IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND PROGRAM

• US 20190109956A1
• Filed: 10/05/2018
• Published: 04/11/2019
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 10,462,313 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 as image forming section that forms an image on a recording medium based on printing conditions, the apparatus comprising:

a state determination unit that determines a state of the image forming apparatus;

an authentication unit that authenticates a user and permits login of the user to the image forming apparatus;

an operation display unit that is capable of displaying an operation screen that receives setting of the printing conditions by the user;

a storage unit that stores 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 unit that 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 logout in a case where the user is logged out without performing the logout operation and the state determination unit determines that there is no change in the state of the image forming apparatus, when the authentication unit permits the login of the user.

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

a document reading snit that reads a placed document and outputs the read document as the image,

wherein the state determination unit determines the state of the placed document as the state of the image forming apparatus by using the document reading unit.

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

an image reading-out unit that reads out an image stored in a storage medium,

wherein the state determination unit determines a storage medium mounted state which is a state of change in mounting the storage medium as the state of the image forming apparatus.

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

a manual feed tray for setting the recording medium,

wherein the state determination unit determines a state of the manual feed tray as the state of the image forming apparatus.

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

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

wherein the returning unit 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 an 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 unit and returns to the state at the time of the logout, in a case where an operation for the returning is performed by the operator.

7. A program executed in 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 being capable of displaying an operation screen that receives setting of 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 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 there is no change in the state of the image forming apparatus, when the authenticating function permits the login of the user.