JP5488126B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus, an operation display unit for inputting a user operation or displaying information and an engine unit such as a scanner or a plotter for forming an image are provided in order to improve function expandability and performance. There are cases where control is required by a different CPU (Central Processing Unit) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When a UI (User Interface) function such as a Web browser is installed as a function of the operation display unit, if the operation display unit and the engine unit are controlled by a single CPU, the CPU and RAM ( This is because access to the Random Access Memory) conflicts and the operability may be reduced.

  When such a Web browser is installed as a function of the operation display unit, the image forming apparatus scans the engine unit with an operation from the Web browser (execution of a toolbar or extended Java script) as a trigger. And a function for providing instructions such as execution of printing can be realized. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus can transfer the results of scanning and printing executed by the engine unit to an external server according to a protocol such as HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol).

  However, in the conventional technique, authentication information and information such as cookie exchanged between the image forming apparatus and the external server by the Web browser in the operation display unit are internally held by the Web browser. When the CPU is controlled by a different CPU, it is difficult for the CPU of the engine unit to refer to these pieces of information. For this reason, even if the image forming apparatus tries to transfer the result of scanning or printing executed by the engine unit according to HTTP, it is difficult to access the external server using such information. For this reason, when accessing the external server from the engine unit according to HTTP, the CPU of the engine unit with respect to the Web site provided by the external server for which authentication information has been input (authenticated) from the Web browser of the operation display unit It was difficult to access from. Further, the image forming apparatus cannot transmit the cookie held by the Web browser of the operation input unit to the external server, and there is a possibility that the external server cannot process the HTTP communication between the operation display unit and the engine unit as the same session.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and communicates according to HTTP via an operation display control unit when an image forming unit and an operation display unit are controlled by different CPUs to realize a Web browser function. An image that enables an information processing apparatus that performs communication through an image formation control unit, or enables communication through an operation display control unit and communication through an image formation control unit to be processed as the same session An object is to provide a forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus, and an image forming control unit that controls an image forming unit that forms an image by a first CPU (Central Processing Unit). And an operation display control means for controlling an operation display means for displaying information and an operation display means for displaying information by a second CPU. The operation display control means is connected to the HTTP ( In accordance with HyperText Transfer Protocol, a Web page is received and displayed on the operation display means, and an operation input requesting image formation is received via the operation display means, and the image formation is performed in response to the input. A Web browser that requests the control unit to form an image, and authentication information and Cookie used when the Web browser communicates with the information processing apparatus. The image forming control unit requests the image forming unit to form an image in response to a request from the Web browser, and the image forming unit stores the image. A processing unit that receives an image formation result that is a result of forming, the image formation result received by the processing unit, and at least one of the authentication information and cookie stored in the first storage unit, according to HTTP Transmission means for transmitting to the information processing apparatus via a network.

  According to the present invention, when an image forming unit and an operation display unit are controlled by different CPUs to realize a Web browser function, an information processing apparatus that performs communication according to HTTP via an operation display control unit It becomes possible to perform communication through the control unit, or it is possible to process the communication through the operation display control unit and the communication through the image formation control unit as the same session.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 60. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating functional configurations of the operation display control unit 62 and the engine control unit 63 included in the image forming apparatus 60. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process for executing a scan as an image forming process performed by the image forming system. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the request message sent in step S4 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the response message sent in step S9 of FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the result notification message transmitted in step S10 of FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the response message sent in step S11 of FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing for synchronizing the SSL certificate between the operation display control unit 62 and the engine control unit 63. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the request message sent in step S27 of FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the notification message sent in step S31 of FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the request message sent in step S27 of FIG. 9 when deleting the SSL certificate. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the notification message sent in step S31 of FIG. 9 when deleting the SSL certificate.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming system includes an image forming apparatus 60, an external server 100, and a client PC (Personal Computer) 200, which are connected via a network NT. The network NT is, for example, a local area network (LAN), an intranet, Ethernet (registered trademark), or the Internet. The external server 100 is a server that provides a website, and communicates with the image forming apparatus 60 according to HTTP, and transmits a web page constituting the website to the image forming apparatus 60. The client PC 200 stores certificate information indicating an SSL certificate issued by the external server 100, and updates the SSL certificate in the image forming apparatus 60 in response to an operation input (operation input) from the user. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 60. The image forming apparatus 60 includes a controller unit 61, an operation display control unit 62, and an engine control unit 63. The controller unit 61 includes a CPU, NB, SB, NIC, USB, IEEE 1394, Centronics, local memory, system memory, and HDD. The CPU reads various programs stored in a ROM (not shown) or HDD connected via the SB and activates them to control the entire image forming apparatus 60 and realize various functions. The system memory is a memory used as a drawing memory of the image forming apparatus 60. The local memory is a memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. NB is a bridge. The SB is a bridge for connecting the PCI bus, ROM, peripheral devices, and the like. An ASIC is an IC for processing applications having hardware elements for processing. The HDD is a storage that stores various programs executed by the CPU and various data. The NIC is an interface that controls communication between the external apparatus such as the external server 100 and the client PC 200 and the image forming apparatus 60 via the network NT. The USB device, the IEEE 1394 device, and the Centronics are interfaces conforming to the respective standards.

  The operation display control unit 62 includes a CPU 62A, a memory 62B, a RAM 62C, and an operation panel 62D. The operation display control unit 62 controls the reception of operation input from the user and the display of information, and is an example of an operation display control unit. The operation panel 62D is formed by integrally forming an operation unit to which an operation from a user is input and a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel for displaying information. The memory 62B is a nonvolatile memory, and stores various data such as various programs executed by the CPU 62A and parameters. The RAM 62C temporarily stores various programs and various data. The CPU 62A controls the operation panel 62D by executing various programs stored in the memory 62B.

  The engine control unit 63 includes a CPU 63A, a memory 63B, a RAM 63C, and an engine unit 63D. The engine control unit 63 controls image formation in the engine unit 63D, and is an example of an image formation control unit. The engine unit 63D is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a 1-drum color plotter, a 4-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The memory 63B is a nonvolatile memory, and stores various data such as various programs executed by the CPU 63A and parameters. The RAM 63C temporarily stores various programs and various data. The CPU 63A controls the engine unit 63D by executing various programs stored in the memory 63B.

  Here, functions unique to the present embodiment realized by the operation display control unit 62 and the engine control unit 63 included in the image forming apparatus 60 will be described with reference to FIG. The operation display control unit 62 includes a Web browser 70, an SSL certificate management application 71, an SSL certificate storage unit 72, and a Web server 73. Each function of the Web browser 70, the SSL certificate management application 71, and the Web server 73 is realized by the CPU 62A executing a program stored in the memory 62B. The SSL certificate storage unit 72 is a storage area of the memory 62B, and stores certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100.

  The web browser 70 has a function of receiving and displaying a web page. The web browser 70 receives a web page through communication with the external server 100 via the NIC of the controller unit 61 and displays it on the operation panel 62D. . In addition, the Web browser 70 stores authentication information and a cookie used for performing authentication when communicating with the external server 100. The authentication information and the cookie are stored in, for example, the memory 62B or the RAM 62C. The Web browser 70 requests the Web server 80 of the engine control unit 63 (described later) to execute image forming processing such as scanning and printing in response to a user operation input on the operation panel 62D. At this time, the web browser 70 transmits the stored authentication information and cookie to the web server 80 according to the HTTP protocol.

  When requested to update the SSL certificate of the external server 100 from the SSL certificate management application 82 of the engine control unit 63 described later, the Web server 73 updates the SSL certificate of the external server 100 by SSL certificate management. Request to the application 71. The Web server 73 is an example of a second reception unit. When the SSL certificate management application 71 is requested by the Web server 73 to update the SSL certificate of the external server 100, the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 72 in response to the request. The SSL certificate is updated by rewriting the certificate information indicating the certificate. The SSL certificate management application 71 is an example of a second update unit.

  The engine control unit 63 includes a Web server 80, a browser control application 81, an SSL certificate management application 82, and an SSL certificate storage unit 83. Each function of the Web server 80, the browser control application 81, and the SSL certificate management application 82 is realized by the CPU 63A executing a program stored in the memory 63B. The SSL certificate storage unit 83 is a storage area of the memory 63B, and stores certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100.

  When execution of the image forming process is requested from the Web browser 70 of the operation display control unit 62, the Web server 80 requests the browser control application 81 to execute the image forming process. At this time, the web server 80 passes the authentication information and cookie transmitted from the web browser 70 to the browser control application 81. Further, the Web server 80 stores setting screen information indicating a setting screen for updating the SSL certificate, and when the setting screen for updating the SSL certificate is requested from the client PC 200, the setting screen information is stored in the client PC 200. Send to. The setting screen information is stored in the memory 63B, for example. Then, an operation input for requesting renewal of the SSL certificate of the external server 100 is performed via the setting screen indicated by the setting screen information in the client PC 200, and the SSL certificate of the external server 100 is determined according to the operation input. When the certificate update is requested from the client PC 200, the Web server 80 requests the SSL certificate management application 82 to update the SSL certificate of the external server 100 in response to the request. The Web server 80 is an example of all or part of the processing means and an example of the first receiving means.

  When the web server 80 requests execution of the image forming process, the browser control application 81 requests the engine unit 63D to execute the image forming process, and the engine unit 63D executes the image forming process in response to the request. When the execution result is received from the engine unit 63D, the execution result is transmitted to the external server 100. At this time, the browser control application 81 transmits the authentication information and cookie passed from the Web server 80 to the external server 100. The browser control application 81 is an example of all or part of the processing means and an example of the transmission means.

  When the SSL certificate management application 82 is requested by the Web server 80 to update the SSL certificate of the external server 100, the SSL certificate management application 82 displays certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 83. Update. Further, the SSL certificate management application 82 requests the Web server 73 of the operation display control unit 62 to update the SSL certificate of the external server 100. The SSL certificate management application 82 is an example of a first update unit.

  The external server 100 communicates with the image forming apparatus 60 configured as described above in accordance with HTTP, transmits a Web page to the image forming apparatus 60 via the network NT, and the image forming apparatus 60 performs image forming processing. Or receive the results of When the external server 100 communicates with the image forming apparatus 60 according to HTTPS, the external server 100 issues an SSL certificate and performs communication using the SSL certificate.

  Further, the client PC 200 requests a setting screen for requesting the image forming apparatus 60 to update the SSL certificate of the external server 100 via the Web browser, and setting screen information indicating the setting screen. Is received from the Web server 80 included in the engine control unit 63 of the image forming apparatus 60, the setting screen indicated by the setting screen information is displayed. When the client PC 200 performs an operation input for requesting execution of updating of the SSL certificate of the external server 100 in the image forming apparatus 60 on the setting screen, the client PC 200 instructs the Web server 80 of the image forming apparatus 60 itself. Requests the update of the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored therein.

  Next, an image forming process performed by the image forming system according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, an example of performing a scan as the image forming process will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the web browser 70 of the operation display control unit 62 included in the image forming apparatus 60 stores authentication information and cookie used for authentication with the external server 100 in advance. The Web browser 70 transmits a request message for requesting transmission of the Web page to the external server 100 via the NIC of the controller unit 61 according to HTTP (step S1). If there are a plurality of external servers 100, the Web browser 70 selects and selects the target external server 100 to which the request message is to be transmitted by specifying the URL of the target external server 100 that requests the Web page. To do. When the web browser 70 receives the web page transmitted from the external server 100 (step S2), the web browser 70 displays the web page on the operation panel 62D. Then, when the user performs an operation input instructing execution of a scan on the operation panel 62D, for example, the Web browser 70 receives the operation input and executes an extended Java (registered trademark) script instructing execution of the scan ( Step S3). The web browser 70 transmits a request message for requesting execution of scanning to the web server 80 of the engine control unit 63 according to HTTP (step S4). At this time, the Web browser 70 includes the authentication information and cookie stored therein in the request message.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the request message sent in step S4. In the request message shown in the figure, the POST method is used, and the content of the request is indicated by an HTTP query in the request body. In the figure, M1 indicates that execution of scanning is requested. Further, M2 of the request message in the figure shows the URL of the transmission destination (here, the external server 100) of the image (referred to as a scanned image) obtained as a result of the scan execution, and M3 shows Authentication information is shown, Cookie is shown in M4, and proxy authentication information is shown in M5. A request message including such authentication information and Cookie is transmitted to the Web server 80.

  When receiving the request message, the Web server 80 sends a request message for requesting execution of scanning to the browser control application 81 (step S5). Upon receiving the request message, the browser control application 81 sends a request message for requesting execution of scanning to the engine unit 63D (step S6). Upon receiving the request message, the engine unit 63D executes a scan and sends a result notification message including a scanned image (scanned image) obtained as a result of the scan to the browser control application 81 (step S7). Upon receiving the result notification message, the browser control application 81 sends a response message indicating that the execution of the scan is completed to the Web server 80 (step S8). When receiving the response message, the Web server 80 sends a response message indicating that the execution of the scan is completed to the Web browser 70 of the operation display control unit 62 (step S9). FIG. 6 is a diagram exemplifying the response message sent in step S9. In the response message shown in the figure, the status code of the scan execution result is shown in the response body in the XML format (see M6).

  Returning to the description of FIG. When the Web browser 70 receives the response message, the Web browser 70 displays on the operation panel 62D that the scan has been completed. In addition, the browser control application 81 transmits a result notification message including a scanned image included in the result notification message received from the engine unit 63D to the external server 100 via the Web server 80 according to HTTP (step S10). At this time, the browser control application 81 includes the authentication information and the cookie included in the request message received from the Web server 80 in the header (HTTP header) of the result notification message transmitted according to HTTP.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a result notification message transmitted in step S10. The result notification message shown in FIG. 5 indicates that the POST method is used and the scan image data obtained as a result of the multipart scan execution is included (see M13). Also, authentication information is shown in M10 of the result notification message in FIG. 9, Cookie is shown in M11, and proxy authentication information is shown in M12. M10 corresponds to M3 in FIG. 5, M11 corresponds to M4 in FIG. 5, and M12 corresponds to M5 in FIG. A result notification message including such a scanned image, authentication information, and cookie is transmitted to the external server 100.

  Returning to the description of FIG. When the external server 100 receives the result notification message, the communication performed in accordance with HTTP in steps S1 to S2 and the communication performed in accordance with HTTP in step S10 are the same session. These communications can be processed as the same session. Then, the external server 100 transmits a response message indicating that the result notification message has been successfully received to the image forming apparatus 60 according to HTTP (step S11). FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying the response message sent in step S11. In the response message shown in the figure, the reception result of the result notification message is indicated by an HTTP status code (see M14).

  In the above description, the example in which the image forming apparatus 60 communicates with the external server 100 according to HTTP has been described. However, instead of HTTP, communication according to HTTPS may be performed. In this case, in steps S <b> 1 to S <b> 2, the Web browser 70 of the operation display control unit 62 uses the certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 72 to communicate with the external server 100 and HTTPS. Communication according to Further, in steps S10 to S11, the browser control application 81 of the engine control unit 63 uses the certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 83, to the external server 100 and HTTPS. Follow the communication.

  Next, a procedure of processing for synchronizing the certificate information stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 72 of the operation display control unit 62 and the certificate information stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 83 of the engine control unit 63 will be described. This will be described with reference to FIG. The client PC 200 transmits to the image forming apparatus 60 a request message for requesting a setting screen for requesting the SSL certificate of the external server 100 to be updated in the image forming apparatus 60 in response to a user operation input via the Web browser. (Step S20). When the Web server 80 of the engine control unit 63 of the image forming apparatus 60 receives the request message via the NIC of the controller unit 61, the request message is sent to the SSL certificate management application 82 (step S21). When the SSL certificate management application 82 receives the request message, it sends setting screen information indicating the setting screen to the Web server 80 (step S22). When the Web server 80 receives the setting screen information, the Web server 80 transmits the setting screen information to the client PC 200 via the NIC of the controller unit 61 (Step S23). When the Web browser of the client PC 200 receives the setting screen information, the setting screen indicated by the setting screen information is displayed. When an operation input for requesting execution of updating of the SSL certificate of the external server 100 in the image forming apparatus 60 is performed on the setting screen, the Web browser stores the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored therein. Is sent to the image forming apparatus 60 to request the update to the SSL certificate (step S24). When the Web server 80 of the engine control unit 63 of the image forming apparatus 60 receives the request message via the NIC of the controller unit 61, the Web server 80 sends the request message to the SSL certificate management application 82 (step S25).

  When the SSL certificate management application 82 receives the request message, the certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 83 is rewritten with the certificate information included in the request message. Thus, the SSL certificate of the external server 100 is updated in the SSL certificate storage unit 83 (step S26). In addition, the SSL certificate management application 82 sends a request message including the certificate information to be updated and requesting an update to the SSL certificate to the Web server 73 of the operation display control unit 62 (step S27). FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the request message sent in step S27. In the request message shown in the figure, a POST method is used, and certificate information indicating an SSL certificate in a multipart is included, and an ID assigned to the SSL certificate is indicated by an HTTP query.

  When the web server 73 receives the request message, it sends the request message to the SSL certificate management application 71 (step S28). When the SSL certificate management application 71 receives the request message, the certificate information indicating the SSL certificate of the external server 100 stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 72 is rewritten with the certificate information included in the request message. Thus, the SSL certificate of the external server 100 is updated in the SSL certificate storage unit 72 (step S29). Then, the SSL certificate management application 71 sends a notification message indicating that the update of the SSL certificate has been completed to the Web server 73 (step S30). When the Web server 73 receives the notification message, the Web server 73 sends the notification message to the SSL certificate management application 82 of the engine control unit 63 (step S31).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a notification message sent in step S31. In the notification message shown in the figure, the update result of the SSL certificate is indicated by an HTTP status code.

  When the SSL certificate management application 82 receives the notification message, the SSL certificate management application 82 sends the notification message to the Web server 80 (step S32). When the Web server 80 receives the notification message, the Web server 80 transmits the notification message to the client PC 200 (step S33). When the Web browser of the client PC 200 receives the notification message, it displays that the update of the SSL certificate in the image forming apparatus 60 has been completed. As described above, for the SSL certificate of the external server 100, the image forming apparatus 60 can hold the same SSL certificate in synchronization with the engine control unit 63 and the operation display control unit 62.

  In the above-described example, the update of the SSL certificate has been described. However, the image forming apparatus 60 similarly applies when adding a new SSL certificate or deleting a stored SSL certificate. The engine control unit 63 and the operation display control unit 62 synchronize. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the request message sent in step S27 when deleting the SSL certificate. The request message in the figure is a message requesting deletion of the SSL certificate, and the request message indicates that the SSL certificate to be deleted is specified by the query using the GET method. Yes. In accordance with this request message, the SSL certificate management application 71 deletes the certificate information indicating the SSL certificate stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 72, and indicates that the deletion of the SSL certificate has been completed. The message is sent to the engine control unit 63 via the Web server 73. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a notification message sent in step S31 when deleting an SSL certificate. In the notification message shown in the figure, the SSL certificate deletion result is indicated by an HTTP status code. In this way, the SSL certificate management application 82 deletes the certificate information from the SSL certificate storage unit 83, and the SSL certificate management application 71 receives the certificate information in response to a request from the SSL certificate management application 82. Delete from the SSL certificate storage unit 72. When a new SSL certificate is added, a request message for requesting addition of a new SSL certificate is sent to the SSL certificate management application 82 in step S25, and the SSL certificate management application 82 Certificate information indicating a valid SSL certificate is stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 83, and in response to a request from the SSL certificate management application 82, the SSL certificate management application 71 stores certificate information indicating a new SSL certificate. The data is stored in the SSL certificate storage unit 72.

  According to such a configuration, when the image forming apparatus 60 performs communication shown in FIG. 4 with the external server 100, the image forming apparatus 60 performs communication according to HTTPS that requires an SSL certificate instead of HTTP. Even if it exists, it becomes possible to perform both the communication via the operation display control part 62 in step S1-S2 and the communication via the engine control part 63 in step S10-S11 without trouble.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 60 in which the CPU that controls the operation display control unit 62 and the CPU that controls the engine control unit 63 are different, the operation display control unit 62 changes to the engine control unit 63. By transmitting the authentication information, it is possible to perform communication with the external server 100 via the engine control unit 63 following the communication performed according to the HTTP via the operation display control unit 62. In addition, by transmitting a cookie from the operation display control unit 62 to the engine control unit 63, the communication performed through the operation display control unit 62 and the communication performed through the engine control unit 63 are made to the external server 100 as the same session. Can be processed. That is, the processing executed by the operation display control unit 62 by the Web browser and the image forming processing executed by the engine unit 63D of the engine control unit 63 are realized by different programs. Can be recognized by the external server 100.

  In addition, by synchronizing the SSL certificate of the external server 100 between the operation display control unit 62 and the engine control unit 63, the image forming apparatus 60 communicates via the operation display control unit 62 and via the engine control unit 63. In any communication performed in this manner, communication according to HTTPS can be performed with the external server 100, and the safety of communication can be increased. For this reason, communication performance and communication efficiency with the external server 100 can be improved.

[Modification]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined. Further, various modifications as exemplified below are possible.

  In the embodiment described above, various programs executed by the image forming apparatus 60 may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The various programs are recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) in a file in an installable or executable format. May be configured to be provided.

  In the embodiment described above, the image forming apparatus 60 is not limited to the above example, and may have at least one of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. In FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 60 has been described with respect to an example of a process for executing a scan as an image forming process. However, the image forming apparatus 60 is not limited to this, and a process for executing printing or an image forming process by facsimile communication. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the Web browser 70 of the operation display control unit 62 of the image forming apparatus 60 transmits the authentication information and the cookie to the Web server 80 of the engine control unit 63 when requesting execution of image processing. However, one of the authentication information and the cookie may be transmitted.

60 Image forming apparatus 61 Controller 62 Operation display controller 62A CPU
62B Memory 62C RAM
62D Operation panel 63 Engine control unit 63A CPU
63B Memory 63C RAM
63D engine unit 70 Web browser 71 SSL certificate management application 72 SSL certificate storage unit 73 Web server 80 Web server 81 Browser control application 82 SSL certificate management application 83 SSL certificate storage unit 100 External server 200 Client PC
NT network

JP 2004-343394 A

Claims (9)

Image forming control means for controlling image forming means for forming an image by a first CPU (Central Processing Unit);
An operation display control means for controlling operation display means for displaying information when an operation from the user is input by the second CPU;
The operation display control means includes
A web page is received from the information processing apparatus via the network according to HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and displayed on the operation display means, and an operation input requesting image formation is received via the operation display means. A web browser that requests the image formation control means to form an image in response to the input;
A first storage unit that stores authentication information and a cookie used when the Web browser communicates with the information processing apparatus;
The image formation control means
A processing unit that requests the image forming unit to form an image in response to a request from the web browser, and receives an image formation result that is a result of the image forming unit forming an image;
A transmission unit that transmits the image formation result received by the processing unit and at least one of the authentication information and cookie stored in the first storage unit to the information processing apparatus via the network according to HTTP; An image forming apparatus comprising: When the web browser requests the image formation control unit to form an image, the web browser transmits at least one of the authentication information and cookie stored in the first storage unit to the image formation control unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When the Web browser requests the image formation control unit to form an image, at least one of the authentication information and cookie stored in the first storage unit is used according to HTTP. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: The image formation control means
Second storage means for storing certificate information indicating an SSL certificate issued by the information processing apparatus;
First accepting means for accepting a request for updating the SSL certificate including the new certificate information;
When the first receiving unit receives a request for updating the SSL certificate including the new certificate information, the certificate information stored in the second storage unit is updated to the new certificate information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first update unit configured to perform the update. When the first accepting unit accepts a request for updating the SSL certificate including the new certificate information, the first updating unit further updates the SSL certificate including the new certificate information. To the operation display control means,
The operation display control means includes
Third storage means for storing the certificate information;
Second accepting means for accepting a request for updating the SSL certificate including the new certificate information;
When the second accepting unit accepts the request for updating the SSL certificate including the new certificate information, the certificate information stored in the third storage unit is updated to the new certificate information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a second updating unit that performs the updating. The first accepting unit accepts a request for deleting the SSL certificate,
The said 1st update means deletes the said certificate information memorize | stored in the said 2nd storage means, when the said 1st reception means receives the request | requirement of deletion of the said SSL certificate. Or the image forming apparatus according to 5. The first updating unit requests the operation display control unit to delete the SSL certificate when the first receiving unit receives the SSL certificate deletion request,
The second accepting unit accepts a request for deleting the SSL certificate,
The said 2nd update means deletes the said certificate information memorize | stored in the said 3rd memory means, when the said 2nd reception means receives the request | requirement of deletion of the said SSL certificate. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The first accepting means accepts a request for adding the SSL certificate including the new certificate information,
The first update unit stores the new certificate information in the second storage unit when the first reception unit receives the request for adding the SSL certificate including the new certificate information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. When the first accepting unit receives the request for adding the SSL certificate including the new certificate information, the first updating unit further includes the new certificate information and adds the SSL certificate. To the operation display control means,
The second accepting means accepts a request for adding the SSL certificate including the new certificate information;
The second updating unit stores the new certificate information in the third storage unit when the second receiving unit receives the addition of the SSL certificate including the new certificate information. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 8.

Images