 152 . 
     In S 152 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  performs processing for communication connection to the image forming apparatus  1 . The processing for the communication connection between the remote control panel  50  and the image forming apparatus  1  will be described with reference to  FIG. 6A . 
     That is, when the remote control panel  50  is activated, a negotiation request is transmitted from the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  (S 22 ). Next, the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  transmits a response signal to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  (S 12 ). When the remote control panel  50  receives the response signal, the connection sequence ends and wireless communication between the remote control panel  50  and the image forming apparatus  1  is established. The CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  sets one image forming apparatus for which wireless communication has been established as an image forming apparatus currently to be operated by the remote control panel  50 . 
     Next, conditions for wireless communication, such as a communication speed and an image compression rate, are mutually set in the image forming apparatus  1  and the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portions  82  and  92  (S 13 , S 23 ). When this setting is completed, the image data stored in the ROM  12  is transmitted from the image transmitting portion  83  of the image forming apparatus  1  to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  according to an instruction of the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  (S 14 ). In this case, the image data transmitted to the remote control panel  50  is the image data of the main menu screen including the collective status display button  66  illustrated in  FIG. 7A . 
     In this case, the image data transmitted to the remote control panel  50  is not limited to the image data illustrated in  FIG. 7A . In the configuration in which the collective status display button  66  is not displayed on the display  51  and the hardware key of the collective status display key  68  is provided on the remote control panel  50 , the image data is the image data illustrated in  FIG. 7B . In addition to the configuration (not illustrated) in which the collective status display button  66  is displayed on the display  51 , the image data is the image data illustrated in  FIG. 7A  in the configuration in which the remote control panel  50  is provided with the hardware key of the collective status display key  68 . 
     Next, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  displays the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  on the display  51 . In this case, the CPU  21  displays the main menu screen including the collective status display button  66  illustrated in  FIG. 7A  on the display  51 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 153 . When there is no room to provide the collective status display button  66  on the screen layout, or when the user wants to be informed of a collective status display function, the hardware key of the collective status display key  68  may be provided. In the configuration in which the hardware key of the collective status display key  68  is provided on the remote control panel  50 , image data to be displayed on the display  51  may be the image data illustrated in  FIG. 7B  or  FIG. 7A . 
     In S 153 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  determines whether an operation instruction has been given by the user via the display  51  (touch panel  59 ) or the key operation input portion  26 . When the CPU  21  determines that the operation instruction has been given by the user, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 154 . When the CPU  21  determines that the operation instruction has not given by the user, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 152 . 
     In S 154 , the CPU  21  determines whether the user has instructed to perform collectively display statuses. That is, the CPU  21  determines whether or not an instruction to acquire the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses (four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 ,  144  in this case) has been given via the collective status display button  66  (or the collective status display key  68 ). When the user operates the collective status display button  66  (or the collective status display key  68 ) of the touch panel  59  and the CPU  21  determines that the above-mentioned instruction has been given via the collective status display button  66 , the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 157  to collectively display the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatus. On the other hand, when the CPU  21  determines that an operation instruction other than the above-mentioned instruction has been provided via the collective status display button  66 , the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 155 . 
     It should be noted that the acquisition of the status of each image forming apparatus does not have to be performed only when the user gives an instruction to collectively display the statuses as a trigger, as in the above example. For example, the status may be transmitted from each image forming apparatus to the remote control panel  50  periodically (or at arbitrary times) such as every 60 seconds or every 30 seconds. The acquired information on the status of each image forming apparatus is temporarily stored in the RAM  23 . Then, when the user gives an instruction to collectively display the statuses, the status of each image forming apparatus temporarily stored in the RAM  23  may be called. When the user does not instruct to perform the collective status display, the information regarding the status of each image forming apparatus and newly sent from each image forming apparatus is overwritten. In this way, the information regarding the status of each image forming apparatus and periodically acquired from each image forming apparatus may be used when the user gives an instruction to collectively display the statuses. 
     In S 155 , the CPU  21  performs processing other than the collective status display for which the operation instruction was given by the user in S 154 . That is, copying other than the collective status display and other operation instructions are performed on the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated. For example, when the display status button  64  illustrated in  FIG. 7A  is operated, the operation information of the touch panel  59  is transmitted to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  acquires the status of the image forming apparatus  1 , and transmits image data regarding the status of the image forming apparatus  1  from the image transmitting portion  83  of the image forming apparatus  1  to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50 . The CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  displays the received image data on the display  51 . In this way, the status of only one image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated is displayed on the display  51 . When the operation instructed is completed, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 156 . 
     In S 156 , the CPU  21  shifts to its standby state. That is, the remote control panel  50  shifts to its standby state and waits for the next instruction of the user. 
     In S 157 , the CPU  21  performs the process of collectively displaying statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses according to the operation instruction given from the user in S 154 . In the embodiment, the statuses are acquired from the four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144 . 
     The CPU  21  establishes wireless connection with a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated (connection process) in response to an instruction given by the user via the collective status display button  66  (or the collective status display key  68 ) and sequentially acquires the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated (acquisition process). 
     First, when the user presses the collective status display button  66 , the CPU  21  transmits a negotiation request signal to a predetermined range from the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50 . Then, a response signal is transmitted from each of the command communication portions  82  of the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  within the range of the above-mentioned signal to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50 . The CPU  21  sequentially receives the response signal from each image forming apparatus, and sequentially establishes wireless connection to each image forming apparatus that has transmitted the response signal. For example, to perform Wi-Fi direct communication, the wireless communication portion  91  (third wireless communication unit) of the remote control panel  50  (wireless operation unit) connects to the wireless communication portion (corresponding to the first wireless communication unit) of the first image forming apparatus  1  via wireless communication without a wireless LAN router. Then, after the wireless communication connection between the wireless communication portion  91  and the first wireless communication unit is disconnected, the wireless communication portion  91  connects to the wireless communication portion (second wireless communication unit) of the second image forming apparatus  142  via wireless communication. In a method for communication without a wireless LAN router, such as Wi-Fi direct communication, the wireless communication portion  91  connects individually to each image forming apparatus. Therefore, to wirelessly communicate with another image forming apparatus, it is necessary to disconnect wireless communication connection to an image forming apparatus that was originally in a connected state. 
     The process of connecting the image forming apparatuses to each other via wireless communication in this way is referred to as a connection process. When the wireless communication portion  91  and the first wireless communication unit connect to each other via wireless communication in the connection process, the wireless communication portion  91  acquires status information (first status information) of the first image forming apparatus via wireless communication. This process corresponds to a first acquisition process. After that, the wireless communication portion  91  and the second wireless communication unit connect to each other via wireless communication again, and the wireless communication portion  91  acquires status information (second status information) of the second image forming apparatus via wireless communication. This process corresponds to a second acquisition process. 
     That is, when the collective status display button  66  is pressed by the user, the remote control panel  50  acquires status information of each image forming apparatus according to the following procedure. 
     (1) In the connection process (first connection process), the wireless communication connection between the wireless communication portion  91  and the first wireless communication unit is established. 
     (2) In the first acquisition process, the wireless communication portion  91  (acquiring unit) acquires the status information (first status information) of the first image forming apparatus via wireless communication. 
     (3) The connection process (second connection process) is resumed, and the wireless communication connection between the wireless communication portion  91  and the second wireless communication unit is established. 
     (4) In the second acquisition process, the wireless communication portion  91  (acquiring unit) acquires the status information (second status information) of the second image forming apparatus via wireless communication. 
     After that, the first status information and the second status information are displayed side by side on the display  51  (display process). 
     In this way, the CPU  21  identifies a plurality of image forming apparatuses to which a status acquisition command is transmitted, and acquires a list of the image forming apparatuses to be collectively displayed from the remote control panel  50 . 
     Next, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits the status acquisition command to each of the command communication portions  82  of the image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  identified as targets of the collective status display via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of each of the image forming apparatuses transmits the status of the image forming apparatus to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portion  82 . In this way, the remote control panel  50  can acquire the status of each of the image forming apparatuses that are the targets of the collective status display. In the present embodiment, the case where any one of “printing”, “standby”, “sleep”, and “JAM” is acquired as the status of each of the image forming apparatuses is exemplified. However, the status of each of the image forming apparatuses that is to be acquired is not limited thereto, and can be appropriately set to a status such as “out of paper” when there is no remaining sheet or “out of toner” when there is no remaining amount of toner. Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 158 . 
     In S 158 , the CPU  21  updates the display on the display  51  by using the status information acquired from each of the image forming apparatuses identified as the targets of the collective status display. Specifically, the CPU  21  transmits the status information acquired from the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated reads image data from the ROM  12 , and transmits the read image data to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  via the image transmitting portion  83 . Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  updates the display on the display  51  by displaying the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  on the display  51 . That is, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  from the main menu screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to the collective status display screen in which the statuses of the image forming apparatuses illustrated in  FIG. 10A  are displayed side by side. 
     The CPU  21  collectively displays the status  101  (first status information) of MFP1, the status  102  (second status information) of MFP2, the status  103  of MFP3, and the status  104  of MFP4 on the collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A . A case is exemplified in which, on the collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A , the status  101  of MFP1 is “printing”, the status  102  of MFP2 is “standby”, the status  103  of MFP3 is “sleep”, and the status  104  of MFP4 is “JAM”. As in this example, the “status information” includes information indicating whether or not image formation based on a job input to each image forming apparatus is being performed, the state of the power supply of each image forming apparatus, error information of each image forming apparatus, and the like. In addition, the “status information” also includes information indicating the number of jobs accepted by each image forming apparatus, and information indicating the type of an optional device connected to each image forming apparatus. Further, on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A , the CPU  21  displays a button  105  for exiting the collective status display and returning to the operation of MFP1, and an update button  107 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 159 . In this case, MFP1 is the name of the image forming apparatus  1 , MFP2 is the name of the image forming apparatus  142 , MFP3 is the name of the image forming apparatus  143 , and MFP4 is the name of the image forming apparatus  144 . 
     In S 159 , the CPU  21  determines whether a display end instruction has been given. In the embodiment, when the CPU  21  determines that the button  105  for returning to the operation of MFP1, which is the image forming apparatus  1  and currently to be operated, has been operated on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A , the CPU  21  ends the collective status display and causes the process to shift to S 155 . When the user touches the status  101  of MFP1 and selects and operates the status display of the image forming apparatus  1 , the CPU  21  ends the collective status display and the process shifts to S 155  to perform a process of displaying only the status of the image forming apparatus  1 . Otherwise, the CPU  21  causes the process to shift to S 1510 . 
     In S 1510 , the CPU  21  determines whether a condition for status reacquisition is satisfied. In the present embodiment, when the user operates the update button  107  on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A , when another operation is performed on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A , or when a certain time elapses from the time when the timer  24  starts counting time, the CPU  21  determines that the condition for the status reacquisition is satisfied, and the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 157 . Otherwise, the process of the CPU  21  returns to S 159 . 
     As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the image forming system in which wireless communication can be performed between an image forming apparatus and the remote control panel, a user can operate the one remote control panel to collectively display statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on the one remote control panel, and the convenience can be improved. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Next, an image forming system according to the second embodiment will be described. Since the schematic configuration of the entire image forming system is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted here. 
     In the present embodiment, in the case where statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses are displayed on the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 , a detail of one selected image forming apparatus is displayed in addition to the status of each image forming apparatus. In this case, the detailed display of the one image forming apparatus is a more detailed status than the displayed statuses (simple display) of the plurality of image forming apparatus. 
     In the second embodiment, a process is performed according to the same flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9  as in the first embodiment. Since the overlapping parts have the same processing and the same reference signs, the description thereof will be omitted. 
     In S 157  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits a status acquisition command to the command communication portion  82  of each of the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  identified as targets of collective status display via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of each of the image forming apparatuses transmits the status of the image forming apparatus to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portion  82 . 
     In this case, in the above-described embodiment, the CPU  21  acquires any one of “printing”, “standby”, “sleep”, and “JAM” as the status of each image forming apparatus that is to be acquired. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, for one selected image forming apparatus, not only the status of the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, but also the size, type, and remaining amount of a sheet stored in a sheet cassette and a remaining amount of a processing device are acquired as the status of the image forming apparatus. In this case, the one selected image forming apparatus sets the one image forming apparatus (MFP) selected as the image forming apparatus currently to be operated as a detailed display target in S 152  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
     Then, in S 158  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the CPU  21  updates the display on the display  51  by using the status information acquired from each of the image forming apparatuses identified as the targets of the collective status display. Specifically, the CPU  21  transmits the status information acquired from the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated reads image data from the ROM  12  according to the acquired status information of each image forming apparatus, and transmits the read image data to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  via the image transmitting portion  83 . Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  updates the display on the display  51  by displaying the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  on the display  51 . That is, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  from the main menu screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 10B . 
     That is, the remote control panel  50  collectively displays, on the display  51 , the simple display ( 101  to  104 ) indicating the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the detailed display ( 110 ) indicating a more detailed status of one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses than the simple display. 
     The CPU  21  displays the detailed display  110  of the MFP1, which is one selected image forming apparatus  1 , on the collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 10B . Further, the status  101  (simple display) of MFP1, the status  102  (simple display) of MFP2, the status  103  (simple display) of MFP3, and the status  104  (simple display) of MFP4 are displayed side by side next to the detailed display  110  of MFP1 from the upper side to the lower side of the screen. MFP1 to MFP4 are the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated. The detailed display  110  of the one selected MFP is displayed in a larger region than a region in which the status (simple display) of each MFP to be operated is displayed. Further, the CPU  21  displays a button  105  for exiting the collective status display and returning to the operation of the image forming apparatus  1 , and an update button  107  on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 10B . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 10A , status information of each image forming apparatus has an item. In  FIG. 10A , an example of the status information of MFP1 has only one item. However, the number of items displayed in this case is not limited to one, and may be two or more. As illustrated in  FIG. 10B , a plurality of items constituting the status information is present on a detailed display screen. At least, the number (second number) of items that constitute the status information displayed on the detailed display screen is greater than the number (first number) of items that constitute the status information displayed on a simple display screen. By displaying the details in this way, the status information of each image forming apparatus can be displayed in detail. 
     Further, in S 1510  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , when the user touches and selects any of the statuses  101  to  104  of the four MFPs on the screen displayed on the display  51  and illustrated in  FIG. 10B , the CPU  21  determines that the condition for reacquiring the status of the image forming apparatus is satisfied. That is, when the user touches and selects any of the statuses  101  to  104  of the MFPs displayed on the display  51 , the one selected MFP is set as a target for the detailed display. In that case, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 157 . Then, the detailed status of the MFP selected in S 157  is acquired, and the detailed status of the MFP selected in S 158  is changed to be a status displayed in the detailed display  110  in the larger region. For example, the user touches the status  104  of MFP4, which is the name of the image forming apparatus  144 , among the statuses  101  to  104  of the four MFPs on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 10B . Then, the screen displayed on the display  51  is switched from the collective status display screen including the detailed display  110  of MFP1 illustrated in  FIG. 10B  to a collective status display screen including the detailed display  110  of MFP4 illustrated in  FIG. 14B . 
     Other configurations and processes are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here. 
     As described above, according to the second embodiment, the user can collectively display statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on one remote control panel by operating the one remote control panel, and refer to detailed display of one selected apparatus, and the convenience can be improved. 
     Third Embodiment 
     Next, an image forming system according to the third embodiment will be described. Since the schematic configuration of the entire image forming system is the same as those of the above-described embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted here. 
     In the present embodiment, the display  51  of the remote control panel  50  is used to collectively display statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses. In this case, among the acquired statuses of the image forming apparatuses, the status of an image forming apparatus in an important status that needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention is displayed by a method different from that for the other image forming apparatuses. 
     In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus in the important status is displayed on the display  51  as telop display. In this case, the telop display means that characters to be displayed are displayed so as to flow in the horizontal direction of the screen. In the telop display, the next still image, which is slightly different from the previous still image, is sequentially transmitted from the image forming apparatus and displayed on the display of the remote control panel, so that the image (characters to be displayed) is displayed to flow on the display. 
     It is defined that the response (that is, the status of the image forming apparatus) of the image forming apparatus that receives a status acquisition command from the remote control panel  50  is one of “printing”, “standby”, “sleep”, and “JAM”. Further, among the acquired statuses (responses) of the image forming apparatuses, a response, which indicates an important status that needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention, is defined as “JAM”. In this case, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  causes a response (“JAM” in this case) determined to indicate the important status to be stored in the ROM  22  and determines the response in advance. When the response obtained in response to the status acquisition command matches the stored response, the CPU  21  determines that the image forming apparatus is in the important status. The type of response of the image forming apparatus to the status acquisition command and the important status indicated by the response are not limited thereto, and should be set as appropriate. 
     In the third embodiment, a process is performed according to the same flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9  as in the first embodiment. Since the overlapping parts have the same processing and the same reference signs, the description thereof will be omitted. 
     In S 157  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits a status acquisition command to the command communication portion  82  of each of the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  identified as targets of the collective status display via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of each of the image forming apparatuses transmits the status of the image forming apparatus to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portion  82 . 
     Then, in S 158  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the CPU  21  updates the display on the display  51  by using the status information acquired from each of the image forming apparatuses identified as the targets of the collective status display. Specifically, the CPU  21  transmits the status information acquired from the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated reads image data from the ROM  12 , and transmits the read image data to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  via the image transmitting portion  83 . 
     In this case, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  causes a response determined to indicate the important status to be stored in the ROM  22  and determines the response in advance. When the response obtained in response to the status acquisition command matches the response stored in the ROM  22 , the CPU  21  determines that the image forming apparatus is in the important status. Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits information according to this determination to the image forming apparatus  1 , and acquires image data corresponding to the information from the image forming apparatus  1 . 
     Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  updates the display on the display  51  by displaying the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  on the display  51 . That is, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  from the main menu screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 11A . 
     Alternatively, when one selected image forming apparatus is set, the screen displayed on the display  51  may be switched to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 11B . 
     As a result, on the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 , the status of the MFP determined to be in the important status (JAM of MFP4 occurs in this case) is displayed as a telop in addition to the collectively displayed statuses of the MFPs. That is, on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 11A , the statuses of the MFPs are collectively displayed, and the occurrence of JAM of MFP4 in the important status is displayed as a telop. On the screen illustrated in  FIG. 11B , the detailed display of one selected MFP and the status of each MFP are collectively displayed, and the occurrence of JAM of MFP  4  in the important status is displayed as a telop. 
     Other configurations and processes are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here. 
     As described above, according to the third embodiment, the user can be notified of the important status of the image forming apparatus while collectively displaying the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses by operating from the one remote control panel, and the convenience can be improved. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     Next, an image forming system according to the fourth embodiment will be described. Since the schematic configuration of the entire image forming system is the same as those of the above-described embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted here. 
     In the present embodiment, the display  51  of the remote control panel  50  is used to collectively display statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses. In this case, a status display region for an important status that is among the acquired statuses of the image forming apparatuses and needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention is displayed in a method different from that of other status display regions. Specifically, the status display region of the image forming apparatus that needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention is displayed by changing a color of the status display region, blinking the status display region, displaying a symbol (mark) that is called to the user&#39;s attention, or changing the position of the status display region. 
     In this case, blinking the status display region means that, similarly to the telop display, the next still image slightly different from the previous still image is sequentially transmitted from the image forming apparatus and displayed on the display of the remote control panel, and blinks on the display. 
     Further, among the acquired statuses of the image forming apparatuses, the important status that needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention is the same as that in the third embodiment described above. Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  causes a response determined to indicate the important status to be stored in the ROM  22  and determines the response in advance. When the response obtained in response to the status acquisition command matches the response stored in the ROM  22 , the CPU  21  determines that the image forming apparatus is in the important status. This is also the same as the third embodiment described above. 
     In the fourth embodiment, a process is performed according to the same flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9  as in the first embodiment. Since the overlapping parts have the same processing and the same reference signs, the description thereof will be omitted. 
     Then, in S 158  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the CPU  21  updates the display on the display  51  by using the status information acquired from each of the image forming apparatuses identified as the targets of the collective status display. Specifically, the CPU  21  transmits the status information acquired from the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated reads image data from the ROM  12 , and transmits the read image data to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  via the image transmitting portion  83 . 
     In this case, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  stores a response determined to indicate the important status to be stored in the ROM  22  and determines the response in advance. When the response obtained in response to the status acquisition command matches the response stored in the ROM  22 , the CPU  11  determines that the image forming apparatus is in the important status. Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits information according to this determination to the image forming apparatus  1 , and acquires image data corresponding to the information from the image forming apparatus  1 . 
     Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  updates the display on the display  51  by displaying the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  on the display  51 . That is, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  from the main menu screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 12A . In this case, the CPU  21  changes the status display region of MFP4 to a color (red) different from other status display regions and displays the status display region of MFP4. 
     Alternatively, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 12B . In this case, the CPU  21  displays the important status by adding a caution symbol (mark !) in front of the name of MFP4 in the status JAM in the status display region of MFP4. 
     Alternatively, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 13A . In this case, the CPU  21  blinks the status display region of MFP4 and displays the important status. 
     Alternatively, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 13B . In this case, the CPU  21  changes the order of the status display regions of the MFPs and displays the statuses of the MFPs such that the status display region of MFP4 in the important status is at a noticeable position (on the upper left side of the screen in this case) on the screen and the status display regions of the other MFPs are at positions following the noticeable position. That is, the CPU  21  displays the status display regions of the MFPs in order from the status display region of MFP4 in the important status while prioritizing the status display region of MFP4 in the important status over the status display regions of the other MFPs. 
     Alternatively, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  to the collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 10A , and further switches the screen to a detailed display screen of the MFP in the important status as illustrated in  FIG. 14A . In this case, the CPU  21  collectively displays the status of each MFP as illustrated in  FIG. 10A . After that, as illustrated in  FIG. 14A , the CPU  21  switches the screen to a screen in which the detailed display  110  of MFP4 and the button  105  for returning to the operation of the image forming apparatus  1  are displayed as illustrated in  FIG. 14A  for the status of MFP4 in the important status among MFPs collectively displayed. 
     Other configurations and processes are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here. 
     As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, when the user collectively displays statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on one remote control panel by operating from the one remote control panel, the important status of the image forming apparatus can be notified to the user, and convenience can be improved. 
     Fifth Embodiment 
     Next, an image forming system according to the fifth embodiment will be described. Since the schematic configuration of the entire image forming system is the same as those of the above-described embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted here. 
     The fifth embodiment is a combination of the configuration described in the second embodiment and the configuration described in the fourth embodiment. 
     That is, in the fifth embodiment, as described with reference to  FIG. 10B , in the case where statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses are collectively displayed on the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 , the status of each image forming apparatus and detailed display of one selected image forming apparatus are displayed. In this case, the detailed display of the one image forming apparatus is a more detailed status than the displayed statuses (simple display) of the plurality of image forming apparatus. 
     Moreover, in the fifth embodiment, the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses are collectively displayed on the display  51  of the remote control panel  50 . In this case, as described with reference to  FIGS. 12A to 13B and 14A , a status display region for displaying a status that is among the acquired statuses of the image forming apparatuses and needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention is displayed in a different manner from the other status display regions. 
     Specifically, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  from the main menu screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to a collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B , or  14 B. 
     That is, the remote control panel  50  collectively displays, on the display  51 , the simple display ( 101  to  104 ) indicating the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the detailed display ( 110 ) indicating a more detailed status of one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses than the simple display. 
     On the collective display screen illustrated in  FIG. 15A , the detailed display  110  of MFP1, which is the one selected image forming apparatus  1 , is displayed. Further, the status  101  (simple display) of MFP1, the status  102  (simple display) of MFP2, the status  103  (simple display) of MFP3, and the status  104  (simple display) of MFP4 are displayed side by side next to the detailed display  110 . MFP1 to MFP4 are the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated. Moreover, the status display region of MFP4 is changed to a color (red) different from the other status display regions and the important status is displayed. In this case, as described above, the important status is a status that needs to be called to the user&#39;s attention among the acquired statuses of the image forming apparatuses. 
     On the collective display screen illustrated in  FIG. 15B , the detailed display  110  of MFP1, which is the one selected image forming apparatus  1 , and the statuses  101  to  104  (simple display) of MFP1 to MFP4, which are the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated, are displayed side by side from the top to the bottom of the screen. In addition, the important status is displayed by adding a caution symbol (mark !) in front of the name of MFP4 in the status JAM in the status display region of MFP4. 
     On the collective display screen illustrated in  FIG. 16A , the detailed display  110  of MFP1, which is the one selected image forming apparatus  1 , and the statuses  101  to  104  (simple display) of MFP1 to MFP4, which are the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated, are displayed side by side from the top to the bottom of the screen. In addition, the status display region of MFP4 is blinked and the important status is displayed. 
     On the collective display screen illustrated in  FIG. 16B , the detailed display  110  of MFP1, which is the one selected image forming apparatus  1 , and the statuses  101  to  104  (simple display) of MFP1 to MFP4, which are the plurality of image forming apparatuses to be operated, are displayed side by side from the top to the bottom of the screen. In addition, the order of the status display regions of the MFPs is changed such that the status display region of MFP4 in the important status is at a noticeable position (upper side of the screen) on the screen, and the status display regions of the other MFPs are at positions following the noticeable position. That is, the status display regions of the MFPs are displayed in order from the status display region of MFP4 in the important status, while the status display region of MFP4 is prioritized over the status display regions of the other MFPs. 
     The collective display screen illustrated in  FIG. 14B  can be switched as follows. The CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  switches the screen displayed on the display  51  from the main menu screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to the collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 10B , and further switches the screen to the detailed display screen of the MFP in the important status illustrated in  FIG. 14B . After displaying the detailed display of the one selected MFP and collectively displaying the statuses of the MFPs as illustrated in  FIG. 10A , the CPU  21  switches the screen to the screen in which the detailed display  110  of MFP4 in the important status among the MFPs is displayed as illustrated in  FIG. 14B . 
     In the fifth embodiment, a process is performed according to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , which is the same as in the first embodiment. Further, a process procedure from the transmission of a status acquisition command from the CPU of the remote control panel to switching to the collective status display screen illustrated in  FIG. 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B , or  14 B is almost the same as the above-mentioned embodiment. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted here. 
     As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, when the user collectively displays statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on one remote control panel by operating from the one remote control panel, the important status of an image forming apparatus can be notified to the user, and the convenience can be improved. 
     Sixth Embodiment 
     Next, an image forming system according to the sixth embodiment will be described. Since the schematic configuration of the entire image forming system is the same as those of the above-described embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted here. 
     In the sixth embodiment, a process of setting a multiple apparatus display mode or a single apparatus detailed display mode is added. In the multiple apparatus display mode, statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses are collectively displayed. In the single apparatus detailed display mode, the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses are collectively displayed and detailed display of one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is displayed. The display mode set in this case is stored in the ROM  22  of the remote control panel  50 . The CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  collectively displays statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses on the display  51  immediately after the remote control panel  50  is activated according to the display mode stored in the ROM  22 . In this case, the detailed display of the one image forming apparatus is a more detailed status than the displayed statuses (simple display) of the plurality of image forming apparatus. 
     Note that  FIG. 17  illustrates a flowchart of a process of setting the collective status display of the remote control panel according to the sixth embodiment. Except for the mode setting described with reference to  FIG. 17 , a process is performed according to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9  in the first embodiment. In the sixth embodiment, the case where a series of additional processes of setting the display mode illustrated in  FIG. 17  is performed by the initialization routine of S 151 , which is the first process of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , will be described as an example. 
     The remote control panel  50  according to the sixth embodiment displays a screen for setting the display mode, prompts the user to set the display mode, stores the set display mode in the ROM, and performs the collective status display according to the setting for the display mode stored in the ROM immediately after the activation of the remote control panel  50 . 
     &lt;Additional Process of Controlling Collective Status Display&gt; 
     Next, with reference to  FIG. 17 , an additional process of controlling the collective status display ( FIG. 9 ) for collectively displaying statuses of a plurality of image forming apparatuses by one remote control panel will be described. 
     In the following case, as the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 ,  144  having the names “MFP1” to “MFP4” are exemplified as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  are in a state in which their main power switches  79  are operated and activated, and are in a state in which the image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  can be wirelessly connected to the remote control panel  50 . 
     Then, the user operates the power switch  52  of the remote control panel  50  to activate the remote control panel  50 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  is started, and proceeds to S 151  illustrated in  FIG. 9 . In the initialization routine of S 151  illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the series of processes illustrated in  FIG. 17  is performed. After the series of processes is performed, the process proceeds to S 153  illustrated in  FIG. 9 . The series of additional processes illustrated in  FIG. 17  will be described below. 
     In S 161 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  initializes the inside of the remote control panel  50 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 162 . 
     In S 162 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  performs processing for communication connection to the image forming apparatus  1 . In this case, the processing for the communication connection between the remote control panel  50  and the image forming apparatus  1  has been described with reference to  FIG. 6A  in the first embodiment described above, and thus is omitted here. Then, after the processing for the communication connection is performed, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 163 . 
     In S 163 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  determines whether or not the display mode has been set by referring to the setting for the display mode stored in the ROM  22  of the remote control panel  50 . When the remote control panel  50  is activated for the first time, the display mode is not set, so the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 164 . When the remote control panel  50  is activated after the display mode is set, the display mode has already been set, so the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 169 . 
     In S 164 , the CPU  21  acquires the statuses from the image forming apparatuses. In this embodiment, the CPU  21  acquires each of the statuses from the four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144 . 
     First, the CPU  21  transmits a negotiation request signal to a predetermined range from the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50 . Then, a response signal is transmitted from each of the command communication portions  82  of the image forming apparatuses  1 , 142 , 143 , and  144  within the range of the above-mentioned signal to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50 . The CPU  21  sequentially receives the response signal from each image forming apparatus, and sequentially establishes wireless connection to each image forming apparatus that has transmitted the response signal. In this way, the CPU  21  identifies a plurality of image forming apparatuses to which the status acquisition command is transmitted, and acquires a list of the image forming apparatuses to be collectively displayed from the remote control panel  50 . 
     Next, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  transmits the status acquisition command to each of the command communication portions  82  of the image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  identified as targets of the collective status display via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of each of the image forming apparatuses transmits the status of the image forming apparatus to the command communication portion  92  of the remote control panel  50  via the command communication portion  82 . In this way, the remote control panel  50  can acquire the status of each of the image forming apparatuses that are the targets of the collective status display. 
     In the present embodiment, the case where any one of “printing”, “standby”, “sleep”, and “JAM” is acquired as the status of each of the image forming apparatuses is exemplified. However, the status of each of the image forming apparatuses that is to be acquired is not limited thereto, and can be appropriately set to a status such as “out of paper” when there is no remaining sheet or “out of toner” when there is no remaining amount of toner. Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 165 . 
     In S 165 , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  performs a selection input process on the display mode. The CPU  21  transmits the status information acquired from the four image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144  to the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated via the command communication portion  92 . Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated reads image data from the ROM  12  and transmits the read image data to the image receiving portion  93  of the remote control panel  50  via the image transmitting portion  83 . Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  displays the image data received via the image receiving portion  93  on the display  51 . Specifically, the display  51  displays a setting screen in which a single apparatus detailed display button  120  for selecting the single apparatus detailed display mode as illustrated in  FIG. 18A  and a multiple apparatus display button  121  for selecting the multiple apparatus display mode are displayed, and prompts the user to select a setting for the collective status display. When the CPU  21  detects that one of the buttons has been selected by the user, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 166 . 
     Alternatively, in the standby state of the image forming apparatus, the user may operate the set button  67  on the screen illustrated in  FIG. 7A or 7B  to perform the above-mentioned selection input process of S 165 . 
     In S 166 , the CPU  21  determines whether the user has set the single apparatus detailed display mode (single apparatus detailed display setting) and branches the process. When the CPU  21  determines that an instruction has been given by operating the single apparatus detailed display button  120  on the touch panel  59 , the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 168 . On the other hand, when the CPU  21  determines that an instruction has been given by operating the multiple apparatus display button  121  on the touch panel  59 , the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 167 . 
     In S 167 , the CPU  21  causes the multiple apparatus display mode corresponding to the instruction given by operating the multiple apparatus display button  121  to be stored as a display setting in the ROM  22 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 169 . 
     In S 168 , the CPU  21  causes the single apparatus detailed display mode corresponding to the instruction given by operating the single apparatus detailed display button  120  to be stored as a display setting in the ROM  22 . In this case, the CPU  21  transmits the statuses of the image forming apparatuses acquired in S 164  to the image forming apparatus  1  currently to be operated. Then, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  transmits image data illustrated in  FIG. 18B  from the image transmitting portion  83 . The CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  displays, on the display  51 , a screen in which the statuses  101  to  104  of the four MFP1 to MFP4 and the button  105  for exiting the collective status display and returning to the operation of MFP1 are displayed, and prompts the user to select and input an image forming apparatus for which detailed display is to be performed. When the user selects MFP4 as the detailed display target from a screen illustrated in  FIG. 18B , the CPU  21  causes information of the image forming apparatus in addition to the display setting of the single apparatus detailed display mode to be stored as a display setting in the ROM  22  of the remote control panel  50 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 169 . 
     In S 169 , the CPU  21  acquires the statuses from the image forming apparatuses. In the present embodiment, the statuses are acquired from the image forming apparatuses  1 ,  142 ,  143 , and  144 . Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 1610 . 
     In S 1610 , the CPU  21  refers to the display setting stored in the ROM  22  and switches the screen displayed on the display  51  to the screen corresponding to the display setting. The CPU  21  refers to the display setting stored in the ROM  22  and transmits information indicating which display mode the CPU  21  is operating in to the command communication portion  82  of the image forming apparatus  1  via the command communication portion  92 . 
     In this case, when the display setting is the multiple apparatus display mode, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  transmits the image data illustrated in  FIG. 10A  to the remote control panel  50 . Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 10A , the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  collectively displays the statuses  101  to  104  of the four MFP1 to MFP4. 
     On the other hand, when the display setting is the single apparatus detailed display mode, the CPU  11  of the image forming apparatus  1  transmits the image data illustrated in  FIG. 10B  to the remote control panel  50 . Then, the CPU  21  of the remote control panel  50  displays the detailed display of the one selected MFP1 in a large region as illustrated in  FIG. 10B , and displays, side by side, the statuses  101  to  104  of the four MFPs in small tag-shaped regions next to the large region. Then, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 1611 . 
     In S 1611 , the CPU  21  shifts to its standby state. That is, the remote control panel  50  shifts to its standby state and waits for the next instruction of the user. After that, the process of the CPU  21  shifts to S 153  in the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 9 , and the series of additional processes illustrated in  FIG. 17  is completed. 
     Other configurations and processes are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here. 
     As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, the user can select and save the display setting (display mode) for collectively displaying the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses. Then, the collective status display screen corresponding to the stored display setting can be displayed on the display  51  by referring to the display setting stored when the remote control panel is activated. Since the display is set in advance, the statuses are collectively displayed first without any user operation, so that the user can grasp the statuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses when the remote control panel is activated, and the convenience can be improved. 
     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. 2021-007087, filed Jan. 20, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.