JP2006261970A - Image forming system, image forming apparatus, management device, and method of matching and managing plugin - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To install a plurality of software functions to an MFP as plugins and to prevent functions usable until then from being turned to an inoperable state in the case of the addition or change of equipment in the MFP. <P>SOLUTION: When a manager replaces the hardware of the MFP, a control part acquires information of replaced new hardware, and acquires the list of plugin information present in the MFP at the present point of time from a storage part (301 to 304). The control part transmits hardware information (serial number or the like) and the plugin information to a server thereafter and requests the decision of plugin application propriety (305). The server decides whether or not the respective plugins present in the MFP at the present point of time are suited to the new hardware and notifies the information of the application propriety to the control part of the MFP. The control part of the MFP receives the information from the server, instructs updating of the plugin information list to the storage part of the present MFP, and makes the storage part update the plugin information list (307, 308). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, a management apparatus, and a plug-in matching management method, and in particular, a multifunction peripheral (MFP) including an image forming apparatus on a network, a server as a management apparatus, a PC as a client, and the like The present invention relates to an image forming system configured to be connected to a terminal device, a management device and a plug-in matching management method that configure the system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an image forming system configured such that a multifunction peripheral (MFP) including an image forming apparatus on a network, a server as a management apparatus, and a terminal device such as a PC as a client are connected, a plurality of software functions for the MFP Can be installed as a plug-in, so that when a device is added or changed in the MFP, the function that was previously available can be It is necessary to be consistent.

  For example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known as a conventional technique capable of installing a software function as a plug-in when a device is added or changed in the MFP. This prior art relates to an image processing apparatus that can execute a plurality of image processing programs, and when the image processing program tries to add or update, the image processing apparatus stores the program. It is determined whether there is a processing means that enables the operation.

  As another conventional technique, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 2 is known. This prior art makes it possible to restrict the activation of an application by performing exclusive control with respect to the activation of a plurality of types of functions (applications) in the MFP, and has an essential relationship or a recommended relationship. A plurality of applications can be started simultaneously.

As another conventional technique, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 3 is known. In this prior art, an MFP and a server that provides software components are connected via a network, a list of components held by the server is displayed on the MFP, and when a user selects a desired component, the MFP detects the component and its authentication. Information, and based on the acquired authentication information, the processing operation in the component is controlled so that the component can be safely installed.
JP 2002-207606 A JP 2004-127280 A JP 2002-152458 A

  All of the above-mentioned conventional technologies relate to the installation of new software from the viewpoint of whether the newly installed software function operates normally or whether it can be safely installed, and so far can be used. In order not to make the function inoperable, no consideration is given to matching the device and the plug-in.

  It is an object of the present invention to install a plurality of software functions as plug-ins in an MFP, and when an apparatus is added or changed in the MFP, the functions that have been used so far become inoperable. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, a management apparatus, and a plug-in matching management method capable of matching a device and a plug-in.

  A first means of the present invention for achieving the above object is that an image forming apparatus to which a new plug-in can be added and a management apparatus that manages plug-in information of various plug-ins are connected via a network. In the connected image forming system, the image forming apparatus acquires storage information for storing plug-in information related to the plug-in of the self-apparatus and acquires plug-in information from the added new plug-in. And information notifying means for notifying the management apparatus of plug-in information stored in the storage means and the plug-in information of a new plug-in acquired by the acquisition means. However, based on the information notified by the information notification means, whether the plug-in possessed by the image forming apparatus is usable or uninstantiated To determine the Le whether, availability information of the plug-in, or characterized by comprising a permission information notifying means for notifying the uninstallation permission information to the image forming apparatus.

  According to a second means of the present invention, in the first means, the plug-in is hardware or software.

  According to a third means of the present invention, in the first or second means, the image forming apparatus further uninstalls the plug-in based on the uninstallability information notified by the permission information notification means. An uninstalling means for installing is provided.

  According to a fourth means of the present invention, in the first or second means, the image forming apparatus further adds a plug-in based on the plug-in availability information notified by the availability information notifying means. Download means for downloading from a management device, and installation means for installing a plug-in downloaded by the download means.

  According to a fifth means of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus connected to a management apparatus that manages plug-in information of various plug-ins via a network and capable of adding a new plug-in. The image forming apparatus includes a storage unit that stores plug-in information related to a plug-in included in the self-device, an acquisition unit that acquires plug-in information from the added new plug-in, and the self-device stored in the storage unit. And information notifying means for notifying the management apparatus of plug-in information of the new plug-in acquired by the acquiring means.

  According to a sixth means of the present invention, in the fifth means, the plug-in is hardware or software.

  According to a seventh means of the present invention, in the fifth or sixth means, the image forming apparatus is further notified from the management apparatus based on information transmitted from the information notification means to the management apparatus. An uninstall unit that uninstalls the plug-in based on installability information is provided.

  According to an eighth means of the present invention, in the fifth or sixth means, the image forming apparatus further receives a plug notified from the management apparatus based on information transmitted to the management apparatus by the information notification means. And a download unit that downloads a plug-in from the management device based on in-use availability information, and an installation unit that installs the plug-in downloaded by the download unit.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management device that is connected to an image forming apparatus to which a new plug-in can be added via a network and manages plug-in information of various plug-ins. Based on the plug-in information of the image means apparatus notified from the image forming apparatus and the plug-in information of the new plug-in, the management apparatus determines whether the plug-in of the image forming apparatus can be used or It is characterized by comprising availability information notifying means for judging whether installation is possible and notifying the image forming apparatus of plug-in availability information or uninstallation availability information.

  The tenth means of the present invention is configured such that an image forming apparatus to which a new plug-in can be added and a management apparatus that manages plug-in information of various plug-ins are connected via a network. In the plug-in matching management method in the image forming system, the image forming apparatus stores plug-in information related to the plug-in of the own apparatus, acquires plug-in information from the added new plug-in, The management apparatus notifies the stored plug-in information of the own apparatus and the acquired plug-in information of the new plug-in to the management apparatus, and the management apparatus, based on the notified information, the image forming apparatus The plug-in availability information or uninstallation is determined by determining whether or not the plug-in has It is achieved by notifying the permission information to the image forming apparatus.

  According to an eleventh means of the present invention, in the tenth means, the plug-in is hardware or software.

  According to a twelfth means of the present invention, in the tenth means or the eleventh means, the image forming apparatus further uninstalls the plug-in based on the notified uninstallability information. It is characterized by.

  According to a thirteenth means of the present invention, in the tenth means or the eleventh means, the image forming apparatus further sends a plug-in from the management apparatus based on the notified plug-in availability information. Downloading and installing the downloaded plug-in.

  According to the present invention, when an administrator of the image forming apparatus updates an apparatus of the image forming apparatus, whether or not the update can be applied with the current plug-in, You can know what version of the plug-in you need.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the administrator on the image forming apparatus side can uninstall the plug-in that is no longer required by a display instruction from the control unit of the image forming apparatus. Effects such as shortening the startup time can be expected.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the administrator on the image forming apparatus side can simultaneously install a plurality of installable plug-ins after matching with the device configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  Embodiments of an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, a management apparatus, and a plug-in matching management method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a network configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of devices connected to the network of the image forming system. 1 and 2, 11 is a server, 13 and 14 are MFPs, 15 is LP, 16 and 17 are PCs, 111 and 131 are storage units, 112 and 132 are control units, 113 is a determination unit, 114, 134, 164 is a network interface (Network I / F), 115, 135, and 165 are CPUs, 133 is an operation unit, 136 is a display unit, 161 is a storage device, 162 is a display, and 163 is an input device.

  An image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a download server (hereinafter simply referred to as a server) 11 serving as a management apparatus that holds and manages printer drivers and plug-in information thereof on a network, an image forming apparatus, A plurality of MFPs 13 and 14 that are multifunction machines capable of performing a plurality of functions such as a scanner, a LP 15 that is a single-function printer for printing, a plurality of PCs as terminal devices by an information processing apparatus used by a user, Are connected and configured.

  In the image forming system according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, each of the PCs 16 and 17 includes a printer driver, and selects one of the MFPs 13, 14, and LP 15 and gives an instruction to select the MFP 13, 14 and the LP 15 can print necessary documents and the like.

  In the image forming system illustrated in FIG. 1, the server 11 includes a storage unit 111, a control unit 112, a determination unit 113, a network I / F 114, and a CPU 115 as illustrated in FIG. 2. . The server 11 does not need to be connected to a network such as an in-house LAN, and may be connected via a public communication line including the Internet. Further, the server 11 may manage the plug-in list, plug-in information, printer driver, etc. of all the MFPs owned by all the customers managed by the server in common for all the MFPs. Each MFP may be managed individually. The server 11 determines an instruction and request from another device received via the network I / F 114 by the determination unit 113, a list of plug-ins that enable various types of hardware and software, plug-in information, A printer driver or the like is transmitted to the request source.

  The MFPs 13 and 14 are provided with a plurality of functions such as an image forming apparatus and a scanner, and an information processing function. As shown in FIG. 2, the MFPs 13 and 14 hold plug-in information of various drivers of the own apparatus. The storage unit 131, the control unit 132, the operation unit 133, the Network I / F 134, the CPU 115, and the display unit 136 are configured. Then, the MFPs 13 and 14 perform a copy operation according to an instruction from the user using the operation unit 133 or print out a document or the like according to an instruction from the PCs 16 and 17 input via the network I / F 134. Can do.

  The PCs 16 and 17 are information processing terminal devices used by individual users. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 161, the display 162, the input device 163, the Network I / F 164, and the CPU 165 It is configured with.

  In the above description, plug-in information for hardware and software held and managed in the server 11 is updated when the functions of the hardware and software are changed. Here, the plug-in information is update information for each function composed of the entire function itself or a plurality of functions.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence chart for explaining a first example of the processing operation in the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above. Next, this will be explained. The processing here is processing for updating the “plug-in information list” registered in the MFP when the device configuration of the MFP is changed.

(1) Now, for system maintenance (function expansion) by the system administrator, the hardware (board etc.) or software of the MFP (software or hardware, these hardware or software is also called plug-in, but hereinafter referred to as hardware) ) Is replaced (sequence 301).

(2) The control unit of the MFP acquires new hardware information replaced by the system administrator (sequence 302).

(3) Thereafter, the control unit of the MFP requests the list of plug-in information currently existing in the MFP from the storage unit of the MFP, and the list of plug-in information currently present in the MFP from the storage unit Is acquired (sequences 303 and 304).

(4) After acquiring a list of plug-in information currently existing in the MFP, the control unit of the MFP transmits hardware information (such as a serial number) and plug-in information to the server to apply the plug-in. Requests a judgment of availability. Note that the ID information of the MFP itself can be included as information to be transmitted to the server (sequence 305).

(5) The server that has received the request for determining whether or not the plug-in can be applied from the MFP determines whether or not each plug-in currently existing in the MFP is compatible with the new hardware. As information, “applicability” information is notified to the control unit of the MFP. For plug-ins that are “not applicable”, the version upgrade information to be applied is also notified (sequence 306).

(6) The control unit of the MFP receives the “applicability” information from the server, instructs the storage unit of the MFP to update the plug-in information list, and the storage unit updates the plug-in information list. Then, the end of the update is notified to the control unit (sequences 307 and 308).

  As a result of the processing described above, when an administrator on the MFP side updates an MFP device, whether or not the update can be applied with the current plug-in, and when it cannot be applied, which version of which plug-in Can know what is needed.

  FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining a second example of the processing operation in the embodiment of the present invention. Next, this will be explained. Note that this processing is processing for simultaneously uninstalling a plurality of plug-ins that can be uninstalled after matching with the device configuration of the MFP in response to an instruction from the system administrator.

(1) The control unit of the MFP displays a plug-in uninstallation method on the display unit of the MFP. Plug-ins that can be uninstalled are displayed as candidates such as “depending on usage frequency”, “old version within the same plug-in”, “unnecessary due to hardware configuration change”, etc. (sequence 401).

(2) The control unit of the MFP requests the list of plug-in information currently existing in the MFP from the storage unit of the MFP, and obtains the list of plug-in information currently present in the MFP from the storage unit (Sequence 402, 403).

(3) Then, the control unit of the MFP displays plug-in information that can be uninstalled (sequence 404).

(5) The control unit of the MFP receives the selection and confirmation of the plug-in to be uninstalled by the user who is an administrator, and uninstalls the corresponding plug-in (sequence 405).

(6) Thereafter, the control unit of the MFP instructs the storage unit of the MFP to update the plug-in information list, and the storage unit updates the plug-in information list and notifies the control unit of the end of the update (sequence). 406, 407).

  Through the above-described processing, the administrator on the MFP side can uninstall the plug-in that is no longer needed according to a display instruction from the control unit of the MFP, thereby reducing the startup time of the MFP. You can expect. The trigger for starting display in the sequence 401 may be periodic, such as an instruction from the administrator, when the remaining capacity of the memory becomes a predetermined value or less, or at the start of work.

  FIG. 5 is a sequence chart for explaining a third example of the processing operation in the embodiment of the present invention. Next, this will be explained. Note that this processing is processing for simultaneously installing a plurality of plug-ins that can be installed after receiving an instruction from the system administrator and matching with the device configuration of the MFP.

(1) The control unit of the MFP requests a list of plug-in information currently present in the MFP from the storage unit of the MFP, and obtains a list of plug-in information currently present in the MFP from the storage unit (Sequences 501 and 502).

(2) The control unit of the MFP sends a list of plug-in information currently present in the MFP acquired from the storage unit to the server, inquires whether there is a plug-in that has been upgraded, and version Up information is acquired (steps 503 and 504).

(3) The control unit of the MFP displays installable plug-in information (upgrade information) on the display unit based on the acquired version upgrade information (sequence 505).

(4) The user determines which plug-in is to be installed based on the information displayed on the display unit, and selects and confirms one or more plug-ins (sequence 506).

(5) Upon receiving the confirmation from the user in step 506, the control unit of the MFP transmits a download request for the corresponding plug-in to the server, and acquires the plug-in. At that time, the server can perform processing such as excluding plug-ins having installation history in the past from the charge target (sequences 507 and 508).

(6) The control unit of the MFP installs the corresponding plug-in acquired from the server in the device, displays the completion of installation on the display unit, and notifies the user (sequences 509 and 510).

  Through the processing described above, the administrator on the MFP side can simultaneously install a plurality of plug-ins that can be installed after matching with the device configuration of the MFP.

  The processing in each sequence in the embodiment of the present invention described above is configured as a processing program and can be executed by a CPU provided in the MFP or server, and these programs include FD, CDROM, DVD, and the like. It can be provided by being stored in a recording medium.

  In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the plug-in target has been described as hardware. However, the present invention can also be applied to software including a printer driver, a scanner driver of a scanner provided in the MFP, and the like. .

1 is a block diagram showing a network configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a device described in a network of an image forming system. It is a sequence chart explaining the 1st example of processing operation in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence chart explaining the 2nd example of processing operation in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence chart explaining the 3rd example of processing operation in an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Server 13, 14 MFP
15 LP
16, 17 PC
111, 131 Storage unit 112, 132 Control unit 113 Judgment unit 114, 134, 164 Network interface (Network I / F)
115, 135, 165 CPU
133 Operation unit 136 Display unit 161 Storage device 162 Display 163 Input device

Claims (13)

In an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus capable of adding a new plug-in and a management apparatus managing plug-in information of various plug-ins are connected via a network.
The image forming apparatus includes a storage unit that stores plug-in information related to a plug-in that the image forming apparatus has, an acquisition unit that acquires plug-in information from a new plug-in that has been added, and a storage unit that is stored in the storage unit. Information notification means for notifying the management apparatus of plug-in information of the apparatus and plug-in information of a new plug-in acquired by the acquisition means,
The management device determines whether to use or uninstall the plug-in of the image forming apparatus based on the information notified by the information notification unit, and determines whether or not to use the plug-in. An image forming system comprising: a permission information notifying unit for notifying the image forming apparatus of uninstallability information.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the plug-in is hardware or software.   3. The image according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus further includes an uninstallation unit that uninstalls the plug-in based on the uninstallation availability information notified by the availability information notification unit. Forming system.   The image forming apparatus further installs a download unit that downloads a plug-in from the management device and a plug-in downloaded by the download unit based on the plug-in availability information notified by the availability information notification unit. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising an installation unit. In an image forming apparatus that is connected via a network to a management apparatus that manages plug-in information of various plug-ins and can add a new plug-in,
The image forming apparatus includes a storage unit that stores plug-in information related to a plug-in that the image forming apparatus has, an acquisition unit that acquires plug-in information from a new plug-in that has been added, and a storage unit that is stored in the storage unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: information notification means for notifying the management apparatus of plug-in information held by the apparatus and plug-in information of a new plug-in acquired by the acquisition means.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plug-in is hardware or software.   The image forming apparatus further includes an uninstalling unit that uninstalls the plug-in based on the uninstallability information notified from the management device based on the information transmitted to the management device by the information notification unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:   The image forming apparatus further includes download means for downloading a plug-in from the management apparatus based on plug-in availability information notified from the management apparatus based on information transmitted to the management apparatus by the information notification means. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an installation unit that installs the plug-in downloaded by the download unit. In a management apparatus that is connected to an image forming apparatus capable of adding a new plug-in via a network and manages plug-in information of various plug-ins,
Based on the plug-in information of the image means apparatus notified from the image forming apparatus and the plug-in information of the new plug-in, the management apparatus can determine whether the plug-in of the image forming apparatus can be used, or A management apparatus comprising: a permission information notification unit that determines whether or not uninstallation is possible and notifies the image forming apparatus of plug-in availability information or uninstallation permission information. Plug-in matching management method in an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus capable of adding a new plug-in and a management apparatus managing plug-in information of various plug-ins are connected via a network In
The image forming apparatus stores plug-in information related to the plug-in held by the own apparatus, acquires plug-in information from the added new plug-in, and stores the plug-in information held by the own apparatus and Notifying the management device of the plug-in information of the acquired new plug-in,
Based on the notified information, the management device determines whether or not the plug-in possessed by the image forming apparatus can be used or whether or not it can be uninstalled. A plug-in matching management method comprising: notifying the image forming apparatus of information.   11. The plug-in matching management method according to claim 10, wherein the plug-in is hardware or software.   The plug-in matching management method according to claim 10 or 12, wherein the image forming apparatus further uninstalls the plug-in based on the notified uninstallability information. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image forming apparatus further downloads a plug-in from the management apparatus based on the notified plug-in availability information, and installs the downloaded plug-in. Plug-in consistency management method.

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