JP2015201053A - Image forming apparatus and control method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control access to group setting information by an expansion program made by a third person, and control access from a user on the outside a group.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus defines an authority in accordance with specific permission defined in an expansion program not made by a third person, distinguishes data of an expansion program having the authority from data of an expansion program not having the authority, and synchronizes only the data of the expansion program having the authority to ensure performance and security. The image forming apparatus controls access from a user not belonging to a group by being connected to group management information.

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, an image forming apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a setting value of an image forming apparatus that can be synchronized with an external apparatus.

  In recent years, attention has been paid to attempts to improve business efficiency by promoting information sharing in groups such as departments and projects, such as the introduction of groupware in offices. Furthermore, with the spread of cloud computing, cloud services are often used for these attempts. Under such circumstances, the convenience of the user can be improved if a configuration in which setting information for each group is managed on the cloud and shared between devices can be introduced in the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus, an extension program such as a java (registered trademark) application can be installed later. In many cases, these extension programs have released development kits to third parties, and include applications developed by vendors other than the vendor of the image forming apparatus. When group setting information handled by an application developed by a third party is linked indefinitely to the cloud, it becomes difficult to control the data size of group setting information and performance during synchronization. There is also a security concern depending on the contents of the group setting information. Therefore, when considering cloud collaboration in an image forming apparatus, at least the data handled by a third-party program and the data handled by an in-house program by the vendor of the image forming apparatus are distinguished from each other. Need to be considered.

  Further, since the group setting information is information that should be shared among users belonging to the group, it is necessary to perform control such as prohibiting access by users outside the group.

  As a well-known technique, a method of managing a group or application data with a host server or the like and sharing it between client devices has been proposed. However, in the known technique, it is necessary to make the host server resident in order to perform group management on the host server. In order to solve the above, Patent Document 1 proposes a method of providing a group management mechanism in each client device and further providing a function library for an application to synchronize and share data for each group.

JP-A-6-314248

  However, although the method of Patent Document 1 places restrictions on user participation conditions at the time of creating a group, no consideration has been given to control when users outside the group access data. In addition, since the function library provided for the application is not limited, group setting information can be synchronized and shared by incorporating a predetermined function into the program in any application. Accordingly, assuming a system capable of managing group setting information and cloud synchronization in a function built in the image forming apparatus in advance, there is a problem that data to be synchronized cannot be controlled by distinguishing third-party applications. In addition, there is a problem that access control to the user group setting information cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, solves the above-described problems, realizes data sharing while ensuring data security for a third-party program, and also sets user groups. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that realizes access control to information and a control method thereof.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has the following configuration. That is,
An image forming apparatus having a platform capable of installing an application for accessing group setting information,
First storage means for storing first group setting information capable of synchronizing group setting information with an external device connected to the image forming apparatus;
Second storage means for storing second group setting information;
As a result of confirming the authority of the application, in response to confirming that the application has the authority to access the first storage unit, the application is associated with a group to which a user operating the application belongs. And control means for permitting the operation of the first group setting information while permitting the operation of the second group setting information without confirming the authority of the application.

  According to the present invention, similarly to the built-in function, it is possible to distinguish the data handled by a third-party program and the company-made program for cloud-added programs in consideration of security and data size. . Furthermore, it is possible to perform user access control on setting information for each group.

System configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment Hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment Software configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment Flowchart of a procedure for registering group setting information in the first embodiment Flowchart of a procedure for registering user setting information in the second embodiment Flowchart of a procedure for referring to user setting information in the second embodiment Flowchart of a procedure for deleting group setting information in the third embodiment The figure which shows an example of the group selection screen at the time of deleting group setting information in Embodiment 3 Image of data structure when managing group setting information Image of data structure when managing user setting information 12 is a flowchart of a procedure for synchronizing user setting information in the second embodiment. The figure which shows an example of group management information The figure which shows an example of the deletion screen of group setting information in Embodiment 3 Figure showing an example of the extension program permission file

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Definition of terms>
First, terms in this embodiment are defined.
“Setting value” indicates a parameter on software for switching the operation of the image forming apparatus set in the image forming apparatus.
“User setting information” represents setting values and data managed for each user who uses the image forming apparatus. For example, button information or address book created for each user.
“Group setting information” represents setting values and data that are associated and managed for each group to which a user who uses the image forming apparatus belongs. For example, an address book set for a group. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the group setting information and the above-described user setting information, they are collectively referred to as “setting information”. The setting information may be simply referred to as “setting”.
“Group management information” indicates information of the group itself. For example, group A indicates affiliation information indicating which user belongs, information on an identifier for uniquely identifying the group, and the like.
“User identifier” indicates an attribute for uniquely identifying a user. From the user identifier, the user name of the user and the group to which the user belongs can be acquired.
“Group identifier” indicates an attribute for uniquely identifying a group. The group identifier is uniquely assigned to a group on every image forming apparatus.
The “embedded program” indicates a program such as an application originally incorporated in the image forming apparatus.
The “extended program” refers to a program that can be installed later after a Java (registered trademark) application or the like.
“Cloud synchronization” indicates a process of synchronizing data in the image forming apparatus and data on the cloud. When the user logs in to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus downloads setting information related to the user managed on the cloud into the image forming apparatus. When the user edits the setting information on the image forming apparatus, the edited data is uploaded to the cloud when the user logs out. These series of processes are collectively referred to as “cloud synchronization”.
“Permission” represents an access right to a specific action related to a file on disk or security. An application written in Java has a mechanism for declaring permissions to the application and controlling file access and the like. FIG. 14 is an example of a permission file. By specifying a specific permission in this file, you can grant authority to the application. The object whose access is controlled by permission is, for example, a file such as setting information. For example, the owner of the file, the group of users who use the system, the group of users who use the system, and other users such as Other , Permissions for each operation such as read, write, and execute can be defined.
“Serialization” is a term used in object-oriented programming, and indicates that an object existing in a certain environment is converted into a serially readable / writable format such as a byte string or XML format. More specifically, export a variable (field) that represents the state of the object and possibly some identifier that represents the type (class) of the object in the form of a byte string or XML format that can be filed. Say. As a result, the data represented by the object can be saved as a file or transmitted over a network.
“Deserialization” indicates that a serialized byte string or XML format is restored to an object understandable by the program.
The above is an explanation of terms. Other than the explanation here, terms will be explained as appropriate. The above definition is an example, and includes not only java but also equivalents and functions in other systems and languages.

[Embodiment 1]
This embodiment is an embodiment when the extended program 303 registers group setting information in the image forming apparatus 101.

<System and hardware configuration>
The system configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus 101 is a digital composite image forming apparatus that integrates a print function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and a transmission function (e-mail, FTP, etc.), and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a scanner, and a facsimile. The image forming apparatus 101 has a mechanism for managing setting values and address books for each individual or for each group. When the user logs in at the time of use, the setting value unique to the user, the setting value of the group to which the user belongs, and the like can be reflected in the image forming apparatus 101.
A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 102 is a general-purpose computer for personal use, and includes a desktop type and a notebook type. When the setting information registered in the image forming apparatus 101 reaches the upper limit, the setting information described later can be deleted by connecting via the LAN 103.
The LAN 103 is a local area network. The image forming apparatus 101 can be connected to another image forming apparatus (not shown), the PC 102, and the Internet 104 via the LAN 103.
104 is the Internet. The Internet 104 may be realized by a network such as a single wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or an ad hoc network. The Internet 104 may be composed of a composite of a plurality of WANs, LANs, and ad hoc networks as required. In addition, the Internet in the present embodiment is an example, and may be another communication network or a combination of networks.
The external device 105 is an external device that manages setting information of the image forming apparatus 101. In the present embodiment, a cloud server connected to the image forming apparatus 101 via the Internet 104 is assumed, but an internal server connected via the LAN 103 may be used.

The hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit 201 controls the image forming apparatus 101 in an integrated manner. The internal bus 202 connects hardware components. The CPU 203 executes a control program stored in the ROM 205.
The HDD 204 is a non-volatile storage area and holds setting values, operation logs, and the like. It is also a storage location for setting information, which is a feature of the present invention. The ROM 205 is a read-only nonvolatile storage area and holds a control program for the image forming apparatus 101. The RAM 206 is a work memory area for executing a program, and is used as a temporary storage area. A display I / F 207 connects the display 212 and the control unit 201. The operation unit I / F 208 connects the operation unit 213 and the control unit 201. The printer I / F 209 connects the printer 214 and the control unit 201. The scanner I / F 210 connects the scanner 215 and the control unit 201. A network I / F 211 is an interface unit for connecting to the LAN 103 and communicates with an image forming apparatus (not shown) and the Internet 104 via the LAN 103. The display 212 displays error information and the like according to the user operation and the state of the image forming apparatus. The operation unit 213 includes key input means, which are controlled by the CPU 203. The user gives various setting instructions for scanner reading and print output, and operation / stop instructions through key input. The operation unit 213 may be directly operated on the display 212 such as a touch panel, and is not particularly limited. The printer 214 prints image data on a recording medium. Image data to be printed by the printer 214 is transferred from the control unit 201 to the printer 214 via the printer I / F 209. The scanner 215 reads an image on a document, generates image data, and transfers the image data to the control unit 201 via the scanner I / F 210.

<Software configuration>
FIG. 3 is a software configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 101. Each component indicated by a square in FIG. 3 represents software. Each software of the image forming apparatus 101 is stored in the ROM 205 or the HDD 204 and executed by the CPU 203. Various information used at the time of execution is held in the RAM 206 or the HDD 204, and various information is exchanged between software functions. Further, communication with an external device is performed using the network I / F 211. Each software is described below.
The OS 301 is system software that provides basic functions commonly used by many application software such as input / output functions, disk and memory management, and manages the entire system.
The extension program execution platform 302 is a platform that operates on the OS 301 necessary for the operation of the extension program 303. By applying the extension program execution platform 302, the extension program 303 can be operated without depending on the OS 301. For example, it corresponds to javaVM (registered trademark) on which a java application operates.
The extension program 303 is a program that operates on the extension program execution platform 302. The extension program 303 can access each module of the image forming apparatus 101 such as another extension program 303 and the RAM 205 only through the extension program execution platform 302 or the extension program system service 304.
The extended program system service 304 is a program that runs on the extended program execution platform 302. The extended program system service 304 is a utility library that is useful for the extended program 303 and is provided from the system. The service can be used by calling the extended program system service 304 from the extended program 303.
The built-in program 305 is a control program originally provided for a printer, a facsimile, a scanner, or the like.
The setting deletion unit 306 deletes setting information managed by an extension user setting management unit 307, an extension group setting management unit 308, and a built-in setting management unit 312 described later. A setting deletion unit 306 provides a servlet function, and a user can delete setting information from a web browser on the PC 102.
The extension user setting management unit 307 provides a function for managing user setting information handled by the extension program.
The extension group setting management unit 308 provides a function for managing group setting information handled by the extension program.
The authentication management unit 309 performs user authentication management. When the user is logged in, group management information such as the user name of the user and a list of belonging groups can be acquired by making an inquiry to the authentication management unit 309 from the extended program 303 or the extended program system service 304.
The extension group management unit 310 provides a management function of group management information to the extension program.
The extension user setting holding unit 311 holds user setting information managed by the extension user setting management unit 307.

<User setting information>
Here, the user setting information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an image diagram of the data structure of the user setting information held by the extension user setting holding unit 311. User setting information is managed in a tree structure, with the top node being a user node, the next being an application node, and an arbitrary node below it. Each user has an access right only to data under his / her user node. Each application has an access right only to data under its own application node.
In the example of FIG. 10, user setting information related to user A is held for application A and application B. User setting information is stored in a key-value format and is registered in an arbitrary node. That is, the user setting information can be defined for each program for each user. Here, the key-value method is one of the data storage and management methods. For each piece of data (value: value) you want to save, set a corresponding unique indicator (key) and pair them together. This is a method of saving. Further, as described above, the user setting information held in the extended user setting holding unit 311 cannot be synchronized with the external device 105 in order to ensure the performance and security of cloud synchronization.

Returning to the description of FIG. 3 again.
The embedded setting management unit 312 provides a function for managing setting information handled by the embedded program 305.
The built-in group management unit 313 provides a management function for group management information to the built-in program 305.
The cloud synchronization unit 314 synchronizes setting information managed on the external device 105 and setting information held in an embedded user setting holding unit 315 and a group setting holding unit 316 described later. When a user logs in to the image forming apparatus 101, settings related to the user are acquired from the external apparatus 105. When the user logs out, the setting information related to the user, which is held in the built-in user setting holding unit 315 and the group setting holding unit 316, is transmitted to the external device 105. For example, the external device 105 updates the user setting information of the user with the received setting information.
The built-in user setting holding unit 315 holds user setting information managed by the built-in setting management unit 312. The user setting information held in the built-in user setting holding unit 315 is synchronized with the external device 105 by the cloud synchronization unit 314.
The group setting holding unit 316 holds group setting information managed by the setting management unit 312 for incorporation. The group setting information held in the group setting holding unit 316 is synchronized with the external device 105 by the cloud synchronization unit 314.

<Group setting information>
Here, the group setting information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an image diagram of the data structure of the group setting information held by the group setting holding unit 316. The group setting information has the same configuration as the user setting information in FIG. 10 except that the highest node is a group node. Each user has an access right only to data under the group node to which the user belongs. Each application has an access right only to data under its own application node.

Returning to the description of FIG. 3 again.
The group management information holding unit 317 holds group management information managed by the embedded group management unit 313.

<Group management information>
Here, the group management information held by the group management information holding unit 317 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is an example of group management information.
1201 is a group name. Here, the group name is used as an example. However, the group name is not limited to this as long as the group identifier can be uniquely specified.
1202 is the user name. Users who belong to each group are managed in association with the group name.
1203 is a roll. For example, the authority for each user such as an administrator user or a general user is shown. As described above, it should be noted that the group management information is information indicating which user belongs to which group together with the authority of the user, and is distinguished from the group setting information.

Returning to the description of FIG. 3 again.
The scanner control unit 318 is a program that controls the scanner 215 via the scanner I / F 210. The printer control unit 319 is a program for controlling the printer 214 via the printer I / F 209.
The common group setting holding unit 320 holds group setting information common to all users. Since the group setting information held in the common group setting holding unit 320 can be accessed by all users, user access control described later becomes unnecessary.

<Group setting information registration process>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow in which the extension program 303 registers group setting information in the group setting holding unit 316 in the present embodiment. When the extended program 303 wants to synchronize the group setting information with the external device 105, it is necessary to register the group setting information in the group setting holding unit 316 according to this flowchart.
FIG. 4 starts from a step in which the extended program 303 acquires a user identifier for identifying a user from the authentication management unit 309, and ends in a step in which group setting information is registered in the group setting holding unit 316. The trigger for this processing is, for example, a button operation by the user for group setting displayed or provided on the operation unit 213 of the image forming apparatus 101.

Step S401 is a step in which the extension program 303 requests the authentication management unit 309 for a user identifier that identifies a user.
In step S402, the authentication management unit 309 returns the requested user identifier to the extension program 303. When a certain user is logged in, the authentication management unit 309 returns a user identifier indicating the user.
In step S403, the extension program 303 requests the authentication management unit 309 for a group identifier that identifies the group to which the user belongs. By using the user identifier acquired in step S402, the group identifier of the group to which the user belongs can be acquired.
Step S404 is a step in which the authentication management unit 309 requests a group identifier from the extension group management unit 310.
In step S405, the expansion group management unit 310 requests the group management unit 313 for a group identifier.
Step S406 is a step in which the embedded group management unit 313 requests the group management information holding unit 317 for a group identifier.
In step S407, the group management information holding unit 317 returns a group identifier to the built-in group management unit 313. Thereafter, the requested group identifier is sequentially responded to the request source, and the group identifier requested by the extended program 303 is received.

Step S408 is a step in which the expansion program 303 designates the registration destination or storage destination of the group setting information to the expansion group setting management unit 308. The designation is performed, for example, by causing the display 212 to display a registration destination designation screen by a predetermined operation and then causing the operation unit 213 to input the registration destination. Alternatively, the registration destination may be coded in the extended program 303. The registration destination of the group setting information includes a group setting holding unit 316 and a common group setting holding unit 320, and one of these is designated.
Step S409 is a step in which the extension group setting management unit 308 receives the registration destination of the group setting information.
Step S410 is a step in which the expansion program 303 requests the expansion group setting management unit 308 to register group setting information. When the extension program 303 requests registration, the user identifier acquired in step S401 and the group identifier acquired in step S403 are passed to the extension group setting management unit 308, so that the login user information and the registration are registered. Specify the target group.
Further, the extension program 303 can give the following flag when registering the group setting information.
Reference flag / synchronization flag / device setting distribution flag The reference flag is a flag indicating whether or not access from a user outside the group is permitted. The setting value of this flag can control whether or not access from outside the group to the group setting information is permitted.
The synchronization flag is a flag indicating whether or not to be subject to cloud synchronization. Whether or not the group setting information is a target of cloud synchronization can be controlled by the setting value of this flag.
The device setting distribution flag is a flag indicating whether or not the device setting distribution flag is a target of device setting distribution. Device setting distribution is a mechanism for distributing setting values of an image forming apparatus to other image forming apparatuses. Whether or not the group setting information can be distributed to other image forming apparatuses can be controlled by the setting value of this flag.

Step S411 is a step in which the extension group setting management unit 308 confirms the permission of the extension program 303. Since the group setting information registered in the group setting holding unit 316 is subject to cloud synchronization, the permission is checked in this step to limit the extension programs that can register the group setting information. If the extension program 303 has a specific permission, the process proceeds to step S410. If the extension program 303 does not have the specific permission, the flowchart is ended assuming that there is no registration authority. The specific permission may be appropriately determined, for example, and the permission of the permission is an authority to register the group setting information determined by the procedure after step S411.
Step S412 is a step in which the expansion group setting management unit 308 confirms the registration destination of the group setting information designated in step S408. There are two registration destinations of the group setting information: the common group setting holding unit 320 and the group setting holding unit 316. Since the common group setting holding unit 320 can be accessed by any user, it is not necessary to consider user access control. Therefore, in this step, the registration destination is determined, and subsequent processing is changed according to the registration destination. If the registration destination is the group setting holding unit 316, the process proceeds to step S415. If the registration destination is the common group setting holding unit 320, the process proceeds to step S413.

Step S413 is a step in which the setting setting management unit 312 registers group setting information in the common group setting holding unit 320.
Step S414 is a step in which the common group setting holding unit 320 registers group setting information. Since this step does not require user access control, this flowchart is terminated after registration.

On the other hand, when the registration destination is the group setting holding unit 316, step S415 is performed. In step S415, the expansion group setting management unit 308 determines whether or not the logged-in user belongs to the registration target group. In step S410, the user identifier passed from the extended program 303 includes the group identifier of the group to which the user belongs. Therefore, by comparing the group identifier passed from the extended program 303 in step S410 with the group identifier that can be acquired from the user identifier indicating the login user, the user belongs to the group to be registered in the group setting information. Determine whether or not. If the logged-in user belongs to the group to be registered, the process proceeds to step S416. If the logged-in user does not belong to the group, the present flowchart is ended assuming that there is no registration authority.
In step S416, the extension group setting management unit 308 requests (or requests) registration of group setting information from the built-in setting management unit 312.
Step S417 is a step in which the setting setting management unit 312 registers group setting information in the group setting holding unit 316.
In step S418, the group setting holding unit 316 receives a registration request from the setting management unit 312 for incorporation.

As described above, only the extended program 303 that holds a specific permission can register the group setting information in the group setting holding unit 316 and synchronize with the external device 105. In other words, by not granting the permission to the extension program 303 made by a third party, it becomes possible to distinguish and synchronize the data of the extension program 303 made by the third party and the extension program 303 made by the company. In addition, by comparing the group identifier that can be obtained from the user identifier that indicates the login user and the group identifier that indicates the group to be registered, the login user can register the group setting information for a group to which the login user does not belong. Can be prevented.
Note that the access to the extended program 303 and the user can be controlled by referring to the group setting information in the same flow as this flowchart.
In addition, permission is defined for java (registered trademark) programs. In the above example, extension programs are conveniently written in java, but the same definition as permission is possible for programs. As long as it is a simple language, it is not necessarily a java program.

[Embodiment 2]
This embodiment is an embodiment when the extension program 303 and the embedded program 305 share user setting information registered in the embedded user setting holding unit 315.
As described above, the extension program 303 is assumed to be a later program created in a language such as java. However, when these programs write data to a file, serialization processing may be performed. Data serialized by a certain extension program 303 must be deserialized and referenced by the extension program 303, and therefore cannot be referenced from the embedded program 305.
On the other hand, when the built-in program 305 writes user setting information, serialization is not performed. Therefore, when the extended program 303 refers to it, if it is deserialized, the user setting information cannot be referred to.
In order to solve these problems, the present embodiment serializes according to conditions when registering user setting information from the extended program 303, and deserializes only necessary information when referring to the user setting information. Can be shared. In this way, one database is shared between the extension program and the built-in program by performing necessary conversion when registering user setting information (same for group setting information) by the expansion program 303 and performing reverse conversion at the time of reference. it can.
In the present embodiment, only user setting information is mentioned, but the same applies to group setting information.
Since the system configuration, hardware configuration, and software configuration of the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

In this embodiment, in order to show an embodiment in the case where user setting information registered in a certain image forming apparatus is referred to by another image forming apparatus in cloud synchronization, the following flow is described.
I. Register user setting information
II. Synchronize user setting information
III. As a matter of course, the user setting information can be referred to, and the problem can be similarly solved even when registration / reference is made on a single image forming apparatus.

<I. Register user setting information>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a flow in which the extension program 303 registers user setting information. This flowchart starts from a step in which the extended program 303 acquires a user identifier from the authentication management unit 309, and ends in a step in which the built-in user setting holding unit 315 registers user setting information. In addition, although this flowchart demonstrates registration of user setting information, it is the same also about registration of group setting information. Steps S501 to S502 are the same as steps S401 to S402 in the flowchart of FIG.

Step S503 is a step in which the expansion program 303 designates the registration destination of the user setting information to the expansion user setting management unit 308. The specification procedure is the same as that in step S408 in FIG.
Step S504 is a step in which the extension user setting management unit 308 receives the registration destination designated from the extension program 303.
Step S505 is a step in which the extension program 303 requests the extension user setting management unit 308 to register user setting information.
Step S506 is a step in which the extension user setting management unit 308 confirms the registration destination specified in step S504. When the registration destination is the extended user setting holding unit 311, sharing with the built-in program 305, which is a problem in the present embodiment, does not occur, so no special processing is necessary. This flowchart describes registration of user setting information. However, in the case of group setting information, this step is not necessary because there is no registration destination dedicated to the extended program 303. If the registration destination is the extension user setting holding unit 311, the process proceeds to step S507. If the registration destination is the built-in user setting holding unit 315, the process proceeds to step S509.
Step S507 is a step in which the extended user setting management unit 307 registers the user setting information in the extended user setting holding unit 311.
Step S508 is a step in which the extension user setting holding unit 311 registers user setting information. Since the extension user setting holding unit 311 is used only by the extension program 303, data sharing with the embedded program 305, which is a problem of the present embodiment, does not occur. The flowchart ends.

Step S509 is a step in which the extension user setting management unit 307 checks the permission of the extension program 303. The confirmation of the permission in this step is the same as that in step S411 in FIG. If the extended program 303 has a specific permission, the process proceeds to step S510. If the extended program 303 does not have the specific permission, the present flowchart is ended assuming that there is no registration authority.
Step S510 is a step in which the extension user setting management unit 307 confirms the type of user setting information requested for registration from the extension program 303. As described above, when the extension program registers user setting information, serialization processing is performed. However, in order to share it with the built-in program, it is necessary to save it as a byte string without serialization, so check the type of the data requested for registration in this step and perform serialization according to that type Determine whether or not. If the type of the user setting information requested for registration is a byte string, the process proceeds to step S512. If the type is other than that, the process proceeds to step S511.

Step S511 is a step in which the extended user setting management unit 307 serializes the user setting information requested for registration. Since serialized user setting information needs to be deserialized at the time of reference, a flag indicating serialization is assigned to the serialized user setting information. Unlike the above flag, this flag cannot be explicitly given by the extension program 303. To the last, the extension user setting management unit 307 automatically assigns according to the type of user setting information to be registered.
In step S512, the extension user setting management unit 307 requests the built-in setting management unit 312 to register user setting information.
Step S513 is a step in which the embedded setting management unit 312 registers the user setting information in the embedded user setting holding unit 315.
Step S514 is a step in which the built-in user setting holding unit 315 registers user setting information.

  As described above, when registering the user setting information, when the registration destination is the embedded user information holding unit 315, the extension program 303 confirms the type of user setting information requested for registration, In this case, registration is performed without performing serialization processing. As a result, as in the case of registration from the embedded program 305, the registered state can be realized without serialization, and can be referred to from the embedded program 305 and the extended program 303 according to the flowchart of FIG. .

<II. Synchronize user setting information>
The user setting information registered by the flowchart of FIG. 5 is synchronized with the external device 105 at the timing when the user logs out. In the flowchart of FIG. 11, the user setting information registered in the image forming apparatus A along the flow of the flowchart of FIG. 5 is synchronized with the external apparatus 105, and the user setting information is further synchronized with another image forming apparatus B. This explains the flow. Note that the expressions “image forming apparatuses A and B” are expressions for emphasizing that they are separate individuals, and there is no difference between the above-described image forming apparatus 101 in hardware configuration and software configuration.
This flowchart starts from a step in which the user logs out of the image forming apparatus A, and ends in a step in which the built-in user setting holding unit 315 of the image forming apparatus B updates the user setting information.

Step S1101 is a step in which the user logs out of the image forming apparatus A. Here, it is assumed that the user logs out after registering the user setting information along the flow of the flowchart of FIG.
Step S1102 is a step in which the cloud synchronization unit 314 of the image forming apparatus A transmits user setting information to the external apparatus 105 such as a cloud server that holds setting information. The cloud synchronization unit 314 of the image forming apparatus A transmits, to the external device 105, user setting information related to the logged out user, which is held in the built-in user setting holding unit 315, using the user logout as a trigger. The above-mentioned various flags are also transmitted at the same time. Further, the group setting information relating to the logged out user held in the group setting holding unit 316 is also transmitted to the external device 105 in the same manner.
Step S1103 is a step in which the external apparatus 105 receives user setting information from the image forming apparatus A. Further, the external device 105 updates the user setting information managed by the external device 105 with the received user setting information.

Step S1104 is a step in which the user edits the user setting information on the external device 105. User setting information managed by the external device 105 can be freely edited by an administrator or the like. In step S1102, the user setting information and various flags transmitted from the image forming apparatus A can be edited here.
The external device 105 provides a web application for editing setting information and various flags. The user connects to the external device 105 using a web browser such as a PC (not shown), and operates the screen provided by the web application to edit arbitrary setting information. The configuration of the external device 105 includes object information provided by the extended program execution platform 302 such as javaVM, the extended group setting management unit 308, and the extended user setting management unit 307, as with the image forming apparatus 101. include. Therefore, as with the image forming apparatus 101, serialization / deserialization of the setting information can be performed. When editing the setting information, the external device 105 checks a flag indicating the presence / absence of serialization, deserializes it as necessary, and displays it on the editing screen. In addition, after editing by the user, serialization is performed as necessary, and a flag indicating the presence or absence of serialization is given.
The user setting information edited on the external device 105 includes a display language. For example, by changing the setting information related to the display language registered in “Japanese” on the image forming apparatus A to “English” on the external apparatus 105, the display language is displayed when logging into the image forming apparatus B. Can be treated as "English".
Of course, editing is arbitrary, and it is possible not to edit.

Step S1105 is a step in which the user logs into the image forming apparatus B. In the flowchart of FIG. 11, the process of step S1104 and the process of this step are described by arrows, but this step is not derived from the process of step S1104. Here, the user setting information of the image forming apparatus A is expressed as such for the sake of convenience in order to emphasize a series of flows transmitted to the image forming apparatus B via the external apparatus 105. This process is independent of the process before step S1104.
In step S1106, the cloud synchronization unit 314 of the image forming apparatus B requests the external apparatus 105 to download user setting information. Using the step S1105 as a trigger, the cloud synchronization unit 314 requests the external device 105 to download user setting information related to the user.
Step S1107 is a step in which the external apparatus 105 transmits user setting information to the image forming apparatus B. The user setting information edited in step S1104 and various flag information are transmitted. At this time, the group setting information of the group to which the user belongs may be transmitted together.

In step S1108, the cloud synchronization unit 314 of the image forming apparatus B receives user setting information from the external apparatus 105.
Step S1109 is a step in which the embedded setting management unit 312 of the image forming apparatus B updates the user setting information held in the embedded user setting holding unit 315 with the user setting information received in step S1108. .
Step S1110 is a step in which the built-in user setting holding unit 315 updates the user setting information. The user setting information updated in this step is referred to from each extension program 303 along the flow described in <III. Refer to user setting information> described later. At this time, when the group setting information is received, the group setting information may be synchronized. However, it is the group setting information stored in the group setting holding unit 316 that is to be updated, and the group setting information stored in the shared group setting holding unit 320 is not to be updated.

  As described above, the user setting information registered in the image forming apparatus A is synchronized with the external apparatus 105 using the user logout as a trigger. The user setting information and various flags held in the external device 105 can be freely edited on the external device 105. Thereafter, the user setting information is downloaded from the external device 105 to the image forming apparatus B with a user login at the image forming apparatus B as a trigger. As a result, the user setting information and various flag information can be shared between the image forming apparatus A and the image forming apparatus B.

<III. Refer to user setting information>
The flowchart in FIG. 6 is a flow in the case where the user setting information registered in one image forming apparatus A is referred to on the image forming apparatus B after being transmitted to another image forming apparatus B according to the flowchart in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating.
Steps S601 to S604 are the same as steps S501 to S504 in the flowchart of FIG.

Step S605 is a step in which the extension program 303 requests the extension user setting management unit 307 to refer to the user setting information.
Step S606 is a step in which the extended user setting management unit 307 confirms the reference destination specified in step S604. When the reference destination is the extension user setting holding unit 311, since it is not necessary to consider sharing with the built-in program 305, the reference destination is determined in this step. If the reference destination is the extension user setting holding unit 311, the process proceeds to step S607, and if the reference destination is the built-in user setting holding unit 315, the process proceeds to step S609.
In step S607, the extension user setting management unit 307 refers to the user setting information from the extension user setting holding unit 311.
Step S608 is a step in which the extended user setting holding unit 311 returns user setting information. When the reference destination is the extension user setting holding unit 311, the flowchart ends because the sharing with the built-in program, which is a problem of the present embodiment, does not occur.

Step S609 is a step in which the extension user setting management unit 307 confirms the permission of the extension program 303. Since this step is the same as step S411 in the flowchart of FIG. 4, description thereof is omitted. If the extended program 303 has permission, the process proceeds to step S610. If the extension program 303 does not have permission, the flowchart is ended assuming that there is no reference authority.
In step S610, the extension user setting management unit 307 requests the built-in setting management unit 312 to refer to the user setting information.
Step S611 is a step in which the built-in setting management unit 312 refers to the user setting information from the built-in user setting holding unit 315.
Step S612 is a step in which the built-in user setting holding unit 315 returns user setting information.
Step S613 is a step in which the extension user setting management unit 307 checks a flag indicating whether or not the user setting information is serialized. As shown in step S511 of the flowchart in FIG. 5, since the flag is added to the serialized setting information, this flag is confirmed in this step. Further, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the user setting information referred to in this step is acquired from another image forming apparatus via the external apparatus 105, but the flag can also be acquired. pay attention to. If the flag indicating serialization is assigned (or set), the process proceeds to step S614, and if not, the process proceeds to step S615.
Step S614 is a step in which the extended user setting management unit 307 deserializes user setting information.
In step S615, the extension user setting management unit 307 returns user setting information to the extension program 303.

As described above, the extended program 303 can appropriately refer to the user setting information registered by the built-in program 305 and the extended program 303 by confirming the flag indicating the presence / absence of serialization and deserializing as necessary. it can.
According to the present embodiment, when setting information is registered from the extended program 303, serialization is appropriately performed according to the registration destination and the type of setting information, and a flag indicating the serialization is given. As a result, the setting information can be registered from the extended program 303 in the same format as the embedded program 305.
At the time of reference, the flag is confirmed, and deserialization is performed only when the flag is given. As a result, since the flag is not given to the setting information written from the built-in program 305, the setting information can be referred to without unnecessary deserialization from the extended program 303.
In addition, the flag and setting information can be cloud-synchronized to enable editing on the external device 105 and referencing on another image forming device, and can be incorporated into the extended program 303 on any image forming device 101. Setting information can be shared with the program 305.

[Embodiment 3]
This embodiment is an embodiment when the user manually deletes the group setting information. The image forming apparatus 101 has an upper limit value for the number of groups that can register group setting information, and provides a mechanism for deleting unnecessary group setting information in order to secure capacity.
At the time of cloud synchronization, since the setting information related to the logged-in user is synchronized from the cloud, there is a mechanism in which setting information other than the logged-in user disappears from the oldest when the capacity is exceeded. Even when cloud synchronization is not used, there is a mechanism to automatically delete old setting information.
However, if you do not use cloud synchronization, there may be no backup if the setting information disappears automatically, so the automatic deletion function may be turned off. In this case, the present embodiment describes a case where the user manually deletes the group setting information.
Since the system configuration, hardware configuration, and software configuration of the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow when the user deletes the group setting information. This flowchart starts from a step in which a user requests display of a group list, and ends in a step in which the group setting holding unit 316 for embedding deletes group setting information. This flowchart describes the deletion of the group setting information, but the same applies to the user.
Step S701 is a step in which the user instructs the setting deletion unit 306 to delete the setting information. The setting deletion unit 306 has a servlet function, and the user instructs deletion of setting information from the web browser of the PC 102. FIG. 13 is an example of a deletion screen provided by the setting deletion unit 308.
Reference numeral 1301 denotes a group setting information deletion screen.
Reference numeral 1302 denotes a button for deleting all group setting information. When the user presses 1302, all the group setting information held in the group setting holding unit 316 is deleted.
A button 1303 is used to delete the group setting information of the specified group. When the user presses 1303, the screen transits to a group selection screen described later.

Returning again to the description of FIG.
In step S702, the setting deletion unit 306 requests the extension group setting management unit 308 to refer to the registered group list.
In step S703, the extension group setting management unit 308 requests the built-in setting management unit 312 to refer to the registered group list.
Step S704 is a step in which the setting setting management unit 312 acquires a registered group list from the group setting holding unit 316.
Step S705 is a step in which the group setting holding unit 316 returns a registered group list.
Step S706 is a step in which the setting deletion unit 306 acquires group management information from the expansion group management unit 310 in order to confirm the existence of a group. The group list acquired in step S702 is a group list related to group setting information registered in the group setting holding unit 316. On the other hand, the group management information holding unit 317 holds group management information. Since the group setting information and the group management information are independent of each other, there is a possibility that the group setting holding unit 316 holds the setting information of the group that has already been deleted in the group management information. Therefore, the setting deletion unit 306 acquires group management information from the group management information holding unit 317, and uses it for checking whether there is setting information of a group that does not already exist.
In step S707, the expansion group management unit 310 inquires of the group management unit 313 for group management information.
In step S708, the embedded group management unit 313 inquires of the group management information holding unit 317 about group management information.
Step S709 is a step in which the group management information holding unit 317 returns group management information.
Step S710 is a step in which the setting deletion unit 306 compares the group setting information obtained from the group setting holding unit 316 with the group management information obtained from the group management information holding unit 317 and confirms the existence of the group. is there.
If the group exists, the process proceeds to step S712. If the group does not exist, the process proceeds to step S711.
Step S711 is a step in which, when there is no group, the setting deletion unit 306 displays that fact. When the group setting information is registered but the group itself is deleted, the group name is displayed as “-(deleted)” on the display to prompt the user to delete the group setting information. As a matter of course, the wording is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.
Step S712 is a step in which the setting deletion unit 306 displays the group name.
Step S713 is a step in which the setting deletion unit 306 displays the last login date and time. When the user logs in, the last login date and time of the setting information of the group to which the user belongs is updated. By displaying the last login date and time, when the user deletes the group setting information, the old setting information can be determined and deleted.
Step S714 is a step in which the user selects a group to be deleted from the group list.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a group selection screen. The user can select and delete the group name to be deleted on the screen. By displaying the group name and the last login date and time according to steps S711 to S713, the user can delete old setting information or setting information in which no group exists, and then delete it.

Returning again to the description of FIG.
In step S715, the setting deletion unit 306 requests the extension group setting management unit 308 to delete the group setting information.
In step S716, the expansion group setting management unit 308 requests the built-in setting management unit 312 to delete the group setting information.
In step S717, the setting management unit 312 for incorporation deletes the group setting information held in the group setting holding unit 316.
Step S718 is a step in which the group setting holding unit 316 deletes the group setting information.

As described above, the user can delete any group setting information. Further, when selecting group setting information to be deleted, it is possible to delete after determining setting information of a group that does not exist or an old group.

[Other Examples]
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  303 ... Extended program, 305 ... Embedded program, 307 ... Extended user setting management unit, 311 ... Extended user setting holding unit, 315 ... Embedded user setting holding unit, 316 ... Group setting holding unit, 317 ... Group management information holding unit

Claims (10)

An image forming apparatus having a platform capable of installing an application for accessing group setting information,
First storage means for storing first group setting information capable of synchronizing group setting information with an external device connected to the image forming apparatus;
Second storage means for storing second group setting information;
As a result of confirming the authority of the application, in response to confirming that the application has the authority to access the first storage unit, the application is associated with a group to which a user operating the application belongs. An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for permitting the operation of the first group setting information while permitting the operation of the second group setting information without confirming the authority of the application. When the application stores the first group setting information in the first storage unit, the application determines whether the first group setting information is a serially readable / writable type, and is not serially readable / writable. Means for performing serialization on the first group setting information when it is determined, and giving a flag indicating that serialization has been performed;
When the application refers to the first group setting information stored in the first storage unit and refers to the flag and indicates that serialization has been performed, the application performs deserialization. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for restoring the original first group setting information. A deletion unit that deletes the first or second group setting information according to a user instruction;
The deletion unit includes a display unit that displays a list of groups based on the first or second group setting information stored in the first or second storage unit, respectively, and is selected from the list. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein group setting information of the selected group is deleted.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays a last login date and time of a user belonging to each group in a list of groups. It further has means for storing the management information of the registered group,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays in the list that the group in which the management information does not exist has been deleted.   6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit permits an operation without authority to access the second group setting information stored in the second storage unit. 6. Image forming apparatus. A third storage unit for storing the user setting information;
When the application stores user setting information in the third storage unit, it determines whether the user setting information is a serially readable / writable type, and if it is determined that the user setting information is not serially readable / writable Means for serializing the user setting information and giving a flag indicating that serialization has been performed;
When the application refers to the user setting information stored in the third storage unit, the application refers to the flag and indicates that serialization has been performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that restores the user setting information. When the user logs in, the group setting information to which the logged-in user belongs is received from the connected external device, and the stored group setting information to which the user belongs is stored in the first storage unit. Update the group setting information,
8. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein when the user logs out, group setting information to which the logged-in user belongs is transmitted to the external apparatus. apparatus.   The program for functioning a computer as an image forming apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus having a platform capable of installing an application for accessing group setting information,
A first storing step of storing first group setting information in a first storing unit capable of synchronizing group setting information with an external device connected to the image forming apparatus;
A second storage step of storing the second group setting information in the second storage means;
As a result of confirming the authority of the application, in response to confirming that the application has the authority to access the first storage unit, the application is associated with a group to which a user operating the application belongs. And a control step for permitting the operation of the first group setting information.

Images