Restoring state of operation in an image forming apparatus

• US 10,462,313 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2018
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Okubo, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Lam, Andrew H
• Application Number:
  US16/153,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20190109956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00482 outputting a plurality of job set-up options, e.g. number of copies, paper size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00514 for individual users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0097 Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4433 to an apparatus, part of an apparatus or an apparatus function
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

When unintended logout is made, printing conditions and a state of an operation screen at the time of the logout are stored. When a user logs in again after this, an image forming apparatus returns to a state before the logout based on the stored printing conditions and the stored state of the operation screen.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus having an image forming section that forms an image on a recording medium based on printing conditions, the apparatus comprising:

state determination circuitry configured to determine a state of the image forming apparatus;

authentication circuitry configured to authenticate a user and permit login of the user to the image forming apparatus;

operation display circuitry configured to receive, via an operation screen, setting associated with the printing conditions from the user;

storage circuitry configured to store the printing conditions and a state of the operation screen in a case where the user is logged out from the image forming apparatus without performing a logout operation by the user; and

returning circuitry configured to read out the printing conditions and the state of the operation screen stored in the storage unit, and

return the image forming apparatus to the state at the time of logout in a case where the user is logged out without performing the logout operation and the state determination circuitry determines that a current state of the image forming apparatus is the same as the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout, when the authentication unit permits the login of the user, and

initialize the state of the image forming apparatus in a case where the user is logged out without performing the logout operation and the state determination circuitry determines that a current state of the image forming apparatus is different than the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout, when the authentication unit permits the login of the user.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

document reading circuitry configured to read a placed document and outputs the read document as the image,

wherein the state determination circuitry determines that the current state of the image forming apparatus is the same as the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout by comparing a current state of the placed document with a state of the placed document at the time of logout.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image reading-out circuitry configured to read out an image stored in a storage medium,

wherein the state determination circuitry determines that the current state of the image forming apparatus is the same as the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout by comparing a current storage medium mounted state with a storage medium mounted state at the time of logout.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a manual feed tray for setting the recording medium,

wherein the state determination circuitry determines that the current state of the image forming apparatus is the same as the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout by comparing a current state of the manual feed tray with a state of the manual feed tray at the time of logout.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a person detecting sensor that detects presence or absence of an operator for the image forming apparatus,

wherein the returning circuitry further reads out the printing conditions and the state of the operation screen stored in the storage unit and returns to the state at the time of the logout, in a case where the person detecting sensor detects that there is no change in the operator.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the returning unit reads out the printing conditions and the state of the operation screen stored in the storage circuitry and returns the image forming apparatus to the state at the time of the logout, in a case where an operation for the returning is performed by the user.

7. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing a program executable by one or more processors of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium based on printing conditions, the program comprising:

a state determining function of determining a state of the image forming apparatus;

an authenticating function of authenticating a user and permitting login of the user to the image forming apparatus;

an operation display function of displaying an operation screen that receives setting associated with the printing conditions by the user;

a storage function of storing the printing conditions and a state of the operation screen in a case where the user is logged out from the image forming apparatus without performing a logout operation by the user; and

a returning function of reading out the printing conditions and the state of the operation screen stored by the storage function, and

returning the image forming apparatus to the state at the time of logout in a case where the user is logged out without performing the logout operation and it is determined by the state determining function that a current state of the image forming apparatus is the same as the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout, when the authenticating function permits the login of the user, and

initializing the state of the image forming apparatus in a case where the user is logged out without performing the logout operation and the state determination circuitry determines that a current state of the image forming apparatus is different than the state of the image forming apparatus at the time of logout, when the authentication unit permits the login of the user.