Notification control apparatus for replying to received information and notification control method

• US 9,807,133 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2014
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirabayashi, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Donaghue, Larry
• Application Number:
  US14/319,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20150381669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1226 Discovery of devices having required properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture

Abstract

In accordance with one embodiment, a notification control apparatus comprises an interface and a control section. The interface receives first information sent from a terminal held by a user. The control section calculates, based on the information received by the interface, a distance from the notification control apparatus to the terminal held by the user, and carries out a control to send reply information to the terminal held by the user if the distance is within a given range, and not to send reply information if the distance is out of the given range.

Claims

1. A image forming apparatus, comprising:

a processor that executes instructions to perform operations, comprising;

receiving, via an interface, first information sent from a terminal held by a user;

calculating, based on the first information received by the interface, a distance from the image forming apparatus to the terminal held by the user, and carrying out a control to send reply information to the terminal held by the user if the distance is within a given range, and not to send reply information if the distance is out of the given range;

sending second information to other image forming apparatuses if the distance is within a given range; and

carrying out, if the second information is received from the other image forming apparatuses, a control so as not to send reply information to the terminal held by the user even if the first information is received.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the interface receives the position information of the terminal, and

wherein the operations further comprise calculating the distance based on the position information received by the interface and the position information of the image forming apparatus.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the interface receives the first information through a wireless communication, and

wherein the operations further comprise calculating the distance based on the strength of electric wave when the first information is received.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first information is a sound sent from the terminal held by the user,

the interface collects the sound sent from the terminal, and

wherein the operations further comprise calculating the distance based on the level of the collected sound.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operations further comprise sending the second information to other image forming apparatuses if a mode switching instruction is received from the user.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operations further comprise sending reply information to the terminal held by the user if a mode switching instruction is received from the user and the mode is switched.

7. A image forming method of the image forming apparatus, including:

receiving, by a system comprising a processor, first information sent from a terminal held by a user;

calculating, by the system, based on the received information, a distance from the image forming apparatus to the terminal held by the user;

sending, by the system, reply information to the terminal held by the user if the distance is within a given range;

not sending, by the system, reply information if the distance is out of the given range;

sending, by the system, second information to other image forming apparatuses if the distance is within a given range; and

carrying out, by the system, if the second information is received from the other image forming apparatuses, a control so as not to send reply information to the terminal held by the user even if the first information is received.