Method of and system for dynamically controlling during run time a multifunction peripheral (MFP) touch panel user interface (UI) from an external remote network-connected computer

A multifunction peripheral device capable of communicating with an external computer over a network, the multifunction peripheral device comprising:

• a user interface including a touch panel display to display user interface controls that allow a user to access a set of capabilities of the multifunction peripheral device;
• and
• an internal computer coupled to the user interface, the internal computer programmed to operate the multifunction peripheral device to perform operations associated with the set of capabilities, the internal computer programmed to, subsequent to the user selecting a service, communicate to the external computer via the network that the service has been selected, and to receive information, provided by the external computer via the network, describing at least one user interface control to be displayed on the touch panel display and/or at least one processing rule for at least one user interface control, the internal computer programmed to update the touch panel display based on the received information,
• wherein the multifunction peripheral device is configured to receive, from the external computer, application information capable of, at least in part, controlling the touch panel display to display processing information needed to integrate the multifunction peripheral device with at least one enterprise application.

A method of communicating between a multifunction peripheral device and an external computer over a network, the multifunction peripheral device comprising a user interface including a touch panel display to display user interface controls that allow a user to access a set of capabilities of the multifunction peripheral device, the method comprising:

• receiving indication via the user interface that a user has selected a service;
• communicating to the external computer via the network that the service has been selected;
• receiving information, provided by the external computer via the network, describing at least one user interface control to be displayed on the touch panel display and/or at least one processing rule for at least one user interface control, wherein information received by the multifunction peripheral device from the external computer includes extended mark-up language (XML) data describing content to be displayed on the touch panel display;
• and
• updating the touch panel display based on the received information.

A method of communicating between a multifunction peripheral device and an external computer over a network, the multifunction peripheral device comprising a user interface including a touch panel display to display user interface controls that allow a user to access a set of capabilities of the multifunction peripheral device, the method comprising:

• receiving indication via the user interface that a user has selected a service;
• communicating to the external computer via the network that the service has been selected;
• receiving information, provided by the external computer via the network, describing at least one user interface control to be displayed on the touch panel display and/or at least one processing rule for at least one user interface control;
• updating the touch panel display based on the received information;
• and
• receiving, from the external computer, application specific information capable of, at least in part, controlling the touch panel display to display processing information needed to integrate the multifunction peripheral device with at least one enterprise application to which the application specific information relates.

At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a software program that, when executed by a computer, performs a method of communicating between a multifunction peripheral device and a external computer over a network, the multifunction peripheral device comprising a user interface including a touch panel display to display user interface controls that allow a user to access a set of capabilities of the multifunction peripheral device, the method comprising:

• receiving indication via the user interface that a user has selected a service;
• communicating to the external computer via the network that the service has been selected;
• receiving information, provided by the external computer via the network, describing at least one user interface control to be displayed on the touch panel display and/or at least one processing rule for at least one user interface control, wherein information received by the multifunction peripheral device from the external computer includes extended mark-up language (XML) data describing content to be displayed on the touch panel display;
• and
• updating the touch panel display based on the received information.

At least one non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a software program that, when executed by a computer, performs a method of communicating between a multifunction peripheral device and a external computer over a network, the multifunction peripheral device comprising a user interface including a touch panel display to display user interface controls that allow a user to access a set of capabilities of the multifunction peripheral device, the method comprising:

• receiving indication via the user interface that a user has selected a service;
• communicating to the external computer via the network that the service has been selected;
• receiving information, provided by the external computer via the network, describing at least one user interface control to be displayed on the touch panel display and/or at least one processing rule for at least one user interface control;
• updating the touch panel display based on the received information;
• and
• receiving, from the external computer, application information capable of, at least in part, controlling the touch panel display to display processing information needed to integrate the multifunction peripheral device with at least one enterprise application.