JP2020198564A - Image forming system, image forming apparatus, control program for image forming apparatus, and control method for image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent a user from feeling discomfort.SOLUTION: An image forming system comprises a smart speaker, a first information processing apparatus, and an MFP 140. The smart speaker receives input of a first voice, upon input of the first voice, outputs a second voice, and transmits the first voice. Upon receiving the first voice from the smart speaker, the first information processing apparatus transmits language information that can specify the language of the second voice. The MFP 140 includes: an acquisition unit 1402 that acquires the language of the second voice specified from the language information transmitted from the first information processing apparatus; a setting unit 1408 that sets the language; a switching unit 1406 that switches the language set by the setting unit 1408 to the language of the second voice acquired by the acquisition unit 1402; and a speaker 35 that outputs a third voice in the language switched by the switching unit 1406.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present disclosure relates to an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, a control program of the image forming apparatus, and a control method of the image forming apparatus.

In recent years, an image forming apparatus corresponding to not only one language but also a plurality of languages has been proposed. In Patent Document 1, when the processing state of a job instructed by the user is output by voice, the processing state of the job is output by voice in the language corresponding to the user without the user switching the language setting of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus has been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-59958

By the way, in order to improve the convenience of the user, a technique of connecting the image forming device and the smart speaker via a network can be considered. In this technology, the user inputs a job (copy, etc.) to the image forming apparatus by emitting an input voice to the smart speaker. When the input voice is input to the smart speaker, the smart speaker outputs the response voice to the input voice in, for example, the language corresponding to the input voice. For example, when the user inputs the input voice of "one copy" in Japanese, the smart speaker outputs the response voice of "I understand" in Japanese. In addition, when the user inputs the input voice of "Copy one" in English, the smart speaker outputs the response voice of "OK" in English.

Further, for example, it is conceivable to output a completion voice indicating that the job input by the user by the input voice is completed from the smart speaker. However, it is not preferable to continue the connection between the image forming apparatus and the smart speaker for a long time because noise sound is input to the smart speaker. Therefore, it is preferable that the connection time between the image forming apparatus and the smart speaker is short. However, if the connection time between the image forming device and the smart speaker is short, the image forming device cannot send a signal indicating that the job is completed to the smart speaker, and as a result, the completed sound is transmitted from the smart speaker. Cannot be output.

Therefore, it is conceivable to have the image forming apparatus output the completed voice. However, conventionally, there is no known matter of connecting a smart speaker to an image forming apparatus. Even if the matter of connecting the smart speaker to the image forming apparatus is conceived, the relationship between the language of the response voice from the smart speaker and the language of the completed voice from the image forming apparatus is not considered. Therefore, when the language of the response voice from the smart speaker and the language of the completed voice from the image forming apparatus are different, there is a problem that the user feels uncomfortable.

The present disclosure has been devised in view of such circumstances, and relates to an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, an image forming program, and an image forming method that prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable.

According to a certain aspect of the present disclosure, an image forming system including a voice input / output device, an information processing device, and an image forming device, wherein the first voice is input and the first voice is input to the voice input / output device. When the voice is input, the second voice is output and the first voice is transmitted, and the information processing device can specify the language of the second voice when the first voice is received from the voice input / output device. The image forming device is set by a language acquisition unit that transmits language information and acquires the language of the second voice specified from the language information transmitted from the information processing device, a setting unit that sets the language, and a setting unit. An image forming system is provided that includes a switching unit that switches the language to the language of the second sound acquired by the language acquisition unit, and an output unit that outputs the third sound in the language switched by the switching unit. To.

In a certain aspect, the information processing device detects the language of the first voice transmitted from the voice input / output device, and acquires the detected language of the first voice as the language of the second voice, which is transmitted as language information. ..

In a certain aspect, the information processing device transmits the language of the second voice set in the voice input / output device as language information.

In a certain aspect, the image forming system further includes a first providing device that provides audio data, and if the image forming apparatus does not store the audio data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit, the switching unit may be used. It further includes a voice data acquisition unit that acquires voice data corresponding to the language to be switched from the first providing device, and the output unit outputs a third voice based on the voice data acquired by the voice data acquisition unit.

In a certain aspect, when the output unit outputs the third sound before the acquisition of the sound data from the first providing device, the output unit is switched by the switching unit instead of the third sound in the language switched by the switching unit. Output the third voice in the previous language.

In a certain aspect, the image forming apparatus further includes a display unit for displaying an image and a display control unit for controlling the display unit, and the display control unit displays an image in a language switched by the switching unit. Control the display.

In a certain aspect, the image forming system further includes a second providing device that provides image data, and if the image forming device does not store the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit, the switching unit may be used. An image data acquisition unit that acquires image data corresponding to the language to be switched from the second providing device is further provided, and the display control unit causes the display unit to display an image based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit.

In a certain aspect, the display control unit controls the display unit so as to display an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit when the job based on the first voice transmitted from the information processing device is completed. ..

In a certain aspect, when the image forming apparatus determines that the connection between the audio input / output device and the image forming apparatus has been disconnected, the display control unit displays an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit. Control the display.

In certain aspects, the image forming apparatus further comprises a prohibition unit that prohibits control of displaying an image in a language switched by the switching unit.

In a certain aspect, when the job based on the first voice transmitted from the information processing device is completed, the output unit can output the voice in the language before being switched by the switching unit.

In a certain aspect, when an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred and a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before being switched by the switching unit.

In a certain aspect, when an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred in the language switched by the switching unit, and outputs a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before being switched by the switching unit. Output with.

In a certain aspect, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the job based on the voice transmitted from the voice input / output device is completed as a third voice.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a language for acquiring language information capable of identifying the language of the second voice output from the voice input / output device when the first voice from the user is input to the voice input / output device. An acquisition unit, a setting unit for setting a language, a switching unit for switching the language set by the setting unit to the language of the second voice acquired by the language acquisition unit, and a switching unit for the language switched by the switching unit. An image forming apparatus is provided that includes an output unit that outputs three sounds.

In a certain aspect, when the voice data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit is not stored, the voice data acquisition unit for acquiring the voice data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit from the first providing device is further provided. , The output unit outputs a third voice based on the voice data acquired by the voice data acquisition unit.

In a certain aspect, when the output unit outputs the third sound before the acquisition of the sound data from the first providing device, the output unit is switched by the switching unit instead of the third sound in the language switched by the switching unit. Output the third voice in the previous language.

In a certain aspect, a display unit for displaying an image and a display control unit for controlling the display unit are further provided, and the display control unit controls the display unit so as to display an image in the language switched by the switching unit. ..

In a certain aspect, when the image forming apparatus does not store the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit, the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit is acquired from the second providing device. The display control unit further includes an acquisition unit, and causes the display unit to display an image based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit.

In a certain aspect, the display control unit controls the display unit to display an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit when the job based on the first voice is completed.

In a certain aspect, when the image forming apparatus determines that the connection between the audio input / output device and the image forming apparatus has been disconnected, the display control unit displays an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit. Control the display.

In a certain aspect, a prohibition unit for prohibiting control of displaying an image in a language switched by the switching unit is further provided.

In a certain aspect, when the job based on the first voice is completed, the output unit can output the voice in the language before being switched by the switching unit.

In a certain aspect, when an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred and a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before being switched by the switching unit.

In a certain aspect, when an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred in the language switched by the switching unit, and outputs a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before being switched by the switching unit. Output with.

In a certain aspect, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the job based on the voice transmitted from the voice input / output device is completed as a third voice.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the computer is provided with linguistic information capable of identifying the language of the second voice output from the voice input / output device when the first voice from the user is input to the voice input / output device. A control program for an image forming apparatus is provided that executes a step of acquiring, a step of switching a set language to a language of a second voice, and a step of outputting a third voice in the switched language. ..

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, when the first voice from the user is input to the voice input / output device, the step of acquiring the language information that can identify the language of the second voice output from the voice input / output device. A method for controlling the image forming apparatus is provided, which includes a step of switching the set language to the language of the second voice and a step of outputting the third voice in the switched language.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable.

It is a figure for demonstrating the application example of this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the configuration example of the image formation system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware configuration of the MFP of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional structure example of the information processing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional structure example of the MFP of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the image displayed on the display of the MFP of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a voice database. It is a figure which shows an example of an image database. It is a flowchart of the image formation system of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of 1st process. It is a flowchart of a second process. It is a flowchart of the 3rd process.

The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment based on the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, when the number, quantity, etc. are referred to, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the number, quantity, etc., unless otherwise specified. The same parts and equivalent parts may be given the same reference number and duplicate explanations may not be repeated. Further, it is planned from the beginning to use the configurations in each embodiment in appropriate combinations.

<This Embodiment>
[Application example]
First, an application example of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an application example of the present embodiment. The image forming system of this embodiment includes a smart speaker 20 and an MFP 140 (MultiFunction Printer). For example, when the input voice is input to the smart speaker 20, an information processing device or the like described later forms a session between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140. The smart speaker 20 inputs the input voice and outputs the voice in the language of the input voice as the response voice corresponding to the input voice. The MFP 140 can output audio in a set language among a plurality of languages (for example, Japanese and English). The user can freely set the sound to be output by the selection operation. Further, in the MFP 140, Japanese is set as the default setting language. Further, the MFP 140 executes a job based on the input voice (for example, an image forming job or the like).

As shown in FIG. 1 (A), it is assumed that the user U emits the input voice "Please make two color copies" in English. After that, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), the smart speaker 20 outputs a response voice of "OK" in English, which is the same language as the input voice. As a result, the user can recognize that the smart speaker 20 has received the input of the input voice.

The MFP 140 executes a job of creating two color copies as a job based on the input voice. After that, the MFP 140 outputs a completion voice when the job is completed (finished).

Further, it is assumed that the image forming system of the comparative example is configured by connecting the image forming device and the smart speaker via a network in order to improve the convenience of the user. Here, in the image forming system of the comparative example, the relationship between the language of the response voice of the smart speaker 20 and the language of the completed voice of the MFP 140 was not considered. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1C, the MFP140X outputs the completion voice in Japanese, which is the default setting language. In the example of FIG. 1 (C), the completed voice is the voice "copy completed" in Japanese. In the image forming system of the comparative example, as shown by the * mark in FIG. 1 (C), since the language of the response voice and the language of the completed voice are different, there arises a problem that the user feels a sense of discomfort regarding the language.

On the other hand, in the image forming system including the MFP 140 of the present embodiment, the information processing device described later acquires the language of the input voice by analyzing the input voice input to the smart speaker 20. After that, the information processing device transmits the acquired language to the MFP 140. The MFP 140 switches the set language from the set language (Japanese) to the language of the acquired input voice (English). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 (D), the MFP 140 outputs the completion voice in English, which is the switched language. In the example of FIG. 1 (D), the completed voice is the voice "Copy finished" in English. In the image forming system of the present embodiment, as shown by the * mark in FIG. 1 (D), the language of the response voice and the language of the completed voice are the same, so that the user feels a sense of discomfort regarding the language. Can be prevented.

It is conceivable that the smart speaker 20 outputs a completed voice. However, it is not preferable to continue the session between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 for a long time for the following reasons. When the session between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 is continued for a long time, noise sound or the like may be input to the smart speaker 20. When a noise sound or the like is input to the smart speaker 20, the smart speaker 20 or the information processing device described later cannot recognize the noise sound by voice. For this reason, the smart speaker 20 frequently outputs a response voice (for example, a voice such as "Please say again") that is frequently re-listened, or the MFP 140 makes an erroneous voice recognition and the MFP 140 executes an erroneous process. It may end up. Therefore, it is not preferable to continue the session between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 for a long time.

It is conceivable to equip the MFP 140 with an audio input / output function without connecting the smart speaker to the MFP 140. However, if the MFP 140 is provided with a voice input / output function, the manufacturing cost of the MFP 140 increases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the MFP 140 is provided with an audio output function and is not provided with an audio input function.

[Example of functional configuration of image formation system]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of the image forming system 1000 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming system 1000 includes a smart speaker 20, a first network 40, a first information processing device 60, a second network 80, a second information processing device 100, and a third network 120. , MFP 140, first providing device 150, and second providing device 160.

The smart speaker 20 corresponds to the "voice input / output device" of the present disclosure. The MFP 140 corresponds to the "image forming apparatus" of the present disclosure. The first information processing device 60 corresponds to the "information processing device" of the present disclosure. Further, the first information processing device 60, the second information processing device 100, the first providing device 150, and the second providing device 160 are typically configured as cloud devices.

Further, typically, the smart speaker 20 and the first information processing device 60 are the same manufacturer. Further, the second information processing apparatus 100 and the MFP 140 are the same manufacturers.

The "input voice" is a voice emitted from the user and is a voice input to the smart speaker 20. The input voice corresponds to the "first voice" of the present disclosure. The "input voice" is a language emitted by the user in either Japanese or a language other than Japanese (for example, English, Chinese, etc.). The MFP 140 can execute the job based on the job voice included in the input voice.

The "response voice" is a voice emitted from the smart speaker 20. The "response voice" corresponds to the "second voice" of the present disclosure. The "response voice" is a voice that responds to the input voice input to the smart speaker 20.

The "completion voice" is a voice emitted from the MFP 140. The "completion voice" corresponds to the "third voice" of the present disclosure. The “completion voice” is a voice indicating that the job based on the voice input by the user has been completed by the MFP 140.

The user U can input a job to the MFP 140 by emitting an input voice to the smart speaker 20. The voice data of the input voice is input to the first information processing device 60 via the first network 40. The first information processing device 60 detects the language of the voice and the content of the job included in the voice by analyzing the voice data of the input voice. The first information processing device 60 transmits voice data indicating the response voice in the language of the detected voice to the smart speaker 20. The smart speaker 20 outputs the response voice based on the voice data indicating the response voice.

The first information processing device 60 transmits the language of the voice and the contents of the job included in the voice to the second information processing device 100 via the second network 80. The second information processing apparatus 100 converts the spoken language and the content of the job included in the voice into a command format for the MFP 140, and transmits the command to the MFP 140 via the third network 120.

The MFP 140 acquires the spoken language and the content of the job. The MFP 140 executes a job based on the contents of the acquired job. Further, when the executed job is completed, the MFP 140 outputs a completion voice indicating that the job is completed in the acquired language.

In the image forming system 1000 of the present embodiment, the input voice, the response voice, and the completed voice can all be in the same language.

For example, if the input voice is the voice "Please make two color copies" in Japanese, the response voice "I understand" in Japanese is output from the smart speaker 20 and the "copy" in Japanese is output. Is completed. ”Is output from the MFP 140.

When the input voice is the voice "Please make two color copies" in English, the response voice "OK" in English is output from the smart speaker 20, and the completion voice "Copy finished" in English is the MFP140. Is output from.

As described above, the image forming system 1000 of the present embodiment can prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable because the input voice, the response voice, and the completed voice are all in the same language.

[Example of MFP hardware configuration]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the MFP 140. A hardware configuration example of the MFP 140 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the MFP 140 includes a control unit 31, a fixed storage device 32, a short-range wireless IF (Inter Face) 33, an operation panel 34, a paper feed unit 14, a processing unit 11, and a speaker 35. And the network IF36. Each component is connected to the control unit 31 via a bus 38.

The control unit 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 311, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 312 in which a control program is stored, a working S-RAM (Static Random Access Memory) 313, and various types related to image formation. It has a battery-backed NV-RAM (Non-Volatile RAM) 314 for storing settings and a clock IC (Integrated Circuit) 315.

The CPU 311 comprehensively controls the entire MP140 by executing an operation program stored in the ROM 312 or the like. In particular, the MFP 140 of the present embodiment can execute a job based on the input voice to the smart speaker 20.

The ROM 312 stores programs and other data executed by the CPU 311. The S-RAM 313 is a work area when the CPU 311 executes a program, and temporarily stores the program, data when the program is executed, and the like. The NV-RAM 314 is a non-volatile memory backed up by a battery, and stores various settings and the like related to image formation. The clock IC315 measures the time and functions as an internal timer to measure the processing time and the like. The fixed storage device 32 is composed of a hard disk or the like, and stores programs, various data, and the like. The short-range wireless I / F 33 performs short-range wireless communication with other devices.

The operation panel 34 includes a display 1051 and a touch panel 1052. The operation panel 34 is composed of a display 1051 as a display device and a touch panel 1052 as an input device. Specifically, the operation panel 34 is realized by positioning and fixing the touch panel 1052 on the display 1051 (for example, a liquid crystal display). The display 1051 can display a menu screen including characters, a job setting image, an option setting screen, and the like. The touch screen is also referred to as a touch panel display, a display with a touch panel, or a touch panel monitor. In the operation panel 34, for example, a resistance film method or a capacitance method can be used as a method for detecting the touch position.

The paper feeding unit 14 accommodates the paper to be image-formed. The processing unit 11 includes a unit that executes various processes. The processing unit includes, for example, an image forming unit, a scanning unit, and the like. The image forming unit forms a copy image designated by a user or the like on paper. In addition, the scan unit scans an image specified by the user or the like.

The network IF36 can transmit and receive various information via the third network 120. The speaker 35 outputs various voices such as a completed voice.

[Example of functional configuration of the first information processing device]
Next, a functional configuration example of the first information processing device 60 will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the first information processing device 60. As shown in FIG. 4, the first information processing device 60 has functions of a detection unit 602, a conversion unit 604, a storage unit 606, and a transmission / reception unit 608.

The detection unit 602 acquires the input voice data (input voice data) input to the smart speaker 20 via the first network 40. By analyzing the input voice data, the detection unit 602 detects the language of the input voice, the content of the job included in the input voice, the content of the option, and the job execution instruction. In other words, for example, the detection unit 602 executes a voice recognition process on the input voice, so that the language of the input voice, the content of the job included in the input voice, the content of the option, and the job execution instruction And detect.

In the following, information indicating a language is referred to as "language information". Information indicating the contents of a job is called "job information". The contents of the job include, for example, an image formation job, a scan job, and the like. Information indicating the contents of options is called "option information". Options include, for example, performing color printing, performing staple functions, performing double-sided printing, and the like. The job execution instruction means "an instruction to execute a detected job based on the contents of the detected option".

For example, when the input voice is a voice saying "Please make two color copies" in Japanese, the detection unit 602 detects "Japanese" as the language information and "copy" as the job information. Detects "to execute two sheets", detects "to execute color copy" as optional information, and detects an instruction to "execute two color copies" based on the term "please". To do.

When the input voice is the voice "Please make two color copies" in English, the detection unit 602 detects "English" as the language information and "executes two copies" as the job information. Detects "that", detects "performing a color copy" as optional information, and detects an instruction to "perform two color copies" based on the term "Please".

The language information and the job information are output to the transmission / reception unit 608. Further, the language information is output to the conversion unit 604. The conversion unit 604 converts the response voice data based on the linguistic information. In the storage unit 606, for example, a table in which the language information and the response voice data are associated with each other is stored in advance. In this table, for example, the response voice data of the Japanese response voice is associated with the language information that is Japanese. Further, in this table, the response voice data of the English response voice is associated with the English language information.

The conversion unit 604 refers to the table and acquires the response voice data corresponding to the language information acquired from the detection unit 602. The conversion unit 604 transmits the response voice data to the transmission / reception unit 608. The transmission / reception unit 608 transmits the response voice data to the smart speaker 20 via the first network 40. The smart speaker 20 outputs a response voice based on the response voice data.

That is, in the present embodiment, the language of the input voice (first voice) and the language of the response voice (second voice) are the same. Further, the language information generated by the detection unit 602 is also "language information capable of specifying the language of the input voice (first voice)" and "language information capable of specifying the language of the response voice (second voice)". But also.

Further, the transmission / reception unit 608 transmits the language information and the job information as commands to the second information processing apparatus 100 via the second network 80. The second information processing device 100 transmits this command to the MFP 140 via the third network 120.

[Example of MFP function configuration]
Next, a functional configuration example of the MFP 140 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the MFP 140. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 31 of the MFP 140 includes an acquisition unit 1402, an execution unit 1404, a switching unit 1406, a setting unit 1408, a speaker control unit 1410, a display control unit 1412, and a storage unit 1414. Has the function of. The "prohibited portion 1416" shown by the broken line will be described later.

The acquisition unit 1402 acquires a command including language information and job information. That is, the acquisition unit 1402 functions as a language acquisition unit that acquires the language information (language) of the input voice transmitted by the transmission / reception unit 608 of the first information processing device 60. The language information is transmitted to the switching unit 1406.

In addition, the acquisition unit 1402 functions as a job acquisition unit that acquires job information (job) transmitted by the transmission / reception unit 608 of the first information processing device 60. The job information is transmitted to the execution unit 1404.

The execution unit 1404 causes the processing unit 11 to execute a job based on the job information. For example, when the job information is a job indicating an image forming process, the execution unit 1404 causes the image forming unit of the processing units 11 to execute the image forming process. When the job information is a job indicating a scan process, the execution unit 1404 causes the scan unit among the processing units 11 to execute the scan process.

Audio data in a plurality of languages and image data in a plurality of languages are stored in the storage unit 1414. In the example of FIG. 5, the voice data of the plurality of languages are Japanese voice data, English voice data, and Chinese voice data. Further, in the example of FIG. 5, the image data of the plurality of languages are Japanese voice data, English voice data, and Chinese voice data.

The setting unit 1408 sets one of a plurality of languages. Hereinafter, the language set by the setting unit 1408 is also referred to as a “setting language”. The setting unit 1408 sets, for example, the language specified by the user's setting operation. The setting operation by the user is performed on the operation panel 34. In the example of FIG. 5, the set audio data and image data are surrounded by a thick line. In the example of FIG. 5, the setting unit 1408 sets Japanese. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, the Japanese audio data and the Japanese image data are surrounded by a thick line. Typically, the setting unit 1408 sets the native language of the country in which the MFP 140 is installed (Japanese in the present embodiment) as the default language.

The setting unit 1408 extracts audio data and image data in the set language. The setting unit 1408 transmits the voice data in the set language to the speaker control unit 1410. The speaker control unit 1410 outputs the voice based on the voice data in the set language from the speaker 35. As a result, the control unit 31 can output the sound in the language set by the setting unit 1408 from the speaker 35.

Further, the setting unit 1408 transmits the image data in the set language to the display control unit 1412. The display control unit 1412 causes the display 1051 to display a screen based on the image data in the set language. This screen contains one or more characters. As a result, the control unit 31 can display the screen (characters) in the language set by the setting unit 1408 on the display 1051.

The screen displayed on the display 1051 includes a job setting image and an option change image. FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen displayed in the display area 1051A of the display 1051. The example of FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen when the setting language is Japanese.

In the example of FIG. 6, the display screen includes the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322. The job setting image 320 is, for example, an image showing that a job based on an input voice issued by a user has been set. For example, when the input voice is a voice saying "Please make two color copies", an image indicating that two copies are executed is displayed as a job setting image. The job setting image 320 in the example of FIG. 6 is an image in which "2 copies" is set as the number of copies (that is, an image indicating that two copies are executed).

In the example of FIG. 6, the information indicating the changed option is surrounded by a thick line. That is, in the example of FIG. 6, "color copy" is set as the changed option.

By displaying the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 on the display 1051, the MFP 140 allows the user to display the set job and the changed option even when the user inputs the job by voice. You can check.

Further, in the present embodiment, the switching unit 1406 executes a switching process of switching from the language set by the setting unit 1408 (for example, the default language) to the language indicated by the language information acquired by the acquisition unit 1402. For example, when the setting unit 1408 sets Japanese and the acquisition unit 1402 acquires English language information, the switching unit 1406 switches the setting language from Japanese to English.

When the setting unit 1408 sets Japanese, the speaker control unit 1410 outputs Japanese sound from the speaker 35, and the display control unit 1412 displays a Japanese image (character) on the display 1051. Display it. Then, when the switching unit 1406 switches the language set by the setting unit 1408 from Japanese to English, the speaker control unit 1410 sends the English voice from the speaker 35 (the language switched by the switching unit 1406). The display control unit 1412 displays English characters (characters in the language switched by the switching unit 1406) on the display 1051. When the switching unit 1406 switches the setting language to English, the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 of FIG. 6 are displayed in English.

Further, when the job of the processing unit 11 based on the control of the execution unit 1404 is completed, the speaker control unit 1410 outputs the completion voice. The speaker control unit 1410 outputs the completed voice in the language set by the setting unit 1408. For example, when the setting unit 1408 sets Japanese, the speaker 35 outputs a voice saying "copy is completed" as a completion voice. Further, when the setting unit 1408 sets English (when the setting language is switched to English), the speaker 35 outputs the voice "Copy finished" as the completed voice.

Further, when it is determined that an error has occurred in the job processing of the processing unit 11 based on the control of the execution unit 1404, an error voice indicating that the error has occurred is output. Here, the error voice includes a voice indicating that an error has occurred and a voice indicating the content of the error.

For example, when the error is "error of out of toner", the error occurrence voice indicating that the error has occurred is the voice "an error has occurred", and the error content voice indicating the content of the error is The voice says "Toner is out". In the present embodiment, the speaker 35 outputs an error occurrence sound as an error sound, and then continuously outputs an error content sound. For example, the speaker 35 outputs an error voice saying "An error has occurred. Toner is out."

Further, in the MFP 140 of the present embodiment, the speaker 35 is the default language (this) regardless of whether the language is switched by the switching unit 1406 or the language is not switched by the switching unit 1406. In the embodiment, the error occurrence voice and the error content voice are output in Japanese). The default language is the language before switching by the switching unit 1406.

Further, the audio data of the language indicated by the language information acquired by the acquisition unit 1402 may not be stored in the storage unit 1414. This case is, for example, a case where the acquisition unit 1402 acquires linguistic information indicating French. When the acquisition unit 1402 acquires the linguistic information indicating French, the control unit 31 requests the first providing device 150 (see FIG. 2) for voice data corresponding to French. The first providing device 150 holds a voice database that stores voice data of each of a plurality of languages. The first providing device 150 provides the audio data to the MFP 140. The voice data includes the voice data of the completed voice and the voice data of the error voice.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a voice database held by the first providing device 150. In the voice database of FIG. 7, voice data is stored for each of a plurality of languages, Japanese, English, Chinese, French, and German. In the example of FIG. 7, Japanese image data is stored for Japanese, English image data is stored for English, and Chinese image data is stored for Chinese. It is memorized, and the image data for French is stored for French, and the image data for German is stored for German. Image data is also stored in other languages.

The control unit 31 transmits a request signal for requesting French voice data corresponding to French to the first providing device 150. The request signal contains linguistic information (here, French linguistic information).

Upon receiving the request signal, the first providing device 150 extracts the language information included in the request signal and acquires the voice data corresponding to the extracted language information from the voice database. The first providing device 150 transmits the acquired voice data to the MFP 140, which is the source of the request signal.

The acquisition unit 1402 acquires the voice data requested for the first providing device 150 from the first providing device 150. The acquisition unit 1402 temporarily stores the acquired voice data in the storage unit 1414. Further, the setting unit 1408 transmits the stored voice data (French voice data) to the speaker control unit 1410. The speaker control unit 1410 causes the speaker 35 to output a voice (completion voice, error voice, etc.) based on the voice data. The voice data (French voice data) stored in the storage unit 1414 may be deleted or may be retained.

Further, the voice data in French may not be transmitted to the MFP 140 by the time the speaker 35 outputs the completed voice in French. For example, the capacity of the voice data is large, and the voice data does not reach the MFP 140 by the time the speaker 35 outputs the completed voice in French. In other words, it is a case where the completion voice is output before the voice data is acquired from the first providing device 150. In this case, the speaker control unit 1410 is not the requested voice data (voice data in the language switched by the switching process) but the default language (the language before the switching process, which is the present. In the embodiment, the voice of the voice data (Japanese) is output.

Further, the image data of the language indicated by the language information acquired by the acquisition unit 1402 may not be stored in the storage unit 1414. In this case, for example, the acquisition unit 1402 acquires linguistic information indicating French. When the acquisition unit 1402 acquires linguistic information indicating French, the control unit 31 requests the second providing device 160 (see FIG. 2) for image data corresponding to French.

The second providing device 160 holds an image database that stores image data for each of the plurality of languages. The second providing device 160 provides the image data to the MFP 140. The image data includes the image data of the job setting image 320 and the image data of the option change image 322.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an image database. In the image database of FIG. 8, image data is stored for each of a plurality of languages, Japanese, English, Chinese, French, and German. In the example of FIG. 8, Japanese image data is stored for Japanese, English image data is stored for English, and Chinese image data is stored for Chinese. It is memorized, and the image data for French is stored for French, and the image data for German is stored for German. Image data is also stored in other languages.

The control unit 31 transmits a request signal for requesting image data corresponding to French to the second providing device 160. The request signal contains linguistic information (here, French linguistic information).

Upon receiving the request signal, the second providing device 160 extracts the language information included in the request signal and acquires the image data corresponding to the extracted language information from the image database. The second providing device 160 transmits the acquired image data to the MFP 140, which is the source of the request signal.

The acquisition unit 1402 acquires the image data requested for the second providing device 160 from the second providing device 160. The acquisition unit 1402 temporarily stores the acquired image data in the storage unit 1414. Further, the setting unit 1408 transmits the stored image data (French image data) to the display control unit 1412. The display control unit 1412 causes the display 1051 to display an image (character) based on the image data.

Further, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the switching unit 1406 returns the language set by the setting unit 1408 to the language before switching. In the present embodiment, the predetermined condition is that the job based on the input voice is completed. That is, when the job based on the input voice is completed, the switching unit 1406 returns the language set by the setting unit 1408 to the language before switching.

For example, when the language is switched from Japanese to English by the switching unit 1406 and the job by the execution unit 1404 is completed, the switching unit 1406 returns from English to Japanese. By returning the set language from English to Japanese, the speaker 35 can output voice in the language (that is, Japanese) before the switching process. Further, by returning the set language from English to Japanese, the display 1051 can display an image in the language (that is, Japanese) before the switching process.

[Processing flow of image formation system]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart of processing of the image forming system 1000. In the example of FIG. 9, the processing of the first information processing device 60, the second information processing device 100, and the MFP 140 is shown.

First, in step S2, the first information processing device 60 executes the voice reception start process. The voice reception start process is, for example, a process of causing the smart speaker 20 to output a voice such as "Please input voice". The first information processing device 60 outputs this voice in a preset default language (Japanese in this embodiment). After that, in step S3, when the first information processing device 60 acquires the input voice from the smart speaker 20, the first information processing device 60 starts a session (connects the sessions). The session is a session with the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 via the first network 40, the first information processing device 60, the second network 80, the second information processing device 100, and the third network 120.

After that, when the first information processing apparatus 60 acquires the input voice data of the input voice from the user U (for example, see FIG. 1 (A)) via the first network 40, the detection unit 602 inputs in step S4. The language of the input voice is detected by performing voice analysis or the like on the voice. Next, in step S6, the detection unit 602 detects the job content by executing voice analysis or the like on the input voice.

Next, the conversion unit 604 of the first information processing device 60 converts the linguistic information into the response voice data. In step S7, the first information processing device 60 transmits the response voice data to the smart speaker 20 via the first network 40, so that the smart speaker 20 outputs the response voice based on the response voice data. This response voice is the voice of the language detected by the detection unit 602.

Next, in step S8, when the detection unit 602 detects the job content (when the input voice includes the job content), the transmission / reception unit 608 sets the language information and the job indicating the job content. Information is transmitted to the second information processing apparatus 100 via the second network 80. If the detection unit 602 does not detect the job content in step S8 (for example, when the input voice does not include the job content), the process proceeds to step S10 without executing the process of step S8. move on.

Next, in step S10, when the detection unit 602 detects the option content (when the input voice includes the option content), the transmission / reception unit 608 provides the option information indicating the option content to the second network. It is transmitted to the second information processing apparatus 100 via 80. If the detection unit 602 does not detect the option content in step S10 (for example, when the input voice does not include the option content), the process proceeds to step S12 without executing the process of step S10. ..

Next, in step S12, when the detection unit 602 detects the job execution instruction (when the input voice includes the job execution instruction), the transmission / reception unit 608 issues the job execution instruction to the second network 80. It is transmitted to the second information processing apparatus 100 via the system. If the detection unit 602 does not detect the job execution instruction in step S12 (for example, when the input voice does not include the job execution instruction), the process is performed in step S13 without executing the process of step S10. Proceed to.

When the process of step S12 is completed, the first information processing apparatus 60 ends the session in step S13. This session is the session started in step S3. As a result, the session with the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 ends. After that, in step S14, the first information processing device 60 executes the voice re-input request to the smart speaker 20. The voice re-input request is a process of causing the smart speaker 20 to output a voice such as "Please input voice" again. The voice related to the voice re-input request may be the voice in the above-mentioned preset default language, or may be the voice in the language detected in step S4.

Next, the processing of the second information processing apparatus 100 will be described. When the language information and the job information are transmitted from the first information processing device 60 in step S8, the second information processing device 100 transmits the transmitted language information and the job information to the MFP 140 in step S32. Send.

Further, in step S10, when the option information is transmitted from the first information processing device 60, the second information processing device 100 transmits the transmitted option information to the MFP 140 in step S34.

Further, in step S12, when the job execution instruction is transmitted from the first information processing device 60, the second information processing device 100 transmits the transmitted job execution instruction to the MFP 140 in step S36.

Next, the processing of the MFP 140 will be described. When the language information and the job information are transmitted from the second information processing apparatus 100 in step S32, the MFP 140 executes the first process in step S60. When the option information is transmitted from the second information processing apparatus 100 in step S34, the MFP 140 executes the second process in step S62. When the job execution instruction is transmitted from the second information processing apparatus 100 in step S36, the MFP 140 executes the third process in step S64.

FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart of the first process. In step S601, the control unit 31 stores the job content included in the job information transmitted in step S32 in a predetermined storage area (for example, storage unit 1414).

Next, in step S602, the switching unit 1406 determines whether or not the language indicated by the language information transmitted in step S32 is different from the default language. If the switching unit 1406 determines in step S602 that the language indicated by the language information transmitted in step S32 is different from the default language (YES in step S602), the process proceeds to step S603. In step S603, the switching unit 1406 switches from the default language (for example, Japanese) to the language indicated by the language information (for example, English). If the switching unit 1406 determines that the language indicated by the language information transmitted in step S32 and the default language are the same (NO in step S602), the process proceeds to step S604. Further, even when the process of step S603 is completed, the process proceeds to step S604.

In step S604, the setting unit 1408 determines whether or not the voice data of the language after switching is stored in the storage unit 1414. When the setting unit 1408 determines that the voice data of the language after switching is not stored in the storage unit 1414 (NO in step S604), in step S606, the control unit 31 is stored in the storage unit 1414. The voice data determined not to be present is requested to the first providing device 150. Next, in step S607, the control unit 31 stores the requested flag in a predetermined storage area (for example, the storage unit 1414). The requested flag is a flag indicating that the first providing device 150 has requested the voice data determined not to be stored in the storage unit 1414.

If YES is determined in step S604, and if the process of step S607 is completed, the process proceeds to step S608. In step S608, the setting unit 1408 determines whether or not the image data of the language after switching is stored in the storage unit 1414. If the setting unit 1408 determines that the image data of the language after switching is stored in the storage unit 1414 (YES in step S608), the process proceeds to step S610. In step S610, the display control unit 1412 displays the job setting image 320 (an image based on the image data determined to be stored in the storage unit 1414 in step S608) in the language after switching.

If the setting unit 1408 determines that the image data of the language after switching is not stored in the storage unit 1414 (NO in step S608), the process proceeds to step S612. In step S612, the control unit 31 requests the second providing device 160 for voice data determined not to be stored in the storage unit 1414. Further, as shown in parentheses in step S612, when the acquisition unit 1402 acquires the image data from the second providing device 160, the job setting image is displayed with the acquired image data. When the process of step S610 or step S612 is completed, the first process is completed.

FIG. 11 is an example of a flowchart of the second process. In step S622, the control unit 31 changes the options based on the option information transmitted from the second information processing apparatus 100 in step S34, and sets the changed options. Next, in step S624, the display control unit 1412 displays the changed option change image 322. When the process of step S624 is completed, the second process is completed.

FIG. 12 is an example of a flowchart of the third process. In step S642, the execution unit 1404 causes the processing unit 11 to execute the job of the job contents stored in step S601. This job content is the job content stored in step S601 of FIG. Next, in step S644, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the job has been completed normally.

When the control unit 31 determines that the job has ended normally (YES in step S644), the control unit 31 determines whether or not the requested flag is stored. The requested flag is a flag stored in step S607 of FIG. If the control unit 31 determines that the requested flag is stored (YES in step S646), the process proceeds to step S648. The case where it is determined in step S646 that the requested flag is stored is the case where the MFP 140 requests voice data from the first providing device 150 in step S606 of FIG.

In step S648, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the voice data requested for the first providing device 150 has been acquired from the first providing device 150. If NO is determined in step S648, that is, if the MFP 140 does not acquire the voice data of the completed voice even though it is the timing to output the completed voice, the process proceeds to step S652.

In step S652, the speaker control unit 1410 outputs the job completion voice in the language before switching (that is, in the default language). Next, in step S662, when the setting language is switched, the switching unit 1406 returns to the setting language before the switching. By returning to the set language before switching, the image on the display 1051 is displayed in the language before switching.

Next, in step S664, if the requested flag is stored, the control unit 31 deletes the requested flag. After that, the third process ends.

If NO is determined in step S646 and YES is determined in step S648, the process proceeds to step S650. In step S650, the speaker control unit 1410 outputs the job completion voice in the language after switching. In step S650 when NO is determined in step S646, the job completion voice is output based on the voice data (voice data of the language after switching) stored in the storage unit 1414. Further, in step S650 when YES is determined in step S648, the job completion voice is output based on the voice data (voice data of the language after switching) acquired from the first providing device 150.

Further, in step S644, if the control unit 31 determines that the job has not ended normally, that is, if it determines that an error has occurred during job execution (NO in step S644), the process is step S660. Proceed to. In step S660, the speaker control unit 1410 outputs an error voice corresponding to the generated error in the default language (language before switching). After that, the process proceeds to step S662.

[Brief Summary]
(1) The image forming system 1000 of the present embodiment includes a smart speaker 20 and an MFP 140. The smart speaker 20 inputs the input voice from the user, and when the input voice is input, outputs the response voice corresponding to the input voice. Further, the smart speaker 20 transmits the input voice to the first information processing device 60.

When the first information processing device 60 receives the input voice from the smart speaker 20, it transmits language information (information indicating the language of the input voice and the language of the response voice) to the MFP 140. The acquisition unit 1402 acquires the language information transmitted from the first information processing device 60. In the switching unit 1406, when the language set by the setting unit 1408 (default language) and the language indicated by the acquired language information are different (YES in step S602), the language set by the setting unit To switch to the language shown in the acquired language information. The speaker 35 outputs the sound in the language switched by the switching unit 1406.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 1D, the language of the response voice from the smart speaker 20 and the language of the completed voice output from the smart speaker 20 can be obtained without the user U changing the setting language of the MFP 140. Can be the same. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling a sense of discomfort regarding the spoken language without requiring the user to change the set language.

(2) Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the detection unit 602 of the first information processing device 60 detects the language of the input voice input to the smart speaker 20. Further, the transmission / reception unit 608 of the first information processing device 60 transmits the language information of the detected language to the MFP 140. The acquisition unit 1402 of the MFP 140 acquires the transmitted language information. The switching unit 1406 switches from the set language to the language indicated by the acquired language information. Therefore, regardless of the language of the input voice, the switching unit 1406 can switch the set language to the language of the input voice.

(3) Further, the image forming system 1000 further includes a first providing device 150 for providing audio data. When the voice data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit 1406 is not stored in the storage unit 1414 (NO in step S604 of FIG. 10), the MFP 140 first provides the voice data corresponding to the switched language. Request for device 150. The acquisition unit 1402 acquires the voice data from the first providing device 150. The speaker 35 outputs the job completion voice based on the acquired voice data. Therefore, even when the MFP 140 does not store the audio data of the audio of the language to be switched, it can be acquired from the first providing device 150. Therefore, the MFP 140 does not need to store audio data in a large number of languages, and the storage capacity of the MFP 140 can be reduced.

(4) Further, when the voice is output before the voice data is acquired from the first providing device 150, that is, even when the completed voice is output, the voice data has reached the MFP 140 from the first providing device 150. If not (NO in step S648 of FIG. 12), the voice in the language before switching (that is, the default language) is output instead of the voice in the language switched by the switching unit 1406. Therefore, even if the voice data from the first providing device 150 does not reach the MFP 140 when the completion voice is output, the MFP 140 can flexibly deal with it.

(5) Further, the display control unit 1412 can display an image of characters in the switched language (such as the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 shown in FIG. 6) on the display 1051. Therefore, it is possible to display an image of characters in the switched language without requiring a language change operation by the user. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

(6) Further, the image forming system 1000 further includes a second providing device 160 for providing image data. When the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching process is not stored in the storage unit 1414, the MFP 140 requests the second providing device 160 for the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit 1406. .. The acquisition unit 1402 acquires the image data from the second providing device 160. The display control unit 1412 causes the display 1051 to display an image based on the acquired image data. Therefore, even when the MFP 140 does not store the image data of the image of the language to be switched, it can be acquired from the second providing device 160. Therefore, the MFP 140 does not need to store image data in a large number of languages, and the storage area of the MFP 140 can be reduced.

(7) Further, when the speaker 35 outputs the completion voice (voice indicating that the job is completed based on the input voice transmitted from the smart speaker 20), the switching unit 1406 outputs the language before switching (default). Return to language). As a result, the speaker 35 can output sound in the language before switching. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the voice from being output in the language before switching for a long time, and as a result, the convenience of the user can be improved.

(8) Further, for example, the case of the following situation will be described. It is assumed that a user who can understand English but cannot understand Japanese uses the MFP 140 installed in Japan. Further, it is assumed that the default language of the MFP 140 is Japanese. Further, it is assumed that there is an administrator who manages the MFP 140 in the vicinity of the MFP 140. The administrator also understands Japanese but not English.

In such a case, it is assumed that the user (a user who can understand English but cannot understand Japanese) emits an input voice "Please make two color copies". Then, it is assumed that a toner out error occurs in the job related to "two color copies" by the MFP 140. In this case, the MFP 140 switches between a voice indicating that an error has occurred (for example, a voice saying "an error has occurred") and a voice indicating the content of the error (for example, a voice saying "out of toner"). When output in the language after processing (that is, English), the administrator who does not understand English cannot understand that the error has occurred and the content of the error.

Therefore, when an error occurs, the speaker 35 has a voice indicating that the error has occurred (for example, a voice saying "an error has occurred") and a voice indicating the content of the error (for example, "out of toner"). Is output in the language (default language) before the switching process. This makes it possible for an administrator who can understand Japanese but not English to understand that an error has occurred and the content of the error. Therefore, the administrator can smoothly manage the MFP 140.

(9) Further, the MFP 140 outputs the completed voice in the language switched by the switching unit 1406. Therefore, the input voice by the user, the response voice by the smart speaker 20, and the completed voice by the MFP 140 can all be in the same language. Therefore, when the MFP 140 completes the job based on the input voice, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling a sense of discomfort regarding the language of the voice.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the acquisition unit 1402 has been described as acquiring the language information detected by the detection unit 602 of the first information processing apparatus 60. However, the configuration may be as follows. The smart speaker 20 may have a configuration in which a language is set in advance. In this case, the smart speaker 20 outputs the response voice in the set language regardless of the type of the language of the input voice from the user. Further, the acquisition unit 1402 acquires the language information of the language set in the smart speaker 20 from the smart speaker 20. This linguistic information is linguistic information that can specify the language of the response voice (second voice). According to such a configuration, the load of the analysis processing for the input voice of the first information processing device 60 can be reduced, and the language of the response voice from the smart speaker 20 and the language of the completed voice from the MFP 140 are made the same. be able to.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, as shown in step S662 of FIG. 12, a completion voice or an error voice is output as a predetermined condition for returning the language of the image displayed on the display 1051 to the language before switching. It was explained as a condition that However, this predetermined condition may be another condition. As the other condition, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which the connection (session) between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 is disconnected. In the present embodiment, the opportunity for disconnecting the connection (session) between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 is when the processes of steps S8 and S10 are completed. The fact that the processes of steps S8 and S10 are completed means that the first process of step S60 by the MFP 140 and the second process of step S62 by the MFP 140 are completed. The fact that the first process and the second process are executed means that the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 are displayed in the setting language after the switching process. Since the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 are displayed in the setting language after the switching process, the user can visually recognize the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 in the setting language after the switching process. it can. Therefore, after the user visually recognizes the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 in the setting language after the switching process, the job setting image 320 and the option change image 322 are not so important to the user. .. Therefore, in this modification, the predetermined condition is, for example, a configuration in which the connection (session) between the smart speaker 20 and the MFP 140 is terminated.

Even with such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the image from being displayed in the language before switching for a long time, and as a result, the convenience of the user can be improved.

Next, a method for the MFP 140 to recognize that the session has ended will be described. For example, when a session starts, the MFP 140 transmits a predetermined predetermined signal to the first information processing device 60 at predetermined period (for example, 1 second). When the first information processing apparatus 60 receives the predetermined signal, the first information processing apparatus 60 has adopted a configuration in which a response signal is sent back to the MFP 140. Upon receiving the response signal, the MFP 140 recognizes that the session is continuing. Further, when the MFP 140 transmits a predetermined signal to the first information processing device 60 but does not receive a response signal, it determines that the session has ended.

Further, in the present embodiment, the condition for ending the session is described as the condition for ending step S12 as shown in FIG. However, the condition for ending the session may be another condition. The condition for ending the session may be, for example, a condition that a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) elapses from the time when the session is started.

(3) Further, the MFP 140 may be provided with a prohibition unit 1416 that prohibits control of displaying an image in a language that is switched by the switching process. The prohibited portion 1416 is as shown by the broken line portion in FIG. By having such a prohibition unit 1416, the display control unit 1412 does not need to execute the control of displaying the image in the language switched by the switching process. Therefore, the processing load of the control unit 31 having the display control unit 1412 can be reduced. Note that the prohibition unit 1416 may not prohibit the control of displaying the image in the language switched by the display switching process when the language switching operation is performed by the user (in the language switched by the display switching process). You may want to perform control to display the image).

Further, the MFP 140 may be configured not to include the display 1051. According to such a configuration, the size of the MFP 140 can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the MFP 140 can be reduced. Further, the MFP 140 without the display 1051 can appropriately control the MFP 140 by having the prohibition unit 1416.

(4) Further, in the above-described embodiment, when an error occurs in the MFP 140, the speaker 35 has a voice indicating that an error has occurred (for example, a voice saying "an error has occurred") and an error. It was explained that the voice indicating the content of the above (for example, the voice "out of toner") is output in the language (default language) before the switching process. However, the MFP 140 outputs a voice indicating that an error has occurred in the language switched by the switching process, and outputs a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before switching. When a toner out error occurs, the color copy of the MFP140 is stopped and an error voice "An error has occurred out of toner" is output.

In the situation described above, if the error voice "An error has occurred" is output in Japanese, the user who cannot understand Japanese cannot understand why the color copy of the MFP 140 has stopped. Therefore, in this modification, the error-occurring voice indicating that an error has occurred is output in the language (English) after the switching process. On the other hand, the error content voice indicating the error content is output in Japanese. Therefore, even an administrator who does not understand English can understand that an error has occurred and the content of the error.

As a further modification, the MFP 140 may output both the error occurrence voice and the error content voice in the language after switching (for example, English). That is, the MFP 140 may output the voice related to the execution state of the job by the execution unit 1404 in the language after switching (for example, English).

(5) Further, the first information processing device 60 and the second information processing device 100 shown in FIG. 2 may be integrated. In this case, the smart speaker 20, the integrated information processing device, and the MFP 140 are each connected by a network or the like. In the image forming system adopting such a configuration, the number of constituent devices can be reduced, and as a result, the communication charge can be reduced.

In addition, it should be considered that each embodiment disclosed this time is exemplary in all respects and is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the scope of claims rather than the above description, and it is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims. In addition, the inventions described in the embodiments and the modifications are intended to be implemented, either alone or in combination, wherever possible.

11 Processing unit, 14 Feeding unit, 20 Smart speaker, 31 Control unit, 32 Fixed storage device, 34 Operation panel, 35 Speaker, 38 Bus, 40 1st network, 60 1st information processing device, 80 2nd network, 100 2nd information processing device, 120 3rd network, 150 1st providing device, 160 2nd providing device, 1402 acquisition unit, 1404 execution unit, 1406 switching unit, 1408 setting unit, 1410 speaker control unit, 1412 display control unit, 1416 Prohibition part.

Claims (28)

An image forming system including an audio input / output device, an information processing device, and an image forming device.
The audio input / output device is
When the first voice is input and the first voice is input, the second voice is output.
The first voice is transmitted,
When the information processing device receives the first voice from the voice input / output device, the information processing device transmits linguistic information that can identify the language of the second voice.
The image forming apparatus
A language acquisition unit that acquires the language of the second voice specified from the language information transmitted from the information processing device, and
Setting part to set the language and
A switching unit that switches the language set by the setting unit to the language of the second voice acquired by the language acquisition unit, and
An image forming system including an output unit that outputs a third sound in a language switched by the switching unit. The information processing device
The language of the first voice transmitted from the voice input / output device is detected, and the language is detected.
The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the detected language of the first voice is transmitted as the language information and acquired as the language of the second voice. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device transmits the language of the second voice set in the voice input / output device as the language information. The image forming system further includes a first providing device for providing audio data.
When the image forming apparatus does not store the audio data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit, the image forming apparatus acquires the audio data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit from the first providing device. Equipped with a voice data acquisition unit
The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output unit outputs the third voice based on the voice data acquired by the voice data acquisition unit. When the output unit outputs the third voice before the acquisition of the voice data from the first providing device, the output unit is not the third voice in the language switched by the switching unit, but the switching unit. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the third sound is output in the language before being switched by. The image forming apparatus
A display unit that displays images and
A display control unit that controls the display unit is further provided.
The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display control unit controls the display unit so as to display an image in a language switched by the switching unit. The image forming system further includes a second providing device that provides image data.
When the image forming apparatus does not store the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit, the image forming apparatus acquires the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit from the second providing device. Equipped with an image data acquisition unit
The image forming system according to claim 6, wherein the display control unit displays an image based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit on the display unit. The display control unit controls the display unit so as to display an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit when a job based on the first voice transmitted from the information processing device is completed. The image forming system according to claim 6 or 7. When the image forming apparatus determines that the connection between the audio input / output device and the image forming apparatus has been disconnected, the display control unit displays an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit. The image forming system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the display unit is controlled. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a prohibiting unit that prohibits control of displaying an image in a language switched by the switching unit. Claims 1 to claim that the output unit can output a voice in a language before being switched by the switching unit when a job based on the first voice transmitted from the information processing device is completed. Item 10. The image forming system according to any one of Items 10. Claims 1 to claim that when an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred and a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before being switched by the switching unit. 11. The image forming system according to any one of the paragraphs. When an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred in the language switched by the switching unit, and the voice indicating the content of the error before being switched by the switching unit. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which is output in a language. The output unit according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the job based on the voice transmitted from the voice input / output device is completed as the third voice. Image formation system. A language acquisition unit that acquires language information that can identify the language of the second voice output from the voice input / output device when the first voice from the user is input to the voice input / output device.
Setting part to set the language and
A switching unit that switches the language set by the setting unit to the language of the second voice acquired by the language acquisition unit, and
An image forming apparatus including an output unit that outputs a third sound in a language switched by the switching unit. When the voice data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit is not stored, the voice data acquisition unit for acquiring the voice data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit from the first providing device is further provided.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the output unit outputs the third voice based on the voice data acquired by the voice data acquisition unit. When the output unit outputs the third voice before the acquisition of the voice data from the first providing device, the output unit is not the third voice in the language switched by the switching unit, but the switching unit. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, which outputs the third sound in the language before being switched by. A display unit that displays images and
A display control unit that controls the display unit is further provided.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the display control unit controls the display unit so as to display an image in a language switched by the switching unit. When the image forming apparatus does not store the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit, the image data corresponding to the language switched by the switching unit is acquired from the second providing device. With more acquisition departments
The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display an image based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit. 18. The display control unit controls the display unit so as to display an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit when the job based on the first voice is completed. 19. The image forming apparatus according to 19. When the image forming apparatus determines that the connection between the audio input / output device and the image forming apparatus has been disconnected, the display control unit displays an image in the language before being switched by the switching unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, which controls the display unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 21, further comprising a prohibition unit that prohibits control of displaying an image in a language switched by the switching unit. The output unit according to any one of claims 15 to 22, wherein when the job based on the first voice is completed, the output unit can output the voice in the language before being switched by the switching unit. Image forming device. Claims 15 to 15, wherein when an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred and a voice indicating the content of the error in the language before being switched by the switching unit. 23 The image forming apparatus according to any one of the following items. When an error occurs, the output unit outputs a voice indicating that the error has occurred in the language switched by the switching unit, and the voice indicating the content of the error before being switched by the switching unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 23, which outputs in a language. The output unit according to any one of claims 15 to 25, wherein the output unit outputs a voice indicating that a job based on the voice transmitted from the voice input / output device is completed as the third voice. Image forming device. On the computer
A step of acquiring language information that can identify the language of the second voice output from the voice input / output device when the first voice from the user is input to the voice input / output device, and
The step of switching the set language to the second spoken language, and
A control program for an image forming apparatus that executes a step of outputting a third sound in the switched language. A step of acquiring language information that can identify the language of the second voice output from the voice input / output device when the first voice from the user is input to the voice input / output device, and
The step of switching the set language to the second spoken language, and
A method of controlling an image forming apparatus, comprising a step of outputting a third sound in a switched language.

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