IMAGE-FORMING SYSTEM, IMAGE-FORMING DEVICE, AND IMAGE-FORMING SYSTEM CONTROL METHOD

• US 20130027737A1
• Filed: 07/27/2012
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: SUZUKI, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 8,958,091 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5016 User-machine interface; Display panels; Control console
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5079 for maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00109 Remote control of apparatus, e.g. by a host

Abstract

An image-forming system comprising an image-forming device and a portable terminal. The image-forming device has a state-detecting part and a panel part that includes a plurality of light-emitting elements, the panel part adapted such that a turned-on/turned-off pattern of the plurality of light-emitting elements is switched, and optical signals destined for the portable terminal and including information on the state of the image-forming device. The portable terminal has an image-capturing part, a storage part for storing an application, a display part for displaying an image and a screen, and a processing part a processing part for identifying, based on the application, the information on the state of the image-forming device included in the optical signals from image data obtained as a result of the image-capturing part capturing an image of the panel part, and for displaying, the state of the image-forming device on the display part.

Claims

1. An image-forming system comprising:

an image-forming device and a portable terminal,

the image-forming device having;

a printing engine part for carrying out printing,

a state-detecting part for detecting a state of the image-forming device, and

a panel part that includes a plurality of light-emitting elements for displaying the state of the image-forming device, the panel part adapted such that, while the state of the image-forming device is being displayed to a user by the light-emitting elements, a turned-on/turned-off pattern of the plurality of light-emitting elements is switched, and optical signals destined for the portable terminal and including information on the state of the image-forming device are transmitted; and

the portable terminal having

an image-capturing part,

a storage part for storing an application,

a display part for displaying an image and a screen, and

a processing part for identifying, based on the application, the information on the state of the image-forming device included in the optical signals from image data obtained as a result of the image-capturing part capturing an image of the panel part, and for displaying, based on the application, the state of the image-forming device on the display part.

2. The image-forming system according to claim 1,

the image-forming device having a code display including information showing a site for downloading the application corresponding to a model of the image-forming device,

the portable terminal having a communication part for communicating externally,

the processing part identifying the site for downloading the application based on image data obtained as a result of the image-capturing part capturing an image of the code display, and

the communication part acquiring the application corresponding to the image-forming device from the identified download site.

3. The image-forming system according to claim 1,

the panel part using one of the light-emitting elements from among the plurality of light-emitting elements as a reference light-emitting element for relaying to the portable terminal that the optical signals are being transmitted, and the panel part turning the reference light-emitting element on or off during transmission of the optical signal;

and

the processing part identifying the state information contained in the optical signal from the image data obtained by image capturing performed by the image-capturing part when the optical signals are transmitted, in a state where the reference light-emitting element is turned on or off.

4. The image-forming system according to claim 1,

the display part displaying an image-capturing state of the image-capturing part based on the image data obtained by the image-capturing performed by the image-capturing part;

and

the processing part displaying on the display part, based on the application, a frame for containing the light-emitting elements of the panel part when the image-capturing state is displayed.

5. The image-forming system according to claim 1,

the panel part transmitting an optical signal representing printing parameters during printing, and the processing part displaying on the display part the state of the image-forming device during printing.

6. The image-forming system according to claim 1,

the panel part transmitting, when the occurrence of an error has been detected by the state-detecting part, an optical signal representing at least the type of error that has occurred;

and the processing part displaying on the display part the error that has occurred.

7. The image-forming system according to claim 1,

the panel part causing the light-emitting elements to be turned on or off, the length of a communication display interval during which the optical signal is emitted and communication display is carried out being a length that cannot be identified by the human eye when the light-emitting elements are turned on or off.

8. An image-forming device comprising:

a printing engine part for carrying out printing;

a state-detecting part for detecting a state of the image-forming device, and

a panel part comprising a plurality of light-emitting elements for displaying the state of the image-forming device, the panel part adapted such that, while the state of the image-forming device is being displayed to a user by the light-emitting elements, a turned-on/turned-off pattern of the plurality of light-emitting elements is switched, and optical signals destined for the portable terminal and including information on the state of the image-forming device are transmitted.

9. The image-forming device according to claim 8,

the image-forming device having a code display including information indicating a site for downloading the application corresponding to a model type.

10. The image-forming device according to claim 8,

the panel part using one of the light-emitting elements from among the plurality of light-emitting elements as a reference light-emitting element for relaying to the portable terminal that the optical signals are being transmitted, and the panel part turning the reference light-emitting element on or off during transmission of the optical signal.

11. The image-forming device according to claim 8,

the panel part transmitting an optical signal representing printing parameters when the occurrence of an error has been detected by the state-detecting part.

12. The image-forming device according to claim 8,

the panel part causing the light-emitting elements to be turned on or off, the length of a communication display interval during which the optical signal is emitted and communication display is carried out being a length that cannot be identified by the human eye when the light-emitting elements are turned on or off.

13. A method for controlling an image-forming system comprising the steps of:

displaying a state of an image-forming device to a user using a plurality of light-emitting elements, the light-emitting elements adapted for displaying the state of the image-forming device;

switching a turned-on/turned-off pattern of the plurality of light-emitting elements while the state of the image-forming device is being displayed, and transmitting optical signals destined for a portable terminal and including information on the state of the image-forming device;

identifying, based on an application, the information on the state of the image-forming device included in the optical signals from image data obtained as a result of an image-capturing part of the portable terminal capturing an image of a panel part of the image-forming device; and

displaying the state of the image-forming device on a display part of the portable terminal.

14. The method for controlling an image-forming system according to claim 13,

acquiring image data as a result of the image-capturing part capturing an image of a code display including information showing a site for downloading the application corresponding to a model of the image-forming device, identifying the site for downloading the application based on the image data, and a communication part of the portable terminal acquiring the application corresponding to the image-forming device from the identified download site.

15. The method for controlling an image-forming system according to claim 13,

one of the light-emitting elements from among the plurality of light-emitting elements being used as a reference light-emitting element for relaying to the portable terminal that the optical signal is being transmitted;

the reference light-emitting element being turned on or off during transmission of the optical signal; and

state information included in the optical signal being identified from image data obtained by image-capturing performed by the image-capturing part while the optical signal is being transmitted, in a state where the reference light-emitting element is turned on or off.

16. The method for controlling an image-forming system according to claim 13,

the image-capture state of the image-capturing part being displayed on the display part of the portable terminal based on image data obtained by image-capturing performed using the image-capturing part;

and

a frame for containing the light-emitting elements being displayed on the display part while the image capture state is being displayed.

17. The method for controlling an image-forming system according to claim 13,

an optical signal representing printing parameters being transmitted during printing;

and

the state of the image-forming device during printing being displayed on the display part of the portable terminal.

18. The method for controlling an image-forming system according to claim 13,

the occurrence of an error being detected by a state-detecting part, and, when the occurrence of the error has been detected, an optical signal representing at least the type of the error that has occurred being transmitted, and the transmitted error being displayed on the display part of the portable terminal.

19. The method for controlling an image-forming system according to claim 13,

the light-emitting elements being turned on or off, the length of a communication display interval during which the optical signals are emitted and communication display is carried out being a length that cannot be identified by the human eye when the optical signals have been emitted by the turning on or off of the light-emitting elements.