JP2020119460A - Image forming system and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming system and an image forming method that can appropriately ask a question about the image quality of an output image to reduce a burden on a user to answer the question.SOLUTION: A reception processing unit 151 receives a print instruction to an image forming apparatus 3 from a user terminal 2. A calculation processing unit 152 calculates a distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 based on position information on the user terminal 2 and position information on the image forming apparatus 3. An output frequency acquisition processing unit 153 acquires an output frequency corresponding to print processing based on history information in which the image forming apparatus 3 executes the print processing in response to the print instruction output from the user terminal 2. A question processing unit 157 outputs question information including a question about the image quality of an output image output as a result of the print processing executed in response to the print instruction, based on the distance and the output frequency.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming system and an image forming method.

When a print process (image forming process) is executed, by outputting a questionnaire for print data printed by the print process and accepting an input of an answer to the questionnaire, image formation capable of collecting information about the print data A device is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2011-101965, A

By the way, in the image forming apparatus, by asking a question (questionnaire) about the image quality of the output image output by the image forming process and accepting the input of the answer to the question, it is possible to grasp the image quality that the user of the image forming process prefers. Is possible. In addition, by adjusting the setting value related to the image forming process based on the input answer, it is possible to optimize the image quality of the output image output by the image forming process according to the user's preference.

However, the user has to input an answer to the question about the image quality every time the image forming process is performed, which increases the burden on the user.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system and an image forming method capable of reducing the burden of user's answer by appropriately asking the question about the image quality of the output image.

An image forming system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a reception processing unit, a calculation processing unit, an output frequency acquisition processing unit, and a question processing unit. The reception processing unit receives an instruction of an image forming process for forming an image on a sheet from the terminal device to the image forming apparatus. The calculation processing unit calculates a distance between the terminal device and the image forming apparatus based on the position information of the terminal device and the position information of the image forming apparatus. The output frequency acquisition processing unit acquires an output frequency corresponding to the image forming process based on history information in which the image forming device executes the image forming process in response to the instruction output from the terminal device. .. The question processing unit is executed according to the instruction received by the reception processing unit, based on the distance calculated by the calculation processing unit and the output frequency acquired by the output frequency acquisition processing unit. The question information including the question about the image quality of the output image output by the image forming process is output.

An image forming method according to another aspect of the present invention includes a reception step, a calculation step, an output frequency acquisition step, and an inquiry step. In the receiving step, an instruction of an image forming process for forming an image on a sheet is received from the terminal device to the image forming apparatus. In the calculating step, the distance between the terminal device and the image forming apparatus is calculated based on the position information of the terminal apparatus and the position information of the image forming apparatus. In the output frequency acquisition step, the output frequency corresponding to the image forming process is acquired based on history information in which the image forming device executes the image forming process in response to the instruction output from the terminal device. In the inquiry step, the image formation executed in response to the instruction accepted in the acceptance step, based on the distance calculated in the calculation step and the output frequency acquired in the output frequency acquisition step. The question information including the question regarding the image quality of the output image output by the processing is output.

According to the present invention, an image forming system and an image forming method capable of reducing the burden of a user's answer by appropriately asking a question regarding the image quality of an output image are provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of device information used in the server device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of history information used in the server device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a question screen displayed on the operation display unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of question processing executed by the server device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the satisfaction degree estimation process executed by the server device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure of the question processing executed by the server device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide an understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments are examples of embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Configuration of Image Forming System 100]
As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a server device 1, one or a plurality of user terminals 2, and one or a plurality of image forming devices 3. In FIG. 1, one user terminal 2 and three image forming apparatuses 3A, 3B and 3C are illustrated. The image forming system 100 is an example of the image forming system of the present invention, the user terminal 2 is an example of the terminal device of the present invention, and the image forming apparatus 3 is an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The server device 1, the user terminal 2, and each image forming device 3 can communicate with each other via a network N1 such as a telephone line, the Internet, or a LAN.

In the image forming system 100, for example, a user operates the user terminal 2 to issue a print instruction to a desired image forming apparatus 3, and the image forming apparatus 3 executes print processing based on the instruction. The server device 1 asks the user about the image quality of the output image (print image) based on the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming device 3 and the output frequency (print frequency) of the image forming device 3. I do.

By the way, in the image forming apparatus, by asking a question about the image quality of the output image output by the image forming process (printing process) and accepting the input of the answer to the question, the image quality preferred by the user of the image forming process is grasped. It is possible. In addition, by adjusting the setting value related to the image forming process based on the input answer, it is possible to optimize the image quality of the output image output by the image forming process according to the user's preference. However, the user has to input an answer to the question about the image quality every time the image forming process is performed, which may increase the burden on the user. On the other hand, in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the burden of the user's answer by appropriately asking the question regarding the image quality of the output image.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 3]
The image forming apparatus 3 includes an operation display unit 31, an ADF (automatic document feeder) 32, an image reading unit 33, an image forming unit 34, a communication I/F 35, a storage unit 36, a control unit 37, and the like. The image forming apparatus 3 is a multifunction machine having a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like. The image forming apparatus 3 may be a printer.

The operation display unit 31 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays various kinds of information according to a control instruction from the control unit 37, and an operation key or a touch panel that inputs various kinds of information to the control unit 37 according to a user's operation. Has an operation unit such as.

The ADF 32 includes a document setting unit, a plurality of conveyance rollers, a document pressing unit, and a paper discharge unit, and conveys a document read by the image reading unit 33.

The image reading unit 33 includes a document table, a light source, a plurality of mirrors, an optical lens, and a CCD, and can read image data from a document.

The image forming unit 34 can form an image on a sheet based on image data input from an external information processing device such as the user terminal 2. Further, the image forming unit 34 can also form an image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method based on the image data read by the image reading unit 33. Specifically, the image forming unit 34 includes a photoconductor drum, a charging device, an optical scanning device (LSU), a developing device, a transfer roller, a cleaning device, a fixing roller, a pressure roller, and a paper discharge tray. The image forming unit 34 may form an image by another image forming method such as an inkjet method.

The communication I/F 35 is a communication interface capable of executing wired or wireless data communication with an external device. For example, the communication I/F 35 performs data communication with the server device 1 and the user terminal 2 via the network N1.

The storage unit 36 is a non-volatile storage device. For example, the storage unit 36 is a storage device such as a flash memory, a nonvolatile memory such as EEPROM (registered trademark), an SSD (solid state drive), and an HDD (hard disk drive).

The storage unit 36 stores the image data input from the user terminal 2. The storage unit 36 also stores authentication information (login information) corresponding to each user who can log in to the image forming apparatus 3. The authentication information is used for user authentication by the image forming apparatus 3. For example, the authentication information is a user name and password. The storage unit 36 also stores identification information (apparatus ID) of the user terminal 2 corresponding to each user who can log in to the image forming apparatus 3. The user terminal 2 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a laptop computer, or a mobile phone that the user of the image forming apparatus 3 possesses. Further, the identification information is an IP address or a MAC address.

The storage unit 36 also stores setting information regarding print settings of the image forming apparatus 3. The setting information includes information on setting values regarding the image quality of the output image. The image quality setting values include, for example, image density (shade) setting values, image saturation setting values, image outline (sharpness) setting values, image resolution setting values, and the like. A specific initial setting value is preset in the image forming apparatus 3, and the initial setting value is stored in the storage unit 36. Further, the set value can be changed, and for example, the user of the image forming apparatus 3 can appropriately change the set value.

The set value may be set for each user. The user can register the setting value corresponding to the desired image quality. In this case, the set value is stored in association with the user authentication information. When the user performs an authentication operation, the image forming apparatus 3 reads out the setting value associated with the authentication information and executes the printing process according to the setting value.

The control unit 37 includes control devices such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. In the control unit 37, the CPU executes various control programs stored in advance in the ROM. As a result, the image forming apparatus 3 is comprehensively controlled by the control unit 37. Note that the control unit 37 may be configured by an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (ASIC), and is a control unit provided separately from the main control unit that totally controls the image forming apparatus 3. May be.

Specifically, the control unit 37 includes a setting processing unit 371, a print processing unit 372, a display processing unit 373, and the like. The control unit 37 functions as each of these processing units by executing various processes according to the control program. Further, the control unit 37 may include an electronic circuit that realizes a part of or a plurality of processing functions of each of these processing units.

The setting processing unit 371 sets the image quality when executing the print processing. Specifically, the setting processing unit 371 sets the image quality based on the setting information stored in the storage unit 36. Further, when the setting processing unit 371 acquires the setting information related to the print setting set by the user from the operation display unit 31 or the user terminal 2, the setting processing unit 371 registers and changes the setting information.

The print processing unit 372 executes print processing for printing an image based on image data on a sheet. Specifically, when the print instruction of the image data is received from the user terminal 2 by the user's operation on the user terminal 2, the print processing unit 372 executes the print processing according to the setting information.

The display processing unit 373 causes the operation display unit 31 to display various information. For example, when the display processing unit 373 receives the question information Q1 (see FIG. 5) from the server device 1 when executing the print processing, the display processing unit 373 displays the question screen including the question information Q1 on the operation display unit 31.

[Configuration of server device 1]
The server device 1 manages the user terminal 2 and the image forming device 3. Specifically, the server device 1 manages device information of each of the image forming devices 3A, 3B, and 3C, print setting information, print history information, and the like. Further, the server device 1 manages device information of the user terminal 2, print instruction information, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the server device 1 includes an operation unit 11, a display unit 12, a communication I/F 13, a storage unit 14, a control unit 15, and the like. The server device 1 is an information processing device such as a personal computer. The server device 1 is not limited to one computer, but may be a computer system in which a plurality of computers operate in cooperation. Further, various processes executed by the server device 1 may be distributed and executed by one or a plurality of processors. Further, the server device 1 may be the image forming device 3.

The operation unit 11 is an operation unit such as a touch panel and an operation button that receives a user operation. The display unit 12 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays information.

The communication I/F 13 is a communication interface capable of executing wired or wireless data communication with an external device. For example, the communication I/F 13 performs data communication with the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 via the network N1.

The storage unit 14 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 14 stores various control programs executed by the control unit 15. The control program executed by the control unit 15 includes a question processing program for causing the control unit 15 to execute a question process (see FIG. 6) described later.

The storage unit 14 also includes a device information database (DB) 141 that stores device information corresponding to the user terminal 2 and the image forming device 3 that can communicate via the network N1. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the device information DB 141 stores a device ID, a device name, and position information in association with each other.

The device ID is identification information (IP address or MAC address) for identifying the user terminal 2 and the image forming device 3. The device name is the name of the user terminal 2 and the image forming device 3. For example, the device ID “U0001” and the device name “user PC1” represent the user terminal 2 of the user A. The device ID “U0002” and the device name “user PC2” represent the user terminal 2 of the user B. The device ID "P0001" and the device name "MFP1" represent the image forming device 3A (multifunction peripheral). The device ID "P0002" and the device name "printer 1" represent the image forming device 3B (printer). The device ID "P0003" and the device name "MFP2" represent the image forming device 3C (multifunction peripheral).

The position information is information indicating the positions of the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3. The position information is acquired by, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) function installed in the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3. The server device 1 acquires the position information from the user terminal 2 and the image forming device 3 and stores it in the device information DB 141. When the positions of the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 move, the server device 1 updates the position information.

When the user of the user terminal 2 performs an authentication operation (login operation), the server device 1 acquires the information of the user terminal 2 and stores it in the device information DB 141. Further, when the image forming apparatus 3 is connected to the network N1, the server apparatus 1 acquires the information of the image forming apparatus 3 and stores it in the apparatus information DB 141.

The storage unit 14 also includes a history information DB 142 that stores history information of print processing (print history) executed in the past in the image forming apparatus 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the history information DB 142 stores the terminal device ID, the output device ID, the output date and time, and the set value in association with each other.

The terminal device ID is identification information for identifying the user terminal 2. The output device ID is identification information for identifying the image forming device 3. The output date and time is information indicating the date and time when the image forming apparatus 3 executes the printing process.

The set value is the set value set in the image forming apparatus 3 when the image forming apparatus 3 executes the printing process. When the set value of the image forming apparatus 3 is the initial set value, the initial set value is registered in the history information DB 142. When the setting value of the image forming apparatus 3 is the setting value set by the user, the setting value is registered in the history information DB 142. In the example shown in FIG. 4, different setting values (for example, initial setting values) are set for each image forming apparatus 3.

The server device 1 acquires the terminal device ID from the user terminal 2 and acquires the output device ID, the output date and time, and the setting value from the image forming device 3 each time the printing process is executed in the image forming device 3. Then, the acquired information is registered in the history information DB 142.

Further, the storage unit 14 may store the current setting value of the image forming apparatus 3. When the setting value is changed in the image forming apparatus 3, the setting value in the storage unit 14 is also changed accordingly.

The control unit 15 includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

Specifically, the control unit 15 includes a reception processing unit 151, a calculation processing unit 152, an output frequency acquisition processing unit 153, a set value acquisition processing unit 154, an estimation processing unit 155, a determination processing unit 156, a question processing unit 157, and an update process. The unit 158 and the print processing unit 159 are included. The control unit 15 functions as each of these processing units by executing various processes according to the control program. Further, the control unit 15 may include an electronic circuit that realizes a part of these processing units or a plurality of processing functions.

The reception processing unit 151 receives, from the user terminal 2, an instruction (print instruction) for the image forming apparatus 3 to perform a print process for forming an image on a sheet. For example, when the user of the user terminal 2 selects the desired image forming apparatus 3 and performs an operation (print instruction) of inputting a desired print job, the reception processing unit 151 receives the print instruction. Further, the reception processing unit 151 acquires the terminal device ID and the position information of the user terminal 2, and stores them in the storage unit 14.

The calculation processing unit 152 calculates the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 based on the position information of the user terminal 2 and the position information of the image forming apparatus 3. Specifically, the calculation processing unit 152, from the device information DB 141 (see FIG. 3), the position information of the user terminal 2 to which the user has instructed the printing process and the position of the image forming device 3 selected by the user. The information is acquired, and the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 is calculated based on the position information.

The output frequency acquisition processing unit 153 acquires the output frequency corresponding to the print processing based on the history information that the image forming apparatus 3 has executed the print processing according to the print instruction output from the user terminal 2. For example, the output frequency acquisition processing unit 153 refers to the history information DB 142 and acquires the output frequency of the image forming apparatus 3 associated with the user terminal 2 to which the user has instructed the print processing. The output frequency may be the number of output times in the history information DB 142 in a predetermined period, or may be the total number of output times in the history information DB 142. The output frequency is the frequency of use of the image forming apparatus 3 by the user.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device ID “U0001” represents the user terminal 2 to which the user has instructed the print processing. In the user terminal 2, as history information, an image forming apparatus 3A having an output apparatus ID "P0001", an image forming apparatus 3B having an output apparatus ID "P0002", and an image forming apparatus 3C having an output apparatus ID "P0003" are provided. Associated. Further, here, the image forming apparatus 3C performs the print processing “4 times” and the image forming apparatus 3B performs the print processing “2 times” in response to the print instruction output from the user terminal 2. The image forming apparatus 3A performs the printing process "once". In this case, the output frequency acquisition processing unit 153 sets, for example, “4 times” of the image forming apparatus 3C, “2 times” of the image forming apparatus 3B, and “1 time” of the image forming apparatus 3A as the output frequencies. get.

The output frequency may be expressed as a ratio. In this case, the output frequency acquisition processing unit 153 sets the output frequency to “57%” (≈4÷7×100) of the image forming apparatus 3C and “29%” (≈2÷7×) of the image forming apparatus 3B. 100) and “14%” (≈1/7×100) of the image forming apparatus 3A are acquired.

The set value acquisition processing unit 154 acquires a set value related to the image quality corresponding to the image forming apparatus 3. Specifically, the setting value acquisition processing unit 154 acquires, from the image forming apparatus 3, the setting value set in the image forming apparatus 3 selected by the user.

The estimation processing unit 155 uses the set value acquired by the set value acquisition processing unit 154 based on the distance calculated by the calculation processing unit 152 and the output frequency acquired by the output frequency acquisition processing unit 153. A process (satisfaction estimation process of FIG. 7) for estimating (calculating) the satisfaction level of the output image output by the printing process is executed. Specifically, the estimation processing unit 155 estimates the first satisfaction degree to be higher as the distance is longer, and estimates the second satisfaction degree to be higher as the output frequency is higher. Then, the estimation processing unit 155 adds or multiplies the first satisfaction degree corresponding to the distance and the second satisfaction degree corresponding to the output frequency to calculate the satisfaction degree for the output image. The estimation processing unit 155 may calculate the satisfaction level by multiplying the first satisfaction level by a first coefficient and multiplying the first satisfaction level by a second coefficient.

An example of the satisfaction degree estimation processing will be given. For example, when the distance is greater than or equal to the first threshold (far) and the appearance frequency is greater than or equal to the second threshold (more), the estimation processing unit 155 estimates that the satisfaction level for the output image is “very high”. Then, the degree of satisfaction is estimated to be “10”. If the distance is equal to or more than the first threshold value (far) and the appearance frequency is less than the second threshold value (small), the estimation processing unit 155 estimates that the satisfaction degree for the output image is “high”. Then, the degree of satisfaction is estimated to be “8”.

When the distance is less than (closer to) the first threshold and the appearance frequency is greater than or equal to (greater than) the second threshold, the estimation processing unit 155 estimates that the satisfaction level for the output image is “normal”. Then, the degree of satisfaction is estimated to be “5”. Further, when the distance is less than (closer to) the first threshold and the appearance frequency is less than (less than) the second threshold, the estimation processing unit 155 estimates that the degree of satisfaction with the output image is “low”. Then, the degree of satisfaction is estimated to be “2”.

As described above, the estimation processing unit 155 determines that the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3C (corresponding to the first image forming apparatus of the present invention) is the same as that of the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3A (the second embodiment of the present invention). (Equivalent to the image forming apparatus) and the output frequency (for example, “4 times”) corresponding to the print processing executed by the image forming apparatus 3C is executed by the image forming apparatus 3A. When the output frequency corresponding to the print processing is higher (for example (1 time)), the satisfaction degree for the output image output by the print processing according to the set value (for example, “D3”) corresponding to the image forming apparatus 3C (Eg, “10”) is estimated to be higher than the satisfaction level (eg, “2”) with respect to the output image output by the printing process with the setting value (eg, “D1”) corresponding to the image forming apparatus 3A.

The determination processing unit 156 determines whether the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit 155 is equal to or less than a threshold value. The threshold value is set to “5”, for example.

The question processing unit 157 executes the distance based on the distance calculated by the calculation processing unit 152 and the output frequency acquired by the output frequency acquisition processing unit 153 according to the print instruction received by the reception processing unit 151. The question information Q1 including the question regarding the image quality of the output image output by the printing process is output.

Specifically, the question processing unit 157 outputs the question information Q1 based on the degree of satisfaction estimated by the estimation processing unit 155. For example, the question processing unit 157 outputs the question information Q1 when the determination processing unit 156 determines that the satisfaction level estimated by the estimation processing unit 155 is equal to or less than the threshold value (for example, “5”). For example, when the user selects the image forming apparatus 3A on the user terminal 2 and gives an instruction to execute the printing process, the satisfaction degree corresponding to the image forming apparatus 3A is “2” and is equal to or less than the threshold value. The processing unit 157 outputs the question information Q1. On the other hand, the question processing unit 157 does not output the question information Q1 when the determination processing unit 156 determines that the satisfaction level estimated by the estimation processing unit 155 exceeds the threshold value (for example, “5”).

The question processing unit 157 may transmit the question information Q1 to the image forming apparatus 3 and display it on the operation display unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 3, or may transmit it to the user terminal 2 and display it on the display unit 22 of the user terminal 2. It may be displayed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the question information Q1. For example, the question information Q1 includes one or a plurality of questions and a plurality of answer candidates for each question. The question is a question regarding the image quality of the output image, for example, a question regarding “density”, “sharpness”, “saturation”, and the like. The answer candidates are selection candidates for the user to evaluate the print result of this time. The question information Q1 may include a message to the user, an image image of the output image, and the like. The content of the question information Q1 is not limited to the example shown in FIG.

The user can input the answer to the question by tapping a radio button corresponding to one of the plurality of answer candidates in the question information Q1.

Further, the question processing unit 157 acquires the answer when the answer is input by the user.

When the question processing unit 157 acquires an answer to the question, the update processing unit 158 updates the set value based on the answer. When the setting value is updated, the update processing unit 158 notifies the corresponding image forming apparatus 3 of the updated setting value information. For example, in the question information Q1 shown in FIG. 5, when the user answers “light” to the question 1, the update processing unit 158 sets the “density” setting value corresponding to the user to a value approaching “dark”. And the image forming apparatus 3 is notified. As a result, the image forming apparatus 3 executes the print processing based on the updated set value in the next print processing.

The print processing unit 159 transfers the print instruction to the image forming apparatus 3 selected by the user, and causes the image forming unit 34 to execute the print processing according to the print instruction.

[User terminal 2]
As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 2 includes an operation unit 21, a display unit 22, a communication I/F 23, a storage unit 24, a control unit 25, and the like. The user terminal 2 is, for example, an information processing device having a communication function, such as a notebook computer, a desktop computer, or a smartphone.

The operation unit 21 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch panel, or the like for inputting various information such as the print instruction by the user and the answer to the question.

The display unit 22 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that displays various information. The display unit 22 displays, for example, a print setting screen for executing print processing and a question screen (see FIG. 5) for displaying the question information Q1.

The communication I/F 23 is a communication interface capable of executing wired or wireless data communication with an external device. For example, the communication I/F 23 performs data communication with the server device 1 and the image forming device 3 via the network N1.

The storage unit 24 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 24 stores various control programs executed by the control unit 25.

The control unit 25 includes control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which information such as a control program for causing the CPU to execute various processes is stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU.

Specifically, the control unit 25 includes an acquisition processing unit 251 and a display processing unit 252. The control unit 25 functions as each of these processing units by executing various processes according to the control program. Further, the control unit 25 may include an electronic circuit that realizes a part of each of these processing units or a plurality of processing functions.

The acquisition processing unit 251 acquires various kinds of information according to a user operation input using the operation unit 21. For example, the acquisition processing unit 251 acquires the print instruction. The acquisition processing unit 251 obtains information according to the acquired print instruction, for example, device information (terminal device ID, output device ID), print setting information (set value, print mode, number of prints, paper size, etc.). Send to.

The display processing unit 252 causes the display unit 22 to display various information. For example, the display processing unit 252 causes the display unit 22 to display the print setting screen, the question screen, and the like.

[Question processing]
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an example of a procedure of a question process executed by the control unit 15 of the server device 1 will be described. The control unit 15 starts the execution of the question processing by starting the execution of the question processing program when the server device 1 acquires the print instruction by the user operation from the user terminal 2. Here, steps S21, S22,... Represent numbers of processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 15.

The present invention can be understood as an invention of an image forming method that executes one or more steps included in the question processing.

First, in step S11, the control unit 15 receives a print instruction from the user terminal 2 to the image forming apparatus 3. Further, the control unit 15 acquires the terminal device ID and the position information of the user terminal 2 and stores them in the storage unit 14.

Next, in step S12, the control unit 15 calculates the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 based on the position information of the user terminal 2 (see FIG. 3) and the position information of the image forming apparatus 3. To do.

Next, in step S13, the control unit 15 performs the print processing based on the history information (see FIG. 4) that the image forming apparatus 3 has executed the print processing according to the print instruction output from the user terminal 2. Get the corresponding output frequency.

Next, in step S14, the control unit 15 acquires, from the image forming apparatus 3, a setting value regarding image quality corresponding to the image forming apparatus 3 selected by the user.

Next, in step S15, the control unit 15 outputs by the printing process using the set value acquired in step S14 based on the distance calculated in step S12 and the output frequency acquired in step S13. Satisfaction estimation processing for estimating satisfaction with respect to the output image is performed. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the satisfaction degree estimation processing.

In step S21 of FIG. 7, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the distance is equal to or larger than the first threshold value. If the distance is greater than or equal to the first threshold value (S21: YES), the process proceeds to step S22, and if the distance is less than the first threshold value (S21: NO), the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S22, the control unit 15 determines whether the output frequency is equal to or higher than the second threshold value. If the output frequency is equal to or higher than the second threshold value (S22: YES), the process proceeds to step S23, and if the output frequency is less than the second threshold value (S22: NO), the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S23, the control unit 15 estimates the degree of satisfaction with the output image as "10".

In step S24, the control unit 15 estimates the degree of satisfaction with the output image as "8".

In step S25, the control unit 15 determines whether the output frequency is equal to or higher than the second threshold value. If the output frequency is equal to or higher than the second threshold value (S25: YES), the process proceeds to step S26, and if the output frequency is less than the second threshold value (S25: NO), the process proceeds to step S27.

In step S26, the control unit 15 estimates the degree of satisfaction with the output image as "5".

In step S27, the control unit 15 estimates the degree of satisfaction with the output image as "2". The satisfaction level shown in FIG. 7 is an example, and changes depending on the distance and the output frequency.

When the satisfaction degree estimation process ends, in step S16 of FIG. 6, the control unit 15 determines whether the estimated satisfaction degree is equal to or less than a third threshold value. If the satisfaction is equal to or lower than the third threshold (S16: YES), the process proceeds to step S17. If the satisfaction exceeds the third threshold (S16: NO), the process ends.

In step S17, the control unit 15 outputs the question information Q1 (see FIG. 5) including the question regarding the image quality of the output image output by the print processing executed in response to the print instruction. For example, the control unit 15 transmits the question information Q1 to the image forming apparatus 3 and causes the operation display unit 31 to display a question screen (see FIG. 5) including the question information Q1.

Next, in step S18, the control unit 15 acquires an answer to the question. For example, the answer input by the user on the question screen displayed on the operation display unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 3 is acquired.

Next, in step S19, the control unit 15 updates the set value based on the answer. For example, the control unit 15 updates the set value stored in the storage unit 36 of the image forming apparatus 3 based on the answer. With the above processing, the question processing is completed.

As described above, in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment, the user is notified based on the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 and the output frequency (printing frequency) of the image forming apparatus 3. And ask a question about the image quality of the output image (print image). For example, when the distance between the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 is short and the output frequency of the image forming apparatus 3 is low, the image forming system 100 asks the question and asks the user terminal 2 and the image forming apparatus 3 to perform the question. If the distance between and is large and the output frequency in the image forming apparatus 3 is high, the question is not asked. For example, even if the image forming apparatus 3C is located far from the user terminal 2, a user who frequently uses the image forming apparatus 3C is satisfied with the image quality of the image output by the image forming apparatus 3C. Conceivable. Therefore, when the user gives a print instruction using the image forming apparatus 3C, the question is not asked. On the other hand, in the case of the image forming apparatus 3A which is arranged near the user terminal 2 and is used less frequently by the user, the user may not be satisfied with the image quality of the image output by the image forming apparatus 3A. Therefore, when the user gives a print instruction using the image forming apparatus 3A, the question is asked.

As described above, in the image forming system 100, the question is avoided when it is determined that the user is satisfied with the image quality, and thus the burden on the user can be reduced. Therefore, according to the image forming system 100, by appropriately asking the question regarding the image quality of the output image, it becomes possible to reduce the burden of the user's answer. Further, when the user answers the question, an image having the image quality desired by the user is output in the subsequent printing process. Therefore, it is possible to improve the image quality of the output image.

The image forming system of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Hereinafter, a modified example of the image forming system 100 according to the above embodiment will be described. Further, in the following description, configurations common to the configurations of the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the configurations of the above-described embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted, and redundant description of the actions and effects will be given. Omit it.

[Modification 1]
In the server device 1 according to the first modification, the control unit 15 acquires from the image forming device 3 the current setting value (current setting value) set in the image forming device 3 selected by the user, and the history information DB 142. From (see FIG. 4), the past setting value (past setting value) associated with the image forming apparatus 3 is acquired. Here, when the current set value is different from the past set value, the output image may not be an image having the image quality that the user likes. Therefore, in the question processing, when the present set value is different from the past set value in the question process (S31: YES), the control section 15 outputs the question (S17).

[Modification 2]
Here, when the output image is an image output by the printing process according to the setting value set by the user, the user's intention is reflected, and thus it can be estimated that the degree of satisfaction is high. Therefore, in the server device 1 according to the second modification, the control unit 15 (question processing unit 157) determines that the setting value acquired by the setting value acquisition processing unit 154 is a value set by the user of the user terminal 2. However, the question information Q1 may not be output. As a result, it is possible to avoid asking a user who is satisfied with the image quality and reduce the burden on the user.

[Modification 3]
The number of questions executed by the control unit 15 (question processing unit 157) is not particularly limited. In the server device 1 according to the modified example 3, the question processing unit 157 changes the number of questions according to the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit 155. Specifically, the question processing unit 157 sets the number of the questions to be smaller as the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit 155 is higher. For example, in the satisfaction degree estimation process shown in FIG. 7, when the satisfaction degree is set to “8” (S24), the number of questions to be executed by the question processing unit 157 is set to “5” as the satisfaction degree. If so (S26), the number is set to be smaller than the number of questions that the question processing unit 157 executes. As a result, the number of questions to the user who is satisfied with the image quality can be reduced, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the printing process is given as an example of the image forming process, but the image forming process of the present invention is not limited to this and may be a reading process. For example, when the user performs an operation (scan operation) of reading a document in the desired image forming apparatus 3, the server apparatus 1 may execute the question process. The original document may be sent from the user terminal 2 to the image forming apparatus 3 by mail, or may be transferred by connecting a recording medium recording the original document to the image forming apparatus 3.

The image forming system of the present invention may be configured by the server device 1, the user terminal 2, and the image forming device 3, may be configured by only the server device 1, or may be configured by only the image forming device 3. Good. For example, the image forming apparatus 3 may have the function of the server device 1. Specifically, each image forming device 3 may include each processing unit of the server device 1, the device information DB 141, and the history information DB 142.

1: server device 2: user terminal 3: image forming device 100: image forming system 151: reception processing unit 152: calculation processing unit 153: output frequency acquisition processing unit 154: set value acquisition processing unit 155: estimation processing unit 156: determination Processing unit 157: Question processing unit 158: Update processing unit 159: Print processing unit 251: Acquisition processing unit 252: Display processing unit 371: Setting processing unit 372: Print processing unit 373: Display processing unit

Claims (10)

An acceptance processing unit that accepts an instruction of an image forming process for forming an image on a sheet from the terminal device to the image forming apparatus;
A calculation processing unit that calculates a distance between the terminal device and the image forming apparatus based on the position information of the terminal apparatus and the position information of the image forming apparatus;
An output frequency acquisition processing unit that acquires an output frequency corresponding to the image forming process based on history information in which the image forming device executes the image forming process according to the instruction output from the terminal device.
Based on the distance calculated by the calculation processing unit and the output frequency acquired by the output frequency acquisition processing unit, by the image forming process executed according to the instruction received by the reception processing unit. A question processing unit that outputs question information including a question regarding the image quality of the output image to be output,
An image forming system including. A setting value acquisition processing unit that acquires a setting value relating to image quality corresponding to the image forming apparatus;
Based on the distance calculated by the calculation processing unit and the output frequency acquired by the output frequency acquisition processing unit, output by the image forming process with the setting value acquired by the setting value acquisition processing unit An estimation processing unit that estimates satisfaction with respect to the output image,
Further equipped with,
The question processing unit outputs the question information based on the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit,
The image forming system according to claim 1. The distance between the terminal device and the first image forming apparatus is greater than the distance between the terminal device and the second image forming apparatus, and corresponds to the image forming process executed by the first image forming apparatus. When the output frequency is higher than the output frequency corresponding to the image forming process executed by the second image forming apparatus, the estimation processing unit determines the satisfaction degree with respect to the set value corresponding to the first image forming apparatus. Is estimated to be higher than the satisfaction degree with respect to the setting value corresponding to the second image forming apparatus,
The image forming system according to claim 2. The question processing unit outputs the question information when the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit is equal to or less than a threshold value,
The image forming system according to claim 2. The question processing unit does not output the question information when the setting value acquired by the setting value acquisition processing unit is a value set by the user of the terminal device,
The image forming system according to claim 2. The question information includes one or more of the questions,
The question processing unit changes the number of the questions according to the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit,
The image forming system according to claim 2. The question processing unit sets the number of the questions to be smaller as the satisfaction degree estimated by the estimation processing unit is higher,
The image forming system according to claim 6. The question processing unit displays the question on the terminal device or the image forming apparatus, and obtains an answer to the question input by a user in the terminal device or the image forming apparatus,
The image forming system according to claim 2. Further comprising an update processing unit for updating the set value,
The update processing unit updates the set value based on the answer,
The image forming system according to claim 8. A receiving step of receiving an instruction of an image forming process for forming an image on a sheet from the terminal device to the image forming apparatus;
A calculation step of calculating a distance between the terminal device and the image forming apparatus based on the position information of the terminal apparatus and the position information of the image forming apparatus;
An output frequency acquisition step of acquiring an output frequency corresponding to the image forming process based on history information in which the image forming device executes the image forming process in response to the instruction output from the terminal device.
Based on the distance calculated in the calculating step and the output frequency acquired in the output frequency acquiring step, output by the image forming process executed in response to the instruction accepted in the accepting step. A question step for outputting question information including a question regarding the quality of the output image,
An image forming method including.