JPH10289101A - Information processing device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the information processing device and method which can easily update the software by updating the firmware based on a read prescribed image. SOLUTION: The firmware, i.e., a program to be executed by a control part 14 is stored in a storage part 13, i.e., a rewritable nonvolatile memory. Then the part 14 controls a scanner part 11 to read an original image and outputs the obtained image data via an interface part 15 in response to the instruction inputted from an operation part 12 or the instruction received via the part 15. When an instruction showing the confirmation of a version-up state is inputted, the data part of a version-up original is read and a read dot string is converted into a code to update the firmware stored in the part 13. Then this process is discontinued and a resetting operation of a user is waited for. Thus, the firmware is updated based on the read image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus, for example, an information processing method and apparatus having a function of reading an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When updating the firmware of a peripheral device of a computer device, for example, if the peripheral device has a serial port, new firmware can be downloaded from the computer device to the peripheral device by serial communication. Alternatively, if the peripheral device is connected to a network, new firmware can be downloaded from the client to the peripheral device via the network.

[0003]

However, the above technique has the following problems. That is, in order to download firmware from a computer device to a peripheral device, software for downloading firmware is required, not only via serial communication and a network.

Further, when downloading firmware by serial communication, it is necessary to connect a serial port of a peripheral device and a serial port of a computer device, which causes a problem for a user.

[0005] There are many types of operating systems (OS) that run on computer devices connected to the network. Therefore, if you want to download firmware via a network,
You need software for downloading firmware compatible with the OS. Therefore, peripheral device manufacturers must develop such software.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing method and apparatus in which software can be easily updated.

[0007]

The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

[0008] An information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a reading means for reading an image, a conversion means for converting the image into a program code when a predetermined image is read by the reading means, and the conversion means. Updating means for updating the firmware with the program code.

The information processing method according to the present invention is characterized in that when a predetermined image is read, the firmware is updated based on the image.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an example in which the present invention is applied to an image scanner will be described.However, the present invention is not limited to this, and all devices having a function of reading an image of a document including a film, for example, The present invention can be applied to a film scanner, a video camera, a digital camera, a copying machine, and the like.

[Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image scanner according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a scanner unit for reading a document image; 12, an operation unit comprising a plurality of keys and a display such as an LCD; and 15, an interface for communicating with an external computer. The face part. Also, 14
Is a control unit that controls the entire apparatus, and includes a CPU and a RAM used as a work memory. Here, firmware, which is a program executed by the control unit 14, is stored in the storage unit 13, which is a rewritable nonvolatile memory.

With such a configuration, the control unit 14 controls the scanner unit 11 to read a document image in accordance with an instruction input from the operation unit 12 or an instruction sent via the interface unit 15. The obtained image data is output via the interface unit 15. The interface unit 15
Is a general-purpose interface, for example, SCSI, GPIB,
A parallel interface such as Centronics or a serial interface such as RS232C, RS422, IEEE1394 can be used.

It is to be noted that a configuration in which the operation unit 12 is deleted is also possible on the assumption that the operation is performed in accordance with an instruction from an external device. Also, the interface unit 15 is an Ethernet (R), Tok
It can also be a network interface for connecting to a local area network (LAN) such as enRing (R), LocalTalk (R).

[Document for Upgrading] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a document for upgrading used in the present embodiment. An identification pattern portion for identifying the document as an updating document, and a dot string representing the upgrading data are shown. Is recorded.

The identification pattern portion is provided with purposes such as a display indicating that the document is a document for version upgrade, a display of the orientation of the document, and a display of the positions of rows and columns of the data portion. In addition, information indicating a target model, a version number, etc., and information indicating a page number may be included in consideration of a case where the version-up document covers a plurality of pages.

The dots in the data portion represent 1-bit information, that is, black dots represent '1' and white dots represent '0'. Further, multi-value information per dot can be represented by changing the dot color. For example, if eight color dots including white and black are formed, one byte of information can be represented per dot.

[Procedure for Creating Version Up Original] Next, referring to FIG. 3, a procedure for creating an version up original will be described.

When the new firmware is completed, FIG.
The image of the version-up original is formed by the procedure shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 3 is executed by a personal computer or a workstation (not shown).

That is, in step S1, an image of the identification pattern portion corresponding to the target firmware is formed.
The code of the target firmware is read in S2, an image of the data portion is formed in step S3, and the image of the completed version-up original is output in step S4.

Here, in steps S1 to S3, an image is formed on the memory. In step S4, the formed image may be sent to a printer and printed on recording paper to create a version-up original, or output as image data in a general format,
It may be recorded on a recording medium such as a floppy disk.

Then, the created version-up original or the recording medium on which the image data of the version-up original is recorded is distributed to the user having the target peripheral device. The user who has received the recording medium on which the image data of the version-up document is recorded reads out the image data from the recording medium and creates the version-up document using a printer.

[Version Up Processing] Next, referring to FIG. 4, an operation procedure of the version upgrade will be described. The process shown in FIG. 4 is executed by the control unit 14.

When a scan of a document is instructed from the operation unit 12 or an external device in step S11, a scanning operation is started in step S12, and in step S13 it is determined whether the document set in the reading unit is a version upgrade document. judge. This determination can be made based on whether or not there is an identification pattern portion near the head of the document image. If the document is not a version-up original, a normal scanning operation is performed in step S17. Also,
If it is a version-up original, a confirmation message is displayed on the operation unit 12 in step S14, or a confirmation message is sent to an external device that has issued the scan instruction, and the process waits for a user instruction in step S15. This confirmation message is for asking the user to confirm whether or not to upgrade the firmware. For example, "This is a manuscript for upgrading. Do you want to update the firmware?
"?"

When an instruction indicating that the upgrade has been confirmed is input in step S15, the data section of the upgrade original is read in step S16, the read dot string is converted into a code, and stored in the storage section 13. After updating the updated firmware, the process is stopped and the process is waited for a reset by the user. If the version is denied by the user, the normal scan operation is performed or the scan operation is stopped in step S17.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the above-described problem is solved by providing the firmware of the peripheral device such as the image scanner with the function of updating the firmware itself with the code read from the version-up document. be able to. That is, it is not necessary to connect the peripheral device and the computer device to download the firmware, and it is not necessary to develop and distribute software for downloading the firmware to the peripheral device.

[0027]

[Modification] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a peripheral device such as an image scanner updates firmware based on a read image. The idea of performing the processing based on the read image is not limited to updating the firmware.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when a document having a predetermined identification pattern portion (hereinafter referred to as “special paper”) is set, an electronic mail is sent to the destination recorded in the data portion of the special paper. The text recorded in the data section can be transmitted as an electronic mail via the mail server. Of course, it is also possible to transmit an e-mail attached with data (image data, sound data, other data) other than the text recorded in the data section. Similarly, if dedicated facsimile paper is prepared, an image recorded in the data part can be transmitted by facsimile to a destination recorded in the data part of the dedicated paper.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process of transmitting an electronic mail by using a special paper for the electronic mail, which is executed by the control unit 14. FIG. 4
The same reference numerals are given to the same steps as the processing shown in FIG.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not the original set in the reading unit is an electronic mail dedicated sheet. This determination is made based on whether or not there is an identification pattern portion indicating the dedicated paper for electronic mail near the head of the read document image. Then, if the original is e-mail dedicated paper, after displaying a confirmation message in step S14, it is determined in step S25 whether the user has confirmed the e-mail transmission, and the e-mail transmission was confirmed. If step S2
The data section of the special paper is read in 6, and an e-mail corresponding to the information read in step S27 is transmitted.

As described above, if a special paper on which a destination and various messages such as fixed phrases are respectively prepared is prepared, only the peripheral device reads the image of the special paper, and the desired image can be obtained by e-mail. The desired message can be sent to the destination.

Further, it is possible to control not only messages but also clients and servers. For example, if there is a client terminal that can control the lighting of a room on / off, or a server that is set to shut down by receiving a predetermined command, command data for executing those functions is stored in the data section. What is necessary is just to prepare the exclusive paper described. In addition to updating the firmware, the dedicated paper can be used for setting the operating conditions of the computer device and peripheral devices.

[0033]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

An object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or a CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus.
Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the PU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM,
CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an information processing method and apparatus in which software can be easily updated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image scanner according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a version upgrade document used in the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for creating a version-up original;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of version upgrade,

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a modification;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting an e-mail using a special paper for the e-mail.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An information processing method, comprising: when a predetermined image is read, updating software based on the image. A reading unit that reads an image; a converting unit that converts the image into a program code when a predetermined image is read by the reading unit; and a program code obtained by the converting unit.
An information processing apparatus comprising: updating means for updating software. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the conversion unit determines whether or not the image is the predetermined image based on image data near a head of the image. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the conversion unit converts image data other than the vicinity of the head of the image into a program code. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the program code is represented by a dot row of the image. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the software is firmware of the apparatus. 7. An information processing method comprising: reading an image; converting a read image into a program code; and updating the software with the obtained program code. 8. A computer readable memory in which a program code for information processing is stored, wherein a code of a step of reading an image, and a code of a step of converting the image into a program code when a predetermined image is read; And a code for updating the software with the obtained program code.