IP Library Patent Application 16695454
Patent Application
App. No. 16/695,454

INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM

Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US None
App. No.
16/695,454
Abstract

An information processing apparatus includes an obtaining unit that obtains positional information regarding a worker who maintains an operation apparatus that performs a process requested by a user and a search unit that searches for, among plural operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus provided at a position a predetermined distance or more away from a position indicated by the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit as an operation apparatus to perform the process requested by the user.

Claims (45)

1 . An information processing apparatus comprising:

an obtaining unit that obtains positional information regarding a worker who maintains an operation apparatus that performs a process requested by a user; and

a search unit that searches for, among a plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus provided at a position a predetermined distance or more away from a position indicated by the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit as an operation apparatus to perform the process requested by the user.

2 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein, if there are a plurality of operation apparatuses provided at positions the predetermined distance or more away from the position indicated by the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit, the search unit searches for an operation apparatus among the plurality of operation apparatuses in accordance with a predetermined search condition.

3 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein a condition that, among the plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus closest to a user terminal used by the user to request the process be searched for is set as the predetermined search condition.

4 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 ,

wherein distances between the user terminal and the plurality of operation apparatuses are indicated by distances along passages through which the user moves from the user terminal to the operation apparatuses.

5 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein a condition that, among the plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus having a property required to achieve the process requested by the user be searched for is set as the predetermined search condition.

6 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 ,

wherein a condition that, among the plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus having a property required to achieve the process requested by the user be searched for is set as the predetermined search condition.

7 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 ,

wherein a condition that, among the plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus having a property required to achieve the process requested by the user be searched for is set as the predetermined search condition.

8 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information within a limited period.

9 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information within a limited period.

10 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information within a limited period.

11 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information within a limited period.

12 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information within a limited period.

13 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 8 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information in a period that starts at a time point a first period before a scheduled start time of maintenance for each of the operation apparatuses and that ends at a time point a second period after a scheduled end time of maintenance.

14 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the positional information a plurality of times, and

wherein, if a track of the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit in time series is a particular track, the search unit includes even an operation apparatus provided at a position less than the predetermined distance away from positions indicated by the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit in search targets as one of candidate operation apparatuses to perform the process requested by the user.

15 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 14 ,

wherein the particular track is a track pointing away from the operation apparatus provided at the position less than the predetermined distance away from the position indicated by the positional information.

16 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein, if the obtaining unit has obtained positional information regarding a plurality of workers, the search unit searches for an operation apparatus provided at a position the predetermined distance or more away from any of the plurality of workers located at positions indicated by the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit.

17 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein, if maintenance of each of the operation apparatuses is finished before a scheduled maintenance period for the operation apparatus ends, the search unit searches for one of the plurality of operation apparatuses regardless of the predetermined distance.

18 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for processing information, the process comprising:

obtaining positional information regarding a worker who maintains an operation apparatus that performs a process requested by a user; and

searching for, among a plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus provided at a position a predetermined distance or more away from a position indicated by the positional information obtained in the obtaining as an operation apparatus to perform the process requested by the user.

19 . An information processing system comprising:

an information processing apparatus including an obtaining unit that obtains positional information regarding a worker who maintains an operation apparatus that performs a process requested by a user and a search unit that searches for, among a plurality of operation apparatuses, an operation apparatus provided at a position a predetermined distance or more away from a position indicated by the positional information obtained by the obtaining unit as an operation apparatus to perform the process requested by the user; and

an operation apparatus including a reception unit that receives the process requested by the user from the information processing apparatus and a control unit that performs control such that the process received by the reception unit is performed.

20 . The information processing system according to claim 19 ,

wherein the operation apparatus includes a transmission unit that transmits positional information regarding a position at which the operation apparatus is provided, and

wherein the obtaining unit of the information processing apparatus obtains the positional information regarding the operation apparatus transmitted from the transmission unit of the operation apparatus.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 28, 2021
From: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
To: FUJIFILM BUSINESS INNOVATION CORP.
Reel/Frame 056078/0098 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 26, 2019
From: TAKAYAMA, HIDEAKI
To: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 051115/0486 →