Patent ID: 8121706

Claim:
An information processing device connected to at least one other information processing device via a network, the information processing device comprising: a local control procedure list storage portion having stored therein a local control procedure list being a synopsis of control procedures for controlling the information processing device and conditions under which the control procedures are executable; a local control procedure generation portion for generating a local control procedure based on the local control procedure list, the local control procedure presenting, to a user, information representing a control function of the information processing device that is executable in accordance with a status of the information processing device; a remote control procedure generation portion for generating a remote control procedure for presenting a control procedure of the information processing device to the at least one other information processing device, based on the local control procedure; a conjunctive control procedure table storage portion having stored therein a conjunctive control procedure table indicating a combination of the local control procedure and the remote control procedure and a name of the combination; a communication portion having functions of transmitting/receiving the remote control procedure and the conjunctive control procedure table to/from the at least one other information processing device; a conjunctive control procedure generation portion for generating a conjunctive control procedure based on the local control procedure, the remote control procedure received from the at least one other information processing device, the conjunctive control procedure table stored in the conjunctive control procedure table storage portion, and the conjunctive control procedure table received from the at least one other information processing device; a menu script generation portion for generating a menu script based on the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, and the conjunctive control procedure, the menu script presenting data corresponding to an operating menu screen and an operational procedure on the menu screen to an internal user interface terminal device or a user interface terminal device connected via the network; a menu script presentation portion for presenting the menu script to the user interface terminal device in accordance with a request from the user interface terminal device; and a control portion for controlling the information processing device and the at least one other information processing device to execute a control function corresponding to an instruction to execute the local control procedure, the remote control procedure, or the conjunctive control procedure, the instruction being given through an input to the menu screen displayed on the user interface terminal device in accordance with the menu script.