Communication control device, communication control method, and communication control system

• US 7,913,171 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2007
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Morikawa, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): HAILU, TADESSE
• Application Number:
  US11/704,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20070198845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 715740-748, 709223-224
• US Class Current: 715/740
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/121 Facilitating exception or error detection and recovery, e.g. fault, media or consumables depleted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00344 with a management, maintenance, service or repair apparatus monitoring H04N1/00002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00464 using browsers, i.e. interfaces based on mark-up languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission

Abstract

A receiving unit receives user-specific identification data from a display processing device connected via a network. A transmitting unit transmits operation screen data to the display processing device, which is for displaying an operation screen for receiving an operation from a user specified by the user-specific identification data received by the receiving unit.

Claims

1. A communication control device connected via a network to each of a first display processing device and a second display processing device, and configured to be logged into by a plurality of users at the second display processing device, and to send through the network to the second display processing device, operation screen data associated with each of the plurality of users who are logged into the communication control device, the communication control device comprising:

a first receiving unit that receives, from the first display processing device, user-specific identification data of one or more of the plurality of users of the second display processing device who are logged into the communication control device; and

a transmitting unit that transmits to the first display processing device, the operation screen data associated with the user identified by the user-specific identification data of said one or more of the plurality of users.

2. The communication control device according to claim 1, further comprising

a second receiving unit that receives operation data from the first display processing device, the operation data indicating an operation performed on the operation screen displayed on the first display processing device based on the first operation screen data, wherein

the transmitting unit transmits second operation screen data including a result of the operation performed based on the operation data received by the second receiving unit to the first display processing device.

3. The communication control device according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit that performs, when the operation data is received by the second receiving unit, a process corresponding to an operation specified by the operation data.

4. The communication control device according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the second operation screen data to the second display processing device in addition to the first display processing device.

5. The communication control device according to claim 1, further comprising

an authenticating unit that performs an authenticating process of determining whether the first display processing device is authorized to refer to the first operation screen data, wherein

when it is determined that the first display processing device is authorized to refer to the first operation screen data, the transmitting unit transmits the first operation screen data to the first display processing device.

6. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the first operation screen data is operation screen data being output to a display device of the communication control device used by a user.

7. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the first operation screen data is operation screen data being output to the second display processing device of the user logged into the communication control device via the network.

8. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the first operation screen data to the first display processing device in a format that can be viewed on a Web browser.

9. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits to the first display processing device third operation screen data for displaying a third operation screen, and the third operation screen includes a user selection list of all users logged into the communication control device, and a different user is selected from among the users of the user selection list to generate the user-specific identification data of the different user.

10. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the first operation screen is customized by the user specified by the user-specific identification data, and the communication control device further comprises a storage unit that stores the first operation screen data for displaying the first customized operation screen in association with the user.

11. The communication control device according to claim 10, wherein the first operation screen data stored by the storage unit is layout data of the first customized operation screen.

12. The communication control device according to claim 10, wherein the customization includes at least one of addition, deletion, rearrangement, downsizing and enlarging.

13. The communication control device according to claim 10, wherein the customization of the first operation screen by the user includes changing size of a graphical object on the first operation screen.

14. A communication control method for a communication control device to control communication between a first display processing device and a second display processing device, each of the first display processing device and the second display processing device being connected to the communication control device via a network, the communication control device being configured to be logged into by a plurality of users at the second display processing device, and to send through the network to the second display processing device, operation screen data associated with each of the plurality of users who are logged into the communication control device, the communication control method comprising:

(a) receiving, by the communication control device from the first display processing device, user-specific identification data of one or more of the plurality of users of the second display processing device who are logged into the communication control device; and

(b) transmitting, by the communication control device to the first display processing device, the operation screen data associated with the user identified by the user-specific identification data of said one or more of the plurality of users.

15. The communication control method according to claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, by the communication control device, operation data from the first display processing device, the operation data indicating an operation performed on the operation screen displayed on the first display processing device based on the first operation screen data; and

transmitting, by the communication control device, second operation screen data including a result of the operation performed based on the operation data received at the second receiving to the first display processing device.

16. The communication control method according to claim 15, further comprising controlling including performing by the communication control device, when the operation data is received at the second receiving, a process corresponding to an operation specified by the operation data.

17. The communication control method according to claim 14, further comprising authenticating including performing by the communication control device an authenticating process of determining whether the first display processing device is authorized to refer to the first operation screen data, wherein when it is determined that the first display processing device is authorized to refer to the first operation screen data, the transmitting includes transmitting the first operation screen data to the first display processing device.

18. The communication control method according to claim 14, wherein the first operation screen data is operation screen data being output to a display device of the communication control device used by a user.

19. The communication control method according to claim 14, wherein the first operation screen data is operation screen data being output to the second display processing device of the user logged into the communication control device via the network.

20. A communication control system that includes a first display processing device, a second display processing device and a communication control device connected via a network to each of the first display processing device and the second display processing device, wherein

the communication control device is configured to be logged into by a plurality of users at the second display processing device, and to send through the network to the second display processing device, operation screen data associated with each of the plurality of users who are logged into the communication control device, and

the communication control device includes

a first receiving unit that receives, from the first display processing device, user-specific identification data of one or more of the plurality of users of the second display processing device who are logged into the communication control device, and

a first transmitting unit that transmits, to the first display processing device, the operation screen data associated with the user identified by the user-specific identification data of said one or more of the plurality of users, and

the first display processing device includes

a second transmitting unit that transmits the user-specific identification data of the user to the communication control device,

a second receiving unit that receives the first operation screen data from the first transmitting unit, and

a display processing unit that displays the operation screen based on the first operation screen data received by the second receiving unit.