JP6204281B2 - Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and image forming program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming program, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming program suitable for processing image data from an external device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals (MFPs) and printers that can print documents and images can install and execute various applications (Application Software).
Some applications provide functions such as PDF creation, business card management, and book management.

By the way, in such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to add a function that brings about cooperation with an external device such as a scanner or a digital camera.
In this case, it is conceivable that an interface such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) or IEEE1394 used in a personal computer or the like is installed in the image forming apparatus.
USB has functions called high-speed data transfer and plug-and-play. With this function, the external device can be automatically connected by simply connecting it without turning off the external device to be connected. Can be recognized.
An image input system disclosed in Patent Document 1 is assumed to use such a plug-and-play function to automatically start software registered in advance according to the operation mode of an external device. Are known.
This image input system includes an image input device (digital camera) having a plurality of operation modes and a personal computer having a plurality of software corresponding to the plurality of operation modes of the image input device. When the image input device is turned on after being connected, or when the image input device is changed to another operation mode in the connected state, the operation mode of the image input device is supported. The software in the personal computer is automatically activated.

JP2000-099697

  In the above-described image input system, software corresponding to the operation mode of the image input apparatus is automatically activated, so that it is easy to use even for a user who is not familiar with PC (personal computer) operation.

  By the way, if such a system using the plug and play function is applied to the above-described image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral or a printer, an OS (Operating System) installed in the image forming apparatus is connected to an external device. There is a problem that the standard firmware needs to be changed because no device driver is provided to link with a scanner or digital camera.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, Comprising: Let it be a subject to eliminate the above-mentioned problem.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a device control platform that manages hardware resources on an operating system, a standard application execution unit that executes a standard application that uses the hardware resources managed by the device control platform, and Manages standard function services that use the functions of the standard application executed by the standard application execution unit, extended function services that use the hardware resources, and extended applications that can call the standard function services and the extended function services, respectively. An extended application platform including an extended application management unit to be executed and an interface corresponding to a function not provided by the standard function service without changing the configuration of the standard firmware. A first external storage medium storing an installation service for adding an interface to the extended function service and using the extended application platform, an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device, or an operation mode of the external device An external device connection unit to which a second external storage medium storing an operation mode compatible application corresponding to the external device is connected, wherein the external device connection unit determines the model and operation mode of the external device, and The contents of the application of the first external storage medium and the second external storage medium are determined, and the installation service is stored in the first external storage medium based on the determination by the external device connection unit. A device driver and an operation mode pair stored in the second external storage medium Install an application, the extension service, the allowed to perform an operation mode corresponding application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device, the device control platform, utilizing the hardware resources from the outside of the instrument control platform A platform service interface unit providing an interface for controlling the hardware resource, and a service for controlling each unit having a plurality of control service providing units for providing a service for controlling the hardware resources, and the platform service interface unit includes the standard A request for the operation mode compatible application from the application is determined, and a control service providing unit of the service for controlling each unit corresponding to the request is called .
The image forming method of the present invention is an image forming method by an image forming apparatus having hardware resources, the step of managing hardware resources on an operating system by a device control platform, and the device control by a standard application execution unit. A step of executing a standard application that uses the hardware resource managed by the platform, and a standard that uses the function of the standard application executed by the standard application execution unit by the extended application management unit included in the extended application platform Manage and execute a function service, an extended function service that uses the hardware resource, and an extended application that can call each of the standard function service and the extended function service. Adding an interface corresponding to a function not provided by the standard function service to the extended function service without changing the configuration of the standard firmware by an installation service, and allowing the extended application platform to use the interface; A first external storage medium storing an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device or a second external storage medium storing an operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device is connected. A step of determining a model and an operation mode of the external device and a content of an application of the first external storage medium and the second external storage medium by the external device connection unit. The installation service is based on the determination by the external device connection unit. Install the device drivers stored in the external storage medium, and an operation mode corresponding applications stored in the second external storage medium, the extension service corresponds to the operation mode of the external device the An operation mode compatible application is executed , and the device control platform provides a platform service interface unit for providing an interface for using the hardware resources from outside the device control platform, and a plurality of control service providing means. Providing a service for controlling the hardware resources by a service for controlling each part, and the platform service interface unit is an application corresponding to the operation mode from the standard application. And a control service providing unit of the service for controlling each part corresponding to the request is called .
An image forming program of the present invention is an image forming program executed by a computer for controlling an image forming apparatus that performs image formation, a process of managing hardware resources on an operating system by an equipment control platform, and a standard A step of executing a standard application using the hardware resources managed by the device control platform by the application execution unit; and the standard executed by the standard application execution unit by the extended application management unit included in the extended application platform Standard function service that uses application functions, extended function service that uses hardware resources, and standard function service and extended function service can be called An interface corresponding to a function not provided by the standard function service is added to the extended function service without changing the configuration of the standard firmware by the process of managing and executing the extended application and the installation service, and the extended application A step of using the platform, and a first external storage medium storing an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device or an operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device. The external device connection unit to which the external storage medium is connected determines the model and operation mode of the external device, and determines the application contents of the first external storage medium and the second external storage medium. And executing the process on the computer. The service service installs the device driver stored in the first external storage medium and the operation mode compatible application stored in the second external storage medium based on the determination by the external device connection unit, The extended function service causes the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device to be executed , and the device control platform uses the hardware resource from outside the device control platform by a platform service interface unit. And providing a service for controlling the hardware resources by each part control service having a plurality of control service providing means, and providing the platform service interface. The function unit determines a request for the operation mode compatible application from the standard application, and calls a control service providing unit of the service for controlling each unit corresponding to the request .
In the image forming apparatus, the image forming method, and the image forming program of the present invention, the hardware resource is managed on the operating system by the device control platform, and the standard using the hardware resource managed by the standard application execution unit on the device control platform is used. An application is executed, and an extended application management unit included in the extended application platform uses a standard function service that uses functions of the standard application executed by the standard application execution unit, an extended function service that uses hardware resources, and a standard function service. The extension application that can call each of the extension function services is managed and executed, and the installation service does not change the standard firmware configuration. An interface corresponding to a function that is not provided by the standard function service is added to the extended function service, is used from the extended application platform, and stores an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device. The external device connection unit to which the second external storage medium storing the medium or the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device is connected, and the determination of the model and the operation mode of the external device, The contents of the application in the external storage medium and the second external storage medium are determined.
Then, the installation service installs the device driver stored in the first external storage medium and the operation mode compatible application stored in the second external storage medium based on the determination by the external device connection unit, The operation corresponding to the operation mode corresponding to the operation mode of the external device is executed by the standard function service.

  According to the image forming apparatus, the image forming method, and the image forming program of the present invention, the device driver stored in the first external storage medium and the second external device based on the determination by the external device connection unit by the installation service The operation mode compatible application stored in the storage medium is installed, and the standard function service executes the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device. Processing according to the operation mode of the device can be executed.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining device driver or application installation processing in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing corresponding to an operation mode of an external device in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1.

<Embodiment>
[System Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 1]
Next, the system configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, an application refers to an application (Application Software). The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image processing unit 11, a document reading unit 12, a document feeding unit 13, a transport unit 14, a network transmission / reception unit 15, an operation panel unit 16, an image forming unit 17, a fax transmission / reception unit 18, a storage unit 19, The external device connection unit 20 and the like are connected to the control unit 10. The operation of each unit is controlled by the control unit 10.

The control unit 10 includes a general processing processor (GPP), a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a digital signal processor (GPU), and a graphics processing IC (GPU). An information processing unit such as a processor for a specific application).
The control unit 10 reads out a control program stored in the ROM or HDD of the storage unit 19, develops the control program in the RAM, and executes it, thereby operating as each unit of a functional block described later. Further, the control unit 10 controls the entire apparatus in accordance with instruction information input from an external terminal (not shown) or the operation panel unit 16.

The image processing unit 11 is a control calculation unit such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The image processing unit 11 performs specific image processing on various image data. The image processing unit 11 performs various types of image processing such as enlargement / reduction, density adjustment, gradation adjustment, and image improvement.
The image processing unit 11 stores the image read by the document reading unit 12 in the storage unit 19 as print data. At this time, the image processing unit 11 can also convert the print data into a file unit in a format such as PDF or TIFF.

The document reading unit 12 reads a set document (scanning).
The document feeding unit 13 conveys a document read by the document reading unit 12.
The transport unit 14 transports the recording paper from the paper feed cassette, causes the image forming unit 17 to form an image, and then transports the recording paper to the stack tray.
The image forming unit 17 causes an image to be formed on recording paper from data stored in the storage unit 19 and read by the document reading unit 12 or acquired from an external terminal according to a user output instruction.

The network transmission / reception unit 15 is a network connection unit including a LAN board, a wireless transmission / reception device, and the like for connecting to an external network such as a LAN, a wireless LAN, a WAN, and a mobile phone network.
The network transmission / reception unit 15 transmits / receives data on a data communication line and transmits / receives voice signals on a voice telephone line.
The network transmission / reception unit 15 may be connected to an external terminal, such as a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a mobile phone, or the like (not shown) via a network.

The operation panel unit 16 includes a display unit such as an LCD, buttons for switching operation modes such as a numeric keypad, start, cancel, copy (copy), FAX transmission, and scanner, and printing, transmission, storage, and recording of a selected document. Etc., and an input unit such as a button or a touch panel for giving an instruction related to execution of a job relating to the above.
The operation panel unit 16 acquires a user instruction. This user instruction includes an instruction to install and use an extended application 400 (FIG. 2) (Application Software, application) described later. It is also possible to input and change information of each user according to user instructions. Therefore, the operation panel unit 16 may include a dedicated control unit and a storage medium such as a ROM and a RAM, and may control a GUI (Graphical User Interface) in cooperation with the control unit 10. Details of the control of the operation panel unit 16 when the extended application 400 is installed or used will be described later.

The FAX transmission / reception unit 18 is a FAX board or the like that performs facsimile transmission / reception.
The FAX transmission / reception unit 18 draws the image data read by the document reading unit 12, the file received from the network transmission / reception unit 15, and transmits the facsimile. The FAX transmitting / receiving unit 18 causes the image forming unit 17 to form an image of the image data stored in the storage unit 19 and received by facsimile, and transmits the image data from the network transmitting / receiving unit 15 to an external terminal.

The storage unit 19 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the controller.
A control program and data for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 are stored in the ROM, flash memory, and HDD of the storage unit 19. These control programs and data may be provided in a format such as firmware. Further, this firmware may include standard firmware in which various control programs and data in the existing configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 are set. Further, these control programs and data are expanded in a RAM or the like at the time of execution and executed by the control unit 10.
The storage unit 19 also stores various job data, image data scanned by the document reading unit 12, image data image-processed by the image processing unit 11, and a print document transmitted from another terminal (not shown). Files, various files read from a connected storage medium, thumbnail image data, and the like may be stored.
The storage unit 19 may also store user account settings. Further, the storage unit 19 may include a document box area for each user.

  The external device connection unit 20 is an interface to which an external device 30 such as a scanner or a digital camera and a USB memory 31 are connected. The external device connection unit 20 is configured with, for example, a USB interface having a function called plug and play.

In the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 10 and the image processing unit 11 may be integrally formed, such as a CPU with a built-in GPU or a chip-on-module package.
The control unit 10 and the image processing unit 11 may include a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, and the like.

[Control Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 1]
Next, the control configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a standard application execution unit 100 (standard application execution unit), a device control platform 200, and an extended application platform 300 (extended application platform) as three hierarchical block structures. When the control unit 10 executes the control program of the present invention, the standard application execution unit 100, the device control platform 200, and the extended application platform 300 are realized. Furthermore, the control unit 10 can execute the extended application 400, the standard application 120, and the general-purpose OS 230 based on the control configuration illustrated in FIG. Further, the control unit 10 is configured to execute the extended application 400 on the extended application platform 300 based on the control configuration shown in FIG.

  The standard application execution unit 100 executes a standard application 120 that uses hardware resources managed by the device control platform 200. The standard application execution unit 100 includes a standard application 120 installed on the device control platform 200 and a service corresponding to the standard application 120.

The device control platform 200 manages hardware resources of the entire image forming apparatus 1 on a general-purpose OS 230 (Operating System, operating system), and controls each unit in units of functions.
The device control platform 200 includes an API (Application Programming Interface), middleware, runtime, linker, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “API”), which is a base for executing the standard application 120, and services (Service, Daemon, hereinafter) on the general-purpose OS 230. Services, etc.), programs including interpreters (Interpreters), JITs (Just In Time compiler), virtual machines, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “virtual machines, etc.”) that translate and execute script languages and intermediate languages. It is data. Further, the extended application platform 300 itself operates on the general-purpose OS 230.

The extended application platform 300 calls the standard application 120 to use the function, calls the device control platform 200 to use the hardware resource, and manages and executes the extended application 400.
The extended application platform 300 is a program or data including an API, a service, or a virtual machine that is an execution base of the extended application 400. Further, the extended application platform 300 itself operates on the general-purpose OS 230.

The extended application 400 is a program and data of an application that performs various processes on the extended application platform 300. The extended application 400 includes, for example, an application a and an application b corresponding to the operation mode of the scanner that is the external device 30.
Here, the operation mode indicates, for example, a print instruction or OCR processing operated on the scanner side.
These applications a and b are installed by an installation service 330 described later. Further, the application a and the application b are provided with an interface for receiving a request from a device driver 350 described later.
The application a is a program showing, for example, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing, processing for extracting characters and sending them to a server (not shown). Note that character extraction refers to extraction of characters that are not desirable for printing (such as “company secret”). When such characters (such as “business secret”) are extracted, the application a does not perform printing or the like, and displays that the printing is not possible on the operation panel unit 16 or the like.
The application b is a program showing OCR processing, processing for reading a QR code (registered trademark) in a read document, and acquiring an image from a site indicated by information in the QR (quick response) code (registered trademark).
Here, for example, the application a and the application b are assumed to be compatible with the operation mode of the scanner, but the application a and the application b may be combined into one, or more than two. It may be divided.
Further, the extended application 400 includes an application c corresponding to the operation mode of the external device 30 such as a digital camera.
Here, the operation mode indicates processing such as a print instruction operated on the digital camera side, for example.
The application c is a program that displays, for example, an image in a digital camera and prints an arbitrarily selected image.

  More specifically, the standard application execution unit 100 includes a standard application 120 and a standard application service IF unit 110 (standard application service interface unit).

The standard application 120 is an application program and data for performing various processes on the device control platform 200.
The standard application 120 acquires a user instruction and uses various functions of the image forming apparatus according to the user instruction. The standard application 120 may be described in an intermediate language application such as Java (registered trademark), various script languages, or the like.

As the standard application 120, for example, a copy application 121, a printer application 122, a FAX application 123, various standard applications 124, and the like may already be installed in a factory-shipped state.
When the copy application 121 receives a copy instruction from the operation panel unit 16 by the user, the copy application 121 reads the document from the document reading unit 12 and causes the image forming unit 17 to form an image.
The printer application 122 draws a file such as a PDL (Page Description Language) received by the network transmission / reception unit 15 in accordance with an instruction from an external terminal (not shown) and causes the image forming unit 17 to form an image. In addition, the printer application 122 may draw a file or the like in the document box of the storage unit 19 in accordance with a user instruction from the operation panel unit 16 and may cause the image forming unit 17 to form an image.
When the FAX application 123 receives a facsimile transmission instruction from the user's operation panel unit 16, the FAX application 123 reads the document from the document reading unit 12 and transmits it by facsimile using the FAX transmission / reception unit 18. Further, the FAX application 123 may draw a file received from an external terminal and transmit the file by the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 18. The FAX application 123 causes the image forming unit 17 to form an image of the facsimile image data received by the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 18. The FAX application 123 may store the received facsimile image data in the document box of the storage unit 19.
The various standard applications 124 include a transmission application described later. This transmission application transmits image data or the like via the network transmission / reception unit 15.
Note that the standard application 120 may be installed after the use of the image forming apparatus 1 is started. That is, for example, when the FAX board of the FAX transmission / reception unit is attached, processing such as installation of the FAX application 123 may be performed.
In addition, the user can install the original standard application 120 regardless of the hardware configuration.

The standard application service IF unit 110 provides an interface for using the functions of the standard application 120 from the outside of the application execution unit.
The standard application service IF unit 110 may be provided as, for example, a class such as Java (registered trademark), an interface on the Java (registered trademark) language, a routine, a function, a header file, an object, a library, or the like. The standard application service IF unit 110 may be provided as a service on the general-purpose OS 230. Further, the standard application service IF unit 110 may provide a different interface for each standard application 120.
The standard application service IF unit 110 can also execute, install, change settings, delete, etc. the standard application 120.

  The device control platform 200 includes a platform service IF unit 210 (platform service interface unit), each unit control service 220, and a general-purpose OS 230.

The platform service IF unit 210 provides an interface for using hardware resources from the outside of the device control platform 200.
The platform service IF unit 210 calls each unit control service 220 to use the hardware resources of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1. The platform service IF unit 210 may be provided as, for example, an API or a service on the general-purpose OS 230. The platform service IF unit 210 is provided as a C language structure, C ++ language class, other objects, routines, functions, header files, objects, libraries, and the like (hereinafter referred to as “classes”). May be. Further, the platform service IF unit 210 may be provided in an intermediate language such as Java (registered trademark), for example.

Each unit control service 220 is a service for controlling each unit corresponding to the function of the image forming apparatus 1 by an appropriate method.
Each unit control service 220 operates, for example, the image processing unit 11, the operation panel unit 16, the network transmission / reception unit 15 and the like in response to a call from the platform service IF unit 210. Each unit control service 220 can call a copy function, a network scan function, a document box function, and the like.
In addition, for each part control service 220, firmware may include a combination of different services, APIs, classes, etc. for each product series.

  Each unit control service 220 includes an image processing service 221, a device operation service 222, and a network communication service 223.

  The image processing service 221 provides services related to creation, conversion, and output of image processing data. The image processing service 221 stores, for example, image data read by setting the resolution and color in the document reading unit 12 in the storage unit 19, and the image processing unit 11 stores image data and document data (see FIG. Image processing). Further, the image processing service 221 draws image data to be formed by the image forming unit 17 from a file or the like.

  The device operation service 222 provides a service for controlling the devices of each unit. For example, the device operation service 222 stores image data acquired from the document reading unit 12 in the storage unit 19, draws an image on a browser displayed on the display unit of the operation panel unit 16, and displays the drawn image data. The image data is transmitted to the image forming unit 17 to form an image, and the image data stored in the storage unit 19 is transmitted by facsimile by the FAX transmitting / receiving unit 18. The device operation service 222 may perform control closer to the hardware configuration of the device, for example, driving one of the motors of the transport unit.

  The network communication service 223 provides services related to network transmission / reception. For example, the network communication service 223 transmits / receives a file or the like between another image forming apparatus (not shown), a server, a terminal, or the like from the network transmission / reception unit 15 (FIG. 1) using various protocols such as TCP / IP and UDP I do. For example, the network communication service 223 can also send and receive scanned image data, document box files, and the like. The network communication service 223 can transmit and receive image data for facsimile transmission / reception by the FAX transmission / reception unit 18; user authentication results when a user authentication unit is present; and video data transmission and reception when a digital camera is present. It is. The network communication service 223 can also transmit and receive the status of each part of the image forming apparatus 1 and the result of calling the function of each part.

  The general-purpose OS 230 controls each part of the image forming apparatus 1. As the general-purpose OS 230, for example, a general-purpose OS such as Linux (registered trademark), a general-purpose OS for embedded (embedded), a real-time general-purpose OS, or the like can be used. Further, schedule management of the kernel and core of the general-purpose OS 230 and programs and data for managing basic hardware may be included in the firmware.

  The extended application platform 300 includes a standard function service 310, an extended function service 320, an installation service 330 (install service), an extended application management unit 340 (extended application management unit), and a device driver 350.

The standard function service 310 is a service that uses the function of the standard application 120 corresponding to the standard application service IF unit 110.
The standard function service 310 receives a call designating each function of each standard application 120 from the extended application 400 and transmits the call to the standard application service IF unit 110 to execute the function of the standard application 120.

The extended function service 320 is a service that uses hardware resources corresponding to the platform service IF unit 210.
The extended function service 320 receives a call specifying the function of each part of the image forming apparatus 1 from the extended application 400 and transmits the call to the platform service IF part 210 to execute the function of each part.

The extended application management unit 340 manages and executes the extended application 400 that can call the standard function service 310 and the extended function service 320.
The extended application management unit 340 manages the installation of the extended application 400, activation, execution, end of execution, uninstallation, and the like that can be used from the image forming apparatus 1 using the API of the extended application platform 300 (hereinafter, these The process is referred to as “life cycle” management of the extended application 400).
Further, when the authentication information is acquired from the operation panel unit 16 or the like, the extended application management unit 340 may activate the extended application 400 and make it usable.

The installation service 330 is a service that adds a function that is not provided by the standard function service 310 to the extended application platform 300, the general-purpose OS 230, or the like without changing the configuration of the standard firmware stored in the storage unit 19.
The installation service 330 installs the device driver 350. The device driver 350 corresponds to the external device 30 such as a scanner or a digital camera. Here, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that it corresponds to the scanner. Therefore, when the device driver 350 corresponding to the digital camera is necessary, the device driver 350 corresponding to the digital camera is installed separately.
The device driver 350 is installed from a storage medium such as the USB memory 31.
Further, the installation service 330 installs the above-described applications a to c. These apps a to c are installed from, for example, a storage medium such as the USB memory 31.

The installation service 330 installs a control program such as a device driver 350 and a script corresponding to the general-purpose OS 230 and the extended application platform 300. In this case, the install service 330 does not change the standard firmware stored in the ROM, the flash memory, or the like, and performs additional changes.
Further, the installation service 330 can also change the contents of the setting file of the general-purpose OS 230. In this case, for example, the installation service 330 may create, change, or delete a file stored in a directory such as “var” or change a database such as a registry.
Further, the installation service 330 can change or update a part or the whole of the firmware itself.

  The device driver 350 is provided for cooperation with the external device 30 such as the above-described scanner or digital camera. When the external device 30 is connected to the above-described external device connection unit 20, the above-described application a, application b, a request including the type and operation mode of the external device 30 is issued to the application c.

The extended application 400 is a program and data of an application executed on the extended application platform 300. The extended application 400 calls the standard function service 310 to use the functions of the standard application 120, calls the extended function service 320 to use the functions of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1, or calls the installation service 330 to the general-purpose OS 230. It is possible to execute processing such as installing additional functions. For this reason, the extended application 400 can perform various processes that cannot be used by the image forming apparatus 1 alone.
The extended application 400 may be configured to include an execution file that operates on the extended application platform 300 and various data including class information. In this case, the execution file of the extended application 400 is, for example, an application binary file including various script language files, intermediate language files of Java (registered trademark) applications, “native” execution files, and the like. Also good. The extended application 400 may be described as a script language file or an intermediate language file when there are few resource limitations such as processing speed and required memory capacity. Further, the extended application 400 may be described in a C language, a C ++ language, an assembler language, or the like that has excellent performance when there are resource limitations. In addition to this, the extended application 400 may include necessary data.
In addition to the applications a and b described above, the extended application 400 includes, for example, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), surveillance digital camera application, watermark creation, bill creation, employee list management, slip management, contract Includes practical applications such as management, business card management, PDF creation, book management, and group management.
In addition, a plurality of extended applications 400 may be provided. Further, the extended application 400 may be installed from the image forming apparatus 1 or another terminal (not shown) and stored in the storage unit 19. Further, the extended application 400 may be stored in an external storage medium. Further, whether or not the extended application 400 can be executed in accordance with the model-specific information of the image forming apparatus 1 may be selected. In addition, when installing or executing each extended application 400, “activation” may be required to make it usable in association with the image forming apparatus 1. It should be noted that a separate extension application 400 may be installed for each model of the image forming apparatus 1.

[Image Processing by Image Forming Apparatus 1]
Next, image processing by the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, a USB memory 31 storing a device driver 350 corresponding to a scanner or a digital camera, a USB memory 31 storing an app a corresponding to the scanner, and an app b corresponding to the scanner are stored. In the following description, it is assumed that either the USB memory 31 or the USB memory 31 storing the application c corresponding to the digital camera is connected to the external device connection unit 20. Further, in FIG. 4, a description will be given assuming that a USB connector (not shown) of a scanner or digital camera that is the external device 30 is connected to the external device connection unit 20.
Also, determination of whether the USB memory 31 is a USB connector, determination of the contents of a program stored in the USB memory 31, determination of the model of the external device 30 connected to the external device connection unit 20, operation of the external device 30 It is assumed that the mode is determined by the plug and play function of the external device connection unit 20.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, in the state of waiting for connection of the USB memory 31 or the USB connector to the external device connection unit 20 described above (step S1: NO), the USB memory 31 or When the USB connector is connected, the external device connection unit 20 determines that the USB memory 31 or the USB connector is connected (step S1: YES).
Next, it is determined whether or not the USB memory 31 is connected to the external device connection unit 20 (step S2). Here, if it is not the USB memory 31 (step S2: NO), the subsequent processing is ended.
On the other hand, if it is the USB memory 31 (step S2: YES), the external device connection unit 20 determines the contents of the program stored in the USB memory 31 (step S3). If the program stored in the USB memory 31 is a device driver, the external device connection unit 20 issues a device driver installation request to the installation service 330.
As a result, the installation service 330 installs the device driver 350 stored in the USB memory 31.
It is assumed that the device driver 350 corresponds to, for example, a scanner. Therefore, if it is necessary to install the device driver 350 corresponding to the digital camera, similarly to the above, by connecting the USB memory 31 storing the device driver 350 corresponding to the digital camera to the external device connection unit 20, The device driver 350 corresponding to the digital camera is installed.

On the other hand, if it is not the device driver 350 in step S3, it is determined whether or not the external device connection unit 20 is an application from the contents of the program stored in the USB memory 31 (step S5). Here, if it is an application, a request for installation of the application is issued to the installation service 330.
As a result, the installation service 330 installs the application stored in the USB memory 31.
As described above, the apps include apps a to c. When these apps a to c are stored in one USB memory 31, the apps a to c are continuously installed. On the other hand, when the apps a to c are individually stored in the USB memory 31, each of the apps a to c is installed by connecting each USB memory 31 to the external device connection unit 20. become.
The device driver 350 and the applications a to c are installed by the above procedure.

Note that when the installation service 330 installs the device driver 350 and the applications a to c, an interface indicating respective requests of the device driver 350 and the applications a to c is set in the extended function service 320. At this time, the installation service 330 can perform these settings without rewriting the standard firmware.
Further, the installation service 330 sets the device driver 350 in the extended application platform 300 by using the function of the general-purpose OS 230 or the like. Thereafter, the installation service 330 changes the settings of the general-purpose OS 230.
With these processes, it is possible to execute the applications a to c according to the operation mode of the external device 30 connected to the external device connection unit 20.

Execution of the applications a to c according to the operation mode of the external device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, when the USB memory 31 or USB connector is waiting to be connected to the external device connection unit 20 described above (step S10: NO), the USB memory 31 or USB connector is connected to the external device connection unit 20. The external device connection unit 20 determines that the USB memory 31 or the USB connector is connected (step S10: YES).
Next, it is determined whether or not the external device connection unit 20 is connected to a USB connector (step S11). If it is not a USB connector (step S11: NO), the subsequent processing is terminated.
On the other hand, if it is a USB connector (step S11: YES), the external device connection unit 20 determines the model of the external device 30 (step S12). If the external device 30 connected to the external device connection unit 20 is a scanner (step S12: YES), the application a or b corresponding to the operation mode of the scanner is executed (step S13).

In contrast, if the external device 30 connected to the external device connection unit 20 is not a scanner (step S12: NO) and is a digital camera (step S14: YES), the application c corresponding to the operation mode of the digital camera is selected. Execute (Step S15).
If it is not a digital camera in step S14, the subsequent processing ends.
When any of the applications a to c is executed, the extended function service 320 determines whether any request of the applications a to c is a call to a standard hardware function, and the platform service IF unit 210 Notice.
When called from the extended function service 320 of the extended application platform 300, the platform service IF unit 210 calls each function of each unit control service 220 corresponding to the called function and uses hardware resources of the image forming apparatus 1. Let

For example, when calling a function corresponding to an image processing service, the platform service IF unit 210 acquires image data or the like from the external device 30 and specifies and executes the image processing function.
In this case, when the application a indicates, for example, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing, processing for extracting characters and sending them to a server (not shown), the platform service IF unit 210 For example, a function corresponding to the image processing service 221 and the device operation service 222 is called.
In addition, the application b shows OCR processing, processing for reading a QR code (registered trademark) in a read original, and acquiring an image from a site indicated by information in the QR (quick response) code (registered trademark). At some point, the platform service IF unit 210 calls a function corresponding to the image processing service 221, the device operation service 222, and the network communication service 223, for example.
Further, when the application c indicates, for example, a process of displaying an image in a digital camera and printing an arbitrarily selected image, the platform service IF unit 210 performs, for example, the image processing service 221 and device operation. A function corresponding to the service 222 is called.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, hardware resources are managed on the operating system (general purpose OS 230) by the device control platform 200, and hardware managed by the device control platform 200 by the standard application execution unit (standard application execution unit 100). The standard application (standard application 120) using the hardware resource is executed, and the standard application execution unit (standard application execution unit) is executed by the extended application management unit (extended application management unit 340) included in the extended application platform (extended application platform 300). 100), a standard function service that uses functions of a standard application (standard application 120), an extended function service that uses hardware resources, and a standard function service. In addition, an extended application (extended application 400) that can call each of the extended function services is managed and executed, and the installation service 330 does not change the configuration of the standard firmware and supports functions not provided by the standard function service 310. The first external storage medium storing the external device 30 or the device driver 350 corresponding to the external device 30 and added to the extended function service 320 and used from the extended application platform (the extended application platform 300). The external device connection unit 20 to which the second external storage medium storing the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device 30 is connected, and the determination of the model and the operation mode of the external device 30 is performed. External storage And body and determines the content of the application of the second external storage medium is to be performed.

Then, the installation service 330 performs a device driver 350 stored in the first external storage medium and an operation stored in the second external storage medium based on the determination by the plug and play function by the external device connection unit 20. The mode compatible application is installed, and the extended function service 320 executes the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device 30.
Here, the first external storage medium is the USB memory 31 in which the device driver 350 is stored. The second external storage medium is the USB memory 31 that stores the above-described applications a to c. The operation mode compatible applications are apps a to c.
Each of the apps a to c may be individually stored in the USB memory 31 or may be stored in the same USB memory 31.
In addition, the apps a to c and the device driver 350 are not limited to the USB memory 31 and may be stored in another external storage medium such as a memory card. Furthermore, the applications a to c and the device driver 350 may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 from a terminal such as a portable terminal or a personal computer.
In this way, the installation service 330 and the device driver 350 stored in the first external storage medium (USB memory 31) and the second external storage based on the determination by the plug and play function by the external device connection unit 20 The operation mode compatible applications (applications a to c) stored in the medium (USB memory 31) are installed, and the extended function service 320 supports the operation mode compatible applications (applications a to c) corresponding to the operation mode of the external device 30. ) Is executed, the processing according to the operation mode of the external device 30 can be executed without changing the configuration of the standard firmware.

Further, in this embodiment, since the existing device control platform 200 is not changed, the range of influence due to the addition of functions becomes clear, debugging and testing can be performed focusing on the additional functions, and the evaluation time can be shortened. Can do. Similarly, it is possible to add functions without changing the standard firmware, and it is possible to reduce the cost of testing by updating the standard firmware.
That is, it is possible to facilitate the development of the added function, improve the development efficiency, shorten the development period, and reduce the development cost.
In addition, it is not necessary to update the entire firmware every time a function is added, and the user-friendliness can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the standard application service IF unit 110 that provides an interface for using the function of the standard application 120 from the outside of the standard application execution unit 100 is provided. This makes it easy to provide a uniform interface between the device control platforms 200, making it easier to create the extended application 400 in a unified development environment, and reducing development costs.
In addition, hardware resources used by the device control platform 200 can be easily executed from the extended application 400. For this reason, performance, such as the speed at the time of execution of the extended application 400, can be improved.

Note that the storage unit 19 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can store different types of applications from the standard application 120 and the extended application 400. For example, the storage unit 19 may store Web applications other than the extended application 400 (hereinafter referred to as “external application”), user data, and the like. The external application may be called by a user instruction on the operation panel unit 16 of the image forming apparatus 1, read into the image forming apparatus 1, and executed.
By configuring in this way, the application of the extended application platform 300 and the standard application 120 can be used flexibly and user convenience can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Control part 11 Image processing part 12 Original reading part 13 Original feeding part 14 Conveyance part 15 Network transmission / reception part 16 Operation panel part 17 Image formation part 18 FAX transmission / reception part 19 Storage part 20 External apparatus connection part 30 External apparatus 31 USB memory 100 Standard application execution unit 110 Standard application service IF unit 120 Standard application 121 Copy application 122 Printer application 123 FAX application 124 Various standard applications 200 Device control platform 210 Platform service IF unit 220 Control service 221 Image processing service 222 Device Operation service 223 Network communication service 230 General-purpose OS
300 Extended Application Platform 310 Standard Function Service 320 Extended Function Service 330 Installation Service 340 Extended Application Management Unit 350 Device Driver 400 Extended Application ac Application

Claims (3)

A device control platform that manages hardware resources on the operating system;
A standard application execution unit that executes a standard application that uses the hardware resources managed by the device control platform;
A standard function service that uses the function of the standard application executed by the standard application execution unit, an extended function service that uses the hardware resource, and an extended application that can call the standard function service and the extended function service, respectively. An extended application platform including an extended application management unit to manage and execute;
An installation service that adds an interface corresponding to a function that is not provided by the standard function service to the extended function service without changing the configuration of the standard firmware, and that is used from the extended application platform;
A first external storage medium storing an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device or a second external storage medium storing an operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device is connected. External device connection
The external device connection unit performs determination of the model and operation mode of the external device and determination of application contents of the first external storage medium and the second external storage medium,
The installation service installs a device driver stored in the first external storage medium and an operation mode compatible application stored in the second external storage medium based on the determination by the external device connection unit. And
The extended function service causes the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device to be executed ,
The device control platform is
A platform service interface unit that provides an interface for using the hardware resources from outside the device control platform;
Each unit control service having a plurality of control service providing means for providing a service for controlling the hardware resources,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the platform service interface unit determines a request for the operation mode compatible application from the standard application, and calls a control service providing unit of the service for controlling each unit corresponding to the request . An image forming method by an image forming apparatus provided with hardware resources,
Managing hardware resources on the operating system by the device control platform;
Executing a standard application using the hardware resources managed by the device control platform by a standard application execution unit;
A standard function service that uses the function of the standard application executed by the standard application execution unit by the extended application management unit included in the extended application platform, an extended function service that uses the hardware resource, and the standard function service; Managing and executing an extension application that can call each of the extension function services;
Adding an interface corresponding to a function not provided by the standard function service to the extended function service without changing the configuration of the standard firmware by an installation service, and allowing the extended application platform to use the interface;
A first external storage medium storing an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device or a second external storage medium storing an operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device is connected. A step of determining a model and an operation mode of the external device and a content of an application of the first external storage medium and the second external storage medium by the external device connection unit.
The installation service installs a device driver stored in the first external storage medium and an operation mode compatible application stored in the second external storage medium based on the determination by the external device connection unit. And
The extended function service causes the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device to be executed ,
The device control platform is
Providing an interface for using the hardware resources from outside the device control platform by a platform service interface unit;
Providing a service for controlling the hardware resource by each part control service having a plurality of control service providing means,
The image forming method, wherein the platform service interface unit determines a request for the operation mode compatible application from the standard application and calls a control service providing unit of the service for controlling each unit corresponding to the request . An image forming program executed by a computer for controlling an image forming apparatus that performs image formation,
Managing hardware resources on the operating system by the device control platform;
Executing a standard application using the hardware resources managed by the device control platform by a standard application execution unit;
A standard function service that uses the function of the standard application executed by the standard application execution unit by the extended application management unit included in the extended application platform, an extended function service that uses the hardware resource, and the standard function service; Managing and executing an extension application that can call each of the extension function services;
Adding an interface corresponding to a function not provided by the standard function service to the extended function service without changing the configuration of the standard firmware by an installation service, and allowing the extended application platform to use the interface;
A first external storage medium storing an external device or a device driver corresponding to the external device or a second external storage medium storing an operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device is connected. The computer executes a step of determining a model and an operation mode of the external device and a content of an application of the first external storage medium and the second external storage medium by the external device connection unit. Let
The installation service installs a device driver stored in the first external storage medium and an operation mode compatible application stored in the second external storage medium based on the determination by the external device connection unit. And
The extended function service causes the operation mode compatible application corresponding to the operation mode of the external device to be executed ,
The device control platform is
Providing an interface for using the hardware resources from outside the device control platform by a platform service interface unit;
Providing a service for controlling the hardware resource by each part control service having a plurality of control service providing means,
The image forming program, wherein the platform service interface unit determines a request for the operation mode compatible application from the standard application and calls a control service providing unit of the service for controlling each unit corresponding to the request .

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